Tada Falls a wonderful experinace..

It is a beautiful waterfall not yet spoiled by the tourist crowd. Nature at its best. Me , jump , Ganesh & Vittal had a awesome experience

Where is it?

First go to Tada which is on the border of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. You can take NH-5 from Chennai and drive for about 85 kilometers to reach Tada. Just before you enter the town Tada, you hit the Kalahasti Road going west off NH-5. Take this road and go another 10 to 15 kilometers till you hit Varadaiah Palem. Ask any local for directions to Ubbalamadugu Falls. That is the actual name of the Falls. In fact the falls are nearer to Kalahasti than to Tada. However since the approach is from Tada, outsiders like us call it Tada Falls.

is no proper road. All you see is an endless stretch of about two meters width comprising of small to medium sized rocks amidst dense vegetation. The locals call it a road.

The actual trek starts after you reach the base camp. J

On second thoughts, if you are not very trek-savvy, turn your vehicle back and go back to Chennai. Reaching Tada Falls is no childs play. Make sure you have no kids or elderly people in your group. They simply cannot make it to the falls.

Once you reach the base camp which is nothing but a slightly larger open space on this gravel road, you have two options. If you are in a Santro/Indica/Zen/WagonR, park your car there and use your legs. If you are in an SUV/bike, continue further till you reach a small stream of water. The depth is only around a foot. So you can cross it comfortably and then park the vehicle there. (Base Camp 2). The distance between these two camps is just a furlong. It is up to you to decide whether you want to reach base camp 2 before testing your legs.

What do I need to carry in my backpack?

First things first. Backpacks are a must. This is Godforsaken land. You wont get anything. In fact you wont see a human face after the first two kilometers. So pack your backpacks adequately. Do NOT carry a lot of water. We bought two 20 liter cans of water for this trek. It was our biggest mistake. We could not carry that weight over the steep rocks. Halfway through the trek, we abandoned all those water cans and relied heavily on Nature to get our water supplies. However believe me, Tada falls water is definitely much better and clearer than the so called mineral water we get in Chennai. It is best to carry a one-liter bottle of water in every backpack. You can fill it up all through the trek. There is a water stream running all along the trek path. The water is crystal clear.

Carry some medication Painkillers, Mosquito repellents, bandage, Dettol and a pair of scissors with some clean cloth.

How is the path?

From base camp 2 till you reach the first rest point which is about three kilometers from the start, it is a fairly easy trek. You just have to take the pathway which is mostly flat and straight. At the end of this phase, you will reach a Siva Temple. You have to cross the water stream at this point. Depth varies from 5 feet to 2 feet. Be careful while crossing this stream. There are lots of submerged boulders. You can refresh yourself by swimming in these waters. The trek ahead is not going to be easy.

Once you cross this point, there is no such thing as a path. You need to trek on the rocks/boulders/logs/trees etc to go upstream towards the water falls. Some rocks are taller than five meters and some are steeper than you can imagine. A rope will come in handy in conquering these rocks. When you come to the stage where you are greeted with an almost formidable rock formation, do not get disheartened. This is the best place of Tada Falls. You can see a clear water stream and a small waterfall sandwiched between two boulders. Climb those boulders and sit under those falls. Heavenly! This is our second rest point.

Spend as much time as you can in this point. Then gather all your energy and climb that rock formation. Life is going to be easy once you conquer this formation. All you have to do next is to climb the hill at an angle of 60 degrees for one more kilometer and then climb down at the same angle for another kilometer. Congratulations You have reached the Tada Falls. Have fun and start your journey home at 3pm. You need at least two hours to reach the Sivalayam. Make sure you reach this point before the sun sets.

What next?

Provided your car has not been frisked away, drive home carefully. :)

Is it worth the effort?

Very much. This is perhaps the best outing I have ever been a part of. The scenery is beautiful. The trek is soul satisfying and the adventure part is really great. However as I said earlier, the ideal age group is 15-40.

When should we visit these falls?

Wait till rainy days are over. Winter is the best time to visit this place. January/February is the ideal time.

yet to get picuture from Ganesh and Vittal will keep you posted...

Adhere your safety rules( lock your selt belt while traveling)

Kodaikanal Trip Snaps.18/01/08

This Trip was very special to me since i was able to do some serious photography this time.

Early morning spectacular view from house balcony

Vinoth on air . one of my favourite shot



Place ECR high way at night, while on the way to kodai ..



Suicide point...... its seems like Heaven but not deserved for people who jump from here..



Again , while on the way to kodai , Place before entering kodai hills..


Kodai Lake view



Dragonfly





Garden flowers ( Describing Color of life)



One of my Favourite shot..



Its cooookooooo



Early morning Sunrise @ kodai


Early morning Sunrise @ kodai #2



Kodai night Beauty.



My all time favorite Model: Miss moon.



My first Back light picture.



The lonely way...



My heights of creativity , its a reflection of sunrise on the balcony window ...

Reliance Data card a Flop: Reliance Netconnect data card a big flop.

Reliance has been aggressively advertising its data card to provide life to your Laptop. It has tied up with various dealers who sell laptops of top companies. Once you buy a laptop the dealers motivate you to buy the data card by confirming good performance and the company has a promotion offer, which offers the first 2 months free unlimited access on the data card and finally if you fall prey for the baseless claims you end up paying for the card which is an additional 3200-3400 over the price of the laptop. The company claims the data card would generate a speed of 155 Kbps. Backed by excellent customer service to support the users. But, the fact is that the card does not even deliver 10 Kbps. On contacting the customer service you get to be on long holds and then transferred from one person to the other, each would ask you the same question again and again. Guess Reliance does not have an option of recoding calls or making notes when they are on calls with the client. (Average Speed varies between 5-10 kbps)

The next step is to provide you with bullshit, Blame it on the Operating system used or the drivers being outdated, Temp files to be deleted etc. You as a user are so confused with the whole episode that you just follow instructions. For reinstallation of the drivers u would be asked to log on to their server and download the drivers and as your card is almost dead one needs to visit their Branch and get it done. The executives at the branch start their investigation first telling u that the download is not possible here and you need to meet the engineering team. This story continues for 3 days and as you have not contacted them again the call is closed.

This is big eyewash; the only satisfaction here is the 2 months of unlimited access, which you get to use. In other words, you end up paying for the 2 months of unlimited access. But at the end of the day you end up being cheated, frustrated and disheartened. Not sure if this really gives life to your lap to or life to your patience.

This Grievance post was posted on behalf of my friend Praveen Sharma.

Mahendran Wish u all a happy Pongal with a Msg...

One thing i would like to stress in this day was " DON'T WASTE YOUR FOOD" , This day cerebrated as thanks giving day to all farming community who shed their sweat and tears to produce food grains for our fellow being in this world, The role of a Farmer is more painful then a lady labouring a baby..

But most of us waste food knowingly or unknowingly. this happen due to various reasons by the people like me, lets burn away our mistakes and show them the real respects by following the one anthem " DON'T WASTE YOUR FOOD"

I would suggest few Tips which may act handy at times.( Views are Welcomed ,Please comment )

1) If you are dinning in hotel, order what you can eat then what you can buy from money you have in your wallet.

2) Don't feel shy to get away the balance food from hotel , its your hard earned money, trust me try giving to the poor people who live on road side. The smile you bring by doing so is worth a million $$.

3) Buy your own office tiff-in box to your preferred side , you would know how much to can eat better then any one else in this world.

4) Even if your are not able to eat your food don't waste it by throwing it in dustbin ,Make sure you aleast give it to the Street dogs before the food get spoiled.

LETS Campain for " DON'T WASTE YOUR FOOD"

Citibank rethinks BPO sale to Genpact

It was touted as the first deal of its kind in the Indian BPO industry but just three months after Citibank sold its BPO arm to Genpact for $630 million, the bank may eventually back away from the deal.

NDTV has learnt that Citibank is rethinking its decision to sell its BPO operations. The primary concern revolves around the impact on core banking operations such as customer service which are handled by the BPO arm.


The senior Citi officials are worried that a third party vendor handling such strategic functions could raise compliance and regulatory issues.

At the same time, cost cutting pressures in Citi's US business could mean more offshoring to the Indian BPO arm.

While no official concern has been raised, the re-think on the deal comes is the light of an increased focus on customer service from the Reserve Bank of India.

The RBI has increased its vigilance of customer service and has been conducting impromptu checks to ensure that customer service guidelines are being followed.

In addition, the RBI maintains that even if a banking function such as customer service is outsourced, the bank remains ultimately responsible and liable for the quality of the service.
While refusing to comment specifically on the future of Citi's deal with Genpact senior officials do accept the pitfalls of outsourcing core functions.

The informal talks around the future of Citi's Indian BPO operations are continuing. Sources say that there are more than enough interested buyers out there but Citi is simply not sure if it wants to sell anymore. Citibank and Genpact officials declined any official comment on the deal but for now it seems unlikely that this high profile will finally be inked.

Click here for pervious post on Genpact buys citigroup news

http://www.rajamahendran.com/2007/10/genpact-buys-citigroup-global-services.html
source (NDTV PROFIT)

BesentNagar beach Early Morning Clicks

The day was so beautiful and i cant restrict myself from clicking these.. Spl Thank to Subhu and Mama alias Narayan Krishnan for modeling these..

"Early morn, brand new day,
Rising sunlight brightens our way."




Subhu as a Peace Messenger.....



A man with the vision with a mission its Mama ..



Early mornings always seem to be so hard to bear
They seem to come too early with no extra time to spare

The one thing that makes it seem all worthwhile
Is the beautiful sunrise that brings on a smile

The brilliant rays of light that shine upon my face
Remove my from my worries, taking me to another place

The soft, white clouds playing hide and seek
With the sun slowly emerging for us to take a peek

The magnificence of this scene is as stunning as can be
Making me forget that I am up way too early

Feeling as if I’ve gone to heaven, closer to my lord
The beauty is breathtaking, too pure for any word

A view that is so wholesome, pure, and elegant to see
Reminding me the true essence of what life is meant to be!

A Swan Swimming in early morning skies......



Nature too have a Heart.. and its shown here..

The Day (06-jan) is My day.....

hooooo its my day. i successfully completed four Donkey age put together. and still alive ( let me pinch and my self) yes I am still alive.....

So what’s make us feel very special on this day. Let get me chk what the cyber world says..

Wiki pedia

Birthday is the name given to the day that some people in many cultures celebrate the anniversary of the day they were born. It is often marked by a birthday party and/or friends when gifts are given to the person celebrating the birthday. It is also customary to treat people specially on their birthday, either generally acceding to their wishes, or subjecting them to a rite of transition.
It is thought the large-scale celebration of birthdays in Europe began with the cult of Mithras, which originated in Persia but was spread by soldiers throughout the Roman Empire. Such celebrations were uncommon previously so practices from other contexts such as the Saturnalia were adapted for birthdays. Because many Roman soldiers took to Mithraism, it had a wide distribution and influence throughout the empire until it was supplanted by Christianity. The Jewish perspective on birthday celebrations is disputed by various rabbis.[1]
The celebration of birthdays is not universal. Some people prefer name day celebrations, and Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate either, considering their origins to be pagan festivals along with Christmas and Easter. Some adults loathe celebrating it as it reminds them that they are getting progressively older.