Aaapa Khabar..

From Sahara to Scotland

Tired from my trip last week i had planned for a lazy weekend in Bangalore doing all but nothing.But the Jing Bang had diff plans.. the Jing Bang includes the crazy bunch of Gujjus including me,Payal,Rachita,Mihir,Priya,Jayasvi,Kruti,Sheetal and Appi. they had decided for a trip to Coorg while i was still dreaming for a lazy weekend in Bangalore....I didnt mind cauz a change from Sahara desert to Coorg,The Scotland of India,would always be pleasant...we hire a qualis and it was decided to take of at 6 on the sat mornin..

Knowing my friends i woke up around 5.30 and was ready by 6.15 .. was joined by Mihir around same time at my place.. still no clue about the girls.. we decided to hav some breakfast.. finally the girls woke up and we started at around 7.45 from Bangalore to Coorg.. Our driver Umesh turned out to be a big fan oh Himesh Reshimiya and he didnt spare us for a single moment durin the trip from Himesh's Suroor..Still early mornin a long way to go ..everyone tryin to make up for their last night's sleep..i usually cant sleep while travellin so was accompanyin the driver..

Finally after a few stops on the way we made it to our destination Kabbe Holidays in Kakkabe,Coorg.It took us some time to scratch out way from Virajpet To Kabbe holidays which was situated right midst of the beautiful Kabbe hills..completely secluded from the rest of the world ..it promised to be a ideal weekend for me..Dilip our host at Kabbe Holidays turned out to be a splendid host.. we were greeted with Coffee and some home made cookies as soon as we reached ther..Later we had out lunch some Rajma and Chappatis ..
the plan was freshen up and explore the Kabbe hills and later the water falls down the valley..Dilip guided us with the trek up the Kabbe Hills...it took us around 30-40 mins goin uphill ..
and the view awaitin us at the top was truly amazin..beautiful green pastures ..low lyin clouds all seemed picture perfect..we sat cracked few jokes .. actaully many on Payal.. ;-) and started comin downhill.. by the time we came down another round of coffee was waitin for us.. we had some and then again Dilip guided us to the waterfalls..the water level was not tht much high . but was enuf to scare me.. still
i managed to venture a bit in the waters.. took some courage as the water was quite cold.. we played for some time near the falls till it started drizzlin.. and we ran back for some shelter to our cottage..no point runnin away from water though as we were supposed to go for white water rafting in KAvery :-( ..

Sun had set and a perfect evening was awating us.. we were provided a bootle of home made gooseberry wine .. we sipped and danced as the dinner was gettin ready for us.. after all the trekkin and walkin all ppl wanted was food.. dinner awaited us.. i got my share coorgie chicken and i made sure not a single piece was left .. :-) ..post lunch everyone lazed around .. played few games cracked few jokes till around 1 in the mornin .. and one by one ppl slept.. Early mornin had to wake up arounf 6.30 to go for raftin.. keepin our reputation we all managed to get up and get ready by 8.30 in the mornin..breakfast was awatin for us on the dining table... everyone grabbed whtever tehey cud.. and we left for Dubare elephant kamp, Madikeri Cauvery river for rafting.. It took us more than an hour to reahc ther.. we had already booked a raft last evenin with the help of Dilip.. we were charged 700 bucks for a long run of around 12 kms downhill .. 8 ppl on a raft with lifejackets and helmets on.. 6 of us rowin..took a lot of toll.. many times the calls from the trainer "Left Forward" and "Right Forward" ended up in deaf ears.. best part was when we jumped into the water and floated on our backs.. i was shiverin by the time we climbed back to our rafts as the water was freezin cold...the ride was quite excitin wiht many rapids on the way..had a lot of fun having water fights with other rafts..and racing with them... in all a great experience..took us around 3 hours to cover the distance with no major hiccups.. :-)

Next stop was KushalNagar,Golden Temple,Bylekuppe is the second largest Tibetan settlement outside Tibet, complete with a Tibetan monastery with 7,000 monks, a Tibetan village and a flea market.Amazing architecture ,beautiful colors , Huge idol of lord Buddha and beautiful paintngs on the wall a photgraphers paradise.. we spent around 2 hours exploring the place..till we got back to our Car and our Mr Umesh Reshmiya with more Suroor on our way back to Bangalore.... As if all the fun was not over the Jing bang on the way back found a small fair happening next to the highway..we again took a break ..while everyone enjoyed the rides in the fair.. i sipped a cup of tea with Umesh.. Finally after ther was no more ride left we moved on towards bangalore.. Reahced bangalore around 12 in the night.. A wonderful trip.. and ideal weeekend stop Coorg from Bangalore.. Must Visit!!

Accomodation : http://www.kabbeholidays.com
Round trip : Approx 800 Kms
Cost : Rs 2200 per head(Includeing Accomodation,food,Booze,Rafting,Transportation and Misc)

Human trafficking .. the great kabutarbazi..

Mauritania,Africa... if u would call Afirca the dark continent.. i would call Mauritania the lost country...situated in the western sahara on the shores of Atlantics..sandwiched betweeen Senegal and Morrocco.. this country had already given me some amazin stories to remember.. but i never knew that on my way back to India.. i would get an opportunity to get on hand exp to one of the sad n rather mysterious cases of Human trafficking.... From Asia to Europe Via Africa.. from the Medditeranian to Spain..

My route from Mauritania was via Casablanca and Dubai..I generally need to wait for around 10 hours to get my next connecting flight from Casablanca to Dubai..Sitting at the Casablanca Airport can get a lil frustrating..knowing you don hav much to do ther.. and u wont find many Indians to chat around with..Luckliy i found a guy who looked to me like an Indian.. i was already getting bored .. thought i would approach him.. still not sure whether he was an Indian.. i asked him in English .. if he was from India.. got a strange look from him .. later he responded in urdu sayin,"betho yaar,koi apni jaban samazne wala to mila"...i guessed it he was from Pakistan.. for me this was the first time meetin any gentleman from Pak.. i felt a lil akward initially but later opened up nicely..immidiately i shifted my dialect from english to Hinda.. was missin spealin hindi in Mauritania since days..had a very healthy chat with him i should say.. he was suprised to hear stories about me and India.. and that i was travellin for my company..i was also givin all the gyan i should say.. later i went to meet one of the policeman at the airport who knew me from my last visit at the airport.. pronounicing me as Mr.India.. he introduced me to a person sayin he is also your brother.. the other guy seemed a thin quite guy with his shades on..i shaked hands with him .. and got to knw he was from Bangladesh.. gr8 .. i started feelin the air.. India,Pak n Bangladeshi all together.. i introduced him with the paki guy and then the stories begun..

The Bangladeshi started unfoldin his bag of stories.. i was shocked to knw tht he had been in Mali for more than 2 years doin nothin.. he had been brought by an agent frm bangladesh and had promised him an entry in Spain or rather europe... the bangla had reached Mali with 15 other guys, a valid passport and some money .. as soon as he reached Mali the Agent he said started changin colors.. or i shud say showing his orignal colors.. the agent took all their passport and Money and dumped these ppl to some village in Mali.. regularly he used to visit them ...showin hopes of reachin Spain.. oneday he made it clear to themm .. they were supposed to Reach morrocco through the desert route and then from the coast catch a ferry and enter the univiting gateway to Europe through the medditerenean sea..the way seems easy to write for me .. but for ppl who knw the Sahar desert..might realise this could turn out to be very deadly.. and it was as per the Bangla guy.. On his way he had seen many Indians,pakis and bangladeshis loose their life.. leavin their family completely without anythin behind..not even their dead body .. which used to be burried in the sands of Sahara.. forever.. on his way in the desert,.. the bangla guy had survived for 15 days without food and water.. his stomach got rotten and he had to do a major operation to be done in Mali.. which cost him 40,000 Rs.. the cost was taken care by all the indian , paki and bangladeshi brothers.. acc to him a jeep would go thorugh the desert carrying around 20-25 ppl with no spaced to breathe forget space to move.. u were supposed to sit like this for contuos 10 -12 hours.. he waould say.. any complain and the driver wud shoot u.. many even got paralysed sittin in this manner according to him.. one of such jeeps ended up in a crossfire from the Morrocon army .. a bullet went right through the petrol tank.. and many got roasted immidiately.. he himself had burried 7 such roasted bodies of his Indian brohters he said.. because in the middle of the desert one could not give flame to them .. such was the shortage of water that they were even ready to drink each others urine,, rahter than dyin thirsty..All this and many had happened during his 2 years tenure in Mali. tryin for Spain.. for many other friends of his.. it was more than 4-5 years tryin to reach spain.. according to him Nasseeb-Luck was the factor.. Luckily for him he was back to his senses.. 2years of suffering was enuf for him.. he had decided to go back .. he carried someone else's passport and ticket..

The Morroccon Airport officials wont stop him from going back with someone elses' passport .. he happily told me.. " bhai koi airport trouble like nahin karta" if they dont allow me to go back.. they need to keep mw in their country ..which they would never do.. and he was right.. the policeman sittin next was there to make sure.. that the bangla guy leaves his country.. May be in Bangladesh he'll land up in Jail but he was ready for that..All the whilw the Paki was hearing all this.. and he had told me he was leaving to Senegal to meet his fren... later the bangladesshi told me when we were alone tht the paki was also tryin his luck for Spain.. "Mein usko dekhte hi pehchan gaya tha.. "candidly he said..may be he was right ..

Hope the bagla had reached back home and is with his family.. the story was quite scary for me at first. but later i realised it was very common for many other Indians,Pakis and Bangladeshis falling for some Agent.. all he cares for is money.. the future the famlily and the lives of such ppl has no value for them... On the ending note - i would say or rather jus hope the authorities realise the situation and stops the bussiness of human trafficking ..

Mauritania Food Stop

Well here goes the food stop in Mauritania.. Hotel Park ..serves lebanese
cuiseine.. 10 steps away from my appartment...a slow and very cozy place..
not to forget always empty :-)..
i always prefer to have take-aways from here..
Attached you'll find my catch for yesterday night..Poissone Grille..Well not
poison.. this one was as good as Amrut.... leads u to Nirvana..Fish Grill !!
A much needed break from my daily doses of Poulet(chicken) grill and our
very own 2 minutes Maggi Noodles..and it was a wonderful break too...Fresh
from the evening market held after fishermen arrive at 5 in the eve from
their latest venture in the Atlantics..Am sure my Mallu friends hav started
smackin their lips by now..The pic does not give a clear pic of the size of
the fish.. but the lemon u see in the pic was good as the oranges we get
back home..don wanna bore u with much literature...leavin u with the pic of
the same ..


Cheers..

A Soft State!!

Have recently been following a lot of articles regarding the 11/7 Mumbai blasts..the political drama and mumbai spirits surrounding the same incidence..

Here is one of them,the author writes about the politics being played around following the attacks on Mumbai..


Govern or get out, BJP tells UPA
Rajeev Ranjan Roy | New Delhi
The Pioneer
July 13, 2006

"In a blistering attack on the Centre for compromising
national security, the main Opposition Bharatiya
Janata Party on Wednesday told the United Progressive
Alliance Government to either "govern or get out" in
the interest of the nation and the people.

Taking stock of the internal security scenario in the
aftermath of the serial bomb blasts in Mumbai trains
and the deteriorating situation in Jammu and Kashmir,
the BJP passed a strongly worded resolution at the
meeting of the party's national office-bearers on
Wednesday, stating, "Govern or get out. It must choose
between the vote and India."

Referring to the "soft approach" of the Centre in
tackling the problem of terrorism, the BJP accused the
Government of not doing enough to ensure that
Pakistan's territory was not abused for exporting
terrorism to India. "India has become a soft state
under the UPA's two-years rule," the resolution said...."

Its a typical oppostion statement made by BJP,tryin to take advantage of the status quo.

This is the Same BJP we are talkin about that ruled India in 1999.The head of Jaish, Maulana Masood Azhar, was released by the Government of India on December 31, 1999 along with Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh in exchange for passengers of an Indian Airlines plane that had been hijacked to Kandahar, Afghanistan.Subsequently, Sheikh was convicted of the brutal murder of Wall Street Journal journalist Daniel Pearl and Maulana Azhar became a vocal critic of the US presence in Pakistan.The same so called "Soft approach" from the BJP.They didnt have any critic within BJP opposin their soft state approach.They could have taken a stand in 1999 and taken some strict actions..they had all the chance when the plane was in Chandiagarh..I mean how many would dare to hijack of say a country like ISrael..nobody dares.. we could hav changed in 1999..but than politics is not an easy game..Also the IA hijack was not a single case..The parliment attack,the AKshrdham attack..many came at the time our very own BJP was in power..
The above views does not mean the congress has been less guilty..the hav failed to take their chances and stand out ..take a very tough stand . i mean the people of India are not be taken granted..
I'm not tryin to make any political point here.. but this is the way our country has been.. always been...the britishers came looted our country for many decades..before that the moghals had come from outside and ruled us for ages...India has always been a soft state..No party,no King is better,so i feel BJP shud really not make such statements..and may be help in a more constructive way..


and we still wake up the next day,wash our face and as if nothin has happened.. the same thing happened to Mumbai..the trains were full next day .. the buses were full next day .. and Mumbai was back on its feet the papers said..the things are normal!!I have ready many mails and articles praising the spirit of mumbai..chanting Majrooh Sultanpuri's words ..aye dil hai mushkil jeena yahan zara hatke zara bachke ye hai bambai meri jaan ..but does Mumbai or Mumbaikar really have any other option ...but to wake up and leave for work next day..it has nothing to do with pride or resilience .
It is a mere question of hunger that drives them. such are the high standards of competition and survival that they are left with no time ..Let the administration not bask in this 'glory' that things are all normal. ...Can things be normal for the families of the over 200 dead ever?..Mumbai will be back on its feet but these families will never be..India has to stand up against such mayhem.. and try to build up an image a strong one....Every Indian shud proudly be able to say "Nobody hurts my motherland and goes away with it"..India shud strike back!! a few lakh rupees for the dead is not enough a price for lost Indian honour.........

Beach Sabah .. Nouakachott

My First weekend in Nouakachott.. not many things to do.. decided to visit one of the beaches..made plans with my driver Mouhjeb .. he was supposed to pick me up between 4 and 5 in the eve.. as per the plans he was ther to pick me up around 4.40 PM..we picked his family on the way... they were quite welcomin to me ... and greeted me sayin "Sallam walle ku" ... hav watched a few feroz Khan movies .. so me to replied back in arabic sayin "walla ku assalm" and "sabah".. not sure which one would be











appropriate.. neways off we were to the beach .. a 10 kms drive to the beach.. makes u feel like ur on ur way to DUmas(a surati wud immediately relate to this one.).. this was my first drive through the city.. and i candidly started noticing varied things happenin around the city .. ney fool would make out which sports is followed here. its foolball everywher... u c the ronaldo,zidane,lampard and the pele's of Mauritania showcaing their skills as we drove thru the open roads of Noukachott..

Mauritania has 800 kms long strech of sea coast along the Atlantic Ocean.And as a result fising is one of the main incomes for the country...

Finally after a short drive we reached our destination..The Sabah Hotel.. it was a beach resort..we parked and i had my first glimpse of the Atlantics.. not quite the same as the Arabian sea back home.. the water here are quite naughty.. u can easily make it out seing the bouncy waves and the fizz made by them along the strech.. Not quite a baywatch scene.. less crowded , a mix of europian tourists and the locals..i shud say the right no.. aclean beach... the beautiful sands and the fresh waters... and ideal combination to sit n relax..hav a stroll on the beach..makes u calm n forget everythin..Mauritania may not be one the ideal tourist locations.. but these undiscovered beaches along the Atlantics makes it an tempting place to visit for many french and other europian tourists during the summers...i had a quiet walk down the beach .. clickin pictures offcourse.. wanderin on the beach for a while i reached one of the local fishermen's village .. long bright colored boats parked in a line .. ready to conquer the waves.. along side was a big fish - market .. fresh catch directly from the sea up for sale.. and it really looked temptin..

Still anxious and discoverin new things along the beach n clickin pictures i never realised how far i had walked down.. Mouhjeb was shoutin me to come back..soon i realized the same and started to depart..

It was a lovely experience and i hope to many such experiences in Mauritania...ending the note with few pics i captured along the beach Sabah...!!

NoukaChott a place to be..

Noukachott



"Noukachott" in the local arabic language means a place where winds meet..havent faced these winds as yet but it sure can get dusty and temperatures can really soar up durin the
afternoon .. the heat and the dust reminds me of my good old days in ahemedabad..


So wht is it tht this place makes me miss about bangalore... lets c..


the traffic.. well u really don miss the bangalore traffic...the city is situated right in
the midst of western Sahara... driving a 2 wheeler..is takin up some challenge.. i've never


seen so many mercedes and toyotas in my life .. all 60's and 70's model though.. it gives a
very rusty look to the city... but still the traffic discipline is much better than many
cities in India..


About thie attire .. the almost cover thier whole body to protect themselves from the heat


and dust..gives them a cool gypsy kinda look..its not jus the traditional look here though..
the punks from the brigades can be easily made out here.. thnx to the hip hop culture..


And u can never miss the MNC's from bangalore.. u get coke everywher u


go..nokia,Motorola,philps are buzzwords here..


And the fanatic brazil supporters u find them everywhere n anywhere...

Last but not the least.. its anybody's guess wht the person in the pic is singin.. reggae??


.. not really .. he singin a song from Govinda.. yeah .... suprisingly.. Amitab
bacchan,Mithun Chokkrobathy and Govinda are knwn to each n every person here!!


so if ya guys think Bangalore is full.. Noukachott's a place to be :-) ..
Cheers!!