Author: anandnataraj

Entrepreneur, Blogger, Traveller, Pet Lover, Networker, Social Drinker, Party Animal, Movie Addict, Startup Enthusiast, Organic Gardner, Avid Reader....

First temple visit of 2010 is Tirumala


A long time plan to visit to Tirumala with my parents, Raghu’s family, Ravi’s family & Prasad’s family got momentum during last week of December. Then after confusions because of Andra volatility things got sloppy and we did know if this trip was on till last moment. Anyways Prasad asked me to make it anyways. Since my parents were unable to make it I came along with my friend. 

So initial plan was to start by 6 o clock from Chennai in Indigo Marina and hand over the car to a driver so that he can pickup raghu and prasad’s family in the morning. Owing to lot of official work we started from office in my Zen by 8.30 and had to fix my puncher wheel. Since the tube was torn we had to replace the tube. I asked Suresh to drop me in my house and asked him to fix the puncher. He returned back by 9:30 and my father parked Indogo Marina in my uncle’s house as some household work was going on. So unable to take Marina out and we had to settle with Zen. 

Then while filling petrol I remembered that I forgot to pick my data-card. Then went back to home collected it and returned and we had dinner at Motel Highway in Poonamallee. Once when we were out it was 11.30 PM. Then got a call from Prasad and he said Tirumala road will be closed between 1 – 4 AM. So we decided to drive slowly. We were driving at 40 Kmph and still we reached Tirupathi by 2.30. We decided to  sleep in the car and we thought we can pick raghu and drive to the hill. 

En route Suresh wanted to know my entrepreneur journey and I was narrating my experience till date. Since I didn’t sleep the previous night I was tired but restrained from sleeping because I didn’t want to make Suresh drive alone. On reaching Tirupathi I slept immediately. We started taking snaps on reaching Andra Border. 

As a surprise Prasad arranged for a VIP darshan by 7 o clock in the morning. We had no time to relax and we all got ready in 30 min and we all went to temple. We had very good darshan where in we were able to see the lord at a distance of 5 – 8 feet. We were blessed to get the arathi & able to see lords feet. Also we had a glimpse of lord for 5+ minutes. It is all a blessing as these opportunities are not easy to come. Also we had a bones of worshiping along with actress Rambha. 

Then we were very tired and we slept for six hours and we missed a visit to goto Tiruchanur and worship Thayar. Again by 6 o clock we had another VIP darshan. Again we got same things what we got in the morning & since we were with Prasad we got some more privilages like getting different varieties of prasadam. Again this time we had the opportunity to prey along with Director Cheran, Actor Dr.Rajashekar, Actress Jeevitha and Actor Tarun. From there we went for dinner and then returned to Guest House. 

On returning we to guest house we changed the costumes, made some calls, checked mails & then myself & Suresh though of going to walk and I usually do this when I go to any place. We started hunting for good photogenic places and we were taking some snaps. On this pursuit we lost the route and we were repeatedly getting lost. After finding the correct route we found the Goa movie team as they were hunting for a hotel for dinner and time was 1.15 AM. We requested them for a snap and they acknowledged. I don’t know if they were lucky to find a good hotel at that time. 

Now reached the room and it is time to sleep and wake up by 6 for next darshan.

2010 starts as a Cost Saving Year


For a long time I wanted to buy a perfume. But for some reasons this was getting delayed. Then my friend went to Netherlands and I asked him to get a Perfume but he has got me a aftershave balm. Though he got me something wrong the fragrance was nice. Again for I forget to but a perfume when I go shopping.

Last month I was asked to participate in a survey conducted by Wills Lifestyle & after the survey we were given a gift-voucher for Rs.1000 from Landmark. I wanted to redeem the coupon as I’m prone to forget it till the coupon expires and this has happened a lot of time.

This time I went to landmark with my coupon and selected Silver Black Azzaro which costs Rs.1500 for 30 ML. I decided to buy that as fragrance was nice and mild. After using the coupon for 1000 bucks I redeemed my membership reward points for balance 500 bucks. 

I was happy that I was getting a product for almost free after a long time.

Cycle to Kovalam – Half day Cycling trip on Jan 14 Thursday


SUMMARY:

Objective – Cycle from Tidel Park to Kovalam and back.

Difficulty – This is an easy activity. Participants need to be in reasonable physical condition.

Duration – Thursday early morning till afternoon

Distance – Around 50 km from Chennai to Kovalam and back

Transportation – Own cycles

Expense – around 300Rs (food, water expenses)

Advance – to be paid when joining – 300Rs (difference will be settled later on)

AGENDA

  • Assemble Saturday 6:45 am TIDEL PARK (Bus stop OPPOSITE to TIDEL Park main entrance}
  • Join other Cycles along the route (see Starting points below)
  • Leave Chennai before peak traffic and ride along the ECR till Kovalam
  • Picnic near at the beach and have fun
  • Return by late afternoon

Contact Person

Radha – +91.9962199963

STARTING POINTS:

(everyone should come 15 minutes in advance – we do NOT wait for latecomers)

TIDEL Park, Taramani, OMR road – 6:45 am

MUST CARRY LUGGAGE:

  • All participants must carry following items
  • Back-pack to carry food, water, snacks
  • Torch in the cycle for night time cycling
  • One extra set of clothes
  • Sun cap and sunscreen
  • Some energy bars
  • Food will be taken care of by organizers

POINTS TO REMEMBER:

  • Please make doubly sure that your cycle is in good condition for the trip.
  • Please ensure that you have a good seat in the cycle.
  • A carrier to keep your back pack will be convenient.
  • Please carry a Trash Bag to carry your trash back.

PS – Need a motor biker to accompany us for the ride. Volunteers pls register as motor bikers.

Our Attitude Defines Life


Life is Best for those who want to Live it,
Life is Difficult for those who want to Analyze it,
Life is worst for those who want to Criticize it,
Our Attitude Defines Life…

Enjoy Your Life,
Laugh so Hard That even Sorrow Smiles at You,
Live Life so Well That even Death Loves to see you Alive,
Fight so Hard That even Fate accepts its Defeat…

Sethupathi School Madurai


Before getting into the crux of my post i want to thank Mr.Major Karthik for the snaps he has provided. He has become a fan of my blog and has offered to become a PRO for my blog. Hope he helps me with more content & deal with promotional activities.

Coming back to our topic i want to take you all to a school in Madurai where famous poet and freedom fighter Mahakavi Barathiyar has worked as a tamil teacher in the year 1904.

Fourth Tamil sangam was inaugurated in this School.

I personally owe a lot to this school as they have given space for Cogzidel Employees to part their vehicles in their campus.

Here are some snaps of the school;

Finally BNI has landed in Chennai


Last year same time me & Bala went to Bangalore to attend 2 BNI meetings and we were really startled to see the way networking and business happened there… We were very much worried that Chennai didn’t have one and we thought of taking rights for Chennai. Unfortunately costs were too high for us to offer.

A month my old time college mate, now a client & friend Mr.Raghavan has taken rights for Chennai and he has successfully conducted 3 meetings at Hotel Courtyard Marriott. I must say that Raghavan has brought to Chennai some pride and we must thank him. We all must see to it that he makes this initiative a grand success…

So, for those who are all new to BNI. Here is a small FAQ;

What is BNI?

BNI is a place / platform where we convert our contacts into contracts!

Already 9 people have enrolled for many categories and hurry to enroll your category. 

For more details shoot an email to Mr.Raghavan raghavan@rsggroup.in.

MEN ARE ALWAYS HONOURABLE


If a female is reading this article then just realize the value of a man; and if its a male then feel proud of after reading it!

“One day, while a woodcutter was cutting a branch of a tree above a river, his axe fell into the river. When he cried out, the Lord appeared and asked, “Why are you crying?”

The woodcutter replied that his axe has fallen into water, and he needed the axe to make his living.

The Lord went down into the water and reappeared with a golden axe. “Is this your axe?” the Lord asked.

The woodcutter replied, “No.”

The Lord again went down and came up with a silver Axe. “Is this your axe?” the Lord asked.

Again, the woodcutter replied, “No.”

The Lord went down again and came up with an iron Axe. “Is this your axe?” the Lord asked.

The woodcutter replied, “Yes.”
The Lord was pleased with the man’s honesty and gave him all three axes to keep, and the woodcutter went home happy.

Some time later the woodcutter was walking with his wife along the riverbank, and his wife fell into the river. When he cried out, the Lord again appeared and asked him, “Why are you crying?”

“Oh Lord, my wife has fallen into the water!”

The Lord went down into the water and came up with ANGELINA JOLIE “Is this your wife?” the Lord asked.

“Yes,” cried the woodcutter.

The Lord was furious. “You lied! That is an untruth!”

The woodcutter replied, “Oh, forgive me, my Lord. It is a misunderstanding. You see, if I had said ‘no’ to ANGELINA JOLIE , You would have come up with CAMERON DIAZ . Then if I said ‘no’ to her, you would have come up with my wife . Had I then said ‘yes,’ you would have given me all three. Lord, I am a poor man, and am not able to take care
of all three wives, so THAT’S why I said yes to ANGELINA JOLIE .”

The moral of this story is: Whenever a man lies, it is for a good and honorable reason, and for the benefit of others.

That’s the story, and they are sticking to it! – “WE ARE HONORABLE MEN!!!!!!

Great Lakes Alumni Meet


Yesterday it was out alumni meet Great Connect. We are one notorious batch where we had fun mixed with performance. So there was noting to complain about our batch. Also we are known for our unity. So we didn’t have excuse to have a mini re-union. 

Since most of out batch-mates were from other cities only a handful of us were able to make it. So people who marked their attendance were Captain Ravi, Srikanth, Mani Maran, Tamizh, EPV & Yours Truly. 

So we all assembled in our favorite place Green Meddows Resort @ Palavakkam. Our original plan was to meet by 2 o clock. Have Lunch and leave the place by 3 o clock top our GLIM new campus @ Manamai. But as usual folks didn’t want to miss a great opportunity of being alone & we were back to our track and we started by 5 o clock. 

We reached GLIM by 5 o clock and I must say it was really stunning campus. We missed the morning sessions to tour the campus. On reaching the campus; 

  • We had chitchat with our mentor Uncle Bala.
  • Group alumni photo.
  • Photo with our batch.
  • Followed by Q & A session with uncle. 

Then we didn’t want to join the beach party. Instead we headed to a 9th feet bar in Neelangarai. Then folks re-charged themselves, finished dinner and we dispersed. 

Though I portrayed things in brief. It was really enjoyable moment to be with your classmates after a while. As we were; 

  • Pulling down each other.
  • Calling folks getting updated from them & again pulling them down.
  • Talking current trends like (Telengana, Climate Change etc)
  • Then we flashed back and cherished our schooling days. 

Now we have fixed up a time for next re-union. It is during April @ Pondy.

What an experience


I can’t believe my eyes. I don’t know if I had this much discipline. Let me list down the list of events; 

  • Reached office by 11:45 PM from alumni meet to see Rooban.
  • Checked emails, had some word with Rooban and went back home.
  • Directly went to Lu along with my notebook. Only to notice there is no net connectivity.
  • Get upset with BSNL. But had some small grub, made some calls & settled by 1:30.
  • Then thought I can run on treadmill but was upset because of BSNL & was in no mood to workout.
  • Then tried to crash. Felt like mad without laptop next to me.
  • Also not blogging my experience made me even mad.
  • Felt tired & sleepy but was unable to sleep.
  • Was awake until 3:45 AM and that is when I noticed I must blog.
  • Then I woke my mom & proceeded straight to office and reached here by 4 AM. 

Only now I can realize how addictive blogging has become to me and I’ve no regrets for this habit. 

So I made couple of blog post and time to go back home and crash =;.

Nice Job Suresh Ramaswamy


Today I got a link from my friend Suresh Ramaswamy alias Anand Erode that had showcased the pictures he shot from his camera during the New Year eve.

I was startled for two reasons; 

  • For the marvelous firework show.
  • Realizing the photography skill of my friend.

He is a talented chap from his childhood days & one good thing about him is still hungry for new hobbies and excelling in it.

I miss him these days. Mate I wish to spend next year new year with you in Singapore and learn some photography & enjoy the show.

These three tops my list;

To see more you can check this link http://picasaweb.google.com/geekbrains/Fireworks2010MarinaBay#