Ghumakkar

One of the hazards of interviewing fresh candidates from highly reputed governemnt/controlled colleges is to stay in government run hotels. Typically there is an unwritten rule for these colleges and that is, to utilize state run establishments whether that means using Indian for flying or IndiaPost for courier or Hotels.

Me and my colleagues were there in Lucknow, capital of Uttar Pradesh, on a talent acquisition spree from my organization in early May,2007. We had zeroed in on one of the better technical institutes of India (definitely one of the top ones in Uttar Pradesh) and that happened to be IET (Institute of Engineering and Technology). We were put up at Hotel Gomti which as expected is a state run hotel.

Gomti Hotel is very well located, close to Sahara Ganj and is a realtively old strucuture. It was inaugurated in 1981 by erstwhile Prime Minister of India, V. P. Singh. It has I guess quite a few rooms, close to 50.

We stayed in the best rooms and the usual rack rates are around Rs 1500 for a single and you get the complimentary breakfast. The rooms are spacious but lack all modern fitments. So no coffee makers, no new age furniture, poor ventilation and a very badly stocked rest room. Fortunately they have redone the floor and other fitments in rest rooms so thats some solace. A/C works pretty well and we were in mid summers there and it was quite comfortable.............................

Read the rest of this story at http://www.ghumakkar.com/2007/05/09/hotel-gomti-in-lucknow/

By Sanjeev - An old friend

Ludhiana, the land of my in-laws, has become the most frequently visited place for me since I got married in February 2006. The statement does not reflect much enthusiasm but let me tell you that if you have relatives (read in-laws) you would love to go there repeatedly. So if you want to taste Punjab, marry a punjabi or simply go there!

Let us get back to Ludhiana now.

The best way to do that is to catch the Shatabdi Express. One leaves at 7:20 AM and the other at 4:30 PM from the New Delhi railway station. Takes only four air-conditioned and well-served hours. If you like to be your own boss and steering is your middle name the Delhi Ludhiana highway is well maintained. Other advantage of taking the road is that one can try the roadside Punjabi dhaba cuisine. Don’t miss the sweet malai loaded, Lassi in summers and hot milk in winters, baingan bharta or the eternal saag & makki roti

Ludhiana does not have buses as public transport and not many taxis. The city runs on shared autos. Next time someone tells you of big autos in sada ludhiana don’t make fun, pay attention.

I must admit that Ludhiana i......................

Read the rest of this story at http://www.ghumakkar.com/2007/05/13/ludhiana-the-manchester-of-east/

General Info : Located in Uttrakhand , 7 tal is a group of seven lakes which is close to Nainital, the mother of all tals (lakes). Its usually a picnic spot where folks come to have kadi-chawal and a round of boating. Beyond the lake is the jungle and once you cross the lake over boat, you move towards this lovely camp called ‘Getaway Jungle Camp’. You climb a few notches and as you stroll down towards the valley, the camp gradually unfolds, a step at a time.

Getaway Jungle Camp is in a small valley which is not accessible via motorable road, infact any road. The only way to get in is by trekking. Set amid poplar trees, this bunch of tents overlooks hills and a large flat playground. There is a dining area, a bon-fire place, lots of forest warmth and clean fresh air. What else you will ever need. There is no electricity, no cell signals (except BSNL which sort of reaches almost every where), no DJ-powered music systems and no disco lights, so if you are looking for a vacation which you only want to share with your family and friends, getaway jungle camp is the place to be in. Infact you will hardly notice any locals there since it’s a little away from the populace.

I have been three many times, at least more then 10 and every time has been equally memorable. And probably that’s the motivation behind dedicating a blog to 7tal.

How to Reach
Train : Nearest railhead is Kathgodam. More info at http://indianrailways.gov.in/ and you can book tickets at http://www.irctc.co.in

Kolkata Connection : Train No – 3019. Daily. Takes a long time to reach. Via Asansol, Barauni, Chhapra, Gonda, Lucknow.

Delhi Connection: Train No – 5013. Ranikhet Express. Daily. Overnight. Via Moradabad.

Delhi Connection: Train No – 5035. Sampark Kranti. Daily. Starts at 1605 and reaches at 2235 hrs. Fastest.

They can arrange for pick-up service, it’s a 45-60 minute hilly drive from Kathgodam.

Air

Pantnagar which is about 70 KMs away is nearest airport. Jagson airlines flies and I think Air Deccan is coming soon.

Road

More common way to reach.

From Delhi – Get on to NH24 – Ghaziabad, Hapur, Moradabad, Udhamsingh Nagar, Saat Taal.

From anywhere else, the trick is to reach Rampur or Moradabad and then get on to road which goes towards Nainital. I have driven numerous times from Delhi so I will add a special section in the end specifically on ‘Delhi to 7tal on wheels’, later.

Activities at camp

You can various activities at the camp like

Rappelling – Put a harness .....................................

Read the rest of story at http://www.ghumakkar.com/2007/05/20/sattal-getaway-jungle-camp/

Amritsar, more correctly called, Ambarsar is located close to 500 Km from Delhi, capital of India and the biggest reason to visit Amritsar is to get blessing at ‘The Golden Temple‘, the most revered Sikh shrine in the whole world.

Me, my wife (Smita) and Pihu (our little daughter) along with Smita’s parent visited this city on a sleepy weekend in October, 2005. We knew that the road, NH1, is fantastic and we should be able to get a average of 60 Km an hour and if we start early morning, we should reach a little beyond lunch.

Day 1 - Oct 15 2005
Pihu was a little over four months and the dad has crossed 65, I guess. I was struggling to be young and with more then 500 KM to drive without any big break, I was all set. I knew very well that Scorpio would obey and respect my desires and was pretty excited to go as much close to Indian border.

We started early around 6 and were zipping

To read the rest of this story visit - http://www.ghumakkar.com/2007/05/23/quick-drive-to-amritsar/

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There are few thousand people who go to Haridwar everyday and most of them use the traditional route of

Delhi - Meerut - Khatauli - Purkaji - Muzaffarnagar - Chhapar - Roorkee - Haridwar

and then there are some who go much less often and take the road less traversed.

which even though being a national highway is actually nothing closed to being called one. This highway is actually not better then any small town road and can actually get worse then that courtesy the usual traffic rush and impatient drivers. Also, the towns which fall on the way are not too great outsiders-lovers and their own life revolves around this highway, unlike NH1 esp between Delhi and Amritsar section, where you do get long stretches of no-habitation. So all this heavy traffic is dealt with bad speed breakers and what not.

So in one of our trips, we had the same dilemma and we were struggling hard to figure out whether an alternate route will make sense. We were essentially thinking of a way to avoid this highway as much as possible and if somehow we can connect to NH24, which is much better and quicker.

And after lot of calculations and some brave calls, we decided to do the following

Haridwar - Najibabad - Bijnaur - Mirapur - Mawana - Meerut - Delhi

This route will connect us back to the standard road at Meerut and was coming out to be about 25 KMs costlier but we took the bait and boy, it was worth it, every meter of it.

Haridwar - Kotdwar / Najibabad : From Haridwar, turn right at the gol chakkar (roundabout) towards najibabad / kotdwar. This is a big turn and anyone would know it. As you turn right, you hop on to a bridge ending in a temple. If your taste buds dont need the certificate of city-clean-food always and are permeable enough for street food then have some fresh fruit chat. If you love visiting temples then there is this famous temple on the river bank, I think it was Durga, I am not 100 % sure though. Keep driving on this road and you will notice that you are actually driving along a animal sanctuary, Rajaji. All those years, we used to look at Jim Corbett map and wonder that how come this is so big, as big as 500 Sq KM and we never know from where it starts and where does it finish. So actually this road connects to the Kumaon and you can go to Kashipur and to Corbett. Rajaji has lots of Elephants and you may get lucky.

The road is very well laid, the tar was fresh but it was not meant for a high speed drive so be careful as it can get a little bumpy and the curves could get dangerous. Keep driving straight till you get a gantry where you need to take a right which goes towards Bijnaur and then further to Delhi.

Najibabad - Bijanur : In this section you hit smaller towns, villages but no traffic. You keep going straight, occasionally you will have a tractor or two to maneuver or a group of cattle but thats fine. Again, you dont hit more then 100, usually you drive at 70 but with no traffic, fields on both sides and a countryside to cherish, you wont get fatigued.

Bijnaur - Mirapur : Bijanur is the biggest town in this route so you would want to stop and take a bite, there are some decent option. We stopped at ‘Vyanjan Vatika’ which is just after Bijanur. From here you need to go straight to Mirapur. This section is the best section in terms of driving pleasure and speed. The road is really impressive, you can push the pedal and you still dont see too much of traffic. But now we are entering into the sugrcane belt.

Mirapur - Mawana - Meerut : From Mirapur, you go towards Mawana, the town which has made its name in Sugar trading. Mawana is a decently sized town and you can get your provisions here incase you are a long drive and most likely coming from Delhi. It takes a while to clear Mawana owing to petty traffic and from here you head on to Meerut.

Getting Through Meerut : This gets a little tricky so avoid this route in odd hours since you would need to ask your way through. Go towards Cantt, then towards jail-chowk or karagar-chowk or something like that. Move towards Chaudhary Charan Singh University and you will reach a fork, take right and then first left again. There is a minuscule, hidden cut on your right so be very very vigilant. Once you take this right, you will wonder that where-the-hell you are driving since now you are a narrow tar-strip with fields on both sides. Again avoid this in odd hours, keep going straight and you will meet the main highway. Go a little further and now you are on partapur bypasss, hooooh you are back.

From there you just go straight towards Ghaziabad and then hit Delhi.

So if you are looking for a countryside drive which is away from the maddening crowd on the main highway then take this one and you will thank your stars. We did this in Apr’2007 and roads can change over time but its well worth it.

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