Italy: An ideal train holiday destination

What is your idea of a great holiday? A super relaxing train ride across Europe's most scenic locales? Or is it a sojourn across the Swiss Alps and swim in Italy's lakes. Europe has always held a charm for every tourist/ traveler. Italy in particular offers several amazing holiday options. There is charming Venice, fashionable Milan or the artistic Tuscany, even the smallest town in Italy has something unique to offer to the discerning traveler. Now with the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, the world's most famous train available for your holiday, it will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. You can feel being a part of European history while riding this train even as you enjoy an unforgettable holiday with your loved ones. Personally speaking I have always enjoyed traveling by rail. Now this opportunity to enjoy rail journeys in Italy has me looking at my calendar to see when I have my next long break. It would be my dream vacation to travel across the Alps and enjoy the tranquility and soak in the ethereal beauty of Italian lakes. I would love to explore the lush islands and if time permits take the train into Switzerland. Maybe next summer will be the time when I go on a train ride through Italy, until then I will keep planning my holidays.

Beauty Destroyed by the Beast

I shot this picture at a granite quarry close to Bangalore. Sited enroute to the Bengaluru International Airport, this mountain has been quarried since the past over 30 years. The exploitation of nature continues full swing with modern technologies and vehicles such as the lorry pictured above. In my opinion the title reflects the image. I am pretty sure before quarrying started to batter the rocks on this mountain it was a place of great beauty and serenity. Now thanks to greedy human beings the mountain is almost gone, and what remains is an ugly facade of broken rock, dust and the residue of pollutants emitted by the vehicles, and equipment used to destroy the rocky cliff.

Auction Deals On Coveted Items!!!

How would you like to buy your favorite gadget, say an iPad or an iPod Touch for 99% discount off its original price? I am sure each one of us would love it and grab such a deal with both hands. Well days of waiting are over, you can get that kind of deals on a brand new penny auction website known as dealfun. I first read about dealfun.com on one of the prospective user's blog. My interested was piqued and I immediately visited Dealfun website and investigated. First things first, the website is genuine, they do offer all the fantastic products that are seen on the homepage. It is a penny auction site with a difference, dealfun guarantees a win within the first 24 hours of your registration and they will reset your deals after that. I haven't come across any auction site which resets your deals immediately after the first win. The good deals doesn't end there. There is a free shipping deal going on right now on all products. You get products at a throw away price and then you don't even pay for shipping it to your place. Isn't a true American-style deal? I am sure you'd be willing to buy half the products on dealfun if only you would be allowed to.

A Long Walk Home....

I shot this picture when I was trekking in a rural locale about 60 km from Bangalore. The picture was obviously shot from atop a hill. This image shows how this villager has to struggle to lead her life. She is ok with the risk of walking along the railway tracks for long distances to collect firewood from the forest. Life is so easy for us in the city and yet we still complain that government is not doing enough. Here is this lady who has to walk long distances over uneven ground just to survive... It is time we appreciate the good things we have...

Happy Ganesha Chaturthi

Wish you all a very Happy Gowri-Ganesha Festival!

Image via Wikipedia

Most of my readers from India would have celebrated the festival with devotion. Here in the US I am pretty sure only a minority of the Hindus would have celebrated the festival at home. Most would have gone to the temple, some would be scheduled to celebrate over the weekend. Whatever your plans are, I wish you a very Happy Gowri-Ganesha Festival.

Wildfires ravage homes and wilderness areas in Texas

News reporting is mostly about scams, crimes, and other negative aspects of the human society. When I hear about political scams, businesses exploiting workers, etc I just nod and go on with myself. It is only when I listen to news about gruesome crimes and harm to the environment that I get deeply affected. Since the past couple of days I have been listening to the news about wildfires that are burning several pristine wilderness areas in the State of Texas, US.

Nature, wilderness, forests, wildlife, and birds have so little left after what we humans have consumed, and now even their shrinking habitats are being threatened. The first threat is from the ever-greedy human being and then the next threat is mother nature herself, who rears up as floods, hurricanes, thunderstorms and sometimes as wildfires.

Every year during summer bush fires are common in rural Texas but this year it has been extremely severe. Texas has been suffering from drought which has limited water resources drastically. As a result the vegetation and forests have become extremely dry and susceptible to fire. This summer has been extremely severe thanks to the drought, temperatures have been constantly over a 100 deg F. I remember three years ago when I came here new if summer temperatures rose only to about 102 or 103 and that too only for a day or two. Unfortunately this year has not been so, triple digit temperatures have burned down for the past month or so.

Earlier this year in April 2011 Possum Kingdom State Park was consumed in a wildfire that devastated several thousand acres of pristine forests. Now in August, 2011 it is a repeat incident in which 6500 acres of wilderness areas have been consumed and the fire is spreading. Hundreds of firefighters are working hard, day and night to combat and contain the fire but in vain. Several residences close to the fire have been evacuated and now the residents are not sure whether their homes will be safe when they return.

What caused the fire? It is the dry wood from dead trees, twigs, and dry grass in the forest that easily catch fire in the heat of the sun. In countries like India where there are several hundred poor people who live by collecting firewood for cooking and sometimes to sell to others, the forest wastes are effectively used. In America there are no such abjectly poor people. Even the poorest of the poor drives a car and lives in a home with central air conditioning and heating, so nobody collects or uses the dead wood in the forests.

Moreover the state parks officials consistently maintain the park very well in such a way that insects and pests that eat dead wood and compost it can't thrive in state parks. This adds to the problem of dead wood and fire-susceptible state parks. The result is wildfires summer after summer.

I feel sad for the people affected and sadder for the animals and plants in the park that are now homeless, and perhaps lifeless too. Anyway I hope this fire doesn't happen ever again anywhere in the world and we can Save our forests for the future.

My Favorite Places around Bengaluru

I have been living in the US since the past nearly 4 years. Life has been pretty good, the roads are better, traffic jams are almost unheard of, I drive a pretty nice car, and enjoy lot more luxuries than back home in India. I have traveled the length and breadth of the country and have my favorite spots everywhere. Living in the US is like staying at a luxury hotel, how much ever comfortable and luxurious it maybe it can never be called home. When I was living in Bengaluru it was common for me to take off every weekend for a short or long trip. Here are pictures of some of my favorite spots around Bengaluru.

Devanahalli Fort

Gokak Falls in Karnataka is beautiful

Sunset at Gokarna

Sculpture of Serpant and Lord Shiva in Lepakshi

Intricately carved temple pillars at Lepakshi

No Contract, Unlimited voice, text, and web for only $50 per month

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Net10 for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Surprised reading the headline? Wondering in this day and age how is it possible to get a mobile phone service that is good, affordable and offers all the modern features? Well the simple answer to all these questions is yes it is indeed out there and there is no contract. This is not a joke or a gimmick, it is for real.

Net10 Unlimited offers an unlimited cellphone plan that gives nationwide coverage and unlimited talk, text, and data all for only $50 a monty. You don't have to sign a contract and you can be assured that you wont receive any surprises in your bills. The best part is there is no credit checks when you apply to get a phone connection. The icing on the cake is the fantastic handsets manufactured by Motorola, LG, Nokia, Samsung and Kyocera that Net10 offers for extremely low prices.

When I first heard about the plan I wanted to meet or talk to a Real NET10 customer or atleast read their opinion about the service and I found a lot of video testimonials on youtube. The common thread of the messages is that Net10 service is great and completely affordable for everyone. Along with the unlimited plan Net10 also offers a host of monthly plans. There is the Easy Minutes Plus plan which starts at just $15 for 200 monutes and then there are several pay as you go plans also. Like I said earlier there is no contract and you can switch from plan to plan based on your requirements of airtime. You can buy the airtime you require. The recharge airtime cards are available in thousands of grocery stores across the country. Still not satisfied you can buy airtime on your phone too.

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I think this is what America needs in these days of rising prices. There is one phone service provider that is offering affordable service with all features. Watch the  Cute NET10 commercial  and you will agree with me.

Last but not the least I'd like to tell you that simple handsets are under $15 and with feature-rich phones with camera, video records, blue tooth, web etc, are under$40 and smart phones with full Qwerty keyboards are priced less than $60. There is simply not a better deal out there, check out Net10 on your favorite social networking sites, Twitter and Facebook to know more.





https://www.facebook.com/NET10…

Millions of Americans left without Power

Hurricane Irene hit the East Coast over the weekend and has wrecked havoc on that part of the country. When there is a storm of this magnitude the first thing that happens is power outage and that is precisely what happened in the US. It is funny when I was in India every time it rained there would be power outage and the telephone lines would go dead, we would go into a frenzy calling the electricity board and complaining. Everything is privatized in America and most of these large corporations have their service desks in India, Philippines or other country to address their customer complaints. I wonder how effectively these service desk people will be able to support the customer at this time.

Except for TV and news reports and the internet the call center employees would not have any access to information about situation on the ground. The reassurances they would provide for the consumer would probably be shallow and not rooted in reality. Moreover news coverage of Irene is not so extensive in India as it would be elsewhere in the US. This is quite expected, because priorities of each nation varies. While the news is top headlines in every news channel here, it would be just another story in the international news in India.

I wonder how Americans so accustomed to extreme comfort of centralized air conditioned, lots of space, and nice furniture living now even as the storm passes. It will take a week or two for life to return to normalcy. And for some it will never return to normalcy because they have lost one or more of their family members.

Straight Talk - low cost, no Contract, mobile service

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Straight Talk for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

When it comes to mobile telecommunications Americans have had it tough since the past several years. All telephone service providers are large corporations and make rules that the consumer has to follow. The end result has been that mobile phone service has been on the expensive side with prices rising almost every year. Moreover phone companies love to trap consumers into contracts by offering them free phones. Once in a contract the consumer has to stay with the service provider for two years.

This kind of contract phone service is changing thanks to Straight Talk, the latest mobile phone service provider to enter the market. First and foremost Straight is a no contract, low cost service, that promises to cut your cell phone bill by half. Now imagine paying half of what you are paying for the same excellent service, nationwide coverage and using the same trendy handheld device, what would you do with the money you save? I can think of a 100 things I could do with the mega savings, I could save the money and go on a vacation once a year.

Straight talk offers several great plans to fulfill everything you need as far as mobile communication goes. For instance the "All You Need Plan" offers 1,000 minutes, 1,000 texts and 30 MB of web data. Then there is the Unlimited Monthly Service including calls, text, picture messaging, and web priced at only $45. There is no other company that offers all these services at this kind of low price. That is not all you can get this unlimited service for a year for only $499 - even more savings. You can call a friend and talk as much as you want, not worrying about whether your minutes will get exhausted or not. I am sure if you were to tell your mom about Straight Talk, she would jump at the offer, simply because mom knows best and it is generally true.

The best is yet to come, Straight talk doesn't charge you for 411 calls and there is no activation, reactivation or termination fees. Straight Talk also offers international long distance to enable you to make international calls from your home, cell or office phone at extremely low rates. This would help expat workers to keep in touch with their families and friends at home.

Finally let us talk about the hardware, Straight Talk offers reconditioned phoens starting from $10 with camera, mp3 player, internet access and blue tooth capability. Can you believe that? $10 is less than the cost of a meal in a good restaurant and you get a feature-filled phone.

This offer sounds too good to be true. So I went online and did my own research to find out what users have to say and this is what I found. Almost all the customers are delighted by Straight Talk's offerings. Watch the video below and decide for yourself.

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Lovely Lepakshi - Splendor in Stone

Lepakshi about 100 km from Bengaluru city is home to one of the most spectacular Vijayanagara era temples. Located in the State of Andhra Pradesh Lepakshi is easily accessible from Karnataka, i.e. Bengaluru.

I paid a quick visit to this wonderfully sculpted temple back in 2005 and ever since I have been smitten by the memories of the place. Lepakshi in my opinion is a place for those willing to get away from the routine multiple-destination tourist circuits and want a quiet weekend amidst ancient monuments and rugged scenery.

With its fine temple architecture and historically interesting monuments, Lepakshi is an ideal getaway for history enthusiasts, heritage lovers and monument fanatics. Sited in Anantapur District of neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, Lepakshi is a small village about 100 km from Bangalore.

Lepakshi is perhaps one of the most important locations close to Bangalore from a historical perspective. A trip to Lepakshi will prove revitalising for those who love in heritage sites, who marvel at the art created by our ancestors. Lepakshi, renowned as the repository of the best mural paintings of the Vijayanagar empire, hosts three shrines dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Veerabhadra. On a hillock known as ‘Kurma Saila’ (tortoise shaped hill), is located the large temple complex dedicated to Veerabhadra which also houses sub-shrines of Papanatheswara, Raghunatha, Srirama and Durga.

According to Skandapurana – a holy book of Hindus -- Lepakshi is one of the 108 Shaiva Kshetras or important pilgrim centres for worshippers of Lord Shiva. An inscription (in HaleKannada or old Kannada) on the outer wall of the temple records that one Virupanna, the treasury officer of the Penukonda Fort of the Vijaynagar empire, constructed the temple during the 16th century.

As with most ancient Hindu temples, Lepakshi also has several legends associated with it. But the most accepted legend is that Virupanna discovered the idol of Veerabhadra and decided to build a temple in the lord’s honour. Since the king was absent, he used money from the royal treasury without the former’s knowledge and started constructing the temple. When the temple construction was nearing completion the king returned to find the treasury empty. Enraged at Virupanna’s act of spending all the money without his consent, the king ordered that Virupanna should be blinded. Being a loyal person Virupanna carried out the punishment on the spot with his own bands and dashed his eyes into the temple’s stone wall. To this day one can see two dark stains upon the wall near the Kalyana Mandapa, which are said to be the blood stains made by Virupanna’s bleeding eye balls when he dashed them against the wall. Thus blinded and ailing Virupanna did not survive for long, and soon the village came to be called ‘Lepa-akshi’ i.e. the village of the blinded eye.

The Veerabhadra temple divided into three parts -- the Mukha Mandapa, (also called Natya Mandapa), the Artha Mandapa and Garbha Griha. The Kalyana Mandapa, with its 38 attractively carved monolithic grey sandstone pillars is yet unfinished. These three form a triangle with a common Mandapam or roof. To the south of the main shrine is a magnificently carved larger-than-life monolithic statue of a Shiva Linga sheltered by a massive seven-headed cobra known as the Nagalingam.

The temple is surrounded on all sides by a spacious outer courtyard or prakara supported by large and attractively sculpted stone pillars replete with relief figures of dancers, musicians, animals and birds. The finest parts of the temple however are Natya (Dancing) and Ardha (worship) Mandapas which perhaps host the best specimens of Vijayanagar style of sculpture and mural paintings. The former is adorned with intricately sculptured pillars on which are carved life-size representations of musicians and dancers in various poses of performance. The unfinished Kalyana Mandapam is a standing proof of the detailing in sculptural art of that period. The sculptures adorning the pillars and walls of the temple depict puranic episodes like those of Ananthasayana, Dattatreya, Chaturmukha Bramha, Tumburu, Narada and Rambha.

The beautiful sculptures on the outer prakara (courtyard) are bound to awe the visitor. Notable among the sculptures are the 14 forms of Siva, such as Dakshinamurthi, Ardhanareeswara, Tripurantaka etc. The unfinished Kalyana Mantapa in which the pillars are decorated with attractive patterned sculptures has provided perennial inspiration to textile designers across the world.

Another must-see monument in the town is the massive monolithic Nandi statue located a mere 500 meters from the Veerabhadra temple. The idol measuring about 30 ft long and 16 ft high, located towards North-East of the Veerabhadra temple is perhaps the largest monolithic Nandi in India.

Getting there.
Road. If you are travelling on your own vehicle, start off on the Bellary road (NH 7) to reach Lepakshi via Hindupur. Both APSRTC and KSRTC Buses ply frequently from Bangalore.
Train. Nearest railway station is at Puttaparthi aka Sri Sathya Sai Prashanti Nilayam Railway Station. Ph: (08555) 287355
Air. Puttaparthi is the nearest airport. Flights connect Chennai, Mumbai and Bangalore. The Airport is closed during summer season (April to June). Ph: (0091) 08555-87346.

Falling into Fall Semester

Image via WikipediaIt was back to school today early in the morning. Yes, the beginning of Fall 2011 semester which takes me a little step closer to my ultimate educational goal. This semester like the previous one promises to be hectic, time consuming, tortuous, and of course a great learning experience.

As I sat listening to the first lecture of the semester I was glad that the professor this time around has a great sense of humor and enjoys teaching. The very complex topics that were being taught was broken into the simplest possible units, this enabled me to understand much more. Another aspect of the prof's teaching style - humor - made the lecture engaging and kept me attentive to the goings on in the class.

I sure hope that this semester will go better than the previous one in terms of academics. Looking forward to having a learning fall and winter 2011.

Unlimited Online Data Back Up Solution From Carbonite

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Carbonite for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

In today's globalized world where business deals are struck at the click of the mouse and millions of dollars exchanged across national borders it is very important to have a backup of all the data that one transmits. Data is power, data is money, data can save businesses millions of dollars if stored and retrieved at the right moment.  Since data is so important it is important that all important information is stored not only on your personal computer but also online on a safe virtual location.

There are numerous technology companies that offer online computer backup facilities to those who are interested in safeguarding their data. One of the most hassle free service providers is Carbonite a company that makes it so easy to back your valuable data such as word documents, emails, excel spreadsheets, and any other user files. The best part abour Carbonite's online backup service is that it is automatic. The software once set up will automatically backup all the important files from your computer to one of its servers located in highly secure, state-of-the-art data centers. The software works hard to protect your data. This backup happens whenever your computer is connected to the internet. Carbonite works on both PC and Mac platforms so wherever your data is it is safely backed up. Last but not the least, there is unlimited storage space for your data. You can retrieve your files anytime you wish to from anywhere in the world, using any device, laptop computer, desktop, internet-enabled mobile phone, tablet devices such as iPad, etc. Apps for your mobile phone, iPad or any other handheld device is free.

Right Now Carbonite is offering a great deal. Use the discount code BLOGAD and get two months free with purchase of an annual storage plan. You can try Carbonite free for 15 days and decide if it works for you. With all these facilities I am definitely going to try it and I am pretty sure it works well for my business.

Happy Krishna Janmashtami

Today is Krishna Janmashtami... the birthday of Lord Krishna the supreme personality Godhead. If I were in India with my parents we would have celebrated the festival in a traditional way, but I am here in the US where the only festival celebrated is Christmas. Well you give some to get some....

This is the greeting card I received online from JK YOG a leading Hindu Non-Profit group here in the DFW area.

A Unique App to Protect Your Mobile Phone!!!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Sprint for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Today's mobile phones are small computers with immense capabilities. The accidental or deliberate loss of one's cell phone can lead to enormous amount of loss both in terms of data and finances. First off modern smart phones are expensive to purchase and then if after spending hundreds of dollars you lose the phone it is devastating. Secondly phones contain valuable information from important telephone numbers, email, banking passwords, and other sensitive personal data. Given this kind of importance that a cellphone holds doesn't it become a necessity to somehow protect it from loss, damage, or theft?

One cellphone service provider has found it relevant to develop and deploy a mobile app that will help protect their subscriber's telephone and data from theft, loss and/ or damage. Yes Sprint Telecom has introduced a new app for Android, Blackberry and other select feature phones. The app aptly named Sprint Total Equipment Protection App enables you to perform several tasks such as: locating a missing phone, sync contacts, remote wipe phone memory, remote lock the phone, sound an audible alarm so you can find the phone. This app is available for all Sprint Total Equipment Protection subscribers at no additional cost.

If you are a Sprint Total Equipment Protection subscriber this app will make your life a lot easier, you will not have to fear losing your phone or the data contained within it. You can be rest assured that your phone and data are secure with Sprint. If you are one of those who suspects everything that comes out of a big corporation you can just check it out online and download the app. You have till the end of this month (August 30) to add the feature to your current phone. After that the open enrollment closes and god knows how much longer you will have to wait and how much you might have to pay to get the same service. If you enroll now and by chance you lose your phone , you don't have to worry. You will get a replacement phone. This offer is good even if your phone gets damaged, malfunctions, even after the warranty expires.
Still not convinced Check out the Youtube Video about the app and its features.


All these and more benefits are available for Sprint customers for a small fee of $8 per month. What are you waiting for? Enroll now by visiting http://www.tepenroll.com.

Summer Burns Texas

It is almost a week since I returned to the US and I feel as if I am melting in the triple digit temperatures of Texas. The day I returned it seemed as if Gods had taken pity and cooled it down with a small shower. Then the sun came back with vengeance and it has been in the 100s ever since.

Today the sun burned a steady 104 degrees F making it feel more like 114. This is not the hottest day... if the weatherman is to be believed tomorrow the mercury is going to rise to 107 with partly cloudy forecast. Clouds don't mean rain but more heat because heat gets trapped underneath the clouds and above the earth's surface making it searing hot.

If there is one season I don't like it is searing hot summers in Texas. I can take icy cold when temperature dips to a negative 5 or 10, but when mercury rises to triple digit heat that is when I get extremely uncomfortable. When it gets cold I can cover up with more and more layers but in the heat there is only that many layers I can shed.

I just hope that summer passes off soon giving way to the nice two months of the year, i.e. fall.

Happy Independence Day 2011

Image courtesy Rumela.com
Here is a wish to all my compatriots from India.

Wherever you live,
whatever you do,
whichever nation you are a citizen of....
remember your roots are always in India
Celebrate today - the independence day
a day for which thousands of valiant souls
left their mortal bodies in the face of
enemy bullets and gifted the nation
FREEDOM

Travel Deals to make you hit the road!

I love to travel by any means of transport to any kind of location. From scorching deserts to freezing mountains, burning volcanoes to the cool beaches, dangerous war zones to comfortable resort style holidays, every kind of destination appeals to me. While travel is a great benefit for the soul, it can prove to be a big set back for your savings. Travel costs money and comfortable travel costs more.

One of the biggest costs during a holiday is the stay. Hotel accommodations are usually expensive, irrespective of whichever part of the world you are traveling. The hotel managements know that you are not from the area and try to make a fast buck out of you. They did get away with this kind of practice till about recently when internet opened up a new bargaining platform for travelers and hoteliers.

New age entrepreneurs passionate about travel have promoted websites that offer Cheap Hotel Rates to ardent travel enthusiasts. This kind of websites enable holiday makers and vacationers to visit places and still not burn a hole in their wallets and pockets.

The rationale of this website is simple, combine a large number of hotel offerings and provide discounted options to travelers. This site is one online place where one can find great travel deals, book low rate rooms in comfortable hotels. The best thing is that you can also combine room, airfare and car rental to get wonderful deals. The net result is savings of hundreds of dollars for you so you can extend your stay or say travel to another destination. If something comes up in the last moment and you can't go, don't worry there is no cancellation charge.

The deal can't get any better.

My Bangalore visit so far....

This time my visit home, to Bangalore has been limited to staying at home watching TV and going to the movies. I watched two movies Singam and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. Apart from this I haven't done anything much. I have couple of weeks more to stay in Bangalore and I hope I can accomplish somethings that I haven't been able to in the past two. Let us see only time can tell. I wonder if things turn out well or if they turn out in such a way as to prove my worst fears once again. I don't know only time can tell...

Accessories for your Harley Davidson

America has a few non-negotiable icons. One of them is the legendary Harley Davidson Motorcycle, the dream machine of every biker in the world. The motorcycle is one of the most popular, desired and revered two wheeled steed in the US. During my short stay in the Texas, US I have come across several ardent bikers who own a harley and spend thousands dollars not only to buy one but to add accessories.

While browsing the internet I found this website that is solely selling harley-davidson accessories at discounted prices. They site is an ideal place to purchase everything that can be added onto your Harley Davidson motorcycle to make it look and feel better and more utilitarian. Things like touring bags can be added to carry stuff on long rides.

The site is user friendly and one can browse by model to find the exact part to fit into the motorcycle. Each model has numerous accessories that fit in as if it were stock equipment. The net result, your motorcycle will look even better and the next time you hit the road on your favorite set of wheels you can be sure to attract several envious and admiring stares.

For a short time they are also offering free shipping on all orders.