Bollywood Music Sampler

The Bollywood beats in India rock the radio stations, commercials, and ringtones. They might take some getting used to, but have some really catchy beats. Here are some of my current favorites from recent Bollywood movies:

"Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hai" from Woh Lameh

"Juddai" from Jannat

"Khuda Jaane" from Bachna Ae Haseeno

French India?! - Pondicherry

After being in Hyderabad during the week for the annual optimization summit, about half the team took off to Tamil Nadu to check out Pondicherry, a former French colony in south India. Famous for its beaches, French architecture, and natural beauty, we were all geared up for a relaxing weekend before returning back to Delhi.

We rented two cars and had Divya and Taru zip us around. After gathering the entire group in Chennai, we took the East Coast Road down to Pondicherry, similar to Highway 1 in the US. Pondicherry is gorgeous and one of the best parts about it was how close everything was. We took shelter at the Ginger Hotel on one side of town and got to see the beach and Aurobindo Ashram in the French part of town. It's really interesting to see the contrast between the French, cobblestone part of town and the more Indian side of town.

On our way back to Chennai to get back on Sunday, we stopped in Mahabalipuram, which is known for its beaches and temples. The laid-back way of life and swaying palm trees were things we didn't necessarily want to leave on Sunday, but said goodbye to the heat and sunshine of Tamil Nadu to return for work on Monday.

Blog Photos - Here's a link to my photos of Pondicherry in Google Photos (also links from below).

After being in Hyderabad during the week for the annual optimization summit, about half the team took off to Tamil Nadu to check out Pondicherry, a former French colony in south India. Famous for its beaches, French architecture, and natural beauty, we were all geared up for a relaxing weekend before returning back to Delhi.

We rented two cars and had Divya and Taru zip us around. After gathering the entire group in Chennai, we took the East Coast Road down to Pondicherry, similar to Highway 1 in the US. Pondicherry is gorgeous and one of the best parts about it was how close everything was. We took shelter at the Ginger Hotel on one side of town and got to see the beach and Aurobindo Ashram in the French part of town. It's really interesting to see the contrast between the French, cobblestone part of town and the more Indian side of town.

On our way back to Chennai to get back on Sunday, we stopped in Mahabalipuram, which is known for its beaches and temples. The laid-back way of life and swaying palm trees were things we didn't necessarily want to leave on Sunday, but said goodbye to the heat and sunshine of Tamil Nadu to return for work on Monday.

Blog Photos - Here's a link to my photos of Pondicherry in Google Photos (also links from below).

Let the Games Begin - Beijing 2008

Who's excited? The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games just started today (8/8/08 at 8:08pm). India doesn't have the same kind of obsession that I feel is fairly common in the US. Maybe because their two most popular sports have no Indian representation this year - cricket because they don't have it in the Olympics and field hockey because the Indian team failed to qualify this time around.

Luckily we have pretty good coverage on Indian TV and are also able to access the online channels online thanks to work. I'm excited to see some good races in the pool and lots of records fall. I don't know what it is about the Olympics, but I'm a total sucker for watching hours and hours of coverage (regardless of the sport) and getting *really* fired up with a new sense of patriotism.

In Dharamsala, I saw posters all over the place protesting the Games based on the humanitarian issues in Tibet and the human rights violations. I definitely acknowledge and understand there are a lot of issues that could be worked out, but in the true spirit of the Olympics, it's time for some of the greatest athletic feats in the next few years.

The Outer Himalaya - Nainital

Time for more hill stations. This time it was another road trip to Nainital in Uttarakhand with Mollie, Eric, and Alex all from Hyderabad. We left work on Friday early and set off on our 8 hour car ride with Manbir. We were in for quite the ride - our radio didn't work and had to be fixed in Delhi and then we faced some of the worst roads I've come across in all of India - I felt like we were driving on another planet at times.

Eventually we made it and checked into the Belvedere Palace late at night. Despite some mixed reviews from the crowd, it was actually a nice place and had a good view overlooking the Nainital Lake. We woke up and took a cable car to the Snow Point to see the mountains and look for a short hike. Unsuccessful, we came back and decided to drive to Land's End. We haggled for some horses to take us to three view points and about five minutes into it all, the heavy monsoonal rain decided it was time to get wet. We took refuge in a cafe with some chai and made our way from place to place, seeing some of the most beautiful white clouds ever.

We had dinner and drinks at the Naini Retreat, a great hotel with good food and hookah. The next day we did some more sightseeing to other lake towns (Saattal and Bhutal) before again starting on the 8 hour drive back to Delhi. Apparently the main highway was closed so we had to take a serious detour around 80km on rural roads alongside raw sewage and through some pretty shady areas.

Nonetheless, Nainital was literally a breath of fresh air - away from the crowds and summer tourists, we got to see some great scenary, meet some cool people, and eat some good food. The lakes in Uttarakhand are gorgeous and apparently used to be much bigger before a series of landslides which quicky shrank their size. The road trips from Delhi are a lot of fun, and always present an interesting adventure...not to mention the car games.

Blog Photos - Here's a link to my photos of Nainital in Google Photos (also links from below).