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Posts
- Apr 25, 12
Wunderwaffen enthaupten Völker.
Wunderwaffen bereichern Häupter.
Wunderwaffen graben tiefe Narben.
Wunderwaffen häufen hohe Auszeichnungen,
deshalb bleiben sie auch Wunderwaffen.
Menschen sind Menschen,
bleiben sie deshalb auch wirklich Mensch?(Anonym)
- Feb 15, 12
Arrival at 5.30 a.m. at Jabalpur by overnight bus. Getting off the bus is hard due to a crowd of Tuk Tuk drivers. After a few seconds the crowd calmed down and I found my driver. Breakfast, a short break to change the damaged car against another one and I proceeded to the Balancing Rock. That's a rock that has withstood an earthquake of a magnitude of 6.5.
Next I walked upwards to one temple surrounded by marble rocks everywhere, visited the top of the hill with Madan Mahal Fort and enjoyed the view.
Kachnar City Shiva Temple was next:
It was followed by a big hillside lying temple complex named Pisanhari Madiya Temple.
Another temple visit followed, subsequently.
After that I did a boat tour to see all kinds of marble rocks in different colors. The boat drivers had a impressive imagination what the marble rock structures depict: two fighting children, a car, etc.
Coming back from the boat tour I took one coconut.
Next up the main point of interest: Dhuandhar Falls - they move 500 feet per year.
The day ended with the temple Chausat Yogini where you can get a good view of Bhedhagat.
- Jan 14, 12
The Kite Competition is popular, especially in states of Punjab and Rajasthan. IMT-N has its own mix of Indian culture so a lot joined the Kite Competition. Competition means: Knock the others out. That's real fun!
- Nov 02, 11
Second time Delhi in a week. Arrival on October 29, late evening.
October 30 program was as follows:
- Shri Lakshmi Norain Temple
- Parliament
- Lodi Garden
- India Gate
- Humayun's Tomb (great-great grandfather of Sha Jahan who built Taj Mahal), Humayun was a drinker, thus he died (drunken?) falling from a staircase.
- Lotus Temple
- Lunch
- Qtub Minar
- Oct 28, 11
Arrival at Khajuraho early morning. Checkin at Usha Bandela hotel. Khajuraho is not reachable easily, despite the fact it got a railway station recently. With a taiwanese women I met on train I explored Khajuraho starting at Western Temples. We got a licensed guide who explained us the details of the temples. 25 of 84 temples are partly existent, they all follow a similar design, where ornaments of erotical and war characters embellish the temple outside. Inside there is in some temples a small dancing place but in all can be found a medium sized statue of the reincarnation of a god in direction to the entry. One temple in the South and one smaller group in the East were next up.
After lunch I tried to get a connection from Khajuraho to Delhi for the next day. The local travel agency was unable to help me, the man from the reservation desk at the bus stand smiled to me that nothing would be possible due to Diwali traffic. Finally I got a train from Jhansi and a bus ticket from Khajuraho to Jhansi.
I went by motor bike to Panna National Park and visited two water falls and got an impression of Indian wild life. Blown away from the variety of nature.
- Oct 27, 11
Agra is famous for its Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. INR 750 per foreigner as entry fee is indiscutable. Anyway, a must visit but nothing more special than you expect about this thombstone built by megalomaniac Mugul Sha Jahan for his wife.
City of Agra has no centre point, nor it has any pretty sides at all for me. I visited this day the Baby Taj, a predecessor of the Taj Mahal.
The architectural influence is dominated by Afghan and Iranian concepts. Iranian can be found at a monument Chini Ka Rauza as well.
Afterwards I entered some handicraft shops, marble worker which restorate things for Taj Mahal and do all kinds of other work to sell tourists. Apart from that I have seen carpet workers as well.
The Rickshaw driver I got for the whole day was always chewing tobacco - his teeth were embarrassing black.
I left Agra after dinner to my next destionation: Khajuraho.
- Oct 26, 11
Jaipur, the pink city of more than 3 million people. 40 years ago it was only 100,000. It's a very young, vibrant and uprising city. The color is used to hide the bad condition of the building material. Traffic is a problem in this vibrant city where the modern world and the poor coincide.
First up was city palace, called Chandra Mahal. Jai Singh built this palace along with five observatories in India due to his preference for astronomy. The city plan of 1727 was followed by strict astronomical and scientific principles. Jaipur is thus divided into nine blocks, where main roeads intersect each other rectangularly. Jantar Mantar is a place next to Chandra Mahal where 18 big astronomy tools are located to measure actual time. Impressive which interest Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, founder of Jaipur, had in astronomy.
Jal Mahal the water palace is widely known as a landmark of Jaipur.
Fourth station was Nahargarh to be followed by Ambert Fort. It is famous for its 2nd biggest mirror hall in the world and public audience hall. From Ambert Fort you can see Maota Lake with a Garden.
I did not visit Jaigar Fort which contains the biggest cannon in the world of a total weight of 2,000 tons. The capital of Rajasthan was moved from Amber to Jaipur in 1727 due to reasons of lights.
I celebrated Diwali with a family where I stayed the night on the evening with a couple from New Zealand. They let participate me in starting from the religious ritual of Diwali, crackers and food.
- Oct 25, 11
Arrival at 5.00 a.m. early by overnight train, early checkin at Hotel Basant Inn, two hours rest. First sightseeing location: Umaid Bhawan Palace. 90% of it is a luxurious hotel complex, operated by Taj Hotels and home of Gaj Singh. The remaining part is used for a museum, mainly devoted to the Maharadscha family. Crossing Sardar Market I went to Meherangarh Fort which is really a big and interesting object of architecture. After long walks through Meherangarh Fort I visited the memorial Jaswant Thanda. After lunch on rooftop of a haveli I arranged spontaneously a village tour which started nearby Sardar Market which can easily be intentified with its clocktower.
A pottery was interesting, a family business since generations.
The village safari started with one of the Bishnoi (Bish-noi, 20+9=29) which is founded on 29 rules to live in harmony with nature. Neither the people of Bishnoi kill animals, nor they fell trees. The Bishnoi are one of the most eco-friendly people in the world. The area they live in is similar to a desert climate with very less rainfall. Only in the rainfall season people can do agriculture business.
The background of the Bishnoi is hinduism, a lot of people are converted muslims, former hindus who are not satisfied after their religious change. In the past Bishnoi committed common suicide due to the enforced felling of trees in their area needed for construction of the palace of the Maharadscha. Nowadays the people are very active in trading and distributing opium. The current price is INR 50,000 per kg.
In the rural area schools are located all two to three kilometers a school. India spends a lot on education.
Further on I visited a weaver family which produces everything in a community, 90% of earnings go to the producer family, the remaining 10% to the community of families respectively. The family is provided solar electricity lightning since ten years by government. Some weeks ago it got connected to the public grid, main purpose: lightning. The Indian government is doing a lot to enhance the living condition of people in rural area in its current program.
Back to city of Jodphur I had dinner and visited Sardar Market which was prepared with stunning and all kinds of blinking lights in preparation for Diwali.
Jodhpur is famous for its blue colored houses. It has a cooling effect.
- Oct 24, 11
The overnight train to Jaisalmer was very convenient. I travelled in 3rd AC class, the fellows were very helpful and open minded. Maybe travelling is best experience to learn more about Indian people. Each compartment of a 3rd AC class consists of six berths where three are located on each side. The middle one of each berth can be flapped up during the day. Additionally two berths are located sideways of the other six. Pillow, blanket and sometime a towel are provided. Temperature is slightly cold due to AC. Exit doors of the coaches can be opened at any time. People make use of this to smell the past rushing air during drive of train. Each coach (at least AC classes) has its own attendant.
We arrived in Jaisalmer at 10.55 a.m. on October, 25. Military convoys outlined the horizon around Jaisalmer. The Indian Air Force was present due to orbiting of jet fighters. Reason is obviously the strategic relevance of Jaisalmer next to Pakistan. Seconds after getting of train Rikshaw drivers insisted to offer me their service. After obligatory bargaining I got a drive to Jaisalmer Fort. I bought some sweets to motivate my hunger and walking through the roads of Jaisalmer, next I had my lunch at 8 July, where the majority of guests was formed by foreigners dominated by Germans. mango juice was very good for a price of INR 120. The museum tour was next up. The last visit of a monument in Jaisalmer for this day was one of total three havelis, namely Salim Singh ki Haveli. It was built in 1815 by the Mehta family. Havelis were home for rich merchants of Jaisalmer. Jaisalmer has been in the past an important trading point to connect Pakistan with India. Nowadays it lost its dominance in trading all kinds of goods due to the economical rise of Mumbai. Havlis are similar, differences can be found only in detail. One of the three havelis is now a museum, more on this later. Each haveli follows the idea to have an inner courtyard. Havelis are built in a very special way without any use of cement, glue or any other joining component. The concept is similar to the LEGO system, there are female and male stones. Jaisalmer is a city in a desert, rain will fall only in two months of a year. Hence there are no flowers, not quite because the designers of the havelis created stone flowers which can be put on the edge of the upper balcony. Mentioned should be a dancing room located at the top level of the haveli.
I had to arrange a cab for transfer to The Golden Camp in Sam desert (near Thar desert) where I would stay overnight in a Swiss tent. Mr. Desert was the solution, to provide me a cab immediately. After reaching my camp, the obligatory scan of my passport took place. The camp is owned by a young Indian of an age of under 25. Luckily one friend of him speaks German and Hindi but no English. After checking my room I did the compulsory camel ride. It was not that spectacular than I exptected it. The sunset is main reason why the rush of hundreds of camels with tourist is going at the same time to this place. Reaching the foothills of the Thar desert was touched by children insisted to sell crisps and coke. The garbage is disposed directly in the desert, which leads to the offer of the camel owner to bring me further out to desert for extra charge where no garbage would be. I returned to my respective camp. A spontaneous adventure trip, a jeep night safari was arranged as a special for me and the German speaking friend. It was very exciting to ride over the sand dunes by car, far better than any camel ride. Next up was dinner back at the camp, suited by an entertainment and dance show run by a group of employees from a pharmacy company located in Hyderabad.
Wake up time was 6.30 a.m. on October, 26. Breakfast, return drive to city and visit of Jain temples has been my morning schedule. After lunch I visited the second half of Jain temples which is open for foreigners only for one hour daily. The outstanding two havelis were my afternoon. I met with two girls from Malta and had with them a small meal at a café.
Mr. Desert advised me to visit the lake nearby city and to do a village tour.
The lake ensured the water supply for the city in the past. I went to the ghost village Kuldara (one of total of 84) which suddenly was left by all its inhabitants as a protest to the marriage of the young king with a girl from such a city. Interestingly the building's walls had a high accuracy. This city has been place for production of a new Bollywood movie. Last sightseeing location for this evening was a Jain temple.
The weather is quite hot in this season at noon, nights are slightly fresh. On the rooftops of the houses a fresh wind is noticeable.
Jaisalmer got wind power plants from 2006 onwards. The German procuder Enercon is involved in this CDM project, for details refer project details here. The construction process of high pillars for a new transmission line is in place. The villages out of Jaisalmer are supplied with water supply by on ground pipelines. On ground because of the easier identification of leakages.
- Oct 22, 11
Flight to New Delhi, arrival 2 minutes prior to scheduled arrival. Baggage discharging was faster than I have experienced it ever. I got dropped of from prepaid cab at Counnaught Place and found my travel agency to complete my planned journey. Next I joined the HO HO tourist bus to pass all major sightseeing locations. My train to Jaisalmer left Old Delhi station at 5.30 p.m.
- Oct 03, 11
It's time of festivals in India. Mahatma Ghandi's birthday is 2nd October. In a time period of ten days people celebrate the mythology of their gods. This saga is about gods who fought against the god Rama. On the tenth day god Rama won. This event is celebrated with a big festival which lasts over nine nights. Even the festival committee identified me as a foreigner and wanted feedback how I would like the festival. Very courteous people.
That is reason for all people to are awake late and on the road.In city of Katol a puppets ceremony on stage was played.Due to the fact that a lot of people are on the road, some roads are flanked by a series of dealers who sell everyday life things. In some areas are mostly dominated by food shops. Pineapple with salt has a special taste."Jai Shri Ram!" sounds most prevalent over the place in front of the stage.Get an impression by watching the clip.Afterwards we went to a Singh Parade, where several meditation centers were placed. People want to find their inner peace. They go around different stations, meditation centres, temples, where women bring plates with coconuts and flowers as gifts in. Finally coconuts are broken up and the peel is burned. This smell is everywhere in the air. - Sep 22, 11
Each mile in India taste of water differs. Each five miles language will be different.
- Sep 21, 11Oranges are in Nagpur green colored. 1 kg for INR 30 (EUR 0.5). Apples are expensive at Nagpur.Getting a SIM card in India is harder than anything else. Eight passport sized photographs cost only INR 60 (EUR 1).Goats, straying dogs as well as cows draw the image of rural area. Roads are mostly used by Honda motor bikes. If you walk on road in city, it is just a question when street children will drag on your clothes for begging.Had dinner at 9th floor (highest place in Napur). Very nice atmosphere and very tasty food. Two people just INR 1400 (EUR 21). Even a DJ tried some recent pop songs.And it seems that IMT campus is connected to public grid again.
- Sep 19, 11We have got power cable from Mumbai today. I am told that it would not be available from Nagpur area.Unrolling process has been accompanied by a lot of people - a prime example how projects are handled in Indian culture.
Second time at Nagpur city. There via IMT bus, back via state bus.
Travel in city has been managed with rickshaws. That needs a lot of bargaining know-how.State bus is different than expected, really better. Ticketing is on bus while driving.I am wondered how a blind man got from city to a village seamlessly. Wow.Ticketing man uses device similar to that one of Deutsche Bahn. Difference: it's much more efficient; reason is mass of Indian people.Closing door mechanism: ticketing man pulls a cord, door closes as well a ring sounds which indicates driver to continue drive.There is no emergency exit. Neither you can get out of the windows. Reason, I think: You can control best one entrance.I think Indian people are most cell phone addicted people I have ever seen. Many people means many cell phones. For that reason you find cell phone repair shops in city. My impression is that they are highly frequented. - Sep 18, 11
Approximately 550 students are enrolled in PGDM program at IMT-N. I am told that these 550 would be out of 300.000.
The cause of being still on generator since a week is a cutoff of a transmission line. The repair is not made up to now due to weather and long distance to city where engineers have to come from. I am told that would be unusual for at least the last two years.
- Sep 17, 11
The more you move southern, the more spicy food will be. Reason: Climate. Spicy food helps to survive in hot climate.
Reason why Indians eat preferably with their hands: They just know better about hygiene of their own hands than of any cutlery. If they know about their cutlery, they will usually use spoons. The color for Indian Rupees comes from Switzerland - for security reasons. But the Swiss man also sold the color to terrorists. They printed Rupees and circulated them. Today I have read some newspaper and compared their structure. National things are more diverse handled than global things (mostly provided by Reuters, Bloomberg and other news agencies).
Newspapers are really cheap over here, more than 200 million editions are printed daily - country world record. Just keep improvements in adult literacy rate in mind. Times of India (most read paper) costs only EUR 3 per month on subscription basis - colored.
Indian conglomerates: national companies doing business almost everywhere.
Kingfisher: flights & beer.
Tata: autos, metals, IT, etc. Most common image of Indian road is dominated by motor bikes. Auto brands are dominated by Tata. There are a lot of Suzuki and Hyundai cars on the road. Most trucks are Tata ones. - Sep 16, 11
First lesson in Indian driving: announce each overtaking with use of horn. If you are going to pass any crossing or so just horn.
Cows are mostly along the roads, occasionally they are on the road. First impression should be corrected: number of cows and straying dogs are roughly the same.
Superintendent of Police Office likes Germans. He is used to wear black sunglasses.
Cab driving through Nagpur has been really funny. You even need a driving license over here in India.
Roads of city are crowded until 1:30 a.m. or so, then Indians go to bed.
You get almost everything a consumer needs for daily life. Supermarket employees will help you with whatever you care about.
- Sep 15, 11
We are at generator again, it seems to be not the usual case but not really special.
Indians are masters at outsourcing. Service people in mess and canteen are external one. The copy center, outsourced; 2 INR for a few copies. There are some guys running over the campus and at floors of hosting facilities with this label of "Dust Blowers" on their shirts.
IMT-N is ranked among #20 of TOP Indian Business schools.
Registration at local police office has just been postponed to tomorrow.
Some short but intensive rain shower seems to occur daily.
- Sep 14, 11
Today I 've got in touch with the campus and its facilities in more detail.
Times for mess are:
Our campus is still on generator due to unstable electricity supply. Maybe some effect of past thunderstorm.
8.00 to 10.00 a.m. breakfast
12.30 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. lunch
5.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m. tea time
8.00 p.m. to 10.00 p.m. dinner Library opens at 9.30 a.m. and closes probably at 1.00 a.m. (at exam times at 4.00 a.m.). Students here are in a time of end term examinations. They will finish them by Sep 24.
One of the examinations is made by a finance company (guess the biggest one over here in India) for placement of students. Tomorrow I have to report to police to comply with local legislation. - Sep 13, 11
First 24h day in India. Started a bit cloudy but warm. I discovered the campus with its facilities and got in touch with people here. First impression: Very open minded and helpful.
In time of a few hours weather changed and a monsun-like thunderstorm began. That means it is as dark as at night. I got warned for the snakes. "Nagpur" has its name from "Nag" (Marathi for cobra) and "pur" (city). Alongside this Nagpur is called Orange City for its famous oranges.
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