11 February 2016

Mahindra Blazo, #SmartTrucking...

I have never stuck to one travel mode in my travels. Have traveled in the State Road Transports in the Himalayan roads, to the awesome drive on one of the best National Highways of the country Mumbai-Pune expressway. From the country roads on rural Karnataka to the lone deserted roads of Kutch. All that counts for me is my time and the load on my pocket. Remember long traffic jams on the flyovers and highways, when heavy trucks breakdown at mid of the road or when your car broke down at the mid of a lone road and you had a real bad time in finding a garage to fix it. Through different journeys we get to meet different people and get to collect different memories. I still remember one of my bus journeys from Pune back to Mumbai. We were travelling by the Shivaneri bus service, the A/C bus service which plays between Mumbai and Pune. Our bus met with an accident with a truck at the toll. The truck registration number read from my native, when I checked with the driver about his place in Kannada, the person was so touched that I even bothered to speak to him. The littlest joy I could give him when he was really bothered about the incident made my travel memory even more memorable. Every morning I cross a checkpost while going to office, on one side of the road are the trucks which are lined up to clear their permit to enter the city limit, every truck reminds me of that incident. These trucks even make me think of the increasing fuel price which is badly effecting our livelihood. The trucks which carry the market loads and food grains, to the trucks which carry the construction needs, the parcel carrying truck which delivers your online shopped stuff home or the shipping container carrying truck which gets the shipped products made at a way long place from your home to your place, or the milk truck which carries your first meal of the day to the truck which delivers the automotive to the nearest showroom, every mode has been effected. The better the mileage and efficiency of these carriers, better our livelihood could be. 
Check out the all new Mahindra Blazo which promises, 

o Better mileage
o Great fuel economy
o Lesser breakdowns
o Service guarantee at the breakdown point
o Unique modular cylinders for engine gives low maintenance and repair cost
I’m writing this blog post for the #SmartTrucking activity at BlogAdda.

4 February 2016

Bird Watching at Bana!!!

On every drive of ours from Hassan to Mysore, we drop by Bana  or Vana(meaning forest in Kannada) as called by the locals is a wild stretch near Mosale Hosahalli. Every visit of ours gets me to click lots of birds and wild. On one of our recent trip, as we reached the place there was a local woman, she told us to show peacocks but didn't encounter with even one, but got to click some wonderful wild clicks.
Black headed Ibis
Pond Heron

Wood pecker

Moorhen

They looked like Greater Cormorant, not sure though
This Spider web was as big as 2-3 feet.

There were lot of Mushrooms spread over the ground.
It was a day trip to Mysore and on our way back we visited Bana again looking for peacocks. Missed clicking a better view, this was the best I could click. They wander around in the fields and are often chased by the villagers.

A pond Heron which was quite close by and didn't bother our presence
Waterhen
If you are a bird enthusiast and planning a road trip in and around Hassan, do visit this place if time permits, its worth a visit.

30 January 2016

The Bombay Bronx Restaurant, Mumbai

I was at The Bombay Bronx for the Aegon Religare blogger's meet. The restaurant has been designed to give it a typical Bombayya look. Chandeliers of the lunchbox of the famous dabbawalas of Mumbai, also the glass top dinning tables, have dabbas lined up.
The cash counter was given the Bollywood and advertisment look from the 80s. Also one side of the restuarant is given the look of a local train.
The entrance has the painting of a koli women and the upper wall is given the look of EROS International.

The food too included Mumbai street foods along with pizza and Punjabi. For starters we tried Dhokla pakoda, vada pav, cheese balls, most of which were served in Mumbai style too, in paper cones placed inside small buckets. The starters maintained the authentic Mumbai taste in all of them. We also tried pizza, which was served on a grill atop wooden pan.
For main course, we had paneer gobhi with naan, which was served on a small carrom board. A single board is served to each table and everyone on the table can have from the same. The paneer gobhi for me was just ok when compared to the starters. At the bar I tried Aam Panna. It tasted very refreshing and I couldn't resist myself from having 3 of them.
Cost: Rs. 1500 for two people.