Prem Sagar’s blog

2009 – a fantastic year comes to a close!

Another year comes to a close! First, let me wish you all a fantastic New Year ahead! May all your wishes and dreams turn true!!!

To me, 2009 turned out to be one of my best years so far! Many firsts, many challenges overcome and goals reached, an addition of a cutie-pie in my family (baby girl) and much more!

The most important thing was the birth of my daughter! She was born on 21-Nov-2009. She has changed me forever. My world is now filled with fairy tales! Here is a pic of her.

Financially too, the year has been great. I reached my personal networth goal for 2009 in July itself, aided hugely by the stock market surge. I managed to better my own goal by 33%… inspite of more than expected spending. My yearly savings figure for 2009 stood at 51.6%.

If you kept adding to your folio during the downturn without listening to naysayers, you made a killing. The Nifty in 1 year went from 2959 to 5201, a rise of almost 76%. If you picked your stocks well, you even made 3-5 baggers. My biggest gainers were Yes bank, BEL, LMW, GDL, etc all of which had a high weightage in my folio in addition to Nifty bees and Junior nifty bees. Ever since the Nifty hit P/E of 18+, I had been a seller. In Sept, Nifty P/E hit 22 and I sold almost 40% of my index holdings. However, I am holding onto my individual picks except Yes bank which I had sold during the year.

I had also topped up on term insurance coverage for self and spouse from Aegon Religare. Also invested a bit of money in Aegon Religare Invest Maximizer as I really liked the switch options provided by ULIPs (they are tax free unlike in the case of MF switching). Also, it is one of the cheapest ULIPs in market today. Post June, I have been putting my money into floating rate funds mostly. I am not finding anything attractive enough. And I dont want to put it into the index unless P/E drops below 18. My regular contributions towards PPF, EPF (voluntary), MF’s, etc have continued too.

Professionally, 2009 was a dull year. I was working on things I was not really enjoying doing. And I was free most of the time, and you know what happens to an idle brain. It rots!! But all that is set to change. I am changing project starting Jan 4. Am looking forward to it. (In hindsight, having been free has really helped me get into a lot of extra-curricular activities that I really enjoyed. Also, this phase, I believe has helped mould me into a much better person)

2009 was a fantastic year for extra-curricular activities. Few being cycling, traveling a ton, going on bird watching trips, driving to exotic locales, photographing fantastic landscapes, meeting different people, etc.

A few things that I did in 2009 on my hobby front

1. Purchased D90 Nikon DSLR and added 3 lenses to my kit. 50mm prime, 18-70 and the 70-300VR, all Nikkor lenses.
2. Purchased a Trek 4300 cycle and a ton of accessories.
3. Cycled in Coorg, Ooty and Agumbe in addition to places around Bangalore
4. Birding in Masinagudi, Coonoor, Ooty, Mysore, etc in addition to places around Bangalore like Kanakpura, Ragihalli, Devarabetta, Valley school, GKVK, Jakkur, Manchinebele, Komaghatta, etc.
5. Photography trips to places like Sigandoor, Keladi, Ikkeri, Belur, Halebid, Koodali, Ooty, Bokapuram, Coonoor, Kotagiri, Shimoga, Gopalaswamy betta, etc in addition to places around Bangalore
6. Developed interest in the heritage of our country. Want to explore more forts, temples and ancient buildings in S.India
7. Researched so much about Nilgiris that I can write a book myself. Discovered a few old British trails, alternative routes via forests to places like Doddabetta, Kalhatty falls, etc. Read a ton on Nilgiris. Went on birding trips to almost every corner in and around Ooty. Tried to find out the present day locations of 200 year old paintings. Spoke to tribals. What not. And, also purchased the domain www.neilgherries.com (Old British name for Nilgiris), but havent had the time to set it up.
8. Attended Kalyan Varma’s photography workshop
9. Watched a lot of plays @ Rangashankara and have been bitten by the drama bug ever since.

A few pictures from my portfolio.

A few shots taken during my cycling rides (using compact camera)

Gopalaswamy betta, Kalhatty falls and Ooty

Last weekend, my colleagues and I had gone on a 2 day trip to Masinagudi. We stayed in a place called Forest hills farms and resorts (location is good, place is kinda average). En route, we visited Gopalaswamy betta, Kalhatty falls, etc.

Spoilt by Twitter, I seem to have no patience these days to sit and write a long trip report. So, only a few snaps, nothing more!

The beautiful Kalhatty falls

Himavad Gopalaswamy betta

Himavad Gopalaswamy temple

Himavad Gopalaswamy betta

Cycling scene in Bangalore

Hmm… cycling in Bangalore is picking up fast. I see a lot more cyclists on the road these days. From the expensive Trek’s and Merida’s to the low cost Hero’s and Hercules’, you see them all. Clad in colorful attire complete with gloves and helmets, cylists here are pedaling their way towards a better and healthier Bangalore.

This year has been a wonderful year for cycling. We had the cyclothon. We have our own BBCh races and of course, any weekend, there are riders contemplating between a Nandi hill ride and a Bannerghatta trail ride. Some like Francis and Shreekumar keep planning for their next 1000Km ride. And events like TFN have helped immensely in popularising the sport. Cycling is amongst the most happening things in Bangalore now.

Also, I see a lot of cycling oriented adventure sports ventures springing up. A few that I know are

• Cycling and more
• Muddyboots

And the forums are bubbling with activity.

• Bikezone
• Bangalore bikers club
  

Hmm.. the tribe is growing and carbon footprints are rising! How wonderful it would be if we had dedicated parking and cycling lanes in the city!! I see that happening pretty soon in the near future, at least in Bangalore, at least in a couple of places. (Recently the GGI members managed to convince Forum mall management to allow cyclists in.. way to go!)

Now, isn’t it high time you got a life? Go get a cycle! And use it!

Team Hoyt: What pure love can do!

I don’t get emotional easily. Today I did, after watching this amazing video of a father-son duo.

I am truly amazed and inspired by Dick and his love for his son. I simpy don’t have any more words to describe my thoughts. Watch the video.

And if you liked it, read more here.

Need a pet dog!

Am thinking of getting a small sized pet dog for our family. Please suggest

• any breed that suits the below requirements
• any place in Bangalore that sells pups

Preferable characteristics are

• coat needs to be short and fairly easy to groom
• reasonably active / not lazy
• easy to train
• needs to be energetic. Ability to run beside me during my cycling rides (20-30km cycling) every week
• 1-2 walks per day.
• easy with kids / family
• apartment friendly, medium to small size size

I had always been a dog lover. We had 2-3 stray dogs in our home in Ooty that lived for several years. Also, we had a couple of German shepherds that unfortunately didn’t live for long. Also, I had at different times pet pigeons, cats, etc. I love pets!!! I am not an expert on the breeds. But after a very brief research, here is a list of preferred breeds. Please do help me add to this preferred breed list. Also with the seller information.

• Beagle
• Bull Dog – English , French
• Jack Russel Terrier

Cycling in Neilgherries – part 1

Cycling in Neilgherries (old British spelling for Nilgiris) is fun. The hills and curvy roads amidst lush green landscapes is so much fun for cycling… throw in a blanket of fog and rain, you have an even more interesting setup.

I had travelled to Nilgiris in Sept (18-26). This post is about my cycling experience there. The initial plan was to cycle at least 300Km in Nilgiris, but I fell awfully short of it and cycled just 103 Kms in all those days. Since I was there for birding, photography and a ton of other things, I could manage only 4 rides.

1. Havelock road trail (8Km)
2. Woodhouse – Doddabetta trail (28Km)
3. Kulishola – Marlimund lake trail (14Km)
4. Coonoor – Ooty – Kalhatty ghat – Masinagudi trail (53Km)

The details follow!

Preparation:

• purchased carrier at Wheelsports so that I could carry my DSLR and bag. Also stuff like spare tube, etc.
• purchased poncho, waist pouch and dry sack from Wildcraft (it rained heavily and the dry sack and poncho were very useful)
• quick service of the bike, took puncture kit, allen keys, lubricant, etc
• packed bike into car (i10). An old mattress helped. Folded back seat, put mattress on top, removed front wheel of cycle and put it on the mattress. Easy!

I have marked few cycling trails in the map below. Of these, Havelock trail is cycling trail 1 in map. Wood house is cycling trail 2. Due to restrictions in showing these, I had to draw lines sometimes. Will find a better way to show the route.

View My favorite locns and routes in Nilgiris in a larger map

On 18th, I started @ 6.30am from Bangalore and reached Ooty pretty late @ 3pm owing to my multiple stop overs for birding.  Unpacked cycle quickly and headed out for my first cycling ride in Nilgiris. Boy! I was excited.

The Havelock trail cycle ride:

Date: Sept 18 (4pm-5pm)

The route: Finger post -> Havelock road -> Nawanagar palace -> Merit Inn school -> Stephen’s church -> Woodside school -> Tamizhagam -> Finger post

Distance: Only 8Km.

Weather: Rainy, windy and cold.

Track details: Isolated track, through very thickly wooded forest.

Havelock road is an abandoned road which is slowly disappearing away into oblivion. Post the exit of the British community, it is hardly used. I knew that this road connected to St. Stephens church and that was my motive. To hit Stephens church via Havelock.

This trail is a decent climb through thickly wooded forest, on pebbled and disappearing roads, into isolated and dark stretches amidst giant trees that seem to grow to the sky. At places, you can see moss growing in the middle of the road indicating its infrequent usage. Cycling through this isolated area was scary especially as I was cycling alone and it was already dark by the time I started. It looked like it might rain, but I was prepared. Had a poncho to cover myself and a dry sack for my camera bag containing the Nikon D90.

Initially, it was pretty easy. But at the beginning of Havelock road, the road became steep. The poor roads only made it difficult to stay on the saddle. Adding to it, it started raining. I put the camera bag into the dry sack, tied it to the carrier and continued. A few Kms into my ride, the sack started sliding down and didn’t sit neatly on my carrier at all. Annoyingly, I had to stop often to put it back in place. By now, I had come into deep forest growth and the place was very calm except for the sounds of the forest and that of the rain.

The route was pretty easy without diversions, except at a deserted junction, where I was confused as to which road to take. I just took the one that looked right (indeed I was). At a few places inside the forest trail, the trees are so tall and growth is so thick that you see very little light. Not being the bold adventurer type, naturally I was a bit scared. But going back was no option. I was clear about it.

I just kept pedalling until I reached a deserted gate… that of Nawanagar palace! I heard a Nilgiri Laughing thrush there, but was in no mood for birding though. Stopped there, took a few shots of the place and packed my dry sack again. Pedal!

After a Km or so, I saw the first human being and I felt relieved. Thereafter, it was cool. All downhill through rain and cool weather. Merit Inn came first. Then, Stephen’s Church where I stopped to get a few shots.

Woodside school came later and the area has a bus stop and is crowded. The road deviates here and I took the upper one that leads to Tamizhagam. A nice beautiful stretch. Low traffic, good roads, lot of greenery. I reached home and saw the speedo. Only 8 Kms!! But I felt like I had pedalled atleast 25 Kms. I took more than 1 hour for this ride, but I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I was tired by now, after having driven for 274 Km’s earlier and having cycled in the rain. I was done for the day!

Woodhouse – Doddabetta trail:

Note: The snaps of this ride are sitting on my backup camera’s internal memory. Without the proprietary cable, I am unable to retrieve it. Will have to do without snaps for this one. Sorry!

Date: Sept 20 (12.30 pm – 4 pm)

The route: Finger post -> Tamizhagam road -> Woodside school -> St. Stephen’s church -> Marlimund lake -> Pudumund forest gate -> Woodhouse -> Horticulture farm -> Doddabetta -> back on same route -> Finger post

Distance: 28Km.

Weather: Heavy rain, windy and cold.

Track details: Generally road bike worthy, isolated offroad track from woodhouse through thickly wooded forest.

Woodhouse is an old British structure that is in dilapidated condition in the middle of a forest somewhere after Pudumund and just above Raj Bhavan. This once popular British structure is long since forgotten.

The regular route to Doddabetta is via Kodapmund. As kids (I grew up in Ooty), we had speculated an alternative route that went via Woodhouse to Doddabetta. But none of us were bold enough to cycle into the thick forest regions of woodhouse to find if it ever led to Doddabetta or not. But today, with the help of Google maps and stuff, it is easier to make out that Stephen church is not too far away from Doddabetta via the Woodhouse.. but the route doesnt show on the map.

The plan was to hit Stephens church and from there, Marlimund lake and go to Doddabetta via Woodhouse. I started pretty late at around 12.30. This time I left my heavy DSLR and bag behind after the experience from the Havelock ride. I reached Stephen’s church first which was around 3.4km away. This place had almost become the central point of all my rides. There I realized that my old camera had stopped reading the SD card I had and so, I was left with its 8MB internal memory, or 18 photos of decent quality only. Damn! And adding to my woes, the Kodak camera needs a proprietary cable to retrieve snaps from internal memory. Hence, the 18 snaps of this ride are still in my camera… which explains why I do not have any snaps for this trail. Sorry!

I asked the traffic police and few pedestrians the way to Doddabetta via Woodhouse. None of them knew it and some were confused. They said “you can’t hit Doddabetta via this way”. All pointed me to the regular route. That made me more determined to find this route out.

From there, cycled 3.4 Km to hit the very beautiful Marlimund lake! The lake is like an overhead tank of Ooty and supplies water to a good part of it. You cannot enter the place as it is fenced. (this shot below is from another trip)

Took a shot and turned back to reach the Pudumund forest gate (1.2km back). There I asked a few kids the way to Woodhouse. Excitedly they told me the way, but cautioned that it was very bad and steep to cycle. There is a small church there and a slum. You need to go through it. Cheerily I headed in that direction.

A few minutes later I found myself entering the thick woods. A few kids were excited to see a cyclist wearing a helmet and heading into the woods. A few words with them and after a few Five Stars with them, I chugged on. The road disappeared. Moss and pebbles filled my path. The climb became steeper and I found myself breathing hard and heavy. I was onto grannies! Climb, climb, climb.. only one thought in my mind. At some point, I was so exhausted that I had to stop for breath. After some rest, I realized that I was in the middle of nowhere in a forest where no one would know if something happened to me! Boy, it was scary! Deadly silence of the forest! (I guess I was wrong, it is actually not too far away from Raj Bhavan and Horticulture farm… but you can get deceived into thinking that you are deep into the forest).

I hit some junctions too… all roads being deserted with moss growing in the middle of the roads. I took some obvious choices… based on my study of the map and elevation. And it rained. Heavily! I put on my poncho and continued to cycle…cycle..cycle..take rest.. cycle again until I somehow stumbled upon an old deserted building. One quick inspection and I found that I was directly above Raj Bhavan and at the spot called “Raj Bhavan view point”. It had been inaugurated in 2000 and had never been used I guess. I knew I had missed my way for this route was descending and I was supposed to ascend.. and tracked my way back to the nearest junction and took the other way.

By now, I had done some 3.3kms on the forest cilmb and was panting hard. I had taken about half an hour… I think. The rain was only making it harder.. with my spectacles not being helpful. Water was getting stuck on it and vision was impacted. I had to remove it and ride. And the climb was too much for my legs.. I had to get off the cycle and push. Push I did for a short distance and saw a building… I knew immediately that I had done it. For this was the horticulture farm. Yay!

From there, I cycled to the Doddabetta-Kotagiri junction. And then rode up the Doddabetta peak. It was steep. I tried hard and harder… I did well I think to cycle 90% of the climb. 10% I think I pushed for it was too much for me esp without practise. Amidst rain and some pain in my legs, I reached the top of the Doddabetta peak. A few clicks later, I descended! It was a joyous ride.. zero effort. I took the same route back. Via Woodhouse to Stephen church to Fingerpost. At the end of the ride, I had done 27.9 Kms, but it was more like a 50+Km ride on a normal terrain given the steep climbs and poor roads. This I believe was THE BEST RIDE of the trip! I would have liked a 75Km kinda ride, but did not have the time for a real long ride.

I went home pretty satisfied and happy with the ride! Will have to find a way of getting the 18 snaps in it out!

To be continued… Kulishola-Marlimund trail and Coonoor to Masinagudi ride reports next!