The Apple Google Conundrum

"The Google Apple war will be the defining battle of the industry", said Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Google, in a recent interview. Also, Gartner’s Q2 Mobile sales unit report suggests that in the past quarter, 64.1% of the mobile devices sold were running on Google’s Android compared to a relatively measly 18.8% running on Apple’s iOS. This is a huge disparity and a gap that I don’t expect Apple to close down anywhere in the near future.

This makes me wonder, is Apple vs Google really as big as it is being made out to be? The numbers clearly state otherwise with Android running over Apple, and it isn’t even close. Eric Schmidt also suggested that four android devices are sold for every apple device, and also, Android should be running on around a billion devices within a year. Apple may have won the patent war against Samsung, but I don’t see it running Google close in this war, unless it decides to let other devices use its iOS. India winning the Football World Cup has a better chance than that happening.

A more logical way of looking at this “battle” will be this –

• Apple’s iPhone will win the battle in terms of handset sales against most of the other providers, except for Samsung which might give it some tough competition.
• Apple’s iOS stands no chance of going head to head with Android.

Once Apple learns to live with the fact that there will never be an Apple Monopoly, and concentrates on making better products, minus the regular fiascos (Read antenna issues in iPhone 4 and the infamous iOS Maps in iPhone 5), the world will be a better place. And Google, It can just go on doing its thing, for it really has nothing to fear.

How Not to Waste Time in Meetings?

Meetings. There are two kinds of meetings, as BusinessDictionary.com puts it.

1) Organizational Meeting, i.e. Board Meetings and Annual General Meetings, mostly involving the Senior Management and Shareholders

2) Operational Meeting, i.e. the ad hoc meetings , involving the management and the employees.

Organizational meetings are essential, as they are responsible for giving direction and building strategy for the future growth of a firm. It is the Operational meetings, that I have a problem with.

I am sure there must have been a time for any working person, when he/she is sitting through a meeting, with their mind wandering away and thinking “What am I doing here”. Don’t worry, you are absolutely right to think that way, as you could indeed be sitting either at your own desk, doing some much more productive work or better, sleeping in your house.

Meetings take up an obscene amount of your working hours. Higher your position, more the time one spends in meetings. The issue being, this doesn’t just eat up your working hours, It extends it. Also, with increasing amount of time being wasted, one also ends up lagging behind their actual tasks for the day. This would eventually lead to another “review” meeting, and henceforth. A vicious cycle, which more often than not leads to reduction in productivity.

People often think that having a 2 hour meeting to review employees, delegate work, use business jargons and of course, fix the next meeting is extremely effective and gets the job done. But It doesn’t. I don’t mean to say that meetings are a strict no, but there are certain things that could be done better , giving the meetings an actual meaning.

- Do not invite people who are not expected to make any contribution to the meeting. 2 things that happen due to such invitees are, one, they just sit through the meeting happily biding away time and procrastinating their actual work. Two, they give their “expert” opinions, which more often than not leads to a muddled discussion.

- Set a time limit, Stick to it. Often, meetings do not have a set time schedule. They extend from minutes to hours, and even after that, there is no consensus reached. Isn’t it much better, if the meeting is scheduled for a fixed time limit, giving the attendees a proper chance to put across their points, rather than meandering aimlessly over 2-3 hours.

- Even if the agenda of the meeting is not met over the fixed time limit, end the meeting after the set time.

- Stick to the Agenda, and don’t include a number of topics to be discussed in the same meeting. This will automatically reduce the number of attendees and the time of the meeting.

- Do not review already discussed items for people turning up late. It was their fault and hence, let them regret it (Or do they?).

- Always go prepared to a meeting. This will ensure you don’t ramble , trying to make up points on the fly, and also that you finish your meeting on time.

- Strictly no phones, tablets, PDAs or laptops, except for the one being used for a presentation maybe. People interrupting or diverting their attention are not just disinterested, but they are also devaluing the meeting

- Address the expectation of the meeting right at the beginning, and finish it with a proper set of tasks assigned to the attendees. Make Every Meeting Count.

- Don’t dwell in the past. Do not discuss issues that had arisen in the previous meetings. It will only prolong the meeting without actually moving forward. Have a fresh start. Always.

It’s actually not hard. But, If these simple set of rules are followed, meetings will actually be productive and not just an excuse to while away time in Office. As I said earlier too, you could instead be sleeping in your own cozy bed. Take your pick people.

Happy Birthday Kallis

Jacques Kallis is 37 years and 1 day old today. He is most certainly in the twilight of his career, with perhaps two and a half more years left in his tank. But, as he himself proclaimed, he is probably in the form of his life and opposition must be afraid, very afraid. Being among my favourite players, I thought this would be a good time to have a look back at the value he has added to the South African team over the years, and of course, will continue adding in the coming few years.

Kallis, As a Batsman:

Cricketing experts often talk about how a batsman has to be “In the Zone”. If anyone wants to know what that exactly means, just watch a Jacques Kallis innings. Concentration personified. Among the contemporaries, only Rahul Dravid and Shivnarine Chanderpaul can lay claim to being as good as him in this aspect. His expressionless face while batting, especially in tests, almost gives you the impression that he is bored of blunting down the bowling attacks that are thrown at him. But, that is just him being In the Zone. 24000 runs and 60 centuries at the international level, a testimony to his concentration prowess. For the kind of batsman Kallis is, it is pretty hard to digest that he has scored just two doubles in tests, first of which came only in 2010. I predict a few more in the coming years though.

Kallis, As a Bowler :

Running in at 37 years of age, bowling consistently at around 140 kmph is in itself worth massive respect. Kallis, known for his deceptively quick bouncers has been South Africa’s 3rd/ 4th seamer right from 1996. For a team which has given us bowlers like Allan Donald, Brian McMillan, Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and the current phenomenon, Vernon Philander, it is a tremendous achievement to be able to hang out with them, in addition to shouldering the bulk of batting responsibilities. He has 550 international wickets to his name, which clearly suggests he is good enough to be even the 2nd/3rd seamer for most international sides in cricket. Maybe, even the lead seamer.

Kallis, As an All-Rounder:

Time to give a close look at stats. Kallis has 12500 runs in Test cricket. Pretty close to Sachin, Ponting and Dravid , and more than Lara, Jayawardena, Allan Border and Steve Waugh.

Kallis has 270 test wickets. Hanging out with likes of Steyn, Anderson, Zaheer Khan among contemporaries and Alec Bedser, Derek Underwood, Joel Garner among the legends.

He has 187 catches in test cricket, hanging out with players like Dravid, Ponting, Jayawardena, Mark Waugh etc, among the best slippers.

That would mean, you put a Ponting, Zaheer Khan and Jayawardena together, you get Jacques Kallis. That’s the colossal value a player like Kallis adds to the South African team.

If numbers were the sole measure of greatness in Cricket, Jacques Kallis is untouchable. He is undoubtedly the greatest cricketer to have set foot on planet earth. Though, that might be a bit exaggerated, Kallis is quite easily the best all-rounder of this generation, and also one of the legends of the game.

Yess !! I am the best !!

Best Allrounder ever? There is a raging debate on whether he is as good as Sir Garfield Sobers. Different people have different opinions on this. Personally, by the time Kallis hangs his boots, he might just sneak ahead of Sobers in the race to the title. He is just that damn good.

Strangelets - Dangerously Strange !!

Strangelets. That would sound strange to most of you, but what If I told you it could be one of the less realistic doomsday scenario. Less realistic, but realistic alright. I wasn’t aware of these strange particles till recently, when I came across it in one of my random Internet searches.

So, what are Strangelets? They are fragments of “strange matter”, which is a hypothetical form of quark (i.e. fundamental constituent of matter) matter, that contains an equal number of up, down and strange quarks. It is also supposedly more stable than an ordinary nuclei.

How is it possibly dangerous? Strangelets are created at low energies and are stable only at low temperatures. Though particle accelerators like CERN’s Large Hadron Collider operate at very higher energies than any previous similar attempts, there still might be a possibility of Strangelet creation within the collider. This strangelet or “strange matter” when comes in contact with a nucleus, It gets converted into strange matter as well. Though, the strange matter decays in microseconds, In ideal, suitable conditions, this would give way to a chain reaction where everything the strangelet comes in contact with , turns into strange matter. This will continue till the entire earth turns into one huge lump of strange matter.

Artist's impression of how a Strange Earth could look like

As far-fetched as it may sound, Scientists believe it is theoretically possible. Scientists also believe that a Strangelet Earth will not have conditions hospitable enough for human life to survive. So, In future, If you find something strange about the terrain around you, book your tickets and shoot your way to the Moon.

P.S - Apologies for any scientific inaccuracies. 

Rahul Dravid - The Legend who wasn't

Exhibit A: October 2004: Nagpur – India

India vs Australia, on a green pitch. Yes, the very same game in which Saurav Ganguly famously sat out. India were 70 odd with 4 down, Rahul Dravid and Mohammed Kaif slugging it out against a marauding Glenn McGrath. During the course of partnership, Dravid, who himself was struggling for form, apparently said to Kaif, that he will face McGrath from this end, and let Kaif face the relatively easier Warne. Reason – Him being the senior player, he felt he had the experience to handle McGrath, and if they saw through this mini session, they had a chance of building a good partnership. Dravid eventually was caught at first slip of McGrath after 6 consecutive maidens. The scorecard would show an ugly 21 of 140 balls, but there was much more to the innings than just Strike Rate.

Exhibit B: July 2006 – Sabina Park –Kingston, Jamaica

India vs West Indies, on a minefield of a pitch. The pitch was 2 paced, variable bounce and everything else that made a pitch nearly unplayable. Wickets were tumbling for fun. In a pitch where everyone failed, there was one certain Rahul Dravid, who carved out a couple of epic half centuries , 81 and 68.  And In the end, India managed to post a comprehensive victory by 49 runs, and hence post their first series win in the West Indies since 1971.

Exhibit C: August 2011 – England

After a 4-0 drubbing and a spate of Injuries, It was time for the ODI series. India were hoping to redeem themselves. The ODI squad was announced, and surprise !! Rahul Dravid was named in the squad. Dravid was dropped rather unceremoniously from the ODI set up in 2007, and had been recalled and dropped at will henceforth a couple of times. For the treatment meted out to him by the selectors, he had every right to not play the ODI series. But, being the Gentleman he is, he duly accepted the selection and announced retirement from ODI’s effective from after the series.

Rahul Dravid is remembered for quite a few memorable innings, spread across his illustrious career, but the above mentioned are some of the main reasons why he will be missed by Indian Cricket, and even Cricket as a whole. Dravid was not just a cricketer, he was a model cricketer.

I personally feel it would diminish his legacy if he is remembered only for his monumental innings, and his amazing exploits overseas for India. Great players score heaps of runs, pick up hoards of wickets. Legends do much more. Dravid is a Legend. His contribution towards Indian cricket goes way beyond the 22,000 runs he has scored or the hundreds of catches he has pouched. Right from keeping wickets to give the team that 7 batsmen and 4 bowlers balance, which continues till date, to selflessly opening the innings in England because Gambhir was injured.

Even his retirement was typical of the man. He was not someone who enjoyed much fanfare and adulation. For all he had done for Indian cricket, he deserved a retirement match, played before a full crowd, with him walking back to the pavilion one final time amidst huge applause and a standing ovation. But Dravid decided to call it a day, few weeks after the Australian tour through a press conference. He realized age was not on his side, and following the 2 disastrous overseas tour, it was time to blood youngsters. He could have played one more match, but as he himself said, It did not make sense to him.

There will always be the debate on where does Rahul Dravid stand among the greatest batsmen of all time. I haven’t had the opportunity to watch some of the all time greats like Don Bradman, Viv Richards, Sunil Gavaskar, Len Hutton, Everton Weekes, Javed Miandad etc , but I am quite certain Dravid was good enough to be able to hang out with these legends.  Among the contemporary greats, Dravid would be right in the upper echelon, along with Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis.

The next big question to have arisen post his retirement, Who will be the next Rahul Dravid? For which, I would like to say , there will be no next Rahul Dravid. Yes, India will find a new No.3 batsman, they almost have in Cheteshwar Pujara, who will be big for Indian Test Cricket in the coming years. But, No one can replace the man Rahul Dravid.

Thank You Rahul Dravid for leaving behind a legacy that has enriched the game. You will be missed.

This Blog FTW !!!

Internet Lingo. It is a language created by and for the netizens to be able to convey their emotions with a few keystrokes. It started off small and with a purpose, but it has expanded to gargantuan proportions. Big enough for Oxford to consider mass-printing a Lingotionary.

Certain abbreviations though have become so redundant, that people often use them just for the lulz (more on that later), and they actually might mean something slightly different from what it is intended to mean.

So, here is looking at certain commonly used lingos and their actual meanings

LOL – Laugh Out Loud (OR) your joke was not funny. Can also be used to end conversations.

ROFL – Rolling on the floor laughing (OR) Alright, you tried, Full marks for the attempt

LMAO – Laughing my Ass out (OR) That was a decent joke, and I think I smirked

ROFLMAO – Rolling on the floor laughing my Ass out (OR) Good one, my facial muscles had a mini workout.

AFK – Away from Keyboard (OR) I got bored midway into our conversation, and hence did not bother replying OR I am a gamer

OMG – Oh my God (OR) I’ve seen it before, but you posted it, so OMG

<3 – Heart , Love (OR) No, this doesn’t mean I Love you, It just means I am cute. Ok, trying to be cute.

BRB – Be Right Back (OR) Why am I talking to you?

BFF – Best Friends Forever (OR) you are my bestestestest buddy, What would I have done without you in my life … Yea Right !!

TTYL – Talk To You Later (OR) See you next summer, you Idiot.

FTW – For The Win (OR) My Team is better than yours, and We will win (Team can be replaced by your favourite player, favourite song, movie, or absolutely anything else that is YOUR favourite)

ILY – I love you (OR) Actually I don’t, but I don’t want to make you feel bad *smirks*

IMHO – In my humble opinion (OR) YOU ARE WRONG AND YOU ARE AN IDIOT.

K – Okay (OR) I am done talking with you.

MWAH – Kiss (OR) This is the closest you will get to being kissed.

N1 – Nice One (OR) I am trying to be good to you, but don’t post such crap again.

OTP – On the Phone (OR) just another excuse to not talk with you

RT – Retweet (OR) I am a nice guy, I always give reference while copying.

SRSLY – Seriously (OR) I am too cool to type 4 more letters.

TC – Take Care (OR) Good Riddance.

XOXO – Hugs and Kisses (OR) I don’t have anything else to reply, but this is the Internet, I have to look cool

Lulz – Slang for LOL (OR) Seriously,, Even for LOL ?? *facepalm*

So, Next time you get LOLed or OTPed while having a friendly chat, this tutorial might come in handy to know what they are actually emoting. Alright then. GTG.  BFN ppl . Oh, Sorry. That would be, Alright then, Got to Go.  Bye for Now people.

2012 T-20 World Cup : Gangnam Style

Afghanistan: Honest triers. Fearless Pathans. Took India very close and were then demolished by Luke Wright, England’s poor attempt at replacing KP. The Afghans are here to stay though. 

Australia: Not sure if Australian Team or Watson and Starc Inc. Destroyed every team in sight (Thank You Watson), before Pakistan gave them a trial by spin, which had them fist pumping on reaching 112. And, then they were clinically put away by the Calypso Kings in the semis despite a captain’s knock by George Bailey. Oh yes, Bailey was their captain.  

Bangladesh:  They were the victims of the Group of death. I fancied Bangladesh to sneak over New Zealand in their group, but first a BMac blitzkrieg and then a Imran Nazir onslaught showed them the exit door. And hence, yet again, Bangladesh faltered to deceive. They have been living with the minnow tag for far too long.

England: Defending Champions. No KP. No semis. The highlight for England in this tournament was most certainly the way they handled the Indian spinners. That was stuff of legends. Few shots were so atrocious that It was impossible to believe that Andy Flower, one of the best players of spin in history was their coach.  After this match, the English practiced so hard to handle spin, that they forgot about pace and Malinga took over. Poor English. They tried. You can’t really blame them

India: Rain. Enough Said (Yes, I am being biased here). Only team to have won 4 matches and not qualified for the Semis, Dismissed their opposition 4 times out of 5 and gave former champions, Pakistan and England their lowest T-20 WC scores. Someone who didn’t watch the WC would ask how on earth did this team not make it to the semis. Well Of Course, It was the rain.

Ireland:  There was only one upset in this tournament and Ireland were a part of it. A lowly ranked Watson and Starc Inc bulldozed the Irish team in their opening fixture. This is being considered as one of the biggest upsets in T20 WC history, with the Dutch beating England coming a distant second. They couldn’t go past the group stage as they could not recover from that huge Upset.

New Zealand: Officially the first team to consider Super Over as shit. They have every right to. They managed to tie two matches from the brink, but were deprived of a win first by Slinga Malinga and then by Chris Gayle. What could have been 2 wins and 1 loss, turned out to be 3 losses for them in their Super Eights group, and the perennial Semi-finalists missed out on their 9^th semi-final in ICC tournaments.

Pakistan: They possibly had the best bowling attack in the tournament. A manic innings from Umar Gul, a mandatory loss to India and a demolition job of Watson and Starc Inc. later, they reached their 4^thconsecutive semis in T20 WC’s. In the semis though they were done in by a committed Sri Lanka and Rangana Herath. Saeed Ajmal was ridiculously good, Emergence of Raza Hassan is something one needs to watch out for.

South Africa:  They had the batsmen to win matches on their own, They had Steyn and Morkel who could win matches on their own. Heck, they had 2 good spinners in Peterson and Botha. They had the most capped T-20 player ever in Albie Morkel. But then, they also had, you know, the C-Word. Lost all 3 matches in their Super Eights group. Urghh..

Sri Lanka: Yet another final. Yet another loss. Cricket South Africa is checking with ICC on procedures to award the Chokers tag to Sri Lanka Cricket Board. They had everything going for them. Perfect run up to the finals (Except for one loss to South Africa,, oops) , a battery of mystery bowlers and home crowd. But the occasion got to them, yet again. You will have your cup soon Lankans

Zimbabwe: Were they in the tournament? Oh yes, I remember, they were the first team to be knocked out of the tournament. That too, before New Zealand, Pakistan, England, West Indies and Bangladesh had even played a single match. I genuinely feel bad for them.

West Indies: And finally, OPPA GANGNAM STYLE. The Champions. The resurgence of the Calypso Kings. They were pre-tournament favourites, and they delivered or what! Gayle, Narine, Bravo, Pollard, Badree, Rampaul ,everyone had their moments. None better than Marlon Samuels though, coming up with an immense innings in the finals. West Indies also came up with the quote of the tournament. “If Jesus Christ could go no wrong and still get crucified, who is Darren Sammy”. Sammy came up with this gem on being asked about proving his critics wrong.

The 2 ladies look amused

Take a bow Champions. The West indies finally have their moment to savour after many tough years.

Andaman Sojourn : Havelock, Finally !!

Day 5. Leave the best for the last they said. And we most kindly obliged. It was time for the Havelock Islands. An early morning ferry was to ship us to Havelock and we almost didn’t oblige. We made it to the jetty just in time, and set off on the last leg of what had been a monumental tour thus far.

Isn't it BEA-utiful !!!

A two and a half hour journey it was, luckily it was through some picturesque sceneries. Numerous Islets, calm waters, flying fish, visit to the Captain’s station and a few games of cards later, we reached the Havelock Jetty. It at first looked like a normal fishing village, with a few small boats and numerous small shops dotting the shoreline. But we were in for a pleasant surprise. Well that’s an understatement.

We were headed for the RadhaNagar beach, which according to locals was rated the 5^th best beach in the world. Not sure which survey they were talking about, but I wouldn’t be surprised If that were to be true. This beach was hands down the most gorgeous and tranquil place I had been to. Dharamshala might give it stiff competition, but Radhanagar Beach it was in the now. It is a sandy beach , with crystal clear water, waves lapping over each other , seducing you into its arms. Not many can resist the temptation and you willingly surrender to its charms.

Taking a walk along the stretch of the beach, with sun beating down, the waves kissing your feet was always one of my dreams. I was living it here which was immensely satisfying. After nearly 3 hours in the water, we made our way to another small beach, an unnamed one. Though It wasn’t as scenic as Radhanagar, but it was beautiful alright. This beach was the ideal place for a couple seeking complete solitude.

We reached the jetty almost an hour before our ship was scheduled to leave. We whiled away some time in a small cargo boat awaiting our last leg of the journey in Andamanese waters. Just when we thought we had seen it all, there was one more gorgeous sight awaiting us. Sunset by Sea. I have seen orange skies before, but never with the sea at the foreground. Sight to behold.  

Finally, yet another tiring but immensely satisfying day was nearing its end. We were just hours away from catching our flight back home. .To encapsulate the experience, There are memories that bring you joy and then there those that bring you peace. Andaman gave us memories that brought us peaceful joy. The one in which the soul sways in harmony with nature.

Andaman Sojourn : Ross, Viper and North Bay

 “Rise and Shine. Get your lazy asses up. Because today is going to be Awesomeness” .

Oh yes, Day 4 of our journey had immense potential to be the best day of the tour thus far. Did it deliver or what. Today’s plan included three islands – Ross Island, Viper Island and North Bay, with lots of scope for water sports.

After the mandatory delays and a hurried breakfast, we went to Andaman Water Sports Complex, from where we had to board our ferry. First stop -> Ross Island, A half an hour journey.

With the Awesome lady Ms.Anuradha Rao.

Ross Island was initially a British settlement, later captured by the Japanese in 1942. The island then had to be evacuated shortly after the Japanese captured it, due to an earthquake. Hence, one can find the ruins of various buildings in the island, reminiscent of the British and Japanese rule. We had about half an hour to spend in this island, before setting sail to the next island. So, off we were walking around the island and clicking photos. It was here where we met a certain Ms.Anuradha Rao. She was a tourist guide, the caretaker of the animals living in the island and AWESOME. The deers, birds and even squirrels responded to her calls almost instantly. She had given names to most of them, and they actually responded if she called them by their names. And what’s more, Arundhata has been doing this for the past 20 years on Ross Island. If that’s not passion, then what else is? Immense Respect goes out to Arundhata Rao. She made our visit to Ross Island all that more worthwhile.

Next stop was Viper Island, which had nothing in it. Yes, Nothing. Viper Island was apparently the place where prisoners from kalapaani who were given a death sentence, were sent to for their hanging. A sincere tip from my side, DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME IN THIS ISLAND if you ever consider visiting Andaman.

Speed Boat.

Third and final stop of the day – North Bay, known for its corals and water sports. It was a half an hour journey from Viper Island. Again, a glass bottom boat took us from the launch to the beach. A plethora of water sports was waiting for us in all readiness. We were bloody excited. We took the banana boat ride twice and a speed boat. Banana boat definitely takes the cake in the “aaj kuch toofani karte hai” meter. Well it wasn’t exactly as adventurous as in the ads, but for someone who doesn’t know swimming it was crazy fun to be thrown of the boat in the middle of the sea. And it was more fun to make your own way back to the shore.

After nearly 2 hours of fun in the water, we made our way back to Port Blair. It was an extremely tiring day. But we still had one day of our tour left, the much talked about Havelock Island was still to be discovered by us. Exhausted but Excited, we hit our beds.

Andaman Sojourn - Tribes and Birds !!

Alright then, moving on to day 3. It was going to be a day to nourish and nurture our intellect. There were visits to three museums lined up in the day and a mandatory beach visit. This time it was going to be Chidiya Tapu, the southernmost point of South Andaman.

So, off we were for breakfast at “Kattabomman”. A wonderful place for anyone missing their idlis and dosas. The first stop was the Anthropological Museum. A small and exquisite museum providing information on the various andamanese tribes, their style of living and their tools and weapons. It was exciting to know that there were nearly 10 tribes still existing in the Andaman Islands out of which the most intriguing has to be the Sentinelese. They are supposedly one of the most reclusive people in the world. They are known to have a history of being hostile towards people trying to establish contact with them. And then there are the Jarawas, who have recently started interacting with the outsiders with even their kids gaining access to regular education.

Next up was the Samudrika Museum. Nothing special, except for a Blue Whale skeleton, well half of it. The rest was information on various aspects of ocean life, some more info on the tribes and a mini aquarium. Final stop before lunch -> Fisheries Museum, which enlightened us about the various aspects of ocean life. If you have a couple of extra hours to while away in Port Blair, you can give these museums a try.

Sunset at Chidiya Tapu

Our next stop was Chidiya Tapu. A beautiful beach, blue waters (This is going to become a norm) but the seabed was rocky, and hence we had to restrict ourselves to the shallow waters.  Chidiya Tapu is known for its sunset, and trust me, It most certainly deserves to be known for its sunset. It was a gorgeous sight. Standing by the seashore, with a slight drizzle trickling from the skies, viewing Orange light fading into the clouds, if that’s not bliss what else is.

It was then back to base and the usual chattering away routine. And Of course, the best was yet to come.  

Andaman Sojourn : Where Blue is Beautiful !

Onto Day 2, and this is where the actual fun begins. Lineup for the day – Mahatma Gandhi National Park -> Red Skin Island.  And also an awesomatic lunch.

Mahatma Gandhi National Park was around an hour’s drive from our base.  After a hurried breakfast (Thanks to an inevitable delay in getting ready), we set off on our adventures for the day. We were taken to a jetty from where we took a ferry to the Red Skin Island which was a one hour long journey. The ferry ride was fun, our eyes feasted on some serene views of the backwaters and mangroves (That is what I think it was). I was half expecting a crocodile to turn up but alas! It was not to be.

When I said serene, this is what I meant !!

We were taken in a glass bottom boat, from the launch to the island. Being glass bottom, we could also see some corals and fishes. Yes, some of the corals were red in colour, though not sure if they were enough to name an island after it. If I had my way, I would name it Green trees Island, as that’s what dominated the terrain there.

Snorkeling , now that was something I really wanted to do, and it was finally showtime . Our boat tickets, included a round of snorkeling.  I was given a mask, and I went along with a guide of course (Damn, why don’t I learn swimming). And, IT WAS BREATHTAKINGLY BEAUTIFUL. Beneath the blue waters, It looks like a completely different world. One that is serene, picturesque, peaceful and I can go on with the adjectives and it still wouldn't do justice to the panorama . The tranquility found under water is definitely unmatched. Being able to touch the extremely smooth corals and fish gave me Goosebumps.  The experience for me was just WOW.

So, after spending some more time in the water, we were headed back to Mahatma Gandhi National Park, near which we had the most fabulous lunch in a dhaba. Back to base, freshened up , took a walk to nearby market, did some shopping, dinner , sleep. A tiring ,yet fulfilling day was done with.

PS : The snorkeling experience was way more beautiful than I have put in words here. Unfortunately, I have still a long way to go before I become “Javed Akhtar” enough to bring out the beauty through words :D