Sunday 27 January 2019

Ignite To Inspire

Ignite to inspire is the tagline of Rotaract, the youth wing of Rotarian International. Ghumakkad was invited to address the young minds during their Annual District Conference 'Ignite'. Theme 'Why Join the Navy'. There were more speakers:

  • Ms Bibo Srinivas, Film Producer and owner of bottled water brand Bibo
  • Col Dinanth Singh, MLI
  • Mr Gopinath Mallya, Cheif Locomotive Engineer, SCR
  • Mr Sanjay Thakur, Principal IHM

Speaking to the younger generation is always fun. They were pretty alive and sharp. Some of the questions were:

  • What are the prospects for Naval Architecture
  • Do women get permanent commission
  • After short service commission, what do we do?
A word about the venue. Institute of Hotel Management (IHM) Hyderabad is a government autonomous institution. The campus is very well maintained. Something like military establishments. The corridors even on 2nd floor had green potted plants to give a vibrant look. Not a speck of dirt anywhere. Each Lecture Hall had a name like Empathy, Innovation, Excellence and so on. Hat tip to the senior leadership of the Institute.

Although I could not attend the entire event, am sharing few pictures.






Shaping young minds is our responsibility. Thanks Rotaract for the opportunity.

Thanks for browsing
   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 27th Jan 2019
#ignitetoinspire #rotaract #youthofindia #shapingyoungminds #ihmhyderabad #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh @ghumakkadhb


Friday 25 January 2019

Ghumakkad Nature Quiz #5

Identify the plant.
Guess the flower.
Name the fort.
Have you seen this bird?
And so on.

Starting 2019, Ghumakkad launched a series of online contests for his readers. Idea is to spread the awareness about Nature, wildlife and our heritage. It will also help in knowledge sharing. First three correct answers will get featured in the subsequent contest in the blog. Perhaps we can have an online get together of the Winners at some point of time. The winners are likely to come from anywhere in the world.
Special thanks to Dr Chitra Shanker for being the knowledge resource.

We are at Contest #5.
Identify the Tree.
Here are two more views.
Hint: The tree is blooming now, end-January in Secunderabad India.

First three correct answers get featured in subsequent post. So hurry up and respond!
________________________________ 

Contest No. 4
Winners: None. No body could identify the plant or its flower correctly although the plant is pretty common in gardens around. The correct name is Cyperus Umbrella Plant or Cyperus Umbrella Palm (Cyperus alternifolius). Readers may browse www.gardeningknowhow.com for further details.

Only @AayushiKasliwal and @mpadmashree came close.
__________________________________________ 

Hope you are enjoying the Contest. Do give us ideas to make it more interesting.
Congratulations to all the winners so far.

Thanks for browsing,

    -Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/25th Jan 2019
#nature #wildlife #travel #contest #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #awareness @ghumakkadhb

Thursday 24 January 2019

Women Hiking in Water

Ever hiked in a flowing river? 
For 25 kilometers?
At the bottom of a thousand feet deep Canyon? 
Women hikers on their own.
Waist deep water- challenge for a non-swimmer!
No markers, no guides.
Like to do it? Then read on.




Zion Narrows is hailed as one of the top-5 adventure hikes by NatGeo. Located in Utah USA, Virgin river cuts through the Canyon in a north-south axis. One can hike either N-S (also called top to bottom hike) or S-N called bottom to top. For a complete adventure, hiking the entire Narrows from top to bottom, from Chamberlain Ranch down to Temple of Sinawava is recommended. That's exactly what an all-women team of four hikers did! See the map below.


This is a guest story by Akanksha, Ghumakkad's daughter who hiked the Zion Narrows along with three other women. All of Indian origin and in their thirties had left their husbands and children behind for two days of adventure. Kudos to AbhaAkankshaAnchita and Kiran for doing it!

Pictures courtesy Akanksha. Used with permission.
Akanksha's poetic story in her own words. 
__________________________________________ 

Carrying 20 odd pounds, We set out to hike
The Zion Narrows, which seemed dream like.



Your trail is the river, some 20 feet wide
And the gorge is majestic, a thousand feet steep, dwarfing you, with no place to hide.



Very nervous, not knowing what’s in store
We gave it our best shot, not to shy, but explore.
Four women in our thirties, with only a swimmer amongst us
We stepped into the river, with caution, and a wooden truss.



The water was waist deep, and I was gasping for breath
Will I make it or not, carefully I would tread.



The water was cold and would make you dizzy
But we were well clad, in neoprene socks, a tad bit cozy.



By the river, we pitched our tent,
And the next morning, we set out again.



And what an adventure we had.
We, non-swimmers got dunked, in a pool, deeper than we thought
And started saying our prayers, with loved ones in our thoughts.



Just wanted to get across, across to the other side
And get on with what we started, to finish it right.
Thank God for our swimmer, who pulled us out
Because of whom we are still up and about.
Grateful for coming out alive, we were quiet for a while
But soon gathered our wit and set out in a file.



We finished our hike over two days
With memories in our hearts, which shall forever stay.
Bruises and cuts decorated us all
As we retreated, into nightfall.





Whatever said and done, the canyons are mighty sleek
They leave you in awe when nature starts to speak.



It was a 16-mile walk, a walk in the river
The best I’ve ever walked, One I’ll always remember.
____________________________________________ 

Thanks Akanksha for the gripping story written as a poem. Keep writing and keep hiking!

Ghumakkad had posted another guest story of a hike in the canyon titled 'Coyote Gulch- Hiking in a Stream'. It was written by Nikhil, our grandson then ten-year old. Akanksha the guest author of this story is Nikhil's mother. As they say, talent runs in the genes!

Ghumakkad has also hiked in USA. You may read the story 'Toddler on a Trail' where a two-year old toddler hiked with Ghumakkad around a lake in California.

When Akanksha had sent the pictures of Zion Narrows hike a year ago, one picture caught my eye. It showed how water chisels through solid rocks. I had then created a PQ- picturesque quote using the picture. We end this story with the PQ reproduced below.

Thanks for browsing. Do share your experiences of similar hikes or other adventures.

    -  Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Akanksha Bhargava/ 24th Jan 2019
#zionnarrows #canyon #hikinginwater #womenhikers #adventure #utah #akanksha #ahsknaka #gueststory #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #backpacking #PQ #virginriver

Friday 18 January 2019

Ghumakkad Nature Contest #4

Name the plant.
Guess the flower.
Identify the fort.
Have you seen this bird?
And so on.

Starting 2019, Ghumakkad launched a series of online contests for his readers. It will spread the awareness about Nature, wildlife and our heritage. It will also help in knowledge sharing. First three correct answers will get featured in the subsequent contest in the blog. Perhaps we can have an online get together of the Winners at some point of time. The winners are likely to come from anywhere in the world.
Special thanks to Dr Chitra Shanker for being the knowledge resource.

We are at Contest #4.
Name the Plant.
 Here is another view of the same plant.
Write your answer in the comment field below or on FB/eMail/ Instagram link through which you came to this page.
_________________________________________________ 
Winners of previous Contests are listed below.
Contest #1
Guess the Flower
Correct answer: Bhindi भिन्डी okra flower in our yard in Secunderabad India.
Winners:

  1. Raghu Suryavanshi
  2. Parvathy Gopu
  3. Souravi Roy Sharma

___________________________________________________ 
Contest #2
Guess the Flower

Correct Answer: Tulsi तुलसी. Used for puja in India.
Winners:

  1. Padmashree Radhaswamy
  2. Vinay Prasad
  3. K Jyotsna
________________________________________________

Contest #3
Name the Plant
Correct Answer: Ajwain Patta अजवाइन पत्ता not Ajwain plant.
Winner: None.

Our knowledge resource Chitra Shanker clarified that the plant is Ajwain patta, not Ajwain. Many readers including Padmashree, Jyotsna, Divya Parmar, Subbu Subramaniam, Vanashree identified it as Ajwain. It is Ajwain patta. The plant as featured does not produce ajwain seeds which we use for cooking. Picture of Ajwain plant follows courtesy Chitra Shanker.


Hope you are enjoying the Contest. Do give us ideas to make it more interesting.
Congratulations to all the winners so far.

Thanks for browsing,

    -Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/18th Jan 2019
#nature #wildlife #travel #contest #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #awareness

Wednesday 16 January 2019

Symmetry

We observe Nature's symmetry all around us.
When I took this picture in our yard, I marvelled at the symmetry of the tiny flowers. Then came Pascal's famous quote. My computer science buddies will remember that programming language Pascal is named after Blaise Pascal. Enjoy the PQ.

Few other PQs on flowers are listed below. Just double click on the links.
"Life is like a wild flower" 
Nature teaches us Patience
Saying it with Flowers

Thanks for browsing.
   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/16th Jan 2019

#flowers #nature #pqs #picturesquequotes #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #symmetry

Sunday 13 January 2019

Alumni Make The Brand

It is the alumni who make a college great. Any second thoughts?
Ghumakkad was invited to address the 1st Alumni Reunion of BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus (BPHC). The first batch of 2008-09 passed out in 2012-13. Having attended the Bhumi Pujan à¤­ूमि पूजन - the ground breaking ceremony- of the new campus in 2004, BPHC has that special bond with many of us- Pilani alumni in Hyderabad.

BPHC is located north of Hyderabad in a sprawling 220 acres campus. Set amidst rocks and boulders in an undulating terrain, the campus was teeming with life on 12th Jan 2019. Here is a short video clip of the panorama.

You may browse an earlier picture story about BPHC 'The Campus That Rocks'.

The students had organised a day long Reunion. I thoroughly enjoyed interacting with them. The students as well as young alumni had many questions for us- the older alumni. Sample:
  • How much does CGPA matter in life?
  • What is the relevance of our specialisation to jobs?
  • How do club activities and other events help a student?
  • How can BITS also have live research projects from Defence like the IITs?
  • Should we do the PS-II or the Dissertation? And many more such questions.
The Reunion rounded off with Tambola, live music and bonfire.
Glimpses of latter half of the Reunion.













BPHC had organised many events in the past including a 10K Run in 2014 on the Necklace Road. You may browse the story 'Thrill of a 10K Run'.
You may also browse another story titled 'Convocation Excitement' about BPHC convocation.

We end with a famous quotation by John F Kennedy who had said that "I think the success of any school can be measured by the contribution the alumni make to our national life." 

Thanks for browsing.

  Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/12th Jan 2019

#BITSPilani #alumnipower #campuslife #BPHC #alumnireunion #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb #nationalpride