Thoughts @ Amit Gupta

Mumbai Marathon 2009

Mumbai will run again. Run again to show solidarity, unity, a cause and spirit of life. Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon the biggest international marathon in Asia will kick off tomorrow.

This event first held in 2004 has outgrown itself from just being a annual gala sporting event. The event now showcases the spirit of people of Mumbai and India and large. Along with top international athlete who competes for prize and pride, there are whole lots of Indians who run for cause. There will be corporate India running as a team to raise funds for charity as designated by them.

This event is the biggest international event happening after the unfortunate terror attach on Mumbai. And now Mumbai will run to display the strength we have as the country and prove that no one can bring us down.

Sitting miles away physically, my heart goes with all who are running for the cause. Keep running…

Tags: India Insight & Beyond, Marathon 2009, Mumbai

Product offsite at Karjat (Mumbai)

Off-sites trainings are fun and this is my second off-site training camp in People Interactive within six months. Now this is advantage of managing multiple portfolios and slogging.  I got to go out with both software and product offsite to take break from work at makaan.

My last visit to Daman with software team was close to sea and this one at beautiful Karjat near Mumbai. The weather was awesome and it almost rained for our entire stay at karjat.

We had a training, presentations, Jam session, treasure hunt all squeezed within two short days. We were literally awake for two days.

This is a very memorable trip for me to Mumbai itself also. After so long I really got the chance to out and see mumbai city. Before this mumbai to me was only our office and road to airport. This time round Me and my team decided to extend our stay in city for a day more.

Our city tour in taxi include visit to Sidhivinayak, Hazi Ali, Gateway of India, Marine drive and Nariman point.

Waiting at airport for the flight back to Delhi. The guy with lappy is me tring to finish this post

Tags: Daman, fun, Gateway of India, Job, karjat, Mumbai, Product, Rivergate resort, Travel

At last this works

Thanks mayank to bring my site back to life (though the site was down because of him only).  There is so much happened in last 15 days.

a) I have an fantabulous offsite @ riverside resort , Karjat near Mumbai (Amazing place , will upload pics soon)

b) India lost the test to Srilanka

c) Olympics kicked off in China on 08.08.08 and icing on the cake being India winning first individual gold @ olympics (Abhinav Bindra made us all proud by winning a gold)

Tags: Cricket, karjat, Mumbai, olympics, Resort

Fun @ work – Offsite to Daman

Fun @ work takes a new dimension when People Group engineering team has strolled out for the picnic last week. The gyaan sessions seemed to be the coolest thing around. Day one: We headed for resort in Virar (Suburb of Mumbai) for tech presentation to be made by engineering teams.  The event gave opportunity to everyone to come on stage and speak up about the work they’ve been doing and their learning’s. We achieved the very purpose of the get-together KNOWLEGE SHARING. And we end the day with jump in the pool and late night cricket. 

 Day 2: We headed for Daman after a light breakfast. The three and a half hour long journey seemed nothing with everyone having fun on board. Many of us were singing and dancing while quite a few catch up with Ajay Devgan’s flick “Halla Bol”. After having a filling lunch at the beachside in Daman we all rushed to the water park. It was amazing to soak our self and enjoy in thrilling rides of the park. The evening attraction was the wave pool and the rain dance. The day ended with dinner against the vast Arabian ocean as a backdrop with live orchestra playing the hit numbers. We shook our leg till we drop.  

 

Day 3 : It was the day to relax and chill out. After a lazy morning breakfast everyone wanted to take maximum of the last day of our trip. We headed back to Mumbai after the lunch. The spirit doesn’t seem to die though all of us were dead tired. We reached Mumbai late in the evening and everyone carried sweet memories of the trip with them.        

Tags: Daman, Makaan.com, Mumbai, offsite, Travel

Indian Redifined

India has evolved and so does Indian. Hey, I am talking about Indian, the state owned domestic airlines. I was scheduled to fly today morning to Mumbai by 8:00AM flight. As expected the flight was delayed (Still waiting for the final departure time to be announced, As I am writing this at airport).

 

This has now become a standard and not the exception for all airlines to delay departures. But I was talking about something else.

 

I got an unexpected call at 5:45 in morning. This was from call center of the airlines announcing the delay of 1hr 45 Min. I was pleasantly surprised to hear from them (Not because flight is delayed because they saved me from waiting unnecessary at the airport lounge hearing announcements). But my team was not fortunate enough as all of them has already started from their respective places.

 

They but of course were cursing me as I met them at airport at 9:15. But these delays surely exhaust persons before they actually start the day. Fortunately we have planned for the delays and actually we are traveling A DAY IN ADVANCE for our presentation tomorrow

Tags: Airlines, India Insight & Beyond, Mumbai, Travel

Waiting in the Wings

 We humans always wanted to fly and rule the skies. Modern age has literally brought flying within the reach of common man. With India skies opening up there are airlines that are trying every trick in the book to lure the customers. Good we are flying places.

 

But on the flip side, airports have become crowded and the sky seems to be choked with the air traffic. Scenes at airports are no different from a railway stations. Long queues, delayed flights, frustrated passengers and airline staff carrying a plastic smile with no satisfactory answers to passenger’s query.

 

Flights are delayed because of weather, delayed in coming flights, air traffic congestion, security and what not. But at all time commuters are at the receiving end. At least traveling between Delhi – Mumbai, delayed has become part of the total travel time. Couldn’t recall when I have completed the journey in stipulated time duration.

 

Though fortunately there is up-gradation work going on at both the cities and Infact similar work is been done across airports in the country. I think, this inconvenience is a small price to be gear up and welcome the fliers from across world with open hands and let them feel the real new India.

 

As of now, Thankfully after waiting in the wings for close to an hour, I am cruising at more than 30000 ft above the sea at the speed of 800 Km /hr. Bon Voyage..

Image Credit : iddeals

Tags: Airlines, Delhi, India Insight & Beyond, Lord, Mumbai, Travel

Alien in My Own Country :(

I never felt away in my country. Mumbai over the last few months have been like visiting my backyard. But this visit to our financial capital has left me thinking. This trip was marred by apprehensions and fear of being a so-called outsider. There has been riot situation across Mumbai where a group of fanatic was out on streets rioting

Mumbai life seems to come to a halt. The nerve of mumbai the local transport was completely broken. It took me 30 min to reach my guesthouse, what would have been a 10 min drive in a taxi. My heart pained more than my legs because this feeling of alien in one’s own country will make any patriotic person cry.

These people who held back the city wanted outsiders to leave. Aren’t these the people who celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi as their biggest festival? Lord Ganesh, As far as my mythological knowledge goes, belongs to Mount Kailash (Not in Mumbai by any chance) and not Mumbai. Would these people move Siddhivinayak out of Mumbai because he’s not born here?

Tags: Mumbai, Public Transport, riots, Taxi