In Hyderabad

                When I was handed a posting to Bangalore in the month of September, I was told that I was being sent there on my request and that it was, in-spite of a DIG being posted there as the branch head. So it was hinted that I may be called to handle other cases in nearby branches if the exigencies so called for. I was so eager to get to Bangalore, that I nodded my head to it, without realizing the import of it. On the third day of my reporting to Bangalore, I was called to Hyderabad for an ongoing investigation there. I had to stay put for a fortnight and didn't care for it so much, as Chinni was in the US then and I had nothing to loose, wherever I was. So I was back in Bangalore after that fortnight, life went on as normal and Chinni returned from her trip in November. 

             The second week of November (around the time of Chinni's Birthday) the High Court of AP ordered for another enquiry to be conducted by the Hyderabad Branch against another high profile politician. The deadline for the enquiry was 3 months. And naturally again, my bosses found me to be the most convenient choice to handle such surprise developments. I was asked to report to Hyderabad on the 26th of November and take up the enquiry.
           So me and Chinni decided to travel to Hyderabad together. We took the morning flight and landed in Hyderabad on the 26th morning. I dropped off Chinni at the Police Officers Mess at Banjara Hills and then reported to my Boss at the office. After getting introduced to the nitty-gritties of the case, I was handed a team of officers and bundles of documents to begin with my enquiry. Chinni was not too happy with the idea of staying put in the Police Officers mess, as we anticipated this enquiry would take a long time now. So the next day we moved into our house at Dilsukhnagar. The reason we didnt move into it, in the first place was that, Dad and Mom were out there in the US since August, and the house was kept locked for more than three months now. The very idea of opening the house and having to clean up the whole place first, kept us off. But then the thought of Chinni, having to spend weeks together in the isolation of a guest house, forced us to take the risk. While I was busy with task at hand, Chinni moved into the house and got it all cleaned up. Though lot of kitchen stuff was still there for us to use, we picked up some fresh provisions for the coming few weeks.  It was almost like starting a whole new phase of life. 

            We are now into the fourth week, and no signs of getting relieved from here. The enquiry though has been temporarily 'stayed' by the High Court, but in anticipation of the 'stay' being lifted, I am continuing to hang on. Chinni is busy with her studies and cooking in her spare time. We are spending the weekends at the malls and movies and catching up with friends. While Chinni's classmate hosted us at the Ohri's on one weekend, my batchmate hosted us at the Chiran Fort club the next. Last Sunday was spent at the IMAX, watching Mission Impossible-Ghost Protocol. This weekend, I guess its our turn to host people. Life has been fun but with a tag of temporariness. With the 'stay' on the enquiry still on, and with no signs of it being lifted any soon, I've started to grow a little impatient with nothing much to do here, but for waiting. We want to just go back and start off with our normal lives in Bangalore. Don't know how long its going to take my bosses, to realize that, I can as well do the waiting in Bangalore, along with supervising my branch-work at the same time. The proof that we are just killing time here, is this long post I am writing during office hours : )

1711 !

It's nearly two weeks now since that date, but I felt it still deserved a write up. One week since her arrival from the US... it was Chinni's Birthday. The 16th was just another normal day at office for me... but a lot was going on in the background. Chotu and Sujeet were at home too. We made some small preps for the midnight that was to come. That evening actually Me and Chinni were invited to my DIG's house (who live just next door), for dinner as it was his daughter's Birthday. So we got dressed up went to our next door neighbors. As we finished Dinner and returned home, Chotu and Sujeet got the house decorated as planned, for the other Birthday that was to begin. Chinni was taken by surprise, but I felt it was too early for that. We then spent the rest of the evening looking at some of Chinnis pictures of her US visit on the TV, and as it got closer to midnight, we brought in the Cake and had a short and sweet Cake-Cutting ceremony.

The next morning, it was office as usual again, but I was all engaged with the bigger surprise to be brought in that evening. After all the rush hour co-ordination, I finally returned home from office by about 6 in the evening. Chinni was still not out of her Jet lag and was sleeping. As planned, her surprise just then arrived at the door step. Chotu was too excited seeing and I told him to go wake Chinni up and bring her to the door, with her eyes closed. He did exactly that and as she arrived at the door step.... there it was her new car registered with the number "1711".

Chinni was for sure excited at the new arrival. She grabbed the keys and took to the wheel immediately. After the initial excitement was over, we all got dressed up and left for the "Prasanna Ganapathy Temple" on Kasturba road for the Pooja. After Pooja we all drove in the new car to the Manthri Square for Chinni's Birthday dinner. But then Chotu wanted to watch a movie and so we decided we'll grab some quick dinner at the Food Court and watch TINTIN the movie on 3D at the Inox. Dont know why but... except for Chinni, all of us dozed off in our seats once the movie started. Chotu infact had to be woken up when all of us were leaving. Nevertheless.... it was one memorable Birthday !

Chinni's Home

Yeah! After a 3 month long US sojourn, she's back. The night intervening Thursday and Friday last week, was one busy one. Infact, the morning of Thursaday I was still in Hyderabad on my official visit. Early morning Thursday about 3 am (IST), Chinni made her last call from the US as she was getting on the evening flight from Atlanta to Paris. I woke up that morning and wound up my work in Hyderabad as fast as I could. Had a discussion with my boss on a case under investigation and then Informed him that I had to rush to Bangalore by the evening flight. As I was doing that, I made check on Chinni's flight status as she was just about entering European airspace.

I packed up after lunch and returned to Bangalore by the evening flight. As I was flying, a thought did pass my head, that at that point of time, me and Chinni were both on air, though over different continents altogether. I landed in Bangalore by about 6.30. I drove straight to the supermarket to pick up some last minute stuff before Chinni lands later that night. Dropped all the stuff at home and then drove home to C.V. Raman Nagar to pick up the car from Dad. Brought the Car to the CBI home and then started to arrange the house to welcome Chinni. At about 12 midnight I decided I shud catch some sleep and went to bed. The alarm rang at 2 am, woke up and left for the Airport. The Etihad flight from Abu Dhabi landed on-time at 3.25 am, and I had sent some of my staff to receive Chinni at the Plane itself. After about an hour and a half's wait, Chinni was there. It was great to see her. There was some bad news at the baggage claim. Some of her baggages had got left behind at the Paris Airport. She had to go through some formalities in that regard giving the address for home delivery etc. Once she was done with that, we drove back home and then it was all talking and talking till we hit the bed well after sunrise that morning.

Its three days since she returned now... she hasn't got out of her jet lag yet, and probably asleep even now as I write this blog. She seems to be having some adjustment problems too, to all the noise and traffic around here after a quite and pleasant US stay. May be it'll take some more time to come to terms with the real world ; )

Back in the Mining Pit

It had been quite some time since I toured out of my headquarter now, and work started to feel a little monotonous. So I decided to visit Bellary where we just opened a temporary office in view of the illegal mining investigations in progress. I also had some Investigation work to supervise. So I left for Bellary again by train on the night of the 2nd. After inspecting the new office premises the next morning, the rest of the day was all planning and meetings about how to go about the collection of mining samples the next day.

We left early in the morning the next day from Bellary to the mines in Hospet, along with a big team of about 30 experts. It was a busy and dusty day collecting ore samples form the mines, sampling, packing and sealing them. By the time we actually wound up, it was about 5 in the evening and we were all covered in red soil from top to bottom. We drove back to the guest house and I had a good shower. The District SP and Deputy Commissioner had arranged a nice dinner at the Circuit House later that evening. Once I was done with it, I just had time to rush to the Railway Station to catch the late night train back to Bangalore.

Once I came back to Bangalore, I though it would be work as usual... but it wasn't to be.

The new Avatar

After a six-month wait finally my relieving orders from the State Government arrived on 28^th of August. Somehow it had to coincide with some sensitive information coming-in regarding some illegal immigrants in Bangalore, and I was requested to stick-on for another three days to investigate that. I was thus finally relieved from the Internal Security Division and along with it from the Government of Karnataka on the 3^rd of September 2011 with a short and sweet farewell in the Office Chamber of my ADGP. The final Day was a busy one though. I had to wind up all pending files, instruct the Officers taking them over and pack all by belongings. I thanked and bid goodbye to my colleagues of those five months, took my belongings and left the Office with new dreams and aspirations on the new journey I was about to embark upon.

Chinni had left for the US on 17^th of August and it was nearly 2 weeks now. The last I spoke to her, she was in Vegas with that cash out voucher. She also told me she'd run out of luck soon thereafter. I informed her on phone, that I was planning to report to the CBI Headquarter on the 8^th of September that is Thursday. So after a break of three days at Bangalore, I packed myself and left for New Delhi on the 7^th evening. I halted at the Karnataka Bhavan. The next morning, in a tie and blazer, I reported to the CBI Headquarters at CGO Complex New Delhi and called on the Senior Officers. I had made it clear to CBI authorities, long time back, that I intend to get posted in Bangalore only, for various reasons, of which Chinni’s Post Graduation was one. But when I reported at Delhi, there was still some confusion at the Headquarters regarding my posting. So I made it absolutely clear once again, that I had all planned up in Bangalore and so there’s no other place that I can get posted. Surprisingly enough they did buy my argument and papers began to move to get me posted here. With my good friend and batch mate already posted in the CBI at the Delhi headquarter he played a nice host for the two days of my stay in Delhi. By Friday afternoon my orders of posting to Bangalore as SP CBI, Anti Corruption Branch, Bangalore were ready and I wasted no time in grabbing the orders and taking the very next flight back to Bangalore. There I was back in Bangalore by Saturday evening, my home, and in a new Avathar. I reported to my boss at Bangalore that very evening and just realized that there was some sensational work brewing up at the Bangalore branch. The mining cases that were registered at the Hyderabad branch some time back which even sent a Karnataka Minister behind the bars, required some searches to be conducted in Bellary. This task was handed over to the Bangalore branch and accordingly we left towards Bellary on Sunday afternoon, by road and halted at the Ananthapur Police Guest House that night.

The next morning we left early , by about 4 am towards Bellary and started the searches by 6. The searches were completed amid huge media attention, by afternoon. After lunch, we left towards Bangalore and were back by sunset, to salvage whatever little was left off that Sunday. The next day, Monday was supposed to be the actual beginning of my job in the CBI. But again I was handed over a message in the morning, that my services would be required in Hyderabad for the next fortnight. There were far too many sensational cases in Hyderabad and the branch there was terribly understaffed for the kind of work they were handling. So there I was packed again and on my way to Hyderabad, on the next morning flight. I reported to my Joint Director in Hyderabad and was handed over one of the most sensational cases that was being investigated there. I couldn’t have asked for more.

With the topmost room at the Dilkusha Guesthouse (beside the Raj Bhawan) as a makeshift office and a couple of officers to help the next fortnight was one of the most memorable periods in recent times. I was put up in the Police Officers Mess at Masab Tank. I spent the days at my Temporary Office and the evenings were all mine to explore Hyderabad. So it was all about Biriyanis and Movies for the evenings of the next two weeks. Sujeet was there for most of the time as Company. My batch mate was also the DCP North in Hyderabad. So it was good company all the time.

At the end of the two-week period as I started to feel, it was time to be back in Bangalore, I spoke to my bosses and returned to Bangalore on Tuesday the 27^th Sep. Now that I was coming back to Bangalore to occupy the newly allotted residence, I called for our luggage that was stocked up in Mangalore for the last six months, to be transported to Bangalore. So Wednesday morning I was greated with a truckload of items arrived from Mangalore at the CBI quarter. In the absence of Chinni., Mom, Dad and Bujji had to do the formalities of a small Puja and we then entered the new house. I got some help from Mangalore, as well as the staff here in CBI. They did a real great job in moving all the stuff and placing them at the right places. The next two days were hectic with opening Cartons and cartons of stuff and trying to arrange them to fit to the new house. Meanwhile two sensational mining related cases got registered at the Bangalore branch and I was immediately asked to go to Bellary for fresh searches. With a team of about 15 officers and men we left for Bellary on Sunday afternoon. We conducted the searches on Monday and Tuesday and returned back Home that midnight. It was back to unpacking and arranging the New House again.

On Thursday I got myself a little free from work early and decided to watch the Champions League Twenty 20 match between RCB, Bangalore and New South Wales Blues, Australia, along with a friend. It was not that I was fond of Twenty 20, but more because we got invited by the local ACP who is a good friend of mine, to the VVIP gallery where you are treated to world class hospitality apart from having to watch the match from the ring side. We did have great fun with both the hospitality and the match itself. Chris Gayle for the RCB was at his best that evening (a 92 of 41 balls).

Come Monday and I was to spend most of this week at the Income Tax office, scrutinizing the documents seized by them in their searches relating to Illegal Mining. I had so many of my batch mates and friends there, that, this task turned out to be real enjoyable. I would get one officer do all the scrutiny while I would be supervising the work. Spend time with the Income Tax friends catching up with old times and we’d go out for lunch everyday to some exotic place. The fun week was actually cut short by the visit of the Joint Director from Hyderabad to Bangalore on Thursday to review the progress in Investigation. We had also planned a visit to the Mines in Bellary, for a first hand knowledge, on Friday, along with him and so left to Bellary by the Thursday Night Train. I just realized that I became eligible to travel by 1^st Class AC in the railways, with the latest increase in my scale of Pay, only when I saw the tickets booked by my Office. Though it was a pleasant surprise, the coach was a real disappointment. I had expected much more from the Indian Railways for the fare they charge on 1^st AC. Anyway I did enjoy the railway journey after a long time.

The next day was all travelling throughout the District of Bellary visiting the various Iron Ore mines where National Wealth was plundered by the mining mafia, like there was no tomorrow. Lush green hills and valleys of Sandur and Hospet, were destroyed with absolute contempt, artificial valleys were created running kilometers together… it was all mind boggling. That night we returned back to Bangalore by train again.

It is more than 2 weeks since the luggage arrived from Mangalore now and I have finally finished unpacking and rearranging the new house. It's a wonderful feeling how the house as turned out after two weeks of struggle between work, travelling and arranging the house. Wish Chinni were there too, She would have loved the entire experience as much. Now everything seems to have just fallen place for Chinni’s arrival from her US trip on 11^th of November.

Surprisingly my new job at the CBI was expected to be a low profile one, after the hectic District assignments for nearly six years. But it did not turn out that way. Somehow my entry to the organization began to coincide with some of the most sensational cases getting registered with the CBI. Though I moved to the CBI by choice, somewhere in a corner of my mind I was concerned if I would miss all the attention we got in the Districts. But the way things are presently going here, I don’t think I’ll get an opportunity to miss that part and I guess, I probably couldn't have asked for more.

Bon Voyage!

We returned home from vacation on Saturday and Chinni's tickets for her three month US trip were booked for Tuesday night. So she had precisely three days to unpack all the stuff and pack up once again. So the three days were all about shopping sprees, check lists and deadlines. So Tuesday did come and after a hurried packing and last minute shopping in the rain... we did make it to the airport just in time. We spent some time in the airport after checking in the baggage and shared some last minute talk. The scheduled departure of the flight was actually about 4.40am, early morning on Wednesday. So by about 3am I bid goodbye and drove back home. After a short nap, I woke up and went to the office as usual. 24 hrs later Chinni called up from Atlanta Airport that she'd reached safely.

Its been 10 days now and she's had some good time with a few parties. She seems to be enjoying her stay there. And on my side, I have been trying to catch up with friends and waiting for my relieving orders to the CBI deputation. In fact on Thursday evening it was on some news channels and also in the papers the next morning that I have been relieved. But it was only today that I was formally communicated the orders to relieve me. May be, Monday will be the day I actually get myself relieved now. That could well be my last day into active field policing for a long long time to come. Don't know whats in store... looks promising though.

Touch Down on China

We left Rangpo by about 4pm on Wednesday and started driving towards Gangtok. We were to check in to the Club Mahindra Resort in Gangtok. Now, while at Kalimpong, I had forgotten to check up on the web, as to the exact location of the resort... as there was no power and no charge in the laptop... and now here we were, almost reaching Gangtok without knowing where to go. We tried asking a few passersby in the city but to no avail. We then decided to first go to the Police Guest House, get the location, and then proceed. It was here that we learnt, the resort is popularly known by the name Royal Demazong and not Club Mahindra. So finally after getting the location we reached the resort by about 7.30pm when it was already dark... and even this was not without a few hiccups on the route. We even managed to loose our way in the dark, at one point, and find ourselves at the Central Jail asking if that was the Royal Demazong... only to startle the jail guard ; ))

After checking into the room, we decided to stay put there for the evening after dinner. The next morning was our trip to Nathula. So we decided to retire early and leave early in the morning. But come morning, both of us started to feel so unwell that there was no way we could have made, that demanding a journey. So after waiting for a few hours, we decided we'd drop the plan for the day and have a nice relaxing day in the room. The room also was so nicely located with a splendid view of the Himalayas from the bed.. that we decided to do some justice to it by hanging around in the room for one whole day. We got our meals served to the room and did nothing but relax and watch the hills continuously... get covered and cleared by the misty clouds. We took a short walk around the resort in the evening and got ready for the next days Nathula trip.

It was Friday and our last day of stay in Gangtok. We had to make to Nathula, else we'll be returning back on Saturday. It was a nice clear morning and we packed early and jumped on to the vehicle by 9, to make it to the border before noon. To make it to Nathula one has to have a pass. One of my batch mates is an SP in Gangtok, so she'd arranged for the passes in advance.

As we started our journey and ascent, we had some splendid views of the imposing Himalayas and the Teesta river running down the valleys. But, like nothing can be perfect...the absolutely pathetic roads, kept us from fully savoring the scenic beauty. It was a jerky ride for most of the time.

We halted at the 15th mile check post for a while and just drove past the famous Tsongmo lake as it was totally covered in fog. We decided to halt there during our return. The roads started to get a little better as we got closer to Nathula, but there were some land slides too. There seems to be some serious road widening works in progress and think a journey on this road a year later would be a real dream. So there we were... at about 12.30pm, at the last motorable point at Nathula pass. The altitude here is about 14200 ft above msl and the actual border is a short climb from there for about a few hundred yards.

As I got out of the vehicle I just recalled the last time I was here during my Training in the Academy way back in 2003. In all my enthusiasm back then, I started to run up this short climb to the border and half way through I collapsed falling short of oxygen. When all my friends actually made it to the border with a steady climb, I was the one, who fell short by about a few yards and was rushed to the Military Hospital down below for oxygen. So this time I decided to do it a little easy. As Deepu was enjoying the scenic beauty around, I just sat down on the culvert and took some deep breaths to get acclimatized to the altitude. After a few minutes I started to feel better and me and Deepu took those last few steps towards the border. I started to take those last steps very cautiously, and there we were face to face with the Chinese soldiers. They clicked a few pictures of ours (as a matter of security policy perhaps) and we did the same to them. It was chill, windy and slightly drizzling... but the experience of seeing China from across our borders, had taken over us completely. Though the policy is strictly not to cross the borders, we decided we wouldn't come back from that far, without making it to China. So me and Deepu found the easy way out. We put our hands across the fence and made a quick touch down on Chinese soil. Yesss ! and Mission was accomplished. Off course our Indian Soldier guarding the post there didn't seem too impressed with our (mis)adventure.

Now that I was totally acclimatized to the altitude, we hanged around there for about an hour. Deepu even made calls back home from the phone booth there.

We left the place by about 1.30pm, on the return halted for a few moments at the Tsongmo lake. We again halted at the 15th mile check post, for some steaming Maggi noodles and then proceeded towards Gangtok. We reached Gangtok by almost 5pm.

We went straight to M.G. Marg as suggested by our driver and what a pleasant surprise it was. This is one unique road in the entire country I would say which is more like a European Mall. It is completely vehicle free, tiled end to end, dividers with nicely trimmed flowering plants and benches all along for people to sit. How I wish every city had atleast one street like this.

We quickly went to the souvenir shops and picked up a few gifts. Deepu even picked up some tea cups for all... now that she is going to have only Darjeeling tea. We grabbed some quick snacks at a bakery and made a call to my batch mate if she was available to join us for Dinner. She reached the place by about 7 and we went to a restaurant for dinner. It was some gossip, catching up with academy days. Deepu also had things to share as they were acquainted earlier during our Phase-3 training in Hyderabad and Australia in May 2010. After dinner we bid goodbye to her and then left to the resort for our last night in Gangtok.

Our return flight from Bagdogra (Siliguri) was at 4.20pm on Saturday and the drive from Gangtok to Bagdogra was about 4 hours. So even if we left Gangtok by 9am we would still have about 2 1/2 hrs extra to ourselves. So me and Deepu, after a quick breakfast at the resort and the check-out formalities, decided to make it to the famous Rumtek monastery on the way.

The driver suggested we make a short visit to the Banjakhri falls on the way to the monastery. So we did and our driver surprised us for the second time (after his suggestion to go to Glenary's in Darjeeling). The Banjakhri falls is not just a water fall but a complete theme park with beautiful gardens, bridges and well laid out walking trails and gazebos dotting the green landscape. A must see place, but for us... we were just racing against time. So after a few good pics, we left towards the monastery. We made it to the Monastery by 11.30 and again it was touch and go. The place deserves at least half a day to be spent there but we wound up in about half an hour.

We left the place by 12 and we still had about 3 1/2 hours drive left, and God forbid there was a blockade en route then we were in a soup. With all that, we did halt mid way for a short snack, and our good old friend DP, the SP of Darjeeling was waiting for us along with family, at a Restaurant near the Bagdogra airport to give us a quick lunch and put us on the plane on time. We made it to the restaurant by 3.40 and it started to rain so heavily... I think me and Deepu would remember this lunch for a long time to come. DP had reserved an outdoor gazebo for all of us for the nice picturesque setting, not expecting the rain. But it came so fast and so heavy, and we were in such a hurry... that half of us were literally standing and having our lunch with rain splashing from all directions. The attendants at the restaurant, frantically trying to bring in some umbrellas to protect us. It was all over in 10 mins. We rushed to the airport from there, bid everyone goodbye and were on the plane to Kolkata half drenched in rain. At Kolkata we were on the connecting flight to Bangalore that would have a brief halt in Hyderabad too. Finally landed in Bangalore by about 10.30pm and made it home before midnight. That was one hell of a trip !

Uummhh ! Darjeeling Tea

As we started to drive up the hills from Bagdogra (Siliguri). It was a quick change in the terrain within minutes from the start. After passing through a few Army establishments, we entered the slopes draped with tea and tea all around. We pulled down the windows and enjoyed the cool wind blowing from these slopes.

As we started ascending, the temperature began to drop rapidly. A two hour drive along the winding slopes and we caught sight of a well populated town on one of the peaks. The driver told us, that was Kurseong and that we would be halting at Ambootia tea estate a little below this town for the night.

After another half an hour of this soothing drive we reached an even more beautiful place... the Ambootia Estate Guest house. Without wasting a moment, we dumped our stuff in the rooms and spent the rest of the evening sitting in the lawns enjoying the beautiful evening setting over the slopes, the clouds flowing down the hills and engulfing the entire valley as it got dark.

As we moved into the lounge later in the evening, we were offered some steaming Darjeeling tea in transparent glass cups. We were told this tea was Darjeeling's special and it was to be had with no milk and no sugar. To me it was looking more like champagne in a cup and I wondered how one could have it without milk or even sugar. So I made a reluctant attempt at sipping it. The experience that followed was something that I did not expect. The sweet honey kind of flavor that hits you, as you take the cup closer is just so magical that we begin to wonder that, all that we had so far was not tea at all. Deepu is even more a connoisseur of tea. She was so impressed, she kept asking for more.

Having just a day to halt at this place, the next morning we woke up early, grabbed a quick breakfast and set out for a walk in the estate. The estate manager took us around various places where work was in progres and Deepu even got a hands-on experience in tea plucking.

We spent some time at the tea factory watching the process of manufacture and then tea tasting. After visiting a few scenic spots in the estate we returned to the guest house for lunch.

We were packed by 2pm and left for Darjeeling on a cool and cloudy afternoon. It was a scenic drive up and we reached Darjeeling by about 4.30. The SP here is a batch mate of mine whom we fondly call DP. He had invited us home for dinner that night. So having hardly anytime left to ourselves we dropped our bags at the Police Guest house, Kennilworth and rushed to the Mall road. Some how compared to the Mall roads in Mussoorie and Simla we found this one quite disappointing. But then Deepu decided to explore it on Horse back and so even I had to find one for myself.

After a nice ride on horseback around the town we then explored a little bit of the shopping area on foot. We returned to the room by about 7 and left to the SP's residence by 8.30. It was cold windy and entire Darjeeling was engulfed in a cloud. It started to rain heavily soon after and having nothing much to do outside, we stayed in and had a good meal, catching up, on the good old Academy days and some grape wine on other batch mates. The SP's residence otherwise is located at such a wonderful location that you get a great view of the Golden peaks of Kanchenjunga, during sunrise. So as we left the place after dinner, we decided to come back for breakfast expecting to be just lucky to get a glimpse that magical view.

The next morning we woke up early and we were back at the SP's residence for breakfast and for a view of the Snow capped mountains. But as it was to be in this month of the year, the whole valley was covered in cloud and we could hardly see anything beyond a few hundred yards. The SP's residence also called the Campbell House has another specialty. It was the residence of one Dr Campbell, who in 1839 planted the first tea plant here at the residence and it still survives to this day for visitors to see. Amazing fact ! a tea plant actually survives that long. We enjoyed our breakfast, bid goodbye to the hosts and set out on exploring Darjeeling.

We visted places like the famour St Paul's School (of 'Main Hoon Naa' fame), the the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, the Zoological Park, the Japanese Buddhist Monastery and the Mahakal Mandir. While we were going round the town we came across the Darjeeling toy train chug into the station... and without wasting time we rushed to it and took some good pictures. We even managed to get on to the one hundred year old engine to get a feel of what it is to drive a steam engine... my childhood ambition finally came true, momentarily though.

We returned back to Kennilworth by 4pm, packed up and left for our next halt at Kalimpong. But before we actually left the town, we decided to grab some lunch and our driver suggested we go to this place called Glenary's. Wow! thanks to the driver... this place was amazing. A true relic of the British era and maintained so well that you feel you're in Europe. We loaded lots of stuff at the bakery on the ground floor and had a nice meal on the next, with a beautiful view of Darjeeling covered in cloud. We finally left Darjeeling by about six and started driving towards Kalimpong in heavy rain. By the time we reached Kalimpong, there was a breakdown of one of the power transformers, cutting off power supply to the entire town. So we entered the police guest house in candle light. We were tired and still full with the late lunch. So we decided to retire early with some daal and chawal.

We woke up to a pleasant morning with clear skies and a beautiful view of the hills. But yet, the Kanchenjunga was still evading us with some clouds still on the horizon. We relaxed till late and left after a brunch at 12pm. That was the end of our Darjeeling leg of the vacation. our next destination was Gangtok, Sikkim and we were to make it there by evening. So on our way we just made short visits to a few places around Kalimpong like the Buddhist Monastery, Deolo hill Guest house and an Army Golf course. The Deolo hill gives a magnificent view of Kalimpong but same problem... it is completely covered in cloud this time of the year. The highlight was the golf course. The location and maintenance makes it perhaps one of the most beautiful courses in the world. I don't think there's another one like this with such a majestic backdrop of the Himalayas.

We then started to drive towards Gangtok and at about 4pm we entered the state of Sikkim at Rangpo with the river Teesta separating the two states. We took a break at the tourism hotel on the banks of the river and let the driver and gunman have their lunch. That was the start of our next leg of the vacation.

Oh Kolkata !

It was Saturday the 6th of August. Our flight to Kolkata was booked for the evening. Deepu had a lot of shopping left both for Nathula as well as her forthcoming US trip. Being a working day I had to be at the office and that particular day I had so much work to wind up, I would have needed at least 48 hrs to do some justice. So Deepu decided to accompany me to the office. After dropping me there she would then go ahead with her shopping list. It was about 1 noon and i gave her a call, only find she hadn't still picked a single thing in her list and I still had a hell a lot of work left, especially a presentation to be prepared at the State Intelligence Office. So we decided we'll go out for lunch first and then Deepu can drop me off at the Intelligence office and continue with her shopping while I'm finishing my presentation work.

The plan was to some how get rid of the presentation job by the trip 'bahana' and then rush home to pack for the evening flight. So I did and left the Intel office by 4 pm. Deepu was there to pick me up again. It was raining so bad and Deepu still had to pick up a jacket for her trip. In drenching rain we checked a few places and she finally managed to pick one at the Westside. It was already 5.30 by then and we had to reach home, pack and make it to the airport that is 40kms away by 8.30 pm at the most. We rushed home by 6.30, packed by 7 and jumped into the vehicle asking the driver to take all the shortcuts he knew. After a hell of a ride in pouring rain and through routes that we'd never been, we made it to the airport by 8.20. Took the 9.20 flight and landed in Kolkata just before midnight.

My batchmate and SP of Murshidabad, had arranged for the vehicle and accommodation in Kolkata at the Port Trust guest house. We reached the guest house well past midnight. Apart from being a nice guest house, there's one thing that definitely needs mention here and those are the interiors of the guest house suite. We were at first shocked and later somehow got used to them for the night. I have never seen a more over done interior than that, in my whole life.. the walls filled with Nawabi paintings and every inch of the roof, walls and floor so gaudily done up with Mughal or Nawabi patterns. I am sure no one can spend more than a night in that suite. Luckily for us... that was all that we had too. Our next flight to Bagdogra (Siliguri) was scheduled for afternoon the next day.

It was raining all through the night and we didn't have any trouble catching sleep, especially with the kind of day we had in Bangalore... and despite all the colourful people staring at us from the walls.

The next morning we woke late, had a wonderful continental breakfast and left for the airport. It continued to rain throughout. Though we could have a glimpse of Kolkata only through the dripping glass of the car, it seemed such a dirty city with heaps and heaps of garbage littered all through the length of the route. We spent most of our journey to the airport discussing how this city could be cleaned. I guess we finally gave up.

We took the 2pm flight to Bagdogra and landed there by 4. it was cloudy but no rain and we were greeted by the Police vehicle that came from Darjeeling to pick us up. We got on to it and thus started our journey up towards Darjeeling.

Mission Accomplished

Seven years after a failed attempt to make it to the Indo-China Border at the Nathula Pass, Sikkim (I was still a Bachelor then), myself and Deepu made a touch down on the Chinese soil at Nathula last week.

But before I begin describing the seven days of fun we had on this holiday to the North East last week, there's a lot to be told about the four months that I failed to put up a post here. Once I was out of the district grind, I thought, I'd have more time to myself to indulge in leisure's like blogging. Somehow it wasn't to be. While I did regain the peace-of-mind, that I was longing for... since the last six years...work in the Internal Security Division started to get so Interesting that I was carrying files home everyday and work on them. The division was not only young but also neglected for long, for various reasons. So here I found an opportunity to create systems from scratch, for a young and upcoming organisation. I had an equally energetic and encouraging boss that work became enjoyable after a long long time. So most of the last four months were spent in drafting proposals after proposals and pushing them for sanctions. It has been one of the most creative parts of my career. To my satisfaction, today I see this organisation totally re-organised and working in a very systematic way. There's still a lot to be done though.... I dont know for how long I would continue in this organisation.

Though I kept myself busy with the office and Deepu was with her studies, we did manage to salvage as much fun as possible with the weekends being totally free. Most sunday's we'd spend the mornings preparing breakfast and then cleaning up the house. We'd just drive out in the evenings meeting friends or watching a movie etc. In the first week of June, I was deputed for an Anti-Naxal operation in Chikmagalur. So me and Deepu decided to go there together. She would meet up with her friends there while I am busy with official work and once I am done with the work we decided to overstay and spend some time among the western ghats. We left Bangalore on Monday the 6th and the operation lasted for two days on the 7th and 8th... I left Deepu at Chikmagalur at the Kadur Club, and I had to stay put at Shringeri for those couple of days. Deepu spent the time meeting her friend, the lady wife of the SP Chikmagalur and made a few new friends too. They seemed to have had some fun visiting the peaks and the waterfalls.

That was around the time I was in Shringeri overseeing the Operation and along with a couple of other officers we went up the Manikya Parvatha on a trek. It was raining all along and what a memorable day it was. The western ghats are perhaps one of the worlds most beautiful spots one has to experience, especially during the monsoon.

Once I was done with my Shringeri job, i returned back to Chikmagalur to meet up with Deepu. We had dinner that night at the Sarai resort... perhaps one of the most expensive resorts I have been to so far, and offcourse we were hosted by the SP there. The next day he had arranged for an outing at the Eagle eye resort and also accompanied us with his family. We stayed at the pool villa on the top, overseeing the beautiful lush green valley. The SP from Shimoga also joined us with family for the evening and it was an unforgettable evening with a dinner around camp fire, endless gossip, followed by a game of cards in the room till 2 am. The next morning we left the resort by 12pm and reached Chikmagalur again. Deepu and her friends did some shopping and then left towards Bangalore. On the way we made a visit to an water sports place on the backwaters of a dam and then visited the Belur temple.

We were invited to dinner at the SP's residence in Hassan who are also good friends of ours. So we decided to halt in Hassan for the night after the dinner. Deepu actually suggested we make it to the Gomateshwara statue the next morning, but when morning came somehow none of us were in mood for it. So we decided to hit the road early and make it to Bangalore by lunch. We did reach Bangalore by about 2pm, had lunch at a Chinese restaurant on Cunningham Road and reached home by 4. That was one hell of a week !

These last four months have also been the period of waiting for my Deputation to the CBI. The deputation file that was kept pending for reasons of absence of the CVC, finally got cleared with the CVC getting appointed in the last week of June. Now with the Union Home Ministry also sending letters to the Government of Karnataka to relieve me, it just seems to be a matter of time before I have to leave the Internal Security Division and join the CBI. But I should still say that my stay in the ISD though short has been a very productive and memorable one. At some stage I did in fact, feel that even if the CBI deputation doesn't come through, I would prefer to continue in the ISD for some time, till I see it really function as a professional Anti-Terrorist Unit. After those recent bomb blasts in Mumbai on the 13th of July, all chiefs of the Anti-Terrorist cells in the country were called to the National Investigation Agency, New Delhi, for brain storming on the Investigation. I had this unique opportunity to represent Karnataka and got a taste of discussing issues of National Importance with the best brains in the field. I would forever miss this organisation.

The one more thing that we did during the last four months was to postpone our vacation to North East... on several occasions to ensure that other family members could join us... and on some occasions coz.. work at the ISD just got interesting. But with Deepu finally booking her tickets to the US for her three month long vacation from 17th Aug to Nov... it was like a now or never situation. So the first thing I did was to book the tickets to the North East immediately and then applied for my leave the next day. Accordingly our vacation to the North East was planned from Saturday the 6th of August to the 13th. Deepu would still have three days after return to unpack and pack for her overseas voyage.

Weekend in Mangalore

After a week spent with work and friends in Bangalore, came Good Friday on the 22^nd. As my boss was away, without bothering him too much, I decided to spend the holiday at Bangalore itself. But then Deepu was furious that I didn’t plan my visit to Mangalore in advance so that I could leave Bangalore on Thursday and be with her on Friday. So I quickly made a call to my boss and requested for a day off on Saturday and rushed to book my tickets to Mangalore for Friday evening. Took the evening Volvo to Mangalore, even in the heavy downpour. Reached Mangalore by 6.30 in the morning and woke Deepu up. She was pleased to finally see me. I took a quick nap to catch up with what I lost on my bus journey.

We spent the rest of the day with lots and lots of gossip and planning for the future life in Bangalore. In the evening me and Deepu had decided to go out for dinner to some nice place. That is when we got an invite from the District Forest Officer and his family to join them for dinner at a restaurant. Having no choice, we cancelled our plans of dinner and joined the family for dinner. After a lengthy dinner we returned back home late to straight away hit the bed.

We had actually planned to go to the gym and a game of Badminton on Sunday morning. But with a late night dinner, that was not be. We woke up late, lazed around for some time and had a very light breakfast, planning to have a good lunch somewhere out.

So by 1pm we were dressed and left for Nalapad for lunch. The top floor of the restaurant called the Kadal is a splendid place with great view of the entire Mangalore coastline and the ocean. We had some good Goan seafood and returned back home for a nice nap.

My train ticket for the evening return journey to Bangalore was confirmed and I started packing. Deepu was visibly upset seeing me pack so early. I left home by 7.30pm and I am now on the evening train to Bangalore.

Goodbye ! Mangalore

The last week of December 2010, we had the Gram Panchayat elections. In fact one phase of it was on the eve of the New Year on the 31^st. Post new year, we had the election counting and the ruling party fared pretty well. So once the dust settled down, I was pretty sure there would be a long list of transfers of officers and we kept waiting for that news. As March arrived the rumors began to get stronger that I may be posted to Bangalore city as DCP. I was personally not too happy with that proposal. Somehow I had an aversion to work in the city as DCP, with so many boses breathing down your neck. I had now entered my ninth year of service and got a promotion in my scale of pay as well. This as I saw it, was the right time to leave the State Police and go on a Central Deputation to the Government of India. So I quickly put in my Papers for a Deputation to the Narcotics Control Bureau as the Zonal Director at Bangalore and also to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as the Superintendent of Police at Bangalore. The reason for opting to Bangalore in both these cases was to ensure Deepu could finish off with her Post Graduation as well during this stable period of 4 to 5 years. Meanwhile, as the transfer lists were being prepared at the Government level, I was asked if I were interested in serving as the SP of Shimoga District. Now that I had already put in my name for CBI and made up my mind for the Central Deputation, I expressed my unwillingness regarding the district option. Now that I had made it amply clear that I don’t intend to continue in the State Police for the next 5 years, I expected that I would be allowed to continue at Mangalore till the time my Central Deputation papers are cleared and I get my orders. But that was not to be.

On 20th of Feb, the District administration organised the Mangalore Marathon. Me and Deepu participated in the mini-marathon of 6 kms. For the first time perhaps we saw how Mangalore looked like from the streets. Deepu got to meet P T Usha and the marathon turned out more memorable for reasons other than just running.

Even otherwise, the period from Diwali upto March had been pretty busy and enjoyable as well. We had family and friends visit us regularly. Bujji visited us during the monsoon but decided to stay indoors and relax for most of the time. We had both our Moms and Dads visit us and it was usually temple visits with them, Chotu was there for Dusherra & Diwali and friends kept dropping in at regular intervals. Deepu had thus mastered the art of being the perfect host, which even got mentioned in our farewell function that was to follow.

On the 21^st of March 2011, the transfer list was finally out. As I had expected, my name did not figure in that list and I was not too surprised either as I had informed the Government about my deputation plans. A day passed and to my utter shock there was another transfer order on the 22^nd and I was shifted from Dakshina Kannada to Bangalore as Superintendent of Police, Internal Security Division. This put me in a real spot. Firstly, the Internal security Division though has a very glamorous name, it has absolutely no work profile. Secondly we would have to shift all our set up here in Mangalore to a new place for a temporary period of two months. Thirdly living in Bangalore in posts like these would mean living out on your own without any help compared to all the perks enjoyed in Mangalore. Not that the perks mean anything, but it would definitely take an effort to get used to the new situation. Finally after the truth sank in, we made a plan out. We decided to avail all the joining time that is allowed under the rules and spend some quality time together. Accordingly I handed over charge of SP Dakshina Kannada to the new SP on the 28^th of March 2011 and spent the entire joining time period upto 7^th April at home with Deepu.

It was during this period that India made it to the world cup final. Having nothing to do, we volunteered to make the final match a memorable one for all the officers. Me and Deepu organised a nice party at home for all the officers and families and screened the match on big screen in the lawn. Couldn't have been a better ending to our stay in Mangalore with India's win, crowning the end.

We followed it up with a visit to the Kemmanagundi hill station and the Jungle lodges and resorts in the Bhadra wildlife sanctuary for a couple of days in Chikamagalur.

On the evening of 6^th we were given a good Send-off and I packed my belongings and left for Bangalore by the early morning flight on the 8^th. Deepu had come to the airport to see me off and I promised her that I would take charge and be back soon. So on the morning of 8^th I reported at the Internal Security Division(ISD) and took Charge as the Superintendent of police. The rest of the day was all calling-on senior officers in the city. In the evening, I returned back to the office and when I was leaving, my boss asked me if I was going to Mangalore for the weekend. I said Yes, and he just suggested that I go and also make a visit to a couple of coastal security police stations (which formed part of the ISD) so that I could fly to Mangalore officially. I grabbed the opportunity and flew back to Mangalore the next morning. Deepu was glad to see me back and we spent a long weekend at home together, extending it to Monday to visit the Police Stations. On Monday evening we had an officers families get together dinner at a hotel, hosted by the Commissioner of Police Mangalore. Finally Tuesday did come… I woke up early and took the first flight to Bangalore and reported back to duty.

This week is full of holidays (with Rama Navami, Ambedkar Jayanthi and Mahaveer Jayanthi and then the weekend) but I intend to stay at Bangalore and get some things sorted out, especially the look-out for a new house, the finalization of the CBI deputation etc. May be next week I’ll make another visit to Mangalore and spend some time with Deepu. Till then Deepu also has things planned out at Mangalore. Her driving classes, Salsa classes, yoga, gym and off-course catching up with friends.

Back to base - after Australia

After the return from Australia, it was life as usual. Amar’s wedding was over and I was not a part of the celebrations. I did catch up with some of it on return though. We went around places in Hyderabad for a couple of days and then I returned to Mangalore on the 2^nd of June. I was back on track but with some changes in my job profile. The Police Commissionerate of Mangalore city finally took shape during my absence and the new and the first Police Commissioner of Mangalore city had taken charge. That was around the days when we were in Australia. So this time, when I took charge on return, the City of Mangalore ceased to be under my jurisdiction. It’s always a mixed bag to lose some jurisdiction that way, the upside being that you are that much relieved of the work load but the down side is that you are not that important anymore. Moreover there are the problems of carving out a new unit out of the existing unit. The division of manpower, logistics etc runs into so many issues and this one was no different. Off course we were able to settle the issues quickly.

So from June 2011, I continued as the SP Dakshina Kannada district with just the rural district under my command. The Law & Order responsibilities did decrease considerably, but the office work remained the same and in fact got complicated further because of the division of staff and I had to now work with 50% of them, which meant closer supervision on the work.

Deepu returned from Hyderabad a couple of days later along with Aravind and Lisa. We visited the Kaadumane tea estate at Sakleshpur and then from there Deepu took Aravind and Lisa to Madikeri for a forest Safari. They had a fairly good time out there and returned after a day. We then spent some time at home and after a couple of days Aravind and Lisa left. The monsoon had just begun and we wished they stayed here for some more time.

What followed was perhaps the longest monsoon we’d seen here. Even up to the first week of December it just kept raining. The best part was to sit beside the bedroom window and watch the sea & the changing colors of the Mangalore's horizon.

In the month of September, while all the noise regarding the Commonwealth games was still on, the Queen's Baton relay was passing through the district. So me an Deepu went to the District border at the Shiradi ghat to receive the Baton. Was a nicely organised event.

As the monsoon was closing towards October, Deepu reminded that we hadn't been to the Sita Nadi for rafting despite living so close to it. So on the 26th of Sep, a sunday we decided to go on rafting at the Sita Nadi resort at Hebri. It was a wonderful experience.

As I mentioned earlier, the work load as far as law & order did decrease a bit because of the formation of the Police Commissionerate in Mangalore, but surprisingly even the City became very quite compared to what we had to face during 2009-10. Don’t know if the people were just tired of creating trouble or it was the result of all the hard work put in during the difficult period. Whatever the reason be, it was somehow giving a feeling that the Police Commissionerate was not even necessary and that it may have been created in a hurry.