Bike Trip with 14 strangers, 9 bikes.. covering 3 beaches, 2 Forts, 1 jungle and 500 kms

It was about 4 30 am in the morning when i left home for my first bike tour. I was amazed to see the maze of traffic,so early in the morning. No wonder it is said that the city of Mumbai never sleeps. I reached my first destination Kalamboli by 6 Am. Waited for an agonizing 30 minutes for people to join, i was super excited and raring to go. The McDonald's at Kalamboli was almost full in 15 mins. I was surprized to see that people had begun queing up to buy burgers and french fries at 6:15am itself. What a crazy city. 

  By 6 30 am, all the bikes were had lined up. A total of 8 bikes and 15 people. All strangers. And from there our Journey begun after an informal introduction session. Our next stop was 40 kms from the start point. We had our breakfast there, and finally the real biking began. We went to Naigaon beach first, followed by a banana ride. I hadnt the faintest idea about this ride, but decided to go for it anyway. I overheard someone saying that, there was a risk of getting drowned when the banana takes a turn in the middle of the ocean. I was a little scared.  Finally, we sat on the banana like structure which was towed by a ship. We almost covered some 3-4 kms in sea and then the time came when the banana took a turn. It turned 180 degree and all of us were struggling to save our lives! We were in the middle of  the sea, panicking and desperately gropped about for each others support.. or to be honest trying to save ourselves at the other persons expense. It was a bone chilling experience. It  seemed as if death was very near.. But soon some ppl who did that ride before.. took charge of the situation and tried soothing our nerves. They asked us to stop panicking and remain calm. Soon things settled, the banana took back  its original position and one by one the 12 of us again sat back into it. It was one of the best Water-sports i ever did in my life. Scary, Adventurous. After that we played football for some time. And continued with our biking.



The next stop was Rameshwar temple. Everyone was damn tired and exhausted by then. We rested in the temple for sometime and from there went to Kashid beach. There was a grand fort there and a lighthouse. I took many pictures and by evening we set for our final destination- “the phansad wild life sanctuary”. Phansad being a dense jungle, we decided to set our base at the begining of the jungle in a tent. After leaving the luggage there we ventured into the jungle, to explore some animals, birds, flora and fauna. After an one hour we finally got to see something- a cow lying dead.the skin had rotten away leaving only crude flesh behind which was being devoured by some vultures. They rest of the journey as marked by sighting of bones, snake skins etc.  It was a great experience all together. It was already growing dark., so we thought of camping in that same place till late night.  We made a big circle and sat around it. It was scary, adventurous.. but it was an experience of lifetime. Could see the sky filled with stars, hear the sound of bat, other birds and animals. Then the guide started narrating some scary stories.. Our heart beats increased by leaps and bounds almost killing us with fear. The voices of animals in the background coupled with the dark night made things worse. Soon.. we left for our tent. Had some good Maharashtrian food prepared by the villagers. After dinner went for a walk again into the Jungle.  Came back dead tired and slept on the uneven surface of the tent.
   Next morning.. Woke up early... And went for bird watching. Spotted some rare varieties of birds, explored the jungle and came back to our base. Then we left for our next destination Murud- Janjira. This place is well known for a beautiful fort that is situated in the center of the sea. After exploring it, we went to Patil's Restaurant, a very famous restaurant for Maharashtrian food. Had good time all together. We were already tired and exhausted. Started our return journey. Waited at Kashid for some relaxation and came back home.

Over all it was a great trip with 14 strangers, 9 bikes.. covering 3 beaches, 2 Forts, 1 jungle and 500 kms.. It was fun! Loved it :)

  


 

Aim for the stars. But Stay Grounded!

It was 31st July 2008. I had just begun my MBA life. We had a seminar by Mr. D Shivkumar [M.D Nokia] on  "Where did the leader learn leadership". The seminar was really interesting and  gave great insights on leadership. But the most interesting thing was the lesson learnt after the seminar. 

Everyone left after the seminar got over. But Mr. Shivkumar stayed. He waited to have a chat with few of his colleagues [sub ordinates] from Nokia. 

Later when he left NMIMS premises, he treated his colleagues with vadapav and cutting chai at a roadside joint. Normally when someone comes for a seminar, they wait to talk to students and then leave in their BMW's and Mercedes. 

This guy did not just wait up on his colleagues for tea and snack, he also made sure everyone got into the co. bus before him and only then he left. His humility made an impact on me.

In these two years of MBA, I have attended many seminars by eminent personalities from C.K Prahlad to Kishor Biyani. Every one was unique in their own way. But Mr. Shivkumar left an impression.




This Blog was published by Rediff :  http://getahead.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/feb/01/slide-show-1-specials-i-met-my-idol-d-shivakumar.htm

Inspiring Confidence to be Distinctively ahead.

Bajaj Auto, the country's second-largest manufacturer of motorcycles, has different plans than its competitors.

The time when competitors are adding different models, entering new segments there is Bajaj which is exiting all the loss making segments. Slowly and steadily it started phasing out geared scooters. And now its phasing out Bikes ( Platina, XCD etc.) to avoid cannibalization. 

Is this the right strategy ?  Or Again a mistake what Bajaj did it in past with greater emphasis on Chetak as a brand.

Only Future will tell us the answer. But for now Rajiv Bajaj has different plans all together. He is the man who believes in putting all the eggs in the same basket. He want Bajaj Auto to be the no. 1 Motorcycle manufacturer in the world. And its due to his vision that he is taking steps, which has invited all the critics in the world to question the strategy of Bajaj in the two wheeler segment. 

May be a greater emphasis on Bajaj Pulsar may dilute the Pulsor brand all together, But riding on the winning horse success is proving to be beneficial for Bajaj's growth in the Bike segment. 

Only future will tell us How right Mr. Rajiv Bajaj was in putting his eggs in the same basket. This reminds me of a very famous quote :-

" I shall be telling this with a sigh, Somewhere ages and ages hence : two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." 
- Robert Frost