Yo!!!! 15 days in India, already!!! Continuing from where I left last time.
Because of some weird customs of the French bureaucracy and my being on a student visa instead of a scientific one, my residence permit couldn't be extended for another year before I left Grenoble a The folks at the prefecture asked me to come just 5 days before the expiry (when I'd be in India), while normally it can be done within 2 months before the expiry. So the first thing I did after putting my stuff at a friend's place in Delhi, was to run to the French embassy and apply for the visa de retour (got a call from the embassy a couple of days back confirming the issue of the visa, which I can collect any day before my departure) !! So I am gonna go back to Grenoble again in time :)
Because of some weird customs of the French bureaucracy and my being on a student visa instead of a scientific one, my residence permit couldn't be extended for another year before I left Grenoble a The folks at the prefecture asked me to come just 5 days before the expiry (when I'd be in India), while normally it can be done within 2 months before the expiry. So the first thing I did after putting my stuff at a friend's place in Delhi, was to run to the French embassy and apply for the visa de retour (got a call from the embassy a couple of days back confirming the issue of the visa, which I can collect any day before my departure) !! So I am gonna go back to Grenoble again in time :)
Spent the next two days meeting a couple of friends, one entire afternoon at the Akshardham Temple. It's an awesome piece of architecture, spread over a huge area and perhaps it is one of the most well maintained temples in India. It made me think of the innumerable temples of exceptional grandeur that were destroyed and lost in the 1000 years of Islamic tyranny; and how important our freedom is for saving whatever remains we have of our past and the present. Fun Facts: No use of steel or concrete in the structure!; Largest Hindu Temple according to the Guinness Book of World records; Use of granite makes it effortless to walk on the floor exposed to the sun which otherwise could cause blisters.
After the short stay in Delhi, boarded the Purushottam express for going home...pretty boring journey...read a bit of the 'reality novel', "A year in the Merde" written from an Englishman's perspective. I generally can't stand long fiction, but this was something any new comer to France could relate to, so found it to be interesting enough to hold my attention! Looking at the green fields and the monsoon drizzle from the train's window were a treat to the eyes. @Bokaro: all the usual stuff...rested for 2 days then left for Bangalore via Dhanbad and Kolkata. The AC in the train from Dhanbad made me sick (+having taken bath at 4 in the morning, wet hair etc !). Had a short meeting with a friend before boarding the flight in Kolkata.
It was good to be back in Bangalore after 4 years. The city has seen a few constructions projects completed like the new airport (really quite far from the main city), flyovers and a metro link (yet to open for public)...Met quite a few friends...eat idlis and dosas after long :) We had planned to go to Munnar on a 2-3 days trip, but by the time I reached Bangalore I had symptoms of full blown cold, and so we dropped the plan to go to the rainy hill station :) ...So where else? Coorg, Ooty, just roam around Bangalore?? We decided to visit Sri Aurobindo's ashram and Auroville in Pondicherry!!! That evening we set out on a bike to book tickets for buses. After much searching we could get the tickets for the onward journey but could not get tickets for returning.. We inquired at no less than 10 travel agencies..."Full Book Saar" that was the reply from each of these ! So we decided to go without return tickets :0
It was good to be back in Bangalore after 4 years. The city has seen a few constructions projects completed like the new airport (really quite far from the main city), flyovers and a metro link (yet to open for public)...Met quite a few friends...eat idlis and dosas after long :) We had planned to go to Munnar on a 2-3 days trip, but by the time I reached Bangalore I had symptoms of full blown cold, and so we dropped the plan to go to the rainy hill station :) ...So where else? Coorg, Ooty, just roam around Bangalore?? We decided to visit Sri Aurobindo's ashram and Auroville in Pondicherry!!! That evening we set out on a bike to book tickets for buses. After much searching we could get the tickets for the onward journey but could not get tickets for returning.. We inquired at no less than 10 travel agencies..."Full Book Saar" that was the reply from each of these ! So we decided to go without return tickets :0
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