Kodaikanal – often referred to as the princess of hill stations has a long history as a retreat and popular tourist destination. Origins of the name are unclear but some say the name translates into “Gift of the Forest”. Nothing could be further from the truth. Situated at a height of 6998 ft. or 2133m, this hill station has a lot to offer for all. My favourite place in Kodaikanal is the lake which is at the heart of the town. This 5km lake has a lot of activities happening during the day. Visitors can choose from boating, cycling, and horse riding among others to keep themselves busy. December is one of the best month to visit Kodaikanal as the rains have passed and the lake is filled to the brim. Seasonal waterfalls are now roaring in full glory and many a treks and trails await the wanderer, the seeker, the adventurer. One of my favourite activities when I visit Kodaikanal is cycling and there is no better place than the lake. The road around the lake is 5km of flat land with ...

Puri - a seaside town in Odisha, on the east coast, holds a special significance for Indians all over the world. Located in Puri is the renowned Jagannath Temple. The temple is as old as the legends...indeed the story of the origins of the temple are a legend in itself. Well, that is for another time and blog. Today, I am sharing about my most recent visit to the temple. This was my third visit and I must admit, on every visit, there is something new to discover. This visit was no less. One of my colleagues took me to witness the change of the flag. Honestly, I was not overly enthusiastic to witness changing of the flag, but a chance to visit the holy shrine is not to be passed, so I went. We arrived around 3pm and after a short prayer, we found a spot to sit down so that we could witness the changing of the flag. Now, there are no chairs laid out so you simply sit on the floor. There were some 500 people in the temple compound that day, so we were lucky to get good seats. While...

Its been some time since my last blog. I was on my way to the airport and had an interesting talk with my taxi driver - CS CS had been a driver with a taxi aggregator in chennai (one of the biggest). A couple of years back, like everyone else, he had joined an app based  aggregator only to return to the regional aggregator a little sober. The app aggregator has been the news recently due to strikes done by uber drivers in recent parts of the country. CS point was simple, the app aggregator was paying Rs. 20 per kilometer but was charging the customer Rs. 6. Doing this the aggregator had burnt through 3000 crores in two years. The figure is mind boggling. What type of business economics justifies burning through 3000 crores in cash? Then i recollected that an e-commerce company also had burnt through 4000 crores in cash, all in the name of capturing market. I also read recently that another e-commerce firm was laying off people, delaying appointment letter to graduates. All i ca...