Taki Picnic site with my family

Taki Picnic spot: This is place tucked away by 75 km from Kolkata. This place is accessible by both road and train. This is the best place for family picnic. Taki is famous for best picnic spot along the Ichamoti river close  Bangladesh Border. You can take Hanshnabad Local train from Sealdha and reach Taki Station, from there you can take local van to reach the picnic spot. You can reach by road, from Kolkata it’s 80 Km journey. First you reach Barasat , then take along Taki road and drive straight to reach Taki . I have visited five times there, mostly by my car.

Taki Picnic - enjoying picnic near river site - other side you can see Bangladesh

What to see there: Taki Raj Bari , Machranga Dip ( island – really awesome views of island and rivers all around ) , boating in river Ichamoti , Hoglapata Jongal ( Hoglapata forest ) etc . You can take food in local guest house . You can get a very close view of Bangladesh. IF you go with your car , take all foods and enjoy a beautiful river side picnic . (Last time I paid Rs. 250 for booking a river side picnic sport). Place is very safe because of BSF camp .

Ichamoti picnic Garden - entry to island type picnic spot

Ichamoti Park: This place is a very safe place for family picnic . You can reach this place by private vehicle or you can reach here  from Hashnabad line ( In fact I visited that place by my car ) . Route from nearby station to this place is not clear. You get all facilities from this location . You need to book this picnic spot from nearby counter. ( I feel I spent Rs 300 for a spot ) . This spot is a island surrounded by canal ( it’s created by local municipality for picnic only ) . This only picnic spot, so you can spend time with your family, playing games , you can get many other picnic parties there . I enjoyed this place very much.

Close view of picnic spots from nearby canal bridge

Badu picnic spot : This is very close to Kolkata , 35 km off from Kolkata . There are many villa or picnic spots there. For big picnic party , you have book early . One important place is “ Makarasa Bagan “ you can say “Spider Garden “ . Actually it is Markar Shah’s Garden . This is a awesome place . Big ponds , big mango trees around the pond , big and old building along the pond guarding the mango trees . But place is not safe for family in rush hours.

But there are  lots of place to arrange picnic . Most important place to visit are : Hanuman Mandir , Snake garden , Aquarium , also lots of mango gardens for family picnic and games under the big mango trees .

Sanhati Park : This is located in Ashok Nagar along Bangoan line . You can reach by train or private car . Best place to spend picnic with your kids . You can book ( in advance ) the picnic spot for full day picnic . This place has lots of rides for children . You can also visit Science Park near Habra.

Sky view of Sanhati park from ropeway bridge

Metho Gaon ( Village of mud ) : This not very popular spot located near Madhyamgram ( 25 km off from Kolkata ) . You can book one picnic spot , spend time among the paddy fields and pluck green vegetables from the fields ( with permission ) and use the same for your picnic .

Lost in nature at Metho gao

Kakra Mirja pur : This is again along the Taki Road , beautiful village , country side . Ideal for family picnic. Famous “ Baba Loknath temple “ located in this place .

Other important places to visit:

Mayapur : This is approximately 125 km from Kolkata , near Krishna Nagar . You can reach by car or by train . ISKON Mandir is there. You can visit many Math and local Asram . But single day trip is hectic . Better to stay a day at Mayapur ISKON mandir .

Bangaon Bibhuti Bhusan Ghat : This place is very close to Bangaon Station . You can catch Bangaon train from Sealdah and reach the Bangaon station . From there you can reach the ghat . This is famous for Sri Bibhuti Bushan Bondapadhya , famous Bengali novelist . You can see the ghat , local bridge over river . Small picnic spot near the river. You can manage to stay nearby guest house by advance booking .

These are the places I have visited one or many times. These places are famous for their bucolic charm and smell of natures. Every winter, I plan to visit one of these sites with my family. Every time I go, I rediscover the place with new charms, with new experience ( as rural Bengal is changing fast ) . If you are in Kolkata, you can make a visit and enjoy your time with your family at country side picnic spots.

mobile avatar - thanks to lowest telecom tariff in India

It also agreed that the annual revenue share be fixed at a uniform 8% for all telcos. This is higher than the 6% revenue share proposed by regulator Trai that would have brought significant savings to the industry. Currently, the revenue share varies on a number of factors such as service and region.

Will Indian customers get benefitted through this move?  I feel Indian CSPs have already bore the brunt of intense competition and pricing/tariffs have reached at its bottom. Lately market leader Bharti made a reverse move in pricing/tariff, after that pricing from other CSPs are on upslope. Recent M&A move will definitely affect the telecom tariffs, there may be more cartelization. Indian customers may have to pay more for same service.

We at Kaju Forest in Udaypur Beach

Udaypur beach is very close to new Digha . Its 3-4 km off from New Digha Station and located along the Orissa and Bengal Border. If you have personal car , then it’s 10 min drive from New Digha Hotels . But the uniqueness of this place is flawless ,  serenity and peaceful existence of sea and nearby pine forest line are really awesome .

Driving on Udaypur Beach

During our 3 days stays , every day in the morning we visited Udaypur Beach and spend time in Kaju Forest and had a small picnic in the pine forest near the shore end . If your luck is good, you can park your car on the sea beach, spend some time nearby tents selling coconut water and refreshments.
If you want to go by local transport and  if you are young then better go by walking ( 3 km – not too long )  from new Digha , walk along the main road or take the parallel road close to shore . I have had experience of walking along that route . Experienec was awesome ! Morning was so chariming , that you can walk and reach that place . Otherwise you can take local van on a contract basis .

Sky looks romantic at Digha

What to see in Udaypur beach:
1. No mad rush of new Digha – so enjoy peaceful nature .
2. Enjoy the familicy picnic under the pine trees just close to shore end . Sit on a mat , even you can lay on grass bed and have a deep breath and look at the sky through the pine tress . ( possibly try your voice on favoutrite notes )
3. 500 meter walk up into the Kaju Trees .
4. Sit on beach and sip the coconut water ( if Sea God permits )
5. You can place order of tea and snacks to local tents and they bring foods (better restrict it to tea, coconut waters and package foods only ) and enjoy it sitting on a grass bed . And have a deep look into the sea and try to find peace and peace in mind .

Relaxing in nature - Udaypur Beach

This place is not new to all Digha goers , but rediscover it in your won way . Forget your project deadline pressure , office pressure , business tension and keep you date only with sea and nature .

View of the Udaypur Beach through pine forest

Let me know your views next time when you back from Udaypur Beach

Last year in October 2010, we went to Gangtok  and  enjoyed a fantastic journey to Yumthang .It was  not only the scenic beauty that enthralled us , but the hospitability of local people was really charming . But the major earthquake last Sunday (18Th September2011) , shattered the dream of those loving people in Sikkim . Along the mountain track to Yumthang , we met many local people , small villages .Those memories are vivid now . After earth quake ,   many villages along that route suffered a terrible loss of lives and property , deep suffering of people from those hilly villages touched these good memories.

In this post I like share those days where I had a great days and time at Gangtok , Lachung and Yumthang . Here is the travel log:

After reaching Gangtok , we immediately booked our package tour for Yumthang . It was 25^thOctober 2010 , we started for Yumthang . It is a 129 Km long journey up along the hilly region. We started from Gangtok Bus station at around 10:30 AM. Our car driver told us it was a 6-8 journey. Slowly we came out the city of Gangtok , our car started running along the uphill path , leaving behind the city Gangtok city  .It was altogether different felling as we  are moving to mingle with a hilly terrain , snow clad mountains , flower valley . Serenity and scenic beauty along the path was really enchanting, we are moving on …

We are leaving behind Gangtok City , moving towards Yumthang

Beautiful views of surrounding valleys made our journey a great experience

Seven Sister fall at Menrong Gong , North Sikkim

Slowly road becomes muddy after few km journey from Gangtok , sometimes road turns are dangerous . After 20 Km Journey we reached at Menrong Gong . Here we saw the famous Seven Sister fall. It’s a 50 feet fall and water is crashing on the stone bed and creating beautiful rainbow. Luckily the weather was clear. This place is really good for spending some time and taking the views of hilly valleys.

Road takes dangerous turn as we move along the pathway

We reached seven sister fall

At seven sister fall

Beautiful view of Seven Sister fall

At Phudong

After a short break, we started for next phase of journey. Along the path we saw many small villages. At many turns, small falls welcome us with their natural beauty and streams on path bed. We then reached Phudong for lunch. Driver told us we need to finish the lunch quickly as we have move up as we need to reach Lachung before sunset. After lunch, again we started for next phase .

Lunch break at Phudong

After Phudong , now path becomes more rough and some of the turns are dangerous . Sometimes road are muddy and narrow, one side hanging hilly wall and other side thousand feet deep canyon . Views are really blood chilling but at the same time scenic beauty and silence of nature made us engrossed with nature.

But our luck was not good. After a few km run, we narrowly saved by land slide. As the car in front of us  got badly damaged by falling stones and road ahead  got completely blocked by boulders . Driven parked the car as no road ahead . After an hour wait , bolder clear machine came ( thanks god it was parked nearby ) , our family waited outside the car . After an hour road became clear .

Road blocked after Phudong

At Mangon :

At around 4 PM we reached Mangon , the big city in North Sikkim . After necessary security clearance we immediately started from there as we lost 2 hours due to road lock . After Mangon , road become more treacherous as road became narrow , slippery , more water falls crossing the road to make the driving difficult .

We are at Mangon

Road after Mangon

At Chungthung

Now we reached at a  check post before Chungthung . This is very beautiful place, one side wide views of North Sikkim and you can see the blue water of Teesta flowing down. This place river Teesta came very close to our roadway.

Check post before entering Chungtung

Teesta comes very close to our journey path before entering Chungtung

Slowly we entered into Chungthung area, here we could see the power project structure inside the deep valley. Road becomes very narrow here, army and local people maintaining the one way traffic at a time. We could see the army barracks around. By that time sun set in behind the mountains. Driven told us that that we are on the way to Lachung . We passed through the Chungthung city without stopping. Now surprisingly road is very good, it’s a 20 km journey along a good road , but outside is dark , so we are impatiently waiting for the Lachung to arrive . At last around 7PM reached Lachung .

We reached Lachung

At Lachung :

Stay at Lachung was really refreshing. Driver took us to our reserved hotel “ Hotel Rocky Mountain “ . Tourists for Yumthang normally take rest and night stay at Lachung and then next morning goes for Yumthang Visit. As soon as we come from our car (after a 9 hours journay ) , it was very cold , near about 1-2 degree centigrade . People from Kolkata feel it cold. So we put on our heavy dresses to project sudden cold.

Awesome view of Lachung !!!

At Lachung , we have seen most of hotels are small ( 4-5  rooms ) , these rooms are booked from Gangtok as people come here on package tour . After placing our languages inside the hotel , we cheked outside , saw the Lachung valley from our balcony . We heard the sounds of gun firing from nearby mountain range .As this area is army area. We checked our restaurant up along the hills , from our bed room , it is 10 ft up on upslope . Local cook served tea and informed that dinner would be served around 9 pm.

After diner we went to bed as we had to get up early for Yumthang . Next day morning, we got the views of Lachung Village, it’s awesome ( now this same village  under tensions and people are fleeing after earthquake hit Sikkim  on 18^th September 2011 ) . Next day we got up early morning (On 26^th Oct) , driver was waiting outside for taking us to Zero point first and then Yumthang .

Our hotel at Lachung - just ready to set out our trip to Yumthang

Journey from Lachung to Yumthang

It’s a  30 km journey from Lachung to reach Yumthang . This journey is the best journey in my life for any hilly tracks. Driver pointed up a snow clad peaks and told we were going that place. So you know it was so exciting. We slowly moving up along the hilly road leaving behind Lachung City . After some time , road become more rough , some of places road washed away by gushing water and rainfall , only road is support by few big stones , so dangerous to maneuver along the road . Our driver was good, he took time to find the best solid road bed. By that time, sun rises, we could see the first sun rays at snow clad peaks , views are awesome !! All peaks look like golden cap sitting on top of mountains. Along the journey, we saw the mountains covered with snow, frozen falls. ( Photo 17-19 ). We could see the orchid gardens ( but this is not a flower season ) . Here due to high altitude, my kids are also felling uneasy.

We are on the way to Yumthang - golden color at the peak welcome us there

Beautiful views , snow peaks , orchid garden along the path

Finally we reached Yumthang after 2 hours journey. But we didn’t stop there as our destination is Zero point first as we need to see lots of ice. At Yumthung no ice was there. So planned to visit Zero point first .

We at Yumthang

Journey From Yumthang to Zero point:

From Yanthung to zero point (the last motor able border point in Sikkim) is a 33 km path. This path is really toughest. We moved on leaving behind Yumthung point . Our car was chasing sharp turns , altitude is very high here , our kids Ankita and Richita Started vomiting , after some medicine they become stable . We are looking up as chasing to reach now peak , we could see the Yumthang Valley down . Yes after an hour journey, we noticed layer of snow on the nearby bushes. Driver pointed out , now we started moving into the ice kingdom . We are moving up and up, chasing difficult path , crashing ice bed on the road . Finally we reached zero point. Road ends here, We see the snow bed spread all around, small rivulet following through the snow .

Snow covered peaks very close to our reach ( can say view ) !!!

On way to Zero Point - tourists are enjoying snow walk

Outside temperature is below zero degree. We came out from our car. Outside is very chill, we sit on a bench ordered coffees to warm up . Ankita and Richita became tired because of cold, high altitude sickness, my wife Tanusree and I climbed up along the snow bed. We have seen many tourists fallen sick there. But many other are paying with snows. We also took spent some time with snow.  .After spending 30 minutes  there , we started back to reach Yumthung .

Our family at Zero point

Good bye Zero point !!!

At Yumthung ( coming down from Zero Point ) 

Along with decreasing altitude, all are felling fresh, after an hour journey we reached Yumthung back . When we reached Yumthung from zero point ,we are  all  tired , but the refreshing views around made us spellbound . We could see series of snow clad peaks greeting us from all around. From the road, we could see the river flowing down the valley . After a little walk  across river bank  , we reached the river point . One side we see small river flowing through the valley, kissing all stones , rhododendrons tress and on the other side series of mountains peaks guarding that flow . We sit along the river, my wife my wife kids sang songs , we could see the road on our back toward zero point .

My Family at Yumthang

Whole nature is so clean, clear and pristine that we really sit over there for an hour forgetting our foods and teas. After 2 hours we came up from the river bank , driven took us to nearby restaurant for morning snacks and tea . After breakfast ( at 11:30AM! ) , we roamed around few more hours .It was really tough to detach ourselves from that natural beauty , it is so captivating !

Awesome views at Yumthang !!!

Our family at Yumthang - beauty of this paradise made us spell bound

Good bye Yumthang - carrying the memories of nature , flower , river back to city life !!!

Around 12:30 PM we started aback toward Lauchung . We reached Lachung back at 1PM and finished our lunch at hotel .Then we started from Lachung toward Gangtok  around 2 PM .Since it was down slope , so journey was not tough . But after a long journey we finally saw the city line of Gangtok .And reached Gangtok City around 8 pm . This awesome journey! When you are in Gangtok , you can really enjoy the hospitability of local people . They are hard working people , leaving in a remote villages and city along the tourist route , earning their leaving by assisting  tourists .Now the same route is in a sorrow state due to devastating  earthquake . I write this to pay my homage to those peace loving people in Gangtok . Hope this God gifted beautiful place get back its glory , peace and blessing of nature .So that next time you can enjoy your trip to Yumthang!

Inauguration song by Ankita Roy and Richita Roy

We have provided supports and assistance to 15 selected students from class VI to BA first year.

Welcoming Chief Guest Prof Purnendu Bose

Chief Guest sharing his valuable thoughts

We have also provided unique placement guidance assistance to another 15 rural students. This is 3 month course (free of cost) to get them equipped with necessary skill for service sector jobs in India.

Interacting with students

Extending our small supports

Extending our small supports to a BA student

Our students , local journalists and members

Chief Guest of our program was Prof Purnendu Bose who is also a great social activist and noted writer. We have a big plan ahead to reach more students with our limited capability. Thanks all for your continued for this social initiative.

It's a small start ! look for a greater initiative !

Best Regards,

Gobinda Roy and Tanusree Roy

What are the major drivers for this consolidation?

1. Deteriorating competitive position of smaller operators–mainly comprising new entrants; the inability of these operators to sustain investments in network expansion. “Given their lack of scale economies and existing low levels of pricing, the smaller operators are not likely to turn profitable anytime in the foreseeable future,” Ajay Srinivasan, Head, CRISIL Research said.

2. Concentration of 3G-spectrum with established operators : smaller players have managed to acquire only 3 of the total 93 3G slots allotted by the Department of Telecommunications. Insignificant presence in the 3G space will limit the ability of these operators to offer sophisticated high-speed data services and thereby attract high-end subscribers from the established operators.

3. Low realized revenues by small payers: The competitive position of smaller operators has progressively become weaker. During the quarter ended March 2011, these operators earned gross average revenue per user (ARPU) of Rs. 69 per month, 50 per cent less than the ARPU of established operators* which collectively account for 97% of the industry’s revenues.

4. Higher Opex for small players: The operating cost per minute for the smaller operators is significantly greater than for established operators.

telecom revised tariff - some space for CSPs

I really welcome the recent move by market leader Bharti Airtel “ Bharti raises prepaid tariffs by 20% “. It’s a risky move indeed as prepaid typically constitutes 95% of the customer base. Other payers are watching the move and its consequence. I feel there always should be some corrections in pricing. This makes field all like CSPs and users. To gain market share , new payers are always move to cut pricing to get more larger market share , but this move affects the customer service , service quality in long run .I have used premium connection as well as cheap connections . But when I move to cheap connection (especially for data card), I feel the difference and it is mainly quality of service . We get cheap service at the cost of quality. So CSPs should take the call about pricing, but at the same time ensure the service quality at that same price level.

After a decade since the major boom in Telecom industry, the revenue equation is going to be changed slowly. Now there are many players in traditional voice market and margin (ARPU) is very low.

B2B telecom solutions may fetch more revenue

So CSPs are looking for different revenue streams .Major CSPs are coming with exclusive portfolio for meeting telecom needs (Voice and data ) of business . Experts say that CSPs have renewed their focus on the enterprise business for the last 6-8 months due to dwindling revenues, low profitability, and seasonality in the business and high customer churn from B2C telecom market. So telecom market may be B2B product driven to a large extent. This is called enterprise telecom service. The enterprise business provides end-to-end telecom solutions using wireless, wireline, voice and data to corporate customers.

What are enterprise telecom services?

These services differ from one provider to the other but generally include internet, MPLS -VPN, domestic and international private leased circuits, audio and video conferencing, data centre services, managed network services, EPBX solutions.

CSPs currently offer these services to industry verticals like BFSI, IT, ITeS, manufacturing and distribution, media, education, telecom, government and retail among others.

Who are the major players?

Telcos today have turned to enterprise services in a big way. While Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications were traditionally offering these services, Vodafone India and Tata Teleservices (TTSL) have also ventured into this unit with high decibel promotions.

Currently pegged at around R23,000 crore, the Indian enterprise-connectivity market is growing at an annual rate of 12-13% and is estimated to be worth around $10 billion (approximately R47,000 crore) in the next five years.

Why the CSPs are focusing on B2B enterprise telecom solutions?

“In the present scenario, where customer acquisition is steep and the voice business has almost saturated, enterprise business will continue to grow. On an average, corporate clients spend around R3-4 crore per annum on their telecommunication needs. We fit in best, as telecom companies can leverage on their existing network to provide these services. With 3G coming in, it can also be used for providing last mile connectivity,” said Sukanto Aich, president of enterprise business at TTSL.

“The enterprise business is a strategic initiative to drive growth. India is a key market for us and Vodafone is geared to be a one-stop-shop for communications solutions,” said Naveen Chopra, director, enterprise and carrier business, Vodafone India.

“It is a stable revenue stream and provides a better margin than the traditional voice business. Here, they also have the choice to bundle services and offer discounts to engage corporate clients. Most of these companies are innovating on value-added services in this space like managing hardware remotely,” said Shree Parthasarathy, senior director, enterprise risk services, Deloitte India.

Sources : ( Financial Express and other resources )

The Major trends we observed are as following:

1. Mobile platforms across the globe touch the critical mass.

2. Mobile Internet Ramping Faster than Desktop Internet Did –Apple Leading Charge ( As per Morgan Stanley report ) .

3. The usage of Social Networking and search engine accelerating Growth of mobile Internet.

4. Global Unit shipment of Smartphone for the first time crosses the number of unit shipment of PCs + Notebooks in Q4 2010

5. Five countries – USA, China, Russia, Brazil, India = comprise 46% of Global Internet users .China and Russia have observed highest percentage.

6. Global mobile Internet trends increase the online shopping by many folds –

“Mobile is clearly becoming a new way people shop … nearly tripled mobile GMV( gross merchandise value .. In 2011 , we expect Mobile GMV to double to $4 billion .

- John Donahoe , President & CEO , eBay

7. Mobile internet influences users to spend more time on Internet. Here is the pattern of usage :

8. Huge growth in the shipment of smart phones:

9. Phenomenal increase in Mobile Data Traffic:

IT - future : will it regain its glory in near future or face just another downturn

Over the past few weeks, companies like Infosys and iGate have raised concerns over high unemployment rates in the US and the debt crisis brewing in European markets that could potentially lead to slower decision making by top outsourcing customers. But NASSCOM remains hopeful of achieving the 16-18% growth forecast for the industry this year, even as top technology CEOs and analysts warn of a potential slowdown ahead.

Admitting that the present crisis was a matter of concern for everybody, including the Indian IT industry, Gopalakrishnan said though economists projected that the post-2008 recovery would be a long drawn out downturn, the situation changed in a short time for better, especially for the developing countries.

Hopefully, this time also, such concerted effort across nations will happen and we will be able to sustain this recovery. Though we (Indian IT industry) have not seen any major impact yet ( like US or other advanced nations ) , we don’t know the future.

(sources : ET , MSN NEWS )