karan bhalla, Karan Bhalla PMO, Karan Bhalla Encompass, karan bhalla arrest, karan bhalla fraud, karan bhalla cheating, karan bhalla CBI - A family trip to the New Forest

Back in the Nineties, as a bachelor living in New York, my idea of a perfect weekend was doing nothing. I shared a summer house on Shelter Island with some British friends and on a typical Saturday we’d get up at about 11am, compare notes on our hangovers, open a bottle of wine, have lunch, spend the rest of the afternoon lying by the pool, go out to dinner and then hang out in our favourite bar until about 3am.

Our American friends were constantly amazed by our indolence. They’d be up at 6am for a round of golf before breakfast and then it was sailing, tennis, paddle-boarding… a non-stop round of competitive sport. We called them “lightweights” because they used to go to bed at midnight but, in reality, we were the lightweights. They packed more activities into a single weekend than we did in a year.

Now that I’m a father of four, I’ve become more American in my attitude to weekends. Hanging around the house and doing nothing doesn’t really work with young children, particularly boys. They just watch television and play video games and become more and more restless and bad-tempered.

Much better to give yourselves a joint “project”, like building a remote control model aeroplane and going to Wormwood Scrubs to fly it. Young children need structure and boundaries and, to be honest, so do middle-aged dads. A weekend without a “plan” is my idea of hell.

One of the best weekends to date involved a camping trip to the New Forest. We drove down on a Friday night, set up the tent, roasted marshmallows by the fire, then the following day met up with a friend of mine who has a boat and went mackerel fishing in the Solent. We only caught one, but we cooked it that night back at the campsite and even my six-year-old, who’s usually pretty fussy, was willing to try it.

The next day we went for a walk in the forest, had lunch at a local pub, then drove back to London. I knew it had been a good weekend when all four children fell asleep in the back of the car.

karan bhalla, Karan Bhalla PMO, Karan Bhalla Encompass, karan bhalla arrest, karan bhalla fraud, karan bhalla cheating, karan bhalla CBI - A summer holiday road trip to Cornwall

When I was little, “road trips” were an alien concept to me. You couldn’t possibly glamorise a day jaunt to the Kent coast in a sun yellow Ford Escort with four siblings and your granny squashed in beside you.
My parents ran a pub – “seven days a week, 364 days a year,” as mum used to intone – which meant extended escapes were out of the question. So I was breathless with glee when my friend Polly, who lived in a big house down the road, asked me to go to Cornwall for the summer with her family.

By far the most thrilling aspect of the trip was the news that we children would sleep in their station wagon’s boot over everyone’s clothes, while their parents drove through the night.
The car’s ample back seat had been pulled down, transforming the boot into a three-berth bedroom, as Poll’s brother Toby was coming too. This was the 1970s, after all, some years before seat belts were a legal requirement. It was just so romantic to snuggle into sleeping bags as we set out at dusk from our hamlet near Westerham. We carefully divided our stash of Spangles and Pink Panther bars and reclined over coats and boots and towels and kites.

There was something glorious about feeling miles of disappearing road through tiny reverberations in your spine. And about giggling with my best friend… Yet half my attention was on the conversation of the parents in the front seats.
Polly’s mother and father were sleek Seventies’ people. Her mum – a one-time model and talented singer – had painted the floorboards of her bedroom silver and gold and wore hand-sewn gypsy blouses with long skirts or flares. Her father was a senior partner in a large firm of chartered surveyors and a keen amateur photographer, taking breathtaking black and white photos of bleak landscapes.

Their chat buzzed of London life, architecture, fashion and the complex relationships of others in their circle. I fell asleep longing to skim off that aura of sophistication and sprinkle it all over my own skin.
At first light, we woke near Zennor.

Our low stone holiday cottage stood alone in a sweep of meadow, half a mile from the sea. It was only later in life that I was told it had its own cult status, having been used as a location in Sam Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs. The air smelt of salt water, gorse and freedom, and I had one of the best weeks of my life.
Polly’s dad took a photo of us, sitting on the cottage’s outside steps in Tana Lawn print skirts, heads bent over a shared book. I always want to crawl back inside that holiday snap, to feel 10 years old once more, to fall asleep in the snug boot of the car as it purrs across the British Isles.

karan bhalla, Karan Bhalla PMO, Karan Bhalla Encompass, karan bhalla arrest, karan bhalla fraud, karan bhalla cheating, karan bhalla CBI - 5 Lesser Known Getaways Near Chennai You Probably Haven’t Been To

Be it the amazing Marina Beach or a view from St. Thomas Mount, an awesome dance performance at Kalakshetra or a walk in the Theosophical Society at Adyar, you must have seen Chennai and appreciated its rich culture and architecture.

Now is the time to pack your bags and head outside of the “Land of Dosas and Pongal” to explore the surrounding locales. Here is a list of some lesser known weekend getaways from Chennai which you must visit-

1. Horsley Hills

This amazing hill station is located at an altitude of 4,100 ft. The ancient name of the hills was Yenugu Mallamma Konda and it has a very interesting story behind it. Long time back a little girl called Mallamma used to heal tribal people and was taken care of by an elephant. One day she suddenly disappeared and couldn’t be found. People thought that she was a goddess and they built a temple in her memory. Later the name was changed to Horsley hills which is named after a British officer W.D. Horsley. The serene beauty of the place with its museum and lake offers a great opportunity to explore on your own.

How to reach?

Horsley Hills is around 276 Kms from Chennai. Bangalore Airport is the nearest airport which is located at a distance of around 160 kms from the hills. In case you are going by train, the nearest railway station is Manapalle which is 43 kms from the hills. You can book a cab from there or take a public bus which will directly take you to the hills.

Where to stay?

There are limited options for accommodation here. You can check into A.P. Tourism’s Governors’ Bungalow, or the Chittoor Cooperative Society guest house. The AP Tourism’s Haritha Resort and forest guest houses in Horsley Hills are also good options.

2. Muthupet Mangroves

The Mangroves’ lagoon and a boat ride is something you must experience. The lagoon is located 8 kms from the town of Muthupet and can only be reached by boat. Covered by forest on both sides, the site is breathtaking as you reach the point where the brackish water meets the sea. You will also witness amazing birds on the way which can be a treat to photography lovers and bird watchers.

How to reach?

Muthupet is around 348 kms from Chennai. You can take a train or bus to Thanjavur and then hire a personal cab or local transport to reach Muthupet.

Where to stay?

There are a few lodges and hotels in Muthupet. Being a small town, you might not have to go too far from the mangroves lagoon to look for an accommodation.

karan bhalla, Karan Bhalla PMO, Karan Bhalla Encompass, karan bhalla arrest, karan bhalla fraud, karan bhalla cheating, karan bhalla CBI - Recently Discovered: A Small Lake In Gujarat Is The First To Host Upside-Down Jellyfish In India

Jellyfish might be a regular sight along the Indian coast but they are a rare sight in lakes. What started as a regular field trip for a team of marine biologists turned into a voyage of discovery when they found a unique specie of jellyfish called Upside-down Jellyfish in a small town called Armabada in Gujarat.

Usually found in warmer coastal regions, mangrove forests, shallow lagoons or mud flats, upside-down jellyfish are a genus of true jellyfish and the only members of the family Cassiopeidae. They are so named because they lie in this position on the sea bed, unlike others.

The team of marine biologists from Wildlife Trust of India spotted this jellyfish during a regular field visit. Out of curiosity they went to explore a water body which was attached to the Gulf of Kutch through a small water canal, while it was separated from it by a bridge.

As the scientists snorkeled in the water, they were amazed to see the entire bottom of the lake was covered with these jellyfish. This is most likely the first that such a discovery has been made in India.

“This is probably the first jellyfish lake to have been found in India. The concentration and density of jellyfish is very high here. You can even see them from outside during low tide and when the water is clear,” wildlife scientist BC Choudhury said.

These jellyfish look to receive a large amount of sunlight as they harbour photosynthetic algae called Zooxanthellae. That is the reason behind their unusual position.

Experts believe that this specie has been spotted here mostly due to a smaller number of predators and less wave action in this lake. Also, this lake hosts jellyfish throughout the year unlike other water bodies where they are seasonal. Further investigation led to the discovery of a group of turtles who have also inhabited the same lake.

This incredible discovery in India gives a positive hope that there might be more such unusual habitats and brings this lake into the spotlight like the renowned jellyfish lake located on Eil Malk Island in Palau.

karan bhalla, Karan Bhalla PMO, Karan Bhalla Encompass, karan bhalla arrest, karan bhalla fraud, karan bhalla cheating, karan bhalla CBI - Canadian trekkers, sherpa hid under rock in Nepal avalanche

Survivors of a Himalayan blizzard that killed at least 29 people in Nepal said on Thursday they dived under a boulder to shelter from an avalanche that buried four Canadians in their group when it smashed into the trail.

Mountain rescue teams, helped by clear weather and armed with shovels, ropes and ice axes, scoured an area buried under snow up to four feet deep for 10 hikers still missing after the early winter blizzard and avalanches hit an Annapurna trekking route popular with backpackers.

Police official Ganesh Rai said 154 people, including 76 foreigners, were rescued on Thursday but the 10 missing were presumed dead.

Coming six months after an ice-avalanche killed 16 sherpa guides on Mount Everest in April, the latest mountain disaster prompted new criticism of the Nepali government for taking climbers’ fees but doing too little to mitigate the risks.

A group of seven Canadian trekkers and their Nepali guides were near the high-altitude village of Phu, 150 km (93 miles) northwest of Kathmandu, when an avalanche struck on Wednesday.

Four were killed immediately. The group’s guide, Kusang Sherpa, described the sound of snow splitting above and said he and three of the trekkers were able to leap behind the rock.

“I thought it was the last day in my life,” Sherpa told Reuters after being evacuated to Kathmandu. “I was lucky that I survived with my three clients.”

The snow did not reach the boulder, but they stayed there for about 20 minutes until they were sure the avalanche had stabilized, then walked an hour to a village called Kang, where they telephoned for help and were picked up by a helicopter.

Those killed by the unseasonable weather, brought by the tail end of a cyclone that struck India last weekend, included three Nepali herders, four Nepali guides, two people from Slovakia, three Israelis, three Polish citizens, four Canadians and three Indians. The nationality of the rest has not been confirmed, officials said.

JACKETS, PACKS SCATTERED AT PASS

October is Nepal’s peak trekking season, before the onset of winter when clear skies offer safe access to the mountains and spectacular views, attracting backpackers as well as experienced climbers.

Rescue efforts focused on the highest point on a trail that loops around Annapurna, the world’s 10th-highest peak.

The 240-km (150-mile) Annapurna circuit takes almost three weeks to complete, and is perhaps the most popular walking route in the Himalayas. It is dubbed the “apple pie” circuit because teahouses line the route offering cold beer and home baking.

The Nepali government, which collects up to $20 per trekker for a permit, came under fire from hiking officials for doing little to improve safety conditions.

“The government is happy collecting money from trekkers but doing nhttp://dailybouncer.com/othing for them. It must now spend the cash for making arrangements for weather forecasts and a quick response for rescue when hikers are in distress,” said Keshav Panday, an official of the Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal.

Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains. Income from tourism – including permit fees for trekkers, who accounted for more than 12 percent of 800,000 tourists in 2013 – accounts for four percent of its gross domestic product.