Our December 2017 trip to Aurangabad

We were a group of 17 close family members that wanted to visit Aurangabad and its nearby places of Ajanta and Ellora from Dec 26 to 29/30, 2017. We contacted Mr. Narayan Soni of Anjaneya Multi Services Tours and Travels over JustDial and he organised a complete end-to-end 3 nights / 4 days package for us.

I wish to hereby capture our experiences. The overall plan was very detailed and included pick-up and drop to/from the railway station and airport. We had already booked rooms in MTDC Holiday Resort, but otherwise all aspects including breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner were arranged by Mr. Narayan. Also excluded were incidental expenses like toll fees, parking fees and entry fees at the monuments.

Overall we had a very pleasant experience! Mr Narayan's services were simply outstanding! He and his driver would show up at our hotel at 8am and stay with us till 10pm or 11pm as needed! He would consult with us regarding the plan for the day, and many times gave us very valuable advice and suggestions! He took us to some very good restaurants (Thaat Bhaat, etc.) and also to some local dhaba-type places for a more local and authentic culinary experience. He ensured we had mineral water bottles available throughout the trips, and also in our rooms in the hotel at night.

Some particular instances where Mr Narayan went much beyond our expectations: In one of the dhaba-type places that we went for lunch, he actually went in to the kitchen and took charge to ensure the dishes were prepared according to our taste (not too spicy, etc.)!! Near Panchakki, where the road traffic was jammed due to a narrow approach road, he actually got down, and manned the traffic for a good 15-20 mins to ensure smooth flow of traffic! While departing from Aurangabad, we left in three batches - 2 batches by trains on 2 different days, and one batch by air. He made sure to be there till we checked-in at the airport / loaded our luggage on to the trains, telling us we were his responsibility till then!!

There were several other delightful moments as well: We all got a welcome kit at our hotel that included new bath towels and toileteries, chocolate packets for eating on the minibus, imported chocolate boxes as farewell gifts, and an ad-hoc surprise birthday celebration with a large Monginis birthday cake over dinner for one of our kids!

Thanks to Mr Narayan's scheduling efficiency and also excellent suggestions, we were able to cover more places than we initially planned! We finally covered: Ajanta and Ellora caves, Bibi ka Makbara, Panchakki, Hanuman Temple, Aurangzeb's tomb, Daulatabad fort, Prozone Mall, and a very unexpected drop-by to his house (where his family very graciously served us coffee, tea and snacks)!!

Overall, Mr Narayan ensured we had an excellent experience throughout! He has clearly gone far beyond our expectations, and we have been very, very lucky to have availed his very excellent services!

The secret lives of Corporate Logos

Tostitos If you look at the center of this logo, you can see two people enjoying a Tostito chip with a bowl of salsa. This logo conveys an idea of people connecting with each other. Formula 1 At first, this logo might not make much sense. But if you look closely, you'll see the number 1 in the negative space between the F and the red stripes. I also love how this logo communicates a feeling of speed. Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers is a professional baseball team from Milwaukee , Wisconsin (well, duh). Their logo is actually made up of the letters M (on top) and B (below the m). These two letters also form a baseball glove. Northwest Airlines This simple looking logo actually carries a lot of information. First of all you can see the letters N and W, the first two letters of the brand name. But what most people don't see is the compass that points to the Northwest, another reference to the brand name. Amazon This logo doesn't seem to hide much at first sight, but it gives you a little insight in the philosophy behind the brand. First of all, the yellow swoosh looks like a smile: Amazon wants to have the best customer satisfaction. The swoosh also connects the letters a and z, meaning that this store has everything from a to z. Toblerone Toblerone is a chocolate-company from Bern , Switzerland . Bern is sometimes called The City Of Bears . They have incorporated this idea in the Toblerone logo, because if you look closely, you'll see the silhouette of a bear. Baskin Robins The old logo of Baskin Robbins had the number 31 with an arc above it. The new logo took this idea to the next level. The pink parts of the BR still form the number 31, a reference to the 31 flavors. Sony Vaio Sony Vaio is a well known brand of laptops. But did you know that the name Vaio logo also had a hidden meaning? Well, the first two letters represent the basic analogue signal. The last two letters look like a 1 and 0, representing the digital signal. Eight I really love this logo: every letter is made of the number 8. Carrefour Carrefour is one of the biggest European retailers, and its also French for crossroads. The logo symbolizes this word via two opposite arrows. They also added the first letter of the name, because if you look closely you'll see the letter C in the negative space between the two arrows. Roxy Roxy is a company that specializes in clothing and accessories for girls who love snowboarding, surfing The company is actually a part of Quiksilver. The Roxy logo is made of two Quiksilver logos that form a heart. Unilever Unilever is one of the biggest producers of food, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. They produce a huge amount of different products and they wanted to reflect this in their logo. Each part of the logo has a meaning. For example: the heart represents love, care and health - feeling good, a bird is a symbol of freedom. Relief from daily chores getting more out of life. Hartford Whalers This logo also uses a negative space to create the letter H. You can see three different parts: the letter H and W and a whales tail in blue. Elefont This logo might look like a simple letter, but don't be fooled: you can see a part of an elephants trunk in the negative space inside the letter e. Sun Microsystems The Sun logo is one of the most famous ambigrams in the world. You can read the brand name in every direction; both horizontally and vertically. This logo was designed by professor Vaughan Pratt of the Stanford University . NBC The NBC (National Broadcasting Company) is one of the biggest American television networks. I think most of you have already seen the peacock in this logo. The peacock has 6 different tail feathers, referring to the six divisions at the time that this logo was created. The peacocks head is flipped to the right to suggest it was looking forward, not back. GreenLabs I know this logo looks like a simple, boring green tree, but if you look at the tree crown, you'll see that it can also be interpreted as a brain. The logo lays emphasis on the strong intellectual capabilities of the companys staff and also reflects green and labs parts of their name.!

Where does Rajesh get such cool tools?

My very inventive cousin in Shanghai, Naren, had posted this question "Where does Rajesh get such cool tools?" in response to my facebook status update about lmgtfy.com. Posting this in hopes that Google will pick up this post, and show this as the top search reult.

The answer: Blogs and forums. Any eminent netizen will be able to tell you that.

Cheers!

FaceBook Ramayan

If Ramayan was on Facebook....!!!

Amazing ASH

The correction pronunciation of Eyjafjallajokull volcano is 'Aye-ya-fyah-dla-jow-kul'....Im sure its still tougher to spell it....

As ash from Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano continued to keep European airspace shut down over the weekend, affecting millions of travelers around the world, some government agencies and airlines clashed over the flight bans. Some restricted airspace is now beginning to open up and some limited flights are being allowed now as airlines are pushing for the ability to judge safety conditions for themselves. The volcano continues to rumble and hurl ash skyward, if at a slightly diminished rate now, as the dispersing ash plume has dropped closer to the ground, and the World Health Organization has issued a health warning to Europeans with respiratory conditions. Collected here are some images from Iceland over the past few days.

Lightning streaks across the sky as lava flows from a volcano in Eyjafjallajokul April 17, 2010. (REUTERS/Lucas Jackson)

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The volcano in southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier sends ash into the air just prior to sunset ON Friday, April 16, 2010. Thick drifts of volcanic ash blanketed parts of rural Iceland on Friday as a vast, invisible plume of grit drifted over Europe, emptying the skies of planes and sending hundreds of thousands in search of hotel rooms, train tickets or rental cars. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gauti) #

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Chunks of ice from a glacial flood triggered by a volcanic eruption lie in front of the still-erupting volcano near Eyjafjallajokul on April 17, 2010. (REUTERS/Lucas Jackson) #

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This aerial photo shows the Eyjafjallajokull volcano billowing smoke and ash on April 17, 2010. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images) #

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A woman stands near a waterfall that has been dirtied by ash that has accumulated from the plume of an erupting volcano near Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland on April 18, 2010. (REUTERS/Lucas Jackson) #

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A small plane (upper left) flies past smoke and ash billowing from a volcano in Eyjafjallajokul, Iceland on April 17, 2010. (REUTERS/Lucas Jackson) #

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Smoke billows from a volcano in Eyjafjallajokull on April 16, 2010. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images)#

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The sun sets in a sky dusted with ash, over Lake Geneva, as seen from the Lavaux Vineyard Terraces, a UNESCO site in Switzerland, on April 17, 2010. (FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images) #

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The volcano in southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier sends ash into the air Saturday, April 17, 2010. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gauti) #

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Farmers team up to rescue cattle from exposure to the toxic volcanic ash at a farm in Nupur, Iceland, as the volcano in southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier sends ash into the air Saturday, April 17, 2010. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gauti) #

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A rescue team helps landowners to clear volcanic ash from a roof in Seljavellir, Iceland on April 18, 2010. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images) #

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A dark ash cloud looms over the Icelandic south coast April 17, 2010. (REUTERS/Ingolfur Juliusson) #

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Lightning, smoke and lava above Iceland's Eyjafjallajokul volcano on April 17, 2010. (REUTERS/Lucas Jackson) #

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View seen from a road leading to the Eyjafjallajokull volcano as it continues to billow smoke and ash during an eruption on April 17, 2010. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images) #

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A man runs along the roadside, taking pictures of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano as it continues to billow smoke and ash during an eruption on April 17, 2010. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images) #

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A huge ash cloud creeps over the Icelandic south coast April 16, 2010. (REUTERS/Ingolfur Juliusson) #

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Wearing a mask and goggles to protect against the smoke, dairy farmer Berglind Hilmarsdottir from Nupur, Iceland, looks for cattle lost in ash clouds, Saturday, April 17, 2010. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gauti) #

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A farmer checks muddy volcanic ash on his land in Iceland on April 18, 2010. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images) #

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This aerial image shows the crater spewing ash and plumes of grit at the summit of the volcano in southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier Saturday April 17, 2010. (AP Photo/Arnar Thorisson/Helicopter.is) #

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A pilot takes pictures of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano billowing smoke and ash during an eruption on April 17, 2010. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images) #

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Construction crews repair a road damaged by floods from glacial melting caused by a volcano in Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland April 17, 2010. (REUTERS/Lucas Jackson) #

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Horses graze in a field near the Eyjafjallajokull volcano as it continues to billow dark smoke and ash during an eruption late on April 17, 2010. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images) #

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Ingi Sveinbjoernsso leads his horses on a road covered volcanic ash back to his barn in Yzta-baeli, Iceland on April 18, 2010. They come galloping out of the volcanic storm, hooves muffled in the ash, manes flying. 24 hours earlier he had lost the shaggy Icelandic horses in an ash cloud that turned day into night, blanketing the landscape in sticky gray mud. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images) #

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The ash plume of southwestern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano streams southwards over the Northern Atlantic Ocean in a satellite photograph made April 17, 2010. The erupting volcano in Iceland sent new tremors on April 19, but the ash plume which has caused air traffic chaos across Europe has dropped to a height of about 2 km (1.2 mi), the Meteorological Office said. (REUTERS/NERC Satellite Receiving Station, Dundee University, Scotland) #

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A woman makes a phone call in the empty arrival hall of Prague's Ruzyne Airport after all flights were grounded due to volcanic ash in the skies coming from Iceland April 18, 2010. Air travel across much of Europe was paralyzed for a fourth day on Sunday by a huge cloud of volcanic ash, but Dutch and German test flights carried out without apparent damage seemed to offer hope of respite. (REUTERS/David W Cerny) #

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Lava and lightning light the crater of Eyjafjallajokul volcano on April 17, 2010. (REUTERS/Lucas Jackson) #

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The first of 3 photos by Olivier Vandeginste, taken 10 km east of Hvolsvollur at a distance 25 km from the Eyjafjallajokull craters on April 18th, 2010. Lightning and motion-blurred ash appear in this 15-second exposure. (© Olivier Vandeginste) #

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The second of 3 photos by Olivier Vandeginste, taken 25 km from the Eyjafjallajokull craters on April 18th, 2010. The ash plume is lit from within by multiple flashes of lightning in this 168 second exposure. (© Olivier Vandeginste) #

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The third of 3 photos by Olivier Vandeginste, taken 10 km east of Hvolsvollur Iceland on April 18th, 2010. Lightning flashes and glowing lava illuminate parts of Eyjafjallajokull's massive ash plume in this 30-second exposure.