CybageTIMeS€¦ · A: One of the bigger challenges right now is mobile. You can either build a...

CybageTIMeSNews Magazine of Cybage Software Pvt. Ltd.Issue 16 | March 2016

Bringing life to work ★★★★★★

Tony Donohoe,

SVP and CTO, Expedia

Customer Meet '15

AnnuAl 2 0 1 5

2 CybageTIMeS | March 2016

Editor’s Note

ContentsFrom the CEO’s desk 3

News & Accolades 4

Customer Meet 2015 5

Winning partnerships 8

In the spotlight 10

Annual Bash 2015 12

Sports 22

CybageAsha 24

CybageKhushboo 25

Travel diaries 26

Managed by the Corporate Communications team, designed by Maithili Kulkarni (Visual Communication team), content reviewed by Durga Godbole, Yomi Vinayaka and Namita Tribhuwan (Documentation team), photography by Sabyasachi Saha, Subhayu Chakraborti and Gaurav Singh

Dear Reader,

The perfect window to all that We do at Cybage: this is how one of our Cybagians has described CybageTimes. Indeed, it is! A host of events and activities dot our calendar; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that no day is left out. The magazine is thoughtfully designed; there is always something for everybody.

Our US Customer Meet at Pebble Beach Golf Links left an indelible mark on the minds of all the senior executives present at the event. From the one-of-its-kind venue to the meticulous planning, the meet was full of great camaraderie and healthy interaction.

Our Annual Bash is one of the most sought-after events; the not-to-miss type. A show studded with a fine blend of popular desi and global performances; where Cybagians and their families have a good time.

The ‘spirit of Cybagians’ is also best felt through their adventures mentioned in Travel Diaries. From treacherous treks, traversing long distances on bikes, to brushes with history, Cybagians have done it all!

The heart of Cybage lies in reaching out to the less fortunate in more ways than one. Through its two philanthropic arms, CybageAsha and CybageKhushboo, it’s not just about ‘the joy in giving’ but changing people’s lives and livelihood for the better.

To end on a high note, Tony Donohoe, SVP and CTO, Expedia, articulates how this winning partnership with Cybage helps his company go full steam ahead towards its goals.

And there is so much more to be savored in this issue of CybageTimes.

Happy reading!

March 2016 | CybageTIMeS 3

Deep in the countryside, there was a farm with a reputation for producing the best quality corn in the state. Intriguingly, this farmland was not more fertile than the surrounding fields of corn. In fact, the farmer would even share his premium corn seeds with his neighbors right before each sowing season. Still each year, his crop fetched him a price higher than that of the other farmers. everyone loved the rich farmer. Here was a farm that was the owner’s pride, yet not the neighbor’s envy!

It’s a feel-good story. God helps those who help others. Is that so? Perhaps countryside. The urban landscape seems poles apart. Over here, ‘competition’ is the name of the game.

Sure, it’s an in-thing to preach our kids and our workforce to not worry about standing taller than the rest. ‘Just be your own best’ is the mantra. Theoretically. The reality is different.

We live in times when it’s near impossible to succeed without competing. Youngsters need to outshine their peers for premium college admissions and lucrative job placements. Employees need to outperform their colleagues for outstanding hikes and fast-track promotions.

Competition is inevitable in academic, professional, or any other walk of our existence. Life on a farm is no exception. It was not the selflessness that led to the farmer’s success. The rich farmer did compete like everyone else. Why else did he take advantage of his premium produce by pricing it higher than his neighbors?

Do you know that wind picks up pollen from ripening corn and swirls it from field to field? If the farmer’s neighbors’ grew inferior corn, cross-pollination would steadily degrade the quality of his corn

too. So if the farmer were to grow the best corn, he had to help his neighbors grow good corn.

If we wish to succeed, ‘helping others succeed’ is fast becoming a prerequisite in today’s connected world. Why? Because most still don’t practice collaboration. Therefore, the ones who practice stand noticeably taller and thus gain a competitive edge.

you see, sometimes, the best way to compete is to not compete. Sometimes, the right thing to do is not about righteousness but about smartness. Sometimes, a good story is not about goodness, but about wisdom!

From the CEO’s deskOwner’s pride, without neighbor’s envy

Sincerely,

Arun Nathani | CEO & MD www.arunnathaniblog.com


Cybage continues to soar in Zinnov’s annual survey

Cybage has been adjudged in the leadership zone in enterprise and consumer software category by Zinnov’s Global R&D Service Providers Ratings (GSPR) survey 2015. In a global survey report on R&D services organizations, Zinnov has recognized Cybage as an ‘Established’ player in the product engineering market.

This recognition bears testimony to Cybage’s agility in adapting to the technological changes in the market and its scientific approach towards delivery excellence. This recognition also endorses Cybage’s strength in the outsourced product engineering space and clearly positions Cybage as a leader in the market.

Cybage partners with Sharegate

Cybage joined hands with Sharegate as its distribution partner. Sharegate is an industry leader in simplified management tasks for SharePoint, Office 365, and OneDrive, which benefits thousands of administrators and power users around the world. By virtue of this partnership, Cybage is entitled to a range of benefits such as access to Sharegate software and support for internal use, demos, and engagement with their partners in sales and technical trainings.

News & Accolades

Cybage’s second Development Center comes up in Hyderabad

Cybage recently inaugurated its second Development Center at DLF Cyber City (SEZ), Hyderabad. The new facility will complement, enhance, and support the Cybage headquarters. Gracing the occasion, CEO Arun Nathani said, “The new facility in Hyderabad is a part of the company’s overall domestic and global expansion drive. The scaling up of operations in Hyderabad will enable the company to expand its core teams to support the growth it is experiencing. Infrastructure, strategic location, connectivity, and capitalizing on good skill sets in the region are also important factors.”


Customer Meet 2015

Ranked No 1 in the world, Pebble Beach Golf Links links you to the US Customer Meet that Cybage hosted in October 2015, which left an indelible memory in the minds of all present.

Wide open vistas, cliff-side fairways, and sloping greens adorn the coastline, making it a breath-taking scene.

Every golfer dreams to play at The Pebble Beach Golf Links at least once in his or her lifetime. Our esteemed Golf-loving customers and our very own CXOs lived their dream at this historic golf course.

With great enthusiasm, this grand event was meticulously planned over two months. A series of eight emails kept our customers informed of the plans. The two-night stay at The Lodge at Pebble Beach was inviting as it soaked in the spectacular view of the 9th hole.

The 22 CXOs experienced a variety of sessions during the event. Amit Gajwani introduced Cybage and its thought process and capabilities. To accentuate the idea, Arun Nathani gave a presentation on ExcelShore, and Jagat Pal Singh briefed the guests on our expertise in the emerging technologies. Deepak Nathani concluded the event with a succinct Thank You note.

A great camaraderie was formed over informal meals, the tourney, prizes, and more surprises.


From L to R

1

Deepak Nathani, COO, Cybage; David Seaman, SVP & CTO, Metalogix; James Chen, Senior Executive Officer & Vice Executive Director, Rakuten, Inc; Scott Brady, Executive Chairman & Co-Founder, Slice

Keith Morrow, EVP, Epsilon; Damon Fieldgate, VP, Deluxe Corporation; Amit Jasuja, SVP, Symantec; John Oberon, VP, Cisco

Chris Satovick, COO, PlaceMedia; Tim Mattox, President and COO, Upland; Simon Kooyman, CEO, ORC; Arun Nathani, CEO, Cybage; Rajshri Ghoshal; Scott Heimes, CMO, Digital River; Gurvinder Singh Chhatwal, VP, Cybage; Jagat Pal Singh, CTO, Cybage


5

Pebble Beach Golf Links has been the site of golf's most prestigious tournaments, including the annual AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and five U.S. Open Championships including the 2010 U.S. Open. The U.S. Open is also scheduled for the sixth time in 2019!

Amit Gajwani, SVP, Cybage; Arun Nathani; John Stewart, SVP, Farelogix Inc., Joe Healey, CEO, Faster Asset Solutions; Mark Liao, CFO, TURN; Rajshri Ghoshal; Dharmesh Thakker, General Partner, Battery Ventures

Greg Wiggins, CTO, Central Logic; Anand Hirekatur, Director, CarRentals.com; David Brubeck, SVP, MobiTV

Chad Collins, COO, HighJump; Greg Parker, Senior Manager, Dealertrack; Peter Burke, Technologist; Purandar Das, CTO, YesMail


Tony Donohoe, SVP and CTO, Expedia, tells CybageTimes why Cybage is expedia’s partner of choice. He also shares a few valuable insights into leadership and effective team building.

After completing his education from Dublin, Ireland, Tony started his career with Oracle. From working on analytics and reporting for a large corporation, Tony moved to understanding small organizations with a web consulting company—Organic. Other companies such as Washington Mutual, Chase.com, and JP Morgan beckoned, but could not hold him back. His love for travel brought him to Expedia, where he has put down roots.

Q: What do you feel about Cybage as a partner?

I think Cybage has been a great partner and we share a high level of trust. We liked the spirit of Cybage when we walked the floor with them. We had more engaging conversations with the engineers and felt that the hunger was there, intellectual curiosity was there. We like Cybage because they are very flexible and really willing to work with us.

When we chose Cybage, we had other options. But we interacted with the team and realized their intellectual curiosity. We felt that Cybage will be a trustworthy partner who will cut the red tape. All this was in fit with our culture and so we picked Cybage.

Q: What do you look for when building a team?

A: I look for hunger and attitude, not necessarily experience. If people are intellectually curious and interested in the space, they can pick up the experience. And you will want to build a team where everybody wants to be around each other, roughly with a common cause, and they will get past all the problems, because they want to. People doing it just for the sake of past experience might lack the interest from their heart and won’t

be able to face the heat of the battle. They will be gone.

Q: How do you handle the trappings of leadership?

A: I think being a leader and having confidence is very important for a manager. However, for being successful as a manager, you need to stay humble. When you are humble, your mind and your ears are open, which gives you the ability to listen to others.

Q: What are the prime challenges faced by you in your business?

A: One of the bigger challenges right now is mobile. You can either build a core mobile team or you can spread the mobile knowledge across your existing teams by line of business. We are building a core team, which maintains a high bar in native app development and domain expertise. May be they will build a new product or do bleeding edge work, and provide governance; but the LOB teams will provide engineers that can

Winning Partnerships

Tony with Chirag Bindal, AVP, Cybage, outside Expedia HQ in Seattle, USA


work on Desktop, iOS, Android, or Windows phone app. If I can marry the two, we will win in the mobile space.

Q: What role does Cybage play in enhancing your business needs?

A: Cybage has been perfect in helping us produce very high velocity, multiple variations on our mobile app. They worked in sync with our team in Gurgaon, and very quickly we had a framework in place to support our strategy of multiple brands on one platform.

Q: What will be the next big thing in your industry?

A: As we can see it today, I think there will be a higher rise of Artificial Intelligence and predictive real-time insights to the extent that it will look like we are predicting everything but it’s still based on data. So if we go by the example of Google’s self-driven car; which knows driving rules, traffic pattern, and parking; and if I apply it to our product, we can know the frequency of trips, family members, and customer preferences or needs. I can show you the hundred things to try and I can tell you with confidence that this is the right combo, and that’s an example of the industry providing the insights and predicting what you think you need.

Unlike online shopping, travel is an expensive decision with a long lead time and if it doesn’t go well, you can’t return the vacation. So, customers are more careful while choosing. OTAs don’t really help you get that right. Most of the agencies optimize business for price, but we would like to optimize it for experience. I think OTAs will eventually get to a point where if you don’t have a great experience, ultimately you have work for you. So, the experience should get better.

Q: Tell us about your passions beyond work.

A: I love traveling. Travel makes you retain an open mind and heart. I am actually very lucky with my job. Making those trips is fascinating. For Expedia, I have been to India five times, which I couldn’t have otherwise. It is actually very exciting and humbling to go to a different country and meet the people there.

Rapid-fire:

Favorite movie: Butch Cassidy

and the Sundance Kid

Favorite cuisine: Asian food,

particularly Vietnamese

Favorite blog: Expedia internal

tech blog

Favorite gadget: iPhone

and iWatch

Favorite holiday destination: Paris

Favorite sportsperson: Wayne Rooney, Maradona,

Sachin Tendulkar

An inspirational character from a book or movie: the story of

Gandhi, pretty amazing…

Favorite musician or band: Miles Davis

If you could be one person in history: Harry Truman

An alternative career choice: Photography

One thing you always wanted to do, but never did: Climb Everest

Your favorite quote: “Most managers are trying to build

a team, we decided that we would

build a club.”

A sentence that would describe you best: “I think I am very open-

minded with people and I like to

treat people with respect by telling

them what I am thinking.”

Message to Cybagians

We love the Cybage relationship. Cybage has a special place in our hearts. The more Cybage understands the Expedia culture, you might find that there is even more opportunity for Cybage to grow with us.


In the spotlight

1

2

4 5

6

7

3


1. Clothes donation drive at Gandhinagar

2. Our biker enthusiasts ride to Mahabubnagar

3. Sun, sand, and the beach! GroupM-Sharepoint Support team at Diveagar

4. Fun games, events, sumptuous dinner, and a DJ made the Turn project party at Gandhinagar most memorable!

5. Gandhinagar-wasis thrilled with their lucky draw prizes

6. Food, apparel, diyas, jewelry and much more at Cyb-Bazaar in Pune

7. Some extraordinary rangoli on display in Pune

8. Adding luck to Diwali with Bingo night at our beautiful CT lawns

9. DRgT-QA enjoys a hearty dinner at Sigri, Pune

10. The HUB team outing at Girivan Resort, Mulshi

11. Cybagians dress up in their ethnic best to celebrate Traditional Day

12. Reliving childhood, playing games, and more at Hyderabad Fun Fair

9

12

810

11

Rising excitement and revelry countered the

plummeting December temperatures at the party

of the year, the 20th Cybage Annual Bash. COO

Deepak Nathani warmly welcomed more than 5,000

Cybagians and their families. Spreading the fragrance

of hope, the Cybage CSR film unveiled by CybageAsha and

CybageKhushboo Managing Trustee, Ritu Nathani touched the

hearts of all present. The celebrations began with famed Bollywood

playback singer KK’s musical concert, international violinists, and

some nimble-footed dancers. Like every year, the show stealer remained

the ‘Management Dance’ and CEO Arun Nathani’s inspiring speech for his

‘rockstars’ and their families. Forty one Cybagians were felicitated for completing

10 glorious years of service.



Gandhinagar

The annual extravaganza at Gandhinagar

touched the hearts of more than 500 Cybagians

and their families. A musical performance by

our Cybagians set the tone of the evening,

entertaining performance by Bollywood singer

Shaili Shah, energetic dances by our Cybagians

had the crowd asking for more. CEO Arun

Nathani connected well with employees through

his ‘inspiring’ speech, as always. The power-

packed ‘Management Dance’ ended on a high

note with an encore; the felicitation ceremony

was gracefully conducted as a tribute to those

who completed 10 glorious years at Cybage; and

music and dance continued to add merriment to

the evening.


Hyderabad

In the gracious presence of Arun and

Ritu Nathani, the Cybage Annual Bash

at Hyderabad was celebrated with

fervor. Famous Telugu singer, Geeta

Madhuri had the audience tapping

their feet to her regional tunes.

In true Cybage ishtyle, scintillating

dance performances by our

Cybagians, and the perfectly practiced

‘Management Dance’ were a visual

treat. Arun’s invigorating address

to the audience and the felicitation

ceremony were among the other

highlights of the evening.

Rohit Tiwari Software Engineer

“The food was awesome, the stage was wonderful, and the Management Dance was a super-duper hit. It was a mind-blowing evening.”

Vivek Vig VP and Head - Life Sciences Practice

“My dance, the management dance! Practice, precision, and perfection, what more can I say!”

Nayna Bhave Software Engineer

“KK was a blast! The Management Dance, awesome! And of course, the mouthwatering food!"

Ramachandran Iyer Delivery Manager

“I was felicitated for completing 10 glorious years at Cybage. It was a moment of pride for me and I will cherish it forever.”

Karan Meher System Engineer

“The overall ambience, the international artistes, the Management Dance, and KK’s performance—all of them were amazing!”

Nutan Patil Sr. Project Manager

“The violinists gave a stunning performance and our Management put up a grand dance act.”

Prasoon Puri Software Engineer

“The prized moment was when our CEO and COO walked through the crowd and took selfies with us.”

Amol Surwase QA Engineer

“KK’s non-stop performance left us mesmerized.”

Cybagians had only superlatives to share with

CybageTimes on being asked about their best

moments at the Bash.

Reminiscing the revelry


Abhijit More Sr. Presales Executive

“This was one of the best bashes I have attended till date. It was exhilarating to see Cybagians and their families partying together.”

Kirti Namjoshi Recruitment Lead

“The highlights of the Annual Bash were the Management Dance and Arun’s speech.”

Abarao Bhople CRM Administrator

“My family and I had a blast! The playing area for the kids added to the fun for my little one.”

Waseem Dalvi Sr. QA Analyst

“COO Deepak Nathani’s speech, the CSR movie, and KK’s performance made the evening worth the wait.”

Mahesh Chandiramani QA Engineer

“Our CEO Arun Nathani’s ever inspiring and captivating speech.”

Raksha Wath Software Engineer

“The venue and decor were nicely done and created a great ambiance.”

Akshay Sawant Software Engineer

"The opening performance by the violinists was one of the best I had ever seen.”

Sarang Padhye Tech Support Executive

“I always look forward to the Management Dance and Arun’s speech. For me, those are the best parts of the bash.”



Pool Tournament

Ace cueists of Cybage came together for the Annual Pool Tournament held recently at the Cybage headquarters. It was a title clash that displayed the warm and friendly environment of Cybage. One could see enthusiastic employees practicing pool, trying new skills, and supporting friends during the event. The following members emerged as winners:

Women’s Singles: Sheetal DiggikarWomen’s Doubles: Sheetal Diggikar and Sajila ViswanathanMen’s Singles: Sudarshan RegmiMen’s Doubles: Achyut Walke and Srinivas KasturiMixed Doubles: Sumit Bijlani and Vaishali Karande

Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon

The 13th edition of Asia’s premier marathon, Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon witnessed three athletes from Cybage, Taru Mateti, Head – Documentation & eLearning; Jitendra Patel, Head – CoE Cloud; and Shishir Srivastav, Project Manager.

Taru upped her ante by finishing second in the 50–55 years age category this year from last years’ third position. Jitendra and Shishir finished the 42.195 km run by clocking 5:24:02 and 4:29:06, respectively. Kudos to these Cybagians for showcasing astounding grit and endurance.

Flame University Corporate IT League

Cybage scored an impressive 32-run win against Capgemini at one of the league matches held recently. Rakesh Shinde snagged six wickets and one run-out on his bowling, while Kaushalendra Singh’s score of 64 runs in 48 balls had the opponents running for cover.

Sports

Badminton Tournament

The Cybage Badminton team displayed admirable sportsmanship by clinching three titles at the Corporate Olympics, India’s first and only multi-city National-level corporate sports event, held in December 2015–January 2016.

We bagged three championship titles; namely, Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, and 35+ Women’s Singles and stood runners-up in the Team event.

Results: Men’s Singles: Sudeep Tupakul (Winner), Ashish Doke (Runner-up)

Men’s Doubles: Sudeep Tupakul and Ashish Kulkarni (Winner)

35+ Women’s Singles: Taru Mateti

Team event: Ashish Doke, Sudeep Tupakul, Ashish Kulkarni, Navneet Pandey, and Sachin Bhatt (runners-up)

Marathon

Continuing with her winning streak in marathons, Taru Mateti finished first amongst women in the 10k run and emerged third, with men included, at the Corporate Olympics–Marathon.

PuneCorporate Olympics


Indoor Competition Cybagians came up with sparkling performances in multiple categories at the recently concluded Indoor Sports Competitions 2015. The following Cybagians emerged as winners.

Chess: Subrata Parial

Pool: Doubles: Sanjay Menghani and Anand Shashank Kota Singles: Surender Balshetty

Foosball: Shiva Palusa and Pavan Ghanta

Carom: Men’s Singles: Ravindra Beeram

Men’s Doubles: Surender Balshetty and Srikanth Vadlamudi

Women’s Singles: Anusha Krishna Jannumahati

Women’s Doubles: Archana Mundra and Benazir Mohammad

Mixed Doubles: Narendra Medarametla and Namratha Banothu

Darts: Men’s event: Amit Kumar Women’s event: Garima Mishra

IT Champions TrophyOur Hyderabad cricket team emerged runners-up in the IT Champions Trophy 2015. A well-fought game against PAREXEL in the finals was notable because our team started playing in corporate tournaments only this year. Let us congratulate our players, who are winners all the way. This performance fills us with hope that more trophies are in the pipeline in the forthcoming tournaments.

Gandhinagar Cybage Premier League (CPL) Team Raptors led by Hardip Gadhvi trounced Team Riders and earned the coveted Cybage Premier League (CPL) title in January 2016. The 8th edition of CPL received an overwhelming response with participation from eight teams. We would like to applaud the individuals who won following titles at the joust:

Man of the Series: Samir ShahBest Batsman: Samir ShahBest Bowler: Bitupon Hazarika

Hyderabad


Diwali delight: Cybage donates Rs. 24 lakh to NGOs

These NGOs work for causes such as rural upliftment, welfare of senior citizens, women empowerment and slum community welfare, welfare of the differently-abled, street children and children with cerebral palsy, and de-addiction.

CybageAsha

CybageAsha assumed the role of a personal tutor with its teaching activity for Class IX students of the IES School, an English medium school, functioning for students from the lower socio-economic strata. These tutorials target students who are lagging behind in their classes and help them come up to speed on their ‘weak subjects’.

This ‘weekend only’ activity continued till March 5, 2016.

To bring the Diwali festivities to the Swaranaad School for children with hearing impairment, CybageAsha organized various art & craft workshops for lantern making, diya decoration, among others. Continuing with Cybage’s on-going support to Cochlea organization, CybageAsha volunteers also extended help to prepare a skit performance and other activities for the schools’ annual day function.

Deepak Nathani spent some quality time with children from the Cochlea organization, one of the beneficiaries working for children with hearing impairment.

Each one, teach one

Igniting talent: Cochlea art & craft activity

Volunteers don’t necessarily have the time; they just have the heart’: On the occasion of International Volunteers’ Day, CybageAsha planned a fun-filled evening to celebrate the passionate spirit of its volunteers.


CybageKhushboo

Digital literacy is one of the important pillars of the Honorable Prime Minister’s ‘Digital India’ campaign. We are pleased to inform you that CybageKhushboo is a part of the Digital

Literacy Volunteering Campaign, Pune, initiated by NASSCOM Foundation. In January, Cybage and NASSCOM Foundation jointly announced the launch of the National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM) Center dedicated to training people in Digital Literacy. Cybage will facilitate the training infrastructure and trainers at the center that has opened in the Khulewadi commuinity near Chandan Nagar.

This center is expected to train 500 people in a year on all digital devices, specifically, computers and mobile phones. Once trained, the beneficiaries will be able to send emails, network on social media, buy from e-commerce websites, and use the Internet to avail various government services such as registering for Aadhar cards, ration cards and PAN cards. The beneficiaries include digitally illiterate individuals such as house maids or cleaners, fruit and vegetable vendors, and shopkeepers, in the age group of 14 to 60 years.

We encourage our readers to contribute towards this mission by imparting digital literacy training to any individual that they encounter in their day-to-day lives.

CybageKhushboo recently conducted a student development session for the 2014-15 batch, concluding the series of informative sessions for this batch. The objective of the session was to engage students in critical self-reflection and a greater understanding of communication through a variety of educational activities.

The four-hour session saw a revision of the topics that were conducted by Prajakta Albuquerque over the last 10 months; topics such as articles and prepositions, tenses, phrasal verbs, basic grammar, and presentation skills.

The session also focused on interview skills. It was an interactive two-hour session during which students learnt how to work in a corporate world. Videos of students’ mockup interviews were shown to them followed by discussions on their areas of improvement.

Ritu Nathani, Managing Trustee, CybageKhushboo, present at this concluding session, said, “I am overwhelmed to see the remarkable improvement in the communication and

presentation skills of these students. It is heartening to see the transformation from what they were to what they are. I commend Prajakta’s grit, allegiance, and sacrifice over the past few months where she dedicated her weekends to effortlessly bring them up to a level par excellence.”

CybageKhushboo concludes sessions for 2014-15 batch of students

Digital literacy volunteering campaign

Geography: Bike ride started from Pune covering three states of southern India—Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. Travelled four cities—Bangalore, Kochi, Madurai, and Rameswaram.

Famous for: Beautiful beaches, mesmerizing greenery and wildlife of the Periyar Tiger Reserve, tropical forests, majestic mountains, ancient temples, Kerala backwaters, and the Vivekananda Rock Memorial situated in the midst of the ocean near Kanyakumari.

Facts: Folklore also credits Kerala to be God’s own country because it is said to have been recovered from the sea by Parshuram, the sixth avatar of Lord Vishnu. Its main attractions include renowned pilgrimage center Sabarimala; Dhanushkodi, where Lord Rama is said to have built a bridge to Lanka; and the Meenakshi temple. Periyar National Park, which is an elephant and tiger reserve spread over 925 sq. km. at the border of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, boasts of a variety of flora and fauna.

Jitendra Bhaskar, Sr. System Engineer

From the source of

the Parvati river in the

north to the Parvati

temple of Meenakshi

in the south, trekking

across the high

altitudes of Himalayas

and relaxing on the

pointy beaches,

Cybagians, drenched

in the wanderlust for

spirituality, travelled

across the country to

explore Indian history

and culture.

Trav

el Dia

ries

3,829 kms 12 days

Sout

h In

dia


Geography: Gol Gumbaz is situated in the historical city of Bijapur, Karnataka; 530 kilometers from Bangalore. This city is also famous for various other monuments such as Ibrahim Rouza, Kumatagi Palace, and Barakaman.

Famous for: With a dome of diameter 124 feet, Gol Gumbaz is the second largest dome in the world after the St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Facts: Gol Gumbaz is the mausoleum of Muhammad Adil Shah (AD 1626-1656), the seventh Sultan of the Adil Shahi dynasty, his wives, and daughters. This magnificent structure, which took 20 years to complete, has a central dome which stands without the support of pillars. The monument has an acoustic feature wherein sound echoes 11 times over and can be heard at a distance of 37 kilometers.

Geography: The Pin Parvati Pass is a mountain pass located 5,319 meters (17,800 feet) above sea level in Himachal Pradesh.

Famous for: The trek route borders the Pin Valley National Park, known for sightings of the elusive snow leopard, musk deer, ibex, and rare Himalayan birds such as the Western Tragopan.

Facts: Pin Parvati Pass provides a great trans-Himalayan trek for seasoned trekkers. The 115-km-long trek is known as one of the most visually stunning but challenging treks because of the high altitude and heavy snowfall throughout the year. The trek starts from the lush green Kullu valley and takes you through coniferous forests and alpine meadows to the glacial lake of Mantalai, the source of river Parvati, to the stark and barren Pin valley in Spiti.

Vineet Zunjarwad, QA Engineer

Reaching Gol Gumbaz: Nearest airport: Belgaum, 205 kms, Nearest railway station: Dantewada, 2 kms

Uzma Bakshi, Sr. Software Engineer

Reaching Pin Parvati Pass: The nearest airport and railway station is Delhi. From Delhi, a journey by road takes you to Kasol or Kullu. This is followed by a short cab drive to Barsheni, the starting point of the trek.

115 kms

Delhi – Kasol – Barsheni

12 days

350 kms

8-hour road trip from Pune via NH 13

2-3 days

Pin

Parv

ati P

ass

Gol G

umba

z


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