Prashant Ivaturi

For Xmas 2018, we planned to visit our cousins in Kakinada. Kakinada is a coastal town right by the sea. It was a 4 day trip, and my first to Kakinada. Ideally, had it not been to visit my cousins, this could easily have been a 2 day weekend trip. We left by train (Cocanada Express) from Hyderabad, and reached Kakinada in the morning. As stay was at our cousin's place, we did not incur stay cost. Having said that, there are plenty of good stay options in/ around Kakinada. Places to see, and things to do in/ around Kakinada (directions link ): There are lot of places worth seeing in and around Kakinada Kakinada is a port town - it is one of the smart cities in Andhra Pradesh. Visit the beaches (albeit the beaches have black sand and not the cleanest). Go to the recently built Beach Park for some attractions. Eat the Madatha Kaja and Gottam Kaja (must try), and try the unending veg thali at iconic Subbayya gari hotel (go to the original and oldest branch) while here. Uppa...

With Friday, Nov 1st being a holiday in Karnataka for Kannada Rajyotsava, my wife had a long weekend. I decided to take a day off from work to make it a long weekend, and planned a road trip with family (kids and parents). The thought came to mind while I was speaking to a colleague at work about his hometown (Proddatur). As I looked at the map, I realized that Gandikota (The Grand Canyon equivalent in India) was nearby, and a 2 day weekend trip would be ideal and we would have a day in hand to rest. Then, as I started researching about other attractions nearby, I learnt about Yaganti, Belum Caves, Gooty fort, Tadipatri, Ahobilam, Mahanandi, Kurnool and Alampur. Each place had so much history, culture, mythology, and religious prominence that it was not to be missed. We realized that to cover all these places, 2 days was not going to be sufficient. Finally, we decided to make it a 3-day road trip, and also cut down the places to visit. There are several blogs from people who have...

I started running regularly only recently. In the last 12 months, I have been trying to make this a habit, and over the months, I have been able to run more. I had signed up for the Airtel Hyderabad 10K run in August, but unfortunately, I had to travel on work, and could not participate then. Then, once I was back, work took center stage, I put in long hours at work, and all fitness activity stopped for about 3 months. I started feeling heavy, and when I stood up on the weighing scale, I was embarrassed. I had put on weight and had to start the fitness journey all over again. Then, I made a decision to make fitness, and running, a core habit for life. I started training - slowly, and ran small distances to begin with. And by November end, I was able to run/walk the Hyderabad 10K  in about 1 hr 16 mins. I was proud of myself, and it gave me the belief that if I could run a 10K with such little practice, I could run far more consistently, and long distances with regular practice. I...

It has been a long time since I blogged. I was either busy, lazy or did not want to blog. Whatever it might be, I did not write for a long time. Now, suddenly I felt that I should start blogging again in 2019 so that I keep tab of some of the crazy things that I do, and I started off with this. New Year's is a time for resolutions. I make my personal goals/ resolutions each year. I have been doing this for my sake for the last 4 years now. And this year is not going to be new. Some of the things will not change from the list as well. But what has helped me most is to bucket these goals into broad categories that almost becomes a lifelong framework. These are generic and applicable to all. You can make lists within each category and track them. So, here you go - these are my goal categories: 1. Managing Relationships - Family, friends are important to me. I will  de-clutter, and focus only on key relationships. 2. Health & Fitness - I have been blessed with good health,...