'Only Coffee' chain serves filter coffee on National & State highways in Tamilnadu

Thanks to the efforts of G. Samyraj, you can now drink hot filter coffee when you are driving on the National and State Highways in Tamil Nadu.
G. Samyraj and his fellow-villagers identified spots on the National and State highways in Tamil Nadu, sat there from six in the morning to eight at night to count how many cars passed that way per hour. If the math worked, they opened a coffee outlet there. Not just any coffee, but Kumbakonam Degree Coffee!
G. Samyraj who came up with this initiative belongs to Zameen Devarkulam, a village 10 kilometres away from Kovilpatti. He worked for nearly a decade in the Middle East before returning to his village, where, he was pained to see fellow farmers struggling and in debt. He decided to do something about it. Eight months ago he set up his first Only Coffee outlet at Mangalamedu. Today, he has eleven of them up and running, and manned by people from his village.
The outlets are called ‘Naidu Coffee Inn' and as 'Only Coffee’. A dark blue board announces their presence. “We picked quiet spots where people in cars could stop and enjoy a refreshing cup. I am a coffee priyan and I love the idea of others like me enjoying a satisfying coffee, in the middle or end of a long drive. Kumbakonam Degree Coffee is a trade mark of Tamil Nadu and we serve that. It is like coffee made at home.” Frothy, piping hot, filter-coffee is served in gleaming pithalai davara tumblers. There is sugar-free substitutes for diabetics. “Sabari Malai pilgrims, and so on, are served in disposable cups,” explains Samyraj. The beans are procured from Chikamagalur and roasted at Virudhunagar from where they are delivered to the outlets where they are ground. Now Samyraj plans to go a step further to standardise flavours. He is working on setting up a unit where the decoction is centrally made. “So that the coffee will taste the same in all our outlets.” The R& D is underway and Samyraj hopes to get this plan off its feet soon.
What’s coffee without an accompanying snack? “Vegetarian bajji bonda will also be available. And we plan to centralise the grocery supplies as well. Only the vegetables will be sourced locally,” says Samyraj. The outlet proudly declares that it uses sunflower oil for frying and that the oil is not recycled. There is also a telephone number on teh board in case anyone has complaints. “We want feedback. That way we are alert about the service we provide. And we have communication with our customers.”
Samyraj insists Only Coffee stands for transparency and quality. Along with his business partners R. Anandhan and A. Kalpana, he is now on the lookout for franchisees. “We will set up the outlet for them and even have two of our trained staff to be with them for a month to show them how the café is run. We will supply the coffee powder and the grocery items too. Investors need approximately two lakh rupees that includes a deposit.”
Samyraj hopes that not too long in the future there will be at least a hundred Only Coffee outlets in Tamil Nadu. Till that time, he says, he and his team members will ensure that hot filter coffee priced at Rs 15 is served to the customers with a smile.

For details email akvfarms@gmail.com or call 9940627322/ 9443911011

Content source: The Hindu.

Kargil War Memorial (J&K) visited by Arjun Uberoi & friends by Ford Ecosport in Aug 2014

Kargil War Memorial (J&K) visited by Arjun Uberoi & friends by Ford Ecosport in Aug 2014.
Photo credit: Arjun Uberoi, Veeresh Singh.



"Beneath This Earth Young Warriors Sleep".
The Men who fought for us! The True men of the Motherland.













Vijyant Thapar Helipad inaugurated on 26th December 2003 by Col V. N. Thapar (Retd), Father of Capt Vijyant Thapar, VrC.



Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja, who was flying the MIG 21 in the Operation Safed Sagar of IAF during the Kargil War of 1999 was shot at by a stinger shoulder fired missile by the Pakistan Army. Having crashed, it is believed by the Indian military that he survived the crash but was killed by Pakistan Army soldiers. The body of Ahuja bore two point-blank bullet wounds as per the post-mortem done by the Indian authorities. The point-blank injuries clearly indicate the intent of the enemy and a treatment in violation of Geneva conventions.

Maruti Gypsy Ambulance at Sissu, HP spotted again after 3 years

This is so Unbelievable!
Indian Roadie, Arjun Uberoi drove to Ladakh on a Ford Ecosport in August 2014.
At Sissu, he noticed this Maruti Gypsy ambulance with registration number HP-42-0083.



Arjun Uberoi had slept for a night inside this very ambulance during his Gurgaon - Ladakh bike trip with Motohawks India way back in August 2011.
Arjun recalls that on 17th August 2011 he started from Upshi and reached Sissu at 20:00 hrs and could not find a place to stay. He parked his bike, tried opening the Ambulance door and by chance it was open. Without blinking an eyelid he got inside and slept off.

Photo credit: Arjun Uberoi.

8500 kms through India on a Royal Enfield Bullet motorbike

I wish I can do this round trip by car (if not a motorbike) atleast once in my life.

Copy and paste the following link on your browser for the entire story.
http://www.daysontheroad.be/buy-motorbike-drive-through-india-on-royal-enfield/

Pure bliss!

Peace at Marine Drive, Mumbai - India's Maximum City‬ early in the morning.
The photo credit entirely goes to whoever clicked this wonderful moment.
Thanks a ton!

Ladakh by VW Jetta in June 2013

The Ground Clearance (GC) of cars for a drive to Ladakh is invariably a topic of discussion for all road fanatics like us.

Indian Roadie, Vikram Virulkar (Facebook @ vikram.virulkar) shared his experience of driving to Ladakh in his friend's VW Jetta in June 2013.

He was supposed to take a Mahindra Xylo from Baddi in HP. However, the registration of the vehicle had not come through. It was a choice between waiting 4 days in Baddi or taking the VW Jetta to Ladakh. He decided on the later. He admits that he made a horrible mistake of taking the Jetta to Ladakh because of its low GC.

His words, verbatim,
"We encountered the first set of problems related to bad roads in Zoji-la.
The road from Kargil to Leh was so smooth that one could iron a shirt on it.
The Leh - Manali road was a journey filled with horror and some hind sighted regret. Makes for some good laughs now..
We literally had to get out and throw stones into the potholes to make sure that the under body didn't hit the road.
My feet and hands went numb from exposure to the freezing water and the cold & the situation at Tanglang La top could have easily turned sour. We also managed to bring a smile to the drivers of Scorpios and trucks . Some of them waited to see how we overcame some exceptionally large potholes (actually no roads)...lol.
We made it in one piece, although the car suffered some damage which was fixed easily. So all said and done, just have a good GC car for your Ladakh drive, other things will take of themselves."

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