The Ride That Was: From Pune to Kanpur

The ride to Kanpur due to the sheer distance to be covered was divided into 3 legs with 2 night halts planned. The first leg was to take me to Indore to my Maushi’s place. It had been 7 years since I last met up with her and I was particularly looking forward to it. The second leg was to take me to Jhansi and the final leg was going to bring me to my destination Kanpur

I dutifully began from my place in Pune at sharp 5AM. Infact even I was surprised that when I checked the time just before starting, the hour hand was on 5 and the minute hand was on 12. It was a good omen for a journey which was both going to long and lonely. The route to Indore was Pune-Sangamner-Dhule-Mhow-Indore. Out of that I was more than familiar with the Pune-Sangamner route as that is on my regular Pune-Nashik road. The surprise started as I started nearing Dhule. Right from that moment the only vehicles I can remember until now on the roads are nothing but trucks, trailers, more trucks and more trailers!!!!

The road is a National Highway (NH3) which goes right upto Agra. So I never was worried about the road condition however what I did not know was the major portions of the National Highway are still under construction due to which large portions of the road have been converted into single lanes ones with the ‘USE DIVERSION’ signs pinned every few kms. And on these single lane roads imagine an unending line of trucks which move albeit very slowly. If you can then you can very well imagine how the first leg of my journey went. Plus the first leg which I had chosen was the single longest leg of the entire journey with a little over 600kms. So when I finally took the Indore exit of the National Highway the time was well over 8.20PM i.e a bit more than 15 hours on the road :) Another thing which I had not paid much attention to when planning the trip was that in these winter months, light fades fast. So with a good 124kms still remaining to get to Indore I was forced to switch the headlights on. Anybody would know how riders hate to travel in the night because plain and simple it is dangerous and on top of that the ‘USE DIVERSION’ signs were still coming on and in all the road construction activity somehow the milestones were nowhere to be seen. In the last 45 minutes till I spotted the Indore exit, I was literally cursing myself as I was more than sure that I had missed a turn and by now was way off track. But all said and done I did get my route right and got to my Maushi’s place without much of an incident.

Though I wanted to begin the next day at 5AM again, it was just not possible for me. With my body already having taken some tear the day before, I just could not get out of bed before 7AM the next day. So finally with tea and a light breakfast I was back on the road for the second leg of the journey which was going to take me to Jhansi. The distance to be covered was 473kms and at the same time I was advised not to cross the MP-UP (Shivpuri is in MP and Jhansi in UP) border if there is no daylight. So having started at 8AM by day light faded and night began I was nearing Shivpuri still 90kms adrift from Jhansi. Better sense prevailed and finally I called it a day there in Shivpuri, but the day was still not over for me. I had to hunt for decent staying quarters in a town I had never been to before and arguably would never set foot into again. The strategy was simple: - get to the town and enquire with the locals. The strategy paid off and I got holed up in the most shadiest lodge I have ever been to. The name was Hotel Vasthasali and a single seater room (read a room with a single bed) cost me just Rs150. I would not waste words to describe how the room was like, cos simply put it was indescribable!!!

But I just cant hold back so I think I will let you know just a tiny bit about the room. There was no mosquito menace in the room, absolutely none at all cos there was no ventilation for the mosquitoes to enter :) I guess that this much information will be enough for you to atleast imagine my living quarters in Shivpuri.

In those settings finally sleep came to me at around 12AM and I planned to get up latest by 6:30AM so that I could begin the final day of the ride by 7AM.

Things went to plan and I was able to ride out of Shivpuri at 7AM. With just 321kms more to go until I reach Kanpur I was finally thinking that this ride is finally in the bag. But as always is the case I was grossly wrong, cos this last stretch happened to be the most frustrating part of the journey. The only reason for that was that the highway stretch between Jhansi to Kanpur is still under construction and the diversions are a real pain in the ass. However finally with every ounce of will power left in me tested and churned till the last drop I reached Kanpur. But wait, there was a minor surprise in store with me too. Just when I was literally a few blocks from where my friend (Rohit), who was waiting to receive me, the rear tyre got punctured and by the time I reached him, the bike had begin to limp a bit. I thanked my stars that this happened in Kanpur and that too when Rohit was at hand. With his help, I got the tyre fixed and thus ended one of the most eventful ride on the Bullet for me.

I understand I got to get back home too, but then as they say, If God got you this far then He would definitely have had means to bring you back!!!

The Road Trip to Kanpur: Build Up

On the 8th Dec 2009 I will be setting out on a ride which will be a first for me in many respects. It is not that for the first time I will be going on a long ride on my Bullet, but this time it a bit different.

I will be riding to Kanpur to attend the wedding of a close friend and also a fellow rider. And I think it will be apt for me to attend his wedding together with my Bullet. Apart from that, the ride is also which I am interested in.

I have been riding for the last 3 years with my Bullet having done a little more than 38000+ kms already. This is not bragging, but just an indication that at this point I do feel a bit more confidence than I would have felt say a couple of years back about this ride.

The longest ride I have undertaken till now has to be the Hyderabad trip I undertook last January to attend the Royal Enfield Rider Mania. We had a gala time there needless to say. However as I said before this ride it is a bit different.

Kanpur is roughly 1300 kms from Pune and I have broken up the journey atleast the one from Pune-Kanpur into two. The first day I will ride to Indore which to some extent is midway between the two cities. I intend to spend the night at my Maushi’s place. Its been 7 years since I have met her and when I called her up telling her I would be riding to Indore she actually checked the News as she thought that there must be an impending bus or railway strike :)

I am not yet sure whether I will wait another day in Indore or not. That is something I will have to decide once I get there. The next day of the ride will see my go through Guna, Shivpuri, Jhansi and finally reach Kanpur. There is some ambiguity here too. I have been instructed or rather warned not to ride near Jhansi if its late evening or so as there are still some cases of dacoits lurking in the wilderness at nights and plus Kanpur is a good 5 hours ride from Jhansi which I wouldn’t want to do in the night. So the cut off time which I have decided upon is that if I reach Jhansi later than 5pm, I will call it day and find some accommodation in the city and then proceed the next day. This to me sounds reasonable. And it is this ambiguity which might prevent me from staying put in Indore for another day.

So depending on this by the end of the my second day on the road or in the late afternoon of my third day on the road I plan to reach Kanpur and meet up with the fellow rider who is soon to tie the knot!!!!

As this is the first time I am undertaking such a long ride, I had to do some decent investments ;)

Remember like free lunches there are even no free rides in this world:

1) Cramster Saddle bag for the luggage: Rs 2100
2) Canon Powershot A480 digicam: Rs 6795
3) Adhoc thermal wear: Rs 395
4) A full face helmet: Rs 935

And just to complete the Mastercard advertisement: Getting on the Bullet and riding out into the horizon : PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!!!

One Year Hence: The Mumbai Terror Attacks

That day one year ago...

We were taken by surprise.
When in boats to the coast they were led,
To make our hearts bleed red

That day one year ago...

We were taken by surprise.
For how vulnerable we had become
That in our own house we were on the run

That day one year ago...

We were taken by surprise
By the courage and martyrdom
Of those who fought like the warriors for our freedom

But today one year hence...

Life goes on as usual in the name of SPIRIT
The same Minister takes care of our HOME
And our hearts can still be bled RED

I salute the martyrs who laid down there lives to defend our Motherland on that fateful day. They were ill equipped no doubt but that did not deter them from answering the call of duty. Let us pay homage to those great departed souls by pledging to be active citizens. By coming out of our comfort zones and voting. By choosing a responsible government with tangible policies and credibility. And above all knowing fully well that this is OUR COUNTRY....and that it is not only the borders but the people who live inside those borders which make OUR COUNTRY what it really is!!!!

JAI HIND!!!!

The Humble Beginnings of the Pony Tail

From crew cuts, soldier cuts, simple zero machine cuts, punk hairstyle,clean shaven bald cut to the newest and the most awaited (atleast for me from the last 3 months or so)....

Finally today after much coaxing from my team mates (one of them got me a rubber band too :)) and the other did the rest, I have a small pony tail to boast off..

This are the Humble Beginnings of the Pony Tail


P.S: I pray that I don't have to sacrifice these small joys at the altar of marriage!!! :P :P

Cold November Rain: 10-11 Nov 2009

The last 48 hours have been torrid atleast in Pune. Rains have lashed the city incessantly :( For the first time in my life I have seen rains in November. Skipped a movie yesterday night as it was impossible to even consider riding down to E-Square. Damn, things would have been different had I owned a car. Anyways I more than compensated for the loss with more than a nip of whiskey coupled with delicious chicken biryani delivered at my doorstep by the brave delivery boy who was taking on the rains for the hungry world that dithered to venture outside.

After the spirits warmed my senses there was just one thing I could think about and that was the COLD NOVEMBER RAIN!!!!

Raise a toast to one of my favorites bands Guns N Roses and there creation--- November Rain!!!!

November Rain

When I look into your eyes
I can see a love restrained
But darlin' when I hold you
Don't you know I feel the same
'Cause nothin' lasts forever
And we both know hearts can change
And it's hard to hold a candle
In the cold November rain
We've been through this such a long long time
Just tryin' to kill the pain
But lovers always come and lovers always go
An no one's really sure who's lettin' go today
Walking away
If we could take the time to lay it on the line
I could rest my head
Just knowin' that you were mine
All mine
So if you want to love me
then darlin' don't refrain
Or I'll just end up walkin'
In the cold November rain

Do you need some time...on your own
Do you need some time...all alone
Everybody needs some time...on their own
Don't you know you need some time...all alone
I know it's hard to keep an open heart
When even friends seem out to harm you
But if you could heal a broken heart
Wouldn't time be out to charm you

Sometimes I need some time...on my
own Sometimes I need some time...all alone
Everybody needs some time...on their own
Don't you know you need some time...all alone

And when your fears subside
And shadows still remain, ohhh yeahhh
I know that you can love me
When there's no one left to blame
So never mind the darkness
We still can find a way
'Cause nothin' lasts forever
Even cold November rain

Don't ya think that you need somebody
Don't ya think that you need someone
Everybody needs somebody
You're not the only one
You're not the only one

Those Were The Best Days of My Life: A Tribute to Apache Chandani Chowk

6 years and some days ago:

A pack of 12 guys heads out of the college hostel. Each one is bursting with enthusiasm and energy. The semester exam has just ended. There are some in the pack who are still worried that they should have attempted a bit more in that paper, but they know that now is not the time.

They have been waiting for a long time for this and nothing is going to make them stop not even money. For most of the guys it is the first time they are going to indulge in something so jazzy and they are dressed in their best casuals. Unknowingly there is a spring in their step as they make their way to the hostel parking lot.

Some 30 minutes later, they gather outside the place. They walk up the ramp to the door and a hefty fellow sitting nearby gets up and blocks their way. The pack stops abruptly, there is murmur at the tail. The hefty fellow sizes them up and then makes up his mind and pushes the door open. The pack rushes in.

“Those were the best days of my life…..” is making waves inside and the motley gathering who is already inside is lapping it up. The song ends and suddenly one in the pack cries, “Hey that’s Backstreet Boys!!!”. Heads turn and people close by snigger. “Shut up, its Bryan Adams you fool.” shouts the self proclaimed leader of the pack. The guy looks down and accepts his mistake. They join 3 tables and sit down.

The next 20 mins are spent looking at the menu and deciding. Meanwhile the tempo rises to Metallica with “Turn the Page”. They order with restraint each one cautious that they also have to arrange for dinner after this. The leader of the pack is the only one comfortable in the setting. After all he has been there before and that was his claim to be the leader for the nite. The others look in awe as he sings and shouts the songs which play earning the occasional nod of the DJ.

He surpasses all expectations when he without any notice walks up to the DJ and gives his request to be played. He tries to straighten the collar of his polo neck tee when the speakers blast, “She Fucking Hates Me!!!”, his favorite number. The others try to imitate him as he bangs his head, does gestures with his hand and taps his feet to the tune of the song.

An hour into this and everybody is feeling good. Most of the pack does not know the songs been played but its just a matter of time they know. A few resolve to download the lyrics of the songs they have just heard and memorize them before they come here next. A little knowledge hurts nobody right?

A couple of chicks enter the premises escorted by heavy set boys. The pack turns its attention to the chicks only to be shouted upon by the leader. “Don’t stare guys, they know me around here!!!” The pack reluctantly obliges and each one then on steals glances when the leader is not checking.

The clock reads 10:30pm and the DJ puts on System of a Down, the pack goes beserk. Music stops, lights dim and the hefty fellow who had blocked their entrance earlier comes from nowhere and shouts for order to be restored. The leader has a word with the fellow and all is well, except that the chicks now have changed their table so that the pack can’t see them.

It becomes a regular hunting ground for the pack. After each semester they visit the place and each time, they feel like they are one with the place. Very soon they are even able to gauge the mood of the DJ. Some of the pack wins bets laid on deciding which song the DJ will play next. They plan their request s so the DJ has no choice but to play those songs. They invent their own chants for specific songs where the other crowd also joins in with glee. They wait till the DJ plays the last song and leave only when the hefty fellow begs them to vacant the place.

Some days ago:

Its been close to 6 years now, the pack has been disbanded, each going his own way and all doing well. On one Friday evening, a guy walks up the same ramp. The fellow at the door gets up and looks at him. “He is no more hefty”, the guy thinks. The fellow looks at him a bit longer than usual and a faint smile of recognition registers on his face. He does not say anything and pushes the door open. The setting inside is still the same. The same sofa covers, the same tables, the same design on the wall. He looks up at the console of the DJ but sees a new face.

He takes the same table which he last occupied some 6 years ago and waits for the menu card. As he glances through it he sees that everything is the same except for the right most column of the price. He smiles to himself and thinks, “Money is not a problem anymore.” He gets ready to order when the speakers blast “Those were the best days of my life….”

“That is definitely not Backstreet Boys”, he laughs and sings along.

P.S: Hoping that atleast some of the pack return soon and we have a great time at Apache again. Cheers!!!!

Internet Connection in Pune...finally :)

After a wait of more than 2 months since I got my new lappy, I have finally got myself an internet connection. The Reliance Netconnect (offerring upto 3.1 Mbps speed). It is USB powered meaning I can be online on the move :)

But there is a flip side, the connectivity in my house is pretty pathetic, but if I step out and occupy any of the benches on Sus Road, I get a 100% connectivity, which is good enough!!! I did try looking for other service providers, but the connection problem at my place persisted, so went in for this which atleast assures me maximum speed when I am in the zone :)

It feels great!!!!

What Went Around Eventually did Come Around: Diwali @ Vidya

Vidya Society, Shikhare Wadi, Nashik Road (my home), is not just a building. Infact in 1985 when 10 families moved into the 10 flats of this society, it was for all of them a fulfillment of a dream- a dream of finally having their own names written against the OWNER column of the legal documents of a flat. The 10 families had finally settled down in the real sense of the term. It was a common dream which was fulfilled at the same time and so they were not 10 families, but infact 1 big family.

You can imagine the enthusiasm and the fervor which would have been generated at Vidya especially during Diwali. The terrace of the building used to fill up with kids bursting crackers, lighting rockets etc. You had to be doubly alert not only with the cracker which you have just lit, but also about you surroundings. There were ample cases, where a kid running from a cracker he jus lit got caught in the cracker lit by another guy on his way back to the safety zone. The safety zone, was where one parent from a house was present dispensing crackers to the kid, with a bucket of water kept handing incase of an emergency.

Diwali is not only about lights and crackers. It is about “फराल” too. The typical items making up the “फराल” are:

1) चिवडा

2) चकली

3) लादू

4) शंखर पाली

5) सेव

6) करंजी

7) अनारसा

And it is a custom to invite your neighbors and close friends for “फराल”. The kids at Vidya needed no invitation. I was especially at the fore front on the tasting brigade, and used to go from house to house, demanding “फराल” :) And then some “फराल” used to be placed on a plate to be taken home for the parents to be tasted.

At the end of day 2 of Diwali, each family used to end up with multiple plates of “फराल” from different houses. The items were all the same with different tastes, making it difficult to which plate belonged to which household!!!

It is also basic courtesy not to return an empty plate, so “फराल” from your home had to be laden on the plate and returned to the neighbors. With all these thoughts running paralleled in every household, each one committed the same folly

This is roughly what each family did.

Flat 1 had plates from flat 2, flat 3, flat 5, flat 4, flat 10, flat 6. But they could not distinguish between any. So they simply decided to rotate the same plates. Little did they know that this same thing will be done in 9 other flats!!! The end result of this confusion: Flat 5 got a plate of “फराल” from Flat 6 which they immediately recognised to be the one they had given to Flat 1 some 2 hours back. Flat 8 got a plate of “फराल” from Flat 4 which they immediately recognised to be the one they had given to Flat 7 some 2 hours back.

What went around eventually had come around!!!!

Everybody realized in a humorous way that they were indeed undone by the other 9. It was the last time “फराल” was ever circulated in Vidya on a plate. The Diwali after that, either people were invited for “फराल” or “फराल” was given out in plastic boxes, which did not need returning :)

Eclairs

Appearances can be deceptive. This saying applies most to my generation

Think of it this way, have you not been harangued by your parents for the choice of your t-shirts, the patchwork on your jeans which was a major hit or even the piercing you did which incidentally your girlfriend finds cool. I am sure that like me you are subjected to dialogues like, “You are not appropriately dressed for the occasion or your look may be cool, but next time a simple clean shave will look better”. I am no different. Even I am harassed by such things.

My parents don’t only say that my appearance is inappropriate but go a step further and brand me outright repulsive. I don’t blame them completely. A guy with a beer belly, dark complexion, unkempt hair and a 7 day old stubble, with an eyebrow piercing, a low waist jeans which he is too bored to even pull up at times, survives on his roommates deo-oderant is not inappropriately dressed but outright repulsive at first sight!!! But this perception of the prior generation was soon to change.

I got into the afternoon bus to get to Pune. The bus was half empty. I got in and the very first empty seat caught my eye. There were other window seats too but I overlooked them and landed on that seat. The window seat right next to me was occupied by a 60 something gentleman, whose afternoon nap I have just broken. Giving me an injured look he scowled, “There are other seats empty too.” Not wanting to get into an argument with the senior citizen I pretended to ignore him and turned on my ipod. He looked at me for a long moment and tried to get back to sleep. In the meantime the bus started.

After about 30 mins, in which I was slipping in and out of sleep, I caught the senior citizen staring at me. I hate people staring at me, makes me feel like a museum exhibit. I cleared my throat and very politely began a conversation:

Me: Where are you going Uncle.

Uncle: Pune. I just noticed that your jeans is torn.

Me: Err..yes. Does it look cool

Uncle: Cool?? You seem to be a software engg. I saw your company bag

Me: Yes…(with a smile on my face)

Uncle: You wear such clothes to office too?? My sister’s son is also in software. He is much more decently dressed, he is in the US now.

(I got it. The reason I was here in India, was because of my clothes. I don’t want to go to the US now, I am more than comfortable here in my torn clothes)

It was clear that Uncle was going way too tangential and that he did not like me one bit!!! His oblique references to my clothes and ofcourse his loving repartee about why you are still rotting here meant only one thing that “HE DID NOT LIKE ME”.

I had to do something to salvage the pride of my tribe. Tribe referring to people like me, who work for a software company, are comfortable the way they are in their torn jeans, pierced eye brow, smelly over alls. Instinctively I went for my jeans pocket.

More often than not my jeans pocket throw up surprises. Random searches bring up bus tickets, coins, parking tickets etc. But at that fateful moment when my hand came out, it had 2 eclairs!!!!

Why did éclairs came out? Why only two? This was sure to be a sign!!!! I just have to interpret it properly. In a flash I knew what to do.

Uncle had long forgotten my existence and was now enjoying the scenery outside. With the last ounce of self respect left in me I nudged him. He looked at me.

Me: Here Uncle, how about having an éclairs.

He gave me a look of disbelief. I thought that now the senior citizen would get hysterical but to the contrary he smiled. He accepted the éclair and instantly began opening it with child like enthusiasm. I didn’t interrupt him. He rolled the éclair in his mouth and with a calm face said, “Thanks, that was unexpected. I think that very soon even you will get a chance to go to the US. Even you deserve it”!!!!

I just smiled back.

My Vote Counts!!! Go Out and Vote today!!!

13th Oct 2009, Maharashtra Assembly elections. Along with Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh also go to polls. I just came back from the polling booth adoring the ink mark made on my left index finger. It was the second time I voted. And the novelty of it is still there.

The effort is colossal, even monumental. Electioneering in itself is noting less than a festival in India.

Consider the statistics for the assembly elections in Maharashtra alone:
No of Districts: 35
No of Assembly Seats: 288
No of Polling booths: 84136
No of candidates: 3559
No of voters: 75811245
(source: http://news.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/oct/12/slide-show-1-three-states-ready-for-polls.htm)

Isn't this monumental? And these are only the assembly elections!!!! The first test of popularity for the parties after the Lok Sabha elections.

It is a very interesting mix this time around. Both the Cong-NCP combine and the BJP-Shiv Sena to some extent have been rocked by rebels. The reason being discontent with fielding candidates who are descendants of senior party leaders. Notable being the President Prathibha Patil's son (from the Congress) and ofcourse the extended Munde family (for the BJP). However in all the melee one party stands notably alone without any cadre issues or discontent and that is the MNS!!!

MNS broke the back of the BJP-Shiv Sena combine in Maharashtra during the last Lok Sabha polls. Though they didn't manage to return any MP's they did eat up the vote share of the Saffron alliance, helping the Cong-NCP candidates.

MNS has a good chance to win seats to the assembly and it is a possibility that we will have a 3 way tiff to form the govt (Cong-NCP, BJP-Shiv Sena and the MNS). Though MNS will not be able to go alone, it is going to be a decisive cog in the wheel!!!! Raj by all means will be the King Maker this time around.

Will MNS return to the Saffron fold? or will MNS side with the Cong-NCP? or will MNS give outside support and sit out of the govt? Or will the Cong-NCP against all odds sweep the polls like they did at the Centre?

The answers to all these questions are in MY SINGLE VOTE!!! and for that I feel important!!!!

GO OUT and VOTE

1026 DWn Pune-Nashik-Manmad Express

Its been more than a year and a half since the Pune-Nashik rail service has started and with the frequency of my Pune-Nashik travels, I must say that I was late when finally on Saturday morning I decided to take the train to come to Nashik. It was my dad who gave me the idea to try it out, as I had time on my hand. Plus I was going to be home (Nashik) till Tuesday. So at the age of 25 years, it was to be my first train journey totally alone. Hope you didn’t jump off your seat, but it is really not my fault.

I must admit that I have not travelled much. I really can’t help it. We don’t have distant relatives (in terms of distance from Nashik). The fartherest (this word doesn’t exist in English language) that my relatives have stretched to is Indore. And long distance travel was always to be juggled with the holidays of my parents and mine too. Most of my summer vacations were spent in cricket and swimming coaching. My mother thought these would reduce my fat. Well they did, but now it is all making a comeback.

Apart from relatives the Borate’s (my family) undertook a tour of North India, where we visited Gangotri, Yamnotri and the works. So that has been the only feather in my travel cap. There have been a couple of train journeys to Nagpur, Mysore and one to Suratkhal to take a look at the NIT there. Ofcourse I never secured a seat there.

So the fact remains that with my experience level with the Indian rail I can be termed as a novice. The first hurdle of getting the ticket was surpassed with excellence when in the morning Neha got me my e-ticket. Atleast now I would not have had to sweat it out in the queue only to discover after an hour that I was in the wrong queue and then feel ashamed about my existence on the planet.

Another plus point was that the train starts from Pune. So I did not have to negotiate hordes of passengers getting down and even more trying to get in and all this happening within a span of 1 minute. When the very first announcement of my train was made I promptly made my way to the assigned platform, found my bogie and settled in my seat. I had just bought a novel to read in the journey. I opened page 1 and patted myself on the back. Nothing had gone wrong until now.

At 12:50pm the train started and I made a few phone calls to the people who should know my whereabouts. I looked around my seat and there was the usual gathering of passengers you will see in any second class chair car. There were a couple of hard nosed 45 year olds, who were stretching their legs on the seat opposite there own. There luggage was the cap they had on their head and the newspapers they were carrying to clean the seat where they were going to seat. From the look of it, those were the battle hardened Indian Rail regulars. There was a family of 5, with 2 kids included. One was asleep but the other was going to throw a tantrum. I secretly wished that they would get down earlier. Then there were the other type of battle hardened minions who loved to get into a conversation with anything and everything and in that they will make it a point to show off their knowledge about the latest timings of some of the important trains on the route and how they got it all wrong when they made Ranchi come before the Shatabdi and how the Panvel Passenger should have been a couple of hours later on the schedule. The scene was completed with the guest appearances of the blind singers, urchins who sweep floors for money, a passing eunuch and ofcourse the many motley salesmen.

The scene outside was breathe-taking. I used to just close my novel and look out till the horizon for minutes together. It was a welcome change compared to the road which I had seen a million times over. At Karjat I treated myself to 2 vada pavs and a cup of tea.

The scheduled arrival of the train at Nashik-Road station is 7:30pm. At around 6:45pm I realized that I should somehow get to know the station where the train stops just before Nashik Road. The train does not have a conductor who keeps shouting the names of the forthcoming stops and plus I wanted to avoid the last minute rush which is the primary reason for forgetting something or the other. I called up a friend and enquired.

After listening to his wise cracks of how I wasted my life if I did not know even that and blah blah….he finally told me what I needed to know. Once the station of Deolali passed I was in ready mode (mentally) and finally at 7:30pm the train halted at Nashik Road station and I got down.

Don’t know when the next rail journey will happen. Atleast with this Pune-Nashik journey I am awaiting it eagerly.

P.S: Read the latest Chetan Bhagat novel “2 States: the story of my marriage” in the train. After the disappointment of “3 mistakes of my life” I must say he is back in the groove. At only 95 bucks it’s an easy buy and an enjoyable read.

Nightflier

I still dont want to believe it, but the Nightflier has left the blogging scene :( With a heavy heart I deleted her link from my page. This just a note to say I will miss your blog.

She says that she has left blogger and blogging for good. I dont want to agree. How can some one grow out of blogging? How can it be boring? :(

There are many questions unanswered, which will simply remain, cos the Nightflier will no longer visit blogger and yes not even know about this post!!! Ever :(

Please come back!!!!

P.S: Went to Sula yesterday evening and remembered how you had been drunk when u visited it. Damn I was not there!!!!

The Nobel Peace Prize: Discretion or Merit?

Barack Obama the American Blue eyed boy, the first black president of the country. The man who taught us the “Audacity of Hope” was declared the winner of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. This announcement left many gasping for air while some said that it was a pleasant surprise. Though one thing is true that this is “too much and too early”

The Nobel prizes are the highest honour bestowed on civilians on this planet. The Nobel Prize which was instituted by Alfred Nobel was originally given away in 5 categories : Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace. A 6th category was added in 1968, and this award was instituted by Sweden’s central Bank. The category of Economics.

If you look at the 5 categories (Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Economics) you will realize that all those are academic subjects. Where things have to be written down and proved beyond a measure of doubt. Hypothesis could be made but they have to be substantiated by things which happened in real life. And because of this very fact, the 5 categories (as stated above) have never been subject to criticism. But somehow PEACE is something which can never fall in line with the above 5 categories.

PEACE is a relative term. And that PEACE can be achieved by different ways. The 2 that come to my mind are 1) By destruction: Simply uproot the population who is causing the disturbance and you can establish PEACE or 2) Dialogue: Engage in dialogue and try to address the needs of the population causing the disturbance.

Point 1 mentioned above is like the “ready to eat” fast food solution, you have to be a World Power, you should have the capacity to pocket the UN and you should leave aside the considerations of collateral damage. If you look at the winners of the Nobel peace prize (http://nobelprizes.com/nobel/peace/peace.html) you will find it loaded with politicians. Politicians who did not usher in Peace but tried to broker it and almost everytime the discussions, which earned them the Prize came after the backbone of the enemy was broken using force. If this the case then tell me is it really worth it?

Mr Obama won the Nobel Prize for (and I quote): “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples”, sounds vague to me to be frank. The category of PEACE has always been won by international people who were present at the right place at the right time, their past or their rise to fame has never been a consideration. I would say that if somehow Dr Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart, get together and ink a deal on peace and keep it going for atleast 6-8 months even they can bring home the NOBEL PEACE PRIZE.

Infact I am sure that this year's prize would have been closely contested, and the man who just missed out would have been non other that the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Pajapaksa. Does he not claim that he has brought peace to the island nation after ending the menace of LTTE?

What better way to rest my case when I say that the Nobel Peace Prize has always been a matter of discretion than merit, than the fact that the Mahatma never won it!!!

P.S: also read: http://greatbong.net/2009/10/09/the-obama-lama/

Whats Your Rashee to Kashid: Story of a Weekend

The month of Sept this year has been very easy. Long weekends have become so common in this month that I don't think I will be able to adjust back to a full 5 day week starting October (though the first weekend of October itself is a long weekend thanks to Gandhi Jayanti which falls on Friday.)

Long weekends are different than weekends. You get that one extra day off which makes you both ambitious and equally lazy. You need someone to kick you in the back and get you to do something worth the long weekend. I mean you can doze off lazing around on weekends but long weekends demand something extra, something which makes them seem really long and fruitful if not well earned :p

This long weekend (26-28 Sept 2009) started with a disaster. I literally was banging my head on the seat before me. I think I even started bleeding but the multiplex owner did not take heed and continued with the screening. After the end of approximately 4 hours I was left (like many others) totally numb, brain dead. I had just been "Whats Your Rashee"ed and let me tell you it was even worse than when i had farted loudly in a project meeting when the manager had opened up the floor for any questions, opinions or comments. My team mates later did tell me that the fart was meaningful, but my manager somehow did not subscribe to that.

I got home Friday nite at 2:00AM and I could not sleep. Gowarikar was to blame, I just couldn't forgive myself for the movie which I had just seen. How could Gowarikar have such an impact on me that he had literally robbed me off my sleep. I liked Priyanka Chopra but after seeing her in 12 different roles in the same movie, I developed a nausea so intense that I could see her face on the female porn stars too. Ok I must confess even after watching porn for 1 hour after I came home I could not find sleep. I re-re-re-read my certification material but even then I could not sleep. Finally it took the last gulp of the vodka to enter my system to calm my nerves and lull me to sleep. I hate you Gowarikar....I hate you Priyanka. Linda Goodman was enough as far as signs go.

I still had 2 days to make up for my Friday fiasco and Saturday early morning I left for Kashid. I had been to quite a few beaches in Konkan now and every time it is the ghats, the lush greenery and ofcourse the lack of traffic which takes my breath away. The Tamhini ghat which is the route to the most preferred Kokan beaches of shrivardhan, diveagar is hell to say the least. Both the rider and the ride (including the pillion if any) suffers a great deal. However the route to Kashid was not via Tamhini, the road was good, couple that with the ghats and the greenery and within an hour into the ride I knew I was going to enjoy this :)

The distance from Pune to Kashid being 200 kms it was an easy ride and the prospect of a dip in the sea together with the food, nariayl pani was mouth watering. The route we took while going was

Pune-Lonavla-Khopoli-Pali-Roha-Nadgaon-Kashid

We started from Pune at 7:00AM and reached Kashid at 1:15PM, by that time, sweat had got to me, thanks to the humidity. But the sight of the waves and the golden sand was enough to soothe me. Finding accommodation was not at all a task. The tourist season had not exactly started (as per one of the locals) and we found decent accommodation at a place which was a stone's throw from the beach. This was the best part. The acco was so close that we even could visit the beach many time, sometimes at will :). From the room even the sounds of the waves were audible.

Just before dinner, the walk on the beach was both calming and serene. There were not many people around, the moon was lighting the path and gazing at the stars in the clear sky was an experience in itself.

The return journey started on Sunday at 12:15PM. We had a heavy breakfast at the beach. Poha, Maggi, Bhurji and tea and we began. One thing about the beach which impressed me was that there were no hawkers selling chat, bhelpuri and that was a relief. The chat and the bhelpuri are the chief destoryers of any habitat and more so for the beaches. We visted a Birla Temple as Salav. Though in the afternoon heat we didnt have the heart to roam around the garden, but it was good nonetheless.

The route we took for the return journey was different:

Kashid-Alibaug-Pen-Khopoli-Lonavla-Pune

At 7:00PM I was back at my place, looking ahead to cap it all off with a couple of bottles of beer :)

A long weekend well spent and very well enjoyed :)

P.S: Will upload the pics soon on orkut.

Fashionably Slow

If you thought getting your first TV video game, your first TV cable connection that too only in the summer holidays was tough then you got to be kidding me. The worst battle which I fought was for getting my parents to buy a PC (personal computer). I had to complete my Std XII to get there. At least the TV video game and also the cable connection came quicker but not the PC. So after the std XII exams were done me and my dad set out to buy our first and I am sure the only PC.

The PC revolution had just begun around that time atleast in my neighbourhood :). Every nook and corner sported either an internet café (I never understood why the word café was used. I mean there were no refreshments or even coffee served there) or a computer shop where entrepreneurs were seated under creaking fans surrounded by motherboards, mice, keyboard and infinite wires. They had zeal like no other. They had a dream of making it big making a PC even more personal than even Bill Gates envisioned.

The word that the Borate’s were looking to buy a PC spread like a Trojan virus if not wild fire and within 2 days 3 budding entrepreneurs came knocking armed with catalogues of hardware.

A Typical Entrepreneur: Sir, full and final sangto. 41K madhe, Samsung cha monitor, Seagate chi hard disk (40GB), Windows 98, 256 MB DDR RAM. Internet ready keyboard ani Quick heal pan free deto. Plus ya society madhe 2-3 order dile ahet me aadhi. Service ani support madhe kahi problem nahi. Tumhi vichara na!!!!

Baba: Barr, tumhi, hey catalogue ithe theva, I will get in touch with you.

A Typical Entrepreneur: Touch kay Sir, mich chakkar marto na Monday la. Theva sanga. Toh pariant hard disk che bhav pan kami honar ahet. Tumche kaam 38K madhe karun deto. Chalo mag see you.

So we had a couple of catalogues to look at, prices to be compared and configurations to be chosen from. I had almost made up my mind when my dad brought home a new concept of “Branded v/s Assembled”. I was never a techo wiz kid, this was new. My dad explained, well he had been enlightened by the Head of the Computer Dept (HOD) of his College, so you can imagine the impact the HOD would have created.

Branded: A PC which is packed, which has only one brand on it. Eg: the PC’s of HP, Compaq, Zenith. Costly but reliable. Fewer hardware issues. But again if you get issues you will have to shell out more for maintenance.

Assembled: As the name suggests. It is assembled. Samsung ka monitor, Seagate ki hard disk. The PC’s sold by the entrepreneurs. Sold on mutual trust, cheaper, but no warranty.

And the Branded PC was a personal favorite of the HOD and it had to be same with my dad. So we visited a couple of shops selling the branded ware. HP and Compaq. The configuration was good, but we found the after sales service wanting. In the midst of all this, the HOD came to our rescue. Why not Zenith?

Zenith: The name did not register anything in me. I had heard about HP, Compaq and so naturally I was following the brand name. But Zenith!!!!??? And when I got to know the catchline I almost puked: Zenith: The Indian Multinational!!!!

Well the HOD knew a dealer personally and that also solved the after sales service. So finally we got home a branded Zenith PC; the Indian Multinational.

On Monday the Budding entrepreneur came and we informed him that a Zenith PC had been brought. Here was his reaction:

“Zenith, kay Sir. Aadhi sangayche na Branded pahiche hote te. Me HP cha dila asta. Market peksha 4K kami madhe. Full support ek varsha sati free. Tumhi rao sagle sangat nahi ani mag amhi service kashi denar. Ani Zenith peksha HP kadhi hi changla. Bagha hardware issues yenar. Teva kalel!!!!”

Its been more than 6 years now, not a single hardware has ever given way. The OS got infected a couple of times but it happens and the PC had to be formatted. Got XP installed a year back :)

The P4 processor takes ages to load a page. I can hear weird churning sounds inside the CPU cabinet whenever some processing happens. I never get worked up. I just sit back, lazily and smile!!!! This is what I call being fashionably slow!!!!

P.S: Today I installed Mozilla Firefox 3.5 on it too. :D

Dharasana Satyagraha: Web Miller

Ben Kingsley's Mahatma Gandhi is an epic. It is one of the masterpieces of motion pictures at least for me. The crisp dialogues, the breathtaking cinematography and the Mahatma itself lend the movie such credence that even if I have watched it 6 times, I wouldnt be bored to go for it a 7th time. One thing good is atleast on 15th Aug some cable channel or the other airs it.

The most riveting sequence of the movie for me is the Dharasana Satyagraha. Just after the Dandi March where the Mahatma has broken the Salt Act, the Dharasana Salt Works in Gujarat was chosen for the next protest. A 76 year old retired judge Abbas Tyabji lead the march with the Mahatma's wife Kasturba. Both of them were arrested and subsequently the protest was to be lead by Sarojini Naidu and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.

Naidu was aware that violence against the satyagrahis was a threat, and warned them, "You must not use any violence under any circumstances. You will be beaten, but you must not resist: you must not even raise a hand to ward off blows." On May 21, the satyagrahis tried to pull away the barbed wire protecting the salt pens. The police charged and began clubbing them.

The beatings as caught on the camera in the movie were a world apart. Batch after batch of satyagrahis went ahead unflinching only to be struck down by the lathis of the Raj. Scalps broke open, as blood oozed out. People fell by the way side only to be replaced by another batch. Nobody retaliated, nobody fought back.

All this was being watched by Web Miller a British journalist. Even as the beatings were in progress, Miller was shouting on the phone his report which until now for me has been the best newsprint report I have ever come across. Miller is shouting at the top of his voice. He is using the word 'STOP' to signal that one sentence is over and another begins. Hats off!!!!

Here is the transcript of the article. It is moving and captures what would have happened that day at the Dharasana Salt Works:

Not one of the marchers even raised an arm to fend off the blows. They went down like ten-pins. From where I stood I heard the sickening whacks of the clubs on unprotected skulls. The waiting crowd of watchers groaned and sucked in their breaths in sympathetic pain at every blow.

Those struck down fell sprawling, unconscious or writhing in pain with fractured skulls or broken shoulders. In two or three minutes the ground was quilted with bodies. Great patches of blood widened on their white clothes. The survivors without breaking ranks silently and doggedly marched on until struck down. When every one of the first column was knocked down stretcher bearers rushed up unmolested by the police and carried off the injured to a thatched hut which had been arranged as a temporary hospital.

There were not enough stretcher-bearers to carry off the wounded; I saw eighteen injured being carried off simultaneously, while forty-two still lay bleeding on the ground awaiting stretcher-bearers. The blankets used as stretchers were sodden with blood.

At times the spectacle of unresisting men being methodically bashed into a bloody pulp sickened me so much I had to turn away....I felt an indefinable sense of helpless rage and loathing, almost as much against the men who were submitting unresistingly to being beaten as against the police wielding the clubs...

Bodies toppled over in threes and fours, bleeding from great gashes on their scalps. Group after group walked forward, sat down, and submitted to being beaten into insensibility without raising an arm to fend off the blows. Finally the police became enraged by the non-resistance....They commenced savagely kicking the seated men in the abdomen and testicles. The injured men writhed and squealed in agony, which seemed to inflame the fury of the police....The police then began dragging the the sitting men by the arms or feet, sometimes for a hundred yards, and throwing them into ditches.

Miller's first attempts at telegraphing the story to his publisher in England were censored by the British telegraph operators in India. Only after threatening to expose British censorship was his story allowed to pass. The story appeared in 1,350 newspapers throughout the world and was read into the official record of the United States Senate by Senator John J. Blaine.