Moving to the UK lock stock and barrel with 3 suitcases, the trusty laptop, the ipod and the D50 has been quite good fun. Throw in tenancy agreements, tax regulations, very different shopping experiences, dependence on public transport , the rain and the cold make it an eclectic experience. Here's a 10 point irreverent rant on the same.
1. Living here relies a lot on how well you plan things. For e.g. when back home in India you don't plan your shopping because you know there are zillions of shops and you would be able to get things in time. However if you make the same assumption here, you are going to be sorely disappointed. Shops tend to start closing by 6 p.m. which is about the time you start heading back home ! Need a hair cut get an appointment is the mantra ! It takes a bit of getting used to - especially the getting an appointment for a hair cut and paying 34 quid for it but then you get there in the end. This is the bit one is still trying to get used to. Pakoda Kadar agree with the sentiment albeit grudgingly.
2. Improve your manners. Being used to thanking people aloud one gets by alright but do remember to thank the bus driver after you get off the bus, the taxi cab driver after you get off the taxi. Be polite and people will be polite to you in general. Stand in a queue, for heavens sake Ghanta Singh, don't jump that queue. Negotiate with anybody or for anything politely .
3. Movie theatres are generally empty and appear to be rather well maintained. It's a miracle really how they do any sort of business here. I watched Slumdog millionaire the day after its release with about 12 people in the theatre for a 10:30 p.m. show on a Saturday night. In Pune or Madras I wouldn't have got the tickets !
4. The cold - Whatever you do, this is the toughest part to adjust to. It is biting cold, you need 2-3 layers as I am wearing right now even to write this blog entry. Go out of the house and you need 4 layers which are quite the interesting bit. Also as I am repeatedly told cover your head with a cap or something or the cold does get to you ! BTW remember to carry an umbrella around after checking the weather reports you'll find that useful for sure :)
5. The water - It's really hard. What surprises me is the hardness of water for a nation which has so much rain and is always being filled up. Should Jayalalitha teach rainwater harvesting here to improve the quality of the water table ?
6. The buses - usually work on time but sometimes you miss them ! Travelling on a bus is infinitely more pleasurable because sometimes you can also login to the internet if you carry your own 3G dongle . However there are jerks on the bus which can cause problems with your hard drive ! Trains are also fun, you can get most tickets by booking off the internet, remember to plan your travel in advance the difference in fares can be up to 7x.
7. Learn how to walk. This is a country for people who can walk. If its close by you walk because you can't be bothered about finding parking or parking is expensive in the city centres or the malls and the airports are so huge that you need to walk. It might also be good to invest in a lighter laptop and to demand one at work to save your back !
8. Food - Well this is the most interesting bit and something I'm still figuring out. If you are vegetarian and love Indian food then you can find enough of the ready to cook stuff in one of the big supermarkets . If you feel enthusiastic about cooking , you can find most ingredients in the supermarket or in a local Indian store. If you are a tambrahm like me and absolutely dig the curds, go buy yoghurt and flavoured ones at it . They make quite some eating. Also you'd enjoy the Fru and the Gu as were introduced to me by my cousins. Now this is going to be a life long addiction.
9. Practice on Ironing your clothes and using the washing machine. Using the washing machine is usually fine but then each one in each of the places I have been in has different controls and programs and hence sometimes it becomes quite a pain !
10. Carpets in Bathrooms - The only place where you have carpets in bathrooms . Makes you wonder if people bathe with water or the latest perfume out of Gucci. More on this here.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Pin codes, movie names etc.
What is with Indian film makers these days. They seem to be advertising more for the postal service with their film titles rather than anything else. If you had a tamil movie called Chennai 600028 which I absolutely doted upon because yours truly grew up there playing similar gully cricket but on roads and the famous ground at MRC Nagar - Chennai -28 which has now turned into a multi-storeyed apartment block flagrantly violating all tenets of the Coastal Regulatory Zone ! In any case we now have a new hindi movie called Delhi - 6 which is located in Chandni Chowk. Having stayed in Delhi for about 6 months in my life and visiting Chandni Chowk pretty regularly in that period it would be interesting to see how the movie pans out . Having an ensemble cast helps with the hype, in comparison to Chennai 600028 where even our Vaadiyar's son appeared in the 11 playing for the RA Puram Sharks which was kind of cool . The music with AR Rehman in Delhi 6 vs. Yuvan Shankar there also promises to be good .
For some time last night I was watching the movie Once upon a time in America and saw that the idea of smuggling things by attaching salt bags to them and dumping them over board and then dragging them along the boats as is shown in Nayakan probably was inspired from here. It's really really violent but then builds up rather well .
The other movies which I probably will see soonish are Australia, 7 pounds , 3.10 to Yuma and whatever else I can see. Reviews might follow depending on the movie !
For some time last night I was watching the movie Once upon a time in America and saw that the idea of smuggling things by attaching salt bags to them and dumping them over board and then dragging them along the boats as is shown in Nayakan probably was inspired from here. It's really really violent but then builds up rather well .
The other movies which I probably will see soonish are Australia, 7 pounds , 3.10 to Yuma and whatever else I can see. Reviews might follow depending on the movie !
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Of Trains ,stations and Railways..
In the last month or so , it's been awesome traveling by the railways across India and the UK in the course of trips .
1. The best station in India - in terms of scale and size Howrah ! It has close to 25 platforms and trains departing for particular regions of India will only leave from a cluster of platforms in this station. Cars can go right along the platform and literally drop you off in front of the coaches. There is enough space for parking on the sides and everything is on a gargantuan scale. I'd suspect that Chennai Central and NDLS will fit into Howrah , though CST might give a run to Howrah for its money because of the Victorian architecture.
2. The smallest station in India : Darjeeling. Everything is tiny about it. The platforms are like small steps on which you can climb. The rail track runs parallel to the roads and at many places traffic has to wait for the trains when they chug along. Probably also the most picturesque with the glorious Kanchenjunga as the backdrop . I would particularly recommend travelling on the toy train. For all ye growing up hearing about steam engines this is one of the few places where you can actually see it working . Look at the pic where you can see it filling up with water after a 6 km drive !
3. Cambridge Station - UK . It is probably true of stations in some of the smaller towns in the UK. When you enter the station you are told there are 4-5 platforms but there is no overbridge or a subway. There is one really long platform and this is further split into 4-5 platforms . There is a parallel track along side the track for the platform that has various entry points for the different regions in the platform. So it was very funny to be on the same physical platform but a different virtual platform ... If you get my drift.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Life in the freezer and the rain.
So, its been about 2 weeks where I've started experiencing relocating and understanding the true value of the sun - For e.g. the weather report today suggested that the sun would be out and available between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Imagining darkness at 4p.m. is slightly difficult especially for one who's grown up playing cricket between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. on a daily basis not so many moons ago. Winter is exactly what Wodehouse describes in far better words when he talks about Mike (of Mike and Psmith fame) in the book Psmith in the City . The office where I am could very well be the bank that's described in these lines below.
But then here comes the sun - After having typed this yet again in London Heathrow and yet again waiting for the flight to be announced , I'm looking forward to summer in Bombay with the temperatures roaring in the 30s and there being bright light for a long long time .This might well be my last post as a bachelor and as one more bites the dust here's to all good times with marriage and all that !
When all the world outside is dark and damp and cold, the light and warmth of the place
are comforting. There is a pleasant air of solidity about the interior
of a bank. The green shaded lamps look cosy. And, the outside world
offering so few attractions, the worker, perched on his stool, feels
that he is not so badly off after all. It is when the days are long and
the sun beats hot on the pavement, and everything shouts to him how splendid it is out in the country, that he begins to grow restless.
But then here comes the sun - After having typed this yet again in London Heathrow and yet again waiting for the flight to be announced , I'm looking forward to summer in Bombay with the temperatures roaring in the 30s and there being bright light for a long long time .This might well be my last post as a bachelor and as one more bites the dust here's to all good times with marriage and all that !
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Coming back to life ?
It's been a week since terrorists / maniacs or mad men (whatever you say is an understatement) took over and hit India in a way that we've never been hit before. It made one all the more angry especially when freezing in the distant UK with no phone to check how one's near and dear were in the city of Bombay, it was one of the coldest and longest nights ever spent. The media here were ofcourse focussing on the Taj , Nariman Point and Oberoi because of the search for American and British Nationals but everyone's forgotten 2 other stories . The attack on Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus where 56 folks died is forgotten. The brave staff of the Taj and the Oberoi who risked lives to save guests , the brave firemen battling fires and bullets and grenades at the same time should not be forgotten either. The media in its live coverage of the areas around the Taj has forgotten about the bomb that went off in a taxi near the airport. So, if you look at it , they got to the railway station, airport and the 2 biggest symbols of India's economy with absolute brazenness. Scary ain't it. The media will do its bit, the politicians will point fingers across the border
Read Sidins blog here , if you want a description of how the Taj looks and feels, any words further would sound hollow and cliched. I read today the talks and the candle-light vigils and the street meetings protesting but with a difference, how can people make a difference to the country. The writing's on the wall - something had better be done and soon . It doesn't mean war with another state - but it means convincing the elected government to allow action or to take action on those responsible.
Even if nothing else comes out of it, the one good thing that's happened is the emergence finally of a country - India and not a bunch of people united for cricket or the stock market ! Finally spending the last 10 days in distant England, watching my country men vent out their anger and spleen and blood , brave firefighters dying for no-one's business I truly understand what it means to be an Indian abroad. People I meet at work , the taxi driver from a mall to home, a taxi driver in Leicester, the man sitting next to me on the train everyone asked only one thing - do you have family in Mumbai and are they safe ?
Forget boundaries and partitions and walls, shouldn't we just remember that after all Baby Moshe who lost his parents in the Nariman House attack is also human.
After all this go watch the India-England test series - Infuse some oxygen into test cricket and show them that life must and will go on!
Read Sidins blog here , if you want a description of how the Taj looks and feels, any words further would sound hollow and cliched. I read today the talks and the candle-light vigils and the street meetings protesting but with a difference, how can people make a difference to the country. The writing's on the wall - something had better be done and soon . It doesn't mean war with another state - but it means convincing the elected government to allow action or to take action on those responsible.
Even if nothing else comes out of it, the one good thing that's happened is the emergence finally of a country - India and not a bunch of people united for cricket or the stock market ! Finally spending the last 10 days in distant England, watching my country men vent out their anger and spleen and blood , brave firefighters dying for no-one's business I truly understand what it means to be an Indian abroad. People I meet at work , the taxi driver from a mall to home, a taxi driver in Leicester, the man sitting next to me on the train everyone asked only one thing - do you have family in Mumbai and are they safe ?
Forget boundaries and partitions and walls, shouldn't we just remember that after all Baby Moshe who lost his parents in the Nariman House attack is also human.
After all this go watch the India-England test series - Infuse some oxygen into test cricket and show them that life must and will go on!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
In honoriam
Waking up after a late-afternoon siesta on Saturday , one saw 2 different news stories playing out in the media - one about 6 blasts in New Delhi and the other about hurricane Ike tearing its away across Houston , Texas and the mid-west of the United States. With near and dear around both places, specifically with an aunt in Delhi who in someways is a creature of habit and visits a temple on Saturday evenings in one of the areas around where the bombs went off. Phone calls made quickly thankfully ascertained the safety of all concerned.
Seeing the pictures of the attacks on Saturday on the junk box, anyone who'd been a resident of Delhi would have recalled happier times . Indeed, many moons ago with nothing much to achieve on a Saturday evening, yours truly would have been found loitering about Connaught Place, walking around , looking out for some bookshop to get hold of some books or having an aloo tikki from the variety of hand-cart sellers ending up with a hot chocolate fudge sundae at Nirulas in the Inner Circle. I am sure of such memories for others about the market in GK - I and Ghaffar Market in Karol Bagh. Trying to think of one's reaction to the whole thing this morning, other than the sadness caused by the deaths of 30 people and injuries to 70 people it's a feeling of angst against attacks on what are held dear by a lot of people . The Delhi-waala is particularly fond of shopping and the amount of honest bargain that can happen on the streets or in the stores. In tribute to this spirit of Delhi, the only response as is the cliched one is that of getting back up and running immediately the next day and show that we can't be bowed as a people by such acts of terror. It's time the powers be did something tough and visible against the perpetrators of this heinous crime rather than making sanctimonius statements about the lack of need for tough anti-terror laws and appealing for peace. Remember it took Bush one 9/11 to toughen his country up . How many more innocent lives and how much more attack will we take on our psyche before the so-called statesmen of this country wake up? It is said that a child found an unexploded bomb on Barakhamba Road. Now , do children in this country have to go through such times where unexploded bombs are found in what can be said is pretty much the core of India's capital. It's not the border with a hostile country, it's not a war zone or the DMZ in Korea where you have a number of land mines but the core of Delhi.
Seeing the pictures of the attacks on Saturday on the junk box, anyone who'd been a resident of Delhi would have recalled happier times . Indeed, many moons ago with nothing much to achieve on a Saturday evening, yours truly would have been found loitering about Connaught Place, walking around , looking out for some bookshop to get hold of some books or having an aloo tikki from the variety of hand-cart sellers ending up with a hot chocolate fudge sundae at Nirulas in the Inner Circle. I am sure of such memories for others about the market in GK - I and Ghaffar Market in Karol Bagh. Trying to think of one's reaction to the whole thing this morning, other than the sadness caused by the deaths of 30 people and injuries to 70 people it's a feeling of angst against attacks on what are held dear by a lot of people . The Delhi-waala is particularly fond of shopping and the amount of honest bargain that can happen on the streets or in the stores. In tribute to this spirit of Delhi, the only response as is the cliched one is that of getting back up and running immediately the next day and show that we can't be bowed as a people by such acts of terror. It's time the powers be did something tough and visible against the perpetrators of this heinous crime rather than making sanctimonius statements about the lack of need for tough anti-terror laws and appealing for peace. Remember it took Bush one 9/11 to toughen his country up . How many more innocent lives and how much more attack will we take on our psyche before the so-called statesmen of this country wake up? It is said that a child found an unexploded bomb on Barakhamba Road. Now , do children in this country have to go through such times where unexploded bombs are found in what can be said is pretty much the core of India's capital. It's not the border with a hostile country, it's not a war zone or the DMZ in Korea where you have a number of land mines but the core of Delhi.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Education or the lack of it in the Indian Colleges
So, I've been sitting and talking to a young 'un in the family who's studying in one of the better women's colleges in Nungambakkam ,Chennai that contains the word Vaishnava in its name. A recent assignment that had this young 'un worried was about inserting into and deleting from linked lists. After nearly an hour or so we'd nailed down the insert, delete routines into singly and doubly linked lists and I was rather proud of my student.
Now is when things got interesting, the assignment involved 4 applications of linked lists to different situations in life. So, the smart 'un came up with innovative ideas like managing employees data in a firm, students marks in a college, room checkins in a hotel and one more that I now forget. When I heard this I burst out laughing wondering if Philips or any of the Audio CD player manufacturers made different CD players for Audio CDs for Pop, Jazz, Indian Classical and Western Classical . However since it was an assignment and worth 20 marks, she had to sit for nearly 4 hours writing the same thing with different conditions based on the data being stored.
The best part was that she took it to college today and the program got rejected by the teacher who wanted 3 * 4 = 12 programs that took care of inserting into a linked list in the start , middle and end of a linked list. However since her program took care of all the cases with a single routine it was not correct and she had written too much to solve the problem. However can someone explain to me on what basis you reject such a routine - efficiency , readability , modularity or what and ask for 3 separate routines to do this. And all this for what, a linked list insertion. For those readers of my blog who are computer illiterate this is akin to being forced to buy 3 different machines for playing English Audio CDs, Tamil Audio CDs and Hindi CDs when there is no difference in the file formats of the CDs under consideration and all 3 machines would be able to play the same ! No, don't bring in region protection for DVDs.
I didn't believe that education was this bad in India until today but having heard this horror story today I can't believe that no one else faces such issues. If this is the state of education in one of the so-called "good" colleges in Chennai, then what would happen in a small village in a remote part of the country.
This particular student cannot appeal to the management regarding such arbitrary decisions because the college is autonomous and the same teacher will decide whether she passes this course or not and will affect her marks in every single test hence. When there is no method for recourse or appeal what do intelligent students do in such "autonomous colleges" ? The question is , is anybody listening ?
Now is when things got interesting, the assignment involved 4 applications of linked lists to different situations in life. So, the smart 'un came up with innovative ideas like managing employees data in a firm, students marks in a college, room checkins in a hotel and one more that I now forget. When I heard this I burst out laughing wondering if Philips or any of the Audio CD player manufacturers made different CD players for Audio CDs for Pop, Jazz, Indian Classical and Western Classical . However since it was an assignment and worth 20 marks, she had to sit for nearly 4 hours writing the same thing with different conditions based on the data being stored.
The best part was that she took it to college today and the program got rejected by the teacher who wanted 3 * 4 = 12 programs that took care of inserting into a linked list in the start , middle and end of a linked list. However since her program took care of all the cases with a single routine it was not correct and she had written too much to solve the problem. However can someone explain to me on what basis you reject such a routine - efficiency , readability , modularity or what and ask for 3 separate routines to do this. And all this for what, a linked list insertion. For those readers of my blog who are computer illiterate this is akin to being forced to buy 3 different machines for playing English Audio CDs, Tamil Audio CDs and Hindi CDs when there is no difference in the file formats of the CDs under consideration and all 3 machines would be able to play the same ! No, don't bring in region protection for DVDs.
I didn't believe that education was this bad in India until today but having heard this horror story today I can't believe that no one else faces such issues. If this is the state of education in one of the so-called "good" colleges in Chennai, then what would happen in a small village in a remote part of the country.
This particular student cannot appeal to the management regarding such arbitrary decisions because the college is autonomous and the same teacher will decide whether she passes this course or not and will affect her marks in every single test hence. When there is no method for recourse or appeal what do intelligent students do in such "autonomous colleges" ? The question is , is anybody listening ?
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Noise makers.
Alert readers (numbering in the double digits after discovery of a colony of readers in Australia) of my blog would remember an earlier post about our esteemed neighbour back in good ol' Madras. 6 a.m. is a time that one spots in Madras thanks to piping hot filter coffee made by the pater with freshly boiled milk and the so-called first decoction of the day. However it is also a time when the city slowly wakes up and there is peace in the world with absolute silence, the flowers blooming outside, birds chirping . At this point you remember Shri Nehru's statement about paradise et al and you wonder if something magical has happened to good old Madras. You feel benign reading the latest edition of the Hindu with that magical cuppa of steaming coffee and and your senses beginning to get into a state where they'd be raring to go .
However the trauma starts just about the time that you are finishing the last pages of the Hindu, the last drops of coffee are left in the tumbler and the trigger for this affliction of the senses is the sound of a car being unlocked using a remote. For those of the readers that are not savvy with respect to automobiles, these are devices that can perform central locking / unlocking and the automobile under question utters a squawk or two depending on the operation being performed . A survey conducted by yours truly (ratified by the mater's survey over the past 2 months) over the past 4 days has indicated a daily average of 20 squawks within 10 minutes which peters down to atleast 3 squawks an hour till 9 a.m at which point of time the misery alluded to in my previous post begins. The pater has a plausible theory about this device being used as a bell to summon the watchman at regular intervals from the gate to the house, a distance of a few feet ( order of 10 feet) . Ofcourse if this were a castle and the watchman sat at a distance of a few km you'd use this device to summon the watchman to do your bidding but 10 feet is probably the height of laziness.
Is the laziness quotient of TamBrahms increasing ?
However the trauma starts just about the time that you are finishing the last pages of the Hindu, the last drops of coffee are left in the tumbler and the trigger for this affliction of the senses is the sound of a car being unlocked using a remote. For those of the readers that are not savvy with respect to automobiles, these are devices that can perform central locking / unlocking and the automobile under question utters a squawk or two depending on the operation being performed . A survey conducted by yours truly (ratified by the mater's survey over the past 2 months) over the past 4 days has indicated a daily average of 20 squawks within 10 minutes which peters down to atleast 3 squawks an hour till 9 a.m at which point of time the misery alluded to in my previous post begins. The pater has a plausible theory about this device being used as a bell to summon the watchman at regular intervals from the gate to the house, a distance of a few feet ( order of 10 feet) . Ofcourse if this were a castle and the watchman sat at a distance of a few km you'd use this device to summon the watchman to do your bidding but 10 feet is probably the height of laziness.
Is the laziness quotient of TamBrahms increasing ?
Monday, August 04, 2008
Ode for a car.
Selling off my car today after haggling a bit with the buyer made me a bit melancholic about the ways in which life is changing in its own accord. When it was time to move on from my old car to the spanking new WagonR. The readers of this blog can well be reminded about the time I took posession of it here . As I said in that post, despite Maruti the car was awesome and will remain in my memories for being the first new car I owned. There will probably be many other cars but this will remain etched in my life for .....
The countless drives to Bombay, the many drives to work, the thrill of driving your parents around Mahableshwar in the clouds and seeing the pride in their faces. The joys of getting the new job, the bliss of long drives with someone special and the midnight snacks where friends and family enjoyed robbing yours truly of his hard earned salary.
The disappointment of rejections, the pain of running around for paperwork associated with moving, the pain with friends making you drive 35 km to leave you there stranded and so on.
Anyways good car thanks for lighting up my life (from the entire family) and may you serve your new master as well as you did serve me. Here's to all the good times and wish you many more ..........
The countless drives to Bombay, the many drives to work, the thrill of driving your parents around Mahableshwar in the clouds and seeing the pride in their faces. The joys of getting the new job, the bliss of long drives with someone special and the midnight snacks where friends and family enjoyed robbing yours truly of his hard earned salary.
The disappointment of rejections, the pain of running around for paperwork associated with moving, the pain with friends making you drive 35 km to leave you there stranded and so on.
Anyways good car thanks for lighting up my life (from the entire family) and may you serve your new master as well as you did serve me. Here's to all the good times and wish you many more ..........
Saturday, July 05, 2008
India's true weapons
Spending the weekend at my uncle's place led to the usual questions on the breakfast table - what does one have as a side dish with the hot Dosas that my cousin was making. We'd run out of the staple accompaniment to the ubiquitous dosa - the omnipresent molaga podi (or gun powder for the more North Indian of my readers) , the stodgy mixer grinder taking a forced break thanks to the immense work load or the low voltage supply . Hence yours truly re-discovered the good old avakkai on the table . Having avakkai with your food wakes you , your alimentary canal and your intestines up as one re-discovered today. It has an effect on you which can be best described by Wooster describing Jeeves' concoctions. "The intestine discovers a life of its own, the eyeballs roll about in their sockets and everything seems dull and grey for a while that you think its time to ring for the solicitor to draw up your last w. and t. " and rather better words to that effect.
The average tambrahm enjoys his pickles as much as he enjoys the various forms of sambar , rasam , parotta (not the north Indian variety). It is to him the equivalent of sugar and milk in filter coffee, the "taalichu kottu" to the dish and the prasaadam from the various temples. Take it away and you'll see resentment slowly appearing and storm clouds gathering.
Many moons ago (when Chennai was still Madras and I was a kid in shorts roaming on bicycles), a friend of mine with the moniker Papa used to bring curd rice and avakkai for lunch, one can still remember seeing that the curd rice had a bit of avakkai in it with the result that it wasn't clear whether he'd have avakkai as a condiment to the curd-rice or curd as a condiment to avakkai-rice. He was significantly less chirpy the days he didn't have the avakkai rice and we concluded that there was a direct variation between the amount of avakkai in his curd rice (or curd in his avakkai rice) to his state of mind. Last heard he was happily married in the U.S. of A but I believe Saravana Bhavan would have a contract to feed him well.
P.S. The Prime Minister should invite the left leaders for a meal which serves curd rice, avakkai and gongura (this is a cousin that our telugu brethren up north have invented which is a spicier pickle than the avakkai) . Given that the left leaders are all in their 70s hopefully with their weakened digestive tracts, they'd spend the whole of the 7th else where and the nuke deal will be agreed upon !
The average tambrahm enjoys his pickles as much as he enjoys the various forms of sambar , rasam , parotta (not the north Indian variety). It is to him the equivalent of sugar and milk in filter coffee, the "taalichu kottu" to the dish and the prasaadam from the various temples. Take it away and you'll see resentment slowly appearing and storm clouds gathering.
Many moons ago (when Chennai was still Madras and I was a kid in shorts roaming on bicycles), a friend of mine with the moniker Papa used to bring curd rice and avakkai for lunch, one can still remember seeing that the curd rice had a bit of avakkai in it with the result that it wasn't clear whether he'd have avakkai as a condiment to the curd-rice or curd as a condiment to avakkai-rice. He was significantly less chirpy the days he didn't have the avakkai rice and we concluded that there was a direct variation between the amount of avakkai in his curd rice (or curd in his avakkai rice) to his state of mind. Last heard he was happily married in the U.S. of A but I believe Saravana Bhavan would have a contract to feed him well.
P.S. The Prime Minister should invite the left leaders for a meal which serves curd rice, avakkai and gongura (this is a cousin that our telugu brethren up north have invented which is a spicier pickle than the avakkai) . Given that the left leaders are all in their 70s hopefully with their weakened digestive tracts, they'd spend the whole of the 7th else where and the nuke deal will be agreed upon !
Friday, July 04, 2008
Reverse horns and the conundrum of the Tambrahm
(Paam Pa Pa Paam Paam Pa Pa Pa Paaam Paaam Paam)*2 Pa Pa Pa Pa Paaam Paaam
No no this isn't gibberish, I haven't retarded in my mental stature but an attempt at reproducing my agony at various sounds that come out in the neighbourhood in the mornings.
One of the most amazing utilizations of sound is in reverse horns. For the uninformed about cars among my readers I refer to devices in cars that make an infernal racket while reversing - these can range from the latest (B/K)ollywood top single to a weird beeping noise that damages your ear drums and jangles your nerves.
Our neighbour has a beautiful small car that makes the most awful noise whilst reversing. Its now a rule that no cars should make this infernal racket whilst reversing but its a custom more honoured in the breach than in the observance. The upshot is that your friendly neighbourhood tambrahm (of whom my neighbour and yours truly are esteemed representatives), will sit on the arm chair and comment on the fact that the country is going to dogs. The same uncle would thunder over a cup of steaming hot coffee made by the mami of the house "There is no civic sense in Madras and everything is so much better in Delhi, Amsterdam, New York, London or where the offspring or some distant onnu vitta chittappas grandson is present." . The location could also be a small village 24 miles out of Boston getting to which will be more familiar to them rather than getting to Vandalur (where's that ? ) from Mylapore . However the act of jangling the nerves of every sensible chap in the neighbourhood doesn't seem to count in the act of improper behaviour. Cribbing is fine but then be sporting about it and don't spout contradictions ..
Ofcourse there is the old mama who says - Daaai Adhigaprasangi - edu da komba .
No no this isn't gibberish, I haven't retarded in my mental stature but an attempt at reproducing my agony at various sounds that come out in the neighbourhood in the mornings.
One of the most amazing utilizations of sound is in reverse horns. For the uninformed about cars among my readers I refer to devices in cars that make an infernal racket while reversing - these can range from the latest (B/K)ollywood top single to a weird beeping noise that damages your ear drums and jangles your nerves.
Our neighbour has a beautiful small car that makes the most awful noise whilst reversing. Its now a rule that no cars should make this infernal racket whilst reversing but its a custom more honoured in the breach than in the observance. The upshot is that your friendly neighbourhood tambrahm (of whom my neighbour and yours truly are esteemed representatives), will sit on the arm chair and comment on the fact that the country is going to dogs. The same uncle would thunder over a cup of steaming hot coffee made by the mami of the house "There is no civic sense in Madras and everything is so much better in Delhi, Amsterdam, New York, London or where the offspring or some distant onnu vitta chittappas grandson is present." . The location could also be a small village 24 miles out of Boston getting to which will be more familiar to them rather than getting to Vandalur (where's that ? ) from Mylapore . However the act of jangling the nerves of every sensible chap in the neighbourhood doesn't seem to count in the act of improper behaviour. Cribbing is fine but then be sporting about it and don't spout contradictions ..
Ofcourse there is the old mama who says - Daaai Adhigaprasangi - edu da komba .
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Getting even with the chennai autos !
This post is for those readers of my blog who've endured my rants about the Autorickshaws over time and was a result of a conversation with the to-be missus about getting even with the rascalaaa rickshaws..
So on a boring balmy evening after sitting at home for 3 days doing nothing much other than getting bugzilla working on the laptop and trying to fix some bugs in the compiler I maintain , I was positively in the need of some fresh air. I'd decided to go pick up a book on C++ ( now that GCC is to be written in C++, I need to start brushing up my C++ skills over time) .Watching the market yo-yo senselessly over the past few days I'd decided that it was time I got a lesson on Intelligent Investing my Benjamin Graham. Making a few phone calls to Landmark helped me ascertain that they had precisely one copy of the book and I was welcome to come and grab it at their City Centre outlet.
Now once you decide to travel somewhere in Madras (or Chennai! ) you need to understand whether
a. you are in the mood to haggle with the ricks .
b. you want to haggle with the ricks.
c. you want a ride that would leave your nerves gangling and your blood pressure levels reaching sky high.
Deciding that I was becoming a more responsible chap with the impending act of marriage and all that , I decided to take the easier option of giving it back to the ricks. I took the train from the MRTS station that is 500m from home and got off at Light House about 5 km away in about 5-6 minutes and having paid the full return fare of 10 Rs upto beach. (There's another reason why I donated about 4 rupees to the MRTS, it was because I only had a 50 rupee note and didn't want to hear , kasmaalam change kudu ya) . It was for sure an infinitely more relaxed experience of taking the train because I didn't have to wince at sharp turns to avoid big buses, lots more air (less sweat) , hardly any people in the train ( I could choose to stand, sit , lie down in the seats as was convenient to me!) .
Watching the autos as they were standing in front of the station I couldn't resist but think in my head .
Themadrasi 1 vs . Autos - 2000
P.S. An auto rickshaw trip to the above mentioned place and back home would have been a haggle for about 100 bucks both ways and with its associated mental tensions.
So on a boring balmy evening after sitting at home for 3 days doing nothing much other than getting bugzilla working on the laptop and trying to fix some bugs in the compiler I maintain , I was positively in the need of some fresh air. I'd decided to go pick up a book on C++ ( now that GCC is to be written in C++, I need to start brushing up my C++ skills over time) .Watching the market yo-yo senselessly over the past few days I'd decided that it was time I got a lesson on Intelligent Investing my Benjamin Graham. Making a few phone calls to Landmark helped me ascertain that they had precisely one copy of the book and I was welcome to come and grab it at their City Centre outlet.
Now once you decide to travel somewhere in Madras (or Chennai! ) you need to understand whether
a. you are in the mood to haggle with the ricks .
b. you want to haggle with the ricks.
c. you want a ride that would leave your nerves gangling and your blood pressure levels reaching sky high.
Deciding that I was becoming a more responsible chap with the impending act of marriage and all that , I decided to take the easier option of giving it back to the ricks. I took the train from the MRTS station that is 500m from home and got off at Light House about 5 km away in about 5-6 minutes and having paid the full return fare of 10 Rs upto beach. (There's another reason why I donated about 4 rupees to the MRTS, it was because I only had a 50 rupee note and didn't want to hear , kasmaalam change kudu ya) . It was for sure an infinitely more relaxed experience of taking the train because I didn't have to wince at sharp turns to avoid big buses, lots more air (less sweat) , hardly any people in the train ( I could choose to stand, sit , lie down in the seats as was convenient to me!) .
Watching the autos as they were standing in front of the station I couldn't resist but think in my head .
Themadrasi 1 vs . Autos - 2000
P.S. An auto rickshaw trip to the above mentioned place and back home would have been a haggle for about 100 bucks both ways and with its associated mental tensions.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
The mile high grid lock and painting parabolas ...
So, we were chugging along merrily upto Surat on the London Mumbai flight of Jet Airways assisted by favourable tail winds that let us reach our milestone about 10 minutes in advance. I was impressed by the considerable skills shown by the pilot to paint conic sections up in the sky ably assisted in this activity by the air traffic controllers. Burning ATF over the Arabian Sea is a punishment meted out to aircrafts and passengers sitting in them by the enlightened few or na
It was impressive to note the ingenuity in the flight path which contained in the parabola from London Heathrow to Bombay a couple of ellipses, a triangle where a straight line would have done and curves along the z axis that resembled a spike equivalent to the most volatile day in the Bombay stock market. All the variations added to the parabolic curve were done in what would have been a distance of about 200 km from Bombay .
Well one would have heard and read about grid locks on roads, but if you want to see grid locks in the air you could start by flying into Mumbai or Chennai on an international flight. Now Pakoda Kadar suggests might be a bigger tourism business because people would fly helicopters to it. Now now , Pakoda don't forget the case of the golden egg laying goose being cooked !
It was impressive to note the ingenuity in the flight path which contained in the parabola from London Heathrow to Bombay a couple of ellipses, a triangle where a straight line would have done and curves along the z axis that resembled a spike equivalent to the most volatile day in the Bombay stock market. All the variations added to the parabolic curve were done in what would have been a distance of about 200 km from Bombay .
Well one would have heard and read about grid locks on roads, but if you want to see grid locks in the air you could start by flying into Mumbai or Chennai on an international flight. Now Pakoda Kadar suggests might be a bigger tourism business because people would fly helicopters to it. Now now , Pakoda don't forget the case of the golden egg laying goose being cooked !
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Oh Woman Woman
Overheard Conversation between Arun and his to be missus.
(Arun) - What do I get you from Canada ?
(The missus) - Well, let me take a look ..
Clickety click click click ...
(The missus) - Everythings too expensive.
Camera cuts to Arun on the way back from Canada.
(Arun) - BTW I didn't get you anything . Everything was too expensive.
(Missus) - You disappoint me .
(Arun ) - Did you expect something ?
(Missus) - Ofcourse what did you think ?
(Arun) - What do I get you ? ?You said you didn't want anything. Aren't you supposed to be deterministic ?
(Missus) - Hmmmmm
(Arun ) - Got you chocolates by the ton.
(Missus) - Huh ! What do you think ? India is some 4th world country or what ? We get Daim , Lindt and Toblerone here as well.
Arun groans inwards .
(Missus ) - See if you can find something. What was your budget )?
(Arun) - XXX $$$$$
(Missus ) - What ? You wastrel ..
(Arun) - Erm ...
(Missus )- If I had known this I would have asked you for something that was worth XXX/20 -
(Arun)- Then why didn't you tell me ?
(Missus) - Because you didn't tell me your budget.
(Arun_) - Uh oh .
and in the process of becoming the nth guy hunting for gifts in Heathrow 20 minutes before the flight left, missed the flight. Remember Bertie Wooster - Oh Woman Woman !
Vikram Pandit @ citibank claps his hands in delight . Subprime ! Shubprime be damned - One more chap brandishing his card in the service of the missus.
(Arun) - What do I get you from Canada ?
(The missus) - Well, let me take a look ..
Clickety click click click ...
(The missus) - Everythings too expensive.
Camera cuts to Arun on the way back from Canada.
(Arun) - BTW I didn't get you anything . Everything was too expensive.
(Missus) - You disappoint me .
(Arun ) - Did you expect something ?
(Missus) - Ofcourse what did you think ?
(Arun) - What do I get you ? ?You said you didn't want anything. Aren't you supposed to be deterministic ?
(Missus) - Hmmmmm
(Arun ) - Got you chocolates by the ton.
(Missus) - Huh ! What do you think ? India is some 4th world country or what ? We get Daim , Lindt and Toblerone here as well.
Arun groans inwards .
(Missus ) - See if you can find something. What was your budget )?
(Arun) - XXX $$$$$
(Missus ) - What ? You wastrel ..
(Arun) - Erm ...
(Missus )- If I had known this I would have asked you for something that was worth XXX/20 -
(Arun)- Then why didn't you tell me ?
(Missus) - Because you didn't tell me your budget.
(Arun_) - Uh oh .
and in the process of becoming the nth guy hunting for gifts in Heathrow 20 minutes before the flight left, missed the flight. Remember Bertie Wooster - Oh Woman Woman !
Vikram Pandit @ citibank claps his hands in delight . Subprime ! Shubprime be damned - One more chap brandishing his card in the service of the missus.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
The juggernaut that is the IPL.
So, the last few weeks have changed the face of cricket in the country that yours truly resides in . At the end of 50 odd matches - the semi-finalists have been identified , Punjab, Chennai, Rajasthan and Delhi . Its also a sight to see all playgrounds full and to watch some new kids come and play fearless cricket. It was a revelation to see that there is talent in a lot of the local kids - S A Asnodkar , A M Nayar, Manpreet Gony, Sidharth Trivedi, Badrinath, Suresh Raina and a few of the new overseas kids Albie Morkel, Shaun Marsh , Luke Pomersbach, Shane Watson to name a few. It was also good to see the old warhorses ( Glenn Mcgrath, Shaun Pollock , Jayasurya , Shane Warne) also give a fair run to the new kids. as well as show them the work ethic that has made them into the legends that they are.
At the time of writing this, Rajasthan are in the semifinals whilst Chennai and Punjab square up to decide the other contestant. Much has been said about Chennai not having enough good players once the likes of Hussey and Hayden left. However they've just about hung by the skin of their teeth to make it and in the big semifinal it would be a fair comment that Punjab would be feeling under the cosh at 63-7 . However as many people say , its a funny old game and funnier things have happened. As the sobriquet under which I write this blog suggests ,I must confess a soft corner for the Chennai Super Kings and can't resist writing a couple of lines indicating my support for them.
Come June 2 I wonder what I shall do at 8p.m. on a week night without changing the channel to the official broadcaster. The national teams shall start capturing public attention from the next week and the existing city based teams will disperse. I wonder what would happen with international cricket. However with tactics learnt about various players from different team mates , it would be interesting to see the impact on international cricket. If nothing else it will show up the wannabes from the true masters and would make life that much tougher for the international cricketer. It would also improve the game that much more and provide a way of taking the game to newer markets as well as rejuvenating it in older staler markets (read the UK).
However lets keep the gyan aside, for now its time to, sit back , relax and enjoy Albie Morkel ( A South African) captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni ( A Bihari adopted as a Madrasi) bowl to Wilkin Mota ( a Mumbaikar plying his trade with the Punjab Kings XI owned by a Mumbaikar - Preity Zinta) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
At the time of writing this, Rajasthan are in the semifinals whilst Chennai and Punjab square up to decide the other contestant. Much has been said about Chennai not having enough good players once the likes of Hussey and Hayden left. However they've just about hung by the skin of their teeth to make it and in the big semifinal it would be a fair comment that Punjab would be feeling under the cosh at 63-7 . However as many people say , its a funny old game and funnier things have happened. As the sobriquet under which I write this blog suggests ,I must confess a soft corner for the Chennai Super Kings and can't resist writing a couple of lines indicating my support for them.
Come June 2 I wonder what I shall do at 8p.m. on a week night without changing the channel to the official broadcaster. The national teams shall start capturing public attention from the next week and the existing city based teams will disperse. I wonder what would happen with international cricket. However with tactics learnt about various players from different team mates , it would be interesting to see the impact on international cricket. If nothing else it will show up the wannabes from the true masters and would make life that much tougher for the international cricketer. It would also improve the game that much more and provide a way of taking the game to newer markets as well as rejuvenating it in older staler markets (read the UK).
However lets keep the gyan aside, for now its time to, sit back , relax and enjoy Albie Morkel ( A South African) captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni ( A Bihari adopted as a Madrasi) bowl to Wilkin Mota ( a Mumbaikar plying his trade with the Punjab Kings XI owned by a Mumbaikar - Preity Zinta) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Friday, May 23, 2008
A Prisoner of Birth
Yesterday, Lord Jeffrey Archer decided to drop by at the local Landmark store here in Pune. So, one managed to get there by 6:30 sharp, bought copies of his latest novel Prisoner of Birth and his first book - Not a Penny More Not a Penny Less and sat down to listen to the master speak . Having grown up reading his books as a kid and Not a Penny more Not a Penny Less being among the first, I was quite joyous of the occasion and the opportunity to see him in the flesh .
He started off talking about his routine and what it meant to have Not a Penny More Not a Penny less rejected nearly 20 times as well as going through 17 drafts of his latest book. Its very interesting to note that every successful person has a routine that they fall back on , to ensure success. There were a large number of people gathered in the first floor hall of the Landmark store in Pune , much beyond the expected capacity. There were as many people standing in the aisles as there were sitting on the chairs. All in all a typical jam packed room . Jeffrey Archer paid tribute to RK Narayan and claimed to have started reading Malgudi Days and said that he was going back to read that every time he got a break. That's exactly how most folks seem to read books that they really like - A Prisoner of Birth was no different for me as I started it around midnight and finished it by about 3:30 a.m.
He also promised to sign every single book and said that he wouldn't leave before doing so . The queue started off 3 rows wide in the front of the room and by the time it reached me it was a single line - At some point I started getting irritated with the Indian adaptation of the queue, something that Lord Archer must have been horrified at . In Britain you form queues for everything and you leave 1/2 a foot between 2 individuals as well as stand in a single file, very unlike our Indian queues which are serpentine and jam packed with people.
A prisoner of birth raises interesting points, after all - you don't choose which country you are born in , you don't choose your parents, you don't choose the environment in which you get born in and you don't choose what skin colour you have. So what do you choose really in life ? Make do and do the best in the circumstances that the game of life pushes you through.
He started off talking about his routine and what it meant to have Not a Penny More Not a Penny less rejected nearly 20 times as well as going through 17 drafts of his latest book. Its very interesting to note that every successful person has a routine that they fall back on , to ensure success. There were a large number of people gathered in the first floor hall of the Landmark store in Pune , much beyond the expected capacity. There were as many people standing in the aisles as there were sitting on the chairs. All in all a typical jam packed room . Jeffrey Archer paid tribute to RK Narayan and claimed to have started reading Malgudi Days and said that he was going back to read that every time he got a break. That's exactly how most folks seem to read books that they really like - A Prisoner of Birth was no different for me as I started it around midnight and finished it by about 3:30 a.m.
He also promised to sign every single book and said that he wouldn't leave before doing so . The queue started off 3 rows wide in the front of the room and by the time it reached me it was a single line - At some point I started getting irritated with the Indian adaptation of the queue, something that Lord Archer must have been horrified at . In Britain you form queues for everything and you leave 1/2 a foot between 2 individuals as well as stand in a single file, very unlike our Indian queues which are serpentine and jam packed with people.
A prisoner of birth raises interesting points, after all - you don't choose which country you are born in , you don't choose your parents, you don't choose the environment in which you get born in and you don't choose what skin colour you have. So what do you choose really in life ? Make do and do the best in the circumstances that the game of life pushes you through.
Friday, May 16, 2008
On a wing and a prayer.
The headlines scream - Air travel in India is the next big thing after world peace. World war II pilots used to fly missions on a wing and a prayer describing a situation where they possibly ran out of fuel on the return legs to their bases or nursing their aircraft back to the base.
India's started building new airports and hopefully (when there is no ATF left or impossibly expensive to travel by air because of the increase in the costs ) these will be ready. Last week when one was on a Deccan flight from Chennai to Hyderabad the aircraft taxied on to the runway and prepared for the takeoff sequence. After going on 1/4th distance on the runway, the pilot braked hard, did a hard veer to the left and moved into the taxiway and went back around in the queue of planes to take off. No one knows what really happened beyond the ATC, the pilot and the staff. Sitting in the first row, yours truly was able to observe the stewardess give me a conspiratorial grin and then laugh away to glory and describe a story to her colleague about how it was possible that there was another aircraft attempting to land at the same time.
Reading an article in India Today about the chaos in airports one is really not surprised about seeing the current situation develop. Meanwhile 3 cheers for Laloo Yadav and the Railways.
India's started building new airports and hopefully (when there is no ATF left or impossibly expensive to travel by air because of the increase in the costs ) these will be ready. Last week when one was on a Deccan flight from Chennai to Hyderabad the aircraft taxied on to the runway and prepared for the takeoff sequence. After going on 1/4th distance on the runway, the pilot braked hard, did a hard veer to the left and moved into the taxiway and went back around in the queue of planes to take off. No one knows what really happened beyond the ATC, the pilot and the staff. Sitting in the first row, yours truly was able to observe the stewardess give me a conspiratorial grin and then laugh away to glory and describe a story to her colleague about how it was possible that there was another aircraft attempting to land at the same time.
Reading an article in India Today about the chaos in airports one is really not surprised about seeing the current situation develop. Meanwhile 3 cheers for Laloo Yadav and the Railways.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
The great tamilian rickshaw ripoff
Conversation
Me (near home) : Need to go to Spencers (about 6km away)
Autorickshaw guy: 75 saar
Me: 40 .
Autorickshaw guy: 65 saar ... too far.. Too many oneways Saar ..
Me :45 - 65 is too much for 6 km. and one ways are in your favour dolt.
A.G. : 60
Me: 45
A.G.: 55
Me: 50 . lets go
The same rickshaw driver to go to Adyar which is about 2 km from home will demand 40 bucks and have no clue about why he is asking that. When asked about this dichotomy he would say Spencer i will get savaaari (passengers) but then in Adyar I won't. I say "what splendid rot" , the rickshaws in Madras or Chennai as it should now be called are a bunch of rotten thieves, with meters as a show piece. Very recently I happened to be a part of a quiz where there were questions regarding Standard, Diamond, Ashoka and asking what linked them. I was one of the few who knew the answer thanks to the non-working meters of these auto rickshaws.
So one more cross for Chennai to bear and its great politicos now mulling over whether to start a BRTS or a Metro Rail similar to DMRC . I have been reading the papers with great interest about public hearings on the metro rail and the BRTS. First I say, do something simpler , fix autorickshaws with meters that work.
Me (near home) : Need to go to Spencers (about 6km away)
Autorickshaw guy: 75 saar
Me: 40 .
Autorickshaw guy: 65 saar ... too far.. Too many oneways Saar ..
Me :45 - 65 is too much for 6 km. and one ways are in your favour dolt.
A.G. : 60
Me: 45
A.G.: 55
Me: 50 . lets go
The same rickshaw driver to go to Adyar which is about 2 km from home will demand 40 bucks and have no clue about why he is asking that. When asked about this dichotomy he would say Spencer i will get savaaari (passengers) but then in Adyar I won't. I say "what splendid rot" , the rickshaws in Madras or Chennai as it should now be called are a bunch of rotten thieves, with meters as a show piece. Very recently I happened to be a part of a quiz where there were questions regarding Standard, Diamond, Ashoka and asking what linked them. I was one of the few who knew the answer thanks to the non-working meters of these auto rickshaws.
So one more cross for Chennai to bear and its great politicos now mulling over whether to start a BRTS or a Metro Rail similar to DMRC . I have been reading the papers with great interest about public hearings on the metro rail and the BRTS. First I say, do something simpler , fix autorickshaws with meters that work.
The fascination for early morning walks.
Conversation .
Mom : You were a worm when you were born. Everyone was worried if this kid would even grow. Now we wish the reverse were true.
Uncle : My Activa cries if it has to carry you.
With such callous remarks pointed towards the slight increase in adipose tissue around the waist, yours truly decided that it was time to go for what is the Madrasi's true passion, an early morning walk. After enthusiastic friends gifted me a Nike + ipod pedometer with some inspiring words from PB , one had decided to put it to good use. But of course it needed the prod from one's close Rs .
Boat Club Road in Madras is one of the few beautiful areas left in Madras - Tree lined avenues, clean roads, zero stray dogs, no overflowing garbage bins and a healthy smattering of walkers who don't gawk at an oversized creature attempting to get back into shape with an ipod for company. The walk to Boat Club Road is about 800 m from my house and then a full circle around the avenues with trees that form a canopy on top is about 1.2 miles. Its certainly interesting to note one's old HOD turn up for a walk in the same area and to be remembered by him despite one's vagabond Bachelor days during under-graduation. Then one gets to see old classmates parents and check on his / her existence and which part fo the planet we call earth they exist on. All the while you sweat by the buckets, the rag which is a towel is soaked with sweat so that you can wring out more buckets. Ofcourse you then look out and hope that you don't have to sing Here comes the Sun, lets sweat gallons of sweat instead ..
If only there was an easy way to collect the sweat of all the walkers in Madras there would never be any water shortage in Madras.
Now thats a disgusting thought and on that note shall head out ...
P.S. Why am I in Madras - To sweat out buckets and enjoy the sun in the middle of summer..
Mom : You were a worm when you were born. Everyone was worried if this kid would even grow. Now we wish the reverse were true.
Uncle : My Activa cries if it has to carry you.
With such callous remarks pointed towards the slight increase in adipose tissue around the waist, yours truly decided that it was time to go for what is the Madrasi's true passion, an early morning walk. After enthusiastic friends gifted me a Nike + ipod pedometer with some inspiring words from PB , one had decided to put it to good use. But of course it needed the prod from one's close Rs .
Boat Club Road in Madras is one of the few beautiful areas left in Madras - Tree lined avenues, clean roads, zero stray dogs, no overflowing garbage bins and a healthy smattering of walkers who don't gawk at an oversized creature attempting to get back into shape with an ipod for company. The walk to Boat Club Road is about 800 m from my house and then a full circle around the avenues with trees that form a canopy on top is about 1.2 miles. Its certainly interesting to note one's old HOD turn up for a walk in the same area and to be remembered by him despite one's vagabond Bachelor days during under-graduation. Then one gets to see old classmates parents and check on his / her existence and which part fo the planet we call earth they exist on. All the while you sweat by the buckets, the rag which is a towel is soaked with sweat so that you can wring out more buckets. Ofcourse you then look out and hope that you don't have to sing Here comes the Sun, lets sweat gallons of sweat instead ..
If only there was an easy way to collect the sweat of all the walkers in Madras there would never be any water shortage in Madras.
Now thats a disgusting thought and on that note shall head out ...
P.S. Why am I in Madras - To sweat out buckets and enjoy the sun in the middle of summer..
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Of funny signposts.
So when John Wright in Indian Summers mentioned funny roadsigns along rural India , I was loath to believe some of them (or believed they were on their way out) until I saw a couple of them on the long winding East Coast Road from Madras to Pondicherry. The 2 signs that I was referring to above read something like
"Atoms for Prosperity" and "Fast Reactors for prosperity - Bharani" .
If a government organization can dish out such heavy stuff , private enterprise will (what's that word ?) better it in orders of magnitude and efficiency.
After a point I realized we had crossed Kalpakkam on the East Coast Road from Madras to Pondicherry and that's one of the towns that hosts nuclear powered plants in India. Not soon after I happened to see a sign post proclaiming Wooster Nagar in Pudupattinam (new town), (a new settlement on the East Coast Road ) , a testament to the spreading reach of Wodehouse in the south of India .
"Atoms for Prosperity" and "Fast Reactors for prosperity - Bharani" .
If a government organization can dish out such heavy stuff , private enterprise will (what's that word ?) better it in orders of magnitude and efficiency.
After a point I realized we had crossed Kalpakkam on the East Coast Road from Madras to Pondicherry and that's one of the towns that hosts nuclear powered plants in India. Not soon after I happened to see a sign post proclaiming Wooster Nagar in Pudupattinam (new town), (a new settlement on the East Coast Road ) , a testament to the spreading reach of Wodehouse in the south of India .
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