Wednesday, December 31, 2003
Monday, December 29, 2003
Saturday, December 27, 2003
Thursday, December 25, 2003
Tuesday, December 23, 2003
Bangalore traffic is rather painful. The drivers don't just care about what happens to the public and other drivers...everyone has only one motto, 'Do as you please'! Indiscriminate use of high beams on the city roads with the sole purpose of blinding the drivers in the opposite lane is their favourite passtime. Specially menacing are the auto-rickshaws.
Autos-drivers believe in treating the road equivalent to their bedrooms, they can do whatever they want. Specially when they are about to U-turn, god help the guy behind him. God was rather merciful to me day before yesterday given the fact that I still live to see another day! And when a staunch atheist like me gives credit to Mr. God, one can be sure the experience that I had was not particularly pleasant or rosy.
On the first occasion (there was more than one) I was happily driving down our lane at my usual speed of forty, along the left side of the road like a righteous law-abiding citizen. An auto was coming down the road from the other side. I looked into the auto but turned away disinterested since the passenger was not a good-looking girl. In fact it was not even a girl. Looking away was my mistake. The auto-driver noticed my apparent disinterest and swore revenge. He decided to U-turn and did. He bumped into the side of my bike with a resounding crash. It took me some fifty yards to stabilize myself and come to a halt. I got down and inspected my bike for damages. Aparently there were none. The auto stopped beside me. The driver got down and inspected his auto for damages. The front tyre guard was dented. The guy gave me a spine-chilling glance, stepped into his auto muttering all the time in kannada about life and how it was unfair, and drove away.
The second incidence came later in the day. Already jarred by an incident in the morning, this time I was driving much below my par speed. At the same time I was keeping a weary eye open for oncoming autos from opposite lane and their U-turning tendencies. I did not pay much attention to the auto in front of me. So this time this fellow decided to U-turn to the right. As he came right in front of me, I braked. The Thunderbird has wonderful brakes. I owe my life time and again to the disc brakes on the front wheel. And they saved me again this time. As I came to a screeching halt, the auto-driver heard me, paniced and stopped...right in front of me, so that I could no way avoid him. Well, as I said, the brakes saved me, and I stopped with an inch to spare. (Well, there was this problem in +2 Physics, if you come across an auto in the middle of the road with n metres to spare is it easier to turn or brake? Energy formulae somehow proved that it is easier to brake. I however had learnt the lesson the hard way, especially hard for my friend's car which I was driving, and which sported a scratched left headlight for many subsequent days.)
After that, for the rest of the day, I went about at 10 Kmph peak speed, with the belief firm in mind that I was destined to die an autocrashic death that day. No wonder I was particularly thankful towards my destiny for having let me see the light of another day!
Note: Another addition in the Favourites list, another close friend - another Anant!
Autos-drivers believe in treating the road equivalent to their bedrooms, they can do whatever they want. Specially when they are about to U-turn, god help the guy behind him. God was rather merciful to me day before yesterday given the fact that I still live to see another day! And when a staunch atheist like me gives credit to Mr. God, one can be sure the experience that I had was not particularly pleasant or rosy.
On the first occasion (there was more than one) I was happily driving down our lane at my usual speed of forty, along the left side of the road like a righteous law-abiding citizen. An auto was coming down the road from the other side. I looked into the auto but turned away disinterested since the passenger was not a good-looking girl. In fact it was not even a girl. Looking away was my mistake. The auto-driver noticed my apparent disinterest and swore revenge. He decided to U-turn and did. He bumped into the side of my bike with a resounding crash. It took me some fifty yards to stabilize myself and come to a halt. I got down and inspected my bike for damages. Aparently there were none. The auto stopped beside me. The driver got down and inspected his auto for damages. The front tyre guard was dented. The guy gave me a spine-chilling glance, stepped into his auto muttering all the time in kannada about life and how it was unfair, and drove away.
The second incidence came later in the day. Already jarred by an incident in the morning, this time I was driving much below my par speed. At the same time I was keeping a weary eye open for oncoming autos from opposite lane and their U-turning tendencies. I did not pay much attention to the auto in front of me. So this time this fellow decided to U-turn to the right. As he came right in front of me, I braked. The Thunderbird has wonderful brakes. I owe my life time and again to the disc brakes on the front wheel. And they saved me again this time. As I came to a screeching halt, the auto-driver heard me, paniced and stopped...right in front of me, so that I could no way avoid him. Well, as I said, the brakes saved me, and I stopped with an inch to spare. (Well, there was this problem in +2 Physics, if you come across an auto in the middle of the road with n metres to spare is it easier to turn or brake? Energy formulae somehow proved that it is easier to brake. I however had learnt the lesson the hard way, especially hard for my friend's car which I was driving, and which sported a scratched left headlight for many subsequent days.)
After that, for the rest of the day, I went about at 10 Kmph peak speed, with the belief firm in mind that I was destined to die an autocrashic death that day. No wonder I was particularly thankful towards my destiny for having let me see the light of another day!
Note: Another addition in the Favourites list, another close friend - another Anant!
It gives one this nice smug patronizing feeling when one introduces a friends' blog to bloganity. Few people have the priviledge, fewer still have it more than once.
She was among the first few friends I made when I came to Bangalore. She is among the closest of my friends now. She was the board topper in the Secondary exams. She was an accomplished badminton player, who used to play in the I-forgot-which level. She is not at all moody! She likes playing monopoly, scrabble, but hates playing carrom, chess. She is allegedly going about with another close friend of mine. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the community, the beautiful, charming, kind-hearted, helping, (ya, she is going to read this article!) Prerna.
She was among the first few friends I made when I came to Bangalore. She is among the closest of my friends now. She was the board topper in the Secondary exams. She was an accomplished badminton player, who used to play in the I-forgot-which level. She is not at all moody! She likes playing monopoly, scrabble, but hates playing carrom, chess. She is allegedly going about with another close friend of mine. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the community, the beautiful, charming, kind-hearted, helping, (ya, she is going to read this article!) Prerna.
Monday, December 22, 2003
I sometimes wonder, do I really love to write? There seem to be plenty of evidence indicating otherwise.
For those who take up writing as a passion, there can be no break. Whatever other engagements they might have, they always manage to find out time for writing. I, on the other hand, have abstained myself from writing because I was finding it difficult to manage all my different interests and still write.
I often get different ideas to write about. I have started writing hundreds of pieces, which promised to turn into novels and thrillers, but ended up unfinished (read just-started) manuscripts which only I will ever read, on some future date, and wonder, how I had planned to proceed with the story. Definitely not a trait to be seen among passionate writers.
Yesterday I started writing about our Manipal trip (we shouldn't call it a trip, at least in public, as Anant says.....it was supposed to be 3 months of rigorous training!) and finished about half of the first chapter. I stopped with an intention to continue later. I wonder when 'later' will be!
Anyway, with all these indications of not being a serious writer, as I return to the web-logger's world exactly four months (believe me, its only a coincidence) after I had stopped posting, I realise that I was indeed missing something I liked to do.
For those who take up writing as a passion, there can be no break. Whatever other engagements they might have, they always manage to find out time for writing. I, on the other hand, have abstained myself from writing because I was finding it difficult to manage all my different interests and still write.
I often get different ideas to write about. I have started writing hundreds of pieces, which promised to turn into novels and thrillers, but ended up unfinished (read just-started) manuscripts which only I will ever read, on some future date, and wonder, how I had planned to proceed with the story. Definitely not a trait to be seen among passionate writers.
Yesterday I started writing about our Manipal trip (we shouldn't call it a trip, at least in public, as Anant says.....it was supposed to be 3 months of rigorous training!) and finished about half of the first chapter. I stopped with an intention to continue later. I wonder when 'later' will be!
Anyway, with all these indications of not being a serious writer, as I return to the web-logger's world exactly four months (believe me, its only a coincidence) after I had stopped posting, I realise that I was indeed missing something I liked to do.
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