Sunday, August 31, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
My Classmates (SAINA NEHWAL edition)
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan`s Vidyashram---my stepping stone to the world. Where I grew from an insignificant- metre something organism, to something that can be at least reckoned of. The place where I met a myriad of people from different parts of the country. Probably I`m really lucky to have such elite people as my classmates... So now lemme get into the shoes of an archaeologist and trek through the labyrinth of my feeble memory.
Let`s start off with the tip of the iceberg, inevitably that would be Saina Nehwal. Talking about Saina..... She was different, different in every sense. It would feel like she`s always radiating energy when you talk to her. Probably she was the only one among us who knew the value of time. But, her attitude was like any others, never the ego that you would expect from a stereotype international player.
As far as her daily routine went, her day started off with a 20km long trip in a blue LML scooter to LB Stadium at the break of dawn accompanied by her father. There she would attend a rigorous practice session. Then back to school, tracing back the 20km journey. Like any one of us she would be attending the classes. Then again back to the same place for training at 2.30.... Oh boy I thought my schedule was hectic!!
The fruits of her perseverance began to show up; she became the first Indian women to win a 4 star event, then a bronze in the commonwealth and now reaching the QF in the Beijing Olympics, what a feat. Facing the realities, I grew up in nearly the same background but haven't achieved even an iota of what she has. The simple thought that around 8th class or so she got sponsorship and a job in IOCL, and that is supposed to be a dream company here in my college for placements, makes me sick, this is a testimony of how ahead she was than the rest of the pack, but we never recognised that. The thing that annoys me the most, is when I ponder about the recognition she got till now, she is now the World no.16 or the same as Rahul Dravid in cricket. People there are games other than cricket in existence!!!
Now I can’t even fascinate of a life like that of her. Her house has a room full of trophies, gleaming like the amber room at St. Petersburg. Her matches are being played with the likes of Bill Gates and royal family of Denmark in the stands. I still have an image of her playing a match with our PT sir in the school court and how horrendously he was thrashed. See how times change….
Let`s start off with the tip of the iceberg, inevitably that would be Saina Nehwal. Talking about Saina..... She was different, different in every sense. It would feel like she`s always radiating energy when you talk to her. Probably she was the only one among us who knew the value of time. But, her attitude was like any others, never the ego that you would expect from a stereotype international player.
As far as her daily routine went, her day started off with a 20km long trip in a blue LML scooter to LB Stadium at the break of dawn accompanied by her father. There she would attend a rigorous practice session. Then back to school, tracing back the 20km journey. Like any one of us she would be attending the classes. Then again back to the same place for training at 2.30.... Oh boy I thought my schedule was hectic!!
The fruits of her perseverance began to show up; she became the first Indian women to win a 4 star event, then a bronze in the commonwealth and now reaching the QF in the Beijing Olympics, what a feat. Facing the realities, I grew up in nearly the same background but haven't achieved even an iota of what she has. The simple thought that around 8th class or so she got sponsorship and a job in IOCL, and that is supposed to be a dream company here in my college for placements, makes me sick, this is a testimony of how ahead she was than the rest of the pack, but we never recognised that. The thing that annoys me the most, is when I ponder about the recognition she got till now, she is now the World no.16 or the same as Rahul Dravid in cricket. People there are games other than cricket in existence!!!
Now I can’t even fascinate of a life like that of her. Her house has a room full of trophies, gleaming like the amber room at St. Petersburg. Her matches are being played with the likes of Bill Gates and royal family of Denmark in the stands. I still have an image of her playing a match with our PT sir in the school court and how horrendously he was thrashed. See how times change….
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Got my Indian Union Driving license...yipeeeeeee
After a lot of miserable moments i finally got my license, so to live this moment to the max i revisit the madcap indian driving
Travelling on Indian Roads is an almost intoxicating potion of colour,sound and vivid Indians.A complete feast for all your senses. It is mostly heart-thumping, at times hilarious, mostly exhilarating, always unforgettable -- and, when you are on the roads, extremely treacherous.
It seems that every indian who is on the road has inherited a set of predefined rules that are required to survive the "Indian driving experiance"
Rule I: All those who embark on the holy indian roads attain immortality.
Rule II: Indian traffic, like Indian society,is structured on a strict caste system. The following precedence must be accorded at all times. In descending order, give way to:
COWS,BUFFALOS,ELEPHANTS,CAMELS,GOATS,DOGS,CATS,PIGS (Try to convince UN to give bio-diversity hotspot status ;) )
TRUCKS
OFFICIAL VEHICLES(are allowed to 120kmph on roads where we can do 12)
Hamara apna AUTO
APSRTC (Devil may care attitude dudes)
SCOOTERS AND MOTORCYCLES
CARS
BICYCLES
(and why the !@#%@)PEDESTRIAN
Rule III: All wheeled vehicles shall be driven in accordance with the maxim: to slow is to falter, to brake is to fail, to stop is defeat.
Rule IV: Mandatory use of `sound horn` ( All horn signals have the same meaning, viz: "I have an all-up weight of approximately 12.5 tons and have no intention of stopping, even if I could." This signal may be emphasised by the use of headlamps.)
Rule IV remains subject to the provision of Order of Precedence in Rule II above.
Rule V: All manoeuvres, shall not nessarily obey Newtons laws of motion.(Except when subject to scrutiny of TRAFFIC POLICE)
Rule VI: In the absence of seat belts, helmets , RC book, license........... just forget it. Destination shall be the ultimate aim.
Rule VII: Traffic entering a road from the left has priority. So has traffic from the right, and also traffic in the middle and in some cases from nowhere.
Rule VIII : All Indian traffic at all times and irrespective of direction of travel, size or speed of the vehicle shall occupy the least occupied part of the road.
Rule IX: Traffic signals GREEN-Alls well, go anywhere you want to
ORANGE- rev your engines to the maximum to make sure you dont see RED
RED- Stop(Not mandatory), look and proceed
other impression should be ignored.
Rule X: Overtaking is mandatory. Every moving vehicle is required to overtake every other moving vehicle, irrespective of whether it has just overtaken you. Overtaking should only be undertaken in suitable conditions, such as in the face of oncoming traffic, on blind bends, at junctions and in the middle of villages/city centres. No more than two inches should be allowed between your vehicle and the one you are passing -- and one inch in the case of bicycles or pedestrians.
Rule XI: Mukti may be obtained through the head-on crash.
PS-All the above rules shall be mandatory in order to have a pleasurable "Indian Driving Xperince"
Travelling on Indian Roads is an almost intoxicating potion of colour,sound and vivid Indians.A complete feast for all your senses. It is mostly heart-thumping, at times hilarious, mostly exhilarating, always unforgettable -- and, when you are on the roads, extremely treacherous.
It seems that every indian who is on the road has inherited a set of predefined rules that are required to survive the "Indian driving experiance"
Rule I: All those who embark on the holy indian roads attain immortality.
Rule II: Indian traffic, like Indian society,is structured on a strict caste system. The following precedence must be accorded at all times. In descending order, give way to:
COWS,BUFFALOS,ELEPHANTS,CAMELS,GOATS,DOGS,CATS,PIGS (Try to convince UN to give bio-diversity hotspot status ;) )
TRUCKS
OFFICIAL VEHICLES(are allowed to 120kmph on roads where we can do 12)
Hamara apna AUTO
APSRTC (Devil may care attitude dudes)
SCOOTERS AND MOTORCYCLES
CARS
BICYCLES
(and why the !@#%@)PEDESTRIAN
Rule III: All wheeled vehicles shall be driven in accordance with the maxim: to slow is to falter, to brake is to fail, to stop is defeat.
Rule IV: Mandatory use of `sound horn` ( All horn signals have the same meaning, viz: "I have an all-up weight of approximately 12.5 tons and have no intention of stopping, even if I could." This signal may be emphasised by the use of headlamps.)
Rule IV remains subject to the provision of Order of Precedence in Rule II above.
Rule V: All manoeuvres, shall not nessarily obey Newtons laws of motion.(Except when subject to scrutiny of TRAFFIC POLICE)
Rule VI: In the absence of seat belts, helmets , RC book, license........... just forget it. Destination shall be the ultimate aim.
Rule VII: Traffic entering a road from the left has priority. So has traffic from the right, and also traffic in the middle and in some cases from nowhere.
Rule VIII : All Indian traffic at all times and irrespective of direction of travel, size or speed of the vehicle shall occupy the least occupied part of the road.
Rule IX: Traffic signals GREEN-Alls well, go anywhere you want to
ORANGE- rev your engines to the maximum to make sure you dont see RED
RED- Stop(Not mandatory), look and proceed
other impression should be ignored.
Rule X: Overtaking is mandatory. Every moving vehicle is required to overtake every other moving vehicle, irrespective of whether it has just overtaken you. Overtaking should only be undertaken in suitable conditions, such as in the face of oncoming traffic, on blind bends, at junctions and in the middle of villages/city centres. No more than two inches should be allowed between your vehicle and the one you are passing -- and one inch in the case of bicycles or pedestrians.
Rule XI: Mukti may be obtained through the head-on crash.
PS-All the above rules shall be mandatory in order to have a pleasurable "Indian Driving Xperince"
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
RGIA n ME
Initially I thought what difference could RGIA that was comin up do to me after all it is an airport which usually doesn’t get the honour of my presence, rather I would have it just as a landmark that I could boast of being close to my house. How on earth could a mere presence of the airport alter that was around me since the beginning of my time.
As the usual ritual of almost every alternate weekend our family headed for Shamshabad market (one of the only two landmarks I knew on this side of the planet, the other being Parivar Dhaba) hoping to save a few bucks on daily groceries and vegetables, but my dorky mind was convinced the money that was saved was burned up in car fuel which the head of my family retorted as rubbish. I still have that tinge tickling my tongue of that maroon grapes stalls that decked up the narrow road that was supposed to be the Banglore(rather Bangaluru)highway, which I reckon can be got nowhere on the whole expanse of planet earth. Now these roadside stands have virtually disappeared but those which have managed to survive simply doesn’t stand up to the reputation that has been imbibed onto me of that brand. There were many things that I looked forward on this routine trip like the almost deserted highway encouraged us to embark on long trips to the unknowns but largely confined within probably an hour or two.
Then came the news when I was around class 7th or so that I heard that a new greenfield airport is going to come up somewhere around Shamshabad. As always, I was not interested in such news and this was further strengthened by “big” people around quashing them as rumours after all what has it to do with me. All I was worried about at that time was that the daemon Vittal Pal(a security) would invade our cricket pitch and would chase us on his cycle to the unknown edgeways of our beautiful campus saying that the pitch was only for vehicles to ply on(as it was the main road). Of course we didn’t leave him alone always we always tried to deliver maximum damage to his prodigious body.
As the usual ritual of almost every alternate weekend our family headed for Shamshabad market (one of the only two landmarks I knew on this side of the planet, the other being Parivar Dhaba) hoping to save a few bucks on daily groceries and vegetables, but my dorky mind was convinced the money that was saved was burned up in car fuel which the head of my family retorted as rubbish. I still have that tinge tickling my tongue of that maroon grapes stalls that decked up the narrow road that was supposed to be the Banglore(rather Bangaluru)highway, which I reckon can be got nowhere on the whole expanse of planet earth. Now these roadside stands have virtually disappeared but those which have managed to survive simply doesn’t stand up to the reputation that has been imbibed onto me of that brand. There were many things that I looked forward on this routine trip like the almost deserted highway encouraged us to embark on long trips to the unknowns but largely confined within probably an hour or two.
Then came the news when I was around class 7th or so that I heard that a new greenfield airport is going to come up somewhere around Shamshabad. As always, I was not interested in such news and this was further strengthened by “big” people around quashing them as rumours after all what has it to do with me. All I was worried about at that time was that the daemon Vittal Pal(a security) would invade our cricket pitch and would chase us on his cycle to the unknown edgeways of our beautiful campus saying that the pitch was only for vehicles to ply on(as it was the main road). Of course we didn’t leave him alone always we always tried to deliver maximum damage to his prodigious body.
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