Sojourn headed by a WCAM2P and a WAP5

Another sojourn to cooler climes is up soon. I'd be in the company of WAP's , WAM's and WAG's, since this is an electrified route all the way. Not much chance of diesels, though occasionally there may be some from ED or KZJ or AJJ from the south, which might have ventured into these areas on account of long hauls. Here would be mostly the TKD and GZB locos.

Im told that the 2951 gets a BL WCAM2P from BCT to BRC and a GZB WAP5 from BRC to NDLS. I remember in the older twin-WDM days, there used to be a changeover at RTM. We used to see the "Ratlam" sign on the loco while we walked past the loco on leaving the platforms. But these days its all electric it seems on this route. Those twin-WDMs too did a good speed job, - after all in those days it had to keep up the reputation of being the "fastest train". I dont know who or which is currently the fastest .

So for the next few days I'm off towards the north. Avid readers can however utilise this "break" to recoup their thoughts and lives.

The butcher's wife

We had some free entertainment yesterday. The bus was crowded and a man who was standing next to a seated girl got a mouthful from the girls companion (another woman). Now this firebrand started accusing him of harrasing (or molesting or raping , if she would prefer) the girl. She was showering the choiciest of expletives at high volume and all along demonstrating how the guy was going "like that" , "like that" - all this to draw ready attention from the rest of the passengers. (You can conjure an image of the actions she was making, for its difficult to describe those in a few parliamentary words). The guy pleaded innocence. And most passengers also knew that he hadnt touched a fly. But the woman was in no mood to relent and also went on to chide other female passengers on how meek and submissive they were and also mocked the "theory of female unity and power".

It was rather entertaining. She also pulled out a mobile phone and pretended to call the CBI or something (I guess Ab. Sal. has influenced a lot of our public). And then she declared that she was not alone and there were "males" in her house too - and that she was a butcher's wife.

We later observed that the duo was headed towards Cheetah Camp.

I was dissappointed that nobody threw some coins. We would have had a repeat of Hiroshima then.

374 Ltd.

I usually travel from A to B by 374 Ltd. A colleauge travels with me from A to C, which lies on the way to B. Now the BEST has this curious way of charging/overcharging. Sometimes I pay Rs. 10/- for the journey and sometimes Rs. 12/-. Like wise colleauge pays Rs. 8/- or Rs. 10/-. The BEST conductors each time swear that the fare is correct. Perhaps theyve made the fare charts (on the inner flaps of their ticket boxes) themselves. Perhaps the ambiguity is due to the "stage number" missing at the "A" bus stop. (See picture alongside). This omission gives the BEST the authority to charge what they like. Its time they correct this. But then on second thoughts, they have to recover money from the public, so that they can fund the outrageous bonuses that they give to their good-for-nothing staff. After all what else can be expected from an organisation thats run by such people.

The PRO at BEST is such a nincompoop. He wouldnt know the difference between a single decker bus and a double decker one. Leave alone addressing issues related for the benefit of the public, for which the BEST is supposed to be for after all.

A rather pathetic scene.

Kurla Valley - closer to reality

I was right.

The BMC has reportedly proposed a beautification plan on the banks of the Mithi.

We had identified the Mithi river to be a potential time-bomb even before most people even knew that it was called the Mithi River. Infact old time residents of Kurle/Bailbazaar narrate how in the good old days people used to drink water from the river since it was sweet. (Hence the name).

Think of doing so today. You will have convulsions.

Sania and pre-marital publicity

It had been reported that old Sania Mirza had backed the concept of having pre-marital sex. Well the media boys need to earn their living too, so its no surprise that such things float around. Now later its been also reported that old Sania Mirza has said that she didnt say anything of that sort. She was also quoted/miquoted of bringing in some kind of religion-based judgements on the issue. Perhaps she supports only post-marital sex. But, lets leave the sex part for the time being.

What needs to be understood is that the publicity generated this time around is perhaps more than if she had picked up a few WTA titles or gone a few notches up in the rankings. And wouldnt Team-Sania be the most obvious benefeciary of a little round of publicity ?

Its better if she lets her game speak. It would do her good if she shuns publicity (a bit of a risk at this stage of her career) and thereby preventing our idle-minded media from going overboard. Not to be left out, the politically active boys have jumped in too. A Muslim personality and the issue is about sex - a lethal combination that gets you straight into the TV sets. The ABVP is suppsoed to have burnt an effigy of SM at Vijayawada and Guntur. It however wasnt important for them to know who Sania is or what tennis was.

Ptooooo - a lack of civic sense

Alt. title : Citizens on short fuse

Bombay city is full of people. They come here to make money and fulfill dreams. Lets see what this money making is and what these dreams are. An insight into daily life on the roads should be enough to have a nice view of whats inside people's minds (and mouths).

Crowds mean more people jostling for the already scarce and poor infrastructure of the city. These crowds dont know what "quality" means so that helps. When you spend huge amounts of time just getting from one place to another - thats wasting time. And look at the trouble and planning needed to get simple things done. No wonder, people are always cursing and swearing. Petite, docile girls when behind the wheel are said to be a bagful of curses. Just see the way they curse and swear while driving. You wouldnt have imagined that they could be like that. I guess getting behind the wheel and trying to negotiate your way around gets you into the cursing mode automatically. And this develops a 'dont care for others' attitude - after all if you if you have to make your way ahead - then this mode is necessary in Bombay. And as far as making money is concerned, well look at the money spent in doing simple things and travelling and health. Most of what you earn gets drained in this process. (We are not talking about gangmen, politicians and the film and entertainment types).

As far as civic sense is concerned, i guess Bombay is the biggest spittoon on earth. Just see the tons of guthka and paan that shoots of the mouths of its citizens everyday. God forbid, if you travel on a bike, or drive with your car windows open or sit behind another man in a bus. I guess wearing a red shirt would always help. All this again, for the same reason. People have (for survival) developed a "dont care attitude".

Just makes one wonder, what all one needs to do for "survival sake" in Bombay.

And short fuses are something all people have. All the media reports about "the spirit of Bombay" etc. is total humbug. Lurking inside every ones mind is this "fuse" waiting to be blown off at the slightest of all incidents. And once a fuse is blown, we all know what happens. No wonder that we have this army of godmen and yoga fiends all over who make money just trying to convince people that they are harrassed and need to calm down. Its all at a price, though.

Another thing to be kept in mind is that people who throng Bombay are not for keeps. They are here for a quick buck. So since they are temporary they dont feel that they are responsible for their surroundings (people and infrastructure). But the greater problem lies when they stay in this temporary mode and dont go back. I guess they should all go back from where they came - be it Parbhani, Akola, Sawantwadi, Asansol, Gorakhpur, Tiruchillapalli, Nagapatnam, Ambala, whereever ....

So, after all what can such people dream of .... nothing much I guess. Its just a spittoon. Im referring to the mind. So why peek into one to see whats inside. Ever seen the insides of one ?

After all the mind is indeed a terrible thing to taste.

God is right inside

Yesterday evening I was roaming in the streets of Madras, along with a friend. We happened to get inside a shop called GTA. It was stocked with all kinds of things that would appeal to the spiritual and religious minded person. Huge collections of books on the Vedas, Upanishads, the epics and numerous other religious topics. Books in English, Tamil, and other south Indian languages. Books on learning Tamil using Kannada, Malayalam using French etc. All possbile combinations of langauge learning options are available there. The shop also has all the material that one would require to conduct any kind of religious ceremony or pooja at ones home. Also stocked are large collections of cassettes, CD's of religious hymns and classical music. In a few words, Id say if you visit the place a few times, you are guaranteed to become a true-blue "South Indian". (People from the south tend to be more knowledgeable in Indian religon and Indian culture, and this was pretty apparent from the kind of things available in the shop). The fact that it is located in Madras is also not surprising, since this locality has been traditionally inhabited by people from the south, for decades.

No wonder that this shops slogan is "God is right inside".

Later went to Mysore Cafe for Mysore Masala and Khotto Idli and then to AB for some genuine coffee. Im told that the AB's coffee is the strongest - and perhaps better than Cafe Madras or Mysore Cafe.

All this in Bombay ?

(Yes, in Bombay ... Not Madras, Not Mysore, but at good old Kings Circle [ also known as Maheswari Udyan to the BEST staffers ] i.e. Matunga)

Perhaps education is the problem

Travel in a crowded bus or train and you will hear all kinds of harrassed, disgruntled commuters who will be busy swearing and more importantly "theorising" on the reasons for all the rush and inconevniece in Bombay. Amongst the popular reasons that are given some are : UP/Bihar has downloaded most of their natives into Bombay, Bangladeshis roam freely in the guise of being Bengalis, traffic is too much, IR is cancelling trains at will etc. In the heat of these moments , during rush hours, many times during a tiff with co-passengers one also hears such statments like - "itne padhe likhe hone ke baad bhi itna akkal nahi hai kya tereko"( "Dont you have basic sense inspite of being educated") or some variation of this "padhe likhe" ("education") theme. These comments are usually reserved for the "white-collared" kinds of lookalikes.

Now think again. Perhaps education is the problem itself. Assuming that the white-collar was indeed educated and thereafter has put himself/herself in such a situation, then it does mean that perhaps the white-collars education must have had some "influence" on the behaviour of that individual. Many times you see that apparently uneducated looking people keep their cool and senses better than the "padhe likhe" types. There used to be a t-shirt that urchins usually wore and which said - "i was born intelligent but education killed me" or something like that. Perhaps, a lot of sense in those words.

So, having a B.Tech or a D.Litt against your name doesnt automatically gift you with the powers of sanity and civility. You still have to make a hell lot of effort to stay civilised and to live life without doing anything stupid or harming others. It does take some effort to do that.

Perhaps it would help if B.Tech and D.Litt curricula are so amended so as to keep these breeds safe. In other words the "padhe likhe" safe.

Former 7 times national champion

A few days back I had the opportunity to meet a former seven times national champion who also represented India at several topmost events. It was a good meeting. The champion was rather unassuming and was modest - no airs or anything. Its been years since the player stopped playing professionally, but still is involved with the game, by way of coaching youngsters on a full time basis.

River flows back from the south

The more adventurous of the two rivers has just returned from a small vacation to Pondicherry and Yercaud. The river felt a little incomplete since the unseasonal heavy rains in the region didnt give too much of scope for photography (only 5 rolls exhausted - he still hasnt gone digital and swears by his old Nikon SLR). Going by the initial descriptions of the trip - it sure looks like Yercaud is a place worth visiting. You need to get to the nearest railhead - i.e. Salem (SA) - and then go up to Y by bus. Its supposed to be a relatively unexplored destination - given that its not on the radar of "normal" touristers. So in a way the scanty crowds are welcome. Did he say scanty ?

The next sojourn is already under planning. Infact initial meetings for the same were held on the 1014 (CBE-SA-CSTM) LTT express itself. Its an obsession with this gang. Its been going on for well over a decade now.

FYI - SA is just about 50-60 kms from ED - thats ERODE, which for some might be a "destination" in itself. With such a large fleet of WDM's, WAP's and WDP's there - it also sure is a place "worth" visiting, besides Y.

Sania T-shirts

Sania Mirza (you can refer to an earlier post about her) is now I guess in the top 31 in the WTA rankings. Thats good. Being a girl from under-developed, mal-nourished, poverty-striken, land of tigers and snakes., third-world - INDIA. This makes the accomplishment even more significant. Should I say Congratulations ?

Just the other day at Kurle, I saw this kid (must be 14 or 15) - who was wearing this Sania Mirza T-shirt. He looked as if he wouldnt be tell the difference between cricket and tennis - but still was wearing the t-shirt. What is apparent that the marketing guys have gone into their overkill mode. For they too know that old SM exists for a short while only. The same with the media boys. This is just their raw material and they need it to feed themselves. They make a person and thereafter break the same person, when the person has no commercial value left. (See what happened - or will happen - to old Saurav Ganguly) . For by that time some new raw material has come on the scene. Its pretty tough being a celebrity in India.

Make hay while she play.
When she play and if she win, then you make more hay.
And if she has really played then mix her sweat with the hay.
And then the hay will sell for even more.
Its all about making hay, anyway.

Id suggest to the media and the MBA style marketeers - let the poor girl be herself and play and enjoy her game. Dont interfere for heavens sake. You are killing a nation, perhaps, by this process.

BEST bus jumps a stop

Another case of a BEST bus driver deciding to skip a bus stop.

Date and time : 8 Nov 2005, 7.34 pm
Place : R Centre , Raj Kapoor Chowk
Route No. : 505 Ltd. (Bandra Stn. to CBD Belapur)
Direction : Going from Telecom Factory towards Agarwadi
Bus Reg. No. : MH01-L-8383

What these guys do is that they stop way ahead (more than 100m) of the bus stop in case someone has to get down. Here too the guy did the same thing. Sometimes the driver looks behind to see if someone is yelling or more importantly "writing down" something (most probably the bus reg. no.). In such cases the bus sheepishly stops ahead and they wait for the passenger to run up to the bus and board it. Obvioulsy they are scared of hearing a mouthful later during an enquiry (if it takes place). Though most BEST staffers would urge you to go ahead and "do whatever you like" - and boast that nothing can ever harm them. But in their insides they are churning. Most BEST staffers are too timid to indugle in such daring acts - but they act as if they are Hollywood stuntmen. Quite a pathetic and incompentent bunch of people we have here who run the BEST. And thats something that could change - if we want some improvement in services.

If they sight a blue-topi at a stop - they HAVE to stop. And most recognise the blue-topis even if they are in plain-clothes. But then this is not too much of a detterent. After all blue-topis were also conductors and drivers I guess, in their earlier fitter and healthier days.

Now that I have this data, I plan to proceed ahead and see what comes of it - if I submit a written complaint. The BEST is after all not anybodys private domain. And they are defenitely not doing a favour by plying their buses.

Only if its a marathi speaking passenger

This is in continuation to my previous post on left luggage in autos. A significant point that came up during discussions with auto-men was that they would only take the trouble to "return" documents and other unimportant (to them) things , only of they figured out that the passenger was a Maharashtrian (assuming a son-of-the-soil was at the wheel). In case its some Southie, or UP-Bhaiyya, or Bonglo, or Far-East 'Chinese' type, or Gujju - then forget even that consolation. But its certain that if money is found then even their own brethen dont get the 'benefit' of their benevolence. I dont know if the natural corollary to all of this - i.e. , for e.g. if its a Gujju driver then he would consider returning things to his Gujju passengers.

Next time you sit in an auto and plan to leave your bags behind, start blabbering in the lingo of the driver. It might just help.

It helps to be a linguist.

(I dont know of any female auto drivers in Bombay. Perhaps their outlook towards left luggage might be a bit more lenient. I guess we should have some female auto drivers in the city. It would perhaps give some female passengers a sense of safety.)

An unscrupulous but honest rickshaw driver

The other day a relation of one of my friends, was travelling in a rickshaw. After the journey she forgot her all important purse in the vehicle, but remembered to take her hand bag that only contained clothes. This fact however dawned later when the purse was found to be missing.

My friend obviously upset, started making rounds of rickshaw stands and police stations and even asking random rikshaw drivers. As expected nothing came of all this ....

I later was speaking to one of these rickshaw drivers. On hearing the incident he said that consider the purse gone for good. There was no chance of its recovery. He said that most drivers would gladly keep the valuables and money. If there is a hint of honesty in them, theyd probably call up the passenger (if some number is found somewhere in the left behind belongings) - but that too only if it contained some important looking documents like passports etc. Else , in most cases they keep the cash and the stuff. He went on to say how often it was that mobile phones are left behind by passengers. The cases we hear that an honest guy returned the stuff - are all very very rare. It almost never happens. He also said that there was no concept of depositing left luggage in their Auto Union Stands or anything, as compared to perhaps Taxi drivers. Most arent affiliated to any. And if someone does narrow down on them and questions them - they would invariably say that the next passenger might have picked up the bag. Obviously they are not going to risk a vacation in jail for owning up.

He was also candid enough to say, that if it were his own ricksahw - he would do the same. He said that even old clothes left behind are not spared. Most drivers would try to use them or if possible sell them of somewhere. Mobile phones are almost always sold off. It fetches a pretty decent price - and thats a huge bonus for the drivers. He also went on to say that 9 out of 10 drivers - do the same. The rare honest driver - is perhaps just that - RARE.

So ... next time, if you plan to leave your bags behind in a rickshaw - leave a small Greeting Card / Best Wishes Card / Congratulations Card for the driver. It would absolve both of you of any kind of guilt or sadness.

IR mixes it up at Uroli

Uroli is near Daund, when you move towards Pune. I had earlier mentioned that IR had religiously follwed the policy of the station board naming by putting the local language name on top and then the Hindi and English scripts below. But in the case of Uroli the Marathi name is below. You can see this on the platform on the northern side of the tracks. Not many might have noticed or given any importance to this "error".

Blame it on a cow-belt-native painter perhaps ?

(One of our two rivers might be mighty pleased on seeing this.)