BEST to volvo ?

It looks like that the BEST has some kind of plan to induct buses made by Volvo. Now in a city like Bombay can this work ? Think practically and you will ultimately figure out that the answer will be "NO". A knee-jerk reaction will lead you to a "YES". This is because you would have conjured up images of travelling inside the cool climes of an air-conditioned bus with interiors like an aircraft. Seperated from the dusty and filthy environs of the streets of Bombay. No more jam packed buses and co-passengers washing you with their sweat. But think again - when you have bus stops at every two minutes, is this cool-clime long lasting ? Volvo's are ideal for long inter-city highway journeys where the bus can hit 100 kmph for long durations. Not suited for stop and go traffic of Bombay.

And think again - the BEST had started "Air-Conditioned" services some time back (it still runs a few). Most routes were discontinued due to poor passenger patronage. Its another matter that the routes selected for the purpose werent representative of the "patronage" one would have wanted to gauge. And their fares were pathetically low. It is indeed a mistake to feel that Bombayites will not pay, especially when one sees the wads of notes emerging put of every second pocket.

Perhaps basic economics should guide the BEST. But then is the BEST management capable of being guided by economics in the first place ? Or perhaps theyre just like their good-for-nothing drivers. And when you figure out that the current bunch of drivers will be steering the Volvos - then youd probably realise that this "idea" is doomed even before it started.

Jimmy Driftwood

20 June 1907, Mountain View, Arkansas - 12 July 1998, Fayetteville, Arkansas

Born as James Corbett Morris and was also known as Jimmie Driftwood.

I wouldn't have a single gal, the reason is plain to see,
I cannot find a single gal who hankers after me.
Jimmie Driftwood - I'm Young To Marry

He was an American folk musician, songwriter, teacher and folklorist.

His best known songs included "The Battle of New Orleans". The song, "The Battle of New Orleans", was written, in order to help Jimmy explain to his high school history students that the Battle of New Orleans was fought during the War of 1812 instead of during the Revolutionary War. After he achieved fame as a noted songwriter and performer, Jimmy used his influence to help the rest of America and the world discover the wonder and beauty of Arkansas Folk Culture, particularly in the areas of folk music and folk story telling, and to help preserve the environment.

Driftwood learned to play guitar at a young age on his grandfather's homemade instrument. Driftwood used the unique guitar throughout his career and noted that its neck was made from a fence rail, its sides from an old ox yoke, and the head and bottom from the headboard of a bed. This homemade instrument produced a pleasant distinctive resonant sound. He started writing songs during his teaching career in order to teach his students history in an entertaining manner.

Hear his version of the "Gallows Pole" titled "Slack your rope (Gallows Tree)". It goes like this:

Slack your rope hangman, slack it for a while
I think I see my father comin' ridin' many a mile
Father have you brought me hope or have you paid my fee
Or have you come to see me hangin' from the gallows tree?
I have not brought you hope, I have not paid your fee
Yes I have come to see you hangin' from the gallows tree.

Slack your rope hangman, slack it for a while
I think I see my mother comin' ridin' many a mile
Mother have you brought me hope or have you paid my fee
Or have you come to see me hangin' from the gallows tree?
I have not brought you hope, I have not paid your fee
Yes I have come to see you hangin' from the gallows tree.

Slack your rope hangman, slack it for a while
I think I see my brother comin' ridin' many a mile
Brother have you brought me hope or have you paid my fee
Or have you come to see me hangin' from the gallows tree?
I have not brought you hope, I have not paid your fee
Yes I have come to see you hangin' from the gallows tree.

Slack your rope hangman, slack it for a while
I think I see my true love comin' riding' many a mile
True love have you brought me hope or have you paid my fee
Or have you come to see me hangin' from the gallows tree?
Yes I have brought you hope, yes I have paid your fee
For I've not come to see you hangin' from the gallows tree.

He adapted the words from a fifteenth century British Ballad when any crime could be paid off with money right up to the last step of the gallows. In his version, the criminal is definitely a woman and her lover rides up and pays her fee.

This song seems to be based on a old english ballad, usually called "The Maid Freed from the Gallows" or "The Briery Bush". It documents the events of a person about to be hung and having friends and realatives arrive to try to either see the execution or have brought money to try to buy their freedom.

ODETTA - The female Leadbelly

Well I just had to write this post.

Odetta Gordon, born 31 December 1930 at Birmingham, Alabama. Also known as Odetta Holmes, and besides is also known with her stepfather's surname as Odetta Felious, is an African-American singer.

Odetta was born in Alabama and grew up in Los Angeles. She was training for a classical and operatic career until a visit to a San Francisco Bay coffee house featuring folk music awakened her interest. Pete Seeger once said, "The first time I heard Odetta sing ... she sang "Take This Hammer" and I went and told her how I wish Leadbelly was still alive so he could have heard her."

Folk singer and guitarist Odetta turned 75 this last New Year's Eve, and there's a 51 year span between her first album from 1954, and her latest, Gonna Let It Shine, released a few months ago. In those five decades, she's blown minds with her powerful voice and influenced many notables in the folk music business, including Joan Baez and Bob Dylan; Odetta gave Dylan encouragement early in his career (before he was in NYC), and her album Sings Ballads and Blues inspired him to switch from an electric to an acoustic guitar.

Odetta was known as the "female Leadbelly".

Just listen to her "Gallows Pole". This is from her 1957 album At the Gate of Horn, which demonstrates her impressive guitar chops. The person playing bass on that song is Bill Lee.

Divine.

The nymphs are running

Alt. title : Mumbai Marathon 2006

Indian advertising has traditionally been boring and insipid. But of late I've seen some rather good ones. The one I'm writing about is on the Mumbai Marathon 2006, which i saw last night. It went like :

Q. What does a city which has Walkeshwar and Jogeshwari do ?
A. Run.

This Mumbai Marathon is on 15 Jan 2006. Hoards of people will be at the starting point and most will stop about 200-500 m from the start. The remaining few will flop down after a few kms. Only the pro's can complete it. Anyway think about it. If you can run from VT station to Bandra in 1 hour - then I think that beats all forms of mechanised transport systems. Of course be ready to sweat.

How can our two rivers be left out ? Theyve positioned themselves at Ground Zero already - as senior-voulnteer-organisers at the "Senior Citizens Run (5 or 7 kms)". And they are busy making arrangements for that event - doctors etc. and more specificially - the nurses. Anyway on D-day they like all others will stand and gaze at the sweat soaked nymhpets as they trundle down Marine Drive. And if you are lucky enough to get close to the starlets then youd have the privilege of bathing with them too.

BP Expressway

This weekend I'd been to Pune with a friend. He's got this car and wanted to drive on the Bombay Pune Expressway. Anyway after negotiating Andheri-Kurla road and JVLR all day, one wants to get loose and perhaps let the old car also flex itself. The fifth gear notch might just get clogged with dust otherwise.

Anyway we zipped into Pune and by evening zipped back. The picture alongside gives some indication of what flexing we did while on the highway. It is indeed a nice bit of engineering done by India. Perhaps for once, the toll that we pay for using this road is fully justified. It is indeed safe and fast to travel by this route - PROVIDED - you follow the rules. And PROVIDED youve not soaked yourself in whiskey before venturing out.

A nice journey. We didnt have anything to do in Pune. Just went to NDA and Khadakvasla. Nothing special, expecpt that we met CHRS while there. We never knew him, neither did he know us ever. But it was nice meeting him. Hope his kids are better now. A post on him is due soon.

And as said earlier, there wasnt any particular reason to drive to Pune. The journey was our destination.

(The chase is better than the kill).

Richard Phillips Feynman

11 May 1918 Far Rockaway,Queens,New York - 15 February 1988 Los Angeles,California

Parents : Melville Feynman and Lucille Phillips

There are two types of genius. Ordinary geniuses do great things, but they leave you room to believe that you could do the same if only you worked hard enough. Then there are magicians, and you can have no idea how they do it. Feynman was a magician.

- Hans Bethe

Drive Rashly Week

Since anyway people dont give any importance to these specially designated "weeks", so perhaps such a week would pay dividends to our hapless public. (Cant blame our public anyway). I had written something earlier on such a "week" and you might want to read it.

The WORST (Errr.. I'm sorry , I meant the BEST) has declared the week from 2 Jan 2006 to 8 Jan 2006 as a "BEST Safety Week". Perhaps it gives an opportunity to the Schumachers of their force to showcase their skills on the roads.

There was an Energy Conservation Week some time back. What this actually translates into is, that there would be load shedding at your home. And perhaps someone with clout has read my post on the issue, for theyve decided to continue having this Energy Conservation all the time - so that means load shedding at your home for the entire year.

No wonder that these geniuses are from the IAS and civil services. I have no ability whatsoever to come even close to them. Perhaps the UPSC wouldnt even accept my application - leave alone letting me appear for the prelims and passing the exams.

Caste is waste

Alt. title : Reservations

If only the two words had rhymed .. it would have been perfect. But then like an imperfect rhyme and a similarly imperfect world - we have an imperfect policy about to unleash itself on India.

That our age old caste system is a major root of our problems, is well known. But it prevails today and I'd say it not just prevails but it rocks. Our politicans and administrators have milked this caste cow till the point at which it is producing just waste. We already have an array of reservations of all kinds - on caste, sex etc. etc.

Open category govt. jobs amount to just about 10% of the total available. The rest are occupied by the "reserved categories". If this is not bad enough, the govt. has recently threatened to impose this "law" onto private sector companies - if they dont voluntarily do so themselves. Obviously thereafter, appeasing those under the "reserved categories" becomes easier - and hence more votes - and hence ... - and hence ...

Imagine companies like Infy and corporate groups like the Tata's etc. advertising jobs - but only those who are in the reserved categories need apply. The presumed logic that one would attract only inefficiency in the process, is unjustified, for almost all of our populace tries its best to get into one of the "caste reservation umberellas". Those who cant manage that are plain old fools. The most recent one was the attempts of the East Indian community to get included into the OBC list - the advantages of which would trickle down for generations.

Only two options are left thus :

• get into some reserved category - change your name, surname, caste, religion, language, residence, domicile, sex - just about anything - as long as you get included into the coveted "reserved category lists".
• leave India and seek refuge elsewhere.

Caste and reservations have truly castrated India. Long live the 90% reserved ...

2007 - Here we come

Its been a good day yesterday - that was the first.

Its two days into the month, and already you might have become tired and weary of the repeating the same old phrase to anybody and everybody. And more to come in the following days.

So take some time out and look ahead. Make no mistake, consider the year as gone. It just flew.