CSTM-PUNE is now 169 KMS

They say that PVL-KJT (through Chikale, Mohope and Chowk) is going to be operational soon for passenger services. They might use the BSR-DIVA diesel rake for the same. But what this will mean is that effectively CSTM-GTBN-CLA-VSH-BEPR-PNVL-KJT-MHC-PUNE is 169 KMS instead of the standard CST-KYN-KJT-MHC-PUNE which is 192 KMS. In any case old IR only presents what is known as "Chargeable distances" as against "Actual distances". What this means is that though your train travels only 5 KMS from say A to B, you see the A to B distance as 8 KMS, and likewise you pay for travelling 8 KMS. Even the milestones on the ground reflect only chargeable distances. Its only when you walk down to B from A, with your old school 12 inch scale in hand, that you will realise that you went only 5 KMS. The fare table is correct, so you dont have any reason to beleive that you are being gypped. Only that the original premise was wrong. You travelled only 5 KMS and not 8 KMS. Chargeable distances are supposed to recover additional costs such as infrastructure etc. And perhaps filling up a huge number of pockets, and at the same time depleting yours. Good examples are the routes on Konkan Railways.

2007

Lets rejoice ... 2006 is still here. It will be 2007 tomorrow and 2008 the day after. So what ?

How Cuddapah got the station code HX

Imagine a line which has been drawn on a map and all the stations on that line have been marked with an "X". The name of the stations have been written alongside their "Xs" . Now consider the case of Cuddapah on such a map. This would mean that the word "CUDDAPAH" and its corresponding "X" have been written next to each other if we assume that "CUDDAPAH" has been written to the left of its corresponding "X". Throw in a little inconsistency in spacing between the station name and the "X" and we can assume that the trailing "H" of "CUDDAPAH" and the "X" on the map are adjacent to each other. Now consider a clerk who has been assigned the enviable task to create codes for the stations on that line. The clerk is running through the stations one at a time along the line and creating the codes one by one (remember these were pre-computerisation times). Cuddapah comes along and the clerk sees the "H" and the "X" next to each other. Perhaps it was getting late in the evening.

And thereby we get an "HX".

:)

Plausible?

Mindscape

This means that you are the only one existing at any time. What you see around is only a mindscape and everything else doesnt exist. There is really no such thing as life. A variation of this suggests that only what you see is what exists (seescape) . What you dont see doesnt exist at all.

Imaginable?

If ( rich ) { drink() ; drive() ; kill() ; } else { die() ; }

Some rich kids go on a drinking spree in Bandra. This apparently is common place in this posh suburb of Bombay. Technically the kids went on what is supposed to be known as a "Bacardi Blast". This was at a five-star hotel in Bandra.

Then they drive and the booze takes over. And they run over people on the road.

Dont forget they are rich kids. So their rich parents pay off the authorities and buy them new bottles of booze.

And then .... Some rich kids go on a drinking spree in Bandra. This apparently is common place in this posh suburb of Bombay. Technically the kids went on what is supposed to be known as a "Bacardi Blast". This was at a five-star hotel in B ....

It goes on and on ... the police sure get richer ... and thats why probably no one is arrested. The only thing which remains to be done is to get a new lot of people to get run over by the next gang (or the same gang) of kids waiting to do the same.

BL has said it before .... K.F.D.

To the east ...

I'm now off to the east. CSTM-HWH. Probably led by a HWH or SRC WAP-4. That should be from IGP, I guess since we need these AC/DC's here till KSRA at least. Return is HWH-R-CSTM. Anyway will be trying to travel on the RDR3 from R. Its a break-journey at R this time. Essentially do R-AVP-DTR-AVP-R. This will also give an opportunity to see the ZDM bio-diesels on the R-DTR route. Chattisgarh is perhaps the only place where bio-diesels are used by the railways. At approx. Rs. 10/litre its rather good.

You may want to see this and this.

Chinese Democracy

Guns N' Roses

W. Axl Rose ( b. 6 February 1962, Lafayette, Indiana). This is supposed to come out in Nov. 2006. Who knows ? But gear up for some nice ones such as Madagascar, Catcher in the rye, Prostitute ...





Madagascar

I won't be told anymore
That I've been brought down in this storm
And left so far out from the shore
That I can't find my way back, my way anymore
Oh no I, won't be told anymore
That I've been brought down in this storm
And left so far out from the shore
That I can't find my way back, my way anymore
Oh no... I.. I..

Forgive them that tear down my soul
Bless them that they might grow old
And free them so that they may know
That it's never, too late

For the many times, what seemed like, a memory
I searched and found the ways you used to lure me in
Ooh, I found the ways,
Why it had to be
Mired in denial, and saw heart break / Mired in denial and so afraid

If we ever find it true,
That we had the strength to choose,
The freedom or the chains,
We held together

I'm gonna tell you a story
Stand up for righteousness!
What?
Stand up for justice!
What?
Stand up for truth!
How can a person grow up with all this around them?
You got to call on that something
Where does it come from?
That can make a way out of no way
All this hatred?
What we've got here is..
Fear!
That power that can make a way out of now no way
Failure to communicate
I tell ya I seen the lightning...I've heard the thunder roll!
Everybody's acting like we can do anything and it don't matter what we do. Maybe we gotta be extra careful because maybe it matters more than
we even know..
Sometimes...
Hatred isn't somethin' you're born with
I feel discouraged
It gets taught
Sometimes I feel discouraged
I felt this fear
He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone, no never alone, no never alone!
Let's get something straight, alright?
Promised never to leave me!
This whole thing was fucked up
Never to leave me alone!
All men betray. All lose heart!
I don't want to lose heart!...I want to believe
Black men and white men
Together at the table of brotherhood!
I have a dream
Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty!! WE ARE FREE AT LAST!!

I won't be told anymore
That I've been brought down in this storm
And left so far out from the shore
That I can't find my way back
My way anymore
Oh no I, won't be told anymore
That I've been brought down in this storm
And left so far out from the shore
That I can't find my way back
My way anymore
Oh no...

The electric Mumbai : -- load ; ++ bill

Probably the (long time) residents of Mumbai dont know this : that their city is perhaps the only one in India where there isnt a power and water problem. People here have taken it for granted that just like the thunder, sunlight, wind and rain .. there is power and drinking-water too. But this "advantage" is now almost gone. Mumbai is turning into a Slumbai (not Shanghai). The city is now slowly facing power problems (lets not go into the reasons behind that) and soon you would prefer to buy beer instead of water.

Conversations of these kinds will be common:

• In Bandra we get only 3 hours of power cuts daily, whereas Goregaon and Kandivali get 8 hours of load-shedding everyday. Vasai and Virar dont get any power ...
• Our tanker guy comes everyday. In Borivali it comes every third day.

So get ready for load shedding and update your vocabulary with terms such as "Inverters" and "Generators". And if things continue the way they are going (which they will anyway)... then your electric bills are going to become double long floats. So you pay more for what you dont even get. Isnt that just great for the power companies. And you too ???

... we are living "fast" lives in a city thats already on life-support
Smart, no ?

Five times a day to good health

Muslims who pray five times a day stay healthy. This is beacuse their routine of praying innvolves several yogic and breathing exercises. So this is what keeps them fit.

In addition to this is "the aazaan" ... thats essentially a breathing excercies workshop. It can only enhance your health.

Vajrasana - Those who sit in this Asana have a quite steady and firm pose. They cannot be easily shaken. The knees are rendered very hard. This Asana resembles more or less the Namaz pose in which the Muslims sit for prayer.

One of the most obvious correspondences between Islam and yoga is the resemblance of salat to the physical exercises of yoga asanas.

The meaning of the word salat is 'to bend the lower back', as in yoga; the Persians translated this concept with the word namaz, from a verbal root meaning 'to bow'. The genius of Islamic salat is to incorporate all of these in rudimentary form into a compact, flowing sequence, ensuring a thorough, all-round course of exercises for good health that is easy for everyone to practice.

Namaz .. five times .. fifty times ?

The supreme wanted men to pray 50 times a day, but when appealed for a less difficult routine, it was resolved that there should be five prayers a day. This has remained the practice ever since.

See these sites for some more :
http://www.penkatali.org/yoga.html
http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Namaz/id/221858
http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Asanas/id/23896

Drop box bus

I have recently seen some BEST buses having a drop box fitted behind the drivers seat. This is only for the "Hutch" mobile bills. The notice on the box says that one should not put cash.

Now for some point to ponder :

• When do they clear the boxes ? Who does so ? What if they forget ?
• What about cheques which get mutilated due to scrap being forced into these boxes ?
• What if the boxes get damaged ? They looked pretty "chillar".
• Who will use it ? ... One doesnt board a bus expecting such a service ... and that too only for "Hutch" .... Cant the BEST start it for their own consumers to pay their electricty bills ?

NDLS trip

Journey time ... off to the north for a week

BCT-BRC:BL=WCAM-2P
BRC-NDLS:GZB=WAP-5
NZM-BRC:BRC=WAP-4
NDLS-AGC-BPL:GZB=WAP-5