Monday, December 28, 2009

The lights :The lighter side of lights

The lights

Recently Indian Govt announced the mandatory statutory warning on the cigarette packet with graphical inputs. I liked this move as to support the illiterate population of India who could not read the labels before. Now they could see the self explanatory pics and warn themselves. Suddenly a deeper thought came in, do these illiterate smoke these cigarettes or they rely more on hand rolled smoking leaves or beedi as they are called here.
I checked the Beedi labels and was not surprised to find any such warnings there. The survey has shown no decrease in the use of cigarettes after the new act was introduced; rather an increase in more intakes by more young population shows the uptrend. But Government of India has done a marvelous job of introducing the pictorial warnings and slept off. I also know about the survey which says that the smoking ban has reduced the health problems, Air pollution near the vicinity of ban and decreased sell of tobacco products by 10-20%.
It was soon followed by, the smoking ban in office premises. Which also is as flattery as it can be?
Just visualize this, earlier you used to blow the smoke out to the atmosphere from your office rooftop, now you do the same from the roadside. The amount of monoxide going to the atmosphere is same as before. It does not matter where it comes from the office toilets or from the car. The Earth does not care about the source.

I agree that passive smokers can have an excuse for not accompanying till the office gate. But when its business, friendship, you cannot ignore. Passive smoking continues.
Irony has it by its horns. You cannot smoke in office, you cannot smoke in public places, but you can smoke in your home, in the car. You can smoke while driving too! A better way is to pull over your car, ask the traffic cop for the lights, say thanks you and drive off while you puff.
Smoking by definition means carrying or in possession of any lit tobacco product. This ban looks good for restrictions which include risk of fire in areas with explosive hazards; cleanliness in places where food, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, or precision instruments and machinery are produced. But a ban in lawyer’s office, a ban in IT office premises looks clown’s decisions. But no wonder this country is full of them and at political posts.
 Bhutan, a tiny country which counts its growth in terms of GNH (Gross national happiness) is the only country where there is Ban on cigarettes. It means you cannot buy/sell/manufacture the tobacco products in Bhutan.
If the govt is really serious on the health of the citizens, it should follow footsteps of Bhutan.


We like to Pun

We like to Pun
Past is Glorious!

I remember when I was reading a magazine on the bench of the dental hospital waiting my turn. I saw a girl next to me, playing on her I-phone. Right opposite was an elderly man looking at us with all his amusement.
Something flashed to me, that what if I am that old person and I am sitting there and watching two youths 40-50 years down the line. The boy holding the magazine and reading it would appear more wise and intelligent while the girl holding an I-phone would look like careless, independent, not so intelligent type. Do the hobbies or interest of yours give you an image?
Will you trust a doctor who is wearing a T-shirt with “I can bet my wife on 3 Aces” has an ear pierced, and wearing torn jeans holding a jazzy phone operating for Root canal treatment?
Or will you trust a fashion designer who is wearing a cotton silk kurta with kohlapuri sandals?
1000 years back student used to meditate and learn. Then we had books and magazines. Now we have internet/ notebooks and smart phone which also educate us. Will the person coming out of time machine will interpret that the same knowledge passed by these three has different values. Does statistical weighted average mean will come for the analytical rescue?
Will you respect your father if you see him gulping Walkers and crying over a girl he could not marry?
Will you kiss a snake that comes with no fangs dangling out but with a beautiful pink skin?
Beat this, if I do some photography implies that I am creative and have a taste towards art. So according to this theory a marriage photographer is the most creative person you will encounter especially during marriage festive.


Bottom line:
‘When you have a responsibility your Image should compliment it.’
When I was young (teen), I used to hate the culture grown around our society, and I used to find ways like all other teen to rout it. I promised myself that when I will marry, I will go in wearing a T-shirt and jeans that too torn. How can someone’s basic property will change just by wearing different dress?
However I see the world with a view not to change its strange idotic ways………
Now like all the wise people I too play foolish.
Now please for chisssake don’t make an image out of me as I am writing this blog during office hours pretending to do work.
J


Friday, December 18, 2009

The Scotland of India had its royal salute.

Two Complicated
One Machine
36360 Km reading on Odometer at the start
37180 Km at the end of the ride
Off to burn Rubber for 2 Nights
Time: 3:30Am: Saturday
I woke up by the Mobile alarm and a call simultaneously, may be the punctuality was waking me up.
Got up tied our 15Kg Backpack on the side of Tbird, Started Rolling.
We hit the Mysore road, still dark. We crossed Muddur around 5Am and saw a 24Hour open Sign with Yellow neon saying just a single letter-“M” with soft corners. Checked a quick bite, sipped some cold water and was ready for the roll. Next Pit stop was Mysore.

We reached Bylekuppe around 9 in the morning; it was a beautiful drive with 80-90Kmph as average speed. Bylekuppe near Kushalanagar is one of the largest Tibetan settlements outside Tibet.


The 1960 settlement looked old enough and as a part of India with Tibetan signs. The gold-coated Buddhist statues in the monastery were imposing and unique, reflecting the rich cultural heritage of the Tibetans. The statues were of Guru Padmasambhava, Buddha Shakyamuni and Amitayus. We saw a large croud of locals who were more interested in clicking their photos in a group than the surroundings.

Soon we had our Momos and Thukpa, quite ok in taste. The sun was getting hotter as we jammed 200km. Our next stop was Madikeri-The Scotland of India.
The Road from Kushalnagar to Madikeri was a mess and it took us 2 hours to reach our final destination. We got a lovely homely Homestay with first floor as our stay including a view over the Madikeri coffee estates and a lovely balcony.

This was our time to relax. The garden was full of fruit trees and beautiful flowers. It was like a small garden creek on the mountains with litchi trees, Fig, Pomegranate, Guava, Mango, Oranges, Peach trees. We plucked some of them and got delighted.
We went to a small ride into the town, it got really dark and shut down early and we too retired early for the day.

Sunday:
We woke up early and moved towards Dubare Elephant Camp by another breathtaking route with valley view, waterfalls, coffee estates and flowery road. We had our elephant interactions which started with bath in river Cauvery along with mighty giants.



Rule1: The Harder you scrub the Elephants, the more they enjoy.
Rule2: When elephants bathe, don’t go near their rear as they may drop a load.
Rule3: After the bath keep distance, as they get into playful mood.

On the way to Nisaragdhama, we met two small kids selling raw Sitafal (Custard Apple), we were surprised to see a new variety. We tried to ask them on how to eat but the language barrier played their part. Finally I bought two of Sitafal for mere 2 bucks. Plunged my teeth harder into them, got a taste of its raw bitterness. Finally one swift pulled over us and told the wisdomary words that we need to store them into a bag of rice for at least a week then it will be worth the grab. Astonished but delighted, we tossed them across jungle and proceeded towards Island.

The island was beautiful Bamboo forest with a pass over beautiful Hanging Bridge. We were welcomed by a flock of small, timid rabbits. We fed them oranges with skin and proceeded to meet our ancestral species.
We also saw a Deer park with around 25Deers (Sambar-Asian deer and Cheetal- Spot deer). As good humans, we bought some cucumber and oranges to feed these antelope browsers. They looked very shy to come closer but we had our greed. Then the gang of Two Complicated proceeded towards the Cauvery river bank though a small creek more like a brooky ford shallow enough to be crossed by wading. We also saw human chain wading across it, noisy and loud crowd of Sunday. We had some beautiful time with nice photo frame shots.


Soon we headed towards the Harangi dam. The road was lonely and ended at the gate of Harangi Dam Unfortunately the dam was closed since 4 years, but we could overlook the gigantic walls. We also met several shepherds on the way to this beautiful reservoir.

Our next stop was Abbey falls; the roads were very hilly and ran through coffee estates. The walk to the falls was small but steep. I could see the sunrays casting a gloomy shadow over the top of the fall. The place became quiet as many local visitors retired. We had our share of photo clicks and we too returned to a much shorter way to the town (5kms only).

Since we heard so much about the Raja’s Seat, we winded our way to the top of Madikeri town to witness a lovely sky filled with orange and blue shades for the sunset. The Place was getting crowded for the evening musical fountain show. Which forced us to find our own minister’s and Sipahi’s seat next to the garden premises. A lovely view across the valley was stunning. There was a small gauge narrow railway track nearby with a station “Cauvery Patna”.

We did shop for Coorg spices and tasted some local wines and went back to our stay very early. We enjoyed our evening sitting over the balcony witnessing coorg valley lights playing hide and seek with misty clouds. The wind was strong and forced me to have some great patiyalas shot.
Next day, our ride back to Bangalore started late. We had our shopping in Tibetan settlement on the way back. We stopped midway to devour on fresh watermelons and later in mysore. The Punjabi dhaba next to Infosys served us lovely parathas and lassi. We were back rolling the wheels to Bangalore.
The Scotland of India had its royal salute.
Two complicated!
One gateway.
One trusted machine.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Technological Illusion

Modern Man doesnot experience himself as a part of nature but as an outride force destined to dominate and conquer it. By just thinking this, he continues to exist but not for the existence of humanity.

The illusion of unlimited powers, scientific and technological developments and achievements has produced the concurrent illusion of having solved the problems of existence. We have science and technology to help us along the road to peace and production but do we understand that the root cause of all this problem is the methods implemented for the solutio itself explains the "technological illusion".

The dominant modern belief has an almost irresistible attraction as it suggests that the faster you get one desirable thing the more securely do you attain another. The illusion of satisfaction thus goes bust. This illusion is based on the failure to distinguish between income and capital.

Everyone know that our natural capital are fossil fuels , but we are treating them as our income-capital; the support for which has wars and claims between countries like United States and Iraq. The liquidation of these capital assets are rapidly increasing and demanding even more gigantic efforts to search for and expolit the remaining treasure of the earth. We r maximizing it instead of minimizing the current rate of use and least concerned with its conservation.
Our current methods of production are already eating into our very substance of industrial man. yes, i agree, we are better fed, better clothed, better lived, better educated and even better treated with respect. However the substance of man cant be measured by GNP, perhaps it cannot be measured at all. Drug addiction, vandalism, negative liking, shrewdness, corruption and so forth prove the statistics wrong.
 Totalk about future is useful only if it leads to action now, to understand the problem of production and technology we must understand to tackle such a task. Why not think of a Technology with "Human face", so that people can enjoy themselves without worrying about future and its conservation. We need methods and processes which are compatible with man's need for creativity. they should be cheap enough to accessible to virtually everyone.
Gandhi has said"There must be a recognition of the existence of the soul apart from the body and of its permanent nature and this recognition must amount to a living faith".
The Illusion of existence must die with growth of Humanity.

My Mean Machine MMM



My Mean Machine

My ThunderBird (TBird)

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EngineSingle Cylinder, 4 Stroke, OHV,  Spark Ignition Engine, Air Cooled
Displacement346 CC
Bore x Stroke70mm x 90mm
Maximum Power19.8 bhp @ 5250 rpm
Maximum Torque28 Nm @ 4000 rpm
Transmission5 Speed (left foot gear shift)
IgnitionDigital TCI (Transistor Coil Ignition)
CarburetorBS29 / UCAL
Dimensions
Ground Clearance135 mm
Width780 mm
Wheel Base1370 mm
Length2120 mm
Height1080 mm
Maximum Speed
Speed120 Kmph
Suspension
FrontTele Scopic With Hydraulic Damping. Stroke 130mm.
RearSwing arm With Gas Shock Absorbers stroke 80mm



The original Thunderbird was launched in 2005 replete with a laid-back cruiser styling, conventionally placed gear and brake levers, twin-pod instrument cluster, a modern AVL engine and more colors than black. The bike proved to be a success with the Thunderbird offering very good performance and head-turning looks with an iota of reliability which was needed the most. The Thunderbird was the 'bullet' for the younger generation trying to combine old school charm with all the user friendliness of a modern bike and it succeeded to quite an extent. 




According to a reviewer at IndiaBike.com, "The Thunderbird embodies the cruiser image to the hilt with loads of chrome and what is not chromed is buffed for good measure."


Start Thumping...











Royal Knight's Leisure Ride to Kollegal


Date: 6th Dec 2009
Ride Starting Time: 6:00 am 
Destination: Kollegal (Gaganchukki, Barachukki waterfalls)
Distance from Bangalore:140kms
Starting Point: Raheja Arcade, Koramangala 7th Block. ( Near Forum Mc Donald End)


We Started from the Meeting point and soon hit Kanakpura road on the way to Shivanasamundra. 



The Shivanasamudra Falls is on the Kaveri River after the river has wound its way through the rocks and ravines of the Deccan Plateauand drops off to form waterfalls. The Falls are the second biggest fall in India.

We stopped on the way to devour our morning hungryness by Idli and Maddur Vadas in a small eatery.
We reached Barachukki waterfall around 10Am. We traced ourselves downhill to reach the foot pond of waterfall.
We negotiated with a coracle baotman to swirl us near the main fall. The ride was misty and amazing. The View from the Other side always looked better. 

Fresh Fishes were being fried for a mere 15bucks. I couldnot stop myself for having one. 





After reaching top our next stop was Ajay's FarmHouse which was just next to River Kaveri. IT was a lovely quite and serene place, flocked by white storks and common terns.



The Maize was harvested already not as quick as famville though. We had our quick lunch followed by a rest due to my Flat BackTyre.
Once we rolled again we were welcomed by a lovley sunset. Soon I had the darkest evening and bike driving was becoming tough in that black moon.






Objects in the rear view mirror disappeared immediately.We soon met at Metro on the entrance of bangalore before signing off.
A lovely Ride.




Riders
1. Debraj
2. Anup
3. Ajay
4. Sathish
5. Varun
6. Baddu
7. Neeraj
8. Siddharth Deshpande
9. Pavan
10. Pramod
11. Praveen &Christine
12. Kishore Rangaraj and Anu
13. Naveen
14. Arvin
15. Santhosh Joshi
16. Yogin
17. Srinivas
18. Sakshi and Saurabh
19.Rupak

Total Distance 350+
One Flat tyre
One pet Dog
9 liters of Fuel






KnightRider -Lepakshi trip






15th Nov Ride to Lepakshi
Around 35 bikes rolled up near Hard Rock Cafe Bangalore for the Ride.









We started around 7'0clock with a lovely dramatic sky.



We followed riding in a formation all the way. On open highways we did Double staggered formation. At narrower( single lane roads), we moved into in a straight
line formation. It was great to click the frame with open Sky and a long bike formations. 


Machine Machine Roar Roar.








Soon we reached Lepakshi in AndhraPradesh (140Km From Bangalore).
We Parked our Bull next to the Temple after the Great Nandi Bull Monolithic statue.

We hired a tour guide, a nice guy who explained the 
architectures with each having a story compared to Shakespere. the temple was built by Virupanna, treasurer of Vijayanagara King Achutharaya. When Virupanna was accused of excesses of spending for the temple, he is said to have plucked out his eyeballs in anguish and thrown them on the walls of the temple. Tour guides showed two faded brownish stains on the walls as the bloodstains of Viroopanna. A five headed serpent over a linga - is said to have been created when the artists were free and looking to do something to kill time!There were nice Frescos and hanging pillers along with great sculputures. Lakshmi and Vishnu were supposed to be married here.











Soon We were back on the road to be back to Bangalore. It was a lovely thumping.
Tats me


total distance-350+
petrol-10litres
Riders:(not exact)
1. Debraj & Mormita
2. Anup
3. Ajay Kurpad
4. Praveen Unni & Christine
5. Lakshmi
6. Rajesh
7. Baddu
8. Varun
9. Varun's Pal
10.Smruti
11. Rupak
12. Kishore Rangarajan
13. Sahtish
14. Shashwat
15. Srinivas
16. Arundeep
17. Vachan Somanna & Shailaja
18. Vijay
19. Pavan Vasanth Kumar
20. Arvin
21. Shakti and Wife
22.Murali
23. Srinivas
24. Saurabh & sakshi
25. Santhosh Joshi
26. Suresh
27. Ram Sudhir
28.Ajay Visvanathan
29. Pramod Bhat
30. Rajesh
31.
Kushal N.T
32
. Harish
33. Rooney
34. Venu Nair
35. Michael Roden
36.Tej Kumar + Prashant
37. Nagraj & Ravi
38. Purshottam
39. Kadam