Saturday, November 2, 2013
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Videocon D2H
I wanted to find out about the Videocon D2H purchase options. I was looking for just the set top box as I have everything else that they are trying to sell with. I want to replace my existing Tata Sky connection with Some other D2H and I found Videocon to be the cheapest (I hope they are cheapest only by price an not by quality) Googled to get their Customer Care no.
And more over I wanted to buy it from a dealer as I thought, I could experience the quality of their connection as well as get a feel for the remote. Remote plays a very important role as that is the user interface, I did not like the Big TV remote, that I saw in a friend's house.
Scene 1: Called up the 1-800 -xxxx. They said everything that I had already read in their website. I wanted to know the buying option. They have home delivery as well as purchase from a dealer. They wanted to me send an SMS to get the nearest dealer details. I had to part with Rs 3/- or 5/- to get to know the dealer, but it turned out to be on Kamaraja road at least 10Kms away (45 minutes drive) from BTM layout.
Scene 2: Went to commercial street on a Sunday for some shopping, as we were near Kamaraj road, looked for Aditya electronics ( as mentioned in the SMS) in the locality mentioned. Couldn't find anything. Called up the no. to know that they are ESS BEE Enterprises. They don't work on Sundays.
Scene 3: Went to Adishwar's and eZone to check if they have V-D2H, they do, but with the integrated DVD player, I didn't want to buy the DVD player. They themselves don't have the connection, for customers to experience it.
Scene 4: Called up the ESS BEE enterprises, even this guy doesn't sell just the set top box. Remember this guy is the authorized dealer from V-D2H.
Scene 5: Called up V-D2H CC. She took the order for home delivery, but said I need to purchase the recharge voucher of Rs 300/- required for the installation from the same dealer again. To purchase this 300/- voucher I will have to spend 100/- Rs on fuel, drive for 20 Kms and spend one evening..this is their customer service in this e-Age. I shouted at their stupid arrangement, and cursed their customer service and then the poor girl agreed to return back to me in minute, but did not turn up even after 5 minutes, had to hang up the call.
Scene 6: Called up the CC again, this time the girl said, the recharge voucher can be sent through home delivery person. But to purchase the top up voucher, I need to go to the dealer or should request the back end delivery guy for the same.
In spite of all this I have placed an order for the set top box, I will update on how things go, going forward.
And more over I wanted to buy it from a dealer as I thought, I could experience the quality of their connection as well as get a feel for the remote. Remote plays a very important role as that is the user interface, I did not like the Big TV remote, that I saw in a friend's house.
Scene 1: Called up the 1-800 -xxxx. They said everything that I had already read in their website. I wanted to know the buying option. They have home delivery as well as purchase from a dealer. They wanted to me send an SMS to get the nearest dealer details. I had to part with Rs 3/- or 5/- to get to know the dealer, but it turned out to be on Kamaraja road at least 10Kms away (45 minutes drive) from BTM layout.
Scene 2: Went to commercial street on a Sunday for some shopping, as we were near Kamaraj road, looked for Aditya electronics ( as mentioned in the SMS) in the locality mentioned. Couldn't find anything. Called up the no. to know that they are ESS BEE Enterprises. They don't work on Sundays.
Scene 3: Went to Adishwar's and eZone to check if they have V-D2H, they do, but with the integrated DVD player, I didn't want to buy the DVD player. They themselves don't have the connection, for customers to experience it.
Scene 4: Called up the ESS BEE enterprises, even this guy doesn't sell just the set top box. Remember this guy is the authorized dealer from V-D2H.
Scene 5: Called up V-D2H CC. She took the order for home delivery, but said I need to purchase the recharge voucher of Rs 300/- required for the installation from the same dealer again. To purchase this 300/- voucher I will have to spend 100/- Rs on fuel, drive for 20 Kms and spend one evening..this is their customer service in this e-Age. I shouted at their stupid arrangement, and cursed their customer service and then the poor girl agreed to return back to me in minute, but did not turn up even after 5 minutes, had to hang up the call.
Scene 6: Called up the CC again, this time the girl said, the recharge voucher can be sent through home delivery person. But to purchase the top up voucher, I need to go to the dealer or should request the back end delivery guy for the same.
In spite of all this I have placed an order for the set top box, I will update on how things go, going forward.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
A memorable vacation
It was a bright sunny morning, just good to take a stroll on the beach. We decided to leave our 15 month old son with my parents & sister and went to the nearby beach (Bogmalo in Goa) for a short (1 Hr) break. Unlike other beaches during Decemebr, this one was very lightly crowded. After a short walk, the waves waved at us and went into the water. It was very fun to jump onto the waves and we both were having fun. We walked very deep into the sea as it was shallow. Shilpa was having the fun of her life with the waves. Suddenly a huge wave stuck us and we both shouted in joy. The joy did not last long as Shilpa immediately asked me ‘where’s your spects’ - the wave had taken away the beautiful spectacle I was wearing and the sea had swallowed it. I looked for it in the water like a fool, of course in vein.
We decided to have some soft drink and head to Vasco to buy a new spectacle. We went to a shack on the beach, ordered 2 Slice and just an Omlette (50 Rs for an omlette in a shabby shack) as we were planning to go home (we stayed in my sis’s house in Goa) for lunch. The guy in the restaurant started at us after hearing our order.
Now I opened the plastic bag from my pocket in which I had kept the car key and 50 Rs. Water had managed to get into the bag and both were wet. I went to the car to get my wallet as I knew the bill will be over Rs 50. I went near the car pressed the unlock button… no sound …I wasn’t surprised, cause I knew the water would have damaged the remote key. Ok..I was confident that I could open it by inserting the key into the key hole of the lock.
I tried to insert the key into the driver’s door lock, the key managed only to get half way, the lock doesn’t open..tried again..tried again..no luck…ok, I thought of trying at the other door. Same story... I was in a shock..I don’t know why the key was not going into the key hole, and I did not know what to do. Shilpa was in the restaurant, I din’t have enough money to pay the restaurant bill.
Took a deep breath..went back to the restaurant, sipped the Slice, ate the omlette and told her the story. I asked her to wait in the restaurant and returned to the car. Mean while a new idea had stuck me.
I opened the boot thinking ‘if somehow I can fold the rear seat, I can enter the cabin’. Luckily only one side of the rear seat was clamped and the other one wasn’t. The only way to get access to the clamp was through the hole where the speaker fits. I tried to remove the screws using the pliers in the tool box. Two of the screws came out easily, third one wasn’t fixed properly, thanks to the guy who fixed the speakers, but the fourth one did not budge and more over my hand wasn’t reaching that corner properly. I put some force to tear the board and finally the speaker was out.
I pressed the clamp, folded the rear seat, and crawled in to unlock the rear driver side seat. Opened the driver’s door, took the wallet, locked all the doors and the boot and rushed the restaurant to get Shilpa.
Ok…we are out of the restaurant, we are yet to get the lock fixed and to buy a new spectacle and it was already past 1 PM. I went through the boot and opened the door again. We sat in the car and turned on the ignition….bououououououou….started the siren, I wasn’t expecting this…I felt the whole world was looking at us…as if we are stealing our own car.
There was no way I could have stopped the siren…I had never bothered to look at those connections. The only option was to rush to the nearest service station and get this fixed. Being a Moharram day most of them were closed and the nearest we could find was 4 Kms away and the siren was continuously blowing aloud. Finally got the siren dis-engaged, still no luck with the lock, were directed to a car accessories guy who might have a solution for this.
We started towards Vasco about 6 Kms away. We approached Dabolim junction. Either because my mind was pre occupied with so many things or because I didn’t have my spectacles, didn’t notice the signal (couldn’t even hear Shilpa shouting, ‘SIGNAL’) and went past the ‘stop’ lane. The policeman standing in front seemed so happy..he came near and with a grin on his face he said ‘not even wearing the seat belt, that’s 500 for breaking the signal and 200 for the seat belt’.
What else do I do, I was not ready to cough up 700 Rs. to the cop, another 2K (may be) for the spectacle and I don’t know how much for repairing the lock. I managed with Rs 100 and went away.
The car accessories guy said he can’t do anything with the lock and directed me to the Tata service center in Baina another 3 Kms away. These guys were very helpful, took out the lock, dismantled it, used some spray to clean it up, assembled and fit it back and now the key perfectly mated the lock. That was big sigh of relief; I did not have to replace the locks. Thanks to these guys, even after working for 2 Hrs on the lock did not charge me anything. It was already 5PM by now.
Went back to Vasco, saw an Optho, got the prescription, and ordered a new pair of glasses, that I am wearing today.
uffffff.. what a day it was!!
The misery did not end here. Next day we were on our way to Baaga where we were supposed to attend the introductory session for the scuba diving. I called the guy on his cell phone to whom I had already transferred 50% of the money a week before. Someone picked up the call and said ‘wrong number’. Oh god, whom did I pay the money to, does that guy genuinely belong to the scuba diving agency, and similar thoughts flew through my mind.
Finally we had reached Baaga after driving through the crowded, narrow Calngut - Baaga road. Driving there was tougher than driving in Bangalore. I stopped at a junction to enquire the address. We were supposed to take the right turn few feet behind. I looked into the rear view mirror and started reversing the car…dhum, came the sound. I had banged an Innova parked on my left side, the guy who directed us said, ‘ arre kya kar diya’..We were already late for the session and on top of that this accident. The same guy said, ‘nothing happened, just go’
I didn’t even bother to look what happened, I just drove away, my tail light had broken, may be 5K, I haven’t dared to enquire about this.
Ok..we finished the introductory session and were in imagination about the next day’s real diving session in the middle of the sea. With these thoughts running in the mind, next day we reached the Siquerim Jetty at 8.30AM and boarded the boat after a 45 min boat ride, 2 diving sessions (I will write separately about the diving experience) we were on our way back to the shore. Everyone shared their experiences, talked to the instructors about a certification/career in Diving, looked at some of the underwater photographs that a fellow diver had taken, also looked at the pictures taken in my camera, as we got closer to the shore, started the pack up, put on the pant. As we arrived at the jetty, we took our bag and looked for the camera, but it was nowhere to be found, looked in the entire boat, everyone checked their bags..no…not to be found anywhere…disappointed about losing the camera as well as the pictures we drove home, luckily it was the old Sony 5MP DSC series camera and not the DSLR I bought recently.
We decided to have some soft drink and head to Vasco to buy a new spectacle. We went to a shack on the beach, ordered 2 Slice and just an Omlette (50 Rs for an omlette in a shabby shack) as we were planning to go home (we stayed in my sis’s house in Goa) for lunch. The guy in the restaurant started at us after hearing our order.
Now I opened the plastic bag from my pocket in which I had kept the car key and 50 Rs. Water had managed to get into the bag and both were wet. I went to the car to get my wallet as I knew the bill will be over Rs 50. I went near the car pressed the unlock button… no sound …I wasn’t surprised, cause I knew the water would have damaged the remote key. Ok..I was confident that I could open it by inserting the key into the key hole of the lock.
I tried to insert the key into the driver’s door lock, the key managed only to get half way, the lock doesn’t open..tried again..tried again..no luck…ok, I thought of trying at the other door. Same story... I was in a shock..I don’t know why the key was not going into the key hole, and I did not know what to do. Shilpa was in the restaurant, I din’t have enough money to pay the restaurant bill.
Took a deep breath..went back to the restaurant, sipped the Slice, ate the omlette and told her the story. I asked her to wait in the restaurant and returned to the car. Mean while a new idea had stuck me.
I opened the boot thinking ‘if somehow I can fold the rear seat, I can enter the cabin’. Luckily only one side of the rear seat was clamped and the other one wasn’t. The only way to get access to the clamp was through the hole where the speaker fits. I tried to remove the screws using the pliers in the tool box. Two of the screws came out easily, third one wasn’t fixed properly, thanks to the guy who fixed the speakers, but the fourth one did not budge and more over my hand wasn’t reaching that corner properly. I put some force to tear the board and finally the speaker was out.
I pressed the clamp, folded the rear seat, and crawled in to unlock the rear driver side seat. Opened the driver’s door, took the wallet, locked all the doors and the boot and rushed the restaurant to get Shilpa.
Ok…we are out of the restaurant, we are yet to get the lock fixed and to buy a new spectacle and it was already past 1 PM. I went through the boot and opened the door again. We sat in the car and turned on the ignition….bououououououou….started the siren, I wasn’t expecting this…I felt the whole world was looking at us…as if we are stealing our own car.
There was no way I could have stopped the siren…I had never bothered to look at those connections. The only option was to rush to the nearest service station and get this fixed. Being a Moharram day most of them were closed and the nearest we could find was 4 Kms away and the siren was continuously blowing aloud. Finally got the siren dis-engaged, still no luck with the lock, were directed to a car accessories guy who might have a solution for this.
We started towards Vasco about 6 Kms away. We approached Dabolim junction. Either because my mind was pre occupied with so many things or because I didn’t have my spectacles, didn’t notice the signal (couldn’t even hear Shilpa shouting, ‘SIGNAL’) and went past the ‘stop’ lane. The policeman standing in front seemed so happy..he came near and with a grin on his face he said ‘not even wearing the seat belt, that’s 500 for breaking the signal and 200 for the seat belt’.
What else do I do, I was not ready to cough up 700 Rs. to the cop, another 2K (may be) for the spectacle and I don’t know how much for repairing the lock. I managed with Rs 100 and went away.
The car accessories guy said he can’t do anything with the lock and directed me to the Tata service center in Baina another 3 Kms away. These guys were very helpful, took out the lock, dismantled it, used some spray to clean it up, assembled and fit it back and now the key perfectly mated the lock. That was big sigh of relief; I did not have to replace the locks. Thanks to these guys, even after working for 2 Hrs on the lock did not charge me anything. It was already 5PM by now.
Went back to Vasco, saw an Optho, got the prescription, and ordered a new pair of glasses, that I am wearing today.
uffffff.. what a day it was!!
The misery did not end here. Next day we were on our way to Baaga where we were supposed to attend the introductory session for the scuba diving. I called the guy on his cell phone to whom I had already transferred 50% of the money a week before. Someone picked up the call and said ‘wrong number’. Oh god, whom did I pay the money to, does that guy genuinely belong to the scuba diving agency, and similar thoughts flew through my mind.
Finally we had reached Baaga after driving through the crowded, narrow Calngut - Baaga road. Driving there was tougher than driving in Bangalore. I stopped at a junction to enquire the address. We were supposed to take the right turn few feet behind. I looked into the rear view mirror and started reversing the car…dhum, came the sound. I had banged an Innova parked on my left side, the guy who directed us said, ‘ arre kya kar diya’..We were already late for the session and on top of that this accident. The same guy said, ‘nothing happened, just go’
I didn’t even bother to look what happened, I just drove away, my tail light had broken, may be 5K, I haven’t dared to enquire about this.
Ok..we finished the introductory session and were in imagination about the next day’s real diving session in the middle of the sea. With these thoughts running in the mind, next day we reached the Siquerim Jetty at 8.30AM and boarded the boat after a 45 min boat ride, 2 diving sessions (I will write separately about the diving experience) we were on our way back to the shore. Everyone shared their experiences, talked to the instructors about a certification/career in Diving, looked at some of the underwater photographs that a fellow diver had taken, also looked at the pictures taken in my camera, as we got closer to the shore, started the pack up, put on the pant. As we arrived at the jetty, we took our bag and looked for the camera, but it was nowhere to be found, looked in the entire boat, everyone checked their bags..no…not to be found anywhere…disappointed about losing the camera as well as the pictures we drove home, luckily it was the old Sony 5MP DSC series camera and not the DSLR I bought recently.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
MPs and CEOs salaries
I received the following forwarded mail. This shows how even the educated think that MP (or an MLA) just means a corrupt politician and have forgotten that they are people's representatives. People seem to have forgotten that even you and I can also become an MP or an MLA as per the constitution of India.
Here is the mail....................
----------------------------------------------------------
Salary & Govt. Concessions for a Member of Parliament (MP)
Monthly Salary : 12,000
Expense for Constitution per month :10,000
Office expenditure per month :14,000
Traveling concession (Rs. 8 per km) : 48,000( eg.For a visit from kerala to Delhi & return: 6000 km)
Daily DA TA during parliament meets :500/day
Charge for 1 class (A/C) in train:Free (For any number of times) (All over India )
Charge for Business Class in flights : Free for 40 trips / year (With wife or P.A.)
Rent for MP hostel at Delhi : Free
Electricity costs at home : Free up to 50,000 units
Local phone call charge : Free up to 1 ,70,000 calls
TOTAL expense for a MP [having no qualification] per year :32,00,000 [i.e. 2.66 lakh/month] TOTAL expense for 5 years :1,60,00,000
For 534 MPs, the expense for 5 years : 8,54,40,00,000 (nearly 855 crores)
AND THE PRIME MINISTER IS ASKING THE HIGHLY QUALIFIED, OUT PERFORMING CEOs TO CUT DOWN THEIR SALARIES.....
This is how all our tax money is been swallowed and price hike on our regular commodities....... And this is the present condition of our country:
------------------------------------------------------------------
And here is what I have to say about this.
Most of us think of an illiterate corrupt politician who amasses wealth by illegal means when we think of an MP (or MLA for that matter). We tend to forget that in the Indian constitution you and I can become an MP for which we will have to resign our current jobs. Can we imagine how we can run our families without a job. So an MP also needs money (salary) to run his family.
A salary of Rs 12000 is the only money paid credited to his account without any questions being asked. Rs.12000 is a pittance to run a family of 4 in these times. The list below doesn’t mention HRA (I am not sure if they are paid one) meaning an MP should manage his family including the rent within just Rs. 12000.
Expense for constitution is not something that is paid to the MP, it is the cost the country incurs per MP in the parliament during the sessions in Delhi. Just like our companies spend for our coffee, tea, food (if provided), snacks, office telephone, electricity in the parliament, stationary etc during the office hours.
Office expenditure is for setting up a contact office in his constituency which includes, rent, maintenance, stationary etc for the office. This is required for him to maintain contact with people and to hear their problems and grievances. Rs. 14000 per month is reasonable for such expenses.
Travel concession is not for traveling from Kerala to Delhi by flight, it is for touring the constituency. Hiring an Indica costs Rs. 4-5/Km. As a representative of 14-15L citizens of this country we can expect an MP to travel in a better car that Indica for which Rs 8/- per KM is reasonable.
An engineer when deputed to a different city within India gets an allowance of Rs 800-1500 with or without accommodation depending on companies, considering that Rs 500 per day for an MP is acceptable, along with accommodation in the free MP Hostel in Delhi, which is a necessity as they are closer to the parliament and he needs to have a comfortable stay as long as he is in a place outside his home town.
Free travel for 2 in an AC train is very much acceptable, but I wonder why should this be all over India? May be they can restrict it to the sate he belongs to.
40 flight trips per year is also on the higher side.
50,000 units of electricity is too much, I doubt if the data is correct, that is about 4000 units per month is a lot of electricity. Obviously that should be reduced by a large extent.
The free telephone calls are acceptable as he needs to communicate with people and ministries in Delhi and the local administrations.
And please remember none of this except the salary of Rs. 12000 comes to him without producing the relevant receipts. All these are maximum but paid as per actual on producing the bills.
Going by the mail below, if one gets a salary 2.66 L/month how many of us are willing to become an MP, considering all the politics, mud slinging that you have to go through during an election (Forget the money part of the election for now). Do you still think if the above salary and perks alone are attractive enough for you to become an MP or MLA.
No doubt we have corrupt MPs and MLAs who do nothing for their constituency or for the country, but that doesn’t mean we don’t pay them anything for doing their job. More over Rs.855 crores for 5 years spent on people’s representatives is a pittance for a country that has a budget of over 200 Billion USD per year, for a government that waives off Rs.60000 Crores of farm loans.
About the question of reducing the CEOs salaries is a different issue. Don’t compare an MPs salary and perk with a CEOs. A MP is supposed to represent 14-16Lakh Indians unlike a CEO who works for a few shareholders.
Here is the mail....................
----------------------------------------------------------
Salary & Govt. Concessions for a Member of Parliament (MP)
Monthly Salary : 12,000
Expense for Constitution per month :10,000
Office expenditure per month :14,000
Traveling concession (Rs. 8 per km) : 48,000( eg.For a visit from kerala to Delhi & return: 6000 km)
Daily DA TA during parliament meets :500/day
Charge for 1 class (A/C) in train:Free (For any number of times) (All over India )
Charge for Business Class in flights : Free for 40 trips / year (With wife or P.A.)
Rent for MP hostel at Delhi : Free
Electricity costs at home : Free up to 50,000 units
Local phone call charge : Free up to 1 ,70,000 calls
TOTAL expense for a MP [having no qualification] per year :32,00,000 [i.e. 2.66 lakh/month] TOTAL expense for 5 years :1,60,00,000
For 534 MPs, the expense for 5 years : 8,54,40,00,000 (nearly 855 crores)
AND THE PRIME MINISTER IS ASKING THE HIGHLY QUALIFIED, OUT PERFORMING CEOs TO CUT DOWN THEIR SALARIES.....
This is how all our tax money is been swallowed and price hike on our regular commodities....... And this is the present condition of our country:
------------------------------------------------------------------
And here is what I have to say about this.
Most of us think of an illiterate corrupt politician who amasses wealth by illegal means when we think of an MP (or MLA for that matter). We tend to forget that in the Indian constitution you and I can become an MP for which we will have to resign our current jobs. Can we imagine how we can run our families without a job. So an MP also needs money (salary) to run his family.
A salary of Rs 12000 is the only money paid credited to his account without any questions being asked. Rs.12000 is a pittance to run a family of 4 in these times. The list below doesn’t mention HRA (I am not sure if they are paid one) meaning an MP should manage his family including the rent within just Rs. 12000.
Expense for constitution is not something that is paid to the MP, it is the cost the country incurs per MP in the parliament during the sessions in Delhi. Just like our companies spend for our coffee, tea, food (if provided), snacks, office telephone, electricity in the parliament, stationary etc during the office hours.
Office expenditure is for setting up a contact office in his constituency which includes, rent, maintenance, stationary etc for the office. This is required for him to maintain contact with people and to hear their problems and grievances. Rs. 14000 per month is reasonable for such expenses.
Travel concession is not for traveling from Kerala to Delhi by flight, it is for touring the constituency. Hiring an Indica costs Rs. 4-5/Km. As a representative of 14-15L citizens of this country we can expect an MP to travel in a better car that Indica for which Rs 8/- per KM is reasonable.
An engineer when deputed to a different city within India gets an allowance of Rs 800-1500 with or without accommodation depending on companies, considering that Rs 500 per day for an MP is acceptable, along with accommodation in the free MP Hostel in Delhi, which is a necessity as they are closer to the parliament and he needs to have a comfortable stay as long as he is in a place outside his home town.
Free travel for 2 in an AC train is very much acceptable, but I wonder why should this be all over India? May be they can restrict it to the sate he belongs to.
40 flight trips per year is also on the higher side.
50,000 units of electricity is too much, I doubt if the data is correct, that is about 4000 units per month is a lot of electricity. Obviously that should be reduced by a large extent.
The free telephone calls are acceptable as he needs to communicate with people and ministries in Delhi and the local administrations.
And please remember none of this except the salary of Rs. 12000 comes to him without producing the relevant receipts. All these are maximum but paid as per actual on producing the bills.
Going by the mail below, if one gets a salary 2.66 L/month how many of us are willing to become an MP, considering all the politics, mud slinging that you have to go through during an election (Forget the money part of the election for now). Do you still think if the above salary and perks alone are attractive enough for you to become an MP or MLA.
No doubt we have corrupt MPs and MLAs who do nothing for their constituency or for the country, but that doesn’t mean we don’t pay them anything for doing their job. More over Rs.855 crores for 5 years spent on people’s representatives is a pittance for a country that has a budget of over 200 Billion USD per year, for a government that waives off Rs.60000 Crores of farm loans.
About the question of reducing the CEOs salaries is a different issue. Don’t compare an MPs salary and perk with a CEOs. A MP is supposed to represent 14-16Lakh Indians unlike a CEO who works for a few shareholders.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Another 800crores down the drain!
Just like many other fly-overs in Bangalore, The Hosur Road elevated highway built at a cost of about 800 crores seems to be a waste.
Yesterday evening at 6PM, supposed to be the busiest hour of the day, I was driving from eCity to Silk board. The 9 Km drive took about 25 minutes, with 5, 1,3 and 5 minutes of waiting at the first junction after after eCity, Kudlu gate, construction bloackage and BommanaHalli due to traffic. If this waiting time to be considered 2 minutes of driving, the efective drive time between eCity and Bommnahalli was (25-5-1-3-5+2) 13 minutes.
If I were to use the elevated highway for the same distance, I would have taken 9 minutes at a speed 80 Kmph (including the 2 minute time for waiting at the toll booth)
To save that 4 minute per vehicle did we have to spend 800 Crores?
The simple solution would have been a underpass/flyover at the above mentioned three junctions which costs less than 20 crores each.
The whole exercise of building the elevated highway which took 3 years and 800 Crore rupees is like " ".
Is it that the people involved are so dumb that they don't study the situation or is it deliberately done for that % share they get.
Yesterday evening at 6PM, supposed to be the busiest hour of the day, I was driving from eCity to Silk board. The 9 Km drive took about 25 minutes, with 5, 1,3 and 5 minutes of waiting at the first junction after after eCity, Kudlu gate, construction bloackage and BommanaHalli due to traffic. If this waiting time to be considered 2 minutes of driving, the efective drive time between eCity and Bommnahalli was (25-5-1-3-5+2) 13 minutes.
If I were to use the elevated highway for the same distance, I would have taken 9 minutes at a speed 80 Kmph (including the 2 minute time for waiting at the toll booth)
To save that 4 minute per vehicle did we have to spend 800 Crores?
The simple solution would have been a underpass/flyover at the above mentioned three junctions which costs less than 20 crores each.
The whole exercise of building the elevated highway which took 3 years and 800 Crore rupees is like " ".
Is it that the people involved are so dumb that they don't study the situation or is it deliberately done for that % share they get.
Sripuram Sri Narayani temple
This was our first overnight trip with Vedaant. We were not sure how he would respond to this, especially considering that he had disturbed sleep at night in the past 10 days and had become increasingly cranky at nights. His food was another concern (We don’t give him the tin food and earlier when we tried, he preferred home food to the tin food). We carried an electric cooker so that we can cook some rice for him and it worked well.
The drive from Bengaluru to Vellore is awesome. The 4 lane highway does tempt you to cruze at 120+. The greenery of the coconut plantations near Krishnagiri, the eastern ghats that travel alone with us beyond Krishnagiri are a soothing sight. At one particular point it feels like the you are going to hit the huge hill in front and suddenly the highway turns left and u continue unharmed J
The scenery on the entire stretch is very beautiful and it reminded us of our journey back from Penang(in Malaysia) to Singapore (Yes we came by a Volvo bus from Penang to Malaysia, about 10 Hrs journey).
The temple is very well planned and the crowd management is commendable. As we enter the temple complex, the landscaping all around welcomes us. The artificial waterfall with the two natural hills in the background, the writings, the statues, the pond, the beautifully maintained lawn along the star shaped walkway and the sight of the awe inspiring golden temple in the middle and adding to it the light showers and the beautiful winter weather made us feel that heaven is nowhere but here.
During our second round of darshan at night we went around very leisurely enjoying the sight of the glittering gold temple. The architecture of the temple is wonderful with four differently shaped gopuras at different heights. The lighting and the shandilears inside the temple are so well placed that the reflection of the temple in the pond surrounding it took our imagination to the richness of the Vijayanagar empire and the Hampi of those days.
Vedaant also equally enjoyed the trip. He slept during most of the journey and walked almost the entire stretch of the temple (about 1.5 to 2Kms) by himself, I am not exaggerating, he did. The pram we carried and the money we paid to take the pram inside went waste. Considering that he is not even 14 months old, I was surprised by his energy and enthusiasim.
The drive from Bengaluru to Vellore is awesome. The 4 lane highway does tempt you to cruze at 120+. The greenery of the coconut plantations near Krishnagiri, the eastern ghats that travel alone with us beyond Krishnagiri are a soothing sight. At one particular point it feels like the you are going to hit the huge hill in front and suddenly the highway turns left and u continue unharmed J
The scenery on the entire stretch is very beautiful and it reminded us of our journey back from Penang(in Malaysia) to Singapore (Yes we came by a Volvo bus from Penang to Malaysia, about 10 Hrs journey).
The temple is very well planned and the crowd management is commendable. As we enter the temple complex, the landscaping all around welcomes us. The artificial waterfall with the two natural hills in the background, the writings, the statues, the pond, the beautifully maintained lawn along the star shaped walkway and the sight of the awe inspiring golden temple in the middle and adding to it the light showers and the beautiful winter weather made us feel that heaven is nowhere but here.
During our second round of darshan at night we went around very leisurely enjoying the sight of the glittering gold temple. The architecture of the temple is wonderful with four differently shaped gopuras at different heights. The lighting and the shandilears inside the temple are so well placed that the reflection of the temple in the pond surrounding it took our imagination to the richness of the Vijayanagar empire and the Hampi of those days.
Vedaant also equally enjoyed the trip. He slept during most of the journey and walked almost the entire stretch of the temple (about 1.5 to 2Kms) by himself, I am not exaggerating, he did. The pram we carried and the money we paid to take the pram inside went waste. Considering that he is not even 14 months old, I was surprised by his energy and enthusiasim.
How to reach:
Bengaluru-Hosuru-Krishnagiri (Take left towards Chennai)-NH46-Ambur-Vellore. About 210 Kms, can easily do in 2Hrs 30mins, without break.
You don’t have to reach Vellore. After about 5 Kms from the toll booth, before Vellore, take the Vellore airport road to goto Sripuram.
On the airport road, after about 2 -3 Kms, there is a deviation, take the road that is on your left (The road is deceiving to make you believe that you need to go straight, but don’t.).
Food:
Before Krishnagiri there is Anand Bhavan and one more restaurant on the highway. Preferably finish your food here. Next good place is about 10 Kms before Vellore towards your right (first U turn after the third toll booth from Bengaluru).
While in Sripuram, the Annalakshmi canteen in the temple complex serves good food. You can also go to the canteen inside Sri Narayani research center next to the temple complex.
Points to note:
· There are many private parking places who invite you, but preferably use the official parking.
· The free darshana will probably take about 1 to 2 extra hours based on the crowd. The special darshana on weekends costs Rs 100/- per person, and on weekdays it is Rs 250/-.
· The difference between Free darshana and paid darshana are
o The initial waiting period is about 1-2 hours for free darshana. This is a big difference in terms of time and comfort.
o Once you enter the main temple complex, everyone (free and paid devotees) are in the same path.
o As you approach the main temple, the Que is again different for the free and paid devotees.
· Free darshana devotees get to see the goddess from about 50 meters and the paid darshana devotees can see it from about 25 meters distance. (This is not a big difference)
· The guest house rooms are clean and spacious, can easily accommodate 4-5 people. Double bed Ac rooms at 500/- (extra bed – 150/-) and non-AC 300/- (extra bed – 100/-)
· Visiting the temple at night is highly recommended due to the lighting. The glittering temple is a feast for eyes.
· Enjoy the landscape and the sight of the temple, instead of rushing for Darshana.
· The entry gates close at 8PM. The darshana is open until the last person in the Que is done.
· Do visit the old temple right across the road.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Motor cycle expedition in Ladakh
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Thirteen days, 2000 Kms, but still that was a fraction of the Himalayas that we covered. Mandi to Leh, Leh to Jammu via Kargil, Leh to Pangong Tso and Leh to Nubra, was the itinerary. As we landed in Mandi tall coniferous trees, green mountains welcomed us into this small town located on the banks of Beas. As we started off from Mandi on a long journey into the Himalayan and Ladakh mountain ranges, light shower blessed us and cleaned the dusty road side trees. As it showered we were riding through the mountain roads to make up for the time we had lost due to the lately arrived bikes. The ride was so awesome with beautiful surroundings, green mountains, tall trees, Beas flowing next to the road all along making scary sound as she gushes through the rocks and boulders on her way. We crossed Manali and headed towards Rohtang, the first pass on our way. The road is in its worst condition and added to this traffic makes the 55 Km journey very tiresome. As we reach Rohtang, the chilly wind and cold welcome us and give us a trailer of what we could be facing going ahead. In Rohtang one could clearly make out what a pass means and its importance in the mountain ranges. It is a fairly large plane land connecting two mountains at a higher altitude that can be helpful in crossing between the mountains.
The greenery ends at Rohtang. As we descend towards Koksar, the grass cover on the mountains is the last sight of greenery for us for the next few hundreds of kms. As the sun descends we still have one third of the planned journey to be done and suddenly we come cross this stream flowing right through the road. The water from the melting snow is so cold that even our bones could feel the cold. It is about 300 meters of road completely in water and full of rocks and boulders. Riding through this is the only option we were left with and we either had to push our bikes through it over the rocks getting our shoes and legs wet or ride through it balancing between the rocks. I still see this ‘Paagal naala’ as it is called, in my dreams even after few months.
As the night was getting darker, we were cruising through these mountain roads to reach Keylong. It was only the next morning that we realized the risk we took by riding our bikes at 70-80Kmph on these roads.
As we leave Keylong, it was a bright sunny morning, but the wind was equally cold. From keylong the terrain is entirely different. Huge tall mountains covered only with soil and rock. No greenery to be seen around for miles, not even grass. Some where in the distance we could see few of these mountains covered with snow. On our way we came across numerous streams that were flowing down the mountains and cutting through the road. We literally had to drive through these streams. The sight of water in this kind of terrain seems unrealistic; the snow on top of the mountains melts to create these streams. The water is so cold even to touch, leave alone drinking. I had never experienced this kind of a terrain before. And riding a bike through this terrain with lot of uncertainties and no human settlements to seek help for hundreds of miles, but there is a road well laid, that is taking us to some larger human settlement in these mountains. Roads built by cutting through the huge mountains that are covered with snow for about two thirds of a year, shows the human struggle with nature. The roads and bridges are destroyed year after year by the covered snow, by the water flowing from top of the mountains through the road. But BRO gets back into action every year to bring the roads back to a usable state. The road as we approached Baralach La, the second highest motor able paas in the world, is so good that we nearly missed the board saying “Baralach La”. Rivers Chandra and Bhagha originate from here and flow down towards Tandi to meet each other and to be called ChandraBhagha. Later this river is called Chinaab as it enters Jammu Kashmir from Himachal Pradesh.
Beyond Baralach La the mountains move away from each other to form a plain land, that we called ‘Sarchu Palin’. A plain land stretching a few Kms in width lined by thousands of feet high mountains on either side A small valley of about a couple of hundred feet created by a river and a road along the path of the river was a fantastic formation to watch. We thoroughly enjoyed the scenery before we halted for the night in a tented accommodation. Sarchu is a temporary settlement, where in people come only to serve the tourists during the season. Though the tents were expensive, it was the need of the hour for us to shelter from the chill wind that blowing through the plains as the sun went behind the mountains. Shridhar experienced his quota of Altitude sickness, though that was not very serious.
The next day as we bid good bye to Sarchu, we knew that this one was a long, about 270 Kms, and interesting journey, that included crossing Nakee La, Lachulung La, TangLang La Gata Loops and Mooray plains. First we across this set of 21 loops (hairpin curves) called the Gata loops that take us close to 1500 feet up in less than few km.s. Then crossing nakee La and Lachulung La, we came across the much awaited Moray plains. Moray plains is a feast for eyes. Though Sarchu was another plain like Moray, that was just a trailer. Moray plains is vast spanning about 20-30 Kms in width and about 70 Kms in Length. After riding through the mountains for 2 and a half days, the bikes seemed to got energetic to see their kind of a terrain and speeded to the max they could get. But this ride wasn’t easy as the BRO is working on widening this stretch of the road. Within no time we covered the plain stretch of moray and were getting ready for another steep climb to Tanglang La.
Reaching Tangalang La, the highest pass in this stretch and the second highest motor able road in the world, wasn’t that difficult except for the cold wind that made staying in the pass for even for few minutes difficult. As we get down TangLang LA, we came across Rumtse, probably the first permanent settlement we saw in the last two days. From here, the there is very little ascent or descent and soon we come across Karu. Few Kms before Karu, we get the first glimpse of the river Indus. Though it looks like a small stream from a distance, only as we cross the bridge over it that we realize, this river is big enough to have given birth to a civilization as she flows down the mountains. And as we cross Karu, we come across the much awaited city of Leh.
The greenery ends at Rohtang. As we descend towards Koksar, the grass cover on the mountains is the last sight of greenery for us for the next few hundreds of kms. As the sun descends we still have one third of the planned journey to be done and suddenly we come cross this stream flowing right through the road. The water from the melting snow is so cold that even our bones could feel the cold. It is about 300 meters of road completely in water and full of rocks and boulders. Riding through this is the only option we were left with and we either had to push our bikes through it over the rocks getting our shoes and legs wet or ride through it balancing between the rocks. I still see this ‘Paagal naala’ as it is called, in my dreams even after few months.
As the night was getting darker, we were cruising through these mountain roads to reach Keylong. It was only the next morning that we realized the risk we took by riding our bikes at 70-80Kmph on these roads.
As we leave Keylong, it was a bright sunny morning, but the wind was equally cold. From keylong the terrain is entirely different. Huge tall mountains covered only with soil and rock. No greenery to be seen around for miles, not even grass. Some where in the distance we could see few of these mountains covered with snow. On our way we came across numerous streams that were flowing down the mountains and cutting through the road. We literally had to drive through these streams. The sight of water in this kind of terrain seems unrealistic; the snow on top of the mountains melts to create these streams. The water is so cold even to touch, leave alone drinking. I had never experienced this kind of a terrain before. And riding a bike through this terrain with lot of uncertainties and no human settlements to seek help for hundreds of miles, but there is a road well laid, that is taking us to some larger human settlement in these mountains. Roads built by cutting through the huge mountains that are covered with snow for about two thirds of a year, shows the human struggle with nature. The roads and bridges are destroyed year after year by the covered snow, by the water flowing from top of the mountains through the road. But BRO gets back into action every year to bring the roads back to a usable state. The road as we approached Baralach La, the second highest motor able paas in the world, is so good that we nearly missed the board saying “Baralach La”. Rivers Chandra and Bhagha originate from here and flow down towards Tandi to meet each other and to be called ChandraBhagha. Later this river is called Chinaab as it enters Jammu Kashmir from Himachal Pradesh.
Beyond Baralach La the mountains move away from each other to form a plain land, that we called ‘Sarchu Palin’. A plain land stretching a few Kms in width lined by thousands of feet high mountains on either side A small valley of about a couple of hundred feet created by a river and a road along the path of the river was a fantastic formation to watch. We thoroughly enjoyed the scenery before we halted for the night in a tented accommodation. Sarchu is a temporary settlement, where in people come only to serve the tourists during the season. Though the tents were expensive, it was the need of the hour for us to shelter from the chill wind that blowing through the plains as the sun went behind the mountains. Shridhar experienced his quota of Altitude sickness, though that was not very serious.
The next day as we bid good bye to Sarchu, we knew that this one was a long, about 270 Kms, and interesting journey, that included crossing Nakee La, Lachulung La, TangLang La Gata Loops and Mooray plains. First we across this set of 21 loops (hairpin curves) called the Gata loops that take us close to 1500 feet up in less than few km.s. Then crossing nakee La and Lachulung La, we came across the much awaited Moray plains. Moray plains is a feast for eyes. Though Sarchu was another plain like Moray, that was just a trailer. Moray plains is vast spanning about 20-30 Kms in width and about 70 Kms in Length. After riding through the mountains for 2 and a half days, the bikes seemed to got energetic to see their kind of a terrain and speeded to the max they could get. But this ride wasn’t easy as the BRO is working on widening this stretch of the road. Within no time we covered the plain stretch of moray and were getting ready for another steep climb to Tanglang La.
Reaching Tangalang La, the highest pass in this stretch and the second highest motor able road in the world, wasn’t that difficult except for the cold wind that made staying in the pass for even for few minutes difficult. As we get down TangLang LA, we came across Rumtse, probably the first permanent settlement we saw in the last two days. From here, the there is very little ascent or descent and soon we come across Karu. Few Kms before Karu, we get the first glimpse of the river Indus. Though it looks like a small stream from a distance, only as we cross the bridge over it that we realize, this river is big enough to have given birth to a civilization as she flows down the mountains. And as we cross Karu, we come across the much awaited city of Leh.
Some facts about Bangalore.
Is it not interesting to know that some of the names in Bangalore city that we use often today dates back to centuries? We all know Kempegowda built the city of Bangalore, but least do we know that the city he built constituted just Chikpete, Doddapete, balepete and other surrounding areas, which are the most congested parts of today’s Bangalore. If we look back a little over 100 years, today’s KR market, KG road (in front of Mysore bank) were the outskirts of Bangalore. Just 58 years back when Vidhana Soudha was built, I presume, they built it outside the city of Bangalore as they needed a large space to build it. Can we imagine today, Vidhana Soudha, KG road being outskirts of Bangalore. Isn’t it interesting that domlur and ulsoor were independently ruled few centuries ago. No doubt, every major city in the world would have gone through such phases of expansion, but it is interesting to know about Bangalore as we traverse through all these places very often.
Near today’s Hudson circle, there is a police station called ‘Halasooru gate police station’, any guesses why is it called so, though Halasooru (Ulsoor) is near Trinity circle. My guess is (now I believe I am correct), during those days, buses plying between Bangalore and Mysore were traveling via today’s KG road (it was not a one way then), KR market, Sirsi circle, Raja Rajeshwari Nagar. And the road to Halasooru (via today’s Kasturba road, MG road, trinity circle) must have been a narrow village road and no (or very few) buses used to take that road to halasooru. To reach Halasooru one had to get down near Hudson circle and walk the 3 km distance to Halasooru. As we still see in rural Karnataka, buses do not enter all the villages, people living in interior villages will have to walk to the main road to catch the bus and usually that junction is called as ‘xyz gate’ where xyz is the name of the village it connects to.
Here is an extract from Wiki, I felt is an interesting read about Bangalore.
Kempe Gowda was a great ruler. He was concerned in the welfare of his subjects and spent lavishly in the construction of tanks, agraharas, temples and forts. He conquered Sivaganga principality, 30 miles from Bangalore on Bangalore-Poona Hwy. Next he annexed Domlur which is on the road from Bangalore to Bangalore Airport. Within this vast forest area he erected a fort and built the Township of Bangalore in 1537.
Kempe Gowda next annexed Ulsoor and Hesaraghatta. Bangalore four main streets Chickpete and Doddapete leading to Ulsoor gate, Sondekoppa gate, Yelahanka gate and Anekal gate were laid. Kempe Gowda shifted his capital from Yelahanka to Bangalore. Emperor Achuta Raya granted Kempe Gowda the neighboring villages of Begur, Jigani, Varthur, Kengeri, Banavara and Kumbalgodu, besides many other hamlets yielding a revenue of 30,000 varahas. Kempe Gowda built the cave temple of Gavi Gangadhareswara at Gavipur, the Bull Temple in Basavanagudi, the Kempambudhi Tank and Dharambudhi Tank. His successor Kempe Gowda II built the Ulsoor Tank, the Karanjee Tank, the Sampangi Tank, the Someswara Temple of Ulsoor, the famous four Kempe Gowda Towers and the Ranganatha Temple in Balapete, Bangalore.
Near Madivala (on Hosur road) there is a bus stop called ‘check post’ BMTC still uses the same name for this stop, though there is no check post today. One might not have heard about this stop unless traveled by a BMTC bus. This could have been a forest check post or a border check post while leaving/entering Bangalore or even Karnataka for that matter. Bangalore has grown beyond electronic city in the recent years, but the check post is still in Madivala. Isn’t it interesting?
Now Bangalore has grown so much that, some people are calling Malleshwaram, the outskirts of city, what an irony.
There are many such places around us, we just need to keep our eyes, ears and minds open to explore and enjoy them, but where is the time to open them all at once. I try to do it sometimes and I enjoy it.
Any guesses why is Sirsi circle called so? I know there is no road to connect to Sirsi (a town in Uttara Kannads district) from there. I would like to be enlightened by any facts or even guesses.
Near today’s Hudson circle, there is a police station called ‘Halasooru gate police station’, any guesses why is it called so, though Halasooru (Ulsoor) is near Trinity circle. My guess is (now I believe I am correct), during those days, buses plying between Bangalore and Mysore were traveling via today’s KG road (it was not a one way then), KR market, Sirsi circle, Raja Rajeshwari Nagar. And the road to Halasooru (via today’s Kasturba road, MG road, trinity circle) must have been a narrow village road and no (or very few) buses used to take that road to halasooru. To reach Halasooru one had to get down near Hudson circle and walk the 3 km distance to Halasooru. As we still see in rural Karnataka, buses do not enter all the villages, people living in interior villages will have to walk to the main road to catch the bus and usually that junction is called as ‘xyz gate’ where xyz is the name of the village it connects to.
Here is an extract from Wiki, I felt is an interesting read about Bangalore.
Kempe Gowda was a great ruler. He was concerned in the welfare of his subjects and spent lavishly in the construction of tanks, agraharas, temples and forts. He conquered Sivaganga principality, 30 miles from Bangalore on Bangalore-Poona Hwy. Next he annexed Domlur which is on the road from Bangalore to Bangalore Airport. Within this vast forest area he erected a fort and built the Township of Bangalore in 1537.
Kempe Gowda next annexed Ulsoor and Hesaraghatta. Bangalore four main streets Chickpete and Doddapete leading to Ulsoor gate, Sondekoppa gate, Yelahanka gate and Anekal gate were laid. Kempe Gowda shifted his capital from Yelahanka to Bangalore. Emperor Achuta Raya granted Kempe Gowda the neighboring villages of Begur, Jigani, Varthur, Kengeri, Banavara and Kumbalgodu, besides many other hamlets yielding a revenue of 30,000 varahas. Kempe Gowda built the cave temple of Gavi Gangadhareswara at Gavipur, the Bull Temple in Basavanagudi, the Kempambudhi Tank and Dharambudhi Tank. His successor Kempe Gowda II built the Ulsoor Tank, the Karanjee Tank, the Sampangi Tank, the Someswara Temple of Ulsoor, the famous four Kempe Gowda Towers and the Ranganatha Temple in Balapete, Bangalore.
Near Madivala (on Hosur road) there is a bus stop called ‘check post’ BMTC still uses the same name for this stop, though there is no check post today. One might not have heard about this stop unless traveled by a BMTC bus. This could have been a forest check post or a border check post while leaving/entering Bangalore or even Karnataka for that matter. Bangalore has grown beyond electronic city in the recent years, but the check post is still in Madivala. Isn’t it interesting?
Now Bangalore has grown so much that, some people are calling Malleshwaram, the outskirts of city, what an irony.
There are many such places around us, we just need to keep our eyes, ears and minds open to explore and enjoy them, but where is the time to open them all at once. I try to do it sometimes and I enjoy it.
Any guesses why is Sirsi circle called so? I know there is no road to connect to Sirsi (a town in Uttara Kannads district) from there. I would like to be enlightened by any facts or even guesses.
When you see someone dying on the road...
It was on a Saturday early morning at about 6AM, I and Shilpa were on our way to attend a wedding in Arsikere. We had planned to visit ShravanaBelagola on our way. I was enjoying the early morning drive on this well maintained NH48. On our way we saw some huge trees being brought down by few men. When enquired we got to know that the trees are being chopped to widen the road into a 4 lane highway. Though it was good to hear that we will be having another 4 lane highway leading to Bangalore, the chopping of trees was bad. With heavy heart we continued.
It was just about 20 minutes that we had crossed Nelamangala and we came across a blind curve, few stones were kept on the road to divert the traffic and gradually the scene started unfolding in front of us. There was bike lying by the side of the road, one person was lying right in the middle of the road and another person on the side. Both of them were completely in blood. We sympathized them and continued to drive just like hundreds of vehicles that would have passed this scene.
Soon we called up 100 to inform the police, someone picked up the call and we were out of reach of the mobile tower. I stopped the car and walked backwards hoping to get signal to call the police, but in vein. I told Shilpa, we will go back and see what’s happening. Initially she was hesitant as she did not want to see the blood. I turned the car back and parked the car at a distance. As I walked down towards the scene I realized that the person who was in the middle of the road was dead. An overtaking mini truck had collided with these two bikers and had killed one of them. The other person who was still breathing had a broken leg. There were people around him, someone had already contacted and informed his family as well as the police.
I couldn’t convince myself to go with my plan, leaving this person who was struggling for his life in the middle of the road with no help around. When asked, I got to know that there was a govt. hospital just 4Kms from there, but the doctors would not be in before 10AM. The nearest good hospital would be in Kunigal or Nelamangala, both are about 20 Kms from the spot. I asked the people around to help me put this person in the rear seat of my car and I would drive him to Kunigal hospital. We cleared the rear seat of all the things we had dumped and covered the seat with the dicky mat. People some how managed to put him in.
Now, one of his leg was hanging out of the car and he could not bend it. When people tried to bend his leg, he screamed like hell. I decided not waste any time tied the door with a rope and started driving with a half open door on the highway. I being a novice in all this, could not realize that I had kept the wrong door open, it was the right side rear door. But now I had no option but to go ahead. I turned my head lights and the hazard warning lamp on, to attract the attention of on coming vehicles and headed towards Harsha hospital in Nelamangala.
Those 30 minutes drive was one terrific experience for me. I am driving a car with a door two thirds open on the right side of the road, on a highway, where hundreds of vehicles pass and no one drives below 80-90 Kmph. There are villages on the way, people, cattle could be crossing the roads. And I have a seriously injured person in my rear seat. Every driver in the on-coming vehicle is pointing at me and shouting ‘your door is open’, as if I am an idiot driving with an open door. Some people who overtook me were staring at me as if I was responsible for the accident. I had to ignore all these guys and concentrate on the road, over take the slow moving trucks. In between I shouted the person’s name often to make sure he is still breathing. I was completely tensed. More over I had to cross the Nelamangala signal (with the door open) where at any time of the day, there will be huge traffic.
Finally I reached Harsha hospital in Nelamangala. Some one from KeshavaMurthy’s side was already waiting for us there. Immediately he was taken to the casualty and doctors got into work. I was told that he had serious head injury and a broken leg. As soon as his 11 year old son saw his father lying with a leg broken and completely blood started screaming. He came to me and said, “he is the only bread winner for the family, please save him”. All my tension had vanished and tears rolled down my cheeks, and felt proud of myself, for doing my bit in trying to save a life. It is about 10 days that this happened, I do not know his status, but I hope he survived the accident and will be normal soon.
When I decide to take this person to the hospital, nothing came into my mind. I did not bother what would the legal complication, will the hospital admit him. But things were so simple. The doctors attended to him as soon as I reached the hospital. On my way back, I stopped at the same place. The police had finished the formality and had moved the other body and the bike. They saw me getting out of the car and thanked me for whatever was done. They said “Good to see people with humanity even now” and I replied “ that is what we take back along with us” and bid good bye to them.
As we continued we were talking to each other. Why did other people hesitate to help the victim. Even I would have ignored a situation like this some other time. But why do we do it at all. Are we all so busy in reaching our destinations, that we do not even value a life or are we scared of the police, and all other legal hassles. I realized, India is changing and has changed. If one helps an accident victim, people and even the police thank him for being a good human being. No one will trouble him for a kind gesture shown to the needy.
It was just about 20 minutes that we had crossed Nelamangala and we came across a blind curve, few stones were kept on the road to divert the traffic and gradually the scene started unfolding in front of us. There was bike lying by the side of the road, one person was lying right in the middle of the road and another person on the side. Both of them were completely in blood. We sympathized them and continued to drive just like hundreds of vehicles that would have passed this scene.
Soon we called up 100 to inform the police, someone picked up the call and we were out of reach of the mobile tower. I stopped the car and walked backwards hoping to get signal to call the police, but in vein. I told Shilpa, we will go back and see what’s happening. Initially she was hesitant as she did not want to see the blood. I turned the car back and parked the car at a distance. As I walked down towards the scene I realized that the person who was in the middle of the road was dead. An overtaking mini truck had collided with these two bikers and had killed one of them. The other person who was still breathing had a broken leg. There were people around him, someone had already contacted and informed his family as well as the police.
I couldn’t convince myself to go with my plan, leaving this person who was struggling for his life in the middle of the road with no help around. When asked, I got to know that there was a govt. hospital just 4Kms from there, but the doctors would not be in before 10AM. The nearest good hospital would be in Kunigal or Nelamangala, both are about 20 Kms from the spot. I asked the people around to help me put this person in the rear seat of my car and I would drive him to Kunigal hospital. We cleared the rear seat of all the things we had dumped and covered the seat with the dicky mat. People some how managed to put him in.
Now, one of his leg was hanging out of the car and he could not bend it. When people tried to bend his leg, he screamed like hell. I decided not waste any time tied the door with a rope and started driving with a half open door on the highway. I being a novice in all this, could not realize that I had kept the wrong door open, it was the right side rear door. But now I had no option but to go ahead. I turned my head lights and the hazard warning lamp on, to attract the attention of on coming vehicles and headed towards Harsha hospital in Nelamangala.
Those 30 minutes drive was one terrific experience for me. I am driving a car with a door two thirds open on the right side of the road, on a highway, where hundreds of vehicles pass and no one drives below 80-90 Kmph. There are villages on the way, people, cattle could be crossing the roads. And I have a seriously injured person in my rear seat. Every driver in the on-coming vehicle is pointing at me and shouting ‘your door is open’, as if I am an idiot driving with an open door. Some people who overtook me were staring at me as if I was responsible for the accident. I had to ignore all these guys and concentrate on the road, over take the slow moving trucks. In between I shouted the person’s name often to make sure he is still breathing. I was completely tensed. More over I had to cross the Nelamangala signal (with the door open) where at any time of the day, there will be huge traffic.
Finally I reached Harsha hospital in Nelamangala. Some one from KeshavaMurthy’s side was already waiting for us there. Immediately he was taken to the casualty and doctors got into work. I was told that he had serious head injury and a broken leg. As soon as his 11 year old son saw his father lying with a leg broken and completely blood started screaming. He came to me and said, “he is the only bread winner for the family, please save him”. All my tension had vanished and tears rolled down my cheeks, and felt proud of myself, for doing my bit in trying to save a life. It is about 10 days that this happened, I do not know his status, but I hope he survived the accident and will be normal soon.
When I decide to take this person to the hospital, nothing came into my mind. I did not bother what would the legal complication, will the hospital admit him. But things were so simple. The doctors attended to him as soon as I reached the hospital. On my way back, I stopped at the same place. The police had finished the formality and had moved the other body and the bike. They saw me getting out of the car and thanked me for whatever was done. They said “Good to see people with humanity even now” and I replied “ that is what we take back along with us” and bid good bye to them.
As we continued we were talking to each other. Why did other people hesitate to help the victim. Even I would have ignored a situation like this some other time. But why do we do it at all. Are we all so busy in reaching our destinations, that we do not even value a life or are we scared of the police, and all other legal hassles. I realized, India is changing and has changed. If one helps an accident victim, people and even the police thank him for being a good human being. No one will trouble him for a kind gesture shown to the needy.
When you lose something in a BMTC bus
What I thought was going to be a lazy Saturday afternoon turned out to be a busy, tensed and learning Saturday. I left home at 8.30 for servicing my car. After checking the car for my belongings, the security at the service station handed over my ‘car stereo front panel’ saying that he can’t keep it with him as it is an expensive one. I carried this and the service manual and took an auto to Basavangudi to complete some work in the bank. In less than five minutes I was finished and out on the streets again. Went to near by Darshini and relished the Masala Dosa. Now it was time to go back home and watch TV and take an afternoon nap.
Since I had the entire day with me (or may be to save that 100 Rs) , I thought I will take a BMTC bus to reach home. It had been ages that I had used a BMTC. I knew there was no direct bus to Silk Board from Basavangudi. I caught a bus to JP Nagar and was planning to get down on the ring road and get another bus to Silk Board. As I sat in the bus (yes I could get a seat in the BMTC) I was very conscious of the ‘thing’ I was carrying as it was expensive. I made sure it was on the seat next to me every few minutes (yes, I had kept the service book and this ‘thing’ on the seat next to me as this thing could not sit properly in my pocket). The ring road JP Nagar stop arrived and I got down.
Soon I got another bus to my destination. I could get a seat in this one too. After few minutes I felt something is missing. I looked into my pockets, and I found the same valet and the cell phone. I had the service book in my hand, but still something was missing….and oh…the ‘thing’ is missing. I looked beneath the seat; I looked around, but in vein. People around were giving me strange looks. I had left the ‘thing’ in the previous bus. I thought of jumping out of the bus, catching an auto and following the bus, but soon realized that would be the stupidest thing to do.
I controlled my self and managed to reach home with heavy heart. Mean while I was telling myself, ‘ok…that would probably cost 1 or 1.5K’, that is what I should pay for being careless. I reached home, rang up the car accessory shop to know that, that ‘thing’ would cost me about 4K. I crushed into the bean bag, cursing my Saturday, cursing my fate, I started telling myself ‘penny wise pound foolish’.
Soon came the advice from my sweet wife call up the BMTC. Ok..I would call up the BMTC and what would I tell them. I don’t know the bus no. I don’t know the origin and destination of the bus properly, neither do I know the route no. I just kept quite, still cursing my self. It is just 10 weeks before that I had bought this ‘SONY car audio player with front USB (I paid a premium for this USB option)’ and it is already in some stranger’s hands.
Ok, I convinced myself, this was brought from my hard earned money and I should get it back. I got the BMTC Jayanagar depot no. from Yellow pages, but no one picked up that call for a long long time. Still continuing to curse myself, I called up the main depot no. Luckily they picked up the call. I felt I am very close to getting the ‘thing’. I told him, ‘one bus from NR colony to JP Nagar at 12 noon…..I need the driver detail….umm….’. The voice from the other said, we can’t find out anything from this. Do you know the route no…..No,……..ok, do you have the ticket….ticket….yeeeaass…I jumped to the dustbin at my home and found the ticket. That turned out be the most expensive bus ticket that I had ever bought and retained even after the journey.
He asked me the ticket no. and after some time said, this belongs to depot no. 4 and that is JayaNagar. Go with the ticket and enquire in the accounts dept., they should be able to tell you the driver details. Only then I realized the importance of that small piece of paper that we throw soon after getting down the bus. I rushed to the JayaNagar depot, narrated the story about the ‘thing’ that I had lost to the lady at the security. She let me in. At the accounts dept, I got to know some bag no. to which this ticket belongs to and I was asked to go to the traffic section. I wanted the driver details, what I will do with this bag no. I was skeptical, and asked the traffic section guys, who is the driver for this bag no. Soon came the answer “DeveGowda”….what do you know the driver, so I can talk to him then…give me his cell no. No, we don’t keep their cell no.s. …uhh..I was down again…but there was some hope. The traffic controller said this is GiriNagar to JP Nagar bus, bearing no. 3058, if you go immediately to the JayaNagar bus stop, you can spot him there.
I rushed my Dio to JayaNagar, waited there for about 90 minutes, looking at every bus that passed through, for the bus with no. 3058. Exactly at the 93rd minute came this bus, but from the opposite direction than I was expecting it. I took my scooter again and followed him, but to see a board that read ‘KempeGowda Bus Nildaana to JP Nagar’. I was disappointed. I felt the traffic controller fooled me. I went back to the depot. I told him what happened. He still strongly said he was right and he can’t be wrong in this, he has been doing this job for years. I cursed my eyes this time, or rather the glasses that I wear. I left a note to the driver with my cell phone no. Looks like I still had the hope.
The TC asked me to come back at 7PM, when the driver returns back from his shift. I collected my car from the service station, staring at the empty panel space, I drove to the depot. As soon as the TC saw me, he said, DeveGowda is inside. I ran inside, looking at the no. plate of each bus and before I was lost in hundreds of similarly looking BMTC bases, I spotted the 3058 and along with the driver.
Idu GiriNagar JP Nagar bassa, (Id this GiriNagar to Jp Ngar Bus)
Howdu… (Yes)
Beligge 12 ghantege neeve idra ee bassalli… (Were you driving it at 12 noon)
Howdu… (Yes)
Nimige idralli ondu SONY car panel sigtha… (Did you find a SONY car panel)
Hooon…(the drive sounded like, ya I have got it, so what) (Yes…)
I was so happy to hear it. My all day effort did not go waste, it had saved me about 4K. But, that ‘thing’ was not with me yet.
I asked him…
kodthira… (Will you give it to me)
He said..”What will I do with that, it is of no use to me and more it does not belong to me either”
Sari…Kodi mathe…… (Then give it)
Adu illilla…. (It is not here)
Mathe… innellide…!!!!!!!!! (where else)
Manelide… (At home)
I told myself Oh god ..where his house now…
Ellide mane…. (Where is the house)
JP Nagar 6th phase…Oh illena… banni naane karkondu hogthini…(oh..very close by..come lets go together)
Nimige hege siktu... (How did you get it)
He said, some woman who entered empty handed was carryign this ‚thing’ with her while getting down. One ajji who observed it asked her, what that thing is..and the lady said that ‘someone had left it here’ and gave it to the driver.
I waited for him to clear his accounts for the day and followed him (he was on his bike) to his house and my ‘thing’ back. I opened cover it was intact. I gave him some money, he took it, though reluctantly.I was back on the road to my house, listening to all the 9x.x stations…….
Lessons learnt:
* Retain the ticket of your journey for few day at least.
* There are still good people around.
Since I had the entire day with me (or may be to save that 100 Rs) , I thought I will take a BMTC bus to reach home. It had been ages that I had used a BMTC. I knew there was no direct bus to Silk Board from Basavangudi. I caught a bus to JP Nagar and was planning to get down on the ring road and get another bus to Silk Board. As I sat in the bus (yes I could get a seat in the BMTC) I was very conscious of the ‘thing’ I was carrying as it was expensive. I made sure it was on the seat next to me every few minutes (yes, I had kept the service book and this ‘thing’ on the seat next to me as this thing could not sit properly in my pocket). The ring road JP Nagar stop arrived and I got down.
Soon I got another bus to my destination. I could get a seat in this one too. After few minutes I felt something is missing. I looked into my pockets, and I found the same valet and the cell phone. I had the service book in my hand, but still something was missing….and oh…the ‘thing’ is missing. I looked beneath the seat; I looked around, but in vein. People around were giving me strange looks. I had left the ‘thing’ in the previous bus. I thought of jumping out of the bus, catching an auto and following the bus, but soon realized that would be the stupidest thing to do.
I controlled my self and managed to reach home with heavy heart. Mean while I was telling myself, ‘ok…that would probably cost 1 or 1.5K’, that is what I should pay for being careless. I reached home, rang up the car accessory shop to know that, that ‘thing’ would cost me about 4K. I crushed into the bean bag, cursing my Saturday, cursing my fate, I started telling myself ‘penny wise pound foolish’.
Soon came the advice from my sweet wife call up the BMTC. Ok..I would call up the BMTC and what would I tell them. I don’t know the bus no. I don’t know the origin and destination of the bus properly, neither do I know the route no. I just kept quite, still cursing my self. It is just 10 weeks before that I had bought this ‘SONY car audio player with front USB (I paid a premium for this USB option)’ and it is already in some stranger’s hands.
Ok, I convinced myself, this was brought from my hard earned money and I should get it back. I got the BMTC Jayanagar depot no. from Yellow pages, but no one picked up that call for a long long time. Still continuing to curse myself, I called up the main depot no. Luckily they picked up the call. I felt I am very close to getting the ‘thing’. I told him, ‘one bus from NR colony to JP Nagar at 12 noon…..I need the driver detail….umm….’. The voice from the other said, we can’t find out anything from this. Do you know the route no…..No,……..ok, do you have the ticket….ticket….yeeeaass…I jumped to the dustbin at my home and found the ticket. That turned out be the most expensive bus ticket that I had ever bought and retained even after the journey.
He asked me the ticket no. and after some time said, this belongs to depot no. 4 and that is JayaNagar. Go with the ticket and enquire in the accounts dept., they should be able to tell you the driver details. Only then I realized the importance of that small piece of paper that we throw soon after getting down the bus. I rushed to the JayaNagar depot, narrated the story about the ‘thing’ that I had lost to the lady at the security. She let me in. At the accounts dept, I got to know some bag no. to which this ticket belongs to and I was asked to go to the traffic section. I wanted the driver details, what I will do with this bag no. I was skeptical, and asked the traffic section guys, who is the driver for this bag no. Soon came the answer “DeveGowda”….what do you know the driver, so I can talk to him then…give me his cell no. No, we don’t keep their cell no.s. …uhh..I was down again…but there was some hope. The traffic controller said this is GiriNagar to JP Nagar bus, bearing no. 3058, if you go immediately to the JayaNagar bus stop, you can spot him there.
I rushed my Dio to JayaNagar, waited there for about 90 minutes, looking at every bus that passed through, for the bus with no. 3058. Exactly at the 93rd minute came this bus, but from the opposite direction than I was expecting it. I took my scooter again and followed him, but to see a board that read ‘KempeGowda Bus Nildaana to JP Nagar’. I was disappointed. I felt the traffic controller fooled me. I went back to the depot. I told him what happened. He still strongly said he was right and he can’t be wrong in this, he has been doing this job for years. I cursed my eyes this time, or rather the glasses that I wear. I left a note to the driver with my cell phone no. Looks like I still had the hope.
The TC asked me to come back at 7PM, when the driver returns back from his shift. I collected my car from the service station, staring at the empty panel space, I drove to the depot. As soon as the TC saw me, he said, DeveGowda is inside. I ran inside, looking at the no. plate of each bus and before I was lost in hundreds of similarly looking BMTC bases, I spotted the 3058 and along with the driver.
Idu GiriNagar JP Nagar bassa, (Id this GiriNagar to Jp Ngar Bus)
Howdu… (Yes)
Beligge 12 ghantege neeve idra ee bassalli… (Were you driving it at 12 noon)
Howdu… (Yes)
Nimige idralli ondu SONY car panel sigtha… (Did you find a SONY car panel)
Hooon…(the drive sounded like, ya I have got it, so what) (Yes…)
I was so happy to hear it. My all day effort did not go waste, it had saved me about 4K. But, that ‘thing’ was not with me yet.
I asked him…
kodthira… (Will you give it to me)
He said..”What will I do with that, it is of no use to me and more it does not belong to me either”
Sari…Kodi mathe…… (Then give it)
Adu illilla…. (It is not here)
Mathe… innellide…!!!!!!!!! (where else)
Manelide… (At home)
I told myself Oh god ..where his house now…
Ellide mane…. (Where is the house)
JP Nagar 6th phase…Oh illena… banni naane karkondu hogthini…(oh..very close by..come lets go together)
Nimige hege siktu... (How did you get it)
He said, some woman who entered empty handed was carryign this ‚thing’ with her while getting down. One ajji who observed it asked her, what that thing is..and the lady said that ‘someone had left it here’ and gave it to the driver.
I waited for him to clear his accounts for the day and followed him (he was on his bike) to his house and my ‘thing’ back. I opened cover it was intact. I gave him some money, he took it, though reluctantly.I was back on the road to my house, listening to all the 9x.x stations…….
Lessons learnt:
* Retain the ticket of your journey for few day at least.
* There are still good people around.
The mighty Jog.
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It was about 9 or 9.30 in the morning. Hundreds of cars and taxis and buses have already filled the parking lot, and literally thousands of people have gathered on the entire strench of the view point. The valley is completely filled with fog and intermittent showers are adding to the beauty of the place. It is not that cold, but still the cool breeze and the showers are making me shiver. All the eyes are gazing to see something behind the heavy fog. Once in a while the fog slightly disappears, giving a glimpse of the green mountain and a huge mass of water falling down the hill to the valley 800 feet below and the entire crowd watching to get this glimpse of the water fall, cheers with joy. Oooh...waawh...Oooooo....the crowd seems to be blessed to get this rare view of the fall.
You never know when is the next time we get to see this world renowned water fall "Jog Falls" fall like this.I had seen a picture (the first picture) of Jog overflowing, that was taken probably a week before we went there. I was awe stuck to see that picture. It was looking like Niagara, though not as wide as Niagara. I went to Jog expecting to see it falling like Niagara, I wasn't lucky though. The flood gates were closed and the water flowing to the river had receded. This (the second picture) is what I got to see behind the heavy fog. After I came back, I was looking at some of the old pictures and this how I had seen the jog falls during the summer of 2006 (the third picture).
After a long time I had a chance to see the 'Malenaadu' during the rains. After checking into the hotel in Sagar, I left Shilpa in the hotel room, as the last night's bus ride from Bangalore to Sagar had stolen her sleep.
I forgot that it can rain any time in this area and for any longer. I went out without an umbrella. I was walking through the streets familiar to me, that I used to bicycle through, during my school days, about 20 years ago. Nothing much has changed, except for a few new houses that have come up. The same old tiled roofs, with lot of small plants on them. The compound of almost every house is green, covered with the algae. As it started raining, water started gushing through the storm water drains as well as on the roads.
During my school days, this was the everyday scene in the monsoon, but this time it looked more beautiful than before. I walked in the rain went around the house where we used to live before, looked into the well from where we used to draw water during summer. None of the flowering plants we had grown in our garden existed, and also there was no sign of the guava tree on which I used to sit and eat the fresh guavas. But the drumstick tree from which I had fallen once was still alive and felt like was smiling at me.
During all this I was telling myself I should retire here, will I or will I not? Not an easy answer not an easy question either.As I was going through my memory lane and was engrossed in those good old days, I got a call saying 'they have arrived'. We were waiting for Shilpa's mom and brother to join us in Sagar to goto Jog.The ride from Sagar to Jog, though only 45 minutes, was another heavenly experience. Will try to write about it as time permits.
You never know when is the next time we get to see this world renowned water fall "Jog Falls" fall like this.I had seen a picture (the first picture) of Jog overflowing, that was taken probably a week before we went there. I was awe stuck to see that picture. It was looking like Niagara, though not as wide as Niagara. I went to Jog expecting to see it falling like Niagara, I wasn't lucky though. The flood gates were closed and the water flowing to the river had receded. This (the second picture) is what I got to see behind the heavy fog. After I came back, I was looking at some of the old pictures and this how I had seen the jog falls during the summer of 2006 (the third picture).
After a long time I had a chance to see the 'Malenaadu' during the rains. After checking into the hotel in Sagar, I left Shilpa in the hotel room, as the last night's bus ride from Bangalore to Sagar had stolen her sleep.
I forgot that it can rain any time in this area and for any longer. I went out without an umbrella. I was walking through the streets familiar to me, that I used to bicycle through, during my school days, about 20 years ago. Nothing much has changed, except for a few new houses that have come up. The same old tiled roofs, with lot of small plants on them. The compound of almost every house is green, covered with the algae. As it started raining, water started gushing through the storm water drains as well as on the roads.
During my school days, this was the everyday scene in the monsoon, but this time it looked more beautiful than before. I walked in the rain went around the house where we used to live before, looked into the well from where we used to draw water during summer. None of the flowering plants we had grown in our garden existed, and also there was no sign of the guava tree on which I used to sit and eat the fresh guavas. But the drumstick tree from which I had fallen once was still alive and felt like was smiling at me.
During all this I was telling myself I should retire here, will I or will I not? Not an easy answer not an easy question either.As I was going through my memory lane and was engrossed in those good old days, I got a call saying 'they have arrived'. We were waiting for Shilpa's mom and brother to join us in Sagar to goto Jog.The ride from Sagar to Jog, though only 45 minutes, was another heavenly experience. Will try to write about it as time permits.
TN Seetaram Puttanna Kanagal aaga bahuda
People have been comparing TN Seetaram with Puttanna Kanagal in the last few days, especially after the release of Meera Madhava Raghava (MMR for short). And there has been lot of expectation on MMR. It has been doing well in the box office too. Out of curioscity to witness the work of the new age Puttanna Kanagal, I wanted to see this movie. It took me a couple of weeks to go and watch the movie. It was running house full even in PVR for more than 2-3 weeks.After watching the movie, yes I watched the entire movie, not because I had paid 110 Rs. but I was curious about the climax. The climax has been very well captured. Kudos to the actors as well as the director. But after watching the entire movie, I felt TNS was present for shooting only the climax and the rest of the movie was shot by his assistants.
There are so many loosely coined scenes almost throught the movie that would irritate the audiance often. Some of the points that can be noticed easily are,
1. Such a closely knit family of both Meera and Madhava in the first half, suddenly gets isolated from them as soon as Madhava becomes a DC. A person who has managed to get through the IAS exam, fails to talk to his family memebers once he comes back about Meera's house being sold or not. This one point alone makes the story an impossibility. Let us assume that he was so busy with his administrative works that he doesn't notice it and the story goes on.
2. At many places there are dialogues that say that "Madhava has built reputation all along" , I think the director fails to remember that he was on his first posting as the DC of Hemagiri. If the argument is that he had developed the reputation during his trainings, that seldom known to people and politicians.
3. Madhava's cast Diganth, seems to be over shadowed by Ramya's star image. It is clearly evident that Diganth was uncomfortable in acting against Ramya. The director has not put any effort to make him fee comfortable with her.
4. Though it was good on part of the director that he has brought in many of the small screen artists to the big screen, at least for once, really gave a feeling of watching a serial on Television.There can be many such things listed out here, but that is not the intent here, but still I wonder, how such mistakes manage to get through, even after reviewing it so many times.
Anyways, comaparing TNS with Puttanna Kanagal, no way at least at least not now. Puttanna Kanagal has given this industry many wonderful actors and many many movies that people have really enjoyed for years and still enjoy.
If I get a chance, I still sit back and watch Manasa Sarovara again and again, will I watch MMR again, even if some one buys me a ticket to PVR, no way.Long way to go Mr. TNS. And people, please leave him to himself and he may prove to be better than Puttanna Kanagal in the years to come, instead of spoiling him with false praises. Mr. TNS don't listen to these people, just look back at MMR and review it yourself agian and again and again, before you take up another one
There are so many loosely coined scenes almost throught the movie that would irritate the audiance often. Some of the points that can be noticed easily are,
1. Such a closely knit family of both Meera and Madhava in the first half, suddenly gets isolated from them as soon as Madhava becomes a DC. A person who has managed to get through the IAS exam, fails to talk to his family memebers once he comes back about Meera's house being sold or not. This one point alone makes the story an impossibility. Let us assume that he was so busy with his administrative works that he doesn't notice it and the story goes on.
2. At many places there are dialogues that say that "Madhava has built reputation all along" , I think the director fails to remember that he was on his first posting as the DC of Hemagiri. If the argument is that he had developed the reputation during his trainings, that seldom known to people and politicians.
3. Madhava's cast Diganth, seems to be over shadowed by Ramya's star image. It is clearly evident that Diganth was uncomfortable in acting against Ramya. The director has not put any effort to make him fee comfortable with her.
4. Though it was good on part of the director that he has brought in many of the small screen artists to the big screen, at least for once, really gave a feeling of watching a serial on Television.There can be many such things listed out here, but that is not the intent here, but still I wonder, how such mistakes manage to get through, even after reviewing it so many times.
Anyways, comaparing TNS with Puttanna Kanagal, no way at least at least not now. Puttanna Kanagal has given this industry many wonderful actors and many many movies that people have really enjoyed for years and still enjoy.
If I get a chance, I still sit back and watch Manasa Sarovara again and again, will I watch MMR again, even if some one buys me a ticket to PVR, no way.Long way to go Mr. TNS. And people, please leave him to himself and he may prove to be better than Puttanna Kanagal in the years to come, instead of spoiling him with false praises. Mr. TNS don't listen to these people, just look back at MMR and review it yourself agian and again and again, before you take up another one
Are Indian IT companies creating talent or ruining it
These days, every now and then we read in news papers, that TCS to recruit 20000 engineers, Infosys added 15000 engineers, India needs 2 lakh more engineers by 2010…etc. No doubt, all these companies are hiring like crazy and possibly, they will continue to hire and reach the 2 lakh mark by 2010.But, it looks like companies do not mind paying these fresh graduates anywhere from 2-6 lakh per annum, just to add to their head count numbers. But it is widely observed across the industry, that the new engineers hired are not used properly and are kept idle for months without assigning any projects to them. These young minds would have entered the industry with lot of dreams to achieve, but these minds are treated like, “I am paying you, just keep quite until I need you”. Even when the jobs are assigned to these youngsters, their talent and knowledge is hardly used and instead they are put onto some job, which would not really need an engineer to perform.We talk so much about the growing IT industry and the growing Indian economy, but the growth is only in terms of the revenue of the companies and to some extent in terms of the salary paid, but the growth in terms of knowledge, intellectual property, is probably nil.Decades after the invention of automobile, we Indian’s are thought of developing our own cars. So, may be few decades from now when the whole world is looking at some new technology, may it be nano technology or bio technology, we will start looking at developing our own cell phones and computers. Do we have any leaders in the industry who would create our own apples, nokias, microsofts, intels. We are so used to servicing other companies, that 1 billion dollar over a period of 25 years has become a great deal, but we dot even bother to look at the companies who have reached over 50billion turnover in just 25-30 years.Isn’t it the high time to realize the importance of developing our own products and competing with the international market or is it still the time to serve the external market and letting our young minds to run some test cases, do some documentation and sit on the bench. We will continue to be the back office of the world forever, and will never come to the forefront of technology.Why don’t we realize that most of the people who designed the Pentium, the windows, the Apollo and the iphone are Indians. Is there a lack of talent in India or Indians, no, but what we lack is the leadership and the vision to take us into the rest of the century, we haven’t been able to come out of the slavery mindset even after decades of our independence.
Laalu's defeat in Bihar
It was high time the people of Bihar needed a change, change for a better governance, change for a safer place to live in. This man 'Laloo Prasad Yadav' had become the autocratic leader of Bihar and Democracy was killed in Bihar. This man ruled Bihar for more than 15 years and was intelligent enough to keep the people of Bihar under his control. Almost the whole country must be happy today by knowing the people's verdict towards this man. Biharis are suppose to be very intelligents and we can see a lot of them in the Indian Beaurocracy and many top line MNCs. But at the same time, if Bihari's are intelligents how did they let this man rule them for a decade and half. Can this shameful defeat 63/243 seats make laloo a better politician?With Nitish taking over the reings of Laloo, the big question now is, can he clean up the ruins of Laloos regime.Under the guidance of Laloo, Rabri could not make a good Cheif minister, now can she make a good opposition leader, no way, as every one knows she is just a puppet in Laloo's hands.Mr. Laloo, its time for u to leave Patna and think of spoiling Delhi and the concentrate on killing the India Railways.
Airport Road Flyover
There has been lot of woe about Bangalore's infrastructure. It is being heard not just at the national level, but has attracted the internation attention too. And there has been a lot of blame game going around. And what comes first is the Flyover on Airport road. This has been a shame on the city.The first thing is the tender process, no doubt the tender goes to the lowest bidder, but did the authorities really consider the capability of the builder, UP State Bridge corporation, the name itself suggests, these guys cannot handle such a project. If one has noticed the construction process, they have been using the equipments which they probably bought when the company was started way back in 60s. No high end heavy equipments, and a few workers standindg here and there with some hammers and pick axes.The BDA woke up only when they did not meet the dead line. Anyone who has notied the way the corporation was working, could easily guessed that these people cannot complete it in time. What were the authorities doing at the time of construction?OK..Lets leave it here, every one talks about BDAs irresponsibility and the UPSBC's inability, let us look into other aspect of this Flyover.Can this Flyover really solve the problem on airport Road. It is a clear NO. People have been waiting and will wait probably for another 4 years, yes, that's when this flyover will be completed, only to realise that, this flyover was just a piece of crap. This flyover has been designed only to decongest the intersection of IRR and Arport Road, which means the flyover will move the traffic from this juction to the next one. a little more thought and little more money would have decongested the airport road forever.The wing passing next to Nandini Palace, pushes the traffic infront of TGIF. The Airport road still remains the same size and hence there will be congestion near TGIF. Another wing which starts from before the IRR and Airport Road intersection and goes towards Indira Nagar 100 ft. road adds the traffic at the Khivraj motors juction. Instead this wing could have started before the Domlur Shanthi Sagar junction and ended past the Khivraj motors junction.Since the Airport Road cannot be widedned due to the existing commertial stablishments, the better solution would have been to take a parallel elevated road from before the Domlur Shanthi Sagar junction till the Kuvempu circle (i.e. after the Airport entrace). Bangalore is developing very fast beyond Marathhalli and Airport road traffic is going increase manifold soon.So, people if u are waiting for the Airport road traffic to easen after the completion of the flyover, just forget it. And be prepared to live like this or be prepared to leave Bangalore.
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