Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Handicap or Addiction:

My computer keyboard broke last week and I was handicap for not being able to use my PC. My e-world came to halt. Still I managed to surf using mouse. The AMC guy could not fix it and I had to wait for a week. I barked at him and was getting restless, for delay. I somehow manage to access my mailbox but could not replay the mails. I could not write blogs and my mind was overflowing with bright ideas to write new blogs.

Therefore, what can we call this addiction, need, slavery, laziness, advance technology, or are we idiots, glued to these tubes. Age group from 5 to 50 yrs are addicted to various latest electronic gadgets, like TV, Mobile phones, Computer- Internet, DVD, Music, etc. If our mobile is misplaced or lost, we panic like anything as if our heart has stopped pumping. Every house must have a TV, even people having second home opt for having a TV and if its not LCD or LED then you are BPL.Recently I visited my friends place and rather than entertaining me, he kept his TV on and ignored me being his guest, buddy I had come to meet you and not watch TV at your home.

I conducted an experiment of not having a TV at my second home and it was really peaceful and could read lot of books and newspaper. Therefore, we can live without the idiot box.

Worst addiction is Internet surfing and playing online Games. In Korea a guy died of playing online game for straight 48 hrs, I had heard people died with electric shocks but nothing whimsical like this. Imagine not checking mails for months, Internet addicts will need some trauma treatment. Same for people in Pune, not owning a vehicle to travel across the length and breadth of city. If you do not have a two wheeler here, one would be wasting 3 hours traveling by city bus.

I oppose the above cause as these gizmos where not available 40 years back. They lived a healthy and happy life. People used to travel by cycles and often walked to their destination. Still today, there is a small town in Germany where all modern amenities are ban by the village. Villagers still use horse cart, hand pumps, Ancient tools, and hand woven clothes to wear. They do not have electric, car and modern gizmos. They had installed hand pump in there kitchen and had prohibited themselves from being photographed / video shoot.

Definitely, technology is a boom for us but we have crossed the limited to use it. In Cities if there is no power supply for few hours, faces turn red of tax payers. However, what about the villages who do not have power supply for last 25 years.

Therefore, its upto us whether we should be like the community in Germany or be an addict for not so necessary things.

My Blind Girlfriend:

I had a blind girlfriend she was intelligent, beautiful, stubborn, strong, sensitive and silent. She never saw me but always imagined me as a person. Her imagination was too good. However, describing her outside world was difficult for me. Touching each object was a mystery for her, since her need to imagine them in her mind. But she was quiet happy holding my hand and feeling secured. She looked great with her shades on, and nobody could imagine she was blind.

Her everyday statement was “My hands were the entire world for her.” However, it was very difficult for me to explain her world and its complicated objects. She used to ask me, how trees, flowers, grass, butterfly, and insects look like, while a visit to park. However, watching movies was quiet ok as it was an audio enjoyment for her. However, I was happy because I could understand the feeling of being sightless. Usually we see white can people banging there stick and pass away quietly.

She was quiet sharp at her daily routine. So after marriage it was little easy life. But what after babies come in to picture. That is a little difficult part; it is very difficult to handle a jumpy baby. Anyway I was thinking too long.

She could cleanly differentiate between my hand and a stranger’s hand; it was the only identification to recognize me along with my voice. Once we were dining in a restaurant, she was having difficulty serving herself. I kept two dishes at her right and others at her left and gave her the sequence and she was perfect serving herself, so it was not all about depending on me.

People and friends were always taunting me for being crazy living with a vision less person. So I invited few of them to her house for lunch and she was a perfect host with her glares on. Basically handicap people are not dependent, but they need to be exposed to normal people and they would far better than us.

It was time to give her a great gift on marriage day, and I donated my one eyesight to her and today she is working with a MNC as executive Manager. Well her early blindness and now her one sight has made her super women. Therefore, it was not her handicap but an extra power to be something different.

Now is not my blind girlfriend, but a visionary wife.

WalMart return Indian Parents:

Yeah the title is little weird, I am talking about parents visiting their kids in US and returning with rich experience. Parents traveling for the first time, especially the middle class are excited about the trip. Entire life they had save penny to give good education to their kids, probably sacrificing lot of desirable things. And kids complete their education and fly to foreign land for higher education or jobs. Kids settle down in US and don’t come back. Mother and Father in India are lonely, only excitement is when kids call them up on web cam and send tickets for their US trip.

Mummyji and Papaji are happy as its their first trip to USA and also their first flight trip. They are happy cause their sacrifices have brought colors after a long time. And why not they deserve to see other part of developed world. Son and Daughter in law give them traveling and etiquette tips before they start. Initially parents enjoy their stay, like the life style, cleanliness, huge shopping malls, departmental stores, luxury car, long stretch of free ways, express highways, discipline, and respect. Luxury apartments make them cozy and probably start comparing with Indian standard of living. Well definitely, there is a huge gap of Indian life style and developed countries. People in US love their country and have less patience, need to get the work done very fast, which is opposite in India.

So finally Ma and Pa are settled down in US for their 6 months stay. Pa enjoying shopping at hyper market and Ma cooking favourite dishes for their kids. Also trying to digest culture shock and keeping a check of not intervening in the life of local citizens. Site seeing, shopping, traveling, meeting relatives, celebrating birthdays, Baby Shower day, parties and get togthers keep Ma and pa busy. Son and daugther in law try to keep their loving parents as comfortable as possible. Probably a modern Ma , may change her style of clothing or remain the same.

Its almost 4 months and few parents start getting bored since their kids might be out for work whole day and they have nothing to do much, even though they might be having grandchildren to take care. They start missing India as they cannot jump into neighbour’s house or even visit relatives frequently. No gossips, not aware whats happening around in the neighbour hood and not interested in US economy progress.

They start missing the dirt, pollution, people, relatives and sharing daily quota of news with relatives, friends etc. Some Pa enjoy staying their but Ma is not much interested in this Luxury jail. Well Ma cannot bargain with the Walmart vegetable guy, also there are no fishwali coming at the door step to buy fresh fish, They had gone through so much of hardship, its this hardship a luxury for them. The aroma of their Indian home starts calling them back. Some people feel something is missing till they do not jump in muddy puddle of Indian rains.

So after much argument with kids the “US return” parents are back in India with lot of goodies.First few week it takes time to adapt Indian style of living and they are excited about sharing experience and stay in US. But final conclusion is loneliness kills them.
They start comparing being lonely in India is much better than in US. In India if Ma and Pa gets a little scratch or some small illness, crores of relatives come to meet and ask their health status.

The sabji wala will be the same here, always calling Maji Maji, I think nobody will call Ma and Pa in Walmart, Maaji or Papaji. The Fishwali bargaining on fishy things.The Grocery guy and shopkeepers asking Maaji aur kay du, naya chaval aya hai bhej du kay. Kamwali sharing gossips of neighbour. The aroma of grocery shop, vegetable markets, crowed market will always keep Indians their Indianess. Ma and pa will meet their kids frequently and also travel to US, but finally most of the MA and PA will avoid travelling to US giving reason like”What we will do coming there its boring and lonely” and kids wont come since they are entangled in time factor, Citizenship rules and money factor. Ma and Pa are happy here in India.

Its finally the India Soil where we are born and brought will never detach us.

Practising Austerity Vs Poor Austerity

Poor Austerity:
Somebody taught Rahul Gandhi a lesson "Der se aye magar galat aye". You came late but at a wrong time, by breaking the glass pane. Democracy is dead Mr Gandhi. After 50 years asking a layman issues is very late. VIP’s better be confined to there First class travel.

Practising Austerity:

Today’s headlines
Congress President Sonia Gandhi will travel the economy class while flying to Mumbai On Monday

“Austerity” definitely is a nice word and excellent way to present congress party, before elections. Principal Soniaji has started the practice and the entire schools need to follow the new notice. Oh !!! congress has finally realized they are living a lavish life. The notice says, everybody should travel in economy class, Five Star stay prohibited, pay cuts, and power saving, which power I don’t know.

If it is an election stunt then forget it would not last long. Ministers are already spoil brats they will not compromise for their lavishness, as they work very hard to serve our country. If they are serious then question is what would they do, for the amount save? …..donate towards welfare of BPL people, no way.

It is a good inventiveness, but I have doubt about its accomplishment. In addition, Soniaji needs to display the comparative statement on monthly basis to public and where exactly the saved amount used. Probably this would be a plus point for next general election.

In UP the Govt is spending lakhs, on tea and refreshment for their staff. And, what about Mayaji’s, Elephant and status dream land project, I really do not have words for this idiocy, that woman is either a nut or insane. Public money for position ?

So what about the past, Amount spend last 40-50 years on VIP with not a satisfactory output and a grumbling compatriots, who will pay back our money. If we really look back and see the books of accounts for the amount spend on VIP, the question will come to our mind why did we pay our taxes for nothing? We still have poverty, distress, basic issues food, water and electricity stand still from the day Gandhiji said India is in Villages, serve them better.

Congress is doing nothing but playing a political card for this election, please do not play with public money we work hard to earn it and every day is an Everest climb for us.
Until date, whatever money Govt promised for floods, drought and human acts has never reached people affected. If ministers are not accountable for their duties, it is difficult for us and the country to grow.

Angry young man (Amitabh Bachchan)

Angry young man (Amitabh Bachchan)
Not to guess about whom I am talking, definitely:
Amitabh Bachchan
This tall guy had influenced every corner of this world. “Jab se hosh sambhala hai” I am great fan of this guy. The first movie I saw was “Amar Akbar Anthony” at the age of 6-7 yrs, I have a indistinct remembrance of this movie which made me immense aficionado of this lambuji. In fact I remember another movie where audience had gone round the bend in theatre and started dancing and throwing money on the screen. Those days people used to keep AB hair style and act themselves as AB. Definitely I was one to follow the bandwagon. In fact I had bought a shirt with movie name embossed “DON”. Spilling his dialogues was common in every street. Every street corner had hair saloon displaying his hair style. He was / is the number one guy in Hindi film industry. The team Prakash Mehra, Javed Akhtar and AB gave hits after hits and pushed him to Everest peak. His deep throat voice was rejected by AIR test, but same voice kept everybody astonished.

AB was and is a magnet and god for Indian fans. During his height of career the legend was definitely flying in air, but god taught him few lessons and now definitely his feet are firmly attached to gravel. His endless achievement, experience, lesson learnt, interaction with people would probably generate huge information bank. Now AB is very down to earth and humble legend , if you hear him talking, you would feel his simple formula of living. Though now his health is not up to date, he still starts his day in a studio, listening to young directors/dialogue writers with patience.

I still watch his movies, as of now his experiment with various roles passed him with
flying colours. Recently Bhoonath was a brilliant movie where he worked with small kid with ease. Knowing his plus and minus, has kept him immovable to acting skills. He tried everything in his life but finally came to conclusion acting is his skill set . His meekness is reflected in TV show KBC, where dealing with common people, displayed his excellent skills, cause there is a thin line between fame and courtesy. His bungalow is like a temple, as you can see huge crowd of fans doing all kind of nuisance at his gate to attract attention.


Big b’s blog site http://bigb.bigadda.com/ is definitely giving a open view to his day to day activities, his art of writing has depth of modesty and attracts lot of hits. I read his few blogs about his daily shooting, experience with Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Allah bad, PM Prakash Mehra and accident. In an interview/blog he had given the details about the accident during shooting of movie Coolie. He had almost reached the doors of heaven, but due to intense efforts of doctors he could see his beautiful daughter-in-law. But heavy drugs had left him with terrible side effects and has to carry a team of doctors to every shooting venue.


His love towards parents is open to everybody. Both being close to him he is really missing them during heart moving moments. In fact he had kept his ailing mother in hospital and gave her the best treatment, I think very few mother’s get such luxury, of course he should have kept her at his home during the last stage, but his commitment had kept him away from mother.

He is still the King, nobody has replaced him or close to him, probably a AB Oscar award would be a great respect to him. This Star will never fade from sky. His comments, like he is still learning acting will keep this legend alive forever. May god bless his sweet family and Jayaji’s steady company.

Friday, August 28, 2009

BJP Crisis

“Fresh Blood” please is the only slogan for BJP, current situation demands there should be updated ideology for BJP, keeping religious sentiment at the back ground. The Senior members should make for young ideology set in same like what congress had done by introducing many young parliamentary members.

The RSS and VHP should do what they are doing since we need people would represent the minority Hindu community against the entire world. Coming back to BJP they have long being into opposition for the reason, new ideas had never being intruded to make them a wining party. The recent loss has only broken them badly, since they are getting rid of members who had performed badly in the last election. Rather they should find out the reason why they loss badly. In Indian politics even if politicians do not do any progress work atleast they should have charismatic personality.

Todays call for all the political party is 50% senior members and 50% young politicians. Take eg of Scindia, Pilot, Rahul Gandhi, they have been provided full open culture in congress. The young members should always be backed with senior members, cause experience counts a lot to run this huge machinery in our country. Young people bring new ideas and work on and they can connect to the entire nation.

BJP should stop this fighting and pulling each other legs and get reunited to make a strong opposition. Corruption, red tape and bad politics are surely a bad part in India, but these need to be tackle by young members with strict measures. Just imaging in last 50 years if the entire corruption money, black money would have been properly utilize for the country, we would have been 20 times much ahead of US and European nations. Corruption is worst than Cancer and Swine flu which makes the economy weak at the root.

Whether its Jaswant Singh or Kulkarni or Advani or people above the age of 70 yrs should be retired with respect and get people who are really working at the grass root level, I say percentage of people who work really for this society and are unsung hero would be more than the useless members in any of the political party. I agree everything is not dirty, we the Indian citizens make it dirty in the greed of earning multi crore trunks.

BJP really needs another chintan baithak and think about the future of the party rather saving our own baithak in the party.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Car War

Small Car Segment:
I would like to start review of small car’s launched in last two years. The market is huge for Auto industries in India right now since lot of car companies are invading Indian market.

In this segment we have Fabia, Punto, i10, i20, Honda Jazz, A Star, Ritz, Swift. My favorites are Ritz, Fabia and Honda Jazz. Though Fabia (Rs 7.36 Lacs) and Jazz (Rs 8 Lacs) are far more expensive compared to Ritz – Rs 4.36 Lacs are the near about onroad price, but definitely Fabia has far more good interiors and Jazz as usual has the refined Honda engine, the Ritz is the clear winner in terms of price, interior, enough head room and leg space, K-Series engine and Maruti service. Chevy Spark, Wagon R are the best option for beginners and small time budget. Indica Vista has lot of space and a good family car but quality really matters for Tata Vehicles.

Punto as usual has the first class fiat diesel engine and is a hard car to drive with less performance in terms of pick up and performance, Safety is there slogan. I10 has a kappa engine but less interior space and i20 is a fully loaded petrol version and (nice exterior/lot of space) inside looks is worth trying but has less performance compared to Ritz. Swift is growing old in the market it’s a good option near to dzire.

Sedan Segment:
Maruti SX4, Hyundai Verna, Dzire, Fiat Linea, Honda City, Logan, Ford Fiesta, Ford Icon.

My dream car is a Honda any make, but it’s a cream car, so definitely vote again for Maruti SX4, its truly men are back metal. Its smooth, great pickup, you doubt whether the engine is working or not for a brand new piece. Lot of space, height, head room and boot space definitely it’s a go for Rs 7 Lacs piece and lastly Maruti service. Due its high ground clearance its suitable for Indian road conditions having bumpy and potholes. Rest sedan do not have much ground clearance.

Honda city any make is always a go go provided you have big budget to buy it. The old Honda 1.3 are still going strong and current one’s are good take for round about Rs 9 Lacs. Honda City Vtec engines will definitely give far more mileage and refined engine. The stability on highways are superb for Honda cars, whether you step into the gas for 100 or 130 Kms per hour. Honda is Honda.

Third favorite is Fiat Linea the diesel version, when I took a test drive I thought I was driving a Petrol version, the new brand heavy metal is super quite with diesel engines. You can feel the safety with heavy doors and hoods. Good interior and exterior’s, nice colours and boot space with top end model for near about Rs 8 Lacs it’s a good go for diesel lovers. Now almost all diesel cars have Fiat engines under their hood they are capturing the engine market fast. I like the diesel version than the petrol one’s.

Dzire is extended version of swift and small budget with a price tag of Rs 5.36 Lacs it’s a good option for sedan section still having a waiting list. Verna definitely needs a test drive before making a decision to buy a sedan.
Ford is not making much noise in Indian car market, I was upset about the Ford icon diesel version and Ford Fiesta made sales graph little up but the above versions of cars is definitely beating Fiesta. Think tank in Ford has to work something fast before they become GM. The spares are expensive and if you get a bad piece you are bankrupt.

Logan failed due to looks, but has enough space for three at the back compared to all the above sedan. This is a big issue cause all sedan cars do not place three buns comfortably. Logan has lot of space but other things are not so good, Mahindra needs to rework on this piece.

Luxury Segment:
Honda Civic, Honda Accord, Skoda Superb, Skoda Laura, VW Jetta, Toyota Altis, Toyota Camry.

Hmm yummy it’s the Skoda and Honda the clear winner for me.
Honda Civic- Rs 13 Lacs
Honda Accord – N/A
Skoda Superb – Rs 18 Lacs
Skoda Laura – Rs 20 Lacs
VW Jetta – Rs 17 Lacs
Toyota Altis – Rs 13 Lacs
Toyota Camry – N/A
Above price tag need to be confirmed.

Honda again refined engines, I took a test drive of Honda Civic, it took few seconds to reach 100 Kms speed and I did not realized I was at the high speed. The back seat has flat floor removing the hump compared to other cars. Lot of space and a cool Steering wheel and a dash board.

Skoda is surely a SUPERB. The latest one has got a good face uplift and they are muscle car with Skoda engines. They are reliable Czech stuff. So buy them blind folded.

VW Jetta is a great car, I drove them in city and little difficult to drive them in narrow, congested and crowed roads and lanes.Its a good German car so you have safety. Smooth, huge, performance and pickup. Try your test drive on highways and you will be dead with its speed. It has something called Emergency exit from back seat. You fold the back seat and you have a way out to boot with a button to open the boot from inside and you are out if your electronics set failed in heavy rains. That’s cool.

Toyota’s has good engines as usual and not to be missed.

Super Luxury Segment:
Audi, BMW, VW Passat,

Go for anything above 4,5,6,7 for Audi / BMW, your choice and money, especially Audi R8 with a V8 engine and for Rs 1.17 Crores.

SUV’s Sedan:
Toyota Innova gives a tuff to Tata sumo grande, Tavera . Compared to buying a high end sedan car people now prefer Innova. It has conquered the market for 8 and 7 Seaters people carrying vehicle which is just for Rs 10 Lacs. Driving a Innova gives a feeling of driving a Sedan. Its gives a nice smooth drive in city and on highways, though a diesel version its less noisy than other Indian diesel vehicle, A lot of space and comfort for a long drive and big family. Of course it’s a expensive maintain ace vehicle but definitely a go. I am quite impressed.

Next in this line are Mahindra Xylo, Tata Sumo, Grande, GM Tavera. For Rs 8 Lacs GM Tavera is a smooth driven 8 seater, specially if you get a option of two seats in the middle, the suspension ensures nothing moves in your stomach. They are very popular commercial use in India. Mahindra Xylo is tall, sturdy, spacious but hard to drive since the gear knob is too hard to move but a good strong SUV for rural India. Tata Grande has not much changed the view of customers since I can see very few grande on roads and it’s a huge tank if you sit inside and try to drive.

Luxury SUV’s:

Tata Safari, 2009 Mahindra Scorpio, Grand Vitara, Chevy Captiva, Ford Endeavour, Mitsubishi Outlander, Porsche Cayenne, Mitsubishi Pajero, Honda CRV, Audi Q7, Toyota Land Cruiser, Mercedes-Benz GL-Class

Captiva and Honda CRV are good SUV within a price range for Rs 19 Lacs. They give lot of comfort for long drives and have good engines. Mahindra Scorpio are huge and very popular in this diesel section, since Mahindra are well versed with Diesel engines. Tata Safari and Grand Vitara are old now nothing new except external UI features. TO mention is the HULK Toyota Land Cruiser, which is released recently in India. The white African elephant has a V8 engine with almost a 4000 CC fuel drinking middle piece. It has a huge music system and lot of luxury fitted inside and you can adjust the height of the entire vehicle up and down. So better have a close look if you see it on the road. Benz will certainly give value for your money. Rest see the tech specification of SUV below:

Tata Safari
The Tata Safari was launched a decade ago to the Indian market. Tata Safari with its slightly puffed yet elegant body and comfortable interiors became the darling of the young middle class urban elite. Safari comes in eight trims and two drive configurations, front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive. It comes with two engine options: a 2.2L VTT diesel that churns out 138 bhp and 2.0L MPFI petrol that produces 125 bhp. Estimated fuel economy is 9/13 km/l (city/highway). It is furnished with a height-adjustable driver's seat, power windows, a climate control system, and a tilt power steering. The Safari comes with a starting price tag of Rs 6.47 Lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).


2009 Mahindra Scorpio

Since decades, Mahindra & Mahindra is known to supply general purpose vehicles to the Indian mass and the tradition is maintained with the launch of Mahindra Scorpio. This SUV became an instant hit and created a wave of enthusiasm among young professionals. The 2009 Scorpio comes with a new engine. The all-new 2.2-litre, four-cylinder mHawk diesel pumps out 120 bhp, which can be considered the right kind of output for Indian conditions from an SUV. The new engine comes with the micro hybrid mode. What this does is to switch off to standby when the vehicle does not need the engine, such as in idling conditions. This is believed to make some contribution to fuel conservation.The 2009 Scorpio is given a new grill, which comes with a central ‘silver tooth’. As the name suggests, this fork-like shape for the grill makes it more noticeable. This feature is common to the Bolero, as well as Mahindra's new introduction, the Xylo. The new headlights get a highly powerful and piercing ‘projector’ lenses. Available in four variants, the 2009 Mahindra Scorpio is available within the price range of Rs 7 Lakh to Rs 9 Lakh

Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara

After having established itself as an undisputable leader in the small car segment, Maruti Suzuki has set foot in the SUV market with the launch of Grand Vitara. This SUV comes to India with a single petrol engine option, a 5-seater configuration, and an enthralling exterior design that resembles the Honda CR-V. The gutsy 2.0L VIS Inline-4 petrol engine churns out 119.5 bhp and is linked to either a 5-speed manual transmission or a 4-speed automatic transmission. An all-wheel-drive configuration is standard and the fuel economy is 10.3 km/l for variant with automatic transmission and 11.2 km/l for variant with manual transmission. The starting price tag for the Grand Vitara is Rs 13.8 Lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

Chevrolet Captiva

The SUV is blessed with aggressive looks, classy exterior & interiors and uncompromised performance. The engine follows the Common Rail Direct Injection fuel system coupled to a 5-speed manual transmission and powered by 2.0L Inline 4 cylinder delivering 150bhp. The car now comes with automatic transmission that adds value to the already competent car. Available only in single diesel variant, Captiva offers the fuel economy of 9/12 km/L (city/highway). Chevrolet Captiva comes with a starting price of Rs 19.9 Lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).
Ford Endeavour

Struggling to cope with the new Globalised competition, Ford was not to lag behind others while vying for the Indian pie. The Endeavour may look a bit obsolescent, but it has user-friendly interiors with plenty of legroom. The car comes with a common 2.5L turbocharged diesel VGT Inline-4 engine which generates 141 bhp and is propelled by a 5-speed manual transmission. The only difference between the two available variants is the drive configuration, which is rear-wheel-drive (RWD) for one and all-wheel-drive (AWD) for the other. The car comes with alloy wheels and tubeless tyres. The estimated fuel economy of the car is 7/10 km/l (city/highway). The Endeavour comes with a starting price tag of Rs 14.72 Lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

Mitsubishi Outlander

This Stunning SUV is launched in India by a joint venture of Hindustan Motors and Mitsubishi. Designed meticulously, the Outlander is gifted with brilliant styling, faultless performance, unmatched fuel efficiency, and innovative engineering. This SUV offers driving pleasure with its convertible smooth 2WD mode to rugged 4WD mode. The car is propelled by a 2.4L MIVEC I4 engine which delivers 168bhp. The gearbox offered a 6-speed INVECS-III CVT with a 6-speed manual mode controlled through paddle shifters. The estimated fuel economy is 8/11 km/L (city/highway). The starting price tag is Rs 20.20 Lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).
Porsche Cayenne

Porsche is well-known for imparting unique sporty character to its cars and the same is truly reflected in the design and aesthetic of the Cayenne. Continuing Porsche’s legacy of excellence in automotive engineering, the SUV exudes both elegance and masculinity at the same time. The naturally aspirated 3.6-litre V6 engine produces 290 bhp. Complimenting the high energy is the invigorating engine sound that is unique to every Porsche car. With awe-inspiring power and well-balanced acoustics, it goes from 0 to 100 km/h in a span of 8.1 seconds and can touch a top speed of 227 km/h.
A ‘Sport’ mode on the car offers a quicker pedal response and more dynamic as well as direct engine performance. It also assists in achieving a firmer ride and responsive handling. The Porsche Traction Management (PTM) on the SUV combined with Porsche’s enhanced Stability Management system tune the ride for optimum off-road performance. The maximum ground clearance of 241 mm and air suspension confirm the superior traction and smooth driving dynamics. The luxurious and powerful Cayenne SUV models sell within the range of Rs 56 Lakh to Rs 1.5 Crore (ex-showroom price).

Mitsubishi Pajero

The Japanese car maker Mitsubishi entered the fray of the lucrative Indian SUV market with its Pajero. The Pajero has a military-vehicle sturdy front with a boxy rear. It is great off-road and tackles difficult terrain with panache. The Pajero comes in a single variant SFX with a 2.8L turbocharged Inline-4 diesel engine that churns out 117 bhp and is coupled to a 5-speed manual transmission. The Pajero also has height-adjustable driver seat, ABS brakes, and climate control. This all-wheel-drive vehicle has an estimated fuel economy of 8/11 km/l (city/highway). The Pajero comes with a starting price tag of Rs 19.80 Lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

Honda CR-V

This is a top-end luxury SUV one will simply love to own. This extremely popular, new-age urban vehicle has sold over 2.5 million units across 160 countries, and its popularity doesn't show the slightest sign of waning.The Honda CR-V is as stylish as a premium SUV can get. Its wonderful GCON body, catchy tail gate design, attractive front cabin, cockpit-like interior and sun roof combine deftly with the luxury that is packed inside.There is a seemingly unlimited set of interior amenities and comforts inside. A dynamic dashboard, dual climate control, plush leather upholstery, multi-info display, adjustable tilt-telescopic steering and Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) reduction feature are some of the wonders of this vehicle. It has a terrific feel of the road. Its superior stability and road handling complement the high view that offers wonderful visibility. This gives the driver a feeling of being king of the road.The Honda CR-V comes in 3 variants with two 2.0L i-VTEC and 2.4L i-VTEC engine that gives out 141 bhp and 151 bhp, respectively. Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), dual SRS airbags, Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS), security alarm and immobilizer are some of the safety features that the CR-V comes with.Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), dual SRS airbags, Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS), security alarm and immobilizer are some of the safety features that the CR-V comes with. The price of the car falls within the range of Rs 17 Lakh to Rs 19 Lakh.

Audi Q7

Audi Q7 is a full size luxury SUV built on the customized version of the Volkswagen 7L platform. Enhanced with Audis Quattro all-wheel drive system, it has an option of three engines in petrol and diesel version - 3.0L V6 Turbo diesel that churns out 230bhp, 3.6L V6 delivering 276 bhp and 4.2L V8 producing 350bhp. It is available in three variants - 3.0 TDI Quattro, 4.2 FSI Quattro and 3.6 FSI Quattro. The engine is mated with a 6-speed automatic transmission. The estimated fuel economy is 7/9 km/L (city/highway). Its price tag starts at Rs 53.4 Lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).


Toyota Land Cruiser

Toyota Land Cruiser from the SUV segment is one of the most expensive models from Toyota in the Indian car market. The sturdy SUV will be powered by a 4.5 litre V8 engine with an output of 282 bhp and a 6-speed automatic gearbox. The engine comes with the reputation of providing better performance and fuel economy compared to the petrol version that is available in the Indian market.
Bigger wheel arches and bumpers, thick and chrome surround grille gives the SUV a classy appeal. Toyota Land Cruiser Prado comes to India as a completely CBU will be positioned against Porsche Cayenne, BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz M-Class, Audi Q5 and Volkswagen Touareg. It comes with the price tag of Rs. 84 Lakh (Ex-Showroom, New Delhi).

Mercedes-Benz GL-Class

Mercedes will be expanding its premium SUV segment in India with the introduction of Mercedes-Benz GL-Class. The seven-seater SUV will be available in both petrol and diesel versions. The petrol engine will come equipped with 5.5-litre capacity whereas the diesel variant will be powered by a 3.0-litre engine. The GL Class will impress Indian luxury car buyers with its royal styling, flawless performance, luxury features, and outstanding safety features.
Expected Launch Date: Late 2009Estimated Price Tag : Rs 75 Lakh


Tuesday, August 18, 2009

MUDSTORM

Yes this is a mud storm story. You have heard till today snow storm, sand storm, sun storm, but this is mud storm.

The city was covered with mud and watery soil all over. I was walking along the roads and people were enjoying the sweet mud fall all around. Sweet mud cause it tasted sweet and was good for health. The tall buildings, roads, cars and every thing was covered with thick soil same like snowfall. People were enjoying pushing each other in the puddle. People who came out fresh out of there house for a walk with fresh pairs of clothes were thrown in the puddle, so all city crowd was dirty enough not to be recognized.

When earth heated from below, lot of soil is thrown out and slashes of rains made the soil muddy. This was the every year scene especially after summer. It lasted for few days and it would stop. It was something different compared to the regular seasons.


But this year something different happened, Small River of mud started flowing on the road and it was a watery mix soil which we often experience after heavy rainfall. The river started flowing all across the city which was overflowing from the earth below with heavy rains. People enjoyed more in the river, jumping pumping. People climbed the hillock and swayed down to the bottom.

Slowly the river of mud was getting bigger and taller. People started climbing first floor of the building; I too climbed the floors for Safety. Huh !!! suddenly there was a gush of of huge mud reaching 6th floor I and many people went to the broken terrace of the building I caught hold of the tank ladder and got saved. Before my eyes 1000-2000 people were washed away and I could see lot of bodies covered with mud, dead flowing in the river of mud.

The huge river came to normal and vanishes and we came down to the ground level. Lot of people standing near the shops was washed away. It was scary next moment was very dangerous cause it started raining more heavily. With no rescue available all crisis depart fallen aback I thought I would be death today. We tried to reach the tallest shelter to keep ourselves safe. And again sudden gush of river mud came and I was 1 inch above the river looking for help.

My wife kicked me and woke me up from a lazy Sunday morning……..

Sunday, July 26, 2009

My lord abhi to do order.

Taj ke tandoor mein jala do kasab ke tang. Gateway ke dome mein do kasab ko phasi. Nariman house ke terrace se phek do kasab ki lash. Anda cell mein kasab ka kar do omlette. Tie him on the Taj dome and blowup the dome. Throw his body pieces in sea from where he came .. these are very less way’s people can do for Kasab.

Almost every Indian blood is boiling watching everyday legal proceedings. Its almost taking patience of all police staff family who died on 26/11 Mumbai attack. The Legal proceedings are so slow that a legal expert has said, that even if he is being given “hang him till death order”, it will take few more years since there is a long queue for mercy plea with President of India. Huss !!!! that is India… I think US had done a quick job of executing Mr Sadam.

God knows how much time it will take for the legal process to set his neck with a tight noose. What I feel is for such special cases, Indian Govt should allow to stone the terrorist till death in streets, same which is done in some Gulf countries. Indian Govt is spending crores for this coward terrorist just to protect. He does not deserve such luxury.

Mr Kasab is literally doing timepass to divert legal proceedings and just giving time to plan his rescue efforts by his people. Though he is a small kid but he is being trained, to tackle legal queries. He will not give up so soon as he knows the Indian Legal system will keep him alive, atleast for few more years.. till then another plane hijack or attack to release this fellow.

Pakistan the heaven for terrorist is always ready with new plans to put down India. They have open camps along the borders which train them, provide huge money to these young people and keep their family happy. Money coming from growing opium in Afghanistan and selling high end drugs all over the world. So this terrorism is not only killing us externally but also internally through drugs.

My request to court is please handover Kasab to public and let them take care of him and not waste time and money for futile issues.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Elephant rage

Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of crushing and killing any other land animal, from humans to lions and even rhino. They can experience unexpected bouts of rage, and can be vindictive. In Africa, groups of young teenage elephants attack human villages in what is thought to be revenge for the destruction of their society by massive cullings done in the 1970s and 80s. In India, male elephants attack villages at night, destroying homes and killing people on a regular basis. In the Indian state of Jharkhand, 300 people were killed by elephants between 2000 and 2004, and in Assam, 239 people have been killed by elephants since 2001. In India alone there are up to 200 elephant-caused human deaths every year, and in Sri Lanka around 50 per year.

Musth:
Adult male elephants naturally enter the periodic state called musth (Hindi for madness), sometimes spelt "must" in English. It is characterised by very excited and/or aggressive behavior and a thick, tar-like liquid secretion that discharges through the temporal ducts from the temporal glands on the sides of the head. Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. Domesticated elephants in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. Inzoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos.
Musth is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor is unknown: scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered by the fact that even the most otherwise placid of elephants may actively try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting a sample for analysis.

Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely, because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat.

The Hindi word "musth" is from the Urdu mast, which in turn is from a Persian root meaning "intoxicated".

The Story below is fiction based and nothing related to actual behaviour of an elephant.

I was traveling across the villages of assam in a bus last summer. I had heard lot about elephants around the jungles and stories about their rages. These giant tusked animals are basically used in jungles for carrying logs of wood and taming other wild elephants.

While traveling by the bus I suddenly heard a thump noise behind the bus. The bus was traveling a very low speed in the jungle ghat and it was an annoyed elephant banging the bus behind. The bus driver got scared and started galloping the bus, but the huge tusk animal did not leave the trail. Some how we managed to get down the ghat safely but the mammoth was still behind us. The locals got scared and were murmuring definitely something is wrong with this guy. As the bus stopped for people to get down the elephant had almost got one guy from the window but just missed few inches as the bus just started and moved along. The conductor informed the driver about the incident and asked him to move ahead, with out stopping till we reach the city.

Since it was a very rough terrain bus moved slowly and we could see the elephant following us. One of the Sadhu co passenger started his speeches…. Telling everybody who ever has done maximum sins he will be smashed by the elephant. Luckily the elephant got stuck in a big pothole on the road, we sighed a huge relief. But still few meters ahead we still saw following us. This continue for few hours and atlast we reached the city and the elephant vanished.

Later on the driver came out of his cabin and declared why she was behind us. Since the very bus had killed his baby elephant last year and its being behind the bus for quite a long time. I never traveled by road when in Assam and took airways to travel. Never know when a giant one will get musth.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Page 3

Page 3, Page 3, Page 3, Page 3, Page 3, Page 3, Page 3, Page 3, Page 3, Page 3, Page 3, Page 3, Page 3, Page 3, Page 3, Page 3, Page 3, Page 3, Page 3, Page 3 .





















Page 3 and Half, Page 3 and Half, Page 3 and Half, Page 3 and Half, Page 3 and Half, Page 3 and Half, Page 3 and Half, Page 3 and Half, Page 3 and Half, Page 3 and Half, Page 3 and Half .









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Pictures Mightier than Pen

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Bistro - Pune Restaurant Review

Below are the places you can fill your hungry cavities of teeth and stomach in Pune. There are lot of new restaurants setting up their kitchen’s every month in Pune so this list is not quite updated but those places I have visited frequently. I cannot provide feed-back on every restaurant.

INDEX:

Nagar Road :
BBQ – Nation, Shri Krishna, Red Chillies, Northern Frontier.

Kalyani Nagar:
Royal Orchids, AdLabs- Yo China / Yana / Baskin Robins, Polka Dots

Koregaon Park:
ABC Farms, Punjabi, River View

Dhole Patil Road:
Mainland China, Sigaree, Nandu’s Paratha, Madhuban

MG Road / East Street, Camp:
Hotel Arora Towers/Lounge, Juice World, Maz-o-rin, Leather Lounge

Shivaji Nagar :
Eden Court, Pride Executive, Rahul – Restaurant, Food Court- Pune Central, Nisarg, Shravan, Darshan, Aloha, Natural Ice-Cream Parlour, Kiva Lounge, Dominos Pizza, Manmeet, Food Court- Poona Hospital, Little Italy,

F.C. Road:
Vaishali, Sabree Dining Hall, Manmeet

J.M. Road:
Shiv Sagar, Subham, Kamat, Subhadra, Pizza Hut, Smokin Jones, Mc Donalds

Deccan Gym:
Darshan, Chitale Sweets/Snacks outlet, Goodluck - Irani

Main City:
Bedekar Misal, Durvankur Dining Hall

Chandani Chowk:
Ambrosia, Daulat, Kaveri, Up and above, Oasis, Khana Peena, CCD,

Baner:
Hotel Mahableswar, Hotel Sadanand, Rajwada

Aundh:
Shiv Sagar, Kobe, Fasoos, Mc Donalds

Pune Satara Road:
Basuri

Kothrud:
Food Court – Big Bazar, Sheetal Dining


Outside Pune:
Girivan – Mess, St Lauren - Hinjewadi


Feed-Back

MYSTAR ratings:-

1) Yucky
2) Ok quiet eatable nothing special
3) Can do mouth publicity
4) Repeat Visit, Repeat Visit
5) Awesome yummy tummy


Nagar Road : Rating: 5

BBQ – Nation: Wow really hot Barbeques dude you can enjoy a weekdays as well as a weekend package, the place is full so you better arrive early or wait… wait .wait……or go back home and start cooking. Well it’s a little bit something different the staff their will explain you the table process/rules, and then explain you the menu. The sigaree is then placed in the middle of the table and starts the delicious veg-nonveg rodies of items.
Veg bbq its paneer, baby potato’s, vegetables etc and non-veg bbq are mutton, fish, chicken. Your tank gets full with these bbq. Next is buffet lunch, you need to replace an empty tank for this lot of salad’s, deserts and of course lovely food blurp !!!!! I am full.
Please do not miss this place when in Pune its on Nagar Road behind Dass Showroom close to Aga Khan palace. Phone 32327788, 32327799



Shri Krishna: Rating: 4
As the rating says I do it again and again, well everything is good specially try paratha’s, Grilled sandwich, idli chilly fry, Vegetables Veg Hyderabadi is really cool hmm hmm my mouth is dripping now. They have that huge roti tokari you can carry it on your head with mix of paratha’s, roti’s, naan etc etc. Wash down with juice’s and coffee it’s a real good place for family and regular visit’s. Its in Viman-nagar near Baker company or Cummins.



Kalyani Nagar:

Royal Orchid: Rating:3
There are lot of options here I had opted for Pinxx restaurant, for buffet costing Rs 500 /- PP. Food is not spicy so good for diet guys and international guest, there are lot of salad’s option, desert, soups and food. I liked the Salad’s and fish food and chicken. Spicy guys won’t like much, but breakfast is quite filling for Rs 400/- with idli’s, sambar, chatni, Puri bhaji, samosa, Medu wada sambar, juice, tea, coffee and I liked various egg omlette’s too good to start a day, I had everything that day and did not had anything for whole day,…………. greedy dog !!!!!!. Its on the right hand side of Ad-Lab’s., Kalyani Nagar.


AdLabs- Yo China / Yana / Baskin Robins Rating: 4
Yes Yo China is good for Chinese I usually go for combo meals they are good meals specially chicken with combination of noodles or fried rice they are good filling for an afternoon lunch. Quite a small place have to reach early to catch a place. Khimchi is cool and fruit drinks punch can end you up in the bed for a nap.
Next Yana provides slizzers, Salad’s. I usually try Veg slizzers they are great try with rice combination



Polka Dots: I did not like it, you can try.

STILL COOKING .............

Monday, May 18, 2009

Election Jai Ho 2009

Well it was sweeping win for congress party this election season, to my surprise; I was expecting a hung parliament this year. But I think Gandhi family has played the magic again, and I too have high hopes with Mr. Rahul Gandhi and other young politicians, Also full marks should go to EC chief for free and fair/peaceful election, except incidents like Mr. Laloo running after press people with his gumcha during his voting time.

The voting was very low this time, major reason being names missing from the list, summer heat, people not interested in voting, and terrorist attacks has wounded the people badly mentally and physically. But Indian Democracy is not stoppable, congress has done a great job beating all the odds and silencing the opposition. Criminals are thrown out by people and they should be back into jails, cooling their heels.

Let’s hope the new Govt will start implementing held up reforms and do something new for an already battered economy. Rahul Gandhi still is raw but this five years will certainly geared him up for taking a PM position in next 10 Years, other young MP should contribute a lot to hope so our super power India. Right now it’s too early to predict something good it’s always a wait watch situation and certainly we do have positive signs of a stable Govt, with left thrown out in the Bay of Bengal.

In Maharashtra it was congress win because of fight within the local giants and poor campaign by other powerful parties. MNS got quite few vote packets, but they are still in baby feet stage in this huge democracy dome. Shiv Sena needs a change in leadership with much more powerful orator rather than just doing campaign in rural Maharashtra, they should boldly put their election agenda before people, because now Maharashtra would suffer with not a single Marathi manus in Delhi. Best way is patch of MNS and SS, making it stronger for next general election.

Mamtaji also played her cards wisely taking Singur issue in fore front, but if she keeps her motto like the left’s the progress of WB would again remain an issue. She should really put WB on progress track Best luck and happy fishing.

Well there is fresh blood from North, South, East, West of India next five years would certainly be fruitful for our economy with Mr. Manmohan Singh heading the super fast train.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

REHMAN MANZIL

In a small town, a family named Kumar’s lived happily, the head of the family had a small business, with their only son and a small bungalow. Behind the bungalow lived his driver call Rehman, he was little arrogant but honest and kind hearted and dedicated to his master. He was always interested in baksheesh from his master but never received one. The place were he lived was a little garage with his three little daughters.

Rehman used to take master’s son Chinto, everyday to school and back home and treated him like his son. Rehman used to take Chinto to park’s, Garden’s and playarea every evening.

The Kumar’s were doing well in business, slowly everything grew big, the house the kids, cars and the driver’s garage too. The Kumar’s where very gentle by heart so Rehman’s big family got extended garage and the family remained happy with master’s kindness. The whole family got dedicated to Kumar’s service. Still Rehman was expecting baksheesh from Kumar family, he did not get it. One day the grown up Chinto was driven by his driver, stop suddenly in the middle of the road and asked him Master never gave me baksheesh for my loyalty till date, chinto looked up and said keep driving you will get it.

Soon it was marriage time of Rehman daughter’s and he did not have any money for the huge expense, but Mr Kumar gave lumpsum of amount for each daughter and got three daughters married off happily.

It was old age time, chinto took over the control of the business, and Rehman was quite old to drive, chinto asked him to retire and stay at the garage whatever time he wishes. Few years later daughters used to visit their ailing father in the garage, Chinto took care of the loyal driver till his death. After his death he named the garage as Rehman Manzil, which was the big baksheesh given to Rehman after his death.

The story sound fiction, but this relationship does not exist nowadays.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Speeding Father

Once upon a time there was a family of four Mother-Father, Son-Daughter, they lived happily in a quiet some village, father was a farmer, mother was a housewife and children still in school, the kids were bright in study and always kept their family pride high. They had a bullock-cart, buffaloes and goats to help with their daily needs. It was a happy family. The parents expected to educate their kids in a good education institution after schooling in city, but had no money to do so.

There was a bumper crop in the farmer’s field this year and he had gain lot compared, to yesteryears. So the farmer decided to buy a two wheeler for himself and family to drive between village and city. But he rode the bike very fast zipping across the roads, the mother was much concern about his speed, she needed to slow him down but was in vain to pacify the speed.

One fine day the father was riding across the road, he met his son he stopped by and his son asked why do you ride so fast, he replied life is very short need to cover the road as max as possible in short time, next he met his daughter, he replied to her nobody can beat me in speeding around, next he met his wife, he replied to her I want to earn lot of money so running around very fast to earn it. Next he met GOD he asked why are you speeding so much, do you love me so much, don’t you think the people you left behind are important than me. He nodded and sped across, he stopped for a while had a thought and returned back to the same road, and found the GOD his SON DAUGHTER and WIFE vanished.

He woke up from a bad dream and sold his bike and was back to his bullock-cart.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Gloomy Economy

BAD BAD BAD are the days with recession and its para effects in the world economy.Its sad to read and see those news. From rags to riches and back to rags is the story around.The downfall in US economy has hit badly the major world economy.People losing their job, business slowing down/closing down. The lower class people are the most affected and they are so poor they cannot afford the poverty. Wish we could have n number of Mahatma Gandhi's around in this worse kind of situation atleast the Mahatma would have ensure two time meals for poor and lower embedded people. By grace of laxmi lord the creamy class are still enjoying the luxury of life, not even a single inch of compromise of the situation and getting affected by the
situation.




Wish Mr Karve's family planning deviced would have being a big hit that time, he cannot go ahead with his project. The population issue would have been resolved and Govt forced to think about the country men. The team of 5 sisters and 5 brothers is now a team of army and still going strong ahead to have atleast two kids for their lovely family with a boy and girl child or plus if two are girls, its a scary situation for India in terms of population. In rural area the factory wombs are busy churing rice paddy fields just sow them they are up in the market after nine months, no comments from me for minority community. The urban side are right now busy taking care of their retirement plans with two kids and bank balance trim full with EMI cuts.




Middle/upper class, familys are busy getting to get their kids to top most educational institutions without a second thought are we killing them internally as few ounce brain can torelate these bulky ship school bags, again worried, them to get stabilise them in their recession time and good times.




Well thats India, going with Satyam, so the greed of money has again taken toll of investors, India IT Image and many many things, as this is just the tip of IT-burg. Well currently the gentlemen on the board and employees are working to clear "Raju bangaya Gentlemen" magic to reality. I wonder how how how how can this B Rama-langda Raju, walk through straight and perfect for so many years and putting so many people in jeopardy and people losing their life savings into bulls and bears claws, what i feel there makes a real sense of M A Y T A S is the mirror image of S A T Y A M and now both cannot face each other being Mr R A J U ne U J A R diya saab ki jindagi. The greed is for 1000 crores, 5000 crores and more and more till they get really stuck in this Zero's cob web with no signs of getting out. Question is really they need that money for their current needs and life, not possible a real talented guy cannot earn so much with honesty and dignity. Truly said by Mr Narayan Murthy respect, honesty and dignity are the real crores one earns in this world. He is off the dirty linen to get washed off.



The ripling affects is more in EU and America with layoffs and layoffs everyday, so come Monday its a bad way to start the week, probably these voilent economy need to be given a second thought by Mr BO. US markets layoff is in bulk probably its a credit market where business and normal people run their day to day activites on credit cards. In India definitely the potential savings capacity is humungous which has help atleast the economy not come to zero. People in US do not have huge saving plans, since Govt takes care for their retirement plans. Also in India huge amount of black money is stored in the backyard. Probably the market should get streamline say after one year with atleast people having their regular activities on.

I am not a economist but, the feeling is like can't we set the market to neutral stage rather than always gearing up on top gear and low gear in a much safer way, this would help steady growth of all economies, cause in the above scenario the hand to mouth people get ruined away and mouth-ful of people always remain on a higher gear.Small scale industries have almost closed down their activities, with no orders around big industries scaling down their activities and seasonal business almost vanish. Pre - Christmas period seems to be a hustle and bustle period for industries in India, they get huge amount of orders during this period but this time due to recession in US, most of the units manufacturing gifts items have shut down. You can see almost major shopping malls, restaurants, departmental stores running empty with hardly any smile left on the salesman faces. The sudden gush of workforce which was running towards employment, recruitment are slashed badly.



Going forward hoping for speedy recovery of Mr.Economy, Lets wait for the best.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Traffic in Pune:

Start early morning to office is heaven on Pune roads, its winter and the thick - thin fog still gazing over the river water. Traveling through the fog, racing over the cracked road is a real experience. Riders wearing bandit queen covers on their face to protect themselves from icy winds. I consider my self lucky having metallic cover around me and get protected from winter. The good old cycle riders are having a good time generating hot waves in their body while peddling themselves. The roads in Pune are like travelling through thick and thin waterways which travels after a heavy rain. Few roads are like Hema Malini cheeks which is compared by Mr Laloo Prasadji. Some are like camel walking on the sand dunes.


Few hours later the roads are filled like a huge bunch of mice running towards a direction after a signal turns Orange, Red or Orange, Green. Center of the city in the middle of the day, the only way to move is sideway like a crab, if you drive rash you are alive end of the day, if you follow rules you end up in the grave. Be it Two wheels / Four wheels or six wheels if you can drive in Pune city, you got a license in the any part of the world. Signals and cops , they do not have any other work so they are standing on the corner of the road, watching the flow helpless.


Traveling through wide cement roads, every single day I have to see dogs who are smacked down by heavy vehicles, Remember my good days staying abroad where pet are treated more than a human being. Dogs sorry !!! canines and bulky pussy cats get treatment of a human kiddo. They too are quite discipline and walk in their own style rather than behave like our local dogs. Lucky doggies. So these smacked dogs later turned to plain flat leather.


I won’t describe much of Pune road traffic since all the readers are aware about the traffic, but need to specifically mention about red tanks the PMPML, dare you give a challenge to these tanks, you need to give them way like VIP’s convoys. Recently the mishaps have decreased; heard drivers are trained to drive the bus with valid license.


It’s a great curiosity what runs through the mind of foreign guest visiting Pune city? I asked one of my foreign guest, the reply I got was from his no expression on his face or rather what to say about Pune traffic, since some first time guest would be a state of shock such countries exist in this world.


If you go into hardcore area of Pune having narrow lanes and streets one would be amaze how these spoke less vehicles dodge each other, if you watch these scene from a satellite you will feel its like ants not running in one line and connecting there antenna’s and getting themselves away. People living besides these narrow lanes must be allergic to oxygen since they would be addicted to more carbon monoxide and carbon dixiode. Let give them pure oxygen they will be dead.


One of my cousin from US was here after a long time and as a habit he fasten the seat belt before starting the adventure trip to Pune City, I told him the cops will fine if you put on you seat belt And sitting besides me, the drive kept his mouth open and heart pounding while zig zagging through the traffic jungle. Next he awarded me WRC (World Rally Championship) award.
Rick guys are jumping jacks zoom zoom and they make you reach your destination in no time. While the ride they ensure you are jumping while sitting behind ding dong ding dong, they will ensure you are ready milkshake. The three wheeler fighter planes have extra zoom power to move around the city.


Round abouts in city are the common signs to take turn left, right, up, down.

Mumbai Travel Trip


Recently I happen to visit Mumbai.
Started early in the morning, took the normal highway till Lonavala. It was really nice to start early in the morning, nowadays the old Mumbai Pune highway is really free of traffic. I remember 10-15 years back when I used to travel by Asiad bus it took round about 6-12 hours to reach Pune or sometimes never reach. Both the ends would have serpentine queues of trucks, buses and cars. It was chaos all over.


Now it’s easy to reach both the ends. While reaching Wakad there was traffic jam as a cyclewala was knocked down and he was lying in the middle of road, a cop trying to manage the traffic. He took the guy in a six seater, I think he had passed off since his cycle was kept aside in a scrambled state. Poor guy, sometimes its their fault cause in a quick of second they show their hand to turn and get goofed up / ride in the middle of the road. Have to take a extra precaution while driving in Pune city.


Reached lonavala in a flash, stopped at a snack joint. It was really chilly in Lonavala I had to wear my overcoat to get myself warm. Had a vadapav of 15 bucks..phew that costing dude, we used to have it for Rs 2.50/- few years back on the same highway. Started on express way after Lonavala it was a smooth ride, though my car has little less power we reached chembur in another few hours.


Well here we are hot and sweating. We reached relatives apartment so as usual the fan was running at its full capacity, he was trying to keep us cool. Never mind he cannot help the situation. Cause Mumbai afternoon was like a summer one with heat at its peak. Later had a nice lunch and a little nap.


So it was time to go ahead few stations, and there I was stuck in the traffic since some tube railway work was on, the traffic was moving at snail pace.I quickly upped my a/c and was feeling little better. Near the International airport the traffic was little better. I reached my good old place where I was born and brought up. Recollected all the good old memories, still not crowded might be because of a weekend. Very much people waiting for bus with less patience. Cause in Pune people have lot of patience on the bustop. Probably I suggest the authorities to keep some recreation activities on the bus-station, so that they can have some nice time around. I have stopped travelling or rather do not travel in Pune's city bus. By the time the bus comes I make two trips to my destination on my vehicle. But if you see faces of people waiting for the bus on Pune bus-stop they are really quite and clam, even though a pack bus comes up they do not make any hurry to catch it, but in Mumbai people clamped to the bus whether they are old or young. (BEST- Bomb Errr Still Travelling) (PMT - Permanent Mental Torture). My wife still travels in Pune city bus, how is a big question, cause she reaches the destination perfectly. I keep wondering how on earth she does it. A big round of a plause to her.

Going ahead the flyover city is still struggling with traffic, cause by the time they finish with flyover build, another lakhs of monster vehicle are ready to have their jabb.I was near a location where a famous theatre was located which is demolished and it is replaced with a commercial cement block. We used to visit this theater frequently so had a good memory of it. Those were the good times with less ticket and snacks rates. We guys could afford the tickets with our pocket money and had a cheekful of snack. Now I do not dare to visit a nearby Multiplex.


Next had a overnight halt and it was still very hot and fans trying to take over the heat. I tried to pip out of the window to have some fresh air in the middle of the night but it was worse cause in the middle of the night the traffic was flowing at full and pollution at its peak. Phew guess what happens in year 2018.Had a good night sleep.


Morning 10am it started burning again, as we had destination to reach in middle of the city. Started my journey the flyovers are great in some areas so good to get rid of traffic snarls. On the highway had a glimpse of my childhood place and reached the old Airport where the Centaur Hotel was located. Its demolish now, I don’t know what its replaced with, but the Centaur Hotel had its real glory with a nice architecture, the small windows really impressed me and had huge structure, authorities should have made a monument of it, can't help cash hungry guys cannot wait to put it down. There were lot of cops on the highway in wake of the shootout at CST and Taj Mahal Hotel. Good atleast they woke up for few days.... they will be back to their old routine once things calm down. They are busy holding up poor guys and the real guys are planning their next activities with a feel free spree. Intelligence please be more intelligent to skip the politicians and reach the action guys directly.


Reached the destination for a marriage ceremony, had to encircle many a times to reach it, since there were lot of one way's coming, but people of Mumbai are enthusiastic to give proper direction for a new person who has lost his way. In Pune ask a way, you are lost what he said or it’s a blunt reply do not waste my time or it’s a reply you are mad to ask a way, puneties have lot of time to encircle the city whole day. Finally got the ceremony Hall, so it’s packed with millions of people inside, noisy, hot, music playing at its top of the voice and top of it huge hot lights. Well Pune has advantage as it has lot of Garden and open air locations for occasions, also very good location for pinic with close vicinity. Mumbaikars are not so lucky for it. Due to very hot conditions I had to take lot of cold beverages and thirsty drinks. Had a good lunch and pushed out for Pune.


I was in a hurry to reach Pune since was missing the fresh air and Chilly winter, phew at last reached Pune and gasped for fresh air and back to winter proofs. Had a nice hot vapor shot and slipped into warm blanket wear.

Breaking News

Breaking NEWS:
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Open your junkie box for the latest around you, your eyes balls keep dribbling along with breaking news scrolling plate. Whether it’s a poor child getting sucked by a tube well or stampede in a temple. So my question is what was the breaking news when we had a single relay of Doordarshan few years back. There was nothing that time to bog down your brainy wires. A single big glares news reader would read the news and vanish in few mins.

Now the screen is filled with all kind of stuff, the viewers are not really getting what to read and what not. One fine day I was watching a channel which did not had any decorations around the dummy guy, it was a very good view and I was happy to see something different.So Whats so Breaking about the News,Nothing present a mouse wearing elephant skin and trying nerves of janta, Also help people to jammed their head inside the panel. Sometimes I feel people will fall into the picture tube and end up in the borewell tube along with the kiddo, so that would be another BN.

Channel flip flip !!!The Real BN are really informative and help issue to get resolved, but its sometimes really irritating showing a snippet again again several times, its amore of cartoon film than a breaking news. Snippets like politicians slapping around, swearing around etc.A particular news came up showing un manned car traveling across the Delhi street, the channel was unnecessary stretching the news whole day, finally they displayed the trick, the man sitting besides the driver seat was driving the car stretching his feet. I feel News channel are pulling the viewers unnecessary to see the breaking news, it’s like dragging a pet dog to have bath with soap and water.

Channel flip flip !!!In crisis situation the reporters are doing a good job. Take e.g. of Mumbai floods, Bihar Floods, Mumbai bomb blast and latest Taj Mahal Hotel /CST bombarding / firing. The reporters had put their life on risk with nearly bullets swishing around them. They were present near the scene till the last terrorist was down that news really breaked me from heart, I was really helpless since wanted to do about the situation. God should have given me super power like Superman or Spiderman, I would have really cleared the situation in minutes killing each and every terrorist and saving out defence force lives. God please give me some super power !!!! Hope by now politicians must have realized the importance of our independence for which Mahatma Gandhi had fought.


Channel flip flip !!!Another good reporting of BN was Bihar floods, since reporters had put their every effort to reach the interior locations of flood affected area the ministers were busy fighting with each other to take credit of implementation of disaster management system. INDIA DOES NOT HAVE ANY DISASTER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. Can you hear me I am yelling it. As rightly said by Mr Ratan Tata during Taj Mahal hotel crisis, we do not have disaster management system in India, authorities in Mumbai had made some disaster management team after Mumbai floods, seems its limited only to floods and cannot be implemented to tackle flood of blood. Disaster management itself is in disaster. Going back to Bihar floods the situation was horrifying, we would have not know the situation unless the reporters would have reached there, the various news were heart rendering. Due to the diversion of the river most of the part got drowned in water. People were running for their life and ministers were busy with chopper rides and discussing issues. Once a crisis start ministers start cribbing of not having local funds and keep begging with government. There was no food available for people living in shelters; anyways Bihar is mockery of democracy. I do not know what these flooded affected people are doing now. Probably shift to Mumbai and stay on footpath and earn two square meal. Thanks Mumbai you have given a lot to endless people, sorry for bleeding you 'n' number of time. Thanks for the breaking news, another good example of politicians are here for nothing. Finally news channel people collected lot of help and delivered to affected people.

My thought goes back to British Raj, the states which are in a pathetic state should be given to British Raj on contract basis to improve there state probably another BN. (IMP Clause: Cannot rule any of the state).

Channel flip flip !!!Just to recall regarding Bihar floods, some people were yelling at the top of their voice please send Barkha Dutta to help out !!!, unfortunately she was posted in US for other reporting. Hey Barkha probably you could be next PM of India.

Channel flip flip !!!Mumbai floods no change yet, the situation remains the same people praying every year not to rain beyond limits, Best of luck for next year rains. Yet another good example of BN.

Channel flip flip !!! So how about breaking news of celebrity inpatient in a hospital. Crazy Indians please stop the disturbing the legend. He himself being a simple person has lot of blessings from everybody he will live another century with same kind of humbleness. I am sure he is jumbled tumbled with coming into BN again and again. Please let him live and work in peace. Great guy I am too his silent fan for last many many many years.

Channel flip flip !!! Never in Breaking News defence guys at end of every border of our country. They never come in news for the life and dead game they are playing every second. Siachan Glacier is only in news when VIP visits the top of the world, war zone. I think reporters cannot hold for more than few hours to have breaking news. Its truly unsung saga and not just an online gaming stuff to play.

Channel flip flip !!! 100 dead 15 injured I cannot believe that stuff with that kind a of RDX blast, the pieces of body are / cannot be counted, it’s a minced body part spread across the Taxi blast recently, we don’t know who he was and we still don’t know who he is ? The life the of chicken is far more better than human being cause he is sure to get minced someday without a thought, but we getting chopped across is something not a BN. People around the blast watching body parts falling in front of them is heinous crime than a murder. There are still body lying unidentified in hospitals.

To end with BN BLOG is hats off to the back team of all channel providing real BN, risking their life and we sitting peaceful and safely in front of telly tuby.