A race to beat boredom

Returning back from my native place, kanjirapally, a couple of days back I had this strange encounter.

The roads stretched like a never-ending black serpent, the traffic dotted the tarmac like the spots on a diamond back, the sun beginning it's descent, cast  a spectral glow over the landscape. The setting magnificent and yet the solitude still was ever omnipresent. The speedo read a 100kms an hour and nothing to beat the silence and the hum of the diesel engine than the occasional honk by the insensitive. just another lazy drive on one of the zillion roads stretching across the country. 

The radio was play country music and with no source of other entertainment I decided to play with the other drivers, racing. Not being a professional racer I guess the playing field was equally placed. Now, to find a willing participant is tough as not many want to take you up on it. Finally after 15 minutes I get a willing driver in a much smaller car, a santro.  It zipped, it overtook and kept on moving... Well very soon the whole thing got extremely competitive.  Both of us not willing to compromise and hence the race went on. 

The guttural lyrics of Leonard Cohen was suddenly broken by the wail of an ambulance in the distance. A peek at the rear view mirror showed the ambulance at quite a distance, but being the only vehicle in the country capable of covering vast differences quickly with the co-operation of any and all drivers, it was but moments that the ambulance was right behind me. Being the dutiful citizen and a member of the social strata I move to an empty lane and let the ambulance overtake me. 

The ambulance overtakes and with it a dozen ambulance chasers... These are people with the urge to reach a destination faster using the ambulance as a bulldozer to clear the way.  Along with the dozen cars go the santro I was racing with. 

That's unfair I say to myself and gun my car down the road, eating up kilometers and overtaking other cars with ease and very soon it's the ambulance, the santro and I. Well never one to give Ito cheaters I overtake the santro the ambulance and speed on. Well the roads of Kerala are also littered with cops and speed guns, not wanting to get caught and fined I decide to be an ambulance chaser myself. I did not have to wait long and soon settled into a groove behind the ambulance... The santro behind me. 

Well the pleasure was short lived and the ambulance turned off from the highway to the city and soon it was back to me and the santro jostling for position. I think to myself, god this fellow can be persistent, but the four lane highway soon came to an end and the old single lane started... With the number of car increased the road just wasn't enough and only the most adept have any chance for moving forward...

The santro well although good on the four lane was not as fast on the single lane, showing that it was driven by someone not very familiar to the highways of the old... Well it works to my benefit and well since the driving just got more challenging there was no need to race... I just had to move ahead and reach home before the sun set... Well a distant possibility but hey  no harm in trying and setting goals.... 

Floored by 4x4-ing

Working in the plantations of the winding and densely green environs of Coorg is any jeep enthusiasts dream environment. This dream kingdom do come with its little adventures every once in a while and if you are not very careful the everyday is just another accident waiting to happen.

Being from the city I was pretty confident behind the wheel of any automobile and to boost it pretty cocky about it too... But I must say with a pretty heavy heart that it was disappointing when I heard that I had to undo or unlearn everything I knew about city driving before I got behind the wheel of a jeep.

Stepping into the cockpit of my uncles sturdy yet rugged Mahindra pick-up I felt mighty proud and also felt like there was nothing really that difficult but well that was before I put it in gear. First gear and a little throttle and hey it was like driving bumper cars. The jeep had a mind of its own and thats when realised that what my uncle said was true... I had to learn to drive again!

Follow a few rules and the jeep is your best friend on Tarmac and off it!

1. Drive slowly. This is a torquey engine so the moment you think your feet are peddle friendly back off, ease the vehicle to a decent speed and you really get going.

2. When off the road never ever loose your concentration! Take your eyes off the road and you can guarantee yourself in a ditch! Trust me I know! But the fun part is taking it out of the ditch! Ha ha ha. ( look back and laugh, at that moment you are grabbing for any idea that will help you).

3. Never try to speed your way through slush, always ease your jeep through it. Nurse it and you will come out of it with flying colours. Rush it and again you can guarantee yourself eating dirt, grime and slush!

4. When on four wheel drive alway remember to never ride the clutch! The jeep, like I began has a mind of its own. Just steer and be amazed at the way you overcome obstacles... To know how cross the obstacle and look back at the way you crossed!

5. When carrying its maximum pay load always be sure to drive with care. Slowly and without too much sudden acceleration.

Follow the above simple rules and you will definitely enjoy the joys of going 4x4! Learning from my mistakes and with the patient tutoring from my uncle I must say I was definitely. Floored by 4x4-ing!

Pockets of nostalgia

Being very new to the ever popular city of Chennai everything seems new and well it is also an exercise in getting to know all the umpteen different things that I have heard people harp over and over. To me the city is just another one of those cities that have been extremely popular during the British Raj and yeah the influence has certainly rubbed off on the city, this is quite evident in the architecture… Sadly it’s only the architecture that has the influences of the our European motherland, the people are still the same old same old.

The interesting aspect that I found quite pleasurable is the fact that no matter which locality you are in, in Chennai you always have that one house, shop, building, company, arch etc that seems to have forgotten time. In most cases any of the above said real estate stands in this little pocket of nostalgia, reminding everyone about the days gone by. Each having a story to it and each enriched as the days pass by.

Every day I pass by one of the cities exclusive locales and it’s just lovely to see old house as they jostle for position with sprawling modern bungalows… The modern houses although look fantastic and futuristic it still pales in comparison with the artistic grandeur of the age old bungalows. The intrinsic carvings and the elaborate awnings of the old buildings are unmatchable. The craftsmanship is outstanding. Not that I am biased about the modern way of doing things, but it’s just that the modern has a very artificial feel to it, not being too inviting in execution, not being too warm and comfortable and well very factory-ish if ever there is a term like that.

In a way I can say that we are partly biased to some feelings of nostalgia as it represents a set of memories that we choose to cherish and not let go of. I look at a old hose and think of the grandeur it once had I also stare in admiration at the fact that it is still holding good in these times of change and I applaud the owners for not giving in to greed and helping in maintaining that oasis of memories.

4x4 absolutely floored…

New years day and the jungle what could be a better combination. A trip into the know but yet unknown wilderness of the forests with cousins could only get better. I have often wondered what is it that catches the fancy of people who take their vehicles up steep inclines dotted with rock too mountainous for the ordinary car to overcome. Well the joy of going 4x4 is something that you got to experience first hand and in company as joyous as your family.

Although this is not my first time at it when you are actually at it for the first time after a gap of several years the adrenalin rush you get is superb. There is also the sense of accomplishment that makes you feeling like you have actually conquered something or rather tamed the wild.

Well the 4x4 experience has totally left me floored and looking out for more!!!!

Wave Towers

Travel in India is always fascinating and it also is scope for some very amusing observations. Traveling through some remote areas is even more hilarious when the people you travel with are obsessed with staying in touch. Be it a loved one, a close friend/confidant, friends, works or even casual acquaintances, the wonder called mobile phones have brought the world closer.

The urge to contact becomes even more frustrating when you accidentally receive a message asking to call immediately. Wondering what the emergency is, up goes your hand with the little wonder of mobile connectivity(the mobile phone). Strange is the sight of a person trying very desperately to catch a single wave and even stranger is the sight of the frustration the person exhibits once the couple of seconds of connectivity passes by!

The world has advanced quite a bit I must say from the era of land lines to high speed and advanced communications. But when we become addicts to the marvels of technology it sure provides a sight.

Recently on my trip to the lovely coffee hamlet of Coorg instead of the usual and overpowering aroma of the coffee plantations it was the hilarious sight of people atop roofs that caught my senses. Driving through the twisty roads is enough to grab one’s attention but the stranger sight of silhouettes on roof tops was a urge too irresistible to ignore.

Stopping at a hilltop and looking down at a retiring town I couldn’t but wonder how many of us have become slaves to communication. (Well for those of you who are wondering am I against communication I assure you I am not. I to have very so often become a slave to the above syndrome). On top of almost every house there were youngsters moving about in a very co-ordinated dance form trying to catch that one direction that provides an undisturbed communication channel.

Watching this dance of human wave towers is fascinating as it also brings about reactions of happiness, anger, frustrations and accomplishment. Thank god for the reactions otherwise we would have been reduced to rather strange mobile towers!

Relief

The feeling of relief never felt more clearer with an experience I had of late in the dusty hilly area of Madikeri. The town in itself is bustling with tourist activity, activity to the extent the town is able to cope up with. The terrain like all hilly towns is with a lot of inclines and sprinkled to it is the over flow of traffic on tiny roads.

Tourism apparently is the reason for the congestion but I hardly fail to understand what’s it that drove all these people out here! There is hardly anything but a few old buildings worthy of tourist status and even those buildings have been converted to government offices.

A meeting with a really close friend took me there after a lot of hurdles and potholes. Reaching the city, I rush to the spot I thought I decided to meet the person. Not seeing the person there I try to call but the electronic voice which is the source of resentment in the youth of today electrnically and without emotions informs that the number you are trying is currently switched off. Well as if it is any consolation the voice also asks if you want to leave a voice sms and proceeds to give directions as to how you can do so.

Well when you are in a fix as to what to do and how to proceed you tend to rush about town searching frantically. Up, down, left, right and even strangers become friends when you are in the maddening search of the person. You befriend a lot of people you normally wouldn’t even talk to or rather notice, you observe a lot more of the place and also get to visit every damn tourist destination the town has to offer.

The tension rising with every step, your ears hot with the over heating but useless mobile phone, your brain trying hard to conjure up scenarios to both extremes the good and the bad… the bad usually over powering the good and that I turn leading you to overlook a lot of thing you normally would have looked into.

Then out of the blue I get a call from an unknown number. Since I have given my number to a couple of strangers today I call back and was immediately calmed by the voice on the other end. Although the voice through the other end was angry, frustrated and with enough force to send shivers down my spine, strangely today it felt totally relaxing and soothing.

The feeling of relief is a something that you really don’t get to savour very frequently very often but today it was the only one that mattered the whole day. Thankyou.

Glutton Guillotined…

A traveler traveling to a new place always loves to sample the local cuisine. Well if local cuisine is not something that is new then the next on the list is the favored local hangout. Well riding out on a Sunday morning just for the heck of it and for the pleasurable company, I did not think that it would turn out to be a food lover’s delight. The route to the eatery was pretty straight forward. The quote someone once made famous came to mind. It goes like this all roads lead to Rome, I am pretty sure you must have chanced upon the saying at least once in your lifetime and that basically summed up the road that lead to this quaint little joint. From NH4 once you enter Pune keep going straight and as you hit a T junction take the right and the immediate left straight down takes you to one of Pune’s favourite burger joint, Burger King.

The interiors are not at all what you expect it to be. The name burger king conjures up in your mind images of a posh swanky joint, well apparently not for the regulars. It’s a place you come to chill out not make a style statement. The seating is placed in between greenery and they have tried at creating a more casual ambience but it leaves room for more. Standing in line to place my order my eyes are drawn to a very strange and unique signage stuck near the cash register. The sign proclaimed;

If you do not have 10 – 30 minutes
to spare for a burger you have come
to the wrong place. We know that
you know of places that deliver a
burger in under a minute
but we do not do so
as we do not believe in a
“Quickie Burger”.

Intriguing in itself you tend to wonder aren’t they a bit to arrogant to ask you to give them nearly half an hour of your time for a burger. Well with this thought in mind I place my order of Jumbo beef Burger, Beef steak Burger(yep you read right Beef! Wow!), chicken surprise and an order of fries. This I must say is gluttony to the core. I show the cashier where I am seated and I return to my friends. Sitting with them I realize that the sign I read made a lot of sense. Well they just want to make you have a good time with your friends or with whoever you have chosen to come. In the busy lives we live an half hour for burger with good company is time well spent.

Well the burgers eventually arrive and my eye literally stopped short of popping off. The size of the burger was hmmm large is too small a word, it gigantic! Never in my entire life, although too short have I come across such a large burger and it’s cheap. This monstrosity of carbohydrates proteins and fat comes at just Rs. 50/- I don’t think I saw anything more than Rs. 60/-.

Well the order just didn’t get finished but its sure did satisfy the starving stomach of hungry traveler but the underlying message is that the message the joints policy indirectly helped in some good times with lovely food and enjoyable company. A glutton guillotined with a burger that wasn’t a quickie.