One DAM a million DAMNED!!!

The morning of 24/11/2006, dawned cold and grey with little or no hope for a million passengers stranded on the national highway 47, connecting the neighbouring states of Kerala and Tamilnadu. Pilgrims, Truck/bus Drivers, shared a common ground with the well heeled and families on some errand or the other across the border for over a day and a half. A problem, that arose of inadequacy, of water supply between the two neighbouring states.
The stage for such a wide scale blockade shifts to the state of Kerala, to a serene town of Vandiperiyar wherein a dam called Mullaperiyar lies, built nearly a century ago by the British during their occupancy of the country. This dam though in the state of Kerala is the major irrigation water supply for another city situated in Tamilnadu called Madurai and its surroundings. Earlier this year as the story goes the Tamilnadu Govt., took permission of the Supreme Court to raise the existing level of 138 to 142 which was immediately followed by a bill passed by the Kerala Govt. halting the increase Blah blah blah blah…..
Looks like the local political bodies were lying low awaiting a chance to stir the hornets nest, but anyways there was a disruption in service between both the states and a loss too that accompanied such an action. Being there at the scene was kinda like an awakening witnessing a traffic jam several kilometers long on a stretch of road that used to be covered in less than 40 minutes, watching people live on so little stranded helpless and watch the sun streak across the sky in a blazing chariot scorching the tar and making people seek shelter in the unlikeliest of places… under a bus/truck! What a sight!
The wastage of food oh a different story altogether. Come to think of it, it was food that brought me to this scene. Transporting fresh fish from my native place to home was my relatives who were stuck in this mother of all traffic jams the two states had witnessed in the past. I was brought in to transport the fish from their stranded vehicle to my home by means of a two wheeler as they were the only means of transport that passed by freely without hindrance.
Every passing two wheeler was awarded by a scowl and furtive glance probably cursing the rider of his freedom… the really funny thing was that a one particular point there were a group of pilgrims who on a mission of peace and devotion were hurling expletives and shouting at another group, but who can blame them taking into consideration the background of every one stranded…
Truly November 26, 2006, sure dawned a cold and grey morning for every one stranded on the highway for no reason of theirs but for the whims and fancies of a few politicians with their electoral promises to fulfill.

Private no more

Pretty much a routine I today IT world is the phenomenon of hired cabs taking on the public transportation role.
In this era of fast paced everything it comes as no surprise when a person is out to make a quick buck on the company. This is a daily scenario in the life of every commuter who waits in bus stops. Well it certainly helps the public in getting from point a to point b with absolutely no hassle sans the jostle in the cab itself, but come to think of the company which pays the driver to come back to the company at the earliest. The plight of its employees is in the hands of the cab driver who is infact busy making an easy buck on the side. Well not that the person goes out of his way to transport the public but still isn’t it the companies valuable time out that is taken advantage of?
Coming to a scene I happened to witness the other day. A friend and I was standing outside a pastry shop which happened to be just beside a bus stop, a stop where people were crowding waiting for a bus to come. Then all of a sudden some of them started rushing to a mini van which had halted where a bus should have. The amount of people in that got in the van would have easily crossed his daily bata( money given to the driver per day). The van was a satyam cab. As the van pulled away in its place stood a HAL bus, followed by one of Infosys, TCS and to top it all a tanker lorry. Whew it makes you wonder ain’t there a thing called private? Another thing one wonders is where is the government run buses and how do they fare in between this stiff competition.

Decibel Demons

Riding back from my aunt’s place early this morning, the music playing a soothing tune spoiled only by the steady humdrum of my bikes engine dreaming about how my day is going to turn out I would never have thought that it would lead me to seriously think about such a topic.
Getting back to the thought that lead to this blog is me being sandwiched in between three auto-rickshaws (small, three wheeled, rear engine vehicles). Now imagine a scene where you have a walkman ear plug in your ear with a decently loud soothing music and riding atop a royal Enfield bullet. It is bound to make a ruckus no doubt. Well all this noise was suddenly drowned out in the sandwich I was stuck in… the ricks emitted an ear splitting unpleasant noise absolutely alien to any of the other states or in-fact cities/metros. My o my it was certainly a relief to the ear once I overtook the ricks.
This incident immediately jogged my mind to the previous day when a friend and I was sitting beside the road watching the world go by at a busy intersection. Here out of the hundreds of cars that passed by the traffic light the only noises emitted came from the ricks that were buzzing past shuttling passengers from one point to another. The sound was so overpowering, that the sound, after some time came to symbolize the traffic flowing smoothly at the intersection.
After coming back home I happened to glance at an old newspaper lying around and guess what staring back at me out of the newspaper was an article on the street I was sitting only a few hours earlier being judged as the loudest street in the whole city. The article even went to the extent of quoting a few shopkeepers on the sound levels of the street with the traffic and that they need to switch on to a/c mode to beat the heat. For once even the businessmen were thanking the government for passing the law that prohibited the entry of auto-rickshaws into the street.
Well the mentions of an auto-rickshaw always draws out a linguistic dialogue that is never pleasant to the ear. Never grateful ever frightful an auto driver and his ride. No one ever cares for this contraption but then why does it run, probably just to irritate the passers and make us be thankful for other means of transport.

A brawl. The perfect dessert.

Tummy full to the nostrils with a rich staple of ghee smothered rice and chutney, the cool night air gently enveloping you with its chillness and the moon peeping out of the clouds every now and then provides for the perfect setting after a good dinner.
This scene is suddenly interrupted by the hollering of two people shout some gibberish which I don’t think either of them understood. In a matter of seconds a huge crowd forms around the two people, using their fists to get the point across. After a few minutes the whole scene becomes quite clear to everyone gathered around. Apparently one among the two did something that actually offended the local and the local was beaten up really bad.
The local played upon the sentiments of an equally hot blooded local and together they start beating up the other person who incidentally happens to be a malayali. A malayali alone… not the case. Pretty soon his friends to join in and it becomes a drunken brawl. The malayalis flying is directions previously unheard off, thrown on parked bikes and pinned under bikes. Pleading for sympathy pretty hard to come by they get trashed left, right and center.
This brawl actually provided quite a number of passers by to actually vent their days frustrations on the unsuspecting youth who happened to hurt the sentiments of a local. Noticeable among the whole fight was this huge built person armed with his helmet belting the day light out of one of the youths.
Suddenly as if on cue the whole scene stands frozen in time. It takes a few second for the overseeing crowd to understand why these people have stopped. The scene relaxes with the blast from a police siren. One short burst and the whole area becomes civilized and one starts to wonder why he is actually standing there.
The police cruiser moves along and just as it turns around the corner one of the locals notice the main character of the malayali gang talking on the phone. This infuriates the local like a stone thrown at a beehive and the fighting continues with even more vigor.
Pretty soon the energy levels and the blood preassure of the participants drop several notches bring the whole scene becomes one of hugs and pardons.
Well having seen this whole scene and actually staying away watching the whole drama unfold was like taking the balcony ticket to an action scene from some movie. Now the scene getting boring by the minute has lost its charm to hold the attention of people, who were slowly filtering away going on to catch a bus, ride or drive on and walk back home.
This brawl provided for the perfect dessert to a whole some dinner. Now maybe this is what dinner with a show means.