Saturday, November 23, 2013
Volvo Bus Accidents : Bangalore KSRTC and Hyderabad National Travels Safety review
What happened?
Being a frequent Volvo bus traveler, I was shocked to read about the horrific accidents that recently happened near Bangalore. Two Volvo buses caught fire and innocent lives were lost. Without going into too much detail of the incidents, I would like to speculate about why it happened and whether lives could have been saved. Actual details in following links- Forbes article talking about the accidents
- Times of india article about the Volvo's statement about the accidents
Who was responsible?
From preliminary reports, its not clear whether it was a mechanical failure or human error. Volvo also seems to be in the loop to provide any technical help. However, lives once lost are no more with their families so this exercise might even be futile for their families. If not Volvo then did the driver overspeed? True, the buses are powerful than regular buses and drivers need special training before handling them. Unfortunately, to cut costs safety becomes optional in India, sadly. Bus operators carry unsafe cargo, have just a single driver for long haul trips, don't place fire extinguishers in buses and other tricks to make more money.What can be done?
The government already has institutions like RTO to inspect vehicles and issue road worthiness certificates. However, we all know better how to get things done otherwise, right? RTO is a den of the corrupt and greasing palms culture. (I have first hand accounts of officers being bribed in Indiranagar RTO for providing license or passing students in the exam.) Tour operators should keep safety a primary concern and not cut corners.Passengers responsibility
I traveled few days back in a Volvo and I made sure I checked the fire extinguisher hear the bus door entrance, the location of the emergency exits (there are 4 exits), whether hammer is present to break glass if the need arises and the sun roof as well. If you travel, its your life. So you should be prepared and have options ready.Thursday, December 1, 2011
Ticket Please!
Ticket please!
I was running to catch the morning 7:45am Churchgate local from Dadar. My life had enough problems in addition to having an expired train pass. So I said to myself, "Chal beta ticket nikal.".
As destiny would have it, the line was huge.
"Saala, jab naseeb hi #$% to kya karega pandu!"
People still in the queue were getting restless as the guy issuing tickets was taking "strategic timeouts" so long that entire T20 match would be finished by the time he returned from one.
I had managed to take a ticket and was in time to catch the train even though I had to cross the foot over bridge.
Pleased with myself that I was on time at the station, I was walking towards platform number 2.
Dadar station foot over bridge was crowded as usual. From students rushing to college, working people desperate to get to office, hawkers ready to take their space on the bridge, every movement on the bridge had a purpose. Even I was going to be a part of something special that day, and I didn't know it till that point of time!
"Sir, please believe me I had a ticket to Churchgate", a college girl pleaded to a ticket examiner.
"I had it in my hand just sometime back before entering the bridge".
"Then show me the ticket", was the ticket checkers' brief and equally gruff reply.
"I can't find it now sir, I may have dropped it somewhere".
"Is that my mistake?".
"No sir, but I request you to leave me, I am getting late for my exam".
"Come over to the station masters' office, pay the fine and then I shall leave you".
"Please understand sir, all my year long effort depends on todays exam."
"I can't change the rules for you, sorry".
The examiner seemed unmoved.
"Here's the ticket you were searching", I said handing it to the examiner.
"The lady had dropped it from her hand unknowingly and I thought of returning it.".
The examiners' expression changed from serious to perplexed and finally settling at an expression best described as dejected. After verifying the ticket he let the girl go. I watched the girl leave in a hurry.. or was it?
At the climax of of those nervous seconds, she had given me a smile of gratitude so innocent and touching that I stood gazing at her as she drowned in the crowd.
Coming out of his momentary stupor the ticket examiner turned his attention to me. With a still dejected look he asked for my ticket.
"You have already checked it, sir".
"What! but it was the .... wait .. you mean to say you gave your ticket saying it was hers'?".
"Yes sir, I didn't want her to miss her exam just because she had lost a train ticket".
Now the examiner found it too difficult to contain his bewilderment.
"I have caught many ticketless people; but its the first time I have caught someone ticketless like you, shabaash beta. Chalo station master ke office me jaake aaram se fine bharna aur apni bewakoofi pe bhi roona".
"bewakoofi?", I asked.
"You have been good to the girl, but why would she remember you? Wo to chali bhi gayi.. even without knowing that its your ticket you had given.".
"Sir, she would know its not her ticket.".
"Kaise? Tera photo hai kya ticket pe".
"Aap ne ticket theek se dekha nahi shayad. On the other side it says..."
"ALL THE BEST - 9833550975".
Saturday, November 27, 2010
english romance continues...
I am back to my first love.. english. Pls leave a comment if you like it.
The words unsaid
-----------------------
The words are funny,
I do feel so.
Cos' most of the times,
you just don't know.
think you understand them,
and are pretty close.
but its the unsaid words, my friend,
that are louder than those.
words are a science,
words are a boring art.
thats why they probably,
don't talk to the heart.
heart understands feelings,
the only thing it will.
just make someone happy,
and with happiness it fills.
its time we stopped talking,
and we do speak a lot.
better we do something good,
before late we are not.
help a complete stranger,
do what a human would.
they say after all,
good reaps only good.
a good deed done,
don't expect a thanks.
for the good deeds never,
are fighting for a rank.
the gleam in their eyes,
is all that matter.
because its yours heart
warming another..
The words unsaid
-----------------------
The words are funny,
I do feel so.
Cos' most of the times,
you just don't know.
think you understand them,
and are pretty close.
but its the unsaid words, my friend,
that are louder than those.
words are a science,
words are a boring art.
thats why they probably,
don't talk to the heart.
heart understands feelings,
the only thing it will.
just make someone happy,
and with happiness it fills.
its time we stopped talking,
and we do speak a lot.
better we do something good,
before late we are not.
help a complete stranger,
do what a human would.
they say after all,
good reaps only good.
a good deed done,
don't expect a thanks.
for the good deeds never,
are fighting for a rank.
the gleam in their eyes,
is all that matter.
because its yours heart
warming another..
Saturday, October 16, 2010
ayushyavar bolu kahi?
जगणे म्हणजे काय मित्रहो?
विचार केला आहे कधी?
उत्तर माला सांगू नका,
कारण जगणे समजा आधी.
जगणे म्हणजे मोर पिसारा,
उभ्या गगनात न मावनारा.
जगणे म्हणजे सुसाट वारा,
स्वचंदपने घोंगावनारा.
जगणे म्हणजे आयुष्य नव्हे,
तर तो एक क्षण आहे.
या क्षणांच्या घरट्या मधे,
आयुष्याचे एक पिल्लू आहे.
जगणे म्हणजे चालत राहने,
पुढे पुढे आणी निरंतर.
या वाटचाली मधे आपण,
शोधतो जगण्याचे खरे उत्तर.
उत्तर ज्याचे त्याचे असते,
काही लहान कही मोठे असते.
शाळेत ल्या पेपरा सारखे,
यात चूक बरोबर मात्र कधी नसते.
उत्तर शोधने सोपे नसले तरी,
उत्तर शोधायची जिद्द हवी.
आयुष्य म्हणजे असंख्य प्रश्न,
पण त्या प्रश्नांशी मैत्री हवी.
कही प्रश्न अवघड असतात,
कही केल्या उलगडत नाहीत.
कही सोपे प्रश्न मात्र,
सुटून सुधा सुटत नाहीत.
सुटता सुटता कही प्रश्न,
प्रश्नांचा पाऊस पाडतात.
त्या प्रश्नांच्या सरी आपल्याला,
नकळत अंतर्मुख करून जातात.
प्रश्नांशी हितगुज करता करता,
आयुष्य असेच निघून जाते.
आयुष्याच्या संध्याकाळी,
या प्रश्नान्चिच साथ मिळते.
ती संध्याकाळ गुलाबी हवी,
असे तुम्हाला हवे असेल.
आरशा मधे स्वतःला पहा,
आयुष्य तुम्हाला साद देत असेल...
Translation below...
what is living friends?
have you ever thought?
dont tell me the answer,
first understand what it means.
living is a peacock tail-fan,
which fills the entire sky.
Its like an unrelenting gale,
unstoppable in its path.
living is not the entire life,
its just a moment.
its in the nest of these moments,
that life actually is growing up.
living is like a walk,
constant and always forward,
its in this journey that,
we try to find life's true purpose.
anwsers are your own,
some subjective some objective.
but unlike in school papers,
theres no right or wrong with them.
though finding answers is not easy,
its the passion to find that matters.
although there are too many questions,
you have to be friends with them.
some questions are tough,
almost seem un-resolvable.
some simple questions, somehow,
complicate even simple answers.
some questions unravel and,
themselves start another shower of questions.
those drops of questions,
make our wet soul introspect.
contemplating with these questions,
life completes a cycle,
in the evening of life itself,
its these questions that give us solace.
if evening to be happy,
is your true wish,
get out of your bed, stand in front of the mirror,
life would be beaconing ...
विचार केला आहे कधी?
उत्तर माला सांगू नका,
कारण जगणे समजा आधी.
जगणे म्हणजे मोर पिसारा,
उभ्या गगनात न मावनारा.
जगणे म्हणजे सुसाट वारा,
स्वचंदपने घोंगावनारा.
जगणे म्हणजे आयुष्य नव्हे,
तर तो एक क्षण आहे.
या क्षणांच्या घरट्या मधे,
आयुष्याचे एक पिल्लू आहे.
जगणे म्हणजे चालत राहने,
पुढे पुढे आणी निरंतर.
या वाटचाली मधे आपण,
शोधतो जगण्याचे खरे उत्तर.
उत्तर ज्याचे त्याचे असते,
काही लहान कही मोठे असते.
शाळेत ल्या पेपरा सारखे,
यात चूक बरोबर मात्र कधी नसते.
उत्तर शोधने सोपे नसले तरी,
उत्तर शोधायची जिद्द हवी.
आयुष्य म्हणजे असंख्य प्रश्न,
पण त्या प्रश्नांशी मैत्री हवी.
कही प्रश्न अवघड असतात,
कही केल्या उलगडत नाहीत.
कही सोपे प्रश्न मात्र,
सुटून सुधा सुटत नाहीत.
सुटता सुटता कही प्रश्न,
प्रश्नांचा पाऊस पाडतात.
त्या प्रश्नांच्या सरी आपल्याला,
नकळत अंतर्मुख करून जातात.
प्रश्नांशी हितगुज करता करता,
आयुष्य असेच निघून जाते.
आयुष्याच्या संध्याकाळी,
या प्रश्नान्चिच साथ मिळते.
ती संध्याकाळ गुलाबी हवी,
असे तुम्हाला हवे असेल.
आरशा मधे स्वतःला पहा,
आयुष्य तुम्हाला साद देत असेल...
Translation below...
what is living friends?
have you ever thought?
dont tell me the answer,
first understand what it means.
living is a peacock tail-fan,
which fills the entire sky.
Its like an unrelenting gale,
unstoppable in its path.
living is not the entire life,
its just a moment.
its in the nest of these moments,
that life actually is growing up.
living is like a walk,
constant and always forward,
its in this journey that,
we try to find life's true purpose.
anwsers are your own,
some subjective some objective.
but unlike in school papers,
theres no right or wrong with them.
though finding answers is not easy,
its the passion to find that matters.
although there are too many questions,
you have to be friends with them.
some questions are tough,
almost seem un-resolvable.
some simple questions, somehow,
complicate even simple answers.
some questions unravel and,
themselves start another shower of questions.
those drops of questions,
make our wet soul introspect.
contemplating with these questions,
life completes a cycle,
in the evening of life itself,
its these questions that give us solace.
if evening to be happy,
is your true wish,
get out of your bed, stand in front of the mirror,
life would be beaconing ...
Sunday, September 12, 2010
photo
One of my attempts at marathi poetry.
Translation for my non marathi friends, alongside :)
photographycha mala chaanda aahe, / I like photography,
tumhala sudha asel, bahutek. / you might also like it.
asla tar chaanach / if indeed then great,
pan nasla tari vait kay? / if not, you'r not missing a lot.
Nako ti photography anee / no need for photography,
nako te photo. / and forget those photos.
photo kadhun far tar, / clicking will only give you
aathvanincha chaukon hoto. /afterall square memories. (alluding to the square photo we save)
Tya chaukonat astat kahi kshan, / that square accommodates few moments,
kahi mavtat, kahi sandtat. / some fit into it, while some simply spill over
pan gammat mhanje, te mavlele / but the the irony is, those that fit in that square
kshan tya sandlelya kshnanmule astat. / are because of those moments which spilled over.
Kagdavar asto to fakta ek photo, /on paper we see just a photo
nistabdha, avichal. /silent, static.
pan baghnaryala anubhavta yeto, /but one can experience,
to sampoorna abhaas, sandlelya kshnansahit. / that entire emotional spectra, of course with the spilled moments.
Tya kshnana bhavana astat, /those moments have feelings,
kahi anandane utsfurta tar kahi vyakul. /some of spontaneous joy, some of sorrowful loneliness
pan tyana gyatantar naste, karan /but they have no choice, because
tyanchi vel nighun geleli aste. /they have been pushed into the past already
Ase hazaro khshan, /I have thousands of such moments,
me sathavle aahet, /which I have diligently saved.
pratyek divsaganik matra, / but as days pass,
tyanche vay vadhat aahe. / they are getting older and older.
Vay vadtha vadhta, / as they get older,
kahi kshan thaklele aahet. / some moments have become vague.
Aathvaninchya bojakhali tey / in the flood of memories,
chirdun gele aahet. / they are disappearing in absolution.
Kadhi vatte he kshan, / Sometimes, i feel these moments,
kuthe tari lapvoon thevoo. / for ever, should be saved by me .
pan Aatvanhicha ha samudra, / makes me wonder, how to take the sea
eka onjli madhe kasa gheoo. / and accommodate on my palm for eternity.
Translation for my non marathi friends, alongside :)
photographycha mala chaanda aahe, / I like photography,
tumhala sudha asel, bahutek. / you might also like it.
asla tar chaanach / if indeed then great,
pan nasla tari vait kay? / if not, you'r not missing a lot.
Nako ti photography anee / no need for photography,
nako te photo. / and forget those photos.
photo kadhun far tar, / clicking will only give you
aathvanincha chaukon hoto. /afterall square memories. (alluding to the square photo we save)
Tya chaukonat astat kahi kshan, / that square accommodates few moments,
kahi mavtat, kahi sandtat. / some fit into it, while some simply spill over
pan gammat mhanje, te mavlele / but the the irony is, those that fit in that square
kshan tya sandlelya kshnanmule astat. / are because of those moments which spilled over.
Kagdavar asto to fakta ek photo, /on paper we see just a photo
nistabdha, avichal. /silent, static.
pan baghnaryala anubhavta yeto, /but one can experience,
to sampoorna abhaas, sandlelya kshnansahit. / that entire emotional spectra, of course with the spilled moments.
Tya kshnana bhavana astat, /those moments have feelings,
kahi anandane utsfurta tar kahi vyakul. /some of spontaneous joy, some of sorrowful loneliness
pan tyana gyatantar naste, karan /but they have no choice, because
tyanchi vel nighun geleli aste. /they have been pushed into the past already
Ase hazaro khshan, /I have thousands of such moments,
me sathavle aahet, /which I have diligently saved.
pratyek divsaganik matra, / but as days pass,
tyanche vay vadhat aahe. / they are getting older and older.
Vay vadtha vadhta, / as they get older,
kahi kshan thaklele aahet. / some moments have become vague.
Aathvaninchya bojakhali tey / in the flood of memories,
chirdun gele aahet. / they are disappearing in absolution.
Kadhi vatte he kshan, / Sometimes, i feel these moments,
kuthe tari lapvoon thevoo. / for ever, should be saved by me .
pan Aatvanhicha ha samudra, / makes me wonder, how to take the sea
eka onjli madhe kasa gheoo. / and accommodate on my palm for eternity.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Bangalore to Munnar : Night out on the road
All of us (Nitin, Koel, Ranja, Gauri and myself) were in high spirits now that we were finally on our way to Munnar. That december night was unusually quite but not too cold. The tavera, we had booked, was zooming through the empty roads like the 'Santa Maria' would have sailed the open seas with Columbus on board. Only difference being there were 4 columbuses on board this one, in search of the new world called Munnar.
In no time the city lights were a silent speck behind us as if left behind in a race. The road in front of us was illuminated by the headlights of the car which had overpowered the starry sky and the only sign of habitation was a solitary petrol pump or a dhaba. But these were just distractions till we reached our destination and it seemed there was nothing to stop us.
The excitement was to be experienced than to be told as the cool winter air hit us in the face.(Interesting factoid: Gauri was not amused by this phenomenon so she made air tight arrangements for her hair by wearing a monkey cap and rolling up the windows). The tavera reached mysore in a few hours and continued on without stopping to see the Mysore palace illuminated in a million light bulbs. We were at our chatty best notwithstanding that fact that it was almost 2am in the morning. Mysore became a has been in some time and we made our way further south. Sometime around 4am we reached bandipur National Park. The road leading us there was not as smooth or wide as the one we had come from but the fact was it was nowhere as bad a road we normally see in the city sometimes. Since there was no divider, occasionally a vehicle would blind my eyes coming straight towards us in the opposite direction. Credit goes to Mr. driver who was always alert and an awesome person (more on that later).
It seemed that it would be a boring trip rest of the way. No sooner than I thought the car stopped dead in its tracks. Awaken from the 10-second-away slumber, I became wide awake and peered ahead through the windshield. Something was definitely wrong because there were vehicles parked one behind the other. None of the vehicles was moving or for that matter even trying to move. It seemed as if they had resigned to the fact that its gonna take a while before i get to move.
All vehicles had turned off their headlights and I could see just torches ahead in people's hands in the inky darkness of the forest. When I say darkness it was actually dark! If you are a city slicker don't try to imagine it just read on. For those who know what it means you are with me. In that darkness, theres no moonlight even as its blocked by the forest trees. The eerie silence of the surroundings adds to the freakiness. I couldn't imagine stepping out in that dark considering we were surrounded by tiger habitat.
As it turned out the forest had closed thoroughfare for the night and would be opening in the wee hours of the morning. With the suspense suddenly gone, the 10-second-away slumber returned and those few minutes of sleep are my most cherished as I hadn't slept even a second that day. Early morning was not without its drama. I woke up to the incessant chirping of the bandipur forest. We were surrounded by some serious wildlife. The first light of the morning sun took away my breath I suddenly found us surrounded by the tallest eucalyptus (nilgiri) trees i have seen in my life. The smell of the morning jungle made my lungs fill with life giving fresh air. The road was narrow and winding but it didn't matter much as each incline and every turn was unraveling the beauty that a forest is. Having watched a forest only on discovery or Nat geo, and read amusedly in the books by Jim Corbett, until then, it dawned upon me how beautiful a forest actually is. The never ending green is seldom monotonous and the sights and sounds keep you interested for whatever time you spend.
Most of the traveler's excitement dried once mr. driver confessed he wasn't sure of the route. Thus began a series of are-we-lost and how do we reach munnar kind of questions. Ultimately the known route was agreed to be Bandipur-Ooty-Coimbatore-Pollachi-Munnar. Glad that we knew where we were going the spirits returned to where they were earlier. The next hour was full of light hearted banter and clicks as everyone wanted a piece of the beautiful surroundings captured as a "Kodak" moment!
Thats it for this post. If the night was exciting the day was adventurous. I hope to post it sooner than later.
In no time the city lights were a silent speck behind us as if left behind in a race. The road in front of us was illuminated by the headlights of the car which had overpowered the starry sky and the only sign of habitation was a solitary petrol pump or a dhaba. But these were just distractions till we reached our destination and it seemed there was nothing to stop us.
The excitement was to be experienced than to be told as the cool winter air hit us in the face.(Interesting factoid: Gauri was not amused by this phenomenon so she made air tight arrangements for her hair by wearing a monkey cap and rolling up the windows). The tavera reached mysore in a few hours and continued on without stopping to see the Mysore palace illuminated in a million light bulbs. We were at our chatty best notwithstanding that fact that it was almost 2am in the morning. Mysore became a has been in some time and we made our way further south. Sometime around 4am we reached bandipur National Park. The road leading us there was not as smooth or wide as the one we had come from but the fact was it was nowhere as bad a road we normally see in the city sometimes. Since there was no divider, occasionally a vehicle would blind my eyes coming straight towards us in the opposite direction. Credit goes to Mr. driver who was always alert and an awesome person (more on that later).
It seemed that it would be a boring trip rest of the way. No sooner than I thought the car stopped dead in its tracks. Awaken from the 10-second-away slumber, I became wide awake and peered ahead through the windshield. Something was definitely wrong because there were vehicles parked one behind the other. None of the vehicles was moving or for that matter even trying to move. It seemed as if they had resigned to the fact that its gonna take a while before i get to move.
All vehicles had turned off their headlights and I could see just torches ahead in people's hands in the inky darkness of the forest. When I say darkness it was actually dark! If you are a city slicker don't try to imagine it just read on. For those who know what it means you are with me. In that darkness, theres no moonlight even as its blocked by the forest trees. The eerie silence of the surroundings adds to the freakiness. I couldn't imagine stepping out in that dark considering we were surrounded by tiger habitat.
As it turned out the forest had closed thoroughfare for the night and would be opening in the wee hours of the morning. With the suspense suddenly gone, the 10-second-away slumber returned and those few minutes of sleep are my most cherished as I hadn't slept even a second that day. Early morning was not without its drama. I woke up to the incessant chirping of the bandipur forest. We were surrounded by some serious wildlife. The first light of the morning sun took away my breath I suddenly found us surrounded by the tallest eucalyptus (nilgiri) trees i have seen in my life. The smell of the morning jungle made my lungs fill with life giving fresh air. The road was narrow and winding but it didn't matter much as each incline and every turn was unraveling the beauty that a forest is. Having watched a forest only on discovery or Nat geo, and read amusedly in the books by Jim Corbett, until then, it dawned upon me how beautiful a forest actually is. The never ending green is seldom monotonous and the sights and sounds keep you interested for whatever time you spend.
Most of the traveler's excitement dried once mr. driver confessed he wasn't sure of the route. Thus began a series of are-we-lost and how do we reach munnar kind of questions. Ultimately the known route was agreed to be Bandipur-Ooty-Coimbatore-Pollachi-Munnar. Glad that we knew where we were going the spirits returned to where they were earlier. The next hour was full of light hearted banter and clicks as everyone wanted a piece of the beautiful surroundings captured as a "Kodak" moment!
Thats it for this post. If the night was exciting the day was adventurous. I hope to post it sooner than later.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
bangalore to munnar - trip that almost didnt happen
Disclaimer: This series of posts is not on an informed study on how to reach munnar. You would be better off going somewhere else if you just want to reach munnar. For the intrepid traveler who doesn't mind veering off the beaten track, this is how you 'travel' to munnar.
So the story begins on 24th Dec 09. I call Nitin in the afternoon around 4pm to check whether we are all set for the trip. He sounds a bit tensed and promises to call me back. Now, even I get anxious about what exactly is transpiring of the trip. Around 7pm Koel calls. The conversation happens something like this.
"Hi pradeep, Koel here."
"Hi, koel. Any tensions? Nitin seemed troubled on the phone".
"Ya, theres been a slight problem".
"Why? what happened?".
"Arre, the cab guy is suddenly acting up. He says the cab wont be available now and is giving some flimsy reasons for it. Nitin and me are checking out other cabs, meawhile you can also search for cabs."
"Oh! this is not good. Ya, i shall ask the office transport contractor if he knows of someone."
"
call ends.
..
..
tring.. tring..
"Hi, koel".
"Hi, pradeep. Any luck?".
"Not encouraging. One guy is prepared to come but is available only for 3 days."
"Doesn't work out. We have to have a cab for 4 days. Anyways, keep trying in the meantime we are also closing in on a cab.".
"Ok. I shall call as soon as i get something then".
"Sure".
..
..
After 10 mins, Nitin calls.
"Pradeep, by what time can you reach our house?"
"I can try to reach by 10, 10:30".
"Good, try to reach as fast as possible. We have got a cab and hes coming down to our place. So jaldi aa phir, hum log wait kar rahe hain.".
"thats gr8!...yes.. abhi room pe jaake packing bhi karna padega. So i guess 10:30 tak pahuch jaoonga".
From what appeared to be a disaster waiting to happen, Nitin and Koel somehow pulled the proverbial rabbit out of the hat at the last time. So we were finally ready, bags packed and all. Having a quick dinner at Koel's, we set out on the trip not knowing what was in store for the next few days.
Since the story has two new characters now, its a good time to introduce everyone.
(In order of appearance.)
Me: Whom you might already know.
Nitin: school buddy and childhood friend.
Koel: Nitin's girl friend.
Two extremely likeable characters come next, Gauri and Ranja. Both are koel's childhood friends.
As it turned out, Ranja is a flower-lover and treated us with some amazing photos that she clicked throughout the trip.
On the other hand, Gauri is at her acting best, throwing one liners and having us in splits. Extremely sporting, both these girls and not to forget Koel.
With these three friends getting together it was a laughter explosion of hiroshima(ic) proportions for the rest of the trip. Read on for more .
So the story begins on 24th Dec 09. I call Nitin in the afternoon around 4pm to check whether we are all set for the trip. He sounds a bit tensed and promises to call me back. Now, even I get anxious about what exactly is transpiring of the trip. Around 7pm Koel calls. The conversation happens something like this.
"Hi pradeep, Koel here."
"Hi, koel. Any tensions? Nitin seemed troubled on the phone".
"Ya, theres been a slight problem".
"Why? what happened?".
"Arre, the cab guy is suddenly acting up. He says the cab wont be available now and is giving some flimsy reasons for it. Nitin and me are checking out other cabs, meawhile you can also search for cabs."
"Oh! this is not good. Ya, i shall ask the office transport contractor if he knows of someone."
"
call ends.
..
..
tring.. tring..
"Hi, koel".
"Hi, pradeep. Any luck?".
"Not encouraging. One guy is prepared to come but is available only for 3 days."
"Doesn't work out. We have to have a cab for 4 days. Anyways, keep trying in the meantime we are also closing in on a cab.".
"Ok. I shall call as soon as i get something then".
"Sure".
..
..
After 10 mins, Nitin calls.
"Pradeep, by what time can you reach our house?"
"I can try to reach by 10, 10:30".
"Good, try to reach as fast as possible. We have got a cab and hes coming down to our place. So jaldi aa phir, hum log wait kar rahe hain.".
"thats gr8!...yes.. abhi room pe jaake packing bhi karna padega. So i guess 10:30 tak pahuch jaoonga".
From what appeared to be a disaster waiting to happen, Nitin and Koel somehow pulled the proverbial rabbit out of the hat at the last time. So we were finally ready, bags packed and all. Having a quick dinner at Koel's, we set out on the trip not knowing what was in store for the next few days.
Since the story has two new characters now, its a good time to introduce everyone.
(In order of appearance.)
Me: Whom you might already know.
Nitin: school buddy and childhood friend.
Koel: Nitin's girl friend.
Two extremely likeable characters come next, Gauri and Ranja. Both are koel's childhood friends.
As it turned out, Ranja is a flower-lover and treated us with some amazing photos that she clicked throughout the trip.
On the other hand, Gauri is at her acting best, throwing one liners and having us in splits. Extremely sporting, both these girls and not to forget Koel.
With these three friends getting together it was a laughter explosion of hiroshima(ic) proportions for the rest of the trip. Read on for more .
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Watch avatar movie.
was waiting for this move since months and finally watched it today morning first show at REX on brigade road.
Written a review about it here Avatar movie review too.
Its a must watch nothing else will do. The cinematic spectacle is a must experience for anyone who knows what movies are. Its a great movie to be seen in a theatre.
Written a review about it here Avatar movie review too.
Its a must watch nothing else will do. The cinematic spectacle is a must experience for anyone who knows what movies are. Its a great movie to be seen in a theatre.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
School chale hum.
Remember this absolutely wonderful song? It was a regular feature on TV and radio few years back. It was about the fun of going to school and studying there. It featured schoolkids going to school along with their chums and having a blast. Running through open fields, rowing through the backwaters in kerala, braving the mountainous terrain in ladakh or just splashing their in a river, the sheer energy of the cinematography takes you to your childhood.
Anyways, the point of the blog is about teaching kids. When was the last time you taught kids? In a classroom? If you have then you might share my views on this. I got an opportunity to teach 7th standard students at a Govt. middle school in bangalore and it was a very encouraging experience.
The school in question is a middle school with classes till 7th standard only. Not to mention its a vernacular medium school. Actually, when i got an offer initially i didnt think twice before saying a 'yes'. It was later that it dawned upon me that language could be an issue since i didnt even know the most basic of Kannada, with due respect to the language of course. So the only option was to communicate in English that the kids understood. "What a solution!" you would laugh but i had no option. My enthusiasm was peaking and there was no way i was backing out of this.
I was supposed to teach few computer basics to the kids, the software part of it to be precise while venkatesh would start of with the hardware. Now learning computers hands on is the best approach; but what would you do if none of the computers in the computer lab WORK!! So venkatesh decided that we should teach theory.
Teaching theory, in theory (pun intended) sounds easy. But with the constraints enumerated earlier it was far from easy. Computers as a subject in itself has a multitude of phrases, jargon, abbreviations, concepts which need explanation as we dive into any basics. Analogies are the best way to go about teaching these thing; but then explaining the analogies itself is a cul-de-sac for a guy with limited language skills.
Anyways, the language barrier not withstanding I reached the school a bit late. The reason being I had to take a few printouts of the info we were going to hopefully teach that day. Its would be an interesting post by itself, but later. The school was an 'L' shaped 2 storey structure huddling alongside a few residential buildings and houses. Nothing extravagant at all and rightly so as it did the job perfectly fine as was evident. The far side of the L faced the entrance and had the name painted in dark blue. There was the familiar drawing of a boy and a girl sitting on a huge pencil with books in hand. Its the symbol of 'Sarva shiksha abhiyaan' the movement to educate all kids .
Any school has this feel of enthusiasm to it. I see it in every school i see. Maybe its got to do with the kids. The insatiable eagerness, carefree attitude and the drive to constantly be upto something really make me respect children. We adults quickly forget that we as children might have been something like that in our childhood too. What makes children the way they are and us the way we are? That may constitute another post altogether so let me not digress.
I was not sure whether i had reached the correct place. So i called up venkatesh. He said he was on the 1st floor and would come out on the balcony. I looked around and instantly recognised the tall frame smiling down upon me from the 1st floor balcony.
I was introduced to other two people one being ritesh, another guy interested in teaching, and Venugopal sir who brought the entire thing together. The computer lab was the place where we were supposed to take a class. I entered the lab and found around seven computers placed along the walls of that room. One of the walls was taken by the blackboard and a cabinet containing books. The rest of them were taken by drawings who jostled with switchboards for space amid crusty paint. This was manageable if not decent enough. The tough part was going to be managing the kids..
Anyways, the point of the blog is about teaching kids. When was the last time you taught kids? In a classroom? If you have then you might share my views on this. I got an opportunity to teach 7th standard students at a Govt. middle school in bangalore and it was a very encouraging experience.
The school in question is a middle school with classes till 7th standard only. Not to mention its a vernacular medium school. Actually, when i got an offer initially i didnt think twice before saying a 'yes'. It was later that it dawned upon me that language could be an issue since i didnt even know the most basic of Kannada, with due respect to the language of course. So the only option was to communicate in English that the kids understood. "What a solution!" you would laugh but i had no option. My enthusiasm was peaking and there was no way i was backing out of this.
I was supposed to teach few computer basics to the kids, the software part of it to be precise while venkatesh would start of with the hardware. Now learning computers hands on is the best approach; but what would you do if none of the computers in the computer lab WORK!! So venkatesh decided that we should teach theory.
Teaching theory, in theory (pun intended) sounds easy. But with the constraints enumerated earlier it was far from easy. Computers as a subject in itself has a multitude of phrases, jargon, abbreviations, concepts which need explanation as we dive into any basics. Analogies are the best way to go about teaching these thing; but then explaining the analogies itself is a cul-de-sac for a guy with limited language skills.
Anyways, the language barrier not withstanding I reached the school a bit late. The reason being I had to take a few printouts of the info we were going to hopefully teach that day. Its would be an interesting post by itself, but later. The school was an 'L' shaped 2 storey structure huddling alongside a few residential buildings and houses. Nothing extravagant at all and rightly so as it did the job perfectly fine as was evident. The far side of the L faced the entrance and had the name painted in dark blue. There was the familiar drawing of a boy and a girl sitting on a huge pencil with books in hand. Its the symbol of 'Sarva shiksha abhiyaan' the movement to educate all kids .
Any school has this feel of enthusiasm to it. I see it in every school i see. Maybe its got to do with the kids. The insatiable eagerness, carefree attitude and the drive to constantly be upto something really make me respect children. We adults quickly forget that we as children might have been something like that in our childhood too. What makes children the way they are and us the way we are? That may constitute another post altogether so let me not digress.
I was not sure whether i had reached the correct place. So i called up venkatesh. He said he was on the 1st floor and would come out on the balcony. I looked around and instantly recognised the tall frame smiling down upon me from the 1st floor balcony.
I was introduced to other two people one being ritesh, another guy interested in teaching, and Venugopal sir who brought the entire thing together. The computer lab was the place where we were supposed to take a class. I entered the lab and found around seven computers placed along the walls of that room. One of the walls was taken by the blackboard and a cabinet containing books. The rest of them were taken by drawings who jostled with switchboards for space amid crusty paint. This was manageable if not decent enough. The tough part was going to be managing the kids..
Sunday, November 1, 2009
mumbai bangalore volvo: travel bus timings, bus operators, bus service review
i was traveling again from bangalore to mumbai. This time though it was monsoon and by now i was quite experienced enough to book tickets and know which volvo bus operators to avoid. But my experiences were limited to ksrtc, vrl, sharma transports, neeta travels only. Then i decided to go with amchi marathi sounding travels called 'Konduskar Travels'. Earlier i used to think its must be a really good service. Did i think the same way later? read on...
The price for konduskar was marginally lower than vrl travels but higher than ksrtc as is the case most of the times. The pickup point was kalasipalyam in the heart of bangalore. The bus was due at 7pm. I had lots of luggage with me hence going back and forth through the lanes of kalasipalyam wasnt a very easy effort. In a non-descript little room near the entrance of kalasipalyam bus stand the signboard read as the one i was looking for. Heaving a sigh of relief, i seated myself in the chair.
The bus arrived, surprisingly, on time. After the sharma experience i was pleasantly surprised. Well, at least the beginning was on a good note. I entered the bus and took my window seat. The bus started in a few minutes. It was empty, most of it. But it was good to see that the seats looked decent enough to be called clean by other volvo standards. The aisle was also clean. In no time the bus was making a getaway out of bangalore via KR circle, then rajaji nagar and later yeshwantpur station.
The bus looked in good condition. You could feel the power of the B7R engine putting that awesome torque on the wheels. The sudden thrust backwards on the application of slight acceleration felt good. But then i forgot we still were in bangalore and bangalore's traffic doesn't care who is going where; it just manifests itself in almost every traffic corner or signal. Finally after getting a moveon the bus went into cruise mode. It was movie time and guess what, it was a lucky day. Not for me, but for the actors, directors and producers of the film 'jashn'. To fully comprehend why i am saying this just go and read any review. Mind you i am not asking you to watch the film cos you would sue me for the mental agony caused.
I referred to the luck part because here we were, all the passengers i mean, traveling in a bus and helpless enough to watch any movie that would be shown. And among all the movies this is the movies that is selected. Ok..it may not be the worst film ever made but you know a bad movie when you see it.
So after the movie it was dreaming time. Since the seat beside me was empty i was more than happy to sleep occupying both the seats. The ocassional bump reminded me we were still in karnataka. Nothing against the karnataka government but the guys haven't developed the northern part of karnataka as good if not better than south karnataka. The bus, or any other vehicle for that matter, comes to a grinding halt every hundred metres as the condition of the road is so bad. There are frequent detours that cause delays. hats off to the travels guys who take it in their stride.
Morning came early as we touched kolhapur at around 5:30 am itself. It was just a filling station somewhere outside of kolhapur. Elated i stepped down from the bus and took the chilly air in and felt the somewhat familiar scent of the black soil i had played in my village. Hearing the familiar village dialect instantly made me feel i am home. Even at that odd hour and half awake i thought of how language has a binding effect.
Since this was a konduskar bus it detoured and entered the city of kolhapur. It was the first time i saw, even though from the confines and comfort of the bus, the historical city of shahu maharaj. The all to familiar sight of farmers dressed in the traditional 'bandi', 'dhotar', 'pheta' leading their cattle to graze instantly made me feel warm at heart. This is what makes India what it is. Away from the blinking screens of computers in AC offices and MNC office culture was this India. The only thing that matters to this india is the rain if i can take a few liberties. Barring the government decision on the prices of foodgrains nothing interests this india more. Although i may have generalised to the point of criminal ignorance; but the fact remains it another India in contrast to the popular perception of people outside india and for some in India too.
I got time to think all this since the bus reached kolhapur bus stand at 7:00 am it didnt move till 7:45 am. No reasons given whatsoever. So the journey continued towards next destinations on the way karad and subsequently satara. They were left behind in a few hours and pune beaconed at 170 odd kms. We did reach pune at 10:30 am.
Till now everything was going to plan. I was already looking ahead at making it for lunch to mumbai when a few surprises were made known to us. The bus was not going to go all the way to mumbai. There was a change of bus in Pune and the actual bus was expected at 11am in pune. Pune at that time was in full grip of swine flu and you could see people wearing masks. I braced myself, and hoping everything would be fine sat at the bus operators office waiting for the bus.
The bus arranged was a Neeta Volvo and by the looks of it, had taken part in the vietnam war. The front mirrors were broken, the color had worn off, the window sealings were hanging about. On entering it was a similar sight too. torn seat covers, broken seat arm rests, filthy seats and cracked windows. Me along with three others from the earlier bus cursed our luck and hoped this piece of junk makes it to mumbai.
Although the bus was almost full, the bus operators are dedicated to making use of the last available inch in the bus and to do it they have a simple formula. just wait for the customer till he arrives. Meandering through the streets of Pune was all the bus did for the next hour and a half. Finally i saw a semblance of NH4 and heaved a sigh of relief. We were back on track finally!
The journey here onwards was made somewhat bearable by the scenic locations that whizzed past. Monsoon is a great time to see get some nice pics. Especially in the ghats. I have tried taking a few here, hope you like them.
The picture on the left is the place near kolhapur where we stopped for breakfast. It was here that i had 'pohe'.
One of the better shots i took on my mobile camera on NH4. I agree a better camera is needed to do justice to the shot.
The green scenes are only during monsoons. Its a torrid sun the rest of the time.
The mud splattered on the window of the volvo.
The express way : lonavala
This bill board shouldnt have been there.
Great valley view.
really nice pic. Small tea stall right on the edge of the cliff.
few people enjoying the view or cuppa tea?
The winding way up the ghat.
The bus reached panvel at around 1:30 pm and vashi at sometime later.
The price for konduskar was marginally lower than vrl travels but higher than ksrtc as is the case most of the times. The pickup point was kalasipalyam in the heart of bangalore. The bus was due at 7pm. I had lots of luggage with me hence going back and forth through the lanes of kalasipalyam wasnt a very easy effort. In a non-descript little room near the entrance of kalasipalyam bus stand the signboard read as the one i was looking for. Heaving a sigh of relief, i seated myself in the chair.
The bus arrived, surprisingly, on time. After the sharma experience i was pleasantly surprised. Well, at least the beginning was on a good note. I entered the bus and took my window seat. The bus started in a few minutes. It was empty, most of it. But it was good to see that the seats looked decent enough to be called clean by other volvo standards. The aisle was also clean. In no time the bus was making a getaway out of bangalore via KR circle, then rajaji nagar and later yeshwantpur station.
The bus looked in good condition. You could feel the power of the B7R engine putting that awesome torque on the wheels. The sudden thrust backwards on the application of slight acceleration felt good. But then i forgot we still were in bangalore and bangalore's traffic doesn't care who is going where; it just manifests itself in almost every traffic corner or signal. Finally after getting a moveon the bus went into cruise mode. It was movie time and guess what, it was a lucky day. Not for me, but for the actors, directors and producers of the film 'jashn'. To fully comprehend why i am saying this just go and read any review. Mind you i am not asking you to watch the film cos you would sue me for the mental agony caused.
I referred to the luck part because here we were, all the passengers i mean, traveling in a bus and helpless enough to watch any movie that would be shown. And among all the movies this is the movies that is selected. Ok..it may not be the worst film ever made but you know a bad movie when you see it.
So after the movie it was dreaming time. Since the seat beside me was empty i was more than happy to sleep occupying both the seats. The ocassional bump reminded me we were still in karnataka. Nothing against the karnataka government but the guys haven't developed the northern part of karnataka as good if not better than south karnataka. The bus, or any other vehicle for that matter, comes to a grinding halt every hundred metres as the condition of the road is so bad. There are frequent detours that cause delays. hats off to the travels guys who take it in their stride.
Morning came early as we touched kolhapur at around 5:30 am itself. It was just a filling station somewhere outside of kolhapur. Elated i stepped down from the bus and took the chilly air in and felt the somewhat familiar scent of the black soil i had played in my village. Hearing the familiar village dialect instantly made me feel i am home. Even at that odd hour and half awake i thought of how language has a binding effect.
Since this was a konduskar bus it detoured and entered the city of kolhapur. It was the first time i saw, even though from the confines and comfort of the bus, the historical city of shahu maharaj. The all to familiar sight of farmers dressed in the traditional 'bandi', 'dhotar', 'pheta' leading their cattle to graze instantly made me feel warm at heart. This is what makes India what it is. Away from the blinking screens of computers in AC offices and MNC office culture was this India. The only thing that matters to this india is the rain if i can take a few liberties. Barring the government decision on the prices of foodgrains nothing interests this india more. Although i may have generalised to the point of criminal ignorance; but the fact remains it another India in contrast to the popular perception of people outside india and for some in India too.
I got time to think all this since the bus reached kolhapur bus stand at 7:00 am it didnt move till 7:45 am. No reasons given whatsoever. So the journey continued towards next destinations on the way karad and subsequently satara. They were left behind in a few hours and pune beaconed at 170 odd kms. We did reach pune at 10:30 am.
Till now everything was going to plan. I was already looking ahead at making it for lunch to mumbai when a few surprises were made known to us. The bus was not going to go all the way to mumbai. There was a change of bus in Pune and the actual bus was expected at 11am in pune. Pune at that time was in full grip of swine flu and you could see people wearing masks. I braced myself, and hoping everything would be fine sat at the bus operators office waiting for the bus.
The bus arranged was a Neeta Volvo and by the looks of it, had taken part in the vietnam war. The front mirrors were broken, the color had worn off, the window sealings were hanging about. On entering it was a similar sight too. torn seat covers, broken seat arm rests, filthy seats and cracked windows. Me along with three others from the earlier bus cursed our luck and hoped this piece of junk makes it to mumbai.
Although the bus was almost full, the bus operators are dedicated to making use of the last available inch in the bus and to do it they have a simple formula. just wait for the customer till he arrives. Meandering through the streets of Pune was all the bus did for the next hour and a half. Finally i saw a semblance of NH4 and heaved a sigh of relief. We were back on track finally!
The picture on the left is the place near kolhapur where we stopped for breakfast. It was here that i had 'pohe'.
One of the better shots i took on my mobile camera on NH4. I agree a better camera is needed to do justice to the shot.
Great valley view.
The bus reached panvel at around 1:30 pm and vashi at sometime later.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
volvo online tickets booking bangalore mumbai travel ksrtc private travels
There are many options to buy tickets cheaply. If you are the kind who saves every penny then nothing like some research on the internet. Here are a few helpful sites to buy tickets.
Cheap tickets / Discounts: Ksrtc easily beats other travels in the ticket pricing. Considering the condition of the buses, the punctuality, the staff, the cleanliness the ticket price is really a bargain. ksrtc offers a 10% discount if you book two way journey ticket at the same time. Here is the ticket price breakup for one way.
Basic Fare : Rs. 1060.00
Insurance Fee : Rs. 3.00
Infrastructure Fee : Rs. 10.00
Reservation Fee : Rs. 10.00
User Fee : Rs. 17.00
Service Fee : Rs. 28.00
--------------------------------
Total Fare : Rs. 1128
Booking through Phone facility : Not available.
Homedelivery of tickets in Bangalore : Not available.
Other Benefits : You can travel in the city (bmtc) buses to the place of the bus boarding point from 2 hours before the departure of the bus.
Redbus.in is another decent site to book tickets online. One of the most comprehensive travel operator listings available (around 500). 5000+ route bookings possible. multi mode of ticket booking available.
You can book tickets using the online ticket reservation system itself or,
use phone to book the tickets and pay on delivery. Works out really well. I have used their services on a couple of occasion and haven't been disappointed.
Cheap Tickets / Discounts redbus.in : the ticket prices are including the commission that redbus might be charging the tour operators for listing their services or vice versa. but the price seems very reasonable.
Booking through phone facility : One of the best facilities to book through the phone. You just tell your destination and type of bus you are looking for and you are done. The booking officer gives you the options and seats available and you can choose as per your wish. the ticket amount is paid on delivery of the tickets only. So no hassles like double transactions faced here plus you get a confirmed ticket. I have seen cases where ksrtc has overbooked their bangalore mumbai volvo with people in pune getting affected cos their seat was again booked in mumbai.
Home delivery of tickets in bangalore : redbus.in provides home delivery facility for tickets booked. There is marginal amount charged for the delivery but its justified for the convenience.
Other benefits : You get to read user reviews for the bus that you want to book the ticket for. This really helps you to make in informed decision before you spend your money. I have seen negative feedback been published as well so there is scope for user feedback being genuine.
Ksrtc.in
: The official site of the karnataka state transport corporation. The ksrtc bus tickets can be bought from the majestic (kempegowda bus stand) bus stand itself. But with online ticket booking being so convenient the ksrtc has provided facility to book ksrtc bus tickets online. I primarily use this site to book the ksrtc volvo bus tickets from bangalore to mumbai.Cheap tickets / Discounts: Ksrtc easily beats other travels in the ticket pricing. Considering the condition of the buses, the punctuality, the staff, the cleanliness the ticket price is really a bargain. ksrtc offers a 10% discount if you book two way journey ticket at the same time. Here is the ticket price breakup for one way.
Basic Fare : Rs. 1060.00
Insurance Fee : Rs. 3.00
Infrastructure Fee : Rs. 10.00
Reservation Fee : Rs. 10.00
User Fee : Rs. 17.00
Service Fee : Rs. 28.00
--------------------------------
Total Fare : Rs. 1128
Booking through Phone facility : Not available.
Homedelivery of tickets in Bangalore : Not available.
Other Benefits : You can travel in the city (bmtc) buses to the place of the bus boarding point from 2 hours before the departure of the bus.
Redbus.in
:Redbus.in is another decent site to book tickets online. One of the most comprehensive travel operator listings available (around 500). 5000+ route bookings possible. multi mode of ticket booking available.
You can book tickets using the online ticket reservation system itself or,
use phone to book the tickets and pay on delivery. Works out really well. I have used their services on a couple of occasion and haven't been disappointed.
Cheap Tickets / Discounts redbus.in : the ticket prices are including the commission that redbus might be charging the tour operators for listing their services or vice versa. but the price seems very reasonable.
Booking through phone facility : One of the best facilities to book through the phone. You just tell your destination and type of bus you are looking for and you are done. The booking officer gives you the options and seats available and you can choose as per your wish. the ticket amount is paid on delivery of the tickets only. So no hassles like double transactions faced here plus you get a confirmed ticket. I have seen cases where ksrtc has overbooked their bangalore mumbai volvo with people in pune getting affected cos their seat was again booked in mumbai.
Home delivery of tickets in bangalore : redbus.in provides home delivery facility for tickets booked. There is marginal amount charged for the delivery but its justified for the convenience.
Other benefits : You get to read user reviews for the bus that you want to book the ticket for. This really helps you to make in informed decision before you spend your money. I have seen negative feedback been published as well so there is scope for user feedback being genuine.
yatra.com
another huge travel site. it offers some decent offers for traveling via air etc. the main benefits are availability of a large number of options for traveling between any two cities. Air, rail, road etc. you can earn yatra miles for being a regular traveler just like the air miles you earn for traveling by an airline.makemytrip.com
More coming soon.cleartrip.com
More coming soon.Sunday, September 20, 2009
volvo travel experience mumbai to bangalore:sharma transports
it was april and i was desperately looking to go back to mumbai for a well deserved break. Finally i got what i was looking for, a leave for around 8 days with 3 days working from home. hmm..3 days shouldn't be big deal. now for the difficult part of actually booking a ticket. I opened the ksrtc site no seats available in the evening on that day. So tried redbus.in.
Redbus.in is a pretty decent site with decent quality. I have used them on two different occasions and haven't been disappointed. Anyways, back to the topic. All the usual transports were there VRL, Sharma, National, Konduskar etc. I zeroed in on Sharma as i had tried KSRTC and VRL and liked them both. I wanted to try a different travel just to know the difference. Now, sharma operates Volvos and Multi-axls mercedes buses to mumbai. This time though i became a bit too adventerous and booked a non-AC semi sleeper bus to mumbai. I assumed it would be a stripped down version of the volvo. to know the rest read on and be enlightened.
The bus was supposed to leave at 8pm from the sharma transports office in kalasipalyam. I reached there pretty much in time. My first impression was this should be a well planned transport as the office looked much better off than the rest of the travels' offices. there were a number of rows of seats for waiting passengers. I was pleasantly surprised.
The bus arrived almost on time. The usually scurrying happened to enter the bus. The bus looked promising on the outside. Inspired somewhat by the volvo though. but, who cares. The make of the particular model read 'Sutlej 8000'. Whatever the 8000 meant i hoped it flew as good as the volvo if not better. My assumption was the less money meant that just the AC was absent with everything else being the same(As you would know later , dont assume too many things).
It started sometime later but was of no use as the entire kalasipalyam road was in a mess of traffic. It took some time to get out of there to land up in traffic somewhere else. Things had got off to a bad start. The optimist in me quipped, with the law of averages the rest of the journey should be smooth.
It took 10:30 pm to reach around Yeshwantpur station. My stomach was giving me a unger alert. It wondered where dinner might be cos normally its well outside the city that the buses stop at roadside dhabas. I consoled my pensive stomach to hold for few more minutes reminding it of the sumptous meal at the next tarry point.
soon it was 11pm and most of the people were looking at their watches with questioning glances. The driver wasnt oblivious to this fact either but his standard response was the stopover isn't far. Finally, we reached the dhaba at around 12:30. Unbelievable i thought. The part of my brain which deals with bad decisions was trying to convince me saying its a one off situation. In any case, whether i had taken some other bus i would still have been here. Didn't work at all.
Hunger pangs had completely taken over me. I took some meal and settled down again expecting atleast two things. one, early deliverance and two, satisfactory sleep. It helped that the seats were wider than those in the volvo. Plus, the seating arrangement was 2+1 which actally allowed one to fold the feet 'indian style' and sit.
One thing bugged me right from the time the bus hit the free road. Somehow, it didn't have the same bite as the volvo. A bit too much to expect i thought but then the realization hit me about the total journey time. it would now take much longer compared to the volvo. An unsettling feeling to say the least.
to add to that unsettling feeling was the kind of movies that were being played. Emraan hashmi is certainly not my cuppa tea. And getting to watch 3 emraan movies back to back is something of an achievement. In any other setting i could have walked out of the situation unable to bear the drama(torture was my first option), but i was traveling here so that option was unavailable.
At around 8 we reached kolhapur. Whew! finally in marathi land. But the journey was taking 'Homeric' proportions. I bet 'jason' (ref. Greek mythology Jason and the Golden Fleece) would have abandoned his quest if he was traveling with me. The bus was unable to cruise at all. The accelerator seemed to be touching the bottom and still the grunting of the engine was the only thing that increased. No cruising speed at all.
My dunce feeling was at an all time high. With no respite from the emraan mania i thought of ignoring it completely and enjoying the countryside. Believe me, April is not the month you would want to enjoy the countryside. Especially maharashtra. Its summer time and you would be greeted with a torrid sun greeting you the whole day.
After a quick lunch and couple of hours later it was still Pune. The watch said 3pm and i was doing my math of what time to tell i would be reaching home. After the last days and nights experience i thought 7 should be a conservative estimate.
I called up my folks and told them i would be in time for some pre-dinner snacks. I had already got a dressing down in the morning when i told i hadn't taken a volvo so this time there wasnt much they could add to the abuse.
My restlessness continued till we reached lonavala and the moment i saw the expressway i told myself, this gonna get over soon. I profusely thanked the government which built the expressway and settled down thinking of the next few days along with 'aai', 'papa' and not to forget 'bob' (not my dog).
It probably was one of the better moments of my life when i actually liked leaving something behind. It was the bus this time. It read 6:30pm in my watch and i didnt even want to see where it went after vashi. I headed towards the bus terminal at a speed which seemed much faster than the bus i had left behind...
Disclaimer:
(This is my personal experience with the mentioned travel). Opinions might differ from person to person.
Redbus.in is a pretty decent site with decent quality. I have used them on two different occasions and haven't been disappointed. Anyways, back to the topic. All the usual transports were there VRL, Sharma, National, Konduskar etc. I zeroed in on Sharma as i had tried KSRTC and VRL and liked them both. I wanted to try a different travel just to know the difference. Now, sharma operates Volvos and Multi-axls mercedes buses to mumbai. This time though i became a bit too adventerous and booked a non-AC semi sleeper bus to mumbai. I assumed it would be a stripped down version of the volvo. to know the rest read on and be enlightened.
The bus was supposed to leave at 8pm from the sharma transports office in kalasipalyam. I reached there pretty much in time. My first impression was this should be a well planned transport as the office looked much better off than the rest of the travels' offices. there were a number of rows of seats for waiting passengers. I was pleasantly surprised.
The bus arrived almost on time. The usually scurrying happened to enter the bus. The bus looked promising on the outside. Inspired somewhat by the volvo though. but, who cares. The make of the particular model read 'Sutlej 8000'. Whatever the 8000 meant i hoped it flew as good as the volvo if not better. My assumption was the less money meant that just the AC was absent with everything else being the same(As you would know later , dont assume too many things).
It started sometime later but was of no use as the entire kalasipalyam road was in a mess of traffic. It took some time to get out of there to land up in traffic somewhere else. Things had got off to a bad start. The optimist in me quipped, with the law of averages the rest of the journey should be smooth.
It took 10:30 pm to reach around Yeshwantpur station. My stomach was giving me a unger alert. It wondered where dinner might be cos normally its well outside the city that the buses stop at roadside dhabas. I consoled my pensive stomach to hold for few more minutes reminding it of the sumptous meal at the next tarry point.
soon it was 11pm and most of the people were looking at their watches with questioning glances. The driver wasnt oblivious to this fact either but his standard response was the stopover isn't far. Finally, we reached the dhaba at around 12:30. Unbelievable i thought. The part of my brain which deals with bad decisions was trying to convince me saying its a one off situation. In any case, whether i had taken some other bus i would still have been here. Didn't work at all.
Hunger pangs had completely taken over me. I took some meal and settled down again expecting atleast two things. one, early deliverance and two, satisfactory sleep. It helped that the seats were wider than those in the volvo. Plus, the seating arrangement was 2+1 which actally allowed one to fold the feet 'indian style' and sit.
One thing bugged me right from the time the bus hit the free road. Somehow, it didn't have the same bite as the volvo. A bit too much to expect i thought but then the realization hit me about the total journey time. it would now take much longer compared to the volvo. An unsettling feeling to say the least.
to add to that unsettling feeling was the kind of movies that were being played. Emraan hashmi is certainly not my cuppa tea. And getting to watch 3 emraan movies back to back is something of an achievement. In any other setting i could have walked out of the situation unable to bear the drama(torture was my first option), but i was traveling here so that option was unavailable.
At around 8 we reached kolhapur. Whew! finally in marathi land. But the journey was taking 'Homeric' proportions. I bet 'jason' (ref. Greek mythology Jason and the Golden Fleece) would have abandoned his quest if he was traveling with me. The bus was unable to cruise at all. The accelerator seemed to be touching the bottom and still the grunting of the engine was the only thing that increased. No cruising speed at all.
My dunce feeling was at an all time high. With no respite from the emraan mania i thought of ignoring it completely and enjoying the countryside. Believe me, April is not the month you would want to enjoy the countryside. Especially maharashtra. Its summer time and you would be greeted with a torrid sun greeting you the whole day.
After a quick lunch and couple of hours later it was still Pune. The watch said 3pm and i was doing my math of what time to tell i would be reaching home. After the last days and nights experience i thought 7 should be a conservative estimate.
I called up my folks and told them i would be in time for some pre-dinner snacks. I had already got a dressing down in the morning when i told i hadn't taken a volvo so this time there wasnt much they could add to the abuse.
My restlessness continued till we reached lonavala and the moment i saw the expressway i told myself, this gonna get over soon. I profusely thanked the government which built the expressway and settled down thinking of the next few days along with 'aai', 'papa' and not to forget 'bob' (not my dog).
It probably was one of the better moments of my life when i actually liked leaving something behind. It was the bus this time. It read 6:30pm in my watch and i didnt even want to see where it went after vashi. I headed towards the bus terminal at a speed which seemed much faster than the bus i had left behind...
Disclaimer:
(This is my personal experience with the mentioned travel). Opinions might differ from person to person.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
War at paintball arena in bangalore!
This is again an anachronistic post. I dont remember for sure the date on which we went paintballing. It could have been sometime around December, but it sure was fun. For me at least. I had taken part in a paintball competition about a year back in 2007 Dec in the club cabana near hebbal, on the outskirts of bangalore. With that experience in hand i thought it shall be fun to walk in the paintball arena once again with my colleagues and managers (how many of us would want to miss out on a chance to have a go at them :)).
The paintball arena was on banergetta road 7 kms ahead of IIM Bangalore. We were 15 of us. so the teams were divided in to 2 with 7 and 8 members respectively. I found myself in the numerically weaker team. But there was enough enthusiasm among us to convince that numbers dont matter once inside the arena. Tough talk that. I guess the excitement that we were holding guns with paint balls inside them didnt excite as much as the feeling of power that we can cause pain to someone with those paintballs. I had seen paint balls fly at some speed and hit with some sting. In the worst case it would cause a black spot the next day. Not a good idea if you are not wearing the correct safety equipment.
The safety equipment looked stuff more out of star wars. There was a darth vader type face mask to avoid injury to the eyes, a vest to protect the back and upper half of the body with a pouch for the paintballs. looked really cool and once we wore it no one could stop posing for the digi cams. The interesting thing was we couldnt recognize anyone with all that gear. We realized we had distinct color vests that showed our allegiance with a particular team. I was with the green team while the opposition team was red. With the final instructions about the gun operations given it was time for WAR.
The arena was a huge rectangular one with bunkers of varying size being placed in random order over the map. This was a huge difference from the normal arenas i saw in films and had played earlier. There was plenty of scope for moving around bunkers and no one had to jostle to find a bunker for himself. This was also a concern as the enemy could attack from anywhere as there was ample cover for him. Also, since this was a death match we werent sure whether we should attack completely by moving towards the enemy or stay back and consolidate our positions while waiting for the suckers.
The strategy we adopted meant that two people would be attackers on each flank, i.e left and right. that left three people to guard the main bunker in our territory. It looked quite a good strategy in theory. unfortunately it remained exactly that. Either we were too complacent or the opposing dudes were too good. I was one of the defenders and in no time i found the enemy at us from the left flank. I wondered what happened to our guys on the left. Suddenly there were two guys shooting at me. I tried to escape the volley of paintballs but one paintball got me on the hand. I was out! I couldnt believe that i was the first one out. and the game had just started. what a shame. all the things i had thought of doing melted away. I was standing alone outside watching the other guys having a go at each other. I was cursing myself for getting out in such a way. I was determined not go down without a fight if there was a second game.
It later turned out it was my manager who had knocked my out of the game. I liked the guy to be honest but the time for niceties had passed. I hoped i got another chance to atleast not have a forgettable outing. I was fortunate that day it seems for there was going to be another game. I saw my team getting beaten like retards did. I really wanted to score some points for my team. and so began the unforgettable half of the evening, the capture the flag part.
catch the next part in the next post here.
The paintball arena was on banergetta road 7 kms ahead of IIM Bangalore. We were 15 of us. so the teams were divided in to 2 with 7 and 8 members respectively. I found myself in the numerically weaker team. But there was enough enthusiasm among us to convince that numbers dont matter once inside the arena. Tough talk that. I guess the excitement that we were holding guns with paint balls inside them didnt excite as much as the feeling of power that we can cause pain to someone with those paintballs. I had seen paint balls fly at some speed and hit with some sting. In the worst case it would cause a black spot the next day. Not a good idea if you are not wearing the correct safety equipment.
The safety equipment looked stuff more out of star wars. There was a darth vader type face mask to avoid injury to the eyes, a vest to protect the back and upper half of the body with a pouch for the paintballs. looked really cool and once we wore it no one could stop posing for the digi cams. The interesting thing was we couldnt recognize anyone with all that gear. We realized we had distinct color vests that showed our allegiance with a particular team. I was with the green team while the opposition team was red. With the final instructions about the gun operations given it was time for WAR.
The Death match
The first game was decided to be the death match. This format was the simplest therefore chosen as the best option for the beginners. It involved shooting at sight anyone from the opposing team, which meant more target practice and no strategy crap!!The arena was a huge rectangular one with bunkers of varying size being placed in random order over the map. This was a huge difference from the normal arenas i saw in films and had played earlier. There was plenty of scope for moving around bunkers and no one had to jostle to find a bunker for himself. This was also a concern as the enemy could attack from anywhere as there was ample cover for him. Also, since this was a death match we werent sure whether we should attack completely by moving towards the enemy or stay back and consolidate our positions while waiting for the suckers.
The strategy we adopted meant that two people would be attackers on each flank, i.e left and right. that left three people to guard the main bunker in our territory. It looked quite a good strategy in theory. unfortunately it remained exactly that. Either we were too complacent or the opposing dudes were too good. I was one of the defenders and in no time i found the enemy at us from the left flank. I wondered what happened to our guys on the left. Suddenly there were two guys shooting at me. I tried to escape the volley of paintballs but one paintball got me on the hand. I was out! I couldnt believe that i was the first one out. and the game had just started. what a shame. all the things i had thought of doing melted away. I was standing alone outside watching the other guys having a go at each other. I was cursing myself for getting out in such a way. I was determined not go down without a fight if there was a second game.
It later turned out it was my manager who had knocked my out of the game. I liked the guy to be honest but the time for niceties had passed. I hoped i got another chance to atleast not have a forgettable outing. I was fortunate that day it seems for there was going to be another game. I saw my team getting beaten like retards did. I really wanted to score some points for my team. and so began the unforgettable half of the evening, the capture the flag part.
catch the next part in the next post here.
Monday, June 1, 2009
mumbai to bangalore travel in a volvo.
I cant believe its more than 6 months that i updated my blog. Billionth voice that is. Lots of things have happened in the sabbatical. Not all great or worth mentioning.
So where was i during the year end?
Well i was back in aachi mumbai enjoying with namma parents. Its always a special feeling to be somewhere you feel like you are the king.
It was the first time i was traveling from bangalore to mumbai in a volvo. No more sponsored flights for me. (All good things come to an end. so they say.)
I had booked VRL volvo around 8pm. I tried to book a thursday evening bus but there was no availability. Finally i got a vrl booking for friday evening. I reached kalasipalya after a taking a bus from tippasandra to corporation and from thereon by an auto.
The autowalla was at his arrogant best. He didnt start the meter when i got in and when i insisted he asked for 10 rs more. I immediately asked him to stop and got out of the auto. Then i had to listen to a flurry of excuses on how its very reasonable. When i had nothing of it and started to leave he held my hand and told me to get back in the auto agreeing to go by the meter.
I got back since i didnt know the way and could have needed directions from him later. As it turned out i later paid him 10 extra as i again was too lazy to haggle and more anxious to reach on time.
I reached the VRL office on time. The bus came almost on time too. (Till now i have travelled by VRL,sharma,KSRTC and found that VRL,KSRTC are on par and quite decent.)
The bus started and in no time we were stuck in the famous bengaluru traffic.
It took 10:30pm to really get a move on. Akshay's "singh is king" was blaring away on the tv which i tried to avoid.
It felt great watching the lights zoom by sitting by the window seat on the last seat. Last row is never a nice place to sit especially on a long journey, but it didnt bother me much as i was going to mumbai. I was already thinking abt when i would reach and what i would be doing. the comfort of traveling in a volvo is unparalleled on road. Not only it glides on the road, you dont feel the travel fatigue like in the other modes of transport.
One thing i noticed was the roads in karnataka were pretty much under construction. many times the bus had to use a diversion which caused a lot of time wastage especially because the volvo normally travels at around 120 kmph on the highways. So we reached the border at around 6 am and then it was a smooth sailing through maharashtra. the roads looked impeccably maintained. the administration or msrdc deserves a mention in this regard.
Then it was kolhapur, karad, satara behind us in no time and pune was beaconing with time to go for 10 am. Pune was kind of a maze since the bus kept going round and round and we became more anxious as to when we were finally going to hit the well known Mumbai-Pune expressway. At long last we saw the last of Pune and the express way greeted us with the multilane roads and zooming cars.
One thing i have to agree that the expressway has made travel a lot more safer. I still remember as a kid how terrified i was to see the depths of the khandala, lonavala ghats. I used to hope i can get to the other side. But what it also has done is that you miss the scenery you get to see otherwise, going thru the dense forest of lonavala. Pleasant, serene sights beacon you onwards along the treacherous and twisting roads. A solitary drivers moment of serenity i should say. Especially in the monsoon, its a total joy traveling by the old road. you can see people who have stopped by the wayside to enjoy the bountiful nature sipping away at a super hot cup of tea while its raining like it can only in the western ghats.
the bus sped on the express way like in a race, easily overtaking other vehicles. felt kinda nice. In no time were we on the outskirts of a well populated suburb of Navi Mumbai known as panvel. the density of population was just a reminder that i was entering a city. Even here the highrises easily outnumbered the apartments i see in bangalore.
It was around 1 pm and the bus entered the main town of vashi and it was supposed to be my alighting point. I managed to get down from the bus, still trying to come to terms with the sudden loss of momentum while in the bus.
I trudged along the dusty main road and reached till the imposing structure that the Vashi station was. It also happens to be the bus stand for traveling to the yonder suburbs of navi mumbai. I reached home by 2:30 where mom had expected me to arrive by plane the same morning! (I attributed my travel in a bus to recession :P)
Though i have traveled by plane almost 15-16 times, the novelty factor remains. Not to mention the time saved is truly invaluable. add to that the comfortable journey.
Still volvo experience comes close to it if not same. If only volvos could fly! :)
So where was i during the year end?
Well i was back in aachi mumbai enjoying with namma parents. Its always a special feeling to be somewhere you feel like you are the king.
It was the first time i was traveling from bangalore to mumbai in a volvo. No more sponsored flights for me. (All good things come to an end. so they say.)
I had booked VRL volvo around 8pm. I tried to book a thursday evening bus but there was no availability. Finally i got a vrl booking for friday evening. I reached kalasipalya after a taking a bus from tippasandra to corporation and from thereon by an auto.
The autowalla was at his arrogant best. He didnt start the meter when i got in and when i insisted he asked for 10 rs more. I immediately asked him to stop and got out of the auto. Then i had to listen to a flurry of excuses on how its very reasonable. When i had nothing of it and started to leave he held my hand and told me to get back in the auto agreeing to go by the meter.
I got back since i didnt know the way and could have needed directions from him later. As it turned out i later paid him 10 extra as i again was too lazy to haggle and more anxious to reach on time.
I reached the VRL office on time. The bus came almost on time too. (Till now i have travelled by VRL,sharma,KSRTC and found that VRL,KSRTC are on par and quite decent.)
The bus started and in no time we were stuck in the famous bengaluru traffic.
It took 10:30pm to really get a move on. Akshay's "singh is king" was blaring away on the tv which i tried to avoid.
It felt great watching the lights zoom by sitting by the window seat on the last seat. Last row is never a nice place to sit especially on a long journey, but it didnt bother me much as i was going to mumbai. I was already thinking abt when i would reach and what i would be doing. the comfort of traveling in a volvo is unparalleled on road. Not only it glides on the road, you dont feel the travel fatigue like in the other modes of transport.
One thing i noticed was the roads in karnataka were pretty much under construction. many times the bus had to use a diversion which caused a lot of time wastage especially because the volvo normally travels at around 120 kmph on the highways. So we reached the border at around 6 am and then it was a smooth sailing through maharashtra. the roads looked impeccably maintained. the administration or msrdc deserves a mention in this regard.
Then it was kolhapur, karad, satara behind us in no time and pune was beaconing with time to go for 10 am. Pune was kind of a maze since the bus kept going round and round and we became more anxious as to when we were finally going to hit the well known Mumbai-Pune expressway. At long last we saw the last of Pune and the express way greeted us with the multilane roads and zooming cars.
One thing i have to agree that the expressway has made travel a lot more safer. I still remember as a kid how terrified i was to see the depths of the khandala, lonavala ghats. I used to hope i can get to the other side. But what it also has done is that you miss the scenery you get to see otherwise, going thru the dense forest of lonavala. Pleasant, serene sights beacon you onwards along the treacherous and twisting roads. A solitary drivers moment of serenity i should say. Especially in the monsoon, its a total joy traveling by the old road. you can see people who have stopped by the wayside to enjoy the bountiful nature sipping away at a super hot cup of tea while its raining like it can only in the western ghats.
the bus sped on the express way like in a race, easily overtaking other vehicles. felt kinda nice. In no time were we on the outskirts of a well populated suburb of Navi Mumbai known as panvel. the density of population was just a reminder that i was entering a city. Even here the highrises easily outnumbered the apartments i see in bangalore.
It was around 1 pm and the bus entered the main town of vashi and it was supposed to be my alighting point. I managed to get down from the bus, still trying to come to terms with the sudden loss of momentum while in the bus.
I trudged along the dusty main road and reached till the imposing structure that the Vashi station was. It also happens to be the bus stand for traveling to the yonder suburbs of navi mumbai. I reached home by 2:30 where mom had expected me to arrive by plane the same morning! (I attributed my travel in a bus to recession :P)
Though i have traveled by plane almost 15-16 times, the novelty factor remains. Not to mention the time saved is truly invaluable. add to that the comfortable journey.
Still volvo experience comes close to it if not same. If only volvos could fly! :)
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Day at Chinnaswamy Stadium bangalore - Australia vs India- Part 3
All these drills were supervised by the physio, bowling coach venky and the fielding coach robin singh. Around 8:30 am gautam gambhir strolled towards our stand and placed his gear next to the practise wicket just in front of our stand and joined the others in their game. After few minutes i couldnt believe what i was wirnessing.
The fab four were walking directly towards the practise wickets for a "hit-in". I was going to see all of them from a distance of 10 meters. I wasnt the only one who realised this. The half filled stand rose and went towards the enclosure that seperated the field from the stand and started shooting the players as they took guard and played a few strokes. First it was gautam gambhir and sehwag as they were supposed to open the batting. they had successfully played through the last evenings play and were set to consolidate the innings.
For the first time i felt let down by my trusted mobile. It was a 1.3 Mp camera that it had .. not worthwhile in clicking pictures if you have some distance in between you and the subject. There he was. Saching practising in front of me and i couldnt get a decent shot due to my stupid camera. With the insanely small amount of memory it had, i had to delete stuff even before i could click a picture!
Though i did manage to capture some videos of the master, they was grainy at best.
I saw them all bat. Dravid, Lakshman, Ganguly Dhoni et al. saw zaheer, ishant, amit mishra and kumble bowl. I was so thrilled that the ticket cost was recovered in the first hour itself before even a ball was bowled. Fully satisfied.
Click here for previous post
Click here for next post
The fab four were walking directly towards the practise wickets for a "hit-in". I was going to see all of them from a distance of 10 meters. I wasnt the only one who realised this. The half filled stand rose and went towards the enclosure that seperated the field from the stand and started shooting the players as they took guard and played a few strokes. First it was gautam gambhir and sehwag as they were supposed to open the batting. they had successfully played through the last evenings play and were set to consolidate the innings.
For the first time i felt let down by my trusted mobile. It was a 1.3 Mp camera that it had .. not worthwhile in clicking pictures if you have some distance in between you and the subject. There he was. Saching practising in front of me and i couldnt get a decent shot due to my stupid camera. With the insanely small amount of memory it had, i had to delete stuff even before i could click a picture!
Though i did manage to capture some videos of the master, they was grainy at best.
I saw them all bat. Dravid, Lakshman, Ganguly Dhoni et al. saw zaheer, ishant, amit mishra and kumble bowl. I was so thrilled that the ticket cost was recovered in the first hour itself before even a ball was bowled. Fully satisfied.
Click here for previous post
Click here for next post
Day at Chinnaswamy Stadium bangalore - Australia vs India- Part 2
Armed with the ticket for the 3rd Day of 1st Test match between India and Australia, I felt like i had wot the golden ticket to Willy Wonkas Chocolate factory. The day happened to be a saturday which meant i could freak out all i wanted as the next day was going to be a sunday.
Going to the stadium wasnt easy for me to say the least. I had been to the area around the Stadium a few times. But this time i had to be there early morning and that too using some mode of transport as it was pretty far away. My options were limited considering that i didnt have my own vehicle for transportation. That meant i either use an auto or a BMTC bus. Autos may be a convenient options elsewhere, but in bangalore you better be a millionaire to even consider traveling by it. Cos even if you are not, the autowallas assume you are some blue blooded fool ready to part with his money. The rates they quote shall either make your wallet lighter or force you to take the eco-friendly public transport. Hail the autowalla who cares for the environment!
So BMTC was the option for me. My source of truth was http://maps.google.com and http://bmtcinfo.com/ and http://btis.in/bus.htm . Excellent sites if you really want to go around in bangalore. route 138 it was for me then. I left at 7:30 am in the morning hoping to beat the rush. Luckily i got a bus as soon as i arrived at the bus stop and before i knew i had landed near the Chinnaswamy stadium.
The usually deserted road was transformed into a colourful melee of people, policemen, hawkers and blackmarketeers. With the match scheduled to start at 9:30 am, already i could see i was not the early bird at 7:45. large number of people were standing quietly in line waiting for the gates to open. I had got the tickets for the stand B (not to mention the cheapest ones). I had checked out the ground map earlier and had arrived at the conclusion that this was a good bet. and as i found out later, i wasnt wrong!
On figuring out that it was gate no 12 for me, i went upto the gate and started looking where the line ended. Strangely, there was no line at the gate! I wondered whether this really was the correct gate as the adjacent gate had a 100 meter queue already. My doubts were quelled when the guy at the ticket window confirmed that this indeed was the entrace to the stand A. I couldnt believe it. I was the first person to turn up in that particular stand. Not surprisingly though. I had arrived at the ground a 1:45 mins early.
As i stood there patiently thinking about how lucky i was to be the first one to enter the stand, i saw police men frisking away people anxious to get a ticket. The ticket window clearly displayed signes reading tickets were sold out. What an opporutnity for the black marketeers, i thought. I had experienced it myself the previous year during the last day of the test match between India and Pakistan. tickets were being sold at obnoxious prices a few meters away while the ticket windows shamelessly/helplessly/ignorantly displayed "sold out". What a shame. Paying a bribe to watch a sport thats considered a religion by us. In other words some black marketeer decides whether you can follow your religion or not. Utterly blasphemous.
Finally the gates opened and i was let in. There was thorough frisking of me,my bag and the result of which i had to do away with my water bottle. Another way to extort money under the guise of security. But all these thoughts suddenly gave way to great anxiousness instead. I was going to enter a cricket stadium for the first time in my life. What a feeling it was! I literally ran through the maze of high walls and entered the lobby which led to the stand. It was like a hall with a huge entrance at the other. It was here that the refreshmets were served during the breaks.
I didnt even bother to look around. My target was the entrance to the stand. I slowed down enough to allow the security to check my ticket again. Finally i entered the stadium. What a view it was! Lush outfield with a huge expanse. The circular canopy of the stadium supported by great arches looked beautiful. And the four light towers stood stoically as though they had been there since eternity. The thing that struck me instead was the size of the stadium. On tv it looked much bigger. I was awestruck for the initial 10 minutes. then as the feeling sunk in, I thought of calling my brother. As it turned out, that sloth was still in bed maybe dreaming of driving an F1 car alogside Michel Schumacher!
The weather of bangalore as always was perfect. the sun was out but perhaps it was unusually cool. The far side of the stadium was still under the morning shadows. I was still trying to find out the place to sit so that i could get to see the game perfectly. The stand itself was pretty snugly placed. It was directly opposite the players pavilion on the far side. So it meant you couldnt see who was coming in to bat next. But you shouldnt expect all this luxury in the cheapest seat in the house. It wasnt all that bad too. Besides being very close to the playing field, it also was a nice place to watch straight drives from.
Slowly, but surely the crowd was building up. And along with it was the noise. Soon a giant tricolor was unfurled in the stand above me. The horns suddenly stopped for a brief moment, the cheering went quiet and as everyone waited to see what happened, the two teams came out onto the field although in shorts and sweats. It was the morning practise before the match started. But that was enough for the people to start cheering wildly.
As the players went about their drills, people cheered for the player they recognised sometimes successfully and sometimes unsuccessfully. There were shouts of "Saaachinnnnn... Saaaachinnnn", which has become an anthem of sorts in the last decade. And interspersed were shouts and cheers for Sourav "Dada" Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Sehwag, Dhoni, Ishat, Zaheer and of course Kumble. The Australians were playing a game of football whereas the Indians kept themselves busy with a game of rugby. So whenever the ball went close to any of the stands the people cheered wildly forgetting that the game hadnt even started!
Click here for previous post
Click here for next post
Going to the stadium wasnt easy for me to say the least. I had been to the area around the Stadium a few times. But this time i had to be there early morning and that too using some mode of transport as it was pretty far away. My options were limited considering that i didnt have my own vehicle for transportation. That meant i either use an auto or a BMTC bus. Autos may be a convenient options elsewhere, but in bangalore you better be a millionaire to even consider traveling by it. Cos even if you are not, the autowallas assume you are some blue blooded fool ready to part with his money. The rates they quote shall either make your wallet lighter or force you to take the eco-friendly public transport. Hail the autowalla who cares for the environment!
So BMTC was the option for me. My source of truth was http://maps.google.com and http://bmtcinfo.com/ and http://btis.in/bus.htm . Excellent sites if you really want to go around in bangalore. route 138 it was for me then. I left at 7:30 am in the morning hoping to beat the rush. Luckily i got a bus as soon as i arrived at the bus stop and before i knew i had landed near the Chinnaswamy stadium.
The usually deserted road was transformed into a colourful melee of people, policemen, hawkers and blackmarketeers. With the match scheduled to start at 9:30 am, already i could see i was not the early bird at 7:45. large number of people were standing quietly in line waiting for the gates to open. I had got the tickets for the stand B (not to mention the cheapest ones). I had checked out the ground map earlier and had arrived at the conclusion that this was a good bet. and as i found out later, i wasnt wrong!
On figuring out that it was gate no 12 for me, i went upto the gate and started looking where the line ended. Strangely, there was no line at the gate! I wondered whether this really was the correct gate as the adjacent gate had a 100 meter queue already. My doubts were quelled when the guy at the ticket window confirmed that this indeed was the entrace to the stand A. I couldnt believe it. I was the first person to turn up in that particular stand. Not surprisingly though. I had arrived at the ground a 1:45 mins early.
As i stood there patiently thinking about how lucky i was to be the first one to enter the stand, i saw police men frisking away people anxious to get a ticket. The ticket window clearly displayed signes reading tickets were sold out. What an opporutnity for the black marketeers, i thought. I had experienced it myself the previous year during the last day of the test match between India and Pakistan. tickets were being sold at obnoxious prices a few meters away while the ticket windows shamelessly/helplessly/ignorantly displayed "sold out". What a shame. Paying a bribe to watch a sport thats considered a religion by us. In other words some black marketeer decides whether you can follow your religion or not. Utterly blasphemous.
Finally the gates opened and i was let in. There was thorough frisking of me,my bag and the result of which i had to do away with my water bottle. Another way to extort money under the guise of security. But all these thoughts suddenly gave way to great anxiousness instead. I was going to enter a cricket stadium for the first time in my life. What a feeling it was! I literally ran through the maze of high walls and entered the lobby which led to the stand. It was like a hall with a huge entrance at the other. It was here that the refreshmets were served during the breaks.
I didnt even bother to look around. My target was the entrance to the stand. I slowed down enough to allow the security to check my ticket again. Finally i entered the stadium. What a view it was! Lush outfield with a huge expanse. The circular canopy of the stadium supported by great arches looked beautiful. And the four light towers stood stoically as though they had been there since eternity. The thing that struck me instead was the size of the stadium. On tv it looked much bigger. I was awestruck for the initial 10 minutes. then as the feeling sunk in, I thought of calling my brother. As it turned out, that sloth was still in bed maybe dreaming of driving an F1 car alogside Michel Schumacher!
The weather of bangalore as always was perfect. the sun was out but perhaps it was unusually cool. The far side of the stadium was still under the morning shadows. I was still trying to find out the place to sit so that i could get to see the game perfectly. The stand itself was pretty snugly placed. It was directly opposite the players pavilion on the far side. So it meant you couldnt see who was coming in to bat next. But you shouldnt expect all this luxury in the cheapest seat in the house. It wasnt all that bad too. Besides being very close to the playing field, it also was a nice place to watch straight drives from.
Slowly, but surely the crowd was building up. And along with it was the noise. Soon a giant tricolor was unfurled in the stand above me. The horns suddenly stopped for a brief moment, the cheering went quiet and as everyone waited to see what happened, the two teams came out onto the field although in shorts and sweats. It was the morning practise before the match started. But that was enough for the people to start cheering wildly.
As the players went about their drills, people cheered for the player they recognised sometimes successfully and sometimes unsuccessfully. There were shouts of "Saaachinnnnn... Saaaachinnnn", which has become an anthem of sorts in the last decade. And interspersed were shouts and cheers for Sourav "Dada" Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Sehwag, Dhoni, Ishat, Zaheer and of course Kumble. The Australians were playing a game of football whereas the Indians kept themselves busy with a game of rugby. So whenever the ball went close to any of the stands the people cheered wildly forgetting that the game hadnt even started!
Click here for previous post
Click here for next post
Friday, November 21, 2008
Day at Chinnaswamy Stadium bangalore - Australia vs India
How do you describe the first time you went and watched a match in a stadium? Unforgettable. Right? Its a childhood memory that any kid savors his entire life. Watching ones sporting heroes in flesh and blood compares to nothing else on this planet. Well i recently had the same experience. not as a kid, though. It happened to be almost 16 years after i fell in love with the game we call Cricket.
It wasn't that i never was interested in watching a live match. To be frank, i lived in the center of Mumbai; which in itself was reason good enough to watch atleast one match in the 16 years that I lived in Mumbai. But then somehow I never really came to watch a match in a stadium.Like a pilgrimage every pious Muslim takes to Mecca, it dawned upon me to do something similar.
The earliest instance i remember watching a cricket match on TV is the '91 Hero Cup. It was here that i saw the geniuses of Sachin Tendulkar & Anil Kumble at work. Frankly speaking, a 9 year old doesnt know a genius when he sees one. But After seeing all that these two have done for India over the last decade and a half, I was befitting to see these two characters of cricket in action with my very own eyes before they bid adieu to the 22 yards.
Its wasnt all about Sachin and Kumble, there was the ever hard-working father of Indian cricket Rahul Dravid. The "God of off-side", Sourav Ganguly and last but not the least, the silken willow of Vangipurappuvenkatasai Lakshman. The "Fab-Five" as these accomplished exponents of the game are known.
The opportunity chose me instead of the other way round. and nothing better i would say. After all, what better than a fitting challenge in the form of the Australians, the side to beat in cricketing circles. One last challenge. one last chance to leave an impression. One last chance to preserve a moment in history.
Having suffered enough at the hands of my procrastination, I set out to book my ticket before i let go of this chance. More in the next post...
Click here for next post
It wasn't that i never was interested in watching a live match. To be frank, i lived in the center of Mumbai; which in itself was reason good enough to watch atleast one match in the 16 years that I lived in Mumbai. But then somehow I never really came to watch a match in a stadium.Like a pilgrimage every pious Muslim takes to Mecca, it dawned upon me to do something similar.
The earliest instance i remember watching a cricket match on TV is the '91 Hero Cup. It was here that i saw the geniuses of Sachin Tendulkar & Anil Kumble at work. Frankly speaking, a 9 year old doesnt know a genius when he sees one. But After seeing all that these two have done for India over the last decade and a half, I was befitting to see these two characters of cricket in action with my very own eyes before they bid adieu to the 22 yards.
Its wasnt all about Sachin and Kumble, there was the ever hard-working father of Indian cricket Rahul Dravid. The "God of off-side", Sourav Ganguly and last but not the least, the silken willow of Vangipurappuvenkatasai Lakshman. The "Fab-Five" as these accomplished exponents of the game are known.
The opportunity chose me instead of the other way round. and nothing better i would say. After all, what better than a fitting challenge in the form of the Australians, the side to beat in cricketing circles. One last challenge. one last chance to leave an impression. One last chance to preserve a moment in history.
Having suffered enough at the hands of my procrastination, I set out to book my ticket before i let go of this chance. More in the next post...
Click here for next post
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Bus Routes in Bangalore and travelling from Bangalore International Airport
If you are traveling in bangalore and dont know which bus routes go where in bangalore? There are various buses available from BMTC (Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation).
History of BMTC
BMTC was originally a company called Bangalore Transport Company (BTC) Limited founded in 1940 catering to the entire city with a fleet of 98 buses. The Government of Mysore took over the city transport from the private company in 1956 and called it Bangalore Transport Service [BTS]. On August 15, 1997 Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) was incorporated.
The following pages give detailed Bus routes from BMTC.
BMTC English site: This site i sthe older version of the BMTC site which provides bus route maps
BTIS site- bus route maps : The new site with good information about commuting from the new Bangalore International Airport
DEPARTURE FROM :BANGALORE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
0650 0715 0740 0805 0830 0920 0945 1030
1055 1120 1125 1210 1235 1300 1325 1350
1415 1440 1505 1550 1615 1640 1705 1730
1755 1820 1845 1910 1935 2000 2025 2110
2135 2200 2225 2250 2315 2340 0005 0210
0235 0300 0350 0415 0440
DEPARTURE FROM :HEBBALA
0600 0625 0650 0715 0740 0805 0830 0855
0920 1010 1035 1120 1145 1210 1235 1300
1325 1350 1415 1440 1505 1530 1555 1640
1705 1730 1755 1820 1845 1910 1935 2000
2025 2050 2135 2200 2225 2250 2315 0120
0145 0210 0300 0325 0350
ALL ARE VOLVO
DEPARTURE FROM :BANGALORE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
0600 0700 0800 0900 1000 1100 1200 1300
1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 2100
2200 2300 2400 0100 0200 0300 0400
DEPARTURE FROM :MCTC BUS STAND
0600 0700 0800 0900 1000 1100 1200 1300
1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 2100
2200 2300 2400 0100 0400 0500
ALL ARE SUVARNA SERVICE
0600 0615 0630 0645 0650 0715 0735 0755
0810 0825 0840 0910 0925 0940 1010 1025
1035 1105 1120 1135 1220 1235 1245 1320
1335 1335 1420 1435 1445 1515 1530 1545
1615 1630 1645 1700 1745 1800 1825 1845
1855 1925 1940 1950 2020 2035 2050 2120
2135 2145 2300 2335 2350 2400 0045 0130
0230 0300 0410 0440 0510 0525 0545
DEPARTURE FROM :JEEVANBHIMA NAGARA
0615 0630 0645 0715 0730 0745 0830 0845
0900 0910 0925 0940 1025 1040 1055 1125
1140 1155 1205 1225 1240 1250 1320 1335
1345 1435 1450 1500 1535 1550 1605 1635
1650 1700 1730 1745 1755 1825 1840 1855
1925 1940 1950 2020 2050 2120 2135 2150
2230 2330 0045 0100 0145 0225 0255 0325
0340 0355 0410 0425 0440 0455 0510 0525
0550
DEPARTURE FROM BIAL
0500 0600 0700 0800 0900 1000 1100 1200
1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000
2100 2200 2300 2400 0100 0200 0300
DEPARTURE FROM HAL
0500 0600 0700 0800 0900 1000 1100 1200
1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000
2100 2200 2300 2400 0100 0300 0400
0610 0625 0640(V) 0655 0710 0725 0740V 0820(V)
0835 0850 0905 0920(V) 0935 0950 1005 1020(V)
1035 1050 1105 1120(V) 1135 1150 1205 1220(V)
1235 1320(V) 1350 1405 1420(V) 1435 1450 1505
1520(V) 1535 1550 1605 1620(V) 1635 1650 1705
1720(V) 1815 1830 1845 1915 1930 1945 2015
2045 2115 2145 2215 2300(V) 2315 2400(V) 0015
0045 0100(V) 0015 0130 0200(V) 0230 0300(V) 0340
0410 0440(V) 0510 0540(V)
* BOLD INDICATES VOLVO
DEPARTURE FROM J.P. NAGAR 6TH PHASE
0600(V) 0615 0630 0645 0700(V) 0715 0730 0745
0800(V) 0815 0830 0845 0900(V) 0915 0930 0945
1000(V) 1100(V) 1115 1130 1145 1200(V) 1215 1230
1245 1300(V) 1315 1330 1345 1400(V) 1415 1430
1445 1500V 1515 1610 1625 1655 1710 1725
1755 1825 1855 1925 2040(V) 2055 2125 2140(V)
2155 2225 2240(V) 2255 2310 2340(V) 0005 0040(V)
0120(V) 0150 0220(V) 0250 0320(V) 0350 0405 0420(V)
0435 0450 0505 0520(V)
* BOLD INDICATES VOLVO
0440 0540 0640 0740 0830 0930 1030 1130
1230 1430 1530 1630 1730 1830 1930 2030
2130 2230 2330 0045
DEPARTURE FROM KADUGODI
0600 0700 0800 0900 1000 1100 1200 1300
1400 1500 1655 1745 1855 2000 2055 2145
2245 2400 0100
0600 0630 0700 0730 0800 0830 0900 0930
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1020 1050 1120 1150 1220 1250 1320 1350
2 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1420 1450 1520 1550 1620 1650 1720 1750
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1820 1850 1920 1950 2020 2110 2120 2150
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
2240 2310 2400 0040 0130 0220 0345 0430
1 2 4 6 7 8 3 5
DEPARTURE FROM KORAMANGALA
0610 0640 0700 0735 0820 0850 0920 0950
5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4
1020 1050 1120 1150 1220 1250 1320 1350
5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4
1420 1450 1520 1550 1620 1650 B 1750
5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4
1820 1910 1920 1950 2040 2110 2140 2210
5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4
2230 2300 2330 2400 0420 0450 0525 0540
5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4
0310 0500 0625 0715 0800 0840 0925 1010
1055 1135 1240 1355 1445 1535 1620 1705
1745 1825 1935 2015 2100 2145 2230 2315
2355 0040
DEPARTURE FROM :ELECTRONIC CITY
0110 0200 0300 0505 0550 0630 0730 0815
0855 1010 1105 1220 1305 1350 1430 1530
1630 1745 1830 1915 2015 2115 2230 2330
0040
0615 0725 0755 0825 0925 0855 0925 0945
1015 1045 1115 1145 1215 1245 1325 1355
1425 1455 1525 1550 1615 1645 1715 1745
1815 1905 1935 2005 2035 2105 2155 2225
2255 2320 2325 2355 0020 0105 0120 0135
0205 0220 0235 0305 0330 0335 0405 0430
0435 0505 0535
DEPARTURE FROM KEMPEGOWDA BUS STATION
0600 0630 0635 0700 0730 0735 0800 0820
0825 0850 0920 925 0950 1020 1050 1115
1200 1230 1300 1330 1400 1425 1450 1520
1550 1620 1650 1740 1810 1840 1910 1940
2030 2100 2130 2200 2230 2340 1210 1240
0110 0140 0230 0300 0330 0400 0430 0440
0500 0540
0520 0635 0750 0830 0935 1030 1125 1220
1300 1425 1520 1620 1720 1830 1930 2030
2130 2210 2330 0045
DEPARTURE FROM CHIKKALASADRA BUS STAND
0430 0520 0600 0705 0800 0900 1000 1050
1155 1300 1400 1500 1620 1655 1750 1850
2000 2120 2240 0330
0415 0520 0620 0720 0820 0920 1040 1240
1340 1440 1620 1720 1820 1920 2020 2140
0045 0230
DEPARTURE FROM KUVEMPU NAGARA (BTM LAYOUT)
0415 0520 0610 0720 0830 0940 1030 1140
1240 1450 1610 1710 1820 1930 2025 2130
2245 2400
History of BMTC
BMTC was originally a company called Bangalore Transport Company (BTC) Limited founded in 1940 catering to the entire city with a fleet of 98 buses. The Government of Mysore took over the city transport from the private company in 1956 and called it Bangalore Transport Service [BTS]. On August 15, 1997 Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) was incorporated.
The following pages give detailed Bus routes from BMTC.
BMTC English site: This site i sthe older version of the BMTC site which provides bus route maps
BTIS site- bus route maps : The new site with good information about commuting from the new Bangalore International Airport
BIAS-1
BANGALORE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO HEBBALA
Hebbala Ring RoadDEPARTURE FROM :BANGALORE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
0650 0715 0740 0805 0830 0920 0945 1030
1055 1120 1125 1210 1235 1300 1325 1350
1415 1440 1505 1550 1615 1640 1705 1730
1755 1820 1845 1910 1935 2000 2025 2110
2135 2200 2225 2250 2315 2340 0005 0210
0235 0300 0350 0415 0440
DEPARTURE FROM :HEBBALA
0600 0625 0650 0715 0740 0805 0830 0855
0920 1010 1035 1120 1145 1210 1235 1300
1325 1350 1415 1440 1505 1530 1555 1640
1705 1730 1755 1820 1845 1910 1935 2000
2025 2050 2135 2200 2225 2250 2315 0120
0145 0210 0300 0325 0350
ALL ARE VOLVO
BIAS-2
BANGALORE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO MCTC BUS STAND
Vijayanagara, Basaveshwara nagar 8th Main, Navarang, Malleshwaram Bus Station, Sadashivanagara Bash yam Circle, Mekhri Circle , Hebbal, Jn.of Kogilu cross.(Only Non AC Suvarna Services)DEPARTURE FROM :BANGALORE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
0600 0700 0800 0900 1000 1100 1200 1300
1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 2100
2200 2300 2400 0100 0200 0300 0400
DEPARTURE FROM :MCTC BUS STAND
0600 0700 0800 0900 1000 1100 1200 1300
1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 2100
2200 2300 2400 0100 0400 0500
ALL ARE SUVARNA SERVICE
BIAS-3
BANGALORE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO JEEVANBHIMANAGARA
DEPARTURE FROM :BANGALORE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT0600 0615 0630 0645 0650 0715 0735 0755
0810 0825 0840 0910 0925 0940 1010 1025
1035 1105 1120 1135 1220 1235 1245 1320
1335 1335 1420 1435 1445 1515 1530 1545
1615 1630 1645 1700 1745 1800 1825 1845
1855 1925 1940 1950 2020 2035 2050 2120
2135 2145 2300 2335 2350 2400 0045 0130
0230 0300 0410 0440 0510 0525 0545
DEPARTURE FROM :JEEVANBHIMA NAGARA
0615 0630 0645 0715 0730 0745 0830 0845
0900 0910 0925 0940 1025 1040 1055 1125
1140 1155 1205 1225 1240 1250 1320 1335
1345 1435 1450 1500 1535 1550 1605 1635
1650 1700 1730 1745 1755 1825 1840 1855
1925 1940 1950 2020 2050 2120 2135 2150
2230 2330 0045 0100 0145 0225 0255 0325
0340 0355 0410 0425 0440 0455 0510 0525
0550
BIAS-4
BANGALORE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO HAL
ROUTE NO.BIAS-4 BIAL TO HAL OLD AIRPORTDEPARTURE FROM BIAL
0500 0600 0700 0800 0900 1000 1100 1200
1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000
2100 2200 2300 2400 0100 0200 0300
DEPARTURE FROM HAL
0500 0600 0700 0800 0900 1000 1100 1200
1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000
2100 2200 2300 2400 0100 0300 0400
BIAS-5
BANGALORE INTERNATIONAL AIR PORT To J.P. NAGAR 6TH PHASE
DEPARTURE FROM BANGALORE INTERNATIONAL AIR PORT0610 0625 0640(V) 0655 0710 0725 0740V 0820(V)
0835 0850 0905 0920(V) 0935 0950 1005 1020(V)
1035 1050 1105 1120(V) 1135 1150 1205 1220(V)
1235 1320(V) 1350 1405 1420(V) 1435 1450 1505
1520(V) 1535 1550 1605 1620(V) 1635 1650 1705
1720(V) 1815 1830 1845 1915 1930 1945 2015
2045 2115 2145 2215 2300(V) 2315 2400(V) 0015
0045 0100(V) 0015 0130 0200(V) 0230 0300(V) 0340
0410 0440(V) 0510 0540(V)
* BOLD INDICATES VOLVO
DEPARTURE FROM J.P. NAGAR 6TH PHASE
0600(V) 0615 0630 0645 0700(V) 0715 0730 0745
0800(V) 0815 0830 0845 0900(V) 0915 0930 0945
1000(V) 1100(V) 1115 1130 1145 1200(V) 1215 1230
1245 1300(V) 1315 1330 1345 1400(V) 1415 1430
1445 1500V 1515 1610 1625 1655 1710 1725
1755 1825 1855 1925 2040(V) 2055 2125 2140(V)
2155 2225 2240(V) 2255 2310 2340(V) 0005 0040(V)
0120(V) 0150 0220(V) 0250 0320(V) 0350 0405 0420(V)
0435 0450 0505 0520(V)
* BOLD INDICATES VOLVO
BIAS-6
BANGALORE INTERNATIONAL AIR PORT To KADUGODI BUS STATION
DEPARTURE FROM BIAL0440 0540 0640 0740 0830 0930 1030 1130
1230 1430 1530 1630 1730 1830 1930 2030
2130 2230 2330 0045
DEPARTURE FROM KADUGODI
0600 0700 0800 0900 1000 1100 1200 1300
1400 1500 1655 1745 1855 2000 2055 2145
2245 2400 0100
BIAS-7
BANGALORE INTERNATIONAL AIR PORT To KORAMANGALA
DEPARTURE FROM BANGALORE INTERNATIONAL AIR PORT0600 0630 0700 0730 0800 0830 0900 0930
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1020 1050 1120 1150 1220 1250 1320 1350
2 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1420 1450 1520 1550 1620 1650 1720 1750
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1820 1850 1920 1950 2020 2110 2120 2150
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
2240 2310 2400 0040 0130 0220 0345 0430
1 2 4 6 7 8 3 5
DEPARTURE FROM KORAMANGALA
0610 0640 0700 0735 0820 0850 0920 0950
5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4
1020 1050 1120 1150 1220 1250 1320 1350
5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4
1420 1450 1520 1550 1620 1650 B 1750
5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4
1820 1910 1920 1950 2040 2110 2140 2210
5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4
2230 2300 2330 2400 0420 0450 0525 0540
5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4
BIAS-8
BANGALORE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO ELECTRONIC CITY
DEPARTURE FROM :BANGALORE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT0310 0500 0625 0715 0800 0840 0925 1010
1055 1135 1240 1355 1445 1535 1620 1705
1745 1825 1935 2015 2100 2145 2230 2315
2355 0040
DEPARTURE FROM :ELECTRONIC CITY
0110 0200 0300 0505 0550 0630 0730 0815
0855 1010 1105 1220 1305 1350 1430 1530
1630 1745 1830 1915 2015 2115 2230 2330
0040
BIAS-9
BANGALORE INTERNATIONAL AIR PORT To KEMPEGOWDA BUS STATION
DEPARTURE FROM BANGALORE INTERNATIONAL AIR PORT0615 0725 0755 0825 0925 0855 0925 0945
1015 1045 1115 1145 1215 1245 1325 1355
1425 1455 1525 1550 1615 1645 1715 1745
1815 1905 1935 2005 2035 2105 2155 2225
2255 2320 2325 2355 0020 0105 0120 0135
0205 0220 0235 0305 0330 0335 0405 0430
0435 0505 0535
DEPARTURE FROM KEMPEGOWDA BUS STATION
0600 0630 0635 0700 0730 0735 0800 0820
0825 0850 0920 925 0950 1020 1050 1115
1200 1230 1300 1330 1400 1425 1450 1520
1550 1620 1650 1740 1810 1840 1910 1940
2030 2100 2130 2200 2230 2340 1210 1240
0110 0140 0230 0300 0330 0400 0430 0440
0500 0540
BIAS-11
BANGALORE INTERNATIONAL AIR PORT TOCHIKKALASANDRA BUS STAND
DEPARTURE FROM BANGALORE INTERNATIONAL AIR PORT0520 0635 0750 0830 0935 1030 1125 1220
1300 1425 1520 1620 1720 1830 1930 2030
2130 2210 2330 0045
DEPARTURE FROM CHIKKALASADRA BUS STAND
0430 0520 0600 0705 0800 0900 1000 1050
1155 1300 1400 1500 1620 1655 1750 1850
2000 2120 2240 0330
BIAS-12
BANGALORE INTERNATIONAL AIR PORT TOKUVEMPU NAGARA (BTM LAYOUT)
DEPARTURE FROM BANGALORE INTERNATIONAL AIR PORT0415 0520 0620 0720 0820 0920 1040 1240
1340 1440 1620 1720 1820 1920 2020 2140
0045 0230
DEPARTURE FROM KUVEMPU NAGARA (BTM LAYOUT)
0415 0520 0610 0720 0830 0940 1030 1140
1240 1450 1610 1710 1820 1930 2025 2130
2245 2400
Monday, September 15, 2008
The Harbinger (Flash Fiction)
"Wish you a happy journey", read the road sign. Illiteracy didnt stop Namdeo wondering at the irony. The government had not missed putting signboards but had forgotten that people lived in this remote part of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.
As he trudged, the dried grass on either side of the road gave no evidence that it was the rainy season. The earth was as scorched as any summer day. No rain since the onset of monsoon was the partner in crime along with the blistering sun. Namdeo cut an unusual and solitary figure on the empty road. Along with his bicycle, hidden somewhere between all those cans and pots clinging on to some part of the bicycle, he moved along the dusty road. His only protection from the hell above being another set of pots tied at the end of a rod rising from the handle of the bicycle and spread like an umbrella above him.
It was hours since he had left his village but he didnt stop once lest me missed the water tanker visiting the neighboring village. The folks there would surely allow him some water. Failure was not an option for him since it meant days without water for his tribal settlement.
As he came down along the dusty hill road and reached the outskirts of the village he realised he had reached in time. He could see the clamor for water from some distance. He reached the tanker and saw the endless line of utensils stretching out before him waiting to be filled. He noticed anxious stares from the people of the village. He went up to some who looked as the sarpanch and other village leaders and asked them for help.
"I am from the ramoshi wadi sir. Could you give me some water?"
Immediately, Namdeo sensed the uneasiness among the villagers. Someone quipped behind the sarpanch, "Why should we give these low castes our water." That gave rise to a supporting murmur.
The sarpanch asked namdeo to unload his pots while he talked with the villagers. As he went towards his bicycle he heard murmurs turning to heated arguments with the sarpanch at the center of it all. With the last of the pots unloaded he sensed the sarpanch walking upto him.
With eager eyes and folded hands he stood waiting for a providence; which never came. The sarpanch asked him to leave and come again two days later when the next tanker came. His only explanation was that there was not enough water to spare. With moist eyes he started loading his bicycle again. He was thankful to God as he could shed tears atleast notwithstanding his caste!
His journey home seemed to last an eternity and so did the tears on his cheeks. Expectant looks from people turned to disappointment. Shattered, he burst out crying; but no one saw those tears. For they were washed away by the water from the heavens as it had started raining.
As he trudged, the dried grass on either side of the road gave no evidence that it was the rainy season. The earth was as scorched as any summer day. No rain since the onset of monsoon was the partner in crime along with the blistering sun. Namdeo cut an unusual and solitary figure on the empty road. Along with his bicycle, hidden somewhere between all those cans and pots clinging on to some part of the bicycle, he moved along the dusty road. His only protection from the hell above being another set of pots tied at the end of a rod rising from the handle of the bicycle and spread like an umbrella above him.
It was hours since he had left his village but he didnt stop once lest me missed the water tanker visiting the neighboring village. The folks there would surely allow him some water. Failure was not an option for him since it meant days without water for his tribal settlement.
As he came down along the dusty hill road and reached the outskirts of the village he realised he had reached in time. He could see the clamor for water from some distance. He reached the tanker and saw the endless line of utensils stretching out before him waiting to be filled. He noticed anxious stares from the people of the village. He went up to some who looked as the sarpanch and other village leaders and asked them for help.
"I am from the ramoshi wadi sir. Could you give me some water?"
Immediately, Namdeo sensed the uneasiness among the villagers. Someone quipped behind the sarpanch, "Why should we give these low castes our water." That gave rise to a supporting murmur.
The sarpanch asked namdeo to unload his pots while he talked with the villagers. As he went towards his bicycle he heard murmurs turning to heated arguments with the sarpanch at the center of it all. With the last of the pots unloaded he sensed the sarpanch walking upto him.
With eager eyes and folded hands he stood waiting for a providence; which never came. The sarpanch asked him to leave and come again two days later when the next tanker came. His only explanation was that there was not enough water to spare. With moist eyes he started loading his bicycle again. He was thankful to God as he could shed tears atleast notwithstanding his caste!
His journey home seemed to last an eternity and so did the tears on his cheeks. Expectant looks from people turned to disappointment. Shattered, he burst out crying; but no one saw those tears. For they were washed away by the water from the heavens as it had started raining.
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