ExpertDabbler

Travel – be it by train or by bus or even your own car, is hardly worth talking about if it’s all smooth and cozy. It’s the challenge enroute and the struggle to overcome the odds that makes it worth writing about.

Let me start with the latest episode. Pondichery to Chennai via ECR. I boarded the the SETC bus at Pondy in the evening at 7:30 on Monday. I wouldn’t have boarded had I known if it was SETC. I realized only when the tickets were issued. So much for reputation.

All was smooth till we crossed Mamallapuram. Do I even care to think of it? NO. Then some incontinent soul wanted the bus to be stopped. The over cautious driver deems it fit to apply hand brakes. Only that the hand brakes would not get released thereafter. The bus hardly moved even while the engine was roaring. It was around 9:30PM. The struggles of the driver went in vain.

The response from the nearby depot demonstrated why people are so pro-privatization. Disdain is the only word I can think of. Disdain for passengers, the crew and their time.

At last one mechanic from the depot came up and told categorically he would not repair these types of buses(it was a TATA)!

None of the vehicles passing by stopped.

A fellow passenger said he can try a workaround if only he gets the appropriate spanner(24-27 i think). The bus had none.

“Vandile stepneya kedayadhu sir, neenga spanner kekuriyale” was the driver’s response. Oh yeah that did not stop them from charging 7 bucks more than the normal fare, its EXPRESS you see!

The next task was to get a spanner.

All the attempts by the crew and the passengers to stop some ongoing vehicles to get a spanner did not quite work out.

Then someone spotted a car mechanic shop on the highway and there comes the prized spanner.

After exactly an hour, the enterprising passenger surfaced from the bus underneath and said ‘Done’. He had effectively disconnected the hand brake and released the wheels.

There was a round of genuine applause when the bus started moving and as the guy took his seat. He was our savior.

I reached home around 11.30.

This post is an ode to the creative passenger, but for whom I would’ve reached god knows when. Hail creativity and lateral thinking!

This post is also a note to people not to board SETC buses. The buses are poorly maintained. They don’t have any tools whatsoever in the event of a minor breakdown. And as if all these are not enough, they charge you more. They provide writeable travel experiences though. Grrrrr…..

Here are a few quick traffic tips which would be of immense help in Chennai.

Tip1:
Driving in chennai roads is a pleasure, if you go out between 11PM and 6AM that is. So please plan your appointments accordingly
Tip2:
If you take Kodambakkam High Road in the morning, its better to carry puliyodharai, thengai/thayir sadham, a water bottle, a bed spread, Kumudam, Vikatan etc in a separate bag. You never know when you might need it.

Tip3:
While starting to office, its better to inform your boss immediately that you would be late for work. Atleast you can do the informing part promptly!

Tip4:
There is something called “The zen and art of cycle gapla auto sneaking’. You should be good enough to move your vehicle in inches and then sneak through a cycle gap in a flash. It’s better to be selectively deaf for a few minutes after that though.

Tip5:
In the evening, if two people start from same place to the same home, one at 7PM and another one at 8PM, chances are both will reach home at the same time. So it pays to be late. The later, the better.

Tip6:
If you are in a traffic jam and in a hurry to go, dont worry. Leave your vehicle as it is and start walking. You’d reach your place faster that way.

Tip7:
Before you start your journey, its better to visit the restroom. The last thing you need is an urge to relieve right in the middle of a traffic jam. A restroom on anyday is better than your own trousers I guess. And i’m also hinting you about the dampness you feel on roads after a traffic jam!.

Tip8:
To all of those who are single and available. Never disrespect a traffic jam. Many a love story has began in a traffic jam. So keep your eyes and ears open. Look up left and right. If you are sharp enough, you can avoid dakaltimatrimony later on.

Tip9:
Research has proved that the best treatment for heart patients is letting them drive in a traffic jam. The slow movement of the vehicles teaches them patience. Some even learn breathing exercises and yoga while waiting. With no TV mega serials and news channels, it also gives them a chance to open up with fellow travellers. Some lifelong friendships are born, health tips are exchanged which results in overall improvement in quality of life.

Tip10:
If you are still keen on travelling inspite of all these tips, then only God can save you. Pray more often!

September 11 happened, and till date any muslim whose identity and credentials are remotely suspicious has not been able to get any US visa without a proper security check. A security check typically takes 6 to 7 weeks. It does not matter if the person is an IT professional, or busines traveller, or student or whatever.
Whether it is right or wrong is a different issue.

But Indian govt’s reaction to terror so far have been, well…

We know terrorists view us as soft targets, we know terror comes from across the border, we know the motive is to destabilize and unsettle India and look at what we do,

We keep our borders open on the east as well as west,
We are trying to ‘protect’ illegal migrants from bangladesh
We run trains and buses,
Maybe we will soon run autorickshaws too…

I am not suggesting all those who travel between India and Pakistan are bad, nor are all the Pakistanis bad, but its our responsibility to be doubly careful in allowing entry to foreigners.

And all this inspite of Kandahar, Parliament attacks, Akshardam, IISc and now Varanasi.

When such things happen I don’t find any Imam coming out and say such terror attacks are a disgrace to Islam, which I believe is a disgrace in itself. Why can’t the Jamat e whatevers protest against terror attacks? Their own country (India) is attacked after all?

But hey, take it easy, the second test starts tomorrow and as for terror attacks it does not matter unless our own kith and kin are killed. Life goes on…

Dan Brown has been sued by the authors of The Holy Blood and Holy Grail for appropriation of ideas in his The Da Vinci Code. Phew!
Click here for more.

Ever since Da Vinci Code broke best-seller records, this was bound to happen. It was just a matter of when. Looks like Brown was sued last year by some other author too. But I guess this HBHG thing has much more meat to the accusation. I think even one of the characters in Da Vinci Code talks about this book as a reference. But am not sure if Dan Brown has explicitly acknowledged HBHG anywhere.

What makes this case even more peculiar is that HBHG is a research book while Brown’s was popular fiction. One of my friend Madhu has read HBHG and he feels the case would not endure. He also says that HBHG itself was based on some mysterious ancient document called Dossier of Secrets whose credentials HBHG does not evaluate.

Whatever….

But I shudder to imagine what would happen if someone starts to dig all of Deva’s music and starts sueing for copyright violation. I think there will be a separate court instituted just for this purpose. Not that the other music directors are original sigamanis but ‘Thenisai Thendral‘ has made a mark for himself like no other in that arena:)

US a country none in the world can afford to ignore. Their President came visiting India and we gave a piece of our mind by staging protests on a massive scale. I actually chose not to write on this topic as i was not sure what to write.
I, for one am clearly against America’s hegemonistic foreign policies and iraq invasion etc.

But there is an another side to it.
Sridhar raises a very valid point.
Where were all the protestors when leaders from Russia, China came visiting us?
Are they all exactly the very embodiments of human rights?

Are not the Russians (erstwhile Soviet Union) the root cause of the present state of Afghanistan? How friendly, hospitable and trustworthy are the Chinese? Why the world comes tumbling down when Bush comes visiting and not exactly when others with equally glaring record come to India? Where was Arundhati Roy when Musharaff visited us? What’s her views on Baluchistan atrocities? Why not an article in HINDU on these?

AR is still my favorite writer but i agree with sridhar’s viewpoint here.
Sure, Bush is no saint and America is no philanthropist either. But then so is China. Did we not wage war with China and Pakistan? What is so friendly about Chinese invasion and Kargil? And heck, they are not even democracies.

Roy had every right to stage protests, write articles, but she too seem to suffer from selective amnesia. The same mistake that Bush is accused of perpetrating.

Maybe attacking Bush gives you media coverage like no other.

Where shall I start about this man? Shall I talk about mundane details like his childhood, adulthood etc or shall I talk about his philosophy? Or the fact that one fine day, he put down his camera and never looked at it again. Or that he always considered himself as a painter and not as a photographer?
Let’s forget all that. I think I can talk about the impact he has left on me and every other person who has ever touched a camera with any little seriousness.

On August 4th, 2004 photography lost its eye. Sure, it did. To me Henri Cartier Bresson was, is and will always be what one is meant to perceive when the word p-h-o-t-o-g-r-a-p-h-y is ever spelled.

During the 80s Appa used to get old ‘Popular photography’ magazines from Easwaran koil street in Townhall, Coimbatore for 20 bucks. That was how I chanced across this name first. Later on in the age of internet I, on an auspicious day, decided to google for HCB. Of the several bad habits I have, one silver lining is the insatiable urge to google a new, interesting name. My perspective as an amateur photographer has never been the same ever since.

He used simple 35mm rangefinder Leica. No telescopic zooms, no blinding flash lights, no darkroom tricks, color means ‘unwanted’ in his vocabulary, Photoshop was out of question during his days. Yet he produced visuals that will remain etched in memory for ever.

Check out some of his masterpieces here. . Expertdabbler takes great pride in screening a ‘Eye of the century’ aka HCB special.

Kaana Kann Kodi vendum

I was reading John Grisham’s interview online and some quotes stuck into me.

I love to talk to kids and ask them where they’re going to college, and what they want to study. And so often it’s all planned. They know exactly where they’re going, what they’re going to do and where they’re going to be ten years from now. I don’t want to dampen their enthusiasm, but I want to say, “You can’t plan everything.” I never planned to write books, it was not something I ever thought about. I thought I’d be a lawyer for the rest of my life. It’s important to have goals and to work hard for them, but life has a way of presenting opportunities that you don’t really notice at first. Success a lot of times depends on whether you make a change and try something that you hadn’t planned, something new.

You have to live. Nobody wants to hear — the world does not want to hear — a great novel from a 21 year-old. You’ve got to get a real job and get a real career, and you’ve got to go to work. And you’ve got to live and you’ve got to succeed and fail, and suffer, a little bit, or see suffering, heartache and heartbreak and all that before you really have anything to write.

Well these are my own creations… Not even half as funny as fwded stuff but hey, it does not matter. i think with some practice each one of us can write some tolerable stuff…

For the time being, here we go..

Enna dhaan costly aana paste pottu pal vilaki naalum kadaisila kaari thuppi dhaaney aganum???

Microsoft windows original CD vechirundhaalum ‘MS Paint’ la veedu vellai adikka mudiyadhu…!!!

Pakathile Pakkathile irundhalum kannale kadhai parkavum mudiyadhu kaadhaley kannai kekavum mudiyadhu!!!

Note:I received these as fwds.

Ok. enough of serious stuffs. here comes some vintage thathuvams

Engineering collegela padichi engineer agalam. Aana Presidency collegela padichi President aga mudiyuma???????????

bus stop kitta wait panna BUS varum… full stop kitta wait panna FULL varuma?????

AIRTEL mobile vachiirundalum… AIRCEL mobile vachiirundalum… thumumbodhu HUTCH nu than satham varum

oorukae kaekura madhiri sathama korratai vittalum… un korattaya nee kaekamudiyadhu….

gold vachi gold chain pannalam ana cycle vachi cycle chain panna mudiyuma????

Sodava fridgela vacha cooling soda aagum, Athukkaaga atha washing machinela vacha washing soda aagumaa!!

via kiruba
Let me make it clear. I am a known Bush basher. But I just have one question to ask the anti-bush protestors from the minority community.

Family of Mr. Joseph Tukwa, in Maiduguri, watched helplessly as six of his children were burnt into ashes, because his name is Joseph. While another family of five in another part of Maiduguri watched his children burnt to death as well, Chei! Burning innocent fellow Nigerians to death. You made parents watch their children burnt to death in the name of religion.

How many of you will protest when your religious dogmas are taken to barbaric extremes by some idiots in your faith?
Today being friday, can i expect anything in support of this after your noon prayers?