As I promised before...
If you remember my last post but one,I had expressed a desire to drive along the expressway (nay...speed along it) and take some snaps in the bargain...Did quite that this weekend...
Starting in a rain that left most of the road to imagination (really...the visibility was around 20 feet and the passing trucks threw puddle waves OVER the car) was a major risk in itself...But what's life without some?? Achhan and amma don't know it and actually wasn't planning on telling either...But wanted to brag...Now there's something about the risk that appeals to all humans (not just those below thirty as is the popular notion). This was perfect in that respect...:)
My companion on the "long" trip was my carton of juice, my collection of CDs (don't be mislead...Just three that I can play on my car's MP3 player) and my camera. Befittingly, they occupied the passenger seat, right next to me. The carton of juice was a godsent for someone who is entitled to only double- or triple-purified water or the afore-mentioned. But the object that I appreciated most was the camera. Had to be kinda surreptitious in clicking since it is prohibited at some sections on the expressway.
The ride itself was a mixture of adrenaline, expectations, slight anxiety and some healthy competition (come on...what am I to do but speed when a measely Maruti 800 tries to overtake my majestic 1.1L 63 BHP Santro?). This is one place where speed rules and hence everyone knows his/her car's place in the food chain. Sedans rule, with the D and C segment leaving a steamy wake, mostly on smaller wannabe sedans like the Indigo and Esteem, since they are the closest. Then come the hatchbacks and the Santros of the world who leave their not-so-steamy wake on the Maruti 800s and the trucks. Then there are some people who like bats (the bird/mammal, not the sports accesory), don't know where they belong. Swifts that try to outrun the Octavias and end up submitting to the superior horses under the hood. You gotta know your numbers here.
The locales...Oh my god, the locales...When people say that green is the most soothing colour to the eye, they aren't lying...I know I am gonna be like that, coming from Kerala and all (I mean the natural beauty, not the Muslim League in Malabar), but the shrubs-covered hillocks and the moss-covered rocks are probably the most beautiful things you can see in nature. Unfortunately, it doesn't come out too well in snaps...Atleast on my cam...Will put out the test results on Flickr soon...
And the tunnels...The tunnels are a piece of art...The darkness, even with the halogens inside...The change in the engine sound as you go through them...And the occasional shower through the rocks inside the tunnel...All together, an awesome experience. Wanted to take a low-shutterspeed, high-speed pic inside the tunnel. But Gattu the speedster took control over Gattu the snapster inside the tunnel. And anyways, it needed a lot of preparation...Maybe next time...
Don't know when I am gonna go to Mumbai before the review (which is finally on 13th of Oct), but definitely looking forward to another drive down. And everybody is welcome...:)
September 30, 2006
Of transitions, irony and beauty…
Pretty old...Coming from my blog...But continues into the next newer one...:)
How many transitions does a human being, or any organism for that matter, go through or experience in the course of its life? Millions, maybe billions, right? However, what’s the one transition that happens to every organism, every day of its life?
I was traveling to Mumbai from Pune today. Started around 5:30 in the evening and thanks to a slowpokes of a driver, we were still far away from Lonavala by around 6:45. And then I saw it. The sun was setting across a lone mountain, where we stopped for a snack and a loo break. Just minutes before, the sky was bright, the sun was still yellow and the face of the mountain facing me was still visible. Within minutes, the sun was orange, as was the sky and the mountain face was black, almost smooth in its invisibility. And swiftly, I felt my mood change from the joy of traveling to the sad melancholy I feel every time I am traveling in twilight. This is not to say that the sight was not pretty. The silhouette of the mountain was still impressive and as enigmatic as before, but the feeling it evoked in me was not the same. And in those few moments, without wishing it, without changing anything myself and without an option, I went through a transition.
What do you feel when you face a rock wall around 5 stories high, looming in front of you? Don’t know about you, but to me, at best it is an exercise and at worst, it is a “Mission: Impossible” kind of a challenge. But try looking at the same cliff at night. Thinking about surmounting it would probably be the last thought that would cross your mind. That was precisely how I felt- intimidated, awed and a little perturbed.
OK…Enough of the twilight zone…now for the irony part. Soon after sunset, the un-illuminated expressway didn’t think twice before turning into a black serpentine specter with the occasional (OK…More than occasional) shimmering. And as I was wondering what shortsightedness of the developers cost the highway lights, we entered a tunnel. And lo and behold, it was almost as bright as day inside. The fact that the tunnel was brighter than the open, albeit during the evening, made me conjure up the irony part in the title. Not as impressive as when I thought of it in the bus, but anyways, here it is.
Now, there are hardly any prettier sights in the world as watching down a valley filled with lights on a dark night. No photo, video or painting I have seen has ever depicted the sight in its true beauty. And that’s what I saw, thanks to the driver’s frustrating care to keep a safe margin from the speed limit. At Lonavala, the expressway winds over the valley, through horseshoe- shaped mountain ranges, while the town shimmers in the valley. Truly a sight for the gods. Unfortunately, along with the traditional feeling sad while traveling in twilight, this particular sight of the lights in the valley made me remember the D’Shala days again, especially the trip back. Not going into that again here…But the sight is one that should not be missed.
All said and done, I had one overwhelming thought in my mind pretty much all throughout my trip…I want a car of my own so that I can drive along the expressway, stop at my whim and take snaps or maybe just enjoy the view. Wish me luck…
Over and out…
How many transitions does a human being, or any organism for that matter, go through or experience in the course of its life? Millions, maybe billions, right? However, what’s the one transition that happens to every organism, every day of its life?
I was traveling to Mumbai from Pune today. Started around 5:30 in the evening and thanks to a slowpokes of a driver, we were still far away from Lonavala by around 6:45. And then I saw it. The sun was setting across a lone mountain, where we stopped for a snack and a loo break. Just minutes before, the sky was bright, the sun was still yellow and the face of the mountain facing me was still visible. Within minutes, the sun was orange, as was the sky and the mountain face was black, almost smooth in its invisibility. And swiftly, I felt my mood change from the joy of traveling to the sad melancholy I feel every time I am traveling in twilight. This is not to say that the sight was not pretty. The silhouette of the mountain was still impressive and as enigmatic as before, but the feeling it evoked in me was not the same. And in those few moments, without wishing it, without changing anything myself and without an option, I went through a transition.
What do you feel when you face a rock wall around 5 stories high, looming in front of you? Don’t know about you, but to me, at best it is an exercise and at worst, it is a “Mission: Impossible” kind of a challenge. But try looking at the same cliff at night. Thinking about surmounting it would probably be the last thought that would cross your mind. That was precisely how I felt- intimidated, awed and a little perturbed.
OK…Enough of the twilight zone…now for the irony part. Soon after sunset, the un-illuminated expressway didn’t think twice before turning into a black serpentine specter with the occasional (OK…More than occasional) shimmering. And as I was wondering what shortsightedness of the developers cost the highway lights, we entered a tunnel. And lo and behold, it was almost as bright as day inside. The fact that the tunnel was brighter than the open, albeit during the evening, made me conjure up the irony part in the title. Not as impressive as when I thought of it in the bus, but anyways, here it is.
Now, there are hardly any prettier sights in the world as watching down a valley filled with lights on a dark night. No photo, video or painting I have seen has ever depicted the sight in its true beauty. And that’s what I saw, thanks to the driver’s frustrating care to keep a safe margin from the speed limit. At Lonavala, the expressway winds over the valley, through horseshoe- shaped mountain ranges, while the town shimmers in the valley. Truly a sight for the gods. Unfortunately, along with the traditional feeling sad while traveling in twilight, this particular sight of the lights in the valley made me remember the D’Shala days again, especially the trip back. Not going into that again here…But the sight is one that should not be missed.
All said and done, I had one overwhelming thought in my mind pretty much all throughout my trip…I want a car of my own so that I can drive along the expressway, stop at my whim and take snaps or maybe just enjoy the view. Wish me luck…
Over and out…
January 15, 2006
Deifying the Do-gooder, plus a digression
(cross posted from my blog...)
He is a good man. Totally.
Before you know it, he gleans all the rot in you.
Spare the evil forces, he does not.
And he is not a violent man, either. Gentle on his foes, and a friend to the needy.
I am not talking about Rajnikanth's next film, nor am i tryin to convince you about the administrative prowess of my friend who wants to run for student president.
I am here to give his share of justice to one of mankind's recent friends, the one who stands by you in the loneliest of times, giving his life and breath to save the life and breath of his breathren...
Put your hands together for Mr. Toilet-Nozzle....
(i wanted to call this entry 'An ode to the toilet nozzle', but that would have meant losing the suspense factor...)
The man who thought up this innovation has to be a genius. One of the most-overlooked-though-integral needs of the human race, and it took us 2000 years to invent him! How dumb are we...
Back to the creation himself, i can tell you from everyday experience about how much better he is as compared to the 'traditional' methods of cleanin yourself after a p/pee, and how good he makes one feel as a worthy substitute for tissues or "hands"(dont go 'yuck' yet... hands were/still are the way of life for god knows how long..)
I dont know if my frequent exposure to the lukewarm squirts from the toilet nozzle hav created this illusion of being clean on the underside, but it might just hav had an impact on my fast dwindling bathing frequencies... ah, every invention comes with a side-effect?
In some sense, he makes you feel like Jesus christ.. Show him one cheek, and you end up showing him the other too... and sometimes u forget yourself, coz he makes it so easy for you to do other stuff wen u r at it... like reading the ahmedabad times(which,btw, has to be the world's second worst newspaper after the Mumbai Mid day) or the Khalil Gibran, which i was reading today...
----------
Digression: (excerpt of a short story from the Khalil Gibran.. verbatim)
Once i said to a scarecrow, "You must be tired of standing in this lonely field".
And he said, "The joy of scaring is a deep and lasting one, i never tire of it".
Said I, "Its true. For i too have known that joy".
Said he, "Only those who are stuffed with straw can know it".
Then i left him, confused, and came back a year later, when i saw two crows building a nest under his hat.
Now, what kind of psycho wrote THAT?
---------------
Well anyway, i beseech all of you.
Pray spread the message.
Make this a movement.
Make India a better place to live in.(even NUS and MIT didn't have such technology!!)
Say no to tissue paper. Believe in toilet nozzles. They rock.
He is a good man. Totally.
Before you know it, he gleans all the rot in you.
Spare the evil forces, he does not.
And he is not a violent man, either. Gentle on his foes, and a friend to the needy.
I am not talking about Rajnikanth's next film, nor am i tryin to convince you about the administrative prowess of my friend who wants to run for student president.
I am here to give his share of justice to one of mankind's recent friends, the one who stands by you in the loneliest of times, giving his life and breath to save the life and breath of his breathren...
Put your hands together for Mr. Toilet-Nozzle....
(i wanted to call this entry 'An ode to the toilet nozzle', but that would have meant losing the suspense factor...)
The man who thought up this innovation has to be a genius. One of the most-overlooked-though-integral needs of the human race, and it took us 2000 years to invent him! How dumb are we...
Back to the creation himself, i can tell you from everyday experience about how much better he is as compared to the 'traditional' methods of cleanin yourself after a p/pee, and how good he makes one feel as a worthy substitute for tissues or "hands"(dont go 'yuck' yet... hands were/still are the way of life for god knows how long..)
I dont know if my frequent exposure to the lukewarm squirts from the toilet nozzle hav created this illusion of being clean on the underside, but it might just hav had an impact on my fast dwindling bathing frequencies... ah, every invention comes with a side-effect?
In some sense, he makes you feel like Jesus christ.. Show him one cheek, and you end up showing him the other too... and sometimes u forget yourself, coz he makes it so easy for you to do other stuff wen u r at it... like reading the ahmedabad times(which,btw, has to be the world's second worst newspaper after the Mumbai Mid day) or the Khalil Gibran, which i was reading today...
----------
Digression: (excerpt of a short story from the Khalil Gibran.. verbatim)
Once i said to a scarecrow, "You must be tired of standing in this lonely field".
And he said, "The joy of scaring is a deep and lasting one, i never tire of it".
Said I, "Its true. For i too have known that joy".
Said he, "Only those who are stuffed with straw can know it".
Then i left him, confused, and came back a year later, when i saw two crows building a nest under his hat.
Now, what kind of psycho wrote THAT?
---------------
Well anyway, i beseech all of you.
Pray spread the message.
Make this a movement.
Make India a better place to live in.(even NUS and MIT didn't have such technology!!)
Say no to tissue paper. Believe in toilet nozzles. They rock.
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