Eurostar! My favorite mode of transport!

I have always had a thing for trains. Even as a kid, I used to run to the balcony at the mere sound of a train horn. And my grandparents and my uncles used to live right across where the tracks used to pass in the city. And it was a constant stream of trains. Suburban transports, freight, shunting trains, broken down trains, all sorts of engines. It was a thrill to catalog the different styles of engines and I had my own code to define each of them. So much so that I could actually decipher the train codes and their destination sequence. Yeah! I was a whack job. Get this! When I used to visit my grandparents as a kid, they had a balcony which had a utility ladder that had 4 legs and a top. Like an oversized coffee table except it was a ladder. I remember taking pen and drawing dials in the little gap and pretend it was a engine window. Har-di-har! Laugh as much as you will, but that was my fantasy as a 5 year old. And trust me, although I got out of the whole ladder business, trains still fascinate me. And when Microsoft released Train Simulator, it was a dream come true. I could not ever hope to drive one in the real world. But I could do it in a virtual world. And boy! Did Microsoft hit a jackpot.

Enough of that. So I reach Waterloo after a long 14 hour flight to Heathrow, 40 minute immigration, 40 minutes to Waterloo and then 1 hour wait for my train. The journey to Paris was smooth, comfortable and fast.

Close to 300 KM was the speed and it was fun. They have improved since the last time I traveled. More comfortable and less noise. Since I had done an Internet booking, I got a sweet deal for a very reasonable price. I was served Champagne and wine with some nice cheese, breakfast on route to Paris. How cool! 9:30 AM and I am already getting tanked.

Paris, je t'aime .........

What a glorious weekend! I spent 4 great days and nights in Paris and I realized once again why I love the place. Its just an amazing pot pouri of people, sights, scenes, food, museums, art, music, clubs, bistros. I had the good fortune of hanging with some gorgeous friends who were kind enough to let me wine, dine and club with them. And what a time it was!

The next few postings will cover my trip to Paris and of course, London.

50 Years of Atlas Shrugged

Do I have to even ask if you know what "Atlas Shrugged" is? Ayn Rand's prolific novel introduced a culture of raw capitalism unbridled in its depiction of greed, and the argument that greed is good. You also remember Gordon Gecko in the Wall Street. Today I read an article commemorating this book and its influence in the capitalistic ideas. In addition to founding her own philosophical system, objectivism, Rand is honored as the modern fountainhead of laissez-faire capitalism, and as an impassioned, uncompromising, and unapologetic proponent of reason, liberty, individualism, and rational self-interest. We all remember the phrase Who is John Galt? This phrase has been quoted time and again in other books. Heck! Even Calvin and Hobbes made a parody of the phrase (not in its entirety) in one Calvin's diatribe against restrictive policies in his home (meaning being forced to go to school or gulag as he calls it, being made to eat greens and food and not able to meet the national average of TV viewing by being forced to go to bed by 9 PM).

I first read Ayn Rand when I was 14. It was not because I was into reading "heavy" books. Mostly there was nothing else to read and I found this in my father's book shelf and I read it. When I started I nearly cried. Not because I felt the impact of the book. It was more to do with the fact that I thought I had the most boring and heavy duty book and I could not believe I was reading it. And my head nearly exploded and was quite close to shedding tears of frustration. It took a few more years to venture back to read the book. Growing up in a socialist and closed world (India opened its economy only in 1990's), it was fascinating to read the idea of a society bereft of its genius and the downward spiral of civilization. Well, we do now know we are going to hell in a handcart considering all we now know are wars, famine, strife and global warming. Its time to start looking for a new planet to destroy.

For those who have heard of Warcraft III (a million copy selling game), the cheat code to speed up research technologies is WhoisJohnGalt.

99 Problems and a B***h ain’t one?

This morning on the way to work, I was listening to tunes and one of the numbers was Jay-Z's 99 problems from his excellent record called The Black Album. Although, I have listened to this rap number many times, today I paid more attention to the lyrics. The entire context just was mind blowing. I have respected and liked Jay-Z as an artist and his rap numbers were very good to listen to. His collaborations with Pharrell Williams (of NERD fame), Beyonce (his gal), his mash up with Linkin Park (which I think is a brilliant mix of two distinct styles of music). But never have I paid attention to the lyrics.

Back to 99 problems. The lyrics presented a side of the problems faced by disillusioned youth growing up in disfranchised or poor areas with limited education, opportunities and slide into drugs, depression and violence. You would expect this from a third world country but this situation from a so-called first world country just boggles your mind. Some very potent lyrics went like this:-

"And I heard Son do you know why I'm stopping you for? Cause I'm young and I'm black and my hats real low Do I look like a mind reader sir, I don't know Am I under arrest or should I guess some MO? Well you was doing fifty five in a fifty four.
License and registration and step out of the car, are you carrying a weapon, I know a lot of you are! "

WOW! That's harsh stereotyping. And we thought our version of stereotyping was bad. But it's interesting how Jay-Z decided to focus on a road stop and arrest as a scenario for his song and a brilliant music video (all in B & W).

"I ain't stepping out of shit all my papers legit "Do you mind if I look round the car a little bit?" Well my glove compartment is locked so is the trunk and the back And I know my rights so you gon' need a warrant for that "Aren't you sharp as a tack are some type of lawyer or something?" "Or somebody important or something?"

Great writing. So just because you are able to say that you need a warrant, the impression is that either you are a lawyer or someone important. But you are not a ordinary person. The next sentence is absolutely mind blowing

Nah I ain't pass the bar but I know a little bit enough that you won't illegally search my shit

This sentence was also use in one of CSI: New York episodes (Tanglewood boys) where the protagonist states the same. But of course, the shit part was smoothed over by a dialog interruption.

I am not sure how to interpret the thoughts behind the next phrases. Our roots do not give us the same nature of problems faced. Racism, profiling has always existing in Indian culture but its more inward. Affirmative action is given to lower castes to bring them to the main stream of the population.

And there I go trapped in the kit kat again Back through the system with the riff raff again Fiends on the floor scratching again Paparazzi's with they cameras snapping them D.A. tried to give the nigga the shaft again Half-a-mil for bail cause I'm African All because this fool was harassing them Trying to play the boy like he's saccharin But ain't nothing sweet 'bout how I hold my gun. I got 99 problems and a bitch ain't one, Hit ME!

I wonder if Britney Spears would ever make such powerful verses in her songs. Well, she did shave her head like Persis Khambatta (she played the role of Lt. Ilia in the first Star Trek movie. She is a former Miss India, of Parsi ethnicity).

I can see several similarities in applying Indian mythology to most of the lyrics as our ancestors have definitely encountered similar profiling. There is a saying My friend's enemy is my enemy, my enemies enemy is my friend. Indian mythology has several stories that reflect the sense of being trapped, judged and prosecuted with no opportunity to explain or even redemption.

Oh! Well! Just thought I will share this online.

Posting Using New Technology!

 

Obviously, blogging now become more simplified and easier. With the right tools, it can become as simple as writing a letter. Of course, pictures make a lot of difference.

 

Its certainly been a while since I have last updated. Lots have happened and I am going to spend some time to write more on what's going on.

My niece is growing fast and furious!!!

Folks, time to buy that double barrel, double action shotgun to ward off all unsavoury suitors. This is the first pictures of my niece in 4 months since I last saw her. She is so cute (touch wood). She is going to one handful to her parents! Good luck to them! She looks bewildered.

More later! Its been a hard 2 months what with a very busy project and many weddings to attend to. In two different continents. But all in all it was really fun! And I enjoyed my first ever visit to Perth and Margaret River! I purchased a lot of wine and I had a taste of biltong. My teeth will never be the same again.

Have a week ahead! And to my American friends, Happy Thanksgiving!

Been A While!!!

Its been a while since my last update on the joyous occasion of my nieces birth and her naming ceremony. And the progress so far is that the kiddo is settling in and giving less waking hours to her parents. Information from back home suggests that life is back to normal (from whatever new definition of normal).

The next few weeks are going to be extremely busy travelling. Good friends are walking the aisle. And being a good friend, I will be going for sure.

Surely upon my return, I will post pictures of my journey's and of course food.

Here's wishing all a very Happy Deepavali (belated)!!!!

The Party - Evening Celebration

So you think the ceremony is complete. Well, my friends hardly! The evening party was for a more casual settings. Of course, there is no meat or alcohol. After all its a baby's naming ceremony we are celebrating and not mine. So we have a cradle which was borrowed from some family friends. The history is that this particular cradle has been in existance for about 100 years. Yep! Can you believe that? These family friends have kept it and used for all newborns in their family and their friends family. It was one heck of a engineering marvel contains catches and levers which I am quite sure was made by hand measures that computers. So once again, the ladies of the house are dressed to their nines. Resplendant sarees, jewellery etc.

Luckily the weather was a bit chill and hence Amolika is well covered up. And yet she has this beginnings of "I am going to start bawling any second" expression. And she did! The next instant the "The Priceless Siren" started wailing at the top of her lungs. Quick, get help! And it came in the form of grandmother, my sister's mother-in-law. A very gracious, charming and extremely nice person. My sister is very lucky is to have in-laws as proud, doting and loving. Heck! they even like me.


Which is more than you can say about me.They do keep hammering about the fact that I should get married and make babies. Hooray! Can you all imagine? Guru with a few kids! One day it will be there. For now, the focus is on my niece and my dear friends for whom I only wish they will have pictures like these posted on their own blogs. In fact, I think its time to visit a temple and pray for good luck and fortune to all the friends and family I know. After WOMAD!




Proud grandfather and grandmother. My brother-in-law's parents. The father is also a very charming, and knowledgeable with a penchant for enjoying life to the fullest extent. A very relaxed gentleman of old school. A perfect sammandhi (term used to describe the father-in-law's of both the bride and groom).







My brother-in-law's family (his siter, his BIL and his nephews). Those nephews are bigger, brainier than I am. They tower over me. I am usually called as Big Guy by the mexican queen mother of nearly two (Alvaro, I am referring to your wifey Patsy). But these dudes are really big guys.







The last picture is of one of my sister's friends who delivered a boy a few months ago and my niece. Aaaw! her first boyfriend and she cant even seen him because he is trussed up secure in blankets and looks thouroughly disinterested. Damn! you mean we men are already born with the whole "I should be vary of women" attitude or just the bad attitude that many women complain we male homosapien species seem to exhibit. Oh! well, he is just a kid.




Well, folks! I hope you enjoyed reading and viewing as much I did when I wrote and published these pictures. Watch out for the next installments of some sights and scenes of Hyderabad. I also have some foody pictures of Bombay which I must put up soon.

The Naming Ceremony - How the rest went

At this point is where I, as the uncle am supposed to whisper her name in the year. At this time, she had just stopped wailing her guts out. Oh! Joy! I have to whisper her full name Amolika Anathalakshmi Ajoy. I kinda forget the second name. The kid has to get a series of names to honor the anscestors. So sod on me for forgetting it. Sorry, baby! When you are old enough to read this blog, dont blame your poor uncle.

Amolika's Naming Ceremony - Some Pictures

A few friends were wondering what's the deal about the naming ceremony. Its a cultural thing. In my culture, naming a baby is very important. And there is an elaborate ceremony for this. The new parents have to perform some religious rites, write the baby's name in wheat and whisper the new name into the baby's ears. The father, mother, uncle (that's me), grandfather, cousins, well wishers all do this. Oh! And you ought to give cash gifts. I am telling you, my neice is a rich kid and she is hardly 5 weeks only. I guess pampering a new born especially the first in the line is always given.

The day starts very early. My BIL (Brother-in-law) gets ready, wears his veshti (silk sarong equivalent used in important religions functions). The priest walks my BIL through the initial phases where there is lot of invocations a whole caboodle of gods. From experience, you all know of my constant reference to 9000 gods in my culture. And the ladies of the house are dressed to the nines. My sister, looking radiant as ever, was even more resplendent with the glow of new motherhood. And my BIL is a star and champ for embarking on this chapter of life. Good luck, bro!

From the left, my mom's youngest sister from Kuwait, my cousin's wife, my mom's second sister, my sister and my BIL's older sister

As usual my sister is giving some inputs to the entire proceedings.








Some ceremonial items. The copper pot contains water which will be "holified" and then sprinkled on all people as blessings. Coconuts play a very important role in ceremonial events. I am not sure of significance except that it is cosidered holy and auspicious to use coconuts as part of offerings.





More ceremonial duties being performed.













This is me holding Amolika before I give her back to her parents. You have no idea of the people hovering around me considering I do not have experience of holding small babies. She has not yet started WAILING! And man! the kid can be vocal about it. You will see a couple of pictures soon with her vocal chords in action.







Mom checking out her darling daughter before taking possession.














Comfortably perched on her mom's lap!











Proud parents and grandfather. My dad is so happy to have a granddaughter. I tell you the old man has now focus attention on her. Hooray for me!












Kiddo is getting theerthum. Its sacred water.

Hyderabad - The City of Biryani and Bangles

Hyderabad. A City that is 400 years old. Historical, monumental and caught in a frenzy of upward development. Good roads, brutal traffic, 1230 PM curfew for pubs, 24 hour biryani joints, "I know someone so dont mess with me" works, sky rocketing real estate and irani tea.

I had gone home for couple of weeks to celebrate the arrival and naming ceremony of my niece. I think you will all agree that she is a cutie. Noisy! but cute. I hung out with my friends, got a taste of great food (both at home and outside), hads lots of alcohol at pubs, homes, clubs (like Orchid Country Club types not a night club). The weather was perfect. A cool 26-27 during the day and a very nice 21 in the evening. It was the beginning of monsoon season and hence the weather was not hot. I have not been to Hyderabad in July in over 10 years. So I was initially apprehensive about going in July. I was mistaken. I did not roast and die. In fact, I enjoyed the weather.

Hyderabadi Biryani is unlike any that you would have had outside of Hyderabad. Its famous for the way its cooked and the side dishes that accompany it. A truly gastronimical feast that cannot be verbally described. Its a stimulant for all the taste buds one which will keep you burping with satisfaction. By the way, burping is perfectly acceptable method of providing complement to the host. Its a true sign that the food was really tasty and you ate your hearts fill with happiness. It may be disgusting from a courtesey point of view, but its a very strong expression of satisfaction.

Hyderbad is also well know for its bangles. As like biryani, the citi is also popular for its bangle bazaar or chudi (bangle) bazaar. Not a place I would want to go. I mean can you imagine a street full of bangle shops and a million gaggle of women. No thank you! I will wait in the car.

Irani tea is tea made iranian style. Thick and creamy, its not for the faint hearted. Its laced with sugar and has the mixed taste of tea and sweetness. Many a snack ends with a irani chai (tea). As students we used "cut" the tea. Basically, instead of drinking one whole cup, you share the tea. So you will order "by 2" means one cup of tea split into two. Or "2 by 3". You get the picture.

Folks! Presenting my niece - Amolika - The Priceless One

After two weeks of eating, drinking and listening to my cute little niece's wails every two hours, I am back in Singapore. I will put up the ceremonial pictures in a few days. But this is the photo of my cutie niece. More later.

She is a precocious little thing who has a penchant for doing a mean siren every 2 hours. I have to really admire my sister, my aunt's, my brother in law and my dad! This kid can sure keep them all up all night and still gurgle away likes its all fun!

Tragedy and Hope!

By now all of you would have seen and heard about the train blasts in Bombay. Bombay trains are the lifeline of work and activity and its with sadness and horror that such a mode of transport has been hit with bombs! The people who did this are not people but parasites to any society who find the need to indiscriminately kill. My fervent hope is that the police catch them and deep six them! I have no sympathy for mass murderers, rapists and child molestors. There is only place for them. Deep fried in hell!

I have travelled those trains for years when I was in my teens. I have had so many memories of my journeys! I have seen romances and fights erupt in the train! I have seen people making use of any implement and turning it into a musical intrument and enjoying a gusto rendition of popular songs! I have seen people squeezed chock a block and yet find a way to play poker when you cannot even see your partners and yet your game is a success! I have seen young people without proper ticket try all sorts of excuses to get out of the clutches of the ticket inspector! Its amazing what you could see and learn and observe in a journey and every day is something new!

But Bombay is a resilient city! Take away the lousy politicians and you have a variety of people who make it worth while. Nothing like a tragedy to bring people together! And that's what Bombay is all about!

My family and friends are safe! And I was shocked because I remember just last November making the journey in the same trains during my holidays!

Here's wishing my fellow citizens in Bombay - Strength, Courage and Hope!

I am an Uncle!

Fantastic news! My sister gave birth to a girl this morning in India. She and the kid are doing fine. And I am excited to be an uncle. I am off to India soon and I will post the pictures of my newborn niece quite soon!

Strange Co-incidence

I had asked about articles where the changing world and effect on men. Its as if someone heard me and in yesterday's edition of "Today" paper, there was a write up on the same subject. Basically the writer states that he is happy being single but is now finding joys of taking care hanging out with his friends 7 year old. Interesting read, if someone managed to catch that.

For the Railay gang, the photos are up and running. Sorry for the delay. Time has really passed.

Lull in postings

For the past few months, things have been a bit busy at work front. There were some weddings, some travel, some lazing around, partying which kept me away from my computer. But now that I am on my sabbatical, I believe I will be able to do justice and start where I left off.

I was reading a blog/article by Julie Delpi (british actress in Before Sunset and After Sunset movies with Ethan Hawke). She was going on about women's role in modern society. But I could not find anyone writing about men's role in modern society. What with the changes, the advancements, the empowerment, the knowledge with which the inequality between men and women have reduced, there is a shift in what is the role of a man in today's world. I am only referring to the educated, and enlightened sorts. Lets leave out conservatives and those who believe that women are production factories and pleasure machines.

My question is has anyone come across something. It can be negative or positive or downright chauvanistic. The point of the question is "is there an article" and not debate upon the merits of the article.

V For Vendetta

I had to digress for one post in order to talk about this movie "V for Vendetta". Natalie Portman (Queen Amidala) and Hugo Weaving (Mr. Smith) star in it. So much for the actors.

What amazed me was the absolute brutal representation of todays world which seems to resonate in every frame. Although most of us have not seen the horrors or the unpleasant realities of life, I must say this movie disturbed me to a large extent. When does a Freedom Fighter become a terrorist? When does a well meaning goverment become a dictatorial regime? When does hope for better days turn to despair? This movie is going to rile the Neo Conservatives (George Bush and Co) to no end. Its as if the writers took pains to draw parallels not by using images in todays context but employing powerful metaphorical comparisons which the audience has no choice but to look around the real world. Talk about putting a gun to your head and force you to nod your head. Phew!

Why am I even bothering to write about this? The ones who know me find me quite non political except for some loose comments about Dick Cheney, Rumsfeld and George W. Other than that I dont give a rats ass. Its not like I come from a country where politicians are so fucking great. And hence I really dont bother. Its is quite possible because of where I live. A secure shielded enviroment where your only concern is how do make it on time to the next party. Or lets try and get the cheapest ticket to Bali or some place where we can enjoy a cool drink. A life that easy must have some consequences sometime down the road. But you know, I am too scared to think about it. I raise my hat to those who spend time to do charity work, building house, going to unimaginable places because you feel you need to give back to the world. Selflessness has never been a trait in me and I would hardly think it would come so easily.

If I take an example of North Korea and transplant the movie in its realm, what would be the outcome? We know the dude is a whacko! I mean do we really know he's whacko! Well, people starving while he is taking long distance train rides only shows that. Why is that ONE man is able to paralyze an entire nation. Our parents always taught us that there is strength in numbers. So are we saying that if there is a tyrannical army of million, I need 3 million to march against them? Is the result that simple? We have hordes of nations saying that democracy is the way to go. Its the only form of governance where rulers are elected and the government is "For, By and of" the people. So when Hamas (you know them, dudes are experts in getting gullible youngsters and women to blow themselves to paradise or to bits. I will not even go there) actually gets elected not by threat of violance and intimidation but by democratic means, it just stopped all brain activity in all those people. They must have gone "What were people thinking?". And then you cant even shout foul because its exactly what you asked for. A democratic election. And if you say foul then you become a bare faced hypocrite. Essensce of democracy is that it does not elect someone based on the fact that if they are good or bad. Take India. I swear to god some of the politicians have a horde of murder and kidnap cases and they even contest while serving their sentence. They actually get elected. So do we invalidate the election. You cant! By rule of law, its right. By rule of life, its right.

My countries history bears the truth that independence and freedome can be achieved without blood shed and violence. But are those same idealogies and principles valid and workable today. Would Gandhi have been able to mobilise massess the way he mobilised 60 years ago? Or we would be more concerned on where to make the next buck to realize that freedom is not given or granted but its a birthright.

One thing I am sure is this. This movie is going to kick a lot of people in thier collective balls. I can already envision all those talk show gas bags going nuts on the air either dissing or praising this movie. Throw in a few bawdy jokes by Jay Leno and David Letterman, we come to a complete circle.

I dont know about you, folks! But this is one movie that really got my goat and hence my "4 seconds" of raving and ranting. And I feel quite gratified I wrote this. Now, let me get on with my continuation of what I am supposed to do.

More Coming Soon

Its been a long while since I updated the blog. I have been really busy with work and life in general. My new passion is now to play scrabble and enjoy idle chit chat with two gorgeous women on a lazy Sunday afternoon. And then a game of intense badminton on Sunday evening with some very wonderful people. Fun and intense! What a perfect Sunday to have! Workout for the brain and the body! And nothing in between!

So what have I been upto? Well, for one there has been a change in my job profile and getting the new role into my system is taking time. I had a short overseas trip and there were numerous birthday parties, dinner parties, and there was this visit to Attica a couple of times. Despite swearing that I would not go to that place, I still get dragged there. I have very loving and well meaning friends who insist that coming to Attica is a medicine to the soul.

Then there was this fantastic dinner party organized by a wonderful couple! I only wish I could cook as good as the dude and look as good as the girl! Next thing I knew I was actually singing "Chori Chori Chupke Chupke" as a testimonial to my childhood talent for singing. Honest! I used to learn Carnatic classical music under the tutelage of a venerable master called Neti Srirama Sarma! and my mother made me practise daily. Then there was the guitar lessons with Jayshankar who was the local hippy wannabe except he was just a confused dude who could not decide what he wanted to be. At least at that time! I have no idea where he is today.

Then there was more dinner parties of more wonderful people.

I cherish and value my life in Singapore. I have so many wonderful friends who I adore. Life would certainly be unbearable without the presence of such people. And then sometimes some people leave. Like this absolutely fabulous woman who I shall refer to as the Kling-2 girl! An Aussie to the boot, extremely dedicated, talented and a wonderful person too. She has left these shores back to her homeland to make her future. I wish her all the very best in life and have promised her that if at all she needs anything, I can guarantee that I will be there.

My sister is pregnant ** HOORAY** And I am going to be an uncle. Yep! You can see her picture in these blogs. Drop me a note to wish her! They do not know whether its a boy or a girl! And they do not wish to know. My sister is over the moon, my brother-in-law is having a silly goofy grin. And my father is orbiting this planet in anticipation of the first grandchild. You think it was difficult to talk to him before? Ha! Listen to him now! The plans for the ceremonies for 8th month, the birth etc. are immense and I also know he has invited like a few hundred people for a very important ceremony in May. Once I get pictures of those, I will post them here and explain what that ceremony is for.

As you can see, there's quite a few things happening and I lacked the time to my blog. So I will update more frequently but with fortnightly gaps in between.

Journey From Hyderabad to Bombay - Part 3 - The Ghat Section

The Khandala ghats are situated right between Bombay and all routes going outside of Bombay in the eastern direction. The train service has been running as long as I can remember. Right from 1970's. The older route which still exists today contains 26 tunnels through which the trains pass. The newer track built to accomodate the traffic covers sections outside of those tunnels but neverthless more often than not in parallel. The journey is a up-down. Meaning to a certain extent we go up hill from Pune and then its all downhill. You can actually see the extreme suburban edge of Bombay which still boggles my mind. The entire set of pictures here reflect the Khandala ghats. Oh! there are people who actually live here. And you will find some shots of goats running around near the tracks.


We are approaching a station called Lonavala. Lonavala is a beautiful place. Its usually touted as the summer resort for the people in Mumbai. Being high up on the hills, it has cool temperature and fantastic homes which the rich and famous have built for themselves. Many companies have their corporate retreat houses here. I myself have been a guest of Siemens Medical Systems in 1995 as my team was given a getaway gift from them.





I could only manage to get a sneak shot of this home quite near the tracks. Most of the track sections are between rocks and hence difficult to capture any pictures. There was a time where having a summer home in Lonavala was the ultimate thing to do. Now, I presume everyone has one and the prices are through the roof.





From the sign board, you can see some information regarding the ghats. A total of 24 kilometers from the start point which is coming ahead after a small station called Khandala.









And here's my trusty motor man pulling the train into the far end track which will then commence our descent to Bombay. Of course, we still have not reached the station yet. It is a difficult task to maintain these heavily used track sections. When we were leaving Pune station, there was already another train pulled into the adjacent platform which was the Chennai Mumbai express. The thumb rule is that if your train is delayed then you get lower priority on the route as they will not delay the other trains which were on time. So we were suckered into following the train that left just 10 minutes before we did.







The far end ofthe train as it chugs behind.
































You can see that there is a near parallell road highway that goes from Pune to Lonavala to Bombay. Technically, its a much shorter journey. But in terms of comfort and scenary nothing beats the train.









And from this point onwards the fun begins! My train halted for a few minutes to get the green flag from the dude on the station. Despite the electronic signal, there is always a dude with a flag to cut you loose. Right now this is a shot of the train at stop. Can you make out some people sitting by the door? You can see a few legs perched. Travelling on roof is not allowed in sections where the tracks are electrified. We dont want someone to get 20K volts of raw power to vapourise the fool!






From the clock you can see it was close to 1 PM. By actual schedule we should have been at this point by 10 AM. Talk about dumb luck.











The lenght of the train which I am still not able to capture fully.








Dude who waves us off holding the green flag. During nights he has a lantern! He just gave us the kick off and we started moving.
If you have been to India, then you know how we love honking our car horns! Well, these engines are equipped with air horns! Boy! when they blow, its amazing. The entire ghats will echo the sound of the horn!





This image here on the left shows the elevation statistics for the ghat section. This is the gradient chart for the ghat section.








And this is the first tunnel we enter. You can see railway workers doing some work on the tracks and tunnels. All the tunnels are cool and sometimes you have water trickling down the walls! Dont ask me, but I do believe thats fresh water that trickels down. It actually cools down the tunnel so much that you can feel the chill! From here on there are a few more tunnels which weave in and out. The train curves at every given opportunity making the scenary wonderful.















And there is light at the end of the tunnel! Pity I did not have a fancy camera and a foot hold so that I could lean further out to take a better picture. I think I lost the art of leaning out of a train which I used to do so well during my college years.








And like a trusty sidekick the highway still continues to run through the ghat's. To be really honest with you all, I have never taken the road from Bombay to Pune. I have always taken the train. As a kid, I had this fascination to trains. I used to recruit couple of cronies and we used to pretend to play train. Our imaginations ran amok. I mean we took an ordinary ladder and came up with ideas to convert it into a engine cabin and honk ourselves hoarse! Until of course, the elders used to chase us off to play cricket.



As the train continues it passes through more tunnels. Note the inscription on the pole to the left of the picture. Its says "120-23" vertical. This indicates that Bombay is 120 KM's and 230 meters away. Yep! Each electric pole is 100 meters apart and each have the distance charted on them. Easy to know how far your destination is. Although this rule is generic, they sectionalise the distance. Meaning, you wont find 7000/430 inscribed on the electric pole.




And the first shot of the scenary below. The train really winds itself down to the othe side of the ghat section.

Journey From Hyderabad to Bombay - Part 2

The silly train was delayed by two hours at Pune Junction due to some track work. So instead of leaving Pune at 8:50 AM, the train left only by 10:00 AM. And all that while we were sitting in the airconditioned comfort. Some of my fellow passengers decided to get off and rent a cab and take off via road to Bombay. Its just a couple of hours and I am sure these people made it much before me. I was not keen on doing it because I really wanted to experience the "Khandala Ghats" section which is a very beautiful and scenic mountain passes with tunnels and a great view.
This is a typical Indian Railways Diesel powered engine.

And this is a typicall Electric powered locomotive.
This part of the journey is the best as it covers some spectacular scenary. You wont believe that this is actually just outside of Bombay. I mean! Bombay equates to a chaotic madness and now this is actually that same city or at least the outskirts.

As the engine pulled out of Pune junctions 3 hours beyond its scheduled time, I had already wolfed down "egg sandwiches", and "wada pau". The "wada pau" being a very typical snack mean in this region. The first thing you notice is the total calm with which these canine creatures are chilling on the tracks. This is one of the busiest sections of the route and yet these dogs are just lazing in the sun. Only one bothered to look up because I whistled. The other did not even give a rats ass as to what's going on.

As we continued we passed the yard where the trains were getting bathed. Now, you see those coaches are called Sleeper Class 3 tier. Meaning non airconditioned and triple bunk bed system. Apart from the train, you can also see clothes left out to dry. Not unusual! Dryers are not exactly a common commodity for the ordinary people. More pictures of the city side of Pune. Pune is now a upcoming city with lots of companies setting up shop as Bombay gets over crowded. Pune has always had the very colonial english charm combined with refined people, a strong cultural identity. It is also the home for the NDA or National Defence Academy. I can compare this to the Annapolis or Sandhurst Academy. This is where our cream of armed forces are trained right after thier A levels. Its a tough entrance exam which also includes physical abilities. After 2 years of NDA, you would branch out to the appropriate service like Army, Navy, Air Force.






















The long distance trains are quite lengthy. This train had 18 coaches and one engine pulling it. These next pictures will show the train taking a lazy curve at 50 KMPH. We were actually slowing down for track works just ahead. And hence you will find some people near the tracks.















From this picture you can make out that the train indeed is quite lenghty. There are other pictures in this journey which would show the length of these trains. In Singapore our MRT contain 6 coaches. Now there are certain classification of trains in India that pull 24 coaches. Each coach is slightly longer than the ones made in Singapore. So if you are in a station, the platform is built to accomodate 24 coaches. Can you imagine the size of just one platform. Bombay has 24 platforms lined up parallel to each other. Go do the math on the size of the station.