Walking is the best thing a young person should do, No no no, not because it is exercise but because you remain up-to-date with the happenings around us. If you compare to driving a vehicle, you will hear and see a lot more while walking. So, here is a compilation of conversations taking place at various places around that I pass…
A Bus Stop….a conversation between two fellow bus travellers
“Sir, which bus should I take to reach Krishna Hospital?”
“Ah!!! You just missed the direct bus to Krishna Hospital numbered 332. Now I don’t think theres a direct bus till after 4 hrs. So you can do 1 thing if you are in a hurry. Take the next possible bus to Deccan. You can travel with me if you wish. Then take a bus if possible and available to Bhusari Colony. And ask the conductor to give you a ticket to the Krishna Hospital Bus stop. If no, then the best thing to do is take a bus to Kothrud, they are quite a lot in number, and get down at the Dashabhuja Ganpati Mandir stop. From there you walk a bit, and you will be there in no time at all.”
The only thing that I might have heard the person, (IF he said something is ) “Yeah! Right!!!”
A Chemist Store….a conversation between a customer and the stone worker and owner.
“Give me 15 tablets of PassingLife 400mg, Corex syrup, a Crocin Strip, the sugar free pills, the petroleum jelly, and and and ………5 Hajmolas….” The customer says…
The chemist brings all the medicines together and starts calculating. He then presents the bill, which says that the total is Rs.360. The customer looks at the bill, as if a bank worker is going through the 1000 ruppee note, to check if its original. Then after around 5-10 minutes of calculating and calculating and calculating, the customer says
“Isnt the PassingLife 400mg for Rs.9?”
“No sir, it is 10 rupees, though you used to get it for 9 rupees, sometime back The costs have gone up because there is a slight increase in the local tax”.
“But I have been buying it for the past 2 yrs for the same price.”
“Oh, am sorry, am just a little weak in my left ear. So how much do I pay for?”
The chemist is a little agitated now, “The bill is of Rs 360, sir…”
“I can see that but how much do I really pay for? I meant don’t you give the 5% discount like the other store does? ”
The guy is a bit bewildered, and rushes of to see the owner.
The owner, with the look of someone who has just having read a really boring story, comes out yawning , and asks what the problem is….
“Don’t you give the 5 % discount the other store does?”
“The other store gives 5% discount??” he mutters…. “Oh Yes sir, we do give 5% discount offer. We are really sorry for the behavior of our worker, hes new to the store…Raju will apologise.”
The worker, with no fault of his, has to apologise to the old man…That must surely be a lesson to him…
Friday, September 22, 2006
Talks By the Walk... Series Part 1
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Bus.....Part 1
So our travel at Arunachal, was to be done mostly by bus…and the bus that we took to Namdapha (that’s a Wildlife sanctuary)….was just what you would like to call it in hindi “bus” (that’s “enough”). Ok, it was a bus. A blue rectangle with a hornbill picture on its side, some seats and some wheels (I guess 4 I think. Don’t some buses have 2 tyres each at the back?) forget it…there was no doubt that the bus might be having a suspension. But you know what? That was the most fare friendly bus I had ever seen. “Fare” as in traveler. Do I sound a bit of an American?
Yeah, so as I was saying, seriously you would have thought, was the bus made for traveling to the end of a country or for the travelers comfort? There was door, that would never close. Now I agree that some people are in a hurry to get on the bus, but ….. That vehicle was some old model, and that door was heavy, believe me heavy…. That old grandfather of a conductor must be having triceps, huge triceps. We should let him enter the Olympics from India, I am sure he would do well. Opening and closing it, every 2 minutes…oh, I wish I could do something like that. Now the provisions made for the comfort of people… firstly a huge engine that had seating arrangements right next to it. So the seats were always WARM, I think it was made for the cold season, so thoughtful..
The frontal part that has the driving wheel and all on it (damn….I forgot his name….)… was made for all the farmers who would carry food from town to town. Nice racks, all made to size to fit every possible size of a vegetable. It had small slits to keep the vegetables from getting overcooked I meant if someone did have rice and some water, but it in a small container, you really might get cooked rice during the journey. Who says India consumes a lot of fuel?? I know only Utility vehicles have these provisions, but they also require a fuel supply. Does any other vehicle have free cooking service??
Yeah, so as I was saying, seriously you would have thought, was the bus made for traveling to the end of a country or for the travelers comfort? There was door, that would never close. Now I agree that some people are in a hurry to get on the bus, but ….. That vehicle was some old model, and that door was heavy, believe me heavy…. That old grandfather of a conductor must be having triceps, huge triceps. We should let him enter the Olympics from India, I am sure he would do well. Opening and closing it, every 2 minutes…oh, I wish I could do something like that. Now the provisions made for the comfort of people… firstly a huge engine that had seating arrangements right next to it. So the seats were always WARM, I think it was made for the cold season, so thoughtful..
The frontal part that has the driving wheel and all on it (damn….I forgot his name….)… was made for all the farmers who would carry food from town to town. Nice racks, all made to size to fit every possible size of a vegetable. It had small slits to keep the vegetables from getting overcooked I meant if someone did have rice and some water, but it in a small container, you really might get cooked rice during the journey. Who says India consumes a lot of fuel?? I know only Utility vehicles have these provisions, but they also require a fuel supply. Does any other vehicle have free cooking service??
Bus.....Part 2
There was this rope running parallel to the length of the bus. It was supposed to be connected to a bell, so that the conductor could tell the driver that there was a fare to be dropped at the point. But then, whats the fun of having thing its run its normal way? There was no bell for instance. The rope (I really love this…!), had umbrellas hanging all over it (it was not raining….I am serious….there was a bakery in the bus )….
I think that is enough of a take on a good bus, that takes people to meet some of the amazing places in India. The driver and all the people in the bus were all very interested what we were doing in Arunachal in the off-season. It was literary an “off season” All the food stores were off...
….Can I get to crack a GOOD JOKE??? ………………………“off season” = off {sea and sun}. the river that would have been a sea if it had rained, was off, I meant it was a stream. But then the sun, wasn’t going off…..we were baked in there…..if we had decided to write then and there, and we didn’t have a writing instrument, all we had to do was to, run a finger over our arm, and viola! There was charcoal!!!!!!!
I think that is enough of a take on a good bus, that takes people to meet some of the amazing places in India. The driver and all the people in the bus were all very interested what we were doing in Arunachal in the off-season. It was literary an “off season” All the food stores were off...
….Can I get to crack a GOOD JOKE??? ………………………“off season” = off {sea and sun}. the river that would have been a sea if it had rained, was off, I meant it was a stream. But then the sun, wasn’t going off…..we were baked in there…..if we had decided to write then and there, and we didn’t have a writing instrument, all we had to do was to, run a finger over our arm, and viola! There was charcoal!!!!!!!
Traffic Jam Part 1
Many many of you must have been stuck into traffic that has caused by, rash drivers... But have you ever got stuck in a traffic jam caused by a landslide. On our way back from Tawang to Bomdila, around 30kms from Bomdila, there was a landslide. Our driver was very keen to check how the situation was and left us in the vehicle. Ofcourse, theres something called fear that each of us has to live with, and at that very moment we were a fountain just spreading fear all over the face of the road. I agree that there wasn’t much life on or beside us, I mean on 1 side is a nice tall wall of the hill, which wants to fall off and make humans work and on the other side there is this big valley.I think this is one of the ways, Mother Earth takes her revenge. But in the very line that we were waiting there was a military convoy. Buses containing all military people, and hence the Border Roads Organisation(BRO) was under a hell lot of pressure to clear up the road. I know that sometimes if the pressure is very high in a pressure cooker then the lid just blasts off, but I think a living person would prefer to just blast off. But they did that literary…....blasted the whole damn huge rock with dynamites. Now that’s what pressure does to people. That’s why we always say, people crumble against pressure, well if stones can crumble, then people have to.
Traffic Jam Part 2
Now want to know what our driver does? He was too keen to get out of there, I meant all wanted, but it was a tad bit more. I think he really liked racing, or something of that sort. Theres this traffic coming from the other side. Everything is going well, and this weirdo come and makes the vehicle right at the mouth, of the small mud hillock that was formed after the blast (see the pic.) and then came the police, yelling like giving a politicians speech and making him back off. Think, you are in a strange land, where ladies adjust there clothes right in the middle of the road (I mean they seriously adjusted their skirts……..oh, nothing of that sort……BAD people…….) and a policeman trying to scold that cute of a driver, “cute????” sorry sorry, I meant cunning…he wanted to be the hero who clears the pile of rubble of our side. Look at the Fame he would have earned…..
Well, he got what he wanted…….the first to cross the pile first…..
Hey!!! You know what that was really really nice experience. I mean when do you get stuck in a traffic jam caused by a Landslide in the city?
Another GOOD JOKE PLEASE??…..
Unless, there a girl playing with MUD (land), and letting it slide down the slide.
He HE HE !!! but then I don’t think it will cause a traffic jam, will it?
That was a good joke ok????
Well, he got what he wanted…….the first to cross the pile first…..
Hey!!! You know what that was really really nice experience. I mean when do you get stuck in a traffic jam caused by a Landslide in the city?
Another GOOD JOKE PLEASE??…..
Unless, there a girl playing with MUD (land), and letting it slide down the slide.
He HE HE !!! but then I don’t think it will cause a traffic jam, will it?
That was a good joke ok????
Lodging & Fooding Part 1
We arrive to Bomdila, shaken but not stirred (not a juice……we ), after the landslide incident. The driver suddenly turns around and tells us that we should say, that we are just stopping for the landslide to clearup and will be heading directly to tawang. “???” I was in the same condition as you are….makes no sense, does it?
Then he tells us that university student elections are on, and hence for the campaigning purpose, students take over vehicles and ask the travelers to get down from the vehicle. And since the elections were the next day, he wasn’t too keen to take us anywhere. He took us to some really good looking 2 star hotel, I guess. We knew a couple of hotels but then he wasn’t ready to take us there. So we, i.e. me, harshad, persis and dhaval decided that we could spend a few bucks and relax a bit.
The hotel was totally empty when we got there. But, we seem to have brought some goodluck with us and hence 2 more groups came to live in the rooms right besides us (as in….in the other rooms….)
The first thing we noticed was that the room stinked a lot, not that we smelled the stink, but it was was sprayed with loads of room freshener. The toilet was beautiful, but don’t they always say? “Don’t go by the looks”….same condition here, the geyser wasn’t working, the flush of the toilet used to get stuck everytime you flushed and hence the water would keep on flowing. The little light had nice designs made by some spiders, who I thought were artists during their last lives.
Lodging & Fooding Part 2
The room had some good items (as in things…….)……like a television, a doorless sitout with big windows, big big beds, 2 people could have easily slept in there. We did that, me and harshad slept on the same bed for two days. The television was like a politicians speech, had loads of channel but only one was visible..
Now Food:
“Can we have a Cheese and Vegetable Burger please?” …..
“Yes, sir but it will take some time”
“that’s ok….”
We wait for ten minutes, my mood is not great and hence I didn’t have any other food during the dinner time. In 15 mins. our burgers come. Dhaval has his cheese burger which has loads of vegetables in it. My burger….was a nice big one. But it was a kind of free-art design, it had a loads of small spots on it. I was sure that I would have been sharing the burger with the rats, had it been a bit late.
But then, I was hungry and now my little crows, hey! I meant crows in my little stomach, were cursing me for delaying the food. And hence, I finish the burger without, even noticing that the waiter was staring at me. Hmm…..i did notice, what was his problem? Did he think I knew what the secret ingredient was? It didn’t taste bad, it was good, I doubt, if the rats have a kind of monosodium glutamate in them. I know this chemicals name, because it is there on the Lays Tangy Tomato pack…..
From the next day, they preferred to tell us that they didn’t have bread and hence couldn’t give us bread butter or even Burgers!!!
Now Food:
“Can we have a Cheese and Vegetable Burger please?” …..
“Yes, sir but it will take some time”
“that’s ok….”
We wait for ten minutes, my mood is not great and hence I didn’t have any other food during the dinner time. In 15 mins. our burgers come. Dhaval has his cheese burger which has loads of vegetables in it. My burger….was a nice big one. But it was a kind of free-art design, it had a loads of small spots on it. I was sure that I would have been sharing the burger with the rats, had it been a bit late.
But then, I was hungry and now my little crows, hey! I meant crows in my little stomach, were cursing me for delaying the food. And hence, I finish the burger without, even noticing that the waiter was staring at me. Hmm…..i did notice, what was his problem? Did he think I knew what the secret ingredient was? It didn’t taste bad, it was good, I doubt, if the rats have a kind of monosodium glutamate in them. I know this chemicals name, because it is there on the Lays Tangy Tomato pack…..
From the next day, they preferred to tell us that they didn’t have bread and hence couldn’t give us bread butter or even Burgers!!!
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Is This Food Enough???
My mother used to complain of this every day in and out. Mihir you need to gain some height or put on some weight. She made me have tones of food before leaving to Arunachal. She must have felt that I will be going through a diet programme or something. My food bag only, must be around 3-4 kgs. And know what she asks me while leaving the house???
“Is this food enough??” But then, I wasn’t going to eat all of it alone, was I? That food was supposed to last us for a month, hence to finish it off…I opened almost all the food on our first day of travel. Once that everyone had tasted the wonderful food of my mothers hand, they just fell in love with it. Once that, they got together( I mean the food and the group)…it was just a matter of time, till the bag got lighter.
Balls are an addiction you know………..(hey…..what are you thinking??? ) am talking about the cheese balls, u dumbo……people, we’re talking about food here….well I really liked them. And people do sometimes , make fun of you…..but I am used to it. So, having atleast 2 packets of cheese balls a day became my daily food. Ok ok, I did have all the other food…. Momo’s….. its more like a “modak”, filled with vegetables and eaten with a soup. The “vegetables”, consisted nothing but cabbage. Ok, we made a mistake of going in the off-season, but, that doesn’t mean, we have to be like a cow, who only feeds on grass, do we???
Yeah, but all the momos and thupkas and chowmein and the heavy heavy Bengali food that I had, made my stomach a human food processor. I was having everything and anything….no, I mean I was about to try a prawn pickle (I am a vegeterenian), but then it smelled too much. Well, I also had a samosa filled with “shira” made out of yak milk….eww……guys and gals if u ever go to anyplace in arunachal please please please for my sake don’t have it…….
But even after having all this food, I was sure I would have lost atleast 2-3 kgs… my weight being around 50kgs..
But the first compliment I get, isn’t…you look tanned, or you look tired.. but “you seem to put on weight…….” J that’s the compliment I was waiting for…..you have put on some weight……
One of the happiest days of my life….to keep on repeating that sentence in front of my mom………..
“you seem to put on weight…….”
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Why cant I Fly?
Alcohol…
“Never tried my hand in” writing…..thats what the saying goes I guess, I only knew that you can try a hand in a game of cards, but then all that you think you know, is never the same. Some of my friends after spending some really Humorous days with me at Arunachal came to the opinion that I should do some kind of sarcastic travel writing. I think they were just too bored, and went praising about me to keep my mouth shut.
But then, a praise will always make you a bit high, as compared to other alcoholic drinks??? I really don’t know, how it feels to be flying in an airplane that is made by some kind of grape, who has to be stampeded upon to make it leave its juices….eww…. I need to censor myself. I should have said that joke during the trip…. Now, I am not saying that I never had any alcohol, well that was the first drink I ever had…..and it was really really tasteful (did you get the sarcasm there? Or should I add “he he he :D”). it had only 4% alcohol, I have no idea, how much all other fermented drinks have…. It was rice beer made out of……c’mon people, doesn’t the name already say….its RICE, u genius….
There are other things that can get you high, you don’t need to destroy your liver for it… Betal leaves with a fruit that we call “supari” in marathi. These together in Maharashtra in known as “paan”, but in arunchal its “tambul”. I have been having paan for the past 2-3 yrs, but this one was a bit too good. I was ok with it, but persis and dhaval, well, went for a flight. They had gone to make a phonecall, but came back halfway, saying they couldn’t walk, the level of the road was not right. After a bit of traveling by vehicle they were ok….
Why cant I have a airplane ride????
“Never tried my hand in” writing…..thats what the saying goes I guess, I only knew that you can try a hand in a game of cards, but then all that you think you know, is never the same. Some of my friends after spending some really Humorous days with me at Arunachal came to the opinion that I should do some kind of sarcastic travel writing. I think they were just too bored, and went praising about me to keep my mouth shut.
But then, a praise will always make you a bit high, as compared to other alcoholic drinks??? I really don’t know, how it feels to be flying in an airplane that is made by some kind of grape, who has to be stampeded upon to make it leave its juices….eww…. I need to censor myself. I should have said that joke during the trip…. Now, I am not saying that I never had any alcohol, well that was the first drink I ever had…..and it was really really tasteful (did you get the sarcasm there? Or should I add “he he he :D”). it had only 4% alcohol, I have no idea, how much all other fermented drinks have…. It was rice beer made out of……c’mon people, doesn’t the name already say….its RICE, u genius….
There are other things that can get you high, you don’t need to destroy your liver for it… Betal leaves with a fruit that we call “supari” in marathi. These together in Maharashtra in known as “paan”, but in arunchal its “tambul”. I have been having paan for the past 2-3 yrs, but this one was a bit too good. I was ok with it, but persis and dhaval, well, went for a flight. They had gone to make a phonecall, but came back halfway, saying they couldn’t walk, the level of the road was not right. After a bit of traveling by vehicle they were ok….
Why cant I have a airplane ride????
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