This morning, being a Sunday, I was hoping for a late sleep-in. Unfortunately, it was not to be : I was woken up before light, approximately at about 4:45 in the morning by some idiot in the apartment complex with his noisy audio "reverse" indicator.
Listening to the loud "beep-ep beep-ep" at that time of the tranquil morning, I was forced to imagine all the things I'd do to this person / car if I were the violent kind.
What is it that makes people think they have the right to make as much noise without remorse ?
This is not the first time that I've noticed / commented or even lamented on the noise level of our Indian roads. However, I'm exasperated. I think we should not have only "honk-free" days but, "honk-free" weekends for a start.
Other instances that I'm sure will strike a chord with my fellow citizens
- Honking by a person in the back while you (and the whole world) is waiting patiently for the traffic lights to go from "red" to "green"
- Honking while overtaking even when one knows it is better to wait for another 50 m to get a good sight of the road ahead
- Switching on the "reversing" audio with various options on tunes
- Even making loud "Beep-Beep" when locking / unlocking the car or vehicle
Is this an attitude or is it education ?
Why is it that people do not use the "silent" option available in most autolock / autocop versions where the instrument can be "muted" ?
Showing posts with label Bangalore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bangalore. Show all posts
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Akshaya Tadige : Why is it such a big deal ?
I'm sure there is NOT a single person in Bangalore (beyond the age of 6 years atleast) who has not figured out that yesterday was Akshaya Tritiya. I mean, how can people miss this grand event of the year ? TOI carried a very "glossy" addendum that listed the superlative products and excellent "offers" and reasons as to why EVERY SINGLE person in the world had to rush off and buy GOLD!!
What a marketing driven feeding frenzy !
I'm sure if we had someone with a Rip Van Winkle syndrome wake up today, they'd be distraught that they've missed the greatest opportunity and good fortune this year.
Seriously, as an youngster, I did know of Akshaya Tadige (in Kannada, it is Tadige not Tritya - but that is just semantics). Did I pay any attention ? Not at all !!.
Not only did I NOT pay any attention, I do not remember ANYONE paying attention.
Nobody offered special discounts on Gold coins (Infact, there no coins sold and no ads put up)
Nobody listed out the reasons that made buying gold on this day
No shop put up a pandal (makeshift tent) in front to seat the enthusiastic shopper and then fed them glasses of fruit juice, snacks etc.
Nobody put up hoardings that said "We are extending shopping hours for the convienience of our esteemed shopper" (like I care !)
No special editions on paper
No "exhibitions" of the latest design
No......
Is this the consumerism that I had been warned about when discussing the American Consumption ?
What a marketing driven feeding frenzy !
I'm sure if we had someone with a Rip Van Winkle syndrome wake up today, they'd be distraught that they've missed the greatest opportunity and good fortune this year.
Seriously, as an youngster, I did know of Akshaya Tadige (in Kannada, it is Tadige not Tritya - but that is just semantics). Did I pay any attention ? Not at all !!.
Not only did I NOT pay any attention, I do not remember ANYONE paying attention.
Nobody offered special discounts on Gold coins (Infact, there no coins sold and no ads put up)
Nobody listed out the reasons that made buying gold on this day
No shop put up a pandal (makeshift tent) in front to seat the enthusiastic shopper and then fed them glasses of fruit juice, snacks etc.
Nobody put up hoardings that said "We are extending shopping hours for the convienience of our esteemed shopper" (like I care !)
No special editions on paper
No "exhibitions" of the latest design
No......
Is this the consumerism that I had been warned about when discussing the American Consumption ?
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Bangalore - Not yet ready for buildings higher / taller than 50 feet ?
My apartment complex is in the process of getting a new coat of paint. Given, that I live in the top floor of an eight floored building, I find it extremely stressful watching the process / progress. The prime reason is that I see individuals dangling on un-anchored / manually anchored ropes without a safety harness ?
Why is it that we allow for infrastructure to be created without necessary maintainence features built into the system. This is not just buildings - it is also the corresponding infrastructure with the support services / emergency services like the fire department.
We, in Inatech were unfortunate to witness a fire accident and the main reason why we could NOT contain the fire was the level of smoke in the floor that had fire (airconditioned and hence in some ways sealed !).
There were several fire extinguishers spread around the office - but, there were not reachable to be of any use ?
Now, you'd expect that the fire department has the necessary equipment ? My own experience has been a sorry state.
- The "standard" fire engine does not have retractable ladder that can extend beyond 3rd floor
- The "standard" engine crew carry ONE smoke mask. More importantly, this does NOT come with a flashlight fixed on top of the helmet which means that the fireman is expected to carry a flashlight / torch in one hand and the hose in the other
- The "standard" fire mask (lone one) is not oxygen supported, but is of the active filter kind.
I'm sure I can write a lot more of the deficiencies, but, that is not the point.
None of the infrastructure that is coming up seems designed to handle this.
How do we as individuals / citizens ensure that there is enough protection ?
Why is it that we allow for infrastructure to be created without necessary maintainence features built into the system. This is not just buildings - it is also the corresponding infrastructure with the support services / emergency services like the fire department.
We, in Inatech were unfortunate to witness a fire accident and the main reason why we could NOT contain the fire was the level of smoke in the floor that had fire (airconditioned and hence in some ways sealed !).
There were several fire extinguishers spread around the office - but, there were not reachable to be of any use ?
Now, you'd expect that the fire department has the necessary equipment ? My own experience has been a sorry state.
- The "standard" fire engine does not have retractable ladder that can extend beyond 3rd floor
- The "standard" engine crew carry ONE smoke mask. More importantly, this does NOT come with a flashlight fixed on top of the helmet which means that the fireman is expected to carry a flashlight / torch in one hand and the hose in the other
- The "standard" fire mask (lone one) is not oxygen supported, but is of the active filter kind.
I'm sure I can write a lot more of the deficiencies, but, that is not the point.
None of the infrastructure that is coming up seems designed to handle this.
How do we as individuals / citizens ensure that there is enough protection ?
Friday, April 11, 2008
The rain tree : Uses of the fruit
The best view from outside of my window is the hugh canopy of a raintree. This is IMHO one of the best trees to be found in Bangalore.
They are shady, spread on the top as much as spread below the ground (I always visualise this tree as having roots on top and below !) and very efficient in coverage. Not sure if people have noticed, but, there is almost a "cap" like quality in the foliage. There is almost ZERO foliage that do not receive sunlight !!!
As a kid, we used to collect the fruits of this tree when ripe. They are black / dark brown, the size of a small drumstick and slightly flat. Each fruit has about a dozen seed / bean almost like a giant sized bean.
We would strip the edges of the fruit, remove the seeds and then pulverize the fruit while adding some oil (typically the cheapest oil - used to be the oil that my mother used to ask me to throw out post a couple of fry-ups) and then make balls.
When let to dry, these balls were very hard and would substitute for an "expensive" cork ball during our summer vacation.
The balls were rock-hard and were more akin to cannon balls / missiles !
Change in subject - I've been of the opinion that we should be able to use the pulp as a binding agent while preparing tarmac. The reason I say this is - it is excellent in stickiness and binding properties (In my childhood days - I'd be able to show a couple of shorts / shirts as proof). They are also very hardy on wear / tear. The fact that these would dry up quickly was the reason we'd use oil during the process of pulping. I'm sure the heat / oil in the current road laying process will help. More importantly, this fruit pulp used to bind even plastic waste and I'm sure we can certainly use this property today.....
I guess this is one more of my discoveries that will not see the light of a patent until I have more time for myself :-)
They are shady, spread on the top as much as spread below the ground (I always visualise this tree as having roots on top and below !) and very efficient in coverage. Not sure if people have noticed, but, there is almost a "cap" like quality in the foliage. There is almost ZERO foliage that do not receive sunlight !!!
As a kid, we used to collect the fruits of this tree when ripe. They are black / dark brown, the size of a small drumstick and slightly flat. Each fruit has about a dozen seed / bean almost like a giant sized bean.
We would strip the edges of the fruit, remove the seeds and then pulverize the fruit while adding some oil (typically the cheapest oil - used to be the oil that my mother used to ask me to throw out post a couple of fry-ups) and then make balls.
When let to dry, these balls were very hard and would substitute for an "expensive" cork ball during our summer vacation.
The balls were rock-hard and were more akin to cannon balls / missiles !
Change in subject - I've been of the opinion that we should be able to use the pulp as a binding agent while preparing tarmac. The reason I say this is - it is excellent in stickiness and binding properties (In my childhood days - I'd be able to show a couple of shorts / shirts as proof). They are also very hardy on wear / tear. The fact that these would dry up quickly was the reason we'd use oil during the process of pulping. I'm sure the heat / oil in the current road laying process will help. More importantly, this fruit pulp used to bind even plastic waste and I'm sure we can certainly use this property today.....
I guess this is one more of my discoveries that will not see the light of a patent until I have more time for myself :-)
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Flowering trees of Bangalore : A great sight every year
Just like mary parts of the world have he cherry blossom festival, Bangalore should have a festival on it's flowering trees. I think it is unique in the number of varieties of flowering trees and the colours.....
Just this morning I counted quite a few
The red Gulmohurs
The purple Jacarandas
The yellow Tabubias
The white Frangipanis
The light green Pongamias
The orange / pink Rain Trees
etc etc.
However, I still miss the fragrant roads that Bangalore used to have. There were a few roads (eg. Sampige road in Malleshwaram with the eponymous Sampige trees), the road near Ulsoor lake with the Akash mallige (a tree that, as kids, we used to call - Peepi mara : Peepi being a whistle in Kannada) that used to smell like a treat whenever one'd go past.
Now, I guess the only tree that I've smelt while driving is probably the Neelgiri (Ecalyptus).
Maybe we shoud get a "tree walk" organized where we can go into say Cubbon Park, Lalbaugh and be able to see all flowering trees in a row ?
A throwback on that old rhyme - Mary, Mary, quite contrary....
Just this morning I counted quite a few
The red Gulmohurs
The purple Jacarandas
The yellow Tabubias
The white Frangipanis
The light green Pongamias
The orange / pink Rain Trees
etc etc.
However, I still miss the fragrant roads that Bangalore used to have. There were a few roads (eg. Sampige road in Malleshwaram with the eponymous Sampige trees), the road near Ulsoor lake with the Akash mallige (a tree that, as kids, we used to call - Peepi mara : Peepi being a whistle in Kannada) that used to smell like a treat whenever one'd go past.
Now, I guess the only tree that I've smelt while driving is probably the Neelgiri (Ecalyptus).
Maybe we shoud get a "tree walk" organized where we can go into say Cubbon Park, Lalbaugh and be able to see all flowering trees in a row ?
A throwback on that old rhyme - Mary, Mary, quite contrary....
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