amit

Hand Signals while driving

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:48:13 GMT

The Indian driving style has transformed in the past 2 decades and thus have the signaling pattern.

In the 90's, the roads were predominantly covered with Scooters(all bajaj and some lml vespa) mopeds(tvs 50 et al) and a few bikes(ind suzuki, tvs suzuki, hero honda) and the cars being mostly premier padmini or the maruti 800(other than the occasional contessa).

None of these two wheelers had indicators built in and the few ones that had, were mostly never used. Among the cars, most of them were non A/C ( a) because using a/c was considered an unnecessary luxury back then b)pollution wasn't bad enough for ppl to roll up their windows and drive). In this scenario, hand signals formed a very important part of driving. I still remember giving the driving test for my two wheeler license on my Dad's Bajaj Chetak(the quintessential family scooter). The cop checked if I made the right hand signals. The key signal where people failed usually was the one where you had to show a hand signal while turning left. Since the gear and clutch mechanism is on the left side of the handle, you are expected to never take your left hand of the handle. Instead, one was supposed to use the right hand and turn the hand(pointed down) anti clockwise at the wrist to denote a left turn. The same applied to the cars as well when it came to turning(of course one could not jut out his left hand from the car for a left turn anyways :) ). Another interesting signal, which by the way is still used heavily on the highways by the truckwalas, is the one denoting the slowing down ahead (waving your right hand slowing) and the one involving halting to a stop (hand held out like your taking an oath). You would surely flunk the driving test for a license if you failed at these key signals (other than not bribing the cops of course! )

Notably, these hand signals are almost extinct in city driving today. The two wheelers segment is primarily all bikes who have indicators. Moreover, people have adopted the use of these as the replacement for hand signals while turning. Among the cars, most of them are equipped with a/c and the average Indian driver has taken to the use of a/c because of the pollution and ever increasing temperatures in the cities. This eliminates the possibility of using hand signals for slowing down or halting at a signal. Unlike indicators for turning, there is no electronic replacement for these hand signals(other than the brake light which is dysfunctional in many cars because people dont bother to replace them) . Yet the Indian driver has adjusted well in the cities. The real need of these signals is only in the case of heavy vehicles which block the visibility ahead, for a driver behind them.

I dont know about the patterns of driving test(2 wheeler/4 wheeler) for a license these days. I would not be surprised if they still test the candidates primarily on the hand signals!

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:19:16 GMT

Ever wondered if what you are is better than what you want to be......

Diversification helps :)

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 05:55:30 GMT

So we have a maid servant to clean up the house and another to cook. Independently, both have been taking their jobs lightly, bunking frequently. Simultaneously both have been individually making a pitch to expand their work scope so as to eliminate competition. We have been ignoring that business offer although it might save us a little money (end to end solutions u see :P ) and there was a reason for that.

Having two maid servants induces competition and each one fears that the other might outperform resulting in either losing their job. Interestingly, today for the first time, both were at work (doing their individual tasks) and started interacting. I could see that their interactions involved questioning each other on their timings of work, what they do and how the cook is affected when the other maid bunks and such aspects clearly signaling that both are interested in cutting the competition out.

The benefits of this competition are already visible. The cook asked us for the first time, what we wanna eat today so that she can cook that and also gave fundaes on the extra stuff that she can make. The maid servant is yet to prove her performance, and I can foresee that she will think twice before bunking next time.

Diversification does help you see! Although one can save a marginal amount of money by appointing a single vendor, the benefits of diversification(better quality of service) far outweigh the cost savings.

Rock on!!

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 18:00:44 GMT

A good movie after a long time. Just proves that Farhan Akhtar is a super talented dude. Director, producer , actor, singer....he is superb at all of these.
Movie is very predictable as such, but the music is mind blowing. Very college rock and not some deep stuff...lotta tunes worth humming;. For a change, the actor Arjun Rampal is holding the right chords when the music is played. Goes to show the attention to detail.

The whole package is well made. Excpept for a few flaws here and there (Arjun rampal is supposed to go on a ship but he is travelling to the airport!!), the movie is quite well made with characters etched perfectly and the actors doing justice.

Go watch it guys....its worth the ratings!

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 19:28:18 GMT

I close both locks below the window.
I close both blinds and turn away.
Sometimes solutions aren't so simple.
Sometimes goodbye's the only way.

Honking!

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:42:43 GMT

What’s with the incessant honking at all times of the day and on all kinds of roads in any variation of traffic! Seems like the average Indian driver takes it as a part of effective driving on the Indian roads(btw the other attributes of effective driving include: cutting lanes, crossing the yellow lines, always stopping beyond the pedestrian strip at a traffic signal etc etc).

Honking has always been considered more of a precautionary activity, even when there is no clear being in sight. The whole logic behind providing a horn to the automobile seems to have taken a new definition. People honk when there is a traffic jam assuming that desperate honking will clear the mess. People honk when the traffic signal is about change from amber to green trying to ensure the guy ahead is alert enough to start moving even before the signal changes!. The examples can just go on and on. It is a problem in every city and there seems to be no obvious sense of responsibility to curb the urge to honk at every blink of the eye.

While I try to think of ways to make people aware of this issue, I feel that it may never be as effective as it would be in case of a penalty. Yeah! How about some kind of a penalty for extra honking? How can one be penalized for using( rather abusing) the sound horn?

One method (as frivolous as it may sound) is to link the fuel consumption with honking. There should be some kind of a meter which will ensure that some amount of fuel is wasted if the sound horn is used beyond a specific limit. This limit can be an absolute value calculated by some statistical analysis on the data collected from different cities with varying kind of traffic scenarios . Like the Euro 2 or Bharat 2 emission norms enforced in each new vehicle, a honko-meter or some kind of a mechanism can be instilled in every new automobile manufactured.

This can ensure that every driver is conservative about using the sound horn because it will burn a hole in his/her pocket if the horn is used excessively. It will also build in some amount of patience among the drivers which can help in ensuring lesser traffic jams and better adherence to the traffic rules.

I am sure there can be some smart way to curb this nuisance.

Good one

Sun, 15 Jul 2007 16:21:17 GMT

Of the millions of inane status messages adopted by people, came across this lovely line:

The greatest gift you can give someone is time because when you are giving someone your time you are giving them a portion of your life that you will never get back....

Interesting observation

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 12:47:43 GMT

The other day while i was traveling with my team, there was an interesting discussion. My boss was wondering why all the big cars (sedans basically) never seem to have a single scratch or a dent on them, whereas most of the small cars have at least one scratch or a small dent on them.
(This thought came to his mind because his car was in the work shop for repair of some dents).

He thought, the reason for that is - big cars are driven by chauffeurs and hence driven carefully compared to small car owners who are at the job themselves.

I was not convinced with this explanation. Chauffeurs drive rash as well and I dont see it to be the reason. My contention was -
Most of the big car owners have a second (usually a small )car as well, generally used by wives, kids etc.. Therefore if there is a scratch or a dent, it is immediately left at the work shop while the second car is used as a back up.
Small car owners do not have this luxury. They cannot afford to leave their single car at the work shop immediately.

Was just wondering if there is any other explanation for this observation!

S, E & L

Thu, 17 May 2007 11:06:20 GMT

Shankar Ehsaan and Loy have come a long way as a band. In the past 3 years they have been scoring hit over hit. I think they have been getting awards at every other ceremony.
I must say that this is one band which keeps bringing in new sound into their music everytime. They keep re inventing themselves and are an amazing combination. Shankar Mahadevan just keeps getting better and better with his vocals.

I remember these guys scored their first big hit with "Dil Chahta hai". They brought techno and trance into Indian music. They also effectively used the Aussie "Didjerdidoo" (I donno if I got the spelling right) in a couple of songs in the movie effectively. Some of the movies with awesome music by these guys are Mission Kashmir, Kal Ho Na Ho,Bunty aur Babli, Don, Lakshya (there are many more which I cant recollect right now) and not to forget their music for "Rockford"!
From then on they have continued to score hit over hit. They are now the default music composers for Yash Raj movies, Farhan Akhtar movies(lets accept it..Yash raj movies might suck at stories but their music is generally a hit) . Gone are the days when Jatin Lalit scored mushy mushy music repeatedly enacted by the Shahrukh Khan in Switzerland with the same plastic emotions of puppy romance.
The indian mainstream music scene is maturing now. Partly it has to do with the appeal that these movies have to score with the NRI audience, but nonetheless we are getting to listen to fresh sounds.Its now the time for techno, hip hop, rock and all kinds of international music making entry into the indian music scene. No more do we have to wait for AR Rahman to compose his next hit.
Another band worth mentioning is Vishal-Shekar. These guys have just burst into the scene in a big way scoring music for big films. Frankly, I never expected a rock band to come into mainstream and start scoring hits. Bluff master's music was a hit with the Indian masses. Now again, they have a done a decent job with "Ta Ra Rum Pum"

"Jhoom barabar jhoom" - the latest offering by Yashraj has a very very catchy title track. Its Shankar Ehsaan Loy again. They seem to have done a great job once again. The music has a different and fresh feel to it.

Way to go guys!!

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 08:50:38 GMT

am obsessed with the song "Laree Chootee" from "Ek Chalis Ki Last Local"...

a stanza from the song goes:

Kya bura hai kya bhala hai,
Waqt Hi shayad khuda,

Ho Jaane Do phir!
Dekha jaayega!

So true!!!

by the way...

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 07:55:45 GMT

Last week I turned 25...Starting to feel old. There is something about this age which psyches me out.
Like you have the teenage period, is there any name for the period between 20-25. If there isnt, they should call it something. Coz this is time when people graduate, get first jobs, splurge money without second thought, etc etc. This period is indeed the time you have most of the fun and can be carefree.

Post 25, things start changing. You are "expected" to start moving towards a settled down phase in life(in both career and personal life).
You start looking at your career more seriously, you start planning things, you work more than you have fun, you start thinking about your personal life, you stop having flings, you start taking relationships seriously blah blah blah.

Its a new phase. Hopefully it will continue to be as rocking(and more) as the previous phase. Amen!

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 07:20:59 GMT

Successful careers are not made of just bursts of activity. Successful careers are made of consistent effort and progress.

Every career has a cyclical phase of ups and downs. The crest and the trough are the points when an individual is most vulnerable. Its important not to snap at those moments. You gotta keep moving. Overall, its very important for the cycical trend to be directed upwards.

Long time!!!

Wed, 18 Apr 2007 11:25:18 GMT

Huh! Been quite some time since I posted. Actually been quite some time since I felt like blogging :P

Quite an eventful period this last year has been.

OK! I got a confession to make. This might shock some people. But I will go ahead nonetheless.

"I have not seen a single Star Wars movie till now" .

I can sense some people opening their mouths shouting "Whoa!"...Relax folks. Its just another movie and I hate to see fanatics going gaga over it. I get pissed off when people think you'r weird because you hav'nt seen any of the Star Wars movie. I agree that it might be a good movie series and would catch up with it some time. But people have gotta stop being so obsessed with it and expecting every living being to be a star wars fan.

The reason I made this point is, people say, the way I speak is like Yoda (Refer the second line of the post) And when I very naively ask "who is yoda? ", It leads to ten minutes of blabber over how I could not know about that!

Point made.

Moving on to the latest update, I am currently in Mumbai for summer internship after havin finished the first year of MBA(phew!) .

Tue, 09 May 2006 12:00:39 GMT

The weather outside is absolutely amazing...lovely breeze..just took a walk and ate pani puri at a road side gaadi...
its amazing how small things like these make you happy..this is life!

(its gonna rain heavy for sure...wat a relief...)

never again..

Wed, 03 May 2006 12:23:25 GMT

There are times when you beyond the limit..times when you do things which you wouldnt under your normal controlled behaviour...
Agreed, that these are some rare occasions when some internal emotional outburst is the root cause.There is too much that you have withheld in your mind and is waiting to explode.
The after effects are extremely painful.when you have woken up and realised that you screwed up big time yesterday.You'd pull your hair,curse yourself and the self respect hits a rock bottom.You wish that you could go back in time and change all those things.

Sadly thats not possible.What has happened has happened.No excuse ,however valid, would be good enough.You can only learn from that and tell yourself that you would never blunder like that again...never never again..

24 years..

Tue, 11 Apr 2006 10:05:08 GMT

Another year goes by...quite an eventful this...

raindrops keep fallin on my head....

Fri, 31 Mar 2006 06:54:00 GMT

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed
Nothin' seems to fit
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'

So I just did me some talkin' to the sun
And I said I didn't like the way he got things done
Sleepin' on the job
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'

But there's one thing I know
The blues they send to meet me won't defeat me
It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red
Cryin's not for me
'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'
Because I'm free
Nothin's worryin' me

It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red
Cryin's not for me
'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'
Because I'm free
Nothin's worryin' me

--Wonderful song....have been hearing it all day...

2006 all star slam dunk

Fri, 10 Mar 2006 09:49:59 GMT

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9047908082860121863&q=2006+nba+slam+dunk

simply amazing!!by the way, the guy who won the competetion is just 5foot 9 inches tall.!!

Bandipur!

Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:41:53 GMT

After a lot of "lets go on a trip man" discussions we finally decided to head to bandipur on the weekend.The weekend trip was a thing to do after Johnny bought his car.

The trip party included Johnny,CK,Nair,pranam_c_s and myself. So it was decided that on Saturday ealry morn Pranam, Johnny and Nair would head to CK's place and then pick me up the last.(I was quite pleased with the idea since I would get some extra sleep:-) )
So I had kept an alarm for 5am whcih did not ring and it was 5:30 when my mom woke me up.Just ten min later I got a call that they would be at my place in like 10 mins.Well, I still had to pack and take bath and I started off in a hurry.Finally after making them wait for 20 mins we started off. As expected the first few minutes were spent hurling all kinds of abuse and swear on me for obvious reasons.
The road to Mysore is simply too good.Didnt expect it to be so good at all.After a while of driving we stopped at Loakruchi for breakfast.Feasted on some nice "neer dosas". Then it was back on to the road.We reached Mysore by 9:45 am .We thought we will pick up some booze since we werent sure of getting it at Bandipur.
The road to Badipur isnt bad as well.We reached there by about 12:45pm. Accomodation was available at the Govt. guest houses but we had to wait for an hour since they were expecting a cancellation.In the meanwhile we thought we cross over to Tamilnadu and see if we can just check out for any better acco in Madhumalai.This is where the big drama happened.
While crossin the TN border there was a tiny sign board which said "Out State liquor not allowed". We had not seen it and on crossin the cops stopped us for the routine check.The guy checked the bags and found a bottle of Smirnoff and two beer bottles that we were carrying.He simpley took them away silently.After enquiring he told us about the law.We thought it made sense to get back to Karnataka and asked him to return the bottles.But the corrupt cop wanted money out of the whole thing.As it is , it was tough communicating with the guy since he sopke only Tamil and we could barely understand.He started arguing that we had broken a law and we had to pay fine and forfiet the booze!!!After a lot of arguing, we relaised that the guy wasnt gonna budge without getting some money.There were totally three of them and that too officers.This is when Nair realised that one of them was Mallu and started talkin in Mallu..All we could understand was --- he started calling the cop "Uncle!!" and said things like nyenglodu reponsible ciitizen irokuu, naan ora criminal illa...manasyakshi odu" and shit like that. I could not control my laughter at the whole situation.Finally the cop said that we could pay 500bucks and take the booze back.Anyways there was no point wasitng time there.After payin the money we could see the cop suddnly change tone.He started asking our names and things like how is bangalore and all !!. He wasnt ready to part with the beer and was giving excuses that he had to keep some for record.After a little persuasion he let us go with all the booze.Once we crossed the border, there was an outburst of swear and curses for that cop.Everybody belted oiut the filthiest swear they could ever come up with!!!
It was partly our mistake as well.First of all we shouuld have seen the sign board.
Anyways after all this hungama, we settled into the Karnataka Gove guest houses which were now confirmed as available.The guest houses are very well maitained.We had enquired aboout the safari rides.Theere was an option of a ride in the bus or a ride in an open gypsy.Obviosly the gypsy ride was longer and went deeper into the forest.We booked the gypsy for the next day early morning.Since we had the evening free, we thought we will check out the Madhumalai part of the forest.This time while crossing the border the cops gave a dirty smile and did not check a thing.Im pretty sure we could have carried bombs across and they wouldn have bothered to check.
There was a safari on the madhumalai side as well.It wasnt too great.We got to see elephants, wild dogs, peacocks and a woodpeckers.We then had some good tea while discussing religions, astrology and so on.
Got back to our guest houses and had some amazing pakodas with tea.Ordered dinner and sat down for the booze session.
The session involved a lot of serios and senti talk concerning our lives at the current stage.By the way all of that was recorded without our knowledge.(CK the mastermind who just kept quite throughout for u know why).
Woke up early mornin and headed out in the jungle for a safari in the gypsy.It was a great experience to drive thorugh the dense forest.We wernt lucky enough to spot a tiger,but managed to see elephants, sambar,deers,kingfisher,wood pecker and eagles.There was one moment where everyone got excited with some movement in a bush closeby.But it turned out to be sambar anyways.Anyways it was a great experience seeing around the serene environment.
On return had some amazing poories for breakfast and headed on our way back.Stopped over at Ranganthittu.Now is apparently the right season and we did get to see a lot of birds.After that we just drove back to namma bengaluru .Reached around five.
All in all a good trip.Had a lot of fun .Need to do head out on trips like these more frequently.

Thu, 09 Feb 2006 08:45:51 GMT

Two years up at Oracle!!

Has been fun so far...

new years at goa!

Mon, 02 Jan 2006 11:10:54 GMT

spent the new years Goa...absolutely rocking!!!!

right place, right time, awesome crowd...totally amazing!

Mon, 05 Dec 2005 11:05:17 GMT

I can see it in your eyes
That you despise the same old lines
You heard the night before
And though it's just a line to you
For me it's true
And never seemed so right before

I practice every day to find some clever
lines to say
To make the meaning come true
But then I think I'll wait until the evening
gets late
And I'm alone with you

The time is right
Your perfume fills my head
The stars get red
And oh the night's so blue
And then I go and spoil it all
By saying something stupid
Like I love you

..

Mon, 24 Oct 2005 10:18:25 GMT

got promoted at work.!

Fri, 30 Sep 2005 09:50:21 GMT

I really wonder when people forget wat they have, and go chasing something which they dont, and get disappointed in the process.
Thats the irony of life.We seldom appreciate wat we got.

2 yrs up!

Fri, 09 Sep 2005 07:31:31 GMT

It all started 2 years ago this day!!!