It has been a long time since I posted anything, inspite of wanting to. Somehow I could not
bring myself to string together some words to make a post. Was kind of feeling rotten for the past few days, for quite a few reasons, some of which seemed to cloud my thought process
every time I tried to think of something else.
Anyway, today was good. In the sense that I finally got some clarity on what was troubling
me. Ofcourse after putting in some effort. Anyway, I am atleast glad that it is clear.
In general news, last week was kind of both happy and a little distressing. Happy because a
close friend and his wife were blessed with twin babies. I had always hoped that me and my
wife would have twins - a boy and a girl, making the family complete in one go. Ofcourse it
was not to happen that way. Anyway, I sure was so glad when I got the SMS from my friend sharing his happy news.
Since you drop in here regularly, Congratulations again, man.
It is tough raising a single kid. So raising twins is going to be tougher, but then kids bring such
joy to people all around, and in many cases help healing broken relationships too. So, just enjoy each moment.
Last week also had me distressed. I had gone to Kerala very eager to try out my brand new Shimano fishing gear. Since unlike the conventional line, this needs to be flung far, I needed to find a place with no trees around, where the line could get entangled, which in Kerala is a tough job given the greenery all around.
Finally I thought it would be best to fish from the top of the bridge on the river, which did
work partly. Only partly because the river being in spate, the current would drag the line underneath the bridge taking it away from my view. So, I try the other side of the bridge
and get a bite. Well, actually a real big bite, with the line bending as if it would snap. I try
to reel in the fish, but it looks too strong, from the tension in the line.
I was already having visions of how big the fish would be, how I would boast about it, the pictures I would take and finally about how people back home would be happy that I literally brought home dinner. But looks like the fish somehow caught scent of my thought process and just left the hook and vanished. Just like that. Was so disappointing.
I reel back the line to check if the bait is still there and it is then that I see another fishing line below in the river. Ha, who is there ? So I walk around and under the bridge and see that I can walk to the first pillar of the bridge through just a feet or so of water and it is a terrific place to fish.
Try for an hour or so, without much success. Then I feel tension in the line. I wait a few mins
to confirm that the fish is indeed hooked and then start reeling the line in. After reeling in a
few metres, the fishing rod is bent in a C shape and the line wont come in any more. Infact, inspite of the anti-reverse lock, the line gets pulled out a couple of times.
I try all the tricks I know, but after a certain point, it comes to a stage where nothing works.
If I do anything more, the line might snap. But, how long can you just stand there. So I pull
a bit more and then the unthinkable happens - the fishing rod broke. Yes, it just snapped like
a twig. And it runs along the line into the water. I am left with half the rod and the line is still
not cut.
Since I have anyway broken my gear, I think it is OK to give it all my effort and pull. Then
the thread also snaps. Fishing done for the day, I return home with no fish, but atleast a big
tale for people back home.
The fishing rod is made of 2 pieces which are 3-feet each in length, of which the upper half broke.The other half is intact. Need to figure out how to get a replacement. But if the fishes
are thinking that they defeated me, they are mistaken. I am taking a friend's canoe tomorrow and fishing with what is left of the Shimano.
Will not rest until I have caught atleast 1 fish with that 65$ gear. :-)
Friday, August 22, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Hard times call for hard measures.
This bit of news that came in the newspapers couple of days ago, seems to have escaped the notice of most people.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If the recommendations of a committee set up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to study
the financial health of the state-owned oil companies are accepted, then petrol prices may increase every month by Rs 2.50 so that market rates are reached by March 2009.
--- The Deccan Chronicle, Chennai edition dtd 11-Aug-2008
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While I have been one of those that protest every petrol price hike, I think this is not without
its merits, reasons being the following :
1. If the procurement price of a product increases, naturally those that consume it should pay accordingly. Not a good move to sell below cost price. See Note-1.
2. A hefty hike of Rs.5 per litre of petrol has seen quite some Indians start to respect the fuel
& avoid unnecessary car/bike usage. And even start patronising public transportation, where available. And this has been seen even in the US of A, where public transportation usage has increased and we are seeing a shift from fuel-guzzling SUVs to FE small cars.
3. It has been proven that hiking prices of fossil fuels leads to rational usage of the same among the public. See Note-2.
Note-1 : I know that the actual cost per litre is only 25 bucks or so, with the rest being all sorts of taxes and duties. But those taxes are used for development of the country and if removed, could put a spanner in the wheel for many development activities planned by the Govt.
Note-2 : This has been proven in Denmark (as per an article in the same newspaper of same date) where after the oil shock of the 70s, they decided to move away from being dependent
on MiddleEast oil and from a 90% dependence, they are now at 0% dependence on oil import.
Part of the strategy was imposing huge taxes on oil products, encouraging alternative sources
of energy like wind, promoting cycling etc.
So, if the Govt's plan goes through, and they start the hikes in Sep'08, in March '09, petrol
would be priced at Rs.72.5 ex-Chennai. Not bad I guess, if it makes us use the resource rationally.
And while they are at it, maybe they should also hike diesel prices monthly so that by Mar09,
it becomes on par with petrol, like it is in most parts of the world, instead of subsidising the transportation costs of the rich and upper middle class guys in their Skodas, Mercedes-Benzes, Audis, VWs, Fords, Hyundais and Suzuki Swifts.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If the recommendations of a committee set up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to study
the financial health of the state-owned oil companies are accepted, then petrol prices may increase every month by Rs 2.50 so that market rates are reached by March 2009.
--- The Deccan Chronicle, Chennai edition dtd 11-Aug-2008
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While I have been one of those that protest every petrol price hike, I think this is not without
its merits, reasons being the following :
1. If the procurement price of a product increases, naturally those that consume it should pay accordingly. Not a good move to sell below cost price. See Note-1.
2. A hefty hike of Rs.5 per litre of petrol has seen quite some Indians start to respect the fuel
& avoid unnecessary car/bike usage. And even start patronising public transportation, where available. And this has been seen even in the US of A, where public transportation usage has increased and we are seeing a shift from fuel-guzzling SUVs to FE small cars.
3. It has been proven that hiking prices of fossil fuels leads to rational usage of the same among the public. See Note-2.
Note-1 : I know that the actual cost per litre is only 25 bucks or so, with the rest being all sorts of taxes and duties. But those taxes are used for development of the country and if removed, could put a spanner in the wheel for many development activities planned by the Govt.
Note-2 : This has been proven in Denmark (as per an article in the same newspaper of same date) where after the oil shock of the 70s, they decided to move away from being dependent
on MiddleEast oil and from a 90% dependence, they are now at 0% dependence on oil import.
Part of the strategy was imposing huge taxes on oil products, encouraging alternative sources
of energy like wind, promoting cycling etc.
So, if the Govt's plan goes through, and they start the hikes in Sep'08, in March '09, petrol
would be priced at Rs.72.5 ex-Chennai. Not bad I guess, if it makes us use the resource rationally.
And while they are at it, maybe they should also hike diesel prices monthly so that by Mar09,
it becomes on par with petrol, like it is in most parts of the world, instead of subsidising the transportation costs of the rich and upper middle class guys in their Skodas, Mercedes-Benzes, Audis, VWs, Fords, Hyundais and Suzuki Swifts.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
News can be so depressing. Especially the Kerala newspapers.
I never learnt to read or write my mother-tongue Malayalam in school. When you spend
your schooling years in North India, Malayalam would be the last language to figure in the
school curriculum anyway. So, I learnt English, Hindi and even Sanskrit (the language of the Gods - the Indian ones ie.).
But since we spent 2-months in Kerala every year during our school vacations, my parents thought it would be a good idea for us to learn Malayalam from a private tutor during our
stay there, just so that we can atleast read the destination boards on the city buses. So we
spent a good part of our vacation studying Malayalam instead of happily spending the time fishing or eating mangoes/jackfruits/cashewnuts etc.
But the tuitions did help and we could not only read the boards, but also got good at reading
the newspapers. Grandpa used to make us read the papers, which served dual purpose - he could know the news without straining himself (his vision was deteriorating) and our language would improve.
Writing Malayalam was tough initially, but I improved quite a lot, due to the frequent letters that I would write to my grandparents, once we returned after our annual vacation. But once phones became easily available and letter-writing became passe, there did not remain much
of a necessity to write letters and over the years, I totally lost touch with the language as far
as writing was concerned.
I still would do a bit of Malayalam reading once-in-a-while, especially while checking out the works of Malayalam authors like Paul Zachariah, M.Mukundan etc because I believe that a
novel is best read in the language in which it was originally rendered by the creator. But,
nowadays reading is mostly limited to reading the newspapers when I am at Kerala, because
my parents generally subscribe to a vernacular daily and buy English papers only on Sundays.
From this recent reading of Malayalam newspapers, the impression I got is that Malayalam dailies are kind of depressing in the content they seem to have. Even on the front page, you
read articles about unnatural (and perfectly avoidable) deaths, which in English dailies would
be snuck away in some obscure corner deep inside the pages.
Sample some of the truly freaky accidents :
1. A guy working in the Army returns home to Kerala on a short vacation. His relative rides down in a bike to pick him up from the railway station. Instead of hiring a cab and being
driven home, our guy takes over the bike and rides home, while the relative comes home in
the cab with the guy's luggage.
Just in front of his home, his bike has an accident and hearing the commotion, his brother
comes out of the house and takes the injured biker to the hospital, all the while not knowing
that he was taking his own brother to the hospital (because he expected his brother to come
in a cab and not on a bike). The guy succumbs to his injuries in the hospital.
2. A guy falls from a height while at his workplace in Bangalore and dies. His family goes to
Bangalore to get his bodyback to Kerala for the final rites. On their way home, the vehicle crashes in a gorge and some 5-7 members of the party die in the mishap.
3. A fire is reported in a town in Kerala and a fire engine rushes to the spot. On the way, the driver looses control and the truck overturns. And guess what ? It topples onto a bike, killing
the 2 guys riding on it. A fireman on the truck also dies in the accident. And all this for a fire accident which ended with no causalties.
And last week the hot topic in Kerala newspapers was about a guy who kills his wife and his
4 kids over a period of a week or 10 days. First he does away with his wife and drops her in
the septic tank. By the time people and police are aware of the mass murders, it has been
close to 2 weeks and her body has disintegrated.
Then he does away with his 4 kids aged between 2 years and 12 years, ties 2 of them up in
sacks and throws them in some thick bushes. And all this to elope with some woman he was having an affair with. I am not sure where he got the idea that he can just walk away after
committing 4 murders and be able to live away from the arms of the law even if he hides anywhere in India ?
If he wanted, he could have just eloped with his paramour, leaving his wife and kids behind.
I don't see the need to kill the poor kids or his wife.
I think I should just stick to English newspapers while at Kerala. The Deccan Chronicle (DC)
would be the best bet, because reading it would make you think that life is just one big party with everyone perpetually living in discotheques or exotic hotels. Too bad that the DC is not available in Kerala though.
your schooling years in North India, Malayalam would be the last language to figure in the
school curriculum anyway. So, I learnt English, Hindi and even Sanskrit (the language of the Gods - the Indian ones ie.).
But since we spent 2-months in Kerala every year during our school vacations, my parents thought it would be a good idea for us to learn Malayalam from a private tutor during our
stay there, just so that we can atleast read the destination boards on the city buses. So we
spent a good part of our vacation studying Malayalam instead of happily spending the time fishing or eating mangoes/jackfruits/cashewnuts etc.
But the tuitions did help and we could not only read the boards, but also got good at reading
the newspapers. Grandpa used to make us read the papers, which served dual purpose - he could know the news without straining himself (his vision was deteriorating) and our language would improve.
Writing Malayalam was tough initially, but I improved quite a lot, due to the frequent letters that I would write to my grandparents, once we returned after our annual vacation. But once phones became easily available and letter-writing became passe, there did not remain much
of a necessity to write letters and over the years, I totally lost touch with the language as far
as writing was concerned.
I still would do a bit of Malayalam reading once-in-a-while, especially while checking out the works of Malayalam authors like Paul Zachariah, M.Mukundan etc because I believe that a
novel is best read in the language in which it was originally rendered by the creator. But,
nowadays reading is mostly limited to reading the newspapers when I am at Kerala, because
my parents generally subscribe to a vernacular daily and buy English papers only on Sundays.
From this recent reading of Malayalam newspapers, the impression I got is that Malayalam dailies are kind of depressing in the content they seem to have. Even on the front page, you
read articles about unnatural (and perfectly avoidable) deaths, which in English dailies would
be snuck away in some obscure corner deep inside the pages.
Sample some of the truly freaky accidents :
1. A guy working in the Army returns home to Kerala on a short vacation. His relative rides down in a bike to pick him up from the railway station. Instead of hiring a cab and being
driven home, our guy takes over the bike and rides home, while the relative comes home in
the cab with the guy's luggage.
Just in front of his home, his bike has an accident and hearing the commotion, his brother
comes out of the house and takes the injured biker to the hospital, all the while not knowing
that he was taking his own brother to the hospital (because he expected his brother to come
in a cab and not on a bike). The guy succumbs to his injuries in the hospital.
2. A guy falls from a height while at his workplace in Bangalore and dies. His family goes to
Bangalore to get his bodyback to Kerala for the final rites. On their way home, the vehicle crashes in a gorge and some 5-7 members of the party die in the mishap.
3. A fire is reported in a town in Kerala and a fire engine rushes to the spot. On the way, the driver looses control and the truck overturns. And guess what ? It topples onto a bike, killing
the 2 guys riding on it. A fireman on the truck also dies in the accident. And all this for a fire accident which ended with no causalties.
And last week the hot topic in Kerala newspapers was about a guy who kills his wife and his
4 kids over a period of a week or 10 days. First he does away with his wife and drops her in
the septic tank. By the time people and police are aware of the mass murders, it has been
close to 2 weeks and her body has disintegrated.
Then he does away with his 4 kids aged between 2 years and 12 years, ties 2 of them up in
sacks and throws them in some thick bushes. And all this to elope with some woman he was having an affair with. I am not sure where he got the idea that he can just walk away after
committing 4 murders and be able to live away from the arms of the law even if he hides anywhere in India ?
If he wanted, he could have just eloped with his paramour, leaving his wife and kids behind.
I don't see the need to kill the poor kids or his wife.
I think I should just stick to English newspapers while at Kerala. The Deccan Chronicle (DC)
would be the best bet, because reading it would make you think that life is just one big party with everyone perpetually living in discotheques or exotic hotels. Too bad that the DC is not available in Kerala though.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
View from the top.
After the Union Territory of Goa, I guess Kerala comes a close second in terms of favourite
destination, as far as western tourists are concerned. I like both Goa and Kerala and would
find myself in a fix if I have to name which of these I like more. Both have their own charm
and thus it is tough to say that one is better than the other.
And like any other tourist destination in Kerala, we saw many western tourists in the
backwaters also. Almost all of them in bare minimum clothing, getting a tan or just
enjoying the cool breeze and taking in the greenery all around. And what better seating
option to get a ringside view than the upper deck in the houseboat ?
A surely nice way to take in the landscape without any obstructions. It's a pity our boat
did not have this option. The next time around, I should keep this in mind while booking
the houseboat.
destination, as far as western tourists are concerned. I like both Goa and Kerala and would
find myself in a fix if I have to name which of these I like more. Both have their own charm
and thus it is tough to say that one is better than the other.
And like any other tourist destination in Kerala, we saw many western tourists in the
backwaters also. Almost all of them in bare minimum clothing, getting a tan or just
enjoying the cool breeze and taking in the greenery all around. And what better seating
option to get a ringside view than the upper deck in the houseboat ?
A surely nice way to take in the landscape without any obstructions. It's a pity our boat
did not have this option. The next time around, I should keep this in mind while booking
the houseboat.
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Man, how the heck do they reel in such monsters ?
This photo and caption came in the Deccan Chronicle newspaper of 31st August.
Courtesy : The Deccan Chronicle newspaper, Chennai edition.
Jesus Christ, look at the size of the fish. It is twice as long as the guy who caught it.
And weighing 973 pounds !!! That is like close to 500kgs. Man, I just wonder how he
would have managed to reel in a fish that weighs 4 to 4.5 times his weight.
Anyway, nice catch there, Robert Dudley. Congratulations.
Courtesy : The Deccan Chronicle newspaper, Chennai edition.
Jesus Christ, look at the size of the fish. It is twice as long as the guy who caught it.
And weighing 973 pounds !!! That is like close to 500kgs. Man, I just wonder how he
would have managed to reel in a fish that weighs 4 to 4.5 times his weight.
Anyway, nice catch there, Robert Dudley. Congratulations.
Friday, August 01, 2008
Finally, it has reached India. Not bad, this UPS shipment tracking.
I had posted here about the Shimano fishing gear that I had ordered from the US on the
25th of July. Have been waiting impatiently for it for the last one week hoping against hope
that it would reach me latest by today so that I could try it out at Kerala during my stay
there this weekend.
The order had a tracking number in it which I used to track the progress of the shipment.
It's quite cool to see how my shipment first did the rounds of the USA, then travelled to HongKong and from there to the Philippines. See the tracking sheet below.
When I looked up today, I was delighted to see that it had finally hit Indian shores at Mumbai (Bombay) in the early hours today. However, I do not think it will reach Chennai today before
I leave for Kerala. In all probability, it will reach my office (I asked it to be shipped there)
either tomorrow or on Monday.
Hmm. Looks like I will have to wait till the long Independence day weekend of 15-17 August
to use the equipment, which is when I will be going to Kerala next. Well, the wait better be
worth it. As in resulting in reeling in some good catch.
25th of July. Have been waiting impatiently for it for the last one week hoping against hope
that it would reach me latest by today so that I could try it out at Kerala during my stay
there this weekend.
The order had a tracking number in it which I used to track the progress of the shipment.
It's quite cool to see how my shipment first did the rounds of the USA, then travelled to HongKong and from there to the Philippines. See the tracking sheet below.
When I looked up today, I was delighted to see that it had finally hit Indian shores at Mumbai (Bombay) in the early hours today. However, I do not think it will reach Chennai today before
I leave for Kerala. In all probability, it will reach my office (I asked it to be shipped there)
either tomorrow or on Monday.
Hmm. Looks like I will have to wait till the long Independence day weekend of 15-17 August
to use the equipment, which is when I will be going to Kerala next. Well, the wait better be
worth it. As in resulting in reeling in some good catch.
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