A new digital camera...

My 5-year old 4-megapixel Nikon Coolpix 4300 digital camera conked off some months ago, and I was looking forward to buying a new camera. This Christmas I bought a 9-megapixel Canon camera (SX 110 IS) from J. J. Mehta at Dadar. This camera has some nice features: 10x Optical Zoom, Image Stabilization, Face detection (now a common feature in most cameras).

I would have preferred Nikon, but there were some very enticing features that made me interested in the SX110IS.

1. The 10x optical zoom seems to be non-existent in Nikon in the Rs. 16K price range
2. Like most Canon Powershot cameras, this one too uses standard pencil (AA) batteries. This is a great advantage while traveling. If the batteries are dead, a new pair can be bought at most stores (or one can keep a spare pair handy. This is better than the Nikon models, since most of them use Nikon-specific Li-Ion rechargeable cells.
3. The SX110IS can shoot video at 30 fps, which is a reasonably good resolution by video standards.

Here 's a sample from my new SX110IS: This is a cropped image (courtesy Gimp) of a stray near the building where I stay. The image is shot with the full 10x optical zoom.

PS: The dog parks itself on the top of a car probably to get a good view of all that it surveys. The 2 black lines towards the left and right are of the window grills.

The gift of freedom

Every so often I pass by a shop that sells birds as pets. These birds, colorful and lovely, cheerful and noisy, are caged. People are supposed to buy these, and keep them at their homes, as pets. What a pity! A natural idea is to buy these birds and to free them.

This can be combined with near ones' birthdays. A gift of freedom to those who need it on someone else's birthday seems to be a perfect gift. So, by this proposition, if there are 4 members in a household, buy a pair of these on the birthdays of each of the 4 members, and free them (when you get home).

I thought about this for a while. Then, it struck me that there is another possible hurdle to this: what if the guys who capture / sell them have injured the birds' wings so that they aren't able to fly away even if the cage door is open? In that case, I would be stuck with having bought those birds, and not being able to free them. This is a very real possibility. One can see this kind of cruelty everywhere. An example: pass by any fish market, and you'll see crabs maimed just enough so that they do not run away, but just alive to be killed fresh when a customer buys them.

I still plan to ask some of those guys, and maybe someday I'll take a risk and buy those birds anyways...to "free" them.

Lunch at Cafe Mysore

Last Saturday, I had lunch at Cafe Mysore, King's Circle. The quality was the same, the quantity a bit reduced, and the price much higher than what it was a few years ago (blame inflation).

I had the "chappati lunch" (with "puri lunch" or "double rice" being other options). The lunch came with 2 chappatis, one subji (cauliflower + carrot + peas) small watis of dal, rasam, black-eyed pea (chawli) "gassi" (a coconut-based gravy), a small glass of buttermilk, one papad. A small mound of rice followed, once the chappatis were gobbled up.

I find the lunch at Cafe Mysore to be simple, and quite easy on the stomach. The quantity is lesser than at other restaurants, but for me, that is fine. I wouldn't like to stuff too much into the stomach.

Experiences with iPod Shuffle

Usually, I've tried to stay away from technical posts in this blog of mine. But since this is also related to the iPod Shuffle I bought recently (a mention of which was made in my previous post), I thought I'll mention it here.

The iPod Shuffle was bought from J. J. Mehta, Dadar(who maintain a wonderful website, and are sellers of cameras and related equipment). The iPod Shuffle came in a nice packed / sealed case. I rushed back by train to my home quite excited. When I reached home, I plugged it into the USB to charge it. After charging it for a while, I decided to fill it up with some songs. My laptop (2 years old) came with a pre-installed version of iTunes. However, when I tried to connect the iPod to the laptop, iTunes complained that it was unable to communicate with the Shuffle (and that I must install a new version). Tried downloading iTunes from the Apple website, and realized that it was more than 60 MB. This would take at least a few hours to download from the slow internet connection at home.

WTH? I thought to hell with iTunes. Just booted my laptop into Ubuntu Linux, installed gtkPod, and loaded the Shuffle with a basic set of songs.

So that's how GNU / Linux helps us...in very small, subtle ways. Nice! And, like I mentioned earlier, my home PC hasn't seen Windows running for more than 2 years now. Everyone at home now uses Ubuntu (well Kubuntu) Linux.

Diwali temptations

Having been without salary for more than a year, I was quite excited to get it in October 2008. I had kept a list of things to buy ready. While I've not bought all of those yet, I've just indulged in buying my first iPod, a 2 GB iPod Shuffle.

My old Mobiblu cube and cute MP3 player had conked off due to my experiments. One day I noticed that there were some large MP3 files on the player which refused to get deleted. So I did a "mkfs.vfat" to reformat it. That foolish decision wiped out the player's software as well, I guess. It no longer worked. I tried to locate the CD that came along with the player, but I could not find it. Downloading the software over the web was not successful either. That's when I decided that it was time to but the Shuffle.

Among the list of things that I've lined up to be bought are:

1. A new laptop (maybe Dell or HP). The old one was pretty useful (especially in my IITB days); however there is only so much that one can do with 512 MB of RAM and the Intel Centrino that came along with it.
   
2. A DVD set containing Srila Prabhupada's videos / lectures (pretty expensive at about Rs. 4k)
3. A set of Bose loudspeakers
4. A new mobile phone which has the capability to set an MP3 as a ringtone (my old one is a good 6 years old)

Near death on the tracks

This incident took place a few years ago, but it keeps coming back to my mind.

It was a time when I used to visit quite frequently on Saturday mornings a shrine on the banks of the Banganga tank at Walkeshwar. The usual routine was to reach the shrine at about 9 a.m., and return to Grant Road station by 10 a.m. to catch a local train elsewhere.

One such morning as I was waiting on platform 3 to catch a fast local from Grant Road to Dadar, an old lady suddenly started crossing the tracks from platform 4 towards platform 3. As she reached platform 3, it was obvious that she could not jump and get on to platform 3 (since the platform is a good 4 feet high from the track level). She seemed to be a regular since she came quite close to platform 3 confidently. When she reached the platform 3 side, she did what many do in Mumbai...held out her hand...anyone on the platform then usually obliges and hoists / pulls up the person onto the platform. The idea is that the person on the track level usually just needs a hoist - an initial pull - the person, of course, needs to put his / her own efforts to push themselves up. That way, even if a heavy person is asking for help, it not too much of an effort for the person on the platform to hoist the guy.

When she held out her a hand, I was closest to her on platform 3. As a result, I offered my hand to her to pull her up. It was not the first time I was doing such a thing. However, for some strange reason, as I started pulling the old lady up, she just started dangling in mid-air. To my horror, the fast local had just entered the far end of the platform 3, and in a few seconds would be directly where the old lady was struggling to get onto the platform. For a split-second, my heart skipped a few beats. My mind was puzzled with decisions. Should I let her go? Should I jump onto the tracks and take her to the place in between tracks of platforms 3 and 4?

Fortunately, another man on platform 3 who had noticed this, approached quickly, and helped grasp her other hand, and we both managed to pull her up seconds before the train came to the spot where she stood.

I was relieved, but shaken. It was then that I decided that thenceforth I would not help anyone else to clamber onto the platforms. If a tragedy had occurred, obviously it would have played heavily on my mind, and it would be one decision that I would always have come to regret for the rest of my life.

Random notes...

There's nothing particular to write about...just a collection of happenings over the last few weeks.

Navratri:
I make it a point to visit the local "Sitladevi" temple during one of the nights of Navratri, the 9-night festival. Its not that I go every year, but these past few years, I have had the opportunity to visit it. This year, I went last night to the temple. The temple was surprisingly not crowded, inspite of it being a Friday (believed to be an auspicious day to worship the Devis). Usually, I would have had to stand in a longish queue, but not many were to be seen. Maybe I was late (it was about 20:30).

Usually, I do not visit the pandals. This year I decided to visit one local pandal where the idol of the Goddess was kept. I met one classmate there - it seemed to me that he was suffering from some anxiety...his eyes were all puffed up, as if due to lack of sleep. Then, I saw his elder brother whom I failed to recognize. My classmate told me that his brother, in his early 40s, had suffered from a paralytic stroke a little more than a year ago. His brother could hardly stand erect. Some other guys known to him were advising him to go to a particular doctor, etc. I slipped in my advice too...

The point is that everyone has some "story" to tell about how a particular doctor / treatment is the best one for any disease. Someone would recommend allopathy, others ayurveda, still others homeopathy, etc. At such a time, the person suffering usually feels that he / she has tried it all, and still nothing works...so I decided to keep mum.

It is quite surprising how a man so capable, so active, until just a few years ago in his prime should suffer so much so suddenly. Actually, this is a very much known phenomena...nothing surprising about it. Though people get surprised about it, they are ignorant. I was reminded of the famous Bhaja Govindam verse:

maa kuru jana dhana
yovana garvam
harati nimeshaat
kaalat sarvam

Meaning that one should not be proud of one's wealth, youth (strength / health), position, etc. Time can take it all away in a moment's notice.

So there it is in plain truth...that is knowledge.

I smiled not knowing what to do next (I am never good at such things as sympathy, etc.). I bade him goodbye and returned home.

Back to work...

After a 2 year sabbatical for my MTech, I joined back my old workplace on 1st September. Ideally, I would have loved to wait for a few more days before joining, but there was no point in delaying the inevitable. These first few weeks at work I felt quite strange...quite out-of-place, a sense of losing freedom. I had to report to work by 08:30 and couldn't leave my workplace when I felt bored. In addition, numerous restrictions on accessing the Internet made life more miserable. Another reason may be that I was missing Ubuntu / Linux at my work desktop. After all, during the last 2 years of MTech I had hardly used Microsoft Windows at all.

Then, I recollected a similar feeling when I had joined MTech. That is when I had blogged this post titled "Feels like jail". And then suddenly I felt there was hope. Maybe if I could just persist over the feeling, it would eventually die down. Let's see how this works out.

Mumbai monsoon wear : experiences

The rainy season in Mumbai is a particularly challenging one. One has to be fully equipped to just get by. Most of the problems are faced by people who commute. Like delayed or no train services, flooded streets, and open manholes. To add to it, on some days, there are heavy rains accompanied by strong winds.

All this makes it tricky to decide how to commute. Some experiences:

Commuting:
Taking the suburban local train to commute can be quite frustrating. Trains, especially on the Central Railway (CR), are often delayed. Half-an-hour of rain is enough to delay services on the CR. The excuse, often read in newspapers, is that CR runs through areas that are low-lying. The tracks get flooded.

It seems that the problem is not that of tracks getting washed away or that of trains being derailed, but is that of an electrical nature. The rain water causes the signal circuitry to be completed triggering off the same conditions that are used to detect a train crossing over a signal point. This causes all the signals to be red - causing ambiguity as to whether a train is present on the next section, or whether the signal has turned red because of the water.
(In long-distance trains, it is then left to the guard to decide whether to break the signals. The pilot has to get the guard to sign an "ok to proceed" order before breaking the red signal. In the suburban section, however, I think other rules may be followed since this is such a common occurrence during the monsoons.) Obviously, the motorman has to pilot the train slowly since there might really be another train ahead. The leads to delays.

Commuting by buses is the safest option. This was also demonstrated during the 26th July 2005 deluge. Any other mode of transport, especially rickshaws, could cause trouble since a lot of water does really get collected in the so-called "low-lying" areas. Of course, the problem is that there are no gutters or the ones that are there are clogged. The slope of the road does not seem to favor water draining into the drains.

Rain protection:
This one is a favorite one. There are many options: umbrellas, raincoats, jackets, jackets + rain-proof trousers.

Umbrellas are the most popular ones: one can fold them and carry them; there are ones that are really small when folded. However, the biggest problem is that Mumbai winds and rains are enough to drench one waist downwards. In practice, the head is the one and only part of the body that the umbrellas prevent from being wet. Besides, when its windy, it is difficult to keep the umbrella straight...it is always blown over.

Over the years, I've tried almost all of these options. When I was a kid, the raincoat was the preferred form of rain protection. The raincoat that was usually made from some plastic material. Though they protect the clothes from being wet, the raincoat made it difficult to walk. In addition, if it did not rain, one would feel very hot wearing a raincoat. Another problem was that since it was made from plastic, it would tear.

For many years when I started working, I used the folding umbrella. While it was easy to carry, it made me wet almost completely in a heavy shower. A few years ago I switched to a rain jacket. The jacket was a cheaper one made of 2 layers of plastic. This one gets torn quickly if one is not careful. However, it did a good job in keeping me dry. The problem is that when it does not rain, I find myself wet due to heavy sweating. I am aware that there are some expensive ones available (Dockers, etc.) that I haven't tried. These seem comfortable and also seem to keep one dry.

The wind cheaters are better in this regard. They do not feel hot when it does not rain. However, they are not effective at all in keeping out the rain - heavy showers ensure that water gets in making one wet completely.

Though jackets protect the upper part of the body, it does not protect the lower part. To do so, I started using a rain trouser. This trouser is usually worn on top of the regular trousers. This, in combination with the jacket, does a perfect job in keeping me dry. The problem is that of putting on the rain trouser when it starts raining. If I wear it before I venture outdoors, it feels very hot if it does not rain.

Footwear:
Footwear is very important during the rains. Especially considering that one has to sometimes walk through ankle-deep waters. The water that gets collected on the streets usually is dirty - one can sometimes see floating garbage in the water...not to mention all the other things the water would be mixed up with. In all cases, it is essential to wash one's feet properly when one reaches back home.


As a kid, I have used "gum boots". These are boots that are ankle-high. They are water proof, and extremely rugged. The problem is that if one wades through water that is more than the height of the boots, all the water would enter the boots. One has to then drain the water off - the boots would continue to make a "slish-slosh" sound till they have water in them. The gum boots would cause "shoe bite", and feel extremely hot if it did not rain.

Open sandals are another option that I've tried. These feel nice even if it does not rain. Even if one has to wade through water, the open sandals let the water drain out. That way, both the sandals and the feet dry up quickly. However, the slightest water collected on the street comes in direct contact with the feet, making one feel quite dirty.

Closed shoes offer some more options. I've tried various types: sports shoes, all-weather shoes, and the rubber ones. This year, I tried the closed rubber shoe variety - a very cheap one made by Lakhani Shoes (only about Rs. 110). While I was apprehensive, they did offer me the best protection on most days. If there is a lot of water, these shoes fail to keep the water out, but on most days, the water level isn't that high...and I found these to offer the best for the cost. The only problem was the initial "shoe bite" that I had to endure, but at the end of this rainy season, the shoes look good enough to offer service for another season too.

Some years ago I had tried an "all-weather shoe" made by Bata (Power range). Though it felt very comfortable, it failed to last even a single season. It tore off. Also, it failed to keep the feet dry if it rained heavily. And once the shoes became wet, they did not dry off quickly.

Convo over...

Its official...the "Master of Technology" degree was conferred on me by the IIT Bombay in its 46th Convocation ceremony held on 08.08.08, in its golden jubilee year. The chief guest was the President of India (Smt. Pratiba Patil).

Using the GO Mumbai Smart Card on the suburban railways

Update (2011-06-03): This post is no longer valid as the railways have now withdrawn the usage of the GO Mumbai (B.E.S.T.) Smart Card on the railways.  The railway ATVM card continues to  see popular  usage.
 
This post is a follow-up to the others related to the Mumbai Smart Card (see other posts here, here, and here). I see from the hits on this blog that some people are searching for information on how to use the SmartCard on the suburban railway section. Though this is a bit late (I was busy), here is the information about how to use the SmartCard on the suburban lines. Please do read the cons as well (scroll below) before deciding to use this.

The B.E.S.T. SmartCard (also known as the "GO Mumbai SmartCard") can be used on Mumbai Suburban railway lines too. However, there are some things that are important in this regard. I will first explain the way the card is supposed to be used. Then, I will list down the cons in using it this way. (Oh! this style of writing, I picked up while writing my technical reports and thesis...it'll take me sometime to get rid of it).

At the outset, let me tell you that the "GO Mumbai SmartCard" is NOT the same as the "ATVM (Automatic Ticket Vending Machine) Card" also used on the suburban railways.

The steps in using the Card for suburban rail travel are:

• Get yourself a Card, if you do not yet have one. The SmartCard issued by the B.E.S.T. will also do; the same card can be used for travel on the B.E.S.T. buses as well as the suburban railways.
• Fill the Card with some denomination from any "GO Mumbai" outlet ("Go Mumbai" outlets are stalls present at prominent railway stations or at major B.E.S.T. bus depots). If the SmartCard is already being used for the bus travel, then the Card will be "partitioned" to hold the railway data separate from the bus data. That is, the bus routes will not be overwritten, and can still be used.
• Now, to use the Card during suburban railway travel one needs to do the following (note that the usage of the Card on the buses do not change - the below steps are only for the rail travel):
  
• At the station where the train will be boarded, locate the "Card Swipe" machine. Usually, there are 2 machines: one for First Class, the other for Second (normal) Class. Place the SmartCard on the panel on the machine. The machine will automatically deduct from the Card the maximum travel fare applicable from that station, and also record on the Card the boarding station.
  If there is not enough money in the Card, the display will show a message.
  
• These machines are usually near the entrance to the platforms (not near the usual ticketing counters, but closer to the platforms).
  
• The train can then be boarded without buying a ticket.
  
• At the destination station, place the Card at the "Card Swipe" machine. The "Card Swipe" machine then "adjusts" the fare - that is, if excess fare was deducted, it will be refunded back to the Card.
• The ticket checkers are being given SmartCard readers so that they can check if the passenger had really swiped the Card.

Okay, that's the semi-official version. Now, here are the cons (also, reasons why I do not use the SmartCard for suburban railway travel):

1. The shocking news: This is valid only on Central Railway suburban section yet. Though, officially, its supposed to be applicable to both, the Western Railways have not yet officially recognized the SmartCard. Be ready to pay a hefty fine if you travel on the Westernl line with this Card. See this article for more details.
   
2. The pain: Knowing well how our railways and these machines would be maintained, there can be several problems. First, the machines might not work at all. If the machine at the source station does not work, at least you would know, and buy a ticket instead. On the other hand, if the machine at the destination station does not work, then you would have paid the maximum possible fare already. Now, it is unlikely that someone would run about trying to find how to get the refund of the fare.
3. Different machines might deduct fares differently for the same route. The problem here is that of keeping the fare system updated. Unlike the ATVMs, these Swipe machines are probably not centrally maintained. As a result, some of the machines may not have "up-to-date" fares or may even have incorrect fares.
   

Yipee! its over...

By the grace of the Supreme Lord and all the other Gods, Goddesses, saints and gurus, I have successfulky completed the MTech programme at IITB.

My MTech thesis defense is over, and I'm glad to say that its finally over. A few formalities including the convocation remain, but otherwise there should be no problems.

The 2-year stint at IITB comes to an end. The time was spent nicely, and it really helped me a lot. Lots of points jotted down - may result in a book some day...

The interesting part was my CPI (Cumulative Point Index)...in the end, my CPI stands at about 9.8987, which is truly surprising.

The next few weeks I intend to rest, as well as finish some of the pending work on the system I was working on. It'll be only after the convocation that I'll be resuming my earlier job (hopefully).

A few final points in this post: a lot of heartfelt gratitude towards my guide, Prof. Abhiram Ranade, also the head of the Dept. of Comp. Science and Engg., IITB. Although he was the head, he always found time to talk to his students. I think he always believed that the world's most complex problems always have the most simple solutions. And, while I was busy conjuring up useless solutions to my project's problems, he would, in one swipe - one single math formula - state the solution, and be done. The beauty is in the simplicity of his solutions. Another point worth mentioning is his simple lifestyle. In almost 2 years of association with him, I did not find him talk on a cellphone (which probably he does not own). He does not seem to own a vehicle either. Did I mention that he was among the recipients of IIT Bombay's "Excellence in Teaching Awards"? More about my guide in a separate post later...

Until then, its party time!

24032007 KYN DLS : More miscellaneous pics...

More pics from last year's visit to the Kalyan Diesel Loco Shed.

• The shock absorber springs on the bogie of a WDM2 - notice a set of springs inside the outer set.
  

• Parts of a stripped-down WDM2:
  

• The radiator fan.

• BHEL-manufactured generators

• Cylinder Heads inside the engine
  

• The "bull gear" over the axle of a stripped-down WDM2. The drive turns the gear that ,in turn, turns the axle.
  

• The drive of a stripped-down WDM2:

• The "Sanding Box" of a WDM2. (A Sanding Box holds sand that can be used in case the rails are very slippery; the sand can be released by the press of a button in the cab; the sand comes out of the sand pipe positioned so that the sand falls just ahead of the wheels)
• A CLA (Kurla) WDS4 shunter awaits its duties at the KYN DLS.

• Siblings from the same stable: a WDM2 and a Shakti WDG3A
  

24032007 KYN DLS : Miscellaneous pics...

I realised that I had only posted some pics from the visit to the Kalyan DLS (Diesel Loco Shed). Here are some more. These pics are those of the 13307 KYN WDG3A "Shakti" being serviced at the KYN Diesel Loco Shed.

• The builder's plate on the Shakti:
  

• The control stand:

• The shock absorbers:

• The LED markers on the Shakti:

• A SHF (Short Hood Forward) view from inside the Shakti:

The "dairy farms" of Mumbai

One problem in working in Mumbai (and probably true for the rest of India as well) is the addiction to drinking tea (cutting) at odd hours during the working period. So, after working for about 13 years, I found that I had acquired this (rather stupid) habit at having tea at the following approximate times:
9 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m. (and sometimes even after dinner).

This seems to be a common practice among Mumbaikars. A proof of this lies in the number of roadside stalls that sell tea. You might not find shops selling milk, but I can almost guarantee that there would be a stall that sells tea within a few hundred metres on any public road where ever in Mumbai. One reason for this might be the cost: a cutting (less than 100 ml) of tea costs (even today) less than Rs. 3 at most stalls.

This post is, of course, not related to the "tea stalls"...but that is the background. An increase in my chanting kind of made me averse to drinking this tea. I cannot claim to have kicked the habit, but I certainly seemed to have developed some aversion towards this habit. Now, to overcome this silly habit and to get some proteins, I decided to have milk instead. The only problem is that there are not those many shops in Mumbai that sell milk by the glass.

There are shops that are typically named "dairy farms" that do sell hot milk. Why these are called "farms" I have no idea...since it is just a shop. A glass of hot milk costs Rs. 10; a half-glass costs Rs. 5. Either ways, it is served topped with cream.

The operation of the shop is simple: There is a large kadahi that is constantly simmering over a small flame of fire. The kadahi is filled with many litres of milk. After much simmering, the milk turns a bit brown, and has a layer of cream over it. Whenever a customer asks for a glass of milk, the appropriate quantity of milk is put into a glass (along with some sugar). Finally, the glass is topped with a layer of cream from the kadahi. In some "farms", some condiments such as crushed cardamom is added to give it a special flavor.

Chanting is addictive

"Chant and be happy" is what they tell you at every ISKCON temple. Printed on leaflets and books, the message is clear (and simple). Chant the 16-word Mahamantra, and improve your life. Most ISKCON temples (at least the one in Juhu) provide visiting people (who are not necessarily Krishna conscious devotees) with a 108-bead japa mala (chanting beads) and a small leaflet with the Mahamantra. I've never tried chanting on those beads offered at the temple.

The recommended daily practice for aspiring as well as initiated devotees is 16 rounds of chanting this Mahamantra. That is, 16 x 108 = 1728 times. In addition, on Ekadashi day, it is recommended to perform additional rounds (preferably 25 x 108 times).

Now, this was not the only mantra that I knew...I had, of course, recited many other mantras daily for many years. So, it was not clear what this chanting would achieve. Still, out of curiosity, in 2002, I started chanting this Mahamantra almost every working day 11 times (not 11 rounds - only 11 times) in a day. This was during the morning commute to my workplace.

As if by instruction (or magic), a few years later, I increased that to some more times. However, I did not use chanting beads or any other device...so it was difficult to keep track. I used to use my fingers, but then I would lose count soon.

Around 2006, I started visiting Srila Prabhupada's quarters in the Juhu temple. This was on suggestion from a devotee co-worker. During one such visit, one devotee who was also praying at the quarters asked me about how many times I chant daily. He asked me to buy chanting beads from the store at the temple. Though I did not pay attention to his instructions on that day, I did find myself buying the beads after a few days. I used the beads to chant a few times...but the main problem was in using the beads while commuting.

A few days later I bought a "hand-tally counter" (a small metallic device) that can be used for counting the number of times chanted. I could use this counter while commuting...even while standing inside the crowded buses, there was no problem in continuing the chanting.

I started with a modest goal of 4 rounds daily. Soon, I found that I could chant 10 rounds frequently; very often, I could do the recommended 16 rounds too. There was no problem.

Srila Prabhupada has said that "If you take one step towards Krishna, then Krishna will take ten steps towards you". This seems to be the theory at work behind my increase in the chanting. It cannot be mere coincidence that the 2-year break from work was meant exactly to make more time for chanting.

The main advantage of this Mahamantra is that it can be chanted anywhere, anytime (although it is more beneficial to chant in the early morning hours). So, all in all, chanting the Mahamantra does seem to be addictive. There are some other experiences as well...I may outline in a later post. Though I cannot claim be a devotee yet, it seems the goal is closer than it was before.

The first offering rolls out...

From the recipes of Kurma Dasa into my kitchen, I've just finished cooking, offering (to the Supreme Lord), and eating my first preparation of a Kurma Dasa recipe. It was called "North Indian curried cauliflower and potato" ("Aloo Gobi").

Needless to say, it was delicious. The sugar and lemon juice really made it more delicious. Thanks to Kurma.

Updates: Mumbai B.E.S.T. Smart Card

Starting from February 18th, there were some major changes in the fare structure for Mumbai's B.E.S.T. buses. One of the most major changes was to do away with the differences in the fares of limited and ordinary buses. Another impressive change was the fixed fare of Re. 1 (for any distance) for blind persons per journey. The information about the fare changes were pasted inside most buses.

A significant change in the passes available for the Smart Card fares were also brought in. A reduction in the Smart Card fares were announced. In addition, 3 types of bus passes were introduced:

• An all-city bus pass (from Colaba/Nairman Point to Mahim/Sion) - monthly Rs. 350
  
• An all-suburban bus pass (from Mahim/Sion to Bhayander/Thane/Airoli/Belapur) - monthly Rs. 450
  
• An all-route bus pass (anywhere within city or suburbs) - monthly Rs. 550

All these passes are available on a fortnightly / monthly / quarterly / yearly basis. They are valid for all non-AC routes in the mentioned zones.

Update (2008-July-20):
Information on how to use the "SmartCard" for suburban railway travel is in this post.

ping KJMT01

The expected has happened. For the past several occasions, both the ATVMs (Automatic Ticket Vending Machines) at the Kanjurmarg (KJMG) station are non-functional. Not only at KJMG, but also at several other stations. On most occasions, the display of the ATVMs do not display anything; at other times, the touch-screen refuses to respond. However, yesterday I was surprised to find a "terminal (X windows)" window opened on both the ATVMs at KJMG. Someone was running a "ping" to some class A IP addresses. Aha, they run some kind of Unix, most likely some distro of Linux. The prompt at the machines displayed "user@KJMT01", and "user@KJMT02" respectively. Guess the machines are cleverly named using station codes. (I think "KJMG" is station code for Kanjurmarg; I wonder what "KJMT" is...)

However, that does not absolve the railways to keep the ATVMs non-functional. Wonder if, and how long before, they are trashed, and like many other schemes, become history. I want my money back!

Sabudana Wada, and an attempt to return to cooking

This is two posts in one, but both somewhat related...

On Ekadashi, some people abstain from taking food (a total fast); while some others abstain from eating grains and pulses. Recently, I've started the second type of abstinence. Although I try not to consume grains / pulses, I can hardly get along without eating something. So, I consume some fruits and something made out of sabudana (sago). Some people do believe that sabudana is not a good thing to consume...but we shall let that be for the present.

Sabudana wada and sabudana khichadi are two preparations that are often prepared in some Maharashtrian homes during fasting. Outside, in restaurants, sabudana wada is hardly prepared well. I've yet to come across some restaurant that makes nice sabudana wadas (even the usual suspects (Panshikar, etc.) fail to impress here). But, there is one place I know which makes out-of-the-world sabudana wadas. The Hare Krishna temple at Juhu has a stall that sells samosas, and batata wadas. This stall also sells sabudana wadas (only on Ekadashi days). Those sabudana wadas are the tastiest I've ever had in my entire life. Sometimes, the wadas are all sold out before I reach the stall...in which case, I've to get along with the wadas dished out in regular Udipi restaurants.

To understand the complexity of getting the sabudana wadas / Khicadi right, take a look at this article (sabudana pilaf) by Kurma Dasa.

Recently, inspired in part by Govinda's tasty dishes (one wonders how they could make it taste so well without using onions and garlic), and part by Kurma Dasa, I am attempting to return to cooking. The last time I cooked was when I was away from home. That time, cooking meant frying onions in oil, adding garam masala, and then adding whatever was to be cooked. This time, however, I'm going to do things differently. Kurma Dasa's excellent collection of recipes do not include onion and garlic (and obviously no meat / eggs). I hope to get close to the taste offered by Govinda's. Of course, all cooking is to be done with devotion to the Supreme Lord, and offered to the Lord first before eating, since, in the Bhagavad Gita (Bg. 3.13), the Supreme Lord says:

The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin.

And, in Bg. 9.27, the Supreme Lord says:

O son of Kunti, all that you do, all that you eat, all that you offer and give away, as well as all austerities that you may perform, should be done as an offering unto Me.

The Mumbai Suburban Railway Smart Card (aka ATVM Card)

(If you came to this page wanting to know how to use the Go Mumbai Smart Card on the suburban railways, try this link instead.)

Yesterday, I happened to go to Churchgate station. I decided to buy the Mumbai Suburban Railway Smart Card (aka ATVM Card). I had read about it earlier, and also seen others use it. I thought it might be useful to own a card. Here are the details you need to know (some photographs of the Smart Card / Receipt / Ticket are at the end of this post):

• Unlike the B.E.S.T. Smart Card, the railway smart card allows the card holder to purchase tickets from a machine called "Automated Ticket Vending Machine" (ATVM).
• The ATVMs have been installed at some (not all yet) stations; I've seen ATVMs at some stations that are yet to be made functional. One can be sure that the major stations have multiple functional ATVMs.
• The card is "loaded" with an initial amount (or when it is refilled). The fare of the tickets purchased is deducted from the amount on the card.
• This scheme works on both the Central and Western suburban railway stations. It is valid only for the Mumbai suburban section.

To purchase the card, the procedure is simple:

• Go to any ticket counter that is marked (some board near the counter tells you which one) to sell the Smart Card.
• The Smart Card can be loaded / refilled in multiples of Rs. 50, upto Rs. 500
• Initially, the Smart Card itself has a deposit of Rs. 50 (which is refundable under some reasonable conditions mentioned at the back of the Smart Card).
• (Probably) To attract customers to this scheme, the railways are offering a 5% bonus amount on every charge of the card. For example, if you load the card with Rs. 100, your card would actually be loaded with Rs. 105.

To buy tickets using the Smart Card:

• Go to an ATVM. Place the card on the sensor on the ATVM. The ATVM has a touch-screen interface.
  
• Select the language (Hindi, Marathi, English).
• Choose the destination (zone)...and the station from the railway route map.
• Choose the number of adults and children.
• Select "Print" to print the tickets.
• The tickets are dispensed through the ATVM slot.

Here are some initial observations:

• Not all stations have the ATVMs installed. I landed up at Matunga (C. R.) only to find that the ATVMs were still kept in packed plastic covers.
• The card can be used by anyone. So, one of the benefits is that it could be shared by family members. The downside is that if the card is stolen / lost, it could be misused by whoever gets it.
  
• The time printed on the ATVM-issued ticket is the current time of the ATVM. One is supposed to commence the journey within 1 hour of this time. This is unlike the card tickets issued at the counter. The time is usually rounded up to the next hour. So, if you buy a regular card ticket at 10:05, the time printed on the card ticket would be 11:00. That gives one extra time to commence the journey.
• The user interface of the ATVM is not the best. It took me sometime to figure out how to get the interface in the English language. Second, I could not easily locate Matunga Road (as opposed to Matunga); the map is divided into zones, probably selecting the right zone is enough. It gave me a list of stations after selecting the zone, from which one has to select the destination. The other parts of the interface are also a bit confusing for the new user.
• It is not clear how the ATVM is supposed to "save time" in the long run. In the short run, of course, only those who have the cards line up for the ATVM. Thus, the ATVM queues could be expected to be much, much smaller than the ones at the ticket counters. In the long run, however, if many had these cards, the ATVM queues would probably be longer since it takes quite a while to conduct a transaction at the ATVM.

Here are the images for the front and back of the Smart Card:

The back-side has some "rules" for the refund.

The receipt provided along with the Smart Card that one is supposed to carefully preserve!




A ticket purchased using the Smart Card (Mumbai CST to Matunga).

End of Sem 3...one more to go...

By the grace of the Supreme Lord and all the other Gods, Goddesses, saints and gurus, I have managed to pass comfortably semester 3 of the MTech programme.

I got much better grades in semester 3 compared to previous semesters. In fact, I cannot better the 10-point grade index that I got this semester.

Actually, the course-work for semester 3 was over by Novemeber 2007 end. But, officially, semester 3 also includes Stage 2 project evaluations that are held only in January. So, in a way, the semester 3 gets over only in mid-January. While the rest of the students were enjoying the MoodI (I don't know who enjoys MoodI, but that is material for another post), Christmas, and New Year, we were busy slogging it out in preparation for the project evaluation.

That brings to an end one of the busiest consecutive periods of intensive work. After a little rest, we head back to the grind for the (hopefully) final semester and the final stage of the project.