"Do it in 8" and other short stories from the FRRO

(The incidents in this post have taken place around July 2007.)

The FRRO (Foreigners' Regional Registration Office) is some kind of a government-related office that most foreign visitors to Mumbai need to register at. It is also the place foreigners go to get some kind of a extension to stay within India. For the Mumbai region, this office is located near CST (close to the CST station).

It so happened that one of the guys I know happens to be a foreigner studying in India. It is a common practice for the visa to be issued only for a year and then get it extended after a year. Let us call this foreigner guy as "PH". So, PH ran out of his visa and needed an extension. Since this is a very common practice among foreign students, I guess it might be well documented somewhere. PH somehow got himself acquainted with these procedures (say, by reading a web site or maybe by talking to other foreign students). His only concern was travelling to CST.

He asked me if I could come along, and I said yes. So, one morning we left to go to CST. Me being me, the only way someone could get me to travel (from the distant suburbs) to CST would be by a local train...no amount of air-conditioned comfort and other luxuries would make me travel the distance by road.

He being him, agreed readily to travel by the local train. As luck would have it, the train was a bit crowded, but eased out as we crossed Dadar. After a few more minutes, we reached CST. We reached before 12 noon and that was considered to be a good time since the office would not yet be closed for lunch. PH knew the shortcuts to get to this FRRO quite well...in fact, I had never been to the FRRO earlier (which is not surprising since Indians residing in India have no business to be at the FRRO). So we reached the FRRO, signed in at the ground floor register, climbed up the stairs to the third floor, and there was a reception counter there.

To ensure orderliness, a reception counter on the floor checks if one has all the documents in order to get the extension. There was not much of a queue. So, PH's documents were checked after a while, and then he was told that a particular letter did not mention his nationality. Now that was stupid, PH thought. After all, he had his passport...and the passport is considered the global proof of nationality. Nothing doing said the lady at the counter. No nationality, no entry to the office. I tried to intervene...in Marathi. No avail. I understood the matter quickly...these govt. people wouldn't budge an inch. So I told PH that we should get the nationality into the letter. PH being a bit naive said that he could write the nationality in the typed letter. I said that was not a legal thing to do since anyway the letter was signed by some other authority. So any change to the contents required the signed authority to sign over the changes as well. We tried to get the corrected letter faxed, but no avail.

Day 2:
With the correct letter mentioning the nationality in hand, PH and I travelled again in the second-class train to CST. We reached the FRRO, again signed in the register, went upto the third floor. The reception counter checked our documents. All was okay. We were allowed to the inner offices. Now, once in, the systems were supposed to all web-enabled and of the self-service variety. The problem was that the JSP application needed some kind of complex username and password derived from the application earlier. We got a staff to help us out, and put in the application for the visa extension online. The offices inside were nicely furnished. All air-conditioned, nice seating, an LCD TV showing a news channel...even some abstract art paintings thrown in. There was even a small shop inside selling vending machine tea and some potato chips (wafers).

The online system prints out a receipt that we then needed to take and give to an officer. So we went and met the officer. The officer said that the application was not complete since the letter in question did not mention until what time the study course would be over by. "Oh no", I thought...not again. PH tried to reason with the officer stating that everyone knew that a master's programme would be for 2 years. But, no. Government offices do not work that way. If it is not in black-and-white, then it is not present. These government officers keep their brains at home...maybe that's nice for the country, since rules are rules, I thought.

I knew it then and there that a third visit to the FRRO was definitely on the cards. The next situation was, however, very surprising: The officer said that if he forwarded the file to his senior, PH's application would be rejected, and since his visa was expiring on that very day, it would mean that he would have overstayed without a visa. This is a very legal angle. The officer was "kind enough" to say that we could come back the next day and he would keep our application "on hold" with him. So I told PH we should go back and come back with yet another version of that damned letter.

PH then told the officer that he was willing to take the risk of being deported from India and that the officer should forward the application to the senior. Things seemed to get out of hand, so I intervened. Surprisingly, I blew off my top for a while, and tried to reason with the officer...why, on earth, I asked they did not have this stupid thing documented anywhere. And, why did the lady at the reception counter not inform us of this thing on the first day itself. Anyways, since the officers leave their brains at home, no amount of reasoning works.

Day 3:
We arrive at the FRRO again with yet another version of that letter. The ground floor guy now starts to recognize us. Unlike earlier days, even though I have a beard, he does not seem suspicious about me. We reach the FRRO at 13:15...we were asked to come a bit late by the officer. We approach the officer, who seems quite pleased with all his power. PH is then asked to wait for an hour or so.

I go out to nearby McDonalds to fetch PH his meal. When I return back, I call PH down and he eats his meal sitting under the shade of a tree outside the FRRO building. After lunch, we go up again. We enjoy sitting cosily on a sofa in the cool air-conditioned environment. There is nothing for me to do (I have not lugged around my books). So, I look around and observe the activity in the office.

Around 10 foreign people lounging around waiting for something or the other. One fat NRI type of guy is sitting next to us at a distance. Most the other guys finish their jobs and go away. Our fatso is still present. A little while later, a well-built officer comes out of the office and signals to the NRI to call him. The officer himself proceeds towards an entrance that is marked as the way to the toilet. Our NRI chap makes a call on his mobile (presumably to the officer) and I tune my ear in. "Do it in 8", "I know you guys for so long" is what I hear...of course, the conversation is in Hindi. A little while later, the NRI has finished talking...he also heads over to the toilet.

Moral of the story: Talking over the mobile increases the kidney activity leading to bloated bladders. After talking over the mobile, one needs to go to the toilet.

Okay, I made that one up. A little while later, the NRI comes back, the officer also comes back...both look happy. The officer goes to his seat, the NRI sits back at the sofa. The NRI is summoned inside the office...he comes back after a while, it seems his "job" has got done.

What that "8" happens to be I will never know. 8 hundred, 8 thousand, 8 lakh, ...

In the meanwhile, PH is also summoned. His work has also been done. He gets his extension.

On the way out, I look at the visitor's book. It is full of praise-worthy comments for the "helpful staff". I remarked to PH that he must also make an entry...which of course, he refused...I think because English is not his strong language.

We return back by the crowded local carrying the peak hour traffic. I urge PH to document all this since it would help the others...of course, he does not do so. I think its because of his English.

Panshikar Dadar gets an upgrade

In the recent past, when I visited Dadar, I found Panshikar to be closed even though it wasn't a Monday. Last week when I visited it, I found it not only open, but the reason for its closure was clear. There was renovation being carried out. The newly tiled eatery (though work was ongoing in the rear end - no doubt to increase its capacity) was open for business...and there was rush. In fact, I had to wait in a queue for about 10 minutes to get a seat.

Panshikar Dadar was a Grade II eatery (as graded by the BMC). Its quite possible now that it gets converted to a Grade I eatery (for comparison's sake, Cafe Mysore is a Grade I eatery). I guess it has something to do with the neatness levels (and nothing to do with the taste of the food). Panshikar Dadar was earlier run by the same (family) people that run the Panshikar at Girgaon. Eventually, a split of the business (warring family members???) meant that the management of Panshikar Dadar would be different than the one at Girgaon. The one at Girgaon opened up a branch at Vile Parle a few years ago.

When I saw Panshikar Dadar closed a few months ago, I felt it was on its decline...maybe its business was hit by the roadside Wada Paav and other vendors, I thought. But, fortunately my thinking was incorrect. The Marathi manoos is not going to let go of his farali misal and other "fast foods" (meaning food that is had during a fast). The crowds at the eatery may have had to do something with the month of Shravan (when a lot of these manoos-es fast).

All seems well with the eatery as it prepares itself to gear up for the festival months ahead. All hail the Marathi manoos and the farali misal. The king of farali misal is back for business.

The more the things change...

...the more they remain the same. This post is in the context of the traffic scenario in parts of Mumbai.

I remember about 13 years ago there was no Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road. Traveling from Powai to Andheri meant taking the route via Saki Naka. There was the other option of traveling by the Aarey Colony Road, but at that time toll rates were considered exorbitant. One particular evening I remember the traffic being so bad via Saki Naka that it took me 3 hours to just reach Andheri station.

A few years later things eased up because of the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR); traffic got divided between the two routes. Another few years down the line, many people commuting to Goregaon and beyond started taking the Aarey Colony route. This further eased the traffic going towards Andheri. (Of course, matters became worse for people traveling to Goregaon...but that's not part of this story).

A couple of years ago, the Saki Naka junction and the road towards Andheri were widened...traveling to Andheri was not so much of a pain...whichever route was taken.

But, it seems we are back to the starting point...traveling via Saki Naka now can take as much as 2 hours to reach Andheri as I recently experienced. While I conciously take buses that go by the JVLR to Andheri, I had the misfortune to take a bus via Saki Naka a couple of times in the recent past. And that commute was enough to convince me not to travel by that route (except maybe at late nights).

Actually, the real reason for the change in traffic scenario is the numerous setups (buildings, industries) that have come up along that route...Chandivali, behind Saki Naka post office, Marwah lane, etc. That is why the more the things change, the more they remain the same.

Lunch at "A Rama Nayak's Udipi Shri Krishna Boarding"

Last Saturday afternoon, I was at Matunga (C.R.) to buy some things from the market. Since I landed up at Matunga station taking a C.R. train, I thought I might as well eat some South Indian stuff. There was the hopelessness of making a choice from among so many eateries there: Starting from "Ram Ashraya" near the station, "Saraswati", to "Cafe Mysore", "Anand Bhavan", "Cafe Madras" at Maheshwari Udyaan. "Idli House" was out of the question as it would be closed for lunch (what business sense?). Calculating at what seemed to be the speed of light, the mind zeroed in onto "Dahi Rice" at either "Cafe Mysore" or at "Ram Ashraya". But when I came out of the station, of course, there was "A. Rama Nayak's Udipi Shri Krishna Boarding" (hereafter referred to as ARN USKB) (review by Busybee is here) to be considered. How could I have forgotten to consider that? All computational power used up was wasted and I decided to go to the ARN USKB. One of the main driving forces was that I hadn't visited that eatery for many years now.

So up the flight of stairs behind Matunga vegetable market (BMC market) and I arrived on the first floor. Lots of people (well-dressed) waiting in a queue. (Those Gujjus certainly contribute to lot of these ARN's business, I thought.) I went past those people and landed up near the counter...the same boss (Satish Nayak from Idli House seated there). I gave him a Rs. 100 note and he gave me some coupons and Rs. 71. That made the lunch cost equal to Rs. 29. But I could've opted for a bare minimal meal and got only one (main) coupon...I think that would have cost me Rs. 23 or so.

Anyways, I was directed inside the "general" seating hall, ahead of all the people waiting. It wasn't that I used influence...those people waiting were for the "unlimited" section, I guess. The "general" or the "limited" section is for getting only limited food. Sayings by "Sane Guruji" and his photograph were displayed on the walls. I could not understand the relationship between Udipi and "Sane Guruji". Maybe ARN was firmly impressed by Guruji's thoughts and ideals.

After being seated, a "server" came to my table, took one of the coupons, and put down a glass of buttermilk. Then, came a plate with 2 chapatis, 2 mounds of rice, a bowl of sambar, a bowl of kadhi, papad, and 2 vegetable preparations (subji). I finished eating it. Some "servers" keep moving about asking if we would like more of the gravy. I then gave another coupon and took a bowl of curd. Another coupon was for the sweet dish. There were 4 sweet dishes to choose from. I took "aamras". I was done with my lunch. Then, it was time to look around.

Oh I could see people of all kinds...some Gujarati women, some North Indian men, even a Muslim family with women in burqas. I was surprised to see this family. I mean one does not expect people who relish non-vegetarian food to eat at this eatery. Maybe they did not know what they would get, but one second thoughts, no one would come to the eatery on the first floor of a municipal market whose entrance is at the very end of the road (next to the tracks) had they not known about it. Maybe they just felt like eating "plain" food for one lunch.

Of course, there were people from the relatively lower-middle classes. At Rs. 23 for a gentle-on-the-stomach lunch plate, why would anyone want to eat somewhere else?

A major milestone reached

By the grace of the Supreme Lord, I can now say that I've finished reading the (English) translation of the "Bhagavad Gita - As It Is". For quite some time (years), I was stuck with having read only 3 chapters. Recently I figured out what the problem was and why I wasn't making any progress. I worked around that obstacle (you'll never guess it was so trivial, but the solution involved LaTeX).

The completion of reading the Gita is definitely the most major milestone in my life. That does not say anything about my having understood 100% of it. Also, the workaround involved skipping reading the purports (by HDG ACB SP) in the translation. Hopefully, reading the purports will increase my understanding. Until then, I can claim to have read (the translation of) all the verses.

I have never watched the Mahabharat serial that was telecast on television some years ago. I believe it also covered the conversation in the Bhagavad Gita. I do not know if it covers whatever is there in the Bhagavad Gita. I was surprised to see many questions directly answered in the Bhagavad Gita.

There is one thing that I would like to quote for now:

From BG Chapter 13, Verse 26:

Again there are those who, although not conversant in spiritual knowledge, begin to worship the Supreme Person upon hearing about Him from others. Because of their tendency to hear from authorities, they also transcend the path of birth and death.

In my case, the "others" mentioned in the verse was a co-worker of mine. He is, of course, an ISKCON devotee. I would like to thank him.
Some other quotes will follow in posts to this blog later.

The next logical step is to read the purports and then the Srimad Bhagavatam.

Amazing lectures of HDG ACB Srila Prabhupada

Recently I had the chance to hear some lecture recordings of HDG ACB Srila Prabhupada (courtesy Internet streaming and a good mechanism to find these built into Amarok, the KDE media player). Although I have read several books by Srila, I found the lectures to provide much more information. The voice also provides the emotional content - something that is not captured in the books. Srila's rasping voice, a tone that almost seems to reprimand the audience, and the authority with which Srila speaks, made me wanting to listen to more of the lecture recordings.

Most of these are recorded in the 1970s. CDs featuring these lectures are sold in the ISKCON stores. There is also a MP3 library (24 CD set) available containing all these lecture recordings (but I think its a bit too expensive).

A chance visit to Vinay Health Home

This Saturday evening I ended up at the other end of the city (Girgaon) and to one of the places that I've seldom visited. Of course, as a child, I remember having been there to visit a famous Balaji temple at Phanaswadi.

Eventually, after many years, I came to equate Girgaon with Panshikar and Vinay Health Home (re-reading Busybee's reviews many times about this place may have had something to do with that). Actually, Girgaon could've been a sort of "branch" of Dadar or vice-versa...a kind of "mirror image". Most (important) shops in Dadar (used to) also happen to have a branch in Girgaon. "Vaman Hari Pethe", "Panshikar", "Haribhau Vishwanath Vadyavrinda"...

A sudden interest in buying amateur telescopes made me take a train to Charni Road and then visit a place near the Cawasjee Patel Tank (aka C. P. Tank). This telescope creator (Tejraj) has a small place (within a fourth-floor apartment) that sells telescopes...from small "pen-telescopes" right up to motorized ones (the ones that claim to enable one to see the craters on the moon's surface)...that is, ones that cost from Rs. 300 right up to about Rs. 75k.

Since I passed Vinay Health Home as I went along, I decided I would drop in on my return from the telescope "shop". I was surprised to see that it had undergone changes (the settings were quite different from that mentioned in Busybee's review).

I had Batata Poha and Piyush. I found the poha to be a bit oily, but good enough. Also, the quantity was a bit disappointing. The piyush, however, was one of the tastiest ones I have ever had...even better than the ones that I used to have regularly at Panshikar's in Dadar or at Sapre's in Goregaon. Bill = Rs. 30 (Rs. 15 each for the poha and the piyush).

Satisfied, I returned back by train.

The area itself is very strange. As one enters the Girgaon area on the Dr. Babasaheb Jaykar Road, one can see a strong presence of Maharashtrian people. Half-way along on the way to CP Tank, the composition suddenly changes and one can see many Gujarati people. Some buildings have their names written only in Gujarati.

24032007 KYN DLS: About

The KYN DLS is about 10 to 12 years old and is home to about 64 locos. The largest (diesel?) sheds, as per the DLS employee are the ones at NKJ (New Katni Junction) and Tughlaqabad (TKD).


The WDM2 has a rating of 2600 hp, whereas the WDG3 (Shaktis) are usually 3100 hp.

24032007 KYN DLS: Braking in the WDM2

Many locos these days, explained the DLS employee, have Dual Braking systems (both vacuum as well as air brakes). Vacuum brakes were the older system, where vacuum is used for braking. However, this suffers from the disadvantage that is not easy to detect leaks in the brake pipes. Air braking systems, on the other hand, need to maintain a constant pressure in the pipes. Thus, any leak will be easily detectable due to the sound (hiss) of the leaking air.

There are multiple options for braking. The most common ones, of course, are the A9 and the SA9. These are levers in the WDM2 control stand as shown in the below image (click on it to see a larger view).



As is obvious, the train brake is for stopping the entire train, whereas the loco brake only gets applied to the loco. Applying the loco brakes with an entire train behind it, when in motion, is quite dangerous since it can cause banging and even derailment; the inertia of the coaches behind would result in their banging into the slowed-down loco causing great harm.

When the loco is started up, the brake pressure gauge should show 5 kg / sq.cm. Only then is enough pressure built up throughout the brake pipe (connected across all the coaches) to enable effective braking. The pressure is built up using a compressor. This also means that once the loco is cranked up, the pilot needs to wait until the appropriate brake pressure is built up. Further, if there is a (substantial) leak, the required pressure would fail to build up.

To brake, the pilot simply pulls the appropriate lever (train or loco) one notch at a time. As soon as that is done, the brake pressure falls down (indicated on the gauge).

There are other mechanisms as well: an emergency brake, a full-release, and one in the guard compartment too. However, according to the DLS employee, the other ones are hardly ever used as they can put the entire running train at the risk of an accident. The pilots would rather allow the loco to hit the obstacle (mostly animals, humans, etc.) than put the entire train at risk.

The "full-release" is a small "cap" connected to a vertical pipe in the WDM2 cab. When the brake pressure is built up, the cap would be quite tight and will not come off until one pulls hard at it. Just pull open the cap and a huge amount of air would get releases immediately...in a matter of 10 seconds, the entire loco would halt even if running at a speed of 70 kmph. As per the DLS employee, no one uses this braking mechanism.

The other interesting part was what the employee called the ECP (Emergency Chain Pulling). These days pulling the chain causes no action but the lighting of a small lamp on the control stand. The pilot is thus, made aware of the passenger's request to stop. However, as per rules, the pilot will halt the train only at the next station. That is the rule. The emergency chain in the coaches is thus not connected to the braking system at all!!!

That must be the reason why the train did not halt in this incident that was reported in the newspapers a few days ago. Even though the loco of the train in the incident reported would've been an electric BL (Valsad) WCAM3 or a WCAM2P, one could safely assume that the ECP mechanism is the same across these locos.

Another interesting aspect is the maintaining the pressure when the loco is stopped. As per the DLS employee, when the loco is powered off, the compressor would no longer be working and thus the air braking would not be effective. To overcome this, there is an air reservoir that stores about 130 liters of compressed air (filled up in the shed). This will allow the brake to be in place for at least an hour or two. It is therefore, always recommended to put wheel blocks in place when the train needs to halt for more time. This is done to prevent "rolling off" - a situation where the train simply moves along the rails without power (for example, when on a gradient).

24032007 KYN DLS: Dynamic Braking in the Shakti

Switching to Dynamic Braking in the Shakti is quite simple. The same lever used to control the speed works in the reverse to initiate dynamic braking.

This lever in the photograph, if moved down from the center, notches up the speed (there are 8 notches)...move the same lever up from the center and you have dynamic braking.



The lever in the photograph is in the dynamic braking mode.

End of Sem 2...end of an year

By the grace of the Supreme Lord and all the other Gods, Goddesses, saints and gurus, I have managed to pass comfortably semester 2 of the MTech programme.

I got slightly better grades in semester 2 compared to semester 1.

Moving on to the next academic year, there's only one more course to be taken and the MTech Project. Hopefully, that will go off well too.

Back from a trip to the South

Just got back from a trip to the South...the trip was mainly for attending a ceremony in the family. After a gap of many years, I got to travel on long-distance trains. We traveled by Chalukya from DR to DWR (Dharwad - the station code still reflects the old name "Dharwar") and back. From DWR, we traveled to MYS (Mysore) and back. The journeys were quite pleasant...although the trains ran about 0.5 hr to 1 hr behind schedule.

The most disappointing thing about the trip was about having missed the opportunity to visit the UBL (Hubli) diesel loco shed - which is about 0.5 hr from DWR. WDP/Gs roamed freely on this section and it was nice to see so many of them.

The other significant thing about the trip was that the DWR-MYS journey must've had at least 50 W/Ls...so the loco was honking quite frequently.

The Chalukya from DR to YPR was hauled by (surprise!) a micro-processor-controlled Pune WDG3A Shakti.

24032007 KYN DLS: Shakti

The Shakti (a WDG3A) is said to be the longest diesel loco with the Indian Railways. Its actually a redesign by the DLW Varanasi engineers. On the day we were at the DLS, there was only one Shakti - the microprocessor controlled 13307. From what we were told, there are Shaktis that are not microprocessor controlled.

The Shakti's front-view (a WDM2 peers from inside the shed):







A group of students peer into the heart of the Shakti as the DLS guys explain the working of the generator.

24032007 KYN DLS: Syllabus for the day

We reached KYN DLS a bit later than planned...it took some time to figure out how to get to the DLS. The approach road is quite confusing. We tried going through Shahad and then turned back and headed towards KYN. After asking for directions, we found a way through a very narrow road and then through a railway crossing to the DLS.

The DLS guys were, of course, expecting us. After showing the permission letter, we were let in. We were taken to a meeting room on the first floor from where we could see the activity in the shed. As we waited in the room for the DME (?) (some kind of official designation, I guess...maybe some Deputy Engineer), a board in the room displayed the "syllabus" for the day. The topics to be studied were on the board.

Take a look (note the last column labelled Future - KYN DLS has plans to home WDP4s and WDG4s - all microcontroller based controls).

24032007 KYN DLS: Bogies and Wheel profiles

A common misnomer, explained the DLS employee, is to think that a "bogie" is the coach that is attached to the loco. For example, we say "I have a seat in the bogie 11th from the loco". As per the DLS employee, a bogie does not only represent a coach. A loco also has a bogie. More precisely, all shells including that of the loco or the coaches are mounted on the bogie. Actually, the bogie includes the wheel arrangements and the frame on which the shell is mounted.

The WDM2 has a 3-point mount, whereas Shakti, the WDG3A has a 4-point mount. The WDM2 has a cast bogie, whereas the Shakti has a welded bogie. The Shakti, which is probably the brainchild of some desginers in DLW Varanasi, tried to overcome "limitations" in WDM2 as well as to improve the design of the AlCo WDM2. However, as one DLS employee put it, there is nothing to beat the WDM2 design. The Shakti poses problems non-existent in the WDM2. He was all praise for the WDM2...he even asked us to learn from the WDM2 design. I guess this comparison is similar to what people used to say about Unix (versus DOS, for example).

A closer look at the wheel reveals a tilted profile and fine treads.

24032007 KYN DLS: Cranking the loco

"Cranking the loco" is not as the name suggests a strenuous physical activity. For a WDM2, it is simply pressing a big red switch for a few seconds. In an attempt to make us learn how the braking system works, one DLS employee cranked up the loco.

Two or three people were at work in the pit underneath the WDM2, while we were in or near the cab. After sounding the warning bell twice or thrice, the DLS employee pressed the big switch and the loco came to life.

Notice the 3-tier workplace including the pit. The platform (topmost) at the cab entry level is the place where workers can work on the top part of the loco. Then, there is the middle part for work near the wheels. Finally, at the very bottom, a pit for working under the loco.

A visit to KYN Diesel Loco Shed

Studying in IITB has some additional benefits as well. Apart from the fact that I can claim to be a student, one gets to participate in the other activities as well. A trip, of which I also was a part of, was organized by the Technical Club to the Kalyan (KYN) Diesel Loco Shed this Saturday.
It was a half-day trip, well-spent in the loco shed. A lot of knowledge was gained.

The shed staff were particularly welcoming and took great pains to explain in detail the workings of the shed as well as the locos. More about the trip later.

There are also plans afoot to visit the KYN Electric Loco Shed too. But that would probably be much later.

Update:
Other posts related to this visit can be found by clicking this link.

New items @ Jumbo King

Jumbo King, our desi version of McDonald, has introduced some new items. Apart from the staple wada pav, it has now introduced "JKWP (Jumbo King Wada Pav) Cholle (Rs. 10)", "JKWP Ussal" (Rs. 10) and "JKWP Schezwan" (Rs. 12).

When I first saw the boards, I mistakenly thought it was Cholle Pav. It turned out to be Wada Pav + a layer of Cholle spread inside the bread. Although the combination seemed strange, it did taste quite well.

A Lord Vitthal temple in Kerala!!!

This may come as a surprise to many, but here is the image of one that I visited when in Kerala. This one is in a place called "Kayankulam". Notice the black board with Malayalam messages whereas the text in Devnagiri above states the name of the temple.

Its the season of LCD

LCD is the style of the day! No, I don't care about the "current" style, but I just replaced my 3-year old 15-inch CRT monitor with a 15-inch TFT LCD monitor (Samsung 540N). It cost me about Rs. 8.5K (non-Lamington price).

One of the main reasons for buying it was the space saving afforded by the LCD monitor. These things are also supposed to last longer and to consume lesser energy. They are also supposed to be easy on the eyes. Since there is no refresh scan needed, I wonder whether the "black lines" that show up when photographing a CRT monitor will show up with this kind of monitor. Theoretically, it should not, but I will confirm it.

The space created by the smaller monitor can now be filled with the Bose "Companion 2 Series II" multimedia speakers that I've been eyeing for so long. After I have the money, that is.

Changing my "religion"

No, not that one; the other one. A few visits to "Idli House" has made me forget the other eatery at Matunga I used to frequent. When I did visit "Cafe Mysore", the coffee was off and the sambar was unusually liquid-y.

"Idli House" and "Ram Ashraya" (just opposite to where the Matunga Z-bridge ends) have now replaced visits to "Cafe Mysore" and "Anand Bhavan".

"Idli House" has an unusual policy of closing for lunch (its closed from 13:30 to 16:00).

The BEST "Smart Card"

Update: As of mid-2010, this facility was withdrawn by B.E.S.T.  Early 2011, the B.E.S.T. made some significant changes to the smart card system. New readers cum ticket vending machines  were introduced with the conductors (these machines are much lighter than the heavy metal ticket boxes they used to carry earlier). So, the below post is now no longer valid.
 
The B.E.S.T. (Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport) "Smart Card" was introduced about a month ago; it was supposed to offer commuters various benefits including the hassle of finding change to buy tickets during their daily commute. After some inquiries with various people including the pass vendor at a bus depot, I finally bought a one-month bus pass that I thought would help me get the touted "benefits".

For the consumer, the process is simple: Go to a bus depot that offers these "Smart Cards". Decide which route you want to travel on (starting and end points plus the route) and decide the period of validity (weekly, monthly, quarterly). "Route" here does not necessarily mean the bus route number, but in the most usual cases, a route could be referred to with the bus route number(s). The person at the counter (probably a sub-contractor's employee) has an "Intel WebTerminal" with only a keyboard and a monitor with the appropriate network connection. The mouse pad is embedded onto the keyboard. After determining the fare, you are asked to pay the amount. For the monthly fare, it works to slightly more than what you would have paid for a 6-day-week 2-way daily commute. For example, if the regular one-way fare is Rs. 9, then the monthly fare is Rs. 480. Buying a quarterly pass would result in savings. An I-card with the holder's photograph stamped by the BEST (ala Railway Season pass) is supposed to be carried along with the "Smart Card".

To use it, one needs to simply board the bus and give the Card to the conductor, instead of buying a ticket. Technically, the destination must also be stated. The conductor has a clumsy card reader with which the conductor can check if the Card is valid (date wise) as well as whether it is valid on the route of the bus.

This last point had me thinking: I thought the card reader would have some complex "graph-based" implementation; Prof. Abhiram Ranade of CSE, IITB and his "Mumbai Navigator" did ring a bell. I thought the logic might compare the route (points) on the Card with the route of the bus that the reader is used in and it would tell if the pass is valid on the route or not.

It turns out that the reader is rather dumb, heck, even the "Smart Card" seems to be dumb. The Card seems to be nothing more than a storage area where certain information (the expiry date, the source and destination, as well as the I-card number) is stored. The reader simply reads this information and displays it on its screen. In addition, there is a green LED that glows to show whether the card is not past its expiry date (a red one probably glows to show it has expired...there's one more LED that has the label "Concession").

That's where the fun begins: it is now up to the conductor, I guess, whether to consider whether the Card is valid on the route of the bus or not. Given the complexity of the various bus routes, it seems strange as to how the conductor could make a guess. For example, if I have a bus pass from Powai to Vashi, does it mean I can go to Airoli. (There is at least one bus that goes from Powai via Airoli as well as the normal way via Ghatkopar). I have not tried this out, but I'm sure there might be conductors that object. For example, suppose with the Powai to Vashi Smart Card, I travel from Bhandup to Sonapur on a bus that goes from Sion to Mulund. How on earth would the conductor know that there is a route that exists that takes passengers from Powai to Vashi via Bhandup, Sonapur and Airoli. On one occasion, I even had a bus conductor ask me if the Card was valid for that route!.

The only benefits that I have gotten so far are the ability to use it on a wide variety of buses on the same route and unlimited number of commutes on the route.

There are some disadvantages with this:

1. I used to rely on the BEST conductors to give me change (ATMs just dispense in multiples of 100s and the BEST conductors - especially those on the night buses - usually oblige passengers). Of course, I could still stick a Rs. 100 note and ask the conductor to give me change, but my collection of coins / notes seem exhausted just when I need them.
2. The reader is too clumsy to use and it takes the conductor anywhere between 10 to 15 seconds to check the Card. That is too much of time - in crowded buses, conductors usually don't bother to check the Card at all.
3. The ticket collectors have no way to identify where a passenger with a Card got in; the physical ticket used to have a punch to indicate where a passenger boarded the bus.
   

The Smart Card proudly proclaims "Mumbai BEST / Mumbai Suburban Railways". I wonder what that "Railways" part is for; it might be for the upcoming Metro Rail. With the Smart Card looking real dumb, I wonder how long would take a hacker (well, "cracker" for purists) to fake the details on the Card.

Update (2007-December-15):
For some reason, this post is getting read a lot. I thought I must update this to put in some more information. Here are some more points regarding this "Smart Card":

• For about Rs. 800 a month, one can load the "card" with an "all-route travel" option. With this, the commuter can travel anywhere, any number of times using any B.E.S.T. bus (except for the air-conditioned ones).
• There was news a few weeks back that the B.E.S.T. Smart Card could be used to buy tickets from the newly installed "Ticket Vending Machines" on the Mumbai suburban railways. The railways have come out with their own version of the "smart card", but it works differently than the B.E.S.T. one. The B.E.S.T. general manager had announced that they were "trying to integrate" the usage of the B.E.S.T. card on the railway system, but I have not heard anything after that.

Update (2008-February-18):

• It finally happened...but it took one year. One conductor declared that my pass was not valid on a (section of a particular route). I asked him what took them so long to find out; after all, I'd been travelling on that route for nearly an year! Anyways, to avoid all controversies there after, I've changed my bus pass for an all-suburban route validity. More information about this is in this post.

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

Does their opinion count?

Recently I attended a discussion by a panel of "eminent Mumbaikars"; the topic was related to the future of Mumbai and how it was positioned currently. While most panel members expressed happiness that Mumbai was now better than it was in the previous decade, a few (actually, only one) panel members disagreed. Those who disagreed were from the "anti-Bihari / anti-UP illegal migrants" camp.

A little while later I got fed up of the discussion and walked away. I wondered later why we attach so much importance to these people's opinions. No doubt they are highly educated and well connected and all. But I wondered if their opinion should really matter. After all, these people hardly travel on the bus/train. They have hardly wandered out of their cars and out of their cosy castles. They would never have walked on the roads (try walking around Andheri station) and would never have taken a Virar fast from Dadar (and got off at Mira Road). They would never dare to walk alone in the dead of the night on the streets of Mumbai.

Yet these very people were talking about how life in Mumbai has become safer, how conditions have now improved, etc. Of course, if by "conditions", they meant "malls and brands", definitely things have improved. And by "safe", if they meant travelling in a car at night zooming over the flyovers, things have improved.

And the funny part was that the others (commoners) were listening. It should really have been the other way around! The commoners should have been talking and they (the people who could influence the authorities) should have been listening.

A new year...a new semester

The first day of the New Year is here and close on its heels is the start of the semester. Time again to slog it out for the next 4 months; time again for all the exams, quizzes, tests, reports, homeworks, assignments. Time again to choose courses (subjects) wisely.

Like many of the recent years, this New Year's eve too was no different for me...no celebrations and no partying for me. However, the eve fell on a Sunday...I went to ISKCON Juhu just to see what was the scene was all around along the way.

The wine shops were full of customers...some wine shops had opened "additional counters" so that they could service more customers at the same time. Those who did not want to spend money drinking in restaurants chose to buy the drink and consume it directly on the streets (the drinks wrapped in black plastic carry bags). Not to lose an opportunity, the "boiled-egg" vendors also positioned themselves close to these shops so that they could provide cheap snacks to such drinkers.

Those who had the money to spend chose to dress up in choicest (party) clothes and headed off to the party of their interest. Many of these would no doubt will still be in bed at the time I write this.

Politicians are magicians!

It seems some political parties are promising 24-hours water supply to Mumbai. How on earth this is going to be possible is anybody's guess. Even on getting "abundant" rainfall year after year and with the lakes (that supply water to Mumbai) overflowing during the rainy season, no one raises a question as to how there is a water shortage by December. If so, without building additional lakes or catchment areas, it beats me to how there could be 24-hours water supply. Of course, we should also not forget how Mumbai can accomodate more "migrants" while still meeting all these constraints.

Oh! maybe they meant 24-hours water supply to the non-tax-paying, free-housed, underprivileged and the "minority". That's what maybe someone meant by saying the minority has the first claim to the resources of this country. Leeches, get off my back. Enough of plundering Mumbai.

Sem 1 results declared...

By the grace of the Supreme Lord and all the other Gods, Goddesses, saints and gurus, I have managed to pass comfortably semester 1 of the MTech programme.

After days of delay in declaring the results for one of the courses (aka subjects), the results for all the courses in Semester 1 have been declared. While the results for the other courses were out more than a week earlier, we had to wait for the results of one of the courses for at least a week. The big relief is that I have passed the semester. I also seemed to have accomplished my goal of "scoring well" early on to avoid hiccups later on. (A CPI of less than 6 at any point in the MTech programme at IITB will almost always result in being kicked out of IITB. That way, no one in an MTech programme at IITB can be a "5-point someone"...people will always be at least a "6-point everyones".)

My strategy of taking "easy" courses early on seemed to work. I can now look forward to taking "dangerous" courses later on without the fear of dipping below the 6-point mark.

End of End Sems

Its been a fast paced period of 4 months...joining in July, the end sems ended yesterday. There's only a small project left to be done in the next few days. There's the vacation to look forward to. Also, time to catch up on all the other stuff. And above all to have fun...that's until the results are declared.

Happy Diwali 2006

The air is full of smoke and smells of gunpowder; the asthama patients have run away from the city...
As Diwali (the set of festivals that falls on various days) draws to a close, those guys who ran away can return back. It seemed to me that this year the number of fireworks burnt were much lesser compared to the previous years. The High Court order did not seem to be working completely, but maybe it did make a difference. Or perhaps, this year people became wiser and decided to spend their monies on other things.

Around this time of the year, people are much happier probably because they get paid more salary (bonus). Shoppers of all kinds of hues and sizes flocked to the shops and bought all kinds of things. It is almost mandatory for people to buy new clothes - so most shops selling clothes were completely swamped with customers. The shops, in turn, utilized the opportunity to entice customers with "huge discounts". Shops selling snacks and sweets made a roaring business. It is probably also customary in businesses to gift a "gift hamper" containing dry fruits or sweets or whatever to loyal customers / associates.

As is the usual custom, sweets and snacks were exchanged with friends and families. I also got a much needed break (change of routine).

The past few years (and this year too) I've also been utilizing the mini-Diwali break to catch up on things. Its an ideal time to complete (or at least try to complete) unfinished assignments and projects.

Mid-sems now over

Whoa...what a relief. The mid-sems are over and though I did not fare particularly well in any of the exams, it seems that I might scrape through. Given the fact that the weights attached the mid-sem exam scores vary, I might now have to depend on other forms of evaluation (quizzes, assignments, course projects, etc.).

Of course, my strategy was to get as good scores as possible in the mid-sems. The reason was simple: there are fewer topics during the mid-sems than the end-sems. Again, another strategy was to get "good" grades in the earlier semesters - there is always the danger of not being able to keep the required CPI later.

It seems to me that I am back to my old habits again - faring very nicely compared to others during minor tests and doing badly compared to them during the important exams. Anyways, it should not matter as long as I pass and keep the grades at the minimum required level.

*cha Raja : the carnival ends

This year's Mumbai "carnival" (this is the word used by some journalists - actually that's what it is now) has come to an end. A nightmare for the security forces, luckily no attacks / disasters during the period. While some attributed this to the Lord Himself, others felt that it was a job well done by the security.

As usual, some of the people accompanying the processions seemed to be disinterested in the religious nature of the festival. One could see drunk people dancing and leading the processions.

The naming convention seems to have caught on...most Ganesh pandals now had the "*cha Raja" suffix. For example, "Powaicha Raja", "Ghatkoparcha Raja". Others went a step ahead and had "*cha Maharaja" as the suffix.

One could see numerous hoardings put up by all political parties. In some of these hoardings, numerous pictures of the various local "thugs" were displayed - some of these banners had a very small photo of Ganesha - much of the space was taken up the "thugs" themselves.

I could see many North Indians also keeping Ganesha idols in their homes - this might be the effect of Bollywood and other actors popularizing by walking to Siddhivinayak, etc.

Learning to "stay afloat"

A month has elapsed since the courses for MTech have begun. With so much of "load", it is quite difficult to get a break to do anything other than studies. Suprisingly, I haven't had to stay back in the hostel...I am still commuting to / from home. The mid-semester exams are just a few days away and the strategy is to just try and keep "afloat".

Fear, fear everywhere

Security has been stepped up, thousands of police have been deployed, reserved forces have been called out...It seems that the terrorists have instilled fear in the minds of the people.

One wonders if publishing information about how "secure" we have made the important places would help. One of the key things in security, one would imagine, is to not alert the "enemy" at all and simple prepare as quitely as one can. One would think that publishing openly what security measures are in place would cause the enemy to backoff only to attack at a time when it is least
expected.

On the other hand, there is another angle for doing that. There are some guys who when provoked would like to "show off" how they can attack the toughest secuirty rings. That way, we would catch the enemy red-handed. This is the mind-game or pyschology angle.

It doesn't seem that our authorities are so bright as to be doing the second thing. They seem to be doing it to want to show people that they are acting on the threats perceived and doing something about it. Lest something happen and people then blame them for sitting on the "input".

India was never perceived as an "Islam enemy" by its non-neighbors until recently. Two incidents that changed this come to mind: the demolition of the Babri Masjid and the Gujarat riots. It seems plain as water to me that these incidents may have changed India's image in the terrorists' viewpoint. India has now been caught in the middle of the gunfire.

I remember my conversations more than a decade ago with a Bangladeshi Muslim I had met with in the United States. He seemed to have some misunderstanding about how bad Indians treat Muslims. I am sure biased media reports in their country would have played a role in making them believe that India was the "terrorist" country. Of course, at the same time, there were reports of hundreds of Hindus being harassed and burnt in Bangladesh. One could read reports of these on the websites. But I did not hear any outcry or anything of that sort in India.

Why? We've taken down things lying down for too long. That's why.

Feels like "jail"

The first semester of the MTech course having begun, it seems unlikely to be able to be doing anything else other than studies. We are made to believe that the first semester is a "killer" one. From the experience in the past 2 weeks, it certainly seems to be so.

Let's hope there is some relief in the second semester.

Although I haven't started staying in the hostel room, it is on "stand-by"...so that I can use it at any day or night that I may have to spend there. That means that all things like bucket, mug, table lamp, spare clothes, mattress, etc. are in place.

The joy of bicycling

I had always considered bicycling to be a pleasure. I used to use a bicycle to commute for the most part of my junior college days. Bicycling was also a favorite past time / exercise for many evenings during those days. Due to an incredible increase in traffic and decrease in traffic manners and tempers, I had to sell off the bicycle.

The joy returned again. The first few days at IITB seemed to be a pleasure bicycling around the campus on the new bicycle. Gone are the days of the past when running from one building to another or to / from the gate was a big tiring and boring task.

The joy, however, got reduced over the week as I took possession of a room in Hostel 6 (yes, I am now a "Hexalite" as the Hostel 6 residents are called).

Away from the main gate, deep into the campus, almost the end of the main road inside the IITB campus, lies Hostel 6. Only 2 hostels exist beyond it - the newer hostels 12 and 13 - that are very close to the Rennaisance Hotel. But, the problem is that the road from the main gate to the hostel (especially from my school to the hostel) is full of ups and downs (slopes). This resulted in quite a stressful activity just going and coming to / from the hostel. Hopefully I will get used to it as the time goes by and it won't be such a big problem. One got the feeling that having a bicycle with gears would have made it much more easier.

Of course, that does not take away the fear of panthers...gosh, the logo of Hostel 6 has got what looks like a panther on it. Maybe its better to stay in the school than to venture out to go to the hostel beyond 9 p.m.

"The bicycle has been bought"

After days of dilly-dallying, I've finally bought (well, almost) an used Avon bicyle from the "Red and White" bicycle shop inside IITB. It will cost me Rs. 1350 better than a new bicycle for about Rs. 2100 or above. This also signals the decision to join the MTech programme at IITB. The orientation programme starts tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll also get a hostel that I can stay at if it gets too late.

I had to spend a lot of energy just deciding whether to join or not. It was quite surprising that my entire family wanted me to join the programme. It seemed evident that my mother was quite sure that my high score at the GATE (examination) was just an accident and could not be obtained again.

Many others at my workplace stood by me and helped me take the decision. A few others felt that I should pursue my MBA and not MTech. Time alone will tell if my decision is right or wrong.

Meanwhile, wish me all the best.

Cheats at the photocopier

Today was the second time I saw some cheats at the photocopier's. I was at a typical big photocopier's shop that offers all kinds of printing services, photocopying and also lamination. I was there to laminate all my important documents (one less thing to worry about when the water level in the house rises for whatever reasons). As the lamination was in progress, 2 guys (quite rough from their looks) disembarked from a motorcycle and demanded from one of the boys at the counter to colour photocopy what looked like a laminated government-issued document. Their idea, which they foolishly expressed, was to change the number (id) at the top of the document in the photocopy. The boy at the counter cooly replied that it was not possible for them to do that...if they wanted a photocopy, it would come laminated and no change of id would be permitted. I tried to see what document it was that they wanted to forge. It turned out to be a "Zopadpatti Rahivashi Olakhpatra" (translation: a "Slum Resident Identity Card"). Later, those guys went away a bit disappointed. The boy at the counter said they could not take the risk of forging such documents as it may land them in a jail.

That reminded me of another incident in the month of March 2006. This time I was at a smaller photocopier's shop. It was about 09:00 in the morning and I wanted to get photocopies of some documents. A girl came in and she had a chemistry text book in hand. She wanted to make small (reduction to about 25%) of some important pages. The boy at the counter readily obliged. When the photocopies were given to her, she folded them into small chits. It was then that I realised what purpose she was doing that for. It was the month of March and the 12th standard board examinations were in progress. She wanted to use those chits to hide somewhere so that she could copy from them!

A close encounter with a WDP4

It was Saturday morning about 09:30 - an off from work. I was at TNA (Thane station) waiting for a fast local to TLA (Titwala). The TLA visit was for praying at the popular Ganesha temple there and also at the Vitthal temple close to the Ganesha temple. An announcement on the station public address system made me aware that the 0103 Mumbai-Madgaon (MAO) Mandovi express was to arrive shortly on platform 7. It would be running quite late since its usual departure from CSTM is at 06:55. Now, being a regular browser of the IRFCA site and also by personal observation, I knew that the train to MAO would be most probably hauled by the mighty 4000 hp WDP4. A few minutes later the train arrived and as I was just a platform away from the train, I realised that I was face to face with the DLW (Varanasi Diesel Loco Works) manufactured SHF (Short Hood Forward) KJM (Krishnarajapuram) WDP4 # 21022. I could not help admire the beauty...it also seemed to be a mighty powerful loco. One could see the huge 6000 litre fuel tank underneath.

The pilot and his assistant were busy with their checks in the cab of the loco...a few minutes later, the cab was empty. I could see that the cab looked much more sophisticated than the WDM2s - also, very cleaner and probably more ergonomic.

The pilots returned and I could see that they had brought with them what looked like something packed in silver foils - either a late morning breakfast or their lunches. They kept these somewhere in the cab. A moment later, the pilot clicked some switches and pulled some levers; the sound that the loco started making gave one a feeling that it was an aircraft ready for lift-off. A short horn and an exchange of the green flag later, the loco started rolling and soon disappeared from sight.

The WDP4 is a loco that can effortlessly haul large trains and the original models were from GM (General Motors), USA. It is also the loco that is being run at 150 kmph in some sections of the Konkan Railway.

The "spirit" will evaporate

Every one outside Mumbai and the media keep harping about the so-called "spirit of Mumbai". Actually, it is a bit sickening to hear that term being used again and again and again. Whenever any calamity strikes Mumbai, the media is quick point out how the "spirit" brings back Mumbai back to normalcy. We had the rains floor us, then the riots in Bhiwandi, then the strike on Sunday and the serial blasts on Tuesday.

If they don't do something about the calamities, the spirit is soon going to evaporate.

The biggest thing is that other people (in Delhi and other places) are making merry at the expense of Mumbai's hapless junta. Someone must teach those thugs a lesson and bring them to their senses.

Die Another Day

Monsoon is here and Mumbai is already feeling jittery about waterlogging at many places. Some idiots (road contractors) raised the height of another road leading to the lane to our apartment complex. The result is that 100 mm of rainfall in a day is now enough to cause waterlogging on the lane on which we reside; to cause alarm bells to ring in our minds and to start the drill - to keep valuables high enough (hopeful that the water won't reach them there) and to start packing and move on the 1st floor (or higher). But, that was not to be...we die another day, not the Tuesday and not the Wednesday that went by.

Luckily, the gods had other plans...and there was still a couple of feet left before the rain water could enter our ground floor apartments. Others I know were not so lucky...several areas and homes were flooded once again.

A new template

I've just put in a new template from one (Powell Street) of the designs over at Blogger Templates. Hopefully, this is more pleasing than the earlier one.

Funny messages on the IMS...

Somewhere towards the end of 2005, I took a trip to the IMS (Indian Museum Ship) Vikrant (the erstwhile INS Vikrant). It was docked just beside the high profile and heavily guarded still in-use INS Viraat. The rules for photography were very clear...no photography from the outside and no photography on the deck. That meant photographing only the inside. There were still a lot of things to be photographed and I clicked away to glory.

There were some photographs of particular interest. These are from that collection...

Vikrant's bell and shipmaker's board...the year mentioned on the bell is 1961
Be a bright spark
No Is and Us in a team
No Shortcuts...

The better natural ice cream

India thinks Natural is the best ice-cream. Versova does not think so. Its true. After the spat the co-owners had and parted their ways, Versova enjoys a much better natural ice cream. L&G, please welcome...Sancha, the natural ice-cream of Versova. Sancha, founded by one of the original co-owners of the original "Natural Ice Cream of the Juhu Scheme", is much better than the original Natural ice-cream. This is located on the J. P. Road - the road parallel to the beach - and on the right side while travelling towards Versova - just after the bend at the 7B garden.

The cups are priced at Rs. 27, whereas shakes are priced at Rs. 60.

"Balle Balle"

"Balle Balle Urban Tadka" is what you hear when you call this restaurant almost always booked to capacity - hell, I have seen people waiting outside (for a seat) even at 11 p.m. After recommendations from an acquaintance, I decided I should try it out.

Since I avoid non-veg stuff, half of the items on the menu were off for me. I tried "Sabji Kheema" - nothing non-veg about it - just minced vegetables. Also, the "Chole Te Alu De Biryani". Both were very tasty and not at all oily (unlike at the Udipi restaurants). In fact, the biryani comes packed in a small pot with a cover sealed with "atta". And its quite yummy.

The same owners also own "Pop Tate's" as well as some of the other popular restaurants.

Idli House

The other day I had the opportunity (rather excuse) to visit this new eatery at B. N. Maheshwari Udyaan (aka King's Circle or L&T circle) near Matunga. This is located almost opposite to the "Anand Bhavan" restaurant and is from the stable of "A. Rama Nayak" (the same flock that runs the Cafe Mysore and other Rama Nayak* eateries in Matunga).

I found it to be a surprisingly small eatery - only 3 tables. The other point is that you only get idlis - no other snacks. The coffee (filter) is almost similar to the Cafe Mysore's, though I did not think much of the idlis or the sambar (my personal choice is Cafe Mysore's or Anand Bhavan's). Here is scan of the flyer for the restaurant - one can get a good idea of what is in store.

However, the restaurant also sells the accompaniments (chutneys, etc.) as well as filter coffee powder (I think its the same coffee powder they use - aah their secret powder). The coffee powder is Rs. 50 for 250 gms - slightly higher than the Rs. 180 / kg powder from Quality (near Matunga station).

So most of my mornings are now powered by the new found coffee powder (2 cups) - alas, we do not use buffalo milk at home, but the taste is quite close to the one we get in the restaurant.

Update: I could find no review of Idli House on the SigFood site, but here's a detailed review by a Gujju that appeared in Mumbai Mirror.

What a thriller...

Our media has found a brand new subject to focus on these days. With Rahul Mahajan's case becoming more complicated, it seems to have all the trappings of a super thriller. Of course, it won't be long before it fades out of the media, but in the meantime, the readers can thrive on the daily dose of mystery from the newspapers.

It won't be long before someone takes up to make a film on the subject...its sure to be a hit, if directed properly. It seems that the story has all the ingredients as in a Agatha Christie, Conan Doyle or a Poe story.

Many would know that Christie's Poirot was said to have been influenced by Doyle's Holmes, but few would know that Holmes itself was influenced from Poe's Dupin. Dupin was a strange character and there seem to be only 3 stories by Poe that involved Dupin. Such was the problem-solving skill of Dupin that he could simply read various newspapers reports and solve mysteries. Personally, though I have read all the stories of Holmes, Dupin remains a favorite maybe because of Poe's language or simply because Dupin was one of the first detective characters.

Quite like this current-day mystery, Poe himself was a drug addict whose cause of death remained uncertain ( alcohol, drugs, rabid cat bites, etc.).

Back from LNL

I am back after a refreshing break (holiday) at LNL (Lonavala). It was raining in LNL so there was not much of a sight-seeing done (most of LNL has anyways been already seen)...just lazing around and doing nothing...not even thinking of work. Rainy season (or just there after) is the best season to visit LNL and because of the rains, LNL wore a fresh green and unpolluted look. The clouds (and mist) had engulfed KAD (Khandala)...even in the afternoon, traveling on the roads of KAD was proving to be quite difficult due to poor visibility beyond a few metres. Its always been like that and this time too it was not different.

A trip to LNL would not have been complete without a visit to the railway station. So, there we were at the LNL station checking out how delayed the trains were to / from Mumbai (since TV channels were busy broadcasting all day how life in Mumbai was paralysed from the first rains of the season). It was quite interesting to note that most trains were hauled by KYN WCGs...only CR knows what happened to the KYN WCAMs, although I did spot one train with a KYN WCAM3. All trains coming into LNL on their way to PUNE had at least 2 or 3 WCG bankers (pushing the trains from behind up the ghats). These were detached at LNL and sent back (light) to KJT (Karjat) from where they were attached in the first place.

Of course, LNL and chikki go hand-in-hand. It is not clear to me how LNL got itself entangled into this chikki business...neither peanut plantations nor jaggery or sugarcane grow anywhere near LNL. Still, chikkis had to be bought and one had to choose from Maganlal, Rupam, Navratna, and many others.

We decided it would be better if we returned by road (instead of the 1008) since trains were reportedly being halted at CLA because of waterlogging. While returning, at SNPD (Sanpada), we had a flat tyre and apart from that, there were no major incidents. It was clear that the new expressway was making travel faster...much faster. For example, it took us only 0.5 hour from LNL to Khopoli and another 20 minutes later, we were at Panvel. So, in about an hour's time we had reached Vashi from LNL...that is a real improvement over the past, when journeys through the ghats were cumbersome and slow (not to mention the traffic jams because of broken axles of trucks and other heavy vehicles).

And, while at LNL, we stayed at Swiss Resorts. It is supposed to part of the chain that owns the famous Rajdhani group of restaurants. Though the rooms were comparatively cleaner, the food was quite standard and nothing great about it. One gets a feeling that maybe the hotel may be on its wane now...

Apart from that, nothing much in LNL...now that its started to rain, more Mumbaikars will head to their favorite monsoon weekend location...LNL.

Off to LNL

Looks like the trip to UBL (Hubli) will have to wait. I am proceeding today for a short holiday to LNL (Lonavala). While going, I'll be going by the Cool Cab service (from DDR) and while returning, it would be through the 1008 Deccan Express.

I'll be staying at some hotel that I've never stayed before...hopefully, it is good. Reviews after I get back to Mumbai.

Reserved for life

Oh this is getting too much to just sit quiet and not enjoy. The current HRD minister is trying to create more chaos than the previous one. While the previous one succumbed to people's pressure, this one is in a tight spot...only the Supreme can intervene now.

Some chaps (those retired guys get pension as well as money for doling out such crap reports) in some "Commission" came out with some report that recommended some such reservation based on the "caste" that one is born into. Whereas multitudes of people thought we were moving away from the "caste system", it seems these guys want to re-introduce it.

So, it seems, upto 50% seats would be reserved for the "lower castes" (SC, ST, OBC and any other minorities) in education (also professional courses). Someone is also recommending that these reservations be carried over to the jobs in the private sector. While the private sector (especially the IT industry which is supposed to be "knowledge-intensive" - doing VB is supposedly "knowledge-intensive") is crying hoarse that this would adversely impact their competitiveness, I propose that the reservations should be for life:

• Naturally, if people have landed a job not based on merit and competition, they would find the going to be tough indeed - that might work in a governmental setup, but in a private sector, these guys would most likely be sidelined (because many of them may not perform to the same level). As a result, I propose that promotions should also be reserved.
• Taking it further, everything should have reservations - power supply, rations, seats in buses (already some seats are reserved - no harm in reserving more seats - as it is, we commute by standing)
• Very logically, this is going to anger the majority (who should by then be the minority). As a result, one may try to append to their qualifications the "category" to indicate that they are from the general category. For example, Mr. A. B. C., B.E. (General).
  
  

All this fine, but one can see how this has clearly stirred up a division amongst the students (and people). In this article, one can clearly see the animosity that has been generated. My favorite part in the article is how the reserved guys make fun of the others

Look at us, we don'’t have to work hard at all. Our post graduation seats are assured no matter how badly we fare in our exams

There's also the part where the teachers have allegedly threatened the anti-reservation students with "dire consequences" and "appropriate marks" in the examinations.

Knuth tidbits

A few posts ago (this one) I had dropped a reference to Donald Knuth and what he considers as the work of his lifetime, "The Art of Computer Programming", a planned 6-volume series of books on algorithms and related applications. He has been able to complete 4 of those 6 volumes, so 2 more volumes remain to be done.

I was surprised to learn from many of the readers of this blog that they did not know who Knuth is and that they had never heard of him. After a quick confirmation with my (ex)classmate, we concluded that it was indeed very surprising that today's "youngsters" haven't heard of him - during "our" days (13 years ago), there was hardly anyone using the Internet in India - and when the Internet usage is so prevalent now, this should not have been the case. I guess "youngsters" these days are busy browsing other things. (Ah I get it...its the "generation gap"...for us, Knuth, Kernighan, Ritchie and Stroustrup were god...for the current generation, it must be Johny Abraham, Rakhey Sawant, and *Khan...I can see wallpapers of these people on youngster's desktops...that's true).

Anyways, I thought I'll put together some tidbits about Knuth from the various sources now available on the Internet.

• Knuth is a computer scientist (yes, that's a new word for a "discrete" mathematics person) and now a "Professor Emeritus" at the Stanford University.
  
• He did his B.S. (in mathematics) with "summa cum laude" (the highest honors) from the Case Institute of Technology
• His work was found to be so wonderful that by a special vote of faculty, the institute decided to confer the M.S. on him simultaneously along with the B.S.
• He later went on the write 3 volumes of "The Art of Computer Programming" series. These books (in 1999) were named among the best twelve physical-science monographs by the American Scientist in the same league as "Dirac on quantum mechanics, Einstein on relativity, and Einstein's collected papers".
• On the comment's to these books, Bill Gates had announced that if one truly read the books completely and understood them, then the reader should him a resume (to be entitled for a job at Microsoft).
• Knuth has a peculiar style of rewarding readers who point out mistakes in his books: he offers them a reward of $2.56 per mistake found. The 2.56 figure is because 256 pennies make a hexadecimal dollar.
• Version numbers of his TeX software approach the number π, that is versions increment in the style 3, 3.1, 3.14 and so on. Version numbers of Metafont (another system developed by him) approach the number mathematical constant e similarly.
• He has stopped using email since 1990; he claims it helps him to concentrate better. In his own words,
  

"Email is a wonderful thing for people whose role in life is to be on top of things. But not for me; my role is to be on the bottom of things."

• Besides all this, he is an accomplished Pipe Organ player; he has a custom-built pipe organ in his home (with some pipes of the organ being more than 8 feet tall).
  

For more on him or his achievements and the numerous awards that he has won, one could refer to his 35-page CV here.

Masters of Rhythm

When it comes to rhythm, few can match the caliber (and *sound* understanding) of the complexities of rhythm music than Indian classical musicians. (The one that comes a close second would be the African rhythm players.)

Everyone (every "commoner") acknowledges the mastery of Ustad Zakir Hussain (and his late father, the great Ustad Alla Rakha). But, few know that Pandit Shivkumar Sharma was a tabla player prior to taking up santoor as the chief instrument. Because of his background, Sharma can play very complex structures - very few Indian instrumental musicians and singers understand the rhythm aspect - their forte is tone and tune. It is well know that Sharma and Hussain play "nested talas" - that is, a tala within a tala (e.g., a 7-beat tala within a 10-beat tala framework).

That was until I read about Palghat Mani Iyer (now late). Palghat (Palakkad) Mani Iyer had such a mastery of the mridangam (South Indian drum) that it seems he would choose the artiste whom he would accompany, rather than the other way around. Such was his mastery that he could play separate talas simultaneously one with each hand (as mentioned toward the end of this this article). Now that is something...

Truly, masters of rhythm.

End-sem exams over

The end-sem exams for this semester are now over. I can now move over to other things that I've been long postponing...like reading some books, learning some (computer) languages like TeX, visiting the UBL (Hubli) diesel loco shed (he, he...UBL has a stock of WDP4s - this is the currently the fastest running loco in India). Or buying that bicycle...:)

Many posts are languishing in the "draft" stage on this blog...maybe I'll find the time and interest to post some of them too.

Time to buy a bicycle? Time to celebrate?

The news comes in a year late, but better late than never. After last year's attempt at admissions to the M.Tech. programme at IITB, I had applied again this year...and it seems (from the website) that I have been offered a "direct admission" (that is, without further written tests and interviews) to the M.Tech. programme. Maybe the guys had some pity on me (eh...in one of the part-time diploma courses (subjects), we had the same paper as the M.Tech. guys and I was the topper among all students).

That should put me into celeberation mode, but it also puts me in a big dilemma. I had always put off for later thinking about whether I should get into this or not - the logic was simple - let me first get the admission and then I could decide. No point in thinking about the chickens until the eggs hatched. There is also the question as to what happens to the diploma course that I had enrolled for in the same institute.

Unfortunately, there is not much of a time to do the thinking as the fees (the ones that confirm the admission) need to be paid by May 3rd. With end semester examinations looming on both sides of May 3, it is unlikely that I will find time to think about this.

The plan then, is to confirm the admissions and then pull out, if need be. And if I do end up joining, then it would be the right time to buy a bicycle (as "motorized vehicles are not allowed on the campus except for emergency purposes").

Just to make it clear: the admission that I am supposed to have got is in the KReSIT (School of IT) and not the CSE department. I know CS is different from IT (ya, ya...we always thought that IT was for the intellectually less capable guys who didn't get into CS). On the other hand, after working for so long in the industry, plain CS no longer seems that attractive to me the way it used to be (I've still not been able to read "The Art of Computer Programming" by Don Knuth).

The annual ritual is now over

Mumbai's annual ritual for inconveniencing commuters is now over. The annual B.E.S.T. strike has been called off by the union. Life (and traffic) can now go back to normal. Over the last decade, I cannot recall a single year without B.E.S.T.'s strike.

This year was no different...private bus operators and autorickshaws and taxis made a quick buck overcharging commuters wherever possible. I travelled by one such private bus paying Rs. 10 for a journey that would cost Rs. 4 by the B.E.S.T. bus.

For maximum effect, these strikes are typically organized during important days of the year (for example, during S.S.C. examinations or during Diwali, etc). So, this year it was a surprise that it was held in the month of April when most school and college students had finished their examinations. Maybe dear Sharad Rao's (union leader's) children are in S.S.C. or H.S.C. this year...or maybe his children go to school / college by car. I remember when there was a strike by B.M.C. (again led by Sharad Rao) a newspaper had reported how his apartment in Goregaon still had water supply 24 hours a day, while all the other areas in Mumbai had to suffer.

Like some of the other years, this year's strike was also declared as "illegal" (since public transport is regarded as an "essential service"). However, no action would dare to be taken against the striking workers...Sharad Rao had threatened to "shut down" the city if any action was taken against them. Hmmmm...there could be a law violation there...how long before Mumbaikars shut that guy up.

Bharat III

Its been quite a while since our B.E.S.T. undertaking introduced the new Ashok Leyland-made "Bharat III" buses into their fleet, but its only a few weeks back that I got an opportunity to travel in them. I observed the following things:

• The first thing that one sees (as one is boarding the bus) is the huge springs at the rear of the bus. Though the height of the seats above the rear wheels have been increased, the ride itself seems to be quite smooth. One can actually feel the bus riding over Mumbai potholes and other such obstacles quite nicely.
• The noise of the engine is reduced drastically (and the engine seems to purring rather than roaring). This might be due to some heavy-duty sound mufflers placed over the engine (near the driver's seat).
• The windows can be half-closed (as in the train coaches)...there is a simple "latch-and-hole" mechanism to keep the window either fully open or half-closed. But one needs to see how long these "fragile" latches would last.
• One of the most annoying things about the old buses seems to have been fixed. The horizontal rod (bar) used by standing commuters seemed to end much before the first seat. As a result, I used to sometimes be without support in the tossing and rolling bus until I travelled down the aisle a bit further to the driver's seat - this is a very dangerous situation to be in since one might actually be thrown off if the driver brakes suddenly. This rod has now been extended right to the place where the stairs for alighting start.
• One of the peculiarities of the bus seems to be the use of a "turbocharger". There are clear instructions to the driver (in Marathi, of course) to idle the engine for 3 minutes after start and before turning off the engine. The reason given is because "the turbo charger revolves at 100,000 rpm".
• Another one is the horn of the bus; the sound from the horn (unfortunately) resembles the horn of a small vehicle like a motorbike. As one can imagine, this would convey a false sense of feeling to vehicles on the road as the beast (devil - its red and it kills people) approaches them from behind.
• The split-mirrors are another source of complaint by the drivers themselves. The split mirrors, it seems, confuses them as mentioned in this article.
• A power-steering has also been added, but given the way the bus swerves sometimes, one gets a feeling that the drivers are yet to get used to it (the drivers are made to drive different types of vehicles on different days).

Free, at last...but only temporarily

Killer deadlines had kept me busy the whole of last week and Monday. I finally managed to beat the deadline (all courses, all deadlines). After frantically churning out code, I guess I may have barely escaped RSI (Repetitive Stress Injury) resulting from strenuous typing at the keyboard and long hours on the chair.

With end-sem exams coming up, however, this less loaded schedule is only temporary. I will have to hit the books again soon.

Busy, busy, busy...

The Paris trip (and its preparation and subsequent associated workload) has been a real sap on my resources and time...enough to cause a backlog on the academic front. This week and the next week is going to be a race against time what with all the project and assignment deadlines.

No more posts until then...

The Emperor makes its run

"Shahenshah" chugged down the Western Railway line as planned.

I had decided that Andheri would be a nice place to catch it in action. Accordingly I had done most of my preparations...charging the batteries of the digital camera, ensuring space for the pictures to be taken, etc. Unfortunately, some work that cropped up at the last moment ensured that I had to rush to Andheri station. There were huge queues (I thought I needed a platform ticket) at the ticket vending windows. Every ticket counter I visited was full of long snaking queues. I decided to act wise in the interest of time and simply used a coupon in the CVM (Coupon Validating Machine). I do not know if a coupon can be used as a platform ticket...but I thought what the hell.

With great enthusiasm I rushed to the platform number 1. There were a lot of announcements being made related to change in the platforms for the regular local trains. I saw a couple of guys enter the Station Superintendent's office...they seemed to have a compact camera with them...I followed them and the guys in the office told us that the Heritage train would be passing through platform 4. I rushed to platform 4 to find a hell lot of people out openly with video cameras and other photography and videography equipment. Accompanying kids were also their parents.
I debated mentally what would be a good position to be at to take a good photograph. I decided to go to the very southern end of the platform since that is where the train would be seen first and there would be very little obstructions.

The time was about 11:20 a.m. by then. I suddenly realized that in all the haste I had forgotten to load a film in the SLR camera...I had thought I would buy it from some stall near the station. Unfortunately, it was a catch-22 situation...I wanted to go and get the film, but then the guys at the Station Superintendent's office had stated that it would be there in about 5 minutes. I thought of asking some guys with cameras if they could "sell" me an extra film roll they had. Then, I dropped the idea.

The crowd was growing restless every passing moment. Suddenly, at about 11:45 a.m., one could hear the Railway Police being very active and trying to keep a check on the people's movements (warning them not to go very close to the edge of the platform, etc.).

I could spot the loco coming in through the SLR camera lens (I was using the lens as a binocular). The loco was whistling (just for fun) and there was a lot of steam as it passed by. However, there was no "clagging" (no black thing coming out of its chimney). As it went by, passersby waved at the people in the train. Every coach had an attendant that was dressed in superb uniform...

As it passed by, some people ran along on the platform hoping it would stop...it didn't. Tired but happy spectators then started making their way back out of the platform. Within 2 minutes, there was a diesel loco (a Ratlam WDM3A #18707) with a most stunning livery on the same line. I guess this loco would be pulling the Heritage rake back to Mumbai Central.

I contemplated if I should go to Borivali and try photographing the stationary thing there. I dropped the plan partly because of the long queues...and returned back home.