An evening at LTT

While most "normal" people would end up spending an evening at a restaurant or a mall or by the sea, I preferred to go to LTT (Lokmanya Tilak Terminus near Kurla) on the Saturday. The sole purpose was to spot some WDMs (aka diesel locomotives).

Some people may not have realised this: There is a total lack of WDM-hauled trains on the Western railway Mumbai-suburban line. Those ugly looking (and not too great sounding) WCAMs have replaced all the WDMs. Occasionally, we do spot a WDS-2 on the Western line, but a WDM is a WDM.

(For a nice sound clip recorded within a WDM2A cab, click here.
For seeing what a WDM2 looks like, click here. Note that in this picture, the WDM2 is SHF (Short Hood Forward.))

The Central railway suburban lines do see quite a few WDMs, but most of these are headed into the LTT. Konkan railway trains are almost always hauled by WDMs and these trains terminate/start at LTT. (There is a workshop at Parel where one can spot some WDMs as well as WDS-6 as well as steam locos. Also, at CSTM, one can see some WDMs in the yard.). For a close-up and a "live" WDM, LTT is the best in suburban Mumbai.

So, I reached LTT at about 16:20 and a scan of the platform revealed no activity. Some people travelling to the North were sleeping on the platform or lazying about; others had already formed a line (for the unreserved coach) at the far end of the platform. Luckily, some thoughtful official had put up a small shamiana in the middle of the platform to provide these people some shelter from the hot summer sun (since there was no roof above at that end of the platform).

At about 16:30, there was an announcement that the Trivandrum-LTT Netravati had left Panvel and would be reaching LTT soon. At 17:10, another announcement confirmed that this train had reached and left Thane. Quite useful information I thought. But, no sooner had this announcement been made, the platform came alive. One could see some dozen porters get ready for "the action". They had the luggage trolleys with them. At the same time, some tens of people who had come to receive their relatives also started to enter the platform. Most of these latter were, of course, typical South people.

At 17:20 finally, I could spot the ERS (Ernakulam Road South) shed WDM2 snaking its way slowly onto the platform. The dull-orange livery of EKM is nothing compared to the bright-red Erode-shed liveries. The WDM2 was hauling the train LHF (Long Hood Forward). (It is considered to be quite uncomfortable to drive a WDM2 LHF because of visibility problem. The long hood obstructs the driver's vision from the cab and objects near the loco cannot be seen.)

As it neared the end of the platform (final destination), it stopped well short of the buffers. I took a long look at the WDM2 and wondered from what angle I must photograph it (the next time).

I nodded my head and left before the crowd could spill out from the platforms. I took the local Harbour to Govandi from the nearby Tilak Nagar (suburban) station.

Gunidas Sangeet Sammelan 2004…

An old post...just for the record (dated: 02-Dec-2004) [will adjust the date later]

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Venue: Shri Chandrasekara Shanmukananda Auditorium, King's Circle, Mumbai
Dates: 2nd Dec 2004 to 4th Dec 2004

Day 1:

• The concert started 0.5 hour behind schedule and Satish Vyas apologised, but quickly stated that the delay was on purpose to allow adrent music lovers caught in the jam on a working day to make it. Ustad Shafat Ahmed Khan, accompanying on the tabla, was as usual mesmerizing.
• Pt. Bhimsen Joshi started off with Yaman Kalyan and it seemed as though he had regained his original voice (even at the age of 82 years).
• After the first piece, Pt. Bhimsen Joshi sang the Marathi Abhang “Teertha Vitthal, Kshetra Vitthal". Then, he stopped and said that he had been told to stop at 10:15 p.m. and he had finished on the dot. However, Satish Vyas and others in the audience pleaded with him to go on. There was a brief argument between Satish Vyas and the Hall officials. Joshiji told them “Do not fight. If you want to fight, fight musically.” That had the audience laughing.
• There seemed to be a lot of Bengalis in the audience. This could be due to the fact that Pt. Ravi Shankar has a performance on the last day.
• All in all, a good and satisfying day 1.

Day 2:

• Day 2 began as per schedule at 18:30. Shubha Mudgal’s performance was quite impressive.
• Next, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt mesmerized both Indians and foreigners with his “Mohan Veena", a modified form of guitar. He presented Raga Maru Bihaag. He ended with a “lori” (lullaby) composed by him and specially “dedicated to all the mothers and women in the world".
• Ustaad Rashid Khan rendered Raga Malkuans. But, I left before the last piece as it was already 22:45 - time for probably the last bus from Wadala to Versova (255 Ltd).

Day 3:

• Day 3 was Pt. Ravi Shankar all the way. He easily showed why he is called the “Godfather of Indian music".
• His daughter, Anoushka and wife, Sukanya were in the audience.
• After an intermission, he released an album of pieces by the late Pt. C. R. Vyas. He recalled his early days in Mumbai and the “khedas” in Maharahstra…of how he stayed in Kolhapur and ate at local restuarants sitting on the floor and drinking “taak". He remarked how Marathi people were the “tops” when it comes to admiring vocal music, but how “his Kolkatta” is the tops in admiring instrumental music.

All in all, full paisa vasool.

A Vasai Rd-Diva trip

The other day, I fulfilled a long-standing wish - to travel to Diva from Vasai Road by the Diesel EMU (shuttle).

There are only 3 trips in a day from Vasai Road to Diva - there is one in the morning, the other in the afternoon and the last one in the late evening. The timings of departure from Vasai Road are at 06:50, 15:15 and about 19:15. I took the 15:15 shuttle from Vasai Road. The trip costs only Rs. 12 and is quite enjoyable since the "DEMU" was not crowded at all and the surrounding country side was a refreshing change from the "concrete madness" of the suburbs.

The journey takes about an hour's time, but since the shuttle left a bit late (about 7 minutes late) than the scheduled time and there was an incident of "chain-pulling", the train reached Diva Junction at about 16:37.

There are only few stations on the route:

• Juichandra
• Khaman (named after the river)
• Kharbav
• Bhiwandi
• Diva Junction

Although the line is electrified (A/C), the diesel loco is needed most probably because the Vasai Road tracks on the suburban lines have D/C electrification. The shuttle locomotive is a Kalyan WDM2 and works in the "push-pull" configuration. The locomotive is situated in the middle of the "rake" and has 4 coaches in the front (pushing those 4) and 4 in the rear (pulling those 4).

However, the locomotive is controlled remotely from the "driver's" seat in the front (just as in the case of the regular suburban EMU).

This configuration deprives us of a few joys:

• Since I tried to sit as close to the beginning of the rake, I could hardly hear the familiar WDM2 sound as it moved up the "notches". (The "driver" has to move the WDM2 speed lever to a higher notch to increase the speed - something analogous to changing gears in a car).
  
• The horn of the WDM2 is not used - the starting coach has a special horn that is quite unlike the "royal" WDM2 horn. So, although there was some honking, the sound was not impressive at all.
  

As we were nearing Diva Junction, I found a lot of A/C to D/C (and vice versa) zones. I wonder which trains ply on those sections. After reaching Diva Junction, I quitely bought a ticket to Kanjurmarg and returned back.

Its a pity I did not have my camera - there were some good snaps that could have been taken (including that of the monkey in our coach).

School book covers

When we were studying in school there was a particular time in the year when there would be a flurry of activity at the stationery shops. That was just before the schools re-opened somewhere in June just before the summer vacation ended. The prime purpose, of course, was to buy the notebooks and text books required for the coming academic year.

Some shops were so crowded that there would be a queue formed to get the books. Other people would go all the way to Abdul Rehman Street (could also be known as the "Paper Selling" street) to buy the notebooks. These people believed that they would get wholesale rates for the notebooks as also good-quality notebooks (you know, the ones that don't smudge the fountain pen ink).

Then, there would be the ritual of "good" parents covering the notebooks and text books with brown paper and some of these would even go further to cover these up with plastic so that they would remain neat and have some protection from the rains. There were parents who would cover the books with some old newspaper or calendar or "glossy (centre-spread?)" types of paper.

That was during "my" time at school. A few years later the plastic cover was not seen to be as necessary since the "brown cover" paper would itself have some kind of "wax/plastic coating" which would render it to be water resistant.

Yesterday, as I was passing by some stationer's shop, I saw a heap of notebooks kept for sale that seemed to be wrapped with the brown paper. Nice job, I thought - since the parents have now become quite busy, this could be a time saver for them. But, on closer look, I found that the notebooks did not have any brown cover. The cardboard cover of the notebook itself was made to resemble the brown cover and had the plastic coating as well as a neat label printed on it. Wow! quite a bit of a change from our days.

Somewhat related: Union Book Stall at Dadar (Western railway west) used to cover any books that one would buy with a brown paper bearing a label and the name of the shop. The guys there were so fast that they could cover a book in under a minute's time. Sadly, that practice has now been stopped. When I visited that book shop to buy a book, there was no "covering" of the book.

Install an A/C, then watch your bill zoom...then...

Like all so-called "modern urban" people, many fall into the over-spending trap. Many try to emulate their neighbours and buy expensive stuff like cars (multiple cars) irrespective of whether it is needed or not. These people have lost their intelligence and cannot distinguish between want and need.

Case in point:
The hot summers in Mumbai have made them install air-conditioners in their homes. The heat has become unbearable for them. But, they forgot the consequence of the electricity units consumed. Air-conditioners consume the highest among electric appliances at 1 unit per 40 minutes. In comparison, it takes a fan about 26 hours of running to consume 1 unit.

Naturally, many of these people got the shock of their lives when they received bills of Rs. 8000 above. Like all other problems in life, this problem has a quick-fix too. Enter a new profession: "Meter Tamperer".

This article in Mid-Day (local Vashi Metro) has the details. It includes the methods used by people to slow down the rotation of the meter so that it reports lesser units. Of course, the differential is often to be borne by the people themselves (since such cheating in the long run will result in increased tariffs), but then the brunt will be borne by everyone. That's the mentality of the average Indian.

Chindian v/s Chinjabi

China Garden, set up by one Nelson Wang (Wong?), has been very popular among Chinese restaurants in Mumbai. I think he has also set up restautants in other Indian cities.

It is generally believed that Nelson Wang introduced Chinese dishes that were acceptable to the Indian palate. For example, the "Machurian" or the "Schezwan". Nelson Wang came up with the idea of mixing the correct condiments to come up with these dishes. Of course, these are now copied over and available everywhere. This is referred (by Wang) as "Chindian" (Chinese Indian) cuisine.

Recently, in an interview, he said that there is now a new cuisine (created not by him, but by some people in the north of India), where they use a lot of Indian spices to make the dishes more pungent and hot. This has been given the name "Chinjabi" ("Chinese Punjabi").

Probably, Chinese cuisine is the only cuisine (apart from Jain) that does not use potatoes.

God bless Homcy

That wonderful lady at the KReSIT office at IIT Bombay, Mumbai is Homcy Verghese. She helped me out of every difficulty and any questions that I might have had for the admission process.

Of course, I did not get through to the admission process, but that does not mean that I should not thank her for all the trouble she took (especially, when my application was "lost" and my name did not appear in the list of candidates at all).

God bless her.

K.O. at M.Tech. written test...

Bad luck strikes again!. The written test held for the M.Tech. admissions to IIT Bombay was a nightmare and I got K.O.ed out. Whereas the cut-off for the written test results were 55, I could only score 40 (thanks to negative marking).

Interestingly, if I had the damned sponsorship letter from the company that I work for, I would have been selected for the second round of test and interview. (The cut-off for sponsored candidates was 28.). But, that was not to be.

As if for consolation, I did get an admission to the PGDIIT course, but an M.Tech. is an M.Tech.. So, we now get ready for the next year's GATE. Hopefully, then I will score enough so that I get through the direct admissions.

My father was right. It ain't over, till its over.

The test itself was crazy. 60 objective questions to be answered in 120 minutes (2 minutes per question). But, most of the questions (especially the programs) were so long that it took over 2 minutes to just read each one of them. Looks like the guy setting the paper had all the time in the world to get the solution. If not, we have found another Einstein.

Another incident of people being run over by vehicles

This article on the Mid-Day site is another incident of people being run over by vehicles. The other popular case is Salman Khan's where his vehicle also rammed into some people killing some of them.

And while, there is an all out attempt to press charges against the "accused", I am wondering if they are doing this right. Is it just?

As I read through the above article, it struck me (again - as it did for Salman's case) that the bakery people were sleeping on the road. The article states that the people from the bakery came out to sleep since it was hot. If we combine that with the relative darkness of the night, we have a problem. Are the roads meant for sleeping or for driving?

Some people can also be seen sleeping on the road dividers. If they turn or fall off from the divider (or have their arms or legs stretched out), any vehicle might run them over.

More food for thought...

Straight from the brochure of the CSE (Computer Science and Engineering) department at IIT Bombay, we have a quote by Henry Ford:

If money is your hope for independence,
you will never have it.
The only real security that a man will have in this world
is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability.

This is in context to exhorting people to pursue Post Graduate studies. They claim in the same brochure:

"A post-graduate degree in Computer Science and Engineering is a must if you aspire to set yourself apart from the anonymous mass of "computer professionals" and to assume a leading role in transforming the industry, be it through research, advanced development, teaching, or entrepreneurship."

Hmmm.

"Wada Paav"

No matter where you go in Mumbai, you can always find the ubiquitous "Wada Paav". Outside Mantralaya (where all the assembly sessions are held), outside railway stations or roadside stalls, one can have "Wada Paav".

From some articles that I've read, it seems that the "Wada Paav" was "invented" especially for the mill workers. In the "mill-boom days" (1950s, 1960s, 1970s?), the mill workers came out of the mills during their lunch breaks and wanted some quick bite. (Maybe they had lesser duration breaks or maybe they wanted to use the break for doing things other than eating...gambling, fighting, general loitering). The "Wada" (Batata Wada) was sandwiched into the "Paav" and some chutney added for maximum effect.
It is quite easy to visualize how the setup would have looked like: In those days, cooking on the roadside or pavements was not allowed (neither is it now, but then...) and housewives of workers used to pre-cook the wadas at their homes and "assemble" the wada paav outside the mill gates. The trend caught on and since the cost was quite low (even now it is in the range of Rs. 3 to Rs. 5) and it was quite filling, "Wada Paav" became big business.

Now, we can see "Wada Paav" vendors everywhere. The difference being that the "Wadas" are cooked fresh on the spot. Whether this is hygenic or not is a different question; but it is definitely good business.

Consider this: I one happened to ask a "Wada Paav" vendor outside Andheri railway station about his daily sales. He said it was in the range of 7000 "Wada Paavs" per day. Multiply by the rate of Rs. 4 per "Wada Paav" and you get a daily turn-over of Rs. 28,000. Of course, depending on the location, one might have lesser or more sales.

"Wada Paav" has also been called the "Indian burger".

Some of the best "Wada Paavs" that I prefer are:

• Near Apna Bazar in Andheri (West), a stall sells one of the best "Wada Paavs".
• Outside Andheri railway station (East) where all the photocopier shops abound, there is "Sangam Wada Paav" (actually, there are multiple "Sangam Wada Paav" stalls).

Most others have failed to impress me. If you have some information about some of the other good ones, do let me know.

How about a car for commuting in Mumbai?

No, thanks.

I am one of "those people" that get paid by the company to buy a car and maintain it. However, I have chosen not to opt for the vehicle, commuting instead using the public transport. When people ask me why I do not take the car, my standard reply is that "I do not feel the need for it". Some guys are more curious and this simple answer does not satisfy their curiosity. I usually finish off by saying that "if I feel the need for it later, I will take it".

Other reasons why I have not opted for the car:

• Driving a car is a pain (no pun intended) in Mumbai; it can cause severe backaches. Since the spine is a very important set of bones in the body, it is advisable not to tax it too much. (The distinguishing feature of a vertebrate is the spinal cord).
  
• If I drive the car myself, I can't catch up on reading books. Well, there is the possibility of using a driver, but then that is extra RsRsRs ($$$)
  
• Having a car changes the way you tend to look at things and act. One has to find a place to park the car, and that requires quite an effort in Mumbai. The usual tendency for people is to go to places that have car parking. So, you no longer go where you wanted to go. Instead, you end up going where your car is safe.
• Additional headache in the form of maintenance and fear of theft.
• If you are stuck in a traffic jam, you can't leave the car and walk past the jam.
  

Bought "Computer Networks" by Andrew S. Tanenbaum

As stated earlier, I need to prepare myself for admission to the M. Tech. course. This may involve giving a written test with the syllabus including Computer Networks. Among the recommended books of study is the classic "Computer Networks" by Andrew S. Tanenbaum.

We also had this book as a reference for the Bachelor of Engineering course and it seemed to me that I could use the same book (which I had bought about 13 years ago). That was the second edition of the book.

I was at Matunga today and happened to pass by the place where there are a lot of book stores that sell text-books for all sorts of courses ("Shanti Book Depot", "Vimal Book Center", "Madhu Book Depot", etc.). I decided to check out the new edition of the book. To my surprise, the fourth edition of the book covered a host of different topics than we had in the second edition. This is also stated in the "Introduction" by Tanenbaum. There is a lot of coverage of "modern-day" topics like WLL, wireless networks, 2G and 3G, ADSL, Internet on Cable, etc.

I bought the book hoping that I could use it to prepare for the written test.

Welcome Wafers and Farsan

It is one of the least places in Mumbai where you would expect to get good and crispy potato chips (aka "wafers" in India). Off Govandi Station Road in the East (in the West, there is the Deonar abbatoir), opp. Satyam Industrial Estate, surrounded on all sides by noisy industrial "galas", there is a factory that prepares potato chips and other "farsan". The name is "Welcome Wafers and Farsan". They claim to be the first "automatic line snack plant" in Mumbai, but whatever that is, the "wafers" are not only good, they are also cheaper (almost wholesale rate).

The difference in prices between buying from this factory as opposed to buying from a retailer could be as high as Rs. 40 / kg. If you factor in the freshness of the stuff, it is worth the trip to Govandi and back.

There are a lot of other products (variations of the common chips and farsan). The original factory happened to be in Mahim (West) until a few years ago after which it got shifted to Govandi.

Incidentally, the "wafers" have an importance of their own in the Mumbai/Indian diet. It is considered to be good to snack. Also, any birthday party or kiddie celebration will definitely have "wafers" on the menu.

So, if you are planning to have a party, you now know where to head.

New blog for Mumbai

A new blog for Mumbai just got created. See the "Mee Mumbaikar" blog..

The better samosas in Mumbai

I had the opportunity to eat at "Laxmi Dairy Farm" opposite IIT Powai. It seems that the only snacks they serve are samosas. These were supposed to be good (quite a few recommendations) and when I tasted the samosas myself, they were definitely among the better ones in Mumbai.

There are other places I know of that serve good samosas:

• Sind Hindu Hotel - outside Kurla station (West) in a lane where the theatre is located
• Sri Krishna - at Dadar (Western Railway west) on Chabildas Road (They are supposed to be popular for their "Batata Wadas", but I would prefer their Punjabi Samosas anytime).

On a related note, Panshikar under the flyover outside Dadar station (Western Railway west) has the best "Farali Misal" (a "mixture of sabudana kichdi, gravy and potato crisps (salli)), whereas the best "Kothimbir Wadi" award should go to "Sapre Brothers" near Goregaon station (west).

The best low-cost coffee comes at Rs. 8 at "Cafe Mysore". I visit this one quite frequently for the rasam and the coffee. Also, their lunch is not heavy and is priced econmoically at Rs. 30.

Note: None of these "eateries" have any kind of ambience that white-collared people would want; these are places where you would go for a "quick bite" and not to sit and enjoy an evening.

Stuck in a suburban local train

Yesterday, I had a first-hand taste of being stuck in a suburban local train between Ghatkopar and Vikhroli stations on the Central Railway "slow line". It seems that there was a problem with "motor bush" and the train refused to move.

After waiting in the local for about 20 minutes, I clambered down and walked till I came across an opening in the boundary wall (courtesy of some slums) and then took an autorickshaw to my destination. A few trains had to line up behind the stalled train and there was a lot of confusion. However, when I went back from Kanjurmarg to Kurla in the late afternoon, there did not seem to be any problem (delays, etc.). So, I guess they might have fixed up the problem very soon.

Shivaji Jayanti

Its "Shivaji Jayanti" (birthday of Shivaji Maharaj, a Maratha king) today as per the Hindu calendar. Many celebrations were held in different parts of Mumbai including poojas and processions.

I have a great respect for Shivaji Maharaj. A lot of what Maharashtra is today, I feel, can be attributed to him. One comparison of Maharashtra's cultural state of affairs (barring Mumbai - which is a mix anyways) can tell you about the history.

Shivaji Maharaj actively sought help and advice from Swami Ramdas (one of the saints of Maharshtra) as well encouraged and patronised many other saints and temples. These saints were, in turn, part of starting a spiritual movement that soon gripped most of Maharashtra and the people became very God-fearing as well as spiritually devout.

Even today, most Maharashtrians (original residents of Maharashtra) start their day listening to songs (abhangs) composed by these saints. Of course, the credit for popularising the abhangs in the 70s and 80s should be given to Pt. Bhimsen Joshi (and the music composers) as well as to All India Radio for broadcasting these songs on radio.

"Maida"-conscious

It seems that India is becoming "Maida-consicous". Maggi (Nestle India) has started a new Maggi variant with the noodles made from "whole wheat" instead of refined flour (maida).

I got a chance to taste it today. Tastewise its not too bad...in fact, its quite good (at least the Masala flavored-one). One look at the ingredients still reveal certain aspects: "Hydrogenated Oil", "Acid".

Some time in the recent past, I came to know of an incidence where a girl had to be operated for stomach ailments and the doctors found a "big ball" of "maida" collected. The girl (being what she thought was diet conscious), it seems, used to have only biscuits (that contain maida) for lunch.

With "whole wheat bread" also being now sold in quite a large number of stores, has the time to stop using maida come?

Mee Mumbaikar and a "Senami"

There's a very fine interview over here with Balasaheb Thackeray. The one thing that I absolutely admire is Balasaheb's unflinching stand on key issues. Whatever he has pointed out is absolutely true.

The other politicians, even though they consider themselves "more secular", often change their stand and policies just to get votes. They do anything to please their vote banks.