Sumo Troll

The Sumo honked crazily when the Swift was trying to cross the signal. It honked yet again when the Swift was taking a left turn on the busy road.
"Ah well- let him pass"- thought the Swift.
And then the Swift honked the Sumo's ears off for about a km.
It so happened that the Swift found itself in front of the Sumo who was yet again honking.
The Swift decided to trick the Sumo.
Hovered and zigzagged on the busy road till it reached the signal that soon turned yellow from green.
The Swift short across and the Sumo was left angrily rotting behind the red signal.

*Evil Cackle*

No Petrol

Ok so i have also experienced the sinking, dragging, pulling feeling that the engine exudes when the tank dries up. Last week had been extremely hectic with the birthday planning and Shanghai visit. And the fact that both had to be planned and executed simultaneously left me with little time to even think of other things.
Which meant I never noticed the steadily diminishing fuel tank.
And at a point, in the middle of the traffic, to my utter horror, the car started dragging, the engine spluttered and groaned and as my brain began registering that the fuel could have dried, my eyes flashed towards the fuel meter conforming my fears - I gave a cry of despair and tried in vain to steer the car to the side.
Hindered by a parked car I could not achieve that on time and the car stopped blocking traffic behind me.
Just the kind of mistake a woman would make. Cliched but true - as I did it and I am a woman. Roar Roar by the way.
Anyway, when crisis happens call mom or hubby is my rule. Here hubby seemed the most useful person to call with a potential to come as a knight in shining armour and easily because this happened just 3 km away from home.
Then I walked out of the car and gestured for people to come and help me push the car to a corner.
No body came.
People cursed and gestured at me instead.
A gentleman in his 60 s came over and took the matter in his hands. Told me you steer I push. I hesitated seeing his age but he insisted and helped me steer the car to the side.
Shame on you those auto drivers, bike riders and sundry other passerbys who did not raise even a finger to help but just watched as an elderly gentleman struggled to help a damsel in distress.

Road Safety

I attended a road safety workshop last week.
Key pointers that I want to jot down here

• carry a small hammer in your dashboard (not boot)- for emergencies like flood when one is unable to open the window or auto locks
• carry water & snacks
• Seat belts off course
• check side & rearview mirrors before starting
• give a warning right signal when starting after parking by roadside
• follow lane markings- a dotted line means you are allowed to switch lanes, a solid line is equivalent to a median- do not even atempt to cross
• road signs have 3 categories- mandatory- within a circle, warning- within a triangle, information- within a square
• the right distance of your seat from the wheel is ajudged by seeing the angle that your hands/ legs make- 155 degree on the steering wheel or pedals
• the optimum distance between you and the car in the front is 2 seconds- gives you time enough to react when the front car brakes suddenly- now how do you see whether you are at a 2 second distance- say 1 thousand 1 pause pause 1 thousand 2 when the car in front reaches a fixed pole or spot- when you say 2- you should have reached the fixed spot too (while i was counting and maintaining this distance- a car from the next lane filled the spot by the way but that is matter for other post)
• wheel rotation is important- do not leave the 5th wheel new- tyres do wear out- retread/ change
• change wipers- they wear out with time
• Do not look at the speaker while driving- eyes on the road
• switch off mobiles if possible
• The time taken to Observe, Judge, Decide & Act takes 3/4th of a second- so eyes on the road
• Let others go- you be cool
• learn to change tyre (no they did not tell this at the workshop- our tyre punctured and there was no help in the vicinity)- Hubby bravely started but could not get the wheel out-

-lessons- loosen the nuts on tyre before jacking up

- its easy to jack up- if you are finding it difficult you have put the jack wrong!

- Finally- if you cannot- look for a driver of another car to help- most of them know how to change tyres!

Horn Ok Please

Not having a horn in your car is such a humbling experience
...and irritating to the boot.
When you have to simply wait until that bike right in the centre of the fast lane deigns to shift towards the left
Or when the bus is right justified on the middle lane and you are like me, too chicken to overtake the bus that may just veer towrds its right any moment
Or perhaps you are reduced to a state of needing to lower the window and tap on the car in front to make the driver move forward a bit, when you are trying to overtake on the narrow left side ..

And oh off course the husband feels that whatever dents you have got on your car is because you do not have a horn on you.

Ah, getting your horn back is so liberating..
Back off you trolls...
Back off you slowcoaches...

New Design of Bunk Bed

Tiny Thoughts- Solitude

While I love to help, just somedays, only a few days in a month on average, I don't want company in my car. I want to drive alone. Stop anywhere at whim, shop anywhere at leisure, take a detour if I so wish...I might have to pick a friend mid-way, I might want to meet my husband somewhere and we would be going off for a drive...I simply may have other plans which I don't want anyone to know.
If you are there with me, I am obliged to keep you posted, obliged not to take a detour and feel apologetic if I have to go shopping and hence request you to get down several stops ahead of your desired stop!
Well, I am just building on the good karma.
I am just saving the earth by helping in having one less vehicle on the road.

Promenade on Pondy

Located right on the Pondicherry beach it has an out of the world sensation.
A selection of 2 dining areas- 1 buffet / ala carte & another right on the roof top- aptly named lighthouse.
An aquarium of oblivious fish for kids to be occupied and a safe roof top area puts minds of tired parents at ease- friendly though seemingly clueless waiters don't mind ferrying the kids round.
The menu was supposedly Italian style- I ordered a tandoori chicken set menu and malai kababs for the kids. But no, the kids were busy polishing off the spicy papads, downing them with sips of water- papads which were actually too hot for my taste. I also took a walnut brownie with chocolat sauce.
Hubby took a paneer set menu- never got round to tasting his though.
They also serve Indian food for the ground floor kitchen.
The service is excrutiatingly slow for a hungry tummy. But that's the idea here- food doesn't seem to be the main agenda- it's the ambience & the drinks probably.
I would rather go for the spread where in I may have a pick of the larger menu.

And Drumroll please....

I hav clocked 10000 today at kathipara junction around 10.15 this morning.

Three cheers for my Swift car!

And yes guys- yesterday I bribed the petrol bunk at Indra Nagar Rs 100 for full tank- else they were willing to fill only for Rs 500 - now thi sis what I call making the most of the public panic created because of the strike.

Driving Under the Clouds & Sleeping Under the Stars

After goodness knows how many years, we slept under the stars- well almost!
The Pondy house has a balcony and we slept right near the door on the floor for the breeze. We could see the stars shining down on us via the door as we slept. The restless kids were told to watch the stars as they slept.
We were the lucky few who saw a flock of birds in a v formation fly overhead in the night sky and then a lone one return - retracing the path back from where (s)he came.
The outline of trees, pale moonlight and rugged silhoutte of buildings constructed a picture perfect scenery.
Reading the Clouds
On the drive to Pondy, we had a great time naming the clouds
Since we drove in the afternoon, we had the wide road to our disposal... We decided to name this a dog chasing someone- well doesn't look like it now but it sure did at that time...
And oh, we admired the blue sky and the matching bluer sea...
Driving under the Lone So Called Doggy Cloud...

Mandatory Stat Counter Post

1. To that person who wanted an Ad Analysis of Pond's Dreamflower Talc- You are in the right place. Please mail me. I forgot to magnify and check where you are from and stat counter has swallowed it up now.

2. To that person who wanted to purchase chakla bela (belan)- I could help you out too. My mom specializes in buying chakla belan of various materials and sizes.

3. To that person who thinks Tejas is a weird name- I beg to disagree, it is a beautiful name very close to my heart. All the Tejas of the world please protest.

4. To that person who is trying to find out why couples fight over cleaning- do come back, we could have a heart to heart talk and exchange of rants.

5. To the person who wants to know what to write in a baby book- well this blog is all about that. It is a complete baby book with an advantage- it is ongoing rather than ending after the babyhood is passed. For me, they are going to be babis right through so every milestone is important enough to be proclaimed to the world, not to stay in the hallowed pages of a baby book- hidden and tucked away in the book shelf.

6. There is someone who almost on a daily basis searches for "how to write a kissing scene" and lands up on my page- factual fiction- kissing scene. By now I am sure you would have realized that I do not specialize in these scenes.

On another note, the Kathipara flyover (that will make that Kathipara searcher land back on my page yet again) is open from yesterday- the Ashok Nagar- Airport Arm. Last evening I witnessed the sparkling serial lights on the flyover as I zipped under it. Last Sunday I had to go past the dreaded T Nagar and had a great surprise- a flyover coming up bang on the road between Pothys & 100 Nalli. Daring! Doing the construction among the teeming millions of shoppers. Wonder if the pavement shops will go to make way now. Another reason not to go shopping in T Nagar crowd now.

This morning I sort of passed on the years of oppression and punishment doled out by the sisters of my convent school. I got into a bylane and I saw a "sister" about to cross the road suddenly and honked and slowed down. She saw me and I assumed she would stop because I was very near to her and simultaneously I looked in the side mirrors to ensure no one was trying to overtake me from the sides while I took the right turn. In a matter of a second my eyes were back on the road and I was shocked to see the sister bang in front of the car blissfully crossing the road. Thankfully I stopped inches before her. Rolled down my window and gave her a piece of my mind- very politely though, the convent school baggage didn't allow me to be a shrew to her. I told her that had I hit you, I would have been in trouble inspite of the loud honking and warning I gave you. She replied with a smile, I thought you should have slowed down. Whaaaat! slow down when I am inches before the spot which you haven't even started crossing? I think it was too late for me to slow down.

Anyway, the encouter brought back some unpleasant memories -

1. I was pinched in my ear till I bled for not doing homework and went home and applied boroline. To this date I hate the smell of boroline- yes, yes, it is supposed to be a perfumed antiseptic cream but I prefer calling it smell as it does not conjure pleasant memories.

2. The same sister had remarked-"how people cut their hair" when we had my long hair chopped of into steps. Arre, what was her problem? Why did she have to comment in front of the big crowd and when I was at that age when such small insults leave a deep imprint in our childish minds.

3. The same one had told a group of us not to stand in the balcony and "try to attract boys" when a bunch of guys had come to our school once for goodness knows what.

4. The sisters had called us for a stay at school seminar in class 10 and it was actually sex education among other things without us or our parents being aware of it. We were not informed what to expect and it really confused and disturbed most of us at that point of time. I still feel while it was necessary, it could have been handled in a better and more sensitive and sensible way. (It was done right before the board exams).

I have infact good memories of school and most of the teachers. They used to be strict yet kind and we could talk to them openly. But the sisters were a specific breed and most of them in my time had their special brand of cruelty and a lower threshhold of patience. There was one who was a music teacher and she was a tyrant. I would expect a music teacher to be really soft and fun.

My favourite "sister" was the principal when I was in the junior section and she had a reputation of being strict but very kindly and very friendly with the students. When I was in KG, I used to always walking into the other section because that class-teacher was my neighbour. So she got me transferred to that teacher's section. I remember in an activity class I was asked to pour water from a bucket to another mug or something like that and I was too shy to do it. So that neighbour teacher punished me and sent me back to the other section. This sister noticed this on her rounds and promptly sent me back to the neighbour teacher's class. That to my childish brain was a very sweet thing to do and still is!
Anyway, my intention is not to be rude but just to highlight the impressions I had at that age. Now off course they seem to be inconsequential in comparison to what we deal with today. Infact when my kids cry for silly things, I lose patience. Yesterday I just told myself that these little things are their world at this point of time- that small rubberband or specific colour, the piece broken from the car, the particular color of toy, their books (this at any age is important and not to be ignored)..etc things that seem of no great consequence to me. But since it is so important to them, I ought to give each issue special attention and deal with them with empathy. Amen!(pun intended- contextual to the post contents)

Woman Chases a Man Down the Road

I turned my car into the road that leads to the main road. In front of me a number plate comes into focus- 6363. That had a familiar ring to it. I check the car- a grey colour wagonr. But off course, this was our classmate JS. I honked repeatedly to catch his attention and waved with my hands out of the window hoping that he would see his rear view mirror. No luck. He turned right into the main road and so did I. I chased his car till the intersection. Good Luck! It was a red signal. Oh No! He was taking a U-turn and I was to take the right turn. No problem. I will follow suit. Let me chase him down. I could always take another left turn and be back on track towards home. I followed his car still honking and waving and tried calling my husband to get JS on the line and tell him I am following his car (I didn't have JS' number). But before my husband could pick up the phone, we reached the red light and I drew my car next to his. The windows were tinted and I couldn't see a thing. I inched along and looked through the front windshield. To my shock it was someone else. Meanwhile husband picked up the phone.
What is JS' car number?
6336, why?
No, I just thought I saw his car, bye!

Factual Fiction- Punishment by Traffic Light

The troll on the road nudges past you forcing you almost to the kerb.
He is forced to stop at the red light almost immediately. Both of you end up neck and neck.
To make matters worse, the moment the light turns green, you zip past and his gear is stuck!

Welcome Home

The 3rd car Ojas & Tejas have purchase in the last 6 months- Innova in October, Swift in February and now The Honda City that replaces the Innova.

Both had a ball at the Honda showroom near the airport, running all over the place - they have never seen such a huge space that's why. Since we walked in on a Sunday evening, the place was empty of people. The rains and the starless sky contributed to the choice of the colour- Galaxy Grey! This and the Midnight Black Swift, together they make a good pair!

Right of way- ambulance

When the VIPs pass, all traffic is halted for hours together.
Some celebrations cause traffic to be diverted or halted or blocked.
But when an ambulance waits at the signal, stuck behind waiting vehicles, I have never seen the traffic police allow that lane a green signal so that the ambulance gets a clear passage.
Why?

What If

What if I wake up every morning and I have absolutely no clue to where I would be going for work, which client I would be serving and when and where my day will end? What if everything related to my work was un-predetermined (apologies- word does not exist in dictionary.com) for me? What if the predictibility of going to the same office, to the same work desk and meeting the same colleagues and the same set of clients were not to be a given for me. What if I had to drive to multiple destinations throughout the day, some familiar, some unknown? What if I have to face traffic jams and negotiate road blocks right through the day? What if my client could be made happy only if I was fast or cheap or both? What if everyday I had to experience the mixed feelings of curiosity, detachment, happiness, disgust, wariness, uncertainity and joy that one experiences when one visits a new place or a location within or without the city of one's residence?
On the other hand, what if I view every potential client as a prey whom i could fleece depending upon their desperation. What if I had the possibility of earning at least double of what is fair everyday? What if I could earn even if I had closed shop for the day and was going home and a client in need approached me and had a potential to pay even three times the normal rate? Would I even think of doing a goodwill and sell at a heavy discount?
If only I could speak fluent Tamil, I would seek the answers to my questions with this auto driver.

PS- friends, the inference from the above post is that I have sold my car and the new one is not yet handed over to me. After tomorrow I will stop worrying unnecessarily about the plight of the auto drivers and how to reform them by being strict about paying strictly through the meter. As Chennai moves to a fair, updated meter and policemen start to stop the auto drivers en-route requesting passengers to insist on the meter, I wonder whether this is a distant dream coming true or yet again another hogwash- If Mumbai can and Bangalore can, why can't Chennai have th meter system?

Air Conditioned

I normally like to drive with the windows rolled down. Considering the fact that i got introduced to cars at an era when there was to be no concept of A/C in the car for the next 10 years atleast, it should come as no surprise. And considering the fact that I come from a place which is regarded as a hill station, and it has yet to see pollution incarnate, it should again not be a surprise that I like to roll down the windows of a car.

Oh, to feel the blast of fresh, cool air on your face, so much that the eyes stay partially closed. If you happen to drive in top gear, even speech becomes difficult, as though the words too fly out of the window as soon as they are uttered, away from the direction of the intended person's ears.

As technology adds A/C and stereo to the car, rapid urbanisation adds pollution of all kinds- noise, dust, grime, soot, smoke to name a few.

Against my wishes, I now have to roll the windows up and cocoon myself in the protected, perfumed (car freshener), temperature controlled confines of the car. I roll up the windows not because I want to be in an A/C environment. Not because I fear the sunlight darkening my skin. Not even do I fear the little dust that is part and parcel of the air.
I roll up the windows to cut the jarring noise of the outside- car engines, bikes, buses, trucks, car honks, grind of the auto engines...in ascending order of irritant value. I roll up the windows so that the noise does not disturb me as I try to juggle my concenteration between driving, the music and my thoughts. I roll up the windows so that I can feel each beat of the music that is playing. I roll up the windows so that I could sing along the song that is playing.
I roll up the windows to shut out the soot and grime emitting from the vehicles .
I cocoon myself in the car so that I could shut out the stink that is part of the city air that we cautiously breath. Oh, to be able to breath steadily without holding back, as if mentally testing and filtering out the filth before the remnant oxygen passes through.
I roll up the windows so that I am in this A/C environment- not Air Conditioned but artificially Controlled to create a near ideal situation.

The Road Well Travelled

As I drive by I can see the traffic police waving us past the signal but don’t know why he suddenly decided that I should not be allowed to pass and just before I was going to cross he stopped us. I was cursing him mentally but as they say everything happens for the best, had I passed by I would have missed an episode that acted as a blogworthy balm to my auto/ taxi/ bus/ truck bruised soul. The same traffic cop stopped a taxi who was on the left lane on the Madhya Kailash signal and seeing that the right lane people were allowed to move before him took a sudden right without any warning. The good cop (previously bad cop for me)stopped him, detained him for a while and made him take a reverse and go back straight into SP road rather than taking the right to Tidel Park which he had done all of a sudden. Provedence eh!
If I had the time I would have showed a thumbs up to the cop.
As I pass by I can see more trees being felled along Raj Bhawan and I am told all of them will go to pave the way for the sea of humanity and teeming vehicles that go by it everyday. So much for the benevolent signs of “Tree Ahead” that the Ecotel Rain Tree put on each of the trees. Also I notice that the cops on this road at this time are much more vigilant so defaulters, be aware. The flyover happening at Kathipara junction near Le Meridian should hopefully regulate the traffic much better and for the uninitiated, I have learnt of a much easier and faster and most important scenic route from Kathipara to airport- go through Bhat Road, get into the Cantonment area and you can avoid the entire traffic.

As I listen to English songs on Radio City FM 91.1 (happens between 9-10 am and afternoon around 3 and somewhere after 5 pm there is hindi happening), I feel it is a good time to think of a post for the blog and most obvious one is an update on my driving skills–
I can be classified as a semi ass-hole driver now (excuse me for the use of the word).
1. I honk unnecessarily at the taxi/ auto in front of me when the light turns green as I know that if I would have been in front of me he would have done the same. I understand it’s rude to honk in many countries whereas in India honking is done as a warning so that they don’t hit you.
2. I don’t quail in fear as much as I used to before when the bully truck or bus drives past me almost threatening to shove me off the road/ median
3. I did the unpardonable offence- spoke on my cell while driving. Promise I‘ll never do it again and delete this line before my husband sees it.
4. I don’t allow the fellow to change lanes and come in front of me if he suddenly switches on the indicator- instead I honk honk honk and speed till he loses hope of getting the better of me
5. The combined time I drive in 1st & 2nd gear is less than the time I drive in 3rd & 4th gear
6. Instead of 45 minutes of commuting time, I now take 35- 40 minutes.
7. If the signal is green and I am a little away from the stop line, I am able to drive in speed and cross the finish line well before the light turns red.
8. I can overtake from the left now and am not mortally afraid of driving on the middle lane.
9. I can mentally created blog posts while driving
10. I can do an autorickshaw turn which means suddenly turn right angles and move to the next lane if you find that your lane is too long or blocked by a stopped vehicle/ red signal and the next lane is moving.

With this improvement in confidence level I can start planning on buying my new vehicle. Any reviews on Estello? Anyone rate Wagon N dual, Swift, Estello & Indica both petrol & diesel for me please.
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Does anyone know of an authentic homeopathic shop around adyar- the one that sells the german ones? The one I buy at basement of Ambika Appalam depot building seems to be ineffective. I repeatedly need to tell them to add extra drops in the globule as they don't smell or taste medicinal at all.

How Safe Are We On The Roads

The other day I was driving home from work. It was raining and already dark. As I was inching at the signal, my car moved a little backward as the road was sloping so. There was a sumo behind me and imagine the audacity of the driver. He came and opened my door and started cursing at me... even though my car had not hit his.I didn't want to get into a fight and so I simply shut my door & locked it. Meanwhile a guy on a bike positioned himself right in front of my headlight and started talking something which I suspect was really rude. And I always thought this never happened in Chennai.

Another day, a one-eyed rickshaw puller saw me taking the turn and purposely crossed my path giving a seemingly evil smile - the best he could muster- just to irk me I guess.

A friend of mine was driving with the window rolled down. She had overtaken this man and at the next signal he snatched her keys from the open window and ran into a nearby apartment.

Moral of the story- for your own safety, drive with the A/C on and lock all doors. Don't get into ego trips on the road - don't bother about racing with the morons on the road- they have nothing to lose but you have your sanity, life and precious time. Don't ever swear - throw a stone in the muck and you get muck on yourself