I first met her when I was around thirteen. She wasn't particularly good looking and she had an average body. She was not like the others, and was rather old fashioned. I used to catch a glimpse of her every morning while walking to the bus stop. I wasn't attracted to her so much back then. I highly doubt she was attracted to me either. I didn't know her that well. But all that was to change.
Five years later, I was formally introduced to her. I began seeing her more often, and took a liking for her. We started going out. Initially, I was a little selfish, and treated her as a prop to catch bigger fish. I'm sure she realized it, for she had her own strange way of telling me. But she never walked out on me. She showed her disapproval at my intentions, but she never deserted me.
It happened on one of those short drives. It was overcast, and that intoxicating smell of wet earth was in the air. I don't know how it happened - I fell in love with her. Maybe it was the weather. It could have been the music. I started taking her out for long drives. It was just so perfect. I would wait like crazy for Friday to come so that I could go home and spend time with her over the weekend.
It was a different kind of love. I took great care of her, for I loved her very dearly. We spent a lot of time going on those long drives. I discovered many things about her - her likes, dislikes and what not. I figured she didn't like the winters too much, and it would take me several minutes to lighten her mood. She would invariably start her day coughing ceaselessly, before I would attend to her.
There came a time, probably a year ago I think, that I believed I knew her inside out. I knew exactly how she would react to different behaviors of mine, and why she would react that way. She was mine. And I was hers. Being with her made me feel like a man.
Then it happened. It was decided that we were moving out of town. Believe me, a long distance relationship was out of the question. It was understood that there was really no future. So it was decided that we meet one last time.
It was a typically humid July morning. I awoke to discover that she was gone. They told me she had left town overnight. I was disappointed, for I never had a chance to say a proper goodbye. I would never see or hear of her again.
I'll always miss my first car.
-Rishi-
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Thursday, March 23, 2006
The key to averting electric shocks.
This has been a very hectic week and I'm pretty glad it's over. Friday is a fairly light day for me, as I only have classes till noon. It is good to get back to college after spring break. Nice to return to the quiet of Troy. Nice to look up at a clear sky again without additionally noticing upto ten airplanes piercing it in all directions.
They say spring has arrived, but it is still very cold here, and the temperature only goes as high as 6°C during the day. It doesn't snow anymore, save for very mild flakes sometimes. I still require my warm coat, which I wear over my T shirt. This combination suffices fairly well, as buildings here are internally heated. But that isn't really what I planned to write about.
The inside of my coat, with all the fleece it has, leaves my skin with quite a high amount of positive charge, which entails quite a high electrostatic potential. Now, when two bodies are at different electrostatic potentials, medium permitting, charge flows between the two bodies till their potentials become the same. And flow of charges is what constitutes electric current. And when this current flows through the human body, the body is commonly said to have been 'shocked'.
Now, when I was young, and oblivious to the dangers of electric current passing through my body, I would marvel at how a dry comb could attract hair and bits of paper. During the first two days of this week, I got a shock at least seven times, in completely isolated incidents after taking my coat off. Sometimes it was the metallic frame of my bed, at others, it was the doorknob, and the rest, it was the darned bed again. It felt rather silly. I could tell that I had a lot of static on me, but wasn't able to combat the impending shock.
That is when I decided to do something about this offending static charge. I found the key to my predicament - my room key. I realised, that if I held onto it while I took off my coat, and after that, lightly have it touch against my bed/doorknob/bed, I could discharge myself quite efficiently without getting a shock. It went very well yesterday and today, as in, I would rather conveniently hold my key while taking off my coat at the beginning of class and then have it touch the chair, coercing somewhat mild sparks, and then casually slip in a macho one-liner followed by a quick wink, if my neighbor were a she.
It looks pretty cool too when it comes off, that is. Try it.
-Rishi-
They say spring has arrived, but it is still very cold here, and the temperature only goes as high as 6°C during the day. It doesn't snow anymore, save for very mild flakes sometimes. I still require my warm coat, which I wear over my T shirt. This combination suffices fairly well, as buildings here are internally heated. But that isn't really what I planned to write about.
The inside of my coat, with all the fleece it has, leaves my skin with quite a high amount of positive charge, which entails quite a high electrostatic potential. Now, when two bodies are at different electrostatic potentials, medium permitting, charge flows between the two bodies till their potentials become the same. And flow of charges is what constitutes electric current. And when this current flows through the human body, the body is commonly said to have been 'shocked'.
Now, when I was young, and oblivious to the dangers of electric current passing through my body, I would marvel at how a dry comb could attract hair and bits of paper. During the first two days of this week, I got a shock at least seven times, in completely isolated incidents after taking my coat off. Sometimes it was the metallic frame of my bed, at others, it was the doorknob, and the rest, it was the darned bed again. It felt rather silly. I could tell that I had a lot of static on me, but wasn't able to combat the impending shock.
That is when I decided to do something about this offending static charge. I found the key to my predicament - my room key. I realised, that if I held onto it while I took off my coat, and after that, lightly have it touch against my bed/doorknob/bed, I could discharge myself quite efficiently without getting a shock. It went very well yesterday and today, as in, I would rather conveniently hold my key while taking off my coat at the beginning of class and then have it touch the chair, coercing somewhat mild sparks, and then casually slip in a macho one-liner followed by a quick wink, if my neighbor were a she.
It looks pretty cool too when it comes off, that is. Try it.
-Rishi-
Sunday, February 05, 2006
#36 - Shahbad Dairy
The other side of DCE can at best be described as rural. The first time I went there was to get a demand draft made to pay the university fees. The road narrows for some distance, and is flanked by markets on both sides, most of the shops in which are chemist shops. Then come the houses, most of which domesticate cows and buffaloes, typical of small towns. Then come the farms and the countryside in vast expanses. Then comes Shahbad Dairy. Shahbad Dairy is not a dairy; it is a bus terminal housing buses that connect Bawana with civilization. Five such buses do this.
1. The 879, which goes to Janakpuri and of which I’ve seen exactly one DTC kind.
2. The 165, which goes to Anand Vihar, mostly privates.
3. The 106, which goes to the Old Delhi railway station, all in DTCs
4. The 140, which goes to Mori Gate and consequently carries 25.18% of Delhi's population.
5. The 123, which goes nowhere in particular, because it doesn’t really exist.
Shahbad Dairy is also where most RTVs emanate from and retire to. They come in two varieties, namely:
- Those with 12-year-old conductors that go to Wazirpur and persuade even those going in the opposite direction to go to Wazirpur. All are dhoom enabled. For further information on them, refer to ‘How to get to civilization – The RTVs’
- Those with 12-year-old conductors that go to Azadpur and persuade even those going in the opposite direction to go to Azadpur, telling them stories of its advantages. Most are dhoom enabled. Those that are not are chhaiya-chhaiya enabled.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Sunday, January 22, 2006
# 20 - How to get to civilization
The five most popular ways to get to civilization from Bawana Road are:
1. Drive out. If you’ve got a car with a ton of petrol, there’s nothing like it.
Average times: 5 mins 34 secs to Rithala and 13 mins 49 secs to Wazirpur.
2. Catch a friend driving out. If a friend has a car with a ton of petrol, there’s nothing like it.
Average times: 6 mins 34 secs to Rithala and 14 mins 49 secs to Wazirpur.
The extra minute is usually required for verification of route and destination and arguing that there’s space for exactly one more person when 5 others are already in the car, by suggesting alternate seating arrangements.
3. Hop on aboard the 879. Route 879 runs from Shahbad Dairy to Janakpuri via Madhuban Chowk. It goes through the heart of Rohini and makes it a point to visit its every road and marketplace. This greatly increases travel time. Another very disturbing truth about the 879 is that 99.71 times out of 100 you happen to be unfortunate enough to board it, it’ll be a private bus. The misfortune of boarding a private bus will be explained sometime later in the book. I have seen exactly one DTC 879 till now and the likelihood of that changing is the same as those of our bathroom flush working again.
Average times: 17 mins to Rohini West. Fare Rs. 5/-
4. The RTVs. When you board an RTV, the driver and his partner in crime, the 12-year-old conductor promise you they’ll be fast.
RTV Laws:
A- Stoppage time at any stop is approximately 10 minutes, often converting to a bidi break for the driver…
B- The stoppage time is invariant with the number of people already in the RTV, if there aren’t too many. It increases logarithmically as the number of passengers increases.
C- There is also an unwritten rule stating the conductor must personally persuade all people within a 25.78m radius to board his RTV, even if the angle between their velocity vector and that of the RTV happens to be 180 degrees. Where there is one RTV, there is another on the prowl, waiting to ‘steal’ passengers from the first RTV.
D- If an RTV is threatened by another one encroaching upon its area, they’ll tear through empty roads in a terrific display of sheer racing madness under the false pretext of keeping their promise of being fast. The winner of this short but eventful battle usually boasts of his speed and control to the terrified passengers and then ridicules the loser for having the balls to challenge him.
E- Most RTVs plying in the area are ‘dhoom-enabled’, i.e., when they brake or their indicator flashes, the ‘dhoom’ song starts playing.
Average times: 29 mins to Rithala and 58 mins to Wazirpur. Fare: Rs. 5/- for both.
5. The autos. The best place to take an auto till is Rithala. Bargaining is easy, especially when more than 20 Rs. are asked. It is better to have 3 others along, so that each one can pay a measly sum of Rs 5/. The last one in isn't exactly a rotten egg, but he gets to sit with the driver. Average time: 8 mins to Rithala.
6. The Delhi Metro. This is the best means of transport. What sucks is that only an auto or an RTV can take you to Rithala.
-Rishi-
1. Drive out. If you’ve got a car with a ton of petrol, there’s nothing like it.
Average times: 5 mins 34 secs to Rithala and 13 mins 49 secs to Wazirpur.
2. Catch a friend driving out. If a friend has a car with a ton of petrol, there’s nothing like it.
Average times: 6 mins 34 secs to Rithala and 14 mins 49 secs to Wazirpur.
The extra minute is usually required for verification of route and destination and arguing that there’s space for exactly one more person when 5 others are already in the car, by suggesting alternate seating arrangements.
3. Hop on aboard the 879. Route 879 runs from Shahbad Dairy to Janakpuri via Madhuban Chowk. It goes through the heart of Rohini and makes it a point to visit its every road and marketplace. This greatly increases travel time. Another very disturbing truth about the 879 is that 99.71 times out of 100 you happen to be unfortunate enough to board it, it’ll be a private bus. The misfortune of boarding a private bus will be explained sometime later in the book. I have seen exactly one DTC 879 till now and the likelihood of that changing is the same as those of our bathroom flush working again.
Average times: 17 mins to Rohini West. Fare Rs. 5/-
4. The RTVs. When you board an RTV, the driver and his partner in crime, the 12-year-old conductor promise you they’ll be fast.
RTV Laws:
A- Stoppage time at any stop is approximately 10 minutes, often converting to a bidi break for the driver…
B- The stoppage time is invariant with the number of people already in the RTV, if there aren’t too many. It increases logarithmically as the number of passengers increases.
C- There is also an unwritten rule stating the conductor must personally persuade all people within a 25.78m radius to board his RTV, even if the angle between their velocity vector and that of the RTV happens to be 180 degrees. Where there is one RTV, there is another on the prowl, waiting to ‘steal’ passengers from the first RTV.
D- If an RTV is threatened by another one encroaching upon its area, they’ll tear through empty roads in a terrific display of sheer racing madness under the false pretext of keeping their promise of being fast. The winner of this short but eventful battle usually boasts of his speed and control to the terrified passengers and then ridicules the loser for having the balls to challenge him.
E- Most RTVs plying in the area are ‘dhoom-enabled’, i.e., when they brake or their indicator flashes, the ‘dhoom’ song starts playing.
Average times: 29 mins to Rithala and 58 mins to Wazirpur. Fare: Rs. 5/- for both.
5. The autos. The best place to take an auto till is Rithala. Bargaining is easy, especially when more than 20 Rs. are asked. It is better to have 3 others along, so that each one can pay a measly sum of Rs 5/. The last one in isn't exactly a rotten egg, but he gets to sit with the driver. Average time: 8 mins to Rithala.
6. The Delhi Metro. This is the best means of transport. What sucks is that only an auto or an RTV can take you to Rithala.
-Rishi-
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
