July 31, 2008
July 28, 2008
Discuss Nuclear Power when you don't know shit?
A stranger was seated next to a sexy young girl on the airplane when the stranger tried to get pally with her and said, 'Let's talk. I've heard that flights go quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger.'
The hottie, who had just opened her book, closed it slowly and said to the stranger, 'What would you like to talk about?'
'Oh, I don't know', said the stranger. 'How about nuclear power?'
'OK', she said. 'That could be an interesting topic. But let me ask you a question first. A horse, a cow and a deer all eat grass - the same stuff. Yet a deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty, and a horse produces clumps of dried grass. Why do you suppose that is?'
The stranger thinks about it and says, 'Hmmm, I have no idea.'
To which the young girl replies, 'Do you really feel qualified to discuss nuclear power when you don't know shit?'
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Now read THIS.
Are we sure that our leaders know all about the nuclear deal? When Rahul Gandhi can go on and on in the Parliament about how the nuclear deal can bring all sorts of riches and prosperity to the nation... yeah, yeah, its perceived to be some viagra... I'm assuming he should know A to Z of the deal. Turns out he has no clue what the IAEA abbreviates for !
And here is one major middle finger salute to the assholes in the media, who have conveniently overlooked this blunder and are singing praises of this 'intelligent young man' !
..|..
Hyderabad Blues
Hyderabad is in the grip of a low pressure area which has been bringing some rain to the parched state. Also has cooled off the boiler a bit and the weather is much more easy on the skin.
The rain however had no impression on the Bonalu festivities in the city neither did it have any effect on the loud speakers and the serail lights.
One one hand the Govt cuts power to homes and industries because of shortage and on the other hand it blatantly allows disco lighting and blaring sound systems to function. Someone needs to give the Babus a brain-rich injection. And it better be painful !
The rain however had no impression on the Bonalu festivities in the city neither did it have any effect on the loud speakers and the serail lights.
One one hand the Govt cuts power to homes and industries because of shortage and on the other hand it blatantly allows disco lighting and blaring sound systems to function. Someone needs to give the Babus a brain-rich injection. And it better be painful !
July 27, 2008
Loud Speaker Bonalu
Come July and the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad as also the region of Telangana get to clebrate one of their major festivals, the Bonalu or the Mahakali Jatra in obedience to Goddess Mahakali. I'm not going to write more about the festival you can catch it at Wiki !
What I'm actually concerned about is the fact that at bang 6AM on a nice chilly Sunday morning, I'm awakened by some wierd sounds booming in my ear. After a couple of minutes I realise that the local folks have planted extra-loud speakers to blast everyone out of their deep slumber.. as if to say that the early bird gets the worm.. get up u bozos..
Worse than the fact that the music is extra-loud is that it is tasteless mostly.. bhajans in telugu coined on filmi tunes and sung by first round exiters from some trash reality show I guess.. and well, the music has been lifted and composed by some baraat band I guess, thats the way it actually sounds!
Now for the best part.. this is going to continue for the entire day... holy f****** s*** !!!
--
PS: The power situation in Hyderabad is worsening by the day what with scanty rainfall in the entire south of the country. We face a scheduled power cut everyday from 8AM-11.20AM at our house. But every few days, they extend it to 1PM or 2PM like they did yesterday! Actually, it would be great if they did that today, only if the goddamn loud speakers get their power lines cut too! But knowing the sad creatures that sit on the gaddis, it might well be wishful thinking!!
What I'm actually concerned about is the fact that at bang 6AM on a nice chilly Sunday morning, I'm awakened by some wierd sounds booming in my ear. After a couple of minutes I realise that the local folks have planted extra-loud speakers to blast everyone out of their deep slumber.. as if to say that the early bird gets the worm.. get up u bozos..
Worse than the fact that the music is extra-loud is that it is tasteless mostly.. bhajans in telugu coined on filmi tunes and sung by first round exiters from some trash reality show I guess.. and well, the music has been lifted and composed by some baraat band I guess, thats the way it actually sounds!
Now for the best part.. this is going to continue for the entire day... holy f****** s*** !!!
--
PS: The power situation in Hyderabad is worsening by the day what with scanty rainfall in the entire south of the country. We face a scheduled power cut everyday from 8AM-11.20AM at our house. But every few days, they extend it to 1PM or 2PM like they did yesterday! Actually, it would be great if they did that today, only if the goddamn loud speakers get their power lines cut too! But knowing the sad creatures that sit on the gaddis, it might well be wishful thinking!!
July 25, 2008
July 24, 2008
July 19, 2008
The Jackfruit Letter
There is a legend about this hilarious letter which was apparently written by a very irate railway passenger who was left behind at a station while attending nature's call at the platform rest rooms. The letter is supposedly written around 1909 (a precise date of July 2, 1909 is also sometimes claimed), and is addressed to the East Indian Railway or the Transportation Superintendent at Sahibganj, West Bengal.
Dear Sir,
I am arrive by passenger train at Ahmedpore station, and my belly is too much full of jack fruit. I am therefore went to privy, Just as I doing the nuisance, that guard making whistle blow for train to go off and I am running with lotah in one hand and dhotie in the next hand. I am fall over and expose my shockings to man, females, woman on platform. I am get leaved at Ahmedpore station.
This too much bad, if passenger go to make dung, that dam guard no wait train 5 minutes for him. I am therefore pray your honour to make big fine on that guard for public sake, otherwise I am making big report to papers.
Your faithful servant,
Okhil Ch. Sen
It is widely believed that this letter was instrumental in Indian Railways making toilets available in train coaches.
July 17, 2008
July 15, 2008
Overtake
One of the most hilarious Traffic Education signboards I've seen in a long long time! This was taken at Brigade Road during my visit to Bangalore last month. It even beats this one hollow..
July 13, 2008
The Shahabad
When I was a kid residing in the Old City area of Hyderabad, flooring of a house was synonymous with the term 'Shahabad'. It was much later when my Geographical knowledge gained some proportion that I came to know that Shahabad was actually a small town in the Gulbarga District of North Eastern Karnataka.
This variety of stone, technically a yellow flaky limestone, is found in the entire North Eastern region of Karnataka (commonly referred to as Hyderabad karnataka owing to its proximity to Hyderabad) and the adjoining borders of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. It is of ideal weight, texture and color to serve as an excellent material for florring. In fact the stone is used in its native region not only for flooring, but also for making walls and roofs. A special alternating stone size arrangement is used on the roofs to provide excellent ventilation while also providing a solid cover. This typical arrangement also helps in allowing a few rays of sunlight to pass through them, thus illuminating the hutments while also acting as natural ventilators. The region is a dry and hot area and surprisingly, the hutments having the Shahabad roofs are cooler than concrete structures.
But, technology takes its toll. Shahabad stone is a perfect raw material for cement and these are being mined hopelessly and turning these natural hutments into concrete jungles. Huge cement factories have come up in the region which today produces 40% of India's cement.
Long Live the Shahabad !
July 11, 2008
Veiled Rebecca
This is one of the best sculptures you can put your eyes on. The sculptor has magnificently made a veil appear over the beautiful lady's face. The sculptor Giovanni Maria Benzoni was trained in Rome, eventually establishing his own shop where he trained numerous students. This biblical sculpture depicts Rebecca, bride of Isaac, as she draws her veil about her before being presented to her future husband. This piece represents innocence and purity as Benzoni skillfully creates the appearance of a transparent veil, an exceptional technical achievement.
You can find this statue at the Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad. This museum is the World's largest one man collection of any nature and the largest of arts and artifacts by a huge margin. There are three wings full of his collection in a museum spread over 20 acres. A must see for anyone visiting the City of Nawabs !
July 08, 2008
The Rayalaseema Express
One of the most enigmatic trains running on the Indian Railways is the Rayalaseema Express. Train number 7429 travels between Hyderabad and Tirupati and 7430 does the return.
Kazipet's WDM-2 #16501 leads the Rayalaseema past Hi-Tech City in Hyderabad
That does sound simple enough, right? Hang on..
This train runs combined with the 7416 Kolhapur- Tirupati Haripriya Express.
What.. two trains run combined?
Yes, two trains run combined. Actually, its more complicated than that!
There are basically three origins/destinations. Hyderabad (HYB), Tirupati (TPTY) and Kolhapur (KOP.. new code for Kolhapur is CSMT but I'll use the old one).
Every day, three trains start from these stations. Each of these trains is basically in two parts. In the train starting from HYB, one part is destined for TPTY and one for KOP. In the train originating at KOP, one part is destined for HYB and one for TPTY. Similarly, in the train originating from TPTY, one part goes to HYB and one to KOP.
All these three trains arrive at approximately 2AM at Guntakal, where these three trains are divided into the 6 individual segments. The segments bound to HYB from TPTY and KOP are stitched together and sent to HYB. Segments from TPTY and HYB are joined and sent to KOP and segments from KOP and HYB are coupled and sent to TPTY. So, 6 segments again become three trains and head to their respective destinations.
Each of these three trains get a Kazipet WDM-3A loco. The loco which comes from HYB goes to TPTY, the loco that comes from TPTY goes to KOP and the loco that comes from KOP goes to the shed. The loco that brings in the Dadar-Chennai mail to Guntakal gets cut there and goes to HYB.
So, if you are travelling by these trains, NEVER get down at Guntakal. You never know, where you would turn up next morning !!!
PS: Ur views on this template plz..
Kazipet's WDM-2 #16501 leads the Rayalaseema past Hi-Tech City in Hyderabad
This train runs combined with the 7416 Kolhapur- Tirupati Haripriya Express.
What.. two trains run combined?
Yes, two trains run combined. Actually, its more complicated than that!
There are basically three origins/destinations. Hyderabad (HYB), Tirupati (TPTY) and Kolhapur (KOP.. new code for Kolhapur is CSMT but I'll use the old one).
Every day, three trains start from these stations. Each of these trains is basically in two parts. In the train starting from HYB, one part is destined for TPTY and one for KOP. In the train originating at KOP, one part is destined for HYB and one for TPTY. Similarly, in the train originating from TPTY, one part goes to HYB and one to KOP.
All these three trains arrive at approximately 2AM at Guntakal, where these three trains are divided into the 6 individual segments. The segments bound to HYB from TPTY and KOP are stitched together and sent to HYB. Segments from TPTY and HYB are joined and sent to KOP and segments from KOP and HYB are coupled and sent to TPTY. So, 6 segments again become three trains and head to their respective destinations.
Each of these three trains get a Kazipet WDM-3A loco. The loco which comes from HYB goes to TPTY, the loco that comes from TPTY goes to KOP and the loco that comes from KOP goes to the shed. The loco that brings in the Dadar-Chennai mail to Guntakal gets cut there and goes to HYB.
So, if you are travelling by these trains, NEVER get down at Guntakal. You never know, where you would turn up next morning !!!
PS: Ur views on this template plz..
July 06, 2008
The Number Game
In one of my earlier posts, I wrote that I traveled by the 6593 Nanded - Bangalore Hampi Link express from Vikarabad to Bangalore. And I returned by the 7604 Yeswantpur - Kacheguda Express. Did you know that the numbering of trains followed a pattern?
Why is it that a majority of trains touching Bangalore are either numbered 65xx or 62xx ? Or trains touching Hyderabad have a 70xx numbering?
Well there is a reasoning for that. The current pattern of numbering was implemented during computerisation of the Passenger reservation System (PRS) of Indian Railways. At that time, IR had 9 zones. However, in 1996, the then Railway Minister Nitish Kumar came up with the idea of creating more zones and six more zones were notified. This had to wait till 2002, when not six, but seven zones were carved out of the existing zonal structure. Anyways, the trains numbers were still retained which conformed to the earlier 9 zone plan. Newer trains however got into the new series.
Trains belonging to a particular zone had their numbers staring with specific digits.
0 - Konkan Railway and other passenger trains with reservation facility.
1 - Central Railway, West Central Railway
2 - All superfast trains encompassing all zones. Includes all Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Jan Shatabdi, Sampark Kranti and Garib Rath trains.
3 - Eastern Railway, East Central Railway
4 - Northern Railway, North Central Railway, North Western Railway
5 - North Eastern Railway and North-East Frontier Railway
6 - Southern Railway, South Westen Railway
7 - South Central Railway and a few trains of South Westen Railway.
8 - South Eastern Railway and East Coast Railway
9 - Western Railway, West Central Railway and North Western Railway.
Also, within each level, there are sub levels.
Trains starting with 7 are mostly trains of South Central Railway. The sub levels are based on the divisions within the zones.
70 - Secunderabad division
72 - Vijayawada / Guntur divisions
74 - Guntakal Division
76 - Hyderabad / Nanded Divisions
( Guntur and Nanded are newly carved out divisions)
75 - Erstwhile MG trains of Hyderabad division
77 - Erstwhile MG trains of Guntakal division
73 - Hubli division of South Western Railway ( Hubli div was in SCR earlier)
A similar pattern follows for all levels and zones.
Even in the Level 2 with superfast trains, there are sublevels corresponding to the main levels.
20 - Shatabdi and Jan Shatabdi trains
21 - Central, West Central
22 - New superfast trains
23 - Eastern, East Central
.. and on and on for other sublevels.
Recently an issue has arisen with a lot of trains being made superfast, the sublevels for superfast trains are getting exhausted. For example, level 26 for SR and SWR is completely full and new SF trains in these zones are being allocated the vacant 22xx series. 28xx and 29xx series are slowly reaching capacity levels.
So, now you know what to expect when someone says he's travelling by 2628 express. Of course he's travelling towards Bangalore from New Delhi by the Karnataka Express!
Why is it that a majority of trains touching Bangalore are either numbered 65xx or 62xx ? Or trains touching Hyderabad have a 70xx numbering?
Well there is a reasoning for that. The current pattern of numbering was implemented during computerisation of the Passenger reservation System (PRS) of Indian Railways. At that time, IR had 9 zones. However, in 1996, the then Railway Minister Nitish Kumar came up with the idea of creating more zones and six more zones were notified. This had to wait till 2002, when not six, but seven zones were carved out of the existing zonal structure. Anyways, the trains numbers were still retained which conformed to the earlier 9 zone plan. Newer trains however got into the new series.
Trains belonging to a particular zone had their numbers staring with specific digits.
0 - Konkan Railway and other passenger trains with reservation facility.
1 - Central Railway, West Central Railway
2 - All superfast trains encompassing all zones. Includes all Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Jan Shatabdi, Sampark Kranti and Garib Rath trains.
3 - Eastern Railway, East Central Railway
4 - Northern Railway, North Central Railway, North Western Railway
5 - North Eastern Railway and North-East Frontier Railway
6 - Southern Railway, South Westen Railway
7 - South Central Railway and a few trains of South Westen Railway.
8 - South Eastern Railway and East Coast Railway
9 - Western Railway, West Central Railway and North Western Railway.
Also, within each level, there are sub levels.
Trains starting with 7 are mostly trains of South Central Railway. The sub levels are based on the divisions within the zones.
70 - Secunderabad division
72 - Vijayawada / Guntur divisions
74 - Guntakal Division
76 - Hyderabad / Nanded Divisions
( Guntur and Nanded are newly carved out divisions)
75 - Erstwhile MG trains of Hyderabad division
77 - Erstwhile MG trains of Guntakal division
73 - Hubli division of South Western Railway ( Hubli div was in SCR earlier)
A similar pattern follows for all levels and zones.
Even in the Level 2 with superfast trains, there are sublevels corresponding to the main levels.
20 - Shatabdi and Jan Shatabdi trains
21 - Central, West Central
22 - New superfast trains
23 - Eastern, East Central
.. and on and on for other sublevels.
Recently an issue has arisen with a lot of trains being made superfast, the sublevels for superfast trains are getting exhausted. For example, level 26 for SR and SWR is completely full and new SF trains in these zones are being allocated the vacant 22xx series. 28xx and 29xx series are slowly reaching capacity levels.
So, now you know what to expect when someone says he's travelling by 2628 express. Of course he's travelling towards Bangalore from New Delhi by the Karnataka Express!
July 05, 2008
July 04, 2008
Mosaic Tag
Took up this tag from Ria/Solitaire/whoever...
Here are the rules of this tag.
1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
2. Using only the first page of results, and pick one image.
3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Big Huge Lab's Mosaic Maker to create a mosaic of the picture answers.
The questions:
1. What is your first name?
Vrijilesh.. can u believe the image I got? It was a railfan's meet at Byappanahalli station, Bangalore in 2003!
2. What is your favorite food? right now ?
Chola Poori
3. What high school did you go to?
Little Flower High School, Hyderabad.. the image is the school logo
4. What is your favorite color?
Blue
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
Rimi Sen (as of now. She's done Dhoom, Hungama, Hattrick)
6. What is your favorite drink?
Chai, what else?
7. What is your dream vacation?
New Zealand.. lovely beaches and countryside, unexplored place!
8. What is your favorite dessert?
Gulab Jamun
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
Rich & Famous
10. What do you love most in life?
Intimate moments with wifey ;)
11. What is one word that describes you?
Strange
12. What is your user name?
vrij
Guess what's me like... and take u p the tag too!
Here are the rules of this tag.
1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
2. Using only the first page of results, and pick one image.
3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Big Huge Lab's Mosaic Maker to create a mosaic of the picture answers.
The questions:
1. What is your first name?
Vrijilesh.. can u believe the image I got? It was a railfan's meet at Byappanahalli station, Bangalore in 2003!
2. What is your favorite food? right now ?
Chola Poori
3. What high school did you go to?
Little Flower High School, Hyderabad.. the image is the school logo
4. What is your favorite color?
Blue
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
Rimi Sen (as of now. She's done Dhoom, Hungama, Hattrick)
6. What is your favorite drink?
Chai, what else?
7. What is your dream vacation?
New Zealand.. lovely beaches and countryside, unexplored place!
8. What is your favorite dessert?
Gulab Jamun
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
Rich & Famous
10. What do you love most in life?
Intimate moments with wifey ;)
11. What is one word that describes you?
Strange
12. What is your user name?
vrij
Guess what's me like... and take u p the tag too!
July 03, 2008
July 01, 2008
Dus Bahane
Tagged by Ankur to reveal ten things u don't know about me:
- I love sleeping. I can sleep anywhere I want to. I have even slept on the first bench of the class with a lecture going on and no one the wiser. My eyes were closed I was off, but my head was nodding frequently enough to make everyone think I was wide awake!
- I love bird-watching. You know the types. Of course, I still do that. Biwi knows about it too. Try hard not to do that when biwi is around.
- You know this. I am mad about trains. What you don't know is that trains can cheer me up infinitely. Whenever I was in a gloomy mood, I used to head to the station nearby (Begumpet, BMT) and sit there for a few minutes. Even if I do not get to see a train, the atmosphere and the smell of the place cheers me up. These days however, biwi does the job of cheering me up.
- I have a short temper that I keep bottled within me. I try my level best not to get it out of hand.
- I love the stage. I am a regular at emceeing at functions, parties, etc.. of course, not professionally yet.
- I used to write shayari in my college days. And try to impress girls. Unfortunately for me, even though my shayari was appreciated, I was not!
- I love surfing and chatting on the web. Prior to getting married, I used to chat till the wee hours of the night. Also, I can actually pass off as a software guy and no one can know the real game. I have done it with a nerd who started getting pally in a local train. Talked to him in a lot of tech lingo and when he asked me which company I work for, I told him I'm a doc.. he was sort of thrown aback. In fact my cousin, who is an MCA, regularly calls me to fix her laptop or for any computer related issues.. so much for techies.
- I am a freelance web designer. I have done a few websites including my own www.vrijilesh.com and on my website you can get a lot of railway related information. Very soon, say in a day or two, you will have the entire Indian Railways time table available on my website. Also, you can follow live cricket, tennis, F1 on my website. In July, you can view live updates from the Tour de France.
- I love fast driving. Dad always screams at me that the moment I start the car, I get to 60.. on city roads! Of course, what can u expect from a tifosa?
- I am an avid quizzer. Once in an inter-college competition, we thrashed the opponents so badly, that it basically was boring. We had 80 points while the second placed team had 20 !! It was for my quiz partner's marriage that I headed to Bangalore a few days ago.
I hope I've managed to keep you interested.. but I was'nt wanting to tag anyone particular, coz its a decently old tag, but still if Keerthi, Naveen, Sridhar, Sriram or Ranga are reading this, consider urself tagged !
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)