Monday, December 01, 2008
The fateful day of Nov 26 saw the worst of terrorism unfold in Bombay. We are all still coming to terms with it. This is unreal, hearing of people known to each other counted as dead and places like Taj, Oberoi and Leos, all our regular haunts, being attacked like this... and South Bombay which everyone thought as out of bounds for terror. I had to see Taj yesterday to believe that all this was true!
It is really the tipping point, a city going from bad to worse. 'Politician' was never such a dirty word, heads are rolling but we know the next CM/ Dy CM is likely to be none the better. So what now... We at Seventy are left with 4.5 Cr less in billings in canceled events and that translates to harder times next year. As they say, from the frying pan into the fire. Below the nearly finished site pics our Formula 1 Mc Laren Mercedes Car Run with Mika Hakinnen. That's 8 months of work down the drain! Very disappointed.
It is really the tipping point, a city going from bad to worse. 'Politician' was never such a dirty word, heads are rolling but we know the next CM/ Dy CM is likely to be none the better. So what now... We at Seventy are left with 4.5 Cr less in billings in canceled events and that translates to harder times next year. As they say, from the frying pan into the fire. Below the nearly finished site pics our Formula 1 Mc Laren Mercedes Car Run with Mika Hakinnen. That's 8 months of work down the drain! Very disappointed.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Baptism done. Extremely sad that half the family couldn't make it due to Nathan's pneumonia attack and all the pain the little fellow had to go through. The function was ok except the priest decided that wanted to start prayers half hour early, so the rest of the family who was coming could only see 10 mins of the 'show'! And my poor friends from Delhi Shona & Rwituja reached half hr after it all. In short, it all could have been better! Any way... Debated and debated and finally agreed that the name is Esaak Joseph George according to traditions.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Esaak's first flight happened today. Miriam counted 15 air hostesses swooning over our lil' fellow in his new Gap clothes. He slept through it peacefully and reached Muvattupuzha safely, for the first time again. After 4 months of repairs, apparently its looking good, I'm waiting to see it. E's already taken to our old wooden cradle and Pappa especially, guess its the godfather bond! Baptism next Sat, a week away in Kottayam.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
I'm just taking a weekend break from my current obsession with Esaak for THE GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED, 11-13 July 2008
Chichester, UK. 2 hrs from London in the English Country Side
It has been an incredible for petrol heads like Daz and me. One day was spent just soaking it in and pinching ourselves. EVERYTHING about speed, cars and bikes were here and it was all LIVE, not just an exhibition. When you enter the Goodwood estate, which is over a few square kms - all you can hear were F1 engines, WRC cars and Dragsters trumpeting like 1000 herds of elephants - yes thats the best I could describe the high pitched wails from these high revving motors.
Highlights - Lewis Hamilton and Pedro de La Rosa driving the Mc Laren MP422 along with other teams Red Bull, Ferrari, Toyota; WRC cars, Le Mans, heritage racing bikes and cars, the RAF Red Arrows demo... Of cpirse it did help that were in the Mc Laren garage with Chris Goodwin and the other Mc Laren friends!
more to come with pics and videos... soon.
Chichester, UK. 2 hrs from London in the English Country Side
It has been an incredible for petrol heads like Daz and me. One day was spent just soaking it in and pinching ourselves. EVERYTHING about speed, cars and bikes were here and it was all LIVE, not just an exhibition. When you enter the Goodwood estate, which is over a few square kms - all you can hear were F1 engines, WRC cars and Dragsters trumpeting like 1000 herds of elephants - yes thats the best I could describe the high pitched wails from these high revving motors.
Highlights - Lewis Hamilton and Pedro de La Rosa driving the Mc Laren MP422 along with other teams Red Bull, Ferrari, Toyota; WRC cars, Le Mans, heritage racing bikes and cars, the RAF Red Arrows demo... Of cpirse it did help that were in the Mc Laren garage with Chris Goodwin and the other Mc Laren friends!
more to come with pics and videos... soon.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Esaak is comfortable turning over... well half way there and he made his momentous visit to Miriam's hotspot FABINDIA, surely the first in many more to come. E has his first Fab wardrobe - all oranges, lime greens and yellows.
Apr & May characterised Visits from Ammoos, Kumams, cousin Nathan with Nisha & Vipin and Grand uncle & aunt R' ammachi & G'chayan. May is extremely hot, thank god for ACs! Pics of Apr & May
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Monday, March 31, 2008
Its already 3 weeks since little feller came. He is the undoubted king of the house! There have been several anxiety attacks and sleepless nights that we (read mum in law and Miriam) are gradually getting used to. The doctor must be hating us for calling him so much for the 'silliest' doubts! Miriam refuses to step out of the house for even 5 minutes but we finally convinced her to go for a break to shop. Its another story that she illusions of E crying but of course, he was absoultely fine with his grandfolks. He is changing by the day and we should have called him the one with many faces rather than Esaak which means the one who laughs! Considering I have to wait around for hours to get a smile out of him :).
Monday, March 24, 2008
Thursday, March 06, 2008
A CASE FOR BUG CONTROL
Get out of any a suburban station like Bandra or Andheri and you will see a most bizarre but common sight. The serpentine line to catch a Bug (a slightly more civilized term that I use for the rogue 3 wheelers that we call auto-rickshaws) is much longer than the Best bus queues! Commuters stand in queues longer exposed to the elements as opposed to the protection available at a bus stop. But junta still prefers the Bug!
It only says one thing – autos have taken the place of bus services in most suburbs. This is very bad news for road users, commuters (as well, yes), and the delicate, tipping environmental balance. They are way too cheap that people prefer the auto over the bus, they take much too much space per person in the suburban milieu, the way the vehicle itself functions leaves much to desired and last but not one bit the least is the person at the handle. This is more of a rule than an exception – not that you don’t find the honest Bug man, who will return you a bag full of cash that you forgot without ever having taken a paisa out of it – but its this person’s general interpretation of traffic rules worsened by lack of education and road manners or lack thereof. A Bug can make a full 360-degree turn standing on its toes, which means there’s that much more driver temptation to do a ballerina between lanes. They own a much larger Share of Pollution owing to their 2 stroke engines, which need an oil & petrol mix – a welcome change is the CNG addition though. They are extremely unsafe on the highways at speeds over 40 kmph and again the drivers have utter disregard for basic physics. They have no suspension to speak of and the least you can expect is a crick in the neck in the present road conditions. At the same time, the new Best buses come with Air Suspension. In short, Bugs really are the bane of suburban traffic and the difference is crystal clear if we compare the traffic situation in taxi-only-South Mumbai and the suburbs beyond Bandra.
The other day as I read the paper about the Bug union pushing for extension into S. Mumbai gave me the chills. Can you imagine the calm of South Bombay being destroyed by the Bug attack? Every time I drive past the Bandra flyover from the South, I send up a silent prayer and take a one deep breath before I enter Bug world. What would happen to South Mumbai if they were indeed granted the plying extension is unthinkable.
The problem really is bus connectivity in the narrow lanes of the suburbs. For example, if I need to take a bus to Carter Road from Mount Mary in Bandra, I have to take a bus to the station and take another Bus to Cater Rd, which is a half hour ride instead if ten minutes tops. Buses don’t ply these roads. A solution probably is to replace 42 seater buses for the narrow low capacity routes with Maxi Cabs or 12 seater maneuverable tempos.
The story is this – the Bug is an outdated machine, driven by an un-trained lot with little disregard for anything except to get their 16 square feet metal heap into every conceivable nook and cranny. They are not fit for these times and the RTO is still doling out thousands of Bug licenses. They must be dispatched off at least to beyond the city limits in a phased manner by reducing the numbers first – it is the only practical and sensible solution available to us. This is not meant to be an anti-socialist comment – with the economy growing at 9% I’m sure there are better ways to provide livelihood for the drivers and its no reason to keep them on the roads. And yes, maybe its time we replaced them with the Nano… they are cheaper for sure and accommodates more in better comfort. Can we also request the MMRDA to speed up the Station Area Improvement plan for building skywalks, covered walkways and organize this wonderful Mass Transit system that we have in the Mumbai Suburban Railway in a way the Mumbai International Airport has done with Santacruz Airport? The Mumbai trains are really the only hope for Mumbai’s traffic solution and I would urge the Govt. of Maharashtra to put all their money into this and get as many cars, bikes and BUGS off our chaotic roads.
Get out of any a suburban station like Bandra or Andheri and you will see a most bizarre but common sight. The serpentine line to catch a Bug (a slightly more civilized term that I use for the rogue 3 wheelers that we call auto-rickshaws) is much longer than the Best bus queues! Commuters stand in queues longer exposed to the elements as opposed to the protection available at a bus stop. But junta still prefers the Bug!
It only says one thing – autos have taken the place of bus services in most suburbs. This is very bad news for road users, commuters (as well, yes), and the delicate, tipping environmental balance. They are way too cheap that people prefer the auto over the bus, they take much too much space per person in the suburban milieu, the way the vehicle itself functions leaves much to desired and last but not one bit the least is the person at the handle. This is more of a rule than an exception – not that you don’t find the honest Bug man, who will return you a bag full of cash that you forgot without ever having taken a paisa out of it – but its this person’s general interpretation of traffic rules worsened by lack of education and road manners or lack thereof. A Bug can make a full 360-degree turn standing on its toes, which means there’s that much more driver temptation to do a ballerina between lanes. They own a much larger Share of Pollution owing to their 2 stroke engines, which need an oil & petrol mix – a welcome change is the CNG addition though. They are extremely unsafe on the highways at speeds over 40 kmph and again the drivers have utter disregard for basic physics. They have no suspension to speak of and the least you can expect is a crick in the neck in the present road conditions. At the same time, the new Best buses come with Air Suspension. In short, Bugs really are the bane of suburban traffic and the difference is crystal clear if we compare the traffic situation in taxi-only-South Mumbai and the suburbs beyond Bandra.
The other day as I read the paper about the Bug union pushing for extension into S. Mumbai gave me the chills. Can you imagine the calm of South Bombay being destroyed by the Bug attack? Every time I drive past the Bandra flyover from the South, I send up a silent prayer and take a one deep breath before I enter Bug world. What would happen to South Mumbai if they were indeed granted the plying extension is unthinkable.
The problem really is bus connectivity in the narrow lanes of the suburbs. For example, if I need to take a bus to Carter Road from Mount Mary in Bandra, I have to take a bus to the station and take another Bus to Cater Rd, which is a half hour ride instead if ten minutes tops. Buses don’t ply these roads. A solution probably is to replace 42 seater buses for the narrow low capacity routes with Maxi Cabs or 12 seater maneuverable tempos.
The story is this – the Bug is an outdated machine, driven by an un-trained lot with little disregard for anything except to get their 16 square feet metal heap into every conceivable nook and cranny. They are not fit for these times and the RTO is still doling out thousands of Bug licenses. They must be dispatched off at least to beyond the city limits in a phased manner by reducing the numbers first – it is the only practical and sensible solution available to us. This is not meant to be an anti-socialist comment – with the economy growing at 9% I’m sure there are better ways to provide livelihood for the drivers and its no reason to keep them on the roads. And yes, maybe its time we replaced them with the Nano… they are cheaper for sure and accommodates more in better comfort. Can we also request the MMRDA to speed up the Station Area Improvement plan for building skywalks, covered walkways and organize this wonderful Mass Transit system that we have in the Mumbai Suburban Railway in a way the Mumbai International Airport has done with Santacruz Airport? The Mumbai trains are really the only hope for Mumbai’s traffic solution and I would urge the Govt. of Maharashtra to put all their money into this and get as many cars, bikes and BUGS off our chaotic roads.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)