Lane Driving is inSane Driving!

There is a 90km roadtrip that I do every day for work, and pass by a bottleneck which was initially supposed to be a flyover to ease traffic movement! Please welcome the RTR Flyover, or Rao Tula Ram Flyover!

Delhi has its fair share of flyovers, and they have really helped the traffic movement! The number of vehicles increasing is what causes the jams! not these flyovers! This one however has a history!

When RTR was inaugurated, traffic was allowed to move from Subroto Park/Gurgaon/Airports towards RK Puram! Someone in the Delhi Traffic Police realised that it was causing way too many jams, and reversed the traffic flow... So now this 3 lane flyover was for people moving from RK Puram/Vasant Vihar/Munirka towards Subroto Park/Gurgaon/Airports, and started causing the jam on the other side!

Some more brainstorming made it a time bound flyover... mornings one side, and evenings the other side! So jams now moved from one side to the other!

And finally, they have now allowed traffic from both sides to use the flyover, the middle lane is used as a the imaginary median, and there is enough space kept at the entry for a single lane traffic on both sides!

All of these approaches had their followers and critics both, but what boggles me at times is that why could they not build a wider flyover like the 1000s others in Delhi!

But this post is not about what you have just read! this post is about what you are going to read, if you have reached this far!

There is a trick to get onto the RTR... I have labelled the approaching traffic lanes as

1. Sharafat Lane (This is the right most lane)

2. Badmash Lane (Second to the right most)

3. Badtameez Lane (Third/Fourth to the right most)

4. Pencho Lane (Any other lane)

Now as the names suggest, the Sharafat lane is the slowest of them all... If you are stuck here, you are probably going to enter the flyover after 3 vehicles from Pencho Lane, 2-3 from Badtameez Lane, and 2 from Badtameez Lane have zoomed past... Let's see how this looks like from the top usually!

New Delhi And Pictures (Lodhi Garden, T3 Terminal)

Some stills from New Delhi...

From the mosque next to Bada Gumbad, Lodhi Gardens, New Delhi...

Trollies stacked together at the T3 Terminal of Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi

All in One Weekend

This weekend was such a tiring but satisfying weekend!

Went to

- Chandni Chawk in Old Delhi for lights, and wall-clocks

- Khari Baoli in Old Delhi for Candles and Dry-fruits

- Sadar Bazaar near Old Delhi for Crackers and Fireworks

- Cottage Emporium in Central Delhi for solid wood furniture

- Uttar Pradesh Shilpotsav in NOIDA for handicrafts and snacks

- Jwala Heri in West Delhi for random Diwali shopping

Every single time I visit the markets in Old Delhi, I love that place more than the last time!

commonwealth games के नारे!

कुछ चोर कुछ भिखारी

भ्रष्टाचार का नया नाम - सुरेश कलमाड़ी ||

Happy to see Indian team winning many Golds on day 2 of CWG2010 @ New Delhi! Keep an eye on the medals tally here.

InnGaAnAe; Jugaad and the Idiot

While I was driving back yesterday evening, this sign caught my attention... The engines on the airplane sticker look kind of funny to me!!!

And I couldn't help but notice the hindi version of the acronym for Indira Gandhi International Airport!!! From now on please refer to the Delhi Airport Terminal Aas Inn-Ga-An-Ae

I feel nice about some of the changes that have happened in Delhi over the last decade... However the hustle bustle and amount of vehicles on the road, and all of this rat race makes us see right through that, and only end up cribbing and complaining!

While yesterday night, I was wondering at the improvements in the city, and feeling good about it... I got into a thought conflict while driving to work in the morning today... What you see in the photograph below, is a pedal rickshaw used to transport light heavy items for short distances... A lot of owners put a 100cc old scooter engine to cover longer distances, and save physical labor in such rickshaws... Good! innovation! and the great Indian JUGAAD! But today I saw a family of 4 using this and along with them was a small baby as well... This guy was driving at a good 40kmph completely oblivious of the fact that a small bump might throw all of them to the ground, and it could just be fatal, specially because of the speed of traffic at this hour.

Oh, and just for the records! These are not supposed to ply on the Ring Road!

And now lets get personal! The driver of this car! no no! the arsehole driving this car hits my car from behind... and in bumper to bumper traffic! no no.. it was not a gentle push, or a little peck! It was a bang! And then makes gestures like his father owns the bloody road!!!

And when I ask him to stop, he just rushes through like the illegitimate brother of Nayaran Kartikeyan...

The rear bumper had a slight impact but I was able to fix it after I reached work! I hope no plastic parts have broken!

Have a good Wednesday!

बेटी बचाओ देश बचाओ

I am wondering about the thought which went into the small ad that is displayed at the back of this Maruti Omni!

Now the ad is about losing weight! with a money back guarantee! and there is a small "Public Message" which says "बेटी बचाओ देश बचाओ " meaning "Save the daughter, Save the Country!".

I am struggling to find a connection between the two! Something about this is not right, but I am not able to point out what is wrong!

And another Omni, this time full of people like luggage in it!

slow slower slowest!

Though the sky was overcast, there were no signs of rain! and I could not even figure out if it was going to rain or not from the AC'd car cabin! Its usually a race against traffic, from within the traffic every day with close to about 3.5 hours of driving to cover about 80 kms. As I had left before the peak hours, traffic was following me, and I found relatively less traffic than usual! By the time I reached Moti Bagh, it was drizzling, and by the time I reached India Gate, it was raining cats and dogs!

And as soon as I turned left from Nizamuddin, I was caught in one of the worst storms I have experienced. With winds around 80kmph, a few asbestos sheets and some plastic drums came flying out of nowhere hitting a few cars just about 50 meters ahead of me, leaving me all jittery and scared! Took me about 40 minutes to reach Akshardham!

While there were loads of bikes and vehicles which broke down on the roads, there were a few who were playing music and dancing in the rain!

Drove through water as high as a foot in my sector to reach home!

What an evening!

Is it Saturday or Sunday !!! I think Sunday !!!

Its a fact that dealing with someone else's issues can be a burden for us individuals more often than not... Over a period of time, we gather more issues that we can ourselves handle, our work, our individual lives, our own social circle (however big or small that is) and ityadi ityadi... and to add to those if someone comes and starts talking about his/her own issues when you are least interested, it only irritates you more !!! Its advisable to be practical and deal with your own issues instead of expecting someone to listen, understand or for that matter even care about it!!!

Having said that, let me digress from the topic for my own selfish reasons...

It was kinda interesting driving for no reason yesterday night... I was under speed limits, driving in proper lanes, listening to my favorite (well for the benefit of not having the real favorites, lets call the current ones favorites) songs, and just being !!!

Finally reached Arobindo's place and stayed put there... Helped !!!

The second fridge at Aro's place, now being used as a repository for Music and Video.. The perfect energy savers !!!

Woke up on time, slept again... went out for another drive :) and this time on the new 6 gear, two wheel Hercules Bike we had recently bought for him !!! and Aro here won a contest of sorts !!! of having more gears with him !!!

Pretty hot outside, but the spirits were as high as the temperature to ride the bike...

My car has just 5 :( and his cycle has 6 !!! Darn !!! I lost !!! But never mind, for some reason he has decided to treat me to Dessert Course in a 5 Star next Saturday. Wonder what got into his mind, but I don't really mind till I get to eat !!! Suggestions please !!!

Later I added all my car + Bike + scooter Gears and tried to win the contest back, but I still lost as he said that we were now talking about maximum gears in one vehicle !!! Darn again ! Never mind !!!

Critical Balance...

I also have a dim-dimata hua thought around cycling which would take me from Delhi to Vrindavan or maybe beyond on Cycles some day !!! It needs to turn into reality soon.... It sure will...

This cycle was there at the shop where we got the tyre pressure fixed...

I left post afternoon as he was having his team lunch at his place, and I was in no mood to speak much !!! On my way back, I again was driving around randomly... enjoying the Delhi roads at my own pace... My car is running out of fuel and I should have taken a specific route to reach the pump, but I don't know why I went into the other direction and forgot all about the fuel !!! Cha !!! never mind... I took a pit stop at India Gate to make a few new friends... Let me introduce them to you before I finito the post !!!

A vendor at the India Gate...

I kinda liked that tree on the bike :) This is when Pankaj decided to jump in and added life to my picture :) very naughty guy !!!

With friends around, its difficult to make a portrait :)

But we can still manage something :)

And the whole gang here ... Pankaj, Kuldeep, Subhash and a few more :)... They sell variety of stuff at the India Gate... do say a hi when you see one of them sometime :)

Every wanted to be in the picture :) and Pankaj as usual at his naughty best !!!

And sincere thanks to Indian Ocean, Sukhvinder Singh, KK, and a few more to be with me throughout !!! :P


Oh... I am getting out of Delhi tonight !!! any suggestions? So far I have just thought of reaching the ISBT and taking a bus towards somewhere !!!

Of Curves and Cuts on Tyres...

This year's Auto Expo (one of the exbitions that I love to love) looks like one of the more practical ones in the last few years...

Two things that I have been following and am happy about are...

1. The cheaper Car - Nano... The claims are that it costs a lakh, however when you add things like road tax, insurance, a few accesories etc this should be around 1.25 on-road for the base model... not bad at all for a 33bhp 600 odd cc engine... I think this should be a very practical buy for city driving... The only thing that will keep me away from it would be the poor Tata build quality in cars... except the Safari, the plastics of most cars are cheap, and they can start rattling in about 6 months of regular usage... Indigo is a delight to look at, and has one of the best ACs that I know of in Sedans in India, however the sound that it starts making after a few months is something that is a big put off... Ankur now has a Safari and I am really looking forward to some first hand reviews from him...

The sad part is after I have driven the FIAT, the build quality of almost every car that I have been into seems inferior...

2. The new SUMO... relabelled as the Sumo Grand... though the looks seem to be coming a lot from the LandRover, minus the headlights which still have a dated feeling... the first looks at the SUV made it look impressive... again.. the TATA build quality is something that I would really like to consider before I would recommend this to anyone... Mahindra seems to be much better in their engine refinement and the quality of the vehicles when it comes to a comparision between the Sumo and the Balero and the Scorpio and the Safari...

But with this new good looking Sumo, and the "I so want it but cannot afford it" Safari, things might be a li'il tough for Scorpio and likes...

Another news that I have been waiting for was the launch of SKODA Fabia... Its a premium hatchback, which personally makes a lot of sense to me, and comes with the SKODA tag... needless to say the safety, reliability, build finish and quality are the things that you can assume coming with this car by default... Not sure how successful it would be though in the very cost concious Indian market... We are not too keen on paying a premium for a smaller car which comes with added benefits... If the Fabia 1.4L Diesel engine delivers like the much higher and bigger Octavia does... they already have a customer in line for the car !!!

Honda also had on display the Honda Jazz which is a sleek looking 5 door hatchback... Another car to look forward to in terms of reliability and performance...

Oh, and yes I also saw a few pictures of the new Suzuki Dezire... the sedan version of the SWIFT ( which is a nice car) but Dezire is one of the most stupid looking cars that I have seen in recent times... Looks like there is a competition of sorts about who makes worse car backs between Mahindra Logan and Suzuki Dezire...

All in all, this looked like a good beginning for the potential car buyers, and people who are looking at decent upgrades for their existing vehicles...

I am looking forward to another FIAT though :)