I have driven for hours in delhi. I have driven from noida to gurgaon in very heavy traffic which took me 3 hours to reach. Sometimes, it really becomes troublesome when you have a nature's call and you cannot do anything about it. At most of the places where jams are frequent, you could see vendors selling water and other stuff to eat. But there are no public toilets nearby.
Now-a-days, all cycle walas and rickshaw walas think that they are shahrukh khan. They ride in the middle of the road and try to over take your car, cutting in front of you - as if they are invincible. People on bike also believe that they are GOD. They think, they can jump red lights without getting into any accidents and ride in the middle of the road at a constant speed of 30 kmph - turning a deaf ear to your honking and not allowing you to overtake. And the best part is when you see circus like acts on the road with 3 people on a cycle or 3 people on a small bike. I sometimes feel mercy for the overloaded vehicles. And even think whether the people who had designed the engine of the bike had taken such situations into consideration.
This attitude does lead to some frustration. After driving for an hour to cover a 20 minute distance, trying to protect these people inspite of their own carelessness, you tend to get exhausted. And you also have to protect yourself from the buses which keep on zooming from
left and right both in wrong direction and right direction. What amazes me about these busses is how they drive by you with only 2 inches to spare between your vehicle and the bus, at full speed and still it misses you. Arent the bus drivers extremely talented.
And finally cows & dogs on the road. They would just stand there confused about where to go and what to do. The municipal corporation does not try to remove them from the road. Who cares, people would simply go around them.
And ofcourse, the most famous of all these are the tampos. Yup the green colored tampos which have CNG written on their back and still throw out tons and tons of black smoke. They are heavily overloaded and keep on ferrying people between points A & B. They dont go beyond 20 kmph and they always move in the middle of the road, so that all the traffic stay behind them. They always stop in the middle of the road and just at a crossing, so that they could create jams and make people acknowledge their importance by their honking.
When people encounter these situations, and are unable to arrive at a compromise, they simply blow up. Why should they care for people who do not care for themselves?
If i would have had a jeannie, i would have wished that it taught the people on the road to have more road sense.
Showing posts with label noida. Show all posts
Showing posts with label noida. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
driving in noida - Part 2
In case you have missed my previous post, you can take a look at it here.
Recently, it seems that the number of vehicles in noida has doubled. Specially the number of rickshaws and cycles. And if I am driving my car, i am doomed.
The choice is always between either kill someone or get killed. So if i drive a car, i am safe but other people may get hurt by it and i might land in trouble. On the other hand, if i ride my bike, i am not safe at all. And Other cars and specially busses might run over me and that might be the end of me.
The problem is that there is complete chaos on the roads. The traffic police try their best to control the traffic at red lights, but they don't seem to do a good job. And the road between two traffic lights is a mess. In noida, the red lights seem to come every 1 km. So after every 1 km, you have to relax for 2 minutes. And that adds to the frustration of people.
The cycles and rickshaws are the best. They move in clusters and in the center of the road, preventing the fast moving traffic to go ahead. Also all cycles and rickshaws do not have to look behind while turning. Neither do they understand signals (left/right turn indicators, or red lights). And they could squeeze in between the narrowest gaps between cars and rickshaws. Not caring if they scrape a car or a bike in the process. Ofcourse, they dont have anything to lose.
And then there are busses and tampos, which would stop in the middle of the road to load and unload passengers, not caring about the queue of vehicles piling and honking after them.
And the most unique feature of the roads in noida is the abundance of stray cattle and bullock carts. A friend of mine was once held behind 2 bullock carts racing with each other. He and ofcourse people behind him had to move at the pace of the bullock carts for about 30 minutes until the bullock carts reached their destination and one of them was declared winner. And there are cases where cows and buffaloes cross roads in a queue and hold up traffic.
The point i think is that no one cares. All want to move ahead, not caring if they are the cause of a traffic jam. There was a case once when i was at a red light held in a traffic jam - where buses and cars and rickshaws have just moved in the center of the road and other people were unable to move. I was just sitting and waiting for the jam to clear up, letting people ahead of me move more into the jam, when suddenly this maruti comes from the left and plunges in between the jam and my car. And when i honk at him, he shows his big eyes to me - as if i have committed the most terrible crime till date. Ofcourse, i had to wait till the car ahead of his car moved and he moved.
What do people get out of such abrupt action? More mess and more jams.
And then i remember this case in delhi, where a lady was hit by some other vehicle and she parked her vehicle in the center of the road blocking up the traffic and the cops surveying at leisure and getting all the details of the mishap from her while people waited in queue behind her.
And a similar incident in noida, just near my house where a maruti banged into a truck. No one was hurt. And from where i passed by, i could see that neither the car nor the truck was much damaged. But still the two vehicles were in the middle of the road and there was a big traffic jam behind it while the cops tried to find the cause and process of the accident at their leisure.
I think, i have been ranting too much. But the situation has gone from bad to worse. Maybe the situation was as bad earlier, but i did not face the peak traffic those days, cause i used to go early and come back late. But now, going on time and coming back on time matters. So...
I still love my bike and the way she could move in and out of such traffic.
Recently, it seems that the number of vehicles in noida has doubled. Specially the number of rickshaws and cycles. And if I am driving my car, i am doomed.
The choice is always between either kill someone or get killed. So if i drive a car, i am safe but other people may get hurt by it and i might land in trouble. On the other hand, if i ride my bike, i am not safe at all. And Other cars and specially busses might run over me and that might be the end of me.
The problem is that there is complete chaos on the roads. The traffic police try their best to control the traffic at red lights, but they don't seem to do a good job. And the road between two traffic lights is a mess. In noida, the red lights seem to come every 1 km. So after every 1 km, you have to relax for 2 minutes. And that adds to the frustration of people.
The cycles and rickshaws are the best. They move in clusters and in the center of the road, preventing the fast moving traffic to go ahead. Also all cycles and rickshaws do not have to look behind while turning. Neither do they understand signals (left/right turn indicators, or red lights). And they could squeeze in between the narrowest gaps between cars and rickshaws. Not caring if they scrape a car or a bike in the process. Ofcourse, they dont have anything to lose.
And then there are busses and tampos, which would stop in the middle of the road to load and unload passengers, not caring about the queue of vehicles piling and honking after them.
And the most unique feature of the roads in noida is the abundance of stray cattle and bullock carts. A friend of mine was once held behind 2 bullock carts racing with each other. He and ofcourse people behind him had to move at the pace of the bullock carts for about 30 minutes until the bullock carts reached their destination and one of them was declared winner. And there are cases where cows and buffaloes cross roads in a queue and hold up traffic.
The point i think is that no one cares. All want to move ahead, not caring if they are the cause of a traffic jam. There was a case once when i was at a red light held in a traffic jam - where buses and cars and rickshaws have just moved in the center of the road and other people were unable to move. I was just sitting and waiting for the jam to clear up, letting people ahead of me move more into the jam, when suddenly this maruti comes from the left and plunges in between the jam and my car. And when i honk at him, he shows his big eyes to me - as if i have committed the most terrible crime till date. Ofcourse, i had to wait till the car ahead of his car moved and he moved.
What do people get out of such abrupt action? More mess and more jams.
And then i remember this case in delhi, where a lady was hit by some other vehicle and she parked her vehicle in the center of the road blocking up the traffic and the cops surveying at leisure and getting all the details of the mishap from her while people waited in queue behind her.
And a similar incident in noida, just near my house where a maruti banged into a truck. No one was hurt. And from where i passed by, i could see that neither the car nor the truck was much damaged. But still the two vehicles were in the middle of the road and there was a big traffic jam behind it while the cops tried to find the cause and process of the accident at their leisure.
I think, i have been ranting too much. But the situation has gone from bad to worse. Maybe the situation was as bad earlier, but i did not face the peak traffic those days, cause i used to go early and come back late. But now, going on time and coming back on time matters. So...
I still love my bike and the way she could move in and out of such traffic.
Monday, August 27, 2007
The killer blue line buses in delhi
The blue line buses are everywhere. And from the everyday news, it seems that they are killing people on the fly. Crushing a pedestrian, or a cyclist or a motorcycle rider.
Some days back, i had the option of riding one of the buses. And i realized some things which though i had noticed earlier - but it did not strike me.
The problem - to me seems like more of an infrastructure & mindset problem than that of blue line buses. People in delhi think that they are invincible. They have the mindset that i am the king of the road and no one else could do anything to me. Instead of thinking about the situation as a whole, they would prefer to be at the top of it.
So what happens is firstly, there are no footpaths and pedestrians are forced to walk on the road. Earlier people used to walk at the end of the road, but now-a-days, people tend to walk more to the center of the road and since the number of vehicles are ever increasing in delhi and the roads always remain of the same width, people tend to drive more towards the end of the road. And lo, you have people being overtaken by honking cars and buses. And the people who dont look behind when they walk become the victims. If we would have had proper footpaths and pedestrian crossings then i think, the situation would have been much better.
To add to the ever increasing traffic and the narrow roads, now comes the Delhi-Metro, the construction of which makes the road even narrower - so narrow that sometimes it is even difficult for a single bus to pass through it. Of course - this would cause jams and increase the frustration level in the daily commuters.
The attitude of bikers and cyclists are even peculiar. Bikers tend to overtake you from the left - always. And they would zoom between buses and cars. All ads about zippy 150 cc bikes also show the same. I also confess that sometimes i would also zoom between cars, but ofcourse taking every precaution. But there are people who would like to squeeze in between cars and buses and zoom ahead. These are the people who neither care for their life nor for the life of others.
Recently i had an incident where an uncle on a scooter zoomed past the back of my car - collided with the back of my car and fell - in-spite of my constant honking. If he would have waited for 2 minutes or would have kept a bigger distance between my car and his scooter while zooming, he might have saved himself a fall and saved me another scratch on my car.
The problem to me seems that everyone is in a hurry to reach his destination. And the narrow roads and traffic jams, dont help a bit causing people to move ahead where ever they see a possibility. No one drives in a proper lane. Lane changing is very common. The only aim is to move ahead.
The bus i sat in a few days ago, was trying its best to avoid pedestrians and cyclists honking now and then to make space for it to move ahead. And still he had to brake hard for a hero on the motorcycle cause the hero overtook from the left and zoomed ahead from a very narrow space between the bus and some cyclists.
It is not the blue line buses which should be called "killer". It is the government and the infrastructure which should be called "killer". The government has given us smooth roads but the roads are too narrow for the kind of traffic delhi has. The government has not planned proper footpaths & pedestrian crossings. No one believes in staying in the same lane while driving.
No matter what you do, the autos always overcharge. They ask for thrice the fare and settle for double fare. And they deny driving to the destination, if they dont get at-least twice the fare. And this again adds to the delay in reaching one's destination. And frustration level keeps on increasing among commuters.
It looks more like a chaos...
Some days back, i had the option of riding one of the buses. And i realized some things which though i had noticed earlier - but it did not strike me.
The problem - to me seems like more of an infrastructure & mindset problem than that of blue line buses. People in delhi think that they are invincible. They have the mindset that i am the king of the road and no one else could do anything to me. Instead of thinking about the situation as a whole, they would prefer to be at the top of it.
So what happens is firstly, there are no footpaths and pedestrians are forced to walk on the road. Earlier people used to walk at the end of the road, but now-a-days, people tend to walk more to the center of the road and since the number of vehicles are ever increasing in delhi and the roads always remain of the same width, people tend to drive more towards the end of the road. And lo, you have people being overtaken by honking cars and buses. And the people who dont look behind when they walk become the victims. If we would have had proper footpaths and pedestrian crossings then i think, the situation would have been much better.
To add to the ever increasing traffic and the narrow roads, now comes the Delhi-Metro, the construction of which makes the road even narrower - so narrow that sometimes it is even difficult for a single bus to pass through it. Of course - this would cause jams and increase the frustration level in the daily commuters.
The attitude of bikers and cyclists are even peculiar. Bikers tend to overtake you from the left - always. And they would zoom between buses and cars. All ads about zippy 150 cc bikes also show the same. I also confess that sometimes i would also zoom between cars, but ofcourse taking every precaution. But there are people who would like to squeeze in between cars and buses and zoom ahead. These are the people who neither care for their life nor for the life of others.
Recently i had an incident where an uncle on a scooter zoomed past the back of my car - collided with the back of my car and fell - in-spite of my constant honking. If he would have waited for 2 minutes or would have kept a bigger distance between my car and his scooter while zooming, he might have saved himself a fall and saved me another scratch on my car.
The problem to me seems that everyone is in a hurry to reach his destination. And the narrow roads and traffic jams, dont help a bit causing people to move ahead where ever they see a possibility. No one drives in a proper lane. Lane changing is very common. The only aim is to move ahead.
The bus i sat in a few days ago, was trying its best to avoid pedestrians and cyclists honking now and then to make space for it to move ahead. And still he had to brake hard for a hero on the motorcycle cause the hero overtook from the left and zoomed ahead from a very narrow space between the bus and some cyclists.
It is not the blue line buses which should be called "killer". It is the government and the infrastructure which should be called "killer". The government has given us smooth roads but the roads are too narrow for the kind of traffic delhi has. The government has not planned proper footpaths & pedestrian crossings. No one believes in staying in the same lane while driving.
No matter what you do, the autos always overcharge. They ask for thrice the fare and settle for double fare. And they deny driving to the destination, if they dont get at-least twice the fare. And this again adds to the delay in reaching one's destination. And frustration level keeps on increasing among commuters.
It looks more like a chaos...
Monday, July 30, 2007
Driving in Noida (Delhi/NCR)
Driving in delhi/NCR is a unique experience. Specially driving cars. I never realized it until i got a car of my own. Riding a bike is better.
I had driven a car for 5 years before i got a car of my own in delhi. But looking at the condition of driving in delhi, i asked a motor driving school to give me 4-5 classes of driving in heavy traffic and thru narrow lanes. And it was there that i came to know that he had tons of students like me. People who were back from the US and were unable to drive in the crazy traffic of delhi/NCR.
Well, let me tell you about a day driving to office.
8:35 AM - I am already late. Generally i wish to be ready to go by 8:25. 10 minutes before time and i avoid the 8:30 traffic. Well - anyways, i start my car and look behind (i have to do a back to get out of my colony), and there are cars everywhere. Slowly take a reverse and move a little to the left and a little to the right and finally get to put my car between a pole and another car. Now all i have to do is take a 45 degree turn and then another reverse and another 45 degree turn before i am through with driving in reverse.
8:40 AM - Wow, it took only 5 minutes to get going. Good timing. Now avoiding the bush to the left and the small open drain at the right, i drive and again avoid the car on the left and another on the right and am finally on the main road.
8:43 AM - Oops, am stuck on the first red light which appears 100 meters from my home. Actually, i am not supposed to stand at the red light, since i have to take a left which is free. But there are so many people, so many cars and bikes and cycles and rickshaws that they have blocked the complete road and unless they move i wont be able to access my "free" left turn. And i look around. A cycle goes by wriggling between cars and bikes. Another rickshaw tries to wriggle but the hole is not big enough for him. I just hope he does not scratch my car.
8:45 AM - finally out of the red light and am driving at speed of 50 - heading straight for another red light. And i see a bike coming from the opposite direction on the wrong side. I move a bit to the right to avoid him and a car whizzes by missing me by inches and blowing its horn.
8:47 AM - Another red light. And buses lined up against each other covering the whole road. Arent they supposed to be on the left most lane. cycles and rickshaws are coming from all the roads in the crossing. The red lights are not supposed to mean anything for them. They are free to cross and create a mess at the intersection. And i patiently wait for the light to turn green. And lo, the light is green. I move ahead and i am behind a bus and a rickshaw. The bus jumps ahead, but the rickshaw moves slowly and no matter how much i honk, it wont let me move ahead. The light turns yellow and the thulla's eyes at the other end turns to dollars ($)($). But i manage to make it before the light turns red again. And the thulla turns sad. He catches hold of the car behind me.
8:50 AM - Another red light. After wriggling between cows standing between the road and 4 cycles (fast friends i believe) riding next to each other covering almost the entire road, and avoiding potholes and speed-breakers similar to small mountains, i am relaxing at another red light. The speed-breakers were terrible. They were not only meant to slow you down, but stop you completely - make you think twice whether they would scrap the car's underside and then drive over them. And now i am looking at another red light. Tons of cycles and rickshaws ahead of me. Some cycles are balancing 3 people on them. That's why circuses dont work in india any more. You get to see circus everyday on the road.
8:52 AM - The light turns green, but vehicles have not started moving. Oh, there is no thulla at the other end and the vehicles from the left side of the crossing are still moving across - even when their signal has turned red. Finally someone realizes and stops and my line moves ahead. The uncle in the santro ahead of me is on his cell phone and is blocking the whole road. He will either smash into me if i try to overtake him or smash into someone else. Better avoid him.
9:00 AM - Dropped my wife. Took a U-turn and am now rushing towards my office.
9:05 AM - Another red light. I respect it. There is a bus behind me. It starts honking. And now the bus conductor comes over and asks me to move a bit to the left so that he can move his bus ahead. What the heck, cant he wait for 1 minute till the light turns green and we all go. No, but he has to move 1 meter ahead of where he is now. No point in argueing, i move ahead.
9:10 AM - I am rushing. I will be late for office. Oops, there are bikes rushing too. Some from the left and some from the right. Bikes in india are meant to zoom, and thats what bikers do, overtake you from the left and the right. Another red light - and i am lucky this time - it is still green - i can rusht through. I give a right turn signal and move ahead - and ZOOOOM... a biker goes from my right side. I hit my brakes - trying to avoid crashing into him. Save a life.
9:12 AM - Now finally i am on the worst road on my route. Where there are more cycles and rickshaws that they cover the whole road. And there are cows in the middle of the road and cars coming from anywhere. I drive slowly. The driver behind me honks and then finally overtakes me from the left - pushing me to the right. I apply my brakes trying to avoid the car overtaking from the left and the car coming from the right.
9:17 AM - Now i am behind 2 rickshaws both trying to race. I honk, but both of them are SRKs. And are racing to win. There are cars and bikes coming from the other side and covering the road. I cant over take them. All i have to do is put the car in 2nd gear and just let the car move behind them. Another bike shoots by.
9:20 AM - The left turn to my office is near. Wow!! Honk for the people standing there to move by, so that i can drive on. They give me "The Eye" and then slowly move on. Hell, i am going to be late today.
9:24 AM - I am in front of the office and am parking. The guard tells me to move a bit ahead and then a bit left and then a bit right and then a bit back. And finally i am parked.
9:29 AM - I run and punch into the office...
Great na... If i had been on a bike i would have made it 15 minutes earlier.
Anyways, just hoping that when i return back home, there are no cars on the path to my parking place. And my parking place is still empty.
I had driven a car for 5 years before i got a car of my own in delhi. But looking at the condition of driving in delhi, i asked a motor driving school to give me 4-5 classes of driving in heavy traffic and thru narrow lanes. And it was there that i came to know that he had tons of students like me. People who were back from the US and were unable to drive in the crazy traffic of delhi/NCR.
Well, let me tell you about a day driving to office.
8:35 AM - I am already late. Generally i wish to be ready to go by 8:25. 10 minutes before time and i avoid the 8:30 traffic. Well - anyways, i start my car and look behind (i have to do a back to get out of my colony), and there are cars everywhere. Slowly take a reverse and move a little to the left and a little to the right and finally get to put my car between a pole and another car. Now all i have to do is take a 45 degree turn and then another reverse and another 45 degree turn before i am through with driving in reverse.
8:40 AM - Wow, it took only 5 minutes to get going. Good timing. Now avoiding the bush to the left and the small open drain at the right, i drive and again avoid the car on the left and another on the right and am finally on the main road.
8:43 AM - Oops, am stuck on the first red light which appears 100 meters from my home. Actually, i am not supposed to stand at the red light, since i have to take a left which is free. But there are so many people, so many cars and bikes and cycles and rickshaws that they have blocked the complete road and unless they move i wont be able to access my "free" left turn. And i look around. A cycle goes by wriggling between cars and bikes. Another rickshaw tries to wriggle but the hole is not big enough for him. I just hope he does not scratch my car.
8:45 AM - finally out of the red light and am driving at speed of 50 - heading straight for another red light. And i see a bike coming from the opposite direction on the wrong side. I move a bit to the right to avoid him and a car whizzes by missing me by inches and blowing its horn.
8:47 AM - Another red light. And buses lined up against each other covering the whole road. Arent they supposed to be on the left most lane. cycles and rickshaws are coming from all the roads in the crossing. The red lights are not supposed to mean anything for them. They are free to cross and create a mess at the intersection. And i patiently wait for the light to turn green. And lo, the light is green. I move ahead and i am behind a bus and a rickshaw. The bus jumps ahead, but the rickshaw moves slowly and no matter how much i honk, it wont let me move ahead. The light turns yellow and the thulla's eyes at the other end turns to dollars ($)($). But i manage to make it before the light turns red again. And the thulla turns sad. He catches hold of the car behind me.
8:50 AM - Another red light. After wriggling between cows standing between the road and 4 cycles (fast friends i believe) riding next to each other covering almost the entire road, and avoiding potholes and speed-breakers similar to small mountains, i am relaxing at another red light. The speed-breakers were terrible. They were not only meant to slow you down, but stop you completely - make you think twice whether they would scrap the car's underside and then drive over them. And now i am looking at another red light. Tons of cycles and rickshaws ahead of me. Some cycles are balancing 3 people on them. That's why circuses dont work in india any more. You get to see circus everyday on the road.
8:52 AM - The light turns green, but vehicles have not started moving. Oh, there is no thulla at the other end and the vehicles from the left side of the crossing are still moving across - even when their signal has turned red. Finally someone realizes and stops and my line moves ahead. The uncle in the santro ahead of me is on his cell phone and is blocking the whole road. He will either smash into me if i try to overtake him or smash into someone else. Better avoid him.
9:00 AM - Dropped my wife. Took a U-turn and am now rushing towards my office.
9:05 AM - Another red light. I respect it. There is a bus behind me. It starts honking. And now the bus conductor comes over and asks me to move a bit to the left so that he can move his bus ahead. What the heck, cant he wait for 1 minute till the light turns green and we all go. No, but he has to move 1 meter ahead of where he is now. No point in argueing, i move ahead.
9:10 AM - I am rushing. I will be late for office. Oops, there are bikes rushing too. Some from the left and some from the right. Bikes in india are meant to zoom, and thats what bikers do, overtake you from the left and the right. Another red light - and i am lucky this time - it is still green - i can rusht through. I give a right turn signal and move ahead - and ZOOOOM... a biker goes from my right side. I hit my brakes - trying to avoid crashing into him. Save a life.
9:12 AM - Now finally i am on the worst road on my route. Where there are more cycles and rickshaws that they cover the whole road. And there are cows in the middle of the road and cars coming from anywhere. I drive slowly. The driver behind me honks and then finally overtakes me from the left - pushing me to the right. I apply my brakes trying to avoid the car overtaking from the left and the car coming from the right.
9:17 AM - Now i am behind 2 rickshaws both trying to race. I honk, but both of them are SRKs. And are racing to win. There are cars and bikes coming from the other side and covering the road. I cant over take them. All i have to do is put the car in 2nd gear and just let the car move behind them. Another bike shoots by.
9:20 AM - The left turn to my office is near. Wow!! Honk for the people standing there to move by, so that i can drive on. They give me "The Eye" and then slowly move on. Hell, i am going to be late today.
9:24 AM - I am in front of the office and am parking. The guard tells me to move a bit ahead and then a bit left and then a bit right and then a bit back. And finally i am parked.
9:29 AM - I run and punch into the office...
Great na... If i had been on a bike i would have made it 15 minutes earlier.
Anyways, just hoping that when i return back home, there are no cars on the path to my parking place. And my parking place is still empty.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
corruption - part dwitia
It has been a long time since i have written anything - either technical or on any other topic. Hmm... Well, i was busy getting married....
I have just joined my office - a week back and am getting in the flow of going to work.
Had been on honeymoon and have been travelling. Have seen the different ways corruption works in india. Each and every incident involving corruption by government officials is worth noting. But right now i will list down some incidents that happened with me.
Incident #1
I am coming from sector 18 towards sector 16 in noida. I am on a red light and i dont see a "thulla" (in india all police officials are called thulla. They are always ready to take money from you and fill their own pockets) around. Well anyways, i still decide to wait till the light turns green. There is an auto coming from the left and he is also waiting for his signal to turn green. Still, every minute the auto moves 1 meter ahead. My red-light turns green and by that time, the auto is almost in the middle of the road - and there is still no thulla around. No one paying attention to him. So i start moving and am almost half way to the across when the auto decides to move still ahead and comes right in front of me. I stop and before i can turn and head across the crossing, my signal turns red.
The autowala gives me a frown and blows his horn. And from no-where a thulla jumps out and signals me to stop. Well, i shud have sped off. But, my mistake, i decide to stop and make him understand the situation. I am in hurry. I dont keep more than 400 in my pocket. The thulla asks me for my papers. I tell him that i dont have any. And that i live nearby - just across the road (I told him the truth). He tells me that red light jumping is 1000 Rs fine. And then sits behind me and asks me to ride to the nearby police station. And one most important point - he is not a traffic police. So i tell him that i am not driving to the police station. I dont have 1000 Rs fine and try to make him understand the situation. But he refuses to listen and tells me that he can let me go with around 400/- cash to him. I shut off my bike. Took the keys out. Hand it over to him and tell him to take my bike to the police station and i will collect it from there after paying the fine. The thulla just looks at me and lowers his offer to let me go to 300 Rs.
I argue with him - give him all the lies i can make up. Make him understand that i am a poor student and that i dont have enough money in my pocket. Eat his head for around 1 hour. The thulla is fed up and starts calling a crand to take by bike. I asked him "why dont you take it yourself?" And he tells me that he does not know how to drive a bullet. Shame on him. Finally people start gathering and looking at us. He starts shouting at them. I argue with him openly and tell him that 50 Rs is enough. He is still adamant and we finally settle for 100 Rs. I hand him my hard earned 100 Rs for something i have not done and he goes away happy.
Incident #2
This is a really nice one. We (me and my roomie deepak) used to live in noida sector 12 and we used to go to vasundra enclave for our diner. There is a small resturant over there which serves good food at low prices. And the best part of the resturant was that they did not levy sales tax of 12.whatever percent.
So one night after having a lavish diner, we were riding back on deepak's scooty. Both of us wearing helmet - cause there are thullas always ready at the border to extort money from you. Still, when we were crossing the border, a junior thulla stopped us. And asked us for the papers. Hmm and my romie depak had forgotten his wallet home. So he checked everywhere and finally told that he has forgotten his wallet home and he would need to go back home which was nearby - around 5 minutes from there to get his wallet and papers. This was reported to the senior thulla and he came and told us that if we dont have the papers, then we should pay the fine.
I thought that i would ask the question - fine for what. Well, but i didnt. It is better not to provoke a thulla. I told deepak - you wait here and i will get your papers from home. So i took a rickshaw and moved off towards home to get the papers. I had just reached home, when i got a call from deepak that the thulla has let him go and he is riding back home. And then he told me what happened.
The senior thulla told the junior thulla "dekh kar roko. Jinke pas paisa nahi hai unko rok kar kya faida". [look at the person before you ask him to stop. There is no point in stopping someone if he does not have any money]. Deepak was simply shood away - since he did not have any money on him.
Incident #3
This one is a very recent one - happened in gurgao while I had been to gurgaon to pick up my wife.
I started early from my office so i could reach her office on time. And when i reached there - there was a huge traffic jam outside her office. Inspite of that there were cars parked outside her office on one side of the road and there was a thulla looking around. It didnt seem wrong to me to stop on the side of the road and wait for her to come down. Stopping for 5-10 minutes should not be an issue. If the thulla thinks it is an issue, he can tell me and I can simply drive off.
So i have parked and put on my blinkers and am waiting when this thulla comes and knocks on the window. My mistake, i should have simply drove off. I open up the window and the thulla asks me for the papers. I tell him that i will move on if there is a problem. But he is adamant on getting the papers and wants to pose a fine of 400. Finally after some argument, he takes off my car keys.
I go to him with my papers and explain him that if he takes the papers then i will have to drive back from noida to here to collect my papers. So take the money now and let me off. And the thulla simply says that if you give the money now, it will go into my pocket. I tell him - then i could be led off at a much lower amount. He asks 300. I empty my pockets and give him all 10s and 20s - totalling around 100. The thulla says that there is an ATM in the nearby building, get the money from there. So i go and get 300 for him and hand it over to him and get my papers and drive off.
There are so many incidents with me - all almost similar. Maybe i get trapped cause i stop when the thullas ask me to stop.
I have heard incidents from my friends where one guy said that he told that he wont give the money now and would go to court. And he was disappointed cause there is no one to listen in court. All they assume is that we are murderers or maybe somewhat similar and we should pay double or tripple the amount fined on us. So it is better to not to go to court.
One really nice incident happened with one of my friend. He was caught jumping a red light and he paid the fine. He says that he emptied his heart out. Gave all the bad words he had ever came across to all the thullas there. Called them the worst things he could call. And then paid his fine and drove off. And he was happy. He says that it was worth paying the fine. Letting go of this frustration and driving off.
The best thing about corruption is that the corrupt officials wont be paying any tax on their "under-table" income. Maybe government should put tax on all such incomes. Or maybe make money paid as corruption - exempt from tax. If i would have earned 100 Rs, i would have paid 30 Rs as tax and would have got to keep only 70 Rs with me. The under priviledged common man.
Now the government is increasing the fines for all the penalties that tend to happen. Indirectly raising the cut for all the thullas. I could now-a-days see the thullas drooling at the sight of people driving. And their drool increases with increase in the number of vehicles and the raise in penalties.
The problem is not with the corrupt police officials, but with the management/the government. They have created situations so that corruption prevails. There is no proper management of traffic signal timings. The thullas are underpaid - i think so. And the thulla will always catch you if you start crossing the traffic signal at green and arrive at the other end when the signal is red. And this usually happens cause the time for yellow light is so low that there is almost no yellow light. And the red light does not work for cycle or rickshaw. So cycle or rickshaw can jump as many red lights as possible and create as much confusion as possible on the road.
After all, this is INDIA...
I have just joined my office - a week back and am getting in the flow of going to work.
Had been on honeymoon and have been travelling. Have seen the different ways corruption works in india. Each and every incident involving corruption by government officials is worth noting. But right now i will list down some incidents that happened with me.
Incident #1
I am coming from sector 18 towards sector 16 in noida. I am on a red light and i dont see a "thulla" (in india all police officials are called thulla. They are always ready to take money from you and fill their own pockets) around. Well anyways, i still decide to wait till the light turns green. There is an auto coming from the left and he is also waiting for his signal to turn green. Still, every minute the auto moves 1 meter ahead. My red-light turns green and by that time, the auto is almost in the middle of the road - and there is still no thulla around. No one paying attention to him. So i start moving and am almost half way to the across when the auto decides to move still ahead and comes right in front of me. I stop and before i can turn and head across the crossing, my signal turns red.
The autowala gives me a frown and blows his horn. And from no-where a thulla jumps out and signals me to stop. Well, i shud have sped off. But, my mistake, i decide to stop and make him understand the situation. I am in hurry. I dont keep more than 400 in my pocket. The thulla asks me for my papers. I tell him that i dont have any. And that i live nearby - just across the road (I told him the truth). He tells me that red light jumping is 1000 Rs fine. And then sits behind me and asks me to ride to the nearby police station. And one most important point - he is not a traffic police. So i tell him that i am not driving to the police station. I dont have 1000 Rs fine and try to make him understand the situation. But he refuses to listen and tells me that he can let me go with around 400/- cash to him. I shut off my bike. Took the keys out. Hand it over to him and tell him to take my bike to the police station and i will collect it from there after paying the fine. The thulla just looks at me and lowers his offer to let me go to 300 Rs.
I argue with him - give him all the lies i can make up. Make him understand that i am a poor student and that i dont have enough money in my pocket. Eat his head for around 1 hour. The thulla is fed up and starts calling a crand to take by bike. I asked him "why dont you take it yourself?" And he tells me that he does not know how to drive a bullet. Shame on him. Finally people start gathering and looking at us. He starts shouting at them. I argue with him openly and tell him that 50 Rs is enough. He is still adamant and we finally settle for 100 Rs. I hand him my hard earned 100 Rs for something i have not done and he goes away happy.
Incident #2
This is a really nice one. We (me and my roomie deepak) used to live in noida sector 12 and we used to go to vasundra enclave for our diner. There is a small resturant over there which serves good food at low prices. And the best part of the resturant was that they did not levy sales tax of 12.whatever percent.
So one night after having a lavish diner, we were riding back on deepak's scooty. Both of us wearing helmet - cause there are thullas always ready at the border to extort money from you. Still, when we were crossing the border, a junior thulla stopped us. And asked us for the papers. Hmm and my romie depak had forgotten his wallet home. So he checked everywhere and finally told that he has forgotten his wallet home and he would need to go back home which was nearby - around 5 minutes from there to get his wallet and papers. This was reported to the senior thulla and he came and told us that if we dont have the papers, then we should pay the fine.
I thought that i would ask the question - fine for what. Well, but i didnt. It is better not to provoke a thulla. I told deepak - you wait here and i will get your papers from home. So i took a rickshaw and moved off towards home to get the papers. I had just reached home, when i got a call from deepak that the thulla has let him go and he is riding back home. And then he told me what happened.
The senior thulla told the junior thulla "dekh kar roko. Jinke pas paisa nahi hai unko rok kar kya faida". [look at the person before you ask him to stop. There is no point in stopping someone if he does not have any money]. Deepak was simply shood away - since he did not have any money on him.
Incident #3
This one is a very recent one - happened in gurgao while I had been to gurgaon to pick up my wife.
I started early from my office so i could reach her office on time. And when i reached there - there was a huge traffic jam outside her office. Inspite of that there were cars parked outside her office on one side of the road and there was a thulla looking around. It didnt seem wrong to me to stop on the side of the road and wait for her to come down. Stopping for 5-10 minutes should not be an issue. If the thulla thinks it is an issue, he can tell me and I can simply drive off.
So i have parked and put on my blinkers and am waiting when this thulla comes and knocks on the window. My mistake, i should have simply drove off. I open up the window and the thulla asks me for the papers. I tell him that i will move on if there is a problem. But he is adamant on getting the papers and wants to pose a fine of 400. Finally after some argument, he takes off my car keys.
I go to him with my papers and explain him that if he takes the papers then i will have to drive back from noida to here to collect my papers. So take the money now and let me off. And the thulla simply says that if you give the money now, it will go into my pocket. I tell him - then i could be led off at a much lower amount. He asks 300. I empty my pockets and give him all 10s and 20s - totalling around 100. The thulla says that there is an ATM in the nearby building, get the money from there. So i go and get 300 for him and hand it over to him and get my papers and drive off.
There are so many incidents with me - all almost similar. Maybe i get trapped cause i stop when the thullas ask me to stop.
I have heard incidents from my friends where one guy said that he told that he wont give the money now and would go to court. And he was disappointed cause there is no one to listen in court. All they assume is that we are murderers or maybe somewhat similar and we should pay double or tripple the amount fined on us. So it is better to not to go to court.
One really nice incident happened with one of my friend. He was caught jumping a red light and he paid the fine. He says that he emptied his heart out. Gave all the bad words he had ever came across to all the thullas there. Called them the worst things he could call. And then paid his fine and drove off. And he was happy. He says that it was worth paying the fine. Letting go of this frustration and driving off.
The best thing about corruption is that the corrupt officials wont be paying any tax on their "under-table" income. Maybe government should put tax on all such incomes. Or maybe make money paid as corruption - exempt from tax. If i would have earned 100 Rs, i would have paid 30 Rs as tax and would have got to keep only 70 Rs with me. The under priviledged common man.
Now the government is increasing the fines for all the penalties that tend to happen. Indirectly raising the cut for all the thullas. I could now-a-days see the thullas drooling at the sight of people driving. And their drool increases with increase in the number of vehicles and the raise in penalties.
The problem is not with the corrupt police officials, but with the management/the government. They have created situations so that corruption prevails. There is no proper management of traffic signal timings. The thullas are underpaid - i think so. And the thulla will always catch you if you start crossing the traffic signal at green and arrive at the other end when the signal is red. And this usually happens cause the time for yellow light is so low that there is almost no yellow light. And the red light does not work for cycle or rickshaw. So cycle or rickshaw can jump as many red lights as possible and create as much confusion as possible on the road.
After all, this is INDIA...
Friday, May 05, 2006
swimming...
Went down for swimming yesterday at kendriya vidyalaya near adobe in noida. Had a great time for an hour. After a long long time i went for swimming and swam in water worth swimming. Had a chance to swim sometime back when we were on a picnic to some resort (dont remember the name). But the water there was so shallow that it was difficult to remain submerged in it...
I love to swim. Learned swimming when i was in 4th or 5th standard. Dad taught me. Had a great pool in baroda. And really cheap. We used to join for a quarter in summer and it costed us something around 350/- for the membership. The pool was very clean, very deep and had a diving board. Used to practice all types of diving there... I swam for some years and then in 9th left it due to studies.
But later me and my college friends joined again in our 2nd or 3rd year of college. And we used to have a great time. My highest record was around 22 lengths. 1 length was 50 meters. Used to get very tired and hungry.
Yesterday where i swam, the pool is not that long, but i managed something around 4-5 lengths (starting from 3/4 th of the pool).
Just hope that i will join the pool later and maybe after a month will be able to break my previous record. Lets see....
I love to swim. Learned swimming when i was in 4th or 5th standard. Dad taught me. Had a great pool in baroda. And really cheap. We used to join for a quarter in summer and it costed us something around 350/- for the membership. The pool was very clean, very deep and had a diving board. Used to practice all types of diving there... I swam for some years and then in 9th left it due to studies.
But later me and my college friends joined again in our 2nd or 3rd year of college. And we used to have a great time. My highest record was around 22 lengths. 1 length was 50 meters. Used to get very tired and hungry.
Yesterday where i swam, the pool is not that long, but i managed something around 4-5 lengths (starting from 3/4 th of the pool).
Just hope that i will join the pool later and maybe after a month will be able to break my previous record. Lets see....
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