Race against time

Phew... There could have been better times to catch a fever. It should not have happened this weekend forcing me out of action today.

Long, long days ahead on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Odisha - A first impression

You can comfortably drive on the wrong side of the road without hassles.

No motorcycles have a front number plate. The plate usually contains the name or a shloka. As do some cars.

Nice weather. Possibly due to the time of the year I had gone there.

Good roads are there in Bhubaneshwar. The entry road to Odisha from Andhra via NH-5 leaves much to be desired.

The Humma market has trucks parked on either side of a cramped NH-5 and the wares on display on the curb.

The lake Chilika is huge.

The people in Bhubaneshwar are among the nicest I have ever met.

The police are dudes. We went to the beach to have a beer at night, only to find cops there, drinking as well.

Konark at night is beautiful.

Southern Odisha needs urgent attention & development.

Up and down

The feeling of despair in one sphere can get a man stuck in all avenues.
The taste of success leaves him confident to conquer more insurmountable peaks.

Complan Mango Milkshake

The last time I had it was a decade back or so. Its flavor has come back with a vengeance around me like a spider's web. From 0 to 360. Freaky.

The cigarette lighter

Noticed that the cigarette lighter's fuel tank is divided into 2 compartments to increase its life. Neat idea.

The flesh engine

My bike used to overheat when I used to ride it for more than an hour or so in the hot sun. It would just cough and die. I was lucky once when it started raining after one of the metallic myocardial infarctions.

It's beautiful to watch the rain drops turn instantly into steam when they fall on the engine's iron fins. Cooling the inferno within, soothing it back to normalcy.

My motor too seems to be headed that way in this summer heat. A cool shower is a momentary relief from the sticky heat any time of the night.

Night rider

Even though Chennai is despicably hot these days, the nights are relatively bearable. The city has amazing roads compared to what I have been used to. And I also have a cooked-up reason as to why the roads in Chennai are relatively decent when compared to its counterparts in Kerala. The answer must be - rains. The Kerala roads get washed away in every torrential downpour. Another fact which adds to the erosion is that the terrain is uneven in Kerala resulting in roads turning into rivers and streams with every storm.

Here, rain is rare. And the roads reflect that. And to top things, the terrain is quite even. When it rains, lakes and ponds are formed here. Big pools of stagnant water. I have deviated horribly away from what I actually wanted to jot down here.

I love riding through the Chennai roads in the middle of the night. Mostly well-lit and well-built, these roads have charm during the night, when there is no real traffic. Given an unlimited amount of gasoline and a reliable machine, I could ride on till eternity and still not be bored here. And yeah, unlimited night time.

Walking Trees

I behave differently at times. Yet there is a certain level of predictability even there. Talking of which I was struck with awe at a potted plant at office.

An idea which was planted in me a long time ago by some prose or verse welled up within me. There was a question which was posed by the plant.

What if... What if the plant as a seed or a cut stem, did not know that it was supposed to be this species of a plant. What if it didn't know that it was supposed to grow in a certain pattern and live in a certain way.

Maybe the Sentinel creeps arose from such errant seeds.

A day off

A day off from work once in a while is a nice thing. More so, if you have stuff to do, and if some of them actually get done. A break from the world of monitors and digitized voices. Reminded me of how sequestered I really am from the 'real' world.

Chennai has become burning hot these days. I almost got fried on Monday.

Focussing

The general way of how things work is slowly coming into focus. It has taken an abysmally long time for this to happen. Wish it happened some years back instead of now. But that is something which cannot be undone.

I happened to see an old American comedy film Being There in which the protagonist tells the press (or was it the President) that if someone watches over young plants, they will grow stronger. How true.

Dust

I live in a very dusty street. My bike looks abandoned every morning under its cover of fine red and brown dust. And I dust it, just before I take it to go to work. I park it in the office basement. And I take it back to its dusty abode most nights.

Funny that the dust, the bike and me, are all really the same dust in different shapes.

short poem

whats done is done

whats gona come is uncertain

and when that goes by

that too is done

Brownie

Brownie died. Road kill. The Bitch is heartbroken. And on the roads.

Pushed the bullet 8 km from Ashok Nagar till IIT Madras on a Sunday night, when Mani the mechanic from Neelangarai gave the much needed boost like the proverbial guardian angel.

And broke.

You can prevail over better players at table tennis by psyching them out.

1411 Tigers left

A recent ad campaign which has caught my attention is the one which draws one to the plight of the Indian tigers. Apparently there are only 1411 tigers left. And 'we' have to take up their cause.

The tiger is India's national animal. I wonder why is the need of the concept of a national animal at all. I guess the mosquito or the housefly should have been made the national animal rather than the weak tiger. Anyway pantera tigris is benefiting from that.

Tigers are so bad in evolution and in adapting to changing conditions that they are getting extinguished at a bloody quick pace. They need help. I guess that the cost incurred to shove them all into reserves are going to be borne in part by the people who are going to help the tigers. I hope that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam do not get a share of the booty thus raised for the tigers.

Life would have been easier for the tiger if they could create a tiger with a dog's mindset. Imagine tigers as pets and guard-tigers. That should click amongst the fab set. Tiger farms would start sprouting up here and there as well.

I would like to be a tiger farmer. That sounds so very exotic. Bloody tigers.

Lent

It's funny how you can use the crutch of religion to get things done. I have been caught in a web of drinks these days. Anything and everything alcoholic has been gravitating towards me of late. And friends. When any of my friends invite me for drinks, I am more like Dracula getting a pass to a blood fest. Deep inside of me there is a voice which always tells me that I should refuse.

I always end up acceding to their requests without exception. The little voice gets drowned out anyway, after a few rounds. And the reputation. My reputation has become an enemy of mine. It says that I don't refuse a drinks invite, I guess. Irrespective of what I say, whether the reason is valid or lame, my wish to not drink is invariably brushed aside, time after time.

And then came Lent. I am Orthodox Jacobite Christian on paper. It was the religion assigned to me by my mother. It is what I fill up in forms whenever I am asked to. I don't really believe in the veracity of that religion, or of any other religion. I, however, have decided to observe Lent, by refraining from the major vices which are haunting me.

Religion is a very dicey subject. No one really forces you to break Lent or any other religious obligation. The drinks invites do come once in a while. The refusals now have legitimacy, and are accepted. I wonder if I will have to become a Sabarimala swamy after Easter, if I am to keep this gig up.

Human infestation

The dreams are growing in their range of variety these days. I dreamt of accidentally breaking a friend's guitar, and the subsequent botched attempts to fix it, and the ultimate despair.

Jackie boy and Brownie are not seen these days. I wonder if Jackie's head injury became septic. I hope that Brownie's not been taken away by the dog catchers of Chennai Corporation. The dog catchers are a tough lot.

They leap out of their yellow Tempo with nothing but ropes in their hands and start snaring them dogs. And the dogs. They are shit scared of these men in khaki shorts. They seem to prefer flight to fight. I guess I would do the same, had I been a dog.

Maybe there's a parallel universe where canines are dominant species and humans are the 'dogs'. Imagine a bunch of Doberman Pinschers in khaki jumping out of the Chennai Corporation Tempo with ropes in their mouth, on a mission to purge the human infestation.

I like the term - Human Infestation. Isn't that what's really happening?

Human experiment - Change of settings

The human experiment is losing steam. I am getting mired in tendrils which I have sprouted at different places. It's taking a toll on my well being. Sometimes I end up acquiescing to other's wishes, while sacrificing my own. I don't attach much importance to my wants. They get fulfilled or forgotten one way or the other. Being a man of few wants has two sides to it. Such a man is at ease at most places with most people. On the other hand, his mind is so used to having its wishes brushed off so often that it hardly minds it when a random wish is brushed aside yet again. Maybe it's time to switch the priorities of the human experiment to a different setting. It's not going to go down well with the people who are used to me being me. This should be interesting. The key would be not to accede when confronted emotionally.

The Sun's dead

I visited http://java.sun.com and had a nasty surprise today.I saw Oracle everywhere. I guess this is the beginning of the end for Java and Sun.