I have obviously not kept up my word of trying to blog more frequently. So, before time runs out, let me chronicle the remaining facets of the trip and move on to other topics soon.
From the previous post on this trip, you would have come to know that my mother just found out that her purse along with cash was missing.
After frantic searches of the various bags and even the car, we finally concluded that it was indeed lost. And the venue was most likely the temple in Tirumanacheri.
We reached the hotel and then called up the bank to get her ATM card blocked, since that was also there in the purse. We got the confirmation after multiple calls to them, that the card had indeed been blocked and also that no transactions had been done using that card. The monetary loss though was around 6K INR.
The rest of the evening was spent in taking rest, meeting up with a cousin and aunt who dropped by to the hotel. We then visited one of the local temples and called it a night.
The next day, we went to Kumbakonam. The main purpose was to visit Swami Malai where we hadnt been to in a long long time. And since we were going that far, we also had quick halts at Tirunageshwaram and Uppili Appan Kovil. These two temples are basically 2 gears on a car apart.
Swami Malai temple is quite different. It is on a small hillock kind of area, though it could very well be that the King who built it, basically just built it at an elevated level. After we climbed the two steeps sets of stairs, we bought special darshan tickets and waited in line. It was a perfect time to be there since the abhishekam was in progress. Afterwards, they did a complete alangaaram to Lord Subramanyam and believe you me, it was awesome. The one really different piece of decoration that I noticed was the headgear. It was not a crown nor was it the usual Indian style turban or mundaasu. The headgear looked exactly like what we have seen in pictures of George Washington or Robert Clive!
Anyways, we left the temple and had a 10 second drive-thru around the MahaMaham lake and then returned to the hotel. In the evening, we dropped in to my "mother's house" though due its very dilapitated state, we couldnt enter inside.
We left for Chennai that very night - the night of March 5th by Rathi Meena again. The guys once again, drove down to Chennai in a matter of 4.5 hours and I was able to continue my sleep on Saturday morning for some more time. I had to then go to Mylapore and pick up my car from Raghu before heading out to my project party, which incidentally also gave my first experience with paint ball. Paint ball is a game that looks quite easy to play, but like all games, is very difficult when you actually play it!
Anyways, it was a quite a hectic weekend for me and also for my parents. But one that we hope would yield the desired result soon.
Showing posts with label Bus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bus. Show all posts
Monday, April 19, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
The mini pilgrimage in March 2010 – Day 0
After a lot of pleading, hinting, cajoling, guiding, recommending, suggesting, nudging etc., I finally relented and agreed to make the long pending visit to Thirumanachery. To those of you who are not aware about the significance of this town, please be advised that a visit to the Shivan kovil in this town and doing the special poojai there, will help in ending the “single” marital status of an indvidual.
I had been asked to go to this place by countless people and now that I think about it, I don't think any of them actually got married after going through the routine that they advise me. But, I finally decided to take their suggestion in good faith and a trip was finally planned. We were to visit that temple of the 4th of March and return by the morning of March 6th, since I had a project party to partake in.
The tour almost didnt happen, because of the health of my parents. My father was having another bout of amoebiasis and my mother had a small kitchen accident which caused a 3" diameter burn mark near her right elbow. But both of them were quite particular that this trip not be delayed, because they didn't want to bow down to any obstacle to a trip being planned with the main purpose of removing obstacles!
So there we were opposite the Thiruvanmiyur bus stand at 10:40 PM on the 3rd of March, waiting for the Rathimeena bus scheduled to arrive at 11:05 PM. My dear friend Raghu had dropped us at the bus stand. Thankfully, we didnt make him wait, because the bus finally showed up a few minutes before midnight.
This was the first time I was travelling on this bus and I must admit that it was good. I had opted for a semi-sleeper AC bus for this trip, though my lack of knowledge in this area meant that I didnt book their full-sleeper bus. The seats were quite comfortable, the AC was in full swing, we were given fresh blankets and there was also a supply of packaged water.
The bus left the Thiruvanmiyur area a few minutes after midnight. Despite the relatively comfortable environment, I did have trouble falling asleep. It was primarily because I am not that used to sleeping in a bus unless I am really really tired. I was having a broken sleep and when the bus started slowing down at a place which I found out to be a petrol bunk in Pondichery, we took the usual toilet break. The time by then was 2 AM.
The journey resumed in around 15 minutes and after more rounds of broken sleep, I finally heard some announce that the bus was in Mayavaram. When I checked the clock it was 5:00 AM. So the entire elapsed time was around 5 hours, with an actual travel time of just 4 hours 45 minutes. That, by Indian standards was quite fast!
Day 1 updates in the next post.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Back to the office bus
In the month of December, I started using the local EMU services to commute to the office. The experiences have been fairly well chronicled in my blog and this post sums up my position after I switched to the train.
But from the 1st of this month, I have returned to my office bus. The reasons were manifold and primary amongst them were these 2:
1. I was reaching office at least 30-40 minutes later than what I am normally accustomed to. This in effect stretched my day and also, with an increasing frequency of calls starting at around 8 AM, it was getting difficult for me to board the later trains. Catching the earlier train actually meant that I had to leave home at around the same time that I used to leave while using the office bus. And factoring the wait times at the station, the time it takes after alighting and then boarding our company shuttle service and the time it takes for this shuttle to reach the office, I was easily wasting 30 minutes.
All these months, I didn't have much of an issue with that since I didn't have any early morning conference calls to take. But with few of my projects running out of the EST and CST of USA, I no longer have the luxury of escaping early morning calls.
2. Auto: While I did book an auto to take me to the station every morning for a fixed rate of Rs.80 per day, I didn't have any such luxury for the evening. This meant haggling every day with some punk who would first ask Rs.150 and would then settle for Rs.80! And the other aspect was that the morning dude was running up a big tab with me in terms of advance. This advance never depreciated below the 200 rupee mark and even now, the guy actually owes me some 300 bucks or so.
And then there was third factor of where I am going to be working from. I have to spend at least 1-2 days a week in the office closer to my home. And I would also have to spend 2-3 days a month in Hyderabad too.
So taking all things into consideration, I decided to try the bus option once again. So far, I have had no issues in the morning trips. I invariably sit alone and have shared the seat on only 2 days when my good friends came by that bus. But the evenings have been a different story. It is clear that unless I take the bus that leaves office at 5.20, I am going to spend 2 hours on the road minimum. But for the same reason, there are lot of people taking the 5.20 bus and if a bus is crowded then someone is going to be pressing against me. And with my luck, it is the biggest and sweatiest person on that route whose stop is at least 10 stops beyond mine.
Let me see how long this option is gonna continue.
But from the 1st of this month, I have returned to my office bus. The reasons were manifold and primary amongst them were these 2:
1. I was reaching office at least 30-40 minutes later than what I am normally accustomed to. This in effect stretched my day and also, with an increasing frequency of calls starting at around 8 AM, it was getting difficult for me to board the later trains. Catching the earlier train actually meant that I had to leave home at around the same time that I used to leave while using the office bus. And factoring the wait times at the station, the time it takes after alighting and then boarding our company shuttle service and the time it takes for this shuttle to reach the office, I was easily wasting 30 minutes.
All these months, I didn't have much of an issue with that since I didn't have any early morning conference calls to take. But with few of my projects running out of the EST and CST of USA, I no longer have the luxury of escaping early morning calls.
2. Auto: While I did book an auto to take me to the station every morning for a fixed rate of Rs.80 per day, I didn't have any such luxury for the evening. This meant haggling every day with some punk who would first ask Rs.150 and would then settle for Rs.80! And the other aspect was that the morning dude was running up a big tab with me in terms of advance. This advance never depreciated below the 200 rupee mark and even now, the guy actually owes me some 300 bucks or so.
And then there was third factor of where I am going to be working from. I have to spend at least 1-2 days a week in the office closer to my home. And I would also have to spend 2-3 days a month in Hyderabad too.
So taking all things into consideration, I decided to try the bus option once again. So far, I have had no issues in the morning trips. I invariably sit alone and have shared the seat on only 2 days when my good friends came by that bus. But the evenings have been a different story. It is clear that unless I take the bus that leaves office at 5.20, I am going to spend 2 hours on the road minimum. But for the same reason, there are lot of people taking the 5.20 bus and if a bus is crowded then someone is going to be pressing against me. And with my luck, it is the biggest and sweatiest person on that route whose stop is at least 10 stops beyond mine.
Let me see how long this option is gonna continue.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Have I grown taller?
Two things happened last week which makes me think whether I have increased in height!
1. I played an intra-unit tennis ball cricket match last Wednesday (it was the Semi Finals and unfortunately, our team lost). I was fielding at short cover and one of the batsmen actually spooned the ball in the direction of point. While the ball didn't travel much of a distance, it went higher and gave me a chance to catch it. I ran as fast as I could and at one point felt that the ball was winning the race. I just stretched out my left hand in despair hoping to make it look like I was making a good attempt and lo! The ball landed in my hand.
2. Last Friday, I was alighting from an MTC bus and inadvertently bumped my head against the entrance. This has never happened to me ever before.
Taking these two things into account, I think I have probably grown a little in the Y-axis as well (in addition to the growth along the X and Z axis).
1. I played an intra-unit tennis ball cricket match last Wednesday (it was the Semi Finals and unfortunately, our team lost). I was fielding at short cover and one of the batsmen actually spooned the ball in the direction of point. While the ball didn't travel much of a distance, it went higher and gave me a chance to catch it. I ran as fast as I could and at one point felt that the ball was winning the race. I just stretched out my left hand in despair hoping to make it look like I was making a good attempt and lo! The ball landed in my hand.
2. Last Friday, I was alighting from an MTC bus and inadvertently bumped my head against the entrance. This has never happened to me ever before.
Taking these two things into account, I think I have probably grown a little in the Y-axis as well (in addition to the growth along the X and Z axis).
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
MTC bus travel - A/C Bus
I travelled by one of MTC's A/C buses yesterday evening. This was a first time for me, though the buses have been in operation for quite some time now.
Raghu and I have been talking about making a trip on this bus from the minute the announcement about the introduction of these buses were made. But since he has not really "found time" to make the trip, we couldn't make that trip.
Last evening, I came out of the Guindy subway and those of you familiar with the terrain there would realise that the subway opens into the bus stop. And when I stepped on to the stop, there was a 21G A/C bus waiting there. For a brief moment, I thought of boarding the bus. Then I thought of the "pact" with Raghu but then also remembered that he would not be making the trip, in spite of his tall claims, especially after his cousin narrated a harrowing experience involving someone vomiting in the bus.
So, I decided to board the bus. But the problem with that route - 21G - from my perspective is that, it takes a left turn near IIT and goes towards Kotturpuram. In effect this means that I would have to get down at Anna University stop itself. But I decided that the main aim was to travel by that bus and so decided in favor of boarding the bus.
Meanwhile the bus driver, who was not privy to all this mental processing (it actually took a much shorter time compared to the time it takes you to read it), started the bus from the stop. As I went towards the bus, I realised that he hadn't closed the door and also that he was actually doing a speed of 1 KmPH. So I was able to easily ask him if the bus stopped at Anna University and he nodded in the affirmative and even asked me to board the bus. His exact words were "umm.. vaanga sir", which was a rarity considering that if you somehow manage to speak to a driver by virtue of your good karma, the response would typically be along the lines "yaeru paa yaeru yaeru".
I boarded the bus and instantly felt the effect of the A/C which was in full blast. The temperature was definitely set at around 18 degrees. Even as I started moving towards the back of the bus, the conductor walked towards me and actually gave me a smile - the second shock in the space of one minute for me since no one has ever really given me a welcome smile inside a bus.
I bought my ticket and sat in the back half of the bus, which by the way is at an elevated level compared to the front portion, which is barely a foot above the road.
When the bus went up the Guindy flyover, I simply didn't feel that the bus was going up a slope. There was an internal speaker system through which some Tamil film music was being played. It didn't sound like radio, but am not sure about it.
Since my stop was actually the next one, I got to travel only around 1.5 Kms. Some 100 metres before the stop, there was an announcement over the speakers about what the next stop was. I got up from my seat with a really heavy heart that the good time was getting over so quickly and got out of the bus.
And to make things worse, in the next couple of minutes a bus headed to Besant Nagar came along and it was a rick-rack; probably one that was procured by the MTC during my school days!
Raghu and I have been talking about making a trip on this bus from the minute the announcement about the introduction of these buses were made. But since he has not really "found time" to make the trip, we couldn't make that trip.
Last evening, I came out of the Guindy subway and those of you familiar with the terrain there would realise that the subway opens into the bus stop. And when I stepped on to the stop, there was a 21G A/C bus waiting there. For a brief moment, I thought of boarding the bus. Then I thought of the "pact" with Raghu but then also remembered that he would not be making the trip, in spite of his tall claims, especially after his cousin narrated a harrowing experience involving someone vomiting in the bus.
So, I decided to board the bus. But the problem with that route - 21G - from my perspective is that, it takes a left turn near IIT and goes towards Kotturpuram. In effect this means that I would have to get down at Anna University stop itself. But I decided that the main aim was to travel by that bus and so decided in favor of boarding the bus.
Meanwhile the bus driver, who was not privy to all this mental processing (it actually took a much shorter time compared to the time it takes you to read it), started the bus from the stop. As I went towards the bus, I realised that he hadn't closed the door and also that he was actually doing a speed of 1 KmPH. So I was able to easily ask him if the bus stopped at Anna University and he nodded in the affirmative and even asked me to board the bus. His exact words were "umm.. vaanga sir", which was a rarity considering that if you somehow manage to speak to a driver by virtue of your good karma, the response would typically be along the lines "yaeru paa yaeru yaeru".
I boarded the bus and instantly felt the effect of the A/C which was in full blast. The temperature was definitely set at around 18 degrees. Even as I started moving towards the back of the bus, the conductor walked towards me and actually gave me a smile - the second shock in the space of one minute for me since no one has ever really given me a welcome smile inside a bus.
I bought my ticket and sat in the back half of the bus, which by the way is at an elevated level compared to the front portion, which is barely a foot above the road.
When the bus went up the Guindy flyover, I simply didn't feel that the bus was going up a slope. There was an internal speaker system through which some Tamil film music was being played. It didn't sound like radio, but am not sure about it.
Since my stop was actually the next one, I got to travel only around 1.5 Kms. Some 100 metres before the stop, there was an announcement over the speakers about what the next stop was. I got up from my seat with a really heavy heart that the good time was getting over so quickly and got out of the bus.
And to make things worse, in the next couple of minutes a bus headed to Besant Nagar came along and it was a rick-rack; probably one that was procured by the MTC during my school days!
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Tirupati travelogue 9-Feb-08 to 10-Feb-08: Part 6 (Final)
Anyways, there was quite some time left to kill and a couple of used this to investigate the availability of some other better bus service. But there was no change in luck on that count.
I then went about in search of water and some mint to give me solace during the trip. After I returned to my seat, there was a request from one of the parties to get Filmfare or Stardust or something of that ilk. Coming as it did from one of the most knowledgeable people in the touring party, I was actually surprised.
After I got the magazines demanded by others as well, all of us finally settled down for the journey to start. The bus did start at the indicated time of 5 PM. By then, all the seats were occupied and a handful of people were already standing. I guess that is a price one has to pay if you can go to Chennai from Tirupati for Rs.62!
Anyways…our seat was right behind the conductor’s seat and while people were getting tickets, I thought I heard a couple of “Kalahasthi”s being mentioned. The bus halted at a Railway crossing and at that point I asked the conductor which route the bus was taking. His reply was “Kalahasthi Tada Padi” and on being further questioned about the travel time, he said it would be around 4 hours.
Great! I avoided the trip to Kalahasthi and this bus was anyway going by that town. Was I to feel bad about it or should I feel happy that even when I didn’t want to go by that route, I was still being made to at least pass by and have a darshan of the Gopuram?
By the 20th minute of the journey, I started getting all sorts of body pain due to the ergonomically challenged seats. My friend sharing the seat was in no better state and both of us decided to take turns in leaning forward, just to let the other person gain a 4% increase in comfort levels. We are both of average height and not that wide (perhaps deep, but not wide, if you know what I mean), yet sitting in those seats was getting to be painful.
The bus was ambling at a steady pace and with the fading light, the driver couldn’t really go at good speed due to the poorly lit highway, that seemed to under construction for a good portion. We finally reached Tada at 7.15 PM and were informed that there was going to be a quick break.
My friends and I literally ran out of the bus to stretch ourselves. I just couldn’t stand for even a minute. I kept walking around, started bending my back in all directions, lifted my legs, stretched them towards to the back etc etc. If I hadn’t done any of those, I am sure I would have died of cramps.
As a blessing in disguise, the supposedly short break went on for almost half an hour. We had actually stopped at a wayside stall selling “purotta” and the likes. So, we had to make do with our biscuit packets and water and stick on to the “dinner at home plan”.
The bus finally started around 7:45 PM and we reached the Koyambedu bus stand at around 10 PM. A total travel time of 5 hours! Once we crossed the Padi area, my friend made bookings with a Call Taxi and the four of us headed towards Besant Nagar/Indra Nagar were feeling relaxed.
But unfortunately, it took that confirmation some 20 minutes to materialize. We were waiting at the bus stand eagerly looking at every yellow colored Omni van with the desperate hope that it was our taxi. Finally we got a call from the taxi driver and an Indica showed up.
After dropping off everyone, mine became the last stop and when I stepped in to my home, the clock had moved beyond 11 PM. I had a quick change and a quicker dinner, giving a quick download of the trip to my parents. I was in no mood to go to work the next day, but then, there was Ramadurai’s Griha Pravesham to attend to in the early morning. And this house was at Perungalathur and those familiar with the topography know that its practically at the half-way mark on my way to office. So, it would require a Santa Singh to actually go that far and then come back home and since I am not one, I went to the office, a tad later than usual.
All in all, the trip was definitely an enlightening one for me. One that made me wonder if I was leading a very extravagant life!
[Concluded]
I then went about in search of water and some mint to give me solace during the trip. After I returned to my seat, there was a request from one of the parties to get Filmfare or Stardust or something of that ilk. Coming as it did from one of the most knowledgeable people in the touring party, I was actually surprised.
After I got the magazines demanded by others as well, all of us finally settled down for the journey to start. The bus did start at the indicated time of 5 PM. By then, all the seats were occupied and a handful of people were already standing. I guess that is a price one has to pay if you can go to Chennai from Tirupati for Rs.62!
Anyways…our seat was right behind the conductor’s seat and while people were getting tickets, I thought I heard a couple of “Kalahasthi”s being mentioned. The bus halted at a Railway crossing and at that point I asked the conductor which route the bus was taking. His reply was “Kalahasthi Tada Padi” and on being further questioned about the travel time, he said it would be around 4 hours.
Great! I avoided the trip to Kalahasthi and this bus was anyway going by that town. Was I to feel bad about it or should I feel happy that even when I didn’t want to go by that route, I was still being made to at least pass by and have a darshan of the Gopuram?
By the 20th minute of the journey, I started getting all sorts of body pain due to the ergonomically challenged seats. My friend sharing the seat was in no better state and both of us decided to take turns in leaning forward, just to let the other person gain a 4% increase in comfort levels. We are both of average height and not that wide (perhaps deep, but not wide, if you know what I mean), yet sitting in those seats was getting to be painful.
The bus was ambling at a steady pace and with the fading light, the driver couldn’t really go at good speed due to the poorly lit highway, that seemed to under construction for a good portion. We finally reached Tada at 7.15 PM and were informed that there was going to be a quick break.
My friends and I literally ran out of the bus to stretch ourselves. I just couldn’t stand for even a minute. I kept walking around, started bending my back in all directions, lifted my legs, stretched them towards to the back etc etc. If I hadn’t done any of those, I am sure I would have died of cramps.
As a blessing in disguise, the supposedly short break went on for almost half an hour. We had actually stopped at a wayside stall selling “purotta” and the likes. So, we had to make do with our biscuit packets and water and stick on to the “dinner at home plan”.
The bus finally started around 7:45 PM and we reached the Koyambedu bus stand at around 10 PM. A total travel time of 5 hours! Once we crossed the Padi area, my friend made bookings with a Call Taxi and the four of us headed towards Besant Nagar/Indra Nagar were feeling relaxed.
But unfortunately, it took that confirmation some 20 minutes to materialize. We were waiting at the bus stand eagerly looking at every yellow colored Omni van with the desperate hope that it was our taxi. Finally we got a call from the taxi driver and an Indica showed up.
After dropping off everyone, mine became the last stop and when I stepped in to my home, the clock had moved beyond 11 PM. I had a quick change and a quicker dinner, giving a quick download of the trip to my parents. I was in no mood to go to work the next day, but then, there was Ramadurai’s Griha Pravesham to attend to in the early morning. And this house was at Perungalathur and those familiar with the topography know that its practically at the half-way mark on my way to office. So, it would require a Santa Singh to actually go that far and then come back home and since I am not one, I went to the office, a tad later than usual.
All in all, the trip was definitely an enlightening one for me. One that made me wonder if I was leading a very extravagant life!
[Concluded]
Tirupati travelogue 9-Feb-08 to 10-Feb-08: Part 5
I woke up early on Sunday to give me enough time to get ready and also to pack up my stuff to check out of my room. We had decided that since all of us were going to be away for the day in the college, we wouldn’t need to retain so many rooms. We left only 2 rooms so that we could at least keep our baggage and also allow the elders to rest during the day.
We were joined by another colleague of ours, who had come late on Saturday evening. After completing our check out formalities and finishing our breakfast, we boarded the Qualis to go to the College. We reached there in around 30-40 minutes. The campus was quite big and looked very green with lots of big trees around and beautiful landscaping done in front of each building.
We were informed that only 99 people had been identified for the interview. Since the panel was now 8 members strong (we got 2 more from other places), our calculations showed that we would wrap up the session by noon.
However, we could complete only around 1 PM and then we rushed back to the Hotel. En route, we made plans to go to Kalahasthi since we had some time on our hand. We reached the hotel, regrouped everyone and for lunch, we decided to go to another Bhimas hotel near the railway station. The restaurant in that hotel was apparently more famous.
We had a good lunch there and by the time we completed the lunch, it was 3.30 PM. Now, things were getting a bit close for the return home. My supporter and I preferred making the trip to Kalahasthi by cab, but no one would have it that way. But the main thing was that neither of us broached the topic since we knew for sure that it would be shot down like the Scud missile in the ’91 Gulf War. Since it was going to be only a bus journey, I opted out of the Kalahasthi visit and decided to join the parties returning home directly.
We went to the bus stand and were informed by the transport corporations that no tickets were available for any of their services till 8.30 PM. In effect, it meant that we had to just board any of the local services to Chennai. There were even suggestions that we just get on to any bus that is headed towards any of the places on any of the routes to Chennai and then hop on to any other bus from that place towards Chennai!
We all came back to the hotel and checked out of all the rooms. The party headed to Kalahasthi went their way and the rest of us went back to the bus stand. We were able to get a “route bus” that was directly headed to Chennai. Since it had just come in to the bus stand, we were able to get better seats. By better seats, I only mean seats that were not at the back of the bus.
But by no other yardstick, could the seats be described as being comfortable. They were cramped for 2 normal sized adults to sit. The unfortunate design aspect was that, even for the seats away from the door, there was a handle at the edge of the seat. This in effect meant that the person in the aisle seat, wouldn’t have been able to swing himself and make use of the aisle. Hats off to the APSRTC bird heads for coming up with this design!
[To b concluded in Part 6]
We were joined by another colleague of ours, who had come late on Saturday evening. After completing our check out formalities and finishing our breakfast, we boarded the Qualis to go to the College. We reached there in around 30-40 minutes. The campus was quite big and looked very green with lots of big trees around and beautiful landscaping done in front of each building.
We were informed that only 99 people had been identified for the interview. Since the panel was now 8 members strong (we got 2 more from other places), our calculations showed that we would wrap up the session by noon.
However, we could complete only around 1 PM and then we rushed back to the Hotel. En route, we made plans to go to Kalahasthi since we had some time on our hand. We reached the hotel, regrouped everyone and for lunch, we decided to go to another Bhimas hotel near the railway station. The restaurant in that hotel was apparently more famous.
We had a good lunch there and by the time we completed the lunch, it was 3.30 PM. Now, things were getting a bit close for the return home. My supporter and I preferred making the trip to Kalahasthi by cab, but no one would have it that way. But the main thing was that neither of us broached the topic since we knew for sure that it would be shot down like the Scud missile in the ’91 Gulf War. Since it was going to be only a bus journey, I opted out of the Kalahasthi visit and decided to join the parties returning home directly.
We went to the bus stand and were informed by the transport corporations that no tickets were available for any of their services till 8.30 PM. In effect, it meant that we had to just board any of the local services to Chennai. There were even suggestions that we just get on to any bus that is headed towards any of the places on any of the routes to Chennai and then hop on to any other bus from that place towards Chennai!
We all came back to the hotel and checked out of all the rooms. The party headed to Kalahasthi went their way and the rest of us went back to the bus stand. We were able to get a “route bus” that was directly headed to Chennai. Since it had just come in to the bus stand, we were able to get better seats. By better seats, I only mean seats that were not at the back of the bus.
But by no other yardstick, could the seats be described as being comfortable. They were cramped for 2 normal sized adults to sit. The unfortunate design aspect was that, even for the seats away from the door, there was a handle at the edge of the seat. This in effect meant that the person in the aisle seat, wouldn’t have been able to swing himself and make use of the aisle. Hats off to the APSRTC bird heads for coming up with this design!
[To b concluded in Part 6]
Tirupati travelogue 9-Feb-08 to 10-Feb-08: Part 4
After the darshan, we completed the rest of the formalities including visits to other sannidhis and also the hundial contribution. We regrouped at the main entrance and were waiting for our guide to get us our laddoos. By then, it was already well past 8 PM and finally, the lack of intake of food was beginning to show into my psyche. The fact that I’d been standing for quite a long time didn’t help things.
We finally got our pack of laddoos and started moving out of the temple premises by 8.45 or so. I had to make a quick halt at one of the road side shops to procure ‘rakshai’ threads, since some of my team members had specifically asked me to get that. Since it was getting late, I thought that we could perhaps go down to Tirupati by one of the ubiquitous jeeps available there. It would have cost us like 300-400 bucks and would have saved us quite some time.
This suggestion too was shot down with the same vigor exhibited on other occasions earlier in the day. I thought we could at least finish off the dinner at one of the restaurants near the temple itself. We saw a very decent looking one near the Vaikuntam complex. I reasoned that the presence of elderly people who were getting exhausted, accompanied by the fact that none of us had eaten anything after the lunch at noon and topped up by the fact that we had spent some 3 hours waiting inside and outside the temple, would make people complete the dinner there itself.
But somehow, the usual majority was hell bent on going back to the Hotel and eat only there. Thankfully, we at least took a jeep back to the petrol bunk where we had kept our footwear and other valuables like mobile phones. We bid farewell to our guide and walked down to the bus stand. There was no bus immediately available and we then took one bus that was headed to Chennai.
Most of us got seats right at the end and the bus started some 10 minutes later. The ride down was anything but comfortable and holding on to a bag of 10 laddoos, with an attempt not to let them get crushed, didn’t help me at all.
We finally reached the hotel at 9.45 PM and luckily, the restaurant was still open. We all had a very hearty dinner and I might have gone slightly overboard too. But that was the minimum I could do to keep myself from crying!
I also arranged for the cab to take us from the hotel to the College for our interview on Sunday. I am sure there would have been enough buses to go there as well, but since it was official, no one objected to booking a cab for 1600 bucks.
We decided to meet up in the restaurant for breakfast at 7.15 AM the next morning and then we all went back to our respective rooms.
[To be continued in Part 5]
We finally got our pack of laddoos and started moving out of the temple premises by 8.45 or so. I had to make a quick halt at one of the road side shops to procure ‘rakshai’ threads, since some of my team members had specifically asked me to get that. Since it was getting late, I thought that we could perhaps go down to Tirupati by one of the ubiquitous jeeps available there. It would have cost us like 300-400 bucks and would have saved us quite some time.
This suggestion too was shot down with the same vigor exhibited on other occasions earlier in the day. I thought we could at least finish off the dinner at one of the restaurants near the temple itself. We saw a very decent looking one near the Vaikuntam complex. I reasoned that the presence of elderly people who were getting exhausted, accompanied by the fact that none of us had eaten anything after the lunch at noon and topped up by the fact that we had spent some 3 hours waiting inside and outside the temple, would make people complete the dinner there itself.
But somehow, the usual majority was hell bent on going back to the Hotel and eat only there. Thankfully, we at least took a jeep back to the petrol bunk where we had kept our footwear and other valuables like mobile phones. We bid farewell to our guide and walked down to the bus stand. There was no bus immediately available and we then took one bus that was headed to Chennai.
Most of us got seats right at the end and the bus started some 10 minutes later. The ride down was anything but comfortable and holding on to a bag of 10 laddoos, with an attempt not to let them get crushed, didn’t help me at all.
We finally reached the hotel at 9.45 PM and luckily, the restaurant was still open. We all had a very hearty dinner and I might have gone slightly overboard too. But that was the minimum I could do to keep myself from crying!
I also arranged for the cab to take us from the hotel to the College for our interview on Sunday. I am sure there would have been enough buses to go there as well, but since it was official, no one objected to booking a cab for 1600 bucks.
We decided to meet up in the restaurant for breakfast at 7.15 AM the next morning and then we all went back to our respective rooms.
[To be continued in Part 5]
Tirupati travelogue 9-Feb-08 to 10-Feb-08: Part 3
While leaving the hotel, we had no option but to take the auto to the bus stand. There was a futile bargain attempt to get the auto drivers to drop us off for 15 bucks and we settled for the standard 20.
Once we reached the bus stand, which I must mention is one big cesspool, we went hunting for a bus that would take us to Tirumala. We got one that was going to leave in a few minutes and parked ourselves comfortably in the available seats. Having been influenced to austerity measures in the past few hours, I noticed a board that said that the onward journey up the hill cost 24 bucks and if you buy the return ticket, it was only 45 in toto. I spread the word to the gleeful ears of the listeners around me, but unfortunately, the conductor put a spanner in the works and told use that he would issue only unidirectional tickets.
After a very eventless trip, we reached up the hills and got down near a petrol bunk, as instructed by our contact person. This person works for the IOC and the whole special darshan was being arranged through him (the wife of one person in the group works for IOC and hence the contact).
At the bunk, we were informed that the issue of tickets had been suspended temporarily due to the heavy rush at the temple. Though we couldn’t associate any special value for that day/date, just the fact that it was a Saturday evening could have very well been the reason for the crowd. After waiting for nearly an hour there, we were finally escorted to the temple. We went through a maze of doors meant for the special tickets and joined a line that had quite a few people already waiting.
While we were all eagerly expecting a royal romp right into the main area near the sanctum sanctorum, the big rush that day ensured that we didn’t get to enjoy that privilege. As we were saying to each other, whatever be our plans, Lord Balaji has other ideas.
After being jostled around in the queue for more than an hour, we were finally near the main “praharam” of the temple. Our guide hoarded us near a door, away from the crowd. It was only from now that we realized the power of the special entry. One of the temple authorities came by and opened the rather big lock on the door and when we went inside, we found ourselves very near the ramp that everyone comes by for darshan.
The guide showed us a couple of carvings on the pillars and we found that one of them was of Kubera, the lord of wealth. While the crowd was moving along the ramp, our group was waiting on the sides. We were then taken one after the other closer to the edge of the ramp and allowed to stand in front of Perumaall for almost half-a-minute. It sure felt like much longer, but if I really think back after a week, I think it would have only been 30 seconds. And all things considered, the darshan was really fantastic.
[To be continued in Part 4]
Once we reached the bus stand, which I must mention is one big cesspool, we went hunting for a bus that would take us to Tirumala. We got one that was going to leave in a few minutes and parked ourselves comfortably in the available seats. Having been influenced to austerity measures in the past few hours, I noticed a board that said that the onward journey up the hill cost 24 bucks and if you buy the return ticket, it was only 45 in toto. I spread the word to the gleeful ears of the listeners around me, but unfortunately, the conductor put a spanner in the works and told use that he would issue only unidirectional tickets.
After a very eventless trip, we reached up the hills and got down near a petrol bunk, as instructed by our contact person. This person works for the IOC and the whole special darshan was being arranged through him (the wife of one person in the group works for IOC and hence the contact).
At the bunk, we were informed that the issue of tickets had been suspended temporarily due to the heavy rush at the temple. Though we couldn’t associate any special value for that day/date, just the fact that it was a Saturday evening could have very well been the reason for the crowd. After waiting for nearly an hour there, we were finally escorted to the temple. We went through a maze of doors meant for the special tickets and joined a line that had quite a few people already waiting.
While we were all eagerly expecting a royal romp right into the main area near the sanctum sanctorum, the big rush that day ensured that we didn’t get to enjoy that privilege. As we were saying to each other, whatever be our plans, Lord Balaji has other ideas.
After being jostled around in the queue for more than an hour, we were finally near the main “praharam” of the temple. Our guide hoarded us near a door, away from the crowd. It was only from now that we realized the power of the special entry. One of the temple authorities came by and opened the rather big lock on the door and when we went inside, we found ourselves very near the ramp that everyone comes by for darshan.
The guide showed us a couple of carvings on the pillars and we found that one of them was of Kubera, the lord of wealth. While the crowd was moving along the ramp, our group was waiting on the sides. We were then taken one after the other closer to the edge of the ramp and allowed to stand in front of Perumaall for almost half-a-minute. It sure felt like much longer, but if I really think back after a week, I think it would have only been 30 seconds. And all things considered, the darshan was really fantastic.
[To be continued in Part 4]
Friday, March 07, 2008
Tirupati-travelogue-9-feb-08-to-10-feb-08: Part 2
The special darshan at Tirumala was scheduled for 4 PM that day. Since it was nearly 11.15 AM when we reached the hotel, we agreed to regroup quickly and have our lunch in the same hotel. Again, there were comments that the food in a hotel’s restaurant would be costly, but things were settled quickly since everyone was famished and we had a deadline.
The lunch turned out to be a not so expensive affair after all, costing around 70 bucks for a Thali. Meanwhile, I had enquired about the cost of booking a cab for all of us to go to Tirumala and Tiruchaanoor. The cost came to around 1600 bucks. This whopping sum was shot down instantaneously by all but me and another person. The rationale was that there are a lot of buses plying frequently to these places. Also, since the distance involved was less, the quote given by the cab guy was deemed to be too expensive.
After we completed the lunch, we (some of us) had a quick change of clothes and headed out of the hotel. While I had come up to change, enquiries had been made about the access to Tiruchaanoor and the nearest bus stop was identified. People had decided that even taking an auto was not worth it.
So all 9 of us (breakup: me, another guy, one with his father, another with his elder sister and mother and the last one with her mother) went to the bus stop which was 5 minutes away. It was not the distance or time, just that we had to cross a road which had fast moving buses and other vehicles. Being a hilly region, the vehicles were clearly making good use of the gradient road.
Even as we were reaching the bus stop, we saw a bus. The suo moto leader of the trip started running after the bus goading all of us to run and catch the bus. It finally turned out that the bus we all ran after wasn’t really the one we had to catch!
After a 5-10 minute wait, we finally got a bus and reached Tiruchaanoor temple. Thankfully, there was no objection from anyone for taking the Rs.40 special darshan ticket. I am being very cynical, but perhaps the 2 free laddus included in the ticket, helped swing the votes towards this ticket!
Anyways, we had a good darshan of Padmavathy Ammavaaru (Thaayaar in Tamil) and headed back to the hotel. Here again, my only supporter and me suggested that we take an auto. But we were informed that the bus tickets for the return trip were already procured while coming to this temple. Since we dare not waste the 8 rupees ticket, we boarded a bus.
We reached the hotel and it was decided that we had to reconvene in 30 minutes max, so that we could reach Tirumala on time. We still nurtured hopes of visiting the Kalahasthi temple after the darshan at Tirumala, since we expected the special darshan to be completed in a jiffy. Little did we know what was in store for us.
[To be continued in Part 3]
The lunch turned out to be a not so expensive affair after all, costing around 70 bucks for a Thali. Meanwhile, I had enquired about the cost of booking a cab for all of us to go to Tirumala and Tiruchaanoor. The cost came to around 1600 bucks. This whopping sum was shot down instantaneously by all but me and another person. The rationale was that there are a lot of buses plying frequently to these places. Also, since the distance involved was less, the quote given by the cab guy was deemed to be too expensive.
After we completed the lunch, we (some of us) had a quick change of clothes and headed out of the hotel. While I had come up to change, enquiries had been made about the access to Tiruchaanoor and the nearest bus stop was identified. People had decided that even taking an auto was not worth it.
So all 9 of us (breakup: me, another guy, one with his father, another with his elder sister and mother and the last one with her mother) went to the bus stop which was 5 minutes away. It was not the distance or time, just that we had to cross a road which had fast moving buses and other vehicles. Being a hilly region, the vehicles were clearly making good use of the gradient road.
Even as we were reaching the bus stop, we saw a bus. The suo moto leader of the trip started running after the bus goading all of us to run and catch the bus. It finally turned out that the bus we all ran after wasn’t really the one we had to catch!
After a 5-10 minute wait, we finally got a bus and reached Tiruchaanoor temple. Thankfully, there was no objection from anyone for taking the Rs.40 special darshan ticket. I am being very cynical, but perhaps the 2 free laddus included in the ticket, helped swing the votes towards this ticket!
Anyways, we had a good darshan of Padmavathy Ammavaaru (Thaayaar in Tamil) and headed back to the hotel. Here again, my only supporter and me suggested that we take an auto. But we were informed that the bus tickets for the return trip were already procured while coming to this temple. Since we dare not waste the 8 rupees ticket, we boarded a bus.
We reached the hotel and it was decided that we had to reconvene in 30 minutes max, so that we could reach Tirumala on time. We still nurtured hopes of visiting the Kalahasthi temple after the darshan at Tirumala, since we expected the special darshan to be completed in a jiffy. Little did we know what was in store for us.
[To be continued in Part 3]
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Tirupati travelogue 9-Feb-08 to 10-Feb-08: Part 1
After much deliberation, I have finally decided to publish my Tirupati travelogue. And even though I have already drafted a few parts, I will be posting only one per day, in the hope that it will kindle your curiosity. So here goes....
Since it has become my habit to write about all the trips I make, I am left with no choice but to jot down last week's trip as well. As briefly mentioned earlier, it was an eye-opening trip, but this travelogue will not get into the specifics when it gets to individuals.
Our Travel Department in the office was giving us a lot of trouble with the ticket booking and so we just had them book the onward journey by bus. We managed to get tickets with the APSRTC and we booked their Luxury bus at the whopping cost of Rs.86 per ticket.
When all of us gathered by the appointed hour at the Koyambedu bus stand, we were informed that the bus had developed a technical snag and so we were directed to their regular bus - they called it a Deluxe - where we got the preferred seating based on the tickets issued.
While there was adequate leg room, the seats were not really that comfy. Once the bus started, we realized that this was one service which was designated to stop at many places. So much so, that when people walking on the road, stopped in the path to cross the road and looked at the road before crossing (some people still do it), the driver assumed that they wanted to board the bus and used to pull over near them. Only when they moved out of the way, did the driver get the message.
And the speed at which he was driving....My goodness. It was scary. Before you misinterpret it, the scare was because he was driving at such slow speeds, that I thought we would travel back in time! We had to go through a level crossing near Puttur and I was really afraid if this guy would be able to get me through to my immediate destination of Tirupati or would he take me to my final destination of heaven or hell as evaluated by Chitragupta.
Thankfully, the service was without a halt - only stopping for people to board or alight from the bus. We didn’t even stop for breakfast and we finally reached Tirupati by 11AM.
We noticed that the hotel we had booked was quite close to the bus stand (as mentioned in their website). However, it was not really a distance that can be legged with older people around and we decided to get autos. The folks wanted 20 bucks and while it was on the higher side, it was the standard rate asked by all guys in the stand.
With a lot of reluctance from some of my fellow passengers, we went ahead with the auto and reached the hotel in 5 minutes. The booking that I had done was thankfully acknowledged and we went ahead with the check-in.
[To be continued in Part 2]
Since it has become my habit to write about all the trips I make, I am left with no choice but to jot down last week's trip as well. As briefly mentioned earlier, it was an eye-opening trip, but this travelogue will not get into the specifics when it gets to individuals.
Our Travel Department in the office was giving us a lot of trouble with the ticket booking and so we just had them book the onward journey by bus. We managed to get tickets with the APSRTC and we booked their Luxury bus at the whopping cost of Rs.86 per ticket.
When all of us gathered by the appointed hour at the Koyambedu bus stand, we were informed that the bus had developed a technical snag and so we were directed to their regular bus - they called it a Deluxe - where we got the preferred seating based on the tickets issued.
While there was adequate leg room, the seats were not really that comfy. Once the bus started, we realized that this was one service which was designated to stop at many places. So much so, that when people walking on the road, stopped in the path to cross the road and looked at the road before crossing (some people still do it), the driver assumed that they wanted to board the bus and used to pull over near them. Only when they moved out of the way, did the driver get the message.
And the speed at which he was driving....My goodness. It was scary. Before you misinterpret it, the scare was because he was driving at such slow speeds, that I thought we would travel back in time! We had to go through a level crossing near Puttur and I was really afraid if this guy would be able to get me through to my immediate destination of Tirupati or would he take me to my final destination of heaven or hell as evaluated by Chitragupta.
Thankfully, the service was without a halt - only stopping for people to board or alight from the bus. We didn’t even stop for breakfast and we finally reached Tirupati by 11AM.
We noticed that the hotel we had booked was quite close to the bus stand (as mentioned in their website). However, it was not really a distance that can be legged with older people around and we decided to get autos. The folks wanted 20 bucks and while it was on the higher side, it was the standard rate asked by all guys in the stand.
With a lot of reluctance from some of my fellow passengers, we went ahead with the auto and reached the hotel in 5 minutes. The booking that I had done was thankfully acknowledged and we went ahead with the check-in.
[To be continued in Part 2]
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Draining bus travel
My return trip from Guindy station to home would probably rank next to the Tirupati bus travel in terms of sheer mental and physical exhaustion.
While I was waiting at the bus stop, one of the buses I usually take, came by. But it was very crowded and there were many people eagerly waiting to board it. Typically, another bus of the same route comes a minute after this one leaves and needless to say, its quite empty. So I decided to take that option.
But within a matter of few seconds, a different bus came along. This was very very empty and so I headed towards it. Only when I neared the entrance did I realise that many many others had similar intentions and were also headed to that same entrance. So much so, that I had to literally bump people with my backpack (around 5kg heavy) to make way for myself. This was my first bulb.
When I finally set foot into the bus, it came to my notice that all seats were occupied. Its usually only a 10 minute trip, so whenever I am in such a situation, I don't mind.
My next bulb came when I got the ticket for my trip. I gave the conductor a 5 rupee note and told him my destination. He gave me a 4 rupee ticket and then gave me 6 bucks in change! I was looking at it for a second and since my bulb meter had freshly opened its account, I assumed that I'd given a 10 buck note. I started to move away from the conductor when he suddenly tapped my hand. The hand still had the 6 bucks that I was looking at. He said that I had given only 5 bucks and took back the 5 rupee coin in my hand.
I was cringing internally for the mistake I had done. By then the conductor had gone to the front of the bus and we were also near the next stop. I decided to move front and stood some 3 seats from the entrance. The conductor had just issued a ticket to the guy sitting in the aisle and was moving to the next person on the ladies side. Now, this passenger tapped the conductor and told him that he had been given 1 rupee in excess and he returned it to the conductor.
Even as I was blaming myself for not returning the excess change, I saw someone else do that act. Felt really really bad about myself.
But all this self-pity feeling lasted for another 1 minute only. That was because, the bus had reached the next stop and a hoard of passengers boarded the bus. Now the bus was really packed and getting some breathing space was becoming a luxury. Amongst the people who boarded the bus were 4 blind people. One of them stood next to me.
I am willing to bet my left pinky that the guy hadn't bathed after Pongal. His hair was kinda brushing against my arm and it felt like scotch brite was being rubbed on me. The person on the other side, was keeping himself occupied by clicking his tongue every 1.8 seconds.
By then, the driver started going real slow and it was evident that the inevitable stoppage for "stage" was going to happen. And it did. We waited for around 4 minutes and then got the "Reigh reigh" signal from the conductor.
At the next stop, one of the blind women who was standing near the entrance, suddenly started showering the choicest of abuses at someone. Apparently there was an inappropriate contact and she was retorting with all kinds of swear words. Honestly, I dunno if the guy did it intentionally or if a guy even actually touched her inadvertently. Another thing to be noted was the average guy who gets over-zealous in such matters, was practically ignoring her tirade. But the way she was reacting, made me wonder what might have triggered her to launch her verbal volleys. At one point of the sermon, she even spit in the general direction of the entrance and I am sure the innocent folk in the neighborhood would have had a good reason to take a shower. Her cohorts were also lamenting about how people didn't care even for the blind.
Anyways, my bus stop came up and while alighting, I took extra care to remain out of the reach of that blind lady, lest she start accusing me of doing something. The minute I got out of the bus, I simply rushed to the autos parked near the stop, did my negotiations and hired one to go back home.
Today's events have really made me wonder if I should return by auto from Guindy itself!
While I was waiting at the bus stop, one of the buses I usually take, came by. But it was very crowded and there were many people eagerly waiting to board it. Typically, another bus of the same route comes a minute after this one leaves and needless to say, its quite empty. So I decided to take that option.
But within a matter of few seconds, a different bus came along. This was very very empty and so I headed towards it. Only when I neared the entrance did I realise that many many others had similar intentions and were also headed to that same entrance. So much so, that I had to literally bump people with my backpack (around 5kg heavy) to make way for myself. This was my first bulb.
When I finally set foot into the bus, it came to my notice that all seats were occupied. Its usually only a 10 minute trip, so whenever I am in such a situation, I don't mind.
My next bulb came when I got the ticket for my trip. I gave the conductor a 5 rupee note and told him my destination. He gave me a 4 rupee ticket and then gave me 6 bucks in change! I was looking at it for a second and since my bulb meter had freshly opened its account, I assumed that I'd given a 10 buck note. I started to move away from the conductor when he suddenly tapped my hand. The hand still had the 6 bucks that I was looking at. He said that I had given only 5 bucks and took back the 5 rupee coin in my hand.
I was cringing internally for the mistake I had done. By then the conductor had gone to the front of the bus and we were also near the next stop. I decided to move front and stood some 3 seats from the entrance. The conductor had just issued a ticket to the guy sitting in the aisle and was moving to the next person on the ladies side. Now, this passenger tapped the conductor and told him that he had been given 1 rupee in excess and he returned it to the conductor.
Even as I was blaming myself for not returning the excess change, I saw someone else do that act. Felt really really bad about myself.
But all this self-pity feeling lasted for another 1 minute only. That was because, the bus had reached the next stop and a hoard of passengers boarded the bus. Now the bus was really packed and getting some breathing space was becoming a luxury. Amongst the people who boarded the bus were 4 blind people. One of them stood next to me.
I am willing to bet my left pinky that the guy hadn't bathed after Pongal. His hair was kinda brushing against my arm and it felt like scotch brite was being rubbed on me. The person on the other side, was keeping himself occupied by clicking his tongue every 1.8 seconds.
By then, the driver started going real slow and it was evident that the inevitable stoppage for "stage" was going to happen. And it did. We waited for around 4 minutes and then got the "Reigh reigh" signal from the conductor.
At the next stop, one of the blind women who was standing near the entrance, suddenly started showering the choicest of abuses at someone. Apparently there was an inappropriate contact and she was retorting with all kinds of swear words. Honestly, I dunno if the guy did it intentionally or if a guy even actually touched her inadvertently. Another thing to be noted was the average guy who gets over-zealous in such matters, was practically ignoring her tirade. But the way she was reacting, made me wonder what might have triggered her to launch her verbal volleys. At one point of the sermon, she even spit in the general direction of the entrance and I am sure the innocent folk in the neighborhood would have had a good reason to take a shower. Her cohorts were also lamenting about how people didn't care even for the blind.
Anyways, my bus stop came up and while alighting, I took extra care to remain out of the reach of that blind lady, lest she start accusing me of doing something. The minute I got out of the bus, I simply rushed to the autos parked near the stop, did my negotiations and hired one to go back home.
Today's events have really made me wonder if I should return by auto from Guindy itself!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
MTC goes hi-tech
I was surprised and pleased to see the local Metropolitan Transport Corporation bus conductor issue me a printed ticket. :)
Friday, December 28, 2007
Train commute - Days 5 to 7
I used the train only from Wednesday this week, since I took my car out after a long time on Monday.
Looks like I am getting used to the train journey, because I don't have anything interesting of note any longer. Other than the stray drunken auto driver who took me on a tour around Jeevarathnam Nagar-Shanthi Colony-Damodarapuram-Besant Nagar and the 1000s of Mael Maruvathur devotees who boarded-alighted-re-boarded and re-alighted in a span of 20 seconds at one of the railway stations, life is now getting into a routine.
From my 2 week experience I can see a lot of benefits with the train. I am obviously not comparing it with a car ride and am limiting the comparison to a bus. Train is obviously proving to be more expensive, but that's mainly because I have to take an auto in the morning and evening. If I start using my bike, I can reduce that cost by nearly 70%. And in terms of travel time, it is longer in the morning mainly due to the travel involved to and from the station. Same is the case for the return trip. However, the return trip takes 2 hours which is a guaranteed constant.
And if I get a seat in the train, which I do more often than not, I find reading books to be much easier than while reading in a bus. Also, in a bus, the lighting would not be adequate in the evening, whereas in a train, there are lights everywhere in the compartment.
But MOST importantly, while travelling by train, I don't need to endure someone poking my ribs or encroaching upon my shoulder and forearm or rubbing against my waist, as it invariably happens in the bus. Even if the train is crowded, there are always few pockets of free space wherein nobody violates my personal space.
But having said all this, if my company does provide buses with only 4 seas in a row, I think it will be my choice hands down!
Looks like I am getting used to the train journey, because I don't have anything interesting of note any longer. Other than the stray drunken auto driver who took me on a tour around Jeevarathnam Nagar-Shanthi Colony-Damodarapuram-Besant Nagar and the 1000s of Mael Maruvathur devotees who boarded-alighted-re-boarded and re-alighted in a span of 20 seconds at one of the railway stations, life is now getting into a routine.
From my 2 week experience I can see a lot of benefits with the train. I am obviously not comparing it with a car ride and am limiting the comparison to a bus. Train is obviously proving to be more expensive, but that's mainly because I have to take an auto in the morning and evening. If I start using my bike, I can reduce that cost by nearly 70%. And in terms of travel time, it is longer in the morning mainly due to the travel involved to and from the station. Same is the case for the return trip. However, the return trip takes 2 hours which is a guaranteed constant.
And if I get a seat in the train, which I do more often than not, I find reading books to be much easier than while reading in a bus. Also, in a bus, the lighting would not be adequate in the evening, whereas in a train, there are lights everywhere in the compartment.
But MOST importantly, while travelling by train, I don't need to endure someone poking my ribs or encroaching upon my shoulder and forearm or rubbing against my waist, as it invariably happens in the bus. Even if the train is crowded, there are always few pockets of free space wherein nobody violates my personal space.
But having said all this, if my company does provide buses with only 4 seas in a row, I think it will be my choice hands down!
Monday, December 17, 2007
Reaching office - alternate options
Since the only other driver in my car pool has gone to Canada and will not be back for a year or two, we are facing serious challenges in terms of continuing the same. I am finding it quite tiring to drive on all 5 days of the week, especially when I have to spend 3-4 days stuck in continuous traffic jams lasting for 30 odd minutes at multiple places.
AS has been detailed many times before, I am kinda fed up with the bus travel due to the cramped seats and a continuous feeling of violation of private space. So I thought I will try out the option of traveling by the EMU or electric train from Guindy to my office.
From an economic stand point, I actually end up paying more for the train travel. That's because, I have to spend some 150 bucks a day by auto (from and to home) and that alone comes to 3K per month. Whereas, the car pool expense for the whole of November cost me only 2K!
But in spite of these challenges, I still wanted to try out the train option. If I indeed start liking the train travel, I am likely to think seriously about the commute to Guindy. It might probably give me a good reason to get my Splendor back on track, yet again.
I have used the train to reach office once before (I had to attend a wedding en route) and a couple of times on the return leg. Today was going to be my first time travelling both ways by train.
Details about my experiences can be read in my subsequent posts.
AS has been detailed many times before, I am kinda fed up with the bus travel due to the cramped seats and a continuous feeling of violation of private space. So I thought I will try out the option of traveling by the EMU or electric train from Guindy to my office.
From an economic stand point, I actually end up paying more for the train travel. That's because, I have to spend some 150 bucks a day by auto (from and to home) and that alone comes to 3K per month. Whereas, the car pool expense for the whole of November cost me only 2K!
But in spite of these challenges, I still wanted to try out the train option. If I indeed start liking the train travel, I am likely to think seriously about the commute to Guindy. It might probably give me a good reason to get my Splendor back on track, yet again.
I have used the train to reach office once before (I had to attend a wedding en route) and a couple of times on the return leg. Today was going to be my first time travelling both ways by train.
Details about my experiences can be read in my subsequent posts.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Sense of Direction
On my return trip yesterday, I noticed something very interesting.
There was a girl sitting in the seat in front of mine. I have been seeing her for quite a few months now and since I have been away from the bus for 2 months, I had a vague memory that she'd get down at the Krishna Sweets bus stop.
Last evening, from somewhere near Raj Bhavan, this girl started to look at the road. Nothing wrong you would think. The problem was that she wasn't looking at the road from the side of her window. She was like half-getting up from the seat, doing her best to extend her neck muscles in the upward direction and generally have a look of the road from the front of the bus.
Typically, when you are in a relatively new place, I totally understand and accept if someone has to check frequently about where they are. SO, if this girl was also new to the town, all she had to do was just peep out of her window to get the current location.
But, no. She was probably used to getting a front view of the world I guess. So for the entire distance from Raj Bhavan to Krishna Sweets, she was doing this peeping thing.
On the other extreme is me. When I am used to a certain route over even a short duration, I can even identify the place where I am, with my eyes closed. Very often, while on the bus, I simply close my eyes and after a certain time, I tell myself that I am right now near one particular location. I open my eyes and voila, I am very much there with a plus or minus range of say 50 metres.
Is it a case of gender issue - many girls I know have no clue about directions. Or is simply a case of of "It takes all kinds to make this world".
There was a girl sitting in the seat in front of mine. I have been seeing her for quite a few months now and since I have been away from the bus for 2 months, I had a vague memory that she'd get down at the Krishna Sweets bus stop.
Last evening, from somewhere near Raj Bhavan, this girl started to look at the road. Nothing wrong you would think. The problem was that she wasn't looking at the road from the side of her window. She was like half-getting up from the seat, doing her best to extend her neck muscles in the upward direction and generally have a look of the road from the front of the bus.
Typically, when you are in a relatively new place, I totally understand and accept if someone has to check frequently about where they are. SO, if this girl was also new to the town, all she had to do was just peep out of her window to get the current location.
But, no. She was probably used to getting a front view of the world I guess. So for the entire distance from Raj Bhavan to Krishna Sweets, she was doing this peeping thing.
On the other extreme is me. When I am used to a certain route over even a short duration, I can even identify the place where I am, with my eyes closed. Very often, while on the bus, I simply close my eyes and after a certain time, I tell myself that I am right now near one particular location. I open my eyes and voila, I am very much there with a plus or minus range of say 50 metres.
Is it a case of gender issue - many girls I know have no clue about directions. Or is simply a case of of "It takes all kinds to make this world".
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Just the second day and I already miss the car
Like I mentioned earlier, the car pool is closed. In effect this meant that I've started using the office bus from Tuesday.
Since I was going to use the bus after 2 months, I was not sure about the time it reaches my stop. So I decided to reach the stop early and found myself waiting for 10 minutes at the stop.
The bus came, I boarded and found that my favorite seat was occupied. So I parked myself in another seat a bit reluctantly. The bus seemed relatively empty till it reached the Kasturba Nagar Nalli bus stop. I think quite a few of them got in.
Luckily and for a change, a girl opted to sit next to me. So I moved to the window seat and let her sit in the aisle seat. I went about reading my Autocar India magazine and all was fine, since she was of a thin build.
The return journey was peaceful, since the bus was only 60-70% occupied and I didn't have to share my seat.
Fast forward to today. Similar situation till that stop. But today, a guy wanted to share the seat with me. I made a blunder there. I moved to the window and gave him the aisle. He sat down with such force, that I could feel the squeezed out cushion hit an air wave which resulted in lifting me upwards for a good fraction of a second.
Only then I realised what a heavy set guy he was. Then it was back to the age old formula of sitting with my hands at my sides, lest his elbows settle on my right mid-riff.
This essentially resulted in my hand become 'marathu'fied in a matter of 5 minutes. But I had no other option. It was either a marathu pona kai or a feeling of being violated. I chose the former.
So, I've obviously still not been able to come to terms with all this seat-sharing business and so effectively disqualifies me from hobnobbing with the politicians at the Centre. I just pray and hope that we can find that one additional person to join the car pool. We can then rope in a part-timer easily and the cost will work out fine for all concerned.
Since I was going to use the bus after 2 months, I was not sure about the time it reaches my stop. So I decided to reach the stop early and found myself waiting for 10 minutes at the stop.
The bus came, I boarded and found that my favorite seat was occupied. So I parked myself in another seat a bit reluctantly. The bus seemed relatively empty till it reached the Kasturba Nagar Nalli bus stop. I think quite a few of them got in.
Luckily and for a change, a girl opted to sit next to me. So I moved to the window seat and let her sit in the aisle seat. I went about reading my Autocar India magazine and all was fine, since she was of a thin build.
The return journey was peaceful, since the bus was only 60-70% occupied and I didn't have to share my seat.
Fast forward to today. Similar situation till that stop. But today, a guy wanted to share the seat with me. I made a blunder there. I moved to the window and gave him the aisle. He sat down with such force, that I could feel the squeezed out cushion hit an air wave which resulted in lifting me upwards for a good fraction of a second.
Only then I realised what a heavy set guy he was. Then it was back to the age old formula of sitting with my hands at my sides, lest his elbows settle on my right mid-riff.
This essentially resulted in my hand become 'marathu'fied in a matter of 5 minutes. But I had no other option. It was either a marathu pona kai or a feeling of being violated. I chose the former.
So, I've obviously still not been able to come to terms with all this seat-sharing business and so effectively disqualifies me from hobnobbing with the politicians at the Centre. I just pray and hope that we can find that one additional person to join the car pool. We can then rope in a part-timer easily and the cost will work out fine for all concerned.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Car Pooling
3 of my friends at work and myself, have now started car pooling.
As most of you would have experienced, Mr.Aditya is doing "Over Time" in Chennai (and from news reports, in many other parts of the state as well). He has been at it from March/April itself. We have been suffering for quite some time in the bus.
One of my friends, Raj, was especially adamant about not travelling by the bus any more. He found an ally instantly in me. We then started hunting for other like minded people and got hold of Raji and Sudha. Luckily, Raj and I live close-by and Raji stays in Indira Nagar. Sudha stays in Velachery, but she was ok with boarding the car near Guindy. The only problem is that, only Raj and I can drive. The other 2 have cars, but the driving duty is taken care by their better-half.
Since this car pooling thingy involves financial implications on all of us, we had to first arrive at a proper estimate of the cost. Raj and I worked out the fuel efficiency of our cars and included a small maintenance fee.
I created a detailed trip sheet in Excel. I used this opportunity to upgrade my excel knowledge and came out with a whole lot of 'if-else' conditions. The excel sheet has received great feedback in my friends' circle at work. :D :D :D
Anyways, we have been Car Pooling from the start of May. The plan as of now is to continue till the end of June at the minimum. But in case I move to my new house, the plan would have to be revisited.
Going by car has given me a new lease of life. I feel fresh when entering office and even when I return home. In spite of the bad traffic sense that 99% of the road users possess, I still find so much peace in driving that I am ok with all that.
But I have a tough week ahead. Raj is on Bangalore the whole week, which means I have to drive on all 5 days. Yet, I actually look forward to it.
As most of you would have experienced, Mr.Aditya is doing "Over Time" in Chennai (and from news reports, in many other parts of the state as well). He has been at it from March/April itself. We have been suffering for quite some time in the bus.
One of my friends, Raj, was especially adamant about not travelling by the bus any more. He found an ally instantly in me. We then started hunting for other like minded people and got hold of Raji and Sudha. Luckily, Raj and I live close-by and Raji stays in Indira Nagar. Sudha stays in Velachery, but she was ok with boarding the car near Guindy. The only problem is that, only Raj and I can drive. The other 2 have cars, but the driving duty is taken care by their better-half.
Since this car pooling thingy involves financial implications on all of us, we had to first arrive at a proper estimate of the cost. Raj and I worked out the fuel efficiency of our cars and included a small maintenance fee.
I created a detailed trip sheet in Excel. I used this opportunity to upgrade my excel knowledge and came out with a whole lot of 'if-else' conditions. The excel sheet has received great feedback in my friends' circle at work. :D :D :D
Anyways, we have been Car Pooling from the start of May. The plan as of now is to continue till the end of June at the minimum. But in case I move to my new house, the plan would have to be revisited.
Going by car has given me a new lease of life. I feel fresh when entering office and even when I return home. In spite of the bad traffic sense that 99% of the road users possess, I still find so much peace in driving that I am ok with all that.
But I have a tough week ahead. Raj is on Bangalore the whole week, which means I have to drive on all 5 days. Yet, I actually look forward to it.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Random Jotting # 010
Ever notice, that when you have the only unoccupied seat in a bus, and just when you start cheering within yourself over the good fortune, the bus stops and the last person who boards the bus, is invariably big sized? And if you are unlucky, (s)he will be a big time phone conversationalist. And if you are really really unlucky, your new neighbour will also be smelly!!!
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Wardrobe malfunction - a la Janet Jackson
This morning started off on quite an interesting note.
I was a minute or so late for my bus and so was hurrying towards the bus stop. But by the time I reached the main road, the bus was already steaming towards the stop. Luckily (at that point in time) the driver noticed me and pulled over, so that I didn't have to run till the bus stop (the way I do almost once in 7 days or so).
I boarded the bus and headed towards my usual seat. Just before I reached that, I heard a noise, a loud one and it sounded like a big piece of velcro being opened. I started wondering as to what velcro i was carrying and looked down.
Lo! There was a big tear in my trouser. The front pocket on the right. Actually not the front pocket per se, but more like the material in front of it. L shaped tear. Easily 2-3 inches on each angle.
Since it was loud and since I have a fully functional larynx and also because I am quite expressive with my face during such situations, I was sure that all the 10 people already seated knew what happened.
I had no option but to get down, go home, change and go to office by car. So before the bus reached my stop, I told my friends about my decision and was about to get down. The driver asked me what happened and I showed him! He said he would wait. I said its ok and that I'd come by car. He insisted that he would wait for me. So I asked him for 2-3 minutes and started running back home.
The distance between home and bus stop is around 175-180 metres. I am not going to say that I covered it in 21 seconds, but I made decent time. Considering that I was running with the laptop bag still attached to my body, I think you will surely applaud my effort.
Of course, you might wonder why I ran with that bag and why I didn't leave it in the bus. You see, in such moments where your dignity is being put to test and that too in front of so many girls, your brain doesn't really process much logic.
Anyways, I came back home gasping for breath. Gave a quick update about the events. Rushed to my room and changed to another trouser. Then it was once again a dash back to the bus.
All in all, it must have taken close to 5 minutes and I really thank the driver for waiting even when I didn't want him to.
When I boarded the bus, I definitely felt that around 15 pairs of eyes were all focused on me. It may not have been the case, people do sometimes have better things to do. But I had the nagging feeling that people were watching me. And I know for sure that there were 2 people who definitely ensured that an eye contact was made with me. The reaction on their face was a combination of a smirk, pity and other disparate emotions.
Anyways, all this extensive running around with a 15 kg weight did take a toll on me ageing body. After I plonked myself in my seat, I quickly reached for my Polo packet and had 2 wholes with mint. But for the next 10 minutes or more, I was definitely feeling quite exhausted. This very clearly shows how bad a shape I am in.
High time I addressed the issue.
I was a minute or so late for my bus and so was hurrying towards the bus stop. But by the time I reached the main road, the bus was already steaming towards the stop. Luckily (at that point in time) the driver noticed me and pulled over, so that I didn't have to run till the bus stop (the way I do almost once in 7 days or so).
I boarded the bus and headed towards my usual seat. Just before I reached that, I heard a noise, a loud one and it sounded like a big piece of velcro being opened. I started wondering as to what velcro i was carrying and looked down.
Lo! There was a big tear in my trouser. The front pocket on the right. Actually not the front pocket per se, but more like the material in front of it. L shaped tear. Easily 2-3 inches on each angle.
Since it was loud and since I have a fully functional larynx and also because I am quite expressive with my face during such situations, I was sure that all the 10 people already seated knew what happened.
I had no option but to get down, go home, change and go to office by car. So before the bus reached my stop, I told my friends about my decision and was about to get down. The driver asked me what happened and I showed him! He said he would wait. I said its ok and that I'd come by car. He insisted that he would wait for me. So I asked him for 2-3 minutes and started running back home.
The distance between home and bus stop is around 175-180 metres. I am not going to say that I covered it in 21 seconds, but I made decent time. Considering that I was running with the laptop bag still attached to my body, I think you will surely applaud my effort.
Of course, you might wonder why I ran with that bag and why I didn't leave it in the bus. You see, in such moments where your dignity is being put to test and that too in front of so many girls, your brain doesn't really process much logic.
Anyways, I came back home gasping for breath. Gave a quick update about the events. Rushed to my room and changed to another trouser. Then it was once again a dash back to the bus.
All in all, it must have taken close to 5 minutes and I really thank the driver for waiting even when I didn't want him to.
When I boarded the bus, I definitely felt that around 15 pairs of eyes were all focused on me. It may not have been the case, people do sometimes have better things to do. But I had the nagging feeling that people were watching me. And I know for sure that there were 2 people who definitely ensured that an eye contact was made with me. The reaction on their face was a combination of a smirk, pity and other disparate emotions.
Anyways, all this extensive running around with a 15 kg weight did take a toll on me ageing body. After I plonked myself in my seat, I quickly reached for my Polo packet and had 2 wholes with mint. But for the next 10 minutes or more, I was definitely feeling quite exhausted. This very clearly shows how bad a shape I am in.
High time I addressed the issue.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)