Bangalore Elevated Highway

Hosur Road had always been a nasty route on earth for many - particularly the SilkBoard to ElectronicCity stretch. This is the stretch that probably has the greatest amount of 'intellectual' transportation in India - the supposedly top cream of Indian youth sits in EC the whole day to facilitate foreign money inflow into Indian Economy.

No wonder that the government took the matter seriously when people complained about the inadequacy of Hosur Road to handle peak hour traffic. 800+ crores, 3years. And here we have one of the landmark constructions of Bangalore - The Hosur Road Elevated Highway.

Inaugurated on Friday, the 22nd of Jan 2010, the highway will be operated toll-free for the first week. Post that, through traffic towards Hosur is free, I believe, but entry to EC comes at a premium.

I already did multiple trial trips on this highway. The first time on Saturday (2-way) and the 2nd on Tuesday (1-way). On day1, I would have hardly taken 6mins to glide thru the 9km stretch, touching a top speed of 105km. The speedlimit on this road is 80km :P Sensing that bro wasnt appreciating the 'glide' too much, I had to slow down to a comfortable 70. The return was at a slower 50kmph and I felt like watching an art movie, riding at that speed for the entire stretch.

On day2, it was only the return trip that was on the elevated highway. This time, we (me and Doc) did some time-analysis. From the start, to the end of the highway it is 8km. At a consistent 50kmph, it took 8mins to cover the distance. (Now dont use the equations from Kinematics and prove me incorrect!)

A few thoughts on the highway:

1. It eases traffic for sure

2. Gives a good reason for the lousy techies to go to office (no more 2 hr trips to work)

3. Beautifully lit up in the night..

On the flip side:

1. With the road below widened to 10 lanes, traffic was at manage-able levels. Add a fly-over/under pass at 2-3 places and the job would have been done. 80Cr vs 800Cr.. Big waste

2. The side-rails of the elevated highway arent high enough to stop a 'flying' vehicle from landing on an unsuspecting pedestrian/biker on the road below. With vehicles screaming at top-speed on the highway, this is not an impossibility.

3. The lanes are very narrow. One car breaking down would mean congestion on the track.

Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable trip on the highway, as long as it was toll-free :D

A bigger irony is in the waiting, when the toll-gates start getting functional. The very intention of the 800Cr project was to reduce the travel time on the stretch. Starting this week, expect long queues at the toll-gate. 8mins of drive. 10 mins of wait at toll gate.. What a wonder..

This is where it begins...

And we're on top! See the Bosch building..

Almost at the EC-side.. Thats one of the crazy Infy buildings

Tail:

1. We did take some pics. Will post soon. [Update at 8.07PM - Done]

2. It was a peaceful Republic Day this year, but ppl who (accidentally) tuned into Zoom TV would have got frustrated to the end of the world, thanks to their "Phir Mile Sur" telecast in a for-loop. These national integration songs give goose pimples while in front of TV. But their effect stops there! And the re-mix sounded more like a re-mix. Sonu Nigam trying to give it a Rock touch??

A New Rajiv Gandhi In the Making ?

It has been quite a while - 2 decades ? - since we saw one spirited dedicated social worker at a high command in Indian Politics. In a badly scripted play, where every single actor is at the mercy of another for survival, this gentleman stands out as an exception. And this very much explains why his straight-forwad remarks and view points on contemporary and bygone issues invite so much of media attention and develop into controversial stories.

The man is Shashi Tharoor (not Rahul, if you thought so... He is very much part of the 'script'!). If you are not too keen a news-grabber, or your arena is restricted to national news or state news, then this name would sound like belonging to a newcomer. But he comes with immense level of experience handling international issues, during his tenure as Executive Assistant to the UN Sec General Kofi Annan. An ardent cricket fan, his command over the language (English) will sweep many off their feet.

In this dirty game of politics, where people shamelessly 'plead' for media attention - be it in the form of "hunger strike" or in the form of "throwing mud at each other", this is one gentleman who is 'paparazied' by the media... He is a hot seller for them.

He is never away from controversies. A famous(?) one was when he referred to the economy class of airliners as 'cattle class'. Perhaps, too much of command over the language... Here in India, we are blissfully ignorant of the usage 'cattle class'.

Recently, I happened to watch a press conference of his, live on TV. I dont remember, when was the last time I watched any such event live on TV. Is it that they dont telecast it live, or becoz I stay away from TV ? Anyways, this was a big coverage, and unlike showing snippets of the press conference, the channels were dedicating considerable airtime, keeping aside their regular activities. Interesting !

Incidentally, this press conference happens to be the aftermath of another controversy, where he was alleged to have criticized the foreign policies of Nehru and Gandhi. His presentation was nothing short of captivating to watch. Excerpts (put down from own memory): "Did I ever criticize Nehru or Gandhi ? Gandhiji was never a minister, so what foreign policy of his are you talking about? You have the tapes of my speech with you. Please play it again and listen to what I have said. In fact, it was a seminar involving serious discussion about foreign policies with delegates from high ranks. It is discouraging to know that the attendees did not have a minimal level of understanding of the topic."

To one of the irking questions of a journalist, he responded "Next qn pls, I'm not going to listen to this nonsense" without losing his calm.

Check that video out on youtube or some other source, if you manage to come across. Be a fan!

Here is a printed version.

Is this the making of the future leader of the country ?! I wish it is...

(Isnt it visible from the fact that he has enemies in his own party ? :D They cant visualize a third person (first is Manmohan, 2nd is Rahul) coming anywhere near the proximity of the coveted chair)

Tail:

1. These days, the news channels do not seem to be airing news. Instead what they have is 'story'. A news channel almost always have this on their ticker - "Developing Story"

2. We should also be thankful to him for glorifying the name 'Shashi' that has been associated with all silly things for humor - Palarivattam shashi, for instance..

3. Shashi Tharoor is famous on twitter as well. I havent created an account, but this makes me re-think...

4. For some authenic reads : website , active website, wiki , twitter

Bizzarre Thoughts

1. I wanna do my Masters in Oz

2. Do an interview with...who else...Prithviraj !

3. Dance on stage with MJ (a lil too late)

4. Bang Open that CD drive of Jez one last time

5. Go for a Sallu movie (these days we go only to good movies.. but let this be a change.. :D )

6. Walking up the Himalayas on a bright sunny day would be a good idea too

7. Read one book in full (non technical, non-Balarama, non-BobanumMoliyum)

8. Fast one full day !
9. Put Gasper on fast one full day :-D

10. Go to Lakshadweep....once again !

11. Compose, write and sing a song (w/o informing our hero in point 9)

12. Do bungee jumping (this would be the last thing I do.. I'm sooo scareddddddddddd)

A Long Year-End Vacation

How pleasant a thought it is to lie flat on the floor in front of the TV, and then after a long while, get up to find a pillow tucked under the head to aid the sleep.. Blissful lazy days.. Thanks to the year end shutdown at the work place, I could enjoy a good long 9 days of no going to office. 2/3rd of this was at native.

Having enjoyed a similar heavenly feeling last year, it was a much anticipated thing this time around. If last year's vacation was mostly spent amidst the smell of dettol, this time it was different. Special dishes by mom, visits to home, visitors at home, Christmas Cakes!!!, RockMon's gimmicks. Also in the list were a trip to OV (olde veedu - typical kannur slang :D). And Movies...plenty of 'em. Not on the boring TV, but on a friendly PC. Just one movie outing to screen - 3 idiots. What a movie !

Homeland hasnt changed much. It was a hartal on Tuesday Dec29. A protest against rising prices. Dad commented on that day "Tomorrow, we'll buy rice at 10Rs per kg". A sarcastic line on an impossible outcome of the hartal drama.

A quick rating of the movies I watched:

1. Mulla - a movie from Lal Jose, but has no qualities of his usual movies.

2. Moz n Cat - Fazil's movie. Rubbish.

3. Bhayadevatha - Sathyan Anthikkad took a stupid subject. No good a movie.

4. Passenger - Good one in the lot

5. Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani - Average.

Adikkurippu:

1. How I wish a movie of Aamir Khan flops... His qjada is hitting the roof these days. But 3 idiots is yet another smash hit. Go watch it !

2. Do you know you can read manorama weekly for free at weekly.manoramaonline.com ?

3. It was a foggy blind 1st day trip to office today. The fog from North India seem to have found its way to here

4. Its raining weddings in our group. Unforunately due to the timings, could not go to a single one