On 30th of May I set on journey to Mumbai from Pune. We started from my place in Aundh in Pune at around 10pm in the Maruti Baleno. 10km off we hit the Mumbai high way and few more kilometers we reached the Mumbai Expressway Talegaon tollgate to start our fastlane heading to Mumbai. First stop on the way was the HP Filling station. While the tanks got filled we emptied ours and catch up a bit a refreshments to keep ourselves awake for the journey ahead. The Mumbai Pune Expressway is India's first six-lane concrete, high-speed, access controlled tolled expressway which pressed into service in April 2002 after four years of planning and four more years of construction. The expressway spans a distance of 93 km connected by five tunnels, with the longest one almost 1km long and is called the Batan tunnel. The ventilators in the tunnel resemble the 30000 HP GE Jet turbine engine.
The most amazing part of the expressway in addition to this being among the most ambitious of its kinds in India is the scenic ambiance of the western ghats that can be seen on the way. As we drive past Khamshet, Lonowale, Khandala, Khopoli a series of curves and bends of the ghat roads gradualy unfold. Yes these ghat roads are more tamed than the usual ghat roads I am used to, but never the less its still thrills to drive down the roads. The speed limits specified is 30km on these Ghat section but 70kmph is easily doable. The regular freeway speed limit is around 80kmph though 140kmph is easy.
Towards mid-night we started heading towards Panvel - Kalamboli section to drive towards Navi Mumbai. As we started entering Vashi, felt very uncomfortable and I sort of withdraw into the confines of the car as the excitement of the Ghat roads and the long drive instantly waned out. A few more minutes on the Thane road, Mulund then entered Powaii. Driving past the Hiranandani Gardens reached our place in Fiorello, Nahar Amrit Shakti, Powai. The city of hopes and aspirations keeps calling me at the most unusal of circumstances and situation. Looking for good time in Mumbai..
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero
The start of this year has been on back of a very hard realities of life that I came to be face to face with. Rejections, hardships, failures, support or lack of support,expressability or lack of it all and more combined came to my reckoning. Sometimes I imagine how would have life been if I haven't taken those two crucial steps.
1. Breaking
2. Matching up and breaking
Life would surely would have been different; but life is not always un sympathetic, it would have its own share of undoing things. I might have have a different forces to deal with; may be a personal drain of my own efforts to some extent. But see it from a different angle; hadn't I gone through this phase of life ; might be a 8 months of the dynamism; it would have paved way to a much bigger thought process and understanding which dawned on me later on.
I could understand
Thinking about the past makes me happy; thinking of recent past makes me sad, thinking about future which is uncertain, unnerves me; But I don't know clinging on to the bygone past and thinking and getting tensed un arrived future why one is torturing his present; making ones past, present and future and tragedy to live and tell. Telling and preaching is easy but listening, understanding, digesting and following mind you is an entirely a different league. Accept the realities of life and get going; this I believe should be the Sutra for life.
Must be wondering why the title "Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero" It's a Latino phrase and means " seize the day and trust as little as possible in the future" for there is a lot to make of this short paced life.
1. Breaking
2. Matching up and breaking
Life would surely would have been different; but life is not always un sympathetic, it would have its own share of undoing things. I might have have a different forces to deal with; may be a personal drain of my own efforts to some extent. But see it from a different angle; hadn't I gone through this phase of life ; might be a 8 months of the dynamism; it would have paved way to a much bigger thought process and understanding which dawned on me later on.
I could understand
- the values and price of people;
- of whom to trust and whom not to;
- what looks from outside might not be the best one deserves;
- one might not always get what he always envisions
- Things are sometimes to be left in safety of the trusted few.
- Meaning and real value of love
- Needs of sustaining relationships
- Managing expectations and multitasking
- Fear, failure, narrow mindedness etc.
Thinking about the past makes me happy; thinking of recent past makes me sad, thinking about future which is uncertain, unnerves me; But I don't know clinging on to the bygone past and thinking and getting tensed un arrived future why one is torturing his present; making ones past, present and future and tragedy to live and tell. Telling and preaching is easy but listening, understanding, digesting and following mind you is an entirely a different league. Accept the realities of life and get going; this I believe should be the Sutra for life.
Must be wondering why the title "Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero" It's a Latino phrase and means " seize the day and trust as little as possible in the future" for there is a lot to make of this short paced life.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Life at Pune - 15 day Report
Finally after much deliberations and passive period of confusion and indecisiveness; the decesion to move to Pune was made in quite a haste in a matter of a week of my release from Genpact. I booked my tickets to Pune just a couple of hours before the departure; such was the level of apprehension and internal resistance for the move. The resistance was very high and probably the move should do good to me.
I moved to Pune on 16th April on sunny and hot morning when Pune and the country per se was in a middle of a heat wave and mercury levels scorched beyond 40 degrees with ease. The first impression was "Man how did I end up in this Furnace" The place was fuming with little or no vegetation with hard rock boulders and dusty black soil clad by roads adding to the woos of the badly laid infra structure of a city which is growing at a rapid pace much too much for the comfort of the local infrastructure pace and pace. The place of my work is at Hinjewadi which is on the far north end of the city where if one has to take out a 5-year back map, this place would not even exist. The roads are yet to be laid and expanded fully, and the place is connected by small satellite villages(Aundh, Sus, Baner, Pashan etc...) on the way which are rapidlyto become part of Greater Pune.
Public transport is a big problem here. Bus service is ok types but the quality of the buses are pretty substandard by major South Indian cities standard. Auto ricks and taxi are a loot here; worse than the Autowalas of Chennai. They squeeze in the maximum moolah out of the unsuspecting passenger who falls an unnatural and unintended victim to his vims. If one has a non-maharatra registered vehicle then the public servants - police turn against the poor guy who just moved in to make the maximum in bribing.
Finding a house here is another big sober story; the place is run by a mafia of Real estate agents and brokers; who are there to make the maximum of the money and rents and cost of the residential facilities are being artificially pushed up alomost on a weekly basis.
Night life I felt is pretty much limited in myt part of the city atleast. Travelling in night is not advised in these remote pockets. Apart from this interstate travel has been another headache; bus agents charge amounts well beyond the rates of 2nd AC fares and sometimes more than 1st AC during weekends. People are genuinely denied tickets in state run transports like the APTDC or the APSRTC buses for a lack of margin they make on selling Private operators buses creating an artificial scarcity of seats. Bad the travellers like us are the most who suffer.
Yaa one thing I like is I get to eat an occasional Vada Pav or Dabelli on the roadside but yes sometimes I miss my Dosa, Idly with Proper Sambhar and chutney. Early days for me to comment for me as too many things running around and lot to stabilise and settle down. Looks like this yeart will also have its bit of action and dynamism.
For now I am accessing internet through a netcafe as I m not wired in at Pune so will take sometime to hook-in and have more of blogging. Have a few certifications to complete this week; and haven't touched the same for over a few months now. Anyways until then chao...
I moved to Pune on 16th April on sunny and hot morning when Pune and the country per se was in a middle of a heat wave and mercury levels scorched beyond 40 degrees with ease. The first impression was "Man how did I end up in this Furnace" The place was fuming with little or no vegetation with hard rock boulders and dusty black soil clad by roads adding to the woos of the badly laid infra structure of a city which is growing at a rapid pace much too much for the comfort of the local infrastructure pace and pace. The place of my work is at Hinjewadi which is on the far north end of the city where if one has to take out a 5-year back map, this place would not even exist. The roads are yet to be laid and expanded fully, and the place is connected by small satellite villages(Aundh, Sus, Baner, Pashan etc...) on the way which are rapidlyto become part of Greater Pune.
Public transport is a big problem here. Bus service is ok types but the quality of the buses are pretty substandard by major South Indian cities standard. Auto ricks and taxi are a loot here; worse than the Autowalas of Chennai. They squeeze in the maximum moolah out of the unsuspecting passenger who falls an unnatural and unintended victim to his vims. If one has a non-maharatra registered vehicle then the public servants - police turn against the poor guy who just moved in to make the maximum in bribing.
Finding a house here is another big sober story; the place is run by a mafia of Real estate agents and brokers; who are there to make the maximum of the money and rents and cost of the residential facilities are being artificially pushed up alomost on a weekly basis.
Night life I felt is pretty much limited in myt part of the city atleast. Travelling in night is not advised in these remote pockets. Apart from this interstate travel has been another headache; bus agents charge amounts well beyond the rates of 2nd AC fares and sometimes more than 1st AC during weekends. People are genuinely denied tickets in state run transports like the APTDC or the APSRTC buses for a lack of margin they make on selling Private operators buses creating an artificial scarcity of seats. Bad the travellers like us are the most who suffer.
Yaa one thing I like is I get to eat an occasional Vada Pav or Dabelli on the roadside but yes sometimes I miss my Dosa, Idly with Proper Sambhar and chutney. Early days for me to comment for me as too many things running around and lot to stabilise and settle down. Looks like this yeart will also have its bit of action and dynamism.
For now I am accessing internet through a netcafe as I m not wired in at Pune so will take sometime to hook-in and have more of blogging. Have a few certifications to complete this week; and haven't touched the same for over a few months now. Anyways until then chao...
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