Highway to Hell

Highway to Hell

Not the AC/DC song, but the tale of hell on our highways.

I feel I must acknowledge that there are probably VERY few exceptions.


Buses 

Constituting the major chunk of public transport oft gives them the right to stop anywhere on the road. Leftist, Rightist or center, you dare not question them. More often than not they realize at the last minute to take a turn and of course end up taking a mute turn.

Bikes

Zipping across the roads at speeds not less than 90kmph is considered an insult. They have superpowers to squeeze through gaps which even mice would find daunting. Add the callousness towards traffic rules and the compelling need to demonstrate their dexterity in biking skills by driving with one hand, wheeling etc ,  you have a disastrous mixture for perennial accidents ready!

Horns 

Jarring sounds resonating throughout the road effectively masking the direction of origin. Best way to get on someones nerve on the road. The power of this is truly felt when the traffic doesn’t move despite the green signal.

Potholes 

Disrupts the social hierarchy of power. Whether you own a Benz or a Bajaj scooter or whatever be the horsepower of your ego, potholes don’t flatten. A scooter simply overtakes a truck by swinging left and the latter is left behind lagging.

Pedestrians  

Ever deaf, non-caring jaywalkers. Given that the roads come from the tax payers money, they somehow have it in their heads that they are to be proclaimed "kings of the road" and every one else HAS to stop to give them way!

Traffic lights  

It is hard to believe that these 3 small round lights can be such tortuous testers of patience. The mad acceleration to just make it to the signal and the cussing and the anxious wait that follows for the signal to turn green. Sometimes ignored by the users of road who seem to follow the lights flashing in front of their eyes.
 

Animals 

The roads belong to man and animals alike; Such is the reverence shown that, the entire traffic diverts itself to accommodate a family of cud-chewing buffaloes/cows out on their evening stroll. In effect the holy cow becomes the cop and the cop a holy cow.

Parking Facilities  

Eternally full and even if you are lucky enough to spot a vacancy, one needs to be cunning to snap the place. If you think getting in is hard, getting out of these is even worse. Searching frantically for the parking slip and cutting across lines of parked vehicles, you would heave a sigh of relief to be out of these.

Roads 

With the combination of all the above, they know no bias. These maligned roads with their potholes, manholes and speed breakers are strict enforcers of liberty, equality and fraternity. Also, they seem to serve those who stand and wait, the best!

Long live the roads!

End of the World as We Knew It

Mayan Calendar

Well, looks like the Mayans had it wrong or their calendar writers became lazy or ran out of paper. Whatever be the reason, looks like the world is pretty  much intact. Yay!

The hype surrounding this, since this prediction came to light, what with movies being made about it (you cant blame them for wanting to make more money!), I wondered what it would be like, if the end of the world indeed came upon us.

 I have to admit that’s a pretty scary thought. The world as I know gone, poof in a day! But then, I wondered what it was that I would miss the most about the world. Was it the countries in deep economic despair, struggling to save its people from misery and the swelling sense of insecurity? Was it the mindless wars being waged, innocents being killed? Was it the huge fissure in the morals of the society that has changed us all into self-centered beings? The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the world was not a kind and benevolent place any more. This society has morphed into a self-centered bunch of people.

Taking our own country for instance, poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, rapes, corruption are rampant. It is probably unfair to expect huge development in a span of 65 years post independence. But is that any excuse to stop being human? As long as one's life is secure, most of us do not feel the need  to spare a second thought for anything else. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer and the middle class get crushed. We  comfortably turn a blind eye to the inequality being meted out and sufferings of others . Even if there is an uproar on any of these issues, it is forgotten over time and people fall back into their routine. Is it because we cannot care or we choose not to?

The ones who have the power to do anything are too busy ensuring their position of power and status. Pointing fingers at others faults, they successfully evade any responsibility. Most of us commoners,  are so involved in managing our lives  that we hardly even consider glancing at the world beyond. When I came across this video, I found it so hard to watch it even for 10 minutes. The blatant truth made me burn with shame on having become a Nero's guest myself - a silent spectator, watching the injustice being dished out. The only silver lining I could see here is that, at least a section of people are trying to make some difference with their dogged attempts and catching the attention of the public.

Maybe the Mayans did have it right. Maybe they did know what they were talking about after all. We interpreted the prediction as the end of the physical realm. I personally feel that they must have been referring to the breakdown of the society and humanity ceasing to exist with it. Is this the world that we want our future generations to grow in? Even if one can't bring about social reform overnight, the least one could do is change his/her attitude. Quoting MJ "I am starting with the man in the mirror". This doomsday prediction is a wake up call. A chance to right the imbalance. Also, a  dire warning that if we continue on this destructive spiral, then the day would indeed be rightly marked as the beginning of the end of the world as we knew it. 

Good luck and best wishes for 2013 folks!
 

Brew it.. Drink it.. Live it..

Dedicated to all the coffee lovers...

Well the blog had to be revived after its long hiatus and what better way to do it than a post about COFFEE. The very thought of it makes you close your eyes, filling your nose with the exotic aroma of coffee seeds and you can almost feel the taste of it on your tongue (of course you have got to be a coffee addict to experience this bliss!).

All great things seem to surface from a mistake or two; well looks like coffee is no exception to that. Legend has it that coffee was “discovered” by a sheep herder in Ethiopia, who saw his sheep become hyper when they fed on the red “cherries” from a plant ( now known as coffee). This plant later went on to become an inseparable part of one and all. In any South Indian household, the day does not begin without the traditional filter kaapi and devotional songs. No better way to commence one's morning than sitting in a chair with the newspaper in one hand and hot coffee in the other.

Nailing down the technicalities, Coffee is basically a drink brewed from roasted coffee seeds, called coffee beans. Brasil is the world leading producer of this wonder drink seed. Based on the aroma, flavor and size of the coffee beans, there appears to be a classification. With a little help from Google, here is a list of the most popular ones :

Americano: A single shot of espresso with about 7 ounces of hot water added to the mix. The name for this coffee drink apparently stemmed from an insult to ‘uncouth’ Americans who weren’t up to drinking full espressos.

Black Coffee: A drip brew, percolated or French press style coffee served straight, with no milk

Caffe Latte: Essentially, a single shot of espresso in steamed (not frothed) milk where the ratio of milk to coffee should be about 3:1

Cafe Macchiato: A shot of espresso with steamed milk added where the ratio of coffee to milk is approximately 4:1

Cappuccino: Usually equal parts espresso, steamed milk, and frothed milk, often with cinnamon or flaked chocolate sprinkled on top

Espresso Con Panna: Your basic standard espresso with a shot of whipped cream on top.

Frappe: Originally a cold espresso, it has more recently been prepared putting 1-2 teaspoons of instant coffee with sugar, water and ice. The brew is placed in a long glass with ice, and milk if you like, turning it into a big coffee milkshake.

Iced coffee: A regular coffee served with ice, and sometimes milk and sugar.
And last but certainly not the least presenting our own :)

Madras filter coffee: A common brew in the south of India, Indian filter coffee is made from rough ground, dark-roasted coffee Arabica or Peaberry beans. It’s drip-brewed for several hours in a traditional metal coffee filter before being served. The ratio of coffee to milk is usually 3:1.

With this wide variety to choose how is it even possible to resist this amazing yet addictive drink. It sure does warm you up on a cold day, grinds away the rough edges after a tough night and makes the hours at work seem like minutes(personal experience!). There is always the eternal debate of how much of coffee is too much and is caffeine good, so on and so forth. Maybe too much of anything is good for nothing. But I say screw them all, get a cuppa and enjoy it :)

P.S. Anything can happen over a cup of coffee as well ;)

The World Has Shrunk! But....

Welcome to the era of communication....
This period is considered to the beginning of rapid development in communication. Children of the forthcoming generations may laugh while listening to the stories about how information was conveyed from one place to another. This field has come a long way starting with messengers on foot, birds then slowly progressing to telephones, telegraphs, radios and now it stands at internet, mobile phones! The development has been tremendous!
Today, sitting at your house with a phone you can catch up with the happenings of the world and keep yourself updated. News and information is just a click or a message away. Information is transmitted many times faster than it used to be. A point to be noted is that telecommunication is one of the few industries that has not been affected even during the recession period. This showcases the power and potential of this industry. 3G- one of the latest developments in this field is set to be released in a while and there is no doubt that this technology will take this industry to new heights and causing a revolution.
The obvious inference is that the world has shrunk to a great extent. It is now possible to access even the remotest parts of the world thanks to this emerging industry. You can travel around the world in a short span of time. There are so many tools at one’s disposal now. But...
The question to ponder over is that the world has shrunk, but at what cost?What is the point of all these advancements when relationships are falling apart, when people no longer care about anything? People are just so tuned into their jobs and are so focussed on making money that they barely find it important to spend time with anyone leave alone themselves! People are slowly forgetting that they need to live together as a society. One must keep in mind that such developments are futile if such an attitude exists among the people. This prevalent attitude must be clipped at its roots else it can make things worser than present. Else it will be too late to rectify and rise again...