Pune Traffic Sense

"I have to go, I don't have any patience" .... "Hey you f****r, let me go first!" ....

Oh boy. Punekars have zero - Z.E.R.O. - driving/riding sense. I'm not saying about all of them but at least 80%. All they think while driving is about their convenience and nothing of others. Not that they ride fast or rash, its just that drive in a pathetically dumb manner. You see, most of the two wheeler accidents caused in Pune are because of the riders trying to pull off their hair in frustration caused by the other drivers and riders travelling the way Punekars do! Now I'll tell you what all I'm exactly talking about...

Lane Discipline. That is seriously ignored by around 90% of Punekars. Suppose you want to take a left turn, you would drive slowly in the right-most lane and at the very last minute would take a left turn and endure the bloody honking of other drivers as if you were right all along! Another thing being, the people just don't know which lane is meant for what. Since in India, we drive on the left side of the road, the right-most lane is supposed to be the Fast Lane. Even on less wide roads this supposed to be maintained. Now what our Ideal Punekar would do is, even when you want to drive leisurely you would do that in the right-most(fast) lane. After honking as if your life is depended on it, he would casually change lanes and wonder what is wrong with you!

The Honking. This is one factor that seriously drives me mad! Why, why, why do companies produce such horns having billions of decibals bursting out of em?! I put my iPod on full volume to avoid this, but the honking just creeps in.
Why do people honk without a reason? Its an unsolved mystery....

The Pedestrians I read this amazing joke in CAR magazine I think, a few months back. It goes like this..
Q: Why do we have side-view mirrors?
A: To hit Stupid pedestrians with.
Q: Why do we have rear-view mirrors?
A: To watch the stupid in pain after you've hit them.
Q: Why do we have seat belts?
A: To restrain ourselves from getting out and physicaly assaulting the stupid pedestrians.

I know the point of this whole article was about Car Safety, but it also emphasises on how stupid the pedestrians are! One thing about a punekar I don't like is that if someone hits their car or does something offensive to him, he would get out and start shouting out swear words at him. And a hundred swear words later, he would sit back in and drive away. What a Mumbaikar would do is firstly get out smack one real hard on the person's face and THEN start the swearing! Now that's sense!

I have nothing against Punekars mind you, they are the sweetest people around. Very hospitable, very caring and would out of the way to help a stranger! But once they sit on their vehicles, everything goes wrong...

Monotonous routine...

I'm sick and tired of this whole monotonous routine that i have. I just want to get onto my bike and go somewhere, wherever the road takes me...

The only problem is that its a 100cc scooterette! Not that "touring" isn't possible on it; its just that its not fun enough! I try to break away from this routine, but something just keeps me tied to it...

I'm definitely going to do a small ride, be it 40 kms or a 100 kms... Some day, I'm just gonna flip and the biker in me is gonna take over! The freedom felt with the wind in your face and all your worries put behind you.

Coming Soon...

Sanna's Party review!

Actually Sanna's party was on 13th of December... And since I hadn't started my blog at that time, I obviously couldn't write about it.

I am very particular about time. I was supposed to reach Bombay Brasserie at 8 (sharp... supposedly!). I was supposed to take my car, which was to come back from servicing at 7. But it wasn't, so I left on my bike and went to pick up Aishwarya. It was already 7:50 and I hate being late. Then we finally left, picking up the cake from Aksha.

Me and Aishwarya reached the place at 8:30, and only bechara Sarthak was there!! Nobody else in sight! Not even the Birthday Girl! We called her and she was just leaving Pashan! Anyways, madam reached her own party at 9:30!

Well, the party was fun. School memories kept flowing in and out... Sanna kept feeling bad coz she was late but well... its k...

The cake was good, after all Aksha's choice... Not bad!

Ah, the presents...! Sanna liked mine and Aksha's gift so much that she had to put it on! Mind you, I'm talking about a top we got for her......!

Occasional guyish talks bout cars n bikes came up between me Sarthak and Ishan. And then back to THEIR school memories! 80% of the people were from Symbi. I, Aksha and Bhende were the only ones from Vikhe and were sitting at different ends of the table so...

The Party got over! Twas almost 12... Everyone said goodbyes and gave Hugs and we finally left! I had a totally brilliant time I must say!

Now I feel like a 8 yr old writing about MY FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY! So I stop....

Blog update...

Due to on-going requests from my friends, I'll be blogging about my daily life also! Since some people need special mention in other people's blog, I obviously can't say no!

Top Gear to return in January

Top Gear will return to BBC on the 28th of January, the National Potato Day in England! I know it will take a long time till it hits our TV screens here in India, but to all those true fans of Top Gear who download the episodes through torrents its time to rejoice!

BBC Top Gear Official Website

A huge collection of Top Gear torrents, latest and old, can be found here:
Finalgear.com

The Trials of Supercar ownership...

I have to say that Jeremy Clarkson is one of my favourite TV personalities. The way he presents Top Gear is absolutely brilliant! As all Top Gear fans know, he bought a Ford GT40 sometime in early 2005. This video made by a Clarkson fanatic, shows how much exactly he suffered ever since he bought the GT!! Nice Compilation of short clips from Top Gear episodes....

The Hobbit...

I being a huge LotR fan, couldn't resist from putting this. Plans are on to adapt the book by Tolkien, "The Hobbit" into a movie. The plans have been made final, the Saul Zaentz Company has indeed agreed that The Hobbit will be made as a movie.

However, it is doubtful that Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson will direct this movie due to his "legal dispute" with New Line Cinema. New Line Cinema currently still holds the rights to Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit which it will be losing next year, and which will be directed back to the Saul Zaentz Company.

MGM has been in talks with Peter Jackson about making "two movies" based on The Hobbit storyline. MGM currently holds the distribution rights to Lord of the Rings. The first movie will be a direct adaptation of The Hobbit and the second one will delve deep into the history of LotR and the characters related to it. It will be seen as sort of a Silmarillion adaptation though there aren't any confirmations to this.

The fact still remains that The Hobbit WILL be made but only time will tell when and who directs it. The brilliant direction of LotR by Peter Jackson gives us high expections on how The Hobbit will be. Therefore, seeing the movie directed by any other director will be a compromise all LotR fans will have to make!!

Even though I'll be posting updates on the situation of The Hobbit, you can vist these sites for detailed info and news. The sites are a must visit for all Die-Hard LotR fans:

http://www.theonering.net
http://www.councilofelrond.com

The Veyron...

Ever wondered how the Bugatti Veyron, if it actually uses up all its power and try to do a 0-300? Check this out...

Roller Coaster fun!

If you play Roller Coaster tycoon, you have to try this out!

Israel warns of impending al-Qaeda attack in India

JERUSALEM — The Israeli Foreign Ministry has issued an urgent warning of an impending al-Qaeda attack in the peaceful Indian region of Goa, a popular destination for Israeli backpackers.

The ministry's announcement warned of a “concrete threat” of an al-Qaeda attack in the area in the next few weeks. This is peak tourist season in Goa, a former Portuguese colony renowned for its palm tree-lined white beaches, resorts and hedonistic parties, and tens of thousands of foreigners, including many Israelis, are expected to be there.

B.S. Brar, director general of police in Goa, told India's CNN-IBN news channel that “there is no specific intelligence” of an impending attack.

“We have no concrete warning of any type of attack,” he said.

“Goa is one of the safest places,” he said, urging tourists not to stay away during the peak tourist season.

While India has suffered dozens of terror attacks in recent years, none of them have been linked to al-Qaeda. However, security analysts believe that the group may have informal links with Pakistani-based Islamic militants, most notably Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, who are fighting to wrest control of Indian-held Kashmir from India.

A dozen-odd groups want have been fighting since 1989 for the independence of the Muslim majority Himalayan region from mainly Hindu India or a union with mostly Muslim Pakistan.

Source: http://www.shoutwire.com/viewstory/43769/Israel_Warns_of_Impending_Al_Qaeda_Attack_in_India

Wierd accident...

How possibly could anyone have managed this??

GIR ends...

The Great Indian Roadtrip taken up by xBhp is finally over. 4 months, 20,000 kms, 5 bikes, thousands of people and it finally ends. What an accomplishment! This is called Endurance. Nobody would have been able to do this unless that person was a biker by heart! Such enthusiasm, such passion for riding and the much love for the country is what it conveyed. The memory of meeting the GIR team will forever stay with me...

Lamborghini...

First T-Bhp meet...

I just returned from my First Team BHP meet. Took the Tucson for a nice drive coz the meetup was outside the B.U. Bhandari showroom. Technocrat was the first one there. I and KP reached there at dot 8, being Mumbaikars by heart and having some time sense. Shrivz reached a bit late with Karl. And Ram sir came at 8:30. We were very enthusiastically waiting for Bhushan(Evo6) and his Audi TT, but instead his wife came to drop him in her Optra... Haha! So that didn't go quite as planned. I had to get home fast so I left, and KP kept wondering where the Audi guy was, even when he had talked to him! So...

Goodnight!

Life's a blog...!

I always decide that I'm going to start a blog and keep it updated daily. Somehow, in those endless hours or Orkutting, blogging just slips my mind...

This is my fresh start at blogging. I will post here that which excites me, involves me and keeps me going. Cars, Bikes, news, Videos, local updates, friends, and everything else in between...

Enjoy!