A glass of steaming milky syrupy tea is best served cut. One by two or two by three, it embodies the spirit of sharing and camaraderie (and more significantly a resource crunch). Come, have a sip.
Desi jugaad or Indian ingenuity is legendary. Be it churning lassi in washing machines or using condoms to provide a smooth finish to tarred roads, necessity is the mother of amazing inventions in our nation. Even governments here run on jugaad.
Yesterday, in Vaishali, the boom town of Ghaziabad, came across a rickshaw that looked a little different, with headlights, indicators and all. On further investigation, discovered an engine beneath the seat.
The driver/owner of the rickshaw (I cannot recollect his name) says that his motorcycle rickshaw contraption is one-of-its-kind in the area.
He charges a premium of Rs 5 over the usual rickshaw fare in exchange for speed. Fitted with a moped engine, the motorcycle rickshaw (or should we call it a moped rickshaw?) gives 40 kilometres to the litre. He assures that his vehicle wouldn't topple if it encounters a bump at 40 kmph (the top speed according to him).
Asked about braking, "Power brakes," he replies with pride.
His only worry is that the transport department says that he cannot ply his vehicle without a license plate, something he expects to get soon.
With the narrow cycle rickshaw tyres, travelling at high speeds doesn't seem to be a good idea. Moreover the absense of proper suspension wouldn't make the journey very comfortable in the bylanes of Ghaziabad.
It is quite common to find carts (thelas) fitted with scooter engines on Indian roads, but it was the first time that I saw a petrol-powered cycle rickshaw. Do let me know if such example exist elsewhere.
By the way, what happened to the much hyped solar-powered rickshaws that were supposed to be launched in Delhi?
Old pal Kisholay seemed pleased with my series - Rubbers of India - and being the photographer that he is, promptly shot and sent me a couple of photos to propagate the message of safe sex via this blog.
Didn't post anything here for more than a month. The reasons - busy, lazy and trying to figure out.
First, shifted residence, from a spacious exclusive furnished house have moved into a one room pad. With a landlord who promised me the sun and is now reluctantly handing me a candle, I am struggling to fit in all my stuff in the limited confines. Therefore didn't feel like blogging, I need some physical space for this kind of activity. Living out of boxes is difficult but am getting used to it.
Second, am helping launch a new product at work that promises to be 'hot.' And all the heat is sapping my energies.
Third, had gone for a short break to the hills, to Nainital. Nice place. Being a hill boy it is only the high Himalayas that can now excite me enough. Ranikhet was a disappointment and regretting not going to the Jim Corbett National Park.
A few photos from there, didn't explore enough:
A bell awarded to the Kathgodam Railway Station (the nearest railhead from Nainital) for being the best maintained railway station in the 1950s (don't remember the exact year).
A Time Master Transistor clock at the hotel where we stayed The cable car/ropeway to the Snow View point. With the snow melting in the summer, it was hazy in the Himalayas and we didn't get to see anything from up there.
Probably a relic from the British era. The classic red post box.
...and the Post Office at Tallital (at the southern end of the Naini lake). This is supposedly the only the post office on a lake bridge anywhere in the world.
The Naini lake (that forms the heart of the town) as viewed from the ropeway
Lovers leaving behind their ugly marks at Lover's Point/Suicide Point (Every Hill Station seems to have one).
...and making a business out of capturing love birds on film (Deepali Photos, Lovers Point, Nainital). The digital revolution seems to have hit them hard.
A view from the hotel where we stayed.
A bird incubating her eggs on a nest. A friendly restaurant owner took the extra effort to show her to us.
Got the message. (transliteration/translation of the text in Devanagari: Kripiya mandir mein shauchalay suvidha nahin hain - Please there is no urinal facility on the temple)
Continuing with the guessing game tradition, guess who? (and for those hooked to television comedy talent shows - pehchaan kaun?) Not very tough I think, or maybe it is. I'm sure some of you would have seen this photo, even though it isn't as popular as that of a a wavy-haired little Sachin.
Got it? If not, this is the original Little Master when he was actually little.
This photo of Sunil Manohar Gavaskar is sourced from his 1976 autobiography Sunny Days. And the caption accompanying the photograph reads:
Gavaskar 'the baby' cricketer, in leg-guards stiched by his mother and sweater knitted by his grandmother.
And this photo is when he grew up a little more and tied the knot with Marshaniel.
This is just an additional little feature that looks and feels a little better than the existing.
All you bloggers on blogspot would have surely noticed that when you upload any image to Blogger, it gives you three size options to display the image in - large, medium and small - and at the same time the original sized image is accessible to users when they click on the image displayed on a post. But then it opens in the same window and thereby navigates your reader away from your blog.
And easy way would be to use the attribute target="_blank" within the anchor tag, so that when clicked the image would open in a new window. But why not add a little frill and make the image open in a popup window.
I'm doing this on this blog, for the want of a better alternative (tried using Lightbox but the results were not satisfactory on slow connections).
Here's how:
This blob of HTML might look a little different if you're using Internet Explorer. But that doesn't make any difference to our process.
after the closing double quotes enclosing the url of the original image, but before the > tag. The result will look something like this:
Now let me explain the elements:
the target="_blank"makes the link open in a new window
width=520, height=520 defines the size of the pop-up window. Ideally you should keep this greater (by 10 to 20 pixels) than the original image dimensions so that it displays properly across browsers.
resizable=no, scrollbars=yes, menubar=no, toolbar=no, status=no are optional attributes, you can change their values to yes or no according to your needs and fancies.
For a demo click on the accompanying Blogger logo.
For others who might need yet more cusromisation, you can add the attributes top= and left= to define the position of the pop-up window.
This would make the window open with a displacement of 20 pixels from the top and left of the screen. The numerical value can be changed to suit individual requirements.
Since I'm a novice when it comes to these things and would like more able members of the blogging community to further develop the idea.
Car modification is a craze for many and a booming business for some. I have seen some vehicles transmogrify into altogether something else. But here's one that I really liked. Not much done, only a little sawing and adding the beams. The erstwhile bestseller on Indian roads - the Maruti 800 (recently overtaken by its much younger sibling Alto) is also a pick-up van.
Saw it parked outside the office yesterday and took a few quick snaps. It seemed to be modified from an older variant of the 800. Interestingly it didn't have any number plate.
[This post is the second in a new category that I'm including in this blog - 'Fantastic Females']
Watched Kabir Khan's Kabul Express some days ago and quite liked the film. Indian films getting better and different (as different from the erstwhile hatke films) and that's something to celebrate about. Rather than dissecting the entire movie (which is quite short by Hindi film standards), I would focus on the what I liked the best about this adventure to post-Taliban Afghanistan - Jessica Beckham, the Reuters journalist played by Linda Arsenio.
I was quite smitten by Linda in the film (most of the earlier off-shore imports female actresses didn't impress me much. No, not even Samantha Fox) and this post is dedicated to her. She seems to be a good actress too. Hope to see more of her in Bollywood and also praying that she isn't turned into another firang caricature as a fine actor like Tom Alter was.
Another positive about Kabul Express, there's still hope that John Abraham will turn into an actor someday.
Here's a collection of images of Linda that I grabbed from the film:
[Generously lifting an old post because the feeling remains unchanged. I'll be away from Delhi and also possibly blogging for the next five days. A short trip home (after a year) and I hope to make it sweet]
The sun plays hide and seek with the nimbus clouds, the moss between the toes is cold, damp. The acidic smell of pine leaves lends freshness to the air. It's getting colder. The winds of November whistle through the bamboo groves. Winter is almost here. She reminded the British of their Scottish highlands. 1496 metres tall, she's beautiful, she's Shillong.
Simon and Garfunkel wished to be home. Here I am with a wish come true - suitcase minus the guitar in hand - homeward bound. Leave sanctioned, bags packed, tickets printed, I should be home tomorrow. The blog posts will be a little irregular, but when I'm back I should have some to tell. Shillong here I come...
Homeward Bound
I’m sittin’ in the railway station Got a ticket for my destination On a tour of one night stands My suitcase and guitar in hand And every stop is neatly planned For a poet and a one man band
Homeward bound I wish I was Homeward bound Home, where my thought’s escaping Home, where my music’s playing Home, where my love lies waiting Silently for me
Everyday’s an endless stream Of cigarettes and magazines And each town looks the same to me The movies and the factories And every stranger’s face I see Reminds me that I long to be
Homeward bound I wish I was Homeward bound Home, where my thought’s escaping Home, where my music’s playing Home, where my love lies waiting Silently for me
Tonight I’ll sing my songs again I’ll play the game and pretend But all my words come back to me In shades of mediocrity Like emptyness in harmony I need someone to comfort me
Homeward bound I wish I was Homeward bound Home, where my thought’s escaping Home, where my music’s playing Home, where my love lies waiting Silently for me Silently for me Silently for me
After over three years, I have finally changed my mobile phone (to the relief of my friends). The old one is still functioning, but I needed something more to keep me occupied during my 80km daily ride. After a little research and a suggestion from a dear friend, I zeroed in on the Dynamite aka LG KG300.
I was essentially looking for a sub-Rs 10,000 phone with decent features and good looks. With mobile phone prices getting slashed rapidly the sub-10K segment is hotting up, though some of more loaded phones will cost a few grand more. Now on to my dissection of the phone in question:
Why LG? Because I didn't want a Nokia. My first and second phones were Motorola and wanted a change from American style reverse receive and cancel buttons. LG makes good stuff; my family has been a LG fan since we got a Golden Eye television years back.
Price: Yes, that's the most important factor. Though the LG e-shoppe lists the price at Rs 8,990, I got it for Rs 7,710 (with bill) along with a free 512 MB Micro SD card (I got the phone two weeks back). No the dealer didn't round it off, insted he offered me a free !dea connection and a gaudy mobile pouch. The prices should fall more in the coming months. For its features it is the best you can get at that price.
Looks: Well, it is a good-looking phone. The big screen, black and grey combination gives it a sophisticated look. In my opinion Nokia phones in that range aren't droolable. The body is shiny black and the kepads are matte. The shine is a little turnoff for people like me who don't like glossy stuff. I prefer suede or nubuck shoes. The chipped-off edges look good and the grey bar on the sides makes it look slimmer than it actually is.
The blue blinking light on the top left corner (which I've also seen in Samsung phones) is an irritant, but you can turn it off. The LG logo just above the screen should've been absent. All the sockets are covered with flaps and there are buttons on the sides for volume control, camera operation and the music player. The keypads though good looking are prone to making you make some typos. Features: It has loads of them - that's the USP. Here's what the LG site says:
Music Related Features * MP3 player * MP3 ringtones * Embedded songtones - 2 * FM radio-10 station memory * FM recording - live FM recording and schedule FM recording * FM alarm * Graphic equalisers - normal, bass, dance, class, treble, party, pop, rock
Camera Features * Camera support - 2.0 mega pixel * Video recording - unlimited - depends on memory card * Video playback - 3GP & MPEG format * Video caller ID * Photo caller ID * Digital zoom - 4X * Continuous shoot - 3/5/9 shots * Color effects - 14 nos. * Slide show - manual * Backlight compensation * White balance * Night mode * Self timer - 5/10/15 secs
General specifications * Dimensions (mm) - 102.5 x 47.5 x 16 * Weight (gm) - 89 * Standard battery (mAH) - 800 Li-Ion * Standby time (hrs) - upto 200 * Talktime (hrs) - upto 2 * LCD - 240x320 pixels * Number of colours - 262K * Type - TFT LCD * Standard accessories - battery, charger, operating manual * Free accessories - stereophonic headset kit and USB data cable [I also got a 512 MB micro SD card]
Additional Features * Bluetooth enabled * Internal memory - 56 MB (USB pen drive) * External memory - Micro-SD, upto 1GB * USB charging * GPRS - class 10 * SMS / MMS * Predictive Text Input - T9 * WAP - 2.0 * Download/save as support - http://in.lgmobile.com * Phonebook memory x fields-500 x 7 * Scheduler * Body mass index application * Mestural application * Voice recording - AMR/WAV format * Call conversation recording * Melody composer * Message copy from phone to SIM * Message copy from SIM to phone * In-flight mode * Intelligent call - speaks the incoming call number * Human voice prompt - speaks the stored no. in phonebook * Speaker phone * MIDI - 64 Polyphonic, MP3 * Ringer mute button * Built in games - 3 * Calculator * Conferencing * Frequency Band - GSM 900/1800/1900 * Voice memo * World time * Modem * Unit converter * Alarm-multiple
There's a lot of good and a little bad about this feature-packed device. The goods you can assume from the above listed specs. Let me give you a lowdown:
* The FM radio allows storage of only nine channels (though the site says 10). Here in Delhi we already have more channels than I can save on this phone. Therefore you'll have to pick and choose for preset stations if you happen to reside in a high FM-concentration city, else go manual searching.
* Voice recording is a nice feature, especially for us journalists where we needn't use any external devices to record telephonic conversations, or go crazy scribbling notes on a notepad. It also doubles up as a Dictaphone. Moreover you can also record or schedule recordings of radio programmes. The recording quality might not be top of the line, but it is satisfactory. There are two recording formats available amr and wav - amr is lighter and will allow more hours of recording but wav gives better quality and also larger file sizes. And you can save any of the recorded songs as your ring tone.
* The embedded ring tones except one (which I've set as default) didn't sound good to my ears. In addition to the 20 preset tones you can store five more of your choice. The two embedded song tones are definitely an irritation - Jhoom Jhoom and Just Chill aren't the songs I would ever like to hear when someone calls me. Trying to figure out a way to delete them. Though the vibration mode doesn't vibrate enough to let you know of an incoming call while you are walking, some of the ring tones are loud enough to be heard in traffic. And you too have a take at becoming AR Rehman (hopefully not Himesh Reshammiya) with the melody composer.
* There are limited options (only six) for incoming message alerts and you can't also add to it. You can have the phone read out the numbers you are inserting, but that's not that useful a feature. There's also an 'intelligent call' alert which reads out phone numbers to you before the phone starts ringing (this might be helpful while using the headset and the phone is embedded deep into the jeans pocket).
* You can set images or video clips as caller IDs. Fun idea.
* The inflight mode allows you to use the phone while barring it's other functions besides music, so that you can enjoy music while on a flight.
* The music player has eight preset equaliser settings but doesn't have a user-defined option. The inbuilt speaker doesn't sound very good and the earphones are decent. Though not comparable to the quality of standalone digital audio players or Sony's Walkman series, it should keep a not-too-finicky listener happy. But playing music guzzles a lot of battery power.
* Everyone seems to want a camera phone. But my honest suggestion is, if you love photography, go for a digital camera. Camera phones just can't match the results delivered by some of the base models of digicams. Nevertheless, it is always handy to have a camera in the phone for those 'Kodak moments' when you think, "If only I had a camera now." Don't fall for mega pixels. It is just another marketing gimmick. The reasons are here.
The camera boasts of a 4X digital zoom (by the way digital zoom is usually useless; it just crops and enlarges the image, thereby deteriorating the quality. Optical zoom is what you should have). But actually it is only 2X in the still camera mode and 4X for the video camera. There are a lot of preset features to help you get closer to that perfect image. There are a few effects which can be put to interesting uses. The video camera quality leaves a lot to be desired.
* The screen is exceptionally bright and but you can't reduce the brightness. The colour display is vibrant. But all these takes a toll on the battery. There aren't also much options to customise the screen display and you have to keep yourself content with the few available options.
* It has Java and a few pre-loaded not-so interesting games. You'll need to download some to keep yourself occupied.
* There are a few interesting extra features like the handy world clock (with a world map) which tells you the time of 60 prominent international cities. There's a unit converter which converts kilogrammes into pounds, kilogrammes into ounces, kilometres into miles, miles into yards, miles into feet, centimetres into inches and also the other war round. It also calculates your body mass index. And for women, there's a special feature - the menstrual calendar. And for the money minded - a currency converter. The interface is quite fast and it responds almost immediately.
Battery: It comes with a lithium ion 800 mAh battery promising 200 hours of standby and two hours of talk time. Two hours of talk time is a little less for the chatterboxes. The battery also tends to drain out fast while using the multimedia features. It has USB charging therefore you don't have to worry about carrying the charger every time; a standard USB cable (it comes equipped with one) should do the job for you. But while using the phone to transfer data to/from a PC, it needs to be shut down. A little hassle, as you might just miss some calls during that period.
Software: Though there's no software that accompanies the phone when you purchase it. You can download the relevant software and drivers for the LG KG300 from the links below [Links updated. Dead links removed][Added alternative Rapidshare download links - 080414]: PC Sync [zip 2.90 MB] [Alternative link] USB driver [zip 131.7 KB] [Alternative link] Modem driver [zip 3.9 KB] [Alternative link] A detailed LG KG300 manual can be downloaded from here [PDF 1.66 MB] [Alternative link]
Desi jugaad or Indian ingenuity is legendary. Be it churning lassi in washing machines or using condoms to provide a smooth finish to tarred roads, necessity is the mother of amazing inventions in our nation. Even governments here run on jugaad. 
