Sunday, October 28, 2012
Going past Barrackpore Bridge: Dakshineswar temple and roundabout
Going past Barrackpore Bridge: Dakshineswar temple and roundabout
On a Friday i visited Dakshineswar temple. Started a little after eight in the morning went past Barrackpore Bridge at 8.40. A ride lasting over an hour in three different buses. The crowd inside the temple was not strong enough to keep you away but it took a while before the queue arithmetic could be understood. For those intending to skip the queue qualm, the best part about Dakshineswar is one can gain a glimpse of Goddess from rear which is as overwhelming as one made possible by joining the queue. In the precincts are Jyotirlingas in a row which is followed by a Hooghly river. Quite close to the bathing space came across Jagdish Das, newspaper vendor, and Uttam, tea vendor, who seem unfazed by a large number of devotees taking a dip in the Hooghly and getting themselves into a new fabric. Herein spotted an old man, Vibhuti, sitting under a tree, who seem content to keep to himself than reach out to a new set of friends.
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa's room
As for the room where a picture of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and the articles used by him are displayed, the floor has a shine round the year. There is a different entry and exit to Ramakrishna's room. Opposite to the entrance to the temple is Pnya Bithika. A maruti esteem bearing number wb 02 X 0018 is sighted in the temple area. The same car i spot near Tirupati General Stores, 36 C J M Avenue on a different day.
While leaving the temple area at 10.55, came across "welcome to second vivekananda bridge tollway". The dunlop-shyambazar bus ride was by and large along expected lines with B T Road looking as complicated and congested as ever. There were numerous stoppages on the way due to pile up of traffic and once i was in the vicinity of Shyambazar some breathing space could be visualised.
Taking a Shyambazar-Esplanade tram
As i took a tram from Shyambazar to BBD Bag/ Esplanade, inside is a board on last date of renewal monthly tickets; last date of deposit refund. Kindly tender the exact fare, 5 and 10 rs notes cannot be changed by the conductor. Other messages put in the tram were:
- This car is yours. Please take care.
- Please move inside the car.
- Smoking prohibited.
- Beware of pickpockets.
With the tram from Shyambazar heading towards BBD Bag/ Esplanade, the sightings in Hatibagan and roundabout came as follows
- divine cafe 26, bidhan sarani, kolkata 6
- paul jewellers
- ghosh & co sweets
- new college law hostel, 14 bidhan sarani
- vidyasagar college, board pointing inside
- darpana theatre (there are three theatres in a row)
- shyambazar p.o 700004
- second theatre had tollywood badshah celebrations underway
- next to third theatre is nati bindonini sarani
- bharat engineering stores corp had pictures of munshi prem chand and a message
In rasbehari road and other places:
Straits restaurant for meals (combo meal comprising veg fried rice with veg manchurian comes for 49rs). This reminds me of probably Vittal's in Nashik where the brunch till last year too came under 50rs.
From rasbehari road to lake road
-bharatmata mistaana bhandar
-nepa sweets & snacks
-sharma sweets & snacks
- chandana sweets, 32C lake road (those running the sweet shop are an organised lot with no airs whatsoever) Against this one in the vicinity seems to be haughty and timid probably to do with surroundings that are humid.
- amrapali learning centre: english, european
- mahaprabhu mistaana bhandar
- shree hanuman bhandar 4, lake road
- lake tea centre
- bytes cyber cafe (run by partha bose, a cooperative and gentle soul)
During various rounds to rasbehari road/avenue, attempts were made to snatch a meal or two and on one occasion it led me to a regale restaurant. Well, mixed vegetables came for 50rs, and in view of no plain rice (15rs), basmati rice came for 25rs. The eating joint has sitting arrangements and if they start serving plain rice, some can visit more often.
On a Friday i visited Dakshineswar temple. Started a little after eight in the morning went past Barrackpore Bridge at 8.40. A ride lasting over an hour in three different buses. The crowd inside the temple was not strong enough to keep you away but it took a while before the queue arithmetic could be understood. For those intending to skip the queue qualm, the best part about Dakshineswar is one can gain a glimpse of Goddess from rear which is as overwhelming as one made possible by joining the queue. In the precincts are Jyotirlingas in a row which is followed by a Hooghly river. Quite close to the bathing space came across Jagdish Das, newspaper vendor, and Uttam, tea vendor, who seem unfazed by a large number of devotees taking a dip in the Hooghly and getting themselves into a new fabric. Herein spotted an old man, Vibhuti, sitting under a tree, who seem content to keep to himself than reach out to a new set of friends.
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa's room
As for the room where a picture of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and the articles used by him are displayed, the floor has a shine round the year. There is a different entry and exit to Ramakrishna's room. Opposite to the entrance to the temple is Pnya Bithika. A maruti esteem bearing number wb 02 X 0018 is sighted in the temple area. The same car i spot near Tirupati General Stores, 36 C J M Avenue on a different day.
While leaving the temple area at 10.55, came across "welcome to second vivekananda bridge tollway". The dunlop-shyambazar bus ride was by and large along expected lines with B T Road looking as complicated and congested as ever. There were numerous stoppages on the way due to pile up of traffic and once i was in the vicinity of Shyambazar some breathing space could be visualised.
Taking a Shyambazar-Esplanade tram
As i took a tram from Shyambazar to BBD Bag/ Esplanade, inside is a board on last date of renewal monthly tickets; last date of deposit refund. Kindly tender the exact fare, 5 and 10 rs notes cannot be changed by the conductor. Other messages put in the tram were:
- This car is yours. Please take care.
- Please move inside the car.
- Smoking prohibited.
- Beware of pickpockets.
With the tram from Shyambazar heading towards BBD Bag/ Esplanade, the sightings in Hatibagan and roundabout came as follows
- divine cafe 26, bidhan sarani, kolkata 6
- paul jewellers
- ghosh & co sweets
- new college law hostel, 14 bidhan sarani
- vidyasagar college, board pointing inside
- darpana theatre (there are three theatres in a row)
- shyambazar p.o 700004
- second theatre had tollywood badshah celebrations underway
- next to third theatre is nati bindonini sarani
- bharat engineering stores corp had pictures of munshi prem chand and a message
In rasbehari road and other places:
Straits restaurant for meals (combo meal comprising veg fried rice with veg manchurian comes for 49rs). This reminds me of probably Vittal's in Nashik where the brunch till last year too came under 50rs.
From rasbehari road to lake road
-bharatmata mistaana bhandar
-nepa sweets & snacks
-sharma sweets & snacks
- chandana sweets, 32C lake road (those running the sweet shop are an organised lot with no airs whatsoever) Against this one in the vicinity seems to be haughty and timid probably to do with surroundings that are humid.
- amrapali learning centre: english, european
- mahaprabhu mistaana bhandar
- shree hanuman bhandar 4, lake road
- lake tea centre
- bytes cyber cafe (run by partha bose, a cooperative and gentle soul)
During various rounds to rasbehari road/avenue, attempts were made to snatch a meal or two and on one occasion it led me to a regale restaurant. Well, mixed vegetables came for 50rs, and in view of no plain rice (15rs), basmati rice came for 25rs. The eating joint has sitting arrangements and if they start serving plain rice, some can visit more often.
The visit to tea centres in Lalbazar and other areas in Kolkata by Puneet Rajhans
The visit to tea centres in Lalbazar and other areas in Kolkata
After returning from Dakshineswar, the ride to Lal Bazar was effectively accomplished in a tram. A place teeming with series of activities, a slew of tea shops on the left while approaching BBD Bag conveyed the tea the tea masters wanted to showcase. Fewer would be found tripping over tea and the discourse during the course of purchasing tea is not confined to benefits the tea releases; it equally underscores the benchmark the tea companies have set for themselves.
Perhaps there is a tram stop in the vicinity but given the time consumed in taking the receipt followed by taking the tea leaves in a wrapping almost an hour gets spent. By this time more than two to three trams would have gone past you. Sometimes it can get more than that depending on the rush to the tea centres and those refusing to relieve themselves from the task of standing in the queue even after collecting tea in a ton.
A return from Dakshineswar the other day i was split on the areas i should approach. Certain was a tram i had to take from Shyambazar at any cost. A tram from Shyambazar which would take me to BBD Bag i took and in the course had a different set of sightings. Somewhere after reaching Bipin Behari Ganguly Street the thought crossed on why not take the tea from Dhruba Tea Centre which the other day i had spotted.
The tea flavour i could not recollect
As i reached the shop, the build up to the queue had not started but under 10 minutes the gathering-momentum gained. A lady ahead and an employee of a company behind engaged me in a conversation on tea and the flavour that were not fewer. I told them i was not in a position to recall the flavour which is admirably used by tea vendors near k c das food joint.The lady thundered "fennings" and this was handy enough to seek fenning favour from the man at the counter. Mind you tea leaves here are a bit expensive despite the state of West Bengal having a reservoir of tea gardens. One kg fennings were in the range of 300rs and up. I sought for 170rs which the counterman expressed his inability to do so. Finally had to settle for 500 grams for 150rs.
Taking tea and the receipt
The process of taking tea is to first make payment, take the receipt which has a number on it. One foil of the receipt is handed to the person who is putting tea in a wrapping. At one go not less than 10 to 15 foils go to him. These foils are put on the tea-putting wrapping table by the cashier who puts cash in a tray. Arrangement is fine as the foils put at the last minute are taken later and those buried under are taken first. No fault at this stage. My number was probably 708 and by the time i could hear the counting it was somewhere at 650. In between i came across a large number of instances where the number was read and the person concerned had not come to collect tea. Some leaving with one wrapping and some with five to seven different tea wrappings, all determined by the budget they had. I was told that tea began from 200 to 300rs a kg to touching all the way to 5000rs a kg were available here and in other tea centres.
As my turn came i came across an instance where an old man who had a receipt was told to pay 30rs extra as the quantity mentioned and the amount he paid had a disparity. The cash was handed to the cashier with no receipt whatsoever. And herein given the large number of transactions, there would be a repeat of such instances where receipt won't be handed and that would not be appropriate for those reporting for work there. Second given the big boxes in which tea had been preserved it took no extra effort for the men who were putting tea leaves in different wrappings quite familiar with which box had which flavour.
Given the insurmountable nature of transactions and the weighing machine nearby, there won't be a dearth of little hits and misses here and there. When the business is big and the customers seeking services no less there is bound to be malfunctioning to a degree. Here the owners need to lay stress to their staff that howsoever the big trade may be the staff has to be vigilant to adhere to procedures.Against this the Dhruba Tea Centre in Rasbehari Avenue had no crowd pressure whenever i visited. The rationale for this was only locals procured tea from here and in LalBazar there was a big bunch of outsiders placing tea orders.
As i left the tea centre i noticed a large number of staff members being served readymade tea made mandatory by the number of hours they were on foot and the number of orders they had to cater to. A strict arrangement where any customer who is asked to pay extra for the extra filling his wrapping has should be handed a receipt for the same. That would do a world of good to the entire tea centre.
After returning from Dakshineswar, the ride to Lal Bazar was effectively accomplished in a tram. A place teeming with series of activities, a slew of tea shops on the left while approaching BBD Bag conveyed the tea the tea masters wanted to showcase. Fewer would be found tripping over tea and the discourse during the course of purchasing tea is not confined to benefits the tea releases; it equally underscores the benchmark the tea companies have set for themselves.
Perhaps there is a tram stop in the vicinity but given the time consumed in taking the receipt followed by taking the tea leaves in a wrapping almost an hour gets spent. By this time more than two to three trams would have gone past you. Sometimes it can get more than that depending on the rush to the tea centres and those refusing to relieve themselves from the task of standing in the queue even after collecting tea in a ton.
A return from Dakshineswar the other day i was split on the areas i should approach. Certain was a tram i had to take from Shyambazar at any cost. A tram from Shyambazar which would take me to BBD Bag i took and in the course had a different set of sightings. Somewhere after reaching Bipin Behari Ganguly Street the thought crossed on why not take the tea from Dhruba Tea Centre which the other day i had spotted.
The tea flavour i could not recollect
As i reached the shop, the build up to the queue had not started but under 10 minutes the gathering-momentum gained. A lady ahead and an employee of a company behind engaged me in a conversation on tea and the flavour that were not fewer. I told them i was not in a position to recall the flavour which is admirably used by tea vendors near k c das food joint.The lady thundered "fennings" and this was handy enough to seek fenning favour from the man at the counter. Mind you tea leaves here are a bit expensive despite the state of West Bengal having a reservoir of tea gardens. One kg fennings were in the range of 300rs and up. I sought for 170rs which the counterman expressed his inability to do so. Finally had to settle for 500 grams for 150rs.
Taking tea and the receipt
The process of taking tea is to first make payment, take the receipt which has a number on it. One foil of the receipt is handed to the person who is putting tea in a wrapping. At one go not less than 10 to 15 foils go to him. These foils are put on the tea-putting wrapping table by the cashier who puts cash in a tray. Arrangement is fine as the foils put at the last minute are taken later and those buried under are taken first. No fault at this stage. My number was probably 708 and by the time i could hear the counting it was somewhere at 650. In between i came across a large number of instances where the number was read and the person concerned had not come to collect tea. Some leaving with one wrapping and some with five to seven different tea wrappings, all determined by the budget they had. I was told that tea began from 200 to 300rs a kg to touching all the way to 5000rs a kg were available here and in other tea centres.
As my turn came i came across an instance where an old man who had a receipt was told to pay 30rs extra as the quantity mentioned and the amount he paid had a disparity. The cash was handed to the cashier with no receipt whatsoever. And herein given the large number of transactions, there would be a repeat of such instances where receipt won't be handed and that would not be appropriate for those reporting for work there. Second given the big boxes in which tea had been preserved it took no extra effort for the men who were putting tea leaves in different wrappings quite familiar with which box had which flavour.
Given the insurmountable nature of transactions and the weighing machine nearby, there won't be a dearth of little hits and misses here and there. When the business is big and the customers seeking services no less there is bound to be malfunctioning to a degree. Here the owners need to lay stress to their staff that howsoever the big trade may be the staff has to be vigilant to adhere to procedures.Against this the Dhruba Tea Centre in Rasbehari Avenue had no crowd pressure whenever i visited. The rationale for this was only locals procured tea from here and in LalBazar there was a big bunch of outsiders placing tea orders.
As i left the tea centre i noticed a large number of staff members being served readymade tea made mandatory by the number of hours they were on foot and the number of orders they had to cater to. A strict arrangement where any customer who is asked to pay extra for the extra filling his wrapping has should be handed a receipt for the same. That would do a world of good to the entire tea centre.
College Street and roundabout
College Street and roundabout
As for College Street, the place i resided for 10 days in 2011, the eating joints before one comes to college square are: new college sweets, kumar's canteen and bastana cabin. In the vicinity are plumbing & sanitary, engineers & suppliers . As for New College Sweets, the name could be gained after putting a query like: "Tumhar dookan Naam Ki?"
The board showing direction to bankim chandra library has a tea shop inside the lane.
On Surya Sen street, Mouchak restaurant which serves kachodi (4 to 5rs a piece) is among the finest in the city. Next to this is a weighing machine "try your weight & fortune". Few shops away is Puti Ram sweets. There is College Square Sarbajanin Durgotsab Committee bus stop. Besides there is choose & pick store at 18, College Street.
Coming to "try your weight & fortune" machine, it is broadly an attempt to broadly define the weight that one has gained/aimed over the years leading to a fortune that others fear. Weight is all about the will to wilt under pressure and those with weighty exterior lose no time to weigh options on whom to apply the barber scissor. Days have turned to months, months to years and all along one has heard about the repeated failing in taking up the reading assignment sum. Probably other eating joints in the area would amplify messages like: "Eat here, beat fear", "Eat what you cherish, take on the plate all visible dish".
As i left Mouchak restaurant coming on the back of a repeated odyssey to the same, it would be desirable for those visiting Kolkata to get in line with what the eating joint offers and aims. Misti Doi is a must and so are other sweets that come for less than 5rs a piece thereby promissing all-season buzz.
Hopping on to a tram belgatchia/shyambazar - B.B.D. Bag / Esplanade, the route shown is belgatchiashyambazar coolutola/hedua bowbazar PO/wellington esplanade /BBD Bag (fare ranges between 4 and 6rs).
Butter toast from SS Hogg Market
Butter toast from SS Hogg Market
Last year one had the opportunity to have butter toast from SS Hogg Market. During those days i was staying in Central Guest House near Chittaranjan Avenue and fighting all conceivable battles against bedbugs. Down with fever and body ache, i could hardly locate any toast vendor in the vicinity in the morning. The search in October 2011 led me all the way to SS Hogg Market.
In SS Hogg Market there is a Soni Tea Shop where the display board conveys among other things desserts which are not hard to decipher.
soni tea shop, ss hogg market
kheer 1 pc (12), half (6), butter toast 1 pc (4), plain toast 2 per piece, laddu 3, pantua 5, balu shahi 3. For jalebi, imarti no price given.
Opposite the tea shop is ss hogg market of Calcutta Municipal Corporation developed by Martin Burn Ltd. In vicinity are:
- cafe abdullah
- multi medicine
- bengal traditional hand embroidery & ancient cultural cutwork
- mastan hotel
- najnag lottery
- bangkok blues
- UP Bihar restaurant
- mughal garden (probably a restaurant)
Friday, October 26, 2012
Ever since i returned to the national capital with symptoms of cold and other enduring battles the best way forward is to take a strong dose of turmeric which tones down the options of others to dismiss you as maverick.
Time and Timely advice handed by people who seasonally get wise are all about increasing the resistance level as the attempts you made to resist those who wanted to decide your fate are no less . Probably the upper berth travelling in a train coach with ice cream serving that night increased the probability of a cold sight.
Here it is prudent to write about attempts made to get railway reservation and railway travelling which will have an enduring fashion.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
The visit to RBI office in Kolkata amidst queues on either side
The visit to RBI office in Kolkata amidst queues on either side
Having stayed too long in the Bowbazar Post office to broach the subject of postcards and possible breakup of hearts, the time was ripe to rejuvenate myself by paying a visit to RBI which had amongst occupants some visibly ready for eye for an eye. The visit to RBI office was prompted by the need to seek a replacement of a soiled note which i had collected from Delhi Metro when i decided to take its daily boat. You can't blame the Delhi Metro for handing notes of disproportionate sentiment but of late i had been collecting changes that looked too asymmetrical to be accepted by those who were travellers deemed perpetual.
Reaching Dalhousie
It was a 20rs note which had numbers on the top against a paste up coat. I was told to get down at Dalhousie from where i could a get a view of RBI and all those who dared to be drowsy. As i reached the mammoth building, the queue on either side suggested the wait had been enduring for those willing to be exhibiting. Straightway i took the stairs, hoping my job was to seek one note replacement and it would be handy as few would refuse to heed as this happened to be their firmament.
All counters were not in operation and a few which were had queues to suggest some among those manning it were down with some ailment. As for counter number four, there was one lady manning it who seem to be giving a dressing down to a customer on the other side.
First task was to collect the token and having done that joined the queue to bat. Those sitting on the counter took their time to read the notes and make a due entry and hand fresh ones made possible by their long-running inventory. In between looking at the huge ceiling and trying to figure out the cement that went to raise the mammoth building, i raised myself to reach the third floor as that was the only place where public toilet existed without roar. Out in a minute i returned to the ground floor where every third customer had enough time to give a spin to this RBI-waiting lore.
Wait for customers
When i suggested that a large number of customers who seem to be not in the pink of health were waiting outside to gain an entry, some called it an eyewash suggesting that most made up of agents who were out to seek a fresh note wrapping for their clients who were all too familiar with RBI-behaving. Clients could least afford to stand in the queue for long and due to their inability to travel from far away places like Salt Lake, had positioned agents who got the work done for little wages. Hard to believe this side of the story. But this attempt to write by no means suggest that these agents should be deprived of their bread and butter; the change to be introduced if possible is to lessen the wait that probably now extends to two to three hours at the gate.
Given the mammoth structure the RBI was housed in, i assumed that optimal utilisation was not being done and given the structure it was in, RBI could afford to move to a small premises and let this be let out for generating revenue surprises. Perhaps the slew of departments/functions the RBI is handling may make it an impossible feat to perform given the advantage of secrecy that this building brings for no song. The entire structure could still be optimally utilised if portion went for RBI functions and rest put on let out junction.
Having stayed too long in the Bowbazar Post office to broach the subject of postcards and possible breakup of hearts, the time was ripe to rejuvenate myself by paying a visit to RBI which had amongst occupants some visibly ready for eye for an eye. The visit to RBI office was prompted by the need to seek a replacement of a soiled note which i had collected from Delhi Metro when i decided to take its daily boat. You can't blame the Delhi Metro for handing notes of disproportionate sentiment but of late i had been collecting changes that looked too asymmetrical to be accepted by those who were travellers deemed perpetual.
Reaching Dalhousie
It was a 20rs note which had numbers on the top against a paste up coat. I was told to get down at Dalhousie from where i could a get a view of RBI and all those who dared to be drowsy. As i reached the mammoth building, the queue on either side suggested the wait had been enduring for those willing to be exhibiting. Straightway i took the stairs, hoping my job was to seek one note replacement and it would be handy as few would refuse to heed as this happened to be their firmament.
All counters were not in operation and a few which were had queues to suggest some among those manning it were down with some ailment. As for counter number four, there was one lady manning it who seem to be giving a dressing down to a customer on the other side.
First task was to collect the token and having done that joined the queue to bat. Those sitting on the counter took their time to read the notes and make a due entry and hand fresh ones made possible by their long-running inventory. In between looking at the huge ceiling and trying to figure out the cement that went to raise the mammoth building, i raised myself to reach the third floor as that was the only place where public toilet existed without roar. Out in a minute i returned to the ground floor where every third customer had enough time to give a spin to this RBI-waiting lore.
Wait for customers
When i suggested that a large number of customers who seem to be not in the pink of health were waiting outside to gain an entry, some called it an eyewash suggesting that most made up of agents who were out to seek a fresh note wrapping for their clients who were all too familiar with RBI-behaving. Clients could least afford to stand in the queue for long and due to their inability to travel from far away places like Salt Lake, had positioned agents who got the work done for little wages. Hard to believe this side of the story. But this attempt to write by no means suggest that these agents should be deprived of their bread and butter; the change to be introduced if possible is to lessen the wait that probably now extends to two to three hours at the gate.
Given the mammoth structure the RBI was housed in, i assumed that optimal utilisation was not being done and given the structure it was in, RBI could afford to move to a small premises and let this be let out for generating revenue surprises. Perhaps the slew of departments/functions the RBI is handling may make it an impossible feat to perform given the advantage of secrecy that this building brings for no song. The entire structure could still be optimally utilised if portion went for RBI functions and rest put on let out junction.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
As i took a tram in Kolkata by Puneet Rajhans
As i took a tram
As i took a tram towards nirmal chandra street going past lenin sarani and subodh mullick square, the information put on a board inside conveyed the order the commuters have to maintain while travelling. "To stop the tram kindly ring the bell once only. Passengers are requested not to give the starting signal". Well this was one of many pointers i came across in Kolkata city where on occasions to be equal to the task one has to be witty.
While the Bentinck Street and the Ganga Ka kal Pani is an established feat of the area, the noticeboard in the vicinity was on the serving of hot tea which would keep you in elements to a fair degree.
Hot Tea
19/9/2011
Special Full - 12
Special Half - 8
Ordinary Glass - 2
Please pay exact money
Tribulations kept away post intake of tea gave you an idea or two to visit the famed Bipin Behari Ganguli Street. Here jewellery shops and furniture stores are in plenty coming with a restaurant that till recently was known as Anmol. It has been renamed Rahmania; opens after 11 in the morning and tea comes for 10rs as against eight last year. With ample time on hand one can also access the Bowbazar Post Office. Inside the Post Office there is a board that shows the destinations from BOWBAZAR Post Office begining with those within the city and those beyond 2000kms.
From Bowbazar P.O. stations located beyond 2000 kms are:
ahmedabad, bangalore, belgum (read as belgaum), coimbatore, dharamsala, hamirpur, karur, kochi, kollam, kottayam, madurai, mysore, nagarcoil, srinagar, surat, tiruvalla, trichur, trichy, tutocorin, udipi and vadodara .
In the same post office a declaration on swift delivery: "world net express Kolkata to London in just two days". Perhaps a pointer to those who are videshibusy. AS i write this there are some among the net attendees who wish to leave and the netwallah's poser before they disappear with the dossier is: "Are you Hindu?". To this the net crowd declare their foreign origin with authority which should not come in the way of their registering presence in the city caught in a festive fever.
The visit to RBI office the other day to get a soiled note replaced was a study of sorts. Hope to write on that later.From BBG Street to Surya Sen Street, each has its highs and lows and there are fewer occasions when you come across two entities caught in a wordy duel. Still those on a short fuse could be identified and a better way to approach them is to be all-weather kind.
Reports on rasgollas and other tolas
Reports on rasgollas and other tolas
AS per reports appearing in a section of press rosogollas are costlier by rs 20 a can. Same is the case with misthi doi and sandesh and this would probably be a long-lasting phase. A city that during this season sees hardly any power interruptions has a blessed reserves of water sensation. No hassle for water and the wise talk that follow in areas where there is scarcity, the city has still a lot to cover on the transport front where there are fewer signs of creativity.
Pollution is rampant in areas where private buses and vehicles ply undiluted and here the evolution to a new grade of CNG would be plausible if stakeholders are taken on board and remain visible. Stray incidents of a kid being thrown off a speeding auto or some accidents due to travelling by a private bus come here and there. Best remedy is to take a metro and in stretches where it does not ply and if one has ample time, tram ride can be tried. As for food options, Veg/ paneer rolls come between 10 and 15rs and in areas around lenin sarani, chilled juice, pineapple, orange, come for 10rs.
As for Motisil Street in Dharamtalla some sightings came as follows
- dr liu's clinic
- gajkumar bros
- chilled juice pineapple, orange 10rs
- santos tailors with xerox std advantage
A word of praise for Shishir SEN whom i met in RBI and Jagdish Das, newspaper vendor, Dakshineswar.
AS per reports appearing in a section of press rosogollas are costlier by rs 20 a can. Same is the case with misthi doi and sandesh and this would probably be a long-lasting phase. A city that during this season sees hardly any power interruptions has a blessed reserves of water sensation. No hassle for water and the wise talk that follow in areas where there is scarcity, the city has still a lot to cover on the transport front where there are fewer signs of creativity.
Pollution is rampant in areas where private buses and vehicles ply undiluted and here the evolution to a new grade of CNG would be plausible if stakeholders are taken on board and remain visible. Stray incidents of a kid being thrown off a speeding auto or some accidents due to travelling by a private bus come here and there. Best remedy is to take a metro and in stretches where it does not ply and if one has ample time, tram ride can be tried. As for food options, Veg/ paneer rolls come between 10 and 15rs and in areas around lenin sarani, chilled juice, pineapple, orange, come for 10rs.
As for Motisil Street in Dharamtalla some sightings came as follows
- dr liu's clinic
- gajkumar bros
- chilled juice pineapple, orange 10rs
- santos tailors with xerox std advantage
A word of praise for Shishir SEN whom i met in RBI and Jagdish Das, newspaper vendor, Dakshineswar.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
The Puri- Howrah ride by Puneet Rajhans
The Puri-Howrah ride
As i set out to leave Puri, the dilemma was on the train i should take or break journey at some station to reach Howrah. Settled for a train which departed at 8.05 in the morning. The fare till Khurda Road was rs7. It reached Khurda road at 9.22. And herein the first visit was to the reservation centre which seem to work at a comfort level desired by its staff. Well, there was no counter as current reservation and all reservations were meant for trains that evening or the coming days. Two to three attempts to gauge the position on Falaknuma Express coming from Secundarabad and heading towards Howrah and Dhauli Express from Puri to Howrah were met with a tepid response. One does not know what can make the railway staff gain a motivational quotient. Who can motivate them? I am not suggesting the queue of seeking reservations was big; there were two queues of 10 to 15 people each.
Choice between Falaknuma and Dhouli
With no current reservation counter, i took a general ticket true for a superfast train and truly disposed to the idea that either it would be falaknuma express or dhouli express. As i have already stated, during the waiting period, i was witness to a spectacle of a railway staff trying to snatch a ticket from a passenger. The Falaknuma Express came on Platform No2. A very strong possibility that had i encountered the TTE of sleeper or AC coach, the first thing he would have done is flatly refuse accommodating me in the coach against a receipt that he would have had to issue me. Passengers are entirely to be blamed for taking a general ticket and then boarding sleeper or ac coach with an understanding that no receipt is to be issued and the passenger and TTE have an "enduring journey pact". Though this is not true for all but majority of passengers stoop to this low which gives the leverage to TTE to exploit those who don't wish to engage them in the first place.
The general coach i was in, it was not that crowded as it is normally, still there were scores of passengers standing in the aisle and near the doors. Made a request and shared a seat with a gentleman who was coming from Secundarabad. Till the period i was seated with him, he narrated an incident where GRP seeing the crowd the previous day had taken huge sums from at least 10 passengers.Difficult to verify the incident but there is a clamour that the force meant for railways should be equal to its task of maintaining order. Fleecing the passengers brings a bad name. The entire base to this railway-fleecing-revelation is that they carry a huge load across length and breadth of the country and there would be aberrations howsoever stringent measures are in place. If railways are able to tide over the missing links, beginning from TTEs and Railway Force, some notable praise and wish it can be recipient of . Foremost is that those working for the government don't realise this that at least they get their salary on time and are meant to serve people. If they begin to give blows to people in general coach or those in general sphere of life, they don't understand the world is round, they are destined to have results which won't be sound.
Woman guard at Baleswar
Coming to the Howrah ride, the train left Khurda Road at 10.26, reached Bhubaneswar at 10.55, Cuttack 11.30, Jajpur 12.25, Bhadrak 1pm and Baleswar at 1.55. At Baleswar i spotted a woman guard giving the signal. A little before Cuttack i secured a different seat. One passenger had knife marks on his chest which he explained as a result of a skirmish. At least some had taken off their shirts given the previous night they had spent in the crowded coach. The train reached Kharagpur at 3.30. At half past 6 the train reached Howrah. A word of praise for the drivers of the train which had an engine no 22318. Mind you till 4.30 the train had maintained its momentum and speed. There after it slowed down and due to heavy rush at Howrah, the delay could not be avoided. Sizeable bananas on the way at Khurda Road and Kharagpur came handy. The mineral water dispensed inside the coach was for rs10. Not sure of the quality, this set of mineral water was by no means adulterated . And passengers longed to have this set of mineral water.
On a broad scale the journey in a general coach was safe except it was a little taxing. A little over eight hours, the showering of tea with tea bags helped to reduce the physical pain. As for seating the best course is to not leave the seat for the entire journey. A change of seat may warrant a movement, otherwise just stick to the place and all things begin to fall in place.
Coming from Rasbehari Avenue
Coming from Rasbehari Avenue
This piece of writing comes from Rasbehari Avenue. Of the six days in the city, two went towards completing the New Market- Rasbehari Road stretch and back with not much of a botheration. The traffic building every hour, the ride from New Market went past Elliot Park , Calcutta Club (Private Members only), Bhowanipur and Kalighat. Once you get down at Rasbehari Road there is People's Book Centre in whose vicinity is a feat of three typewriters at work at any given time. Before checking out from Metro, the guest house, efforts were made to seek extension in the area by looking for alternate accommodation. This brought me face to face with the following guest houses/hotels
-Maharashtra niwas
-Venkateshwar hotel
- Mysore Guest House
- transit house and second house
Some among them were beyond the budget and some were booked to enable those residing inside to brood over. Once i took an accommodation in Esplanade with a surety that four to five days stay could be availed the comfort to do stories became possible. As i begin to write about Puri-Kolkata ride, there are still some nuggets about Puri that can't be brushed aside. Jay Maa Kali Mistaana Bhandar was one i could not visit this time as it was closed. If memory serves me correct this is the same mistaana bhandar which one of its staff members took me to in 2009 with a declaration that it was dahi ka karkhana. For all its charm Puri has among pedalling rickshaws some who on occasions tend to overcharge. Not a case for them to be made victims by authorities; only a simple realisation that they should charge on a reasonable scale. In the temple road about 200 metres from temple a new food outlet has opened serving patties and pastries. Veg or paneer patty is of desirable quality with a desirable pricing. Then there is one small Hanuman temple on the right side of beach road. If possible, one can visit the same.
The Jagannath Temple Information Centre on the left side of temple comes handy if one is making enquiries about trains and other public transport.
Friday, October 19, 2012
The stay in Puri by Puneet Rajhans
The stay in Puri
With a stay spread over two days, the foremost task was to gain entry to the Jagannath temple when rush was less. On the first day even before depositing bag in the lodge i visited the temple amidst a gathering that was fairly less. Post temple visit i took a room and here the search for a laundrywallah was important given the load of unwashed clothes i was carrying. First this search took me to Gopal Ballav road and from there to Mochi Shahi road. With no success, Sangram club (Kumbar Poda) and the laundry store run by one Jai Ram Shetty was the obvious choice. His efforts were laudable as he returned the clothes the same evening.
Coming to the temple stint, free darshan begins at half past 8 in the morning and continues till 10. The day i went for a free darshan it continued beyond 10. Free darshan of Lord Jagannath is the most desirable and if one is cautious enough one can step out with not much of a pushing and shoving. Volunteers are there to man the crowd and if priests seek some favours you can politely refuse them. A free darshan that enables you to gain access to sanctum sanctorum has varying timings depending on the season you are in. If one is unable to gain access to sanctum sanctorum, the sight of the Lord few metres away is equally appealing. Meals from the temple is mandatory and here bhath (rice) with dal and one vegetable comes for 30rs. A cup of lime water comes for 10. As for the second day, soon after the visit to the temple, the task beforehand was to take a train to Howrah. Before reaching station i tried to gain final view of the temple which seem to convey howsoever big the rush may be the Lord has enough heart to take all on board.
As for life drops, the mineral water for 12rs, was hard to find in the town, probably made possible by new brands displacing the old trusted brand. There are fewer options as far as laundry work goes. One has to trudge miles before getting any one of them. Even Gopal Ballav Road laundrywallah was hard to find.
Sightings in Puri
From temple road as you turn left there is mochi sahi and amidst the cacophony is anna tiffin centre. A right turn takes you to chandan hajiri road (probably this is the name i got after making enquiries) and following a left and a right turn you are on rama ballav road.
On rama ballav road
- sri khetra youth cultural association
- ayurshree ayurvedic heath care centre spa
- swaraj hostel no 4
- xotic snax wildgrass @goodfood pocket friendly
- sight a fiat car OSP 3700. Other car sighted had OR - 10G 2718
Other sightings in the town
- Jay Maa Kali Mistanna Bhandar ( closed when i went at 5 in the evening)
On a hoarding
Today's Special dahi vada 10, rasgulla 5, paan 1
Etched a message near Sangram Club: A prayer for well being of all. Oh lord grant me."
On Grand Road some sightings were:
- satya sai lodge
- narayani hotel
- pick & speak (muti brand mobile store)
- annapurna restaurant
- auto mech
- shree jagannath ballav math, puri
- bihar atithi bhawan
- bhakta niwas
- sri vinayak bhojanalaya (marwadi basa)
- narayan cold bar
- panda watch co
- sree chaitanya gaudiya math
- digital color xerox
- maa kalita restaurant
- shree mandir
- indian bank puri branch
- gopinath lodging
- ramakrishna ashram puri. Main branch belur math howrah
- postal holiday home puri
- shree jagannath computer centre
As i left Jasidih for Puri by Puneet Rajhans
As i left Jasidih for Puri
As i left Jasidih a little after half past one in the afternoon in train no 18420, the gathering around reminded me of the first mover advantage the lower berth occupants had. Given a middle berth, the man opposite me had extensively spread himself on the lower berth lowering the options for those who ever wished to sit on his side. B1 13 was the coach and the seat allotted and the one with seat no 9 had sleep induced pattern evolved since Samastipur station.
On my side there was a lady with a kid who frequently dipped themselves in colas and pepsis, with the kid being floored that all along he would have the soft drink roar. For some time i could manage to secure a sitting advantage which later got transformed to upper berth phase. Perhaps this realisation has dawned among lower berth occupants that lower berth is to be optimally utilised by them translating to spreading themselves during day time which others won't be able to make a sense.
Aasansol station came at 3.30pm and here Krishna Prasad the newspaper vendor seem to be a promising entry. Two boys hailing from Odisha joined the coach and they insisted the Samastipur Samaritan to get to sitting sentiment.One hour into their travel, the two boys moved to a side berth presuming it to be vacant. They were correct as for the entire train duration no one came to claim those upper and lower side seats.
As the train reached Kharagpur at 8 pm, the sole way to get meals was from platform and the options on offer comprised of masala dosa and puri bhaji in a reasonable range. Again here the engine had to be ploughed back like in Aasansol and once the deed was completed, the onward journey began. By this time the advantage of upper berth had also gone with a new occupant who had boarded from Kharagpur.
The conversation with the Odiya residents suggested they were auditors who had gone to audit a leading mattress accounts and late-night activity in capital of Bihar had made them board this train. Auditing fundas they may have stressed but somewhere one could make out a case of a false appearance. During this time the attendant enquired about the pillow and bedsheets and having seen some of it getting disappeared he squarely blamed the passengers. He went to the point of telling that if passengers lose their luggage nothing would be done as has been the case with bedsheets. Truth never came out whether bedsheets had been lost or some within the staff removed the same.
Train staff need to stick to their duty instead of giving passengers a rough time
Railways are to be blamed for recruiting arrogant staff and once the recruitment happens on a mass scale, who is bothered about a background check, the overriding concern is to get the job done. In Khadra Road in Odisha the other day while returning to Kolkata i came across one middle aged man with specks who was not willing to release a passenger from his clutches. It all happened in A B Rath CTI's office where one passenger who had boarded a train from Madhya Pradesh failed to get down at Bhubaneswar and finally got down at Khadra Road. Here the woman TTE at the exit point of Platform 1 seeing his ticket could have easily settled the issue by putting a penalty on him. Instead the woman asked the man to report to CTI's office on Platform 1 and here the man with specks who seem to be a peon asked him to hand over the ticket to him. He was not letting him go and forcefully trying to take the ticket from him.
When i went inside to enquire about seat availability and seeing all this happening told the peon to not extract the ticket from him. What the intention of people in CTI's office was to take the ticket forcefully from him and then make a case that this man travelled without a ticket and hence would release him if he paid them the cash. No penalty for travelling one destination beyond the permissible level was acceptable to these station people and this showed the parallel regime they were running in railways. First the passenger had the ticket which i had seen myself (showing a indore-bhubaneswar general ticket) and here the railway people wanted to make a false case against this passenger. And when i told the peon to let the passenger go otherwise a complaint would be made he seem to be least bothered about complaint. I came out and waited for my train.
Railways may be a mass organisation carrying a mass load but per se there is no discipline. THe problem begins from the window booking counter where still there are drawbacks which would never disappear. Since the railways are least interested in clipping the wings of TTEs, the seeds of inaction on misappropriation and mismanagement can be traced here itself. If no remedial measures are taken, things would continue like this.
Why you want to harass passengers? If someone has travelled beyond a permissible limit, levy a penalty, if someone has travelled without a ticket or lost the ticket during the course of journey, levy the penalty payable in cash as suggested in rule books. Never ever show the threat that you would send the passenger to prison as rule books suggest a penalty payable in cash is the way out. As for Khadra Road-Howrah station another incident came to light which i would mention later.
Reached Puri after 3 in the morning
Returning to Jasidih-Puri journey, with the upper berth too gone it was time to take the middle berth . When coach attendant came to hand over a fresh set of bedsheets i politely refused and subsequently hit the coach berth. Jajpur and Bhubaneswar were major destinations on the way and the train reached Puri a little after 3 in the morning. For a while i stayed outside and then went to the waiting hall. Here an entry to the register was duly made and the attendant refusing to entertain those with a sleeper class ticket. Here also a workable solution is in sight if a passenger with a sleeper class ticket pays 20 rs for one to two hours, he or she can gain entry with a receipt in hand.Bathrooms inside the waiting hall are fairly clean.
Took an auto and reached the heart of the town. Next to the Jagannath temple took a room which came for 300rs. The lodgewallah was quite cooperative.
As i left Jasidih a little after half past one in the afternoon in train no 18420, the gathering around reminded me of the first mover advantage the lower berth occupants had. Given a middle berth, the man opposite me had extensively spread himself on the lower berth lowering the options for those who ever wished to sit on his side. B1 13 was the coach and the seat allotted and the one with seat no 9 had sleep induced pattern evolved since Samastipur station.
On my side there was a lady with a kid who frequently dipped themselves in colas and pepsis, with the kid being floored that all along he would have the soft drink roar. For some time i could manage to secure a sitting advantage which later got transformed to upper berth phase. Perhaps this realisation has dawned among lower berth occupants that lower berth is to be optimally utilised by them translating to spreading themselves during day time which others won't be able to make a sense.
Aasansol station came at 3.30pm and here Krishna Prasad the newspaper vendor seem to be a promising entry. Two boys hailing from Odisha joined the coach and they insisted the Samastipur Samaritan to get to sitting sentiment.One hour into their travel, the two boys moved to a side berth presuming it to be vacant. They were correct as for the entire train duration no one came to claim those upper and lower side seats.
As the train reached Kharagpur at 8 pm, the sole way to get meals was from platform and the options on offer comprised of masala dosa and puri bhaji in a reasonable range. Again here the engine had to be ploughed back like in Aasansol and once the deed was completed, the onward journey began. By this time the advantage of upper berth had also gone with a new occupant who had boarded from Kharagpur.
The conversation with the Odiya residents suggested they were auditors who had gone to audit a leading mattress accounts and late-night activity in capital of Bihar had made them board this train. Auditing fundas they may have stressed but somewhere one could make out a case of a false appearance. During this time the attendant enquired about the pillow and bedsheets and having seen some of it getting disappeared he squarely blamed the passengers. He went to the point of telling that if passengers lose their luggage nothing would be done as has been the case with bedsheets. Truth never came out whether bedsheets had been lost or some within the staff removed the same.
Train staff need to stick to their duty instead of giving passengers a rough time
Railways are to be blamed for recruiting arrogant staff and once the recruitment happens on a mass scale, who is bothered about a background check, the overriding concern is to get the job done. In Khadra Road in Odisha the other day while returning to Kolkata i came across one middle aged man with specks who was not willing to release a passenger from his clutches. It all happened in A B Rath CTI's office where one passenger who had boarded a train from Madhya Pradesh failed to get down at Bhubaneswar and finally got down at Khadra Road. Here the woman TTE at the exit point of Platform 1 seeing his ticket could have easily settled the issue by putting a penalty on him. Instead the woman asked the man to report to CTI's office on Platform 1 and here the man with specks who seem to be a peon asked him to hand over the ticket to him. He was not letting him go and forcefully trying to take the ticket from him.
When i went inside to enquire about seat availability and seeing all this happening told the peon to not extract the ticket from him. What the intention of people in CTI's office was to take the ticket forcefully from him and then make a case that this man travelled without a ticket and hence would release him if he paid them the cash. No penalty for travelling one destination beyond the permissible level was acceptable to these station people and this showed the parallel regime they were running in railways. First the passenger had the ticket which i had seen myself (showing a indore-bhubaneswar general ticket) and here the railway people wanted to make a false case against this passenger. And when i told the peon to let the passenger go otherwise a complaint would be made he seem to be least bothered about complaint. I came out and waited for my train.
Railways may be a mass organisation carrying a mass load but per se there is no discipline. THe problem begins from the window booking counter where still there are drawbacks which would never disappear. Since the railways are least interested in clipping the wings of TTEs, the seeds of inaction on misappropriation and mismanagement can be traced here itself. If no remedial measures are taken, things would continue like this.
Why you want to harass passengers? If someone has travelled beyond a permissible limit, levy a penalty, if someone has travelled without a ticket or lost the ticket during the course of journey, levy the penalty payable in cash as suggested in rule books. Never ever show the threat that you would send the passenger to prison as rule books suggest a penalty payable in cash is the way out. As for Khadra Road-Howrah station another incident came to light which i would mention later.
Reached Puri after 3 in the morning
Returning to Jasidih-Puri journey, with the upper berth too gone it was time to take the middle berth . When coach attendant came to hand over a fresh set of bedsheets i politely refused and subsequently hit the coach berth. Jajpur and Bhubaneswar were major destinations on the way and the train reached Puri a little after 3 in the morning. For a while i stayed outside and then went to the waiting hall. Here an entry to the register was duly made and the attendant refusing to entertain those with a sleeper class ticket. Here also a workable solution is in sight if a passenger with a sleeper class ticket pays 20 rs for one to two hours, he or she can gain entry with a receipt in hand.Bathrooms inside the waiting hall are fairly clean.
Took an auto and reached the heart of the town. Next to the Jagannath temple took a room which came for 300rs. The lodgewallah was quite cooperative.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Towards Jasidih Station
Towards Jasidih Station
While leaving the station road in Deogarh there is Kailash bhojanalaya. As one moves towards Jasidih there is Narayanan dental clinic. This is followed by
- shivam gents parlour
- tata photon
- j k tripathi general store
- A placard of St Xavier's High School Volleyball Championship courtesy corporation bank
- Enormouus industries
- Dr kumar madhup eye surgeon
- Jasidih B Ed college
- creative residential school
- St Francis school, Jasidih
- District Institute of Education & Training
- Hoarding of Saath lakh (Rs 7 lakh) mein ghar
In Jasidih railway station the refreshment room has among offerings
- paneer chilli 55rs, bhojan rs 22
- anda curry, anda chowmein, ubala anda, omelet
- idli for rs 10, sada dosa, masala dosa
- tea, coffee rs 5
- platform 1 has baidyanath caterers with 150 ml chai for rs 3
- Kinley sada pani for 12rs. (hard to find 1 litre mineral water for 12 rs elsewhere)
The train for Puri left after half past One in the afternoon. A word of praise for Krishna Prasad newspaper vendor in Asansol.
While leaving the station road in Deogarh there is Kailash bhojanalaya. As one moves towards Jasidih there is Narayanan dental clinic. This is followed by
- shivam gents parlour
- tata photon
- j k tripathi general store
- A placard of St Xavier's High School Volleyball Championship courtesy corporation bank
- Enormouus industries
- Dr kumar madhup eye surgeon
- Jasidih B Ed college
- creative residential school
- St Francis school, Jasidih
- District Institute of Education & Training
- Hoarding of Saath lakh (Rs 7 lakh) mein ghar
In Jasidih railway station the refreshment room has among offerings
- paneer chilli 55rs, bhojan rs 22
- anda curry, anda chowmein, ubala anda, omelet
- idli for rs 10, sada dosa, masala dosa
- tea, coffee rs 5
- platform 1 has baidyanath caterers with 150 ml chai for rs 3
- Kinley sada pani for 12rs. (hard to find 1 litre mineral water for 12 rs elsewhere)
The train for Puri left after half past One in the afternoon. A word of praise for Krishna Prasad newspaper vendor in Asansol.
Sightings in Deogarh
Sightings in Deogarh
While making a STD call from Deogarh i came across a pasted message on the wall: "moscow industries
first in megh lal puri lane
second in court road, near sbi , Deogarh.
Other sightings in Deogarh
- baba banarsi dil bahar lassi
- om sai peda bhandar
- mahavir peda bhandar
- ganga saha peda bhandar
- calcutta chudi house
- shiv kavariya peda bhandar
- gaya peda bhandar
Before Lakshmi pur chowk is bombai bazar, probably at a resurrection stage.
In Lakshmi Pur Chowk there is kashyap trevales @ services
contact for all type of treaval plans & services (spelling is not a necessity; message of services offered has been conveyed)
Lakshmi Pur Chowk is followed by Chandni Chowk. There is photohouse digital photography.
- shiv telecom shop has a man with a t-shirt etched with "come to dark side. we have cookies"
Further down the road there is baidyanath peda bhandar.
Near shiksha sabha there is disneyland market, hotel ramlalay; chawal arba (35rs per plate). One needs to visit this one. This is followed by
- weston akal ki baat
- narsingh talkies showing "katil chudaal". The ticket rates are as follows
net tax cmc total
DC 9 9.55 1.00 19.55
RS 7.15 7.60 1.00 15.75
MS 1.50 1.65 1.00 4.15
Other sightings are :
- banarsi chaat house on a cart. Suddhata ki 100 per cent guarantee.
- ram bhojanalaya
- SP store recharge coupon cold drinks
- deep narayan kesri peda
- ganga shah & sons
- Kashi shah & sons
The stay in Deogarh and the ticket for Puri by Puneet Rajhans
The stay in Deogarh
Before returning to the main story on Jasidih/Deogarh and the stay there, it would be wise to elaborate on efforts made to secure accommodation in Ras Behari area in Kolkata. Metro, the guest house, was the first point of halt where rooms came for 550 and above. Since advance booking had been made from Puri, the accommodation was not hard to come. Tried my level best to broaden the stay in Ras Behari Area but due to advance bookings in this and other guest houses the stay could not be extended.
Reaching Jasidih/Deogarh
It was well after four i reached Jasidih station. Toofan Express was convenient to the point that it did not get elaboratively late, coupled with meals served in the train in a stainless tray for Rs 50. Had it been meals fetched from a major station, it would not have been any less than Rs 65. As for the railways, working in arrangement with private caterers in major stations across country, the meals brought inside the coaches come 120 rs upwards. It suits both sides. The first task after deboarding was to secure a Jasidih-Puri ticket. Outside Platform No 1 in Jasidih station is the reservation counter and to the surprise of many not even two to three persons can be seen standing there. With effortless ease i secured a Puri ticket made possible by no rush season in the temple area. SEcond best part of the Jasidih station is the STD/PCO booth right at the entrance.
Deogarh town and nearby has all the stamping of a centre at ease with its momentum; not arrogantly high and not adversely low. Out with a Puri ticket, took a shared auto, coming for rs 12, and reached Deogarh ( 7 to 9kms) in half an hour. Took accommodation in Babadham Yatri Niwas. And before i pursue on Jasidih story i move over to a new net cafe and start writing from the one in central avenue since the net cafe in the vicinity of college street has a guy sitting on the right side whose intent is not difficult to make out. It is hard to imagine that this plant who joined after half an hour for net has no connection at home or in office which he ever reported for monthly reimbursements. As for accommodation in Deogarh, the location was entirely done by me and did not let rickshawwallah decide the place of stay. Broadly three visits were undertaken to Deogarh temple in the course of two days against a manageable and acceptable rush. From the Paschim gate, it is not even 50mts, and if there is not much of a rush, one can come out in 10 to 15 minutes. Probably the best time to visit is in the evening and during rush season, the best bet could well be even few mts away from sanctum sanctorum if there is a large gathering. There can be a plethora of priests (panda) in and around the temple and depending on the comfort factor one can proceed without them as well.
On the first day as a separate line could be seen which some some described as the one for those attached to administration, the second day this line seem to be near-absent. For Deogarh temple the entry on the second day was witness to a man standing at the entrance gate and seeking cash favours from all and sundry. THe second time round he did not seek any cash from me but this cash exercise the administration has to curb as a large number of devotees come from far away place bare footed and with fewer collections. Whatever donations or cash is to be offered it is to deposited in the hundi. And that should be the practice across temples in the country. The picture-clicking for pilgrims comes for 10 to 20rs and this is admirable.
As for the meals, the Kailash Bhojanalay near Deogarh railway station can be tried. Seeking Tataphoton recharge in Deogarh , it came as a surprise that for a little over 300rs i could get one month validity. Against this i had paid 1500 rs ( 6GB) in DElhi and the Tata photon guy who initiated the connection in DElhi told me it has a validity of one month whereas there is no such scheme of 1500 rs for one month. Could be possible that for 6GB there could be one month validity. Nothing is sure here.
Left a little after 11 in the morning for Jasidih.
Before returning to the main story on Jasidih/Deogarh and the stay there, it would be wise to elaborate on efforts made to secure accommodation in Ras Behari area in Kolkata. Metro, the guest house, was the first point of halt where rooms came for 550 and above. Since advance booking had been made from Puri, the accommodation was not hard to come. Tried my level best to broaden the stay in Ras Behari Area but due to advance bookings in this and other guest houses the stay could not be extended.
Reaching Jasidih/Deogarh
It was well after four i reached Jasidih station. Toofan Express was convenient to the point that it did not get elaboratively late, coupled with meals served in the train in a stainless tray for Rs 50. Had it been meals fetched from a major station, it would not have been any less than Rs 65. As for the railways, working in arrangement with private caterers in major stations across country, the meals brought inside the coaches come 120 rs upwards. It suits both sides. The first task after deboarding was to secure a Jasidih-Puri ticket. Outside Platform No 1 in Jasidih station is the reservation counter and to the surprise of many not even two to three persons can be seen standing there. With effortless ease i secured a Puri ticket made possible by no rush season in the temple area. SEcond best part of the Jasidih station is the STD/PCO booth right at the entrance.
Deogarh town and nearby has all the stamping of a centre at ease with its momentum; not arrogantly high and not adversely low. Out with a Puri ticket, took a shared auto, coming for rs 12, and reached Deogarh ( 7 to 9kms) in half an hour. Took accommodation in Babadham Yatri Niwas. And before i pursue on Jasidih story i move over to a new net cafe and start writing from the one in central avenue since the net cafe in the vicinity of college street has a guy sitting on the right side whose intent is not difficult to make out. It is hard to imagine that this plant who joined after half an hour for net has no connection at home or in office which he ever reported for monthly reimbursements. As for accommodation in Deogarh, the location was entirely done by me and did not let rickshawwallah decide the place of stay. Broadly three visits were undertaken to Deogarh temple in the course of two days against a manageable and acceptable rush. From the Paschim gate, it is not even 50mts, and if there is not much of a rush, one can come out in 10 to 15 minutes. Probably the best time to visit is in the evening and during rush season, the best bet could well be even few mts away from sanctum sanctorum if there is a large gathering. There can be a plethora of priests (panda) in and around the temple and depending on the comfort factor one can proceed without them as well.
On the first day as a separate line could be seen which some some described as the one for those attached to administration, the second day this line seem to be near-absent. For Deogarh temple the entry on the second day was witness to a man standing at the entrance gate and seeking cash favours from all and sundry. THe second time round he did not seek any cash from me but this cash exercise the administration has to curb as a large number of devotees come from far away place bare footed and with fewer collections. Whatever donations or cash is to be offered it is to deposited in the hundi. And that should be the practice across temples in the country. The picture-clicking for pilgrims comes for 10 to 20rs and this is admirable.
As for the meals, the Kailash Bhojanalay near Deogarh railway station can be tried. Seeking Tataphoton recharge in Deogarh , it came as a surprise that for a little over 300rs i could get one month validity. Against this i had paid 1500 rs ( 6GB) in DElhi and the Tata photon guy who initiated the connection in DElhi told me it has a validity of one month whereas there is no such scheme of 1500 rs for one month. Could be possible that for 6GB there could be one month validity. Nothing is sure here.
Left a little after 11 in the morning for Jasidih.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
The ride from New Delhi to Jasidih
The ride from New Delhi to Jasidih
Before i begin to write about the train i took it would be prudent to essay a word or two on the ride from Safdarjung Enclave to New Delhi Railway station. It was just after 6.20 i left home searching for a scooter that would be handy enough to get me to the railway station. The ride by Delhi Metro was not feasible given the luggage i was carrying and the current reservation centre that exists at Paharganj side and not at Ajmeri gate one. There was an autowalah who already had one student on board and his persuasive skills made me board the vehicle and one first halt happened to be a school in Sector 12 R K Puram. Aveek Pandey was the student's name and the school fees that he was paying for three months was a heart-breaking 30,000 rs (during my time it was 850rs for three months). What more one could say on this exhorbitant school fees which by no means one can justify. Here the schools and parents are to be blamed. First you get your ward in an expensive school and ready to pay the demanding school the fees it extracts. If school can't get the requisite and demanding fees it won't be able to hold on to its expansive infrastructure which to a considerable extent it can do without. From here as well the automan was candid to convey that he would reach the station well before train's departure and he sticked to his commitment. The current reservation centre at the new delhi station had no gathering to speak of and i got the ticket with ease.
Having taken toofan express (13008), the seat allotted in B1 was 45. It left a little after 7.35 and with stoppages that came quite frequently, it took its time to reach Palwal. The man who boarded the train with his daughter amina insisted that i vacate the lower berth as his insistence was on instant sleep that he wanted to inherit. I told him that during day time from 6am to 9pm the lower berth is not meant for sleeping. Seeing the urgency that he time and again underscored i had to take the opposite seat where the daughter too showed her reflexes and took the three fourth of the seat available. In the meantime i had made a request to TTE that if possible i could be given an alternate berth given the man and the daughter were carrying two kids and were ably performing the role of kindergarten developers. The TTE obliged and the attendant with the name Abdul Kalam was helpful. The seat given was 29, again middle berth, but with the exception that i could sit in the lower berth. (Here one needs to stress that in my ride from Jasidih to Puri later the guy who had boarded the train from Samastipur slept the entire day on lower berth and here the railways need to underscore the need that passengers should be in sitting posture during day time and if one wants to sleep the upper berth is the available option).
Train going past Taj Mahal
The guy opposite me was Salman who ran a jewellery business in Sriganganagar in Rajasthan. From Agra, the train took another route going past Agra Fort station and also a bridge which to date i had found difficult to figure out while returning from West Bengal/Bihar. From this bridge one can get a handy view of Taj Mahal. The water below has receded and hope the momentum is back for Taj Mahal to stay firm. Perhaps 35 years ago we took this route while coming from the East and proceeding towards New Delhi. From Agra another gentleman who has his son in Air Force Medical took the opposite seat and he was headed towards Hajipur. Again a man of simple habits, the cell chorus he found it difficult to unclue. The train reached Kanpur in the evening. In Kanpur station next to the coach a Muslim group was saying prayers with bagful of flowers and rose on the platform. It is quite risky and it can also lead to a stampede. Perhaps they could be requested to carry out their rituals in a less crowded place.
Poor power has led to no job creation in UP; tea-serving across Bihar
From Kanpur among others who boarded was one one student who had completed his MBA from CCS College in Western UP. The fee structure was not elaborate and he had not made up his mind on to pursue business or take up a job. From the expression i could make out both were challenging tasks. In Kanpur i was told that no new industry has come up. The power scene is appalling and there are places like Etawah that get uninterrupted supply and rest of the state suffers. There are no job-creation drive in Kanpur and nearby areas due to poor infrastructure. Perhaps in the entire state of UP, new jobs as such don't come up and all those pursuing MBAs and other programmes are left with no options for future. An industrial drive that boosts jobs creation should be the stress of the state government rather spending mindless money on announcements and schemes of 180 days. Once industrial activities come up in UP, with no step motherly treatment to agriculture, which is the backbone, hope things would improve. At around 7 in the morning the toofan express crossed Buxar and little after Arrah came. Soon we went past Abdul Bari bridge on Son river. The water here as well has receded. The expansive fertile land from Buxar to Jamui in Bihar is a major plus of the region. The train reached Patna a little after 10. To be noted is the tea served from Buxar onwards in a cup that has a large length, not a wide base but with a serving energetic enough. Going past Barh and other destinations the train reached Jasidih after 4 in the evening.
It was a ride in Toofan that had stoppages not less than a ton. Perhaps trains of this magnitude are a necessity, given the comfort it gives to people who get down at small stations. As for those travelling in AC coaches, they be told that entry to coach to outsiders can be curtailed but for how long you can keep yourself away from non ac environment. Perhaps acwallahs were of the view that ac is their mai-baap and all those stationed and stranded in small stations don't comprise Indialot. AC you can enjoy for few hours and after that when you step out you would have to take medicinal shower.
Before i begin to write about the train i took it would be prudent to essay a word or two on the ride from Safdarjung Enclave to New Delhi Railway station. It was just after 6.20 i left home searching for a scooter that would be handy enough to get me to the railway station. The ride by Delhi Metro was not feasible given the luggage i was carrying and the current reservation centre that exists at Paharganj side and not at Ajmeri gate one. There was an autowalah who already had one student on board and his persuasive skills made me board the vehicle and one first halt happened to be a school in Sector 12 R K Puram. Aveek Pandey was the student's name and the school fees that he was paying for three months was a heart-breaking 30,000 rs (during my time it was 850rs for three months). What more one could say on this exhorbitant school fees which by no means one can justify. Here the schools and parents are to be blamed. First you get your ward in an expensive school and ready to pay the demanding school the fees it extracts. If school can't get the requisite and demanding fees it won't be able to hold on to its expansive infrastructure which to a considerable extent it can do without. From here as well the automan was candid to convey that he would reach the station well before train's departure and he sticked to his commitment. The current reservation centre at the new delhi station had no gathering to speak of and i got the ticket with ease.
Having taken toofan express (13008), the seat allotted in B1 was 45. It left a little after 7.35 and with stoppages that came quite frequently, it took its time to reach Palwal. The man who boarded the train with his daughter amina insisted that i vacate the lower berth as his insistence was on instant sleep that he wanted to inherit. I told him that during day time from 6am to 9pm the lower berth is not meant for sleeping. Seeing the urgency that he time and again underscored i had to take the opposite seat where the daughter too showed her reflexes and took the three fourth of the seat available. In the meantime i had made a request to TTE that if possible i could be given an alternate berth given the man and the daughter were carrying two kids and were ably performing the role of kindergarten developers. The TTE obliged and the attendant with the name Abdul Kalam was helpful. The seat given was 29, again middle berth, but with the exception that i could sit in the lower berth. (Here one needs to stress that in my ride from Jasidih to Puri later the guy who had boarded the train from Samastipur slept the entire day on lower berth and here the railways need to underscore the need that passengers should be in sitting posture during day time and if one wants to sleep the upper berth is the available option).
Train going past Taj Mahal
The guy opposite me was Salman who ran a jewellery business in Sriganganagar in Rajasthan. From Agra, the train took another route going past Agra Fort station and also a bridge which to date i had found difficult to figure out while returning from West Bengal/Bihar. From this bridge one can get a handy view of Taj Mahal. The water below has receded and hope the momentum is back for Taj Mahal to stay firm. Perhaps 35 years ago we took this route while coming from the East and proceeding towards New Delhi. From Agra another gentleman who has his son in Air Force Medical took the opposite seat and he was headed towards Hajipur. Again a man of simple habits, the cell chorus he found it difficult to unclue. The train reached Kanpur in the evening. In Kanpur station next to the coach a Muslim group was saying prayers with bagful of flowers and rose on the platform. It is quite risky and it can also lead to a stampede. Perhaps they could be requested to carry out their rituals in a less crowded place.
Poor power has led to no job creation in UP; tea-serving across Bihar
From Kanpur among others who boarded was one one student who had completed his MBA from CCS College in Western UP. The fee structure was not elaborate and he had not made up his mind on to pursue business or take up a job. From the expression i could make out both were challenging tasks. In Kanpur i was told that no new industry has come up. The power scene is appalling and there are places like Etawah that get uninterrupted supply and rest of the state suffers. There are no job-creation drive in Kanpur and nearby areas due to poor infrastructure. Perhaps in the entire state of UP, new jobs as such don't come up and all those pursuing MBAs and other programmes are left with no options for future. An industrial drive that boosts jobs creation should be the stress of the state government rather spending mindless money on announcements and schemes of 180 days. Once industrial activities come up in UP, with no step motherly treatment to agriculture, which is the backbone, hope things would improve. At around 7 in the morning the toofan express crossed Buxar and little after Arrah came. Soon we went past Abdul Bari bridge on Son river. The water here as well has receded. The expansive fertile land from Buxar to Jamui in Bihar is a major plus of the region. The train reached Patna a little after 10. To be noted is the tea served from Buxar onwards in a cup that has a large length, not a wide base but with a serving energetic enough. Going past Barh and other destinations the train reached Jasidih after 4 in the evening.
It was a ride in Toofan that had stoppages not less than a ton. Perhaps trains of this magnitude are a necessity, given the comfort it gives to people who get down at small stations. As for those travelling in AC coaches, they be told that entry to coach to outsiders can be curtailed but for how long you can keep yourself away from non ac environment. Perhaps acwallahs were of the view that ac is their mai-baap and all those stationed and stranded in small stations don't comprise Indialot. AC you can enjoy for few hours and after that when you step out you would have to take medicinal shower.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Taking tranquiliser in the morning: Rush to be heard and the rush to be floored by Puneet Rajhans
Taking tranquiliser in the morning: Rush to be heard and the rush to be floored
Why do people take tranquiliser in the morning. Mornings are meant to map out activities to be undertaken the entire day and to seamlessly support this the intake of tranquiliser is something that can't wait. Having taken tranquiliser early in the morning, the tranquiliser toast transports them to a world of tranquil proceedings where appearance of sleep is ample and with a mind just half way through activation process, the man in you fails to demonstrate the qualities of rule and rue. Tranquiliser deprived entity is one who is ever ready to temperamentally test others on how far they are willing to be an accomplice to his urgent task of bite and break, and once the fence has been breached they too show the temperamental template to put their foes to bake.
Tranquiliser cuts across class, creed, greed and gender and its mass usage suggests time is not far when to avail this the companies would have to float a tender.
Frequency and the need to keep its usage secret
Frequency at which the tranquiliser should be taken and the prayer for the same to show desired results are twin facts on which application on humans came after the same application on rats. When the tests on rats gave wonderful results, humans were ultimate choice for drug sellers to sell. Over the counter was the first mode of selling. Since a large number of people wanted to keep it a secret from their friends and foes on tranquiliser boast, ads started appearing on papers under the garb of medicines to mentally uplift you and more than temporarily upgrade you are available in bulk which could be delivered at home to keep you from sessions of sulk. Perhaps the delivery boys who come with daily necessities do make it a point to carry a strip or two of the same. Who does not need a tranquiliser. Right from the man working in a kirana store to the man placing orders to him all need it frequently in an era where we still don't have been able to shrug off the concept of a coterie. In fact for those working at different structures in a company need tranquiliser the most when they feel they have been left from a coterie dose.
Briefing and clarification
As for those driving vehicles and with no intention to go on a sabbatical, tranquiliser should be ably tried as an option when they come across undiluted sensation from khaki to traffic which is moving at a pace as if they have parked themselves in a eatery. As for media motors, they too are under the spell of a tranquiliser when repeatedly they chase the same query and try to put stories as if they have been able to differentiate between those who erred and who didn't clearly. With subjects as windfall and windy nature and on the company clarification some journos put this as a fit case of their assimilation to corporate world, the result being the whole idea of pursuing the plausible gets defeated and on a larger purpose they have succeeded in getting most sedated.
Press conference followed by press clarification is all in one line of keeping the entertainment quotient in circulation; tall claims made from one podium followed by tall thunder from other makes it a fit case for dust gather. After watching all this, the political class should be the first to delink from business clue. Business boast should be a thing of the past and efforts made to seek an innings where you abandon/surrender the need to contest for one to two occasions and should be seen as your idea of letting other deserving try their best. A politico who keeps his/her life as simple would show the charms of those sporting a face pimple. Expansive regime with exorbitant take would be a wrong precedent.
The bottomline is if expenses from political parties to corporate creatives is in check, much of the need for tranquiliser to be taken would take a rest. Control the expenses and control the urge to join the bandwagon of rush to be heard and rush to be floored. If ever battle has to be fought and won let it be fdi retail and those who wish to bring it in a ton.
Why do people take tranquiliser in the morning. Mornings are meant to map out activities to be undertaken the entire day and to seamlessly support this the intake of tranquiliser is something that can't wait. Having taken tranquiliser early in the morning, the tranquiliser toast transports them to a world of tranquil proceedings where appearance of sleep is ample and with a mind just half way through activation process, the man in you fails to demonstrate the qualities of rule and rue. Tranquiliser deprived entity is one who is ever ready to temperamentally test others on how far they are willing to be an accomplice to his urgent task of bite and break, and once the fence has been breached they too show the temperamental template to put their foes to bake.
Tranquiliser cuts across class, creed, greed and gender and its mass usage suggests time is not far when to avail this the companies would have to float a tender.
Frequency and the need to keep its usage secret
Frequency at which the tranquiliser should be taken and the prayer for the same to show desired results are twin facts on which application on humans came after the same application on rats. When the tests on rats gave wonderful results, humans were ultimate choice for drug sellers to sell. Over the counter was the first mode of selling. Since a large number of people wanted to keep it a secret from their friends and foes on tranquiliser boast, ads started appearing on papers under the garb of medicines to mentally uplift you and more than temporarily upgrade you are available in bulk which could be delivered at home to keep you from sessions of sulk. Perhaps the delivery boys who come with daily necessities do make it a point to carry a strip or two of the same. Who does not need a tranquiliser. Right from the man working in a kirana store to the man placing orders to him all need it frequently in an era where we still don't have been able to shrug off the concept of a coterie. In fact for those working at different structures in a company need tranquiliser the most when they feel they have been left from a coterie dose.
Briefing and clarification
As for those driving vehicles and with no intention to go on a sabbatical, tranquiliser should be ably tried as an option when they come across undiluted sensation from khaki to traffic which is moving at a pace as if they have parked themselves in a eatery. As for media motors, they too are under the spell of a tranquiliser when repeatedly they chase the same query and try to put stories as if they have been able to differentiate between those who erred and who didn't clearly. With subjects as windfall and windy nature and on the company clarification some journos put this as a fit case of their assimilation to corporate world, the result being the whole idea of pursuing the plausible gets defeated and on a larger purpose they have succeeded in getting most sedated.
Press conference followed by press clarification is all in one line of keeping the entertainment quotient in circulation; tall claims made from one podium followed by tall thunder from other makes it a fit case for dust gather. After watching all this, the political class should be the first to delink from business clue. Business boast should be a thing of the past and efforts made to seek an innings where you abandon/surrender the need to contest for one to two occasions and should be seen as your idea of letting other deserving try their best. A politico who keeps his/her life as simple would show the charms of those sporting a face pimple. Expansive regime with exorbitant take would be a wrong precedent.
The bottomline is if expenses from political parties to corporate creatives is in check, much of the need for tranquiliser to be taken would take a rest. Control the expenses and control the urge to join the bandwagon of rush to be heard and rush to be floored. If ever battle has to be fought and won let it be fdi retail and those who wish to bring it in a ton.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Taking tranquiliser in the morning: Rush to be heard and the rush to be floored by Puneet Rajhans
Taking tranquiliser in the morning: Rush to be heard and the rush to be floored
Why do people take tranquiliser in the morning. Mornings are meant to map out activities to be undertaken the entire day and to seamlessly support this the intake of tranquiliser is something that can't wait. Having taken tranquiliser early in the morning, the tranquiliser toast transports them to a world of tranquil proceedings where appearance of sleep is ample and with a mind just half way through activation process, the man in you fails to demonstrate the qualities of rule and rue. Tranquiliser deprived entity is one who is ever ready to temperamentally test others on how far they are willing to be an accomplice to his urgent task of bite and break, and once the fence has been breached they too show the temperamental template to put their foes to bake.
Tranquiliser cuts across class, creed, greed and gender and its mass usage suggests time is not far when to avail this the companies would have to float a tender.
Frequency and the need to keep its usage secret
Frequency at which the tranquiliser should be taken and the prayer for the same to show desired results are twin facts on which application on humans came after the same application on rats. When the tests on rats gave wonderful results, humans were ultimate choice for drug sellers to sell. Over the counter was the first mode of selling. Since a large number of people wanted to keep it a secret from their friends and foes on tranquiliser boast, ads started appearing on papers under the garb of medicines to mentally uplift you and more than temporarily upgrade you are available in bulk which could be delivered at home to keep you from sessions of sulk. Perhaps the delivery boys who come with daily necessities do make it a point to carry a strip or two of the same. Who does not need a tranquiliser. Right from the man working in a kirana store to the man placing orders to him all need it frequently in an era where we still don't have been able to shrug off the concept of a coterie. In fact for those working at different structures in a company need tranquiliser the most when they feel they have been left from a coterie dose.
Briefing and clarification
As for those driving vehicles and with no intention to go on a sabbatical, tranquiliser should be ably tried as an option when they come across undiluted sensation from khaki to traffic which is moving at a pace as if they have parked themselves in a eatery. As for media motors, they too are under the spell of a tranquiliser when repeatedly they chase the same query and try to put stories as if they have been able to differentiate between those who erred and who didn't clearly. With subjects as windfall and windy nature and on the company clarification some journos put this as a fit case of their assimilation to corporate world, the result being the whole idea of pursuing the plausible gets defeated and on a larger purpose they have succeeded in getting most sedated.
Press conference followed by press clarification is all in one line of keeping the entertainment quotient in circulation; tall claims made from one podium followed by tall thunder from other makes it a fit case for dust gather. After watching all this, the political class should be the first to delink from business clue. Business boast should be a thing of the past and efforts made to seek an innings where you abandon/surrender the need to contest for one to two occasions and should be seen as your idea of letting other deserving try their best. A politico who keeps his/her life as simple would show the charms of those sporting a face pimple. Expansive regime with exorbitant take would be a wrong precedent.
The bottomline is if expenses from political parties to corporate creatives is in check, much of the need for tranquiliser to be taken would take a rest. Control the expenses and control the urge to join the bandwagon of rush to be heard and rush to be floored. If ever battle has to be fought and won let it be fdi retail and those who wish to bring it in a ton.
Wednesday was a historic day
Wednesday was a historic day
Wednesday was a historic day given the histrionics i kept away. THe day began early for me as i had sleep preceded by a day journey. Being Wednesday i widened my options by stepping out of house on more than one occasion. In fact i wanted to step out early in the morning which got delayed due to bowel sensation.
With bowel cleared and bath adhered i followed this with breakfast and some reading task. Later i took to writing and by the time i stepped out in search of milk and bread it was 10 past 11 stress.
The milk and bread i procured from city store seem to have little cure and i stepped out again with the wait for voter identity card that seem to endure. Past 2 in the afternoon i collected the voter card and followed this with purchase of bread and curd from siyaram dairy ghat. With everything packed in Ladakh bag i was heading towards home with a realisation that i had gained form. Inside home the realisation dawned that i should play the role of a subordinate and no tolerance policy adopted by those who cared little for those with interference gear. Time and again stress was laid to not interfere in house matters and a prodding done to visit a doctor quarter. Doctor who could diagnose the anger quotient and in effect after meeting me could well be a fit case to be a patient .Request declined the peace was reached with no interference coming which if ever it came could be seen as a sign of siege.
The bread, curd and milk i fetched from the market, ma suggested that this too could be done by a delivery boy who always carries a carton of a size of a bucket. Undermining my efforts in getting the requisite necessities i suggested i could get the fruits and vegetables that did not lead to a range of acidities. The offer to get vegetables was turned down consequently leading me to write on who all are home bound. Once home bound the urgency to lay stress on water and power is not a bad idea given some who consume these as if they have come from Siberia.
As for tv-watching the most watched event is the provocation and prevarication of party spokespersons to partly blame the weather for series of ills afflicting the nation, not realising some among their leaders have lost the art of patience. Little said on alternate or third day would be an idea worth trying instead of opening mouth every hour to show that after every shower they feel like crying. Wednesday was a historic day for the range of histrionics i kept away.
Sore land and sore throat
Sore land and sore throat
As another set of revelations came revealing the set pattern of those going for ablutions and other sensations, the market forces at play had begun to sense another opportunity to thrash those who ever tried to bring negativity on tray. In a world driven apart by news followed by debate-cum-deceive clues, the sensation hooter blown two days ago on land and leverage had already begin to suffer a series of rupture. Agent 100watt could have seen this coming and accordingly set his house in order that showed less signs of beaming. Perhaps the enormity of deals involving sand and sore throat are high and here the enormity of benefits showered on real estate concern by successive regimes has led to the current round of roar. Perhaps clue to this current round of desertion from estate developer to let enable the figures speak for themselves showed how this giant and other estate developers with a degree of mind since mid-80s had a free run given the successive administrations showering of benefits in a ton. Slow and steady helps one to deflect signs of adversity.
Lofty policies lobbed in the air
From mid-80s and lasting for over 25 years, the policies that were lobbed in the air were lofty and lusty. Large tracts of agricultural land for a larger period lay unattended and this gave the giant the power to raise structures and give compensation to those who sold sensing a bold future. Those who sold the land in mid-80s and shifted to other locales too could not have imagined the pitfalls of unchecked commercial growth that got in its trap all those who had a sizeable income or were in the negotiable distance of getting one.
Authorities since mid-80s are at fault for giving ample room for land developers to play according to their need and desire and in effect blow the trumpet that so many sizeable people have got accommodation with the twin benefit of keeping vehicles of variable tyre. This story began in Gurgaon and spread to other towns and the govt. of the day, with a sizeable negativity on tray, felt what better way to up the revenue than open large tracts of land for commercial exploitation and get a sense from those people who desired to have different dwellings with different sensation.
Newspapers splashed with ads since late 80s
If memory serves me correct in 88-89, the price of one dwelling was around 3 lakh and newspapers back and front page were splashed with estate offering of flat and gas. Perhaps the estate developers never realised their folly that they were paying their employees and other defenders huge sums and this was adding to their liability and in effect make them lose their chums. Perhaps they would have never ran up this liability load had some people in their fraternity suggested to go slow and avoid the temptation to roar. Had they believed that newspapers in 80s and 90s could be relieved from the stress of putting estate ads daily, to this date they would have been faring fairly. The politico-business bonhomie has led to this state of affairs and if more such deals in future have this nexus coating, there would be more urgency to hold a press briefing. The authorities of the present and future need to stay clear of such deals and people of 100watt stature should understand that there is no better course than staying put with available resource force. It is greed that has spawned this politico-business nexus and unless they listen to the tribulation around they would continue to hear the estate sound. Sanity from either side would be handy. In the cynical world we live in, there can always be a middle path that underscores the need to stay away from insinuation art.
One had a battery of barristers-turned- ministers and ministers-turned- barristers arguing that it is a clear case of vendetta politics. The statement from estate pillar and some papers putting as a lead story of the front page showed the market forces that had sprung up in solid defence to erect a sizeable fence. It is illustrative of the times where huge salaries and huge compensation is the buzzword and if any failing is recorded, it does not take long for print and electronic wheels after firing all cylinders to get sedated. Print and electronic wheels too have run up huge expenses and revenues from advertisements can alone keep them going. Perhaps a beginning has to be made by them by cutting on their expenses; once they are able to do that they would have elbow room to do repeated stories on the larger issue of politico-business bonhomie which would have enduring success unlike the presidential debate triggered Romney.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Over one lakh to converge in national capital to seek land rights
Over one lakh to converge in national capital to seek land rights
Over one lakh are going to converge in the national capital. What does this say about state of affairs. This expected one lakh turnout beginning from Oct. 28 is meant to highlight the lopsided policies of govts over the years towards those who have been evicted from their land. The protest which could very well snowball into a major and a lasting agitation is being led by those who believe that they have been denied their right to land and in turn the land has been handed on a platter to those making a case for SEZs and other industries.
Why do we let a situation come to this stage. Across India yeh soch hai that all development and denouement happens in the big cities and towns and all those living in small hamlet are left with no hope. When their brothers and sisters visit a city, they see proliferation of high rises, never-ending queues of personal vehicles and sanitation and security that still eludes a sizeable in the city and the fringe. Perhaps a mixed picture comes to them but heavily loaded with the impression that resources for development have gone to the cities and towns. When a roadmap is laid for industrialisation, chunks of land go to the party concerned ( this may not be true now but was widely prevalent in recent past) and they are left with a fate of reducing hope as the land and the rights they have been struggling for years has been snatched in one massive swoop.
The high rises that dot a city, the abundant nature of parents to send kids to educational institutions that look for moneybags and the splash of advertisements across print and electronic that prosperity would last till eternity if you seek a high trajectory way of living.
Bring multiple quarters
The big bungalows in the national capital and other places need to be replaced with multiple quarters as that would make a beginning of a living with a reasoning. Perhaps the govt should do away with acts like seasonal enhacement of salaries and try to reason that with what they give one should adjust. Politicos who travel the length and breadth of the country continously (on a continued basis) on tax payers money should be desisted from doing the same or at least 50 per cent they should be made to foot the same. Six to eight visits could be allowed and the rest they need to pay from their pocket. Keep a tab on travelling by those holding high offices as it is digging holes in govt's treasury.
As for private sector all new recruitments should be on a low salary and those taking high emoluments should be given the option of a rollback of their salary and if he or she is not willing replace him/her with 10 new recruits with a low remuneration. By this 10 new people would get a job and the one who was drawing huge sum would get the message that a life need not be driven by huge money consideration. Perhaps a string of measures on reducing the take home (salary) - true for those drawing huge sums- and repeated reminder to them that settle for low raise and a low salary. This could be possible if they cut back on their expenses which are like sending their kin to expensive educational institutions and at least doing away with acts of splurging. Unless the big city and towns where splurging is to the maximum convert themselves to lead a life of limitations the emerging janata from countryside would converge and make the administration understand that unless you set an example of simplicity this convulsion would continue to happen.
The page 3 is a brutal reminder of a life led by artificial mindset and here cutting across sectors of entertainment,,real estate and those raising private educational institutions, a real and lasting pruning is required with a host of austerity measures. Perhaps if authorities are sure about austerity then it would lead to a lot of creativity. Mind you stock and surging markets won't help you pass the test, the real test would be how you let traditional segments grow and put on check those institutions which have fiddled with the land and other resources. A high rise here and a big fdi retail surprise there would not be in the interest of the country. There are inherent strengths on which you can build on. A coordination meet here and a host of party spokesperson firing salvos on everything there is a waste of effort.
Over one lakh are going to converge in the national capital. What does this say about state of affairs. This expected one lakh turnout beginning from Oct. 28 is meant to highlight the lopsided policies of govts over the years towards those who have been evicted from their land. The protest which could very well snowball into a major and a lasting agitation is being led by those who believe that they have been denied their right to land and in turn the land has been handed on a platter to those making a case for SEZs and other industries.
Why do we let a situation come to this stage. Across India yeh soch hai that all development and denouement happens in the big cities and towns and all those living in small hamlet are left with no hope. When their brothers and sisters visit a city, they see proliferation of high rises, never-ending queues of personal vehicles and sanitation and security that still eludes a sizeable in the city and the fringe. Perhaps a mixed picture comes to them but heavily loaded with the impression that resources for development have gone to the cities and towns. When a roadmap is laid for industrialisation, chunks of land go to the party concerned ( this may not be true now but was widely prevalent in recent past) and they are left with a fate of reducing hope as the land and the rights they have been struggling for years has been snatched in one massive swoop.
The high rises that dot a city, the abundant nature of parents to send kids to educational institutions that look for moneybags and the splash of advertisements across print and electronic that prosperity would last till eternity if you seek a high trajectory way of living.
Bring multiple quarters
The big bungalows in the national capital and other places need to be replaced with multiple quarters as that would make a beginning of a living with a reasoning. Perhaps the govt should do away with acts like seasonal enhacement of salaries and try to reason that with what they give one should adjust. Politicos who travel the length and breadth of the country continously (on a continued basis) on tax payers money should be desisted from doing the same or at least 50 per cent they should be made to foot the same. Six to eight visits could be allowed and the rest they need to pay from their pocket. Keep a tab on travelling by those holding high offices as it is digging holes in govt's treasury.
As for private sector all new recruitments should be on a low salary and those taking high emoluments should be given the option of a rollback of their salary and if he or she is not willing replace him/her with 10 new recruits with a low remuneration. By this 10 new people would get a job and the one who was drawing huge sum would get the message that a life need not be driven by huge money consideration. Perhaps a string of measures on reducing the take home (salary) - true for those drawing huge sums- and repeated reminder to them that settle for low raise and a low salary. This could be possible if they cut back on their expenses which are like sending their kin to expensive educational institutions and at least doing away with acts of splurging. Unless the big city and towns where splurging is to the maximum convert themselves to lead a life of limitations the emerging janata from countryside would converge and make the administration understand that unless you set an example of simplicity this convulsion would continue to happen.
The page 3 is a brutal reminder of a life led by artificial mindset and here cutting across sectors of entertainment,,real estate and those raising private educational institutions, a real and lasting pruning is required with a host of austerity measures. Perhaps if authorities are sure about austerity then it would lead to a lot of creativity. Mind you stock and surging markets won't help you pass the test, the real test would be how you let traditional segments grow and put on check those institutions which have fiddled with the land and other resources. A high rise here and a big fdi retail surprise there would not be in the interest of the country. There are inherent strengths on which you can build on. A coordination meet here and a host of party spokesperson firing salvos on everything there is a waste of effort.
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