The plight of public transport commuters

Hi All..today I have decided to write a bit on our public transportation facilities, atleast in the city I live in and how commuters have to go through a lot of disgust and irritation..

I have been a commuter for a long time..atleast till I was in college..the way the conductor or the driver behave towards commuters has been unacceptable in many ways..

To quote one such incident, I was in Adyar on Saturday, to pick up lunch from one of the famous city hotels..as I was leaving..a bus came to a grinding halt near the place I had parked my bike..an old man, probably in his late 60's..who was waiting to get off the bus, just fell off the bus because the driver had just decided to stop the vehicle..the old man had a bad fall..and his head hit the road..he fell inches near the wheel and he was bleeding badly ..the driver and the conductor just peeped out of the bus to ensure the person was alive and drove off..the old man who was still bleeding profusely was then helped by a few onlookers (which included me) and was in a state of shock for sometime before we got to know where he lived..we then put him inside an autorickshaw (some of them are considerate..but auto's will be an other topic we will speak about :-) ) who said he would take him to a hospital and then drop him home..fortunately the person was staying close by and he was able to manage himself..

This brings us to a discussion on how good are our public transport services, especially bus services. Chennai has always boasted of frequent bus services but we are treated daily to the sight of a flurry of over crowded buses with people hanging from all corners of the bus and stranded passengers beside buses that have broken down..thanks to the poor maintenance..we also see buses "cutting" signals as if they own the roads..and one wonders why our cops never catch them..or were fines made only for the two wheelers and four wheelers (cars)?

The State Government needs to take a serious stand..it is not only responsible for providing good roads for people to travel on but also ensure that the millions of people who use public transportation use the system with the confidence that they will reach work and reach home in peace and in full shape..

Cheers
~N~

Casino Royale

Hey all..the last weekend..I suddenly decided to take my wife out for a movie (not that I havent) but since our little one has been born..my wife and myself have never got a chance to go out on a date per say..I have already been having this feeling of being ignored for long..but from what I heard from experienced guys..they say its natural and you have to live with the fact that once a kid is born..preferences change..well..its good in one way..not so good in another way but am kinda getting used to it..

So..I just wanted to rekindle a little bit of that romance and told my wife that we will go for a movie..without the little one of course..hmmm...she thought for a while and said "ok..straight back home from the movie..no other plans.." It was as though I was being granted a favor..anyways..we landed the theater..pretty close to the movie start time..thanks to my wife getting ready..and then she looked at me and said.."hey I hope you didnt forget to stop by at the ATM.." I got the message..I acknowledged and we rushed to the counter to find the "Tickets Full" message..

But then a person offered to give us a couple of tickets he had booked extra..in "black"..and we went into the hall to watch the Bond movie..I watch a lot of movies..kind of a movie buff..but this was my first movie with Daniel Craig..

The guy has been so underplayed and touted as a failure in the shoes of Bond even before the movie release..the first half of the movie totally changes your opinion about Craig and the movie..the action scenes are phenominal.. (especially the one where he chases a guy through a half constructed building..and the car chase where they almost hit the skyliner)..

Casino Royale was Ian Fleming's first novel with the James Bond character..and it was also the novel for which he took the shortest time to write..Daniel Craig has done full justice to his role..the guy unlike Pierce Brosnan...has a more macho and sturdy image..is well built and very agile especially during the action scenes..can be a bit more romantic in the romantic scenes :-)..prolly one of the places where Brosnan would excel..but this guy will be a definite hit as Bond..

The movie was a bit of a drag in the second half but Craig sails through well along with Eva green..pity that both the lovely women die a sad death..Bond is back and this time hes good..I would rank Daniel Craig in the same league as Sir Sean Connery..just hope he continues to do a good job..

Adios
~N~

Our new house

Hey All..it has been a desire of both my wife and myself to have a small house with a huge garden..lots of trees..and most of all..peaceful surroundings with no interference of traffic, pollution and people..something that we city animals have got so used to and long to go away..

We finally bought a new house in a small village called Alavandhipuram near Swamimalai..Kumbakonam has always been one of my favorite destinations down south..not only because am a temple freak, not also because of the lovely taste of the juicy betel leaves for which its famous for, also not for the lovely breakfast that you get at Venkatramana's or Mami's mess, not only for the lovely rava dosai and godhumai alwa you get at Aaduthurai..but the place just makes you feel different..fresh..energetic..even if its a two day trip to Kumbakonam, I look forward to it cause its a super break from the madding crowd..

The house is more than 80 years old..with the traditional "mitham"..a traditional well with a tulasi madam behind the house..the most exciting place is a small wicket gate which when opened leads to a huge garden in the backyard of the house..it is so green..the air is so fresh that you would want to quit your job and stay back there forever (not that I can do that right now..unfortunately) :-(

I dont know when I will settle down there but both my wife and myself are confident and sure that we would like to do that someday..

More interesting stuff in my next blog..

Cheers
Naarayan