A Deserving Swiss, Caribbean Cricket and a Loose Gibbon
Posted by: Odeen on: June 12, 2009
Work hasn’t become so monotonous that I come up with something as disturbing as Marx’s manifesto but really, I can’t wait till I am informed about my eventual location and my key result areas. However, two things happened over this week and the last, that have given me immense pleasure.
Federer took the French, a prediction I made last year, aghast at his shock defeat at the hands of jungle-brute Nadal in the lawns of Wimbledon 2008. Nadal received a solid whipping from silent Swede Soderling in the Round of 32 . When he(Soderling) fired his forehands, particularly the inside-out version that very few players are able to pull off, Nadal was clueless, absolutely beaten for speed and power. A sore loser that Nadal is, he said he let Soderling play his game. The cheek of the blighter!
But on other fronts, did you happen to catch Leander Paes getting smashed in the eye with a perfectly well-guided tennis ball? What was he doing there standing erect right up at the net? Dlouzhy was smart enough to keep his racquet close to his face anticipating a shot like that. What was depressing though to see was Paes exulting and howling like a mentally challenged gibbon after every point he won as if he couldn’t believe he was winning.
The second exciting thing was the way Chris Gayle lay waste the Aussies. There are no words to describe that onslaught. There could be words in the Caribbean for this sort of thing; words like ‘blow-dem-ay-way’, ‘jingo-lo-ba’ and the like. The Windies showed them the way out alright. They made 170 runs look like a paltry total as they knocked it over with 5 overs still to go.
Finally saw some children going to school in the morning. I hadn’t seen that in the last two months – vacation time. It appears that come hail or come shower, this place will never move on from twin-plaited-ribbon-tied hairdo for little girls not to mention the boys with their shorts buttoned above their navels and all you can see is the zipper flap on the front. Madras is unaffected by climate change and this dubious distinction is something the city shares with Indian Politicians. I was browsing books to read at a nearby store standing absolutely still but the volume of sweat I was drenched in would have easily misled the casual observer into believing that I had just run a mile in under two minutes. What with the quantity of fruit juices that I am ingesting? It never seems to be quite enough for I am practically drowning in my own sweat [this would make a great story for Stephen King]. Until work picks up, I thought I’d resume the pencil sketching that I used to do.
You might have to wait a long while for another post.
Only The Boring Get Bored
Posted by: Odeen on: May 9, 2009
Moved from Alwar, Rajasthan to Alwarpet, Madras. It took the usual 40 hours aboard our superfast trains. I shared the cabin with a family of three that boasted of a military background. They didn’t need to explain, for I was able to gather that little nugget of information on witnessing two soldiers arranging their luggage. For a background like that, they were pitiably insecure. I watched them as they tied up all their baggage with chains one would normally use to contain and pacify wild elephants from Tanzania. The gentleman was kind enough to ask me if I wanted mine secured while help was available. That was an offer I politely declined citing perfectly valid reasons like the obvious fact that I wished to disembark with my belongings when we reached Madras. Some people just don’t get the humor. This gentleman was one of them. He looked the other way as though I had only said a plain ‘No.’
The journey was eventless. I assumed my place on the top berth and was fast absorbing the James Hadley Chase I had brought with me before nodding off. I was reminded about where I was only next morning when I was woken up by the carriage attendant for breakfast. The three below were already munching off the last few bits of their omelettes in absolute silence. Singularly boring chums. By mid day I was through with reading and began texting some friends, helped myself to an ice cream or two, and listened to some music.
The train reached Madras Central surprisingly early. The authorities were taken so much by surprise that they deliberately halted the train just a few hundred meters from the platform until it was delayed by ten minutes. This is standard practice for trains that keep good time.
I now am wide awake at 0520 hrs to catch the bus to factory where I’m engaged in reducing effort in the shop-floor. Updating trolleys for the lines so that the associates don’t find it too arduous a task to operate a group of machines that load by themselves, machine, and unload the finished components. Funny what? My superior tells me that it really isn’t a waste of time so I keep at it.
Before I forget, I did find the names of the birds of Alwar. Search them on Google Images when you can.
Black Drongo
Nilgiri wood pigeon
Nothern Lapwing
Intermediate egret
Blyth’s reed warbler
Red-vented bulbul
Koel
Goose
I’m still looking for the names of some more that I had spotted. I am considering a book.
Bird-fest
Posted by: Odeen on: February 11, 2009
- In: Regulars
- 4 Comments
Other than the occasional (read frequent) mistake of engaging the third instead of the second gear, I face no problems with riding a motorcycle. I am convinced that more satisfactory results may be obtained as February comes to a close. My second month in Alwar was very fruitful. Myself and two colleagues climbed 6 kilometres uphill to Alwar Fort (called bala quila by the locals). We learnt that the fort is under Police control and that there’s a limit with regard to how many visitors are allowed in a day. There are also timings to be adhered to. We gathered exactly why the arrangements are this way when we reached the fort. It is in tatters. Unless reinforced with concrete, the fort will tumble downhill with the unfortunate payload that went visiting. Judging by the maintenance, this could happen sooner than one might note. Large langurs also sit beside the roads curiously watching frightened tourists. Purse, phone, and eatables are snatched quite frequently. For a moment one finds it hard to ascertain just who’s in control of the fort – the police or the monkeys. Conscience usually agrees with the latter. On the other hand, the view of the valleys and the town of Alwar from up there was simply wonderful. One had to be very careful not to use cameras in full view of the long-tailed vagabonds but yours truly still was able to capture some images on his phone. Returning downhill was the easy part and on the way I was able to spot some really pretty birds (I mean birds of ornithological interest please!). For example there was this bird that looked like a sparrow with a very huge appetite but just as active. It wouldn’t sit in one place. It has brown foliage with a yellow beak and sports a tail like that of a dove. I am not sure where to begin searching for a name. Humming birds were common and so also were peacocks and peahen. In fact I have spotted a lot of new birds just living in Alwar. I had never seen any one of these in Delhi or Madras. At the factory, the management has taken an initiative to rear a gaggle of geese within the premises and I get to see them in action too. Quite a cool bunch that. They sound like old tractor horns tooting around and taking walks in the park under the sun. Apart from these, there are white egret-like things within the town. I hope to take some pictures of this fauna but you know how birds are. The Sariska trip is still on the cards. The tigers apparently have resurfaced and offer a wholesome experience of wildlife. That is some time away. I visit a local library and browse books on botany. I couldn’t find one on ornithology. I need those names. Any suggestions?
Pillion Eye View
Posted by: Odeen on: December 21, 2008
Promised Pictures
Posted by: Odeen on: December 2, 2008
More are available on request.
Chaotic Cooking Competition
Posted by: Odeen on: November 22, 2008
Perhaps the worst thing our superiors could have done was let us know about our Out-Bound-Training program just 2 days before it was to happen, and that they did. Writing about it is very difficult because there was just no structure, no starting point, and no clear goal. Surprisingly, the OBT was successful and pleased our superiors.
The entire batch of 22 of us was divided in to 3 teams of 8-7-7. All teams were to meet the following objectives:
- Reach OBT destination: 11km walk/jog/run but no mechanized transport. Average timings of the teams will be recorded and points given.
- Each team must prepare 3 dishes of choice: One vegetarian, One not-so-vegetarian and a dessert. Time allotted is 2 hrs. Points for quickest time.
- There will be points for inventory cost/management, and waste management.
My team of 7 had 4 non-sporting, more than slightly obese entities so we were covered as far as the food department was concerned but on the athletics front, our performance was poor. We brain-stormed on dishes and learnt that only one of us knew to cook. So we decided on my idea of simple-practical. A common gravy of tomato-onion with the usual spices for the two dishes (cottage cheese and chicken). And as for dessert, we received a suggestion to make coconut laddoo.
We had just 2 hours for shopping the previous evening for our inventories that included 3 serving bowls, 2 cooking pots, a gas stove, LPG cylinder, spatulas, serving spoons, refined oil, spices et all. We were totally stuck when we discovered that the whole town of Hosur was out of cottage cheese. We hunted for a substitute and zeroed in on Soy chunks, its called meal-maker but that night it was a savior. Phew!!!
I was second to reach the destination, very close to the catchment area of a dam. By making good time I ensured that our team average time would be mediocre and not abyssmal. We won 1 out of 4 management games mostly due to the athletics handicap, and finished either 2nd or 3rd in the others. The time finally came for us to prepare the meal and it was agreed that I do the dessert. I don’t know what a coconut laddoo is but that day I got my hands rogered in a paste of dessicated coconut and condensed milk. Sticky, and I couldn’t even scratch my nose when it itched. I had to seek assistance. I came up with a dessert item that was so much in demand that we couldn’t meet it. It won praises from all who were lucky enough.
Chicken was exquisitely prepared and it was rated the best among the 3 chicken dishes. The soy preparation was very salty. The lady in the team had no sense of proportion and dumped too much of it. It had to be doused with more masala. It turned out that we were the first to deliver- 5 minutes before the bell. We won the food challenge and since we used just half a litre of refined oil, there was none left. Our oil waste was minimum, no waste in the dessert, no chicken wasted and all the food was finished. No waste other than some plastic from the packaging. We got the points on waste and inventory management.
But sometimes when things are going too well, something must be wrong. So along came the news that athletic ability weighed higher than food preparation and we came in second. I expected to be third when the OBT began, but we did better than that. This post is dedicated to the team that accomplished it. Cheers!
Minivan to Mysore
Posted by: Odeen on: November 10, 2008
We were to wake up at 4 am. Let me repeat that for the casual reader who’s skimming through the lines– 4 a.m. Mysore is about 165 km from where I am and to be in time to Automotive Axles required us to start early. For the first hour and a half, no one knew which way we were going. At 0830 hrs when the stomachs started making the demands, we halted at Janpadaloka for a quick breakfast. Great food. The pig-out session lasted a mere 30 minutes.
Automotive Axles is not in Mysore, we were 5 km short of the land. We’d been tricked. So this blessed place called Hunsur was quite an eyesore and not Mysore. They make axles, a component you’d have a lot of respect for should you consider travelling in usually packed-to-capacity public transport. Packed to capacity may be an understatement, the buses are regularly seen leaning to one side (God help us!). We had the most despicable lunch there. The worst factory food ever.
Next stop- JK Tyres. If you like cars, buses, trucks, and absolutely love the safety these have to offer, I request you not to visit a tyre factory. You are sure to lose your confidence. A most depressing place. Dark, smelly, unbelievably hot, claustrophobic, and everything else you’d associate with a poorly kept work environment. As one colleague exclaimed – “Yeh to pakka baniya company hai.”
We were only glad to leave. On the way back is Srirangapatna, a name that rings a bell if you ever watched Doordarshan in the 90s. I’ll tell you why. 3 rivers meet at this point (I didn’t bother knowing which). There was also a large but obscure monument or garden of sort with a huge doorway that looked like an imitation Mughal fort. Some of the chaps started to walk towards it and I enquired with a colleague who stood closest to me as to what the place was about. What follows is the dialogue as spoken:
Me: “What is this place and where are those guys going?”
Colleague: “I think they do some horse-breeding in there.”
You must appreciate the chap’s imagination, now why didn’t I think of that? The place looked every bit the sort that would inspire an enthusiast of horse husbandry. A few minutes later, I discovered that it was the tomb of Tipu Sultan. No offense to his persona or his feat but what a way to preserve a tomb huh. Disgrace. Now you know why I mentioned Doordarshan; they used to telecast the Tipu Sultan story.
We returned to Hosur at 11 pm after a couple of blunders by the man at the wheel. It took him half an hour to realise that we were as a matter of fact circum-ambulating Electronic City. Anybody can get lost-agreed, but these guys are in the travel business for crying out loud!
Out Bound Training next ..uhm.. I’ll post that in a week?
Bhandara is a Personal Favorite!
Posted by: Odeen on: October 19, 2008
- In: Travel
- 3 Comments
I was on a training excursion if I could call it that, for over 2 weeks last month. The places we covered were Ennore, which is North of Madras, Bhandara (near Nagpur, Maharashtra), and Mysore. While Ennore and Bhandara were plant training exercises that lasted more than 2 weeks, Mysore was a combined industrial visit. Let us begin.
Ennore is about 20 km north of Madras but needs to be accessed only from Madras. We reached Madras in a very comfortable bus arranged by the company. The distance of 300 odd kilometers was covered in 5 hours, most of which was spent sleeping. We were put up in a hotel in Parry’s, a dubious, multi-storeyed, commercial slum situated near the Madras Central Railway Station. Though the surroundings were shabby, the hotel in itself was quite habitable, and considering we were gonna be out 14 hours of the day, we didn’t really get bothered or have the time to be bothered by the surroundings. The daily excursion to the Ennore Plant felt more like a picnic. We were sent there to work on non-critical machines for a hands-on experience just in case there is a need, when the associates call for a strike. The weather in Madras is abominable, and it was not very hard to realise that it was the heat that was killing us. September 23rd was good riddance, we were on our way to Nagpur.
The Trivandrum-Korba Express halts in Madras for less than half hour between 2250 and 2315 hours. We were delighted as we boarded our air-conditioned cabins, all of us trainees together in a coach. We slept soon after. Scheduled to reach Nagpur the next day at 1630 hrs, we reached at 1730, the usual fare in India. A pre-arranged bus was to meet us there and ferry us to Bhandara. Bhandara is 65 kilometers East of Nagpur, in Vidarbha district, a name that rings a bell with farmer-suicides. However, Bhandara has not had a problem of suicides. Bhandara town is spread over 3800 sq Km; the weather system is moderate; the average literacy rate is 80.3%, that is higher than the national average of 59.3%; land rates, housing rentals are very very cheap; primary occupation is agriculture– almost every conceivable vegetable is grown here making Bhandara self-reliant in food; wheat, bajra, paddy, pulses are chief crops; the built-up area of residences, lodges, etc can be covered on foot. Most people travel on bicycles here. There were more bicycle shops than pharmacies within a mile. The accommodation in Bhandara was a lot more comfortable and much more spacious. The drinking water tasted funny and we learnt later from the inhabitants that it is heavier. Deuterium!?! We decided to guzzle down Aquafina instead. Adarsh Lodge looked creepy from the outside but was very hospitable. Run by a couple of old bags who looked like Maratha War Veterans. The best part about the whole thing was the food. The folks in Bhandara go full-on with groundnut oil. Everything has oil in it. Simply superb dishes were waiting to be gorged on and gorge we did. Four of us hogged at the dinner table and were full to the throat. What surprised us even more was that it cost us less than 250 smackers in total. The stuff that we ate- at least 16 butter-rotis, egg-bhurji, malai kofta, dal-fry, vegetables-do-pyaaza, paneer butter masala, and a round of lassi. Awesome what!
The food took our minds off the real crux of the trip– the plant training. Bhandara gearbox plant works from 0630 hrs to 1430 hrs. The plant is about 14 km from Bhandara town and it takes about 30 minutes to get there. The timings were so amazing, we got back at 1500 hrs and had the whole evening to us. Just the right conditions for food hogging. Yours truly weighs 70 kilograms now, which is just right for his height (6′ 0″). I used to be 67 kilograms. There is a 6 hour daily power load shedding but hell, one can’t have everything. We went on a sightseeing trip on the 2nd of October. We saw 3 places- Ramtek, Ramdham, and Khindsi. While Ramtek was just a temple on a hill, the elevation gave a breathtaking view. I will upload snaps asap. Its too good put in to words. Ramdham turned ou to be a town just like Bhandara, only with a religious past something to do with Lord Rama. We had lunch there, cheap as usual. Khindsi is a fabulous lake, picturesque to the T. We went paddle boating, and watched the sun set behind the hills, simply magnificent. Snaps are coming.
October 4 was finally the time to leave and we were all so disappointed that we had to– so soon after falling in love with the place. Some of us have decided that we will put our career interests on the side table for a while, opt for Production and take the first train to Bhandara. After all, what great mountains are you gonna scale in Marketing or Product Development, when the whole idea of life is to live it. The new bottomline is hard to ignore.
I’ll save Mysore for another time.
All Work And Play!
Posted by: Odeen on: August 22, 2008
- In: Irregulars
- 3 Comments
For once, we shall not get in to details with regard to what took me so long. We will blame popular lethargy, Newton’s law of inertia of rest and the 3rd Law of Thermodynamics (Entropy approaching zero, life holds still and some such). Newton’s inertia of rest was short-lived. Yours truly now toils at work in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. The work (pre-work training) in itself is quite interesting at the moment, but what’s of even more interest is the sporting activities we employees are engaging in. The instructions are clear- we must keep ourselves fit by playing every evening or morning as we like. So while I am observing processes in the production unit, I am getting better and better at Table Tennis and Badminton; there’s no one here who has till date beaten me at either of the two. Worthy opponents are hard to come by. Thou shan’t be modest.
(Moving on )
You can always tell when squirrels are visiting your room while you’re gone. They leave the smallest of the crumbs behind on the window sill. I am quite alright with it so long as these cute little things don’t cut wire-cables or chew off the sheets. I am depending a lot on the fact that they know their way out if disturbed. The last thing we’d want is to witness the occupant and trespasser jumping about in chaotic frenzy, the former trying to get rid of the latter.
Be fore-warned, posts will be rare henceforth (may be interpreted as “consider yourself lucky”)
Stings or L’ Assaut Naturale 2em
Posted by: Odeen on: April 16, 2008
I’ll spare all readers disgusting pictures of this latest natural assault. We are dealing with something I’m not sure of but hurts very much when I type. Who’d have thought that a pang experienced during a leisure walk would result in rendering my right second finger painful and useless, albeit temporarily. First a monkey, and now a wasp or a spider which couldn’t mind its own business. Had it checked up by a doc a few moments ago. He was clueless but said he’d treat the wound.
Speaking of monkeys, recall the family of monkeys mentioned in the last natural assault. This family has many more off-springs now and thrives in the college campus. I spotted a really fat one that had trouble climbing onto a dustbin. There’s something about monkeys and dustbin raiding. I saw a drunken fool rifling through a municipality garbage bin the other day. Getting back to the monkeys in college, there is a paramilitary training exercise for the newly born. These guys a scaling the walls taking advantage of the slender grooves carved in them. Watching this from the classroom is quite a distraction and its confusing to learn that spider-man does similar things. Monkeys are a nuisance. It took a few rare breeds to delay an otherwise very slick project that I was working on.
