Dream of Mirrors

Everyone gets this feeling at least once in a lifetime. One feels like the present in which he is leaving is from somewhere in past. Yeah it is called as Deja-Vu popularly.

I still remember my first Deja-Vu very strongly. I must have been around 12 at that time. I was attending some camp is the summer holidays. It was kind of military camp organized by a popular organization called Prahaar. Daily in the morning, we were made to walk about 2 kms to a obstacle training center where we used to do some training. One day while walking back to my camp, I just happened to look at my shadow on the road and suddenly I felt really strongly that I have been in this place before though I surely know I never had been to that place before in my whole life.
I felt amused and was just lost a bit till my friend just shook me bringing me back to my senses. Till today I just don't know why this happened. Why did I feel that I had walked before just like that looking at my shadow with some group of people. Although when I try to remember , I just cant make up the exact picture of what I saw exactly at that time. But it was strange as well as weird.
After that I have felt such occurrences quite a time but it just baffles me because as per my memory, I never have done such things which my mind says that I have already done. Confusing na [:)] . Well it confuses me till today.
Just last year I heard a song "Dream of Mirrors" by Iron Maiden which tells a story of a man experiencing Deja-Vu. Anyone who has experienced it even once will relate himself/herself to the song for sure.
Anyways I am no more worried about these things and whenever they happen to me, I just laugh it off .

Iron Maiden

Won't you come into my room; I wanna show you all my wares
I just want to see your blood, I just want to stand and stare
See the blood begin to flow, as it falls upon the floor
Iron Maiden can't be fought, Iron Maiden can't be sought
Oh Well, wherever, wherever you are
Iron Maiden's gonna get you no matter how far
See the blood flow watching it shed up above my head
Iron Maiden wants you for dead
Source: Iron Maiden

Well if you are thinking that this has something to do psycho-rapist hell bent upon killing his victim, you are wrong. Iron Maiden. This is the name of the song by heavy metal band by the same name (Oops! I meant Gods of Heavy Metal.)
If you want are getting some notions about how the band is by reading the lyrics above, then you are apparently heading the wrong way. Actually the song is about a medieval torture machine. It was a hollow iron mummy which had very big spikes inside it having a face of a woman. And that is why it was called Iron Maiden. When any person was to be punished, then he/she was put inside Iron Maiden. As the door was closed, the spikes used to pierce such parts of the human body that the occupant wasn’t killed in an instant. But the death was slow and torturous. And that was why it was referred as a torture machine.
Anyways, let’s leave apart this gory story. That was just for G.K. and nothing else.
Steve Harris, the founder of the band got this name, I don’t know why???

But today I don’t know whether Iron Maiden is made of Iron or is any Maiden part of it? All I know is that I have associated this name with some of the greatest music I have ever heard. And I will always respect this name whatever may be its meaning. The kind of satisfaction one achieves while listening to Maiden really can not be explained in words. You need to hear them before you can say anything about them.

The anecdote of my relationship with Iron Maiden started when I first heard “Fear of the Dark”. I was captivated at that moment itself. I knew that this was the band I was searching for so many years. Then I happened to lay my hands on “Run to the Hills” and that was it. The super fast guitar & drums just enthralled me. And since then Iron Maiden has been my favorite band. I have found it really hard to replace it with some other band. Now the list of my favorite Maiden songs is endless. I have heard almost all the Maiden songs. I mean Studio and live albums.

The band has been active since almost 30 years. The adrenaline gush that you get after hearing the songs is just amazing. Dave Murray's guitars are so unique that you can almost recognize that its Maiden that is being played. Steve Harris mentorship can be seen in the music as well. The marching bass always gives a string foundation for any song. The bass coupled with Nikko's superb drums is just too good to resist. Even though Nikko plays single bass drum, its really as fast as a double bass. The trio of Dave, Janick Gers and Adrian Smith give all the guitar hungry fans a food that they can relish upon time and again.. and again... Which one of them is playing lead and which one rythm.. it doesnt matter because all of them are just awesome personnnels.

And finally the favorite member of the band, yeah its the vocalist Bruce Dickinson. He is just too good . "Hallowed be Thy Name" (My favorite Maiden song) epitomizes his legacy. His voice does appropriate justice to the meaning of the song. The exact feelings which a man can feel once he has been sent to gallows....

I had a chance to see my Metal Gods last year in March 2007 when they had came to perform in Bangalore. It was their first show in India and I was obliged to attend that. Even though all these Gods of Heavy Metals are well above 50 years of age, their live shows are as electrifying as they were 30 years ago. May be they are much more pumping than before. The way Bruce keeps on jumping on the stage just defies his age. The stages and lightings were at the supreme best. And also the band's mascot Eddie was the thing to watch out for during the live shows. Earlier this year, when Maiden came in Mumbai in feb, I was not able to go for the show as it was my friend' s wedding. But next time when they will come I am not gonna miss them for sure...

“Oh Well, wherever, wherever you are
Iron Maiden's gonna get you no matter how far”……….

Bangalore to Pune ride

Date :- 26/27 Jan 2008
Route :- Bangalore - Belgaum- Kolhapur- Pune
Distance :- 898 km
Time :- 20 hrs(Riding Time)

0430 hrs
So finally this was the time what I was waiting for so desperately for quite a few months. Me and Aditya were at the gate of my room in HSR layout, ready to start our trip from Bangalore to Pune on my bike, the 2002 Caliber Croma. I was kind of pensive because the bike was quite old for a 900 km trip. But as I was getting transferred to Pune, my bike also needed a transfer. And what better way other than riding it all the way to Pune. I had traveled many times by NH4 by bus. So I had a feel of the road. It is by far one of the best highways of India, dare I say. Almost 800 km was a 4 lane highway, so it was quite safe from driving perspective. We already had analyzed the whole route on net. I didn’t knew how the bike would be respond as this was the first time I was going to ride her this long. Before that, my longest trip was just 350 km. So we decided to play it safe and slow. Considering the frequent stops we would be taking in between, our aim was to reach at least Maharashtra-Karnataka border [Nipanni] by day break which was almost 580 km. The odometer read 48403 km. It wasn’t quite chilly but we had donned ourselves with jackets and gloves [I thanked myself for this. Will explain in detail very soon.]
Straightaway headed to Yeshvantpur from my house. This was the last time I was going to drive on the Bangalore roads and I was surely gonna miss the good moments which I had here. The roads were empty and in no time crossed Yeshvantpur and were on NH4. We made our first stop at about 0530 at a roadside Dhaba for a hot cup of tea. We were so much raring to go that we didn’t stop much. It was still dark. Our next stop was at about 0630 and Pune was 740 kms from there. So it was almost 130 km in 2 hrs. Well we were pretty much on track.


Destination => 740km still...


We continued till the sun showed up on the horizon and then we again decided to take the break. And that is when we got the first shock of our trip. The rear wheel rim was being sprinkled upon by oil. I checked the engine oil level and to my horror it was just above the minimum limit. The oil was leaking from somewhere. We got hold of one mechanic. As expected, he told us that he was a 4- wheeler mechanic and he couldn’t repair a bike. But he told that it doesn’t seem to be a serious issue. We just filled up some oil from him and continued on our way. At that time Chitradurga was just 20 km away. Had a nice breakfast at A1 Plaza.
Then started a long ride towards Hubli- Our next destination for lunch. Taking the occasional breaks for letting the shutterbug inside us to get free, we continued till again the oil leak problem started. We tried to find out the exact source of leak. But failed miserably. We decided to carry on as the issue was not of high concern and we had plenty of extra oil with us
Some thoughts on the way
We continued. Shooting snaps all the way long. It was this patch from Harihar almost till Hubli which can be termed as bad along the entire NH4. No milestones and sign boards. We almost kept traveling for about 100 km without any guarantee that we were heading to Hubli. So we occasionally used to ask the locals. As this was our first ride of this kind, inexperience was clearly evident. At that moment I realized that what it must mean to wander into no man's land. Anyways we were far away from that. Road construction was stopped at almost all the bypasses on the way. So the roads were dug up, no roads at all at some places. Till almost 1400, we made our way through the dusty and crowded raods of Ranibennur, Harihar and all the cities lying on the way. But soon we were greeted by the excellent roads once again. Now it was almost 1430 and we were nearing Hubli. We were damn hungry and started looking for any restaurant. Soon we saw an A1 again. Had a nice break there and relished some good heavy lunch which made us a bit drowsy. Adi said that he needs to drive some more other wise he will fall asleep if he becomes a pillion. Well I could understand his position but I decided to fight my sleep sitting behind.
At about 1530 we crossed Hubli and then I took the driving honors again. The roads were at the best and we cruised as we crossed Dharwad and some small villages. Till that point my bike was just awesome apart for some loss in power when it came to any steep climbs. At our stipulated break time of 50 km I just checked the oil level and again it dipped low and this time oil was dripping heavily. Suddenly our plan of reaching Karnataka-Maharashtra border before sunset seemed bleak. We had to find out a mechanic. Thankfully the next village was very near. Found a mechanic pretty soon. After some RnD by him, he quickly found out the root cause. The culprit was the Oil filter casing. He told that during some previous servicing, that revered personnel must have by mistake slashed the filter casing which was the root cause for the oil leak. I felt relieved that the problem was not a big one. We got it replaced and lost some 30 min in that.
It was almost dawn when we crossed Belgaum. Had a hot cup of tea as it was getting quite chilly. The Belgaum to Kolhapur patch was just simply awesome. The roads are wide as a cricket pitch. The vast plains surrounding this road and the sun going down was an awesome sight to watch. We kept on cruising and the odo kept on rolling. At last we reached Nipanni at about 1930. So we were one hour late of our schedule. Still it was fine.

One that made it all possible.

Earlier we had decided to break at Nipanni for the day. We decided to change the plan. Actually we had to leave from Pune to Bangalore the very next day itself at 1600. Both of us needed at least some time with our respective folks at Pune. We really would have made it to Pune that day itself had we kept on continuing. But thought it would be better to have a overnight break. We kept on moving and once we crossed Kagal, Pune's distance came below 250, we thought that this much distance could be covered next day early morning and we can manage a heavy brunch at Pune. At last we stopped at 2030 at a highway lodge just some kms after Kolhapur Bypass. We covered about 650 km that day after a long 14 hr eventful ride. We checked into lodge and had a nice dinner of Egg Curry in typical Kolhapuri style.

Next morning we had again decided to start at 0430 morning. We were just 15 min late. As we started, soon we realized that something was not fine. It was really damn cold and we were really fighting hard to keep the cold off. Anyways, we didn’t want to stop... so we continued. But our first break came very early at 0530. And we had two cup of teas and still the cold refused to budge. We were wondering that what should be the temperature, but thanked ourselves for donning us with jackets and gloves. [Next day we came to know that the temperature was nearing 5 Degrees that morning. ]

We kept moving and at about 0600 I just glanced across the horizon. On the west was a small hillock basking gloriously in the moonlight and towards the east, far beyond the plains I could see the sky getting reddish orange. I have to admit that this was the best sight I have ever seen till today. The scene was really amazing and I just kept gazing at this marvelous sight of nature. And the saddest part was that both these scenes could not be captured in a camera together. Maybe some magnificence of nature is supposed to be experienced in real only!!!!!! This helped me forget the cold weather for some time.

When we stopped for our next break at 0700, we were already closing in towards Satara and the bike just refused to climb a small hill. The cold had had taken the better of the bike. We decided to give it a good break. As the day was breaking in, we took some beautiful snaps of the vast mountainous plateaus. In between we stopped for one more cup of tea. The owner enquired from where we were coming from. I still remember the reaction from him when we told him that we came all the way from Bangalore. I called up at my place and told that my esteemed arrival at Pune will be happening by 0930 in Pune. Well I expected some sparks flying at other end. But everything went cool (considering I hadn't informed them about this so-called adventure). Finally we started at 0720 with Pune about 130 km away. This last part of ride was really an impatient one. We just wanted to reach Pune soon and reached did we.... finally at 0900 I had a hot Vada Pav at Joshi's on the highway. Adi refused to have it as he hates it. But I just love it. Shot some last snaps of our memorable trip. I dropped Adi at Chandni Chowk where his friend had come to pick him up. I continued till Sus Road and finally made it to my didi's place. I checked the meter and it showed 49301. So it was 898km. Not bad for my first long ride.

In the End............

I just recollected Iron Maiden’s Total Eclipse >>>
“It’s not the journey's end, it has just begun........”

Tata Nano

10th December 1130 IST.
Something happened at this moment. Well truly speaking each and every moment is unique and has its own significance. But on this very moment, something really out of world happened. Tata Motors presented its most ambitious project to the world. TATA NANO -The first car in the world to be brought into market for Rs.100000/- or 2500$. No one had ever thought that this wonderful 4 wheeler invention will be available at such an affordable cost.
Man! That's really something to think about. A person who never thought that he can afford a car is made to think twice, thrice.... I dont know how many times. Suddenly, the real driver of the India's ever up surging economy --the Middle Class thinks that it can afford a car. And that too without compromising on its lifestyle at all. The car is now available for a college student, a housewife, an elderly person, a family whose annual income is just 2 Lac per annum with the help of car loans. And that too at so low cost. Is this car bent on to change the view of how the whole world will look at the cars from now on?

As this will be the cheapest production car in world, it has created a buzz in the Automobile Industry (at a very large scale in India and worth mentioning scale all over world). All Aotu-Cos especially in India are analyzing the gravity of impact they will be suffering (They will be for sure). Will they enter into this micro-mini car segment or drop the prices of their existing lower end models. May be they have some time as Tata wont be rolling out the first car till Diwali. So we still have 9-10 months to see what are the tactics of other companies. It will be a really interesting episode in history of Indian Automobiles.
Will it follow the footsteps of the Telecommunication Industry where,
-Once a Nokia 3310 with minimal features was priced at 5000 Rs. and now a mobile with even more features comes at less than 1000 bucks(of course no mobile can beat 3310 when it comes to sturdiness).
-Once incoming was charges 1 Rs/ Min and outgoing as 3 Rs/Min for a local call and today forget about incoming, the telecom service providers provide the outgoing at mere 10p/min.

Only time will tell!!!!!

But one thing is for sure, consumers are gonna be the ones having the broadest smile on their faces.

Ride to Mysore

Well this one was my first ride. Till now I had never travelled more than 150 km on my Caliber Croma at a stretch. It has almost been 5.5 years now. So before persuading my passion I just wanted to test the endurance of my bike as well as myself. I chose the day as Saturday(obviously) 21st Dec 07 for the first long ride in my life. Mysore is just approx. 150 km from Bangalore.
Saturday morning I made a quick dash to office as had to complete some urgent work. I was done by 1000. I had a nice heavy breakfast of bread-omelet and juice. I started at 1030 from my office at Electronics City. Filled up the petrol worth 400 bucks which was enough for my bike. As soon as I reached Silk Board, the traffic was as usual horrific at its best. Some cynical feeling creeped into my mind. But I was going to do this time around. It took me almost 1 hour to hit the Mysore Road. If you are starting a long journey, start before dawn so that city traffic wont spoil the beginning for your journey. Anyways as soon as I hit the highway, I could feel the difference. No more toggling of the gears. I just put in on 4th(unfortunately that is the top gear on my bike) and zoomed ahead. I knew that my bike wont be able to withstand high speeds for a long time. So I decided to play it between 60-70 /hr. I just looked at my watch it was about 1145. Milo read Mysore as 125km. When I was travelling I encountered quite a beautiful views on the way. A series of small mountains was accompanying me for quite some time. I just stopped for a break and then I realized that I have missed out my Camera. SHAME ON ME! I forgot such a vital thing. As I already had quite a heavy breakfast before leaving, I didnt stop on the roadside dhaba. But just I was midway between Bangalore-Mysore, I saw a coconut-water guy. Immediately I stopped. Had good two coconuts full of water. That's the beauty of SOuth India, you can get rehydrate anytime, anywhere with this wonderful source. That was enough for me to get going till Mysore.
On the way I saw a group of bikers on their ZMAs, Pulsars and all. They just zoomed past me. I was helpless. Anyways soon I would be having one of those. I gave myself some consolation and moved on. The road was just awesome and I reached Mandya in no time. I saw the clock and it was 1300. Mysore was still 60km away. Well almost 65 km in 75 mins. It was OK. I had a small break there as I am not used to such long rides and I already started having some butt-ache. I headed towards Mysore. Just as Mysore was aout 25 km, there was one big procession and one side of State highway was blocked. Suddenly my speedo dropped from 70s to 20s.. It was blocked for almost 1 km and took about 5mins. Whoa!!! Again I hit on accelerator and reached mysore within half an hour. The time was about 1415. Now the big question? Should I head back or go somewhere in Mysore???? I decided to visit my office campus in Mysore. Well 2 years ago, I had my training there and just wanted to reminisce those old days. Got the directions for the campus in no time. It was about 8 km from where I was. Reached there within 10 mins. The time was 1430. I decided to have a glass of juice at my favorite swimming pool-side juice center. Had a nice Pineapple juice. Took a small walk around campus and decided to head back as I was running out of time.(?????) (Just wanted to get back before evening as had a party with some friends at 1930)
Started at 1515. This time I wanted to travel non-stop for 1 hour. As soon as I left Mysore, again encountered the procession. This time I had to take the wrong way as my lane was closed. I dropped the idea for non-stop 1 hour in this part of ride. Kept on continuing till I encountered the Hotel Amravathi just before Mandya. When I was in Mysore, every time I used to travel to Bangalore, the KSRTC bus would stop at this restaurant and I loved the Curd Rice there. Immediately I stopped and had one Curd Rice and a Idli-Wada (Actually I wanted a Dosa, but it was not available in afternoon and I had really heavy breakfast for a full-fledged South Indian meal)
After that I decided to have the non -stop ride till Bangalore almost 90 km away. At 1615 I started from Hotel Amravathi. Again ZMAs, Pulsars, TBs were zooming past me. And not to forget the super fast Lancers and Mercs. Volvo buses were giving them a tight fight. I kept on continuing at my pace but I gradually saw it increasing to 80s. I didn't worry as Bangalore was approaching near. Almost at 1700 I was not able to take it anymore and I had to stop. My bike's sitting position is a bit awkward which led to the strain on my shoulders. Took rest for about 5-10 mins and headed back towards the Silicon city of India and reached by 1745.As soon as I entered Bangalore, I was greeted by enormous traffic jam. Finally managed to reach home by 1900 as the Saturday evening traffic was really very bad.
Well the trip was quite event less but I really enjoyed the ride. Surely will be having many more in the times to come. In all a very satisfying day for me..
Statistics:-
Distance :- 350 kms
Route :- Bangalore - Mandya - Mysore - Mandya - Bangalore