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Wonder world of 150 characters!

Being of the 60s vintage I along with many others like me have the unique privilege of exposure to simple and relatively uncomplicated communications methods in our growing years and modern state of the art means. I am referring to what is today referred to as ‘snail mail’ – namely inland letters, aerograms, telegrams and long distance phone calls made from post offices all courtesy good old Post and Telegraph department. A money order too had a small space to put in a note; many a brothers’ have sent ‘Bhaubeej’ gift money this way! Today’s youth may not have much reason to enter the Post Office except probably to mail forms for entrance exams!

As with all other things, technology has revolutionized communications. The cell phone after making a tentative and expensive entry to India is now almost omnipresent. It does more than just allow two people to talk. I was introduced to a unique feature ‘SMS’ with my first cell phone. I soon became a huge fan, communicating with family and friends only by text. It seemed rather like an instantaneous wireless letter one that could be read at leisure whenever one was free or if one did not want to respond, just claim not having received it! But I soon realized the catch. Every message had an upper limit on the number of characters (150 by my service provider). Exceed it and I was charged for 2 or 3 or more depending on how eloquent I was! Before I realized it I was paying exorbitant mobile bills without talking much. Picture messages, which looked so good, were great guzzlers of these ‘characters’.

That’s when I further explored this wonder world, in a bid to get the most out of every message. With plenty of help from my younger friends, I soon got the hang of SMS lingo. By simply removing all vowels from my text, I could enter more words and send more information (that should be info)! One could also maximize characters by just removing spaces between words. English teachers must shudder at this language, which bears a pale resemblance to our British legacy. All unnecessary alphabets were simply done away with. Forget long words, even short ones were further shortened as in you became u and OK became k. Then there were these emoticons, which so beautifully conveyed all I felt.

Today my inbox is full of web links, ring tones, picture messages, jokes, news alerts, cricket score and stock updates, advertisements etc, some by choice but mostly unwanted. TV channels and newspaers often conduct polls and audience opinion through SMS. The tool is so powerful that it can have political and criminal implications.

I am told that the first ‘text message only’ book about a business executive who travels throughout Europe and India has been published by a Finnish author. My search revealed the existance of the world’s ‘first transl8it! dxNRE & glosRE’ (dictionary & glossary) , a comprehensive SMS and text lingo book. There is also a website dedicated to this new language!

This has spawned a specialised message writing career for those not wanting to walk on the well beaten track.. There are speed typing contests for SMS and but getting maximum info into 150 characters can also be a great challenge. Relevant organisers must think about this one!

Need I + NEtng? wot r u w8tng 4? git out yor fone & stA n tuch w yor fRnds & foes. snd DIS msg 2 10 prsnz 2 brng gud luk 2 U & me. 🙂 msgN.CU L8R.

Phew! And that’s less than 150 characters!

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Wine Holidays

First published in ‘The Statesman’ on 22 Dec 2006

The current trend sweeping page 3 news and party crazy crowd seems to be ‘themes’. Everything has a theme- the fall/winter collection of any designer, birthday parties, kitty parties, even call in shows on business channels have joined in! Watching ‘Floyd Uncorked’ on ‘travel and living’ motivated me to explore some vineyards in Maharashtra.

Nasik was close enough from Pune (about 220 kms) to make the trip in one weekend. We decided to hire a vehicle so our family could enjoy the drive. A more important reason was I did not want to expose our car to the possibly bumpy roads we would surely encounter in the countryside. We set off early on Saturday morning and surprisingly did not encounter any traffic out of Pune. Soon we were cruising along the state highway. We met several groups of people walking in the reverse direction- all walking and singing. Closer inspection revealed them to be ‘varkari’s’ who were making the winter pilgrimage on foot. Basically from the farming background the men and women sang bhajans of Tukaram and Dyaneshwar, as they walked in the blazing sun. Some even walked barefoot! Some of the groups surprisingly carried a mike and speaker system for singing. There was usually a truck close by, which carried their belongings.

The countryside was largely bare on this stretch unlike on the Pune – Kolhapur road. Some stray aster and marigold fields lit up the scenery with a burst of colour. Sugar cane was the predominant crop in most parts followed by vegetable (mainly cauliflower) cultivation. The cane-crushing season was beginning so there were many bullock carts, trucks, and tractors transporting the cut sugar cane to the sugar factories. We crossed Rajgurunagar, Narayangaon and Sinnar at top speed.

As we neared Nasik, we could easily identify the grape plantations by the vines growing on trellis. The route had three ‘ghat’ sections or hill roads. The Chandanapuri ghat is said to be tricky and dangerous. Monster sized vehicle-carrying trailer truck drivers seemed to easily navigate the sharp curving roads though we did encounter a couple of overturned trucks. Not being a part of the golden quadrilateral, we paid toll only once. The highway was in a fair condition considering that my spine was used to daily shocks on Pune roads! There were several dhabas enroute to cater to the hungry!

As we entered Nasik, I admired the wide roads and traffic light obeying public. We decided to check in at the hotel and have lunch before actually going to the wine yard. That was a good decision since the place we were going to did not have any provision for food. One thing I must mention though. The wine yard website and staff were very helpful on the phone and the Internet. However when we actually tried to find our way, we got horribly lost. This despite the fact that there were several signposts with arrows marked on them! They definitely pointed to the left when we had to go to the right. Finally we managed to find our way and what a beautiful sight the plantation was. It was ideally situated in the bowl of some hills and the land gently sloped down to the lake.

The parking lot had cherry trees planted with tiny fruits growing on them. The grape vines were planted in rows supported by trellis and had pipes for drip irrigation snaking in between. The vines themselves had luscious bunches of grapes growing on them. They were light green and looked almost like berries. We had a guide to take us around the facility. He said some of these grape varieties were imported from Australia and elsewhere. Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, and Zinfandel were some of the names of varieties that I do recollect. The various notes/ bouquets that one gets on tasting the wine are from the grapes itself. Our tour began at the crushing tanks. Here the grapes are mechanically crushed for their juice. No signs of women and men dancing in large casks of grapes as I had seen in movies! Of course this was much cleaner! The skins are removed for clear wines but left with the juice for red wines for any where from 30-50 days. The liquid is filtered much sooner to get rose wines. This juice is transported in steel pipes, which are cooled to fermentation tanks where yeast is added. It stays in this tank for some time and is then pumped to another tank for further fermentation. The temperature is maintained at about 2 degrees Centigrade. There is an opening at the top so air contact is made. The entire liquid is also churned time and again. The red wine is allowed to mature in oak casks, which are specially imported for this purpose. In about 6 months time the wine is ready to be bottled. CO2 is pumped into the wine and it is then pumped into sterile bottles and sealed either with cork stoppers of screw caps. Crushing season is only in February and March and the rest of the year is devoted to bottling and nurturing the vines. Seems like a simple process is it not, just get the grape juice and let it ferment!

We had a tasting session in the tasting room. Our guide took us through the rules of the game- See, Swirl, Smell and Taste! Just a mouthful and we had to feel all the characteristics mentioned in the pamphlet!! Very difficult I tell you. After three of them frankly I could not tell the difference. I admired the French experts who could tell the exact year and wine yard from where the wine came. Amazing. I obviously had a long way to go. I can safely blame the spicy foods for taking away the power to appreciate such fine nuances.

We sat there on the terrace enjoying the breeze and the view of the plantation. There was no music playing in the background or any blaring ring tones. Just kids playing and sound of a truck being loaded with cartons of wine. They sold wine that was 20% cheaper than outside (no sales tax). Along with this they also sold paraphernalia like corkscrews, wine buckets, T-shirts, and even a barrel of wine! Now whoever bought that certainly had something to celebrate! That point I mentioned about wonky signboards caught up with us again. The plate on the door said ‘push’ and as I did so, managed to uproot the carpet on the floor outside it. It should have been ‘pull’ instead. I think whoever put up those signs must have partaken some from a barrel! That was my only complaint against the establishment.

We returned to the hotel, happy and somewhat tipsy. This was another tactical decision point in hiring the vehicle namely to leave someone else to do the driving as we enjoyed our theme- wine!! After dinner we explored College road in Nasik. I actually got a chance to see westernization there in the form of the huge well lit stores there. The next day we left early to explore yet another old and famous yard on our way back. However we were not permitted inside there but there was a very nice restaurant and wine bar on the highway itself. Very reasonably priced and delicious food. This vineyard had a much wider range of wines. They actually had tables set amidst the grape vines and the staff was very polite and helpful. Another round of wine tasting followed however this time we had to order separate glasses each time unlike before.

There are several such vineyards in the region, which make and bottle wine. Maybe you can visit some more when you plan your trip. Some do contract farming for the big boys in the region. Many more want to join the party. I hope they also consider organizing some living accommodation in the plantation ( in business parlance this is referred to as the hospitality space I am told), which will make the trip even more memorable. We returned home by Sunday afternoon itself, a wonderful thematic weekend getaway with some learning thrown in too. I am actively looking for another theme for my next getaway, any ideas?

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Mistaken identity

Those who play golf will know the misery of having to lose golf balls either in jungles or lakes. On a particularly bad day, my shots unerringly land there. The caddie can spend hours to no avail.
While in Assam our troubles were compounded when we faced the added menace of crows. And how did the birds trouble the golfers you may well ask…
The crows usually kept circling over the greens and as soon as a ball landed, they would swoop down, pick it up with their beaks and fly away! Initially I thought it was restricted to the crows in our area but soon found out that most neighbouring courses to had the same problem.
That was a few years ago. Today we face the same problem in the city but eagles have joined in this activity as well. Is it a sport to them or do they mistake the ball for an egg?
The latter seemed more likely. I have recently come across the following article wherein another species too has suffered from the same problem but was saved in the nick of time.

Click here to read more…

I hope the birds treat is as a sport!
Archana

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Chewing Gum!

Published in Maharashtra Herald ‘Centre View’ on 21 Dec 07

It was our maiden trip abroad. Joining the hoards of Indians thronging SE Asia, we too signed up for a package tour to visit Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. We had a great tour and kept high levels of self-discipline especially where shopping was concerned. Being a ‘mall addict’ and having visited all shopping avenues in my city, I considered myself to be an ‘aware’ and ‘alert’ consumer. These self-declarations do not match my actions on the tour…

After completing the first leg of our journey we were on Bangkok airport awaiting departure to KL. Now my husband (and very rightly too) insisted on reaching our designated departure gate without delay. I was dazzled by the duty free shops and naturally wanted to linger there. However I had to hurry there because it is a huge airport and hence had to miss out on checking out the goodies these stores had to offer.

So here we were, waiting for our flight to be announced and already through security check. It was too tedious to go out and do the procedures again so I whiled away time at the couple of stalls there. We had some unspent Thai Baht, which I wanted to spend instead of carrying them ahead. Forty Bahts was a very small sum and most of the stuff in the stores was priced much higher than that. I was not keen on any further currency exchanges. However sugar free chewing gum was all that would fit my meager budget. Now none of us are fans of this product. It does horrible things to your teeth and one ends up looking like a cow chewing cud all day. Yet something possessed me and I ended up buying the packet. Why not? We were on a holiday and should be doing things we do not always do. My daughter and husband were most surprised at this purchase, preferring to keep a diplomatic silence.

So for the next couple of days I religiously ate the gum. As we were preparing for departure to Singapore, you can imagine my horror when the guide told us; “finish all chewing gum that you may have because the authorities do not allow it to be carried into the country”. Finish it? Why I had about 10 pieces left and only a couple of hours to finish them in. Our tour leader told us of how some people were delayed for a long time at Singapore immigration the previous day since they had the stuff in their bags.

So I had to eat the (expletive deleted) things, two at a time and even made my family eat some. I cursed the moment I purchased the packet. I should have followed my normal practice and stayed away. Whatever possessed me? There was no way out now and I accepted full blame. What if our entire group was held up because of me? I threw away the last few pieces at the last halt in Malaysia.

Feeling a great load off my mind, I went through immigration with a spring in my step! I had none of the prohibited stuff with me; no liquor, no cigarettes and no chewing gum! Once in Singapore we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. My daughter picked up many of the pamphlets available in the hotel reception with plenty of tourist information. We carried them back with us because we had not managed to see all the places nor read about the city’s history.

We read those brochures after we had settled down to our usual routine at home. By now I had been licking my wounds regarding the purchase of the gum and had almost recovered. But one particular line in that brochure sent my daughter into peals of laughter. Unable to stop giggling, she gave it to me to read. Now, I quote from page 50 of the “official guide and map of Singapore” section called Fast Facts….
“The ban on chewing gum has been lifted but it has to be sugar free and sold only at pharmacies.”

I could have cried again then and spent many moments in agony. Questions like why we were not informed etc were merely academic now. My wounds reopened and I could not look at the local stuff with out being reminded of my deeds! What hurt most was the crack to my market savvy self-image. My impressions of a beautiful stay in Singapore have only one sticky patch namely “the chewing gum”.

Time, the great healer, did his bit but I am wiser today….

I repeat my warning again: Do not give in to impetuous purchases. Follow your usual standards for selection and purchase of items irrespective of where you are!

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Xmas Cake

3 cups Butter
3 cups sugar
2 tsp Baking powder
10-12 eggs
2 tsp Vanilla essence
5 cups Flour

1 cup of sugar to be burnt till black and made into a thick syrup
Marinated dry fruits (ref: https://yenforblue.com/2007/11/xmas-cake.html)

Mix butter and sugar till creamy
Add eggs one by one till sugar dissolves
Add the baking powder
Add essence and then the flour. Stir in till well-mixed.
Add burnt sugar, mix.
Add marinated dry fruits dusted in flour.
Mix well and bake at low heat (150-180 deg Celsius) till done!

Viola! Let cool thoroughly before cutting. Ideally leave overnight!
But if you can’t resist the aroma, then go ahead, warm pieces are just as divine.

If you think this procedure is too tedious, just imagine how hard these guys must have worked:
http://news.smh.com.au/india-breaks-tallest-xmas-cake-record/20071225-1iyf.html

Merry Christmas!

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Simple Stress Solution

There I was on a slow boil for some apparently important reason. I could feel my heart pounding. The usual route was not available to me then, namely the lachrymal glands. I freely indulged in a copious outpouring to let go all built up emotions-be they anger or sorrow even at the risk of being labeled uncharitable names by my family.

Through the red haze clouding my mind, the brown leaves of my once green plants grabbed my attention. Surely the gardener had been instructed to clean the foliage while watering. Instead of giving in to yet another combustible point, I grabbed the water sprayer, filled it with water and attacked the leaves.

Pune city lovingly coats all its occupants with a layer of dust, grime and other miscellaneous pollutants especially in summers. The leaves of my plants too had turned a uniform brown black from assorted shades of green, white and reds.

As I doused the leaves the muck slowly but surely got washed away. I soon was totally engrossed in reaching for every leaf and branch from all angles. Before I realized it I had refilled the sprayer and had moved onto the second plant.

I happily noted that my plants were smiling at me again. I could see the lovely shades of white and green on my variegated varieties and reds on my Coleus. The rose buds too seemed to say thank you! I noticed yet another strange fact. I was feeling much calmer and happier. Occasional droplets of water blew onto me for a welcome cooling effect.

In no time I had restored my plants to their natural state. A little analysis showed that the spraying action was similar to that demanded by the ubiquitous stress balls. I had found an instant stress buster, which also helped de-stress my plants. I could now manage my stress even when surrounded by people and with no fear of unwanted branding like ‘cry baby’.

Stress is an unavoidable part of our lives and some say it actually improves performance. The important thing is to learn to manage it. Here is another cool tool to help you out. Almost all homes boast of some representative of the plant kingdom, the so-called ‘lucky bamboo’ or ‘dancing bamboos’ being the latest entrants. A sprayer costs just around 50 rupees and works just as well on plastic plant varieties.

Get a sprayer today and do a favour to yourself and your plants. Try out this simple stress solution for instantaneous results.

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Is mere road widening enough?

Space challenged cities like Pune, need to resort to road widening to accomodate rising traffic. The Law College Road, an arterial road that witnesses heavy traffic in morning and evening hours is currently being widened.
Ace urban planner, Mandar Puranik has the following to say about road widening projects…

“In transport planing terms, it is really ineffective as it marginally affects road capacity. Traffic flow is more a product of

1. Number of cross streets or junctions and minimising it ( not flyovers) always helps. 2. Signal co-ordination 3. Discipline, lanes, specially followed by heavy vehicles or cars.

A widened road, left on its own even with double road widths will result in further traffic chaos, speeding of vehicles between traffic signals, pedestrian crossing difficult, haphazard parking. What PMC should immediately undertake is provide generous ( min 2 m) footpaths, street lighting, controlled parking bays within widened road sections. It will make life of pedestrian better and help to channelise vehicular traffic than freeflow movement. A good example of C.G. Road in Ahmedabad. Such 2 m + pedestrian space also supports informal uses just outside within private properties such as chai wallah, xerox etc.

Hope, road widening doesn’t stop at the stage as shown in picture. Pune needs at least one good street to begin with and perhaps Law College road can set the scene. There are well grown trees, Cafe coffee day,Barista, banks and other restaurants in place already. If walking is made safer and enjoyable, people / students, including regular tekadi goers will thank PMC. “

Anybody listening??
Regards
Archana
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Hospitality Volvo Ishtyle!

Published in Maharashtra Herald ‘Centre View’ on 08 Dec 07
My only perception of Volvo buses was as space occupying behemoths on Pune roads that discharged passengers loaded with baggage at particularly narrow points. Many are the occasions that I have argued with bus staff for their indiscriminate parking. However I have changed my opinion to some extent after travelling to Goa in this vehicle.

I eagerly entered the bus at one such stop located in the heart of the city to be welcomed by comfortingly cool interiors. The bus was very clean and had both semi sleeper and normal seats. Contrary to my expectations there were several pre-departure procedures to be carried out – almost like for air travel. What were lacking were stringent security checks!

After what seemed like a long delay but was only 15 minutes it was wheels rolling! Immediately the TV sprang to life with some mindless movie at top volume. The attendant moved down the aisle distributing blankets to everyone. Next came a bottle of mineral water for each of us. His next offering surprisingly was ‘puke bags’! The blankets were clean and did not have any creepy crawlies residing in them. I hoped the blaring TV would not disturb our sleep but as it turned out later, there was another culprit for it.

As the bus gobbled up kilometres towards Goa we hardly felt the speed inside the cabin. All vertical movements over the bumpy bits treated our bones and joints with respect. Thankfully the attendant switched off the movie at 11 PM and every one nodded off to sleep. I was awakened several times with severe neck pain as my head explored its relationship with gravity, unfettered by conscious control of being held high! I tried lying on my side, which made some difference. Now I know the use of the air filled U shaped contraption available in luggage stores. Worn around the neck it acts like a barrier to this unwanted painful nodding off. Anyway the anticipation of reaching Goa soon served as a balm on my painful muscles.

As the sun rose we reached India’s premier tourist destination. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Goa and were lucky to enjoy some of the IFFI road shows. The return journey was less of a pain in the neck. Maybe my body was somewhat accustomed to it now. Now, I am less vocal with my protests when a Volvo obstructs my path as I too had enjoyed the convenience such halts afforded to city travellers. However I still strongly oppose their plying on city roads at daytime.

A word here about our attendant. He did not have the benefit of any training at any fancy hospitality center nor a flashy uniform. He did his job efficiently with no plastic smile or supercilious expressions. He spoke very little to the passengers yet conveyed all the necessary information. He doubled up as the loader for luggage at bus halts, a cleaner, as guide and marshal to the driver on tricky stretches of the road, helped in refueling and generally did everything. I am sure he also had a brief on how to deal with any emergencies though thankfully I did not need to check his capabilities in that department! All attention was on the driver, the speed he maintained, how he negotiated the super smooth expressway, the potholed road and steep climbing turns. Some passengers’ spoke rudely, argued about window seats yet the attendant handled them calmly. I did not even ask his name or care to thank him at the end of the journey.

This is a sharp contrast from an air journey where the cabin crew makes more of an impact and passengers too behave differently towards them. We hardly even remember names of the pilots who actually ferry the aircraft.

The bus attendant’s job profile was almost similar to that of the aircraft cabin crew but completely devoid of glamour and less paid too. I believe some bus companies have improved in this regard. Air or road should not make a difference in our behaviour, but to be honest – it does! I made a mental note to rectify my oversight in any of my future bus journey. Think about it next time you travel by bus….

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55th Sawai Gandharva Music Festival December 2007: Musical Extravaganza this weekend!

This weekend promises to be a feast of all music lovers.
The famous Sawai Gandharva festival is going on in Pune. Day one saw a tremendous performance by Gundecha Brothers and Arati Anklikar (photo above). Being a weekday, many may have chosen to skip this but I assure you all performances were mind blowing! The pakhwaj accompaniment gave an entirely new dimension to the recital.

I have no training in this discipline yet came away thoroughly touched by the divine music.

For those who like western pop or rock music, do tune in to the Spin Channel on the World Space Satellite Radio, on Sunday at 8AM. Ravi Khanolkar will be doing a special show. Check it out!
The telecast is NOT repeated!

All in all, a musical extravaganza awaits us all! Enjoy!

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Canine Revelations

(Edited version published in the Times of India Pune West Side Plus on 09 Mar 2007)

A sudden uproar in our normally quiet neigbourhood one cold December evening had me running to the balcony. In the fading light I saw the driver of a long, big mean looking car fling something on the edge of the road. The master continued to rave at him in between barking orders into his mobile phone. Another minion hurriedly deposited the master’s laptop, lunch box and other paraphernalia in the car hoping to avoid the verbal onslaught.

That done, the master barely allowed the driver to wash his hands and the vehicle zoomed off horn blaring leaving behind a trail of cigarette smoke and dust. The toddlers in the building seemed dazed and one was even crying. I ventured down to investigate and to my horror found that what the driver had callously flung were actually two very dead, barely a week old, stray pups. Obviously the driver had run over them as he hurried to pick up his master and together the two had decided to clean up by simply depositing them on the roadside. The kids had been playing with the pups in the evening and had seen them being run over.

Suddenly the pups’ mother turned up from nowhere and began investigating why her babies seemed so still. Sensing something amiss she looked around for lurking danger and someone to take a revengeful bite into. I hastily retreated to a safe haven namely my balcony to keep track of things from there. Soon many stray dogs gathered around as if in sympathy and the mother kept nudging the young ones hoping they would move. Naturally nothing worked and soon she was alone.

I watched in amazement as the dog actually lay down beside the pups and stayed there throughout the night. Occasionally she would break out into long cries of grief. It was pretty cold yet she stood guard over her young ones even as vehicles zoomed close by or some sadistic persons set off crackers or other animals tried to get close.

None of us did anything about the pups, not even the pet dog owners who walked their dogs, to dirty the road. I slept restlessly that night plagued by several unpalatable thoughts. I woke up early to see the mother carrying off her dead pups one by one, long before the sweepers came along. The animal kingdom looked after their own!

The big car and its villainous occupants came at office opening hours the next day and walked past with scarcely a glace at what they had done the night before. Newspapers almost mandatorily carry daily news of hit and run cases, some fatal while the lucky ones get away with injuries. We see signs of economic prosperity everywhere; the kabadiwallah has a mobile phone, students drive expensive bikes, a hundred rupee movie ticket is almost a norm, even the beggar boy at traffic signals asks for a packet of chips instead of ‘chaar ana’!

An ugly green horned devil repeatedly asked me the question all through that night, are we losing our social responsibilities that go hand in hand with economic prosperity? I looked around to see garbage piled in unauthorized places, people proudly breaking traffic rules, senior citizens given no priority in queues or public transport, neighbours behaving more like strangers, people vandalizing public property… The list seemed to go on and I had just scratched the tip of the mud pile. And all this in a ‘cultured’, ‘affluent’ neighbourhood in Pune! The pups incident was insignificant compared to Nithari or other terrorist outrages. Yet it confirms our sinking values and decency.

I grieved with the mother dog for the loss of humane qualities in humans. I finally gave up trying to find excuses for our shortcomings and shamefully admitted that there was only one answer to my question. ! Yes! Yet I am convinced if each one of us tries to make a small change in our own sphere of influence instead of going in for armchair activism we would be moving towards a better tomorrow.

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