Category: sgElectra

First post of 2012

I have been trying to write this for quite some weeks now. I started with thinking I would write about the year gone by and review all the posts. I started and could not finish it. Then I said I would talk about my most favorite post of the year. Again, I starting writing, and could not finish it. There were reasons and there were thoughts, too long to be constrained to a small blogpost. Then I said I would talk about why 2011 sucked so much and how I had been waiting for it for more than five years. But I couldn’t finish it.

But then I had to write something. After all I am an aspiring writer storyteller and I have to be able to write well tell compelling stories. Even if the stories are boring and mundane, I should be able to make them interesting by the way I tell them. And to be able to tell good stories, I realize that I need to write often. More I write, better I get (apparently) and hence this blog. And this post. Like Yogi says, “You can’t think and hit the ball at the same time”. I ought to hit, hit and hit.

Anyways, after the longish introduction, coming onto the first post of 2012, let me do something that is as cliches as white safari suit and white shoes. I shall talk about my resolutions for the year. Without further ado, here is a quick list.

  • Lose weight. This has to be the most common resolution. If I owned a gym, I would promptly drop the prices of memberships, get as many members to pay for it and then retire to Goa. And if all the people who have promised that they would lose weight, the sea level would actually drop!
  • Eat right. At least once a day. I plan to stop having dinner. Vipassana taught me how to live on two means a day (just a simple breakfast and lunch) and I was fine with it. I plan to do that. I will try and achieve it by end of January. I am not sure if I can but I will try hard.
  • Continue to not drink Coke. I stopped drinking coke in 2011. So far I have resisted the temptation to restart it but I will try to not have it as long as I could. I dont know if it does any harm to my health but I know any sort of addiction is uncalled for. And I know that once I start having coke, I would get hooked on. So why take a chance!
  • Get Leh’d. I have been dreaming about the trip for a long long time. I have made plans and failed. This year hopefully I would go to Leh. With sgElectra. 
  • Play poker more seriously. I have been toying with it, off and on, for last two or so years. I have now reached a stage where I think I am an average player and I have a keen interest in the game. And with almost two years of non-serious play, I have developed a fair amount of understanding and gut for it. Its about time I capitalize on it. I plan to play more and hopefully goto more live games. But then this is something I am not too sure about. I dont have the money to invest that the game calls for. 
  • Start making a lot of money. I have had the pleasure of chasing my dreams and working for companies that you don’t often associate management graduates with. Its been fun ride but as a result I have been left poor. Now that I am almost at my half life, I need to fend for myself. And I need to start making money. Btw, any recruitment placement hr consultants reading this (three keywords in one line ought to attract some bots)? I am a MDI graduate with almost 5 years of solid brand management and advertising experience. I just need a lot of money and I will sell my soul if I have to. You know where to reach me.
  • Ensure that all the resolutions listed above. 🙂
And ofcourse this is no way a complete list. I would keep adding things to it. 2012 could be the last year for us humans and I better make the best use of it. I need to live it up. And, if, by any chance, this is not the last year, I am sure having done these things would do no harm. It would only help. Right? 

Home to work, 50 mins flat

twitter.com/sgElectra

Today I created a record of sorts. I reached work in 50 mins flat. For the uninitiated, my home is about 40 KMs from my workplace. And on a typical day, it takes me close to two hours to negotiate the way. Of course Delhi has awesome roads but the traffic and the office hour rush leaves me with no other option but to tolerate bad RJs (except Saarthak on Hit 95 FM) while en route.

I got sgElectra (please follow and spread some love) fixed after a while and for some random reason I wanted to take it out for spin. And I did. And the ride was amazing, I have written about my love for biking in the past, but today, I add yet another reason. Bike is faster than the car! Bike can navigate through small alleys and is not constrained to long jams. Perfect mode of travel in city. May be I was helped by the fact that todays a Saturday and more than half the world is on chutti. And then it was about 8 in the morning. 
BTW coming to work before 10 has other merits. You could plug in your laptop to 5.1 speakers and hear Shankar Tucker, Lucky Ali, Mohit Chauhan and Rabbi Shergill on are-you-crazy levels! As I am typing this, I am listening to I want to break free by Queen.

Two years of an affair

This day, in 2009, I set sight on her for the first time. Just about two years and it already feels like a lifetime.

To be honest, unlike most affairs, it was not the usual love at first sight. I dint even know I would fall in love! When I first set eyes on her, she was with her twins, friends and cousins. And like any man drooling over such sexy looking dames, I had a tough time deciding. At one instant I wanted her and at another, her sister. And there was a moment when I dint want anyone at all. Such are the frivolities of the male brain! Most women will vouch for it!

Anyways, so how we met is a funny incident. Neo and I were chilling out one fine evening when he asked to go with him to some mall. We were on our way and we saw these hot bodies and like all single men, we had to stop and gawk at them. Like most such incidents, we would have admired the object of affection and moved on but bugger Neo said, let’s go talk to them. I tend to ignore most of the things that Neo asks me to do but here I made an exception. I was like what the heck! And rest, as they say, rest is history.

So we went ahead and moment I saw her from up-close, I realized that I have always wanted her. Since eternity. From ever since I could remember things. Though, the decision took more than ten years of deliberation, gathering courage and wait. It took that nudge from Neo. And some chemical reactions in my brains that created that spark that made me blurt out a yes on the impulse. And boy, am I am glad that she accepted me with open arms (as if she had a choice)!

Like all relationships, we have seen our ups and downs. And when I look back, I realize that I am the one at fault. In fact, I don’t think I have given enough in the relationship. I am guilty. Of ignoring her. Of not paying enough attention. Of not being with her when she needs me.

She, on the other hand, has been a perfect companion. Better than anyone you could ask for. She has never let me down till date. Never. Whenever I have wanted to be with her, she has been around. She has seen me through all sorts of emotions. I have laughed, I have cried, I have been high, I have been sad, I have been ecstatic, I have had that heady feeling of being free, of flying in the open sky. I have planned my magnanimous schemes, I have conjured those dreams. I imagined things that I knew dint exist. I went far when I was with her. I was in control. Of myself and my destiny.

I really wish I could do more for her. I really want to age with her and stay with her for rest of my life!

Here’s the best part! Even though I don’t look at her for days but whenever I am with her, we make heads turn. People take note of us. They talk about us. I can see that feeling of envy in their eyes. I can see through people. I can see that they secretly wished they were in my place. With her.

Its been two years. Call the day her birthday or call it our anniversary. Call it whatever but she is one of my most cherished possessions. Yes, a possession. She means a lot.

Thanks Neo. For helping me make that decision. Thanks ma, pa for giving me the freedom. And last, and not the least, thank you. For being there!

Why is sgElectra a bad idea!

I rode sgElectra to work today. And it turned out to be a bad decision. Nah, not biking but biking given the circumstances. Bad roads, potholes, unruly traffic, never ending distance and the ten KG bag that I lug to work everyday.

My hands are sore, legs ache, back is stiff. My butt hurts so much that I cant even sit straight!

I am sure my butt is now shaped like the bike seat. Thanks god for mundane things like shower, mattresses, coke!

Looking forward…

Next few days would be exciting. Things are happening. I can feel it. Something is just around the corner. No, not THE JATC. Wahan to Keera rehta hai. I mean bas kuch hone wala hai. Kuch bada. Something that will make me happy. I dont know if its work, or that new secret project, or the NR/NS, or the the planned rides on @sgElectra, or the upcoming Mumbai trip, or something that I dont know yet.

I am looking forward to …

to couple of new assignments that are falling in place, hopefully they do
to the see documentary that I am downloading right now
to the upcoming Mumbai trip, either late this Dec, or early Jan
to the new secret project with Dhoomketu and Byomkesh
to riding sgElectra with kAgE and kgElectra, after we get the machines serviced on Monday
to the gym that I have shortlisted, havent joined though!

to 2010.
to a new life.

Phase 1, 2 and 3

NOTE: After my last post, Couple of people asked me to repost this. Here is the post. Verbatim. Havent changed anything.

When you are on a trip, there are three phases that you go through. More mental than physical, these phases are what it makes riding so special.

So Phase 1 is when you have just started the trip and you are dreaming of all the good things that you would go through during the course of the ride. You already start dreaming of time when your thoughts are racing ahead of your bike that fast that your mind becomes numb, the road blurs and the roar of the bike is no longer there. The bike becomes a part of your body and its sound, your heartbeat. You can feel it. You can feel it coming. You are anticipating for the happy times.

Phase 2 is the actual state of bliss. The state that you dream of when you just set out to ride. This phase lasts just about few minutes before you are interrupted but these minutes are something that make the entire ordeal worth it. Some might want to compare this pleasure with orgasm. This is the time when your thoughts actually start to flow. This is that mental state that all the sages try to achieve. The state when they say they have attained nirvana. When everything else ceases to matter. Everything is put on hold. You ignore everything. All things big and all things small. You live in the now. You become part of it. You are now. You don’t make any grandiose plans. Things become clear. Clouds start parting.

And then the Phase 3. It’s like coming back from heaven. Or from hell for that matter. This is the time when you start thinking what to do next. About the next destination and the next journey. This is when you start reflecting on things. And most of your introspection happens. This is where you think about things that you are running away from and things that you are running towards. This is where you decide you want to change jobs, marry her, create a company, get rich, quit, restart, change world. This is where you actually plan it. First. Thoughts just pop up. You never thought you would think about those things. You never imagined you could think about those things. They suddenly appear out of nowhere.

That’s a different story that most of them are gone by the time the dust settles down. Some people do get lucky. They remember what they have been thinking about. What they need to do once they are back.

About me, I am about 2 rides old. Both of them less than 100 Kms. And I cant even imagine the joy and pain of an overnight ride. What would motivate someone to ride an entire day, sleep with a stiff back and get up next morning to go through the ordeal all over again. And with no one around to boast about this ride. No certificates to show. No titles to chase or defend. The entire idea looks anti-civilization to me. Weren’t we suppose to settle down? Weren’t we supposed to be a part of a never-ending rat race? Weren’t we supposed to slog and slog till one day when we realize we are 80 and we did everything but know ourselves better? And come to think of it, why exactly would one want to know himself better?

Most riders, including myself don’t think all this when they plan a ride. They just do it. They just want to get away. They want to run. They want to see places. They want to explore. Each trip brings with itself its own set of discoveries. And each trip creates its own set of memories.

Like this Rabbi Shergill song … “jaddon na kujh agge disse tahiyon bandaa vekhe picche”. Literally translated, “When you can’t see ahead, that is when you think about your past”.

I read somewhere that us humans work towards only one thing – that we would be missed when we are not around. I think everyone is trying to be immortal. We are trying not to die. We are trying to stay here forever. The rides are probably a step closer to that ever-elusive immortality. Some get it, when they are riding. And some unlucky ones don’t. The lucky ones get their bragging rights. And unlucky ones, get to ride another ride. Not much to chose between the two if you ask me.

We live our lives trying to be someone we are not. We look at all the wonderful things around us and suddenly we think we are supermen. We can do everything that everyone else is doing. And excel at it. And compete with people who have spent their lives working towards getting just a slight edge over you. We are not born with biking in our DNA. We grow up and along the way see someone or experience something that tilts our needles towards biking. I think, like all the trips, this post needs to be left hanging in air. In anticipation.

Of what?
I don’t know. Yet.

Bash

I bashed my car. Two time in two days. It sucks. Not the dents on the car but the thought that I cant drive it well enough to keep it on the road. And I hate the feeling.

And now I am being irrational. I am thinking maybe I don’t deserve to drive. Maybe I am cursed. I am talking like superstitious person. I am tempted to pray to Vishwakara everytime before I touch my steering wheel. Blah.

Poor Santro. I treat her as a step child ever since @sgElectra happened to me.

Anyways, next time on, shall be careful.

@sgElectra got hurt

sgElectra got raped. I had to courier sgElectra from Mumbai to Delhi since I dint want to leave it alone in Mumbai. I wanted to ride it all the way but my parents dint like the decision. And now after looking at the shape of it, I dont like my parents decision.

From the looks of it, its very bad. I have been able to figure out these things so far …

  1. The footrest got bent. I will have to hammer it back to get it right.
  2. The front indicators got bent. They cant be repaired. Will have to live without them.
  3. The battery got discharged. I can put some money to buy a battery. Kangali main aata geela.
  4. There is rust all over the bike. Apparently there was leakage while shipping and since it was packed they could not wipe the water. And hence the rust. I dont even know what can be done about it.
  5. The ignition is screwed. The wiring will have to be changed. I am hoping it can be done.

Come to think of it, the bike is just three odd months old and it already has so many scratches and injuries.

Brings me to another lesson. Never ever ship a vehicle. This is my second bike that got screwed while shipping. 2131 met the same fate when it was coming from Chennai to Delhi. It was beyond repair and it was sold without me even knowing it.

Anyways, next time on, I am driving/riding.

May 2009: Goals and Output. And bits of miscellany.

I have been away form all kinds of blogging (except twitter and occasion spam on JFK) for last week. I dont know why. Last week was actually one of those few times when I did some heavy soul-searching. Without any benefit …

Not that I dint have opportunities. I went on this bike ride till Pune but again dint want to publish it. I put my bike on my website and twitter. I dint publish that. I made few cartoons (on the lines of Slog_More()), dint publish them either. Then I discovered this band caled Faridkot from Delhi. They do Hindi rock and are very good. I meant to blog about them but I did not.

I dont know why. I think I was living in some kind of an orb. More I try getting out of it, more dragged into it I get.

I am having this hard time understanding myself. This is one of those rare moments when I am ranting my true emotions and all. Please ignore the rhetoric.

Anyways, here is the monthly post on Goals and what I did about them. I had two simple goals for May. Start wearing shoes (that implied buy them and get used to them) and start writing the book (this implied stat re-writing the book that I started about six months back). Ladies and Gentlemen, I did neither. No, I am not proud.

And coming up in some time … is goals for June 2009.

Phase 1, 2 and 3

When you are on a trip, there are three phases that you go through. More mental than physical, these phases are what it makes riding so special.

So Phase 1 is when you have just started the trip and you are dreaming of all the good things that you would go through during the course of the ride. You already start dreaming of time when your thoughts are racing ahead of your bike that fast that your mind becomes numb, the road blurs and the roar of the bike is no longer there. The bike becomes a part of your body and its sound, your heartbeat. You can feel it. You can feel it coming. You are anticipating for the happy times.

Phase 2 is the actual state of bliss. The state that you dream of when you just set out to ride. This phase lasts just about few minutes before you are interrupted but these minutes are something that make the entire ordeal worth it. Some might want to compare this pleasure with orgasm. This is the time when your thoughts actually start to flow. This is that mental state that all the sages try to achieve. The state when they say they have attained nirvana. When everything else ceases to matter. Everything is put on hold. You ignore everything. All things big and all things small. You live in the now. You become part of it. You are now. You don’t make any grandiose plans. Things become clear. Clouds start parting.

And then the Phase 3. It’s like coming back from heaven. Or from hell for that matter. This is the time when you start thinking what to do next. About the next destination and the next journey. This is when you start reflecting on things. And most of your introspection happens. This is where you think about things that you are running away from and things that you are running towards. This is where you decide you want to change jobs, marry her, create a company, get rich, quit, restart, change world. This is where you actually plan it. First. Thoughts just pop up. You never thought you would think about those things. You never imagined you could think about those things. They suddenly appear out of nowhere.

That’s a different story that most of them are gone by the time the dust settles down. Some people do get lucky. They remember what they have been thinking about. What they need to do once they are back.

About me, I am about 2 rides old. Both of them less than 100 Kms. And I cant even imagine the joy and pain of an overnight ride. What would motivate someone to ride an entire day, sleep with a stiff back and get up next morning to go through the ordeal all over again. And with no one around to boast about this ride. No certificates to show. No titles to chase or defend. The entire idea looks anti-civilization to me. Weren’t we suppose to settle down? Weren’t we supposed to be a part of a never-ending rat race? Weren’t we supposed to slog and slog till one day when we realize we are 80 and we did everything but know ourselves better? And come to think of it, why exactly would one want to know himself better?

Most riders, including myself don’t think all this when they plan a ride. They just do it. They just want to get away. They want to run. They want to see places. They want to explore. Each trip brings with itself its own set of discoveries. And each trip creates its own set of memories.

Like this Rabbi Shergill song … “jaddon na kujh agge disse tahiyon bandaa vekhe picche”. Literally translated, “When you can’t see ahead, that is when you think about your past”.

I read somewhere that us humans work towards only one thing – that we would be missed when we are not around. I think everyone is trying to be immortal. We are trying not to die. We are trying to stay here forever. The rides are probably a step closer to that ever-elusive immortality. Some get it, when they are riding. And some unlucky ones don’t. The lucky ones get their bragging rights. And unlucky ones, get to ride another ride. Not much to chose between the two if you ask me.

We live our lives trying to be someone we are not. We look at all the wonderful things around us and suddenly we think we are supermen. We can do everything that everyone else is doing. And excel at it. And compete with people who have spent their lives working towards getting just a slight edge over you. We are not born with biking in our DNA. We grow up and along the way see someone or experience something that tilts our needles towards biking. I think, like all the trips, this post needs to be left hanging in air. In anticipation.

Of what?
I don’t know. Yet.

Bulllet – First memories

My first memories of a Bullet are from way back in 1999 (I was 17 that time). I was going for my admission to some college and I saw this firang driving past a road block on a bullet. He was bald. He was wearing a leather jacket. And he dint stop for the road block. In fact as he was getting away, he showed the finger to the cops. That time i dint even know the meaning of the finger.

Not that I would want to do something like that , I thought it was very cool. Probably one of the coolest things that I had seen then. Not that I want to emulate it now but still its the first images of Bullet and are itched firmly in my mind.