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Thursday, April 19, 2012

You drive, I'll ride

This is about Mr R. He is related to me through a complex chain: he is my sister-in law's brother in law. However, this post is not about explaining relations. 

The otherday I received a mail urging to explain what biking means to me or recount the experience of a passionate biker. I am a die-hard biker (oops, bike-rider) myself, but I would like to grab this opportunity to share an interaction with Mr R, one of the most passionate bikers I have met.

We were invited to Modi Nagar, a suburb of Delhi in the month of August. The weather at this time of the year is particularly unpredictable: the sun scorches you,  it rains for few minutes drenching you, causing traffic jams and stops all of a sudden. Although the distance to be covered was about 60 km, we were sceptical about our choice of mode. Finally we hired a car.
On the way, we crossed a Honda City carrying two lovely children, and driven by their mother. It was Mr R's wife. And there he was, little ahead, on his monstrous bike. It was a Thunderbird (by Royal Enfield). A majestic machine, it is every biker's dream. Given his passion for biking, it was almost obvious that Mr R would be riding his Thunderbird, and let his family enjoy the car ride.

"Isn't it too strenuous to ride a bike for such a long distance?", I asked.
"No way! I can drive endlessly, as long as the fuel permits", replied Mr R.
-"This heat?"
- "No issues"
-"If it rains?"
- "Its exciting to ride in the rain"
-"Isn't a car more comfortable?"
- "Riding this baby (his bike) is anyday more lucrative!"
- "But... ", I am not to be convinced easily.
-"See, I love biking", [my husband nods in agreement in the background as Mr R continues,] "Rarely do we get the oportunity to go for long bike rides in cities. So when the opportunity has come, I let my wife drive with the children, while I rode"
I was about to ask something further, but he told me that he had gone into the Himalayan ranges from Delhi on his bike with his biker-friends, and the sheer joy of riding a good bike eggs him on.   

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This is an entry for a contest organized by Castrol on Indiblogger.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

How can we be a developed country?

It happened yesterday morning.

A brand new Honda City stopped beside a traffic island. An young copule were inside, apparently going to a wedding or some function, because they were dressed very brightly. Her phone was glued to her ear - maybe she was asking for directions. He looked bored to death.

Suddenly, the window pane came down. She tossed out a polybag containing some garbage casually, without noticing where it went. It landed right in the middle of the walkway. I was approaching from the opposite direction; I was so shocked that I stopped in front of the car, giving them critical looks.

I had just finished a call and was still holding my cellphone. I pulled it out and pretended to take a snap. She got out of the car and asked me what was wrong!! (Imagine!!) ....Of course, she could follow my line of sight and knew what was not ok. Her companion had started the car by then, so she jumped back and they left without any further word or action.

If the educated and rich behave like this, how can we expect more civil behaviour from others?

Its time for some introspection... take a look at ourselves and wonder if we are fulfilling our roles as responsible citizens. How can we condemn others? Its not as if others should behave properly while we can do whatever we criticize them for doing.

There are so many similar things that we do, knowing fully well that we shouldn't be doing them.

CHANGE...or we shall always remain a "developing" nation, instead of a "developed" one.

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This is a part of contest titled "Time to Change!" on Indiblogger.