Travelogue 4 – Meeting S, N and T

Since the last time I met S and N, T has been added to the family. The one and a half year old was excited to meet an unknown face called “uncle”. He showed me sun, shadows, introduced me to his toy animals, and we also played a very exciting game where I would lay the toy animals on the sofa and he would throw them on the carpet with much excitement. Not sure, who entertained whom, but T was very happy!

On my way to S’ home, I took the NJTransit in rush hour. And was it crowded! Well, it was not as crowded as the 6:18 Kasara fast, but perhaps it was crowded enough to qualify as 8:11 Ambernath fast at Dadar. People were standing close to each other and making way for those who wanted to get down at intermediate stations.

I heard stories like it takes me 2 hours to reach office – 20 minutes drive into Trenton, almost an hour to New York, and 20 more minutes from there…but I digress. S used to stay in a swanky apartment overlooking Hudson. He gave that up so that finally life would be more like America and less like Mumbai. That gives N and T a large apartment complex neighborhood and an opportunity to ride the tricycle!

On my way back, S dropped me. He was in a mood to talk, and me in a mood to sleep. The jet lag was finally getting me. The nice guy that S is, he let me sleep in the car and only woke me up when the directions became confusing. We did not want to get lost in the middle of the night! We bid farewell with a promise to be in touch more regularly.

Travelogue 3 – Fast Life in New York, New York

The Newark Penn Station, the WTC PATH terminal and hordes of people was a reminder of every morning in Mumbai. Just as people make their way to right platforms – going in to VT or Church Gate every morning in Mumbai, people were walking towards their tracks for NJTransit, PATH or Acela trains. It was nice! Things were moving fast!

One more observation about New Yorkers was their behavior in the elevator. Once everyone was in the elevator and the right buttons for floors pressed, someone would press the close-the-doors button immediately. Who has time to wait for five seconds before the doors close automatically?! Double nice!

In Manhattan, I followed the old routine. Get a subway ticket, but get out of the metro a few stops before and walk down the road! It was enjoyable. Except for the heavy rains and plummeting temperatures on the day of departure, it went well! No pictures to share though….

Travelogue 2 – So close to urban decay

Last post, I promised not to whine. At least, if I do, I will bring some cheese along. Okay, bad joke. But, I have to write about the urban decay of that dead town of Newark. I chose a hotel close to the Airport and Newark Penn Station hoping that commute would be easier. While that was the case, the location was so desolate and dead, that the urban decay couldn’t be more pronounced. There was nothing – NOTHING – around the hotel. Again and again, I felt bad that all the rooms in the hotel near Journal Square were sold out.

And nothing comes in New York/New Jersey for free! The hotel charged for a ride to Newark Penn Station, which I thought was wrong. Gone are the days of gas at 69 cents a gallon.

The magic of hopelessness

Are we really catching up with China? In his article, Partha Iyengar, the Research Vice President at Gatner Inc. writes

WITH NO DISCIPLINE OR ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE BUREAUCRATS AND POLITICIANS, IT IS NOW FOR THE PEOPLE TO GIVE THEM A WAKE-UP CALL

He compares

ALL this talk about India catching up with China is just a pipe-dream. The Chinese can put up a complex multi-tier flyover (like the one in the picture) in 6 months and in Pune, we can’t even get a simple straight elevated road done in 3 years!

He rightly chastises Pune Municipal Corporation by saying

The latest gem of an example that starkly brings into focus the lack of capabilities is the PMC’s absolutely ludicrous statement that ALL the roads are in the same pathetic state because they were surprised by the early arrival of the rains.

How early were the rains? One week. And this in a country whose engineering talent in places like Bangalore, Pune etc is the talk of the world today.

Blows apart the claims

And when any comparison with China comes up, our political clowns trot out the time and tested — ‘‘but we are a democracy’’ fig leaf.

Raises many valid questions

How do these people get away with these moral crimes? Why can’t we get more active and try and make these people accountable? What do we need to do to have a Baramati or Nagpur happen in Pune? What can be done to try and achieve this in our city?

And also offers a few answers. Some are workable, some are not. But I strongly recommend you read the article The Magic of Chongqing or hopeless leadership in Pune?

The murder most foul or what?

The Startrubine.com on Sunday June 11 published an article about the “shock and awe” – 40 feet crater shows power of Al-Zarqawi bombs.

The article says:

The two 500-pound bombs that killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi pulverized the brick house where he spent his final minutes, vaporizing walls and the foundation, hurling concrete blocks 300 feet into the weeds and blasting a crater 40 feet wide and deep.

"A big hole, sir," said Sgt. Maj. Gary Rimpley, 46, of Penrose, Colo., who reached the scene about 90 minutes after the bombs fell.

Now no one doubts that Zarqawi was a bad guy but there are some questions about the way it was dealt with.

What is the reason for summary justice? What happened to a commission like Nuremberg trials? And why not apply at least some humanitarian concepts to GITMO? And why not hold the proper authorities accountable? But reason and logic are not strong points of the Bush Administration and hence all the shock and awe. Is it just a coincidence that Fidel Castro rules rest of the Island?

A travelogue you shouldn’t care to read

After the appalling experience of 32E, the flight on the next leg was pleasant. I have traveled in only two European partner airlines, Air France and KLM, and I believe the European partners take better care of the passengers. The flight attendants are soft spoken, the aircraft better maintained, food quality is slightly better and since most of the aircrafts are new, the in-flight entertainment is naturally better – there is a TV screen right there in the seat in front of you and program choice is yours! Compare that with the Indian leg – common screens that are not visible from all the seats and a dismal selection of movies. The flight attendants are rude, not to mention their gaudy make-ups, the food is barely edible and flight timings so odd that it appears they are designed to enhance your jet lag!

On the domestic flights, NW charges for the pack of pretzels $1 or snack box $4. Call me cheap if you will, but I am not going to buy that. Just a cup of water will be fine thank you.

All right, from now on, I shall not whine.

What happens if you forget your cell phone charger?

Just ask the front-desk! The cheerful concierge produced a box of chargers that other guests “forgot” in the rooms for people like me….

Well, actually, I did not forget the charger; I forgot the plug-pin converter that would allow the Indian plug to fit into US socket.

For what its worth

Sun set at Mahabaleshwar, a small trip I took in December


And the white chapha tree in late spring in Pune

32E

For all the flying I have done, I have been very faithful to Delta. So much, that one of the flight attendants, Sunanda Braganza even recognizes me whenever I board a flight in Mumbai or Paris. And being a medallion passenger has its own advantages.

This time though, it was time to break the tradition. I was booked on KLM/Northwest and true to my nature, I was apprehensive about the service.

The ride from Pune to Mumbai was uneventful. And so was the security check before check in. For some reason, the security guy wanted to know who will come pick me up at the airport in US. Yeah, who? The complimentary bus service from the hotel!

Upon check-in, I asked for an aisle and Prithpal, the check-in agent started punching so many keys on his computer that it was a harbinger of things to come. I was politely refused an aisle seat and that’s why the frustration coming out at the Wi-Fi zone of Schiphol!

MD-11 design is weird. Nay, it is made to frustrate the passengers and restrict their movements giving a good reason for deep vein thrombosis. Who ever makes a plane where five people sit in a row? And who ever assigns the seat smack in the middle of this row to me? Why me? Why the 38 unlucky people who shared the same fate as I did? As soon as I sat down on the seat, I felt like cramped down. As luck may have it, the passenger on my right was metabolically challenged and a game of elbonics ensued! We were both wrestling for the elbow-rest. Her elbow being so large, it did not leave me even a millimeter….

Then the food and beverage service – I never knew who was going to serve me – the flight attendant on the left or on the right? I was thirsty. But the flight attendant on the left ignored me and went ahead. Welcome to the club of middle-seat MD-10 under-achievers!

The flight attendant on the right was still 3-4 rows behind and I was thirsty! I hoped I would be visible to her. At last, I was given the chicken sandwich and a glass of 7-UP. See, no Sprite – NW already loses its marks, and now it is hurting itself even more.

When they come to collect the trash, the lady on right – who served me – now ignores me! So does the lady on the left. Hey – there is something here you came looking for…don’t ignore me!

When the breakfast comes at the break of the dawn, the lady on right – Prin – interrupts my music and asks – Egg or Veggie? Egg please. Orange Juice? Please, thank you. When Antoinette, walks on the left, Coffee? Coffee? Coffee? Me = invisible! When she walks on the right, Coffee? Coffee? Coffee? Me = invisible. When she walks on the left, Tea? Tea? Tea? Me = suddenly visible. But I wanted Coffee! I will get some for you sir. Thanks.

When Julienne collects trash, me = invisible. When Prin collects trash, again, me = invisible. God, why did you make that E seat on MD-10?

Now about the in-flight entertainment – the magazine, in Japanese! Japanese you ask? Yes. Japanese! If you read Japanese, please travel via Northwest. The movie, there wasn’t any. Oh, wait – there was. But for the screen position, all I could see was Abhishek Bachhan and Ritesh Deshmukh from chin-up (not that I was sorry, but since I am complaining, why not one more?). And radio? I could never figure out the channel number because the control was so weird – made by the right-handers, for the right-handers. And since I could not figure out the channel number, going back to what I was listening awhile ago took many guesses. The food was barely average, but then we are used to it anyway…

Schiphol airport though was a pleasant experience. The walkways are wide, shops are nice (but costly) and transfers are easier than Charles de Gaulle transfers are. The Wi-Fi service is not free. Again, I don’t ask why – they may have their own reasons.

n.b. penned at Schiphol, posted from Newark