aditya kumar's weblog

In the early first week of the month of June, when I booked my tickets for Pondicherry I hoped and prayed that the day I was to spend in Chennai, 19th June, not be that hot since I had heard a lot about Chennai heat.

Ironically, 19th June was the hottest day of the year.

By late night I was in Pondicherry. I just wanted to visit the place and see the Bay of Bengal. I did not expect anything much. Heck, I did not even expect the hot weather.

As you walk by the straight and clean roads of Pondicherry, the city constantly reminds you of its French past. This was a colony of the French while the rest of India was in the British rule. The only exceptions were Pondicherry, on the east coast, which was under the French and in the west coast, Goa, my home, which was under the Portuguese.


[Above: Pondicherry, by the sea]

On the walls of most of the houses, their French names are written in neat blue boards. The architecture is beautiful, more so in the city of Auroville (located near Pondicherry), which was a dream of Sri Aurobindo. Auroville is a must see.

The ashram of Sri Aurobindo is the main attraction and people come from all over the country to visit his samadhi (more about it, here). This is the city where he lived in exile and made his home since Sri Aurobindo was also involved in the freedom movement and was wanted by the British Authorities. No visit to Pondicherry is complete without spending some time at The Ashram. Also do not forget to visit the Aurobindo handmade paper factory. It is walking distance from The Ashram.


[Above: Under the white sky, Pondicherry, by the sea]

The best way to explore the city is by walking. It is an enjoyable experience. Walk, be patient and the city quietly unfolds itself to you. The residents, they all seem so welcoming.

Also make sure, that the bus you take from Chennai happens to be a day journey. At least make it that one way. Trust me you won’t regret the sight. The highway is all along the east coast. The bay flirts with the line of sight when, at times, it goes away. All through the journey you will have the treat of watching the Bay along the highway and the humid, salty breeze washing your face.


[Above: The Blessing]

By the way, now that I have travelled by road on both the east coast and the west coast, I think there will be less road journeys better than the ones on the west coast. I have travelled extensively on that side and each time I am left spellbound. In fact, since my family is still in Goa, I do these journeys every few months.

Coming back to the topic, Pondicherry is not a city for beach bummers. If you wish to do that, Goa is the place to be. I think this city is a place where you can get in touch with your inner self by exploring your own version of spirituality. I found it to be a quiet and silent place, even though locals insist that in the past it was much better. When I go again to Pondicherry, it will be only to spend some time back in the Ashram, in the day and sit by the Bay of Bengal, watching the limitless sea in the evening. These are enough reasons for me to visit Pondicherry again.

(PS: while visiting Chennai, do NOT miss the Idlis and the Dosas.)

The machines that interest me do not work on land. They work in either the Sea or the Sky.

I have been collecting warplane models for some time. Recently an “aviation” store has also opened near my office, making money matters worse for me since the last time I got my salary, it was my first destination. Anyway, here are the pictures of my fleet. These models stand on my desk.

This is the Scout 4 Ranger/Fighter Airplane used by the US Navy.

Above: The Messerschmitt 109-G, also known as “Gustav”, an example of magnificent design of the German Airpower. Played a major role for Germany in the battles against Britain during WWII.

Above: The B-24 “Liberator” of the USAF, could be easily called the “mother of all bombers” was in service till 1944. 4 Engines and a top speed of 450 kmph.

Above: The AV-8B Harrier II- A part of the modern fleet. One of the best Aircrafts a navy could ever have. It’s unique ability to take-off/land vertically using the VTOL and the STOL ability using the Ski Jump is a big advantage, besides having a top speed of 1100 KMPH. Originally a Royal Navy product- a previous version of this, the Sea Harrier, is now also maintained by the Indian Navy. I had the opportunity to take a good look at its cockpit while my visit to the Indian Navy vessel, INS Viraat (prev. HMS Hermes of The Royal Navy) some years back. By the way, INS Viraat can accommodate upto 30 of these.

Soon I will be publishing pictures taken of real aircrafts.

According to news going around, Danish Band, Michael Learns to Rock- more popularly known as MLTR, is due to perform in Bangalore on the 25th of September. The Band will also perform in Bombay.

Romantic ballads of this band have been the prelude to Boyzone listening era of my life before I went on to the likes of Oasis and U2. Though I haven’t listened to MLTR in the last few years, I can safely say, MLTR, Boyzone, Sting, Bryan Adams and U2 are some bands that I have listened to so much, that I remember most of the songs.

Of them- Sting and Bryan Adams have already performed here. MLTR will be coming next month. I am sure to be there.

But when will U2 come to India?

After a gap of almost 6 months, I finally broke my own best record for Intermediate level in Minesweeper. 26 Seconds, it is now. yay! :)

And this was with a non-optical mouse- hard to handle but a firm grip and my fingers were numb with the AC on. Not the best conditions for minesweeper playing, I must say. But who minds…hehe :P

Based on my personal experience- the phases of blogging:

1. You finally start a blog. It seemed an obvious thing to do. There is so much to write, so much to talk about.

2. You write. About your past, your present. There is no stopping you. You do not care what other people write on their blog. They do not care what you write on yours. No one reads your blog except you and you are sure about it.

3. Ah, a comment. Your first visitor. Or at least the first visitor who cared to comment. Now you know what you write will be read by someone else too.

4. More comments. Appreciation. You are surprised because you have just come to know some bloggers have “blogrolled” you. Wow that feels cool doesn’t it?

5. Time to get into the groove. You get more applause as you write. The comments never stop. The sitemeter runs like an airplane’s speedometer. You wonder what had been stopping you all this while to start blogging. Welcome to Blogosphere.

6. You have to think harder when you write. It’s because you know what you write is going to be scrutinised out there. Appreciation is a hard thing to earn but let’s face it- for a writer it’s the ultimate drug.

7. A few bad posts, couple of harsh comments and you are analysing where you went wrong. Heck you even got one hate mail.

8. You get everything into perspective. At least you think you do. Why think of people? You remind yourself that you write for no one else but you. Comments or no comments, who cares. And you do NOT crave for attention.

9. You have had enough. no, really. All these complications are uncalled for. You delete some of your old posts. You contemplate killing your blog too! You think it’s the stupidest thing to do, this blogging. At the moment you are toying with the idea of deleting your blog.

10. In the case your blog is history by now, you think of starting over on a fresh note after some time. This time you would do better. Learn from your mistakes. In case your blog survives Phase 9, you move on with the comments link disabled. That is because you wish to write and concentrate on the writing aspect rather than think about the comments.

11. You enable the comments. Feedback is such an important aspect of writing and you did not wish to miss on that.

The process continues.

Today, while I was in the auto, on the other side of the road I saw an ambulance stuck in the middle of a traffic jam. Its red and blue bulbs flashing and the siren enveloping every other noise on the road. But it was helpless. No one bothered. Not one effort was made to give it a clear way. All the special instruments that it had equipped itself with of no use, the ambulance was just another vehicle in the thick sea of metal frames of a yet another traffic jam in this city. And for most of the drivers, I figured, with its sharp siren, it was a yet-another-nuisance.

So did the patient survive I wonder. I hope that person is still alive.

In our cars, stuck daily in the traffic jam while we go to work, we criticize the government. We demand a better civic sense not only from the government but also from the driver of the car ahead of us. We question why the roads are not wide enough. We even proudly claim that we pay our taxes and we deserve a much better city.

But do we stop the car to let the blind man cross the road? Do we make way for the ambulance behind us? Do we, just for a second, think of the person who might be actually living his last moments inside the van which is supposed to take him to the hospital? Is not that the least we can do sitting in the air conditioned interiors of our car? In those minutes while we swear countless times, is there no room for compassion at all?

In India, life comes cheap. The economy is doing good, isn’t it?

We are a careless, heartless society. We have grown into one.

I am writing this in a train, passing by Pune right now. On the rail station an old friend came to meet me. We met, a small meeting, pleasantries exchanged. I gave him a copy of “Papillon”, the book I am reading nowadays and he got me a box of food. He knows me well, knows what I like to eat and how much I enjoy my food.

In case this makes it to the blog, I must tell you that I am writing this on the cardboard box. I have no choice since I have no paper. But I feel like writing.

It is raining lightly outside, almost a drizzle. Typical Pune rain. Surprising, in a way, that as I pass by this city I do not feel a flow of emotions. Maybe I do, in bits and pieces but no, nothing more than that. I could have taken a break in Pune while on my way to Bombay but there is no feeling to come back here. Unanticipated, because I have spent about three and a half years in this city. The ‘bits and pieces’ of emotions are whats left by a big emotion, overlapping, overwhelming just about every other feeling. Like a big tidal wave dissolving the effect of the small waves.

Outside the window I see the roads I have walked on, the surroundings of the place I worked, in fact this same railway track I have crossed countless times by foot. Yet, no feeling, nothing happens. Yet another void to swallow.