Musings

Bit by the Bike Bug (again)

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TLDR : I have booked the above bike, A Duke Adventure 390. Yes, at this age going to ride a bike which is typically a bike the post teen’s ride. How I convinced wifey – if not now when will I dance? Works all the time 🙂 


Sometime in September Honda Highness was launched. I am a fan of Honda. I started reading and watching reviews in YouTube. Now that’s a good bike. No vibrations at 80+, a good looking bike nevertheless and is going to challenge the current King of the market – Royal Enfield.



I love the looks of this chrome laden bikes which look like what the Terminator robot rode years ago. The Honda had the same retro look.  But it was not chrome – its plastic. Now that’s a bummer. Also Highness is being launched by Honda as a new brand – with brand new showrooms and service centre’s etc. and there are no showrooms nearby – I have to go to Bangalore for this ( I live in Whitefield ). Anyway didn’t bother 



There are some movie shots that are still etched in my memory – just like I saw it yesterday. The scene where Arnold Schwarzenegger gets on the bike he stole from the thug who played billiards and attacked him. 

The closest that came to this look was the Thunderbird. I had it since 2014 and loved the riding posture and the feeling only a bullet can give. It was always a love hate relationship. There are lot of niggles and I will keep getting angry with the bike. But when I ride the Thunderbird all the frustrations will be forgotten and forgiven. 


I don’t know who this guy is. Snapped this photo on a wall to wall poster in the bike workshop in Mumbai. 
The recent niggle was the key got stuck in the Petrol tank lock. It used to give trouble but somehow I will wiggle it out. This time it refused to come out. It was a frustrating moment. Then I had to get help of the petrol shop guy, he put oil and somehow wiggled it out. God bless him.
That is just one instance. 
Yes it is old. Perhaps it is rusting. The tank lock, bike lock and key were changed just 2 years back. It was done in an authorised service center. 
And then the answer came in the form of Meteor. RE opened an office / test track in UK, close to Triumph – so the Triumph engineers could easily switch to RE without moving their pots and pans and changing children’s school.

RE says this one is built with the latest technologies and they had quietened the vibrations. 

Both Meteor and Highness had good feature set. Meteor had the navigation display which is super cool. 



I started following reviews of Meteor. Now this is a winner in the hands of RE. Absolutely no vibrations at 80-90 and has ABS, Tubeless tyres. Wow. I was tempted. 

It was 2 weeks back. San had got out of quarantine after her trip and was ready for riding her FLG. The bike refused to start. It does not have a kick start – so one of us has to push, on 1st gear and the rider has to release the clutch after the bike picks up some momentum. The bike will start. 

San was very frustrated – we had serviced it from the local AECS Layout mechanic a couple of months back and was working fine till suddenly the battery stopped cooperating.

We went to checkout the Meteor one Sunday evening. 



The bike was still tall. The shop guy told just a day back an Avenger lady had come and tried this bike. It was taller. San wasn’t happy. She said I will fix my FLG and ride it. She did not like the ergonomics. And she couldn’t flat foot. She could have managed if she wears her riding boots, but it is not practical for the AECS layout shopping trips.

Monday morning we went to the Bajaj service center and dropped the bike for service. We changed the battery and signed up for the yearly AMC – so we will keep the bike in prim shape. Return we stopped at the Showroom. KTM is adjacent to the Bajaj Showroom and checked out the bikes. I had a meeting so did not take the test ride.

Between the time Honda Highness had launched and till now – I have been reading and watching lot of bike related stuff. I had made a mental model of the what a bike should have.

Non negotiables : 

ABS. 
Tubeless Tyres
Pillion Comfort 

ABS

We had switched from 2006 Honda City to BRV last year. The old Honda city did not have ABS nor air bags. BRV had ABS. We experienced ABS first hand in the last trip. On a wet road, on Chennai Bangalore Highway a lorry swerved to our lane. San was driving and was over taking  it. San slammed on the brake. The car did a thud thud but stayed on the same lane and slowed down. It did not swerve a bit. I was impressed. 

Had it been the 2006 Honda City it might have swerved to the left or just kept moving with the wheels locking and car skidding on the wet tarmac. 

Imagine similar technology on a bike. 

Adventure 390 has ABS and in addition cornering ABS. Even while slamming the brakes while turning the ABS keeps the bike stable. The videos were pretty impressive. 



Tubeless Tyres

Again in October, during Diwali – we loaded the car and when I moved the car felt it was tilting to the left. We had lot of luggage on the rooftop, thought it was because of that. We went out of AECS Layout and went to fill the tank. When I stepped out to tell the petrol attendant to not top it ( They typically round it to the nearest whole number by squeezing in more ). I noticed the rear wheel tyre fully flat. Filled air and went to the nearest puncture shop. With tubeless tyres we can still ride it fully flat. It does not damage the tyre.

For the bikes – tubeless tyres are the best. I did read about the advantages of the spoked wheels – for adventure bikes when you are in a trail it matters a lot. Alloy wheels will just break when it takes a hit, but in the spoked wheels the impact gets distributed and only a few spokes will break – so the bike can still run and can be fixed later. In a trail – where no help is going to come it makes sense. 

But for my use – mainly city + touring – tubeless tyres make total sense. 

Pillion Comfort

In 2006, the week we got back from US we walked into Honda showroom next to Diamond District where I used to work, and we purchased an Unicorn. It was the first mono suspension commuter bike and it had superb suspension. It used to glide on the roads and the pillion got superb comfort.



On the left is the mono shock suspension. To the right is the traditional twin-shock. 

 

When we switched to Thunderbird found the suspension was very poor. When I put it in potholes it will send jerks through the spine for both rider and pillion. Since I can see the road and anticipate it, it will not bother me much. But for the pillion it will be too random and San hated it. She loved the raw power and the and sound of the engine – it sounds like how a bike should sound she will say, but hated the suspension. 

When we did the Adventure 390 Test ride, I dropped it into a few pot holes harshly ( Sorry Test Ride vehicle, this is not how I ride a bike ). San gave a thumbs up. 

This is another non-negotiable. 

Nice to haves

Traction Control
Digital display with Turn by Turn
Mileage

Traction Control

One should have good riding skill. Know how to ride on gravel, loose sand, oil, snow, wet roads. It comes from years of practise. Traction control definitely assists in this regard for an occasional rider like me. It detects the wheel spinning speed, and the bike’s velocity and controls the petrol being sent to the engine ( hence it has to be ride by wire – not the cable for throttle ) . So when the wheel spins on loose gravel or wet road, it will slow down the spin – even if I am accelerating the throttle – by mistake or on panic. 

Adventure 390 is the only bike less than 4 Lakhs which has this feature. Even the BMW GS 310 -another good adventure bike – does not have Traction Control. This safety feature is present in the high end bikes. 


Digital display with Turn by Turn Navigation

Google has spoiled us all. Those days of stopping at shops and auto wallahs asking for the route is long gone. In cars we can mount the phone anywhere, or just stop the car, pick the phone and check. But on bike – it is a pain. One has to stop the bike, remove the glove, pull the phone out, consult and do it in reverse. The phone mounts are a good alternative – but if it is integrated into the bike’s display it will be God Awesome.

This one is in Adventure.

The one in Meteor. This is really good stuff. 



Mileage

When people were upset with the rise in petrol prices, our Sardar said – I always put Rs.100 petrol, so it does not affect me. I am like the Sardarji in the Sardarji joke – I always put Rs.300. Honestly I have never calculated how much the Thunderbird gives. However a bike which can go from Bangalore to Coimbatore/Chennai on full tank will give good confidence.  On highways, like Murphy’s law – when we want a petrol bunk it will not be available for miles and miles. The adventure 390 has 14.5 Liters and gives 30+ Kms on highways when ridden < 100 Kmph – the speed I typically drive on cars even. The mileage on Meteor and Highness are more than 40kms. Even more impressive. 

The Adventure 390 ticks all the boxes and much more. 



I was concerned about the height of the bike. Once I sit, with good shoes I could plant my feet – almost flat footed. I can also walk the bike. I should be careful how I park the bike – should not be face in as I don’t think I can easily reverse walk it. I do the same with Thunderbird so will not be a problem.

Other bikes I considered.

Meteor

Well they did not have a test drive vehicle. The sales guy took my number and said he will call when the bike comes. But no call came. Perhaps a test ride might have sealed the deal. Also the wait time was 2 or 3 months. Sorry RE.

Himalayan

This is the closest contender to Adventure 390. The day I went for a test ride of the Duke, I met a guy outside on Himalayan. He had come to check out the Husqvarna bikes – it is a subsidiary of KTM and has an odd looking city bike.


This one – Husvarna by a Swedish company.
The Himalayan guy said – if the Adventure was there when he got the Himalayan he might have got it. He owns an estate in Wayanad and Himalayan is perfect for the non-roads. 

This one – Himalayan. The BS6 one is really good. No vibrations, ABS, Wonderful Highway tourer, Mono suspension. great on dirt. But has spoke wheels. I saw a few videos of Himalayan on Ladakh. They have named it aptly – it is made for the Himalayas. 

But doesnt have traction control and turn by turn display. Not major but having been with RE and all the niggles – decided not to pursue Himalayan. 

Highness

Highness is the Bike of the Year in Team BHP.  But there is no showroom nearby and it did not have mono suspension. And does not have Turn by turn display.


Duke Adventure 250

This is a Trojan, to make Adventure 390 sell more. This one is 50 less, but has a black and white display, and no traction control. Otherwise similar specs. This bike is to make everyone stretch a little bit more and get the Adventure 390. 
After losing sleep over a few nights, decided to make the plunge. 

I am not too concerned on what the world will think. Someone in mid-40s riding what the 20s kids are riding. Why should the boys have all the fun! 

I have booked the Adventure 390 now, last Saturday, and I am in the impatient waiting phase every biker goes through. The sales person said it should be ready for delivery by Wednesday. 

I am reading forums on how to break in the bike and how to ride safely. 

Very excited to get on it and face the wind.

Thump Thump to Vroooom.
Musings

Donald Trump and US’s fate

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I am not a fan of Donald Trump.

He is a bully. He is a misogynist. He is a hypocrite. He is a racist. He uses religion to further his means. 
He just got lucky being born in a rich family and has zero empathy for the rest of the world struggling.
He is bad for the Environment. He moved US out of Paris accord. We were to slow down the destruction of earth and US being the largest pollutant in the world would have made a big difference. He has also reversed many Environmental laws – so Businesses can make more money. Like he allowing drilling in Alaska.
He sided with Dictators around the world. So US could sell more missiles to some countries to bully their neighbours.
Sigh.
US is self destructing under Trump.
I like USA. It was my home for 6 years of my life. India tugged our hearts and we got back. But had I got into academics – if I had continued after MS into PhD I might have still been in US now.  Or if I had got bit by an entrepreneurial bug while I was in US, I might be running my own startup there.
I don’t like what is happening in US.
I don’t like bullies. I don’t like misogynists. I don’t like hypocrites. I don’t like racists. I don’t like people mis-using religion.
I wish Trump loses this election. 
US has made a mess of its democracy. It is ironical that Hillary Clinton won the majority people’s vote, yet lost the Presidency. Because of the electoral college concept. 
I read somewhere that US election is on Tuesday – and it is not a holiday – so the lower working class people cannot go to vote – the majority cannot decide their own fate. Instead the rich and powerful go to vote – on their way to the Golf course – and keep the power among themselves.
So many of the democracies in the world have collapsed. Greeks, Romans.. The systems collapse after a while.
In US – the TV industry became dominant and a realty star took advantage of it. 
The democracy in US is collapsing. 
It affects everyone – including me. 
If Trump loses it might slow down the collapse a bit. Or US will wake up and see how close to the brim they were. 
I am quite depressed thinking of the US situation. 
Musings

Wa-Honda forever!

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2006 we purchased a Honda City. 

What a lovely car. Though TopGear used to call it akin to driving a Washing Machine. I never felt so. It has taken us across the country without any hiccups. For the sedate driving we did it was perfect.
Umpteen trips to Coimbatore and Chennai
Pondicherry and Auroville
Ooty’s 36 hairpin bends and Kodaikanal, Mt.Abu
Mysore, Coorg, Madikeri
Goa,Harihareshwar,Mumbai
Rain drenched Lonawalla, Kandala, Bushi dam
Kissed Beach sand on Gorai beach near Mumbai
Kissed Desert Sand at Jaisalmer and India-Pakistan Border

Changed Car Tyres twice. Touched almost 98,000 on the odometer.
Had one accident when a BMTC bus banged the car from the back on Marathahalli Bridge, when I had to hit a sudden brake to avoid crushing a 2 wheeler who cut across from left to right. Had our share of close calls, had hit sudden brakes, skids – but luckily no injuries.
There was a good amount of bootspace. Helped pick US travellers with their 2 large suitcases and had room for their cabin bag too. When we migrated from Bangalore to Mumbai – all of San’s plants were in the trunk. We shifted in the hot month of April. Every 1 hour we will take a break to water the plants which were literally getting cooked in the summer heat. All of them survived the transit, but soon withered away in the Mumbai heat.
The car was rock solid. 
However – the 2006 old model did not have air bags, nor ABS. It was not mandatory that time and Honda made a handsome profit by not including these safety features. We paid around 8Lakhs odd that time. While the highways became better – and San was touching 140kms – we were running on luck most of the time. I am a sedate driver and will hover around 100kms and not let it go beyond 110. 
City was touching 13 years and it was on my mind to change the car. 
Early in 2016, when Hexa was launched I took a test drive and loved the gigantic car. The cost was north of 20 Lakhs and started saving. 
One Sunday, last August 2019, we had lunch at Salem Kitchen in AECS Layout and went to Chef Bakers on ITPL road to have dessert.
We were sitting near the window and we were watching a family take delivery of a Tata Nexon. I said lets go check out these cars.
I loved the Nexon’s design. It was very sporty and compact. I loved the features. Apple Car play support, a bracelet for keyless entry and starting the car, had air bags, ABS, ESP. It had 3 cylinders and had a variable selection – economy, city and sport. It was an automatic manual transmission – AMT. We saw the Harrier but rejected it because of the gigantic size and also it was manual. We saw Hexa too but it was way beyond my budget. I had saved 11Lakhs till now – cannot stretch it to 21+Lakhs a Hexa demanded. 
We got home and made a mental list of non-negotiables. Air bags, ABS and an automatic.
Safety was top priority. Also the next car we were to buy has to be an automatic. We are in the early 40s, and it should last another 15 years. With the Bangalore traffic manual did not make any sense.  
We test drove the Nexon diesel and the top end Petrol variant. Diesel was too jerky and noisy. I liked the Petrol one – it had AMT, Apple Car play and a bracelet plus – Air Bags, ABS and ESP. Yes I am like that – I make my decisions on these little things. I asked them about Hill Hold – which they said it is not guaranteed on steep slopes. It was a downer – the 2nd reason for an Automatic is to have peace of mind in Hills. 
When we visited Sikkim in 2018, I had said to the Himalayas – we will be back. To enter Gangtok, the last 2 Kms or so will take a couple of hours – the cars will move an inch at a time. Can’t imagine driving a stick shift. 
However, I was ready to make a booking and pay the Rs.5000 booking amount – the total came around 11Lakhs which I had saved, but before that San wanted to know the price they will purchase the Honda City for. 
Later during the week 2 guys came to estimate Honda City. They removed the beadings and did a thorough inspection and found that this car had got rear-ended, and said Rs. 30,000. We were both disappointed. The car’s value was around Rs.2,00,000 in the insurance papers, and I expected atleast north of Rs.1,50,000
We then went to Honda showroom the next weekend. The WRV was there – and we were disappointed that it had a manual transmission and no automatic – otherwise loved the design. Test drove the Honda City – it was a CVT – Continuous Variable Transmission – and it was very slick. Had all the gizmos – touch screen with apple car play support and even a sun roof – but it was touching almost 20 Lakhs. Way beyond our budget.
Then we spotted a BRV parked at the very end. I am a frequent visitor of Team BHP and all the discussions will be around Hexa, Creta, City,XUV, Nexon, Ertiga, WRV, Jazz,Kia, MG Hector – but never a BRV.
I had also missed this car in my browsing. 
We saw it had 3 rows of seats. Strike 1. In all our long drives it will be a fight for space between Man and Dog. Now Sufi can travel comfortably at the 3rd row.
The dash had a very basic music system – not a touch screen – thankfully had bluetooth. Did not have a rear camera. But it was a CVT – and had hill hold which they did not advertise – but CVTs do a good job in the hills. Strike 2.
Whitefield Honda showroom itself had a 2nd hand sales division and they sent an evaluator. They gave a price of Rs.1,30,000 and an additional loyalty discount of Rs.50,000. Strike 3. Plus they offered a 5 year warranty. 
BRV had Air bags – which later I found was mandatory in all cars now, and ABS. But did not have ESP – Electronic Stability Protection. BRV had good crash testing ratings but not as good as a Nexon which hit 5stars – a first for an Indian Manufacturer. The onroad price came to 15,92,000 – chose a Rear view camera and leather seats. Along with the discount and resale, had to stretch quite a bit to reach this number.
Nexon, like Ford Ecosport – which was the next showroom I would have visited if we did not spot the BRV – is a 3 cylinder engine. They compensate the lack of the 4th cylinder through some fancy electronics – because in the long run it has less wear and tear and gives God awesome fuel economy ( like 20 KM plus even for a petrol ), but it does not have the smoothness you get from a 4 cylinder car at low speeds. In highways the momentum takes care of the missing 4th cylinder. Hence the option of Economy, City and Sports mode for the AMT – so you decide how comfortable the ride will be – Smart! 
Also during the test drive of Nexon, found everyone’s head wobble to and fro whenever the gears switched up. I asked in Team BHP and the experts said you should get used to driving an AMT. Whenever you increase speed, you should anticipate the gear change coming and take foot off the accelerator – so the wobble does not happen. This was not present in CVT where the transition was smooth – actually the technology later I learnt is quite interesting. CVT does not have gears in the traditional sense – its continuous. 
BRV had the same 1500 CC, 4 cylinder petrol engine – the 20L City had. Honda has perfected the Petrol engine and it has the best among all its competitors. The Economy they claimed was around 14 – 16 Kms per liter. 
We decided to go for the BRV. 
Later, I changed the stock music system with a Pioneer touch screen which supports Apple Car play and Google Maps + Apple Music were now available in the dash.
BRV is a flop in Indian market. It is high priced plus devoid of any fancy features. However we loved the practicality of this car. Any other car which had 3 rows was north of 20 Lakhs – an XUV, Hexa, Fortuner or Endevour. Ertiga was the only contender, cheaper than BRV – but we were already in Honda’s clutches – so did not check it out.
After we took delivery of the vehicle we found some more good features this car had.
The 2nd row seats could be tilted back further which was a pleasant surprise. In most of the sedans it is fixed and cannot be tilted further back. 
The 3rd row seats – even they can be tilted slightly back – can fully fold down and against the 2nd row seats and we get a humungous bootspace. For the first service, I put my cycle inside the car after folding the seats, dropped the car for service and rode the cycle back home. 
BRV does not have any fancy bracelet like Nexon, but it has keyless entry. We made a chain with a black thread and hung the key on it – and we wear it like a necklace whenever we take the car out. During these Covid times it is super beneficial as we do not need to touch the key at all. 
The window for the 2nd row passengers is humungous. In Nexon it was a bit claustrophobic. Sun is a problem – still on the hunt for a good sun shade system. Then I imagine the view the 2nd row passengers will also have when we hit the Himalayan slopes some day.
BRV has paddle shifters. First I thought it was a gimmick but later found it quite useful. Whenever had to reduce speed – lets say while approaching a Toll gate, instead of hitting the breaks to reduce speed, I can just downshift using the paddle shift – this will use engine breaking and is easy on the breaks.
The speakers are quite loud even in the 3rd row – there are outlets there. In the 2 rental cars we had taken from Zoomcar – a Fortuner and Hexa – both were entry level models in their defence – the 3rd row can hardly hear anything. We had to keep maximum volume for the 3rd row to hear, but it will give a headache to the driver.
Air con vents – actually these are just blowers – on the top for 2nd row passengers – and can be adjusted. It was one of the biggest complaints in our good old Honda City. During hot summer trips, the 2nd row will want the AC fans to blow at top speed – so it will reach them. However the driver and co-pilot seats will get super chill. It was always a fight. Now with the vents at the top – it was nicely circulating the air. Also one feature we missed in Honda City – automatic climate control was there in BRV. 
Things BRV does not have – Cruise Control – it is debatable if this feature is useful in India, but I am for Cruise Control – one less thing to monitor while driving. Also it is a 2 Wheel Drive. If we take to Gorai beach once again and car gets stuck – will have to get help of the locals to push it out! One of our acquaintances in Mumbai, always carry’s a thick rope – once he got stuck in desert sand it was a fight to get his car out. After that he always carries a thick rope. On my to-do before the next long drive.
Now the BRV has completed its 3 free services. It is 11 months old now, has only put 4,000 Kms and is cooling its heels waiting for the Covid to blow away – so we can point it towards the Himalayas, or Goa, or Kerala or North East.
Wa-Honda forever! 

Musings

June 2020 – Coronovirus

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Link to Week 11,12

July 5th – Sunday
1. Coco / Cocoa ( official spelling ) 
Switching to monthly blogging now. Week 13-16 was the month of June.
Rumi was renamed to Coco. Rumi sounded so much alike Sufi. Coco was our back up name and all agreed.
Coco bites and scratches us a lot. All of us have cuts and bruises because of her. And night she is a terror. She hardly sleeps for 2 hours and by midnight she is up and running – biting legs and hands and brushing past the face. I had to cordone off her with boxes – every night it would be my ritual. The defenses will work for only 2 or 3 days and this intelligent cat will figure a way to come out.
Coco had a few nature call accidents – on our bed – exactly at the center – again and again. We had to block that spot with boxes till she got used to the litter box. Otherwise training coco was a cakewalk. Cats are very intelligent ( sorry doggies – I love you all but facts are fact ) – and she quickly got it.

2. We go on a picnic
It was San’s idea. I did not want to step out of the house – lockdown Et al. Her idea was to go some 50-60 Kms outside Bangalore, spread out a blanket under a tree, have lunch and get back. We drive towards Shivanadurga – never reach it, but instead take a detour on Mysore Road -and have a outdoors experience after a long time.




We made some critical mistakes during the trip. Carried only 3 bottles of drinking water which was not adequate for us. Also we did not get water to wash our hands – so we got some water bottles from a shop. Also on the way, in one of the villages, San spotted mangoes being sold by an old man. We had to get it. Other than this we did not have any other interaction with outside world.

We made a checklist for picnics in future
1. Water – Sufficient for both drinking and for washing hands.
2. Polythene gloves and garbage bag – even before we can spread our blanket we have to do thoroughly clean the place – there are lot of bottles, broken beer bottles – with kids and pets – we have to be thorough. 
3. A flask with coffee / tea – we were tempted to stop for coffee/tea but better sense prevailed – and tea cups. 
4. A knife to cut fruits etc.
5. Old Newspapers.
We want to leave the place cleaner than we found – and leave nothing but organic waste.
3. The Transfer

NEET exam date was July 26th. It was decided to transfer Charu back to her home. Passes were obtained – but we had a problem. If Charu’s dad comes to Bangalore to pick Charu, he will have to quarantine for 2 weeks. If San and I go to Hosur to drop Charu – when we get back we will have to be in quarantine.
We decided to send Charu through a contact. The D day arrived and we went to meet this contact – who said he has a car with an e-pass and will help. Only after we met him we realised it had become hard to transfer as there is lot of checking. His driver suggested lets go to the border near Anekal. When we reached there we saw the border was closed. Charu’s Dad came to the other side and the exchange happened. 



4. Mottai

In May we had planned to Tonsure Amu’s baby hair. In between San started reading Death by Sadhguru where Sadhguru says it is important to remove the hair of the baby, because still there is link to the previous birth Karma via the hair. San was even more determined to do it. And so one fine Sunday – she played the barber and tonsured cute Amu’s hair. 

5. Finally more Coco

Coco – touchwood – has grown quite fast. She is not that frail being anymore. 


Once we took her for vaccination around Mid -June, but the vet said let her put some weight. Last weekend when we went the pet clinic was crowded. Will have to go on a weekday.

Bangalore covid cases have started increasing. Around 10 Apartment Complexes around our Apartment have one or two cases. Lot of debates happening within our Apartment Complex who to handle quarantining. 
Things are just starting here. 

Musings

Week 11,12 – Coronavirus

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Link to Week 10

San’s teammate is fostering rescued cats and was telling now I have to find homes. 
San on a whim says I will take one. She was interviewed. She took photos of our balcony – which is pigeon netted and her application was approved.
On May 23rd, Saturday evening we met Desire – yep – that’s the name of the 40 day kitten – along with Sufi. Both smelled each other and we exchanged some clothes rubbed on these to get familiarised. 
After the meetup – we get back into our layout and find it totally jammed. It was around 6PM.

We stop ( and further the jam ) and pick up potato chips from our regular shop. 

Night we have dinner in Amu’s home.

Made from scratch Chowmein, Panner Manchurian and Chicken manchurian. Sweets we got from Pulla reddy. The mysorepak was out of the world.
On May 26th there is an online Webinar organised by MSWA – Maharashtra Society for Welfare Associations – they brought in all our competitors. San rocked the show. 

Here is the recorded Facebook live link

Facebook live link

My stress levels are slowly increasing. It is raining on evenings / nights and the terrace is wet. We don’t do Angamardhana now and I am not able to dissipate the stress building up.
On an unrelated – but again stress adding thing – we are running out of our monthly home internet bandwidth. 3 more days to go and only 100GB left. We are doing too much binge watching or downloading games.

Friday is our investor call. You will read about the call in the book I will write. I have taken copious notes on what was discussed 🙂 
Once the call is over, I start worrying about how it will be to bring Desire home. We are yet to decide on a name. Friday evening we write the 6 names – Coco, Koochi, Miha, Rumi, Sasha,Pi. All are kept under the beanbag. Each one picks a name and finally which over is left behind is the name of the cat.
Rumi is left behind and so Rum it is.
San and I both like Rumi. Rumi is a Sufi poet. Our dog is named Sufi – both will form a cute pair! 
On Saturday morning we go pick up Rumi. 

Rumi exploring our home. Just this month we installed these wire shutters to keep dengue mosquitoes out. This is the 2nd layer protection – balconies are already pigeon proofed. 

She found this cosy place under the bed to sleep – where a spare bed is kept. 




Cat watching mouse 🙂

Rumi snarls at Sufi. It has reduced and we are keeping both of them away for now. Sufi is very curious and is watching Rumi all the time. 
Saturday night Rumi slept in Charu’s room. Rumi woke up at 12:30 AM and wanted to play. She was up for an hour.
Sunday night Rumi slept in our room. Likewise Rumi woke up at 12:30 AM and started meowing. She roamed around for sometime and apparently she slept on our bed. 
So that’s the story for last week – another life has joined our home. 
Musings

Week 10 – Coronavirus

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Link to week 9

Friday San and I go to Daily Dump in Indiranagar and improve the composting solution – San was using 2 clay pots – now she has gone high tech with a custom solution – with microbes and coco peat and all. . 

When I was at Daily Dump I was checking some statistics. A family of 4 can potentially save 300 Kgs from going to landfill a year. Imagine if all homes start composting. 


The army of sauces – keeps life interesting for these kids.


Saturday Achu makes Chicken Marhaba


Sunday evening I make Tacos with Baked Beans. The hard shells costed 150Rs.

On chess.com I try to figure this 4 player chess game. Couldn’t. Over the weekend was playing blitz games. Trick is not to watch your points – and be ok to lose. Then it is lot of fun. I was not looking at the time and was losing because of time outs – even though I had captured the opponents queen. Next week will try to increase my speed. 

Sunday morning I go running around the layout. Planning to run 30 minutes daily around the layout. 
Musings

We all are in Greta Thunberg’s Universe

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“ It is the most extraordinary, alluring and thought-provoking of all the ways in which quantum mechanics has been interpreted. In its most familiar guise, the many-worlds interpretation (MWI) suggests that we live in a near-infinity of universes, all superimposed in the same physical space but mutually isolated and evolving independently. In many of these universes there exist replicas of you and me, all but indistinguishable yet leading other lives.” – Quantum Magazine
Back in August 2018, one high school girl in Sweden, Greta Thunberg, stopped going to school on Fridays, and instead sat in front of the Swedish parliament with a placard which said “Skolstrejk för klimatet” – School Strike for climate.

In 2019 – she travels to US, on a boat – because Flights are the environmentally most inefficient of all transports, and travels around the country – in a Tesla – lent by Arnold Schwarzenegger nevertheless – speaking in Colleges and climate forums and irritating Donald Trump – the joke that turned out to be  true – President of USA.

Earth is being destroyed at a rapid rate. We have to stop and reverse the damage we humans have done to this planet. The only home we humans have got. The politicians – all in their 70s on an average – are only worried about the next 20-30 years – the number of years they are going to live on earth – and are not thinking beyond what would happen to Earth.

The politicians have the power to make the change. But they do not want to make the change – they have sold their souls to the lobby groups and their own inner greed for power and money. 

The little children will in future inherit a battered and bruised planet – with rising sea levels and hurricanes and catastrophes and scarcity. 

Greta was interviewed, attended talk shows and people and politicians talked – but nothing changed.

And then Covid 19 happened.

If you are reading this blog – it means – you are in Greta Thunberg’s Universe. What Greta Thunberg willed is happening now. 

The world gets a much needed pause. All the flights have been grounded. Mindless consumption has stopped. Fossil Fuel consumption have plummeted all over the globe. Oil commodities went negative in US because there were no more takers for the Oil that is being pumped. Garbage that is being dumped in landfills and oceans has reduced. 

If you are wondering what happened to your universe before Covid happened – it is still continuing as usual in parallel.
You are still going to office – in a car – stuck in traffic, with AC On –  and cursing the traffic and wondering why the others will not take public transport.
You are planning at work, at your desk – a nice foreign trip for a week for this summer vacation – your kids and yourself are bored of going to Malls and the Beaches and Hill Station. 
During lunch break your colleague is talking about the new SUV he has purchased which has lot of gizmos and you are now hating the mini SUV you purchased just couple of years back. It does not have lot of the new features – and thinking – I can still dump it while it has a good resale value and purchase this new SUV.
You come home, but the food your cook made does not excite you – it’s this same old stuff. You tell the family, oh lets put in the fridge ( which will be thrown out tomorrow ), lets go to the new restaurant that is opened in our layout. 
That other universe – is still going on right now – wrecking the planet with mindless consumption and the human satisfying his personal desires mindless of the suffering the earth and the environment have to endure.
You should be happy you are in Greta Thunberg’s universe. It is good for the planet and thereby you, its inhabitant and other co-inhabitants – the plants and animals, all can live a better life.
You are now working from home – if you are the privileged .5%. Thanks to you the roads are now empty and those who have to travel to work for their living can travel quicker and with less pollution and stress.
You now have to find ways of entertaining your bored family – plan something for the weekend in the confines of your home. Have food at the dining table 3 times a day and talk of previous vacations, or the next vacation after lockdown – and not knowing – this is the best vacation ever. 
The mini SUV you had purchased a few years back – is gathering dust – just like your friends new SUV – tank full but no where to go. 
You start cooking and relish all the meals made at home. The initial days of lockdown where you badly wanted to eat some dish from your favorite restaurant – that urge is not there anymore. Now you see that the same restaurant is open, but you are not interested in ordering food anymore. 
We are all in Gretna Thunberg’s universe.
We should all be happy! 



Musings

Week 9 – Coronavirus

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Link to Week 8

Monday – May 4

I was still battling server issues. The load on the server was not just going down. Even starting 20 EC2 instances did not help. It was making it worse – and slowing the site and app further.
Monday morning I started with Angamardhana + SMM on the terrace. While doing the yoga+kriya I get an insight – I am not kidding – perhaps the memcache is failing on heavy load.
After standup I test my theory and it turned out to be true. When Memcache fails, all calls start hitting the database – and hence the load. Increasing more EC2 instances, was making more memcache failures, and more database load.
By noon the issue is resolved. App and site are back to their super fast mode. I am jumping with joy here – and no one to tell. I go to tell San, but she is in the middle of a long meeting with the Sales heads – they are strategising the Life time ERP free the competitor is touting. 

ADDA’s P&C Team ( People & Culture – we do not call ours as Human Resources ) – arranges for Mangoes. 

 And today Liquor shops open all over Karnataka. Lot of videos circulate of people standing in long lines. Someone had taken the Bahubali snippet where the statue falls down ( India Economy ) – and how a drunkard ( Bahubali ) comes and resurrects it.
Thursday

San and I step out post lunch time to see how our area is doing. There are 2 liquor shops and still long lines were there! The grocery shops however were empty and the neighbourhood chaat shop was having Pani poori packets. They didn’t have the masala though.  We pick up 3 packets.
Friday

The editorial on New Indian express shines light on the uncomfortable truth of the Migrant Labourers. I felt guilty being the beneficiaries of their work.

Saturday

I write a short story – And all fell down – Achu Charu are not happy with it. I post it in my college group – they are not happy with it. It does trigger a debate on capitalism. We discussed various models – like an ideal one which is a cross between a Wikipedia and an Amazon. 
Evening we have Pani poori. 

Sunday

Morning I do the weekly weight check. It is mixed this time. Mine has gone down by half a kg to 71. Last week I did not touch any chocolates or sugary mock tails these kids make now and then. It helped I think. 
First half I work. 
Post lunch catch 8 miles – Biography of Eminem. Lose yourself is one of the pump songs I listen when I feel down. Loved it.
Later we see – Intern – Robert De Niro and Anne Hathway. Beautiful movie. When I grow old I want to be like Robert De Niro!
Musings

And all fell down

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2020 

10 million died from coronovirus – a new strain of common cold which spread across the globe.
In the beginning many were in denial. It will only affect the elderly. The Western capitalistic economies thought – this is awesome. > 60 year olds are a burden to healthcare and social security budget. Let the virus take them out of the system – economy which is tanking at 2% growth can grow up by a few decimals.
The virus killed the elderly who were deposited in old age homes. It looked like a success. The western countries allowed the virus to spread. They relaxed the lockdown because the economy was tanking.
In populous 3rd world countries in Asia and Africa – the multiple chain lockdowns couldn’t stop the virus. People living on a day to day earnings all died of hunger and Mal nutrition. The Governments supplied food – once a day meal – to the poor. But the Govt ran out of money and commodities.  
Then the virus mutated. It started targeting children and young adults.
Towards the end of 2020 – the most vulnerable were not the > 60s, but the < 20s. 
Schools and colleges shut down permanently. 
Old age homes were mostly empty – across the world. 
2021
By mid 2021 – < 20 and > 60 were mostly gone. A few survivors in this age were still left. Those who had not yet come in contact with the world or they had really strong immunity or had very special anti bodies which could resist the virus.
Unfortunately the scientists who could have taken advantage of these antibodies to create a vaccine – they were all dead. Most of the hospitals have closed. Permanently.
The virus again mutated, having decimated children, the young adults and the elderly population.
There was mass depression. Mass suicides were the norm. 
Concerts across the world started happening – the very last concert. There were booths were one can go to get infected with Covid and die. 
2022

The worlds human population has dwindled. Just over a billion. 
All human activity has come to a standstill. Animals were multiplying everywhere in hordes  – just like how humans had multiplied everywhere.
Snake bites, leopard attacks, stray dogs – turned into wolves – roaming around and attacking humans – became the norm. Animals out of hunger broke out of the zoos – and started multiplying. 
Urban Concrete Jungles became the home for the animals – all big and small.
The few human survivors tried to create barricades around their cities. But it was of no avail. The animals like Leopards, Panthers could easily circumvent all the defenses .
Elephants and Rhinos could just push them aside.
2023

Human population has dwindled even further. Just over a million now.
Where one could look only animals were there. All human activity has ceased completely. 
The virus has stopped its work, but now the poor humans with no special skills like other animals wait their turn to die. Either dying of hunger, or water borne disease or being mauled by a small predator. 
By end of 2023 – the species called Homo sapiens became extinct. 
Musings

Week 8 – Coronovirus

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Link to Week 7 

Monday April 27

Sufi resting the whole world on her nose.

Sufi loves to sleep under tables

Charu gives finishing touches for this cauliflower Chinese dish

Kidference in progress

Saturday evening we have Pani poori


Prithvi and I go for a walk on the terrace. Here is our balcony from the other side. Its a tropical forest.

Middle of the week – San gets to know of two of our employees helping out people near their locality. She sends 5000 Rs to each of them to help them out.
Rs.1000 will help a family of 5 people for a week. Here is the update we got from one of the employees. 

Atta- 5Kg
Rice – 5kg
Toor Dal – 1kg
Moong daal – 1kg
Onion- 2kg 
Potato-2kg
Sugar- 1kg
Gram Flour – 1kg
Tea Leaf-300 Gms
Soap – 1 Nos
Salt – 1Kg, Oil – 2ltr
Name :Munir
Address : Squatters colony, Malad east
Profession :Mechanic
No. Of family members : 8
Earning person : 1
Mobile Number :  *******
Name : Sufiyan 
Address : flyover society
 goregaon east
Profession : 
No of family members : 05
Earning person : 1
Name : Geeta Shirola 
Address : squatters colony , Malad east
No of fam mem : 4
Mob No : *******
Name : Wasim 
Address : flyover society goregaon east 
Profession : Auto rickshaw driver
No of family members : 06
Earning person : 01
Mobile Number : *******
Name: Abdulla
Address : squatters colony, Malad east
Profession : Plumber
No of family members : 5 
Earning person : 1
Mobile Number : *******
I took Prithvi for the once a week supply shopping. He was stepping out after 2 whole months. He picked 4 bottles of Bitter Lemon Schweppes.  I did not see the price – apparently it was a wholly imported beverage – and each one was Rs.125. Felt guilty that here we are splurging on imported stuff, and families around the country are going hungry.
We decided not to buy any more of these stuff. And step up sending money to people who are helping others. 
Here are some funny forwards we got this week

Here is the life story of a speck

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