Kannan Kumar

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Train ride-Incredible India

Thursday, August 5, 2010

It was the rush hour when we left the college. The train station was crowded.We tried getting on 4 trains but couldn't.When the train arrives, people jump out of it before the train stops.
I heard this anecdote which shows the fact that 'If one doesn't get out early, he wouldn't be able to get out at all coz the crowd boarding the train will take him inside with them':-
A snacks vendor was inside a crowded train with his huge basket full of snacks. Seeing him in the crowded train commuters got angry and they asked him, "Why the heck are you in this crowded train with your basket?".
The vendor replied,"Guys, I was just selling my stuff on the station and had no intention of getting on the train but when the train came the crowd around me took me into the train with them."

We saw people climbing onto train top and walking across the train-top one by one like it is some Hollywood action sequel. One of the four trains that we had to forgo was a 'Ladies Special train'.As the name suggests its a special train only for the Ladies. Although at the risk of sounding sexist, I must admit, there are fewer female travellers than males for whatever reasons and thus these special trains are usually only half-full.As much as we would have liked to get onto that train, we couldn't.So what can one do when he can't get into a Ladies only train? He can climb to the top of the train.[The rule said men can't travel inside the train but noone said anything about not being allowed to travel on top of Ladies only trains.].
Well,most people love their life a lot to risk it foolishly but there are some daredevils who are so confident with their skills that they make their way to the top even as the train speeds out of the station. Try asking the Parkour experts to try it, they would certainly think twice before attempting the climb.

Trains passed one by one and we were still on that station, the crowd only getting bigger with each passing minute and thus making it even harder to get on a train.At last when one of the train came I hopped onto the train even before it had fully stopped and finally with much pushing and shoving, I got on the 5th one. And once inside I was squashed flatter than I already am and the tensile strength of my rib cage was put to test. I was unable to move any part of my body.It was a sausage fest inside surrounded by pot-bellied strangers all around.

Although I've heard of Angmoh's complaining about being groped in trains, people have been pretty decent to me so far. Considering the 'close contact' I was forced to maintain with few people around me in trains, nothing indecent happened so far although it is freaking uncomfortable. With my experiences in these crowded trains I have learnt that some extra-extra-deo always helps when travelling in crowded trains. Although quite suffocating initially but it serves a greater purpose.It engulfs me in the aroma of my own deo and protects me from any unpleasant odour in the crowded trains.I'm sure Russell Peters would gladly agree.

The only few moments that I could move inside the train were the ones when the train stopped at a station and ppl rushed out and into the train.That was the time for me to straighten my neck which I was forced to bend (because of some guy's hand going across my face ,to grab the handle beside my face).Or to tighten 'my precious bag' across my shoulders because I was scared it might get torn in this mad rush.

[I had heard stories from friends about how one might always prefer to carry extra shirt or slippers in his bag if he is travelling during rush hour because there's always a risk of getting your shirt torn or your slippers broken/lost in the rush.]

I somehow managed to survive the 40 mins long ordeal in the most uncomfortable positions I've ever been in.But when I was finally nearing my station I wasn't able to make my way across to the door.I was stuck in the middle.So I told the people around me that I need to get off and they tried to make way for me but we were jam-packed and unable to move.I was worried that I might not be able to get down and so I held my bag on top of my head and had to use brute force to ram my way through the crowd to get to the door.[Apparently it is the only way to move through the crowd.] I was huffing and puffing from all the in-train exhaustion but once on the station I was totally relieved. I took one last look at the moving train and the people who were desperately trying to cling on to the windows and doors of the train and a few spidermen making their way to the top of the train even as the train sped out of the station and I promised myself , "I 'll try to stay away from this experience for as long as possible".

Although I'm always game for some adventure I'm not a masochist.Even the winter cold of Taiwan mountians which froze our body from head to toe didn't inflict as much pain and didn't get so much adrenaline pumping in my body the way this one train ride during the rush hours did.

You don't read about many Indians scaling the Mount Everest or the nearby Himalayan mountains. Not many Indians have tried adventure sports and even fewer are interested in it as a career path.Although it could be primarily because we have a poorer($$) majority,I believe it is also because we have enough activities in our daily life which provide us with ample dosage of adventure and adrenaline.Mumbai local train is one such activity for all Mumbaikars(people of Mumbai).
Clearly, hanging onto the door handle of the fast moving train for your dear life pumps much more adrenaline than climbing up a rock wall with safety ropes and belayers protecting you form the fall.
Similarly, 5 people travelling on an 2 seater bike is adventurous and also a crime(which in fact makes it a much more adventurous and a thrilling experience). Overloaded buses, tuk-tuks and trains are now just the Indian way of life. Luckily we don't have overloaded flights yet. Not Yet but I'm sure we'll find a way to make that happen as well.

India is Incredible for real !

2:09 AM Back to top

Lousy Tech Support in India

Saturday, January 2, 2010

I know I've been away from quite some time now. It was primarily because, the internet here was really lousy these past few months. I couldn't open most websites but somehow I could get on Facebook with a few tries.The messenger wouldn't work and Meebo wouldn't open and when it did open it was the text-only version which was useless. During these few months I've been living off of Google's cached pages(Hail Google for cached pages which allows ppl with lousy Network connection access Google search results) and text only websites which were the only things I could access. I couldn't open blogger.com and when I was fortunate enough to open the site ,I couldn't log in. I couldn't even go to any of the blogspot / livejournal sites(that includes all your blogs).

Background Info: I have taken up a Broadband plan with a local company. Although I believe it's not the best but it is cheaper and is widely used. It doesn't require me to take up other bullshit plans(like phone, cable TV etc) on top op the Broadband.Besides they have a branch office near my house and its convenient to make payments and inquire and get help or so I thought. So they send over their guy, say Mr LJ, every month to collect the monthly charges. Whenever I tell Mr LJ ," I think there is some problem with the server, the network is screwed up, come take a look." He would be like ,"Sorry, our company doesn't provide any such form of assistance.You should contact Mr X. He will check it up for Rs xyz." . This is the leading Broadband provider in my area - SSV (I state the name here with absolutely no purpose to defame the company).It's not about the company, the issue is about their branch which is located near my house. They are always so eager to pocket the cash but when it comes to customer service, there is none.

Totally frustrated with having to put up with lousy internet connection for so many months, I took my laptop to the network guy , Mr LJ (who is eager to come over to collect the money weeks before the Broadband plan is supposed to expire but is never willing to help us with our network-related queries):

I tell him the problem.

Mr LJ: If you can Log In to our server then our job is done. It must be the website's problem.

After I ask him to just take a look.

Mr LJ: <He starts off by scolding me>Why didn't you Log Off from the previous session. You must Log In and Log Off properly every time.

I wanted to say " I pay $$ for unlimited 24-7 usage then why should I deal with this Log In/Log Off bullshit. Besides, It doesn't affect anything." but since he has my laptop in his hands I didn't want to risk scolding him back.

Mr LJ: <After pretending to run some serious checks he scolds me again>Your IP address is missing, how do u expect to open websites without IP.

Me: <This time I was agitated by his rudeness but maintained my composure>OhYea, the IP is on my desktop just copy it and you will be through.

Mr LJ: <After the network is set up he looks around the desktop and asks me like I have committed the most henious crimes>Don't you have Internet Explorer?

There are 3 browsers on my desktop with big icons: Chrome, Firefox and Safari. Don't ask me why I have all 3 of them. Basically,I just wanted to try them out and was too lazy to get rid of the ones I don't use often. My point is, instead of using any one of those, he asked me for Internet Explorer.

At this point I was tempted to ask him,"What era are u from dude, the 18th century?Who uses IE these days?". But I didn't.

Maybe he thought since the IT guys are always seen fiddling with DOS and all those black and white screens with only text on them, giving me a demo of how to use the most 'ancient' and the lousiest Web-browser would do some good to his image as a Tech support(after all, he couldn't do much that was of any help to me so far)

After I showed him his favourite IE or probably the only one he knew how to use,

Mr LJ: <He opened up google.com and declared>The net is working fine.

Me: <Surprised at this sudden,premature declaration I blurted out>Why don't you try other sites?I couldn't get into a whole range of sites like blogspot.

The very instant I mentioned blogspot he turned to me with a blurr look on his face.This made me realise he had no clue what blogspot was. After a few seconds, he was giving me a 'funny' smile like he had just caught me naming a porn site.

Me: <Trying to get back to serious business I suggested>Why don't you try Yahoo?

Fortunately for me, though unfortunate for Mr LJ, Yahoo didn't open up.I had just proved my point.The network was NOT ok.

Mr LJ: <After trying yahoo & yahoomail which failed, he quickly opens up google to save himself from the obvious embarrassment and says> Its the yahoo website, the rest are fine....

Me:But there are a lot of other sites which I couldn't open , like Youtube, Blogger,Meebo....

Mr LJ:<Cuts me halfway> It happens sometimes the Websites don't function properly the network is fine.

Me: I tried Windows Messenger (I knew he wouldn't get it if I said MSN) and it shows some DNS error.

See Windows Live Messenger has this awesome feature : if it can't 'Sign In' it will conduct a check on all network related things that are required for the Messenger to work and will pinpoint on which area is messed up.After that it also allows repair to be done to that area within the capabilities of MSN. This is how I knew the DNS(whatever it stands for) was creating the problem.

Mr LJ: No,there is no problem. You need to Log Off after every use thats all.

I was convinced that Mr LJ was a total Noob.

So I came back home disappointed and feeling cheated.

Since Mr LJ's help was no help at all, I tried to figure out what was wrong.

I went over to the cyber cafe and did some quick search on the error message that I got for sites like Youtube, Yahoo, Blogger and got to know that some DNS thingy had gotten corrupted and the remedy suggested was to just replace a few numbers in the settings. I went back home, tried it and my net was Alive and Kicking again.

If only I had tried to solve the problem on my own earlier, I wouldn't have wasted an hour of my life with Mr LJ.

The thing is India is the back office of many large MNCs providing tech support to people in the US and UK but the quality of IT support in India for the locals is plainly an "Embarra-shame".

PS: The technical terms have been used in this post due to lack of any other simpler alternatives known to the author.
Full credits for the word "embarra-shame" goes to the IZ Lim Dictionary of funny & distorted Singlish words.

Labels: India, Internet

7:16 PM Back to top

Goodbye 2009

Thursday, December 31, 2009

2009 was an emotional roller coaster ride for me. Even with my best efforts, I couldn't capture all the emotions involved. however, a ROUGH breakdown of what 2009 was like for me should look something like this. I had the worst/lonliest New Year's eve in the new city. It had crushed all my hopes for 2009. And I had expected it started off lonely/bored in Mumbai. I came "back" to Singapore in Feb and coming to Singapore felt like coming back to where I belong and things got really exciting in Singapore with 102C and Job hunting. But the excitement was short-lived. A level results and university applications brought me back to reality. But soon the good times were back again: Andrew's visit, street soccer, rock climbing, ECP, 102C, Thaipan, Sunday Love, Randy's place, Late nite movies, Late nite Football matches at the Kopitiam, How I Met Your Mother, Derk's visit, work(atleast the $$ it brings), etc.

After all the fun and joy came the rejections and appeals ad then rejections again. This time reality hit pretty hard and had a lasting effect.I knew for sure, no Uni in Singapore= no more Singapore for me. It was time to end my 4.5 years of stay in this "not so unique" but special land. I choose to make the most of whatever time I had left in the little RED Dot and did all that I could do before leaving: visiting CJ, Toa Payoh streets, meeting up with friends, doing all the things I knew I would miss at home. It included awesome in-house parties, birthday celebrations, street soccer at our usual place, stayovers at Randy's Place, Dan's place Airports, malls,etc and also getting drunk( atleast trying to). By the time I was leaving Singapore, I was on my emotional high. I was leaving most of my friends but it didn't feel bad at all coz all the memories of the last few days/months in Singapore were simply AWESOME. It was almost like another holiday trip back home. I was like " No Prob dude, you will meet up with these guys 'very soon'". It was only when I touched down on Mumbai Airport I came to my senses. I was back home for good. And I won't seethe little Red Dot for a long long time(probably till I start earning). The gloomy weather and the delayed baggage claim and immigration and swine flu check made me realise that life is not going to be so great for some time now and the sooner I get used to it the better.

Well I was terrible lonely at first. I can be at any place, doing anything in the world but I can't stand being lonely. The first time I felt depressed beyond 'repair'. I think I didn't feel this depressed even when I screwed up my A levels. Sad but true. My days were spent on the couch with the remote on one hand and my phone on another. With the remote I surf though channels aimlessly and with the phone I surfed through the captured pics of the last few days of my stay in Singapore. I wanted to move on but moving on has always been a challenge for me. Fortunately I started classes soon enough. And when I started classes the hectic schedule kept me busy-really busy. 5 days of classes with test on 6th day and often also on the 7th day(ie-Sunday). And now I've made a few friends in my class and life has started to be bit more bearable now. It doesn't mean I don't miss you guys, I still do. I missed u all at Christmas. And I'm missing you while I type this.

All the emotional extremes throughout this year made this year one of the Best ones for me so far. I thank each and every one of you for making this year(2009) a wonderful one for me. Without u guys, 2009 would have had no meaning in my life.

And here's my goodbye message to 2009 in the words of Fall Out Boys:
"Thanks for the Memories" :)

7:56 PM Back to top

Water Woes

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Be careful what you wish for,
'Cause you just might get it all.
`Chris Daughtry

I should have thought about it about a month ago when I was praying "Rain Rain Go Away".I got exactly what I wished for. And unfortunately, that is where the trouble begins. Rain's gone, our lakes half full and we don't have enough water for the year ahead until the next replenishing period(The Monsoons).Basically we've got very limited amount of water to last us all year long.So what should anybody with a finite amount of resource do?Recycle what they got?Well those 3 R's (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) that the environmentalists and lovers of mother nature(me included) keep talking about are methods for the rich nations to adopt and for the poorer ones to watch in awe. The most we(developing lot) can do is to reduce wastage and ration whatever we got until the next showers.And rationing the water resource they(city officials) are, much to the liking and comfort of the common man like me.

How exactly do we ration something like water in a reservoir/lake?The answer: Provide water to people only for a limited period during a day(Morning and Evening). As for the usage during the rest of the day, we just have to store water in personal storage tanks, buckets,etc and if we are lucky we would have enough to last for the day.And when we realise we may not have enough, we take the opportunity for a family eat out.No cooking => no washing dishes => less usage of scarce water.I know people who get water to their homes only in the wee hours of the morning or late at night. I have seen my neighbours fight over water and heard of people taking their water woes to the police.(Wonder what the Police can do to help though). I wake up every morning and the first thing I check is the tap. When I flip the newspapers, I first look for any news about water cuts before reading the cover story. All this sure has been an 'exciting' experience for me because we have been quite lucky so far to have managed pretty well for most days.For most of the people in India this is just a part of their life. But what about all those millions in other parts of the world who are in much much much worse conditions than us.Did you ever wonder how they survive? I do now.

For all you kids from countries where the taps provide water like the atmosphere provides us oxygen(that is-24 hours x 7days, all year long) and for those from the Little Red Dot(Singapore) which is not only able to buy water from the neighbours but can even turn sh*t used water into "New" Water, the next time you turn your tap think about the kids in Africa who have to walk for hours to get their water for the day.

Hope you choose not to waste what you've got as a privilege.

And Hope I think twice before I wish for something in future...

9:56 PM Back to top

There's a new Bee in town

Monday, September 14, 2009

A few weeks ago I had this sudden urge to play Frisbee. For anyone reading this who doesn't know what Frisbee is: Frisbee is an awesome sport that most people instantly fall in love with because of its simple yet exciting game play that they can pick up very fast.I missed it so much that I decided to stop felling sorry for not being able to play it and to look out for opportunities where I can play this sport. Although, I knew that it is rare that any sport gets recognition in this country where Cricket is almost a religion(&
Cricketers are almost demi-Gods) and anything other than Cricket is unpopular, I kept hoping that there would be some peeps who have picked up this sport from somewhere and play it in Mumbai.
So I did the first thing that anyone looking for something does-- Googled it..and I wasn't disappointed.After a bit of search I came to know about this professional Frisbee team from Mumbai who call themselves "Storm Chasers". I called them up and the guy on the other end was kind enough to let me know more about their training schedules and even invited me to join them for one of the practice sessions.I planned to go check out this team on Saturday as I was packed with lessons till Friday.
I was really happy that day. I was so happy that I made plans of getting back into shape (upgrade my stamina, sharpen my flicking skills,etc). I woke up early next day to run, which not many people do around here. I could hardly see anyone around on the streets or in the park when I was out running. I saw a couple of old folks walking around and being the only one running through the deserted park in the early hours seemed quite weird.And just after I had made all the plans to go play Frisbee that Saturday, I got to know that we would have regular classes Tuesday through Saturday that week. I thought it was just that week because we missed a few lessons due to the Swine flu scare. But, next week too, same story-lessons all week long. And week after that and the week after that....Weeks passed and I am still longing to feel that awesome disc in my hand.I want to chase it, grab it, flick it and score-the ULTIMATE way.

PS: I miss you Frisbee and can't wait to lay my hands on you once again.

Labels: Frisbee

6:13 PM Back to top

Achooo Alert - Swine flu hits Mumbai

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

The swine flu scare has JUST entered Mumbai with 2 deaths in the last few days and people are already panicking. People are so worried they might contract the disease that everyone is masked up hoping to keep the virus at bay.People from taxi drivers to corporate officials seen masked up to prevent H1N1.I see a wide range of masks-from the handkerchiefs tied up around their faces(in a way that they resemble the terrorists that reside in Borat's homeland) to the usual anti-dust mask and the high end surgical masks(I must say people who go to this extreme really lack some guts).I don't think many people know this over here in Mumbai that none of these masks that people use here can prevent viruses.I repeat....none of the masks used by people here can prevent viruses. The only form of protection these masks provide is from bacterias.The media, due to lack of meaningful news, sensationalizes "Swine Flu" apart from other meaningless news like noob students getting mugged in Aussie.Seeing the heightened media hype, the locals tend to panic when all one needs to do is lead a healthy lifestyle.Where Monkey See Monkey Do phenomenon has caused the whole of Mumbai to mask up, the media hype is forcing schools and colleges to shut down completely for a week or two. Didn't anybody think of a more efficient plan like "self-quarantine" for those with flu like symptoms.

PS: The opinion in this post is that of the blogger and readers are advised to follow at their own risk.The writer has clearly no fear of losing his life to Swine Flu and he is happy leading life on the edge taking as many "calculated" risks as possible. Also, he can't wait to fake a cough(of course he will follow basic courtesy of covering his mouth while in the act) in a crowded train compartment in front of masked up people.He thinks the people around him will throw him out of the speeding train for sure.

9:50 PM Back to top

Profile

All about me

14 years in India : Montfort School, Orissa
4.5 AWESOME years in Singapore : St Joseph's Institution; Catholic Junior College; Outdoor Adventure Club; 102-C ; Frisk and Romp
Now: Back In India, Navi Mumbai to be exact.
Future: Wanna be an AWESOME Computer Engineer who builds cool,intelligent robots which can follow me on my expeditions to the farthest corners on this planet.
Interests: Mountains; Nature; Frisbee; Soccer; Running.