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Tag: Udaipur

  • Driving in India with special reference to Udaipur

    Recently, my friend Mudit opined that, in India, people which have been driving bicycles or bikes, suddenly started driving cars. While they have bought cars with their money, but they could not buy the required education on driving cars. So, most of them drive their cars as if they are still driving bikes.
    His comment got me thinking and I am trying to compile a list of driving mistakes for which we should be able to identify if a person belongs to such category, ie. drive cars as they have money, but with a education level of driving bicycle or bikes.

    1. Blowing horns without any logic
    There are lot of stories about blowing horns by car drivers in India! One such stories goes like this – Initially, horn of Marti cars used to get faulty in a month or so. So, Suzuki Japan ( Maruti cars parent company from Japan) sent a team of engineers to investigate the issue. They found out that, while their horns are made to last maximum 3000 horns for its life ( 3 years), those number of horns are normally used up the Indian drivers in a month!
    So, if you find someone blowing their horns without any rhyme or logic, you have just spotted a car owner/driver with education of riding bicycle/bike but driving a car!

    2. Trying to overtake when there is not enough space for it
    Many people will try to overtake you from behind if you keep enough distance (10 feet or so) from the car in front of you. And when they succeed, they will put their car in that 10 feet space so that you either slow down or forced to drive just one or two feet behind his/her car.

    3. Changing Lane
    I am yet to meet any driver or car owner, specially, in North India, who knows or heard about lane driving. They simply drive in any lane wherever there is any space left by other cars or road is empty. They might even laugh at you if you ask them to drive on the left ( India is left hand driving system) even when road is empty. One of my friends once counted one driver changing lanes some 30 times in 2 KM driving in Gurugram, Near Delhi. Of course she is not Indian.

    3. Redlight Zebra Crossing

    I once asked my friend, why did he jump the red light? He simply replied, ohh, there was no one coming from the other side where the light is green. I could not make him comprehend that, when its red for you, you are supposed to stop your car, either road is empty or not or if there is vehicles on the green light lanes. No, he simply did not comprehend that kind of Traffic Light System. If you stop your car behind Zebra Crossing, chances are, some other cars will come from your left side and park their car on the zebra crossing in front of you may even laugh at you thinking you are stupid!

    4. Right turn and driving wrong side

    I have never seen anyone taking proper right turn in North India, specially in Udaipur, Rajasthan. If you observe anyone taking right turn, you might get the impression that, India is right hand driving system! When people have to take right turn in open road and if they can not take the right turn for incoming vehicle, they will start driving their car on the right side, without stopping their car. And when you see some people driving on the wrong side, they do so, because they don’t want to take a U-Turn as the further down. They do so to save petrol, but its OK for them to cause traffic jam, break rules or even causing accidents! A typical car owner who should have been riding a bicycle or a bike.

    5. Me first!

    Everybody wants to go first. If there is not traffic light or traffic police in any crossing, nobody will wait for others to pass. Many will increase speed of their car so that others let them pass, seeing them speeding, that’s how they think. And if you allow others to pass, then cars behind you will honk at you, and chances are, you might get abused too, for being nice to others. Being nice to other fellow drivers, riders is simply not done in India, by those car owners who should ideally be riding a bicycle.

    6. Parking

    People park their cars in No Parking zones or anywhere where there is some space to park, nearest to the place where they are going, like shop, meet some one, talk some one. They will park the car on lane inside colony, will spend talking on phones, will move their car only when some one honks at them. They will not move their car even when they see some one approaching, will move only when they are honked at. When they park, they will park absolutely without any consideration for others and if possible, will occupy space for two or three cars by parking differently. And they will shout at each other too.

    7. Use of indicator and dipper at night
    Its very rare to see drivers using indicators while turning left or right. Specially left. Once my American friend was amazed and commented, wow, you are even using blinkers! when he saw me using indicators!
    Many drivers in India does not seem to know using dipper at night. They use headlight as if it is a tube light at home, you switch it on once it is dark and then switch off once you sleep.

    I would like others to add their experiences and points whom they consider to be car owners with a cycle or bike owners education level.

    Thanks Mudit for getting me to think and giving me a perspective!

    Edit: Ram Sundararaman Comment :

    ” Very well written Uttam! I have some amazing experience on this front – not to say that I’m a disciplined driver – I wonder if anyone is 🙂

    In respect to counter the traffic problem, you must consider some of the amazing corrective measures that have been carried out by the administration. Fatehpura circle had a large round-about. When the traffic increased, they evacuated and dismantled all of the illegal encroachments (wonder if there’s a legal one, though) in addition to reducing the size of the round about to a tenth of what it was. Bingo! Me first folks are bumper to bumper with incoming vehicles from the left. Blessing the mothers, sisters, prostitutes and you don’t know mes! As of now, one of the way throughs is blocked and the traffic is now congested in front of the petrol pump down the direction of Sukhadia circle.

    On the contrary, Surajpole had a small round-about. You know what they’ve done. 🙂

    Our drivers are innovative, one will never know if that lane would ever exist so why drive there and be disappointed tomorrow?

    Innovations are always path breaking!”

  • The day I forgot to buy a lottery ticket

    Yesterday, 17 Nov 2017 has been really lucky day for me.

    The morning started with check-in in a hotel in Mahipalpur, New Delhi at 2AM from a very troubled and hectic drive down from Shimla. Had a good discussion ( mostly I listened) about present Assam situation and went to sleep at 3AM.

    Got up at 7:15AM as 8 out of our 10 members had to take flight at 10AM to Guwahati. Everything went smoothly, the airport droppings arrived in time, hotel guys were very helpful in loading luggages in the car. Me and another team member went back to room and got a call from Guwahati bound team that one car did not take taxi fare from them. Wow!

    Then there were some pending works which needed my urgent attention as I was kind of holidaying in Himachal Pradesh. I checked for Wifi in hotel and found that they have a put a board about Wifi Details in the room. I connected to it and internet worked blazing fast! The twin problems which were pending for last one week got resolved in first attempt! Wow!

    I was about to call OLA cab and then received an SMS from OLA with a discount coupon of Rs. 80! I used that and reached Saket from Mahipalpur for just Rs. 50! Wow!

    In Saket, I slept for two hours and then went and got SMS that my wait listed (22) train ticket got confirmed, RAC! Wow!

    I went to Nizamuddin to board the train at 5:10PM and reached quickly at around 5:45PM, though I was afraid of bad Delhi traffic. I went to ComSun restaurant and was debating if I should buy coffee as I was left with Rs. 400 in my purse and I thought I should not draw cash from ATM. Then a girl came and asked if she could seat in the empty seat in front of me. I said yes. She sat, kept her luggage and asked me again if could watch over her luggage while she goes and gets some coffee. I said yes again. She came back with two cups of coffee and offered me one. She said, she is thankful for watching over her luggage so she thought of buying me coffee. I profoundly thanked her and accepted the coffee. Wow! ( No she was not traveling to Udaipur in the same train).

    I was carrying a bottle of Blenders Pride in my backpack and I was apprehensive if I will be stopped and asked to remove it in the luggage screening while entering to platform. I was the lone passenger getting the luggage screened and no, they did not stop me. They let me pass! Wow!

    I reached Platform 7 without any further event and found that the train is already parked in the platform at 6:20PM for the scheduled departure of 7PM! Wow!

    I knew the chart wont be pasted, so I went straight to meat RAC seat and sat their comfortably. I looked around and found few fat ladies, men from Punjab sitting their and talking to ( or at?) each other loudly as usual. I kept playing with my mobile while I was waiting for the second RAC passenger. No h/she did not come. I was kind of happy and secretly hopped that h/she should not come so that I get the berth to myself! But another fad lady came while train was about to leave and sat in my berth. She was Punjabi too and offered to inform me that she is part of some Yatri, going to Nathdwara on some religious trip along with many people from Rajpura, Bhatinda etc etc. I had no interest but still I was polite to act attentive and replied when needed like a good boy.

    After one hour, Railway TTE ( Traveling Ticket Examiner) came and asked for my ticket. I showed him my ID and told him my berth number. He looked at his chart and did not find my name and asked me to show the SMS, I showed him again. And I found that my ticket is actually booked from Udaipur to Nizamuddin on the same day, same train name but different Train number, and I was there at Nizamuddin boarding on the train to go to Udaipur! The TTE then said, ohh, then you must be a current reservation person, and the original owner of the guy who was on the chart must have cancelled as he was supposed toboard from Nizamuddin only. So he crossed his name, put my name, age and asked the PNR from me, asked me to occupy the berth and moved on! I was too ashamed, dazed for proper response and just sat there! Wow!
    ( I had just Rs. 400 in my purse)
    I was really afraid and thought the TTE would come back after realising his mistake and I would be in very embarrassing situation where I am travelling without ticket ( wrong ticket), used that wrong ticket brazenly to occupy a berth and keeping straight face about it! Then another fat lady, friend of the lady who was already sitting there, came and sat with us. After few mins, that lady asked me if I could exchange a upper berth seat with the one I was sitting which was side lower berth. I said sure then I asked her which one. She said, sleep on any of the upper berth in the adjacent seats. I told, then I would take up the side upper berth, she told no problem, they have many berths as they are in big group. Then she asked me if I had my food, I said no. She immediately said, ohh, then you must have our food, we got lot of food and immediately offered me a nicely packaged food without garlic and onion! I tried to refuse though I was aware of my cash position! Then whole of their team came urging me to eat, i mean at least 10 of them asked me to eat, and even started giving me sweets etc. Typical Punjabi hospitality! One lady got up giving space for me to eat! The food was really good! Wow!

    I went to my newly acquired side upper berth and slept their but still apprehensive that TTE might come looking for me after discovering his mistake or the original berth owner may pop up at Mathura! But none came and after another station, I slept peacefully! Wow!

    I got up at Mavli, now relaxed as I knew I can now manage with Rs. 400/- even if the TTE realises his mistake! Then I reached Udaipur City station, walked out, reached home, paid Rs. 70 to auto guy ( still left with Rs. 330 from original Rs. 400) and sate down to write this experience and thought, I forgot to buy a lottery ticket yesterday.

  • My pleasant experience with Indian Railways

    The title of this post may come as shock to many who are used to seeing news/blog posts about slamming services of Indian Railways ( juts like me). But things have changed and I am observing this in last two years.

    Recently, I was traveling from Mumbai to Jaipur and then Jaipur to Udaipur. The train number from Mumbai to Jaipur is : 12955 and it starts at around 7:30PM from Borivoli and reaches Jaipur next day at around 12:40PM. The train was on time, and it was very clean. And when I say, very clean, I mean very clean. It was pleasant surprise for me. Not only train was clean, but also all amenities worked! Working of amenities in trains may be taken for granted in western countries, but in India it was always a question mark.
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