After 3 weeks of using Autos as my primary mode of transport (had such a bad experience on this; read mental blog entry dated 28 Sep 07), I tried taking a public bus to town. Bus service 171 runs from Koramangala to Ghandinagar for only Rs9 (S$0.35). While the seats are segregated by sex (the first 5 rows are usually reserved for ladies), the "gentlemen" (in quotes because it is usually not gentlemanly) section is usually crowded and there needs to be a certain amount of pushing (and sometimes elbowing) to get your way through. To survive a bus trip in India, the ability to have a HIGH threshold of maximum body contact (male) is key.
I once read that there are 3 aspects of life in India; i.e. Bollywood, Cricket and Crime. While it will take me sometime to understand Hindi (Hindi movies here don't have English subtitles) and I don't wish to douse myself with crime, the next best thing is to learn how to watch cricket.
While some called Cricket the most complex sport to learn, I was given a natural helping hand. The Twenty20 World Cup (shall no attempt to explain cricket's complex rules but read it here if you are interested) in South Africa was bringing the cricketing countries to a standstill. I was very lucky to witness (ok, that was on TV) the Indian team winning a competition which they had not won since 1983 and more importantly, to experience the elation (e.g. fireworks around the city, chants of Chak De India or Come On India) erupted everywhere when it got the last wicket with 5 runs to spare. It doesn't help when the opponents was Pakistan; matches involving the 2 countries always have a special sense of rivalry instilled in it.
It is sometimes interesting to note that while cricket-crazy countries are mostly from the Commonwealth,
not all Commonwealth countries (i.e. Malaysia, Singapore) are cricket-crazy. |
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Thought it was strange when this man was smiling at me while he lays comfortably on the grass patch at Vidhana Soudha with a "Buddha before his Nibbana" pose.
I quickly took a picture and realised that he was smiling at the people behind me (his family was walking towards him).
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It was a rather good picture taken (don't even need to do much on Photoshop); the dog was taking a nap on the cool grass beside Vidhana Soudha.
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A statue of Jawaharlal Nehru (the first Prime Minister of India) waving to the visitors and tourists along Dr Ambedkar Road. |
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A road sign depicting Mahatma Gandhi Road; one of the main shopping districts and also a popular hang-out place for the techies in this IT boom town. |
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Saw a truckload of people waving at me while I was crossing the street. I started snapping pictures at them while they returned the favour by raising their hands in delight.
p.s.: They were probably on their way to one of the city ponds where the immersion of Lord Ganesh will take place. |
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A bowler waits in anticipation during a cricket game while the evening sun looks on.
p.s.: This picture was taken at the FM Manekshaw Parade Ground which was across the shopping district of MG Road. |
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On the same parade ground, I saw 2 women cooking in front of 2 make-shift tents.
It would have been easy to assume them as squatters, but they looked too clean to be one. |
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Self-catering in India; a simple dinner that reminds me of home.
Apart from the eggs, everything else (i.e. rice, luncheon meat, fermented beancurd, braised peanuts and stewed pork) was brought from Singapore. |
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Headlines of the Times of India dated 25 Sep 07 when India won the 1st Twenty20 Cricket World Cup.
It had taken a long 24 years since India had won anything major in international cricket competition. |
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Went to work one morning and was wondering why there were children "locked" up in the police bus.
Took this picture near the market along "Total" shopping complex. |
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