A Compassionate Biker

Road to California

I visited California in 2008 soon after coming to the US. At that time I didn't know much about this country, society, culture or politics. I fancied myself to be a tourist and tried to enjoy my visit. Roads in the US are great marvels by themselves. I enjoy taking pictures of the road, specially when it is a scenic route linking mountains or runs along the sea shore. As we drove through the mountains towards the Bay Area or Silicon Valley, I captured some of the road views from the moving car. '

Highways in Texas

This is the picture of the Central Expressway in Texas, US. I took this picture while walking under the bridge in one of the rarely seen foot paths. I guess this trail exists because it is part of a walking/ bicycling trail system in McKinney Texas, my new home city. It is interesting to notice the amount of space that is left open in this country. If there was this much space in India I am pretty sure there would be either a few families living here or couple of small stores operating a thriving business selling pan, cigarettes and odds and ends.

Sights of DFW Metro area

Sometimes as I drive around I just turn around and click a picture from my mobile phone. These pictures are not great in terms of quality, technicality or any such aspect. It is just hard cold truth of what I see... I shoot images such as these not to impress anyone, but just to document what I see as I drive around the city running errands and leading my daily life.

I have traveled 7 out of 50 states in the US and I must say that the best roads are in Texas. Though there is not much traffic like in East Coast or West Coast of the US, the roads here are something one needs to marvel at. It is amazing how the roads have been built and continue to be created. The above picture is of President George Bush Turnpike, a toll road on which one can see cars whizzing past at 70+ miles per hour. There are Multiple bridges built at many levels to separate traffic into different directions, exits, and entries. As you can see there are six different roads, each with at least three lanes in this picture.

Because Texas is still a sparsely populated state it is still possible to view an sunrise as we drive to work early in the morning.

My trip to Nanjangud

The first week of my holiday in Bengaluru I visited Mysore and Nanjangud with parents and extended family members. The trip was a pilgrimage for my father who had promised to visit the ancient Shiva temple here. The trip was quite eventful with several things happening including problems with the vehicle and a major stomach upset after I returned home.

Mysore city Road

We started off at 8 am in the morning from home and after some family visits in Mysore we reached Nanjangud finally at 4.30 pm just in time for the temple opening. I was visiting Nanjangud after 12 years and the place offered quite a few surprises to me. For one thing the roads around the temple have been cleaned up and some aesthetic hedge plants have been planted along the medians. The town used to be a dusty, grimy place, but today it is a clean and neat location which evokes devotion.

Street scene in downtown Mysore

The temple is currently undergoing renovation and hence there are some areas inside the shrine that are not so impressive. Here are some pictures of my visit to the temple town.

View of the Entrance to Nanjangud temple

A view of the pillars that support the entrance to the Nanjangud temple

Attractive temple frescoes

Sculptures inside the temple

Some road pictures of Bengaluru

I have finally found a place where I can download pictures from the camera and upload them onto my blog. Here are a few road images of a renovated Bengaluru...

In Bangalore... after a short trip.....

It has been a week since I am back in good old Bengaluru... the city has grown by leaps and bounds as usual. I took a short trip to Nanjangud, a small pilgrimage town less than 200 km from here and it was a different experience altogether.

The journey was pretty swift on smooth and newly widened roads and what totally caught me by surprise was the amount of infrastructure development that has taken place in Nanjangud. I remember visiting the city more than a decade ago and it was a crumbling little village struggling to handle the increasing tourist/ pilgrim traffic. Today it is a swank tourist town with smooth concrete roads, vast open spaces, neat riverside areas for worshippers, devotees who wish to take a holy dip, and even fishermen. The temple itself is undergoing renovation right now and the part of it that is complete is simply superb. Going by this testimony I am sure the temple will be transformed into a wonderful tourist/ devotional/ pilgrim center once the renovation is complete.

I will conclude with a hope that I will be able to visit the temple again once the renovation is complete.

Blogging from Bengaluru.....

I am finally back in Namma Bengaluru... after a long break of over two and a half years. I had heard only of the new problems and issues that the city was facing during these two years. Boy were they totally biased... you bet.... I took a spin around the city today in an auto and was surprised at the numerous good things that have happened to the city. The first thing is the notorious Bangalore traffic... and my experience is that yes the bottlenecks and chaos continue to reign the city but overall there is about 30-40 percent improvement in the road quality and general traffic speed.
That is something better than nothing. People who complain will do so even if they are given roads like airport runways... but believe me guys don't complain about Bangalore traffic or roads. I am quite certain you will notice the change once you land up here.
The ride is not totally smooth... but not as chaotic as before either. There has been great improvements in some stretches of roads while other roads have gone worse due to development works.
My verdict is that Bangalore has changed for the better... better roads, faster traffic, less snarls...

Street Views of New Orleans

I am still back in my list of blogging topics because I have been very busy with school and other mundane activities. Anyway I shared my experience of the swamp tour in New Orleans, now let me tell you a little about the roads and what I saw around there. First of all I didn't travel much of the city except for the downtown areas. So I don't know what the suburbs look like and my opinion of downtown New Orleans is definitely not great... this is one of the rundown cities in the US that I have visited. The roads are narrow, potholed, there is the tram that still runs, like in Kolkata, the city seems heavily dependent on tourism. This is city is quite like any big city in India, one can see abject poverty as well as extravagant opulence. Fancy flyovers and highways, but narrow roads within the city. Dirty sidewalks especially around the Bourbon street area. Skyscrapers overshadow small homes and generally it is obvious that there is a lot of poverty in the city.
Our host was telling that earlier he would walk to his work which is just a mile away. He stopped doing so because every day he would be accosted by at least 3-4 dirty, grimy, beggars (pan-handlers) asking for a Quarter (25 cents), food, etc. They would not beg but rather ask/ demand. Now he drives the distance or takes the tram. Here are some pictures I shot while travelling in the car check it out and let me know what you feel?

Rural America same as Rural India

Being from India and having heard only good... no.. great things about the US and its wonderful infrastructure, I can't help but compare and contrast what I see here with what is there back home. I drove through many of the rural roads of Collin County last weekend and I was surprised with what I saw. Narrow, single lane, pot-holed, trash-ridden roads, ramshackle homes, horses, donkeys, cattle and poultry in the fields among others. The only difference between Indian rural areas and US rural areas is the lack of people. It is almost impossible to see people in this country. Occasional cars are all we saw while we drove. Check out the pictures of the great American roads and decide for yourself.

Texas Road Views

Some pictures shot while traveling recently. These are nothing great but general sights I see on the road. Hope you all like the views.

This is a shopping mall.. built in a different style with parking lots bigger than the buildings

Loaded pick up trucks are a common sight in Texas

Texas is a state full of multi-level highway intersections.

Justin, Texas - An American Village

Yesterday we had to travel to a small town known as Justin, about 35 miles from Carrollton, Tx. When I first heard the name Justin, my mind immediately went back to Bangalore, India where our office assistant was named Justin. So I wondered what kind of a city this was named Justin... Nevertheless we drove down the highway to reach the rickety town of Justin dominated by horse and cattle ranches.

According to the city website, this area was originally settled by a band of French colonists who in 1848 established the Icarian Colony. The community was abandoned a year later, and the area remained sparsely populated until the early 1880's. The formation of the city started in 1883, when one Chet Helm and Riley started selling town lots. At that time there was no name to this settlement/ community. A year later an enterprising individual opened a general store and four years later, the Santa Fe extended its rail line from Fort Worth to Purcell, Oklahoma. The tracks were laid contiguous to this yet unnamed community.

In January 1887, the 100-strong community petitioned postal authorities for a post office to be named Justin, in honor of Justin Sherman, chief engineer of the Santa Fe rail line. Since then the population of the city has not grown much, today Justin is still a small city of about 3,000 people. It looks like any small town in India, for example Tumkur, Ramnagar but only the infrastructure is a shade better. There are quite a few leisure facilities such a tennis court, athletic track and of course a large Church.

Of course the biggest difference is perhaps the basic civic infrastructure, smooth roads (though narrow), good drainage system and clean drinking water piped to every home. If these things could be achieved in India we would not be far behind the rest of the First-World nations. What needs to be done to achieve this is hard working people and corruption free establishment.

City Park, Justin

Trading Post (Antique Store), Justin

Water Supply location for Justin city

Any city in US must have a church....

My Experiments with Poetry - II

This is the latest poem I scribbled while taking a break from studies at the library... wonder if it is worth anything or just few words spun together without much consequence... I look forward to reading your comments...

Road Travel
Riding thru lanes, streets, crossroads, highways and boulevards
I see vistas of happiness, grief, hope and loss
Scenes of prosperous grandeur and sights of abject poverty

As I make my way through villages and cities, I wonder sometimes:
When the world is so beautiful And full of goodness and beauty
Why do people fight in the name of religion and polity?

And when I feel tired, lonely and hungry I wonder
Am I on the right path Or have I taken a wrong detour
Is this tour an adventurous reverie?
Or is it a grand plan gone badly wrong?

I am not alone meandering across nations
For there are others on the road
Searching for love, adventure and livelihood

My dear friend these roads are not only for us to enjoy
It is for all those who seek adventure.
And a break from their daily grind

So learn to share the road like families share homes
And you will reach your dream destination
Safe and sound within a reasonable span of time.
-*-*-*-

Antiquated Enfield Commercial

I chanced upon this TV commerical of Royal Enfield Bullet on youtube and thought I'd share it with my readers. This is one bike which I probably owned for the longest period of time while I was in India. I have ridden several motorcycles since parting with the Bullet but none have come anywhere close in terms of the feel and riding comfort of this big thumper. It is on this motorcycle that I doscovered the joys of riding in the backroads of rural India... places where there are no roads but only foot trails... places where rivers flow across the roads... places where traffic is so thick that one has to inch along for hours before opening the throttle. But all said... Enfield Bullet is the bike...

A video on motorcycle safety

It is not a safe road trip for Bikers across the world, but the thrill of biking and the love of freedom keeps people hooked to these two wheeled wonders. In third world and developing countries motorcycles are mostly used as modes of transport and people wheel in and out of busy traffic. But in stark contrast in developed countries where road infrastructure is very well developed and in place, motorcycling is more a recreation, sport and pleasure. And the speeds at which these big machines travel is amazing and quite scary too.

Travelling on motorcycles on American roads can be both an amazingly thrilling experince or a completely disastrous one. The average speed of a vehicle on Freeways/ Interstate highways in this continent-sized country is 60 miles per hour (100 km ph). At this speed car drivers often don't see bikers unless they are completely visible or making a lot of noise. One can often see bikers wearing flashy coloured jackets and their metal steeds equipped with glowing lights travelling on the highways.

One heartening and admirable feature of the California state in the US is that they observe the month of May as Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. And to ensure the safety and education of all motorcycle users the California Highway Patrol (CHP) has released a short film about motorcycle safety. The 13 minute explains the hazards and the precautions motorcyclists need to be aware of. The dangers they would potentially face in their every day commuting are shown in this video and also steps to take to ride safer, and arrive alive.

A note of caution before you click on play to view the video. This short film contains graphic footage from actual crash scenes involving motorcyclists. Viewer discretion is advised.



But the bottomline for anyone is to ride safe and be aware of the hazards and enjoy biking.

Bright and sunny at last

After several days of wet, gloomy and foggy weather we had sunlight today.... but getting out of home is still a little dicey because of the cold and bone chilling winds that blow across here. So long as one is indoors with the heater on there is no problems at all... it can get down below freezing like it did last night but we will be snug and warm.

The apartment closed public water taps because water froze and pipes would have burst. Nights are really cold. But one good thing about the administration is that, the roads are maintained well so that there is very little or no ice on the roads.

Roads and cars are life of America, people say that it not crowded like in India. I agree but then there are so many cars on the highways, roads and every car has just one occupant. According to some statistics I found on the web America has 5 vehicles per capita. There are over 250 million cars on road as of today. That is almost one vehicle per person... America's population is around 300 million and leaving out children and those ineligible to drive it makes one car per person. And sometimes I wonder whether everybody is on the road because there are so many cars on the road... I am not talking about the city but the interstate highways and federal routes (national highways).

It is crazy I feel, but if people are not in the rat race they can't live here. If you don't have a car you can't go because there doesn't exist even a half-decent public transport system (at least in Dallas). I have probably seen 10 taxis since I came to Dallas about a month and half ago. And nothing is less than 2 miles from our home. So if you want to get grocery you have to drive... if you want to go to a restaurant you have to drive.... there is no concept of walking to the friendly neighbourhood grocer... All grocery stores are big national/ international chains.

A model I wonder if it will work for India. With a small population it is working pretty well here, but I wonder with arrival of Reliance Fresh, FoodWorld, Walmart what will happen to the small stores and how India will be 20 years down the line. Will the small players be forced to close shop? Will they be able to survive the onslaught of these mammoth corporations... wonder what will happen.... only time will tell....