A Sigh of Relief & I saw a UBO!

What a day!

I shall write about that which carries more public importance.

But first, thank you for all your support guys and gals. You know who you are and why. Truly means a lot!

Special thanks to Zubin, who left his family's business exhibition of jewellery to come and help me out in my time of need. God bless you man!

.....

As for the social message, I never thought I'd actually ‘hear’ the Ceat style idiots on the street. Remember those adverts? If you feel watching inconsiderate road users is bad, think again. The streets are sure filled with them. But this was a new level of inanity indeed.

On my way back home in a rickshaw, we stopped at a packed signal. A 20-something motorcyclist with a pillion started to honk on their roughly 6 month old bike. Located just behind us, both males lacked the basic protection of a helmet. He started to sound the horn repeatedly while the vehicles didn’t have space to even move a couple of inches.

He did it once, twice! Third time and my rickshaw driver decided to check who they were as he thought they could be his friends.

Sadly, the silliness continued. Clearly they were strangers. The honking started to get to me now. I looked behind, once. He stopped and looked away. I turned my head in. He started the ludicrous behaviour again. Once more I looked behind to find that it stopped and his eyes did not dare to meet my line of sight.

And yes, you guessed it. The insane thing happened again. That was it! I turned behind and politely asked, “Is it you who is honking?”

Idiot 1: Yes.

Me: Why? Don’t you see there’s no space to move and that it’s a red light?

Idiot 1: But I didn’t say anything to the rickshaw driver!

Me: But there’s no point for the honking!

Idiot 1: What’s your problem with it huh? I was sounding the horn for time-pass.

I was still trying to process the level of stupidity behind that statement when in a few seconds the light went green and we got a move on. A few metres later, the freely moving early evening breeze cooled my head and I thought let’s capture these idiots on digital film. I tracked them through the rear window of the small wheeled public transport and took the shots as they passed by.

Idiot 2: Hahn, kheencho photo! (Aah yes, click our picture.)

Me: Yes!*grinning*

Idiot 1: *Hurling what looked like an abusive expression from his eyes.*

Me: *Showed them the finger* (My honest naive mistake)

They were now trailing behind a bit. As they caught up in the next few seconds,

Idiot 1: Shove it up your arse!(in Hindi slang of course.)

Me: *Smiling*

We had stopped at the next signal. The rider by then was noticeably aggravated. He was a couple vehicles away, towards our left and tried to get off the bike. He unmasked his face and tried to pick a fight by asking me to alight.

Now why would anyone in his sane mind obey this request?

Karma was apparently in my favour, so we drove off as the signal turned green at an opportune moment. I was a tad scared. I admit. I’m not very intimidating in appearance, you see. But I will give you this. I know how to face the music.

All this while, the splendid driver was always on my side or in front rather.J We were laughing at their antics and discussing how crippled their statements and behaviour came across to us.

Now having ridden motorcycles for more than a decade and aware of a rickshaw’s basic capabilities, I instructed my driver friend to take a popular detour. I figured since the guys got down at the previous signal, they might not reach us. Karma was still with me for they couldn’t manage to come close, or probably just gave up.

I later tipped the driver generously since he kept me good company and more seriously, out of a possible confrontation. We had talked about how people need to first correct their own bad habits before correcting those of the government. This goes for me too obviously. Also we voiced off our notions of the importance for those with the knowledge to correct such wrongdoers the moment they commit the crime in order for the lesson to sink in. Whether they buy into it or not is a different issue.

Like this one time a passenger in a three wheeler threw some litter out just in front of me on my scooter. I matched pace with the vehicle and told him ‘Garbage is meant to be thrown into a dustbin. Would you do the same in your own house?’ Unless I take the initiative, it is wrong to keep blaming the nation’s governors.

These two though were beyond my understanding of the word asshole. I just could not comprehend what species I had crossed paths with. It wasn’t an animal and certainly not a thinking mammal. I guess they were aliens. Does anyone have the number to the Pentagon? I want to report a UBO sighting. ‘Unidentified Brainless Object.’

Settle Down?

Screw the notion of settling down.
What the heck is that all about!
Life is never really 'settled' until you are 6 feet under.
Instead think of a happy future but enjoy life as it comes. :D

The Color of Love

Ever since I saw that bright red example in the nearby showroom up for grabs, I kept telling myself, ‘ok, next work off, for sure I’ve got to take a spin.’ But I kept delaying it due to other commitments and basically ill management of time. But man the wait was worth it!

If one line could sum her up, it would be this, “I wanted to bring her home to my mom, sporting one of the happiest grins I’ve had in a while.”

But that wouldn’t do justice to someone wanting to marry her. So I shall write about the flaws later.

Sudhir, the nice chap at the Goregaon outlet was warm and welcoming. Just like I’d like the rep to be, who can sense at the onset that I don’t have the dough. A short chat later about how we were supposed to get the T’Bird500 but went for the 390 and then it was time. Guess he knew I had only one thing locked in my crosshairs, eh?

Skimpily dressed in that hot, confident color, fashionable (to my taste at least), with just the right amount of curves and yet slim, I knew I was in for a treat. :)

From the word go, I could feel this was no regular Bullet. She had an eager demeanour and was willing to thrill my senses with her personality.

That riding posture made me feel instantly cool. The rather tiny single seat meant she kept her food in check and knew her cardio routines. I was all the more happy for it. My own diminutive frame of 5’6.5 inches, a waistline that would give some women a complex and rather non-existent derriere made it a perfect match. Exactly like I sometimes prefer it. Just me and the bike.

She sure has a sprinter’s soul. No Flying Sikh mind you, but decently quick. It’s that desire to be young at heart that made me appreciate her more. Forever it holds true that the soul is greater than the body and she had oodles of that too.

Of course she turned heads aplenty. Be it Innova owners, regular scooter folk or even the rickshaw drivers. I don’t know for sure if it was the GT alone or the silly smile plastered over my face in the color matched open-face lid. Not to mention I kept talking to her and to myself. What an ego boost! Doesn’t every man like it at some point that people envy his girl? And since she was all mine, I could protect her too from the ubiquitous perv.

For someone who loves speed more than the sedate cruise, she kept me smiling all through out. Didn’t get much time to test the tires and suspension, but they came across as pretty capable for our dry roads at least. Pirellis & Paioli after all! Stiff enough for her raison d’etre. The brakes though were a revelation. Precise with a decent amount of feedback from the steel braided hose in the front and the rear with a fair ability to communicate, I could push the limits sooner than I’d expected. Better the original Brembo than the cheaper Bybre eh?

Handling was neutral. She’d follow my lead like we were doing the waltz. And that’s saying something since I have two left feet. Did I mention I was still smiling? Kind and gentle in her feedback, she made me feel so comfortable that I didn’t care if I was dressed appropriately or not. I just wanted to spend all day with her. The hug she gave me back from that posture of sitting in the bike rather than on it. So awesome! If this century old DNA is known for its charms and character, then this one also has a youthful spring in her step and just the right amount of weight to handle when she’s sleeping, so I can tuck her into bed and watch that face slumber in peace. Definitely my kinda girl! Now I get what I once read, that Mr. Lal(CEO) planned for a Bullet for every taste and wallet. I’ve ridden other Enfields, but this one was different indeed.

Waiting for the signal to turn green, the matching helmet and tank kept drawing attention. I kept smiling and taking in her little auditory expressions and mechanical gestures. After the U-turn, I promptly stopped to click her picture, with my physiological tremors acting up again. The phone shaking as it always does in my hands when I have a spurt of adrenaline in my blood. I couldn’t care any less though. Passers-by staring, as though we were having a moment of love at first sight. Damn! I just realised, I regret not having a stranger click a pic of me with her.

My way back, I knew I was going to miss her soon, but that was at the back of my head. At the very forefront, all I could think about was how happy she made me. I kept praising her, already reminiscing at every drop of speed about how well she runs for her weight. (Yes, she still is heavier than most bikes in this price bracket.) Despite being a push rod engine, the odd bad habit of cracking open the throttle was met with an enabling nature. Which made me love her more the next time I decided to do the twist. I was gentle then onwards. The soundtrack of course was blissful with a few notes that I felt were off. But then nobody’s perfect. The loud (to the rider) drop of revs when I slowed down and the cracking sound when I picked up was music alright. Single cylindered Brits I tell you.

I approached the showroom from the last U-turn with her, which by the way, was very reassuring despite the clip on handlebars and steep steering head. I sprinted once more with her and then she cemented my smile with something you don’t normally expect on the first date. Like that first kiss, we did a little number with the rear brakes kicking in for a mild confident slide. Nothing overtly passionate but so subtly awesome! Where you are left wanting more. But you then hold back because you have to part ways. Respect sets in. You wouldn’t want to overdo that slide right?

Needless to say I was smiling all the way back until I reached home in the next suburb, laughing even, with people in the buses wondering if I was sane or not. I admired a couple guys on the way back on their Classic 350s, wanting to share my happiness with them. Ironically the traffic kept me from stopping. I kept riding. My trusty Karizma, now feeling a tad too meek.

Oh the flaws I hear u say? The internet is filled with that info, so do your homework. And if you really want to marry her, I’d suggest you at least go on a date with her to decide.

P.S.: I had written a hundred and sixty-one words of genuine nit picking. I chose to delete them. Wouldn’t you do the same when you first fall in love?

Love at first ride!

Why salaries shouldn't be secret and more..

My thoughts to whomsoever it may concern:

"If you have a company with high entry-level wages and where the front-line talent often gets paid better than the managers, then you’re probably in a pretty efficient industry with relatively low turnover. (One good example: professional sports teams.) On the other hand, if you have a company with low entry-level wages and where pay invariably rises the higher you go up the org chart, then you probably have a company where managers spend altogether too much time hiring and training people to do jobs they could probably do better themselves."

https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140515050804-10400206-why-salaries-shouldn-t-be-secret

Thought provoking stuff this post on LinkedIn. Reminds me why I dislike the culture set up in our companies these days.

Sure, hire new staff at close to double the pay you hired the older staff at. Then by all means consider everyone as mere head counts. You may be the best in the market, but there are a million and one reasons like these that you CAN control but refuse to. However, please do extract every possible nanogram of juice from your employees. Don't worry, they are just machines. Make them work without logic. They are robots and so are you.

Why? Because the clients are king.

Why? Because we are all a bunch of slaves cocooned in shells imposed by the owners and a society controlled by money.

Slaves to this world of consumerism and excessive spending. Where the appraisals are decimated by the rate of inflation. With every second item of basic need sporting stratospheric price tags that would give astronauts a complex.

What a sad life we lead and what a tragic precedent we set.

When will these corporates make life better for the people who run their companies? Positive thinking aside, set yourselves correct first before expecting the same from others. That goes for me too.

Yes, I may sound like a complain box. But this is the reality. I try my best to not let this affect me. And thankfully, it doesn't. :)

But then why listen to me? You shouldn't. I'm just a sheepish human being with no balls to say this to the owners and like a fucktard vent it out here.

Juvenile Dilemma

Often within it transpires,

A heart that never tires.

Fate brings a new visage,

Veins fill up with cortisol,

And my immune renders useless.

--

I tell myself it’s déjà vu,

There’s no taking this further.

I say to the mirror, who the hell are you?

And I’ve already gone farther.

90 seconds is the least they say,

Fancy someone? You very well may.

--

But,

The head stops me,

While heart pumps rapidly.

Mustered from mustard,

I call upon past wisdom

And sanity prevails.

--

Gazes meet, smiles exchange,

Virgin conversations lay the plinth.

Intellect now overtakes,

Adrenaline is subdued,

And I remain a good friend.

--

Friendship blossoms,

Bonds are built,

Trust me to care,

Forever I’d dare.

With thoughts laid bare,

And secrets now shared.

Painfully more I care,

And stronger the bonds get.

--

Time & laughter,

Lavishly spent.

Logic & thought,

To a miser’s content.

Eyes memorize their body’s lingo,

Heart puts my brain into limbo.

I now am a close friend.

--

Joy that seems limitless,

In the happiness that is found.

Platonic love outspoken,

Shamelessly I say,

Never can it be broken.

Comfortable in this bliss,

I say to the mirror,

Thou shalt do nothing more,

Lest you make me pine for this.

--

But..(sigh)

Silently the head plays,

This time a different tune.

Cupidly directing,

Thoughts are brought to light,

In every moment of sight,

Setting my receptors alight.

--

And if you’re smart,

Oh how I pity your plight!

--

My will, at times, IS fortified.

I settle for less they say.

These voices,

They seldom cease.

Got no one to blame,

They are but mine.

--

Conflicts arise,

And the naiveté of plausible loss, oh god!

It’s this grief,

To self that I spare.

Far too much have I put in,

Too precious a bond I have built.

I’d rather have this grass,

Than love’s dopamine.

For once, it’s greener on this side.

--

Yet again,

The head, divided like its hemispheres,

Knows all too well.

That uneasiness is the key,

To eternal happiness.

Should then I give this desire a miss?