Hey ya..

Dear Scooty Pep,

This is me, Thunderbird. How are you? I am fine. As you would know, I was born in a Royal family and initially used to chase the Ladybirds during my school days. Immaturely, I thought, the bird-bird connection would make it all work. But, as time passed, I was proved perennially wrong. Also, my luck ran out against the Sunnys and the first generation Scootys.

Since, I was born as a new generation cruiser; I was way too unconventional and was nothing like the classic Bullets. Not to mention the unilateral confrontations that I had with the ordinary Indian bikes. I was not just the normal bike around. Extraordinary sounds way too strong, but, abnormal sounds very apt.

Initially, I was born with a single spark plug, to redefine the meaning of a royal cruiser. Just like any other bike, I followed the single spark plug fundamental. But, with unconventionality prevailing in me, I was forced to change. My inventors clubbed with the markets, wanted me to perform better. Wanted me to give better mileage, better comfort thereby modifying the silencer initially. Later, the thought of introducing twin spark plugs made them happier. I burnt more fuel and gave better efficiency. But, never was I asked, if I would feel comfortable about the twinspark. It is the way I was born and from far, the society adores me. But, when asked to own one, they neither have the guts nor the power to handle. That is the reason, you see very less of me on the roads. But, with the ever increasing broad-minded people, you will see the more of me.

Be it any bike, a 150 or a 220 or a 350cc, its existence on earth is justified only when it follows a sub-100cc moped and actually wins her over. As hot cakes in the bakery, came those Saffires, Activas, Dios, Pleasures, etc., but, I was interested in none. To follow the girlie cars was never in my list. Hearing a lot about you, I never in my wildest dreams would have dreamt that I will follow you. I was fanatically in love with you. I went wherever you went. But, the family of bikes not accepting me because I am a twinspark is totally unacceptable. One day, they will understand me. That I was completely unaware of the mistake that they think I am. But, in the end, I am proud to be one. With millions of kilometers to travel in this journey of life, we will meet again. Till then, happy and safe driving!!

Yours lovingly

Thunderbird Twinspark

Cricket clock ticks back again!!!

There have been innumerous times, when the game of cricket in India has gone through phenomenal changes. Every now and then, the absurd situations of loss in interest leading to decline in viewership have baffled the cricket industry. And each time a disaster occurs, it occurs in its true sense. Etched in the memory of the present T20 generation, the century’s birth was marked by the match-fixing fiasco, followed by dismal performance in 2003 World Cup finals, 2007 World Cup first round exit and the recent T20 World Cup. Every time, the road along the abyss seemed deeper, but the anti-gravity force has proved stronger enough.

 After the match-fixing scandal, we saw the formation of a new team of youngsters taking the reins at the helm. A new dawn was on the horizon with fresh legs and smarter brains. The most successful Indian captain took the team to new heights and the front-end work thoroughly projected the back-end efforts. It was those individuals who brought the hopes of billion other Indians alive. Alas! When the going was good, the same individuals buckled under pressure, hay-wired on the March 23^rd finals and shattered the expectations.

The rebuilding this time was not that fast enough. Taking examples from the past, the team started playing consistently and were rightly rewarded, supported by stellar performances from the next pool of youngsters. Infusion of young minds once again proved that the juice of cricket is worth the squeeze for the Indians. But, they proved that watching cricket over studying for exams is not that great an idea for millions of students across the nation, during the jet-lagged 2007 World Cup.

After the falter, the recovery did not take much of a time, as the Indian board used the same old trick of betting on the youngsters and were rewarded with the first T20 World Cup. Cricket reached new heights and the pinnacle was right in sight. Cashing in on the cricketing craze that was generated and the adrenaline being pumped in, the birth of the Cricket League and the Premier League fanaticized the fans. With myriad controversies surrounding both the leagues, the common fan was very optimistic about the future of the game. His interest rocketed and the mere numbers of economical crashes never even bothered him.

Plummeting at the second T20 edition, did not bring that many hearts down until the IPL-III happened. Again giving way to controversies and conspiracies, the tournament thought-out as a preparation for the T20 World Cup, 2010, proved to be a devil in disguise. With fitness issues at the centre and personal issues in the periphery, the Men in Blue, portrayed themselves to be completely disordered. Finding solace and trying the same approach of investing in the new pool of youngsters in the Zimbabwe tour backfired and the next strategy to rejuvenate seems to be a looming asymptote. Was the thrilling India-Pakistan match of the Asia Cup the panacea? We got to wait and watch.

Spark Plug

"Station Ochunundi. Jaragandi babu.", shook my Telegu co-passenger. Yeah, I thought. Stepping out of the artificially cooled coach, I found the sky clear. At early dawn, birds starting to chirp, the platform no.2 seemed long. With a jolt from the blue, I remembered that my bike is on the parcel van. Ran to one extreme of the platform to make sure, it did not reach Allepey by any chance as it belonged to my place. As any Indian goes through the same trauma of paying bribe as if he is paying a non-receipted tax, I paid 200 bucks to make OR23-C-7860 stand on the platform. And I was informed by the tax collector that I can collect the bike from the other end of the platform. Lurching ahead, I went to the end of the train with my heavy backpack and the laptop.

With no petrol in the tank, I did not have a clue how to carry forward at 0400 hours. Carrying inflammable articles like petrol, kerosene is a punishable offense. They do not mind, if the tracks are wired, but, they are very particular about the petrol inside the bike. I know Safety precautions, but, what about the engine oil then. I feel this is where our intelligence fails. With seven kilometers to reach, I do not have the hydrogen-fuel-technology to power my way through. Then, the spark plug in me ignited. I called up my nocturnal friend and asked him to bring petrol along from any of the 24hour station. A big positive about big cities, things here are 24*7, mechanic shops not being taken into account.

After half an hour, he reached and without a second thought, I emptied two litres of petrol. If one has got to say about crime, carrying petrol in bottles from a Petrol bunk is a crime. Once again, an intelligence failure. Now, it was time for a thumping start. Kick-Dub-Dub-Dub-fail. Again kicked. Again and again. With all the cosmos filling in at 0430 hours, I doubted air lock. I blew air, fanatically into the tank to release the air lock. But, nothing worked out. Given another chance to my spark plug, and some telephonic conversation with my mechanic, I tried with the carburetor settings and as expected, nothing worked out.

Where is the mechanic shop at 0500 hours? So, called up the Just Dial service and asked them if they could help me in finding mechanic shops around the Central station for a bullet. Instant came the SMSes containing the name and contact nos. of the mechanics around. Tried calling those nos. and in vain, I found deep sleep on the other side. The only guy who received the call, was reluctant to come since, I was not his permanent customer. "Dude, this is the first time I'm in the city with my bike and you expect me to be your permanent customer?"

With all Permutations and Combinations drying out, the only other logical reason was that the fuel was not getting ignited. Then, I called up another friend who updated his FB status saying that he is jobless at 0500 hours. Thinking, "Buddy, I got a job for you now", he reached within 15 minutes to flaunt his control over speed on early-morning free roads. Chit-chatting for an hour, and well-knowing that the mechanic shops around the place opens by 0900 hrs, we had the company of soda, sprite and cigs. With the bike, under my friends custody, I went back home in one of their bikes, freshened up and then reached back at 0800 hours.

Reaching back, instantaneously, I started removing the spark plugs and cleaned them. With lots of Carbon deposits, it was all transferred to my hands. Then, my bike started, then stopped. The cycle went on for quite a while. To our great amazement, a mechanic shop close-by opened by 0830 hours. Towing to that shop, and with clear explanations, he cleaned up the spark plugs with petrol and then the clear dub-dub-dub started. It was a moment of co-incidence that Airtel sends me a SMS, "Welcome to Chennai. For assistance please call our Customer Care at 121."

Monica - Oh!! My Darling

I committed a grave mistake on 16th of June. I am not talking about joining Vedanta on the same date in 2008. There is this girl in my life who is very special to me. She is not my girlfriend, not my sister, not my mother or any other blood relative. She is my best friend. Bumped into her by accident and this shy girl from Bombay was reluctant to actually make a conversation. Being a strong anti-racist myself, I got to know that we speak the same mother tongue, after looking at her full name. As usual, this cuddly-puddly lady slowly bonded with me as a fish would with water. Months passed, through the ups and downs, there she was with me always. An excellent cook, she is the main reason for me fighting my medical disorders. I owe my bike to her and how often do you see a girl who is ready to travel thousands of miles on a bike. Love the way, she says "means" or her complete indecisiveness. But, she is never that immature as she portrays herself to be. A strong reason being, this cute girl knows to love people. Seldom, we find true love and she is the one who possesses it. Her love for friends transcends boundaries and many a times she proves a wise-man wrong. She is a diamond in the crown of a king and I am eternally indebted to her. Monica, my darling, I love you my dearest friend and I am really sorry for not wishing you on your birthday.

Tippu

"Life" supplement of Sunday Times of Durgapur..

How many times have you felt your heart racing against time and skipping a beat, blood rush to your brains, Goosebumps all over your hands? Separate instances, remotely you can relate to, but, a sensational never-before-happened feeling when everything happens in concurrence. As I was driving my bike through the M.G.Road, I did not feel anything different. Prima facie, everything was the same, but, as the distance to the main gate reduced with the throbbing run down, the yesteryears flashed through. There, I used to walk the same road with a bunch of sweet idiots, pulling each others' legs, talking crap about the system (as though we are going to change it), looking up to how cool things are going to be when we start professionally working. Crazy ideas right from the thumping heart and nothing to do with the brains.

We saw what "change" was. How the change was from a single cell-phone (9832132172) in the whole wing to the ever-clicking refresh-button of Orkut pages. How information was and is passed on? How communication is being done? A single STD call used to cost us Rs.3 per min, but, now cross-country calls are free with Skype. I now hear from my then life-supporters (read it Sunny, LH mode Som, Techno Shambu-dha, Xerrrrrooooxxxx guy, et al.) how the crowd has changed and have become more tech-savvy or tech-addict. How much the people here are following the mundane sleep-classes-facebook routine. Life has become a routine for them, which we never had. A matter of concern being, very few people have fun the way we used to have. A "Like" notification is considered a more secure and appropriate way to start a conversation than hanging out in jhoops. With the increasing number of girls, there is more division in the groups. Without a question, the number of couples in the PMC (Piya Milan Chowk), Library, Rickshaws, Library-High voltage lab road has increased, but, is that what the four years vacations is all meant for?

Profs becoming stricter and not allowing students to cheat, 70% attendance becoming compulsory, physical and mental rectifications banned, very few strong groups, where are we heading to? All this may not have an immediate reflection on the way of life now, but, certainly its implications are far worse than to be imagined. But, I am happy for the fact that the crowd is more professionally oriented, more towards the engineering part of it. But, one thing I would like mention here is that, what we guys learnt was more than engineering, it was the way to think like an engineer. The attitude of life - Karo joh Dil Chahta hai, so that the euphoria does not die out. I am more than happy that I was at this place a few years ago, with the best people around and as a true spirit of a human being, I accept that I had the time of my life. Hail NIT-Durgapur...

A Road to Raipur..

"Sir, I need a weekly off tomorrow."

"Last month only you took a day off and went to Bhubaneswar."

"Sir, I went to bring my bike and after that I have had just one weekly off in four weeks."

"Hmmm. Let me think about it. But, why do you need one tomorrow? By the way, tomorrow is Thursday; aaaand that means you will be coming on Friday?"

"Sir, Friday is my weekly off."

"What? Two days leave. What will happen here? You are so irresponsible, taking so many leaves. By the way, why do you need leave tomorrow?" (As if it is his baap ka company which won't run if I don't come)

"Sir..... Have to go to Raipur... Have some work there.... My aunt's relative is coming there to sell her property and she will be flying to Saudi soon and I won't get to meet her beautiful daughter for some years now." (Bingo, Tell a girl's name and there you see his face shine. Frustrated souls of core companies.)

"Oh... Going to meet your girl is it? Achcha, Ok.. But, make sure u come to office by Saturday"

Finally got out of the ill-fated cabin and headed to complete the day's work. Wednesday being the middle of the week, there was not much of work at 1730hrs. Punched out at 1800hrs and reached my home. Packed the necessities and had a sound sleep.

Woke up at 0500hrs on a beautiful November Thursday, freshened up and went straight to Abir's house and picked him up. With lots of nudging and pushing, he finally accepted that we will go in my bird, but was reluctant to take a second helmet. Again, a lecture to convince him and finally we were on the highway to Sambalpur by 0700hrs.

"Any idea, which road to take from Sambalpur?"

"Tippu, we will see to that. First lets have our breakfast."

We had our usual Puris at a dhaba and I was feeling sleepy. I asked him to drive the next 100km and then we will swap. There we went asking people, "Bhaiyya, Which road for Raipur" and finally reached NH6. Crossed the mighty Mahanadhi and true to its name, it is Maha-nadhi. So, huge and voluminous that one tends to wonder about the amount of engineering that would have gone in building that bridge. A moment to capture, we shot our Facebook stills with the bike and the enormous bridge. Later, we set out on NH6 traversing Burla, where the nearest multi-specialty hospital is located in the vicinity and at 100km from Jharsuguda, we reached Bargarh. Happy to see a cinema hall there, we made plans to watch all the soon to be released new movies there. Quite a big town and then after 50km we swapped positions. An untold secret about Thunderbirds is that on long rides, the best place to be is the rider. The pillion feels so uncomfortable that the pee and the chai breaks becomes a frequent visitor reducing the average speed.

After another 50km, we came across the board "Thank you for visiting Orissa. Please visit again." "Its my pleasure, atleast I will be away from the sick-state Orissa for more than twelve hours now". After entering Chhattisgarh, the road started to break in the middle. It was difficult to maintain a speed of 60kmph on a trot, but later the road's condition took the sinusoidal curve. Near important towns, the road did get better and for the first time I was riding in a Hindi-spoken state. All around I saw the shops' name in Hindi and took some time to set in to the gathering. Chai in Chhattisgarh sucks and after a few more FB shoots, we reached Raipur at 1430hrs.

Seven and half hours of blissful riding and we straight went into the mall and booked the matinee show for "Ajab Prem ki Gazab Kahani". We had a couple of Pizza and my heart missed a beat when Abir told me that it is difficult to get non-vegetarian food in Raipur. The movie was a real stress-buster and sometime Pagalpanti also has its own cue.

Came down, had a coffee at the nearby CCD and the girls particularly were not that hot or gorgeous. A few mini-skirts to ogle at and the rest were the plain traditional dress. Nothing was out of the way beautiful about them, but, they were trying hard to portray the-we-are-traditional-girls-in-a-modern-city. We then booked the tickets for the night show and the choice was the worst, Kurban. I did not know it then, but repented very much after the movie.

Later searched for a nice hotel to stay and to put our luggage and for the first time I stopped my bike at a traffic signal. It did feel good only for a couple of seconds, then the cop sidelined us and was asking for our identifications. Happy to see that we were coming from a big industry, he was aghast, just like anyone else, as why we came by a bike. We crossed the Central prison shooting night-time videos, freshened up in the hotel and set out for dinner and the movie. I wanted to eat non-vegetarian food badly, but we were lost in quite a big city of Raipur. Too many cross roads took us to the beautiful and residential parts of the city and as a blessing in disguise, my eyes fell upon "Madrasi Grill". How lucky can I be? Double bingo. Authentic Tamil Nadu Muslim Biriyani at Raipur, where you do not come across a non-vegetarian hotel. Relished my dish and reached the theatre in time for the show and what a crap movie it was. It was yet again an american-muslim-terrorist movie. Finally, we called the long day off and settled under the razai as the winter was finally being felt.

Next day, we started our return journey and shot a few more videos of Raipur and were off on NH6. At around 150km from Raipur, due to a sudden overtake and a loss of control, we hit off-road into the bumps and finally the ill-fated accident occurred with Abir. For the n^th time, the helmet saved both of us. Lucky were we that, we escaped with very minor injuries. Then was my turn to ride as he was badly injured and after 10 minutes of resumed riding, he again asked to take the bike to the side. We stopped and he took a nap.

Finally, on the road again, I was feeling sleepy while riding and there came Abir's resilience to take the reins again. With dehydration taking its toll, we reached Bargarh and ran into the restrooms of Hotel Ganpati. Finally, relieved of the pressure, we relished the American (Oriya) Chopsey and headed back to Jharsuguda with winters getting really colder with the then recent rains. That was when I realized the power of Leather accessories, a must in your kit.

Saturday came.

"Aur, Tippu.. How was your trip? How is your girl?"

"Had a nice trip sir. Looking forward to some more if you would grant me leaves."

"Nahi yaar. You had a reason, so I let you go. But, since she is away for now, concentrate on work for now."

"Ok Sir." (I can see my break-up coming. Atleast for the sake of the next road trip ;) )

Safe Riding.

Red and Black..

The Wednesday morning was cool with my face getting a splash of cold winter breeze while pillion-riding LML Freedom with Abir. The October 14 morning was just another usual cold morning with the exception of enticing things that lay ahead. Bullock riding our way through the village to the office, we punched-in late by 15 minutes as usual. Then the usual chai with hot crunchy samosas kicked off the work with the same contempt. Although my workplace restricts me to wear only digital watches, I could sense the movement of the seconds' hand of the watch equivalent to its hours. Somehow completed the crappy work and there we were off, as soon as the clock stuck 14:00. I went to my room, changed and was ready with my backpack. With Pratap's punctuality we started our Road trip in his car to the capital of Orissa at 16:00hrs. Abir and I occupied the rear seat with Pratap being the only one to know to how to drive a car on a highway, among the three of us. The keen apprehension of driving back on the same NH42 was enormous, but, with Abir, anything is possible. He ensured that things would be fine, every time when we passed through the Naxalite patches.

We reached Bhubaneshwar at 01:00, 15th October and rested at Pratap's place. One exotic thing about car road trips is the coupling effect of soothing music in amazing speakers with the brilliant landscapes. On our right we had dark, tall mountains and unscathed villages on the left. The best song that we enjoyed was "Jao na" from "What's you Rashee?" apart from the eternal "Dil Chahtha Hai". You got to try, and I am sure, you will enjoy it.

On a lighter note what I observed about the faucets of Bhubaneshwar is that they sprinkle water compared to the gushing faucets elsewhere. At Pratap's place, hotels, anywhere one went the same similarity. We had a light breakfast with the excitement increasing exponentially, reached the only showroom in the city. The Royal Motors, Bhubaneshwar was neither as royal as the name sounded nor as big as compared to the machines in store. Mine - the black one and Abir's - the red one was kept outside and we were introduced the machos. With a pre-existing Thunderbird in the showroom, we took a test ride. That was the first time, I rode a Bullet and the experience was devastating for me. Devastating in the sense, I started doubting my integrity. With some emotional help from Abir, Pratap and my best friend Sangeet, I was doing a little better. The small ride was so sensational that I was haunted with the doubts whether I would suit the bike or not, leave alone my trip back.

Then came the cash transfer issue. The couple of birds cost Rs.2.05lac. As we already had paid an initial booking amount, we were complied to pay more Rs.1.85lac. With no cash in hand and everything in card, we faced the challenge of the day of transferring the money. With Internet banking failing us once again, we were left with the only option of withdrawing cash from the ATMs. Hail Mr. P. Chidambaran and the maximum amount that we could withdraw was a paltry Rs.25k per account. We were short of Rs.1.35lac now. God save and there we went to the ICICI Bank of the city. With some breakthrough technology in the banking sector, our birds were saved with the system of RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement). From this account to that account and from there to another account and finally to Royal Motors account we transferred the Rs.1.35lac. Paid the rest with cash and with the kind assistance from Pratap, we got the keys of our exclusive birds in our hands. The moment in a life, which everyone must enjoy, is pure bliss. With still some tuning left with the machines, we went for helmet shopping and Pratap was the first man to ride my Bird as I was still damn scared to sit on it. With a confidence-boosting session from Abir, I took a ride to the XIMB Cafe Coffee Day and chilled out with my favorite Choc-a-Vloc. Later, we hunted down for a Spicy Biriyani shop and riding in the city night was a special fun with a new bike. We were the immediate centre of attraction when we criss-crossed the wide roads. Diwali, a day away, we bought some crackers and made to Pratap's place by midnight.

The date was 16th October. Bhubaneswar, being a coastal city had its share of winter. 05:00hours was pretty plain and that was when we kick-started our respective birds to a 355km drive. We were advised not to cross 60 kmph speed limit for the longevity of the engine. We crossed the mighty Mahanadhi and then took the NH42. One helluva experience was crossing a mighty river with a thumping background at 06:00hrs. With the speed tab constantly ringing in our minds, Abir was fixing timely targets as we traveled through Dhenkenal, where we had our first chai stop after 80km from Cuttack. Then, at 150km from Cuttack, we reached Angul, the hub of NALCO and the Naxal-brewing place. We stretched ourselves in a hotel where we had our breakfast and still we had 250km to cover. The time was already 10:00 as I was scared to drive for this long. The first 200+km road trip for me and it really did kick the gut out of me. Abir then cajoled me with his first long trip from Kota to Jaipur on a bike and that was as cool as a cucumber and infused the hunger to drive more. With sleep setting, Abir twice almost fell into the adjoining bushes. That was when we laughed and had a nice photo-shoot. Music does play a very important role, because without music, I am certain to have lost my concentration from the road.

The road was superb except for the Angul stretch of 30km and the scenery on both sides were scintillating. There were these small chai shops along the highway proving to be a blessing in disguise. With kilometers behind us, we were the talk of the road, as the fellow-riders were asking about the specifications, price and lots other things concerned with the bird. How often, one sees two brand new Thunderbirds, blazing on a highway?

At around 15:00, we reached within the vicinity of Sambalpur. Jharsuguda is just 50km and we were certain that we will reach Jharsuguda by 17:00 hours calculating with our lunch break. Had a sumptuous biriyani again and left for the final stretch. This stretch is our usual weekend road; so, we know the curves and turn as clear as a NFS gamer knowing the tracks. Finally, we reached Jharsuguda and all Abir had to tell me was that this is his first long trip too....

Aaromale

There is a certain calmness one can observe, when looking at the sea. On the shore, they seem noisy with their waves scripting their poetries on the surface of sandy outlines. But, with their perseverance they can convert a rocky outline to a sandy one, just that one needs patience to do so. A little above, looking deep into the twilight, one does see the happenings of the past. Past here, certainly does not mean getting into the pensive mood, but, it means the actual past that we all tend to forget.

Take the sun for an example. On any normal day, be it abnormal too; when we look at the sun, what we see is an eight minute old sun. As science says, it takes eight minutes for the light from the sun to reach earth. So, technically, we are looking at the sun, that was there eight minutes ago. So, this must be true with all the beautiful stars that we see. Even the gorgeous moon is a couple of seconds old. This, when analogized with human's basic life, it is always we, who are looking into what was there, rather than what is there. We tend to forget what is obvious and see what we convince ourselves to be seeing.

Every time, we want to achieve something, we try. When we succeed we are happy and contended. But, when we fail, we look into the past. Do, a RCFA (Root Cause Failure Analysis) and accept the defeat. Seldom have we tried again, because we are happy with the reasons, rather than working on them.

Why do not we ever do something called as RCSA (Root Cause Success Analysis)? Majorly because, when we are successful, we boast our interest and our will in the achievement. But, seldom have we understood that we are looking into the past. Looking back at the time, "when we had looked ourselves into the future, 'how happy we would be when we would achieve this feat. This is all what we wanted and we achieved it.'" It all began then. The moment once thought to be, happened. Aren't we looking into the past-reality?

Our success solely depends upon how strong we feel about achieving this feat. This is the thin line I am talking about - between success and failure. Lots of times you would have heard that if you really need a thing to happen, so desperately, the whole universe will conspire for you. This is the recursive proof for that statement, which became popular from "The Alchemist".

When you fail at anything, try once again looking into the future, "how happy you would be", then try for it once again. But, never give up, because we are born to win. That is because, knowingly or unknowingly, we all look into the past. That is the way, this universe works. When the mighty universe works that way, so would you - a miniscule part of it.

Looking into the twilight, this was what I realised "Aaromale" (O Beloved), because the waves never stop, at least for another five billion years.....

Bikes - The best way to read a guy..

Ever wondered how easier it would be to categorize people on the way they go about with their things. It is like presenting a simple catalogue and asked to choose the best from. But, we only wish so. One of the most prominent common linkages amongst the guys in the age group 18-25 is their passion for biking. Even if they do not have one (passion), they would definitely use a bike to commute. Even if they do not have one (bike), they will use their friends'. Such are the guys divided initially. So, what are these catalogue businesses all about?

<=110cc

Hero Honda: Splendor, Passion, CD-Dawn, CD-Deluxe.

TVS: Star.

Bajaj: Platina, Discover100.

I am not describing each of the guy's bikes in this category because they are the "Sambar" guys. They very well come under the non-passionate-biking category and are termed "The safe" guys. No wonder Hero Honda operates majority of the bikes in this category. They drive so that they won't waste their time commuting and can invest their "saved time" studying or going to temple. So that, they won't waste petrol; so that, they will be safe on road and so that, they can say "We are Desh ki Dhadkan". We got to give them the tag because, they do save petrol.

>110cc && <150cc:

Hero Honda: Glamour

Honda: Shine, Stunner

Bajaj: XCD, Discover, Platina125, Pulsar135

Glamour, a good bike, but, never a girl would fall for a guy riding in this bike.

Shine, an affordable version of Unicorn and nothing special about it.

Stunner, the poor-man's Karizma and is definitely not as amazing as it looks.

And, as expected, Bajaj steals the category, as guys preferring bikes from this category are as not as passionate as the above one or the below one. When around with their girl, they prefer "The Safe" guy tag, but, when their girl is not around, they portrait themselves as "the dude" which they are not. And this category earns the name "In-between" because it is "Hamaraaaa Bajaj".

>=150cc && <180cc

Hero Honda: CBZ xtreme, Hunk

Bajaj: Pular150

Honda: Unicorn

TVS: Apache160

Yamaha: FZ-S, FZ-16, R-15, Fazer

They say they are the hot guys. With little more efforts, they can transcend to the real hot dudes. But, they are the self-contained guys who are happy with the "dude" tag.

CBZ - one amazing invention in the Indian market and a leap forward. I know many will agree when I say that it opened the market of >100cc.

Hunk is as promising as it looks and a cool bike to have in your kitty.

When the Definitely Male, picks up, he is the pick-up service for many girls. The seats are so designed for it.

How often do people realize that there went a Unicorn. Girls prefer guys with Unicorn just for the fact that they are the "safer dudes".

They say Apache160 is faster than Pulsar180, but, I never felt so and girls hate guys with this bike, just purely for its racing abilities.

And this category is single-handedly stolen by Yamaha for its super-miniature versions. Pleasure to race in R-15, FZs and add the double-eyed Fazer to it. "Yes! Yamaha". The benchmark of true racing.

>=180cc && <=250cc

Bajaj: Pulsar180, Avenger200, Pulsar220

TVS: Apache RTR180

Hero Honda: Karizma

Kawasakhi: Ninja

Pulsar180, truly the Definitely Male than its 150cc. Racing is so easy in this bike that you actually forget the speed at which you are travelling.

Pulsar220 looks odd, but, is giving a good fight to Karizma. Girls with racing IQ will prefer their men to have atleast either of them.

The first cruise bike till now - Avenger. Riding Avenger is like faking orgasm. One does not get the cruise feel if you are tall. And short guys, have a better chance of hitting on a girl with this.

RTR180 stands firmly with its tag "Racing DNA Unleashed". Certainly, it has.

Karizma is good with Hrithik on it, but, guys if you love racing, Ninja is on its way on Indian roads.

With one of these bikes you are sure to find a hottie sitting behind.

>250cc:

Royal Enfield: Classic350, Classic500, ThunderBird Twinspark, Electra, Machismo350, Machismo500

The final category on Indian roads. Here, it is not whether the bike suits you or not, it is about whether you suit the bike. Royal Enfield, truly dons this category. Macho guys, who are speed+long distance travel. I think you get what I mean. Travel is made so easy that you only get the best out of it. Girls should prefer guys with cruises because, they are secure, they are costly and they are definitely the head-turner. No matter at what speed you go, you will receive attention. You will become popular because of your bike and of course because of your girl.

When I conclude this, I have ridden almost all the bikes mentioned above, but, there is a special place in my heart for one of the best inventions in Indian Racing- Yamaha RX100. It is completely out of production, but, none can stop noticing you when you ride it on the road. Yet, my dream of riding a RX100 eludes me still and the perfect woman too....

The real-life avatar..

James Cameroon's Avatar - A massive hit of the year and has mind-boggling collections all over the world. Is it only on the screen or does it happen in real-life?

I will take you through to a strikingly similar, with just the names-changed version of real-life happenings that I saw and see with my own eyes every day.

Place:

Pandora, a moon of the planet Polyphemus, some 4.3 light years away from the earth.

Orissa, a state in the country India, some 3.5*10^-10 light years away from Pyramid of Giza. (Pyramid of Giza chosen for obvious reasons).

Mineral:

Unobtanium, which can save the earth from present energy crisis.

Bauxite, which can flood the earth with more automobiles and aircrafts that cause these energy crisis.

Organisation:

Resources Development Administration, carrying out the Pandora mission.

Vedanta Resources Plc., carrying out the Vedanta Aluminium Project.

Affected:

Na'vis of the Pandora, especially the Omaticayas in particular, whose sacred "Hometree of pure sprits of Eywa" are encroached upon. HomeTree rests upon Pandora's biggest deposit of Unobtanium.

Common people of Orissa on the whole, with Dongaria Kondhs in particular, with their sacred mountain Niyamgiri hills in jeopardy. Niyamgiri has the biggest desposit of Bauxite.

Currently, Vedanta's Alumina-Operations have come to a standstill because of the agitations caused in the Niyamgiri mining area. But, since they already have an 0.28 mtpa aluminium smelter in full operation in Jharsuguda, Orissa, they are importing alumina from Australia. Someone, who is unsure about the way the mining rights case is going to go, won't produce aluminium at $1793 per ton when the market selling price is only $1953 per ton. The ulterior motives and hidden truth of bribes is clearly seen.

The undertaken CSR activities aren't that wonderful enough, to keep the agitators pacified. Now, caught in the wrong foot, the only safety net is the Indian government, which is going to turn the verdict in Vedanta's favor. That is because, if a person who sold Aluminium scraps from an Aluminium PSU - BALCO can woo the government to buy-out the same, with the then political family's support, he can repeat it once again, as the family hasn't changed in any dimension.

The factual analogies are clearly stated. And now comes the time, where we face the harsh reality that, it is not a happy ending in the real-life when compared to the reel-life. The Supreme Court is on the brink of issuing "No Objection" certificate to Vedanta Resources to resume mining in the Niyamgiri hills.

With money anything is possible, especially in India, as people's sentiments are secondary. Those of you, who think, "let the tribal people relocate" and support the argument that "let the tribal people step back to prosper the Industrial Revolution", I just want you to think about a situation and answer honestly. If there is a new metro rail project coming up in your city and the route that has to be laid is such that, your house which was built by your father's hard-earned money or an ancestral home has to be demolished, wouldn't you feel pathetic?? It is all the same.

I know when someone higher up the hierarchy reads this article, my appraisal or even my job is at stake. But, let me tell you, with my experience here in this place, I sometimes feel that uprising of Maoists is very much justified (although I don't support their acts). When they mean that they are poor and deprived, they are. I am very much aware that the money paid by Vedanta has given me the liberty to travel places, read literatures and write my opinions. But, someone has to be on the other side to deliver things to the world. My actions may not bring a change right now, but, my words would do, because I know this message would spread so that people will join me to oppose the non-sense and deliver a diplomatic solution to the affected.