Police Verification Certificate in Bangalore (PVC/PCC)

I'm writing this short post with the intention of helping anyone who might be wondering how to get a Police Verification Certificate (PVC) or a Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) in Bangalore. Usually if you are working in a Govt. or a Private sector company, your employer might ask you to submit one just to verify your background and make sure that you have a clean record.

To begin with, though the form can be downloaded online, you still need to visit in person to submit the form along with the required documents to verify your address and identity. For collecting the PVC, it is not mandatory that you should go in person.

Download the form here.

1. Fill the form with all the details.
2. Make sure that the present address or the address you are going to verify is same as the address in the proof you are providing. (Aadhar/passport/voters id/ration card..). It will be cross verified at the time of submission and they will not accept your document even in case of slight changes.
3. Carry 2-3 passport size photographs out of which one of them needs to be affixed on the form.
4. After filling the form, based on the option you have selected, go to a Bangalore One office (available even inside the commissioner office called Single Window), pay the amount there and get the receipt (green color receipt). You may have to pay Rs. 5 or 10 extra as their charges.
5. Write the Bangalore One receipt number in the form.
6. So you need something that proves your photo identity, address and date of birth. Choose what will meet all these requirements.

Now you can go to office of commissioner at Infantry Road, Bangalore. Since they have separated the counters for submission of PVC and collection of PVC, the wait is less. Though they say the office starts at 10 am, you can guess by what time they will really start. Go around 12 noon and you shouldn't be having much queue.

1. Stand in queue with your documents.
2. The person sitting at the counter will check your documents.
3. A receipt will be provided once the person completes verification process.
4. They say you will get it in 25 days but expect 30-35 days. You will receive a message when it is ready.
5. If you have asked for address verification, you can expect police from nearest station on your doorsteps or they might call you and you should go visit the station with one or two photographs.

Some things I noticed

• Since it is Bangalore and people mostly live on rent, you can make do with a rental agreement. Carry the original and a copy. If you are living as a Paying Guest, you again make a rental agreement with the owners and get it signed by them. If you are staying with your uncle, you still need to make a rental agreement with him as the owner and you as the tenant. 
• What if you are married and every document relating to address is in your wife's name? Take a copy of your marriage certificate, along with that take a copy of your wife's identity proof and copy of rental agreement/possesion certificate/telephone bills or any other document. That should do the trick. 
• There is an enquiry counter to the left as you enter the hall. You can ask for help there and the person sitting there is quite helpful. 

Please note that PVC/PCC for immigration purpose is different. For that you can go directly to PSK (Passport Seva Kendra) by booking an appointment online. Ask Google, he knows everything.

I hope this post has been helpful for you. Use the comment section for anything you want to know further. 

How hard can it be?

There is this one thing I tried to escape from,in the early days of my life. I'm sure I share this feeling of hatred with a lot of people.

Politics.

I hated hearing about Politics while my father used to sit and debate with his friends, my childhood memories. I managed to carry that feeling in me until recent times, I realized that there is no way to ignore it completely. It affects your life one way or the other. As a citizen of any country, you exercise certain rights; electing a new leader by the process of voting is one of them. The policies that leader makes decides whether you prosper or you suffer. Such is my understanding about Politics now.

Recently we had elections in Southern states of India. I belong to the hand kerchief look alike state to the south. I am a native of that place though I haven't stayed much there. Coming back to the original topic of discussion, now that election was done with, the Communist party got their lead and they came to rule. Good for them.

So what is it about the title of this post? It's simple...How hard can it be? to select a right person. Not a rocket science I guess. I'm not talking about any political party specifically, but in general.

Few years back, a video jockey who was going on the streets asking people, whom they would consider voting for got some funny responses. Some people would vote for a certain candidate because he was cute. Some people would vote for a candidate because he was from their same caste...Seriously? Some college student answered saying that she would vote for the candidate who is oldest because she would love to get a day off, if in case he gets elected a minister and would die.

We all love our family, our friends, our relatives, our partners; I have no doubt. But we are not even close to being patriotic. If we had even a bit of love for the state or the country we lived in, we would have been a bit more sensible, and not voting for the wrong people and letting them do whatever they want. We have destroyed our state/country with our disastrous choices. If you are unhappy with the political scenario, then vote for the right person.

People stick to one political party. They show their loyalty to that party irrespective of whoever the candidate is. More loyalty should be shown towards the state or the country. Isn't it better to choose a candidate who would actually use tax payers money to better the current scenario? Maybe he is from a different political party or from a different caste than ours, who cares; as long as he has a progressive mindset and free from corruption. That's all we should be worried about. .

Every candidate should have an agenda and when they come to ask for vote, how many of us have actually asked them what their plans are for the next five years, if they happen to get the majority votes and come to power? Not many... How many of us have actually bothered checking for the background of that candidate, the educational qualifications of the person etc etc. Not many.

My only hope is that people vote wisely in the future. Use 'NOTA' (none of the above) option if they are not sure. If we need to grow and progress, we need right people at the right places. Hence vote responsibly.

End of rant.

Travelling in OLA cabs…

There was a time when debates used to be reserved to a time when we were free and debates/discussions usually happened between friends over small topics related to life. But all those times it used to happen in person ie face to face.

Thanks to whatsapp groups, now we have our discussions or debates anytime of the day. It only matters who is up for it. Sometimes these discussions have seen all of them voting for or against it. One of such example was drinking a couple of beers and driving back home. Everyone came to a conclusion that, we could hire a cab and go back home rather than put ourselves and the other road users in trouble. At the same time came the topic of hiring cabs. OlaCabs were new in Cochin then, but couple of my friends had already tried and tested their service and were quite positive about the service they offered. The first thing that surprised me was how did Ola even start their service in Cochin, and I was pretty glad to know that Cochin is quite a well reputed city after the metros in India.

The surprises didn’t stop there, but we also know that Cochin is an IT hub, not matching the likes of Banglore but in its own rights. One of my friend said that there were IT engineers who were quitting their job and joining Ola and Uber. The pay is amazing and matches the IT field. I was fascinated and I wanted to know more about Ola.

How do I book their services? What were the rates?

The booking is done through the OlaCabs app that you can get via their website. You just go ahead and download the app.

We can either book a ride 1 hour or more in advance and we have an option for booking an instant ride, wherein the app will show the hatch/sedan available to the nearest location to you. We have the option of selecting one. The rate is something like Rs 49 for the first 2 kms and then Rs 12 /km or Rs 14/km for hatchback and sedan cars respectively. The first 5 mins of waiting is free, beyond which they charge Rs. 2 per minute.

That is pretty cost effective since I would be paying the same amount for hiring an auto-rickshaw. Last night one of my friend messaged back in the group saying that he got a free ride in OlaCab. This is due to some points that he accumulated by using OlaCabs regularly. There is OlaCab wallet where you get your cash-backs and points which can be used later on to pay the difference, sometimes your rides may cost as less as Rs. 10 or sometimes even nil.

Imagine getting huge amount of discounts for travelling in a well maintained car, which doesn’t even feel like a cab. Most often the cars used for the purpose are Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire, Mahindra Renault Logan or a Tata Indigo. The choices are not limited to these but these happen to be popular.

Then then then… things get even better. Imagine if you can apply coupons while booking OlaCabs and get crazy discounts. How amazing would that be!

27coupons as we all know is a leading deal distributors across various products and services. They, in collaboration with ‘Patrika’ which is the biggest Hindi News portal in India, helps their customers with additional discounts on their offers. You can view all their promotions for OlaCabs at this link location :

http://coupons.patrika.com/olacabs-coupons/

These coupons have helped many of my acquaintance get the prices lowered and hence paying cheap and making the travel much more value for money. Thanks to 27coupons and patrika for coming up with such an initiative. In the near future, I hope to use this service and thereby saving some money for other essential things.

I hope you guys make use of these facilities for quick and unplanned as well as long and planned travels, making your travel more hassle free.
(The rates mentioned in the post are from word of mouth and only related to Cochin. I would request you to confirm the rates before making any sort of booking.)

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Both the above images are taken from the websites namely http://www.27coupons.com/ and http://coupons.patrika.com/olacabs-coupons/.

THE SILKY CHOCOLATE TINGED DRESS

Smiles all over the face of this little kid as her mother dresses her up. She is 8 years old and looked charming in her shining little frock as her mother combed her hair back and tied a small pony tail. She was going to watch a movie with her elder brother who is getting ready in the adjacent room and their father was taking them out for a movie and followed by a dinner. At least that was the promised part by the little one’s father.

Their father was a small entrepreneur owning a small industry which manufactured t-shirts on a small scale. He would be running around procuring things and managing his labor force. She used to see her father thrice a day for sure, once early morning to drop her to the bus-stop where the school bus would come and pick her up, the next when she returns from school, he would be taking a nap or having lunch, and finally before sleep when he might be just back from work or watching TV series.

The brother who was getting ready in the adjacent room was in high school. A year more and then college. He was 17 years and much elder than the little one. They had their fights and the little kid would get bashed up as she was physically so little as compared to her older brother. He was busy with his high school friends, Soccer team and his life that little did he appreciate her cuteness and her little life which completely revolved around her Dadda, Mamma and her sweet brother.

The family haven’t been for any outings in a long while. The perils of being a so called small business man is that the market scenario would change every week. Their business was not doing that great in the recent times and he was also new into business. So it would take him at least 5 years to reap out something from the current business. That too if he survived in the market that long. Many people come and go in business field, not all make it big.

This explains the little kid’s obvious joy. There was only a one in a dozen chance that she would know anything about a movie, but going out after a long time mattered more than the movie or the food to follow.

After her mother dressed her up, she runs out of her room to see her brother’s progress. The boy was also wearing his favorite English Club soccer jersey which his father had bought him a year back. With the jersey on and his hair properly combed now the wait was for their father to arrive. It was nearing 5:00 pm and the movie started at 6:00 pm in the evening.

The brother switches on the TV and watches soccer. The kid doing back and forth from room to room, looking at her silky chocolate frock and checking how good it is in front of the mirror. Occasionally running back to her mother and running around her. She would dance in front of the mirror and again run back to her brother to check on him. Seeing that he is engrossed in some soccer match, she would go back to her room again.

It’s almost 5:45 pm. The boy is worried. He smells again that this is not going to happen. The little one is ignorant to the fact that there is a time schedule to watch a movie, so she didn’t bother.

At 5:50 pm, the tired father comes home. He drops himself half dead on sofa. As he sits there, the kids enter the room timid and silent. They stood eagerly at the other end of the room waiting for their father to start the conversation. But he never took notice of the kids standing.

Finally the little girl speaks to her father in all her innocence to get ready to go out.

The father surprisingly looks at the kids who are dressed up. The elder one reminds him of the promise he made in the morning.

The father smiles and rather easily brushes aside the thought of going for a movie. He tries to convince the boy that it had been a long, tiring day and he can’t afford to spend another few hours in the theatre and restaurant. The boy tries his luck again just to find his father’s emotions change from smile to grim. He walks away to his room, shrugs off and throws his clothes on his bed and silently thinks in great anger as to why his father had to ruin his day if he didn’t intend to take them out. He had friends playing outside and he quickly gets changed and charges outside to join his spry bunch.

While the father crashes on the sofa for a short nap , the little kid is heart-broken. Yet no tears shed from her eyes. The lady of the house, her mother also feels very bad for the child. She goes inside with the kid, slowly consoles the kid as she removes her silky chocolate tinged dress and gets her back to the normal wears. The kid, very sad has clear expression of the same on her face.

Her mother goes back to the kitchen, to get supper ready for the family for the night.

The little girl on her bed with numerous expressions as she looks on the ceiling. Slowly she falls asleep presumably to experience the movie and the dinner after the movie with her brother and father in her tranced state.

copied from my blog : anooppillaiz.wordpress.com

NOW IS THAT TIME

I am still waiting for the right time. The right time to go out and do as it pleases me, spend all the money as I wish to, visit places that has been in my wish list for decades and buy things that I have been contemplating to buy.

In my school days, I couldn’t help thinking that this is not my time to enjoy. Eagerly awaited college to come. Years passed by, college happened. I couldn’t help thinking ‘Let go college, let me have my earning, let me stand up on my feet and be a man. This ain’t my money.’ Again years passed by, I set myself up for a job. I eagerly await my loans and credits to get over. I am still waiting.

When I look into the mirror all I see is a lot of difference in me. I have grown old and tired.

The wait is going to be indefinite, no doubt. But I’m afraid life is not. Life comes with an invisible expiry date. It’s a limited validity offer. I feel this lifetime is not enough to enjoy everything in life. They why not make the best of it from today?

Whenever I hear an excuse from someone to ‘NOT’ do something that makes him/her happy, I really feel sad. Are they going my way? Will they end up regretting later? Why have they forgotten to LIVE?

If you think now is not the time and if you plan to wait just because your mind is not ready, I am sorry to say that you might probably end up waiting all your life. No one has seen what life has for you tomorrow. Also some things are best done at a particular age. For example it wouldn't be particularly wise to skydive or para-glide at 80.

Now is the time to make friends, time to travel the world, time to help others, time to follow your heart. There will be no better time than now. There will be no better time than the time when you are healthy, wealthy, wise and influential. When you take such a decision to follow your heart, every little thing in life would help you to see you succeed. Take that little risk, try it out and do something that you really want to.

Many define success in their own terms. I have a couple of definitions for success too. One of them would be to have memories which bring smile on your lips and tears in your eyes. The thing that you do today is your memory for tomorrow.

Waiting for the right time to join guitar classes, wondering how to get back in shape, can’t wait to skydive, want to learn how to swim? Please don’t wait. Now is the time. Every journey of 1000 miles starts with a single step. The most difficult thing in that 1000 mile journey can be that first single step. That single step may require you to leave your comfort zone. Let us get up and kick ourselves out of that comfort zone and let’s start today towards where we want us to be tomorrow.

TODAY IS THAT DAY & NOW IS THAT TIME!!!

AAAHHHH!!! Buddy… IT’s TIME TO MOVE ON…

Again a blast from the past.

I have known these three other guys from my school days. That is from the age of 5. We had our share of fights, enjoyments, hanging outs etc. Before the rise of social media, I had parted from the other three and moved far from them. We had no clue of who was up to what but things changed some years back.

I came back to the city again and whenever we could, we would ensure that all four of us meet and share a great time. Sometimes at the beach, sometimes near our school, sometimes some restaurant or some good place nearby and occasionally it would also be some bar.

One of my friends in the group was in a relationship in between. That is the time when our group was reduced to 3 instead of 4. He would rarely or sometimes not meet us. Less messages and sometimes no messages at all for weeks all together. We used to say,’ Chalo gang mein se ek nikal gaya’ (One member has quit our gang). Still we were happy for him, because he was happy.

The relation lasted 6 months and by then, the lass called it quits.

He was suffering from the usual heart break. We would do our part of visiting him and cracking jokes. He used to have a good laugh and again change of expressions. We allowed him to be alone, but making sure that we were with him all the time.

Out of us 3 friends (excluding the break up guy), me and other friend were single and singing jingles. The third one had a pool of girl friends. (You know what I mean…devilish smile).

When we 3 used to meet each other sometimes after work, we would often have this conversation,

My single friend: See, a girl comes into your life and you are no longer going to be the same guy. This is why I enjoy staying single.

Quoting the incident of the other friend’s heartbreak.

Me: True mate! (Sour grapes)

My playboy friend: Not if you have more than one…devilish smile.

DHHHOOOM…DHHAAAMM…

We singles would kick the other guy for making us jealous and he would run around like a headless chicken. Great fun.

Months passed and the heart broken friend started getting normal. He started hanging around with us. Though not the usual fun, but still our group was cool. In our group, out of the two singles I was more emotionally charged. The other one was practical and not even close to emotions. He was more of a tech savvy guy. The guy with a pool of girlfriends was romantically charged. The fourth guy who became single now was a bit emotional and more of intelligent kind.

Now henceforth, the incident revolves around me and the guy who suffered a break up.

I was free one of these days, and I got a text from this guy. He was on leave from office and bored. He asked if we could meet up. The other 2 were busy with some engagements.

I texted him back saying I was ever ready.

Now is the time for some truth.

We planned to meet up at the beach, it was fun to sea water splashing over the rocks and we as a group used to witness the beautiful sunset from this point. I met him there later, in the evening.

Me: How’s you mate?

Him: I’m good. Alone is better. No messages, no problems of hanging around with friends late night, no late night calls ….bla…bla… black sheep……

Already knowing what I indirectly asked.

Me: You were the most intelligent among us. It surprises me that you didn’t know that you would want to go through all these. If you say alone is better, then why waste time, energy and money on something that you never wanted. So this is what you wanted? Freedom, Right?

I am definitely going behind him. Digging up facts and knowing the psychological side of a person has always interested me.

Him: I almost went down the line and got married. Now I always say that it’s better alone and it’s just a fine mask. My world pretty much revolved around that relationship. From morning greets to the night byes.

Me: Bro, What now? How do you feel? You know you can always share and if there is anything that can be done, let’s do that.

Him: In the early days, space looked really void. I desperately tried to get back or at least get someone to fill in the emptiness.

I interrupt him again, ‘So you want to get back again or launch a hunt for a new one …hehe’

Him: No, not exactly.

I am confused. This conversation isn't going anywhere, looks like that. I look at him pathetically.

Today the water splashing on the huge boulders were less. We moved to one of those huge boulders. I sit down on one of them, while he stands on the other and picking up small stones and throwing them into the deep sea. I feel like I am also a part of those culturally and emotionally rich regional movies where the hero takes ages to speak up.

I draw his attention by asking him,’ So? What exactly?’

Him: You won’t understand. As of now it won’t work with any other girl. You ask me why I don’t know why. But one thing I know for sure is that I never ever want to see her again, forget about getting back. I wish she never existed. Don’t want to see her in this life, neither in the next nor the one after that.

He is serious and I don’t dare to crack a joke. Who would want to drown in salt water and have a date with the fate?

I get the answer for my psychological quest. I understand that he is wounded deep inside. 

I just sit there thinking to myself, while my emotionally high friend is still throwing pebbles into the deep sea.

I get up from my place after a while, and tell him,

It’s getting dark and I am starving. We have this new burger place open while you were away. Let’s go and have some burger.

Him: Cool.

Me: This place has a hot waitress and you might want to re-think on your words.

He giggles and ‘You sick Bastard!!!’ 

There is laughs all the way as we keep bitching about life and I whole heartedly pray that he gets well and feels better soon.

A STORY OF BULLET, THUMP's and ME !!! - The Reprise

Please go ahead reading the first part of the incident (mentioned as a separate post below). This is the continuation.

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My Heart Beats THUMP …THUMP…THUMP!!! – Lighten up Holy cow:(


The moment I start driving my style, I reach home without hassles and issues in less than an hour. Again, I never took the Bullet above 70 kmph at any point.

I am home and its been two days. I haven't taken bullet out as I might have taken the other bikes. I don't do any R 'n' D s on the bike, no photo shoots.

TRING ... TRING !!!

Phone rings.

My mother does the honor of picking up the call. It's my uncle and most probably his query would have been about me.

She cries out in happiness, " He is here. Hasn't gone anywhere on the bike in the last days." Happiness oozing out of every word. She is happy to have me near her sight, where I would be rather safe.

I walk out of my house to find the Bullet parked in the parking space. The Bullet stood a legend, challenging me on what I probably boasted the most- My 'gone into drain' riding skills. I let the Bullet win here, put my head straight back down and get back to my laptop.

These happens in the morning, Late in the afternoon I can see my uncle standing on the door steps.

Oh... That's a great surprise. Please don't tell me that he is here to take back the bike. That would be the greatest defeat of my lifetime.

No. He wouldn't do that. I have known him all my life. No...No way!

I greet him,

'How's everything?' He asks.

'The motorbike's fine. Not a single scratch. Just the right foot peg bent a little.' I answer to ensure that he doesn't take away the bike.

'I never asked you about the bike. I could probably pay another 100,000 rupees and get another one.'

Clearly he was more bothered about me. I knew that even before I answered. He was one of the coolest person I have ever known. The reason why I called him when I scratched that car was also this. Being a petrol head, I could only think of the bike first, before me. It's always been like that, and will always be so.

My mother comes into the scene, serves tea. She was happy to see her elder brother. She always had a great amount of affection for him and his family, as she had for me and my younger sister.

While the tea session, he drops an atom bomb. He mentions that those people call him up and they were quoting 8500 rupees to get the door panel done.

Not again... I should have listened to the elders and sat quietly at home (again, what a thought! Occurs whenever I screw up). No one to ask, beg or borrow. Neither would anyone pay up.

Asking dad would have resulted in, me having three Adam's apple. To hell, I am not asking him. Definitely not! It was my mess and I needed to sort it out.

My uncle suggested that, he and my dad have a look at the door panel and I stay back. They go and view the depth and width of the kisses that the Bullet has given. Fair deal. I encourage that thought.

As he was about to leave, he comes close to me, whispers in my ear, 'Ride the god damn bike!' and he smiles. I understand what he meant and I see him leaving.

Next day....


Dup..Dup..Dup.......Again Dup...Dup..Dup..Duuuu.....

I again follow the mantra. The third time, Dup...Dup...Dup...Thump...Thump..

Aww, What a feeling! The Bullet has started thumping again. I go out on a 60 kilometer ride. Not so cool. I was too conscious.

I am not giving up. Period!

I plan to do the country/Village roads. Plenty of deserted village roads nearby. Scenic short drives would be a treat to my eyes and also would make my ride-longing soul happy.

So I start all over again, the loud thumps waking up the lonely, deserted roads and


I ride again....

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My Heart Beats THUMP …THUMP…THUMP!!! – Finally JOY :)

Days passed, weeks passed. I drove the Bullet along the village roads.

Now the Bullet was no more a legend or a raging bull or something fierce, it was now my best buddy. Someone whom I take along to any place that I go.

It became an extension of my body, pretty much like any ordinary or sports bike. My eyes would dictate and the Bullet would follow the path.

I would take it down to the beautiful, lonely alley nearby or to the evening market in my village, to the challenging city traffic or the long stretch of highways.

Most enjoyable of the rides came when I used to take it to the night to the nearby Cinema halls. May it be the lads with a skinny sports motorbike or a middle aged man with an under powered car, the Bullet would get its due respect. The return was even more thrilling. I would be relaxed, couple of fingers of the right hand doing the job of holding the throttle to keep the bike in motion, the left hand relaxing on my left knees, face shield of my helmet open to let the cold air have a go at my face, couple of buttons of my shirt left open so that air touches my body and forms bubbles in my shirt at the back and I would sit relaxed void of tensions and stresses that the world has to offer. That is the time when I know that, I am living my life.

I have so got adapted to the bullet that my heart starts beating to the tone of bullet's exhaust note. The rhythm that is loud and heavy enough to wake a small kid up sleeping peacefully in the house, scary enough to give a heart attack to a robber trying to sneak in through a locked gate, good enough to wake the lonely sleeping alley, sweet enough to pierce through my ears and reach my heart, melodic enough to set a rhythm good enough for my beating heart.

Yes, My heart has beat-ed to the thumps and I have experienced the pleasure beyond imagination. That was then and my life has moved on.

When I look back, I feel like my heart misses beating to the thumps and I sure miss living my life like a Royal on the ROYAL ENFIELD.

(some parting shots...)

THE END...

Hope you all liked my write up. Thanks for reading. 

A STORY OF BULLET, THUMP's and ME !!!

An incident very close to my heart, I am the hero of this incident and a lot of antagonists (pun intended). Kids below certain age (not sure what age, ask your parents) please refrain from reading till you are matured enough. Hope you enjoy this as I did.

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My Heart Beats THUMP …THUMP…THUMP!!! – The Intro:


This happens sometime back, sometime when I was young both mentally and physically. Living to the spirits and following my heart. I had quit my job which I felt boring. I was with my parents, sleeping, eating, buying all sorts of necessary and unnecessary stuff for the home and partying at Goa at times.

It’s been 6 months and I have almost blasted all possible money in all possible ways which I earned over the past 2 years. I swear I haven’t seen that much money in my bank ever after that till now.

Finally my parents started kicking the fleshy part of my body, they realized that I had only the last 7500 rupees in my bank account and soon would start using up what’s available with them. I started attending interviews, not because I was an obedient son, but I also started feeling the heat of a dried up bank account.

Hurrah!!!! Got a job. To Bahrain. When? A month 'n' a half remain. Oh that’s some serious time.

Now before going any further, I need to mention this. One of my greatest thing (its more than a hobby) in life is riding motorbikes. Learnt to ride at the age of 14. My first fall also comes at the age of 14. Yes I started with a crash. Then 3 years after that I adjusted myself to gearless scooters. A lot of ..ooopss, just missed hitting that car, aawww that was a small fall .. happened in my life during those 3 yrs. Nothing major though. Again in my college days, started off with friends motorbike. Though I haven’t had a chance to own a motorbike, I have driven bikes extensively.

So while I wait for my visa and ticket, an idea occurs. My cousin owns a Royal Enfield Standard 350cc motorbike, shortly known as a Bullet (going to refer it so hereafter).It was his greatest possession. But this time he was away doing his masters degree in Engineering in some cave’s of the Himalayas. He had a younger brother who recently received his driver’s license. So my next plan is to hijack the Bullet and have it for the next 20-25 days..Buhahaha..!!!

Calls up his father, my uncle. I say ‘My Bahrain trip is finalized’...

‘Congrats!’

Need the Bullet for 25 days . He hesitates, but alas he can’t deny me. OK is the answer.

My cousin’s house is 125 kilometers far from my place. Nothing big. I stayed in a village and he, in a city.

NO …you can’t do this, my parents, as if I am going for an underworld operation. They know that they don’t stand a chance to stop me. My father easily gives up, he is not going to listen and I am not going to waste my energy. My mother, no chance, she would try till the end.

So two days from then, I am at their door steps.

‘There is no insurance…!’ his father,

‘I will get one, no worries’. He understands I'm not going back empty handed, and then its three motorbikes, my younger cousin brother riding the bullet, I am the pillion. His dad on his smaller motorbike. We are at the insurance place getting the insurance done.

DONE…The motorbike is insured from today midnight, or tomorrow morning said his younger brother with a happy tone. It’s been a year the owner of the Bullet aka my dumba$ cousin had not insured the bike.

‘Careful Boy! The insurance is not valid for this trip’ My uncle
Ok

I ride back to my place…


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My Heart Beats THUMP …THUMP…THUMP!!! – The onward journey:

Now it’s important that I need to describe the Bullet. The bullet is no ordinary motorbike. When my younger cousin handed over the keys to me, I didn’t even know how to ride this bike properly.

From the kick starting, to the gear shifts to the clutch release to the throttling this bike is different. All I have done is started this bike couple of times and then driven it for a km or so.

The design of the bike reminds me of my childhood. My parents tell me to do something and I end up doing the opposite of what is told. Likewise the bullet had exactly opposite design as compared to the universally followed system. Gears on the right, brakes on the left. The gear shift pattern also exactly different from the normal ones.

My mantra for starting this bike for any condition was simple. Push the decomp switch on the left hand side. Push the kicker lever to bring the amp meter to zero. Release the switch when the amp meter is at 0 position. Kick it gently and the Bullet roars to life. As simple as that, ahem ahem, or not. The amp meter up of down, forget your right leg or even if the amp meter is in 0, and if the Bullet feels bitchy then again forget your right leg.

So I start my journey, as per the advice of my uncle (my parents have been saying it from age of 14), Go slow. As fast as 50-60 kmph. It was not the normal me driving, but makes sense. New motorbike, new riding styles and needed getting used to. The first 10kms the bike behaved like an unforgiving b*tch. Next 10kms, same sh*t.

This feels unfortunate. Even as a teenager, my first crash came up at a 100kmph. The Bullet cruising steadily with a constant thump and I nodding my head up and down, right and left to keep me away from boredom and sleep.

It’s unsafe to ride a bullet above 60kmph for a extended period as it could cause overheating, then oil leakages etc. Impressive! Isn't it? I could see lads half my age overtaking me on their mountain bikes..Ha Ha Ha

I stop by, its noon, I have driven a lot. 2.5 hrs and I have covered some odd 60 kms or a little more than that. Having lunch from a roadside hotel, I with the intention of resuming my journey try to start the Bull…et....

PHAAT...
What the hell was that ?

Oh I see my kicker lever hanging towards the ground, like a compass needle showing north. Am I scared?

No ..Not at all. I know it’s the kicker spring failing. Cost of the spring 30rupees. Labour 70 rupees.Buhahaha…That leaves me with 7400rupees. I couldn’t care less.

I take it to the next garage, “ No spares saarr!!!”

Wokay.

I am doing it at my place. I get a tie wire from the garage, kick start the bike and tie the compass needle to the frame. Kicker back in position and I leave. Again hitting the high speeds of 60 kmph.

I ride back to my place again…



_______________________________________________________________



My Heart Beats THUMP …THUMP…THUMP!!! – The fall and rise:

I now feel that I have got a good hang of the bullet. Feels like I have tamed the beast, mastered the art of riding the bullet. Yeyeyey!!! Feels like I’m on top of the world. I feel the slight breeze on my hands, I see trees passing by and my mind is free of all the worldly tensions. Far I see a small road joining the main road. No vehicles as of now.

I am towards the left of the road, leaving enough gap for the cyclists/ pedestrians. I am supposed to carry on straight for at least 40 kms.

When I was approximately 50mtrs away from the intersection, I see a car, a small hatch back ( Suzuki Alto ) coming. I don’t care, I ride a Bullet.

In the ideal world, that car is supposed to stop and let the vehicle travelling on the main road pass by.

I still hang on the throttle. As I reach as close as 15-10mtrs, the driver decides that this world is far from ideal, it’s not perfect, screw the rules, I am not waiting for anyone.

He is on the main road.

Holy Mother of Gods! I am too close and my legs don’t react as its not sure which is the brake ( I usually keep telling in my mind that left is the brake, but not when needed. Stupid me.). Screw the brakes, I tackle right to avoid hitting and I succeed.


SCREEEEEECCHHH…KREEENNNN…


'Oh..What the hell just happened!'

I am still on the bike and the bike is still moving. My motorbike swayed right and left for a second or two, I could see a blue car passing close by me. Very Very close. I had no chance to apply brakes and stop the Bullet behind the car that wrongly entered. Bullet’s a heavy thing and brakes suck big time.

My bike has hit the blue car which swayed my bike and developed a dent and a scratch on…obviously the car. The Bullet still like a raging bull, questioning me, “ Did someone try to mess with me?” And I was like, “ The owner’s definitely gonna mess with me!”

The insurance not valid thing runs in my mind. I am so screwed. I am screwed big time. I should have listened to the elders (what a though). Why not run away from here?? But brains take over emotions quickly. I stay back, to face whatever it is.

The owner comes and furiously says, “Come on, let’s go to the cops, register a case. I know the deputy there”. He was in his mid 30s, he had his wife taking pics of my bike all over. Bullet must have felt like its walking the red carpet. His Mother in law faintly telling, these bikers are a pain in the hole.

No I chose not to reply to that. No chance.

I am so screwed. If I go to the cops, I could be in jail or minimum of a case would be registered against me. I had to fly abroad in a month. The biggest concern is, all these won’t stop in 7400 rupees. Thoughts drained me. The other car guy was long time gone or else I could have made him pay for his mistake. Now it’s just me, the bike and the mess we created.

I am not taking this anymore. I am calling for help.

I call up my uncle again. “ ello….You reached safely?”

“I crashed!!!”


What the ….?

I scratched somebody’s car. But the bike is safe, not a single scratch on it.

He was fuming. I could feel the heat. He said he would call me back soon and hangs up.

I’m depressed. I know now there is no chance. I follow that guy to the police station. As I turn my bike to enter the Police station, I get a call back.

It’s my uncle and he asks me to enter into an unofficial settlement. Since I was in no position to talk sane, I give away the phone to that guy. They speak to each other, I am not bothered, whatever…

The owner of the car hangs up the phone and hands it to me back. You may go, I will send my bank details and Account number, and you can pay me after I get the quote from the showroom.

I nod, put my mobile phone back in place and leave. I run back to the bike, remove the tie wire and start the bike. The bike, as cool as ever, starts with a thump as if it's questioning me, “No more rest? Are we leaving?”

I ride back to my place again…

____________________________________________________________________________



My Heart Beats THUMP …THUMP…THUMP!!! – Something went wrong:


I take the bike to the next garage. I needed to fix the kicker lever. I am sure that the motorbike would undergo an inspection at my place. I buy him the kicker spring and in an hour I am off again.

15 kilometers ahead, I keep going and when I go a bit right again, a blue car just couple of centimeters away pass me from my right. Thank my stars. I stop the bike towards the side. Sit on the pavement for couple of minute. I could see the headlight of the Bullet towards me, ‘You can’t son! You can’t!’, such was the look.

I seriously think what went wrong. Never has this happened to me in all these years. I tried analyzing.

All I could think of was I was driving slowly and sedate, not much in my style. Indian roads demanded Might. Eureka!!!! There I am with a solution.

I wait for 10 minutes for the bike to cool down. I kick start the bike again with a new vibe.

“Who’s the daddy now?” Buahahaha...

I ride back to my place again…






(to be contd.)

A TRIBUTE

I rarely used to read newspaper or my textbooks, but I loved reading stories. Short or long never mattered. One such interesting narration goes like this:

Once there were 10 kids playing on railway tracks. Imagine each and every one knew what they were doing. Nine of them playing on live track and there was this one kid who was playing on the dummy track to the extreme. Suddenly a train comes (just imagine it comes), and it is impossible to stop the train as it has reached very near. As a railway authority or a guard what would you do? From a normal perspective, any person would say that I would route the trains track to the dummy one and sacrifice that single life to save the other nine lives. Fair enough! But what wrong did that kid do? The kid knew that it’s unsafe to play on live track and hence it was using the dummy track. While the other nine kids, even after having the knowledge used the live track. Doesn’t that one kid deserve to live?

( I am recollecting it from my faint memory so wordings may differ)

Great piece of thought put in by the author.

 This is in reference to the recent happenings in my home country, India. The image of Indian men has taken a beating. Parents have long started advising their daughter to not even look at strangers, leave talking. The condition is so bad that we (men)have lost it and the entire globe knows about it. The happenings, government taking actions and other blah’s are altogether a different ball game. Let’s not go into that.

My intentions are simple.

 I intend to pay tribute to the selfless and good men out there. They might not account more than 10-15% of the entire male population. They include people who work hard to feed their family, who show courage to protect the women and stand up against the bad, those who take care of their family needs, those who save majority of their earnings for the good of human beings. They are the people who define MEN. Imagine those men, who clean the glasses of Burj Khalifa or Burj Al Arab (world’s tallest building). I doubt whether they take this risk only for them or also for their families behind.

 Whenever I see women complaining that, they can’t find any good men around (or vice versa), I always think to myself that these women will never be able to find such men. These minority group of good men may not carry i-phone, branded shoes or costly cars. And seldom does a woman notice a man without fancy stuff. Again I’m leaving that topic for future discussions.

 I would like to pay my tribute to all such people. People, who work outside, run around to make some money, who stay away extended years from their families to earn and feed, those who respect other beings. Such people though less in quantity, needs to be respected. I’m going to end this with another real life incident which happened to my friend.

My friend was once invited in a party and he had a group of friends along. The party went on till late night. The number of people started reducing. He noticed that one of his colleague (female) got really high and was in no position  to drive her car back home. He not only helped her reach home, but also made sure that someone responsible from her family had taken note of the situation. As he narrated this incident, I had already congratulated him from my heart for a great deed. 

 Great work brother. But I am sorry because probably you will be one of those children who will be killed while playing on a dummy track, in order to save the other plenty lives playing on live track.

REACHING THE HORIZON

“Uff…I m so tired!!! Need a break. I am exhausted…” As I murmur these words to myself, I know that I cannot afford to take a break which I really need.  Well, I wish I could at least say to myself “Just go and get some sleep buddy. You are gonna be just fine”. I am afraid that this tiredness is more mental than physical.

            My shoulders are stooping due to the burden of Loan EMI’s, Paybacks, rents, various bills that I have accumulated. Life has started revolving around one mean non-living thing which dictates. It has the power to break or make relations, make us God and much more. “MONEY – The more you have it, the better “

            I have lost a fair share of my youth running behind money, doing something just for sake of getting paid. I don’t know till when I am going to continue with this ‘crime towards myself’.  Many would ask me it’s not even a decade you have started working or neither have you any third world problems like “I cannot buy food because I have no money. Then why should you be tired?” I still can’t figure out an answer to these questions. But all I know is I am exhausted running this race. The competition is with my family, my known ones, the society and finally me. The factors like my ‘Parents expectations’,   ‘Run for social status to get a fair treatment among them’ and finally some expectations that I have of myself. 
             One thing that this rectangular piece of paper has achieved throughout these years is that it can buy you almost everything. Few things that stand excluded from this list for me shall be some experiences like meeting a good pal after two decades or going back to the school after a long time with our school mates. Apart from some simple joys, Money can buy almost everything in life, may it be a super car or a super model girlfriend (or vice-versa). As an icing on the cake, it can keep you away from troubles like cops, law and whatever. Isn't that enough for people like you and me to give their lives for this piece of paper?   

            Life without money would have been much complicated I guess. People of same financial status, major barrier removed between people and as a matter of fact between countries. Life would have been easier. But in defense, I could say that everyone would have been lazy and doing nothing big. I need to respect the fact that the world is in this form because of the race for money. We have forgotten to respect our feelings, learnt to kill our emotions, learnt to give excuses to our families and near-ones, differentiate people based on their financial capability to achieve great excellence in technology, build a newer and never before world which looks near perfect, inventions and discoveries that challenge the Lord himself. I am still unsure whether to praise all these achievements or hurl abuses at them.

            As a normal being, my needs and wants are also endless. They never seem to meet satisfaction. I have a weird feeling that these two are like day and night, they are not meant to meet each other. The more the money I earn, the more are my wants. In short, I can see the horizon called satisfaction from the shore I am standing. What separates me from the horizon is a distant water body which consists of never ending needs, wants, expectations etc. The day I reach the destination horizon is the day I give rest to my tired body, mind and soul. But personally I know no one who has reached this destination.

            While I compile this, I remember that I need to get some sleep before I rejoin work tomorrow. As long as the roar of V8 and V12 engines excites me, the mere sight of Super bikes raise my heartbeats and makes my knees tremble and go weak and travel bug that keeps biting me often, I am sure I will carry on cheating myself but just with a wholehearted prayer that My Lord will soon reach me to my HORIZON.

credits and courtesy to : Anonymous

JUST ANOTHER DAY IN MY MUNDANE LIFE...( A SHORT STORY )

1

Honk! Honk! The loud motor horn pierced through the ears of every pedestrian except the one to whom it was intended. Until a passerby alerted the person to give way to the car, she had no idea that she was blocking the traffic. She was completely in some other world of thoughts. After giving a grim look, the driver in the car took off and traffic resumed as usual. It was a dusty crowded street and people were seen rushing with their busy schedules. The traffic in that street was also incalculable.

Angela, who was walking across the road causing a small traffic jam, was actually rushing to her kid who must have by now completed his music class. She was blessed by a boy and now he was 5 years old. It was long 7 years back that she got married to David, who owns three supermarkets in and around the city. Her kid Deven was very much into music. He was very quiet as compared to the other children of his age. Since they could identify his flair for music, they started sending him to a music class right away. Angela was 28 now which means she married at 21. David was 28 then. She spent her childhood in a village which was some 200 miles away and at the age of 8, her father found a small job here in the city. She studied in a private school nearby and by the time she was in high school her father passed away. Her mother took up a private job as a clerk to meet family expenses. Angela was not the brightest kid in the class, but she sure was an all-rounder. Good in academics, sports and other extra-curricular activities. She was very inquisitive by nature and very socially active. She had a lot of friends in and around. She passed school with desirable grades and in college she took arts as her majors. Her mother wanted her to do something in science but she was never interested in that.

It was during her college days, that David happened to see Angela. The proposal of marriage was a weird one because David directly met her mother and expressed his interest in Angela. Since David had a firm financial background, her mother was indeed impressed. When David’s proposal came Angela was almost done with her college. Her mom wanted her to settle down in life as early as possible. She conveyed this to her and Angela too didn’t have any answers to ‘What next?’ after college. Being confused, she couldn’t deny her mother’s persuasion of settling down with David. There was nothing marvellous to be mentioned about her marriage but it was in these recent couple of years that she was always lost in some sort of thoughts. She was completely different now than she used to be. David used to be busy with his work and used to turn up only at night and leave early. He had good business and was happy about it. Angela used to spend her time reading, going to the park, seashore or some other lonely places during her free time. 

2

As usual, it was early morning. For the past couple of months she had troubles either in falling asleep at night or she would wake up in the morning much earlier than usual. Today also she woke up much earlier and looking out of the window she could see nothing else but only darkness. Then after a while, she started with her household chores and by the time David was ready to go, she had completed her chores.  Deven was busy watching his little yellow bird cartoon, as Angela alerted him to get ready for school. David in the mean while left and Angela got Deven ready and dropped him at school. Since she didn’t have anything to do at home, she just thought of visiting the shore nearby. The sea shore was quiet and at least once in two months, Angela used to go down and sit on the benches there. After an hour, she returned back home.

In the evening since there was no music classes, Deven was set to go outside and play with his friends. Angela gave a nod and Deven ran outside and within a couple of minutes he was on the door again knocking to let him in. Irritated Angela opened the door and asked, “What?” The kid innocently replied,” Mom, there’s a letter in the letterbox. Didn’t you see?” She replied back saying “Must be your dad’s”. “No, It had your name written on it so I came back to tell you.” After getting assurance that she would look into it, Deven left. She went to the letterbox and checked out. She got the letter back home and sat down on the sofa. She comprehended the meaning of the letter as she read through,

Dear Angela,

Hope you are doing fine by god’s grace. It was really hard for me to find your address. It has been really long but to me you are still that 8th grade girl whom I had asked to come near the Tulip at the backyard in our school. Recently I have been thinking about you and I wanted to hear from you. I know you must be curious to know who I am, so do I want to come before you and tell you a sorry for what I have done. I will be coming to your place on 20th of this month, at the medical centre which is near the old central market. I prefer to meet you there at Room no 218 which is on the second floor near the Lab. I will be coming there with a small purpose at 10.00 am and I will be there till noon. Hope to see you there.

Reading this letter shook Angela completely. It took her back to those school days. She had then found a letter tucked in carelessly by someone in her bag. The letter demanded that she should come at the backyard in the school and the person who wrote the letter was completely in love with her. No one showed up and she thought she was tricked by someone. But after all these years, she was totally taken aback. At night, during supper Deven just broke the silence asking her about the letter. David asked her, “What letter?” She quickly managed replying, “It was from our old club, asking me to renew the membership.” And before David asked anything further she said she disposed the letter with the other trash while cleaning up the place. David continued to have his food, quite satisfied by the answer. She had well managed not to show up her excitement. At night, she was thinking to herself that she was married and had a kid so it’s inappropriate to go and meet a stranger. It was early morning and she had managed to get only a little sleep. By this time her thought had changed to, “What is wrong in seeing an old friend?” Her inquisitive nature was never going to let her sit peacefully. There were 5 more days to go. The excitement that grew in her knew no bounds.

Yet another day passed and by this time, she was thinking about the dress to wear for the big day. Nothing big had happened in 7 years time after her marriage. She vaguely tried to recollect the faces of the boys who used to hang around with her, her high school seniors, even juniors. But no, not even a clue of who this guy would be. In the evening, she had promised to go to the zoo with Deven. Seeing the yellow love birds in one of those random cages brought a smile and a kind of glow to her face. At one point she even thought that she was already drawn intimate to this stranger. At night, she casually mentioned David about her plan to go to library on 20^th. David was astonished as these kinds of saying and asking had stopped long back in their life. He just nodded and after having done with dinner, he went off to bed. Angela somehow managed to have something and rushed Deven to bed. Her eyes were wide open throughout the night.

3

The excitement soared on the third and fourth days, which gently paved way for the fifth day when she was supposed to meet him. When she woke up, she was definitely hit by the sleeplessness but the excitement killed all the other factors. She rushed to the kitchen and completed her works as fast as she could. She could feel her heart- beats rising to another level. In her heart she was praying for a smooth meeting as she had told a lie to David. She could have kept quiet but in her paramount excitement that day, she had just addressed it. Finally in the morning David had his breakfast and as usual after dressing up, he left. Now Deven was yet to get ready for his school. She got him ready and Deven complained that it is much earlier than usual. After dropping Deven at school, she had at least 3 miles to cover to reach old central market and plenty of time left.

Though she had prepared breakfast, she couldn’t have it because she was totally keyed up for the upcoming events. Walking towards the next coffee shop, she ordered a coffee and sat there for a few minutes with a newspaper in her hand. Still there was an hour left. She had dropped the idea of walking down to the place thinking that it would make her look worn out. All she could manage to spend was 15 minutes. Impatiently, she rushed to the counter and cleared the bill. Going outside she got a cab and instructed the driver to drop her off at old central market. And nearly half an hour to 10.00am, she read the big board at the entrance which read ‘The Medical Centre’. She also realised that this hospital was mainly for treatment of cancer. Though it was a big hospital, she had never been here before. She thought may be some of his known ones must have contracted this disease and he is coming to meet them. She walked in through the compound towards the huge structure which had five storeys.

It was almost 9.45 and Angela decided that she is not going to wait anymore. Moving towards the stairs she ascended them with swiftness. Soon on the second floor, she just moved in search of the lab. The stairs led to a passage which splits into two. She chose the left first and walked around the left corridor in search of the lab. After failing to find the lab there, she came back and chose to go towards the right and in the right corridor moving a little she could notice that there was a Lab towards the end. She quickly marched towards the Lab as she noticed Room No. 218 adjacent to it. She gave a temporary halt as she reached in front of the closed doors. She was nervous, tensed and felt her throat was running dry. Somehow she calmed herself down and decided to enter the room.

4

She knocked on the door and waited in anticipation. No one answered the door even after repeated attempts. She soothingly held the handle of the door and gradually gave a light thrust. The door was not locked. It widely opened up giving her the full view of the room. The room was spacious and there was a bed towards the left corner. The mattress, bed sheet and pillows were in order but the bed was devoid of anyone. She looked around to find the person but there was no one.  She walked front and back and waited there for couple of minutes. Then thinking to herself that she was fooled again by the person, she turned back with the intention of leaving. Exactly then, she heard a clutter of door from the far end of the room. She never noticed that there was a room at the far end. A pale female figure, totally skinny as if she hadn’t eaten for days together and hairless too, appeared before her. Angela understood that she was battling cancer but didn’t have any clue who she was or what was going on. Angela just stood in dismay for half a minute and then proceeded telling that lady about the intentions of her visit to the place. Before she could complete, a feeble voice murmured lightly, “Angie.” Angela could still not identify this woman, and she stood speechless. She couldn’t even find the smallest of clue to how the woman knew her name. The lady continued after couple of seconds, “Angie, you have long forgotten me I guess. It’s me Clara. Your classmate.” Angela took time to go back to her memories, but she very well remembered Clara who studied with her for more than 5 years. She had a lot of good memories with Clara who was very mischievous by nature. Clara went on to say, “It was me Angie who wrote that letter in eight grade asking you to come to the backyard. Though I knew you were very curious to know about it those days, I chose not to tell you then. I am sorry about it.” Angela stood still hearing what Clara had to say. She had lost acquaintance with Clara completely once high school was over. She asked Clara inaudibly, “What happened?” Clara smilingly said, “Oh! I was diagnosed with Lung cancer and that too very late. I will be going abroad tonight, as the doctors say that there are better treatment options available. That’s why I called you up today.”

Angela and Clara sat down to exchange how life had been treating them in these past years. Angela reminded Clara how mischievous she was and both of them chuckled, commenting on each other’s stupidity in school. Finally after an hour and a half, Angela was about to leave. As she got up and walked a few steps. Clara called her from behind and asked sorry for that letter in school days, and the recent one too. Angela came back to Clara and gave her a warm hug and smiling she said, “It’s OK. Just stay in touch.” She waved her hand and she left through the door, back to her normal life.

She preferred to walk back this time and on her way back she was smiling throughout thinking of the better times in life. Neither being fooled for the second time, nor the backfired excitement mattered. She was happy that she could reunite with one of her close pals and share some worthwhile time with her. As she paced back into her normal life, she had one thing to rejoice about, ‘A sudden flash of her faded memory, which came back to her like a sweet music’.