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The Brother's War

WookieLuv — Wed, 28 May 2008 13:22:18 +0000

I just finished my new (old) book lastnight and it was a great read. Called "The Brother's War" by Jeff Grubb it's a Magic the Gathering series 1 of 4 that uses the timeline of the Artifacts Cycle (See expansion set Antiquities). During my reading I got inspired to ebay up and buy a Mishra's Workshop and an Arigivian Archeologists. I have most of the card set minus the big ticket ones that range from $50-100.00 ea. But I will get the set done or my name isn't M-O-O-N. Not that any of you plan on reading the book but if you need a good read pick it up and it's subsequent series, the next one is "Planeswalker" by Lynn Abbey. For those who have played Magic the Gathering you will know the main characters and supporting roles. Mains are Mishra and Urza, with Tawnos and Ashnod. Side characters like Feldon, the Thran and Gix and artifacts like Dragon Engines, Ornothopters and various cards/thing appear in the book and helps to see the background of the world of Dominiaria. The cool thing about the series is you do not have to play Magic to understand the concepts of what is going on. I highly recommend this book! I found mine at the 1/2 Price book store for $1.99.

Lastnight in the world of warcrack I had planned on doing the Tarren Mill raid but got sidetracked but was able to log in a few mins before our walk. (Alix and I go on neighborhood walks to not be so lazy) and was told that the raid was successful. WOOOT! World PvP is very fun!~ til the Horde show up like tribbles. Then you get spanked, then you spank them, back and forth for awhile til you get over run. Best time to do these small town raids is NOW since most of the Horde are little kids in school so when summer time comes...your screwed....see Tribbles....

IPL Hatricks

Aadil Aijaz — Fri, 16 May 2008 16:41:33 +0000

We have seen two (2) hatricks in this tournament so far.

The first IPL T20 hatrick was taken by L.Balaji (Chennai Super Kings) in a match against Kings IX Punjab. The batsmen who were dismissed in this hatrick were Irfan Pathan, Piyush Chawla and VRV Singh.

The second hatrick was taken by A.Mishra (Delhi Daredevils) in a match against Deccan Chargers. The batsmen who were dismissed in this hatrick were Ravi Teja, P.Ojha and Chetan Sharma.

Murakami, Mishra and Morning Jog

kpowerinfinity — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 12:10:33 +0000

I just finished South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami. Murakami is widely celebrated as a brilliant new writer and has become wildly popular these days. He has a very different style -- an almost childlike voice, very simple and very ordinary yet profound. Sample this (while commenting on Disney film The Live Desert the protagonist watched as a child):

Our world's exactly the same. Rain falls and the flowers bloom. No rain, they wither up. Bugs are eaten by lizards, lizards are eaten by birds. But in the end every one of them dies. The die and dry up. One generation dies, and the next one takes over. That's how it goes. Lots of different ways to live. And lots of different ways to die. But in the end it doesn't make a bit of a difference. All that remains is a desert.

Earlier, he also described the words of a song the protagonist liked as a child:

Pretend you're happy when you're blue
It isn't very hard to do.

The story is about Hajime, who is just settling down in life with a loving wife and two daughters (after a very disturbing adulthood), but his childhood sweetheart Shimamoto returns in his life. Shimamoto is seductive, excruciatingly beautiful and enigma personified. He had never been able to get Shimamoto out of his mind and her returns rocks his relatively peaceful existence.

After finishing Murakami, I shifted to (Sudhir) Mishra. I had been enamoured by the trailers of Khoya Khoya Chand, and Soha Ali Khan is "oh-so-pretty" anyway. All through the movie, I kept comparing it with Om Shanti Om (which I had recently watched). The only comparison I can make is KKC is character and OSO is caricature. Of course, they are completely different genres and it is unfair to compare, but still, that is what I thought of. Both are very similar in the underlying theme -- the movie industry far back. But completely different in they way the same thing is portrayed. KKC, I would highly recommend -- a very well made film, of two artists in the industry, how they are exploited, how they fall in love, how they exploit each other, crumble and finally triumph. No khitpit, no khichkhich, just a good movie.

And all this after a good morning jog -- hmmm -- I feel good!

Aside: If you are a facebook addict, enjoy this video:

आमीन , गुलाब पर ऐसा वक्त कभी न आये : भवानी प्रसाद मिश्र

अफ़लातून — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 09:58:23 +0000

Technorati tags: भवानी प्रसाद मिश्र, कविता, हिन्दी, गुलाब, लिली, सरसों

गुलाब का फूल है

हमारा पढ़ा - लिखा

मैंने उसे काफी

उलट-पुलट कर देखा है

मुझे तो वह ऐसा ही दिखा

सबसे बड़ा सबूत

उसके गुलाब होने का यह है

कि वह गाँव में जाकर

बसने के लिए

तैयार नहीं है

गाँव में उसकी

प्रदर्शनी कौन कराएगा

वहाँ वह अपनी शोभा की

प्रशंसा किससे कराएगा

वह फूलने के बाद

किसी फसल में थोड़े ही

बदल जाता है

मूरख किसान को फूलने के बाद

फसल देने वाला ही तो भाता है

गाँव में इसलिए ठीक है

अलसी और सरसों और

तिली के फूल

जा नहीं सकते वहाँ कदापि

गुलाब और लिली के फूल

बुरा नहीं मानना चाहिए

इस गुलाब - वृत्ति का

गाँव वालों को

क्योंकि वहाँ रहना चाहिए सिर्फ ऐसे हाथ - पाँव वालों को

जो बो सकते हैं

और काट सकते हैं

कुएँ खोद सकते हैं

खाई पाट सकते हैं

और फिर भी चुपचाप

समाजवाद पर भाषण सुनकर

वोट दे सकते हैं

गुलाब के फूल को

और फिर अपना सकते हैं

पूरे जोश के साथ अपनी उसी भूल को

याने जुट जा सकते हैं जो

उगाने में अलसी और

सरसों और तिली के फूल

गुलाब और लिली के फूल

तो भाई यहीं शांतिवन में रहेंगे

बुरा मानने की इसमें

कोई बात नहीं है

बीच - बीच में यह प्रस्ताव कि गुलाब वहाँ जा कर

चिकित्सा करे या पढ़ाये

पेश करते रहने में हर्ज नहीं है

मगर साफ समझ लेना चाहिए

गुलाब का यह फर्ज नहीं है

कि गाँवों में जाकर खिले

अलसी और सरसों वगैरा से हिले-मिले

और खोये अपना आपा

ढँक जाये वहाँ की धूल से

सरापा

और वक्तन बवक्तन

अपनी प्रदर्शनी न कराये

आमीन , गुलाब पर ऐसा वक्त कभी न आये

- भवानी प्रसाद मिश्र

( तरुणमन , वर्ष ३ , अंक ९ , १९७३ )

Ubuntu Linux Download Servers in India - Backward Infrastructure or what ?

oskanpur — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 16:07:56 +0000

Backwardness of Infrastructure or Backwardness of the Mind ?
For the Indian enthusiasts of Ubuntu and Linux it sometimes comes as a complete shock that a country which bursts into raptures when women are launched into outer space, a country that just freaks out when it sees fillums like Swadesh, Chak de India etc and a country which regards itself as one of the providers of choice of IT services, innovation and IT expertise to many parts of the world - is very silent when it comes to the question of IT infrastructure.
However if you have had ocassion to talk to some of the smartest Indian IT professors, working for well over decades in premier science and technology teaching and research institutes, one cannot help asking them a few questions on Linux and the Indian community :
1. For how many years have you been using Linux ?
2. For how many years have you been teaching Linux ?
3. How many world class conferences you have attended or hosted on Linux with lots and lots of government money ?
4. How many times you have given media interviews regarding IT innovation strategy for this country ?
5. How many years you have spent on accumulating experience on clusters of computing hardware ?

And then if you ask them one simple question as to why - if when a user in an Indian village wants to download Ubuntu Linux from an Indian server there is no Indian server offering free downloads - they just go suddenly quiet.
How long is this state expected to last ?
Just try going to the Ubuntu Linux download page and see (forget the world) - just check out which Asian countries have servers from which common people can download Ubuntu Linux from.
You will be amazed that all these high flying science and technology bureaucrats of India have not even found the time or the resources to offer a server for simple downloads.
And do you wonder what countries figure there ?
Well certainly not the so called big boss of IT - India. Nor the IT capitalists who profess to be socialists at heart.
There is no NASSCOM there. No IIT. No IIIT. No IIM
Then who is there ? -
Surprise of surprises - China, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Vietnam.
No Indian servers at all from any of the high flying prestigious IT computing hubs sprinkled all over India.
Is this issue symptomatic about ills and achievements of Indian Science and Technology, some fifty years after the dreams of public sector and science and technology revolution in India ?

Computer Dealers short of staff trained to Install Ubuntu Linux ?

oskanpur — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 10:09:43 +0000

Kanpur and Lucknow computer dealers who have for years been selling proprietary operating systems are suddenly realizing that they themselves know very little about Ubuntu Linux operating system for desktops. On top of that, they have not invested in teaching their own support staff how to install Ubuntu or Kubuntu on customer laptops and desktops - that is customers who want to work with the best legal operating system already available in the markets. Many of these computer dealers have not even found the time to read the installation instructions from the Ubuntu website.

Naturally these assembled computer dealers associations in Kanpur and Lucknow feel that first they have to learn Ubuntu themselves - and then - they have to teach their staff how to install Ubuntu or Kubuntu in one hour. So it seems that school children will now have to teach these outdated computer dealers and hardware box vendors the fine points of Ubuntu Linux installation on laptops and desktops. One wonders when the the computer assemblers will start giving themselves a crash course in Ubuntu and Linux so that they can install it on their customer computers in just one hour.

But go and see the computers of children in Kanpur and Lucknow from schools such as Methodist, Jaipuria DPS, Christ Church - these kids know much more about the ease of Ubuntu installations than these hardware vendors - many of whom do not even have free CD to give to the customer just in case the customer tells them just to give them a price for the hardware box. For after all if children can install Ubuntu from CD by themselves, so can customers. And then maybe finally the staff of the hardware vendors will also learn how to install Ubuntu.

Many children of course prefer Kubuntu Desktop version because the KDE desktop is better to look at for those who only know how to send emails and chat on the Internet.

And last, the computer dealers will themselves shyly one afternoon decide to learn it themselves.

Where to download Ubuntu from ? http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download

Rain, Mist and Diesels: Trek in the Braganza Ghats

bizzymishra — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 12:00:57 +0000

For more photos, please refer to the IRFCA Server HERE.

(Note: Many more photos coming soon in my personal gallery. Keep watching this space!)

Luck...Calling!
I still recall the day when I had to regretfully turn down Vivek 'Old Man' Pillay's offer for a DDS trip due to some personal issues and felt like having missed the 'trip of the year'. But Lady Luck did call on me one fine day, albeit a few days late, in the form of my cell phone’s ringtone - it was Colin, inviting me over and reading me out the outlined plans for a Braganza ghat trekking trip along with Ramdev Gowda of UBL. I immediately agreed to the trip and thanks to Colin, the tickets were done two weeks in advance for 7311 MAS-VSG express, scheduled to depart at 19:40 on the 14th of Sep. Initially, there was a dearth of reservations on the 7311, but Colin got the news from some godsend source that the 7311 had a quota of 72 seats - one full coach - from Banaswadi (BAND), and we managed to grab two berths.

Over the next few days, Colin & I were in constant touch and It was decided that I'd make it to Colin's place on Friday evening from where we'd move to BAND to board the 7311. So, there I was on a Friday evening, hunting through buses at a crowded busstop leading to Colin's place, and eventually managed it, reaching at 18:30. Finishing some last minute tasks, we set out at 19:10 and hurriedly took a rick to the deserted station of Banaswadi, a place which still retained it's MG-era ambience. There were barely 10-15 passengers on the platform and all of them were invariably waiting for the YPR-HWH. So we decided to dump our luggage and hang around...

A trek for food...
After loitering around at BAND for over 45 mins, a peep into our watches revealed 20:15. An anxious peek into the SM's office by Colin indicated the arrival of the 7311 at 22:00. Unable to believe Colin's words, I made a visit to the SM's cabin, only to get the news confirmed by a sneering SM. So we decided to start foraging for food. A few desperate calls for food-delivery didn't work out well and we decided to make it to the nearest food-joint that we could find. Turned out that it wasn't too practical for one of us to stay on the platform and the other to go in search of food, so we decided to start a trek to the city streets with our luggage along the tracks.

Some half-a-kilometer trek away, we encountered a decent-looking udupi joint and headed over. Unfortunately, the looks were deceptive - there was no decent food to be served and feeling pissed off, we moved to the next joint, where Colin resorted to some oil-free fried rice and I had my fill of chicken-flavored egg noodles and supposedly some chilly chicken that can be better described as chicken & onions marinated in hot oil overnight!

Purchasing some nifty items for the trip. we started our walk back to BAND & reached the stn at 21:40. We were feeling quite elated, as we had managed to while away 1 hr of our time and now it was only a small wait of about 20 minutes...or was it? Another inquiry into the SM's cabin revealed that the 7311 had been further delayed, and now the scheduled arrival was only after 23:10.

Whew...well past 10 in the night, it seemed for a while that the two of us were the only passengers waiting for this horribly late train on a deserted suburban station with only a pack of dogs for company. There were a couple of other people, but they were all present to receive their near'n'dear ones. We were joined soon by another elderly gentleman, also a passenger on the 7311...so a total of 3 passengers from BAND, yet a quota of 72 seats??? Strange are the ways of our IR.. With lots of time & nothing to do, we started leafing through Samit's atlas and calculating travel times in order to while away time. Thanks to the era of mobile communications, we received the news at 23:00 that the 7311 has crossed Whitefield and is expected shortly. The next few minutes, we kept receiving minute-by-minute updates on the train's position, thanks to the few 'benefactors' on board. Who said tracking is not possible without GPS?! Finally, at 23:15, we heard the reassuring 'tring tring' from the master's cabin indicating the section block. The rake pulled into the platform at 23:25 led by a Pune WDG-3a and we had quite a bit of running to do before we plonked our baggage on our berths and proceeded to hang around the doorway till YPR, which we reached around 23:50. We had expected the train to make up for some of the lost time at YPR, but the crew were not thinking on our lines...

Pune ka Kutta!
The tempting call of a chai vendor on the platforms of YPR brought us out of our coaches and as we loitered on the platform sipping the hot cup of life, we realized that it's already a new day...it was 10 minutes past 00:00 on 15th, yet we were still within Bengalooru limits! There seemed to be no anxiety among the crew, who seemed to be taking it easy on the platform benches. However, a fight between some passengers in S1 & the TTE made quite a racket and a crowd gathered out of nowhere to enjoy the colorful exchange of words. As though irritated with the proceedings, a WDG-4 angrily rammed into the caboose of a stationary flatbed rake while coupling and a couple of minutes later, it fired away with the rake like a missile, leaving us gaping at the phenomenal acceleration - standstill to over 40 in 25 seconds flat! I put Colin to guard our luggage & borrowing his cameraphone, I walked to the SLR to catch some action.

The SLR was apparently loaded with spices and the platform was lingering with the fragrance of cardamom, reminding me of the MG platform of Bodi. The Pune loco had, by now, reversed into the platform and had come to a halt some 100m away from our rake. Intrigued, I asked a khalasi about the loco and got an abrupt reply:
"pila rahe hain" (they're making it drink!)

Confused by the sudden reply, I repeated my question.
"arre bhai! deriver ko daru nahi, injan ko diesel pila rahe hain" (they're not making the driver booze, they're making the loco drink diesel)

Very amused by the khalasi's style of talking, I decided to strike up a longer conversation. I asked him
"kitna pilaoge?" (how much you'll make it drink?)
"bar apna hai, beer apna hai, jitna marzi utna pilayenge! lekin paraye kutte ko jyada kyon pilaye?(the bar is ours', the beer is ours', it's our wish how much we hive him to drink...but why let the neighbour's dog drink so much?)
"paraya kutta kyon?" I ask. (why do you call him a neighbour's dog?)
"sasura kutta hai pune ka, lekin roz aa jata hai yahan peene ko!" (this bloody dog is from Pune, but every time it comes here to drink - meaning this particular loco was a regular link for the 7311.
We continued talking for quite a lot of time & I never realized when in the midst of his amusing chat, the pune doggie finished drinking and had started moving towards us. It was time for khalasi to start his duty. Thanking him for the very amusing time, I took some shots of the coupling with the cameraphone (thanks to the uncanny absence of RPF at YPR) & walked back to our coach. We started rolling out of YPR at 01:10 and in no time I perched myself on my upper berth and accelerated off to sleep in no time.

Seven-Up?
Some taps on my knees woke me up from deep slumber at 07:15. It was Colin waking me up to catch some crossing at Chikjajur. I never managed to get to the action in time, but it was the rather grumpy kickstart to a long day ahead. The train was having a good run but nevertheless, it was still running 4 hours late. At around 08:00, we came to a rolling halt at DAD (Devaragudda) where we had a crossing. Colin got down and walked to the loco, while I had to make do with my camera's zoom as it was not possible for me to wander too far from our coach. After a few anxious moments, the UBL Intercity, nothing more than a silver streak, appeared on the horizon and in under a minute, the streak negotiated a down gradient, followed by a steep climb and led by the dippy-four 20009, it soon blasted past us at over 90, literally sweeping us off our feet.

The crossing over, we returned to our coach where we spent a rather languid time, preserving our energy for the better part of the day. Ramdev kept giving us constant updates from UBL regarding the time left for us to reach UBL, judging by the inputs we provided him through SMS. Thereafter, Colin's handset kept bleeping and we kept receiving updates from Ramdev every 20 minutes till we reached UBL - he even alerted us regarding the things to watch out for on the way (though we were unsuccessful in locating most of them!).

Er, where's the mug?
Meanwhile, the day being Ganesh Chaturthi, an important festival for me, I was fasting since morning and had planned to have my food only after having a bath at Castle Rock - or better - at the Dudhsagar falls. But looking at the tardy pace of things, I realized that we can never make it in time. So, I headed for the 4X4 cubicle - and I must admit, it was the first time ever that I bathed in a train - that too in a sleeper class loo! Unlike A/C coaches, there was no mug and the only respite was an empty 1.2L bottle of Maaza that was supposed to be used as a mug! Anyhow, I did manage to complete my bath in 20 minutes, all the while swaying to the tune of the train rocking at 90+kph...some bath indeed! By the time this ordeal was over, we were already rolling into UBL, where I did some very basic pooja inside the coach & headed for some dahi on the platform, followed by breakfast. Ganapati bappa! do forgive me...maybe a proper fasting next time!

A decent halt at UBL, and after changing over from the Pune WDG-3a to a Gooty WDM-3a, we arrived at Dharwad at 11:15 where Ramdev awaited us sporting an IRFCA cap as his identity. After the exchange of greetings and some more snacks, we moved back to our coach, where Ramdev pulled out the rabbit from his hat - the photography permit - that had us drooling over. No more hiding behind tiny point-and-shoots and cameraphones - now we could safely flaunt our tripods, handycams and long-zoom cameras! Colin & Ramdev settled on the doorway to catch the Gooty swinging on the curves and I settled on the berth updating my trip blog on-the-go!

A Wet Welcome
We finally arrived at Castle Rock at 13:20 and after watching the attachment of AEB-equipped Gooty bankers to the 7311, we bid farewell to the rake & started on our trek at 13:50. The woods were amazingly beautiful and no amount of photos or videos could be sufficient to describe the beauty of the place - it is something that needs to be seen in order to be experienced - the lush green foliage, the mist-covered mountains, the seeping streams of water from the moss-coated rocks and the overall loneliness, the peacefulness of the place. The joy, however, was short-lived as the mist soon turned into thick clouds that reduced visibility and the skies opened up as a welcome note. In no mood to be let down by this drizzling threat, we pulled out our jackets, covered up the cameras & welcomed the rains to lash us happily.

Apparently disappointed by this unexpected behavior from us, the clouds went into a fit of rage and unleashed all their fury on us. In the midst of all that rumble of the rains and the rapids, I heard a mismatching rumble and alerted others to keep their ears open for an approaching train. Surely enough, a trumpet was heard round the curve and a duo of light Gooty baldies emerged out of the mist and thundered down the tracks. Thanks to 'team effort', we managed to shoot the pair in spite of the pouring rains.

We soon came across tunnel #1 of the ghats, a short, lined tunnel of barely 97m and inspite of being my first ever tunnel-walk, I didn't feel a thing. The tunnels, though unlit, had sufficient visibility owing to their (relatively) short length and daylight from the open ends coming in. The clearance was enough and there was plenty of room for safety. Interestingly, tunnel #2, presumably the longest of them at 400+ meters had a castle-shaped arch welcoming everyone inside.

Britannia khao, Braganza jao!
Barely 2 kilometres into the trek, I could feel the rainwater seeping down my chest and grew concerned regarding the safety of my camera. We spotted some abandoned quarters nearby and headed over for shelter. Surely enough, my jacket had failed miserably and was dripping wet. Fortunately, my cam & cellphone were still dry but I was taking no chances - tucking them safely inside Colin’s bag and changing over from my trekking boots to light sandals, we moved on further.

A km further, we came across the heavy bass of WDG-4s somewhere in the mist and though unsure of the direction, we were sure that it will reach us in less than 3-5 mins. We were on a viaduct at that moment and decided to stay put there as it provided a wonderful vantage point. If took quite some frantic efforts to get our cameras ready in the pouring rains and again, thanks to 'team-effort', we were fully armed and prepared to capture the beasts. Barely a minute later, two...no three...four...no, five! A five-headed BOXN thundered down on us, headlights piercing the mist & raindrops. The rains falling on the radiators of the loco created clouds of steam and provided a surreal view. Two words: Simply Unbelievable!

The four-and-something kilometre trek in the heavy rains with all the bulky luggage had already started taking it's toll and we had started feeling tired. I was particularly exhaused carrying a 12kg+ backpack further weighted down by the weight of the wet boots & jackets. (Colin's comment: Bizzy's looking like a poor single WDG-4 with a overloaded rake and no bankers to assist him!). So, we took a short break near a moderately powerful rapid (small waterfall) to have some biscuits- on the rocks! But we had no time to lose; it was already 16:00 and every minute of daylight was precious, and we carried on with our biscuits on the move. Thankfully, the rains decided to give us tired trekkers a break and stopped punishing us further.

Finally...Caranzol!
Slightly energized and relieved from the rains, we speeded up our pace and by 17:00, we finally rounded a sharp curve, entering Caranzol. There was apparently no power and a lone diesel genset was spluttering away for all it's worth to power the signal lamps and a couple of CFL lamps at the station. As we entered the platform, the first sight that we encountered resembled a college ragging scenario - the SM and few others were standing, watching a man strip down to his undies! A closer look, however, revealed that the gentleman had managed to get some leeches into his pants and was jittery because of that. A look down my own legs revealed that the blood sucking bugs had their share from my sandal-clad feet too. Though Ramdev kept assuring me that the leeches were harmless, the blood-oozing openings kept getting me jittery as well.

A small rest on the platform after dumping our luggage, and we proceeded to meet the SM. We wanted a hitch in some downgoing rake upto DDS, as we were in no condition to walk further. The SM-in-charge, Mr. Anil Kumar, was a wonderfully welcoming person, and after checking our letter of permit, he assured us of a drop till DDS. However, he advised us not to camp at DDS for the night due to the lack of amenities and told us that we had to wait for the Goa Exp to cross and we'd get a drop only after that. We moved our backpacks aside and settled on a low platform, stretching our tired legs. The Goa Exp crossed us at around 18:00, followed by another upgoing freight rake. We managed to capture both before a very thick mist set in, reducing visibility to ~50m and rains started thrashing again.

Looking at the way of things, we reconsidered the SM's advice of not camping at DDS, and after some discussions, decided to settle down at Caranzol for the night. We did get an accommodation offer from a gangman, but we turned it down and the sight of a massive six-inch hairy spyder hastily made us discard our plans to settle in one of the abandoned quarters. We unanimously decided it best to put up out tents, and we intimated the Mr.Kumar of our plans. He had no objections and happily allowed us to put up our tents on the platform.

Roti, Kapda aur Makaan
Done with the accommodation, it was time for food. We were all darn hungry and Ramdev's initial idea of lighting up a campfire ended in a damp squib, what with all the rains and no wood to light up a fire. Of course, I had three mugs of ready-to-eat noodles in my backpack and all we needed for a piping hot meal was some hot water. What luck, I even had a 200W coffee heater in my kitty - just needed some electricity now. We decided to head back to the SM asking for permission to use a power socket. However, we came to know of the grave power situation very soon. There was no electricity supply at the station altogether. The overworked diesel genset was the only hope for the deserted souls and conserving every watt of electricity was crucial for the men on duty. And there was no way on earth the poor machine would support the load of a 200W heater. But seeing our disheartened faces, Mr.Kumar immediately assured us of some boiling water from his gas stove.

Although initially busy in his office, a small & polite reminder immediately got Mr.Kumar from his office to his personal quarters and in a few minutes, he emerged with a pan of boiling water to cook our noodles. What all of us loved was the fact that he treated us like his personal guest and everytime we expressed our heartfelt thanks, we used to get a cheerful "Not to mention!" in return.

Nightlife!!!
A very spartan, yet a highly memorable dinner and we were ready to pitch our tents. We chose a relatively dry spot on the platform barely 6 feet away from the tracks and settled down at 21:00. Thanks to Mr.Kumar again, we got a safe place to keep our backpacks for the night in his office, and newspapers to blot out the moisture from the wet tent. The rainwater had badly seeped into our backpacks and had soaked everything from extra clothes to bedsheets. We somehow put them to to dry on the clotheslines meant for the staff stationed there.

Sleep came spontaneously for me and in no time, my snores were competing with the WDG-4s for decibel level. Meanwhile, Colin & Ramdev were still energetic enough to capture some night action. However, by 23:00 all three of us were zipped in. It was an uneasy night for me & Ramdev and everytime an uphill rake passed by barely 1.5 metres from our sore feet, we woke up with a start thinking the thundering bankers were going to run us over. I remember waking up atleast 7 times throughout the night, and a similar count was put up by Ramdev, though Colin admits that he never felt a thing. I even recall waking up at dawn & unzipping the tent to catch the Goa Express - just in time - before dozing off again.

Sleep to 40kph in 10 minutes...
Bright daylight and the familiar-by-now thunder of an approaching rake finally got me out of slumber at 06:45 and as I prepped my cam and tripod to capture an early morning shot, we were greeted by Mr.Kumar, who informed us that the approaching rake was our only link to DDS for the next five hours and if we miss it, there'll be no further links till 11AM. With barely two minutes to spare, we hastily disassembled our tent and gathering all our baggage, we managed just about sufficient time to have a snap with Mr.Kumar. A final round of wholehearted thanks from all of us for the hospitality and cooperation was returned with the ever-so-cheerful 'Not to Mention!' before we ran off to pile our luggage on the caboose of the penta-headed freight.

A jerky ride it was all the way to DDS, but some amazing early morning views, no doubt. The rake made the compulsory brake test halt at DDS and we got off about hundred metres away from the station, walking with our huge bundles past the rake to the idling locos. It was discovered that there was some point failure and the points had to be set manually. Once done, the rake disappeared into the curvy tracks. A sudden cloud of mist engulfed us and as we stood there praying for dry weather, the clouds slowly parted, giving us the first glimpse of the golden morning sunshine.

Mineral water, anyone?
With the bright weather setting in, our damp spirits also brightened and spreading our wet clothes to dry on the tracks, we proceeded to organize all our messed up luggage on a small platform beside a gurgling brook and Mother Mary's Shrine. A brief wash in the stream and brushing teeth was followed by a breakfast of biscuits and dry bread. A hunt for drinking water ended with tasting the purest & sweetest form of water from the mineral springs. Call it the purest form of Bisleri or Aquafina! What more can you ask for?

All fresh and powered up, we waited on the tracks for our clothes to get fully dry while chalking out a plan for the day. We were all too exhausted to trek further till Kulem, so we planned to visit the falls and then take a FP from DDS to Kulem and catch the Goa Exp as the returning link. In the meantime, we spotted the Amravati across the hills and readied ourselves to capture it. The Amravati also made an unscheduled halt at DDS owing to the point failure and departed 15 minutes later with a spectacular display of smokeworks from the bankers.

Some tourists, taking advantage of the unscheduled halt, got off for an easy trek to the falls and set up their base camp near 'our' platform, waiting for a 'safe pass' across the tunnels. Another crossing followed, this time a coal-laden BOXN rake with twin DG-4s up front and triple bankers at the rear, which put up a wonderful display of raw power while struggling with phenomenal amounts of wheelslip. Meanwhile, the group of tourists apparently unfamiliar with this raw display of power (and seeing our excited faces), was gaping alternatively at the locos and us - obviously they had mistaken us for regular tourists - and we were anything but regular! Some even wandered up to us asking if we could lead them safely across the tunnels. We didn't refuse, but seeing that we are taking our own time, they moved off for their own good.

We, in the meantime, completed our packup and walked to the DDS station, where I met the SM, Mr.Chakradhar, a person from my homeland and struck up a conversation in the vernacular language. The typical railfan introductory dialogue was followed by a brief-up of our itinerary and Mr.Chakradhar was as warm & welcoming as Mr.Kumar of CZL, promising us all the help we might need. We kept our luggage in his cabin and headed off - as colin puts it : light locos wandering downhill - to the Dudhsagar falls at 11:00 hrs.

Gettin' Baked!
It took us little more than 15 mins to get there and the group of 'regular' tourists was already present there, taking pics in sorts of weird angles and seemed to be quite delighted by our arrival. A cool half-hour at the falls, and we were ready to welcome the Ernakulam Express at the DDS Falls. The ERS made it's appearance at 11:45 behind Gooty twins and after it passed by, we decided to take a walk down the tunnels just across the DDS. The tunnels, numbered 12 & 13 have a gap of barely 7-8 metres end-to-end and we managed to trace it's history back to some decages ago, when a tanker rake reportedly derailed and exploded inside the tunnel, dividing a single long tunnel into two short ones. By the time we were done with the history lessons, we could hear the heavy bass of WDG-4s and decided to stay put inside the tunnels to capture the locos emerging from one tunnel & disappearing into the other.

A pretty desperate wait was followed by a sudden appearance of the locos - from the opposite end of the tunnels. We were grossly misled by the sounds, but all thanks to Colin for having spotted ot on time. The rake slowly trundled past us, but we were completely unprepared for what followed next - three bankers, making a sound louder than a supersonic boom, thundered past us, literally baking us inside the tunnel with the heat from their radiators. The hot air could have easily touched ~60 - 70 degrees celcius. In no time, the bankers disappeared into the second tunnel, leaving behind a cloud of dust, steam and smoke and three awestruck railfans!

Let's call it a day...
Having had enough, we decided to call it a day, and headed back to our base camp, DDS station, where we had some more biscuits and famous Dharwad Pedas brought by Ramdev. Colin & Ramdev were too exhausted to go further and relaxed on the platform benches while I went ahead to shoot some more pics, capturing a pair of light Gooty WDG-3As in the process. The LP in the trailing loco offered me a ride as well, which I turned down with a wave and a smile, before heading back to join Colin & Ramdev at the station.

A few minutes of discussion, and we made up our minds to hitch a ride back to Castle Rock instead of going further to Kulem. The twin Gooties were still waiting on the siding for a crossing, and we approached the same LP who had offered me a ride earlier. He welcomed us aboard without a murmur but the line had not been cleared yet - not until the downbound rake crosses us. So off I went again for some more last-minute action and reached a gangmen's hut that provided a good vantage point. And who should I see there - our new friends, the 'regular tourists', waiting for a hitch in the caboose of the downgoing rake, welcoming me to their 'camp'. Waiting for the rake, we strike up a conversation followed by a 'diet-lunch' of some wild bamboo shoots!

A few minutes later, the downgoing rake appeared round a curve and I, hastly shooting some snaps, headed back to our loco bidding farewell to my new friends from Goa. We waited patiently in the loco as the long rake slowly trundled past us after a short halt. We started rolling out soon after and the twin DG-3As put up a wonderful run all the way to CLR.

Signalling Lessons at CLR
Arriving CLR at 14:00, it was my turn to relax languidly at the platform while Ramdev & Colin fetched some more biscuits & tea for lunch. We continued sitting there for some more time till a light drizzle began showering, after which, we moved to the safety of the covered platform, having a cuppa tea each at regular intervals. The drizzle, meanwhile transformed itself into a heavy downpour which continued lashing Castle Rock for two hours and all that time we spent on the platform benches. Bored of sitting still, I made a move to the door of the SM's busy cabin at CLR and got some lessons in understanding signalling from Colin.

As I stood watching the Circuit Diagram on the SM's desk, I could see the Goa Express 'The Super' pulling into CLR AT 18:15 and soon, we were on board the last SLR on the train. The coach was uncannily unpopulated and remained so for a major part of the journey. Reaching Londa, we were shunted off to a siding where we waited an hour to join the Rani Chenamma and were finally off at around 20:00. Once off Londa, I engaged myself in updating a shorthand version of this trip report on my communicator while Colin & Ramdev were busy chatting. An uneventful journey later we finally saw off Ramdev at Dharwad at 22:00 and we reached UBL at 22:20.

Memories Revisited
It was an instant flashback of 14th April 2007 as we arrived at UBL. It was raining that day; it was raining today. We were tired as dogs that day; we were tired as dogs today. We had some wonderful memories with us that day; we were having wonderful memories today as well. Everything was the same, just the trip was different, the times were different and ofcourse, this time UBL saw a different version of Bizzy. (VSP & some others may recall a personal point about me here, I believe!)

We spent the night in a hotel booked by Ramdev. No offence meant, Ramdev, but the hotel was bullshit, to say the least. We were accommodated in the basement in a dingy room which was nowhere worth the hefty amount charged and to my horror, I even discovered a pair of snakes having a jolly time in the toilets and the staff who threw the reptiles out started demanding cash for his 'outstanding service to humanity'. Too tired to put up a fight, I asked him to come back in the morning, knowing well that we'd be gone by the time he returns in the morning.

Gone in 30 seconds
Two phones, five alarms and finally one of us woke up at 05:35 and it wasn't me! Colin took up the lead & I trailed behind this time, and finallly we were on the platform of UBL at 06:18 and got into our coach of the UBL intercity at 06:20. Barely 30 seconds passed from the time we got in, and the rake started rolling out. 30 seconds late, and we would have missed it.

We seized the first opportunity to upgrade to AC Chaircar and managed to get a wide selection of seats. We took 2 separate window seats and made ourselves comfortable. Just like we did the last time. It was an uneventful run all the way till SBC, which we reached at 14:15, putting an uneventful end to a very eventful trip.

All those have actually read till here...I hope you have enjoyed going through the report. Cribbings and comments are always welcome.

Thanks & Regards

Bizzy Mishra

Channulal Mishra

indianraga — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 03:34:00 +0000

Born in Azamgarh District, Uttar Pradesh, Channulal Mishra received his training in music under his father Pandit Badri Prasad Mishra, and then from Ustad Abdul Ghani Khan of the Kirana gharana.Channulal Mishra is a versatile and popular vocalist with a rich repertoire of Khayals, Thumris, Dadras, Kajris, Chaitis and Bhajans. He is also a scholar who has delved into the aesthetic subtleties of Indian classical music under the guidance of Thakur Jaidev Singh.Amitabh Bachchan, the film star is known to be a big fan of Mishra ji especially of his Purab Ang Gayaki that may have inspired the actor to sing in his films in the style for which he is so well known for.

He received the Naushad Award from the Government of Uttar Pradesh in 1995.

Here is a Khayal in Maru Bihag which is one of my all time favourites :

Channulal Mishra - Spirit Of Benares - 03 - Khayal Maru Bihag - More Balma Aja Hoon

Hindustani Classical Music

indianraga — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 14:24:00 +0000

My collection of Hindustani Classical Music can be downloaded at :

www.esnips.com/web/ragas

Featured artists are :

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Farida Khanum
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Kalpana Zokarkar
Kaushiki Chakrabarty
Malini Rajurkar
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.... and many more .........

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Tags: hindustani , indian , classical , shastriya , sangeet , raga , raag , rag , thumri , dadra , kajri , hindi , music , chaiti , sawani , bhairavi , jaunpuri , khamaj , todi , pahadi , yaman , malkauns , bihag , pilu , malhar , zarina , begum