Force of habit

 

Still at Lonavla

A couple of my course mates shared one cabin. One afternoon when they returned to the cabin they realised that they have mislaid their key. The normal position for the key was on the ledge inside the small door to the building shaft. They were not sure whether it fell down the shaft also. The shaft was a smelly affair and both of them and their "Man Friday", the civilian bearer were not willing to search within the shaft space. They found that the window leading to the drawing room was ajar and managed to enter through the window.

They did not bother to look further for the key nor even think of breaking the present lock and procuring a new lock. For about four days their routes of egress was the window. On the fifth day the key was retrieved from the pocket of one of the raincoats and the door was finally opened.

The friends had got so much used to the exit and entrance through the window that they continued the same route for a couple of days more, even when the door was kept open.

Perceptions

While undergoing training in the navy at INS Shivaji, Lonavla, and were housed two to a room in the bachelor's accommodation blocks. Each unit comprised a sitting or living room, a bedroom and an attached toilet. We all had just come into the base and were quite new to the place. We had seen a large number of officer trainees of African origin in the base.

Some of my course mates who had been on ships that went to for goodwill visits to foreign ports had picked up two in one players. Some of the crazier of the course mates had picked up music by groups such as Osibisa also.

One course mate was searching for the cabin of another course mate where we had all assembled. A booming party was on; with beer, nuts and music.

So our friend heard music from one cabin, did not bother to knock and entered, only to be shocked by an intimidatingly built Nigerian hollering at him. He tried a second cabin again with music playing, but this time he knocked and waited, yet to be surprised by another Nigerian. After a long search he finally reached the correct cabin, but heard loud music and decided to retire back to his on domain than face another Nigerian.

An unsavoury handicap

This happened much before I even heard the word "Handicap", forget about its multiple meanings.

About seven of us used to play together when I was small. On one particular day only three of us were around. One was a boy, Vijayan more popularly known as Kuttan and the other was Srilatha, a girl about 4 to five years younger than both of us.

We devised a running race, first between equals, two boys, that I won and then a losers final between Kuttan and Srilatha. Srilatha was so small that I gave her the advantage of a shorter run compared to Kuttan and as luck would have it Srilatha won. Kuttan was furious in the loss and wouldn't talk to me for a week or so.

Then the episode faded away and we became friends again.

We were children then.

Arrogance - Road Ways - Part 1

Chennai roads are my focus in this blog, but it could relate to most of our cities and towns. The inadequate public transport system and the rise in urban affluence have resulted in the increase in number of vehicles on road. The latest models of motorcycles and cars give that much more power into the drivers’ hands too.

Every day our newspapers scream about increase in fatal road accidents. Head-on collisions, vehicles running over pedestrians, hit and run cases, etc are so frequent. Road accidents vary in their intensity, though many go unreported and get settled out of court. Rash driving, jumping traffic lights, lack of lane discipline, ignoring “One-way rules” and total apathy towards other road users are the main reasons for road accidents. Many drivers consider that they need to know and exercise the “Rules of the Road” only while taking a driving test, if at all they take any.

In a dusty corner at the RTO’s Office at Mattanchery, Kochi I happened to see a revealing piece of statistics on causes for motor accidents. It said that out of all reported road accidents in Kochi, about 90% were due to attitudinal errors among drivers, 5% due to natural and other calamities, 4% due to lack of education and 1% due to unavoidable circumstances. Arrogance is considered as the prime attitudinal error among road users.

Road users could be divided into four broad categories namely, professional drivers, amateur drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. Bullock carts and animals roaming on the streets have not been considered in the categorisation.

Further instalments are due....... Cheers......... God Bless.......

Murky Mirror - Foreword

An introduction of the author is a must. I am Ajith, am 54 years of age as on July 10, weigh about 71 Kgs and consider myself tall enough to carry the weight.

The idea to join the Defence services got embedded in my mind when I was about 6 years young (during 1962 Chinese aggression, though I was not physically or mentally affected by it then).

As I grew up, my interest turned to reading. After the Pre-Degree course, I wanted to pursue BA in English, but finally settled to become a Mechanical Engineer by educational qualification.

I joined the Indian Navy and pursued a career in Marine Engineering for 23 years. 

There are two women in my immediate family, one count each, wife and daughter.

These days I live to work, rather than the other way around. The job I am on now is not a career, but more of passion.

Down the memory lane, there was a Biology lesson that taught us about the digestive system of the family of bulls and cows. In the same lines, I am trying to publicly  digest a few raw and half-digested ideas from my experiences through this blog.

My cauldron of ideas is shallow and the contents turbid. It is possible that the my blogs could turn into sheer bullshit since the adopted digestive system is that of a bull.

Cheers………….. God Bless………..