Just another day at JFWTC

This is how I would describe my typical day during my stay at Bangalore, a description of a weekday at work.

I woke up at 8am and got ready for going to JFWTC (GE). By the time I left, Vikas was already up, though sleepy-eyed. I reached the Whitefield bus stop by 8:45am and had to wait for approximately 5 minutes for a bus to Agrahara Gate, skipping 2 buses (a bus and a mini-bus) which were going to Kadagudi. I got on just in time as there were only 3 seats available and I was the second one to board the bus. The journey cost me 4 rupees. I had to walk from Agrahara Gate to ITPL Back Gate, a distance of approximately 200 metres. There again I had to wait for 5 minutes to get another bus to Vydehi Circle. This journey costs 2 rupees. I reached GE at about 9:15 am and had Masala Dosa for breakfast. It was necessary for me to eat as I desperately needed to get change of my Rs. 100 note.

Reaching my desk, I spent the next half an hour checking my mails. In the meanwhile I cursed IITKGP webmail for displaying those unnecessary "Disk Space Usage" that served no good and just made the process slow. There was a mail from Suman regarding his proposed Bangalore visit and about those boring gossip parties that he had to attend. Maintenance Systems had sent a mail that mentioned not working of e-mail sever during some time period in Sunday.

Then I started to do my work. As I had already finished my literature survey and made a word document with all the things added, I was just selecting the relevent portions to be added to the presentation. This went on till lunch time when at around 12:45pm the group decided to go for lunch. The food was like any other day's. All the four caterers, i.e. Griddle - I, Griddle - III, Harsha and Harsha - I served south indian dishes. Out of about a dozen dishes, I had no idea what 8 of them meant. The ones I knew included Plain Rice, Nimbu Pani, Dal Makhani and wow.....Chana Masala in Griddle - III.......lets eat there today.

After the lunch, we went back to our desks and re-checked our mailboxes. After another similar session and a few Calvin & Hobbes comic strips, I opened my work yet again. At around quarter to three, our manager, Mr. D. Uma Maheshwar came and told that he is planning to give me a slot of half an hour in the Friday's team meeting to present my work.

As soon as he left to his desk, I decided to go and play billiards in the recreation room. I had to wait for about 10 minutes before I could join a table. I played doubles with a GE employee and the opponents were IITM guys. "These guys don't seem to have any work. Whenever you visit the recreation room, you will find the lot there", I thought. I had moderate luck today. I won three of the four games played, but was unsatisfied as I missed a couple of easy shots as the stick I had was a lighter one.

I returned back to my desk at around 4pm. I continued the decoration of the presentation and things went on quite eventlessly till 6pm when we went for snacks. I preferrered Veg. Sandwich for snacks over Bonda Soup.

After snacks, I went back to my desk and started my journey back to Whitefield at around 6:45pm. Vivek and Sauvik told that they plan to stay back as Vivek had to go to the gym and Sauvik had to do documentation work. As I was coming back, I could see the clouds gathering that meant another rainfall in the coming one hour.

I got connecting buses from Vydehi to O-Form to Whitefield and was in my room by about 5 minutes past 7. I rested till 8pm when I went for dinner at Mayuri Sagar. I had Egg Curry with 5 Rotis. By the time I was done, the rain had started. All the others were back at around 10:15pm after having their dinner. I always went to eat earlier as at 8pm, I had choice of more dishes as well the serving was quick. If I were to go at 10pm, most of the good dishes will get finished and I would have to fill my stomach with what's available. Also it would take a lot more time.

I went to sleep at around 11:30pm after having another Bhaat session with the group.

All's Well That Ends Well

The weekend of 11th and 12th June was again very exciting. On 11th we planned to go to the movie "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" with Animesh, Dipayan and others. But from our group, we could only convince Sauvik and Navjot to come. The rest decided to go to GE. So we all decided that we would go and attend the 4pm show. As we still had lot of time before the show starts, we all went to GE. On our way, we met an IITD guy doing internship at GE itself. On asking why he was coming on Saturday, he told that he came to watch movies. On enquiring further, he told that he saw streaming videos form musicmazaa.com. He also gave a proxy from which we could also check our GMail accounts. Before going to movie, I spent the time playing billiards.

We left at about 3 to Innovative Multiplex. Reaching there, we found that the rest of the people haven't arrived. On trying to contact Animesh, we found that he had switched off his mobile. There wasn't enough time to contact Dipayan. So we three decided to go in when just 5 minutes were remaining for the movie. The hall was overall good with 4 screens, but the screens were smaller than usual. The movie was a good action-comedy and was worth the Silver Class Ticket we bought for Rs. 100/-. Neither of the two other people turned up for the movie.

The movie got over at about 6pm, and then we decided to go back to GE. There we found that Vivek and Co. had already left. While Sauvik sweated out his Documentation Work, I took pains! to transfer all the good jokes from my GMail account to my Humour Blog. We started our journey back at around 9:30pm, but took a lot of time to get back as the buses were infrequent.

Reaching back home, we found none of the others in. Upon calling we came to know that they (Vivek and Vikas) went to Forum for window-shopping, while Thakur and Navjot went to meet their seniors at IIM and won't be back for the day.

The next day, myself, Vikas and Vivek decided to go to Bannerghatta National Park with Navjot and Prashant to join us on reaching there. Since it was a long journey and we had other plans after that, we decided to take Bus Passes. One such pass costs Rs.25/- and is valid throughout the day in all State Transport Buses. We decided to take a bus to Majestic and change for Bannerghatta. But on the Majestic Bus Stand we found that the bus is infrequent and none had come for the past one hour. Fortunately a bus came and people jumped in to fill it in seconds. Only I managed to get a seat while the Vikas and Vixy had to stand. They go a seat after approximately one hour. We reached Bannerghatta to find that it is a lot crowded place. We first decided to have lunch at a restaurant called "Mayuri Vanashree Restaurant". The service there was very poor and the order took a lot of time to be delivered. We also came to know that Navjot and Prashant would not be joining us as that place is very far away from where they were. We wasted 1 hour there and only after 3pm were we able to actually venture into the Park. There was a Lion and Tiger Safari for Rs. 80/- and one with Bear, Zoo and others inclusive for Rs. 110/-. We decided to go for the later, i.e. Grand Safari. But on reaching the ticket counter, we found that the ticket sale is already closed, as there is a lot of crowd there. Two people, who spoke only Kannada, approached us and apparently were trying to black market the tickets to the usual safari trip (the Rs. 80/- one). We thought that it is better to take the tickets if offered at some reasonable rates. We asked for the tickets, and they showed them. I saw that they had three tickets; each of them was for two people. I was caught in a dilemma whether it is justified to pay 100% more for the tickets. With a lot of apprehension, I asked them the price. They said: "300 total". I was ready to jump for the offer, when Vivek said, "But each ticket is Rs. 80/- one, so it should be Rs. 240/-". I said to myself, "Come on Vivek, they are blacking the tickets. What do you expect?” But to my surprise, they agreed. Now I was wondering whether they were Black Marketers at all!

We paid them the money and started to get in. But the security guard at the gate stopped us. He started arguing that these tickets are not valid, as the sale had already stopped. Now I knew what soup we are in and how we were duped. But again I was wrong. To my surprise, the people from whom we got the tickets came forward (instead of running away) and argued with the security guard, saying what looked like meant that they have exchanged (!) tickets. The security guard was not convinced and he fetched a lady officer. She was also not impressed by the tickets and I got ready to nab them if they try to flee. Eventually she turned us out and we got back our money from them. Not being able to go to Safari was a big setback for us after traveling 3 hours and a big let down. We got the usual Zoo tickets and got inside the zoo. We talked to the same lady officer and she told that the sale of tickets had been stopped, as there seems to be already enough people to last for the day. She convinced us that if we came back at around 4pm, she would herself search for the possibility of any more tickets being issued if the crowds subsided. We went about the zoo, though in a very bad mood, but still with a little hope. The zoo wasn't very well maintained and the animals seemed very distressed with their situation.

We reached the gates at around 4pm to look for her and found her standing outside the zoo. As the entry to the Safari was from inside the zoo, it looked a foolish idea to go out and talk to her. Soon she went out of sight in the crowd and we found her out standing at a lot more distance far from which it was not possible to call her. After spending 10 minutes thinking what to do, we decided to go out and meet her. She listened to us and again went to the last bus to enquire whether any seats are empty. Then she talked to many other people and finally got us three tickets for the Safari ride. We were delighted beyond our expression powers.

Inside the bus, we managed to find just three places and took our seats. The Safari went well with our viewing Deer, Bison, Bears, Lions, Tigers and White tigers, all roaming about our vehicle. In the apparently last stop, the White Tiger Safari, we stopped by a pond to see the tigers play in water, just near the bus. Then, as we decided to move out, we found that the bus won't start owing to problems in the Self. The guide informed us that it might take another one hour, as an empty bus has to be summoned to let us out. In the meanwhile, they tried many ways to start the bus. First they asked another bus to push it. But the Grills (meant for protection of the vehicle from attack of wild animals) were a deterrent. The grills collided first and it meant that they would yield first, followed by glasses before the bus actually gets going. Then a few people decided to get down and push the bus, but the risk involved was very much and this was also abandoned. After about half an hour after the beginning of the ordeal, an empty bus arrived on the spot. I knew it was safe to go out in the open (in full view of the wild beasts) as a few forest guards were coming to us, smiling and probably unarmed. We changed buses and left for the starting ground on full speed.

We got into a bus going to Kormangala. We changed over to another bus to Majestic in Adugodi and decided to go to Cubbon Park. On reaching there we found that the park is already closed for the day, as it was very late (nearly 7:30). We took a few photographs of the lightings in Vidhan Saudha. Then we proceeded towards the High Court opposite to it. In a nearby lane, we found that it was a small eat-out place. It was very quite and not very crowded making it ideal for enjoyment. We first took Sugarcane Juice and found it very good and took another serving. Then we had corncobs. We found a park nearby and walked in it blissfully for an hour.

Then we got in a bus to Shivaji Nagar. This bus stop was a lot better than Majestic as there was order and a lot of information displayed, in addition to an enquiry counter. We took a bus to Marathalli and there we changed another to Whitefield. We had our dinner at Bengali Mess (Mayuri was closed by then), and the food was very poor quality. Then we came back and slept, as we had to go to office the next day.

A Weekend Worth Mentioning

The weekend of 4th and 5th of June was another one worth mentioning. We had a late start to the day with all of us waking at times that suited us best. Nobody was sure what to do that day, as there was a rift between whether we will stay in Bangalore and explore, or go out. Finally, I decided that I better go to meet Apoorva, whom I had promised to meet, but dared not call, as I couldn't find a way to meet her. So I called her and it was decided that we would meet in M.G. Road. The others decided to go to GE instead.

I left at around 4:30pm after considerable delay, as I waited at wrong place for the bus. I remember missing two buses due to this. After approximately half and hour, I realized my mistake and took the right bus (320F) to M.G. Road. It dropped me on the nearby road from where I crossed over to M.G. Road and waited for Apoorva. I had to wait for nearly 30 minutes before she came.

We first had coffee at Cafe Coffee Day and later pizza at Pizza Corner. Although the prices were insanely high at both places, the Coffees (at Rs. 30/-) were more value for money as they gave a very rich feeling. The pizza we had was a normal Non-vegetarian one but it cost us Rs.185/- for a regular sized one. The service was also very poor. We had to wait a lot for first giving the orders, then getting our order and later even to pay the bill. I began my return journey by 8:30pm.

On reaching back I found the rest of the guys have still not come. They came back very late by around 11 to 11:30pm. I found out that they dropped in the Mirchi Restaurant for their dinner and ate aplenty. Some of them also drank Vodka, as it was very cheap there.

The next day, Sauvik found that he has an upset stomach owing to his obscenely unhealthy diet. So he was grounded for the day. This crashed all the plans of visit to places like movie, Forum, etc. As Dipayan also had visitors, the trip to his place was also ruled out for this weekend. So at the end of lunch, everything was astray. I decided that today also I would have to manage by myself. I called Amogh and asked whether I can come to his place today. He was affirmative. So I quickly got dressed and left for Kormangala. I changed bus at Marathalli and reached Silk Board, which is near Kormangala. Amogh came on his two-wheeler and picked me up.

On reaching his home, I was greeted by his parents and his younger brother, Ashwin. They were very hospitable. Even though I said "No" for almost everything, the managed to feed me mangoes, salted nuts and Dosas before I went shopping with them across the city.

There also, they fed me ice creams, and after shopping for a while, we had our dinner at a place called "Halli Mane", which literally means "Village Restaurant". Although the place was full and packed to capacity, they decided to eat at that place only, and the reason was evident soon. The place had excellect food. For Rs. 25/-, we took a thali that had Cream of Tomato Soup, Chhole, Pulao, 2 Tandoori Rotis, Papad Chips, Salads, Curd Rice and a sweet. The quality was exceptionally good for such a mass scale production. After the food they dropped me at M.G. Road and I left it at the same time I did the day before. Reaching back, I found that they had no story to share as they all spent the time sleeping.

This Is Heaven

One of best things I liked about living in Whitefield is the food here. Here I, along with many of my friends have done a mess contract with a restaurant named "Mayuri Sagar" which is located just around the Whitefield Main Bus Stop. Here are the details of the arrangements.

We have to pay Rs. 600/- advance for 30 meals. As it is 30 meals not thirty days, we may wish to eat anywhere else without any money getting lost. Taking an average, it is quite easy to see that it takes Rs. 20 per meal, which is very cheap as compared to Bangalore rates.

In the food, we have one sabji, a cup of dal (cereals) and the following options to choose from:

1) 5 Rotis
2) 3 Rotis and a bowl full of Rice
3) 3 Parathas
4) Veg Fried Rice
5) Egg Fried Rice
6) Chicken Fried Rice

The food we eat is chosen daily by us from the menu card of the restaurant; hence we are never forced to eat anything we don't want. Our selection range is the whole menu card sans two vegetarian dishes whose cost is shown to be Rs. 25/-. The ones we can choose are all vegetarian dishes (approximately 15 choices) that are shown to cost Rs. 15/- or Rs. 20/-. Also, we can take all egg dishes (all of them cost under Rs. 20/-) and two chicken dishes (although chicken is allowed once in two days).

Also the food is North Indian with excellent preparations. As we eat in the restaurant, we get to eat fresh and warm food every time.

The only problem we feel is that as we eat in the restaurant, we have to wait for approximately half an hour for the preparations. Also, we first had problem with the food being too spicy in the beginning, but now as he knows us, he makes less spicy food.

To me it feels,

THIS IS HEAVEN

Life @ Padabnabh Nagar

On reaching Vishesh Bhaiya's home, I found that he lives in a rented flat with his wife Shruti. When I reached there, his mother was also present. Shruti Bhabhi quickly offered me breakfast.

Just after completing the breakfast, my father called and enquired whether I have get the new SIM card. I hadn't enquired about it an unfortunately when I enquired, I found out that he hadn't got it yet. I somehow managed to convince Papa that everything is under control. Soon afterwards, Vishesh Bhaiya left for the Airtel office to get two SIM cards, as he wanted one for himself also. In the meantime, I chatted with Shruti Bhabhi and her mother-in-law on various topics. She showed me some of her articles that got published in the newspapers and they were really good.

We had chicken for lunch, which was well prepared. In the evening we watched the movie "Mujhse Shadi Karogi" which was "OK" sorts. We had Chat for dinner.

Next day after eating another stomach full of chicken curry, I left at around 5 pm.

I had to wait approximately 15 minutes before I got the bus (Bus No. 15A). The bus dropped me in KR Market, where something happened what I feared. I found myself totally lost in the market without any clue where to go and which bus to take. I asked as many as 10 different people but the answers they gave were inconsistent and inaccurate. I couldn't even read Kannada so I had no chance of reading anything written on the buses. I didn't even knew where to go as there were as many as 6 exits from the Bus Stop. Even more unfortunate was the fact that when I came here from Whitefield, the bus stopped in a street nearby which obviously wasn't in the bus route.

Eventually after struggling for nearly 15 minutes, I saw a bus (Bus No. 319B) with ITPL written on it. I jumped in without haste. On enquiring later I found that it would go through O-Form. I also came to knw that Bus No 320 goes to Whitefield directly. This was sufficient. The bus travel took eight rupees up to O-Form as it was a longer route, but I had no problem with such minor changes. I reached back Whitefield to find that Vikas arriving at approximately the same time as mine.

Travel to Vishesh Bhaiya

While I planned to go to Bangalore, my parents insisted that I take a SIM Card there. I opposed the idea as I felt there is no need for a new SIM as the current reliance SIM was working fine. But they were adamant and I had to bow. But I forced the condition on them that they will have to find a SIM, as I won't be having any local proof of identity.

They worked around the problem nicely by suggesting that I collect it form Vishesh Bhaiya (younger brother of Manisha Bhabhi). They found out his phone number and address from her and asked him to get one SIM from me. He agreed. I was supposed to collect it from him after going to Bangalore.

So here was I in Bangalore on 4th, with a settled life and nothing to worry about. So I called him up on his cell no. I reached Shruti Bhabhi (obviously his wife) and she told me that Bhaiya is not there and will be getting the SIM card on his back to office.

I had no hurries. My job at JFWTC left me with little time to visit the city during the night and I also learnt that it would be atleast a one and half-hour journey. So I told them to have the card and keep it till I collect it the coming weekend. Shruti Bhabhi insisted that I stay at their place for the weekend, which I was not sure to accept or not at that moment. So I borrowed some time.

Later when I told about the phone call to my father, he was very upset by the fact that the SIM card hasn't been purchased till now, but I calmed him by saying that it would have reached their place my now.

On Friday again, I called Bhaiya to find Bhabhi again with the same promise that he will be bringing it today. This time I was also taken aback. I didn't knew to trust her or not, and I showed my discontent. She told me to relax and I conveyed that I will be coming to their place on Saturday morning, to which she requested that I do it early and have breakfast with them. I accepted the offer.

Next morning I woke up early, and after having a bath proceeded for their home. I had enquired about the route and was told by Ishwar Singh (the owner of Kothari Complex) that I will have to get down at KR Market and its a very short journey from there. The place will be some 23 kilometres and it will be less than 2 kms from thereon. Shruti Bhabhi gave a slightly different account by saying that KR Market is about 7 kms from their place. As she herself was not sure, I decided to first reach KR Market and then decide on further conveyance. Ishwar Singh told me that 90% of the buses going towards Marathalli go to KR Market and it looked true as I boarded the first bus arriving. The conductor enquired my destination to which I replied "KR Market". He took 7 rupees. It was a bit surprising as inside Whitefield it took approximately Rs. 2/- per km and here he's asking even less that 0.5. The journey was very long (approximately 14kms taking 1.5 hrs) but comfortable as I got a convenient seat. I found out that everybody refers KR Market by saying "Market". I wondered if it’s the main market of the city.

On reaching there, I knew I was lost. I had no idea as to which bus to take, as I couldn't read what was written on them, and to add to the confusion, there were more than 6 ways out of market. I had to take help from locals, to which a gentleman suggested that I take Bus No. 15 to reach Padabnabh Nagar. I had no idea how big the place was as Vishesh Bhaiya's address also included the line "RK Swamy Layout" in it, which by itself can by a big place. But no one had any idea and I decided to first reach Padabnabh Nagar first.

I waited for the bus at the required place for approximately 15 minutes, but no Bus No. 15 came. I got frustrated and decided to take an Auto-rickshaw instead. I told the Auto-Rickshaw driver where I wanted to go. He insisted on going by Meter, as he was not very sure of the address. He even asked another Auto driver to confuse me even further by saying:

"There's no RK Swamy layout in Padabnabh Nagar. There is RPC Layout."

This was bad news for me. I had no option, but to make a call to Bhaiya to enquire about his residence. I found out that he himself is new to the place and doesn't have any idea of KR Market. He confirmed that its RK Swamy Layout and suggested that I take an Auto to Hill Side Hospital as I am confused. But I didn't like the idea, as his residence being 7 kms from Market would convert to at least Rs. 80/- for Auto-Rickshaw travel. But I had my options running out. Fortunately this time, luck was on my side.

As soon as I walked out of STD PCO to catch an auto, I saw a bus numbered 15A come and stop behind it. The auto-rickshaw driver saw me with confused eyes as I went behind the auto to catch the bus. The next part of the journey was very pleasant as I enquired to my delight that Padabnabh Nagar is the last stop. I got a window seat and I waited patiently for the journey to end. Around half an hour later, some 8 kms from Market, I saw a sight that caught me cold. I saw a building named "Hillside Hospital" whoosh past by the bus. I jumped to my feet immediately and made for the gate. Fortunately for me, the bus stopped just 100m from that place.

I called Bhaiya from Hill Side Hospital, only to find that he lives just behind it. I heaved a sigh of relief as soon as I reached his home.

Whitefield Funda

I was just going through my previous posts to find that I haven't summed up my wisdom in a complete chunk. This was the purpose of my blog, to give me a detailed description of the past, which I might forget owing to various factors. So here goes...

I live in Kothari Complex now, which is located in Whitefield area of Bangalore. It is situated behind Brother's Bakery, just near the Whitefield Main Bus Stop. The complete address would be:

Room No. 207,
Kothari Complex,
302, Whitefield Main Road,
Whitefield,
Bangalore - 66

I have to go to JFWTC (John F. Welch Technology Centre), which the a GE Research Centre, located in EPIP (Export Promotion Industrial Park).

In order to reach JFWTC, I take a bus route having the following major stops: Whitefield Main Bus Stop (called Whitefield by conductor), Hope Farm Intersection (called O-Form), ITPL (International Trade Park Limited), Agrahara Gate (called Agrahara), Sri Satya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences (called Sai Medical) followed by the last near JFWTC being Vydehi Circle (called Vydehi).

I divide the journey into two parts as there is no direct bus service. Nowadays, the break is at Agrahara, from where I have to get down and cross over to a parallel road to get the next bus. The first part of the journey takes four rupees while the next takes two. The advantage in this route is that you get State Transport Buses running where you are more likely to get a seat as compared to the Mini-buses.

Till Agrahara, I have found that there is a bus every 15 minutes and usually is of the number 319B of 320E. As I can't read Kannada, I found a way to ascertain the fact whether the bus goes to Agrahara that such buses will have "ITPL" written on the stoppages list displayed on top.

From Agrahara onwards, any bus on the parallel route, for which I have to walk approximately 200m, going towards Sai Medical will stop at Vydehi (even if not at Sai Medical).

Previous to this arrangement, I used to take Mini-Buses. I used to take a mini-bus from Whilefield going towards Kadagudi and get down at O-Form (90% of them go to Kadagudi and 95% of them go to O-Form). There I change over to another mini-bus to Vydehi. This has both advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage of taking mini-bus is that I don't need to wait for buses for long hours. There's a mini-bus every 5~6 minutes.

But the major disadvantage that forced me to abandon was that mini-buses are always crowded with people. The usual capacity of a mini-bus is 20 passengers. But they usually carry 50 passengers. So you can imagine the rush and crowd in them. Some are even more crowded, that let alone seats people hang out of the door completely (there's always 5 people who are having just half of their toe on the bus and the rest of the body hanging out) in addition to a completely filled roof. Traveling in such conditions is hellish. On top of that, I was concerned by the fact that more than half of the bus (usually of village-like people) empties in Sai Medical (where there is free medical facilities for the poor). So every time you travel you are exposed to 3 sick people in direct contact. This scared the hell out of me and I chose the other alternative. As the state-run buses are usually not so over-crowded, I can at least feel assured that there is no direct contact with sick people.

Kadagudi

One of the memorable things about our visit to Bangalore was our bus travel from Whitefield to Vydehi Circle (the GE's bus stop). We changed bus in O-form to reach the destination both ways.

Everytime we boraded a bus (from Vydehi or Whitefield), we heard the conductor shouting:

"Kadagudi...Kadgudi...Kadgudi...."

We first thought that it means "hurry up" in Kannada. But later we found out that it was actually a famous place, which by chance, is the destination of bus going from both ways to O-form intersection.

So we understood what it meant, but were reluctant to leave its initial meaning. So we took up this word to man "Hurry up" between ourselves. So whenever we have to ask anybody to hurry up, we say "Kadagudi".

I have decided that I will take this word to KGP and look for its acceptance. I feel skeptical, as very few people will be able to appreciate this, only those who went to O-Form intersection in Bangalore.

Another such word I feel taking back home is "Core Load".

The history of this word is that in GE, whenever the IT person had to format the machine to install fresh OS, he says:

"I need to Core Load the machine".

We all found this amusing and took this also in our daily language. It gives another opportunity of culture exchange between GE and IITKGP and offers better promise as compared to Kadagudi as the word is regionally unbiased. Who knows someday they both will make it to the IIT Kharagpur Dictionary.