A true buddy...

Honda City ZX- The first word that comes into my mind is boring. Not a very impressive start eh? But read on to know why I respect the car so much.

 

Allow me to justify the 'b' word. For starters (literally) this car is way too silent. First timers are known to give the starter crank even though the engine is running. Take it up to 5000rpm in a busy street and the engine sound will easily drown in the surrounding traffic. There are times when you want to scare off some mortals off the road by revving up your engine, you miss that opportunity here. However the engine sound fails to effect my adrenaline levels.

 

With all that said, it surprises many (including myself) that it commands the highest degree of respect amongst the sedans of India. For that money, the kind of quality and 'Honda engineering' you get is unbeatable. Perhaps Verna comes close when I say value for money. You expect issues to start popping up with age. This car defies that very arrogantly. The engine sounds just as smooth as it was on day 1. With this car, you can dare to just pick it up and head for any road trip. Plans, preparations, service schedules can wait. Only a Honda motor inspires that kind of confidence. Though the power band is not very exciting, you would give anything for that kind of assurance. I agree, this comes with time. You may read quite a few articles where the young blood journo's rubbish this car for the lack of performance. But as I have come to understand, it takes a certain level of maturity to understand the car. It took me years to comprehend the good things the seasoned critics stated. Numbers (bhp, torque, top speed, 0-100kmph time) come later. First you need to understand the feel, the purpose and the meaning of a car.

 

There have been instances when I walk towards the car at 12 am or when I turn the key to stop at remote places on our raod trips. At such times, I thank my stars that I have this car's dedicated reliability on my side. Though I crave for more powerful motors, in times of need- I know this is the one I can depend on.

 

The power band is majestic for- as the name suggests- City driving. The torque is spread to lower RPM's mean you can easily glide, overtake and do almost everything from 1700-2500rpm. Sounds boring again?? Wait. This also means a superb mileage and eliminating the need of shifting gears (Indica people- listening?? Nyaaah nyaah na nyaah nyaah..). I can certify for a highway mileage of 19 KM/litre on our road trip to Rajasthan. Driving in the city is comfortable. You can give the clutch and your left foot rest as even the higher gears can pull it through lower speeds.

As for looks, the exterior is quite graceful. But the interiors leave no stone unturned. The dual tone dash and the beige seats (on the GXi variant) are very inviting. The plastic quality is very much acceptable and the cockpit gives a superb look at night. The cabin has loads of space. All of it- headroom, legroom and shoulderroom. One feature I miss is access to the boot from the rear seats through split seats. The boot is enough to hold everything you need (and possibly more) for those road trips.

 

Now lets touch the issues with this car. The most striking (and annoying for me) thing is that you can't see the hood. I have tried jumping, leaning and everything short of standing on the steering. Yet, I have failed time and again. The steep hood enables you to get a full view of the road. I found this pretty irritating initially in traffic jams.

With the main focus on achieving that mileage and efficiency target, Honda has done away with a lot of weight. It's good to be lean but then you miss out on a very important word- 'Substance'. It's quite embarrassing when someone (even a chhotu Esteem) touches your car from the back and your bumper falls off. Though Honda claims it is one of the safest cars built by them with impact bars placed smartly, I still don't like the idea of being too touch me not. The lack of weight added with the high ground clearance means a lot of body roll. The G- forces like scaring you at turns here.

Turning- now that rings another bell. How can I forget the stupid 'A' pillar!! Though I said many nice things about the cockpit, I forgot to warn you that the 'A' pillars (the ones holding the windshield) are a major hazard. It has the potential to blind you at every turn. You need to crane your neck everytime you negotiate a tough right turn.

 

The driving position otherwise is quite comfortable and the steering is very light- again pointing out to its name. The height takes time to be comfortable with but is a boon on Indian roads. Bye bye to those scary crunches or hits to the under-carriage on potholes and hindustaani speed-breakers.

 

Though I started with the word 'boring', I would conclude by saying that this is the most 'complete' car available in the market. Hats off to the "H" on the radiator grill..

Ford Edeavour

Ford Endeavor. Exactly my idea of an American truck. Huge, heavy and with power-Lots of it.. But the most important thing also the one that I cherish the most is- being crude...

Though you know you have the injection technologies at work, the delivery of power- though superbly smooth manages to give a crude feel. The Simple 'mind your own business, I'm busy" looks add to that. 

For starters, I'll make it clear that I was driving the new 3 Litre TDCi version and there was never dearth of power. I kept it on low RPM ranges below 2000 at the time of 'getting the feel'.

Moments after I started, I had to encounter a u-turn. I started turning, kept on turning, kept on and on. It was then that the sheer size of this monster actually hit me. I don't want to sound too arrogant but I had taken the turn quite masterfully- having started from the outer curve before 

the turn and almost touching the corner of the inside curve. Yet, the fact was that I'd run out of road and would either have to reverse a bit of get the front left tyre off the road to the mud. Wait a minute. I am driving a SUV!! Jumping out of my silly reverie, I gradually left the clutch and got the left wheels off the highway to the fields that formed the boundary. I could sense the whole vehicle tilt a bit to the left but the process was dampened superbly by the suspension. In a sedan, I would have never dreamt of doing this. But right now I had faith in Ford's unique overlapping cross balanced chassis.

I must warn here that there is loads and loads of body roll coming free with the vehicle. If you plan to take a turn at 50, the body roll is enough to give you shivers. Again, with the sheer size of this thing, that is something you will have to live with.

A great opportunity came my way. I saw a small toy ahead. When you are in an Endeavor, every hatchback is a toy. Note that Ford calls it the "Everest" in Europe and US. I shifted to a lower gear. I wouldn't say this transition is very smooth but is pretty decent. The engine speed jumped from 1800rpm to 2200 rpm. Then, I accelerated a bit. After 3000rpm, the turbocharger comes to life. The effect is instantaneous: the acceleration rate almost doubles. Think of those fast and furious scene where Paul Walker presses the 'NOS/ Nitro' button and is jerked back into the seat with the new fuel delivering more power. This movie scene may sound fictitious, so I'll give a real life description on how the scene is for a observer standing on the road.

Imagine a seagull calmly sitting on the sea shore. Now it notices movement in the calm sea and walks deeper into the water. It knows it cannot afford to walk on it's tiny legs to reach the prey in the shallow water. It spreads its wings and takes off. In no time it is cutting the air with powerful strokes and approaching it's prey fast.

 

An observer standing on the road knows when the turbo-charger kicks in as he can very well relate this to the time the seagull opens its wings.

 

If you are driving this monster, you'll always want to stay in the 3000-4500rpm power band to experience the thrill of the turbo-charger.

 

It is a dream to cruise in the turbo inter cooler. However, the downside is maintaining control at high speed. My nerves were totally blown whenever I crossed the 90 Kmph mark. Carrying that amount of body roll at these speeds guarantee topple at the slightest movement of the steering. Moreover, bringing this gregarious mass to a stop is also a big trouble. The state of the art braking system as well as the mammoth tyres fail to guarantee quick stops.

In all a one of a kind product. The kind that inspires you to flex some muscles and live the attitude. Get this, make lots of trips to places that not many other have the courage to visit.

The turbo… wooooo.. don’t get me started again..

f-Bar!!

Having spent the best part of my student life in Manipal, you could say that I might be one of the snobs when it comes to going places. Manipal has an endless list of party places which used to cost us lesser than what a meal costs us in Bangalore. Food, drinks and dancing- the budget for a couple could be well within 300 (God I miss DT!!). For the snazzy places (which could beat any of the clubs and pubs in Bangalore anytime) push the number upto 600. For those of you who are still in Manipal, I urge you to make the best of BlueWaters while you can. I can assure you the shots cost 4 to 5 times of what they were in the seemingly expensive Blue..

So in all, Manipal totally spoilt me. My colleagues- who have spent the same time in Bangalore or other metros, often complain that I am a specimen who wants taste and at the same time am not ready to part with my money. True; being stingy bought me class in Manipal but never in Bangalore. I can't help feeling irritated everytime I dine out and end up parting with a hefty amount. I can always name a couple of places in Manipal which would be better than Cafe-Masala, Couch, Banjaara, etc. while not hurting your pockets half as much.

 

But what all of us really miss here in Bangalore: is the music and the dancing. Since some morons call the shots to make laws that could very well be an entry in a joke book, we are unable to dance to westernize ourselves (as claimed by the above mentioned people).

 

A mutual friend made an announcement that he had passes to some place called the 'F-Bar'. Though initially a bit wary for the fear of losing helluva money, I agreed to come eventually. The main group went ahead of us while I dilly- dallied my way to the St. Marks road grabbing a bite on the way (I wanted to save as much as I could, avoiding food there is a start..).

Reaching there, I uttered- uh-oh..! How wrong had I been? This place was way beyond Le-Rock, Legends of Rock and even Hard Rock Cafe.. I would not be very proud of parking my pulsar 200 next to the sleek red Toyota Celica and the innumerable Civics that greeted me. The crowd- my! I could have sworn that I’d walked into Delhi's Le-Meridian, Ashoka or something! Later I got to know that this was just the chaff trying to get an entry. As we wrestled our way to the entry, 3 bouncers confront us and say matter of fact’edly- 'Entry's closed'. Fortunately, our gang had written down our names beforehand so we were ushered in without much of a trouble. My company in the elevator freaked me out for a while. A number of toto hot chicks and a couple of dudes. But the scariest was this guy with long golden locks, at least a kilo of gold on him and a gold Rolex. As soon as the elevator doors opened, we realized that we were the most under-dressed people here. Well, in a way at least my funky T was unique amongst the flashy club wear and the skimpy stuff worn by the ladies here. I took a while to comprehend the purpose of the balcony (this is the only place where we could stand) when the bar came in my sight. The bar is at one corner of the dance floor and houses some of the finest stuff that money can buy. I cannot list out what was there but I can assure you it was a majestic sight. The floor is a huge hall with couches in one corner and the DJ operating at an elevated level. Half of the floor is multi- tiered with 2 levels (one at the bar level and one at the DJ's level). The Dj played awesome stuff (Sorry I can't remember his name but it was said they flew in Goa's no. 1 this day)- mostly house and trance. We eased into the spot near the bar. We had a great view of the second level. When I say a great view, the engineer in me would like to point out that there must have been an illumination technologist of great skill who designed the lighting for this place. The DJ level dance place is lit up in such a manner that the focus is on the bodies swinging to the music. The faces are scarcely seen.

Ya ya..I here the taunts coming in from the ladies- “guys must have had a great time”:: considering the classy chicks that come here and the kind of dressing, I can’t agree more.

 

There is also a cameraman hobnobbing around here. He's taking pictures of the oomph' people with his mammoth tool going on blinding people with his flash bulb. I couldn't help hee hee hee-ing when he asked me if he could take a picture of my date with me. Of course we refused. I was actually freaked out knowing that there is a remote chance of the f-Bar pics landing up somewhere.

 

After wavering to the music for a while, we all head to the bar to order. I overheard that Bacardi rum is the cheapest thing here. When I say cheapest- I mean in terms of value for money. You also get a KF pint for 200 bucks here but KF- 500ml- 200 bucks?? Nah...

So I go ahead and confidently order the Bacardi. The bartender quips a sorry and announces that they've run out of it. Also, would I like the other rum he suggests? In midst of the music, I miss out the name and tell him to go ahead and get me that. Then the cash register in my head pings to life. Fear grips me. 'What if it's 1000 bucks? or 2000? or 3000?'. This arithmetic progression question clouds my mind. When he asks me what I'd like to mix it, I go into the ultimate savings mode and say 'ice'. Well I think in all this worked pretty well for me. This guy put a couple of ice cubes in the tall glass and kept pouring the stuff till it reached the brim. Maybe he took pity on me or something. This I think, was the tripping point for me. Those who know me well will understand :) . All the apprehensions about the place melted away when he produced a bill for 350 bucks. I know it's not cheap, but for a place like that it's absolutely a steal!! And the neat quantity- Just made for me!! The rum that I now held like a king, was mysteriously sweet and potent. I enjoyed my drink for a while soaking in the music and the place at the same time.

Then, we danced..! After days, months, years, we danced!! The music was great and nothing needs to be said about the atmosphere. This went all until 11pm and when we expressed our plans of moving out of here to a place where we could talk for a while, the ladies were downright reluctant to leave the floor! Well, we eventually left at 11:20pm.

The variety of cars outside floored me yet again and I see the cops closing in. You would think they are coming to shut this place down or something, but they are actually here to protect the page 3 crowd.

 

So going there again?? Dunno.. I’ll definitely join in if someone amongst all you wonderful people decide to throw a party there of course..

Indian fiction- Mukul Deva to the rescue!!

They say that Mukul Deva is the Indian version of Tom Clancy. I don't agree with that. If anything, he definitely ahead of Tom Clancy. Maybe it is the reference to Colonel Anbu, Iqbal, Sarojini Nagar market, Hondas and Tata Safaris that brings us to a different level where we can connect with the book like never before. You have to agree that Indianizing has been a big factor in the popularity of his books.

When I took up Lashkar, I was expecting to flip a few pages and drop it away as rubbish. I am not exactly a fan of Indian fiction, I have seen quite some disastrous potpourris of Indian fiction and sci-fi to keep me away from them. As I read on, there was a certain class in Lashkar and never once did the terrorists' plot or execution seem too far fetched. I really admire the detail with which the author has described different geographies among other things. I have actually seen the places of Lucknow, Rajasthan, Delhi, Chail etc. The pictures of the characters in these places propped up time and again with great clarity.

Mukul Deva's Force 22 seems fairly more realistic and for some reason more majestic than Tom Clancy's Op-Center. Off-hand humor by the Force-22 officers is great and the action keeps you glued to the book. In both the books, especially Salim Must Die- the terrorists' plan covers most of the book. Surprisingly, I enjoyed this part as much as Force 22's operation in the later part.

 

Which is better amongst Lashkar & Salim Must Die?? A difficult question.. Personally, I loved the D operation in Lashkar and was just left aghast by the terrorist strikes in Salim Must Die.

 

However, it can be said that Lashkar was a more complete story. Salim Must Die builds up a grand plan which makes your hair stand up; but the counter attack loses steam in the end.