Monday, November 30, 2009

Sleeper buses


Travelling by bus has come a long long way. Gone are the days when the luxuriest bus was a Thiruvalluvar from the TN state. While the local city commute has been made incredibly commuter friendly by the introduction of B7R in all the 3 southern big cities, the long distance travel by bus continued to remain painful. Then came the Volvos adapted for comfortable semi-sleeper travel (remember the KSRTC’s airaavath service between Bangalore and Madras?) it was still no match for even a peaceful sleeper class travel in the local train notwithstanding the cockroaches, rats, and other rodents that we frequently encounter in the sleeper class coaches. So, I always chose the 2nd AC train travel for long distance commutes.


The Indian Railways’s 2nd class AC travel is superior and strikes a pretty good compromise between 3rd AC and 1st AC in terms of cost and comfort. The 2nd class AC offers curtains, removes the clumsy middle-tier, provides bulbs for individual berths for night-time reading, has a longer side-berth, and better AC efficiency by virtue of accommodating fewer passengers. But, this is only on paper. More than 75% of the times I took the 2nd AC coach, the AC was never set at the right temperature – there will always be an odd old couple who’d want the AC turned off or want the temperature increased significantly. And the reading bulbs will most likely be fused out not to mention the stinking toilets. And most importantly, despite the coach you take, even the superfast trains have an average speed of 55 kmph! A typical travel from Hyderabad to Madras (or approximately 670 kilometres) will be anywhere between 13 ½ hours and 20 hours depending on your luck.













In come the sleeper buses. The Volvo semi-sleeper buses, I must admit, are not quite comfortable. With no support to hold my foot firmly, I tend to slide down and down until I wake up and adjust myself. This is hugely uncomfortable. The sleeper buses, on the other hand, allow you to sleep in your natural position (See the pictures – this one was from kesineni travels plying between Hyderabad and Madras). The average cost of travel between the 2 cities is in the ballpart of Rs. 1000/- and has great goodies – A personal 240v AC charging station, personal portable monitor for the movies, and an ear plug for each berth! And a helpful staff who would generally be willing to play the movie you request. This is cheaper than the 2nd AC train ticket, berths nearly as comfortable, reaches the destination faster, leaves a little late in the evening so you can wrap your work day as usual, and has a zillion dropping points (not so many in Madras, though).




The catch? There’s no toilet, which will be a huge turn-off for the passengers of the fairer sex. We men have no problems in shamelessly peeing on the roadside (blame the government for not building public toilets on the GQ).


Guten Abend!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Though Dhoni might not admit it...

... it is fatigue that is making the Indian players to throw a lack lustre performance in World T20. Fatigue doesn’t mean that the players are physically tired; it just means that the players are mentally tired of playing more games and winning. The boys badly need a break and some time off cricket as much as the cricket viewing public in India do.

 

Anyway, the intention of this post, despite the title, was not to discuss India’s lack lustre performance but to guess who’ll make it to the finals.

 

South Africa vs Pakistan:

Probably, the flawless team in world cricket. Everyone does everything! What a team it is. India capitulated to some strong short-pitch deliveries from Sidebottom the other day. That was understandable. It was Lord’s and the short balls were from genuine pace bowlers. But, the way India surrendered meekly to South African spin bowling was horrible! Or, maybe, it’s just that SA’s battery of spin bowling right read and exploited the conditions. Now, SA has great pace attack, great spin attack to dismantle even the team that’s touted to have the best players of spin, has by far the best fielding side, and probably the best batsmen. And then, they also carry the ‘chokers’ tag.

 

Pakistan is so wonderfully fickle, which makes them the most interesting side to watch in the competition. They have individual brilliances but rarely come together as a unit. But then, they don’t need to and the format of the competition doesn’t demand it either. A couple of brilliant performances from match-winners like Gul, Afridi, and Misba-ul-haq will turn the tide completely! Tonight’s going to be a Sivaraathri!

 

West Indies vs Sri Lanka:

Yes,  Chris, teams fear you but not long ago they (English media) rubbished you as well. West Indies is the 2nd most fickle side in the competition and it’s wonderful that they along with Pakistan are in the semis. On their day, Windies can beat any team in the world just by individual brilliances. But, they also present a story of woeful capitulation just like India when you least expect it. Watch out for Gayle, Fletcher, Bravo, and Edwards – the 4 match winners.

 

Sri Lanka have been the most clinical side next to South Africa. While SA is aided by team discipline, Sri Lanka is helped by excellence in individual departments. Jayasuriya and Dilshan can toast the opposition from both sides of the wicket. When either of them fall early, there is always the dependable duo of Sangakkara and Jaywardane. And you have match-winning bowlers in Murali and Mendis. And, people still find it difficult to clear Malinga’s battery of Yorkers.

 

Finally...

While everyone would bet their money on a SA vs SL final, I’d put mine on Pak vs SL. Pakistan has nothing to lose while SA will be under pressure to shed the chokers’ tag. Windies have already lost against SL (albeit in a high-scoring match, where there was little to choose between the two teams) and may come back stronger having read Mendis to some extent. But, along with Murali’s round-the-wicket stranglers and Malinga’s Yorkers, Sri Lankan batsmen can pull the match in their favour.

 

Methinks, 1996 will be repeated!