मेघदूत: "नीचैर्गच्छत्युपरि च दशा चक्रनेमिक्रमेण"

समर्थ शिष्या अक्का : "स्वामीच्या कृपाप्रसादे हे सर्व नश्वर आहे असे समजले. पण या नश्वरात तमाशा बहुत आहे."

G C Lichtenberg: “It is as if our languages were confounded: when we want a thought, they bring us a word; when we ask for a word, they give us a dash; and when we expect a dash, there comes a piece of bawdy.”

C. P. Cavafy: "I’d rather look at things than speak about them."

Martin Amis: “Gogol is funny, Tolstoy in his merciless clarity is funny, and Dostoyevsky, funnily enough, is very funny indeed; moreover, the final generation of Russian literature, before it was destroyed by Lenin and Stalin, remained emphatically comic — Bunin, Bely, Bulgakov, Zamyatin. The novel is comic because life is comic (until the inevitable tragedy of the fifth act);...”

सदानंद रेगे: "... पण तुकारामाची गाथा ज्या धुंदीनं आजपर्यंत वाचली जात होती ती धुंदी माझ्याकडे नाहीय. ती मला येऊच शकत नाही याचं कारण स्वभावतःच मी नास्तिक आहे."

".. त्यामुळं आपण त्या दारिद्र्याच्या अनुभवापलीकडे जाऊच शकत नाही. तुम्ही जर अलीकडची सगळी पुस्तके पाहिलीत...तर त्यांच्यामध्ये त्याच्याखेरीज दुसरं काही नाहीच आहे. म्हणजे माणसांच्या नात्यानात्यांतील जी सूक्ष्मता आहे ती क्वचित चितारलेली तुम्हाला दिसेल. कारण हा जो अनुभव आहे... आपले जे अनुभव आहेत ते ढोबळ प्रकारचे आहेत....."

Kenneth Goldsmith: "In 1969 the conceptual artist Douglas Huebler wrote, “The world is full of objects, more or less interesting; I do not wish to add any more.”1 I’ve come to embrace Huebler’s ideas, though it might be retooled as “The world is full of texts, more or less interesting; I do not wish to add any more.” It seems an appropriate response to a new condition in writing today: faced with an unprecedented amount of available text, the problem is not needing to write more of it; instead, we must learn to negotiate the vast quantity that exists. How I make my way through this thicket of information—how I manage it, how I parse it, how I organize and distribute it—is what distinguishes my writing from yours."

Tom Wolfe: "The first line of the doctors’ Hippocratic oath is ‘First, do no harm.’ And I think for the writers it would be: ‘First, entertain.’"

विलास सारंग: "… इ. स. 1000 नंतर ज्या प्रकारची संस्कृती रुढ झाली , त्यामध्ये साधारणत्व व विश्वात्मकता हे गुण प्राय: लुप्त झाले...आपली संस्कृती अकाली विश्वात्मक साधारणतेला मुकली आहे."

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Pune Bikers, Get Life Expectancy Dial Installed!

The Times of India front page headline on March 7, 2008:

“Death lurks on city roads. 418 killed in 2007. Fatalities high on highway stretches.”

Pune for sure is still not as bad as Kolkata of yesteryears or Bangaluru (Bangalore) of today. But it may get there.

These days I get most scared by 'wrong-side' traffic. Those who are driving on wrong side, drive at their usual speed and honk vigorously! When I give them semi-amused look, they look quizzed.

Meanwhile, here is a suggestion captured well in following picture...(I wonder how we calibrate those dials for Pune.)


Artist: Robert Thompson, The Spectator
Posted by at

4 comments:

Nikheel Shaligram said...

Dear Aniruddha,
Your today's blog on Pune's bikes is worth, but you mentioned about Kolkata. Hence as a Kolkatan, I would say a few words. For your info. Kolkata's roads are much more improved compared to Pune's gallya bol in recent years.I am originally from Pune's Shaligram family, but later settled in this Bongla bhoomi for the past 3 generations. Hence I have pride(and not slightest prejudice) towards both these cities. Pune, soon will going to be one of the mega cities and that needs reasonably sound roads. The cartoon attached with this blog is appropriate. Thanks.See you.
Nikheel Shaligram, Kolkata

March 11, 2008 at 8:06 PM
Aniruddha G. Kulkarni said...

Nikheel,

Thanks.

I agree. I was talking about Cal which I saw when I lived there from 1991-1992.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay except the time when great man Satyajit Ray died. I did number of "arty" things there which I have not done since.

I have a theory.

Indian cities and India itself tend to get as anarchic as "that" Cal and then they bounce back. Pune of first half of 19th century was much worse-almost hopeless- though.

Therefore, one should never lose hope in India. wait for the bounce-back!

March 12, 2008 at 8:35 AM
Unknown said...

Aniruddha & Nikheel,
Allow me to join this dialogue. Are roads in Mumbai better than Pune or Kolkata? It is the result of nexus between the road construction company and the approving authority. Our vehicles, how efficiently they are manufactured, have to face the music.
Vibhakar

March 12, 2008 at 6:34 PM
Unknown said...

The Castrol Power1 Passion Hunt will enable biking enthusiasts across the country
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the “Castrol Power1’s Most Passionate Biker”.
The winner of the All India title of “Castrol Power1’s Most Passionate Biker” will win a Yamaha R1
Superbike which will be handed over by John Abraham.
This team will travel across India through 17 cities to promote the event and talk to bikers about the passion of biking.

Bikers can log on to www.power1hunt.com and can create their own personal profiles as passionate bikers to showcase to the world. On this site,
bikers can upload pictures, videos and stories pertaining to biking. Visitors to the site will be able to vote for the online
‘Castrol Power1’s Most Passionate Biker’ and this biker will also have an opportunity to participate in the All India Final competition

February 11, 2009 at 2:47 PM

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