a load of pots sailing on the road

Aug 15, 2017
Pushpa and I were traveling from Anegundi to Dharwad, on the way, a few kilometers after Koppal, we took a diversion and visited Mahadeva Devastana at Itagi. After spending an hour or so at the amazing Chalukyan temple, we resumed our journey towards Dharwad. Between Itagi and Bannikoppa we saw a load of plastic pots 'sailing' on the road. It did looks like the pots were sailing until we noticed the wheels of the mini-truck.

In terms of mass, the truck seems to be within the permitted weight. However, in terms of volume, the load is thrice the width and twice the height of the truck. Legally speaking, is the goods carrier overloaded?

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Rickshaw Run Autos

This is a 9yo memory of seeing two gaily painted autorickshaws at Sabala Heritage Home, Vijayapura on Aug 18th 2017. Pushpa and I were traveling from Dharwad to Hyderabad, on the way we had stopped to see two historical monuments of Vijayapura. We had entered the historical city from the southern side and stopped to see the huge cannon named Landa Kasab Tope. Then we headed to the northern edge of the town to see the canon on Aldi Buruj. Unfortunately the tower was not tourist friendly, there was no way to climb the tower without the help of ladders. Also it was almost dusk, darkness was setting in. I moved up to a slightly elevated ground and got a glimpse of the canon which is quite long. We were tired and just wanted to find a lodge for the night. I guess we found a place just outside the city limits, a lodge situated inside a farm called Sabala Heritage Home.

We liked the heritage home's ambiance instantly. The hosts, lady owner and her colleagues, were friendly. Our first floor rooms had a view of neighboring fields, the only sounds we heard were insects. We had had lemon-grass tea and freshened up. The dining was on the ground floor. Menu was jolada rotti oota which included salad and sweets. Food prepared by village ladies was home food, no other word or phrase to describe it. There were a few other guests and their presence was hardly felt. We hit the sack early and woke up early to start the journey towards Hyderabad.

We chatted with the owner and found that she had good knowledge about plants. She grew vegetables, fruits, herbs, flowers and other crops. One of the herbs was a five in one spice. When we sniffed at the crushed leaf we got aromas of clove, pepper, cinnamon.. can't remember the other two. After the pleasant chat we said our byes and headed to the parking area where found two gaily painted autorickshaws. A group of young western foreigners were on a tour of India. Journeys would be slow but they weren't in a hurry, I guess.

On this flaming rickshaw was poster with website address rickshawrun.com which redirected to The Adventurist. Until now I never knew that touring in rickshaws was a craze among western tourists, particularly in Rajasthan. Do check out the website, it's big phenomena at another level.

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inverse crescent

This picture was shared on a Whatsapp group, it caught my attention, it is a unique capture. The beauty of the picture is the inverse crescent created by the massive pipe. 

they r planng to fix d tunnel where LIGHT starts

The email which delivered the original picture came with the subject line "they r planng to fix d tunnel where LIGHT starts." What an amazing thought. This is a morphed version of  the age old saying "there's light at the end of the tunnel." Thanks to Anil Prasad for the picture & caption.

Coming to the pipe & truck. The pipe is almost twice as wide as the truck ...approximately 5m in diameter. It could be weighing a few tons. Transporting it not a easy task given the chances of the pipe rolling because of inclined road surface or a strong gust of wind or the harness giving away ...touch wood. Surely this task would be assigned to a highly experienced driver. The truck was seen plying near Dobbaspet, between Tumkur and Bengaluru. Hope the truck has reached the destination safely.

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my Kinetic Honda is 20 years now

I got my Kinetic Honda on March 26, 1990.



Some of my friends and BMS classmates teased me for choosing a ladies vehicle but I did not care; what I wanted was a multi-purpose vehicle. I really liked the self-start feature, the lighting, the instrument panel, seating comfort, the acceleration, the braking... and I could keep riding in rains without getting my feet dirty. I nick-named it 'WIFE'. We have traveled 120,000 kilometers; within city and out station trips put together.

Some of places visited are listed below (start & end point is Bangalore)-

• Shivangange
• Savandurga
• Nandi Hills
• Tippagondanahalli
• Shravanabelagola
• Kolar - Madanapalli - Horsley Hills - Chintamani
• Dharmastala - Udupi - Kollur - Mangalore - Cannannore - Mysore
• Hassan - Kemmangundi - Hassan

It has served like a goods carrier to move load cell elements and other items. I remember carrying close to 120kg on the floor board. The front wheel would start wobbling if I tried pushing beyond 35kmph and the rear wheel would lift off the ground every time I braked hard. Basically the scooter is rugged, it could take rough usage.

Right now it's not in running condition. I wish to get it back on road... lot of work to be done.

• engine work
• replace tires
• replace battery
• repaint body

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Volvo FH12 and MAN Tractors

I'm an admirer of big machinery, mobile or stationary. Even as a kid I would be captivated by trucks, trains, planes, industrial machines and what not. On the road I would look at trucks more than cars. And if the truck was a long one, I mean a trailer with a lot of tires I would forget everything else. They are beautiful sight to look at; either parked or while they crawl or cruise on a highway.

The first time I saw a Volvo on road was in the year 2000 on NH4 near Chitradurga. It was an handsome looking machine, nothing like I'd seen earlier. We stopped by to see it closely. Many years later, I got a chance to visit Volvo factory at Hoskote near Bangalore… not once but many times and an opportunity to work with the engineers there. I also got an opportunity to see a fleet of Volvo tipper in action at a coal mine in Ramagundam area. This tractor is Volvo FH12, FH12 means high cabin, 12 liter engine.

During the same journey, on the same stretch, some-where near Hiriyur, we saw two MAN tractors. These tractors looked like ancient warriors compared to the FH12.

These powerful tractors were towing 16-axle (8 wheels in each axle) trailers loaded with massive transformers weighing close 100 tonnes, more or less. The average speed at which they travel could be 10kmph. They are led by scouts on bikes and trailed by an escort car. These things don't cruise, they crawl.
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