Chaar Bangadi

Hi Folks!

This write-up is going to be very informative, so read carefully as you will be an elightened person  today onwards.

Mind it!!

So, now that I have got your full attention right away you must be wondering about an unusual  heading for this post --- "Chaar Bangadi".

 In the Gujju Lingo it means 4 Bangles, but why am i referring  to it  here?.This is certainly not the  blog one of the blog on women's jewellery and nor am i an expert on the same  which can be easily vouched by my wife :)

Ok Guys, so my reason for such an unusual heading is because it is related with a luxury car brand.

Interesting?

So can anyone of you correlate 4 bangles with a luxury car logo....Can you...It's a German make .Yeah! Right..It is  "Audi" which is being referred to in here and that is what the Gujjus call  it lovingly in the city of Rajkot.

The maker of Audi, Mr.August Horch  who went a great length to find an innovative name for his brand   which means "hear" or "listen" in Latin, probably couldn't get innovative enough than  our Gujjus who had a different interpretion  of the 4 rings, and full marks to them for same :)

Man! Isn't that some nickname for a luxury car brand.
 
Ignorant of the fact that they have been driving the growth of  Audi  in India which is increasing  by over 100% per year in Gujarat, the  multi-millionaire and billionaire  Gujjus continue to refer their beloved car as "Chaar Bangadi" and it was only today afternoon after having a sumptuous South Indian lunch alongwith Gujarati Chaach (ButterMilk)  when i was asked by my good friends to try out the betel quid (english name of our very own Pan) at one of  the very popular Adingo (Gujarati word for Adda). As the paanwala bhai-ya was making a Meetha Pan for us and our very learned  team of colleagues (read "Car experts") were discussing about various cars that the topic turned to the new found love of Gujaratis for the luxury cars.

Social Proof

 From Audis and Bentleys to Jags and Porsche all are a making a beeline to the land of entreprenuers and Gujjus are also not giving it a second thought while buying one. Luxury Cars have become a new status symbol and Audi as i came to know have been selling like hot cakes (or better like a Cool Chaach in local context). Most of these were bought by people in Gujarat by what is referred to as the psychological phenomenon called "Social Proof". People saw others buying it hence just bought the same and it was very easy to identify and explain it to the other person by referring it to as "Chaar Bangadi" rather than an Audi.So the logo got entwined with the cultural symbol of women of Gujarat who traditionally wear a Bangle and Audi guys don't mind it at all as they are planning to launch a special edition colored rings logo on Women's day...Just kidding :),or maybe Audi can take a Q (read "cue") from this. Has the innovation bug bit me as well ? :)

Yeah and now having enlightened you a great deal already...eh?
Sorry, there wasn't any money back ( or in this case time back) guarantee to my commitment of enlightening so moving on to next part :).


Indian Currency

There are some innovations which only Gujjus can come up with and one of them is  shown below. It's a five rupee note which if were to be utilized in Mumbai, Delhi or  for that matter anywhere else would not be accepted as it was torn and a very old note. I came across this neatly laminated 5 rupee note while getting a  change back from the tea stall  owner. As he was passing the note to me, for a second i stopped and  looked at  him as if he was trying to play some prank on me and i asked him in my typical North Indian Style "Abe ,Ye kya hai ?" 

5 Rupee note in Gujarat

This is when my colleague chipped in and told me that  these sort of depleted currency notes are laminated and are accepted in Gujarat by everyone. Amused by the sight of it I took the note, not for utilizing it somewhere but to show you guys that there is no other place like a Vibrant Gujarat on this earth where it is in their DNA to squeeze maximum out of everything :) but i wonder what are thoughts of the Governor of RBI on this only if he reads this :)

Well,I will be back here in Gujarat again,albeit in a different city with a different story.But as i took  a flight to Mumbai i already had in my mind what next i was going to write about in my next blog which i am quite sure will be loved by you all once again.

Till then.

Horn Ok!

Skillful driving

Ever wondered how the life of  most of us Indians who have learned our driving directly  on  the roads  would have been if it was mandatory  to pass through some rigorous test to qualify as drivers.Say a test only for driving without honking...yeah without honking!!. I have been living in the NCR region for last 12 years or so and before it in a small town called Meerut in "The" Uttar Pradesh.Honking is in our DNA and I have driven and sat in almost all sorts of vehicles from a  Premier Padmini to the Porsche (albeit for 2 mins) from Tata Truck to a Jaguar but honking is something which  we were taught first sitting in the lap of our father  along with holding the steering.
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Hi Everyone! This maybe just another blog you might come across, however every day in my journey (that is what i would like to call it) i come across various travel/driving experiences  on road which i  think have been very interesting and i feel that the lighter moments of the same should be shared with you all  in this blog everyday.My nature of job has been taking me to various places across India and i shall definitely try to share all these travel/driving experiences which will also include the air journeys and some other  types of travels which as the blog grows and is liked will be added with further features.

I shall share all the travelogues from today onwards and i hope that the interesting parts keep on putting smile on your face.

Daily Driving in Gurgaon- Organized Chaos

I travel exactly 16.3 km to my office everyday. At least that's what the google map says, haven't checked it on my Car Trip meter yet as everytime i reset the trip meter i recall it after 2 days about the reset.Maybe the age is catching on me faster than the driving at Gurgaon Toll Plaza which by no means is an easy task to maneuver in the evening hours as I  feel dizzy everytime i am about to take a U-turn towards Jaipur  when i see cars from various angles and somehow all coming towards me as if the drivers think of their cars as some  big trucks in some rash driving video games and mine some  small car they need to hit  and suddenly i hear a screetch and then a stare and a look on the face that as if i am an igonrant guy who is sitting first time behind the wheel. Is staring the biggest past time for us the Indian drivers? Yeah, actually it is, right from the beautiful girl who is stuck in the traffic ahead of you and putting a mascara looking at the view mirror  which we are admiring  and whose not so great driving skills go unnoticed whereas if any other guy comes between yours and her car will be thought of as an uncivilized beast.Ye Dilli hai meri Jaan!


The fact that i am sitting in the city of Rajkot ( Yes...the City from where Mahatma Gandhi did his schooling) and my inspiration to write the such a blog has come after experiencing  the traffic of the city sitting and gasping as a pillion driver on a  bike which will remain etched in my mind forever which obviously was just another ride to home for the guy dropping me to the hotel. I can see a stark difference between the driving styles between Delhi and Gujarat and then more so specific features of a Rajkot driving style which has kindled an idea of writing a blog  at 1am in the night and by the time all of you are up you will be reading this blog through my post on my facebook walls, twitter BBMs  while not worrying to have to go to a traffic filled office day  and just  enjoying a sip of tea smiling and looking at your smartphones and tablets thinking FTW(you read it correctly) is Vineet upto :)

My favourite part of the Traffic- Office Cabs


I have been an avid car enthusiast and have loved driving. As much as i love my car for the sheer power it generates through it's Turbo engine (which i have no idea about but like to boast it while i speak to my friends when i am flowing with my words very impressively speaking about my car), I  also hate it for the petrol guzzling which has made me utilize the office cab, for as much as i hate travelling in the office cabs i also love my pocket dearly.

Office cabs have always been a nuisance on roads with the drivers thinking of themselves as the king of the roads in NCR and with the Call Centralization of Gurgaon  i see more cabs being added on the roads everyday  than the actual normal cars.The cab business is a booming business and is second only to the property business for the Gurgaon localites which is flourishing in the ever growing disorganized Gur-Gaon(pun intended).

For an Airport drop from my office to T-3 i had asked for an Indica from the Transport department however  got a Hyundai Santro instead and was happy to start my journey in a Hyundai which has a new tagline "Anything is possible", and that is exactly what i was expecting in a bid to catch a flight from Del-Mum and then a connecting flight from Mum-Rjk. I was not expecting any exciting travel experience as it was a dull afternoon and drive to T-3 was to take only 20 odd minutes.I am not the kind of guy who  would keep drivers for myself as i somehow don't like the driving of anyone but me and i am too involved and looking at how the driver is driving. Trust me i can count 50 mistakes in ten  minutes. So here i was sitting in a cab looking at how the driver was maneuvering through a shortcut which passes through a place called "Gadha Mandi"( I am still to find out whether Asses(read Gadhas are  still sold here) a short cut haven for the cab drivers of Udyog Vihar who want to avoid the traffic of Toll and Kapasehra. I was noticing this driver and realized that through various turns on the particular road which passes through various farm houses  the guy wouldn't even honk once and just turn the car on those blind corners on  a  small road where the two cars while passing each other will have their view mirrors brushed if open. I was thinking either he had some great sixth sense to know whether there is any vehicle which is coming or did he have some Periscope attached to his car (pardon my weird imagination), the fact was that it reached a point where i was almost expecting a collison on one of the turns where he instead of remainin on left side while taking a right turn moved the car towards right before the turn and as he turned towards right found an Innova coming whose driver had to break immediately. I instantly tried to see the Innova driver's face the look of which  was echoing my exact thought-Is this driver Insane? Well! Sane or insane i reached Airport quite early and got on the  flight which was running on time thanks to a fewer flights running these days due to Mr.Mallya-The king of good times.


Flights can be fun

To tell you that i was the only person who had to catch the connecting flight to Rajkot which was scheduled to take off within 15 mins of the actual arrival time of my Mumbai flight was already creating goosebumps as i had no faith in this flight reaching on time. However thanks to some minimal air traffic and an efficient Jet Airways staff i was taken immediately from one flight to another where atleast 200 people on board were staring at me.Some  with confused looks, some which made me feel a VIP, some other not so good but all in all i was aboard and didn't care a dime to what anyone else might be thinking. So i just whispered into the ears of a  fellow Senior citizen sitting beside me "How much time had you been sitting in the aircraft". He looked at me and politely said "15 minutes".  I felt like saying " Thanks Chhey!"  but I just stopped short and said thanks and  knew it was time for me to munch some cashewnuts and doze off to a well deserved sleep.

Rajkot is a small airport and the ambience of which  right from the stairs trolley to get down from the craft and the walk directly towards the exit reminds of the golden old eastman  movies where the heroine  would run out to the love of her life to stop him to take a flight, As if there were no return flights for there :).

Well, I was promptly  and happily received by my cab driver from Hotel who in his old but maintained Qualis offered me a front seat which is generally not the case in North where the person is suppose to sit on a back seat.I sat and could sense  that something interesting was on the cards, not only because the tagline for Qualis when it was launched was "Touch and Try" but because i knew the journey had been insteresting this far and so will be ahead.

Hasta La Vista,Baby!

Tilll then...

Horn Ok!