Ashwin Upadhyaya's Blog

Impatience causes corruption.

ashwin-upadhyaya — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 12:42:06 +0000

A bribe at most government offices surely speeds up things. And in a few cases seems like the only option available. How else could businesses that depend on timely responses from the government survive? How else could a poor man in need of timely medical treatment at a government hospital survive? Surely, bribes won’t go away that soon. But there should be a solution for most cases of corruption.
After putting myself in the victim’s position at a government office, I see at least one potential solution. Patience.
All I needed there was to get my driver’s license updated to a different residential address. As is usual, I was greeted by a few abusive officers, given wrong information with respect to the documents required, stood in the queue for 2 hours in the sun, finally to be told that I had no document to prove myself a citizen of India. Even my passport was deemed ‘not good enough’. I shouldn’t have expected anything better but I couldn’t resist my instinctive bad temper and quarrelled. The day was a waste.
I didn’t discuss this with anyone till now. What is the point in discussing when that is what we do all the time. I just let it boil inside me till I got the job done.
The second time I went, I had everything they told was missing the first time. Although, my effort as a result was 2X, the job was done without a bribe. Rs.500 would have saved me all that trouble though. In fact, I was recommended this option before my first attempt.
And that told me something. A lot of bribes can be avoided if we are patient enough. My friend summarized this that a few years of our life is probably spent gathering the right documents. That makes us lose our patience and pay bribes. But we should remember that we spend an equally good part of our life in worse places like traffic jams.
So, that’s my answer to this problem of mine. Patience. Until I find a case where another solution too exists.

Biking in Goa – Part 4 – Dudhsagar to Bondla to Panjim

ashwin-upadhyaya — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 10:46:34 +0000

Goa being a coastal state is hot. In every sense. The region around Dudhsagar though is cool. Again, in every sense. The 15km trail from Dudhsagar camp till Mollem junction has its share of steep, winding, muddy uphills and straight, loose-soil, fast and dangerous downhills. Our guides misguided us on the way which was still good because we got some extra riding fun. From Mollem till Bondla arch, the road goes through towns, mining areas and forests. Our map indicated that the trail from Bondla arch towards Bondla camp was an uphill, so everyone was prepared. It was not that hard though and the trail was beautiful.
I already had lunch on the way to Bondla. The tea and peanuts at Bondla camp was most welcome. There is a zoo here which was free for youth hostel members and so we went there next. After gazing into the king cobra’s eyes for a few minutes, we roamed about the zoo and returned to camp in the evening at 5 PM. More tea, pakodas and dinner. The next day was going to be the last stretch.

The last day was relatively plain compared to the journey we had done till now. Same roads, same traffic and the fact that this was the last day of the trip. We had lunch on the lawn of the Archaeological museum at Old Goa. In the afternoon, I collected my certificate from youth hostel and then left to Bangalore in the 5:30PM bus. Next morning, I was back in Bangalore and back to life as usual.
This trip was a unique one. For the first time in my life,

I was on the road for such a long time.
I had used so less money for so long a time and yet enjoyed so much.
Breakfast was the most exciting thing in the morning and dinner the most exciting thing at night.
Lost track of time

Sometimes, when I am working at my office, I close my eyes and transport myself mentally to that downhill section from Bondla camp to the bottom and I can still feel the same. The speed of the wind past my face, the escape from reality, forgetting the danger involved, the experience that is hard to express.

The End.

Biking in Goa – Part 3 – Assolna to Netravali to Dudhsagar

ashwin-upadhyaya — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 08:49:11 +0000

Goa.. One tends to think only of the warm and beautiful beaches.

Wednesday morning, we decamped from Assolna football grounds and started our ride to Netravali. This stretch involves a few uphill and downhill rides and almost most of the ride is on good roads. The road winds through a few mining areas as well as through a few sparse forests.

The expedition although arranged by the youth hostel is not just for the ‘youth’. It is actually for those who are young in their heart. We had our doctor uncle who rode all along with us and he was much faster than a few of us. He was no less than 50 years. On the way, an old couple from the west and probably in their sixties stopped by and challenged us. Even the best cyclist among us (definitely less than half their age) could not keep up with them for more than a few kilometers. Age probably is just a state of the mind.

Netravali is just a place on the way to somewhere else. Of course, there is a small Budbudem lake where bubbles keep coming up from the bottom of the pond (probably, that’s why the name Budu-Budu-em). We stayed at Tanshikar’s spice farm where they serve some authentic coastal vegetarian food. In the morning, we got off on our journey towards Dudhsagar. The route for most of the part was like the previous day, through forests and mining areas. Our map indicated one of the sections as “red road”. It was easy to see why. So many trucks carrying mineral ore had actually turned the road red. The uphill climbs, the non-cooperating guides, a few wrong turns and finally we were at Collem. From here, we were to take the off road trail into the forest. Youth hostel has special permission to stay in the forest and this stretch is the best part of the entire trip.

Roads. Every downhill ride like its name is not the most welcome. The first few seconds into the downhill is always enjoyable. The sweeping wind, the sense of power, the numbing of the mind. Before the end, the uphill shows itself. And then, the joy is gone. The sound of speed is replaced by the pounding of the heart beat. Trance is left behind and determination takes its place. Just pedal, pedal and pedal.

The trail to Dudhsagar (pictures in next post) from Collem winds through pretty thick forest. We crossed a few rivers on the way, climbed up a few steep sections on very low gears, fixed up our broken chains several times and finally reached camp at around 3-4PM. The camp is by the Dudhsagar river and we freshened up there. The camp leader made sure that we had food at designated times and in return we followed the set rules. After a photo pose in front of the Dudhsagar waterfalls, we came back to camp, had dinner and had a good nights sleep. Before, in the evening, the eligible bachelors in the camp were trying their luck as the trekking group which had also camped there had a much better population ratio (Ours was 15:0).

Wandering, one gathers honey. We wander from home to work, work to home, town to city, city to somewhere else. What does one gather here? What do we gather in those forests, beaches and rivers? Why do the bees need honey?

To be continued…

Biking in Goa – Part 2

ashwin-upadhyaya — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 15:00:55 +0000

Cycling.. Just like marathons..

The endless road. You ride alone. Get together sometimes. When you ride, you want to stop. When you stop, you need to get on again. Riding can be painful but you still want to do it. There is beauty everywhere. The beaches, the rivers, the forests. You immerse in an illusion. Tend to think you are part of what you see. How fast it fades. How soon its all over.

On the 20th morning, we started to trace the route. From Panjim base camp, we rode to Dona Paula. We were to take a launch boat from here to Marmugoa port. With no boat in sight, I enquired with a local about the launch boat set to depart at 9 AM. “Sir, no ferry or launch boat have come here for the past 20 years”!! Baffled, I asked another one, “Can I get a launch from here?”. The answer this time was “Sir, no launch.. Only breakfast is available”.. Okay.. I moved on.. Meanwhile, someone spotted our launch boat. It was a contract boat reserved for us only and hence no one knew. We carried our bicycles onto the launch, crossed over the waters towards Marmugoa and started our unforgettable adventure. At marmugoa port, we had to lift all our bicycles from the boat to a platform several feet high several times. It’s not easy to explain this…
Well, words and images are no match for the real thing. The real thing means much more to the one who experiences it. The sea looks different while on a boat. The rust smells fragrant on the port. The sun is welcome at a river side. And is just not so at the beach sands.

From Marmugoa port till Majorda beach, we cycled under blood sucking sun on black tar. Majorda beach to Mobor beach is one of the longest beaches in India. We ourselves cycled some 22kms along the beach and the beach is longer than that. The sand is quite hard, so our bicycles don’t sink in. Although I was very excited about this stretch, the sun sapped out most of my energy by the time we reached the other end of the beach. From Mobor beach to Assolna was along the road and a short Ferry ride. In this land crisscrossed by rivers and backwaters, ferry boats are a common feature. Wherever a bridge is yet to be built, the government operates boats ferrying people, vehicles etc from one end to the other all through the day.

Oh, and I forgot another interesting thing that happened in the day. In the morning before leaving Panjim, we were led by the youth hostel to attend a bicycle promotion event by FM 92.7 and sponsored by Avon. A short promotional bicycle ride through the city, a free t-shirt, some snacks and a lucky dip happened within 1 hour. The lucky winner was one of us, Avik…

A nice event to start the day and a nice ride of about 50 kms later, the cycling came to an end at Assolna football grounds in the evening.

Just like the contingent of fighter planes that went over our heads while we cycled along a not so pleasant, rather hot, dry highway near Dabolim, I know that the time has also flew by. I can come again for this same event again but I can never experience the same.

To be continued…

Biking in Goa – Part 1

ashwin-upadhyaya — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 17:16:22 +0000

“I am planning for Goa Biking expedition. Anyone interested?” – mail from Du in July…

Today, I am back from the expedition and definitely, this was one of the best cycling I have done till date. I was already in Goa since the 16th with my family. On the 18th, I changed 3 buses from Baga beach to Magson’s super center in Panjim. 100 meters from here was the youth hostel and I was the 10th one to check-in among the Group-4 bikers.

Youth hostel arranges cycling expeditions in Goa during the month of December every year. The expedition happens over a period of 5 weeks and every alternate day, a group of about 15-20 cyclists starts from Panjim, Goa and travels the spectacular state of Goa over a period of 7 days. YHAI’s website has more details regarding this: Blog Link and Main Page.

In the evening, the others of my group had arrived. Life in the youth hostel camps is pretty easy except for a little bit of discipline. Morning Tea at 6:30 AM, Breakfast at 8 AM, Lunch at 1 PM, Tea at 5 PM, Dinner at 8 PM, Bournvita at 9 PM, a camp fire at 9 PM and by 10 PM, everybody’s off to their tents. Lights are off at mid night. The same repeats at most camps. You need to get your own plate, tumbler, spoon etc and you need to do all the washing yourself. Proper camp life. A few orientation sessions about cycling, trekking etc are scattered in between.

Night came and we still had not laid our hands on our bicycles. We slept in a slightly disappointed mood. Sleep is not easy to come in these hard, uneven tent floors if you haven’t done anything in the day.

On 19th morning, we woke up at 5:30 AM and were ready for the artificial rock climbing and rappelling activity. 2 hours were spent thus and then there was breakfast. At 9:00 AM, we finally got our bicycles. Fullu happy. All were Merida Sub 5 bicycles but all were in a pretty bad state. After an hour of cleaning with Diesel, the bicycles started to look and feel okay for the week ahead.

After a briefing on bicycle handling, we went on a ride around Panjim city. The city is beautiful. Well maintained roads and not much traffic is just ideal for bicycling. We cycled through Dona Paula, Miramar beach and were finally back at our camp by afternoon.

Some more cycling in the evening and after a few orientation sessions, we were happy about the coming few days. The route map is shown here:

View Goa YHAI Biking Route in a larger map
Night came, we escaped from the camp-fire to get a good night’s sleep..
To be continued…