By Anoop Chugh, 26/02/2010
Bizarre road signs
On my last trip to McLeodganj my eyes fell upon something that would have infused life into a dead soul.
"Beware of road surprises", read one of the road signs. Road surprises? What the hell is that supposed to mean? The road would take you to a dead end or would end abruptly in a ditch?
Or may be, it would take you to the same place where you had started from, much like Delhi's Ring Road. Of course, with some piece of information to add to your misery, "you have just discovered the world is round". Must say, these PWD (Public Works Department) guys are a funny lot. They keep the humour going, wherever you go.
Why limit ourselves to only two emotions when there are hordes of them? How about something that can arouse and stir up the dying romance in your life. "Be gentle on my curves", are the kind of things that can warm up newly-weds up on their way to honeymoon. The moment your head starts getting ideas there will be a dampener howling, "Make love not war, but nothing while driving". Man! Such a turn-off! Creatively-bent heads can appease their artistic selves with "Hospital ceilings are boring to look at. Avoid accidents"
Surely, PWD believes we can't even wipe-off our ass without making a mess of it. Or, why else would they warn 'Caution: Wet roads during rain'. Surely, even somebody in diaper would know rains make roads wet. What else would they preach us - 'Don't drive sitting in the rear seat', 'If AC ain't working, roll down your windows', or 'breathe out, once you breathe in'.
Whatever little I have travelled, these boards never fail to amaze me. Road signs enthusiasts would unanimously agree that graffiti on hills is much more creative when compared to the other parts of the country.
No doubt the one-liners like "Don't gossip, let him drive" and "Darling I love you, but not so fast" sprinkled all across the Himalayas, add zing to your zeal.
Then there are gems like "Soft shoulder, blind curves, steep grade, big trucks. Good luck!", which send a shiver down your spine and make you smile at the same time. Not everyone can bring out a perfect concoction of fear and laughter.
Border Roads Organisation takes the cake
Did I forget to mention the poets the Border Road Organisation is filled with. Here are some verses that won't put John Keats to shame but at least they rhyme. "Don't dream otherwise you'll scream", "This is a highway not a runway", "Mind your brakes or break your mind", "Do not be rash and end in crash". In fact, it sounds more like the title track of some pseudo rock band. This one surely does, "Drive like hell, and you 'll be there". Take care.
Bizarre road signs
Showing posts with label Motor Cars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Motor Cars. Show all posts
Monday, December 6, 2010
Monday, November 24, 2008
“Fall” is different this year
IT is during “Fall” that we have been visiting America and are able to savour the “fall colours” for which this country is famous. Manhattan offers beautiful walks, not only in the Central Park but along Park Avenue, Fifth Avenue, Lexington Avenue etc.
Central Park is a riot of colour and along various Avenues it is the spectre of well-appointed stores with latest in clothes, jewellery and assortment of items for the rich and the famous. From Gucci to Cartier to Brioni, to Louis Vuitton or you name it, they are all there, though at a huge price, whereas Lexington Avenue offers more modest shopping.
But this year we have been late in coming, and colours in the Central Park have lost their myriad hues and wear a drab wintry look. However, there is “fall” of a different kind. It is the “fall” in the economy.
All those stores for the rich and others for not so rich are shorn of customers and wear a deserted look. Many have put up notices for discounted sales, while some others are simply down and out and ripe for outright closure and great picking.
The newspapers make gloomy reading with layoffs in thousands by the day: Industry after industry seems to be going under. No one appears to know how all this came about. There is a recall to the Great Depression of 1929 and we learn that Bernanke, Chairman Federal Reserve Bank of America is an authority on the Great Depression and will surely fix the economy.
They say that perhaps “sub-prime lending,” in housing is the villain. But Greenspan, the previous Chairman of Federal Reserve Bank, was an authority on housing finance. So also were a bunch of CEOs, each an expert in his field, drawing fat salaries and millions in bonuses, whose companies have gone bust.
America too has the largest number of Nobel Laureates in economics. But now
we are told the economics is not a precise science. No two economists agree
on any one economic issue. The debate often turns to free capitalism versus
controlled economy.
The motor car industry is on the brink of collapse and is in dire need of resuscitation in the form of bridge loan (whatever it means) of 25 million dollars. Oil prices had shot through the roof and the great American gas guzzlers had lost their attraction and now when the oil prices have come down there is no credit available and there is little money in the wallets.
Law makers are not enthused with this fat demand of 25 million dollars. So uncertainty prevails as it does in most other areas. Auto manufacturers should have been working on fuel-efficient vehicles rather than on gas guzzlers. is the refrain .
Much hope is being pinned on the President elect, Mr Barack Obama, and his team. But the new Presidency is still many weeks away and much more “fall” may occur. Nor does the President elect have a magic wand to restore sanity and economic order in a jiffy.
The way Roosevelt handled the 1929 depression is now the subject of much study. But no two situations are ever exactly alike, so we wait out for the current financial turmoil to run its course.
Even if we are late for the “fall colours” this year, the Fall is there, though of a different type where the colours are missing but it does offer great bargains and is a shopper’s paradise. All you need is a fist full of dollars!
Lt Gen Harwant Singh (Retd)
“Fall” is different this year
Central Park is a riot of colour and along various Avenues it is the spectre of well-appointed stores with latest in clothes, jewellery and assortment of items for the rich and the famous. From Gucci to Cartier to Brioni, to Louis Vuitton or you name it, they are all there, though at a huge price, whereas Lexington Avenue offers more modest shopping.
But this year we have been late in coming, and colours in the Central Park have lost their myriad hues and wear a drab wintry look. However, there is “fall” of a different kind. It is the “fall” in the economy.
All those stores for the rich and others for not so rich are shorn of customers and wear a deserted look. Many have put up notices for discounted sales, while some others are simply down and out and ripe for outright closure and great picking.
The newspapers make gloomy reading with layoffs in thousands by the day: Industry after industry seems to be going under. No one appears to know how all this came about. There is a recall to the Great Depression of 1929 and we learn that Bernanke, Chairman Federal Reserve Bank of America is an authority on the Great Depression and will surely fix the economy.
They say that perhaps “sub-prime lending,” in housing is the villain. But Greenspan, the previous Chairman of Federal Reserve Bank, was an authority on housing finance. So also were a bunch of CEOs, each an expert in his field, drawing fat salaries and millions in bonuses, whose companies have gone bust.
America too has the largest number of Nobel Laureates in economics. But now
we are told the economics is not a precise science. No two economists agree
on any one economic issue. The debate often turns to free capitalism versus
controlled economy.
The motor car industry is on the brink of collapse and is in dire need of resuscitation in the form of bridge loan (whatever it means) of 25 million dollars. Oil prices had shot through the roof and the great American gas guzzlers had lost their attraction and now when the oil prices have come down there is no credit available and there is little money in the wallets.
Law makers are not enthused with this fat demand of 25 million dollars. So uncertainty prevails as it does in most other areas. Auto manufacturers should have been working on fuel-efficient vehicles rather than on gas guzzlers. is the refrain .
Much hope is being pinned on the President elect, Mr Barack Obama, and his team. But the new Presidency is still many weeks away and much more “fall” may occur. Nor does the President elect have a magic wand to restore sanity and economic order in a jiffy.
The way Roosevelt handled the 1929 depression is now the subject of much study. But no two situations are ever exactly alike, so we wait out for the current financial turmoil to run its course.
Even if we are late for the “fall colours” this year, the Fall is there, though of a different type where the colours are missing but it does offer great bargains and is a shopper’s paradise. All you need is a fist full of dollars!
Lt Gen Harwant Singh (Retd)
“Fall” is different this year
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