You’re listening to RJ Danny!

The other day, on a quiet afternoon, I was wondering how to pass time. I wasn’t feeling like reading, it was too hot to go out and too odd an hour to call anyone. Suddenly I remembered that I used to listen to the radio back in Bangalore and had totally lost that habit here in Goa. I plugged in my headphones and began searching for stations. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a good signal for any of the radio stations. Even though I hadn’t listened to radio for over two months, I felt I was missing something.

In Bangalore, I normally listened to the radio while cooking or while travelling by bus, neither of which I do in Goa. Radio Indigo was one of my favourite stations as it was fully in English. The RJs sounded sophisticated and cool! And the other station I used to listen to was Radio One. They played Hindi songs all day long. But the RJs spoke Kannada. But then their Kannada was more like English interspersed with the word ‘maadi’ at regular interval. Some of their RJs like Anjaan were cool, but this female called Pallavi was a pain in the neck! She used to talk endlessly in her high pitched voice.

There are various things that make up a radio show. Most of the time is taken up by songs. Then they have games which one way or the other revolved around asking some GK questions. And in this age of Google, I am not quite sure what the aim of this exercise is. Then there is the part wherein people ask for certain songs to be played. Now if you want to listen to some song why not play it yourself on your cell or PC? And when asked to ‘dedicate’ the song, people usually say ‘you’ as in to the RJ, and sometimes end up dedicating love songs to siblings and grandparents too!

Then there are commercials which sometimes can be quite creative as the whole idea has to be conveyed without visuals. My favourite ad was the tata indicom one which goes like one mother asks her son sound of dog, and he promptly replies bow wow, then cat and he says meow meow. Then she says mouse, and he replies click click. Then the narrator used to say something in Kannada which I guess meant that with tata indicom, all kids will be computer saavy. There were also some sad jokes which acted as fillers. My personal favourite was the one with Rajni Kanth travelling in a boat. Once Rajni Kanth was travelling in a boat and suddenly people noticed water was entering into the boat through a hole in the bottom. Everyone panicked and asked Rajni to do something. So Rajni made another hole in the bottom and wrote ‘in’ near the first hole and ‘out’ near the second one! Another type of filler consisted of various celebrities saying this is so and so and you are listening to radio so and so. Once they had Robin Uttappa say that. Who the hell recognises Robin Uttappa’s voice? Unless Himesh comes and says ooooooonn hoooozzoooor, it could be anyone from the street! And why should they tell me that I am listening to so and so radio station?

All said and done, the radio is a great tool to get the feel of the city. You get information on everything right from the weather to latest events, offers and even updates on traffic jams. So then, go ahead and tune in to your favourite radio station! This is RJ Danny signing off, catch me same place, same time, next week! Bbye..

Bangalore Traffic – A case study of Chaos!

Beep beep. Trrrrr trrrrr. Screeech. #$*@$#*. All put together make the symphony that is the sound of Bangalore traffic. Riding on the streets of Bangalore on my bicycle or bike has been an intriguing experience. You never know what is going to happen next. Is that bus gonna stop in middle of the road? Is that auto gonna do a U-turn on a busy street? Is that dog or man gonna cross the road without warning? Or are you gonna get spit on by a passenger in the bus? Boy, don’t I sometimes wish I had not five, but ten senses to aid me getting to my destination unscathed.

The undoubted kings of the road are their majesty, the autos! Weaving through the traffic with the manoeuvrability of bees, these guys are intent on practicing Brownian motion. Some of them are so loud; you can’t even hear the gentle throbbing of your own engine or for that matter the much bigger bus in front of you. It is like they are telling you can run, you can hide, but you can’t escape my noise! I wonder if the autos had been more powerful. Imagine the havoc they could have caused. Many thanks to Bajaj for restricting the engine power of autos to just 7 bhp (yeah! I checked!). Or imagine if auto drivers were drunk. Would the autos be a more potent force for causing chaos? Or would the two negative effects cancel out? I hope this experiment is never ever tried out!

But hey auto drivers aren’t the only dudes who spice up Bangalore’s road life. Street rage sometimes leads to use of some really colourful language. Unnecessary honking even on empty roads, high beam headlights on brightly lit roads, etc. turn the streets of Bangalore into an unwanted disco. Then we have dudes who make use of every bhp of power their engine can churn out to reach 0-60 kmph in 5 seconds and then end up using the amazing braking capacity of their disc brakes to come to a grinding halt with 2 seconds at the next signal. It goes like vroooooom and then screeeeech!! This practice is a big waste of fuel. So it’s best to avoid high acceleration and excessive braking for the sake of the environment and your pocket.

Then we have the ‘bike crossing the road’ event. Now whenever a rider joins a main road from a side road on the opposing traffic side, he first goes some distance on the wrong side in the hope of crossing the road somewhere further. What’s the point? Anyways he has to stop and wait for an opening in the traffic flow. So do the nonsensical thing of going wrong side and then stopping? I guess there are some things in life internet can’t explain, for everything else there is Google. Oh and sometimes cars and buses also try this!

Another passing observation on roads that do not have dividers. Whenever for some reason there is no traffic coming from the opposite direction, all the motorists take the liberty of thinking it is a one way street. Now the traffic from the opposite direction may be blocked due to a railway crossing or a lorry taking reverse or something. So at the point of obstruction you see traffic piled up opposite each other on both sides of the road. And when the obstruction is cleared, all hell breaks loose! Smooth flow of traffic is obstructed by the over smart motorists trying to get back on the correct side.

Now for the real baddies of the road. Pedestrians. Their high manoeuvrability makes them very dangerous. Even more than autos. Throw in a cell phone and the pedestrian can give any motorist nightmares. They never use the footpath they are supposed to use. I guess everyone likes life in the fast lane. You encounter these devils more commonly whilst cycling as you use the extreme left of the road infested by these pests then. And the way they cross the road takes the cake. It is best illustrated by a figure. Now from the figure you can see, the shortest distance between two parallel lines, the road edges, is the path perpendicular to it (AB). So obviously the pedestrians, for the greater good of all road users, should cross roads along AB. But no! The shortest distance between two points (A and C) is not AB + BC, but AC of course! So the smart asses on foot cross the diagonal to it, jumping between cars, signalling motorists to slow down, and generally walking nonchalantly across the busiest roads leaving a trail of cursing motorists in their wake!

So that was an in depth analysis of Bangalore’s road users. The way to avoid this hell? Take the bus and have a good laugh at all the others down below you shaking their heads in despair and muttering under and over their breaths. Or learn to take it in your stride see the lighter side of how stupid and inconsiderate people can get.

Old Churches – The architectural marvels of Bangalore.

Bangalore is home to a number of historic and extremely impressive cathedrals, basilicas, chapels and churches which are important architectural symbols and landmarks of the city. These churches belong to diverse Christian communities, such as the Roman Catholic Church, the ancient Syrian Church of Kerala and its reformed counterpart, the Mar Thoma Church, Protestants from the Church of South India (which includes Anglicans, Lutherans and other older denominations) and newer evangelical groups with links to the United States. I visited a few of the old churches around central Bangalore with my friend Jonathan. Thanks to my Sony Camera and Picassa for the lovely pictures. (Click on the pictures to view full sized images.)


1. All Saints Church, Brigade Road, Bangalore
The foundation stone for the structure was laid 27th November, 1869 and the church was consecrated 17th October, 1870.

2. East Parade Church, M G Road, Bangalore
This CSI church was completed in February 1886.


3. Hudson Memorial Church, Hudson Circle, Bangalore
Hudson Memorial Church was built in memory of Rev. Josiah Hudson. This stone building was built in 1904 in a mixture of Gothic and classic styles.


4. Infant Jesus Shrine, Viveknagar, Bangalore
Infant Jesus Church at Vivek Nagar is one of the biggest churches in Karnataka and a popular pilgrimage centre. The foundation was laid in April 1970 by Rev.Dr.Lourduswamy, the then Archbishop of Bangalore and the church was completed in the year 1979.


5. Sacred Heart Church, Ashok Nagar, Bangalore
This church built in 1867, is a rare combination of Gothic and French style of architecture consisting of solid granite rock-blocks, marble interiors, beautifully sculptured statutes and pillars decorated with Corinthian style carvings. The church features typical Roman style side altars, two parallel column towers and a mighty bell from Italy.


6. St Andrew's Church, Cubbon Road, Bangalore
St. Andrew's Kirk, is a Scottish church built in the 1860s and features a particularly grand pipe organ, together with detailed stained-glass windows depicting scenes from the bible.


7. St Francis Xavier Cathedral, St John Road, Bangalore
St. Francis Xavier's Cathedral was opened on 26th May 1932. The blue and while domes atop the stone towers really catch the eye.


8. St John’s Church, St John Road, Bangalore
This Anglican Church dating back to 1853 is a beautiful structure with a tall spire that can be seen from a distance.


9. St Joseph's Church, Mysore Road, Bangalore
This church was built in memory of Fr Briand in 1867 It is the only church in Bangalore with a crypt St. Joseph's Church.



10. St Luke's Church, K R Market, Bangalore
This church was built in 1830.

11. St Mark's Cathedral, M G Road, Bangalore
St. Mark's Cathedral dates back as far as 1808 and is known for its beautiful colonial facade, large dome, external bells, elaborate carvings, woodwork and monuments. It was originally built in 1808 and enlarged in 1901.



12. St Mary's Basilica, Shivajinagar, Bangalore
St. Mary's Basilica was originally built as a small chapel in 1818 and was transformed into the present grand Gothic-style church some 60 years later. The stately arches of the church are supported by stained glass windows and multiple columns built in a rich Corinthian style.



13. St Patrick's Church, Brigade Road, Bangalore
The second oldest Catholic Church (after St Mary's) is the 150-year-old St. Patrick's Church. The foundation was laid in July 1841 and the building was completed in 1844. It has a beautiful arched entrance flanked by twin columns. The interior of the church has twelve graceful pillars which symbolise the twelve apostles. The twin spires of the Church are a landmark in the city cantonment.



14. Trinity Church, M G Road, Bangalore
It is built in the English Renaissance style. The foundation stone was laid on February 16, 1848, and the church was opened to public on July 25, 1852.

Keywords: Key, hole.

We have locks everywhere. We lock doors, gates, bikes and even our cell phone keypads. Besides hard work being the key to success, all other keys are small metal pieces with jagged edges. Now keys have an infuriating tendency of following Murphy’s Law and get lost at all the wrong times. Okay I know there is never a ‘right’ time for something to get lost, but I hope you are getting the point. My bicycle lock also needs a key to open it. I am actually thinking of installing a remote controlled central locking system for my bicycle. Wouldn’t that be cool? Anyways, I do not have a keychain for my bicycle key as key chains make an annoying rattling sound against the mud guard while in motion.

So there was this one time when I parked the bicycle on the footpath locked it and was about to put the key in pocket. Just then the key slipped from my fingers and, believe it or not, fell right into the drain through a small crack between two slabs. I shouted ‘Noooo’ as I agonisingly watched it fall in slow motion into the drain. I had to go home and get the spare and that involved walking for about 1km to borrow a bicycle and then cycling 3km one way to my home and back. Anyways all’s well that ends well and the incident was forgotten.


A couple of weeks later I went to a cyber cafe with my bicycle. I locked it and put the key in my pocket. After surfing I walked back to my bicycle but just couldn’t find the key. I checked my pocket thoroughly and realised that it had a small hole. Damn! The key must have slipped through it. I frantically traced my steps back to the booth I was sitting in but to no avail. Now I was in a fix as I didn’t even have a spare! There’s Murphy’s Law for you. It takes ages to lose the first key but just a few days to lose the spare key when you haven’t yet made a duplicate.

Hmm, what do I do now? I could go and fetch a mechanic and get him to remove the lock. But that would involve keeping my bicycle unattended and given that the key was certainly picked up by someone, that wasn’t a safe option. So I decided to wheel my cycle home by lifting the rear wheel. I realised that wasn’t a good option as it was quite difficult and my home was about a km away. I would also have to pass through the market place and my actions would certainly evoke some suspicion. Bicycles don’t even have RC books! How the hell am I supposed to prove my ownership if someone questioned me?? I decided not to risk it as I didn’t even know the local language in case I had to explain myself.

So I was back to square one. I decided to risk it and go to the mechanic. I began walking dejectedly with my hands in the pocket cursing fate and myself for not making another spare key and for not being careful about checking for holes in the pocket. Suddenly I felt the cloth lining through the hole in my pocket. The pocket was in between the outer fabric and the inner lining. So the key must still be inside. Not in the pocket but in the pants! I quickly bent down and felt all around the lower hem. And voila! There it was. I gave a cry of joy! People around me looked at me curiously. So I started walking slowly thinking how I could get the key from there. I bent down again and tried to force it back up. But I felt it wasn’t a pretty sight in public as I probably looked like I was scratching a bad itch. What if someone gave me Itch Guard?


After a little brainstorming I realised I had to go home and do the retrieval. I hurried back home, removed the key and rushed back to my bicycle, lest someone around there thought it had been abandoned and decided to take it. Luckily my bicycle was still there. I made sure there were no holes in the drain covers this time in case history repeated itself.

Key of the story, keys should be kept away from all holes except for keyholes!

Makalidurga by night.

The night was dark and cold. We were speeding along the dark highway. Suddenly the bus left the road and took a detour along a bumpy mud road. The babble in the bus stopped and all of us grew silent. Where was the driver taking us? All we could see was a short length of the path ahead of us lit by the headlights of the bus. The bus slowly came to a halt in the middle of nowhere. It was pitch dark all around. It seemed like we were living a horror story. Our guides told us it was time to start the trek! Huh? Where?


We got off the bus and looked around nervously. It was past midnight. The calm of the night was broken by a train speeding by, just a few yards in front of us. And then it was dark and quiet again. We assigned numbers to ourselves so that we could check if any new members like bears or aliens might have joined the group during the trek. Neither did we want any unexpected layoffs from our group despite the recession. The guides cautioned us against getting too far ahead or lagging too far behind and told us to walk in a single file.

We could see the silhouette of a huge hill looming in front of us against the night sky. That monster was Makalidurga. One guide led the way and the other brought up the rear. I have no idea how the guides could keep on the path in the pitch darkness. We trudged along with our torches lighting our way forward. I thought this must be the way smugglers operate travelling on unmarked routes in the dark at night. But I guess we wouldn’t have made good smugglers cause of the constant chatter in the group. Our guide then told us to keep our voices low as loud sounds would disturb the wild animals in the area. Now we were already a sizeable group and didn’t want any uninvited company.

After a while our guide told us to stop and wait while he went ahead and checked the path. He came back saying we were on the wrong path. Oh dear! I hoped we were not lost so early in the trek and that we wouldn’t have to spend the whole night sitting uncomfortably on some rocks. He told us to wait while he scouted around for the right path. We waited and waited. After a few anxious minutes of shouting and calling out, he came back and said he had found the right path. We were back on track.


Slippery rocks and gravel, steep climbs, thorny bushes and creepers added spice to the adventure. Finally we decided to take some rest on a rocky clearance. We all lay on our backs exhausted. Spread out in front of us like black velvet with shiny diamonds was the night sky in all its glory. It was truly a breathtaking sight. You could see countless stars. A few lucky guys spotted shooting stars. I wonder when was the last time we took time to appreciate what a marvel God created in a night sky. After trekking a few more minutes we reached the summit. We settled on the grassy ground. Our guide started a small campfire to keep the cold and darkness away. We played dumb charades to while away the time left to dawn. Some of us tended to the fire. It was hard work feeding the fire continuously for hours! Luckily for the amateur lumberjacks, there was lot of dry shrub available around.


A few hours later the eastern sky began taking a slight bluish colour. Finally it was day break. We put out the fire and explored the area. It was an old fort. The plains far below looked quite scenic with the houses and trees looking like small toys. A train went by. By then the sun had appeared. We had a quick breakfast of parathas and bananas. It was time to trek down. The path was quite different by day, obviously now that we could see the path and the surroundings. We soaked in the scenic surroundings of rocks, grass and shrubs. The air was cool and damp. It was very relaxing. We reached the base and boarded the bus. It had taken us three hours to climb the hill and an hour to climb back down. All of us were tired but pleased with the awesome experience.


I thank Bangalore Mountaineering Club for giving us the contacts of the guides and transport service and all my fellow trekkers for making the trip so awesome!

Tackling the E-Monster

This is truly the ‘e-age’. Everyone talks about e-mail, e-ticketing, e-banking, e-books and even e-zone. But you don’t hear much about a term called e-waste. But this term may become the most talked about e-term if nothing is done to control this silent threat to the environment. E-waste comprises old electronic goods ranging from personal computers and peripherals like DVDs to various household appliances such as TV’s, refrigerators, cell phones, wires, batteries, and CFLs. Each of these products contains a plethora of substances and chemicals, many of which are toxic and likely to create serious problems to the environment and human health if not addressed appropriately. E-waste dangers stem from ingredients such as lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, copper, beryllium, barium, chromium, nickel, zinc, silver and gold.

Take for instance the dry-cell batteries so commonly used and disposed along with regular waste. Everyday thousands of batteries are disposed of in Bangalore itself. About 55% of these batteries include the zinc-carbon and zinc- chloride batteries which are known to contain heavy metals and mercury. Another 25% of batteries used are button cell batteries which again have mercury content. The relatively safe alkaline batteries which do not contain mercury currently make up just 10% of the market. It is the same with the widely promoted CFLs which contain mercury and should therefore be collected and recycled rather than be disposed along with regular household waste.

So how and where is this e-waste disposed?

Land filling of e-waste, one of the most widely used methods of disposal, is prone to hazards because of leachate which often contaminates ground water resources. Older landfill sites and uncontrolled dumps pose a much greater danger of releasing hazardous emissions. Mercury, Cadmium and Lead are among the most toxic leachates. Mercury, for example, will leach when certain electronic devices such as circuit breakers are destroyed. Lead has been found to leach from broken lead-containing glass, such as the cone glass of cathode ray tubes from TVs and monitors. When brominated flame retarded plastics or plastics containing cadmium are landfilled, both PBDE (Polybrominated diphenyl ethers) and cadmium may leach into soil and groundwater. In addition, landfills are also prone to uncontrolled fires which can release toxic fumes.


In India we also have scrap yards where the young, the old and everyone in between dismantle e-waste to extract small quantities of various metals. Laborers smash and unhinge devices, spraying toxic shrapnel all over the ground, where people with no shoes walk. Then workers employ a variety of methods to track down and remove the metals from objects like circuit boards, semiconductors and wires. The methods used for retrieval of valuable components are terribly harmful to the environment and human health. Mother boards are regularly burnt for retrieval of copper. Gold extraction is seen to take place is small rooms with no ventilation. Here chips from printed circuit boards containing tiny specs of gold are heated with nitric acid. The final retrieval uses cyanide - this cyanide is finally flushed into the open drain outside the unit. Inhaling or handling such substances and being in contact with them on a regular basis can damage the brain, nervous system, lungs, kidneys and the reproductive system.

Harmful effects of e-waste chemicals
• Arsenic may disrupt cell communication and interfere with the triggers that cause cells to grow, possibly contributing to cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes if someone is exposed in chronic, low doses.
• Cadmium affects your body's ability to metabolize calcium, leading to bone pain and severely weakened, fragile bones.
• Chromium can cause skin irritation and rashes and is potentially carcinogenic.
• Copper can irritate the throat and lungs and affect the liver, kidneys and other body systems.
• Lead poisoning can cause a whole slew of health problems including the impairment of cognitive and verbal activity. Eventually, lead exposure can cause paralysis, coma and death.
• Nickel is carcinogenic in large doses.

Scientific disposal of e-waste.

So what can we concerned (if you have become concerned by now!) citizens do, to avoid this mess our fancy gadgets create at the end of their life cycle? This is where an NGO called Saahas comes in. They have taken initiatives to reduce uncontrolled dumping of e-waste in Bangalore and in the long run hope to eliminate it all together.

Saahas has also setup nine public collection points for CDs, DVDs and batteries.
• Safina Plaza, Commercial Street
• Landmark store in Forum Mall, Koramangala
• G K Vale Photo at M G Road, Indiranagar and Jayanagar
• Fab Malls at Indiranagar and Bannerghatta Road
• Fitness One at Koramangala and Jayanagar

Saahas office address:
#431, 8th Cross, 1st Block, Jayanagar, Bangalore
Tel: 41689889, response AT saahas.org

To set up a collection bin in an apartment complex, an initial amount of Rs.3500 must be paid to Saahas, after that there are no other fees required ever for the timely collection or for any other promotional programme. After paying this amount, a bin is set up in the common area of the apartment complex (usually near the security room). Collection is done once in two months and Saahas collectors take it to their office.

At the Saahas office, the e-waste is further segregated into batteries, CDs and floppies. The lot is then sent to e-Parisara, which is an authorised company for recycling e-waste located in Dobaspet industrial area, in the outskirts of the city. Other bigger items can be handed over directly to the Saahas office for safe disposal.

Recycling e-waste helps recover important natural resources for reuse and decreases the need for surface mining. Recycling is a better, environmentally friendly solution to finding these metals in existing products, rather than digging up the earth and impacting nearby forestry. Also the insatiable demand for all kinds of metal has fuelled gruesome gang and tribal wars in many parts of Africa. The following is an excerpt from a New York Times article.

Columns of men, bent double under 110-pound sacks of tin ore, emerged from the colonel's mine shaft. It had been carved hundreds of feet into the mountain with Iron Age tools powered by human sweat, muscle and bone. Porters carry the ore nearly 30 miles on their backs, a two-day trek through a mud-slicked maze to the nearest road and a world hungry for the laptops and other electronics that tin helps create, each man a link in a long global chain.

The proceeds of mines like this one, along with the illegal tributes collected on roads and border crossings controlled by rebel groups, militias and government soldiers, help bankroll virtually every armed group in the region.

So here you are the facts are out in the open and the decision is yours to be taken. It is time the educated class of India takes steps towards eliminating this growing hazard which they themselves created in the first place. Now you know how to give your old beloved PC the farewell it deserves!

The best mode of transport in Bangalore.

This past Saturday I decided to give up the luxury, if you can call it one, of using my bike to commute around Bangalore and instead rode my bicycle. I wondered if I could be up to the task of cycling about 20 km to airport road in the summer heat. Surprisingly, it turned out to be quite an enjoyable experience. I wasn’t too tired at the end of it and I covered the distance in good time. Less than an hour to be precise and that’s decent for travelling right through central Bangalore’s legendary traffic jams. On Sunday, I cycled from yesvantpur to koramangala in 45 min.


So what makes cycling so enjoyable? Well, for one you can weave through all the traffic that is stationary at the signals and come right in front. And then the moment you get an opportunity to cross, you can go. Even if the signal is red. I stress that you have to exercise utmost caution while doing this. Else you can wait for the pedestrian crossings slots. Also, you always have a free left even if the signal is red. Then there is the footpath in case you can’t weave through. You can go the wrong way on one-way streets instead of having to make cumbersome detours. Also, there is no need of searching for a break in the road divider to take a U-turn. Just hop over it with your bicycle.

The best part is when you bend all these traffic rules; you don’t have to bother about the cops. In fact you can smile at them! I felt like giving the cop at trinity circle a middle finger salute for the unreasonable fine incident. And then you have a chance to best the auto guys in squeezing in all the gaps. You also need not bother about finding a place for parking. Just find a decent place on the footpath and lock your bicycle. The whole city is your parking lot, except the parking lots themselves because your cycle might be thrown out to make place for a motor vehicle.

Besides, cycling is a really good exercise and is an environmentally and economically friendly mode of transport. But you do need to have some level of physical fitness for long distance commute. The climbs can be really tiring especially if your bicycle doesn’t have gears. You get some rest when you have to stop at a red light. So you really don’t mind a red signal as much as when you travel by car or bike. It might also help if you have good shock absorbers. Else you get rocked in the wrong places when the road or footpath is bumpy.

As I have mentioned earlier, your own safety should be your first priority. You have to assume you are invisible, in the sense no one will give you way or bother about your safety. Cyclists are the lowest in the hierarchy of road users. Even pedestrians don’t bother about your presence. They just cross in front of you and don’t move out of the way even if you ring the bell. Less said about other road users the better. No amount of trring trring will get their attention. Sometimes it’s not their fault because your feeble trring trrring is drowned out by the ear splitting tttrrrrr of an auto a mile away. Make sure you have proper reflectors on your bicycle and wear light coloured clothes in case of night cycling. Also be extra alert around buses and autos near bus stops. You never know when they’ll swerve or brake hard, leaving you to fend for yourself.


So there you are. Cycling as a mode of transport has so many advantages. You do your bit for the environment and that is much more than just switching off your light for one hour in a year! You can help decongest Bangalore’s roads. You save money. You will not need any more of those boring treadmill sessions to stay in shape. And above all it’s fun! So pick up a cycle, plug in those earphones and pedal away to glory! Tring Tring!

Added on April 16,2009.
In Paris they have a wonderful bicycle rental system. Check it here I hope Indian cities follow suit soon!