Endurance - PERSONIFIED - 2

(Girish Kulkarni has written a mail capturing the moments leading up to his Limca record to “Ride a Gearless bicycle for 100 KM with an average speed of 30 KM/Hr” on 25th September 2011 at National Highway 4.)


He wants to spread the message of “Cycling: Fitness, Environment & Adventure and thank his  parents, relatives & friends who helped him to make this attempt successful. 

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What an event it was… Amazing... Awesome... Tremendous... Terrific, take all the synonyms of these words and it was there in the closing lap of the event.

24^th Sept 2011 – 22:00 hrs. – A small team of volunteers with four cars and three bikes reached Satara (120 kms from Pune). The atmosphere was tense – Would he do it? Some of them were able to take a nap and some just lay awake discussing as the time passed by - very slowly.

25^th Sept 2011 – 04:00 hrs. – It was chilling night and the team got together to load their belonging into their cars and bikes and last moment updates were shared. Groups were formed and jobs allotted were reviewed so that everyone was on the same page and knew their role well. A hot cup of tea was served and team ready for the adventure.

25^th Sept 2011 – 05:00 hrs. – Team gathered at the starting point and locals could be seen coming to give their blessing to Girish. After taking blessings from his parents, he started his warming up cycling around. Count down started.

25^th Sept 2011 – 05:30 hrs. – Girish started his journey to get into that dream of being a part of Limca Book of National Record and India Book of Record. Starting speed 32kmph. Good start. Team boosting his morale and cheering him up continuously.



25^th Sept 2011 – 07:25 hrs. – Steep road and wind blowing against Girish. OH... Problem, the front brake cable gave up, as if God too wanted to test him. He was struggling hard as he had covered only 55 kms in 2 hours approx. Another 45 kms to go in 1:40 mins. Will he do it? He was determined - so were his team, who were cheering and motivating him and giving him assurances that he can do it. No time to change bicycle or repair it. Team covers him from all sides. GO Girish GO...

25^th Sept 2011 – 08:00 hrs. – Just crossed the Katraj Toll plaza. 30 mins to go and miles to cover. One more steep and Girish made up his mind to cover this faster. Then came the final lap… Strategy put in place. Three cars covering Girish from the rear so that no other vehicle overtakes him. One car clearing the road ahead and bikes covering from side as media cars struggle to take the shoot of the last lap. Girish gears-up and the speed – AMAZING – 62 kmph. One could hardly see the tired Girish who has pulled the bicycle for around 80 – 85 kms.

25^th Sept 2011 – 08:48 hrs. – YES… he made it 2 mins short of the record determined to set. Joy seemed no bounds to Girish and team. “Thanks Team” said Girish!!!


No one – who participated in the event, could forget the last lap of 62 kmph speed and the time ticking down.



Stats:
Kms covered: 100
Average speed: 30.60kmph
Least speed: 12-15kmph
Max speed: 62kmph 

The night Max Killed it...

Last Sunday night i was rather sharp. Over white wine and good easy flowing conversation, there was a sudden night thing to watch a ghost flick. It so happened that Set Max was playing "Haunted" in 3D.
I am a sucker for ghost stories. I LOVE THEM!! Every time some friends get together, these stories flow, and people get the shivers, and some others are bloody scared, but way too curious for their own good, and the goosebumps and the works.
However before i say a word more, i MUST salute those who went to cinemas and saw HAUNTED. *salute*
This movie was a laugh riot! Haunted, my friends, takes horror, horror story telling and time and space relationships, several notches in a zone where you are likely to lose yourself.
Since my visual powers were enhanced that night, there was noticeable lack of depth of field. Of course, i credited my absolutely wonderful vision to something else. But the movie wasn't looking the way its supposed to look. Especially on television. And then the 3D wave struck. Woah! They shot this movie in 3D for what!?
Well, my disappointment aside, what took the cake was the awesome spacio-temporal plot. Look it up! The "i" button on tatasky doesn't do justice to the sheer whacko genius who thought of this.
Ghost stories are loved world wide. The haunting, exorcism, rites and rituals, signs and symbols, the powers of the evil spirits, the powers that the evil spirit is afraid of, the power levels of the shaman and the degree of evil in the ghost - have a way of getting around. you know, late night pajama parties, friends traveling, strangers bonding over stories, and that's where a lot of cross cultural references are made, assimilated in other stories and so on and so forth.
This guy has taken all the symbols from all the horror space from the last decade and mixed them with the Ramsay bros and added the element of 3D to it. The Ring, Emily Rose, Dark Water, The Skeleton Key, The Orphan - you name it!!
I guess that's how these ideas abt ghosts propagate. What ghosts in Maharashtra do this? Well, lets add that to what ghosts in Kashmir do. Oh, wait! Thats an interesting twist i can add to ghosts in middle east. How will ghosts in Japan be if they could do this? Wont it make ghosts in Amreeka way cooler if we added this to our stories?
Like i said, i love ghost stories. If we happen to meet and we run out of things to say, let us start sharing them :)

PS: And then we started watching "Mere yaar ki shaadi hai" with Uday Chopra in it. We were cracking a lot of bad jokes abt him, his acting skills, his potential jobs, his last chance to redeem himself with "Pyar Impossible", when Priyanka took LOADS of money to be seen with him on screen, abt remakes - "My best friends wedding" - and all that humor - BUT SET MAX JUST STOPPED THE MOVIE MID-SCENE AND STARTED A SHOPPING BULLETIN.
No one cares abt the way-past-late night movie audience.

Endurance - personified

Working for a local media has many advantages. One of them that appeals to the social scientist in me, is the opportunity to meet and interact with people - and sometimes the variety you meet in one day - blows your mind.

The day started with the MTV Roadies crew in the studio - the anchor, Rannvijay and the twins, Raghu and Rajeev, who created the show, were here to talk about the Roadies 9 auditions in Pune. These guys n the show, need no introduction. They will have 5000 kids falling over themselves tomo @ Balewadi stadium to be part of that select group.

An hour later, i met Girish Kulkarni, a 29 yrs old Pune boy who is attempting a Limca Record 2011 by riding “Gearless bicycle” for 100 KM with an average speed of 30 KM/Hr! This blog is about him. He is the star who needs to be written about. He is the guy who has to be talked about. He is self-motivated. He is humble. He stays in Kothrud and has a regular 9-5 job. Every year, he takes 15 days off and goes on wilderness holiday. Every year, he also celebrates his birthday by attempting an impossible act of physical endurance - and mental toughness. I mean, imagine the motivation you need to take that kind of pain...

I must mention few of his achievements which are recognized by "Limca Book of Records" under "Endurance" category and enrolled as "National & World Records" in their book so you get an idea of what we are talking about here. 

(Folks from Pune will understand the records more, as they are about landmarks from here.)

2003 - Climbed Parvati Hill (Pune) 21 times in 3.00 Hrs

            www.parvatidarshan.in

2004 - "Limca book of National Record" for climbing Parvati Hill 44 times in 7.07 hours.

            www.parvatidarshan.in

2005 - "Limca Book of World Record" for climbing Sinhagad Fort 11 Times in 23.40 hours.

            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinhagad

2006 - Climbed 41 Forts in 250 hours from 3 different regions. Total Height covered during this event is 97,000 meters which is equal to thrice the height of Mount Everest.

2007 – Climbed Parvati Hill 101 Times in 20 hrs.

Parvati hill has 103 steps (One Way) www.parvatidarshan.in

2008 - Walked a distance of 135 Km in a record time of 26 hours 40 minutes from Pune to Sajjangad (In Satara District).

2010 - Bike Expedition to Leh Ladakh via Manali to Jammu. Distance covered is 2500 kilometers in 11 days.

Before his actual radio interview, i wanted to have a chat with him. You know the health and fitness freak that i am. Jokes apart, Girish is an extremely fit person. To give you n indication, he can jog up Sinhagad in 28 minutes flat. Just like that. 

And he is dedicated too. He has thought of the next 5 records he wants to set. Five years, five records. And all of them are things that haven't been attempted before. Ever! In fact, this gear less cycling feat that he is attempting next Sunday, is a new category they have started - cos all records are with geared cycles! 

The sentimental bit that i loved most is, he is going to do it on the bicycle that his father got him in 1998 when he passed his board exams. A regular cycle. You know the rickety bicycle that we gave to scrap vendor - yes, that one.

Why i am blogging about him, is people like him matter. The whole human endurance angle is too Nat Geo for me. I see passion. Here is someone who does something fantastic every year to celebrate his birthday. He remembers every birthday and what he did. He has a certificate too!! 

When he was 22, he set his first endurance record. He hasn't stopped since. And people like him should never stop. Especially for something so trivial as sponsorship. I am hopeful that his radio show is heard by someone who will help him out. Or this blog finds a way to someone who can do something for this lad in his next attempt.

Event Details - Record Attempt 2011

In this Gearless Cycle attempt he will be covering a distance of 100 Kilometers in the shortest possible time with the minimum average speed of 30 KM/Hr. The LBR (Limca Book of Records) has given a green signal to continue with this event.

Event Date – 25^th September 2011

Road – National Highway 4 (Mumbai – Bangalore Highway)

Venue – Covering a distance of 100 kilometers from Satara to Pune

Start Venue – National Highway 4 (Satara) – at milestone 100 kms.

Estimated Start Time – 06.00 AM

End Venue – Sarasbaug (Pune)

Estimated End Time – 09.00 AM

Sponsorship Details

1.      Emergency Spares               

2.      Standby bicycle

3.      Mechanic

4.      Packed Food and water for approx 30 volunteers

5.      Energy drink for self.

6.      Fuel and other toll charges for the volunteers.

7.      You can arrange for an event management company to cover the event.

8.      You can arrange a Press Conference or print invitation cards.

9.      Documentary Film is necessary as evidence to be submitted to LBR.

10.  Presentation / Banners as per your rules.

11.   You can name the event under your banner.

12.  Branding the venue at the main entrance on the day of closing ceremony.

13.   Award ceremony under your banner.

14.   Announcement by your compere during the event.

15.   Display stalls of your product at the closing ceremony venue.

16.   All required permissions from the appropriate government organizations from the start, during the event and for the closing ceremony would be your responsibility.

17.   Any other expenses or cost not covered above.

(His friend, Milind Datar is helping him find funds. You can get in touch with him on milind.datar@gmail.com or leave a comment on the blog and i will send you his mobile phone number.)

Decentralised power? Make way!!

Pune, that way is a pretty progressive over sized village. The people like to think ahead, save for the rainy day, take stands that are pretty forwardish, the topics n treatment in the theatre scene, the newspaper editorials, the opinion leaders and the delta population that thinks, are often avante garde. However, the people who run the municipal establishment, have time and again shown the lack of thinking ahead - point in case - the Ganapati visarjan procession.
Traditionally, there are five most respected Ganapati mandals - which are part of the old city - the areas betwn Kumthekar rd, Laxmi rd, Tilak rd which form the high population density areas, from Alka talkies chowk, till say, Rasta peth and Bhavani peth. Over a period of time, Marathi speaking families have moved out of Laxmi rd area as it became a commercial district. The diaspora went to new suburbs - Kothrud, Sinhgad rd, Satara rd and Aundh.
Every year, the Ganapati procession draws flak from all quarters. Here is how its done. Various mandals from all over the city, finish their final good bye aarti on ninth day in their areas, and bring their decorated mobile display unit with their Ganapati idol to the main city. Then on the tenth day procession begins with the top five, who are followed by the mobile display units of all mandals from all suburbs, depending on their seniority and political pull. All political stooges sit atop a machchan on the final day at Alka chowk and judge the best mobile display which is then rewarded by the PMC.
Reaction seems to be the way of life for PMC, instead of foresight. Think abt it for a minute. As the city grew, the PMC should have empowered the ward offices. Develop those areas - to make roads on all sides wide enough for 10L people who stay in suburbs to commute; separate roads for the out of town heavy vehicle traffic; provision it with self sufficient amenities and services.
Unfortunately, the suburbs grew faster than the PMC could think. If you wanted vegetables, people came to mandai in middle of the city, to buy clothes and gold, people came to Laxmi road, for any concern with electricity, water, property tax bills, you had to travel to the main city. If people wanted anything at all - everyone headed to the city. This is a classic example of centralised power. We want to know everything and we want everyone to know who's the boss.
Look at it from the Ganapati festivities point of view. The local Ganapati mandals collect money from everyone in their localities and the big ones are lucky to get corporate sponsorships - which is then used for two display units - one is static in the mandal which is there for 9 days; and second for the mobile display unit which is mounted on a tractor or truck for the final procession day. Since its a competitive scenario, mandals go out of their way to add more razzmatazz to the mobile units and for the foot soldiers who lead their mobile unit.
Since the procession judged and awarded by the PMC, every mandal wants to take part, making the immersion procession go on for long duration. Sometimes, over two days, putting regular life, traffic and businesses out of synch. I remember, few years back there would be jokes about record number of hours the procession has taken!!
This is where i strike at the PMC - for its vanity, greed and attitude of not letting go of power.
Luckily, we have water bodies flowing thru the heart across the town. What is the need to get all mandals at the central location and putting life at a stand still from Mandai till Deccan? Maybe the competition was good in the good old 80's but it has to change now. The format and the operations have to change. Since 90s when the suburbs became important city centers, why not empower them to have their own immersion processions? Why must they travel on ninth day from wherever they are to the city centre? That means, effectively, you are blocking traffic for one additional day!
I think the mandals should be judged on the static display units by the jury in their own locality. And for gods sake, the criteria of judging should include monitoring the decibel levels, digging of roads, and electricity theft, along with the quality of display. That way, the focus will be on the static display. When we eliminate the central display procession, we use the river that flows across the city to the most optimum level. Yes, there are egos of the top five mandals that don't want anyone to immerse their Ganapati idols before anyone else. Fine, its the communication age!! Once they are done, give a go ahead to all other mandals, who can then go on with their business and not waste entire day - or two standing in queue - getting bored and sometimes drunk before they can actually start their final immersion journey.
Plus, the money earmarked for the mobile display unit can be used for other social or relevant causes in that area.
What is it about having a central immersion procession? Feels like some folks are holding court. The city has burgeoned and with changing times, we need to adapt and evolve. There HAS to be decentralisation of power and decision making. It will be so much more convenient for the police and traffic police to manage 10 one day processions in 25 suburbs; instead of managing the crowds thronging for one massive procession which goes on for over 100 hours!!? If you can discount that type of fatigue in already overworked police force, then please do it!!
And while you are at it, pls make 25 water tanks for 25 different areas near the river and save us from the pictures and videos of broken Ganapati idols in river beds. Make sure the tanks are large enough for idols to dissolve properly. If they are POP idols, immerse them symbolically by dipping them thrice in the tank and keep them on the side. Better still, ask the mandals to take them back - a penalty for using POP idols.
There is a desperate need for the power and accountability to move out. Yes, the ward offices will make mistakes, but its good to make new mistakes than to repeat the same mistake over 25 years.
While the powers that be were busy planning and doing the Pune festival and Pune marathon, the basic operations of the actual festival, have run on auto-pilot mode by copying what happened last year. Pune, which was once known for thinking ahead, now boasts of poor infrastructure, lethargy to risk taking, and  and lack of imagination - simply cos no one encouraged it or no one wanted change.

Ganapati is the brainy god. May he give little bit to our leaders, babus and everyone who doesnt want things to change...

Once gone!

Why do we feel short of time? And despite depending on other sources to save time, yet we never save enough? Just to spend it in a more better manner...
Time is a currency. It has been for a long time. Only in the last 10 yrs when more and more people have disposable incomes, their need for "quality" time has risen. The good old pyramid structure where once only the elite valued time, has now expanded to the larger middle class, which is desperate to live a good life, and have a good "time". Unfortunately, this good time concept is more materialistic and hence, always the need for more time!!
Since time can neither be manufactured or expanded, it is much more valuable than all our investments and assets. The wife who waits for you to come home for dinner, the kids who grow up while you slog away at your desk, the parents who are patient and understanding, and of course, the parallel time at work - team, clients, commitments etc.
Since more and more of us want to manage lives better and be in control of where we spend what amount of time, it is accompanied with a surge of powerlessness. Its valued only once its gone. Just wanting to be in control of time isnt enough now, is it? Cos, unfortunately we are never told how to manage our time! Throughout  our schooling, we have a scheduled life - rise, breakfast, assembly, classes, lunch, home, homework, playtime, dinner, sleep. We are conditioned to manage time - but something happens and we lose plot. We are taught complex maths, we rote biased history - but time management? Never. We waste it royally.
We pretend though - to care enough to make more time. We dont want to waste time watching bad movies, so we go online and read reviews. We dont want to stand in queues, so we pay our bills online, we dont want to go to the govt offices and waste whole day, so we find agents / touts. Yes, good going till now. We are saving time.
The question is, what are we doing with what we are saving? Are we using it where we want it? The way we want it? Are we really in control? I would like to use what i save for thousand other things i wish i could. But do i?
Yes, there is no point to this except blabbering and wasting 3-4 mins of your time :)

Fools rush in...

What has captured the imagination of the nation is "Corruption Free India". The means, end, madness is all going to be justified in one way or the other. There will be closure to this jamboree. And it wont even take a week. The UPA is handicapped by a bureaucrat babu at the helm, and the bunch of advisors have led it to one mistake after the next.
The small group in Tihar, the hundreds on Dilli roads, the thousands on streets elsewhere and the lakhs who are like it online, view themselves as something else. Perhaps ten years down the line, they will be people who will proudly claim "Freedom fighter" benefit for what they did in August 2011.
On the other hand, i wonder if there will be similar movements and mass mobilisation and support for say, Nuclear bill? Or the bill on Taxation? Or even Environment??
Right now, corruption is a representation of everything that is wrong in the country. Corruption is a visible phenomenon. That we do nothing abt it in our day to day lives has caused matters to come to this day. When newly laid roads are washed away, we never question our corporators. When parking space or area reserved for gardens and public schools is given to make malls, we don't stop to ask them why. We have no sense of entitlement - that we deserve a good life, good health system, good schools and education, good roads and amenities. And because we live like irresponsible citizens - not voting and not voting the ineffective out of power - we should be punished.

Our electronic media has played the worst role they could in this circus. At a moment when they should have been objective and educated their viewers on both sides of the Lokpal bill, they have played favourites. The near certain escalation of the issue, will ensure TRPs for the channels and awards for some half-baked reporters, who will go on to believe that making everything into a mass movement is the right way forward.

Secondly, the frustrations of millions of people were fueled by those ridiculous email forwards which put unrealistic sums of black money stashed away in Swiss accounts, with dope like "it can feed entire country for 30 years" etc.
For 65 years, the movie "Gandhi" was telecast at least three times every year but never did people take to the streets for "peaceful" protests like they have now. The other factor, hence, is Bollywood where movies like RDB, No one killed Jessica, have portrayed the power of the mob. Just taking to the streets, lighting candles and disrupting the very functioning of the economy that pays for all this, is plain ridiculous.

For all those who have found a "purpose" in their lives in this shindig, i wish them luck. They have chosen to do something abt the situation. Perhaps, in hindsight they will see sense in what the rest of us are saying... It summarises the present societal norms, more or less, where both parents work and don't have time for their children, and in their collective guilt, they do whatever the child wants them to do. When the child resorts to emotional blackmail for not getting what it wants and doesn't listen to the parent half way.

Gandhi went on innumerable indefinite fasts to get Brits to pay attention. But he also fasted as penance for his followers who did wrong. Will we see Anna fast till his followers stop offering and accepting bribe, and will they change their ways cos of his fasting, remains to be seen...

A Week to Remember

Everyone is looking at the coming week with great anticipation. With the US debt ceiling crisis induced nervousness, the fluctuating stock market, all major banks discouraging spends, SBI's performance, the two big scams and madam Gandhi recuperating away from all this, we have a perfect recipe for what can be hailed as "the most interesting week of all times in post Independence India"!!

This week the Team Anna led Civil society is going back in history to re-start the Civil disobedience movement in one of the Delhi parks. Team Anna has been calling all the shots and the government is like a sitting duck! The present govt is been painted as the MOST corrupt by this team... But for me it is MOST uncommunicative. Why dont they call the shots? After all they are in power. Have they forgotten that they "are" the government? They should control the game and the rules. Effectiveness of government is not when it gives full page ads and runs television spots of its schemes but when it seeks a dialog with its people. Staying in clean areas of Delhi and travelling on roads cleared for their movements, our leaders might have lost touch with reality. But this is one chance for them to open their minds to the public. This week presents an excellent platform for the govt in power and all political parties to really "connect" with its people.

The muted leadership make me think of Congress not as an elephant with a devil-make-care swagger but with an aged dinosaur who has to think 25 million times before it can take a dump. This is our cue to find a workable solution before we allow everyone to bite into this so called revolution and sink the whole country into anarchy. 

I dont understand the complicated US election process. I tried very hard to follow but the voting, the senate, the representation model, are all very complex for "our" type of democracy. Maybe i will understand it next time around... What i like abt them though is the public debates. The intra party, as well as the inter party. They are fair, they are televised and they really bring out the issue and its multiple point of views.


Remember how we used to debate at school? With passion and power of our conviction. Of course, the topics were lame but the way we spoke and arguments that we presented as school children, made everyone in the audience think too.

This week, the media will be there to cover and sensationalise every blimp in Anna Hazare's blood pressure. But we as media people can do better than that.

Wherever the Delhi Police allow the "fast unto death", the media should invite the Congress party to put up a stage on the opposite side. (Just like in Coolie, where Sr Bachchan and Kader Khan have a stand off.) Let there be 5 speakers from the the govt and 5 speakers from the Civil society. 

Let us give our leaders a chance to explain their point of view. We have elected them to the Parliament. We thought they can do the country good. They have been quiet abt many issues, god knows for what reason. But this week, they cannot afford to be silent. We cannot go down in history on account of a govt not having a say in matters that matter the most. The country cannot be bullied either by the Team Anna or the UPA. This country has a will. We have persisted and functioned. We have progressed and developed. We, the people of India.
Let these 10 speakers do a televised debate on the most crucial stand off points in the Jan Lokpal and the Govts Lokpal - bringing the PM and judiciary under the purview, the sitting MPs, govt officials of all ranks, the state lokpals, etc - and let us watch it and try to understand the logic. Yes, there is a friction and it is important. We need to know both sides of the story, and right now, unfortunately, we are being fed only one side!
Let the electronic media people be silent for once and let the people who actually matter speak. Due to consecutive victories where the power of the fourth estate was displayed, it now believes that it can judge the government too. It has forgotten to be unbiased and report facts. And this week, all media should do just that - REPORT FACTS. Dont colour it with your political leanings. Stay away from headlines that sell. Dont print / relay irresponsible statements from non-actors in this high drama. This week is bigger than any of your little profits and TRPs.

Let us all make sure this week doesnt bring down everything we have built together.