Bomber Man

It was a usual hot sunny afternoon. I was in my 7th semester, so it was that time of the year when you have very few classes in a day but you don’t wanna go home. Lazing around in the college canteen, sitting for hours on the green grass in college ground, wind in the air smile on the face, all the friends around. Seemed that all what mattered was right there. The perfect background score at this time would be ‘Those were the best days of my life….’.

I was known as the Bomber Man back then. I was given this nick name way back in 9th standard, when I put up a cracker in the school building. And the tradition continued till my college days. I just love it. Pure silence. Everybody’s doing their work. Someone is teaching algebra in one room and literature in the other, while some would be delving in which chemical goes where….. and just then it happens BOOOOOOOOOM!!!!! Everybody’s outside. Suddenly they forget whatever they were indulged in. Suddenly all the students are smiling, wishing they were the one’s who could do that. Teachers are out of their classes pondering who did that and catching up on latest gossip. Suddenly for 4-5 minutes its like a refreshing break in their monotonous lives. A sense of excitement. Deviation from the normal, the routine.

It was Diwali time. It was only yesterday that I had planted one carefully in the central hollow of the building, where it would make the most bang. It always had to be the biggest one available in the market. And what do you know it did make the most bang !! The authorities were snarling, fuming in anger at this mockery of their so called decorum. They were on the lookout for this so called Bomber Man. Realizing this I planned to let the day pass without making any buzz. This would be the last day before college was on before Diwali. But little did I know what was in store for me.

I had a little pack of crackers in my bag. We used to call them headbangers. You just need to throw them down with force and they strike with a bang. Nothing to light, nothing to set the timer on, just the kinetic energy from your arm would do the trick.

The classes were going on behind those closed wooden doors. The corridor was so quiet that I could hear the squeaking sound made by my sneakers on the sparkling clean floor. “Hey Kaps, aint the bomber man gonna make some noise today” Jatin my classmate said with a wink. Now I had an image of a studious and simple guy in front of my teachers. And that was what I was when in class. But outside I was the complete opposite. He opened my bag and found the crackers. He playfully picked up one and out of being a total moron that he is, hurled one towards me thinking I would be able to catch it. Now I am not that good at cricket. The result was BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!! The silent corridor provided the Dolby effect. We both attained the ‘lets run from the crime scene’ posture, just then the economics teacher came out and yelled “Stop both of you!”. She called the Administration incharge.

It felt like I was wearing shoes made of stone. Both of us couldn’t budge a bit. The news spread like butter on a hot toast. The administration incharge Mr. Nijhawan came rushing so did all my friends. It was me, Jatin and Mr. Nijhawan at the centrestage while all of our friends were surrounding us in a circle. I was already thinking of whom should I call posing as my father (I have already done this before…. that story some other time).

“Tell me who did this and I will be a little lenient on you”. United we stand, divided we fall. The english teacher was so damn right. None of us uttered a thing. Suddenly Jatin said “Sir it was not us”. The economics teacher had just heard the bang. So we appealed not guily. “Then who did it??” Nijhawan was snarling down our throats.

“Somebody from the second floor threw it”. What the heck was Jatin saying? “Then tell me who it was?” was Nijhawan’s next question. “Sir we cannot tell his name, otherwise he might hurt us outside college”. What a complete nonsense thing did I just say now? “But you two were found at the site, so action would be taken on you guys! Pray that you will just be suspended for a week, principal is a strict man”. The thoughts on who should I bring posing as my father again started crossing my mind.

“Sir that’s not fair! You are also standing here and if somebody throws a cracker right now, would you also be convicted?” Jatin asked. “Yes, no matter who it is action would be taken against them” Nijhawan said sternly. Jatin had just provided me with the solution. My mind was running like a Ferrari’s engine on full throttle. I let my hand slipped inside my bag, picked another cracker and just when Nijhawan wasn’t looking in the crowd that had gathered around us I handed it over to Gyan and winked at him. He knew what to do. BOOOOOOMMMMMM!! There went another one. Nobody could figure out who did it among the crowd. And this time Nijhawan was also there. Oh how he wished he could take back his words. “Sir if that’s what its going to be please go to your seat and start typing your suspension letter too alongside ours”. A Kodak moment. Yes, that was what i would aptly call it. Me and Jatin were smiling down his face and walked away. That was one close call.

…… And the Bomber Man remains a mystery till now .

Indian Car scene….

Hi,

A friend of mine who is an avid blogger just showed me the blogs he has been writing. He has been receiving some awesome responses on the blogs he has written. I went through some of his blogs and I must admit they were pretty well composed. So I thought even I’ll give this a try. So it is Hello Blog World! I’ll write about the topic I am most passionate about – ‘Cars’.

I am from India. Though the past two decades have totally transformed the Indian automotive industry. What was a seed has now become a plant ongoing to become a tree. I distinctly remember that when my father wanted to purchase a new car some 20 years back, we had just 2 cars to choose from (a Maruti 800 and a Fiat). I will hardly call it a choice, so would you! After 20 years now it’s time again to buy our 4th car. But this time the dilemma is which one to go in for. The market is flooded with so many options.

First venture was Hindustan Motors with their hercules models Ambassador and Contessa. Then came the Italians with Fiat in collaboration with an Indian firm. Then came the mighty Japanese, then the Americans and now the whole world is trying to tap into the potential of this market. You have Honda’s, Toyota’s and Suzuki’s competing with Chevy’s, Ford’s, Fiat’s, Hyundai’s. Still you can see those gaps with brands like Citroen, Mazda, Nissan and the likes shying away.

One of the things I rue is that the cars are so damn expensive in this part of the world. I don’t know why the government is not paying heed to the Indian who wants to own an equally good set of wheels as his counterpart anywhere else. If you earn well, it will get you to spend your 1-2 years salary in full to buy a decent set of wheels. Compare it with the situation where the same car is available at 5-10 times lower price elsewhere in the world. How would you feel after dogging the whole day at work just like anybody else, paying humongous amounts as taxes, and then driving back in a rotten old box of steel. As if the pun didn’t end here the government comes forward to play its role. It has made the taxation system of India one of the most brutal than anywhere else in the world. And with each passing year it is topping the charts as the back-breaker of a normal man.

I consider people in developed nations lucky. They have so many brands, and yet so many models to choose from. In fact I consider myself unlucky that I have not even seen half of the major brands here in India. Indians don’t realize this but we are missing on all the action that is happening upfront. Automotive sports are so much a reality which Indians have not fully woken up to yet. Americans have invented drag racing, the Japs invented drift racing. And it ends up boosting the economy of the country. The more viewership you have, the more likeminded people get together, the more sponsors gather. Can an average Indian think of buying a car and using it for this? Do I need to answer this?

But things are about to take a 180 degree angle from now onwards with all the major brands now starting to make themselves available. The used cars market is pumped with all sorts of cars at a low price. There were days when as a kid I used to dream when I would be able to see a two door model vrooming past in front of me. It was considered an exotica! And now it was yesterday only when I saw someone driving past me in a Mercedes Benz SLK. The plans are coming up for construction of a world class F1 circuit being built near the capital. The winds are changing and there’s light showing at the other end of this dark hollow. Till then it remains the ‘Indian Dream‘.

- An Indian who is keeping his fingers crossed.

PS: I’d like to hear comments from like-minded Indians.