Jitu

New freshers arrived in the last 4 days. The student council organized bus transfers from the 2 major train stations Majestic and Yeshwantpur. It is somewhat strange, but at each one of the days of arrival there was at least one question causing confusion either at the help desk on campus or at one of the train stations.

On 27/07/:
Due to some new rules, around 27% more students got admission in IISc. 2 years ago 2 hostel blocks got demolished and the construction of new ones just started resulting in a shortage of rooms. Some of the rooms got converted into double rooms and one of the oldest and most uncomfortable block (namely E-block) got reactivated. On the very first day, a fresher complained about the accomondation and asked: “Why do not you construct some new hostels?”

Also on the same day:
Fresher: “Where is my room, sir? It’s room number is XXX.”
Help desk: “First you don’t need to call us ‘Sir’. We are just students like you.”
Fresher: “Ok, sir. What about my room, sir?”
Help desk: “Well, sir. You go down this road, sir. And then you turn right at the intersection, sir. After that you will see a bank on your left, take left, always straight, sir. You will see a gray tall building, sir. Inside this building is your room, sir.”

On 28/07/:
“When does class start?” – Answer: “First you need to get admission.”

On 29/07/:
At the help desk:
Fresher: “What kind of help do I get here?”
Help desk: “What kind of help do you need?”
Fresher: “I don’t know. Maybe I am missing something here…”
Help desk: “???”

On 30/07/:
“When are placements and what companies are coming?”

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Today a friend and I went to Nandi Hills by bike to see the solar eclipse which was supposed to be the longest in this century. Although we are way to much south to see a total eclipse, even a coverage of 50% is worth to see. The eclipse started at around 6:13am, but sunrise itself was only 10 minutes earlier. To maximize our chances to see the sun without any obstacles like trees or high buildings in the way, we went to Nandi Hills (around 60km north of Bangalore). So we got up at 3:30am and reached there at 5:10am. However due to the heavy winds, the peak of Nandi Hills was covered in clouds which was proven to be very much glued to the peak. It was so foggy that the side boundaries of the street were barely visible and it started to rain. So we went back to the foot of the Hills. But unfortunately high clouds did not give way to allow us to see the event.

After coming back to Bangalore, friends, who dropped out due the lack of a bike/license or who were in the need of an undisturbed sleep so early in the morning, felt lots of schadenfreude towards us. But next time we are going to see the most beautiful solar eclipse and we will take breathtaking photos. Well, we have to wait a bit. The next solar eclipse in the same length will not happen before 2132. But then the joy will be ours.

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The petrol tank of my bike was empty, so I went to the petrol pump for a refill. Usually I do not like to gas stations, so I try to limit these visits as much as possible. Therefore I wait till the tank is completely empty and ask the people from the gas station to make it as full as possible. A few times I experienced that those people cheat like anything. Just today they filled 15 liters into my Honda Unicorn, which has a tank capacity of 13 liters (including reserve). How is this physically possible?

Here is what they do:
If there was a customer at the same station before and refilled his tank for (let’s say) Rs.100, they do not reset the meter. So you pay Rs.100 more. While the petrol flows into the tank, another guy who collects the cash, approaches you from the opposite site and tells you the latest offers. Another method: The cash collecting guy stands between you and the meter display so that you cannot see it and get suspicious about some cheating. This happened at the gas stations Bharat Petroleum (CV Raman Road/Yeshwantpur) and HP (New Bell Road), both in Bangalore. So next time I know exactly the tank capacity (today I was not sure till I read it in the book back home) and call the police or I go to some reliable gas stations such as Shell (hopefully they do not cheat). We will see….

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On Sunday the Bangalore Bikers Club organized a cycle race from Bangalore to Nandy Hills. Starting point was on National Highway 7 near the new airport, finishing line was on the peak of Nandy Hills around 40km away. Four warriors from IISc started at 6am, but we were already late. So riding to the starting point (distance from IISc around 20km) was already something like a race. At 7 am around 100 cyclist gathered at the starting line. Many very fancy cycles could be seen and many people in fancy, professional looking outfit. I went there with my Photon Ex cycle. Like the one introduced earlier, it also has one gear only, but it is much more advanced (pictures will come soon). Additional weight is added due to the mudguards, the big bell and lock to prevent thieves from snitching my precious cycle.

To give single geared cycles any chance, they started in a different category. However when the Nandy Hills came close, it became difficult to climb due to the acclivity. My Photon Ex and I passed many people on street racing cycles who wondered, how can somebody with only one gear take over. The secret is: It is not the stamina (maybe a little bit). It is more that I do not waste time in choosing the right gear. There is one more secret: I just heard about the race the evening before. I could not organize any oil for the squeaking chain and rattling axes. So I used lamp oil which I found in an opening of the closed cycle shop on campus. It is very greasy, but everything runs like clockwork.

After 2h and 7 minutes I crossed the finishing line, ranked 33rd. Not bad for the first race with this cycle.

Photos have been uploaded to flickr. Look at me before the race and at the finishing line. I was simply at the end, physically and literally.

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