HOW GREEN IS MY CAR!

For all Honda lovers, here's some good news: The completely redesigned 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid, the most economical and environmentally responsible gasoline-powered Civic ever, has been adjudged the least polluting car to drive in the world. Which means even if you are not driving one of those green cars, at least you own one that flaunts the word H...By the way, Honda City enjoys the tag of one of India's least polluting machines on the road!

We all know how you can save on gas by taking your time. Here's more on how to get the best out of your car...

Change your filters regularly. Changing just the air filter can increase your mileage by up to 10%. If you are automotively challenged, just ask the dudes at the oil change shop to do it.

Topping off your gas tank can increase the amountof ground-level ozone and other air pollutants. Fill 'er up, but don't go crazy, and we’ll all breathe a little easier.

Keep local waterways clean by checking for leaks under the car. Just a few quarts of oil can contaminate a million gallons of water.

Join a car coop and reduce your driving by over 50%.

EXTRAORDINARY MACHINE!

If ever there was an anthem for the Weekend Warrior, this be it...

I certainly haven't been shopping for any new shoes
-And-
I certainly haven't been spreading myself around
I still only travel by foot and by foot, it's a slow climb,
But I'm good at being uncomfortable, so
I can't stop changing all the time

I notice that my opponent is always on the go
-And-
Won't go slow, so's not to focus, and I notice
He'll hitch a ride with any guide, as long as
They go fast from whence he came
- But he's no good at being uncomfortable, so
He can't stop staying exactly the same

If there was a better way to go then it would find me
I can't help it, the road just rolls out behind me
Be kind to me, or treat me mean
I'll make the most of it, I'm an extraordinary machine

I seem to you to seek a new disaster every day
You deem me due to clean my view and be at peace and lay
I mean to prove I mean to move in my own way, and say,
I've been getting along for long before you came into the play

I am the baby of the family, it happens, so
- Everybody cares and wears the sheeps' clothes
While they chaperone
Curious, you looking down your nose at me, while you appease
- Courteous, to try and help - but let me set your
Mind at ease

-Do I so worry you, you need to hurry to my side?
-It's very kind
But it's to no avail; I don't want the bail
I promise you, everything will be just fine

If there was a better way to go then it would find me
I can't help it, the road just rolls out behind me
Be kind to me, or treat me mean
I'll make the most of it, I'm an extraordinary machine

_ Fiona Apple

AAYI JHOOM KE BASANT...

Peeli, peeli, sarson phooli,
Peeli udey patang,
Peeli, peeli udey chunariya,
Peeli pagri ke sung...
Here's s a sure-fire sign to tell you spring's already here. No, Basant Panchmi is a wrong answer. The correct answer is your kid suddenly looks dark and dingy in his grays, blacks, and brown fashions that were ever-so-hip even a month ago. And if your kid is like mine, here's another sign: just like new foals snort, gallop, kick out their legs and just run without reason--he gets spring fever as well. That may be fine at home or at enrichment activities, but teachers still want their students to show focus and discipline.
I know, because I went for his PTA recently, minus his mother and the class teacher told me all.
Anyway, spring is also the perfect time for summer plans, and don't forget about ensuring your outings are kid-friendly. Swim lessons, special camps, amusement parks, and special field trips can require planning, transportation, work schedule flexibility, and affordability. Till that time, the good thing about living in Delhi is there is no dearth of rolling yellow fields of mustard around. You could just vroom a bit, bask in the yellow glory, stop at a roadside dhaba, sit on the charpoy and make good use of juicy sugarcane...ummmm!

Chanda bhi dekha, taare bhi dekhe,
Dekha suraj barson,
Par jis din se tujh ko dekha,
Man mein phooli sarson...

For all ye Weekend Warriors, here's what we read on a passing truck...
Aaj kal parson,
Jab phoolegi sarson,
Sajan ghar aa jaana...

NOT 'WHAT' BUT 'HOW'

Something tremendous is happening in India. Even one of my favourite columnists, Gurcharan Das, with his keen eye and often elegant prose, has his finger firmly on the pulse of the transformation…All those who love reading his column in TOI on Sundays know how his stories enliven what could easily have been a dull piece of economic history. How I wish we had more economists making you believe in India, its might and what we are capable of. How our rich country became poor and how it will be rich again.
Here, excerpts from his column on NH-8...

I was driving down from Jaipur to Ajmer. But I could have been anywhere. The six lane highway was a smooth beauty and the pot-holed India of the PWD was a hazy memory.
Then the wondrous colours of Rajasthan appeared and for an instant I thought I had entered a certain paradise, which seemed to unite modernity with tradition, world-class infrastructure with the ineffable loveliness of old India.
What makes the Jaipur-Kishangarh section of the golden quadrilateral special is that it is a true public-private partnership based on transparent legal contracts that might be a model for the world.
Such contracts have created a new level of trust and are enabling India to access funds, skills and technologies from the best companies in the world, who will build and operate our roads, ports, bridges, airports, and container trains, and transfer them to the state in 15 to 30 years.
Gajendra Haldea, an unusual economist-lawyer of integrity and conviction, drew up these model contracts at the Planning Commission. As a result, he is the most hated man in Delhi's infrastructure ministries. He has demolished opportunities for corruption.
Soon we shall have 20,000 km of highways, hundreds of private container trains, and many private ports and airports _ all in public-private partnership. These quiet steps teach us that reforms are not about the 'what' but the 'how'. They are less about economics and more about law...

CUT TO KARJAT, AGAIN!

TENT TIGHT FOR THE NIGHT!

Travelling light gets a new meaning. Though this tent is a bit bulky and heavy (3.5 kgs) for hiking, but good for a car trip. The cool thing is that it sets up in 2 seconds. You just have to throw it in the air and boing!, you are ready to sleep in two seconds (hence its the name). Two seconds for fold-out is realistic, except when it lands on its roof and, you've got to roll it over, adding a few more seconds. Once done, you've got to pitch it down with 2 stakes if the wind is moderate, 4 more if there is any more wind.
The manufacturer, Decathlon, claims one needs 15 seconds to fold it away. With some training you can get it down to less than one minute, for sure, on a lazy day, including all accessories. You just have to expulse the remaining air, and put it in the bag. When folded it is a disc _ a bit larger than a 28-inch bicycle wheel (around 80cm in diameter). It's too large to fit into a backpack, but you can hang it on the exterior of a pack. If you do that you'll look like a dwarf holding his shield. It could fit on the back of a bike, but really it is made for car camping.
The tent sleeps two. The room is 145 x 245cm, so it could be possible to sleep three, but not for a long time. One advantage is that the roof is flatter than an igloo, like in a tunnel. Inside it's a pretty standard tent, with a double roof, and nets for venting.
All in all, it's not the perfect tent, but a good tent, light enough, larger than a regular pop tent, and a lot of fun. You would like to open it several times just because it's amazing.

CURRYING FLAVOURS @ KARJAT!

Rumpled sheets, two warm bodies and a little ankle origami. You never want to get out of bed.
Warm gingerbread with pears and honey, steaming tea casting a spell or two...
Spoon till noon!
Ahem...when you get time, take a tour.
From pearly skies at dawn to the sparkling lights of the night-time cityscape, Karjat on the outskirts of Mumbai scores fantastically on the location front. The hilly hamlet with its profusion of greens is mesmerising and intoxicating and having a face-off with your wild side seems like the most natural thing to do... Sit under the waterfall at midnight and watch a swarm of fireflies do a ballet or just go skinny-dipping in the lake in torch light.
Karjat is merely a two-hour drive from from Mumbai (Central).



Fuss Factor: The Dirty Getaway
Hit the freeway early on a Friday afternoon to beat the traffic.
Stop by the supermarket to stock the picnic hamper.
Check into the motel.
Start things off with a naughty board game: strip scrabble, pants off twister...
Make each other sandwiches, build each other bites.
Steam the windows!

THE DIRTY MENU
Raid the fridge, stop by the supermarket and pack for the ultimate indoor picnic.
A crunchy baguette/whole wheat bread, your favourite cheese slices, a fresh roast chicken and a handful of cheeky little odds and sods is all you need.
Tear a chunk of bread/take two slices, spread some pickles, add slices of cheese and some sauce, wedges of avocado and juicy strips of roast chicken...a sexy sandwich built to feast on...
Some olives and cheeses
A bottle of Merlot
A block of good chocolate and a bag of crisp, firm apples (they are, after all, the fruit of seduction)...
You might not have to leave the room all weekend!

THE RIGHT MOOD
Sight: Raindrops on the windows, filtered through the venetian blinds!
Sound: Water gurgling and random tunes playing in the background (check playlist down below)
Smell: Salt air, motel soap cakes and wine on each other's breath
Touch: Naked flesh against cheap sheets
Taste: Fresh, crisp apples in the dim lit afterglow

THE SHOPPING BAG
Food: fresh baguettes/whole wheat bread slices; roast chicken; avocado; pickles; a stick of butter/cheese slices;
olives and hors d'oeuvre what nots; fresh fruit; fruit juice; wine/champagne/whiskey/good chocolate
Goods: bottle opener; napkins; a knife, fork and spoon; glasses; plates; blanket; iPod music and speakers; scrabble board

Now get a foot in the door:
This is your chance to show yourself as spontaneous, carefree and whimsical.
Overplanning this weekend will strip it of it's charm: an escape...
Look at the list, then willfully forget at least two things on it. This will force you to improvise:
Share the toothbrush glass to drink the wine/whiskey/vodka or whatever
Use the shopping bag as a picnic blanket
Use a fork to push the cork into the wine bottle (not my favourite activity)...
Being almost perfect is much more endearing than being absolutely perfect!

Gt your paws on some claws; it's good practise on tearing into flesh...then move onto each other!
Every word used to describe the first meal that you serve someone is an adjective about yourself: light, spicy, colourful and a little foreign is much better than heavy, bland, fatty or dull. Like, say antipasti...avocado...
Which is why this menu is a much better introduction to the wonderful world of 'you' than a hanger steak with good ole mashed potatoes and string beans!

Random Tunes: The Playlist
-----------------------------------------
Love Me Sweet (St Etienne Remix) by Kid Loco

All I Need by Air from the album Moon Safari

Glory Box by Portishead

Angel from Massive Attack’s Mezzanine album

Sweet Jane by Cowboy Junkies (Natural Born Killers' soundtrack)

Song to the Siren from This Mortal Coil’s It'll End in Tears album

Only Us by Peter Gabriel

Stay by Me by Annie Lennox

A Lucky Guy by Rickie Lee Jones

Up in Suzes' Room from Paul Weller’s Heavy Soul album

Just Like Honey by The Jesus & Mary Chain

And No More Shall We Partby Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

We Float from PJ Harvey’s Stories from the Sea

Sunday Morning (Stereo) by The Velvet Underground & Nico

Gett Off by Prince

Some Kinda Love by The Velvet Underground

Ask for Answers from Placebo’s Without You I'm Nothing album

Reservations from Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album

Wild Horses by The Rolling Stones

I Can't Go to Sleep (featuring Isaac Hayes) by Wu-Tang Clan

Total Control by Tina Turner

Sign Your Name by Terence Trent D'Arby

D.M.S.R. by Prince

What Goes Around Comes Around by Lenny Kravitz

Let's Stay Together by Al Green

Why Can't We Live Together by Sade

Fly Me to the Moon from Astrud Gilberto’s Finest Hour album