Go Mumbai smartcards - which way is it "Go"ing

"Go Mumbai smart card - go anywhere in mumbai and travel smart" read the punch line of the one page leaflet that the employees of kaizen systems were aggressively distributing at Kurla station. And where it said that, there was a rubber stamp impression that said. "for central line only".

I have been a user of the GO Mumbai smart cards, sourced by Kaizen Systems, which has been around for sometime for BEST buses. It has been I have been using the card to purchase my monthly pass for the coveted BRTS service which use the chinese chariots (read purple king long buses) and occassional red hot boxes (read the old AC buses).

A few back the same card extended its service to train ticket bookings. Much to the confusion of the commuter, the card even today is operational only on central railway. The arrangement is taking its own sweet time on western railway due to god-knows-what reason. Commuters wanting to travel from say mulund to churchgate can use the smart card for their journey only halfway till Dadar, which defeats the purpose of using the card.

What i fail to understand is when we boast of hi-tech systems that cut queues and save time, why can't we have smooth and simultaneous implementation across the Railways? Is central and western Railway not a part of the same Indian Railways or are they as separate as Indian and Pakistani railways?

Unless we answer this question, we would just be a bundle of cards with a different machine at every station to pay with.

Patti, Patni aur Woh (foreign body):

Patti, Patni aur Woh (foreign body):
Two days before my anniversary, my right eye which usually nags a lot, started watering profusely. I thought it was the usual one-eyed computer vision syndrome which my doctor had named the symptom as, after running out of his clinical logic. But this time around the deluge of tears wouldn't stop even after shedding about a litre of tears.

I was forced to retire hurt from my workplace that day where my colleagues avoided my stares thinking it was contagious conjuctivitis. The usual doubts were raised by my peers - "who did you wink at in France? Maybe she is remembering you". I began to wonder, I had stared at so many pretty damsels as i walked through the beautiful country, who would recall me so painfully?

The next day i was on the opthalmologist's table, served for breakfast. "Its the same old right eye, doc" I remarked. "But not the same ailment this time" said the doc who was operating on my right eye for the third time. The first time, it was a sty, second was some particle and now.... "A foreign body appears to have scratched your cornea and fallen off. Did you scratch too hard?" said doc.

I was itching to ask.. "Was the foreign body french?". But before i could even think of that. My eye was medicated and bandaged, and i was left with "Patti (bandage), Patni (my wife counting down our anniversary) and Woh (the foreign body whoever she was)

Monsieur Nagoiseur's Tour de france

June 4 - 14 2008.. Would spell a nice ten days at france, my first ever trip to the west. Not the first foreign trip though. My first one was Nepal, and then Thailand.

I will be attending a conference hosted at a place south of the historical city of Normandy. The place where i will be staying is built upon a heritage structure where once a castle stood. The venue is a distant place, 160 Kms from Paris, a smooth blend of heritage legacy equipped with technology - high speed wireless broadband, i am told.