Sara had a wonderful time chasing pigeons.

New version of Agneepath released

Today’s the 2nd day after release of the remake of the 90s cult movie Agneepath. The remake has been produced by the same production house which produced the original. Releasing the movie on 26th Jan is a masterstroke on Karan Johar’s part. It gives the movie a long weekend of four days to recover the investment. And going by the Box Office reports his strategy seems to be succeeding. News channels have already started showering praises on the movies commercial success. They say that the Agneepath has done a business of Rs. 23 crores in the first day itself. So it should at least make between 90 to 100 crores in the first weekend itself. In the battle of first day collections. Agneepath is already the most successful movie ever. It has broken the record set by Bodyguard(Salman) in Aug 2011. At that time too they(producers of Bodyguard) had decided to release it on a non-Friday, Eid day to make it a long weekend.

The fact that its a success commercially is beyond doubt. I can say it with confidence because the neighbouhood seller of pirated DVDs is selling the Agneepath DVD for Rs 40 whereas other DVDs are being sold for the normal Rs 30. He never hiked the price earlier and now also the higher price is only for Agneepath’s DVD and not for the other movies.

But whether it really is a good movie or not…the jury is still out.

Some of the critics have hailed the movie, while rest have given an OK rating. But everyone agrees that Sanjay Dutt has acted well. At some places he over shadows the main protagonist. I am looking forward to the movie.

Best way to drive on Pune – Mumbai Expressway
In the past one month I have been driving to Pune every weekend from Mumbai. The drive is of around 165 kms out of which 100 kms is on the Expressway.

The Expressway part can be roughly divided into three parts. Panvel to Khandala, Khandala to Lonavla and then from Lonavla to Pune.

The middle part ( Khandala-Lonavla) is the tricky part which consists of the steep turns on uphill roads.

The first part and the third part of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway which consist of mostly plain roads are easiest. From the safety point of view, you should always drive on the outermost lane. This outer lane which is recommended for heavy vehicles is the safest. Not only because the fast and recklessly moving vehicles are away from your vehicle, also because its somewhat distant from the vehicles moving in the opposite direction. I am saying this based on the actual facts of the accidents that have taken place on the Expressway in the past one year and even earlier. If you do a Google Search for accidents on Expressway then you will see that the vehicles go out of control and shoot over the dividing barrier and then hit the vehicle which is coming in the opposite direction in the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.
Which basically means that if you are in the outer lane of the other side then the probability of your getting hit is less. Particularly on the sharp turns, when the chances of the other vehicles going out of control are more.
The other thing to do on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway is to drive at around 80 km per hour speed. If you go at any speed higher than that you are burning more fuel than its necessary. And you have more chance of a mishap happening in case of any unfortunate accident. From my personal experience I can tell you that you will save only around 15-20 mins out of a total journey of around 4 hours-5 hours. On the flip side, you end up using more fuel and run the risk of losing your life and limb. 20 mins of your time are not worth the risk.

While on the ghats, the best strategy is to be on the inner lanes. The vehicles are mostly moving slowly and the heavy vehicles would have taken up the centre lane. So that leaves the outer lane and the inner lane. I have noticed the professional drivers weave in and out at the ghats. But I would advise against it strongly. Stick to the inner lane and no matter how slow its, it not going to take more then 20 mins to cross. At least it will be safe.

In short, if you follow all the above things then there is a higher probability of your reaching destination safely. These are the best strategies for driving on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. The drive will be smooth and enjoyable.

I have woken up to a glorious morning today. Its 26th January and we celebrate India’s Republic Day today.
One more reason why the day feels great is the fact that I slept really well. Reached Pune after a 5 hour drive and I was practically asleep when I reached home. Slept for a full 8-hours and feeling charged now.

I woke up as the first rays of light hit my eyes. I looked out of the window and its foggy all around. Sun’s out but everything is hazy and glowing.

Its India’s 63rd. Republic Day today. The earliest memories, that I have of the Republic Day is of 1985 when I saw this on TV for the first time. Of course at that time I already knew about it. I knew it as a day when we do a. March Past in school. And as a holiday.

In 1985 I saw the televised show of India’s defence might and the cultural shows. Interestingly, I remember the elders of those days talking about we kids not understanding the importance and value of this National Day. As I grew up, sometime in between I read about India’s struggle for independence and the real significance of this day which we call Republic Day.

But I could never feel the passion and emotion with which my elders talked of Republic Day. And if you ask me, I am worried about the kids who are growing up today. Compared to our generation, todays children have less contact and exposure to history and the genesis of past significant events. For them its just another day. I have seen my grandfather(born in 1910), I am seeing my parents (50s born) and am seeing the kids born in the nineties, who are the youth today.
I sincerely wish that the youth of today should learn and know more about how the current nation of India has been formed. Its much easier today to know about past than it was earlier. We, as elders have a very important role in shaping the youngsters thoughts and perception of our Republic day. We have to influence them not only by our speech and direct actions but also how we behave when we are not being watched.

Thank you for a patient reading.