Some Sizzling Scintillating Speculations

Do you know one of the most common words I've encountered since I came to Baroda(Been a month now..wow)? It is' Jama' (deposit). I don't know whether there really is such a big coin shortage here or whether people just like to keep things jama hoping that the other person will forget that something is owed? Let's see now- people who have told me 'jama' are: - The South Corner larriwalla(He makes stuff as good as or better than the restaurant guys)- kept 5 Rs Jama. - The other(Not the one I sometimes visit during my morning walk) tea stall guy in Fatehgunj(I was too famished for a cuppa that day in the afternoon): 1 Re jama(That was the first and last time I went there, frankly- didn't like the taste) - The dhobi,nee presswalla(Since he only irons clothes): 2 Rs jama Some more enterprising people charge the rounded off figure if they don't have change- for eg, the local papers like Sandesh and Guj Samachar cost Rs 2.25/- and the paper guy deducts 3/- ...

(Random pics from the net) I'm mystified. Travelling on Baroda's roads nowadays, I wonder why people want to honk so much? Even if the road's empty, they still go beep-beep,parp-parp,doggie bow-wow or some shrill noise which irritates the ears. Are they just trying to say 'look, I own a vehicle'? Similarly, if there's a traffic jam, they know that until the first vehicle moves, the ones behind won't be able to. Still, instead of waiting patiently, people from the second vehicle begin honking, creating a cacophony of at least 60 dB. Reminds me sometimes of the animals in Sayaji Park in the morning hours- one feels hungry and lets off a roar, and the rest follow suit, like a 'bhed chaal'(Sheep following the leader) --- Come to think of it, why don't the inventors of PC/video games make one on the traffic of a non-metro city like Baroda? It would be a sure-fire hit. Based on just my experiences in the last one week, we could have: ...

Hi all! I'm in Baroda now. All as planned-reached at 08 AM yesterday. Lots of interesting things observed during the flight and at the airports. More on that shortly. So, hang in there. Will be around your blogs,soon. Need a good broadband service for home. Any suggestions? A service which also provides service after selling it.