Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and his bicycle

This years Nobel man, Indian born American working as a senior scientist in Cambridge, Venkatraman Ramakrishnan shares the prize with two others 'for studies on the structure and the function of the ribosome'. He does us proud for several reasons.

Of particular interest to this blog is the fact that he still cycles to work. We are told that his bicycle had a flat on that red letter day the prize was announced and that made him grumpy and doubt the news. We have also read that he is content with his bike and has no immediate plans for a car.

This is off-beat and therefore makes news. The modern day yardstick of success lies in the possession of the latest car, a bunglow with sprawling lawns and if there has to be a bicycle in the picture, its only for gym or pleasure riding.

Ramakrishnan inspite of having smacked in the face of all these is now one of the most successful men on earth!

Bangaluru goes green-with vengeance

Here's a post I received in my mail.
Hi Kallol,
some good news for you.
the wannabes (and old goats like us too) have taken to cycling with a sense of vengeance in bangaluru. probably the only way they can save time waiting for a public transport system that simply doesn't exist or is less seen than the yeti!
there's hope for your breed in Kolkata too. you just got to be patient. how about another 25 years? after all thats what it took the present government to get into it.
Cheers to that!
bishe
Thanks a lot, Bishe. 25 or 52 really doesn't matter. Its fighting for a cause that does. Vengeance or not, keep cycling.

No cycling on Belgachia bridge

Its good news that Belgachia bridge in the north of Calcutta is getting a facelift. The guard rails and walls of elevated walkways are painted in orange, green, B&W zebra lines and perhaps yellow! No reds for sure. I feel bubbly to pedal my way through this riot of colours. And suddenly, a sign catches my eye, the dreaded no-cycling sign. Must have been a brainwave of some KMC boss. Luckily, no one cares a button, not even the police. If and when they do, a cyclist attempting somewhere across will have no options but to walk or to take a route thats at least twice as much.

Sometime in the last couple of years there was an insertion in the newspapers saying all roads under construction should have cycling lanes. For existing roads and flyovers similar provisions have to be made. As far I can remember, it was through a Central Govt. Order, and binding on all city Corporations. Proof that some sanity does exits in India. A copy must have reached our administrators, and by now it must be under piles of such GOs, gathering dust.

By the way, I just discovered a website of Chandigarh traffic police (right now, I am sticking to the Indian context only) where you will find among other things, tips to cyclists. Check it out.

http://www.chandigarhtrafficpolice.org/safety_tips_kids_pedestrian/Kids_school_area_safety_section.php

When I will be visiting Chandigarh in October for some academic stuff I'll have to check out if they really have cycling lanes - as the site claims.

Ofcourse, in the long run all roads will be ours! Only that a few more generations will not live to see that (un)fortunate day.

Though I am neither a Trinamool nor a Maoist, quite a few times I have been nabbed by our smart Kolkata Police. Usually before the festive season - for reasons obvious to all Calcuttans. My offence: cycling downtown. In streets where cycling is prohibited but vehicles belching dense black smoke ply peacefully even today. Why the prohibition for cyclists? There's no sane answer.

They say we slow down the traffic. They say we do not heed traffic signals. They say we are nuisance, dirt! What they won't say is that we city cyclists (a tribe that faces extinction) do not pollute the environment, we keep fit through cycling and during peak hours we can reach our destination faster compared to city buses. What a marvel of an invention - the bicycle.
Its time to question. Why this lopsided policy? Why car industries are booming and cycle industries are facing death? Why modern light weight bicycles are out of reach for perhaps 100% of the city cyclists? Are there more takers for cars than bicycles? Why is the greenest of vehicles banned in important city streets and sparkling flyovers? Why do roads do not have a cyclists' lane? Is it only myopia? Or vested interst at its worst. Or just plain callousness? GOK.
Its high time that we set up something like 'Kolkata City Cyclists' Club'. Some of you might suggest a better name. As soon as we will have 50 members we will get our club registered and celebrate with a party somewhere in Kolkata. We will bring out cycle rallies with our demands. We will be free from all political colours. Someday, I hope, we will have enough voice to move things. To demand cycling lane in each street and flyover. Someday, maybe we will have green lanes - for cyclists only. Together we might live to see that day when we will not be afraid to ask our children to cycle their way to work or school, something we cannot imagine right now in Calcutta. Some day we may see our ministers cycling to Writers Building (though that's an eventuality). And some dream day it may be more prestigious to cycle to the workplace (road conditions, distance and weather permitting, though within a 8 to 10 km radius, believe me, cycling to and fro daily is not at all tiring - I have been doing it for the last 28 years) than 'driving' to work.
Those of you who see sense in this, let us join hands. Irrespective of caste, creed, status and age. Blog in here. All we need is the love for the bicycle. Those who doesn't, drive on till the fuel last.