The 'Dhoom' Bike !

Now, I don't know how many of you have seen Dhoom. And If you saw Dhoom after seeing Torque ... well, you would have been crying (or laughing - depending on how you take it) all throughout the movie at how the bikes were mistreated by going at 80 or so and being told later on "Mein 220 pe tha. Woh to 300 pe ja raha hoga!" .

Well, the good thing is that it has made people sit up and notice bikes. Though they still have no idea about what these bikes and speeds mean... How can someone stand up at 220kmph is beyond me. I have been at 210kmph and it was tough to keep your head from shaking, even though I was
tucked behind the guy riding the CBR1100xx. Guess If I was also Abhishek bacchann ... naaah ! i would probably be taking some twisties under the rubbers ;)

The flip side now...
The 'so called' hero's bike is a yellow bike. And since I own a yellow zma, which can be seen from a mile away, all the kids think any yellow zma is the yellow bike in Dhoom. So - suddenly, after hitting Pune roads again after 3 months, I got a few shocks.

At the bridge near sancheti hostpital I stopped at the Signal. The beggar kids - who usually are begging by trying to 'clean' your bike with a really dirty rag, started to argue with me. He says - this is a dhoom bike. After being zapped for a few seconds, I say, no the Dhoom bike is bigger than this . Unfortunately, he would have no such thing - "nahi. yeh he dhoom wali bike hai' !!!!

And other such reports are pouring in from other parts of the city.
Another friend says that his bike is being called Ali's bike !!!

Another kid in my society cycles over to my bike in the evening and says - Karizmaaaaa !!! ( he actually said karizma and not karishma! ) . Man i was impressed. So started talking to him ( 5-6 yrs old kid). "Do you want to ride the bike?" . "Yes". "But it is too big for you". "So what.
I will remove the wheels - put my cycle wheels. knock of the silencer. and put pedals". Oh boy - kids today are too smart ;) . Managed to fend of the impending *doom* of my bike by agreeing not to sell it off but give it to him when he grows up ! Phew ! That was a close one ;)

Hillarious !!!

Then and Now (NatGeo)

National Geographic has a photo feature on then and now. The pics taken as early as 1930 and compared with the pics taken now of the same places. You can access it at the link :

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler/0501/photo_gallery.html