K!

Of all the letters in the dictionary, I love the letter ‘K’. It symbolizes the world to me. My name starts with the initial for starters. My first girlfriend shared the same letter. My school starts with the letter ‘K’. Infact, there are a few social circles that insist on calling me the exact same.

I don’t find that demeaning at all. As a matter of fact, I think of it as cool. Because there are a lot of important aspects of history that have been associated with the letter ‘K’.

K2- the second-highest mountain on earth with a peak elevation of 8,611 metres

KGB- the name of the umbrella organization serving as the Soviet Union's premier security agency, secret police, and intelligence agency, from 1954 to 1991.

K9- the popular abbreviation and homophone of canine.

KKK- the name of several past and present secret domestic militant organizations in the United States.

K-Mart- my favourite store in the whole world

And there’s a new ‘K’ that’s doing the social rounds. It’s apparently bigger, better and a serious competition to the existing K-associations.

K12- the new definition engine with 85 PS power, 113 NM torque and an engine capacity of 1197cc. It’s got technologies Adopted for Engine Light Weight, Friction Decrease, and Power Performance Improvement with internationally matched emission standards.

And apparently, the new K12 engine is fitted in the Maruti Ritz, a car to be launched by next month in India.

I am going to purchase that car. After all, I do not want to break the jinx of not being associated with my favourite letter.

Don’t repeat the past

One look at Indian television and my insides want to spill out. Everything is nothing but a rehash of some good work that was done decades ago. An absolute copy of an old idea put into fresh light owing to the numerous technological advances made in editing, post-production and the actual shoot itself.

Where is the new perspective? Where is the creative leap? Why are we saying and repeating the same ol’ aunt agony tales over and over again? I’ve come to realize that every idea is nothing but a successor of the former.

It’s creative laziness I tell you. To continue on a great line of thought that has been established in advance. And everyone is at it. The advertisers, the media, journalists, television series and cinema etc

I am yet to see something that is remarkably new to the eye. Hope lies in the launching of the Maruti Ritz in May though. From what I hear, The Ritz is completely different from anything done by Maruti before. I’m talking about the new K-12 engine, the roominess, compactness, modern design, aerodynamics, quality, driveability, performance and environmental friendliness. It doesn’t borrow good work done in the past, but is geared to set the benchmark for the future. Because more than car, I expect it to be a concept.

Safe and Sound

I was driving down the highway way past mid-night, as I usually do, when I was struck with yet another horrific sight. I say ‘yet another’ mainly due to the familiarity by which it occurs. A mid-sized car was stationed at the side of the road with every possible part of it tattered badly out of shape.

The legal nature of the incident was a road accident and its consequence, fatal. The headlights of the car nearly met each other with the bonnet symmetrically bent at the centre. The glass on the windshield was quite obviously not on it. The occupant’s compartment was heavily pressed which meant that the impact was not head on. Whether or not there were any passengers or survivors I’d never know. Probably the spectators might have a better clue.

But it really worries me. The sight of these accidents. And the afterthought of how it might have panned out. It was probably not the drivers fault. But he shouldn’t be faulted with a car that isn’t crashworthy. We need safer cars, or rather smarter cars. Like the one being dished out by the name of Ritz in the month of May. It incorporates a collapsible steering column in case of an unavoidable collision, an electronic stability program amongst a host other of safety technologies. In all honestly, it would have probably been able to save that drivers life and granted me some sound sleep.

Going green?

Global Warming! That's the buzzword of the twenty-first century. Turn off your ignition. Turn off the air-conditioner. Turn-off the lights. Save electricity. Save the planet. Save ourselves.

Every individual is now faced with a moral dilemma on how to save the earth from heating up.There is a certain sense of social responsibility that emerges everytime the word is mentioned. Heck! the other day my mom tried to salvage the temperature in Guatemala by shutting down all electrical appliances in the house. But there was no news of it. Next time she might want to try the neighbours and get the entire building involved.

But these are trivial attempts. Individuals do not hold the key to saving the earth. The corporations do. The big multinationals with gigantic industrial plants. The head honchos of the capital world who need the resources to fuel up an engine, or start up an air-conditioner or control the conditions within a refrigerator.

My personal request to these companies is adopt the green leaf. To set standards for themselves and the rest of the world to follow. And it's not like it cannot be achieved. Hindustan lever, Reliance & Maruti are amongst the few Indian companies that have shown the world how to make a profit out of a 'green business'. Change policies, adapt new ones and get rid of the old. This is my personal request to all companies. Please do whatever it takes to make sure that the air in my house gets conditioned. I think Maruti RITZ would be a step towards this – so, I have decided this this is the car I want to buy

My date, my car

After watching movies like 'The Fast & The Furious' and 'Gone in 60 seconds' (yeah...i'm the high adrenaline guzzling, action in your face kinda guy) I've come to very profound an well-articulated insight- "Driving a car is similar to taking a girl out on a date"

(a) Some are affordable, while others burn a hole in your pocket.
(b) Some can be steered easily, while others need to be worked upon.
(c) Some look flashy from the outside, but a poor reflection inside.
(d) Some get to your destination, while some others always take a detour.
(e) Some prefer safety, others style.
(f) The test drive is only a part of the bigger chase.
(g) Speed has both- advantages and its downfalls.
(h) Never ever check out a bigger and better car in front of our own.
(i) Long drives can either get you the best possible view or an empty tank.

And last but not the least-

(j) Always book your date in advance.

I'm not the biggest player in the market, but I can say that I've had quite a few dates. Some have been an enjoyable experience while others have done nothing but burnt rubber. I'm tired of these short drives though and am actually on the lookout for the journey that lasts. My next date- The Ritz. ;)

Times are-a-changing

How times have changed! And it's not like I'm a 60 yr old citizen who's been through the trials of pre-independence and reviewing the country in its aftermath. I'm a 25 year old guy. Nonetheless, within this seriously short span of time, things have changed drastically.

But more than the "things", it's the 'mindset'. The primary source behind the alteration of all the "things" that we possess. To further exemplify the above mentioned with an analogy, it's akin to the times during college when having a cell-phone was a huge phenomenon. You were deemed to be the 'coolest' thing that walked in the college foyer (that's if you were smart enough to display the phone while walking). You could be contacted anywhere and anytime. Wow! what a privilege.

But things changed. Or the mindset did. Suddenly, just having a cell-phone wasn't as cool anymore. It needed to be trendy. It needed to sport a colorific display to woo the eyes of its beholder. A polyphonic ringtone added the extra charm. And if were you rich enough, drawing out a stylus made you feel like King Arthur removing his sword from the tomb.

This mindset that I keep referring to is, however, restricted pretty much to the younger generation. There seems to be a 'content quotient' involved with the elderly and the "things that they possess. They seem to be pretty happy living life without any updates or in want of a change to their "things". My dad, who is btw all of 60, still possesses his Maruti 800. He drove us in it. He drove the world with it. The times changed. The lanes did. The vehicles that whizzed past him did change as well. But he was contended.

As for me, I'm part of generation-Y. The young at mind. A mind that longs to be a part of what's cool. I'm going for the Ritz. With flashy interiors, this power steering compact car has a 1300 cc diesel engine with 4 cylinders delevering 75 ps power, a console mounted gear shifter and fantasy tail lights to boot. In short, it's the upgrade in mindset that one is looking for. Coolness, here I come

My Car & the space...

Space these days has become a rare commodity and traffic jams a way oflife. India’s recent economic growth has resulted in massive increaseof number of private vehicles on the roads overwhelming the traffic.Besides poorly constructed roads and their inherent nature of causingcongestion makes even parking a hassle. Moments like these can makeany ordinary person excessively stressed however trivial the matter isin comparison to other aspect of his life.With simple logic applied there is solution to anything in this world.Compact is the key word. A car is necessity but we can choose itssize. And by choosing a smaller car we chose a faster way of moving onthe crowded high ways and busy streets.. We can choose to park withoutany animated discussion with the neighboring cars owner. A smaller carmeans occupying lesser space stationary or in movement... Which alsomeans it can slip easily into sleepy lanes exploring short cuts andlets face it... its looks far more attractive and tart looking.

Buying a car also requires reserach....

I got down to some serious research for arriving on a decision. Damn I didn’t realize there was so much of similarity. But anyway, here goes…

The i20 D-Lite, by Hyundai consists of this

Engine Displacement – 1086 cc
Power - 67 PS @ 5500 rpm
Torque- 99 Nm @ 2800 rpm
No of Cylinders (cylinder)- 4
Valves per Cylinder (value)- 3

The Ritz Zxi, by Maruti Suzuki consists of this

Engine Displacement- 998cc, 3 Cyl, KB Series
Power- 67 Bhp @ 6000 rpm
Torque- 90 Nm @ 4800 rpm

In addition, the Ritz has a boot space of 1150 ltrs, MacPherson strut coil spring, Torsion Beam

Hmm, this baby sounds like quite a dish. Each time I actually look at it and read about it, I feel like taking it for a test drive. News is, it is going to be out on the 7th of next month! So I am hangin’ in there!