Southern Bluster

Time to read: 5-7 minutes What do you feel when you watch the video below? This video got over 3 million views on YouTube If you’re like me, the video made you feel very uneasy. There is no doubt in my mind that whoever carried out this campaign had their intentions right. Urinating and defecating in public and on public property is rampant in India. No doubt, it is a major public hygiene issue and one that needs to be addressed. However, is vigilante justice and such a dramatic one at that the answer? To me, it seems almost Batman-esque and gothic in the extreme. Everything about the contents of the video says something: The fact that the men who wield the water cannon wear masks not only says they do not wish to be identified, it also shows they understand that they are executing a form of justice that is not civic-minded and therefore operating outside the law. Off the top of my head, here are some questions to ponder: What could have been done differently? Shouldn...

Late in May 2016, Chinese company Shenzhen Hashi showcased a working scale model of the 3D Express Bus concept, also known as (straddling bus, straddle bus, land airbus or tunnel bus) or Transit Explore Bus (TEB) at the 13th Beijing International High-tech Expo. The idea seems simple enough. It’s ingenuity is in that existing city infrastructure does not need to be extensively remodeled to implement this interesting Mass/ Bus Rapid Transit System (MRTS/ BRTS) concept. INGENIOUS: Vehicles under 2 meters height will be able to drive under and through the bus RISING ABOVE: People will get on and off at elevated metro-style stations The concept attracted went viral on social media and attracted international media attention The bus is electrically operated and will draw power both from the grid and photo-voltaic cells installed on the roof. The smallest of them can carry 1,200 people, while the larger ones will carry around 200 people more. That means the TEB could replace...

Value is a myth in India. So would be values, but that is a philosophical question and therefore another argument for another day. Today, we’ll talk about just a couple of bikes and explore just a few possibilities. A popular YouTube channel did a comparo of two bikes: The KTM Duke 390 and Kawasaki Ninja 300. You'll notice the first is not a great looker. In fact, I'll admit it looks like a bright orange grasshopper. The 2016 KTM 390 The 2016 Kawasaki Ninja Z250-R In the video too, the public that was polled always chose the Kawasaki over the KTM. In pretty much every test thrown at it from every value point, the KTM is a winner. It is more powerful, has a better power-to-weight ratio, handles beautifully and has a far better feature set. It has a riding position that is more suited to navigating the massive urban snarls that are India’s roads. It is also priced more competitively. So why does the public chooses the Kawasaki almost every time? They’re going for it...