Ohrenberg Strasse, 5

It was Saturday, the 1st of March 2008 that I landed in Frankfurt Airport at about 9AM. It was cold and windy. I had worked on Friday, had a few drinks on Board, had not slept; I was dead tired. I collected my Baggage and was waiting for the Taxi booked by my Office to pick me up from the Airport to a temporary accommodation in Bad Schönborn, 100 kms to the south of Frankfurt. My 45+ kilos of Baggage made it obvious that I'd come for some good time. Not surprisingly, a fellow colleague who was coincidently waiting for the same Taxi broached up a conversation. He started enquiring whether I've come for good. I, with all pride said I had been transferred from the Indian subsidiary to the German Headquarters. He was a tall, medium built man in his late thirties returning from his Business trip to India. The Taxi arrived in a minute - a VW Touran. The Driver helped me put my Baggage into the Boot and soon we hit the Autobahn. Not to mention, there was a sudden spike in my blood pressure for the Machine was cruising at 200+ km/hr yet rock solid and as clam as crystal. In the meantime, the Colleague in the Car started briefing about his visit and how satisfied he was with the team in India. In less than 45 mins, we were in Bad Schönborn and the Driver said to me that he would first drop the other guy. I nodded and smiled. While the guy got down he bid good bye to me he asked where my accommodation was. I pulled out the print out and read "Ohrenberg Strasse, 5". He said that's only a few cross roads away form his place and handed over his Business card saying I can call him anytime should I need any help. I thanked him and looked at the card - he was a Vice President! There was a second spike in my blood pressure. I said to myself what a down to Earth Gentleman he was! Ok, I was in Germany. Hierarchies didn't really matter as they did in the other side of the World. Next few mins, I was in my temporary accommodation, a nice cozy serviced apartment (Read my Blog Call Easy to know more about the Apartment and the Services it offered)

I freshened up and called back Home; the doorbell rang. It was the Consultant from a Relocation Management Company who was assigned to take care of all legal formalities for my stay in Germany. It was about 1PM then. The Consultant collected all the artifacts he needed and said he needs a Biometric photograph. We came out and wow! It was a BMW 325 that he zipped through the empty streets of Bad Schönborn to a Studio. The photo was done and so was he. While he said, he would drop me back Home and meet on Monday, I asked if he can take me to the Office so that I can collect my rental Car. Without any hesitation, he said he shall and we were soon in the Office. He guided me through the Security office (for he was one of the most frequent visitors to the Office and it was my first visit to the Headquarters) to get the keys of a Red Nissan Micra. It is a tiny lil darling car. I got into the car and oops! Left hand drive. I always boasted of my driving skills and said to myself - big shit. Lemme start cruising. Until then, I always had the impression that the Consultant would drive me back Home - rather I follow him while he drives. I asked him if he could be kind enough to do so but he said there's no need for it, for I cannot miss the way at all. "Just drive straight, take the first exit to the left, then straight again. There's no way you can miss" - he said so and was on his way. I had the third and the hardest spike.

It should have been 2PM, I was tired than ever for I had eaten nothing since the last 12 hours, had not slept for the last 30 hours. To make it worse, it was the fist time I was driving a left hand drive, in a foreign country. I started slowly only to have some Cars behind me dip their head lights. It was 70 and I might have been at 30+ (Though it is not a violation, it is not accepted to drive terribly slower than the speed limit). I had to speed. I religiously took the first exit entering 100 zone. I cruised happily and should have driven about 10 kms. Boom! My subconscious said I have lost the way. I could no more recall any of the landmarks I had seen when I started from Home (first of all I doubt if I had any impressions of the landmark, for I never thought I would be driving back alone). Everything looked brand new. I do not know how many spikes I had until then. My heart was pumping double-time and all I could hear was my heartbeat thumping in my head.
I immediately realized, the Car didn’t have a GPS, I didn't have a phone (I had my phone but it was not yet activated), didn't have a map; I had forgotten the printouts at Home which had the Consultant’s telephone number and the address of the House. All I had was my Wallet which fortunately had some Euros, Indian Drivers License and the Business card of the VP whom I met at the Airport. And yes, I could remember Ohrenberg strasse, Bad Schönborn. Thank God. I could recall something.

Not to take any risks, I pulled over the Car to a parking lot. I wasn’t sure if I could park the Car there as the board read in German. I looked around and not even a single human soul, the place looked deserted. It should have been 3PM and was getting colder and darker. I said to myself - Whatever I should do, I better do it in the next hour or so, for it'll soon get completely dark. I bundled up the left of courage, and started walking in search of my House. I walked into cross roads and tried to recall how my House looked like. (If any of you have been to EU, you know that all Houses look alike). I walked for almost 2 kms, getting into every other cross road. No matches found. I had the worst time of my life as everything looked so similar - the Streets, the Houses. I finally resorted to look for pedestrians and ask for help. Should everything fail, I had one option to call the VP and show off my stupidity and ignorance for having lost the way; for having forgotten the phone # of the consultant and what not.

The first one I approached was a lady who had no clue what I was asking her for she knew only German (well, I couldn't digest this fact as I had thought people would know some English). I was feeling out of place as the people whom I approached bore a feeling of insecurity while I tried to ask them something. It was as if I was intruding their personal space when I walked towards them. It was then a couple of people, fortunately one of them could understand and even speak a bit of English - but she said she had no clue where Ohrenberg Strasse is. It should have been 4:30PM and I was still loitering, looking for people rather approachable people. It started getting darker. I had a couple of Ciggies that my Folks had given me at the Bangalore airport and they were exhausting too. It was cold and had only worn a thin Wind Cheater. The winds cut through my skin and all I could do was to accept the reality - I was lost.

I decided to look for a telephone booth and call the VP - the sole silver lining. How unlucky I was - I couldn't find a single public telephone. I then thought I should get into some Shops which seemed to be open and ask whether I can use their telephone. I wasn't lucky enough. They had the lights On but they were closed. Germany, especially small towns and villages go on nirvana on weekends and weekends start at 2PM on Saturdays.

My mind was void and vacuum. The only option was to ring at some House and ask if I can make a call. I decided to give one last try with the next approachable pedestrian (they were one in 5 mins or so). I saw an old man with a dog who looked pretty relaxed. He was The One. He soon understood that I was lost. He looked for a few other people who can speak English so that they can translate what he wanted to tell me. Fortunately, he found one and they told me that Bad Schönborn is a town that has two small towns. Both belong to Bad Schönborn, one is called Bad Mingolsheim and the other Bad Langenbrücken, both about 4 kms apart. And I was in Bad Langenbrücken which to the best of his knowledge doesn’t have any street by name Ohrenberg Strasse. So, the only option was that street should be in Bad Mingolsheim and I should drive back on the same state highway - B3.

I thanked him in the best of words I knew in English and hurried towards the car. I started driving back - with an Eagle’s eye on the speedometer. I drove 3 kms and slowed down to see of I can recognize anything. Just after a few hundred meters, I saw the board which bore the name “OhrenbergStr”. It was regaining my lost life. It was bliss - eternal satisfaction - nothing less. I took the turn and there stood #5, the House which was my Heavenly abode. It was 5:30PM and was completely dark. All my hunger was gone; I crashed on to my Bed - only to get up at 11AM on Sunday.

Its one year since that day; off late, every Friday night I go to Bad Schönborn to play Pool in a Club, a street away from Ohrenberg Strasse. Every Ball I pot, reminds me of the cold balls I had a year back!

Go green Bengaluru!

It was early this week that I watched the video on Youtube:

It features the MD of SAP Labs Gurgaon who commutes to his Office on his bicycle. I was almost immediately wondering if we can have this Tip in Cities like Bengaluru which boasts of the largest number of two wheelers in the World.

Not any later, I started connecting to the phenomena explained superbly in the book The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. Am sure, his name sounds familiar even to the most amateur of readers (like me). The Tipping Point is an explanation of how trends explode. It offers a great insight into how practices/trends/behaviors/opinions initiated as small time incidents/events suddenly grow exponentially.
One of my own all time favorite example of such a trend is Pubbing! I still remember the time when there were only a handful of Pubs in Bengaluru during my Engineering years (1998 - 2002) and Bengaluru now boasts of the best Pubs in the Country, each one of them horribly crowded all week!

Now, back to my earlier thought on a greener Bengaluru, I hereby present my few cents (largely motivated by The Tipping Point) to Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BMP). I call it the Octcycle programme:

1. Install Bicycle stands. Start with happening hubs like Jayanagar 4th block, Koramangala (Near JNC), Malleshwaram (Sampige Rd), Forum, Garuda Mall
   It can come with a nominal parking fee and a security service can be called for as well
2. Install trendy hoardings in all such places, giving room for Bicycle shops to advertise as well
3. Broaden a bare minimum of the footpaths and make way for the Cyclists
4. Penalize Motorists for exhibiting their exemplary skills of driving on footpaths
5. Organize Bicycle marathons. Call for an event management company and let it do the rest. Am sure many Institutions will come forward to sponsor the event
6. Let it roll through City fests like Bengalura Habba (or is it still called Bangalore Habba?)
7. Get the RJs and VJs talk about Bicycles in their Programs. Get the FM channels feature public figures using Bicycles (at least for short distances) as their mode of transport
8. Get the happening pubs in/around these hubs to offer free Beers for the lucky Bicycle winner of the weekend

All the above if done even with a bare minimum of diligence can - not only improve the traffic situation in Bengaluru but also churn a bit of revenue to your kitties. So, this is yet another opportunity for you guyz to ascertain your existence!