After Heavy Rains yesterday,the weather has been kinder this Sunday and rather lovely too with the sun playing hide and seek in an overcast sky…I’m enjoying it
Just the right prescription to help relax after a long Geography Revison Session with my daughter..She’s in the Eight and her First Comprehensives begin tomorrow….Did you know that the Horse Latitudes,between 30 degrees and 35 degrees north and south of the Equator, were so called because Horses were actually thrown overboard into the Sea by Sailors sailing from Spain to the Americas….. to lighten weight and also, it is said, to preserve scarce drinking water…..as this area was pretty windless,drinking water was a precious resource…so when this resource got scarce, as ships were often stalled because of lack of Wind,horses were sacrificed….and Trade Winds are so named,not because of any ‘Trade’ as in ‘Commerce’,but because they are derived from the Saxon word ‘Treadon’ which means to blow tread or blow steadily and constantly….and every 166 meters you go up in altitude,the temperature decreases by 1 degree Celcius !
Then my Wife and my unshaven (It’s a Sunday !) self just disappeared in the afternoon to spend some quality time together..we had planned the Club
But instead, initially, diverted to travel the new Bandra Worli Sea Link…It’s free till midnight today…Then there’s a toll of Rs 50 one way for Cars…Took the Worli to Bandra Route…Enroute,resisted temptation to pick up the famous Worli ‘Vada pav’ ….We just love it….. Took us Ten minutes on Worli Sea Face to reach the Bridge and then under Ten minutes to cross 4.6 kms of it,travelling below 50km/hr…then got stuck at the Bandra Exit…instead of taking the Reclamation Road or even the Airport Road,we joined Heavy Traffic towards SV Road…took us half an hour to take a U-Turn at Bandra and come back towards Mahim Causeway…From there it took us just 15 minutes to reach Worli by the normal route and not by the new sea link route…but then today was a Sunday and it was an afternoon and we had all been warned of heavy rains again today…so many may have just stayed at home after yesterdays chaos…True Test of Traffic snarls will only be revealed in the coming week when you’ll have to pay to travel the Sea Link
I particularly did not enjoy the sea link as much as I had hoped to…reason was that despite the lovely weather, I never really felt the sea breeze hit me,nor could I see the Open Sea clearly as I drove…the safety barriers came in the way…I’m not really a regular traveller on this route so I’m not the right person to ask whether I will use this Sea Link often or as first choice.It probably is a time saver for those who encounter the Mahim Traffic Congestion,more than the signals at Shivaji Park and Prabhadevi…but the Rs 75 round trip toll may be a deterrent…and yes,our Friends who stay on the Worli Seaface are already complaining of Sound Pollution till late at night
Then the Club…settled down in the Verandah for some strong mint tea while the drizzle kissed the golf greens…Really the best Drug to soothe one’s senses…just trash those doctors pills and go get some Fresh Air by the Sea or, if you can find any in Mumbai,amidst some Heavy Greens !…the hours just strolled by and before we realised,it was 6 pm…we had to leave to begin our TV addiction for the night !
The Evening has been reserved for viewing the recording of the Tenth IIFA Awards from Macau on Star Plus…..Catching Federer try for a record 15th Grand Slam Win when he takes on Roddick in the Wimbledon Finals…and cheering India (already ahead 2-1) in their aim to wrap up the ODI Cricket Series against West Indies
Tomorrow,first the Dentist…so I’m able to sink my teeth sharply into the Union Budget that will follow
Cheers !