Motorcycling in India

[sharkfin25]

Ok, a search of the board revealed that many people are from or have been to India. I have been in Bangalore for the past 2 weeks and wanted to share a few things:

Traffic

I know you have all seen videos on youtube, Google, etc. about the traffic in India, but you really have to see it to believe it. It's unreal, all the time. And there are 1000's of motorcycles and scooters on the road, along with autorickshaw's.





I would never attempt to drive a car here, much less a motorcycle. The rules of the road are, there are no rules. Except that the biggest vehicle always has the right of way. 

They have a helmet law here, at least in Bangalore, but only the driver is required to wear a helmet. So you will frequently see 2 or more people on a bike, with only the driver wearing a helmet. The most people I have seen on 1 bike is 5, but I didn't have the camera with me.


Here's some of the traffic:




And a local business. Some of my co-workers found it funny, I'm not sure why 





But, the best thing about Bangalore is the gas is inflammable! In fact, they use this stuff to put out fires! 

[The Buddha]

Inflammable is the right word for something that can be set on fire.
Flameable is the Dubya version.
Cool.
Srinath.

[brett]

Inflammable means flammable? What a country!

[sharkfin25]

Inflammable is the right word for something that can be set on fire.
Flameable is the Dubya version.
Cool.
Srinath.

Absolutely right. Inflammable and flammable mean the same thing. Flammable just became more popular because it was thought that "in" might be considered a negative prefix and thus people might think it meant non-combustible.

But you're right, it is absolutely correct.

[Susuki_Jah]

5 results for: inflammable
View results from: Dictionary | Thesaurus | Encyclopedia | All Reference | the Web

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source
in·flam·ma·ble      [in-flam-uh-buhl] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective
1.   capable of being set on fire; combustible; flammable.
2.   easily aroused or excited, as to passion or anger; irascible: an inflammable disposition.
–noun
3.   something inflammable.
[Origin: 1595–1605; < ML inflamm?bilis, equiv. to L inflamm?(re) to inflame + -bilis -ble]

—Related forms
in·flam·ma·bil·i·ty, in·flam·ma·ble·ness, noun
in·flam·ma·bly, adverb

—Synonyms 2. fiery, volatile, choleric.
—Usage note Inflammable and flammable both mean "combustible." Inflammable is the older by about 200 years. Flammable now has certain technical uses, particularly as a warning on vehicles carrying combustible materials, because of a belief that some might interpret the intensive prefix in- of inflammable as a negative prefix and thus think the word means "noncombustible." Inflammable is the word more usually used in nontechnical and figurative contexts: The speaker ignited the inflammable emotions of the crowd.


you know india still produces vehicles that used to be built in the US in the  30's and 40's US patens were sold to companies there and are build I have a whole photo documentary on india. pretty cool in its own right. thanks for sharing.

[The Buddha]

Like the bullet - but with mikuni carbs and an electronic ignition.
Like the Nash, the Rover 2000 etc ...
Or street legal 2 strokes that dont need to be rebuilt every 10 hours.
Cool.
Srinath.

[Stephen072774]

Inflammable means flammable? What a country!

HI Everybody!

[The Buddha]

One of the problems that India has ... weirdly is the exact opposite of the problem facing most of the underdeveloped world.
It is that it has too much freedom. Literally, no law, cops are corrupt or lazy, govt is a entity all on to itself people dont pay any heed to it. Heck there are no traffic laws, no laws of any kind. Its somehow running along on conscience and morals. Its entirely word of mouth.
India had no infrastructure till the 50's so to speak. We already were at 700 million people and were living in the stone age. Or more like the 1800's. Infrastructure was sorta added on ... its completely a very haphazard way of life. probably one reason I am very functional in total chaos (anyone that has seen my garage or house would probably go, how does he function).
Anyway, enjoy ... and we prolly didn't "buy" any patents, we prolly copied it and since these are all done and dusted in 17 years when patents expire, we are running along, sorta like Brazil and VW.
Cool.
Srinath.

[sharkfin25]

One of the problems that India has ... weirdly is the exact opposite of the problem facing most of the underdeveloped world.
It is that it has too much freedom. Literally, no law, cops are corrupt or lazy, govt is a entity all on to itself people dont pay any heed to it. Heck there are no traffic laws, no laws of any kind. Its somehow running along on conscience and morals. Its entirely word of mouth.
India had no infrastructure till the 50's so to speak. We already were at 700 million people and were living in the stone age. Or more like the 1800's. Infrastructure was sorta added on ... its completely a very haphazard way of life. probably one reason I am very functional in total chaos (anyone that has seen my garage or house would probably go, how does he function).
Anyway, enjoy ... and we prolly didn't "buy" any patents, we prolly copied it and since these are all done and dusted in 17 years when patents expire, we are running along, sorta like Brazil and VW.
Cool.
Srinath.

This is my second trip to India and I enjoy it. Working with the Indian people has been a pleasure for me. They are some of the most intelligent and hard working people I have ever met. In fact, in my line of work, I would guarantee you that employees at our Indian operations know more about our business than employees stateside.

I just wanted to clairfy that my post was in no way intended to make fun of or put down India. I have the utmost respect for the people here. I just find some of the little differences funny. 

[The Buddha]

I know ... I didn't take it as a put down. India of yesterday is so far different from the India that is probably going to come in a few years.
We believed in learning everything about everything at work, and in the old days people went to work for a company and worked there till they died. They were simply the most experienced and the sharpest at what they did. They usually progressed learning more general aspects around what they started out doing. Since we never retired or threw away anything (including used wine bags ...  ) that idea worked great.
The 90's and 00's brought the american attitude to India, work on this, a few years and you can run off to somehting better, or you'd get laid off and you can then figure out somehting else. As in, work you did today, you'd never again ever see or be held accountable for it. More than likely, it will get tossed away due to no reason.
Guess what, we are adapting to do as americans do. Horrible horrible practice. Take the path of least resistance and slap it together knowing that it will never come back to bite you.
American companies dont quite know that the attitude they are creating is going to come back and bite them very very soon. They see it as it is, and that is what they think its going to be, not realising they are killing that same attitude.
Anyway I just hope that it reverses soon and I am doing my best to show the world how.
Cool.
Srinath.