Six months of using public bus for daily commute

It has been just over six months since I started using the BMTC Vayu Vajra(bias/bial/bia) buses for my daily commute to office. I was car pooling with a colleague before that and when he moved company I decided to give the BMTC Vayu Vajra bus a try and so far been a great experience. There are some very good things apart from the very obvious benifits of using public transport.

Staying enroute to the airport has helped me as the BMTC Vayu Vajra which is the airport shuttle, picks passengers for other stops enroute, this has made my commute very convenient. I used the BMTC  website to get the details of the buses and to figure out the bus that would best suite my needs.

One of the best things that has happened to me because of using public transport is the amount of walking that I get to do. I walk aroundn 3kms every day on an average, while covering the last mile to home and to office. This has helped me lose weight and get back into shape. Moreover I picked up a new hobby of collecting seeds of trees in bangalore and plantimg them. Most of these seeds were collected while walking as part of my commute. I have so far planted around 8 saplings in my balcony and have also gifted some seeds and saplings to friends and relatives. I now observe trees around me more keenly than I ever did. Am able to identify quite a few trees and their seeds. On that note here is a very good reference for the flowering trees in Bangalore.

The other good thing has been my reading. I have read lots of books in this past six months, thanks to the time that i get on the bus. The 40 min ride each way gives me around an hour and half of reading time each day, which is quite good. I have got so used to reading on the bus that I start feeling very itchy if I do not have anything to read while on the bus. So, I now carry atleast two books with me all the time in my bag.

Another very good experience has been meeting nice and interesting people. More often than not I run into very interesting people in the bus. I end up having good conversations and making friends. Very recently I met a part time wildife photohrapher, who was on his way to Kabini from Mumbai. Had a nice time talking to him and getting to see his photography equipment.

I would encourage everyone to see if they can find a good connecting bus from their workplace to home and atleast try using the public transport. Even if you can do it once a week, it will be a good experience. Here are some resources which can help you plan your travel.

1. BMTC Website
2. BTIS Website
3. Route Finder

And how could I have missed mentioning that most of this blog post was composed on my bus ride to office today morning.

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2009 to 2010

2009 has been an eventful and hectic year. Well most of the high points of the year were related to Gargi and her growing up. We celebrated her first birthday in April and had a good time. She learnt to walk on her own and also has now started speaking a few things. Already has developed a taste for things, chooses the clothes she would wear and even the food she would eat. A good experience over all.

We got the chance to take a few breaks from the daily routine. Summer break of around days in May, when we went to my parents place (Karnal) was a nice, and we spent quality time with parents and my sister’s family. The trip to BR Hills with office friends was a lot of fun. Trip to Hyderabad in Oct got a bit extended by the rain gods, when train and bus routes got submerged owing to the heavy rains lashing southern india. Then there was also a trip to Pune, Shirdi and Mumbai. Pune, to meet our friends Atul and Dipti and their cute son Aaroh. Mumbai, to meet my maternal family in Mumbai, which was pending for a long time.

I also took a two week break from work to exhaust my pending leaves in the last two weeks, to spend some more time at home with Jayashree and Gargi. We also did a short trip to Mysore in the past week to meet Jayashree’s cousin Rajesh, and also took the chance to visit Bylakuppe.

On the work front the year was fairly ordinary. However, Jayashree got back to work after an year and half break. And started off on her own. Which was quite exciting for her and also for me. We also did discuss a lot of our own ideas and also worked on a few of them to put down on paper. Maybe on of these days, we will get back to implementing one of them. I met a lot of very nice and interesting people at the OCC, StartupSaturday, NASSCOMPC and other events and had a good time learning about the happenings in the startup space in Bangalore.

Started contributing more time to my social commitment DYPC. And am hoping that in 2010 we will be able to take DYPC to the next level.

I got introduced to twitter and now tweet almost on a regular basis. Read more books this year than 2008. Blogged more often than 2008. Watched more movies than I did in 2008.

And hope that I will be able to do more in 2010 than what I did in 2009. 2010 promises to be a year of making more decisions and playing a more active role. There are already quite a few challenges lined up and I am looking forward to them.

2010 starts with the ACM Bangalore Compute 2010 and Quiz 2010 events.

Happy New Year 2010 to all !

busy busy..

I have been very busy over the past few weeks and the next few also do not look any better. And all my promises of blogging regularly are falling apart. Well this time around I think I am a little more determined and will make sure I atleast put up a post every week. Even if it is just a regular update from me..

So, what all has been keeping me busy..

– lot of work at office ofcourse.

– Gargi at home 🙂 Talking of Gargi, Her b’day is fast approaching and we need to make arrangements for a big party. It has been quite a while since we did any kind of a get together. So, this is a good opportunity to have lots and lots of friends to come together and have lots of fun. More on the plans later.

Apart from this, me and Jayashree have been having a lot of brain storming sessions about her work. She has been making good progress.

I have not been to any of the events in the past couple of months, no OCC meets, neither the BCB8. Hope I will be able to make it to the next OCC meet atleast.

long time..

It has been a long time since I updated my blog. So, before it starts looking like another failed attempt at blogging, I have decided to revive the blog. So, a few interesting posts are coming soon. Well soon meaning very soon.

Hello

This is another attempt to get regular at blogging. Hope this time around I will be much more regular than I have been on the previous occasions. More.. in the coming days.