A must-see Historical place in Shimla

Last year, when I was in Shimla: It was raining and foggy around 4 PM, as I hurried up to the prestigious institute, well renowned for its historical importance & architectural splendor. I was told that the institute was a place that I should not miss, and truly it was! 

Indian institute of Advanced Study - IIAS - an institute for postdoctoral studies in areas of arts & humanities - is housed in this prestigious building that resembles a palace. The building originally built in 1888, was meant to be a summer palace for the Viceroys of India. After independence, it became the summer rest house for Indian president, but Dr. S Radhakrishnan the then President of India, decided to convert it into an academic institution for higher studies. Now residential post-doctoral courses are run here. 

Few of the notable things, that captured my interests were: 

• Clock - Old manual winding clock that still runs today and shows the Full Moon and New Moon
• Roof - Made of Walnut wood  
• Switches - German make and still functioning!
• Piano - keys made out of elephant tusk
• Electrification - First electrified building in Shimla in 1888 and that too with concealed wiring!
• Chandelier - Belgian make 
• Table - Pandit Nehru and Mountbatten signed an agreement for partitioning of India and the table was partitioned to signify it 
• Doors - Burma teak unpolished & unpainted
• Library - Originally a Ballroom 
• Simla Conference - Hindu Muslim conference organized in 1945
• Fire Sensors - Wax on water pipes that will melt automatically on heat
• Entrance - Wood paneled like the best Scottish houses, with fireplace for the winter months

IIAS - As I saw it - that day, that time

Smart Medians or Dividers for a Smart City?

Medians or Dividers on the road serve as an excellent tool for enforcing lane discipline and probably as a good regulator for managing the traffic. However at times, it may be a cause for an increase in traffic jams, especially on one side of the median. 

I had earlier proposed the idea of Shiftable medians (in 2011) - a sort of Dynamic Medians on the road instead of the fixed ones. The advantages are given below:

• During Peak hours, traffic is generally expected to flow in one direction. At such times, when the roads are narrow, the median will be a bigger hindrance, and in such instances, if more lanes (say 3) are allowed for the peak traffic to flow instead of existing (say 2) lanes, it will ease the flow of traffic
• For emergency vehicles, such as Ambulance, a separate lane can be facilitated, if the median can be shifted to one corner of the road 
• A median can be removed during holidays or off-hours to simply allow crowds or gatherings to pass through - on a positive note think of a Marathon or Walkathon 
• A median can be made leaner or fatter based on the need, though such a use case scenario would then be exploited for advertisement hoardings

Given that Smart City initiatives are under progress in several countries including India, it makes sense to have Shift-able medians or smart medians as it has the advantages outlined above. 

Taking it a step further, the smart medians of course would require management, which could be initially done by humans, but later managed through intelligent systems that takes several inputs including the traffic conditions, timing, traffic flow at traffic signals etc... 

Update: September 2015: Found Shiftable median concept being already used in SanFanscico Golden Gate, in January 2015, called as Moveable Median, as given below, wherein a Zipper truck is being used for shifting the median. 

Los Angeles and London

I got an opportunity to visit both these places in a short trip, and this being my first trip to both these places, here are my experiences.

First about LA (that's how people call Los Angeles), the second largest city in US, one of the biggest cities in the world with about 1302 Sq. kms, and being part of the State of California (that was ceded to US from Mexico in 1848).  LA is famous for arts, and it's no surprise that Hollywood is in LA!

I used the local transport extensively. Here they refer to both buses and trains as 'Metro', and like any big city, all are integrated, and you can use the same card (called as TAP card) for payment.Buses are merged with vestibule during weekdays.  Exit are primarily through rear side only except for handicapped. As you enter you tap the prepaid TAP card or pay the amount to the driver. If you want to get down, there is a cable to pull an electronic bell or alarm and the driver stops in the next stop. This is to inform the driver that you will be getting down in the next stop. Security Cameras are installed in buses. All buses are air-conditioned. 

You pay a standard fare of 1.75$ for a ride - that means irrespective of where you get down you pay the same amount. There are daily, monthly passes and also senior citizen passes. For physically challenged and for people in wheelchair, the driver will convert the stairs to a ramp and this is there in all buses. There is a GPS based announcement system inside the bus that announces the next stop name. If you are using a bicycle you can load it in front of the bus (outside of the bus) and then board the bus. Petrol is called as gas and measured and priced in gallons. Gas stations operate on self serving mode - you have to swipe your credit card and fill it yourselves and receipt will be generated.

I managed to visit Griffith Observatory, and Natural History Museum, truly remarkable places. I should stay I was really excited to see a place like Griffith Observatory. Though entry is absolutely free, I bought a ticket for the Planetarium show for 7 US Dollars, and definitely worth every bit of it. I went around the observatory clicking pictures, and also went saw the telescope that was seen by Griffith, and was shown a star - Neveda, and then watched the Foucault pendulum experiment trying to prove that the earth is rotating, and that only few places in this earth can be used to conduct such an experiment. There is also a small souvenir shop in this place. 

Natural History Museum was located opposite to University of Southern California. An entry fee of 12$ is charged, but definitely worth it. Lot of mammal replicas were displayed in a very neat and stunningly look-real setup. Skeleton structures of Dinosaurs and history of man were also on display. Bird replicas really reflect a sanctuary setup. More importantly, they also have paleontologists working on real fossils and their work is also displayed for visitors to see. This will serve as a huge inspiration for the young students. Another astonishing section was the minerals sections, that had almost all treasure stones of the world, including Ruby, Blue moon diamond etc.. for display in a vault guarded by security staff. If you have lots of time, its really worth spending here.  There is a store, where you can buy few items. 

I was lucky to discover Paru's Restaurant, for South Indian Veg Food, that was just 1.5 kms from the place I stayed. Learnt that it was started in 1979 by a person from Tamil nadu, India and though it looks like a house from outside, it was appealing inside. I found many foreigners frequenting it, in the few days I visited it. I used to have their "Queen Paru" - a combo of One Idly, One Ghee Dosa and One Poori for 16 US dollars (after tax). Poori and Idly was Ok, though Dosa did not meet my expectations. 

From L to R: Beverly Hills, South Indian Veg Restaurant, Griffith Observatory, Dino Lab at National History Museum 

Next is London. Just got few hours to spend here, before I had to take the return flight, and a good old friend of mine helped me in this trip.  Here local underground rail transport is called 'Tube', and the charge is 8 Pounds per day. Saw the famous Thames river and we walked and took the tube to reach Westminister (British Parliament), and then saw places around there, including the famous London bridge. 

We had a meal deal pack (Sandwich, Juice, and Chips) from Tesco (the well know grocery store)  and there was lot of crowd doing the same, and doing it with a sense of urgency. We then went to London eye - a giant wheel, and saw a 4D picture about London, and then walked to Trafalgar Square, and took photos at the world famous National Museum. Then walked to Buckingham palace, and then took photos.  London was pleasant at that time, and preserves its old heritage and style, despite the modern developments. 

Both LA and London are modern cities, and have a great history dating back to several centuries. LA and London both are cosmopolitan and have people from several countries who have made it as their homeland today. While LA is fully modern in its buildings and infrastructure,  London strikes a balance between the grandeur of past and its modernity. 

London

P.S: 

I also managed a very short trip to San Francisco, thanks to a good old friend, and saw the Golden Gate - the world famous suspension bridge.  I was pleasantly surprised to see the public infrastructure facilities, in the bay areas, like the library in Pleasanton that was free to all members (living in that area), the parks etc... Also visited the famous Shiva-Vishnu temple in Livermore.

Seoul and Hong Kong

I visited Seoul for a short training program this year in May, and while on the way back had an opportunity to spend few hours in Hong Kong (Thanks to the long transit hours).  Well this was two months before the Korean hit 'Gangnam Style' was released. I came to know of Olympics and watched the first Olympic  games in Television, when it happened in Seoul and at that time (1980's) never thought or even dreamt that I would visit it later in my life. 

Namsan Seoul Tower

Seoul is a neat, clean and big city. I had the opportunity to visit few places like the Namsan Seoul Tower and the Gyeongbokgung palace. In Seoul's love tower there is an interesting practice of lovers tying locks - called love padlocks to fences and then throwing the keys away.  The Gyeongbokgung palace has a long history dating back to 14th Century. It is a beautiful and picturesque place to watch.

King Sejong

While roaming around I found a number of shops that sell women's beauty products and I should say such shops were almost everywhere, and I realized the magnitude of this business only here.  BB (Blemish Balm) Cream and perfumes are something to look out for in these shops. I also observed a good number of Coffee Shops like Starbucks and assumed that Koreans are fond of Coffee and Chocolate (Lotte is famous and has huge presence here, as the founder is from Korea), till I discovered Ginseng Tea. 

I found that people are generally helpful. Myself and my friends lost our way and a passer-by took us to the local traffic cop who dropped us at our Hotel.  I also observed that people were widely using smart phones and relying on apps for many services. 

Two things that are of concern to me was food and Language. For a vegetarian (different from vegan, as Milk and its byproducts are fine with me), its really tough to find vegetarian food / dishes. Also communicating with the people to ensure that a food item does not contain meat or fish was difficult. Communicating in English was a problem, many a times. 

On the way back, I managed to spend few hours in Hong Kong. I roamed around the streets, saw a good number of Indian restaurants, spent some time in Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Museum, knowing about his life and traveled to the  Kowloon Island through the Star ferry service - saw the Star-Cruise luxury ships on the way. In Kowloon, took a local bus to go and see Sky Towers, which was quite disappointing,(probably it would have been better in day times) and then took the Airport Express - Metro train connecting three islands - Hongkong, Kowloon, and  Chep Lak Kok (An artificial island) to reach Airport.

Hong Kong Skyline

Both HongKong and Seoul are nice places to visit for an Holiday