Wednesday, November 29, 2006

From the people will steal anything department

I rode downtown this morning for a meeting. Locking up my bike I came across the back half of a folding bike locked to the rack in front of Place de Ville. Who would steal half a bike? Maybe he's hoping to find the same model bike with the front half locked up. Very strange.
I'm not sure what sort of bike it was. The rear triangle was actually a rear quadrangle, incorporating a rear rack. I vaguely remember seeing a Norco like that in a thrift store but the paint job in this one wasn't very Norco-y.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

A list of suggestive articles

From Pilgrim's Travel Guide to North India and the Himalayas by V.R. Ragam as quoted in Eric Newby's A Book of Travellers' Tales

Relgious
Japamala
Agarbattis
Camphor
Dhop
Powder
Kumkuma
Sandalwood Powder
Wicks soaked in ghee and
kundi
Sri
Ramakoti Book
Asanam
Bhagavad Gita or any religious book for daily use
Bhajan Songs or Namavali

Eatables
Rice
Dhal
Dried Fruits,
vegetables
Pickles, Chutneys
Tamarind
Sugar
Tea,
Coffee
Ovaltine
Milk Powder
Sweets
Sugar—Candy
Chilly
Powder
Appadams
Odiyams
Ghee
Nut Powder

Utensils
Canvas Bucket
Cooker
Oven
One set of stainless steel vessels
Ladle
Spoons—3
Friad pan
Tiffin
Carrier
Tumbler
Glass

Cloths
Rugs, Blanket
Muffler
Dhavali or Silk
Dhoti
Dhoties—2
Shirts—4
Baniyans—2
Uppar Clothes—3
Towels—3
Waterproff cloth—2 yards
Rotten cloth
pieces—4
Coupeens—2
Cloth Bag for money to keep round the
waist
Bedding
Mosquito Curtain

Medicines
Amrutanjan
Smelling salt
Vaseline
bottle
J & J De Chane's Medical service set with its guide-book
Homeopathic Box and a guide booh
Diarrhoea
pills
Dysentery
pills
Indigestion pills
Malaria
pills
Cotton
Cloth
(Plaster)
Bandage Cloth
Aspro
Tablets
Purgative chacklets
Tooth
powder or paste

Miscellaneous
Looking glass and comb
Soaps for bath and wash
Nails of all sizes
Locks 2
Cloth bags for food stuffs
Pen knife
Small gunny bag for coal
Wrist Watch
Umbrella
Hand stick
Visiting Cards
List of departed souls and their Gotras
Hand bags—2
Note book
Tongue Cleaner
Suit case
hand jip bag
Lock and chain
Pandari bag to carry things on shoulder
Safety pins
Change for Rs. 10—00
Setuvu from Rameswaram
Ganges from Allahabad, Hardiwar or Gangottari
Battery light with spare batteries
Thermos Flask
Hurricane Lamp
Match box
White papers
Fountain pen and pencil
Candles
Needles and thread
Railway Guide
Pilgrim's Travel Guide
Rail and Road maps
Calender both Telugu and English
News Papers
Ink bottles
Postage stamps and cards
A small hand axe
Good Camera with flash
Movie (Cene) Camera

Cloths
Woolen Rugs—2 (can be had for hire at Takalkot)
Woolen shirt
Woolen dress for head, hands, and legs
Light
water proof coat,
Canvas boots

Other things
Kerosene stove
Empty Tins with handles (for storing and heating water and also can be useful to carry things safely while on journey)
Iron pointed stick to walk on the slipping path or ice
A pair of goggles with side closers
Needles and thread balls to present them on the way to monks and hill tribes
Spring balance portable
A portable weighing machine
Some good corked bottles to fetch Holy water from Manas etc.


We're off to India at the end of December (not on bicycles though.) V.R. Ragam's list is quite comprehensive. Perhaps more than I'd like to carry but definately something for every eventuality.