I would like to wish all the readers of my blog a very Happy Republic Day.

A day which is not only just another holiday for us to kick back and relax or travel, but also a day when we must remember those, who struggled hard for the Independence of India and literally brought the nation back from the brink and gave it a direction and the push necessary to get it on its way.

While we complain and crib about the state of affair and how draconian, inefficient and corrupt our system is, we often forget that it is now our job to take control of the matters and ensure progress and prosperity, not only in our lives and that of our loved ones, but also in the way our nation works and progresses.

We owe this to not only those who struggled to achieve independence, but also our loved ones and the next generation.

So let’s stop cribbing for a moment and start doing our bit to make a difference, however little or insignificant it is.

Jai Hind!

It’s been almost 10 years since I bought my Bajaj Pulsar 180 Classic and a lot has change since I bought my motorcycle, and now the market is flooded with a plethora of choices in the “premium motorcycle segment” and yet, even today if I have to buy a motorcycle, it would likely be a brand new Bajaj Pulsar 180!

Why?

Well frankly speaking, at the moment there is no other motorcycle in the Indian market, which suits my requirement more than a Bajaj Pulsar 180 DTSi, and since the bike I buy next would likely end up becoming my primary motorcycle for touring in hills and even on the highways, it has to fulfill certain criteria and they are (in no particular order):

1. At least 500km tank range in hills.
2. More powerful than my current motorcycle.
3. Ability to easily mount tank and saddle bags.
4. Reliable.
5. Has ergonomics somewhat similar to what I am used to i.e. no split seats (needs to be fixed), no rear set foot pegs and absolutely no cruiser style ergonomics.
6. Comparatively good After Sales Service Network (have dealt enough with Bajaj Auto to know how to deal with them and plus have a good mechanic for my Pulsar)
7. Good and powerful headlight (Pulsar 180 does not have it, but after plonking a 55w halogen, it would be).
8. Longer wheelbase than my current bike (I hate the shorter wheelbase when the bike is fully loaded with luggage and on steep bad/off roads.)
9. Ability to install dual purpose tyres without any modification.
10. DC electrical i.e. headlight runs off the battery.

Of course there is a lot more to a bike and I do have other reasons. However, these are the primary ones which have lead me to believe that at least as of now, my next general purpose touring bike would be a Bajaj Pulsar 180 once again. Which at least based on my perception and requirements is the best touring motorcycle in India!

Today I went to the launch of KTM 200 Duke at the Shangri La Hotel and came back thoroughly impressed, not only by the bike itself, but once again by Bajaj Auto, which whatever the critics might say, does have a lot of business sense and knows what the market wants!

Now let’s first get the technical bits out of the way, KTM 200 Duke has a liquid cooled 200cc single cylinder engine, producing 25hp@10,000rpm and 19.2Nm@8,000rpm and would be available at an introductory price of Rs. 1,17,500 (Ex-Showroom Delhi).

At that price, KTM 200 Duke is a bargain and would be a complete street hooligan, thanks to its relatively high power to weight ratio (184Ps/tonne) and compact frame i.e. lots of wheeling starts.

Add to this, KTM 200 Duke is a good looking bike as well and will easily manage to stand out from the crowd, especially since there isn’t anything like this right now on the Indian Streets.

And even though it has a high revving engine, small petrol tank (11 liters) and almost no space to mount the luggage i.e. not the ideal motorcycle for touring, but I have to say, I am tempted to buy it as a second motorcycle for slicing through traffic and short weekend trips to nearby places, which will really put its trellis frame and the beefy rear tyres to some good use.

Heck if I was living in Chandigarh or somewhere closer to the hills or in hills, I would have gone ahead and booked KTM 200 Duke ASAP, since that would have allowed me to undertake day rides in the lap of the Himalayas, without any luggage or worry about the tank range and let the bike’s character really shine, without it being overloaded with luggage!

Guess its a good thing that there wasn’t a test bike available at the launch, else the temptation might have become uncontrollable!

Yesterday I went to Dilli Haat for lunch and photography and found out, that there was a Uttarakhand Special at the Haat with a whole section dedicated to wares from Uttarakhand with a troop of folk dancers from Uttarakhand, performing at regular interval.

With the 50mm on and people as usual walking in between, managed to get a few decent photographs of the Folk Dancers from Uttarakhand and also in a way, got some practice before the Surajkund Mela .

Here are a few photographs I took:

Would be uploading more photographs from yesterday’s Dilli Haat outing in this thread on BCMTouring, Dilli Haat, Uttarakhand Special.

Just came across the news today that Kodak has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection in US.

It is kind of sad to see one of the great camera companies of yesteryear, particularly one which helped bring photography to the masses and developed the first commercial DSLR, file for bankruptcy. But in a way, it also underlines the stiff competition which exists today in the digital photography world, where one not only needs to innovate and come up with new products often to keep up with the competition, but also in a way predict what the future of digital photography would be and come up with products which really appeal to them.

While I have only owned and used couple of Kodak cameras in my life, one of them happens to be my first real digital camera, CX7430, which I will always remember for allowing me to capture some really memorable photographs during my first three trips to Ladakh and the solo ride to Spiti.

Although now at times it shoots photos with a pink cast and haven’t really seen much if any action in past three years or so, photographs I shot from it are viewed by thousands of people each month and really nurtured my love for photography and made it stronger than ever.

And this is what I would remember Kodak most for, and I sincerely hope that they are able to restructure the company and make a comeback; I know I wouldn’t mind getting another camera from the great Eastman Kodak Company .