[Swanand Inamdar]

Where be thee Guderian?
Hibernating, or something enticing up that sleeve, as usual?

How's the Admiral doing?

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by Swanand Inamdar

Where be thee Guderian?
Hibernating, or something enticing up that sleeve, as usual?

How's the Admiral doing?

The General has been Injured in action and is in process of recuperating from a back injury. It will take him some time to recover to his battle ready status again.
We wish him a speedy recovery and hope that he will be able to rejoin the troops in the frontline soon!

Regards,
Behemoth

[AlphaKilo]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

The General has been Injured in action and is in process of recuperating from a back injury. It will take him some time to recover to his battle ready status again.
We wish him a speedy recovery and hope that he will be able to rejoin the troops in the frontline soon!

Regards,
Behemoth

Admiral injured? How? Why was no Airsupport called in? Dont worry General saab, we will maintain a tight overwatch to make sure no intruders enter our territory. Luftwaffe(Airforce) is standing by for your orders Herr. General.
Get well soon Admiral.

[Guderian]

"I shall return !" So said Gen Douglas MacArthur...and he did.
"I'll be baaak !" So said a rather wooden faced ex Governor of California. Not sure whether he did before he was chased out of his marital home by his wife for some peccadilloes.

But as I stated earlier I am 'back'. And what really prompted the fade out ? A severe back injury as a result of an early morning jogging accident many (almost 4) Fridays ago. Wrenched my back so well that I was staring at the whirring fan blades for almost 3 weeks. Steadily improving and so now I can sit and type out these lines at least. And of course walk and drive for some time. Jogging, cycling and long distance driving may still be a few days away.

Funny part is Admiral played a role in the recovery. I couldn't walk straight or sit up but could drive comfortably after hobbling to the ol' boy and clambering in ! And therein lies a tale. But more of that later !

First things first.

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

Admiral injured? How? Why was no Airsupport called in? Dont worry General saab, we will maintain a tight overwatch to make sure no intruders enter our territory. Luftwaffe(Airforce) is standing by for your orders Herr. General.
Get well soon Admiral.

AK - come in. Of course there was a lot of air support. Thanks to all the palliatives and drugs there was a lot of air in the system straining to get out !
Thanks for standing by.

Originally Posted by Behemoth

The General has been Injured in action and is in process of recuperating from a back injury. It will take him some time to recover to his battle ready status again.
We wish him a speedy recovery and hope that he will be able to rejoin the troops in the frontline soon!

Regards,
Behemoth

Thanks for the words of comfort Behemoth. All the kind words/SMSs/PMs from my good friends here hastened the process of recovery double quick.
But only one issue here Behemoth - the troops on the frontline don't want me to rejoin - they have mutinied I guess !

Originally Posted by Swanand Inamdar

Where be thee Guderian?
Hibernating, or something enticing up that sleeve, as usual?

How's the Admiral doing?

Hey SI,
This time nothing up my sleeve - more like something up my waistband - not sure whether it's enticing or not. And now you know the reason as well.
Thanks for writing in and asking !

Originally Posted by mandheers

Greetings Herr Guderian,

My aunt finally took delivery of a Black T-Fort last week.

Have so far been on only one sortie around in it, with her at wheel, as I really didnt want to get in that seat.

She asked me to give it a try but I was quite taken aback by the enormosity of the vehicle at close quarters.

Had only seen it plying on roads and this was an altogether different experience.

Scary I would put it as, and I did not drive.

Maybe later.

She loves the vehicle but I was a tad disappointed at the drums on rear wheels and also felt the stock tires looked smaller on the vehicle.

There is no exhaust tip on this one either and I am given to believe this is the only variant which comes.

Anyways, here's to the T-Fort!

Hi Mandheers,
Congrats to you and your Aunt ! A black T- Fortuner is a real treat as per me and possibly the best to my eyes. But for the joys and sorrows of living in Mumbai I'd possibly have gone in for that.

And frankly you should give it a try - it's a breeze to drive. Yes the rear drums are a let down. But to my eye the tyres and all other pieces look very well proportioned. But then I am biased !
Congrats once again and hope to spot you one of these days on the roads in a black beast !

Originally Posted by nilanjanray

September, Leh anyone? All of you riding the silver and white steeds/battleships/Santa Marias/Corellians out there? How about a Fortuner convoy? I am drooling thinking about the photoshoot options. But will need to be careful about all those guys flirting with my Sam Fox girl (sorry, Lightforce) :-)

Bangalore - Mumbai - Delhi and then onwards. Haven't decided whether to go through Manali or through Srinagar, but that is not that important at this stage.

Hi Nils,
Do count me in ! We'll works out the details duly.
What's that you ask ? Whether my back will hold up ?
Of course it will. Besides I have a 'back' to 'back' arrangement and a 'back' up plan you see for the long drive !

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

15 odd days and no update in Togo channel! Is admiral on some covert Op?

Guten Tag Herr. General!

Leh experience was superb! Was that a covert recce mission to divert the attention! well done! or an acclamatization run before the actual offensive?
Unbelieveably, lmao!
How many kms done so far? Updates on the Op. readiness?

Over n out sir
AK

Come in AK...now you know !

Originally Posted by Monaro CV8

Hi HG,

How are your adventures with the Admiral treating you ?

Been wanting to share this with you.
Last week (Dusshera day), my brother's Father in law bought the Land Rover - FL2.

Hi Monaro,
That was a neat comparison. Though FL has a few other meanings too...specially of the French variety !
Would have loved a side by side snap too. Not that it would have changed anything for me. To my eye the T-Fortuner is a better looker really - and for whatever reason.
Thanks for sharing.

Originally Posted by subodh

Its perfect example of "beauty lies in the eyes of beholder" If we just look around, we can see a lot of these kind of examples of beauty around us. HG what are the plans for Admiral to go to laddakh?

Hi Subodh,
Will be attempting the Leh run in Sept 2012 - InshAllah !

Originally Posted by motionfreak

hhahahqhahahahahaha

BTW was "Yeh Leh ! " like " ye le (, tere ko Thane mein Leh dikhaata hu mamu) ! "

being from thane, I visualise the place differently now. for atleast couple of months, I'll have a smile on my face whenever I'll go to Gawand baug.

Hi motionfreak,
Well this is truly cheap Leh susbstitute - believe me. Leh next door. In fact we can start Leh in Thane tours.

Originally Posted by Coooolcat21

Wow 'Yeh Leh" is a totally new and refreshing experience. Liked the narration and pictures totally except that u could not get your fortuner to look like this.
Regards

Attachment 822612

Hi Coooolcat21,
Thanks.
But believe me Admiral looked something like that or worse but while coming up the 100 meter sharp gradient it gets automatically washed by some guys sitting up the gradient in bushes with 'lotas'. So the vehicles are clean by the time they reach on top. That's 'pressure wash' local Leh style !

Originally Posted by amitg79

Hey! I've been to this part of 'Leh'! And the nice part of it is that its just a couple of hours from Pune.

But seriously, am laughing and rolling around on the floor while typing this, which is a very difficult thing to do...

Hi amitg,
You are right...it is indeed very difficult thing to do...you are excused for the jerky handwriting !

Originally Posted by Swanand Inamdar

. Leh indeed. What an howlarious account of your "short" visit to Leh. Or rather the Mumbai version of Leh!

When and where was this trip taken? I agree with Amit, that building is such an eyesore to the otherwise (only) greenary in Mumbai.

Hi SI,
Thanks.
The 'trip' was undertaken on Oct 3, 2011. I departed from my house almost 5 minutes before the heart stopping climb !

Originally Posted by nileshch

I dropped from my chair and for five minutes! A big salute to you, General, for carving out the ultimate Leh experience from our friendly neighborhood Cosmos Tekadi and Upvan Talao!!

Thanks nileshch ! Funny that you mention it - yes it suspiciously does look like the places you mention !

Originally Posted by amitwlele

@General - So where in Thane is this? Yeor hills?

IMO that white building at the start of the hills is such an eyesore. I hope i am not offending you. I mean i hope that is not your abode. I guess it is only a matter of time before the hills are covered with builidings advertised as giving superb views.

Hi Amit,
Yes it is the Yeoor-la hills. Something like Khardung-la and others La-las.
You bet that building is an eye sore. Nope it ain't my abode thankfully ! Wonder how the builder got the permission to construct such a monstrosity at the foothills.

And so folks I mark my return.

Some more words and snaps to follow...

[noopster]

Sorry to hear about the back and do get well soon! Missing your updates and tall tales !

[ACM]

Guderian good to see you are back. Wonder how a guy as fit as you got his back in a mess.

And also to see that the fortuner is quite ok for a person with back issues as well.

[Swanand Inamdar]

Oops, that must've been bad! Been through that phase once, and trust me you, its a pain in the "back". Literally.

Good to see you and Admiral back in action. Now, where are the updates?

[Manuuj]

just read about your injury Herr General! Wishing you a speedy recovery.

I read in your earlier post that you are planning on taking Togo up to Leh next September. Count me in. Lets hope all goes well and we can plan a great trip together.

I have 3 people who are ready to join me on a trip also. You can drive to Delhi and then after a days rest we can all head out to the wonderful vistas of Leh.

[Guderian]

And to continue folks...

The only thing that was bothering me, when I was in bed with that horrendous back injury, was that Admiral was in the docks with no sailing assignment and I couldn't drive. But against medical advice, and to the family's annoyance on the fourth day of bed rest I decided that I was going insane ("So what's new ?" asked the offspring) and that I needed a drive as a palliative.

So on that Monday morning I hobbled to Admiral very gingerly using support and clambered on board ! And that's when the comfort of the T-Fortuner's seat hit me. I had earlier taken it for granted.
But with such an atrocious back I thought that even a short drive would be very painful and I would be back in a trice. But no such thing ! I sank into the seat and the lumbar support and the rest of the seat's shape kept the back in place and with a very worried LoH drove all the way to Dadar and back. Not once did the back protest. The fairly soft clutch and brake didn't trigger any spasms in the back. And the stiff suspension too played a great role. There was no pitching,rolling or yawing which helped keep the back in place I suspect. Was really grateful for the seat.





And my mental sanity was, sort of, restored after that drive. The Doc of course wasn't informed about the drive.

That night of course I have severe, real severe, spasms and in between the bouts was the LoH walking around with an 'I told you so' face. And all I told her was that, that the drive was worth the agony !

Meanwhile the Admiral's engine bay which wasn't touched across many Sundays was gathering geological samples of sand, minor minerals and organic substances:




I detested this state of affairs to say the least.

By and by I kept going on short drives. To strengthen the back I told the LoH. I'm not sure whether she believed me. But at least didn't throw a fit. And the beans were spilled before the Doc too. Now this chap, a spinal/vertebral specialist, gave me a cold look and was going to blow his top off (though I suspect it was only an act as more I buggered up my back - more he would line his wallet ! And might have been secretly praying that I go and climb Mount Everest in my condition !) when he asked me as to what vehicle do choose to sink my posterior into and heard the name Admiral he went "Huh ?" to the exasperation of the much harassed LoH and I hastily corrected myself and mentioned T- Fortuner. The Doc relaxed visibly and mentioned to me that it was not bad as he expected ( maybe he thought I drove an auto or something) and he knew something about the vehicle. So it's big and has a stiff suspension so shouldn't be all that bad is what he stated but then continued to add that stiff suspension can be good and bad for a bad back and that I shouldn't drive too much around.

By and by was driving short distances and once in a week to Dadar.

And finally last Saturday to South Mumbai near Taj/Gateway of I. Despite all the traffic and minor jams the back behaved very well and Admiral took great care of it.
Docked Admiral at this lovely old decrepit church.



Well it was really old:


Lovely old precinct:



With of course the famous landmarks nearby:


Landmarks like:


And like...


Wait a minute...what's that in the water ? You mean the Navy to reduce costs has reduced its capital ships (Aircraft Carriers/Battleships etc) to this ?!!


And well Admiral got a minor nick from some source. Not sure how - but nothing that couldn't be patched up on a Sunday. Must be a carelessly opened door by a car parked alongside:


A delightful day really !

And Sunday. With the back requiring all the exercise it could get - marched off, after almost 3 Sundays, to clean up the old boy and spent almost 3 hours there.
And finally the engine bay looked good !



And the nick received by the Admiral on Saturday was sorted out with F-1 ScratchOut and polish:


And Admiral was grinning again !


And looking cheerfully ahead to the next week:


Well I have been advised further rest for some more time though I feel fit and fine. Wonder why...

Quick recovery aided in no small measure by Admiral. With the insane desire to drive him despite all the pain. And the mind going bonkers at the thought of him standing aimlessly in the parking lot with no mission to complete and gathering dust. And kept me from going totally bonkers and harbouring dark thoughts of being unable to ever drive etc etc.

Meanwhile the odometer shows that Admiral has completed 9179.266 Nautical Miles (OK 17,000 KMs for landlubbers) today after a 30 KMs therapeutic drive to nearby places.
Slow progress on the odo after the initial rush of 15K KMs in 6 months and the next two months only seeing 2K KMs - but progress indeed by George !

[columbus]

Welcome back General Saab. Togo channel back in action again..

Admiral is one lucky guy. Even with a backache you have cleaned the engine bay...

[amitwlele]

Welcome back General. This must be the only thread on T-BHP which would have 4 snaps dedicated only to the driver's seat But with a valid reason though.

The last couple of broadcasts on the TOGO channel and have done a world of good to the rating points.

[Reinhard]

Hey tank commander. Great to hear back from you at long last. Have been missing updates in the thread badly! Sorry about the back, but good that you are getting around to normalcy soon. Pleased as always to see those nice pictures. Btw, the pic of the Taj hotel is interesting. Scrolling down fast with it, makes an illusion of the building bulging out of the screen. Due to the building's window design of course.

Good to have you back. Good luck with your back's recovery. Take care general.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by noopster

Sorry to hear about the back and do get well soon! Missing your updates and tall tales !

Hey Noops,
Thanks.
Tall tales ? Well you participated in one of them and it was hardly tall - the lady with the shotgun would have made a 'short' story of us...

Originally Posted by ACM

Guderian good to see you are back. Wonder how a guy as fit as you got his back in a mess.

And also to see that the fortuner is quite ok for a person with back issues as well.

Hi ACM,
Thanks.
Not sure how - must have slipped couple of times on the roads here and a 15 year old sporting injury must have come revisiting me - though this time it wasn't so severe.

About your observation on the T Fortuner - will fully 'back' you on that one !

Originally Posted by Swanand Inamdar

Oops, that must've been bad! Been through that phase once, and trust me you, its a pain in the "back". Literally.

Good to see you and Admiral back in action. Now, where are the updates?

Hi SI,
Thanks.
You got the update all right !

Originally Posted by Manuuj

just read about your injury Herr General! Wishing you a speedy recovery.

I read in your earlier post that you are planning on taking Togo up to Leh next September. Count me in. Lets hope all goes well and we can plan a great trip together.

I have 3 people who are ready to join me on a trip also. You can drive to Delhi and then after a days rest we can all head out to the wonderful vistas of Leh.

Hi Manuuj,
Thanks.
Yeah Leh is certainly beckoning me hard one way or the other ! And great to note from the posts here and on the forum that the number of 'Lehers' are increasing. And yet wonder why organisations talk about de-layering to increase efficiencies !
Will plan something around your suggestion and we can ride the posse to Leh together with some of the other folks here.

Originally Posted by columbus

Welcome back General Saab. Togo channel back in action again..

Admiral is one lucky guy. Even with a backache you have cleaned the engine bay...

Hi Columbus,
Thanks !

Admiral lucky ? I thought it was the back which was lucky getting all the exercise from the Admiral. And the cleaning was carried out after almost 4 Sundays and when the torture had run its course and there was no remnants of the pain around...remember the words of Omar Mukhtar the Libyan freedom fighter from the movie of the same name ? Blows that don't break your back only strengthen it !

Originally Posted by amitwlele

Welcome back General. This must be the only thread on T-BHP which would have 4 snaps dedicated only to the driver's seat But with a valid reason though.

The last couple of broadcasts on the TOGO channel and have done a world of good to the rating points.

Hi Amit,
Many thanks.
But hang on...I am sure there must be many more 'seats' on this forum and elsewhere which would have been or are far more interesting and better 'shaped' and worth more than just 4 snaps. Do 'check' and let us all know !

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Hey tank commander. Great to hear back from you at long last. Have been missing updates in the thread badly! Sorry about the back, but good that you are getting around to normalcy soon. Pleased as always to see those nice pictures. Btw, the pic of the Taj hotel is interesting. Scrolling down fast with it, makes an illusion of the building bulging out of the screen. Due to the building's window design of course.

Good to have you back. Good luck with your back's recovery. Take care general.

Hi Obergruppenfuhrer,

Danke. For the warm words.
Pleasure to see you here after a long time.

Coming to think of it never noticed that optical illusion in the snap of the Taj's facade. Now that you mention it - yes it does appear that a way.
Nice !

[Swanand Inamdar]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Hi SI,
Thanks.
You got the update all right !

Oh I did! And what lovely ones at that. Glad to see Admiral and the General "back" in action.

[Monaro CV8]

Hail Generale'

Good to see you back with your 'back' recuperating well. And the Admiral sure does entice one to bounce back & recover!

Your 'Yeh Leh' scouting did spark quite a few interests in the actual trip.
Remember, back then we were contemplating such a trip? Well, let us know when the advance planning starts..

take care,
Cheers.