U - Ubiquitous!!

Cold - on a cold mountain,

Gold - after a golden handshake,

Mould - preceeding a wax statue

Hold - after holding on to a beautiful yet, withering relationship

Bold - before a bold dialogue

Fold - on the dinner table napkin after dinner

Sold - like the aggrieved seller of ancestral land

When the heart beats, you come alive

and grow on the vacuum of life -

lending colour, fragrance, intimacy, passion

and sometimes, those little saline droplets carving a visible trajectory on my melancholy face.

When eyes blink, you appear,

When nerves wrench, you manifest,

When the lungs breathe, you assume the unpreceedented form.

When words stop, you begin -

You to Me

Are

Omnipresent

Deceived!

I would've nodded if u'd said -

I need this thing, may I take it.

I would've shared what I had to if u'd said -

This is my strategy, is it good enough.

I would've empathised if u'd said -

I have no other idea to take forward, I need to use this.

I would've contributed if u'd said -

Do you wanna take a role in this event.

But when sun sets and I discover that you've taken it away

And I know that you know I dont know,

I'm compelled to sit, brood and reflect -

is it really right to repose trust in anybody - somebody?

I cant get myself to accept that the idea can be stolen by you -

You tell me - How can I ever wish you luck before tomorrow for tomorrow?

Inertia

To sit motionless
in the land
so seemingly unclutter-less
and crying like a bee
that got no honey to shed tears
whilst attempting to grow
into a bigger puzzle-
in the un-opaqe-ish mode-
you sigh, you try, get dry.
Being transparent can make you colourless!

Duvidha

So 5 months of MBA life's through!
N its very funny how sometimes I feel its been ages since I came here, and to the contrary, sometimes I wonder how quickly time's flown by. There is a great deal of learning, but it happens on its own....wotever you consciously try n learn never works though!
Each day is filled with its own challenges; on the one hand, you fight long hours sometimes and on the other, you try and over come mundaneness....there's a lil excitement, there's the enthu level, there're those pressure situations and those absolutely dull, crappy times that make your existence feel purposeless.....all this jointly and severally occur, recur and occur, recur again and again and again...
I kinda like wot i'm doing...i know its probably the best way to get the best and quickly too. But I often wonder - is it all worth it....at the end of the day, life's simple - you jus hafta enjoy wot you're doing/gonna be doing....money, power, strength, knowledge - everything kinda follows later....so there's this dilemma - why do we have such a complex environment out here....for example, what sense does it make to know about derivatives, corporate finance, consulting, audits, banking -
when all that we want is happiness - simple, basic, unadultrated, pristine!
(Note - thoughts put across as they came through the mind!)

Gather Me!

The head and the heart
and their lazy duel.
Come together, says head,
Come together, says heart.
And together they encore-
I dont meet you;
For I cant meet you -
sheer distance hath done us apart.

Life's a weirdity,
and I'm a part of it;
party to each of its obscure happenings-
the past that is and the past that will be.

Here a song plays,
and there the heart empties.
Here and there,
everywhere,
thoughts alight,
And I align myself to each-
bit by bit,
piece by piece-
all in my mind's envisioned existence

Its all about the honey in the money!

Ok so some ppl have a sweet tooth and some others like me have a sweet tooth, tongue, throat and periphery of the mouth.

There's this small, dingy place near Andheri West. One look at it n u'll probably never turn your face in its direction the next time u find urself anywer close...coz its quity dirty like most of Mumbai is. But if u manage to enter the insides and eat into its delicious sweetmeats, I promise u, u would never be able to resist going there at least once a week.

Now, wot exactly is the speciality of this place?

Sample this - Milk boiled and condensed to an exquisite consistency, an off-white colour that is a treat for sore eyes, a fragrance that is absolutely enchanting....pistachio sprinkled all over its upper layer.....a bite into it....yummmmmmmm.....a bite into it takes u to paradise....

If there's heaven on earth, its here...its here....its here....

They...the people!

They meet you in your
mind's eye
and position themselves on the circumference of the
big-red-bindi
between your eyebrows;
they traverse along its diameter,
make concentric circles or amoeba(ic) patterns
in all directions,
and reinforce the basic premise of all human relationships -
there is
Life after Life

Dil Gira Kahin Par.....Dafatan!!!

Having hit the
lower
bowel
of imagination,

the soul,
raptured, within seamless boundaries,
thrusts itself out

in trance -

music
strikes my umbilical cord of silence.....

Quell!

I
Neat art,
one that stimulates thinking
in a new way -
clarity
concept
emotion
surrealism in a realistic world.

II
Neat art,
one that cleans up the slate;
duster inching -
at a disciplined rate -
fiercely,
to devour the next white alphabet.

III
A brusque stroke of agony,
A crucifix-like idea-range;
Talk, express, emote, exhibit,
discuss, convince, impose,
quell creation of
rigidity
absurdity
and thereby create neat art!

Still Searching!!

I undo my last action
Sit in solitude and contemplate -
What
Where-
As eyelids begin to give away.

I hope
I find
somewhere
the piece that adds up!

Such a smooth affair!

Its unbelievable...watching a movie in mumbai is such a simple affair....

Things u can do in Mumbai and not (even dream of) in B'lore:

3. Walk into a multiplex and buy tickets for a show (new release) on the same day

2. Get extremely inexpensive tickets (100 bucks for regular class)

1. Experience the comfort of recline-able, huge, comfortable, heavenly seats and watch the movie in shavasana....all this for 150 bucks..... :P

Had a super time today!!!

Cheers!!!

Its raining thoughts!!!

Hmmm so this has been a hectic week with lotsa (read: daily) quizzes, long classes, dance practise for the Freshers' Party, group work, studies to do for exams next week (havent started yet), etc.

But I guess thats wot has made time breeze away and it feels great to be almost a month old in Mumbai. I've emerged a survivor.

I did not wanna make a post about Mumbai without spending enough time here coz I always thought I'd be biased to make the "ayyo" statements in every line. Now finally I'm all set to say what I wanna say abt the city:

1. Climate - Its extremely sultry here and the 1st week was by far the worst climate-week of my life. But the rains....ah they've made life pretty neat....I love the Mumbai rains...they really turn u on...and yeah the water clogging is not actually that bad......I quite enjoy walking in the calf-deep still water.

2. People - All types can be found on campus. N I've realised one thing - people will be the people they are. Jus let them be. Go about ur job, make sum nice friends, chit chat, stay happy and life'll be like never before.

3. Home - Calling home everyday makes u feel nice. At least my folks back home are pretty happy to know that I've managed to "live" without them. N honestly, I never thought I could do that. But the distance brings a certain subtlety and refinement to ur relationships. It makes you wanna enjoy the space and the responsibility. It makes you deserve what you long for before you get it. N it actually makes sense, if u think of it objectively.

4. Attitude - The biggest take home. Beyond words.

For me Mumbai has been a world of many 1st times. 1st time -

1. Away from home

2. On my own

3. Living in a hostel (sharing room n loos) :P...having to lock the room evrytime u go out

4. Experiencing so much dirt and filth on the roads

5. Never eating anna saaru and mane oota

6. Travelling in the local (read - trains)

7. Sleeping after 11 pm (yeah, I never slept later than that in Blore)

8. Dancing on the stage

9. Not watching TV at all

10. Bonding so much with kannada (Me: XXX r u from Blore?, XXX: Yes I am!, Me(startled, red n with an unprecedented 100 watt smile): Kannada baratta?, XXX (more often than not): Super aagi, Me: yey!!!)

The following poem is one of my all time favourites. its called - The Oyster... (Dono the writer)

There once was an oyster whose story I tell,

Who found that some sand had got into his shell.

It was only a grain but it gave him great pain,

For oysters have feelings although they're so plain.

Now, did he berate the harsh workings of fate

That had brought him to such a deplorable state?

Did he curse at the government, cry for election,

And claim that the sea should have given him protection?

No--He said to himself as he lay on a shell,

Since I cannot remove it, I shall try to improve it.

Now the years have rolled around, as the years always do,

And he came to his ultimate destiny--stew.

And the small grain of sand that had bothered him so

Was a beautiful pearl all richly aglow.

Now the tale has a moral;

For isn't it grand what an oyster can do

With a morsel of sand.

What couldn't we do

If we'd only begin

With some of the things

That get under our skin.

Mumbai's started to become a special place for me...for helping me bond a lil more with myself and more importantly - for making me work on things that had sooooo gotten under my skin!!

PS - Another 1st time - My longest post :P.....enjoy maadi :P

All the world's a stage??

Over 15 years!

Thats probably how long i've been associated with being on the stage in the context of public speaking!

But each time I address the audience, there is an element of stage fear that encompasses my existance. I'm quite sure I shud've gotten rid of it by now but no - doesnt happen.

Some details:

1. The first inter-class debate I took part in was disastrous. I didnt get past the first line and gave up mid-way with an inexcusable "Cant speak anymore. Sorry!".

2. The first song I sang on stage got me choking twice. Despite winning the competition eventually, I was less happy and more nervous till at least 2 hours after the announcement of results.

3. My first inter-school debate got me the maximum applause of my life from an audience constituted by unknowns.

4. In college I think I did more public speaking than anything else -I'd say at least 4 months per year excluding holidays.

Its been 3 yrs now since I addressed a resonably large audience. And on Wednesday, when we had to make a 5 minute presentation in a class of 90, I felt choked thrice.

Talking about unlearning things and relearning them! Life begins here again....

Of "another" place!!

Blues....living away from home gives jus that....
And when ur doing it for the first time ever....well...prayers are ur only resort!

1 week in "another city", however, hasnt been without any learning:

6. Everything around u is crib-able. Maybe management is the art of overcoming the science of cribbing. (Or so u'd wanna believe!)
5. Seemingly nice things are unseemingly saddddddddddddd!!
4. Age is NOT an indicator of maturity. (Mainly of ppl in "another" place)
3. Some ppl are always there for u. U learn to miss them in a good way!
2. Keep ur expectations low. You're unlikely to be disappointed!
1. Bangalore is heaven!

I've got requests for funny posts but I guess it'll take a while...some profoundity is all i can manage now....adjust maadi with:

Of Time
Like dew on the tree top
That trickles down
seemingly
gently
in a pattern
and manifests into
shapelessness,
time falls,
moves ahead at a struggling pace
before becoming timeless!!

Bye(s)!!!

There's a way
they say..
to make things sound good
when they dont
seem as they should..

By use of profundity
adverbs, adjectives subtlety,

and words tacit and tight...

I, for one, cant find a better way of saying this
(without going amiss) -

To come, to meet and then to part,
is the saddest thing of human heart,
but the memories of life are clever,
as they hover around u forever and ever!!!

(Gonna miss this place biiiiiig time!!! sob!!)

Pooris at KC Das!

Now a lot of authentic Bangaloreans would find it hard to get a good meal in the MG Road-Brigade Road-Church Street area. Yes, there are quite a few restaurants there, but most (if not all) are extremely expensive and serve cuisines for immigrants.
So gorging on KC Das' pooris at 11am on a Friday morning makes one feel like having found water in a desert with only mirages. One plate poori consists of 4 pooris (from maida), 1 aloo ki sabzi and 1 dal ki sabzi. To say that its a delicious affair would be underrating it by at least a mile and a half. My rating (on 10):
Taste - 9.5
Decor - 9 (wooden chairs n tables; neat and clean)
Service - 9 (unlike "pricey" waiters in certain "pricey" restaurants)
Accessibility - 9 (on St. Marks Road; perpendicular to MG Road)
Feel good factor - 9.5 (hmmmmmmmmmm....)
It sure was some food for thought! Also, don forget to have mishti doi (sweet curds, for the uninitiated), which is simply out of the world!

Ways Around!

I wonder why people block websites at work to improve productivity.
I think wot it manages to achieve is the exact opposite!
Consider this - When they blocked a few "sites" here, the first thing I did was to find a way to by-pass the block....and it was more out of vengeance than necessity. So, say, an hour spent on finding ways around.
And once thats done, you don wanna log off for fear of having to work ur way around again. So this amounts to paying attention to lotsa unwanted pop-ups (for mails/chats).
And there's also a sadistic pleasure that u've outbeaten sadists (read IT guys who block sites) that makes you wanna gossip about it with all and sundry.
Finding newer ways becomes another engaging TO-DO.
So my question, do productivity levels reach required heights? I'd dare say NO.

PS - Note to IT guys - Dai Poda!

Voice over!

Its truly an enigma - the human mind. And what is more enigmatic is the kind of conclusions it jumps to on the occurrence of an event.
The event I'm gonna deliberate about is a talk over the telephone with an unknown somebody.
Now how quickly does the mind manage to carve out a picture/sketch from the tone of a stranger? Well! my mind does it in about 25-30 seconds of talk....
Some observations:
1. The sketch generally reminds you of a known somebody
2. The accent generally defines Mr./M(r)s. X's ethnicity. Now this vaguely determines the colour of his/her skin
3. The sharpness of the tone is considered by the mind as an indicator of age
4. The type of tone contributes certain facial expressions to the sketch. For eg: A humourous conversation would create a sketch with "happy" facial expressions (smile, chuckle, twinkle in the eye, etc)
5. The type of conversation would also add/subtract certain "accessories" onto the face - an academic conversation would add say, spectacles onto the mind's picture.
Now for the moot question - How perfectly does the mind's picture concur with the real person. Ahem! well, for me in 90/100 cases, the picture is almost a perfect contrast.
Its amazing how you create an "impression" of somebody and in real time he/she turns out to be completely different. This happens not only when you converse with an unknown person but also when you read somebody's writing. Somehow, you're left disappointed most of the times. A great writer may have a very weird (I know its a subjective term) face. A blunt, straight forward conversationist may look like the most affable of people.
Somebody said - Looks can be deceptive. But why would they ever be so? Coz the enigmatic grey cells like a computer database list down assumptions as if they were a rule.
Maybe the look/tone/literature wasnt deceptive in the first place....maybe it was the mind's single-track thinking....maybe!

Conversations....

I sit intently
trying to connect to you
in the midst of all commotion.

I decipher and discourse
within myself -
how to say
what I say
in a manner that would be most receptive.

Then I realise and withdraw.

For it doesnt really make a difference,
conversing with you is like conversing with myself....

Bath by the Riverside!

Sway
in the rhythm of the air
above you
as the
River
washes you
clean.

Drift
in the momentary
music
of silence.

Only ensure -
that you're not
corrosive.

Blood Diamond - A review!

I watched the 2006 movie "Blood Diamond" last night and it left me unsettled and moved, to say the least.
Set in Africa, the movie per say, portrays the use of "conflict" diamonds to fund civil wars and how innocent communities are devastated in brutal killings and kidnappings. The film presents Leonardo Di Caprio (Danny Archer) as a trader of diamonds for arms and Djimon Hounsou (Solomon Vandy) as a fisherman whose son is captured by the RUF (Revolutionary United Front ) to be trained as a rebel. The latter's quest to get his family back and how Danny Archer helps him forms the crux of the film's plot.
The movie is brilliantly shot. The cinematography is very real and beautifully done. The background score is engaging and blends well with the storyline. The direction (by Edward Zwick ) is taut and more or less manages to give the film a decent pace.
But the highlight of the film has got to be its performances. Leonardo Di Caprio delivers a stellar performance; the measure of grief, helplessness, practicality, aggression, use of language and in some places a certain flamboyance is perfect, to say the least. The twitching of his brows is something that I have to mention coz, from where I see, it does most of the talking for him. Djimon Hounsou is superlative; his expressions are earnest and dialogue delivery savaging; the show of frustration, agony in the scene where he meets his wife and children at a refugee camp is brilliant. Jennifer Connelly, who I thought was great in A Beautiful Mind, stars as an American journalist and delivers a decent performance.
For me, the movie is a sincere attempt at getting a point across. A must watch!
My fav dialogue: Danny Archer - "I wondered if God would ever forgive us for what we've done to each other. But then I realised that God has left this place long time back"!

Obscurity!

The colour of thick black,
Nature with an uncanny knack,
Work at an unsteady pace,
Man with many a face,
Clouds without a silver lining,
Staff with their constant whining,
The lazy and their lies,
The canny and their vice,
Babies that are nice,
Life's unbearable highs,

A far-fetched cry,
Summer in areas dry,
Unclear sky,
Bheja fry......

Reality check for you Mr. Nash,
Purity is
NOT
the only obscurity!

My YeLneeru!

So everyday after work once I get off the bus, I've made it a point to have yeLneeru (tender coconut water). Now its almost 4-5 months and I've been a key account for this yeLneeru-wala despite not being very regular offlate. And its also been like a ritual of sorts for me! I'm wondering if I'll get this in Mumbai....even if I do it wont be a regular affair leave alone a daily one...so it'll be yet another 1/1000000000000000000 thing I wil miss....(sigh)

Confessions of a Shared Auto-an !

First things first, shared autos are not a Bangalore peculiarity. They're evident only in certain places within Bangalore and Sanjaynagar happens to be one of them.The stretch joining Ganganagar and Nagashetty Halli is where shared autos are rampant, esp. during the peak hours.
Having been a shared auto-an for nearly a year now, lemme take you through what these exactly are.
Visualise:
a. A small auto (the ancient ones that are relatively higher from the ground when compared to the newer ones) without a meter
b. Rugged seats with an unparalleled immunity from the multitudes of behinds they've seen and endured
c. A driver/rider (dono which would be applicable) with a shrill voice shouting out the name of the final destination
- these pretty much constitute a shared auto when it arrives!
But hang on, the fun is yet to begin. Add to this auto 4-5 women at the back and 2 men sharing the seat with the driver. This is really stiff competition to any other 7 seater. Each of the 6 passengers pays the driver/rider 5 bucks for their journey which ensures that the latter makes 30 bucks each way.

Over the last year I've adorned many a role being a shared auto-an. A few of them are elucidated below:
1. Foster child- Yes, my friend, u got me right. In certain shared auto journeys, I've sat on elderly women' laps! And one of them even said "Please be comfortable, you're like my daughter!" and I, with a sheepish smile, had succumbed to the generous offer!
2. Hi-decibel Ranting Telephoner - I know there's no such word but I'm sure nobody knows that the situation I'm gonna describe exists either. The shared auto doesnt run on the fuel we lesser mortals use. Instead, it digests something known as kerosene. So the sound of the vehicle is so blaring and cacophonous that to get my point across to a conversationee over telephone I need to do a Monica Seles smash (For the uninitiated thats an unforgettable aaaththeyyyyyyyy ).
3. The Eternal Stare-ee - This role flows from the point above. So wot else can you expect when you're shouting your lungs out over the telephone - a funny stare, an annoyed stare, a what-the-heck stare and many more.
4. The Greedy Seat Holder - Err, I have rushed to get the seat on the extreme right so as to avoide having to "adjust" with the WWF wrestler types. Something I'm not to happy to write here - The fact that I've sometimes occupied more seat than I required (Note - the use of "seat" as an uncount noun! Wow!) and acted as if I was very uncomfortable....ya I know its being mean but my friend, ye sab karna padta hai, trust me..
5. The Hump Ducker - Now for some truly valuable gyan. If you ever happen to sit (????) in a shared auto, beware of all humps coz your left and right brains are at serious risk. Duck (the timing comes only with experience!) to save your err skin or hair or wotever!
6. The Half-behind Suspended Adjuster - Ahem! No comments on this!

Now this shared auto experience will last only another month and I'm teary-eyed again! (Ayyoooo!!)

The Secret!

I dono why ppl say women cant keep secrets...I've always kept secrets and sometimes to the point of disappointment to hear of those secrets from somebody else.
Now this takes me to somebody (Ms. X) who studied with me during my coll days. She was a peculiar character to say the least. If my classroom was a square (ABCD) and I sat near vertex A, she sat near B. One bright, sunny morning I told her about some ABC thing that only priviledged few knew about and I was told the exact same ABC thing by my co-benchers in the afternoon....so basically the news had travelled the area of the square in just 3 hours!
Thats when I stopped saying "What the heck! of course not" to ppl who ask "did u tel him/her about that (secret)".
Like now, when my bro asked me in panic if I'd told R about TBT, I just said "No I dint and yes, I wont"....:-P

Run....

Escape,
The earth that runs below you.
How -
When the stillness of life underneath,
Runs on your mind like bare thought,
A vertigo, hits you there
So low so unnerved so unrestricted so boundless with precision.
The horse there runs
To win the race
With fury and
An incense unparalleled.
Does it half-beat the free passion of a free horse in a free stable?
Around me I see the mirth of success,
The mirage of yearning,
The unkempt masses of unclear logic.
Rushing, running, beating thinking and its unmatchable speed,
Annoying,
Appeasing,
Exchanging,
Enjoying,
Reinventing
through escapology.

Whatever!

Even if I kept aside my dislike for 4/4 persons in this pic, I still thought this "gesture" was pretty cheap.....n yeah, its definitely not funny....

Sanky - The Great Tanky!

Now since I'll be gone from Bangalore in a month, I think its imperative that I make posts about all those "Great Hangouts" of my life (so far). And so I will begin with this place called Sanky tank!

Situated on Sanky Road and flanked by Sadashivnagar, Vyalikaval and Malleswaram, Sanky Tank is an artificial lake with a walking track. This place is regularly visited by hundreds of people in Bangalore as part of their daily health regimen. The place has 2 entrances - one from Sadashivnagar (after the Swimming Pool) and the other from Malleswaram (Opp. CET Cell).

Now what exactly makes this place so special?

1. Serenity - Its probably serendipity that the serenity of the place washes off all feelings of senility! (Ok I will not show off my vocab)...So the greenery in Sanky is actually amazing and you get a feeling of being at peace with yourself and with the world around.

2. Scenery - Its quite picturesque. Consider the pics below:

And more:

3. Birds and ducks - Its quite likely that you'll spot Kingfishers and some other birds on trees and there are ducks in the tank! Scintillating personalities of nature!

4. Bhel Puri / Churmuri - My post would be incomplete without the food element. The churmuri in the blue gaadi outside sanky is quite yummy, esp. after the tiring walk around the tank :)....And yes if you are near the Malleswaram entrance, you'll find a juice shop and "Hot Chips" on the way to the 18th Cross bus Stand!

Sanky Tank has been one of my fav places in bangalore. Needless to say, I'm gonna miss going there.

Nostalgic!

When I first saw my name on SP Jain's second list, I was elated, ecstatic and speechless with shock! The feeling went onto culminate into unbounded joy and absolute delight. Getting admission there is a dream come true for me and I'm looking forward to the experience there.

However, towards the end of the day, I found myself caressing mixed feelings.

1. I've never lived away from home. And it pains me to do that now. The immense attachment with loved ones here and having to stay away from them is a miserable feeling....I'm wondering how I'm gonna be able cope up with this.
2. My current workplace has a great work environment. And I just don feel like quitting! Its been a great journey of learning, getting to know some great ppl and interacting with wonderful peers here!
3. My friends circle from college....hanging out in Malleswaram, coffee rendezvous, masala dosa, hot chilli bonda, weekend movie....infectious laughter, poorest of the poor jokes, the wooooing and the booooing....
I'm gonna miss these crazy moments....
4. Bangalore....its the place thats made me laugh, cry, sulk, sigh, yell and howl! Hmmm how am I gonna stay away???????
Actually I'm teary-eyed!

Before I sign off, I need to mention this. Yesterday, as I was confiding my mixed feelings to all friends, one Mr. Flunky (lets cal him that) said (playfully) that the depth of his feelings is overwhelming him....Its unfathomable and yet an inch deep....and an inch can be really big for an ant like him :)....
And this crazy statement is actually profound...relative word, relative joy, relative happiness, relatively beautiful life!
Memories...I'm gonna hold them close to me always....always!

Upon Cloud # 9

I made it through to SPJIMR....Yippieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

and the moon is out and the stars are bright,
and whatever comes s'gonna be alright,
cause tonight you will be mine....
up on cloud number nine!!!!
:):):):):):):):):):)

Memorable!

Nothing for pedestrians!

Bangalore roads together form one roller coaster ride. You go up the flyover, come down an underpass, leap onto a "magic" box and get down another and this goes on and on!
These "magic boxes" that're being constructed on the road to the new airport, have almost outnumbered the countable good roads in the city. And people are very enthused by the fact that traffic congestion is gonna reduce and they can cruise away to catch their flights. But there's one ingredient of society that everybody seems to be ignoring without thought.
The Pedestrians!
What happens to them?
Consider this:
1. It takes at least 10min extra to cross the road near the erstwhile Ganganagar signal.
2. The cops who care only about the vehicles and how fast people in cars can reach, make huge crowds of pedestrians wait forever before ushering them to "the other side".
3. Elderly people find themselves completely lost amid the noisy vehicles.
4. The hired taxi's to the airport are as fast as fast can be. They honk away to glory and treat roads as their family property! No one dare take even a step forward let alone crossing the road.
5. The subways near the "magic boxes" are either poorly built or not built at all.
Aren't we sacrificing the convenience of harmless people - who dont cause air pollution or add to the ever-increasing traffic problem - for the betterment of the affluent?
Yes we are!
And yes, nobody gives a damn!

They also serve who only stand and wait!

Life, a supplement of the Sunday edition of The Times of India, carried a heart wrenching tale as its cover story yesterday.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/I-prayed-God-punish-me-not-my-girls/articleshow/4450083.cms

This story really brings tears to one's eyes. For me, its been a source of great learning:
1. Life's not meant to be fair. But when you outdo yourself even God cannot hold back his grace.
2. Count our blessings! What are problems really! Its made me reconsider all my woes.
3. There's a hero in each one of us. Adversity brings out the best in us.
4. Stop Cribbing!

The key probably is to keep doing your job as best as you can...you may never satisfy all your wants, but wot the heck.....they also serve who only stand ond wait! We're all equals!

Of Mondays!

I think the word Monday is somehow related to/derived from the word mundane.....
Here's my 10th post on a mundane Monday morning.....
Yawwwwwwwwwwwwwwn! :)

Rain Rain come again!

Its raining in the evenings in Bangalore. And even though it proves to be quite messy with water clogging on the roads, motorists splashing water all over pedestrians (like me!) and busses with their overcrowded insides, I'm definitely in favour of rains in this extraordinarily hot summer.
Some reasons why I love summer rains:
1. The feeling of cold wind massaging your face is amazing. Ironically, it feels like a whiff of warmth nature is showering you with. We city people dont always have opportunities to experience the wonders of nature. Rain brings with it (both literally and metaphorically) a breath of fresh air!
2. Hot, yummy chaat and fried food taste best with the rain. Cold on the outside and hot, slightly spicy food in the inside - what a super combination!
3. The best songs in the history of cinema flash across your mind and encompass your heart. The song that I often remember is - Ek ladki bheegi bhaagi si :)
4. The smell of wet sand!
5. The romance!

So enjoy the showers and hum away to glory! Tra la la la la la!

Whatay Voting Challenge!

So the Lok Sabha elections are on. And yesterday was the D-day for all Bangaloreans.
Now Bangalore North was my constituency and we had over 25 candidates to choose from. Since the JD(S) is reportedly supporting the INC (secretly/silently), the major contenders for the Bangalore - North constituency were/are the BJP and the INC.
The Ambience : The ambience seemed peaceful. No long queues. No querulous arguments heard. The policemen seemed to be doing a good job.
The People : A good blend of categories. The young and the middle-aged (I didnt spot old people, though they might've cast their votes earlier or later), people from different strata of society. I was surprised to spot lotsa young (19-25) people turning up to cast their votes.
The Incidents : Two significant incidents were noted:
1. The Maid Servant Story - When I asked her if she finished voting, she said "No, nobody's paid us this time around. So I will not vote. My husband's still standing in the queue near X party's office. The moment they pay, I'll go vote".
So this is, this REALLY is, the state of affairs in the "largest democracy" of the world! Makes me wonder why we're being called a democracy! Makes me open my eyes to how skewed all "development" in this country really is!
2. Mr. ABC's story - Ok Mr. ABC has no faith in Indian politics. He's a young man who thinks he's wasting the morning sleep for a bunch of idiots who arent gonna go beyond their "earnings" once they come to power. But he's scared that if he doesnt vote, his vote might be rigged in sum party's favour. So what does he do? He goes to the polling booth, takes about 5minutes in front of the electronic voting machine and casts his vote after enough deliberation! How you ask? Well! He checks out each party's symbol. The symbol (barring ones of the 3 "major" parties, of course) which is the most attractive gets his vote!
This actually made me realise the significance of the party symbol! I'm sure lotsa youngsters would do this out of frustration (very understandable)!
The Moral : In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed-man is the King!
So much for the Jaago Re campaign! My question - kisliye jaage? Not one candidate has enough mettle to really DO something for anybody other than himself!
The Catch 22 again : You vote to elect the right party, but the fact that you vote means you cannot elect the right party coz there is no "right" party!
Now, that the voting is over, yeah, its time to sleep again! (sigh!)

Of English and its roots!

The word "xanthodontous" means "Having yellow teeth".
It is derived from the Greek roots "Xanthos" meaning yellow and "Odon" meaning toothed.
I learnt about the word early this morning and as I was assimilating its facts, a certain similarity struck me.
The word "danta" in Sanskrit means tooth as well. Consider "Ekadanta" (ek+danta=single toothed/tusked), a word used for Lord Ganesha.
Similarly, we have the following roots in some other languages (Source: wikipedia):
Latin dens, Lithuanian dantis, Old Irish det, Welsh dent.
Most words in English, we're often told, are derived from Latin and Greek. And if you look up the word "dental" or "dentist" on Google, its more likely that the results point to a Latin root.
But now I'm wondering!
Since Sanskrit is older than Latin ("Sanskrit is older than Latin in the sense that its written records can be traced back further in time" - Philip Baldi, Foreign Language Study, 1999), could words dental, dentist and the like, be sourced from Sanskrit itself?
Something to think about.
Maybe we Indians didnt get a patent for it.....just like we didnt for basmati rice!
What do you think?

Inhi logo ney!

Isnt it strange that the people who scoff at you, sometimes say the nicest things you could ever hear?
And in the same breath, people who often agree with you, scorn at your ideas on certain days?
Inhi logo ney.....inhi logo ney.....inhi logo ney change kiya opinion mera!
Give it a thought!
Note : My 6th blog post; a sign of something it is! Cheers!

Concalls - A sign of frustration

Ok! So if u need a sytem to work, the one thing that you should and must possess is not:
1. Money
2. Manpower
3. Controllers
4. Management Support
5. Accuracy in procedures....

All that you need is a sense of integrity that makes you fight for the right details.
And when you have it but see that people around you don't, you are left FRUSTRATED!

Bond with chilli bondas

Right opposite Sai Baba Temple on Sampige Road, Malleswaram, there's a small blue-coloured food cart. This is really the place to attain Nirvana as far as foodies like me are concerned!
A green chilli (the fat one; not the thin one used in daily cooking to make food more spicy) is slit into two first and is then dipped in a watery mixture of gram flour, red chilli powder and jeera (cumin) and deep-fried in oil. These hot chilli bondas may then be savoured to your heart's content.
Now this blue-foodcart has different varieties of bondas:
1. Chilli Bondas
2. Aloo Bondas (with lotsa garlic and an unforgettable taste)
3. Dal Vada
4. Onion Pakoda
Each of these transports you to an imaginary world where you feel you have attained all your goals. Wah, kya taste hai!
The least I could do for this fella is marketing his creations on my blog!

HOMPing and Chomping!

NDTV Goodtimes is really a coming-of-age channel. In the muck of TV soaps and detergents, programmes on Goodtimes are like breaths of fresh air. The following programmes are worth watching:
1. Highway on my plate (HOMP)(a travel cum food show with Rocky and Mayur)
2. One life to Love (a show about life by Simran Bhargava; slighly philosophical but worth every minute of its airtime)
3. Scope for Improvement (interiors of rooms/spaces of houses are re-done for civilians who write-in to NDTV for a change in the structures)
4. Bodylicious (a health show that combines yoga, weight training and aerobics)
5. The Single Female Traveller (a travel show showcasing some exotic locales; more for feel-good viewing)

HOMP, surely deserves a special mention, coz it takes you around small towns of the country and the hosts (absolutely rocking!) review restaurants in these places. The humour in the show is its USP. Sample this: While looking at a made-to-order-cake in a bakery, Rocky and Mayur actually beg the owner to hand over the cake with "Happy Birthday X". They plead ("Could you tell X it just fell off the table"), they bribe ("We'll pay you twice the cost") and end up making you roll in laughter. Another hopelessly funny scene is when they loiter around the "Bhang" shops of Jaisalmer at 7am and contemplate "Breaking In" when they find all shops closed.
Truely, this is one show to-die-for and I'd recommend this to all readers of my blog!
PS: Please keep a bowl of eatables to munch along while watching HOMP, coz it makes you feel terribly hungry. And yeah, just make sure the food by your side is at least as yummy as what they eat on TV lest you feel miserable!

Like Butterflies....

They come,
they sit,
they express,
they unwind,

and then,
they
fade
away

Like bees on the flower,
Like modulated knobs on the shower.
Like butterflies..
flies..
lies..
I's..

Smelly Loo Smelly Loo!

I know this isnt the best way to start off with a blog but as they say the biggest ideas thrust themselves upon you only in the loo, on me they did too!
I hate inefficiency in whatever place and whichever case! But no, thats not the reason why I so detest the loo-cleaner-ladies out here. Its just the thought of how they can abstain completely from their day-today work and laze around the pantry gossipping and exchanging sweetnothings that makes me mad.
Whoever said Hitler had his positives should come to my office and check out the concentration-camp-like-loos.
Visualise: Tissues strewn around the dustbin which is overflowing with garbage, long hair flying around the floor mosaic, an odour that encompasses ur nostrils and envelops your existance (yuck!), water spilt around the seat and yes, thats not the end, there's no toilet paper either!
No, seriously, what the heck do they do all day....n exactly how many reminders in a day do they need to go about their job!
I'm angry, frustrated and helpless!
The brighter picture - It finally got me blogging! (Yey!) (Sigh!)