Tag: Bangalore

  • Bangalored…

    That was a term that became famous in the US and Uk when outsourcing was an issue that was topmost in people’s minds… Now its sort of been relegated to some tshirts that float around…
    The man who makes our mind sing, the PM himself, was in town a few days back, to discuss some issues pertaining to civic infrastructure.. apparently the normally calm guy got a bit flustered after experiencing the traffic scenario…. so he made a few telling comments on how people should learn to how to handle themselves in traffic and stop being so horny all the time :D…
    but its something i notice all around these days in the people of my age group these days, no,not the horny bit, well that also, but more importantly the arrogance and the feeling that the world exists to serve him… i see it in hotels, offices, parking spaces, malls, the blatant disregard for the rest of humanity… its the language of money, of the money thats (also)being earned by the outsourcing of jobs that i started out the post with… the misbehaviourin traffic is just one of the manifestations…
    this crowd is the target audience for all the companies thats selling things from credit cards to designer clothes to designer houses to local flavors to low cal flavours and everything in between and all around.. a wonderful economy with people who have the money and people who want to make money… is that so bad? not at all, but while we do the accumulation of currency, is it so difficult to go about in a dignified way? is it one big bag which will either hold money or decency… i somehow dont think so… but then it does take a good soul to be decent even when you dont have to be…
    and to come full circle, after the Apple fiasco a few months back, its now the turn of Intel to shut down some of its developmental operations in India… is it time now for Bangalore to be Bangalored?

    until next time, whine and bear…

  • Reel…

    That was exactly what Bangalore did in reaction to the death of Dr Rajkumar… no, correction,that was what it was made to do… in a city where less than 50% of the population is not native of the state, it is difficult to imagine that the death actually made the entire city mourn… rather, it was fear that made the city come to a halt…a halt which almost got the bachelor population go hungry for a day, which forced all forms of entertainment to be out of access – that included all the shops, malls, theatres and the staple cable TV!!…
    and which all but killed the long anticipated weekend.. although most parts of the city was peaceful there was an ‘anything could happen’ air about, which hampered the regular functioning of the city.. and after the scenes aired on the news channels (which weremercifully spared from the entertainment ban), not many people would have wanted to open their shops for the few people who might actually dare to venture out…
    two millenia after Jesus died, when his followers make up the largest religion in the world,i wonder what would happen if the same logic were to be adopted by his followers every Good Friday.. Perhaps its because of the knowledge that He would be back on a later day, and that,i guess, is the difference between a god and a demigod.
    until next time, end of reel
    (yup, delayed by almost a fortnight, but am almost settled, so from now i should be on normal mode)

  • Storytellers

    Its party time for the worms in Bangalore, the book kind that is, all thanks to the Strand Book Festival – one of the few things that rock our home’s otherwise carefully managed financial boat..:)

    Last weekend was no exception, as Sherlock Holmes, Calvin, Asimov, Mughals and assorted other stars came into our living room, a slightly different kind of printed paper went out, and like always, there’s not even an iota of guilt..hehe

    Since D preferred to do eyebrows while I browsed through rows and rows of storytellers, it gave me time to send a little note of thanks heavenwards, to the first storyteller i ever knew, and the best – to my grandmother, who used to tell me a story every night before I slept, who used to make sure i got my ‘Poompatta‘ every month, and insisted that my dad bought me ‘Amar Chitra Katha’ regularly. The storyteller whose stories were only for me, whose characters always seemed to be my age, or the kind that i liked, whose stories were imaginative, inspiring, heartwarming and everything else that stories should be, who made sure that i would love stories for the rest of my life.

    And since i know i can never be that good a storyteller, the books I buy are perhaps my way of passing on my favourite stories to those who come after me, for I understand that only the very fortunate ones end up getting a great storyteller as a granny.


    until next time, live happily ever after…

  • A watered down version of bangalore!!


    Yup, its true!! Bangalore has a huge floating population these days!!
    (Image source: Times of India 🙁 )

  • And on the eighth day, He made God

    Usually dine out on Saturdays, its a weekly ritual, kinda relaxant for me… this week, went to a place called “Whats cooking?”… other than all the things that are the norm, i liked the place coz it gave me a view of arguably one of the busiest streets in bangalore – Commercial Street. For one and a half hours, i watched diverse versions of our species in various moods and states of existence – some rich, some poor, some physically challenged, some kids, some grown ups, some grown up kids, some angry, some peaceful, some happy, many sad and suddenly i happened to remember a song, which remains a favourite because of its lyrics and concept – “What if God was one of us” by Joan Osborne. It set of a whole train of thoughts in my head, all over again….. about the concept of what we call God, and how he can be so non-human – lacking of ego, anger, hatred… coz if I had a lot of atheists living happily, a lot of guys halfway atheist and demanding proof of my existence, (as if the entire phenomena around them werent enough), a lot of guys beseeching/threatening/cursing me for miscellaneous favours and forgetting me once i get the things done, and to top it all, some wisecracks who proclaim “if god is in everything, he is in me, so worship me”, oh hell, (pardon the pun), i’d be one pissed off God. Thank God they didnt choose me to be God (according to Hindu mythology, the best kings on earth were chosen to be Indra, the king of Gods, after their tenure on earth… we dont have kings now, so……)..hehe…
    While on the concept of God, here’s a good fwd i got, its titled “Whispers” (no, theres no brand involved this time 🙂 )
    The man whispered, “God, speak to me” and a meadowlark sang.
    But, the man did not hear.
    So the man yelled, “God, speak to me” and the thunder rolled across the sky.
    But the man did not listen.
    The man looked around and said, “God let me see you.” and a star shined brightly.
    But the man did not see.
    And, the man shouted, “God show me a miracle.” and, a life was born.
    But, the man did not notice.
    So, the man cried out in despair, “Touch me God, and let me know you are here.” Whereupon, God reached down and touched the man.
    But, the man brushed the butterfly away …
    and walked on.

    I found this to be a great reminder that God is always around us in the little and simple things that we take for granted …
    and now for your weekly dose of
    manuscrypts trivia
    the first quote will apply to a lot of bloggers, the rest are more in line with the post above
    “A writer writes not because he is educated but because he is driven by the need to communicate. Behind the need to communicate is the need to share. Behind the need to share is the need to be understood. The writer wants to be understood much more than he wants to be respected or praised or even loved. And that perhaps, is what makes him different from others.” ~ Leo Rosten
    “It may be that our role on this planet is not to worship God, but to create him.” ~ Arthur C. Clarke
    “Is man one of God’s blunders or is God one of man’s blunders?” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche”
    God is not dead but alive and well and working on a much less ambitious project.” ~ Anonymous, Graffiti
    “I have too much respect for the idea of God to make it responsible for such an absurd world.” ~ Georges Duhamel
    “I don’t know if God exists, but it would be better for His reputation if He didn’t.” ~ Jules Renard

    PS – If “God’s Own Country” still has internet alive and kicking, the next post will be from there!!