The rains and I..

With the onset of the rains, the weather of the once Pensioner’s Paradise aka Bangalore has taken a pleasant break from the oppressive summer heat. The mornings now are chilly, afternoons cloudy, evenings windy and nights rainy.

As I entered the excessively air conditioned ODC here in office today morning, I could not help but let out a sigh!! I’m not exactly a sentimentalist but somehow the lovely weather outside forced me to think of something interesting I’d do, rather than unit testing some code here. How awesome it would be to cuddle in a bean bag with a mug of hot chocolate and a good novel while it pours thus, to look out of the window and see the dripping rain water, to watch the trees and plants get fresh and alive from the rain bath, to stand at the door step and feel the splash of rain water on my feet, to feel the mist of rain against my face and the soothing earthy smell that lingers when it rains, to have a thoroughly intellectual discussion on some profound topic with a polymath of sorts and may be even feel at peace with the world!! Lol…

Another thing is that I actually love the rains, in the sense I like playing in the rain. I just need an excuse to dash out when it pours and not return till I’m soaked to the bone!! And that is precisely why I did not need to be asked twice about going for a walk around the Wipro campus while it rained cats and dogs, on the day before yesterday with a friend. We were thoroughly drenched in less than two minutes and what more, my friend went around stopping the people hurrying for cover to slow down and enjoy the downpour. They did look at us like we were some freaks but were decent enough to just smile back and head for cover. Jumping into puddles and splashing the rain water was more fun, given that we were already dripping wet and the water puddles within the campus was clean and not muddy. After about 20 minutes of pure bliss, free of cost I must add, it was time to get into the bus and head homewards. The fun did not end there; we sat in the last seat, yelping every time the bus hit a bumpy patch, giggling when our teeth chattered and last but not the least, playing old hindi sentimental hits like O Saathi Re and all that. The others in our bus (frowning uncles and pouting aunties) are used to such behavior on our part though its not like we would be bothered to stop if at all anyone took offense. Somehow, the weather, the rains and the songs, it was all very becoming!! And that made it worthwhile. While I spoke to my friend later that night, he instantly agreed with me that we should do this fun-in-the-rain thingy again.

This was 2-3 days back now and I must say I have tucked it in as a lovely memory. I probably have a glossed look on my face while composing this blog, given that I’ve been thinking of that day and the rains and the lovely weather today which is just like how it was then and hold on, did someone just say A RAIN DANCE PARTY?????

Living up "Atlas Shrugged"

I read Ayn Rand’s magnum opus “Atlas Shrugged” during my final year at college and I have been reading it over and over again, ever since. I’m sure everyone who has read the book faced that “swept off your feet” feeling and I’m no different.

What struck me the most was the way we can relate the on goings around us to the instances depicted in the book. It is as if, we are living the story of the book. And there are various instances around us to enunciate that!!

“Businessmen needing good Washington connections” –
This is well portrayed by the Ambani brothers. While Mukesh Ambani frequently has many a rendezvous with CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, his arch-rival and brother Anil Ambani is known to be particularly close to Samajwadi Party honcho Amar Singh.

“Nat Taggart was issued a notice by a local senator to shelf his transcontinental project” –
Ratan Tata and his Nano project received the exact treatment from the West Bengal government, kudos to the Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Bannerjee. But of course, West Bengal’s loss became Gujarat’s gain. Narendra Modi has to be commended for striking gold at the right time. Ashok Kheny’s NICE project and Deve Gowda's subsequent road blocks against the infrastructural development is yet another example.

“The concept of a person’s need being glorified irrespective whether he toils to achieve it” –
The best example for this is something we have been witnessing for over decades in our country now; the reservation policy in our country!! With the passing years, the situation is only deteriorating rather bring about the desired progress. The Constitution, as originally drafted, laid down a percentage of reservation in the public sector for selected backward classes that were historically oppressed and denied opportunity, for a period of ten years, after which the situation was to be reviewed. This period was routinely (and conveniently) extended by our politicos and the idea which was supposed to be for a noble cause has been thoroughly exploited for vote banks with their “vote your caste” mantra, and no revisions were undertaken. A minister can claim “backward” status and benefit from the policy while a starving farmer, ignorant of the opportunity, continues to starve. Azim Premji, Narayan Murthy and their kind have no takers; be it their opposition over expanding reservation, or their idea of having reservation based on economic status.

I’m sure many more instances of this sort can be listed but there is no purpose served by listing out our issues and lamenting. We need to begin the change, to think and to act. I’m loathe to think of what would happen to our country, if God forbid, our very own Atlases choose to shrug. Viewing the situation around, I do wonder if we are heading the John Galt way!!

Sweltering summer cold...

As if tolerating the heat wave here in Bangalore is not sufficient, I managed the near impossible task of catching a terrific cold. As usual, I tried managing on my own for two days but the status quo situation made me see my doctor and I must add; even he was impressed seeing my feat. Severe cold in summer?? Oh wow…. 

I don’t know if he really does it but I have a feeling he prescribes more medicines than required. Of course I’m no expert in dealing with even drugs but I do not believe in popping pills till illness completely eludes me. We fall ill when our body loses strength and immunity. An interesting fact is that our body fights diseases, infections and microbes to a great extent. I can safely comment without any medical authority certification that our body’s natural resistance begins its war against illness ages before we actually fall ill and we fall sick when that resistance crumbles. 

So I believe our body is naturally capable of taking care of itself, and since the battered resistance is the shortcoming for illness, the medicines we take should only aid the body till such time that resistance gets better. I bought only half the course prescribed and took the very first dose yesterday night!!

To my ignorance, I did not know that all medicines for common cold are sedative in nature. I know Benadryl cough syrup has high alcohol content but not a tablet taken for common cold, despite my doctor’s claims of that particular brand being the mildest of all.. Early mornings are, as it is, the bane of my existence and I slept with a sedative, to add to my agony!!

Waking up at 6.00am today morning, coupled with getting ready on time to catch my regular 6.50am office shuttle, was the second near impossible task I accomplished. I expected the long journey all the way till EC and the boisterous breakfast with colleagues to suffice in keeping my slumber at bay. But no, as I sat in front of my system, I was unable to comprehend even a single line of code, the coding of which had taken up most of my evenings in the past one week. I tried reading a novel (an e-copy of A kingdom of dreams!) to pipe up interest but the drowsiness got better of me. When neither the freshly brewed Barista Hot Chocolate nor splashing cold water on my face had any impact, I retired to the dormitory. Walking till tower-10 was a pain and I knew how I’d feel if I ever got tipsy and then tried walking, déjà vu!! Thank God, there was an empty bed and I only remember hitting the sack. I woke up almost 2 hours later when my team mate called to check on me. 

Anyways I had to return for an urgent meeting and I was better after lunch break. Phew!! That was indeed a soporifically adventurous day……

My first "halli jatre" experience...

My first ever experience of sorts, I visited a typical “halli jaatre” (village fair) over the weekend. Thanks to Paa, we received an invitation to participate in the KaViKa rathotsava (chariot procession) on the auspicious of Ramanavami celebrations at the Ghali Anjaneya Swamy temple in Mysore road.

Despite living in close proximity to the place and for over 20 years now, I had no idea this annual festivity would be so grand. I knew there was a rathotsava but never knew there would be over 12-13 chariots carrying the many utsava murthis (idols meant for procession) and it would be a grandiose affair with dwellers from just about everywhere reveling in the celebrations till early dawn. There are many temples in the vicinity. Each of those temple deities had a chariot and the entire sight was worth a dekko!

The complete stretch of Mysore road was brilliantly lighted, with vehicles barred right from the Mysore road - Chord road junction and the police ever vigilant; we reached the KaViKa factory (Karnataka Vidyut Karkhane) at about 10.00pm on Saturday night (4th of April, 2009) for the chariot procession that would begin by 10.30pm. The crowd had me spellbound; it did not look like it was near midnight. The rural ambience was stunning and totally unexpected. A local orchestra was pelting out the latest hits and the loud applause and encores showed how the people were enjoying themselves. Umpteen hawkers were on the streets selling sweets, toys, clothes and just about everything. There even were computerized astrology predicting robots. The women and children seemed to have a blast while the men took pride in purchasing stuff for their families and protectively guiding them through the rush. We made our way through the din on foot to reach the KaViKa factory premises.

As soon as the chariot decorations were done with, my folks and I went with KaViKa chairman Mr.Kulkarni to the venue. The chariot was huge, at least 20 feet high and an equally massive girth. It was a hoovina pallakki (chariot of flowers, jasmine in particular) unlike the 12 others which were all mutthina pallakis (chariots of beads). The aroma of fresh jasmine mixed with the tinge of incense sticks lingered in the air and the richly decorated idols of Ram, Lakshman, Seetha and Hanuman were becoming. It was a treat worth looking at. The crowd went ballistic when the pundits did the aarti and the procession began with shouts of “Ramchandraji ki jai, Seeta ji ki jai, Vaayu suta Hanuman ki jai..”

My folks and I too, were a part of the group of people who pulled the chariot ahead for the initial few feet. While a gang of guys kept breaking coconuts all through the way shouting the Lord’s name, another gang kept brushing the broken pieces aside to keep the group pulling the chariot from hurting our feet. Another gang burst crackers, everyone reveled and participated in their own way.

As usual, there was a power cut in the middle of the celebrations but the dazzling deepas (oil lamps or diyas) and the glare of bursting crackers made the jewel studded idols look splendid. That, coupled with the devotion of the hundreds of people gathered to witness the procession, the nonstop chanting of mantras, the loud shouts of the Lord’s name, the way people participated, reminded me of the Ramayana sequence of “ALilu seve” (squirrel service).

In the midst of all this, I realized with a shock that I had tears running down my eyes. I could visualize my music teacher Sharadha ma’am explaining Tyagaraja’s love and devotion for Rama while telling the meaning of each composition she taught. It made so much sense. My mum apparently echoed my sentiments and said its no wonder Rama is called “Chakravarti tanuja” (emperor’s son), he deserved all the glitter, grandeur and more.

Suddenly everything else became insignificant!! For someone who hates crowds of any sort, I no longer minded the brash rural crowd gathered there. I did not wince at the way people pushed and pulled at each other, for a closer glance of the Lord. I did not feel anything except that idyllic bliss at the bottom of my mind. I was swayed off my feet at the devotion of the common man there and the words about everyone being the same in His presence seemed so true. We are all so insignificant in front of Him.

As the procession entered the main road, we stood aside watching the procession, the fire works and the people for a while. Later we were escorted by a KaViKa official to the Ghali Anjaneya Swamy temple for darshan. Lord Hanuman there seemed almost alive that night, grandly adorned by a myriad of choicest colored flowers and jewels. We offered our prayers and left.

As I retired to bed later that night, my head was full of the events of the previous hour and complete mish mash of so many emotions. A truly gratifying experience!!

Concerns of a first time voter...

With the election fever around the corner and being the first time voter that I am, I just wonder...

The first and foremost fact is that none of the candidates are worth voting for. All of them surely have allegations stacked against them or worse, a criminal background; though I must admit I have not done any kind of background verification. I don’t need to! Another thing I’m sure of, without having to verify, is that they are all uneducated. School or college drop outs at some time, they took to politics like the oft repeated Johnson’s definition of politics being the last resort of scoundrels. They neither have any sort of developmental works to their credit nor a flattering profile. The power mongers took to politics with the sole intention of growing rich by milking the system dry, thanks to the million loopholes and our shameless custom of bribery.

I do not want to choose any of them but the fact remains that, I can only choose the lesser sin of the lot. The Electronic Voting Machines rule out the option of invalid votes. The 49-O forms will never be found at polling booths and heck, I will not have someone else voting in my name.

I’m no expert and I may be wrong talking with respect to India, but I somehow feel the dual-party system, as in USA, works well. There are only two options to choose from, it is either this or that! There will never be an issue of coalition government or a Hung parliament. Somehow we will have a better choice of candidates, if two-party system is the case.

Even better, we can have an ombudsman for ticket seeking candidates. The candidates should have at least a formal degree from a recognized university and a profile that matches the requirements as mentioned in a framework set by the connoisseurs of the arena. This framework should be revised to stay in tune with the changing times and necessities.

Sledging is another commonly used technique. Allegations against opposition party candidates sensationalized especially when elections are around the corner. Another thing is the way issues are blown way out of proportion. Little do they realize that, any publicity is good publicity; tasteless nevertheless. The Varun Gandhi episode, Pramod Mutalik versus Renuka Chowdary and the Pink Chaddi campaign, Modi bashing for publicity, seeking mercy votes and targeting minority vote banks etc. All this should somehow be nipped in the bud, it is disgusting!

Another thought of mine is that only tax payers should be eligible to vote as only they truly value their hard earned money and put in the effort of correctly deciding who should lead and how. A teenybopper I once knew voted for a candidate at the last elections (she was then a first time voter) because she thought he was cute! A bedridden octogenarian (May his soul now rest in peace!) said he always admired Nehru and declared that voting for the daughter-in-law of the family was his way of showing loyalty. How can we expect to have proper leaders when we have voters biased on such unreasonable terms?

It is probably the Ayn Rand influence but we cannot sit back and expect things to become the way they ought to be. The system will not change till the leaders change and the leaders will not change till the people desire the change. We are a democracy and we should find a way of getting the changes we desire to see.

Well, I’m just a first time voter and these are just a few of my concerns! :)

Sniff sniff.. But I'm not weeping!!

After many years, I got a chance yet again to travel in Mysore Road in a two-wheeler and I experienced an aching sense of nostalgia. What seemed to be an olfactory adventure once has now become a sweet memory tucked away into the time elapsed folds of my childhood.

Travelling pillion in Mysore road with Dad was a routine. The fun would actually begin at the Mysore road and West of Chord road junction near the BHEL office. The game was simple, to identify as many different smells as possible from the junction till we reached The Club opposite the Rajarajeshwarinagar arch. I would become all stiff and ready as we neared the BHEL junction.

As we turned towards Mysore road at the junction, I would start sniffing lightly. The first smell was from the fishmonger’s, right at the turning, on the footpath of BHEL office. Of course I found the smell of fish revolting and I would never take more than one whiff of breath as if anything more would kill me.

A few tens of meters ahead from the junction and there would be a light aroma of confectionaries from the roadside bakery. A deep breath and yum, I’ve even remember having water in my mouth a few times.

Further up ahead, the main road had petrol bunks on both sides and the addictive smell of petrol would lightly linger in the air. Another deep breath, I have been a sucker for petrol smell ever since.

As we progressed in the direction, my most awaited landmark in Mysore road would near. The Kwality Biscuit factory, opposite the Siddharooda Aashram!! The air would be rich with the heavenly aroma of freshly baked biscuits. I would inhale and exhale deep and fast as if I wanted to take in every whiff of the delicious smell. Heaven lasted a little while here.

A few more hundreds of meters from there and I used to be wary of even breathing, let alone sniff at the smell in air. One of the major water sources of Bangalore once and polluted beyond all limits ever since, Vrushabhavathi flowed. Monsoons and cyclones were the bane of existence for the regular commuters of Mysore road, when the polluted water would overflow onto the main road. The stench emanating was unbearable at all times. I would carefully breathe and as soon as the stench began, I would hold my breath for as long as I could.

Finally, a few more minutes along the same road and I would be hit by a pungent blast of Hydrogen chloride from the chemical factory next to the Rajarajeshwarinagar arch. Another few seconds of holding my breath and I would be gasping for fresh air. Thankfully, I’d have reached my destination by then!!

When I drove along the familiar road after many years, every minute of the journey reminded me of the innocent little girl and her so called olfactory adventure while riding pillion with her father. No, I did not try doing the same this time and I’m sure I’d have choked on the thick smoky air, had I tried.

Other than that, I could not help but notice many other changes. The fishmonger now sells fried fish too; the smell is probably more repulsive now. The old confectionary shop has closed down. The old petrol bunks are now replaced by sleek Shell fuel stations. Kwality Biscuit factory has vanished and replaced by a Bajaj showroom. The absence of the aroma of freshly baked biscuits touched a sentimental note as though it made the end of my childhood glaringly obvious. Nevertheless Vrushabhavathi stank just the same!!

I broke out of my reverie soon, but the aching nostalgia persisted. I wished I could go back to those glorious days of my childhood, when million such little things filled the days and the sole purpose of every minute was to have fun. Period.

Tyagaraja Yoga Vaibhavam...

Currently playing on my IPod is a beautiful rendition of Tyagaraja Yoga Vaibhavam in Anandabhairavi by Sanjay Subrahmaniam. The lines –
Tyagaraja Yoga Vaibhavam…
Raja Yoga Vaibhavam..
Yoga Vaibhavam..
Vaibhavam….
keep coming to me over and over again; I’m reminded of waves in the sea. Nonstop waxing and waning..

Sanjay is undoubtedly one of the finest classical vocalists of recent times. The last time I attended his live concert was at Bangalore Gayana Samaj last year and the only way I could describe the concert was to say that it was electrifying!!

There was no need for this blog but its just that I remembered that concert today morning, while listening to Tyagaraja Yoga Vaibhavam for the nth time in the past few days..

How cool it would be if I could deliver an electrifying concert too!!