Nov 24

A Stranger At Home [Part -1]

The swift wind blowing through the window made me pull the overcoat tighter and closer around my body. I glanced outside the window of the moving vehicle, not willing to shut it down. I wanted to look at the streets, the racing view of the stores, people walking by, engrossed in my own thoughts. The mind deciphered with disinterest, the fleeting images.
“So, how does it feel to be back home?,” Shashi quipped. I looked at him. He was watching me through the rear view mirror. “It feels natural chikkappa (Uncle). It’s my house, I am feeling just fine.” I smiled. He smiled back, “It has changed a lot. What say we stop for a cold badam milk? You haven’t had proper food all through the flight journey. We can also pick up some sweets for home.” I liked the offer but was apprehensive of my parents who would be waiting anxiously. After he assured that it would be quick, I readily accepted. We stopped at Mishra’s Bakery. I loved their Dharwad pedas. “Let’s get some of ’em.” I looked at the prices and whistled. “WOW! Look at that. They sure cost dearer than when I left Bangalore or should I say Bengalooru!”. We bought a few other delicacies alongwith it, gulped down the milk and Shashi went on to cough up the bucks.
“Well look at you! You have just landed back from the US of A, a Masters Graduate! Why do you worry about money, you deserve this and a lot more of treats!” he made a rather vocal observation, that made me look at him with a wide eyed, embarassingly amused look. I could feel the blood rush to my cheeks. The cashier hitherto nonchalant, instantly paused and fixed his gaze at me for a while, flashed a smile, acknowledging the words of my uncle. I reciprocated rather sheepishly and hurried towards the van. “Thanks a lot for reminding me that!,” I said sharply. “Cool down! Didn’t you notice how he seemed pleased with your presence in his stall?,” Shashi winked at me. “What more! He didn’t mind me paying him 2 Rs less than the actual price!”. “Oh! What a kill Shashi.. what a kill!” I got down from the van, pulling out my luggage.
My parents were at the door, my mother with a smile on her face. “My! You haven’t reduced one bit! How much pizzas and ice creams have you been stuffing yourself with!! Go and washup, I will lay the dinner.” In between my father enquired about the flight, the delays and the customs. To each one his own, I thought and smiled to myself. “Your friends have been calling up since morning! They sure do keep track of your whereabouts!,” said Amma. “I was wondering why you haven’t yet brought up that topic!,” I retorted. The luggage was instantly rummaged, the goodies disposed off, the rest divided amidst the gathered, and I hit the bed.

Nov 09

Jst 4 Fn!!

Oh! My revered readers I beg thee pardon for I hath refrained from providing thy honored presence with anything worthwhile to pen about. But lest, thou shalt all abandon me in grave disappointment, here I am, better being late than never, updating this haloed space, one that is glowing not by my incoherent talks, but rather by thine revered presences!!!
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Well now lets time travel to circa 2020 A.D:-
Hey buddy! Sup man? U knw hw lng ‘ts been since this spc ws updtd by dum’ ol’ me! Say I sure hpe u guyz weren’t disapntd. U knw all this talk abt. upgradng the academic wrld 2 accept the sms lingo yaar! Ain’t it kewl! 😉 Jst imagine sm day v cld all b jst cnvrsng like this. Who wd wanna hv all those dum’ ol’ grammar daa.. so boring! geez! Like that bloke in 2day’s toi daa hez so kewl man! He sd it rt – coz we chat dude, n v sms 4 hrs naa.. n v wanna b soundng kewl.. so I say 2 hell with strctrs maaan.. da only strctrs 2 thnk of shld b dat of chix maccha! Gawdddd.. I sw this dame maaan.. she wz soooo haaawwwtttt!!! Well.. nw letz cm bck 2 da topic dawg! Nw jst imagine dawg hw kewl itz gonna snd 2 do off wth all da dmb ol’ vwls n shrnk da wrds, ‘tz gonna sv lotz of ink dawg, nt 2 mnton da papers 2 wrt on man! Bt den who knws may b v’ll ‘ve jst chattng man.. u knw like.. da prof cd jst cht on his m/c n he cd ask his Qs naa n v’d jst type out our Ans out der! No need 2 sit in da dmb brng exm halls maccha!! V r so advncd man, this is whtz being progressive abt in edn dude! Luk @ UK they’ve dun it da, bt. dum’ ol’ desis, dey ‘ve no modernity da, they’d rthr jst stck 2 dmb ol’ wayz n meanz. M kwl maccha.. if m gonna b da edn mnstr da frst thng 2 do’d b 2 pt sms lingo daa. say wanna cm, ltz go out n frk out maaan… v shld ‘ve da drn pubs open all nite dawg.. v r strssd bg tm maccha.. v shld gt 2 rwnd! Da only kewl wy 2 rlx mst b 2 hng out in da bars n pubs n kewl dwn wid beers n drnks man! Cmn ltz go n prty!!!!

Oct 02

The Language of Our “Times”

After a rather long hibernation (one that wasn’t without reason), its time to update this space with some more ramblings. So be cautioned that unless you are interested in something serious, do not venture further, for this ain’t gonna be one fun ride this time!
ISSUE: The decision by the Karnataka Govt. to withdraw recognition to nearly 1,400 schools which have flouted the directive by the government ordering the medium of instruction in primary schools to be in the mother tongue.
The history of this problem is not new found. Infact these schools have been flourishing since 12 years inspite of blatantly violating the directives by the government. There are two facets to look into this issue. First of all is the audacity of the management of the schools which procured recognition from the Government under the pretext that they will provide the primary school instruction in Kannada, and secondly the apathy of the Governments that were in power all these years but yet turned a blind eye towards such defaulters. But these are a matter of another discussion.
Times of India that blows its horns as being a “peoples’ newspaper”- what with a huge circulation, promptly scandalized the issue making it a front page material and wrote elaborately about the “harmful” decision made by the Education Minister. Not only that, they very meticulously showcased the comments of several students who complained about the injustice being meted out to them, and the importance of English in the global market, and how the decision of the government is detrimental to their futures. What was even more ridiculous was the comments by previous Education ministers who mentioned all the “awarding” actions done under them, and made it a point to mention that, had they been allowed to continue in power, how they would have helped the students. There is no need for any special mention herein as to the underlying motive behind those comments.
Things apart, the rather ironic fact is, “Times of India” that took up verbal arms mocking the decision by the Goverment while at the same time thumping upon the importance of English, has NEVER in my memory, EVER raised its voice about the deteriorating position of Kannada in Bangalore. The sheer hypocrism of this media figure was visible in the way it showcased for the cause of English. The fact that Kannada is becoming a forgotten language in Bangalore, where even kannadigas are shying away from Kannada, is a long established fact. Several years have been passed with a small group of patrons urging the locals constantly to not give up their linguistic identity. But alarmingly enough the deterioration of Kannada has only increased exponentially. Why is it that the TOI group doesn’t seem to hear their cries?
The sheer commercial nature of this paper is outpouring in its sheets visibly. Can much sense by attributed to this media icon that finds even the boot-dirt of Karan Johar and Shahrukh Khan worthy of admiration? Their nauseating boot-licking policies not only leave me aghast and gaping for air, but also infuriated enough to write such hard hitting columns. The most important attribute of a mass media should be one of unbiased, detached, and analytic view of any given situation. TOI fails miserably in this scale. When it comes to glitz, glamour and oomph, it oozes out of its pages and the hollow, materialistic columns that the glossy weekend issues portray.
Coming back to the talk at hand, while it is absolutely unarguable that the children studying in these schools are being put through unwanted misery, the newspaper flaunted only the administrative mistakes while drawing curtains over the glaring deeds related to the school management’s unholy activities, and the concern over the deteriorating local language. They have never failed to take out a procession on the deeds they are doing to give a cosmopolitan image to Bangalore at the cost of destroying the local culture and aura. It is apalling to realize that with such a vast readership, they are capable of meting out deadly blows to the minds of the readers and more so the younger generation.
The present generation if anything, is losing its ability to think independently. Mass hysteria of imitating foreign behaviors without distinctly understanding the societal and cultural aspects behind them is growing unhindered – thanks to the fueling works of such detrimental mediums. I am hoping for a revolution to happen in the management of the Times Group, one that would remove the scum present currently and bring the worthy to the forefront. The answer for this prayer is but hidden in the depths of time, meanwhile, I guess the bollywood actors and actresses may get a brief respite while my attention is turned towards other forms of media. What Say Thou?

Sep 17

Home.. At Last…

Reached Bangalore..on 14th of September in the night (instead of early morning.. thanks to bad weather.. missed flights and delayed flights…). But the thing is.. I am finally home.. will update soon.. till then.. hope you all will share my happiness! Till my further updates.. take care buddies.. and thanks a lot for all your support… mail me if u want to get in touch with me..

Sep 06

It’s Only Words…

Today, was a feel good day. I accomplished a few things that I had been planning on from a very long time since. This made me happy, and my heart was light. At that point of time, I was rather more jovial than my usual self, and I was chatting with a friend of mine. In the swing of the moment, when you want to spread that feel goodness to everyone, and make them all a part of your enjoyment and merriment, I tried to tease him. And most unexpectedly the event turned around when he crisply reprimanded me for being too casual in my remarks and reminded me to stay within my limits. Apparently, the closeness that I felt with him, was not the same closeness he felt with me. Needless to say, I felt deeply hurt, and then I felt wronged. I felt that it was unjust on his part of have misread my words, and interpreted it in anyway other than being jovial.. and most certainly they were not meant to demean him in any way. I could not get over the anger and the frustration, and rather kept brooding on it, and the feel goodness that was there moments ago, had all suddenly vanished. I knew that I was letting negative thoughts hamper my day, but yet could not figure out how to curb it.
Later that day, while I was driving back home, the record still playing in my mind continuously… I realized something. I recited to myself the prayer of St. Francis, and one particular sentence in that which said.. to understand rather than be understood. I recited that prayer once again, and my heart felt light once more. I recognized that it was my ego that had veiled my eyes. I could not see beyond my hurt feelings. In the new found light, I realized that it is not necessary that everyone feel close to us the same way as we do towards them. Maybe it hurts our ego, but once we get over it, we grow to accept them as they are. And it really doesn’t matter that everyone love us the way we love them either! That should not be the scale for giving out our love when they are in need. Maybe he had a hard day, maybe I indeed overstepped my boundaries that he had probably set for me. I may have been oblivious to that, but yet, apparently my words hurt him.
I wish there was a way I could undo it, but I can’t. I have tried to understand rather than brood over being misunderstood. But yet, my words hurt someone today… it will take me sometime to get over the remorse…

Sep 04

In touch with humanity…

I love to stay in public places. There is something wonderful about being in airports, train stations, malls, shopping complexes and watching the multitudes of humans around us; their faces raft with expressions reflecting the myriad emotions and thoughts running amock in the cosmic field of their minds; each of them being the rulers in their own world; their own concerns; completely oblivious of their minuscule presence in a much larger ecosphere. Its an amazing show playing continuously 24/7, all 365 days, with the actors shifting stages – one in which from a different relative point of view, I too am a part of!
It is indeed an experience that I had in one such crowded railway compartment that has prompted me to write after a long sojourn. We call ourselves human isn’t it? What more? We are educated humans! Well employed, comfortably settled, and able in various aspects – social, physical, financial, etc etc etc. But then, how often have we truly been “human”, “educated”, and “civilized”?
How many of us have extended a helping hand to a person struggling with luggages? Made a stranger in a place, comfortable? Helped a recluse person in a corner of a party, to feel at ease and mingle with everyone? Education, as such that we have obtained, has only increasingly built barriers between hearts. It has created an unjust inequality. Be it the exploitation of the same by the political parties on the pretext of empowerment of the lower castes (through reservations) or any major degree holder putting down another person with less qualification. The student community in India has finally made its voice and opinion heard regarding the reservation in educational institutions. It is time, that we all also dwelve deep inside us, and take a hard close look at the reservations we harbor in our hearts and minds – of discrimination, of callousness, of negligence, of inhumanity. One need not commit a grave crime to be called a monster. We are all monsters at some point of time. Those moments when we chose to ignore the old person trying hard to cross a street, shut our eyes to the travails of elderly travellers trying to figure their way out in airports or train stations or bus stops, ignored the frail person struggling hard to pull his luggage out of the belt, extended our cold stare to a stranger looking for a smiling face – all of these and much more are instances of our inhumanity, that somehow seems insignificant, and negligible. Are we educated? Are we truly human?