Nammooru Bengaluru

No matter how much, people (read people who have come here from other parts of the country) complain about Bangalore’s infrastructure, they always
make sure to end it with a consolation by saying “But, whatever it is, the weather here is simply great ! “
So, is it just the weather that’s making Bangalore attractive? or is it the IT which’s generating so much employment?
Sadly, most of us think its one of them (or both).
Bangalore’s a city that’s been home to people from all regions and religions. No where would you have come across
a place where your local kirana shop guy speaks in atleast 3 regional languages apart from kannada, the local language.
You receive the same warmth irrespective of where you come from or what language you speak. The city allows you to retain your
regional identity, and yet it gives you all the freedom to make it home ! I am not sure how many such cities exist in this world ?!?!?
Bangalore’s truly cosmopolitan !
(I remember hearing about Mumbai being one such place. I had visited Mumbai when I was just 5 years old, so
I cant really speak about it now).

But what makes me feel dis-appointed is the fact that, you just cannot take all the good things that the city’s offering and don’t bother to give it back ! Let me start with learning the local language. I know its really not necessary as most of the localites can converse in English if not your regional language. But, you must understand, Bangalore is as much yours as it is
to the local population. It wouldn’t hurt if you could speak a word or two in kannada to ur sabzi mandi guy instead of just continuously hurling out words in your local language. Who knows, the sabzi mandi guy might not be comfortable speaking your language. Why make him a stranger In his own land ??? He really doesn’t deserve this ! Same applies while using the local public transport. Try using the local language while asking for a ticket.

Let’s not forget like every place, Bangalore too has got its own heritage and that comes not just from old buildings or parks, but also from its local language.
So speaking the language of the land, helps in retaining a city’s heritage. As I write this post, a fact that I had read in a magazine, sometime ago, comes into my mind. The kannada language that most of us speak is becoming devoid of some of the classiest and beautiful words. These words are not those that require a dictionary. These are simple words that carry a lot of warmth, and they really make short chats (read “harate” –kannada) more meaningful. Sadly, this only shows that, we being born and brought up here (the localites), have also become indifferent to the language that once used to be spoken by our parents and grand-parents !

So, next time, you think of doing something for the city, learning a couple of words(sentences would be even better !) in kannada won’t be that bad a choice. It will not only help you in building a good relation with your local sabzi walla, but will also help in an attempt in preserving this beautiful language and hence the city !

Make this language as yours, just like the way you made this city as your home. I am sure, you won’t be disappointed !!!

Quarter-life Crisis

A nice forward, guess how many of us would associate with it … :-)

BEING IN TWENTIES - SOMETHING

It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are many things about yourself that you didn't know and may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now.
You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren't exactly the greatest people you have ever met, and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones. What you don't recognize is that they are realizing that too, and aren't really cold, catty, mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you.
You look at your job... and it is not even close to what you thought you would be doing, or maybe you are looking for a job and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and that scares you.
Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and are constantly adding things to your list of what is acceptable and what isn't. One minute, you are insecure and then the next, secure.
You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly, change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life, but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away, and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.
You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you. Or you lie in bed and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent enough that you want to get to know better. Or maybe you love someone but love someone else too and cannot figure out why you're doing this because you know that you aren't a bad person. One night stands and random hook ups start to look cheap.
Getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic. You go through the same emotions and questions over and over, and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision. You worry about loans, money, the future and making a life for yourself... and while winning the race would be great, right now you'd just like to be a contender! What you may not realize is that every one reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out. Send this to your twenty-something friends...
maybe it will help someone feel like they aren't alone in their state of confusion...

We call it the "Quarter-life Crisis."

I don't know my vice-president !

He is the Vice president of our country Mohammed Hamid Ansari.

These are some of the answers I got when I asked people about this photograph.
1) Is this fake or real? (meaning if I had used photoshop)
2) Is he alive now ?
(After I told them he is the vice president of our country)
3) Bhairon Singh Shekawat

Thank God no one said Prathiba Patil :-)

The Woman who knew it all . . .

Here's the conversation, that i heard on my way back home in the cab, between an RJ of a popular radio station and a lady(here after referred to as "The-woman-who-knew-it-all" or TWWKIA) , who said her family is full of s/w engineers(or so she claimed). The RJ was conducting one of those innumerable silly competitions and the lady was jobless enough(blame the US recession ? ) to take part in the competition.

RJ : Hiiiiiiiii, so are you ready to win that 1000 rupees gift voucher ? ! ? !
TWWKIA : CAN'T WAIT !
RJ : great !, I am going to ask you coupla questions . . . if you answer any three of them correctly, you get to win that gift voucher, OKAY ?
TWWKIA : OKAY !!!
RJ : how many colours are there in a rainbow ?
TWWKIA : ( all excited) 7 !!!
RJ : Correct ! Can you name them in the order they appear.
TWWKIA : (telling herself how stupid the question is) Um ...VIBGYOR ! violet,indigo,blue,green,yellow,orange and red !!!
(Now comes the real question . . .)
RJ : great ! what's the name of the vice president of our country ?
TWWKIA : (completely take aback ) WHAT ?
RJ : Who's the vice-president of our country ?
TWWKIA: ou ! I dunno !
RJ : (shocked !) What ! you dunno the name of our VICE PRESIDENT ?????????
TWWKIA: (embarassed and nervous) no . . .
RJ : I cant believe that ! Don't you think you are expected to know that ?
TWWKIA : (trying to save her face and still nervous) well, i know Prathiba Patil is our president, but . . .
RJ : Anyway, wonder how you even got a job . . . maybe you just got it through some luck ???
(now the RJ feels she has done enough damage to the lady's reputation, so she decides to move on). Ok, next question . . . seeing a rainbow makes our wishes come true, true or fales ?
TWWKIA : (struggling to recover from the shock) TRUE !
RJ : (sounding funny) No, they don't come true. Its just a superstition.
(LOL)
RJ : Do you think superman exists ?
TWWKIA : (now, she is back to her senses and she just wants to give it back !) NO WAY !
RJ : (pretending to be serious) How do you know ?
TWWKIA : (almost protesting ) Because I know he doesnt EXIST !!!
RJ : (still pretending to be serious) Are you sure ...?
TWWKIA : ( a little angry) OFCOURSE ! superman doesnt exist . . . he is seen only in MOVIES !
RJ : superman doesnt come from movies, he is a first a comic character (LOL)
(By this time TWWKIA is already exhausted, she just wants to slam the phone down and go back to sleep )
RJ : Ok, next question . . . what does a sandwich contain ?
TWWKIA : (noooooo not agggggain !!!)
(this time, a little careful she gets)
TWWKIA : it contains vegitables like onions, tomatos, sauce, cheese blah blah blah . . .

(What ! was she really that stupid or was it just a wicked attempt to malign the name of s/w engineers ? I had to switch off the radio this time, cuz the lady had proved it beyond doubt that she was out of her senses)

But on a serious note, how many of us know the name of our vice-president ?
Oh before your fingers start pointing back at me, I assure you that I knew his name even before yesterday. But I must confess that around 3 months back,a quiz, this time on TV, had made me look up the internet for his name :-)

Plagiarism, thy name !

The song "Pehli Nazar Mein" from RACE kept lingering in mind ever since I heard it on one of the radio stations. I was so proud of the kind of music that was being churned out by the Hindi Music Industry. But, the truth had to show its ugly face ....
Recently, while i was browsing the net for the same song on Youtube, I saw a Korean song in the "Related videos" list. I clicked on that Korean song, and not surpsingly it had the same tune and the beats as its Indian version. I knew that this was not the first time Pritam had lifted the tune from a foreign source.
A small research on the web led me to a site that showed up not just not-so-original compositions by Pritam, but also by many other Indian composers !
The list has not spared even the likes of AR Rahman !
Kudos to the efforts of the site's owner who has not just given the names of the source from which the songs were lifted, but also a short audio of the originals.

http://www.itwofs.com/itwofs.html

Sanskrit Language: The Most Scientific, Ancient, Spiritual

I happened to study in a school in Mysore for almost 8 years, that gave stress to sanskrit more than any of the modern schools in the cities. We were first taught simple poems/songs and shlokas and later we were introduced to the grammar and its intricacies. Sanskrit was infact part of our compulsary curriculum from standard 1 to 10 ! Though I failed to understand what was so reverred about this language, inspite of being part of a "Sanskrit" school for 7 years, the thought of something divine attached to it was always there within my imagination. We were told, in a way we should never forget, that the keys to some of the world's ultimate truths lies in sanskrit.

Just today, I came across an interview on youtube, where a westerner, being a sanskrit scholar, talks about sanskrit in great depths. I like the simplicity with which the scholar explains some of the most difficult theories in vedas and upanishads. Have a look if you want to know what makes sanskrit the most scientific and spiritual language or simply for the fact that a westerner, talks about a culture and language, that is so alien to him, with such authority.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cQ4hIG9w7c&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ4gWh5jVgo&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9A_q8kxE8g&feature=related

....

I can feel a burst of tears trying to come out of my eyes, as I listen to the song "Gudugudiya Sedi Nodo" by Raghu Dixit Project . "This song, written by Saint Shishunaala Sharif, a 19th century spiritual poet of North Karnataka, urges the listener to smoke a Hookah (a smoking pipe) to understand how one should lead life! Open the small cloth bag called mind, pull out the hash called greed/lust, crush it in a chillum called faith and light it with a fire called intelligence, Smoke that Hookah, he says" (Source : http://raghudixit.com/discography).
I can't believe a song written by a seemingly unknown poet nearly 200 years ago, is striking many a chord even now . . . and striking it is as if one would never forget it !
I am simply marveled by the power of music. Saint Shishunaala Sharif is an unknown figure to the present generation. The only memory I have about this great poet is during a fancy dress competition when I was in Class 4 or 5. One of the participants had imitated him, and as he was a good singer, had sung a song written by the poet which later had fetched him the first prize.

I cant help but feel the Raghu Dixit Project has paid a great tribute to this poet by popularising fe w of his songs.

I don't know why my heart grows weak and my eyes fill with tears whenever I hear of such people. . . I kind of tend to consider them as ordinary people who belong to an extraodrinary world (yeah I flicked it from one of Shah Rukh's interviews). These are ordinary people who have been quietly doing some incredible stuff without worrying about recognition. They don't mind if anyones listening to them or whether they are getting paid for what they are doing . They are simply doing it because they like it . . . You can either put them on the throne or ignore them, but they won't stop whatever they are doing .

Another person who belongs to the same league, is late H. Narasimhaiah, more famous as an educationist and known fondly as HN to the hundreds of former and current students of National High School and the National College (An educationist, these days is more seen as an entrepreneur (sigh). Please don't make the mistake of putting him under the same light ! ).He was a simpleton, stayed in his small hostel room in the college premises till his death and even had deposited his own money in the bank for conducting his last rights. He was a man who lived a life of a bachelor, stuck to his roots and ideals even while abroad, came back unscathed and worked unassumingly for the society . Can we find such educationists today ???? We can't.
Unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to study at his institution (which would have allowed me to observe and possibly interact with this great man more closely . . . something I regret not doing even to this day !).

The likes of Saint Shishunaala , HN, and many more who have made us see the world in a different perspective should never be forgotten ! They remind me of the purest souls that you can ever imagine who knew nothing but what they were meant to do . . .

I am sure I have spoken enough un-connected sentences in this post. Blame it on my abnormal emotional quotient that sometimes shoots up without control . . .