Reticent Reveries

Think Twice Before You Light Up..

2008-10-27T00:00:00.003+05:30

This is not a post in support of Dr. Ramadoss' smoking ban (even though that is the ONLY good thing that the useless fellow has managed to do in 4 years).
This is about the millions of beautiful crackers that go up every year this time.
DON'T LIGHT CRACKERS THIS YEAR. Please. Here are 5 reasons why:
5. Do u really feel we need any more smoke to choke our lungs and those of the kids for whom we light the crackers? do we need more noise to cloud our thinking?
4. Heard the words Global Recession? Starvation? Poverty? Do you think u should still BURN money?
3.Muneeswari
2. Kuppuswamy
1. Chithra - these are the best kept secrets of the fireworks industry in sivakasi. These three kids, all injured in explosions in fireworks factories, now hide their disfigured bodies at home away from disgusted stares. these are only 3 out of god-knows-how-many kids.
Don't Do It. Please.

Off To The Moon!!

2008-10-23T23:09:00.002+05:30

"dreams of a billion people come true!!", the newspaper screamed at me in te morning today as i woke up, bleary eyed, and figured that my heater was not working..(AGAIN!!) Damn!! its too cold for an ice water bath in bangalore these days. Reminded me of an old Seinfeld episode i saw, where Jerry remarks that ever since the first moon mission, people compare all failures, scientific and otherwise, to that one big success!! So i remarked to my room mate, these guys can put a man on the moon, but cant build a decent heater!!
I guess thats human tendency.. negative appreciation of a good thing!!
P.S. I dont know if this is unpatriotic, but i never did ACTUALLY dream that india would one day put a man on the moon.. May be its time i got some chandrayaawwn!!

The Rains Of Two Cities

2008-10-10T22:59:00.004+05:30

Recently, I realised(and was surprised to realise,) that rain differs from one place to the other!
In bangalore, it rains in short bouts of mild showers that hardly even wet your head if you walk through it. Mumbai's rain on the other hand, can drench you in a split second with it's unbridled fury, and it may be days before you see the sun again.
Maybe the rain in a city is a reflection of the city itself.. Bangalore's quiet, sporadic, mild rain reflects the benevolent, laid back nature of the city, while Mumbai's wild, untamed monsoon uncovers the restlessness, the fury, the impatience of one of the busiest cities in the world.
What do you think?
P.S. Given a choice, I would pick mumbai's "veda paoos" to bangalore's "mungaru malhe" anyday!

The Food Seeker's Guide To Bengalooru

2008-10-10T00:44:00.004+05:30

When i came to bangalore 18 months back, i thought NO ONE knew how to cook in this place! Forget chaat and other mumbai delights, even the south indian dosas and idlis suck in most places here. Pretty much ANYTHING from pasta to pav bhaji, from sev puri to pizzas, comes topped with COCONUT!!!
I had resigned myself to a couple of years of barely edible organic substances that the canteen charges me money to eat, until I discovered what makes every mumbaikar orgasmic.. STREET FOOD!! Yes right here in Namma Bengalooru!! so I decided to compile my own top 5 shady joints with awesome food list for all the newbies in Bengalooru.. so here goes:
5. The small chaat counter below 20 feet high, just outside three quarter chinese on church street - This is the place where my year long quest for a decent plate of paani poori ended 6 months ago. The taste of a thin, crisp poori filled with warm mashed potaoto and bean sprouts, and a cool mint paani laced with a mean khajoor chutney... Ahhh! Heaven!!
4. Tibb's Frankie - Brigade road, commercial steet. Even thouh they call it Tibb's frankie of mumbai, and charge as if they import it every day from there, this humble dish i first tasted at churchgate station still remains a Must Eat for me every time im in the vicinity.
3. Sonakshi Sharma's Family Restaurant - Koramangala(whats with the name??) - Amazing jalebis in addition to some good north indian food. A friend introduced me to the place, and though i dont go there much, still do think about the golden brown, slender, rounded, sweet, sugar soaked delights every time I want Dessert!
2. Ganga Saagar - Sajjan Rao circle. - this simple, tiny yet neat place is one of my fave joints for dinner.. for their supreme paranthas, with melting butter, delicately spiced raita and tangy nimboo achaar! SLURRP!!!
1. And the numero uno - Davangere Benne Dosa - Bull temple road. Yum Butter soaked dosa which melts in your mouth the second you put it in, served with green coconut chutney, mildly spiced mashed potatoes and piping hot coffee.. need i say more?
I know gluttony is a sin, but with places like these...

...And we're back!

2008-10-10T00:37:00.002+05:30

FINALLY managed to log on to blogspot today to resume what began as a vent for what i felt about what happens around me, to being a chore, and finally to something i ignore!
Writer's block? Culture shock? Keypad Lock? or just too bored to blog?
guess a little bit of all those.
Here's hoping i can stick to doing the thing i love to do most this time around.

Syntax Error?

2008-02-13T23:05:00.003+05:30

Connecting people.. wherever you go our network (and a smug pug) follows.. Kar Lo Duniya Mutthi Mein!!! Do these lines ring a bell?
These are all million dollar ad lines for billion dollar communication enterprises. Does anyone else find it at least a tad surprising that we now need a bunch of ad dudes and a dog to tell us that we need to communicate and that it is a basic need? Worse still, does anyone else realise that inspite of all the methods of communication we have, we are communicating lesser each day?
When was the last time you invited a colleague at work to talk to you, to tell you exactly what it is about you that he/she dislikes..when was the last time that person agreed? more importantly, when was the last time you even thought that all that separates percieved rivalry and sublime friendship is a COMMUNICATION GAP??
how often does it happen that a relationship at some point takes a detour into the depths of mistrust following an insignificant roadblock.. one which would not have withstood the power of a good talk? or one that was forgotten long before the relationship turned sour?
Why dont people just talk it out anymore? when will we realise that cold wars are NOT cool?
Three cheers for orange! just talk!!

P.S.: wise words i heard today: "to communicate does not mean only to make the other person understand.. it also means to NOT let them misunderstand!"

who's afraid of the f word??

2008-02-07T23:45:00.001+05:30

That four letter word beginning with an f.. u know what im talkin about.. every time ive been faced with it, my knees have gone weak, and i have wished that it would all turn out to be a dream.. im talking about fail(ure)...
what is it about failure that makes everyone but the person experiencing it all philosophical and preachy? "oh dont worry about it.. it could happen to anyone.. no point crying over spilt milk.. this too shall pass" and the most cliched.. "failures are stepping stones to success.."
Maybe it is true. maybe what i look at as a failure today will benefit me in the long run. maybe it will pave the way for a thousand successes in the future.. but today.. let me grieve..

A Poor Life?

2007-08-20T22:25:00.000+05:30

"What is this life, if full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.."

I work in a hospital. I have been working in one or the other hospital for a couple of years now.
I have seen great physicians, surgeons, healers, wielding their weapons to fight against the ills of humanity...

"No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:"

I have seen ordinary people like you and me overcome the boundaries of hunger, sleep, and fatigue to save lives.. day after day.. everyday..

"No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:"

I have seen people use their immense talents to not make money, but to serve the people who actually need their help..

"No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:"

And yet, these are the very people who never have the time to turn back and look at the mind numbing impact they have had on the lives of so many people..

"No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:"

These are the people who miss out on the first steps that a baby born with a crippling malformation takes after she has faced the legendary kind cruelty of a surgeon's knife..

"No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?"

These are the people who spend hours before a surgery to investigate and analyse the tiniest of details so a baby may be restored eyesight.. a wonder it may have never exoerienced before..
but fail to see the joy in those very eyes light up many a face. Not because they have no finer feelings in them.
But because there are more to heal.

"A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare."
-Leisure. W.H.Davies

independence!!

2007-08-14T22:29:00.000+05:30

DO.

Thats what the Times Of India is advising us on this independence day.

60 years. You would think thats enough time for a nation of a billion people to have done and achieved whatever the country needs them to achieve...

Have heard about a million reasons for the inadequacies that India allegedly has.

Dont believe ANY of them.

India is the best. Dont make any excuses for it. Just be proud to be Indian. And DO love your country.

2007-08-13T22:38:00.000+05:30

Let us then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate,
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labour and to wait.

Wake up every morning in the hope that i will get what i deserve today.
Go to bed at night, still awaiting that day.

Whats in a name?

2007-07-14T15:55:00.000+05:30

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose,By any other name would smell as sweet."
--From Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)
Shakespeare
Read on the front page of the times today that bangalore and 12 other cities in Karnataka will be renamed to more "desi" versions, as proposed by various "literateurs" and local politicians(ha!). Remember a similar movement in Maharashtra a few years ago when bombay became mumbai and victoria terminus became chhatrapati shivaji terminus.
guess no one believes shakespeare any more.. why else would vivek oberoi become viveik oberoi and himesh call his debut flick a movviee??
i wonder if these so called literateurs checked wid mr. jumani(or is it jumaaani or jumaneee???)and company before renaming these cities. otherwise a few more millions of the taxpayers'(thats US) money will be spent on new road signs, railway stations, and of course the celebratory functions and parties by the people involved.
anyway, life goes on. sheikspearrr better eat his words and join the club.
Rraghuveirr.
PJ:wots Himesh's wife's name? Shemesh.

Its good to be back!

2007-07-13T23:05:00.000+05:30

Finally got the net working for networking today. Man the things we take for granted!

Becks does a Ganguly!

2007-05-27T11:40:00.000+05:30

Finally, after huffing and puffing their way to a place where they have to DESPERATELY beat ESTONIA(!!!) in order to still be in the race to qualify for euro 2008, the English football team and a certain Mr. McClaren have decided to recall David Beckham to the national side after he was unceremoniously booted out of not just the playing eleven but the entire English team on 11th august 2006.
What started off as a winning streak for England, with clear victories of 4-0, 5-0, and 1-0 against Greece, Andorra and Macedonia soon turned into a nightmare. Forcing an hitherto untested 3-5-2 formation on the team proved costly as they lost to Croatia and co. to reach the current state of affairs... and with that the tables turned on Steve McClaren... He is now under immense pressure from engerland's boisterous fans to deliver, or he stands to be kicked out... Hence the return to the former captain, in the hope that he can save them from further embarrassment...
Does that story ring a bell in the minds of those who follow Indian cricket?
The Saurav Ganguly- Greg Chappell saga has many parallels to the English story. Both extremely successful captains, in tandem with super supportive former coaches(John Wright, Sven Goran Erickson) built formidable teams, often under accusations of helping their friends stay in the team while better men waited in the wings... Both were dumped by the new coaches in insulting manners, and now, while one has completed a successful comeback, the other seems on the verge of the same...
Cheers to fallen heroes, rising phoenixes!

Weight Loss.

2007-05-25T23:03:00.000+05:30

I have never lived away from home. This put me at a slight handicap today as i packed my bags in preparation to leave home for (at least) the next two years.
Should i pack all those shirts?? well these are new, so they must DEFINITELY go in, but those old ones were gifts, and have sentimental value, and that one is REALLY lucky for me, so can't leave that out...
And so it continued. I packed and I stuffed my bags to bursting point. I was pretty happy with my effort, until I spotted a small line on the air ticket,"max baggage allowed-20 k.g.s". What? only 20 kgs? How am i supposed to pack two years worth of stuff into 20 kilos? Then began the slow and painful process of identifying what was actually essential, and what was just excess baggage.. things that you feel you cannot leave behind, but are best put away in boxes to be retrieved later if needed...
I guess that is pretty much the rule every where. When you move from one phase of your life to another, it's best to leave behind all the excess baggage and carry only the bare minimum... after all there will be new memories, new friends and a new life to be made.

And love is not the easy thing
The only baggage you can bring...
And love is not the easy thing....
The only baggage you can bring
Is all that you can't leave behind

Leave it behind
You've got to leave it behind
All that you fashion
All that you make
All that you build
All that you break
All that you measure
All that you steal
All this you can leave behind.
U2-Walk on

If wishes were horses...

2007-05-25T10:13:00.001+05:30

Here's my wishlist. Anyone who wants to gift me any of these can tell me so, and ill mail you my address where these can be delivered.. ;)
5.Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Still a couple of months to go before this one hits the stores..
Wish i could read it right now!!!

4. Sony Vaio

good machine, great looker, fully loaded. would esp like the grey!!

3. Microsoft XBox 360

What a machine! even an amateur gamer like me was taken in by it's amazing graphics..

2. Lamborghini Gallardo Roadster
Saw one of these babies in aamchi mumbai a couple of months ago.. have wanted one ever since..

1. M.D.(ophthal.) A.I.I.M.S.
Ahh! My no. 1 wish.. money can't buy it!

Think about it!

2007-05-24T20:23:00.001+05:30

There have been days before today, and I'm sure there will be many in the future, when i wake up in the morning with the feeling that there is so much work to be done today, that i may just about manage to finish all of it on time, or, god forbid, have some work spill on to tomorrow to throw tomorrows already packed schedule off balance.
There have been days where the latter has been the case(more often than not).
But what happened today, i was TOTALLY unprepared for..
Woke up in the morning with a sense of dread about the impending mountains of paperwork and impossible people who do that paperwork to be dealt with. Approached every person who could help me out hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst..
And then it happened. Each and every one of those people seemed to be at their joyous best, helping me out with not the usual scowls, but bright smiles! As i watched the mountains crumble so i could gleefully walk over them and go spend some leisure time, i realised this. I had actually spent more time worrying about whether everything would fall into place today, than i had spent in the actual act of accomplishment.
I guess, it is true then. It is not the AMOUNT OF WORK we do that bogs us down, tires us, stresses us out until we are nervous wrecks ready to collapse into a burnout..it is the THOUGHT of doing all that work that does us in.

Highways hurt!!

2007-05-23T08:12:00.000+05:30

I wonder what it is about highways that makes people compare them to their own lives?

Is it the long winding routes, sometimes broad, sometimes narrow, sometimes smooth, sometimes(and in mumbai, MOST times) bumpy, sometimes straight, sometimes winding?

Is it the fact that these routes take you to places that you had read and heard about before, but never actually seen , and hence, experienced before? Places which look and feel so different than you had imagined them to be?

Is it because every time you come to a fork in the road and you choose one road, you wonder where you would have been had you taken the other route?

Is it the fact you go through your journey knowing the person next to you well, the other people in the bus lesser, and the assorted other humanity(like drivers, salesmen, etc.) not at all?

The fact that taking a U turn is not allowed in the fast lane?

The fact that the highways are ONLY THE MEANS to get from one place to the other, and hence just the transit, and NOT the destination?

I wonder..

Reticent Reverie Begins...

2007-05-21T09:00:00.000+05:30

"I seem to remember telling you both that I would have to expel you if you broke any more school rules," said Dumbledore. Ron opened his mouth in horror. "Which goes to show that the best of us must sometimes eat our words."
It's funny how the most appropriate words(and some pretty good solutions) for any situation that life can throw at you can be found in books and cartoons meant predominantly for a juvenile readership.. Take for instance the first two quotes on this blog.. both have been said by the greatest wizard of all time and the best headmaster Hogwarts ever saw, Albus Dumbledore, in one of the six published Harry Potter books.(waiting with bated breath for the seventh one.. but thats another day, another blog post.)
Cartoons, another medium of juvenile entertainment, throw up daily wisdom which cannot be ignored.. who hasn't at some point wondered how an under-ten year old Calvin regularly comes up with the most amazing insights into adult life and philosophy? Or how Snoopy, Charlie Brown and of course Linus(with security blanket) shell out anything but Peanuts in their daily adventures? Stories of Tintin, that man-child of a journo, being honored by the Dalai Lama make you stop and think.. why is it that wisdom hides behind a mask of innocence?
Maybe the answer to that lies in the question itself. Maybe wisdom is innocence.. maybe we were born wise, in tune with the things that really matter.. maybe we unlearnt that wisdom as we grew older, got too busy figuring out things we don't need to know.. only to be reminded of it by more blessed souls who kept the child alive..

P.S. the opening line was a disclaimer. I may have to eat my words someday..