Another Day In Paradise

It was just another day for them. For us, it was a holiday!

It was the same road, the same junction, but nothing different to do for them. For us, it was the same mall, the same stores, the same movies, and nothing different to do either.

They did not have a choice. We did.

We decided to drive to Pearl Valley.

We did.

We spent some time there and headed back.

We were on the bike waiting for the guys in the car to catch up.

We were on their road, on their junction.

We were famished, hoping our friends would come faster, so we can choose where to eat. They were famished too, hoping we would buy their stuff, and get their food at the end of the day.

They were relentless. We were too.

It is absolute shame to feed the Beggar Mafia. Especially when they toil on their tiny feet all day long and some monster benefits from it!

We felt sad, wanting to help them, and not the Mafia, but not knowing how.

Then we had a thought.

We asked the person selling the sugarcane juice give him a glass of juice.

He was confused at first.

Then he drank the juice and smiled at us.

Then, there were more of them.

We became their 'juice-buyers'.

Now they did not even ask us if we wanted the pen they were trying to sell.

They said 'Akka, Nangu one loTa juice?' (Sister, can I have a glass of juice too?)

We left soon after, when our friends joined us. We discussed and chose where we wanted to eat tonight, how much we wanted to spend and what we wanted to eat tonight.

The irony of it was all coming back to me. I felt helpless. But again, I was happy I chose to not do the wrong thing, and did the right thing instead.

Their smiles of thanks had just made my day.

It is very disheartening to see these small kids begging, for no choice of their own and all the money they earn go to someone else. I try to keep a packet of biscuits or buns in my bag, which I gave the kids when they came asking me to buy something. I hope others are encouraged to do the same and not yield to the Beggar Mafia, but help the kids directly this way.

How To Name It

Imagine a small kid, just running all around this huge beautiful mansion, coming across a room filled with all the chocolates and toys he could possibly ask for, accidentally! That is how I feel now, having come across this amazing piece of composition by Ilayaraja, all by chance! Although I have been a huge fan of Ilayaraja, I had never before set out to read his biography, or particularly look for his compositions. This is true for any music I have heard and loved. It has all been chance! And for the first time, I actually am regretting not looking for music. I came across the most heavenly piece of music composed by Ilayaraja for the album How to name it. Dedicated to Tyagaraja and Bach, it is the most compelling piece of music I have heard yet. Fusion at it's best, and way ahead of it's time.

Iddlyic. Bangalore weather. Smelling strong coffee beans. The smell of the ground after the first rains. The dew drops on leaves early morning. Sound perfect? This song is even more perfect than that, or so it seems to me!

Music captivates me easily. I am instantly hooked on to a good song. But this particular song, is, taking music to an entirely different level. A level where I am feeling so much that I do not think anybody will understand even if I do express it and I feel lost in translating this ecstacy into words. I wonder if any other person will actually feel the very same way I do about it or come close to understanding what I feel. But it doesn't matter, I am in bliss and Bliss shall be it!

Pallavi Anupallavi

If there has been one movie that I have wanted to watch, for years, this movie had to be it. The tune that I have loved even before IDEA Cellular used it and popularized it. The Bangalore I loved even before I was born. The movie that marked the debut of Mani Ratnam and Anil Kapoor. The movie that had music by Ilayaraja that stole my heart completely. The movie that I had tried long and hard to find, with no avail. The movie that I knew would take me to another place, without even having watched it. Pallavi Anupallavi.

It must have been the potent combination of Ilayaraja and Mani Ratnam, and the pride that Mani Ratnam made his first movie in Kannada, that I really wished to watch this movie. And when I did finish watching the movie earlier tonight, I felt content. I had no expectations nor do I offer to shred the movie into pieces and review it. All that I wanted was the viewing experience and I am glad I got that. An interesting plot. An uncomplicated era with it's own complications. Green, unpolluted, unpopulated Bangalore. Houses and roads and Lakeview and MG and LalBagh. Simple Love. Noble Deeds. Selflessness. Beautiful times. The 80's and the 90's. The India of those ages. Bangalore of those ages. Makes we want to relive that time once again!

Superfluous boredom, why you chasing me?

Why do I feel, alone I want to be!

Time, so fast, running out of hand.

Before I will move on, to another land.

No want to feel, what I am leaving behind.

No want to feel, what is in store ahead.

No want to let thoughts scare me now.

Or wonder, manage will I and how?

Plans might change, in the blink of an eye.

The future, though, is nearing my sight.

This wait cannot not affect me.

Though I know patient I must be.

Doubts and risks, fill the path.

Answers I need, I need them fast!

Yesterday's tomorrow is but today.

Soon will arrive, my awaited D-Day.

My doubts, then, will be put to rest.

All that will happen, will happen for the best!

My Affair With Sankey

We have grown up together. Sankey and I. We have changed with the passing time; sometimes for the better, sometimes not. But what remains intact, even after all these years, is my love for Sankey, and Sankey's acceptance of me.

As a primary school kid, my brother once took us to Sankey. Having not ventured out much on my own then, this 'trek' to sankey, crossing the deserted temple and climbing up to reach the road was my own Enid Blyton fantasy in the city. Looking back, I wonder, was my life so sheltered, considering I have lived on the same road all my life and Sankey is but 5 minutes away and that was adventurous for me!! Well, I was excited to be so close to the water then, kid that I was, and surprisingly, that kid in me has never bid goodbye and I feel the same excitement each time I go to Sankey.

Other early memories of sankey are boating. Boating was the only way we could reach out to sankey. And of course, the viewpoints that were on the road: I would love cycling on the empty Sankey Road on summer afternoons, stand and watch the water for endless hours. I still remember the bougonvilla flowers adorning these viewpoints. I remember taking morning walks with Swetch on Sankey Road, discussing the weirdest dreams we dreamt the night before.

Adolescence arrives. Sankey still stays. I still remember, cycling around Sankey one cool summer evening, wearing shorts and for that reason not wanting to spot anyone i know en-route. And I remember better, bumping into not just my crush, but also his three sisters!! All the times I accidently wanted to bump into him, and it had to be the time I least wanted it! Walks around Sankey have also been special bonding times for me with my closest friends. Talks about life, love, ambitions, dreams and everything else under the sun. Talks about other people. Catching up. Craziness. Running(Walking actually!) away from home in anger, and taking refuge in Sankey. Sitting alone for hours together watching the insects on the surface of water. Singing to myself in happiness. Singing to myself in sadness. Crying and getting comforted in(by) Sankey. Morning walks and familiar faces. Crushes on unseen faces, just coz they looked good , observed from behind. Reading a book. Commenting on people. Immersing Lord Ganesh's idol after ganesh chaturthi. Standing outside the gates of Sankey, late in the night, and half wishing to climb over the gates and enter in. Seeing a dead body in the water. Analysing the behaviour of couples , watching live specimens in Sankey. Memorable one to ones with very dear friends. Messaging countless friends about how beautiful the sunset looks when viewed from Sankey. Giving advice. Receiving advice. Done it all. But Sankey still remains. Also remain countless other things I will do in Sankey.

The affair with sankey has lasted this long and this affair will never end, because here, I am myself and because this is the only place in the world where I do not feel lonely when I am alone. I always have Sankey with me :)

Why CTR Rocks

Today, I had the fortune of visting, what is probably CTR's longest standing rival, The Vidhyarthi Bhavan in Basavan Gudi. My 'very loyal to CTR' friends, were more favorable in going to CTR. But hell, we were so close to Vidyarthi Bhavan, I coundn't resist putting my taste buds to test and more importantly, see which is better.

What I thought was an Urban Legend, that people stand next to your table and stare down like "bakhapakshis", was really not!! The waiting space that this place offers, is next to a table. You have the liberty to choose your own table, stand next to it and wait for its occupants to finish eating and leave. Well, why??? It causes for an unnecessary lot of spiteful looks from either parties, no space for the waiters to move about, and a waste of the 'angala' outside the hotel where you can stand in the cool air smelling the lovely jasmines!! They ought to think about it. And also , in cases like ours, aunties who love eavesdropping on our interesting conversations, just don't want to give up their seats for us and leave!!! 

The place itself!! Why did they have to renovate it? The old building charm is entirely gone with an attempt of modernization. I love the old walls of CTR. The enter one room to enter another room to enter yet another room concept, like in Janata and MTR.  The old wooden windows painted a shade of dull blue or green. The very 'Old bangalore feeling'!! I love them all!! I'd never trade this CTR for a fresher look!! 

Then the most important part. The Dosa itself. The Dosa, I agree was good. But no comparison to CTR. CTR dosas are bigger and better. And yes, they do not POUR chutney onto your dosa and plate in CTR! A place that serves Dosa with 2 types and chutneys AND sambar, beats a place that makes it's own Dosas soggy, any day!

Today, once again, I realized, there is no place like home, and there are no Dosas like they make 'em in our CTR! :)

TRANSIENCE

It is a feeling one encounters whenever a new phase begins, when we meet new people. It is a stronger feeling one encounters when these people judge you to be what you are actually not, when you have not changed one bit, but just their perception is entirely different. It is, yet again, just a phase. 

It is a sense of Deja-Vu!

I have surpassed these kinda blues

In an other time I cannot recall

I had risen from this pitfall.

Am I so bad being so me?

Or is it just me that is so bad?

Have I lived long in ignorance,

Of all I am, as seen to them!

Perceptions wild, they drive me crazy.

Signs I give, are they so hazy?

I am the same I have always been

All depends on the eyse with which I'm seen.

All my virtues , here, are vice

Also naive and not very wise

Quick and fast, the tongue lets loose

Words and actions, think not before I choose.

Care and share, it is also me

But, not where I cannot just be

Judged, misjudged and misunderstood

Will I ever be perceived here as good?

Reins of control, they spring to life

To tame a spirit that runs too wild

But wouldn't this drain the life itself?

The twinkle, the song and the smile itself!