As I pondered at the starry sky for the moments that were spent I could plainly...
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I am 26 years old as a result of which I am one of the lucky few who has seen a world devoid of cell phones, Facebook & computers in the very early years of my life.
I was also one of the lucky few to have experienced independence from these pseudo fundamentals of today.
Now I am not saying these are totally bad and that I despise their existence .But having a completely computer oriented job and have been at my desk for almost 12 hours these past few days (including some huge holidays) I do question its existence and the level of its necessity.
Does it really make life simpler?
Hasn’t the pressure to perform increased with the mere existence of these “TOOLS”?
Efficiency has increased and so have the expectations. The way of working has definitely changed. Work is expected to be completed instantaneously, hence deadlines are closer.
A very small incident that happened a while back made me realise my dependency on them. My friend and I were shopping leisurely along Colaba causeway. When time came to go home we tried to contact her driver on the cell phone, which as it turned out was OFF. Oh MY GOD was our reaction.
We started roaming up and down the causeway searching for the driver asking ourselves one question.
I actually cannot believe I asked myself this: “How did people search cars when there were no cell phones”? This is what my routine machine centric workaholic life had brought me to. Anyways we did find him half an hour later and he had not realised that his cell phone was off.
There is also a small Facebook incident I would like to add here. My little cousin was told by my aunt to wish all his friends for Christmas, since vacations were going on and he wouldn’t be meeting them until new years. “I will post on their wall on Facebook”, came the prompt reply.
It is then that I realised that these things are completely a part of their lives (like TV was for us) and they have no idea how to function without them.
People who are on each others Facebook list may not even acknowledge when they meet each other in person. Facebook has become like the modern diary which stores information of people who may have spoken to each other even once .Now the difference between this and the good old telephone handbook is that this modern magic diary gives updates of everybody in the phonebook.
I am equally hooked onto Facebook, seeing people’s photos and commenting on their status etc and it is a great place for entrepreneurial activities.
But as pointed out by someone, don’t these “THINGS” make us too aware of everything and overly cautious? Aren’t we too scared of taking the smallest possible risks in anything and everything?
Another friend of mine who is going through the “arrange marriage” set up, uses Facebook to find out more information about the alliances found by her parents. But sometimes the information may be a tad bit too much is all I am saying.
Opinions may be formed based on information which maybe totally unnecessary, thus resulting in harsh or incorrect judgements. Having such tools at your disposal I guess it is very difficult not to make use of them and being judgemental is just spontaneous.
Well let me admit here that, I do the research for her most of the time.
Ok now after sharing all my views and giving “GYAAN” about the good old days , I guess this article just stemmed out of the fact that I am overworked and so its confession time for me .
I cannot live without my cell phone, I feel I need to have Facebook account (I mean how can it not be there, it’s like a phone number), and my computer is one of my most priced possessions.
So, enjoy everything in life but just don’t let it replace human feelings and contact and of course “Never question the good things in life”
Thank you for your time.
See you again soon.
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“So when something seems worse
Just hang in there
Listen patiently, for this tick will pass
The next swing may be the one
Making life the perfect merry-go -round …”
- Karishma
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Image Source: ANV Clicks
Married, but to caste and religion
Loves labor lost
A spectacled middle aged woman of average height and looks with tears streaming over her eyes was declaring with emotional fervor: “even in my next birth I want be Mr.’s wife”. The audience was watching this with respectful and emotional silence and clapped thereafter.
I was watching a TV Program on inter caste and religious marriages and the emotional ravages brought by an intolerant society or family on such personal relationships. Some of the experiences described were even more melodramatic that some of the Tamil movies and serials I had watched. Some of the more interesting experiences narrated were :
The persons who were describing their travails in love did not look like Ranbir Kapoor or Shahid Kapoor nor were the middle aged women resembling yester years’ film heroines. My mental image of falling in love was restricted handsome men and women with filmy looks and dashing behavior. Ordinary men and women normally toed the parental/community line and gave vent to their fantasies in love through films, dramas and books.
I imagined falling in love with some of the girls I used to stare very hard in school and college. I tried to extend the scenario further. I imagined taking any one of them (several is too expensive) to a movie near my college. There were two cinema halls nearby. Both were awful then and continue this status even now. The tickets cost between Re.1 and Rs. 2. I used to watch all the movies which were released. Perhaps I would have had to take a fifty percent cut on the number of movies I watched. Would romance have bloomed in darkened, dingy and sweaty theatre with only fans circling reluctantly? Love is blind but may still perhaps seek physical comfort, dampening any ardor. What about pecuniary limitations? Would I have shared the daily dose of the exquisite Mysore Masala or puri bhaji (I alternated between these two dishes everyday) at Vishwa Mahal for an uncertain relationship? Perhaps, I would have asked her to take a soldier cut (my generation’s code for equal sharing). What would her view be on my smoking unfiltered Charminar? Is it a macho thing or ugh, ugh!! On the whole, looking back, all this seems too much trouble for uncertain rewards- mental or physical!
I still have my college ID card. The photo stuck to that shows (in my view) a hungry looking desperado, wearing shirt with wild design which even Aamir Khan would have hesitated to wear in his Movie Rangeela. But then, such outrageous dresses were the “in thing” then.
The next scene I imagine is bringing home a girl from same religion but different community/caste (another religion is beyond my imagination). I bring home a girl studying in second year of college (first year of Plus three in today’s parlance) along with me and declare my honorable intentions (towards that girl) in the presence of my parents and brother. I can imagine my father’s fury, my mother’s bafflement at this extraordinary initiative and my brother’s anger at extending a hobby or pastime into a full time reality. The girl would have run away immediately and the relationship would have had a premature and painful demise on that day.
On a more serious note, the impact of the program was higher as ordinary persons had gone through an extraordinary experience and were declaring it in a public arena. One good point which the anchor made was that the emphasis in each of the person’s narration hinged on merging their identity with another caste or religion and not retaining their own post marriage. Why can’t each person continue to live as earlier retaining their own identity and leaving their children to select their path? The chief guests attending the program explained how they implemented this concept in their life of a mixed religion marriage.
What matters most in a religion or caste in our day to day life? It is certainly not concepts of the sort described below.
Dvaita – mean dual(two distinct – atma and God/Pramatma). The proponent was Madhvacharya.
A-dvaita -means non- dual (no- two, both atma and paramatma are one). ‘A’ in the beginning means the opposite. The proponent was Shankaracharya
Vishit-advaita – Qualified(Special) – advaita. It is similar to advaita, meaning both atma and paramatma are one/similar in nature/quality(being and consciousness) but not in quantity(paramatma is infinite).
Mostly it is the pattern of behavior, rituals followed, community oneness and familiarity with one portion of the society to which we have a sense of ownership, identity and belonging. We enjoy the familiarity and the memories these observances bring to us and want to continue it to the next generation. One example of this is the number of temples abroad and the sincerity with which the rituals observed there by Indian emigrants. An even better example is the caste and community based organizations in Mumbai which celebrate various festivals with pomp and splendor which is sometimes absent in our respective places of origin.
The question which reverberates in our minds is how we ensure that some part of our way of life which we believe is beautiful and is to be retained for posterity. One source of optimism is the presence of the younger generation in many arts, callings, religious institutions, places of worship in more than expected numbers. The next is the inquiring minds of the present generation which while giving up blind and unquestioning acceptance of our generations, is willing to explore further in finding out what is beautiful about our respective heritage and are willing to toil for it.
When I speak to the younger generation, I find a yearning for marrying for love and not because the identified time has come and it is “your duty to get married.” One person told me with great disappointment that the intense hunt for a suitable spouse did not yield the desired level of success. The middle class society’s quest to earn a living –whether in metro or tier two cities- leaves little time to go close enough to another human being to take the decision to spend rest of the life with that person.
But then times are changing. But they are changing slowly. We still see ads of the following kind:
Wanted Bride: only very beautiful, fair & slim, up to 24 years, from middle class or even lower middle class with educational qualification like graduate/ undergraduate or even plus 2 for—–.
I would love to hear the younger generation’s response to this. Do give me your views on the same.
Regards
Anjeneyan
Everything I touch seems to have life. Or is it that our passion rubs off on to those around us.
LIFE: Stay Positive
Well, if that be true, let’s stay and share things that can make us more positive everyday.
Belief and system have never gone hand in hand and that’s why we have those with the unconventional approach positively changing million lives. We have been so hooked with the “this is right” approach that we at times tend to forget the bends and twists that life gives us to feel the curves ahead. It’s not just a bumpy ride it’s a life time of learning that comes out of it.
During loneliness we seem to miss the presence, during downfall we miss the hand that shoulders us, during pain we miss words of comfort. We never heard anyone say, I missed a bag of money or a big house when we are sad, down or hungry. For those who have lost touch, these are some human emotions which are still around with few across the globe.
We miss being well, at times miss just being human or can I quote being human enough.
I recently met a lad in his early thirties, eyes moist, heart uncontrolled, palms untamed, asking me “Where do I go from here?” and when I asked him what are you looking for, he cared to mention in his haste of finding the way, “I am looking to be free and successful” I laughed not in his face though and I said, “If I knew it today, I would be on Forbes magazine too”.
But something told me that his definition of success was going to be different. Why? To start with he had just parked his brand new Hyundai outside the café shop and his well styled hand stitched Italian shoes were only overshadowed by his branded designer wear. So it was clear, he was not looking for money’s success tunes to bless his disturbed soul.
I just looked at him and his constantly shaking and restless fingers and bulky eye bags that told me he needed someone to just listen to him.
I felt, it was simple. You can’t be guided but only heard to. It’s true every man makes his own destiny. But not every one of us would get a chance to touch someone’s heart and make that impact. Not all of us are blessed like the holy mother (Teresa) or as wise as the Swami (Vivekananda) himself, but all of us have the ability to either make someone or well, even break someone. I had not such a huge opportunity, but at least to sit and listen. So I did just that.
I have stopped giving the right to anyone to guide me. But I am always ready to listen to you. Why? Simply because, I realized when things go wrong after listening to someone else, you can even blame yourself for it, so why take the pains. Just follow your heart.
After I had listened to the young lad, it was clear, he wanted to rectify a wrong in a different kind of way & it was well unique.
He was a successful corporate hero in his early thirties. He had shaken up a few chairs, competed wildly in the jungle to survive the rat race and pushed a few bright minds down the clogged drain to come out well, successful. It was Darwins theory simplified, ‘only the fittest survive’.
It was not until a month ago he had realized that one of his peers whom he had pushed right below in the routine rat race of the corporate world, died of a massive heart attack. He had left behind his mother with his wife and his two year old kid. With that of course the young couples mortgaged house and a car loan. When he went to their house to pay his respects, the deceased’s family let go of a wrath of anger blaming him for his downfall and corporate agony.
It sounded so ‘movie-like’
It was real and it’s as real as it could get. Probably that’s why when movies on these come up, we tend to quote, “that was filmy” reassuring ourselves of such things not happening with us or around us.
Now after listening to this lad, I had a feeling that there was something more than meets the eye. He was restless even after sharing it and his beady eyes screamed of shutting this sudden chaos around him, but his heart never quoted a sense of dismay for the family that was affected. It was not even sheer guilt eating him up and when he blurted, I was shocked, “I cannot take this blame. It will affect my corporate stature. How do I get free?” he said.
I did not know what to say. I just finished my coffee, put my bill money on the table and smiled as I moved out of the café.
Never surround yourself with things that can negate your life or add sinful energy to your thinking. As everything you touch has life, it gets affected one way or the other. So stay positive, stay calm & live Free!
I guess it is true. Life gives us lessons through ‘us and others’, everyday. Listen, pay heed to it and well get on with it.
It’s a long road ahead. Life isn’t short.
It’s long enough and we have enough time to think, act, react and play it well. We may not be able to even choose the path at times, but we can at least try to steer it right.
Stay positive, dream big and play it well.
Learn, grow and be well.
Live Free!
Love ....
Love makes life livable, said someone!
Somewhere here I am trying to decipher and decode the exact meaning of the phrase and yes before people reach to any conclusion on what kind of love that I am talking about, let me clear the air.
The Love that will be described and poured out in the coming lines, is the one that makes two people go “I Do” at the altar.
I would like to touch upon aspects in this post, about whys would two people who have nothing in common, become what they become, until they meet each other and discover a whole new world – together.
The very reason for undertaking this exercise is my own experience at this peculiar feeling which is known as LOVE the world over.
I am 25 and by the time this article is published, I will be a year older. I have had many crushes in the formative years of my childhood and have been seriously interested only once……….. ok…….. I am exaggerating, may be twice.
The feelings just fizzled out because I am the type of guy who lets things like love take their own way rather than forcing myself on it. This is what led me to ponder as to what makes people tick?
This article may have a subcontinental flavour to it due to the fact that I am quoting examples from the, up and coming land called India of which I am a proud citizen. It’s then that I have tried to get into the “What of Love” and to say that I got satisfactory answers in my quest.
I will be best based on the analysis of the cases presented here and the readers own judgement. (Do not Judge me! 
)
I believe that Love is an important part of any relationship and is one of the pillars other than trust and loyalty on which the tree of mankind stands. In this regard, I have had certain observations to make and will tell you real life incidents of which I have been witness to or been a silent spectator of.
Case I – A young man whom we all knew of as a studious and very intelligient person who normally kept to self and incapable of doing no wrong along-with being protective of a blind father and an illiterate mother shocks everyone by proclaiming marriage to a young lady whom he met at his workplace
Case II – A young man who is given all freedom in the house and is an intelligient fellow does well in his education, completes his Masters in Business Adminisration where he falls in love, joins a high profile company complete with a good salary and perks. Then he confides about his desire to marry his lady love.
Case III – A young lady born and brought up in a liberal family has had many affairs by the time she reaches woman hood and goes on and marries a person whom she met at the workplace.
Case IV – A young man who has both parents who go off to work leaving him and his younger brother alone meets his lady love in college and they tie the knot. The lady in question in this case was junior to him in college and lived in the same complex as him
These are the samples that I have delved upon and arrived at certain conclusions after making careful observations. These are real life stories with the proverbial “& they lived happily ever after” theme ringing true.
The following observations were found to be true in each one of the cases mentioned above.
Ability to take decisions: In all of the cases mentioned above, the individuals involved have had to take/make decisions at a very early point in life. Be it the guy in case I where he was thrust the responsibility of being the head of the household or in cases II,III or IV where the individuals were required to take decisions due to the fact that there was very little parental assistance involved. It may be noted that people love persons who make their own decisions without getting influenced by other factors especially those which are emotional in nature.
I hope me making points and taking you back to ‘cases’ does not make this sound like a court ruling, it’s just that I would like to share different such scenarios, based on which began to quote this post on the most beautiful thing in the world, Love!
Read on……
Self-Confidence: All the characters mentioned herein have amazing confidence about themselves. It may have been the result of their minds not being clogged by parents constantly advising about what is good and what is bad, When should one call the stops, What should one do and the likes. As a result of these, an individual goes into a mental state of being wherein he prepares a checklist before making any decision and ensures that the checklist is strictly adhered to. This process ensures that such a person arrives at a decision, which may be right or wrong, much later than those who go by the gut instinct. Also many a times such decisions may seem to be erring on the side of caution so as to ensure that one is always on the right side of the universe whereas confident people may go ahead with a decision that may seem to bewilder many but get positive results. For these people there is the inner belief that they can do no wrong because they do not distinguish between right and wrong and also believe that they can always survive any bad effects that their decision may entail. This leads to the making of a very self confident individual who also appears to be confident with an ever warm smile that pleases most people and charms the toughest of ladies.
Unfettered Lifestyle: Due to the minimal parental objection in their lives, these people live life to the fullest. They work hard, make loads of money, party harder and are always enthusiastic and positive about life. These are people who want to live lives that are worth meaning to them rather than sulking around, thinking about others or about decisions that may have far reaching consequences. That’s the reason why, when one comes across such persons, one feels quite positive and they are like a whiff of fresh air that has invaded your senses carrying you along with it.
Here I would like to rest my case wherein I have always been smitten by some one or the other. However when the time comes to make a choice, it’s always about making them a part of my life rather than colonizing them. So my mind starts throwing up questions like Would she fit the bill, Will my parents approve of her, How would the elders react about the match, What mother tongue will the children adopt and so on till the mind is left totally confused. What finally emerges is a chaotic situation. If not that then by the time I make up my mind, the lady is already been taken!
So friends I think I have unraveled the human mindset about love to a great extent and its physiological aspects. And for those who try desperately to fall in love but don’t, may be now we know why…
Enjoy
Do share your views with me.
Thanks.
Mani (A.k.a Ananth S)
We at Techdivine Creative Services salute the real heroes of the 26/11 terror attack – The Officers, the commandos & the NSG‘s – The spirit of Mumbai, will never die.
The above pic was sent by a group of kids to us yesterday night who recollected the pain, sacrifice & the true spirit of those who dealt with it bravely.
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Related Posts -
Mumbai, Terror attack, another sleepless night
Gloomy skies, streets of Mumbai
Thinking of my sweet memories with the rising sun
As i woke up today with the shining rays of the sun, I got a phone call. It was good news, great news, actually surpirisngly good news.
What I had just heard took me back the memory lane.
Just like our childhood, the Middle years too hold a very important place in our lives. These are the years when a man needs to grapple with his inner demons and make decisions that have a very profound impact on his future. These may be decisions both personal and professional and may be ridiculously easy or exponentially difficult.
This period in life which begins at 20 and ends somewhere in the mid 30’s is marked by various stages like higher education, employment, marriage, children, aged parents etc.
Against this backdrop, I would like to introduce to you one of my best friends who has a lot in common with me and I would like to take his case as an ideal one to see what it takes to make the most toughest decision of all time that many men shudder to even think of, many cower and others relish – MARRIAGE!!!!!
This friend of mine from, how do I put this, well, from pre-historic times, has got characteristics similar to mine.
He hails from an orthodox TamBram family, a very pious man who goes to temple daily and also on weekends, very particular about reaching a place in time and also a stickler to rules and regulations as well as one who thinks thousand times to cross that unquoted line that parents draw for their kids.
This friend of mine, Lets Call him Mr.A, was enchanted in our high school days by a girl who was far more superior in the academic field (crazy, how those things mattered then) & he was afraid to go and talk to her about his crush on her. The result being the girl getting married to one of his own classmates who would ideally not be seen as the perfect combination at that time.
Then another major crush happened when he was working in a premier financial institution wherein he fell in love with a young lady who was known to be a fierce individual and also was one step above him in the corporate ladder. Our man tried to open up to her many times but never could make it face to face resulting in yet another heart break. Last heard the girl is happily married for nearly a year and wonder of wonders has moved to a locality near our own hero’s house!!!!
I being a friend was always aware of his various crushes and out of curiosity asked him about the reasons for this since I knew for a fact that there would not arise any inter-caste repercussions if he were to go ahead and marry any one of them since both ladies in question were simple TamBram women. He was blatant enough to tell me the truth that these two girls whom he liked a lot had many things in common that he wanted in a girl –fiercely independent, go-getters and people on whom you can depend if ever you were in a life threatening situation that they would take care of your family and not bat an eyelid about their personal loss (at least that’s what he thought). He would tell me in is own humorous way Arrey yaar, ‘Imagine I propose to her and she accepts my proposal, then I will have to marry her. But afterwards, there arises a situation wherein I have to play the judge and juror in the house after a hard day in office that would lead to an unpleasant situation. Especially if it’s a case of mother pitted against the wife. Coz no matter what decision the man gives, he stands to lose either way, be it the husband or the son. So I always wait for them to come to me!’ Also his parents being real orthodox, there are quite a few rules in the house which may or may not be liked by all.
Then I put forth another question – How is it that you cope up so well with your so called loss since he has an ever smiling face except when he is angry or in one of his moods.
I even went to the extent of telling him that a man not mourning about his lost love ever thought about loving at all.
That’s when he repeated one of the oft mentioned cliches in Hindi films about Bus,train aur ladki – Ek jaati hai tho doosri aati hai!!!!. I was appalled at this emotionless (Though he is never an emotional being at least to the outside world) and seemingly childish answer to my question. The next moment he surprises me with – Tho kya karoon Suicide kar loon gham main doobke? I cannot even do that coz I am a coward. I asked him in what sense do you term yourself a coward.
He says – “Ask any man to jump from the top of a 10 storeyed building or to consume a bottle of rat poison or rather to shoot/knife himself and he will look at you like you are a crazy man. That is because every man however much obstacles he may face, loves his life. So men who are courageous enough to make that decision should be appreciated. I cannot bring myself to do it since the moment such a thought enters my mind, the sullen faces of my parents occupy center position and all such thoughts get blown away. However much I try to be emotionally un-attached, I cannot bring myself to do it.”
I do not know whether anyone else is satisfied with this explanation, But I sure was and these words coming from a man who I have known to be an emotionless creature. Now for the twist – Life sure has its ways of proving things wrong just when they seem to be right.
Last heard our man has married a Northerner, a Kashyap girl and is presently honeymooning in the backwaters of Kerala.
He married so suddenly that even friends like us came to know after 2 days.
P.S. – Mate, if you are reading this, Please don’t think of this as my way of getting back at you. Am waiting with open arms for your return to our world.
Tell me what you think. I had a great start for my day.
Mani S
I recently read an article about the lavish, partying and rocking life of mallus and tam brams (Of course I am being sarcastic).
The mail was hilarious. It spoke of the heritage names and remorseful work timings and really sad social life’s that “we” southies, live as routine.
I would like to disagree to it. Probably all the mail needed was a good laugh but when I received the same mail with a comment saying, “It’s so true”. I kept contemplating & pondering over the comment. (Ya, I know I could have just quoted there “I kept thinking instead of pondering” but I had this sudden urge to use big words as most readers of this post at this time would be southies sitting in offices as the Gujus, Panjus and other baniyas would be busy planning the evening for the day & also I needed to show off. Oh come on, Vocabulary is all I got). Anyways, read on…..
I think life’s a lot different than a mere southie’s routine mockery. Its, well….. hmmmmm… how do I put this, …….it’s complicated.
Yes, even for those tam brams & mallus who have at least till date not ended up with love marriages (southies love marriages, wonderful usually. They are mostly with the same caste, community, the “gotram” needs to be different, carefully chosen, selected, discussed, horoscopes matched & agreeable to both parties, parents, relatives, neighbors whose opinions are equally important as a background check would also have happened of the couples, ahem)
Why even bother calling it a love marriage mate? I think this whole process has taken more time than actual courting. So where’s the romance. Naaah!
Can’t blame the poor chap though. How often does he anyway get to claim having gotten to get someone fall in love with him or at least remotely agree to him. After all, he must also have taken pains and been patient & careful enough to get across his job profile, designation, job security, mutual funds investment, idea of his probable salary, his investment plan, housing loan amount etc & such other details to the fairer sex and then woo her. Wow! How did I forget, qualifications here. Ya. That too. Phew! So that’s about a year till that time. & yes, he is a double MBA / Masters… Again, why?
Also, the south indian girl realizes that this dude, can I call this male human neatly oiled hair category, a dude, please, please… please let me Thanks …. Well so as ammai, appa & other family members would also agree and she is also sure to be with someone who can and has a stable job (remember, Home loans, mutual funds & PF – I am sure she also must have noted down the possible savings he must be making annually after tax deductions). & wow, how did I also forget, the guy has to be 5’8” at least. Why? Just make the criteria 6feet then. What is it, an oomph factor!
I just don’t get it, may be partly because I am not 5’8” but still. Why?
Why the criteria, at least “ “.
Is it like, if the calculatedly fallen in love couple get troubled by a dude, is this tall or taller guy gonna tap the tip of the other guys head before he succumbs down or faints (people who eat only curd rice, dosa & rasam chadham(rice) get bruised more easily, you see)
Anyway, it does not make any sense.
So the planned, arranged but loving couple say, the hell with love at first sight. We have taken into consideration all the factors that may or may not suit both of us. Now we will make this work, the girl says it with confidence. Yes, they are going to revolt and rebel, against … hmmm…. Against cruelty to animals. Lets not get offtrack, what else will they revolt to, how can they upset ammai & appa and family & friends and did I mention neighbours.
Little does she know that the tam bram / mallu dude might have even comp up with a probable percentage of risk involved in this relationship (he might just tell the statistics if pressurized, but I am sure he would have also made a pie chart of this analysis probably in SPSS software).
Anyways, with the money that both make, they can afford many such revolting romantic SRK movies on DVD at their 2/3 BHK homes that is of course only after both of them have finished reading their book / novel for the day (reading is very important for our cult, that shows we are educated and belong to a different class & category of people). Educated & class, I dun’t know, but different category…. Oh, I am so sure about that.
Ya, we southies need to have stacks of books at home from Crosswords & Strand book stall, nothing pirated. It has to be purchased for the original price. Hell, we even have hardback cover books. We don’t read it all, but those books are usually kept closest to the ‘Big glass’ door of the library at home for the world to see. What world, which girl is going to come to a southie dudes home first of all and even if she does, and the sweet dude shows off his massively huge and BIG, collection of books, trust me my friend, she is never coming back. So make sure & mark my words carefully, do not lend your books to her, she is never, ever coming back. Lets continue.
We have overgrown TV sets, but we make sure we put on our social networking sites status, “Don’t watch TV”, What? Why? Is it like a crime? I love watching TV & I grew up fine. Ahem! Let’s not get into the details here. Lets read on…
So now do you realize why these mails tickle our funny bones. ‘coz only the Truth shall finally set you FREE!
Also, did I forget to mention, unless we learn to accept ourselves how can we…. How can we…. How can we face god in the morning during sandhyavandanam…. J Have fun
Yes, yes. My name runs over 50 letters…….. so I am not writing it. Vaise bhi, mera naam to suna hoga!
Do tell me your views…..
A trailer truck and my car fell in love with each other for a brief moment. The result was a dented door and broken mirror. The fall out was that the car went to rest in the garage and I travelled by Mumbai’s famed local train for few days.
So I trudged to the railway station a bit earlier than my usual exit time. I was out of breath but pleased with the less than expected crowd. I stood at the same place where I used to, when I was studying in a College in this suburb thirty five years back. What has changed? The tea stall still serves the same type of food (Thane Station – Platform No. 2 made good Batata Vadas, but not this Station). The circular dial clock is replaced with a digital clock. The indicator is also digital- of the newer type. The sign board is clear and legible. The 7.59 local had left at 7.58 (as per digital clock). The next train was at 8.04. It came at 8.06. There was no mad rush to pounce into the train and rush inside. I got in early and stood between the seats and attempted to read the novel I had with me.
A person nudged me to keep his bag. I kept it. Then another one nudged. Totally there were four such requests. All the bags were satchels and not the briefcases. In fact I could not find any brief cases in the luggage rack of the First Class Compartment. Four out of ten persons were speaking intently on their cell phone. One was explaining in detail what he intended to do after reaching his office for trading in some share or commodity. There was an unauthorized occupant in ladies first class who was being berated and asked to leave- at the next station. I believe that women are more particular and vociferous about exercising their rights.
I got a place to sit after thirty minutes of a fifty five minutes journey. I got down at VT Station (CST now) and walked to office. It is a ten minute walk the oldest part of the town. All are stone buildings made several decades back. There is porch in the front of most buildings, which gives shade during this walk. The street vendors were just opening their wares for display. In my younger days, Keralite vendors used to display covers of “foreign goods” such as ‘two in ones’, tape recorders etc. Today it is odd items of low value – including colorful foreign condoms.
I passed the Fort Branch of Bank of India where I was posted on my promotion from clerk to officer. I worked there only for fifteen months and had no great memories associated with it. On reaching Office, one security chap hesitantly asked whether I was an employee. I felt crushed and reminded me of the famous tweet by a Minister on travelling cattle class.
The evening journey was even more pleasant. I could rush into an empty compartment and get a sitting place and read my novel without jerks and jumps. The next three days by train were uneventful. One day I even got down at Dadar, did some shopping, got into a Dadar starting train and could get down comfortably at Mulund. A young pair was sitting in front of me. The boy was convincing the girl that the earth is flat and he would take her to the other end of it. The girl was listening intently and wiped a tear drop- perhaps thinking that her parents had mislead her by informing that earth is round. Then she received a phone call and was vehemently conveying some message with actions and all. I wondered whether there would be enough substance in their tale for one TV Serial episode.
The train journey takes around 55 minutes to traverse 34 kilometers. The road journey takes 70 to 75 minutes in the morning and 100 to 150 minutes in the evening. It is not a pleasure to take 20 minutes to travel one or two kms. A colleague who lives in the next suburb told me that he and his wife initially travelled by car to Office, but found it boring and tiresome and gave it up soon. I could understand it well. A comfortable and reliable public transport is far superior to a private transport if the journey is from point to point with minimum walking in between. Lack of investment in infrastructure (most over used word today) in the early years of independence has lead to the present abysmal state. Even cattle are not transported in goods train the way human being travel in local trains and buses.
The underground trains in London are in existence from 1920s. (See below)
Trams are found in most European countries. (See tram in Switzerland)
Metro rail is common in south Asian countries. India too could have had all these much earlier. All of it is a case of missed opportunities in India.
The car Dealer informed me that the car is repaired and I could pick it up. My driver, who was to go and pick up the car, rang up to inform me that he could not come due to an accident between Mulund and Thane. It was a freak accident in which a concrete slap fell on a running train. This hit a huge water pipe which burst and created a mini flood on the track. The motor man died as could be extracted only after four hours. One more person died after a day or so. The trains had to be stopped for a day for repair. Everybody now realized that the concrete slab was hanging precariously for quite some time and no one was really responsible for it. One political party threatened to tie the civic servant to the nearby tree till he assured that the entire pipe line and all would be repaired.
(Courtesy DNA Newspaper)
What are the lingering memories when compared to the past? The trains run at greater speed and do not stop abruptly in between stations for signals. The mega blocks for maintenance repairs have made a great difference to the time and speed of the journey. The 12 bogie train is a great blessing as it clears more crowds. The camaraderie of passengers travelling together every day is an enduring sight. Nobody plays cards now as it now may be banned. The ticket sellers sit in AC offices and give computer print outs for tickets- something quite common in South India. The foot over bridge seems cleaner and even.
I leave with the belief that in spite of all the drawbacks of a chaotic democracy, there is some movement forward- albeit a slow one.
Thanks
Anjeneyan
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