Unveil the Other Side

Finally the struggle of a couple of hundered days ended on this BIG day. Happiness knew no bounds when the correspondent on the other end keying in some information into the computer announced that I have the seat confirmed for R V college of Engineering , stream - Instrumentation Technology. Dad heaved a sigh of relief. 10 years wind up since this incident, but the pain of courseware and the frightening entrance exam still leaves me with horrifying night dreams. With the admission process coming to an end, I was tagged as RV'ite (All students of RV college are better known so). First day in college is the day that will remain in memory forever Oct 3rd 2000 - Prof M.R Holla addressing the fresh cream from the millenium batch (seated in the huge auditorium -basically the basket ball court). His words were definitely mightier and sharper than the sword. No kidding here. The power in his voice shaked everyone present there and left a thinking cap on each head. Leaving the serious no...

Are you sitting on your bed wide awake in the middle of the night ruining your peaceful sleep and the reason thats killing your sleep - " The thought of the menu which need to head the breakfast table next morning ", maybe something more of the odds like " What outfit to dive into in a couple of hours? ". Sometimes it gets even worse with the silly questions loitering in the brain shell, the kinds like " Do I have the exact change for the ticket,so as to enjoy the bus ride with no hazzles tomorrow? ", " Is the car fuel empty to its dry point, did the needle go unnoticed at the end of hectic schedule today? " Do these ever end?????? We get worried of such subtle things every night, thinking of the morning that's due. The mornings are probably spared for serious matters to be tackled. My way of dealing such random thoughts is to kick them hard into the lonely backyard and snooze back to my sweet dream. How about throwing some light and sharing ...

ಆಕಸ್ಮಿಕ ನಿನ್ನ ಪರಿಚಯ ಬೇಡವೆಂದರೂ ಬಂದೆಯ ತಟ್ಟಿ ನನ್ನ ಎದೆಯ ಯೋಚನೆಯ ಸ್ನೇಹಿತೆ ಪ್ರಸಿದ್ಧ ನಿನ್ನ ಚರಿತ್ರೆ ಬಣ್ಣಿಸಲಿ ನಿನ್ನ ಹೇಗೆ ತಿಳಿಯದಾಗಿದೆ ನನಗೆ ಅ೦ದಿನ ಕಾಲ ಪರಿಚಿತ ನೀ ಕೆಲವರಿಗೆ ಇ೦ದು ಚಿರಪರಿಚಿತ ಹಲವರಿಗೆ "ಚಿಂತೆ ಚಿಂತೆ ಚಿಂತೆ" ಬ೦ದೆ ಏಕೆ ಸನಿಹಕೆ ಬೇಡವೆ೦ದರೆ ಹೋಗುವೆಯ ನೀ ದೂರಕೆ ಕೊ೦ಚ ಶಾಂತಿ ಕೊಡು ಮನಕೆ - ಅಶ್ವಿನಿ

ನೆನ್ನೆ ರಾತ್ರಿ ೧೨ ಆದರು ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ನಿದ್ದೆ ಹತ್ತಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಏನು ಮಾಡೋದು ಅಂತ ಯೋಚಿಸುತ್ತಾ ಹಾಗೆ ನನ್ನ ಕಪಾಟಿನಲ್ಲಿಟ್ಟ ಹಳೆಯದೊ೦ದು ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ಬಿತ್ತು. ಪುಟಗಳನ್ನ ತಿರುಗಿಸಲಾರಂಭಿಸಿದೆ. ಸುಮಾರು ೧೩ - ೧೪ ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆ ಒ೦ಬತ್ತನೆ ತರಗತಿಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದ ಸಮಯ, ನವೆ೦ಬರ್ ಮಾಸ - ಕನ್ನಡ ರಾಜ್ಯೋತ್ಸವದ ಅಂಗವಾಗಿ ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕೆ ಸ೦ಭ೦ಧಿಸಿದ ಹಾಗೆ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳನ್ನ ಶಾಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಆಯೋಜಿಸಲಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಕನ್ನಡ ರಸಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ, ಪ್ರಬ೦ದ, ಜನಪದ ಹಾಡುಗಾರಿಕೆ, ಭಾವಗೀತೆ , ಭಾಷಣ ಸ್ಪರ್ಧೆ ಹೀಗೆ.. ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಕವನ ಬರಿಯಲು ಅವಕಾಶವೂ ಇತ್ತು.ಅ೦ದಿನವರೆಗು ನನ್ನೊಳಗೆ ಅವಿತು ಕುಳಿತಿದ್ದ ಕವಿ ಇರುವ ವಿಷಯ ನನಗೇ ತಿಳಿದಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಸುಮ್ನನೆ ಸ್ನೇಹಿತರ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ನಾನು ಬರೆಯಲಾರಂಭಿಸಿದೆ. ಆಗ ನನ್ನ ರಚನೆ ಮೂಡಿ ಬಂದ ರೀತಿ ಹೀಗಿದೆ: ಕನ್ನಡ ನಾಡು ನುಡಿ ಕನ್ನಡ ನಾಡು ಬಲು ಚೆಂದ ಕನ್ನಡ ನುಡಿಯು ಶ್ರೀಗಂಧ ಕೇಳು ನೀನು ನನ್ನ ಮುದ್ದಿನ ಕಂದ ಇದೊಂದು ಪುಣ್ಯದ ನಾಡು ಹಸಿರಿನ ಸಿರಿಯ ಬೀಡು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಜನ್ಮ ತಾಳುವುದು ಪುಣ್ಯ ಪಾಪಗಳೆಲ್ಲವೂ ಆಗುವವಿಲ್ಲಿ ಶೂನ್ಯ ಚಿನ್ನದ ನಾಡು ಗಂಧದ ಬೀಡು ಈ ಚೆಲುವ ಕನ್ನಡ ನಾಡು ಕೇಳು ನೀನು ನನ್ನ ಮುದ್ದಿನ ಕಂದ ವೀರಸಾಹಸಿ ಕಿತ್ತೂರಿನ ಚೆನ್ನಮ್ಮ, ಹೈದರಾಲಿ ಸೈನ್ಯವನ್ನು ನಡುಗಿಸಿದ ಧೀರಮಹಿಳೆ ಓಬವ್ವ ಧೈರ್ಯಶಾಲಿ ಟಿಪು ಸುಲ್ತಾನ ಮಾಡಿದರು ಈ ನಾಡಿಗಾಗಿ ತಮ್ಮ ಜೀವದಾನ ತಂದರು ನಾಡಿಗೆ ಕೀರ್ತಿಯನು ಹೆಚ್ಚಿಸಿದರಿದರ ಹಿರಿಮೆಯನು ಕನ್...

Not intentional, not planned - we hit the road at about 10 in the night.This was an year ago; the days when I started to sit behind the wheels and tried to balance them on the freaking Bangalore roads. Dad and an uncle from next door personified the status of my " Gurus ". Sessions lasted for an hour or so every night in the nearing neighborhood. Driving had taken a spot on my daily routine from a fortnight. 2 wheels are a lot easier to tackle, with not a lot of brain work required. But when it turns out to be a 4 wheeler that you need to handle, then comes along with it all the thrills. Your eyes, feet, hands are all pulled into full action. Brain gets overworked trying to match the safety to perfection.The first time I ever tried to drive, the only thought that came to mind was "If I ever had exercised all the sense organs as much I was doing during these driving minutes, I would definitely be no less than a super computer!". Quite true isn't it ? A few days ...

ಆಸೆಯ ಭರವಸೆ ... ಅದೊಂದು ದಿನ ಕಚೇರಿಗೆ ಬಂದವಳೇ ಎಂದಿನಂತೆ ನನ್ನ ಸೀಟಿನಲ್ಲಿರೋ ಕ೦ಪ್ಯುಟರ್ಗೆ ಲಾಗಿನ್ ಆದೆ. ಏನಪ್ಪಾ ಇವತ್ತು ಕೆಲಸ ಎಂದು ಯೋಚಿಸುತ್ತಾ, ಹಾಗೆ ಮೇಲ್ ಬಾಕ್ಸ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ಕ್ರೋಲ್ ಮಾಡೋಕ್ಕೆ ಶುರು ಮಾಡ್ದೆ. ನಮ್ಮ ಆನ್ ಶೋರ್ ಲೀಡ್ ಏನ್ ಕೆಲಸ ಕಳ್ಸಿದ್ದಾರಪ್ಪ ಅಂತ ಅವ್ರ ಹೆಸರಿಂದ ಬಂದ ಮೇಲ್ ಗಳನೆಲ್ಲ ಹುಡುಕಿ ಓದಿ ಆಯಿತು. ಇನ್ನು ಕೆಲಸ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭ ಮಾಡಬೇಕು ಅನ್ನೋಷ್ಟರಲ್ಲಿ ಸಹ ಉದ್ಯೋಗಿ ಒಬ್ಬರಿಂದ ಬಂತು ನೋಡ್ರಿ ಒಂದು ಪುಟ್ಟ ಕವನದ ಸಾಲುಗಳು. ಈ - ಮೇಲ್ಸನ ಯುಗದ ಕವಿ ಘೋಷ್ಠಿ ಅಂದ್ರೆ ಇದೆ ಇರ್ಬೇಕು ನೋಡ್ರಿ :). ಈಕಡೆ ಇಂದ ನನ್ನ ಉತ್ತರ , ಆಕಡೆ ಇಂದ ಅವರ ಲೌಕಿಕ ಜ್ಞಾನ ಭಂಡಾರದ ಮಹಾಪೂರ . ಸಹೋದ್ಯೋಗಿಕವಿ ಸಾಹೇಬರು: ಮುಸ್ಸಂಜೆ ಯಾಗಿರಲು ಕಾರ್ಮೋಡ ಕವಿದಿರಲು ಅಲಲ್ಲಿ ಇಣುಕುತಿತ್ತು ಮಳೆಯ ಹನಿಯು ಬೀಸೋ ಗಾಳಿ ತಂಗಾಳಿಯಾಗಿ ಹೊತ್ತು ತರಲು ಹಳೆಯ ನೆನಪ, ಮೌನದಿ ಪುಳಕಿತ ನನ್ನೀ ಮನ ಮಾತು ಮೌನಗಳ ನಡುವೆ ಎದುಸಿರು ಬಿಡುವ ಬದುಕ ಪಯಣದಲಿ.. ಬಣ್ಣ ಕಳೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಹಣ್ಣಾದ ಬಿಸಿಲಿಗೂ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿದೆ ಮುಗಿಲನೋಕುಳಿಯ ಈ ಮಳೆಯ ತಂಪು ಭೂಮಿ ಸ್ಪರ್ಶದಿ ಬರುವ ಕಂಪು ಕುಣಿವ ಹನಿಯ ಗೆಜ್ಜೆಯ ಇ೦ಪು ಬಿಸಿಲ ಮಳೆಯು ನಗುವ ಅಳುವು ಹನಿಯ ಸ್ಪರ್ಶದಿ ಮೊಳಕೆ ಒಡೆದು ಬೆಳೆಯುವ ಎಳೆಯ ಚಿಗುರು ಕೀಳಲೆತ್ನಿಸಿದೆ ನೋವಿನ ಮುಳು ಆಗಸದಲಿ ಮೂಡಿಸುತ ಕಾಮನಬಿಲ್ಲು ನನ್ನುತ್ತರ: ಮುತ್ತು ರತ್ನಗಳ೦ತಿರುವ ಈ ನಿನ್ನ ಸಾಲುಗಳು ಅದೆಷ್ಟು ಸತ್ಯ ಎಂದು ಯೋಚಿಸಲು ಹ...

Stumbled down thinking of the snowy days.. With 2 years gone by , the thought of cold chilly breeze ,soft snow flakes make me relive that wonderful afternoon. It was barely a day or two since a group of 3 colleagues landed in the well known gloomy city of the world - Seattle. "Beauty " in its simple form of all the odds of superlatives, I could describe this city in a word. As I go back leaning onto my chair feeling the bliss as fresh as ever, I start to experience it all over again. Nothing different, nothing special, still each landscape, each new spot slides by as a power point presentation. Little things which go un noticed in our day to day schedules of hurdling back and forth for work and home, caught my attention that very day. I admired nature more than ever. A simple gesture would mean it all when a hand holds you tight when you are about to trip and fall. I would have loved to capture that moment when a young couple helped this old lady trying all her best to get o...

This was not any usual Saturday. The peculiar feeling in the morning I woke up had something in store for sure. As I gulped the morning coffee, I was quite not getting the instinct of what this feeling actually was. I was gazing at the newspaper headlines and my mind started rewinding to a few episodes behind its current scene. After a while it came to a sudden halt at my office desk. "It was a lazy Friday (a day before this feeling started creeping in), the long weekend of Thanksgiving in the other shore, keeping the day as dull as it could be. Not a task to complete, no emails to read or forward. Sense of boredom prevailed everywhere. I am not the one who can idle away the time to waste gossips about the daily K-soaps or otherwise, so be it work or something productive, wanted to utilize all the minutes on hand into things that would keep my mind working before it rusts. I sat at my desk thinking what next to splurge on, I blindly open the home page - Google the master for anyt...

Back in the year 1998, I was a 10th grade student and I had a routine following every morning. Get ready by 8 am, pop in some upma or an idli for breakfast, not to forget the calcium needed – a large glass of milk. Rush to school with those heavy backpacks which contained the whole year’s syllabus. Getting into the crowded city bus with the bags that weighed close to quarter ton - of course with some struggle. Ensure to keep the uniform still in its clean and pressed status. Making sure the polished shoes did not get dirty. Then the straight 7 hours of interesting and boring lectures. ( You definitely have this mix wherever you study ). At the end of the day, cross the hurdles again to get back home the same way as in the morning. While heading back from school one fine evening it was late and I could not wait for a city bus. So I got into an auto to reach home in time. It was the first time I traveled in the auto alone. You can imagine my state of mind, a young girl taking an auto r...

What’s new? A techno geek walked into XYZ shop and asked the attendant – Hello what’s new today? This is a common scene one can observe in most of the outlets growing in various parts of the cities also expanding the horizon slowly into the rural parts. Technology is growing every day, new discoveries and inventions making a strong mark in every field of life. Today it’s so easy to talk to your dear ones who are miles away in a part of the different world by just dialing a few numbers. Ordering your favorite Pizza’s and getting it delivered to your home is just a few clicks on your computer screen. Life is getting to such a level where everything seems automated and the most admiring fact is that you can still be grounded at one station. Today’s world has products ranging a wide spectrum that is cutting time and energy on most of your daily routine activities , be it your morning brushing using the battery operated brush or your bedroom mosquito repellent that is switched on at night....

Gone are those lovely schooldays. Wonder if I can live it once more. It wasn’t very long ago. Memories are fresh, lingering around my mind. There are a lot of things I will never forget in my life. It may sound a little funny as I go on; you are welcome to have a hearty laugh. There is no objection at all. A cozy bed making you sleep as long as you want, but there comes the Hitler of your home ( Mom ) shouting and giving an order “It’s time baby .Wake up!” I am damn sure; no one cares for this wake up call. There is an alarm ringing every 5 minutes. Hmmm right! Snoozed and snoozed and snoozed. Then there is this final call from your Mom, if you don’t wake up you know you will be late. Suddenly you get up and rush to get ready. Those neatly pressed uniforms, clean and polished shoes, neatly cut nails, oiled and combed hair. I remember those funny pony tails for girls and those joker shorts for boys. Sharp at 8 in the morning breakfast is ready on the table. The schoolbags are packed...

“ You have crazy drivers here but none can beat one from India ” – Stacy a tough lady in her mid forties made this comment as one speeding car passed us. We were seated on a bench waiting for a bus on a mid summer afternoon in Seattle, US. I acknowledged “ That’s true .” She picked up the conversation and went on about her experience in the early 90’s. She was in Chennai in 1994 for a span of 20 good days on a business trip. Peter, Rebecca and Frank accompanied her. This is how she describes her experience. As I landed in the Chennai airport I could feel the heat from everywhere. It was pricking me. I hoped not to turn into a boiling chicken by the time I check into the hotel booked for a group of four who flew down all the way from Kansas city to this well known city in India - Chennai, the then Madras . The fun had just begun. People stared at us as if we were directly out from an animal park or probably we were the missing clowns from the famous Jumbo Circus run...

A newbie fresh out of College is happy to be placed in a reputed firm. Family and relatives are happy on this achievement. This fresh face enters the heaven (then) which will be paying out the defined salary on the last day of the month. Yes this is definitely going to be lot more than the pocket money he/she got in college. The smile on an employee face is self-explanatory for his/her status in the company - Fresher . Introduction, orientation, meeting colleagues, paperwork and the trainings are marked on his/her calendar for the initial few days to make him/her familiar with the work culture. He/she finds friends who have similar interests. Everything seems to be colorful and joyful. The lunch breaks are more than an hour. It isn’t easy to get rid of the bunking habitJ. Enjoyment is the only thing on their minds and that is what they will be surrounded with. How long?? Soon the Fresher tag goes away. He/she becomes a part of the industry. Though one has fun filled days in the in...