Unveil the Other Side

That's a title as suggested by my sister and cousins who accompanied me yesterday for a ride on the "Namma Metro" - The first ever metro train in Bangalore city.The most hyped attraction of the city which has missed several deadlines and finally made its grand opening this October is the first step in bringing some peace to Bangalore traffic I'd say. With the reach of Metro, not really that attractive as of now, I guarantee that upon its completion in the years to come we can see some organized structure in the movement of traffic in this city. The plan was in place. Sis, I and two other cousins had the idea of enjoying this ride when it opens to public. What better day could it be than the Karnataka/Kannada Rajyotsava to make this event dream come true! Yes, we headed out on the road early yesterday morning (Pretty early). Reached MG road at around 8:30am. Walked past the Deccan Herald (office of a daily newspaper) and there we walk the first time ever into the stati...

Today was one of those monotonous mornings, however with a surprise element. On our way to office, sis and myself happened to sight an individual riding a 2 wheeler. As this person was ahead of us at first we could just see from the back. We started debating on whether it was a he/she for obvious reasons. We had to halt at the signal with the seconds counting down from 120 (Yes! some traffic signals are a complete 2 minute wait here in Bangalore) and our converstation continued. Look at that neatly permed long hair - I definitvely said it should be SHE . After a moment I noticed the way he/she was sitting and riding the bike - pretty straight and macho - I redefined my statement and said it was a HE for sure. Now, with a body hugging Tee and a skin tight jeans which had a floral print on the pockets. - What do you say I questioned? - Both me and sis in chorus said "It's a SHE" . (Also to add the helmet worn was so girlish!) The seconds blink 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 .. and we zo...

The Meteorological Department had its forecast in place, ahead of time. Wet weekend it had to be - So was it. Friday evening as I sit on my chair keying in some words making the rugged program work accidentally happened to glance at the window and my vision is stuck to the dark clouds. The setting at any IT office is pretty much similar - Lights are on throughout, giving an imaginary illusion of day beyond 6 in the evening as well. However I sit in a place that gives a clear view of the sky. Hurdling through the bustling traffic, avoiding as many potholes possible - made the trip back home in a ridiculous 3 hours drive. Cars carried mud along, auto rickshaws pulled themselves with all the strength - drivers making the best of the opportunity. Bikers - ones afraid of falling sick took shelters off the road until the rains mellowed a bit, the ones who did'nt care of drenching - zoomed along. Adding to the splashing surprise for the city on Friday, more rains and thunder-show...

BIAL - That's the abbreviation of Bangalore International Airport Limited . I with a friend and my dad headed towards this destination last friday. Its a clean 45 km drive one way. The traffic seemed to have come to halt on a friday night at 10, maybe a result of rising fuel price and adding to that the inflation taking tolls on the commuters. Weather was cool and the dark clouds had covered the sky, hiding away all the stars. The strong chilly wind that was cutting through the half openend window, ran my ears numb. It is a national highway that I need to take after a few initial rough city roads. As I drive through at a speed marking 100kmph on the display meter, few drops of rain made its entry on the glass surface in front, blurring the vision for a moment, until the wipers came on. A few gossips and giggles kept us engaged till we reached the parking lot at the airport. A glance at the clock confirmed the time - it was 11.05 pm. Malaysian airlines was to land at 11:25 and we w...

Of late Sis and I have been travelling by car to and fro office and the reason behind this post is to let people know the fun we've been going through doing this. Pun intended as well not. Am I confusing you with such an open ended statement? It all started about 3 weeks ago with my job change. 30 kilometers daily, one way though, in a rush mad city like Bangalore is no joke for an individual who performs the 8 hour work routine - 5 days a week. Since this routine would be shared by 2 of us, car pooling did not sound a bad idea. It also happened to work this way out mainly because there is no transportation facility provided by the new company. The jams and the chaotic drivers on the streets drive us crazy every day. Not to forget crackpots who plunge out of nowhere right in front of the wheels of our mighty Santro Xing . Auto fellows zoom-on to equal Narain Karthikeyan ! The gigantic Hi-tech buses flood this city's roads every day and its drivers declare themselves the king...

As I start to write this up, am fuming with anger. It might be an exaggerated emotion, but ask the other 2 who went through the act with me and you will end up hearing some more. Firstly what do you mean by common sense? Common sense is beliefs or propositions that most people consider prudent and of sound judgment, without reliance on esoteric knowledge or study or research, but based upon what they see as knowledge held by people "in common". This might be the dictionary meaning for the term,however in simple it is something that a person should be aware of without being told or forced by someone else. Hope you are in agreement! If that’s the case let me know what you'll do in a frustrating case like the one we observed last evening. As the boring Sunday was turning out to be a very boring Sunday; Sis, a friend and myself thought of venturing out on an undestined place. Unsurprisingly the thought on all minds was to avoid the suffocating crowd, mainly want...

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...

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 ...