Essence of precision – an inspiration!

This is another observation that I have made over past few years. Commercial street in Bangalore is the hub of conventional shoppers who prefer to have all kinds of shops one after the other offering plethora of products at reasonable prices. Being in the heart of the city, this place is relatively approachable for folks from all parts of the city. It’s known for its numerous dingy and narrow streets with hundreds of shops primarily selling apparels and accessories with bargain hunters roaming all over to find the desired price for a given item. These streets also offer a slight flavor of old Bangalore.

At any given time, the place is immensely crowded with shoppers, vehicles, sellers, food vendors, cows, dogs and many more. It has reasonably less choices of eating joints; especially restaurants where you could sit and eat. The most prominent restaurant is Woody’s that serves almost all kinds of food and beverages. It’s an old building with adequate seating area. The building is divided into two floors where the ground floor has self-service and first floor is a typical restaurant with the same menu. 

I personally visit Commercial Street when I have a relatively long shopping list that majorly contains traditional stuff like dresses, jewelry, hand-crafts etc. and I eventually always bump into Woody’s to satisfy my eternal hunger and breathe after hours of tedious walking on the streets. I usually choose to go on the first floor to get rid of standing in the queue to place my order.

This write-up is about this waiter who is always present in the restaurant and has an ever smiling face. He is old, almost on the verge of getting entirely bald, limps and drags his feet when he walks and is slim. Nonetheless, he appears to be someone who simply loves his job. He bends his head and welcomes you with a broad smile as soon as he sees you entering the restaurant. He is fast, responsive and keeps looking out if any of his customers need assistance. The tilted bow of his uniform shows his profound engrossment in his work. I wonder if he gets much time to take breaks as the restaurant is always occupied but his energy towards the end of the day matches completely with the beginning of the day.

I don’t often meet people with such enthusiasm and diligence towards their daily regular work. It’s always a pleasure to see him and get inspired. His smile makes your tiring and exhausting day bright and cheerful. This may be an exaggeration but he surely does that to me every time.

Isn’t it amusing that at times such people who could always be ignored can inspire us?

That woman in blue apron…

In the name of Democracy.....

It’s been quite long since I have logged into my blog account. Just got few thoughts in my mind and I spared some time to pen them down.

Off late we have been watching many advertisements on TV about voting. All these political parties have composed their music and videos and they play them on Televisions. I think it’s the first time that they are advertising it so aggressively. These parties have employed advertising agencies to do their brand-building. Thousands of SMSes are being circulated as another means of advertising. In fact, many of the parties have their political songs as the caller tunes. And the money flow in to it must be so high that we cannot even fathom it. The meaning of a ‘political campaign’ is completely changed.

I see so many celebrities getting into politics is another marketing tool for the parties. They are only using the faces to fetch the votes. In the name of democracy all these guys have fun on roads or while shooting for a television advertisement and charge a huge sum.
And we cannot even imagine the amount of money flowing out for such activities. This money can easily get a hygienic life for so many villages in our country.

I wonder if such activities make a difference in the minds of common public to affect their choices to vote or party to vote for. Or are they simply stunned as to what is happening to the country?
Perhaps for some of us it does. When we see our most favorite celebrity being a part of a campaign we get biased or influenced. But is it the right way?

I dont feel this is the right way to ask for votes. You tell us your policies and beliefs and leave it on to us to choose you...

Frozen experiences...

It was 10:30 pm in my watch when I opened my door and peeped outside to see empty streets with fog all over the sky. I could hear the dogs bark when everyone was hidden inside his or her house. A cold puff of air hit my face as I looked at a sleepy puppy trying to blanket itself in the heap of sand on the street side. I could also clearly hear the sound of buses or heavy vehicles honking on the highway. This was the view of a chilly winter night.

When I was in school, my Mom would cover me with so many woolen sweaters and jacket that I would look double my size. We would have our school start at 9:00 am and we could sleep till late morning. Mom would run behind us to make us take shower. My brother would never go for his haircut as he would always cover his head with a woolen cap and his hair would give him warmth. We would sit on our terrace to get Sun in the afternoons and I would help my brother and Dad fly kites. I used to love having Ice cream in that season and would go with my friends without informing Mom and Dad.

The winter season is one of my favorite seasons. It brings a lot of coziness and tenderness in the environment where the chill in the air refreshes you and the warmth inside the thick warm clothes pleases you. I remember those foggy evenings when we friends used to sit surrounding a bonfire and play cards. We would sip hot coffee and gobble salted peanuts with lots of gossips and fun.

I am in North India after a long time in this season while I experience the same feelings. Staying in Bangalore, I miss the charm of such weather.

Rich.

Realism..

It’s been long since I posted anything here. Perhaps I was too busy with so many unimportant things in life.
Well my intentions to this post are sincerely out of watching a woman based movie which impelled the ‘feminist’ in me.

A man has always been considered superior to a woman. He is stronger physically with better stature, broader shoulders and brawny muscles. He has always been hunting for food and cultivating a living to feed his family. He has been the ruler, the achiever, and the savior for many provinces, societies and nations. He is seen to be born to govern and dominate.
On the other hand there is a woman with delicate and fragile features who is assigned a small place in the backdrop. She is supposed to create a safe shelter for the mighty man taking care of his appetite, delivering his offspring and bringing them up.

Things have changed now with the woman but man remains the same. A woman is now emancipated who can challenge her counterpart in all the planes of his activity. She can now prove her mettle and merit to the whole world. And such a development has only given rise to arguments, quarrels, divorces, old age homes, orphanages etc.
Why do we still believe in the myth that man is superior to woman? He is not. None of them is superior to the other. Both are complimentary. There is no comparison. A man cannot do without a woman and vice versa. One does not exist without the other. Together their life is complete and meaningful. Both of them have their own charms, roles, duties and responsibilities.

All of us have to believe in it. And not just us as individuals but us as a society, us as a nation. There are many subjects to fight for than gender discrimination.
I have seen many men accepting this fact and respecting women. Probably this trait of a man determines his quality. Let us not be man or woman, let us be just individual human beings. May be this is a point of view of a woman.

Rich.

It's Raining Men!!

It’s raining outside and this gives me an urge of expressing myself with the feeling called 'Rains'...
The very first thing it reminds me of is the times when I with my 'society friends' used to run out to get the first shower of the monsoon season. I remember all of us sticking our tongues out to taste rain, giggling and yelling as wind and rain whip around us. I would jump in the small puddles of water on the roads to splash water on my friends as we used to play ‘who can jump highest in the slush’. There is so much of fun in getting wet in rains especially when you have just experienced the scorching summers. A hot cup of tea (with Cardamom & Ginger) and some onion ‘pakodas’ makes it more worthy…
Rainy season is one of my favorites… I miss making mud-pies, walking on slushy grass, playing with the earthworms and frogs, hopping into every puddle in my sight, relishing hot and spicy samosas etc.
I remember my parents bought me and my brother umbrellas for the rainy season to carry to the school but I used to make sure that I don’t carry it and when I carried it, I would somehow manage to get completely wet.
My mom used to bother about the bugs in the rainy season as all of them would get inside our house. She would keep looking for ways to keep them away. She would also be busy in taking off the mud caked in our shoes, cycle tyres etc.

Things have changed so much now. I sit in an air conditioned office where no one gets to know if it’s raining until one needs to get out of the building. The maximum I can do is look through the window glasses and worry about the traffic jam I would get on my way back home. And if it’s a holiday, I would stay in my house, sit in the veranda where I can see the water pouring down, watch DVDs or TV, sleep, read and wait for the rain to stop. Rains also make me little cautious and vigilant about the food outside as there would be infectious virus spread in the town.

Perhaps I have grown up to enjoy the rainy days as I used to when I was a child. But I still love the feeling which makes me remember all such memories.

Rich!

Am I Superstitious?

I watched a movie called ‘Kismat Konnection’ few days back. The reviews of this movie are ‘boring, dull and stupid’. Personally I dint mind the movie. It was cute with nice peppy and romantic numbers. Also, the movie highlights a rather pertinent facet of all our lives. Lucky charm! The guy is unsuccessful till he finds a lucky charm for himself. I guess it happens with all of us.

I too have many lucky charms like my lucky shirt and lucky shoes which I always wear when I have an interview or an important meeting or presentation. I remember I used to carry a pen in my exams which I thought to be my lucky charm. Not that I really believed in luck, but I dint see any harm in carrying that. And to my surprise, I used to get better scores in all the exams written by that pen. It must have been a coincidence or chance but carrying that pen to the examination hall used to give me some kind of confidence and assurance. I am sure this happens with most of us. Is this superstition? Is it being irrational or illogical? I guess no. It’s just a way to keep yourself contented and pleased when it so easy.
But this does not mean that I reply to the chain mails or sms (Forward it to 10 friends and have a good luck for a year) which keep coming often. It’s stupid to forward such junk mails and expect people to believe and reply to it. It does not bring good luck; it just wastes your time and effort and irritates the recipients of the mail or sms (mostly).
But I believe in having a wind chime hung on my door. I love the sound of the wind chimes. They surely bring in the positive energy around. Placing a feng shui in your house is not superstitious either. It’s just a way to have positive ambiance in your environs.
Probably there is a thin line of difference between being irrational and rational and it’s quite subjective to your thoughts and opinions as well.
I believe in luck and God. And when I am into an evaluation or critical phase of life, I would make sure that I am bordered with all positive energy. Some of you might call it being illogical.

Just a thought and felt like sharing it!
Rich

Memories... which make me smile!

Writing was never my cup of tea but since it has fascinated me now, I keep observing things in my proximity and think about those.
Well the other day I was talking to my Mom about my brother who is just about to move to an engineering college to pursue his graduation. Mom was feeling slightly insecure and anxious as my brother was going out of the house for the first time. She was telling me how she felt when I shifted to Delhi for my graduation some 7 years before. She used to wonder if I would be able to settle down without her and Dad. They had heard about the scary things regarding a hostel life like wicked seniors, bullying and ragging by them, horrible dining-hall food etc. She thought I was quite reliant on them for almost everything.

I was too little scared and apprehensive by the thought of living all by myself. And there were times when I was taken a back by the conduct of my mates and others around me, at times it used to be difficult to fine-tune with my room mates and there used to be arguments over trivial issues like who uses the bathroom first in the morning, who sleeps under the fan in summers, who gets the more spacious cupboard, when should the lights be turned off in night etc.
But over time I learnt to fend for myself and adjusted with the things around. As I had to take the decisions for myself, I learnt from my own mistakes. It taught me to be tactful and patient and boosted up my confidence. And slowly I started enjoying my independence. Life evolved as fun thereafter and I spent the most eventful years of my life. I made great friends and learnt from them as well. I really miss those days when we used to have late night discussions on something, 5 of us pulling one person’s leg, having gossips about other batch mates, running for notes and books in exam times, celebrating birthdays and festivals together etc.

I believe everyone should experience the hostel life atleast for once in a life time. I would say, when you meet people from diverse backgrounds possessing different personalities, you broaden up your horizon and develop your interpersonal skills. In short a hostel life teaches you all kinds of survival skills in every sort of atmosphere. Another good lesson it teaches you is managing your money and recognizing the value it carries. I realized the importance of a 10 rupee note when I could buy my breakfast with that.

'The richness of life lies in memories we have forgotten'

I am happy to have experienced that and would always treasure those days. I wish that my brother enjoys the same.

Have fun!
Rich

Good Morning... a Beginning...

Finally I have signed up here out of my sudden and prompt interest in blogs. Blogs act as a casement to your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, opinions etc and I intend to put forth the same. Well I am Richa here (probably u would get to know me more through my posts). Welcome to my world!
When you start with something new, you have lots of thoughts hitting your mind from all possible directions. And at present I am baffled what to start with. Well here is a thought I always wanted to share.

I have always been a person who loves sleeping till late mornings (8am-10am). Since my school days I used to wait for Sundays so that I can sleep till late. I remember, during my college days I used to miss all the early morning classes or would reach late (in case of internal assessments) if at all I wake up. Getting up at 9 am used to be an achievement for it used to happen only for an occasion (catching up a morning flight, ‘pooja’ at home, guests or friends coming down or very rarely to revise ‘very important topics’ before the exam etc). Now I have been blessed with a job which starts at 8 am in the morning and luckily or unluckily I stay 17-18 kms away from the office and having considered the traffic conditions in Bangalore, I have no choice than to get up by 6:15 am in the morning. Imagine my plight, the poor child has to wake up and get ready to catch a bus by 7 am (that’s the most energetic and the fastest moment of the day). And I have been effectively doing it from past 18 months.

Believe me there is no better time of a day than the morning. Aaah! It’s really an amazing experience when you open your door and look outside for a cool breeze which blows gently and gives you energy for the day (No I don’t intend to start with poetry here!). I remember how I used to, tease my Dad at times when he used to get up at 4:30 am to go for a morning walk, scoff at the old professor who used to come 15 mins early for the morning lecture, feel sad about a friend who had a habit of waking up early morning and practice ‘Yoga’.

I never knew how 6 am looks or feel like when you move out of your house, fresh and prepared for some purpose or goal. I really admire my mornings now (else than the weekends when I still sleep till late) which give a sense of something new, fresh and bright. And another good thing about these mornings is that you witness different set of people commencing their day with various purposes. As I walk down the lane, I see ladies sketching or drafting ‘Rangoli’ on the entrance of their house to welcome their guests or to welcome the positive energy inside their house, I see men and women of diverse age groups coming back from a vigorous morning walk to stay fit, I see school children (in varied age groups) accompanied by their parents who come to drop them till their school buses, I see newspaper boy roaming on his bicycle distributing newspapers as a means of his earning, I see vegetable vendors again wandering around the lane to sell vegetables (that time they get the most of their business), and I see another set of people like me, who are out of their houses for work. All of these have one thing in common, the enthusiasm, energy, get-up and get-go approach and a positive outlook (atleast it looks like that to me).

I am glad that I realized this at the right time when I had a chance of experiencing and enjoying it. This is especially for those who love getting up late in the morning. Please get up someday at 6 am and feel the splendor and beauty of a morning. I am sure you won’t mind getting up early atleast for few occasions like I stated before.

Have a wonderful day!

Rich