Everything is in a name

Remember remember, the 1st of November. Come November 1st, 2006 and Bangalore will be rechristened to Bengalooru. Is this good? Is this bad? Over the past few years there is a growing concern among the native people of Bangalore that the Kannada culture is fast dying and the city is being taken over by "outsiders". Well I am one of the "outsiders", but I'm here not because I love this city, but more because I work here to earn a living. Statistics reveal that only around 35% of the population in Bangalore is Kannada speaking. A large majority of the immigrants are due to the IT boom this city has seen in the past few years. In order to go back to its Kannada roots, the state government has proposed the best possible solution, which is to rename Bangalore to Bengalooru.

Lets analyze how this strategic move by the state government is going to change our lives. To begin with, the Kannada speaking population is going to increase. Outsiders like me are going to become more interested in learning Kannada and contribute towards preserving the culture. Maybe in a few years, statistics will take a U-turn and 35% of the population of Bangalore will be Non-Kannada speaking. This should be a good measure of progress for the government.

The next immediate effect of changing the name to Bengalooru will be that all roads in the city are going to get overhauled overnight. After so many years of getting complaints regarding pathetic roads in the city, the government finally realized that the only solution to this problem is renaming the city to Bengalooru. Smart move indeed. Starting 2nd November, 2006 get ready to cruise on hosur road and reach office in 15 mins flat. Too bad we wont be able to sleep in the bus for 1 hour.

The name change is also going to solve all traffic related problems this city is facing. No more will people drive like illiterate maniacs. No more will they honk horns as if they are in a rush to answer natures call. There will not be any lane changing in the middle of the highway and ofcourse people on 2 wheelers will stop using the footpath as an additional lane to zip past congested traffic. No more on Bomanahalli, will you see people crossing the road as if they are walking in a garden and the city will not come to a stop whenever it rains for ten minutes.

People in Bangalore are going to become a lot more nicer. Of course they are very nice even now, but after the name change they are going to become good samaritans. There will be no more incidents of thefts or muggings at late night. Ladies can move around at night without any fear of getting kidnapped and call center people needn't worry about their safety. No auto rickshaw driver is going to tell you, '10 Rs more saar'. In fact the auto wallah may even start giving you a discount and also carry your luggage till your doorstep. Real estate brokers will not charge you a single penny for showing you a house or getting you the best possible housing deal. Too bad we wont have all the fun we used to have in arguing and fighting with these people.

The name change will also take Bangalore close to becoming a fully functional metro after all don't all metro cities require a name change at some point of time in order to establish themselves. The state governments dream to convert Bangalore into another Singapore will also be realized shortly. The city's destiny is going to change with the name. So lets rejoice that the tax we pay every month to the government is finally being put to good use and the government is working as hard as possible to make every persons life (including outsiders) more enriching. Hail Bengalooru.

The Departed

Just saw that Martin Scorsese's The Departed has been released. Most reviews that I have read about the movie, have described the movie to be highly intoxicating and a thoroughly engrossing gangster drama. The reviews say that this may be Scorsese's best work since Goodfellas which in my opinion is one of the best gangster movies ever made along with The Godfather

The movie boasts of a phenomenal starcast as well with Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg. The story is based on the 2002 crime thriller from Hong Kong called "Internal Affairs" which was a huge success in Asia.

Cops or Criminals...
When you're facing a loaded gun
What's the difference?

don't know when this movie is going to be released in India, but it's going to be a must see.

Down memory lane

In todays India, Doordarshan is almost history. But I distinctly remember the popularity it once had in the 80's. Ofcourse there was no competition then. One of the things I remember is watching the numerous short cartoon clips that used to be telecasted. Some of them I can remember are, Ek anek, The tree of unity, etc. Browsing the internet I chanced upon the following lyrics and instantly it took me back in memory lane. I could almost hear a voice singing as I read it.

Didi ye anek kya hota hai ?
Anek.... anek yani bahut saare....
jaise...

suraj ek...
chanda ek.....
taare anek....

achcha to taroN ko anek bhi kehte hain ?????
nahi nahi !!

dekho phir se batati hooN
suraj ek...
chanda ek.....
taare anek....

ek gilhari, ....
ek aur gilhari......
ek ek ek karke ho gayee ab anek gilhariyaaN...
ek titali, anek titaliyaaN....
ek chidiya.. ek ek anek chidiyaaN......
anek chidiyoN ki kahani sunoge ....
haan sunao...

ek chidiya anek chidiya....
dana chugne baith gayee thi .....
chorus : didi humen bhi sunao.......
phir se suno...
ek chidiya, anek chidiyaN
dana chugne baith gayee thi .....

WahiN ek Syaadh ne jaal bichhaya tha...
Syaadh, Syaadh kya hota hai didi
Syaadh ... chidiya pakadne wala

to phir kya hua, usne chidiyoN ko pakad liya,...
unhe maar diya ......
un..huh...

Himmat se jo jute rahe to bada kaam bhi hove
bhaiya.. bada kaam bhi
hove bhaiya ...
1..2..3.. furrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Chaturrr cidiyaaN sayaani chidiyaaN,
miljul kar, jaal le kar...
Bhaagi chidiyaaN....
furrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

door ek gaaon mein chidiyon ke dost chuhe rahte the....
unhone unka jaal kaat diya.........

dekha ekta mein kitni shakti hai......
didi agar hum ek ho jaayen to kya koi bhi kaam kar
sakte hain
haan haan kyon nahi ...

to kya is ped ke aam bhi tod sakte hain ???
haan magar jugat lagani hogi ...
JUGAT ???


*
* *
* * * *

achchha ye jugat .... wah bada mazaa aayega....
HO GAYE EK ...
BAN GAYEE TAKAT..
BAN GAYEE HIMMAT...
hind desh ke niwasi sabhi jana ek hain, -2
rang-roop vesh-bhaasha chahe anek hain -2

--- repeat...
bela gulab juhi champa chameli..... -2
phool hain anek kintu mala phir ek hai ...-2
ek-anek-ek anek

suraj ek, chanda ek, taare anek,
ek gilhari , anek gilhariyaaN,
ek titli, anek titaliyaaN,
ek chidiyaa , anek chidiyaaN......
are bela gulab juhi champa chameli.. -2
phool hain anek kintu mala phir ek hain.....2

Well, now how about actually seeing the video and reviving some memories. Get the video from the following link,
http://www.geology.ohio-state.edu/~bhattiprolu/personal/nostalgia/ek_anek.asf

Here's more,
Title song of malgudi days
http://www.geocities.com/krishnakanth1978/MalgudiDays.mp3

Title song of Jungle book
http://rapidshare.de/files/11590776/junglebook_title.rar

National integration song which used to come on Doordarshan
http://wwwoa.ees.hokudai.ac.jp/~rocksea/upload/india/MileSurMeraTumhara.mp3

Enjoy !!!

Yeh hai Bombay meri jaan

After spending around 25 yrs in Bombay (I don't prefer to call it Mumbai), I would think I know all about the local trains here. However each time I travel by it, there is some new experience in store for me.

Bombay has 3 train lines, Central, Western and Harbour. Statistics say that around 2-3 million people travel on each line daily. Central and Western bearing the maximum load. I sometimes wonder where do all these people come from and where do they go.

The life of people in Bombay runs by the train time table. During office hours there will be a mad rush to catch the train. People will be standing in thousands on the platform, and when the train comes, all of them will try to get into the same train. Only the experienced ones manage to get in. Newbies end up getting pushed/slapped etc and might lose a shoe or chappal.

Another mystery is how all these people fit into the train. There will hardly be any place to stand. Make the mistake of lifting your leg and you can be sure that the place where your leg had been will be occupied by some other leg. Then you have no choice but to stand on one leg throughout the journey. It is just like praying to god by standing on one leg, the difference is, your prayers wont be answered and neither will you get any boon.

don't consider yourself lucky if you manage to somehow get a seat. First of all there will be 4 people sitting on a seat meant for 3. Moreover, 3-4 people will be standing between the little space between seats. And yeah, forget about the fans working. Try to give a slight hint that you are about the get off at the next station and you will notice every person standing around you becoming alert and ready to grab the seat which you vacate. I sometimes do this for fun :)

If you thought getting into the local train is difficult, try getting off from it. I once managed to get off 2 stations after my desired destination. Not that I had a choice. I realized that if you want to get off at some station, be sure to come near the exit door atleast 2 stations before it. That is however easier said than done.

There is entertainment too. You will most definitely find a street urchin trying to earn money by displaying his singing talent. Then there are the enterprising salesmen who will try to sell anything from a pen to a ear bud at ridiculous rates.

I want to go on and on writing about this topic, but a very long blog is seldom read by anyone. As it is my writing doesn't attract a lot of comments. I hope people will share their interesting experiences regarding the Bombay local trains.

No rest till we're the best

No, this is not the slogan of my project team, nor is it the new slogan of my company. This is Air Deccan's latest mantra for operating its low cost airline. The slogan seems to be fuelled by the statistics that Air Deccan has become India's second largest airline and enjoys a 21.2% market share, only second to Jet. They claim they are on the way to become Number 1.

First encounter
I first flew with Air Deccan in July last year. I was warned by a lot of people regarding their late service, old airplanes, tired looking air hostesses, no-free-stuff (A non-Indian concept since we always look for freebies and discounts even when buying 10 rupees worth of vegetables) etc. But since I did not have a choice then, I decided to take a chance. And somehow it met my expectations. The flight was delayed by over 6 hours. I finished a whole novel sitting at Bangalore airport. Then, when we finally boarded the plane, it did not take off until another half an hour due to some "technical" problem. I cannot comment on the quality of the airplanes as I'm not an expert, but the air hostesses were not as bad as people said. Offcourse they cannot be compared with their counterparts at Kingfisher airlines, but thinking of the motherly treatment Indian Airlines provides, I was satisfied. So after an eventful day the plane took off and almost brought me to Bombay. They did not get landing permission and kept circling the airport till about 20 mins. Finally I made it to Bombay. But I did not write Air Deccan off after this journey as I was willing to give it a second chance on account of the fact that the reason for the delay were the floods in Bombay, last year in July.

Second chance
The second chance came last week when I again decided to fly by Air Deccan. Why? because they offered the lowest fares :) So there I was once again at Bangalore airport. The plane was scheduled to take off at 9:40PM. After the checkin, I waited patiently watching the hands of the clock. I noticed that the boarding pass did not have any seat number. I saw a man argue at the Air Deccan checkin counter. He had some ticket problems I guess. In a short while the argument turned into a brawl and the man would have exchanged some fists with the Air Deccan employee if the airport security hadn't intervened. I was engrossed in this battle when they finally announced the departure of the flight at around 9PM and I proceeded towards the bus which was to take us till the plane. Instead of occupying the seats, I saw a crowd of people standing near the door, clinging on to the overhead handles. I realized that there is going to be a stampede as soon as the bus stops near the plane. As the bus neared the plane people started crowding the door. I was experienced in this sort of shuffle as I had used the Bombay local trains for years. I was ready. The bus stopped, the door opened, half of the people ran towards the front door and the other half ran towards the rear door of the plane. The rest of the confused lot, who were probably traveling for the first time by Air Deccan, watched the stampede in bewilderment.

On the plane
I decided to take the rear entry to the plane as I find rear entries to be more convenient. I ran up the steps more easily as I did not have any hand baggage with me. As I entered the plane, I was greeted by a dude who smiled and welcomed me. I wondered whether these guys have cut costs and sacked all the air hostesses. Anyway my first aim was to find myself a seat. I saw that most of the window seats were already taken (We have a fetish for window seats even though we may not look outside. Somehow its not paisa vasool until you get a window seat). I found one window seat and hurriedly paced towards it. There was a gentleman sitting in the aisle seat and I asked him to let me in. He gave me a stare as if asking me, "Why do you want to get in here when the entire plane is empty. Cant you go anywhere else?" Anyway, I stared back and finally he let me pass. The first ordeal was over. Shortly it was announced that the plane was ready for takeoff. I looked at my watch. It was only 9:20PM. Surely my watch couldn't be showing the wrong time. In the meantime, the dudes on the plane gave us the security drill. No one bothered to check whether everyone had buckled their seat belts etc. Just a short announcement was made regarding this in a bored voice. The plane took off at 9:30PM, 10 mins before the scheduled departure time. I wondered about those people who believed in Air Deccans track record and who would have turned up a bit late. We were all air borne. I could see a long golden line of lights which I concluded to be hosur road and I even managed to spot forum.

In the skies
Once we were flying, I started to read the Air Deccan inflight magazine to kill time. It was a pretty interesting read. After a short while I decided to take a short nap. I was woken by the loud conversation that my neighbor was having with the people around him. This was a typical middle class crowd, where people enjoy talking to one another on the journey. I have noticed this on all my train journeys. My neighbor asserted himself to be a wise guy of sorts. I found out that he had some contract work with the Siddhi Vinayaka temple in Bombay. He was saying, "Kingfisher chi air hostess masst astaat. Eka vedi mee Indian Airlines madhe zaat hota, tyanchi airhostess baghun maajhi jevan karaaychi iccha samplee" meaning "Kingfisher airlines has good air hostesses. Once when I was travelling by Indian airlines, I lost my appetite after seeing their air hostesses". Everyone around rolled into laughter and nodded their heads in agreement. I closed my eyes and kept my ears open to this wonderful conversation. It was going in an interesting direction. I was glad I learnt marathi in school. After 1.5 hours the plane started descending. I watched the Queens necklace (marine drive) gleaming in the night. We reached Bombay just 10 mins late. This was great by Air Deccan standards. Either they are taking their slogan seriously or I was just plain lucky.

On my way
After waiting in the baggage collection point for about 15 mins, I picked up my small bag and rushed to get home. It was already 12:30AM and I had to cover around 40 kms. Its strange but your baggage always takes time to come while other people get their baggage faster. The journey home was also gr8. But that can be covered in another post I guess. now I am willing to give Air Deccan a third chance as well.