air france crash , university , bangalore

hi, 

I would like to reflect on some interesting things I noted during the week . 

Firstly my profound condolences to all those people who died in the Air France plane crash . It's really bizarre how none of them who had boarded that flight imagined that they would never see their friends again . When i first heard heard of the shocking news of the plane going off the radar , I thought of some terrorist who could have diverted the flight to their operation center , crazy how the human mind works !!!, but later the truth of sinking into the Atlantic was unraveled . As the experts say , the prospect of how  a always safe 'airbus' met  this fateful situation is still  a mystery .. 

discipline , strictness , castigation are terms that we hardly associate with college ... but there is one institution that reminds you that that these terms don't end with school ..... my cousin ,interestingly, went to Satya Sai Baba Institute at Anantpur to pursue B.com( hons) and was baffled to see heightened levels of discipline over there ... so much so that these 16 years or so girls are to wear sari's ( their formal and only dress code ) through the day . Now i am not saying that is all wrong , after all it is the official dress of India , but what's so weird is that they are not even allowed to wear salwars .  The highly outlandish and surreal part's this  .... these college girls are NOT ALLOWED to carry any kind of mobile phones ( even the one's who stay at the hostels) .. they are allowed to talk to their parents only  once a month , on a day decided by the college .  I was so befuddled when I heard about the no  communication part of their strictness plans .... she's probably getting used to it but it's still taken me by shock ..... 

The BBMP has got to wake up ... I guess they've forgotten that the hibernation time is long past over .. The open drains , The worsening conditions of roads , the never ending metro work and the felling of innumerable trees for it  are some of the really  shameful sides of Bangalore . If any member from the organisation ever reads this then here's a message for you --" There's more to Bangalore than just Raj Bhavan road" . No doubt they're making this city progressive but what's still got to done is probably unthinkable ... PLEASE DO SOMETHING !!!!!!

thanks for reading

bye 

student beaten up

hi , 

It's really funny how time passes so quickly when you really like something and seems like an hour when you despise it !! that's because the previous week seems to have gone faster than light .. it seems like yesterday I published my last blog !! 

I've been wanting to write about the hostility that Indians and Australians face in any sphere of life.. from cricket to college . The controversy between Indian spinner harbhajan singh and Andrew symonds got the better of the headlines some time back   and now the beating up of an Indian student in a train in Australia . Sourabh Sharma had gone there to study hospitality was caught among thugs and was asked to kiss their shoe . This is outrageous . 

The Australian students say that they cannot put up with outsiders as they lack common civic sense ( the Indians , reportedly , block hallways and move along in huge groups ) now , what is wrong with that . how long is it going to take for them  to say '  excuse me, please move '? This cannot get any funny . Are they not able to brace the fact that some Indian students who go there do better than them ? Then why are  they there in a university ? if they can't take up this challenge what are they ever going to do when they graduate and move out ?? 

This disheartening situation only makes some of us rethink our motives of going abroad and studying . 

The ragging and teasing . is an 'integral part' of any university but beating students up is something that never gets me . It truly displays how uncultured , uncivilised and ill mannered they are . 

that's it today

bye 

back to college, IPL final , election , house warming

hi ,
It's been two months since i last blogged .Well i decided to give blogging a holiday as i was on holiday too !! I spent my summer break sleeping a lot and catching up on the latest novels and flicks . But now i am back to college and things are slowly falling back into place .
It has been unusually hot in Bangalore , this summer and all of us are seriously looking forward to the monsoon !!
The IPL final is scheduled to happen today ... A clash between The Royal challengers of Bangalore and the deccan chargers .!! I have honestly not followed even a single ball of the second season of the IPL and i guess it's unfair to say i want the Deccan chargers winning when i don't even know who is on the team !!! height of disinterest in cricket ...

The big , fat Indian elections ended last Saturday and the allocation of portfolios is on . Key positions have gone to experienced people and I am happy to know that they didn't make the selection randomly . I think the congress was able to make it to the position of single largest party mainly because of Rahul Gandhi , A fresher in the game of election . although Mr Singh is an experienced , calm and skilled politician , i think he isn't a born leader . We need young , energetic faces to lead the country . let's see what they do to change the face of the country .

Also , we finished our much awaited house warming ceremony on 22nd may .Almost all of the people we had called and i was delighted to see old friends and relatives making it to the occasion . This kind of event gives us an opportunity to catch up and comes as a break in our hectic schedule !!
well that's it this time
bye

KET , IPL+NANO

Hi,

 i presume you would have  this humorous quote ---'The more studying you do for the exam, the less sure you are as to which answer they want",!! well , fortunately I didn't face this situation when I went to take up my KET ( key English test ) exam conducted as a part of the ESOL exams by British Council . An exam that tests your English at a basic level including Reading , Writing, Listening and Speaking . Honestly , it was the first exam that was meticulously conducted and sophisticated too . I was amazed to see the listening test being conducted so efficiently through the use of headsets based on an Infrared technique,  I was forced to take up the examination at Chennai as the number of students from Bangalore had been few , so apparently they couldn't fix a center here . The assessment test went on wonderfully , at least for me!! For more information on this you can visit the website www.britishcouncil.org/india. 

An event that had the top billing during this week was of course the IPL being moved out of India , or as Times of India correctly quoted it  " NRIPL"!!! The reasons are well known to us . The IPL may be a source of entertainment during this time of recession but is this whole fuss and drama surrounding it worth it at all ? The owners spend millions of dollars bidding each player when people are losing jobs every minute  I personally feel . it can be prudently used . for example business owners may use it for  giving bonuses to  their  employees . After all there is only one winner at the end of the gamble. 

Another headlines was the arrival of the TATA nano . A much awaited car that is affordable and has the comfort of a 4 wheeler , really good . But when I think of it's effects in Bangalore city , i am filled with dread . Imagine some 100 + nano's lined up together in already narrow ( thanks to the "helping" METRO constructon )   yet important place like MG road .  The congestion is just going to swell . I hope that the project is completed as soon as possible  for it will provide respite to victims of it's construction , like me . 

Also i would like to add that today completes 1 year since i finished my 1oth standard math board exam . A subject that i hated , loathed , despised  and all other synonyms !!! as a matter of fact i feel creepy and jittery even after a  year when I think of the tension before D- day !!!

 

 anyway , Happy driving ( with the nano) !!!

bye !!!

visit to shiridi

hi , 

Nothing helps unwind like a trip to a nice , calm place !! well , our family( which includes my dad , mom and bro ) went to visit Shiridi to offer religious prayers . Shiridi is a small town , about 0.5 hours from a village called  Kopergaon , Maharashtra. We are in the habit of going there every year during this time . This time things were very different . There was heightened security , the routes were changed ( There were rules concerning entry and exit through specific gates , no handbags were allowed , we were not allowed to touch the samadi too  ) and there was a swell   in the number of people who had come to seek Shirdi Baba's blessings . This is perplexing because 2 years ago , the crowd wasn't as suffocating as this . This can partly be attributed to the rise in the number of serials featuring life and teachings  of Baba . On the 15th March , there were atleast 150,000 in the temple , party because it was a sunday and because  and that was the fifth day ofthe festival  Holi  ( an important day where even Baba used to play Holi )  We waited in the queue for at least 2 hours but had a memorable Darshan in the sanctum sanctorum . We didn't expect such a crowd and were taken aback .Shiridi has become another Tirupati . It has become more like a commercial spot and has lost it religious purpose . It is very saddening to see this . 

We also visited Khandoba temple just 15 minuted from the main Shiridi temple , but not many people know of  this . It was the place where Mahalsapati ( one of the devotees of Sai Baba first saw and beckoned to him saying " Aao Sai "( In English it translates to come sai ) . We also wanted to visit Rahata ( where Baba stayed for a year) but were unable to do so due to constaint of time .  

Shiridi is truly a magical place where miracles happen , well at least happened to us , many times too . So if you ever get an opportunity to go there please visit it . 

I would also like to reflect upon the lack of civic sense by some people .  Once they reach their destination , they leave all the unwanted stuff like banana skin , uneaten food  , water bottles etc back in the train and fail to understand that it needs  be used by other people too(  this was done by elite people who travel in 2nd A/C). Can't they take 5 minutes to clean it up ?? these people, clearly ,are literate but not educated . 

so ... develop an attitude that would benefit everybody !!

until next time

BYE!!!

osars , bid

hi ,

My sinciere apologies for not wrirting in for two weeks . My schedule had been too hectic leaving me virtually no time to bog down my thoughts . It's also interesting to note the density of news made within this period of time . 

The newspapers were splashed with the images of this and the media was on it's heels monitoring every event unfolding - The oscars 

Slumdog millionaire won the oscar for best movie while Mr.Rahman bagged the oscar for the original song , jai ho , which features in the same movie , truly a proud moment for all of us !! But could we have won this most coveted award without the pillar of a British director ? what made this movie stand out from all the other "biggies" like curious case of benjamin button , or milk ?? I , personally feel that this historic moment could not have been created without a English director . What else could explain this better than the rejection of better movies like Lagaan or TZP . Did we deserve to win an Oscar by depicting the penury of India ?

though the winning of the best documentary " smile pinki " was justified  , slumdog millionaire could have done less . Mr . Rahman too admits that "jai ho" was not his best creation .But it is remarkable to note the journey of two kids , who barely know to brush their teeth , undertaking this errand and facing the entire world with grace and simplicity . I wonder if they would believe that they stood in front of  entire Hollywood , once they become a little older !!!!!

The other big event which dominated the headlines was the auction of "bapu's" belongings , But Mr Mallaya, the superman of the day,  the highest bidder reckons to present these to the government . now why would this be ?? 

Well , I am  looking forward to seeing " pink panther 2 " featuring Humorous Steve Martin and trying to finish john grisham's " the appeal ". 

Until next time 

Gracias !!

ban plastic.......

picture of saleslady handing out cloth bags

Hi ,

"One small step for man is a giant leap for mankind"-- that's probably the most quoted introduction for multitudinous speeches . The meaning of that statement is profound , at least for me , since on  9th February , I took my small step towards banning plastic bags . 

I had put up a poster in a supermarket in Diamond District ( my residence ) , asking customers to avoid using plastic bags as much as they could . Not many people paid attention to it . But the shopkeeper , Mr .Gopal, gave my efforts a boost . He ordered for cloth bags which he proposes to use instead of plastic bags . He intends to give it to reliable customers for the time being and gradually induce the habit into all the customers . A very serious Mr Gopal said  ' it's such a pity that people don't realize the gravity of the situation and still do things that are detrimental to the planet . at least let's do our part  '. It's  true that it's  time we start changing our lifestyles to an Eco friendly manner . The simple yet important swaps we can make are use CFL's instead of Incandescent bulbs to reduce Carbon emissions  , use cloth bags , switch off laptops etc when not in use , carry less weight in cars ( more weight= more fuel consumption) 

GO GREEN ....

I was filled with euphoria and was jubilant that I had one more contribution towards saving our planet ( the first is that all the bulbs in our house were switched to  CFL's ) . My inspiration , for this process is none other than Mr Al Gore . I, already a member of Greenpeace , plan to do more towards a greener tomorrow . So I hope that you will do your little part and help in making our already beautiful planet a still better place to be in . 

So next time you head out to buy groceries , say a NO TO PLASTIC . Then watch how many will follow  you !!!!!!!!!!

ALL THE BEST !!!!!!!!!!!!