Boramma BengaLoorige bundaaga…
17 Jun 2008 13 Comments
in myself, Random thoughts Tags: b(l)ooming bengalooru, pitiable kids in the metros
I am ‘stealing’ time from my holidays to scribble a few lines..
My visit to BengaLooru this time was a little tizzy at the start. I stayed with my bil and family at Koramangala and once our planned activities got over we statred freaking out to visit all the malls in the vicinity.
We circumambulated Forum, Star Bazar, Big Bazar, both the Lifestyles, Garuda …… Our footwears showed signs of wear and tear and by night my twice injured left foot ‘sang’ songs . Once home I felt as if I was still precariously walking on the slippery mall floors…And soon started expecting an escalator in the next room or a Macdies in the next floor ..
My senses were revolted by the overdsose of vanilla essence near the cookie /cream and fudge factories ,the sight of dark red chaats in the roadside eateries, the open gutters in national games village, the kids ‘playing’ in barricaded play pens at the so called fun place in one such mall.
The kids were being minded by teenagers who were more interested in chatting with themselves, or tossing the balls among themselves.I don’t blame them, however. The poor kids were in a make -believe playground. The slides and seesaws were all so cozy that it wouldn’t have been any fun !! There was no thrill in sliding down those slides as the gradient was so simple , the ‘plastic’ world around was exactly that!There was no sand for them to play with. Instead they had a wide array of coloured plastic balls to throw at each other or sink into.The place was quite tiny. Elsewhere it was full of virtual games letting out screaming lights and sounds.Yeah, the lights were screaming too.. They were that obnoxious. Kids were busy counting the tickets won and calculating what they would eventually get . They barely enjoyed the game as such.The ‘gifts’ on display included silly looking incorrect rulers and useless pencils. There was just too much of showiness and unreality in the whole place. Some grandparents were enjoying more than the kids. This was the only pleasing sight.
When I came down to Malleshwaram, I somehow felt I had come close to my old BengaLooru. The long , slow sojourns on Sampige Road and Margosa Road , the scents of mallige and grandhige angadies, the sight of MaakLi beru, nallikai, Amtekai , the discourses at Madhwa Sangha, the taste of Panchaamruta at the SP extension Rayara Mutta ,the slow climb over the 11 th cross , the gradual roll down of the 10 th cross , the lure of Sandiges from Loveluck Stores,the scented adike from Srinivasa Stores, the visually appealing Hurigaalu angadi, the beckoning happalaas of Radhakrishna Stores, the come hither looks from the second -hand , yellowing ,ageing ,books , the unputdownable Real cane (this was available at K mangala in an unappetising way ,though ) the ‘aaseya dukhakke moola ‘ freshly unravelled jackfruits , the unrelenting call of the friendly hanchu, sowtu , baandle ,halguLu mane shops , the stop – pray and scoot shrines that abound here …….
…Oh!! Paradise revisited.
Adventure…living on the edge?
03 May 2008 1 Comment
in Goa in all its colours, learning while teaching, myself Tags: adventure, forests, kids
Last week I suddenly found myself escorting 25 girls to the Summer Education Camp in Dudhsagar Forest Camp . This is part of the Bhagwan Mahavir National Park near Collem. As the duty was totally unexpected I had a thousand questions buzzing in my mind. I contacted the organisers and realised that we would be staying in tents…
My mind went into a tizzy. I packed my bags with a little apprehension , a little thrill and because of the inevitability- with a I don’t care attitude too!
The next morning we left the school towards Collem. The parents had a thousand questions . I was as curious as them!We reached Collem at 9 AM. The organisers were to meet us there and take us into the jungle.They were soon located. They told us that we were to walk for 1/2 a kilometre and there a vehicle would be waiting for us. We soon reached a rivulet.A pick-up came and took our bags. We crossed the rivulet by treading in crystal clear waters….shoes in hand , the kids shreiked in happiness and playfully splashed water around. Our adventure had begun.
To be continued…
Wherever you are…..
07 Feb 2008 7 Comments
in myself Tags: childhood, friends, lost and found
Today is 7 th February.
Happy birthday, Bhanu N.
My bosom pal , my benchmate of the early seventies…
Many happy returns of the day.
Many a time we make friends and lose them.
We ‘find’ friends and gather so many experiences and memories. We move on in life and ‘lose’ them . Their journey with us would have been highly fruitful . I wonder why we can’t work harder to keep in touch. I have had the fortune of having some great friends who made astounding efforts to keep in touch with me. I use the word ‘astounding’ because I studied in six different Kendriya Vidyalayas scattered across the country !! My father got transferred often and there were no mobiles and e mails in those days. There were no social networking sites either. I too have tried to retain friendships with some inspite of having lost them temporarily.
I found Brinda , a wonderful person after having lost her for about 15 years. And just by chance I realised that my neighbour’s brother had worked in Perambur in the early nineties……and all the efforts clicked !! I suddenly had her father’s phone number . He had worked with my neighbour’s brother .My joy was doubled when I spoke to her and met her in her Mambalam residence a few weeks later.
For 5 years Bhanu was my friend–alter ego?We looked alike, thought alike,and probably behaved in a similar fashion too!I still remember the day I entered class III A, in KVM. I was given a seat next to her. And even the very strict Saraswati miss couldn’t separate us as we would burst out crying whenever she tried .
We used to exchange our tiffin boxes, and write in each others’ style and what-not.We had similar interests in reading , embroidery, playing throwball, dodgeball ….
Oh! Those were heady days. We had some seniors whom we would emulate and follow their footsteps..Our school ( KV Malleshwaram ) conducted elections to elect school leaders.We used to follow our candidates in a trance -like fashion.We used to keep thinking of suitable slogans and novel ways of campaigning for them.Cleanliness of the classroom was a major issue. It fetched ‘stars ‘ for the class. And we would go overboard…Staying after school , sweeping, washing and polishing the windows…
My mom used to lament that if I had taken half that interest in cleaning out my cupboard/ study table at home she would have given me real stars ;)
Class II to class 7–an idyllic world… In class 8 some crazy brain thought of shuffling the classes.We were heart broken. My father got transferred out of Bangalore in the same year and the gloom changed scene.
I used to meet her till 1985. Then I lost touch with her.
She did her B tech from UVCE- most probably 1981-85 Electrical / electronics.
Some things we would love to keep safely forever and these are the things that evaporate into thin air. Ties need to be watered to be kept alive.They need careful rearing .
Anyway, wherever you are…may God bless you dear friend.
Aha, bachpan ke din bhi kyaa din the…
Ide nanna uttaraa.. Answers to vani’s tag
25 Nov 2007 Leave a Comment
in And miles to go before I sleep, myself
Q1. Are you happy/ satisfied with your blog, with its content and look?
wrt content ..ok for a person who literally robs time to blog. Looks : not very..
Q2. Does your family know about your blog?
Yes.
Q3. Do you feel embarrassed to let your friends know about your blog or you just consider it as a private thing?
No . But I don’t tell all and sundry about it.
Q4. Did blogs cause positive changes in your thoughts?
Yes, my ‘vision’ has improved !!
Q5. Do you only open the blogs of those who comment on your blog or you love to go and discover more by yourself?
I do explore—when time permits.
Q6. What does visitors counter mean to you? Do you care about putting it in your blog?
It does.
Q7. Did you try to imagine your fellow bloggers and give them real pictures?
Yes. I have met only a very few of my fellow bloggers.
Q8. Do you think there is a real benefit for blogging?
Yes. It helps in getting things off one’s chest. It also works as a sounding board .
Q9. Do you think that bloggers’ society is isolated from real world or interacts with events?
No .
Q10. Does criticism annoy you or do you feel it’s a normal thing?
It doesn’t annoy me.
Q11. Do you fear some political blogs and avoid them? I avoid commenting on controversial posts blogs.
Q12. Did you get shocked by the arrest of some bloggers?
I did not know this.
Q13. Did you think about what will happen to your blog after you die?
No
.Q14. What do you like to hear? What’s the song you might like to put a link to, in your blog?
I like many songs. I would like to put a link to : 1. S. Janaki’s Karedaru kelade, 2. Rafi’s Man tadapat 3. SPB’s koodakke kukkrahalli kere…. 4. Kishore Kumar’s Paanch ruppaiyya…
5. Geeta Dutt’s Vakt ne kiya kya haseen sitam
6. Dr. Balamuralikrishna’s bhakta ramdas’s bhajans.
7. Hariprasad Chaurasia’s Ahir bhairav
8. Shiv Kumar Sharma’s call of the valley.
And many more…..
I tag Nikhil of milcote .wordpress.com
And the award goes to…
13 Nov 2007 3 Comments
in myself Tags: appreciation, awards, bloghopping
Srik of http://srikslib.blogspot.com/
has been magnanimous in giving me the Schmooze Blogger award.Thanks.
Schmoozing as defined by Dictonary.com is the ability “to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.”
The citation says I am a friendly teacher..Thanks.
Now the tradition is to pass on this award to five more bloggers.
I give this award to :
Vijay of http://bangaloreblues.wordpress.com/
His posts are humourous and have a solid impact.The posts are written as if he is talking to an “antarangada mitra”.Yet they bring joy to all.Truly schmooze.
Next the award goes to Balachandra Shetty of http://mathukathe.wordpress.com/
Here is a blogger whose posts have an easy conversational style. Way to go!
The award now goes to Vani of http://whitephosphorous.wordpress.com/.
Her posts are eminently readable.They are schmoozingly informative .
The award also goes to Su of http://bloggedin.wordpress.com/
She has such a wonderful ability to converse that even plants and animals will nod their heads to her talk..
Finally the award goes to Prashant of http://pqrshanth.blogspot.com/
As he has the ability to capture the attention of the reader with simple words and scintillating snaps..
I hope these bloggers will keep the tradition of Schmooze awards alive..
Tag-Wag award- waward main kya jaanu re?
11 Nov 2007 3 Comments
in myself Tags: I me, myself, tags
Many days ago rkji tagged me by using Inky Pinky method…and here I am
I judge: Myself-constantly and my poor son 
Also as a normal human being I judge these for satisfying my thirst to criticize ..
- People who lie
- People who don’t follow traffic rules (if it affects my smooth ride..)
- People who rob flowers from others’ gardens for pooja (though I don’t have a garden ..)
- Lethargic people like me
- People who can’t keep their personal problems away from their professional life,
I admire :
- People who keep themselves fit by exercising regularly
- People who age gracefully
- Singers like Mohd. rafi, SPB, Geeta Dutt,Balamurali Krishna
- Sportspersons like Steffi Graf, Boris Becker, I Lendl, Agassi,
- Writers like Shivarama Karanth, Triveni, Irving Wallace,Wodehouse,Jane Austen,R K Narayan,Premchand,PD James, Thomas Hardy…
- Workoholics who retain a little sense of humour
- People who can laugh at themselves
and myself…ok… atleast sometimes
I tag Vani of http://whitephosphorous.wordpress.com/
- Su of
- srik of
- Have fun.
Rafi kahaan ho tum…
01 Sep 2007 5 Comments
in myself
The whole of yesterday the great news channels of India kept ‘breaking news’ about Diana.What has she done for India or Indians ? Nothing much.
But Mohammed Rafi has brought solace to millions of Indians.He has given voice to a myraid emotions and regaled us over the years.
He was the singer par excellence.
A person who even after decades of his death continues to inspire would be singers and accomplished singers like SPB.
His songs have been bringing joy to kids who were not even born when he died.
Yaad na jaaye…
Annisutide yaako eno …
08 Jul 2007 4 Comments
in myself
Modale keLidde nendu….
I heard an old song of circa 1982/83 ” vedaanti heLidanu honnella maNNu maNNu kavi obba saaridanu maNNella honnu honnu …”from the movie maanasa sarovara after a long time.
The background music brought me to 2007.It has some similarities to Annisutide yaako indu…
Paradise revisited…
13 Jun 2007 4 Comments
in myself
A visit to one’s mom’s place always is just like a visit to paradise.
And if you add a loving ,caring attige who takes great care in supplying culinary delights….My sis-in-law is a great cook. She is very loving and understanding .Each time I visit them I get to eat new delicacies .
Chatting endlessly with mom ,reading two-three newspapers in a leisurely fashion , reading old issues of Sudha,Taranga,Mayura and Tushaara are the added attractions.
I spent time in such a lazymanner there that it was scary when I began cooking on Monday morning!!would I be able to add saly in the right proportion?would I be able to get the right consistency of saaru -so essential for dear C?
Doubts galore..
luckily I hadn’t lost my touch..
The demo lessons
29 May 2007 13 Comments
in myself
Each of the twenty one lessons I witnessed was a great learning experience in innovation and sometimes spontainety.It clearly demonstrated novel ways of introducing a topic,maintaining interest level of low acheivers ,taking the bright ones to greater heights and several exciting ways of evaluation and recapitulation.
Each lesson was followed by open debate on its plus and minus points.The director and resource persons sat through each lesson patiently and saw to it that they didn’t turn into a farce. The feedbacks were eye-openers !
This was followed by the tea break.The breaks served the purpose of stretching our ageing muscles and restless tongues too!!
Most days the next attraction was the guest lectures organised with a lot of planning and thought.
There was one on National Curriculum Framework, one on counselling and another one life-skills . These were interesting most of the times,but I made them enjoyable by making them very interactive(even if the speaker hadn’t planned it to be!!) My main reason was to avoid dozing scenes around me.Many people were probably cursing me for spoiling their nap times.
A lecture on Child’s psyche was the most enjoyed one by all participants because of certain reasons.
The first was because of the insistence of the speaker, it became a highly interactive one. He kept provoking us to react. However the best(?) part was he was never happy with our reactions and kept searching for only certain responses for which he was prepared!
He also had a slight superiority complex with which he looked and harangued us. the result was a gradually simmering audience -especially yours truly who had become volatile by then. He had elicited certain info reg our behaviour in a given situation and then coolly condemned one of us. He also chided another and nearly humiliated a senior colleague just to prove his point.(Actually he had a legal point there, but his ways left a bad taste)
He moved on to aggressiveness in kids and asked tauntingly whether any of us had observed such behaviour.He went on to ask us to describe it/demonstrate it. That made me explode creatively!!
I suddenly banged the table loudly and screamed ,”I want to go out! Let me OUT!! JUST NOW”
The audience was stunned for a second and then they burst out laughung. They had already seen me in action for about 8-9 days by then. But the speaker was in a shock.He tried his best to cover up by telling me that as a child I should have thrown some things too. Actually he must have thanked his stars that I hadn’t!
My friends later told me that he was so stunned by my outburst that he jumped back several paces and struggled to keep a straight face for sometime. I was too consumed in my acting to observe this. I wish I had seen that smug face turn to a fear-filled one!!
I thought I was only obliging the speaker in generating a tantrum . I hadn’t realised that he was only expecting a token answer and not a real performance.
I secretly felt I had avenged for all the hurt felt previous to my outburst.
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