Chronicles of Bangalore- 1

Its been almost a year and a half since I first came to Bangalore.  And like every city, it has its own charm. The tree lined streets, the pleasant weather, the plenty of gardens are a part of it. And so are the traffic jams and overpriced eateries and malls. Well, to each his own, the city has already been described innumerable times from a variety of perspective.  Two things surprise me though, firstly, that Bangalore is not a metro and secondly, this city is a great teacher in itself. And it has its own way of making you learn new things and making you unlearn much more.

I say unlearn because most of the things that have been true for us so far are challenged in the most fundamental ways. The most common and the simplest example would be how people change, or maybe, show some traits which you never thought existed so far. I guess money, or the lack of it, does change a lot of things. Catching up with friends is equivalent to a meal in some fancy restaurant (there is a very nice term for it, fine dining) where they charge you more for the ambience than the food itself. How many of you remember having a much better time with the same people in the hostel mess?? A nice weekend probably means unnecessary shopping and/or visit to a pub where the music is so loud that its impossible to talk, and we go there to “hang out” with friends!!!! Ironic, isn’t it?? We live weekend to weekend, the five days in between are just to get over with, asap.  The phrase “having a life” is now equivalent to the spending power on weekends, the more you spend, the more “life” you have. We have confused the definition of ‘a lifestyle’ and ‘a life’.   And if this isn’t enough, there is always the pressure of looking good, my bad, looking ‘hot’ and ‘sexy’ and ‘modern’ and ‘trendy’. So we spend thousands on the most trivial things like the length of our hair or the shape of our toe nails or the color of our skin. Or maybe, in Bangalore, it does matter what your skin tone is! And once we are outside our homes after being decked up like this, we talk about each and every topic under the sun (not to mention the constant gossip) as if we have a Phd in each of them. We give each other a ego massage and congratulate ourselves for being the masters of the universe. Oh what a wonderfully productive weekend!!! And somebody who does not like all this is a loser, a loner, an outcast or the most pathetic of all, a workaholic!! OMG!! He so needs to ‘get a life’!!!

A good residential area in Bangalore will probably have around 30 restaurants, 20 beauty parlours, 15 mobile service provider shops within 1km radius of it, but not even a single bookstore or stationery shop. Ever noticed that?

So what does Bangalore teach you? It teaches you that situations change people. That some of your closest friends whom you have known for ages will gossip about you for no good reason and you can find the best of friends in perfect strangers. The people you care about can just take advantage of you and some people will be your guardian angels without reason or without your knowledge. That, if you look for them, there will still be some who live for their work and beyond the status quo. Even if for most people money does buy happiness, there will still be some for whom money is just for survival. That your loved ones will always be with you inspite of being far away and some people will always be the same, no matter what and these are the people worth cherishing and caring for.  It teaches you that a dinner date is not necessary to be in love with someone. You can be alone in the crowd and yet, just one person is enough to complete your world.

And last but not the least, as Karan Johar says, “Its all about family”……

P.S- the you I mention is not a person but all of us, what I have written does not necessarily imply a personal experience, the ‘masters of the universe’ line is from the movie Titanic and I am just expressing an opinion, not preaching.

To Romance and to Passion…

Do you look up at the night sky and marvel at the beauty of the moon every day?? Does a tree in full bloom make u smile?? Does your heart skip a beat when u see the sunset? Or the wind blowing in your face makes u euphoric?? If yes, then you are probably a romantic at heart. So what? Everyone is romantic at heart! Well, not everyone takes the time out of their lives to live that romance every day, if only for a few moments……
 Romance, the word is usually associated with love between two people. But it also has many alternate definitions, most common being “a quality or feeling of mystery, excitement, and remoteness from everyday life” as given in the Oxford dictionary. Ironically, it is this same feeling which actually adds meaning to everyday life.
 I have been living in Bangalore past four months now. Working in a company, my life is mostly about travelling in the bus to and fro and of course, working in the office. And every day, I see thousands of people like me, travelling in the buses, stuck in the traffic for hours, and doing the same work for years together. And this takes a toll on their lives, in a big way! Mondays are hated, weekends begin on thursday evenings and usually involve getting drunk, watching movies, visiting some mall which looks like the 10 other u have already seen and/or paying exorbitant prices in a restaurant for food which is just normal apart from its presentation or the ambience of the place or just its location!!!! And inspite of all this, people come to hate their life so much that they want to kill everyone they see in the bus or on the roads who shows the slightest hint of being in the same industry as them, which basically means, every other person on the street. They have the money and they have the means to luxury, but where is the quality of life??
 W.H.Davies wrote aptly - “A poor life this if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare”
 And there are people, who life the same life, do the same work for years and yet they are truly happy, it reflects in their attitude, its audible in their talks, they make everyone around them smile. The one reason that I have realized so far, for this difference in people is that the latter take time out of their everyday life, to do something they like, play their favorite sport or pursue a hobby maybe. They take time out for things they are passionate about. And it is this passion that keeps them going, keeps the inner fire burning.
 Ever noticed, how people in love always seem to be so happy?? How your friend’s eyes start sparkling with joy when he or she starts talking about things they love? How all the troubles seem to vanish when you listen to your favorite song? How the mere idea of a weekend trek makes the week fly?? It’s all romance, it’s all passion…..
The easiest way to romance, fall in love!! Fall in love with yourself, with someone, with something, sing a song, break into an impromptu jig, read that book you have always wanted to, plan that holiday even if it seems impossible right now, take some time out to enjoy nature. You never know what is it that makes your life worth living! You never know, maybe your hobby will give you a new lease of life.
 Not everything you love can make a living for you, not everyone can follow their passion. Romance doesn’t pay your bills. Life makes you dance to her tunes they say. Well, so be it, I can still choose my own steps….. Everyone makes a career, earns a living and raises a family. But does everyone live a life they love?? I raise a toast, to romance and to passion, may you live longer than mankind.....
 P.S- yeah I know what most of you are thinking, who am I to judge or give life advice? Well, to be frank, nobody, just sharing my opinion, no offence to anybody.
P.P.S- this one is dedicated to somebody whose sheer passion for things has inspired and added a whole lot of color to my current life . A big thanks to you, from the bottom of my heart.

The "Godly" debate

“Do you believe in God??” Someone asked me this today, and to be frank, I didn’t have a concrete answer. Probably a bit surprising for many of us, considering I live in India and belong to a religion which believes in the existence of 33 crore Gods!!! Probably many of my peers are facing the same dilemma, do we really believe in God? Yes it is true, we attend pooja’s, we go visit temples and bow in front of the idol, we also make a wish or two but then, how many of these actions are a personal belief and how many just to respect the custom or some elderly family member?
As kids we were taught to respect God, to fear, to pray and to believe. Our grandparents told us stories from the mythology, all of them glorifying the Gods as we know them today. Growing up, we know our mythology, but then we are we sure those events actually occurred? We have grown up belonging to a particular religion, instructed to follow its customs, and expected to stay loyal to the religion of our birth. But how relevant is it to our existence? If whatever my religion says is true, if my God is true, then does it imply that other religions are false, that their God is false? Then won’t they believe in the same? That my religion, my God is false?
I know from personal experience that not everything that happens around me or in my life is under my control. And there are times when I really don’t have an explanation for a particular occurrence. Depending on the significance of that event in my life, I term it God’s grace, luck, destiny or whatever. But a lack of explanation does not prove the existence of God does it?
Personally speaking, I am a believer, not in a particular entity or an idol or a religion, but I do believe that there are some things beyond my will or control and in such times, I just wait and watch. I believe in the positive energy and I believe in doing everything in my power. Maybe that is what some people describe as God. Maybe for some, the personification of this energy is necessary in order to believe. But then how does religion come into picture??
My science teaches me not to accept anything without a rational justification. But this same science is still unable to explain a number of natural phenomenons. Does that mean I should not believe in science? Or should I extrapolate the same logic and believe in the existence of God?
I met with a small accident a couple of months back. I wasn’t hurt much, but it could have been much worse. The incident freaked me out, to the extent that I stopped reading a book on atheism that I was carrying in my bag at that time. I still haven’t touched the book. In retrospect, it seems silly now, or probably makes it look like I do believe in God. I was scared then, for my life, for my family and such strong sentiments turned me into a believer, I was thankful to be safe and alive, and I thanked God, not a particular God, but to me it was the energy of the universe, the power of the good, as I like to think.
Maybe that is what makes people believe too, the fear of the unknown, of the things they can’t control, the uncertainty in their lives. Maybe believing in some higher power gives them the strength to move on no matter what. Maybe that’s why, people believe in God!!!