I can't help but wonder about people's stories.
The epileptic drunkard, the rotten-teethed woman, the leper beggars on wheelbarrows, the shabbily dressed kid, the wide-eyed lady, the lecherous co-passenger, the silent nun, the man weeping in the temple...
I can't help but wonder about their stories.
The boy who lost his mother last week, the girl who loved and lost, the boy who is bringing up his cousins by himself, the man who beats his wife, the wife who cheats on her husband, the kid who hates his parents...
stories stories stories... where do they stay, what do they do, what do they feel, why do they feel the way they feel...
I just can't help but wonder about people's stories with every passing face.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
The quintessential tribute!
This tribute is long pending and with every passing day, I feel I owe more than words can say.
It all began in the year 2002. Yes, it's been an 8 year long association and one I hope continues on for a long long time.
I am indebted to the services of the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation, or BMTC as it is more commonly known as in the city! I know BMTC has been there wayyyyy before I started using its services and while the entire corp has expanded, added to its fleet and changed colours from red to blue and white, I am still a part of this great BMTC picture. Why? Because my day doesn't go without BMTC. No matter when or what time, I would choose to take the bus over autos in Bangalore - not because I am compelled to (which is a different story altogether) - but because I choose to.
My stint with buses began when I was in the 10th standard. This was a mode of transport I never thought I would use simply because I was petrified of using it as a kid even in ma's company. But then, 2002 happened and I haven't looked back ever since. And I love that it's become such an integral part of my life. So much so that I cannot do much without buses!
Bangalore has one of THE best bus networks! Yes, it does need a little time and patience to get used to (like all other public modes of transport) but it's worth the wait. I love how I've learnt to communicate in Kannada more often, how I know my city better, how I know routes inside out, how I understand the way the system functions and how sometimes (ok, more than just sometimes), I get the timings bang on! It's also nice to know that drivers and conductors become a regular feature of my every day life and vice versa. It's a pleasant mix of people my life sees! :)
I love how independent I feel. I love that I use public transport and contribute in my small way to the bigger things in life and I love that I have options. On days when I feel too burdened or tired, I can choose from a fleet of savvy red air conditioned volvos I like to call my red bubbles. At most other times, I love how I can be so comfortable in a not so exclusive and elite fleet - the white and blue ones!
The best part about bus journeys is that I get my time to space out - time to myself to just spaz and do nothing but be lost in my world. Nothing feels more relaxing than some good spaz time. The 2nd best part about them are the massive amounts of money I save which go in more productive and beautiful things than stupid Bangalore autos! So win-win it is!
BMTC has been one of the most gorgeous things I could associate myself with. To the 288A I began with to the 107, 107C, T3, 144K, 112 and of course, my beloved Hanumanji bus - 161B - including many others I travel by - thank you for making my life that much better!
PS> I think BMTC should hire me to brag about them! :D
It all began in the year 2002. Yes, it's been an 8 year long association and one I hope continues on for a long long time.
I am indebted to the services of the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation, or BMTC as it is more commonly known as in the city! I know BMTC has been there wayyyyy before I started using its services and while the entire corp has expanded, added to its fleet and changed colours from red to blue and white, I am still a part of this great BMTC picture. Why? Because my day doesn't go without BMTC. No matter when or what time, I would choose to take the bus over autos in Bangalore - not because I am compelled to (which is a different story altogether) - but because I choose to.
My stint with buses began when I was in the 10th standard. This was a mode of transport I never thought I would use simply because I was petrified of using it as a kid even in ma's company. But then, 2002 happened and I haven't looked back ever since. And I love that it's become such an integral part of my life. So much so that I cannot do much without buses!
Bangalore has one of THE best bus networks! Yes, it does need a little time and patience to get used to (like all other public modes of transport) but it's worth the wait. I love how I've learnt to communicate in Kannada more often, how I know my city better, how I know routes inside out, how I understand the way the system functions and how sometimes (ok, more than just sometimes), I get the timings bang on! It's also nice to know that drivers and conductors become a regular feature of my every day life and vice versa. It's a pleasant mix of people my life sees! :)
I love how independent I feel. I love that I use public transport and contribute in my small way to the bigger things in life and I love that I have options. On days when I feel too burdened or tired, I can choose from a fleet of savvy red air conditioned volvos I like to call my red bubbles. At most other times, I love how I can be so comfortable in a not so exclusive and elite fleet - the white and blue ones!
The best part about bus journeys is that I get my time to space out - time to myself to just spaz and do nothing but be lost in my world. Nothing feels more relaxing than some good spaz time. The 2nd best part about them are the massive amounts of money I save which go in more productive and beautiful things than stupid Bangalore autos! So win-win it is!
BMTC has been one of the most gorgeous things I could associate myself with. To the 288A I began with to the 107, 107C, T3, 144K, 112 and of course, my beloved Hanumanji bus - 161B - including many others I travel by - thank you for making my life that much better!
PS> I think BMTC should hire me to brag about them! :D
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Communicating
I've been faced with so many situations where words elude me. Where I don't know what to say. And sometimes I also say the wrong things at the wrong time, call it a lack of social skills if you may.
However, today, I'm not here to talk about how the ability to communicate is such a Herculean task sometimes. I'm here to talk about just the opposite. I'm sure we've all experienced moments in our life that surpassed any form of verbal or non-verbal communication. Moments that spoke just what we were feeling in sheer silence, minus eye-contact and all that body language jazz.
I love how language holds no bar. I love how words being the uber powerful tool they are, fail to deliver sometimes. I love how sometimes, just sometimes, the scheme of things don't always fit in place. I love these uncertainties. Just sometimes.
And here's one such time. Fuzzy is unwell and it's been extremely challenging to watch her. It's difficult to watch someone you love to bits in pain, it's heart-wrenching. It tears me to not know how better to relieve her off her pain or understand exactly what she's going through. But we're both trying to understand each other. And this is how.
I love how she communicates to me in her own way. And through all that pain, it's heartwarming to see how we can talk to each other - how she comes closer to me and snuggles into my neck, how she nibbles my hand when I examine her paw, how she licks my finger and sleeps against it, how she tucks her nose into my shirt, how she looks at me even for those brief moments. How such a small animal like her can tell me that her paw hurts, that she cannot move, that she's trying even though she hobbles around.
I hope she knows we're there for her, that I'm trying my best to make her feel ok, if not better. Something tells me she knows. And something tells me she's grateful for having us.
Communicating. In our way, in our style, in our language surpasses all the words I know or will ever know. And I'm grateful for that.
I love you Fuzz. I love you more than I think I know.
Get well soon baby.
However, today, I'm not here to talk about how the ability to communicate is such a Herculean task sometimes. I'm here to talk about just the opposite. I'm sure we've all experienced moments in our life that surpassed any form of verbal or non-verbal communication. Moments that spoke just what we were feeling in sheer silence, minus eye-contact and all that body language jazz.
I love how language holds no bar. I love how words being the uber powerful tool they are, fail to deliver sometimes. I love how sometimes, just sometimes, the scheme of things don't always fit in place. I love these uncertainties. Just sometimes.
And here's one such time. Fuzzy is unwell and it's been extremely challenging to watch her. It's difficult to watch someone you love to bits in pain, it's heart-wrenching. It tears me to not know how better to relieve her off her pain or understand exactly what she's going through. But we're both trying to understand each other. And this is how.
I love how she communicates to me in her own way. And through all that pain, it's heartwarming to see how we can talk to each other - how she comes closer to me and snuggles into my neck, how she nibbles my hand when I examine her paw, how she licks my finger and sleeps against it, how she tucks her nose into my shirt, how she looks at me even for those brief moments. How such a small animal like her can tell me that her paw hurts, that she cannot move, that she's trying even though she hobbles around.
I hope she knows we're there for her, that I'm trying my best to make her feel ok, if not better. Something tells me she knows. And something tells me she's grateful for having us.
Communicating. In our way, in our style, in our language surpasses all the words I know or will ever know. And I'm grateful for that.
I love you Fuzz. I love you more than I think I know.
Get well soon baby.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
In. My. Face.
I'm not an in. your. face person. I don't like things in. my. face. either.
I don't know what to do when
- compliments are in. my. face.
- people are in. my face.
- irritants are in. my. face.
Escape is my way of coping with anything in. my. face.
And yet, I don't know what to do when whatever I try and escape from is in. my. face.
I don't know what to do when
- compliments are in. my. face.
- people are in. my face.
- irritants are in. my. face.
Escape is my way of coping with anything in. my. face.
And yet, I don't know what to do when whatever I try and escape from is in. my. face.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The Itch.
The itch to travel began when V, S and I took a rucksack each and headed to Wyanad. Or was it before that? I can't seem to remember, and when the itch occurred is besides the point. The point to be noted here is that "the itch" occurred.
So yeah, sitting amidst the mountains and mist of the Western Ghats, sipping garam chai along with pakodas, a plan was hatched. A plan to travel. I had made up my mind that Pune had to happen considering V talked so much about it and wanted us to see the place! So yeah, that gave me reason enough to "hatch the plan".
1 week later, on a super rainy evening, S, the other V and I made an appearance at Cantonment Station to book us a few tickets. The cheapest and the best fare to Pune - Sleeper Class, Rs. 330/- per ticket. A card swipe later had 3 booked and confirmed tickets in our hands, in our super joyous hands! And the weeks passed (God knows how) till 8th August 2010 arrived. It had been a mad week; a good mad, thus waiting for the trip to begin wasn't so much of a torture!
Come 8th Aug, VH, S and I set off to Pune! Many short eats, snacks, junk food, rasta food and train meals later, we reached Pune - exhausted for 2 specific reasons - a soiled surprise plan and the train reaching 3 hours late. Anyway, happiness happened when we reached VS's apartment!
Pune involved a lot of street food - kachchi daabeli (a spicy mixture smeared in between pav), chocolate toast from Flavours, chocolate paan (I didn't have the guts to give this a try), more eating at an Iranian cafe called Cafe Goodluck (bun butter and jam, platefulls of egg bhurji, chai, chutney toasts, samosas... *sigh*), pizzas, Zamu's and of course, our share of cooking food at home (mallu chicken curry courtsey VS, soup, paneer and chicken do pyaaza and rasam courtsey me and krackjack magic pudding courtsey S)!! Pune also saw us being taken around by VS's brother... right from to-ing and fro-ing stations to chaat streets to Doolalys, a beer brewery on the outskirts of Pune. What an amazing place, and their apple cider - *slurp*
Pune made me feel like home. I love how much I enjoyed the place! It's much smaller than Bangalore (phew!) but is quite a city to be in. A place to just relax and chill in. I love how VS's home became our home for that week. Right from laundering to cooking to eating to cleaning to spazzing to oh-no-ing to gossiping to annoying to sleeping to giggling to just being - it all felt so amazingly comfortable! :)
We then made a short trip to Mumbai, the city of Indian cities, or so we thought! Mumbai is a place I love getting away to sometimes. The pace, the life, the vivacity, the energy are all things that make me high when I visit Mumbai. I love the tension I feel prior to boarding a local, the high I get when the local literally takes off from the station and the way things happen in the city. I love the shopping, the traveling and the eating. However, this time, Mumbai didn't deliver, which I'm hoping is just a phase. The cabbies reminded me a tad too much of Bangalore's auto drivers and that was such a turn off! Being stranded in the rain isn't a pretty scene, not in Mumbai. My favourite place to spazz which is Marine Drive was perhaps the best part yet again (and I don't think that'll ever change). Shopping at Beauty Palace in Crawford Market for cheap cosmetics after which a trip to Rustom's for biscuit ice-cream made a great combination. Cafe Mondegar aka Mondys was horrible - for one the jukebox wasn't playing, which is what Mondys is primarily about. To top it off, the food was pathetic - the fries black and hard, the pizza burnt and dry. Ugh. A whole day out ended with us heading home to Santa Cruz to a friend's flat. 5 girls in K's bachelor pad complete with pizza, Old Monk, short eats, good music, better conversations with his brother as K was busy with work till late at night sealed the deal in Mumbai.
Our return to Pune was overridden by exhaustion. But that didn't deter us from shopping, eating, spazzing and of course, laughing, talking and spending time out of the house in general! The last night in Pune was our most memorable one - a long drive peppered with apt amounts of silence and loud crazy singing at other times to the music in the background.
I miss Pune. I don't think I miss Mumbai. Perhaps it's just a phase. I think I like Pune too much! But coming back to the point, the itch still does exist. And other plans have been hatched! :D
I hope the itch stays! :)
*photographs by the author.
So yeah, sitting amidst the mountains and mist of the Western Ghats, sipping garam chai along with pakodas, a plan was hatched. A plan to travel. I had made up my mind that Pune had to happen considering V talked so much about it and wanted us to see the place! So yeah, that gave me reason enough to "hatch the plan".
1 week later, on a super rainy evening, S, the other V and I made an appearance at Cantonment Station to book us a few tickets. The cheapest and the best fare to Pune - Sleeper Class, Rs. 330/- per ticket. A card swipe later had 3 booked and confirmed tickets in our hands, in our super joyous hands! And the weeks passed (God knows how) till 8th August 2010 arrived. It had been a mad week; a good mad, thus waiting for the trip to begin wasn't so much of a torture!
Come 8th Aug, VH, S and I set off to Pune! Many short eats, snacks, junk food, rasta food and train meals later, we reached Pune - exhausted for 2 specific reasons - a soiled surprise plan and the train reaching 3 hours late. Anyway, happiness happened when we reached VS's apartment!
Pune involved a lot of street food - kachchi daabeli (a spicy mixture smeared in between pav), chocolate toast from Flavours, chocolate paan (I didn't have the guts to give this a try), more eating at an Iranian cafe called Cafe Goodluck (bun butter and jam, platefulls of egg bhurji, chai, chutney toasts, samosas... *sigh*), pizzas, Zamu's and of course, our share of cooking food at home (mallu chicken curry courtsey VS, soup, paneer and chicken do pyaaza and rasam courtsey me and krackjack magic pudding courtsey S)!! Pune also saw us being taken around by VS's brother... right from to-ing and fro-ing stations to chaat streets to Doolalys, a beer brewery on the outskirts of Pune. What an amazing place, and their apple cider - *slurp*
Pune made me feel like home. I love how much I enjoyed the place! It's much smaller than Bangalore (phew!) but is quite a city to be in. A place to just relax and chill in. I love how VS's home became our home for that week. Right from laundering to cooking to eating to cleaning to spazzing to oh-no-ing to gossiping to annoying to sleeping to giggling to just being - it all felt so amazingly comfortable! :)
We then made a short trip to Mumbai, the city of Indian cities, or so we thought! Mumbai is a place I love getting away to sometimes. The pace, the life, the vivacity, the energy are all things that make me high when I visit Mumbai. I love the tension I feel prior to boarding a local, the high I get when the local literally takes off from the station and the way things happen in the city. I love the shopping, the traveling and the eating. However, this time, Mumbai didn't deliver, which I'm hoping is just a phase. The cabbies reminded me a tad too much of Bangalore's auto drivers and that was such a turn off! Being stranded in the rain isn't a pretty scene, not in Mumbai. My favourite place to spazz which is Marine Drive was perhaps the best part yet again (and I don't think that'll ever change). Shopping at Beauty Palace in Crawford Market for cheap cosmetics after which a trip to Rustom's for biscuit ice-cream made a great combination. Cafe Mondegar aka Mondys was horrible - for one the jukebox wasn't playing, which is what Mondys is primarily about. To top it off, the food was pathetic - the fries black and hard, the pizza burnt and dry. Ugh. A whole day out ended with us heading home to Santa Cruz to a friend's flat. 5 girls in K's bachelor pad complete with pizza, Old Monk, short eats, good music, better conversations with his brother as K was busy with work till late at night sealed the deal in Mumbai.
Our return to Pune was overridden by exhaustion. But that didn't deter us from shopping, eating, spazzing and of course, laughing, talking and spending time out of the house in general! The last night in Pune was our most memorable one - a long drive peppered with apt amounts of silence and loud crazy singing at other times to the music in the background.
I miss Pune. I don't think I miss Mumbai. Perhaps it's just a phase. I think I like Pune too much! But coming back to the point, the itch still does exist. And other plans have been hatched! :D
I hope the itch stays! :)
*photographs by the author.
Bitten!
I've been bitten by the travel bug. And really really bitten. I was away the past week doing what I can only describe as something I love. I packed my bags and with the company of a few good friends, I set off to Pune and Mumbai.
I love how uncomplicated and sometimes unsophisticated traveling can make me feel. The feeling of just letting go and moving like a red dot on a GPRS tracker along a map, going somewhere, breathing and taking in whatever the place has to offer all the while. Armed with just 4k for a week's trip to 2 cities felt crazy and so super.
There's just something fantabulous about traveling. And I love how work gives me my space to travel and let go in my own way.
I just hope this bite doesn't fade away. After Kolkata, Wyanad, Pune and Mumbai, I hope I hit many more destinations in the months to come. I hope. :)
I love how uncomplicated and sometimes unsophisticated traveling can make me feel. The feeling of just letting go and moving like a red dot on a GPRS tracker along a map, going somewhere, breathing and taking in whatever the place has to offer all the while. Armed with just 4k for a week's trip to 2 cities felt crazy and so super.
There's just something fantabulous about traveling. And I love how work gives me my space to travel and let go in my own way.
I just hope this bite doesn't fade away. After Kolkata, Wyanad, Pune and Mumbai, I hope I hit many more destinations in the months to come. I hope. :)
Saturday, August 7, 2010
I've got myself a pair of scissors. And they're not the usual ones. I'd like to call them my relationship scissors that snip away at anything and anyone unwanted to me.
Unnecessary baggage that people conveniently bring along and dump on me, lies, complications and of course themselves as well.
And I've just realized how much I abhor people making use of their so called friendship with me to get whatever they want at their convenience, how much I despise people who can think of only themselves and with such comfort at that.
THE scissors have been in action and will continue to be in action because enough is enough and people are so caught up with themselves that their atrocities will never really dawn upon them!
So here comes the time when a call for action is needed; where an end to taking me for granted and walking all over me has come. The one thing I find despicable is people using me, and my "friends" at that.
Here's to some snip-snipping and some God-awesome good riddance! :)
Unnecessary baggage that people conveniently bring along and dump on me, lies, complications and of course themselves as well.
And I've just realized how much I abhor people making use of their so called friendship with me to get whatever they want at their convenience, how much I despise people who can think of only themselves and with such comfort at that.
THE scissors have been in action and will continue to be in action because enough is enough and people are so caught up with themselves that their atrocities will never really dawn upon them!
So here comes the time when a call for action is needed; where an end to taking me for granted and walking all over me has come. The one thing I find despicable is people using me, and my "friends" at that.
Here's to some snip-snipping and some God-awesome good riddance! :)
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Things that annoy me
- nagging
- calls/messages while I'm traveling
- incessant sarcasm. I get that you can be sarcastic. You don't need to prove it every time you open your mouth
- people walking all over me
- the late realization that someone has walked all over me
- fake-Os, fek-Os!
- non-stop, play-minus-pause cribbing
- people who claim they've done everything and have experienced much more than me when I tell them about my life!
- unnecessary showing off
- people taking me for granted much more than they should have
- calls/messages while I'm traveling
- incessant sarcasm. I get that you can be sarcastic. You don't need to prove it every time you open your mouth
- people walking all over me
- the late realization that someone has walked all over me
- fake-Os, fek-Os!
- non-stop, play-minus-pause cribbing
- people who claim they've done everything and have experienced much more than me when I tell them about my life!
- unnecessary showing off
- people taking me for granted much more than they should have
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)