A glint of thought!

I really do not know what has struck me of late....I have actually been thinking on things around me more deeply than I ever have....Please excuse me if you find this post too vociferous as it might just be...

It is related to a class of people which we usually call "under-privileged".My mother,who resides in the City of Joy(wonder if the city's worth that name!!), mentioned the other day about this strange profession she noticed .It was a man who had immersed himself till the neck in a filthy gutter to retrieve all the polythene wastes that might be clogging it...And more so,as mom found out, it turned out to be his full - time profession. I mean , how outrageous is this....a gutter which we refuse to even pass by as they threaten our olfactory cells, is actually a person's workplace...

I had read in the papers sometime back about the Government being pro-active in making India a better place by eliminating traces of poverty....Ah!!I thought ,another tall claim....But today when I think about it...It compels me to wonder....How exactly does the Govt. intend to implement this claim?Whose life would be at stake if such a thing is actually put to force?

It is indeed a great idea to eliminate poverty,to make the people around aware (I keep wondering how...though!!) and be more environment conscious. If one doesn't pollute the environment with polythene bags then this man down there in the gutter is spared from his filthy job.....but does one think he' s thrown out of his job...??!!What does he do for a living then?

The state Govt. of West Bengal is pondering on abolishing pull-on rickshaws that have been so far been a trademark of Bengal.True, they are nothing but subjecting a poor person to utter misery as he sweats through the streets as a rather well-fed Babu/Bibi enjoys the "ride".I confess of having "enjoyed" the same as a kid .....But then what does he do when the rickshaws are shoo-ed off the streets??Does he not earn the label of "Bekaar" in the process,thereby adding to his woes???

Intentions may be noble , but as long as they do not unite with practicality,have no meaning what-so-ever.So if we actually have to release these people from the highly in-human job they do.....we have to arrange for an alternative profession.Else we shall never achieve what we intend to....

Here's to the noble intentions!!!!

Déjà vu!

My mood today has been more reflective than any other day in the recent past....blame it on the weather...So the post that's going to follow shall have absolutely no elements of gag!!

I had this sort of feeling long back in school...say when I was in the seventh standard or so...when we were to write this essay on "Child Labour".Normally , any essay to be written required me to refer at least a desk-full books from the library or beyond(those were the times when the art of CtrlC + CtrlV were obscurities to me).As a norm therefore,I referred to quite a few books on the same topic.Its strange-the ways in which a child's mind may work!!It struck me,during the process of study,how oblivious we are to the comforts we have in life...how we take all the care/nurturing for granted...how we play past(almost literally) the so-called attention bestowed by our parents....and that was the day I went and thanked my parents for who they were.......

Years have sped by after that day.I live in a new century now.Its been five years now that I am away from home...since I have lived at home for more than three weeks.I do miss home...but I have accepted the reality that one has to move on in life.

And yet last evening...as I glanced through the pages of Arthur Golden's "Memoirs of a Geisha" ...I realised how I had struck a deja-vu...how I got back at thinking the same way as I did in Std.7....how I began to treasure my childhood more than ever.Its striking how the book unfolds a Geisha's life from her point of view since she was a toddler....without a moment of boredom.It speaks volumes about her transformation as she metamorphoses from a child who had no aim in life to a lady who epitomised elegance and charm.But what struck me most is the child's struggle to survive in a big bad world without anyone she could call her own....and successfully so.

After so many years today,I am compelled to think the same way I thought years back.After so many years today,I again realise the worth of having a secure childhood.After so many years today,I feel like going back to my parents and saying a heartfelt "Thank You"...just like that....

Bon - appetit:)

Till yesterday the word "Mast Kalandar" meant no more than a hummable piece of music....and today I am smitten by it. .. Its one of those new eating joints that have been sprouting out everywhere around 80ft. road,Koramangala(Bangalore but of course).

Last evening was a rare one where my friends and I agreed to go in for a pure vegetarian dinner...and I do admit of not being particularly happy with the decision...at least initially.But I was pleasantly proved wrong.As I found out later Kalandar means "happy person" in Persian.True to its name ,the pure Rajasthani/Punjabi menu sure leaves each eater there "happy".

We gorged ourselves with parathas,dal makhani(ow my Gawd!!!that was one awesome thing..!!!),raita etc etc....gosh I'm already salivating!!Firstly, it's wonderful to see that the paranthas are wheat, thank heavens, not maida. The only things orange and yellow,as they claim here, are their interiors.

One look at the food served at Mast Kalandar and you know its been cooked with a lot of care to appease the taste buds as well as health-conscious minds(at last I can have parathas and not feel guilty !!;))I always thought healthy and tasty food are kind of antonymous - but definitely not any more.

My friends sure are blessing me for having suggested the place...And I publicly apologise to the soul whose suggestion to eat there I had so scornfully rejected!!I'm actually contemplating on going green:).

Bon - appetit Bangalore!

I call it a work-stopper!

Its 6.30p.m. now.......Work's more or less wrapped up.Its time for me to head for the place I presently call home.But I choose to glue my nose into the 17inch in front of me instead...Courtesy: Mr. Orkut Büyükkökten.Who-so-ever told this Turkish gentleman to brew up the site...was indeed far sighted(pun intended).

I always boasted myself of being able to exercise self-control, if anything.I prided myself on not freaking out if I saw something really captivating on the store-window...of being able to check my rapacity every time I encountered a Death-by-Chocolate(trust me people!!!!;)) ...of restraining from over-spending on the plush multiplex culture(I shall talk about that in one of the forthcoming articles for sure)every weekend....But alas!!!not any more..I daresay.

Blame it all on our dear Orkut dotcom.Its strange how it has managed to grip me into its fanatic(if I may say so)world....so much so that I cannot but refrain from visiting it at least once in every couple of hours.

Agreed, it does help you get in touch with those long-lost(well,not always) friends and acquaintances.In fact I myself met up with my school seniors/classmates in good old Bangalore last weekend,thanks to Orkut.But I must confess its a total work-stopper(I do not guarantee the existence of this one in the dictionary)!!Our office server has banned it(the reason being obvious of course)...and yet one shall always find a conflux of Software engineers waiting at the library internet with absolute patience only to "surf" Orkut.I fail to fathom why!!!

... And yet now I am compelled to put an end to this article(readers,you may please breathe a sigh of relief)....as Orkut beckons me.Such is the magnetism of it.Long live Mr. Büyükkökten.Long live the world of Orkut.:)