The Squeaking Tree

A month in Bengaluru(!!) and I'm learning lessons. And some were taught to me as well. I would love to share them... (for the benefit of the larger masses that is). Any resemblance to instances in real life is purely intentional.


Lesson no. 1: Hamare dhande main na bandook chalti hai, na bomb, na chaaku...chalta hai to sirf ek cheez....dimaag (If that sounds familiar, it plainly means that I'm already on the road to fame....ha ha... no master..I am just bluffing). The lesser known ones are...

* Unity is strength. If you want to cross an overtly busy road, be sure you are a part of a bunch and not alone. Road kills are a common occurence but serial killings are relatively uncommon on roads.
* Skywalks are beautiful pieces of civil engineering. Hey, why do they build them... any guesses??
* BMTC busses are like troubles. They are either non-existent or there's an entire barrage of them.
* Theory of Lativity. By the manifestation of a largely unknown force of nature, your daily bus is late on days that you are on time. And on few of those rare occasions that you are late, the bus is punctual to the second.
* A boarding/alighting point is a stretch where the doors are possibly open and bus slows down.[The definition of 'slow' is subject to individual ability]

* If you don't have cash to buy your ticket, you can still confidently just say 'PASS' and the conductor will move away. Its a cheat code of sorts..[Caution: Functionality and Interface tests still pending]
* Anything vertical at a deserted location is THE place to relieve yourself of all the internal (osmotic) stresses. [Though I am mentioning this on a lighter note, I am in reality disgusted by the plight of the city brought about by these denizens who lack even the slightest civic sense. Its really painful when they choose to NOT use the 'Pay and Use' facilities provided by the municipality... just to save a rupee or two. Even tiles bearing pictures of gods and sentences carrying expletives seem to have no bearing on them.]
* Busy Bangalorians (or is that Bengalurians?) need not necessarily answer just one 'call' at a time.



And there are some office fundae too..
* Come at any time and leave at any time. Just make sure that your work is completed by the end of the week.
* Listen to anything, Chat with anyone, Browse for anything(if it is not blocked, that is). Just make sure that your work is completed by the end of the week.
* Lunch Break: 12:30 to 1:30 only means that you can have lunch anytime in that allotted slot and soon after that, you come back to your desk. It should not be misread as 'You are free from 12:30 to 1:30. Have lunch, chill out for 1 hour'.
* If writing your weekly report is nothing more than replacing 'Plans' from the previous week's report with 'Accomplishments', you are a demigod from Utopia.
* Lesser mortals can settle down for the following..
# ifndef Plan "Tasks to be completed"
# define Plan "I earnestly wish in heart and soul that"
# endif
* If a water vending machine has two differently coloured taps, with a flashy message containing fine print near one of them, DO READ IT. It usually says 'Hot water. Handle with precaution'. I happened to read it a mouthful of water too late. [I'm sure whoever said 'Education is what you get when you read the fine print. Experience is what comes when you choose to ignore it' belongs to the latter.]

The bottom line is pretty simple. When in Bengaluru, do as Bengalurians do(yeah, I've made up my mind...its Bengalurians).

some Awe

It was just another morning. I got down from the bus on Residency Road and was walking towards Richmond Circle. As usual, I had tuned into a radio station. I had just locked onto Indigo at that time and the RJ was playing a Back Street Boys, which happened to be one my favorites. As i merrily walked on the footpath, singing along, cars whizzed past me. I did not pay particular attention to any of them. And then, out of nowhere came this beautiful lady driving a posh car. She too whizzed past just like any of the cars. But then just as she was passing by, I read the words that she was mouthing. For a moment, I was transfixed, for she had the same words in her mouth as mine. I was wonder struck by the sheer coincidence. Just then, I realized that she had headphones plugged into her ears.... She must have been listening to the same track that I was. Right now, it may seem too obvious, even bordering on stupidity. But back then, it was one fleeting moment of pure, unadulterated awe!!