Bangalored!

Yeah so my understanding of the word Bangalored may vary slightly from the conventional. It has nothing to do with the beauty that was once associated with the city, or the IT hub that it has slowly become. And it has absolutely nothing to do with 'workers getting laid off because their jobs have moved to India', which is the sense in which it is used in the U.S.

This is just a post about things that I see here that I haven't ever seen happen anywhere else! Some funny, some not, some outrageous, some completely disgusting! Well, everyday I seem to witness something that falls into atleast one of the above categories, so I thought why not jot them down. So here goes...

1. Viewed from the reception at Silhouette (a beauty salon at the Sony World crossroad, Koramangala) - A pack of 10 camels(the animals, if you please, not the cigarettes!) taking a right turn towards the Ring Road without any missing the signal!

2. Its been a month since Ganesh Chaturthi, but everyday there are processions amongst much merriment on the busiest city streets with Lord Ganesha idols headed for immersion. And I thought this was the Durga Puja month!!

3. Yes! There's a new store opening on 100ft road! GUESS how noticed it! On my way to work, stuck in a jam just outside, notice interiors being set up... a lot of labourers working day & night, I suppose, because of which the workers stay there... so the showroom is their bedroom for now and the footpath their loo! I actually saw one guy his teeth and spitting out on the pavement! Seriously, are there no rules against such things?

4. There are lots of benefits, having an office in an IT Park...there are buses which not only take you there directly, but also stop in front of each building and let you get off. Since there are buses that start from really far at very early hours, its only natural that the driver/conductor might feel the need to empty his bladder at the end of the ride... and what better place to do than in front of the last office, after all passengers have been offloaded.. I mean some architect must have planned the storm-drains all through the IT Park solely for the convenience of weary bus conductors to relieve themselves right? (I am not kidding.. the bus number was KA-01 FA 1683... took it down but don't even know whom to report it to!)

5. The road in front of Garuda mall which is possibly the only road in the whole country to defy the Left-hand side drive rule. This road actually has oncoming traffic on the left!!!!

6. The Richmond flyover- Another first... who puts a traffic signal and a crossroad on an elevated flyover?

There's more to come but that's it for now...

Its never your fault!

So, this has become a routine - you go and stand at the point where most autowallas are likely to congregate and then walk up to them asking them whether they would be kind enough to take you where you wold like to go. Almost always its a negative, or just blatant ignorance. So on the offchance when one does look interested, you are often filled with a sense of elation, until he utters those dreaded words!
'Rs. 150 Madam!'
I personally think they take the 'Mad' in Madam a bit too literally, for surely no sane person will pay thrice the amount they would ideally have to pay by meter to get home...unless, its past 8:30 and the number of autos available aren't that many or its raining and you just wanna hop onto the first thing that comes your way or you are extremely late for a meeting/rendezvous of some kind.
But after the recent rise in auto fares, one would have thought they would have just been satisfied going by the meter. But then maybe you should have just known better, and you ask yourself, 'Why am I even surprised?'
Given how they try and make a fast buck from the people who go minimum distances and offer 20 bucks. These guys will just never have 3 bucks change to give back to them and actually ride off before you get to say anything. They might as well have raised the minimum fare to 20 bucks instead of 17!
And once you are done dealing with the matte of monies(mostly before the ride even begins), you better prepare yourself for a horrendous ride, zig-zagging through impossible traffic, getting dropped into potholes in a manner that is very rude and hanging on for dear life at most times.
So how are people like me, who are still struggling to climb up the 'corporate ladder' with current salaries that can still be considered meagre, supposed to survive in a world where you are constantly being asked for money? You are getting late so you hop onto an auto that agrees to take to someplace at Rs. 20 extra, then you get stuck at a signal where first comes a Hinjra, who wont leave you until you give them atleast five bucks, and then one of those cute hungry beggar children who tug at your heart and make you feel miserable if you don't give them something. Then ofcourse, the price of everything else is on the rise. Things like fruits and vegetables (things I dont even like), are already expensive. There is nowhere on this planet, you can get a drink at MRP, after a hard day's work either.
The only positive aspect of this whole charade, is that by the end of the month, when you are broke, and your good intentions of starting to save have gone up in flames, you have several people other than yourself to blame! :D

Yes its the first!

Finally I have gotten down to it. There never seemed to be the right thing to write about. All things that came to mind had potential to spark off some argument or atleast upset one person or the other. So this first post, its about nothing.
It's a good day. It marks the beginning, the beginning of a dream.

Hopefully it will be a sweet dream and one that I won't be woken out of too harshly :)