The Awakening

Sitting beside the solemn river
And listening to its crackles,
The realization makes me quiver
That I am born free, yet bounded by shackles.
Can I change my destiny, my fate?
Act here and now, before it's too late.

To traverse the path strewn with dainty roses
And awaken to a new, salubrious dawn,
Work assiduously till the day closes
With more poignance and substance, and less fawn.
Can I find roses without thorns?
But, I'm ready to take the bull by the horns.

Nothing worthwhile has come easy, nothing ever will;
It's time to sound the gong, and beat the battle drum;
My inner demons have lived long, they need a bitter pill;
There's more to life, and the best is yet to come.
Can I re-discover the child within me, the spring of joy?
I want to be myself, and give my best try.

A Trip Down The Memory Lane- School Days

"Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school."  

-Albert Einstein

Today, I feel like writing something about my school life. Some of my best and unforgettable experiences have come during this phase of my life. Sometimes, I secretly wish that I could go back in time and be a schoolboy once more, but alas, I have managed to do it only in my dreams, and I know that it is the best I can get.

School life was that phase of my life where I lived a completely carefree life. Come June and I would be geared up to face a year full of fun and excitement. Of course, there were tests, homework and so forth, but who really bothered about them? I was a proud member of the 'Last Bench Club' which consisted of a group of five to six people. The little things in life fascinated us and we endlessly explored new ways of playing pranks and making mischiefs which in turn, forced our teachers to explore new ways of giving punishments. "You will be given TC if you repeat it next time" and  "Bring your parents to school next Saturday" were some of the most famous cliched dialogues which I used to hear day in and day out. The only time I studied was during the day before my exams when I used to get some sort of supernatural powers to cover the entire syllabus in such a short span of time!

And then, there was ‘gully cricket’. Oh! It was the best thing since sliced bread. Bricks turned into wickets, the road turned into a pitch and the Coconut tree branches transformed into bats. Since there were some houses on the off-side with glass windows, we played only on the leg side. Maybe this is the reason why I am a strong on-side player [Citation needed…:-P]. Ross Taylor might have had similar conditions too when he played during his childhood, as is evident by his high percentage of stroke-play over the mid-wicket region!

This was also the time when I developed my love for reading. I used to wait eagerly for the monthly issue of ‘Champak’. Champak’s June 1995 issue was my first. I have still preserved many old copies of Champak. Also, once in a while, I used to get copies of ‘Tinkle’ and ‘Chandamama’ too. The folk tales in Tinkle were my favorite. But it was Champak which inculcated in me the habit of reading, for which I’m very grateful. If it was not for Champak, I might never have ventured into the realms of Sherlock Holmes, Malgudi Days, Harry Potter and so forth during my later years.

There were some very good programs on TV during those days, unlike the ones we have today. DD National was the only channel during my early primary school days. For mythology lovers, there were serials like Mahabharata, Ramayana, Krishna and the likes. I think most of the Indian homes in the 1990s got their TV sets because of these serials. Such was their impact! I was a big fan of Alif Laila and Tippu Sultan. My mom tells me now that I used to have my food only after watching those shows! But, I feel DD’s USP was, and still I believe it is, the advertisements. The haunting tunes of ‘Mile Sur Mera Tumhara’ and ‘Baje Sargam’ are still etched in my memory [By the way, I have forgotten ‘Phir Mile Sur’ long back…:-P]. Whenever I eat jalebis, I am reminded of the Dhara advertisement, with Parzan Dastur’s ‘Jalebi!’ exclamation still ringing loud and clear in my ears. 

The animes of Mowgli, Donald Duck, Aladdin, Baloo, Scrooge and co. were an integral part of my life (I didn’t like Mickey Mouse then, and still I don’t know why!). Later, came the colorful world of Star channels to sweep us off our feet. Now, I hardly find DD channels in people’s houses anymore. Everyone has moved on, I guess.

Well, time doesn’t wait for anyone, does it? It’s been a long, long time since I have left my school. I have forgotten many of the things that have happened since then, but the memories of my school days have managed to stamp their indelible existence in my mind [ROM flashed!?:-)]. I wonder whether it is the same with all the 90s kids of my generation. When, and not if, the gadget for time travel is invented, I most certainly know where I will go first…;-)

On The Banks Of The Neckar

July 1^st, 2011. It was my last day of deputation in Germany. I stayed in a place called Heilbronn, which was about 40 minutes drive from Stuttgart. I had come from office early that day. My room was in utter mess. Half of my packing was yet to be done. I came to realize the bitter fact that I had procrastinated too much in this regard. And trust me, packing your baggage for a first-time-return-from-deputation-journey is a colossal task. By the time I was finished, it was 1.30AM in the morning!!! My flight was at 7.30AM and I had called the cab to be present at 4.00AM. So, I had around 2.5 hours at my disposal. My idea of a 4-5 hours sleep was long dead and buried. And, I was in no mood to sleep, anyways. So, I decided to take a night walk along the banks of the Neckar [a river which flows along the city of Heilbronn] for one last time. It was 1.40AM when I left my apartment. I planned to come back by 2.30AM.

            The Neckar Bridge is just a 10 minute walk from my apartment. It was quite a warm night. The weather widget on my cell was showing 16° Celsius [Yes!!! When you stay in Germany for sometime, 16° C feels warm… ;-)].  Hmm… You must be wondering when the woman will make an appearance in this article. After all, this article is about a woman, right??? But, if you have had any prior experience dealing with women, you will appreciate the fact that waiting is indeed a virtue with them…;-)

            So, let us come back to the Neckar Bridge. At right angles to the bridge, there is a long walkway, lined with wooden benches, which runs parallel to the river. There is a bench, on the back of which I have marked a very small ‘K’. This bench is very special to me. I went up to it and sat on it, contemplating the occasion which made it so special…

--- 2 weeks ago ---

I was sitting on the banks of the Neckar when, I saw her. She was exceptionally beautiful, dark and vivacious. She had a tropical flavor to her complexion. I guessed she must be from Brazil. I don’t know what it is with me, I keep thinking about Brazilian beauties all the time…;-) Anyway, she came and sat on the same bench on which I was sitting. Well, I won’t bore you people with all the details of my conversation with her. It started off with mere exchanging of formalities, as it happens in most cases. But, surprisingly, it went on an on and on. It lasted for the whole of 4 hours, 45 minutes [I measured the time later. During the conversation, time just flew by on rosy wings…:-)]. Mostly, she talked about her life. I was very cautious. I had learnt never to let a girl know too much about your life, and I had learnt this the hard way…:-( So, I thought, let her do all the talking, and I would be content with listening. And, it was a great sight to see her talking so freely and openly. Then, we talked about relationships. Well, at that point in my life, I had never considered relationships very seriously. My life was pretty much screwed up, and I didn’t want any girl to come into my life and aggravate matters further. So, I had stayed safely out of any kind of relationships. But, with her being at my side, my perception of a relationship was undergoing a drastic paradigm shift. I was beginning to feel very comfortable in her company. Since, I was a newbie as far as relationships are concerned, I put up a naïve face and listened to what she had to say about it. She gave me a girl’s perspective about what they expect from a relationship. Then, we discussed some philosophy. My guess was right. She was a Brazilian and a huge fan of Paulo Coelho. She almost gave me an instant summary of ‘The Alchemist’. I loved the way she looked. I loved the way she talked. Even though I was putting up a calm demeanor in front of her, inside, my emotions were tearing me apart. My heart and my mind were fighting a world war. I was at my breaking point.

Before I could say or do something stupid, her cell phone rang. Her friend was calling her to get back to the railway station. She was supposed to go back to Paris that night. I didn’t want this conversation to end. She had taken me to a whole new world. But, suddenly, I landed back to earth with a jerk. She had got up to leave. Something inside me prevented me from asking her cell number. She just looked at me for sometime. I could not decipher what those eyes were conveying. I too simply stared at her. The fact that I can never meet her again was very hard to digest for me. I still remember the last words she said to me, “I spent such a wonderful time with you. I hope that I will meet you again. Goodbye.” With that, she turned and walked away. I kept watching her graceful movements until she disappeared around the bend. I just closed my eyes and sat down on the bench. I still could not believe what had happened. But, life had thrown a lot of curves before and it didn’t take long for me to recover from this one. I just smiled to myself when I reflected on what had happened for the past few hours. It was time for me to go back to my apartment. Before leaving, I made a small ‘K’ mark behind the bench, so that whenever I came to that spot, I will always be reminded of the beautiful moments which I spent with her [You can still find that ‘K’ mark on the bench. If any of you happen to visit Heilbronn, don’t forget to visit the ‘K’ spot… ;-)]

--- Back to the present ---

            Tringgg… Tringgg… Tringgg… My cell phone alarm shook me up from my reverie. It was 2.30 AM. The time had come to say a final goodbye to the Neckar. I saw the ‘K’ for one final time, turned and walked back to my apartment. I checked my mailbox, since I had forgotten to check it for the past one week. There were a couple of letters addressed to me. But, I didn’t have time to read them. I put them in my pocket and walked towards my room.

--- Nine hours later ---

I was seated comfortably in my window seat of my Paris-Bangalore flight. Everything had been smooth. There was a small scare during the security check at the Paris airport, since I was carrying two kgs more in my cabin bag [which included some things which were not allowed according to the rules, but rules are meant to be broken anyways, aren’t they…;-)]. But, no harm was done. All was well and I was on my way back to our ‘Incredible India’.  I remembered the letters which I had picked up from the mailbox. I thought of going through them. The first one was from the town municipal office regarding the confirmation of de-registration. The second one was from… Guess who??? No, no no… Not the Brazilian girl…:-P In fact, I don’t even remember whose letter it was. Oh... How I wished it was hers!!! But the fact is, I don’t have anything now to remember her by. Only her aura of elegance and beauty remains. And, as John Keats magnificently puts it, ‘A thing of beauty is a joy forever’…

PS: 
I wrote this article for the Essay Writing competition organized at our company, Robert Bosch as a part of the Women's Day celebrations in March, 2012. The topic was 'Woman- An experience which changed my life'. My article won the first prize...:-)

She Was A Phantom Of Delight

         Last week, I was travelling to Koramangala on BMTC bus no 171. Except me and a couple of elderly passengers, the bus was quite empty. I was looking out of the window. It was a rainy evening. The cold winds were blowing nonchalantly across my face. I partially closed the window. Usually, these rainy evenings make me reminisce about my old, happy childhood days, when simple pleasures of life were my most valuable treasures.

         At this point of time, a strange thing happened. At the back of the bus, I saw a door which led to a brightly lit place beyond. As if enchanted by it, I got up and started walking towards it. The moment I put my step across the door, I felt myself falling into a bottomless pit. After what seemed to me to be an eternity, I landed in a place which seemed like a paradise. Singing birds, crystal clear brooks, trees laden with luscious fruits... Oh!!! It was blissful. Beside the brook, there was a small rock and I saw a woman seated on it. She was staring far into the horizon, and looked highly contemplative. She was looking quite graceful and was decently dressed in a violet coloured chiffon sari. A string of jasmine flowers adorned her silky hair. I went up to her. I give below a detailed version of the dialogue which transpired between us:

Me: Hi!!! What's your name?

Woman: [Turns towards me, but doesn't show any signs of excitement or surpise] Hi!!! I'm Nilanjana.

Me: I'm Krish. Where do you stay?

Nilanjana: I used to stay in Rajajinagar, near Navrang.

Me: Used to!!!???

N: Yes. I died last year in a car accident.

Me: [Sweat drops started to appear on my face] Dead!!! But how...

N: Tut tut... What is death, Krish? Is Human Soul bounded by death? I'm my Soul, birthless, deathless. This blissful place is my home. What you see is a projection of my body, which I created with the help of my thoughts.

Me: Yes. You're right. Immortality is our real nature. But in our day-to-day life on earth, we don't seem to realize this fact. By the way, a lot of changes have happened in Bangalore since you... Er... [I fumbled, not able to find a cheerful word for death]

N: It's ok, Krish. I understand. I can see through your mind that you are trying to find a nice way to mention my death. Looks like the immortality lecture which I just gave you just now had the desired effect [Smiles to herself]. Don't fret about this, Krish. I've been following the changes in my city very closely. Even the name has been officially changed to Bengaluru, isn't it?

Me: Yes. What do you think of it? I personally found the name Bangalore better.

N: See Krish, it's not about you or me liking the name. This rechristening of our city may have a lot of deep implications on so many vital areas of our day-to-day life, including business and politics.

Me: I didn't understand.

N: Ok. I'll try to see if I can make you understand. The official name Bengaluru implies that it will be used in government correspondence, in the media, in office and residential addresses, in commercial organisations and in transportation. Are you following this clearly?

Me: Yes. I am.

N: Good. Now, let's think from the critics' point of view. As you know, Bangalore is a global metropolis. It is known internationally by this name and its renaming may adversely affect its international image and global branding. Also, some people believe that Bangalore is quite easy to pronounce and it flows easily off the tongue, whereas, Bengaluru is a bit clumsy to pronounce. If we think from a sentimental point of view, we may see unwanted growth of cultural chauvinism, which may lead to non-Kannadigas being made to evacuate Bengaluru.

Me: [Trying to sound authoritative] That would be preposterous. Karnataka, in general, and Bangalore, in particular, has always been open to people belonging to various cultural ethnicities.

N: Don't be afraid, Krish. I'm sure such an eventuality will never come to pass. Ok, let's come back to our topic. I was talking about the implication of this new name, wasn't I? If you observe one thing, the critics are mainly the cosmopolitan residents of the city, who believe that this renaming issue is just a cultural mask which the government has adorned to deflect the attention of the public from the pressing current issues- like scarcity of water and power, poor sanitation, appalling road conditions, et al- which it seems incapable of addressing.

Me: I agree with you, Nilanjana [I was beginning to feel that I had known her for years]. These politicians know the Indian psyche very well. The minds of our people get easily stirred whenever cultural topics are raised. This rechristening definitely has strong roots in linguistic nationalism.

N: Krish, the mythical and mystical line between cultural assertion and cultural chauvinism is a very thin one. The new name, Bengaluru, is consistent with the history and customs of the people of Karnataka. Since, the local people have a lot of sentiments attached to the local culture and language, let them feel the pride of having the name of their beloved capital city in their own way. And, let Bangalore continue to be used in popular discourse. The problems occur when the so called activists begin to place jingoistic demands.

Me: [In a meek voice] Like banning other language movies?

N:  Yes. Then, things may start getting ugly as the democratic principles of national unity and integrity gets jeopardized.

Me: I hope nothing of that sort happens. Patriotism has to be in the heart, not in the name. Do you know, Nilanjana, when I visited Bangalore way back in 1999 for the first time, I was in IX grade. I was very much excited to see the huge, majestic trees lining the roads and the beautiful parks scattered across the city. Now, ironically, I just see big apartment flats with names like 'Tree', 'Woods', 'Garden', 'Green', 'Nest' and so forth. It's so painful, you know. I agree, Bangalore has developed industrially riding an exponential curve, but at the same time, it has lost its charm as the garden city. I visit so many shopping malls, pubs and dance lounges during weekends but I don't find that old world charm I used to find in those days. Couldn't there have been urbanization without the loss of the aesthetic beauty of this city??? Oh! I so wish that things were different.

N: Ok ok. Now, don't get so nostalgic. See, whether it's Bangalore or Bengaluru, the city moves on. You too have to move on with your life. Don't be a prisoner of your past. Become an architect of your future.

Me: Oh!!! You have read 'The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari', haven't you?

N: Yes. That last line was borrowed from that book. You've quite a sharp memory, I see. You made me look so sheepish.

    I could see that her cheeks had turned pink which made her look doubly beautiful. I had to resist a strong impulse to grab her and plant a kiss on her lips.

    Suddenly, my cell started ringing. It was from my girlfriend.

Girlfriend: Idiot!!! You forgot our date again.

Me: Er... Me... Nilanjana... Er... Bengaluru...

Girlfriend: Oh God!!! Who the bloody hell is Nilanjana? And why can't you pronounce Bangalore properly?

Me: [Trying to sound romantic] Wait dear, listen... You are mistaken...

Girlfriend: Get lost... [She hung up. She must have pressed the disconnect button so hard that her finger must have come out from the back of her cell]
   
    I looked around. I was in the bus. Instinctively, I looked back. There was no door. Only the number of passengers had increased by half a dozen.
    Damn!!! Three girlfriends lost in two weeks. I felt like I was the world's biggest jerk. I glanced outside the partially opened window. It was still raining. I just sat on my seat, contemplating what would have happened if I had thrown caution to the winds and kissed Nilanjana.

CASABLANCA- A Masterpiece

       I think no one needs an introduction to CASABLANCA. In my opinion, this movie should make it to the top 20 movies of all time in atleast 90% of movie connoisseurs' lists. It's a near flawless film with wonderful dialogues and exemplary acting. This movie was made in a time when special effects were virtually unknown and movies were all based on acting and screenplay and this movie is no exception. All of the characters portrayed in the movie are nothing short of incredible. Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine is excellent as the lead. Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa Lund is seductively charming.  CASABLANCA completely enchants you in a sort of trance, offering a journey to the ever distant (yet all too close) world of Casablanca, Morocco during World War II.

       Although this is a B/W movie, you can feel the  colour as the plot of the film unfolds before you. Here is the story of two accidental lovers, a classic story line of any movie. But CASABLANCA is so distinctly different. The chemistry between Bogart and Bergman is simply fantastic. Because they worked so well together, it made the story very much realistic.

        There are so many moments in CASABLANCA that stand out even when compared to greater or bigger films. Every scene is gripping, like when Rick has a flashback to his romantic times with Ilsa in Paris while the piano player Sam (Dooley Wilson) plays "As Time Goes By", or when Rick walks out onto the runway and tells Capt. Renault (Claude Rains), "Louis, I think this could be the start of a beautiful friendship". But these invincible moments obviously don't need retelling, for almost everyone knows of them. As for the timeless cast, Humphrey Bogart is simply stunning as the leading man. The class, drama, and brilliance in his performance are impossible to match, although there have been myriad attempts to surpass it. Ingrid Bergman is simply gorgeous, and contributes a performance that's worth cheering for. In fact, all the characters in this movie have given such a clinical performance that it will keep you spellbound:-)

         More often than not, we find that most part of a movie will be very good but the ending will be badly screwed up:-( But, here, it is the ending which really leaves a lasting impression on you. The lines, "Ilsa, I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that", will really make you feel for Rick:-( The way in which Rick convinces Ilsa to board the plane with her husband, Victor Lazlo (played by Paul Henreid) is so touching that it has the potential to strike an emotional chord in the hearts of most people.

            This movie bagged three oscars and in my opinion, it surely deserved some more. If you have not seen this movie, then you are definitely missing something in life. I think that I have watched it seven times and each time, I have appreciated it more than the (n-1)th time. It just gets better and better with each viewing!!!:-) That's what classics are all about:-)