Bangalore Rocks!

The terror turkey has come home to roost. The myth of a secure Bangalore was long shattered when the blasts had occurred in IISC a few years ago. However, those blasts today are hazy memory to most Bangaloreans.

Today 6 low intensity blasts have taken place at multiple locations - Adugodi, Nayandahalli, Madivala among others. Placement of bombs at widely scattered locations and the precision of timing indicates meticulous planning and extremely devious (BUT/& intelligent) minds. The city is yet to groan to a grinding halt. People surely have been thrown out of their comfortable rocking chair existence today. The blasts establish the laxity in security and lack of concern regarding safety provisions within the city. We still can not however make comments about intelligence network and its success or failure. Any negative comment at this juncture would not only be hasty but also flippant.

Will the Governments wake up? Will also the common man wake up to the new reality? That there is NOTHING called a safe place anymore. Do we wake up to become REAL citizens?

Bangalore, it's not just Mumbai (and Delhi and Hyderabad) that rocks.. Is it just the beginning or is it the beginning of an end?

Little Miracles

"This year appears to be bad. Nothing seems to be going right." I'd crib at every opportunity with anyone I was having a conversation. Many would expressly agree or simply nod their heads. I guess it's time to change my negative opinion.

My parents left for Shimoga along with an aunt and 9 other friends to visit a certain temple (the influence of the satellite channels' temple coverage). In a Tempo Traveller. Either because of the driver's negligence or rains or any other reason the vehicle lost control, turned turtle and rolled over three times. In the wee hours of the morning.

There were three diabetes-cum-hypertension patients. None suffered any injuries that bled. My father and my aunt (pa's brother's wife) suffered injuries to head and forehead that required stitches. All the travellers escaped thus with minor injuries but for one. The only girl who REALLY suffered was Anusha, our family friend's grand-daughter. She's battling a spinal injury and might take a year to recover completely (post-surgery).

All patients received immediate help in the form of young Muslim boys who were transporting chicken. And, from the government hospital staff at Sagar. I'm thankful to all those who helped them. Including the Lord who they wanted to visit.

Duality and Survival!

Last week I was off duty and travelling. Though it's not the best season to traverse by the dust-laden roads of interior Karnataka under the hot sun.

My travels took me to Bylakuppe, the camp of Tibetan refugees near Kushalnagar. The walls outside the shrine were adorned with posters showing the atrocities of the Chinese against the Tibetans. Blood-curdling, stomach-churning pictures made up most of the posters-space.

A short distance away from the shrine, at the commercial complex run by Tibetans, the shops were filled with goodies - all manufactured in China - that were selling well and earning the meals for the refugees.

Sure, one shouldn't mix business and religion or politics and religion/business!

Stressbuster

I realised the power of music today and how! All wound up after a tough meeting and two lectures that I had to deliver to an unresponsive audience, I was returning from the Training Centre of ours. FM was on. And, I suddenly burst into laughter. Couldn't stop for quite a while.

It was one inane and satirical song. "Naanu Jeetendra neenu Shridevi. Drill-dance aadona baa" (Me Jeetendra you Shridevi, come let's play the drill-dance) the lyrics go on (and on and on). I should make an effort to find out the movie it's from and get its OST. Each time I want to unwind I now know what I should do.

Of course one must NOT forget the evergreen song of (Dr) Rajkumar. "Eef you caam todie. It's too yearly. EEf you caalm tomaaroow. it's too layte. You fix the taaime........tik tik tik. daaarleeeeng" (The lyrics are completely in English and are absolutely corny. You can't but guffaw. Try them once at least. You'll come back for more).

May be a compilatoin of such songs is the need of the hour. Any suggestions to add to the list?