Dussehra Satsang at Art of Living

Few days back J was sporting a status message regarding Bangalore. I was intrigued & asked her the reason. She said she was going to come to the Art of Living (AoL) ashram here. That's the ashram of gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (SSRS). I had heard a lot about this AoL. Seemed different from other babas. Had travelled on the road to ashram many times but had never ventured in. When J told that they would be celebrating the Navaratri/Dussehra there and its awesome I decided to go visit the place. And I could meet J too.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I experienced there. The place was full of people, easily more than 5000. That too on a Sunday evening. The satsang was to begin at 1630. I had reached there at 1615. Informed J of my arrival and took a walk around the campus. Beautiful, peaceful, majestic. But again, going by how my mind works, I checked out the car parking. Lo and behold, so many big machines. The meditation hall was huge. It was closed, could not see from inside. I still had time when I saw a store selling books and CDs. I wanted to buy some book, to read what SSRS had to say. But I was not allowed in. They had closed the entry. Would reopen at 1830, i.e. after the satsang. Hmmm, am sure the shop keepers too wanted to join that satsang. Can there be any other reason?

Any way on the way back to the yagyanshala, found a makeshift book stall. Fortunately it was still open. Went in, browsed through and a picked up the book "Wisdom for the New Millennium". Will share the contents once I read it. At first I made my self comfortable at the rear. But then J said there was enough space in front, so ventured there.

The music was good. Lyrics were in praise of the Gods. Right after the the first song, there was a product launch. Some ayurvedic beauty products were launched by Pitaji. The whole launch looked like a commercial break, between the songs. It was so incongruous. But the people there enjoyed that too. And hey forgot to mention that the place was full of young people. Most were in the age group of 25-35. I was surprised by this. I also did find many young couples, having a good time in the park there.

Coming back to the satsang, the songs followed after the product launch. The genre changed from Indian classical to pop and folk. Even a foreigner sang in Hindi, in the praise of Shiva. He played the guitar too. The tempo picked, it reached a crescendo and people started dancing. Dancing with joy. The dances looked more from the floor of a discotheque and Garba groups. Whatever may be the purpose of the music, it was absolutely enjoyable.

In due course SSRS arrived, he spoke in Kannada, Hindi and English. Oh that reminds of another incident. While I went to take a seat in front, I noticed an area that was relatively empty. I was going there when a lady came from behind and asked for my ID. She politely told me that that particular area was for the international devotees. I was asked to sit in the Indian section. Dear Mr T was castigated for "cattle class" comment, by that standards, the managementn of AoL may be jailed perhaps. Any way, i could only get a seat very near to the international class. But I was surprised to see Indians there. And one of the girls was gorgeous.

SSRS spoke about the importance of "ayudha" (instruments) in our life. He asked to respect all in the world. He also asked to respect and protect nature. Unlike Gandhi ji, SSRS was not averse to the use of "dand" (violence), but only when other modes fail. There was a frenzy in the people to touch him. People ran along his car. Fortunately no one was overrun.

It was a good visit. I learnt about the people who visit AoL. My doubts the whole institution still persist. Am difficult to convince. Thank you J, but for you I would not have visited the ashram so soon.

Of Holy Cows & Cattle Class

This is a topic I have been avoiding commenting. But what the heck, here I go ...

Mr T was asked by a journo if he would travel to K by "cattle class". To which Mr T replied that he would indeed, to show solidarity with the "holy cows". After this dialog the media is abuzz with comments and counter comments on the phrase "cattle class", used by Mr T. I think the debates should have been on the use of the phrase "holy cows". Here is the rationale.

Calling the general public "cattle" is a folly that no journo or minister would commit. More so in the biggest democracy. It will simple be a harakiri. The reference, as explained by Mr T, was to the crampy economy class not the economy class traveler. There seems no other plausible reason for the use if such phrase.

But the icing on the cake was Mr T's use of "holy cows". Obviously, this referred to the traveler of the economy class. To be precise he referred to the newly inspired MPs (may be of a particular party) who are on a austerity drive. Apparently to show that "aam aadmi" that their representatives too are "aam". Mr T must have sensed a hypocrisy in all this and took the political class by the jugular. Unfortunately the whole comment has been made to look like an insult of the "aam aadmi", which it is not.

Mr T, I did read your tweet clarifying the joke (sic). But perhaps you should have clarified on "holy cows" not "cattle class". So many Bookers not withstanding, we still need to go a long way in our linguistic abilities.

Mr T, I salute you.

Dinner at goVeg

Those of you who have been following me on Facebook know that I was alone yesterday. The friend with whom I share the apartment has gone home and the friend who lives upstairs is also out with his relatives. So, there I was all with myself.

Since the above prospect was not very bright so got up late in the morning. Although I have a marathon coming up, am not very regular at running. The reasons are many, but we can discuss them later.

Coming back to yesterday I spent the whole day inside the house, yes that was a first for me. Not to have ventured out all day when I was not sick. Most of the day was spent watching TV, having little food and chatting. Man U vs Man C was fantastic. The moment it was over my tummy complained. It needed food. If not for the tummy, I would have watched more TV and dozed off on the bean bags. Good sense prevailed and I finally went out for dinner. Decided to go to goVeg the new eatery.

The place was almost full. Did find a place for myself though. Ordered a full combo, the biggest combo available. I was really hungry. Had I been carrying the Blackberry, I would not have noticed what I noticed next. Just a row ahead of my table, on the column to my left were these two girls. They were having some kachoris. Am bad at guessing ages of girls, so no comment on that. These two well heeled. Did not look starved but were sure of the generation Y. While I waited for my dinner they got a big plate of kebabs. They seemed to be excited. I was worried. I had never seen GenY girls ordering so much food. Any way while I waited, they finished kachoris and started with kebabs. The waiters were eager to help the ladies, we in India respect the feminine. Anyway I had no choice but to wait. And finally my plate came, big and nice. I lost no time in devouring it. I had just started eating and the girls had not finished the kebabs even half, when they received another round of food. This time it was the same jumbo combo. I thought it was some mistake. But no, they sure had ordered for it. Now I was amused. Would they really eat that? Slowed down my eating to know what they were going to do. The girls could somehow finish the kebabs, big achievement, and then asked the jumbo combo to be packed. Yes they got the whole thing packed. Perhaps it was a simple case of wrong estimation of food and appetite. Meanwhile, I finished my dinner and drove back home.

Resolution: Will not carry my phone when I go out to dine next.

Am back ...

Hello friends, am back. Sorry for the long hiatus. It was partly forced and partly voluntary. Mostly forced, was not having anything to write about. And then things happened, I had stopped writing. There is a long gap in my diary too. Anyway, I think am back to the old ways ...

During April-Jun period, I was in Mumbai. Many would say that its the worst time to be in that city, but I still liked it. Its a huge city. Bangalore can at best be called a township when compared to Mumbai. But Mumbai is a city of contrasts.

The things I liked about Mumbai ...

1. Food - Leopold, Theobroma, Baghdadi, Anand Juice Centre

2. People - Auto wallahs, professional, truthful

3. Places - Colaba, Marind drive

4. Theatres - Prithvi

5. Transport - Local trains

The things I did not like about Mumbai ...

1. Poverty

2. Slums

3. Beggars

4. Filth

5. Pace of life - too fast

Would I go there again? Yes, definitely.

Traffic Incident

Oh yes, one more. Please bear with me. I dont know if the traffic rules in Bangalore are funny or am bad at driving. I keep finding myself interacting with the cops so regularly.

Only last night I was telling my friend that I was having a good incident free run with traffic, and today that good run was broken.

Ok ok,I did not see the "No Free Left Turn" sign. Hmmm, as luck would have it a senior (by age) cop stopped me and promptly took my keys away. He was experienced.

Sid: What hapened sir?

Cop: You jumped the red light.

Sid: But sir that was a free left.

Cop: No, you did not see the sign.

Sid: Oh is it. It is my mistake then.

Cop: Give Rs300

(Unlike last time, remember the other night, when my wallet was almost empty, I was carrying enough cash today)

Sid: Here sir, your rs300.

Cop looks at the the money, looks at me. Gives a Rs100 bill back and asks me to leave.

Sid: The chalan sir?

Cop: You want chalan?

Sid: Sure sir, how else will i learn.

Now, you should have seen the expression on his face, confused smile.

He makes a challan for Rs100, gets my signature on it, gives anoher bill of Rs100 back.

Cop: You are a good man, so am leaving you.

Sid: Thank you sir. It is your duty to catch the offenders.

I must have done something good for the cops some time. I will sure become (in)famous with the traffic police here, soon.

Ragging

Himachal Pradesh, India

8 March 2009

Aman, a medical student dies. Reason? Ragging.

No I did not get the date wrong. Neither did I get the place wrong. A student in a medical college has been ragged to death. Oh sorry, the case is still sub-judice. It may turn out that he died due to some accident or just a natural death.

Saw his father on the TV yesterday. He blamed the college authorities.

What kind of society are we? Are we any better than the barbarians?

It just reminded me of my college days ...

Engineering college

The day before the college began, I went to the college office in city to find about the transport facility. There was a notice on the board. This is how it read ...

1. White shirt with full sleeves

2. Navy blue pants without pleats

3. Black belt with simple buckle

4. Red handkerchief with no border

5. Black formal shoes

I do not remember the uniform for girls. (It was equally exotic though)

The next day brother came with me to drop me at the bus stop. The scene there made me flee. Some students, in uniform, standing in a queue. All looking down. There were some guys in plain clothes (read respected seniors). It reminded me of the famous scene of Sholay, with Gabbar and his 3 men. Yes, I could not gather the courage to go to college, first day of college.

I could not have continued it for long. Went ahead and waited for the bus on the second day. And this time I too was in the queue. Just before Gabbar could start deliver his lines, zap came a white car. Veeru (read college principal) grabbed Gabbar by his collar, dragged him to his car and took him away. We freshmen (fresh boys) were relieved. This was not the end of it, many other incidents followed. Traveling to and from college was no less than a nightmare. The sneers, slaps, what not. Even the class rooms were not safe, seniors would barge in and start slapping. Any way, all this lead to a fight. We decided to teach them a lesson. Violence followed. People were arrested too. We never had good terms with our seniors. Did we do anything wrong?

Management college

I was so excited, to be part of one of the best B-schools of the country. To study with some of the sharpest minds. What I was not prepared for was the fact that the same sharp minds were twisted too. This was a post graduate class, so ragging was given a new name - Interaction Sessions (sic). Midnight assemblies, dunking, crude comments, dehumanising talks, cat calls, the list is endless. And this was supposed to bring me closer to my seniors (sic). That never happened anyway.

Am glad my seniors were better than the seniors of Aman. Am glad that am alive.

Am I being paranoid? May be ...

Seniors, batchmates, with hindsight, do u still think that whatever happened was right? Oh no, am not the judge, absolutely not.

Love etc.

Yesterday my colleague Rohit was humming this sher

dil-e- nadaan tujhe hua kya hai

aakhir is dard ki dava kya hai

humko unse wafaa ki hai umeed

jo naheenn janate ki wafaa kya hai

-Ghalib

This is one of the most famous ones from Ghalib's pen. I have 3 questions ...

1. Should we expect(umeed) anything from love?

2. Is he accusing the lover without giving him/her a chance?

3. Is it any way gender specific?

ek kadam rakha tha, galat rahe shauk pe

zindagi tamaam umr humein dhoondhati rahi

-Do not the poet

This too is a good one. Again I have a question ...

1. Is there a path to redemption?

Voter Registration

During the years 1997-2001, while I was studying Engineering, I had tried to get my name included in the electoral list 3 times. But the authorities, for some reason, did not do the needful. Anyway, the Jaaago Re campaign and nudging by some friends did have the necessary effect and I decided to try getting listed again.

Yesterday I had taken the day off from work, was not at the best of my health. So thought of taking the plunge into Indian democracy. Jaago Re helped me fill the necessary forms and directed me to submit the same in Jaya Nagar. I could reach there only by 1215, they were closed. They remain closed from 1200 to 1600. Any comments on the timings? Any way, asked a few people if that was the right office and if they would indeed receive my forms. After being assured of the same, I came back for lunch. (Its a different story, whatever happened on the way back. May be in later posts.)

I was back in the office at 1530. No I was not the only person who had come early. There were 5 more, ahead in the queue. And the queue kept increasing every minute. Democracy in action. It was no less than a queue for cinema tickets. I had no idea that people were so enthusiastic about the elections. Or was it something else? Perhaps the colaterals of the elections !

My turn came and I showed my papers to the officer. He started talking to me in Kannada. I had to interrupt him and request him to speak in Hindi/English. He was annoyed. "How long have you been here?". "2 years." "And you cannot speak Kannada?" "No. But I promise that I will be peaking Kannada when I meet you next." And then only he smiled. But it was of no use. I was not supposed to submit the forms there at all. Some other office for me, somewhere closer to my house.

It took some effort to locate the office where I could submit forms. Yes, it was very near to my house. Whoa, what a crowd! All waiting to check if their names were included, to colect their ID cards. I submitted my forms. Talked to the officers there about the doubts I had and returned, to finish the pending work (As I have already told above, may be in some other post).

I have been asked to check for inclusion and card in 20 days. Hope I get it done this time. Amen.

Bangalore Traffic Police (another incident)

Here is another in the series on Bangalore Traffic Police. I dont know if you like these incidents, but they really tell us that the traffic police is good at heart. Here is what happened ...

It was a Sunday night, about 2115 hours. We, me and my friend, were returning from the finale of Bengaluru Habba, the cultural festival. Ajmeri brothers had regaled the audience with quality Quawwali.

Ok, so coming to the traffic police, we were just half a kilometer on way back when my friend said that we may be on a One-Way. Now, I had taken the same way the night before, nothing had happened. What I forgot was that last night it was well past 2330 hours. The moment she finished stating her apprehension, a cop with a hat came into sight. Yes, we were on the wrong side of the one-way.

He first tried to intimidate us, told that he would take the bike to police station and all. We had to plead to et us go, that we were late. He pretended to talk on his wireless, then asked for money. I took my walet out. To his bad luck I was carrying only Rs90 in cash. With all good heart, I gave all the money to him. He reciprocated the gesture, returned Rs20. He did consider the fact that I had a long way to travel and I may need some cash.

So this is what I keep telling all the time, the traffic police in Bangalore are very friendly.

Activism or something else ?

Hmmm, so I woke in the afternoon, after a long sleep. Every bone, every muscle, every joint in my body was screaming for rest. I had grossly underestimated the strain of the Marathon. Should have rested more before trekking. Even my guide/mentor/friend for treks was "hit" by this trek. So she said.

Anyway, switched on the TV to catch up with the news. It had been 3 days now. I had been out of sync with the "world". And this post is about the news on 26th Jan 2009.

1.Some self proclaimed protectors of Indian culture had misbehaved and beaten up the women in one of the pubs in Mangalore. This happened on the Saturday afternoon. The media was there, with mic, camera and crew. But alas, there was no police. The attackers were members of a group that calls itself the army of Lord Rama. Lord Rama, the ideal man, in Indian culture.

2.MNS is at it again. This time at a school's Republic Day function. They beat up the parents, teachers, students. They tried to set the stage on fire. Reason? School was celebrating the Republic Day, when all were supposed to mourn for the Mumbai terrorist incident. It just so happened that Bhojpuri music was being played. Once again, media was there but no police.

Now, I can understand if someone has problem with drugs. I can also understand if someone has problem with drinking alcohol. But why have problem only with women drinking or doing drugs? Why not beat up the men too?

Again, ofcourse whatever happened in Mumbai (the terrorists attacks) was horrible. It should never have happened. But the kind of security & intelligence appaatus we have in place, this was just a matter of time. Why blame the people of Bihar for it? For Gods sake, they were celebrating the country's Republic Day. It was not a obscene show. The best way to defy the attempts of terrorists is to be resilient, by choice or by compulsion.

Two different crowds, two different reasons, but same violent behaviour. They claim to be the activists. The social activists. Saviours of the Indian culture.

Another common feature in both events, yes you got it right, the behaviour of the media and the public too. Media knew abt the incidents in advance. But they didnt alert the police (thus claimed the commissioner/SP in Mangalore). Pray, tell me why did they not inform the police. Wht did the crew not put the equipment aside and help the victims? Was it not basic requirement of humanity to help fellow humans in need? I can not think of any reason for sich behaviour.

We are proud of our educated people. What were they doing? Could they not stop the atackers? Oh come on now, how can I expect anything better from our meek, helpless citizens. They are too busy with other things.

Perhaps am cribbing too much. Am I ?

Trek to Kumaraparvatha

Now, you may say that I shoud not have went for trekking so soon after the Marathon. But I had missed the same to last year, did not want to miss again. So "yes" it was to the weekend trek to the second highest and the most difficult trek in Karnataka.

19 people in the group this time. Bus was OK. Did sleep for a while. Reached Kukke well in time at 0530. Got ready and had breakfast before starting. This was a difficult climb from the beginning. Incline was steep. Morning was cool and forest was dense, so did not tire. Reached the camping site in 2hrs and 30mins. It was a trek of about 5KMs. Rested and had lunch before going to the view ppoint. Clicked some pictures and came back to pitch tents. Later in the evening people played Antakshri, the game of songs, while I listened. Had a Bon Fire at night before lights out. Soon, started feeling pain the right knee. Carried on though, slowly. Some drinks at 0700, at mid way. Had breakfsat at 0800 at the penultimate peak. Fabulous view. Dont want to go back!

Reached the peak at 0900, this was another 5KMs from the camping site. Slept 2 hrs there. Ah, the wind, the view. You have to see it to believe it. Headed back at 1100. Had lunch and started for the last part at 1515. One of the guys tumbled down. Luckily, was saved. Result of torn shoes. He was the same guy who slipped at the dry waterfall. Oh i forgot to mention the rock. It was there at the last stretch to the peak. During monsoons, water flows down it. It was dry. Climbing on it was fun. But bad foot gear may be a problem.

Upon reaching Kukke back, freshened up, went to the temple, had some food for dinner nad started the bus journey back home, unwillingly. Was at home before 0600. Weekend well spent. But I sure had strained myself too much. Crashed on the bed immediately.

The Mumbai Marathon

So, it was THE day. Not exactly though. The title of THE day should get the other day, hmmm may be I will be able to write about it too. For the time being read about the other THE day ...

Sunday, 18 January 2009

Mumbai

Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon

Yes, I was there. I was not sure of running here when I registered in August. But for the last one month I had increased my jog distances, I had reached 30KMs in Bangalore, last week. That was supposed to be enough before the actual Marathon (42.195KMs). As decided the earlier night, VT (he deserves a full blog, not just a post, more about him only after I get his permission) dropped me at the railway station. There was a long queue, at 0600 in the morning. Yes, Mumbai never sleeps. But yes, the people here are efficient, and so are the local trains. I was at the famed (infamous too) CST Station at 0700, well in time.

There was a huge crowd, crowd of onlookers, media, people cheering. The event had already begun. The Half Marathon had already started. I still had a chance to back out. But no, I wanted to see if I can do it. Why do i need to know that? I have no clue. I just wanted to know. Anyway deposited my bag, took a leak and went to theh holding area. Very few people. Not many run the full marathon. May be many started running along with theh half marathoners. Indians, foreignres, men, women, boys, girls and old men too. You have to salute the spirit. But where were the celebrities? Where were the Kenyans?

Oh, they were already there at the starting line. We all started together though. My first official run. Wow, this was quite something. People, media, participants. I needed to complete this sucessfully. Firts 14KMs was along the sea - Marine Drive, Haji Ali, Chowpati, I had travelled on these roads by car. And on that day, I was running. Running for myself. By the time I had run 15KMs the Kenyans had run more than 25KMs. Oh my, they run llike horses. Hats off to them. Anyway, my aim was to complte in time. So, kept running. Crossed the Siddhi Vinayak, took a U-Turn at Bandra Reclamation. By this time it was hot. Very hot and humid. And I was not prepared for this kind of weather. Bangalore is so cool.

Kept drinking water, lots of water. iPod was playing music, continuously. And i was running. I think I hallucinated too. That I was rotting from inside. That am dancing somewhere. But I was running. Siddhi Vinayak was back in sight. And with it came the announcement that the return vehicle was on its way. Runners may jump on to it. I let them go. It was getting tougher with each step. And to make thngs worse, the organisers started packing up. That meant no more water. Somehow managed to run the kast hour without a drop and reached the finist line just in time to qualify for a timing certificate. By my watch I ran fro around 5hours and 10minutes. Collected the documents & bag, informed home and took the train back to VT's place.

I had survived it. And i had sucessfully completed it. My official timing was 5H 11M 3S. Not bad, but I could surely have done better. May be next time.

Its a great feeling to achieve something that most people dont even dare to think about. Am not boasting, but its feels good.