Shravanabelagola Trip 20/Jan/2008

The plan was to leave Bangalore pretty early for Shravanabelagola. But we overslept and we were able to leave for Majestic only by around 7:30 am.

We took lemon rice and curd rice along with us for the journey.We boarded a bus bound to Hassan. A co-passenger advised us to get off at Chennarayapatna from where he said several buses would be available to reach SVB.

We reached Chennarayapatna in just under 3 hours. As we were entering the CRP bus stand, we spotted a bus leaving for SVB. SVB is around 10-12 kms from CRP. There were lush green fields on either side of the good road connecting CRP and SVB.We could see the giant statue of Gomateshwara atop a hill even as we were a fair distance from the bus stand.

The town of SVB is a small, rather tidy one. We passed a pretty garden on our way up the hill.Leaving our slippers, we began our trudge up the hill. We soon realised how out of shape we were ! Gasping for breath, and legs paining, we finally managed to reach the top. The view from up there was pretty good.It did not take us very long up there. The rock sculpture of Gomateshwara was pretty impressive, although I must admit, I had expected it to be much bigger.The temple surrounding Gomateshwara was pretty impressive too, as temples go. There was a lot of rock up there ! It was just as well that it wasn't too hot that day !

Contrary to our expectations, we found that climbing down was not very easy ! We were thankful when we eventually reached the bottom.

Raghu Hotel appears to be the biggest restaurant in SVB. We had lunch there. The food was pretty ordinary but the service was excellent. The staff were extremely courteous asking repeatedly if we wanted second helpings !

There appears to be a good shuttle service between CRP and SVB. We had to wait for just over 10 minutes before we got a bus back to CRP.But we had to wait for a pretty long time at CRP to get a bus for Bangalore. Most of the buses were full.I had a tea at the bus stand hotel while we were waiting.We finally did get a bus which was relatively empty and we boarded it.

We reached Bangalore by around 7 pm.

Spectators at the Sydney Cricket Ground

Indian cricket spectators are boors. Contrast this with the Australian crowd which genuinely applauded Tendulkar's superb effort on the Sydney Cricket Ground on 04/Jan/2008.

It was so good to watch. As soon as Tendulkar took off for those two runs after stroking the ball into extra cover, the entire ground including the Australians stood up as one. These people, if you ask me, are true lovers of the game. Yes, they root for the Australian team and want it to win, but they acknowledge class when they see it; even if it is present in the opposition ranks.

Not Fair

Ethical advertising. Sounds contradicting ?
I was watching a Fair & Lovely ad a couple of days back. It was about a girl whom grooms kept rejecting because she is dark. It was plainly revolting to see HLL take advantage of the feelings of dark complexioned girls. As it is, explicitly and implicitly, we are bombarded with the idea that dark skin is bad.

Our film industry glorifies fairness of skin. Most successful models, newsreaders, anchors, male and female, in India are fair. Thus the idea that dark complexioned people cannot be beautiful/handsome has taken firm root in our minds. Matrimonial advertisements in the classified section looking for brides bear testimony to this fact. They invariably call for 'fair', 'white' girls.

Of course, crudely put, the basic objective of any commercial is to brainwash the average Joe and/or create a need where none exists. In that sense, I guess we need to cut HLL some slack. But one needs to draw the line somewhere. Commercials that aim to manipulate children or ones that play upon inferiority complexes of people are to be censured. Of course, one can always argue that they are not breaking any law. But then again, we are not talking law here; we are talking ethics.

We need to wake up to the fact that there is more to a person than just skin which is fair and lovely.

An open letter to the Bangalore Police Commissioner

Subject: Traffic Scene in Bangalore.

Dear commissioner,
I think I speak for the majority of Bangaloreans when I say that the traffic scene in this city of ours has become horrible. While I admit that the unprecedented increase in the number of vehicles is largely to blame, I'm sorry to say that a significant portion of the blame must lie at your personal doorstep.
I find it shameful that drivers have all but lost any regard for the yellow line. Jumping red lights has become 'acceptable'.
Speeding, even when pedestrians are around, is common. And last but not least, usage (or should I say abuse) of the horn has increased phenomenally.

I fully appreciate that a policeman's job is totally thankless. My sympathies are with the common police constable who stands in the dust and pollution and controls traffic.
But I find it scary that the people seem to have totally lost any respect/fear for the police constabulary. Rules are flouted at important junctions even when Patrol vehicles are parked nearby. In fact, I suspect, the constables ignore, sometimes even encourage, the violation of basic traffic rules.

Vehicles with engines revving, start moving even when there are 4-5 seconds for the light to turn green. Pedestrians are left to fend for themselves. I don't have to tell you that in many countries abroad, this would be treated as a major offence, one that even would warrant a license revoke.
I'm sure all this must have been brought to your attention many times in the past. You may even have witnessed most of these occurrences yourself. Yet, I find it hard to believe that you are a mute spectator.

The traffic police must do more to ensure the smooth flow of traffic. I can give you an example. Margosa Road in Malleshwaram has been recently made two-way. Yet, there is no yellow line separating the opposing flows of traffic.
When the public sees that the police is not serious about its business, how can you expect it to be serious about obeying rules ?

I know I'm just a common man and I should not be lecturing you on how to do your job. But I have a few suggestions to make.

* Lobby with the Chief Minister to increase the salary of the Police Constable. I strongly believe the constable will do his duty more responsibly when he is adequately compensated.
* Come down heavily on traffic offenders. The current fines of Rs 50 or Rs 100 is ridiculously little. Road users should have the decency to obey rules. When it has become obvious that they don't have it, I'm afraid it just has to be imposed upon them, whether they like it or not. It is only when people realize that they risk associated with breaking a rule is too high, will they start to behave responsibly.
* Computerize and link the RTO offices of the state. Traffic offences of each individual should be digitized so that with just a swipe of a card, a constable should be able to view his/her complete history. Each offence should be penalized more than the previous one. As soon as the people realize that their records are available to the authorities easily, compliance will automatically set in.
* Red lights should be photo enforced.
* Usage of horns should be severely curtailed. I really don't know how this can be done. But I'm sure your good office can think of a way.
* Jaywalkers should be dealt with severely.
* The STOP sign concept that is prevalent in countries like the US should be introduced in India. I believe this will go a long way in reducing accidents at junctions. Please do whatever it takes to get this implemented. Bangalore may be a good place to start.


Sir, things are spiraling out of control. Soon it may be too late to take corrective action.
I beg you to treat this letter seriously.

Thanks for your time.
Krishna

Means or Ends ?

Lord Krishna, on many occasions in the Magnum Opus Mahabharata, put ends above means. A few instances come to mind first.

-Dronacharya was proving to be the nemesis of the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra war. It was becoming clearer by the hour that, for the Pandavas to win, Drona had to go.
Meanwhile, Bhima kills the elephant Ashwathama and roars in delight that he has killed the mighty Ashwathama. Drona on hearing this mistakenly assumes that Bhima has killed his son Ashwathama. Unable to come to terms with his loss, he approaches Yudhishtira to confirm. Yudhishtira, on advice from Krishna, tells Drona that Ashwathama is indeed dead. And then whispers out of earshot of Drona that he doesn't know if Ashwathama is a man or an elephant. Drona, given Yudhishtira's reputation for speaking the truth always, is heart broken and becomes a spent force in the war.

-Jayadratha in the Kaurava army was instrumental in unjustly killing Arjuna's son Abhimanyu. An enraged Arjuna swore that he would kill Jayadratha before sunset the next day, failing which, would enter fire. The news of this vow spread like wild fire in the enemy camp. Jayadratha panicked.
The next day, by using an innovative protective human shield around himself, Jayadratha manages to keep Arjuna at bay for most part of the day. As Arjuna waged on, the day drew to a close and Krishna, in His infinite wisdom, realized that it was not going to be possible for Arjuna to get at Jayadratha. He held up his Sudarshana Chakra to cover the sun and blots it out.
The Kaurava warriors assume that sunset was upon them and start rejoicing at Arjuna’s imminent suicide, lowering their guard. At that crucial moment, Krishna advises Arjuna to take aim at Jayadratha and kill him.
Arjuna obeys Him and thus a catastrophe is averted.

-Krishna knew that man to man, Karna was a better warrior than Arjuna. He knew that left to himself, Arjuna would be overcome. During the course of the deadly fight between Karna and Arjuna, the former had just let loose an arrow which had struck the latter in his chest and had left him dazed. Karna, seeing that the iron was hot, got ready to strike. The arrow that he let loose was headed straight at Arjuna's neck. But Krishna pushed the wheel of His chariot into the ground, as a result of which the arrow took away Arjuna's crown and thus saved him.

The story is replete with such instances.

All the more reason I feel that even in our day to day life, it is acceptable to place ends above means, if the situation warrants it.

Parents shape us

Much, if not all, of what we are today is because of how we were brought up as a child. The way we maintain our personal hygiene, the way we behave towards our peers, (more importantly how we behave towards our subordinates), our moral values - virtually everything is a direct result of what our parents taught us.
Stories told to us when we were kids have a terrific impact on shaping our thinking. A child's education starts not from the day he starts school but from the day he is born. In fact, as Mahatma Gandhi said in his 'My Experiments With Truth’, a person learns more in the first five years of his life than he does in the remaining years he's alive.

One learns more from one's parents than one learns in school. And it is infinitely more valuable than bookish knowledge. It makes you who you are.

Not wanting to be judgmental, some of the habits and attitudes of people I've seen in my 6 years or so of professional career certainly leave a lot to be desired. I read somewhere the other day that seeing how one treats a waiter at a restaurant tells a hell of a lot about one's upbringing. That is so true. It is easy to treat your boss well. But can you give the same treatment to your subordinate - somebody who does not control your appraisal ?

Your true character is what you do when no one's looking.