Dudurudh

It must've been a couple of months ago. I remember sitting at this desk and looking out of these glass doors in my balcony. As the dusk enveloped the earth, I could see the sky turn a lovely shade of orange through the branches of a mighty silver oak. Two gulmohars flanked his either side and more silver oaks stood majestically beside them. They waved their branches in response to a breeze from afar. The sky looked beautiful in the background with the silhouette of the silver oaks and gulmohars dancing in the foreground and little birds learning to fly, somehow trying to get home. The air was bursting with life. No TV, no display, no HD screen could ever recreate that scene. Humans think they can make anything with technology. Ever tried sitting amongst trees and breathing in the freshness? the sound of nature's orchestra of trees, animals and life playing a beautiful composition of peace and tranquility. No technology can create that. We're not smarter than everything arou...

It must've been a couple of months ago. I remember sitting at this desk and looking out of these glass doors in my balcony. As the dusk enveloped the earth, I could see the sky turn a lovely shade of orange through the branches of a mighty silver oak. Two gulmohars flanked his either side and more silver oaks stood majestically beside them. They waved their branches in response to a breeze from afar. The sky looked beautiful in the background with the silhouette of the silver oaks and gulmohars dancing in the foreground and little birds learning to fly, somehow trying to get home. The air was bursting with life. No TV, no display, no HD screen could ever recreate that scene. Humans think they can make anything with technology. Ever tried sitting amongst trees and breathing in the freshness? the sound of nature's orchestra of trees, animals and life playing a beautiful composition of peace and tranquility. No technology can create that. We're not smarter than everything aro...

Bangalore is a wonderful city to live in. I'm not the first one to say it and won't be the last. But there's always a caveat to that sweeping statement. Bangalore is a wonderful city to live in. BUT the traffic drives me crazy.  Again, I'm not the first one to say it and certainly won't be the last. With a huge  population that is only growing, the traffic situation in Bangalore is only going to get worse. Many months ago, I decided to do a satirical piece on Bangalore's traffic. And so I began observing it closely. And slowly I began to understand that this wasn't an issue you could laugh away. Somewhere in the mad rush to success, development and modernisation, Bangalore's traffic has gone from being accidentally maddening to being deliberately cruel. People have lost the ability to judge right from wrong. There is only one rule on Bangalore's roads- the one that suits you. Jumping signals, drinking and driving, motorcyclists riding on footpaths, s...

Bangalore is a wonderful city to live in. I'm not the first one to say it and won't be the last. But there's always a caveat to that sweeping statement. Bangalore is a wonderful city to live in. BUT the traffic drives me crazy.  Again, I'm not the first one to say it and certainly won't be the last. With a huge  population that is only growing, the traffic situation in Bangalore is only going to get worse. Many months ago, I decided to do a satirical piece on Bangalore's traffic. And so I began observing it closely. And slowly I began to understand that this wasn't an issue you could laugh away. Somewhere in the mad rush to success, development and modernisation, Bangalore's traffic has gone from being accidentally maddening to being deliberately cruel. People have lost the ability to judge right from wrong. There is only one rule on Bangalore's roads- the one that suits you. Jumping signals, drinking and driving, motorcyclists riding on footpaths,...

There are things worth getting upset about. Like the state of the nation. If you're not getting worked up about where this nation is headed, it's time for some introspection. In any case, I'm no one to judge. There are other things worth getting upset about. Like how utterly unconcerned your fellow citizens are about the future of the nation. Bengaluru. Familiar to most as Bangalore, the IT hub of India. Our very own silicon valley. The garden city (or what used to be the garden city). Home to the Royal Challengers Bangalore. In many ways, Bangalore is India in a nutshell. The diversity in it's population in terms of language and religion is a true manifestation of the diversity of India. One can not speak of Bangalore without speaking of two things. Bangalore's weather (Oh the beauty of it!) and Bangalore's traffic(Oh the terror!) . Bangalore is beautiful city with beautiful people. But today, Bangalore deserves none of those accolades. Bangalore deserves a rap...

There are things worth getting upset about. Like the state of the nation. If you're not getting worked up about where this nation is headed, it's time for some introspection. In any case, I'm no one to judge. There are other things worth getting upset about. Like how utterly unconcerned your fellow citizens are about the future of the nation. Bengaluru. Familiar to most as Bangalore, the IT hub of India. Our very own silicon valley. The garden city (or what used to be the garden city). Home to the Royal Challengers Bangalore. In many ways, Bangalore is India in a nutshell. The diversity in it's population in terms of language and religion is a true manifestation of the diversity of India. One can not speak of Bangalore without speaking of two things. Bangalore's weather (Oh the beauty of it!) and Bangalore's traffic(Oh the terror!) . Bangalore is beautiful city with beautiful people. But today, Bangalore deserves none of those accolades. Bangalore deserves a ra...

It's a beautiful summer morning. It's 7 in the morning- the sun hasn't woken up fully yet. Far, far away on the horizon, he's just peeping to see if anyone else is awake. In no time, he's going to be up and ready to warm the earth's graceful soil and thankless humans with his radiance. But for now, a soothing breeze has got here first. She flies around playfully, bringing some short-lived yet much needed relief to the people who don't realise how fortunate they are to be there and experience it. By the roadside there is some activity, unusual for this time in the morning. People running around busily, wearing scarves and shirts that have printed on them symbols of political parties. Other people walking into a building, a school. Again, unusual for this time in the morning. Slowly the crowd increases. A young lady walks out of the school and smiles at me. I smile back. And then she showed me the finger. No. Not that finger. The one that was marked with indel...