2S
Techie. Writer. Photographer.
Archive for bangalore
October 6, 2007 at 1:02 pm · Filed under bangalore, politics
Or, abbreviated, KLPD in Karnataka. For Yediyurappa, atleast.
Read on carefully. This post reveals two startling facts, albeit digressive. The first, Ram isn’t fictional. The second, he exists among us.
For those of you who remember the epic (or atleast, the Amar Chitra Katha versions), they might remember Kumbhakarna, the demon rakshasa that slept for six months at a stretch, while the affairs of the state were looked after by others. When he did wake up, of course, he ended up being hungry as hell, eating anything possible in his vicinity.
Just to prove that the Ramayana ought to be classified under the genre we know as non-fiction, Kumbhakarna still exists today. Put the dots together - who do you know, who sleeps all the time when the state was managed by others? Who do you know just woke up hungry (or hungrier) for power - the same demon that wasn’t even in the picture when the previous leader was elected?
Why, H. D. Devegowda of course.
There you go - Valmiki didn’t make it all up, there is a Kumbhakarna after all - in flesh, blood and bone amongst us, so there must be a Ram somewhere too. What it also does prove, is that Karunanidhi is full of shit - although the last statement didn’t really require a testimonial.
On with affairs of the state, then?
We all know that, in the recent past, Vidhana Soudha’s inhabitants have been - er - substandard, to say the least. S. M. Krishna got his geography wrong - he simply mistook Bangalore for Karnataka. Dharam Singh never understood first-grade geography anyhow, so he decided to change it, rechristening the city, as Bengalooru was reborn. And when HD was elected, it was initially promising. First, big-daddy Gowda keeps away from limelight – the son wasn’t exactly following in the father’s footsteps. Soon, namma metro materialized (atleast, on paper, although they’ve been rummaging through the city as if it were a garage sale).
It did seem that Gowda Sr. was keeping away from the son’s rise. Not anymore, though. Looks like appa’s been batting for the maga as the supremo’s been calling all the shots.
Like the average Bangalorean who woke up today to this bit of disgusting news, I’m not too disappointed - I’m in splits. We all need to learn to laugh at ourselves anyway, especially when the government ends up getting into a mess like it has now. With Devegowda, I thought that politics can’t get dirtier, but here he is taking it to an all-time low.
I wonder what’s going to happen now. Certainly looks like the BJP have pulled out, the same way a participant would pull out of a threesome, considering that the existing setup is indeed screwing the state, almost literally. What next? Congress coalition? More polls?
In other news last night, Sadashivnagar (the bit of Bangalore where most ministers live, including the Gowda kin and kith) remained in the dark. Looks like BESCOM didn’t enjoy the JD(S) decision too much, and pulled out a plug or two.
Things that people do these days with power. As they would say in this city, kallaru nanna makkulu …
September 29, 2007 at 10:32 am · Filed under bangalore, personal, photoblog
05.00 am - I arrive at the Chinnaswamy Stadium - Gate 11 - to purchase tickets (they were being sold at Gate 1, the distance between them, about a kilometer).
There are around 600 people in front of me. Some were sleeping against the same wall others urinate on. Most of them didn’t look like they would come for the match anyway, probably spending the night to make a quick buck on the ticket. Some die-hard fans had come in the tricolor as if it were the match itself.
06.00 am - There’s a bit of a buzz now, and there’s a guy who’s arrived there to sell coffee and some snacks. He doesn’t change his price. People are grateful for a cup of warm, blessed coffee on a chilly Bangalore morning. The cops have finished their drills and are now lining people up.
07.00 am - The first signs of trouble break out. People who tried to sneak into the queues were first talked at, then shoved away. Not a single soul kept mum on the incident. This was more than just a queue. A passer-by would think that our lives depended on it.
Speaking of morning joggers, a rather awkward looking firang who can’t keep his head straight runs about. He gives a quizzical look, almost as if he hasn’t seen many brown people together before. He asks the cops about it. The cop replies and Mr. French still has one clarification. ‘What is cricket?’
The queue is stunned.
08.00 am - They are already selling tickets at the other counters. And they merged my queue with the 200 buck one. Guess what? Did I mention 600? There are about 1500 ahead of me now, easily, after the merger. Crap. A TV9 reporter and a cameraman arrive at the scene. The media is capable of anything. The reporter is dramatizing it as if we were the crowd outside Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s execution, although in numbers, we did give that crowd a run for their money.
09.00 am - Our ticket-counter opens, mercifully, and the queue starts crawling. Based on initial calculations, by the time we get our tickets, it would be about 12 noon. I can’t wait that long. I started looking around for people.
10.00 am - A ‘friend’ walks by, suggesting that he had an extra ticket. I made the purchase, he made his profit, and I drove to work with a ticket in the pocket and a sense of satisfaction all inside of me.
Later, I found out, 30000 tickets in 3 hours.
Why all the trouble? Simple - there are a few things in life that I would go through all this for, even daily, if needed. The crisp smell of the turf. The spirit of cricket all around me. The warmth of our country’s people all around me. And an environment where people forget their race, religion and culture, and simply pour into the stands like rivers of passion to cheer for their home team.
All roads in this part of the world lead to only one place today. India take on the might of the Oz at Bangalore, in a few hours from now.
The Chinnaswamy wicket always had a bit of grass on it. Wickets will be there for the taking. Expect a good battle between bat and ball.
I shall make the move right away as the KSCA have oversold. Ciao. Match on.
August 6, 2007 at 1:10 am · Filed under bangalore
Call me paranoid about driving in the dark, but this truck had absolutely no business on this road. It’s a freaking one-way, for crying out loud, and this particular patch of tar is a dangerous curve near the HP gas-station adjacent to Jaymahal Palace, a few meters from the Cantonment Railyway Bridge.
Head-on collision. Damn.
Onlookers kindly informed that the injured were rushed to the Jain Hospital nearby. Click here for the bigger picture.
August 6, 2007 at 1:03 am · Filed under bangalore
Before we get into the ‘Freedom’ Jam, let’s find out what Princeton says to define ‘freedom’. Apparently, it is ‘the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints’.
Yeah, right. Maybe that’s why the cops of Bangalore arrived on the scene and busted a little rock-meet, a gig that invited music lovers from across Bangalore for no cost - I repeat, no cost - to enjoy a bit of metal and the works.
So much for this whole ‘freedom’ idea. The reason? Volume. Now, if it actually wasn’t Sultans of Swing or Comfortably Numb that sounded the air, but instead a Thayee Yashoda fusion, perhaps the perfume and jewellery folks on the other side of the fence at Palace Grounds would have kept mum. But no, we love rock, and that makes us anti-Indian and them pro-Indian, so they call the hotline and ask the khaki-clad people of law to pay us a little visit.
Not that the Monsoon helped the cause. When the divine forces stopped peeing on Palace Grounds, we had time for exactly two bands to perform - albeit, mediocre, because the vocals were too low, the bass was too high and things had to be setup in a hurry. After which, in popped the law-enforcers, oh-so-worried about the sound the Jam was making, even as their traffic counterparts were ushering the rock-crazy crowd of Bangalore into the premises at the entrance.
This is why we gave them blackberries?? I sincerely hope that Freedom Jams across the nation aren’t harassed by the cops restricted the way we were today. We aren’t murdering anyone, you know, hello?
To those who suggest that ‘they were only doing their duty’ - hush. Alright, the folks on the opposite fence reported the ‘crime’ but what drove these cops to actually take action against a baseless complaint, considering that the authorities granted permission for the Jam?
60 bands for 60 years of Independence, they said. Considering that, while I was around, only two bands performed, and maybe that drives home a point to show how ‘free’ we really are as of today. Okay, so I missed the rest of the show that might have started around 9pm, and ironically, I might miss the best part of India basking in freedom if we keep restricting ourselves with a leash meant for the strays.
In the meantime, here are a few pix at the ‘gig’. Blame the slosh on the rain.
August 3, 2007 at 1:26 am · Filed under bangalore, debates
The Indian rickshaw is a deadly combination of a two-wheeler and a four-wheeler. Because the three-wheeled monster gives the impression to riders that - hey - I got a wheel more than you, so be careful. And the very monster turns into a sneaky little mouse, as most rickshaw drivers manage to fit one wheel through a miniscule gap in traffic, under the absurd and dangerous assumption that the two wheels behind will follow suit. The end result? Scratches galore, and enough road-fights.
Of course, that is if His-Highness rickshawaala agrees to transport us.
I had a word with a rick-driver who stays close to home, Suresh Gangadharan. The ‘charioteer’ is one of the rare honest ones out there who relies on the meter, allowing that mounted piece of metal to decide his fate and future. I had heard from another ‘rickie’ that were nearly 150,000 rickshaws in Bangalore, and it surprised me, so I talked to Suresh to find out more. Some figures he revealed include:
Over 95% of the rickshaws run on LPG (credit goes to the authorities for enforcing this) although not all have taken steps to reduce pollution. Suresh says that previously, with petrol, many drivers mixed it with kerosene and that was the root cause of increased pollution from the ricks. With gas (and authorities having enforced a good, quality distribution of LPG around the city) fewer ricks can forcibly pollute
Over a 170,000 rickshaws travel in Bangalore alone, each generating an average income of 1,000 rupees per day. Suresh points out, that atleast 80,000 rickshaws spend a full day in the city. Do the math: The city of Bangalore spends Rs. 80 million on rickshaw fares, every day
On an average, each driver works a 12-hour shift, and nearly every rickshaw has two drivers nominated against it. That leaves us with atleast 300,000 rickshaw drivers in the city. Considering the stereotype drivers, that’s a lot of alcohol consumption as well
The ARDU is the single-largest union representing the drivers. This makes them quite powerful: at any given point, they have potentially 300,000 people and the single most popular means of transportation in Bangalore under their control
Each owner makes anything between 170 to 300 rupees per day, per rickshaw. Each driver makes about 150 rupees per day, and an average of 200 on the weekends. Suresh claims that many generous foreigners have left 50 rupees, and sometimes even 100 rupees as tips when they were in a hurry during tennis matches and rock concerts
The living conditions for the rickshaw drivers are bad but a margin above the poverty line. Most of the average income goes into liquor, leaving the families distraught, the children uneducated and the wives often have to work as maids to feed the family
The bottom line? Much as we might hate them for their stubborness, incompatibility and their pride, these guys run the streets of Bangalore. So the next time you drive, and you find this rickshaw crossing your way like a metallic piece of manhood in your serene life, try and refrain from picking a fight, because it’s an army out there. It really is. If you don’t believe me, have a look at a video I made.
MG Road and around, this. They’ve taken over. Truly, if there was ever a vehicle engineered for the roads of India, here it is.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k430CeVbxug]
But that’s only until namma metro arrives in this garden-city-turned-chaosville. Which is, of course, a long wait.
Update: Uncle Jay pointed out that the word Rickshaw has Japanese origins, from the word jinirikisha which means ‘human powered vehicle’. Interesting, considering that it’s us who took it to a new level. More here.
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