Back in action!!

Been a long time..was too lazy to write..work,travel and work related travel have been eating the time..one thing that comes to my mind is the attitude of Educational institutions towards parents. In a place like Bangalore, I guess these institutions look at parents are money minting machines whose mission in life is only to fund their childrens' education "at any cost"! Schools and the principals behave as though the parents are stuck to their institutions for want of an alternative. Very often one hears about disgruntled parents who complain about the lack of consideration for even the basic needs of children- proper and hygienic civic amenities, a proper place to eat, play areas for kids etc. These are some elementary expectations of any parent from any school; so when the school charges a fees which is at the higher end of the spectrum, I guess it's not unfair to expect a proper justification for the fees in terms of such facilities. Further, these schools also do not feel any sense of accountability to the parents for the arbitrary and unilateral hike in their fees year after year- once again without any explanation or justification! What's worse is that the school that I'm referring to had the audacity to send the application form for the succeeding year with a printed declaration to be signed by the parent that " we fully understand that the school provides the best of amenities and we willingly contribute to the welfare measures of the school". Though I didn't bother to check the consequences of not signing the forced declaration, I can't help feeling incensed at this arrogance on the part of the schools; I guess only a concerted action by a bunch of parents in shifting their wards en masse to another school in protest will help..am sure such an action will hardly make an impact when people fall for the names of such institutions in hundreds..but some initiative is surely bound to make heads turn..anybody reading this??

Movies..

Last night was movie time at home..being a Friday night knowing that one can have a lazy Sat. morning..watched "Laaga Chunhari mein Daag"- yet another decent movie in recent times (forgive me if my recent happens to be 6 months- I am not the first day-first show movie buff)- one song "Hum to aise Hain" is particularly enjoyable- good rhythm and melody with colourful visuals of the narrow lanes and bathing ghats of Banaras.
The screenplay too is good, story reminding one of the decades old "Hum Log" on DD (with Badki and Chudki)..just that the closing portions of the movie were a bit dis-jointed and abrupt. Nevertheless, the movie has been handled well and it felt good to see several familiar faces of Bollywood and realize how they've aged over time- there was this guy (Tinu Anand?) who acted as the "sort-of" retarded boy in Kamal Hassan's "Nayagan" and then there's Jaya Bachhan, Anupam Kher..recommended..

Break!!

Recently went on a short (weekend) break to a place close to Mysore, called Shivanasamudram- this place is about 130 kms from Bangalore with the approach roads beyond Maddur (a stretch of about 35 kms) very similar to the surface of the moon! But what lies beyond including the place where we stayed (a very pleasant Home-stay called "Georgia Sunshine") is definitely worth a visit.

Talking about Georgia Sunshine, it's run by a nice couple- Leonard and Georgia, who have been in this hospitality domain for several years now (surprisingly in the same place for the last 8 years- can't imagine how they would commute on such roads in those days- probably it wasn't a big deal for people who anyway live in amidst nature). The cottages are set in natural surroundings and have all the basic necessities well equipped. All the basic necessities of modern-day living like Television, Internet /Wi-fi are thankfully not provided and this affords a complete break from the unwanted intruders from office!!! :) The place has a nice small swimming pool to splash about, play areas and about 5-6 cottages. The meals were quite tasty and the persons who served us (locals from the area) very polite. Would surely recommend this place for a short holiday.
The two falls Ganganachukki and Barachukki are about 15 kms & 25 kms from this cottage but the roads are much better to drive on. G'chukki affords a great view and is more fierce & picturesque while B'chukki has shallow water with boating (on the small round "parisal" or boats made of cane..the climb down to the plain waters of B'chukki is quite steep and tricky..
Altogether a good break from the hustle and bustle of city living and only a short distance from the city..I endorse..

Southpaws of the world Unite!!!

Yes, this is a wake-up call to all those southpaws who suffer silently, every day of their lives and feel "left-out" in the race where Right is might!! Any reference to left-handedness, always seems to be accompanied by a paragraph tinged with self-pity or a demand that we too need to be treated fairly! Yes, looking at the way the inventions of the world have been made, they always seem to be made for the the right-handed population- making us minority wonder whether we are wrong-handed!!!!
But to make up for all the wrongs meted out by the majority, southpaws have made their presence felt and signed-off in style as celebrities- politicians, musicians, actors and in various other walks of life- some solace to the not- so-famous generalists who also happen to be southpaws! :)
I just looked up the celebrities with whom I share this special status- Sir Paul McCartney (who's said to have played John Lennon's right-handed guitar upside down in his first concert), Bill Clinton and several other US Presidents, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, to name a few..it's said that even Leonardo Da Vinci was left-handed (and that could have possibly been becos. his right hand was paralyzed).
It makes me wonder whether it could be true that southpaws are endowed with some special talents, something about the functioning of the brain that sets them apart from the others in creative field or in areas that require certain skill-sets. How's it that several southpaws have made it big in the field of Politics, Music and Acting- is it probably because Music and Acting come naturally to Politicians and most of the famous politicians happen to be southpaws? Beats me..
Whatever be the correlation between the brain functioning and lefthandedness, I feel that there should not be any differentiation in the way implements for day-to-day use are made- either they should be made for use by either "dex"-es (if I could coin a term for People of either Dexterity) or there should be things made specifically for the southpaws- scissors for Left-handed people, as well as University chairs, door knobs and even the wash-room closets!
This will atleast help ease the problems of southpaws to some extent- to give them the happiness that their needs are being addressed. I am not advocating a 33% reservation, but certainly I am for a certain degree of sensitivity to the needs of the minority- an understanding of their special needs!
I do understand that it's very difficult for a right-handed mother to teach a left-handed son or daughter to write, but that's not a fault of the child that he or she is born a southpaw. I do feel strongly against changing the ways of nature- let a left-handed child be left his/ her way (pun intended)- let's not change him to do things right- instead let's teach him to do the right things- left to himself!!!! :)

Life..

has generally been extremely hectic since I started the blog..have had to toggle between several tasks every minute of the day..anyway I am determined to keep this monologue going as long as I can.

Talking about the title and the reference to "The Hindu", I am reminded of one more person who I have always loved and respected (actually there are two and I will write about the other person too) and he's Mr. V. Gangadhar who has been writing the "Slice of Life" for several years now. The other person who I would say I love and respect more is none other than the Great R.K. Narayan.

Somehow I have been able to relate to both their writings very well- both wrote in simple English, about simple people we find in everyday life, looking at the world around thro' simple eyes without any frills and flamboyance- probably had a lot to do with the situations in which they themselves were brought up.
Any number of times one reads Swami and friends, one's bound to think that RKN has been spying on him sometime somewhere in life and it's just a page out of one's life. It's this simple realism that makes his reading such a pleasure.
Somehow Gangadhar too has tried to imitate, consciously or otherwise, this everyday life with light humour and this makes reading a pleasure. One can't also miss the subtle boasts that he used to make in the course of his writings about his daughters and their accomplishments- am sure we can afford to acknowledge that given the pleasure that we derive reliving our lives thro' his words..
Before I give an impression that I am a voracious reader, let me clarify that my heart and soul is in music and these are only those rare occasions when I really cared to read a morning newspaper or a fiction and also managed to complete it...
My attention in recent times has somehow turned to more of Management lessons and inspirational writing...Jack Welch being the one that I am reading and savouring s..l..o..w..l..y and am enjoying everything that he says..infact subconsciouly I feel I have started emulating him. Our greatest common denominator being "People"- I strongly believe that People are an Organizations greatest assets- an organization that doesn't care for people will not succeed for long. It's this thought and the focus on people that binds me to my employer and to my team down the line..and I march on..slogging long hours..Life....

Just born..

Yep, after so many years of having generally been around..have started blogging- very strange and unusual for a person who has never kept a diary, has never used a New Year's diary beyond the first few days of meticulously penning down appointments and tasks..only to realise at the end of the year that it could've been put to better use by anybody other than me..

BTW, I cudn't think of a gud name for my blog and when I was left pondering about what it should be on, I suddenly remembered that I am not good at anything specific- neither a musician, nor an academician, a scientist, writer, poet, singer (may be..) or for that matter anybody who is or could have been somebody who people cud look up with awe (probably a more polished way of saying "good for nothing" :).. Hence the title- the credit for the title should go to a great man, our own Ex- Chief of Army, General Sunderji who used to write weekly columns by the same name in "The Hindu". To make my blogs more purposeful, I dedicate my blog to this honourable citizen of India who dedicated his time to the safety and sovereignty of Mother India! So here we go...