More confusion?

This is totally self explanatory! If you want to get your stamps 'canceled', this is the place ;) More cancellation if there's a stone chariot to boot!

Kaan-fused!

Now, I don't know what to make of this. Do they expect kids to be attracted to Aish, or did Aish endorse this doll? Or, did she play with this in her childhood and why would she 'swing' anyway? Most confusing...

Jazzy home on wheels

I was quite surprised to behold this one :) But, on second thoughts it wasn't too quaint. After all, what do you do when you have to travel and are away from home? Well, of course you convert your car to home. Have a dip in the river, wash your clothes, come back 'home', say your prayers in the prayer room (read as place that holds the vehicle's registration number) and hang your washed clothes in the balcony (read as windows).

What I didn't quite get was the criss-crossing 'naama' all over the poor vehicle. As though it had a choice or a say!

Far from the rush, pollution and dust of this city, did I manage to escape. This was one weekend. It was a wonderful visit to a friend’s farmhouse. The lush green paddy fields, tall, coconut trees and the clear blue skies seemed to be beckoning me.

Alas! It was but a short visit and I had to return back to good old pollution once again. I did manage to capture some of the memorable moments in my camera though. Even now when the city gets to me, I look at these snaps and relive those moments.

Why is it that Bangalore is no longer what it used to be? The ICT boom, population boom, real estate and all the other ‘booms’ that you can think of, have spoilt the city’s ecosystem and beauty.

You can perhaps catch a fleeting glimpse of Bangalore’s past glory, if you visit ‘Lalbaagh’ at the break of dawn. You can still smell the lovely flowers that line the joggers’ track and the occasional ‘Champak’ tree close to the lake.

Hmm… for the moment, let me lose myself in these green fields and blue skies once again!

Gaming stewards

I have often wondered what the life of a steward in a restaurant would be like. Having to get up early in the morning; cleaning all the dozens of chairs and tables; scrubbing the floor and wiping the thousands of crockery and cutlery pieces, till they shine in your face. And to top it all, taking endless orders from customers and serving them. Wow! That’s a lot of work.

Fortunately, there is a change in their dull routine. And what causes this change? Well, the computer of course. These computers are for keeping track of cash flows, bills, inventory and what-not by the manager. But, some of the smart stewards have found a new use for it. They use it to play Solitaire, Free-Cell and many other pre-loaded games.

Pretty cool huh? Nice way to be occupied between serving and waiting.

The Coconut Seller's Woes - No way out?

After our usual morning walk-a-jog, my husband and I decided to get some fresh, tender coconut water to beat the heat. We went to the little corner shop near our home, where a man and his wife sell tender coconuts.

It's a misnomer to call it a 'shop'. There's no roof or shelter or any built structure. All tender coconuts are piled up and covered with a tarpaulin sheet on hot days. The man sits on a rocky stool and his wife beside him, looking lost and forlorn. It seems they have had their "little shop round the corner" from the past twenty years there in that very place.

As the man picked coconuts to slash and peel for us, I thought it might be great to ask the couple to deliver coconuts to us every morning. "No madam," was the man's prompt answer. "Who will look after my shop, if I go and deliver coconuts to people's homes?" I tried a different tactic. "Why don't you deliver them to our place before you shut shop, or when you start early morning?" He hesitated. But, his wife agreed saying, "We will give it to you sometime in the morning....whenever we can. Is that ok?"

That was more than ok. But, that also led me to start a conversation with her. It seems the couple get their supply of tender coconuts from Maddur (close to Mysore) and sometimes Coimbatore. They personally go to Maddur every 15 days and get at least 1000 tender coconuts from the wholesale market there. "We pay Rs 8 per coconut. Out of this, Rs 5 goes to the person selling coconuts in the market and Rs. 3 is for the person, who grew these coconuts on his land" she said. They prefer buying coconuts from the wholesale bazaar, than purchase it directly from the farms. "We can be assured of good quality and we also know these people," insisted the lady.

But they also pay the local matador / lorry guy about Rs. 200 to transport these coconuts to Bangalore. With all this expense, the couple sell each tender coconut for Rs. 10 here. Not all coconuts are sold, which in turn adds to wastage and loss. "We have at least 100 coconuts, which have gone bad, or no one wants to buy and we lose our money," complained the coconut seller. (I think that's another reason that they try to palm off old, over-ripe coconuts to customers!)

It's a no-brainer to guess that these people are living with a perpetual loss. So, isn't there a better way for them to manage their supplies and sales? I wonder...

More flags

And now we have our flag-waving missionary with an addition. He is garlanded. Yes Sir he is. In fact, three days back he had two flags – one stuck to his robe and the other to his hand. The former is missing. But, the good news is that old Kittel carries a new flag, instead of the old mop in his hand. The sad news is that the other flag (stuck to his robe) was probably stolen by some Kannada patriots. Now I know the source of one of the flags adorning our city’s autos and street corners.

Bangalore doesn’t see too many Karnataka flags, except before and after the ‘Rajyotsava’. It just happened on November 1^st. Perhaps that should explain the sudden increase in demand for these red and yellow cloths.

Now, I’m not being disrespectful towards Karnataka or Kannadigas (residents of K’taka). Quite the contrary. It’s just that I fail to understand why there should be state flags, when we have a perfectly good national flag. Is there a state-level patriotism that’s different from being patriotic towards India? Why then do states like Karnataka and Maharashtra have their own flags? But, hey not every state in the country has a state flag. So, are they more or less patriotic than the red and yellow flag bearers in Karnataka, or the saffron coloured flag-lovers of Maharashtra?

Flag-waving German missionary

You may not imagine statues of western missionaries and reformers carrying (or being made to carry) state flags. Well, you didn't take Karnataka - Bangalore - into account then.

There's this place, where Residency Road and MG Road intersect each other. It's right opposite Bangalore Central. Here, you'll find the statue of a very dignified looking, oldish gentleman. Often have I passed this road and looked wonderingly at this statue. Am sure many people haven't seen it, because one can't look at anything other than the road while driving in Bangalore. It's another thing that people drive like maniacs even when they do look at the road ahead and drive. I look, coz I don't drive! And here was this statue with a flag stuck to it.

Anyway, yesterday I decided to take a closer look at it. I was wrong. It wasn't just a dignified, elderly Englishman, but a dignified, elderly German missionary. I didn't make the connection between this guy and the dirty looking Karnataka flag. Then I saw the inscription on the pedestal. Apparently, this gentleman had rendered yeoman service to Kannada literature. Poor guy! Was that all his fault to get this awful, grimy mop stuck to his robes?

Each day goes by and Dr. Kittel waves this flag at people going by. At cars going by. At dogs that avoid near-collision with cows that just decided to explore Bangalore on their own. I cannot say Kittel's flag waving has done much, because life hasn't changed in this busy part of town - with or without flags!