THE CITY WHICH IS STILL NOT HOME

Bangalore - A city which I looked forward to more than anything , I still remember the excitement , the expectations within me when I was looking forward to shift to this city . I remember thinking , 'How lucky am I , when everybody is sooo envious of me , I'm the lucky girl getting to go to the swinging city of Bangalore !!''What fun it'll be , my city , my culture , all my relatives being here , I sure will have a fantastic time out there'
Sadly things haven't worked out exactly to what I had expected them to , some people may argue that the grass looks greener on the other side , man must adjust to his surroundings and blah blah blah... this city has taken more than it has given , if it's given it has given disappointment , a lack lustre environment , horrendous service amongst just a few things . How wrong was I to expect things , to expect from the people out here to be warm or receiving , maybe I was so used to it out there in Pune , that I can still feel the void of that familiar warmth and courteousness ! How wrong was I to expect anything from relatives , so what if they are your blood relatives , that needn't make them family !! They are as much strangers as any person on the road , without extending as much as a millimetre of their hand during any crisis ! I take from this city , experiences which make me wiser , so in a twisted way this city has been responsible for my growth , I have seen whatever's to be seen and more during the 6 years of my life out here . Probably the only thing which I'm grateful to in this city , is that I've found some great friends whom I treasure like crazy ! I'm probably just waiting to get out of here with the first available opportunity and blur or blank out the period of my stay here . I carry only my experiences and memories of my cherished friends as I move on(which I WILL do eventually) to a newer and better life !

BARBECUED NATION !

surprised by the title? But I think it is apt , we , a nation capable of being the greatest superpower because of our tremendous potential are time and again being pulled down . Reason - recession? na we have survived that ! it's our internal issues which are our biggest weaknesses . Take for instance the 2 issues which are on everybody's minds of late . The Ayodhya verdict and the CWG scandal . I'll start with the Ayodhya issue , why are we so afraid of each other is the primary thing going on in my mind? we fear riots , we fear communal violence and yet we know that by and large all of us want peace . Are we so afraid of the few extremists who are just waiting to pounce on even a minor scandal so as to grab a few eye balls? Aren't we capable of suppressing them?? We the educated middle class supposedly the largest in the world can't quieten a few miscreants whose sole aim is to remain in the limelight by being the so called flag bearers of their religious community? why are we so fearful of each other? our muslim and our hindu brothers and sisters? We do not step out of the house because we are in a so called sensitive area afraid that at the slightest provocation a riot will break out . why isn't anybody reassuring us that it is safe to carry on with our day to day activities and they'll ensure that no communal violence breaks out . We a secular nation can't convince ourselves that we are a safe country , how in the world do we convince other countries?? Why do we feel infuriated when other countries are hesitant to send their players or important people out here due to lack of security? we deserve it , we have given them an impression that we are highly a unstable , and an unsafe nation !!!
Coming to the CWG scandal . We laugh at it , we mock it , we sigh and say that corruption is part and parcel of the Indian bureaucracy but do we realize that the CWG scandal is not just a public mockery of the bureaucracy but of us as well . We distance ourselves away from it but we cannot deny that after all it's our country's reputation which is at stake and we are all Indians . Everything about the commonwealth games and the organising committee was shady and fishy but nobody bothered until 3 months before the games were to start . 'the preparations are incomplete!' , 'the accommodations and everything are far below the world standards!!' then started the blame game , with each pointing their finger to the other and invoking ludicrous responses !! How typical and classic of the Indian mentality !!! Do you wonder now why the world sniggers at us ?? It's not the internal problems alone , we just love making a public tamasha of ourselves !!!
The Ayodhya verdict will pass , things will resume , the commonwealth games will be over and Mr Kalmadi will probably be charged for corruption which I'm so sure he'll wriggle out of , the babugiri will continue and people will move on but the ultimate loser in all this is our country . She remains tainted and ridiculed because her biggest enemies are within her !!