For the past few days, I was getting a little curious about something. Something that we all have, we all make, we sometimes bank on, something that inspires us, also lets us down. Something that has little basis. The vagueness that can be seen here is well-justified by the subject -- Assumptions.
Few days back, while I was travelling in my favorite transport - BMTC!- I happened to meet this guy, who was a salesman. He looked somewhere in his 30s, with a bag full of brochures, and another bag, in which he had a product sample (looked like a geyser, I am not sure). Like most of the times, I started talking to him. During the course, he told me about the things that he did after he graduated, some 10 years back. Being an arts graduate, he started off by working in a graphics design firm. After a 2 years stint, he wanted to do more and switched to clay modeling, then to teaching fine arts and then to plumbing (yes!). All the while, he shared, his motive was not to get stagnant in life. He then moved to a smaller town and took up the job of an LIC agent. Shortly afterwards, he got married and moved back to Bangalore, where he started a furniture business. When it did not satisfy him, he took up the job of a painter, shop-keeper, salesman and now, is sitting beside me and with a smile that reassures him of his accomplishments, pole-vaults and long jumps. I too had a similar smile, but with a background of amazement, surprise and disbelief. I grew too curious about his intentions and his thoughts. He told me that he always believed his next profession would be better and more interesting. He also had to face the ire of his people, the topic which is better put to rest here. But he told me one thing - "Saar, yaavattu nange bekaagidne maadthiddini antha annisle illa saar" (I never felt like I was doing what I wanted to do).
Having lately developed an affinity towards 'analysis', I got into judgment mode. I suddenly remembered the lines of a kannada poem, I learnt in school --
HattedeyoLu thODi ondadiyashtanu,
baralilla neerennabeDa;
OndeDeyoLu thODu hattadiyashtanu,
chimmuvududakavu nODa.
Approximately -- Do not complain that you dint find water by digging 10 trenches, each 1 feet deep. Dig 1 trench 10 feet deep, and there you find, the water.
In essence, this is supposed to emphasize the need for patience and perseverance (a bit of extreme-high-profile-thought for a guy like me. Ppl who know me well, -- stop giggling! ). At least this is what was taught in school. And now I was lost. What makes us always want something that we 'feel' is better? Or what makes us feel that something 'is' better? Well..Comparisons? Reasoning? Experiences? If so, then why do we still want a change after we choose a change? After all, these are based on data, and how can they go wrong. I somehow tend to think, it is the 'assumptions' that we carry, about the impending change, that lets us down. Is this true? or at least makes a little sense? Frankly, I dont know...
Looks like too much of thought, after a long time.....!!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
The start of a day..
Well this is something that each Bangalorean faces almost daily. The twist in my case is that this saga is more pronounced. Did you get that? :) . Most of us have 2 distinct lives; the office life and the family life. I am talking about the phase of transition between to two. Ok.... Ever heard of the preface being 25% of the book? or heard of a movie where credits appear till the interval? Errrr... I will no more try my crappy ways of unfolding things. In plain words, I am talking about the commute between home and work. A solid 2 hours that i spend in the morning and in the evening.!!!!
So as I wake up to the most irritating sound on earth, the alarm, a sense of the "long way to go" embarks on my mind. Needless to say, I have got used to it.. :). After getting out of the house with lightning speed, i get teleported into the cab (teleported, coz i am too sleepy to remember the walk to the cab.. !!ha)
The cab starts from my point and starts proceeding along the tumkur road. This was the road that was filled with huge trees on either sides till a year ago. Then the development bug set in and ate away all the trees. Now the picturesque Tumkur road is a bland stretch of bald land. And with the flyover being built along, the road is in shambles. Wading through it, we reach the hesarghatta cross, which a few years back, was a calm and "no-traffic" junction, but today a very busy signal with a potential causualty of 20 minutes to the driving schedule.
Just after the signal is Reliance Infocomm, one of the very few IT companies in that area with an office completely clad with black glasses (affectionaltely known as the 'burkha' building for "need-not-be-explained" reasons.. :)). A little ahead is the BBMP office which apparently caught fire twice just before the Lokayukta raids. A truly professional timing. Isnt it?!.
They say things stay back in mind, long after their physical demise. I guess they were referring to roaring sounds of the lorries which were a commonplace, when the place near the BBMP office was - once upon a time - a check post. As the city expanded, the govt realised they could collect the taxes from the lorries much earlier in the new outskirts. As a side-effect, the check post had found a new abode much away from the city a few years back.
Bangalore has a tradition (not sure of the other cities) of glorifying shops as major landmarks like Brahmins cafe, vidyarthi bhavan, sivananda stores and so on. One such semi-glorified outlet is the Mohan bakery in Dasarahalli, which is just next to the BBMP office. A small outlet whose years of glory is inversely proportional to its size. Irrelevant, as it may seem, this bakery has never fascinated me with any of its stuff.
And thus, i reach the dasarahalli bus stop. Or i must say, the starting point of the bus stop. Due to the road work, this had got shifted to many places in the 50 meter stretch. The shifting was so frequent that people are totally clueless about the present situation. And the BMTC bus drivers are more clueless. !
By now, I feel a little awake in the cab.. i had travelled around 2-3 kms from home and had around 38 more to go, to reach office.... And the day had just begun.. :)
So as I wake up to the most irritating sound on earth, the alarm, a sense of the "long way to go" embarks on my mind. Needless to say, I have got used to it.. :). After getting out of the house with lightning speed, i get teleported into the cab (teleported, coz i am too sleepy to remember the walk to the cab.. !!ha)
The cab starts from my point and starts proceeding along the tumkur road. This was the road that was filled with huge trees on either sides till a year ago. Then the development bug set in and ate away all the trees. Now the picturesque Tumkur road is a bland stretch of bald land. And with the flyover being built along, the road is in shambles. Wading through it, we reach the hesarghatta cross, which a few years back, was a calm and "no-traffic" junction, but today a very busy signal with a potential causualty of 20 minutes to the driving schedule.
Just after the signal is Reliance Infocomm, one of the very few IT companies in that area with an office completely clad with black glasses (affectionaltely known as the 'burkha' building for "need-not-be-explained" reasons.. :)). A little ahead is the BBMP office which apparently caught fire twice just before the Lokayukta raids. A truly professional timing. Isnt it?!.
They say things stay back in mind, long after their physical demise. I guess they were referring to roaring sounds of the lorries which were a commonplace, when the place near the BBMP office was - once upon a time - a check post. As the city expanded, the govt realised they could collect the taxes from the lorries much earlier in the new outskirts. As a side-effect, the check post had found a new abode much away from the city a few years back.
Bangalore has a tradition (not sure of the other cities) of glorifying shops as major landmarks like Brahmins cafe, vidyarthi bhavan, sivananda stores and so on. One such semi-glorified outlet is the Mohan bakery in Dasarahalli, which is just next to the BBMP office. A small outlet whose years of glory is inversely proportional to its size. Irrelevant, as it may seem, this bakery has never fascinated me with any of its stuff.
And thus, i reach the dasarahalli bus stop. Or i must say, the starting point of the bus stop. Due to the road work, this had got shifted to many places in the 50 meter stretch. The shifting was so frequent that people are totally clueless about the present situation. And the BMTC bus drivers are more clueless. !
By now, I feel a little awake in the cab.. i had travelled around 2-3 kms from home and had around 38 more to go, to reach office.... And the day had just begun.. :)
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