You are currently browsing the monthly archive for September 2005.
Hmmm. One day to go before I leave Hyderabad for the capital city. I went to Nalgonda and came back yesterday. I said goodbye to mother, sister and grandmother. It was tough, really tough, leaving them all.
I'm done with shopping except for a few things. I started packing. I booked a room in a hotel in New Delhi. I'll stay there till I find a good hostel room and then move. I've decided on Vajiram and Ravi for General Studies and Direction for Geography. Classes in V&R start on 11th, Direction on 6th. Hopefully, I wont regret joining these institutes.
I'm already missing home. It's hard to describe. I've rarely felt this sad. The mood here in Hyderabad isn't too good. If I go, grandma will become alone and she'll only get more bored.
Dad and brother are going to come tomorrow to see me off. I'm making arrangements for the journey. It's a big bad world out there. I hear much about thieves in the trains and in New Delhi. I hope the entire journey goes off smoothly. Till I move into a hostel room, things might be uncertain.
I generally sleep after 12 O'Clock in the night and these days, often at 2 to 3 O'Clock. And it's not a pleasant experience being awake till then. Even with people thick as rats in the cities, the dogs, the cats and the pigeons apparently still survive, as the unearthly cries and howls I hear every night indicate.
What is surprising is that you dont get to see many dogs during the day. Come night, they're all over the streets. As the night gets older, they come out onto the streets from God-knows-where and begin their usual midnight activities: barking for no reason, growling at the sight of another dog and howling whenever they like. In fact, they seem to be competing with each other. One dog barks somewhere in a distant locality, somewhere near Padmarao Nagar and all dogs in Ramnagar, where I live, join the competition.
You're reading something on your computer seriously and suddenly a dog in the street starts barking. Aaargh! And the cats are even worse. You can atleast predict the sounds the dogs make – the bark, the growl and the howl. But it's not always so with the cats. Suddenly, you hear an unearthly noise from somewhere and start wondering if all those ghost stories are true. There is another equally unsettling noise apparently in response to the first noise. The noises worsen into a cacophony and that's when you realize it's two cats fighting with each other. Gives you the creeps!
Well, the pigeons have got silent these days. There is a small colony of pigeons in the narrow gully between the building in which I live and the adjacent building. The narrow space, apparently, is not enough for their movement in and around. Their wings frequently rub against the windows and their frequent landings and takeoffs give rise to an interesting and often irritating array of noises, ranging from light 'swish' to the heavy thud. It doesnt matter if it's day or night. Actually, it's more prominent in the nights. But these days the noises have decreased a lot. Maybe this season is not part of the mating season 
Situation: Traffic jam.
Reason: Ganesh idol procession.
Me: Ganesh Ganesh Ganesh! All for Ganesh Maharaj! Who is the real Ganesh Maharaj?
Myself: The one in heaven.
Me: Then why are these people worshipping these lifeless clay idols?
Myself: They're fools.
Me: Why do these fools still live among us?
Myself: …
I looked up on Wikipedia about Lord Ganesh. This tradition of immersing Ganesh idols in water bodies was started recently around 1893 by Balgangadhar Tilak, "as a means of promoting nationalist sentiment when India was ruled by the British".
Well, it's been more than half a century since the British left India. Why the hell are we still hanging on to this tradition? All it does is cause traffic jams, noise pollution, religious disputes and pollute Hussainsagar. Teenage kids get drunk and dance like idiots on the roads. Old people cannot sleep because of the sound. Power supply is cut.
Me: Is this what Ganesh Maharaj wants?
Myself: Of course not.
Me: Then why does it all still happen?
Myself: We live in a democracy. Even the fools get counted.
Me: Oh yes!
I got the train ticket booked for New Delhi.
Train: AP Express, 2723.
Board: SECBAD
Date: 30th Sep. 2005
Time: 0710
Sharath gave haath. I'm going alone. I have the feeling it's going to be quite an adventure, spending two days in a train, in an upper berth, alone and with kilos and kilos of luggage!
The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, has sent an aid package of $5 million to the hurricane-ravaged city of New Orleans, USA.
It shows how generous and caring India is on the international front. We have always lent a helping hand to any country, in times of distress, inspite of the fact that we are a poor country.
The U. S. Government has handled the situation so shamelessly. At least, our government had the urgency to act and sent an aid package. Well done, PM!
The Central Government finally gave in to pressure and increased the prices of petrol and diesel. There have been sharp reactions to this from the common man as well as political parties. But this issue must be seen in a broader perspective. The government had little to do in the face of a new high in international oil prices.
International oil prices have crossed the $70 per barrel mark. Till two days back, majority of the burden was born by the public sector oil companies. Petrol and diesel came at about Rs. 5 and Rs. 3 less to us, respectively. This burden was born only by the oil companies. This has resulted in a sharp decrease in revenue to the oil companies. The Central Government receives a large annual dividend from them. The government was in danger of losing out on this dividend. It could have had an impact on the economy.
Therefore, the government had to lessen the burden on the companies and take some burden on itself by issuing bonds to the companies and distributing the rest on the people. Hence, the increase in the prices.
Reactions to the increase, expectedly, have been sharp. But it has to be realized that the price hike had to occur irrespective of which government is ruling. It is unfortunate that the common man has to face the burden but there was no choice.
My heart aches again,
For a stupid reason again.
These memories, they wont go away,
Like needles in my flesh, they stay.
Looking at myself, I find
That these memories have wounded my mind.
These wounds I try to heal
But they never ever seem to heal.
So, I myself am left to feel,
The pain of these wounds that I feel.
And my heart aches again,
For a stupid reason again.
Written August 6th, 2004. Chill!
Throw away those goddamn cars and bikes! If you dont want to, sell them off for a cheap price. If you cant do that, then pump out the petrol, pour it over the vehicle and torch it!
Hyderabad is no more a place where you can start at some time and expect to reach the destination at the desired time. Traffic jams are commonplace. They have become a part of life for a Hyderabadi.
I think, even if the RTA or some other agency implement new traffic management plans, the traffic problem will definitely spiral out of control. MMTS has been functional for a good amount of time now but it didnt make an impact. Skybus might come to Hyderabad in two years time, with a 10 Km. line from Mehdipatnam to Uppal. But at the rate of increase of population, Skybus might still not be enough.
I have a message for budding engineers and entrepreneurs: channel all your creative energies into creating an Air Traffic System. Envisage a situation in which personal aircraft will be a common means of transport for people in the city. This might sound outrageous but hey, I'm NOT joking. I'm really NOT joking! Air Traffic is one of only a few solutions for the city's traffic woes.
It might be early but for me, the time has come to start converting another fictional idea into reality. The sooner the better.
Nowadays, we hear a lot of talk about Britain being a liberal, tolerant and pluralistic society, after the July 7 bombings. True, it has been. But when did it start being so? London is truly a cosmopolitan city. The rest of the country too is more or less similar. You have people who come from a wide variety of cultures from around the world.
But all along, it was a predominantly Christian nation, where the Church had considerable influence in matters of law and politics. After all, it is the nation which had Joan d'Arc burned alive at the stake on charges of heresy. It has its own share of heroes who fought in the Crusades for possession of the Holy Land in the name of Christianity. Remember Richard the Lionhearted?
Any activity in Britain, which contradicted Christian beliefs, risked facing charges of heresy. In India, one of the main causes for the 1857 Revolt was the disrespect of religious customs of soldiers of Indian origin, by British officers. Elsewhere during their stay in India, the British were constantly accused of religious disrespect.
Most democratic nations are liberal, tolerant and pluralistic but there are exceptions. Last year, the French government legislated and enforced a strict ban on forms of religious expression through costumes, headwear etc., inviting an uproar from the ethnic minorities. Sikhs weren't allowed to wear their turbans. Muslim women weren't allowed to wear burkhas.
So I was wondering when the British actually started this tradition of liberalism. Maybe they resolved to develop a liberal, tolerant and pluralistic society when they enacted their Constitution. Just curious.
Recent Comments