The winner takes it all !!!

This was a famous song by the Swedish rock band ABBA which is quite very relevant to this blog. Well the song was a great hit, topping the charts but when you really, and I mean Really listen to the profound meaning and try to think about it, mixed emotions flood over you. This is the way the chorus goes! (To listen to the whole song click on the player on top of the post)

The winner takes it all

The loser’s standing small

Beside the victory

That’s her destiny

Take a minute and let these words absorb in you!

You feel something happening which is hard to explain. It’s like as if somebody is trying to shove a large chunk of YOU-CANT-DO-IT or something and you start reminiscing about a defeat or lose which will indelibly stay on your mind. Over to the more lucky guys, most people stand with beaming pride just reminding us that you are a loser! While some of them are quite down to earth knowing that there can be turn of luck thus preparing himself for the impending loss, unlike the other who is in for the shock of his lifetime.

Recovering from a loss is quite painful and requires a great amount of determination and willpower because when you lose, people know that you’ve lost, moreover your heart knows that you have! And there is no remedy for it. Nobody accepts any reason. Reason is not an antidote for failure or loss, though it can salvage the present situation your mind is coming in terms with, it aint doing any good but adds on to your ever growing list of lame reasons. For some,” reason” may provide a little bit of respite but that’s just yourself giving a pat on your back for trying.

Nobody cares why you’ve lost, nobody gives a damn! Some people may try to sympathize and reciprocate your feelings saying, you were this close to winning! Or your team was better than the other or even shit luck! Just believe that you were bad and accept it without any more rounds of blame game. But let this be like an incentive to perform better.

Winning is everything. Winning is glory, loosing is shame!

It's a long time since I won anything. I miss each and every bit of it, starting from the thrill, the beating of the palpitating heart, the perks, the trophies, the cash, the honor, the glory and what not. And when I watch my rivals win, dangerous envy fills inside me which may unleash its power anytime soon! But before I proceed I would like to lash out on one stereotypical dialogue usually uttered by parents or teachers after somebody looses and feels dejected.

“Winning is not important betta, participating is!

Really???  Stop that and let them participate to win! Participation can be done by any tom dick and harry or harries but Winning? Only the one who pursues, perseveres, the one who has edge over others. He is true winner. Participation is more like an excuse for underperforming. And what about the great participation certificate it’s more like chute which comforts us by reminding us that we participated. Chuck it! Winning is important and if that is so critical for you then losing is bigger deal. It helps you find the missing loops so that we dare to commit such a mistake again.

Also never ever try to underestimate your opponent. they make look dumb or try to look dumb but don't let that deceive you. Don't let the look they wear on their face, or the dress they wear, their body language either faze you or confound you. Always think that there are people better than you, but when you know that, Yes that's the moment I've been waiting for, seize that moment and there is no looking back. except for others!

But losing on the another hand is as important as winning, they give way to the winners, they put up a good fight(most of the time) but at the end its the best team which wins. Losing encourages us, that is the main driving force which is going to push us and help us strive our victory.

And for those of you who don't belong to either of them, its never to late to win or lose!   

“Whoever said, "It's not whether you win or lose that counts," probably lost”- Martina Navratilova

DRIVING THROUGH HELL

Have you ever wondered how the roads of hell would look like? Or how you would feel like when you tread on such a path? Is it broad, narrow, bumpy, or even worse?

Well apparently I’m talking about Bangalore a.k.a “Garden city” of India; ironically I also call it “driver’s hell”. Driving in Bangalore is not for the weak hearted, the amount of stress a driver in Bangalore undergoes is immense. Driving is an intense job but it just requires minimum skill. Start, gear it up, leg on the gas pedal, apply brakes (if you want) and Bobs your uncle. Well this encourages many people from villages, college drop-outs, cleaners etc to take jobs as drivers. Absolutely not a problem, their just earning their daily bread! Now a day’s many underage minors also try hand at this new found passion-DRIVING. And I hopefully think that driving through the streets of Bangalore should make it to top 10 crazy things you should do before you die!

  

But what gets on my nerve is the attitude with which people drive, some of them lack basic sense, they suddenly and abruptly change lanes leading to major accident and eventually it leads to congestion and some of them lack spatial understanding when it comes to parking. And the reckless driving through the pothole ridden Bangalore also adds to the growing tension in Jay Leno’s head as to whether he can again use India as subject of humor and what about Jeremy Clarkson??

Watch out! The " I " in INDIA stands for intolerance

The BBMP (the city corporation which is supposed to take care of Bangalore) along with the so-called ministers made ostensible promises saying that we’ll cover every pothole but end up covering their own respectable positions! Some even also made a deal claiming” You spot it and we’ll pay for it”. We spot it and that unscrupulous fool would've paid himself in crores.

Many people don’t admit the fact maybe superiority complex or any such thing but it is difficult to drive when the traffic is at peak hours, everybody’s tailgating you, and the unbearable raucous created by honking, and to add insult to injury the roads are an eyesore to watch although some parts like the NICE, the BIA and pretty much all the highways are in pristine condition. But the problem is in the city and the best part is if you thought craters are found only on the Moon, you are definitely wrong. Come during the rainy season and watch how the road eats its way through to make a crater, a potential killer.

Also a humorous fact is India is the only country in the world where even animals can drive on the driveway!

Here are some of the signboards which appear on my road to hell:

ROADS –Most of the roads in Bangalore are never fully fledged, it is perpetually under the curse of scope of improvement except that improvement never shows! With much difficulty the contractor gets the tender, uses the subsidized materials allotted to him and constructs the road which is soon- to- be defunct. Precisely within a month or two either the water and sewage management guys or the telephone guys virtually rip apart the road, do their job and close it up in haste. Also most the roads which are laid are worn out within 6 months and those corrupted contractors along with mayors, MLA’s promptly send out workers to alleviate the problem which may spiral out of control when they come to begging for votes! Cheeky! Some roads are in pathetic state and adds on as blot on the landscape. The worst part is the patch-up work these guys do promptly, thus creating a new but free land ride known as ”Up and down” which is very annoying!  

TRAFFIC – My aunt from Canada recently visited us and she was horrified to see the traffic in Bang-galore!. She was mortified. She used to frequently pop out her eyes, sit upright, hold my mom’s hands and request my dad who is a conscientious driver to watch out. She used grimacingly tell us that she felt as though the vehicle was coming on her. Bangalore traffic is nothing but a never-ending vortex of chaos. People tailgate each other, violate traffic rules (not that they don’t do in other cities and countries) to piss off the police. And crossing a major road is like crossing the mighty river Jordan! and sometimes impassable!

 A quintessential site to behold in B’lore (at peak hours). But sadly this is the case in any metropolitan cities in India!

Recently Oprah Winfrey commented that she was really perplexed as to what the red light on the traffic signal indicated? She asked them tongue in cheek whether it meant for people to stop or was merely for entertainment. Organized traffic in B’lore is a chimera!

And especially during the night times, driving is a herculean task. With crazy people putting on their high beams all the time and a myriad of diverging light rays falling on your eye, I think it is equivalent to poking your eye with a needle!!  

VEHICLES – The usage of the number of vehicles has proliferated since the last decade, thanks to generous bank loans available we get in a jiffy. And Ah at last I’ve always wanted to write about these creatures. The big yellow rodents (as my dad like to call them). Though we cannot deny the fact that these have helped us so far to commute to nearby malls and other locations, they do irritate us when they suddenly make an impossible maneuver and come into our way and we hail abuses at him, to which he is immune to! Moreover in these past years they have bred like rabbits and are increasing in population!

Population control? Please!

PEOPLE OF B’LORE – The audacity of the people of Bangalore is commendable, some of these are self-proclaimed heroes who make crossing a busy road as easy as a cake walk. Want to try? This is what they do: They just stick their hand out beside their body indicating us to stop while they are busy talking. And they do it without even looking at us! 

                                

                                    Awesome? Heroic?

the police man violating the traffic rules!
where's your helmet mister?

The cocky taxi-wallahs are as quick as lightning, they come from nowhere, honking continuously to make sure we see their finessed art of driving! And obviously to grab eyeballs. Most of these guys are illiterate, hailing from villages come to the city in order to make quick bucks. But I think I should also mention the good work the B’lore traffic police are doing. Mending the rules day by day (the speed limit is now 60 km/hr), meddling with their blackberries, accepting bribes and yea, accepting bribes!!

Though Bangalore is known as the “Silicon capital of India”, you still find beggars as small as 4 year old girl begging through the street carrying babies(a gimmick used by these in order to melt their heart and extort money!) and also you find people as old as 80 asking for alms! Some even start their apprenticeship as cleaners, they begin to wipe the windshield of the vehicles at traffic signals and then show their melancholic faces to demand money!

 To put everything in a nutshell always expect the unexpected during driving, Anticipate! And please keep your bloody complacency locked in the house!

HONKING - I think Bangaloreans have predilection towards honking. They honk when they want to express their anxiousness and disapproval.The irony lies in fact that while most of the time they do it as a pastime, it’s a serious offense in the US and UK (they use in case of emergency only). I think honking is popular because of the mind-set of people, the pedestrian stands on the road, talks on his cell (not knowing this might be his last) or smoking (knowing that each puff punctuates a hole in his lung) .While the driver thinks he has done his part by honking in order to arouse them from the state of being in their own world.

But there is nothing much positive that can be done but one thing!!!

GET WITH IT  (or should I say DRIVE  WITH IT)  

And to end it all Happy Driving!!! Watch out there comes the eunuch!        (PS better pay!)

    Survive  Bangalore , Survive  the  World!

    

SHOTS OF REALITY

                                                             

The modern urban word “CLUB” gives me jitters which usually run down my spine and allows me to envisage the nightmarish faces at the club when cops raided it. Apparently they were modern Bangalore city cops who arrived in muftis not attract any eyeballs. I thought they were just middle-aged people who were fed up with their mundane life and wanted to add spice to their life by dancing, boozing and frolicking around the club. But suddenly they started to shout. The music went down. Everybody was startled. The DJ ejaculated,” What the hell?”

Silence swept the whole place!

They began checking for the seal which was stamped on the wrist by the club authorities and on that unfortunate day they had forgotten to seal me! Meanwhile the cops ransacked the whole place in search of drugs. After becoming aware of this misfortune. I decided I would subtly walk away in the melee. But one guy about 6 ft tall dark having murderous looks caught hold of me and asked, “Where was my seal??? I was taken somewhere to the corner of the club and was interrogated for almost 2 precious hours with another alleged person who really looked like a dealer.

                                                                              ***

It had all been planned and our college fresher’s party was to be held in one of the most happening clubs in B’lore, OPUS. I was not a regular party animal and as it was my first real party at a club, I was excited and was looking forward for this day.

Days rolled on, the D-Day had finally approached. I was really high in spirits (no pun intended) and was pretty much pumped up! Went to college, got back home, got myself dressed (not knowing actually what to wear) and finally arrived at the CLUB (or should I say the PUB). I was about an hour late along with a friend of mine.

Some kind of enigmatic feeling was looming all around me!

Loud music emanating at the entrance beckoned me to enter the inside of the dark, dingy, grim, smoke filled club. Some of my friends and I rushed in while some of my other pals( aka opportunists) waited with baited breath and finally came in with gals, who later disappeared hence leaving a long face on the opportunists, which later evaporated due to the electrifying atmosphere at OPUS.

As I entered the counter, they tied some-kind of band around my wrist which acts like an I-D proof. But they forgot to seal my wrist which I realized later. One hefty bouncer near the entrance wore a look like my mom, as if warning me to be well within my limits. As I began to approach the threshold of the club I just felt some part of me leave, the childlike innocence had just left and to balance it a sense of freedom and independence just swept over and thus I bore a grin on my face.

 Yeah!!! Finally

This image still lingers in my mind, about 60 or 70 crazy people on the dance-floor(including me),some head banging, some boozing and others smoking desperately as if doomsday were to occur the next day. People grooving to the thumping music, the DJ in tandem with the people and there was a sudden surge of energy inside me which awoke the ME I’d never seen. Soon my friends were on the mini dance floor (although its pretty small compared to others). 


From then on it was just DANCE

Though I’m not a dance person, I was dragged and compelled to shake my shyness on the floor. Although not all of them were pros, they would just improvise some kind of catchy step (some were really awkward positions) and shed all their inhibitions and just dance. The atmosphere was electrifying; DJ playing all the latest tracks along with his scratched version really put us into a party mood. Some of them were wasted and laid on the mat beside the floor. I was either just trying to keep up with the newly improvised dance moves or just shouting and jumping up and down like the rest of them. It also offers a free complimentary shot to everyone in the club with a valid pass, unfortunately I’d already given to a greedy friend of mine (still regret that decision I made). Thinking that the shot would be strong, one of my friends gulped the whole thing down but in vain so he bought another one and tried to do the same with hilarious results. A sight to behold!!There were many guys who were trying to woo girls but the ruse used by them was futile I guess.

I lost track of time and so did others! And before I could again regain my lost innocence which was lingering somewhere near the threshold waiting for me. Something unimaginable happened. The cops arrived. I tried to coax them that they’d had forgotten to seal me but those stubborn cops paid no attention. I had already devised a cunning plan out of this, so I asked the cop who was interrogating me to let me take a leak. He also sent a constable behind me who’d wait near the washroom. I knew the other guy would realize that the cop had an itching palm and make his way out. So I asked one of my friends to shoot the whole video from a distance in case i get caught. No sooner had I come there they’d began to negotiate. The cop demanded 25k but the dealer grimaced and showed his disapproval. He tried to make his countenance child-like with puppy dog eyes and his dimple. He’d almost hypnotized the cop, but this guy was a mule.  He somehow agreed to it though it would burn a big hole in his pocket he just wanted his way out! He looked at me and gave one of his most appealing, albeit cunning smile. I was flustered. I just looked at my friend and cued at him. He asked for 10k keeping in mind I was a college boy…

I tried to dilly-dally with him and forced a tear out. I asked him how I would have so much of money; perhaps he mistook me for spoilt brat with notes of money hanging out of his Levis jeans pant! Then he looked at the other guy, promptly he removed a bundle of 20 crisp notes and handed over to him. I again looked at him to ensure he wouldn’t miss it. He was escorted out but I was shamefully taken to the station!

Disgrace!!!

My poor father was called for; he came immediately and was in for the shock of his life. I was put inside the prison. As soon as he came he was looking askance probably questioning the credibility of his son. I was completely shattered seeing my dad’s eyes. Though I wanted to tell me it was no fault of mine he was in no mood. He bailed me out. My name was recorded for illegal possession of dope!

“V for Vengeance”!!!

Meanwhile my friends had told the whole story to mom and she was quite happy to hear it. Though Dad didn’t support the idea of giving the video to the media, mom was bent upon. Reached the local media news centre and told them about the trauma as well as the growing evil inside our society. Within an hour I was in the news giving testimony that I had been wrongly punished meanwhile the video was going viral. He was suspended from the police force (but only for a few months or weeks. Courtesy: corruption)

Coming back to the experience, it was a good one except for the cop part. But in reality this is what happens. But I had a sense of feeling that I had done my bit to root out corruption .Though it is a herculean task it is possible in the coming future provided we also do our bit!!!

PS: This is fictional blog which is inspired by a few shots  of  reality!!!

The chaotic Indian Bus

Though i have considered traveling in buses a pain in the neck, it is an essential and effective means of transportation for millions of people living in India. Let me just try to give you a picture of what happens in a regular bus plying in Bangalore.

I had to go to my schools yearly alumni function, which was the only way besides facebook and other social networking sites I could keep in touch with my friends. And I was running late, to add insult to injury my bikes battery had drained out. I was just mouthing my mother’s sentence,” You’re an irresponsible boy!”

Ran towards the bus stand to catch a bus and “Phooh!!!” , not a bus to be found. Kept waiting and waiting and waiting and finally I see a red color bus. At last!

The bus approached me and just zoomed past me. Cuss words brimming near my mouth. And then I was told that it was a city bus and it never stops except for major

bus stops. My patience was wearing out and then at last I heard screeching noise of the buses brake pads. Thank God!

Suddenly from nowhere there was an influx of  people and they just rushed inside the bus with no respect in their minds. I was left all alone and some concerned old man gave his hand ushering me inside the crowded bus. Each stop I had to get down leave some space for the other passengers to exit the bus and then I again had to run and catch my precious place. Slowly and slowly went to the inside of the monster machine and got myself a seat. Then the entry of the corrupted conductor. Young man with unshaved beard, looks of a gangster and pale brown teeth, comes beside me and asks for the ticket. I told that I haven’t received it yet. He asked me, “where to?” I told him the place and he asked me 22 rupees. I gave the required amount and he disappeared into the long queue of people. Though I travel rarely in the bus, I knew I had to take the ticket but this time I had forgotten and kindly the conductor also kept the money in his dishonest pocket of people’s hard earned money. The bus was overfull and people were precariously swinging outside the bus without any slight hint of cowardice.Hero’s?

The bus was stuffy and stinking. I really don’t know how people snore and sleep inside such an environment. This picture describes quintessential India. There are people from all walks of life who travel by buses. From the roadside bajjiwala to the bank manager, from students to teachers, from painters to beggers. All these people have one thing common.?????? The ubiquitous mobile phone  

Loud music blasting through their tiny phone. I feel like snatching their so-called music device and smashing it on the ground, without knowing what the consequences would be?? Proabably get a few thumpings from an unknown man!.Either they are listening or messaging. Poor people what would they do without that? Sleep in the bus when you suddenly get up as if waking from a bad smelly dream only to realize the one in front of you has just passed a bad air?? Or listen or text someone close to your heart trying to ignore the smelly effect.

I saw an old man, holding the support which keeps hanging below the roof of the bus. Felt sorry for the man and offered him my seat. He thanked me and sat on it .then suddenly the driver applied brakes and just like how a well arranged Dominos cards fall when one of them is slightly pushed, people just started to fall on each other, jostling one and another. Some people injuring themselves a little bit.

Saw my watch it was already 15 minutes to four. Then a middle aged man entered the bus with a electronic device in his hand. And then he demanded everybody to show their ticket. Heart in my mouth!

When it was my chance I frankly replied I don’t have the ticket and the conductor had not given it. Then it struck my mind that I had forgotten to ask him. Meanwhile the this person who was collecting the tickets was pestering me to give it. “From where will I give” I ejaculated. He nonchalantly asked me to give a penalty of 500 bucks!!!

I was taken aback I tried to reason with him but he gave a big “No”. Then I slowly tried to get the conductor to the picture when I saw him hide behind an old lady. He was trying to get away. He almost came to fight with swearing words in his mouth  but I told him that either we both pay or none. Then we came to terms with each other.

The ticket collector said pay a fine of 500 or just pay me 300 and get away. I asked 300 for what? Then he gave wry smile and I understood. I behaved as a responsible citizen and gave a piece of my mind saying a few things about corruption. I also went to extent of telling him that I would go RTI (right to information). He slowly mellowed down and I asked for the receipt for the fine I paid.

Got down at the venue only to realize that it was empty, called a few of my friends to enquire and all of them say its tomorrow!!!

Oh my God, not again the bus!

(this is my first blog, so ignore all the mistakes i've committed)