Back to Bangalore..

I'm back in Bangalore. The new airport is nice. So are the roads leading to it. The facilities are good too. I landed at 4 am last Thursday and spent an hour outside the airport enjoying the amazing coolness of Bangalore. Reminded me of the original Bangalore which was relatively pollution free around 7-8 years back before the congestion epidemic struck. The taxi driver was a jolly fellow. He took me to be a new visitor and I didn't bother correcting him. He was animatedly chatting about the city and it's sights & sounds. I gave him a good tip.

The journey was nice. I left Riyadh and reached Sharjah for a journey break where my friend Robinson joined me en route to Bangalore. I shopped a bit in the duty free. Air Arabia is a budget airline and you have to spend for everything from water, headphones, newspaper to meals and other items taken for granted on other airlines. It's a nice experience. Something out of the usual. But yeah, you save the money.

I have an anecdote that happened on the way to share. In Sharjah airport I purchased a $10 telephone card to talk with my parents and other friends. I was waiting in the line to make calls when an old lady walked up to me and asked if I could help her make one local call to her son who was apparently outside the airport. She was a 60 something Indian lady. I said fine and asked for her calling card. She didn't have one and asked if she could use mine. I said okay and she handed me her son's number and I dialled. I gave her the phone and she spoke happily announcing that she had reached Sharjah and would be out soon. She hung up. Then she asked if she could make another call to her other son back in India. I kept a straight face and asked for the number. This time she started crying and I figured out that this was her first trip aboard and away from her younger son who was in India. She had come to Dubai to stay with her elder son for a few months. I felt sad for her. To give her some privacy I walked away to take a short stroll around the airport. I came back after about 2-3 mins hoping she had hung up and I could make at least one call. But she was still on. I glanced at the credit getting deducted at every pulse. There was about $4 left. I sighed to myself and went away to sit in the waiting lounge. After a while the old woman came up to me with my card and handed it back. She thanked and blessed me. She went towards the immigration and was soon lost among the milling crowds associated with a airport. I sighed and smiled to myself. Meanwhile I walked to the phone booth and inserted my card. The credit left was $10. I was speechless. She had bought a new card for me.

Old School Again..

Friday evening was a memorable one. First of all there was a re-union between old friends Asim, Malik, Gaurav & me. We were driving around the locality looking for a pool parlor where we could spend time when we passed by our school. We were surprised to find it open with all the teachers milling around. We stopped and entered to find out what's going on.

Stepping in after 4 and a half years brought back a flood of memories. Sweet, unpleasant, fun, bitter etc all kinds of memories. We were told that it was the reporting day for the teachers after the summer vacation and hence the all out presence of teachers. It felt great to be back in the place where it all started. Some teachers recognised us immediately while others needed reminders. It was pleasure and smiles on both sides. From the principal to the school attender we met everyone and were busy telling them what we did after leaving school. Taking a walk around in to the auditorium, basketball court, football field, canteen, corridors etc it was reliving it all. It felt like yesterday that we had walked out. Remembering things that happened in the classroom, the classes that we bunked, the fights that we picked up, the games that we played etc it was all coming back. Funny how visiting a place can bring back memories we tend not to remember on any other day..

We left after meeting everyone and relishing the fact that yes, we spent one of the best days of our childhood in a place called school.

When little brother becomes big

I spent the last 4 days in the absence of my parents at home with my younger brother, Khalid. My parents were away in Jeddah and Makkah for the lesser pilgrimage called Um'rah. While they were away, the resonsibility rested on us to run the house. The daily chores included not only cooking and washing up but holding the fort tight responsibly. I thought being an elder brother by 3 years I would be in charge. But a transition had taken place. My 'little' brother had grown up. He took care of everything and treated me like a VIP (at times I can behave like one too!) and also made the most tasty tuna I've probably ever had. He washed the dishes and made the beds. He laid the table and filled up the jugs. I couldn't believe it. That's because my kid brother was never so responsible.

Except for listening to a few chores for mom he was so spoilt and careless. But being away from home I had failed to connect with him over our short vacation meets. And meanwhile he had changed becoming more responsible. Suddenly he was no more the kiddo I knew. There was a hint of maturity slowly being etched. I was proud.

Child Poverty- Sabiha Syed

The following article was written by my cousin Sabiha from Cambridge, Canada as part of her school project. I love it not because it was written by a 13 year old but because the message sent across is in plain simple words and at the same time it's so expressive. Good job, Sabiha.

Child Poverty

Child poverty is one of the biggest issues in the world today. Children from all around the world are living on the street and eating from garbage dumps. Many kids walk on the street with little or no cloths at all. They work in factories or as servants to help there family earn money. Some children are living with AIDS and other diseases; they can’t get help because they can’t afford a doctor. Every second of their life is in danger! Every minute, around 10 children die due to poverty. That is why we need to help them.

There are many things that the government can do, like 2% of the taxes will go to stop child poverty. Something parents can do is sponsor a child. There are many organizations that let you sponsor a child like World Vision. Even though it doesn’t seem like a lot for us, it is for those kids.

We can also do a lot in school like have a food drive every month. We could also have a donation box where we can donate old cloths, toys and other items. We could also collect pennies from students, if every student gave one penny the in 1 day we would have collected forty dollars! We could also make backpacks in which we would put school supplies and send it to Africa, India and other countries where child poverty is common. If we start at our school, other schools would start to follow. And soon before you know it, all the schools in Canada would be doing what we started. And soon, hopefully we can decrease the amount of kids who are suffering from child poverty.

Children shouldn’t have to live like this. They should be able to live a life like us. While we are here moaning because we didn’t get the latest i-Pod, or latest car, they are grateful that they found a slice of pizza or half a burger. They don’t care if it was from the dump or stepped on. As long as they have food they are happy. While we are here sleeping in our comfortable beds, they are there on the streets trying to sleep. And when they wake up they go looking for some way to earn money but as they do that, we are at school wishing we didn’t have to go. But these kids would do anything to go to school! We should consider us lucky; we have so much while they have so little.

If we take the stand, others will follow. And soon, if god wills child poverty will stop. And every child will live a life like us, they wouldn’t have to eat food from the garbage or sleep on the streets! If we all try, this dream can be fulfilled. It’s not impossible!!! We can change the world, we can make a difference!!!

Hi there!

The going is good. By the Almighty's grace everything is on track. I'm working on something that is very close to my heart. When the right time comes, the cat will be out of the bag! I'm having a good time by the Almighty's mercy here in Riyadh. Meeting old friends, catching up on old times, enjoying good food and making sure Ramadan is not wasted. The fasts have rejuvenated me and I feel a lot better and refreshed. My migraine is under control too. I started working out too. I mean finally, yes I did! Those who know me might scoff but folks the gym beckons! Just thinking about the gym feels good. I hope I'm not lazy when I go back. Another few days and back to India. Talking about India, it reminds me of last week's blasts. My deepest curses as usual for the people who carried it out. Terror has no religion. The sooner people understand this the better it will help in bridging the gaps between different faiths. Now where am I going? I'm just too good at getting carried away. Or drift away.. Hmmm.. My friends say I write well but appear dumb. My previous post was commented on. Interesting I should say.. Makes me think actually. I'm dumb? Wow.. Maybe.. I've become rather very temperamental these days.. Like a smoking volcano which might erupt one fine day. The very thought makes me smile now. :)

I guess i should be going.. And sleeping. It's 8 in the morning and I haven't slept all night! Yawn yawn.. Cheers and a happy week ahead..

Departure, Stopover and Home.

I'm back home after 11 months. Back to where it feels just perfect. Riyadh is special to me in a lot of ways. I cherish my time spent here and everything about this city is so fresh in my head. Like time always stood for me between my visits. They're basically two kinds of cities. One, that change so much that you can't recognise them on your next arrival and the other is the kind that stands still and almost nothing changes with time. Riyadh falls in the latter category. I love this city. Simply for the sheer fact that nothing ever changes here. It always feels the same. Home sweet home.

I left Bangalore on 4th early morning and reached Sharjah the same day for my 2 day break. Had a great time in Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman etc. It was a road trip basically. The ones that happen when boys get together after ages. Met friends there and had a good time. They made sure every minute I spent in UAE was worth it. And it was.

After the fun I boarded a plane to Riyadh and arrived here in midst of summer. That's one thing about the middle east countries. The heat. You've to learn to live with it. There's no alternative. Sleep deprived, suffering from jet lag and body craving for rest, I hit the sack soon after reaching home from the airport. 14 hours and finally I felt at peace. I was home. I smiled in my dreams too.

The Wedding

Starting of this month there was a wedding in the house. My favorite uncle got married (Prior to his wedding, I never called him an uncle, but now yeah, officially he is). It was a fun-filled affair with everyone flying in to Bangalore to attend the marriage. My parents came down as well from Riyadh. Each one of the family members had a very good time and by the Almighty's grace the whole wedding event was a success on a grand scale. The youth of the family and the kids in particular had a lot of fun. For quite a few of us, attending an Indian wedding was a first. Being a part of it from the beginning to the end was quite an experience. Personally for me, I don't remember being so involved in a wedding and having fun. In midst of all this, we moved in to our new house. Mom & Dad were busy with the furnishings of the apartment initially. Later on I moved in with them from my aunt's place. And yeah, we bought a car too. 2 weeks after the wedding, my Dad went back to Riyadh. Within a week, my younger brother joined Mom & me. Right now, whoever had come from abroad is leaving Bangalore as the vacation days are coming to an end. Currently the newly-weds are honeymooning in Malaysia. They've gone away for a week. Right now am back at work but planning to leave India by the beginning of the next month to Riyadh alongwith Mom and brother so basically will be quitting work by next month. Had enough of the Hooker company! Cheers!

Rain, Rain, Rain & more Rain!

Bangalore is experiencing these pre-monsoon showers. We're fine with it. It's cats and dogs basically but nevertheless it's lovely weather. Work is going good. There is an IPLT20 cricket match happening in the city today and am praying we thrash the Mumbai team. But then it's pouring here. It's a beautiful evening apt for a match, minus the rain.

There is a wedding in the family coming up and everyone is basically gearing up for it. Relatives are landing from all over and more of them expected till the D day. It's a fun-filled atmosphere at home and the carnival has been titled as the 'Big Fat Indian Wedding'! It'll take place in the first week of July and everyone is hoping the heavens will spare us some rain-free moments.

When it rains, all you think about is rain. You see water everywhere and end up talking about rain, rain & rain! That's exactly what's happening with me. I don't feel like working right now. The weather outside is so great that I wish I could simply hop onto my bike and zoom away in the drizzle riding aimlessly without a destination. I do this often. It's fun.

Weekend!

Finally! Weekend's round the corner and you can actually feel it. Know what I mean? The feeling of holidays. Why am I so excited? Because they declared saturday as an off too! I get two days off. Ah! It feels so good to talk about offs. I had a good last week. Dad was in town and I had a good time with him. I shopped a little as well. It's election day tomorrow and the state of Karnataka votes to choose their government. That's why the off.

Drifting away..

It's actually like the Boulevard of Broken Dreams. Whatever Green Day wanted to imply in the song, you feel the same rushing through you. Maybe that's why people make blogs. To write regularly when it's new and then just forget it because they're too tied up with things later on. It's been one brilliant ride. I mean the last couple of months flew as if it were just a couple of routine weeks. I guess finally am a part of what I always detested. The rat race. Thats why the Green Day song. It gets on to you. But you learn to live with it. Basically you adjust. Compromise. I don't know why am lamenting about this. I mean I don't compromise anything. Period. But somewhere deep down inside I guess I'm guilty of doing it. But I wish I could realize what it is.

Where am I?

I often ask myself, Where am I?
What I see, is it the truth or a lie?

Walking down with the milling crowd;
With everything around me so noisy and loud..

I don't know where things are heading;
I got no clue so just end up waiting..

The horizon ahead offers a glimmer of hope;
But right now, with reality am trying to cope..

I often ask myself, Where am I?
What I see, is it the truth or a lie?

The answer maybe is inside me;
At the right time, I'll break free..

And things will fall into place soon;
After which I can finally swoon..

Why are we so dependant?

These days, thanks to so many social networking websites on the Internet, we seem to lose our privacy. Simply for a fact that we are giving away too much of ourselves which is not required. Sites like facebook, orkut, myspace, hi5 etc not only compel us to list down everything about us in detail but also make us follow them religiously. Something that even I give in ardently. A bane of modern technology. Like our dependence on a mobile phone. Can't sleep, talk, eat, move or dream without one! But the fact remains. We're dependant. One dreads the possibility of switching off completely even for a short while. The prospect of not keeping in touch or being disconnected frightens us all. Devices, mediums and technologies relatively unheard of in the recent past are as good as the oxygen cylinders on a heart patient under-going a surgery for us. Do we call this addiction or dependence?

I came across the following article on the internet regarding the same:

Two children are learning to live without their mobile phones after becoming so badly addicted to the technology they were admitted to a mental health clinic.
They were brought in after spending an average of six hours a day on their phones, talking, texting or playing games.
Their parents became concerned that the children, aged 12 and 13, were unable to carry out normal activities without their handsets. They were failing at school and deceiving relatives in an attempt to obtain more money for phone cards.
However, it may take a year to wean them off the “drug”, said Dr Maite Utgès, director of the Child and Youth Mental Health Centre in Lleida, north-east Spain, where they have been treated for the past three months.
“It is the first time we have used a specific treatment to cure a dependence on the mobile phone,” she said. “They both showed disturbed behaviour and this exhibited itself in failure at school. They both had serious difficulties leading normal lives.”
Both children had had their own phones for 18 months and were not controlled by their parents.
“One paid for their phone by getting money from the grandmother and other family members, without explaining what they were going to do with it,” said Dr Utgès.
At least two cases of phone addiction have been reported in Britain where young people who were obsessed with their phones and became depressed when the number of incoming calls or messages dropped.

Case of abuse? Hope none of us comes even close to this! Cheers and happy keeping in touch.

Memoirs

I still remember it too well. Almost 4 years back, I landed in Bangalore for my further studies. The transition from Riyadh to this city was anything but smooth. It was always, and maybe still is, the process of settling down and getting used to things you never came across before. From the mindset, attitudes and thinking of people to the most basic and common things everything was a world apart here. Basic necessities taken for granted elsewhere in the world are considered a luxury in India. And the sad part, if you look a bit out of place you're bound to be taken an advantage of. These are the norms of this place. You need to be fast in India. The sooner you learn and grasp things the better. It's not that this place is totally uncivilised. It's just that when you spend 17 years of your life in a country like Saudi Arabia, where by the Almighty's grace everything is available to you all the time, you tend to get a bit spoiled. A few of these things deemed as necessary, are taken as luxury or waste of money in India. It was big culture shock for me. Every year whenever we came for short vacations to India, time just flew. But this was different. I was coming here to live and study. I had to make an effort to change. But the thing is, I've adjusted no doubt. 4 years is ample time. But adjusting is not the same as accepting. Accepting in the sense, being okay about it.

For instance, once I took an auto rickshaw to reach home. The meter came up to 90 bucks. I had no clue about the roads and basically I've a bad sense of direction. After a few days when I took another auto, the meter came up to just 40 bucks for the same distance! Auto drivers are smart at recognizing people who don't belong to the city and take longer routes to make more money. Bottom-line they cheat anyone who's new. I had similar instances in the days to come whether it was buying something from a shop or simply making a call from a phone booth. Eventually, time played its part and thankfully for myself I started becoming wiser. Or so I thought. Because it's not just auto drivers or shopkeepers. It's everyone out there trying to get better of you. From your own relatives to so-called friends in college, I was taken for a ride almost all the while. The mistake I was committing was taking everyone for granted that they are the same as me. Most of the times, in a country like India that's often not the case. They say learning the hard way is the best way. Because once you learn, similar situations can be dealt with in a better way. I had my ups and downs all along the way. I lost a couple of mobile phones, cash, got threatened by rowdy elements for getting mixed up into things that I wasn't supposed to and fought off 3 guys who tried mugging me for my phone, cash and watch as I was stupid enough to ride alone on a highway middle of the night. I know I'm careless at times and too vulnerable to have someone outsmart and get the better of me. But I'm learning.

My first year was in hostel. It was like staying in a building with 400-odd guys for company. Now again you make a few friends and enemies as well. Staying with all of them can be a challenge for anyone. They were guys from all types of backgrounds, religions, places etc living under one roof. My room mate was a guy who didn't know English too well. And I couldn't understand his mother tongue. His dad had given me instructions to teach him English and help him with things. Our conversations were fun. It was more of hand gestures! But he was a fast learner and improved his control over the language. Staying in hostel was a new experience for me. There was no mom to around to spoil me. You had to wash your own clothes, clean your room and basically look after yourself. It took a while to adjust but it was worth it. Because it was fun. I wouldn't exactly call it a jail like my other mates did, but yeah freedom restricted. Hostel in-time was 7:00 pm, dinner at 8:00 (If you miss it, you've to sleep hungry for the night) and lights out at 10:30 pm. No music systems allowed and if caught with one it was confiscated. A walkman or an Mp3 player was okay. This was to ensure that none of the guys who were studying were disturbed. Well, you always have these study-friendly-top-of-the-class guys everywhere (they probably constituted a mere 5% but it was enough to impose the restrictions and deadlines on everyone else). We used to get non-vegetarian food twice a week or so. Food was bland (that's why some of us called it a jail) and the whole week's menu was fixed. I lost around 20-22 kgs during that year. Now you can get a clear picture. We had our own fun away from the eyes and ears of the warden. There was a sense of thrill in it all. Once, we were late to hostel by an hour. I and my friends knew we were headed for serious trouble with the warden. We were walking towards the big gates when the food pick-up truck came along. We stopped it and bribed the driver 200 bucks to let us sit in the back so that we could enter and get away unnoticed. The driver agreed! As soon as the truck entered the grounds we got off and mixed up with other students around. I know what we did was probably wrong but end of the day, all's well that ends well. That's another beauty of India. Everyone is looking to make that extra buck. Bribing and getting work done is like the norm of the society. Be nice to someone, smile at him and give him an extra tip for his work and you never know when that person may help you. The first day I arrived in hostel with my uncle. The attendant took my baggage to my room and my uncle paid him 50 bucks for this. At that point of time, I thought it was too much to give him. My uncle's gesture to the attendant that day helped me months later. The same attendant got me out of serious trouble I once had with the warden. We used to celebrate end of exams or a semester with a big party in someone's room. Usually it was my room. Simply because it was on the top most floor and miles away from the warden's office. Outside food was strictly not allowed but we managed to smuggle in pizzas, burgers, KFC, Pepsi etc for many a times. I even had a small tape player with radio which thankfully was never caught. Whenever the authorities came for check-ups and raids, a horde of illegal items always surfaced. But guys in other rooms were smart enough to alert others through text messages and thus everyone would hide whatever was not required to be with them.

I miss those days.

My lunch break

It's one of those times that when you sit down to type and your mind starts wandering about what you should be writing. I'm sitting here on my desk in office with a hot cup of coffee. It's lunch hour and everyone has gone out. The other day one of my friends told me that people who write are usually loners. And also having a blog of your own is a bigger indication that you're one of the loner types. I try not to get perturbed. I like company around me. I see myself as a very socially active person. But they're times when I guess I want to be left alone. Connect with myself. Take a day out, go for a ride or simply walk around with no clue where to go. I switch off my phone those times. Or simply write my blog. That doesn't exactly make me a loner, does it? Writing helps me reflect and pause. Pause and think about where am heading in life. It gives me peace.

These days the highlight of my day usually comes from my inbox! It's the chain emails that are floating around. Someone sends a forward and then you got 40 mails with feedback and comments which just keep getting better! My cousins, aunts, and uncles are crazy! Anyways.. My lunch hour almost up. I need to go back to work now. Maybe next time I can write better. Work drains you off your brains! Cheers!

Me and my Bike

I own an Avenger. This cruiser bike was made by Kawasaki Motors, Japan and further re-tuned and launched on Indian roads under the name, Bajaj Avenger. It's close to 200 cc and I simply love it from the day I laid my hands on it. It's a joy to ride, trust me. Whenever am feeling low and upset about something, I go for a long ride to get myself in focus. The wind against the face is a wonderful feeling. It helps one calm down and reflect on things. Being on a bike on your own is probably the best way to spend time with oneself. The revering up of an engine is the sweetest sound to the ear. It's like adrenaline rushing thru' you.. I just love the feel of that moment.. A car might be comfort (and a luxury in India!) and convenient but then nothing can beat the personal feel of a bike.. Take a ride to know it! Cheers..