What do I see when I am walking back to save money for the daily rickshaw rides to home... I see a lot... I see that I can spend some time exercising, I see that I get to enjoy some evening time in the beautiful university... I see that I get to finally engage with my city and the people... I see that even though Rs. 20 is not a lot for a day but if I save it for every working day in an year, it definitely can make a lot of my small dreams happen... I see these and I see a lot more...
What do I see when I am taking a rickshaw back home to save time and energy... I see that I can reach home early and help my parents around the house... I see that I can try and run to the market to finish some chores... I see that I can find that 5 minutes in my life for a close someone who I have not been able to speak to even though it may just be saying "hi" ... I see that I can save energy so I can do something at home and not just nothing... I see that money is sometimes a trade-off over time .. Time which may be well spent with special people in my life... Time which may be spent on working on developing my capacities... Time that may even be spent resting because I am human...
So what do I see ... I see a half full glass this way or that and I choose what may help me balance out my life in the best way... Because all these are investments into my life.
Friday, March 1, 2013
Monday, November 19, 2012
Diwali in Kamla Nagar
A riot of colour everywhere, LED lights strung from pole to pole form a bright, colourful awning for all the important streets of Kamla Nagar with other welcoming paper, plastic decorations hanging individually by shops. Seasonal Diwali hawkers cover the roads with their wares, the rang walas, diya walas, candle sellers, firecracker sellers, diwali paper decorations' hawkers, flower sellers, mehndi walas and many more.... No need to shout, to call out to people, with plenty wanting to buy and plenty on sale. Surprisingly, one sees less of vehicular traffic and a lot of pedestrian traffic on the roads. Those few days in an year when you finally get to have the roads almost all to yourself and other fellow travelers on legs. Full parking spots form a natural divide between the pavements and the road. You will find pavements empty except where people are bustling in or around shops. You fall in love with the ambience created to woo shoppers, setting the note for beginning festivities.
Once you go beyond the colour, the light, the jazz, you wonder how a lot of things on show happened. How and when the holes were dug up in roads to accommodate poles used to strung the lights? Where did the electricity for all of this come from? Is it an out an out stealing electricity from the electric poles, individual connections being used or is this paid for separately by the market's traders union? Do they even pay despite the huge sales and profit margins that are made? How come the streets are cleaner than most days, who is responsible, is it the MCD working hard, the traders union keeping special checks through the day or an individual effort at attracting customers?
If you go even beyond, you look at how the roads are used, are much more used.... used as part of the seasonal economy, used to make markets beautiful in light of festivities by digging up holes and adding lights, for walking and parking only (almost) instead of vehicular commute. You notice that pavements are hardly used because the parking lots right next to them are full and street hawkers place their wares beyond the vehicles on the road. Hardly used because there are roads to walk and shop on and the pavements afford little space for movement cutting off the shopper on foot from the desired wares. You notice the lights making for a beautiful sky but coming out of electric poles and using up all that electricyt through the day that yuo would crave for on a normal sunny day when you go without power. Not that I am not in favour of lights, but, not in favour of not paying and using what I can get my hands on.
Once you go beyond the colour, the light, the jazz, you wonder how a lot of things on show happened. How and when the holes were dug up in roads to accommodate poles used to strung the lights? Where did the electricity for all of this come from? Is it an out an out stealing electricity from the electric poles, individual connections being used or is this paid for separately by the market's traders union? Do they even pay despite the huge sales and profit margins that are made? How come the streets are cleaner than most days, who is responsible, is it the MCD working hard, the traders union keeping special checks through the day or an individual effort at attracting customers?
If you go even beyond, you look at how the roads are used, are much more used.... used as part of the seasonal economy, used to make markets beautiful in light of festivities by digging up holes and adding lights, for walking and parking only (almost) instead of vehicular commute. You notice that pavements are hardly used because the parking lots right next to them are full and street hawkers place their wares beyond the vehicles on the road. Hardly used because there are roads to walk and shop on and the pavements afford little space for movement cutting off the shopper on foot from the desired wares. You notice the lights making for a beautiful sky but coming out of electric poles and using up all that electricyt through the day that yuo would crave for on a normal sunny day when you go without power. Not that I am not in favour of lights, but, not in favour of not paying and using what I can get my hands on.
My Virtual City Observatory...
Things we see, small they may be, make us ask questions, make us wonder why and sometimes how....
- Sewage drains are placed without conforming to the larger layout and vice versa such that they end up in the middle of the road or pavement or right next to a shop making it painful for all the users.
- Pre, during and post monsoon disease control (malaria) rounds by the Delhi municipality officials to institutions and houses does not include a visit to their own offices to make sure blocked sewage and storm water drains, garbage dump sites and 2 inches deep drains collecting dirty water are also cleaned up.
- Some of the designated garbage dump sites do not even have a picket fence to make sure that dogs and cows don't drag the garbage out.
- The Pilots of Goa are so unique to the cities in Goa and so much a part of the citizen's lives. Surprisingly, one wouldn't find them in any other state and if they were to be introduced would they last this long?
- The planned cities with all their grid/radial/mixed layouts will accommodate any space for animals in the city. Does this make us exclusive, looking out to a certain extent only for humans and not the other living creatures?
- If the ghats and hills and mountains in our cities are cut down to make golf courses, for extracting building materials, terrace farming and making space for grand houses and hotels then would we eventually end up not enjoying that what is so unique about the area.
- We have streetlights in the center of the road that light up the roads beautifully and why in other cases they are hidden under trees on the sides. Is this a problem of wiring and electric lines or funds or just a matter of priorities and lack of interest?
- The Bandra staion in Mumbai is a labyrinth of skywalks and foot over bridges in the railway station and though not appealing to the eye is probably most helpful to the pedestrian traffic in perpetual hurry not having to fight against the vehicular traffic for a certain stretch.
- All transformers I have seen in Sadasvhivanagar and New Bel Road in Bangalore keep sparking away and burst regularly. Is it a visual show of how inadequate the supply-demand situation for electricity exists or a matter of poor built infrastructure?
- Sewage drains can be 2+ inches below the road/pavement level becoming speed-breakers to road and foot traffic. Was it planned on purpose?
Monday, March 19, 2012
My Talking Notepad or Notebook!!!
Note: Please read with agitation, the author has written in the moment of the occurrence of the event.
Sometimes I feel I should have had a notepad to spit all the thoughts that came rushing like the whirlwind into my mind... times like me walking in the metro station with people who JUST DON'T MOVE!... obviously unaware and unconcerned with my habitual lateness and necessity to rush... and I as impatient as ever and never at fault, calling them nincompoops and imbeciles and ordering away with raised voices in my head... Sometimes and just sometimes voicing it out loud and hastily making sure i wasn't wrong in doing so :p.... Oh! I SOOO wish I had a talking notepad shouting, throwing sarcastic comments at useless people on my behalf and me looking confused and then suitably apologetic for my talking notepad/book who not unlike a talking parrot had a mind of its own and couldn’t control it’s impulses when it came to crowds..... of course gleefully (guilty pleasure aaahhhh!!!) enjoying the entire conversation on the side....
My talking notepad or notebook …. which wouldn’t mind me being confused at this stage with what i want to call it …. would come to my rescue when I give away my seat to an old lady whose daughters stamp on my feet, push me away seemingly unaware of my good deed and presence where i stand right next to them and manage to push me again to a distant pole just to be safe from such crass, disrespectful, black sheep of the female species (for lack of choice of using dirty words) …... which mind you I am trying hard not to use in my mind as well.... coming back to the point... would help me by yelling at them and telling them what i really think …. STEALER of my seat (this is in reference to the second seat, which they grabbed from me by pushing me away AGAIN!!!) and couldn’t even bother to acknowledge my presence... oh its not the seat that i grieve but the big stamping and romping of my right to stand and pushing me around while being so self absorbed in their bitching of other’s footwear and need for pedicure..... aarrrghhhh!!! now I could really grab their fat, piggy necks and chortle them ….. or better still just wash my hands of this violence and let my talking notepad takeover heheheheh ;)..... Now wouldn’t that be nice!!! … So now you know one of the many reasons why I may or any person in the right mind who wouldn’t care to make a scene but get tempted to teach some insensitive cad a lesson would love to have it :)
Disclaimer: The author is not prone to physical violence, but impulsive moments of mental outbursts only!!
Sometimes I feel I should have had a notepad to spit all the thoughts that came rushing like the whirlwind into my mind... times like me walking in the metro station with people who JUST DON'T MOVE!... obviously unaware and unconcerned with my habitual lateness and necessity to rush... and I as impatient as ever and never at fault, calling them nincompoops and imbeciles and ordering away with raised voices in my head... Sometimes and just sometimes voicing it out loud and hastily making sure i wasn't wrong in doing so :p.... Oh! I SOOO wish I had a talking notepad shouting, throwing sarcastic comments at useless people on my behalf and me looking confused and then suitably apologetic for my talking notepad/book who not unlike a talking parrot had a mind of its own and couldn’t control it’s impulses when it came to crowds..... of course gleefully (guilty pleasure aaahhhh!!!) enjoying the entire conversation on the side....
My talking notepad or notebook …. which wouldn’t mind me being confused at this stage with what i want to call it …. would come to my rescue when I give away my seat to an old lady whose daughters stamp on my feet, push me away seemingly unaware of my good deed and presence where i stand right next to them and manage to push me again to a distant pole just to be safe from such crass, disrespectful, black sheep of the female species (for lack of choice of using dirty words) …... which mind you I am trying hard not to use in my mind as well.... coming back to the point... would help me by yelling at them and telling them what i really think …. STEALER of my seat (this is in reference to the second seat, which they grabbed from me by pushing me away AGAIN!!!) and couldn’t even bother to acknowledge my presence... oh its not the seat that i grieve but the big stamping and romping of my right to stand and pushing me around while being so self absorbed in their bitching of other’s footwear and need for pedicure..... aarrrghhhh!!! now I could really grab their fat, piggy necks and chortle them ….. or better still just wash my hands of this violence and let my talking notepad takeover heheheheh ;)..... Now wouldn’t that be nice!!! … So now you know one of the many reasons why I may or any person in the right mind who wouldn’t care to make a scene but get tempted to teach some insensitive cad a lesson would love to have it :)
Disclaimer: The author is not prone to physical violence, but impulsive moments of mental outbursts only!!
Friday, August 21, 2009
the mind
Our mind has a clock of its own... sometimes its happy, sometimes its sad... sometimes its thinking and hungry for more to do and sometimes it refuses to budge...
A clock with its own seasons and a definition of day and night...
We try and we try... to control what we can and we think we have but, that doesnt mean it isnt letting you think that you have .... a control.....
All the vibes, the subconscious responses/thoughts are building in and you will never have a clue till it decides what it wants to reveals..
A clock with its own seasons and a definition of day and night...
We try and we try... to control what we can and we think we have but, that doesnt mean it isnt letting you think that you have .... a control.....
All the vibes, the subconscious responses/thoughts are building in and you will never have a clue till it decides what it wants to reveals..
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