Nothing else to do ...

Woke up at around 3:00 PM. Yeah, it is kind of a weird time to wake up but with the sudden demise of Dr.Rajkumar, who apparently seemed to refuse to go alone even in his death, warranting another 6 lives along with his, bringing huge losses in a day, there wasnt much to do other than catch up on the sleep missed all these months. Well, you think I shouldnt blame him but the hooligans who find a reason to cause a furore, yes, probably, but you see I'm opinionated too. Waking up, I had this sudden urge to see what he did to Bangalore.

I drove through the deserted roads. I have never seen Bangalore like this, calm, empty and deserted with a sheet of laziness enveloping the entire garden city. I wondered probably this is how life would have been in this city before the here-now-gone-tomorrow world of software spread its evil wings on this innocent city engulfing all the ignorance and the beauty of the bygone pensioner's paradise. Life, then would have started slowly as it dawned, the school children waiting for their buses in their bright red sweaters, the retired personnels catching up with each other in the numerous parks scattered around this city, oblivious to the hustle and bustle at the same time in the metro cities of yesteryear Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. Life, then would have been a bliss in the serene, lovely atmosphere carrying the pollens of the huge varieties of the flowers spreading their radiance in all parts of this city. I grew up in a metro. That probably is the reason why I'm a sucker for a peaceful, lazy life style that is so characteristic of the hills. Here and there, there were couple of guys taking a stroll and couples catching up with their partners on the emptied steps of the shopping malls. I dropped into my friend's place and three of us decided to go out in search of some tea - yeah, the same old chai that is served half glass with the rest of the glass with frothy bubbles and cleaned in the same unclean water over and over again, made in those tiny little hamlets that serve as the hot spot for those youth weaving a dreamy future through those carefully practised smoke rings. How long it has been since I sat on one of those benches, along with my college friends yapping up away incessantly - sometimes about what we would be and mostly, just about the girls who pass by arguing over who looked more callypgian. We walked down the road along the closed shops. Wonder how many actually wanted to close their shops and how many lives were affected this day - because another life on this earth ended his lease. Reminds me that Bangalore can probably never catch up with the likes of chennai where even amidst a organised bandh, most of the shops would be open right when the clock stuck 6:00 PM. Guess, the influence of the past,a characteristic laziness is quite prevalent in the people of Bangalore. No I do not mean the young, brash, ambitious floating population that is characteristic of the present Bangalore, with all their designer clothes and bikes. But, for example, the auto drivers. In chennai, I could get an auto to even the next street if you know what I mean. People are always ready to work hard and make their money while in Bangalore, I spent an evening asking 27 autos in all to take me from Bannerghatta Road to Koranmangala 6th block. Most of the autostands, they would be ready to laze their bums gossiping about the whole world, yet would not move an inch unless they are sure they can make atleast an 100Rs / trip. Well, I think, this city is kind of confused losing its old world charm to the new world make over, unsure of where it is headed to. Is it just the city?