First Impressions - Bengaluru

Staying in Banglore for some days now, the one word that comes to my mind to describe this city - Leisure! May be the hard core Bangloreans would disagree but being a new entrant I really think people have lot of time in this city. The best justification for my observation would be the houses here. Most of them are independent houses and are huge....I have been to quite some places in almost a week...People here really seem to put a lot of thought into building their dream-homes, if I can call them that. Most often than not I see a new idea implemented with respect to some aspect of the house; be it the main gate, the sidewalk in the garden, etc. Coming from Mumbai, where the only houses are flats and with rates that burn your pockets this is indeed a welcome change. Pune too boasts of some areas with great bungalows but the frequency is definitely less than Banglore.

Another beautiful aspect of the city is its climate. The climate is wonderful and for a person who prefers a cooler environment this is heaven. And another impressive thing out here is that many locals can converse fluently in English. Thanks to the IT sector I guess!

But as a newcomer my top 3 glitches would be-
1) I miss not knowing the local language. All my life I was in places where I was good with the local language. Sometimes when my questions draw a blank stare I feel so lost and bad too.
2) Multiplexes are oh-so-costly. After the bad reviews for Cars 2 I didn’t dare go watch it . They should atleast drop the prices for the morning shows for stingy movie buffs like me
4) Local Trains - If you are from Mumbai you have to miss the railways yaar!

But I think the glitches are too minor and once I become the proverbial Roman in the city of Rome they would cease to exist. Cheers to that!

Etiquettes anyone?

I was travelling to Nasik in a semi luxury bus and long bus rides are something that I do not really look forward to, unless absolutely necessary. Anyway, this time I had decided to make the most of my journey and had equipped myself with some movies. My journey started and so did the first movie on my laptop. I was watching Omen - yeah the old one. "Mi pahila tar chalel na (Would you mind me watching?)" - the man sitting next to me asked. He was a villager dressed in the typical attire of white dhoti and a semi white kurta. "Mala sanagamner la utraycha aahe. laambcha prawas, tevdha picture baghitla ki kalnar nahin...chalel ka?" (I have to travel far and watching the movie would be a good timepass). I hate intruders in my book reading or movie watching sessions but the man had so earnestly asked me that I could not refuse him. "Pan tumhala sound aiku nahin yenar......", i told him showing him my headphones. He retorted, "Vanda nahin.....aamhi faqt picture baghu..."(No probs, I will just watch the movie). I was wondering how he could enjoy without the sound but I just it let it be because I didn't really have a choice. A few hours into the movie and I got bored, so I decided to change the movie. As i was about to start another one, I suddenly remembered that someone else was watching it too.....I looked at him and he signed me to go ahead and change the movie. This time I started “To kill a mocking bird" (Yeah i was in mood for some oldies).......I loved the movie and was completely immersed in it when suddenly I felt the nudge. I looked at my co-passenger and he was smiling. I put down my headphones and he said..... "Aaala sangamner...picture baghta baghta kevha aala kalalach nahin bagha.....dhanyawaad tai". (My stop has come, thanks for the movie sister). Saying so, he got down.

I kept looking at him. All through my journey I had not given him a second glance. Yet while getting down he had the etiquette to thank me.......and thank me for what...an english movie that he watched without the sound. I smiled........we spend a fortune trying to teach and learn etiquettes from our elite schools...and I wonder if we really do learn anything.