ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಮಹಾತ್ಮೆ :-)

ತುಂಬಾ ದಿನದಿಂದ ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಬ್ಲಾಗ್ ಬರೀಬೇಕು ಅನ್ನೋ ಆಸೆ, ಇವತ್ತು ಒಂದು ಚಿಕ್ಕ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದೇನೆ. :-)

ಕೆಲಸಕ್ಕೆ ಸೇರಿ ಹಾಗು ಬೆಂಗಳೂರುಗಿ ಬಂದು 15 ವರುಷ ಆಯಿತು. ಈ 15 ವರುಷದಲ್ಲಿ, ನನ್ನ ಸ್ನೇಹಿತ ವರ್ಗದಲ್ಲಿ more than 75% ಬೇರೆ ದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ವಲಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಅಂದರೆ ಉತ್ಪ್ರೇಕ್ಷೆ ಆಗುವಿದಿಲ್ಲ ಅಂತ ಅನಿಸಿಕೆ. ನನಗೂ ಕೆಲವೊಮ್ಮೆ ಅನ್ನಿಸಿದಿದೆ, ನಾನು ಯಾಕೆ ಹಾಗೆ ಬೇರೆ ದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡಲು ಹಾಗು ಅಲ್ಲೇ settle ಆಗಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಗಲಿಲ್ಲ ಎಂದು. ಹೌದು, ನಮ್ಮ ಬಂದು, ಬಳಗ ಎಲ್ಲ ಇಲ್ಲೇ ಇದ್ದಾರೆ, ಅವರನ್ನ ತುಂಬಾ ದಿನ ಮಿಸ್ ಮಾಡೋದು ಕಷ್ಟ. ಅದು ಒಂದು ಕಾರಣ ಇರಬಹುದು. ಅದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಮಿಗಲಾಗಿ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಪರಿಸರ ಇರಬಹುದಾ ಅಂತ ಒಂದು thought.

ನಾನು ಯಾವುದೇ ದೇಶಕ್ಕೆ (ದೇಶ ಬಿಡಿ, ಬೇರೆ ಊರಿಗೆ) ಹೋದರು, ಮೊದಲು miss ಮಾಡೋದೇ ನಮ್ಮ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಸಾಗರಗಳನ್ನ. "ಶಾಂತಿ ಸಾಗರ", "ಶ್ರೀ ಸಾಗರ", "ನ್ಯೂ ಸಾಗರ", "ಓಲ್ಡ್ ಸಾಗರ", ಸಾಕ ಸಾಗರಗಳ ಪಟ್ಟಿ? ನಾವೆಲ್ಲ ಚಿಕ್ಕವರಾಗಿದ್ದಾಗ "MTR", "ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿ ಭವನ" ಈ ತರಹ ಹೋಟೆಲ್ಗಳ "ಮಸಾಲ ದೋಸೆ", "ಇಡ್ಲಿ ವಡೆ", ಕಾಫಿ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ಕೇಳಿದ್ದುಂಟು. ಹೌದು, ಆಗಿನ ದಿನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಇಷ್ಟು ದೊಡ್ದದಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ, so MTR ಹಾಗು ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿ ಭವನಕ್ಕೆ ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ಹೋಗುವ ಆಸ್ಪದ, ಅವಕಾಶ ಇತ್ತು. ಆದರೆ ಈಗ ಒಂದೊಂದು ಬಡಾವಣೆಯಲ್ಲೂ ಒಂದೊಂದು "ಸಾಗರಗಳು". MTR ಟೇಸ್ಟ್ ಗಿಂತ ಒಂದು ಕೈ ಮಿಗಿಲು. Weekend ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ರಿಕೆಟ್ ಆಡಿದ ಮೇಲೋ, walking ಆದ ಮೇಲೋ ಈ ಸಾಗರಕ್ಕೆ ನುಗ್ಗಿ ಒಂದು ಮಸಾಲೆ ದೋಸೆನೋ, ಇಡ್ಲಿ-ವಡೆನೋ ತಿನ್ನುವ ಮಜಾ ಯಾವ ದೇಶದ ಯಾವ ಊರಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಗತ್ತೆ ಹೇಳಿ ನೋಡೋಣ :-)

ಈ ಹೋಟೆಲ್ ಸಾಗರ ಒಂದು ಕಡೆ ಆದರೆ, ಹಲವಾರು ವಿಭಿನ್ನ ಚಟುವಟಿಕಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಪಾಲ್ಗೊಳ್ಳುವ ಅವಕಾಶ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಕಡೆ. ವೀಕೆಂಡ್ ಅಲ್ಲಿ classical ಮ್ಯೂಸಿಕ್ ಕೇಳಬೇಕ, ನಾಟಕ ನೋಡಬೇಕ ಅಥವಾ ಕ್ರಿಕೆಟ್/Football/Badminton ಆಟ ಆಡಬೇಕ, ಎಲ್ಲದಕ್ಕೂ ಸಮಾನ ಅವಕಾಶ ಸಿಗುವದು ನಮ್ಮ ಬೆಂಗಳುರುಅಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾತ್ರ :-) ಇತ್ತೀಚಿನ ದಿನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ BBMP ಅವರು ಸುಮಾರು ಪಾರ್ಕ್ ಗಳನ್ನೂ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿ maintain ಮಾಡಿರುವದರಿಂದ, ಜನ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯರಿಗೆ ವರ್ಷವಿಡೀ walking ಹೋಗಲು ಯಾವುದೇ ತೊಂದರೆ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಇಂತ ಒಂದು ಪರಿಸರ, ಇಂತ ಒಂದು living place ಎಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಗತ್ತೆ ಹೇಳಿ ? :-)

ಯಾವುದೇ ಊರು ಅಂದ ಮೇಲೆ issues ಇದ್ದೆ ಇರತ್ತೆ. ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ traffic problem ಇರಬಹುದು, ಮೆಟ್ರೋ work ಇರಬಹುದು, ನಾವು ಬೆಂಗಳುರನ್ನ ಎಷ್ಟೇ ಬಯ್ಯಬಹುದು, ಆದರೂ ಇದೆಲ್ಲಕಿಂತ ಮಿಗಲಾಗಿ ಇಲ್ಲಿನ ಪರಿಸರ, ಇಲ್ಲಿನ ಅವಕಾಶಗಳು for involving in different activities, ಇಲ್ಲಿನ ಸಾಗರಗಳು makes Bengaluru a perfect city to live in :-)

ಜೈ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು, ಜೈ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ :-)

The Green Auto...

What comes to your mind when you hear the word auto rikshaw? If you are a true Indian, I am sure the words like "air pollution", "sound pollution" and "word pollution" (abuses) are synonymous to auto. If you are from a western country, "auto" word will bring back the memories of a roller-coaster ride for you.

Let us look at the state of affairs in Karnataka (especially Mysore and Bangalore). I was always wondering why there are so many KL (Kerala) registered autos in Mysore. Finally got to know from an auto-driver that Kerala has strict norms against the old autos, so they push all the old autos to Karnataka (Mysore being close to Kerala, it has become a natural place to dispose off the waste). But from last few years, even Karanatka government is pushing for Green auto - the one which runs on CNG, which will atleast help to reduce one of the pollutions autos are known for. But, looks like this initiative has not gone well with all the "Green auto" drivers. May be they are forced to shell out more to buy a Green auto. May be they cannot fill the tank with low cost fuel (a.k.a. Kerosine) anymore.

Anyways, while coming to office today, a Green auto caught my attention for the message it was carrying on its back. Look at the above image carefully for the message : "ನಮ್ಮ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಹಚ್ಚ ಹಸಿರಾದ ನಿರ್ಮಲವಾದ ನೈಸರ್ಗಿಕವಾಗಿ ಸ್ವಚ್ಚ ಗಾಳಿಯನ್ನು ಕೊಡುವ ಮರಗಳನ್ನು ಕಡಿದು ಮನೆಗಳನ್ನು ಕಟ್ಟಿ, ರಸ್ತೆ ಅಗಲೀಕರಣ ಮಾಡಲು ವೃಕ್ಷಗಳ ಮಾರಣ ಹೋಮಗಳನ್ನು ಮಾಡಿ ನಮ್ಮ ನಿರ್ಜೀವವಾದ ಆಟೋ ಗಳಿಗೆ ಹಸಿರು ಬಣ್ಣ ಬಳಿದರೇನು ಪ್ರಯೋಜನ?" (What is the use of painting autos Green, when the trees are cut in the name of road-widening and consturction of houses?)

Well, I wanted to tell this driver that each one of us can really make a difference - however small it is, but did not dare to do it as I was driving alone in my car with AC on :-(

The war that we won...

India v/s Pakistan in Worldcup semi-finals. It was nothing but a war - with so much hype, publicity and tension. It was as if the reputation of both the countries were at stake on March 30th, 2011.

Every news channel, every news paper had this event as the main story. Pressure was too much to take, not only for players but also for lesser mortals like us. I just did not read the headlines and sports page for 3 days preceeding the semi-"Finals". I made it all up on 31st March, not missing a single word in newspaper or not missing a single comment on Facebook :-)

1996 memories were still "Green" in everyone's mind. We desperately wanted a repeat performance from "Blues". Uh, can we say, it was better than 1996? Atleast I feel so, but for that Aamir Sohail - Venkatesh Prasad war in 1996. There was no such on-the-field event to remember forever, but Sehwag's 5 Fours in an over of Gul come close to it.

Almost each and everyone had a special plan for this special day. It may be missing office, falling sick, catch up action at office itself or get-together with your friends to watch it on big screen somewhere. We had a special screening at our apartment too and wowa, it turned out to be a carnival time till 11:30 PM. So much of cheering, so much of dance, so much of fun. Kids especially had lot more fun. Summer holidays, no exam tension, getting-together with your friends in apartment till late in the night, uh it was really a day (or night) that the kids will remember forever.

Just hoping to recreate this atmosphere on Saturday too for the finals. Keeping fingers crossed and chanting - "Chak De India, Go India Go".

World Cup - 2011

Its time to eat, drink, sleep (and ofcourse play) cricket. Greatest event in world cricket is starting in couple of days and my memory goes back to 1983 & every world cup there after. Some of the moments I cannot forget from the world cups:

1983: Best ever
That was the first world cup I followed and Wowa, what an achievement by Indians then. I remember how we used to listen to the commentary in radio back then and Kapil's magnanimous innings of 175* is etched deep inside my mind (or heart?). Binny, Madan Lal, Amarnath, Sandeep Patil, Shrikanth.. wow, what a team that was...

1987: First World cup outside England
"If he hits, it stays hit" -- Sidhu became an overnight hero among our friends back then. Impeccable shots, sixer after sixer, he was better known as "Sixer Sidhu". Who can forget Chetan Sharma's hat-trick in that world cup? Amazing moments.

1992 - Bang bang cricket
It is always always special to watch the Cricket action from Australia. The kind of atmosphere it provides and an early telecast of matches in India make it an all together a different experience. 1992 world cup belonged to Mark Greatbatch and Inzamam-ul-Haq. Wow, Newzealand were on fire from the first match itself, thanks to aggressive Greatbatch and redefining the way Cricket played in initial 15 overs. But ultimately Inzi single handedly steered Pakis to many victories in that tournament.

1996 - Mixed Emotions
Can any Cricket fan in India ever forget the quarter final victory for India over Pakistan at Bangalore? India scored 280+ runs and we knew, that was it. We had a celebration run with Indian flags fluttering during the innings break itself - although there were huge drama to follow in second half of the match. That wicket of Amir Sohail which Venkatesh Prasad took still gives me goosebumps.

None of us can forget the semi-finals in Kolkotta and crying Kambli :-(

1999 - South African Safari
Not much to remember from this world cup, dominance of Aussies began with this world cup. Lance Klusner was the man to watch out for in this tournament.

2003 - Bees saal baad
Astrologers predicted an Indian victory, media created hype of "Bees saal baad" - to get world cup after 20 years. India lived upto all the hype through out the tournament - thanks to Ganguly and Sachin. But alas, the team crumbled in the match it mattered the most - finals :-( Anyway, this was the 2nd best world cup result for India.

2007 - A killer
RIP - Bob Woolmer, RIP - Pakistan, RIP - India. This was the story at the end of first round of tournament. Does it matter anymore who won the world cup? I must say the interest in 50 over cricket started to die down from this point onwards. India won 20-20 world cup and then IPL completely redefined the way Cricket has to be played.

2011 - Great expectation
Well, as with every tournament, expectations are rising on India now :-) But people are more cautious now not to get carried away with any hype - considering the debacle in 2007. Its a new team, tournament is happening in India and India are doing well in recent past. So, no one can easily write-off India. Srilanka, South Africa, India and Australia - my bet for semifinalists. All four are very very capable of winning this tournament. Let the game begin !!!