Bangalore is my home town. I grew up here. Went to school here and met Sudarshan here. Most of my friends are here. When I was in the US, I used to always be very excited to meet a Banglorean. B'lore-the Silicon Valley of India...those were the buzz words may be 10 years ago and I assumed that because B'lore is so special everyone knew where B'lore was.
My co-workers in WF used to ask my friend (also from India) where she was from and she would start off "In south India, a state called ..., city...)
But when they would ask me where I was from, I never used to even bother to say India. Just Bangalore. I was cocky enough to assume that people knew enough about B'lore that they knew exactly where I was from.
I am proud to be a Bangalorean in many respects and associate so many memories with B'lore. I run in Cubbon Park almost every weekend. I have so many memories of going to Cubbon as a child and taking the train that they had for children that would go around CP. I love running in front of Vidhan Soudha. I think most times I run there that it is like running in Washington DC and just as beautiful. I love going to Indiana Fast Foods, to Sukh Sagar. Infact chaat has to be eaten only in Sukh Sagar according to me. I always ate chaat there almost all my life. Why eat anywhere else now. I love trying out new cuisines and restaurants but give me Tandoor any day.
Where is all this going you may ask...
I love Bangalore but what the F is happening to Bangalore? Forget about the trash on the roads, it was never clean ...Forget about the traffic...that has to happen with the growth...Forget about potholes...I really dont care... car...But what I care is the PEOPLE. What the F is happening to the people? I remember as a teen ager running in JP Nagar. I used to run for about 30 mins. And we used to have such a nice time doing so. People were friendly. Happy to see the youth being active. But now, running on B'lore streets is becoming a nightmare.
Yesterday, I decided I wanted to run 12K. Why bother going to Cubbon Park, I thought. Why not run near my house in HSR Layout. A few months ago, I had some crazy experiences with the guys on the road. I felt discouraged and didnt do any running on the streets. But yesterday I thought, this is B'lore. Its so cool. Cool people. Cool Cool Cool...
But guess what? B'lore hasnt changes in that aspect. B'lore cannot deal with a woman running. mind you...I was very properly attired. Just plain looking girl, running in tracks and a dri-fit shirt. And what happens?
1. I get whistled at.
2. People were falling off a cab trying to look at me
3. A Indica driver wanted to scare me and came so close
4. A bus driver didnt even try to slow down. I had to run to the pavement
5. And if I wasnt listening to music, I would have heard all the non sense comments
So, what is happening to B'lore? Why are people acting so intolerant towards runners. Why are the men behaving like dogs in heat (sorry dog lovers)? Why are men behaving like penises? Common guys, grow up. Is it the lack of sex ( our society is so hush hush about that and develop such a holier than thou attitude towards virginity and such.) that is leading to guys being sexually frustrated to such an extent that a girl on the road arises in them this non sense behaviour. My friend, who is an awesome runner always talks about how to stop this behaviour as well as groping and molesting on roads when a woman is running and she is an awesome runner in Bangalore. Just dont get it. I see guys running. They wear their teeny weeny shorts. No comments passed. Here we are wearing something totally decent (mind you.. I havent tried running in a Burkha yet) and we are forced to deal with this non sense.
Bangalore has changed. The people have changed. In spite of all the exposure, the men have become dogs.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Paradise City
Yesterday was my longest run in long time. It was ages since I did a 35k and yesterday I did it. It was exhausting but I had to do it. All in preperation for the KTM and Ultra. KTM on Oct 19th. Ultra Nov 19th
Yesterdays run was organized in Kannakapura trail. I love this trail. Its full of rolling hills that kill you but so satisfy you. Each loop was 10k in distance so this meant I had to do 3 full loops and one half. Ashika and I started off and we had a great start. One of the first hills is of a crazy gradiant almost a vertical line ( I am exaggerating but only slightly). We didnt stop. The climb was a slow one but we ran one foot after another. Finally we reached the top and it was worth it. Right in front of us was a beautiful lake. The sight is so awesome early in the morning. So breathtakingly freash and everytime almost unexpected. This lake was making everything worth it.
After about two loops (20) we stared feeling the exhaustion creep into our muscles. The climbs were getting tougher. So we tried and tried. Many times the hills got better than us and we would run half way up and walk the remaining.
After the 30K mark, Ashika had run what she had planned and I had 5 more left. Everybody from RFL had left except Anjana who was also doing 35K. We started up the same hills almost walking up the hills many a times because by now it was so hot and our bodies were burning up. We completed our half way loop and turned back. I was listening to music. All of a sudden I decided I needed a change in song and moved to the next one. GNR. WOW. Axel Ross started singing Paradise City...This song gave me so much energy and I started singing with Axel and this song just pushed me up the last climb. I had just hit the finish line when the song ended. Nothing could have been better timed yesterday.
Its really funny how something completely unexpected gives you the vigour you need on a long run. Be it a song, a friend who tells you you are doing great or a lake. All so beautiful. Makes you appreciate true beauty around you. Thats what like about running. You think you are awesome, you are so unbreakable and can do anything alone...well, running teaches you you are just the opposite. You are awesome but there is someone else who has run better than you, you can break---even the best runner has gotten crazy cramps and has had to stop and you cannot do it alone. Sure, I can run by myself, without a friend but the friend who runs with me helps me run that last km when I am tired, a stranger who cheers me fills me with encouragement and a song gives me the energy to run. Thats what I like about running. Every run (and every runner will agree) will get you not only closer and faster to the finish line in a race but will also get you closer to humility. A person who may be much faster than you will always have great things to say to you because he knows that running the 35k is not easy. He has gome through similar emotions, if not at 30k mark may be at 35k, 40k mark ...
Yesterdays run was organized in Kannakapura trail. I love this trail. Its full of rolling hills that kill you but so satisfy you. Each loop was 10k in distance so this meant I had to do 3 full loops and one half. Ashika and I started off and we had a great start. One of the first hills is of a crazy gradiant almost a vertical line ( I am exaggerating but only slightly). We didnt stop. The climb was a slow one but we ran one foot after another. Finally we reached the top and it was worth it. Right in front of us was a beautiful lake. The sight is so awesome early in the morning. So breathtakingly freash and everytime almost unexpected. This lake was making everything worth it.
After about two loops (20) we stared feeling the exhaustion creep into our muscles. The climbs were getting tougher. So we tried and tried. Many times the hills got better than us and we would run half way up and walk the remaining.
After the 30K mark, Ashika had run what she had planned and I had 5 more left. Everybody from RFL had left except Anjana who was also doing 35K. We started up the same hills almost walking up the hills many a times because by now it was so hot and our bodies were burning up. We completed our half way loop and turned back. I was listening to music. All of a sudden I decided I needed a change in song and moved to the next one. GNR. WOW. Axel Ross started singing Paradise City...This song gave me so much energy and I started singing with Axel and this song just pushed me up the last climb. I had just hit the finish line when the song ended. Nothing could have been better timed yesterday.
Its really funny how something completely unexpected gives you the vigour you need on a long run. Be it a song, a friend who tells you you are doing great or a lake. All so beautiful. Makes you appreciate true beauty around you. Thats what like about running. You think you are awesome, you are so unbreakable and can do anything alone...well, running teaches you you are just the opposite. You are awesome but there is someone else who has run better than you, you can break---even the best runner has gotten crazy cramps and has had to stop and you cannot do it alone. Sure, I can run by myself, without a friend but the friend who runs with me helps me run that last km when I am tired, a stranger who cheers me fills me with encouragement and a song gives me the energy to run. Thats what I like about running. Every run (and every runner will agree) will get you not only closer and faster to the finish line in a race but will also get you closer to humility. A person who may be much faster than you will always have great things to say to you because he knows that running the 35k is not easy. He has gome through similar emotions, if not at 30k mark may be at 35k, 40k mark ...
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Bangalore and Ahmadabad Blast---what do they mean to us?
Friday was indeed a day of reckoning. We were at a talk when there were these hushed whispers all over the room…five bombings in Bangalore…no no its seven…Madivala for sure. Double Road? No may be Richmond Road…and through it all we were all the perfect participants at the lecture, laughing when we should and clapping when we should. Is it because we thought, wait, this is Bangalore, Really? Bombings? May be they were rumours…Well as the country learnt that they were indeed bombings in Bangalore.
Last night watching a debate between Renuka Chaudhuri and Rajeev XXX (the spokesperson for BJP)…Huge discussion on bombings of course. Of course they were really upset…BJP this and Congress that, they argued. Really, who cares a fuck if it’s a political party led bombing….the final result is that 50 people lost their lives (of course they were compensated…isn’t their life worth atleast Rs 5 lakhs) and lots were physically injured. (their injuries were worth Rs50,000) I do not use the word physically injured lightly here. The number of people injured mentally were billions. These bombings did exactly what they were meant to- create insecurity in the minds of the common man.
What happened after 9/11? The entire country united against the terrorists. I didn’t hear what the Republicans did and what the Dems didn’t do. Rudy was a Republican and what he did for NY was in no way connected to Republicans. What we went through in San Fran, uniting against the threats on the Golden Gate Bridge, the assurances we received from all that we are going to be ok. We can go on having faith in our police, in our politicians, in our teachers and preachers …this was what kept the US alive…fighting against terrorism. When is that going to happen here? Who is crediting the bomb squads who are risking their lives to unwire live bombs? Who is thinking of their lives? Is anyone saying thank you? No. All, we are having is two politicians on National TV calling each other names, behaving like children setting in minds of the viewers a further lack of security.
I am definitely confused about my future. On one hand, I want to do all the things I always wanted to do. Isnt life so unpredictable? Who knows when I might die? I deserve to be happy. I need to quit work and follow my passions. On the other hand, can I do so? After all if I can die so can Sudarshan, right? What about Sujay? Should I quit my work so that I can spend my time being a great mom. After all, with life being so unpredictable, shouldn’t I spend my time with Suj. And what about more children? Should I even bother? What if I die? Will Sudarshan be able to look after two children on his own. What if he dies? Will I be able to cope with two children on my own? See, all these question…they never occurred to me. I was happy. Not worrying about things like life, death, insurance but now all my decisions and big ones especially seem to be tainted with the negativity that has arisen due to the bombings. If I can be dealing with these kind of questions, I am sure atleast half the country is thinking of the same. Obviously the terrorists have won, haven’t they? They have managed to mentally injure billions of people.
Last night watching a debate between Renuka Chaudhuri and Rajeev XXX (the spokesperson for BJP)…Huge discussion on bombings of course. Of course they were really upset…BJP this and Congress that, they argued. Really, who cares a fuck if it’s a political party led bombing….the final result is that 50 people lost their lives (of course they were compensated…isn’t their life worth atleast Rs 5 lakhs) and lots were physically injured. (their injuries were worth Rs50,000) I do not use the word physically injured lightly here. The number of people injured mentally were billions. These bombings did exactly what they were meant to- create insecurity in the minds of the common man.
What happened after 9/11? The entire country united against the terrorists. I didn’t hear what the Republicans did and what the Dems didn’t do. Rudy was a Republican and what he did for NY was in no way connected to Republicans. What we went through in San Fran, uniting against the threats on the Golden Gate Bridge, the assurances we received from all that we are going to be ok. We can go on having faith in our police, in our politicians, in our teachers and preachers …this was what kept the US alive…fighting against terrorism. When is that going to happen here? Who is crediting the bomb squads who are risking their lives to unwire live bombs? Who is thinking of their lives? Is anyone saying thank you? No. All, we are having is two politicians on National TV calling each other names, behaving like children setting in minds of the viewers a further lack of security.
I am definitely confused about my future. On one hand, I want to do all the things I always wanted to do. Isnt life so unpredictable? Who knows when I might die? I deserve to be happy. I need to quit work and follow my passions. On the other hand, can I do so? After all if I can die so can Sudarshan, right? What about Sujay? Should I quit my work so that I can spend my time being a great mom. After all, with life being so unpredictable, shouldn’t I spend my time with Suj. And what about more children? Should I even bother? What if I die? Will Sudarshan be able to look after two children on his own. What if he dies? Will I be able to cope with two children on my own? See, all these question…they never occurred to me. I was happy. Not worrying about things like life, death, insurance but now all my decisions and big ones especially seem to be tainted with the negativity that has arisen due to the bombings. If I can be dealing with these kind of questions, I am sure atleast half the country is thinking of the same. Obviously the terrorists have won, haven’t they? They have managed to mentally injure billions of people.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Sunday, July 6, 2008
First ever Hampi Heritage Run
Sam and Sabine have relatives in Hampi area. They visit it often and on one of their visits decided 
that it would be fun if we could have a “Cultural Run” there. A few of us thought that was a great idea and Sabine started working on it. And Sabine as only Sabine can do had it all mapped out. Tickets were booked, hotel rooms were reserved and all other planning matters were underway.
Sudarshan’s uncles and his grand dad live in Hospet. We have been meaning to visit them for a while and saw this as an opportunity to do some great running as well as meet family. We were really excited. I was down with a cold on Thursday and Sudarshna was slightly pissed that I hadn’t taken any medicine. After exchanging a few words, to put it mildly, we decided to cancel. Well, egos clashed as they always clash in our house and finally I swallowed a Sinarest and dozed off. Next day I called in sick. Look, if nothing else I try to keep my priorities in order. Should I go to work or rest at home so that I can be fit as a fiddle and be in Hampi over the weekend? It was a no brainer. I called in sick.
Come Friday night, we were all packed. Sujay was of course coming with us. He was all excited. We picked up Leona and got ourselves to the train station. Reena was there as were Sindhu, Athraya, Anjana, Anjana’s mom and Avni (Anjana’s eighteen month old). Amit and his wife were meeting us in Yeshwantpur. Manoj was coming on his silver bullet and Shantanu and Prateek were driving. Sam and Sabine were already in Hampi.
The train ride was a blast. I always liked Reena but I dare say that I think we really forged a friendship that evening. Athraya, Reena and myself were awake till after midnight just laughing and joking about things. I saw a very different side of Athraya that evening as well. Finally we went to sleep because we were so afraid that thia guy who was sleeping on the top berth might yell at us.
Next morning we arrived in Hami at about 7:30. Sam and Sabine were there with two seven seater autos. Sudarshan’s cousin wa there too to pick us up. All went to the hotel in the autos which looked like a lot of fun actually and we went off to Sudarshan’s uncle’s house…
That evening we met at the Power Canal for a power canal run. That was super cool. I didn’t really run it as I was tired (read lazy) and happily walked the entire loop with Reena. Th
at was nice actually. One thing that I will treasure is that that I think this was a nice beginning to a nice friendship with Reena. She is cool. I was a little apprehensive about Suj. But Sam’s cousin had a bike and that of course was the most super cool thing that could have happened. Suj loved it. He was on the bike the whole time. He was honking and being totally noisy and loving it.
The next morning was our first ever Hampi Cultural Run. It was great. Just looking at all the temples, running by them etc. No better way to see Hampi. And again, thanks to Sam’s cousins, Suj was fully occupied on the bikes and Sudarshan and I could have a great run/walk/sight seeing.
All in all, it was a great experience where old friendships were strengthened and new ones were created. It was a great experience and I would love to do it again.
that it would be fun if we could have a “Cultural Run” there. A few of us thought that was a great idea and Sabine started working on it. And Sabine as only Sabine can do had it all mapped out. Tickets were booked, hotel rooms were reserved and all other planning matters were underway.Sudarshan’s uncles and his grand dad live in Hospet. We have been meaning to visit them for a while and saw this as an opportunity to do some great running as well as meet family. We were really excited. I was down with a cold on Thursday and Sudarshna was slightly pissed that I hadn’t taken any medicine. After exchanging a few words, to put it mildly, we decided to cancel. Well, egos clashed as they always clash in our house and finally I swallowed a Sinarest and dozed off. Next day I called in sick. Look, if nothing else I try to keep my priorities in order. Should I go to work or rest at home so that I can be fit as a fiddle and be in Hampi over the weekend? It was a no brainer. I called in sick.
Come Friday night, we were all packed. Sujay was of course coming with us. He was all excited. We picked up Leona and got ourselves to the train station. Reena was there as were Sindhu, Athraya, Anjana, Anjana’s mom and Avni (Anjana’s eighteen month old). Amit and his wife were meeting us in Yeshwantpur. Manoj was coming on his silver bullet and Shantanu and Prateek were driving. Sam and Sabine were already in Hampi.
The train ride was a blast. I always liked Reena but I dare say that I think we really forged a friendship that evening. Athraya, Reena and myself were awake till after midnight just laughing and joking about things. I saw a very different side of Athraya that evening as well. Finally we went to sleep because we were so afraid that thia guy who was sleeping on the top berth might yell at us.
Next morning we arrived in Hami at about 7:30. Sam and Sabine were there with two seven seater autos. Sudarshan’s cousin wa there too to pick us up. All went to the hotel in the autos which looked like a lot of fun actually and we went off to Sudarshan’s uncle’s house…
That evening we met at the Power Canal for a power canal run. That was super cool. I didn’t really run it as I was tired (read lazy) and happily walked the entire loop with Reena. Th
at was nice actually. One thing that I will treasure is that that I think this was a nice beginning to a nice friendship with Reena. She is cool. I was a little apprehensive about Suj. But Sam’s cousin had a bike and that of course was the most super cool thing that could have happened. Suj loved it. He was on the bike the whole time. He was honking and being totally noisy and loving it.The next morning was our first ever Hampi Cultural Run. It was great. Just looking at all the temples, running by them etc. No better way to see Hampi. And again, thanks to Sam’s cousins, Suj was fully occupied on the bikes and Sudarshan and I could have a great run/walk/sight seeing.
All in all, it was a great experience where old friendships were strengthened and new ones were created. It was a great experience and I would love to do it again.
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