Scraps Stuffs - Random musings from apun ka desh

Yesterday I escaped the mother of all traffic jams on Hosur Road, partly thanks to Radio City. There are four different routes to my office from my home on Sarjapur Road and I usually take the Hosur Road since its the shortest. But traffic is really heavy on this road after 8 in the morning. I usually listen to Radio City while driving since it makes an otherwise monotonous experience into a somewhat pleasurable one.

I heard one of the RJs say that she would be talking about the biggest jam on some road, but after the commercial break. Since it was already decision time on which route to take I couldn't wait for her to name the road. Guessing that it could well be Hosur Road since its one of the worst roads in Bangalore, I avoided it and took a slightly longer route via the Inner Ring road instead. Saved me certain aggravation as I heard about the massive jam on Hosur Road.

This thing is seriously cool


create your own visited countries map

This fine article on the Indian Tsumani relief effort illustrates to perfection on how India is seen in the west. They still seem to have blinkers on their eyes regarding India's true capabilities. Part of the reason they have the blinkers is definitely racism. They cannot seem to digest the fact that India doesn't need their help anymore, even while tackling grave natural disasters.

While I would be the last person to suggest that India needs the west's approval and praise, it amuses me no end when little pip squeak nations like Australia and New Zealand make zero or no mention of Indian efforts at disaster relief and instead highlight the measely aid that they throw at other nations affected by the disaster.

Bihar is truly a paradox.

• Its very fertile, courtesy of its location on the Gangetic plain.
• There is no shortage of water, again courtesy the Ganga
• People are hardworking and basically honest
  
• Some of the best administrators have come from Bihar
  

• Its the most backward state in India, socially, economically and politically

For a state that has so much going for it, to be in such a pathetic state, must be truly a fantastic achievement. This is the feather in Laloo's cap :-(

The true bankruptcy in the Indian National Congress today is exposed by their mindless backing of the RJD in Bihar.

Saw Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black last week. Enjoyed watching it though I felt it was overly melodramatic in parts. The girl who played a young Rani Mukherjee acted brilliantly. So did Rani and Amitabh. I used to think that Jaya Bachchan was more talented than her far more famous husband but after this movie I don't think so.

Shernaz Patel has acted the best of them all.

A good effort by SLB although all his films are overly melodramatic.

Yesterday I went to see the Footsbarn travelling theatre performance at Ranga Shankara. It was an amazing, colourful and energetic performance. Brilliant stage management and good acting. It was very enjoyable and I'm glad I went. At 200 bucks, it was light on the pocket too! We didn't realize that it would be three hours long so we basically didn't eat anything from 7.30 in the evening to 10.45! And it took us another half an hour to get back home and eat dinner!

Footsbarn "performed" Shakspeare's Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear. I haven't read Shakspeare. Ever! But I still got the gist of the stories, basically because I've heard them before. Except King Lear.

Watching theatre is always an amazing experience because the energy of the actors rubs off on the audience if

1. The setting is intimate
2. The actors are good
3. The audience has a pulse

Upsides:
1. The auditorium at Rang Shankara is very nice with good acoustics. Seating is decent too.
2. A good book shop is present.
3. A decent restaurant too going by how it looked. I've heard that this needs booking in advance for tables.
4. All performance are going to be tickted at a maximum price of 99! This is good value. This one was 200 bucks probably because Arundhati Nag needs the money!

Downsides:
1. Parking space - you basically park in the side lanes and in the vacant plot opposite Rang Shankara. My car was safe enough but its still taking a chance.
2. You get to see a lot of arty-farty types. The PYTs are extreme eye candy, the fuddy-duddies are exactly the opposite.