Apathy,Activism,Apoliticalness and Aam Adami

It has been more than a decade now that Congress has been glorifying the Aam Adami. In the mean time, old leaders died, new ones came to power, political map of country became more and more volatile, Modi alarmingly emerged as a brand, First woman president of India retired, Laden was killed, country's growth rate dwindled down, and Rahul Gandhi finally got rid of his hypnotic smile. And still, Aam adami is fairly where he was. In terms of inflation, natural calamities, terrorist attacks, craze of western countries, and most importantly apathy, and a-politicalness.

Let me elaborate. Say, Roads are frequently dug in your area. Mandir in the neighborhood puts on loudspeakers till much later than 10 pm.  Your rightful water supply was diverted to some other colony. The rickshaw/taxi driver frequently refuses to take you where you want to go. Hawaldar caught you and holding you up because you jumped the lights. There is a friend of you who is experiencing sexual harassment at her office. In short, things are not exactly looking very bright. Now tell me, what are your normal responses to this? 

You will look for another taxi/rick, you will probably give that 50 rs bill to hawaldar so that he does not waste your time, you will close the window and keep cursing the temple,  you will ask your friend to ignore/settle matter, and you will definitely curse the 'sarkaar' and the 'system' for the water diversion and road digging.

Here comes the apathy I talk about. apathy,defined by wikipedia, is is a state of indifference, or the suppression of emotions such as concern, excitement, motivation and passion. Nothing that happens, on varying scale, that causes trouble, pushes you towards action. It is most surprising, that we take no action, even to issues that are bothering us, let alone others. Asking the friend to settle the matter, is not as much of an apathy, as closing the window and taking another auto is. This sort of apathetic action intrigues me most, where no effort is directed towards gaining what is rightfully ours. 

Same goes with  cursing the sarkaar and the system. Digging the roads or diverting the water supply is not a whim of government, it can not be. There are plans and reasons behind digging the roads, say for pipe gas or water pipeline. If water is diverted, there is a reason needed to be given before that diversion takes place. How much ever we like to believe, governance is not a whimsical activity, where no rule abides. How many of us have bothered to stop when we find labor happily digging away, and ask the reason behind that digging? How many of us go to the zonal office and ask the reason behind? 

I am sure, probably only 1%. It is foolish to curse and blame system and sarkaar for petty issues like this, and not doing even 1 bit about it. IF it bothers us, by all means we have to go and ask for the reason/permission. But sadly, we prefer ignoring it, passing sideways, cursing them and generally adding up to our collective unhappiness. If at all somebody says, we push them down, saying "why get into those issues and that  politics? it is better to stay away."

That is sheer a-politicalness I am talking about. There is a big aversion to anything remotely political in nature. It is not 'non-political'. Non political guys do what they want to do, without believing in politics. A-political are us who just stay apathetic to politics, at the cost of our own convenience. We do not even care who  our corporator is and what has he done for us in last five years. Dynastic politics, religious terrorism and political insurgencies are just far far away, way out of scope. We stay away. 
If you feel like staying away, do that by all means. But then do not come and complain about how rotten the civic affairs are and how nothing can be done. Things can be done. remember.

Here comes another problem. The moment we say it can be done, and it is our right, comes in the activism. Just because I am consccious about my rights, and I do something, I do nnot become activist. Voicing my thought or even having thoughts, is not activism. Calling it activism is in fact an insult to the word. But no. The moment somebody like me starts a conversation about something as day- to-day as above mentioned situations, I immediately am shut up by friends/relatives, saying "hey, lets not discuss politics, just stay away from that".

Apathy and apoliticalness is not going to lead aam adami to any better world. If we want better world, we have to be at least conscious of what happens, why does it happen, what do we want and how can we do it. Else we become sheep and be hoarded. For the in-betweens, there is always an 'activisty' entertainment like liking FB comments and wearing Aam adami caps. 

To Pa, with love :)

I have not written for a long time, and hence wanted to write today. However, today's post follows a different topic and is for a different occasion altogether! It is for pa, my father-in-law, who celebrates his birthday today. Hence I combined both the things on my mind- writing and pa's birthday,  and made it into one :)
It is not going to be a biographic profile (that I am planning to do some years later ;)). It will stay true to how it came into form. I wanted to write, and it is his birthday today. As simple.

I always used to have good talk with him, even before my marriage. But I shifted to Chennai after my marriage, and there three of us stayed together under one roof, and got to know each other really better.
Now looking back, I feel that he has taught me some very crucial things in that little time, and these things will stay with me for my lifetime. It has to start with cooking. He has a tremendous interest in kitchen, really looks fwd to opportunity where he could go into kitchen and let his creativity and experimentation flow. And something that is worth special mention is that he cooks everyday. Every single day. In whole of 14 month's stay in Chennai, there has not been a single time when he was home and he did not cook.

Probably all of you have idea, but I would like to say that specifically, that it puts a newly married girl in a tremendous comfort mode. It did put me as well. I have practiced my cooking basics with him. Right from how to cook perfect basic  white rice, to how to make a yummy punjabi gravy, Pa has taught me most of the things. I do not know many women, who have learned their cooking from their fathers-in-law, and I consider myself  and of course him to be really cool for that :)
Moreover, his making me comfortable factor does not end there. Even though I did not know how to cook typical meals initially, I could cook fancy dishes pretty alright. Be it lasagna or grilled sandwiches or variety of salads. Pa not only ate them for dinner without any complaints, but also showed eagerness to learn. It was never like "I know how to cook well,and hence I will do that, and then you may do whatever you want, I do not care".  The accommodating, experimenting and eager approach was displayed throughout, and to me that is a definite sign of a mature, sensible, sensitive person.

Pa has been a great listener, as I almost always talk incessantly. But I felt like talking so much, only because he is attentive, and has genuine interest in what you talk. With close friends, it is given. But with fathers-in-law, I doubt. I doubt if many fathers talk to and listen to their daughters this much, let alone a daughter in law. Pa has listened to me, has chatted with me  over multiple topics, and also, has made me into  a good listener. I am not saying I was not, but I have calmed down a bit, and listen more carefully and more actively. Of course, my Husband and the age have a definite role to play in it, but I have seen Pa being a great listener, and it must have influenced me to some extent.

In course of daily life, he has made me inculcate some good habits, and has given good guidance if needed. He has always been very very approachable. (all NIE people will agree to this). Any issue, trouble, confusion, confession, he has been there. Most importantly, in spite of the advice he has given, he has maintained the individual space. He shared what he thought, but never forced us to do that. If we did not do what he suggested, I do not think he was upset or angry. And probably because of that, so many people feel comfortable seeking his opinion/advice, just like me.

It is not like we never had arguments. we did some time, but they were minor. and we were mature enough to sort them out immediately. And anyways, there is no fun to anything without arguments!
Pa has turned into a great friend of mine, and I know the bond will stay for a long time. I really miss meeting him daily, but now I am with my mother in law, and I feel that another friend is in the making :)

Have a great day Pa! Will write more and about many other things in some years :)
Love

Yes, I like regional!

 

Anybody remembers those columns which would appear in sunday supplements or magazines? A celebrity would be interviews and random questions about his or her personal choices would be asked. Say the favourite movies, movie stars, books, music on their ipod, favourite shopping destinations, most favourite cuisine and so on. I just encountered a similar list in one of the supplements I was reading. And it just freaked me out. Well, not just that particular list, but it was probably deep down somewhere which just came up with this and a discussion I had a couple of days ago.

One of my old acquaintance was discussing the 'books to have' with me. We discussed and just listed some 25 odd names, which we thought should be at every readers house. After we finished with the english list, I asked her what regional language books would she buy and keep at home. She gave me a very quizzical look, asking for what I meant. I said, "there are some classics and original masterpieces in Marathi, which I feel everybody should have. Similarly, you will also have such pieces in Bengali. what are they?" On hearing this, she made a face and cooly replied saying she does not know nor care what is written in those books, and since when did they become worth it to be bought.She added that since she is educated in a convent school, there was no question of reading regional and how does it help in today's world even if you are an avid reader of regional literature. As long as you read english, it is sufficient.

The statement angered me. Not because I was educated in a Marathi medium school, but because of
1. the attitude that reading only English is sufficient to be called as a reader.
2. statements like "regional language literature is not worth it to be bought"
3. the sheer rootlessness this girl displayed.

After that, I came across this list of celebrity choices of books, music and destinations. And I noticed that 99% of Indian celebrities gave non-native music, books, movies, food and travel destinations as their favourite. OK, nobody is asking you to restrict yourself to only liking Indian ( I am an advocate of developing a global taste, and I am NOT a right wing old fanatic), but couldn't there be a single item on their list which is Indian? Looking at the list, it feels as if there was nothing ever in India that was worth listening to/watching/ eating/drinking/reading or visiting.

What is with people? If you like something Indian, are you supposed to be bad or worthless or not 'up there' or less socially mobile or less of a human or something? Or is this a market force that is driving us to like non-native produce? Or is this one simple wanna-be tendency? That idiotic fad that says you are forward-thinking and cultured and uber-polished if you like only non-native things?

I do not take this. I challenge the thought. I feel that not reading a piece in your mother tongue is being worthless and utterly crap, moreover dis-rooted. I strongly believe that the more rooted you are in one culture, better do you understand the other culture. Only if you know the fine nuances of any one language, have that mental ability to appreciate a language,  you can appreciate another language equally well. Just because I read Marathi books as well or like Bollywood music, I do not become low-standard. And just because my dear non-regional friends are non-regional, they do not become cool.

Well, getting acquainted and pro with English is really commendable, rather required, it is the ultimately the language of the world. Of course you need to read, write, speak that. But taht does not mean reading Marathi or any other language is of no use. My dear friend thought that reading any language is only to progress in life. only to earn big bucks and manage an impression. She did not know that being exposed to regional or native literature/music/history/folklore opens the door to that culture. Opens the door to understanding those people, get glimpses of 'being them'.

I take great pride in saying that I know 6 languages, can read and write 5 of them, have been exposed to literature/art/history in them, and understand at least 3 cultures in some depth. My knowledge, sense and sensibilities have developed and matured quite a bit because of that.
 And then I might still be damned for reading or liking regional, who cares? :D

down the chat memories

 


It feels so good to retrieve old chats. They contain memories. Retrieving them is probably an easiest way nowadays to relive those memories. I mean, old photographs are as nice, I accept. especially the candid ones. Talking animatedly on a coffee table, on a classroom bench, at katta, at college cultural events, hogging some chaat item, ganging up against a poor soul in the group, many dinners together, trips we went on, birthday parties, mehendi parties, many moods in somebody's wedding and so on. So many of those memories come back to you.

But there is  difference in those pictures and chats. Chats actually provide you much more than a big vague bubble of that memory. the lines actually remind you of the particular situation, your mood at that time, the emotions you were going through, just that particular day in your life. I just read 3 fantastic chats from my old logs. One is with a very dear friend, who used to stay a block away from me. And there was a time period when we used to be eternally together. Just perpetually, either at his place or at my place or somewhere outside.In fact, some of our friends thought that something might "brew up" between us. point is not that. I read a chat log where he was saying about how his day went, how my research dissertation is paining me, and it ends with him saying that he will come over for a coffee in next half an hour. It made me relive that whole day, in  my memory. Reading that he will come in half an hour also sounded kinda funny, considering how he stays gazillion kms away, in another continent, and hemisphere!

I read another one between me and my very closest friend. She is in particularly bad mood in that. She is having issues with some of our other friends, and its just getting too much for her. She has talked to them about it, which does not bring any relief. She is puzzled, frustrated and outraged.She actually says that she misses me being there :(.   I give her all sorta pep talk, and she eventually feels better, so do I. The chat showed me that my friend was actually missing me, needed a shoulder, and gave me the feeling of inclusion. There is somebody who still wants you and knows your worth. Both of us are married now, stay in different cities and very much miss each other. But it feels good to see that there was a time when we chatted about trivial issues, cheered each other up and actually shared a time-space.

Third is with my Husband. Well, to begin with, I have just too many chats with him, provided he was always away. We eternally had a long distance relationship. So there is a chat in the very beginning of our relationship. It is amusing to read it. We were still kind of formal, did not have all those stupid nicknames, were still talking about how does one react to a situation and so on. There are some references which show that not lot of people know about our relation.  And I say that common friends are going to be amused and shocked when we declare this. Also, how it feels different to have a presence(albeit virtual) of somebody else in life. That initial time just feels so long ago now. We did declare it, we shocked people, got engaged and got married too. Just looong time ago.

It also shows us how we change as persons, how our responses change, our talking/writing style changes, the way we think changes. We are a completely different person in like a decade. It is awesome. And these memories do not make you sad. In fact you relive those days, and feel happy. a warm, happy feeling. I love chats. Anybody up for a gtalk conference? :)

मरण सोहळा!

 

गेले  बरेच दिवस हा विषय लिहावं हे मनात होतं. आज टीव्ही वर दिवसभर बाळासाहेब ठाकरे यांच्या अंत्ययात्रेची दृश्य पहिली, तिथे लोटलेला जनसमुदाय पाहिला. त्या भव्य आणि टेलीव्हाईजड अंतिम सोहळ्या नंतर, त्यामुळेसुद्धा असेल, लिहायला बसल्यावर अचानक हा विषय उडी मारून वर आला. त्यामुळे त्याबद्दल आज काही.
चेन्नई मध्ये राहायला लागून मला आता एक वर्षं होत आलं. सुरुवातीच्या दिवसात शहर अनुभवण्याचा माझ्याकडून मी प्रयत्न केला, अजूनही करते.  हा अनुभव मला पाहायला मिळाला तो अगदी सुरुवातीच्या आठवड्यात. सिग्नलला एका लांबलचक ट्राफिक लाईन मध्ये आम्ही थांबलो होतो, आणि अस्पष्टसे ढोल ताशांचे सूर कानावर पडत होते.  "कमाल आहे, भर रस्त्यात संध्याकाळी ६ वाजताच्या अगणित ट्राफिक मध्ये कोणी कसली मिरवणूक कशी काढू शकतं?"  माझा वैतागलेला प्रश्न. काही वेळ गेल्यानंतर ते ढोल ताशांचे आवाज थांबले, आणि टेपरेकॉर्डरवर जोरात गाणी सुरु झाली. सगळीच गाणी अनोळखी भाषेतली, पण त्याचं धमाल बीट कळत होतं. आपल्याकडे पुण्यात गणपतीत विसर्जनाला साधारण रात्री एकच्या आसपास महत्वाचे गणपती गेल्यानंतर, रेकॉर्ड्स लावून  जो धुमाकूळ असतो, तसं साधारण भास होत होता. मी आणखीनच बुचकळ्यात पडले. आता कुठलाही सण नाही, मग हे कशाचे आवाज असावेत? काही वेळात थोडा ट्राफिक हलून त्या  मिरवणुकीच्या पुष्कळच जवळ मी पोहोचले. मिरवणुकीच्या अग्रभागी लोक फुलांच्या पाकळ्या उधळत  होते. अनेकांचे चेहरे गुलालाने माखले होते. मुक्तहस्ताने तरुण मुलं गुलाल उधळून, माखून नाचत होती. खरं तर त्यातले अनेक जण हे स्पष्टपणे दारूच्या अमलाखाली नाचत होते.  रेकॉर्ड गाण्यांवर अंग विक्षेप करत होते. जाणाऱ्यांना तोंडभर हसून दाखवत होते. मिरवणुकीत बायकाही होत्या, त्या देखील हास्य विनोद करत चालल्या होत्या. आमच्यावर देखील त्यांनी काही फुलं उधळली! हे सगळं झाल्यावर अखेर मागे या मिरवणुकीच कारण मला पहायला मिळालं. मागे  एम्ब्युल्न्समध्ये, नीट सजवलेल्या, अत्तर शिंपडलेल्या-  गाडीत- एक शव ठेवलं होतं!!!!!!!

मी आधी दचकले, आणि  एक पूर्ण मिनिट स्तब्ध झाले. ही सगळी हास्य विनोद आणि आनंदाची उधळण ही अंत्ययात्रेसाठी होती तर. त्या दिवसानंतर अनेकदा हे दृश्य मी चेन्नईच्या रस्त्यांवर पाहिलं. त्याची आता सवय झाली, त्यामुळे दचकायला किंवा स्तब्ध व्हायला होत नाही.  पण दर वेळी ते बघून एक विचित्र फिलिंग मनात येतं. भीती, त्रास, किळस किंवा वैताग, यांच्यापैकी काहीच नाही. कदाचित प्रश्नार्थक भावना. आता ह्या भावानेमागे कारण दोन असू शकतात. एक म्हणजे अंत्य यात्रेचं सार्वजनिक स्वरूप, आणि दुसरा म्हणजे  (ढोल ताशांच्या गजरात!) आनंद व्यक्त करणे. पैकी सार्वजनिक स्वरूपाने विचित्र वाटायचं काही कारण नाही. आत्ताच बाळासाहेबांची प्रचंड मोठी अंत्ययात्रा मी पाहिली. आणि तशा फक्त दिग्गजांच्याच नाही, तर सामान्य लोकांच्या अंत्ययात्रा आपल्याकडेही दिसतात. जितकी माणसं गेलेल्या माणसाने जोडली असतील, तितकी मोठी यात्रा.  बरं राहिलं सार्वजनिक रीतीने आपल्या भावना दाखवण, तर  तेरुदाली सारख्या चित्रपटांमध्ये आपण पाहिलं आहे. त्यामुळे सार्वजनिक स्वरूप, accepted!

माझा हरकतीचा मुद्दा दुसरा होता. कोणीतरी, आपल्या जवळचं गेलेलं असताना आनंद व्यक्त करणं. आपल्याकडल्या अंत्ययात्रांमध्ये, अगदी दिखाऊ स्वरूपाच्या यात्रांमध्ये देखील लोक जास्तीत जास्त शोकाकुल दिसण्याचा प्रयत्न करत असतात. काळे चष्मे लावून आपले भाव लपवण्याचा. शुभ्र वस्त्रांमध्ये दु:खी होऊन वावरण्याचा. कदाचित कोणाच्याही मृत्यूने काही लोकांना आनंद होत असेलही, पण असं त्याचं प्रदर्शन हे आपल्याकडे कमालीचं गैर मानलं जातं. इतर धर्मांबद्दल माझा जास्त अभ्यास नाही, पण हिंदू परंपरेत तरी लोक धीर गंभीर असलेली मी पाहिली आहेत. असं असताना, इथे चेन्नईत हिंदू  माणसाच्या अंत्ययात्रेत हा आनंदोत्सव कसा आणि का?

काही  स्थानिक लोकांशी बोलल्यानंतर मला याचं कारण मिळालं. इथल्या संस्कृती मध्ये असं मानलं जातं, की माणसाचा मृत्यू ही दु:खद नसून,चांगली गोष्ट आहे. कारण त्या माणसाला या ऐहिक जगाच्या तापातून, यातनांमधून, विवंचनेतून मुक्ती मिळाली. तो जर खूपच भाग्यवान असेल, तर त्याची जन्ममृत्यू फेऱ्यातून देखील सुटका होईल, पण निदान या मर्त्य मानवांच्या दैनंदिन कटकटीतून तो सुटला, आणि स्वर्ग लोकाला प्राप्त झाला, त्यामुळे ती आनंदाची गोष्ट आहे. त्याबद्दल  आनंद व्यक्त करून, त्याचं अनेक ठिकाणी प्रदर्शन करून तो प्रकट केला पाहिजे, असा काहीसा तो रिवाज आहे. गुलाल उधळून नाच करणे, मोठ्ठ्या आवाजात संगीत लावणे, फुलं उधळणे, या ज्या ज्या गोष्टीनी तो व्यक्त होईल, असं सर्व करणं हे त्यामुळे ओघाने आलंच. जाणाऱ्या माणसाला सुखाने, मन:शांतीने जाता यावं, त्याला मागे उर बडवणारे लोक राहिलेले दिसू नयेत, यासाठी देखील हे आहे.

हे कारण मला पहिल्यांदा ऐकल्यावर चमत्कारिक वाटलं.कदाचित मृत्यू आणि शोकाकुल वातावरण याची इतकी सवय आहे, की आपला दृष्टीकोन तसाच घडला आहे. नंतर विचार केल्यावर मला ते कारण आवडलं, आणि परत विचार केल्यावर ते परत चुकीचं वाटलं. ते अशासाठी, की ज्या व्यक्ती योग्य वयात मरण पावल्या नाहीत, लहान मुलं, तरुण व्यक्ती, खून झालेल्या, अपघाती मरण आलेल्या अश्या सर्व व्यक्तींना हा प्रकार एकाच मापात तोलतो. अश्या प्रसंगांमध्ये माणसाच्या जाण्याने कोणाला आनंद होत नाही, आणि त्याचे जगाचे भोग भोगून संपले आहेत, असंही नाही. मग अशा आनंद  प्रकटीकरणाने काय साध्य होतं? खरं तर माणूस योग्य वयात-सगळे भोग संपल्यावर गेला, तरी जवळच्यांना दु:ख होतंच. आणि ते झालेलं असताना, ते आतल्या आत ठेवून , सार्वजनिक रूपात हा आनंदोत्सव करण्याची सक्ती/अपेक्षा का?

खरोखर इथले सगळे लोक इतके पारलौकिकाला प्राप्त झाले आहेत, की या ऐहिक जगातून कुणीही गेल्याचा त्यांना आनंद वाटावा? का - बाकी सर्व सण समारंभ उत्सव संपल्यामुळे, किंवा त्यांचा कंटाळा आल्यामुळे हा नवीन प्रकार ह्या लोकांनी सुरु केला आहे? थ्रिल  म्हणून? असं असेल तर हे अजूनच भीषण आहे!

विचार करून सुद्धा मला कुठचीच बाजू योग्य वाटत नाही, पटत नाही, कळत नाही. मला तुमच्या प्रतिक्रिया सांगा. या अश्या प्रकारामागे काय कारण असेल, आणि ते किती योग्य आहे. तोवर जायचे जातील- पाहू- सोहळा- उरतील त्यांचा!

The super-connected syndrome

 

My generation is very unique. We, currently 23-28 years of age,  have seen so many transitions in so many things, which can not really be compared with. We have seen times without and with land line phones, pagers, mobiles, and today's smartphones. We have seen days with only big fat typewriters and no computers, to black and white ones to Pentiums to iMacs and tablets. We have seen days when a concept called pen- friend existed, to today's' multiform social networking. Cable TV came into our homes when we were kids to the satellite Dish to HD and internet TV. In a decade or so, so many things changed. Talking just within the telecommunication industry, so many things changed. And we saw them changing, and we adapted to them as smoothly as fish in water. 

Now most of my peers, 23 to 28, are in jobs which use all these telecommunication tools as a given. We are in a small world, where my clientele ranges from Nagpur to Nigeria to New york. We communicate through Mobile phones. Through internet- through emails, VoIPs. The tools are an integral part of our lives. And hence, the line between our personal and our professional lives have started blurring. I know I am not making a super great observation, but I feel it at work everyday.

Fortunately, I do not work in a team which needs to be in touch with clients from all the parts of the world, all the time. But I have friends and I have colleagues who do. We are constantly on call. or typing that e-mail. or typing a SMS. This does not restrict to work. We have synched our smartphones to  e-mails, so we check mails on our phones, on our way back home. We have laptops so we carry our work home.  the day ends. and we are  back to the same routine next day. 

I get this if one is in a job where life-threatening situation arises. Doctor/Firefighter/police. Or may be a stock broker, where the industry is super volatile and you have to be checking it all the time. May be a MD, whose one call will decide the future for some hundreds of employees. May be a reporter, who constantly needs to check on the updates. But why all? Why does a mere BD manager need to be constantly glued to cellphone or laptop? even at 2 30 in the night? Why does a business analyst need to be glued all the time? Why does an architect need to be always connected? Is their job such that if they do not attend the call at 2 30 am, and attend at 7 am instead, somebody might die? What is that need of staying super connected to all, at all the time? 

I do not get this. And day by day I have started pitying the working personnel. The work life balance is screwed. Some body, who works in an office for decent 8-10 hours, commutes for 2 hours, is denied his or her 'me' time. Leave aside a hobby, there is constant division of time at home, and the immediate affected are family. There is no time for kids, for a pleasant talk with spouse, for exercise, or in some cases even for food.  This might be a global phenomenon. But I see it more in India. I have seen European working conditions, and most of the people there focus on their me time, their work life balance. Once you are off to home, you normally enter your personal life, and can be at distance from professional life. Here, unfortunately in most cases, it is not so. I recently got connected to a client who says on his LinkedIn profile, that being '24 by 7' is his specialty! Taking pride in not having personal life is beyond me.

The worst part of it is that, it infuses unnecessary guilt. If you disconnect on some day, you feel guilty. Or worse, if somebody is not staying connected all the time, the office atmosphere makes him feel guilty about it. I get that it is an outcome of many factors, and there is no chance that it is going to get better in time coming. But I hope there are people like me, who will be in a position to take a firm stand that they will maintain their work life balance as much as possible and do not have to stay super-connected to entire world at all the time.

 Stress tests, anti-depressants, smoking, alcohol, lifestyle deceases, psychologists and divorces are booming for a reason you see.

Tourist's dillema

 

More I think about it, more I am convinced. In process of globalization and all the cities in the world looking the same, the tourists are suffering gravely.
In recent times, lot of these incidences happened where I kept on thinking about what can you see in a particular city, as a tourist. Well I know you do not visit cities as tourists, you go serene landscapes like the north-eastern states, Kashmir or you might go on a temple tour in kashi and Uttarakhand. You generally do not come to visit Pune or Chennai or even Mumbai for that matter unless you are en route some different destination.
But if  you do, there remains a big question on what you wold see. Or make an effort to particularly visit, which you have not seen before. I have one-odd visitors in Chennai. I am expecting two families in November as well. When they ask me what do I see in Chennai, I am dumb. Sure, there is Marina beach. There is a museum (which I have not been yet, but heard it is decent) and there is kapalleeshwar temple. My list ends here. I can not think of anything else and drift our conversation to shopping in Nalli and Pothy's for the rich south Indian silk. Followed by a steaming hot idli or appams and filter coffee. All this generally takes up a day, and most of the people are happy about it.

Problem lies with people like me, who do not  have much of fascination with the beach, Museum might be too boring and shopping only makes me cringe. In fact, the problem is also bigger with young boys, who have no desire to visit temples, silk shops or museums. Not even crocodile bank or zoo. (yes, there is a crocodile bank in Chennai)  What do I show them, where do I take them?

And in fact, if somebody asks me about Pune, I will still be left in the same puzzle. There is agakhan palace, shaniwar wada and Museum. What after that?  All cities have a CCD, all cities have a movie screen and all cities have a mall. They all look the same. All cities have a Thai restaurant (Chinese is passe!) , a roof-top bar, a lunch buffet and a park. Where is the novelty? Where are the things those were unique to a city's life and culture and still serve as an attraction to tourists? I really really enjoy the Tekdi in Pune. But no tourist ever visits a tekdi. Apart from that, it is the same story. Movie, malls, Fancy restaurants and shopping spree. I am planning to visit Bangalore for 3-4 days next week. I searched online for sightseeing destinations, and most of the sites suggested Mantri mall, Garuda mall, and Lalbaugh.  Little more search did get me something else like Banerghatta park but else the same story continues.

I miss the days when all cities used to be different than each other. Look different, feel different, even smell different. Now with the flyovers, the malls, the multiplexes and the fancy restaurants, the uniqueness is gone. I can just go to Bangalore and say it feels like Pune, I can visit Chennai's malls and say it is like Mumbai. Well, losing it's individuality is a characteristic of city and the life in city. may be because of that people have started going to far and more far off places. You can do kayaking, long walks in mountains, hiking, water sports and bungee jumping. At least it is something you do not do in city, you feel good at the novelty value it provides, and you are content with your tourism.  Else Thai restaurants are to greet you in every city, and they will call on you till you believe that malls and food joints are the places to be.

What did a poor tourist ever do?