Priyanka Chopra and Ameesha Patel for ground chakkar
Kajol
The only man who managed to make it to the boxes! And it's not an Indian!
And so did Nicole Ritchie, on something called Crackling Coconut!
Cannot be complete without, who else but, Aishwarya Rai
This ain't our idea of Bootylicious eh?
I can't stop laughing when I read Padmapriyaa Pyrotechnics next to Jennifer Lopez!
Chakkar Big - Bipasha Basu
Shakiraaaaaaaa
Colours
In the sun
Patriotism through food
More food
More colours
In a recent discussion between two gentlemen, the point of argument was the language of destination boards on BMTC buses in Bangalore. One argued for English and Kannada, while the other argued that people in Bangalore should learn the local language. And so it went on. Each refusing to give in to the other.
And then one of them presented the links to his blog, where he had written about a similar issue. As an objective reader and mute witness to this argument, I decided to deviate and take a look at this blog, and I should add, I was more than baffled.
Here’s why.
Blog Number One – This talked about hoardings put up by a company called Staples. The author argued about Kannada being missing on the hoarding. There’s English and Hindi, but no Kannada, he says. The company being a German stationary manufacturer should have known better than to put up a hoarding without Kannada in a city where the local language is Kannada, says the author.
Blog Number Two – ATMs in the city do not have menus in Kannada. English, Hindi, sometimes even Marathi, but no Kannada, he says.
Blog Number Three – Clothing store Megamart does not have Kannada signboards. Gents section, Ladies section, children’s section, all these boards are only in Kannada, says the author. He even says how only Hindi music is played at the store, when the entire state enjoys Kannada songs. He points out that it would be difficult for Kannadigas to shop at this store.
As a Bangalorean, it pains me when people talk about language in this manner. All the more maybe because I am not a Kannadiga. I do know the language, can speak, read and write. I studied it for ten years. But that’s not the point. It saddens me to see that there is so much regionalism in the city.
- Being a Bangalorean I’ve always loved the fact that the city is loved by others, visitors I mean. But is this what the visitors have to come to?
- I respect Kannada. I respect the fact that it is our state language. All boards in shops are required to have both English and Kannada. All fine. But why this fanaticism for the Kannada language? Is the language going to become more popular through ATMs? Through hoardings? Through bus boards?
- Language, at the end of the day, is for communication. A sort of convenience, if I may say. It’s not for us to fight over and say, this language needs more mileage than the other.
- If you think Kannada is losing importance in Bangalore, then make a conscious and meaningful effort to spread the usage of language. But this cannot happen through public utilities like buses and so on. In these spaces, language is for usage not for its promotion.
When people like Maharashtra Navnirman Sena Chief Raj Thackeray say that people come to Maharashtra because it is a developed state, once can’t help but feel sorry for him. And he further adds that the state has now not developed because of the outsiders who are present.
And here in Bangalore you have Kannada Chalavali Vatal Paksha President Vatal Nagaraj whose regular ritual it is to burn an effigy of a Tamil Nadu politician right in the middle of Majestic bus stand.
When and how is a city going to progress with such mindsets? I’m no M K Gandhi, but I do think non-violence is most certainly the way.
And then there are these constant comparisons to the neighbouring state’s capital, Chennai. Chennai has this, Chennai has that. I’m not against taking the good from a city or learning from the positive. But Bangalore should also be seen for what it is, Bangalore. It’s a city like no other. And when a person from outside chooses to come to Bangalore, it should be a matter of pride, not an opportunity to ask him to learn the Kannada alphabets.
Note: My apologies if I have hurt any sentiments through this blog post. My intentions are thoroughly straight-forward and pure and not to degrade any person, place or language. I speak only from my love for this beautiful city. Call me a sentimental fool if you like.
S M Krishna. Shashi Tharoor. Sonia Gandhi. Think non-indulgence. Or indulgence, if you want. Or ‘austerity’ as it is being referred to in the media.
Public display of wealth has been subject to discussion time and again. I remember, many years ago, former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was in the news for disproportionate wealth. Gold jewellery worth crores, a mini-theatre inside her house, television news channels showed everything she had inside her house, wealth worth over Rs. 65 crore.
Read this article on IBN blogs Austerity must come from within, but hypocrisy has its uses
It says austerity must come from within. Indeed, it must. As the writer says, living in five-star hotels, even if you are footing the bill, does not make it entirely okay.
But what matters is this. “There is a line dividing acceptable comfort and extravagance”.
What I would like to know is why I should be so bothered when a politician chooses to travel by economy class? Rahul Gandhi traveled in the Shatabdhi Express. Good for him. Does he or anyone expect us to applaud for his concern and humility to travel cheap?
But I would attribute a part of the blame to the media as well. Why do we want to glorify Sonia Gandhi traveling in economy class? So what if N R Narayana Murthy chooses to have a simple (I really don’t think having a reception at the Leela Palace counts for ‘simple’ but anyways I’m only referring to what the media reported) wedding for his daughter?
Are we lesser mortals supposed to be grateful for this? There are thousands in the country who have simple weddings. ‘Simple’ to me would mean a register marriage. ‘Simple’ to me means travelling by train, bus and so on.
I’m not asking these politicians/public figures to give it all up. When you choose to do something, do it silently, instead of expecting attention. And this includes the role of the media.
And last but not the least. “Our restraint may not make an iota of difference to their lives. But we can express solidarity by living in a manner that is not an affront. Because we are a nation, not just a market”.
Bangalore is home to many non-Kannadigas, an example being myself. Even though I can speak, read and write in the language, there are many in the city who do not speak Kannada. Take the case of BMTC buses. A total of 5600 BMTC buses run on Bangalore roads everyday. And only 800 of these have English and Kannada destination boards. The remaining have these old, rickety boards with signs only in Kannada. Some have different numbers in the back and front. Yet others are blank.
To top it all, the state Transport Minister R Ashok ‘thoughtlessly’ says that these ordinary buses are used only by Kannada people. Is this a mockery of a city that is home to people from various backgrounds, that boasts of being cosmopolitan? How much revenue would be generated from non-Kannadigas through bus usage? Is this the city that we want to be?
Only Kannada people use ‘sada’ buses, says Transport Minister Ashok
This post is actually long overdue. It was supposed to be out when I first heard the phrase “Walk when you talk”. I’m referring to the ‘What an idea, Sirji!” advertisement starring Actor Abhishek Bachchan for a mobile phone network. It is absolutely abominable that this ad was even made and then actually allowed to be publicly screened. I am no ad-guru. But anyone should realize that the very ‘idea’ of the ad is wrong and dangerous.
A doctor asking the entire world to ‘Walk when you talk’. It only reminds me of the death of a girl from my college when I was pursuing my under graduation. She was talking on her cell phone while trying to cross the road just outside college, and was hit by a truck (or a bus, I do not remember clearly) and died on the spot. This was exactly ‘Walking, talking’. And the ad endorses what is completely the opposite of common sense. Imagine what would happen if an entire country started walking while talking on the cell phone. And the ad shows different people doing exactly the same and a news channel airs it as ‘Breaking News’.
Why did Abhishek Bachchan (who came across as a sensible gentleman to me, till this ad) even agree to endorse a product (I’m not against the product) through a concept like this? Mobile phones have caused much danger while driving, walking and so on. And people are repeatedly told not to talk while walking and driving. Then you have this ad saying something completely different. I would like to know who is this brain surgeon of a copy writer (or whoever, of the ad agency) who came up with this line and this concept and then have a doctor portray it.
And they call this an ‘idea’?
I never wanted to go to school. This was when I was in the 5th standard. I didn’t go to school for a few days because I was ill. But after that I didn’t want to go back. I wanted to stay home. I told my mother also. She laughed. We used to play rumy and pallanguzhi. I don’t know what came over me during that time. I just didn’t want to go to school.
Another person was washed away in a drain in Bangalore. All this in less than five months. Will another transfer take place or will another life be lost?
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/1360-bbmp-drain-accident-victim-vijay
It was the first office outing. S Sr, S Jr, and I had a good time watching Quickgun Murugan with our colleagues. Not much of a team outing but we made it memorable for ourselves. What with S Jr’s obsession with momos which turned out to be bad!
But the best part was the lengthy conversation we had about our lives. It was super fun! It ranged from office to family to love to family to siblings to everything else. We didn’t even realise how time passed. It was good to talk outside office, breathing the fresh evening air. I realized a lot of things that day. A lot of important things. And maybe it’s too late to rectify most of it since a lot has happened. I don’t know. It just left me thinking. Maybe we should have had this conversation around four or five years ago. But of course, I didn’t know them then. I just wish, and things may have been different, maybe better.
That day was good. I won’t forget it. I won’t. It’s a mere realisation. That’s all.
