Bangalore's energy is stimulating!

Yup. That's right. I am back and actually saying these nice things about Bangalore.

Letting go of some of the not-so pleasant events that occured in 2008-2010, it feels wonderful to be back in Bangalore. I love the buzz and energy of the place and the weather is as wonderful as ever. Yes, the trees are flowering across the city :)

I have met some wonderful entrepreneurs and people involved in start-ups here. These are well-educated professionals who left well-paying jobs in big companies to pursue their dreams. People whp believe they can use their expertise to help people and make India a better place. Given the number of VCs and Angel investors here, the situation is ideal to bring about an entreprenurial revolution powered by research and development.

As an Indian, I feel proud of all I am seeing on the wonderful southern trip.

Singara Chennai

That was a short and sweet stay in the city formerly called Madras. I managed to drive by different parts of the city and see some lovely green neighbourhoods. No, I couldn’t manage to wake up and see the sunrise on a beach but I was able to take in a bit of the city.

My favourite area is Mylapore in the vicinity of the Karapagmbal Temple. There is something so old-world, charming and pre-British about the place and kudos to the locals and municipal authorities for maintaining cleanliness in the area. The temple, with its lovely tank and imposing Dravidian Gopuram is an indicator of how the village of Chennaipatnam would have looked a few hundred years ago. I have to say that I was a bit disappointed with the masala dosa I had at the Karapagambal Mess. I am used to the high standards of Coimbatore’s Annapurna and Arul Jyothi, so despite the fact that place was reeking with character I didn’t think the food lived up to the ambience and surroundings.

We also had a wonderful evening at the Madras Gymkhana, a typical British-era club for the city’s elite. I have to comment that many of the institutions built by the British last till this day and many among them thrive. Among these are the numerous old churches in the city. Madras has a large and visible Christian community and most walls, which have religious paintings to avoid the blessings of those answering nature’s call, contain images of Christ and the Virgin Mary along with those of Hindu gods.

Chennai reeks of positivity and with the improvement of its port and the mushrooming of special export zones we have an economic boom in the making. Let’s hope the metro project work goes on here like it did in Delhi and not follow the Bangalore and Bombay experience.

Morning in Egmore

Chennai or Madras is getting a metro of its own so the construction activity is everywhere. We had a nice ride to the hotel in Egmore from the airport, except for the fact that the semi-blind taxi driver nearly rammed the car straight into a police barricade!

Egmore is a pretty charming locality and the beautiful St Andrew’s Church is a landmark that stands out. The lovely church built by the Scots in the 19th century in a compound with well-manicured lawns is in contrast to the area outside the Egmore station, with its usual smell of urine and homeless people.

Madras is an early to rise city, where you get the newspaper delivered at 5:30 am! When I went out to take a few pics, I noticed that people were already on the move and on their way to work. And the rotting smells and stench were overpowered by the pleasant scent of flowers that the women wore on their hair.

Southern Odyssey

I am about to embark on a one-week tour of the south. I start with Madras or Chennai as it's officially known now. I have always had warm sentiments towards the city and it's nice and courteous people. Of course this is a business trip, but I will try my best to wake up early in the morning and get some nice shots of the city at dawn.  Not to be missed are Chettinad cuisine and a nice Tamil meals-packet for lunch.

Then it's my return to Bangalore, a city that I have not had the best history with. In all fairness, I was happy there for most of the two years I lived there and it was a great experience. There's a lot I love about the city: it's youth, it's tree-lined avenues, flowers, lal bagh, Cubbon Park and the charming neighbourhoods of Basavanagudi and Malleshwaram.

Shiv Sena's Malaysian Muslim Cousins

Every year in Bombay, ahem Mumbai, we go through a cheap but violent Shiv Sena circus against couples celebrating Valentine's Day. Their cadre usually attack shops that sell greeting cards and go and beat up couple who cosy up on the "day of love." 

I have never cared about Valentine's Day but the meaningless violence from the Sena harms more than helps their cause. But the Sena might just have found an ally in Malaysia. 

This is an AFP despatch from Kuala Lumpur.

"Several Malaysian states are planning a crackdown on "immoral acts" during Valentine's Day as part of a campaign to encourage a sin-free lifestyle, an Islamic party leader Wednesday.

Authorities in the northern states of Kedah, Penang and Kelantan as well as central Selangor state will carry out "immorality checks" on February 14, said Nasrudin Hasan Tantawi, head of the Islamic party PAS's youth wing."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j6M0sZ21MDSUVipeFjbBXxnD4BRQ?docId=CNG.b0bd9634a7d95d37ca7220a20828e2b0.5d1

Non so se ridere o piangere (I don't know whether to laugh or cry) When will Asia ever rise above this kind of non sense?

Indian passion meets German proficiency

The above words were used by German musician Prem Joshua to describe his band, which performed in front of a jam-packed audience at the steps of the Asiatic Library on Sunday. I didn't expect such a large turnout for a fusion music concert but this is Bombay, people are always open to all sorts of creative endeavours.

Music is something that is ever evolving and Joshua's band plays with an incredible harmony between Eastern and Western elements. Joshua himself plays the sitar and the flute with almost a sense of perfection. We were treated to a fabulous concert for two hours. 

On a funny note, the musical performances of the Kala Ghoda Festival are being sponsored by Air India, an airline that makes more than a billion dollars worth of losses every year! Since the first time I saw the Kala Ghoda festival in 1999, it has grown immensely and is now a big ticket cultural event. Events like the festival and the marathon enrich both the city and its citizens. 

As a huge fan of fusion music, I would be delighted to see more Prem Joshua performances. I have a few of his albums and I always feel that my mind is transported to some kind of utopia when I listen to his music.

More for more pics from Kala Ghoda and other parts of the city, click here

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7444188@N05/sets/72157623823412347/

This one is for the Shiv Sena

Dear Balasaheb, Udhav-ji and Aditya-ji,

Look at this open act of defiance! This isn't a sign in some elitist neighbourhood, but in the bastion of your recent success. The university in Kalina.

Come on guys, have that sign changed or deface it or better yet, threaten the vice-chancellor and make him remove such facetious and sacrilegious signs!   

The Sun stopped Shining

I am in shock to hear that my mentor Dr Leena Sen passed away this week. It took a lot of strength for me to not break down when I called her house and spoke to her son.

This post is as much about me as is it about Mrs Sen. I met ma'am in 1996 when I was a first year Bachelor of Commerce student at Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics in Vile-Parle. She wasn't my Business Communication professor but I approached her as she was the professor in charge of the English Literary Association. I presented her an essay on 'Secularism in India' that I wanted to enter in a national competition. She ripped apart the 3000-word essay with remarks in red ink on every single page.

At 18, I could hardly write and the biggest book I had read at that point was an abridged version of Tom Sawyer. Over the next three years, Ma'am worked hard to turn me into a good writer. It was process that started with me reading the books of V.S. Naipaul and Salman Rushdie. Naipaul was her favourite writer and soon became mine as well.

I won the English essay competition at the University of Mumbai's youth festival and several prizes at national level competitions and my college rewarded me with the Best Writer Trophy two years in a row.

Thanks to her training and encouragement, I developed a love for literature. Books are an essential part of my life now and I am a much more knowledgeable human being.  Since I graduated from college, I went on to write a travel guidebook and continue to work as an international journalist for more than 8 years. Ma'am was indeed proud of my achievements and sense of adventure but I am sure she was prouder of the fact that I stuck to my ethics all these years.

I don't think I expressed enough gratitude to her for teaching me how to write and how to appreciate literature and poetry. I sat for her English poetry lectures in college, even though I didn't take English literature as a subject. Those were the most enlightening lessons that I ever had. She brought the magic poems of Keats and T.S. Elliot to life and helped us understand a lot more than just the text.

She definitely had the carrot and stick approach when dealing with me. I was an "idiot" for not recognising Sardar Patel on a billboard and I was once "banned" from being the public relations officer of the literary association as I didn't notice someone writing 'it's' instead of 'its' in a letter. I was also reprimanded for writing 'yours sincerely' instead of 'yours faithfully.' These are precisely the things that made a better writer and frankly a better educated person.  My pet peeve for insistence on correct grammar and proper usage of the English language developed when I was under her training.

Dr Sen was my coach, my guide and my inspiration. I owe my career as a journalist/writer to her. There will be greater success in my life ma'am. When we do meet again, I am sure that you will be proud of all that I managed to achieve.

Thank You for Everything. 

Egypt:- Thinking of My Gator

Karim aka Alligator is a passionate Egyptian friend of mine, who can trace his roots to the Moroccan Royal Family. An absolute gentleman, liberal, secular and based in Alexandria, Gator always spoke to me about the repression of Hosni Mubarak's regime.

It was in 2005 that he narrated a story about how he was questioned by the police after he received a New Year Greeting Card from me. The cops opened the envelope, read the letter and the card and wanted to know how we met and why the contents of the letter were so intimate.

An engineer by profession, Karim was nervous for weeks before being called by the army for mandatory service. (They let him go). I have been trying to get in touch with him for over 10 days. Something tells me, he's fine and safely tucked away in his beautiful house in Alexandria.

Be safe, my Gator!

A Bombay Minute

It's hard to believe that we're already into February.  If the first month of the year is any indicator then I am in for a fabulous 2011. 

January was as close to a perfect month as possible. Intriguing plays, screenings of wonderful films, a marathon, crimson sunrises, great dinners, late-night walks in the southern part of town, lovely weather, a ballet performance by the Scala di Milano, the Italian food festival, wonderful lessons at the university and very productive work. 

All this has happened in a Bombay minute. I have enjoyed every second of this year