Strait From My Heart

Survival of the fittest

Dev Krishnan — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 05:42:51 +0000

Its Summer. And Bangalore is getting hotter every day. The weather has given business opportunity to juice parlours and more recently to ‘cut-fruit’ vendors. ‘Cut-fruit’ reminds me of a person who used to do business on the street adjacent to my office during this time couple of years back.

He was one of the pioneers in my locality who did this business – he had a small cart with a glass box; a variety of fruits including babanas, chikoo, watermelon and others that you get in plenty during summer. He took care while serving his customers – he had a clean apron tied to his neck, and wore a glove while he prepared the bowl. You had the option of choosing your fruits. You also had the option of adding a little honey and / or a pinch of chaat masala on top of the bowl. All this and the joy of having relished upon a healthy snack cost just ten bucks! There was my office and an adjoining college at one end of the street and he used to do good business. You rarely found him without at least 2-3 customers enjoying his bowl.

Time passed and he had another cart besides his old one where he started selling Papayas and Watermelons separately and his better half was now supporting him in the daily activities. The sight of the lady cleaning the few square foot of the foot path where they put up their stall while her husband unloaded fresh fruits from a rickshaw was a daily sight I used to notice while walking to work.

Then fate struck. Another guy copied our old man’s business idea and opened his own fruit stall few meters closer to the college and my office. He put up a huge umbrella also, for his customers to avoid the hot sun. Construction work started on the vacant plot behind our old man’s fruit stall which forced him to shift his business to the other side of the road which had no trees. Slowly the number of customers began to reduce and one fine day, I saw that he and his stall have disappeared!

May be he was able to locate a better place where he shifted his business to (which I hope is what has happened). May be he succumbed to the trails life threw at him because he was not strong enough to win over them. Reminds me about Darwin’s theory of ‘survival of the fittest’ and how relevant it is in the lives of each one of us!

The Show Will go On

Dev Krishnan — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 04:03:32 +0000

Separation (temporary or permanent) – I think this is the hardest pain life can ever give you. As a child, I used to hear that life is some sort of a sentence, which you have to endure. I was too young to understand the depth of such a thought then. Now when I look back, I am convinced – life indeed is a sentence, you have to go through all the maladies, and all the emotional roller-coasters (and of course all the temporary joys) that life throws at you. Experiences have taught me that all things in this world are indeed ephemeral. And I have learned over and over that you appreciate something more only when that is not there anymore.

Now the reason for this crappy post is my good friend, who after a short stint in the same city as I live in, has decided to go his own way, and has left the place for good. I enjoyed the short stint, which had come as sort of a re-union. We had loads of fun together – late night movies; late night long drives (drive to Bheemeswari is unforgettable!) – enjoyed bachelor life. Feel miserable when I realize that the best things in life are all momentary. But that’s the law of the universe; life just goes on, no matter what! And you can either mourn the losses and be left behind, or move along and enjoy all the other best things that might intersect your path.

Things to do…

Dev Krishnan — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:29:09 +0000

A popular web site is running a contest – 10 things to do before you die, based on the 2012 Phenomenon on the so called end of the world. Here is my list of the things that I wish to do, the world may end or not (the list is not exhaustive, these are the ones that spontaneously flashed in my mind):

1. Immediately ban reality shows featuring children below 18 years; kids are
made to go through things that they cannot take at their age! (The major inspiration for this post is one such TV show)
2. Implement strict IB laws that would ban news channels from showing ‘breaking
news’ of ANY kind!
3. Loot everyone who has wealth that they have acquired illegally and distribute
to the needy.
4. Ensure that justice is done to all the pending murder and terrorism realted
cases which are pending in courts across the country (which otherwise would
never be solved) at the earliest.
5. Call up all the people I love and care for and let them know that they mean a
lot to me! Spend a day/ eat a meal with each one of them if possible.
6. Take up a crash course on photography and become a pro!
7. Travel to all the continents and the places in my (yet to be prepared) 100-
places-to-visit-before-I-die list with my wifey (to-be)
8. Try to find out all the things that my parents’ wish they had/did in their life
and help them get/do them.
9. Fly to Jo Berg, SA to watch the final of 2010 FIFA World Cup.
10. Make a list of all the great people whom I wish to meet and try to meet all
of them.

Identity

Dev Krishnan — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 09:01:49 +0000

It was a Thursday night in Bangalore city railway station. It was drizzling and the place was buzzing with people hurrying to make it to their coach on time. I was also moving towards mine with my parents for a short trip to Kerala. Suddenly we hear a loud thud; we turn around to see a porter, probably around 65, on the ground with luggage in his hands. The poor man looked very weak; maybe he had not had any meal that day. His amused customers were also there, cursing him for the time they were losing because of his slip. In a jiffy they collected their luggage and rushed to find their train, without even paying the poor old man who was struggling to get back on his feet.

This might not be an isolated incident; there might be many more helpless souls in different parts of the country living through similar helpless situations every day. I say country because the media last week were abuzz with the government appointment of a council which is expected to implement the much awaited Multi-Purpose National ID card Project, which would provide every citizen of the country with an ID card – I wonder what a smart card would mean or how it will fill the millions of empty stomachs across the country.

Staring at the Sun – U2

Dev Krishnan — Sun, 24 May 2009 12:53:40 +0000

Summer stretching on the grass
Summer dresses pass
In the shade of a willow tree
Creeps a crawling over me
Over me and over you
Stuck together with God’s glue
It’s going to get stickier too

It’s been a long hot summer
Let’s get under cover
Don’t try too hard to think
Don’t think at all

I’m not the only one
Staring at the sun
Afraid of what you’ll find
If you took a look inside
I’m not just deaf and dumb
Staring at the sun
Not the only one
Who’s happy to go blind

There’s an insect in your ear
If you scratch it won’t disappear
It’s gonna itch and burn and sting
You want to see what the scratching brings
Waves that leave me out of reach
Breaking on your back like a beach
Will we ever live in peace?

‘Cause those that can’t do
Often have to
And those that can’t do
Often have to preach

To the ones
Staring at the sun
Afraid of what you’d find
If you took a look inside
Not just deaf and dumb
I’m staring at the sun
I’m not the only one
Who’d rather go blind

Intransigence is all around
Military still in town
Armour plated suits and ties
Daddy just won’t say goodbye
Referee won’t blow the whistle
God is good but will He listen
I’m nearly great
But there’s something missing

I left it in the duty free area
But you never really belonged to me

You’re not the only one
Staring at the sun
Afraid of what you’d find
You step back inside
Not sucking on my thumb
I’m staring at the sun
I’m not the only one
Who’s happy to go blind

———
Lyrics Courtesy : LyricWiki

In My Place – Coldplay

Dev Krishnan — Fri, 22 May 2009 13:13:18 +0000

In my place, in my place
Were lines that I couldn’t change
I was lost, Oh yeah

I was lost, I was lost
Crossed lines I shouldn’t have crossed
I was lost,Oh yeah

Yeah
How long must you wait for it?
Yeah
How long must you pay for it?
Yeah
How long must you wait for it?
Oh for it

I was scared, I was scared
Tired and under prepared
But I’ll wait for it

If you go, if you go
Leave me down here on my own
Then I’ll wait for you (yeah)

Yeah
How long must you wait for it?
Yeah
How long must you pay for it?
Yeah
How long must you wait for it?
Oh for it

Singing please, please, please
Come back and sing to me
To me, me
Come on and sing it out
Now, now
Come on and sing it out
To me, me
Come back and sing

In my place, in my place
Were lines that I couldn’t change
I was lost, oh yeah
Oh yeah.

———
Lyrics Courtesy : LyricWiki

The Dog’s Tail is Still Bent!

Dev Krishnan — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 05:25:51 +0000

Past few years, our country has suffered a lot – Innumerable blasts. Innumerable deaths. Innumerable families orphaned. Innumerable injured for life; What did the mob learn? NOTHING! I really doubt if it is really 2009; seems like the mob is still to get a flight to reach 21st century! I was a bit hopeful after 26/11 – thought the mob would be bit more cautious; the mob would care for the safety of others; hard to believe that they have not changed – they are still the same! Otherwise the sequence of things that is happening in this state would not have happened. I mention this state because the media is filled with news from it now; God only knows how many similar incidents are happening daily in various other parts of the country; and I am sure they are!

I strongly believed that education is the only way by which the mob can get a ticket to the present. But now I doubt! I don’t think anything can change them. Sad.

Ignorance; Fallacy

Dev Krishnan — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:05:00 +0000

Its winter in Bangalore and days, particularly mornings, are pretty cold and cloudy. That makes it more difficult for me to get up early and reach office on time I used to be a regular on the Volvo that passes through my place between 7 and 7:10 but lately I have been hopping into any city bus that I come across (cost cutting you see!). Today was one such day.

Early mornings usually means less traffic and less crowded buses. Marathahalli is one of the major bus stops en route to my office, which is always overcrowded and kind of congested. Happened to witness an incident as my bus was reaching the main bus stop today that prompted me to blog. There was this 20 something lady, sipping a tender coconut that she had just purchased from a roadside seller(you should ask my buddy Varun about roadside tender coconuts – he has had a pretty filthy experience ), hurrying to board the bus that I was in. Just before hopping into the bus, she very carelessly threw the coconut on the ground, spilling whatever water was remaining in it – part of it fell over the auto driver who was standing there !! The usual way for them to react is to abuse the offender in kannada – this guy somehow took it in a lighter way by just passing a sarcastic smile Garbage disposal in the city, for whatever reasons, is already pathetic. On umpteen occasions I have seen people throwing them on the roadside because there are no bins around, making the whole place to stink! To add to this there are such ignorant people like this young lady. I wonder what sort of chastisement she would have had to go through if she had done such a thing in any other developed country; true, she is not the first or the only one to do such an act but I feel that the ‘common man’, being part of an educated and developing society, should have a better sense of responsibility.

Incredible Karnataka – Bheemeshwari

Dev Krishnan — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:35:24 +0000

I feel deja vous when I write about our one day trip to Bheemeswari; the circumstances in which we decided to push off for a long drive (yeah, all of us really needed some charging up after a hectic week) and the time we chose to start the journey (1:30 AM) were similar to our Chikkamagalur trip few months back.

We had only a day, and we zeroed in onBheemeshwari after considering the list of very few places worth visiting for a one day trip from Bangalore. The place is approx 100 Kms to the south of Bangalore, and is famous among trekkers and also for the Cauvery Fishing Camp. Even though there are irregular stretches of bad roads, you can easily reach the place in around 2.5 hours, through Kanakapura (55 Km) – Sathnur (+ 25 Km) – Muthathi (+ 18 Km) – Bheemeshwari (+5 Km). We reached the camp at around 4AM and since we had not made any advanced booking (we believe in impetuous plans ) and because there was NO other hotel around, we had to wait in the car till around 8:30 AM!

A one-day package, including trekking, rafting and lunch will cost around 1K per person. They DO NOT accept cards and the nearest town with an ATM is Kanakapura, which forced us to cut short the visit to only rafting After a costly breakfast (Still wonder why they charge so much!) at Muthathi, we were back in the camp by 9:30 for our first ever ride in a raft The river was not very wild during the 8 Km stretch of our rafting, may be because it was the first experience for all of us, it provided us loads of fun and excitement. We were done and good to drive back by 2 PM.

The trip was amazing because of the spontaneity of the plan. Travel really is one of the best way to get rejuvenated

Some of the pics is available **here**

Hope…

Dev Krishnan — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 08:22:44 +0000

For some time now, I have been under some pressure – life wise. Got a feeling that nothing is really happening. Been planning for n number of things, but nothing is taking shape. Or is it because the amount of energy that I am directing towards these things is not intense enough? Some of the events in the past have taught me that everything in life has their own ‘right time’ to show up, no matter how hard you try accomplishing them (I have also learned that everything has its own ‘duration’ too!) So maybe I should just go on without worrying too much about when things will ‘happen’ and at the same time not reducing the intensity of my efforts, hopes and faith Reminds me of the below lines from Shawshank Redemption
(Saw it again last nite )

I find I’m so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it’s the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.