Bangalore or Bengaluru - gets to the best of us.

28.11.2010 - Day 1 - India Trip 2010, Purva Riviera Bangalore

A city so modern, yet traditional. Being the IT hub of India, and in many aspects, of the world, its people continues are still confused about calling it Bangalore or Bengaluru. Amidst all this, the city surges ahead into the modern world.

It so happened that after a time so long that it slips my mind, I entered India and did not touch down at the Indira Gandhi Internatinal Airport at New Delhi. The destination this time was different – it was Bangalore.

The sights and scenes of the city as such make for an intriguing watch. Even a by-lane would have a shop boasting of teaching you the skills of Java, Linux, or C++, which would apparently make you the ultimate software pundit. One would not be reprimanded for believing that every child born here had the pre-requisite knowledge of programming taught from the womb of his mother. The interesting bit though is the equally well interspersed presence of Kingfisher boards and its kind, pretty much all over the place.

*****

My first day here in this trip started with a visit to the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM-B) campus. Its funny how one needs to visit a place to realize its value. Approaching my last semester of undergraduate study, a visit to IIM-B showed me what there really is to achieve. The last seven semesters at NUS have been a stepping stone, but merely just that. What’s there to achieve was what lay in front of my eyes this morning. A kind of flame rekindled, a desire to keep yearning. A dream to study in the top management institute of India. A desire which I hope to write in this very space one day in the future, was fulfilled.

However, it has to be said the highlight of the day was taken by the dietary pleasures. Dinner at a place called Barbeque Nation. The entire concept is a winner. Have a grill on your table and ‘cook’ your own food - a formula for instant success. Throw in a live band, and the perfect ambience, and the dining experience makes for a completely unforgettable one.

Its just taken me one day and one night, and I think I am in love already. I think its Bangalore. It does that to the best of us.

Friendship?

Sometimes I wonder whether some of the friendships you have really are friendships. It so often happens that a third party informs you of some element that you overlooked in the purity of friendship, and the entire thought process changes drastically.

Why is it so difficult for a guy and a girl to be just friends? Why does a third angle always come into place? I was strictly of the view that such things are of days gone by, but it was a rude awakening for me that some skeptics still exist.

In fact, on second thoughts, the biggest skeptics of a pure friendship between a guy and a girl are the very two people involved in it.

And your "social network" leaves no stones unturned to turn that fledgling flame of doubt into a full blown fire. Your friendship is talked about behind your back, people are pretty darn convinced that either one is "trying" hard for the other. Basically, there is a talk about every aspect that can be used to find ulterior motives.

Such talks are all a little pointless, and often for gossip's sake. But what such ignorance doesn't realize is the harm it may be causing a pure friendship.

Get well people. Learn to accept a guy and a girl as just friends. You may be wiser of it.

And with that - I think I need some time of my "social network", what with exams and rather pointless discussions. Adios.

Analyze? Nah...over-analyze!

Human tendency is to over-analyze their things. It's interesting to note that this leaves our minds occupied for more than half the time we think we are doing 'nothing'. If this ability puts us at an advantage over other animals, well it also leads to time consumed, sometimes rather unnecessarily over things petty enough. The intuitive nature of animals puts them at a relative ease of making decisions, partially because they do not 'make' decisions.

Impulse is the name given to actions taken in a hurry, and the many proverbs in our languages caution us against these very actions. It's worth a thought though, how many of the decisions from history support this over-analysis procedure?

On the contrary, the over-analysis of actions may prevent something from progressing or materializing. 

Funnily though, I get a feeling that I may have just spent an entire blog entry explaining the cons of over-analysis, while doing exactly that over the entire length of this entry. Ah well, a case for an article on hypocrisy sometime soon perhaps?

Zest

They say the creative types need something to inspire their creativity. The last couple of months saw me lose that zest to write. And let me be honest with you, that left a gaping hole in me, which I had conveniently hidden somewhere in the dark corner of the inner self.

Last week however, I may have just found that willingness, that urge to write, be heard, be noticed perhaps. A few status message updates on facebook and a couple of tweets later, I realized it was time to blog again. And with this realization, it dawned on me that for some strange reason, I always feel this "zest" to write when I am about to bang head on into this barricade called "exams".

 *SIGH*