With advancements in technology, sometimes I feel we are losing some of the very good things of life.
Like-
1. Tree swings- I really miss the monsoon season coupled with rope swings on old, tall, trees.
2. Going on the terrace and rotating the antenna. And we needed an assistant(or may be we used to be the assistants) to scream "Little more, oh no no, not that much.Stop!Stop right there. Perfect! you can come down now."
3. Sleeping on the terrace- I can't even imagine life without an AC. And we used to sleep on the terrace on a few occasions every summer and felt a little chill even during the month of June at the time of dawn. And, now living in an apartment, we don't even have a terrace.
4. Traveling in a train- eating aloo-poori and achaar(potatoes and deep fried wheat bread and pickle) and everything else that was sold on the train. I still try to travel by train when I have to go to my in-laws place from my parents' but it isn't the same.
5. Listening to Walkman- OMG! It was the coolest thing and a must flaunt object of our times.
6. Lending a helping hand to Mom while she made potato chips, Kachri, Tapioca(sabudana) Papads, Papads, achaar, etc.
7. List is endless.
I have been thinking about these things for a long time now. But just got to write about it since I felt bad over yesterday for my daughter. We planned a picnic for her to a very nice play park in Indira Nagar here in B'lore. I prepared Pulav, took disposables, achaar, dahi, sweets, etc. with us and went to the park. And the park was closed.:(
Aanya was so disappointed and no excuse or logic worked for her.Now, I wonder why do they have to close the park for lunch hours. Nobody can steal swings, slides or big trees from there. May be the corporate culture of long lunch hour has reached parks also. It opens from 8 am-11am and 3pm-7pm. Now who will bring children to the park at 8 am?!
Anyways, we consoled her by arranging for a picnic at our balcony. I spread the picnic mat and brought all plants close to the mat to crate a cozy garden effect and used the pots as a small table to keep things on and the effort was worth it. I missed taking a picture of smiling Aanya. And she finished her food and vegetables and even finished a laddoo(Indian sweet ball). But that's when I realized how easy it was for us to go on a picnic or lets say it was so simple back then.
We still get to see and experience some of these things in towns. But I really miss these in metros and feel sorry for our children since they cannot have it.
I am also feeling very lucky to be a small town girl. 'Coz I can still run back to find these somewhere.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Meow Meow!!!
Wondering why my new post sounds like meow meow?
Let me explain(My Fav. Line from sarabhai Vs. sarabhai).
Ever since we moved to this apartment complex(almost 8 months now), every night between 11:40pm and 1 am,a sound wakes me up. This sound is a female voice screaming "MEOW MEOW" at least 20 times. I believe this is her call for her 2 or 3 white spotted cats.
First these cats are always roaming around in the campus like stray cats and are a deterrent for us to step out for a walk 'coz you never know what mood the cats are in. Second, the owner wakes us up every night without a miss at midnight looking for her dearies.
We live on the 5th floor and the voice is so loud as if she is screaming in our balcony.
I HATE IT!! I simply hate it!
But my question is.....Isn't it wiser to get your cats in by 10 pm for all practical purposes?
I am an animal lover. I have always had dogs, fish, birds, etc. as pets. I even picked up an abandoned kitten once from my college and brought it home and even found a very nice home and family for her. We called her Mili.
But, I will never wake up an entire apartment complex to look for my loved ones at midnight.
But looking at this in positive light, our daughter is now proficient in her knowledge about cats, sounds and their off springs. Poor thing wakes up at midnight to get her lessons from the super busy aunty who has time only at that hour to impart lessons.;)
I have made complaints to the apartment office but no success.
I don't know if there is a polite way to convey the message to the owner when you have been woken up at midnight for the last 8 months but I still want to give it a peaceful shot. I am looking forward for your suggestions to resolve my new cribbing.
Let me explain(My Fav. Line from sarabhai Vs. sarabhai).
Ever since we moved to this apartment complex(almost 8 months now), every night between 11:40pm and 1 am,a sound wakes me up. This sound is a female voice screaming "MEOW MEOW" at least 20 times. I believe this is her call for her 2 or 3 white spotted cats.
First these cats are always roaming around in the campus like stray cats and are a deterrent for us to step out for a walk 'coz you never know what mood the cats are in. Second, the owner wakes us up every night without a miss at midnight looking for her dearies.
We live on the 5th floor and the voice is so loud as if she is screaming in our balcony.
I HATE IT!! I simply hate it!
But my question is.....Isn't it wiser to get your cats in by 10 pm for all practical purposes?
I am an animal lover. I have always had dogs, fish, birds, etc. as pets. I even picked up an abandoned kitten once from my college and brought it home and even found a very nice home and family for her. We called her Mili.
But, I will never wake up an entire apartment complex to look for my loved ones at midnight.
But looking at this in positive light, our daughter is now proficient in her knowledge about cats, sounds and their off springs. Poor thing wakes up at midnight to get her lessons from the super busy aunty who has time only at that hour to impart lessons.;)
I have made complaints to the apartment office but no success.
I don't know if there is a polite way to convey the message to the owner when you have been woken up at midnight for the last 8 months but I still want to give it a peaceful shot. I am looking forward for your suggestions to resolve my new cribbing.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Going Green
About a year back,or may be longer, after charging my cell phone, I did not unplug the charger and this was not gone unnoticed by my husband. "You are not green!" he had commented as he gave me a stare and unplugged the charger. His words still ring in my ears.
Co-incidentally, we also watched Al Gore's 'AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH' around the same time. (Ref.- http://www.climatecrisis.net/aboutthefilm ) . What a Film/ documentary!! I am almost entirely green ever since I watched it. I am recycling as much as I can, I unplug everything that is not in use, I switch off whatever is not needed, I buy only natural fabrics now(well, 99% of the time. But to make that 100....the clothing industry has to go entirely green), etc.
But there are certain factors which are stopping me from going completely-green.
Like-
1. Insufficient recycling venues in Bangalore.
2. No place to recycle plastic bags- Now, I do try to carry my bags from home when I go out for a planned shopping. But, sometimes when I go off my shopping list, I get plastic bags. I collected all these bags from the grocery store I regularly go to and flattened them and kept them nicely so that the bags look almost new. I went back to the grocery store yesterday and offered them the bags. I told them that I just want to recycle those bags. But they refused. Not just that, I also got weird looks from all POS people as well as other shoppers. I dont care a lot about the looks as I am used to that(thanks to my good looks) but what bothered me was the lack of social responsibility. Just to add a bit of irony, the grocery store is visually the greenest store in Bangalore. Please do tell me if what I did was something really uncivilized or bizarre.
3. What shocked me this morning was the news that BBMP wants all autos to be painted green and yellow so that the city looks GREEN. I dont know how Mr. Gore will feel about this but I am sure he wont be too glad. Hello BBMP! Going green means acting green not looking green.
I spent my college years in Delhi and I was there around the time when delhi was in process of switching over to CNG. Oh what a mess it was! Because of lack of planning, awareness or whatever you may want to call it, but I even had to stand in a Tata 407 truck to get back to my hostel because all public transportation went on strike. And we had to paid Rs. 40 for that Tata 407 convertible, if I remember correctly. And yes, I was wearing a Business suit and returning from IIFT after a seminar.
Those days, there were not enough CNG filling stations and the autowalas has to stand in queue the entire day to get refueled. But at the end of it all, Delhi public transportation is on CNG completely. That is going Green!
4. Many other such deterrents which I will write about when I face it.
This also reminds me another incident from our days in CA. This was right after watching An Inconvenient Truth. I collected all beverage cans and bottled and went to a recycling center about 3 miles from our home in San Jose. On my first visit, it was closed. I did not get discouraged. I had pledged to be green. So, I went again. Now, I was standing in a very long queue of homeless Asians. If any of the readers have been to San Jose, they would know what I am talking about. Yes. The shopping cart guys walking on the curbs......you can find them all over CA. Some of the un-bathed, toothless, and whatever, women gave a detailed look to me and them murmured something that I didn't understand. Then one of them said"you have to wait for 2 hours".
2 HOURS!! in that queue?
NO!!Never!
Then with another grin, the lady said "u give your bottles. I get money. OK?"
Not OK.
And yes, the most important part of this is that CA charges 10 cents as a security deposit for the cans and bottles purchased. And there is no place you can get your hard earned 10 cents/bottle money back conveniently. Going green is inconvenient! and so is the truth.
But MI is one state which has made recycling at grocery stores as easy as it could be. It has ample number of bottle, cans, etc. acceptor machines which prints out a store credit coupon equal to the value of returned stuff and you can redeem it in cash or use it to pay your grocery bill. That's pressing easy button.
And if anyone is wondering if my green pledge is the reason my blogs have a green back ground....Yes.
At the end of my long blog, I request everyone who happens to read my blog, to Go Green! as much as you can and as much as you are allowed to. And, Please watch An Inconvenient Truth.
Co-incidentally, we also watched Al Gore's 'AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH' around the same time. (Ref.- http://www.climatecrisis.net/aboutthefilm ) . What a Film/ documentary!! I am almost entirely green ever since I watched it. I am recycling as much as I can, I unplug everything that is not in use, I switch off whatever is not needed, I buy only natural fabrics now(well, 99% of the time. But to make that 100....the clothing industry has to go entirely green), etc.
But there are certain factors which are stopping me from going completely-green.
Like-
1. Insufficient recycling venues in Bangalore.
2. No place to recycle plastic bags- Now, I do try to carry my bags from home when I go out for a planned shopping. But, sometimes when I go off my shopping list, I get plastic bags. I collected all these bags from the grocery store I regularly go to and flattened them and kept them nicely so that the bags look almost new. I went back to the grocery store yesterday and offered them the bags. I told them that I just want to recycle those bags. But they refused. Not just that, I also got weird looks from all POS people as well as other shoppers. I dont care a lot about the looks as I am used to that(thanks to my good looks) but what bothered me was the lack of social responsibility. Just to add a bit of irony, the grocery store is visually the greenest store in Bangalore. Please do tell me if what I did was something really uncivilized or bizarre.
3. What shocked me this morning was the news that BBMP wants all autos to be painted green and yellow so that the city looks GREEN. I dont know how Mr. Gore will feel about this but I am sure he wont be too glad. Hello BBMP! Going green means acting green not looking green.
I spent my college years in Delhi and I was there around the time when delhi was in process of switching over to CNG. Oh what a mess it was! Because of lack of planning, awareness or whatever you may want to call it, but I even had to stand in a Tata 407 truck to get back to my hostel because all public transportation went on strike. And we had to paid Rs. 40 for that Tata 407 convertible, if I remember correctly. And yes, I was wearing a Business suit and returning from IIFT after a seminar.
Those days, there were not enough CNG filling stations and the autowalas has to stand in queue the entire day to get refueled. But at the end of it all, Delhi public transportation is on CNG completely. That is going Green!
4. Many other such deterrents which I will write about when I face it.
This also reminds me another incident from our days in CA. This was right after watching An Inconvenient Truth. I collected all beverage cans and bottled and went to a recycling center about 3 miles from our home in San Jose. On my first visit, it was closed. I did not get discouraged. I had pledged to be green. So, I went again. Now, I was standing in a very long queue of homeless Asians. If any of the readers have been to San Jose, they would know what I am talking about. Yes. The shopping cart guys walking on the curbs......you can find them all over CA. Some of the un-bathed, toothless, and whatever, women gave a detailed look to me and them murmured something that I didn't understand. Then one of them said"you have to wait for 2 hours".
2 HOURS!! in that queue?
NO!!Never!
Then with another grin, the lady said "u give your bottles. I get money. OK?"
Not OK.
And yes, the most important part of this is that CA charges 10 cents as a security deposit for the cans and bottles purchased. And there is no place you can get your hard earned 10 cents/bottle money back conveniently. Going green is inconvenient! and so is the truth.
But MI is one state which has made recycling at grocery stores as easy as it could be. It has ample number of bottle, cans, etc. acceptor machines which prints out a store credit coupon equal to the value of returned stuff and you can redeem it in cash or use it to pay your grocery bill. That's pressing easy button.
And if anyone is wondering if my green pledge is the reason my blogs have a green back ground....Yes.
At the end of my long blog, I request everyone who happens to read my blog, to Go Green! as much as you can and as much as you are allowed to. And, Please watch An Inconvenient Truth.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Disclosure Policy
This policy is valid from 24 August 2009
This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.
The compensation received will never influence the content, topics or posts made in this blog. All advertising is in the form of advertisements generated by a third party ad network. Those advertisements will be identified as paid advertisements.
The owner(s) of this blog is not compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog owners. If we claim or appear to be experts on a certain topic or product or service area, we will only endorse products or services that we believe, based on our expertise, are worthy of such endorsement. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider.
This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.
This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.
The compensation received will never influence the content, topics or posts made in this blog. All advertising is in the form of advertisements generated by a third party ad network. Those advertisements will be identified as paid advertisements.
The owner(s) of this blog is not compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog owners. If we claim or appear to be experts on a certain topic or product or service area, we will only endorse products or services that we believe, based on our expertise, are worthy of such endorsement. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider.
This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.
Why do we blog?
Finally, the blogging bug has bitten me. I am a firm beleiver in one's privacy and also a carefully understand the other person's privacy policies. But somehow, I failed to understand why do people let their innermost fellings or thoughts out on internet for the world to read it.
Lets go back into history first. For times unknown, people have written diaries where they wrote their experiences, feelings, love, hate, secrets, etc. and they guarded it. Gurded it so that no one can read it and know about whats going on.
Now, we write blogs. A similar online version of a diary. But since we went online, we deleted the private part and instead of guarding it, we scream and call out for people to read it. So, dont we need privacy any longer??
Or, is it that we have guarded it enough and now want to be understood and may be, appreciated for our thoughts or creative writing skills?
These thoughts are still bubbling inside my head as I am typing these words.
Now, I dont want to be sounding like one conservative blogger. I do understand that blogging is not only private thoughts. It has much more to it than that.
But is it the need for appreciation? Or may be we want to know how many people agree with us. Or may be because we all think "I am the only unique thinker with writing skills".
What is it that has spread the contagious blogging flu to as far as me?
Lets go back into history first. For times unknown, people have written diaries where they wrote their experiences, feelings, love, hate, secrets, etc. and they guarded it. Gurded it so that no one can read it and know about whats going on.
Now, we write blogs. A similar online version of a diary. But since we went online, we deleted the private part and instead of guarding it, we scream and call out for people to read it. So, dont we need privacy any longer??
Or, is it that we have guarded it enough and now want to be understood and may be, appreciated for our thoughts or creative writing skills?
These thoughts are still bubbling inside my head as I am typing these words.
Now, I dont want to be sounding like one conservative blogger. I do understand that blogging is not only private thoughts. It has much more to it than that.
But is it the need for appreciation? Or may be we want to know how many people agree with us. Or may be because we all think "I am the only unique thinker with writing skills".
What is it that has spread the contagious blogging flu to as far as me?
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