Yesterday when i was waiting, most of the voices around me were speaking Bengali. It has been some time since i have heard this many. I was in C. R. Park and i shouldn't expect to hear any other language. Hindi is also heard but Bengali drowns it.

I was walking by Market 2 after a month or so. There was a small traffic jam there. The way of entrance was by the fish stalls, and i covered my nose. I did smell the inevitable whiff. I headed to a store to buy something, where the person in-charge spoke to me in Bengali. I didn't bother telling him i was not one. I saw people sitting, buying fried savouries and sweets from a Bengali sweet shop. A friend and i used to visit this place every weekend in the evenings. We ate, drank and talked. One thing that surprised and disappointed me about that place is that tea sold in the tea stall is not very good.

This is something i miss. I miss spending time in C. R. Park. I still can go to there but, i would be alone and that's no fun at all. The markets in Delhi are very attractive in the evenings. Alaknanda Market too. There's nothing fancy. That said, the crowd and more importantly, the atmosphere there is really appealing.

It's revolting to see people spit on the road in Indian cities. With the time i have spent here, i think that people in Delhi spit more than in Bengaluru. And the stains are coloured in red, as people eat pan a lot here (i don't know is this is actually true, but this is my observation).

I expected Connaught Place to be free from this, considering it's central location and it being a tourist attraction. Fat chance, really. At the bottom of those majestic-looking white pillars, we see splashes of red.

I like the India Habitat Centre. I like the the red brick covered walls lined with green tiles on the upper border. I don't know how old the place is but I think age has added grace to it. I like the amphitheatre there. It adds a lot of zing to the place.

When i travel to different cities alone, my parents ask me to be careful. I understand that all parents would be concerned if their daughters travel alone, anywhere, moreso in a country like ours. We are advised not to be gullible, not to trust strangers or anybody for that matter. I agree with most of it. But, this question occurs to me quite often and i don't have any answer for it. Who else can i trust apart from 'my people'? The man/woman i meet on the train is from my place. Talking about regions, that's a different thing. Have we lost all credibility as people, even from the same country within the geographical boundaries of the same region?

Incredible, isn't it?!

On visiting Kolkota after about ten years, i wasn't happy with the city. There wasn't much improvement. I guess the city is not easy to manage, the buildings are darkened due to the heavy rains, the huge population is difficult to manage, the people who come to the city from the surrounding areas have no sufficient means of livelihood.

When i saw a few hand-drawn rickshaws, i was reminded of the film 'Do Bigha Zameen'. Sad. Very. Do see the film if you get an opportunity.

I have been to the NGMA (National Gallery for Modern Art) before, when it was opened to the public. But that was years ago.

If i remember correctly, it was known as the Manikyavelu (i don't know if i've spelt it correctly) Mansion prior to it being christened the NGMA. The mansion was renovated over a period of two-three years while i was studying at MCC. In those days, i used to see it everyday. The environs is pleasant. Stark white buildings in the midst of greenery.

It's a paradise for an art-lover. One should have lots of time in hand if one wants to see all the collections. I don't remember much of my previous visit as it was a hurried one, but i want to visit it once again.

I wonder why people come from different parts of the country to study at Bangalore University. Perhaps the system of education is better here; i really don't agree with this. But, the University is miserable and disgusting. It's extremely saddening to see marks sheets crumpled and thrown around, like they are ordinary sheets of paper.

Anybody reading this who would want to come to Bangalore and study at the University here, please keep this as your last option.

People had told me that Do Bigha Zameen was a trend-setter and was an important landmark in Indian cinema. Not that i'm keen on the topic. Nevertheless, i got an opportunity to watch it and was impressed.

Even if the story line of the film is old (more than fifty years), i guess it holds relevance to this day somewhere in remote parts of the country. But, i hope it isn't quite true as the picture isn't pretty. With an excellent cast, the movie goes beautifully. I especially liked the music.

We all know how well-known Malgudi Days was, or rather is. I don't think i've watched the entire series, but i would like to. One of the greatest productions of our time. I'm immediately transported to that world on listening to soundtrack which played at the beginning and at the end of each episode. The ta na na na....

I wish that some channels would air it regularly, otherwise a huge population would miss out a legacy. Today's kids would enjoy it the way we did. Running behind Swami, listening to his grandmother's stories, and eating sweetmeats at Jagan's Stall.

Sam's Story by Elmo Jayawardena is a simple story set in Srilanka, when the northern part of the country was at war.

The story-telling is straight-forward, literally. It made me wonder if certain things could be explained the way it's mentioned in the novel. But, it's just a story, a piece of fiction. Which is told nicely. It's about Sam and how the war affects him.

Another story on war, you might say, but the perspective is different.

Most of the news channels were, or rather, are running the news of Sai Baba's death every minute. Talking about his life, how he produced 'blessed' ash, gold coins, watches and other paraphernalia out of thin air.

I was surprised to see news channels do this. I mean don't they have some responsibility about airing news with substance. Sai Baba was after all, some 'god-man' who proclaimed himself 'holy', 'announced' his previous and next births, whose techniques of producing things from thin air are practiced by ordinary magicians.

Yes, he has helped people by providing for their needs, by being charitable. Nevertheless about his 'immortality', aren't they misleading the general population?

I never in my life, had imagined that i'd judge an art event. The past Sunday, i went to PESIT to judge a face-painting event. It was for the first-time and was nice. I had never visited PESIT. But maybe i wanted to see it some day and i liked the way the building was designed.

I still remember the time when it was being built. It was a first-of-it's-kind and something very new to Bengaluru then. No other building came close to it.

I was reading the last few chapters of The Kite Runner. Where a person expresses pride over Amir's mission to rescue Sohrab from Afghanistan, and calls him a true Afghani.

The reason behind my mentioning this is, that i think we share beliefs, values. Though the manner of expression might be different, it boils down to this. Yes, maybe we differ on various aspects, like a tribe in the hills might allow a man to marry two women or vice versa. But is rooted to simple aspects of life, both good and bad, a few deviations do appear.

Perhaps, if a situation similar to the one in the novel were to appear before us, a person in Amir's shoes would be called a true Kannadiga. Wouldn't it be so?

After all which culture in the world would ask to kill one's sister of brother for fun, or something like that?

When mother was away, father and i used to eat out every Tuesdays and Fridays, after art class. I would be tired at the end of the day. Having to cook, eat, clean after about eight in the night was not very pleasing. And i had to prepare food for the next day. I so wish we had bought our refrigerator then, my job would have been simpler.

So, Tuesdays was doses at Vidhyarthi Bhavan, and Fridays used to be the Kamat at Minerva Circle or at times, Jayanagar. And our stomachs remained stable even after all that eating out (i had doubts on that). That was our routine, and after some time, i didn't favour the doses at Vidhyarthi Bhavan much. The chutney that they serve, i don't fancy it.

I have not lived in a rural setting for more than a couple of days. However my friends during my M.Sc. days in Mysore tried educating me on the ways of peasants and how village life is. This apart, i've been repeatedly told that people from villages migrate to towns and cities in search of money and bread. And labourers are hard to come by these days.

If this is the case, whatever will happen to our agricultural practices. Seriously, if everybody comes to universities, gain degrees and get 'educated' in a sense of the word, who will farm our lands, and do everything else connected to it?

If i'm not wrong, most of our small-scale and cottage industries are also suffering due to this trend (very sad, significant traditions are also lost this way). No wonder, the prices of Ikat sarees have almost doubled in a span of three/four years.

I don't know if 'sir names' matter a lot these days. Maybe it does for those whose 'sir names' are 'family names' as well. My name is followed by my father's, so we don't have a family name as such.

The fact that we are in the twenty-first century does not matter a lot with respect to some aspects of our lives. One being our 'sir names'. Some of us carry the name of our native places, 'family' names, the vocation that our great-grandfathers and grandfathers practiced (by which our social standing was spelt, and from which some of us have disassociated). Like in 'The Da Vinci Code' when Sophie is told of her actual family and it's history.

Frankly i don't know how to react when somebody tells me of their family lineage, linking other people (about whom i know very little) and it's greatness. Their family name speaks some amount about them, but to ignorants like me, i am totally unaware about it. Does it actually concern us, to speak of such in today's times? Maybe to people of your own community where such things might carry some weight. Of course, we have a few famous 'sir names' which are too popular; of celebrities, industrialists, the like.

But to me, such things do not matter. Seriously, i started recognizing second cousins of my father's only from recent years.

Hudson Circle looked good today. Shimmering colourful lights lit the area apart from the bright streetlights. The tower was also decked up and looked grand. Thanks to the Kannada Sahithya Sammelena.

Floats stood in front of the BBMP office as i walked to the bus-stop. I had never assumed that they'd arrange so many floats. What if the floats rolled in the evening, with lights flashing on them. That would have been real nice.

One might have noticed this on TV. The new advertisement showcasing Madhya Pradesh as a unique tourist destination really deserved kudos. Creative and innovative. Do watch it, and it'll please you.

The previous ad was quite good too. With a pair of eyes that appear to view everything. But the current one is better than that.

Most non-Bangaloreans with whom i talk to speak of coming to Bengaluru for the kind of opportunities that are available here. This is understood isn't it? When crowds from distant parts of the country arrive here, why not people from different regions of the state?

If only some other town in Karnataka were to be stressed upon and developed as much as Benagluru, perhaps we wouldn't have faced the growing population in the city. Development in terms of infrastructure, education, employment etc. I heard that Mangaluru is quite a big city. But if one could stress on the growth of Hubli, Dharwad or a town in northern Karnataka, then i think things would have been slightly better.

I don't know how true this is, but i tend to feel that in other states, cities apart from the state capital have grown; if not to the extent of the capital. But the fact that they have grown does not put that extra amount of burden on one major city.

When i first read Anne Frank, i enjoyed it as a story. I want to read it again and marvel at the boldness and clarity in her writing.

On reading 'The City of Joy', i cried on mother's shoulders; on realising that there are a million things apart from my home. Mother was totally taken aback, and soothed me down. I don't think i'll forget that incident.

The first thought that struck me when i entered the city of Kolkotha was that of abject poverty. I don't know the condition of the city now.