[ANT] The mechanical waltz

Life resembles a chaotic dance of people and things. The dancers each swirl their way through the space provided by the others. They dance because they have to... with a few actually enjoying the dance and the way they dance... This is a chaotic, passionate waltz, much like Brownian movement.



For me, it's easy to think of life while on the mechanical waltz to work. Yes, this is my wonderful city's traffic I'm talking about. Come morning, and the metal beasts of burden yank their lords to their destinations, in a dizzying, swirling, absurd dance that defies attempts at logic. And the dancers can sometimes be typecast! There are the auto-rickshaws with an identity crisis: They think they are two wheelers, but alas, fate has other things in store for them. The thing to be admired is their spirit, they carry on like two wheelers, regardless, more a caprice than a waltz...
And what about the two wheelers themselves! The two wheelers dance to a Presto while the rest are at Largo. Any remote air vent between 2 other vehicles shall do, and they shalt make their way, firmly convinced of their immortality. There again is their wonderful belief that theonly true world is the one in front of their front wheel, all else is maya! Hence they undertake lateral spatial transitions as well, in total bliss. And the blaring horns and screamed invective... hmph, mere trifles! If anything, they add flavour to the sounds of the symphony, and the waltz continues...
And the buses and trucks, the mastodons on the tarmac, the last bastion of stability in a sea of the volatile? Naah, not quite. Like any heavily built dancer, they like to imagine they are light on their feet, and add many a whimsical twist in the tapestry of the waltz! This, coupled with their almost-real immortality, allows them to throw their weight around! And the cars, poor creatures, are forever frustrated by the cruel world that does not allow them to move in freedom. "I mean, other vehicles on the road should be illegal, how dare the bike in front of me go at 40 when I want to floor the pedal!". And of course, no one follows lane discipline, so the cars have to make their way through, around, along or against the traffic. And there's always the odd bike they may have to nudge, but it's all a part of the dance...

Note: This post is dedicated to all the dancers that fit in this category. There are the specialists I may have ignored, and my apologies go out to them, but I felt they were beyond words! This includes: cab drivers, mobile-phone-addict drivers, female drivers {yeah, go ahead, flame me on that}, underage drivers, adrenaline junkies...

[ANT] Eyespeak

(This is the first in a series of some meandering essays I've been meaning to write for a while now, but haven't gotten around to. For all I know, I may enter limbo again and not write another, but this is a start...)

I have lately come to notice the joy of almost telepathic communication... when only eyes meet, and the communication is more an acknowledgement or understanding. It's somewhat funny, the joy of the instance of communication, especially with the unknown!
When something noteworthy happens in cricket, for instance, while viewing in the cafeteria, stranger's eyes meet, and there is that nod without nodding, that mutual acknowledgement,which is vaguely satisfying! You're stuck in a traffic jam, and fellow drivers look across, with a mutual resignation+annoyance+frustration++++... And what about when we see someone attractive, and, in the remote possibility that their radar locks in to your gaze, and in the even more remote possibility that they acknowledge, and the infinitesmal probablity that they do so positively....

It's intriguing, the intangible bliss of the ephemeral contact! I guess it is the comfort in knowing another human being thinks the way you do. There's also a certain abstract elegance to such a communication that words or form would destroy. When an aquaintance is rambling on and making a general ass of himself, and you look across at a f(r)iend, the muted smile speaks volumes more than a later analysis ever could! And the obfuscated haze of mutual confusion, the unision of flaming irises when in ire, the condescending disdain, the shocked horror, the pleading exhortation... you name it, the eyes have it...
May the silent stories play out their evanescent scenes!

[ANT] Mensa Bangalore travelogue: 24 Sep 05

This is the travelogue mail I sent on the mensabangalore mailing list! You could also check the photo's on Roshin's blog: http://roshinlal.blogspot.com/2005/09/shivgange-trip.html
So here goes:
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[Those who know me know how I like to ramble on! This is a looooong post… For the benefit of those with limited patience and/or time I have included an abridged version in the end of this post.]

STATUTORY WARNING: The thinly veiled dancing girls were conspicuous by their absence, so you won’t find any reference to them in the post below. (Mensan inside joke)


24092005: 06:15...
Stage 1 (Thought for food): They say that morning drifts in and gently shakes you awake.... don't believe them! That morning woke me with a slap, aided and abetted by this contraption called an alarm clock. I managed to ignore the damn thing and doze off before another conspirator called “Conscience” woke me again! What followed was a series of hastily executed morning rituals and a hasty message to Jo telling her I may be a few mins off schedule (again). And then, I managed to get to Pavithra Restaurant in Jnr 4th block just before Jo could decide to start throwing things at me…

The appointed time for the food to be delivered by the good people at Pavithra was 7:30. However, in their infinite wisdom, they decided to make us wait until 8:05 for this to happen. This was having slightly perceptible effects on Jo’s BP, though! :-p

24092005: 08:30...
Stage 2 (A moving story): We enter the bus stand, lugging along enough food for an army, and proceed towards Platform 6. (Platform 6 has no significance other than that Pradyot and I thought it sounded a good number at the time). Chetana and Rathi are already present, and we await the arrival of the rest. Then the Ms start trickling in (I think it is pertinent to add that Ujjwal was multitasking breakfast as well!). Owing to Tathagath (wish you were there) dropping out due to unforeseen workumstances, we were a final party of 15 who met up (with plaza names in brackets where relevant): Shaheen (Jo), Chetana, Rathi, Pradyot (Francis X Hummel/ FXH), Roshin (Jedi master/ JM), Dibyo, Frank, Mayur, Ujjwal (Brilliantnut/ BN), Amar, Karthik, Sandeep, Sonia, Sumedha and Ananth (Jazz4kicks /J4K).

Thereon, we proceeded (as advised by the KSRTC powers that be) to Platform 16. After a few unsuccessful attempts at what may have seemed like hijack at the time, we found out that we had to go to a different platform after all! And lo and behold: A big, shiny (Yes, I’m exaggerating) red, empty bus was waiting to head to Dabaspet (which was our intermediate destination). We generally swarmed into the bus, and seated ourselves much like cheese-spread on hard sandwich bread. (And yes, the rhyme is intentional). At around 09:30, the driver decided he ought to continue the rest of his nap while driving…
And the intrepid adventurers set off to conquer the unknown (Unknown to them at any case). The bus journey was the usual chit-chat, punctuated by a steady flow of Maaza, biscuits and BN repeatedly asking us how much longer it would take and when we could have lunch! The gang alighted at Dabaspet (4 KM from Shivagange) at around 10:30. To our luck, we almost immediately found a pvt bus that would take us where required if we parted with the appropriate amount of money. The transfer of funds happened and we proceeded along what was very optimistically called a road! We then got off at Shivagange, looking at the hillock (It seemed a bit taller than expected) with mild skepticism. For most of us, physical exercise amounts to typing on a computer keyboard! We then proceeded towards the base of the hill…

24092005: 11:15
Stage 3: (Up, up and still not away)...We passed by what was possibly THE local attraction: a couple of VCD stores! Then Pradyot decided to go and buy bananas. Roshin was happy at this, and was extolling the virtues of the good fruit, and mentioning how useful it was on a trek, when Pradyot interrupted him to say that it was for the monkeys…. We had climbed up the first 5 or so steps among what seemed like a million when the peaceful monkeys of the area that it would be kind of them to reduce our load! They proceeded the relieve Pradyot of his burden of bananas (in a manner that may be viewed as a shade too abrupt, some may call it snatching).
After thanking the monkeys adequately, we proceeded upwards. Then, the soft city slicker in us came out, and we began to take the occasional rest break! Somewhere along the line, I guess some people may have been disgruntled with the fact that I was regularly showing them new halfway marks as soon as we reached one…
Finally, when we asked some locals how far we had come, they told us we had finished 1 Km out of 4! You thought this would deter most people! But no, not Mensans! We decided to find a suitable spot for lunch instead, near the actual halfway mark!
Soon, at around 12:30 – ish, we decided that we had found a suitable spot for lunch, which I now call the “Stony sandwich shelter”. At this point, I think I should also mention that our lunch menu consisted of Sandwiches, Pulao+raitha and chips, and the absolutely necessary water… We settled in the rustic calm, with our caps in defiance against the insistent sunshine. The sandwiches went down well, and a lazy calm was washing over the group, when another of out fellow primates decided to make things interesting. The monkey was a battle scarred veteran, who tried to share the rewards of our hard(ly) earned food. I had a Swiss army knife with a telescope, machine gun and among other things, a telepathic translator for assorted animals. The monkey was thinking: “Hmmm, easy pickings, city slickers again! That too, only 15 of them! Hmmm, not bad, a couple of them are trying to shoo me away! I guess I’ll have to bare my fangs after all! Hmm, that’s better, they’re edging away, lemme try grabbing something now! Ah, what is it this fine young man has thrown: Oh, it’s some white thing, Mayonnaise? Naah, they were eating pulao, must be raitha”. He then proceeded to feast on the raitha, and we trudged w(e)arily to find another suitable place to resume lunch! And lo, we came upon what I call “Pulao Plateau”. Again, a flat expanse of rock on which we sat and resumed lunch! The pulao was good, and we also discovered Dibyo’s affinity towards “Lays : Spanish tomato tango”. Midway through lunch, the sun slipped behind some clouds, and we slipped again into a hazy, lazy calm! Then we debated climbing uphill again. (We had covered 30-35% of the distance then). However, we were not too sure of getting a suitable shelter there, and sometime back, we had passed a covered mantap under a rock overhand! We decided to head back there for chatting and lazing about till the worst of the afternoon was done with! And then those who wished to would head uphill to conquer the peak, and the others would stay back to concur in peace…

24092005: 14:00
Stage 4 (After eatings; meetings and second questions):
We entered our shaded alcove, and a few souls climbed the roof of the mantap, for reasons unknown to mankind! Then came a short discussion on MBlr. (Just 1.5 hrs, really). The talk went this way
1) A round of introductions
2) A brief overview of Mensa India (Bangalore)’s current structure:
(a) Executive (core) committee:
Deals with all administrative and budgetary activities in MBlr.

(b) Event committee
Deals with event organisation and planning.

MEMBERS:
(a) Executive committee consisting of:
-Sugandhi (President) MBlr’s representative in Mensa India.
-Pradyot (Secretary, current acting president in Sugandhi’s absence)
-Yogesh (Treasurer)
-Roshin (SIGHT coordinator)
-Lahar (Newsletter editor)
-Shaheen (Core member and Event comm. Interface)

(b) Event committee (current active participants in alphabetical order):
-Ananth
-Chetana
-Guru [Hannibal Lecter on plaza]
-Rathi
-Shaheen
-Sumedha
-Trupti
-Ujjwal (Also webmaster for www.mensabangalore.org)

Also, discussion was present on the functioning of MBlr and the road ahead. (These discussions are beyond the scope of this e-mail, and the general guidelines will be available online). Many questions were fielded, and it was interesting to note that all of Sonia’s questions were numbered 2nd. :-p (Roshin, thanks for catching that!) It was then that we noticed the clock had crept to 15:20 and that the trekkers needed to make a move on! Hence we divided the water among ourselves and set off. Pradyot (by virtue of “been there, done that” syndrome), Rathi, Chetana and Dibyo decided to hold fort till we returned.

24092005: 15:30
Stage 5 (Reaching for the skies):
It was only when we started walking back did we realize how lazy a good lunch followed by a long chat makes you. We were feeling the heat by the time we returned to Pulao plateau itself. Then, we used a combination of planned rest and mutual motivation, we pushed on ahead! We passed a friendly neighborhood bartender who gave us the option of nimbu pani or buttermilk. We gently avoided both and trudged on ahead to what seemed the last stretch! These were steps with rails heading up at an almost impossible angle! Steeling our hearts, we pushed on. At some parts it was tricky, since the steps were narrow and small, making it a watchful climb. However, at any time during the stage described so far, all we had to do was turn around! The view was BREATHTAKING! The sun and clouds conspired together to dapple lights and shades on the fields below! It was very picturesque, and goaded us to push on ahead and see what the view might be from the top! This is when the encounters on the planet of the apes started. Along the way, a monkey had jumped on Roshin and neatly swiped a box of mints from his bag. Going up, we paused at the cave temple, before the last insanely steep climb to the summit. Sonia decided to rest here and wait for is to return. On the way up, one of the nice monkeys was endeavoring to establish communication with me, the gist being that it wanted my bag. I took a step or 2 towards it, hoping to scare it away. It took a step or 2 towards me, baring its fangs (my, my, what sharp teeth you have, grandma), successfully scaring me away! After a dicey stalemate, I wandered around an alternate path and sped up the steps, fuelled by my paranoia about monkeys and rabies! :-D
Then we all made it to the top (There’s actually a temple there). The view was just amazing. There were smaller hillocks dotting the fields around, and we were on the highest point in the vicinity. We felt on top of that world. In the meantime, some monkeys had roughed up Amar’s bag a little bit, but we managed to retrieve the bag. We then proceeded to climb a large rock on top of the hill, and were at the highest point we could climb to! It was just brilliant. After drinking in the view, we waited for the dizzy pleasure to pass. Then, we turned our eye to the downward path. Pushing on, we came back to the cave temple. Here some monkeys had wrested Sandeep’s water bottle from Sonia and had savaged it!
We then decided to make our way downhill as early as possible (without rolling down, that is). The downward trail was peaceful, until we spotted some 40 odd monkeys heading upwards at a distance. It was then that those primates displayed their abilities in psychological warfare. They just lined the path on both sides and watched us go by, occasionally grunting or swiping a hand out! Speaking for myself, fear did lend me wings (for details, refer Justforkix in “Asterix and the Normans”). A few of us managed to get to the bottom of that stretch unscathed. We then noticed that the rest had been fenced in by the monkeys, and the monkeys had grabbed a packed of crisps from one bag. Then Roshin ran back and scared the monkeys for a moment. Taking advantage of this diversion, we all scooted down. Then, after a round of refreshments at the aforementioned bartender, we were able to laugh at the incident in retrospect. Well, we had come here for adventure and thrill, and certainly got a lot more than our money’s worth! Now, in the pleasant evening, the climb down was serene, and again, the view breathtaking. We came back to the meeting mantap, and it was a joyous reunion. After a brief recount of each other’s incidents, we proceeded down towards ground zero. In the distance, we saw clouds that seemed to extend swathes to the ground. (My theory was rain…). A brief stop and a few tender coconuts later, we headed down again.

24092005: 15:30
Stage 6 (The other title of “The Hobbit”):
Then, we asked the f(r)iendly natives where the bus would arrive. After a little misguiding and doomsday prophesying, we were told that the buses there were fictional and that we needed to take private transport. (Auto’s @ 50Rs each for 4 KM). While haggling with the auto-drivers, lo and behold, an empty bus arrives! We troop into the bus and again head towards Dabaspet! We then get off at Dabaspet, and hang around waiting for a bus. This interlude is punctuated by jamoon and chips! :-)
Then, we had a feeling of Déjà vu as a conductor in a crowded private bus told us that was the last bus to Bangalore, and that we would have to stay back if we didn’t catch that! And lo and behold, an empty KSRTC bus turns up, and is heading towards Bangalore! :-)
As before, we trooped in and settled in comfort! Then talk meandered around, until Ujjwal brought up the topic of SIGs, and more specifically: A book SIG! Hence work is now afoot to work out the logistics of a book SIG in MBlr that facilitated discussions and exchange of books. There’s also Outdoors, Music and Community Service on the anvil, with a lot of nebulous ideas that need to be distilled! By the time we reached B’lore bus stand, I can safely say that we all got off the bus in anticipation of the good times ahead.
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Abridged Version:

Bought food – met in bus stop – caught bus – got off at Dabaspet – caught bus – got off at Shivagange – climbed a while – had lunch (in 2 stages due to monkey intervention) – climbed down to shaded regions – spoke for a while – some of us climbed up, some stayed back- the climbers had a steep climb, with breathtaking scenery, punctuated by inter-primate encounters – felt amazing on top – more inter-primate encounters on the way down – stopped for nimbu pani – met the non-climbers – stopped for tender coconut water- headed down – caught bus to Dabaspet – had Jamoon – caught bus to Bangalore – STOP.

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Credits:
For Planning: Shaheen, Pradyot, Chetana, Rathi, Ujjwal, Guru
For food organisation: Shaheen (I was supposed to do it, but work got in the way and Shaheen did a very good job at short notice!)
For infrastructure: Rathi (ie paper plates etc.)
For first aid stuff: Rathi and Chetana
For dropping me home: Sumedha! :-D

Phew, that was a long mail…..

Ananth