Extracting good out of evil –

– is what the current Karnataka political crisis is doing to me!

I have decided to take electoral duties seriously and have vowed to cast my vote in the next elections… 

 

Water Conservation

Eye-opener: I realized how bad I am in convincing people about something as logical and straightforward as “water conservation”!

We stay in a small building of ten flats, of which seven are occupied by the owners themselves (including us), and two are rented out. We survive on two water sources – bore well water and Kaveri river-water that is supplied by the corporation. Now, since we are on a relatively low-lying area and have a lake in vicinity, there is not much of a water problem. But in places as near as 2kms from our building, we have heard of bore wells getting dried up, and their dependence on private water tankers. Somehow, these incidents freak me out. I am very particular about not wasting water in my own house. A single drop getting wasted can actually spoil my mood for quite some time. In fact, I have noticed this trait in my entire family (that includes the extended one).

Getting back to the point – The water is drawn up from the sumps below the ground to the two tanks kept on the terrace of the building. Since the tanks are not sufficient to supply water to all nine flats throughout the day, water has to be drawn at least thrice each day with the help of a motor. Now, this is where the problem lies. The tanks don’t have any marker/ mechanism to shutdown the motor automatically. The watchman switches the motor off only when water starts to overflow from the tanks above. And water continues to overflow for atleast 5-10 minutes after the motor has been switched off. I noticed this colossal wastage of water only after I had quit my job and had started spending time at home. So, now we are trying hard to convince people in our building to invest some money in getting the motor startup and shutdown automated.  I didn’t know it was such a big task until I spoke to them personally. Seemingly, this task is ranked lowest in their priority to invest the money in. All the pleadings about water being wasted or even the problems we might face in future have been in vain. I guess, I would have to start saving some money in my personal account and get it done myself. Or else, I would remain a frustrated and grumbling woman for a long long time!!

Intuition or pre-delivery jitters?

I love good clothes. The other day, I had been to Lifestyle store and just browsing around Ritu Kumar’s “Label” when a strange feeling hit me. What if I am not able to wear these ever? And by that I don’t mean to say that I am skeptical about getting back into shape after the baby or being unable to afford that collection. I have got a very weird feeling that I might not be able to survive the whole labor thing. Yes, it sounds very stupid, and even shallow. I don’t know whether I should blame it on my fluctuating hormones or the strange dreams indicative of the above situation. And no, there is no anxiety or nervousness either. I just feel sad at times that I won’t be around.

Voice of India

I don’t watch much of television these days. Somehow, I have grown averse to watching the similar political dramas, mob fury incidents, hit-and-run cases, and of course the soap-operas that are very difficult to tolerate. I do watch “Voice Of India” on Star Plus though. I can’t claim to have watched each and every episode, yet I do follow it rather closely. I find the quality of this particular contest to be much better than others like “Indian Idol” or “SaReGaMa”. The contestents are really good and most of them have a good classical training behind them. While this program too has had its share of judges fighting with each other(to boost TRPs perhaps!), celebrity judges who know absolutely nothing about music, and praise every contestant with the same expression of “Mind Blowing”, “Fascinating”, “Awesome”, “Out of this world” etc, yet I really did enjoy the show since the very beginning. I did feel bad that a few good contestants had to be rolled off thanks to the format asking for public votes, yet I as an audience have been kept engaged and hooked. The count has now been reduced to two with Ishmeet and Harshit contesting for the top position. I find Ishmeet’s voice to be very soft and smooth on ears. But it is not trained well enough. I am no expert in music, but can certainly say that he is good for only a certain kind of romantic melodies and can’t pull off the difficult numbers with equal ease. Harshit, on the other hand is a perfect playback singer, something which we (the entire family who sits and watches the program) agreed to in unamity from the first day we heard him singing. I really hope that the program-organisers give more weightage to the judge’s decision(who I have heard is none other than Lata Mangeshkar herself), and less on the public voting(which more often than not is laced with regional flavor).

Crossroads

Recently saw an ad on t.v – a child wondering what career to choose, his decision changing every time something new catches his fancy. It somehow took me back to my own school days. Instead of my father, it were my friends who had to suffer my fickle mindedness! My career options ranged from the conventional doctor, engineer types to the then emerging fields like mass communication, column writer, news reader etc..
I am back on a similar crossroad again. This time the question is not “what” career to choose, rather “whether” to choose it or not. I am sure it hits every woman of my age who is awaiting a baby or already has one. There are relevant arguments supporting either side,  and that is what makes this decision a rather tough one. No matter what path you choose, there are bound to be guilt pangs. So, it doesn’t really help much if  you are blessed with supportive parents and in-laws, the pain of leaving your child behind while you go for work would be immense. Similarly, not choosing to work would have its own bearing on you, which may lead to frustration at a later stage. The debate between Stay-At-Home mother and a working mother would never end, which leads me to formulate my own permutations and combinations that would make my family’s life a little more easier and guilt-free…

I am off Orkutting !!

I have committed “Orkut Suicide”. To put it in lesser complicated words, I am off Orkutting now. I was introduced to Orkut some time last year by a close relative of mine. Initially I was hesitant to join any form of social networking sites, the reason being my own hesitation in being visible to so many people. I finally did yield to his requests and joined Orkut. The experience was pleasant and it was great interacting with old friends, though meeting new people through this medium never did appeal much to me. It also gave me a great opportunity to get back in touch with one of my best friends whom I had lost touch with years ago. I had been moderately active, despite my own fear that I would soon get scared of being out there in open. And now finally it has happened. I have started getting tired of being socially active, and hence decided to retreat in my own world.

I have kept my blog though!

Getting the blog of my own was another major step for me. I had shared my thoughts, feelings and views with friends, and more often than not, it was a much publicized stuff, which did hurt me initially considering that it was a breach of trust between me and them. And so I decided that to get over such incidents, I have to be able to accept my own thoughts publicly. That was when the idea of getting the blog struck me. It might not sound as a big deal now, but it definitely was a difficult decision for me. Each and every thought that I put down in word would not be kept locked in my journal anymore. It would be out there for public scrutiny. There would be judgments made – some kind and others not so kind. I have tried to run away from such judgments all my life. But now, I am there to face them. It does unnerve me at times. But I want to find out whether I can survive it or not. I wonder if like my Orkut account, this too shall face a tragic death in near future.