I have recently started commuting a longer distance to work as the office has shifted to a new location. It is at a place in Bengaluru that has “developed” in the past 10 – 15 years only. Developed is only a euphemism here since it only means that there are more buildings in that place and there are more people there than there once were. In the short time spent there thus far, I am taken aback by the dreariness of it all there. All I see around me is buildings, traffic, dust and pollution. There is no water body and there are a few trees dotting the landscape – all of which are, what I call the nouveau landscaping type. Palm trees, perfectly grown else where and transplanted to provide life to what is otherwise a sad location. This location is no different from any other suburb in other cities around India. Admittedly, I am no expert in new
Eraser is the devil!
An interesting read in today’s newspaper had to do with the proclamation by a cognitive scientist that a Pencil eraser is the Devil! Who would have thunk it?! The innocent little eraser, the scrubby little thing, the chocolate toffee sized, multi-faceted pencil eraser is a devil?? Really? As you read along, you would realize that the pencil eraser is used to correct mistakes made and give an appearance of cleanliness, almost as if the contents were all written clean and good at the first time of writing. It encourages children to seek perfection in their presentation at the cost of making mistakes and learning from these mistakes. The act of erasing misspellings or hastily scribbled, illegible notes indicates a need to cover up and not own up to faults and/ or mistakes. Ah! Now that makes sense. When I was encouraging people to make mistakes so they learn from them, I did not realize that the devil of playing it
IPL – it is not just the cricket!
I had been to an Indian Premier League cricket match recently and came away fascinated by the experience. Being a cricket aficionado, I have been to cricket grounds to watch Test matches in the past. I love the ebb and flow of the game in a Test match and watching it with similar cricket fans makes for a wholesome experience. The M. Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore is not the worst in terms of accessibility and basic facilities. It makes for a good viewing experience. The IPL matches, on the other hand, are a whole different ball game. The crowd coming in to watch these matches is completely different – there are families, teenagers and youngsters in large numbers, all turning up to enjoy the spectacle. There is music, loud. Really, really loud. The huge speakers placed maybe about a 100 feet away from each other are facing the audience. God forbid your seats turn out to be bang in front
Net Neutrality
The recent FCC ruling in favor of Net Neutrality is an interesting decision. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of the United States passed a rule that the Internet Service Providers should always act in “public interest” – similar to telephone lines. What this means is that the Service Providers such as AT&T can not enter into an agreement with Content Providers such as Netflix, Google, etc. where their content is given preference over other Internet sites. This ultimately translates to a single pricing structure for all end users irrespective of the content that they are accessing over the Internet. The ruling has been touted as a victory for end users and a rap on the knuckles for Service Providers who want to impose a variable pricing scheme for Content Providers. I don’t see it the same way necessarily. I think it makes sense to make end users pay for the service that they are receiving. Although we do not have
Changing mindsets
While driving in the streets of Bengaluru (or anywhere else in India, for that matter), it is common to see vehicles coming down the wrong direction in a 4 lane road that is divided by a concrete road divider. Often, it is to “save” on a precious few milliliters of fuel because the option of following the rules would force them to travel a few kilometers more. Auto rickshaws, taxis, bicycles, mopeds, motorbikes, cars, buses and even trucks are guilty of doing this. For an independent observer, it can be quite startling to see how little these vehicle drivers care for their lives as well as others’! As it is driving in India is an exercise in alertness and road awareness and all those who drive down the wrong side of the road, be it in city traffic or on the highway, endanger their lives and those of others in their endeavor to save a few Rupees. The Indian consumer’s
Mithun's Musings 