Bangalored

Scenes from my Project office on the 7th floor of a Govt building located adjacent to Sankey lake (Malleswaram) before & after the hailstorm that left many Bengalureans Bangalored on a hot summer day last Wednesday. The sprawling lawns of the Govt Office was covered with hailstones in quick time resembling a thin blanket of snow. The 12.5mm rainfall that accompanied the severe hailstorm brought the city to a standstill due to tree falling, water logging & traffic jams.

Lowest Bidder

Executing Tender contracts with the Govt Institutions can run into bureaucratic rough weather during unexpected times. Recently I was attempting to untangle one such situation which involved the usual Tender contract variables; EMD (Earnest Money Deposit), BG (Bank Guarantee) & MLDs (Milestone linked deliverable). During one of the meeting with a senior official involving arguments & counter arguments, I reminded my hosts that we won the contract as the lowest bidder after a grueling selection procedure involving about 45 contestants (including some big name IT Cos). And to drive home my point (and also ease up the rather serious atmosphere) I narrated him an anecdote;

I said there was this Psychologist who asked one of the American Astronauts what he was thinking about as he strapped himself to his spacecraft on the rocket which was to hurl him into space. To this the Astronaut replies “ All I keep thinking is that everything that makes this thing go up was supplied by the lowest bidder”!

I guess I had hit the Bulls eye when the discussion took a more positive turn and the official lightened up enough to say that would look into the matter and proceeded to give me two ways out of the tangle.

Echoes

I try to echo some contemporary thoughts through this Blog, however at times it can be an echo of an echo that is worth echoing. Take for instance a quote I came across recently, this famous quote by lord Samuel says 'The answer to our prayer may be the echo of our resolve'. This profound thought reminded me of Dr Smiley Blanton , a well known psychiatrist and psychoanalyst , who many believe was the real inspiration behind Norman Vincent Peale, had written a paper on how a person can tap into the tremendous reservoir of power locked within oneself.

As a matter of habit & attitude Dr.Blanton says ‘ First trust and believe in the hidden power within you’. He further goes on to explain; A psychiatrist might say 'Have faith in your unconscious'. A clergyman might say 'Have faith in God'. Personally I see no conflict between the two ideas. Indeed they may well be the same idea expressed differently. After all it was the founder of Christianity who said ' the kingdom of God is within you'.

I could see the quote of Lord Samuel resonating well with that of Dr Smiley Blanton.

Mayam ,Mahem & the Ore mafia

'Go via the Amboli route through Sawantwadi , the roads are much better even if it is 28 kilometers more’ said Suhas quite nonchalantly. I had to heed his advice seriously since he travels to Goa often, more so lately because of his new Fiat Punto. As a wholesale Vegetable vendor, Suhas supplies fresh vegetables grown around the fields of Belgaum to Goa on daily basis, and so it takes him often to Goa to meet his suppliers. Goa relies on North Karnataka for many other commodities, one of which has acquired prominence lately , not that Goa consumes it but for exports through its sea ports. Traditional Goan miners (and many other illegal mining operators in Goa) import high grade iron ore from Bellary-Hospet iron belt in Karnataka, blend it with Goan ore enhancing the export quality before shipping it out of their ports , and thanks to Reddy brothers in Bellary there is plenty to send.

And for precisely this reason I sought a change of route plan to drive down from Belgaum to Goa . The usual route (which is about 120 Kms) passes through the Anmod Ghats on the Karnataka Goa border which is now infested with so many ore carrying lorries of late that not only the road is worn out but the once green & scenic pathway is now a sea of red throughout the entire stretch . The ore carrying lorries make several up & down trips in a day and given the tight deadline delivery schedules the lorry owners have to meet, most of these lorries hover around with a death wish. And these speeding lorries dust up enough of their back packs to soak up all the greenery around in a thick blanket of fine red ore dust.

I thanked Suhas & drove down to Goa via a lesser known route; the road was OK, traffic was thin and the Amboli Ghats on the way presented a very nice scenic view of the western ghats all the way down to the Goan plains. Good riddance with the Iron Ore lorries I thought as I entered the outskirts of Mapusca and took a detour into interior Goa. I had to go via Bicholim to reach my first stop i.e, Mayam Lake View resort . The GTDC promotional brochure described it ‘You will fall in love with this place. Situated among thickly forested rolling green hills.... Mayem is off the beaten track and blissful guests swear this is one place they will return to again and again.’ and I opted this for a change before moving to a beach side resort at Calangute a day later. Bicholim is a small town with chaotically small roads & heaving a sigh of relief I managed to dodge through the city and was on the outskirts again. A nearby road sign said that Mayem lake view was close by and as I started climbing a small hillock the sickening feeling started to creep up again-the ‘Red lined’ roads! It meant that a mine was nearby and as I climbed to the top of the Hillock, the intensity of the mahem was quite palpable as I reached a 4 road intersection . A large red dusted arch pointed one road to ‘Dempo’mines and other 3 God knows where but i was more concerned about the one which led to my destination . The thought of a Lake resort in the middle of a mining area was sending my Holiday spirits tumble down like a pressure Guage in a free falling aeroplane.

But thankfully the nightmare was behind as I climbed down the hill towards a vast serene lake nestled in Greenery and I wondered how much of a difference about 2 kms made in this context. The next day morning the serene lake greeted me as I stretched myself onto a armchair on the veranda of the cottage which is perched on its banks. And as I unfolded the Navhind times , a news headline screamed ‘Ban expected to bring discipline in mining’ , another read “Quepem truckers assure to reduce traffic by 40%”. Obviously Goa was also gripped of this mania.

Howse that?

I got my son to mingle with a bunch of kids playing a game of cricket at the Indiranagar children’s park recently. My 5 year old son (Niks) was among the younger of this group of 7-8 year olds. When his turn came to bat i helped him to hold the bat & showed him how to swing it. A couple of swings & misses later we finally connected the bat to ball and then I stepped to the sidelines.

I cheered him at a distance as he took a fresh guard - this time all alone. The first ball bowled and his bat was no where near. By the time the next ball was bowled I shouted to encourage him to connect the bat. But to my dismay the shout distracted him, he dropped his bat and turned at me with a quizzical look. The ball by then had somehow managed to go & hit the stumps (which by now had notoriously shifted by a step to the right from where the batsman stood;courtesy the naughty wicketkeeper). Meanwhile Niks wondered why the other boys had begun cheering and finally after parting his bat with much resistance he ran up to me with teary eyes asking ‘what you said Papa?’