A Year in Bengaluru/Bangalore

I cannot believe it has already been a year since I moved back to Bangalore. How time just flew!! It feels like just yesterday that we moved back to this city. I thought it would be a good idea to reflect on how the one year in Bangalore has been.

I must say the city has changed a lot and not always for the best. It has become extremely populous compared to when I left it in 2012. This has also contributed to an unmanageable traffic situation in most parts of the city. In a way I am not surprised by this as the city still presents itself as an attractive hub for jobs and start-up that people from a big part of the country migrate here every year. My brother told me that every year, the city's population grows by 38%!! Now that is really huge! I am surprised that the city, being completely unprepared for this unplanned growth, is still surviving.
This being said, now that the Government and city administration has noted this, the efforts made to improve the infrastructure of the city to cope with this kind of growth is not catching up or able to keep pace with the growth. I hope they are doing something in the background to prevent the city from crumbling under the gigantic growth.

When I left the city, it was clean and green. While there is still quite a bit of green cover in the city, it is rapidly depleting to make way for growth. It is nice to see the citizens coming together to save the greenery. So, the administration is working towards translocating the trees. I just wish all the green is just within the city so that people living in the city can benefit from it. Due to the growth, there are a lot of vehicles on the street contributing to some heavy pollution. I think the increase in greenery would serve to benefit the city massively.

I do not know how many remember that in 2014-2015, Bangalore was the cleanest capital in the country and raked 7th in the list of cleanest cities in the country. Don't believe me, read this. However, in 2018, it is probably right in the bottom of the list. The garbage disposal system is currently not meeting the city's needs. Though a lot of initiatives have been introduced like waste segregation, ban on plastics etc, their implementation is not effective. Also, I have come to understand the city's administration has some budget and resource issues due to which the garbage pick-up is not regular and there is open dumping in several places in the city. I think this is something the city administration really needs to work on and really fast.

The other area of focus would be provision of clean and safe water to the citizens. The amount of water supplied to the city is not enough, increasing the dependency on water tankers. I do not want to talk much about how important water is and why there is a shortage. I think we all know by now, why.

What I love about the city is the vibrant vibe it still possesses. There are so many interesting and unique events all across the city all through the city. People love going to these and so do I. There are so many affordable food joints in almost every nook and corner of most localities and they offer a large variety too.

The other thing that I like is, each locality is quite self contained. Vegetable shops, groceries, schools, hospitals, parks etc are present in all localities and are easily accessible, usually by a short walk. Fortunately, this aspect of the city has not undergone any change and has in fact, improved for the better.

A big change in the transport sector is the introduction of fast and reliable Metro in the city. Though a bigger network is required for this rapidly becoming massive city, it is work in progress and hope all the other lines are ready soon. In most of my metro journeys so far, there have been tremendous crowds in the train. Sometimes it surprises me that there is still enough oxygen inside the trains to keep everyone from fainting.

The well-loved mild weather of Bangalore is still in tact. Though it has become slightly warmer than before, it is still quite cool and amazing. It has been raining on most days in this last year, keeping the temperature under control.

The city seems to believe in early to bed and early to rise. While most shops are open until 10pm, many close by 8pm. In the mornings, if you are in the neighbourhood park around 5am, you will find it bustling with walkers and joggers and you can see the same in the gyms. When I was in Hyderabad, the newspaper and milk delivery seldom happened before 7:45-8:00 am, but here, it is available by 6:00-6:30am in the morning. Only after moving to Hyderabad, did I realise that Bangalore is a city of early risers. The pace of life may not be comparable to that of cities like Mumbai, but is definitely fast paced compared to Hyderabad, which comes across as a very laid back city.

These are my initial thoughts about the year that went by. If I think of anything else later on, I will update the same in the comments section. As you may have noticed, it is a mixed bag of experiences so far. Whatever the experience maybe, I love living in the city, despite its flaws and only a Bangalorean would understand what I mean!

Book Haul from Blossom Book House

My husband and I were bored one Sunday evening and had not been out shopping for books for sometime. We decided to head out to Blossoms'. They earlier had just 1 store on Church Street but now have 2 big shops on either ends of Church Street. We went there on 2 subsequent weekends, which means, there were 2 hauls this month. I bought more books in my 1st haul and just a couple in my 2nd haul. My husband bought a couple of books during our 1st visit this month. During the 2nd visit, I actually took some of the books I was not too keen on keeping with me- about 20 of them. They kept 12 of them and returned 8 to me as they already had enough unsold copies of those. In return, I could buy books of my choice for that amount. I still have about Rs.180 of the unspent amount, for which they gave me a voucher, for use in future purchases.


Coming to the 1st haul, I bought 5 books.

1. The House on the Strand by Daphne DuMaurier

During my recent vacation, my aunt recommended this book to me. She is a big fan of DuMaurier's writing and we found that we shared a liking for similar kinds of books. This book is about time travel. I will write more, after I read the book.

2. Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang

My aunt and I were discussing Pear Buck's The Good Earth (one of my favourites). We were actually discussing about books about China and these two books were discussed. I bought Wild Swans as it was highly recommended by her.

3. The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande

During my visit to my Aunt's, she had several books my Atul Gawande. I actually partially read Atul Gawande's "Complications" and liked whatever little I read. So, decided to get this book.

4. Dancing in Cambodia and Other Essays by Amitav Ghosh

I have never read a book by Amitav Ghosh but have heard good reviews of his books, which are usually pretty bulky. I thought a smallish book like this would be a good start.

5. Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

I was watching a quiz show, in which one of the questions was- which of these characters in not a character of Lewis Carroll's books. I realised I had forgotten about all the characters in Alice in Wonderland. I only remembered the gist of the story but could not really recall anyone other than Alice of course. I thought this book would help me in refreshing my memory.

Books from the 2nd Haul

1. Complications by Atul Gawande

As mentioned above, I have partially read this book- about 80 pages or so and wanted to finish reading this book.  I would love to finish reading it, so, got this book.

2. All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriot

I have read a couple of books by James Herriot in my school days and his account of different experiences with animals, being a vet, were quite engaging- sometimes sad and sometimes amusing. I have not read this one though and saw a James Herriot after a long time, so thought of getting it.

When Mathematics Came to My Rescue

Baking is one of my greatest joys. I do not bake as often as I used to once upon a time anymore but it is truly one of my greatest joys. I find it intense yet relaxing and it allows my creativity to flow. It is a great way to express myself though several times what I have on my mind is not necessarily what the end result is. I usually like to bake only for my family but occasionally I do bake for others and rarely ever take it outside home.

Today, I would like to share an experience I had when I baked for my colleagues for an office potluck and had to transport it the hot weather of Hyderabad. I decided to bake an eggless chocolate cake with ganache frosting with chocolate coated strawberries. Before I delve in to the details, I would like to apologise upfront for the poor quality of the images that have been drawn. They are just representations and not drawn to scale.

Usually when I bake a cake for my family, I never bother too much about the size of the cake and the container I have to keep it in as it never leaves the house and gives me the flexibility that I need. However, since I had to carry it to work, I had to bake according to the size of the container. This is when I thanked my stars for paying a bit of attention to my Geometry lessons back in school.

I did not want to carry the fancy cake box. I wanted to give it a homely feel. So, I chose a round steel container, but would it hold the cake? I measured the diameter of the container and that of the cake pan and the cake would fit in perfectly. Now, I cannot just drop the cake directly into the container as it would have the frosting and I cannot frost when the cake is inside the container as the sides/walls of the container would come in the way. I had to choose a plate which is slightly bigger than the cake and slightly smaller than the container and would give me enough space to lift the cake out of the container without disturbing the frosting on the cake. Geometry to the rescue again...after spending about 10-15 min on this I came up with the exact diameter of the plate I needed to do the job. After rummaging through my utensils, I finally and fortunately found such a plate.

So now the cake was baked and out of the oven and the aroma of vanilla wafted through the air at home and filled my home with the aroma of chocolatey goodness (I am reliving that time and oh how my mouth is watering at the mere thought of the fragrance). Anyway, when the cake cooled, I decided to add the filling, for which, I cut the cake into half horizontally. Somehow, something struck me to check if I can put the lid on the container without disturbing the frosting. On adding the filling, the height of the cake would increase and so would the addition of frosting. It was really late in the night and I did not want go looking for another container. I measured the wall of the container with the lid on and, without the lid on, measured the height of plate on which I would place the cake and calculated the optimal height of the cake, considering that strawberries would go on top. I also checked the maximum allowable circumference of the cake that would enable it to sit pretty in the container which led to the calculation of the maximum allowable frosting on the cake.

After all these calculations, I placed the cake on the plate, carefully frosted the cake constantly measuring its dimensions so that it fits in absolutely perfectly into the container. I could not add the filling as even a measly amount of it would increase the height of cake. I just frosted it externally and put in chocolate coated strawberries on top and sprinkled some coloured sugar on top.

I saw it as a personal victory when the all those crazy measurements and calculations paid off and the plate with the cake on it, smoothly made it into the container in a way that would ensure that the frosting would not be effected. It rested in the refrigerator all night.

The next challenge was to make sure the cake made it to the office without melting of the ganache frosting during transport on a motorbike. Now those who tell me that ganache does not melt easily, try Hyderabad's heat and also that the fact that it was in a steel container would not have helped too much. I covered the cake in a thick cloth cover and a bag on the outside. I made it to work with only the coloured sugar melting but the rest was intact. I put the cake in the refrigerator and breathed a sigh of relief.

The Actual End Product on the plate

When my colleagues enjoyed the cake and appreciated it, all the hard work put behind the cake between 10pm and 3am (yes, started a little late due to a crazy day at work) seemed worth it and made my day. It was one of the very very few times that the cake left home and I made me realise that though I was a little dull when it came to mathematics, when it is time for application, I can recall things I did not know that I knew and apply it as though I use that knowledge every single day. I am sure it is the same with everyone- no knowledge is really lost, just temporarily forgotten.

Teachers' Day Tribute to All My Teachers

A Happy Teachers' Day to all my teachers. In every walk of life, we all have had teachers of different kinds- some of them who teach us to function as human beings, some formally educate us and some teach us how to not be a bad teacher. We have different labels for every kind of teacher- parents, teacher, coach, trainer, friend etc.

This Teachers' Day, I would like to extend my gratitude to my parents and family for teaching me everything from my first step to my first word, for giving me the values I cherish and the guidance provided to me whenever I needed it and not to forget the innumerable recipes and quick tips and hacks to make life easy. You gave me the survival skills needed to fend the world- thank you!

I would like to thank my mentor and coaches for enabling a satisfying professional life, for bringing me out of my shell and developing me not only into a trained resource but also a confident human being.

Today I would specifically like to thank my English teacher in middle school in New Delhi for making me love literature and inculcating a habit of reading and writing in me. This teacher (let us call her Mrs. RT in this blog), was really special. I loved attending her classes and never liked to miss them. I specifically remember her taking us through Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy. The book was a part of our curriculum. Mrs. RT had tremendous story telling skills and when she took us through the book, it felt like we were amidst the characters in the book and very much a part of the story. I never wanted her classes to end. On lazy days, it was knowing that we had her class, motivated me to go to school. She encouraged us to read and write about what we read. She also encouraged us to write biographies and autobiographies by pretending to be someone else- a gardener, a porter, a potter etc.  I genuinely found my love for reading and writing from her. She encouraged us to be creative.

I think about what a wonderful teacher she was quite often and yesterday, I ended up googling for her name after all these years. Turns out, she became the principal of the same school and won an award from the Government for Education Excellence and Educationist of the Year, a few years back. She truly deserved those accolades. I did write to the school to convey my message to her. Thank you Ma'am for being a terrific teacher.

Pilot Frixion Pen

I had heard a lot about this pen. I saw it for the first time while watching a Japanese documentary. I was quite amazed by this pen. When I found it Sapna Book Store, I had to buy for myself.

What makes this pen amazing?

Well, the pen comes with a thermosensitive ink which becomes colourless in high temperatures and regains colour at lower temperatures. Due to this, one can actually erase what one has written. The back of the pen has a plastic like eraser which helps in erasing the writing. Now, the writing of any random pen cannot be erased with the eraser. It can only erase what has been written using the thermosensitive ink which comes with the pen. There is a big disclaimer on the cover in which the pen comes in stating that the pen must not be used for any official or legal documents.

The rear end of the pen with the plastic-like eraser

How does the eraser work?

The answer is in the name of the pen. The heat produced by the the friction caused by the erasing of the plastic eraser on paper, causes the ink to become colourless. You can check out this video. (This video was created by me and I wanted to insert it directly into the blog but it did not work as it exceeded the size limit allowed on blogger, so took the YouTube route)The only question that comes to my mind is, is it worth the time and effort to erase your writing? A conventional strike off works well for me. However, the technology is amazing. I actually froze the book in the freezer for sometime and the ink did reappear, although I must say, it was not as dark as it was before erasing. In the video you can see that the erasing is also not 100%.

Apart from the technology used in the pen, it is a smooth writer, with a good grip and considerable amount of ink. The pen comes at Rs. 100 and the refill at Rs. 58-60 each. I wonder if it is worth the investment. Years before, I had read a story in Tinkle in which a secret letter is written using undiluted juice of a lemon and when the recipient of the letter wanted to read the letter, he just held it over the flame and the alphabets emerged on the letter. Though it is not quite the same, this pen reminded me of the story. If I think of a specific use for this pen, playing a prank on somebody is the only thing that comes to mind, although, it is generally a good pen to write with. 

Born Free: A Lioness of Two Worlds by Joy Adamson

I found this book during my recently concluded vacation. It belongs to my relative. I just picked it up while lazing around at my  relative's place. I did not know what to expect. Not being a big movie buff, I was not aware that there was a movie based on the book. Apparently, this 1960s movie was a well known one.

This book is about a real life account of author and her husband, who adopt 3 lion cubs and their lives with them. Of the 3 cubs, they name the smallest one Elsa and domesticate it. The 2 other larger cubs are sent away to a zoo. The author's family lives close to an African forest (if I remember it correctly...sorry getting a bit forgetful) and her husband, George, works as a Game Warden in Africa. Anyway, Elsa and Joy, the author, develop a close bond with each other. Elsa is initially tamed, however, as time progresses her natural instincts come to the fore but her domestication has trained her to be ignorant about things which are otherwise natural to her species. For example, she kills another animal, but she does not know what to do with it. She was always given her meat cut up, so she could not associate it with any animal. It was done, so that she does not go about attacking cattle of the African tribesmen who lived in the vicinity. The first part of the book is all about taming Elsa.

The second part of the book is about the adult life of Elsa. As she grows up, Joy and her husband observe Elsa. During the mating season, she disappears several times and seems to be alone and not a part of the pride. Joy and her husband think it is best to free her into the wild instead of sending her off to a zoo as she has grown up in that environment. The challenge then begins for Joy and George. They had trained Elsa to be tame and as a consequence, she was not completely fit to live in the wild where one has to protect and feed oneself. So, begins the journey of Elsa, Joy and George to help unlearn and prepare for her life in the wild. Being her foster parents, they train her to hunt and protect herself to the best of their ability, something which her biological parents would have probably taught her. The book is the story of her journey to freedom.

The book is written in a very simple language. Parts of it is humorous and parts of it is heart-rending. I specially felt very sad when, in their attempt to help Elsa live all by herself, they abandon her in the middle of the night, only to find her waiting for them in the very same place. The book is a good reflection of the loyalty and love of animals towards their caregivers. Even after years of living in the wild, Elsa would never forget the love she received from the Adamsons. It is kind of a slow-paced book but you will savour every moment of it. The book has several pictures of Elsa and her human family and adds to the enjoyment of the read.

Coming to the movie, I have not yet watched it but I have viewed the trailer. Based on the trailer alone, I think the movie is way too dramatic than the book. Also, the reasons to free Elsa appeared to be different. It is just my perception. I am looking for the movie and will watch it when I find a good print of the same.

On a scale of 5, I will rate the book 4/5.

Mid Year Review of Goals

In the beginning of the year, I set aside some goals (click here). I also reviewed my performance in the first quarter (click here)It was time I reviewed my performance on these just to see where I am in the middle of the year:

Health: Keep up my daily exercise routine and ensure that I work-out atleast 5 days a week. Eat healthy meals every day- monthly once cheat day would be allowed. I would also go to bed at a pre-defined time and wake up everyday at the same time.

Mid year Update: I have worked hard towards this goal this year compared to any of the previous years. I must admit, sometimes I fall of the wagon for weeks but then I find myself bouncing back. I have to just control my portion sizes to be healthy.

Sharpening My Culinary Skills: I have decided to not just cook regular homely meals but push myself to prepare more gourmet dishes. I have made some in 2017 as well but would like to take things to another level. I have decided to cook 10 gourmet savoury dishes and 10 gourmet sweet dishes in the year. I will be scheduling this in my monthly planner. It will take an effort to get the recipes and ingredients together. It is a little ambitious but I will do my best.

Mid year Update: While I have gathered enough recipes to kick start this goal, I just have not been able to. However, I found myself subjected to a new kind of a challenge quite unexpectedly. In a span of 1 hour in the morning, I had to prepare an elaborate breakfast and a 3-4 course lunch for 3 whole months. I was amazed to find myself in the thick of planning and also rapid execution. Planning and speedy execution is a new dimension to my culinary ability now and I must say, I impressed myself. I still believe, in the 2nd half of the year, I should be able to work toward my original goal.

Blogging: I have decided to blog once a week in 2018. I do not want to blog sporadically but keep to a schedule. I have been inspired by Mr. Vinod Ekbote who has been blogging for the last 10 years and has been posting every Friday on his blog without fail- click here to check out the blog. I just think I need to set time aside for it and do it every week. I have a diary that is full of things that I would like to put up on my blog but due to several reasons have not been able to do so. However, I am determined to do it in 2018.

Mid year Update: I had been quite consistent until May. May onwards, I went through a downward spiral. While I wrote a lot, I could not find the time to edit and publish, being caught up at work in office and home. However, in the month of August, I am catching up quickly and hope to clear up the backlog by mid- September.

Watercolour Art: I am enjoying learning watercolour art from various online resources. I would make at least 10 proper watercolour paintings in 2018. It just must be scheduled in my monthly planner.

Mid year Update: I must admit, I have not focussed on this goal at all. However, I have some ideas up my sleeve, so I hope to achieve what I set up for myself.

Launching my Youtube Channel: This has been on my mind for some time. I have still some way to go. I am not sure if it will be possible in 2018. I have to shoot some high quality videos and do some high quality editing. This is a good-to-do goal for 2018 and not must-do as I do not want to rush into it and put up some shoddy videos out in public.

Mid year Update: I am not working towards it too much. I do not feel prepared yet for this. I have created some private video content but there is still a long way to go. I might not actively pursue this goal this year. If it happens, well and good but I will not beat myself up if it does not work out.

Writing: in my journal everyday and at least one page a day. The goal I had in 2017 was to finish writing on all pages of the journal, which in the hindsight, did not make much sense. The goal for 2018 will not only ensure that I keep to my habit of writing, but also as a bonus, would help me finish writing on all the pages. I hope I will not get demotivated like 2017 and give up.

Mid year Update: I have been doing this quite regularly but to be honest, I really do not have much or anything to write on certain days. However, I am doing way better than 2017. I would say I have written on 90% of the days. In the last couple of months though, I have not been writing regularly. I actually forgot all about this goal. This review has found to be beneficial again. I will actively write again.

Reading: I have lowered the number of books to read in 2018 to 10. As you can see, there is a lot on my plate and I do not want to make the activity that I love so much to be one that induces stress. I would also like to read some good literature, and not just fun-light reading books. I think reading before bed works for me great and I think a good 15-30 minutes before bed would be great.

Mid year Update: I am happy to have made good progress after a slow start, I have completed reading 6 out of the ten and I am reading everyday- I am confident of achieving this goal too.

Travelling: It is my goal to travel to 5 different places in 2018. I better get started on my vacation planning soon.

Mid year Update: I am happy to say that I have already been to 5 (or more) different places this year already and I would blog about them soon, and, I would love some more travel. I hope before the end of the year, I can visit some more places.