Namma Ooru Bengalooru

Maybe its just me or is the city really taking a turn for the better??

I see lanes on the roads...with separate ones for autorickshaws and buses. And they are being followed to some extent...a lot more than you would actually expect from public transport drivers in our country. I see lots of special BTS buses too...for ladies only..for pass holders only...Public transport has improved considerably over the year...

3 weeks here..have been to Koramangala, Majestic...traditional traffic hotspots...no traffic jam. Even on the radio, the incidence of "jam busters" seems to have drastically gone down...the roads seem to be in a better condition...or maybe I just haven't been on the "right" roads yet.

We have new tourist attractions like "City Swaps"..the hop-on hop-off tourist bus that is very popular in Europe is now here..
Even bureaucracy seems to have improved..I don’t see people waiting for bribes before they sign your papers...Of course, no one is ever in office at 10am sharp..but neither are we software engineers..so that is a trait common to the working class of India I guess..public or private...

Hmmm...I must say...we are taking a turn for the better...Can't say the same though about the rich brats of our generation..

One son of high profile fashion consultant involves himself in a brawl with policemen..Another..our "mannina marimaga" ( for the non-Kannadigas..this means great-grandson of the soil..in keeping with DeveGowda's "mannina maga" rant..)..Nikhil Gowda starts throwing stones at a hotel in the wee hours of the morning..and the Chief Minister has the sheer gall to accuse Bangalore's cosmopolitan lifestyle for his son's misdemeanour...a lot of us stay out late at night..but I don't think anyone of us have ever been inclined to throw stones or be a public nuisance! So, Mr. Chief Minister..my advice to you..a little discipline never hurt anyone..take away his big fancy cars for a while...revoke privileges..and he will turn out just fine..the rest of us did!

Another interesting debate in the TOI edit yesterday..should SMSese be allowed in English papers? Good Lord no! Imagine quoting Shakespeare in SMSese!
"2 b or not 2 b is da qt"
Seems ridiculous doesn't it? The only chance we have of learning English the way it is meant to be written and spoken is in school. College, work..the quality of our English is downhill from there on..so if even that last hope is destroyed, future generations may not even know what English really is! or grammar..