a phone convo 2 reflect upon...

Most friends of mine know that I am a phone addict and capable of making endless conversations much to the amazement and irritation of people around..I must confess I cant imagine how I went through 4 years of engg without a cell..cant fathom it now!!..convo topics range from gals to cricket to discussion on gud ol times, some gossip and bak 2 gals..:D..so wut special convo am I talking about of the innumerable ones I have had..well, there is a reason and a very strong one..

I was at work today when karthik (cka) called me at about 11:45..nothing too different considering he calls regularly even after ive gotten back to India from the US..what seemed to be just another usual chat shaped into something Ive always reflected on and thought about but never discussed much...and thank god..i got the chance to do so..

It was about the lovely city of Bangalore where I have been all my life..it has been a fantastic place and my life thus far overflows with great memories of the memorable times I have had with family and friends there..and yeah..karthik has been a part of all this for over 10 years now..it aint just another of my usual nostalgic blogs but a few facts which do evoke concern for most loyal Bangaloreans...

Firstly, I have to go back a few years say about 15-16 maybe...bangalore was not yet the It hub that it is now...wasnt burgeoning with wealth..wasnt filled with such a huge population, blessed with fantastic weather and certainly had a very relaxed lifestyle making it a haven for visitors..

Life was very simple then..going to school by auto/van getting back by walk, making sure I caught my daily dose of playing cricket and then settled for some quiet time with the books..sigh!...weekends were spent in playing and also going out with parents to some temples and occasionally a movie...cka also had a similar time in malleshwaram, a fantastic area in Blore...even after a few yrs say when we got to 11th and 12th and even engg...our idea of entertainment used 2 be quite simple- a good game of cricket and a nice lunch/dinner with friends..we never really focused on say clubs, pubs etc and the aspects that were slowly changing the face of the beautiful city we knew...

but then..what was the aspect we were so concerned about and astonished?...it was the fact that along with the city changing its face, the younger generation especially the group say anything greater than 4 yrs younger to us was so radically different from us...they knew so much more..were never the ones to say yes and listen..always rebellious, indulged in profanities with almost ridiculous regularity..

cka made a stmt which made me wonder...he said the way the city in particular and india in general were headed, it may not be the worst idea to actually raise ones kid in the bay area as opposed to the so called 'cultural' hub (pub I shud say now) in Bangalore..I actually coudnt say no immediately..if he had said so a few yrs back I would have vehemently opposed him but now I had to ponder..We tried to get to the crux of the matter..Why is the present generation like this? Is it because of the city or is the city that way coz of the crowd..I guess its a 2 way relation...bangalore's IT expansion has made it a totally cosmopolitan city with a great mix of people. It has brought the people who party and love to spend their money and also made them mingle with the so called conservative crowd and change the ones who are generally thrifty..The result has seen a huge flow of cash and pubs and clubs aplenty have cropped up because there are people ready to have fun and unwind after a hectic weekend..while I dont blame the people who enjoy nor the way they do..the culture is so infectious that it has caught on the high school and college crowd too often with quite disastrous effects..

Also, parents want their children to study in real good and top notch schools that generally admit the high class..the culture evidently is going to reflect the high class lifestyle and the children learn and know a lot more than say their counterparts in the traditional simple schools which are quite rare of late..
As a matter of fact I am quite stunned and find it rather inexplicable that the youngsters say about 18-20 know so much and more about a plethora of issues.. a relationship be it normal or even the physical one seems much 2 ordinary a thing while for us it seemed a very big deal indeed..

There is a very big chasm between the crowd which lived through its teen years in the mid 90's and the one now...and bangalore it seems has literally changed beyond recognition in some ways..Frankly..I cannot do much to change the situation but can only say I have been fortunate to have been brought up and taught how to live in the best and ever so simple times of the beautiful city..and I do reflect on those days whenever I can!!