I'm BANGALORED !!!

Bangalore always had an atmosphere for serene conduct and tolerance of all people. In my childhood days i never heard of communal clashes, and violence of the nature that one often reads about these days. This is perhaps because of the influx of all kinds of everybody into the city, removing from her the innocence of love and neighborly affection.

Bangalore boasts of some of the oldest and best-known schools and educational institutions in India. The premier educational institutions of Bangalore have produced some of the country's finest management and hospitality professionals, doctors, engineers, scientists, businessmen and erudite academicians and politicians, to name a few.

My school - BALDWIN GIRLS' HIGH SCHOOL

A sister concern of Baldwin Boys’, this prominent girls’ school has a many splendoured history, having produced several distinguished citizens.(That includes me too !!) Baldwin Girls' also claims distinction for having produced excellent sportspersons, including national swimmers and basketball players.

Take a peek at our scholastic heritage . I have even put up some of Bangalore's finest pictures - Quite old ones though.

The climate and the city's original beauty is still holding out ... let's save Lalbagh, Cubbon Park, Palace Grounds, The Plant Museum opposite the Planetarium (let's hope this does not become a museum that is for ... "trees that used to be!!"... because strange tree diseases of drying up of trees suddenly is going around the city ...

I recall that as youngsters, we played hide and seek,hopskotch,Lock and Key or cops and robbers,badminton(that too on the roads) now one cant just imagine of playing on the roads. A game could go on till as late as 8 p.m.!! Saturday's used to be family time, when all of us would go to Hanuman Temple in Mahalaxmi Layout or just go to cubbon park.Talking about Cubbon Park how can i forget not to mention about the Train ride and hot Jo-laa(Fried Corn) or yummy sugar candy.

Come summer holidays and I'd be off to Lalbagh with dad and brother, Srikar. Just cant forget those days when we both kept playing in the lawns until dad finished his rounds of jogging.We'd stop by at MTR to have yummy Bisibelebath or just Rava Idly.

Old Bangaloreans never die, they just fade away (or have they fallen victim to the new congestion and pollution?).

Because of the development and infrastructure of the Communities, Bangalore soon was looked at as an Industrial Belt Area and now it's called the IT capital of INDIA, and has also made a huge impact globally.With so many IT companies in Electronic city(had'nt heard of this place when as a kid) and Whitefield and many more coming up in the city,it would just add up to large traffic jams.And construction activities going on everywhere and flyovers spinging up every 15 km, soon bangalore would turn out to look like another Singapore (Thatz exactly what a previous government's plan was to do so, God knows how much more time it would take) .The first thing that used to spring up my mind about Whitefield was of Sai Baba's Ashram.

One thing very noticeable in Bangalore is the change of relationships of neighbours, lots of strangers have moved in with their culture and isolated themselves in their concrete fortresses. Hence one does not know who is staying next door. Most of all the big old bungalows have been converted to flats. People have become very possessive, hard natured, inconsiderate, uncaring and it's depressing it's not Bangalore anymore ... it's a Cosmopolitan City, that has outlived it's usefulness, and now the people are looking for other cities to get more for their lives..

Now Hold On! not all has changed, there is a great lot which hasn't .... but that is rare....you can still find a couple of such buildings around Baldwin Girl's high School.... every nook and corner people are building and they don't care about the inconvenience caused to others... others who are occupying old buildings look only after their half making the building look astonishing, others put up hoardings all around and anywhere they feel like, disfiguring the beauty of the City skyline. Who cares? Can anyone help to recapture all of Bangalore's pristine beauty, make is Bangalore - A City Beautiful.

None, except the People themselves. They should get rid of all the ugly out-of-place hoardings, some occupy so much space on the footpaths that pedestrians have to walk on the roads. If the hoardings have to be put up they must blend with the skyline. It is a bit sad to note that lots of the old Pensioners lost their Paradises because they had no one to pass them down to, or were tricked into false promises or fear that the Government would take them over.


Another noticable thing about Bangalore is that Dogs that used to be pets are now used for "Guard Duty"!! Wonder what the Security Staff are for?! (NOw even they seem to be frustrated with the rising population and pollution in Bangalore, that they've actually started attacking humans as well, even to the extent of killing them.Gosh !!!!) This is the sad state of Bangalore.

Schools have come up in every nook and corner, some are recognised and some are not.. not too clear as per Government Norms... when there should be an urge to make Karnataka Literate like Kerala ... never mind.. some of us have passed through that stage in life safely ... Roads are still being renamed .. Wonder why no one thinks of naming new Layouts and their roads?

Bangalore, You are losing Your History. You are losing Your Charm. A Paradise Lost!!

Bangalore was and is made up of various Communities that came from Tamilnadu (Madras now Chennai), Kerala, Andhra, Pondicherry, and from parts of Karnataka ( earlier Mysore State). Tamilians, Anglo-Indians, Mangaloreans , Goans , Parsis, Muslims, and other Communities from neighbouring States have contributed to the City of Bangalore, each in their own distinctive way. There are people with disabilities that have let active lives in Bangalore, and who are known for their work in the areas of the handicapped, some call them 'Children of a Lesser God', I call them God's Own. I have even interacted with kids from Baldwin's sister concern school for the Mentally retarded. We would celebrate Christmas in school with them. They'd be so happy see us sing hymns and carols.

One can go on and on, but I think for the moment I should stop.... if you feel this is interesting , then please go ahead and write me your views .... don't know when anyone else would be in a mood to put down things, hope you enjoyed these Bangalore Memories ....

Hey, Bangalore Wallas!, if you remember anything about Bangalore, that I have left out or you would like to add, please dont hold back. Send me an e-mail or write to me and I would love to include the same on this page or even open a new one attached to this!!

Fengshui Tips

Fengshui for the office and shop

The best location for your office or shop is on a corner. The entrance to your reception area should cut diagonally across your corner. Be careful of stairs and escalators directly facing the entrance that will allow chi to flow out. Be also careful of tall buildings to the west that will cause unpredictable tiger chi and may cause your business to fail. Tall buildings to the north are good. The reception area should have plenty of space. Plants with rounded leaves attract customers. A business in a dead end road will suffer from stagnent chi. Roads pointing directly at a business are not good as they accelerate chi. The best site is where two or three roads interesct and you have the corner position. If several people share an office the desks should be arranged so that they form an octagon. Any sharp corners should be rounded off with round leaf plants.

Fengshui for the bedroom Avoid positioning your bed with the foot facing the door. You should avoid having mirrors facing the bed. It is best to position the bed in the corner of an octagonal arrangement and use a bedroom which also faces in the direction of your personal element. (a)Fire: south or south-west(b)Water: northWood: east or north east(c)Metal: west or north west(d)Earth: south west

Fengshui for the kitchen Have many mirrors in the kitchen so you can see people from all parts of the kitchen. The kitchen is a very yang area and eating there is not desirable.

Fengshui for trees Don't have trees that need radical pruning because anything that needs lopping off at the top will bring misfortune. Never plant a tree directly in front of your door as it blocks the arriving chi. If you don't live in a mountainous region you should avoid pines and conifers. Be wary of any trees too large in the west of your house. Try to avoid changing the natural shape of a tree.

Fengshui for the garden The main principles for good fengshui in the garden is curves and proportion. Think of your house as the Yin aspect and your garden as the Yang aspect. Yang is about light and space.

It is important to incorporate the five elements into your garden.

• A pond or pool of water
• A sun dial
• A bronze statue for metal
• Trees and shrubs for wood
• Plenty of red and orange colour for fire.

Why GOD made little Girls

God made the world with its towering trees, majestic mountains and restless seas. Then paused and said, " It needs one more thing. Someone to laugh and dance and sing, to walk in the woods, gather flowers, to commune with nature in the quite hours. "

So GOD made little girls - with laughing eyes and bouncing curls, with joyful hearts and infectious smiles, enchanting ways and feminine wiles. And when he had completed the task he'd begun he was pleased and proud of the job he'd done.

For the world, when seen through little girl's eyes Greatly resemble Paradise !!

The grass isn't always greener on the other side!!

Mr. Gopalakrishnan succeeds Mr. Ratan Tata as Chairman of Tata Sons Ltd., the holding company for many of the Tata Bluechips - like Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Power, Tata Chemicals, Voltas, etc. Possibly, he is the first non-Tata person to head the Tata Empire.
The below article, written by him, is really interesting!

The grass isn't always greener on the other side!!

Move from one job to another - but only for the right reasons.

It's yet another day at office. As I logged on to the marketing and advertising sites for the latest updates, as usual, I found the headlines dominated by "who's moving from one company to another after a short stint", and I wondered, "why are so many people leaving one job for another? Is it passe now to work with just one company for a sufficiently long period"?

Whenever I ask this question to people who leave a company, the answers I get are

"Oh, I am getting a 200% hike in salary";

"Well, I am jumping three levels in my designation";

"Well, they are going to send me abroad in six months".

Then, I look around at all the people who are considered successful today and who have reached the top - be it a media agency, an advertising agency or a company. I find that most of these people are the ones who have stuck to the company, ground their heels and worked their way to the top.
And, as I look around for people who changed their jobs constantly, I find they have stagnated at some level, in obscurity! In this absolutely ruthless, dynamic and competitive environment, there are still no short cuts to success or to making money. The only thing that continues to pay, as earlier, is Loyalty and Hard work.

Yes, it pays!

Sometimes - immediately, sometimes - after a lot of time. But, it does pay.

Does this mean that one should stick to an organisation and wait for that golden moment? Of course not. After a long stint, there always comes a time for moving, in most organisations. But, it is important to move for the right reasons - rather than superficial ones, like money, designation or an overseas trip.

Remember, no company recruits for charity. More often than not, when you are offered an unseemly hike in salary or designation that is disproportionate to what that company offers its current employees, there is always unseen bait attached. The result? You will, in the long-term, have reached exactly the same levels or maybe lower levels, than what you would have in your current company.
A lot of people leave an organisation because they are "unhappy". What is this so-called-unhappiness? I have been working for donkey's years, and there has never been a day when I am not unhappy about something in my work - environment, boss, rude colleague, fussy clients, etc.
Unhappiness in a workplace, to a large extent, is transient. If you look hard enough, there is always something to be unhappy about. But, more importantly, do I come to work to be "happy" in the truest sense? If I think hard, the answer is "No". Happiness is something you find with family, friends, may be a close circle of colleagues who have become friends. What you come to work for is to earn, build a reputation, satisfy your ambitions, be appreciated for your work ethics, face challenges and get the job done. So, the next time you are tempted to move, ask yourself "why are you moving" and "what are you moving into"? Some questions are

Am I ready and capable of handling the new responsibility? If yes, what could be the possible reasons my current company has not offered me the same responsibility

• Who are the people who currently handle this responsibility in the current and the new company? Am I as good as the best among them?
• As the new job offer has a different profile, why have I not given the current company the option to offer me this profile
• Why is the new company offering me the job? Do they want me for my skills, or is there an ulterior motive?

An honest answer to these will eventually decide where you go in your career - either to the top of the pile, in the long-term (at the cost of short-term blips), or to become another average employee who gets lost with time in the wilderness?

By

Dr. Gopalkrishnan

Chairman

TATA Sons.