In Passing...

Thankfully the Metro-rail will kick off to Puttenahalli by the month end. Earlier the Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu had announced it would roll out by end-April. No sooner did he board the flight to Delhi, the local Metro technocrats clarified, “Not before June - due to some glitches”. Now K C George, Bangalore Development Minister has salvaged the situation a little. It will commence by month end. Aap ke munh mein ghee shakkar, George Saheb. Keep up your promise, please. That will help me fulfill my outstanding visits to Banaswadi, Magadi Road, Vijaya Nagar… all of which I had shelved for either Metro rail or for a respite from the scorching sun - whichever is earlier. 

When I moved from Delhi to Bangalore, the chief attraction was the cool and salubrious weather of Bangalore - the Garden City. But the Bangalore summer  this year is no different from Delhi.  Precisely why our swimming pool is jam-packed - morning or evening. Added to that, thanks to the school summer vacation, coaching sessions are in full swing. It was unfortunate, however, that a child that tried to shift from children’s pool to the adult pool was about to drown. The alert security guard on duty jumped in and saved child. Kudos to the security staff. 

Speaking of the increasing intensity of the sun, Stephen Hawking, the renowned Physicist, has predicted that humanity may have to move to some other planet in 100 years because of climate change, overheating and overpopulation of planet Earth. “Not our problem,” the existing population could safely say. But that is not probably the way to look at things. If only our forefathers had not sown seeds of mango or jackfruit at our backyard thinking they would not live to enjoy the fruit, maybe we would not have been reaping the benefits. Similarly we owe it to the future generation to find them an alternative. 

Getting too complicated? Think Globally, Act Locally, they say. So be it. Back to basics. Shri Prahalada, a nonagenarian (95 years, for record) from Dharward, is the most recent addition to the SFV family. He moved with his son and family to Ebony three days ago. Agile, active, and all mental faculties intact, he retired from LIC 35 years ago. Wonder if his retirement-years exceeds his service-years. Retirement will soon, he reassures. Realizing his age, unwittingly I increased my decibel while talking to him, until he asked me to reduce it. And he wears no glasses either. Thus both his ears and eyes are charged to full capacity. And the secret of his overall good health?  Simple living: one coffee in the morning;  meal at 11.30 am, tea in the evening. No food at night, except when the aroma is irresistible. In that case, just taste it, that is all. 

A day earlier than him, moved Mr Markandeya, an octogenarian, to Cedar. He retired as a Headmaster from a school in Mysore. Being a teacher and a past master at eliciting information from pupils, he just asked me casually how many years since I retired, and the retirement age, before he floored me. “So you are younger to me,” he pronounced, more like a lawyer.

Now, on to entertainment. Bahubali 2  has broken all records in India, having grossed 1000 crores so far. The movie is being dubbed into Chinese and Japanese. S S Rajamouli, the Director, lost no time to announce Bahubali-3. After all, who wouldn’t want to cash in on a brand name one has painstakingly established? Already a gold-plated version of all the jewellery worn in Bahubali by female artists is now on sale and has become a rage, if TV channel reports are to be believed. 

The IPL match too, entering the playoff phase, is exciting with unexpected ups and downs. I would reckon Delhi Daredevils youngsters’ chase of Gujarat Lions’  208 the best so far. Simply a delight to watch Rishab Pant and Sanju Samson tearing GL bowling to pieces. Too bad our home team, RCB, is content with getting a berth to be laid to rest, as of now. Any guess on who all will make it to the final four?

V V Sundaram

Maple 3195

08 May 2017