Adieu 09886546454... Welcome 09619435984...

It is always sentimental to part with something, that gets associated with us particularly when it had been so close to you for years. Dear 09886546454, you have brought me happiness, sadness, provided me opportunities, timely notifications and irritating promotions for the last 6 years or so. But as it is with any other materialistic phenomenon, time has come to part with you. You had been one of my identities and I had tried hard to make you my lifelong partner, but Govt of India ditched you and me, by not coming up with Nationwide Mobile Number Portability, though Kapil Sibal had promised to do it by early this year. 

Thank you for serving me, till date and for being a virtual friend of mine. I will surely miss you as you were very glamorous and were very easy to remember. Also as I, along with the callers will take quite some time to get adjusted with your successor 09619435984, which doesn't have the 'order of numbers' which you have had, we will surely miss you dearly at least for the next few days if not months.

Adieu 09886546454... welcome 09619435984. Family, friends, enemies, promoters all please note.... 

An appointment with a Doctor

Met Dr. Binayak Sen once again today, in the campus (Previously had met him when he came for the screening of Sanjay Kak's Red Ant Dream). This time around he had came in here to see some faculty. Greeted him and we had a 10 minute talk.

He asked me which course I am into, also asked who all are teaching. Later on mentioning about the place where, I am from he was vocal about the Toll protest in Thrissur-Chalakudy highway and also the recent Kathikudam protest, where he had been 2 years back, before the current protests. He said, he is interested to have a talk with the Water Policy guys about the issues with water subsidies and dams in North East India. He asked my mail id and phone number. Amused by my mail id, he asked me what is "mizhaavu". I asked back whether he knows about Koodiyattam and that it is a drum used in it. So he asked whether it is similar to Chenda, for which I answered as Yes... Lastly when I said I had met him in Bangalore last year, he asked where I was working in and whether I was not happy with my software job, for which I said that only money speaks in there and that I wanted a career change which suits my interests.

Kannada Kamadhenu, Karnataka Kalpvriksha...

Thus leaving Karnataka for a few years. Sure that I will be roaming around the outskirts of this beautiful state. For me the most travelled state in India, perhaps more than my home state of Kerala. Yes, I have travelled from Bijapur in the North to Chamarajnagar in the South, Kolar in the East to Gokarna in the West over the last 7 years. The fertile plains of Raichur, arid, miners paradise of Bellary, jungles of Nagarahole, Bandipur, Kudremukh, the salubrious hills of Chikmagalur, Coorg, sexy seashores of Mangalore, Gokarna, breath taking water falls of Jog, Lushington and Shivanasamudra. I experienced the hustles and bustles of an urban city and also the hues and cries of the rural villages in here. I learnt how an MNC works and also what an NGO does in here. I came to know what is COBOL and Java as well as how eye catchy Jowar, Ragi, Sunflower farms can be. I won't say 'Kannada gothilla' now and its script is never broken Jalebi pieces. These Jalebi pieces have given the state the maximum number of Jnanpith awardees in India. Rivers Cauvery and Tungabhadra, their ecological and cultural sentiments are now mine too. Tipu, Hyder Ali, Adil Shah, kingdoms of Vijayanagara, Hoysala, have left behind some amazing architectural beauties. Jains, the Coorgis and the Tibetans have added the flavour to this state with their uniqueness. Karnataka is not about Bangalore alone but much much more than that. Rightfully acknowledged as "One State, Many Worlds".