R-Rated

Made a quickie to Chennai over the weekend for some 'official' work. Details about this official work to follow in the upcoming blog. The last time I was in Tamil Nadu, it was way back in 1996 and on a trip to Chennai and Madurai with parents in tow. Just wrote Class X exams (then) and (the whole family) wanted a breather. No vivid memories of the city from back then but where I was put up during this trip certainly left a good impression on yours truly. Auto's still trying to rip customers not accustomed to bargaining or not from the city or state at all. Thanks to the advice of a colleague, my wallet wasn't (that) lighter after the hefty extortion, I mean, the hefty charge to go from Koyambedu to Royapettah. The cruelest and mindboggling part is that ALL autos are equipped with electronic meters. Fair game right, wrong. One colleague who had been to TN many a times, recalled that while Jayalalitha was the CM, every auto had to use the meter, but as power changed hands...

The initial part of this blog is in reference to the horrendous outpour of affection shown by our former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda towards the Karnataka CM B S Yeddyurappa (BSY) calling him a Bloody Bastard and a Kannada version of an SOB (Son of a Bitch, for all those unfamiliar). While it is too graphic and frankly, too funny, I believe the actual term used was Bosudi Maga . While this news has been more than a week old, I couldn't resist writing about this. Karnataka politics is already in deep shit thanks to the Reddy faction ganging up against BSY and his cohorts, this chapter darkens the mood further. My initial memories of H D Deve Gowda from the early 90s is that of a silent politician who rarely spoke (and who probably rarely acted upon). I distinctly remember a Doordarshan footage of the PM and his entire family boarding the equivalent of the Air Force One for a vacation in Africa. I guess public opinion was pretty high of him then allowing him such kind of liberties...

Back from a very good trip to Aamchi Mumbai for Christmas and New Year. The journey to Bombay was anything but. The Hell-Ride A regular 19 hour bus ride compounded to 24 hours and that too in an ST bus. Last minute ticket booking did not help the cause one bit. Left Bangalore on December 24 via Majestic for a 4PM start through Karnataka and Maharashtra. While I was booking the ticket, I knew that I would not be travelling via the comfortable Volvo but little did I know that the 'downgrade' would be this nasty. A little while past 3:45PM, after an uneasiness to locate the bus to Bombay, I stumbled upon an old lady to ask whether the bus had arrived. To my heartbreak, she pointed to the bus behind me and said, "Yeh raha Mumbai ka bus". An old ST bus crammed with people and luggages. I get to my seat, the very last row of the bus, which unfortunately seated 6 well-built men, including me (and when I say well-built, one was a Yokozuna, you can imagine the thrill-ride I ha...