Years ago, when I was about 10 or 11 years old, a mathematics
teacher shared a lesson with the class. Keeping aside the usual diction, she
asked us to make a count. A count of number of times we used the words thank you and sorry. She added the less we use these words, the more we score on
the sheets of life.
However, over the past few months in Bangalore, I saw something
very different to what was mentioned at school – the value of understanding and
acknowledgment of what others do, knowingly or out of habit, to allow more comfort
and joy seep through.
I spent the most hours in Bangalore either working and on
the bed. Curiously, the number of hours spent at work were fulfilling, with
each member from the small team invested equally, stretching themselves, making
sacrifices and recognising each other’s contributions and out-of-the-way help,
which was commonplace – putting people first at all times possible, even when
business took precedence.
If one has seen Bombay’s rush and Delhi’s frenzy, Bangalore appears
to be numbingly quiet and calm (not denying their own wonders). A city where
the conductor and the driver of the bus shout at you just to ask you to be
careful, as you attempt to jump off the moving vehicle. A city where a youngster
in an Audi, allows you to cross first even while your eyes are on the phone and
not the road. A city where it rains simply because the temperature shoots up a
notch higher. One cannot help being grateful.
The human emotions run equally parallel as in other cities,
the human composition after all warrants only a little peace. But the pace of
the city allows more room to them, something you usually experience when you
sit by the sea or on the capital’s silent streets or otherwise while being
tucked away with people who care about you.
Love and desire brushed past me with full force here,
putting me out of my reverie. Once significant things lost significance,
desires gave way to absolute essentials and meaning of others’ actions were
made a note of.
The city has sundry people in its fold. Some visited, people who I
care about. Over many fired, warm, sparkling conversations, I also met
some talented people from different turfs, with astounding stories and I found
them indebted too. Weekends, the clichéd joyful days became the norm to indulge
in company and the temperature of the city blew quite a few lids off.
I was told that Bangalore is a city that I would really like.
I did. Several answers that I looked for after stepping out of Pune surfaced in
surreptitious ways. Goodbyes soaked with a thanks or two, made it easier to
step out. And as more months passed by, it was pleasing to recognise the basics
of investing time, well, every time with a thank you.
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| My first picture in Bangalore :) |
