April 10-16
Writing about recent past is always easy. I have tried writing what I feel about some issues, which cross my mind, but in vain. [http://stupidsense.blogspot.com]
Last week was very eventful and surprising.
It started with a boring Monday [that is how Mondays are... atleast for me :( ], didn't have much to do at work, so was browsing Wikipedia [over the weeks I have fallen in love with this site... its a great site, can spend hours there]
Tuesday was not much different either, though my play practice that nite extended till 1.25am [ I am an actor, and 'was' working on this play 'Cleopatra', we practice during the evenings, 7pm till whatever time...]
The Week started taking interesting turn, on Wednesday, when news started pouring from all the corners, from friends in other companies, from local news channels, from HRs of various companies, that due to the demise of a popular local star Dr. Rajkumar, there were chances of riots breaking up in the city. Everyone was advised to leave early and be in respective homes before things turn bad. I was very reluctant to leave, but my manager asked me to leave, saying me being a non-bangalorean, did not realize how the fans react in the city. I took his advice and left, it was when I reached the bus stop I realized that the whole city was rushing home. The road was dotted with cabs/buses of big IT companies, people desperately trying to get a conveyance, auto now was the most prized commodity, many sticking their ears to radio sets to gain an upper hand in discussions about which place had trouble or 'where the bus was burnt', etc. I made few quick calls to my sister to ask if she had company to reach her place, before I took a bus myself for my place.
Thursday started with a phone call from my manager, who had called me up to inform me that it was a holiday, as the State had declared a bandh to mourn the death of the 'true son of Kannada'. I was happy and even before giving second thought I returned to my bed. Thursday's holiday meant we had four continuous days without work. But all was not good, when it was lunch time, I went out to search for food but there was none. All the shops were closed, there were hardly any people on the roads, it was like a curfew, thankfully my roommates were wise enough to get some food on Wednesday, we cooked food and ate atleast that was better than watching TV, which was telecasting only news channels, showing constables beaten up by the so-called fans.
It was Good Friday the next day, though I cannot say, if it was Good for me. The streets seemed calm now, and the life had returned to normal. I had to be at the practice, at 7am. Not everyone was there when I arrived, but instead of starting our practice our director asked us to assemble at a local coffee shop. When we were there, he announced that we were not putting up the play. For the five hours that we tried to convince him, to revert back his decision, I saw a range of emotions, that one rarely witnesses in such short span of time. We were shocked, surprised, confused, angry, sad, helpless and later cut-off from the discussion. It was very hard to believe that the play we were practicing for eight long months would get cancelled just a week before the show.
To overcome this shock, I thought of spending my Saturday watching some good films that I had missed because of my practices. After waking up at noon, I got 'Munich' and 'Memoirs of a Geisha' from a local library. I found both the movies, amazing. I felt Munich should have got the best picture award and not Crash.
Sunday, I had to take a class. [I teach history at a weekend school], that took up most of the time. It was the first class of the term and it was quite an experience with the new set of kids. After the class, I visited my sister's place to have lunch and spend the rest of the day.
Last week was very eventful and surprising.
It started with a boring Monday [that is how Mondays are... atleast for me :( ], didn't have much to do at work, so was browsing Wikipedia [over the weeks I have fallen in love with this site... its a great site, can spend hours there]
Tuesday was not much different either, though my play practice that nite extended till 1.25am [ I am an actor, and 'was' working on this play 'Cleopatra', we practice during the evenings, 7pm till whatever time...]
The Week started taking interesting turn, on Wednesday, when news started pouring from all the corners, from friends in other companies, from local news channels, from HRs of various companies, that due to the demise of a popular local star Dr. Rajkumar, there were chances of riots breaking up in the city. Everyone was advised to leave early and be in respective homes before things turn bad. I was very reluctant to leave, but my manager asked me to leave, saying me being a non-bangalorean, did not realize how the fans react in the city. I took his advice and left, it was when I reached the bus stop I realized that the whole city was rushing home. The road was dotted with cabs/buses of big IT companies, people desperately trying to get a conveyance, auto now was the most prized commodity, many sticking their ears to radio sets to gain an upper hand in discussions about which place had trouble or 'where the bus was burnt', etc. I made few quick calls to my sister to ask if she had company to reach her place, before I took a bus myself for my place.
Thursday started with a phone call from my manager, who had called me up to inform me that it was a holiday, as the State had declared a bandh to mourn the death of the 'true son of Kannada'. I was happy and even before giving second thought I returned to my bed. Thursday's holiday meant we had four continuous days without work. But all was not good, when it was lunch time, I went out to search for food but there was none. All the shops were closed, there were hardly any people on the roads, it was like a curfew, thankfully my roommates were wise enough to get some food on Wednesday, we cooked food and ate atleast that was better than watching TV, which was telecasting only news channels, showing constables beaten up by the so-called fans.
It was Good Friday the next day, though I cannot say, if it was Good for me. The streets seemed calm now, and the life had returned to normal. I had to be at the practice, at 7am. Not everyone was there when I arrived, but instead of starting our practice our director asked us to assemble at a local coffee shop. When we were there, he announced that we were not putting up the play. For the five hours that we tried to convince him, to revert back his decision, I saw a range of emotions, that one rarely witnesses in such short span of time. We were shocked, surprised, confused, angry, sad, helpless and later cut-off from the discussion. It was very hard to believe that the play we were practicing for eight long months would get cancelled just a week before the show.
To overcome this shock, I thought of spending my Saturday watching some good films that I had missed because of my practices. After waking up at noon, I got 'Munich' and 'Memoirs of a Geisha' from a local library. I found both the movies, amazing. I felt Munich should have got the best picture award and not Crash.
Sunday, I had to take a class. [I teach history at a weekend school], that took up most of the time. It was the first class of the term and it was quite an experience with the new set of kids. After the class, I visited my sister's place to have lunch and spend the rest of the day.
posted by Raheem Darediya @ 11:15 PM
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