SG OwnBlog

The man made pyre Once upon a time in the dark days of February..... The evening mist has just settled. A middle aged man wrapped in a grey shawl waits in the station. Beside him is a cup of tea, long since cold. On his right is a Gujarati newspapers loosely folded. On the paper is a big Motorola cellphone. Just about a hundred meters away a couple of house are filled with strangers. Numbering about 30, they remain in silence waiting for a call from a Motorola wireless transmitter. A couple of days ago, news came in that women and children were coming in from kar seva. On route to home, they would have to pass through a small station in rural Gujarat. The group were to take part in a small 'welcoming'. As the middle aged man looked at his watch, the station signboard glistened at the passing lights of some nearby car. It read - Godhra. Substantial preparations were already made for the party. The photographers among them were highly trained and equipped w...

Coming home is always a special affair and rightly so. Everytime I come home, I feel great. This time I chose a slightly different route than the one that I usually take. Actually it was my Dad's idea. He said that instead of spending a lot on moving from Bangalore to Kolkata directly by air, I can move to Chennai by train and take a flight from there. It actually saved me around Rs. 6000! After somehow doing my work at office I left for the railway station - the Bangalore City Junction. After a sleepy ride to the station in a crowded AC bus I reached the Majectic Bus Stand. From there I got some help from a fellow passenger to identify the road to the railway station. The station was great. Though initially I was scared that I might not make it in time, I was relieved to find out that I was about a couple of hours before time! So I had a sandwich that sucked. Then after sometime I went to a eatery and had Veg Biriyani. They served it on a banana leaf! That was great. Rest ...