Does popularity bring arrogance?

This question came to my mind when I visited a famous idli shop in Chennai recently. We ordered for idli and the waiter served just the idlis. We were waiting for chutney for a while and then we asked the waiter. "Wait pannunga sir" was his reply. After a few minutes, he brought the chutney. Before paying the bill, we decided to take some parcels home. This was the waiter's reply - "Idha munnaadiye kettirukalamale?" (Can't you ask for this before?). We were shocked. What's his problem? If he feels stressful about his work, then he should talk to his boss and not show his anger towards the customers. We had visited this place a few times now and the waiters' responses have always been arrogant. I agree that the place is always crowded and the waiters are on their toes all the time. But the customers are not to be blamed for that. It's the hotel management's responsibility to hire more waiters and more efficient cooks. I'm pretty sure if the same arrogant attitude continues, then this place is going to lose all it's customers and close the shop soon.

Cell phones - changed us!

Ten years back, we only had these landline phones and suddenly,cell phones arrived at such an affordable price. Our lives are not the same any longer. I've been observing certain peculiar behaviour with people using cell phones these days.

Let's say a person A who is sitting in a train starts to fiddle with his cell phone as he is feeling bored. Either he is playing a game or typing a message. The person sitting opposite to him takes out his cell phone and starts fiddling with his cell phone too.

When someone hears an SMS arrival tone, atleast two people will take out their phones from their pockets and check if they have got any message, though they might not even have felt the vibration.

There is a very less probability that two phones will have the same ring tone. We have become crazy about ringtones and also the latest in the entry, hello tunes. My brother used to have this song "Vaadi Vaadi kaippadaadha CD" from the Tamil movie Sachin as his hello tune. I wonder how his boss would have reacted when he tried to call him.

A couple of days back, one of my colleagues has left his cell phone at his desk and gone somewhere. His phone started ringing and guess what,his ring tone was "Let the music play". A good irony! The music was indeed playing again and again.

A few years ago, when you talk to yourself while walking on the road, people would stare at you as though you are mad. But these days, it's assumed that you are using a hands-free set.

Mobile revolution is here to stay. Let's see how much this device can change our lives.

A trip to school

How would you feel when you go back to the school where you started your primary education, after a span of 17 years? How would you react when you meet the teacher who taught you the alphabets and nursery rhymes and who still teaches in the same school? I got to experience these feelings last Saturday when I visited my primary school.

The small place which helped me take big steps in my life! Seeing the little children in non-uniform dress (no uniform dress on Saturday), hearing the same ringing bell that I used to yearn for so I could go back home and play, meeting the same lady who maintains the school premises, speaking to Ruby miss who is my LKG class teacher, seeing my headmaster, the "Big Master" who has become old but the same scary voice - wow, what an experience it was! He was so happy to see me. He spoke with us (My hubby, my cousin and me) for nearly two hours. Unfortunately my headmistress wasn't there in school that day. It would have been nice to meet her after so long. Anyway, I'm glad I took this trip down memory lane.

My first date with the stars

I always wonder about the massive universe and the galaxies far away from this earth. Is there existence of life somewhere else? How does it feel inside a spaceship? Do we know much about the other galaxies? Astronomy is one fascinating subject. The more you explore, you will realize there is still more to be explored.

I don't have a reason as to why it took me so long to visit a planetarium. My New Year resolution of doing something new every weekend finally took me to Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium last Sunday. It's not a very big place to go around. The main hall attracts you with posters of various planets and paintings of Albert Einstein. I especially liked the poem that explains about Einstein's contributions in the year 1905. There is also a place where you can get your weights checked in different planets for 5 bucks.

The main attraction is the 45 minute show on Solar System. The show takes place in a circular auditorium with a sky like roof setup. The prelude to the show was an interesting short film about Kalpana Chawla. The Solar System show began sharp at 12.45 PM. As soon as the lights went off, the roof was full of stars. what an amazing sight it was! A very good explanation about different planets in the solar system, why Pluto is no longer a planet, some new info about Andromeda galaxy - so much of information in a short span of time. The show was worth every penny that we spent towards the entrance tickets (Rs. 25 each for adults).

One of my wishes is to buy a good telescope and look at the beautiful night sky. Star gazing is a nice hobby, isn't it?

Destination

My contribution to Sunday Scribblings #40 - Destination

A visual bliss
A bright sunrise,
A colourful palette
The hues of the sky,
Chirping birds
Early morning risers,
Crystal clear
individual dew drops,
Different varieties
Flowers in blossom,
Slow, steady motion
my precious bicycle,
a mellow melody
humming soft voice,
my final destination
peak of the mountain,
a beautiful journey
rabbits for company,
green grass bed
a vast meadow,
may we relax
in joy and peace.

Change

My contribution to Sunday Scribblings #39 - Change

A tense Uday was staring at his home computer at 2 AM. He was supposed to complete a lot of work by next morning. For the past six months, his work had always been stressful and hardly he had time for himself or his family. Strenuous work pressures and taking more responsibilities than he could handle had started showing negative effects on his health. Stress, RSI, migraine attacks - he had everything.

His wife Reena could no longer bear to see his health getting deteriorated. Thinking that she should do something about this situation, she woke up the next day with a sense of conviction. After seeing her husband off to work, she went to visit her psychiatrist friend Pooja. As enthusiastic as always, Pooja greeted her with a warm smile. After exchanging the usual pleasantries, Reena explained the problem to her. As though she had been listening to such problems day in and day out, Pooja smiled and said "This is such a simple problem. Why don't you ask him to take a course of humour pills?". "Humour Pills? What are they?", Reena asked in a surprise tone. "Any problem can become solvable after a hearty laugh. Isn't it? These pills will help a person to remember funny moments in life and make him/her laugh", explained Pooja.

Satisfied with the solution, Reena returned home. "Reena, give me a strong cup of coffee. I'm having a bad headache", Uday said after returning from work late evening. "I've got you something dear. This will help reduce all your tensions and worries. It's called the humour pill. My friend Pooja who is a psychiatrist recommended this pill. Take this tablet everyday and you will start seeing the effect soon", explained Reena, looking at Uday's tired face. "Are you joking? There can't be such tablets", Uday said, not believing the concept of humour pills. "Why don't you give it a try before concluding that this is not going to help?", asked Reena. "All right. I'll try for a week. If it doesn't work, I will stop", suggested Uday.

The next day, after breakfast, Uday took his first humour pill. "Is this going to remind me of funny moments in life? No way", laughed Uday. As the day progressed, he started thinking about a funny incident that happened when he was in school. He was playing cricket with his friends and a sixer that he hit broke the neighbour's window. All of them ran towards a nearby bush to hide when the neighbour peeped through the broken window and shouted. After about half an hour, they came out slowly to check if the neighbour had gone into her house and they ran quickly to their respective houses. A smile flashed in Uday's face and then he realized the first effect. At first, he thought it was just a mere coincidence. But as days passed, he was reminded of many such funny moments in his life - how he was wearing different kind of footwear on his legs when he came out of the crowded temple, how he and his brother was having a fight for the big chocolate bar his aunt bought for them from UK, how he felt scared to sit in a ride in the amusement park etc etc. He started to look very calm and joyful these days. A big change had swept his life. He had started to think positively. His face had a slight glow and his health problems seem to subside very well.

After 3 months, Uday was a very happy person and his life had changed a lot. His wife Reena was happier and felt grateful to her friend Pooja. They decided to visit her to thank for her help. As usual, Pooja greeted them with a smile that is so contagious to resist. After knowing the details, she couldn't stop laughing. Uday and Reena stared at her with puzzled looks on their face. "Humour pills didn't create this effect on you, Mr.Uday. It was your mind. When you heard about humour pills for the first time, I'm sure you wouldn't have believed it. You want to prove it wrong. So you tried to resist thoughts that could remind of funny moments. As someone rightly said, 'What you resist persists'. Your mind can be a very good helper and healer. Alwaya remember that you are bigger than the problems you face. It's not the other way", Pooja explained.

"What are those tablets then? Will it cause any harm?", asked an innocent Reena. "Not to worry. Those are just vitamin tablets", Pooja winked.