Jockey of All Tongues- Master of None

After all that running around in the morning and forgetting to eat an apple (that was going to keep the doctor away,) I finally managed to hit the road to office. Of late I developed an addiction- listening to radio when on road and the addiction is so profound that even when there’s some company, I would rather listen to radio than indulge in a conversation.

Since a week I am listening to Rainbow FM. Around 9.30 am they play songs in Hindi, Telugu, English and sometimes Tamil too, some new and some old melodies. Initially I felt it was not listenable the way songs went from one language to another and one genre to the other, but slowly I started enjoying them and will continue to do so I hope…

The RJ on the show however speaks this funny English, passable Hindi and atrocious Telugu – may be this is how a jack of all arts and master of none sounds. The icing on the cake is this news reader who does not fail to read news headlines for two minutes (sometime between 9.55am and 10am) in a language that sounds remotely ‘Telugu.’ Amusing in the first instance, but is definitely irritating when you are subjected to the torture everyday morning.

It is but an indication of the fate of the language that is called the “Italian of the East.” For those of us who wonder how the language got its title, here’s an excerpt from wikipedia - “British authors in the 19th century called Telugu the “Italian of the East” as all the words in Telugu end with a vowel sound, but it is believed that Italian explorer Niccolò Da Conti coined the phrase in the 15th century. Conti visited Vijayanagara Empire during the reign of Vira Vijaya Bukka Raya in 1520s.”

Coming back to the modern day travails - I definitely expect better quality from this Radio station that is run by “All India Radio.” Meanwhile I shall continue to enjoy music and try and ignore the Jockey of all languages.

Monday Morning Musings

Early morning newspaper time with a steaming cup of filter coffee- an ideal morning ritual didn’t seem so much fun...heck there’s going to be a steep rise in electricity bills, 10 more killed in a road accident and more tales on government inefficiency. Well Saina’s win did brighten things a bit. I put the paper aside and decided to do some green therapy for my eyes. Thankfully we still have some greenery left around us.

My peace was shattered when I realized that my servant maid didn’t turn up. Praying she would come, I got into the grind, cook, pack and run. Thank God the kid’s auto was on time.

By the way my maid did manage to come. She lives in a basti, which is on a small hill. Apparently her basti depends on tankers for even the regular usage water and the tankers come only once or twice in a week. The Basti Dwellers carry the water all the way up the hill. Today was one such lucky day and she managed a drum full of water for her home. Well I sympathized with her and was thankful for her to have turned up.

Finally I am on the way to office, hoping there is miracle and the traffic is better. But it was not to be. Traffic was as usual, bad. First in Maredpally, then StAnns, Police Lines and then the infamous Begumpet old Airport road, it was traffic jam every where and to add to the woes, the roads are full of pot holes, the sidewalks are all dug up, and there was no cop for the entire stretch. With nothing to do except indulge in some thinking I wondered where development is taking us. If we cannot have the luxury of basic amenities, then what was all that Mr Manmohan Singh was talking about India Shining and what is the meaning of Incredible India?

“Shucks I am late for office. Let me reflect on India some other time. Now I have too many other things to worry about.”