Leaving Bangalore.....

“Kabhi Palko Main Aaso Hai
Kabhi Lab Pe Shikayat Hai
Magar Ai Zindigi Phir Bhi
Mughe Tughse Mohabbat Hai”

The lyrics from the Kishore Kumar's song kind of define my feelings at the moment as I leave Bangalore. I am going to Calcutta where I always wanted to go but this busy and bustling city has been my home for the past two and half years. “You can't get everything in life” they say and it holds true for me as I leave this city tomorrow. The idea doesn't seem to sink that all that is a part of my everyday life now will be a thing of the past within a few days.

It was almost two and half years back on 28th August 2007 that I had stepped foot on the Silicon Valley of India. Coming from a small town almost 3000 kms away I had very few friends here and hardly knew anybody in this happening city. But somehow this city welcomed me. It is a feeling hard to define but here I was in the most vibrant city of India and yet didn't feel out of place. The roads were bust but they didn't scare me, the buildings were tall but they didn't dwarf me.

When I moved from the hotel to the PG, I felt more at home as I was in the company of many like me who had come to make a career, those who were already well established and a few who had a few stories to tell. Slowly I became friends with many of them and soon started the process of interviews. After failing to clear some interviews, I came to truth with this city when a guy in the PG told me “Yeh Bangalore hai beta, yaha pe sirf kaam bolta hai” (This is Bangalore, only work speaks here).

Looking back, I cannot think of a better statement that can define this city. In less than 48 hours I will be gone from this city, if not for ever but professionally I presume. Here people have taught me the true meaning of professionalism and how to set standards just not for the nation but for the globe. The real cosmopolitan nature of this city allows the best of people in the country to work together and no wonder this city has become a 'verb' for industry leaders around the world.

I can't just digest the idea that I won't seen the Forum Mall daily with all the beautiful women around! The Anna Sambar and dinner in the Andhra Mess at night will be a piece of nostalgia in my life. I will miss the comfort of travelling in the Volvos around the city. But above all I will miss the people I lived with, I worked with. Guys, you are the ones who have made life special for me in this city and I will take those memories and cherish them throughout my life.

I may leave Bangalore but Bangalore won't leave me!

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Indian economy to grow at 8 percent?

By: Subhadeep Bhattacharjee

For all those who are concerned about facts and figures the Indian economy will grow by 8% in the upcoming financial year. Well that's what the Government believes and that's what President Prathiba Patil said while addressing the joint session of the Parliament ahead of the Budget Session of the parliament. President Patil also said that providing relief to 'aam admi' from high food prices will be her government's top priority.

This might bring in cheers to many faces but the question arises in whether this growth in totality making India a better country. On one hand we are striving to become one of the superpowers in the world while on the other we have the largest number of people living below the poverty line anywhere in the world. Our figures on poverty are even worst that some of the Sub-Saharan nations according to many international agencies.

Our basic health care system especially in the rural areas is in a pathetic condition. This is quite an irony for a country which is becoming a destination for 'health tourism.' Does the growth in the GDP mean anything to these deprived people? Can the growth in the GDP rate or the sensex douse the hunger in a common man's life? How much of the GDP is the government willing to pump into the Social Sector to narrow the gap between India and Bharat.

The rise of the left wing extremism in the last decade has been a slap on the face of the nation which was going gaga over the country's economic growth. Government and various non-governmental organisations woke up to the apathy of people in these backward areas only after these people had been brain-washed by the Left Wing terror groups. The results are for all of us to see and Left Wing terror seems to be more threatening than the militancy in Jammu & Kashmir and the North-East.

Do these figures mean anything to even a middle class Indian? The effective inflation on the ground is almost double than what the government claims it to be. This ironically in a period when India hasn't fully emerged from the financial meltdown. So has our economy and GRD growth practically made our life better or is it mere statistics?

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