Return to Mysore

I am back, after almost three weeks of travel with a day snatched in between in Mysore. I feel curiously disconnected; and am needing some days before I 'click' back into life here. Everything is on auto-pilot, and I see things and places without actually feeling them.
When I was returning here, on Monday 12th, I luckily left home - that's my B & SIL's home in Bangalore- early, at 0920. With jams all the way from Adugodi through Langford road, I reached the station at 1050 - a distance of about 9 km, making it 6 km per hour. That is the speed at which we do our evening walks - jogging is at about 8 km per hour. The train left Bangalore station at 1100, and reached Mysore at 1250 - I was home by 1 p.m.
And still, people ask me in baffled tones "Why do you live in Mysore?"
The huge press of people, the traffic, the smoke and dust - I cannot stand this in any place. This town has space, open, clean, green places, sleepy, empty roads in the afternoons, and gentle people with no rubbed-raw-by-stress edges. Which is how it should be.
Barkha Dutt's 'We the People' talk show, on Sunday,covering Manju Shanmugam's death, so eagerly worked for and looked forward to, left me feeling sick. Barkha Dutt didn't care, and didn't even appear to; the key stake holders - IOCL, Mani Shankar Aiyar - slimed out of attending. And so on.
When I e.mailed an acquaintance, a senior IPS officer who has been helping with advice and information, he said "in our sevices we go through such depressive moments at least 4 times aday. cheers. the man did not loose his life in vain.it has made a difference". I am touched and revived.
The fight will continue.

Manjunath Shanmugam

I’m returning to Mysore after an intermittently long time away. I spent 5 days in Chennai, one day in Bangalore, and returned. Spent one and a half days in Mysore and ping-ponged back to Bangalore. Today is Thursday, I will now spend till next Thursday in Mysore while Jai leapfrogs back to Bangalore on Monday. He returns Sunday. Next Thursday I leave for Bangalore, and will return on Monday – or I may need to go to Bombay, whence I will return on Thursday/Friday. And then we will stay put for some time. It sounds verree hectic I know, but after the last 2 months of somnolescence, I don’t mind it. All the afternoon siestas and net surfing was kinda making me restless.
When we’re not doing anything, we’re not doing ANYTHING. No phones ring, no mails come in, no work gets done. When we’re busy with business, everything wakes up at once. Friends want to visit, land line and cell phones ring together, meetings get fixed, proposals need to be sent, people met, training programs conducted, others prepared, you get the drift.
The last two weeks have had lots of things – events – happening. One is downright horrific. That is Manju Shanmugam’s killing. It’s aroused a kind of desperate anger in me and so many people. And a determination that this time, this time, the killers will get hanged. That some systemic change will happen. Money, time, plans, offers for all are happening. All that is needed is a focal plan, I think. A cynical line here about time will pass and nothing will happen, may well be a taste of the future but I won’t let a 36- years- old attitude mar a 21- years- old hope.
Meetings with – since this is a public blog – prospective clients promise exciting things. In the meanwhile determined to visit Mooganahundi again.
Also trying to source associates to work on the same high-quality ethic we do, but who will work part time and not expect easy money.