Chandra love Monday mornings!

Chandra love Monday mornings!

Got up early, as always. There was nothing in the calendar, early in the morning. So did meditation, etc leisurely. 

Son had come over last evening. Saw him off early morning, before Bangalore traffic reaches its notorious peak-hour levels. (Peak hour is only an excuse. Other wise traffic is pretty much a bad experience, 24X7, 365 days) Son had an extra baggage, through the new gadget bought last evening!

Took dog out late, after shower & breakfast. By then multiple school buses have come and gone. Their parents have started rushing off for work too. At 930 AM, slightly warm, dog enjoyed a leisurely stroll too. (Wonder if it was a good idea to have one local, community schools where all kids go to, have to commute minimum and as such lesser vehicles on road! We got to do something for our kids education, to restore childhood...)

Chandra used to have another Monday morning ritual - to wash his car. Not any more since one of the car cleaning boys in the apartment takes care! (though Chandra is not happy with the quality!)

Monday need not be madness?! 

Monday Morning Blues in Bangalore

- Late night flight, lack of sleep...
- Misplaced car key prompted me to look for Uber. The app showed ten minutes.
- Checked Ola, not available!
- Went back to Uber, waiting period was now 22 minutes. These are "official" indicators only. The actual may be much different.
So, decided to opt for "ola share".

With Bangalore likely to cancel the "share" option by Ubers & Olas of the world, I was more "aware" of the option to 'share'.

Ola has introduced two options within the share! Ola keeps bringing in new initiatives frequently. At times the add-ons become 'too many-too soon'! I finally opted for 'Fast Share' and decided to walk to the main road - "just 6 minutes", indicated the app. But not the heat & dust of the stretch, from apartment to the 'State Highway', not a 'stately' highway though.

I kept waiting... several cabs passed by, not the 'share' cab assigned to me.

A passing auto driver (smartly) sensed a business opportunity and stopped. In spite of all taxi options, auto drivers stick to their pricing strategy, continuing to demand exorbitant fares. I demanded a 25% reduction. He readily agreed. I knew I would be paying a cab fare for a bumpy, noisy, dusty/non-AC ride. But reaching the workplace quickly was more important. As the auto driver, a gentleman (except for his pricing) in his fifties took off, I canceled the Ola-share!

What should ideally take 15-20 minutes, took a full hour. As the cars patiently waited in a line, my auto-guy, a veteran on Bangalore roads, took short-cuts to move ahead. He mostly got away with all his histrionics, except a traffic cop. The latter let off with a big shout at the auto guy. I 'compensated' by paying him what he had originally asked for. He had to endure a 60 minute ride too. But for him, I would have taken longer.

It is a normal day at work for both of the cop & the auto guy, but not for me... Monday morning can't be so 'cruel'

An audio book kept me going. I saw so many professionals on the way to their office, badly stuck - in buses/cars/company transport vehicles, two-wheelers.

Many of them already had their ID cards around their neck or clipped on to somewhere on the body, shirt to belt. Most of them, almost all of them (yours truly included) had an expression of frustration & anger on their faces.

I wondered... 'are we living our life-purpose? Is all this worth it?"