where has all the silence gone

Yesterday I stood for fifteen minutes trying to cross the road near my house.The traffic wouldn't stop and I am not surprised as it was the festival season,but this is a road in a residential area where I have lived for some thirty odd years.
My mind went back to the time we had arrived at this part of madras.My dad had paid the advance for a house here and my mom and I had come to check it out.In this very same street which was deserted at that time,with not a soul in sight.It was a road dotted on either side by quaint houses with gardens.My mother took one look at the house and burst into tears.She had hoped to move into a nice house with bright colours and a modern look but here we were in an independent house that looked in need of care with an overgrown garden.Tears of rage and frustration and many a fight with my dad later we had no choice but to move in.Over a period of time she made friends with the neighbours,brightened up our environment like only my mother can do,adopted a dog and cleaned up the garden/We lived there for years and had some happy times,I finished my school years from that house and had many happy holidays with my friends coming over,We roamed the streets around the house playing on the road and meeting people.
All this ran through my mind as i stood there on the same street trying to cross the road.The housed have given way to high rise buildings,the road has become chocked with traffic,the old neighbours have all sold out to upcoming builders and long since gone,the real estate prices have skyrocketed and the once quiet street had become impossible to cross.I finally cross the road and check out the other roads,Almost all of them have met with the same fate.I came back to live in this area because of the peace and quiet and wisely choose a street that is so narrow that it can never become a big traffic road.The only remains of my childhood are the grocery shop owned by a boy who went to school with me and I continue to shop at this place despite all the new ones that have mushroomed around.Everything else changes every day and i have to wonder what will this place be like five years from now.
This area of madras however will always be home and despite all the congestion we are lucky to have four parks around our home and plenty of greenery.I walk around and count my blessings and stop to smell the roses.

call and you will not get an answer

Right now I need to speak to the bank about an investment,I need to talk to the telephone people about a bad connection and to the mobile service provider about a wrong bill,but I am still wondering how to go about it.You see I am allergic to call centres and everyone today seems to have one.My experiences have always been about waiting for quiet a while listening to some repetitive music or to a recorded voice telling me that I am an important customer....why do they treat me like this if I really was one is beyond me.Also if I am important then so are all the others who call.I thought being important was exclusive but guess I am wrong.
If it not about waiting then some disembodied voice will give me instructions on the phone which will take through many a menu and many a number later to arrive at the same place,talking to a human being.
So I finally arrive at this human voice but couldn't figure out why they never had solutions to my simple requests.Why couldn't they check out some things for me,why did I need to call another number or wait for a week or send an email.In desperation I checked with some folks who work at a call centre and realised that its all about a script.Its a dummy job,which tells you what answers to give for what question and if its not asked in the same sequence then the human being on the other side is not authorised to answer(read not allowed to use brains,reasoning etc,assuming that they are in possession of these talents)So typically dumb American way of operating and getting paid for it.I am a little ashamed to call an American a dummy anymore after my call centre experience.Out outsourcing industry is all about the American way of life and that means we are glorified script readers.Is this what is driving our economy.I shudder to think of whats going to happen to this country in a few years.In the meanwhile I am still wondering what to do about my problems.Call a call centre stupid....thats how it works!!!

news not for use

There is an emergency in Pakistan and I hear about it on BBC news.Considering they are our neighbours I presumed that the news media in India would be clamouring to cover the news but the moment the emergency was announced,I switched to the Indian News channels.To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.To say I was expecting it would be a half truth.The point is that all the news channels I turned to were either covering cricket or bollywood.So I ask myself what do news channels do.Unfortunately they don't cover news in the typical sense.Its all bout entertainment and even the news reporters are entertainers.How else would one describe the average news reporter (who is clearly wet behind the ears)who believes in yelling out the news in high pitch,besides badgering the victim(i use that word for that's what it is) like they are the law,government et al.I am surprised at the emotional way in which questions are put forth.News reporting is about being dispassionate,it is about being objective and about reporting the facts.Its not about ones personal opinions so why are so many TV journalists (including may I add,senior ones) so hell bent on bringing their personalities and beliefs on to the news.Unfortunately if one wants objectivity it still the BBC for me.Will someone please rename new channels in India as niche channels that focus on cricket and bollywood.If that's what sells I have no issues with it but lets stop pretending that this is news.