B-Log

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Do check it out and drop in your expert comments and critques!

Fiction becomes fact here.
The much talked about(not as much as Burj Dubai or the World though) air conditioned bus-stops shelters have arrived. And I saw one up close and personal in an almost running state today. A bit late but better late than never!
Waiting for the bus in the scorching sun would not be a reasonable excuse anymore.
Though finding a space inside these could soon become one. Each air-conditioned bus shelter would accomodate 14 people - 8 sitting and 6 standing. And given the way we are, if it is filled only with only Indians, 40 can easily be squished inside!

The shelters would earn revenue for the Road Transport Authority through advertisements inside and outside the shelters along with vending machines. They are also expected to have ATM’s. I have seen a lot of them have 3 different kind of waste bins besides them which look like pin ball machines. I think they might start charging ppl a Dh. or so soon to enter. Who knows!

It would also be insteresting to see a system which has been proposed in Abu Dhabi to track school buses to help worried and concerned parents(which all of them are). A tracking system using mobile towers and SMS would provide information about the location of the bus, thus making it possible for the parents to know that their kid is on his way and where exactly is he starving in the daily afternoon traffic jams.

It would be interesting to see this getting included in the new bus shelters. People could be informed about the expected time of arrival of the next bus. A feedback system can also be incorporated through an automated kiosk. Weather information, pollution levels, etc. could be shown. It would be an interesting place to take public surveys. And given the presence of bus shelters and their proximity to people in the city, several new uses could be thought of.

P.S. My wait for airconditioned footpaths starts hereon.

After using earbuds for a long time to listen to stuff on my phone, today I tried on a pair of headphones recently discarded by my dad. I was under an impression that my earbuds were delivering excellent quality of sound for what it had costed me. But these headphones for a lesser amount actually rendered a much better audio quality.

And this feeling of trying them on and the intial thrill and kick of experiencing this superior audio quality is just so overwhelming.

Wouldn’t it be great to something that when used, can render an experience similar to that. A service or product that renders a nicer, better experience everytime you use it with a certain familiarity.

There would be some examples of that in the cyber space but what about real life?

Have you seen those ads of fairness creams where they give away free shade-cards for you to gauge the improvement in ur skin tone?
That’s not the change of the color of your skin you are measuring there. It’s the rise of your self-esteem and social status.

Staying in a city like this, feels like everybody has those cards over here. They do not use it for themselves, but to judge how well they should treat you.
It’s like those movie ratings you look at to decide whether to watch the movie or not. And these rating are not even given according to performance, in this case. It’s been given outta whim, massive compound superiority/ inferiority complexes or just the basic human nature of differentiating itself from others.

There’s a constant you vs. me here when two nationalities interact. And victory takes place just by the way the person looks. From his descent. From his nationality.

Why can’t this place be more about “Us”? Why can’t this place be more human?

This is a rant because of a fight I had with the staff at a supposedly hi-class store here, when I was clearly mistreated and shouted upon because I am an Indian. Not to worry… I put them in their place.

The land of stock photography is more coloured now. It has acquired a few new shades.
Now flooded with pictures of Indians, proliferation was never before expected to show its traits in such ways.

Wherever you search, something Indian would appear atleast once on each page of the search result. No more are we depicted through pictures of Rajasthan or roadside beggars. Our pics are as slick, classy and clean as the others’.

The country has started to make a mark at every level in the world. The world needs to cover all the developments and its effects. We are also becoming more comfortable in our skins. Realising that being an Indian isn’t such a bad thing after all. There’s a revival of national pride. Therefore brands talk to us with visuals which depict us as we are. Indians are working at par with people of other nationalities. They have more things under their control now. Therefore, commanding more respect.

It is being recognised that we have a different set of perception and identity. Our value sets and aspirations are unique.

This is, as I said… just a trait… a sign.