Waking up this morning, I smile;
Twenty-four brand new hours are before me.
I vow to live fully in each moment,
And to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.

As I kick-start my day, I ponder. Bangalore roads are a reflection of life itself. Like in life, there are no road signs when you require it and you have to guess by the number of vehicles going into a particular road or open your inner eye and see where it will lead you. And in this One-way city, if you miss a turn, you have to orbit the city like an obstinate satellite to get near the same point again. The flyovers in the city are specially designed to narrow down the existing roads and make them so congested that not even a “fly can go over” to the other side.

Not that we need any reminders, about the sorry state of affairs in the infrastructure sector. Heavy rains over the past few months have flooded roads and households across the city, led to the closure of most businesses, leaving Bangalore submerged and crippled. "Bangalore is a national calamity in terms of infrastructure," said Azim Premi, CEO of Wipro Ltd. And he ought to know. Days after the shortcomings in this hi-tech city's infrastructure were exposed by heavy rains, we are yet to find a solution. Thankfully, we are landlocked. What if we had the Wilma's and Katrina's of the world paying us a visit ? Well, I definitely wouldn't have been around to complain, I guess.

Some years back it was just bad roads, but now it's blocked drains , irregular power,increasing traffic density, polluting vehicular smoke, ear-splitting noise of horns and mismanaged transport as well.The distance that took just 10 minutes to reach a few years back, now takes at least an hour. It is putting pressure on costs and tempers. This is followed by an increasing concern over the loss of tree cover and open spaces like parks and playgrounds. Water stagnation on the road is another problem, and why do we need a drainage system after all, we depend on evaporation to clear the watery mess left behind by incessant rainfall. Saves you the trouble of drainage maintainence you see.

And the comedy of errors, the city corporation recently announcing a 'spot the pothole' contest on select roads. Reward: Rs 100 per pothole. Well, if wishes were horses beggars would fly. Similar exercises undertaken in the past, have failed to usher in the desired results. Potholes resurfaced after one downpour. Contractors and Engineers who did a shabby job were allowed to go scotfree and eluded punishment. This time too, work has started on a feverish pitch. Mud and bitumen are thrown into each pothole without any check on quality and poor levelling.So, instead of potholes, motorists have to negotiate humps now.On second thoughts in my area they should announce a 'spot the road' contest instead.

When IT companies raised their voice against poor infrastructure in Bangalore, those at the helm scoffed at them, after all we are the ones who gave them a tax holiday remember? When citizens protested against bad roads and clogged drains, empty promises were made to them. The road turns out to be a hard task master for hapless drivers like me. Bangalore's journey to becoming an IT capital has definitely been much easier than an IT professional's ordeal to reach his workplace in proper shape every morning, literally atleast. And we take pride in hosting 150 of the Fortune 500 companies.Bangalore is sadly falling apart in its seams.

So finally here I am, not smiling anymore, dying do get over and done with the remaining hours left in the day , forget about living fully in each moment and compassion is the last thing on my mind. Honestly, it takes an effort to be civil at least.