Passion or Protection ??

Snapshot 1: An open closet with some cases cleanly lined up..
Zoom...the cases are audio cassettes lined up alphabetically for an easy search (inspiration Google?)

Snapshot 2: A computer screen with hard-disk drive partitions labeled 91FM, MTV, Channel V...
Zoom...These drives contain a large collection of audios & videos, these too perfectly managed & tagged.

Snapshot 3: A motorist enjoying his drive...
Zoom...His head-phones are emitting music which is synchronizing his driving experience.

Snapshot 4: A company representative pasting stickers on the wind-screens of vehicles...
Zoom...Written on the sticker is "Safe chalao, City Bajao!! " (translated : Drive safe, tune into City)

Overheard conversation : Ok! I'll buy it. Sure. Just let me find some time this weekend!!

Confused...puzzled...not getting anything....

Yes..this is what my condition too is...These snapshots & conversation is nothing but what I have undergone...undergone in my attempt to save my passion, my passion for music. Ok! Ok! here I go...

The advent of the television & internet, radio was one thing which was thrown to the junkyards, with only a very limited percentage of the population interested in being entertained from this medium. The young generation adhered to the earlier mentioned media, those being available in plenty, thanks to the technology boom & telling them to just check radio was like a taboo.

But, when I came to Bangalore, I found out something which was bit unusual...unusual in a sense that this forbidden media was being used very enthusiastically by the younger crowd, thanks to the many good radio stations which had popped up, specially on the FM (Frequency Modulated) range. Bangalore too had its crowds' favourite stations-namely Radio City 91 FM & 101.3 Rainbow FM, swinging everyone to its tunes. Every auto-riskshaw, car, shop and even homes had either of these stations plugged on; playing their favourite numbers.

Thanks to my uncle, I could get hold of a cell-phone set with a stereophonic radio reception & now I can even listen to the hit-new or old tracks, by tuning to the free-to-air FM radio stations, through my cell-phone even on while driving my bike. Now, I plug the ear-phones and tune in and drive my bike leisurely. Be it traffic lights, traffic jam or clear road (very rare case in heavily trafficked Bangalore roads), I was now able to enjoy the music, my passion, on the long journeys usually between my home and office.

What is described in the Snapshot 1 is a view of my closet at home, housing many audio cassettes, whose number is still increasing thanks to my sister, who too loves music. Snapshot 2 is a view of my collection of audio and video, carefully housed in my hard-drives' partitioned named on Radio & music TV-channels names. Snapshot 3 might have been a not so unknown view, if you have seen the movie Saathiya (re-make of the Tamil film "Alaipayuthey"), with the hero Vivek Oberoi riding his bike with music fuming into his ears....what that drive would be...thats what is the exact feeling when the Radio City RJ puts the song "O humdum suniyo re" on the air....the drive itself becomes a pleasure, with the self-impression of being a Vivek Oberoi.

But how can be the villain stay behind...no its not some person..but the dreadly bangalore traffic which only the plyers can understand better. One-ways, traffic lights, traffic jams are a daily routine. Someone nicely quoted on Radio,"..always take your bread alongwith you when you leave home in the morning---you can always have the jam on the way!!". Drivers consider the roads their ancestral property & drive in their own will.

Soon after I bought my bike, my parents, uncle and friends had been advising me to get for myself a helmet...knowing the way I drive and my Vivek Oberoi ishtyle. After postponing for a lot many weekends (the overheard conversation was between me and my mom), I finally bought a helmet. Wearing a helmet is not easy with the helmet blocking the air and my favourite music on the FM....ok ok I consider the safety concept of the helmet.

Even the Radio City 91 FM people had organized a campaign title "Safe Chalao, City Bajao!!" (Snapshot 3-City here is the name of the FM radio station), where they were giving away helmets as prizes. I was wondering with my kind of situation....do they really want to be on the air?

The question now arises before me (& a request for a suggestion from all readers) : Passion (for music) or Protection (wearing a helmet) ?

Now I wear helmet sometimes but I am surely thinking of some way of clubbing passion & protection....can anyone suggest me!!!


(Original Blog @ http://passion-or-protection.blogspot.com/)