B Log

The moonstones of Sri Lanka

2012-01-27T20:30:00.001+05:30

The three obvious items at the entrance of any Buddhist structure in Sri Lanka are the Moonstone, Guard stones and the Balustrades.

The moonstone is a prominent feature and has been around since Anuradhapura period - 3rd century. Moonstones are similar to dust mats we place outside the door. Its semi circular with intricate carvings. The moonstones of Anuradhapura had more elaborate designs. Outer edge has ring of flames depicting the never ending life and the pains and passion associated with it. Next ring has 4 types of animals - The elephant, the horse, the lion and the bull one after the other representing four noble truths of birth, old age, disease and death. The next semi circle are carvings of creeper with foliage reminder of our desires. Next is a line of swans with a twig flower and leaf in their mouth. Its said that the swan is capable of separating milk from water (good from bad). He who is capable of doing this can conquer the four noble truths. The final ring is the floral pattern of lotus. Once you can conquer the truths; you are capable of attaining Nirvana represented by Lotus.

The Polonnaruwa moonstones are different than those from Anuradhapura. These stones came hundreds of year later and evolved due to the Hindu influence on the island due to Chola invasion. The bull is dropped from the moonstone design as Bull is sacred to Hindus and trampling on the symbol was disrespectful. The Lion too was taken out as it represented the Sinhala race.

The Guardstones and dwarfs. On one side is Padma and the other side Sanka represented by head dresses - a Lotus and a Conch. Finally are the odd numbered steps with dwarfs taking the weight of the stones. It depicts people trampling them - meaning one who does not lead noble life are prone to pains and sorrows.

Finally is the Blustrades. The below picture show imaginary creatures on either side just above the 2 figures. These are called Dragon stone (Makara Gala) and its imaginary. Made of six body parts of animals; with each part is the strongest feature of each animal. It breathes a flame of fire.

Trunk of the Elephant
Jaws of the Crocodile
Ears of the mouse (some call it the ears of the Monkey)
The extruding teeth of the Wild boar
The tail feathers of the Peacock
Feet of a Lion

I Dont Know Nothing

2012-01-23T22:37:00.000+05:30

Neha mentioned that she is writing a post. I asked her about what? Her reply was "dunno". And bang on! I told her that I thought I had an idea for a post. She asked me what? I said "Donno" :) So now we have to see who will publish the post first :)

So have we not got "dont know", "nothing" for an answer while having a general conversation. I use it frequently because I genuinely dont know! I dont plan on things, it just happens and I prefer it that way. Few of my friends were cold with me because when they asked me where I was going during year end; I said I dont know and when they figured out I was soaking up in Lanka, they got mad. Now; I really didnt know.

I also dont know about 'What next?' I dont want to think much. Thinking is tough! I just go ahead and act on it. Yeah, I also use 'nothing' lot of times when I am thinking something. Its not that I dont want to reveal what I am thinking but I am just lazy to explain. I have to confess that many I talk to dont give me DONT KNOW or NOTHING for an answer.

If you notice, these words abruptly stalls a conversation or if not that worse; it puts an end to the topic and we move to another topic. Its an easy way out for me from those holy grail talks. But few are so persistent; they wouldnt leave unless you spill the beans.

Look folks! I am humble. I do nothing and I dont know anything. To be not knowing anything is the most difficult and intellectual thing in the whole world. Thats when you learn and you desire to learn more.

When you know nothing, you dont have to do anything; so ultimately nothing is left undone as you dont know anything :-P

To quote from Oscar Wilde -

I love talking about nothing. It is the only thing I know anything about

Crumbling and Down

2012-01-20T18:55:00.002+05:30

So this seems to be the season of break downs, shut down and collapse.

The Kodak moment is finally over. A brand synonymous with film rolls when we had those classical cameras; which limited the number of photos one can afford to waste. It was static; not possible to delete and redo and click photos after photos because you had 16 GB of space on your memory card.

I miss those moments when we were asked to "pose" for the camera - stand still, look straight, smile and then the "Click". Move on!!! Life Rolls on just like Kodak film rolls.

When I thought moral policing was only Mutalik and gang, our Big Uncle Sam seems to be the latest to join the group! Hearing about the SOPA and PIPA? No they are not another soccer association as FIFA! (Now curse me!!) but IP protection act. So are they trying to protect intellectual property or curbing freedom of expression. Well, you know how it works! Introduce something to curb something else - DIPLOMATICALLY and say "We did it for you guys!"

Who knows folks? This may be one last post from me when I can speak my mind. Wish Rajnikanth did something about this. There is a new website from Rajnikanth which works only without Internet! Maybe we should all migrate to that.

Well, I am busy falling sick nowadays! Yeah its that time of the year when you earn some money if you fall sick. Submitting IT proofs! I need to submit medical bills to claim tax-free component of my salary. Now how will I get to save tax on 15000/- if I dont fall sick? Tell me? So I am severely falling sick within the limits of 15000/-

Hmm, I am out now!

B Log Blocked due to Illegal Content!

I hope you wont be welcomed by such a blaring message anytime!

Polonnaruwa

2012-01-15T20:53:00.001+05:30

After Anuradhapura, we traveled to Polonnaruwa to continue the cultural heritage experience. It was the second capital of Sri Lanka after Anuradhapura; established after defeating the Cholas and reuniting the country under local ruler.

The ruins and the still existing man-made tank which caters to the irrigation systems talks realms of then prosperous kingdom. The tank is so huge that you mistake it for an ocean. The archaeological sites are best preserved; standing tall as witness to the greatness of then rulers.

Not much to write about Polonnaruwa. The pictures will do all the talking. One thing worth mention is the evident Hindu influence in the architecture in Polonnaruwa ruins as the country was invaded by Cholas before being bailed out.

The Satmahal Prasada - One of the best preserved ruins with all its 7 stories intact. Its a square pyramidal with each side having figure of deities. The inside of it seemed to have stairs.

Gol Potha (Stone Book) - 8 meter long and 4.3 meter wide stone slab inscribed by the deeds of Kind Nissankamalla. It records his invasion of India and relationships with far away to what is now modern Pakistan and Indonesia.

The Vatadage - the circular relic house possess elegance and beauty that I kept taking pictures of it at different angles. Four entry points with Buddhas at all four directions. The shrine is complete with moonstones, guard stones and other carvings.

Inside the Vatadage.

Hatadage - the second temple built to house tooth relic.

Hatadage stands opposite to Vatadage. Vatadage as seen from inside Hatadage.

The Lotus pedestal and the feet of Buddha ruins.

Nissanka Lata Mandapaya - Pretty floral altar has pillars which simulate a lotus on stalk. Sacred hall for prayers.

The Thuparama - its the largest Buddhist image house. The vaulted roof of the building is still intact.

The ruins - in the foreground is a statue of Buddha Satva - the future Buddha.

Shiva devale - Hindu temple built by the Cholas; still open for worship.

Vishnu devale - the statue of Lord Vishnu remains intact.

Trade shops - they had a sound economy.

Rankot Vihara - Ran means gold. Rankot vihara is a dagoba with golden pinnacle. Though no gold remains now. It was different from dagobas of Anuradhapura as it had temples around the stupa (Hindu influence)

Lankathilake - The image house. The walls are 55 ft high. The 12th century building even to this day tells stories of grandeur of the gone time. It was one of the most splendid shrines and thus aptly named "Lankathilaka" - the crown jewel of Lanka. The Buddha was originally 41 feet high but sadly only the torsos now stand.

Gal vihara - remains the most impressive and famous of Polonnaruwa. Colossal statues of Buddhain various mudras are carved on the face of granite boulder

Royal Palace - seven stories high with a thousand chambers. What now remains are just the foundations and the wooden stories are all gone. The hole seen in the walls were placeholders for wooden beams.
The stories had access by steps and they were made of pink granites.

The council of chambers - meeting place for king and his ministers. The rows of pillars are the seats for ministers and the king sat in the middle.

Parakrama Samudraya - 12th century man made tank built by king Parakramabahu in use even today. It covers an area of about 15 sq km. In the middle is a palace built as summer palace.

Finally, food! I would rate this little restaurant in Polonnaruwa had the best food. I liked the way they presented their buffet. Yumm isnt it?

One of the few home stays we stayed around the island. The people were nice and hospitable.

Self Praise

2012-01-13T09:45:00.000+05:30

Few of us will cry foul I know! Few of us will exclaim "How proud she is!" But yeah we are so absorbed in what others have to say that we probably forget what we are :)

I cant believe I could ever post something like this about me on a public forum as this; I have always been humble and down to earth person. (Yeah, heard this a zillion times :-P)

Anyway, last evening a very close friend of mine came to meet me with his wife. He has chosen to stick to me for 10 years now; even with my bullish and arrogant behavior. I bet it has not been easy for him; the average life span of a friendship with me is 3 years. I drift away; the reasons are aplenty - they do not match my intelligence, they are boring, they cant talk beyond chicken or movies and so on...Ahem...yes sorry but this is true. It does not end here. They will have to put up with my arrogance, flaunts and bullying.

I can stealthily let someone know how outdated they are with their beliefs or knowledge or take a dig at someone when they talk rubbish. Hold on! I dont do that with all but only with friends whom I think can tolerate my antics. Few of them understand I genuinely want them to learn, few take an umbrage.

Anyway, so people who know me well call me Google (with humble apologies to Google). To spell out a word or to replace a word, to know the specifications of a new car model and its price or recommend the best red wine . I am happy to discuss Chinese influence in Maldives or the sad demise of apostrophe (I get a chance to make fun of myself now as I write...I just noticed I wrote "sad demise". When has demise been ever happy?)

So these few people who call me Google do not know each other but somehow I get tagged like this maybe due to their belief that they will find answers to their queries. Oh yeah I have played agony aunts to lot many as well; sadly people's attention span is so poor that they forget. There is this general belief that techies are frogs in the well; so when people hear to talk they quip "How do you know all these?" and I retort "Why do you think I will not know this?"

Coming back to my friend, I must say he is such a nice guy to put up with my temper and bullying. I have treated him so bad; he was a year junior at college; though we were of same age I would take the liberty of thrashing him; kicking him; slapping him...all in the pretext of bring him to speed! Now he is married its tough for me to play quiet and not bully him in her presence. He still sticks to me is a fact even I am surprised!

The Sacred city of Anuradhapura

2012-01-09T21:13:00.002+05:30

The first 5 days were dedicated to ruins, cave temples, stories of how Kings built forts, temples, Dagobas, reservoirs and witnessing the magnificent ruins. Yes, ruins were magnificent; so its not tough to guess the grandeur and prosperous life of people then.

The city of Anuradhapura and Polonnuwara are places to go and witness best preserved ruins of ancient Sri Lankan civilization. Anuradhapura is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and is a world heritage city. It was the capital beginning 4th century BC until 11th century and remained the seat of political and urban life. Its not possible to talk about Anuradhapura in just few sentences; its a legacy.

Our guide was explaining the city plans and trust me! I was mesmerized. Reservoirs and man made lakes to cater to irrigation and drinking water. Self sufficient city with agriculture, universities, hospitals, trade centers, cemetery, temples and living quarters. The city plan was a circle, three divisions - in the center of the divisions were monasteries and temples, surrounded by universities where 3000+ people from all over the world came for learning, hospitals and livings quarters, outside was cultivation lands and outer periphery of man made tanks to serve water to the city.

I chide myself for not bringing the graphical map my guide drew to explain the city. The ruins now consist of Dagobas, pokunas and palaces.

Dagobas are stupas - mound like structures containing Buddhist relics, mainly remains of Buddha used by Buddhists as place of worship. Stupas have a great history about its origin and how it has evolved. Google it :)

Sri Maha Bodhi - was a sacred Fig tree in Bodh Gaya under which Gautam Buddha attained enlightenment. A sapling from the tree was brought to Lanka by Sangamitra 2400 years ago. The original tree is no more; if it were; would be 2900 years old. So this tree is Lanka is the oldest and sacred to Buddhists. They come from all over to pray. The tree is checked for his health regularly and the original branch is supported by pillar as seen at the right corner of this picture.

Devotees chanting in the tree premises. They dress in white while visiting Buddhist temple.

Loha Prasada - Brazen palace; named due to the copper roofing over the sky scraper. Nine stories with 1000 rooms; is known to have burned down only 15 years after it was built of wood. Now the 1600 sq feet site is marked by the presence of 1600 pillars which were foundation pillars.

Ruwanwelisaya or Mahathupa - the center piece of Maha vihara. The citiy had 3 viharas. It guards the traditions of Theravada Buddhism. It stands at 300 ft with a circumference of 950ft and is one of the world's tallest monuments.

A medical chamber in what used to be a hospital.

Devotees walking around the dagoba chanting prayers.

The Samadhi Buddha - in a state of deep meditation. The statue is from 4th century AD and its said that Nehru derived great strength from contemplating this statue during his imprisonment by the British

Abhayagiri vihara - uttara vihara lies in the north; now under renovation. It is one of the most extensive ruins and most sacred to Buddhists. This complex appears to be the center for Mahayana and Vajrayana teachings and hence was seen as more heretical by conservative Mahavihara monks.

Nuwara Wewa - one of the man made lakes.

Thuparama - first Buddhist building in Sri Lanka; enshrining Buddha's collar bone. The monolothic pillars encircling the dagoba was once upheld by a circular roof called Vatta Dage(circular relic house) a characteristically Sinhala architectural feature.

To the east of Mahathupa lies the Jetavana Dagoba. Built at 400 feet was the third largest structure in the world at that time after the two great pyramids of Giza.

Asanka - guide explaining the planned city of Anuradhapura and the monasteries placements.

Ruins adjacent to the dagoba - university campus

Kuttam pokuna - Twin ponds. They are functional even now; then built for monks for bathing. Water which is fed through an inlet is purified several times. cool and clean water gushes to the pond through a lion's spout.

Isurumuniya cave temple.

Mihintale - a mountain peak where Arahant Mahinda (Mahendra); son of Asoka met King Devanampiyatissa which inaugurated the presence of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.

A statue of Buddha atop the hill.

The Maha Stupa

Maha stupa as seen from distance.

Two young monks at the Sri Maha Bodhi

Sri Lanka - Ancient cities of Dambulla and Sigiriya

2012-01-05T22:35:00.002+05:30

At last, I made it to Sri Lanka. The vacation was filling with many places to explore and lot of learning as usual. But what really made this one different was the different kind of experience I got with each activity . The personal touch that came with everything - be it food, places or people.

Apart from covering places I so wanted to explore; I did lot of things off track. Explored Dambulla, Sigiriya, Anuradhapura, Pollonuruwa, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Hikkaduwa, Galle and Colombo :) Thats pretty much whole of Lanka. Didnt go to North or East as I was still not sure if it was safe.

Met few interesting people who shared their stories, watched Kandyan folk dance, visited a Turtle conservation hatchery, got special access to the top of a 18th century Light House at the southern most tip of Lanka. Explored an inaccessible cave on top of a mountain just to follow the tale of Ramayana; met a couple of Indian backpackers, drifted and met them again to have a nice beach party on 31st, searched and found long lost relatives of my husband....A friend introduced us to his friend who was with us throughout the trip; took good care of us and took us to unusual places than we would have gone otherwise. Oh! I learnt some Sinhalese as well :) Managed to click 1600+ snaps; have filtered them to showcase few important ones. T

I was always fascinated by history and culture; I wanted to explore the ancient cities in Sri Lanka - the cultural triangle area of Dambulla-Sigiriya-Anuradhapura-Polonnuruwa. Great stories, fantastic ruins, awesome culture.......magnificent works of art!

I will let the pictures do the talking

Dambulla cave temple also called Golden temple is a World Heritage site. 5 cave temples hang from a rock 150 m high. These caves have statues and paintings related to Lord Buddha and his life. Seen here is the entrance to the temple complex

The cave temples date back to 1st century BC.

There are about 153 Buddha statues in different positions in these caves.

The paintings are detailed and well preserved.

A Buddha in sleeping position. Sleeping position is symbolically represented by toes aligned, stomach full and palm under his head.

Inside one of the cave.

Close up of the paintings on ceiling of one of the caves.

A Dagoba - a stupa which has relics inside it.

A Buddha in Passing state - Nirvana. The toes are not aligned, his right palm beside his head.

Famous Sri Lankan masks sold in a street shop outside the temple.

Buddha statues amongst pink marbles, quartz and other stones.

A shop selling antiques; many of them as old as 300-400 years. I was told that these items were got from villages as they didnt want them anymore. These pieces would be grabbed here in India!

Entrance to the temple.

Sigiriya is an ancient rock fortress and palace of King Kasyapa. It is surrounded by remains of extensive gardens, reservoirs.

Water gardens - symmetric pools and tanks.

A steep and uphill climb to the summit.

The famous frescos depicting beautiful females; Mangolian, Egyptian...

No one knows the identity of these ladies.

The most famous one!

The Lion gate and final climbing stretch. The body and face of the lion is no more.

The gardens as seen from the summit.

The summit - remains of the Palace.

Hello World

2012-01-02T11:54:00.001+05:30

"Hello World" is the first program a computer student writes while learning a programming language. "Hello World" here is to the beginning of 2012. I am sure this year will have its own share of hoopla and noise; its unique once in 1245+ years 12-12-12 12:12:12 :P

Anyway, I am late to wish a Happy New Year; but better late than never isnt it? :) So a Yappy Yappy New Year folks :) I was absconding for long time. Thats because I took off to Sri Lanka for 10 days. Yeah, finally made it. I got reminded of Robert Bruce's words "Try try until you succeed"

I was ridiculously superstitious and so kept my plan secret; I did not want a fourth time cancellation :) Sri Lanka was beautiful, warm people and good food!!! You will sure have an overdose of Sri Lanka for the next few months in this space :)

Cheers to a new beginning :)

Chitradurga

2011-12-18T13:55:00.001+05:30

The fort of Chitradurga is always celebrated as impregnable. It was built in stages between 10th and 18th century. The fort is built in a series of seven concentric fortification walls with various passages, granaries, temples, reservoirs.

Having read about it in school, I always wanted to go; but could not make it until now even though it was just 200 kms away from Bangalore. Visited it last month and boy! I was impressed. The technology they used to build a self sustaining; self protecting fort is amazing. Few pictures from my visit.

Chandravalli caves. Ancient archeological site. Ankali Matt is situated underground and has huge lingas under giant stone.

Inside the caves; underground.

Visited the house where the last generation of King of Chitradurga lives. They have good collections of items from the bygone era. Seen here is a water can that was carried to quench King's thirst. Its not that there was no water anywhere else; just that they wanted to consume only the water from their sources.

Swords used in battlefield.

The fort.

The outer wall.

A huge grinder to make gun powder

The seven enclosures had seven gates. Each has its own unique stories and art. One of the gates.

Of the lost era.

The tiny shelter was a temple. It has a 10 feet deep hole which was used to hide jewelery and other valuables in case of an outside attack.

A pond laden with moss. Its said the two queens plunged to their death when Hyder Ali invaded Chitradurga.

Temple and a deity worshiped by Obavva. She was a woman who fought the forces of Hyder Ali alone with a pounding staff.

A lamp stand on the fort wall.

Temples on the top.

More temples.

A closer view.

Weighing Balance

An old temple nestled at the end of the fort.

Carved out of rocks.

A 'Dwarapalaka' at the entrance. Almost chipped off.

A window view of the watch tower.

View of the town

Lost legacy

A view of the enclosures design. They form a maze.

A sacred pond.

Corporate Priest

2011-12-14T12:00:00.000+05:30

Have you any time wondered what it is to have all those quality and performance measurement goals of corporate world applied to a common man with a merge earning to feed himself?

We have all those jazzy terms to make our life complicated. What can you do if someone intends to make it complicated? Service level agreements, performance, appraisals, quality metric blah..blah..blah....

These terms were invented for the sole purpose of not giving someone something that they rightly deserve. I truly believe so. Anyway these thoughts struck me after visiting a temple. It was about - What if a priest went to work for corporate world?

What is his qualification?
His caste? Maybe, maybe not.

What are his skill sets to be on this job?
A couple of lines of Sanksrit chants. You may not even know if he is uttering them right!

What are his development plans?
Whats that?

How regularly is he updating his skills?
Nothing of that kind.

What are his people management skills?
Smile at devotees/small talk/distribute prasadams...

What are his operational activities?
Perform poojas, chant mantras, offer prasadams....anything else?

What are the SOPs he follows? Who lays down those SOPs?
Errr.....came up with funny ideas.

What are his cross functional activities?
Communicate to God, interface with Devotees...

What are the appraisal metrics on which he is assessed?
People management, YoY donation collection from Devotees.

Bonus? Perks?
Closer proximity to God. He can now access God's jewelery?

Such a simple job, but look how complicated a corporate world can make :)

Global Communication

2011-12-07T21:27:00.000+05:30

What happens with two people are talking to each other over phone? Hmm...you can follow each other, maybe not get the tone of the speech but its fine. What happens if a group of people are meeting in a room and having a conversation. They could take turns talking, or there could be one member talking and others listening, or there could be a synchronous Q&A session or there could be a situation when each one is talking and there are many meetings in progress :)

Now what if this is meeting over phone across geographies and among large group of people having their own sweet accents. There are no protocols as to how to take over a conversation, who should talk, who should listen, how to pass a topic. Its a chaos.

I attended a Global Communication skills training few days ago. The above scenario is not new; been in this situation since I joined this line of work. But what I discovered were those subtle things that we miss out. For e.g. It would be so easier if each participant mention their name each time before they mentioned something. It seems funny but it so helps everyone. It gets awkward when you have to answer a query but you don't know who asked that question!!

Another conspicuous factor is the tone and frequency when you speak; in person or over phone. A tone in which you state can change the dynamics of a conversation. "HEY! THIS IS NOT RIGHT" can always be mellowed down and instead said "Hey, You know what? This is fine, but it might not work effectively in our scenario".

What else changed apart from the tone? The choice of words. Stressing on NO, DONT, NOT is so so negative. Its a contradiction. Instead of contradiction, challenge the case in the form of a question. Instead of a "No! I don't agree!" ask "How do you think this will help our case?" This shows you are willing to pursue provided you have supportive data!

The cultural differences plays a important role in communication. Keep silent in a meeting among group of Americans; they would probably think why doesn't he go take a nap if he has nothing to talk? Keep silent in a meeting among Japanese, they will appreciate and assume you understood it all and probably thinking!! See! :)

Use words that the majority of the crowd connects with. It makes it easier to present your case and make the crowd understand what you are trying to say. Last but not the least, small talk. Americans talk about weather and pets. Indians talk about traffic and food. So get into the groove and have fun! :)

Office Spouse

2011-12-04T13:37:00.000+05:30

A famous newspaper that is known to contain ads and gossips more than actual news had an interesting article of late.

The article started with a question as to how would you like it if you had someone who would be constantly supportive, your agony aunt or a punching bag at work? A spouse without having to marry!!

Few things sound dramatic when you give a name to them. It might be as simple as having a supportive colleague; but look at the term. Office Spouse!! The term Spouse brings in lot of packages with it - Nuptial agreement, promises to love each other in sickness and health, be loyal and honest until death..err...job hops do us apart!

Can we claim a no harm being friendly with colleague relationship as a "spouse" type? This very word is going to draw flak and make people wary of a healthy relationship at work. So yeah! you definitely would be bound to like one person more than others in the group. Like minded people would like to steal few minutes to go for a walk and talk on topics they could relate with.

There could be situations where in you could work better with a person having similar working styles than in isolation. Its all team work and productivity. Sometimes you need a person who is going through the same pain of working in a stressed environment and could relate with your verbal diarrhea. You need someone who knows the working of the organization and the frustrations of working with some people who you both know can be a pain. Should one give just a controversial name to it? I find it out rightly hilarious.

These sort of friendships among colleagues are everywhere and its a no harm thing. Tagging it with a ridiculous word as these could be extremely misleading and could lead to complications. Well why not? one would think twice before taking a walk with a colleague; lest others dont start speculating and send wrong signals!!

Imagine, the work place would be then a boot camp.

Steve Jobs - My thoughts as I read

2011-11-26T17:21:00.000+05:30

Books are piling up in my closet. I have many pending to be read. I finished with all those Nicolas Sparks mushy far-from-reality romances. I did lap up on treasure hunting thrillers.

I was reading short stories by Forsyth and abandoned it mid way to read Steve Jobs. The world mourned the death of Steve Jobs just few days ago. He was a saint to many people. I was not particularly inclined to him and my only association with Apple has been owning an iPod and a MAC on which I am typing now :). I chose an Android to an iPhone and have restricted from owning an iPad. The first time I heard about Jobs was sometime in 2005 just after his Stanford commencement speech. Few friends in college thought that I was too up-to-date and too technical to know who Steve Jobs was and when I asked who he was; I recall getting that dirty look. I dont know if I should be mortified to confess that I still have not viewed his commencement speech :-/ Few things make you unperturbed and ignorant for not any particular reason.

The second time I heard about Jobs was the very next year. I was in the Bay area on work; one Saturday decided to visit Hewlett and Packard's garage at their Palo Alto home. I stopped on one street and an American couple were unloading their groceries from their car. I approached them and asked for HP's garage. They gave me directions and added Steve Jobs apartment was 3 blocks away. I just nodded and left. I still didnt know why Steve Jobs was so important.

So now I am reading his biography; I am half way through; at the back of my mind I fail to fathom why he was treated like a saint after his death. Steve more than one way revolutionized the personal computer industry and made our lives so simpler.

When they sell their first PC Apple I; he realizes its presentation was as important as feature. He transforms an engineer's hobby to a business and thus his friend (Woz) had a conflict with his belief and Job's ambition.
He had a way to get people do so that he can get what he wanted. A time when he takes Woz's help to design a game in an optimal way; he intentionally hides the bonus he was being offered by Atari and just shares his base earnings.

Or the time when he flatly denies he fathered Lisa and got around with a statistics that any one among the 28% of the male population in USA could be her father; later agreeing for providing for her just before Apple went public!! His college friend Kottke at Reed who stood by Jobs was not provided any IPOs. So very untrustworthy, non ethical and a person who could steal credits as he famously quoted "Good artists copy, great artists steal" when he hijacked Xerox's PARC GUI design. Was it his heist or Xerox's stupidity?

What set him apart was his ingenuity to bring art and technology together. Technology should be aesthetic. How he could go at any lengths to dominate. He cried when Scott assigned him a employee #2 so that it keeps his ego under check and Jobs requested for #1. #1 went to Woz; Jobs wouldnt have any of it and finally asked for #0 but BoA wanted a positive integer for a payroll account; so he had to stick with #2 :)

Throughout; he tactically talked people into his job; used them and disposed them off. "All you did until now was shit, so why dont you work for me?" was what he said to a Xerox engineer. Thinking otherwise; if he had not got his way; we might not have products as its now. Like GUI, the mouse, the book sized laptops; which all others like Microsoft copied.

He did not ask to read the draft and wanted people to know the real him. Is this why he is regarded as great? I could see him more as a shrewd man who could stare anyone down to get things done his way. Maybe there is more to him.

I will be able to understand more once I am done with reading the book.

Kolaveri!!

2011-11-23T20:36:00.000+05:30

I heard about 'Kolaveri' few days ago. My first reaction was how could people turn so violent that they have started using these phrases in songs!!

Why this kolaveri di?

Is a Tamil song that has gone viral since less than a week and already has over 20 lakh hits; it was 10 lakh when I checked this morning :-/. There is this normal looking next door guy - in a simple black shirt singing for 'Soup' boys. What is it? A jingle for Knorr soups or something? Thats when you understand that 'soup' means 'failed'. The song is for the guys who have been jilted in love and treated like a piece of chicken in a soup!!

The song is half English- half Tamil written by Dhanush (Tamil actor and son-in-law of Rajnikanth) in his spare time; which has become a rage of sorts to everyone and anyone. Everyone seem to relate to this song and it has crossed the Southern belt; and yeah it has invoked this mass hysteria without ARR!!

The setting is a music studio; Dhanush is singing the song and its being recorded; while his wife and Shruthi Hassan looks on. No glamor, no drama, no gimmicks; just him enjoying the song as he sings. The lyrics are lunatic, meaningless and is insanely funny.

Is it the tune? I didnt find it catchy! definitely not as catchy as Ringa Ringa or Appdi Podu. Is it the lyrics? Is it the laid back drawl? Maybe its a combination of all; combined with it the sub titles in English giving out the lunatic lyrics like "White-u skin-u girl-girl-u...girl-u heart-u black-u" which takes it to an audience beyond that of a regular Tamil song.

The dialogues rendered in an utterly easy-go way in between like "What a change over mama...OK Mama..Now tune change-u" and lyrics like "Cow-u Cow-u Holy Cow-u, I want you here-u now-u" makes it a random jam grabbing your attention and wants you to listen to the song again.

And that wonderful word. Kolaveri in Tamil means barbaric rage but it seems to be used in a mere comical sense asking the lady what is that she is angry about? "Why this kolaveri?" sung in a casual tone had captured the listener and its now a muse. I have been following tweets and rants; "Why this kolaveri di? is being used in every context and in synonyms to "Why are you cold?"

Very soon, I am sure we might find it being used for jokes pulled out on politicians. This was a bonkers hit! I dont think they expected it to be such well received. A song recorded during a break has surpassed any expectations. Very soon, get to hear the Bollywood version, remix version, club version, Cola adverts and so on.

Was it really a random incident? Or a tactical marketing strategy by Dhanush and team? Is it a fad online to grab even the silliest of things and share? Whatever his infectious grin and laid back rendering is doing wonders.

His father-in-law would have blessed it and so we are liking it for sure :P

Horny Power

2011-11-16T23:18:00.000+05:30

My iPod is my savior in many situations. It helps me a lot during my commute - spared of hearing lewd comments and helps me be oblivious to my bumpy auto rickshaw ride. But...but one thing that my iPod is also helpless is in dealing with Horny India.

Yes, India is horny, Indians are horny. They are horny all times; right out in the middle of the road in full public view; any time of the day. Men and women are equally horny. You can see them incessantly blowing bugles - the horn. Peeeee!! Paaaah!!

Why do we blow horns all the time? At the signal when it is RED, at the traffic jam when the vehicles cant move an inch. Are we a group of insensitive, impatient folks? Few of the countries I have visited erased the notion from my mind that only developed countries had disciplined drivers. Hell! no!! It has nothing to do with economic situation of any country.

Is the driver honking assuming that his honks will turn the RED to GREEN eventually? Much like pressing the buttons on the lift panel will cruise you through! What if its bumper to bumper traffic, deadlocked situation, or just plain signal?

Horns are used in extreme situations; either to evade a possible accident; to attract attention; to vent out frustration that results to due to a fellow driver breaking some driving etiquette. Look at us! We cant think of a traffic without horns. A silent drive is a crime. A perfectly empty road; not even a stray dog; and still you have your thumb pressed on the horn and it blares!

Which makes me wonder for whom is the horn for? There is no one on the road. For the plants and the trees? I have read that talking to plants helps them grow healthy. So if talking helps them grow, honking will help them sustain for a longer time is it? Go Green eh? Or is it for the driver himself? Self motivating mantra? Maybe! the driver is trying to get in touch with his/her inner self. Ummm...

No! there should be some other secretive rationale behind this! We Indians dont do anything without a reason, no? There should be something behind it? Is the horn supplying the much needed Green energy to propel the engine forward? I would pursue this search.

HORNY Power did I say?

Simple things

2011-11-14T19:20:00.000+05:30

Every morning; my dad would go out to get half a liter of Nandini milk; mom would pour out the milk in a bowl and pour half a cup of water to the empty packet; shake well and drain the last drop to the bowl. This empty plastic sachet was then put in a sack and collected religiously to be sold once the sack was full. Half of the milk was used for coffee, the other half saved for the evening.

For bath; it was that brick like Lifebuoy which I hated the most. It was meant to survive all odds. We used to wait and wait for that bar of soap to melt. The only other one Lux "Flmi sitharon ka soundarya sabun" was a LUXury. Talking about sachet, washing hair would be preceded by going to a kirana shop to get Re.1 shampoo which came with freebies like a hair clip.

A kirana shop would hoard 5 varieties of shampoos, equal varieties of bath soap; mind you it was not beauty soap then. Just one fairness cream - you know which one I am talking about. Still, it felt that the shop was hoarded!! What do I call for varieties now? Choices! what else? A head wash meant washing your hair with soap or shikakai. We never heard about conditioner, face wash, after wash, moisturizer.....lifebuoy was omnipotent.

Not much choice with toys, bags, shoes either. A Hero pen, Bril ink pot was a luxury. Do you remember going to a shop to refill your fountain pen with ink for 10 Ps? Or segregating all the left over pages of your notebook at the year end to make one book to be used as "rough note"

Around noon, a cow would come looking for starch water/vegetable wastes; those were collected to feed the animal. Not only cow, your neighbors came to borrow a cup of sugar, a glass of milk promising to return them later. Your mom sent them away if it were someone looking for curd after the lights were powered on - a belief!! Siesta time for an hour and that authentic filter Kapi later - who knew the espresso or the mocha?

Buying vegetables meant a trip to the market in a rickety bicycle; outing meant a cinema when tickets were Rs 10 for 4 of you; masala dosa indulgence in a dharshini on the 5th of every month. No multiplex, no Thai food, no Pizza..

Its more nicer now, but I miss the simple things then.

Random pictures

2011-11-10T22:49:00.000+05:30

People, I am missing reading your blogs. I wont say I dont find time; its just that I dont find quality "me and blogs only" time. When I steal some time and try to read; there are so many things on my mind that I cannot bring myself to concentrate. For now; I can catch up blogs on weekends; will read all at once :)

Few pictures for your eyes only :)

The sun was setting and these clouds were rushing as if they want to obscure it; and it was as if the sun said "Its ok; a brighter morning tomorrow" and had a last laugh :)

On NH 4; those distant wind mills rotated to produce energy. I liked the texture the sun was throwing - shadow on some area and light on others; while the clouds loomed ready to pour.

Beautifully carved miniature Nandi - probably belonging to 13-14th century. I liked this particular Nandi as it seemed to be smiling and joyful.

Pepsi, Coke....nothing can beat the Goli Soda :)

Deep in thought. What could the monkey have on mind? Where and when can I get my next meal of bananas?

Squirrel scampering around. These look so tiny compared to the black one I saw in California. But they are equally cute :)

Misplaced notion

2011-11-05T21:22:00.001+05:30

Ra.One, Metallica, F1, Rath Yatra....These are the hot events that occurred recently. No, I am not talking about any of them. Those are left to the experts. So sit back and take a deep breath.

November 1st 1956 was when southern states were carved out from the erstwhile Madras presidency. Since then, every year November 1st is celebrated as 'Karnataka Rajyotsava' meaning 'birth of the state of Karnataka. I dont know somehow when, but eventually it got renamed as "Kannada Rajyotsava' - no harm but please note that the name of the state has now been replaced by the state language.

The day's celebration was extended by a week for convenience; later the entire month was celebrated as Rajyotsava; off late the celebration goes beyond the end of year. We have mandatory holiday that day. Auto rickshaws display huge Kannada flags. There are others who display the flag as well; I will come to it later.

This day is marked with the government asserting Rajyotsava awards to people who have contributed to the growth of the state; cultural shows are held along with the procession of the state Goddess. Few others choose to show patronage to Kannada by "showing" hatred or intolerance to other languages; especially Tamil.

Its a known bitter truth that few sections view Tamils as close to their enemies. God knows for what reason. The Cauvery issue in 1992 saw the struggle on Tamils in the state. The abduction of Rajkumar; by Veerappan in 2000 saw fear among Tamils in the state. He was in captivity for 108 days; and those days were smeared with unrest and violence. The so-called self promoted protectors of the state and the language blocked all Tamil channels and no Tamil movies screened.

Other two south Indian languages dont get affected. Anyway, so what happened this time. Screening of a Tamil Diwali release which was running packed houses was abruptly halted. What if it protagonist of the movie was invited just couple of months ago to grace the occasion of the music launch of a mega budget Kannada movie? What if he greeted his fans with few words in Kannada? What if the function created traffic jams and uncontrollable crowd; which was falsely attributed to a made up reason "fans of Kannada".

The posters were teared down; theaters forced to stall the shows; threatening the theater authorities of dire consequences if the movie was screened. When the actor visited Bangalore; he was garlanded with Mysore Jasmine, Mysore turban and a sword; interestingly these movies distribution rights are bought by Kannadigas.
All these happened just because there was not a single Kannada movie releasing on Nov.1

Earlier in the post; I said there are others also who display Kannada flag. Yeah, the self proclaimed saviors of Kannada attached to a "kannada outfit" whose job is to target MNCs and other corporations and extort money. They act as judiciary system as well. They are moral police who have the power to vandalize properties. Its not common to see Kannada flag and a photo of Rajkumar who is considered the cultural icon of Karnataka displayed at prominent places like shopping malls, MNC offices. These are considered as respect and patriotism; when in fact the sad but true reason is these malls and MNCs are scared of their properties being vandalized; scared of their work being stalled, scared of inviting wrath of these narrow-minded men who are linguistic fanatics; when in fact they are not patriotic but have used this as a tool to make easy money and fool the innocent folks.

Does it reflect the insecurity? Hell! yes. Every year during these times; we prepare to hear to lectures on "How to save Kannada", watch patriotic songs on TV, few patriotic folks at workplaces start a movement to teach free Kannada. How can you love your language when you cannot respect others? Does one show patriotism by hating others? It will really help the cause if "outsiders" as they like to call feel at home, are allowed to take active participation. No one likes to be forced; when would these ignorant folks realize they cant invoke love for Kannada by stalling movies and threatening common people?

Always right

2011-10-31T22:31:00.000+05:30

Dancing at the first beat of music; carefree of the people around .

Making a plaything even out of a broken twig.

Talking to a toy as if it were with life; oblivious to the smiles around.

Identifying animals out of clouds.

Excited seeing the arch across the sky - rainbow.

Not worried a wee bit to talk sense - with all the goo-goo-gaa-gaas.

Just scribbling on the wall makes it a beautiful picture.

When do we lose this innocence? Is it a gradual process or do we lose it over a night's sleep? Measuring words when we talk; worried about what others will think about us.

Chasing false praises and fake success. Trying hard to live for others and make others happy. Putting up a fake smile for others' jealousy.

Dance amidst a group but lonely in reality.....

How long -

To measure what one speaks?

To wear a fake smile?

To try to be right always?

I dont know :) OK! this post is a witness to how worked up I am due to work! Yeah its naiceeee..........:P

Money

2011-10-28T22:10:00.000+05:30

Gautam's questions and Anil's analysis in my previous post is definitely worth a fresh post. I thought; why not bring it on the stage so that all of us can have a healthy discussion.

Why is money measured as wealth?
Why do we need money?
Why is there an unequal distribution of wealth?

I might not touch upon all, I might deviate or just cut short; but these ones are worth a discussion. In earlier times; in our land; temples served as secure area to store people's assets. Their role in those times were one of the roles of present day banks - safe haven to store assets; which were not in cash but in kind. Cut to present day banks; they operate in an interesting concept. They charge interest on money borrowed which feeds as interest credited to the money saved + other investments. Was this a practice in then banks/temples in our land? I do not know.

I cant help but think about the banks bailout in USA. The President passed bills to accommodate bank bailouts which funded the Congress for the campaign and other activities; only to downgrade their credit ratings. What an irony!

Anyway, why we need money and why are people selfish to accumulate wealth is obvious. I dont want to discuss these. But why is GDP the chief economic indicator? Is owning money/wealth a sign of happiness? Is our happiness linked to possession of material wealth? Progress is defined as a mere increase in commercial transaction in our conventional model which stresses on economic growth; which is limited as the measures are quantitative.

Gross Happiness Index is been around for a while - countries like Bhutan and Denmark had realized quite early that the ultimate aim of most people is not be rich, but be happy and healthy. So we find, India more happy and healthy than the USA, Bangladesh more happier than India and Costa Ricans lead a very peaceful and healthy life than most of us only next to Vanuatu and Columbia. Gross national happiness has more insights.

Coming back to do we need money? The answer would depend on if we want to go back to barter system? The devastation in Greek's economy has enabled her citizens to make use of time bank. Its a reciprocal service exchange that uses units of time in currency. In simple terms, services are bartered in cashless transactions. The "time" one spends in providing some service earns "time" that one can spend to receive services. For e.g. a teacher can spend her time teaching piano in exchange for a legal assistance.

This has emerged has a creative solution to a crisis called Greece. This exchange network has not only eased people's crisis but also is bringing people together and building solidarity when any economic upheaval can divide people. What about tax, deficits, credits and all such factors in a given economy? Are these relevant? Can such a priceless commodity be adopted; how will this be accepted among world economy?

My tryst with Amma

2011-10-22T20:55:00.000+05:30

Its not only the feeling of love or pain; even helplessness and frustration can bring out the poet in you.

A damsel; with security galore

made a trip to Bangalore.

Make shift court was our central prison

Security concern was the reason

Silvers and sarees, diamonds and footwear

Among all her other wealth

Austerity; and so she no longer wears.

But she arrived; surrounded by human sheath

But why do I care? I wouldnt have I swear

Only if I left my work; bit early but hard luck

Stuck with neck deep task; and a conversation to bask

I missed my time; so here I chime

Cops blocked the stretch, all did wretch

They seemed to ignore; did they just maneuver

Civilians cursed; cops cussed

Hectic long day my dear; damsel's security is all clear

Common man at pity; politician's apathy.

Her convoy of 25 did zoom,

I think I saw the vehicle that was her room

You may ask; how was I sure?

See did I; police hanging outside; with a support mere

Scary at the lack of their safety

Their job of protecting the 'Mother' was lofty.

Waste of taxpayer's money

To attend court for alleged crimes honey!

Thousands of police personnel,

Charter plane for arrival,

Can India afford such luxury?

When millions are living in penury

Well, what happened to me?

Lost so much time; let it be!

Did not get a rick or a bus

Walked kilometers to find one

Frustrated and desperate; found a crowded bus

Pushed and jostled and stamped; I prefer to tell less

Hopped off to find no rick; I began to feel sick

3 kms to go; laden with bags; I did walk

Found a rick; hundred bucks? Was it a mock?

No it wasnt; I was tired;

Hopped on to it; all fried.

And thus ended my tryst with Amma :-/

Crunchy Carrots

2011-10-17T21:16:00.002+05:30

The color of the carrot is enough to entice us. In Ooty fresh luscious bunch of carrots are sold everywhere.

Clicked a couple of pics. Inspired me to write few verses. Just random words with rhymes. Dont try to find a meaning :)

I was walking along,
Found a carrot on the ground,
Look around to see to whom it belonged,
But no one was around.

Fresh green stalks,
Gave way to flowery leaf,
Is there around; a rabbit?
Instead saw perched; a parrot.

I took the carrot
thats when it started
They are a wonder
The best is down under

Loveliest of orange,
No! not a mirage,
My love is like the carrot
I heard from the parrot

What you see at the top,
Is just a tiny drop
My love; like a thunder,
Emerges from down under.

In the Wild

2011-10-13T21:28:00.001+05:30

Two days of Dusshera holidays saw us pack our bags to foothills of Nilgiris - Masinagudi. Driving through Bandipur and then the Mudumalai forest area makes me happy. One has to go through Bandipur if you have to go to Wayanad or Ooty. The drive is peaceful amidst bamboos and other wild trees; passing along numerous sign boards mentioning to maintain silence; no use of plastic; no stopping and such. Occasional sights of bashful deers, curious langurs and if you can get lucky herds of elephants to keep one happy.

Went on a night safari and also day safari this time. At night; spotted herds and herds of elephants seeking refuge beside road. They escape the harsh mosquitoes and come to the edge of the forest. Saw 10-20 together a couple of times. No photos. Sorry! I didnt want to introduce harsh lights on them. I felt guilty about going for the night safari; it was a private one; courtesy the resorts. The jeep drivers are not sensitive to the elephants. The driver of our jeep went very near to those herds and was heckling at them to grab their attention. He took the jeep too close for comfort and used harsh headlights on them. It was however; cute to see mother and calves; mother protective of their calf; the calf being naughty and running away while the mother pulled the calf's tail.

It always brings me immense happiness to get close with nature. Few pics

Nilgiris

Bandipur-Mudumalai forest reserve. Spotted deers all along.

A curious langur. Another was hanging from the tree; few others curiously looking at us and maybe wondering "Who are these monkeys?"

Clicked just one picture of an elephant though herds of them were spotted at night. This was the closest we got; and enough light so didnt need to use flash. There was another gentle giant walking in the opposite direction on the road and it was scary; what if it just comes and topples the car? But he didnt bother; and we went our way.

They dont simply compare a beautiful pair of eyes to a deer's isnt it?

An ostentation of peacocks; unaware of the intruders.

A lovely sunset. Oh yeah spotted few bison and pheasants as well.

Regarding my previous post...

2011-10-11T15:44:00.001+05:30

I got few emails and few concerns from well wishers about an incident I mentioned in my post "Children" which I decided to remove. I am putting it back; thanks to Anil for bringing back my senses.

Child abuse - yes that was it. We have given a name to it now. I am not justifying nor supporting the cruel act. But I just want to say that it was kind of 'acceptable' and normal for parents to use the stick to discipline their kids; 20+ years ago. Why? Didnt teachers in school use them as well? Is there anyone who has not been beaten in school or at home for wrong doing? If it was NEVER; I am seriously happy for them to have been in a matured environment.

Now; thanks to our education and exposure; we have realized that is not the right thing to do. But people; my whole idea in that post was to bring out the differences between kids then and now. I wanted to say how we would fear to speak a lie or utter an expletive or even lacking an idea of what a condom was!

Please take it easy :)

Children

2011-10-10T22:33:00.008+05:30

plural of child (Noun)

A young human being below the age of full physical development or below the legal age of majority

I want to make sure I got the right definition of 'children' so that I could justify my frequent "mouth wide open in shock" reaction during my recent picnic.

Well, yeah its only the physical development that decides if a human being is a child or an adult. So if thats not taken into account; is it alright for them to curse, smirk, give that sensuous look like adults? :-/

People, this is an honest question. I get intimidated with kids around - for the way and the topic they discuss. 5 kids aged between 12-17 accompanied by their respective dads. Bandipur tiger reserve on a jungle safari - the kids were talking non stop. Guess what it was about? Brands - Nike, Puma, Reebok....each one had high end cameras with them. Another girl was incessantly yapping off about her trip to Singapore and how the safari here is so mediocre.

Their disappointed verbal expression of not spotting a tiger was the final nail in the coffin. I and Velu exchanged looks. What got us uncomfortable was this "Daddy, this is not done. I did not expect this. Lets go somewhere else. WTF!" Another one joined "Yeah! WTF!!" Others joined in chorus. All these among others also in the bus. The dads were indifferent; surprisingly. One of them gave a stern look; one kid was smart enough to catch that and exclaimed "WTF - World Taekwondo Federation". Our wide gaped mouths just shut!!

Now why am I mentioning all these is because I got reminded of my childhood. I was in 1st grade. I stole a pencil from school and got it home. My mom was so furious with me that she heated a knife and placed the red hot stuff on my hand. The mark still exists and each time I see it; I recall that day. Yeah that was harsh but that was the last day I stole.

Few years later; I should be 11 years old or so; a neighbor kid had a fight with me and she uttered an expletive. I didnt even utter it but just said "You too". My mom was a strict disciplinarian. She overheard it and on that occasion I was punished so hard that I never used expletive there after.

Again around that time; we had to attend a cousin's wedding. The groom's friends presented them with a packet. The bride and groom spent 1 hour unpacking it; as the gift was wrapped in layers of newspapers. Around a kg of gift packet reduced to a small carton box and a Lacto King chocolate. As soon as they discovered what it was; the newly weds threw it on the ground. I picked it up. I was playing with it; even about to attempt to blow the balloon ;-) My mom noticed it and knocked it off my hand. I was protesting when she gave me a stern look and that was all that I needed to keep shut.

We were so innocent then; where has the innocence gone? Its nice to see kids know the world and they are sharp and smart; but really sad to see what all they have lost.

Do we celebrate the gain or feel sorry about the loss? I dont know but I get intimidated with kids around

Piling up memories

2011-10-07T21:20:00.001+05:30

What in your opinion is the ultimate infestation in most homes? Pests? Fungus? No; these can be handled by calling in pest control. Once it invades; you have no escape. What is it? Junk - books, magazines, clothes, utensils, appliances, empty containers etc - which you intend to clear and think its under your control - but before you realize; they pile up.

You would think that its not junk and that some day; you will definitely use them - that utopian day would never arrive. Maybe one day that 28" slim fit low hip jeans would fit again or you would wear to office that dangling multi layered neon green chandelier earrings you wore to college. Yeah? Usually, you attach emotional value to these which were once a part of your life - that barely there soccer ball, an old journal, a faded shirt.

You never know what all is in store? I uncluttered 6 months ago before shifting to my apartment; yet when I brought those carton boxes down the loft to search for something I misplaced; I fainted at what all I had stored. A crumpled yellow background paper napkin with Jack-o'-lantern on it; which I picked up from the very first Halloween celebration I attend few years ago in US; fees receipt of my engineering semesters, CET entrance fee receipt, my first flight journey tickets, letters from my school friend, slam books.....so on. Oh yeah, I definitely found the preserved love letters; greeting cards, photo of an old flame; it is obvious!

Gaze at each one fondly; memories rushing back; reminiscing those wonderful times; sifting through them; undecided what must be let go and what must be held back. You fail to notice; but junk have a life of their own; their life span is as long as ours. Every time you sit to clear them off; you sift and shuffle and create more junk - you get your dose of resurrecting your 'those' days - "Was I really that slim?" "Did he wear his shirt with cuffs folded?" - creating feelings of priceless joy.

My progress/marks report from Lower Kindergarten till 10th grade, photos through the years.......They cant be called junk and I will continue to preserve them while others are mercilessly thrown into trash.

This is the pyjama of my salwar suit. I remember the kurta had lace works. I was no more than 3.5 years. I cant even push my hands till my elbow now. Its a nice feeling - was I that tiny? I have diligently preserved this one for so many years now :)

Communication

2011-10-04T20:48:00.002+05:30

I think I figured out why I am wary of posting on my blog - choosing my words and typing in to be precise. Communication explosion at work. I have never earlier talked to 30 different people and respond to 40+ mails each day - choosing the words and framing statements so that the message reaches the way you intend to - firm, crisp and diplomatic.

I can segregate write-ups (emails, technical documents) as one of the below; with my experience :)

A long writeup which can help relieve ennui or might cause headaches; you scan for relevant and useful data but you find none.
One that is scattered with too many morphemes the way Anil writes(for most of us thats giving our dictionary extra work); which can lead to a confabulation later. Anil, this is a compliment :)
Firm and point blank, assertive ones which can be mistaken for aggression.
Write ups which are not mindful of the language flow, continuation and grammar. It still could pass the intended message or cause chaos.

Shhessh!! I have even started to bullet out my blog post!! I have been learning a lot on written communication. Its difficult to gather the tone of the other party when all that you get are words to read. You dont want to read more to it; neither would you want to miss the message. I have been weighing the statements I make, the choice of words. If you have been reading me for sometime; you might have noticed my obsession with "never". I am taking extra caution about not using 'NOT' and other negative words.

Another trick I have learnt is to not give the other party a choice of YES/NO but to be assertive and ask for next set of information. Its not "Can I please use the infrastructure?" but "I plan to start using the infrastructure; please share the relevant details."

So yeah, lot of things in BIG GOOD(pun intended) corporate world :) I am learning! I am learning :)

PS : I just noticed that its quite a short post for communication.

Just a HI

2011-09-30T21:03:00.008+05:30

Have you clicked on 'New Post' without knowing what you want to write about? If not; then you are sober; you are not addicted yet. Or maybe blog is just another pass time for you.

I feel cut off if I dont post something on my blog every 3 days; yeah I know; the frequency has reduced. Many factors. First being lack of quality time; its not that there is no time; its just you dont have the time to feel 'connected' with the blog. Next one is lack of activity on the blog space; yes its discouraging and contagious. People vanish or go slow and it affects you. Third; you have exhausted your topic; creative juice does not flow anymore.

I have to get into a conference call in another 41 minutes as I write now. I am sleepy already. Its going to be thankfully; 30 minutes meeting only. But its still a long one for a Friday evening. I dare not say another word as my manager is pursuing me to share my blog link. I am evading it; I even told him why I was apprehensive. I do not want my peers to form an opinion about me; after reading my thoughts. Yes, people are mature not to pin you down; yet I am skeptical as they are my colleagues. I am sassy yet my professionalism comes first. Its not that my blog is a secret; its out there; few of my peers read it; but I dont want to explicitly advertise it.

I have been wondering why Anil and Balan have slowed down as well.. Are we connected by telepathy? Anil and Balan, please raise your hands; no email forwards from you guys either. Ousu vanished but I see some activity off late. Neha is going slow as well; anyway we are connected on chat most times so its fine. Chowla sir has cut down on blogging; so has Shilpa. Bikram, dont worry too much about what people are; make sure you are making a change in this big bad world :)

I am feeling sleepy; mentally tired. I need a vacation :-P; OK! I know I just had one. But it seems so long ago. Been working a lot; my task list is raising exponentially. I am not complaining; I am being recognized and appreciated; so its fine. Yet; tiring. Its not that I would relax on a lounge chair on a vacation. I squeeze so much activity in my attempt to explore and learn everything about a place that it leaves me tiring at the end of the day. But thats what I love; no complaints :) On TV, I hear turquoise beach, palm trees, Caribbean..Jamaica....Wish I was there right now!; not relaxing but exploring. I should have taken up traveling as my profession; Uummpphhh!!

Got to prepare for meeting :-|

Girls and Machines

2011-09-27T09:50:00.004+05:30

Gadgets, Motorcycles, Cars.......

Somehow for reason unknown to me; I was and still am drawn towards sleek gadgets and mean machines. I would devour information on latest bikes and cars in town. I have been a regular reader of automobiles supplementary that comes every Thursday along with the newspaper; I do not miss single episode of The Auto show and similar kinds on TV. I am always up to date on new arrivals, their specifications, price and performance and such.

Did I not yap about how a Z4 gets it life at the Bavarian workshop? Now; it so happens that people either think that I am bluffing away or they think I am abnormal. These are all GUY thing huh? Thats what I am told time and again. I am not going to complain or crib about 'whoever enforced this conventional rule". I am going to share an incident that happened while in 12th grade.

That was when Bajaj introduced Pulsar; that period when Indian motorcycle market was bumped with small capacity bikes; bigger capacity motorcycles didnt exist except for Bullet; and the CBZ hit the market couple of years earlier. I read about that bike and also watched a couple of shows featuring the new bike in town.

I had this girl who initially was my commute mate; we belonged in the same class and eventually became good friends.One such day while going home after class; we got started talking about mopeds, motorcycles, cars and the likes. I mentioned about this new bike in town and its specificity. We had a healthy discussion. A couple of days later; this girl comes up and says that her dad warned her to maintain a distance from me. I did not understand initially; I asked her what was the reason. This is what she had to say

"I was telling my dad about our conversation the other day on bikes and cars. He asked me how you knew so much about them. He added that you might have a boy friend and thats where all your knowledge on bikes and cars are coming from. So he asked me to maintain distance from you"

My reaction? Nothing; just a smile at their ignorance :) Oh by the way; new addition to my gadgets - a MAC. I am thoroughly enjoying it.

Two bucks

2011-09-23T22:27:00.002+05:30

"Ma'am, please give me 2 dollars. I wanna buy beer". I remember this call from a tramp sitting near an intersection on Hollywood Boulevard. I visited Los Angeles in 2005. The image of this tramp is still vivid in my mind - unruly hair, torn canvas shoes, a tote bag. He was intimidating; I just walked by while he continued to call out for 2 bucks to buy his beer.

In Bangalore. "Didi, 2 rupyah dedo didi, subah se kuch nahi khaye" - An incessant plead; almost about to cry expression; lurking forward to hold your feet; you find them everywhere on the road; kids as young as 5 years. They might not even know how much that 2 Rs is worth. They are made to beg in most cases by their handlers.

Cut to San Jose, Costa Rica - lotteries being sold on the streets. People throng the shops to buy lotteries - 2 Colonies each ticket. They want to try their luck; get rich.

Back in Bangalore...

"1 dozen fishes"
"How much do they cost?"
"24 Rs"
"2 Rupees each?"
"Yeah"

12 fishes is what the cat fish we have at home eats every alternate day. Those beautiful creatures are alive. They are breathing - as we are. They can see, sense, touch, eat, breathe, move.....as we do. Their value is 2 Rs each; we buy 12 of them every other day to feed to the bigger one; we watch as the cat fish eats these 12 one by one.

2 bucks was all that was needed :-)

Nepal - People

2011-09-21T11:18:00.000+05:30

Well, if you an avid traveler; you want to see all and do all. I am one such person; never ever get enough of traveling. But its good to leave some; the mystery it holds is enough to entice you for your next sojourn - to somewhere else.

Its the same feeling with Nepal as well. Each place brings in a uniqueness that no other place can ever give. Its not just about the place; but the moment, the time, the people. Even if you could visit the same place with the same set of people in the same manner; it sure wont be the same as the earlier one!!

Meeting new people; dousing their curiosity, sharing anecdotes between smiles is a pleasure by itself. Met few interesting people in this trip as well. I tried to click few portraits - the absence of sun light made it best to capture a character - the depth which gets lost due to that sunlight; I feel.

The hazy surrounding highlights the portrait and captures the features quite well. Thats what I tried to do. Here are few.

Flaming red T shirt, Ray Ban aviators, a garland - does he not give our Bollywood heroes a run for their money?

Sadhus galore at the Pashupathinath temple. Smoking hash, talking expletives, they have their way. They bless you only if you give them money. These halo around this Baba was the effect I gave so that he looked spiritual :-P

A Sadhvi. She cussed more than the Baba. Tall, well built lady.

It was Rakhi bandhan day. Brahmins sit near the temples and offer blessings to people who offer them fruits and money. This man was waiting for people to come by and seek his blessings.

A Tibetan mother and her daughter. The older one was pensive; concentrating in her prayers. I asked them if The wrinkles on their face is proof enough of their ordeal, they are refugees. I could click their picture. They obliged :)

This girl was diligent in her work, trying to shielding the lip smacking sweetmeats that was all around her; not once did she eye them.

What caught me was this lady checking her watch; time and again. The entire crowd was in a festive mood; and this lady had some other important work I guess.

At the monastery in Swayambhunath temple. This Lama was around when I sneaked into the monastery and quickly walked out. He wanted to know where I was from. He readily posed for a picture. It was a perfect setting with no light. His eyes talk stories :)

Stern and strict - a police officer guarding the palace at the Kathmandu Durbar square.

Naughty kids - readily posed for picture; later one of them kept nagging me for money! :-/

My dog picture :)

These school girls looked so pretty; liked their skirts :)

A dollop of vermillion on her forehead, bright green contrasting beads; a busy Newari lady

One of my favorite picture mainly because it was unplanned. She just came in the frame.

Never minding the architectural treasure she is surrounded with; this lady is busy selling her items.

This boy's father is one of the very few; or rather the only craftsman who hand makes singing bowl. singing bowl by itself needs an exclusive post. Behind him are the rows of machine made singing bowls :)

The guide at the Patan durbar square. Shared lot of interesting information.

Finally, our driver who drove like mad bull; never stopping even once to admire the nature. Well, its an everyday affair for him :)

Nepal - Patan

2011-09-15T11:22:00.001+05:30

Not being able to view the Himalayan ranges was one disappointment. We even booked mountain flights which tour you through the ranges for one hour and get as close as 200 meters to Mt. Everest, for 2 days. The flights were canceled after waiting for 3 hours both the days due to bad weather.

We need to respect the laws of nature; another disappointment was I could not go para gliding. Though people were para gliding in Pokhara, the local tour guide warned me that the winds were gusty and not safe. So I just had to make do with a boat ride through Lake Phewa. But on our way back to Kathmandu, we did river rafting in Trishuli river.

The experience was adventurous, the river was full and the currents strong. Gorgeous scenery, amazing river; 30 kms of rafting. We had a professional instructor who gave us tips and instructions; the rowing was tiring - go with the current. Team work - consistent and in sync made it all. I even got out of the raft and hung on the edges and waded through the water for 2 kms. It was scary; the depth and the strong current. All it required was let your hand go of the rope tied on the sides of the raft and you go with the water. Though life jacket was worn; it still was scary when the current was strong and the water swelled; I had to be pulled into the raft :-D

Another observation that struck us - maybe only because we are from southern part of India. English is used as any other local language and we actually find it odd if English is not used. Got to see pure Hindi script everywhere - few words which we long forgot after wrapping up our school period. Like 'yatayat' for 'transport', 'prahari' for 'police', 'pul' for 'bridge'. These words brought that lingering memory of having come across these words in school when learning Hindi.

Getting ready for rafting on Trishuli.

A team already on their way

On our way back; just after the rains, the rainbow appeared. As the landscape was rolling hills one after the other; one could see the rainbow in different angles - sometimes across one mountain to another as if its a sky bridge; sometimes just touching the ground as if its nailed to the green bed of grass; sometimes as its hanging from nowhere. It was the first time ever that I could see the rainbow lingering for more than an hour!!! That was a bonus. It didnt end there. It was not one but two rainbows!! What more to ask for :)

I clicked 100s of picture to capture it in all angles and landscapes.

Sunset

Patan - also called Lalitpur is a major city in Nepal. Its a city of rich heritage - fine ancient arts, metallic and stone carvings. Patan, like Kathmandu has a Durbar Square. Here is the Durbar Square of Patan; a UNESCO world heritage site. The temples with intricately carved wooden doors and windows, beautiful courtyards, exquisite icons made of terracotta, stone, metal and wood exhibit artistic excellence of the craftsmen and the fine taste of the people. The whole city looks like an open museum; you are treated with amazing art works whichever side you turn.

A slab proclaiming the UNESCO site

The Mul chowk; bustling with shops selling crafts and arts

Statues at the entrance of the chowk. Hanuman covered as usual with an orange silk cloak, Narasimha; the other side was a Ganesh statue.

A central 'stumbh' or pillar overlooking the King's palace. The King built this as a symbol of arrival of his death. He constructed this pillar and believed that if the bird on the hood of the snake protecting the king flew away; only then the king would die. How could a stone bird fly away? But it seems the King died the very next year at a young age.

A closer view of the top of the pillar.

Jagannarayan temple; built in 1565; its the oldest temple in Patan. Every durbar square has a kamasutra temple which served as a center for young people to learn about sex; as it was a taboo to discuss sex among people. These temples served as self learning centers. Each pillar has erotic carvings in wood. Enlarge the picture to notice the details :)

The King's palace - residence of the Malla rulers of the Patan state. It was under renovation. Those little things hanging from the eaves of the palace are the bells.

Circumventing the Hindu temples at the Durbar square are Buddhisht vihars and temples. This is the entrace to Hiranya Varna Mahavihar also known as Golden temple. The three story pagoda of Lokeshwar(Lord Buddha) was built in 12th century by King Bhaskar Verma.

Detailed wooden carving at the entrance.

On the extreme right is the figurine of Sakyamuni - the primary figure in Buddhism said to have born from the armpit.

The statue of King Bhaskar Verma and his Queen who constructed the temple.

The Dorje, the prayer wheels and the Buddha

The temple roof looks like any Hindu temple except for the presence of the Dorje and the Prayer wheel.

On one of the door was a carved dragon about 1 feet in length

Tangka paintings were sold everywhere.

This bell is huge and very very old. Its rung only once in a year

Centuries old aqueduct called Manga Hiti. It has 3 carved stone Makaras(crocodile deities) spouting water from their mouths. It seems the water temperature changes according to the weather.

The Harishankar temple. The three story temple of Harishankar - half vishnu and half shiva built in 1704. It has an arcade beautifully decorated with wood carvings depicting the torture of the damned. In the front is a stone carvings of elephant on each side.

This beautiful shikara style Krishna temple is different from others which are all built in Pagoda style. It was built in 1637; consists of central tower encircled by three arcades. Its the first temple to be of Shikara style and all made of stone. Its the only temple having 21 golden pinnacles. There are beautiful carvings and a statue of man bird Garuda - the vehicle of Krishna is facing the mandir. This temple was the most beautiful in my opinion. As usual, leather was not allowed inside the temple. It was my birthday and was feeling incomplete without a temple visit; and the Krishna temple was a perfect place to seek my blessings.

The narrow by-lanes of Patan.

The first pay check

2011-09-10T15:15:00.007+05:30

I chuckle every time I recall this episode.

At my first job; I met with few other freshers and we hit it off instantly. Young blood, like-minded people; who all seemed to have struggled in life in one way or the other. Each one coming from a lower middle class family who struggled to even get Rs 10 as a pocket money; for most of us the first engineer from the family; but intelligent, bright and raring to go and achieve something in life.

This is not some decade old story but something that happened 6 years ago. The gang comprised of 5 folks; including me - the only girl. Each of us were from different college but we all got placed even before we completed our engineering graduation. I would not call it a dream come true for us; because we could not even afford to dream such a start for our career in one of the largest technological companies of the world - it was more than pride to be associated with that company. It was all merit and our hard work that paid off.

The compensation offered by the company for freshers was competitive and among the highest in the industry; which means the interview process was grueling as well. Anyway, for each of us who only a couple of days ago struggled for Rs 10; the thought of drawing 3.6 lakhs per annum with other benefits did not sink in. We did our math.

3,60,000/12 = 30,000 Rs per month. If we get to lose 3000-4000 in tax and other stuff, we still take home 26,000/- Wow!! wow!! The first month went in induction, introduction, getting to know and settling in along with counting days for end of month. We looked forward with anticipation and when the day came; we all went in collectively to collect our pay check as our salary account was not in place yet.

The cheque read "Eighteen thousand" only. What? We could not believe what we saw. Seeing a 5 figure against our name and holding the cheque was the most memorable moment for us; but at the same time the anti-climax. It did not match our expectations. One said "Hey there should be some mistake in this". Another one just sulked while one said "Maybe the first month, they deducted more for some reason, coming months should be fine".

We discussed over lunch. "Maybe we should just check with HR-Finance; they would correct the mistake." None of us still seem to believe that the salary amount was right. The thing was when we were called to accept the offer letter; the guys just seemed to ogle at the HR and admire her eloquence and beauty than concentrating on the salary break-up she was explaining. With me; I just dont understand numbers. I was more interested in the job - I would work for free even - why not; if its an world renowned organization as this? The ID that I wear to work everyday with my company name was sufficient.

We did go; as vikings dressed for a war; marching one behind the other will polite but grim faces. The HR was busy; but was kind enough to listen to us. He explained us once again the concept of cost to the company, flexible benefits, special allowances, tax, deductions, PF and others and how we need to apply explicitly for some components like HRA, conveyance to get that as part of salary. This was the first month and next month onwards; once we logged in our FBP plan, our numbers would improve(It did improve after a month once we adjusted our FBP component) We just nodded our head and left his office with a "Thank you for your time".

We walked out silent and one blurted out "My uncle offered me a job in Mumbai. He said he will pay be 30,000. I told I want to be in an MNC as a Software Engineer. I need this!!".

All of us looked at each other and burst out laughing. You see, it was not the amount of money; we were definitely earning best among our peers; no complaints as the technology we were working on was cool and the work environment was the best. But our expectations; what this salary meant to each one of us. How we budgeted our household and personal expenses around the expected money. We could indulge in a cellphone now or pay off a loan or here onwards our parents can relax a bit and all that.

We grew fonder and had memorable time for a couple of years till each one drifted away - a couple of them went on to do Masters in US; others moved to a new job. We regularly keep in touch; each one happy for the other for the growth and prosperity. We rarely meet but whenever we do; this incident always comes up and we have a hearty laugh over it. So innocent we were then :)

I still have a photo copy of that cheque with me:-)

Me and the Anna movement

2011-09-07T21:28:00.003+05:30

A colleague asked me if I wanted to participate in the Anna Hazare movement when it was in full swing. It was being held at Freedom Park, Bangalore where many took part. I told him that I wont join as I was not really sure if it was the right way.

My response was met with "Here is another unpatriotic techie!" kind of look. We went for tea and a conversation followed. I asked him if he knew the reason behind the fast and the movement. He said "I have a cheat sheet where they have explained in a simple way about the entire thing. I will forward it to you". But he did not explain himself the intent. He added "If so many people are supporting it; its right". I asked "Forget about others. Do you feel it is logical?" He did not respond; he was not sure. It was merely a case of following the herd. Techies came out in groups and they formed a 17 km long human chain.

I did not wear the Topi, neither did I fast. I did not even buy our flag. I did not feel bad or sad because Anna was fasting. I did not tweet nor did I write on my wall. In short; I did not jump into the bandwagon. I did shun corruption - then, now, tomorrow. I did not even tune to news channels to know the status. They were riding on the Anna wave and making hella lotta money for themselves. I definitely cannot digest Burkha Dutt talking about morality and corruption!! I did not want the Anna thing to intrude my normal life; some Tom, Dick, Harry and Mona, Sona and Reena giving expert suggestions on what should be done to curb corruption.

I did pose a question to myself if I was less patriotic than those who bunked classes to attend the rally, than those who made statements, than those who left their day to day work to fast and join the protest; than those who wore "I am Anna" topis. Were they all brave hearts willing to make sacrifice or were they finding solace in this while trying to escape their day to day problems?

"I can make a difference" attitude was welcome, it was nice to see people from all walks of life garnering support for a cleaner system. But participating in a rally and swaying your national flag is all the difference that you can make? Honestly no one likes corruption which brings us trouble yet we will harbor them. Do you need a Anna for you to start? What if tomorrow you dont have Anna? What next? Would the movement just stop?

Can we abolish corruption by having an organization to curb? What if the organization in future is bought by the corrupt? How long does that take? We are not fighting corruption at each step; do we really believe Lokpal bill will put an end to it? Yes, this is just THE beginning. Beginning of what? Beginning of a newer you who wont bribe anymore? Who will be transparent in every step? Who will behave with integrity?

This is not against the supporters or the movement. In fact, its interesting as to what motivated people to support the movement who did not actually think about doing something on their own in day to day life. We were all WAITING for someone to take the lead? We cant step up and speak out. We cant stand for what we believe and stand against what we dont.

For me, the bill will not curb corruption or Anna's movement wont be fruitful unless we resolve to end the corruption in our life as we go about our daily chores. By the way; I dont see 'patriotic' messages anymore on Facebook or Twitter :-)

P.S These are my personal opinion. No brickbats please :)

Inactive on Facebook

2011-09-05T21:07:00.005+05:30

"Why arent you active on Facebook?" A question of confusion if Bindu has gone back in time or was it a question of serious concern if I was sane yet. Or was it a question due to disbelief that someone can actually have nothing interesting in life to share it among 'friends'.

I am a tech savvy person; grabbing the latest gadgets in town to exploring latest technology. But the concept of social networking has always puzzled me; maybe due to the fact that I am reserved by nature. The idea of flaunting yourself to the world - virtual world where you dont know 99% of the folks indeed intrigues me. I still remember sometime in 2005 when I asked a group of friends at office pointing at an application on their monitor "whats this?" I still recall that shitty stare I got from everyone around. This is Orkut, havent you heard about it?

"Uh..huh yeah, sorry I did not take a proper look" response never helped me. That very day; I logged onto gmail to create an orkut account. It remained dormant for a very long time; until I saw others posting pictures and my kindergarten classmates requesting for friendships. Oh great! Orkut brought us together again.

Well, I am a late entrant to Facebook as well. Joined as recently as 2 years ago; very discreet; rejected every other friend request from people I didnt know. I mean, why should I be friends with someone out there in some corner of the world? The answer was "to know each other better". Heck! let me get to know myself better first. It was overwhelming to see folks having 1000+ friends; were they really friends?

What is a friend? Facebook seems to have changed the very meaning of friendship. I can be friends with anyone - my mom, dad, husband, teacher, peon, maid, maid's daughter's boyfriend. You can be friends with your mother-in-law as well, can you believe that? Isnt it amazing? I can create a fan page of myself; ask people to 'Like' me. Just like; they cant 'dislike'. Facebook is just for human beings you thought? :) No! cats and dogs and cows and rats have a profile page and they update them regularly.

Hey whats for dinner today?

I have posted the menu on my wall. Go check

is not far off......

Strange are the ways. My classmates who didnt speak a word with me while in college send me FRIEND request. Manager sends friend request and request for farmville so that they can continue the game. Being an agrarian economy; if only our real farmers were as dedicated as our virtual farmers; we would be prosperous.

Anyway; that question got me thinking. I replied "My blog posts get updated as I post". He snapped "yeah thats ok, but why are YOU not active". Well, what do I write on the wall? As soon as I login, the WALL yells at me "Whats on your mind?"

Right now; I need to rush to the loo!!! Thats on my mind. Up next; what am I going to cook for dinner. Thats on my mind. I need to pay my credit card bills. That IS on my mind! Do you want to write on the WALL??? This wall is stronger than the Berlin wall.

Well, its kinda nagging; suggesting me to try this game or add a probable known person. Its just not just facebook; I was being emailed "Do you want Google+ request?" There were folks cribbing they didnt get request. Thats another maze I am still trying to figure a way out; I keep getting updates; spamming my mail box.

But its real entertainment if you look carefully. You get to know which flavor of ice cream your friend had or that a friend just came back from a parlor and feels her skin silky smooth after a facial or any event happening in your area or worse! your boyfriend broke up with you and your relationship status ought to be changed!!

The idea of friendship, privacy is lot changed, isnt it? Am I not adapting faster enough? Am I still living in iron age? How much is too much? You are not in if you dont have a social networking account. I told my husband; he chuckled and just commented "What a cheap life!!" only to join the bandwagon and guess what?

We are friends with each other now :-D

Nepal - Gorkha and Pokhara

2011-09-02T21:53:00.004+05:30

Vibrant with colors; bubbling with life - EXUBERANT is what I would describe the journey. Each place is unique; people and culture so strikingly different. Devotion, art, colors, peaceful, hospitality, reverence; I did my best to capture them all in my photography.

People are not pushy at all; as Kavita mentioned in her comment in my previous post. They revere guests as God. They revere the mountains; for them its not Mt Everest but Sagarmatha; the Goddess of Sky. She stands silent watching over the valleys. They dont talk about 'conquering' her - aah man how ego he could be. 'Conquering' - I hate that word.

One of the highlight is the Manakamana temple in Gorkha district. Its not the temple but the journey to the temple that is mesmerizing. A 3.5 km long cable car ride across hills and deep down you can see the Trishuli river seem to be flowing silently. Its amazing to see an entire town up there

The temple; shrouded by fog. One a clear day; one could see the Himalayan ranges.

Old wooden carvings along the temple roof.

In devotion; I ring these bells

Devotion - sacred threads tied around on a wooden plank.

The temple and the priest.

Remember the Nepali calendar being ahead of us? See the Mfg date here.

The cable car infrastructure.

The view from the top.

Cable cars

The entire stretch of cable car ride is filled with such a scene. It was never enough; others sitting with us in the cable car kept repeating the words "Jannat"

On the way to Pokhara. Pokhara valley is famous for its tranquil surroundings and lakes. Three of the 10 highest mountains can be viewed very closely from Pokhara. Its also the base for trekkers undertaking the Annapurna Circuit.

Lakeside - along the Phewa lake; lined with busting bars, coffee shops and clothing shops - lively. We hired bicycles and explored the Lakeside.

Array of T-shirts

That night; there was a Nepali folk song and dance show.

They wore costumes of different ethnic groups.

Here is Velu having fun. We danced; they let me go but the girl in this picture wanted Velu to stay on and dance.

A Newari thali - rice, curd, spinach, dal, aloo and gobi curry, pickle.

Sarangkot is a village located on the mountainside at an altitude of 1600m with a great panoramic view of Himalayas. One can see Daulagiri, Annapurna ranges. Its like a pilgrimage to nature lovers to view the gorgeous ranges; provided the sky is clear. But it was not the season; the sky was hazy and shrouded with clouds. We went as early as 4 to watch the sunrise; very soon the crowd gathered. Waited till 7 but the clouds didnt clear and we couldnt see the ranges. The below picture was clicked at around 4:30 AM; the city of Pokhara

The only and the best view was this.

When we had to witness this!!

Anyway; disappointed yes; but we cant command nature isnt it? Bridge across the Seti river gorge. This river runs right through Pokhara city. Its also called White river due to its color. .

The river is just 2 metres wide but gushes by more than 40 metres deep down street level. It has carved a deep but narrow gorge through the middle of the town; and it roars and gushes; turning the water milky white in the process

Yup; so we accepted out fate and reminded ourselves that nature follows its course and its stupid to be expecting a clear blue sky. After Sarangkot and Seti river; we were heading back to hotel for breakfast; when the driver stopped on the main road and said "Sir; mountain dekhiye". It seems he saw in the rear view mirror. We just turned back and the excitement soared. Asked him to bring the vehicle to the halt; jumped out and ran towards the middle of the road; not caring about vehicles passing over us and were literally jumping up and down like kids. People were laughing at our madness. For them; its a daily affair but for us? Here was the most beautiful mountain as if just hung from nowhere.

This will give an idea from where we were viewing it. This is Machhapuchhre - "fish tail" mountain in the Annapurna range. The peak is shrouded by cloud. It is revered by locals as sacred to God Shiva and hence no climbing allowed. It has never been climbed to its summit.

Davis Falls - the water travels through natural tunnel. Its name has an interesting story - Davis Falls

The gorge is deep and the rush so strong that water droplets can be felt on your face.

Gupteswor - a cave shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva. Stalactite formation inside the cave. Its just a stone's throw away from Davis Falls

Photography is prohibited in the first part of the cave which has a Shiva temple inside.

The International Mountain Museum. Had it not for the clouds; we could have seen Himalayan ranges in the background. I keep saying this - you probably understand my disappointment.

I liked this picture of man and woman pointing to rest rooms.

The museum talked about various ranges; the conquering stories, equipments used; way of life of mountain people - their dresses; food habits, languages and lot more. School children group taking a look at a very large Thangka

The serene and calm Phewa Lake - jewel of Pokhara. People were para gliding along the hills around the lake. A local travel agent told me that the winds would be strong and it was not a good idea to para glide. I so wanted to; maybe sometime later somewhere else :)

5 kms away from main town was a quiet village on the banks of Phewa lake was Happy Village. The name of the village went so well with the feeling. A lazy evening with a hot cuppa to indulge and pass away your time.

Nepal - Kathmandu valley

2011-08-30T15:04:00.002+05:30

There were so many things that I assumed I knew about Nepal and the practices which was so wrong. They dont say without a reason that each place is unique; do they?

People are warm and friendly; accommodating and adjusting. Is that because we are tourists? I might not able to infer; in cities like Kathmandu; yes; everything comes with a price. But elsewhere; you realize that the tentacles of urbanization has not reached far yet. On two instances; I witnessed an entire village participating in the final procession for the dead and they were carrying placards and praying.

People are very religious and revere money as God. When the shop keepers or taxi drivers return the change; they bow low and fold their left hand to touch the right elbow. I remember we used to be that way long time ago. Not only this; there were many instances when I felt 'we used be this way'. People and their practices reminds you of late 80s and mid 90s India.

Another interesting stuff was people walking inside temples with footwear. They are fine as long as its not leather. And yeah, Nepal does not have railways and I did not see any flyovers. The one which awed me was the Nepali calendar. They officially follow Bikram Samwat which is 56.7 years ahead of Gregorian calendar. They are currently in the year 2068.

Budhanilkantha village on Shivpuri hill. It started raining and we had to halt at a small shop which was serving hot sweetmeats and chai.

Budhanilkantha temple. The statue of Lord Vishnu reclining on coiled snake. It is said to be sculpted from a single block of stone which is not found in Nepal. It lies in a pond and appears floating. It is said to be at least 1300 years old. It is said that King of Nepal was not supposed to see the statue as it was prophesied that death will occur if he does so.

Swayambhunath Stupa.

A close up of the stupa. Buddha's eyes and the symbol of unity.

The stupa is surrounded by temples and monasteries and lot of shops.

An old modeled lock

I learnt this trick to pose with an object to show its size in comparison. This bell has chants engraved all over and was massive.

The dorje/vajra. This thunderbolt was huge as well.

View of Kathmandu valley

Inside the monastery. The aroma as the ghee burned was soothing

I wish I could buy all of these and get home.

Though it was tempting; I did not buy any of them. Cant wear them to work right?

Masks of Buddha and Ganesh.

Shopping complex

A miniature motorcycle. We got this home. It needs a makeover :)

Kathmandu Durbar Square or Basantpur Durbar Squar is the plaza in front of the old royal palace of Kathmandu. Its one of the squares and is a UNESCO World heritage site

The durbar square is the area which houses the kings royal palace where Malla kings resided. This complex boasts of impressive temples, shrines all inquisitively carved and is based on Newari architecture; showcasing the skills of craftsmen over several centuries.

Kumari Ghar Its interesting to note another instance of Buddhism and Hinduism intertwined. A prepubescent girl from the Shakya clan of the Newari community is chosen as living goddess and revered by Hindus. The selection process is rigorous and gory. The link-back has the details.

Kumari ghar courtyard; where the living goddess lives was originally built in 757 AD and renovated in 1966

One of the various temples.

The Brisith built this palace as a replica of the palace in London at the request of the Malla king. The British could not overthrow Nepal; they made friends with them. Observe the he Union Jack on the compound

People visit the durbar square in the evening to pass time.

Another temple.

Statue of Hanuman beside the Hanuman dhoka - the gate leading to the courtyard of the Royal Palace. This statue is dated 1672; guards the gate. The statue is decked in a red cloth and an umbrella; face smeared with red paste. Hanuman is always clothed as women believe that seeing him without clothes would leave them infertile as Hanuman is a bachelor.

The stone sculpture of Kala Bhairav

Naming Cyclones

2011-08-26T20:53:00.004+05:30

I wrote this article 2 years ago. Now that Ms. Irene the hurricane is on its way to North Carolina, Amrit wanted me to repost this one. So here it is with updates to reflect latest changes

All of us remember the devastation hurricane Katrina caused when it hit New Orleans. But for me, apart from that, I was wondering about its name 'Katrina" . I could only relate it to Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif; and thus could not help but wonder if hurricane Katrina was as glamorous as Katrina Kaif; this is on a lighter note.

My inquisitive mind started googling about cyclone names; as to how they get their names; who maintains them and such. I want to share some information from what I read sometime back.

To begin with; hurricane, cyclone, typhoon are all the same thing. The only difference is where they occur. Hurricanes are found in West Atlantic ocean,; cyclones in tropical ocean; except for Southeast Pacific and South Atlantic; whereas typhoons are found in West Pacific ocean.

Technically, all hurricanes can be cyclones; but not all cyclones are hurricanes. If the wind speed is more than 74 miles/hour, they are hurricanes; else they are just tropical storms or cyclones.

Hurricanes and cyclones are named. The practice started during the 1940s in order to quickly identify the storms and these names helped in transmitting warning messages and propagating the weather forecasts and other related information across several weather stations and to general public across the world.

The first use of proper name was by an Australian forecaster during early 20th century. He named the cyclones after political figures he disliked. During World War 2, tropical cyclones were given woman's names by US Army and Navy meteorologists; after their girlfriend or wives. They had noble intentions people; naming a cyclone is in no way related to the behavior of both the entities involved :-P

A variety of naming systems have been used; like names drawn from a phonetic alphabet system. But the names are not according to any preference; the names selected are those that are familiar with the region. Its obvious as the main purpose of using the name is to create awareness among people and to prepare for disasters.

Cyclones are named in a systematic procedure; and this lies with international committee of the World Meteorological Organization. There are 10 cyclone regions; Keila was part of Northern Indian Ocean region.
There are eight northern Indian ocean countries; which have prepared a list of 64 names. These countries are Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand

The next cyclone to hit the north Indian ocean region will be named Thane, a name given by Myanmar; and after that Murjan by Oman. These countries take turns in naming the cyclones. The names are used sequentially and once only.

Previous ones were

Sidr named by Oman
Nargis - named by Pakistan
Abe - nambed by Sri Lanka
Khai Muk - named by Thai Land
Nisha - named by Bangaldesh
Bijli - named by India
Aila - named by Maldives
Phyan - named by Myanmar
Ward - named by Oman
Laila - named by Pakistan
Bandu - named by Sri Lanka
Phet - named by Thailand
Giri - named by Bangladesh
Jal - named by India
Keila - named by Maldives

Next would be

Thane - named by Myanmar
Murjan - named by Oman
Nilam - named by Pakistan
Mahasen - named by Sti Lanka
Phailin - named by Thailand
Helen - named by Bangladesh
Lehar - named by India
Madi - named by Maldives
Nanauk - named by Myanmar
Hudhud - named by Oman
Nilofar - named by Pakistan
Priya - named by Sri Lanka

Generally, the names have to be concise and easy to be used; understood well enough and must not be culturally sensitive; it must not be inflammatory and definitely no room for misunderstanding.

The Atlantic Region cyclones are generally named after male and female names. It has a six year supply of names with 21 names each year. Why 21? Because letters Q, U, X, Y and Z are not used; as its tough to find 3 male and 3 female names with these letters. Few names are retired; means they are not used again; if it has caused huge destruction to life and property; like hurricane Katrina; which is replaced by a new name hurricane Katia; which would arrive in 2011. Such a proposal is generally made by the country which was worse affected; as a mark of respect for the victims.

And what happens if the cyclone crosses from one region to another? The names are simply retained.

To get the list of all the names from all the regions - go here http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames.shtml

Nepal

2011-08-23T21:00:00.002+05:30

I surprise myself each time I come up with some dramatic changes in the last minute. Whats with me is that I can take ages to decide on something very frivolous but would not take more than a blip to decide on major stuffs. This audacity is a typical Leo behavior. I did not want the passport expiry thing to play a spoilsport.

So it was Nepal. I had always wanted to visit Nepal - Pokhara and Lumbini and a secret wish to do a base camp trek. But this was off season; yet we just went ahead. The flight from Bangalore to Kathmandu was long and tiring. Bangalore-Chennai-Delhi-Kathmandu. Missed flight to Kathmandu from Delhi as the flight from Chennai landed late due to delay in landing clearance. Lost 4 hours; yet its still fine isnt it?

6 days was enough for just Kathmandu and Pokhara and a teeny bit of Gorkha.

Kathmandu is crowded and polluted. People I came across felt sorry about the current economic situation in Nepal. Civil wars, monarchy(remember that infamous shooting incident) and such had created havoc to the economy. Aggravating it are the trade unions who force companies to shut production. Surya Nepal - a unit of ITC shut shop on 16th Aug; 3000+ employees would lose jobs. Why? 3 months of production halt due to workers calling off work as they were not happy with salary(even though the company was paying better compared to others).

There are no proper roads, no public transport, vehicles are expensive - 200% tax. A Nano costs 9 lakhs NPR; thats 5.6 lakhs INR! So one can imagine the vehicles state - old; rickety; ones that would be off roads in India. The currencies are torn, soiled. These simple things can tell a lot about a country's economy. You actually start feeling good about India - how it was and how far we have come. Yet; does not mean its enough done; we are capable of much more.

Anyway, the real shock occurred much earlier. What we heard at Delhi airport; they dont accept 500 and 1000 INR in Nepal. Now; I was laden with only them. For whatever reason best known, the guy at the Forex did not exchange our INR to $. He said; if you are going to Kathmandu; its not required. So we landed there only to find the notice everywhere in airport about non-acceptance of these currency notes. Things were starting to look bleak when the forex guy at the Tribhuvan airport was talking in puzzles. He said "you will get a solution. Go out of the airport". Now this was all shady. We decided we will use our debit/credit cards. But once we walked out of the airport; we understood what he was trying to convey. INR is trade-able in Nepal but not 500s and 1000s. Yet, everyone accepts it except for government agencies. (Oops this is a secret - an open secret) Why they dont accept is obvious. Black money from India crosses border and taxes evaded; thus the government does not accept 500s and 1000s. But its an open secret that people still continue doing so.

One can see a lot of temples. People are very religious. Shaivism is followed diligently. Temples are built in Pagoda style. Hinduism and Buddhism is mixed. A Buddhist temple is similar to Hindu temple. One can differentiate by the presence/absence of Thunderbolt- vajra or dorje and Prayer wheel in the temples. Nepal's indigenous people Newars practice Newar variant of Buddhism - Vajrayana; the third variant after Hinayana and Mahayana. Buddhist groups are influenced by Hinduism and vice versa. No one leaves home without applying the vermilion and rice grains paste on their forehead.

Thats a lot of information :-) Here are some pictures.

The first thing you will notice are the intricate and elaborate decorations on windows. This seems to be a typical Newari architecture. Here is one such window at the hotel we stayed.

It was Raksha bandhan day. Brahmin/Priests are seen everywhere on streets. People offer them fruits, flowers and money to them while they tie sacred thread around the wrists and apply tilak. We got them as well :-D

This is a common sight in front of everyone's house/shop on that day

Another window!

The restaurant - the setting was awesome.

Traditional oil lamps hanging by - cant help noticing the intricate wood works.

Streets are narrow; lined with shops.

Rudraksha - cheap and easily available. Every street side flower shop sells them.

View of Pashupathinath temple. No photography allowed inside. The temple observes strict no entry wearing leather; very orthodox; only Hindus allowed. It is regarded as the most sacred temples of Lord Shiva. Its a UNESCO world heritage site. The temple is a 2 storied pagoda and was built in 17th century after the old one was eaten away by termites.

Entrance to the temple. One interesting fact is that the priests here are from South India. Thats how it has bee since the era of Mallas.

Behind the temple flows River Bhagmati. It serves as cremation ground. One can see lot of temples lined; where aarthi is performed every evening

Platforms to cremate. Its said that Lord Pashupathi needs the smoke without break. The burning bodies generate the smoke. The air has a pleasant odor. Its said that if there are no bodies to be cremated; they would fake a death and burn some wood to provide the smoke to the Lord but such a situation has not occurred yet; which means there is constant supply of bodies to be cremated. One can realize what life is. Generally tourists are not shown this spot unless insisted.

Preparing for cremation. We could see few sick/old people brought in to spend their last days here.

A delicately carved door. The buildings are all left without plastering exposing red bricks which looks aesthetic.

Boudhanath stupa - this ancient stupa is one of the largest in the world and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Buddha on all 4 sides is a common sight in the Stupas visited.

A monastery in the vicinity of the Stupa.

A huge bell - so huge that it can dwarf an average man.

Prayer wheels around the Stupa

A huge prayer wheel inside the monastery.

Buddha

Many shops set up by Tibetan refugees around the Stupa selling trinkets, souvenirs and clothes.

So long

2011-08-20T11:21:00.002+05:30

I am back! (Arnold Schwarzenegger style) :-P

Catching up on tons of official emails makes one sick and tired. Too much information to grasp, responses to be sent accordingly; meetings to attend leaves no time for blogs and Facebook and chit-chats. Nah! I dont love my Facebook as much as others do; but it sort of gives you a glimpse of others' state.

For instance; a friend of mine suddenly seems to have grown a sense of responsibility towards India's economy. There are others who share videos and photos and the witty one-liners. I hate it when my so called friends prefer to leave a message on Facebook than calling me. My friends list would show me in poor light - mere 89. Now thats a very tiny number huh for others have 500+ as their friends.

It was my birthday this week. Thank you all for the belated wishes now :-D I prefer to hide it; dont let anybody know. My theory is simple; people would remember if they want to; else no sweat! A junior boy at work asked me why I had not published my birthday on Facebook. I just shrugged and said "I dont like to let the whole world know. People who remember it will wish me and that was enough. Maybe I was a sadist".

To which he said "No, you are not. That is your way of filtering people. Your inner circles would definitely remember. You are different". I dont know; maybe. Every year brings in new surprise; someone unexpected would all of a sudden remember the day and wish me. 3 years ago; one came down to Bangalore to spend time with me on my birthday. Thats that; he doesnt recall my birthday anymore :-) Thats how it is.

Yeah; it does not matter. A very dear friend whom I secretly wished to remember my birthday; forgot about it. It hurt me, I was not angry but just sad. Thats when I realized; if something is not remembered; its just not worth remembering. Aww philosophy? I have been observing that I get philosophical on weekends. Anyway; learning to accept works magic you know. The sooner you accept; the better it is. But yeah; the pace is slower than you would want to; the more you push something; the more it sticks on you. Before you even realize; you are obsessed with it. But then one fine day; even before you realize; you would have let go of it. How? When? No idea!

I am alone at home; lot of time to spend and I start thinking. Not that I dont think other days. But weekends - the calmness, the me-time gives a perfect ambiance for my thoughts to brood. I am feeling guilty for not being regular at my fitness regime. I will work towards it hereafter.

I am also feeling guilty for not being able to spend time on one of my responsibilities at work. I spoke about it with my manager and he said he wants me to concentrate on what I am doing right now; the other job can take a back seat. He mentioned that what I was doing now added more value to the team and the organization and I get showered with appreciations every chance available. It feels awkward to be getting only praises and no blames/complaints. :-| No, I am not flaunting; I am genuinely feeling awkward.

Yes, yes, I am coming to it. My vacation was great. I proved once again that I can decide on major things just at the snap of my finger but little things take a long long time. Let me keep you all in suspense. I shall soon be writing about it. A long travelogue :)

So near yet so far

2011-08-11T16:45:00.004+05:30

Consider this - you want to do something and try implementing it but have to cancel at the last moment due to unavoidable circumstances. How will you feel?

Disappointed to the least. And if you have flaunted about it to the world? Maybe frustrated and a wee bit of anger.

What if you persist and try to take that up after some time and yet again you dont succeed? But this time; you were on guard and not let know the world but your excitement couldn't keep you away from letting few people?How would you feel?

Disgust? Anger? Shame?

Disgusted about what? Anger on what? Why ashamed?

Yeah, this is about my potential sojourn to Sri Lanka which didnt happen both the times. :-( Actually twice with me and thrice with Velu.

Last year January; we planned to go to SL and spend a week and celebrate his birthday there. Unfortunately; had to cancel due to Presidential elections that week and my friend warned that it wont be safe to travel then. Even if we did; we would spend time inside hotel room. I had to cancel the flight tickets and thereby lost some money.

I dont like to plan my travel; there were no hotel bookings done and hence it was only on the flight I lost. I like to discover as I travel. So; a pre-planned itinerary for where to stay and how to commute and what to eat is a big NO-NO for me.

Anyway; last year's SL cancellation got compensated by USA-Costa Rica-Dubai-Mauritius.

Again, SL bug bit me last week and the flights were booked. I was extra careful to look for any unfortunate stuff that might pop up. Called up consulate to even check if they had that Visa on Arrival in place yet or have they scrapped it off. Got the map printed and lists of places to visit. The flight was tomorrow morning from Chennai. We were to travel to Chennai tonight. Last night; we were packing clothes and taking out the documents required for travel. I took the passports and God-knows-why I checked Velu's passport details.

The expiry was 4 months away!!! My heart almost stopped. Was I reading it right? I thought it was well next year but just 4 months away! I told this to him; and he just threw himself on the couch. Not again! I was still positive(positivity has embarked me on journeys that one could never dream)

We have our return tickets; we are staying for a week. My passport is still valid and his anyway is 4 months away for expiry. Grumbling and mumbling we were; he is an emotional baby; started hating his passport(poor thing as if it had a mouth and wasnt yelling about its expiry) and started hating SL as well.

Browsed online for passport expiry issues and it seemed few countries allowed up to 3 months but countries like SL, India and others were strict about 6 months. I was putting up a "Its OK...We can go some other time. But dont worry. We can still make it" kinda act. Internally; I was sad and wanted to burst out. I am again denied a chance to learn and explore something new!!

I skipped my meal, could not sleep. Called up the consulate this morning. They said they were strict about the policy. We can still go if we get a visa upfront; but the flight was tomorrow morning. That was not possible. A friend's brother said we could still come but did not want to take a risk. What if immigration in India stops? By the way; why the heck does one have immigration for departure? Ridiculous! If someone wants to get out; let go!! Why was it happening again? Velu's mom and her siblings belonged to SL. All his cousins were born there. His mom was young when they migrated to India. His aunts keep mentioning about the treatment meted out to them and they were driven away from their home.

Repeated attempts to visit fails for one reason or the other. Is it a mere coincidence or something else? Its fine, now that its canceled; I am telling it to the world. I feel sad for my friend who from Switzerland talked to his brother in Colombo to make things easier for us and Velu's friends who tried to get us transport to travel and for trying their best to get all information needed. But we will sure visit SL someday and break this jinx :)

I did not want this to spoil the experience and learning we are entitled to have. So for now, a different place to explore. Will write about it once I am back ( I am scared now to mention anything at all)

In Love - Head Over Heels

2011-08-08T15:00:00.000+05:30

I am done with my Nicholas Sparks novel marathon. I wont be reviewing his novels here. I am no fit for reviewing novels :)

When you read his romance; you will in all probability find a story with a depth of feeling and tenderness. Its difficult to find a male author writing sentimental romance. Anyway, getting back to romance in novels - its a perfect recipe for disaster :) Yup! You know the description of a fairy tale perfect romance - which is too good to be true and yet all we women out there seek.

Image at http://www.123rf.com/

The boy and the girl always seem to be head over heels in love with each other. Few things that cant be so right in real life

The boy has a perfect bod - a la Hritik Roshan :) The girl has the softest curls you can ever find, the nicest, blemish free skin complexion and that perfect bikini body. Oh! lets not forget that manly voice of his and the "give the Cuckoo a run for money" voice of the girl.

The girl loves pets; the boy shares the same passion. He likes biking; she too! She loves ice cream; he does too....Errrr.......

Things automatically falls into place; without any hard work. Incompatibility doesnt exist; if so the partner quickly changes to suit the other.

PERFECT - The ambiance, the setting, the words, the mood, the conversation, the likeness, the chemistry - not once but each and every time!

NORMAL is HOT . A normal walk on the beach with her cutey dog can take his breath away or a him relaxing with a bottle of beer can take her breath away. Ahem..Ahem...

A surprise vacation to an exotic location is so unconditional love. Did I hear candle light dinner at Tierra del fuego? :-P

Even absurd things makes sense. No matter what; just follow your heart - things would work. Really?? Logic and practicality is a crime :)

Love can reform anyone - even a Godzilla to a TDH man. Murderers, addicts, alcoholics anyone could be reformed and its a simple job; doesnt take as much time as it takes to snap your fingers.

Love making is an act of passion - ultimate surrender. Condom - whats that?

And above all - They live happily ever after and thereafter :)

What is it?

2011-08-05T16:48:00.000+05:30

The day before yesterday, I had to stay back at office until about 7 PM. Now thats very late for me. I leave office by 5 PM, to beat the traffic and have a relatively comfortable commute. My organization allows flexible work timings; which means they dont have a fixed time or attendance; so leaving by 5 works for me. I anyway get back home and login from home and oversee office stuffs - conference calls to attend with folks across the globe or continuing to finish my assignments.

Yeah, so getting back to my late exit from office. It was raining and as usual; the auto drivers were throwing tantrums - demanding double fares. I was at their mercy; desperately trying to hire an auto when one just screeched right in front of me. I mentioned my destination when I saw a passenger already. But the driver agreed to my destination and quoted double. I rejected and firmly said "The meter charge would be so much". He instantly said "Alright, 20 Rs more on that".

It was much better than either waiting indefinitely for an auto or to be hiring an auto which demands double, anyway this guy should be taking a detour to drop me. But I was not sure; he already had another passenger; I dont want to be shown the other parts of Bangalore before being dropped and yet pay the desired amount. I wanted to ask if that passenger was willing to share the fare with me, but I am not comfortable with such arrangements ever so I kept quiet. I asked which route he will be taking and he said he would take whatever route I directed him. So that was fine, I hopped in; the passenger was a girl. Him and her seemed to be familiar with each other and they chattered non stop.

Hardly 1 km; he halted and I heard him ask that girl "What do you want to eat?" He asked me if I would like to eat/drink something. I asked if it will take time? All I want to do was get home and relax. He said it would take just a couple of minutes. I was about to alight when the girl said that they just want to drink some water to break their fast - they were excited to be having Ifthiar while commuting :)

Yup, they were Muslims; later I learnt he was her brother-in-law. But what struck me was their hospitality. He brought me a glass of thick mango milkshake. I dismissed him saying that I just had my tea. Didnt want that poor fellow to spend for me. But what he said next completely bowled me over. In broken English he said "Happy madam, Ramzan....Happy..Ramzan".

There is this total stranger whom minutes ago; dismissed rudely saying I wont be giving a penny beyond the meter charge. He totally forgot about my behavior then and was offering me juice to celebrate the spirit of sharing, joy and brotherhood of Ramzan. Thats the true spirit isnt it? He was not as educated as me; but his behavior floored me down. The next moment I was ashamed of my rude behavior with him.

I started interacting with the girl; wanted to seize every chance to justify my rude behavior and shoo away my guilt. She seemed to agree on the attitude of the auto drivers. She talked about her education, job, asked me for suggestions as to how to go about her career. But the guilt would not leave me

As I parted; I gave him extra money than what I promised; the proud and foolish me who tried to compensate his act of benevolence by money and thereby trying to wipe my dirty hands off the guilt. I did not honestly want him to lost that 20 or 30 odd Rs he spent for my juice. He tried to give back that extra money saying that I was paying him more than what I quoted. He won again - I would have forgotten the episode had he silently pocketed that extra money and gone his way.

No amount of money can compensate such deeds. What to call this act? Humanity? His selfishness - to share during Ramzan as his Allah said? Or was that how he was? I am clueless. But henceforth, I will remember him forever and his actions throughout my lifetime.

300 and counting....

2011-08-02T19:30:00.005+05:30

Its once again time to say THANK YOU ALL. Thanking will never be enough; so I seize every opportunity that comes across.

This blog - is a window to express my views, has helped me understand myself much better; to introspect and to appreciate. It has given me great friends - beautiful souls from whom I learn a great deal; making me a better human being each day. Great friends; though virtual are keepsakes. What I learn from you all is invaluable; what I gain is an ever growing treasure.

Most dont visit this space anymore; very few have been with me in this journey since I started; many hop off at a faster rate they hopped on. A handful have become good friends - friends for life. Their absence disturbs me; their sabbatical from writing; even though temporary makes me uncomfortable as if a part of me is missing. I check on them to make sure things are fine with them.

I often wonder; what happens to my blog if I am gone. Who will notify you all? Would people really care? Its after all a virtual space. Those worries are unwarranted. I will be here until I enjoy writing. I am honest. I relate with genuine people; I write what I truly believe. My writings reflect me; it makes me happy and that is one reason good enough.

I dont know if there would be a day when I wont like to write anymore. If it happens, that would be the day I will call it quits. Earlier, number of comments, number of followers, awards, blog ranks - all these mattered so much. Now I laugh at it. I have outlived them all.

Yes, I have mentioned this earlier; mentioning it again. When I started; just to beat the boredom; I did not have an idea that I would continue to write; I didnt know I would survive years and mark centuries. This is my 300th. Looking back, I have not fallen prey to concepts like Wordless Wednesdays and Musical Mondays which have zilch in content. I write whenever I want to; on whatever I wish to. No pressures; no expectations.

I have surprised myself most times when I have leapt beyond horizon - recent times; my posts are bolder and I am not scared anymore - to reveal my identity or to worry about my peers reading the posts.

Anyway, thank you each and everyone for the constant support, encouragement, guidance and love. Thank you for taking your precious time off to read my posts and leave your comments. Your presence gives me the boost much needed.

Prison Life

2011-07-30T15:44:00.002+05:30

That fellow Breivik who murdered 96 innocent civilians in cold blood in Norway is set for a comfortable and luxurious stay at Haiden Fengsel prison. Haiden boasts of jogging trails, plush kitchen, flat screen TVs, fridges, recording studio and rock climbing. The guards dont carry guns and the prisoners are not forced to work. They want to create a 'sense of family'.

Haiden is not alone, there are few others prisons around the globe which boast of good life and plush stay. Why that far? I watched a documentary few days ago on NGC about Bangalore central prison. The criminals keep coming back because of the good food and the fun. The daily meal is from ISKCON - tasty and healthy. Fun is salsa classes, music and such activities.

:-/ I also came across a tweet after the 13/7 Mumbai blasts that said "Dear Government, please give protection against terrorists the way you are protecting Kasab".Coming to think of this; it seems life in a prison is safe and punishment could indeed be a pleasure.

Well, my thoughts are about prison today :) Channels like NGC and Discovery give you a glimpse of prisons in their documentaries. American prisons - they prefer to call it 'correctional facility' and the prisoners as 'inmates'. I always thought usage of such mellowed verbs helps instead of strong words like 'prisons' and 'criminals'. It shows that even criminals are treated with respect and are not isolated from the society; they are not denied their basic rights and are treated with humanity. A clean facility, basic needs are catered to; they can read, watch TV, have access to healthy food. Well, one doesnt know what happens behind the scenes.

Visited the Alcatraz last year. Didnt write about it then. The island located in the San Francisco bay area 1.5 miles offshore from San Francisco. Its referred as "The Rock"; often featured in many movies. Remember the movie The Rock?

Its told that no one escaped from this high security prison. Even if they managed to get out of the complex, the chilly and strong Pacific ocean currents would make it impossible for them to swim ashore alive.

Here are few pictures.

Main building - "Indians Welcome" makes you happy; until you realize this was the result of native American occupation of the island in 1969.

The watch tower.

With such a gorgeous view; the guards would sure have enjoyed their job.

But the soldier's life seemed to be tough.

Here is where the inmates picked their clothes and shoes.

Toothpaste and other cosmetics.

Row of showers.

A cell

A closer look

Breakfast Menu...Yummmm

High security cell for more dangerous convicts

Decks of cells.

2x5 life

Control room

The Social Hall destroyed by fire during the Native American occupation

Water tank

View of San Francisco and the Golden Gate

The statistics

Scary eh?

Why?

2011-07-27T11:34:00.002+05:30

As a teenager, whenever I disagreed with my mom; which interestingly happened more often that not; she would sternly command "Dont ask why"

Few questions dont have an answer to this obvious WHY. Certain things in life defy any rational explanation. Why; for instance, does your boss come early the day you are late and vice versa. And why does he have to barge into your cube when you are on Facebook but not when you are slogging at your job? Or much to your dismay, why would that guy you secretly admire at work walk right in front of you when you are yawning away to glory?

Not only at work! Think about this. Why do you get an important phone call only when you are watching your favorite show on TV? Or why are you struck in a traffic jam only when you are desperate to rush to a restroom? Why are you caught by a traffic cop only on the day you forget to carry your papers but never when you have it handy? Why does your car blow a tire only when you are rushing for an important meeting?

Or why is that your otherwise regular maid fail to turn up on the day you have houseful of guests? Or why is that the wine cork opener fails to be located when you have the guests? Why does your internet snap up in the middle of an online transaction; that also only after you have keyed in your credit card details?

Think, why is it sunny the whole day and pours only when you just venture out to enjoy the day? Or why do all the holidays fall on a Saturday or a Sunday cheating you of your much needed break from soul-numbing work routine? Why do you have a bad hair day when you have a presentation to make at work? Or why do they lower deposit rates in bank when you think of opening a RD?

Endless lists - why does this happen only with me? The frustration builds up and spoils the entire day as if you are the lone victim. Reactions vary depending on the discomfort these situations can cause. Some accept it as unfortunate coincidence, while others view it as everything gone haywire from the start; a devil's felony.

Whatever it is - coincidence or felony - such jinxes are part and parcel of our everyday life; strikes each one sparing none. Curse the Murphy for his laws at boisterous trick . There is little one can do about it - Plans made are unmade - by the omnipotent. What one can do is to wish the discomfort goes away sooner.

So, instead of tearing your hair (or whats left of it); its better to take the hindrances in your stride and shoo it away.

If anything can go wrong, it will :)

My Joys

2011-07-24T20:08:00.003+05:30

"How do you feel about staying in your newly owned flat? " a friend asked me.

"Yeah.......OK" I replied nonchalantly.

He was surprised at my disinterested response. He made me realize my lackadaisical reaction and asked further if I am not excited about the new house. I suddenly felt uncomfortable. How was I supposed to react? Was I not happy about the house I bought with my hard earned money? Yeah I was, yet why was that excitement and that exhilaration missing in me?

"Do you know what you have accomplished?" he tried again to bring that euphoria in me. I just kept numb. I really dont know. Was it that I was taking my blessing for granted? Is it my attitude; supported by a steady income? Didnt I care for my 'achievement'? Is it because I had it easy in my life?

No, I didnt have it easy in my life. I did not have beyond 5 Rs during school. My parents didnt give me pocket money; that Rs 5 was for emergency situations. I bought my first cellphone with my first salary. I bought my car with my hard earned money. I didnt inherit anything; that has made me more capable and independent.

So, is it the attitude? I am capable sorts? What if that MNC had not offered me my dream job the moment I applied for it? I had no other choice, no other networks or contacts. I did not have a backup offer or a backup plan. I didnt need any other choice :) I knew they found me; they need me. Now is this attitude? Whatever I have achieved, its due to me sheer hard work and dedication. That blind gutsy feeling that I can accomplish sails me through rough seas.

What would give me true euphoria if not my own house or my luxury sedan?

Is it discovering that beautiful orange mushroom 'Cocaina' as I trekked in the rain forests of Costa Rica? Is it watching the fog playing hide and seek at the Jog falls. Is it the feeling of the star fish wriggling at my touch in the white beaches of Mauritius. Or is it walking on the road while it was pouring heavily and others under shelter watching me and wondering if I was sane?

Is it the girly giggle I had 5 years ago when a Japanese at the Singapore airport told me I was pretty and gave me a lollipop and helped me with my baggage and parted with a hug? Or is it that when someone who chose to not keep in touch with me pops up a day and thanks me profusely for the support and parts with a "You are really a nice person".

Or when the dog wags its tail in gratitude or when the cat purrs seeing you back home and snuggles in your lap? Or when my manager gives me a huge responsibility and says he believes that I can deliver it? Or when that little girl comes over and we share a tiny piece of diary milk? Or when I found a travel magazine to read when I was locked out of my house for 3 hours? Or when I finally managed to find a rain stick and bought it? Or when I demand for that extra strawberry sauce topping on my ice cream and relish it without any sense of the surrounding?

I cant pick one from here. Each of these incidents has delighted me; it has given me that sense of euphoria which I did not get when I sat inside my newly bought car or when I bought my flat. For me joy is in simple things life has to offer....

The cocaina and the travel magazine and the fog and the lollipop......For me, joy is in finding that rain stick, getting drenched in rain, in the dog's wagging, in the cat's purring, in relishing the strawberry sauce............

Am I crazy to not value what I possess in materials? Is it because I am getting them easy. I dont know; but joy to me are not from material things. Next time, dont ask me how I feel about driving an auto transmission luxury sedan. I am just going to shrug it off.

No substance

2011-07-23T20:26:00.000+05:30

"Dance step involving shaping his hands like the claws of a tiger"

"When he bashes up people, he mimics the big cat, pawning with his fists while the background score roars"

These two statements summed up what one should expect from the Hindi movie 'Singham'. This movie is a remake of the Tamil super hit 'Singam' which means Lion. Now I fail to understand why the Hindi movie went by the same name. 'Singham' does not mean Lion in Hindi. Yet, the hero's body language and behavior seems to mimic the big cat as mentioned in the movie review. And whats with that extra H there? Numerology? Hmm..Anyway this post is not about the movie.

Its about the remake culture. Lack of creativity and independent thinking seems to be the cause for remakes. Yet, take a close look; directors are creative for all the wrong things - introducing a lion-ish body language or the signature hair-cut of Salman Khan in Tere Naam which was a remake of Tamil cult Sethu.

Put in the unwanted, airbrush the original plot and what you finally get is a messy potpourri; often making audience wonder what the heck was so great in the original movie that it vouched a remake. Its misguiding the audience; isnt it? The originality is lost; so is the opportunity of watching what is in fact a good movie; thereby encouraging a mass wrong opinion about the quality of originals.

There are really good South Indian movies - with wonderful story lines sans the glamor and the convention of how a hero/heroine should be. Concentrating on the looks and the setting of the movie while forging the story line, script and the character doesnt spell success. Few things are best left in its original state - you can remake a movie but cant remake the character; the dialogues, the timings, the slang, the authenticity.

So then how about dubbing them? Thats insane. Have you watched an English movie in Hindi or Tamil or any vernacular? It will be amusing; if you want a good laugh; watch a dubbed English movie. I recently happen to watch Hindi remake of Sivaji for few minutes. I felt sad; sad because of what the Hindi audience missed. A real good movie seemed crappy. The conversation between the hero and the comedian was reconstructed so pathetically that it wont be wrong if people walked out of the cinema hall and wondered for what good reason was the movie successful in South India.

The dialogues were all below average, the timing totally haywire, the dubbed voice too pathetic to hear; it was sad. If this is one case, there are other cases where the dialogues are copied verbatim in other languages.

Ultimately, the audience are at loss; pay to watch a potential good remake and come out disappointed.

The Offended Owl

2011-07-21T18:30:00.004+05:30

21 July 2011, 6: 10 PM
Dear Diary,

I want to share with you something that I witnessed today. I do witness such incidents most days but didnt give it much thought as I am doing now.

Goobe!!!!

Yelled the auto driver at a rider as he maneuvered his motorcycle very close enough to crash on the auto.

Hey Diary, "goobe" means OWL in Kannada; the most preferred word to abuse or insult drivers on the road in this part of the world I live. Its a way to emphasize how the driver has been driving as if blindfolded; lacking any sense.

There are variants in road-abuse; the more adverse middle finger show to phrases like "Veetla sollitu vandhiya?" - closely translates to did you inform your home before leaving. In Bangalore, the first word that comes out is Goobe. This word is also used to insult someone who is an idiot; who cant grasp things quickly; like in school.

Why am I obsessed with Goobe? Simply because I am a Goobe.

And we goobes have got nothing to do with the road rage. We dont even venture anywhere near humans and yet each time they are annoyed at someone; we poor things gets personified. I feel helpless that they are discriminating and insulting us. We owls are not dumb species. We are skilful enough; but each time I hear one human abusing another human by calling our name; I feel insulted.

We have discussed this in our community and my grandma says that this practice is not new but has been around for quite sometime. Why cant we do anything about it? I have heard human beings have laws against gender, racial, linguistic and all other discrimination. Dont they have a rule against species discrimination? My dad says no. They have rules and laws according to their convenience it seems.

My dad also told me that we are not the only species affected. Humans have idioms personifying every other animals so that their feelings are conveyed more effectively.

Black sheep, dog-eat-dog, rat race, fat as a pig, a wolf in sheep's cloth, a spring chicken...

I mean what if the sheep has black coat or if a pig is fat?

As slow as a sloth, as deaf as an adder, as mean as a snake...............My dad went on and on.

What sadists are they to pick on us animals?

Accusing a dog of cannibalism, blaming a rat of participating in a race or accusing that helpless chicken for having born during spring time!! Were they witness to these?

These all just because they are handicapped to be terse without mentioning us. They call themselves most evolved with the unique skill of communicating with defined languages. How preposterous! They cant even convey things across without picking on us.

What if we started doing the same with them? As selfish as a human? As nagging as a women? They are such losers; they wont be able to laugh at their own limitations :)

They can't take that - As egoistic as humans sounds best.

Diary, next time I hear someone insulting with a "goobe"; I am going to ask to knock themselves out.

See ya.

The Offended Owl O_O

P.S : This picture was taken from my office pantry on Jan 2009. The glass partition separated me and the owl.

Few hours at the Zoo

2011-07-19T14:32:00.001+05:30

Visited Mysore last weekend just for a day. Mysore is a stone's throwaway from Bangalore and is a nice weekend getaway. Mysore and the surrounding areas have lots to offer - river, waterfalls, nature, culture, heritage......and the Zoo.

Mysore Zoo is one of the oldest in India and the animals are well kept in a clean environment. I was happy to see the area neat and devoid of stenches and garbage as in Bannerghatta National Park, Bangalore. Security officers keep a strict vigil on visitors' activities to make sure that the animals are not harmed.

Watching the animals move about freely in their space without being bothered was nice. Few pictures here.

That special attention a tiger gets; no one other animal commands; not even the King of the Jungle. There were 6-7 cats; most of them 2-3 year old but massive enough to handle a village. Agastya; adopted by Dhoni was the attraction. It seems they released only one tiger at a time to loiter outside while others remained inside.

It was standing on the opposite side; couldnt get a close up shot

The birds and the Rhino are friends for life

Curious?

Pack of Hyenas.

Mutual help.

So tall and so gentle.

This one probably escaped from the zoo.

Flame

2011-07-13T16:59:00.001+05:30

Sitting by the window
Accompanied by my shadow
In a boring room
On a lazy noon
Deep in thought
letting time pass
Lots to do,
But I am hanging around.

Those delicate fingers

taps off the cinders
Fuming into flame; the sparks

Slope of gold and blue and red lurks
The bold face of fire as in hearth
Blown brighter by the breath

Whiff of cold air hits me hard,
I dont know why its sad
The blue blue sky
Is dark and hazy.
I wonder why?
I want to see the bright blue sky
But I just see it dark and hazy

Lots to do,
But I am hanging around.
I am waiting for you
and the blue blue sky

P.S : Thank you Neha for sharing this picture with me :)

I'm a Hypocrite

2011-07-09T20:31:00.000+05:30

I don' cheat nobody.

But myself. My virtues and the damn ethical principles I have set for myself; for whatever good reasons dont let me cheat others. Time and again, it has backfired; yet I dont learn lessons from them. I try to be too nice to people; go out of my way to help them; so much so that its not their fault that they are taking me for a ride. Its just that I am exposing myself.

Whatever happened to that thing called self esteem? Where did I lose it? When did I lose it? I am not ashamed to accept my flaws. I keep pondering about it; what makes me too nicer to people? What makes me behave so humble with certain people? What do I need from them? Money? Unfortunately; I tend to be the spender :-) So this is out of question. Friendship? Shit!! Most of them are fair weather friends. Physical intimacy? No way!!

So what is it? The way I grew up - turbulent and chaotic? Has this molded me in believing I am a lowly creature? Has that instilled in me the idea that my worth is based on how certain people behave with me? Am I of value only if I get that desired care and attention from the people I wish I did than those who are out there for me?

Hell!! No! If that was it, why do I throw up an aggressive and spiteful behavior with others? Why do I treat few others like shit? Why do I remain unapproachable and walk around with an air around me?

Why do I carry a dual personality? I am a selfish person; selectively choosing as I stride. I walk in haste; scared of encountering unfortunate things; yet I am foolish - falling in traps that are too obvious to be noticed.

I put up a mask of confidence when I am scared within. I have insane guts when I ought to be scared. I hold on to someone who dont care for me and more importantly who dont deserve my love when I ought to let go; I kick someone on the gut who are genuinely waiting for me. Its the fear of losing one side and the audacity another side. I am not an angel but a vicious serpent.

I am a Hypocrite - a bitchy one at that.

People

2011-07-07T16:50:00.000+05:30

Its been some time since I have been clicking pictures. I am finding it difficult to carry my bulky DSLR in my bag the way I carried my point and shoot.

Not been going on short trips as well. So its been a while since I took few good pictures. One thing I have always shied away from clicking are people. Either that I am conscious they are watching me or that I think I might invade their privacy.. However, I always seek their permission; reluctantly.

Capturing people gives you an insight to their perspective - on life, on this world, on surroundings. You can get an idea of their current mood - few deep in thought, others relaxed, few amused and so on. I did try to click few pictures with people. Here they are.

This young balloon vendor is trying to manage his bunch of balloons. Observe his concentration :) He was not even aware that I was taking his picture.

Micky Mouse, Spider-man all wait to soar up in the sky free. But this woman and that man seem to have tied them up. Even Superman and Spiderman can be under the clutches of simple people with no special powers :)

The Dog - Dont mistake for the title "People". This dog was perturbed as I kept following it to take its picture. Can you see an old man farther? He is possibly homeless, the only property he has is that sack beside him.

I am leaving a trail.....dont follow me for I may not lead you. Buy my flute, play along and make your own trail :)

I can be a lion and scare you, I can be a joker and make you laugh, I can be a Minnie Mouse and entertain you, I can be a Santa and give you gifts, I can be a Spiderman and save you.......But I am a tired man - all I need is a cup of tea and few rupees to have my meal

A devil....tired and old devil....

Myths

2011-07-05T20:19:00.002+05:30

"You are going thin" (Read no belly and no double chin)

Dont you oil your hair? It looks so dry. Why do you chop off your hair? Come here, let me oil your hair and tie a plait.

What dress is this? Loafing around like a boy!

Dont you wear a saree ever? Salwar at least

What would people think about you? Wont they have the opinion that you are not happy in your life? Look at you Velu, poor thing! how you have become.

(Velu is wearing a pencil style jean trouser, a tight fitting T shirt and converse shoes with ruffled unkempt locks that falls to his shoulders)

All in all, I look like a poverty stricken girl and he looks like a tramp.

Are you guys not happy in your life?

Eat well. What are you going to achieve by earning so much?

*********************************************************************************************************************
My hair gets oiled. Our plates are filled with lot of food. The aim is to make us fat.

I wonder since when was prosperity associated with your body's fat proportion.

I also wonder why do people think I earn sack loads of money and dont spend it on food!!

Its an awkward moment when you cant explain to your 'elders' that you are eating right and healthy and that you are working out to keep yourself fit. Its absurd to be associating your prosperity with how fat you are!! There are other myths which are really funny.

All fair people are rich.

Rich people dont do well in academics.

Good looking guys/girls are good at heart.

Only an academic career can fetch you success.

Girl with a carefree attitude will not be a good wife.

The list would go on......

Its amazing that how these myths survive even to this day with our strong education and social awareness. They are old wives tale, being carried from one generation to another - without any questions asked. You try to question and you are sure damned. Few of them dont have serious outcomes; thus could be ignored. But unfortunately most of them are not.

How many ever lakhs of rupee of Gold ETFs you hold as investments; you cant pin those bonds in place of gold jewelry for a social gathering, isn't it? You are still poor :-) When would the poor black cat cross the road?

On the surface, these myths look absolutely harmless, but investigate it and you know the damage. Me being 'thin'; (which I am not) would boil down to my unhappiness because my husband is not taking good care of me. Thats because he supposedly does not like me and he is a bad man. My husband having ruffled long locks(which he let it grow for a change) means I am not taking care of him.

We are secular liberals; modern society with futuristic thoughts....yet few things just dont change.

More than Love

2011-07-02T21:13:00.001+05:30

A couple of Nicholas Sparks romantic novels has put me in a reverie. For a hopelessly romantic person like me, these novels have been adding fuel to the fire.

Aggravating it is a recent Tamil film song from the movie "180". The song is "Nee Korinaal". The song gives me goosebumps but the visuals cheat me. Throughout the song, the heroine discovers hidden sweet-nothings, gifts and romantic verses written by her beau on her birthday.

This can definitely happen only in movies and novels.Which girl does not believe in a fairy tale love, prince charming sweeping her feet off and all that shit!!

Yeah! you read that right. SHIT! I could say Shit doesnt really happen. But mind over matter, you still yearn for those mushy mushy lovey-dovey kind of episodes to happen :) Ask your girlfriend or your wife, she might surely answer in affirmative.

Now I am pondering over the obvious - LOVE.

How should it be? We seek love, to be loved forever, to be loved the way we were loved yesterday, the previous day. We want it to encompass us forever. Is it self-destructive? Why cant love be treated as any other emotion? I am sad and I cry today. Do I wish to cry forever? No!! Do I wish to be giggling forever? Thats insane!!

More often than not, being in love means going through emotional upheavals. Why cant it be peaceful? Why does love bring so much grief? Why do we care two hoots to pain and discomfort that comes with love? Remember the moth-flame analogy? Is love that destructive? Why not look at love as a rain on a parched land? We get obsessed with it than able to put it aside as a part of life than the life itself.

More than that its the expectation that we have from a relationship. When in love, we put in all our energies and attention on the loved ones and suffocate it slowly but surely. Does it have to be so obsessive that you want to own each and every aspect of the loved one? Just take what you care for, make the most of the moments together. Avoid delving deep, you cannot have everything, enjoy what you have and avoid yearning for more.

But we hope of an elusive, everlasting love which is unreal. You know it, I know it, yet we are in quest of a bigger pleasure which is unproven; suffocating and killing what could be a refreshing ephemeral pleasure. If we could delve deep and figure out what we are trying to achieve, it seems that we tend to try to fulfill ourselves, try to fulfill that void and loneliness which no one could fill but us. We use it as a door to fulfill all our dreams and expectations. Dont we realize that we are smothering that delicate relationship?

So, instead of grieving what we cannot get out of a relationship, wont it be better to celebrate what we get? No one is perfect, one cant satiate his/her own quest, then how can you expect your quest to be satisfied by others? What if he cannot give all his love to you? What if you have to share it with others? Have you thought if you can do without what you get now? If so, bravo! It requires lot of guts and its appreciable.

In a life of turbulence, when a person's presence can you give a momentary happiness, does it matter if that person is truly and wholly devoted to you or not? That moment gives you energy? Yeah? Then why not relish that and leave the rest unperturbed?

The mistake we do is let love take over us as a deeply emotional and intense entity - disturbing and alarming. Let it loose, let it not control you, use the short gist of happiness to fuel the rest of your life. No one; none can ever devote 100% to you or your concerns. Get yourself in a life or death situation and you will know - what you choose. Love will take a backseat. "I love you more than anything" is a bunkum.

All said and done, mind is a monkey :-P But this surely helps right? Now I am going back to a third Nicholas Sparks novel. I will surely get out of my reverie once I read the last page of the novel :)

I'm busy

2011-06-30T19:20:00.000+05:30

Really!!

Its amazing what wonders keeping yourself busy can do :) No?

I am a tad lazy person; though I have stuffs on my plate to do, I would rather mull over them and 'keep planning' than getting my butt off and actually finishing tasks and ticking them off one by one.

I didn't choose to be busy; I would never ever :-D; lazy bum I am. The thing is; I move to a new team couple of months ago. It left me literally nothing to do; but now we are building the team - lotta things to do. With my knowledge and others being new to the organization; I am the grand old mommy!! Suddenly, a plethora of responsibilities and dependability.

Yeah! its not a great thing to be proud of, but they are keeping me busy. I didnt choose it; it happened. Days are straining and I dont find time for tea. Seems I was eons away from blogspace; it was just Friday I blogged :) Its nice when you lose sense of time and days. That way, you dont give time to your mind to ponder about things that once happened and waiting for it to recur; or retrospect and wonder rights and wrongs.

You dont give your mind an opportunity to miss, to yearn, to ponder, to worry, to search, to wait.......

But I have been reading quite a bit these days. I had suspended the reading activity for a year or so. Just that my pondering got into too much of me and got lazy. Anyway, have you ever debated on reading over watching?

I always think about it; whenever I pick up a book.While I read, I visualize. You have all the freedom and creativity to visualize the characters, the locations, the expressions, the action et all. You can dress up a character the way you like; accessorize the car in action with your own gadgets....there is no limit!!

It gets so beautiful as you work up your mind to visualize the pine trees, the snow, the desert storm, the car chase, the vault, the secret zones......That is why I have always avoided watching movies adapted from novels. Somehow they disappoint me. Maybe because they either fail to match upto my imagination or that the movies in itself is fast paced and doesnt give you creative freedom.

I have been on a reading marathon. Romance, Thriller, Action....if work doesnt keep me busy, reading surely does. And yeah, my mind is clutter free and healthy.

Meaning to words

2011-06-24T15:18:00.006+05:30

"Veil?" I wail,
What does that mean?
I prod in vain
To ask someone? shy;
I know a savior. Sly,
I dig into my bag
Its almost in rag,

My dictionary! ah! the feel of pages,
Words galore, would take me ages,
To learn, to imply, to know
I will find the meaning; I lie low.
Placing it on my lap,
Head down as if I nap,

Discreet.....
Pages I turn,
Along my finger I run,
Elf and then gulp;
kelp and then self;
My search is near
At last; V is here,

Voila! The VEIL
My joy I conceal.

In the drawer of my bed side table is a special place - for my dictionary. The Oxford English dictionary. I treat it as if it were a treasure - it is! why not? The navy blue hard bind long torn; the initial few pages of introduction and revision details gone; the book is naked. The threads are loose and the sides worn but I feel its decently fair to have sustained man handling and abuse at my hands for 16 long years.

I moved to a new school for 8th grade onwards - a convent known for quality education. It was due to my stubborn and nagging tantrums that my parents decided to put me in this new school. I knew I wanted to be here - to learn, to grow. English classes were nightmare - the teacher was strict and was very prim and proper with her language; expected the same with the girls. I troubled my parents to buy me a dictionary so that I could learn new words and improve my vocabulary to fit into that elite group of girls.

The struggle was long, the battle alone since my parents never felt a dictionary was a priority. But I did succeed. This tiny blue book was my buddy henceforth. Learning new words, challenging my limit; using those new words learnt; mucking up with them and getting them finally right.

Now; when I skim through the pages; I realize how outdated that dictionary is; I dont find many words - English evolves right? That was the time when 'prepone' was not accepted yet and "metro sexual" would mean a sexy guy from the metro!

I may not find everything in my dictionary; but it exudes the memories of those days - in school; when I used to search frantically for a new word I would not have come across till then; amidst queer looks and my English teacher's dismay. I still recall those few minutes when my teacher uttered "Veil" and I was clueless. Sensing that I was unaware of the meaning; the girl beside me offered to help. But I was shy to admit; and the poem actually describes the later part :)

I owe to my dictionary - these words; these sentences, the posts and this blog :)

Here is my dictionary - my treasure

My brothers and sisters

2011-06-20T20:59:00.000+05:30

After mentioning briefly about software engineers in my previous post; I thought why not write about me! :-) Me as in many like me - Software engineers.
Do I see a "Oh! no not again! ?". Well, well, yet read; you have no choice! :-P The term software engineer is by itself a delicious title and so far the most uncertain profile ever. We ourselves dont find a definitive answer for the SW Engineer tag that gets attached against our name.

Ever since India got into the IT business, we have seen the demand of IT and related courses in college. Since sometime back, IT was a lucrative opportunity. A glamorous career right from the start in a reputed MNC, handsome pay package and awesome life. Here is a gist from a SW Engineer's life.

Disclaimer : Any reference to incident, person or anecdote is pure facts and definitely bears resemblance to all living SW Engineers

Potential SW Engineer : The IT/Comp-Science/E&C Engineering student. Parental and relatives pressure forces him to study hard during his matriculation years to get a medical seat. Tries his luck to grab an engineering seat as well. Low medical rank, engineering rank not good enough to find eligibility in a deemed/reputed university. Settles for a private college affiliated with a decent university; or if affordable; finds a payment seat in a reputed college. Clean state, all enthusiastic to start fresh. Gets bogged down the very first semester with innumerable internals, labs, theiry papers, compulsory attendance and blah..blah..blah.. Works his ass out the next 8 semesters - cheating in internals, seeking lab instructor's help, paying fine for lack of attendance, buying projects, getting caught by lab externals for buying projects......

4 years, 8 semesters, 50+ theories, 20+ labs, 6+ projects, 24 internals, 8 semester exams, 24 lab exams, 6 project demonstrations - soft skill trainings, written tests, placement interviews.....phew!! The D-Day arrives. A Fully Nurtured Software Engineer ready to solve the world's problems...Yieeppiieee!!!

Rookie : After all those hurdles, by hook or by crook; manage to grab a MNC offer. The company is known world-wide, has its footprints in major countries, life-changing technologies to work on., healthy work environment.....Fresher is all excited. His chest puffs and puffs with pride! He wears his ID badge on the collar(literally!), its all so overwhelming to be working for a dream company. Flexible work hours, free snacks, free beverages, outing, lunch, friendly colleagues, more friendly manager, an awesome pay packet....what else to ask for? Parents pride, neighbor's envy.

1+ Year : After all that initial hysteria and pride, truth sinks in - that the title of software engineer is too broad and shallow; there are heck a lot of profiles related to software and that not all are exciting and challenging. That initial sumptuous meals during the induction and new-hire training was a bribe to sit through the whole stuff ;-) and that humongous cost to the company did not necessarily mean CTC/12 - those were flexible benefits and not to forget the tax and your 'take home' is what matters :-) Still trying to figure out if you enjoy your 'work'; still trying to grab on to those fancy terminologies and the 'I am doing great' feeling.

3+ Year : The late night conference calls; trying to be as polite as possible while being belted black and blue by your 'client'. When your supervisor feels you are good for nothing and your juniors look up to you while you feel distress! Not to forget those 'extra responsibility', 'raising the bar' and 'you are capable of delivering more' sweet talks. Long working hours, conked up biological clock, irregular meal times. Well did you notice your growing belly and your receding hairline?

Senior Engineer : Ill-fitting T shirts, sloppy looking jeans, good to throw away slippers, unkempt hair, shabby!!. :-) The new age nerd - the techie. Scurrying away with laptop; always confused look on the face. The face! - pale, lifeless, dark circles, under eye bags....On the verge of being diagnosed with a repetitive strain injury; yet free internet, free phone, free gym(which you dont even know exist), free cola........who cares!

Team Lead : Neither here; nor there. Always paranoid of expectations - technical expertise and management ability. Do I prepare this status report? Or work on this new feature? If I do this, they ask me what happened to the status; and if I am working on the status; they want to know about the new feature implementation! At this level, you ARE expected to handle multiple tasks with ease! Yeah right! I drive my newly acquired hatchback(on EMI which eats up 30% of my salary for 5 years) while taking conference calls!! Is it not multi tasking?

So here is what it is - Pride of the family, darling of your spouse; inspiration to your kids, earning handsome money, holding a job to die for (yeah to DIE for), having a great work environment......................

But slogging day and night, no regular work hours, hoping your folks will understand 'tapping the keyboard is still lot of mental work' and that 'working from home' means you ARE putting in serious work and effort. It means you are entitled to pay tax religiously and your 'take home' has dramatic difference than your CTC.

Being a software engineer also means people have right to bully you because you are 'sophisticated' in other words - a dumb idiot. It means you CAN fix your neighbor's printer or offer career advices to budding engineers. Oh yeah! not to forget the hair line getting thinner at the same rate your waists go fatter!

We need to get a life my brothers and sisters! seriously!!

Let's swap jobs

2011-06-17T20:08:00.000+05:30

Yeah, such a simple statement - innocent and serious.

More often than not, I get into a conversation with the auto drivers when I commute to office. Its the usual ordeal, bunch of guys chatting away to glory, you are at their mercy and the look on their faces when you approach them makes you feel so awkward that I dont want to describe the gross visual I have on my mind right now. You dont even get a disapproving look; they just behave as if you didnt exist.

Anyway, the other day, this driver just demanded "meter mele 20 rupayee" - 20 bucks extra on meter charges. I did not have any other go so had to budge. He put forth a question - Why do you have to be at the mercy of others? Get a 2 wheeler. Made sense! To which I said, I sold off my 2 wheeler and I have a car which I am scare to drive in this chaos. Its so scary to see people lacking traffic sense.

So thats how the conversation progressed and their usual Compooter Engineeru have their life so easy that everything is served on a golden platter to them. I always wonder how did these auto guys get the opinion that IT folks get truck loads of money and they 'can' afford to do some generous charity by parting with their money. "You might get some 80,000 Rs per month, what goes if you give us 40 Rs extra". Such statement calls for a detailed explanation about the kind of work we do, our job environment, the pressure to perform and the hefty tax amount we part with at the end of the year and more than anything else, the salary assumption is way too exaggerated.

But there is no use to provide that justification, there is no way I can change the mindset of the herd by explaining to just one guy isnt it? Yeah, we debated about whose job is better or worse - there were the usual - sit under a fan or a AC, tap random keys or sign some documents and you get wads of money while we sweat it out; you never even have to use your brain or think! Then the invite for job swap - you take my job and I take yours. Now! I just thought it was wiser to keep my mouth shut than try to explain in vain.

My thoughts wandered to how I started my career in IT - how everyone else starts - just as me. While in college - you have an ambiguous aim - to be a software engineer and we all know just one profile - programmer. I want to be a programmer - the GEEK GOD. Then you are absorbed by some cool and famous 'blue' organization who are out there in most countries and they have R&D operations in India outside USA. Thats freaking cool isnt it?

You are not sure what is your domain - systems? network? storage? or some banking? You are also not sure what would be the profile? Is there anything else other than 'THE programmer'? If so, are they good enough as the programming? Analyst...tester...developer...build engineer...tools developer...duh!!

Beggars cannot be choosers eh! You either take the MNC offer or regret for life! Your first few months as a freshmen is super-cool; free beverages, health drinks, fruits, snacks, outings, lunch....Then you get your actual domain of work and the profile. You WANTED to be a PROGRAMMER! but lo! they put you to TEST a product! I wanna fix bug and not find one!!Weep! Yell! the world is doomed. Was I not good enough to be programmer? What was it did I lack? Later you accept the fact and try to do your best.

Image at http://netgautam.com/tumblr/post/1104/

Until someone explains you how important each role is and how intelligent and equally skilled you must be as each has its own important role to play in the software business. The freshmen are still delusional, they are still not sure if what they are doing right now is what they wanted to do....but for others .......

They are Software Engineers minting easy money and having good life :-)

Anyone wanna swap jobs eh?

Trapped in Terror

2011-06-13T22:02:00.003+05:30

Gaddafi seems to be hiding underground fearing NATO air strikes against him. For someone who has amassed $120 billion of assets for him and his family, its not tough to build an underground bunker and have his own loyalists for cover.

He remains carefree, playing chess in an undisclosed location. The NATO coalition seem to be losing its momentum. To the rebels and the NATO coalition, Gaddafi's dictatorship is in decline, but for Gaddafi, it seems the coalition isnt going to be any game changer. The NATO allies have been calling other countries to join strike missions. They are close to military exhaustion; with costs running up to $1 billion by the end of this year.

He appears to be hiding in hospitals to avoid NATO air strikes and seems to be under pressure. He appears to be paranoid, believing in his own idea of dying a martyr than surrender. His military forces has not crumbled as quickly as the strategists had expected under NATO's superior military power. However, NATO strikes have crippled his power this deepening his anxiety.

But amidst all this, what is it for the citizens ravaged and torn?

NATO and its allies believe they are the moral authority to save the world and thus they can inflict their judgement on others and thereby police the world. They believe that the people would be grateful for liberating them from the clutches of a monster. Are we seeing another Taliban in the making here? The civilians need protection from the so called military strikes from NATO and pro-Gaddafi group. Does a no-fly zone help the civilians? So many of them are dead through the bombings on universities and hospitals. Many are injured, maimed for their life.What are NATO's ambitions? Clean sweep Gaddafi and liberate Libya - would people feel liberated at all? How can civilians be saved with bombs?

Its insanity in Libya - what is right, what is wrong? Millions displaced, broken societies, corruption, deaths, degraded infrastructure. Do we see an Iraq and Afghanistan in the making?

Mushrooms

2011-06-11T18:01:00.000+05:30

My 3 day trek in the rain forests of Costa Rica - let me discover the rich flora and fauna of the place. We witnessed those mythical sort of creatures that were believed to be only an artist's impression; until you saw them live. For eg. the Morphus - the fairy tale butterfly; which seemed to be straight out of a fantasy land. Or the winged insect which had helicopter like rotor blades - if you remember the movie Avatar; there are some flying creatures of that sort.

The glowing plants in Avatar? Yeah! We saw glowing mushrooms during our trek. Mushrooms - variety of them, different hues and textures. I wanted to dedicate one entire post on those mushrooms. So long, here they are - For your eyes only :-)

I forgot many of the names. But can still remember their texture. This one was like a slice of cheese :)

Woody, observe the rings on them, seems to be telling their age!!

A delicate brown and white border. Fashionable mushroom :)

The beauty of them all. This reddish orange cup shaped one is called Cocaina.

Another version of Cocaina - smaller and hairy.

Flowery

Mounds of them - surviving on dead wood.

Bunch of cocainas :) This branch was lying on the ground, William planted it upright while Gautam clicked this picture.

This one looked like stale bread.

Chocolates?

Feels like skin peeling out - It was rubbery to touch.

Wormy fungus!

I forgot its name.

This is the glowing mushroom. We picked few to take back to our camping area.

Close resemblance to the button mushroom.

Eeewww....

Struggle of a polyglot

2011-06-08T21:26:00.003+05:30

I am very fluent in four languages and can do decent in two other languages and blabber my way out in one other language. So I will just go ahead and call myself a polyglot. Growing up in a cosmo-city as Bangalore introduces you to different culture and languages. Also, its easy and common in our country to know more than a couple of languages with so many different lingua franca.

Someone has told "know one language, you are born once but know more languages and you are born many times". It has been easy for me to pick/follow languages - maybe due to my intuitive nature and that keen interest to learn something new.

So whats the struggle with knowing more than a couple of languages. The struggle is a bit more if you are a woman. You know, its difficult to keep a straight face and behave as if you understood nothing when a group of guys pass lewd or funny comments in their native tongue. Or when you are being scolded for some mischief you committed; and want to get away. You understand whats being hurled at you and yet put up that "I dont understand" face.

Anyway, I picked up bits of Spanish during my Costa Rican vacation. Some words in Spanish are similar to English. For e.g - comprenda, agua, ambiente, perfecta, temperatura, cafe etc. This similarity is an advantage and you can follow what is being told. Thats how we could dabble with other Indian languages that follow these sort of similar pattern right? If you have a keen mind, its easy.

Well, you sure cant master the slang and the rhythm which only a native person could. This very reason makes it tough sometimes - for e.g. malayalam. I can speak the language but can never ever get that tone unique to the language.

I have been indulging in an amusing yet exhausting practice since the time I have known William - our Costa Rican guide. He is a gregarious guy; with special fondness to women ;-) Well, on a serious note; he is a nice fellow. Whenever we bump into each other online, we start chatting. But here is the catch. He can speak English but cant write English. So our conversation would be in; what else but Espanol.

It so happens that I can follow what he says but when I have to respond; I need a translator. At times, with his unique spelling for few words; it becomes dificil de comprender. With online translators now; its not as bad as it seems. Translators at your disposal - you dont really need to know a language. But at times; when it gets out of hand for me to respond; I just insert a smiley with a Si

It sure works. I was asked to learn Espanaol as his writing in English is bad. But that was not the reason for me to inquire about Espanol classes at a Spanish coaching class; this was an opportunity to learn a new language - a foreign language. I could not enroll for the weekend classes and now they dont have a weekend batch yet.

I was talking to William yesterday and had to go through that tedious procedure. That makes me inclined towards learning Spanish; why not? Its worlds fastest growing and it seems easy to pick up. Thinking about languages, I quit midway learning Gujarati and Punjabi. I didnt quit, my teachers stopped midway.

Gujju and Punjabi teachers, where are you?

Mind is a monkey

2011-06-06T20:53:00.002+05:30

Whoever coined this term, sure must have gone through so much.

Once, its just not under your control and keeps wandering across forts you dont want it to, other times it just is a sweetie pie. Lot of thoughts, heck a lot of thoughts, feelings, opinions.........

Why are we so complicated? It would be tad easy if everyone thought on the same lines, isnt it? Its such a herculean task to do so, uummpphhh!! Just the other day, I was really embarrassed of a situation. Yeah! I got into it, my inquisitive nature has done more harm to me than good. It requires some level of discipline to be instilled in me to curb my curious nature. Then, I brood for entire 3 days - replaying the incident in my mind - again and again to figure out what went wrong, where did it go wrong or why did it ever happen in the first place.

I wasted 3 whole days - unable to concentrate at work; the series of events being replayed on my mind to such a level that I dream something related to it! I was expecting something positive to happen. Was I hopeful? Yeah, sort of, for the way things turned out. Dont ask me what it was. I am not going to say.

On second thoughts, yeah its me! That is how I have always been. I had to go through the grind. Was there any other way out? Knowing me well, I dont think so. This is how things 'end' for me. Labor hard, labor even harder to realize the truth, disbelief over something that ended, retrospect as to what really went wrong, conclude that nothing was wrong but it had to end, mull if things just take a sudden turn even though everything was fine! Is this how the events are governed?

Maybe thats how it is with me. Aww, enough of rambling. Since the past 2 weeks, most of the fishes passed away. "Passed away" is such a noble word for the fishes, no? They are the least responsive pets one could have. You dont really connect with them. So, its been that each morning I wake up to see one of them floating - dead, colorless all the charm gone.

Nature treats every life the same way isnt it? Its not partial. Anyway, I notice one of them is dead, promptly get the net, remove it away and dispose it off. I was wondering if I would treat a death of say a cat or a dog in a nonchalant way as this? I dont think so. Why not? Is that because we do not connect with those fishes at the emotional level as we would with the dogs or cats?

So life is valued based on the emotional proximity? Ummmm...something to ponder more! Yeah, so going back to that episode; yeah it disconcerted me when I revisited the way I handled the situation. I should have just not cared! I didnt care long enough but yet...should have damn cared even a wee bit! But me being me! who exacerbates even a simplest of emotion with a slogan "I am considerate" needs some spanking for sure is what I thought.

Anyway, as everything else, I learnt a lesson. Never ever be curious unless it is really going to benefit you. But have I ever learnt a lesson? ever?

Our Inglees

2011-06-03T16:58:00.003+05:30

"Rain is falling....chama cham cham" - Rings a bell? This is the first line of a Hindi song.

Well this is the time of the year when "rain is falling". They always fall during this time of the year and soothe the thirsty soul and the weathered trees :-)

Err...did you spot anything wrong? What was that? And how many actually spotted it? A stickler for 'correct' English would thump and say "Say its raining" (Observe my audacity of missing out on that apostrophe). But its so widely and commonly accepted that the wrong becomes the new right. Is there such thing as correct usage in spoken English? How many of us do care? Is there a correct English at all? You might more often than not witness amusing statements as "Aroma is coming" and "I became pass" :-)

We aspire to learn, read, write and speak the language which our colonial rulers brought with them. Mind rules over matter, so we have 'improvised' the language with out own regional concoction - thus bringing in Bonglish and the Tanglish and the Hinglish and the Kanglish.......Our mother tongue rules our mind, we tend to think in our native tongue and transliterate our thoughts to English. Boom! we have our own unique version with entertainment abounds when your relatives want to "see a girl" for you and finalize to "give that girl" to you. As a result you have the "photo removing" sessions :-)

Remember the advice to think in English and encouragement to learn new words and use them to improve the vocabulary while in school? Then, dont you think we would miss out on gems as "We sat there simply simply" to mean "Hum wahan baithein the chup-chupke". How often do we say "We came to know" translating from "Sunne mein aaya".

Or the sentences that arise out of a vernacular's absence of certain words. People "eat water" in Bengal. So do they eat whiskey or milk. Dont mistake a guy from Tamil Nadu as a cannibal when he says he ate "Gopi manchuri" for evening snacks. The letter P is redundant there where one gets to 'bose' for photo. 26 letters in English and few are redundant? Why not?

Its 'bhictory' to our Inglees no?

Do you like Bangalore now?

2011-05-31T14:33:00.001+05:30

Amidst a conversation with a friend that started with a "One night stand and women"; the conversation digressed when I was unexpectedly asked "Do you like Bangalore now?"

A rooted Bangalorean or Bengaluru-ean now by heart and soul; who has ditched career opportunities that could have worked my way outside the city and the country, i was mulling over this unexpected question. I was not born in Bangalore; I was born in Mumbai when my parents went there on a vacation. But my connection with Mumbai just ends there - I have not visited the city even once. Been raised in Bangalore; my school, college, job, first love, marriage.......Bangalore has witnessed every important event in my life. I am a true blue Bangalorean who wears that pride high above.

It would be Bangalore for me throughout - sad that they wanted to do away with the anglicized name and vouched for Bengaluru. But take this - its even more funny when Robin Jackman pronounces Bengaluru :-P
My earliest memories of Bangalore are the deserted but narrow roads, rows of trees, lots of shade, blood red painted BTS (Bangalore Transport Service) buses, few double-deckers, very few vehicles on the road - one could count their numbers.

A couple of snaps of double deckers and the traffic then on http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=69283921

That pleasant weather- freezing for my relatives visiting from Chennai who would not stop shivering. I still remember the weather news on Doordarshan when Bangalore's temperature didnt go beyond 26 C on a summer day!. Wow! those were the days.......Those days the municipality were planting saplings of Mayflower tree or Gulmohar( Delonix Regia) They are the most colorful trees with flaming red flowers. When you see those trees in full bloom all around Bangalore, you know they did such a wonderful job by planting them 25 years ago :)

Shopping meant Kidskemp on serene MG road; with few people and even fewer shops. Outing meant Ulsoor Lake - pristine and clean, Lalbagh or Cubbon Park or a movie at Plaza theater - now razed out to make way for MG Road Metro Transit Terminal :-(

Bangalore Urban had villages - the rustic villages with fields and cattle. The unique aroma coming from the cowshed - of dung and milk, the dry scent of the hay stacked besides, the aroma of wet soil in a ragi field, men lazing around, women gossiping. While industries cropped up slowly but steadily. The BEML, HAL, BEL, ISRO, BHEL had all started their operations few years ago or they were just beginning during the early 80s.

Yeah so do I like Bangalore now? Without a doubt yes! Why wouldn't I? Agree that Bangalore has undergone lotta changes, some for good, some for bad. The growth explosion had pushed Bangalore beyond its capacity with respect to infrastructure, civic issues, commute and cost of living. People....well...people are not relaxed anymore; they are all busy. Happens with any other city right? They are here today and gone 'blip' tomorrow ;-) The charm of the city still lingers if you are ready to look beyond the malls and the multiplexes and the food joints. When I roam around this city, I can feel the old charm lurking in which only the privilege would get to see it and experience................

The spirit of Bangalore...err...Bengaluru :-)

PS : I am wondering why I did not think of writing about my city all these days. :-/

Twinkle in your Wrinkle

2011-05-27T14:10:00.000+05:30

OK so you are the grand old man who has seen life. You put in a lot of effort throughout. You were the 6-7-8th child of your parents-walked miles to attend school-were brought up in a remote village with no basic amenities-studied under street lamps-pedaled further more miles to attend college-struggled to get 3 square meals a day-worked very had to get a job.

It took your 10 years of diligent savings to buy a 165 liter fridge; you saved like a sparrow and bought a scooter with your lifetime savings, each day was a struggle to make your ends meet. You made sure your kids got a good education and life so that they dont have to struggle the way you did and they could fulfill their dreams.

You have seen so much in life and gone through hell a lot of pain which taught you life's important lessons. It taught you to be sober and wiser. It taught you to be judgmental and patient. You have met a lot of people through your life's journeys; learnt a lot; been hurt a lot. You lost everything but mended up again; picked up pieces. The grays on your whatever left hair, those wrinkles on your lovely face, the so obvious paunch weave tales of your struggle, diligence and hard work and loads of experience gained.

But..................

It would be wiser and gracious to use that experience to help the younger generation, no? You would be a man of great stature if you graciously acknowledge their achievements and encourage them further, no? More often than not; the older lots compare their struggle and point out how easy life for kids are nowadays. You have technology at your disposal, you have swanky vehicles, gizmos and gadgets.....yes, agreed boss. But is this our mistake? It would seem foolish to walk that 5 miles to office just because you guys did so.

"We struggled for jobs and these kids nowadays start with a 5 figure paycheck" - I have heard these umpteen times. Dear old grandpa and grandma, you heard of inflation? Oh forget that slimy inflation worm. Do you have an idea of the pressure we undergo? The competition? The rat race?

Nah, according to you, everything comes easy for us - we are invited to take up jobs, we are invited for a pay rise, for promotion, we are gifted cars...We dont work hard, we dont realize the value of money, no? You are confused between 'attitude' and 'confidence'. A girl after hard day at work asking for some breathing space in a crowded bus is arrogant. Why? Just because she said the gray haired man "Sir, please go inside. We dont have sufficient space for ourselves" It was her decent way of saying "Stop rubbing against me". But you start abusing her, commenting about her character and how easy its for kids to just join a call center and get paid handsomely.

Now dont take me wrong. This incident actually happened. I dont say all are narrow-minded sticking to their old values and beliefs. There are so many men and women out there who have graciously made way for the younger folks, nurturing them with their experiences and appreciating them on their achievements. But when they fail to move out of their era, things get uncomfortable and worse - hostile.

Experience is there to share and guide, not to criticize and complain, no? Let there be a twinkle in your wrinkle :-)

Those 3 hours

2011-05-25T11:31:00.002+05:30

Well, yesterday was an interesting day...of sorts.

Started early to work in order to attend a mandatory training on intellectual property. Carried my breakfast of idi appams and unni appams.

Just decided on the fly to watch Pirates of the Caribbean - 4 post lunch. My 3 team mates and me - the movie was superb and Johnny Depp was impossible. I so love him even more now; after him being unfaithfully faithful to Angelica in the movie :)

Came home at 6:45; tried unlocking the front door. Thats when I doubted if the bunch of keys I carried had a key to the front door. Tried...tried...tried....remembered Robert Bruce's "Try try until you succeed" phrase and kept trying.....in vain. I remember unlocking the door with a key from this bunch. Tried again and again; realized I really had the wrong bunch.

Called up Velu, he was not picking the call; should be in Yoga session. 1 more hour before he can pick up the calls. It was raining, I was not dressed to be seated on the floor comfortably - Skin tight jean trousers; why am I in them in such situations always? Called up a friend and spoke for a while as I kept loitering but soon realized I need to save the battery charge. Hung up and chatted a while with a friend. She left for dinner.

Sat about for a while and was drowning myself in self realization. It turned out that I found myself insanely stupid, arrogantly confident, emotionally foolish and a hopeless seeker of care. It seemed better to remain ignorant so I dismissed the idea. Though I did have some arguments and counter-arguments on love. Let me save that for another post.

I had 3 street dogs for company; not for long, just for few minutes, they were either scared or wary. They ran away. I generally carry a book to read with me; today I did not have one. I carry a USB modem with me to connect to internet; I left it back at home. I sat for a while until my bum started aching. Got an idea! Thought of going to a supermarket and buy some stuffs to read and eat.

Realized it was raining. My tank top was thin and without sleeves, all I had was a thin bandana; wrapped it around and walked in the rain to the supermarket. Browsed for books, all they had were few magazines - fashion, auto, political, technology. decor, travel...Aaaah travel! I picked up a travel magazine and some buns. Outside in a push cart was a vendor selling boiled peanuts. Steaming peanuts in the rain..Heavenly. I packed some and got back.

Though the dogs were not hostile towards me, they were reluctant to come near me. So I thought feeding them would rest their doubts about me. They devoured the buns happily, I think they liked the jam inside the buns more. One of them came near me and I stroked its head for few seconds. They all ran away once again. I came back and seated myself comfortably, munching in the only leftover - peanuts and reading the magazine.

For someone whose passion is traveling, this magazine gave immense joy - Ladakh, Leh, Himachal, Bhutan, Goa, Kodai, Coorg, Ethiopia, Munnar, Kochi.......visualising myself in all these places. Read them all, seated idle. I hear the occasional chatter of the neighbors, while I browse my phone for mails and other updates. Read few latest blog posts while waiting for Velu to arrive.

It was 3 hours before he came. Pain in the bum was all that was left.

Fake?

2011-05-21T19:31:00.005+05:30

If you have friends whose friends are studying in US universities or friends who complete their MS in US or friends who have got exported as bride getting married to a H1B holder - you will sympathize with me.

Yeah success is to flaunt. I know! But showing off as if everything is honey and cake is foolish no? Havent you tasted success at home? Didnt you work hard enough to taste that success? Since last week I have been seeing graduation photos being shared on facebook. The universities names were NOT delicious. I did not see a UCLA or a Georgia Tech or a Stanford. Let me get straight to the point. I want to ask few questions to no one in particular.

Why not celebrate by uploading college passing photos while in India? Dont tell me Facebook did not exist.
Why dont you put up photos of the dishes you prepared while in India? Dont tell me you didnt cook while here at all!

Oh! Oh! not to forget the girls. I will call a spade a spade - few of them are good for nothing. They pay for an engineering seat, have year-backs and arrears. They seem so miserable when they force themselves to get a degree in engineering when they dont have that aptitude. Couple of years down the lane, get married to a US H1B visa holder and fly straight to Silicon Valley or New Jersey or Boston or Texas or Raleigh ;-)

Does it end there? Nah! "Had a lovely Saturday watching moon rise in Half Moon Bay holding hands together" Boy! oh boy! dont we have a moon out here? Or dont we have a bay out here? Or is it the moral police that restrict you from holding hands?

"Lazy Sunday morning. Wifey relaxed. Got her cereals and juice. Love you dear"...How romantic!
And the wifey "likes" the status and comments "The breakfast was delicious sweetheart. Mmmuuahh"

:-/ Forget all this...you buy an i-gizmo and show off....We too get them here sir!

Painting a rosy picture that everything's well is making a fool out of oneself, isn't it? It irks me whenever I see such fake updates. Are you that jobless and cant keep your hands and legs idle? You post some picture in an exotic location and wait for Likes and Oohs and Wows. I know; I have a dream to visit that place sometime; but...but.....

I wanted to write about this for a while. Why am I writing this now? A group of young fellas(friends of friend) aged between 22-25 going to celebrate their graduation were all spot dead in Missouri. The parents could not even fetch their bodies to India. Its not easy; its a struggle - the wretched life there. Expensive living, do-all-yourself, work, pressure of sending money back home..........

And yet you buy a third/forth/fifth whatever hand 1997 Corolla and yap off as if you are all so happy. No one is happy! no one can be happy. I know you are secretly counting your days there and given a chance would want to catch the first flight back home...only to come here and exclaim "Aww the traffic, the crowd....disgusting" You were born here right? You spent most of your life in this very place with traffic and crowd. You just go there for 2 years and your very home becomes alien!

Wake up folks, stop fooling.............yourself.

Niagara Falls

2011-05-19T15:07:00.001+05:30

This was mid 2006. My first visit to US on work; overwhelming, shocking and too much to handle is what I would use to sum up my experience those 4 months. It got to a point when I forced my way out when asked to extend my stay.

The travel bug in me was born then..I visited quite few places - Niagara on the US-Canadian border being one of them. The falls were majestic and grand. More than the falls itself; I thoroughly enjoyed the 406 miles drive from NYC to Niagara through New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. The rains, the lush landscape and the chill weather was heavenly and worth the experience.

The mist that forms due to the force of the falls is visible from miles and miles - the hovering smoke and the water drops suspended in the air! The manicured walk path, the cruise and the close proximity to the falls lets you realize the power of nature. Once again, I realized how trivial we are! Almost everyone who visits Niagara dont return without taking the Maid of the Mist boat ride and the Cave of the Winds tour.

Stay there till late evening to witness the illumination of the falls by floodlights from the Canadian side. Cross the Rainbow Bridge to enter Canada and stroll around Ontario; watching the falls from the observation deck of Skylon tower is a beautiful experience.

Here are few pictures. I had to dig in through my archives :)

Outskirts of NYC.

The US-Canadian border

American falls. Reached post 5 and the light was dull.

Horse shoe falls

Rainbow Bridge

Skylon Tower.

Sunset over Ontario sky

We are better

2011-05-16T11:31:00.001+05:30

Note : Its a satire..Yeah I need to explicitly mention it; my earlier experience tells me so.. This is a conversation between me and my alter-ego.

The Americans can have their way. If they can do it, why can't we?

Now what is this blabber about?

Terrorists.....Osama. He was hunted down and killed even without a trial.

Are you saying it was wrong?

You see, there is nothing like a right or a wrong. What is right for me, could be wrong for you and vice versa.

Are you the alter-ego or me?What is your concern?

The Indian government has listed 50 most wanted terrorists and all are based out of Pakistan. The media is asking why cannot we do a America-like operation to eliminate Dawood.

We cant. They could do because they are Americans; with billions of dollars of aid being given to Pakistan. They can afford to do it! They gave a new lease of life to the Afghans by driving out the Russians. They have been aiding Pakistan against the war on terror. So they can break the sovereignty of a country; raid a town and kill a terror mastermind. We cant....Period.

But......but......

Dont sulk. We Indians have done much better things to worry about not being able to mimic an American way.

Like?

Like....winning the Cricket World Cup!

Uummpphhh...

OK! Like sacrificing Mallika Sherawat to Hollywood.

Eeewwww we are better off than having her here!

Oh ok! Like inventing the ZERO!

Oh! Ohhh!!!

Nah its not Oh! Ohhh!! Its 0 as in 2-O-O-O in Two thousand.

I am still not convinced.

Why dont you accept that we have given the world far better stuffs to lead a good standard of living?

Give me one good point to agree.

Ass-jet!

What?

Yeah Ass-jet. We have a simpler and cleaner way to wash than wiping off our asses with papers!

Yeah! You are right! Hail the Ass-jet!

:-)

Musings

2011-05-11T14:31:00.004+05:30

I have always restricted myself from publishing offbeat posts. Offbeat for me - my personal state of being or random ramblings. It is not that I have been predictable. I dont like to be predictable; it gives me an insatiable pleasure when I do things off the track; off the mundane path - only to do something more to satisfy my thirst. If it is current affairs for some time; it would be humor and fiction other days or I would enjoy throwing in few verses of what I would call poetry. With respect to what I post here - I refrain from writing about my personal stuffs; rather on subjects that people can relate to and share their views on them. There is that sense of satisfaction when you learn and let others learn as well.

These being my thoughts; I never attempt to write about things going on with me. Either I think its too trivial and normal or I tend to think people might think I am flaunting. Amrit suggested I write about my home and I was dismissing the idea supporting with reasons that the readers might think I am showing off. But he encouraged me to go ahead and convinced me that it wont be a show off.

Anyway today I just want to write about nothing in general; but just write. What you call letting your hair down once in a while. I have never been busy ever in my life; that I can say "I didnt find time". For me 24 hours is sufficient; but I do tend to give the ever tried and tested "No time" excuse if I am not able to do something for different reasons - be it lack of interest, contemplation or favorable space. Now that its lean period at work; free for next 1 month at the minimum, I have been wondering what do I do to kill my time.

I am known for procrastinating for indefinite period. I was supposed to join Spanish classes and I am yet to. Prior to that I inquired about Tanjore painting classes and was prepared to join but I had to travel out of country on work and later when I came back; I just left at that. I was thinking of joining some photography classes to learn the techniques and make use of my beast(Nikon D7000) better. Thats also in back burner now. I could brush up my skills or learn some new stuffs at work. I am not doing them either.

I have all the time in the world. Even otherwise I had time. It makes me wonder if people are really that busy when they say they have no time. Is it that they cant manage time or that they are inefficient or is something wrong with me? If you folks remember I used to post regularly while in US even with my hands full with work. But this ability to find time for everything intimidates me. One of my blogger friend mentioned that she is not finding time to write! and here I was finding so much time. I could keep writing; my other personality told me "Stop! Dont post frequently! Are you that jobless?"

I know of many bloggers who have quit blogging due to lack of time. Will it ever happen to me? Or will I quit writing when I dont find anything substantial to write anymore or when I feel my quality is demeaning? Or what if something happens to me? What will happen to my 270+ posts? Who will hold the copyright? Who will manage there on?

Many such thoughts....about life, love, respect, purpose in life among other worries like "why is the rose bud taking these many days to bloom?" or "when will they restore my internet connection?" or "how to make place for a new pair of shoes?". There are other serious worries as well about loan and career and family and such. But they dont give me sleepless nights as the rose bud or lack of space for a new pair of shoes would give. But life goes on among all these worries. Each day I see this caretaker's family living in a makeshift made from tarpaulin in our apartment's car parking area. The family worked as construction laborers and now are assisting the builder in another project. 2 kids - a girl and a boy. They are always cheerful; the family always happy. They cook outside using wood. Its the way of the world that those who construct houses for others have no roof under them. But I find them contended; I gave away a doll and soft balls to those kids and the smile on their faces was worthless.

They dont have to worry about which toy to choose to play with - the only one is their precious one. Their parents dont have to worry about curtains and drapes to adorn their makeshift home. They have 3 dogs for company. They form such a lovely community. The lady comes running to open the gates when we take our car out. The girl comes to fetch the garbage every morning. I feel uncomfortable. When she came this morning I gave her a pack of biscuits and sweetly told her I would take care of the garbage. I told them not to do such service for me and that I dont like anybody doing my work. I feel embarrassed; hope they understood. What is wrong in cleaning your own dirt?

For few more days I think I will have lot of thoughts pondering in my mind; time to reflect and act on few things. I cant keep my mind idle. As I ponder and reflect, I will continue to learn.

Smile Please

2011-05-09T11:26:00.001+05:30

When God created Eve from a rib he took off Adam's; it sure would not have been the funny bone. Why else would women be glum; be the butt of jokes cracked by men? Indian women cannot comply and unable to have a laugh. Why? Witnessing Sonia G clapping her hands and punching her fists in the air while grinning when India won the semi-finals against Pakistan in the World Cup was a Haley Comet phenomenon.

Well, its premature to mention only Indian women. A Japanese-American colleague of mine shared an incident that happened during her first visit to Japan. Having born and raised in the USA; she could not quite grasp the tradition of being prim and proper. She laughed out loud during a family gathering and the entire group went aghast. She was later coached by her mom. After that incident; she always closed her mouth with her palms while laughing and the noise never came out. We were sharing such similar stories and practices that went beyond geographical boundaries.

To talk about women and humor is an oxymoron. I studied in a girls convent run by Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny. I dont remember having seen the sisters smile or laugh. They seemed dour and pale. I often used to wonder if no-smile was their prerogative. It also sort of fueled in ideas that nuns have had bitter experiences in their life and thus they chose nun-hood and that earlier life has deemed them sullen for the rest of their life :-| I know I was so innocent then.

Politicians - as I am talking about women here; women politicians in India deserve a special mention. Will they have the heart to laugh if someone made a mockery of them? Women in power believe they are in control of everything and hence remain stern.

How often does one hear fearless uninhibited laughter in public? I would think twice before doing so myself. Its a serious matter as men in our society who see women laugh so easily is an easy catch. Almost every other lady would wish for a man who can make her laugh. Why not wish for a man who can laugh at her jokes? Men do not accept a smart women cracking intelligent jokes either; they get intimidated.

Now this does not mean women never laugh. Dont we erupt into a wicked laughter when we hear the neighbor's car had a break down? Our tele-serials have such scenes every other day. This is an ugly trait. Do we lack the lightness to laugh at ourselves? Is our humor hackneyed? Will I laugh it off if someone makes fun of my restless behavior? Is it that we are not comfortable with ourselves?

Seems so....

We Serve

2011-05-06T12:06:00.001+05:30

Our country and our people are known for hospitality and service. Few smart men realized how this innate quality of us Indians can be transformed into an entrepreneurial opportunity; thus the birth of service industry which we are so proud of and has been fetching us money; market growth and helping many of us to lead a decent standard of living.

The service industry started with IT and spread its horizon across medical, knowledge, biotechnology, banking, finance, law......Are we really hospitable? Are we service oriented? Indians are known to be polite, understanding and serve with care. Well, take another look Maybe the commercialization has ripped our quality of its sheen.

No one has time and the resource to channelize; at least in the after sales/service sector. Its all candy and honey when you first try to acquire a new product - be it internet service, a new car or a telephone connection. You are promised freebies, assistance at any hour of the day and other sweet-nothings. The marketing guys must be spending time in grooming their communication etiquette and learning the art of charming.

Once the money reaches their hands; thats that. You are at their mercy to get things working. "Sir, I am just sales, I dont know technical things. My customer service will get back to you". Numerous calls to the customer service, each time talking to a different person and trying to explain your problem beginning with history is sure going to wear you out. When 'they' trust their computer database history records more than the trust on fellow human beings, its more of walking on nails.Numerous follow-ups before you buy a product and not even a corpse to care after you have bought them! They behave as if they are doing you a favor and you dont have a choice but at their mercy.

Its obvious that the chunk of their funds goes in hiring famous celebrities to market their product. When it comes to customer service, it takes a U-turn. Incapable agents, poor communication, commitment less and more. Raise a complaint and they raise a ruckus! The service person attending to you is going to take it personally and try to convince you with a "Mistakes do happen". I wonder if such lax attitude is allowed when Indian service companies serve offshore clients? I have heard of stories when these executives get abused by clients at the first chance of knowing they are being attended to by Indians.

An after sales service is as important as selling a product. Its not a favor or a charity but part of business. You not only pay for the product but for services as well. Not to blame the executives but the policy of companies have to be changed. Why are these companies not giving importance to service as they give it to marketing?

There are reasons. We are not taken seriously. The "I'll adjust" attitude - they can get away. The service policy is not defined and if defined not adhered to. Mistake is not theirs alone. How about us? Give us a penny and we rob the bank!. Dont we take advantage of anything free?

Imagine having a 90 day return policy as in USA? What would we do? Each one knows the answer. Somehow its ironical that the best service industry is in India and we cater to the world when we cannot cater to our needs.

House to Home

2011-05-03T15:19:00.000+05:30

Last couple of months were tiring. It was then that I realized what does it mean when people say "making a home". Apart from your sweat and blood that goes into it without saying, the feeling of your own nest, personal and private is an emotional affair. There is no sweeter cake than having your own home; even if you have been fortunate enough to inherit from your parents. Though that sort of fortune was not bestowed upon, I am thankful it did not happen that way.

Else how can one know what goes into making a home or the experiences gained out of it? How else would one appreciate how talented the workforces are whom we label as menial? The electrician who quickly solves the puzzling circuit or the plumber who figures out how the fancy nuts and bolts work. The painter's and the carpenter's hard work to make the house aesthetic.

The joy which is going to remain forever when you choose and plan carefully each and every minute detail of the interiors; personalize it and then you realize the emotions it involves. A friend in the early stages told me not to get emotionally attached with the house. If you get a good price, sell it and move on". Makes sense, yet when you get a sense of belonging, you do want to make it the best; which you can relate to and then it becomes a HOME.

Started planning for interiors 2 months ago and finally its done. Wanted it to be tasteful but simple and elegant. Umpteen visits to numerous shops to choose the furniture, lights, fittings, curtains, drapes and other stuffs, tiring and hectic yet refreshing and joyful. Home finally done. Here are few pictures.

Master Bedroom

Second bedroom

Living room

My favorite piece - Crystal Chandelier

Kitchen

Dining Area

My collectibles from Costa Rica and Mauritius; did not find a place initially; later placed them all in the partition underneath the glass of the dining table.

One of the balconies.

For keepsakes and by popular demand :-D

PS : Thanks Amrit for encouraging me to write about my home and for suggesting the Post Title :-)