Archan's World - Right Here Right Now

Small Glimpses of Shanghai

2009-05-14T21:58:00.009+05:30

A Sneak Peak of the MRI

2009-04-05T12:44:00.007+05:30

One of the snaps taken of my left knee..
taken from the NMC Radiology Unit @ Deira.

Its a nice output to see for myself, after being strapped and pushed inside one of those gigantic Philips scanning machines humming at 50 decibels.. and put through 1.25 hours of intense boredom and a equally severe urge to move a muscle, lift the leg or simply scratch my backside to stop the itching. Why was that a problem? I was warned "Dont move a muscle. Even if you move an eyelid, the scan time goes up by 10 minutes". Now thats called Negative Reinforcement.

10 Days in the UAE ..

2009-01-16T20:52:00.000+05:30

Us with the Abu Dhabi Corniche as the backdrop..

At the Madinat Jumeirah with the Burj Al Arab behind

On the way to the Jebel Hafeet summit

Tired after the shopping at Ibn Battuta

Neha at the Dubai Marina ..

At the Hult College Campus

In the Church during the Christmas Day mass

Cake cutting before that... .

This is a nice yet one of the pretty low key songs rendered by Jagjit Singh

मैं भूल जाऊं तुम्हे - Jagjit सिंह

मैं भूल जाऊं तुम्हे, अब यही मुनासिब है,

मगर भुलाना भी चाहूं तो किस तरह भूलूं?

मगर मगर भुलाना भी चाहूं तो किस तरह भूलूं ,

के तुम तो फिर भी हकीकत हो कोई ख्वाब नहीं.

यहाँ तो दिल का यह आलम है क्या कहूं ,

(कमबख्त)... भुला सका न यह वो सिलसिला जो था ही नहीं।

भुला सका न यह वो सिलसिला जो था ही नहीं,

वो एक ख़याल जो आवाज़ तक गया ही नहीं।

वो एक बात जो मैं कह कहीं सका तुमसे,

वो एक रब्त जो हम्मे कभी रहा ही नहीं।

मुझे है याद वो सब जो कभी हुआ ही नहीं...

अगर यह हाल है दिल का , तो कोई समझाए

अगर यह हाल है दिल का , तो कोई समझाए,

तुम्हे भुलाना भी चाहूं तो किस तरह भूलूं?

के तुम तो फिर हकीकत हो कोई ख्वाब नहीं..

के तुम तो फिर हकीकत हो कोई ख्वाब नहीं॥

* ------- *

A chance revisit of my Cusine-al roots

2008-07-12T11:55:00.001+05:30

Venue :
6 Ballygunge Place , Koramangala, Bangalore..

Attendees : 3
Cost : 1235 /- ( excluding tip)..

Entree :

Topshe Maach Bhaja ( Batter Fried Mango Fish)
Aamer Chutney ( Mango Chutney on the table.. small sliced mango marmalade)
Papad ( Poppadums)

Drinks:

Aam Pora Sharbat ( a roasted green mango sherbet )
A blue berry-ish mocktail.. (named 2/6 Biren Roy Road.. after Sourav Ganguly's residence)

Main Course ::

a) The First Round!!

Steam Rice ........ with
Chital Macher Peti Roast ( Clown Knife Fish with gravy)..
Bhanpa Elish ( Steamed Hilsa in Mustard paste) ..
Tomato Chutney ( Tomato chutney with Dates and raisins)..

b) And the Second..

Loochi .... ( Deep fried flatbreads of maida ( fine wheat flour) ... ) .. with
Kosha Mangsho .. ( Dry (gravied) Bengali Lamb )..

Dessert:
Channar Malpoa ( Small pancakes made using reduced milk and cottage cheese dripped with syrup, crunchy at the ends, served hot and topped with dollops of vanilla icecream)..

Savouries:
Some assortment of mitha paan ( sweet betel leaf preparations) , and flavoured supari ( betelnut) , sweet fennel
Timeless pictures of Amitabh Bachhan going out to bat at the Eden, Sunny Gavaskar , Pele at the Salt Lake Stadium in front of a packed crowd, a young Sourav Ganguly, Victoria Memorial, of Satyajit Ray and Mother Teresa..

Bliss!!!!

Period .

Coorg During the Rains...

2008-06-30T10:55:00.004+05:30

Dates - 26th to 28th June, 2008..
Venue : Coorg and Mysore..

These are the photos only from my DigiC.. Ashish bhaiiya's camera contains much more..

Tuskers passing through a tribal village in Nagarhole.. ( we found some chained ones further ahead as well)..

Bisecting the predator and its prey (View this image in its full resolution.. and you'll understand why).. .

A couple of deer just shot across the road we were travelling on and disappeared through the bushes.. When we stopped at the location.. (His Majesty) was crouching just at the clearance ( roughly 20 meters .. waiting for us to leave.. so that he could carry on his pursuit.. Pretty surreal 5 minutes..

A herd of deer some distance away from the Tiger spotting location..

We saw a tribal village with a very old lady ( alteast an octogenarian) walking barely 1/2 a km from the tiger's location.. Its amazing how humans and the wild co-exist in the sanctuary..

Freshly plucked coffee.. ( we captured the whole machine line for coffee production.. ) .. will upload the photo when I find it..

Streams on the way to Irpu falls..

( Ankur , Shipra and Ashish )

Mornings at the Chinmayee Home Stay ( close to Madikeri)

Neha and Archan :: Abbey Falls is the backdrop.

At Abbey Falls : the whole Bachha gang except Aditi..

From left to right: Ashish Bhaiyya, Aanchal Bhabhi, Myself, Shipra, Neha and Ankur

Close-up of a recoiling snail, while on the trek back from Abbey...

Ankur against the panoramic setting of Coorg valley

Aditi presents a poignant picture alongside the falling mist at Talacauvery, as others join her after the trip to the temple.

Beside one of the gargoyles at Talacauvery, the water body believed to be the source of the Cauvery river..

Wonder why we had the umbrella up?

Feeding the Rabbits at Nisargadhama

The Hanging Bridge walk at NisargaDhama... with Ankur and Shipra having their share of fun...

The Namdroling Monastery at Bylakuppe..
Huge 50 Feet Golden Statues of 3 Budhhas of various eons.

Shipra and me underneath the photos of the current Lamas and Rinpoches..

Papa outside home stay.. in front of our journey vehicle..

Raga Bhatiyar - Since morning time..

2008-04-17T12:21:00.006+05:30

The Bhatiyar Raga, one of the more beautiful yet simple ragas I've heard is on my mind today since morning..

Knowing zilch on the grammar of Hindustani Classical music doesn't help when it comes to understanding the finer points, but so many of the Raga based songs that I discover are some of my all time favorites amongst the popular songs, and linking them to the raga, definitely helps, well atleast for me..

The details just for the more musically learned/inclined, even though there are dozens of epages on the subject.
Thaat ( Major Classification) : Marwa
Time of the Day : Dawn
Aaroha ( Ascending Scale) : S-r-S,S-m,P-G,M-D-S'
Avaroha (Descending scale) : S'-r'-N-D-P,D-P-m,P-G-r-S
Pakad (Generally accepted phrase) : S-D,m-P-G,P-G-r-S

Here is my R&D on the raaga ( Limiting to only the songs Ive heard before)..

Starting with one which any Doordarshan old timer would know.. The Rashtirya Saksharta ( National Literacy) Mission's "Purab Se Surya Uga" rendering of Kavita Krishnamurthy.. I think the raga fits fantastically to the cause and even to its video theme. It has both shades of the early morning freshness, the lively chirping and excitement for the day/future ahead, as well as undercurrent pining for something or the melancholic acknowledgment of some event that has gone by or is yet impending..

Purab Se Surya Uga

Here is Manna Dey's "Eki Apurba Prem" , one of my top favorites of MD songs.. q

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Track details

eSnips Social DNA

The last is the correct ( classical) representation of the raga by Kankana Banerjee ( which I found on the net)

Bhatiyar by Kankana Banerjee

A few glimpses of Switzerland

2008-04-15T12:53:00.005+05:30

One of the long distance trains at Oerlikon Station..

Chess Boards at the Community Area.. It was fun to be able to see 8-10 games being played together.. Most of the people though were regulars .. but you could occasionally catch a father teaching his 6 year old a move or two..

The less said the better... the Adult theater just opposite my hotel..
And it always had a FULL HOUSE board in the evenings when I walked back from office..

Just Outside the Lucerne Art Festival... I couldnt get the tickets for the last show before my train back to Zurich

One of the performance areas at the Zurich Steet Parade.. Its supposedly the biggest walking parade in the world. Pretty nice experience, though I didn't want to venture out much after sunset...

Looming mountains, the bluest skies, cascading clouds, towering trees, tiled rooftops, lush carpet meadows, gurgling brooks, shiny pebbles.. this has it all

On the way to Mt. Titlis , Switzerland. My
excursion on the only weekend I had..

Still a long way to reach the top... There were three different ropeways to reach the destination and the most suprising thing was that.. they had traveller's instructions written in Hindi !!

Not bad.. not to mention that the Indian National Anthem could be played alongside others at the summit.

Office Desk.... Just after office hours... so dont mind the dim lighting..

The bull outside our Office... - The building's aptly named "Toro"

An inspection done before Mallya clinched the deal... The Spyker'07

Another view of the beautiful landscape..

Some verses from schooltime..

2008-04-04T09:49:00.011+05:30

Trying out my first transliterated post , with this Hindi poem "Hum Panchhi Unmukt Gagan Ke" translated literally as "We birds, of the open skies". This is by SumitraNandan Pant , and I guess we had read this somewhere in our 7th-8th class school course books, and is probably one of the only 2-3 I remember still...

( Attempted translation will follow later.. )

हम पंछी उन्मुक्त गगन के ....

हम पंछी उन्मुक्त गगन के,
पिंजर बंध न गा पायेंगे,
कनक तीलियों से टकराकर,
पुलकित पंख टूट जायेंगे ..

हम बहता जल पीने वाले,
मर जायेंगे भूखे प्यासे,
कहीं भली है कटुक निबोरी,
कनक कटोरी की मैदा से ..

स्वर्ण श्रृंखला के बन्धन में,
अपनी गति उड़ान सब भूले,
बस सपनो में देख रहे हैं,
तरु की फुंगी, पर के झूले ..

ऐसे थे अरमान कि उड़ते,
नील गगन की सीमा पाने,
लाल किरण सी चोंच खोल,
चुगते तारक, अनार के दाने ..

होती सीमा हीन शितिज से,
इन पंखो की होडा-होडी,
या तो क्षितिज मिलन बन जाता,
या तंती साँसों की डोरी..

नीड़ न दो, चाहे टहनी का,
आश्रय छिन्न-भिन्न कर डालो,
लेकिन पंख दिए हैं तो,
आकुल उड़ान में विघ्न न डालो

- सुमित्रानन्दन पन्त

The Great Pan India War - In today's Terms

2008-03-25T17:36:00.008+05:30

"Shatasahasri Samhita" - or "the collection of a hundred thousand verses", thats what some scholars call the Mahabharata...

I remember reading the unabridged Bengali versions at home, post my 10th class exams. The exercise would have taken me a couple of months, considerably expedited by the fact that I just skimmed though all the Parvas (books/episodes) after the Sauptik one ( The Sleeping Warriors Book) , which was where the war had ended, with the banishment of Ashwathhama.

At that age, who would have wanted to hear about rebuilding, political and social science lectures, Vanaprastha ( retirement to forests and penance as a way of life) and the subsequent journey by Yudhisthira to the path of righteousness.. For me, everyone died, the Pandavas got the empire, lived happily ever after and finito.

Even though the story perhaps still ends there for me, I now distinctly see the relevance of each of those books, and the essence of the elders and the pathbreakers come to the fore, just later, from Veda Vyasa (religious, social and geographical ) , Dhritarashtra (Administration and Duties of a king) , Bheeshma (kartavya nishtha - duty boundedness and societal norms) , Dronacharya (Defence), Vidura ( Political Science) and Sri Krishna ( Hinduism - as a way of life) . Just a small look ( with whatever little the power of understanding without the needed guidance I have of the subjects), makes me feel how relevant the learnings are to the current world, just how timeless they can be, and exactly how devoid of race, culture, religion or place they are. Its truly fantastic.

I dont know how many of our generation or the next ones would believe, read or learn from the Mahabharata. Even as I acknowledge the power of its institution, for the fact that it has withstood the test of time, not just during the non documented era, where Gurus have passed wisdom, knowledge or new thoughts over word of mouth, paintings, or hymns and folk songs, to brittle manuscripts or even through the most brutal and systematic attack on books/teachings/learned persons and libraries that our nation has faced with the advent of nomads, barbarians or powerful religio - militaristic regimes since the 11th century to now.

Friends do say that, there are educational institutions and organizations constantly trying to revive what has been lost, and thats maybe a bit relaxing.
We have lost almost all of our scientific documents on medicine, health, irrigation, life sciences, (even aeronautics and astronomy). Just the news that Tibetans have agreed to research on the thousands of books on their ancient script that were copied from Sanskrit manuscripts from our great Universities, is heartening, and we know about how strictly the Chinese guard their copies of the same, given that they had to withstand similar persecution for half a millennium.
Reading the Mahabharata in its current form anyways doesn't compare with the wealth of knowledge lost that I am talking about, but even a casual browse through of what it has to offer, and its references to what could have been, its in itself so invigorating and enlightening.

If you wish to read the Mahabharata in its literal English translation Read up Kisari Mohan Ganguly's

On a lighter note, also try doing this. Imagine the kingdoms during Mahabharata superimposed over the current geographical demarcations, and stretch your indulgence to superimpose these great mythical figures over the common stereotypes associated with the region. The results you get are sometimes pretty funny.

I did a short trial myself on Wiki and here are my findings:

Person - Current Location he would have Hailed From

Veda Vyas - (Island in Yamuna Inside UP, Currently Kalpi)!
Pandu/Dhritarashtra - From Meerut !
Gandhari / Shakuni ( Peshawar , Pakistan to Taxila, East Afghanistan)
Kunti ( Could be anywhere from Java ( Jambudwipa) in South East Asia , to Central Rajasthan to Gujarat.
Madri / Shalya ( Tamilian settled in Sialkot !! Wow what a Combo !! Imagine Karunanidhi speaking Punjabi) !!
Jayadratha - (Sindhi )
Dronacharya/Ashwatthama ( From Dehradoon, Himachal Pradesh)

Krishna / Satyaki / Kritavarma /Subhadra ( UP guys migrated to Gujarat.. See its been going on since ages.. and you blame Raj Thakeray)
Karna (from Jharkhand or a Bong ! Haha ! (if you see where he ruled).. )
Shishupal ( from Bundelkhand , MP)
Jarasandha ( Rajgir, Bihar)
Bhagadatta ( Assamese)
Chitrangada ( Manipur)
Dhrupad / Dhrishtadyumna/Draupadi ( Kanpur/Benaras, UP)
Kichaka / Virat ( Jaipur, Rajasthan)
Ulupi ( Manipur)
Sudakshina ( Iranian(?)s from Hindukush)
Sampsaptakas ( Jalandhar Punjab !)

Ofcourse , you could extrpolate this a bit further by imagining Sita as being north Bihari or Nepali , claim that Sugreeva and Hanuman were the chaps from Hampi, Karnataka, or maybe that Ravana shared his fav. place Kandy with Muralidharan, but I guess, I'll let it rest here..

Currently on the Jukebox - "Dhadhar thekeo Jotil Tumi ( " Youre more complex than a riddle") - Jhora Shomoy, Mohiner Ghoraguli

My new muse

2008-03-14T16:52:00.000+05:30

One of the wedding gifts, that I did manage to carry back to Bangalore..

The Apple iPod Classic ..

This one is the 80 GIG variant...

I have stored my life's savings ( 16 Gigs of sound) in it and melady hasn't even burped yet..

Next on the dumping agenda is some good movies , though I must admit, are not totally great to watch on the screen,..

but...

amazing quality of sound..
really good categorizations..
good browsing technology..
good online support....
pretty robust.. though the shiny steely back cover is hypersensitive to scratches..

The covers I saw in Bangalore are pretty mediocre.. and the Apple Stores here sell outdated stuff... or really over priced ones... I was wishing to buy one of the "Socks" covers.. but that arent available in India as well..

All in all, a really good companion, and I hope I decrease the usage to normal levels quickly... or I would get some hearing ailment for sure..

Cheers!

Currently on the iPod - "Let Me Entertain You" - Robbie Williams

Snapshots of the wedding!!

2008-02-11T23:59:00.010+05:30

The Venue - Surajmal Vihar
Date - 11th February 2008

~7:30 pm. We arrive.

Neha under the Canopy of Flowers

After the Garlanding

Us during the Marriage - Havan

With Ankur - during meeting everyone after the wedding

The 4 Deg Celcius Photo shoot at 11:30 pm!!

Engagement Day

2007-11-11T22:53:00.000+05:30

The Venue: Phoolwari, Pragati Maidan, N Delhi

The Occasion

The Moment:

Here we are :-)

"Speculation"

2007-04-24T11:32:00.000+05:30

Gulshan Ki Faqat - Saba Afghani - Ghazal rendering by Jagjit Singh - Desires (1994?)

- Apologies for the poetic license and just the daring to try and translate. Comments and suggestions welcome.

The beauty of a garden, is as much in its thorns, as in the bloom,
Likewise, required for the essence of life, is sorrows too alongside fortune..

Aye Ignorant Preacher, prophesize your sole day of resurrection,
Here its everyday that the eyes meet, here its resurrection everyday..

He comes to enquire for the gloom, do I tell ? or persist my restrain?
'Cause to keep silent is tormenting, but to reveal means to complain..

So I must, bear the agony, must I swallow these tears..
For to lament and to grouse, oh nescient, is sure the insult of love..

What wets your heart o Saba , is just water, dont call them tears
Those that dont spill over the eyes, are the ones who deserve the name..

From:

Gulshan ki faqat phoolon se nahin kaaton se bhi zeenat hoti hai,
jeene ke liye is duniya mein gham ki bhi zaroorat hoti hai.

Ae waaiz-e-naadan karta hai tu ek qayamat ka charcha,
yahan roz nigahen milti hain yahan roz qayamat hoti hai.

Wo pursish-e-gham ko ayae hain kuch keh na sakoon chup reh na sakoon,
khaamosh rahoon to mushkil hai keh doon to shikaayat hoti hai.

Karna hi padega zabt-e-alam peene hi padenge ye aansoo,
fariyaad-o-fugaan se aey naadaan tauheen-e-mohabbat hoti hai.

Jo aake ruke daaman pe ‘Saba’ wo ashq nahin hai paani hai,
jo ashq na chhalke aankhon se us ashq ki keemat hoti hai.

Azzuri , Fed Ex and some good ol' friends

2006-07-10T11:55:00.000+05:30

My side of the stadium ...

The kick that sealed it all.. Barthez wrong footed by Grosso..

And the kick that wasnt to be.. David Trezeguet's bar hitter.. ..

Cannavaro's cup of joy !

And Federer's !! a 6-0 , 7-6 , 6-7 , 6-3 victory..

The Azzuri celebrating with their cup !

And We with ours...

The Schedules of life

2006-06-10T00:25:00.001+05:30

Just back from watching the world cup inaguration match.. Germany vs. Costa Rica.
Twas my first experience watching football with people of various nationalities in a foreign land. The pub was good, the screen was big, people around seemed to be enjoying the match, and one could overhear the expert comments flowing alongside the varied brands of beer at the tables.
Manuel, my German friend is happy the Germans won 4-2, 2 solid long distance goals, show that the German offense is pretty strong even with Michael Ballack , being benched due to injury.. The problem everybody saw pretty clearly was the sub standard nature of their defence, as of now it looks that if they dont strengthen their fortress, the bigger teams are sure to take a heavy toll.

My Dad has mailed me the Fifa World Cup Excel Sheet with the comprehensive goals and points tally charts, schedules and groupings, it will be more difficult to catch the proceedings in India, since most of them will be late night hours.. But who cares..

I have browsed to the schedule itenirary and earmarked the must see ones.. Lets see how it goes.. I am still the eternal Argentina favorite.. though I must admit , Germany, Italy and Argentina my three favs have fielded some of their weakest teams ever..

Around 8 hours from now, at about 4 in the morn, I would have to board the taxi to take me to Dublin airport. Thats a pretty bad schedule itself, cause I really am not in a state to wake up at 3 in the morning and feel good about it. .What simplifies things is ofcourse the fact that you have sunlight here by 4:30.. so maybe the unhourly feelings are a bit diminished .. The next flight is from Frankfurt., and thats the closest I will get to the World Cup. I dont know how it would be at the airport , maybe noise crowded and electric, but then , am internally wishing one of my flights develops a techinical snag and then the German authorities have to hand me a day long visa and a ticket to the next game..

Maybe that would also save me a day in Delhi.. where the Mercury levels are still hovering around 40.. Here in Dundalk, Ireland.. its around 18 -22 degs.. are people are already oooh-aah ing at how hot it is.. I just hope I can tackle the extremes being climatized to the Cooler climes of Bangalore.. Summer visits to Delhi are always a bad idea.. but then anything is okay for your loved ones..

Not the usual blog that I write , but the mind is in the I , ME , MYSELF state , an average of 14 hours a day of work the last 5 weeks takes its toll doesnt it.. I am sure all will agree.. I have enjoyed , my weekends.. been to Dublin, yeah, yet again, but also roamed about some sections of the west coast of ireland.. some of the loveliest places I have seen.. I guess that has saved me from the extreme exhaustion.. or the kind of numbness I am feeling now.. Yesterday it will till 2:30 am.. working hard to run my software.. to make the electonics respond, to make the huge machinery chug, and hum and rattle. and all in all get favorable results..
It has been tough and I cant say I am fully satisfied..The target was to meet the major milestone, a Phase end , and I have surpassed the scheduled end dates by a long way.. but no one in my team can complain about lack of effort atleast..

Its 1 week in Delhi.. well 9 days. My old bedroom and my Mother's cooking awaits me..
I need to recharge , to reinvigorate myself.. to just come back to life.. Probably just take it easy for some time.. Just do nothing..

And when I am done by that time. it would be time to face the world again ..

Currently on the jukebox -
"Ram Teri Ganga Maili Ho Gayi.. Paapiyon ke Paap dhote Dhote " !!!!!!! (its actually a lovely song.. hear the esraaj tune up with Lata's voice)
- Ram Teri Ganga Maili - 1986 - Lata Mangeshkar / Suresh Wadekar.. (Ravindra Jain)

The heavens ... at County Donegal , Ireland

2006-05-29T14:51:00.000+05:30

At the Glencolumbkille Slieve League cliffs..

Sheep at Kilcar , Donegal..

Somewhere in the middle of nowhere

Bad attempt at a Dil Chahta Hai style shoot in Carrcik / GlenColumbkille

County Fermanagh, beside Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, UK

Looking below the 350 m cliffs ..

Staring at the Atlantic , (its past 9 pm now )

Mere yaar ki shaadi.. .( And I wasnt there)

2006-05-24T19:55:00.001+05:30

16th April 2006, Ranchi

The Long Wait..

There she comes..

Yes.. I finally made it :)

God save her !!

Its my turn , its my turn !!

"No Kislay, not so early !!! Dont get any ideas , I am not looking at you "

Pose for the respective side Camera Man

Back in Ireland

2006-05-16T18:26:00.000+05:30

12 days of delaying,
Innumerable phone calls to the consulate,
Dozens of flight re-schedules,
Many apartment rebookings,
Countless delayed meetings,
Getting drenched in the 2 hour Bangalore rain,
Broken down conveyances, Overcharged Auto-Rickshaw Bills,
7 hours of waiting at Delhi Airport with a pathetic Air India Breakfast and the ever increasing heat,
2 hours of standing at the Frankfurt Lufthansa Ticketing column for Reshesduling my missed connecting flight,
and a 6 hours delay in reaching my apartments later.....

I am back in Ireland.

Bangalore's dream residential complex??

2006-05-10T11:19:00.001+05:30

Since the last 3-4 months , I have been roaming the interiors and outskirts of Bangalore hoping for a good deal for my own chunk of land in the Goldmine called Bangalore..

From 3 bedroom houses, 30 kms away to 80 Lac Penthouses, from 9th floor apartments flats that give you a panoramic view of the IT city to houses that can allow a sneak-peek into the neighbor's bedroom 3.5 feet away..

The Pool side at the Palm Meadows

Sometime in the middle of this, my attentions shifted to owning land, and maybe building my dream house myself.. but here too the stats are very crazy, the deals far more vague and dangerous and the lack of visible cues that surely add to the discomfort. You were used to seeing the owner talk tall tales of Land appreciation and unbuilt 80 feet roads to Metro stations to Circular City Rail faster than the Bangalore Development could even imagine. The best part always used to be the castle building exercise of any plot right in the middle of nowhere, and you would end up arguing 15 or 16 Lacs beside the cow that would be cheerfully enjoying the conversation, with a tuft of grass it would have just denuded from your to-be-property, in its mouth.

"Tavern Something"?? Dont remember the name

Language problems, Tall Promises, False claims, Mental hassles, or just the distance of it all, made me think, of a prebuilt house, at not so close , yet close portions of the city.. The work's still in progress, and to tell the truth ,
the trials and tribulations havent lessened by an inch, yet when my company wished me to attend a conference in Palm Meadows, one of the first and poshest Row House, 50% utility land residential complex, believe me, the conference agenda was the last thing on my mind, when we entered the club house for Breakfast at 7 am

real..

Palm Meadows is barely 2 kms from Marathahalli. Maybe around 15-20 mins from the airport. This is not an advertisement or real estate review blog and I am sure you would find dozens of links on the net, there are even blogs of people talking about their homes. So I will spare you the cost / benefit analysis and other paraphernalia.

Anyways, 2-4 crore villas are surely out of reach for the non-genius next-doorlike, non-industrialist lineaged, non decades-expat experienced, dermatologically "brown" classified like me. But the day long experience was worth it. The place looked like the proverbial Hollywood celeb locality, and though I ve seen farm houses or Posh localities in Delhi, but this had the additional flavor, the typical
Bangalorean setting. Lovely spic and span houses, with manicured lawns and trees bending on the weight of their blossom. Clean pedestrian Walkways, and Driveways, with precision planted palm trees, and villas all around you with the similar architecture/feel bringing with it a sense of one-ness. Even Bangalore's typical cumulus cloud setting that you normally overlook during your everyday motions looked picturesque.

"Sorry, Sir - This is a without permission photo of your place.. "

We started our conference on time, and the tea sessions and the food were pretty good, though the wireless internet connection wasnt the best you would find and intermittent power outages (which would make you switch to the energy saving light profile in the club house) made you realize that sometimes even the rich and the powerful cant escape the pressing common problems of the nation, well atleast in some minimal way.

What immediately strikes you though is the stark contrast which the place shows you. You have these multi-millionaire villas and CEO residences, yet , the place is filled with the worker men, in their thatch-settlement garbs, working accross the road, mowing the lawn or just maybe standing outside the gate. Where ever you saw, there were splendid villas, yet the people , were just workers going about their work, doing some chore, or just standing in attention, the odd Hero Cycle commuting beside the parked cars, as if it was a world where houses ruled humans and made them maintain themselves, where the houses were fashion worthy and the people out of it :) and it was the most conspicuous aspect.

A view from the top

Even before you enter the premises, you go through low-economic zones and then across a small railway line.. the middle- class slums- Huge cities being constructed by Purvankara overnight, columns and columns and columns of 20 storey - ish apartments, stacked one after the other, which are maybe selling for 40 lacs a piece without any visual assurance of any supporting infrastructure, roads or schools or parks or community centres, and here just 1 km and a wall away, was this peaceful, picturesque setting, a BMW here and a merc there, with 3 helpers and gym or pool and the garden to sit and breath the same air that the construction workers breathe as they sweat about building a like minded dream house of some other resident of the city, and within his strength and finances.

My mind was occupied in the intricacies of the task at hand in the seminar, but then, I took some time away to click some photos and collect some from others.

Mr. Gopalakrishna at the conference

On the way back, waiting for our conveyance to start back to our destination, as the sun was speeding its downward journey, I looked through the bus window to see a father collecting dozens of tennis balls and throwing them to his 3-4 year old daughter holding her racquet across the astro turfed lawn tennis court. It was Saturday evening time and it seemed the realization of one of my dreams itself, the setting , the place, the pastime , (even the cute little kid ;-) ) . Though maybe heritage, color, overseas bank balances , or exponential successes arent my forte.. though maybe the 40 Lakh apartment on the 6th floor still seems an expense too many, on seeing those dream houses, thankfully my dreams and wishes didnt undergo a reality check , that evening... They still are the same, :) and I am still striving for them.. Wish to realize them, somewhere... someday...

Currently on the juke box - "Dry County" - Bon Jovi..

The Real Youth Icon... ....

2006-05-05T11:45:00.003+05:30

Sania, Anju, Dhoni , Dravid, Sidhu, John Abraham,Priyanka Chopra, some Abhijeet Sawant, Vijay Mallya, Narayana Murthy ((??? Duh), .. whatever.. Watched some Music Channel advertising about its doling out Youth Icon Awards the other day.. They encourage you to vote for who you think is the best icon of current India.. Not a bad exercise, and if this really is an unbiased / non politicised/ bit-scientific poll then I would definitely like to see who emerges the winner.

Through most of my student life , there has only been one Indian icon the whole of India used to look forward to.. Sachin Tendulkar. We were used to watch with bated breath, each shot he played, each movement he made, each four he hit or even each ball he bowled. I have banged plastic bottles together with the junta screaming "Saaachin Saaachin " , me and my friends have danced when he proved his genius with the Two centuries versus the Aussies in Sharjah, we have tested each other's mettle on the minutest of details of his cricketing career, it was almost a shame to not know the critical stats, his averages, his records and his glorifying moments. From the century amongst the ruins in Perth in 1991-92 , to his bowling in the Hero cup to his captaincy to his overtaking records to more recently about his change of batting styles, to injuries, nothing more could instigate passion, joy, cheer, wonder, disappointment, anger, frustration and pride throughout the whole nation.

So have the scales really changed?
Maybe they have , I dont see the same euphoria generated by Sachin anymore. Ofcourse, long gone are the days , when the dismissal of Sachin meant we had to switch off the TV Sets . There are many more people to do the job, win it for India, with him, or even without him.. There are many more swashbucklers, more technically-correct batsmen too, more finishers of the game, or just more people to cheer on..

Nowadays, the charm of cricket is not the same, for the teenage generation , as it was maybe a decade before.. There are far more avenues for entertainment or otherwise, and cricket many a time does take a backseat.. Its therefore logical that we look forward to icons from various circles of life (apart from the conventional cricket and films spheres) , and this also signifies the growing health and power of our society.

But, has it really changed that much?

"Even off the field, the "Master Blaster" has come to symbolize the qualities all middle class Indians - and advertisers - love: shy, reserved, humble, a loving husband, a doting father. He is not only one of the most outstanding cricketers in the world today, he possesses qualities that distinguish all great champions - sincerity, determination and an indomitable drive to excel. Tendulkar's appeal cuts across all ages and transcends boundaries,"

You might find huge cheers for our girl Sania, but do you really view her as the role model?
Do conventional good looks, huge scientific achievements, 30 horses and a billions heavy bank account, or just 6 pack abs make you the role model for the nation?
Does the new found wit and sense of humor easily override a once slapped murder charge?
Or does being the odd honorary member or President of a jazzy Task Force (where you did nothing when you were earning the pounds) qualify?

According to spokespersons in Fiat

"In Sachin Tendulkar we found the perfect brand champion. Sachin is dynamic, full of life, young, energetic, dependable, a winner and a true role model. This fits our product profile and complements our endeavour to present the new face of Fiat India to our customers.’’

Its another thing to compare the Success of Palio's launch by Sachin and the Failure of the Versa Launched by Amitabh, but the analysis is far too complex.

Anyways, all this is fine. Each individual has his / her own perception at looking at things. Interests, aims, age, region, money and education of the individual himself are critical factors that make him/her decide his role model. Moreover, you can have multiple icons / role models , cant you?

The amusing factor to me however is that, inspite of these multiple luminaries, that the young ( and the not so young look forward to..) nowadays, the pecking order when it comes to Corporate/Market salebility and Brand quotient has remained the same all these years . The three biggies still rule the roost.. Amitabh, Shahrukh and Sachin.

I would guess that maybe the corporate think-tanks know the real benchmarks for a role model, themselves, they know what appeals to the masses really, who excites them, instills emotions, or who is the most convincing to the masses when it comes to your product.

Which is why it is Sachin and Sachin only , repeateadly, after all these 16-17 years, after back problems, tennis elbows and shoulder surgeries and accusations of not being able to play the same way he used to anymore, of his transformation from the demi-god to the error-prone and hence a normal human..

Maybe as they say, Sachin is not just a multi-brand ambassador , he is himself a brand.

Its amazing how much Sachin still earns off the field, It all started with 1992-3 Action Shoes ad with Kapil with the endorsement fee of Rs 100,000.
Others like Fiat, Britannia, Pepsi, Visa, MRF, Boost, Philips, Colgate, Adidas,TVS followed
TV Channels ESPN-STAR Sports (Rs 120 million) and Sahara cashed in. Lifestyles, Food , clothing, all industries have tried to reap in their harvests, in more ways then one, examples like a 60% stake in Tendulkar's are known to all.

The Multimillion Dollar Contracts??
1995 - 2000 - WorldTel, Mark Mascarenhas - a $7 M (Rs 30 Crore in 5 years)
2000 - 2005 - WorldTel, Mark Mascarenhas (Renewal) - $17 M (~Rs 100 Crore for 5 years)
2006 - 2009 - Publicis Groupe (World's 4th largest Advt Company) - $40m for a 3 year Contract -extensible to another 3 years.

All of these deals have invariably two basic things in common - of being the biggest ever endorsement deals of their times - and ...

and Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

A New Addition to My Family

2006-04-28T15:07:00.000+05:30

Well , Two of my friends accounted for almost 10 hours a day of my time the last..
2.5 years.. Guess what, a new one joined them last week..

Behold, My New T43 Thinkpad .. :) The left one :) .. Me's pretty happy..

The typical specs that you find in laptops now.. but then its the lightest laptop in its size and peers that I could find..

Cool Stuff, No?

Currently on the Jukebox - "Soldier of Fortune" - Ritchie Blackmore, Candice Night - Blackmore's Night

The day Bangalore burnt - My view on Dr. Rajkumar's funeral frenzy

2006-04-15T12:17:00.000+05:30

Here are the scenes I saw and heard on TV..

a) A Traffic Cop with a totally crushed lower leg.. The first three words are important. A Traffic cop.

b) A Police Beat cop being mercilessly thrashed by a mob.. TV Camera crews exactly posted at vantage locations to shoot all the action.. three people pinning down a policeman while the fourth aims a mid sized rock on his head.

c) A Police Mahindra DIV right in the centre of the Kanteerava Stadium.. It first shoots a Tear gas shell on a till then peacefully queued up crowd , mind you.., where some people are wanting to get out of line or something.. the crowd scatters ... it then immediately shoots another shell right in the direction where the crowds were fleeing.. The result? Utter Pandemonium., Frustration, and of course Retribution.

d) Tyres burnt In JC Road, Bellary Road, Malleswaram, Rajaji Nagar, Wilson Garden, Double Road, Residency Road, Corporation, Majestic, Sanjay Nagar, even Sadashiv Nagar.

e) All three sons of the actor crying almost hysterically, the younger son pleading over the microphones to the crowd to allow the procession to pass peacefully so that they can complete the rituals on time. The wife of the actor pleading on state television of keep calm. A Pitched battle between rioters and policemen just 100 meters away from the main vehicle. The truck carrying the tricolor wrapped body Not even an inch spared by the crowd while burying the actor.. Again TV Crews lapping up all commotion. Three sons return 5 hours later to complete the rites. TV channels claim, Rajkumar bid adieu with "full state" honors.

f) CM of Karnataka, saying on national television "Ohh this will pass as soon as the funeral is over. Right now everything is under control. I dont see any problem. We dont have enough cops since most of them are attending duties in Kerala and Tamil Nadu"

g) The whole media and cine fraternity turn up to show condolences. Lakh strong Crowds throng just to catch a glimpse of the dead celebrity.

h) A woman is walking with her child With the rest of the mob. The mob nearby tries to over turn a Tata Sumo. They succeed and are in the process of disintegrating it. The woman decides to join the fun. She leaves the child watching, smashes the window of the sumo.. Nothing is shown after that but I suspect the child was taught how to do it too..

Here is what I saw
1. A bus being stoned . An office window smashed, A Huge Angry procession, of people , chanting slogans.

2. Huge columns of Smoke billowing from a place where I later learnt was a fully functional Petrol Pump ( Or Bunk as is called here..)..

3. Loads of stones. and tyres.. People roaming around in columns and columns of bikes stopping every other passerby. Many of them had CamCorders.. and Digicams.

4. All Public vehicles, rickshaws and cars had huge posters of Rajkumar pasted

5. The first two days have no cable television to the homes. apart from Kannada channels. THey show nothing but Rajkumar's funeral telecast, his songs, mob battles and celebrities expressing condolences. From Friday , there is not a single channel showing Rajkumar, all start beaming movies and completing their soaps and game show commitments.

Here were the road side comments I heard..
a) " People were beaten mercilessly . They had to retaliate"

b) " Its an emotional issue. He was our most important icon symbolizing Kannadigas, their culture and ethos.. It was mishandled. "

c) "These are basically Tamilian hooligans. They wanted revenge for Rajkumar not supporting them on the Kaveri issue"

d) " These kind of things happen in Mumbai and Delhi too. Crowds can transform into the same demonic form anywhere in the country or the world in such times of distress. Didnt riots happen in Madrid and Paris? We see belfast in flames every other day. What happenned after Katrina? "

e) " This is the worst of Bangalore I have seen in 58 years of my life here. I liken it to the Tamil - Kannada rioting of the mid 80s. here"

f) " These are people who have come from as far as 300 kms.. They had to be given a chance to see their idol. Instead the police was oppresive, the organizer sloth, and the government un-sympathetic."

g) "We Kannadigas are very emotional people. We are a bit different from all others. Its not right to say bad things about whats happenning now. "

h) "You should have seen his resolve when Veerappan kidnapped him. He is the only actor who has repeatedly shunned political careers,or economic gains . He has worked for the upliftment of Kannadigas and preserving our culture. Annavaru (Big Brother) is a jewel for us "

i) "Its said that 100 people immolated themselves, when MGR died, if they really were fanatic fans like we have in Tamil Nadu they should have done that.. and so why burn other's property? "

j) "I am just happy I enjoyed two holidays"

k) "He died a natural death. He had no problems. He is already so old . Why on earth did these crazy rustic kannadigas have to make such a hullabaloo , damage state property, bandhs costing crores of private and government losses by the hour. ??"

l) "Crazy Piece of Sh*t. What a shame. They should have given shoot at sight orders when all this started happenning"

m) "He is greater than Amitabh Bachhan. He deserves the Bharat Ratna. "

Here is what I learnt/ have to say
1. Rajkumar was a colossal cultural icon. The Most important one for Karnataka. A career spanning from 1951 onwards with more than 230 films. A thespian actor, theatre personality, a notably humble soul and a helper of masses with a huge contribution to the average Kannadiga's lives as a role model. In a regional context, its very hard to map him to a national personality who has had such a tremendous impact, especially when societies in south india , have a very very high priority for films , theatre, and cine personalities in their everyday life, when it comes to social , communal or regional education, upliftment, changes or advances. Cine Stars are the biggest of the biggest role models in south india , and in that view its a huge loss.

2. Karnataka has a state flag? yellow and red horizontal stripes? I never knew any state had a State flag before. Or maybe all of them do :) . All crossings in Old bangalore do have these flag posts and all such flags were in half mast. The crowd had hundreds of such flags.

3. You cant build a mega city in 5 years with 100 multistoreys, Forum or Bangalore Central and expect the culture/environment to be that of one. Atleast not in India. Believe me, the 4 metropolices have far more population, area, industries, diversity, and ofcourse malls. (unless you think IT is the only industry that exists in the world) So please accept that there is still a long way to go. What people lament is that for the kind of investment that flows in this city and for the kind of taxes we pay, there is zilch infrastructure. You have swanky buildings, created by some MNCs , who suck back the cost of those buildings on their Indian 2nd grade workers within half a year.. and create flowery names of social organizations who do nothing but crib at the infrastrcuture.. "Look at Delhi and its law and order and roads now.." is the typical refrain. But apart from the roads and the other visible , tangible improvements that you want. perhaps the more important improvement is that in the mindset. Are you geared up to live in a megacity within you? Are you the real cosmopolitan? Why do we have Bomb Blasts and Water Loggings in Mumbai and the city still manages to get in shape by the evening? What makes the aam junta care for the public transport or government property in Mumbai? Why do they queue for buses or have a sort of method in their madness? (leaving aside Shiv Sainiks and the underworld of course).

4. Its not about the Tamilians or the "Northies" who have polluted Bangalore as some like to say. 5000 famililies a month's influx is not a joke and just more apartment houses from Mantri or Sobha just doesnt suffice. Your culture needs to adapt too, upon your exisiting one ofcourse. I can mention many things which can be bettered from the social aspect, but then I am a small individual, I believe I am underknowledged too and its too big a thing for me to comment on. Moreover there are similar serious negativities in all cities and states of our country.

For the Tamilians or the "Northies", just paying the taxes and blame passing isnt enough too.. Most of the outsiders treat the city as a step city. just the source of their income and nothing else.

5. Its a shame, this vandalism and all. Maybe this was just a rare occurrence , a sudden blip or But spare a thought for the extent and rapidity of collapse of law and order and the other aspects of administration . There was no sense of how to manage huge unruly masses, the police force really looked miniscule. I still feel , that the number of the policemen wasnt the real issue. They were as chaotic in their approach as the mob. and most of the city looked as if it was taken over by some rebels. Anyone could have done anything.. Whats more the politicans and celebrities were totally exposed and just protected by a single ring cordon of policemen most of the time. I dread at the thought of how easily any terrorist organization could have taken advantage of all that , had it had foreseen that high risk people would be exposed in such a way.

All these are my comments, entirely personal, so fellow bangaloreans, and Kanadigas, please vent your ire only on me, and not on my twin "super class"es of Northies or Non-Kannadigas

An accidental revisit to a loved song..

2006-04-07T20:09:00.001+05:30

Today, somewhere in-between my office work, recollecting past experiences, envisaging future plans, and living the routine of life.... I accidentally stumbled upon one of my most loved songs of all time.. I heard this after maybe a year or more.. (what the heck was I doing?)...
Amazing lyrics coupled with probably music worth making it one the best 10 English songs of the last century, just love the start, the crescendo, and Edge's typical strumming.. ..

See the stone set in your eyes,
See the thorn twist in your side.
I wait for you....

Sleight of hand and twist of fate,
On a bed of nails she makes me wait
And I wait, without you....

With or without you....
With or without you....

Through the storm, we reach the shore,
You gave it all but I want more
And I'm waiting for you....

With or without you....
With or without you....
I can't live with or without you.

And you give yourself away
And you give yourself away

And you give, And you give.... And you give yourself away.

My hands are tied, my body bruised
She got me with nothing to win
And nothing left to lose.

And you give yourself away
And you give yourself away
And you give, And you give.... And you give yourself away.

With or without you
With or without you, ohho...
I can't live
With or without you.

With or without you
With or without you
I can't live
With or without you
With or without you.

U2, I salute you..

Hogenekal ... Yercaud...... (and Bimbo) ...

2006-04-04T10:52:00.000+05:30

Hogenekal Yercaud Travelogue
Place 1: Hogenekal Falls
Place 2: Yercaud
Some Pictures taken during the trip

Till Thursday :Bangalore:: Pawan sends pics of Hogenekal falls..
Says... how would you like to revisit scenes from Ashoka? or try for yourself the famous, river boat evening scene in "Dil hai Chhota sa - Roja" ..

Archan agrees... its worth a visit.. Mridul proposes greater grander things, Mudumalai, Ooty, etc. All Agree, Plan put in place, Relatives and friends informed, (BackPacks and Other Gear fixed )..

Friday 2300:Queen's Road:: Mridul rents a car from Irfan Rental, a Grey colored, swanky looking, Tata Indica Diesel, He said he had tried for less mean machines like Santro or Swift , but that was his lucky day.. Car has just a few artistic contours on its body, showing a pretty colorful past.. but then even the moon has spots, aint it? Spots a flat tyre on his way back home.
Saturday 0450:Near Airport Road:: Mridul starts from home to pick up Pawan and Archan. Flats another tyre. Drags it to MG road where he gets the first mechanic at 0530 hours .. Pawan and Archan reach there for "moral support".

Saturday 0700:MG Road.:: Car's Ready. We are Happy. Lighter too by 550 quid.
Saturday 0730:Mysore Road::.. We leave Bangalore finally.

Saturday 0740: On Mysore Road Highway:: Mridul hits a 75 kmph. Car starts to wobble. He hits 80. Car WOBBLES..SHAKES.. SCREAMS. Comparisons to Unmentionable things are made within the car premises.. Car is christened "Bimbo" by Mridul..

Realization dawns.. Car wheels and our trip both have to be realigned.

Mid - road discussion analyses the pros-and-cons.. Cancel trip and sleep in peace is the first choice. But a 1K diesel investment cant be left for zilch.
Pawan , fishes out the contingency plan. Good ol' Hogenekal... "Didnt I tell you before?" All agree..

Saturday 0900 hrs: On Hosur Road: Changed setting from Mysore Road to Hosur Road. (Dont know what transpired in between since I conveniently slept off) Roads are all the same... anyways... The POA? A) Mridul to drive like the tractor driver on the highway.. B) Reach Hogenekal and take it from there..

Saturday 1230 hrs: Lunch Had. Toll Given . Entrance Fee Given, Admission Fee Paid, Parking Charges given, Camera Charges Given, Bridge Crossing Charge Paid, Spot climbing charge levied. Pho....... What the heck... We ARE at Hogenekal..

Saturday 1300: Hogenekal Falls:: The Falls are nice. The weather is cool, We forget the past, just climb on rocks to pose for the photos.. then take a Roja Boat ride.. , its a portable boat.. fits easily over the boatman's head. a sleek invention I would say. No, trailer trucks or other gear required Its light , yet can be seen to accomodate 15 people.. Its perfectly circular, and boatmen do artistic manoeuvers , that can make an F-16 green (which it is in our neighboring country tho.. ), doesnt come with the warning of not to touch the edges, cos the black coat (yes yes, like the Columbia shuttle) can come off into whatever youre wearing.. Mridul finds out to his dismay.. and isnt much amused when the boat guy suggests that a petrol wash to his new t-shirt is the only way for such misadventures ..

We are all amused tho, by the Jumpies... The 4-5 year old cliff divers.. they would try to grab your attention from the cliff tops.. calling "Saarrrr Saaarrr" and waving their palms to show 5 bucks.. and the moment you approve.. dive down to the Kaveri waves below.. Both the Canon SLR and the Sony DSC-W5 greedily lap the action..

Saturday 1500: Hogenekal Falls:: Splash Time.. We find ourselves highly underprepared for this.. since the other boat thats at the section of the falls we selected has made it a community bath center. Every body is busy applying shampoo, soaps and whatevers onto themselves and others, the environment smells of LUX soap and frankly thats disgusting.. We let them go..

Pawan and Archan enter the main water fall section with the aid of Boat guy. Small fishes nibble at our ankles.. Its pretty scary at first but you get used to it.. I guess they only target the ankles to try get something from the disturbance created by our foot movements on the rock bed...

The water fall is overwhelming.. at the center you can breathe perfectly.. but still feel short of breath.. the water has a huge force and it feels as if it wants to push you.. down.... its cool.. its refreshing.. and its exciting.. but for the sight of the layer of Lux soap scum left by the community bath at the adjacent pool..

Next is the turn of Mridul, We scare him off with the talk of the fish bites.. and he howls upon his first contact under water.. he comes out of the water.. and vows not to enter it again.. not even with the help of Boat guy. All the fish are disappointed.
<>

Saturday 1500: Hogenekal Falls:: V for Vigilance Archan SHOOTs a Vigilance officer, fishing at a totally public place in between a scenery. The Vigilant Vigilante promises to unleash a vendetta on Archan using his contacts , with "Do eu naauu .. yu yi yam?" "Yi yam Vigilance Obizzerrr. Youre naaaa sapo to take peeeks.. "
Pawan and Mridul argue to on the morality of applying the Hutch ad motto to a public tourist place.

Anyways.. 2 hours at boat rental seem a comfortable time to view the beauties of the site , especially when not much water frolicking and soap scrubbing is involved.

The other thing which the natives swear by here, is the Tel-maalish or the Oil Massage .. I had a look at one of them... Enter bear hairy, pitch black, long moustached, lungi adorned , Tamil swearing, pachydermic humaniod.. French Masseur with the lavender touch? Eh.. Not quite.. Navratna Lal Tel on the Pehelwan ka haath? A bit more like it..

Its fun tho to see people close their eyes while the massage fellows operate. , 30 people atop the rocks.. some one sleeping, some one just standing, some one dancing his belly.. some one with a new weird posture..

We dont try the massage, maybe thats why the Lux Soap and the Sunsilk Shampoo isnt much required. What we also dont try is to have a bite back at the fishes.... Loads of fisherwomen at every trail selling fried fish, just caught on the banks, natives actually feast on the fish, and you might be tempted , cos I belive they sell in huge numbers and are fresh.. but you put a step or two back when you see the masala , the dressing and the oil on the pans.

Its past lunch time and the only thing we try there.. is Good ol' melons. We three manage just over half a melon, as the size is pretty pretty huge.. and at that stage, I guess any form of kand-mool,lakkad, patthar, (vegetarian of course) is welcome..

Pawan and Archan are a bit wet from the inside, due to loads of water frolicking ofcourse.. its a bit uncomfortable and annoying as any experienced waterfall campaigner without the required toiletery equipment (read large enough towel to cover thy ass), expecting a changing room in an Indian tourist setting would know..

Saturday 1600: Hogenekal Falls:: 1st destination Done and Dusted.. Where to now? Somewhere during all this, Mridul develops a liking for Bimbo, and even begins to term the ride as a "pleasurable - experience" .. Seeing this confidence , also somewhere during all this, Archan browsing and tearing simulataneously the Bible travelogue, Outlook's 52 weekends out of Bangalore , chances his eye on Yercaud, which ,so they say has earned the sobriquet , the poor man's Ooty, and reads out the particulars verbatim to the audience...

The Audience is excited, Mridul has a vested interest in that his school, Montfort's branch is located there.. and has been pretty well documented in the travel catalogue as a must visit place as well..

130 odd kilometers dont deter the trio , and they yank Bimbo, to start chugging towards the hills.. Its decided, No return to Bangalore for the night. Instead, we tent-up at a plush resort when we reach, and chillax the blues away.

Saturday 1840: Omalur, Salem:: ::
Mridul really drives this like a tractor.. and he is good at it.. we enter the city.. cos thats the only way for the climb to the hill station.. and its past twilight.. so were a bit worried about reaching the hill station on the climb..
Pawan does his math calculations.. 4.5K Feet.. from about 800 to 1000 odd feet.. thats pretty steep..

Saturday 2100: Omalur, Salem:: ::
Steep it was.. . as the MSL signs on the steep slopes say... its pretty dark on the climb.. and Bimbo has reduced from a tractor to tortoise (whatever could be even slower in vehicular terms) .. Hurtling trucks on the way downhill dont help the cause.. and its pretty worrying since we all know that the tyres arent in John Abraham health.. and sing huge opera sreeches at every turn..

Mridul steadily climbs up and up.. It gets cooler and cooler.. the lights get visible from below. and spur us on.. 1.5 hours for a 25 km climb is not that bad, is it?

We reach Yeracud and find it exactly like how all South India Hill stations look like.. a Lake, a few shops.. a few estates and tall tree covered roads.. Pawan and Mridul liken it to Kodaikanal...

A couple of enquiries and a wrong way later.. , we reach the properties of Grange resorts , a pretty green , small Estate.. that was suggested... the receptionist, knows we're more or less decided on staying there so charges a premium, tho far cheaper by the other hill station standards...

Saturday 2230: Yercaud:: ::
Dinner's done.. and its pretty good.. we wonder how all we order gets ready in a jiffy even when the restaurant was closed but just opened for us..

There is a cat at one of the tables as we set to dine that livens up things...

Everyone tries to relax.. a warm bath.. a Couple of calls here and there.. watch some news

Battle the mosquitoes and Sleep Sleep Sleep........

Sunday 0830: Yercaud:: ::
Wake up, get Ready and break your fast.. Archan goes for a small trail inside the resort tho with not much to see..

The first destination ofcourse is the Montfort school, its the typical old English Catholic with the Victorian architecture buildings offices and otherwise, but augmented with 4-5 basket ball courts, 8 tennis courts, 3 football fields in one, 2 cricket grounds.. etc.. atleast thats what appears first to the visitor...
We spend a good amount of time looking at the school.. Mridul has his fill of pictures..

F1 news trickles in and Alonso has won again.. with Kimi second..

We then amble to all the "Points" in Yercaud.. like any typical Hill Station. .they are the viewing places.. They are funnily called "Seats" here..
we Visit the Ladies Seat, which offers a lovely view of winding road ascending the hill and of the plains below..
Then the Gents Seat, which is higher than the ladies and Pawan remarks that it was made so that the Gents could have a look down on all the Ladies assembled.. their own as well as the others' ... We nod our heads in approval.. ;-) .. Children's Seat and Rose Garden are kicked out of the schedule..

The Botanical Garden is closed which is a big disappointment..
We visit an Ayurvedic Research center though.. and buy aroma herbal perfumes, medicinal oils and even hair gels.. .They all seem , look and smell great..

Next is a visit to a cave temple, its the Town diety, we pay our obeisance. This is also the highest point of the hill station which also has a huge plateau.. Yercaud also has bauxite mines.. and there are some open mines that can be seen as well..

All this stuff makes it afternoon time and we head back to the town side..And we have done far better things on Saturday to go for a stupid boat ride on the lake.. so we trash that from the agenda...

Sunday 1505: Yercaud Descent:: ::
We begin our descent hoping to reach Bangalore by 9 ..
Talks veer from Rang De Basanti songs.. to Business Opportuniites in Rural India .. The Laptop has kept us entertained off and on during the trip. We keep it shut during the descent.

Sunday 1700: Crossed Salem and Towards Bangalore:: ::

Late lunch at a road side dhaba.. Gobi ki Sabji , Dal , Roti and Dahi.. with Pepsi.. Personalized TV Services too.. Not Bad..

Sunday 1800: Highway:: Car Stalls::
Sunday 1830: Highway:: Car Stalls!!:: Right in front of petrol pump.. Enginner Yanks and Pushes some buttons and says it should be good to go..
Sunday 1840: Dharmagiri:: Car Stalls:: Again in front of some truck garage or something.. we call up the mechanic , but there is no sign of him for minutes.. the car just restarts.. and we get on the road again..
Sunday 1900: Outside Dharmagiri::Car Stalls ::
We have had it.. We arrange a road shop to bring an engineer.. he arrives in 10 minutes.. We push the car to his garage.. He says the Filter is filled with dust or something.. We joke and resign ourselves to fate... Mridul takes pics of us in the garage..

Mechanic fills 5 litres of diesel and somehow gets it started..
By this time.. all of us have started treating Bimbo with respect ...

Sunday 2015: Mechanic Shed:: We start again for Bangalore

Sunday 2100: Over Toll Tax Maintained Highway Stretch:: Car tyre bursts apart at 80 kmph ... 3rd time in 2 days..
We fix the tyre...

Sunday 2300: Somewhere 30 kms out of Bangalore:: Road side Dhaba dinner ..

Monday 0020: Mridul' Place:: Reach ..Bangalore.. Get to bed by 2.... Time to get back to the Garage was 2300 hrs. Mridul's ID card and Passport is with them.. but we arent prepared to shell much xtra money... we decide to give the car the next day..

Monday 0920: Bangalore::
We travel to our homes and get ready... Mridul drops me to my office in the same car..

Monday 1000: Bangalore::
Car stalls again with Mridul alone this time.. Didnt go even 4 kms (the max distance of Queens road from my office)
Mridul is no mood to talk.. You dont want to mess with him now..

Tuesday 1200: Bangalore:: Mridul has done our accounts and the hisaab kitaab... We are relieved .. Life is back to normal...

Currently on the Juke Box - "Huzur is Kadar Bhii Na ... - Masoom"

Another of my working hard photos

2006-03-31T16:07:00.000+05:30

People,

Here is me working so hard last year (behind the comp), they decided to put me in the Annual Report !!

;) he he ! just kiddin!

Cheers!! Its a lovely day here in Bangalore

I couldnt agree more - Aamir on today's media overkill

2006-03-25T11:14:00.000+05:30

"
Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan, smarting over the panning of his film "Mangal Pandey", says the fourth estate should be the watchdog of society - not its lap dog.

Because they want more advertisements, they are destroying what is a very important part of the society - news reporting. It is wasting important national space that should be used in a more productive manner," Aamir said, breaking several months of silence in an exclusive interview to Tehelka newsmagazine, during which he spoke at length on the state of the Indian media.

This is for the first time any actor has dared to do so. He said it wasn't just the cynical decimation of the professionals or the intrusion into the deeply personal matters like his divorce and remarriage that irked him, but the misplaced emphasis on sensation that was cause for worry.

"Because they want more ads, they are destroying what is a very important part of the society, and that's news reporting. It is wasting important national space that should be used in a more productive manner," said Aamir whose recent release "Rang De Basanti" has turned out to be a blockbuster.

Aamir feels that as a public person he should voice his opinion because news reporting is a "matter of national concern".

"Unfortunately, media barons and top executives are too fixated on short-term dividends to square up to the larger picture," he maintained.

Talking about his current release he said that despite the expected media interaction that the film's release demanded of him, he couldn't bring himself to deal with "this kind of people... this monster that the media had become".

Aamir said he shunned the tinsel press even when he was just a beginner.

"At that time, the mainline newspapers never reported films, there were no hundred channels, only Doordarshan - so effectively you were cutting yourself off from fans if you didn't speak to film magazines. I understood that, but I chose to do what was right."

Even today, he feels the same about the press because the core principle of journalism - that of being a watchdog - is being violated.

"The media is meant to be the watchdog of society, not its lap dog! Some restraint you have to show, boss," Aamir maintained.

Commenting upon the sting operations he said: "Sting operations are admissible if they are governed by public interest. But the non-stop 'absurdity' of mainstream media content - be it the Salman (Khan)-Aishwarya (Rai) tapes in Hindustan Times and The Asian Age, or Channel 7's faux interviews with myself, or the India TV sting on Shakti Kapoor, or alarmist file footage of the Mumbai floods for the second round of monsoons that hit the city, or poaching on an ailing Amitabh Bachchan, has forced me to stop reading and watching most papers and channels."

The actor, who finds both Hindi and English media guilty of overkill, prefers watching Doordarshan.

"At least one is spared the theatrics, deep sighs, wiping of tears and background music," said Aamir.

"Some news channel has to get up and say I am not indulging in this. It might lose viewership for the first month or so, but it will establish that it is not indulging in all of this, and I am sure people will come around."

The actor said: "This is where even channels like NDTV and CNN-IBN, who set them up to be different, have not made the mark."

He said that trivialisation or degrading of news is something he won't take and feels in something as sacrosanct as news reporting, commercial priorities must take a backseat.
"

St Patricks Day Pictures!!

2006-03-24T11:20:00.000+05:30

Here are some pictures of the St. Patricks Day parade held at Dundalk, Ireland on 17th March 2006.

The Boy Scouts in Red

This Band was awesome !! Loads of Synchronized drumming and a bit of brow beating!

Small Kids with the Aliens on Earth Theme. The costumes were very well designed..

Dont know the names. Tweedledum - Tweedledee? :) Loads more cartoon characters.. Not the Disney stereotypes tho.

The Dundalk Deep Sea Diving Expedition or some such thing.

The Kilt Club?? These were the professional perfomers, the rest were just having a good time

Cute little girls marching away in unision. Please bear in mind the sub zero temperatures

Its a shame...

2006-01-23T11:08:00.000+05:30

This is a mail from a colleague and friend, that I received some time back, It shocked all cheer and joy out of me that morning .. Read on..

"
Hi,

My wife got scanned at Sagar @$0!!0Z at her 6th week and baby growth was upto mark. At that time the gynaecologist gave her a hormone drug which was consumed by my wife for 2 weeks. The scan at end of these 2 weeks shows that growth stopped after 6th week. There was an abortion due to this.

Name of the drug: Progesterone.

The following link shows that this medicine shall not be used during pregnancy.
http://www.healthsquare.com/newrx/pro1639.htm

When asked the doctor for clarification the answer given was "I do not know what is written in the Net about this drug. It is not wrong and generally it will be given to test tube babys." !!

There is no logic or proper answer given by the doctor why this medicine was prescribed for a pregnant lady who is doing quite well. My wife also told the doctor that she does not have any complications or isssues.

Its a really horrible situation in my life.. .........
.....
..... and now she says reason for zero growth could be that the foetus itself is weak?

So I thought it was worth sharing this with you guys.. Its better we re-check the usage and problems of all such drugs before we start consuming them as prescribed by any doctor...

"

While in 5th century BC.. Hippocrates had written something which could be translated roughly as
"I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy. In purity and holiness I will guard my life and my art."

Most modern changes to the omnipresent and the most important document in medicine
the Hippocratic Oath have intelligently removed explicitly saying this , maybe since the drug companies could be peeved, or maybe cos it doesnt go with the modern times where you can just "get busy" before lunch and do a nip n tuck in the evening, and marvel at new tech or woman power.. but they do show something like

"I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug.I will not be ashamed to say "I know not," nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery.
Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks."

So tell me, doctors and surgeons, therapists and cologists and the alike, though I am a zilch in Medicine or anything that relates to it, though I couldn't tell between Campose and Lactose, or a -plasty from a -etomy, and therefore shouldnt have the guts to stand against the 10 years of hard work and sleepless nights you all put in..

Do you think our hospitals , our clinics, our wards, and research buildings can be called places built for humanitarian cause? Or they are core professional factories of work.. similar to what all others go to too with tiffin boxes and files?
Do you think its right to equate a doctor to a priest or a holy soul? Or its more like "Hey we're just plain humans dude.. We do our job like ya.. make mistakes, do it good.. earn our bucks.. share a pint or two with friends and go home to wife.. "
Do you think your knowledge is special to all other professions? Cos your risks, your gains, and your successes operate not on human society and worldy things.. but humans themselves?

I know (I think) there is nothing wrong in answering either way for any of the three questions.

But it will be the ward-boy who will think twice before applying his son to the hospital where he works, as his son might return home with his weight reduced by a kidney's.
Maybe, I dont know, and maybe its better to apologize before this provocation, but do most doctors mostly prefer announcing their credentials , when they visit another of their brethren, cos the fee could be waived?
My dentist needs x-rays of the same tooth, twice in 3 months, (each copy has a lifetime of the current consultation), ofcourse 100 bucks dont pinch me, but 7K worth of tests surely bothered my friend when his 4 year old was diagnosed for recurrent fever at Man**pal, and I am not even starting on the charges during Hospitalization there.. and oh - B . T. W., the tests ended non conformative.
My medical insurance coverage certificate has letters smaller than the ICICI ATM list printouts on what are the terms and conditions on the backsheet.. Maybe, 50% of the cases wont even be eligible claims under my coverage.
People actually save 10 Lakhs per person on post retirement medical plans.. (am I a bit short here? or far ?)

All this is fine.

Yes. Fine.

But, is it really ok to be lax with ANYTHING that concerns a new life? Was it really not worth it to have learnt more about the drug as a doctor maybe, rather than see the utterly broken face of my friend that I saw, from across your desk?

So is the Hippocratic Oath you took just a meaningless relic and a moral science exercise ?

I am sure, Its Not.

My first instinct was to tell him to sue the blo**dy ar*es , but it didnt take me long to realize that from what he had lost, nothing really would have provided much consolation, financial benefit, the the least of all. Maybe we Indians dont know the way of earning fast bucks. We need a couple of john Edwards like millionaire lawyers and politicians, someone who can make us a buck or two, for such tiny medical malpractices you see, but the Indian system will just ruthlessly shred your peace apart, emotionally and financially if you even attempt so..

I dont know folks, maybe the drug was right, maybe it wasnt, the hospital is empowered , enough to handle such petty cases, as the people who guessed the name right would know.
I have heard huge stories of selfless doctors, Big degree holders who just settled in a remote village , and accept a a dozen chickens or just a hug for pay. I have seen cheerful doctors who make complex things look like fun and old nurses who still have the zeal and cheer , when they enter wards they have been roaming, cleaning, nursing for decades. The internet tells me of how huge a success are the Polio and the AIDS campaigns.. and the amount of work done by footsoldiers, doctors small and big, and the government, things that can be envied as the biggest acts of volunteering, initiatives and sacrifice for humanity causes, across the world.

But I am sick of the way the medicine profession and industry is turning up in my country. I am sick of the overcharges, the bad drugs, and the apathy . I am sick of accepting it as our fate and I am sick of seeing the value to life and humanity vanish in moment when you enter these spic and span , fashion decorated hospitals, and see the old man queuing up at the specially placed ATMs from banks around the world at the ground floor, while the formally dressed head nurse scowls at him for being slow. They look like Death Chambers more than places which give , nurture or protect life.

And I have absolutely no clue what to do about it. I am just too small to make a change. Maybe I'll just write this blog entry.

Back at Ireland

2005-10-15T21:42:00.000+05:30

Here is me back at Dundalk, Ireland. There is me apartment and therez me car. :-)

Its been two weeks here, and there are two more to go. While most of the time here has been spent in training, and other logistics, its going to be the real issues and work that is to be done this coming fortnight to really serve the purpose of my trip here..

Its a pity I had to miss all the Puja week festivities last week, just because I had to sit through some dumb software training manuals, but then thats life. Whats assuring is that I would be home for Diwali, with my parents. This time we are planning to squeeze a weekend outing to any of the lower hillstations, or even to Chandigarh / Amritsar etc. and return just before the onset of the harsh winter, but then I hope its not just one of the plans which enjoy their lifetime just in your head, and never get materialized. Cos, all these 4-5 years, whenever I reach Delhi its always a helter skelter trip, schedules are tight, got to visit them , and do that job and everything.. and by the time you realize you can maybe relax, its time to say your goodbyes, and return to Bangalore..

Ireland is as green as I saw it last, which is what I love about this country. Lesser winds this time around, but then the climate is always damp and soggy, which is a kind of a put off, you kind of miss the sunshine back home. One of my Irish colleagues had been to Bangalore mid Septemeber, and when I had asked him what he had done for his first weekend, he had said
"Among other things , enjoyed the sun at my room balcony for 3 hours.." . I understand why :-)

The people are very warm though , even a bit "noisy"sometimes , if-you-know-what-mean !! :) . And plus there is loads of places I have to see in this country, I am planning a trip to the west coast with my colleagues, the country isnt that big.. so hope to cover a good portion in a couple of days. The car is okay , its a Rover 45 this time, and though it looks better and has more space than the Opel Astra I had got the last time, the MG cars I have driven can never seem to match German, or Japanese counterparts in smoothness and other car handling standards. The apartment is okay, has a good nice lawn on the backside, and since its very close to the Technology institute , there are loads of young college students staying together in the neighborhood.

Evenings are boring though, especially Television programmes quality can at best be called "sub standard". I had to fight myself into not taking the new Cable .. especiallysince 60 Euros is a bit too much, but nobody had said the cost of living was cheap. Other things are costly as well, and its not like the 5-7 kgs of Hersheys and a couple of Jackets, books or clothes I could pick up in the US, for my friends and relatives, just a 250 gm packet of Toblerone costs 10 Euros.

All this is understandable since not much of the consumer stuff is produced locally, everything is procured from outside states, and I somehow think "Euro" -ization of the country has helped it tremendously. But, you can see loads of development going around, high speed motorways and airport terminals etc. , people are generally, well to do, unlike our Asian countries., there is good social order and .

Anyways.. hope to finish all the work and head for home soon, for a week long rest. Am even starting to miss my 1/2 an hour Sudoku solving everyday morn. Would meet my parents after a long time as well..

Currently on the jukebox

"Vaishnav Jan to Tere Kahiye Je - Lata Mangeshkar.. "

Mangal Ho.. to Iqbal !

2005-08-31T13:25:00.000+05:30

Watched the movie Iqbal with Mridul last weekend at the Forum, Koramangala. And I urge everybody who can find time to have a look. It worth a one time watch, and reassures you that Nagesh Kukunoor still hasn't lost his touch of producing refreshing cinema. It tells you that maybe all the shying away from limelight and purposefully deglamorizing yourself from your Page 3 peers does in fact keep your vision unpolluted, and maybe helps in better film making. Way to go, Nagesh.

Just a fortnight ago, I had watched my hopes on Bollywood finally doling a good (read 1 year post-production , 6 month edited, 4 year hiatus worthy) product dissipate in thin air when I saw Mangal Pandey - The Rising. The only things I could take back from the film were Amisha Patel's long tresses and the awesome jugalbandi of Kailash Kher and Sukhwinder Singh on all the 3 renditions of "Mangal Mangal ho ". What do I say about Kailash, he is one of the top 10 in my list of people/ things to watch out for in the next year. (For more details, maybe some other blog post later). But the rest of the film was surprisingly passe. Aamir is expected to do that bit in his performance, but 'twas nothin special. A R Rahman DISAPPOINTED, Rani looked a misfit in the role and I think totally out of place in "Main Vari Vari". For the lovers of the "Queen" it might help comparing the song with Madhuri in "Kahe Chhede More" or Rekha in "In Aankhon ki" to put things in perspective.

I was also disappointed at unnessary bloating up of certain issues which the director found very important to portray in that light to try and bring the audience closer to the period of play. Bhang being drunk left-right and center, an English man fighting 100 men to rescue a Sati widow, a English lady viewing a Kaneez-sale where the seller tries to hoist up the skirt of a girl to show whether she is still ...

Overall a mediocre screenplay and non powerful characters for the main few actors of the film, giving it a sort of patched black and white look, as if the director is attempting to give the characters a mellow outlook as well as trying an instigate some kind of building of pent up patriotic emotions etc. For me, it was unsuccessful in both accounts. Another hilarious thing was that Tantiya Tope comes personally to request the services of a regiment in far away Berhampur, West Bengal, and pleads them to start the rebellion since they are the only ones capable of tackling the British might ! Ha ha ! The good factors though are an aim to establish the opium trade cycle, not much of a detour on the final happennings (except for the public hanging) and maybe yes, the performance of Toby Stephens playing Captain Gordon.

Anyways its a difficult ask to be close to "history" when even historians are unable to ascertain whether he was really our first freedom fighter or just a crazy guy who ran berserk and was elevated to a hero.

For an exact textual version of Mangal pandey's trial and the events, this one is good
http://www.chapatimystery.com/archives/univercity/the_trial_of_mangal_pandey_i.html

I would term Iqbal as an exact invert film to Mangal Pandey.Its not a masterpiece, you can view its flaws, but its a very refreshing film. Mangal Pandey was an attempt to glorify a hero, whereas Iqbal starts from commoner's poor background roots. The closeness of the film to fields and farmlands, a common village household and everyday life firmly establishes the setting.

Iqbal, the protagonist, is a deaf and mute, but never once does once Nagesh attempt to stir up the pity or the sympathy factor. He is the underdog, is a handicap, but that doesnt affect the flow much, he is scolded by his farmer father, as would any normal one to his lazy 18 year old, and since there is no different behavior in the whole film , and you actually end up forgetting that this guy is deaf and mute at some parts of the film.

Low budget films cant afford an year of editing, so there might be fallacies alright. They cant afford Symphony and London Orchestra celebrated Music Directors like AR Rahman, dishing 5 stellar songs.. but Iqbal was impressive on the music front too.. "Aashaayein" the theme song played throughout the movie was pretty good :) both me and Mridul loved the guitar strumming and KK's high pitched powerful voice rising in crescendo to the background chorus. Lovely song.

The most important aspect was its handling of a sports based theme. The story is about Iqbal, a small-village boy who for years wants to make it big in cricket, about his love and passion, and how inspite of all the shortcomings, facing adversaries and difficulties, he achieves his aim of securing a place in the Indian national side.I dont think apart from Aamir Mangal Bhuvan Khan, anybody had the guts yet to meddle with such a over obsessive and emotion packed subject to the Indian audience as cricket. 5 years ago I had heard Saurabh, my friend, calling me from outside the now defunct Liberty cinema in Delhi saying,

"The junta is dancing in the aisles man !! Each shot Bhuvan hits, the cinema goers are applauding and cheering as if Sachin has pulled Shoaib for a four in a Indo -Pak final. Lagaan is a sure hit! " ..

Nagesh Kukunoor's "Iqbal" doesnt stir up such emotions but tackles in right earnest the modern sport and its politics, and ofcourse in a sensitive way. You have a closer to life setting, and all the common problems that make sports only for people gifted enough to have some leisure time in India, but more importantly , it displays a perfect emotional setting, between a mother and her son, the sister and the brother, the coach and the student. All the relations have been handled with finesse. And augmented with expert performances for sure. Naseruddin Shah is wonderful, tho he didnt make for a good drunk.. :) , Shreyas Talpade is wonderful as Iqbal, most importantly has a lovely bowling action !! Girish Karnad is a usual masterly perfomer, but the best performance is Shweta Prasad (found the name from the internet) playing the school girl sister. This film is half Iqbal's and half hers, and she performs the role to such perfection.

Iqbal also delves into the power of dreams, the scenes of how the lad's mother and sister support him , about his haystack made enclosure where he hides his Sportstar cut cricket icons evoke good memories in any of us who have grown throughout our childhood playing the game everyday for hours and hours and hours.

While I know that this film wont be a huge hit since it doesnt have the good old 500 films and 600 adverts Shahenshah Amitabh Bachhan or the 45 year old college goer Rs 2000 perfume branded Shahrukh Baadshah Khan, its definitely a better movie than some of what these giants of the industry keep giving out for the Indian audiences to rave about and fill the coffers of the producers. If not much, the filmdefinitely caters to an audience that prefers watching realistic films, maybe makes you wonder aloud whether this is our Munaf Patel? or our Irfan Pathan?

Keep it up Nagesh.

On the personal side, its cricket there as well !! Both watching and playing.. I have been doing my 3-4 hour sessions of cricket with my colleagues every saturday and that has definitely helped reduce the side handles a bit !! For sure :)

And have been utterly overjoyed with Ashes.. ! 3 nail biting matches at Edgbaston, Old Trafford and Trent Bridge ! England at their very best battling a resurgent and resilient Aussies and leading 2-1 at this stage. Wouldnt miss the last one at the Oval for anything, who cares about the Ind-Zim-NZ tri series !

On the Indian front Sania goes into the 2nd round match today in the US open.. ! Not bad. ! What say?

And lastly for the Bangalore Boys ! Whenever you watch a movie at the Forum and have dinner plans, make sure you go to Grameen at the Raheja complex and book for your comfortable time, beforehand. Thankfully the manager honors 3 hour ahead reservations.

Whats more funny is the look on the crowd's faces who are waiting for say 1/2 to 1 hour to get a table and you just arrive at the scene , mutter your name and are ushered in immediately , a la - VIP !! Ha ha !! Have done this twice already !

Thats all for now ! Phew !!

Currently on the Jukebox --
"Urzu Urzu Durkut" - Yahaan - 2005

What 'Pujo' means to a Bengali - Vir Sanghvi's article

2005-08-25T13:02:00.000+05:30

It's always hard to explain to somebody who does not live in Calcutta what it is about Puja that makes that period so magical.

Before I came to live in Calcutta in 1980, I was only dimly aware of the significance of Puja. I knew the boring facts and figures, of course. I knew what proportion of annual retail sales took place during the Puja period. I knew that the city shut down for the whole week. I knew that at ABP - where I was soon to work - telephone operators would, strangely enough, take the trouble of coming to work, only so that they could receive incoming calls, shout 'Pujo', and then hang up on irate out-of-town callers.

It's like Christmas, they told me. Imagine Christmas in New York: Puja means that to a Bengali. Others found more home-grown parallels. It's like Diwali in North India, they said. You know, the shopping, the parties, the festivities and all that stuff.

Actually, of course, it was nothing like Christmas; and certainly nothing like Diwali in North India.

Nothing, in fact, can prepare you for the magic of Puja in Calcutta.

To understand what it means, you have to be here.

As the years went on and as I went from Puja to Puja, I tried to work out why nobody could explain to outsiders what it was that made Puja so special. Why was that I failed as completely as everybody else in communicating the essence of Puja? Why did all the time-honoured comparisons not really ring true; with Dushera, Diwali, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving and God alone knows what else?

The answer, I suspect - and after all these years, it is still a suspicion, I have no solutions - is that you can't understand Puja unless you understand Calcutta and unless you understand Bengalis.

But if you want a city with a soul: come to Calcutta.

When I look back on the years I've spent in Calcutta - and I come back so many times each year that I often feel I've never been away - I don't remember the things that people remember about cities. When I think of London, I think of the vast open spaces of Hyde Park. When I think of New York, I think of the frenzy of Times Square. When I think of Tokyo, I think of the bright lights of Shinjiku. And when I think of Paris, I think of the Champs Elysee.
But when I think of Calcutta, I never think of any one place. I don't focus on the greenery of the maidan, the beauty of the Victoria Memorial, the bustle of Burra Bazar or the splendour of the new Howrah 'Bridge'.

I think of people.Because, finally, a city is more than bricks and mortars, street lights and tarred roads.

A city is the sum of its people.

And who can ever forget - or replicate - the people of Calcutta?

When I first came to live here, I was told that the city would grow on me. What nobody told me was that the city would change my life.It was in Calcutta that I learnt about true warmth; about simple human decency; about love and friendship; about emotions and caring; about truth and honesty.

I learnt other things too. Coming from Bombay as I did, it was revelation to live in a city where people judged each other on the things that really mattered; where they recognized that being rich did not make you a better person - in fact, it might have the opposite effect.

I learnt also that if life is about more than just money, it is about the things that other cities ignore; about culture, about ideas, about art, and about passion.
In Bombay, a man with a relatively low income will salt some of it away for the day when he gets a stock market tip. In Calcutta, a man with exactly the same income will not know the difference between a debenture and a dividend. But he will spend his money on the things that matter. Each morning, he will read at least two newspapers and develop sharply etched views on the state of the world. Each evening, there will be fresh (ideally, fresh-water or river) fish on his table. His children will be encouraged to learn to dance or sing. His family will appreciate the power of poetry. And for him, religion and culture will be in inextricably bound together.

Ah religion!

Tell outsiders about the importance of Puja in Calcutta and they'll scoff. Don't be silly, they'll say. Puja is a religious festival. And Bengal has voted for the CPM since 1977. How can godless Bengal be so hung up on a religions festival?

I never know how to explain them that to a Bengali, religion consists of much more than shouting Jai Shri Ram or pulling down somebody's mosque. It has little to do with meaningless ritual or sinister political activity.

The essence of Puja is that all the passions of Bengal converge: emotion, culture, the love of life, the warmth of being together, the joy of celebration, the pride in artistic expression and yes, the cult of the goddess.

It may be about religion. But is not about much more than just worship.

In which other part of India would small, not particularly well-off localities, vie with each other to produce the best pandals? Where else could puja pandals go beyond religion to draw inspiration from everything else? In the years I lived in Calcutta, the pandals featured Amitabh Bachchan, Princes Diana and even Saddam Hussain!

Where else would children cry with the sheer emotional power of Dashimi, upset that the Goddess had left their homes? Where else would the whole city gooseflesh when the dhakis first begin to beat their drums? Which other Indian festival - in any part of the country - is so much about food, about going from one roadside stall to another, following your nose as it trails the smells of cooking?

To understand Puja, you must understand Calcutta. And to understand Calcutta, you must understand the Bengali.

It's not easy. Certainly, you can't do it till you come and live here, till you let Calcutta suffuse your being, invade your bloodstream and steal your soul.

But once you have, you'll love Calcutta forever. Wherever you go, a bit of Calcutta will go with you.

I know, because it's happened to me. And every Puja, I am overcome by the magic of Bengal. It's a feeling that'll never go away.

Suchana !

2005-08-18T12:43:00.000+05:30

SUCHANA

Agar aap bus, train, plane ya kahin se bhi aa - jaa rahe hon aur kisi
mahila/ladki ke hath mein phool, dhaga, chain ya chamakti hue koi bhi vastu
dekhein to turant wahan se bhag jayein.
Ye vastu RAKHI ho sakti hai. Apki zara
si laaparwahi apko BHAI bana sakti hai.

Bharat Sarkar dwara purush hith me Jaari.

:) Wish you all a very Happy Rakshabandhan !

Happy Independence Day Folks !!

2005-08-15T15:54:00.000+05:30

Wish all of you a very happy Indian Independence day! Hope we all keep the spirit alive, as it has been all these 58 years.

Once while in 8th standard, I had received a huge poster just before 15th August which contained the English translations of our National Anthem and the National Song written vertically, alongside each other. The publishers were some national society and a copy had been put up in one of our classroom walls. I had been amazed at how beautifully the wordings had been translated, and it had been a re-realization then on how strong emotions even the English wordings stir in you once you read them. Maybe some years later, I got to know of the translator, and it reassured me that it took the genius of Shri Aurobindo to translate the most two important poems of our nations struggle into such beautiful poetry.

I present one before you. The first stanza of vande Mataram, by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, which has the status of being our national song. Its from the irrepressible Anandamath, first published in 1882.

Vande Mataram !

I bow to thee, Mother ! (Vande Mataram)
Richly-watered, Richly-fruited , (Sujalam, Suphalam)
Cool with the winds of the south, (Malayaja Sheetalam)
Dark with the crops of harvests, (ShasyaShyamalam)
The Mother ! (Mataram !)

Her nights rejoicing in the glory of the moonlight (Subhrajyotsnam, Pulakitayaminim!)
Her lands clothed beautifully, (Fullakusumita Drumadala Shobhinim.)
with her trees in flowering bloom

Sweet of laughter, Sweet of speech (Suhasinim, Sumadhura Bhashinim)
Giver of boons, Giver of bliss. (Sukhadam, varadam )
The Mother ! (Mataram !)

Wish you all a very Happy Independence Day !!

Whats in store for the city - Bangalore's Comprehensive Development Plan Part 1

2005-08-10T20:21:00.000+05:30

Here is what is planned ... by the government, the corporate think-tank and the elite for Bangalore in the near far future.

If they achieve what they plan.. it will make Bangalore at par if not better than any of the Metros of this country....

1. GIS-based property tax system in 2006 ( The new one I am happy about)

The new property tax system that is supposed to see a revenue jump of 50 percent for the State Across 57 urban local bodies (ULBs) and including seven City Municipal Councils (CMCs) and one Town Municipal Council (TMC) of Bangalore, this hitech and first-of-its-kind system in the country will be operational by December, and will be adopted for tax collection in all of Karnataka shortly.

The software for GIS is to provided by Infosys, free of cost.

What the project promises…

a. To gather authentic information for use in collection of property tax Create a map-linked database to enable systematic urban area management

b. Create a basic database that would be useful for planning the growth of urban areas Create an interface with the public to help them access information

c. Ensure availability of data for all Government Departments Create base maps of the city, incorporating all properties and roads

2. The Blue Elephant -> The Bangalore Devanahalli International Airport

The city already accounts for the third largest international flights in India after Mumbai and Delhi. Each company in the IT or the ITES sector has a high amount of foreign delegates visiting the city round the year. I recently met an American employed with Siemens who had been to to Bangalore 19 times since 2002. Equally strong are the Non -It sectors of Pharma, Banking and telecom. While there are more tourists on a visit, there are also more and Business visas for the Indian doing his quarterly trip .

The best news for this is that work on the proposed international airport at Devanahalli has FINALLY taken off after all the tree planting and the bricklaying ceremonies and it will be operational in three years. (Yeah yeah , we will see about a that) ..

Salient Features?
* Its 29 km away from Bangalore, but close to the Hyderabad highway (NH 7?)
* Initally planned to 5 million passengers per annum traffic . Ultimate capacity : 40 million !
* A 4km runway designed to land a Boeing 747.
* 20 aircraft accomodation on the Tarmac

* The Build-Own-Operate-Transfer scheme and Public Private Participation

The Karnataka Government, through the Karnataka State Industrial Investment and Development Corporation (KSIIDC) and Airport Authority of India (AAI) together will hold 26 percent of the equity. To sum it up, the airport is a joint venture between Siemens Project Ventures (40 percent), Larsen and Toubro (17 percent), Zurich Airport (17 percent), Karnataka Government (13 percent), and the Centre (13 percent).The State Government has agreed to grant concessions to the
Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), the company that is to execute the
project. It is a consortium of the Government of Karnataka, Airports Authority
of India, Siemens, and Zurich Airport, to design, develop, finance, construct,
commission, maintain, operate and manage the airport. The Karnataka Government
is providing 4,300 acres of land for the airport.

* Terminal Building with an air-conditioned built-up area of 55,850 square metres with all modern facilities
* Expansion capability
* Infrastructural Support? a Couple of flyovers and elevated roads planned. A shuttle service to the city.. Not bad.
* What did the Government do?

The concession agreement for land and support from the State and Central
Governments was finalised after numerous meetings between the ministries of
Civil Aviation, Law & Justice, Finance, and the BIAL.
The agreement also contains the rights and obligations of the Central and State Governments, and the BIAL on operation and maintenance standards including monitoring, airport charges, provision of reserved activities like customs, immigration, security, liabilities and indemnities, and resolution mechanism for
disputes.

Its also reponsible for the planned infrastructure development around the airport

July 26th - The Day Bombay Overflowed

2005-07-27T19:09:00.000+05:30

Nearly one-third of the Maharashtra state capital, Mumbai, is under water. The Water Drainage System in the City is 110 years old. The State Government had issued a notification just before the monsoons that it was ready to tackle any untoward happenning during the monsoons..

Here are some excerpts.

A:

"Most places in India don't receive this kind of rainfall in a year. This is the highest ever recorded in India's history," R.V. Sharma, director of the meteorological department in Mumbai, told The Associated Press.India's previous heaviest rainfall, recorded at Cherrapunji in Meghalaya state -- one of the rainiest places on Earth -- was 33 inches on July 12, 1910, Sharma said. "

At least 25 people drowned after being trapped in cars or crushed by falling walls, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, on Wednesday.

The deaths included seven children killed in a landslide in Andheri .

B:

Western and Central Railway trains were stopped at about 2:00 pm (IST) on Tuesday. The Meteorological Department has forecast heavy rainfall with gusty winds for Mumbai and suburbs.The Pune-Western Express Highway has been closed and all trains to Pune have been cancelled as railway tracks were submerged.

The All India Radio reported about 150,000 people were stranded in railway stations across Mumbai,

The Chhatrapati Shivaji domestic and Sahar international airports in Mumbai, have been shut down since Tuesday evening, and all incoming flights were being diverted to New Delhi and other airports.

D:

My sister reached home safely at 11 am today after 19 hours. there was no
police, no navy but around 200 locals who saved their lives.
The story goes like this as told by my sister... people get stranded on buses, cars in kurla at around 4 pm, water reaches neck level in the single decker buses when locals rush to help them. they break some seats, get ropes so that people can hold it
and float from the single decker bus to double decker bus in neck deep water.
Passengers stay overnight in the bus, around 150 in the upper deck as the deck
below is completely submerged in water. The locals keep a watch on them the
whole night telling them not to get scared.

As soon as I reached Bombay Central (6 pm), I saw that the water had
completely submerged the tracks and was only couple of inches away from reaching
the platforms. The station was very crowded and some people told me they were
standing there since 3 pm. There was a huge rush in railway stalls selling
eatables. I helped myself to a couple of vada pavs and some aloo bhujia. I knew
its going to be a long night. The vada pav guy probably sold more vada pavs
yesterday than he does in the whole month.

I overheard a person describe a short circuit in his office and fire breaking out. I was in a bus next to a girl who hadnt eaten since breakfast and was near fainting since the bus had taken over two hours from Nariman Point to the Aquarium - a distance of five kilometers! In the same bus with an over full bladder, i was thinking of a toilet and consoling myself that there were people who had more serious issues to deal with as they were unable to reach their infants and had no way of communicating their situation to their family.

I was worried for my daughter who has just stepped into college four days back after clearing her SSC. She took 5 hrs walk in knee deep water to reach home at Goregaon from Narsi Monjee. We were clue less as no phones were working during that period 3pm to 8 pm. I still (its 1.34 am) remain in office just to arrange the diesel for DG set as I am working for a call center which can not afford to have no power.

When we wanted to order snacks from the nearby hotel, hotel decided to exploit the situation and pocket of the hungry people. Normal sandwich which does not cost more than Rs 15 was sold at Rs 85 without bill. Same rate was there for other snacks but soon they closed the kitchen as most of the food was sold out.

My sister is stuck in Goregaon in Siddharth Hospital. She had a renal transplant. I would be glad if someone could provide her food or tell me the situation in Goregaon.

A never before sight, near the Sahar domestic airport signal, what I witnessed was a river flowing with heavy currents. All vehicles are stranded, not moving an inch. People are offering help to passersby to cross the river from the main highway towards Nehru Road.

Many of my colleagues' children are in school, imagine the parents plight,
the kids plight. All this is not exciting, a few of us have been lucky and are somehow indoors, but for people who are drenching outside, stuck in cars, buses, pregnant women, hope help reaches everyone and everyone reaches home safely.
Thanks to the reclamation, greedy takeover of salt pans, garbage (thanks BMC). But who cares in Mumbai. Politicians, government officials all want their pockets to be filled, make as much money as possible. Thanks to that that the situation in Mumbai is this and we will blame it on the weather and high tide tomorrow, isn't it?

"Home is where the Bengali is" - By Bachi Karkaria

2005-07-25T11:10:00.000+05:30

Dont know how many of the readers would understand the Bong lingo .. and the food terminology.. its nevertheless a hilarious read .. Bachi at her best..

"Bongdom is just not about a community. It’s a state of mind" , says Bachi Karkaria

“There is some corner of a foreign field which is forever Bengali.” Ki nonsense kotha. It’s not a corner, it’s the whole blaady expanse. Ours is an eenbhasion, a coup. From which the attackee will never recoupaarate, I might add.

It’s true. Suddenly the Bengalis are everywhere.
So many, taking over so much, in so many places that I wonder if there are any left in Kolkata. Formerly, you saw Bengalis outside Bengal only when you went on holiday. There they were, the men in Fair Isle sweaters knitted lovingly by their mothers, their wives in blue cardigans, the baachcha in monkey cap. Wherever you went, they were always there, a swagger to their step and boxy camera around their neck along with the matching “maaflar”. Whether you were in Kashmir or Kanyakumari, in Nepal or Neyvelli, in Sri Lanka or Sariska, you always found one Bombay Photo Studio, one Madras Café, one Tibetan curio shop, and one Bengali family.
When Hilary and Tenzing climbed Everest, did they find a mysterious mishti syrup stain on the snow, irrefutable evidence that The Bengali Was Here? When Jacques Cousteau plumbed the icy deep, did he find a trace of maastard oil on Antarctic ocean-bed and telltale signs of a neatlypicked rohu skeleton? When Armstrong floated on the lunar surface, had Neel-da already taken one small step for Bongkind in his trusty Bata sandals? I am prepared to bet on it, whatever may be the conspiracy of silence which has prevented the inveterate Bengali traveller from being given his due (LTA already collected, thank you).

When I began to venture abroad, they would be there not just as tourists, but as NRBs. Keep your motel, Mr Patel, Shri Banerjee has spread himself wider, higher, deeper across the globe. In the suburban Cardiff of the early 70s, there wasn’t anything non-Welsh for miles around. Anything except Mr Palit. He was the husband of one of the secretaries of our Thomson Foundation and, taking pity on us for having to face the bland hostel fare, she invited us for dinner. We expected a tastier version of our usual cod and chips. But what a spread we got: course upon course of authentic Bangla Ranna, whose aromas wafted out of the chintzy windows and unleashed all manner of uncharacteristic urges in the staid neighbourhood of Penarth. Three decades on, I can still recall that we had a chochchori of very English vegetables, ghoogni, chingdi malai curry, even chaatni. True, it wasn’t today’s beeay-bari favourite, the “plastic” variety. Procuring aamshatto anywhere in Wales in those pre-Curry Colonialism days would have defeated even the enterprising Palit-babu but the tomato version he dished up was properly spiked with raisins and suited us fine. There was a fiery fish which could pass off for rui. And we rounded it off with homemade shandesh. It was amazing. Was it a waking dream, we wondered as we were driven back, gently burping all the way.
Then, of course, came the rising Diaspora, so dominated by brilliant Bengalis that it came to be called the Daspora. It occasioned no surprise to encounter them all over the States, deep in the mid-West or on the farthest Hawaiian island. Somewhere, somehow, one caught the whiff of begun bhaja in the air. “Is that a narkel bora I see before me, glistening through the Minnesota mist? It is. It is the Mistress of Spices at her magic. And should something go awry, the other Bengali, the Interpreter of Maladies, will Jhumpa up to set it right.

Yes, Bengalis are certainly no slouches, either, in all the English-language fiction that has stewed in Indian creative juices. Slouches? They’re winning both the marathon and the 100-metre dash in the race to literary glory.
It’s the same closer to home. There are so many Bengalis occupying pole positions where I work that, if you don’t speak the language, you might as well take the golden handshake. Being an Hon Bong, I scrape into the club by the skin of my teeth. When I left Kolkata — when it was still Calcutta and Jyotibabu was not yet CM — to join The Times of India as a trainee, Sumitbabu, my journalism professor at Cal U gave an introductory call to his in-laws who lived in Mumbai. At least one Sunday a month, I took the bus to their terrace flat in Parel where, to the gentle flap of drying Dhonekhali saris, I would savour posto, papad and payesh and dispel the homesickness. In later Mumbai years, the Bengali population spread like waterhyacinth in a Beliaghata pukur, so much so that there were almost as many Pujo pandals as Ganapati ones and any market worth the name boasted a sweet-water fishmonger — Anwar, Bishuda, Chanchalbabu — right down the alphabet. The Sunday crowd thronging his stall was there as much for the community camaraderie as for the golda chingri. So it didn’t really matter if it was “Bombay bekti” or if the ilish did not come from the Podda, but from the Narmada in nearer Bharuch.
Moving to Delhi, of course, I was in clover and kashundi to my heart’s content. Chitto Park is a microcosm — and not a very micro one at that — of para-Kolkata. Oh bliss it was in that den to be eating shinghara, and to be there in Pujo time was very heaven. Boudis in lal-paars, dhakis, bhog, Bijoli Grill’s kobiraji caat-let, Nizam’s kathi rolls. And crowds to rival Gariahat on Mahashtami night. Bhaba jaye na. If you can’t be in Kolkata, Delhi is the next best thing.

Generally speaking, if you want to survive into the future you’d better cross over. Learn the language, buy a Dhakai, get a Bengali son-inlaw. Me? I’m changing my name to Bagchi.

Pope, Liverpool and Charles !! :)

2005-07-13T15:57:00.000+05:30

This one is pretty hilarious !

Year 1981
=========
1. Prince Charles got married
2. Liverpool crowned Champions of Europe
3. Pope Died.

Year 2005
=========
1. Prince Charles got married (again)
2. Liverpool crowned Champions of Europe (again)
3. Pope Died.

*** In The Future, if Charles wants to re-marry and Liverpool needs another crown ..... POOR POPE....!!!!!! ***

Mukhtaran Mai and Imrana - The Muslim woman's plight in South East Asia

2005-07-11T15:44:00.000+05:30

This article is by Irfan Husain, one of the columnists of the Dawn, Pakistan..

Dancing with the Taliban - By Irfan Husain

"
IF we thought what happened to Mukhtaran Mai was bad, look at what Imrana is going through in India.

In the former case, the state victimized the victim by placing her on the ECL and taking away her passport. In the latter, the poor woman was not only raped by her father-in-law, but has been told by the mufti of the Darul Uloom at Deoband that she cannot now live with her husband, and must marry her rapist.

According to Yawar Baig, an Indian scholar, the fatwa is based on a ruling by Imam Abu Haneefa, the founder of the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence. But nobody can believe that it could have been the eminent jurist’s intention to so cruelly punish the victim. Clearly, the Deoband mufti has ignored the spirit of Islamic law.

Indian human rights activists are understandably furious over this fatwa: not only is the rapist getting away scot free, but is being rewarded. In fact, the whole business of having Muslims being governed under special religious dispensation based on family laws leaves Muslim women specially vulnerable. Time and again, they have been short-changed in divorce proceedings, for instance, and denied child support and alimony.

This whole travesty began with the famous Shahbano case which went all the way to the Supreme Court. Ever since, Indian Muslim women have been denied the protection guaranteed by the Indian constitution. In this controversial case, it was the secular Congress Party under Rajiv Gandhi that took the line of least resistance in order to woo the Muslim vote.

But if Indian politicians do not have the moral fibre to end this anomaly, it is backward Muslim men who take advantage of it to repress their women. By seeking such archaic and clearly misguided interpretations of Islamic jurisprudence, the Indian ulema are demonstrating their refusal to change with the times. Worse, they are making a mockery of the holy texts they are supposed to uphold.

Indeed, in recent years, Muslims have seldom missed a chance to show their faith in the worst possible light. Take the wretched Taliban as an example. After the public mistreatment of their women, they banned music, kite-flying and even chess. In effect, they were saying to the world that Islam forbids its followers to have fun. Then to top it all, they destroyed the priceless giant statues of the Buddha in Bamian, thus not only offending the millions of Buddhists in Asia, but also all those concerned with our cultural heritage. By the time the Americans attacked Afghanistan, the Taliban had forfeited all sympathy and support. Even three years after their country’s occupation, the Taliban resistance is seen as a ragtag band of stone-age rabble who want to drag Afghanistan back to pre-history. They are not perceived as the heroic figures the Mujahideen were while fighting the Soviets.

This inflexible refusal to recognize that the world is changing has placed Muslims on the defensive around the world. In dress, public appearance and customs, the majority of Muslims refuse to integrate into the mainstream wherever they are. They have thus consigned themselves to the periphery of society, viewed with perplexity and fear. In their turn, they generally despise those in whose midst they live and work.

Had this suspicion and resentment been limited to individuals, things wouldn’t have been as bad as they are actually becoming. But the rest of the world is coming to a consensus that Muslims are generally backward people, prone to supporting violence against those of other faiths. This has serious consequences, especially for those who choose to make a life for themselves in non-Muslim societies.

For instance, Muslim women who insist on wearing the hijab in the West are unlikely to be employed as receptionists, or in any job where public dealing is required. Ditto if you have a long, unkempt beard. Businessmen are concerned that customers might be put off by this public display of faith in secular societies. And employers often do not want to hire somebody who demands time off during the working day to go off and pray.

While we may deplore such attitudes, they are a reality. When economic reasons drive people to emigrate, logic demands that they remain open to change in order to better their lives. And yet, survey after survey in the UK have shown that Pakistanis, Arabs and Bangladeshis are doing considerably worse than other migrant groups.

Many Muslims in Pakistan support the application of Muslim family laws to their co-religionists in India. And yet in Pakistan, the minorities seldom have such preferential treatment. We deplore the decline of Urdu in India, and yet are unconcerned about the state of Hindi in our country. These examples of double standards can be multiplied endlessly. In short, we expect and demand far greater respect for our faith and its followers than we are willing to accord this to others.

Why are we our own worst enemies? Part of the answer lies in the past. Until relatively recently, Muslim nations were powerful and thus respected. But with colonization and the long decline of the Ottoman Empire came a sullen apathy and a denial of reality. Now even though Muslim countries are nominally free, they lack the will to change the status quo because this requires introspection and a major change in attitude. Rulers exploit this state of mind to perpetuate their illegitimate grip on power by blaming the West for all our ills.

As Imrana’s case so painfully illustrates, we remain wedded to the most retrogressive interpretation of our faith, and thus ensure that we remain backward. After partition, many Indian Muslims opted out of the educational system because most state schools in North India taught in Hindi. Thus disadvantaged, these Muslims then complained of bias against them when they applied for jobs.

I am sure there is prejudice in India, just as there is in the West. But we can hardly accuse others when there is so much discrimination against non-Muslims in Pakistan. The way to overcome barriers is to assimilate, not stand aloof and complain from the sidelines. I certainly am not suggesting that we give up our cultural identity. Far from it. But we do need to shed some of our rigid attitudes if we are not all to be lumped together with the Taliban.

"

"The World is Flat " - Thomas Friedman's article.

2005-07-07T13:25:00.000+05:30

Since I first read Thomas Friedman's book on globalization , "The Lexus and the Olive tree" , I have been a devout fan of this Pulitzer prize winning New York Times Op Ed columnsit. I had intially that his writings had veered on the American view, the American mindset of what and how globalization as a process is shaping up over the years, but I think for most of his columns, the adventures, the examples, the situations he brings forth is simply amazing..

Here is a man who has travelled most of the world. and knows more than perhaps any other of his peer on what are the pushes and pulls of any economy.. be it in the middle east, the european, the poor African , South American or even the Chinese and the Indian contexts.

The following is an article based on the excerpts of this recent book "The World is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st century."

I love this article to bits.. Its very long, but I urge the reader to go through it once still.. Have a look at his examples, his quotes his data, his analysis and his conclusions. And also his humor.

' It's a Flat World, After All '
- By Thomas L. Friedman - April 3, 2005

"
In 1492 Christopher Columbus set sail for India, going west. He had the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. He never did find India, but he called the people he met ''Indians'' and came home and reported to his king andqueen: ''The world is round.'' I set off for India 512 years later. I knew just which direction I was going. I went east. I had Lufthansa business class, and I came home and reported only to my wife and only in a whisper:''The world is flat.''

And therein lies a tale of technology and geo-economics that is fundamentally reshaping our lives -- much, much more quickly than many people realize. It all happened while we were sleeping, or rather while we were focused on 9/11, the dot-com bust and Enron -- which even prompted some to wonder whether globalization was over. Actually, just the opposite was true, whichis why it's time to wake up and prepare ourselves for this flat world,because others already are, and there is no time to waste.

I wish I could say I saw it all coming. Alas, I encountered the flattening of the world quite by accident. It was in late February of last year, and I was visiting the Indian high-tech capital, Bangalore, Working on a documentary for the Discovery Times channel about outsourcing.In short order, I interviewed Indian entrepreneurs who wanted to prepare my taxes from Bangalore, read my X-rays from Bangalore, trace my lost luggage from Bangalore and write my new software from Bangalore. The longer I was there, the more upset I became -- upset at the realization that while I had been off covering the 9/11 wars, globalization had entered a whole new phase, and I had missed it. I guess the eureka moment came on a visit to thecampus of Infosys Technologies, one of the crown jewels of the Indian outsourcing and software industry. Nandan Nilekani, the Infosys C.E.O., was showing me his global video-conference room, pointing with pride to a wall-size flat-screen TV, which he said was the biggest in Asia. Infosys, he explained, could hold a virtual meeting of the key players from its entire global supply chain for any project at any time on that supersize screen. So its American designers could be on the screen speaking with their Indian software writers and their Asian manufacturers all at once. That's what globalization is all about today, Nilekani said. Above the screen there were eight clocks that pretty well summed up the Infosys workday: 24/7/365. Theclocks were labeled U.S. West, U.S. East, G.M.T., India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia.

''Outsourcing is just one dimension of a much more fundamental thing happening today in the world,'' Nilekani explained.
''What happened over the last years is that there was a massive investment in technology, especially in the bubble era, when hundreds of millions of dollars were invested in putting broadband connectivity around the world, undersea cables, all thosethings.'' At the same time, he added, computers became cheaper and dispersed all over the world, and there was an explosion of e-mail software, search engines like Google and proprietary software that can chop up any piece of work and send one part to Boston, one part to Bangalore and one part to Beijing, making it easy for anyone to do remote development. When all ofthese things suddenly came together around 2000, Nilekani said, they ''created a platform where intellectual work, intellectual capital, could be delivered from anywhere. It could be disaggregated, delivered, distributed,produced and put back together again -- and this gave a whole new degree of freedom to the way we do work, especially work of an intellectual nature. And what you are seeing in Bangalore today is really the culmination of all these things coming together.''

At one point, summing up the implications of all this, Nilekani uttered a phrase that rang in my ear. He said to me, ''Tom, the playing field is being leveled.'' He meant that countries like India were now able to compete equally for global knowledge work as never before -- and that America had better get ready for this. As I left the Infosys campus that evening and bounced along the potholed road back to Bangalore, I kept chewing on that phrase: ''The playing field is being leveled.''
''What Nandan is saying,'' I thought, ''is that the playing field is being flattened. Flattened? Flattened? My God, he's telling me the world is flat!''

Here I was in Bangalore -- more than 500 years after Columbus sailed over the horizon, looking for a shorter route to India using the rudimentary navigational technologies of his day, and returned safely to prove definitively that the world was round -- and one of India's smartest engineers, trained at his country's top technical institute and backed by the most modern technologies of his day, was telling me that the world was flat, as flat as that screen on which he can host a meeting of his whole global supply chain. Even more interesting, he was citing this development as a new milestone in human progress and a great opportunity for India and the world -- the fact that we had made our world flat!

This has been building for a long time. Globalization 1.0 (1492 to 1800) shrank the world from a size large to a size medium, and the dynamic force in that era was countries globalizing for resources and imperial conquest. Globalization 2.0 (1800 to 2000) shrank the world from a size medium to a size small, and it was spearheaded by companies globalizing for markets andlabor. Globalization 3.0 (which started around 2000) is shrinking the world from a size small to a size tiny and flattening the playing field at the same time. And while the dynamic force in Globalization 1.0 was countries globalizing and the dynamic force in Globalization 2.0 was companies globalizing, the dynamic force in Globalization 3.0 -- the thing that givesit its unique character -- is individuals and small groups globalizing. Individuals must, and can, now ask: where do I fit into the global competition and opportunities of the day, and how can I, on my own, collaborate with others globally? But Globalization 3.0 not only differs from the previous eras in how it is shrinking and flattening the world andin how it is empowering individuals. It is also different in that Globalization 1.0 and 2.0 were driven primarily by European and American companies and countries. But going forward, this will be less and less true.

Globalization 3.0 is not only going to be driven more by individuals but also by a much more diverse -- non-Western, nonwhite -- group of individuals. In Globalization 3.0, you are going to see every color of the human rainbow take part. ''Today, the most profound thing to me is the fact that a 14-year-old in Romania or Bangalore or the Soviet Union or Vietnam has all the information, all the tools, all the software easily available to apply knowledge however they want,'' said Marc Andreessen, a co-founder of Netscape and creator of the first commercial Internet browser. ''That is why I am sure the next Napster is going to come out of left field. As bioscience becomes more computational and less about wet labs and as all the genomic data becomes easily available on the Internet, at some point you will be able to design vaccines on your laptop.''

Andreessen is touching on the most exciting part of Globalization 3.0 and the flattening of the world: the fact that we are now in the process of connecting all the knowledge pools in the world together. We've tasted some of the downsides of that in the way that Osama bin Laden has connected terrorist knowledge pools together through his Qaeda network, not to mentionthe work of teenage hackers spinning off more and more lethal computer viruses that affect us all. But the upside is that by connecting all these knowledge pools we are on the cusp of an incredible new era of innovation, an era that will be driven from left field and right field, from West and East and from North and South. Only 30 years ago, if you had a choice of being born a B student in Boston or a genius in Bangalore or Beijing, you probably would have chosen Boston, because a genius in Beijing or Bangalore could not really take advantage of his or her talent. They could not plug and play globally. Not anymore. Not when the world is flat, and anyone with smarts, access to Google and a cheap wireless laptop can join the innovation fray.
When the world is flat, you can innovate without having to emigrate. This is going to get interesting. We are about to see creative destruction on steroids.
How did the world get flattened, and how did it happen so fast?
It was a result of 10 events and forces that all came together during the 1990's and converged right around the year 2000. Let me go through them briefly. The first event was 11/9. That's right -- not 9/11, but 11/9. Nov. 9, 1989, is the day the Berlin Wall came down, which was critically important because it allowed us to think of the world as a single space.''The Berlin Wall was not only a symbol of keeping people inside Germany; it was a way of preventing a kind of global view of our future,'' the Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen said. And the wall went down just as the windows went up -- the breakthrough Microsoft Windows 3.0 operating system, which helped to flatten the playing field even more by creating a globalcomputer interface, shipped six months after the wall fell.

The second key date was 8/9. Aug. 9, 1995, is the day Netscape went public, which did two important things. First, it brought the Internet alive by giving us the browser to display images and data stored on Web sites. Second, the Netscape stock offering triggered the dot-com boom, which triggered the dot-com bubble, which triggered the massive overinvestment of billions of dollars in fiber-optic telecommunications cable. That overinvestment, by companies like Global Crossing, resulted in the willy-nilly creation of a global undersea-underground fiber network, which in turn drove down the cost of transmitting voices, data and images to practically zero, which in turn accidentally made Boston, Bangalore and Beijing next-door neighbors overnight. In sum, what the Netscape revolution did was bring people-to-people connectivity to a whole new level. Suddenly more people could connect with more other people from more different places in more different ways than ever before.

No country accidentally benefited more from the Netscape moment than India. ''India had no resources and no infrastructure,'' said Dinakar Singh, one of the most respected hedge-fund managers on Wall Street, whose parents earned doctoral degrees in biochemistry from the University of Delhi before emigrating to America. ''It produced people with quality and by quantity.But many of them rotted on the docks of India like vegetables. Only a relative few could get on ships and get out. Not anymore, because we built this ocean crosser, called fiber-optic cable. For decades you had to leave India to be a professional. Now you can plug into the world from India. You don't have to go to Yale and go to work for Goldman Sachs.'' India could never have afforded to pay for the bandwidth to connect brainy India with high-tech America, so American shareholders paid for it. Yes, crazy overinvestment can be good. The overinvestment in railroads turned out to bea great boon for the American economy. ''But the railroad overinvestment was confined to your own country and so, too, were the benefits,'' Singh said. In the case of the digital railroads, ''it was the foreigners who benefited.'' India got a free ride.

The first time this became apparent was when thousands of Indian engineers were enlisted to fix the Y2K -- the year 2000 -- computer bugs for companies from all over the world. (Y2K should be a national holiday in India. Call it ''Indian Interdependence Day,'' says Michael Mandelbaum, a foreign-policy analyst at Johns Hopkins.) The fact that the Y2K work could be outsourced to Indians was made possible by the first two flatteners, along with a third, which I call ''workflow.'' Workflow is shorthand for all the software applications, standards and electronic transmission pipes, like middleware,that connected all those computers and fiber-optic cable. To put it another way, if the Netscape moment connected people to people like never before, what the workflow revolution did was connect applications to applications so that people all over the world could work together in manipulating and shaping words, data and images on computers like never before.

Indeed, this breakthrough in people-to-people and application-to-application connectivity produced, in short order, six more flatteners -- six new ways in which individuals and companies could collaborate on work and share knowledge. One was ''outsourcing.'' When my software applications could connect seamlessly with all of your applications, it meant that all kinds of work -- from accounting to software-writing -- could be digitized, disaggregated and shifted to any place in the world where it could be done better and cheaper. The second was ''offshoring.'' I send my whole factory from Canton, Ohio, to Canton, China. The third was ''open-sourcing.'' I write the next operating system, Linux, using engineers collaboratingtogether online and working for free. The fourth was ''insourcing.'' I let a company like UPS come inside my company and take over my whole logistics operation -- everything from filling my orders online to delivering my goods to repairing them for customers when they break. (People have no idea what UPS really does today. You'd be amazed!). The fifth was ''supply-chaining.''

This is Wal-Mart's specialty. I create a global supply chain down to the last atom of efficiency so that if I sell an item in Arkansas, another is immediately made in China. (If Wal-Mart were a country, it would be China's eighth-largest trading partner.) The last new form of collaboration I call ''informing'' -- this is Google, Yahoo and MSN Search, which now allowanyone to collaborate with, and mine, unlimited data all by themselves. So the first three flatteners created the new platform for collaboration, and the next six are the new forms of collaboration that flattened the world even more. The 10th flattener I call ''the steroids,'' and these are wireless access and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP). What the steroidsdo is turbocharge all these new forms of collaboration, so you can now do any one of them, from anywhere, with any device.

The world got flat when all 10 of these flatteners converged around the year 2000. This created a global, Web-enabled playing field that allows for multiple forms of collaboration on research and work in real time, without regard to geography, distance or, in the near future, even language. ''It is the creation of this platform, with these unique attributes, that is the truly important sustainable breakthrough that made what you call the flattening of the world possible,'' said Craig Mundie, the chief technical officer of Microsoft.

No, not everyone has access yet to this platform, but it is open now to more people in more places on more days in more ways than anything like it in history. Wherever you look today -- whether it is the world of journalism, with bloggers bringing down Dan Rather; the world of software, with the Linux code writers working in online forums for free to challenge Microsoft; or the world of business, where Indian and Chinese innovators are competing against and working with some of the most advanced Western multinationals -- hierarchies are being flattened and value is being created less and less within vertical silos and more and more through horizontal collaboration within companies, between companies and among individuals.

Do you recall ''the IT revolution'' that the business press has been pushing for the last 20 years? Sorry to tell you this, but that was just the prologue. The last 20 years were about forging, sharpening and distributing all the new tools to collaborate and connect. Now the real information revolution is about to begin as all the complementarities among thesecollaborative tools start to converge. One of those who first called this moment by its real name was Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard C.E.O., who in 2004 began to declare in her public speeches that the dot-com boom and bust were just ''the end of the beginning.'' The last 25 years in technology, Fiorina said, have just been ''the warm-up act.'' Now we aregoing into the main event, she said, ''and by the main event, I mean an era in which technology will truly transform every aspect of business, of government, of society, of life.''

As if this flattening wasn't enough, another convergence coincidentally occurred during the 1990's that was equally important. Some three billion people who were out of the game walked, and often ran, onto the playing field. I am talking about the people of China, India, Russia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and Central Asia. Their economies and politicalsystems all opened up during the course of the 1990's so that their people were increasingly free to join the free market. And when did these three billion people converge with the new playing field and the new business processes? Right when it was being flattened, right when millions of them could compete and collaborate more equally, more horizontally and withcheaper and more readily available tools. Indeed, thanks to the flattening of the world, many of these new entrants didn't even have to leave home to participate. Thanks to the 10 flatteners, the playing field came to them!

It is this convergence -- of new players, on a new playing field, developing new processes for horizontal collaboration -- that I believe is the most important force shaping global economics and politics in the early 21st century. Sure, not all three billion can collaborate and compete. In fact, for most people the world is not yet flat at all. But even if we're talking about only 10 percent, that's 300 million people -- about twice the size of the American work force. And be advised: the Indians and Chinese are not racing us to the bottom. They are racing us to the top. What China's leaders really want is that the next generation of underwear and airplane wings not just be ''made in China'' but also be ''designed in China.'' And that is where things are heading. So in 30 years we will have gone from ''sold in China'' to ''made in China'' to ''designed in China'' to ''dreamed up in China'' -- or from China as collaborator with the worldwide manufacturers on nothing to China as a low-cost, high-quality, hyperefficient collaborator with worldwide manufacturers on everything. Ditto India. Said Craig Barrett, the C.E.O. of Intel, ''You don't bring three billion people into the world economy overnight without huge consequences, especially from three societies'' -- like India, China and Russia -- ''with rich educational heritages.''

That is why there is nothing that guarantees that Americans or Western Europeans will continue leading the way. These new players are stepping onto the playing field legacy free, meaning that many of them were so far behind that they can leap right into the new technologies without having to worry about all the sunken costs of old systems. It means that they can move very fast to adopt new, state-of-the-art technologies, which is why there are already more cellphones in use in China today than there are people in America.
If you want to appreciate the sort of challenge we are facing, let me share with you two conversations. One was with some of the Microsoft officials who were involved in setting up Microsoft's research center in Beijing, Microsoft Research Asia, which opened in 1998 -- after Microsoft sent teams to Chinese universities to administer I.Q. tests in order to recruit the best brains from China's 1.3 billion people. Out of the 2,000 top Chinese engineering and science students tested, Microsoft hired 20. They have a saying at Microsoft about their Asia center, which captures the intensity of competition it takes to win a job there and explains why it is already the most productive research team at Microsoft: ''Remember, in China, when youare one in a million, there are 1,300 other people just like you.''

The other is a conversation I had with Rajesh Rao, a young Indian entrepreneur who started an electronic-game company from Bangalore, which today owns the rights to Charlie Chaplin's image for mobile computer games. ''We can't relax,'' Rao said. ''I think in the case of the United States that is what happened a bit. Please look at me: I am from India. We have been at a very different level before in terms of technology and business. But once we saw we had an infrastructure that made the world a small place, we promptly tried to make the best use of it. We saw there were so many things we could do. We went ahead, and today what we are seeing is a result of that. There is no time to rest. That is gone. There are dozens of people who are doing the same thing you are doing, and they are trying to do it better. It is like water in a tray: you shake it, and it will find the path of least resistance. That is what is going to happen to so many jobs -- they will go to that corner of the world where there is the least resistance and the most opportunity. If there is a skilled person in Timbuktu, he will getwork if he knows how to access the rest of the world, which is quite easy today. You can make a Web site and have an e-mail address and you are up and running. And if you are able to demonstrate your work, using the same infrastructure, and if people are comfortable giving work to you and if you are diligent and clean in your transactions, then you are in business.''

Instead of complaining about outsourcing, Rao said, Americans and Western Europeans would ''be better off thinking about how you can raise your bar and raise yourselves into doing something better. Americans have consistently led in innovation over the last century. Americans whining -- we have never seen that before.''
Rao is right. And it is time we got focused. As a person who grew up during the cold war, I'll always remember driving down the highway and listening to the radio, when suddenly the music would stop and a grim-voiced announcer would come on the air and say: ''This is a test. This station is conducting a test of the Emergency Broadcast System.'' And then there would be a20-second high-pitched siren sound. Fortunately, we never had to live through a moment in the cold war when the announcer came on and said, ''This is a not a test.''
That, however, is exactly what I want to say here: ''This is not a test.''

The long-term opportunities and challenges that the flattening of the world puts before the United States are profound. Therefore, our ability to get by doing things the way we've been doing them -- which is to say not always enriching our secret sauce -- will not suffice any more. ''For a country as wealthy we are, it is amazing how little we are doing to enhance our natural competitiveness,'' says Dinakar Singh, the Indian-American hedge-fund manager. ''We are in a world that has a system that now allows convergence among many billions of people, and we had better step back and figure out what it means. It would be a nice coincidence if all the things that were true before were still true now, but there are quite a few things you actually need to do differently. You need to have a much more thoughtful national discussion.''

If this moment has any parallel in recent American history, it is the height of the cold war, around 1957, when the Soviet Union leapt ahead of America in the space race by putting up the Sputnik satellite. The main challenge then came from those who wanted to put up walls; the main challenge to America today comes from the fact that all the walls are being taken downand many other people can now compete and collaborate with us much more directly. The main challenge in that world was from those practicing extreme Communism, namely Russia, China and North Korea. The main challenge to America today is from those practicing extreme capitalism, namely China, India and South Korea. The main objective in that era was building a strongstate, and the main objective in this era is building strong individuals.

Meeting the challenges of flatism requires as comprehensive, energetic and focused a response as did meeting the challenge of Communism. It requires a president who can summon the nation to work harder, get smarter, attract more young women and men to science and engineering and build the broadband infrastructure, portable pensions and health care that will help everyAmerican become more employable in an age in which no one can guarantee you lifetime employment.

We have been slow to rise to the challenge of flatism, in contrast to Communism, maybe because flatism doesn't involve ICBM missiles aimed at our cities. Indeed, the hot line, which used to connect the Kremlin with the White House, has been replaced by the help line, which connects everyone in America to call centers in Bangalore. While the other end of the hot linemight have had Leonid Brezhnev threatening nuclear war, the other end of the help line just has a soft voice eager to help you sort out your AOL bill or collaborate with you on a new piece of software. No, that voice has none of the menace of Nikita Khrushchev pounding a shoe on the table at the United Nations, and it has none of the sinister snarl of the bad guys in ''From Russia With Love.'' No, that voice on the help line just has a friendly Indian lilt that masks any sense of threat or challenge. It simply says: ''Hello, my name is Rajiv. Can I help you?''

No, Rajiv, actually you can't.

When it comes to responding to the challenges of the flat world, there is no help line we can call. We have to dig into ourselves. We in America have all the basic economic and educational tools to do that. But we have not been improving those tools as much as we should. That is why we are in what Shirley Ann Jackson, the 2004 president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, calls a ''quiet crisis'' -- one that is slowly eating away at America's scientific and engineering base.

''If left unchecked,'' said Jackson, the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in physics from M.I.T., ''this could challenge our pre-eminence and capacity to innovate.'' And it is our ability to constantly innovate new products, services and companies that has been the source of America's horn of plenty and steadily widening middle class for the last two centuries. This quiet crisis is a product of three gaps now plaguing American society. The first is an ''ambition gap.'' Compared with the young, energetic Indians and Chinese, too many Americans have gotten too lazy. As David Rothkopf, a former official in the Clinton Commerce Department, puts it, ''The real entitlement we need to get rid of is our sense of entitlement.'' Second, we have a serious numbers gap building. We are not producing enough engineers and scientists. We used to make up for that by importing them from India and China, but in a flat world, where people can now stay home and compete with us, and in a post-9/11 world, where we are insanely keeping out many of the first-round intellectual draft choices in the world for exaggerated security reasons, we can no longer cover the gap. That's a key reason companies are looking abroad. The numbers are not here. And finally we are developing an education gap. Here is the dirty little secret that no C.E.O. wants to tell you: they are not just outsourcing to save on salary. They are doing it because they can often get better-skilled and more productive people than their American workers.

These are some of the reasons that Bill Gates, the Microsoft chairman, warned the governors' conference in a Feb. 26 speech that American high-school education is ''obsolete.'' As Gates put it: ''When I compare our high schools to what I see when I'm traveling abroad, I am terrified for our work force of tomorrow. In math and science, our fourth graders are amongthe top students in the world. By eighth grade, they're in the middle of the pack. By 12th grade, U.S. students are scoring near the bottom of all industrialized nations. . . . The percentage of a population with a college degree is important, but so are sheer numbers. In 2001, India graduated almost a million more students from college than the United States did.China graduates twice as many students with bachelor's degrees as the U.S., and they have six times as many graduates majoring in engineering. In the international competition to have the biggest and best supply of knowledge workers, America is falling behind.''

We need to get going immediately. It takes 15 years to train a good engineer, because, ladies and gentlemen, this really is rocket science. So parents, throw away the Game Boy, turn off the television and get your kids to work. There is no sugar-coating this: in a flat world, every individual is going to have to run a little faster if he or she wants to advance his or her standard of living. When I was growing up, my parents used to say to me, ''Tom, finish your dinner -- people in China are starving.'' But after sailing to the edges of the flat world for a year, I am now telling my own daughters, ''Girls, finish your homework -- people in China and India are starving for your jobs.''
I repeat, this is not a test. This is the beginning of a crisis that won't remain quiet for long. And as the Stanford economist Paul Romer so rightly says, ''A crisis is a terrible thing to waste.''

"

More on Globalization

The Sound of Silence .. Absolutely love this song..

2005-07-06T14:10:00.000+05:30

Absolutely love this song to bits..

''
Hello darkness, my old friend,
I've come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains Within the sound of silence.

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone,
'Neath the halo of a street lamp,
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night And touched the sound of silence.

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dare Disturb the sound of silence.

"Fools" said I, "You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you,
Take my arms that I might reach you."
But my words like silent raindrops fell,
And echoed In the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made.
And the sign flashed out its warning,
In the words that it was forming.
And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written
on the subway walls And tenement halls."
And whisper'd in the sounds of silence.

"

- Paul Simon, 1964,
Paul Simon , Art Garfunkel ( Simon and Garfunkel)

Whaddyathink? :)

2005-06-23T12:29:00.000+05:30

Me with my Opel Astra International !!

:)

Ain't me sleek?

Back To Bangalore...... And God Bless the Alphonsos!

2005-06-10T16:59:00.000+05:30

I am Back from Ireland :) !

Am back at my good ol' seat, back to the after lunch office campus rounds and the 8-9 am occasional before office swimming sessions at the community pool close by ..

Back to the late evening fruit platter at office, and the afternoon lemon squash, back to colgate smiles for the foreign head of office (read dignitary) visits, to the constant chirrup of payscales, who's left, who hasn't, who will and who wont, also back to the calculations of increments, taxation, to ICICI Direct and the can-I-speak-to-you-for-a-second calls for lifetime credit cards, pension and jobs :)

I reached Bangalore just past midnight into Sunday. The travel experience was good for a change and if you ask me, Lufthansa services are far better than the NorthWest or Alitalia ones that I have had a chance to fly before; and tho it might be because they have far lesser flights, but one would be impressed at care for small details that they seem to have taken. Services were far better, flight timings were on the tick, the hostesses served with a smile and there wasnt a single crack or tampering of my luggage. Pranay, my friend picked me up, and I was more than thankful to him, cos the drizzle when the flight had landed had developed into steady rain by the time I passed the airport gates. Also got a chance to talk to him about a lot of things and update myself with the current affairs of the city.

Back here the TOI still has Sania and Tendulkar hogging the limelight, The papers are still rue-ing the lack of infrastructure in Bangalore, the increase of crimes, the crippling of the city whenever the rains come and the trees fall, and the papers also have a fair share of state and country wide politics. A train has derailed, Advani has resigned after a not so good comment about Jinnah being secular, something that could have broken the basic political strategies of his own party and also that of their Pakistani counterparts.

It feels good to be back in Bangalore and back to homeland. As always.I am catching up with friends and relatives, I have a trip to Calcutta the next week, where I get to meet most of my relatives, since they are also sposed to assemble during this time. So , am looking forward for a good 5-6 days ahead of me, without any project workload, with proper Bengali cuisine I have been deprived through most of the last 4-5 years,with lovely places to visit, weddings to attend, basically to revisit yet another city that I love with all its beauties, its absurdities and with all its idiosyncracies.

I got the chance to see the histrionics of Bunty and Babli ( a humorous take-off to Bonnie and Clyde) at the Innovative, Marthahalli, and it was a nice change from the constant Clint Eastwood, Humphrey Bogart movies, that Irish televisions used to dole out all the time. Abhishek is refreshing, he is outrightly funny, with all those costumes and the UP accent, he looks pretty skilled at witty humour. Rani on her part is funny, surprisingly doesnt have much problem with whatever Punjabi she has to speak and is tremenduously attractive at the same time, she is anyways poles different from the ravishing yet steely cold Faye Dunaway.. in Bonnie and Clyde. I wasnt impressed with Amitabh though, I felt he was underutilized. You could see him literally panting in the Kajra Re song, to keep pace with his son and aishwarya. Though maybe almost all will disagree, I think Kajra Re , as a song deserved a better picturization. The song is too good, but the filming, yes with Aishwarya and all , not quite.

For the summary of what all I could do in Ireland

Visited Dublin, the city and its shops and its car parks, the National art Museum, the Natural History museum, the major parks, roads, Wax museum, the Banks of River Liffey. Missed out on the James Joyce memorial since it was out of the city. I loved the city, especially the street bands, who would play song after song with huge enthusiasm with passers by cheering them on, requesting songs, clicking photos, dropping in a couple of coins and hearing them for hours..

Visited Glendalough, a charming valley with a heaven like beauty. Dark blue lakes, lush green hills, small curvy trails, and low lying clouds, Also Wicklow, a small town in West Ireland. It too had some lovely cliffs and a green carpety golf course beside the sea, Visited Carlingford a historical town on the Ireland Northern Ireland border, with its small and dirty ships standing listless beside the pier and an old but majestic fort.
Dundalk the place where I stayed, worked for my company for these 2 months is a small town. There were many places you could walk and visit, though to me the biggest structures apart from a 19th century church was the main TESCO shopping campus and the university buildings. My colleague crashed our rental car in the parking lot, which gave us some problems in commuting for a couple of days, but then the rest of the days went by just the same.
The Irish, from what i have seen, are a boisterous yet cheerful lot, love their potatoes, wine and beer. The countryside is fresh light green, and you can stop your car anywhere in this "emerald isle" and always catch something remarkably picturesque.

I am finishing this post from my Office cube,. and it will be time to go home in a couple of hours.. so am already taking it easy :) It rains pretty frequently nowadays, the weather is pleasant. People say I have escaped a notably hot summer and that I think is a relief. But what I also realize I have missed out on is a whole half season of ripe juicy , mouth watering mangoes with a lung filling smell that can attract humans and flies alike from 50 meters away :) . The first day, I reached here , I was treated to a bunch of awesome mangoes by my house landlord. He gave me 3-4 options, and offcourse I took Alphonsos. This might be "exotic fruit" for one of my Irish colleagues, but its one of the many small things, that once of have an experience of, make you yearn to be in India and stay here for as long as you can.

Currently On the Jukebox
"Cats in the Cradle" - Ugly Kid Joe.

Not far from what I thought about myself .. :))

2005-06-02T16:16:00.000+05:30

Your Birthdate: March 3

Being born on the 3rd day of the month is likely to add a good bit of vitality to your life.

The energy of 3 allows you bounce back rapidly from setbacks, physical or mental.

There is a restlessness in your nature, but you seem to be able to portray an easygoing, "couldn't care less" attitude.

You have a natural ability to express yourself in public, and you always make a very good impression.

Good with words, you excel in writing, speaking, and possibly singing.

You are energetic and always a good conversationalist.

You have a keen imagination, but you tend to scatter your energies and become involved with too may superficial matters.

You are affectionate and loving, but sometimes too sensitive.

You are subject to rapid ups and downs.

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

A year gone by..

2005-05-26T19:31:00.000+05:30

How do you feel when you Prime minister is an Oxford and Cambridge Economics graduate, When your Finance Minister is an Harvard alumni , when your Finance Secretary is a oxford economics and your president himself is amongst the top notch nuclear scientists of the world?

Rest assured.

Between Singh and Chidambaram we have what is hailed as the biggest economic reformist (1991) and the presenter of the Dream Budget (1997) We have all the required technical , political , economical social expertise in our hands. For once it really seems that the hands who giude the future of our country are not just the pot bellied acidically corrupt Gandhi-cappers ..
but are really highly knowdlegable, hugely sucessful people whom you can trust.. whose visions have spurred revolutions and whose thoughts have inspired huge successes.

But as its one year since they have assumed office. The first semester results are out. Can we the people take out the report cards from their bags ? and see the As and the Ds? Has the Government really done well ? Have we zoomed to our progress path the way we should have?

I guess not.

After a year back in power, Congress is still working out how to use it. Our reformist prime minister has done remarkably little reforming.

Remember?
A year ago, it was the biggest surprise reversal of the political world. The "feel good" campaign had backfired. The Congress though having failed to secure a majority at the general election, had managed to string up a 17 member strong rag bag of a coalition it now heads. Inspite of all the horse trading and ultimately still being in the minority, the CPM-CPI the party with the third highest seats but a totally opposite portfolio was mollycoddled for support from outside the corridors of power. A huge stock market crash occurred immediately showing the investors lack of confidence, but the govt handled it unbelieveably well.

It was always clear that Manmohan Singh would face an uphill battle. There were basically two big questions. The first, the not-that serious one was whether the Congress could manage an amicable division of powers between its leader Sonia Italian Gandhi, and the unelected technocrat Sardar in whose favour she renounced the top job. He was immediately in the charge of all policy, and in theory the government. She still was the unanimous leader the coalition, the United Progressive Alliance, and was to handle their politics.

This did not face any problem, as you wont expect Dr. Singh to have glitzy political intentions. even his mentor in Oxford (search google) called him somewhat an introvert and was pretty surprised to see him in a prime ministerial hot seat. In fact Singh was the perfect foil to Sonia and the relation was that of perfect bonhomie.

The second the more important question was whether, in managing this unweildy and disparate coalition, it could get much done. The coalition includes many who remain at best suspicious of reform. So inspite of being as finance minister in 1991, the architect of the liberalization and the deregulation of the economy, the policy which Manmohan is in charge of has been tailored to the need to find the consensus between the reformists and their opponents, people who are highly suspicious of any reform.

The result? Both are extremes and both feel let down. Reform is piecemeal and half hearted. You can neither remove caps and privatise, relax labour laws, nor can you fully promote of the grand public spending schemes pushed by the left.

The big disappointments

1. First and foremost to me the government has failed to produce the changes so badly needed if India is to catch up with China - Which was, is and looks set to become the favourite destination of foreign investors. China plans to build 25 mega cities by the decade, do you think we can even match anything of their economy if we dont start off now?

2. The little disappointments to me are just a number of modest improvements to the system of caps on investment which , ludicrous though this might seem for a country of India's position, prevent foreigners of commiting the heinous crime of putting as much money and know-how as they would like into our existing antiquated services and industries. Ha ha. Period.

3. Failure to garner support for the UNSC Permanent Seat. Thats a huge under effort on the part of the government. Rice came, was tomfoolered around, and she went, giving lumpsome F16s to the Pakistanis. The US is the only country mum on out UNSC prospects inspite of huge measures taken by them for trade, defence and strategic interests.

The power of the Reds !
Many ppl still think of the Communists to be a passive supporter just organising bandhs and protests and if you are not from WB or Kerala, you really dont need to see their faces.. Here is how they affect us..
1. This government will never be able to attack the huge subsidies paid out by the government to any number of interest groups.
2. It will never be able to tap labour market reform.
3. Here is an interesting scenario I read from the Economist , Ireland.

"India was horribly slow in cashing in on the ending of this years restrictions on the trade in textiles. Because any Indian company employing more than 100 people requires the permission of the state authorities to sack workers, few companies have dared expand to take advantage of the increased demand. More flexible China with a textiles tradition less glorious than India's has cleaned up at its expense."

4. They have hobbled Manmohan from the start by insisting on The "Common Minimum Program" for which ,I read "lowest common denominator". As a consequences the govt. has effectively excluded in advance most of the main reforms.

Here is what the Commies have recently done --

1. They have resisted most moves to privatise state enterprises or ease curbs on foreign investment.
E.g just some time back the CPM demanded the amendment of a law that will establish "special economic zones" SEZs modelled on those that helped China kickstart its modernisation 25 years ago. They forced the removal of a provision that would have given the state governments the right to exempt these zones from India's Restricitve labour laws.

2. Any liberalization reform generally can be done only through govt.. executive action, e.g such as raising the cap on foreign investment in telecommunications that was done. But the problem is that these are therefore measures that would require legislation, for other industries eg. insurance is simply impossible,

I feel to some extent in these issues our PM is to blame partly. Cos, he has failed to use the power of his office to fight for the reforms he believes in, and has been altogether too meek in twisting his allies' arms.

But, having said that its not all bad things for the Left. They also can harbor equal disgruntlement on non commitment to their good policies. If we remember, the Congress had marked its election campain with the common man. It showed that against the backdrop of a buoyant economy and booming IT industry, there was a huge cry of pain from the neglected country side where 70% of our people live, many of them in dire poverty. They had promised free electricity to farmers, and job security in the mills their ads.

Therefore also, much of the common minimum program the UPA adopted was a promise to tackle their plight. Now lets take a related example. There was a sure commitment in the CMP to the immediate enactment of the nation wide "Employee - guarantee" scheme which would offer casual labout to anybody willing to do it at the minimum wage.

Its supporters then had argued that this would make a huge onslaught on poverty, reduce migration to the towns, help improve the woeful infrastructure and foster a fairer social order. Its critics, who now include the members of the government, believe it would be a gigantic waste of public funds which would be siphoned off by corrupt officials paying ghost workers to build phantom projects. They know themselves too well dont they? :) But, Rather than scrap the scheme, or event try and implement it, the government has diluted it to the point of uselessness. Nothing has come out of it.

The Hoorays..
Well, Economic / Labour reform is not everything. And most of what foreign pundits prescribe to India is to my belief, just to suit their cause. For example, you may have one economist harping about all the goodies of globalization.. but they simply ignore the fact that not everything is conducive at all environment, the concept cant be plug and plays, cant be places to
suit the whims and fancies of the developed world, and might not always be the BEST way of doing things.

Some highlights I saw ---

1. Our private sector continues to perform well despite the many obstacles imposed on it by the government. Hooray for our IT sector.

2. A good image abroad. Manmohan is regarded as dignified, decent and incorruptible. Those qualities have paid dividends outside India , too. Mr. Singh's moderate style ( a great relief after the somewhat national hysterics of the Bharatiya Janta Party) has been of tremendous importance. Maybe esp. in repairing relations with Pakistan, there is some thing tangible coming out of the Kashmir issue. I think the mingling of the common man in J and K and POK was a very good thing. . Allowing the hurriyat to venture out and speak anything.. umm maybe yes

3. Tax reform. Yes. Gooood. Finally, India's first value added tax, which should widen the tax base and help improve the country's dismal finances. Hopefully its not the 5% service ppl that pay 90% of the tax anymore

4. Some small progress on investment caps, good for privatisation

But then all this Very less.. and small contributions from the government at that.. Merely serving to highlight how much else the government has failed to do in its first year

Okay so much for the report card... But then, what did it inherit?
a. A BOOMING ECONOMY , still growing at more than 6% a year.

b. A wave of goodwill thats followed Sonia Gandhi's act of "renunciation" and the appointment of Mr Singh a man of unquestioned integrity, decency and economic expertise.

c. A tattered opposition. In shambles. The BJP, was as shocked by its electoral defeat as congress was by its victory. But it has taken longer to recover. It has allowed itself to become pre occupied with internal bickering , and has resolved to boycotting parliament, which also led all seeing the first cracks in the esteemed BJP - TDP combine..

Here are some more Good decisions and good initiatives happenning I thought. :)
1. The "right to information" act passed . This shows our laws are maturing.
2. Investing in primary education and rural infrastructure.
3. Stemming the epedemic of AIDS, that outsiders believe is still out of control.
4. Handling the tsunami relief measures, handling the tragedy as a self sufficient, swift decision making and proud government.

Whats in the future? From the forebearer
The First 15 overs have been good steady beginning. Not the sehwag way, but maybe the wall is at the crease.. A solid platform has been built for the years to come. The government has identified the right priorities.

Yeah so it was kinda good.. but will it last?

? Are we brave? will it be the same econo-political environment the government has to face? If yes forget difficult radical decisions
? Blues from the Red lands.. If I remember the Aaj Tak lady some months back speaking about this issue, next year sees Assembly elections in West Bengal and Kerala, which will pit the Congress locally againsts the Commies it relies on so much at the center. That will make contentious desicions even harder.
? The "I want the next apple too" syndrome.. By 2007, the fat-pot-bellied congressite it will already have its eyes on the re-election which am sure will make the energies (read monies) channelized somewhere else.. and in general make the government timid.

The Congress officials anyways can boast of the skill with which they have handled coalition politics. Look at the way they have treated governors and governments in states like Goa and now Bihar. Just to suit their needs. Nothing but a sham. But atleast they have avoided doing anything very silly and kind of have established a reputation of competence. But far more is needed . A lots is at stake.

Nearly half of our children are malnourished

More than 6 million people are HIV positive.

We have covered just the initial ground for basic infrastructure , good health amenities.. better education. the list is endess..

So all the best , Manmohan , Chidambaram, Sonia .. Happy First Birthday to your CMP government. The next critical 4 years of a billion lives depend on you.

Where the mind is without fear...

2005-05-22T16:40:00.000+05:30

"These lyrics... display in their thought a world I have dreamed all my life. Work of a supreme culture...." - W. B. Yeats

Where the mind is without fear, and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls

Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit

Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake .

Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore - Gitanjali ( An offering of songs) - 1913

More travel scribbles

2005-04-07T22:27:00.000+05:30

Am writing this from Frankfurt airport waiting for my flight to Dublin. My destination is a further 45 minutes from there, a place called Dundalk. Its 3 pm right now and I guess it will be well into the evening before I reach there.

I have spent last few days in Delhi with my parents. Actually I was supposed to leave Delhi by Sunday, but my office travel desk mucked up my flight reservations from Frankfurt to Dublin and the next confirmed flight I got was 3 days later, i.e. today, Wednesday. I was disappointed, but haven’t complained much since that gave me a chance to stay home and be with my parents more. And everything about home is better than everything else in the world.

Delhi is still the same, and yet it has changed a lot. The city’s the same cos, the things that I associate with Delhi, and those that separate it from everywhere else are still there.

Many known people, loads of places that evoke nostalgic memories, and things that you know will stay there waiting for you even you return back after 20 years. I have spent the whole of my formative years here, and I believe there is nothing in the coming 30-40 years or as much time as I live, that is going to change the way I feel about the city. No other city could take its place, no other ever will.

What has changed or is changing and at good pace I think is lifestyles, infrastructure, and mindsets. The same way as the other metropolises of our country, but in some areas at a more impressive pace. In the next 3-4 years, the common Delhi-ite can reduce atleast 1-2 thought lines from his forehead I am sure. The Metro looks good, pollution has been effectively dealt as of now, the common man has had far lesser power outages ever since the mid size industries were shoved out of the city, the roads are cleaner, the satellite towns are getting more impressive by the day, salaries are increasing, so is buying power of the general consumer. Graduate students are getting far more options now in the city and fortunately I think people seem to be getting calmer, more organized and less aggressive in behavior.

I drove to my college, during one of these days in Delhi. I spoke with the teachers, went to the labs, walked the campus grounds, the stairs, the library, all my four year class rooms, my conference rooms and even the car park. It was just the same as how I had left it. Seemed as if I had just left it 3 months back. But the students looked a different kind than we were. Dressing styles seem to have changed a bit , yes.. Couldn’t find any chess players or cricket matches. Just students hustling past each other I strained my ears to hear the across railing student banter. Their perceptions of the outside world already look different. Thinkpads, IPods, BioCon, and Intel are the buzz words instead of the Infy, Wipro, TCS that we used to have. Not that I heard these words, it was just a small talk about a presentation to be organized somewhere in the city but their very talk seemed far more focused than what we generally were , or so I think.

2 new huge malls have sprouted up within a couple of kms from my place. Huge ones. I saw 2 and literally 2 Police Control Room vans at each road from the airport to my place. It feels like the city will soon start to reap the benefits of the massive infrastructure and amenity based ramp ups, it had started on a war footing 3-4 years back. People are gung ho about the highest building of the world that’s supposed to be built here, or the new tech parks in Gurgaon, but I am more happy to see that the Yamuna doesn’t look as black as a sewerage drain anymore and that barricades have effectively stopped the littering of the river. I am more happy to see less people honking mercilessly at the red lights for no reason whatsoever, to vent out their end of the frustration or something like that. I am more happy to see, efficient government offices and tolerant officers at atleast a couple of places.

“Rough Speaking People”, “Swindler Cab Drivers” , “Punjabi Show off culture” , “Endless bureaucracy” , “Bribe Takers”, “Fearless Power Rich people” , “Unhelpful common man” , “Lack of culture”

These are the various concerns and perceptions outsiders hold or like to hold about the city. Most of them still hold true, but definitely now to a far lesser extent than in the 80s. It helps when you have lived in the city to learn what you tend to lose when out of it. But still being as unbiased as I can get myself to be, and taking the most professional view I am capable of, Delhi still seems to me the best in India that you can live in, having the best comforts and the best growth for almost every sector anyways. I feel that the most important areas where the city lags, and some of which lead to the above perceptions are already starting to diminish. But it’s a long way still. More importantly, along with all this progress, the society and the inhabiting people should mature, in their mindsets and their cultural disposition alongside the facilities or the other betterments. For good.

Resume ----- Dundalk, Ireland , 1500 hours

Have reached my apartments in Dundalk. I will share it with an American colleague for a fortnight. Am already starting to experience the Irish – English weather, fierce winds, stinging rain, but then the country side is beautiful. :) Lovely grasslands, with cows grazing silently, a green lush horizon, clouds sweeping over hills, high cliffs bordering the sea, castles, farmhouses, it looks lovely. I have never seen such a deep green color the Irish sea here has in my life, the whole island looks green. Hope to be in Dublin this weekend, for the city fun part ;)

More later. Its meeting time .

Ke Ghar kab aaoge ..

2005-03-17T21:22:00.000+05:30

Reached the warm comforts of my room in Bangalore yesterday... Almost every person in office I meet, coo-s

"Hi Archan, welcome back ..How have you been? how was your trip? Was the flight back okay? "

and I stutter everytime in giving a realistic reply. Well, its difficult for me to establish the feeling here at my blogpad as well.. but I will try..

Cos.. this has to be on record.

It was one of the weirdest, toughest, most frustrating, angering and awkward journeys I have had. It was also one of the most interesting, unexpected, full of surpises travels I have been subjected to..

Lets start with some math.. should be a pretty easy one for the people who like me swear by it as their favorite subjects..

a) Granny Dearest: "How many hours is East Coast Time behind Indian Standard time, on winters, if 8 am at the Atlantic shore is evening 6:30 pm at Jhumri's Talaiya ?"
Alec Smart : "Duh, thats 10:30 hours , Gram'ma"

b) Granny D: "So if Archan starts from his rented apartment in the US of A at 1100 hours on a Sunday morn and reaches his Bangalore base at 2230 hours on WEDNESDAY NIGHT !!! what has he been doing?"

Alec Smart : "That would be 24 + 24 + 24 + 11:30 - 10:30 = 73 hours Granny.. Me got it first ... Yaay !! "

Lucky Eddie: " Wrong Aaaaaaaaaanswer !!! You missed the cache Alec! The correct answer is "Archan has been TRAVELLING !!! "

DUH .

Me feels like two sides of the coin, two split personalities right now.. Bitter and Sweet, Angry and Ecstatic, Good and Evil, Alec Smart and Lucky Eddie. My feeling about this return trip back home is just the same...

"Yeah thanks AND I Had a most oustanding
(ly screwed up and the weirdest)
flight back home..
(And I really dont care)
How have you been "

See? All can be rosy if you fail to read between my lines..

Anyways, all thats written above is true. Thats exactly the time it took me to reach my home bed. It seemed endless, and it was a crazy experience. Since morning on sunday, the Alec Smart in Me (dont know which brain hemisphere) spent answering calls and chatting on Yahoo till I realized that I had half an hour to pack up, have a bath and get ready till John picks me up.

I am generally meticulous about ma planning.. but Alec Smart had been attending dinner meets and other outside of the city excursions, examples sake a BIIG 50 factory outlets shopping area and restaurant luncheons. The outlet shopping spree yeilded me nothing , and I swear by the underworld maxim ... It "pays" not being a woman..

And for the whole part of that weekend.. Alec Smart had been bragging about to the Americans and the Europeans was, look how easy its for you guys. we have to do 32 hours of travelling just to reach back to India ..( gasps and sighs) .. and I cant sleep much due to all the screeching kids around (more gasps and sighs) .. and mentally telling myself.. ( Heh - Heh !!.. piece of cake.. i will watch all 6 movies and sleep the remainder of the time. And the idiot Kids on the deck?? ( Devil laugh) They can be put to rest by sneak - forcing just a gulp of the readily available Scotch on the Rocks down their throat!! FOR THE WHOLE FLIGHT!! Been there . Done that.)

So, cut to action..The army packing drill ensued. clothes, washed/unwashed were folded rolled and stuffed in a jiffy. A ke chocolates, B ke gift , C ka package jo Bangalore mein deliver karaana hai, files, CDs .. and ohh yes.. my most important thing.. swept my hand across the basin rack of both the baths.. Saare sample shampooos, moisturizers, scented soaps, fell into the suitcase.. :) I love these samples :)

Then the final act... A big heavy squat on top of the suitcase - on top of the bed.. and with the sleight twist of the hands.. close in the suitcase.. It had worked again. I hadnt lost the touch :) .. So far so good..

John picked me up.. on time.. at 10:30.. and I was all wet (NO PUN INTENDED, YOU SICKOS) ... The unsure part however was, was it the bath water cos i hadnt had the time to properly towel myself dry? or was it my sweat showing my last 30 minutes struggle.... Was thanking the Lucky Eddie in me now for taking over and pulling it off yet again.. Anyways.. went to the club and dropped in the keys.. now for the last moment things.. to do.. My office colleague manoj's 1GB flash Drive and my friend Pranay's 30 GB Photo IPOD..

Raced away to Best Buy .. and NONE of them were there.. the IPOD corner hadnt opend.. since best buy opens only at 11 am on sundays. ... Embarrasment Embarrasment.. I had 3 weeks.. But I couldnt get these two things i had promised.. ab sabko bolna padega.. car nahi thaa is baar.. couldnt venture out much.. and blah and blah..

Lucky Eddie was beating a hasty retreat.. from the Electronic Shop.. After all the flight departed in 90 more minutes.. when thunder struck right at the exit door. and Smart Alec took over.. 15 minutes passed as Smarty Alec salviated over all the latest Canon, sony, JVC , Kodak, Nikon cameras and camcorders ..

John, gave me the resigned look which looked like "Son if you dont leave NOW .. you can come shopping for all pods and flashes the next day".

Well , finally Smart Alec did come back to the car .. Only lighter by 400 #($*ing dollars from his wallet ! and a quarter kilo heavier from the LATEST SONY 5.1 MPIX Carl Zeiss lensed Digi Camera !! hanging by his armside.. Remember the TOm and Jerry Cartoons? The Red Devil Laughs and sits over Tom's head.. and the White angel slowly shakes his head and walks away.. helped with a poke in arse from the Devils trishul ofcourse..

The Unexpecteds had already started to Happen...

What was ofcourse still expected, was the US Security tomfoolery... As usual, and In sync with all my travails to States-land before.. The idiot NW checkin guy gave me the SSSS tag.. Now, i can see that immediately when I get the boarding pass.. (bottom right corner of the boarding pass) What it means is the i will be stripped and searched and stripped and searched and stripped and searched through each and every gate henceforth in the US.. and its will be pain and embarrasment all the way till I board the flight and they finally have had enough of me..

And so it was..
At every gate.. They read me my rights.. excluded me from the line.. searched me.. ransacked my baggage ruthlessly and talked through this molestation all the way..
"Sir, I am going to run though your trousers " ("Sir , now I am going to feel your thighs")
" Can you please put your feet on these separated signs?" ("Please spread your legs")
"Please lift your feet... okay" ("Is that some metal there though the opened belt? ")
"Thank you, youre all set" ("Sigh. I am all done..")

And since I had to meet my friend @ Minneapolis airport.. I had to go outside the security gate cordon ( His cell also had to be transported to India) . 2 more strip searches were added to the itenirary..

The first question they ask after reading the rights is

"Sir, Have you ever been through this before"
And i think of starting off

" Lets see now, so you know back in the december of 2004 when I was here for a fortnight? hmm? well thats one... and UMMM , if i remember correctly... again On my way back in October? "
"Annd OHHHHHH YES !!! :)) in fact just 4 (*&$ing hours back !! ..This search thingy rocks no? You Americans are So kewl :) Do it again on me please, would you? THE next time I will have rosemary scented socks for you to smell"

Bloody *#@$)(*&#$(#&$#@(*&$#@*$)&#(*$&#@(*)&$#@*$&#@$(*#$)(*

Nothing else worthwhile happenned between The last search and the plane Gate. I just flipped my stay visa at the boarding counter and was thinking about some needed rest on the plane seat.. but Alec Smart was in time for it again..

I had realized that I was boarding my flight among the last passengers... and just before I enterd. they stopped me..

"You have to check in this luggage.. there is not any cabin space left now"

What else could I have expected.. it was a DC - 10.. Generally used for the Indian sectors.. jahaan bhed-bakriyon ki tarah all worldwide airlines Indians ko Laad dete hain.. they dont care a damn about the customers needs.. and everything. . Every airline that I have travelled is rude to indian passengers.. and Indians always take it sportingly.. well some definitely deserve it.. and such namune are always there in these aircrafts to spoil our image..

Alec Smart did nothing.. He Said.. Why of course.? Maine yeh hand bag tumhein baad mein check in karwaane ke liye hi to rakha thaa.. tum apne komal haathon se checkin karogi to mera bhag dhanya ho jaayega aur meri yatra safal ho jaayegei. Kahaan hai? Kahaan hai Checkin slip?

A small tattered check in slip was usherd into my hand.. All i had now was my laptop.. and my passport and ticks.

So Alec Smart boarded his flight.. and fluffed up the pillow and spread out the Shawl and fastened the seat belt.. And he waited
And waited.. and Waited.

"This is the Captain speaking.. We have a minor glitch.. the hydraulic liquid in the left tyres is a bit low" ( we didnt care for the basic checks even though the plane was 5-6 hours in the airport before everyone boarded)"
The mechanics are filling in the replacement.. we will be on our way in 10 minutes"

10 minutes it was... 5 of them..

After 50 minutes and a full episode of 4 fat black women chatting their blues away and after a good 1:10 minutes behind schedule the Minneapolis to Amsterdam KLM North west Bugger of an airplane.. taxied to the runway...

I was happy to get out of the ordeal. and thankfully Lucky Eddie took over..
I slept the whole flight and luckily was awake just in time of the lunches.. there were no kids to scotch off and the next seat was empty.

The plane landed sharp at 10:05 am in Amsterdam..it had covered half an hour.. maybe I could Make it to the 10:25 Mumbai flight after all.. So the plane landed.. and then it stopped.. right there on the tarmac. Had I switched back to Dear ol' Alec in my sleep?

and it stayed there for another 20 minutes.. Good boy Captain Courageous had the guts to tell everyone that there was some other small plane standing on the gate we had been assigned..

WoW.

1/2 an hour later.. as i trudged out of the Gate E8.. I could still see the Mumbai flight parked in the next gate E9.. but I knew they had cancelled my rservation a long before..
I did the requesting at the Gate formality..

and then trudged back a few steps and looked back at the plane.. still connected to the boarding tunnel.. thinking of my had been neighbor stretching his leg on my empty seat.. . I knew I had a long day ahead of me..
It was a very weird feeling .. a feeling of anger frustation agony and helplessness all at the same time..
They were not allowing me to go home.. whereas my flight was just a few steps ahead.. and I couldnt not go inside even with my boarding tick in my hand

The Bashi-Bazouks.

Then came a list of counter waiting.. 1/2 hour for the travel desk counter.. which said it couldnt do anything and I had to go to ticketing to rebook my flights. I met two americans going to Pune.. who had also missed the flight.. and we 3 headed for the ticketing.. atleast some company..

After 1 hour of line waiting.. The Goras we immediately given a flight to Heathrow.. and then a connecting to Mumbai. .They would lose 6-7 hours..

My turn came.. THe Counter lady in blue blurted
"I have booked your flight for tomorrow.. Be here @ 8 am tomorrow.. "
I asked back. .how did the previous ppl get a connection?

The reply was sum Dutch Mumbo Jumbo.. and then something about check ins.. which implied that look you are a lowly asian.. this world class airline functions perfectly just because.. it has learnt to segregate between who it cares for and who it doesnt.. read those who can sue up and who cant.. so just buzz off and accept my reservations.

As if i had a choice..
40 minutes later.. I got my transit visa.. a Temporary stay order for 1 day.. I prayed for Smart Alec to go back to his shell or hemisphere.. and maybe he did..

Hotel bookings were assigned.. I was given a 3 minute calling card to inform my near / dear.. as if bachhe ko 3 rupe pakda do.. aur kaho.. beta , car-war toy-shoy bhuul jaao.. yeh lo 3 rupe aur churan, lollipop khaakar khush ho jaao..

Met two Indians at the passport desk.. a lady and a gentleman.. the lady had come from the Detroit connecting flight and had a similar North West "histoire efficace" to narrate..

As we stepped out of the airport and into the shuttle bus. .Lucky eddie realized, watching the thousands of cars on the freeway ... maybe this is not that bad after all.. I have a visa.. and dont I have one of the worlds most beautiful cities ahead of me? They were typical small cars.. looked like busy ants.. buzzing around from one hub to the other..
Amsterdam to Rotterdam to Eindhoven or anywhere..

The country side looked beautiful and the first time after the conversation with someone I had had on yahoo.. the previous day....

I smiled.

:)

The hotel was good, :) lovely artistically designed bath tub.. the emergency travel kit provided by the North West - KLM Staff was good too.. Atleast i could brush and shave.. and wear a new vest underneath...
I had a quick bath.. and a good lunch just in time with the other two people .. a refreshing conversation..

We three people then took the Shuttle back to Schipol Airport. for our city tour.. the guy who had been to this city before was the guide...
Converted some dollars to euro for an outstanding charge.. dont even ask.. (the money returned was almost half) ..

ANd from Schipol Airport to Amsterdam Centraal (with the double a)..we took the city rail .. Our conversations, the double decker train, the cushiony seats, a beautiful view, the dressed up ticket checker and the small old style houses changed our mood completely The area outside Amsterdam Centraal was lovely.. unless you are in a very big city.. you wont find any ppl outside their houses and walking.. in America.. they all like to stay inside.. and run their car to someplace just 300 metres away from where they are.. Thats Americans for you.. Walking is meant for something to be done on forest trails or treadmills.. and walking to someplace is definitely not chic. .First of all you will never find complete side walk pavements and secondly.. everybody from their respective cars will glare at you..

But here I was.. In the busy station.. with Loads of ppl !! Looked like Bombay VT with a Fashion makeover ! middle size fur coats.. a scarf , a short skirts , black stockings and knee high pointed leather boots for the girls.. and A scarf or hat.. with black over coat or jacket and trousers and boots for the gentlemen.. and everyone running about here and there..

The city center was beautiful.. it has a river flowing across.. and round it semi - circled concentric water channels leave and reenter the river.. there are boats and swans on all these channels.. through which you can travel to other parts of the town.. and small lovely bridges on each road.. and cobblestone pavements all along the way.. ! and cars and bikes yes.. but thousands on people on foot and hundreds on small bikes :) bicycles.. :) just paddling about busily along side a fine micro drizzle.. it was a lovely sight..

Also were hundreds of restaurants.. with glass enclosures.. that would place you right beside any water channel. and watch the waterway as you dine over the candle.. Small houses.. flat buildings having the old central european style architechture.. but hosting some of the most expensive fashion or business houses of the world.. Blue trams scurrying past each other.. Small alleys.. and countless shops.. The Indian Shop beside a Madame Tussauds.. A multiplex on one side of the road and a sex musuem on the other..
People walking , talking, enjoying boat rides.. and doing business. all of it. on a pristine 1900 european setting..

It was lovely..

We came back late in the night.. thoroughly satisfied with the visit.. and with tired legs but happy minds.. Maybe it wasnt that bad after all.. The lady had to visit her ailing father in law at the hospital immediately.. the guy had more things on his mind.. but these 7-8 hours.. made us forget the sad part of it all.. just 3 perfect strangers joined together by fate.. as stranded passengers.. who have missed an appointment.. , lost on business, forced to abandon commitments.. and felt helpless and violated.. yet.. maybe felt happy for some time just talking about old things, of places visited. about their loved ones..

I was able to catch the next flight to Mumbai , the next morning.. No more strip searches were required this time. Thought everything will be just perfect as the last afternoon had progressed.. but then Alec was required back to balance things around..

A group of crazy Indians accompanied the neighboring seats.. They kept ordering white wine , red wine. even once a "Janny Boker" ( Johny Walker) !! And loads of other whisky, rum etc.. the more they got drunk.. the more boisterous they became.. and it was a mess for the hostesses

Just one movie was shown .. Wimbledon (Kirsten Dunst) which I would have enjoyed except for the faulty audio system .. but it was the sock stenches and the drunk talk that was unbearable..

Reaching Mumbai made me as happy as ever.. !! What now I thought.. and just before I landed .. I was handed the mother of all turnarounds..

They had not uploaded my baggage at amsterdam ..

The Red Devil had triumphed again.
Alec Smart was back in business.
And I was back to my sour self..

What complicated matters was that one of the drunkards had collapsed right at the indian immigration desk and every Northwest and Airport official was rushing to provide assistance. So the baggage counter had an half empty look.. minutes later a lady came in..
Lucky Eddie came to the rescue . .when I gave her a wisecrack..
"You know what . its 12:00 am in the midnight.. and I have a lady waiting for me outside.. Do you think its safe in this city?"

That kind of sped up matters.. my passport was photocopied faster than the others.. (15 mintues) .. I was taken to the Customs official.. and given the no objection card. But not before surrendering all my keys to the baggage. typing lists of whats inside them and whats not.. and repeatedly declaring.. no I dont have any new camera or mobile or electronic gadget.

My friend was there to pick me up at the airport.. .. since my Bangalore flight was scheduled on the next day evening.. Spent the day roaming around Mumbai. .Marine drive et al.. i love the city.. its trains. .everything.. had good food. at the pizza hut.. took some snaps.. met loads of good people.

I landed in Bangalore on Wednesday night. Lucky hadnt left me since after the form signing at the KLM counter..

As the pre paid taxi left the arrivals section of Bangalore Antarrashtriya terminal.. the first song good ol Mirchi put up for me was..

" Ke Ghar kab aaoge.. Likho Kab aaoge..
Ke tum bin yeh ghar suuna suuna hai.. "

Was talking about the power of telepathy to my good friend SAm in the US just two days back.. he was wondering out how the moment you think of a song.. sometimes you find it the next on your jukebox..

And we had been talking about him wanting to hear this song from Border.. Alongside..

I felt i could smile. I sang aloud suddenly ..
"Ae guzarne waali hawaa bataa ... mera itna kaam karegi kya" to the startled and petrified Kannada cab driver.. :) Maybe the suddenly high pitch of the couplet.. would have almost caused him to screech his Maruti Van to a halt . .but I simply wouldnt have cared :)

Bangalore is not exactly ghar for me.. Thats still my cozy little room thats been kept then same, unchanged. back in delhi by my parents when I left it 4 years back..

But after this long journey back home.. i felt my wait was over.. I could now just sit back and relax.

AND look How wrong I was.. These KLM buggers dont pick up the bangalore fone number at all.. And I am STILL waiting for my luggage..

Bashi Bazouks.. Blistering Barnacles.. Thousands of Thundering typhoons..

Well, God bless me.. And the Americans..and whomsoever who wants to be blessed..

The fact that I have realized . .that there will not always be Lucky Eddie in my life. I would be a fool to wish for it.. THe truth is that it will always be the Alec Smart inside of me that will help me be stronger ... and I can hope to have Lucky Eddie by my side.. atleast sometimes for some unforeseen pleasure.. some unfinished dream.. some good surprises.. to help reaffirm the belief in myself..

and ofcourse a bit of fun :)

An Update from the other side...

2005-02-22T01:09:00.000+05:30

Reached Raleigh, North Carolina yesterday.. Arrived at the airport with a 1.5 hour delay.. we'll it didnt matter to me much, but then it was my colleague John who was waiting @ the airport from 10 pm. and we reached my place by midnight.

These flights from India to anywhere in the US.. are always a test of your endurance.. especially when you know you have the all important meeting just the next day.. and youre not sure whether you will be able to raise your 10 ton eyelids during those afternoon discussions.. what to talk about being the presenter yourself in most of the cases... its always 35 hours.. and cramped seats.. and cabin baggage fights.. and squeaking children.. and lost Asian Vegetarian meals.. By the end of the flight.. you wish you were back home already.. and wish you wouldnt have to face the return flight back home..

Completed re-reading the book The Lexus and the Olive Tree by Thomas Friedman during this time... I have got one more book.. The Memoirs of a Geisha .. to finish on my way back.. but then thats about 15-20 days from now.. This was a big book to get completed in one go.. but anyways.. one generally doesnt have much to do.. apart from waiting in airport lounges.. for 3-4 hours.. and braving the glare of the transit immigration official or the security guard .. It also amazes me.. how even though I always have just my clothes.. and maybe a 6 pack of Maggi for emergency sakes.. its always the case that I always find the white slip inside my luggage ... at the end of the journey. which says.. "Your luggage was selected for random checking .. and blah and blah of US Immigration rules.. ". In my next life.. I am going to be an Indian immigration official.. and anyways.. as one is already starting to see the reversal of the exodus.. so who knows.. I might settle scores with this disparity of probablity... by doling some 10-12 Indian law white slips myself for the American endeavorer to ponder about beside his suitcase..

As the dialogue goes in "Jhankar Beats"
"Duniya gol hai , aur har paap ka ek double role hai... "

Anyways.. I really like all the people here.. my team members I mean... both Americans and the ppl from other nationalities.. they are all very warm and cordial .. and always go the extra step in helping you out.. and caring for you... maybe because.. I am even younger then their youngest children.. John got my stay reservations done.. close to his apartments.. This means.. I dont have to hire a cab everytime.. since i dont have a car this time.. even groceries and other things.. will be comfortably acquired..

The flat I have got is a riot... It makes me feel like a king.. Its a 3 bedroom , 2 bathroom 1400 sq ft mansion.. !! and I took 10-12 minutes yesterday to chart out on which days I would use Bedroom 1 , BedRoom2 and on which Bedroom 3.. ... the Baths are alternate obviously... But just in case you get me wrong.. the loo and the tub of any bath room are not to be used on the same day..
Clear bowels in one.. and lather yourself in the other.. :) so there.

Waise, Kabhie kabhie hi to khuda chappad phaad kar deta hai.. never had my hand on the controls of such a huge plasma screen.. sleek furnishings.. not a speck of dust.. .even the motor drive is huge... Well .. there can be a more detailed planning .. like iron my pants in one room , and the shirt in the other.. keep my formals in one closet and the casuals in the other.. (for the third one therez always the undergarbs.. and the night wears... ) but then I sound more like acting akin to the every canine having his day proverb..

Naah people... I am not the VP .. of my company.. and no my dad is not the CEO... its just that providence wills some unforeseen luxuries on you some times.. ones that both amaze you and make you realize the irony of it all at the same time.. and you think.. I can play cricket in this place.. on the third floor.. for free... and I have just a room and my bed in Bangalore... for 5K.. Aint fair...

Raleigh is as pleasant as it is when i left it. .The roads and lakes have the same stunning beauty as when I last saw it.. the climate is a bit damp tho.. but atleast far better then the - 4 at Minneapolis that I sat through for 6 hours.

Rest is fine.. Its war time at the work front.. Some critical decisions are to be taken .. I hope they go my way.. Have had 2 months of back breaking work, I hope this culminates in sucess..

Touch wood.. so they say..

The 90/10 Principle

2005-02-14T16:33:00.000+05:30

Wish everyone a Very Happy Valentine's Day.

Here is a lovely article By Steven Covey ...

"Have you read this before? Discover the 90/10 Principle. It will change your life (at least the way you react to situations). What is this principle? 10% of life is made up of what happens to you. 90% of life is decided by how you react. What does this mean? We really have no control over 10% of what happens to us. We cannot stop the car from breaking down. The plane will be late arriving, which throws our whole schedule off. A driver may cut us off in traffic. We have no control over this 10%. The other 90% is different. You determine the other 90%.

How? By your reaction. You cannot control a red light., but you can control your reaction. Don't let people fool you; YOU can control how you react.

Let's use an example. You are eating breakfast with your family. Your daughter knocks over a cup of coffee onto your business shirt. You haveno control over what just what happened. What happens when the next will be determined by how you react. You curse. You harshly scold your daughter for knocking the cup over. She breaks down in tears. After scolding her, you turn to your spouse and criticize her for placing the cup too close to the edge of the table. A short verbal battle follows. You storm upstairs and change your shirt. Back downstairs, you find your daughter has been too busy crying to finish breakfast and get ready for school. She misses the bus. Your spouse must leave immediately for work. You rush to the car and drive your daughter to school. Because you are late, you drive 40 miles an hour in a 30 mph speed limit. After a 15-minute delay and throwing $60 traffic fine away, you arrive at school. Your daughter runs into the building without saying goodbye. After arriving at the office 20 minutes late, you find you forgot your briefcase. Your day has started terrible. As it continues, it seems to get worse and worse. You look forward to coming home, When you arrive home, you find small wedge in your relationship with your spouse and daughter.

Why? Because of how you reacted in the morning. Why did you have a bad day?
A) Did the coffee cause it?
B) Did your daughter cause it?
C) Did the policeman cause it?
D) Did you cause it?

The answer is D. You had no control over what happened with the coffee. How you reacted in those 5 seconds is what caused your bad day. Here is what could have and should have happened. Coffee splashes over you. Your daughter is about to cry. You gently say, "It's ok honey, you just need,to be more careful next time". Grabbing a towel you rush upstairs. After grabbing a new shirt and your briefcase, you come back down in time to look through the window and see your child getting on the bus. She turns and waves.You arrive 5 minutes early and cheerfully greet the staff. Your boss comments on how good the day you are having.

Notice the difference? Two different scenarios. Both started the same. Both ended different. Why? Because of how you REACTED. You really do not have any control over 10% of what happens. The other 90% was determined by your reaction.

Here are some ways to apply the 90/10 principle.

If someone says something negative about you, don't be a sponge. Let the attack roll off like water on glass. You don't have to let the negative comment affect you! React properly and it will not ruin your day. A wrong reaction could result in losing a friend, being fired, getting stressed out etc.

How do you react if someone cuts you off in traffic? Do you lose your temper? Pound on the steering wheel? A friend of mine had the steering wheel fall off) Do you curse? Does your blood pressure skyrocket? Do you try and bump them? WHO CARES if you arrive ten seconds later at work? Why let the cars ruin your drive? Remember the 90/10 principle, nd do not worry about it.

You are told you lost your job. Why lose sleep and get irritated? It will work out. Use your worrying energy and time into finding another job.

The plane is late; it is going to mangle your schedule for the day. Why take out your frustration on the flight attendant? She has no control over what is going on. Use your time to study, get to know the other passenger. Why get stressed out? It will just make things worse. Now you know the 90-10 principle. Apply it and you will be amazed at the results. You will lose nothing if you try it.

The 90-10 principle is incredible. Very few know and apply this principle. The result? Millions of people are suffering from undeserved stress, trials, problems and heartache. There never seem to be a success in life. Bad days follow bad days. Terrible things seem to be constantly happening. There is constant stress, lack of joy, and broken relationships. Worry consumes time. Anger breaks friendships and life seems dreary and is not enjoyed to the fullest. Friends are lost. Life is a bore and often seems cruel. Does this describe you? If so, do not be discouraged

You can be different! Understand and apply the 90/10 principle. It will change your life."

Bangalore is Rocking this fortnight

2005-01-27T10:41:00.000+05:30

Sorry people.. for this long break !! am back now..

Okay.. Help me choose among these...

a) Unity : The Strings and Indian Ocean concert
b) Standoff : The Parikrama and Moksha Concert
c) The Sting Concert on 4th Feb

:)

I have missed out on Frank Mobus's Jazz concert, A full Jagjit Singh night,the Shakti Fusion concert featuring John MacLaughlin, Shankar Mahadevan and Zakir Husain, and the awesome Naseerudin Shah in his Katha Collage @ since the last week. December - January used to be fun time in Delhi as well..There are festivals, exhibitions, shows, concerts and everything else . I missed the annual free Sukhoi-32 flypast that I used to distinctly see from my terrace @ Delhi on Republic Day.. I have been missing it for 3-4 years now. I have been missing the Great Indian Rock (GIR) Show @ Pragati Maidan grounds (tho I had attended just 2, but had planned for more ) . I have missed the IIT Rendezvous.. and other college fests.. and maybe countless concerts...

So , Its time to make amends... If I cant attend the first two concerts ( a part of IIM Bangalore's Unmaad fest) I would definitely attend the Sting one... What the heck.. I think should have attended the Benny Hinn sound and light show had i got a chance ! that would have been entertainment as well... :)

During this time I have read up one of the best books I have found in my lifetime.. Thomas L. Friedman's "The Lexus and The Olive Tree". Friedman is a two time Pulitzer Award winner and a celebrated New York times columnist.

This book is on what he thinks of globalization, how to understand it, how has it been shaped over the last couple of decades, how does it affect everybody and about how , the richest guy in the most developed country in the world is dependant on equal terms on the peasant earling his daily bread in some remote village of a poor country. Some of the viewpoints show his American spirit, cater to that section of readers, but thats just maybe 5% of the book. The rest is filled with superb anecdotes, first hand transcripts of his interviews with the most powerful (socially, economically and politically) and the street dweller and the middle class on the other hand as well . The best part is how easily he equates the concerns of any company, or association with similar concerns of many nations and presents both scenarios, with their progress, conflicts, victories and defeats on the same platform. The examples and the statistics are mind boggling. A truly great book.

I have bought another one yesterday.. Alan Hollinghurst's "Line of Beauty", the 2004 Booker winner.. the story is sposed to be weird.. and though I cant credit myself with much of a liking for an even moderately cursive fiction.. A Booker prize winner should be a booker prize winner should be a booker prize winner.

Yesterday, our country celebrated 56 years of being a Republic. Its the same feeling, for all these years, Saw the parade on the TV ... saw the T-90 tanks, the Defence shields, the ICBMs, the GS satellites, the new combat aircraft, the oldest cavalry regiment of the world, the smartest battalions marching in salute to the president of the nation.. Enjoyed the various cultural tableaus as well.. and sang the anthem whole heartedly.. Yes.. the GDP and the forex 's booming, inflation's going down, Corporates registering 55% growth in profits each quarter.. We are on a roll. INDIA INC... way to go !!... But isnt it also the same feeling when at each republic day, on your way to the felicitation nights, or to the restaurants for your dinner.. you invariably find the beggar with a child resting on her hip.. and with enough clothes just to cover her dignity, but nevertheless showing you that soon, she would have one more to care for, to fear for... and to fight for.... Where has the republic progressed for them in all these 56 years.. or the 59 years of "Independence" ?

I might agree that 150 years of foreign rule have reduced the mightiest civilization of 4 millenia into almost rubble.. But do I have to really agree that for us as the republic, the unified force, the progeny of the those who once built the glorified India, socially, technolgically and economically, 56 years is still not enough time for us to help the country's millions out of poverty.. of suffering, disease and exploitation.. Anyways, my job is to do my work for my company, reap the benefits, and enjoy a good satisfactory life for me and my family. I pay my taxes, and I toss the occaisional 1 rupee coin to the needy palm.. What else? I am not the politician.. or the billionaire philanthropist.. .. and besides what do i know?

But I think there are people who know.. Suketu Mehta (read Maximum City) , U Minn Professor C.K. Prahalad (The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profits), Our President Dr. APJ Abdul kalam (India 2020: A Vision for the new millenium) , Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen (India: Economic Development and Social Opportunity) and Pulitzer Winner Tom Friedman (The Lexus and the Olive tree) .. have all written extensively about how the poor and the downtrodden can be harnessed and HAVE to be harnessed for the best development in any society in the future, Atleast from whatever i have read about their reviews.. and/or heard from friends.. who have read up these books have to say, these books are what I would really like to read about in the coming months.. And these are all best sellers.. so I have always found them at the Top 10 Non Fiction sections of any book store.. Whats more .. PRanay has half of them :) ..

Meanwhile, my project work beckons.. SO am off to the team meet in some time..

Currently on my earphones :

"I get knocked down, But I get up again..
Youre'never gonna let me down "
(-Chumbawamba's "Tubthumping")

He's coming :)

2005-01-13T10:47:00.000+05:30

The Montoya - Raikonnen Pair for the silver cars :) I cant wait for March !!!

:)

A Late Night Post..

2005-01-06T17:34:00.000+05:30

"...
Trust I seek and I find in you, every day for us something new
open mind for a different view,
And Nothing Else Matters

Never cared for what they do, never cared for what they know
But I know ....

So close no matter how far, couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are

and Nothing else matters ..."

"Nothing Else Matters "- "Metallica - The Black Album" 1991

Am hearing Metallica after a long long time ....

Every time I hear this song...so beautifully presented by Hetfield's deep voice.. ... it seems to bare his inner thoughts .. it seems to be telling everyone, whatever you do in life, whatever places you roam, how high heights you ascend to, you as a person are always known through your loved ones... your close ones... its a perfect rendition of being away from the ones you love most.. but still being close to their heart...

I think too, in these 3-4 years.. of being away from my parents.. , loved ones... i have met so many new persons, roamed places, made new friends, had good or bad experiences... but , its them who have always been there for me.. always, stood beside..

you can as well sometimes find yourself talking to them personally in your mind... asking them as if through telepathy.. what to do in this condition, if I did the right thing there, and almost half expect them to respond the same way inside your thoughts as they would do if they were present next to you in person..

So sometimes I feel is it really worth it? to live a life so far away from these very people.. It seems as if the very place from where you started your journey is itself actually the final destination... No matter how many miles you tread.. its as if there is this someone else.. functioning inside of you.. trying to establish an identity, craning your neck, fighting with millions of other similar people for fame, power, wealth and other hundreds of comforts.. when the real solace is actually besides your loved ones, and the place where you actually began your travails from but had left your heart back in the first place... .. No wonder they say James Hetfield penned this song when he was on the road, on the move , away from his roots...
A really beautiful set of lyrics....

One of my team members.. has just left the organisation... January is a critical juncture in the project progress path. .. and I am looking at a loss of around 10-12 man-days.. but I guess we will get over it soon..

The new year night was pretty good.. . enjoyed with my friends, one of them came from outside the city.. ... had good food ... went to the temple.. played tennis and had had a half hour romp at the pool... We were planning to spend the night and the new year day at a resort.. but decided against it at the last moment..

Many of my friends are themselves job hopping nowadays.. and it seems that the IT corporate circles are buzzing with who went where and what was the pay package.. etcetra... I hear how one can join a company .. stay with it for 3 months.. and then just join yet another company.. and double your package in 3 months in the process... Everyone seems to have begun thinking of himself / herself as more a commodity...

Its 9:45 pm here @ my office.. and I am drained of all energy and the will to continue working.. The off white Company T-Shirt I so proudly ironed in the morn.. is showing the wrinkles and stains.. of the day long fight it itself would have endured throughout the day. Will leave for home now..

Just felt like adding something to the blog. havent quite posted for a long time.... Its a costly indulgement at this late hour to begin scribbling when you ought to be home by now.. but its also the time when rather than the ear paining head phones... you can allow the music to blare from the speakers of this thinkpad and flow across all the small and smaller cubicle boundaries.. that flood this office floor.. and this is the only time you can have a private moment in this otherwise cacophonic and noisy setting.. .. and maybe stretch your legs.. have a cup of coffee and relax your tired mind with a loved song... Yeah... Metallica is not so good for tired minds, ... but I am sure... when you begin hearing this song...

Nothing else matters..

Blog Tales.. from the year that was

2005-01-04T10:52:00.000+05:30

Savour This ... :)

EWeek's Article

Keep up the Good Work Folks !!

Archan

When youre on the other side of the interview...

2004-12-30T16:17:00.000+05:30

I must have attended around 15-20 training workshops in the last 4-5 years, I have been in this industry... Generally the most boring ones are the non - technical ones... eg.. Quality, Processes, Leadership management, Time Management... They are all drabby.. and all that I care for while attending such summons is the lunch from the hotel or maybe whether the presenter has good enough "vital" stats herself to keep me awake from post lunch.

I had the same thots when I had submitted an "ayes" to the coordinator, (and after many threats ) regarding a Competency Based Interviewing Workshop about a week back. Though we are a growing institution, and we have to have a head count of this and that and we have to scientify and objectify.. and transparentify .. and efficientify... and blah-blah-ify our interviewing process... the fact that I have 2 consecutive project deliveries lined up the next week... made me much irritated about the prospects of losing out on 1 full day..

So I reached the venue quite a bit late... and was thanking myself to have missed out on a couple of sessions. The co-ordinator was some big shot, IIT-IIMs combined... had a jewelled "past history" and as is usual with these ppl.. an orator and a word juggler more than a teacher of the topic at hand... Of course agar idhar udhar kii baatein nahi karega to ek puura din kaise khatam hoega..

We were a group of 12 people during the day long exercise; people from all verticals of our industry and good names from our company.. from both an IT background and domain scientists.. So I was rest assured.. I could play my sleep away to oblivion card.

The presentations and the general discussions went along fine.. By 'fine' I mean the way expected... even the nice chick had "done her act of the day" :) :)

Then came the most loathed part... the part where the trainees are to perform.. You would have to mutter something... get corrected in the process.. the trainer will have the "see I told you so" smug look on his face ...

He divided us into 3 groups of 4 each with Ages, height and color seeming the only arbitration... and declared.. "You 3 panels will now interview .. 3 different candidates.. from different backgrounds and for different posts.. and at different stages of the interview.. " Each 'interview' was to take an hour or so.. With an hour more of post analysis, and objective evaluation, and eventually panel evaluation and statistics plotting..

We read up our matter.. The resumes, the directions.. the evaluation tables, the rating indexes... the roles to play.. for the technical or the behaviorial round.. or te stress round. or any other.. and how to develop questions..

But then came the unexpected...

Suddenly, out came 3 of our own senior managers themselves !!. They were to be the candidates.. We had no clue that this is going to happen.. Till before we were discussing .. "Let the buggers come.. We will flay them... " ... And now we could hear all the panels including ourselves murmuring "Sh*t, we're screwed" ..

Anyways.. this was hardly the time for goosebumps or a change of gameplan... The managers made it easy themselves .. with lots of laughing around.. and joking that this is the time when we could settle all our scores... etc..

The first panel went inside the "glass room " .. We were watching from outside...
This was a second technical round case.. and our manager was just awesome.. He made up a perfect.. UP waala accent.. in some touches... a Bihari one.. and he screwed up his conversation totally... he gave the impression .. that he knew the whole thing technically... but stuttered at every step while explaining it to the guys... and on top of it.. it was hilarous to see such a dignified and senior manager acting like the UP waala bhaiiya.. and with the "yes.. sir.. i know everything sir.. ho jaayega sir whatever you say sir.. " image .. but being equally clever, in poise and true to his task at the same time.. Everything that the candidates would ask him was replied with "yes sir, ok sir." At one time it got a bit out of hand.. the very first question.. instead of anil Patel.. the interview misread his name as Anil Patil.. and our manager gave an impromptu " no sir.. me Patel sir.. . but whatever u say sir".. We all burst out laughing from outside.. . At the end of it.. technically anyone couldnt ruffle a feather on him.. He was good... But he almost irritatedmost of the panel so much into not taking him for his communication skills.. a fact which was not required for his job profile at all...

Our group was next..
We had demarcated our job roles.. and also positions... One of us would be the Applications and Solutions Head, one for the Products and Systems, one the Services person, and finally the Quality and Process guy... 3 HRs had joined our training and one was therefore added to our group too... Since I was the youngest (in fact the next older guy in the whole group must have been 3-4 years my senior) ..., and because I had no interviewing experience in this company, I was made the Quality and Processes guy, as that was something I WOULD definitely have learnt all through my 3-4 years in the industry and cos they were quite independant of technical jargon I might have to ask. in case we were told to interview for a technical round..

We faced one of our very good scientists.. She was being quizzed for a position in shop floor manager for a transformer factory after doing something similar in the automobile industry... THis was going to be her semi final round .. . And Man was she haughty... She kept complaining about some smell... and the fact that she had already given 5 rounds.. and when was it to end.. She kept harping.. "But I have told this to you before" and again.. she was again a stunner in technical aspects... more a tall speaker... But in this case.. we at the end of the round could not really get an inch from her.. cos she would talk tall about everything else.. in absolute extravagance and pomp about the way she handled herself and her roles in her current company... and we ppl were were not at all experienced to handle any such candidate.. She conducted the whole of the interview, controlled the flow.. and we ended up talking more about her role about our company and about the onsite options.. than what we could gain from her...

The 3rd one was equally horrible from the panel point of view... For the post of a SQA, TQM guy.. the candidate ( Himself our Processes and CMM-i manager (LOL !!! ) ) was very rigid.. spoke only in terse words.. asked clarification.. from any question posed to him.. .. never spoke more than 4 lines... It was surprising that all 4 technical persons.. gave a positive feedback for him.. because.. this is exactly what you require from quality people. Just do a job in black and white.. if there are no procedures.. I am not doing the job.. etc.. Some lines that he spoke were even dumb and rash, foolhardy.. with a I dont care what happens. to the next cubicle person attitude .. but thats the characteristic required... But when thats was done.. he totally changed his attitude with the HR !! for the HR .. within moments.. he got himself a 2 months.. joining. with a 15 day leave.. with a separate round of negotiation .. later separately for the salary.. he avoided a direct bargaining to his salary in his technical round..

Interviewing is a tough job.. especially in a company.. where above 7-10 : 1 is the sucess ratio..
From the behaviorial aspects.. to evaluate the entry to the exit was itself was a handful , the hand shake (whether limp, finger tip, fleeting, persistent, soft, arm pumping !!) , the posture (slouched , cross legged , stiff, casual, relaxed ).. General Talking ( too much, little , to the point , nowhere near the point, "Ummm"s , "Actually"s, "You know"s, "aaaa"s,) the no of superlatives... ,eye contact , Past employers (negative, positive , sarcastic, euphemistic, indifference), The slabs and sheets itself took 1/2 and hour to fill.. and by time we started writing the detailed reasons.. it was already a tiresome task...

Anyways.. Had a good time.,. The best part is when you realize that these managers know exactly the way they could shape / regulate their own interviews.. control their 'panel' of inexperienced interviewers.. and in the process.. also demonstrate to us themselves.. what are the traits.. how to handle extreme cases.. how not to have any pre-conceived notions.. and how to put the cause of the company in a positive way before the candidate.. Their experience of handling 100s of interviews themselves came to the fore.. 'twas a wonderful experience..

Since this is my last post.. of 2004.. I wish every one reading this a very happy new year 2005
Plan to spend the year end at Akhil's place .. with a bunch of other friends.. food , drinks,Spaghetti , balloons, music are being stashed up... Hope to have a good time..

Adios..

Currently on the jukebox...

"I would die for you , Climb the highest mountain ..
Baby, there's nothing, I wouldn't do...

I was standing, all alone against the world outside
You were searching, for a place to hide
Lost and lonely... Now you've given me the will to survive
When we're hungry...love will keep us alive"

Love Will Keep Us Alive - The Eagles (Hell Freezes Over)

Tsunamied...

2004-12-27T13:57:00.000+05:30

Its really heart-rendering...

A staggering magnitude of 8.9 on the Richter Scale, walls of water more than two stories high across the Bay of Bengal, slamming into coastal communities 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) away, Sumatra struck by a series of powerful aftershocks, hours after the quake.

The following is compiled from CNN and eweek...

The Destruction ....

The toll right now is 4300 for India and running .. .another 500 fishermen still missing and thats still a conservative estimate...
Some 8,800 people killed in India and Sri Lanka alone... Total count till now 13000

First step ... Join the watchdogs ..

A) An international warning system started in 1965, administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Member states include all the major Pacific rim nations in North America, Asia and South America, was well as the Pacific islands, Australia and New Zealand. It also includes France, which has sovereignty over some Pacific islands, and Russia.

b) However, India and Sri Lanka are not members because tsunamis are much less frequent in the Indian Ocean. Tho Thailand belongs to the international tsunami warning network, its west coast does not have the system's wave sensors mounted on ocean buoys. The instruments are very expensive and countries like Thailand and Sri Lanka might not have the money to buy them. They are no tidal gauges. There are no buoys present in the Indian Ocean.

c) The warning system analyzes earthquake information from several seismic networks, which is fed into computer models that model how and where a tsunami might form. It dispatches warnings about imminent tsunami hazards, predicts how fast the waves are traveling and their expected arrival times in specific geographic areas. As the waves rush past tidal stations in the ocean, bulletins updating the tsunami warning are issued. Other models generate "inundation maps" of what areas could be damaged, and what communities might be spared.

Not all earthquakes generate tsunamis. The warning center typically does not issue warnings for earthquakes below magnitude 7.0, which are still unusually powerful events

Some facts ...

a) A tsunami is not a single wave, but a series of traveling ocean waves, generated when geologic forces displace sea water in the ocean basin. The bigger the earthquake, the more the Earth's crust shifts and the more seawater begins to move.
b) Most are triggered by large earthquakes but they can be caused by landslides, volcanoes and even meteor impacts.
c) Waves typically radiate out in directions opposite from the seismic disturbance. Tho most tsunamis occur in the Pacific because the ocean basin is rimmed by the Ring of Fire, a long chain of the Earth's most seismically active spots .
d) A single wave in a tsunami series might be 160 kilometers (100 miles) long and race across the ocean at 1,000 km/h (600 mph). When it approaches a coastline, the wave slows dramatically, loses its power due to the friction.. but it also rises to great heights because the enormous volume of water piles up in shallow coastal bays.

This can happen again ..

Indonesia comes in between the Eurasia and the Australia tectonic plates.. Any seismic activiy will almost always affect Indian and Sri Lankan shores..

The fault line was deep off the Sumatra coast, running north and south for about 600 miles or as far north as the Andaman and Nicobar islands deforming the sea floor all the way along this rupture, and initiated the tsunamis. Analysts talk about a 10 - 30 m vertical shift in the plates.. over a 600 miles shelf... thats huge..

In a tsunami, waves typically radiate out in directions opposite from the seismic disturbance. In the case of this quake, the seismic fault ran north to south beneath the ocean floor, while the tsunami waves shot out west and east. Hence.. India Sri Lanka or even Somalia came under its range

The Local Tamil channels show far more gruesome and horrifying images the the DD channels or BBC.. I hope the Govt. can bring relief to all those who have been injured.. or have lost their loved ones.. are without homes and have lost their source of living...

A Fogged up journey and other stories

2004-12-24T21:25:00.000+05:30

Here is wishing everyone a very happy christmas , and a happy new year 2005 (in advance)

The Delhi Fog has accounted for my parents trip to Kolkata.. and with no more non-pocket emptying flight tickets available right now.. they just could grab a 2nd AC reservation in one of the not so good trains that latitude across the country ... would be a loss of three days from their itinerary..

They say that the SLK Merc 350s arrived in Mumbai and available for a cool 5.6 million..Thats pretty good.. !! I am also waiting for the new Mits Lancer 2005.. I hope they release that in India along with the US as well in Feb... Awesome 300 horsepower.. and with the much talked Evolution 8 MR...

Bangalore is in a holiday mood.. I am sure.. all the cities are .. anyways.. . 1/2 the ppl in my office are on leaves.. Not much work being done.. and Lots of lighting on the roads.. here and there...
My close friend Mridul reaches the city on the 27th from Delhi.. so plan to enjoy with him for a day.. before he leaves for Kerala trip...

Pranay my flatmate... leaves for his new rented acco by the start of the year... . His office has shifted to the Airport Road from M.G. Road.. and I think its a tough ask commuting to his office everyday from the place where we stay... Will miss him @ home.

Anyways.. its pack-up time for this year... 2004 been warm to me... I have had my share of ups and downs.. I have progressed in life.. I have learned loads of stuff and become more mature.. well maybe.. .. .I have travelled places...and have started ventures.. met up with many new friends.. and most importantly .. I think I have learned from some of my mistakes.. and setbacks as well..

I hope 2005 follows the same trend.. I hope it gives me ample joyous moments to remember.. good places to visit and new people to meet and befriend... I hope I have a bit of failures and setbacks to learn from and then succeed. But I also hope I have a fare share of Lady Luck and the blessings of God. :)

Ciao.

Current Song: Sajjad Ali - "Sohni Lag Di"
Current Occupation : Consumption of Dual Voltage patterns and Modelling Regulation Windings :)) (Never Mind)
I look Forward to : Watching Swades at the Innovative Multiplex tomorrow ..
Current Book : Douglas E Comer.. Internetworking with TCP - IP

Piece of mind for the peace of mind

2004-12-22T17:30:00.000+05:30

The accounts section of my center has not been able to pay my US apartment Bills, credited through my Amex card .. over a lakh in rupees.. of arrears.. for over 3 months. They are too lethargic to do it.. and it doesnt matter to them that the company is incurring thousands of Rs .. in late payment surcharges...

The only reason I can think of the delay is that my settlement documents included dozens of taxi bills.. , customized apartment and car bills.. and detailed settlement reports.. or maybe they think that this payment is too small to have a priority.. they must have had far more important things and far less hefty docs to have settled in the last 3 months.. So there.

Each of these credit card companies.. have their own money extraction ( read extortion ) squads.. ohh yes they outsource that too.. .. and well .. pestering payment defaulters is justified to a large extent ... maybe disabling of the cards is too.. but.. as the days go by .. the surveilance and requests turn to ... scolds, shouts and abuses.. and proper threats...

Today was a day when the Amex extractionist outfit operating sumwhere from Delhi crossed the line that separates decent taunts and muffled protests to Bashi-Bazouk mouthing..

And I got red.. looked like a blo*dy 2nd grade Delhi police verification.. starting from insisting my personal address., to the permanent one.. to proper threats... and he went on for 15 minutes.. and it was hard to even convince him that i was not in position to give him a post dated cheque today since the book was at home

2 minutes after the call.. and bearing in mind what all the adjacent cubicles from here and afar had heard of my part of the conversation... I went to the accounts section.. and gave them my piece of mind..

A Royal Piece o' Ma Mind.

and never mind the age difference with the auditor or the ratifier.. or the head... or any of tiddly piddlies who had assembled there

Maybe the voice was a bit too loud.. cos I saw the guy sitting at the farthest area at the other end of the floor stare at me later... but then .. its really hard .. to get abused for sumthing you are not responsible for.. and be smiley faced lovey dovey its-a-part-of-life I- can- understand about it.. .

Have had a talk with 2 of the senior managers.. and the investigations have definitely revealed 2-3 seriously profoundly critical reasons why the payment couldnt be done.. and obviously.. I feel the need of laughing the demons laugh again so that all and sundry can hear not just in this floor by right across the GMs office two floors below......

But maybe the peace of mind hemisphere of my brawny brain has prevailed over the piece of mind side this time around.. and the only thing I can picture right now is how easily the faces of all the accountants and their printed tie bosses perfectly fit into any thickest of the thick skinned animals that wander around this planet..

every one is back to merry making and internet gossip.

So hope fer a better day tomorrow.. I am leaving office... I dont have any inclination to work late today..

Live and Let Die...

2004-12-20T17:33:00.000+05:30

Sample these.

a. A person crippled with Alzheimer's or some 3rd state terminal cancer.. the whole body is crumbling white with months of chemotherapy.. tho not on a support system..but in a half vegetate state.. the only sounds that come out are groans.. But since only voluntary suicide is acceptable in his nation, there is no question of relieving him of his misery, till his body cant take it anymore... and relieves itself.. maybe in a couple of months.. or maybe in a year.. .

b. A well known scholar .. yet inmate of a mental asylum for 5 years knocks on the doors of justice.. "If I have the right to Live... why cant I have the right to die? " You confine me . to the strait jacket ... inject sedatives.. chain me against 4 walls day and night.. make me mad .. and still.. dont allow me to kill myself...

c. Venkatesh, a muscular dystrophy patient, expresses his wish to be removed off the life support for the last couple of months, so that he can donate his organs to the needy. His argument is that the organs would deteriorate if he were not allowed to commit euthanasia within a month. The High Court rules that under the Organ Transplantation Act only brain dead or natural death allows for donation of organs. The patient dies after some time and the organs now cant be donated.

Lets now see what standing .. the legal and social governance in nations worldwide profess...

a) In the UK there is a possibility of up to 14 years imprisonment for anybody assisting a "suicide". Oddly, suicide itself is not a crime. Only the US State of Oregon has legalized euthanasia. Direct killing by euthanasia is a crime in Germany.. Denmark has no law.. while France has banned euthanasia journals..
b) Japan has legalized euthanaisa since 1962... while an Australian state.. first upheld and then repealed the right of euthanasia..

The republic of India also doesnt give individuals the right to euthanasia..

My question to anybody is... do we really have the right to deny self willed death to people? Do we really care for the person if we prolong his/her pain for weeks and months .. just to see him breathing and reconcile ourselves? Just try staying in the same posture.. lying on the bed .. for a week ... you will feel the pain...just try imaging the pain caused by a single bed sore.. leave aside any other suffering for weeks.. .. So why cant people be given the right to alleviate themselves of suffering..

The crux of the debate is in being able to gauge for sure the difference between euthanasia and suicide.. Thinking out aloud... Assisted Death in which of the above 3 points.. can be termed Euthanasia or needs to be indentified as criminal offence (assisted suicide) according to Penal Codes Worldwide... ? the 2nd point (the case of the lunatic scholar maybe) can come under the abetted suicide clause.. Ohh !!for sure, huh??... .. .but do we really feel that its not correct to let the lunatic die? Are we sure?

Most of the reservations against practising euthanasia seem pretty solid .. Legal experts question.. a) How do you really define terminal? Most doctors are themselves not sure. .how much time the patient has... so how much is a good enough.. or rather a bad enough time in this case? a week? a month? 6 months? Cant say for sure..
b) Non Voluntary Euthanasia? The child asking for it? Ahhhaa..... I know why.... cos a lethal drug takes 1000 rupees while you can end up spending half a million in six months.. for your half dead mother.. who isnt worth a tuppence herself ...
c) Every one wanting to commit suicide will apply for euthanasia.. Its the perfect condition for people to exploit, what is forced suicide and mercy killing... killings can be doctored...

BUt The most important contention against these arguments I have is that.. in the first place.. is it really an issue to be resolved through the dictums of Penal Code and by its ostiaries worldwide? The main reason told to Venkatesh and his supportive mother in the ruling against his claim for self death was... "Sorry... we cant change the rules for a single person"...
So tell me Mr. Chief Justice.. .does everybody suffering any ailment.. get the same amount of pain.. as a death bed patient?And do you really know of acute shortage of kidneys donors in our country and the fact that kidney donation can only be done by living persons ? Or maybe can you help the medical profession generalize in a single paragraph...all the terminal causes that lead to death.. and therefore your judgment can hold good for any citizen...any patient and in any case... But If not, how can you generalize rules governing death .. for any person.. regardless of what state / condition he is in?

Yes, The main fallacy of Laws and Penal Guidelines... that render them unavailable for exercising proper jugdement in such issues is .. is that they are actually just 10 line paragraphs inside a black book... that are wanting to capture all the nuances of the profession of medicine.. or economy.. or society.. They give any wig toting individual sitting with his hammer and board.. the right to decide without any iota of forethought critical issues that the profession of medicine still finds itself wanting to present viable solutions for ... The 10 lines that Law makers doctrinate generalize the whole spectrum of medicinal research.,.. and it seems .. that we easily accept the blind lady of law.. on a higher pedestal.. than the torch bearers of the hippocratic oath.. in matters it definitely shouldnt have a preference for...

IT is the whole and sole responsibility of the Medical fraternity and intelligensia in any society.. They know. .whether they are capable enough in comforting the patient. they see lying on the bed.. and if he/she can get any better... thats only after days of medical analysis of the patient.. and not a court hearing...
Legal experts should be assisting the doctor .. if required at all.. for each of the individual cases.. and not the other way around.. and considering.. the jet pace of court summons and hearing dates.. it can be said for sure.. that many other Venkateshes will wait their futile wait for their appeal to be upheld.. and to leave this world with pride,, or without suffering...

Besides, I think from whatever I read about the matter. the medical fraternity's support for mercy killing is pretty overwhelming..
In the words of the most celebrated doctor of the 20th century.. and in case we remember our school text books... Dr. Christian Barnard, the first heart transplant surgeon :

"Doctors often make that mistake, they think their job is to prolong life but they've got it wrong there, It is to give a better quality of life. What society does not accept euthanasia, cannot believe god, a god of love and compassion would allow that.

I would not preach the practice of death, but death is many-a-times the better treatment.. ".

Its time Indian society legalizes euthanasia like many of the western and far- eastern societies wordwide.. Here is what i think of the contentions against mercy killing.
We can create a Legio-Medical organisation.. ANy appeal for euthanasia can be first studied medically .. by a panel of doctor(s).. Legal experts can measure.. whether its really a cost saving matter.. a suicidal case.. or its really a no hope situation... I think even some suicide candidates.. will themselves come up with their problems.. and be counselled... if this kind of a body comes up.. and it definitely can be a Government funded one with a amount to be tendered by the applicant.... then...if its a genuine case... even if its a non voluntary appeal... i.e. by the patients peers /relatives/well wishers.. then allow the person the right of euthanasia.

Our society and its rules. .are based on eons old pillars of tolerance and fair justice.. evolved and tested over centuries.. and far mature in many aspects than other modern societies... We proudly uphold thousands of social and medical treatises. But at the same time, in pace with the modern times.. and in pace with humanity.. we need to respect the individual and his desicion.. allow this choice that he can take for himself, maybe help him get either way... either convince him that there are better days in his life.. or help him relieve his agony ... alleviate the suffering.. once and for all...

The right to live surely needs a new addendum... the freedom against suffering.. when you can hope for something even after exhausting all your hopes... the freedom of releasing yourself...

The freedom to die...

I support making euthanasia legal in India.

Scribbles over last coupla weeks

2004-12-16T19:14:00.001+05:30

Recent most Film: "Mughal-e-Azam" - Awesome Awesome film ... My First film at the first PVR in Bangalore @ The Forum Mall.. Reminded me of good ol' Delhi.. Hadnt visited a proper good hall in 3 years..inspite of watching loads of movies (Bombay Halls are a pity.. Even the city's best halls are cramped and Bangalore halls are village class. They dont comply to even 10% safety and cleanliness norms.. ) This was a good treat I gave myself.

Too Good Dialogues...
Jodhabai : "Humaara Hindostan tumhaara dil nahi , koi laundi jispar hukumat kare"
Salim : "To humaara dil bhii aapka Hindostan nahi, jo aap uspar hukumat karein"

And Anarkali when she is given the thorns whilst Bahar gets the rose,
"Kaanton ko murjhaane ka khauff nahi hota"

Never thought I could see the hundred Madhubalas Sheesh Mahal scene in a hall.. I dont think Indian cinema has till date produced any rival to the scene..

Recent most excursion : Ooty Botanical Gardens and Lake
Breathtaking trees , well maintained conservatories, good fountains, carpet-ish lawns , exotic plantations... and a lovely weather.. Ooty has it all.. I plan for a longer vacation there...

Recent Most Book: "Indira : An Autobiography" by Katherine Frank
Chose this one over the one by Pupul Jayakar.. since I thought being a friend herself.. Pupul's view might be biased ...
Katherine does a tremendous job. There are thousands of things which you didnt know about the Iron Lady of India.. and are present from her childhood days , to her letters to her Dad, at Shantiniketan, her marriage problems, her psyche during the rise and fall of Sanjay, the wars , the emergency and the crude politics.. about Operation Bluestar and how she could sense her impending doom.

Recent Album : "Greatest Hits of Ustad Zakir Hussain" (The SaReGaMa Label one)
Love his Drut TeenTaal played during his world famous 1986 concert. Also , you can clearly distinguish the sweetness in Ustad Vilayat Khan's sitar.. as compared to the ups and downs and the question answers of Pandit Ravi Shankar.. Ustad Vilayat Khan used to say.. "Alla Rakha and Zakir dare not try that sawaal jawaab stuff with me. They know that they will pay dearly".. And for sure .. Zakir sounds pretty subdued with with the ustad !!

The Present
Current Song: Sonu Nigam's "Tanhaayee"
Current Debate: " Employee PF hiked to 9.5% . "
Current Technology: Mobile Gaming

The Future
Place To Go: Bannerghata National Park.. The closest park tpo Bangalore and I havent Been there yet
Book To Read: Where on the earth am I ? Confusions of a Travelling Man Book .. (I have to
get this Jug Suraiya book from sumwhere)
Work Stuff : Project Delivery this Monday

Ciao.,

Meanwhile :
Vinod as Duryodhan holding Draupadi: "Maine Draupadi ka cheer haran karne ka idea drop kar diya hai"
Ahuja as Gada Dhari Bheem: " Abe oye !! Tu kaun hota hai bolne waala.. Hum bhii Draupadi ke shareholder hain !!"

Vinod (Naseeruddin Shah) and Ahuja (Om Puri) fighting over the the dead saree wrapped D'Mello (Satish Shah) The "Draupadi Cheer Haran", Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron (1983), !! LOLOLOL !! Can it get any better?

Things I miss from Bombay

2004-12-13T14:07:00.000+05:30

In General:
a) Marine Drive, during the rains, The Sea Breeze at Band Stand, Carter Road... etc..
b) The local train: One hand on the Middle rod at the door,both feet on either sides, the other hand on the Top of the door and the cool breeze on your face as the train gains speed between each station.. Belapur and Vashi Railway Stations!! The Clock at Bombay VT.
c) Egg Bhurji - Pav (Scrambled Eggs with bread) with friends at 1 am in the morning at Thane Station..
d) The 500 mtr. sprint from Sterling Cinema or the Taxi flagging at Rex after watching the last show that ended at 12:40, to reach Victoria Terminus, buy tickets at the counter and catch the 12:50 last train on the Central Line thats already begun moving out.
e) Good Plentiful Rains... sometimes ...
f) Ganpati Bappa ! ( but defintely not the 100s of orchestras, synths and drums that used to play till 1 am right beside our apartments)
g) Small 50 seat movie halls...
h) The sugary Marathi accent, and of course the screwed up yet so funny and pleasing Hindi that ppl speak.
i) Finding 100s of busy people at even 1:30 am in the night...
j) All the Birthday Bashes !! Right through the year. From the Mongini Cakes @ Office to parties thrown by close friends and myself
k) Occaisional Song sessions in the bus while on the way home from office..

More Specifically:
a) Some Friends and loads of time with them: Akhil, Himanshu,Mridul, Maheep, Sameer, Aparna, Abhishek, Nachiketa, Aumkar, Dipsy, Shalaka, Julie

Unforgettable fun and laughter at the Vasant Leela apartments with Akhil and Himanshu,
b) The everyday dinner after office with Akhil, Himanshu, Abhishek, Aparna and Dipsy.
c) The C.B.D. Belapur duplex penthouse with a view to the Thane creek on one side and a hill on the other with Mridul and Maheep
d) Career Talks with Nachiketa, Kishore Kumar with Aumkar,Just about anything talks with Shalaka !!
e) Unforgettable Outings like Matheran, Lonavala-Khandala
f) The deep breaths of Hot Chocolate everyday (lasting just 300 metres) while passing through the Cadbury's factory flyover @ Thane
g) The Mulund Bandra AC bus !!
h) The 2 hour swimming sessions and Tennis with Akhil and Abhishek on the weekends
i) The workplace: Not exactly, but some colleagues definitely.
j) Some of the few theatres and shows and concerts watched.
k) The walk from my home at Shubharambh to the office bus pick up spot on the July with the clouds descending over the hills beyond Tikuji-Ni-Wadi resort
l) Some other attractions @ Shubharambh : "Tilwali" , "Shabbo", and "Bedkar (the Society President) ki Beti" 's long hair :)
m) The Company Quiz club's everyday quizzes and rankings..
n) The Chitochat with Office Pals. Sameer..

And almost all of the Last 3-4 months .

After Thoughts of an incident

2004-12-10T17:11:00.000+05:30

Went to the Cauvery Water Sanctuary a couple of weeks back... and had the experience of my lifetime
Saw my friend Rahul get sucked in a tremendous whirlpool of water .. and inside of the rocks of a mountain while we were enjoying a lovely afternoon bath at one of the tributaries of the Kaveri.. across a cascade of small large water falls.. falling from heights... forming pools... merging togther... and away..

The water seemed pretty placid.. just some occaisional turbulence... and now when I think of it... it looked calm on the surface.. but was almost like how you see boiling water.. churning water from down to up.. yet.. pretty calm on the surface...

The last thing that he told me was.. "The water seems deep... " Then I just saw him suddenly take a dip in... then at the next instant I saw his head at the farthest corner of that waterpool... and then again a dip.. and then Underneath the rocks and he surfaced at the bigger pool... exactly in the opposite direction of where he had been headed first... then then into the huge boulders.. as if he was some small insect who had been sucked in into a basin .. or a drain... right inside of the rocks of the mountain ...

I had no clue.. what had gulped him.. where had he disappeared.. just saw the river . with its swirling currents of the mini pool.. Negative thoughts came to my mind immediately.. and then concern about whether i would even be able to even see him again .. in whatever form fate had left him? was there a huge water body inside the mountain.. where was this water going?

I scaled the rock to see the other side.. and I saw the water merging with other smaller bigger streams... a 10 foot fall... and a bigger pool..
Was he there in that pool? No... This one was pretty scary, I could see rough edges all throughout the pool bed.. a fall could have ripped any man apart..

Then again ... i could see no exit.. but even here the water seemed to have an outflow.. from somewhere inside of the rocks... I hoped that I could get a better calmer pool ahead but the dreadful realization was.. if he hit any part of his body on the rocks.. with the speed of the torrents.. he would be sliced into shreds..

I was stunned.. I didnt know how to react.. I shouted at my other friends..Akhil and Kalpana.. to come along.. and ask for help (which was atleast 15 mintues away.. ) but they were equally in a shocked state.. in the melee Kalpana tried to move towards the direction of the boatmen / fishermen.. and her foot hit a sharp rock and split it open. with blood gushing out of her foot..

I somehow summed up courage to scale this higher bigger hill-of-sorts in front of me.. and see what was there at the other end... I scaled up around 60- 70 feet..

and looked the other side..

And then I saw him,

A Big pool.. with a half of the whole waterfall's water... coming from all directions... with waves.. showing the depth and volume of water that lay underneath... and a massive flow into the biggest waterfall of that area ... maybe a drop of a 100 odd feet.. ending up in a big lake.. from where we had started our climb to see these cascades.. the dinghymen were at the other side of the lake.. Even If we motioned at them from the cliff tops.. it will take them 15 minutes to cross the lake and then start scaling the cliffs and come to any rescue.. I was uncertain they would even attempt to help him..

But then i saw him going along with the flow... towards.. his doom... the biggest waterfall...i started shivering at the summit.. just looking at him downbelow at the pool.. flowing with the current.. just crying out hoarse.. his name..
being hysterical... I didnt know what to do.. I thought I would just see him fall.. and disappear.. I muttered what all prayers i knew..

But then it started to happen .. I sincerely feel it was something impossible...
He made deft moves... fought against the current... He fought for 5 minutes and reached a shore..

Believe me.. there was ONLY ONE possible foot hold.. a rock jut out in that 100 meter radius pond... and the rest were all sharp perpendicular cliffwalls.. and he managed to swim right next to it.. It was God's Grace.. Nothing else.. The whole water body didnt have even a single other hold... it was all huge mountain walls.. and water inflows...

he heard me ... infact for the first time now... telling him that the rock was just 4 hands to the left... and then he managed to grab it with his left hand.. and as soon as he did that.. he took a dip...

I couldnt see him anymore...
seconds went..
half a minute.. or maybe 20 seconds.. or so..

Then I saw him again... his head came up.. and he grabbed the rock with both hands...

I asked him
"Rahul , theek to hai?"
He nodded...
I shouted back..
"Can you hold on?"
He motioned that his head was spinning and then gestured.. 2 .. he spoke for the first time
"2 mintues"

I couldnt understand why two minutes... I thought that was it... I kept shouting to him.. to keep holding on.. to the rock... to grab more of it...
then with a final thurst.. he put half his body.. till his stomach... on the rock... and lay there motionless on his chest..

there was a moemtary sense of relief. I now knew he wouldnt be drowned... unless he had some spasms or sumthing.. . constant attempts to keep him at conversation.. were done.. sometimes i felt he had blacked out... anything internal could have happenned..
I realised the real threat...

Then from that cliff itself.. I started waving frantically to the fishermen.. maybe 1/2 a km away.. and across the shores of the lake below.. Akhil was doing the same.. from a different hilltop They saw us.. 5-6 men came..
in 10minutes...

with their circular dinghys...

An old 60 year old was one of them.... and I have seen loads of AXN mountain climbers on the telly.. but I dont think any of them could have the deftness or even the guts to do what he did...
With awesome dexterity... he scaled from the cliff head... the 60 feet height that separated me from Rahul... Sometimes relying on thorny shrubs for foot hold or just small crevices where he could place his fingers.. and swing there looking for the next foothold down below..

He reached rahul.. placed one of his foot on the rock...
Moistened his small everfamiliar.. checkered towel with the cold water of the river... and started massaging my friend...
I felt as if God had worked the miracle.. now he had sent the angel....

He massaged him for close to 15 minutes... slowly.. Rahul came back to about normal... He told us from down below.. .. there was no head injury... he managed to stand

35 minutes after the incident.. the fishermen took Rahul to the place I was standing and shouting him advices... cheers.. questions and all junk talk.. from... up the hill cliff

And when he met. me.. He just broke down... I felt like too... The overwhelming feeling I could get was of joy .. that he managed to overcome every peril that I had seen before my eyes ... and innumerable times in this half an hour, at every stage,at every moment, when I, far away from danger myself, just a hapless spectator, had given up my hopes, had despaired, he had overcome it..

And it was only then I realized the importance of his "Just 2 more minutes" answer ... His calf muscles had become big hard rocks... They were Red.. and had protruding veins... The main reason for this dip once reaching the moutain wall was cause he had had a fit of cramps.. and that had brought him down... and still he had managed to rise up.. His feet were a pity.. contusions everywhere.. but that was what had saved him maybe when he had gone under the rocks the middle pool to the bigger one.. He must have gone feet first...

Kalpana is okay now.. maybe her wound required a couple of stitches.. or could do without.. he blood loss stopped after sometime.. she managed to cover it up properly... We were in no position to help her...

Me and Akhil still remember the incident... and feel we thought we had lost him forever...
Rahul has gone to his parents at Alwar... he could get the next day flight itself... He needs a bit of a rest .. atleast for sometime.. and I am amazed at the force he would have put inside of him to fight the current... Human strength is unimaginable.. .These incidents bring them out time and again.. He described how in the first moments when he was inside of the big pond ... how he saw his whole life.... and his parents.. and everyone... and how the whole life flashes before you.. when you are at the brink... at the corridors.. and when you still put in your best.. .collect all your energies.. for the glimmer of hope that you see... maybe the hue of sunshine.. from deep beneath the waters... And how Hanuman chalisa or any other devotion .. can power your mind and with it your body... to achieve the unachievable..
I am proud of my friend.. I am sure he wouldnt have realized the extent of this battle.. but from above the cliff ... whatever I saw of him and his fight for his life... made me sumhow think of the magnificient inner strength and the will power he has in his person... to survive... to make it... to achieve it.

Life is back to the normal... I promise not to be that foolish anymore... Fun and Frolic are the essence of my life now.. I have excursions every weekend.. but its important to have the extra step of caution.... and that is what we overlook all the time... I have some resolutions and learnings:
a) Never Underestimate the Power of Mother Nature.. Anywhere.. anytime
b) Local people... in tourist locations.. might be poor people and hagglers.. greedy ppl who want to empty you of any money the think they can get out of you... but always ask them for advice.. and pay heed to those... say when on a mountainous terrain.. near the sea.. inside of a jungle... or even religious or crowded places...
c) Learn Swimming Properly

Its been some time now.. I hope and wish Rahul all the best.. Its a second life of sorts.. for him..

And for me... the experience of a lifetime.

Boss Kaun Hai... Malum hai kya?

2004-11-25T17:40:00.000+05:30

Theme : Say it with Songs #9 ( As per Sam's request.. tho its totally different from the previous songs..)

History: Compilation of RD Songs over half a year.. just to select my best .. Some history tidbits n cookies.. from the internet and otherwise..

Name : Rahul Dev Burman... a.k.a. Pancham...
Resume: Sagar, Amar Prem, 1942 a Love Story, Yaadon Ki baarat, Sunny, Love Story, Ijaazat, Masoom, Parichay, Teesri Manzil, Anamika, Satte Pe Satta, Ghar , Aandhi, Sholay, Hum Kissi se Kum Nahin, Namak Haram,Khel Khel Mein,Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Kati Patang,Padosan, GolMaal... I CAN GO ON!!

Job to Do : Please help me select the best 10 out of these 50... I have failed repeatedly... Can you? :-) All comments welcome..

Here is the list of my favs.. Just have a look at the myriad of moods.. and the variety of music.. Just humm the first line itself... and you will get to know what I am saying :)

RD is All About Guitar !! And Soft Beats !!

1) Chura liya (Yaadon Ki Baaraat):
Asha at her best, and Zeenat too !!

2) Dum maro dum (Hare Krishna Hare Rama):
The beats, the start!! the ambience... its just awesome..

3) Ek main aur ek tu (Khel Khel Main):
It is one of the best songs of the young and naughty Rishi Kapoor-Neetu Singh pair!

4) Saagar Jaisi Aankhonwaali.... (Saagar)
Just look at the guitar piece at the start of this song !! Gives you goosebumps !!

5) Mehbooba Mehbooba (Sholay):
The strings, the beats and the vocals! Mehbooba was all about vivacity. And the icing is Helen... Just think about it... Sholay wouldnt have been sholay without this song.. No way.. Its still a super hit.. and will still be.. Just try pitting this against any of the item numbers that we have nowadays.. or for the last 15 years... and you wont have to decide ...

6) Jaane kaise (Shakti):
This upbeat romantic number was further enhanced by the use of 'wop wop' sounds in the orchestration. Trust RD to make music out of a racket.

RD is the depths of Passion..

1) Yaad aa rahi hai (Love Story):
This is Amit Kumar's best number.
The song even made (father) Kishore Kumar cry when he was recuperating at a hospital following a stroke.
" Yaad aane se, tere jaane se... Jaan... Jaa rahi hai..."
:)
Lovely.... Optimal Orchestra Utilization in this song....

Or if you want me to list "Kya hua .. tera waada" ,,, :) which onez better?

2) Saagar Kinaare ... (Saagar)
3) Kya yahi pyaar hai (Rocky): Mushy, sweet and melodious. Sanjay Dutt owes his first and most memorable love song to R D.

4) Mera kuch saamaan (Ijaazat):
This has a haunting melody. One of my all time favorites.. It is unbelievable how RD missed the National Award when
Asha Bhosle and Gulzar bagged it for this song. Ijaazat's songs cant be beaten.. I can never start listening to Ijaazat and not finish it totally before doing sumthing else..
"Ek akeli Chhatri mein jab aadhe aadhe bheeg rahe they"!!

5) Aise na mujhe tum dekho (Darling Darling):
For those who have only been exposed to the pathetic remix by Vikas Bhalla,
you must check out the original. It is mind-blowing.

6)Tere bina zindagi (Aandhi): All the songs of this film are great hits from the winning combination of lyricist Gulzar and RDB. Its immortalized by the phenomenal Suchitra Sen as the politician.. and Sanjeev Kumar as the estranged lover..

7) Jaane do naa (Saagar):
If a girl sings this way, who would let her go? LOL!! This song is among the most sensual ones.

8) Tumse milke aisa laga (Parinda): One of the most melodious compositions from RDB.. Suresh Wadkar at his best.. My friend, Akhil's fav song..

RD is melody personified in his songs

1) Jaane kya baat hai (Sunny):
What an immortal classic in Lata Mangeshkar's voice! I think this is very close to my best.. definitely in my top 10

2) Aapke aankhon mein kuch (Ghar): Even today, you can feel the freshness of RDB's music through this song.

3) Pyar hua chupke se (1942: A Love Story): All songs of 1942 are good .. Ek ladki ko dekha, Kuch na kaho and Yeh safar .. RD 's personal fav was "yeh Safar" !! Kavita Krish won the Filmfare for Pyar Hua.. remember?

4) Katra katra (Ijaazat): R D and Gulzar at it again. Asha Bhosle's beautiful voice and R D's zingy melody . The 2 Ashas singing effect is awesome

5) Tumne mujhe dekha (Teesri Manzil):
Although "O haseena zulfonwali" and "O mere sona re" were a rage, my personal favourite is the elegantly composed Tumne mujhe dekha.

6) Naam Gum jaayega !! With BHupinder and the immortal Lata.... (Kinara)

7) Diye jalte hain (Namak Haram):
One of the most beautifully written songs on friendship treated with complete justice by R D's gentle melody. This can be dedicated to your best friend anyday.. it says it all.
Just Remember kakaji singing and Big B with the mike.. two super heroes, and truly melodious

The Classical Rahul Dev

1) Beeti na bitaye raina (Parichay):
This song won Lata Mangeshkar and Bhupinder National Awards. From the famous Raag Behag..

2) Raina beeti jaaye (Amar Prem): Dont know the Raga
An unforgettable melody. Truly classic!
Please dont forget "Kuchhh to log kahenge..." and "Chingari Koi" !!

3) Mere naina sawan bhadon (Mehbooba)
Raag Shivaranjani.. one of the only semi classical songs sung by Koshore Kumar.. after days and days of practice..
R D captured the reincarnation theme of the film by lending a haunting touch and a sense of incompleteness to this song.

4) The essential Yaaman kalyan.. in "Huzur is kadar bhii na itraa ke chaliye..

5) Ghar aaja Ghir aayi.. in Raag Maalgunji... superb superb song :) too melodious ... RD's first hit with lata...

RD is subtelity

1) Do naina aur ek kahani (Masoom): Everything about Masoom rocks. Tujhse naraaz, Lakdi ki kaathi and Huzoor iss kadar are marvels in their own right. But the bedtime lullaby in Arati Mukherjis voice is a personal favourite.
everybody else's personal fav: Huzoor is Qadar i guess !!

2) Tu, tu hai wahee (Yeh Waada Raha):
This is a beautiful romantic duet. the film is okay too. Even the pathetic remix sounds good sumtimes! I remember how Rishi Kapoor got angry and retaliated.. when he first saw the pathetic remix..

3) Tujhse naaraaz nahin (Masoom): Another great hit from RDB.
Gum hai kisike pyaar mein (Rampur Ka Lakshman)

4) Iss mod se (Aandhi):

RD is Party !!

1) Pyaar me dilpe maar de goli (Mahaan):
Try and sing this song and you will see how charged you can get! One of my top dance hungama songs !!

2) Jahaan teri yeh nazar hai (Kaalia):
The perfect party track. Slow pace, yet it gets you to your feet!

3) Pyar karne waale (Shaan):
I remember my friend Yashodhara thru this song

4) Aaja aaja main hoon pyaar tera (Teesri Manzil):
The breathlessness of the singers was used as rhythm for this song. it made the legendary music composer Anil Biswas say, 'Had Pancham not been younger to me, I would have touched his feet.'

5) Aao twist karein (Bhoot Bungla):
The king of classical numbers Manna De sang this fresh pop number.
truly classic...

6) Dekha na (Bombay To Goa):
Fast-paced, foot-tapping and at times crazy, Dekha na had Amitabh Bachchan and the nation dancing to its tune! even now .. i guess.. people singing Hindi film songs together in any group anywhere sing this song...

7) Chadthi jawani teri (Caravan): Mohammed Rafi and Asha Bhosle at their best under RDB, with foot-tapping music... Please dont listen to the remix..

8) Piya tu (Caravan)
:) Helen.. helen .. Helen...

RD is the whole spectrum moods.... (ALL MY BEST SONGS)

1) Kiska rasta dekhe (Joshila):
The song is a great blend of Kishore Kumar's voice and the haunting music of RDB. One feels the pain by simply listening to it.
"Bhooli duniya tujhe bhii mujhe.
Phir kyon aankh bhar aayi!!"

2) Kisi baat par mein kissi (Bemisaal): One of my favourites , a true proof of versatility... R D's brooding tune, Anand Bakshi's eloquent lyrics and Amitabh Bachchan's mysteriously sulky disposition make together this perfect song.

3) Phir Wohi Raat hai..
I cant explain this song.. Dont know the lyricist.. but amzing amazing words.. and only RD could put justice to the lyrics...

4) Musaafir Hoon Yaaron...
Aumkar, my friends.. song.. Aum Bhai, wont forget the road trip to Goa when you sang this

5) Jaane jaan doondtha (Jawani Deewani): Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle at their best, in this evergreen hit from lyricist Anand Bakshi.

6) O manjhi re (Khushboo): O manjhi re was more an experience than a song. It is so easy to imagine yourself on a boat philosophising about life and its musings.

7) Rimjhim Gire Saawan ! Sulag sulag jaaye man .. Bheege aaj is mausam mein... !!
Basu Chatterjee's classic Manzil.. I loved the film.. Amitabh at his best..

RD is Innovation

1) Ek chatur naar (Padosan): Who can forget this song? It's the greatest funny song composed in Hindi music.. Reach out for Kishore Kumar and Manna De, interspersed with Mehmood's Tamil touch..

2) Kasme wade nibhaayenge hum (Kasme Wade):
The reason i put this in this category is cos did you know this was composed in the kitchen of lyricist Gulshan Bawra. Even without much concentration, Pancham could compose such immortal tunes. But have a look at the simplicity yet the melody of the composition

3) Baahon mein chale aao (Anamika):
Check out Lata Mangeshkar's voice. Can one get any naughtier? And Jaya Bhaduri didnt have to show any cleavage and oomph like the remix girl does.. the song and the picturization .. (with Sanjeev Kumar) are really beautiful..
The remix and the original really bring out the change of taste of film directors..

4) Na jaa jaane jaa (Joshilay):
R D sang this song for Sunny Deol. He sang the mukhda in all possible permutations and combinations.
Just awesome .... Javed Akhtar??

5) Mamaiya kaiero mama (Arjun):
This song signifies youth. What attitude! Loved the young sunny deol..

6) Hum kisise kam nahin (Hum Kisise Kam Nahin):
Talk of qawwali, here comes the king.
The hit combination -- Majrooh Sultanpuri and RDB and Nasir Hussain. HKKN along with Yaadon Ki Baaraat and Zamane Ko Dhikhana.

7) Lalla lalla lori (Mukti):
This was the nation's lori (lullaby) composed by the legend.

8) Yeh dosti (Sholay)
Teri jeet meri jeet teri haar meri haar.. aisa apna pyaar. :)
The song that captured the whole theme of the mega movie..

9) Kaanchi re Kaanchi (Hare Rama Hare Krishna)
Lovely Pahadi theme interspersed with the film's screenplay..

10) Pyar humein kis mod (Satte Pe Satta):
:) One of the funniest.. . "Battiyan bujhaane waali jaane kab aayegi " ;-) ;-)

11) Yamma Yamma..
Lovely combination with Rafi Sa'ab.. RD with his Hoo - Haa !! a Blast-Off start to the song and the awesome pace...

Some other numbers (not so favorites personally , but huge hits):

1) Pyar diwana hota hai (Kati Patang)
2) Bade achche lagte hain (Balika Badhu)
3) Dilbar mere (Satte Pe Satta)
4) Hamen tumse pyaar (Kudrat)
5) Aane wala pal (Gol Maal)
6) Ek din bik jaayega (Dharam Karam)
7) Aanewaala pal (Golmaal):
9) Jiss gali mein tera ghar (Kati Patang): Mukesh and RD !!10)Yeh jo mohhabbat hai
11)Pyar diwana hota hain
12) Kehdoon tumhe (Deewar):
13) Hum bewafa (Shalimar):

RD is still the best... Even 5 films like Jhankaar Beats are not enough tribute to him..

I hope we have such a genius again in our lifetime.. or I will spend my life listening to his compositions only.. !!