Reflections

A Friday Evening

2011-01-31T06:04:00.000-08:00

In a long time, I have never spent an evening like the way I did last Friday. In a cozy restaurant, typical of a romantic dinner setting in a Maniratnam movie, four hot girls and one pregnant lady spoiled the quiet dinner for a few lonely firangi guests and a couple of couples that had chosen to dine in that star diner that day. Thankfully I was one of the girls and not one of the other guests :)

This place we had chosen was about 2 minute drive from where I live. So the friends came over for a quick chai and chitchat. We did consider ditching the dinner for some in-house order in party, but we decided against, because we did not want any husband to enter his home and ruin the gals-indulgence.

The restaurant had lovely décor, amazing ambience (for us), and scrumptious slices of pizza, delicious desserts and mediocre main course. However the highlight of the evening was not the food per se, but the never ending entertainer in the form of S speaking three different dialects of Tamil that R did not get a word of, and yet laughed. I think I was too awestruck to even laugh, J was crying from the laughing and as Sh did not want to upset her make up, she held herself from laughing and crying. Holding that thought, was that the highlight or was it the “P” language that S, Sh and J spoke like that was their mother tongue leaving R and I in the dark? Am not quite sure. Or was it really the pizza that the pregnant lady had for starters, main course one and main course two? Or was it all the giggles of the happy girls that drove the rest of the guests away?

But in the end it was truly one of the nicest evenings gals!

A Monday morning

2011-01-10T04:46:00.000-08:00

Rushing out
Empty thoughts
Familiar click
Throw the bag
Shut the door
Misty mind
Blacked out
Zoom and out
Swift Slammed
Shiver and sweats
And it was over

A mid week afternoon in Bombay

2010-07-09T00:07:00.000-07:00

My laptop had gone bust for a week – yeeah!
Though I almost lost a part of my functional arm, I quickly realized it was a blessing indeed. I spent the day exploring Bombay- something that I could not do in the last couple of months.
Stepping out armed with the camera, some cash and an umbrella I walked for about half a mile. I saw a deserted bus stand. Though I have crossed this way just about a million times I have never stopped to wonder who took buses from this depot and to where. Now I did. I walked in and quickly realized to my dismay that all the numbers and destination details were written in Hindi  or was it Marathi?
hmmpphh…. Disappointed I kept walking and spotted a bus that had a couple of people inside. Hesitatingly I asked the woman on a window seat where the bus was going. Well I was gonna board irrespective of where it was gonna go. But it would be sheepish to ask for a ticket to the conductor to wherever the bus was going. She said ‘Bandra’and I boarded the bus. So now armed with this piece of information, I asked the conductor if the last stop was Bandra, and he said ‘Bandra Depot’ in the most stern and practiced voice.

I settled in a comfortable window seat, took out my camera for some shots of Bombay. Before I could click a handful, Mr. Rain arrived to include a drizzle in the landscape of Bombay. In about 1.5 hours after multiple rounds of waxing and waning of crowd, the bus cruised into the depot. After 15 minutes of auto ride, I was in Bandstand.:) It is a beach, well technically, but nothing like the beaches that I have been to so far, as there is no sand on the shoreline here. The shore is dotted with many rock forms and couples in love alike :). I thought who would be here on a mid-week afternoon? What was I thinking? After all, there are all these schools and colleges that work at that time and the young teenagers escape the boring class rooms to a more enchanting bandstand….

Thankfully there is a Barista (and also a café coffee day) facing the sea for those like me and I sipped on my lychee frappe drink taking in the view of the Arabian Sea until my hubby joined me after work!

Ladies - do you agree?

2010-07-04T20:31:00.000-07:00

This is a thought that I have been meaning to pen down for a long long time. Today I had another trigger. So here I go.

There is a growing certain kind of women- the kind that’s not too hung up on coy, demure and small feet.

So what has been the best present you have got from your husband/fiancé? Responses have changed from expensive sarees, gorgeous necklaces, chocolate covered strawberries (well, one can never really resist those), surprise romantic trips to the more empowering ones. By empowering ones, I mean the ones that give you ‘wings to fly’ (in one of my friends’ own words). Like a GPS for the direction challenged wife, support to pursue a hobby or a profession for wives that weren’t exactly headed that way, new gym gears to keep up the motivation etc. Well you get the drift?

Well, I do agree that one needs to go silly and crazy and indulge once in a while. You would be considered boring otherwise ;) After all, no one gifts their girl friend a GPS on their third date, whereas chocolate and strawberries would be in. However in long standing relationships, IMHO, the need to feel empowered outweighs the need to feel pampered.

Well, would you agree?

The Goan experience!!

2010-06-27T22:48:00.000-07:00

Rain danced around us playing hide and seek, more seeking than hiding, ugh, in our 3-day Goa trip. The vacation was officially over yesterday and we are touching reality. The experience was surreal, looking out into the rains that were as relentless as the waves hitting the beach behind our resort. Nevertheless at the first sight of rain slowing down, we donned our brightest blues and oranges that were packed for a Sunny Goa into the beach for a breathtaking picture session. Right after the rains, the waves still hitting huge tides and clouds teasing to come down pouring any moment, we hurriedly tried to make the most of our time- had an awesome couple of hours of the beach. The vast expanse of the ocean has always enthralled me; the sheer power and tirelessness and this time was no different. Except that it was my very first encounter with the Arabian Sea. Unconsciously I was always comparing and contrasting with my own marina beach. This one much smaller, with coconut trees on the shores was a much different spectacle I must say. In that aspect, it was also very different from the NJ beaches- Sandy Hook and Cape May and probably closer in comparison to the Portland beaches of Manzanita and Cannon, may be the west facing has something to do with it?

After the brief pause, Mr. Clouds again showed its might. As I sat on the balcony of a simple Udupi restaurant watching the rain and sipping Chai, I wished that time could be frozen forever. Indian Chai is best at the local shops rather than the multi star resorts. I remembered the morning chai that was served along with the breakfast in the resort. It was prepared for the firangi palate, almost black and flavorless. Soon after, we huddled back to the warmth of the resort suite.

Next day, braving the incessant showers, we took the city tour bus to take a south Goa sightseeing tour – so much unlike us. The first stop was to see the Old Portuguese mansion and museum. Pretty low key I would say if you have seen any of the mansions of Newport, RI. However what stood out was the generous ventilations that looked into beautiful gardens. The insides are pretty Spartan with furniture more functional than aesthetic. It included a little handicrafts museum showing the lives of yesteryear Goans and their livelihoods – wine making, pottery making and of course fish delicacies. Then we stopped at a couple of temples – these are reconstructed after the originals are destroyed by the Portugese invasion. One of the characteristics of the Goan temples is the Lamp tower or Deepmal or Deepa Stambha. Another characteristic is the Dome above the garbhagraha- probably a Mughal influence. St. Francis church is a major landmark in Goa, where the body of St, Francis is kept even today; he died in 1552. The architectural grandeur was apparent.
After a brief lunch stopover, we headed to Dona Paula, essentially a suicide point where Dona and Paula ended their lives. However the rain gods intervened and made the best spot of the day drown in its celebration. We witnessed the heaviest downpour at this spot. Except that there are no pictures, it truly was a breathtaking experience. Then the bus stopped at the Miramir beach to announce that it is the dirtiest beach in the state and that all the industry pollutants join the sea at this point. I wonder why! The last stop was at an aquarium, where the various sea flora and fauna were kept in captivity. Again, we aren’t great fans and hence could not wait to get back to our resort to unwind after a whole day of outing.

The third day was the highlight of the trip – nay the rains did not stop, however we decided to confront it head on, on a motor bike. What a pleasure?! On a Pulsar, under heavy downpour, with neither direction nor destination, we aimlessly rode on the deserted long stretches of roads, greenery on either side. Too bad there is no coastal road. However, we just kept going, until we got worried about the petrol in the tank. It was one awesome ride of our lives. We were reminded of our Martha’s Vineyard moped trek in September 2008, though the weather was much better then. Once again, the evenings were well spent with Jacuzzi, magazines from the resort library and plenty of football.

Any Goan experience is not complete without the mention of cashews. Apparently even wine is made out of cashews. We had sumptuous dinners every evening at the resort. Goan style pancake is a rolled pancake with the typical “poornam” (coconut and jaggery sweetpie)stuffed in it. The highlight was Bibinca, a layered pastry like dessert made out of maida, coconut, cashews etc. Was delicious!!

One of the most relaxing trips in a long time- simply because we had nothing to do thanks to the rains!!!!

Since we bade bye to Hyderabad.....

2010-05-24T02:38:00.000-07:00

What a journey has it been? This last month, since we packed all our stuff into nine little boxes to Bombay! Since then we have time swapped our lives across Chennai, Madurai , Gangtok, Darjeeling, Bangalore and Tirupati. All along we have lived off suitcases – eeck! Always carrying laundry :(

Finally it is bliss to settle in a home which has my whole wardrobe. There is this t-shirt of mine, which is black, which is not very surprising, which creeps into my luggage trip after trip, destination after destination unfailingly. As much as I love the shirt, I hate to live off a subset of my clothes. At all points in time, I want access to my whole wardrobe only to pick the same t-shirt time and again:) This can happen now….

Today I am happy because I have something that resembles a home, and a decently equipped functional kitchen. I am happy my stuff from Hyderabad arrived in one piece and it was such a pleasure to just see all those things that I haven’t seen in a whole month! How materialistic am I? :(

Anyways, here is the detailed account of my Himalayan pursuit. After about 48 hours of train, plane, bus and van and sitting through a Bengali movie (called the Japanese wife!) to get a feel of true Bengali culture, we were finally in Darjeeling. The van dropped us off on the street and pointed to a building that was perched on top of a small hillock and said that was our hotel. While we were still taking in the panoramic valley view; we were confused as to how to reach that hotel with our luggage? At this point, a woman of about 50 years talked to us in broken Hindi that she will find a way to bring the luggage to the hotel and struck a deal. We were still perplexed but said okay. To our complete shock and embarrassment, she neatly packed about four suitcases on a crisscrossed rope and slid one edge of the rope like a head band on her forehead and started walking up the hill with the weight weighing her back down. We were simply dumbfounded. Human labor is just too cheap in India. We were about four of us each about half her age together spent Rs. 80 to shift the labor of lugging our own luggage on to her. I was truly ashamed….

And the next two days we spent ‘sightseeing’ Darjeeling- Mirik lake and Sunrise@ Kanchenjunga both of which refused darshan due to cloudy weather. Of course then, we went to patel points including Peace Pagoda, Ghum- the highest (7407 ft) railway station in India, costumed photo shoots in the tea plantations :D Funny experience!

The third day, we set off towards Gangtok. On the way, we decided the test the waters of Teesta! We got on to a raft and did what was called ‘white’ water rafting. Except for about two or three rapids, water was hardly ‘white’. It was more like an enjoyable boating on a sane and serene river.

Gangtok was more beautiful than what we had imagined - clean and upscale. Apparently everyone in the state of Sikkim gets free education till twelfth class and also given a loan to buy a taxi and taught driving if need be. And tourism is expensive here. Every city taxi is an Omni and adheres to weight limits. Without luggage only four people are allowed to travel in one taxi. Small shops and businesses have their earmarked districts and they all seem to be doing well. We observed an insane number of salons and spas in this area. The fine for littering is heavy and looked like people respected those rules.

Local culture was interesting - visiting local points of interest including Hanuman Tok, Ganesh Tok, Himalayan Zoo, Do Drol Chorten (a stupa) , a flower garden. We also enjoyed local cuisines - Thuppa a certain local noodle soup dish was particularly delicious.

And then the highlight was the trip to Baba mandir and Tsongo lake. Simply stunning views. Fairly snow clad and comfortably cold weather up above 14000 feet; awe inspiring mighty mountains- definitely a moment to cherish. A little above the famous Tsongo lake is the lesser known Manju lake which was no less beautiful. On the way back especially with needle like flurry falling outside our windows and land sliding traffic jams ahead of us, the snow covered yaks in the backdrop of fresh layer of snow on the lake water was such a pristine picture. Our cameras did not do justice to the splendid spectacle. Apparently the roads leading up to these points were opened only on that day after being closed down for about 10 days due to bad weather and earlier landslides. The rescue operations were still on. The people that guard the borders are true heroes. So it wasn’t exactly a safe journey; a tiny slip and you would be in pieces. However it was the fitting finale to a very enjoyable trip to the Himalayas. Thanks to the wonderful bunch of friends that made the trip possible and more pleasurable!

On the way back, we spent one day in Kolkata. We are still trying to figure out why?! Gardens around the Victoria museum and a buggy ride outside the Victoria museum, Saurav’s restaurant on Park street together may be can try and answer that question. However the culture of Kolkata lies in the maddening crowded streets of Bade Bazaar. The heat quotient made us opt out of shopping, however the rest made up for it!

That apart, the home made food and dear family took good care of us in the last month..... :)

When is the next vacation? :D

A life that was!

2010-03-25T04:31:00.000-07:00

Dedicated to all the lady-spouses at ISB who have enjoyed and endured this last year!

Nostalgic it is….
But this is not a totally unfamiliar feeling. I was getting nostalgic about the first few days at ISB when many firsts happened. First time I stepped into the atrium, first time I went in search of the bookstore, first time I searched for a rest room in the academic center, first time I met my neighbor P, first time I met someone who was having breakfast by herself and the conversation sparked immediate friendship. Many firsts and everything took me back by a year.

In about a week from now I am going to be out of here. This is also not an alien emotion. I felt it exactly a year ago while moving out of our apartment overlooking Hudson and while we took off from the Newark airport with no return ticket. Yet what is different about now is that we have always known that this day would come and exactly when it would come. We always knew ISB was a temporary phase of life, and that we would have to say bye-bye to the beautiful campus, refreshing night walks, wonderful studio and all the nice housekeeping staff that made our living in Hyderabad so much more pleasurable.

What we did not know was that the friendships formed years after childhood, years after school and college would still mean something and letting them behind was going to be difficult. It has been an amazing year of forging new friendships, friendships of a different kind, with the kind of people that are from an entirely different culture and geography. Strong bonds of friendships are usually formed at the tender age of innocence or the confused age of adolescence. IMHO, most of the adult life relationships tend to be more business like and judgmental. But here at ISB, I was made to rethink my opinion as there was something common amongst us all spouses, something unfulfilled and some shared pain that made a lot of us feel connected in some way or the other. It was the first time for many of us to have so many married women as friends. It was not an uncommon event to share our pretty personal qualms with other spouses here.

The common vein was mostly the overworked husbands and of course the famous mother-in-laws. I am not sure how lasting these relationships are, but I am certain its one of a kind that rings a special point in our lives back in time.

Hampi- Fascinated & fatigued!!

2010-03-08T19:39:00.000-08:00

Two days later, here I am still alive from a trip that was both exhilarating and exhausting. The journey started in high spirits. Ten of us cramped in a cabin of a train played mafia. Between the first two games, mafias and villagers got even and were well fed to a delectable spread of dinner with cuisines from across the country. When we did realize that the whole compartment save us was trying hard to sleep, we hesitantly closed the session for a short night’s sleep. A woke us up at the ungodly hour of 5 am and said that the train was running ahead of time. Amidst skeptical looks, foul breaths and empty water tanks in the train, we passed the most difficult 40 minutes of the trip cursing A.

Checked into our rooms; we had a relaxing morning coffee. Overlooking a scenic and rustic garden interspersed with little cottages, under a cool early morning sun that was still making up its mind to peep out or hide back in, we lived our life rich :) (Now, that’s a term I picked on the trip thanks to a certain Laadanandji) Soon after that, complying with Indian Standard Time, we were ready by 8am for a 7:30am call at the breakfast table. That’s the convenience of being in India eh?

Treating the tummy to steaming idlys, toasts and corn flakes, and indulging ourselves to a few quick shots under the camera, we left promptly for the day’s sight seeing. In the first stop, we saw a partly restored monolithic statue of Lord Narasimha. There is a Shiv ling next to it. I wonder if this was the age when Shaivaites and Vaishnavaites lived in harmony with each other.

As the sun ascended in the sky to scaring heights, we were sheltered in an underground temple that housed some more Gods. The guide narrated the story of Kannapa Nayanar – see pic.

Sun continued its ascension. And we continued to brave the heat. The Zanana enclosure- the harem for the royal and the dancing women housed a center courtyard where various cultural compositions were played for the amusement of the kings and the queens guarded by eunuchs on three watch towers around the area. Architecturally advanced, these open air courtyards had the effect of an Air Conditioned auditorium due to the water lines built within the structures.

Another interesting observation is the communion of Hindu and Muslim styles in these structures. Vijayanagara kingdom was really a religiously tolerant empire that employed a few thousand Muslim soldiers in its army. They were eventually defeated by an insurgency from within on the face of a rare unity of four deccan sultanates against the empire. For some reason instead of taking control of the region after conquering the army, they plundered and reduced it to a ruinous state which is only partly restored to this day.

This slew of structures though architecturally superior, was aesthetically average. The ornate designs and minute carvings were missing. One of the other temples, the hallmark of Hampi has musical pillars. Apparently, the carnatic swaras could be replicated by tapping on these pillars. There were also certain pillars that could create the sounds akin to an instrument. The highlight of the day was the sunset view. From the uneven rocks across the plain ruins we could see a brilliant ball of golden yellow slowly losing sheen and sinking for the day. The sunset I thought progressively sped as if in a hurry to flee from the throngs of people marveling in the spectacle.

In sometime, we were back in the resort for a dip into the swimming pool. Though it seemed like it was relaxing, the moment we got off the pool in the late evening, we realized we were really exhausted for the day. We had a fairly quick dal-chawal type dinner. I was probably asleep in less than thirty seconds after eyeing the bed.

The next day dawned early, but beautifully to a hubby-ordered chai on the verandah of an exquisite cottage with the most delicate warmth of the sun. This is such a simple and a primal pleasure that everyone could indulge in every morning, day after day. Yet we usually choose the cozy bed and a lazy sleep. I wonder why?

That day, we decided to be more sensible in our sightseeing escapades, so we settled for a visit to the Virupaksha temple followed by a slow and soothing boat ride across the Tungabhadra. The best part of the day was the ten of us taking an auto ride together with the men doing the acrobatics and women getting squeezed and cooked in the heat. Quite a bonding opportunity :D When the sun was directly above our heads and when the sun screens and water bottles were getting emptied at the same rate, we decided to call it a day and headed home to a game of Pictionary and random rants nestled in a cool room.

After sun down, A & I had our first experience with a camel ride and with Rajastani food. Both the experiences were unique and satisfying. Thus ended our two day sojourn to the heat capital of South India.

In these two days we managed about 1000 pictures from various crazy angles, permutations of people, and combinations of coolers and caps. Why compromise on our little treasured keepsakes?

Lighten the stress!!

2010-02-24T01:15:00.000-08:00

Scene: At ISB
Context: Placement season

Gal1: my husband found a job yesterday. Am so relieved!
Gal2: Cool congrats. Happy for you guys! My husband is not placed yet, it is quite stressful for us. Where are you guys moving to?

Gal1: Calcutta
Gal2: oh no!

Gal1: why? Calcutta is not so bad?!
Gal2: OMG! I hate Calcutta.

Gal1: why?
Gal2: because my in-laws live there….. that would be more stressful. Stress of not finding a job is manageable! You made my day!

Rest of the gals: ha ha ha
One guy in the scene: a face that says “don’t know where to look and how to react”

Travel-planalogue

2010-02-09T22:49:00.000-08:00

Well, there is an upcoming travel plan. If everything goes as per plan,(well, we all have been taught to show reverence to nature when talking about the future :D) we will be one of the living witnesses amongst the ruins of Hampi. Yay!

ISB in all its glory of being the 12th best B-school in the world did its bit in being a great environment for the spouses on campus. May be if the ranking framework factored that in, ISB could be a whooping first- who knows?! Anyways, almost all our outings in Hyderabad have been with a bunch of friends. My two year old niece can count only till 2 and she can count how many times, my hubby and I have been out by ourselves :D The other times, our romance (?) has been graciously checked by our fond friends who love to hangout with us ;)

So Hampi is another such tour coming up! Apparently it is so ruined, that it can engage us for 4 days, but we would have to pick and choose the most ruinous parts to finish the scene in 2 days and 1 night. Wanna know another highlight of the trip? We are gonna have to walk a lot! Of course I am excited for A, his only overworked muscles are on the fingers thanks to keyboard and now he might just have to work other muscles too.

Can’t wait!

p.s. All our friends who love to hangout with us – we love you!

To God

2010-01-13T19:29:00.000-08:00

I dreamt
I hoped
I failed.....

There is still hope
And faith
Your dream is better for me
Show me Your dream
I am waiting

Merry Christmas From Hyderabad!

2009-12-24T01:23:00.000-08:00

Under the star lit skies
Reflected off the moon lit pool
There is joy in the air

With Santa behind you
Tucking neat presents under the tree
There is joy in the air

Hubby honey baking
A Christmas cake
There is joy in the air

Darling kids singing
Christmas Carols
There is joy in the air

Happy families skating
On the sheet of white ice
There is joy in the air

Serene Sunrise
On a misty winter morning
There is joy in the air

Wish you a Merry Christmas!

Btw, In Hyderabad we have White Christmas!
The sun scorches you until you blanch white!

Memoir of R2I

2009-06-15T01:29:00.000-07:00

How long is the blog due?!

ISB is beautiful. Hyderabad is enchanting. The growth I see around the city is remarkable. I am truly happy to back! Back to the city where the old and new live in harmony.

The many new malls that have been added to the landscape showcases the young money flooding around here. Stand in IMAX and you could be in Hong Kong, there is absolutely no difference. Wealth is splurged with no reverence. Right from Ratna Deep to City Central, goods and brands from the consumer country USA rule. Even the guarded secret of Durgam Cheruvu is highly commercialized. It is one rich city is a really poor country. Anyways, I have to applaud the corporation for having maintained clean parks, roads and safe pathways. Of course, my experience is highly limited to the “shuttle route” that ISB bus takes ok, that means that we don’t own a personal vehicle of any kind. Right now, not adding to the carbon footprint!

Life at ISB has been a delight to say the least. Except for the constant scare of snakes, and all kinds of wild reptiles, insects and may be even boars it is the place to be. The luxury of hiring a house maid! Wow! Without sounding condescending, I should say that this is the best part of being in India. While India is largely poor, I also have to admit it is largely lazy. Hence good workers in this part of India continue to impress me, right from the auto rickshaws, house maids to chai wala, they seem to have good work ethics and I really respect them for that. Touch wood.

My job here entails me to interact with a few people from the academic circle and it is quite an experience. The hours are awesome. The work profile is quite unstructured and the hence the scope of learning is way better than what an industry job offers. Besides, there are a zillion things on campus to do. Fitness workouts, Spanish classes, public speaking sessions, yoga, magazine publishing and photography – there is just not enough time to do all of these. Plus, I have made some dear friends that make the place even more endearing and enjoyable.

In all, exactly three months after I set foot outside the United States, I am not disappointed. While the emotional attachment to the first life I had as a home maker raises its head from time to time, I think I truly enjoy the transition back to my home country! There is definitely no regret! R2I is here to stay!

On a different note, I am glad India lost in the world cup! Hope this gets A off the couch!

Going back to India for good ..

2009-03-16T11:05:00.000-07:00

4.5 years - thats how long I have been in this country as a student, as a wife, as a H1B person in the American workforce, as a New Yorker, and more. There are a million relationships I am leaving behind; taking only the memory with me in the next few hours, in the 20 hour flight back to India, back to my home.

Its quite a conflict of emotions running right now.

R2I

2009-03-04T04:48:00.000-08:00

In what seems like a whirlwind of time, the last four plus years has zipped past me in a myriad of eat outs, cooking, schooling, working, travelling, moving, losing, gaining and smiling!

I am not sure if the feeling of leaving the coveted United States of America has sunk in yet. Those days that unfolded with long lists of words from Barrons remain agonizingly fresh in my memory. Life got fast forwarded and the circle is drawn. I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything else in the world.

My experiences are truly enriched by the people I met here, the ones that reshaped the course of my life, the ones that turned me from being ignorant to informed, the processes and systems that made living seem so much easier on the surface and so much scary down under. The jobs that always swayed above quick sand, the economy that swelled and plunged, the hurricanes that left people thinking beyond, the elections that played politics, the winter that leaves one cold and numb – it all added to the multitude of perspective.

So many reminiscences flash down the memory lane, faster than I can consciously think. I can’t record the emotions that are running through me right now- the entire gamut from excitement, joy, poignant, uncertain, insecure and bloody shit scared. Sometime I am sane and think straight, but most times my emotions take the better of me and I get lost. I seek guidance from my sources of strength (read I pray like I have never before). And then I feel a little sure and certain, however I realize I am so human and falter again.

However in the grand scheme of things, I am definitely looking forward to the suspense in the life forward.

God, stay with me!

A fresco painting

2009-02-15T06:19:00.000-08:00

Apparently this is a popular subject for many paintings in the 15th century times. It shows the mythological giant man carrying a child across the river. It was his job as summoned by the elderly people of the town in his pursuit of reaching God. He was a 12 feet tall man that wanted to work for the most powerful being in the world. After spending many years with the Satan, he realized that God was more powerful than Satan and started his quest to see God.

As he was a Giant man, he helped people cross the river by carrying them on his shoulders. Anyways, as you might have guessed, carrying this kid made him so physically exhausting and the river turned unusually violent lending the child to reveal himself as the infant Jesus.

Hence he got the St. Christ(opher- meaning carrier).

Anyway apart from the mythology apart, this painting is done in the fresco technique by the famous fresco master Domenico Ghirlandaio. In this technique, pigments are mixed with water and applied to the fresh plaster made on the wall. As the plaster sets, the chemical reaction makes the plaster become part of the wall. Also, since the painting can only be done on the fresh plaster, the artist has to divide his painting into sections and plan to finish each section in one sitting. This division can usually be made out on a close up view. Fresco paintings have to be transported along with the wall that it was painted on.

Did you notice a flaw in the painting?
Look at his legs above and below water. May be in the mythological books, light does not refract on the surface of water ;)

Dagon primordial couple

2009-02-14T22:46:00.001-08:00

It is a couple carved out off a monolithic rock – the man and the woman symbolizing equality and complementing each other. The figurines look very alike except for obvious physical differences of the sexes. The woman holds a baby in her back symbolizing her role in the society as the pro creator while the man holds a quiver on his back denoting his role as the provider and protector. In this culture, the equality of sexes was important and hence the figures are even made to look the same height. Another distinct feature is the degree of bilateral symmetry making them each a part of the whole bringing about the integrated and harmonious union of man and wife.

Also the couple is seen sitting on a stool which has legs indicating their ancestors as a way to acknowledging the importance in making them who they are. The interpretation of this piece speaks a lot about the culture and society in that day and age in Africa.

Aristotle with a Bust of Homer

2009-02-14T22:32:00.000-08:00

The king of Spain commissioned Rembrandt to paint “a philosopher”. This generic commission left Rembrandt with a great deal of freedom to choose his subject. His end product was an oil-canvas painting showing three subjects connected by a deep philosophical thread.

Aristotle, the greatest philosopher of all times is seen standing with his right hand placed on a bust of Homer and his left hand on his hip touching the heavy gold chain that he is wearing. The interesting aspect of the painting is the third character in the painting, Alexander the Great seen hanging in the form of a pendant from his gold chain.

In the Iliad, Homer explains the many rules of the game of life, the decisions and their consequences in practical life scenarios. Aristotle, the teacher and a contemporary of Alexander gifted him a copy of Iliad that became one of his prized possessions. With these seemingly fragile connections, one of the interpretations of the paintings is that Aristotle by placing his dominant (right) hand on Homer and by placing his inferior (left) hand on the golden chain symbolizes the nobility of Iliad and its teachings in comparison to the smallness of power and wealth of Alexander and his invincible kingdom.

While the intent of the artist can never be proved, and part of the plan was probably leaving the painting for possible interpretations, I found this interpretation very profound and insightful.

Time and again, I am touched by the wisdom that history has left for us.

MET

2009-02-14T22:31:00.000-08:00

Finally fighting the inertia and the cold, we went to the Metropolitan museum of art, New York today. It hosts magnificent pieces of arts from across the globe bringing bold histories to the new york city.

Some of the exhibits really picked my interest – it brought my artistic perspective to the fore ;)

More blogs to come on this topic.

Hudson water landing !!

2009-01-16T16:39:00.000-08:00

If you haven’t seen the news, here it is -

I was at work when I came to know of the incident. I felt weak and shiver positively ran across my spine. And then I followed the news and was in relief and in awe of the phenomenal rescue efforts. Time and again, New York does not fail to impress me. If such mishaps have to happen in the world, let it happen in New York, because that’s where the impact is minimal –what an incredible effort.

I am especially inspired by the pilot’s reaction to the incident. Supposedly he was calm and composed, took important decisions and maneuvered the plane to land on water, like that was his daily routine. Wow! When failure is not an option, don’t you panic? Probably not!?

I don’t know how you can commend the heroic efforts from the rescue team. I am sure there are atleast 150 families who bless them whole heartedly.

If you were on-board,

It’s quite a life-enriching experience for the common man on board. It’s like having a second chance to live. It’s like you had an eternity to reflect on your past life, before you were lunged out to safety. Lastly, it’s one reality check for us to think beyond economy, losing jobs, mounting mortgages, broken relationships, and petty fights and find that common ground with that entire dissimilar unrelated people in our society.

Again it happened in New York, in my backyard. NY inspires in ways more than you know!

Winter special !

2009-01-15T17:15:00.001-08:00

It was a Saturday. I was working a 6 am shift at the computer lab; half asleep I was supposedly assisting the inane med-students in their attempt to turn paper notes into slides! Those labs in med school was built with least respect for people working with computers, or so I thought, recessed in the insides of concrete jungle after miles of corridors from the nearest exit.

Two days ago, I had just peeped out of my window to catch the first glimpse of snow. The fresh flakes that seemed to be in a hurry to reach mother earth welcomed the concept of winter in me. I was happy, I remember- all those childhood dreams of America seemed to be turning true, the land of snow and year-around Christmas! (Well, that’s what I thought after watching Home Alone as a kid) However we did not venture out and the snowfall was rather short-lived.

When my shift was over at 2pm, I was hungry and after a long walk outdoors, I found it was snowing, rather heavily. I knew the forecast had been bad and was well prepared and yet I think I did not quite expect it to be this heavy. It was not anything like what I had watched on TV or that, that was two days ago, not a pretty sight by any means, not when my tummy was growling. And I had a ten minute walk through the campus before I can reach home. Not quite sure, how to steer my route, I was walking on fresh now; deep down I was scared if I would skid and break a limb or two. I was scared more so because, I did not see anyone else out ‘walking’ in the snow and if I did fall, I was not going to be able to get up without help; I imagined that if I fell, I would slide down the MLK road, slide down all the way until MLK’s gradient leveled. That big jumbo leather jacket from India protected me and brought me home. Later I came to know that was the heaviest snow in Cincinnati in 16 years!!!!

Today, as I was walking down to work on the streets of Manhattan, braving the cold and the wind, some tiny harmless flakes of snow, for some reason, I remembered this first venture with snowfall. I smiled. Well, I have definitely begun to love winter in my brief stay in USA!

Time waits for none......

2009-01-05T19:23:00.000-08:00

so why are we bound in time?

Interesting it is….
To watch life unfold
Remain detached
To ones own self

And watch the ways
Days turn weeks
And weeks turn years
As millions entwine

Observe the perception
Changes with time
Metamorphosis of
Ideas and ideals!!

Listen to
An uncertain voice
Grope through
A cacophony

Discover in the dark crevices
Of your mind,
That you rather not
Rummage around

Find the calm
And the sanity
In that lonesome
Land of love

That only you
Can reach and react to

Bye bye Ganguly, bye bye Kumble, bye bye Cricket

2008-11-13T18:49:00.000-08:00

Well, I felt indebted to cricket for a lot of my growing up (or lack thereof). I thought I owe a tribute to its demise, but I could not have done any better than this. So I gave up !

From my living room....

2008-11-11T13:38:00.000-08:00

Hot chai on one hand
Remote on the other
Money and market doomed
On a cold afternoon

Out through the windowpane
Far, I see tinted haze
Muted edifices reaching for the sky
A blue river and boats glide

Some choppers in the air
Young and gallant on a ride
Someone lone on a private yacht
When for many, life is tending to a naught

I watch….

From the humble shack
West and across the brook
A picturesque view
That’s New York City for you

It was one awesome game –NJ Nets vs Detroit Pistons.

2008-11-09T20:05:00.001-08:00

Pistons has never been a team that I especially liked, because I don’t think I have the patience to appreciate defense. I need fast breaks, big dunks and brilliant play setting to sustain my attention – and Pistons’ extremely defensive tactics is so boring to the average follower in me.

Here I go to this Nets game almost certain I will end up on the losing side, given the lead up Pistons have had in the season. And the fact that Iverson is playing debut kind of hyped the expectations for Pistons’ fans. By the way, I always hated Iverson- I hated the entire Nuggets team, anyways that’s another story. Billups was only guy that I kind of looked forwarded to in the Pistons team and I am disappointed with the trade.

By the time we reached the stadium, it was almost the end of first quarter – Score read 14-23 Pistons. Well, I did not expect anything better, so I attended to my grumbling tummy first. Pet ka pooja !

First quarter ended at an embarrassing 14-27 at home. My photo pursuits followed suit – the game was simply too one-sided. But I guess we brought some luck with us in the form of Boone. Second quarter was very valuable with Nets scoring 25 against 15 from Pistons. Half ended at a more respectable 5 point deficit to Nets.

In the third period, Devon Harris brought a new level to the game scoring a whooping 19 points against a pretty solid defense. Iverson was quiet with only two field goals. Harris always impressed me from his Mavericks’ days – trading for Kidd wasn’t bad at all for the Nets. Digressing, Kidd was pretty wrong footed in Dallas in the last season. At the end of the third quarter Nets were 72-70.

Even now, I was not too hopeful; I thought the experience of Wallace and the grit of Iverson will see Pistons through. Adding to that Yi Jianlain and VC were going to get fouled out. But Boone’s dunk in the last quarter put Nets in a big lead – 87-79 – from which there was no looking back.

A fine piece of a come-back game, Harris’ career best -38 points, ending a 7-0 losing streak against Pistons – it was a great game for the New Jersey Nets.

Go Nets!!

Ice Hockey !!

2008-11-08T07:52:00.000-08:00

Hockey is not one of the games that I have followed with much intensity, however when you are offered free tickets to watch NJ Devils, it is hard to say no :)

Trust me, hockey is a game that absolutely needs to be watched only from the stadium and only from seats like we had – a $250 valued ones just behind the ice. With a brilliant panoramic view, close enough to see the puck and the angled shots that toss and turn it, I watched an entire game of ice hockey for the first time.

Devils had lost some key players for the game including Brian Rolston, Bobby Holik and Martin Brodeur- the goal tender. Brodeur is seven wins short of creating history with most career wins. Anyways, that kind of put the match in an interesting position against the much lower ranked Tampa Bay Lightning. In the first period, the devils were very slow and they really seemed to miss the key players in setting up the plays. Lightning clearly came on top 1-0 at the end of the first period.

The second period was luckier for us- David Clarkson finally gave the important break through, with a shot that was deflected in. Immediately following that, Elias did not miss the power-play opportunity for another goal and the second period ended 2-1 in NJ’s favor. Unfortunately our seats were closer to the NJ’s goal in the first period and there was no action.

Ten minutes in to the third period, Devils were still up and looked good for the victory. However Tampa Bay was really good on the offense and tied the game. Now the stadium was erupt with fervor, NJ’s game suddenly seemed to shift to the next gear and soon Jay put us 3-2. Now the passion in the stadium was awesome; shouting at the top of the lungs, the atmosphere truly came alive. This is one of the best things of watching a game at the stadium as against the comforts of the home on HDTV :)

Understandably, at 3-2 Devils went on the defensive and yet managed to foul and give a power-play. And this time Tampa made no mistake and the period ended tied at 3-3. No shots were goaled in the overtime by either team and the game proceeded to shootout. What more can you ask for when you spend time and energy (and no money ;-)) to go watch a match in the stadium? Absolutely thrilled at this time.

Lightning went into the shoot out first – and goaled :(
Devils went in and missed :( :(
Lightning’s second shot was brilliantly defended by the replacement goalie Kevin Weeks.
Again the arena exploded in joy
Devils completed the second shot real smart
Score tied 1-1
Lightning took the third shot and missed again – hooorayyyyyyyyyy!
The stadium was all up and waiting for the victory shot from Jamie Langenbrunner and the pressure was enough to keep the Mike Smith, their Goalie fumbling.

So there it goes, a superb game ended in a brilliant shootout !!

Wow what a match it was!!

To top it all, the $250 seats come with free food and free beer !! – ha ha ha

Some pictures of Fall 2008

2008-11-02T08:48:00.000-08:00

On a bright sunny Saturday afternoon, I took a stroll in the Central Park- the green expanse of beauty in the bustling city of New York.

Here is my first stint at photography !

Pictures are of very low quality after the upload :(

Happy Diwali !!

2008-10-29T18:20:00.001-07:00

Diwali in my childhood was all about new clothes and fire crackers. I would start looking forward to it starting a good one month in advance. Shopping for different types of oothubathi, the latest and fancy fire-cracker of the season, the longest Sara-Vedi and the rockets that I always had to sneak in, long lines at TNSC – my memory is real fresh. As I grew up in to late teens, craze for crackers died down a little (call it becoming socially responsible ;-)), but foodie goodies gained importance. It was still a time when I devoured all the jamuns, coconut burfis, kaju kathlis, naada murukku, chaklis, cornflakes mixture and karaboondhi. Those were the times when health / fitness / figure consciousness were unknown; I also remember showing enthusiasm in trying out less known recipes like Mohandal :) All I remember now is that it was some form of sweet. Cousins, aunts and uncles huddled watching the idiot box all day long; nonstop rain spoiling our fireworks, Solomon Pappaiya patti mandram, Simran and Sarath Kumar interviews is another memory I have of Diwali. I don’t recall attaching any religious significance to Diwali at any time, save the customary stacking of new clothes in the pooja room the previous day, the early morning hair wash and a quick peek at the local temple- new years was more religious to me than Diwali ever was !!

Today new clothes still reign in high spirits, pot-lucks are more like the order of the day, sweets and savories are more delicious to prepare than to eat and gain weight and lighting little lamps seem to dispel the winter gloom of New York City.

2008-10-10T08:49:00.000-07:00

One of my teammates at work remarked:

" I see everything, but I don't see everything"

I was intrigued by the profundity!!!!

Saroja - a review

2008-09-21T16:38:00.000-07:00

Saroja was a very different foray into cinema making in Kollywood industry. A pretty serious plot made incredibly funny by the lead quadruplet – a slightly more responsible S.P.Charan and Vaibhav playing brothers; Siva and Premji Amaran chipping in with remarkable humor. Venkat Prabhu has turned a fleshless story line into a captivating and amusing 180 minute show.

The seemingly disconnected parts were brought together by the end of a racy first half. Apparently this method of storytelling was worked out successfully by Mexican director Alejandro Gonzales Inarittu in Oscar winning Babel. Some of the escape sequences of the second half seemed unnecessary and repetitive; but even with its flaws the movie in all was quite a entertainer after Tiruvilayadal in 2007. For one liners lifted from many movies including Vijay’s “Evlovo Pannittom, idhu pannamattoma” and Rajini’s “I was helpless; I was kaarnered” the cinema-hall erupted with laughter. There were way too many funny one-liners that the movie probably merits to be viewed many many times.

Even with the hilarity spread all over the movie, for the faint-hearted it did provide a elevated g-factor of six-flag rides. Thrill and suspense is maintained till the end – but I only wished I knew that all ends well, so that I could have relished the witty scenes even better.

Little Murray !

2008-09-11T19:00:00.000-07:00

Even as the point system stripped Roger off his number one spot, he retained his reign over the US Open with fifth consecutive title this year defeating Andy Murray on Sep 8th 2008 for his 13th Grand Slam title. The highest by any given player is 14 when six years back on the same day at Flushing Meadows, Pete Sampras won the last grand slam title. Hopefully Roger has more to go !

I was always of the opinion that his reactions after a grand slam victory was so down to earth and matter of fact. It was like, yes “another victory I am happy” !! However yesterday even against Murray, the victory seemed to taste so sweet. Another example of how sweeter your achievements are after repeated failures.

With that said, Murray’s game for a 21 year old was extremely mature, spirited and professional. Like all good things, when Roger’s era comes to an end, I would like Murray to replace his throne- I really see both potential and want in his game. Unlike Nadal, I like Murray’s game for his serve and volley shots, for his grace and alacrity on the field. He is a true fast-court player and might face big challenges in French Open, just like Fed or Sampras- but he has the age and willingness to learn and adapt. Again unlike Djokovic’s, I like Murray’s spirit when he was still playing with high energy and enthusiasm even with a knee injury against a match-pointed Federer.

At last I will be ready for Roger to ebb away (only after a couple more grand slam titles – French too!) when Murray will wax into a another saga :)

Travelogue !

2008-09-06T09:11:00.000-07:00

After weeks of preparation for the long weekend, we decided on Friday evening that we will grace our presence to a certain set of seaside towns. We had our plan all charted out in a few hours- We spent the Friday evening packing clothes, cooking and packing food, last minute laundry and the like. The excitement of the impending weekend was enough to keep me going. These days, I have become very health conscious and hence avoid eating out junk food as much. And hence we packed semiya upma for dinner and beans baaji with some variety rice for lunch.

Next day morning, we stepped out at 7:40 am and beating hours of Boston bound traffic, we made it just on time for whale watching at Plymouth, MA an hour north of Cape Cod. The town had a small town feeling and we really like such European touch to towns. After a hurried lunch of beans baaji and Chinch baath, we went out into the sea for a wonderful whale watching experience. It was awesome to be in the middle of the ocean about one and a half hours away from the land on a small steamship and surrounded by these huge mammal creatures in black and white.
We saw a large number of humpbacks and a few of the different genres. It is one thing to see such animals in a protected and a trained environment like the Sea World and such, where the animals perform really entertaining acrobatics; but it’s an entirely different thing to come to its natural habitat and see it in its own wilderness. These guys perform far less stunts but they are far more compelling as it appears when you least expect it. We also saw some mother-calf couplets – calves are far more energetic and lithe. We spent about an hour doing the watching in Stellwagen Bank. Supposedly, this is the feeding ground for the whales and they put on a few tons of body weight to sustain the next few months in the equatorial Atlantic. And that is the breeding ground – :)

So most of the day’s work for mother whales is to find food for itself and its calves. Calves don’t go in search of food until it is a few years old. Whales make these uncanny noises to communicate and remain within calling distance of the family. These noises are really loud and possibly much louder under water, as sound travels faster under water. The naturalist on board made an interesting comment that the minerals, planktons and other fish essential nutrients in the ocean gives it a characteristic dark greenish color and that it is not a sign of polluted water. Apparently, the super clear waters we find in the Carribean is a sign of lack of nutrients and fish food.

On the way back, it was super cold, with winds zipping past you, it was a phenomenal experience. But we could not sustain it for long and went indoors to doze off the remainder of the ride. Back in the seaside town, after being in the large expanse of America’s countryside, we were able to appreciate the closeness and compactness of street side shops. After about an hour ride to the hotel, we enjoyed the boxed dinner again and retired for the day. The high intensity Djokovic's 4th round match against Cilic was not enough to keep us up.

Next day morning greeted us with a decent breakfast spread that included eggs, bread toasts, cereal, little cartons of milk, bagel and cream cheese, muffins and pastry, fruits, waffles and coffee. After a healthy and filling breakfast, we headed to the island of Martha’s Vineyard. The parking lot for the ferry station was a good 45 minutes away and they had shuttles going back and forth. After about a 45 minute slow ferry ride, we were on the island. There are mopeds that you can rent here and use it to explore the island.

And hence we promptly rented one and set on a bon voyage. Some of my best experiences of my life ensue here. After about twenty minutes, we stopped briefly in a beach to get our first soak. Then we headed further south to the Edgartown lighthouse, which is on a man-made island some quarter mile from the coast and is accessible by a foot bridge.

After another brief stop at a little town-like ice-cream shop, we headed west. It was miles and miles of nothingness and forests on either side; actually to the south should be the coast and some wonderful beaches that we could see through the forest at certain points, but they were private beaches and some public farms in between. One of these public farms looked interesting and the board said “pony rides” and we took the left. After about a mile on dirt road, we came face to face with a small stable and two horses. It was a beautiful sight in the backdrop of a ever-extending blue ocean. There were no people around and the last car that passed by us was a good 10 minutes back when we were on the highway. In this secluded and scenic spot, we wanted take in for posterity with a good canon shot; and just as we pulled the camera out, the horse started speeding towards the gated end of the stable. Before we could think about anything, we ran for our lives calling the Gods to save us! I still do not know why it suddenly stopped at the end of the gate- the gate was a mere 2 feet high and the horse could have trampled us if wanted to.
In a jiffy, back on the moped and back on the highway, we were sweating and puffing with the increased adrenalin rush and we knew that was the most insane thing we have done in a long long time. Riding further west, with sun exactly ahead of us, we reached another light house in Aquinnah called the Gay Head Cliff light house. And there was also a public access beach nearby. It was a nice view from the cliff and some pictures bear proof to the adventurous exploration of the territory. On the way back, we stopped at a very nice little coffee place and I could not help but notice that I ordered a small latte but said “Tall” latte! Starbucks Rules ! We went to yet another lighthouse in OakBluffs called the East Chop light house for more pictures and more beaches. Rest of the evening was uneventful and we bade good bye to the moped after we made every penny spent worthy of it.

With the better part of the long weekend behind us, we went to check out the Cliff Side walk and the adjoining mansions in Newport, RI. This place houses some of the biggest family residential structures displaying grandeur on the majestic coasts of a blue ocean. There is a little 3.5 mile walk way all along backsides of these mansions bordering the ocean. Apparently the waves in this part of the ocean makes it a good spot for water skiing and we saw some skiiers in action. There are about 15 mansions taken over by the Presevation society of Newport and we saw the insides of one of them- The Breakers - the Vanderbilt mansion.

The architecture was true to the inspiration; rich with influences from the East, and yet consistent; with great emphasis on finer details of ceiling design, wall decor, fittings and fixtures.

The view of the ocean from a certain balcony like looking area on the second floor of the house was magnificent. It was whooping 17-bedroom house with living room of 50 feet cube design.

After a long and tired ride, we still had the energy for the US open on Tuesday ! Again Djokovic's and Fed's five setters made it all worth the while. Though our seats on the center court was closer to the sky than to the court, we could sneak in to better parts of the stand for great views of the game. Fed's game was definitely sub-par, but that is what took it to five sets and the emergence of the champion. Looking forward to Djokovic vs Fed today to see if the epic finals of French and Wimbledon could be repeated for a different finish!

Go Federer !!

Indians as a race....

2008-08-22T07:10:00.001-07:00

Olympics 2008 is well underway.... Opening ceremony was simply an awesome visual and intellectual treat; it was a massive human effort and a display of perfection and timing; India has gotten itself her first Gold; Phelps has created history with 8 on 8 wins; Bolt’s record sprint - this Olympics has proved to be the best ever sports array already.

In the opening ceremony, when the different participating countries walked down with the field carrying the flags, the commentary covered details like the population of the country versus the number of people representing the country. As we already know, this ratio is staggeringly low for India.

Since then, I have always heard my folks talking about how embarrassing it is to have such a low representation from a country that houses one fourth of the world’s population. But I have been thinking about this for a while now and I differ.

I am ashamed about a lot of things that could have been better in India, but this is not one of them.

Think about this – every year, I mean EVERY year the record for fastest sprint or the heaviest weight has always been re-set for the better. How is it possible? How is it that the mankind is becoming faster and smarter by the day? When I do acknowledge that the part of the reason for this is advancements in science and technology in terms of better tracks, shoes and swim suits, I cannot be blind to the nutrition that comes in capsules. Is this healthy competition? And are Indians’ genetic, physical and cultural make up allow this?

While the excessive importance given to academic education as against sports or arts is a big reason for the lack of competitive sportsmen from India, for a nation that is in its age, size, needs and challenges, it is a natural choice. One of the two has to be true for somebody to take up competitive sports. Either his family is so financially stable, that he does not have to worry about winning the bread for his children, or his learning capabilities in traditional academics is so bad, that he will not get a stable career to make his ends meet. While the second point might be true for a large section of Indian populace, by the time people acknowledge that they will not have a stable livelihood, they are past the prime and their dream of a stable career is passed on to their children.

Also, competitive sports calls for a very well balanced diet and good nutrition, which can be very hard to come by for a country that feeds only half a stomach for a big section of the population. Also as vegetarians, the balanced diet we get is meant for Saatvik lifestyle. As history shows, Indians have produced great astronomers, computer scientists, doctors, economists and scientists; we have not invaded outside of the subcontinent; though we have pursued sports for recreation, it has never been a profession of respect.

Our mental faculty is world class to compete in the International arena; and I am proud of that fact; but our physical faculty is not our forte and I willingly accept it. And hence, I believe spending vital resources in building sports infrastructure allowing all the corruption amongst the middle men (now this is something that I am essentially ashamed of) is not in the best interests right now; I would gladly allow the same to build various other things like education and empowering women.

I am not saying its never going to be possible for India to compete in Olympics, am just saying we are not there yet. We have been the ones that sit back and enjoy and not the ones that sweat it out in the middle.

Amidst all this, kudos to Abhinav Bindra!!

I hate moving boxes !

2008-08-21T10:10:00.001-07:00

We are scared of death, of marriage, of being parents, of growing old….
We are scared to move jobs, to move homes, sometimes even to change the wallet. When you are old, you would not even want to change your bed. Resistance to change is human and yet we grow old, have babies, get married and die!! – Hopefully not in that order!!

For some it is built into their sentimental belief system; sometimes, it is moving out of the comfort zone, change comes in all shapes and forms; sometimes it is physical, sometimes psychological, and sometimes just virtual and yet we all do.

Much of the history asserts we like changes in our youth, as we grow old; it becomes more and more difficult.

I in general look forward to change, but when it actually happens, sob sob ! :)

Aug 18th, 2004 - Been four good short years !

2008-08-18T08:25:00.000-07:00

Seasons went by
Chapters across the rainbow
Many things I liked
A few things turned dear
Only thing I miss
As hell as I do.

Cuisines across the orb
For palates of extreme kinds
Just like mine, to savor the love of food
Relishing from Mediterranean in the middle
To Caribbean in the west ; to Vietnamese in the east
Vegetarian I remain

Intimidating winters; No – not anymore
Love the white snow
Allow the pleasing jacket
To mask the flaws in form
Rove around sub-zero
Without fussing about sweat and smell

Football, the finest feast
Mannish Manning and the mob
Braving the cold and blizzard
To bring home the Cup
That we affectionately call
The Super Bowl

Those were the three things
That I came to love
As I remember my fourth anniversary
In this land of dreams
Differences and opportunities
For the mind that’s fresh and fearless

Indra Nooyi's speech

2008-08-01T12:37:00.000-07:00

@ a graduation ceremony, Columbia University, NY
Click here

And She is....

Love all

2008-07-31T14:29:00.000-07:00

I have always enjoyed sports.. for one the fervor and enthusiasm of cricket in India was so compulsive to be part of and secondly, for the spirit that brings us bonding together. This has been my primary reason for following ten years of cricket before I gave up around college time, for lack of that support and enthusiasm in my then friends. Then more than half-a-decade later, thanks to my dear hubby, I was introduced to American sports like baseball, football and basketball all of which are quite interesting. Of course topping the list would be THE football, followed closely by basket ball. So however silly it may seem, I think I have been driven more so by popularity than any individual preference.

Tennis always remained a second degree in my sports following, living through Steffi Graf, Agassi, Sampras, Henman (I actually used to follow him quite a bit once upon a time), and then unconquerable Federer (or atleast I liked to think so). But then as always, sports is such a leveler. Who would have thought the world number one Federer will fall in a period of one year from paramount Kingliness?! There was a time a couple of years back that the second ranked player was so back in line that Federer could lose like a million games in a row and still retain the first place for the next few months or so.

After an illness that cost the Australian Grand slam, he lost to Nadal in French (which is forgivable) and Wimbledon (which I still cannot believe). I started watching the Wimbledon final hoping to see a clean sweep after what happened in Rolland Garros to set the records straight, but Nadal was too good. What separates a genius from the greats is often a hairline space and it seemed so true. I remembered his words after the last Wimbledon finals (the five setter) that he wanted to gobble down (win) all he could before Nadal started winning. And it was the last time Federer could really reign over Nadal !

Even then, I was hoping to pay back Nadal at the US open which has never been his favorite. But the games leading up themselves proved too much heat that Fed-Express derailed. What has been his for five years in a row is not his anymore!?

No one in my time (not Agassi or Becker or Sampras) had held on to the spot for as long as Fed did… that we thought he would truly defy gravity and keep it eternally! But we were rocked to remind that nothing lasts forever.

Silence !

2008-07-10T14:13:00.000-07:00

I have always enjoyed a certain amount of solitude. Silence in isolation provides me the ambient atmosphere for some of my best and refined logical thought processes, be it writing a poem, cooking a new recipe or working at office. I am able to appreciate and understand my thoughts better and hence able to align them in order to arrive at meaningful conclusions.

Have you felt in total comfort in silence in a group? I routinely felt that through my childhood. I would just be sitting there studying truly oblivious to my surroundings. Television would be intentionally off, I don’t recall having a phone; and everyone at home will do their own stuff at peace in absolute silence. I would only hear my pen scratch against the paper, sometimes the lone tea shop on the street will blare some music that will faint out across so many walls and doors. I can always count the ticks of the wall clock, hear the water dripping from the improperly closed wash basin tap, cannot ignore the slight hum from opening the fridge, until the cooker would whistle and announce the dinner time.

Even at college hostel though rarely, around exam times, we would all be sitting on the corridor with a bunch of books spread all around us, dimming light and scratching heads. It is a time when you hate the fact that we haven’t touched those books in months, love the fact that you would not have to touch it ever again and be in an unsatisfied yet acknowledged and time-honored frame of mind about the inevitable impending exams- Silence it is.

Today, when I sit downstairs on the riverfront, the calming timbre of the dashing water and it alone would be so soothing that no length or variety of ipod music on Bose speakers can truly provide.

I consistently listen to music on mp3s in the gym at dangerous decibel levels, definitely ignorant to the person next to me even if he was screaming at the top of his lungs. I know I am at the risk of NIHL (noise induced hearing loss) and yet…..

If I left the ipods at home, may be I will blog years later about the wonderful times I had in the gym - how the churning of the myriad treadmills made intonations in harmony with the rolling arm pulleys and ellipticals to produce some unvoiced melody !!

There is music in silence and I haven’t quite listened to it in a while.

2008-07-09T06:44:00.000-07:00

Recently one of my friends had written a blog on a 'common' name.
Is this common enough when I compare it with the flabbergasting originality of the Americans !

Think about MLK drives in the USA. Atleast one street connecting a interstate to a US Highway in every big town that I have stepped my foot in is a MLK drive. What about Vine St. ? I know in Cincinnati, there are two streets immediately parallel to each other atleast for a good 1 mile - and both are Vine ! Apparently one of them is short Vine ! Did I see Georgia in Eurasia, Was nt it the state south of South Carolina ?

Well, I know there are MG roads all over India - but thats just one example. I know atleast 10 Pine streets just between Oregon, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. Does Lincoln / Broadway has to exist in every downtown?! What about Morristowns? what about Westchesters ? We lack any imagination and originality in naming our towns. And half the names are borrowed from Europe with the migration. There was once a friend at school and he said on the phone that he was in London..... I just saw him yesterday and he did not mention of any trans-atlantic plans and then I figure he is just 90 miles away in London, OH ! What are the chances you also find a Paris in a drivable radius from Cincinnati ! pretty good. There is one ! Now what about Berlin..... ! wow Berlin is 50 miles SW of Paris only in USA !

London, Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam should be found in half the states of USA !

and we dont stop here.... when I was TAing in my grad school, there were 3 Bills and 3 James - and all the three James had different names from their parents !

If you are talking about Karthik, Sriram and Murali, where do we put the Tom, Dick and Harrys !

Traveller IQ - Application on Orkut !

2008-07-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

Wow wii !

2008-06-25T15:16:00.001-07:00

Wii is a gaming console that has redefined the concept of video game in recent times. In fact it is not meant for the traditional game enthusiasts, but for people who disliked the aloofness and phoniness of the video games that are often played with a Jockey. Wii revolutionizes the idea of sports in front of a TV with a group of friends laughing excitedly, as against the typical video game of those days that make the player a moron. The most popular game is Tennis which is played by a remote which u use as a racket. No buttons to play with. The sensor senses the torque and acceleration to detect the direction and speed of your racket and accordingly hits the tennis ball.

After a year of playing awesome wii tennis, which to be honest used to cause quite some soreness on my upper arm (well, I am that fit !!), the hubby got me a Wii-Fit yesterday. This is true gym material. You can run like a maniac on the floor (holding the remote) and the wii system will keep track of your vital statistics. It is a great addition to the gaming console. I fancy losing all my extra pounds in front of the TV! There are some fun components like heading the soccer ball, skiing and ski jump. There are good aerobic exercises in basic run and wielding the waist twisting disc. The board that comes with the wii-fit is the brain behind the system in that it calculates the change in center of gravity as your move on it and this information is used to calculate your balance and posture. It is not to be run on like the tread mill. My favoirite is the Yoga and because it calculates the CG and shows it on the screen along with a target area where your CG should ideally lie, it is very useful in doing Yoga the right way. I am sure if used regularly, it can be a great addendum to your fitness routine.

It could be that the hubby is impressed with my workout routine that he decided to add a extra little nice something to it, or it could just be his last effort to keep me off the couch !

A Sunday

2008-06-17T11:18:00.000-07:00

In an effort to host (and please myself) a few guests we had yesterday, I tried Bisi Bela baath and it did turn out very well. Following a heavy brunch when we started off from home after fighting the lethargy really hard and only after the DVD player truly let us down, a little rain peeped out trying to dampen the spirits of us which was just waiting for the smallest of reasons to couch back into cozy pillows and hot chai. However the anticipation was shortlived when the rains made its way for a not-so-hot and cloudy-yet-dry day. Walking with a couple of elderly people and young kids on strollers suited the lazy and laid back youth in us very well. We got off at WTC and walked to the Staten Island Ferry at a leisurly pace that it took more than a full hour. The thoght of downtown on a Sunday was pretty depressing, but as it turned out, it was pretty interesting to walk and take pictures like a tourist ! It was funny to wait in line for the typical picture with the Meryll Lynch bull. I did fancy climbing on top of the bull as the childhood memories of riding behind the elephant statues at the Parthasarathy Temple, Triplicane saw me smile. However in the interest of maintaining decorum with my folks, I restrained. The best part of the evening was when I found clothes in C21 that actually fit me. I spent the previous day in Newport Mall to find nothing actually fit me in this country, especially in summer ! Then we finished the nice cool day with a sumptuous three course dinner at Rasoi, Journal Square. whoo.... Casatta Ice cream spoiled all the workout in the last three months !

Top it all, Lakers stay in the game.

Sometimes it pays off to stay out of the sofa on Sundays too !

Dasavatharam

2008-06-16T10:07:00.000-07:00

It seemed like a movie put together on an impulse. Kamal has tried to connect very disparate incidents in history into a thread that is so fragile. In the process, he has also allegedly twisted the history. While most of history cannot be proved, I believe it is best left alone especially if the twist endangers the harmony of the contemporary peaceful community.

Also his advertisement of atheism leaves the audience in a very bitter taste. I don't understand why he has to thrust his personal ideology in such a influential media movie after movie. The characterization of "Brahmins" is very flawed - purely taking advantage of a very tolerant community to create some unpleasant comedy in the screenplay. It is very silly of him to show himself as a perfectionist hero and the rest of the people as lesser mortals. The 10-role-play seemed very thrust upon and unnatural to the plot; adding a lot of unnecessary floss to an already non-existing story line. The "Telugu" Kamal (he can speak Telugu in 5 languages!!) creates some lighter moments, but the rest of the Kamal's facial make up adds to the let down.

The Japanese style fight scenes are a novel effort, but the alacrity was definitely missing when two sixty-year old Kamals dash on the screen. Not any like the martial arts shot that he has tried to emulate. Even the camera work of creating a Tsunami is below par and the artificiality is evident. However it did bring back the depressing memory of 26th Dec 2004. In all a over hyped movie is let down by every department of the movie.

2008-06-14T15:18:00.000-07:00

We always see men in top positions. Of course there are more women now than earlier holding powerful seats in the corporate world. What is disheartening is, a man thats successful in his career is probably successful in his personal life too. He has a family, many times more than one kid and a posh home in the a scenic locality and a wife thats takes care of the big family.

However more often than not, a woman who is successful career is often left with a couple of divorces or a stalemate single life or single parenting a couple of kids. Is it because men can balance work-life better than women can or is it because partners are more supportive of a husband's career than a wife's career? :)

So the empirical fact is that women have to work twice as hard (or harder) to get to the same position that she would be if she were a man or end up in a broken personal life. The intertwined and complex unwritten rules around the role of a wife, mother and more so of a daughter-in-law does not leave any room for spending time and energy shaping up a professional life – but at this point, I should also mention that women are simply, point black - more capable people.

From what I see, she is endowed with a special sense of balance that can be observed in all her actions. When she feels empowered her man is scared that she would not need him anymore. When the traditional roles played by a man of being a provider and protector are challenged, he is worried if he was becoming dispensable in the household. More often than not, it is not lack of time on her part that lends herself to broken relationships and ineffectiveness at work, but it is a self-conscious choice of trying of boost her man’s ego that makes her a contended (I mean truly satisfied) home maker or a simple supportive wage earner.

Haven’t we seen her cook elaborately for the family and yet eat the left-overs truly happily? She finds the best pleasure possible in feeding a hungry tummy in her husband and kids. It is delight to be a great cook and bliss to be appreciated for her efforts. She seemingly effortlessly observes fasts for the wellbeing or simply a promotion at work. Doesn't she encourage you to raise from rock bottom to cloud nine, even if it had to include many smooth lies?!

What about the selfless love and the sleepless nights? What about the hurried and tired she sweating in the kitchen to make your favorite bajji when you got back from work? What about the tired reproach when she picks up your dirty socks and used clothes from the restroom, verandah and half-eaten lunch boxes from inside your bag? What about she effortlessly handing over the exact same receipt that you were searching for two hours? What about creating a place that you would love to call home? She created the balance in you by balancing everything from her wishes to his, from her reasons to his and from her intellect to his lack of pluck.

I celebrate womanhood whether she is in the backyard or the boardroom for everything was a choice.

You know where to send the Thank You note if you have / had a lovely place called your home !

Pretty Woman

2008-06-14T11:28:00.000-07:00

Vivian: You're late.

Edward: You're stunning.

Vivian: [grinning] You're forgiven.

Vivian: The stores are not nice to people — I don't like it.

Edward: Stores are never nice to people. They're nice to credit cards.

"Pretty Woman" was a surprise hit with us. It is a simple Cinderella story of a hooker and the man in the white horse that sweeps off her feat. Some of the conversations truly portray the power and shallowness of wealth in a very sarcastic way. I could appreciate Edward's need for company more than anything.

As expected, Edward falls for the infectiously enthusiastic Vivian.

Petals around the rose

2008-06-07T13:43:00.000-07:00

This stuff is amazing.....

and the best part is I cracked it after a few days of trying complex arithmetic on some random numbers :) Trust me, none of that helps ! Truly think outside the box !

Smile :)

2007-11-22T13:20:00.000-08:00

It’s such a surprise for people who know me why I have not blogged about this yet. This is one topic that sure starts me going gala over it. Well, it is Hyderabad. The 2 years, 2 months and 10 days was a lovely experience; I am not sure what exactly about that place that attracts me. Right from the honey moon period as we called it – the one month guest house stay till the last minute tearful bye bye, I enjoyed every moment.

Things that I loved

14 hour OPSF(I) with ample time to do my own stuff ;)
8 hour sleep schedule
Weekend shopping
Amirpet bustle
Panjagutta temple
Riddles and puzzles everywhere from coffee corner to a crowded bus
Unsolved puzzles and stirring mysteries
Countless eatouts
The Charminar express to Madras every third Friday
Hostel TV and messy mess food
Fruit juice corners
The late night drops
bread sandwiches
Innumerable Utsavs and Minervas
Lifestyle, shoppers stop, Chermas….
Last but not the least, the people that made all of these memorable

A few things that make me smile –

Lifestyle, Shoppers stop, Amirpet Chermas, pantaloons
If you knew me, you know I can shop till I drop. These places kept me busy all day. Staying at Amirpet, I used to walk to all these places. In hind sight, walking was not so bad . I mustave thoroughly enjoyed it :)

Sampoorna set dosa
This is a tiny shabby fast hand out low profile place 5 minutes from my room. They serve amazing set dosas sprinkled with tomato and coriander and side with mint chutney

Minerva
I must have had atleast 2 dinners in a week in this place. It was just above Sampoorna. Amazing place for food, service and ambience

Utsav dum biriyani
Yummy food when I don’t mind traveling 30 minutes for lunch

Punjabi dhaba in the shadiest part of begumpet
Go for the best paratha and phulkas. I can eat 10 of them. A very small and cramped place

Swagath Rasa Vada
Oh yes, I have a huge appetite and I live to eat

Mochas Cafe (Banjara Hills road no.1)
Decent hangout for a group of friends.

Durgam Cheruvu (a long walk from hitec city)
Lovers’ hangout. Hangout as a group and spoil their time!!

Hitec city on weekends
Only for movies and yet another RKHS meal!

Koyi Mil Gaya, Chalthe Chalthe, Hero,
Not a big movie buff. A few movies that came to my mind in my Hyd tenure.

Runway nine
Wow, worth your time if you have not been go-karting before.

Koti book store
Better deals on books than cheaptextbooks.com ;)

Abids Mall
Another favorite shopping place if I don’t mind that extra travel

Prasads IMAX and NTR garden
For a day long hang out.

Hussain Sagar Lake
For the remnant piscean in me and my alter ego.

Friday @ 6pm – Secunderabad station
Home time! Its the third friday

Fruit juice shop behind the hostel
Anytime for a fresh drink walk away in your pajamas..

Panjagutta Temple
For some serene time with yourself.

Chilkur temple
Almost 1.5 hrs away, a very special temple.

10 downing st, begumpet
Well, if you are a party person

I am actually very happy I blogged this now, because it got me that special smile :)

Gibberish

2007-03-31T11:46:00.000-07:00

As a kid, up until 10 or so, you were always looking forward to “Happy Birthday”. That’s how I called it. “Birthday” somehow did not convey the import of this very important day of my life, then. It was a day when you were supposed to have all the attention at school, wear the best dress, give away the best chocolates, sport the most stylish hairstyle and be in vogue. That was one special day when you will get away with not returning your homework, getting late to classes, having longer than permitted breaks and so on. I remember how I disguised a different day as my birthday if it ever fell on a holiday or an exam day. Exam days when people are busy and do not have the time to shower all the attention you want is not a good “happy birthday” day! New Year’s Day and Diwali also used to very special, because you get to wear new clothes hang out with those cousins who were the best pals.

Gradually, interest reduced. Diwali was just another day when you get to chit chat, see TV programs and such. It was still enjoyable, but not like the only time that you looked forwarded too. New Year’s brought back memories of the lovely last year and how I have not grown a bit mentally in the last one year! Never have I thought that the earth has completed one rotation of the Sun and now set for the next. Birthday only reminded of how old you have become. However since last year or so, any of these things stopped being a vintage date. They stopped reminding me of a bygone time period. Seemed like my calendar just continued into eternity without any periodical returns. What if no one discovered the periodicity and regularity of the seasons?

I would attribute two reasons for that. For one, nothing spectacular and worth remembering happened on these days. Secondly, lazy life is one big lump of time that dies a little by little without any kind of planning for the future. There is no future, present will soon be past and past is the only thing that remains vaguely as a memory. You won’t know the difference between a week back and a month back as both these times; you must have been a couch potato, with a bag of chips, staring at the ceiling fan, browsing endlessly on Orkut or laughing at FRIENDS. If this lazy and purposeless life continued for a long enough time, you will know what I mean – how you have lost track of calendar and dates and most importantly the return of the season as none was worth remembering!

Instead life must be divided into chunks of time based of what you accomplished or simply what your purpose was. If you have had that kind of lazy eras in your life, if you have cursed and blessed yourself at the same time for the elapsed time that went past unnoticed, you will understand what I mean!

I have and hence this blog.

Apr 15, 2007

2007-03-21T10:56:00.000-07:00

If India fails to make it to the Super8s, the much anticipated and eternally hyped India Pak encounter on Apr 15th will be Ireland vs Bangladesh!!

ok, remotely it may even be Zimbabwe vs Bangladesh !!

All those guyz from the US who spent worthy $$$$ as they must have thought, to watch Dravid and Dada batting away to glory against Imran and Inzy will be kept 'entertained' by Bashar and band battling against the Brien brothers!!

Wow, what a match !!

Also, as Anusha says, line cleared for Shivaji followers !!

Cricket !!

2007-03-20T09:34:00.000-07:00

I remember watching the 1987 world cup as a six-year old. I will ask my folks at home as to whom they wanted to win and then offer my faithful prayers in the Puja room seeking the help of God to make that team win whatsoever. I did not understand the game and all I was worried about was my folks at home being happy!

1992 and 1996 were my best world cups when I followed every match of the tournament. I was still a little too immature that I would make trades with God that he can fail me in History revision exam, and instead make that up with an Indian victory! The Pakistan vs India - quarterfinals at Bangalore is something that I still cherish. Then, I had these amazing friends, with who discussions always revolved around the new boys -Dravid, Ganguly! I was even excited to watch Srinath play for Gloucestershire!!

Then, 1999 and 2003 I was a busy with other things and cricket was sent to the background. I followed the happenings from the next day news and that was it. Guess I grew-up and did not matter really if India won or lost. I never remembered any game until it happened and results were out. If I do get to watch a game, it was fun but that was it – it was no religion that I was so used to following fanatically!

Now, in 2007 thanks to a cricket-buff hubby, I am once again pulled into the magic of cricket, its drama, the fun and feelings. Just as I was thinking that the inclusion of minnows in the world cup diluted the competitiveness of the game, Bangladesh hit me right on and proved a better team than India on a given day in all departments of the game. With the precarious position India is placed now it will be interesting to see if they will make it to the Super8s. The batting looked good against Bermuda yesterday, but you cannot forget the fact it was Bermuda. Even against Bermuda, bowling looked very weak failing consistency and penetration. Fielding was lethargic, compared to those of Ireland, Bangladesh and even Bermuda. With this pack, will this team see through the Sri Lankan line up on Friday? In either case, I hope it turns out into a nail biting contest! Well, not exactly as that will not send us to Barbados. I want a thumping victory, letz see!

Speaking of this, I guess that much of the resentment of Indian fans on the loss to Bangladesh was subdued because the arch rivals Pakis failed to qualify to the Super8s. It was very upsetting to note Pakis’ coach Bob Woolmer pass away after their dismal performance in the world cup especially because we were having a fun time seeing the posters that read – death to Woolmer and death to Inzy by the Pakis’ fans the previous day as they lost to Ireland. It is just a game and it will be good if it is treated so. Anyways, hope his soul rests in peace.

Well, that was a blog that started out nostalgic, got all funny and filled with excitement and finished on a sad note distastefully. That was not how I intended it to be. :)

Travelogue !

2007-03-07T14:55:00.000-08:00

It was one of those eventful weekends that happen once a while. It started with me hauling two pieces of innocent looking luggage that turned very bulky when I had to lug to the PATH station five minutes from home. We met at WTC, boarded the A train –fairly straight forward and we were at the JFK airport in roughly an hour. The flight took off after an apparent delay due to closing of gates ;) an hour beyond schedule. Reached one of our friends’ places for the night, fought through cold and had an early morning around 9am. Can you believe?? AZ does not provide homes with heaters!!

After a cereal breakfast, it seemed like the Grand Canyon will be taken over by Wii and playing tennis using the Nintendo software seemed more attractive than the purpose of the trip. In sometime, all the people that were to gather arrived, after battling over some lost baggage we finally decided to start around 4pm, Saturday by two cars to the much awaited two day Grand Canyon trip. The first scheduled stopover was at Sedona, which we together vetoed against due to lack of time. It was a fifteen mile detour from the rest of the plan. On second thoughts, No! There are no second thoughts. We were late to see the sunset anyways. The next pit stop at Flagstaff was at the call of our tummies – had delicious Italian fettuccini pasta for breakfast/lunch/dinner.

Ala! There was also Wal-Mart. People who lost baggage had every reason to do some quick shopping, but the others followed suit too. I can’t pardon myself for the confusion caused over my missing handbag which was eventually found safe in the car. Finally we were off for another two hour drive to Page where lodging was booked for the night. Our car developed an acute shortage of fuel some 30 minutes from Page. The fuel meter reads red and all one could see was a vast expanse of nothing and beyond a couple of miles into the nothingness were mountains. Panic set. Top it all, there was no signal detected by the cell phones. We tried dim-dipping to the car in front, apparently to no consequence. Finally, after reducing gas consumption by switching off music, heaters, (we could have tried the head lights too ;) ) we did reach Page, with a few drops of petrol still intact. :) After the gas station, we checked into our hotel rooms, had a long evening of moonshine, Mafia- the game and gag. We finally hit the sack around 2 am. The next day to the pleasant surprise of everyone present, we checked out at 9: 30 am after a filling breakfast.

The first place we actually visited was Glen Canyon dam. It is on the eastern sides of north rim. There was some disagreement if it was the state of Utah or Arizona. Whatever it was legally, it was a treat to watch the steep sides of the canyon. The depth was close to 600 feet and it looked dizzyingly precipitous. Photo session started there.

The next stop was at Horseshoe Bend. It involved about half a mile hike down slope to the edges of the rocks. From there, the view was breathtaking. A disconnected crater in the middle surrounded by waters at that depth was spectacular and scary. It was both a little cold and a little hot from the sun - too unhealthy for the camera and ours passed out. It was frustrating to lose the camera in the middle of the trip, it was quite depressing. The hike back to the car on the upslope was a fitness test that we barely passed ;). We started driving south and the next scheduled stopover was for Monument Valley.

After a brief and unfulfilling lunch break over BK’s fries and some grocery stores’ croissant, we drove further to an Indian town – Goulding. This place supposedly preserves the Navajo way of life, sandstone buttes, spires and mesas of South West. Monument Valley is a Navajo Nation tribal park, straddling the border of northeastern Arizona and southeastern Utah of the Colorado Plateau. There was some recognizable sandstone natural structures – three sisters, King’s throne etc and not-so-discernable ones that we named ourselves! We also took pictures on the border of Arizona and Utah :) Yeah, the camera was resuscitated!

After a looong drive south, we retired for the day at Williams overnight. The next day, Sunday started at 4 am. We were to drive an hour and a half north to the South Rim to catch the Grand Canyon at sun rise!

At this point, we were too exhausted and too cold from the winds and winter, that waiting for sun rise seemed too stretched. However catching the sunrise was an awe-inspiring experience. In the depths of rocks, and more rocks that looked layered and worn-out with age, heat, cold and drought, there was some vegetation that was destined to survive the desert and cold. It was like a life lesson to stand up in unfamiliar surroundings to be announced the winner! As the day broke, there were photos and more photos. At this point, people were too very fatigued and the trip was cut short by a few hours and we started driving drown to Phoenix. Somewhere in between we caught some good shots of Humphrey’s Peak, Arizona’s tallest - 12.6K feet high. We witnessed pencil slopes, the shaven trees and some hard snow. It was like a good trip ending on a fine note.

Around 3pm, we reached Phoenix, looking like sleep deprived maniacs. The cheese on the Enchiladas for dinner looked TOO cheesy for the first time ;) That was the effect. Finally we flew out at midnight and reached JFK Tuesday morning.

A fine trip, something that I looked forward to for a long time is so suddenly over ;)!

EQ Test

2007-02-11T09:01:00.000-08:00

Your EQ is 120

50 or less: Thanks for answering honestly. Now get yourself a shrink, quick!
51-70: When it comes to understanding human emotions, you'd have better luck understanding Chinese.
71-90: You've got more emotional intelligence than the average frat boy. Barely.
91-110: You're average. It's easy to predict how you'll react to things. But anyone could have guessed that.
111-130: You usually have it going on emotionally, but roadblocks tend to land you on your butt.
131-150: You are remarkable when it comes to relating with others. Only the biggest losers get under your skin.
150+: Two possibilities - you've either out "Dr. Phil-ed" Dr. Phil... or you're a dirty liar.

What's Your EQ (Emotional Intelligence Quotient)?

2007-02-09T07:10:00.000-08:00

Talk about addictions.
Addiction is the state of being enslaved to a habit.

Orkut sure is one such thing. For no particular reason, I quit Orkut almost a year ago. Here I am keeping my promise to this day. Well, there is really no sane reason to keep myself off Orkut. Call it a silly principle, a mulish resolve or simple adamancy that I possess a lot. Whatever it is, I definitely miss on a lot of gossips.

I have to depend on my hubby or my certain friends to keep me updated with what is up with the girl who my brother had a crush on in class VIII or the girl who had a crush on my hubby in class XII and so on. I am very outdated with who goes out with who! Other than gossips, it has also been a great way of keeping in touch with all and sundry ‘n sweet friends at school. Just a tiny scrap once a month, a wedding wish or a congratulations note on a new job or so will be great. I am not sure if and when I would return to Orkutting ways. I did not delete my account. It just reads – “Off Orkut Indefinitely”. It is still indefinite. I sincerely hope there is reason enough for my return and it turns out soon!!

Stay tuned!

2007-02-08T12:48:00.000-08:00

It is not that I have been toiling for any significant step up in my life or personality that had kept my blogging at bay for so long. It is just that I have not had the drive and zeal to sit in front of my lappie for such a long time.

This being my first post in the New Year, officially, Happy new year!!

Have you had the opportunity to see a tiny little baby with in hours of her birth? I did! Yeah! My sister-in-law delivered a baby girl. Her little face was so full of innocence and peace. We have all heard about poetic associations of fresh flowers and new borns. But when I saw the baby, I thought it stood no parallel. Though I wanted to hold the tiny little thing, I was so scared that I might actually hurt her. Fingers so frail, eyes always shut; it must be hard for the baby to leave the protected fortress of her mother’s womb for the world. If there is anything called purity in this world, it is the virtue in a new born baby.

This virtue in all of us is adulterated with passage of time in hope of larger ego, higher prestige, greed in terms of money and respect and blown out self-image. If and only, when one is able to contain these false impressions about self, can the virtue last a lifetime, otherwise the comparison between a baby and a flower will reign as both lose sheen and succumb to their real lives!

2006-12-10T15:00:00.000-08:00

For its lyrics

You only see what your eyes want to see
How can life be what you want it to be
You're frozen
When your heart's not open

You're so consumed with how much you get
You waste your time with hate and regret
You're broken
When your heart's not open

[Chorus]

Mmmmm, if I could melt your heart
Mmmmm, we'd never be apart
Mmmm, give yourself to me
Mmmmm, you hold the key

Now there's no point in placing the blame
And you should know I suffer the same
If I lose you
My heart will be broken

Love is a bird, she needs to fly
Let all the hurt inside of you die
You're frozen
When your heart's not open

[chorus]
[verse]
[chorus, repeat]

If I could melt your heart

How true are the first two stanzas..!!M

It is about happiness

2006-12-05T08:51:00.000-08:00

I have a promise to keep
I pledged to remain happy
Despite all odds and split ends
I have a promise to keep

There they live knowing I am at ease
Here, he loves to see me smile
What a prize have I
To keep a smiley promise

I refuse to weep
I decline any grief
In my vow, I revel
For I have a promise to keep

-Anonymous

Are you?

2006-09-21T13:22:00.000-07:00

Are you the gentle breeze?
Too subtle to stroke

Are you the late night moon?
The one beyond the cloud

Are you the ocean tide?
Low on a darker night

Are you the smothered blaze?
Like a stifled rage

Are you the arcane riddle?
Long lost and unknown

Visual treat

2006-09-19T10:33:00.000-07:00

Behold this scene
With a serene smile
From a grassy pane
Colorful spectrum
Wax and wane
Lost in a hazy spray

From a mighty cascade
As white as snow
Sputters for a mile
Like mist and smoke

Lawn so lush
Scent of the soil
Whiff of water
Music in the air
Drops of drizzle
Stroke your skin

Thud of gushing water
Is all that you hear
Etch this sight
As a memory for life

2006-09-15T10:39:00.000-07:00

1 a.m., a regular Wednesday evening (Yes, when the night is still young)
* Bright like mid-day with lights glaring from all directions....
* Road side stores roll out the rug for little trinkets that make souvenirs….
* You hear someone haggling over the price of WTC posters….
* A Mexican girl and a European guy are busy posing for a sketch….
* Voices scream–‘akkada ledhu ra’ and ‘koodeya va, illena tholanjupopora pa’ simultaneously
* Yellow colored taxis zipped right past you, that you thought you were ripped apart….
* Buzzing people, whizzing cars, and zooming emergency vehicles sing the real tune of Times Square, NYC

There is something about the City that makes it categorically special. May be it’s just the commotion; eternal energy and undying vigor that makes people throng this place well past mid-night. My association with the City is rather limited, but every place that I have been to exhibits a certain character, a display of strength, and suave spirit. Even in a Starbucks that’s in every corner, there is an expression of purpose. It’s a place where there is something for everyone. A quiet cruise to Staten Island or the Liberty Statue, an Ellis Island for the historically inclined (well, you know about American ‘history’ ;-)), a serene walk across the Brooklyn Bridge for a distant panoramic vista, an awe inspiring view from the Empire State, the Ground Zero to tell the tales of torn down towers, the business district of downtown, the entertainment of Times Square, the Garment district for a run on your wallet or harmless window shopping, the party place around NYU for some booze and dance and Saravana Bhavan if you miss Madras and many much more.

I was truly upset to see Luzern shamelessly showing off for "New York Nagaram.."

How I wish I could wake up every morning to its music looking from a window of a forty (a very humble wish) storey building, only to know I wasn’t dreaming!

After all it’s the city that never sleeps....
Now how did Vaali say “New York Nagaram urangum neram”? ;-)

Jyotika and Surya wedding snaps

2006-09-12T14:23:00.000-07:00

It must have all started with some friendly banter ;) from Poovelam Kettupar..
It is said that Jo recomended Surya for Kaakka Kaakka
Fans did not miss their on-screen chemistry
reel life romance will continue for real
as they become man and wife

2006-09-11T11:48:00.000-07:00

Even if you were the Schumacher, pit stops are absolutely essential. However fuel efficient your engine is, whatever you use firestone or bridge stone, travel light and stop just as often as you need to. Mature drivers know that a quick explosion does not take them to the finish line, a calm breath at the pit stop does.

What is maturity?

Maturity does not come with the come with the number of races you have had, but with the number of races where you applied a bit of your mind ….

1. ability to control anger and lug the car without exploding
2. patience to finish all the laps before sighting finish line
3. willingness to pass up immediate pleasure in favor of long term gain
4. perseverance to continue the race even when you are the last
5. capability to face the media after a dismal performance
6. attitude to hold your head on your shoulders after a routing victory
7. holding back “I told you so” when proven right
8. not blaming the track or the media or the tires or the weather ….
9. resolute decisions in when to take your pit stops
10. yet.. hopeful of your next race

Success in a race is not Boolean
Being first or not
It is learning a step for your next ride
Come back intact

2006-09-05T06:57:00.000-07:00

Whose life are you living, Jess?
If you try pleasing 'em for ever,
you're gonna end up blaming 'em.

-The coach in Bend it like Beckham

Daffodils

2006-08-25T14:30:00.000-07:00

I WANDER'D lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees, 5
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch'd in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay: 10
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay, 15
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood, 20
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Well, I am sure this one has a special place in many hearts!

A fictional story

2006-08-23T18:56:00.000-07:00

Sumi trashed the half used coke tins, and cleared the mess on her desk, pressed ctrl+alt+del, pushed the chair inside the desk and walked past her half-empty-team into the ladies room, checked herself on the mirror to make sure that her face did not reflect the time of the day, smiled at her well kept form and shape and hurried to join Shreyars near the lift. Shreyars hid his excitement, though only he knew how he had been waiting for the evening all day long. Just as they joined, the lift arrived crowded and they entered after exchanging glances that conveyed that they would meet 20 floors below when the lift exited for the lobby. She could feel her pulse beating hard and fast. She being a very practical person and workaholic, she had not let this numbing thrill disturb her work day. Now her anticipation was rising. He rested his head on the back of the elevator and let his mind rewind by six months.

He looked as she entered unhurried yet well paced, cautious yet confident, nervously looking forward to the first day of her work-life. Shortly, she joined him and the rest of such people, exchanged greetings, customary hellos and confident smiles. She was polite and poised, yet socializing did not come naturally to her, he observed. Soon they were taken around campus, shown the various facilities and were audience to corporate life introductory lecture. He was seated right beside her and the hiiis, hellos and silence did not comfort him. He naturally invited more dialogue and before long they were good friends. They found apartments close to each other, commuted together, waited for each other, and met over coffee breaks and lunch. They were plain getting along well.

Shreyars’ wit and smartness helped the shy Sumi to hold conversations. Sumi liked to disagree, argue and discuss sensibly and Shreyars’ intelligence helped. Sumi was way too clever and knowledgeable to lose any kind of debate. Shreyars’ felt losing to Sumi more of an honor than shame. They shared mutual respect, interests and quality time.

Their conversations were around how to combat terrorism?, is US right?, why not give Al-Qaeda what he wants?, ethical cloning, what is morality?, rising prices of gas, the to-be-Intel fab in Madras, the automobile industry boom and the like. They never thought about who paid the bill (no, Shreyars did not insist paying), who opened the door, or who carried the shopping bags. They did not buy gifts for each other, no birthday presents, no friendship day wishes, and not even Valentines’ day mention. They were like the strawberries and cream – simply great together with no strings attached.

Today evening was indeed special and an important day for Sumi. And Shreyars felt elated and important to be a part of it. A week ago, Sumi had said that she was to meet a probable-to-be-hubby and invited Shreyars to join. Shreyars concealed his shock well – well enough. He had loved her, he realized. He had prepared himself in the week for this important day. He repeatedly told himself, how true and naïve Sumi was. He truly liked her and that was all the more reason why he masked his feelings for her. He was taken aback at the confidence and respect she had for him that she was taking him to the all important day.
They stepped off the elevator. They were supposed to meet at Barrista, a few miles from their office. They drove in silence – Sumi was tensed and Shreyars sensed it. Shreyars did not want to uncover his mask by talking. Though he made attempts to break the stillness of the car, he was in vain. Sumi changed CDs, appeared to remain normal, but far from it. Shreyars thought, after all Sumi was going to meet this guy for the first time. The journey seemed to long forever. Finally, the sedan slowed down and came to a complete halt two minutes from the coffee shop.

Sumi opened the vanity, checked herself again and smiled self-consciously at Shreyars and their eyes met. For once he missed a heart beat and failed in making eye contact. As if this was the last time they were going to be together, he wished her all the best and stepped off on the other side.

As they entered Barrista, Sumi ordered two cappuccinos. Shreyars thought probably they were well ahead of time. He wanted to be excited for her; he clinched his cuff, twisted his collar, run his fingers through his hair, pressed his hand kerchief on his forehead and he was aware that he was more tensed that Sumi herself. He breathed two long breaths and he hoped his restlessness did not reach the discerning eyes of Sumi. Each passing minute freaked him. He was frantically trying to remain unruffled ;-) She counted the number of times he looked at his watch – It was 16 in the last 5 minutes.

Cappuccino arrived, Sumi had a sip. Shreyars stared at his steaming cup.

He was about to ask when his probable-hubby-to-be would arrive, when she pulled out a mirror and this time turned it across to Shreyars as if asking him to check how groomed he was. Instead she declared “Do you approve him to be my hubby?”. For a moment Shreyars did not understand anything. She was proposing. He had been stupid, but she was not, not to understand what they were going through. They were overjoyed, tears swelled in their eyes, for the first time in six months, they were talking romance!

Just another thing - I am glad I lost!

2006-08-21T14:58:00.000-07:00

3 When I was growing up, it was not unusual
7 My grandpa had it up all day
10 With my sister and cousins, it was almost an everyday event
11 I could never be the performer
12 I was not even a good listener
13 I remember how I used to shut my ears (yes literally)
14 Then, I was definitely stupid
15 When I was learning, I thought it was fashionable to say ‘No’
16 After a lot of persistence, finally people gave up on me
17 When I actually liked, I was too embarrassed to admit
18 Slowly, I acknowledged to myself how soothing it was
19 Soon, I declared I loved it
22 Then I repented why I was so foolish all along
25 Now, no remorse, but truly, deeply, madly love it
25 It is the magic of music
25 Yesterday, after a long long time, I listened to a couple of home-sung songs.
100 Carnatic music is bliss

2006-08-18T10:49:00.000-07:00

Just about this time, two years ago, I landed at the Covington airport, Kentucky.
Since then, everyday has been an experience – of glee or glum, however definitely interesting!

Oh time,
Unfailing again!
As is the spring,
That follows the winter

People of different colors -
Some happy and spread glee,
Some morose and swell gloom
All in the basic ingredients

People from diverse background -
Roots from livelihood to family
Life that is made of
Find fault and praise part

Men of honor and men of merit
Sublime in thoughts and actions
There is one other who exist
The ones who live on credit?

Oh time….
You wait for none
And so do I wait on you?
To sing the happy tune

For the mind so light
Psyche full of delight
For the skin so soft
And spanking sight

Life is all between higs and lows
People come and people go
Many turn dear and a few turn foe
Yet you remain bearing witness….

Hold me as I climb
To the summit like a gold mine
Let me linger not long
For there is life beyond

2006-08-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

Our hero breathes and exists on this earth only because he does not have a choice. He is a man who endures his life waiting for his eternal call. As he waits in the queue, he loses all wishes, desires and needs. ……
……
This bare basic pristine man decides to indulge just a little bit, because he has anyway got his life.

What do you say of a sadhu who renounces everything in life except women, whiskey and wealth?

P.s. I am not a proponent of any renunciation. No false claims please!

"If you were supposed to understand it, we wouldn't call it code."
-- from a Federal Express promotion, reported by IS Survivalist Matthew Persico

Venkat Shyamsundar

2006-08-08T14:42:00.000-07:00

Venkat is a budding young singer from Madras. He has performed for many music shows including Saptha Swarangal, Ragamaalika and Rajageetham. Here are two songs composed by a a group of music enthusiasts from Infosys. Listen to Venkat's voice....

Click below for 'Enthan Aaruyir Thozha...."

Enthan_Aaruyir.wma

Hosted by eSnips

And click below for "Nilavai Kandaale...."

Nilavai_Kandaale.w...

Hosted by eSnips

Listen to these now and encourage the young artistes. Someday when it is meant to be, these songs will raise huge charity!!

Sands of time!

2006-07-31T07:31:00.000-07:00

Saturday saw us at Sandy Hook – one of the beaches on the coast of New Jersey. This one was very different from all the beaches I have visited in the US – Manzanita and Cannon of Oregon, La Jolla at San Diego and Wildwoods near Cape May Point. This one was closer to home, very much like my own Marina beach - the sands and shells; the grime and gravel – daily evenings from my childhood was coming back at Sandy Hook. Of course I missed the molaga bajji, the TV tower, the clock tower, the light house and the deep dug sandy caves. However the coarse sand, the expanse of the beach, the waves that dashed against and the warm water transported me to the warmth of my own Triplicane beaches.
Definitely one of my better weekends and I did total justice by getting damp and dirty!

As usual a late read!

2006-07-31T07:01:00.000-07:00

Well, if you have not read Da Vinci Code and you plan to read it, don’t scroll any further!

It was a book of incredible controversies woven into a gripping story. The idea of unearthing startling facts via an absorbing story is definitely appreciated. Whether you believe or not, is really out of the question, yet the narration riddled with codes, and conundrums really kept me tied to the book. I am not a voracious reader and I can’t read anything unless it keeps me rapt and this one definitely did. The unexpected twists and turns towards the end – the unbecoming of the Knight, the unpretentious talk of Fache with Sofia (in London) which was totally misconstrued, the depiction of Teacher-Remy relationship – each of these tightened the rivet the book had on the reader.

Robert Langdon the obvious hero did not impress me – Fache did especially because of the twists that later unraveled and revealed him. For such a nice storytelling, I really wished there was a more concrete finish. However the fact that it was left to your imagination, I think made the story linger longer and trouble you longer. It just won’t go away.

Angels & Demons – the first of the to-be-trilogy is on my table, however my friends suggested that reading them back-to-back is not a good idea, because they are so similar ones. Let me see!

2006-07-27T07:35:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of research in the measurement of intelligence amongst people of different races and backgrounds. As with any global research, we have conflicting reports, but there is something that everyone agrees on. The two big influences of a child’s success in later life are: biological parents’ intelligence and upbringing factors. First of all, what is intelligence? It could be the IQ score as measured by the famous 77 year old IQ test; it could be the academic grades; it could be mean income when you are 30; it is some combination of these. Many independent researches conclude that a minimum of 40% influence is attributed to intelligence in the heredity. The maximum genetic influence is 80%. Especially the language controls, reading ability and verbal power moves through generations. That is why; siblings reared apart though may have significant difference in success / general IQ always correlate well with each other in their language prowess. In general it is known, that Jews as a race score atleast 12-15 points more than the Asians who score atleast 5 points more than Whites who score atleast 10 more than the Africans. But the reason for these differences though genetic for most part and social and economic in part actually is exhibited differently across groups. i.e., the reason for higher performance of Jews over Asians is not the same as the reason for higher performance of Asians over Whites. Also child-rearing has a big influence on its success when it grows up. The biggest part of this influence is during the developmental years and hence the saying “Woman is behind a man’s success” necessarily refers to the mother rather than the wife :). It is the parents’ attitude towards the child’s performance that shapes the child’s future. When parents set high bars, children typically attain it than when they set low bars. Indians typically set higher standards for achievement (of course there are exceptions) than Americans and that is partly the reason for Indians’ better performance. Hence, a White child when raised in an Indian home that sets high standards for the child will outperform his white peers:). When parents set softer limits and encourage laziness in children (especially true with rich European families) the children perform worse as adults. Lack of breast-fed milk and premature delivery are also reasons that negatively impact performance. Undernourishment and being a witness to negative actions like riots, shooting, and parents’ fighting (including adopted parents) between the ages of 5 and 14 are big factors for low self-confidence and self-assurance as adults. Occupational success of parents, the feel-good factor that they emanate and the socio-economic status of a growing child play a key role. Inferiority complex developed as a child does not go away until he is able to prove to the world that he is also capable. They grow up to either being spend-thrifts in general or spend-thrifts in friends’ presence. The constant worry about what others might think gives them in to peer-pressure and negatively impacts performance.

Moral of the story: You thought I was going to say – blame your parents!
Nope!
If you think the upcoming generation will definitely marry a person of lower IQ caste, you are encouraged to adopt such children and benefit them so that as a race, they get better :)
p.s. If I sound like a racial person, I am not one!

2006-07-25T11:42:00.000-07:00

We have always thought of US as a cold country.
Of course it is.. Now is this news?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5214370.stm
Sounds like our own .. India? ;-)

2006-07-19T12:51:00.000-07:00

I have heard of donations of whole blood, plasma, Aphaeresis etc. I have not heard of donating the umbilical cord blood of a new born baby! Although once considered medical waste and thrown away, scientists now know that cord blood is rich in stem cells. Stem cells are very important because they make many different types of cells in the body including blood cells that carry oxygen, fight disease and help stop bleeding. The collection takes place after the baby is born and hence there is no change in the delivery procedure whatsoever. The storage period of whole blood is roughly 50 days I guess before which it must be used on a patient, but the umbilical cord blood is frozen and good for 10 years. Though the need for this kind of blood is not much today, it is especially used in research that will shape the tomorrow. Isn’t this just amazing!?

Decide before you are 34 weeks pregnant if you want to start your baby’s life with a punya karma :-)

Quote Costanza

2006-07-07T03:48:00.000-07:00

"The worst thing about life is the way it ends. I mean, life is tough. It takes a lot of your time and what do you get at the end? DEATH? whats that, a bonus?. I think the life cycle is all backwards. First we should die and get it out of the way. Then we should go to a old age home, get kicked out cause we are too young and healthy. Then we should collect our pension and on the first day of work get a gold watch. Then work for 40 years until we are young enough to enjoy our retirement, go to college, party all night, then go to high school, then to primary school, play around all the time with no responsibilities. Then we should spend the last months of our lives floating around in luxuries like central heating, spa, room service on a tap and finish off as an orgasm. Amen" -- George Costanza

Irony?

2006-06-30T10:56:00.000-07:00

AWESOME
AWFUL

You would rather be awesome than awful?

Isn't an irony that (aw)‘some’ is great but (aw)‘ful’ is bad
Funny language ;-)

Jobs Speech

2006-06-21T03:45:00.000-07:00

This is a Graduation Ceremony speech from Steve Jobs.
Don't miss it.

2006-06-20T19:02:00.000-07:00

Instance 1:
Where: X standard class room - History class in session
When: Sep 1995
Scene: The topic of discussion is reservation policy. The teacher is lecturing about why and how reservation policy was started in India. He is talking about why it is still in existence today – about the game of politics around it, about the reality of how well the policy is used or abused.
Now:
She can not seem to agree on how only a certain section of people could get critical benefits just by virtue of being born in a particular community. She does not find any reasoning pertinent to the present situation. She is not bothered about how it was ‘useful’ 50 years earlier when it was put in place, but certainly she feels it was a joke that had no benevolent relevance today. She feels cheated. At 14, in her animosity towards the Government, towards the people that make rules she hurls away her spite in words. She feels so powerless just to be taking on her teacher. After the class, she realizes her actions were futile and that her behavior was at best childish. At the end of the class, her teachers talk to her about her thought process, the truth in her reasoning, and the wasted energy in class. She is ashamed for her actions but she is convinced her logic and rationale was right. She certainly feels let down – a let down of an entire community.

Instance 2:
Where: Railway ticket counter, Mambalam, Madras
When: 1998 February
Scene:
She is standing in a queue that’s at least 10 people long before her and at least a 10 more behind her. There are almost 10 such lines. She has some work outside of that railway station. All of them are definitely busy or at least none of them are particularly enjoy the sweltering heat and the long lines.
Now:
Our hero, a well dressed 20-something man tries to push through the queue, get ahead of others in the line to get tickets. She gets extremely furious. Agreed, that he is not doing a heinous crime, but she feels cheated. A very daily misdemeanor that someone does everyday. But that’s no explanation. She cannot take it. She gets violent with words at him. At first, she says – “Hello Sir, It’s a queue. Please enter the line (showing the end)”. It does not seem like he is paying any attention. With a louder voice she repeats – “Hello Sir, Can you hear me? I said we are not fools here waiting in the line. Show some manners.” He turns around, makes some eye contact and proceeds with pushing the people again. She cannot take it any longer. She pats him on the back – grabs his attention and says – “Now will you please get away from here or shall I call the Superintendent of the station?” Now he is almost mocking at her. There are people buzzing in a hushed tone, some talking about her audacity and some trying to appease her and some trying to get him away. She reiterates “Move away, I am not going to let you get away with this”. Now there are more people talking. More and more physically making sure he is moved away from the line; many speaking ill of the man and many more trying to pacify the girl. Though he was gone, she feels unsure and jittery of herself. She could feel her blood boil, her tension mounting and suddenly she feels very conscious of herself. She talks no more until she cycles back home and recounts the episode. Everyone at home reprimands her; no one really approves her behavior. They teach her to be patient, to behave like a ‘girl’. She is just not convinced. She was sure that she would have felt worse had she let him cheat on her.

That is the real ‘She’, today her outward reaction may be different because of the certain cultural/civility influences, but inside she is still the same person. Patience has muted her, time has mellowed her; powerless sometimes, weak and incapable, she cannot take cheating in her stride. She believes, cheaters showcase scant respect for the cheated. There are people who cheat at all levels – right from the grassroots like the ones trying to jump the queue to the ones like self-proclaimed avatars that take an entire generation for a ride. It’s hard to witness the ones getting cheated, harder to get cheated and worst staying voiceless in times of such controversy. Conmen exist only as long as people are weak and fragile. Please wake up, recognize the cheaters and whip your share.

Does this happen to you?

2006-06-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

Sometimes.. you acknowledge.. and surrender..

What you are doing is not what you want to do
And what you want to do should not be done
What should be done is what you are doing
Hoping what you are not doing will get done….

'Bombay' remains

2006-06-13T13:23:00.000-07:00

Blood flows in a stream
From a body split in spleen
Until rain washes it away
Piles of flesh left to decay
Little children cry and wail
No one come to their avail
Wife loses her husband
Children miss their parents
Families go distraught …..
Morning rises in gloom
Smell of gunpowder
Sound of bombshell
Silence of weak groan
Clothing in tatters
Shelter doesn’t matter
Streets deserted
Houses ransacked
Dawn seems distant
Someone is pleased and content
Big money changes hands

Am meek and mute
And it continues….

2006-06-09T12:53:00.000-07:00

I am almost sure that you ‘Googled’, for something in the last 24 hours. Man! Time to teach your kid ‘searched’ is the synonym to ‘googled’! Amazed how certain words make their way into our vocabularies. Wonder if Larry Page and Sergey Brin, then knew that they were instituting a new word in to the dictionary.

Used to have this term – ‘Infra-dig’ on the top of my vocab stack sometime in my early teens. I don’t know how it got in, but it was the in-thing (?) then.

Most of the people (if any) reading this blog will know curry, bungalow and veranda are words got transported into Cambridge from India. Did you know ‘Shampoo’ is one of them too? It is startling how only certain words cross civilizations make its way through pirated ships or royalty means into another one. ‘Shampoo’ comes from a Hindi word ‘campo’ meaning ‘to press’ and was originally used to refer a full-body massage, hair inclusive. It was a verb. As civilization grew and spread, ‘shampoo’ came to be referred to hair wash as both noun and verb.

I came across this term - Pious Fraud. I wonder how relevant it has become today. There are numerous men and women out there proclaiming to have mystical powers that have descended on this earth as a savior.
Hey holy men! Long live you, as long as weak minded escapists walk this earth.
Conmen will exist as long as people let themselves to be conned.

Last but not least, blog, its still not entered the MSWord Thesaurus. Coming from web log, weblog, and becoming blog! And then.. blogging .. then blogger.. now there is blogworthy, and then there is blogworthindex !!!!!

It’s only when a language is adaptive and lets itself to be abused, does it grow!
No, you got to maintain your language in its pristine state!

I give up!

Words of Lord Krishna

2006-06-06T16:44:00.000-07:00

paritranaya sadhunam |
vinasaya ca duskrtam ||
dharma-samsthapanarthaya |
sambhavami yuge yuge ||

Meanings

paritranaya--for the deliverance;
sadhunam--of the devotees;
vinasaya--for the annihilation;
ca--also;
duskrtam--of the miscreants;
samsthapana-arthaya--to reestablish;
sambhavami--I do appear;
yuge--millennium

TRANSLATION
For the relief of (My) devotees,
To annihilate the vice (and wicked),
To reinstate Dharma
Shall I appear, every Yuga.

Meanings Courtesy: Bhagavad Gita, As it is.
The Sanskrit Sloka Courtesy: http://www.gitasupersite.iitk.ac.in/

Irony

2006-06-02T12:49:00.000-07:00

Life is funny,
but you cant always smile at it

2006-05-26T13:01:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you feel so low
The tide of your own approval ebbs away
Confidence is in its furrow
All decisions taken so far turn gray

Wish you had the power to change everything around you
Can’t excuse you for what’s gone the other way
Against you are held a blame array
Refuse to sympathize with you

Off beam is your smile
Lost is your energy
Motivation is unreal
Love is illusory

You turn down the smallest support
Race against time
Wait for today to wane
Don’t want tomorrow to start

Crave for longer nights
Pine for dawn less days
Yearn for peaceful dreams
Hope to rewind time

And then …..
Think about the person who cares the most about you
It will draw the most beautiful smile on your face

Its not the person you love ..
But it’s for the person who loves you the most
It’s for the one..

who thinks you are wonderful
who has the undying confidence in you
who has unrelenting faith in you
who needs you to smile for sustenance

Get up ….
Turn around….
Leave behind the past….
Look forward to a fresh tomorrow….
I promise it will be greener and serener….

2006-05-23T12:59:00.000-07:00

Remember those days when everyday - getting to school was an ordeal of the highest order with sweltering heat, overcrowded buses that plied at 75 degrees from the road, the road side Romeos that waited to shove you around, and a big load behind your back in the form of books. Then it was cycling times. It was a good 4 mile ride each way. By the time I reached school, I would be dripping wet with sweat, the shirt and the pinafore sticking to my body, the 15 minute assembly through the humid morning – the kneel down or the sit-ups that ensued whenever I forgot something in my uniform attire.. it was still memorable days..

A gang of activity-challenged students (like me) would huddle together and plan how we could escape from the PT period. We liked to sit and gossip about everything under the sun but refused to move the bums around. We were early teenagers and there was so many curious questions that were best answered by the peer group and PT period were precious time to catch up on it. Now I wonder what all those chit-chat no-nonsense tales were all about. – class 7 through 10.

There was a girl in my class who received a love letter that looked like it was written in blood. Rumors filled the room. There were unanswered questions about if the Ghost really existed; and someone would spring a spicy story of how she witnessed one last night in the bathroom, about life after death and once again you will find someone with a tale of her long-gone grand pa appearing every Diwali to the village that no one ever heard of. For some strange reason, whatever your friends say would be believed and whatever your parents said would be mocked at!!!! May be, it was just the hormones.. – class 9

One of our classmates left home when she was 10 disappointed with her scores in quarterly exam. Luckily, she had only gone to her grand ma’s place in some remote location in Madras. And already there were tales about how ghost must have picked her and how she would be in Heaven enjoying in utopian comforts. It was the time when we had Fools Paradise in English Non-Detail. – class 5

You would be showered with praise and honor on your birthday. I am not sure if its because your friends want to share some of the limelight or is it because she wanted an extra piece of candy! I can’t recollect any instance when anyone was ever involved in any conflict on her birthday. I still wonder if this was just the girls’ school or was it with the boys too. – class 4 through 9

There was this practice of minding-people. Do you recollect the term? One of you is selected to ‘mind’ the class. Now this guy was like a super power. He could go around bullying you and get away with it. If the class-leader (who often ‘minds’) was a nicer guy, the class would collapse into many factions each party pretending to extend support to the class-leader and be in his good books - typical politics that’s today played on the bigger arena. The class was always in gangs. You have to belong to one or the other, else you belong nowhere and no one might help you with notes if you go on leave!!!! - class 4 through 8

Exams and tests were more important than they were in your engineering/medical College. An extra mark here and there was more valuable than anything else. Beg, borrow or steal your extra one mark so that you are one up than your buddy. Class 6 through 9

What you bring for lunch determines how sought after you are! Finishing the lunch during the break and munching on ‘chaat’ for lunch was fashionable.– class 4 through 6

Who brings your lunch makes a statement about character. If you bring it yourself, you are not as lucky as your blessed friends. If your father brings it, your mom does not care about you and if your mom brought, you are the luckiest soul! – class 1 through 3

In spite of all those ill-attitudes, weird behavior, hormonal imbalance, childish pranks we were all innocent children at heart and we were friends. Each one of us has gone in search of different aspirations and desires in different directions and we are probably spread all over the globe and I have lost touch with almost every one of them. But someday I hope we would just run into each other, vaguely recognize and beam a smile at that instant reliving those childhood times.

2006-05-22T11:51:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Google, recording May 22 as the birthday of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Boyzone- Words - Originally Eagles

2006-05-19T10:25:00.000-07:00

There was time in my life when this song will ring in my ears all day long. I loved it the first time I heard it. I have always been very fond of lyrics in general and the one line –

it's only words
and words are all I have
to take your heart away

It really did take my heart away. I am not a big fan of English songs, but those few ones that I am exposed to will remain my favorites all my life.

Here goes, the lovely lyrics

smile an ever lasting smile
a smile can bring you near to me
don't ever let me find you gone
'cause that would bring a tear to me
this world has lost its glory
let's start a brand new story
now my love
you think that I don't even mean
a single word I say

it's only words
and words are all I have
to take your heart away

talk in ever lasting words
and dedicate them all to me
and I will give you all my life
i'm here if you should call to me
you think that I don't even mean
a single word I say

it's only words
and words are all I have
to take your heart away

it's only words
and words are all I have
to take your heart away

da da da da da da da
da da da da da da da da da da
da da da da da da da
da da da da da da da da da da

this world has lost its glory
let's start a brand new story
now my love
you think that I don't even mean
a single word I say

it's only words
and words are all I have
to take your heart away

it's only words
and words are all I have
to take your heart away

it's only words
and words are all I have
to take your heart away

Once I hear the song, there is a familiar peace settling in my soul, a memorable serenity articulating to me psyche. I don’t know if it’s the tune that it is set to or is it the appealing lyrics that catches my mood by its sleeve and lifts it up from fathomless bottoms. One of the very few songs that I can count on to make me feel better.

2006-05-16T06:41:00.000-07:00

Campaigns for the recently concluded assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, was in short an expose of frail people and their unfortunate dilemma in exercising their electoral power.

Sun TV with its amazing reach into the tiniest part of the state had rule and reason to program the minds of people via so-called electoral promotion. It was disheartening to see the election manifest marked with freebies and giveaways. Well, its just not Sun TV, I am sure Jaya TV had its own share – just that Jaya TV is not telecasted in the US. Both the parties that have been ruling Tamil Nadu alternately for ages were competing in the name of election campaign to exhaust the resources of the state. Both the parties contest for giving rice at less than Rs.2 per Kg. Come’ on guys, grow up! How long can you sustain at that rate? Worse is yet to come.. Color TV for every household.. uhmm.. I can’t take it. Are we in a communist nation? From tax payers’ hard earned money, politicians leverage their position for votes! Very saddening.. Worst is yet to come.. Two acres of land for every voter….. Guess the parties are planning on annexing a bit of Sri Lanka and a bit more of Andhra Pradesh to keep up their promise! :) What’s more disappointing is the fact that there are masses of people out there that are actually waiting for the color TV and the acres of land to knock at their doorstep. :(

However the only consoling factor of this election is that neither of these two parties conquered a sweeping victory. For the first time in the history of Tamil Nadu, there is a coalition Government formed.

Kudos to the Lok Patrikan party that actually made it into the political arena unlike stopping with belaboring like you and me! (Well, me definitely)

Dayanidhi Maran rightly said at the end of the election results, “Hero of this election was the manifesto .. and people actually believed it!!!!”

May be the pun wasn’t intended, but it makes better sense!!

2006-05-16T05:56:00.000-07:00

These are times....

Your breath has a certain whimper
Your own arms feel powerless
Your wrist writhes in pain
Your feet fail to hold you up
You are aware of your bones thro the flesh
You feel weak on your knees
When your muscles give away
When your fingers turn feeble
When your palms plain weigh more
When the shank slip slow

Then you know it is Sunday evening blues:-)

2006-05-10T07:13:00.000-07:00

Smile at anyone who passes by
You might hit on a date ;-)

Laugh with your loved one
Make your (both or more) day

Sob with an alien in town
She might comfort but she would not care

Cry on your own
So that there is no one to discern

2006-05-08T12:36:00.000-07:00

I have..
I need to..
I can..
I will ..

Walk past obstacles
Smile back at them

Lead the life of my choice
Climb the ladder of my will

Steal the courage of Helen Keller
Armed with prowess and character

It’s only me who has to mould my years
For its all I have my end

My God will help me in my endeavor
If all my wants were a wee bit just and fair

2006-05-05T11:39:00.000-07:00

As always, I love to rewind my mind to years gone by and relive those times, especially during the post lunch session at work. Soon, with revivalist memories, I will jump back into life with renewed enthusiasm :-) This time around, my wandering mind went back to the days of DD-Metro ....

When DD-Metro was introduced, I think it was the first second channel available for the residents of 1990's Madras. It was a major sensation that between 8 and 9 in the evenings, everyone sat glued to the TV that featured a serial or some kind of 30 minute shows. This was the advent of Mega Serials - Remember Junoon? I remember this character (I forgot the name though) that was pregnant for 15 months in the serial!!!! Mega serial was a novelty, a new pick and an opportunity being explored. The next door neighbors had something beyond the third door daughter-in-law to discuss and gossip now. Their common ground of discussion was raised - another platform of familiar sharing and argument.

We in class VI-A were a bunch of Junoon followers who would avidly discuss the happenings over Geography teacher’s boring lecture. More than the serial, it was the language that caught and kept the attention. “Kudukaren Ungalukku Naa” – this form of misplaced verbs & nouns in the dubbed Hindi Junoons made it all the more enjoyable. This almost became a genre of Tamil that was followed with commitment :-)

And then the style of Metro Priya - She was the one who started compeering a Tamil TV show with more sport and added informality. The way she would make actions with her clubbed hands that looked like a handgun and shooting her youth and verve amongst the audience, she had the college going crowd fan following her. She was the first one to do this kind of compeering. Kudos!

The public either loved her or hated her, No in betweens. There was a section of the public that was scandalized by the audacity of the 16 year old girl. And then there were the rest who thought it was the next generation youth and its cheek. The last I heard, she had to stop the show because of road side romeos troubling her near her residence. No one is exempt from eve teasing and the ensuing destiny to discontinue career and interests.

Those times were followed with 6:30 pm to 10:30 pm SUN TV.. Remember? There was so much ado about it.. And then there was full time satellite channels and now there is more and more of them more than your TV could hold – and then you bought the TV with the S Band :)
Evolution? hmm!

Love-Hate

2006-05-01T12:55:00.000-07:00

A form of Ambigram designed by a French man, Rachel Plefger

Impressive!

definitely blogworthy ;-)

2006-05-01T09:37:00.000-07:00

Recently, in one of those post-lunch nap friendly sessions I was overwhelmed with the number of 'foo's and 'bar's in the Java book I was reading. Interestingly, I am sure you recall that 'foo's and 'bar's are omnipresent in every Comp Sci Programming book, right from BASIC days of class XI.

Dusting the pages of history, I was engaged in finding out the reason.. See that is the productive me ....

Pronounced as FUBAR, it stands for 'Fucked Up Beyond All Repair' or 'Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition' .. Whatever it may be, this acronym dates back to WorldWarII or earlier times. I am amazed how the F word framed itself in the American 'History' so long ago;-)

Wow, what a wonderful word for learning from CompSci books. No wonder kids of today learn CompSci in class-I

Some more jargon fun here.

Is this blogworthy ?;-)

2006-04-27T11:58:00.000-07:00

Issue 1
Should we continue to write Stored Procedures or should we switch to Java?
Recently there has been quite a discussion and disagreement on this topic.
Should data management (or mismanagement ;-) ) must be as close to the data
Or
How much data processing should be done in the database and how much should be performed in the Java App logic code ?
Will you rely on a particular product or go the platform independence way of the world?
But what is your code need not be portable.
Doesn’t putting a lot of business logic into stored procedures break OO design?

Issue 2
Read clause 8 from the Microsoft Exchange Server doc

Copied here for convenience.

8. NOTE ON JAVA SUPPORT. THE SOFTWARE PRODUCT MAY CONTAIN SUPPORT FOR PROGRAMS WRITTEN IN JAVA. JAVA TECHNOLOGY IS NOT FAULT TOLERANT AND IS NOT DESIGNED, MANUFACTURED, OR INTENDED FOR USE OR RESALE AS ON-LINE CONTROL EQUIPMENT IN HAZARDOUS ENVIRONMENTS REQUIRING FAIL-SAFE PERFORMANCE, SUCH AS IN THE OPERATION OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES, AIRCRAFT NAVIGATION OR COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL, DIRECT LIFE SUPPORT MACHINES, OR WEAPONS SYSTEMS, IN WHICH THE FAILURE OF JAVA TECHNOLOGY COULD LEAD DIRECTLY TO DEATH, PERSONAL INJURY, OR SEVERE PHYSICAL OR ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE.

Is that a marketing gimmick or does Microsoft mean that SUN killed a bit of Microsoft or are you going to stop using Java!?

Issue 3
With Sun and Google supporting each other on every front including Gosling talking about extending support for Ajax, will Yahoo and Microsoft join hands?

Issue 4
Are you impressed with a Geek trying to develop an Ajax framework using the concept of event queue, just to go gaga seeing separation of event handling from the actual page? Are you thinking he is a fool or are you considering the scalability, cost and efficiency of this queue pattern model?

Now why did I have to do this? Anyways, thanks to www.google.com
Disclaimer:
None of these opinions are my own!

When things don't go your way, it was not meant to be! - ALL THAT HAPPENS IS FOR GOOD

2006-04-25T12:05:00.000-07:00

Scene:
A man rushes out of work, on the way home he realizes that he gotto go to the supermarket to pick something for his wife. Takes a quick U turn, eyes a parking spot at the end of the lane, makes just late in time. Someone squeezes right under his nose and grabs the spot. Already frsutrated with life.. Waits for an extra 20 seconds.. another parking spot becomes available. This time, makes into the spot just in time!

Gets off the car and delighted to find the meter had 30 minutes left in it. Free parking on someone else’s dime, love it.

Moral:
If one thing does not work out, we are often better off for it.

Spring has finally arrived!

2006-04-20T05:17:00.000-07:00

For people from Madras, like me, where the only three seasons known are hot summer, hotter summer, hottest summer, spring in the US is a welcome phenomenon. It’s a time when long walks are rejuvenating, evenings are refreshing and the breeze repairs the rusty soul. The fully bloomed flowers bedecked on either side of the roads, the town looks like a model garden. Every big campus looks young green and the everyday pathways turn in to arboretum. The variety of flowers, the array of aroma ranging from mild woody to luscious lavender to stinging citrus take you off to Utopia. Suddenly, everything in this world is perfect, everyone is just faultless and your life is ideal.

The smell that’s fresh is lovelier than the best perfumes from Rochas. The green hues from the fresh plants are serene and your boggled mind soothes down. The Yellow flowers remind of you childhood friendships, the unperturbed walks with your 2nd standard classmate and the power of lasting time. The greens are reminiscent of a new born baby, fresh and pure – mind and soul; it denotes balance, harmony and stability. Green is calm, yet time flies by faster – spring passes by sooner! Violets peek in a little bit blessing its calm, solidarity and peace. Energy and spirituality are kindled – it is an ancient color of intellectuality and life force. Purples purge the pungency out of you. Shades of red are plenty and so are the senses attributed to it. From passion in love to passion in violence, from seemingly opposite ends of the horizon, red is a stimulus. What is stimulates, is in the state of your mind. In the East, it connotes a young bride and a happy wedding in the offing while in certain parts of South Africa, red stands for mourning. As said, it is what you think it is.

Rainbow peeps in now and then; spring brings in all colors of rainbow too! Welcome Spring!

As spring smiles at you, get off your jackets, get some sun shine and beam back at it. Take 20 minutes of your time and indulge in the pleasures spring can offer. See your life changed before summer begins!

The story of AprilOracle :-)

2006-04-19T07:53:00.000-07:00

10 days from today we will be celebrating the 4th aniversary of AprilOracle.

14 of us started at a Glorified Software Company called Oracle and for 12 of us it was the first job, fresh out of college. ALL of us were single, smart and smiling.. , well a few were committed, yet officially single. We gelled well and AprilOracle was formed.

Gradually we moved.. we grew ;-)

Now among us, we have
-one father of two kids
-two more fathers
-two more expecting parents !!

wow way to go. oops! way to gRoW!!

Tonnes of good news at once.. Smiles Galore.
Congrats to the accomplished ones!!

2006-04-14T12:58:00.000-07:00

10 years ago..

1. I was in class X
2. I started liking Math because I liked the guy who taught Math (Now I am married and don't want to call it a crush ;-) )
3. Getting a centum in Math was the top most thing on my head and I did!
4. I saw another 15 year old classmate wear a half-saree and I was scandalized!!!!
5. I vowed I would never wear one in my life
6. I was MOST-TOMBOYISH and liked only baggie pants!
7. I started to realize that I was probably too old to carry choclates, wear colour dress and announce it was my birthday, but I refused to admit !

5 years ago
1. It was 2001 and 9/11 happened. I thought my life was ruined when I was disallowed from MS in the US. Now I am allowed and my life is still ruined!!
3. I started using Sun Screen and visiting (stopped with visiting ;)) Gym
4. Silently wept during KK yet maintained my robust image and made fun of weepers around!
5. I tried Bike for the first time and loved it
6. Acads, Placement Season, Mock interviews, GD sessions, weekend meeting with classmates on the pretext of Placement preparation - FUN TIME
7. Would wait for a friend's birthday and her gifts from the 'special someone'- Tease Time !

Today is not worth mentioning !
1. Orkut is my Oxygen supply
2. Blog is life and messenger is life's purpose
3. Gmail is my life support system, when the rest fail!
4. Work nondescript
5. School beside the question
6. Manual car driving and license - A big deal
7. Movies - A must see

so in short, today is better than ever ;-)

Power your lappie

2006-04-14T12:19:00.000-07:00

My blog is read primarily by people from IT background. So I am not sure how relevant this post is going to be. However I have to admit, I have an IT background and have been using laptops for almost a decade now and yet some of these is news.

To improve your battery performance on notebooks,

- Perform three full charge and full discharge cycle three times before your lappie is ready for the road
- Perform this full charge full discharge cycle once in three months
- Turn off any scheduled activity like 'search' and 'virus check' when the notebook is running on battery and you want it to last longer before you can charge next
- Choose the right power option - "Portable/Laptop" or "Max Battery"
- Add more RAM. A laptop with a 512 MB RAM lasts longer off-power than one with 256 MB RAM
- Don't run CDs and DVDs unless you have to. Copying an image and using it from your hard disk is cheaper on power
- Turn off unnecesary hardware like Wi-FI adapters and bluetooth radio if you can

Enjoi a longer time on the road with your lappie!

Another Vetti Work - What is my perfect Major !

2006-04-14T10:34:00.000-07:00

You scored as Mathematics/Statistics. Related majors that match your highest scored category: Accounting, Actuarial Science, Computer Engineering, Computer Information Systems (CIS), Computer Science, Economics, Engineering, Finance, Management Information Systems (MIS), Mathematics, Operations Management, Physics, Risk Management, Statistics.

Consider all majors in your OTHER high scoring categories. The right major for you will be something 1) you love and enjoy and 2) are really great at it. Consider adding a minor or double majoring. Please post your results in your myspace/blog/journal

Mathematics/Statistics

94%

Psychology/Sociology

88%

English/Journalism/Comm

88%

Education/Counseling

81%

History/Anthropology

81%

Accounting/Finance/Econ

75%

Biology/Chemistry/Geology

69%

Physics/Engineering

69%

Religion/Theology

69%

Nursing/AthleticTraining

63%

HR/BusinessManagement

50%

French/German/Spanish

50%

PoliticalScience/Philosophy

44%

Visual&PerformingArts

38%

WHAT MAJOR IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
created with QuizFarm.com

Reflections

A Friday Evening

A Monday morning

A mid week afternoon in Bombay

Ladies - do you agree?

The Goan experience!!

Since we bade bye to Hyderabad.....

A life that was!

Hampi- Fascinated & fatigued!!

Lighten the stress!!

Travel-planalogue

To God

Merry Christmas From Hyderabad!

Memoir of R2I

Going back to India for good ..

R2I

A fresco painting

Dagon primordial couple

Aristotle with a Bust of Homer

MET

Hudson water landing !!

Winter special !

Time waits for none......

Bye bye Ganguly, bye bye Kumble, bye bye Cricket

From my living room....

It was one awesome game –NJ Nets vs Detroit Pistons.

Ice Hockey !!

Some pictures of Fall 2008

Happy Diwali !!

Saroja - a review

Little Murray !

Travelogue !

Indians as a race....

I hate moving boxes !

Aug 18th, 2004 - Been four good short years !

Indra Nooyi's speech

Love all

Silence !

Traveller IQ - Application on Orkut !

Wow wii !

A Sunday

Dasavatharam

Pretty Woman

Petals around the rose

Smile :)

Gibberish

Apr 15, 2007

Cricket !!

Travelogue !

EQ Test

It is about happiness

Are you?

Visual treat

Behold this sceneWith a serene smileFrom a grassy paneColorful spectrumWax and waneLost in a hazy spray

From a mighty cascadeAs white as snowSputters for a mileLike mist and smoke

Lawn so lushScent of the soilWhiff of waterMusic in the airDrops of drizzleStroke your skin

Thud of gushing waterIs all that you hearEtch this sightAs a memory for life

Jyotika and Surya wedding snaps

Daffodils

A fictional story

Just another thing - I am glad I lost!

Venkat Shyamsundar

Sands of time!

As usual a late read!

Quote Costanza

Irony?

Jobs Speech

Does this happen to you?

'Bombay' remains

Words of Lord Krishna

Irony

Boyzone- Words - Originally Eagles

Love-Hate

definitely blogworthy ;-)

Is this blogworthy ?;-)

When things don't go your way, it was not meant to be! - ALL THAT HAPPENS IS FOR GOOD

Spring has finally arrived!

The story of AprilOracle :-)

Power your lappie

Another Vetti Work - What is my perfect Major !

Behold this scene
With a serene smile
From a grassy pane
Colorful spectrum
Wax and wane
Lost in a hazy spray

From a mighty cascade
As white as snow
Sputters for a mile
Like mist and smoke

Lawn so lush
Scent of the soil
Whiff of water
Music in the air
Drops of drizzle
Stroke your skin

Thud of gushing water
Is all that you hear
Etch this sight
As a memory for life