Milestones!

Boomerang

2007-10-09T19:49:00.000-07:00

My brother sent me a boomerang from Australia for my 22nd birthday. It was a wooden boomerang nicely hand-carved. He remembered that I was in awe of all those boomerangs and wondered on how they worked. I guess I got to know boomerangs from watching all Jungle Book when I was younger. I loved the way Mougli carved his own boomerang out of jungle woods to hunt and to protect his family of wolves. To me, boomerangs are so amazing even today. If thrown the right way, which is apparently very hard and needs lots of practice, it would make a perfect flight around a pre-determined curve and return to the thrower.

I have had this boomerang for a few years now and have not tried to throw it even once. I have safely and artistically hung it using two glass pushpins on my wall. I have dreamt for so long to throw a perfect boomerang but I have also worried that I might break it. I have actually forced myself from living one of my own dreams from my younger days. I am making assumptions in my life that to pursue ones dreams, one has to give up something else. I don't know yet if that is true, as I have never taken that step to disprove myself. It is like the chicken or the egg thing.

The day I pick that boomerang of the wall and throw it across our thick polluted atmosphere will be the day I will really start believing in myself. I hope that day comes sooner than later.

The beginning of a journey...

2007-06-16T11:04:00.001-07:00

Originally I started posting this as a comment on my previous post. But then, I ended up writing more than what I initially intended to. I wanted this to be a continuation of the last discussion.

Let me start by saying - "there is nothing to conclude". In fact, those who believe after all these discussions that some changes can be made should take it upon themselves and push to implement what they think will work. If you are still confused on what needs to be done, get it clarified with someone you trust and try to support him/her in working towards that change.

Honest to everyone, there are some of my friends who read this blog (most of them are silent observers) and have conveyed their support and we have started thinking on ways to do things now. By contributing to this discussion, you have already started doing your part, by making people think that several solutions are available. Keep continuing to do that by bringing in your own group of friends and making them think and work together.

If you think doing something for your school is good, start gathering your school mates, create an informal association (cos more formal it becomes more problems arise) and start working on things that you think will improve the situations that you felt weren't good when you studied. If you don't think that works, then fine, do something that you think will work rather than giving up after about 150 comments on this blog - that was not the intent. If you think Onyx is the solution to cleanliness in your neighborhood, take it upon yourself and make it happen - now. Gather the strength of those in your community and work towards it as doing things alone is not easy. There are several who want to do something but have very little guidance. Those who respond and read this blog are several steps ahead of those who are clueless. Help them achieve their goals by guiding them.

If you believe that this post is more than just another post, take it yourself or help me take it to the next level. If you don't want to publicly support, then those who know me, email me in person of your intent and thoughts and those who don't know me email me through my profile.

We conclude only when we achieve our results. We have just begun. Like the name of this blog, there are several milestones to cross and we have crossed the first few. No one knows where the road takes us further, but everyone knows where we want to go. There will be road closures and detours, there will be wrong turns and U-turns, there will be blow-outs and empty gas tanks, but just like we do whatever it takes to get to our favorite weekend destination, we should work harder when in crisis to get to our destination. For that to happen, those who work together must have the same destination though they may have several routes. But, if many head the same route, then it is easier to handle problems on the way as compared to taking different routes. Let us drive forward rather than spinning the wheels in the same place.

Fruits of Life

2007-06-05T21:33:00.001-07:00

After my earlier post, I started fresh. I believed it can done. And now, I am reaping its fruits, literally. All it needed was some soil, a sapling, lots of water and plenty of caring.

That is a good enough motivation for me to think bigger and I am going for it. To go bigger, I need the tools synonymous to the soil, the sapling and water. I consider optimism as the soil, kids as the saplings and time as water. To gain the fruits of life, we need to start with kids in schools and groom then so we can pick the fruits of life when we grow old.

It is easier to teach a kid than a grown person. A grown person has a brain filled with tremendous information and it is hard to convince the person to change the way of life or the way of thinking. Selfishness and ego tend to take the driver's seat over humaneness and morality. A country can never become developed until a human life gets the respect it deserves irrespective of the status - rich or homeless. Such a state can not and will not occur in a country like India overnight. Patience and perseverence are the keys to success.

Personal and public hygiene, safety and compassion should be an integral part of a kids education as they are the keys to a healthy and humane life that defines a country's stage of development. Personal hygiene, as most of us know, is learnt through family values and the way the kith and kin carry themselves around in the family and the kids do in the school. These are instinctively learnt. Public hygiene is often not given as much importance as personal hygiene in our society. This needs to be taught in schools so the future citizens of the country can carry the education to make the country more healthy to live in.

Safety needs to be taught in schools. In my school days and I am sure it still continues in some schools, there was/is no concept of safety or precautions except in record notebooks. I have not seen a physics lab darker or a chemistry lab without the basic safety equipment like fire extinguisher and first aid kit. We were not taught the importance of safety in school in our days and that reflects in the current generations total lack of safety on roads and in society. Had we been given the right tools to tackle these situations when we were in school, we wouldn't be having posts and debates on if safety and hygiene need enforcement or not. Moral values need to be taught at an young age and social implications needs to be highlighted to kids. These can only be done at schools. Schools form the soil, kids are the saplings and education is water. The more nutrients we replenish the soil with while watering the sapling, the juicier is the fruit.

Twenty years ago, had someone not thought of the idea that India could be a strong player in the world today in IT services, it would not have happened today. Hundred years ago, had someone not thought that India could be independent, it would probably not have been independent.

It is time for us to think and act now. There are several problems we face and we also candidly exchange opinions on what can solve those. But no one enters the field to implement the same. Let each of us pledge here to solve one problem in our lifetime that we think needs a solution. Let us take the effort beyond opinions and solve it for a change.

Today, I pledge that I will do all in my power to make my country healthier to live in for all. I intend to do this by requesting the support of some of my friends in India to take up the duty of cleaning a designated area themselves and with the help of the local school kids. In the US, highways are often marked by mile markers saying that a fraternity is responsible for keeping the highway clean for so many miles. These are not mandatory organizations or enforced by the government. These are voluntary frat members who work hard to keep the zone in their jurisdiction clean. Such zones need to be created in the places we grow up in or become part of. I also intend, with permission from the nearest school, to teach a class every week on safety, hygiene and the importance of individual responsibility in society.

The doubters and critics may just dismiss my intentions saying I live in a foreign country and this is just "ettu suraikkai". As long as I am true to myself and my intent, I will continue to make all the efforts and I would appreciate your support, suggestions and actions to make us gain the real fruits of life.

DemocraZy

2007-05-09T09:54:00.000-07:00

I think passerby is just trying to involve youngsters like us to think beyond just writing about issues. Personally that is what I believe in as well. We write about our gripes with government and society and get applauses and kudos from fellow bloggers and we respond to it in a funny way to keep the traffic going. I appreciate his/her efforts to invoke a sort of responsibility in each and every one of us, much like a grassroots effort. We often point out the shortfalls and never seem to go forward to find a solution.

Democracy is often quoted as "Of the people, By the people & For the people". We, the people, often think that as a responsible citizen we vote for a responsible candidate (of the people) and our job is done. We then expect the government to fix all our gripes (for the people). It is a mis-interpretation of democracy. We often forget the "by the people" part. We carry as much responsibility as the government we put in power.

We say the government doesn't provide us good roads and as we say that we throw our garbage on the street. We complain that the government is increasing the mass transit frequency while we wait for a bus or a train while at the same time we disregard the law and travel ticketless to prove a point (I dont know to whom). We complain that there is no water and no sanitation in the cities and at the same time we allow multiplexes to come up in our neighbourhood. Now you may argue that the govt officials sanctions to build those by taking bribes. But in fact it is us who buy those flats and create a demand that forces the builders to supply and creates corruption in the system. Why can't we move outside a city and build a home?

We keep living in $h!t and keep complaining but we never even try to use phenyl and clean it up ourselves. We depend on the government to do the same. We are capable of doing smaller things in our control and we should let the government handle the things beyond our abilities (like defense, international relations, trade and health to name a few). How many of us stop at the red signal and wait till it turns green without pushing the signal. How many of us yield to emergency vehicles? How many of us are ready to appear in a court or pay a fine when violating traffic instead of bribing the officer? How many of us are ready to assist accident victims to hospitals? How many of us are willing to take a detour near a school campus? How many of us obey "no horns" signs near hospitals and schools? These things don't need the government to intervene. These things need self-discipline. If only we can be a little more responsible for our own actions, we won't have to spend more time complaining and living in $h!t. Let us make an effort.

Blogger Etiquettes

2007-05-04T21:18:00.000-07:00

Lately the trend in the "blogger world" has been changing - at least that is what I perceive in the small microsphere I live in.

People write and write and write for weeks and months and no one really reads them. Then one fine period, the traffic to your site grows tremendously through friends and recommendations and of course some of those posts are just irresistable :P. Then comments flow like ink from a new ballpoint pen. Responses from the Post-er(!) come faster than one can imagine.

But the green days are short-lived. Though comments continue to pour in from the ever supportive commenters, the Post-er stops responding to the comments. Is it a sense of self-accomplishment that goes over the head of the Post-er that makes commenters wait for responses or is it just that they are too busy with their "real life" (which I honestly hope it is)?

As a blogger I decided to create a list of Blogger Etiquettes. If you fit a profile that follows, you are expected to do the corresponding action item:
Do you:
1. write blogs? - Read other blogs.
2. read blogs? - Comment on blogs.
3. write blogs for others to read and comment? - Read and respond to comments.
4. read and comment on blogs for blogger responses? - Wait at least twenty four hours to see response (owing to time difference around the world). Please don't F5 the server to death.
5. read blogs but have no interest in commenting? - Please don't waste your time - do something useful like uh..., like uh.... like not reading blogs.

If you read this and don't perform the action item and don't refer this blog to 100 of your friends within the next 20 micro-seconds, nothing will happen to you.

OH NO!

2007-04-28T22:30:00.000-07:00

I am on the news.

கேள்விகளுக்கு பதில் தேடுவோம்.

2007-04-26T19:29:00.000-07:00

இந்த இணையத்தில் இந்த பதிப்பை படித்தேன். இதை பார்த்ததில் எனக்கு முததில் தோண்றிய எண்ணங்களை இங்கு பதிவு செய்துள்ளேன். இதைப்படிப்போர்கள் படிப்பது மட்டுமின்றி இதை செயலில் ஆழ்த்த கரங்களை ஓங்கவீர்களென நம்புகிறேன்.

"மிக விளாவரியாக நிரய விஷயங்கள் தெரிவித்திருக்கிறீர்கள். ஆனால் பதிப்பை கேள்விகளுடன் முடித்திருக்காமல் சில விடைகள் பதித்திருந்தால் இன்னமும் வலுவான பதிப்பாக இருந்திருக்கும். எல்லா விஷயங்களுக்கும் அரசை நம்பி இருக்காமல், கல்வியை நமது கையில் எடுத்துக்கொண்டு பரிமாரும் எண்ணம் நம்மைப்போன்ற இளைஞர்களுக்கு வரவேண்டும். உலகிலேயே இளமையான நாடாக இருப்பதனால் பெருமை மட்டும் கொள்ளாமல், அதை சரியாக உபயோகத்தில் ஆழ்த்தினால் நிச்சயமாக 2020 ஆண்டில் மற்ற வளர்ந்து வரும் நாடுகளுக்கு ஒரு நல்ல எடுத்துக்காட்டாக நம் இந்தியா அமையும். ஒரு மனது கொண்ட இளைஞர்கள் ஒன்றாகச்சேர்ந்து ஒரு குரிக்கோளை அடைய முற்பட்டால், முடியாததென்பது கிடையாது, கேள்விகளுக்கும் இடம் கிடையாது."

Elephant Tru(n/c)k

2007-04-26T10:59:00.000-07:00

What does the "X" above the elephant picture stand for? Hmm....

It would definitely be a great pitch for ads in the US for the pick-up trucks...

"Sí, se puede"

2007-04-21T10:05:00.000-07:00

I recently read this article and was really amazed by the spirit shown by the people of Cuba. The article is aptly titled - "The Power of Community". The will to succeed and the optimistic struggle of this community has definitely paid off in the last 40 years. By profession, I promote energy efficiency and self-sustainability. But, the thing the article inspired me was the importance the Cuban community and government gives to the educational and medical welfare of its people. Mankind survived all the adversities of the years of civilization because people cared for eachother. This basic concept was lost somewhere in the midst of all the industrial and technological revolutions in the past century. We have become greedy, we have set our sights beyond what is really needed to sustain a happy and self-sufficient life. There is no argument that human nature is to keep exploring and wanting more but the roots of civilization must not be forgotten at the same time. We have to re-establish our wants and try to focus on the needs.

"Yes, it can be done".

Tragedies & Heroes

2007-04-17T20:45:00.000-07:00

It is amazing how American media always come up with heroes out of tragedies. United 93 passengers were heroes after 9/11, as they possibly crashed the plane away from populated area. A 70-odd year old Israeli Professor is a hero in the Virginia Tech shootout as he supposedly took several bullets for his kids as they jumped out windows. All these seemingly heart-warming heroic acts might be intended to boost the morale of the public from the shock, but to me all these acts are just a hype to embellish the news and promote their own cause. Human nature is to survive and to protect. If normal humans performing these instinctive activities are heroes, then who is not a hero? It is important to give respect to the departed, but don't make a story out of it to sell your product.

Frankly speaking...

2007-04-11T18:51:00.000-07:00

There is one thing that really makes life easier. But strangely many of us are reluctant to do that one thing for an unknown mysterious reason. Choices and decisions need to be made at some point or the other. Why wait to make a decision when the outcome is likely to be the same now or later? Life is too important to sit on choices for long. A strong planner and a quick decision maker is many steps ahead of one who isn't. Make life simpler and easier. Be frank and make quick and sane decisions.

பி.கு.: தத்துவம் நம்பர் மூணு லட்சத்தி பதினெட்டு.

சொத்தைப்பல்

2007-04-06T14:37:00.000-07:00

இப்போதுதான் புரிகிறது, "சொத்தைப்பல்" என ஏன் சொல்கின்றனர் என்று. சரி செய்ய "சொத்தை" எழுதி வைக்கவேண்டியிருக்கிறது.

A bat, a ball and a whole lot of memories

2007-04-02T21:28:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is true that India lost in the first round but that doesn't mean cricket has been swept under the mat for a while. Sunday was a rare weekend day in my life. I woke up early, cleaned up quick and drove towards a makeshift ball park cum cricket ground. I parked and walked towards the field covered by low fog hanging just 6 feet above the ground. It was slightly cold but the sight of cricket balls, stumps and bat just warmed me up from the inside.

Wishing my "good mornings" and smiling out my "how ya doins", I jogged towards the nearest ball I could get my hand on. I had a stiff back from a spasm I had a couple of days earlier and was a bit wary of testing it. But the spirit of playing cricket after a long break just gave me the energy to indulge. A couple of looping leg spinners dropped not far from the good length. I still had it in me. I recalled those wonderful days of competitive cricket I used to play for my school and then the college. I recalled the effort and sincerity I put to get into the school and college teams.

Getting into my school team was a no brainer. I used to play cricket all the time with my school buddies and was not too bad at it either. When it was time for school try-outs, most of us made it pretty easily as we knew eachother. It was also a fun time as our P.T. sir did little coaching and acted more as a moral supporter to the players. He had the confidence in us (or should I say that was the level of interest the school showed towards sports) to let us choose our own captain and the team. We did fair well even with little professional equipment, ground, coaching and "transport" (yea, we used to cram up the gear in our own kits and board the crowded Pallavan buses). We made it as far as the Quarter Finals of the TNCA Under-16 tournament and I am still proud of it as we got to play at the Chepauk MAC-B stadium (the little practice stadium outside the main MAC stadium). Those were good days.

Getting into my college team was a tough road. In my first year, I had to do so many things to get a chance that made me question my own integrity. Then, I gave myself the benefit of the doubt as I was young and immature. I had to give my TVS Champ to my seniors (in the cricket team) during lunch hours (God knows where they went). I had to stay back after hours just to bowl at net sessions so my seniors could play well in tournaments. I was not much of a bowler at school. But I had to do something different and something more than the guy next to me to get a chance. Finally one of my seniors (who used to take my moped during lunch) recommended me into the team. That was the chance I was waiting for and grasped it with both hands. I sat on the bench, but went with the team to all the tournaments to start with. Then, I was included in the playing eleven, playing low down in the order and bowling an over or two in between. I finally graduated to a regular middle order batsman with three or four overs a game. There were some memorable moments when I picked up three wickets in an over (unfortunately missing a hat-trick) and when my name was published in The Hindu for being the highest scorer for my college. Joyous days.

As I was recalling those wonderful days of the yesteryears (seems they were long long ago, so long ago, nobody can say how long ago...), the fog lifted up and the teams were formed. As the average age of the group of 16 was around 35 and to ensure equal opportunity to all(!!), a mandatory two overs per batsman or the fall of his wicket, whichever is earlier was stipulated (I guess it was suggested by a banker in the group!). The game was fun, refreshing and a good exercise for us. We ended up playing two games that were closely contested and both were decided by last wicket stands. The games were followed by idli, vadai, sambar and chutney, then by more Indian team bashing and Woolmer's murder speculating. It was an exhausting Sunday but turned out to be a memorable one.

AILCWA

2007-03-21T17:04:00.000-07:00

All India Liquor Consumers' Welfare Association, what a concept!

Short Term Memory...

2007-03-19T17:05:00.000-07:00

I have lost respect for "The Hindu" writers. One writes "Sehwag back in form".
If I were Sidhu, I would say: "A hundred against Bermuda is as easy as peeling a banana."

Narrow Minded...

2007-03-18T14:24:00.000-07:00

How stupid is this? They don't even know that they are burning their own tax money.

The Hindu -
"FAN FURY: Cricket fans, angered by India's shock five-wicket defeat against Bangladesh in a World Cup Group B match on Saturday, ransack Mahendra Singh Dhoni's property at Ranchi on Sunday. The under-construction house had been gifted to the wicket-k eeper batsman by the Jharkhand Government."

Learning Life - II.

2007-03-12T22:31:00.001-07:00

The last weekend was different than any weekend in the last decade. I met a friend from high school after ten years. I was thrilled to meet her. The plan was to meet at Hotel Saravana Bhavan in the bay area. As I reached HSB, we called back and forth to identify ourselves in the huge crowd waiting for seating. Finally, we met and there were smiles and “hi”s all along. It was amazing that we were meeting thousands of miles away after ten years.

After a brief period of nervous smiles and introductions (to her husband and my friends who came along), we dove straight into the memorable years of school. We talked about life at school, our classmates, teachers, tuition, exams and a lot more. I have had such conversations with my long time friends who I am still in excellent touch with since school but this conversation felt different and much more fun.

This was not just about beaming back in time and recalling the wonderful times but I was also looking back at myself then. I realized that I am not the same person I used to be. Time and society does have remarkable transformation in life. Back then, I was a little boy trying to fit into the top few academically or otherwise, never really there on top nor too far behind either. Introvert to the core and not easy to befriend. I was reserved in several ways and had very little curio to look over the walls. I stuck to my group of friends and was contented with what I had. At least that is what I see when I look back through the time warp at myself about ten years ago.

Now, it is different and I am different. I am as inquisitive and curious as the crow that looked down the barrel of the gun. I have become much more animated and unreserved. I feel more comfortable with new people around and I feel I earn their trust quicker and concreter (is that a word? :P).

While learning about myself was intriguing, knowing how our old school friends are doing and what they are up to was as much fun as having cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory or pancakes at the International house of pancakes. Most girls and not many guys were married, some are working, some are dedicated to their little ones, some are more pious and some are more whacky. The one who loved chocolate ice creams anytime of the day is devoted 24 x 7 to her little kid. The one who distributed the savories to the class from the teacher’s drawer while she was asleep is now writing codes in Europe.

People have changed with time and changes are dramatic. Life is so complex and time makes it even complicated. But looking back at life is not only memorable, but also makes one recognize the decisions made and the impacts they had on self and others around. It makes one wonder what is in store for the future. Life is worth living. Learn to live as you live life.

News Devils

2007-03-07T13:31:00.000-08:00

This is why I hate the press these days. How can the press say that one person's opinion as the Supreme Court's observation though the justice clearly states that the "law" doesn't allow that?

Licensed to Kill!

2007-03-02T14:25:00.000-08:00

Learning Life.

2007-03-01T21:50:00.000-08:00

Twelve years ago, I took part in a school skit competition. My friends had nice roles in the skit and I played a minor role. I didn't know the importance of the role then and felt bad (to myself, of course) about it. But now, I am glad I played that role. It helps me identify myself to high school friends after so many years. To think about it, my role was the most important in the skit. I was the "Wall" (a part of it) in a skit called "The Wall Drama" - a skit about friends who grow apart by building a wall in between them and then come back together after breaking the same. I am now openly happy.

I wonder why?

2007-02-28T22:16:00.000-08:00

Ten guys are in a group for years. Things are normal and the guys have intelligent conversations. Then a few girls join the group. Now every guy tries harder than the other to prove that he is the biggest knucklehead. Hmmmm.... I wonder why?

Green Parrot, Pearl String

2007-02-25T01:34:00.000-08:00

No idea why it is called so. Maybe Gautam consulted S. Ve. Shekar.

Movie Review: Gautam buys all his furniture from Ikea.

நட்பு

2007-02-23T23:24:00.000-08:00

முதலில் சந்தித்த போது மூன்றாம் வகுப்பு.
தீபாவளி நேரத்தில் பட்டாசு சத்தத்துடன் சிரிப்பு.
மொட்டைமாடியில் கிரிக்கெட் ஆடுவதில் பருப்பு(!).
தொலைக்காட்சி போட்டியில் விளக்கின் கொதிப்பு.
கணக்கு ட்யூஷனில் சேர்ந்து படித்ததில் பொருப்பு.
தேனீருடம் அரட்டையடித்ததில் களைப்பு.
சேட்டுக்கடையில் சமொசா சாப்பிடத்துடிப்பு.
சீட்டுக்கட்டில் பிடித்த ரகமோ கிளப்பு(!).
நேற்றல்ல இன்றல்ல இந்த நட்பு.
வருடங்களாக இருந்து வரும் ஒரு தொடர்பு.

இன்றோ என் நண்பன் ஒரு "மாப்பு".
என் நண்பனே, உனக்கு வெச்சுட்டாங்கடா ஆப்பு.
எனக்கோ உன் வருங்கால துணைவியிடமிருந்து செருப்பு.

வந்துட்டாங்கய்யா வந்துட்டாங்கய்யா...

The Ant & The Grasshopper

2007-01-27T08:55:00.000-08:00

I usually hate forwards, but this one was special:

Nice story...read it....u are sure to find it really interesting and funny......but it teaches us something!

OLD VERSION.......
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold.

MODERN VERSION ........
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away. Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.

NDTV, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house. Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other grasshoppers demanding that grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter. Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticize the Indian Government for not upholding the fundamental rights of the grasshopper. The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the grasshopper (many promising Heaven and Everlasting Peace for prompt support as against the wrath of God for non-compliance). Opposition MP's stage a walkout.Left parties call for "Bharat Bandh" in West Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry.CPM in Kerala immediately passes a law preventing Ants from working hard in the heat so as to bring about equality of poverty among ants and grasshoppers.

Lalu Prasad allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Indian Railway Trains, aptly named as the 'Grasshopper Rath'. Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the Prevention of Terrorism Against Grasshoppers Act [POTAGA]", with effect from the beginning of the winter.

Arjun Singh makes Special Reservation for Grass Hopper in educational Insititutions & in Govt Services.

The ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government and handed over to the grasshopper in a ceremony covered by NDTV.

Arundhati Roy calls it "a triumph of justice". Lalu calls it 'Socialistic Justice'. CPM calls it the 'revolutionary resurgence of the downtrodden' Koffi Annan invites the grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly.
Many years later...

The ant has since migrated to the US and set up a multi billion dollar company in silicon valley.100s of grasshoppers still die of starvation despite reservation somewhere in India ...

As a result loosing lot of hard working ants and feeding the grasshoppers India is still a developing country......

Can any one dare to bring India out of this clutches...

போக்கிரி

2007-01-21T13:08:00.001-08:00

சனி இரவு போக்கிரி, ஞாயிரு காலை தலைவலி.

சன் டீவி டாப் டென் ஸ்டயிலில்
போக்கிரி: இன்னிக்கு செத்தா, நாளைக்கு பால்..

Patel Snaps

2007-01-18T14:57:00.000-08:00

My parents have been pestering me for photos for a while now. I have somehow managed to steer clear of that question for a long time. I guess one can do that only for so long. They constantly intimidated that they will use the picture they had, which I had know idea where they got from. When inquired, I learnt that it was the passport photo that I had taken for my visa interview a couple of years ago. "Grrrr...". I finally had to succumb to the pressure when my siblings joined the bandwagon.

I sat down to surf through my four year digital archive trying to recall all the places I had gone to and all the solo pictures I had my friends and family take of me. As I looked through the pictures, the fond memories of the trips I had with my family and friends kept me from focusing on my job at hand. All those fun multiple trips to Grand Canyon, Sea World and the Bay Area, those quick weekend visits to the theme park, National Parks and ski resorts and the best of them all, the trips to home. I realized my passion to travel and kept drifting away from the assignment. After all the memories breezed past, I realized that I had involuntarily (or so I like to believe) picked up a dozen or so “Patel snaps”. I wondered why the name?

Impulsively, I googled the phrase and found that the entry was “proposed for a speedy deletion” from Wikipedia due to copyright infringements!!! "hmmmm…". Before I started to digress further, with quick “desi” instincts, started searching for sites that provided “free prints”. Like any resourceful “desi”, I recalled one of the sites that printed and shipped the first twenty prints for free and so signed up for a new account (though I already had an account with them and misused up the offer earlier). Then again, as any computer savvy “desi”, I decided to “fix” some pictures using Picasa2 before I uploaded and printed them.

Some pictures needed more lighting, some needed more contrast and some even needed “paintbrush” skills. It was at that moment that a thought struck to me. “Poor girl, whoever she is, has to deal with me”. Amazing how people tend to believe in what they see on paper. I was a bit worried that it could happen to me as well with people like me let loose. After a quick dose of reality, I got back to paintbrush and erased the blemishes. After I was thoroughly satisfied with the final version of the “Patel snaps”, I uploaded the pictures and ordered the prints. Now, it was time to wait.

After four days, I received my 4”x6” matte finish prints. I started going through it and realized that I was wearing sunglasses in more than half of them (at least four or five different types in three years – man it feels like I buy more sunglasses than anyone in this world) . What if they think I was blind or even worse if they thought I had eyes like a “bush baby”? Then I thought to myself – “who cares… it's just like my blog postings, who cares...”

Who's your daddy?

2007-01-17T12:54:00.000-08:00

Now, who is the culprit?

Video

Freebies for everything and anything?

2007-01-09T22:03:00.000-08:00

US Army Ad on TV.
Come join the Army Reserve...
...and become Army Strong...
...you will also get a "sports watch" for free...

Memoirs of a Driver

2006-12-24T14:27:00.000-08:00

2006 has been different. A year of traveling, meeting family and friends, and a lot of “first times”. This is a recollection of the fond memories of this year.

January saw me complete a whole year in a company for the first time. In February, I saw myself having fun with my nephews in Texas. March and April were the best months of this year. Nothing is better than living a life with family in India. I saw myself visiting more places in a month than my 21 years at home. April was also the month of my first new car. May was more laid back but for the first time in my professional career, experienced a promotion. Of course, May was well-endowed with a share of traveling in my new car within California. My first experience with ‘white-water rafting’ came in the same month.

June was a month to relax from all that happened through the first half of the year. Of course, June was the month I had my first blog in this world of bloggers. July saw a third trip to the Grand Canyon and Sea World, this time, with a friend and his visiting parents. Towards the end of July, there was a trip back to Texas for a friend’s wedding. For the first time, again, I was part of the wedding party as an Usher, wearing a tuxedo for the first time and maybe the only time in my life. August was too short to notice, but even in that short time was a ‘first-timer’, a trip to a WTA tournament and watching not one but two games in person. A power game from Serena Williams was followed by a game from home girl Sania Mirza.

September started off with a trip to the northeast. A visit to Philadelphia, New York and Atlantic City started of a frenzy of traveling towards the end of the year. October saw a return to the northeast and a long drive through the colorful woods of New England. The drive covered nine states, nearly half of all the states I have visited in the U.S.

November was a third trip to Texas for more fun with my little nephews. December started off with an annual office party. A first time at a stand-up comedy club was as much fun to me as it was for Todd Glass when he picked on me and my co-workers for his jokes. The following week featured another two first-timers. One was a live football game at San Diego with the Chargers beating the Broncos. The other was go-cart racing - a short but fun period. The travel wasn’t over yet. An annual get-together with friends, this time at Atlanta was probably the best way to end the wonderful year. But wait, the year isn’t over yet. Weekend of Christmas was the first time I got to experience skiing. With a few more days still to go this year, more things are yet to come. With my friends set to visit for a week from Christmas day, I will be experiencing yet another ‘first-timer’ in the last week of the year. I, with my friends, will get to experience for the first-time, a bowl game between Texas A&M University, my alma-mater and University of California @ Berkeley in San Diego.

Gig’em Aggies! Beat the hell outta Cal.

Organized Chaos

2006-12-19T22:24:00.001-08:00

Sreesanth pays back Nel

2006-12-19T21:38:00.000-08:00

Now, there's something you wont see everyday.

Before & After

2006-12-08T10:06:00.000-08:00

Calls answered
B: 85%
A: 15%

Fantasy football talk
B: Manning is god. LT saved my day.
A: What fantasy?

Blog entries
B: Five every one week.
A: One every five weeks.

Weekend trip
B: By email – “What say you guys?”
A: By phone – “I will tell you later”

Online during office hours
B: 8:00:00 am - 12:00:00 pm, 1:00:00 pm - 5:30:00 pm
A: 9:00:00 am - 9:00:15 am, 11:15:00 am - 11:15:15 am, 3:00:00pm - 3:00:15pm, 5:29:00pm - 5:29:15pm

Life
B: is strife
A: is ...

My tummy hurts...

2006-11-28T09:06:00.000-08:00

என் நண்பர்களுடன் தொலைபேசியில் அரட்டை அடித்துக்கொண்டிருக்கும்பொழுது:

"...."
"அவனோட அம்மா சத்திரமே கிடைக்கலைன்னு சொல்லிண்டிருந்தாங்கோ."
"அடப்போடா, அவவனுக்கு இங்க பொண்ணே கிடைக்கமாட்டேங்கறது..."

Flight Attendant or Stand-up Comedian?

2006-11-24T21:08:00.000-08:00

Standard Pre-Flight Procedures.
1. Please stow your tray tables and your seatback upright and most uncomfortable position.
2. Please be seated and wear your seat belts at all times the seat belt signs are on. Seat belts should be worn around the lap like Maria Carrie's mini skirt.
3. Although there are over 50 different ways to get out of your marriage, there are only 6 ways to get out of the flight in case of an emergency - two in the front, two in rear and two over the wings that are well lit by overhead exit signs and disco lights along the floor.
4. In an unlikely event that the oxygen masks should appear, after a brief moment of panic, please put the mask and breath normally, like this - "Breathes hard in and out twice on the microphone" . If there are people needing assistance, put on your mask first and assist them, unless its your husband.

While Taxiing.
5. One morning, when I was coming to the airport, a young lady came and asked what we would do first thing before a flight. I said, we come in early, get into the little room and dress up as flight attendants and we get to choose the best pilots for our flight. I always choose the best pilot on all my flights. Anyway, folks, I forgot to mention that I was late to the airport today.
6. All folks sitting on the window seat, may we kindly request you all to press your face against the window glass and let know all those bankrupt airlines that we have a full flight today.
7. The overhead lights will now be turned off. If you need light to read, please turn on the reading light. When you press the switch with the light bulb symbol, your lights will turn on. However, if you press the switch with the flight attendant symbol, the flight attendants are not turned on.
8. Alright folks, please keep your hands and heads inside the ride all the time, we are about to go really fast.

Soon after take-off - over the city of Phoenix.
9. There is a landmark on the right of the aircraft that you folks would be interested to see. Not yet... not yet... now - there it is - thats my house over there.
10. Whispers in microphone: Sleep... sleep..., you dont need juice... sleep... sleep... you arent thirsty.... sleep... you dont need peanuts.... peanuts give you gas....

After landing.
11. Thank you for flying with us. Remember - no one "luv"s you and your money more than us.

Cartoon Craze - VI

2006-10-29T20:30:00.000-08:00

Guess my name.

Cartoon Craze - V

2006-10-29T17:24:00.000-08:00

Guess my name.

Cartoon Craze - IV

2006-10-29T14:07:00.000-08:00

Guess my name.

Cartoon Craze - III

2006-10-27T23:19:00.000-07:00

Guess my name.

Cartoon Craze - II

2006-10-27T21:44:00.000-07:00

Guess my name.

Cartoon Craze - I

2006-10-27T21:13:00.000-07:00

Bored of everything, I decided to test to my "paintbrush" skills

Guess my name.

Joy Ride - I

2006-10-12T23:28:00.000-07:00

The trip was amazing and tiring as most trips I take with over-enthusiastic friends. It all started at noon with a long flight from Los Angeles to Philadelphia. The normally 5 hour flight took nearly 6.5 hours. That made a dent in plan A. Quickly and without much hesitation; we decided to go to plan B, which was “Take it as it comes”.

Pennsylvania
By the time I could rent a car, drive back to King of Prussia (a suburb of Philly) to my friend’s place it was way past bed time even for most late-niters. Soon as I stuffed my BK Veggie and onion rings down my throat, I went to bed to catch some precious sleep. Three hours later, my friend from his room gave a wake-up call.

“Hey, can we start in 30 minutes?”
“Sure – do you have liquid soap?”
“I will get it in a minute”

New Jersey
Following a quicker than usual morning routine, we hit the road to Trenton, NJ to pick our third friend. By about half past six, we were on our way to watch the wonders of fall colors with a coffee and a bagel from Dunkin Donuts. Traffic didn’t suck but the toll booths on the New Jersey turnpike did. They sucked our bloods out of our wallets.

New York
New York City came by and went. The exit numbers steadily increased and then dropped again to one. This could mean only one thing – we were in Connecticut.

Connecticut
Time to stop and change driving responsibilities apart from taking care of the pressure the morning coffee created in our lower abdomens. There we were. In state number four in less than four hours. I guess the Northeasterners never liked to be in the union after all. In California, one can drive for hours and still be a few hours away from the nearest border. On the road sides of I-95 and then the I-93, we could see the colors developing already. Anticipating a great trip ahead, we karaoke’d our way across New Haven with the really bad rental car stereo. Connecticut was smaller than Jersey, one more hour and we were in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts
Boston was in sight. We decided to hit the world famous MIT before lunch. All these days, I hadn’t realized that MIT was not in Boston. It was in Cambridge, which was across a gorgeous river at the verge of shaking hands with the Atlantic. What a spectacular place for an educational institution! Kayaks and canoes were everywhere with people surrendering their tensions of fast city life in the boisterous yet serene water. It was a picture perfect day with the sun shining as if it was a billion years younger and the skies blue with scattered white puffs.

MIT
It wasn’t noon yet as we walked towards a campus map to identify the statistics building, mechanical engineering building and the “Good Will Hunting” fame mathematics department dome. Unfortunately giving a map to three single Indian guys with no girlfriends AND no girls as friends is like handing a flower garland to a monkey, especially if one is a mechanical engineer, one an industrial engineer and one a statistician. After all the optimizations, the best route was agreed upon and meticulously followed. After a walk through the campus, we started snapping pictures at “must-be-on-photo-to-show-everyone-that-I-was-at-MIT” spots. One of my friends was curious to know “who-is-that-everyone-that-will-be-so-amazed-to-see-you-at-MIT”. We rejected his observation and headed towards the car.

Harvard
With a small city map to navigate through, we managed to drive from MIT to Harvard in the longest possible route. Soon as we parked, we were hungry and came down to an Indian restaurant by name “Tanjore”. Hoping for a wonderful South Indian buffet, we prepared our tummies for delicious idlis and vadas. To our disappointment, it was a North Indian cuisine with three vegetarian dishes out of eight dishes. We were wondering why they named it “Tanjore”. But we had done our share of thinking for the day. We were there to relax. After lunch, we walked hours through the campus of Harvard trying to find a Harvard sign for a picture. Amazingly, we couldn’t find a single Harvard sign inscribed anywhere on the campus.

Tired and our feet pounding, we decided to take on a small ride through downtown Boston with our little map. Maps and us were like a marriage between an old dying millionaire husband and a pretty blonde dumb young wife – it never worked. Realizing soon that we somehow lost Boston and the sun setting fast in the west, our next stop was Foxboro. The home of the Patriots on the eve of a Sunday afternoon game was unusually empty. The security denied us entry to take pictures and gestured us towards the exit. A spark went through my brain and I made a command decision to go to Rhode Island which was just 20 miles away.

Rhode Island
It was a dark and small state. Dark as it was night and small as it was in the Northeast. Providence was the only city I have heard about in RI. Rhode Island always reminds me of the Jim Carrey movie – “Me, Myself and Irene”. But to my friends, who were hell-bent to visit all Ivy League schools, it meant Brown University.

Brown
A chilly night walk through the dark campus and some unrecognizable photos to prove to the future generation that we were at Brown was followed by a long drive back past Boston to our hotel.

Dinner at Denny’s after another small lost and found expedition was soothing. The night’s sleep that was to follow felt even more comforting. My eyelids buried my tired pupils as my brain continued to ponder the day ahead – “busier and longer.”

India is consistent!

2006-10-04T22:30:00.000-07:00

How bizzare is this?

India has the same number of points from same number of matches in the same period - both in ODIs and Tests. (Source: Cricinfo.com)

South Indian Temples

2006-10-03T21:04:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Narasi. An amazing video documentary of South Indian temples and architecture.

Different yet...

2006-09-23T17:23:00.000-07:00

Hinduism

Lord Kalki, the Lord of the universe, will mount His swift horse Devadatta and, sword in hand, travel over the earth exhibiting His eight mystic opulences and eight special qualities of Godhead. Displaying His unequaled effulgence and riding with great speed, He will kill by the millions those thieves who have dared dress as kings. After all the imposter kings have been killed, the residents of the cities andtowns will feel the breezes carrying the most sacred fragrance of the sandalwood paste and oher decorations of Lord Vasudeva, and their minds will thereby become transcendentally pure. When Lord Vasudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appears in their hearts in His transcendental form of goodneess, the remaining citizens will abundantly repopulate the earth. When the Supreme Lord has appeared on earth as Kalki, the maintainer of religion, Saya-yuga will begin, and human society will bring forth progeny in the mode of goodness.

Christianity

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns [diadems]. He has a name written on him that no one but he himself knows. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. {Rev 19:11-16 NIV}

Sports Talk

2006-09-21T22:24:00.000-07:00

I think it was the fall of 2000 and I had just finished applying to the universities I had shortlisted. My brother was watching ESPN.

நான்: என்ன கருமம் புடிச்ச game டா இது... ஒருத்தனை ஒருத்தன் அடிச்சிக்கறான்.

அவன்: அடேய். உனக்கு தெரியுமா. உங்க Texas A&M Aggies நல்ல team. நீயும் போறல்ல, அப்புரம் பாத்துக்கலாம்.

நான்: அட போடா. அது என்னிக்கும் நடக்காது. நான் cricket தவிர வேற எந்த game-உம் பாக்கமாட்டேன்.

In TV: A man in zebra shows both his palms to the TV camera.

அவன்: Pass interference. Super. Go Broncos.

நான்: சரியான லூசு. நீயும் போய் மண்டைய உடைச்சிக்கோ.

மன்னி: உங்கண்ணன் பயங்கரமான Broncos fan. Foul-லாம் referee சொல்லறதுக்கு முன்னாடியே correct-ஆ சொல்லிடுவான். (பெருமையுடன் இளித்துக்கொண்டே).

அவன்: ஒரு season போய் பாரு. அப்புரம் பேசிக்கறேன்.

நான்: உன் கனவுலதான் நடக்கும். இந்த கண்றாவியை எவன் பாப்பான்.

அவன்: உங்க கங்குலி ஆடற அழகைப்பாக்கறதுக்கு இது பரவாயில்லை. நான் வந்ததுலேந்து அவனொரு match-உம் ஒண்ணும் கிழிக்கலை. என்ன captain, முதல்ல அவனை team-லேந்து தூக்கணும்.

நான்: India team history-லயே most wins in tests under him. தெரிஞ்சுக்கோ. அவனும் சசினும்தான் best opening pair.

அவன்: என்ன opening pair. Waste game. Sachin is also waste. Team player இல்லை அவன். 100 அடிச்சா போறாது, team win பண்ணித்தாங்கறதுதான் முக்கியம். He is selfish.

நான்: உனக்கு இப்போ ஆடுற team பத்தி என்ன தெரியும். நீ America-ல இந்த அடிச்சிக்குற விளையாட்டு பாத்துட்டு cricket மறந்து போச்சு. Cricket is a gentleman's game. Not like this (என் கைவிரல் TVயை நோக்கி).

அவன்: போடா போ. இன்னும் 2 years-ல பாத்துக்கலாம்.

நான்: ஒண்ணும் நடக்காது. எழுதி வச்சிக்கோ. (வெளியேரினேன்.)

6 வருடங்களுக்கு பிறகு. இரவு 10 மணி பசிஃபிக் தினவிளக்கு சேமிப்பு நேரம் -MSN Messenger.

நான்: டாய்ய்ய்ய்ய்.

அவன்: டாய்ய்ய்ய்ய்ய்ய்ய்.

நான்: என்ன பண்ணிண்டிருக்கே.

அவன்: what news?

நான்: ஒண்ணும் இல்லை. போர் அடிக்கறது.

அவன்: Bore master. Cricket பாக்க ready ஆயிட்டியா?

நான்: அதுக்கு இன்னும் நேரம் இருக்கே. இந்த வாரம் team pick பண்ணிண்டிருக்கேன்.

அவன்: என்னடா Broncos கேவலமா ஆடிண்டிருக்காங்க.

நான்: ஆமாம். But Chargers are doing great. Go Chargers. Last week fantasy football-ல win பண்ணிட்டேன். முதல் வாரம் உதை. இந்த வாரம் கடும் போட்டி இருக்கு. ஒரு நாலு பேரை trade பண்ணி இருக்கேன். பாப்போம்.

அவன்: India win பண்ணிட்டாங்கோ போன match.

நான்: ஆமாம். 20 over பாத்தேன். அப்புரம் தூக்கம் வந்துடுத்து. 5 பேர் வெர out ஆயிட்டாங்கோ. தூங்கிட்டேன்.

அவன்: சசின் ஒண்டிதான் பொருமையா ஆடினான். பாக்கி எல்லாரும் waste. Team-உக்காக அவன் ஒருத்தந்தான் விளையாடறான். இந்த Sehwag தூக்கிட்டு பேசாம Ganguly-யே கொண்டு வந்துடலாம் பொல இருக்கு.

நான்: எல்லாம் match fixing. West Indies-க்கு India-வோட Finals விளையாடணும்னு தோத்துட்டாங்க. இனிமேல் அதை எவன் பாப்பான். All I am concerned is whether to start Michael Vick or Carson Palmer for this weekend. அப்புரம் பாப்போம். Bye.

அவன்: நான் match பாக்கப்போறேன். Good Night. Bye.

Smooth Sucker

2006-09-15T18:43:00.000-07:00

With my back ache easing out, I thought I should do some of my laundry owing to lack of innerwear for the following day. To not totally stress out my back, I decided to just wash enough for the next few days. Wash cycles took 25 minutes at the apartment laundry. It was 4:20 when I returned. I decided owing my laziness that I will take care of it at 5:00.

As I slowly ambled towards the laundry with my arms supporting my back, a cute girl, maybe in her early 20s was walking towards me. As I was lost in her looks, we stumbled in front of each other. Try to be gentlemanly , I gave way to her with a smile. She smiled and thanked as she whizzed past. In the laundry, I found that my clothes had magically moved from the washer to the dryer all by itself. I was puzzled for a few seconds. The door to the laundry opened and there she was again. Her lovely face became apologetic.

"Sorry, I had to move your clothes..."

I intervened, noticing that there weren't any open washers, "Thats OK, sorry to have kept you waiting for the washer", I smiled.

She smiled and moved on. I went back to starting the dryer cycle with a big 'hmph'. As I was moving my clothes from the other washer I had used, I smelt something burning. I turned and started looking around. I cleared the second washer and I could now smell it even stronger. I noticed smoke rising from the adjacent washer, the one she had just loaded. I instinctively opened the washer and saw more smoke plumes. The wash cycle stopped and the smoke seeked the exhaust windows. I put my olfactories to work trying to locate the source. The washer was overloaded with a huge comforter, which got stuck and prevented the washer from spinning. I made sure that there was no visible flame. I pulled out the wet and soapy comforter and examined it for damage. Nothing. I was glad I was a few minutes late. I waited a few more minutes to ensure that I will have underwear for the next day.

I walked out satisfied but I had to return the favor. I had to let her know that I had to stop her wash cycle. At least that was the reason I gave myself to get a chance to talk to her again. I impatiently waited in my porch for her to walk by for thirty minutes. I had never waited for laundry in my life like that before. Hoping that she would show up on time to move her clothes to the dryer, unlike me, I was at the laundry with still 15 minutes on my dryer cycle. Fifteen minutes felt like forever. The dryers stopped whirring and I reluctantly started collecting my clothes. All this time I was thinking of what to do. 'Should I write a note and put it on the washer?, 'Should I wait and let her know?', 'Should I introduce myself and shake her hands?'. The door opened.

She walked in. We exchanged quick 'Hi's.
Then,
"I had to stop your wash cycle on this one.", pointing to the washer, "It started smoking as I was loading up the dryers. I thought I should let you know."

She had a confused look in her face. "Oh", she said as she started closing the lid to restart the cycle as if she didn't understand what I just said.

I intervened again, "Something started burning, I think it was the wiring of the washer, it was overloaded and not spinning. I don't think your fabric is damaged. I checked it."

Now she got it. "Oh, it was too big when I put it in.", still confused on what her next move should be, "Thanks for stopping the cycle.", she managed a nervous smile.

"Oh, no problem." I piled on my clothes into my laundry bag.

As I was about to step out she thanked once again.

"Oh, I had to, you know, it was smoking and I had to" as I waved my arms at my clothes.

She smiled. I carried the laundry bag totally forgetting about my back ache. On the way back, I thought to myself, 'Another smooth performance by yours truly. I suck.'

Sleepless in New York

2006-09-05T21:55:00.000-07:00

I pulled into Lot B. There was just an hour before my plane was scheduled to take off. It was definitely a bad idea to leave that late on a Friday before a long weekend. Running through the sea of cars, jumping onto the shuttle bus and standing through the rigorous LAX security line was just the beginning of a sleepless, eventful, yet an enjoyable long weekend.

The four hour flight to Atlanta was grueling. My inability to sleep while traveling combined with the two year old Asian kid’s tantrums one row behind made me understand the term “Red Eye”. The short trip to Philly from Atlanta was a little more relaxing. I got a whole half an hour’s sleep. It was raining heavily in the Northeast, thanks to Ernesto. To top the miseries, my friend was denied a car at the airport rental as HE wasn’t traveling in a plane. That meant that I had to rent and DRIVE the car. Grrr…, I wonder why my parents gave me that name. They must have had a jolt from Nostradamus himself.

After a ninety minute drive through the heavy downpour, we reached my friend’s den in a small town in New Jersey. My anxiety to see my friends and New York city overcame the physical stresses that my body was going through. Shortly after a speedy clean-up routine and a quick tea & Vada Paav (an Indian version of the Burger) at ‘Hot Breads’, we decided to hit the road towards New York City. New York was busy, rainy and fun. Despite the raging clouds and thunderstorms, we decided to take the “topless” bus tour. As it was meant to mean, the bus had no “top”. It was once in a lifetime experience to see (or at least trying to see) the high-rise buildings with huge raindrops falling straight into the (red) eyes. The rain forced us to cut short our bus ride at Times Square. Then we decided to take on Madame Tussaud to escape the wrath of the rain gods. Three hours flew by as pictures were taken with every known celebrity, from Homer Simpson to Jessica Simpson, from Presidents to CEOs, from Larry King to England’s Queen, from Madonna to Mahatma.

It was still showering when we emerged out of the house of wax. Dinner at a pizza joint was soothing. Times Square at night was dazzling. It was almost midnight by the time we reached NJ. The rest of the night was spent in watching “Crash”, drinking and making fun of each other. By the time I hit the sack, it was 4 am. Five hours later, we took to the road, returned the SUV at PHL owing to lack of space for six, had tea and Paav Baaji at Hot Breads and hit the road to New York again by noon. Day 2 was pleasant – 70 degrees and sunny, a picture-perfect day for a New York visit. A short ride on the bus again through downtown, a quick look at the Empire State building, followed by a 75 minute city cruise on the Hudson River that included great views of the Manhattan Skyline and the Statue of Liberty, a 5pm lunch at a Turkish eatery in Manhattan, a photo-session outside the Ed Sullivan theater and a night-time bus ride through downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn made the rest of the evening. All the coffee and soda I had all day long made me run from Times Square to the Grand Central Station to take a well-deserved long bathroom break. I felt liberated in the city to which the word meant a whole lot more.

A short ride back to NJ, a quick bite at Taco Bell and a night trip to Atlantic City meant only one thing - INSOMNIA! The Trump Taj Mahal was no way like the Agra Taj Mahal I am used to seeing on pictures. Before that night, I had not known that the Caesar’s Palace casino and hotel were named after “Caesar Augustus” and not “Julius Caesar”. A walk on the breezy Atlantic boardwalk seemed to temporarily quench the sleep I was craving for. The sun was ready to jump out of the Atlantic when we were ready to hit the road back to Lawrenceville. By 8:00am, we were a bunch of sandbags. Four hours later, after yet another brunch at Hot Breads (this time a Vada Paav AND a Bombay Sandwich - yes! we were a wild bunch) followed by a quick photo-shoot at the Princeton University (with a camera that belonged to none of us), we headed back for a long flight back home. It was 2am by the time I had my back on my precious bed. It was wonderful - this time I am not referring to sleep.

Musical Inspirations

2006-08-23T14:32:00.000-07:00

Indian cine music is well known for "inspired" music. But, it was interesting to see a few western composers getting "inspiration" from Indian compositions.

Links thanks to www.itwofs.com

A R Rahman's 'Ottagatha Kattikko' (Gentleman, 2003) and La Caution's 'Pilotes Automatqies', 2005.
Pilotes automatiques / Ottagatha Kattikko

Black Eyed Peas' 'Elephunk Theme'
Elephunk Theme / Unakkum Enakkum

Black Eyed Peas' 'Don't phunk with my heart' (2005)
Don't phunk with my heart / Yeh mera dil (Don) / Aye naujawan (Apradh)

Hyper-Caffeinated Saturday...

2006-08-21T11:15:00.000-07:00

100 Baseball pitches - $6
18 hole Mini Golf - $7
Beach Swim - $0
Taladega Nights - $9
Body Aches - Merciless...

Ouch...

Only in India!

2006-08-20T20:54:00.000-07:00

This

and this...

சுதந்திர தினத்தன்று...

2006-08-16T12:47:00.000-07:00

உந்தன் தேசத்தின் குரல்
தொலை தூரத்தில் அதோ
செவியில் விழாதா...
சொந்த வீடுன்னை வாவென்று அழைக்குதடா தமிழா!

அந்த நாட்களை நினை
அவை நீங்குமா உனை
நிழல்போல் வராதா...
அயல்நாடுந்தன் வீடல்ல விடுதியடா தமிழா!

டும். டும்.. டும்...

2006-08-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

இன்னிக்கு மத்தியானம் லன்ச்சுக்கு திருப்பதி பீமாஸ். ஒரு non-spicy தளி. சப்பாத்தி-குருமா, (ப்ர)சாதம், மோர் குழம்பு, அவியல், சாம்பார், பருப்பு குழம்பு, சாத்தமது, பீன்ஸ் கரியமுது, அப்பளம், தயிர், ஊருகாய், காரட் அல்வா. ரெண்டு மூணு நாளா ஈ-மேயில் திறந்தா ஒரே கல்யாண பத்திரிகை. கல்யாண சீசன். ஆகஸ்ட் 20, 21, ... தினைக்கும் ஒரு கல்யாணம். கல்யாண சாப்பாடு சாப்பிட்டு எவ்வளவு வருஷம் ஆச்சு. ஹூம்! அந்த நினைப்புலதான் இன்னைக்கு பீமாஸ் பக்கத்துல தலையைக்காமிக்கலாம்னு புரப்பாடு. என்னதான் இருந்தாலும் கல்யாண சாப்பாடு மாதிரி வருமா.

இலையைப்போட்டு, தண்ணி தெளிச்சு, ஒரு மூலைல சக்கரை, வாழைப்பழம், அதுக்கப்புறம் பருப்பு, வகைவகையா கரியமுது. இது பரிமாரும்போது, பந்தியில தூரத்துல அப்பளம் நொருங்கற சத்தம் அப்படியே ஒரு தக்காளி சூப் அப்பிடைசர் மாதிரி வயித்தை உருட்ட ஆரம்பிக்கும் அந்த ஒரு ஃபீலிங். அடடடடா, நினைச்சுப்பாத்தாலே ஒரு கிக்குதான்.

Stars in LA

2006-08-09T14:22:00.000-07:00

Prime Time Attraction
Local girl Serena Williams takes on yet another new Russian - Maria Kirilenko...
Serena serves strong and plays strong...
...while the newbie definitely impressed.

Cheering the girl! - No pom poms though!
She had...

...the Indian support at the stands, but...

...yet another forgettable outing for our girl.

The Usher caught the Garter

2006-08-01T22:51:00.003-07:00

After a brief mid-afternoon shower, the evening became more serene and pleasant. My friend's wedding concluded smoothly as planned. The last few minutes at the church were spent for some quick snaps with the newlyweds. I was thrilled to be an Usher, more thrilled to be in a Tuxedo, even more thrilled to show my pictures to my friends and family. It was the turn for a picture with the Ushers and I promptly jumped in not trying to hide my anxiety. As quickly as the pictures were taken, we were "ushered" out of the church for the next wedding party to get ready. Man, the church was busy that Saturday.

There were two hours before the wedding dinner and reception at a nearby ballroom. My two friends and I quickly jumped out of our coats and tuxes to cool off from the hot Houston evening. Our large intestines were engulfing the smaller version. We rushed to our hotel, picked up my buddy's Hispanic date, who was in a hot purply maroon low cut evening gown. For a moment, we weren't hungry. But again, getting back to our senses, we grabbed a quick late lunch at 5:00pm at Masala Bowl only because she wanted to try Indian. After the quick naan and malaai kofta, we jumped back into the car and arrived at the ballroom and bored ourselves to death for the first hour when, unusually for that day, almost everything was going wrong. The DJ was screwing up the jukebox, slow numbers were fast and the quick numbers were dragging. Songs to the dad and daughter dance, bride and groom dance, groom and mother-in-law dance and every other dance was devastatingly boring. In an hour, the buffet was ready, the DJ was changed and people started enjoying the evening. After a quick taste of a limited vegetarian menu, I took the guts to talk to a girl I knew from my college town, whom I had met the previous day at the rehearsal dinner. She had promised to catch up on the wedding night. After a quick intro to her mom and dad, who is a pilot (superfluous data alert), I settled next to her and discussed our lives after College Station. After the quick catching up, I returned to my table occupied by four.

The dance floor was then opened up for everyone after picture-perfect dance performances by the bride, groom and their family. Couples walked in and started swaying to the gentle music, now better delivered by the new DJ. My friend moved into the crowd with his date. As my other friend and I were watching, something sprang into me and I walked across and asked her for a dance. I didn't have time to think what I just did. She graciously accepted and walked with me to the dance floor and we started swaying - not so graciously owing to my total lack of experience. I tried to keep a whispering conversation going.

"I am not a good dancer, hope thats OK" - I said sheepishly.
"Nay, thats alright, neither am I" - she said almost convincingly.
"The last time I danced was with the bride in her brother's wedding" - I recalled.
"Oh, I remember seeing you then, it has been quiet sometime, is it 3 years?"
"Almost".
Soon the music slowly mellowed out in the background. She said - "Thank you for the dance."
"Thank you for dancing with me" - I smiled humbly as she walked towards the direction of her parents.

I settled into my chair, my friend looking at me with a confused expression on his face. I just looked at him blankly and said, "How about something to drink?”. I headed towards the non-alcoholic fruit punch, while he still looking confused headed for the Sangria. Then, it was time for some toast. The three who delivered their speeches on the newlyweds were so different in their delivery. The first guy, the best man, delivered a funny and poetic piece. The maid of honor, the one I had danced with, delivered a heartfelt and very emotional monologue. The third guy, a common friend to the bride and the groom, did a quick and dirty impromptu that made the guests go wild in laughter.

Next was the bouquet throw by my bride friend. All the single girls gathered behind her back to catch the flowery bunch in high hopes of being the one to get married next. A funny and crowd-pulling tradition. I didn't bother to notice who caught it. It was my least of concerns as I had my eyes on my two buddies gulping shot after shot. 'Man, I am going to have an eventful night' - I thought to myself as I turned towards the dance floor. The bride had given way to the groom and he was pulling out a piece of cloth from her leg and waving it wildly as the DJ called in all single men to the stage. I had seen this once before, in her brother's wedding. It is a male version of the bouquet toss. I, accompanied with all the single men took the stage. I was on the far right on the stage.

The DJ counted to three –

"One, two, three..."
I was smart and didn't jump for it - I knew it was planned - the bride fooled almost everyone but me and a few not so sober single men.

"One, two, three..."
I jumped ahead like all, but this time - as the crowd burst into laughter, we were really fooled.

"One, two, three..."

Diving forward and towards my left, with my long, crooked and outstretched left hand, I tried to pluck it out of thin air. The Usher caught the Garter.

Animals and Me??

2006-07-06T23:37:00.000-07:00

My friends made me wonder....

... still wondering...

BLOGS

2006-06-22T20:44:00.000-07:00

Be
Lazy
Or
Go
Sleep!

Tamil சாட்டிங்

2006-06-20T19:33:00.000-07:00

நண்பன் (ந): etho tamilla en per thappu thappaa ezutharaa maathiri irukku?

நான் (நா): உன் பேரை எங்கடா எழுதினேன், உனக்கு முதல்ல தமிழ் படிக்க தெரியுமா?

ந: Dabba dabbavaa theriyuthu. Enna font use panre?

நா: கிழிஞ்சிது போ. Appuram ethai vechu tamizhle un perai ezuthinennu sonne?

ந: athai udu daa, unnakku oru kelvi.

நா: nee muthalla inthe software download pannu - ethukku Tanglish, when there is Tamil. http://......

ந: OK. ethai download pannanum?

நா: Muthal link, zip file, install pannittu athu solra steps follow pannu. Kelvi ethuvum kekkathey.

ந: Done, ippo enna pannanum?

நா: Dei vendru, kelvi kekkathennu sonnen - instructions follow panniniyaa - tray iconla install pannina software vanthuthaa?

ந: Irukku, aanaa velai seyyalai.

நா: restart pannu, programai, machineai illai, naan ippothaan install panninen, ennai restart panna sollalai.

ந: vanthuduthu... eppadidaa tamiz keyboard podanum?

நா: ஆல்ட்+1 ஆர் 2 டு டாகிள் பிட்வீன் டமிள் அண்ட் இங்க்ளீஷ்.

ந: ஓகே, னௌ இட் வொர்க்ஸ். ஹௌ டிட் யூ ஃபைண்ட் திஸ் சாஃப்ட்வேர்?

நா: டு யு நோ ஆல்பர்ட், ஹீ ரைட்ஸ் எ லாட் ஆஃப் டமிள் ஸ்டோரீஸ். ஹீ ஸஜஸ்டட் இட்.

ந: னைஸ், ஹௌ டு ஐ கெட் "na" காக்கா "na"?

நா: யூஸ் ஸ்மால் டபுள்யூ. ஸீ ஹௌ மச் ஈஸி இட் இஸ் டு சாட் இன் டமிள். ஓகே, யூ வான்டட் டு ஆஸ்க் மீ எ க்வஸ்டின்...

Weekend!

2006-06-18T15:33:00.000-07:00

It was Friday night - around 7:30. The sun was setting and the light fading. Like the sun, another eventless weekend was on the horizon. Just when I was staring blatantly into a boring future, my phone rang. A female voice said - "We are here!". "Wow, it isn't going to be as boring after all" - I thought to myself. I pulled out my keys and ran downstairs to meet my girl. She is sweet and funny, I have known her for about 9 months now. I walked down the stairs, past the spa and then the pool. The last few were leaving with their clean white towels protecting their self-respect. I wish she had come earlier, maybe we could have spent some good time in the pool. But it was getting darker and cooler. I decided to save that plan for Saturday.

When I turned the corner past the flowing streams of artifical landscaping, I could see the green Civic. I walked past the car with the open window. I shouted - "Stay here, I will be right back." My friend and his partner, nodded their "Hi"s. Also in the car was her - anxiously waiting for me to hold her and to kiss her. I went to my RAV4, safely parked in the visitor lot. Pulled out my parking permit and the gate remote and walked back into their car. I directed him to drive through the gates and park in my designated carport. And then, I saw her, eyes gleaming and a smile as wide as the space between her ears. I swooped her out of the car and carried her all the way to my apartment, my friend and his wife - arm in arm, following us to my den. Aah, I was relieved; I am going to have the best weekend ever. The couple settled things around in my living room while I spent a lovely few minutes with the lady in my arm - kissing and cuddling her. As we were lost in the moment, my friend interfered - "What's for dinner - Apple or Sweet Potato?" – as he waved the two bottles of baby food in thin air.