Déjà Vu

Day 22-2012 : A Hectic Start...

2012-01-22T07:34:00.000-08:00

What a hectic start to the new year! It is all happening, leaving me with little time to organise my thoughts in the form of a blog post. Anyways, I am here now, so, here we go.

We are already in the last week of the first month of the year! For me, the year started with the drive back from Ahmedabad to Mumbai on New Year Day. I completed the 550 kilometres long drive in 8 hours, with two stops, one for breakfast and one for lunch. The road infrastructure which has been built on this stretch is wonderful, to say the least. Especially, once you get into Gujarat, it seems like you are in a completely different country! Maharashtra still has a lot of catching up to do. I thoroughly enjoyed the drive to Ahmedabad and back.

After the refreshing week long break in Ahmedabad, it was time to get back to work at full throttle. It is the time of the year when reviews of all kinds happen and one gets sucked into the whirlwind. At home, the in-laws visited us. The school breaks were getting over as well, hence getting the kids fully kitted for another term became a priority.

And then, of course, the unpredictable happened! I got an opportunity to take part in the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon. I had actually applied for taking part in the marathon, but did not get the opportunity. But I really wanted to run. I had in fact started training for it as well very seriously. However, once I did not get through, I relaxed my routine. But as they say, if you want something really bad, the whole world conspires to give it to you! On January 13th, a day before the D-Day, the opportunity arrived, in the form of someone who was registered but could not go. I was happy to do the honours! And that is how I became part of the 6 km Dream Run on January 15th.

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of being part of the event. It was certainly worth it, though after the 45 minute run, the soles and ankles of my feet were complaining. The half marathon next year? Maybe...! I must confess that I am tempted, though it will require a lot of training. One thing is for sure, I am determined to run again in the annual event.

The next week is going to be very busy with various engagements at work as well, following which I fly to London over the weekend. I fully expect the week in London to be hectic. So a lot of activity overall in the first month of the year. Add to it, the cricket nets, shopping trips, team-building events and friends and relatives visiting over the weekends; and the month has just whizzed past me. If January is anything to go by, I think this year is going to be action-packed.

I say, bring it on!

Take care!

Day 365-2011 : Adieu...

2011-12-31T02:24:00.000-08:00

Adieu to a remarkable year. A year in which the power of collective action was demonstrated time and again. Throughout the year. If there was one word which could correctly encapsulate the tone of the entire year of 2011, it was revolution.

2011 will be remembered as the year in which the clamor for change was heard the loudest. People protested against everything. From atrocities of dictators to the corruption of politicians; from women objecting to being branded as sluts based on how they dressed to people objecting to the social and economic inequality by occupying Wall Street. Some of these were highly successful, but some weren't so. The world today is definitely a different place after the Arab Spring. The ouster of at least four dictators till date and a few more under siege are clear signs of people embracing the path of non-violent protests...and winning. I grew up on news reports of the violent struggles in Lebanon and Palestine. I grew up on reports of Pakistan attacking the sovereign borders of this country. Over the years I have watched the various extremist actions by Islamic groups across the world. However, in 2011, it was so refreshing to see the Islamic populace adopting non-violence as the core principle of their protests across the world. Of course, the perennial mascot of Islamic violence himself, Osama-bin-Laden, was killed this year.

Closer home, the story has been much the same. One scam after another being unearthed by the activism of the media and the judiciary, and people in high places of power being held responsible for it, gave the common man in India a common cause to fight against, corruption. True, corruption was not invented this year and it was certainly not discovered by Anna Hazare. Anna and the India Against Corruption movement just grabbed the opportunity created by the prevailing mood of disillusionment caused by the multiple scams. It was an amazing movement with a momentum of its own, causing the government of the day to grumble, mumble, stumble and tumble for one reason or the other on a daily basis. For once the might of a government in power was dwarfed by a people's movement and was found wanting. It was like a rabbit caught in the headlights, not withstanding the feeble, and sometimes questionable, attempts at redemption by its favorite crisis managers.

The financial services industry was not only hit by world-wide recession but also people power. Beginning in Wall Street, groups of activists protested against the greed of the financial services sector which has ruined many economies, across the major financial centers in the world. Occupy Dalal Street was also on the schedule, but the protest lasted for less than an hour when the 40 odd protesters were bundled off to preventive custody! Typical of Mumbai, nobody could care less. The looming crisis in Europe has caused discontent among its citizens as well. People across the various countries comprising the European Union protested, either against the imposed austerity measures or against the funding of weaker countries in the union.

However, the one common thread across all of this has been uncertainty. The situation in Europe is still very uncertain, so is the case with the India Against Corruption and its movement for the Lokpal Bill. Some of the Arab countries which were 'liberated' from the clutches of the various dictators, are still grappling with the problem of finding viable alternatives. This sense of uncertainty will, I think, be the biggest challenge for the new year. Clearly, the year 2012 is going to be a difficult one for the world, with the financial crisis and slowdown showing no signs improvement. Political stress across the world can only contribute to it and make it worse. Did somebody say that the world is coming to an end in 2012 as well?

Personally, it is time again for me to review my resolutions and goals which I set for myself at the beginning of the last year. With that objective, I did go through my post on this blog on the first day of 2011. Having read through it, I find that, all that I have listed there, are still valid resolutions and goals. Not that I haven't achieved any of them. I feel that I have made significant progress on most of them, however, I realize that I could do more. Also, I am ending the year with a tick in the box for something that I have always wanted to do...a road trip to Ahmedabad from Mumbai! I loved the 8 hour drive and am gearing up for the drive back tomorrow.

So, there you go...my resolutions for the coming year are not very different from those that I made at the beginning of the last year. Which was the case last year as well! After all isn't this blog all about the sense of Deja Vu?!

Finally, I wish you and your loved ones a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012. For those of you who plan to party hard tonight to ring in the new year, please do so responsibly and have a great time!

Take care!

Day 361-2011 : Why This Kolaveri Di?

2011-12-27T03:05:00.000-08:00

Precisely my point u ....why?

Why the kolaveri over u Kolaveri? The song u which comes across as a spontaneous, casual and a light-hearted recording u of some u silly Tanglish (Tamil & English) lyrics u over a lazy afternoon, has now become not only a national u, but an international u sensation u! There are at least u ten versions u of the song u in various other Indian u languages. I have also seen the Japanese do aerobics u to the Kolaveri beats u, there is an English R & B version u, there is a Bhangra Pop version u and God knows u how many more u!?!? Last u heard u, Sony, the music label that owns the music rights u, was planning to get some u official remixes out soon u!

So, what works for this song u? First and foremost u, the power u of viral marketing u by leveraging the social u media! It has won u the YouTube u Gold award u, with more than 27 million hits u for the video and counting u. Various versions of the song u have been 'shared' u on Facebook u by about 7.5 million people. All of these facts u show us the might of the social u media and what can be achieved if it is used u cleverly. Within a few days u of its launch u, the song u became an internet u sensation and was perhaps u the only Tamil song u that I have heard u on FM stations u in Mumbai. It has been featured u on news channels u and music stations u across the globe! All of this u, even before the music album u of the film was 'officially' released u....and, this is the best u part, at zero marketing spend u! Do I see case studies u being made at the IIMs?

Secondly, the product itself u is good. The 'kuuthu' beats u work u wonderfully well u with the silly Tanglish lyrics u that Dhanush himself has penned u. Kuuthu music in Tamil films u, can almost always be banked upon u to deliver a catchy number u, this one has just found u resonance worldwide u. The silly lyrics u, as Dhanush himself calls them, works u for the audience u, notwithstanding Javed Akhtar's u views u on them! I saw the video after a couple of days u of its release u on social media, when someone shared u it on one of the groups u that I am a member of, on Facebook u. I liked u it instantly! I couldn't help but u share it on my wall u. To me what sounds good u is good enough. The almost casual atmosphere u seen in the video of the song recording u, suits itself u perfectly well to be marketed u through the 'casualness' u of social media. The colloquial Tanglish u with a distinct accent u is a good do as well. It appears u that Dhanush, Aniruddha u, Aishwarya and Shruti were having u a lot of fun making u the song u. And, of course u, the wide toothed u innocence of Dhanush's smile works u with the girls u!

Last u, but not the least u, as most of his fans u would have worked u it out by now u, the song u works because it has Rajini connect u! It is also rumoured u that the superstar u is going to feature u in a special appearance u for this song u in the movie.

Looks like Rajinikanth knows u why this kolaveri di! Should I be surprised u?

Please take care u!

Day 340-2011 : Coming soon...Eurogeddon?

2011-12-06T04:45:00.001-08:00

It has been on the slow boil for some time and there is every possibility now, that it might just boil over. The failure of the politicians in Europe combined with the toothless actions of the European Central Bank has ensured that we are probably very close to witnessing the death of the unified currency, Euro. There are however many who still believe that it is simply inconceivable that the Euro might break up, mostly politicians and their side-kicks. Must I remind that the sovereign debt crisis which is at the root of this existential question for the Euro, has already resulted in a few governments being evicted. It is certainly time to seriously take a look at what went wrong and what are the options now.

What went wrong?

One size cannot fit all. One currency with 17 different economies, the fundamentals of every economy being different due to the unique mix of resources that they have. The fiscal and the monetary policies, which drive the management of these resources towards continuous growth and development also did not have any commonality even after the single currency came into effect at the turn of the century. The stronger core countries like Germany and France used the compromised parameters of the new currency to push their exports contributing to actual GDP growth. The other peripherals, namely Greece, Ireland, Spain, etc. bungled fiscally under the false impression of a strong currency and overspent to put themselves on the same growth path as others in the union. The result: Huge globs of sovereign debt, which these countries are finding increasingly difficult to service. The expectation is that the stronger (and richer) countries help pay off the debt of the weaker ones. However, the baker in Frankfurt will now ask his government as to why should he pay for the sins of his 'European' colleague in Athens. At least the governments of the stronger countries fear so. Quite justifiably so.

What are the options?

Businesses world-wide are already making contingency plans and running stress tests on the various possible scenarios. So what are the options? There are numerous permutations possible, however, broadly, there are three:

1) A Partial Breakup: It is widely speculated that this is the most likely scenario which might play out. The withdrawal or expulsion of the peripheral, weaker countries like Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain from the unified currency. For the stronger countries and the advocates of the continued unified currency, this might be their best option. It will however have severe consequences. The change will have to be controlled, failing which this can snowball into a free for all. The weaker countries do not have a choice. They will have to implement severely restrictive austerity measures if they have to continue in the union. They will also have to brace for a severe devaluation of their new currency if they pull-out of the union. It is a choice between the devil and the deep sea. There is the probability of returning to long term sustainable growth, however, to get there these countries will have to make innumerable sacrifices and prepare for the worst, including a run on the entire banking system of the country.

2) Full Euro Breakup: The full blow-up could have major consequences across the globe. It is very obvious that any exposure (by means of a financial or non-financial contract) to the Euro will mean instant impact. The failure of one of the major currencies in the financial markets most certainly will have a domino effect on all asset classes. EU is a major export market for the US as well as many emerging Asian economies like India, Thailand and China. The denomination of the Euro into 17 different new currencies will bring with it the currency risk of severe devaluation / revaluation. This is apart from the logistical challenge of creating (printing, valuing & distributing) a new currency overnight; remember, the member countries had almost a decade to plan for the common unified currency. Clearly, this is the worst case scenario, and it will take down more than the European Union countries with it. Major economies across the world will feel the pinch and may even be driven into a prolonged recession.

3) Do Nothing; Maintain Status Quo: This is what has happened till date. We are living this scenario right now, thanks to the prolonged procrastination of the leaders of the European countries. However, this scenario is clearly not sustainable. The idea of robbing Paul to pay Peter is not sound economics.

Whatever be the outcome of the unique situation that the world finds itself in today, there will be plenty to learn from Europe's expensive experiment with a unified currency. The Afro....and the Asio (?!?), beware!

Take care!

Day 324-2011 : Shame on you, Mumbai!

2011-11-20T04:38:00.001-08:00

On 20 October 2011 Keenan Santos, Reuben Fernandes and a group of their friends, who were standing outside Amboli Kitchen and Bar, at Andheri in Mumbai, were assaulted by a mob. The assault was in retaliation to an altercation between Reuben & Keenan’s friends and a member of the mob, who was drunk and had fallen over one of the girls in the group, earlier. In the fight that followed, Keenan Santos was killed and Reuben Fernandes succumbed to his injuries 13 days later at a hospital in Mumbai.

Sounds like an everyday event in a metro like Mumbai? Maybe, but it raises several important questions about the cultural ethos and the moral fabric of the city. This is a story of how these two bravehearts stood up against the anti-social elements, to fight injustice and for what was right. Something that all of us have been taught since our school days, by teachers and parents alike. This is also a story of a violent attack happening on a busy street of Mumbai, where nobody remembered those morals and values. No one on the bustling street came forward to help the victims, in spite of the girls screaming for help. There was a crowd of bystanders watching what was going on but not a single soul from the crowd had the courage to help the victims.

Much has been said in the past about the much celebrated 'spirit' of Mumbai during various crises such as the flash floods and terror attacks. Where was this 'spirit' of Mumbai when this incident happened? I am sure this was an incident which could have been controlled by such ordinary citizens at that moment, if they had the courage to do so, unlike the floods and the terror attacks. The fact is, there is no such 'spirit'! The fact is that we are all scared. The fact is that the repeated blows to the cultural ethos of the city due to terror attacks and riots have made us all insensitive. Insensitive to anything other than what concerns us. We go about our lives quietly, not interfering in other people's affairs. Do we have the courage to stop it? Next time, if you see a girl being harassed, will we have the courage to act?

Much has also been said in the past about how Mumbai is such a safe place for women and how it is different from say, Delhi. Such a claim, frankly, sounds very hollow to me. When a crowd of people could not stop a bunch of eve-teasers on a busy street in the city that never sleeps, how safe is it? I have repeatedly written about how Mumbai has changed in the last decade for the worse in my posts on this blog and this is just another reminder of the continuing degradation. But the fact is, this could have happened anywhere in the country and Mumbai is no different from any of them. Not any more.

Another interesting fact in the story is that the girls with the victims did try to contact the police using the 100 number, while the boys were fighting off the goons. It is alleged that the call was on 'waiting' and it would take 20 minutes before it could be attended to. Did the police and its delayed response mechanisms contribute to the death of the two men?

This case has been taken up by the media with great gusto, helping the families and friends of the victims to get justice. The accused have been arrested. But the question remains. Will Keenan & Reuben get justice? Only the other day, one heard that Manu Sharma, the convict in the Jessica Lal case has been granted a 5 day parole! What kind of justice is this?

The campaign to support the cause of delivering justice to Keenan & Reuben implores Mumbai to 'wake up'. Will Mumbai wake up?

Take care.

Day 309-2011 : iPad...or just a fad?!?!

2011-11-05T08:45:00.000-07:00

Finally! After many months of thinking about it, many months of talking to Apple devotees and weighing the pros and cons of owning an Apple product and finally, as a tribute to the designing genius of Steve Jobs, I am now the proud (?!?!) owner of an iPad2! Staying true to the ultra conservatism of a 'madraasi maama', I went in for the basic '16GB Wi-Fi only' model. Bought at the spur of a moment (the multi-month deliberations did not help me reach a conclusion), as all my technology buys have been in the past, the iPad, in my first week of ownership, gets a 3 star (***) rating. Apple aficionados might kill me for saying so, but I am hoping I shall get the benefit of doubt as I am still getting up to speed with it. This happens to be my first post using my new toy, so people, you will have to excuse me for any grammatical or formatting errors.

First impressions first. The moment I held the tablet in my hands for the first time, I knew that I am going to love this gadget. It just felt so light and comfortable holding it. Getting started is nice and easy, once you know what to do! Slightly different and cumbersome compared to getting started on a new PC. However, the great thing about iPad is that it is shipped with a fully charged battery! This was so helpful because the product was shipped to me from the U.S. by my cousin. It took me a few days to procure a multiple-pin adaptor to be able charge the device. The size of the screen and even more importantly, the inbuilt keyboard do take some getting used to. The user interface is slick and creates the impression that one is using a product designed with the user and a high benchmark of quality in mind.

Once you are up and running, the next challenge is to figure out how and why would this gadget be useful? For someone who uses a PC to do no more than the three basic tasks of checking emails, accessing social networking sites and posting blog messages, it is very difficult to figure what more value could this device add. Mobility? Yes! However, I will now have to get my Wi-Fi router placed in a more strategic position to be able to use it everywhere in the house. Just more work to adapt to the new gadget. This is not done yet, so the mobility of this 'new kid off the block' is restricted to my study as of now.

I also learnt in some of the conversations that I had with existing owners, that the lure of iPhone and iPad is due to the millions of 'apps' that can be downloaded to the device for various useful purposes, including 'loner' entertainment! Apart from the mandatory social networking apps, I have only been able to reach as far as a dumb 'Drag Racing' game and a 'Parrot' which flaps it's wings whenever I tilt the iPad in any direction. I think it also tries to curse me but, it isn't very clear to me what the content of it might be! Also, I have still not figured out the methodology to uninstall an app if I do not like it. In the due course of time, I am sure I shall be able to discover many more (free) apps which will add value to my digital existence. But till then, I will have to use the trial and error method to get to the apps which I might find useful. I have prodded existing users who were drooling about the gadget and its uses, to help me get up to speed quicker on it. Unsolicited feedback on this topic is quite welcome as well!

This is as far as I could get to in the first week, at the end of which, I am left hoping that the iPad does not turn out to be just a fad!

Take care.

Day 302-2011 : Gym Time!

2011-10-29T08:11:00.000-07:00

The alarm on my mobile phone rings at 6.00 AM. I open my eyes immediately and manhandle my phone in my attempt to press a button...any button! Usually it is the 'snooze' button which gets preference and the cycle repeats itself in another 5 minutes. I have to be careful not to push it, as the lady of the house, is in deep slumber, along with the cubs, and the incessant ringing of the alarm bell might bring her to life! If that happens, meri to khair nahi...

The idea of the entire exercise above is...well....exercise! The goal is to be able to reach the gymnasium, which involves a torturous 300 metres walk, by 6.30 AM. The first thought that comes to my head is, 'Is it Thursday today?', as the gym is closed every Thursday. The next question that I ask myself is, 'Does any part of my body hurt? Ankles, back, etc., etc.?' If so, I surely do not want to aggravate any of it. That done, I quietly try to find out, if by any chance, the boys are awake. If so, I can engage them rather than go to the gym! Once I get through this elaborate validation exercise and find no excuse for not going to the gym, I pack my gym bag and walk those 300 metres to the gym. Getting to the gym is definitely the most difficult part of my exercise regimen, each morning!

I am now a regular at the gym, the regularity gradually increasing over the last few years. But this year, I have spent the most time in the gym compared to any of the previous ones. It probably also has to do with the fact that the place is more than a gym, it is a club. It houses a fully equipped gym, a swimming pool, a steam and a sauna room, a badminton court, a billiards table, a table-tennis table and other assorted board games, including carrom! This is the Raheja Vihar Club House, where I spend an hour, 5 days a week. The 6th day, Sunday, is an extended session of 2 hours.

Back to the morning routine. It is quite interesting, the fact that, throughout my walk to the gym, my workout at the gym and the walk back, I almost always end up seeing the same faces! On the roads, it is the female group who gossip more than they walk, the uncle group whose discussions range from national politics to....society politics, the young couples who seem to enjoy the company more than the walk, the serious runners preparing for the upcoming marathon with all kinds of jazzy gadgets strapped on, the teenager who seems to be barely awake (probably pushed out of the bed by his parents to go and get some exercise) and the pot-bellied uncle who is always on the mobile phone while he walks! In the gym, again, the same faces each day. The frustrated, but narcissistic actor who has a larger ego than his biceps, a middle aged uncle who watches the gym equipment more than using it, a young lady who does the most strenuous routines, the other lady who keeps looking if someone is looking at her, the badminton pro who plays with the men on the court everyday and beats them and a sincere Sardarji who has lost probably more than 10 kgs since I started seeing him in the gym. It looks like we are all a slave to habits and routines.

My routine is a modest one, the aim being to burn 300 calories in 60 minutes. The routine includes 18 minutes on the treadmill with the speed changing incrementally every 2.5 minutes, another 17 - 18 minutes on the elliptical / normal cycle with incremental levels of difficulty and 24-25 minutes of stretches and weights. I tend to change the routine some days and replace the gym workout with 25 laps in the pool. The result till date: About 4 kgs and one waist size lost in the last 3 months, not bad I would say.

Problem is, my BMI says I am still 'slightly overweight' and all that has been lost can be back in no time if I lower my guard! But, I am more than determined not to do so!

This is a battle of will....and it has to be won!

Take care.

Day 301-2011 : Life is like that...

2011-10-28T09:10:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I posted something on this blog. A month and three days to be precise...

A lot has happened in these 33 days. When I published my last post, I was looking forward to celebrating my 37th birthday, which was 5 days hence. I had already decided that the happenings of the day would make a good copy for my next post. However, life has this peculiar knack of deciding its own course and things do not necessarily pan out like one intends them to.

In the last one month, so many things have happened. The economic crisis in Europe has only worsened while Sarkozy now has a daughter from Bruni. Sonia Gandhi is back in the thick of politics after her surgery, probably accelerated even more by the dismal performance of her party in the recent by-elections. The silken voice of Jagjit Singh has been silenced by fate, sparking a brisk sale of his albums across music stores in the country. The designing genius of Steve Jobs is no more, just a few days before I am about to own an Apple product for the first time in my life. The eccentricity of Gaddafi's character has been lost to the global policing of the Americans. Mumbai Indians have won the Champions League, without anyone from Mumbai actually playing in the eleven, India have paid back England in the ODI series in India and the festive spirit has set in and is in full flow since Navratri and Dussera, followed up by Diwali a couple of days ago. Also in the meantime, I have subjected myself to the Annual Health Check, prompting me to be at the gym more often and a cricket team has been formed with work colleagues. I have also been able to visit a couple of friends' places, fulfilling longstanding promises, have picked up a book to read after a break of a couple of months, finished reading it within a week and bought a few more. But perhaps the most profound happening in these last few days has been my visit to a crematorium for the first time in my life!

dance

as though no one is watching you,

love

as though you have never been hurt before,

sing

as though no one can hear you,

live

as though heaven is on earth.

- souza

It is not that I haven't had the time to file a post since the last one; I have just not been able to write. Call it a 'writer's block' or something else, I just haven't been able to write, in spite of some of the regular readers of this blog prodding me for the next post. Someone mentioned that it is probably due to a philosophical concept called Smashana Vairagya, which, when it hits you, reveals the impermanence and insignificance of life very clearly! Probably. I did realise that day, on the eve of my own birthday, when the body was being cremated, that there will not be another opportunity to say goodbye. Strangely, it took some time for that feeling to sink in. I have been told that one gets over the feeling once he gets out of the crematorium and gets going with the duties of this material life. I however think that, maybe it might be useful to carry little bit of that realisation to our day-to-day lives. Nothing is permanent in its physical form and nothing is too significant ultimately.

We might then probably take life a little less seriously. We might then live life to its fullest!

Take care.

Day 268-2011 : Life In The 'Fast' Lane

2011-09-25T06:18:00.000-07:00

I have been feeling exactly like that for the last few weeks. Hours turning into days, days into weeks and weeks into months in a jiffy!

Nevertheless, the one thing that I have noticed in these busy times, is that the phenomenon of 'fasting' is suddenly catching on. All credit to Anna Hazare. The latest on the bandwagon was 'Aapno Na-Mo'. And then it was a case of 'counter-fast', when Shankarsinh Vaghela also started his fast at the Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad at the same time.

First up, the Na-Mo fast. It was very interestingly called The Sadbhavana Mission. Sadbhavana means, prayer for togetherness. Togetherness and Narendra Modi? It just does not sound right. The man who is accused of telling the police forces to let the Hindus vent their anger and not interfere during the Godhra riots is now talking about togetherness. Quite farcical. It was also a 5-star fast! No...no...I am saying that the rules of the fast allowed 5-Stars to be consumed (similar to a Perk advertisement). However, the fast was a unique one, conducted in the fully air-conditioned Gujarat University Convention Hall. Throughout the day, dignitaries from the BJP and other specially 'invited' prayer groups of all religions came to the stage to shake hands with the CM. The entire bureaucracy from the capital, Gandhinagar, had stationed themselves at the hall as well. Hence, practically, no work happened during the 3 days in the government corridors of Gandhinagar. It was also very widely reported in the media that chants of 'Allah-O-Akbar' rented the air at the venue. Now, were they really 'rented'?

The CM was photographed in various head gears offered by the visitors throughout the three days. But, the bluff was called when an Imam offered Na-Mo a skullcap, which Modi politely declined to wear. Boom! So much for 'Sadbhavana'! This looked to me as more of a positioning exercise before the next Assembly elections in Gujarat and the next General Elections in the country. Clearly, the ambitious man that he is, Na-Mo has his eyes set on the national political canvass.

The competing 'counter-fast' did not even get a mention in many sections of the media. I guess, it is very difficult to be a congressman in Gujarat these days. So, I shall also limit my references to it on this post.

Talking of fasts, my mother was with us for the last week. She fasts three times a week! I have been asking her quit, as by now, I argue, all her wishes might have been fulfilled. However, she continues to observe the weekly fasts quite fastidiously! Let me not talk about my various experiments with fasting in the last couple of years. The latest one is to fast for a day of the week, consuming only water and nothing else. I am told it has a very good detoxifying effect. The only thing that I notice it giving me is a severe headache!

In other fast lane happenings, the buzz is on for the first ever F1 race in India and I am slowly revving up my desire to be there. Still have to figure out my schedule and whether it allows me the diversion during this festive season and the busy time of the year. Watch this space for that.

Take care.

Day 253-2011 : Chennai Times

2011-09-10T06:08:00.000-07:00

Last week I was in Chennai for a couple of days, which I guess, is no surprise to anybody who has been reading the copious amounts of status updates that I have been posting on FB, to mark the occasion! I was there to attend the wedding of former colleague and friend (and fellow blogger!) Navin Kumar to Subhatra. Having received the invite more than a month ago, I was determined to be there for the occasion, in spite of the two days in question being working days. In fact, I was looking forward to be in Chennai after more than a year and was excited at the prospect of catching up with old colleagues and friends.

I hopped on to the flight to Chennai last Thursday afternoon. The differences between Chennai and Mumbai, especially the infrastructure, was very stark. The taxi ride to Savera took just 25 minutes! To cover the same distance in Mumbai would have taken more time. The roads seemed to me like an ice-skating rink. After driving on Mumbai roads this was pure pleasure. There were fly-overs to be seen in places where there had been none a year ago! New buildings have come up in record times. The city of Mumbai, which is known for its 'pace of life', is being shamed by this southern metro city with its pace of infrastructure development and execution.

The wedding itself was very well-attended. I attended both the ceremonies; the reception on the eve of the wedding as well as the wedding early next morning. I was also honoured to meet Navin's parents, who I know were looking forward to this event since the last couple of years!

At Navin's reception

I met a lot of friends during both the occasions. It was also interesting to note how different some of them were looking, and how some of them had not changed a bit in the last one and a half years. I was surprisingly at a loss of words when I met some of them. I made at least one mistake remembering a name...a slip of tongue, which probably was construed as me not remembering her name. So embarrassing! And then, in the ensuing panic in my mind, I mixed her up with someone else. Very very embarrassing. Anyway, it was great to meet up with first and foremost, Navin and then all the others, namely, Vijay, Sukumar, Bonny, Dinesh, Karthik, Prem, Prabhu, Sathish, and Alagappan. I met Jayanthi, Vandhana, Hari and Uma the next day morning. It was also wonderful to catch up with Venkat (another fellow blogger!). I was also a bit dissapointed at not being able to meet a couple of others like Chris, Raja and Murali.

In the more than adequate time that I had before my evening flight back, on Friday, I went hunting for Dumka Roat, a previously unknown commodity to me, but a delivcacy which is apparently in great demand amongst my colleagues in Mumbai! I also picked up the mandatory Badusha for the better half. I was trying to arrange a drop to the airport from the hotel (costing Rs.600!), when Sukumar suggested it was possible to go in the local trains as well. So, I travelled for the first time in a Chennai local train from Mambalam to Tirusoolam for a princely sum of Rs.4! Even the local train infrastructure reminded me of how woefully inadequate Mumbai's infrastructure is compared to Chennai. The Tirusoolam station is actually connected physically to the Chennai airport through an underpass; Mumbai still does not have connectivity between its local train network and the airport!

From the calm of Chennai (even the local train ride was very quiet) to the bustling 'visarjan atmosphere' of Mumbai, was quite a change. Diversity, thy name is India!

Take care!

Day 240-2011 : A Pregnant Victory

2011-08-28T06:59:00.000-07:00

It is the flavour of the season and hence has found a place on this blog too.

Anna Hazare and his India Against Corruption movement have just completed round 2 of their battle against the politicians, in and out of power. Anna broke his 288-hours long fast earlier this morning on the back of the Indian parliament passing a resolution yesterday to agree 'in principle', to his 3 key demands on the content of the bill. Thanks to Tata Sky, I haven't been able to track the various developments related to the movement for the last 2 days. I have been depending on the more 'old school' method of consuming news in the last two days, the morning newspapers.

My sense of the the mood that prevails in the country, from what I read in the papers every morning, is one of jubilation. The movement has been projected as the common man's fight against the powerful egalitarian class. There seems to be a sense of achievement and empowerment in people at large, due to the developments of the last few days leading to the Anna breaking his fast this morning. A great victory for democracy!

Or is it?

Earlier last week I found myself debating the pros and cons of the 'Anna Methodology' with a few of my colleagues. I found myself questioning the tactics adopted by the social activist and his team. Mind you, I am all for the cause. I strongly believe that corruption is like termites, eating into the foundations of our social systems and rendering them hollow. And I fully support a movement aimed at making the laws in this country strong to rid us of the scourge of corruption. However, to dictate terms to a democratic institution like the parliament for calling off the fast, to me, is equivalent to blackmail. More importantly, it sets a dangerous precedent in a country like ours. It can result in a free for all. It concerns me. And it should concern you.

There are voices within the core of Team Anna as well who feel the same way. Justice Santosh Hegde has expressed similar views in public and not surprisingly he is no longer part of the core team. I am sure, Justice Hegde, like me, sees an element of populism in the movement. Anna and his team at times appear to be playing to the gallery, a rather large one too! Anna's movement and fasts have been compared to the ones undertaken by Mahatma Gandhi. I think there is a fundamental difference between the two. Mahatma Gandhi never allowed a situation of 'me versus you' to develop when he agitated...the movement and the fasts focused on the causes.

My argument with my colleagues was that in any negotiation it is not advisable to take an extreme stand as a starting point. It gives very little room to manoeuvre to arrive at a 'win-win' solution. Moreover, it results in a loss of face. From my perspective, though the country at large might have forgotten it, Team Anna's main demand when he embarked on the fast was to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill in the parliament before August 30. Anna has not been able to achieve that.

What has been achieved is a 'pregnant victory' which promises more than it delivers. For the sake of the strong democratic traditions of this country, I certainly hope that it finally does deliver.

Take care.

Day 233-2011 : Nature's Bounty

2011-08-21T07:51:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I was in Nashik at my Chitappa's (uncle) place. I spent some time getting acquainted to what my uncle has been working on for some years and now feel compelled to write a post about it. Parvathy Nivas at Date Nagar, very close to the banks of the river Godavari, is a decent sized bungalow in a residential area. However, it is a great example of how one individual can contribute to the green cause and make an impact.

It all started years ago when my uncle, Ramesh Iyer, bought the place and built a bungalow in a part of Nashik which was inhabited by few. The house today, though surrounded by many rows of concrete now, has more greenery than one can imagine. All a result of years of painstaking effort put in by one man and his family who are passionate about nature.

As soon as you step into the gate, there is a remarkable difference in temperature, even evident in a city which anyways has a very pleasant climate for most of the year. If you are expecting to see a perfectly landscaped garden as is the case in most city households / complexes, you will be dissappointed. Instead what catches your attention is the way in which the garden has been allowed to develop naturally. In fact, my uncle says, this is not a garden, it is a jungle.

And it surely has all the interesting elements of a jungle, especially the element of surprise. The first interesting thing that strikes you is the use of waste material in the garden. Coconut shells, broken pipes and plastic bottles have been used to create a vertical, hanging garden. These specimens are found hanging all over in the garden, on the gates and even inside the house! Space isn't a constraint here, however, such hanging gardens are I think, ideal for people who live in flats in cities and have very little space.

Ingenious use of waste materials as a hanging garden

You will be surprised to find a small pond inside the compound. This small pond boasts of not only many types of fishes, but also frogs and turtles. Lotus and lilies grow in pond. The pond is at the base of an artificial waterfall made in the garden. The thick vegetation in the garden is home to, believe it or not, more than 60 species of birds, not captive, but living out of their own will there. There are a couple of bird feeders, which is filled with seeds at all points of time. The house also has nesting boxes for birds!

A Bird Feeder

Nesting boxes for birds

One of the most interesting spectacles that I witnessed on this visit was the Tailor Bird's artistry. The mother had clinically sewn up three leaves, by her beak, in a camouflaged corner of the garden to make a comfortable nest for laying her eggs. The eggs had hatched when we were there and we could see the chicks ensconsed in the comfort of the cotton and cloth cushion made by the mother Tailor bird inside the nest.

The Tailor Bird's Nest

Next up was the kitchen garden, where many fruits and vegetables are grown. Papayas, custard apples, blue berries, coconuts and lemons were all there. All of it is for self consumption or giving away as gifts to guests and relatives.

However, the most interesting part of my uncle's work has been the creation of many terrariums. Terrariums are enclosed ecosystems built on a smaller scale for raising plants, with controls for environmental conditions. He is now an authority on terrariums and hosts and lectures school children on environmental trips regularly in his garden.

Terrarium

Another terrarium - Bottled Beauty

Apart from the various requests from schools and colleges, Ramesh Iyer's work for nature has been recognised in the local circles and he is now invariably a part of any initiative on the environment in the city. Due recognition for all the tireless efforts I would say.

However, the journey has not always been easy. There have been irritants such as neighbours, who objected to the thick growth of vegetation inside the house, complaining about the possibility of insects troubling them! Needless to say, all such complaints by people who have never ever planted a tree in their lives have been dealt with tact and strength of will over the years.

Kudos to this man and his impressive commitment to nature. I hope many more will follow in his footsteps and join him in increasing the fast depleting green cover in our cities!

Take care.

Day 218-2011 : The English Nightmare

2011-08-06T05:31:00.000-07:00

The Indian cricket team has had a pretty cool last year and a half. They haven't lost a series, for the last 11 series, have sat on the top of the world Test rankings throughout the year and in April, won the World Cup as well. Truly, a dream run!

They must be, however, beginning to realise that this dream was only a prelude to what they might call, in a couple of months' time, as the 'English Nightmare'.

The India v/s England series was billed as top draw, a battle between, arguably, the world's two best cricket teams. At stake is the top spot in the world Test rankings. It has however, turned out to be a damp squib. Two tests down, it has been a no contest between a tired, ill-prepared, injury ridden side and a well prepared and disciplned side. The Indian side has been slow on the field and doesn't have a clue on how to handle swing and seam. The only exception has been 'The Wall', excelling at the place where he made his debut about 15 years ago.

England now have an unbeatable 2-0 in the series. So what are the reasons for this disgraceful slump?

The symptoms: No Virender Sehwag, the musical chairs between Yuvraj and Raina, Gambhir injured and to top all of that, the main strike bowler, Zaheer Khan out with a hamstring injury after bowling a few overs in the first test.

For once, I would not blame the cricketers at all. Clearly, we do not seem to be taking good care of our cricket team! The BCCI has been greedy and these are all the symptoms of that. The schedule of the Indian team is jam-packed; the idea being to milk it more! The World Cup followed by the long and hectic IPL followed by the West Indian series and then the current England series. Those who have been part of all of this, should be exhausted by now! We run the risk of pushing some of our talented cricketers to the brink of burnouts. Is BCCI killing the hen which lays the golden egg?

On the other hand, the English team look to be very well prepared. It is probably the strongest ever English team that I have seen in the last few decades. They seem to have sorted out their ego issues (especially prima donna KP!) and the captaincy capers. Strauss has led well. They have planned the downfall of each and every Indian batsmen meticulously. Their batting line up is solid! And most importantly they look hungry and want to be the best team in the world.

As I watched the two test matches on the telly, it was very evident that I have been watching the world's number one Test team. But it certainly wasn't India.

Take care.

Day 205-2011 : Belly Churners!

2011-07-24T11:33:00.000-07:00

100 crores! That is the amount the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has earmarked for filling up potholes on Mumbai roads this year. It is now that time of the year...monsoon, when the first few showers seem to be washing away the roads. And Mumbai roads become...belly churners!

Belly churners because that is exactly the effect that these roads have on those who have the misfortune of driving through them. Apart from causing your heart to skip a beat or two these roads can give your innards a good workout too! The roads begin to resemble like the surface of the moon, with craters of various sizes and shapes all over the place. One feels the brunt of it, especially if you drive a low slung vehicle like I do. People tell me the trick is not to look out for the potholes but to lookout for any good patches of road still intact and get the car to hop, skip and jump around them! In spite of following that advise, the chassis of my car has numerous intimate moments with the potholes these days. Such encounters tend to not only impact the car, but also are a bit heavy on my heart, if you know what I mean.

So, why do we have these belly churners every monsoon. 100 crores sounds to be a big enough amount to me to ensure that there are no potholes. I think the answer lies somewhere else. Somebody in the system is not doing their job / well enough. The news items on potholes on the recently inaugurated Lalbaug and Barfiwala (Andheri) flyovers have done little for the image of the city's infrastructure. But I am sure Mumbaikars wouldn't have been surprised by these developments. Someone is certainly not doing their job well. I am told that every new road built by a civic road contractor has a guarantee period. I would be very interested in knowing how many times has BMC invoked this guarantee clause against the contractors.

There is also talk of a powerful cartel of civic road contractors, lobbying to keep the situation as it is, so that they can exploit it for their vested interests. Potholes then become pots of gold for these people. For example the carboncor technology is proven to be a long-lasting solution for Mumbai roads. However this cartel has lobbied and ensured that the use of this technology remains optional for road contractors who take up the job of filling these potholes. Most of them use bitumen which gets washed away with the first spell of rains, thus giving the opportunity to these contractors for repeatedly fill these potholes and keep submitting fat bills for doing so. This, in spite of a Bombay High Court order and a recommendation by a Statutory Technical Advisory Committee to use the carboncor technology.

The suffering for the common man only increases. Mumbai traffic, rains and the resultant potholes can (and does, on a daily basis) cause mayhem on the roads. A colleague of mine had to drive for 3 hours to get to work from Andheri (W) to Andheri (E)! I hope someone sane in the civic administration does something about this. The best solution is to privatise and make service providers directly accountable for the quality of the roads. But that is a long way away.....till then I guess I will just have to bear with running into one pothole to the other, every time I drive.

The other 'belly churner' was the movie that I watched this week, Delhi Belly. In more ways than one. But a more detailed review of that in the next post maybe.

Till then...take care!

Day 198-2011 : Bomb Blasts! Hmmm...OK.

2011-07-17T04:06:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

It was around 7.15 in the evening. I was at work, in the closing stages of a hour long conference call. I receive a message on my Office Communicator from a colleague, which says..'3 bomb blasts in Mumbai'. I respond, 'OK'.

The conference call gets over. My immediate response is to try and 'google' what is happening out there. However, I am in a series of back-to-back meetings with my staff and people overseas for the next one hour and hence cannot find out more. In the next 30 minutes, while I am in the midst of a staff meeting, I receive 4-5 text messages (not phone calls...!) on my phone enquiring if I was safe. I also see a missed call from Mom. During the next conference call with people overseas, my multi-tasking self casually 'googles' the web for news on the blast. 3 bomb blasts in Dadar, Opera House and Zaveri Bazaar; 17 injured, I read. I think, 'Looks like a small blast'. I also try to watch the reactions of my colleagues from glass wall of my cabin. There seems to be flutter on the floor and people look a bit nervous. A couple of them are worried about their near and dear ones, as they were supposed to be in the vicinity of the areas where the bomb blasts have occurred. After a few minutes, everyone looks normal and is back to work.

The series of meetings and conference calls finally gets over. I answer a few curious questions about the blasts from my overseas colleagues and assure them that all is well. News travels fast these days. I simply refresh the the 'Google Search Results' page. It now tells me: '....8 dead, 70 injured.' I call Priya and find out that she knows nothing about what is happening in the outside world, being with the kids at home. I ask her to switch on the news channels and keep me informed of all that she gets to know. I call back my Mom and assure her of my safety. I am still not done for the day, so I continue working for sometime in the office, which includes impromptu discussions with my team and some of my peers about the blasts. It has in the meantime also been determined that all staff in my team are safe. Those who were supposed to be travelling to work are already in the office premises, those who had left for their homes a few hours ago, had safely reached their homes. I try to tell one of my peers that we should be worrying about staffing for the next day. My apprehensions are brushed off, 'Kuch nahi hoga...jo hona tha aaj ho gaya. Kal sab normal hoga!' I hear that the office transport has started plying the buses and the cars again after temporarily stopping it for an hour or so, 'as there were no more news of any more blasts in the city.' I pack up for the day and walk down to the parking lot. On my way, I call a couple of relatives in Mumbai to find out if they are safe. They are. One of my cousins reports hearing the sound of the Dadar blast, while on her way to the temple.

I reach home to find Priya watching her favorite soap. She informs me that she switched to the soap only a few moments back as she was getting bored of the same news and video clips being broadcast by the news channels repeatedly, in loop. I switch on the news channels while having food. '15 killed; 102 injured', the newsflash announces. The news reporters are shown urging eye witnesses to narrate what happened, some have even recorded videos of gruesome scenes just moments after the blasts. The scavenging reporters take great delight in being able to show these 'exclusive' clips. I get fed up, get a sick feeling, put off the television and go to bed.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

I get the newspapers and am staring at a bold 'AGAIN' on the front page. The next few pages are all describing the details of the blasts. I do not have the patience nor the inclination to read the reams of pages describing the blasts from everyone's perspective; the Mumbai Commissioner of Police to the beggar on the street. I call office to check if everyone's reported to work. Everyone has. I get ready for work and on my way, see that traffic was as normal as it is on other days. I am told there would be extra vigilance and security measures on the roads and at my work premises. I find no difference. The security guard at the main gate, as usual, checks for a bomb in my car's boot (as if that is the only place where one could hide it..!) and lets me go. I reach my desk and see everything is business as usual.

Do you feel angry and frustrated reading the sequence of events above? As is evident from the narration above, most Mumbaikars don't. Apart from the people who are directly impacted by the explosions, nobody else seems to be feeling the pain and no one seems to care. Is there a sense of vulnerability in the people of the city due to the repeated strikes by terrorists over the last few years? The answer is, no. It seems to me that fatalism has taken over.

Is this the famous 'resilience' of the city at play? The answer is again, no. This is how 'numbed minds' react. Numbed by the audacity of the extremists at being able to strike almost at will, in the choicest of places. Numbed by the continuing inaction and a lack of will, from the polity leading to such strikes. Numbed by the sheer helplessness and lack of preparation of a police force, paralyzed by corruption and procrastination. Numbed by the senseless exploitation of such incidents by the media.

The hundreds of crores invested in intelligence and equipment is obviously of no use. Perhaps, this is the most effective way to prevent these terrorists from doing mindless acts of terror like this. The terrorist might just decide that there is no point orchestrating such acts, as the common man seems to be numbingly indifferent to it.

Take care.

Day 191-2011 : Investors On Strike!?

2011-07-10T05:36:00.000-07:00

This was how an extremely articulate business leader described the current state of global financial markets a couple of weeks ago. The BSE Sensex has fallen to a little less than 18900 from the highs of around 21000 six months ago! This downward trend is seen in other major markets in the world. Gold prices have appreciated exponentially and crude is again closing in on the $100 mark. Countries in Europe are struggling to stay afloat. Greece almost defaulted.

So what is happening? The answer is: Exactly what was happening a year ago! The PIIGS (the group of European countries namely Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece & Spain) were in trouble exactly a year ago, when they were about to run out of cash and the IMF and some of the other eurozone countries bailed them out. These countries are again out on the streets with the begging bowl...at least Greece is, and I am assuming Portugal will soon follow. The austerity measures and structural reforms agreed by these very countries have not worked and have in fact been huge flops. Instead of uniting the entire country in these times of crisis, the austerity measures have been a subject for heated debate and, specifically in Greece, public unrest. Pro-austerity pundits believe the policy makers have not gone far enough for them to work, and the other side of the argument is that the austerity measures have in fact worsened the sovereign credit crisis.

The future of Euro as a currency is in question again as it is very clear that the inability of these countries to control their currency is one of the reasons for the crisis. The United Kingdom, though impacted by the latest crisis, must be standing in the sidelines with a smirk on its face. The fact that it did not join the Euro, is seen as the prime reason that it is not in a bad shape compared to others like Ireland.

Interestingly, everyone fears that the response of the market participants to the latest crisis is going to be very similar to that of 2008. Everyone tries to de-risk, hold tight and clams up, thus causing liquidity issues in the financial system. Investors on strike! The declining volume trends of trades executed in the exchange-traded as well as the OTC markets over the last few weeks are very good indicators of what is in store next. Is it going to be 2008 revisited? A couple of key indicators are definitely different this time compared to 2008. Unemployment rates as well as the level of public debt of major world economies, are both higher this time, thus reducing the ability of the global economy to absorb systemic shocks like a sovereign debt default or a banking system collapse.

Hence, my view is that the world at large cannot afford a policy mistake like the Lehman bankruptcy this time around. Sovereign policy makers as well as key corporate functionaries in today's interconnected financial system, will need to respond in a co-ordinated manner, to understand and control this emerging challenge. There is far too much at stake...as everyone knows.

Take care!

Day 184-2011 : Paradise on Earth - Final Part

2011-07-03T04:33:00.000-07:00

I have finally reached the end of my boring travelogue on our trip to Kashmir. Blogging is a time consuming hobby, so please bear with me.

The only agenda on the final day was for the whole group to fly back to their homes. As we left the hotel everyone had mixed feelings. On the one hand, the relief of going back to familiar environments was evident, but, on the other hand, people were surprised at how quickly the last 6 days passed. We made new friends, which is a big plus for group tours, and everyone was promising everyone else that they would be staying in touch.

There were worries that we could meet heavy traffic on our way to the airport as the J&K capital was being shifted that day from Jammu to Srinagar! We were told that if we did meet those government convoys carrying the entire officialdom (people & paper), it could take hours to get out of the jams. Thankfully, the drive from the hotel to the airport was a short one.

I have to however, mention an interesting fact, as it was a first for me. As we approached the airport, our vehicle was stopped at a security gate about 1 KM from the airport. The procedure was to screen all the baggage at this distance and then load it back into the vehicles to travel the rest of the distance to the airport. In all, there were three rings of security layers by the time we reached the check-in counter.

After going through all of that we finally boarded the flight. We did not have to change flights this time and were back in Mumbai after 2 stops (Jammu & Delhi). Tired and not looking forward to getting back to the daily routine.

All of us, especially the kids and me were now sporting a tan (see picture above)! We also had cold rashes on our faces due to the extended exposure to the cold and dry weather. They are all now gone, but it did take quite a few days for people to stop commenting on my 'looking like a red tomato' look!

While I have been writing this travelogue over the last few weeks, the global economy has again started showing signs of stalling. Countries are being described as 'group of PIIGS'. At least I have done my bit for the economy by burning a huge hole in my pocket for this trip. Is it however, going to be 2008 revisited? Watch this space.

Take care!

Day 176-2011 : Paradise On Earth - Part 6

2011-06-25T11:31:00.000-07:00

Sonamarg! That was our destination on this, the penultimate day of our wonderful holiday. We kicked off our day trip just after breakfast. It was a 2 hour drive to Sonamarg from Srinagar. We did stop on the way at Kangan for something that we had by now got addicted to - Kahwah!

The landscape en route to Sonamarg are simply breathtaking! Tall snow-capped mountains sometimes lined with pine trees and sometimes just brown and barren were simply a sight to watch. We also stopped briefly to take in the beauty of the surroundings. Of course, we also couldn't resist a good snow ball fight! Priya and the kids on one side and me, fighting a three pronged attack valiantly, on the other side.

Finally we reached Sonamarg. The mountains were all covered with snow. There were many tourists (and their vehicles) at the site. We immediately embarked on an 'expedition' to trek our way up the hills. No sooner had we started off, we were surrounded by men offering their services to accompany us to the top along with their sledges. Our short walk and the rarefied thin air made us realise that we would need them. Especially with the two kids. So we hired them. I thought we hired two of them, but realised that four of them were walking alongside us within a few moments. The expedition party was becoming bigger. We used the sledges, the men pulling them on our climb up the mountains. The kids were loving it and so was Priya. I climbed for most part of our journey, as the guy was finding it really difficult to climb while pulling my sledge. We reached the top and the sight was amazing!

We then had to make the mandatory snowman, of course! We did that and then started our descent. The plan was to use the sledges on our way down. Considering that it was quite steep, it was indeed a bit scary. But it took us a fraction of the time to slide down the slopes compared to the time it took for our laboured climb up! After a bit of haggling, the 'sherpas' were paid off. I however realised, after speaking to others, that we paid about four times of what some of the others paid for the same services. Looked like we had been taken for a ride by the locals...literally and figuratively as well! But I do not mind it. For us it is a once in a lifetime experience; for the locals it was only one of the few ways they could earn their livelihoods in a terrain like this.

After a very tasty lunch, at probably the only hotel in sight, we started our drive back to Srinagar. Once we reached Srinagar, the ladies were all in a frenzy keen to do some shopping. The men folk weren't interested. So it was decided that the men would retreat to the hotel after dropping the women at the main market for the shopping. After the shopping the women would join them at the hotel. Priya was back in a couple of hours, just in time for dinner. However, she seemed worried. Two out of the four women had got lost in the crowded market and had not yet reached the hotel. Moreover, Priya narrated an incident which she witnessed in the market. A government vehicle which was towing away illegally parked vehicles in Srinagar's main market area was attacked by a stone-pelting mob. She was, very justifiably so, very frightened.

The busy day however took its toll and after dinner, we had a good night's sleep. I must say, the hotel was very comfortable as well, compared to the one that we were in at Gulmarg.

My dream holiday had almost come to an end. All that was left of it was the flight back to Mumbai the next day.

Take care!

Day 163-2011 : Paradise On Earth - Part 5

2011-06-12T09:20:00.000-07:00

It is amazing that even after a month and a half since we came back from Kashmir, I am still able to recall the smallest of details of the trip.

So here we were on Day 5. The agenda was to get out of Gulmarg and drive down to Srinagar. Actually a lot of people who were with us in the group were quite happy (and relieved) to check out of the hotel! We made a couple of stops on our way. The first was at Tangmarg, after descending from the hills of Gulmarg, to return the rented warm clothes! Priyanksh had lost a gum boot the previous day, somewhere between getting off the Gondola at Kongdoori and boarding it again on our way back. After paying for that we were on our way to Srinagar.

Just before we entered Srinagar, the convoy stopped at an emporium. It was quite a big one, with almost everything that anyone would want to buy as a tourist from Kashmir! The moment I saw it, I knew that this was going to be our first major touristy spend on the trip. After an hour of frantic shopping, Priya looked satisfied that gifts for everyone had now been bought. My spend control tactics helped and thankfully it was not a very large sum that I was looking at, at the end of the adventure!

We reached Srinagar and checked into the hotel after the shopping. After a good lunch, we were off to see the sights of Srinagar city! The first stop was the Shankaracharya temple on top of the Gopadari hill. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is said to be one of the oldest shrines in the city. Priyanksh had dozed off in the vehicle on our way to the temple. Hence I offered to baby-sit him while Priya and Suryanksh went to the temple. This was the first time in the 5 days that we were in Kashmir, where the security environment became a bit obvious. The temple is a heavily guarded monument. All of us had to get down from the vehicle at the bottom of the hill itself, for the BSF to sanitise it, before we continued our journey to the temple atop the hill. Even within the temple none of our modern day gadgets were allowed. Even cameras were banned.

After the temple, it was the turn of the gardens. Srinagar is a city of gardens and shrines. Up next were short visits to the three main Mughal Gardens in Srinagar. The Nishat Bagh, Chashm-e-Shahi Bagh and the Shalimar Bagh were beautiful. They are well maintained by the government agencies and are a treat to watch. Nothing spectacular, but neat and clean. Being a holiday, all the gardens were choc-a-block with visitors on that day.

Also, after we visited all three of them, it dawned on me that Mughal Gardens are all step gardens, with common architectural themes.

It was now quite late in the evening and we were all tired and very keen to get to the hotel to call it a day. Not the ladies though. The ladies in the group were planning on some additional shopping in the city area of Srinagar. We stopped at another emporium for another round of shopping. But as soon as we entered the place, I knew that this was a place, not to be in. Everything was priced very high, with no value for money. It took us exactly 5 minutes to get out of the place. We men, very tactfully I must say, convinced the womenfolk that shopping on the next day, which was a Sunday, might be a better idea. Mission accomplished, we were back in the hotel and looking forward to a good night's sleep. Next up was the final leg of this wonderful trip...Sonmarg!

Take care!

Day 149-2011 : Paradise On Earth - Part 4

2011-05-29T05:28:00.000-07:00

Day 4 was to be an early start, as we had to drive from Pahalgam to Gulmarg. After an early breakfast, we boarded our vehicle (a TATA Winger) for a 5 hour drive! The early rising part is what Priya hated about this day. She could not understand why would anyone want to rise as early as 6 AM on a vacation trip. Actually, even on a normal day, 6 AM is a bit too early for her. She obviously loves her nine winks! However, the promise of our first view of real snow (not ice) and possible snowfall, was good enough for her to sacrifice her sleep.

Pahalgam to Gulmarg was an uneventful drive, except for the fact that we stopped for refreshments on the way, at a cricket bat manufacturing factory. By now, refreshments for us meant Kahwah! Kahwah is a traditional green tea recipe made in the Kashmir Valley, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other places in Central Asia. And it is wonderful, full of various herbs and dry fruits; very refreshing! The bat factory was basically a place where logs of walnut trees were being cut into bat size logs. These were then stacked together for further processing to be chiseled as the bats that we see cricketers playing with. Seeing and holding a 'Mongoose' for the first time, I just could not resist buying it. Good willow, I hope I get to use it some time soon! Not to be left behind, Suryanksh got one for himself too.

Father & son with the new acquisition - a Mongoose!

We touched the outskirts of Srinagar, on our way from Pahalgam to Gulmarg. Before climbing the 'ghats' of Gulmarg, we stopped at Tangmarg, to hire / buy woollens for everyone to cope with the snow on top of the mountains in Gulmarg. After checking in to the hotel in Gulmarg and having lunch, we were off on our mission to experience the beauty of Gulmarg. Gulmarg is, by the way, in Baramula district in Kashmir and is very close to the Line of Control (LOC) between India & Pakistan. We had to take the Gondola ride to get to the snow-clad slopes of Gulmarg. The Gondola ride itself was very interesting. It is the highest cable car in the world, reaching 3950 metres. We stopped at Kongdoori station, where the Phase 1 of the Gondola ends. Phase 2 of the Gondola takes you to the top of the Kongdoori mountain. It had begun to rain when we were in the Gondola. When we reached Kongdoori, the sight in front of us was breathtakingly beautiful; well worth the early start, Priya confirmed!

As if on cue, as soon as we reached the snow-clad slopes, it started snowing, something we had hoped for when we decided to come to Kashmir. Gulmarg offers one of the longest and highest ski slopes in Asia. Yours truly tried his hand with the skis and so did Suryanksh. Myself and Suryanksh had a great time playing with the snow and making yet another 'bonsai' snowman! Priyanksh was too tired for the fun and games and hence slept off! Priya was of course, left holding the baby, literally!

After having a great time in the snow, we had to rush to take the Gondola ride back to the base and reach our hotel in time. By now the rain was pouring really hard and reaching the warmth of our hotel was a relief. Now, I have to mention here, the real struggle for resources, in hill stations like Gulmarg, to run our day-to-day lives, some of which we take it for granted in the cities that we live in. It was freezing cold in Gulmarg, the water in the pipes was just short of becoming ice and guess what, the boilers to heat the water in the hotel could not work because there was no electricity supply. The hotel was surviving on just one generator. Usage of water was ruled out for the kids. Moreover, most of the other things in the hotel also did not seem to work, right from the bulbs (which they replaced) to the television (which they couldn't)! Thankfully, we were here only for the night and the gas heaters were great! But, hats off to the locals, who actually live in such difficult circumstances.

After a good dinner, and an impromptu birthday party (for one of the kids in the group) in the dining hall, we were lulled into deep sleep by the warmth of the gas heaters! Another day ended, actually zipped through. And we had only a few more to look forward to. More about them in the next post.

Take care.

Day 142-2011 : Paradise On Earth - Part 3

2011-05-22T07:22:00.000-07:00

Day 3 in Kashmir and we find ourselves in Pahalgam. Pahalgam is one of the most beautiful places in Kashmir. The scenery, when I woke up in the morning and looked out of the window of my hotel room, was amazing. The rising sun was shining bright on the snow lying on the mountains...radiant!

After breakfast, we headed out to a place called Chandanwari. We did not know what to expect, but when we reached there, we realised that we are going to meet snow, point blank range for the first time. It was a steep climb made a little dangerous by some of the snow slowly turning into ice. And guess what, we made our first snowman here! Now, making a snowman is not as easy a task as it sounds, especially without any gloves. The palms of our hands started freezing after the first few scoops of the snow. However, we finally managed to erect something that might resemble an emaciated and gaunt snowman! Suryanksh was mighty upset (which is seen in the picture below) that we did not carry a carrot for making the snowman's nose, in spite of him telling us that repeatedly for the past one month! Small twigs would have to do for the nose as of now!

We came down in a sledge when descending the slopes. It is a bit scary (given that these are hand-made wooden sledges) but also an exhilarating experience. It took us exactly a minute to slide down the slopes which we had climbed in about forty minutes.

On our way back to the hotel, we visited the Betaab Valley, christened so because the Sunny Deol - Amrita Singh starrer, Betaab, was shot on location here. Again, more beautiful landscapes. The locals have tried to maintain the landscape as it was in the film.

I have been asked to also describe my interactions with the local Kashmiris. To be honest, for the first few days, I held back myself from picking their brains, just to test the waters. Only after being comfortable of the fact that Kashmiris are not necessarily hostile to their countrymen who do not happen to be Kashmiris, did I open up. The people were extremely friendly and helpful! Kashmiris respect tourists, because their livelihood depends on tourists, at least for a vast majority of them. There is acceptance of this fact peace brings prosperity. I spoke to a shop keeper, who was very happy that the situation in the last five months has been relatively peaceful thus allowing the tourism industry to function. Priya went to buy Rajma (imagine buying Rajma from Kashmir for taking it to Mumbai!!!!) in a grocer's shop near our hotel in Srinagar and the shopkeeper, after learning that she is a tourist from Mumbai, offered her tea and insisted that she have it! It is a place where tourism drives a lot of things and there is no tourism for 5-6 months when it is snowing. I was told that they lock themselves up in those 6 months in their homes and do nothing. Hence the window to earn for their livelihood is drastically reduced. It is ironical that in such a beautiful place, the people live a very hard and difficult life. One or two of them though, from the younger lot, did come across as someone who considered themselves different from Indians, especially when they were negotiating for money!

After lunch and the mandatory afternoon nap that my better half has to have, we went for a visit to Aru Valley. The drive to Aru Valley is so jaw-droppingly picturesque, I was spell-bound by the landscape. It was a very narrow pathway and in fading light, especially while coming back, the driver of our Maruti Omni showed great driving skills! I was impressed.

Another day had gone by. As I was dozing off after dinner, I couldn't help but think that I had not bargained to be presented with such wonders of nature when I decided to come to Kashmir. Little did I know that there was more to come.

Take care.

Day 137-2011 : Paradise On Earth - Part 2

2011-05-16T02:37:00.000-07:00

Day 2 of our trip to Kashmir. We checked out of the house boat to take our transportation for Pahalgam. Unfortunately it was a very long wait on the banks of the Dal Lake in some very hot weather for our vehicle to arrive. I am told it did arrive but was towed away by the J&K Police for parking besides the Dal. After a long with it did arrive and we were off to Pahalgam.

As soon as we got out of Srinagar, the first thing that struck us was the landscape! Amazing, picture perfect, fit for a post card etc. were the adjectives being used. The long drive was interrupted a couple of times by barricades manned by village locals and J&K Police to check all the vehicles passing through that route. One of those stops was very close by to an apple orchard! Rows and rows of apple trees...but, unfortunately, no apples yet on the trees. We also stopped half way through at Avantipora to visit the Avantiswamin Temple. It is a heritage site maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. After another drive through picturesque fields growing mustard, glaciers carrying melted snow from the top of the mountains and beautiful snow-capped mountains framing them, we reached Pahalgam.

After lunch and a quick nap, we decided to go for a mountain trek on ponies to a place called 'Switzerland Point' known for its breathtaking beauty. Though it was a good bright day and the sun was not expected to set before 8 PM, I knew we had started late for the trek (6PM). We could see only people coming from the opposite direction and that confirmed my fears that we had started a bit later than normal. After some normal pony riding, we reached a terrain where the ponies were now actually managing a steep climb with their slender legs, at a brisk pace! It was exciting and dangerous as well, given that neither me nor Priya know anything about horse riding. Of course we had a couple of men guiding the ponies through the steep climb, but you never know when the pony is going to decide 'enough is enough'!

We reached Switzerland Point in fading light, but it was well worth it! Fantastic scenery and landscape, right out of Yash Raj Films movies. After spending some time there we began our descent on the ponies. The descent, it was turning out, was even more dangerous than the climb. Add to that the fading light, and we had enough to worry about. Suddenly, the pony on which Priya and Suryanksh were on, missed a step and buckled under the imbalance of its riders. Priya and Suryanksh fell down from the pony. Thankfully, there were no injuries but the fall did scare us all. After this most of the steep terrain was traversed on foot by Priya and me in complete darkness. Once we were on flat terrain, we resumed the pony ride and reached the hotel by about 8.30 PM.

Speaking of the hotel, I thought it was a wonderful hotel for a far-flung place like Pahalgam. It is called Paradise Inn and looks like it has been built very recently. After the dinner, we just wanted to hit the bed after a long day! The next day promised to bring us to the sights and sounds of some of the nearby places of tourist interest in Pahalgam. More about them in the next post.

Take care.

Day 127-2011 : Paradise On Earth - Part 1

2011-05-06T06:04:00.000-07:00

It has now been four days since I came back from Kashmir. I still cannot get over the dazzling beauty of the place; I guess, I never will.

This is the story of my holiday trip to Kashmir. Like any story, a good build-up helps. So here goes.

It was a very late decision to take a holiday. Myself and Priya had been mulling over where to go to, for quite some time. One thing was certain: After 5 years of not taking any holidays, we were determined to take time off and travel to some place. We felt confident that the kids were now big enough to take the risk! Finally, we decided that given the time constraints and two sub-five kids, booking a domestic holiday package was the best option. As to where to go to, we decided to start right at the top. Kashmir!

The preparations began a week ahead of the departure date. All the pre-trip shopping for the mandatory stuff to carry along was, to say the least, painful! Finally, we are all set.

The itinerary was a shocker! We learnt that we had to endure a five hour plane ride, departing at 6 AM (with 2 stops!) to get to Srinagar. We got there on time though, after the two stops at Delhi and Jammu. It was hot (dry heat) in Srinagar, when we landed. Our first stop was a house boat on the famous Dal Lake. A thirty minute drive to the Dal and a minute ride on a Shikara took us to our house boat; HB Young Light.

Now a house boat, if you have ever been to one, is an interesting place to stay. It has an external sitting area, a common drawing room and a clutch of rooms (very similar to a hotel room) for guests to stay. The number of rooms in a house boat depends on how big the house boat is. The largest house boat, I was told, on the Dal was a 7-room house boat. Ours was a 3 room one. A comfortable contraption, it has all the amenities that a normal hotel room might have. The fact that it is in the lake, takes some time to get used to. One has to be very careful, especially if you have small kids, as you might actually step into the lake if you do not mind where your foot is! Another irritant is the swarm of insects (harmless mosquitoes, we were told). You need to cover yourself and use insect repellent creams. One might also feel a bit claustrophobic in a house boat, but it is a great place to stay for a couple of days for city-slickers like us.

HB Young Light: The Common Room

I had been warned that the people in Kashmir might not be very welcoming. I was happy that this was not the case. The people are great! The owner of the house boat, Muhammedbhai, insisted that we consider the house boat as our own home and give him a shout at any time of the day, if we need anything at all. The owners of the house boats generally live at the back of the house boat itself. Notwithstanding the earlier warning about Kashmiris not being hospitable, I think the people of Kashmir are realising that tourism is their lifeline. Of course, in the evening, the owner produced multiple relatives who were selling one or the other thing. Clothes, saffron & other herbs, handicrafts, etc. The hard-sell was a great 'put-off' for me. But, it was their livelihood.

The evening was spent rowing about in a Shikara all over the Dal Lake. The Dal is one of the biggest lake that I have seen, next only to maybe, Loch Ness in the Highlands in Scotland. Over a lakh households actually live on the lake! The Dal has an economy and a community of its own. It is huge! I was amazed to see the little causeways in the lake which led to the different parts of it. Everything is available on the lake. Right from grocery shops, mobile photo studios (on Shikaras!) and handicraft unit to private farms on which vegetables are grown. There are floating gardens on it too. The Dal is infested by wild growth of weeds all over. A huge investment has been made to continuously dredge the lake to take these weeds out which inhibit the proper functioning of this large aquatic body. The Dal Lake really impressed me! The views of the surrounding mountain ranges and the house boats, from a Shikara are spectacular.

We did stop by the Nehru Park and a couple of shops on the lake. Also, we did a mobile photo shoot (a first for me) in a Shikara wearing traditional Kashmiri costumes, the prints of which were delivered promptly in the evening.

Thus our first day in Kashmir ended on the Dal Lake. I did have a good night's sleep in the house boat. However, when you spend hours together in a Shikara, you get the gentle swaying sensation of a boat even when lying flat on your bed! It feels like you are sleeping in a 'thottal', if you know what I mean.

Next morning, we were to drive to Pahalgam, a 5 hour drive! The next post will be all about Pahalgam and its surrounding places.

Till then...take care!

Day 116-2011 : A Locha Called IPL..

2011-04-25T07:22:00.000-07:00

We definitely need Lalit Modi back! At least the IPL does.

Just a couple of weeks ago, in the euphoria of the World Cup win, I was actually looking forward to the IPL. A lot of friends said it is overkill; an overdose of cricket. I somehow was actually not feeling that way and was looking forward to more cricket. The World Cup win probably making me want more.

A fortnight into the competition and I am not so sure anymore. With ten teams and a competition that runs for more than 1.5 months, this tournament is going to take some viewing. And the format is convoluted too. I just cannot understand it. With every team playing every other day, it is beginning to get a bit confusing. Forget about the matches, following the points table is getting to be difficult. Add to this the player changes this season. It took some time for me to figure out who is playing for which franchisee. And I am not sure, I still know of all the changes. A Gambhir playing for Kolkata, Yuvraj for Pune and Dravid for Rajasthan! Two new teams, Pune and Kochi, which by the way, has its own identity crisis to figure out, of being a team from Kerala or Gujarat! I am now really feeling 'cricket fatigued'.

So two new teams. What else is new? Cheer leaders...of a different kind! Fully clothed cheer leaders in traditional Indian costumes are doing duty for the Pune Warriors. I am not sure if that is going down well; with the crowds as well as the ladies themselves! Imagine dancing in the sun fully decked up! The SET MAX hosts have a couple of new inclusions as well, one of them actually trying to do a Mandira Bedi with noodle straps and a strategically placed 'Pallu'.

Notwithstanding all of this however, there have been a couple of great performances this season. Paul Valthaty...(who!?!?!) has emerged as the King for the Kings XI Punjab team. The knock he played against the Chennai Super Kings was tremendous. No wonder Greg Chappell has been talking of the Indian bench strength. Sachin's first T20 century was a knock to savour as well, especially because it showed that he is still learning and evolving. Yes, he played some helicopter shots aka Dhoni with equal effect!

Though I am not inclined to follow each and every match, my favourite teams this season are the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings. At the start of the tournament, I expected them to play the finals. Currently, one of them is at the top of the points table and the other at the bottom. Now that I have shifted base to Mumbai, my loyalties have now shifted to the Mumbai Indians! Of course, having a strong team helps too! I am rooting for them to win this season. But there are still a whole load of matches to be played before we reach the finals...we will just have to endure them.

By the way, tomorrow me and the family go away to Kashmir for a week's vacation. Now, you know what to expect in the next post then!

Take care!

Day 113-2011 : There Is Hope!

2011-04-22T12:19:00.000-07:00

What's he got that I ain't got!?!?!? The answer to this, these days, could well be : An 'Anna' cap! Wearing an 'Anna Hazare' cap is the latest 'cool' thing all over the place.

The Anna Hazare Cap - Hep!

Trendy!

It has been fascinating to watch Anna Hazare and his group of crusaders orchestrate the campaign against corruption over the last few weeks. The first time I heard about the campaign was...on Facebook, on Meera Sanyal's wall! I had, at that moment, no idea of how big this will become. This was 'Gandhigiri' revisited!

The core elements were the same as the original methodology. A lone man, frail and old, using non-violence and fasting as a means to protest against the wrong-doings of all the bad men. Anna was protesting against the political class' incestuous attempt to rig the drafting of the Lokpal Bill, which would in effect give immunity to them. The nation exploded in spontaneous anger. Demonstrations and protest marches and meetings were held in multiple cities across the country to support the movement.

In many senses, this was 'Gandhigiri', 21st century style. The campaign was all over the internet. Social networking was leveraged wonderfully! The team also came up with a novel way of enlisting support, by making a missed call! It looked like the politicos had grossly underestimated the enduring power of Satyagraha remixed with lightning speed communication. The government finally gave in to all the demands of the protesters, the main one being the inclusion of civil society in the committee which is drafting the Jan Lokpal Bill.

The real battle, however, begins now. The political class, which was taken aback by the spontaneity of the campaign, is slowly regrouping and trying to hit back. Almost every day, there is a news report of an allegation of graft or other wrong-doing against the panel members from the civil society. What the politicians fear is not just a one-off campaign. They fear the radical ideas of the young group of Anna's supporters. Anna is just the mascot. The ultimate goal of this motley group of born again crusaders like Arvind Kejriwal, the Bhushans and Kiran Bedi, is 'Direct Democracy'. A radical concept which would empower the civil society at the lowest common denominator. What's more, it proposes the 'Right To Recall', which could be used by the voters of a given constituency if they think their representative isn't doing a good job or is corrupt.

I think some of the ideas related to the 'Direct Democracy' concept are too extreme. They have in fact the power to destabilise civil society. There will need to be some moderation before these could be sold to a country as vast as India.

But this is a great start! One of the things that I firmly believed in the past was that, a revolution can never happen in a country like India. This campaign has done enough to change that view. Looks like a revolution is possible.

There will be a time when the despair, desperation and frustration swelling within the consciousness of a gagged nation will result in a revolution against all that has caused it. There is hope!

Take care!

Day 94-2011 : The Cup of Joy!

2011-04-03T07:17:00.000-07:00

I have always wondered as to why, when we won the Prudential World Cup in 1983, no one told me about it. The hype and the celebrations over the win were not very apparent, at least to me. There was one household in our locality who had drawn the pictures of some men on the front outer wall of their house, but I did not know who the men were. No one was dancing, no one was asking me to participate in the celebrations and nobody was hysterical.

28 years down the line, I realise that it is a very different world! Yes, India won the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 yesterday and the scenes of celebrations had to be seen to be believed. Not that I saw any of them live. But the news channels on the television have been going on and on about the celebrations that ensued across the nation throughout last night!

India was being tagged as the favourites to win this tournament even before it began. The No.1 status in Test Cricket, the fact that we were the hosts and the team's recent form meant that everyone was expecting this team, with a mighty batting line up and a not so strong bowling and fielding side, to win the tournament. Yesterday, Team India delivered on that. In spite of the pressure of the expectations of a 1.21 billion strong country, playing at home.

My view is that Team India, though very strong due to an unending stream of solid (and explosive) batsmen, was not necessarily top draw because of the bowling attack. The bowling attack consisting of Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, Sreesanth, Ashwin, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan and the other part timers was not exactly a strong one. However, this spirited group of people put on a great show on the bowling side in almost all of the matches. They understood their limitations, bowled to their strengths and within themselves. Zaheer and Yuvraj were the stars! Each time Dhoni needed a wicket he called upon Zaheer...and he invariably delivered. He has made amends for 2007, and how!

Yuvraj is a completely different story altogether. Criticised for his temperament, lack of focus and fitness, the 'Prince' came back from the brink! To win the Player of the Tournament award! It was very evident that a lot of work on the mental conditioning side has gone into this turnaround. He was imperious with the bat and bowled with guile! His fielding, especially in the final match, was top class! The Prince had arrived...again!

The 'GOD' was at his usual best. Scoring almost each time he went to the crease, he finished second best in terms of the number of runs scored by batsmen in the tournament. He got closer to the 100th century but could not quite get there. He however, has a World Cup medal finally! The dream has been fulfilled. The entire team wanted to win it for Sachin. To me, it doesn't really matter what Sachin does with his cricketing career from now on. He is a living legend and there will be no one like him...never ever!

Last but not the least, was the captain. Dhoni was in a class of his own. He has now won all the major cricket tournaments as a captain. The 20-20 World Cup, IPL, The Champions League, No.1 Test Ranking for India and now the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011! We need to create some more tournaments to whet his appetite, I guess. Evidently, he has shown great leadership skills over the last four years, since he took over as the captain of Team India in all forms of cricket! Take a bow!

When Dhoni hit the winning runs with the six yesterday, we were shouting, jumping and hugging each other. A spontaneous release of all the built up tension over the last few weeks while following the team. The tournament itself was not devoid of controversies. From the controversy on the allotment of tickets to that of match fixing allegations during the semis and the final. I do not know if the match-fixing allegations were true...and now, I do not care. I have realised that something which can give joy and happiness to so many people is best enjoyed at face value. I love the feeling. There is a spring in my step. I am walking on air.

Enjoy the sense of achievement, India. Enjoy the victory!

Take care.

Day 87-2011 : Back to Fiction

2011-03-27T20:52:00.000-07:00

There was a time when I would be borrowing a novel from a circulating library in the morning, finish reading it during the day and exchange it back for another one the next day in the morning. This was during the summer vacations in my school and college going times. Life then was a complete joy ride without a worry in the world.

Over the years, with the daily drudgery of earning your grub and tending to the family, the reading habit was put on the back-burner. I could never find the time nor the inclination to pick up a book to read. Even if I did so, I would find it very hard to finish reading it! One of the resolutions that I made at the start of this year was to improve on my reading. I am happy to report that I have met with reasonable success with it so far. The kick-off was with Andrew Ross Sorkin's pseudo-fictional plot on the financial turmoil at Wall Street in 2008; Too Big To Fail. I finished reading it within a month. What I did however realise, was that, a generous dose of fiction is what might get my reading going again. The fast paced, the better. Hence, once I finished this, I read fiction with a vengeance. I came across a bunch of Agatha Christie murder mysteries / thrillers, which I think was gifted by my colleagues at ACES. I am now done with two of those titles and thoroughly enjoyed reading them!

I remember the first book that really ignited the interest in me for reading. It was Jeffrey Archer's Kane and Abel, and of course, its sequels. Over the years he has been one of my favourite authors. Hence, I recently read his latest novel, Only Time Will Tell.

I read this one entirely on the flights to and back from New York. The impression that I got after reading it was that the author is probably not at his best. His efforts here seem very laboured. He painstakingly tries to recreate a plot which is similar to a Kane and Abel, and in my mind, fails to do that. The characters are not very well fleshed out at all. Mind you, as a story it is a good read, but I have higher expectations from an author like Jeffrey Archer.

So, here I am now, back to the murder mysteries. But this time, it is not Poirot but Miss Marple. Three months down and I am on my fifth book now. A couple of others are in the queue, including Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol and the more technical, Securities Operations, by Mike Simmons.

As of now, fiction seems to have done the trick! Take care.

Day 80-2011 : Mother Nature Strikes...And How!

2011-03-21T07:31:00.000-07:00

I haven't been able to post anything over the last couple of weeks. I haven't been lazy; just did not get the time to pen down my thoughts, due to a number of circumstances.

The main culprit has been my travel schedule. Looks like March is turning out to be as hectic as the previous two months on the travel front. I have been now to Shirdi, Nashik, New York and Ahmedabad in this month. The incident at Shirdi was of course a shocker. By the way, we have been able to make some headway into the matter after I wrote the letter on the 9th of March. Since then the SP of Ahmednagar District has taken interest in the matter and has promised strict action against the guilty cops at the Shirdi Police Station. The visit to Nashik was wonderful as well. One of my uncles, Ramesh Iyer, is a nature enthusiast, and specialises in terrariums. All of us like the place, especially the kids. The weekend after Nashik, I had to travel to New York and then the following weekend was Ahmedabad.

This post however is not about my experiences during all of these trips. It is about nature. And its fury! On Friday, I had taken the day off to prepare for my New York trip. I was however, looking up the BB every now and then. Sometime during mid-morning, I got a note from one of my colleagues that he was on a conference call with Tokyo and the colleagues in Tokyo mentioned that they thought they were experiencing tremors. After that, there was only a flood of emails about the natural calamity striking Japan. It has since been confirmed that all my colleagues in the firm based out of Japan are safe and there has been no loss of life. Now, considering the scale of the disaster, this must be some sort of a miracle! I am told this is purely because of the fact that buildings in Japan, especially in the urban areas are built to withstand very high intensity earthquakes. This earthquake was the strongest ever recorded in the history of the country with a magnitude of 8.9 on the Richter scale.

But then, there was more to come! The earthquake triggered of a Tsunami which hit the coastal areas of North-Eastern Japan with a vengeance. Some of the pictures on television were horrendous and heart wrenching. The sheer size of the Tsunami waves was literally washing away anything that came in its path. Houses, cars, planes, ships and everything else was washed away through fields and villages. Just watching it made me shiver, I cannot even begin to imagine what people in Japan must be going through. The calamity is also a setback to Japan's attempts to come out of a recessionary economic phase. Some might argue that the resultant reconstruction activity would boost the economy. There is, however, no proof of it from past such events.

The twin disasters have also opened up possibility of another monumental disaster occurring. The overheating and the resultant fires at the nuclear power plants in Japan is a huge worry across the globe. People are fearing another Chernobyl like calamity. There are reports of traces of radiation being found in nearby areas of the power plants. This has, of course, triggered another debate around the usage of nuclear energy, which I am sure, is likely to continue for a while in the foreseeable future.

While all of this is happening, my thoughts go out to the thousands of people who have lost their lives, those who have lost their near and dear ones and those who have lost their livelihoods. We should do all we can to help the Japan and its people at this critical juncture.

Mother Nature provides. But just like your real mother, sometimes Mother Nature pulls out all the stops to remind you who's the boss!

Take care.

Day 68-2011 : Letter to DGP, Maharashtra (Abridged)

2011-03-09T10:11:00.000-08:00

To,

The Director General of Police
Maharashtra.

Dear Sir,

I wish you to bring to your notice an incident that happened on Saturday, March 5, 2011 at Shirdi. I and my family members, names and ages attached, had travelled to Shirdi for Darshan on that day.

During the visit jewellery from my aunt’s purse was stolen. The jewellery was kept in a yellow pouch, in the purse carried by my aunt. The list of items stolen and their approximate value are attached herewith.

Following is the sequence of events:

1. We reached Shirdi and joined the queue for Darshan at 13.00 IST.
2. We reached the Sai Samadhi at the end of the queue at approximately 14.15 IST.
3. All of us came out and went to the donation office opposite the exit from the Sai Samadhi.
4. We realised that the jewellery has been stolen at the donation office at approximately 14.20 IST.
5. We immediately lodged a complaint with the temple Security Office.
6. When asked to review the footage from the CCTV cameras, the temple security office control room advised that we should lodge an FIR at the Shirdi police station, only after which we could see the CCTV footage.
7. We went to the Shirdi police station at approximately 16.30 IST to lodge the FIR.

On reaching the Shirdi police station, my aunt was first of all rebuked by the constables on duty for carrying the jewellery to the temple. When asked to lodge a FIR, we were told that ours is not the only such case that has happened; 10 such cases of theft are reported on a daily basis. When we still persisted on registering the FIR, we were told that nothing would come of it and it would be a futile exercise. Moreover, the authorities at the police station did not want to register a FIR because we were outsiders (from Mumbai) and they assumed that we would not come back to follow up on the case or when summoned. When this did not work, the officials on duty started threatening us by saying that we were asking for trouble and if we do not turn up when summoned for a follow up on the case, even warrants could be issued against us! We were also told that the FIR will not be lodged till the Police Inspector of the Shirdi Police Station comes back to the police station from his rounds, for which the ETA was not known. This was another delaying tactic used by the officials in the hope that we would abandon the thought of registering a police complaint. All along, the officials on duty were rude to my aunt, who is a senior citizen, and the rest of us. There was no empathy for the fact that a 68 year old lady had lost her jewellery and she would be mentally distressed due to this.

I would like to escalate this matter to you in your position as the head of the state’s police force. Instead of helping people in distress, the police force is being rude to them and do not have the sensitivity to deal with such cases. If the police force of the state behaves like this, I ask you, what is the recourse for the common man?

I request you to please intervene in this matter and help us find the stolen items of jewellery. I would also like to request you to please look into the matter of the misconduct of the police officials on duty at Shirdi Police Station on that day and take the appropriate action against them.

I hope to get a favourable and swift response from you.

Thanking you,

Yours Truly.

CC: The Superintendant of Police, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra

CC: Shri R. R. Patil, The Home Minister, Maharashtra

Day 66-2011 : The Artist In Her

2011-03-06T17:47:00.000-08:00

The lady is just unstoppable! And the kids are loving it!

She has been eyeing the walls for some time now. Ever since we moved into our new house, my better half has been wanting to paint the walls in the children's room by herself. Sensing that I might have no objections in using the walls as a canvas, she went for it. And the result is an oil painting of Tom & Jerry in the children's room. Quite apt, I would say.

Tom & Jerry @ Mumbai!

The walls are her canvas!

Noddy & Co. @ Chennai.

I think Priya is very good at this. Of course, she has always been a performing artist, having been trained in Bharatnatyam for a number of years. But this is fine arts and that is a completely different ball game. I guess she has a knack for this too. And this is not the first time that our walls have borne the brunt of her artistic expressions. She had converted the whole length of a wall in our previous house at Chennai into Toyland! With crayons!

The children are imploring her to do Spiderman next. Warli painting on another wall is on the cards next, I think. She has been talking to me about it for some time now, to test the waters, I guess.

I think it is time to invest in a proper canvas!

Take care.

Day 58-2011 : Long Live The Pen!

2011-02-27T09:55:00.000-08:00

I write this as the Indian bowlers are getting clobbered by the English batsmen. Who would have thought that the Englismen would chase a large total like 338 so ferociously! But then that is the nature of modern day cricket. Nothing is impossible! I have to however, admit that I had to take a couple of breaks writing this post, as India turned around a defeat into a one pointer tie. Team aise hi nahi jeetti, jeetana padta hai! Problem is, team jeeti nahi aaj...The match has however livened up a damp squib of a World Cup so far.

Along with the nature of modern day cricket, a lot of other things have also changed. One of them, I realised today, was writing. Yes, writing. Earlier in the day, I tried writing this post (to be frank, the topic at that point of time was completely different) with a pen on a notepad. Strangely, I found it terribly difficult to pen down my thoughts. What I think I was not very happy about was the speed at which I was able to write, or the lack of it. I noticed that the pace of my writing was not able to keep up with the pace of my thought processes. Come to think of it, I realised that in the last 10 years, I haven't really written much by hand at all! The pen has been used most only for signatures and maybe for filling out some forms. Almost everything else has been 'written' by the keyboard. No wonder!

Will they survive?

I am sure that others, before me, have also experienced the same. The reason is very simple. We no longer 'write'. We type. We do all our documents on a computer with a keyboard. And nowadays on mobile phones and tablets as well. We no longer write letters; we type out emails and send them. They are delivered instantly. Why use a pen? For signatures? Well, I think this reason will also be obsolete in a few years when everyone might be using digital signatures. Already, a lot of official documentation is concluded with digital signatures.

So, will there be any reason to use pens 20 years from now? Maybe....maybe not! Will the saying 'The pen is mightier than the sword' still be relevant or will it be 'The keyboard is mightier than the sword'? Will our children learn the written word with the help of keyboards and not pens and pencils? Will the pen die a lonely death?

I hope not. Take care.

Day 48-2011 : The Cup That Counts!

2011-02-17T10:32:00.000-08:00

Sounds a bit tacky, doesn't it? The Cup That Counts. Somehow, it just doesn't sound quite right. And given that there are many like me who think there is too much cricket being played, I am not sure if it really counts!

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 is here. The sub-continent is the host. All the competing teams are here. A couple of practice matches have been played. The opening ceremony today at Dhaka was a big spectacle. We are all set...for the cricket extravaganza of the year!

Or maybe not. I thought the hype leading to the event itself has been a bit subdued. It might be the result of the ambush advertising ban enforced by ICC. Basically, ICC, with an Indian politician at its helm, knows the value of money and the fact that it can milk its exclusive rights over the tournament. Thus the ban on cricketers appearing in advertisements of competing brands of ICC's main sponsors. The cricketers, who know the value of money as well and the fact that they can milk the fan following for the game in the sub-continent, tried their best to hop, skip and jump the ban. It is, after all, all about money, honey!

Whatever be the case, I am going to enjoy the games, even if the one day game sometimes tests our patience. Thanks to 20-20 cricket. There has been a lot of talk about India being the favourites. Australia, with their recent success over the Poms and the Proteas are also strong sides. I think they are equally good compared to the Indian team. And then, there is the mercurial Pakistan team, which on its day, can make mincemeat of any team in the world. Like a true patriot, I am rooting for the Indian team. With a captain who is an expert at absorbing the pressure with his ice cool demeanour and a team that believes in itself, I think they can actually do it. But, who knows! Cricket, as they say, is a game of great uncertainties. Maybe one of the minnows, most likely to be Bangladesh with its home advantage too, might spring a series of surprises. They did so at the last World Cup in 2007. I doubt if many of the minnows will do well like in 2007, but at least one or two of them are likely to make a mark.

I am also looking forward to the event very keenly due to the presence of some of the biggest stars of the game in the same event. I am hoping that Sachin Tendulkar, who is most certainly playing his last World Cup, might put up a special show for us all. Ponting, Gayle, Brett Lee, Afridi, Malinga, Yusuf, Sehwag and many many other exciting stars. The other exciting part would be the discovery of some new stars which the tournament might throw up.

Lastly, one of the things that I wanted to do this time was go and watch a match in person at the stadium. A quick peek at the ticket prices and availability put paid to that wish. I am much better of watching all the matches that I want at home on the idiot box which provides the luxury of action replays, highlights, quick access to key statistics and views of expert commentators.

Enjoy the game. May the best team win. Play!

Take care!

P.S.: The tag line, though, still doesn't sound right.

Day 41-2011 : Time Out

2011-02-10T10:55:00.000-08:00

It is an interesting fact, but it is true. In the five and a half years that I lived in Chennai, I did not even once go to the Marina Beach, supposedly the world's second longest beach! I must have gone to the famous shopping area of T-Nagar maybe a couple of times in that time. I did not ever go to the Vandalur zoo. Actually, I lived in Adyar for a couple of those years and in spite of wanting to, never visited the either the Theosophical Society or Kalakshetra! And by the way, in the almost two years that I lived in Bengaluru, the city of gardens, I did not find the time to visit Lal Baug! In fact, I could possibly come up with some places in my home town, Ahmedabad, as well, where I haven't been in my lifetime.

I am reminded of all of this because of a chance visit to the Chowpatty in Mumbai recently. Yes, you probably guessed it right. I did not go to Chowpatty specifically; I just happened to be in its vicinity. However a strong urge to stop the car and to go and have a look overtook me. And there I was, at 11 AM in the morning, savouring the bright Mumbai sunshine on Chowpatty beach. I like the vast expansiveness of the sea; with the South Mumbai and Walkeshwar backdrops, the landscape was even better. This experience however triggered a curious train of thought in my mind. Why did I not do those things which I mention above in the first paragraph? Why, even after more than a year of coming back to Mumbai, I haven't been to the Chowpatty, or the Gateway of India, or closer home, even the Juhu beach?

@Chowpatty after a long time!

I feel like I have lost out on the opportunity to intimately get to know these places by not being more adventurous. Yes, driving in our cities these days is adventurous! I can think of many reasons though, for not having explored these cities more. And I am sure, I am probably not the only one who feels this way.

First and foremost, I think is the antipathy to crowded public places. I hate crowds. I guess T-Nagar is explained now. Second, and it is related to the first one, is the lack of convenient public transport and the lack of available parking spaces. I hate to be driving in circles trying to find a parking space. If I do find one, the need to squeeze the vehicle into a buttonhole turns me off. If I do indeed get there, the constant fear of a traffic policeman with a greasy palm makes me a nervous wreck! Third, is time; or the lack of it! I haven't had the time to think about visiting all these places in the last few years. Even if I did think about it, I could never get down to actually doing it. Modern urban life keeps one busy at work and even at home! On the weekdays, you are trying to get things done at work. In the weekends, you are trying to get things done at home! Work, home, spouse, kids, friends (and yes, social networking sites too now) occupy all our available hours.

Come to think of it, I haven't had a proper vacation since 2006, when myself and Priya went to Goa for our babymoon. Even that trip came about because we had to attend a friend's wedding there!

However, now that I think I have missed out on these things all these years, I am determined to correct it. I am going explore some of the interesting public places in the city in the next few months. And I am definitely determined to plan a family vacation (or maybe even two!) this year!

Take care.

Day 30-2011 : A Nomadic Month

2011-01-30T06:34:00.000-08:00

We are already at the fag end of the first month of this year! Time is flying!

This month was full of hectic travel, largely on the personal front, but also for work. The month started with me and the family flying back to Mumbai from Ahmedabad where we spent the last week of December and brought in the new year. The very next day, we drove down to Pune. Priya and the kids were going to spend the week at her mother's place and I was left to fend for myself in Mumbai for the week. Life without wife; for a week!

I did get through the week by spending most of the time at work. Food was on 'Delivery' mode, from a few restaurants nearby. End of the week I travelled to Goa for an offsite meeting spanning the weekend. An early morning flight (5 AM!) after a late night the previous day set the tone for the offsite. The first day of the offsite was hectic and very productive. The evening was spent having dinner on the beach along with some enthusiastic singing (mostly Amitabh Bachchan / Kishore K songs!) by the gang. Some of the gang carried on the drinking on the beach after the dinner till very late in the night.

Sea food on offer @ Goa; none for me though!

The next day, after attending the reminder of the sessions at the offsite, myself and a few others were on our way back. The others, of course were staying for the night as well, which I had to miss, as I had to pick up

the family from Pune on Sunday. Hence I was back in Mumbai and on my way again to Pune the next day. The highlight of this trip was opportunity to meet Rajee, Ashwath and Anjali, who are here for a vacation from Estonia after a long time. We dropped them at Panvel on our way back from Pune.

@ Pune with the family.

Lastly during the middle of the month, all of us went back to Ahmedabad for Rashmi's Seemantham. A rush rush affair this time. But it was great to see a lot of people in the family make it to Ahmedabad for the ceremony.

The Seemantham ceremony @ Ahmedabad.

It is said that whatever you do on the first day of any year, you are bound to keep repeating it throughout the year. Though I am not a great believer of such superstitions, the evidence so far in January suggests that it might just be true.

Take care.

Day 23-2011 : Staying (In) Power!

2011-01-23T03:55:00.000-08:00

One of the most outrageous news item that is being reported by the media over the past few days is about the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (Berlo) and his amazing libido! Berlo has always been a bit controversial but this time he is in the dock for sexual encounters with minors, vivid details of which appear in the media now on a daily basis. One of them being that he had a harem of a few pretty young women just outside Milan which was the venue for some wild parties. I am thinking, at 74, this is not bad at all!

At first, I was shocked that a sitting Prime Minister could conduct himself in such a manner. But then the more I think about this, it is becoming very apparent to me that there is definitely a strong co-relation between politicians (especially if they are in power) and sex! And then I said to myself, this is how the western world is. Really? The chubby cheek N. D. Tiwari immediately came to my mind. At 80, His Excellency, then the Governor of Andhra Pradesh, was not doing bad for himself either, with not one, not two but three escorts at the same time! Talk of staying power!

There are many many more examples not only in India but across the globe, the most powerful of them of course, was Bill Clinton. Eliot Spitzer and John Edwards are other examples from the United States. The erstwhile president of Israel was recently convicted of rape, something that happened when he was in power. Closer home, recently a minor has accused the MLA from Banda of rape. A minister in Goa, Micky Pacheco, got into trouble when his one of girlfriends committed suicide. Then there was the Srinagar sex scandal where many high and mighty in Kashmir politics were said to be involved. Gopinath Munde, it is said, has a dancer girlfriend. I am sure there are many more which have not hit the headlines and this post would have an acreage problem if I were to list down all of them.

So, the question really that I have is, why is there such a strong co-relation? Is it because power corrupts? Does being in positions of power make one's adrenaline more active? Or is it all about easy access? Where is morality in all of this? Are these politicians aware of their moral responsibility? Do they have a moral responsibility towards the populace? Is it just their private lives and they have the right to do what they want to or does being in the positions that they are in give them the unfair opportunity to exploit. And they probably do! Though one may argue that they are humans first and then politicians. And they get exposed more often than others because they are in public life. I am not sure that is really the only explanation for this. But it sure makes me want to get into politics!

Just kidding!

Be good and take care.

Day 16-2011 : Vibrant Gujarat!

2011-01-16T09:00:00.000-08:00

In a lot of my posts last year I have been mentioning the superior infrastructure in my home city of Ahmedabad compared to some of the cities like Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai, where I have lived within the last decade.

I am truly amazed by the amount of development work that has happened in the city. Some of it is of course very apparent. The roads are great, wider than ever and no potholes. The BRTS has been a success. I saw a note in this morning's papers that the old city is going to get the Monorail on an experimental basis for 15 kms. The Kankaria lake has been transformed and marketed in a big way. You can feel the buzz of progress when in Ahmedabad. And I am told that this focus on development is not only restricted to cities like Ahmedabad. The interiors of the state are also witnessing a change. Some of the captains of the Indian industry seem to agree with me as they have endorsed Gujarat as the country's premier investment destination by committing investments of 250000 crores within an hour of the first day of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2011!

Industry captains @ the summit.

Vibrant Gujarat campaign

How has this transformation been possible from the ravages of the riot ridden state a few years back? Good governance is the only answer. However, it is also important to understand the background and the context in which this transformation has been achieved.

Chief Minister, Narendra Modi has been projected as the main catalyst and change agent for this transformation. However, just a decade ago, Modi was the face of communal politics for his hard line views on Hinduism and his antics in the Godhra massacre aftermath. I am no fan of his, because of exactly these reasons. However, I have to admit that Modi has successfully diverted the attention of the classes as well as the masses from his narrow focus on communal politics, to the larger vision of driving the agenda of development in the state. There has been a deliberate attempt to 'let bygones be bygones'. Modi, in this process, has transformed himself into a CEO of the state. Political stability since 2002, in the state has helped matters. Something else that has made this work has been the image of the CM as well as his government. This government is seen as a honest one; integrity being one of the cornerstones of Modi's image itself. On top of all of this, the decision making process has been super-fast! A good example is the Tata Nano factory at Sanand. The land for the factory was allotted in 3 days flat, after Ratan Tata was hounded out of WB by Mamata. And, last but not the least, the state was the leader in the agriculture sector as well last year, with a growth rate of 9.9%.

All of this makes me very happy. I hope this good story continues and Gujarat truly becomes the engine of India's growth in the next few decades. I am still not a supporter of the political views of the CM and his party. However, I am definitely impressed with what he has been able to achieve on the development front.

And, there is still a lot to be done. For example, offer me something which will make me move back to my hometown!

Take care!

Day 15-2011 : 'Food' for Thought!

2011-01-15T11:42:00.000-08:00

Food has never been a big deal for me. People who know me well would know that I am probably a good example of someone who eats to live rather than the other way around. In fact, I think I am a very poor eater, very conservative and most of times quite frugal. In fact for a long long time, I survived on only one meal a day.

And that is exactly why I am writing this post. I have recently started have the traditional three meals a day. This is a result of a new year resolution! (what else could it have been!?) The interesting part though, is that this resolution is not mine, but my better half's! She has vowed that starting this year she is going to ensure that I have breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday. Hence I can now be seen lugging a lunch box to office everyday. I certainly do not want to risk the consequences of being the reason of my wife breaking her resolution! The same experiment, by the way, has failed a couple times before, in the last few years.

Not my lunch box!

Having said that, it has definitely been an interesting experience. And has succeeded so far. The trick has been the smaller servings. I have been advised (very strictly) that instead of just one meal a day, I should be having many meals (at least 3) with smaller servings.

The lunch box certainly brings in strange challenges. The most important one is to be able to remember that I have to eat lunch and produce the empty lunch box at home. Hence I have now tied up with a couple of colleagues who have kindly agreed to remind me of of the lunch box!

By the way, according to Hindu mythology, the whole issue of 3 meals a day is a result of a goof up caused by Narada Muni. It is believed that when Brahma made the universe, he asked Narada to go to Earth and convey a very important message to humans: 'Teen baar nahana aur 1 baar khana' (3 showers and 1 meal a day)! The bumbling Narada got confused while he was on his way to Earth. He finally conveyed the opposite message: 'Teen baar khana aur 1 baar nahana' (3 meals and 1 shower a day)! And that is what is being followed till date by us humans living on this planet. I am not sure if this is all true but am happy that at least someone else, apart from me, also thought that one meal a day was a good idea!

However, right now, it is three meals a day for me. So everyone who thinks that I have put on some weight in the last few years, please be prepared to see me put on some more this year, notwithstanding my exertions at the gym every morning!

Take care!

Day 10-2011 : The Republic of Scamland!

2011-01-09T22:00:00.000-08:00

That should probably the name of this country after what we have seen in the last year. For anyone who rates integrity as a core value of mankind, 2010 was a horrible year.

Corruption was not limited to any specific sector. It was apparent that corruption exists in all walks of the society. Here are a few of those (which came to light):

2G was of course 'too(2) (G)rand' a scam; mother of all scams. I am sure the stakes (read rates) would have been even higher for the 3G spectrum allocation.
The politicians' greed also spread to an institution which is known for its discipline, the Indian Army. The Adarsh Housing scam dragged the Army into the mud.
Land was the cause for other scams involving chief ministers and their families in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Sports had its own share of scams. CWG and the mess around it projected the country in very poor light, whereas the event was actually meant to do exactly the opposite. IPL and the infighting amongst its stakeholders blew the lid off another can of worms, putting the much celebrated Lalit Modi in the dock.
Of course, when money is the root cause of all, how can the financial sector be behind. The LIC Housing scam where the topmost officials are said to be involved continued the shameful trend.
Medicine was not spared as well. Ketan Desai, the president of the Medical Council of India, was finally removed from his office for allegedly amassing wealth through corruption in the medical education sector.

The very institutions which are supposed to control this disease were mired in controversies of their own. Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) was accused of amassing a lot of wealth during his tenure. Moreover an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court alleges that 8 of the last 16 CJIs are corrupt. The office of the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) and the process through which a CVC is appointed also came under scrutiny when P J Thomas, who is accused of corruption, was appointed to the post.

All of these are only symptoms of the sorry state of the Indian polity and the society, where greed seems to be a worshipped evil. We have all been celebrating the Indian growth story. I am sure if we did not have the scourge of corruption, we would be growing at a much faster pace. Purely in cash terms, the amount of money which is diverted into the parallel economy of corruption, could easily contribute to the GDP and a couple of percentage points of growth!

What can be done? Every issue has a process and people component. This one needs transparent processes and accountable people. Unless we put in place both of these, corruption will continue to be a drag on our economy and culture! This will mean different approaches and measures in different sectors of public life, the end objective of which would only be to secure the collective futures of all the hard-working citizens of this country. I strongly think that we can make a start by ensuring that the judicial process for convicting such accused persons is expedited as well as the punishment for those individuals is severe. Restrictively severe.

Take care!

Day 1-2011 : I Resolve To...

2011-01-01T05:36:00.000-08:00

As indicated in my last post, my intention was to do one last post in 2010, which would sum up my performance on the resolutions that I made in the beginning of the year and my goals for the year 2011. Unfortunately, I couldn't find access to the Internet very easily in the last one week and was in fact tied up in meeting and spending time with family and friends and hence this post on the first day of 2011!

If I had to sum up my performance on my personal goals and resolutions last year into a report card, it would be a short one. I would rate myself as 'Partially Effective'. Overall, I made a lot of progress on all the items but I feel there is still work to do on each one of them. Except for keeping the promise to myself of posting to this blog every week, I cannot say that I fully completed any of the others. Mind you, I did put in a lot of efforts in ensuring that I stick to my resolutions, but I did find myself hard pressed on two fronts: lack of time and an inconsistent willpower!

Some of the wins for me as I look back on my personal goals for 2010 were:

1) I think I am now a more tolerant person than ever before. There is still some way to go, but it is really amazing how much your children can change in you!

2) Most parts of the year I did look at situations from a win-win perspective. And, it surely paid dividends.

3) 'Kick The Butt' was a moderate success. Something that could be built on this year.

4) I did reach out and connect to more people than ever. Obviously, I discovered social networking and leveraged the Internet big time this year.

5) I did spend more quality time with the family this year. However according to the better half, not enough yet!
6) I executed most of my investment goals for the year.

Some of the areas where I did not measure up at all were:

1) My reading habit was a big loser. I did start reading many books but could follow through and complete only a couple of them.

2) My exercise routine was better than some of the previous years, but still not up to the mark.

3) Last but not the least, my better half insists that I include her expectation of better treatment to her in this list as well. So be it!

So, on the first day of this new year, what could be my resolutions or goals for the coming year? Though the temptation is to go for a 'new' and 'different' resolution every year and be as flashy as one can be about it, I think the best thing to do for me this year would be to continue with the same resolutions of last year. All the more so, because I had some significant successes with my resolutions last year.

Some of the key ones this year would be:

1) Read more this year. I almost felt like an illiterate due to the fact that I wasn't reading enough!

2) A drastic one is to quit alcohol, though I am only a social drinker and restrict myself to beer and the occasional glass of wine.

Rome was not built in a day. Making lifestyle changes is a similar story. I hope I will be in a position next year to report good progress on all of these. I also hope, that as my well-wishers, you would keep checking on me on some of these goals throughout the year!

Wish you and your loved ones a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2011!

Take care!

Day 358 - That Time of The Year!

2010-12-22T13:14:00.000-08:00

Yes, it is that time of the year, when everything slows down and everyone seems to be in the holiday mood, even those who are not taking a holiday!

It is also the time of the year when you might see a series of 'Annual Day' events being celebrated all around you. I attended two such events over the last weekend; well actually Friday and Saturday.

Friday was my organisation's annual day event. It was a nice little package comprising of speeches, a song and dance show and a lot of food and drinks. The whole program was timed just right, the speeches and the song and dance show being long enough (or short enough) to hold the audience's attention, before the booze desk took over! The high point of the evening for me was the spirited performances by some of my colleagues. Liana and her band belted out some terrific numbers. This was followed by Ruchi, David and Meghana impressing one and all by their dance performances on the stage. The low point was, a moron with zero road skills brushing my car and leaving a deep and long dent on the side of my car, while I was driving to the venue of the event Anyway, once the show was over, the focus shifted to the dance floor and the DJ, and of course the booze! I have not quite figured this out, but something very strange happens to absolutely sane individuals when they see free liquor! A mad rush for the drink, till it reached a point where the bar had to be closed. All in the space of an hour flat! People danced to the DJ's beats to their heart's content. The food, of course, was just incidental; or so it seemed to me.

The 'Sheila Ki Jawani' number

Before I could recover from Friday night's exertions, it was time to attend another such event. This time it was Suryanksh's school's Annual Day bash. Indeed, compared to the previous one, this was a prim and proper event! Interestingly, the theme was 'Rock N Roll'. Suryanksh performed in one of the pieces, where he was one of the Beatles. Hmmm...not sure which one. He was on the guitar so probably Paul McCartney! He did very well. The joy on his face while performing on the stage was amazing. He had this big smile while doing his routine with the guitar along with his other 'Beatles-mates'. It was equally matched by Priya's tears while watching him perform on the stage. Not sure why she has to cry everytime one of the boys performs on stage! Anyway, it was a wonderful event with kids from JrKG till the 9th Standard performing on stage. Of course, no booze and no food involved. Instead we decided to treat Suryanksh for his brilliant show with a pizza after the event.

Suryanksh, in his Beatles avatar just before the show.

Last but not the least, was out again on Sunday night, attending my colleague, Cheryl's wedding. Witnessed a Christian wedding after a long time. It was good fun with all the rituals of cake cutting, confetti, the toast and the dances.

In fact, I have attended a series of weddings over the last 2-3 weekends. I guess it is indeed that time of the year!

It is also that time of the year when one tends to take stock of what has been accomplished throughout the year gone by and starts thinking about what is in store for the next year. More about that in the next post, which might just be from Ahmedabad. I look forward to being in Ahmedabad next week.

Take care!

Day 347 - Wanted - Plumbers!

2010-12-11T14:43:00.000-08:00

Its leaking! And its leaking everywhere!

Overseas, in the country, in the city and even in my house, I got an errant flush rectified before I moved in! Mumbai experienced rains at strange times of the year this time. Maybe a result of a leaking tap somewhere up there, if not due to the detrimental effects of global warming as discussed in my last post.

Nationwide, leakage of a completely different type has been in the news off late. The Niira Radia Tapes leak has kept everyone in the country interested; and some even amused. The tapes reveal Ms. Radia spinning her corporate / political lobbyist web over all top dogs of Indian politics, business and even the fourth estate. Conversations with Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi are especially very explicit and expose the connivance of the media in the unholy nexus of business, politics, babudom and crime. As a young boy, I used to admire Prannoy Roy from the time of his 'The World This Week' days, as a pioneer in news coverage. Further on, his election news coverage was also path breaking. Naturally, I carried forward the same respect to his media house, NDTV, for all these years. Barkha Dutt and her 'error of judgement' has eroded that respect. Not only for NDTV, but for all of Indian media. Interestingly I saw Peepli (Live) today, in which Aamir Khan Productions has given a lot of credits to NDTV, strangely, in a film which mocks the media and its greed for the 'next big thing'. It will take me a long time to regain confidence in the media and its independence. As of now, I just can't get the image of them as the power broker and agent out of my mind. There is no question of whether what Barkha Dutt / Vir Sanghvi have done is right or wrong. It IS wrong.

In other parts of the world, another big time leakage is making big news. Wikileaks and Julian Assange have taken the world, especially the cyberworld by storm. The release of classified information, exposing the big boys of all kinds of wrong-doing, has actually triggered a cyber war. The United States of America has been at the receiving end of most of the classified cables which have been released by Wikileaks. Interestingly, it transformed itself into a 'Ku Klux Klan' type of propaganda machinery, with Ms. Clinton and Ms. Palin coming out strongly and denouncing Assange and Wikileaks. US based servers have off-loaded the website; payment mechanisms to the website have been stopped and the hence now the website itself is off the web. Assange himself has been arrested in UK on flimsy charges of rape (actually having consensual sex without condoms!). A group of Assange admiring hackers have taken on the might of US and started retaliating by hacking into many sites which supported US action.

The question that I beg to ask is: What is right and what is wrong in this whole series of events? Is Assange the villain or the hero? Is he the symbol of the right to freedom of speech or a crook who has accumulated classified information to be used against countries? I am in no doubt that the original thieves of these classified information would have been Americans themselves and are on the wrong side of the law. Is Wikileaks also on the wrong side of law by buying the information (from the capitalist thieves of a capitalist country) putting it in front of the world? Maybe yes, but a whole lot of people out there obviously do not feel the same way and consider Assange to be a crusader. In the same vein, is Niira Radia wrong in what she has been doing? Maybe not, she is just doing her job for which she is paid. The true criminals are the people who entertain her.

I have to however say, that after hearing the transcripts of the Radia tapes, Ratan Tata definitely comes across as someone who is not comfortable with this lobbying business. There is nothing in the tapes to suggest that he was party to anything unethical. He can only be accused of one thing, which is, hiring Niira Radia in the first place.

Thank heavens for that! My goodwill for the House of TATAs remains intact, Rajeev Chandrasekhar notwithstanding. But then that is another chapter of the same story.

Take care!

Day 345 - Global Warming is 'Cool' - Why?

2010-12-09T12:23:00.000-08:00

I have not posted to the blog for more than a week now. The reason being, everyone at home, including me, has not been keeping very well. All four of us have been suffering from various degrees of cold and flu. All this due to the sudden climate change in Mumbai. There is a bit more chill in the air in the mornings and the evenings. To be frank, this is the coldest climate in Mumbai that I have ever experienced. I hear that a couple of years ago Mumbaikars had to bring out the woollens, which was unthinkable a few years ago. The weather patterns are certainly changing. Blame it on global warming!

On a lighter side, how ironic though, that global 'warming' is causing cold conditions everywhere. London is another example. London experienced heavy snowfall last week, disrupting vehicular traffic as well as the train services. A lot of regions in the US have had unusually cold weather in the recent past.

Snow in London - 2010

The theory is that due to the increased emission of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane & nitrous oxide into the atmosphere, the ozone layer around the planet is being depleted. This in turn is increasing the harmful radiations of the sun on the planet, consequently, increasing the overall temperatures of the planet's climate. This causes the polar caps to melt faster and hence the sea levels rise. Small changes in the temperatures of the deep ocean currents can cause enormous effects on the weather patterns. Earth has its natural cycle of boom and bust, spread over hundreds of years. It is believed that the Earth, in its present form, emerged from 'The Little Ice Age' about 150 years ago. But the effects of global warming seem to be causing this natural cycle to play itself out in quicker and unnatural cycles. All of this still does not tell me why does global warming cause the planet to ultimately get colder!?!

However, something which is very clear, is that the population of this planet has to reduce the emission of the greenhouse gases if it has to secure the planet and its goodies for its future generations. While the governments of this world keep arguing about who should do how much under the banner of things like the Kyoto protocol, we as human beings on this planet can do our own little bit to reduce these emissions. Switch off the lamp if you do not need it. Switch off the ignition during long waits at traffic junctions. Use recyclable material. Use solar power wherever possible. Plant trees! Just small bits which will go a long way in preserving this planet for a few more generations.

The kids are recovering now. So am I and wifey.

Take care. Of yourself and this planet.

Day 334 - My Influences

2010-11-28T10:14:00.000-08:00

Earlier last week, I attended a training program on 'Influencing Skills', along with a few of my colleagues! Coming just after two days of campus hiring at Indore (and the resultant nostalgia around being in a campus environment all over again), this two day training program really made me feel like a student again. The first day was a complete wash-out as the trainer could not hold our collective attentions together. The second day was much better as the trainer learnt from the mistakes of the first day.

The reason that I mention this in this post is that at the start of the training program we were all asked the question : 'Who has been a big influence on you and why?' and that got me thinking about all the people who have been able to influence my thought processes, behaviours and even values and ethics, over the years.

First and foremost have been my parents, who ensured that the right values and ethics are ingrained from very early on. I have written about this in a previous post and hence will not repeat myself.

During my school days, Samir Raiyani was a big influence. Purely because his was a multifaceted personality. And he was good at whatever he got himself involved in.

A couple of others, namely Wali Azam Chaudhary and Ganesh Iyer, whom I have worked for in the past have also been very strong influences. Both these gentlemen are very dynamic and are gifted with the ability to think out of the box. Their sense of righteousness was also very inspiring.

Then there are a couple of others whom I worked with and have been quite impressed. Vijay Lavate and Venu Madhav Indurthi figure in this category. Especially with Vijay, I have had a very long association. He is an ideal example of how one can reach for greater and better things while still being grounded to humble beginnings and core values. Venu had this great ability to always speak his mind come what may, almost bordering on arrogance!

Inevitably, a lot of public personalities have also been great inspirations. Mahatma Gandhi for his innovation, Amitabh Bachchan for the ability and the will to stand up and fight back every time he is down and out and Sachin Tendulkar for the consistency and sheer passion for his trade!

Hence, there is inspiration in people all around us. One can learn a lot by just watching them. Provided, of course, that we keep our eyes, ears and minds open to the key qualities that these people possess.

By the way, the training program was all about conceptual models of influencing skills to be aware of in work situations, which this post is not.

Take care.

Day 333 - The 'High Maintenance' Workplace

2010-11-27T12:07:00.000-08:00

This week I was speaking to Navin Kumar, who now works in London. During the conversation, one of the things that he mentioned, was the stark contrast in the way people work in teams in India compared to those in London. Navin now is part of and leads a team of three people. He was telling me how very professional the staff in his team were, which required the least amount of supervision. Though we did not speak about this, but I am assuming that they have a clear distinction between their personal and professional lives, and hence the amount of distractions at work are less.

After this conversation, in my mind, I was trying to juxtapose the same to an Indian work environment, which is very different. The workplace in India is, what I would like to call, a 'high maintenance' workplace. There are far more people issues to resolve than real business issues. As a manager, the people management component of your job seems to take up a considerable amount of time. Loads of inter-personal issues to resolve; a complex and irrational web of cold wars to contend with. Why is this the case?

I think there are many reasons for it. The first, but not a convincing, reason for this is the average age of the workforce in India. With the demographic advantage of having such a large population of young working people, comes the disadvantage of majority of this population being immature. Some are literally out of college / graduate school and the workplace to them, is probably just another place to hang out with friends. One tends to think and behave in extremes at a younger age, which is never good for human relationships. The maturity to understand relationships from a win-win perspective is largely absent.

This bring us to the second reason, which is competition. A large part of such immature behaviour is driven by competition. The sheer amount of population that India has and the density of it in urban centres is driving people hard to compete; compete at any cost, like there is no tomorrow. There are no age limits for competing, but it is very obvious that the younger age of the workforce makes it even more difficult as when one is young one tends to compete very hard, just to be able to make a mark as soon as possible.

The third and probably the weirdest reason is fear! The fear of a perceived threat from peers and others around us. We are finding it hard to trust each other. However, if we dig deeper, we find that most of our fears are simply irrational. Finding a couple of spare minutes to be with yourself and reflecting on your own personal fears might show you just that – that they are grounded not in reality, but in some perceived threat that really doesn’t exist.

The fourth and the last one might be the strange belief in everyone that they are the centre of the universe, around which everything rotates! The human ego! Having an ego is well and good, but the problem is,that everyone believes the same and has an ego.

So, what can be done to about this? How can we direct such large amounts of raw energy in the right direction without any distractions? One of the solutions could be to break the hierarchy of the organisation and make everyone an individual contributor! Make them work alone. However, this will not work as humans are social animals and prefer to argue and fight with people than bear the loneliness that comes along with living and working alone. I believe what can help is talking to each other, including open conversations about issues. This is the only way you can dissipate the emotional constipation that work relationships sometimes tend to create. The ability and intent to empathise with others will also help. It is very important to cultivate this quality in one and all.

Finally, it is important to accept the fact that any group of people working with each other will have it's own varieties of misunderstandings, misconceptions, perceptions and the resultant bickering and fights. It is however necessary to ensure that they do not impact the common goal of the group and the personal doesn't get mixed up with the professional, more so for us Indians, because we are by nature very expressive about their emotions.

Take care.

Day 328 - 10 Saal Baad

2010-11-22T12:48:00.000-08:00

Dave Ka Divya (Garam) Masala.

Or, try another one. Jai Maa Bhavani Jhatka Mutton Shop.

If you are wondering if I have finally lost it, I am not yet there. These are just two of the many interesting names of shops that I saw recently in Indore. As I said in my last post, I was at Indore last week for campus recruitment. This post is about that trip. Will leave the mundane (and the official) stuff out of this for obvious reasons. However, the other bits of those two days in the capital of the Holkars, were very interesting, to say the least. You might have to pardon me if you find that my sense of wonderment in discovering or knowing about small and interesting things is in working overtime, but I would rather prefer it that way.

So, coming back to the city of Indore. Literally, after close to 10 years! The first thing that you notice about the place is that there has been a lot of changes (read construction) in the last 10 years. Clearly, Indore has been part of the 'India Rising' story. Also, a lot of this seems a bit rough at the edges; still work in progress, maybe. However, I distinctly remember the airport and the approach roads to it, which have not changed much. Same can be said for most of the arterial roads in the interiors of the city. But it is definitely a city which is expanding its limits. Large tracts of barren land which were previously on the outskirts of the city are now teeming with commercial complexes and malls. Hence, in a weird way, it looks like a city which has changed a lot, but still maintains an old world charm about it! Hence a 'Dave Ka Divya (Garam) Masala' does not necessarily look out of place at all. It is just very amusing for individuals like me who have lived most of their lives over the last 10 years in the concrete jungles, that our metro cities have become.

Indore Airport

I am no sociologist but I sense that with the steady growth of the city and its infrastructure, the ambition and aspirations of the people. Most of the young people that I met on the campuses during the two days, appeared bullish, had the ability to dream; and dream big, and given the opportunities, I would not be surprised if they actually go on to realise those dreams as well in the future! A lot of them were very well-informed and aware of what is happening around them. For some, there were, of course, still challenges around issues like strong mother tongue accents and a very localized view of the world.

Treasure Island Mall

Rajwada

It is a pity thought that we couldn't visit more places of interest and explore the city in the two days that we were there. We drove by the Rajwada, a seven storey palace built by the Holkars. We also drove past the Treasure Island mall, which I understand was the first of its kind in the whole of Madhya Pradesh, in spite of Bhopal being the capital of the state. The place of interest where we did spent some time though was '56 Dukaan', known so because of the 56 shops / eateries offering various kinds of chaat items. Everything was very tasty, just as we were told they would be! I started out with a Hot Dog (not the American one; this is the vegetarian Indore version), moved onto Masala Puri, tucked into an Aloo Bonda and a Samosa to keep it company and topped it all off with a Mango Kulfi! Phew! I felt like I had already had the next day's breakfast! I was reminded of 'Khaana Peeni Gali' in my own hometown, Ahmedabad! But thank heavens, I did not even dare try the below:

A Faloooda-Rabdi-Icecream-Kulfi Delight

That is Sanjeev Wason celebrating Indore and our rich haul from the city with a sinful dessert!

On a more personal note, I met up with Khandu after about 7 years, which was good. Could have been a mini alumni meet if I had known that another batch mate of ours was staying at the same hotel that I was in!

Destiny. Take care.

Day 326 - The Whirlwind

2010-11-20T12:01:00.000-08:00

Writing blogs is a time-intensive hobby. I have not been able to post anything for the last couple of weeks. This is partly due to me being extremely busy and partly, because the infrastructure required to do so has not been available! Hence, this post is going to be all about what I have been up to for the last twenty days.

I have been busy with a constant stream of visitors at work, ensuring that the family celebrates a decent Diwali, making arrangements for the housewarming ceremony, ferrying near and dear ones from home to airport and vice versa, shifting my house and travelling to Indore for campus recruitment.

Diwali was enjoyable and fun; we had a good time celebrating the day with Amiya and Farheen. The kids were all excited about their new clothes and bursting crackers. Sweets and savouries made by Priya added some more pounds on to my circumference. Just after Diwali, Obama-mania hit the country. The joke was that he had come to India after watching 'Enthiran' and was to make an offer to the PM to swap all of USA's military might and cutting edge technology for Rajanikant! However, seriously speaking, there was indeed a lot of hype around the visit; half of South Mumbai was washed and (tooth)combed for this visit. Interestingly, he began his visit in Mumbai, making it very clear as to what his priorities were. Coming to India, just after a defeat in the mid-term senate polls in the US, this was not surprising. And guess what, one of the first things that he did was announce business deals worth $10 billion which would create jobs for Americans! Pamela Anderson was the first recruit.

Just after Diwali was the housewarming ceremony on November 8th. With a start time of 3 AM this was one long day, by the end of which I was so tired that I decided not to go to work the next day; one of those rare occasions when I have had to take an unplanned casual leave!

Housewarming done; next up was the stressful job of shifting the house. The job was completed in a single day last Sunday. It was very stressful, especially for Priya, but with my mother-in-law and aunt's help we got through it. We are still in the process of arranging (and rearranging) everything in the house, but it is much better than last Sunday, when the house resembled a minefield!

The visit to Indore yesterday and the day before for campus recruitment was just after the shifting; with me leaving everything in the house to be managed by Priya! Business as usual; no surprises! 'As expected', said Priya!

Indore was pleasant. And a completely different place from when I had seen it about 10 years back. The city has literally expanded. It was such a refreshing change to listen to the views of the bunch of students that I was interviewing. Filled me with nostalgia. About 12 years ago, I was sitting on the other side of the table. Indore was enjoyable also because I got to catch up with Khandu after 7 years. He is still the same, but looks like the world around him has changed. The trip also started to resemble a reunion, as I met up with Kaushal at the airport. He was on the same flight back to Mumbai. Interestingly, he was staying at the same hotel as I was for the exact two days that I was there. And yet, we never bumped into each other. Now, now; this is sounding like a Manmohan Desai movie plot! The visit to 56 Dukaan before boarding the flight yesterday was good. Hotdog, masala puri, aaloo bonda, samosa and malai kulfi; add a few more pounds now. But the food was worth every pound.

Have decided to take it easy this weekend as the next herculean task of changing my address everywhere is looming large. Last time it took about three months to do so; I am hoping to do it quicker than that this time!

Take care!

Day 306 - Leave Me Alone!

2010-10-31T12:33:00.000-07:00

'Leave Me Alone!' Yes, this is precisely what the kid whom I saw at the children's play park the other day, would have wanted to tell his dad!

After a long time I went to the children's park with my sons this weekend and was witness to an interesting, but horrible, incident. A handsome little boy, surely not more than 5 years old, was being pushed to the extreme by a moronic chaperon! I assume the moron was the kid's father; though he looked more like a grand-father. Presumably, the kid was there to have a good time and play in the park as he deemed fit / enjoyable. However, the moron would have none of it. He was constantly urging the child to keep running faster than the other kids, go higher than the other kids on the climbing rope nets and do the highest number of slides. The man was cursing the child if the 'effort' was not upto his expectations. The boy was very chubby but not obese or lethargic at all. The moron was probably trying get the child a six pack by the time they got off the park. And no marks for guessing what the child was feeling. He was irritated by the constant chat and rebuke and was trying to take out all that frustration on the other kids in the park.

Welcome to the modern urban India! A land where ambitious modern-day parents in cities are pushing their kids to achieve impossible feats with dangerous results. Fourteen-year-old Biswadeep Bhattacharya's father wanted to see his promising son become a world champion in Table Tennis. He forced his son to to practise without any rest. Biswadeep was ranked among the top four table tennis players in the sub-junior category in West Bengal. Gruelling long practice sessions, merciless thrashings for small mistakes or a poor performance was Biswadeep's order of the day. Unable to take this much pressure, one day he suffered a cardiac arrest! Everyday such children are living under stress to prove themselves. Interestingly, this is true not just in studies, but also in curricular activities or sports. There are a number of chillingly true examples of children committing crimes in order to continue to prove themselves or even committing suicides when unable to live upto the expectations. There is no doubt that this is a dangerous trend.

In 2006, a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, only confirmed this. In India, China and Japan, a majority of the respondents said children are under too much pressure from parents. Interestingly, this was a mirror image of what the respondents had to say in the United States of America.

Apparently, this is so in the Asian countries, and especially in India, because the parents want their children to gun for and achieve all of their unfulfilled aspirations. Every parent wants his ward to be better than him. Moreover, the sheer scale of the populace itself drives parents to unnatural levels of competition.

So what should one do in this competitive age, so that the creative and impressionable mind of the child is not burdened? I think it is important to teach the child acceptance over and above the drive to excel. Parents should train their children to accept failure and success equally as a part of their life. I must say, this is not easy and will not come naturally to many. At least not to me. The other day I was shown Suryanksh's mid-term report card (I am amazed that they have one for Junior KG!) where he was marked 'Very Good' in one of the parameters and not 'Excellent'. I distinctly remember feeling disappointed about that! And not happy that, he was very good at something! This is exactly what we as parents need to address as well. There is no point teaching the child the principle of acceptance when you are going to be after his / her life to live upto your expectations!

The bottom line is: We need to take care of our future generations, so that they are capable of taking care of themselves in the future. And running around the children's park with a whip is no way to do that.

Take care.

Day 302 - Cultural Terrorism

2010-10-27T13:14:00.000-07:00

I am probably inviting trouble by writing this. Nevertheless, I think this is important.

Over the last few weeks there has been news of a piece of literature - Rohinton Mistry's Such a Long Journey - being banned from the course syllabus of the Mumbai University. This was in response to the student demonstrations led by Aditya Thackeray, the grandson of Shiv Sena founder, the original tiger! The demonstrations and the burning of the book were conducted because Thackeray and his supporters feel that the book contains an unfair portrayal of the party. I haven't read the book but it is widely reported that in the book Shiv Sena is portrayed as a party that uses violent tactics; hiring goons to roughen up opponents. I am not sure if any of the protesters themselves have indeed read the book. Interestingly, this incident happens around the same time when Aditya Thackeray is announced as the head of the youth wing of the party. Very interesting, but very obvious!

Courting Controversy - Such A Long Journey by Rohinton Mistry

The university authorities did not waste any time in banning the book fearing trouble. This is cultural terrorism. It is an affront to the basic human right of freedom of speech that every individual in this world is entitled to. Culture being used as a spring board to promote fascism and insinuating beliefs is not new. The destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas comes to my mind as a good example. Taliban destroyed the two colossal statues of Buddha carved into the sandstone cliffs of Bamiyan, in Afghanistan, in March 2001. Burning a piece of literature and getting it banned from the university syllabus is no different. Protesting about the contents of a novel which one might find objectionable is understandable and very acceptable, but, using the fear of violence to get it banned is indeed terrorism.

Salman Rushdie and the fatwa issued against him by Khomeini years ago for his book, The Satanic Verses, is another case in point. The fatwa still stands to this day. The other glaring example is of M F Hussain, also called the Picasso of India by some, who lives in self-imposed exile in Qatar. Someone who should be celebrated and feted across the country for his body of work, finds himself exiled from his own land due to fear of violence. One might argue that a lot of his artwork might be sensationalist in order to stay in the news, create controversies and this add to the legend (and of course the market price of his paintings). However, I see it as artistic freedom. Art and literature are creative pursuits and trying to confine them to certain norms and an acceptable framework of artistic expression, would result in only killing the creativity.

I believe, culture should define us and not the other way around.

Take care.

Day 291 - The Masterclass

2010-10-17T12:12:00.000-07:00

21 years. This masterclass has now been in session for 21 years. And this post is about the 'Master Blaster'. A perfect role model for many thousands of young people seeking their destiny in this populous nation.

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar's genius has been in session for 21 years. Right from 1989, when as a 16 year old, he blasted 28 runs off an Abdul Qadir over in an exhibition match in Peshawar; till earlier this week, when he scored his 49th test century, a sublime 214, a lot has been written about this man and his cricketing talents. I will, hence, not try to repeat all that (though it might just be worth it) and just stick to my take on Sachin.

The one word that comes to mind when one thinks about Sachin is consistency. One can argue that he had this phase of a couple of years, when according to his own high standards, he was scoring below par. He was also dogged by injuries. In fact, the pundits opined that his batting prowess had declined, his career had slid permanently and the end was nearing. However, nobody could have imagined the kind of purple patch that he is in right now. They call it the 'second wind'. Some tacky Hindi commentator even compared it to the flame that burns its brightest just before it gets extinguished! Whatever it is, I am loving it!

As an ardent fan, I have seen it all. The pounding that Abdul Qadir got in the exhibition match, the bloody nose in Pakistan, the nearly missed century in New Zealand, the series of run-a-ball (or better) innings, the 'Sholay-like' friendship with Vinod Kambli, the opening slot in ODIs, the 'Don' himself wanting to meet him, the sand-storm inning in Sharjah, or for that matter the one after that; the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, the Arjuna Award, the Padma Shri and the Padma Vibhushan, the Mike Deniss episode, and more recently the Symonds one, the misfit captain, the injuries (tennis elbow being the main culprit; and I was actually thinking all the while that he plays cricket!), the apparent loss of form, the abstention of an international 20-20 career, the second wind, the wax statue at Madame Tussuad's, scoring a double century in ODIs, highest number of centuries in ODIs and test matches, highest number of runs in ODIs and tests, almost leading the Mumbai Indians to the winners trophy in IPL 3, scoring the most number of runs in IPL 3, in spite of not playing the format internationally. Phew! I have just skimmed through the surface. Imagine, there is more to come.

To me, for the last 21 years, Indian cricket has meant Tendulkar. And when he is dismissed, the hopes of a whole nation sink, the stadiums go quieter or just empty up and a million television sets are switched off. When he does well, the whole nation is in a cheerful mood, the stock market is on the upswing (a recent research paper correlated Sachin's performances to the stock markets' performance!). He has handled such intense scrutiny, pressure and criticism amazingly well.

However, the best thing about him is, he still is very down to earth and retains his middle class grounding. Here is the proof.

Take a bow, Sachin!

Take care.

Day 284 - A Magical Week!

2010-10-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

One shoots bullets from his fingers, the other caresses cricket balls with his magic wand. Both are big blockbuster hits this week!

I am just back from watching the Tamil film 'Enthiran' starring Rajinikanth, the ultimate crowd-puller! Crowd puller he definitely is, not only in India both elsewhere as well. For instance, he is extremely popular in Japan, of all places! Coming back to the film itself; it is a special effects extravaganza which keeps you engaged for a little more than 3 hours! I can safely say that I haven't really seen anything like this in Indian cinema before. No wonder it is the costliest Indian film ever made, at Rs. 150 crores. And Rajini, the superstar, does pull in his worth at Rs.45 crores. Skipped a beat? Yes, that is exactly how much Rajini was paid for Enthiran, to play the double role of a scientist and a humanoid robot created by himself. The story itself is very predictable. However, in my view, the film is doing roaring business (Rs.117 crores in box office collections) because of the following:

1) The Rajini charisma.

2) Superb special effects; probably the best ever seen in Indian cinema. The last 30 minutes of the film is especially terrific!

3) A stunning Aishwarya Rai; I do not like her much, but in this film she looks fabulous!

All in all, the film does live up to its hype. Rajini, at the age of 60, is stunning, to say the least. By the way, he is probably the only superstar who has no qualms being himself and being seen with his bald head in real life. Hats off to Thalaivar!

The Rajini Magic.

The other blockbuster hit this week was India's nail biting, edge of the seat winning effort against Australia in the first test match at Mohali. Kudos to the magician from Hyderabad. The man with the most unique initials in the cricketing world is truly Very Very Special. VVS Laxman played tormentor to the Aussies yet again with his almost run a ball effort which won India the match. Never one to play the ball under his nose, he used his bat like a wand; scoring runs effortlessly all over the ground, when wickets were falling at the other end. India at 8 wickets down and still more than 100 runs to get for a win, were a goner. I had switched off the television at this point of time as well. 3 hours later, I was pleasantly surprised to be informed that Laxman and Ishant Sharma were still at the crease and India were inching towards a victory. Ishant Sharma scored 31 sterling runs and his effort was equally important as Laxman's.

Laxman, Ishant and the rest of the victorious Indian team celebrate the win.

With the gutsy fightback and holding their nerves during the last few moments, India showed the Aussies why they are ranked the number 1 test team in the world by ICC. I hope they stay there for a long time.

By the way, the opening ceremony of the CWG games was a huge success! Some respite from the constant torrent of bad news related to the organisation of the event in Delhi. And what's more, looks like the Indian contingent is winning medals galore, a lot of them golds.

Hope we continue to do well and erase the bad memories in the run up to these games.

Take care.

Day 277 - Happy Birthday.....Almost!

2010-10-03T12:03:00.000-07:00

As promised in my last post, this post covers all that happened on my birthday, which was on September 30th. The fact that a lot of my friends were looking out for this post and in fact, asked for it, makes me assume that there is a demand for this out there. So here goes.

Birthdays are special and so was this one. Birthdays are also days when you realise that you have reached another milestone in your finite lifetime on this planet. Another year gone, and hopefully a few more to go. A few more to look forward to. One invariably tends to veer towards thinking about what has been achieved till this day and what is in store for the next few years, at the least.

However, this time around I had little time to do any of the above because, as fate (and the Supreme Court) would have it, this was the day when the Allahabad High Court was to deliver the much awaited judgement on the land title dispute for what is known as 'Ram Janmabhoomi'. Given the sensitivity of the matter, there was a high alert in the entire country to prevent any ignition of violent acts due to religious fervour. Most of evening on September 29th was spent in planning for the continuity of operations at work for various worst case scenarios.

Thursday, September 30, was a day when the whole country waited with bated breath for the verdict. This was the single most talked about subject wherever one went. However, for me the day started of early with surprises! At the stroke of midnight, Priya sprang a surprise; an impromptu party, complete with cutting a small chocolate truffle cake! The kids and the neighbours were co-conspirators! Priya gave me a collage of the kids' pictures as a birthday gift. Wow!

Is this cake for me!?!

The Midnight Party!

Another surprise awaited me about 5 hours later, when my Dad called me to let me know that Mom had just boarded the flight to Mumbai for a surprise visit! So the first thing that I did on my birthday was to drive to the airport to receive her.

At work, there was one more surprise awaiting me. Vikas and the entire team sang the Happy Birthday song as soon as I walked into my office! I was floored. Thankfully there were no birthday bums!

It is a great feeling when someone wishes you. Even more so, when you get that phone call or note from friends with whom you have lost contact over the years. Throughout the day, the wishes kept trickling in through various means! Text messages, emails, wall posts on Facebook; it was all happening. We are living in an age of information overload and instant connectivity and I truly saw its impact on this day. For a while I was trying to reply instantaneously to everyone who was wishing me. However, I was fighting a losing battle. After a while, it was such a deluge, I just gave up. I was able to wade through all the messages only by the next day.

Also, I also took possession of my new apartment on Thursday in the morning. The outcome of the verdict was known by 4.30 in the afternoon. Thankfully, there were no violent reactions to the verdict, which agreed that the disputed place was Ram's birthplace, however, divided the title of the land into 3 parts. Given that the country had accepted the verdict with maturity, I decided to venture out with the family and treat Priya, Mom and the kids to a pizza party in the evening at Papa John's. The kids had been wanting me to take them there for ages. The only sad note to my 'happy' birthday was known the next day morning. My mother lost her ring, most probably, the previous evening. Frantic searches did not yield any positive results.

So, it was a day of surprises for me. An action packed day with little time for introspection. However I did re-dedicate myself to some of the goals that I had set at the beginning of the year. I have been a little naughty with some of them, but nothing serious! Should be back on track in a few weeks. More on that later.

Take care!

Day 272 - CWG, CSK & The Power of Ideas

2010-09-28T11:18:00.000-07:00

'Due to all the criticism and bad press around the preparations for the Commonwealth Games (CWG), Suresh Kalmadi decided to commit suicide by hanging himself from the roof. And the roof collapsed. Next, he attempted to jump off a bridge with the same motive, however, this time the bridge collapsed!’

This is a joke which has been doing the rounds for some days now, ridiculing all the goof ups that have now become part and parcel of the preparations for the CWG. It is also a good example of how we, as a country, have a great self-deprecating sense of humour. There is now even a page dedicated to ‘CWG Jokes’ on Facebook! However, at the bottom of our hearts, we all know the fact that all this bad press is causing tremendous pain to all of us as Indians. We are probably trying to cope with it by trying to find the funny side of all this mess.

The past week has been particularly bad for the organisers of the CWG. A roof (false ceiling, actually) collapsed; nobody was killed. A bridge collapsed; 27 people injured, but nobody was killed! However, it was only meant for ordinary pedestrians. Elsewhere, in the Games village, trouble began to brew as athletes began trickling in. The apartments were not properly maintained. Toilets were not clean. Mattresses had human footprints and marks of dog paws on them! And then Lalit Bhanot lectured us on the differences in the standards of hygiene of foreigners and us lesser mortals. Indian boxer, Akhil Kumar’s bed broke when he sat on it! Would ‘The Commonwealth Circus’ be an appropriate name for the event? I think so. Because the sportsperson is anyway not in the limelight for these games. In fact, many of them have just pulled out. I do hope we hold the responsible people accountable and punish them. We should in fact punish them by boycotting the CWG completely. For a country like India, where a large portion of our population lives below the poverty line, organising a Rs.70,000 crore extravaganza is a criminal offence.

The other interesting happening over last week was the elevator pitches for ‘The Power of Ideas 2010’ initiative. Manish’s business idea has been short-listed as part of this initiative and he had to make a 5 minute elevator pitch to an evaluating panel in Mumbai. After umpteen number of rehearsals and fine tuning, I accompanied him to the venue on Saturday for the Elevator Pitch. I was also hoping to listen in on the business ideas of other participants. Unfortunately, the format of the pitches was such that only the participant as well as the evaluation panel were involved. Hence no audiences! Manish made his 5 minute speech and was bombarded with questions, which was a good indication of the open interest in his business idea / model. I hope he does make the next cut, because he deserves it.

I also got my new house registered finally during the course of the week. Hopefully will be able to take possession of the place after a few more formalities are completed. Will need to then plan the whole run up to the actual occupation of the house, including a fresh coat of paint and a whole lot of modifications which the better half has ordered...phew! But, am I looking forward to it? YES!

The other thing that I am looking forward to this week is my birthday! Though, aging by one more year is no fun, the day itself is so much fun! Will write all about that day and much more in my next post.

Till then...take care!

P.S.: By the way, I would like to congratulate all my friends in Chennai on Chennai Super Kings winning the Champions League T20 tournament! Hey....whistle poooodu!

Day 263 - Back To Basics

2010-09-19T13:39:00.000-07:00

This week I spent two full days attending the first module of my firm's Leadership Program. The theme of the module was 'Personal Mastery' and the content was based on the highly acclaimed The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Signature Program™. The program is based on the tremendously successful book by the same name by Dr. Stephen R Covey, first published in 1989. Dr. Covey followed it up with 'The 8th Habit', published in 2004.

Of course, this is not the first time that I was attending such a leadership training program. Also, I had read the book a long time back. However, what struck me as I was going through the two-day program was the impact that can be created by smart and slick packaging. I say this because the program does not talk about anything new. In fact, most of us in our day to day lives must be following some or all of the principles behind each of the 'Habit' described in the program. Smart packaging adds a halo to what is essentially common sense stuff.

This is however, not to belittle the effectiveness of the program itself. I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the video snippets of Stephen's sessions. All of it makes very good sense, especially the 'Habit 7 - Sharpen The Saw'. Stephen uses the analogy of the story of the goose which laid a golden egg everyday. The point being, it is important to take good care of the production capability on an ongoing basis to ensure that the high quality production continues. Hence it is very essential that self-renewal of the physical, mental, spiritual and emotional / social aspects of our lives happen so that we can be fresh and energetic to be able to practice the other 6 habits. I think I enjoyed and related to Habit 7 the most because it also ties in with the resolutions that I made for myself at the start of this year.

Interestingly, I got an opportunity to practice some of the things that were part of the program on Saturday itself. My car was hauled in for the first 'paid' service by the Honda dealer and service partner. There was cost escalation and there was time delay, and still the things to be taken care of in the service were not, leaving me feeling cheated...and fuming! I guess, my understanding of the concept of 'Interdependence', learnt over the week during the program saved them. Had a similar experience at the 'Priority Banking' branch of the SBI this morning. Public sector...always the same...priority banking or otherwise.

It was also good to meet up with Shankar Krishnamoorthy, an old friend and colleague, today after almost 6 years.

As you can imagine, I have been thinking about taking care of myself, a lot this week. You should too!

Day 256 - National Integration A Must - By Order, The Almighty.

2010-09-12T13:22:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been a happy and rare co-incidence of Eid and Ganesh Chaturthi falling on Saturday. The festive spirit was evident all over the city. The Muslims were celebrating Eid on Saturday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, which involves rigorous fasting and prayer routines. The Hindus were celebrating the birth of the elephant God - Lord Ganesha, marking the beginning of a 10 day festival, during which Ganesha will be treated with the best of food and prayers, culminating in the immersion of the idols of the Lord in water bodies across the city.

I have always been a believer. Prayers in the morning at home, have been a part of my routine for ages now. I did, however, shun public places of worship for a period of almost 15 years after the Babri masjid was demolished by Hindu fundamentalists unleashing communal violence all over India. The boycott of public places was to underline the fact that one does not need such places of worship, as religion should be something which is very personal for every individual. Religion should not be used as a means of driving political agendas and causing irreparable damage to the secular fibre of the nation.

It struck me that this rare co-incidence of festivals of both the faiths falling on the same day might be a signal from up above, to us lesser mortals, that religion should be used to bring people together rather than divide them. Our floor was a good example of this on Saturday. After offering the prayers to Ganesha at home, we had lunch at Amiya and Farheen's place to celebrate Eid. The same 'kolam maavu' was used for making the rangoli outside our door as well as writing 'Happy Eid' outside our neighbours' door! In the evening, the Chaudhuris hosted all of us for dinner.

Ganesha @ Home

Sunday was a busy day as well. Had lots of Ganesh Chaturthi darshan and Eid invitations. We went to Sameer Dave's home in the afternoon. Everything about the celebrations at his home was grand. A large idol of Ganesha and lots of relatives all over the place. Went to some of my colleagues' homes in the evening, with Arvind and Sagar. Meera's place for Ganesh darshan and then to Arshan Dawji's place to savour some Sheer Korma. By the way, this is the only downside to this rare occasion. The amount of sweets and rich food that is consumed; full of fats and calories, will take many many days in the gym to compensate for these two days now!

I wish all my friends a very Happy Eid-ul-Fitr and a very Happy Ganesha Chaturthi. I do sincerely think that this rare occasion was The Almighty's signal to us as a nation to be united, while celebrating our diversity. I hope many others do too!

Take care.

Day 255 - Parents Are GODS

2010-09-11T07:34:00.000-07:00

If someone were to ask me: What do you fear the most? The answer would be: Losing my parents.

Last weekend was spent in Ahmedabad. I had wanted to go to Ahmedabad, my hometown, for sometime now, as my father was not keeping well and was hospitalized sometime back. He was hospitalized due to a sudden surge in sugar levels, which necessitated administering insulin. Being a chain smoker, he had also contracted bronchitis. After being monitored in the hospital for 3 days, he was discharged. The bronchitis infection had subsided, however, the sugar levels were still higher than normal. The day we reached Ahmedabad, another blood sugar test was done and as they say: All wazzz well! It is at times like these, that my biggest fears resurface, especially now that they are getting older and live alone. Thankfully, this time, all's well that ends well.

In spite of spending the last 18 years away from my parents, I have always been very close my parents. My relationship with my mother, especially, was always special. My father was always, and still is, a very busy man. He is a trade unionist and the well being of the smallest common denominator has always been the closest to his heart, sometimes even at the cost of not spending enough time with the family. However, he made sure that he provided for the family adequately. There was never a need that was not fulfilled. In my childhood, though we lived in the same house, sometimes I did not see my father for months together because of the odd hours. Naturally, my mother was closest to me and my brother, as she was the 'go-to' person for everything for us. She herself is a very strong woman and can be credited with single-handedly managing the entire house and the kids very very well. The most difficult times being, when Emergency was declared in the country and most of the socialists, including my father, were imprisoned by the incumbent government. Their families were harassed by the government by denying access to basic utilities like water and electricity. My mother dealt with all of these valiantly for the sake of the love of her husband and children! She is a winner!

Hence, my parents, in spite of having gone through unimaginable struggles in their lives, never ever left anything to chance as far as the upbringing of their children was concerned. They have provided adequately for all our needs and wants. Apart from all the material things, the most important thing that they gave us was the right values and morals. Being a parent myself, I realise that it is very important to have the right set of values embedded in the upbringing of children. That is the best gift you can ever give them because values and morals stay with you life long and help you make the right decisions throughout your life.

My Parents

Hence the title of this post. As I write this on Ganesh Chaturthi day, an interesting anecdote comes to my mind. Once upon a time, the two brothers, Ganesha and Karthikeya, were fighting for a fruit. Shiva and Parvati decided that a competition should resolve the issue and asked them both to go around the world on their respective 'vahanas'(vehicles). Whoever, comes back first after circumnavigating the world would get the fruit. Karthikeya's vehicle was a peacock and hence he hopped on to it and was on his way immediately. Ganesha, as his vehicle was a mouse, had no chance of winning this one. He used his brains and had a brilliant idea. He went around his parents in circles and told them that they were his world! Job done. Parents were happy. The fruit was his!

I think he was right. Consider your parents to be your GODS. You exist because of them. You are what you are because of them. I hope everyone feels the same way. Take care of your parents because you owe it to them.

Take care.

Day 241 - Discovery of 'Myself'

2010-08-28T08:57:00.000-07:00

Finally! Finally, I think I have been able to zero in on a house that would suit both; my purse as well as my wife's expectations! Hence the search for a buying a house in Mumbai is coming to an end. Though we still have some way to go in terms of discussing and agreeing the nitty-gritties, light certainly can now be seen at the end of the tunnel.

While I was going through this process this week, I discovered an interesting fact about myself. Maybe I should not say 'discovered'. But I did think about it a lot. The art of negotiation! In the past, whenever I have been in a situation where I have needed to negotiate, in my personal or professional life, the first feeling has been, of a certain sense of wariness. Wary of the expectation of a long and cumbersome process of negotiation. It was no different this time.

Negotiation is the process of communicating back and forth, for the purpose of reaching a joint agreement about differing needs or ideas. One would need a collection of skills and behaviors that involves communication, sales & marketing, psychology, sociology, assertiveness and conflict resolution. Thinking about it, negotiation is all about getting to a situation where both sides win something for themselves.

Inspite of the wariness, when I think back, most of the times, it would be safe to say that, I have come out of such situations with what I had expected to achieve. Like yesterday! So, what is it all about? Can it be learnt or is it in the genetics? Does experience make you better at it? I think it is all of it. My dad is someone who has probably spent a major part of his life at negotiations. Maybe, I did pick up some stuff from him. I remember, attending a Negotiation Skills training as well some years ago. I also remember cursing myself for wasting time. However, I do believe that this is a skill which can be learnt. Last but not the least, I think one has to depend a lot on past experiences and go by your instinct.

The key really is to be clear about your priorities about what you wish to achieve out of a negotiation and build enough flexibility around those objectives to be able to manoeuvre.

So much for my random thoughts about negotiation skills. Out of my system now. Right now, I am just glad that I was able to close the house deal yesterday. A huge sense of relief.

By the way, I still hate negotiating! Take care.

Day 234 - Media Abuse

2010-08-21T06:19:00.000-07:00

Since the mid-eighties the one thing that I have very diligently followed is...News. I have always been a current affairs maniac since my childhood. Got into the habit of reading the newspapers when I was in the 5th standard at school. To this date, the first thing that I look for in the morning is the newspaper. A typical 'Madrasi Mama', I know! If, for any reason, the newspaper isn't delivered on a given day, a sense of incompleteness prevails for the whole day. In terms of visual media, since the days of Salma Sultan (with the mandatory flower) and Tejeshwar Singh (in his rich baritone) on Doordarshan I have been following the news. 'The World This Week' was the first current affairs based program that I really loved to watch. I think the show opened up the world to us in a way that had never been attempted before. Kudos to Prannoy Roy!

Speaking of Prannoy Roy, the psephologist par excellence, started delivering election results as well, in a way that no one had done before. I was hooked again! The liberalisation era opened up the media sector and there were these host of channels that started producing current affairs footage for all of the 24 hours in a day. They even broadcast a war, live into our living rooms! I was hooked onto channels like NDTV 24X7 and Aaj Tak (providing the Hindi dosage!).

Over the last couple years though, the media has gone crazy, especially the visual media. Quantity has replaced quality. Quality has nosedived. Sensationalism is the mantra. Clearly, commercialisation and competition is having an impact on the quality of the news. The TV channels are bothered more about their circulation or TRP ratings. Earlier, it was only restricted to local media but now even national TV news channels too have been hitting the screens with unusual stories, which have no relevance to the entire nation, apart from satisfying their voyeuristic tendencies. These TV channels create episodes of their own based on suicide, crime, sex, corruption, magic and superstition which I guess, have nothing to do with news. I DO NOT want to know about the domestic quarrel of a certain husband and wife in Meerut. I DO NOT want to know about the goat which was born with an extra leg. I DO NOT want to know the gory details of how a jilted lover took revenge by using acid! Most importantly, I DO NOT want any of such episodes to be played again and again for an entire day, numbing my my senses. I DO NOT consider these as news.

Journalism has hit a new low. Needless to say, I hardly watch television news channels these days. I still read the newspapers in the morning. These have become booklets instead of the standard 10-12 pages of newsprint previously (some of the pages being full page commercial adverts); but they are not as bad as some of the visual media being dished out to us.

I am sure there will be more people out there who feel the same way. I hope they outnumber those who like the programming of a few TV channels for their sensationalism.

Take care.

Day 228 - Ek Gharonde Ki Talaash!

2010-08-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

In India, 'Roti, Kapda Aur Makaan' (Food, Clothing & Shelter) are said to be basic needs that every individual strives for day in and day out. I did not realise till very recently how basic a need 'Makaan' really is. It is a symbol of a sense of security. It assures you that at the end of the day, you have a place of your own to go to; to rest after a hard day's work and unwind. This weekend I was in the unenviable position of finding a new dwelling for myself, if I did not agree to my landlord's demands, in line with the market conditions. The very thought of looking for a new place again, in a space of 10 months, was depressing. But it did bring out very starkly the feeling of helplessness for not having a residence of your own. I also suddenly realised the pain of those people who do not have an abode to go to at the end of the day. Those who make do with temporary shelters under bridges, inside large pipelines, on the foot paths, etc.

India, by the way, leads the pack of top real estate investment markets in Asia for 2010, according to a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Urban Land Institute, a global non-profit education and research institute, released in December 2009. The report, which provides an outlook on Asia-Pacific real estate investment and development trends, points out that India, in particular Mumbai and Delhi, are good real estate investment destinations. Residential properties are viewed as more promising than other sectors. While, Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru top the pack in the hotel 'buy' prospects as well.

Amazing! This means that in this concrete jungle, that Mumbai has become, there is still more scope to build inanimate towers of bricks and mortar. I have been on the lookout to buy a house for myself for the last few months in Mumbai. The timing hasn't been that great because due to the continued recovery of the investment markets, real estate prices have bounced back to original boom time levels, and in some cases, way above realistic levels. At least way above 'my' realistic levels. Due to this I have let go of some very good opportunities, expecting the prices to come down, as I thought the price rise is temporary and a result of the pent up supply in the system during the recessionary period. It is probably not only me, because I did read reports of actual sales of residential properties coming down over the last few months due to the unrealistic price levels. On the other hand, however, I hear that even at these unrealistic levels there is enough demand. Only yesterday, a builder told me that he had closed bookings in a matter of hours, when he launched another tower in an existing project. Confusion! What to do!?!

In a country like India, I guess, demand will always outstrip supply, as the PwC report indicates. So, have I lost out by exiting from my property in Chennai? Have I lost out on the opportunities of buying some good properties in Mumbai, just because I did not want to take the risk of buying in an inflated market? Maybe, the wise thing to do for me now is to buy at current levels very soon. I hope some interesting options come my way.

By the way, I did have a wonderful conversation with my landlord today which resulted in the resolution of my short term problem. Hence, all is well.

Take care.

Day 227 - Mera Bharat Mahaan!

2010-08-14T07:24:00.000-07:00

It was interesting reading Chetan Bhagat's column in this morning's newspaper. This little piece of prose was about a conversation between the Prime Minister and his speech writer to discuss the content of the PM's Independence Day speech from the Red Fort in New Delhi. It was a funny take on the apparent lack of focus of the PM and his government to deal with the real issues and only wait for the instructions from 'you know who'!

Jokes apart, on the eve of India's 63rd Independence Day, as is the custom every year, there is a multitude of material written with the intent of analysing India's progress in the 63 years that we have had to define our destiny as a country. There are umpteen number of television shows on the same subject in this period as well. Obviously, patriotism, and more importantly, the criticism of how we have progressed as a country after our independence in 1947, is big business and makes good newsprint.

I have a slightly differing view. I think, as a nation, we have progressed wonderfully well in the last 63 years! True, we haven't done as well as a Singapore or a Thailand, but the fact of the matter is, that these countries have not had to work on such a vast and complex landscape, that India has had to. A country where there is a multitude of religions, castes and creed, a country where the dialect of the various languages spoken changes every 500 kms, a country which is large enough to have all the natural resources, a country which has many rivers, mountain ranges and deserts, a country where the difference between the rich and the poor is large that it cannot be bridged ever, a country where there is complete freedom of speech and a country where there are the resultant large number of political parties and their definitions of progress!

I think we have done very well in most sectors; agriculture, manufacturing, technology and services being at the forefront. We have had lop-sided development in some of the socially relevant sectors such as education, health and sanitation. Nonetheless, we have still moved forward. Some of the sectors have received attention a little late; infrastructure being the best example.

The one sector that we probably have not been able to progress much has been the 'mindset' sector. Majority of the populace of this nation seem to be plagued by a disease called inferiority complex. For example, even today, the fairer your skin, the more respect you are likely to command! We have a long way to go to be able to respect ourselves as an able nation, have the confidence to be the best in the world, able and willing to participate, collaborate and lead. This is the sector which I intend to track our progress on. I think this is what will expedite our progress in all the other sectors in the years to come.

Happy Independence Day! Take care.

Day 216 - The Scandalous Games

2010-08-03T12:07:00.000-07:00

Hosting an event of the scale of the Commonwealth Games is definitely a national honour, and responsibility, although the Commonwealth itself as an organisation, may be completely defunct. Over the past few months, however, the media has been going on and on about about how badly prepared are we to host the Games.

There have been many allegations.

Allegation No.1: The infrastructure is not ready. The construction at the various venues for the Games is not complete. Building materials are still lying around at the venues; probably the Indian athletes are fortunate, especially the long jumpers, steeple chasers and marathon runners, as they might have used these as an effective hurdle training course, in their attempts to get to these venues to practice!

Allegation No.2: Everything which has been built has been hurriedly built and is of inferior quality. Roofs are leaking and the walls already have cracks. Imagine a weightlifter in serious contention of a medal, attempting a 250 KG 'clean and jerk', and right then droplets of leaking water from the roof hitting his pate. I think we need raincoats for the weightlifters!

Allegation No.3: Huge financial irregularities. Treadmills have been hired for Rs.9, 50, 000 each for a period of 45 days! Some smart bloke in the papers has gone and found out the cost of buying the costliest treadmill from Harrods, which happens to be around Rs.7, 00, 000. A contract for media displays during the Queen's Baton Run across India has been awarded to a one man company, whose company is in liquidation in UK. It is a pity; even the common man's hard earned money could not save his company. But the interesting part is that there is no document to prove that there was a contract, even though money changed hands, just before the company went into liquidation, incidentally.

All this when we have 2 months to go for the event to happen. A showcase event meant to demonstrate to the world India's capabilities in hosting high profile events, thus strengthening our future bids for hosting the Asian Games and the Olympics. And then there is politics involved; no surprises, wherever money is involved, politics has to be present. The opposition wants the entire Organising Committee to be sacked, including its Chairman, who is the sports administrator extraordinaire in India! I think they should themselves resign, the money they have already made should definitely last for a couple of lifetimes.

Amidst all of this, nobody is worried about the pride of the country which is at stake. The Games are already a marketing disaster, with the common man / middle class showing complete apathy and no interest in the conduct of these games. We will also miss stars such as Usain Bolt, who has given New Delhi the miss to prepare for more important events.

My view is that the entire might of the nation should right now be focused on ensuring that the conduct of the Games happens reasonably well, the chances of it being a resounding success are already nil. After the Games are over, there needs to be a serious debate on the role of politicians in sports administration. Sports administration is the honey which attracts every politician, big or small, stature doesn't matter. If the Games end up being a damp squib, Mr.Kalmadi needs to be held accountable for it and forever banned from being a sports administrator.

In the meantime, let us pray for the smooth conduct of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

Take care.

Day 213 - 3 Hours of Dreaming

2010-07-31T11:41:00.000-07:00

I finally managed to watch LSD (Love, Sex Aur Dhoka) today, after having bought the DVD a couple of months ago. Over the last few months, I have been wanting to watch a slew of movies which have been recommended by friends or have had rave reviews in the media. I cannot term myself a great movie buff, but critically acclaimed movies have always been a passion.

I haven't been able to watch a lot of movies in the recent past because of paucity of time. Moreover, two small kids at home make it almost impossible to watch movies in a theatre Also, my intolerance for bad cinema has increased and my attention span has decreased almost proportionate to each other in the last few years. Hence, the sum total of all these factors has been that, I haven't watched many movies (certainly not in the theatres) in the recent past. The ones that I have watched, are those which have been critically acclaimed, like 3 Idiots.

So, there is still a long list of movies to watch: Ishqiya, Once Upon A Time in Mumbai, Tere Bin Laden, Udaan, Raavan, etc. The last movie that I saw in a theatre was Rajneeti. A movie with a huge star cast, with the director trying to make screenplay out of a mixture of Mahabharata, Godfather and contemporary Indian politics. The huge star cast meant that the director could not do justice to the abundance of talent at hand. My son had already declared the film as 'not good' after the first couple of reels.

Speaking of movies, down in South India, movies are big news! Everyone loves movies, across all age groups; across all strata of the society. Actors and actresses are revered as The Almighty and have even got temples dedicated to them. One of my favourite films also happens to be in my mother tongue, Tamil: Nayagan.

I do sometimes wonder what is it in a movie that makes people go gaga over them!? I think movies are like dreams. Once is in a dreamland for three hours, watching a string of vivid images, while watching a movie. We see our aspirations, hopes, wishes fears and fantasies being played out on the big screen for 3 hours. When we watch movies, we get to experience what we normally can’t in our own lives by identifying with characters that are involved in impossible stories. Whether the ending is happy, sad, or bittersweet, if the story is to our liking, we are thrilled every time. Hence movies are also about story-telling. A good story is always immortal.

I am not sure, if many people do appreciate the subtleties in the making of the movie itself. The art of camerawork, editing, lighting and, of course, the acting itself. I am someone who does tend to notice these. For example, LSD has been made with experimental camera work. The three segments of the film have three different styles / types of cameras and cinematography in them. In the past few years, film makers in Bollywood have started to become more and more experimental in the quest for putting something 'different' out there and this trend has received the right impetus with the influx of new and young talent.

Hope this continues and I get to see many more good films in the coming months and years!

Take care.

Day 200 - Identity Crisis?

2010-07-18T01:01:00.000-07:00

One of the highlights of this week has been the decision on the symbol for representing the Indian rupee. The decision was a culmination of a long drawn exercise which included a design competition for the symbol, which attracted about 3000 entries. How come I never knew about this competition earlier, will remain a mystery forever. The design competition was won by D Udaya Kumar, a post-graduate PhD student at IIT Powai, who has just finished his thesis and has landed a job at IIT Guwahati! He became an instant celebrity, though the cash award that he got for his efforts was a pittance.

So, the Indian rupee now has a new symbol and it is coming to a keyboard near you very soon. Why all the hullaboo about the event? It is said that the Indian currency has now entered a select group of currencies (Dollar, Pound, Yen & Euro) having such a symbol, implying that, backed by a trillion dollar economy, the currency is making its presence felt on the international scene. My repartee: Nobody every stopped the Indian government from coming up with such a symbol for the rupee even 20 years ago, when the Indian economy had zilch influence on the global scene.

Announcing the decision Ambika Soni said, "The symbol would lend a distinctive character and identity to the currency and further highlight the strength and global face of the Indian economy". I say: Precisely. It is all about an identity crisis.

I suspect all this tom-toming arises from the fact that Indians are not a confident lot! We always draw great pride from the fact that we will now be in the company of the big boys. Somehow we tend to define our success by calibrating it to the past deeds of the so called 'big boys'! Do we not have an identity of our own? The same philosophy and trend can be extended to the Indian urban society and its uncanny ability to draw inspiration from everything West.

Do not get me wrong. I am very happy that we now, finally, have a symbol for the rupee. I also like Udaya's design and believe that it is a perfect representation of the Indian cultural ethos. And the bottom line: it looks good! But I am not a great fan of the whole media spin that this is a milestone in India's march towards being an economic superpower. I am sure that just by allocating a symbol to the Indian currency would not make it gallop at a GDP rate of 10% YoY. Though I sincerely hope that it does happen, by the hard work of the 1.2 billion Indians!

Till then, keep counting; stop preening! Take care.

Day 199 - Deprived...

2010-07-17T07:53:00.000-07:00

There was a time when I could do with only 2 hours of sleep. This was during the early years of my career and the brief period of time just before it. And I had that lifestyle over a long period of time, due to various reasons. The first and foremost was the amount of time spent at the workplace. When one is just starting off in one's worklife and is a bachelor living alone, there is seldom a thought given to the number of hours spent at the workplace. The workplace, in fact, tends to become one's home and the colleagues, family. The second reason is being young! When you are in your twenties, you want to do everything and pack in as many things as you can in a 24 hour day, including long chats on the phone late into the nights! :-))

That was flashback; and it was a good one. Pan to today. Eleven years down the line and with a family to care for, I can still do with 2-3 hours of sleep on the odd day, but, as you might imagine, it starts becoming more and more difficult as you age. Lack of sleep does have its impact on the next day, when one feels very lethargic and sleepy.

I recently read an article about the prevalence of sleep deprivation and the consequent health syndrome of Obstructuve Sleep Apnea (OSA) spreading throughout urban India, in India Today. Over the last few years, I have noticed that we, as a society, are sleeping lesser and lesser these days. The benchmark of everyone going to bed by 10 PM is no longer applicable. Most families are wide awake till 11 PM - midnight! Even children, like my own, are sleeping lesser hours. It is said, medically, children grow more when they are asleep. Sleep deprivation in our cities, is doing a disservice to the future of India. The Philips Sleep Survey says 93% of urban Indians get less than 8 hours of sleep per night! I think this is a very dangerous trend. Sustained sleep deprivation leads to OSA, thus increasing the risk of diabetes and heart ailments.

There are various reasons behind this trend. The Indian economy and its integration with the global economy is the most important reason. India, because of its time advantage of being able to bridge the east and west, has preferred to grow the services sector. Hence you have people working unnatural hours in call centres, sweat shops and back offices higher up the value chain. Additionally, their families have adapted to this lifestyle over a period of time. The other reason is the opening up of the media and the huge number of TV channels airing myraid soap operas till late in the night. Clearly, this is a lifestyle issue and the solution lies in changing one's lifestyle.

At the beginning of this year, I made a promise to myself that I am going to try and get 8 hours of sound sleep every night. It hasn't been consistently possible till now. However, let me rededicate myself towards this effort.

Sleep well. Sleep tight. Take care.

Day 186 - A Collosal Waste

2010-07-04T12:55:00.000-07:00

This post is prompted by the Bharat Bandh call given by various political parties, including the BJP-led NDA and the Left parties in the country, for tomorrow. This is being planned, apparently, in protest against the fuel price hike, which was recently announced by the government and the general increase in inflation over the past few months.

So, what are we going to achieve by 'enforcing' a countrywide strike? Yes, 'enforcing' is the word being used in the media. These political parties of various hues which form the whole spectrum of the opposition parties in this country are all supporting the Bandh. From the right wing BJP to the Left parties, with a myriad mix goons, sycophants and stone age politicos included in between. Enforcing the strike means, there will be violence if you resist the 'Bandh'. You will be a likely target of mindless violence if you do not co-operate and shut shop. Essential services will be allowed but everybody else would be expected to co-operate.

So, who is expected to benefit from the day long strike? My view: Nobody!

You might find this strange coming from someone who has a socialist father. However, this strike is being 'enforced'. It is not an outcome of spontaneous support for the perpetrators of this strike unlike the non-violent movement led by the Mahatma. I abhor any kind of violence, and that is what every common man should do. This strike, like all other strikes, is going to result in a collosal wastage of 1 man day of effort; a loss of crores of rupees worth of production of goods and services. Not to mention the loss due to the violence, arson and loss of life, if it goes to that extent. Is the government likely to roll back the fuel price hike and suddenly regulate the prices of various food and vegetables? No. So, why the strike? Instead of enforcing a countrywide Bandh and causing losses of crores of rupees, it would make much better sense if these political parties offer to put their heads together with the government to come up with solutions to the price rise issue.

There are other questions to be answered as well, apart from the collosal loss to the exchequer. Spare a thought for that daily wages earner. If everything is shut, where does he earn his bread from? What about the hordes of organisations who have moved their key processes here as part of the ITES / BPO boom? Should those organisations also shut shop in their respective countries because we, Indians, are are on strike? Imagine the huge amount of time and effort that goes into planning for business continuity for such an event by all these organisations, which is exactly what I have been doing for the last few hours this Sunday evening! Phew!

I do not support this Bandh; nor should you! Take care.

Day 182 - The Beautiful Game

2010-06-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

Goooooooooaaaaaaaaalllllllll!!!

Yes, it is football frenzy time! It is amazing how once in every four years this phenomenon, called the FIFA World Cup, captures the imagination of practically the whole world, me included. Let me be very clear; I am not a great fan of football. Club football confuses me, what with all the different leagues in different parts of the world and the never ending player transfers from one club to another. However, when once in 4 years, the World Cup is played over a month, I become a die-hard fan of the game.

Although India has never played in the World Cup Finals (it did qualify for the 1950 World Cup Finals, but the team did not travel to Brazil for the competition), during the World Cup people in India become staunch supporters of various teams depending on various parameters like, the stars that they follow, the emotional attachment to a playing nation, the style of play of a particular team, etc.

I, for one, support multiple teams! And believe me this is not because I try to hedge my bets. I am supporting Spain for its seamless and skillful play, Brazil as the eternal favourites due to the flair with which they play, Germany because of their structured and disciplined execution by a very young team and last but not the least, Argentina! Since the time I watched the 1986 World Cup Finals in Mexico for the first time, I have an emotional connect to Argentina! Argentina won that competition and Maradona was the 'God of Football', not necessarily due to the 'Hand of God' only. From that year on, I have watched every World Cup with great interest. If 1986 was about Maradona and the 'Hand of God', 1990 was all about the magic of the dimunitive Salvatore Schillaci. 1994 was all about selling the game to the USA, while 1998 was the year of Zinadine Zidane; France winning the tournament on home turf! The World Cup came to Asia for the first time in 2002. It was also the first time that two countries were jointly hosting the tournament; Japan and South Korea. I thought 2006 was a drab affair in Germany, which was won by the Italians.

2010 is the year of Africa, the World Cup Finals being hosted in this continent for the first time. I missed the first set of matches due to the travel to Bengaluru. However, I more than made up for it in the second week, by ensuring that I watched rest of all the matches in the Group stages. I have to say, very few matches in this World Cup have been entertaining. The pre-quarterfinal match up between England and Germany was a riveting affair. It was also marred by poor referee decisions. This and some other such bad decisions by the referees have sparked of a huge clamour of the usage of technology to assist referees in decision making.

Now, don't get me wrong. I am a great supporter of technology and its applications in our day to day lives. I also appreciate the fact that such technological help has added great value to sports like Cricket and Tennis. However, I, for one would be very careful to go the whole hog with technology for a game like football. Football is a beautiful game because of the raw speed and pace, because of the amazing skills of the players to control a ball and keep its possession with them and because of the innovative and creative tactics used by teams to cut through the defences of the opponents to score a goal. I believe uncontrolled intervention of technology can take away the beauty of this minimalist game. If the usage of technology is controlled in such a way that it does not kill the pace and creativity of the game by frequent interruptions, it must be welcomed. Remember, some years ago, the game had started to become very boring due to the frequent stoppages because of inappropriate tackles and fouls. FIFA had then introduced the 'Advantage' rule, to increase the pace of the game and keep it interesting. The rule was simple. If a player was fouled, but the possession of the ball still remained with the player's own team, the game was allowed to be continued without stopping it for a free kick for the foul.

As I write this, the tournament is entering its decisive and interesting quarter finals stage. A couple of big ticket encounters await us. Argentina will play Germany in the Quarters; can't wait for it. Oracle Octopus might have predicted a win for Germany, but as one of my colleagues pointed out today, the law of averages might catch up with Mr.OO. I am betting on a Brazil v/s Argentina final, though Spain could also be one of the finalists. They are playing some beautiful football. Some of the stars to look out for in these later stages of the tournament are: David Villa, Lionel Messi, Kaka, Fabiano, Diego Forlan, Gyan, Sneijder, Klose, Podolski and maybe some more who might emerge as stars due to their exploits in the final stages.

I am loving it and looking forward to all these stars and their respective teams performing at the highest levels. Meanwhile, this weekend I cought up with my friends from SHCIL. Jyoti is here in India for a couple of months. Hence myself, Parag, Jyoti and Ritesh got together for lunch along with our respective familes. It was a relaxed affair and a lot of fun. Plan to organise a bigger event in a month or so before Jyoti goes back to the US.

On Monday, Dad got operated for cataract. Finally, after a couple of postponements due to high sugar levels. He is keeping well and in good spirits.

Hence, so am I. Take care.

Day 175 - Hibernating In The Rains

2010-06-23T04:40:00.000-07:00

As you know, last week, or most part of it was spent in travel to and from Bengaluru, the marriage ceremony and spending time with family and lots and lots of relatives.

This week is the second week of my holidays and I am in hibernation mode. However, even in this mode I realised there was a lot happening.

First of all, I do have to work through a long list of 'to-do's accumulated over the last couple of months. These included varied things like getting my SIPs updated, repairing the childrens' bicycle, reparing the phones, immersing a couple of paper mash sculptures, etc. The good news is that I am almost done with these.

Next up was the World Cup football. Having missed the first round of matches due to all the travelling last week, I decided that I will watch all the matches live till I am on holiday. I have been partially successful but have witnessed some interesting encounters as well. The match between Brazil and Ivory Coast was a very bad advertisement for the sport.

On the health front, Priya and I decided to have another go at the GM diet. Priya was done on the first day. I am still holding the fort. Hence, it is a bit of a torture being on holiday and not being able to eat whatever I fancy. It is even worse when you get the opportunity to meet up with friends and go out for dinner, which is what is being planned in the next couple of days. I think it will be painful to watch everybody at the table having a go at schezwan rice, with me limited to nibbling salads. We will see. I have however, restarted going to the gym seriously.

The other thing which I wanted to do during these two week holidays and have failed to do so horribly is to pick up my reading habit again. There is a huge pile of half-read books on my writing table, which I intended to tackle. However, I have not been successful at it. Either these books are very boring or my attention span is decreasing by the day. Dangerous trend. By the way, I started reading a new book - 'Blackberry - The Inside Story of Research In Motion'. So far, so good. I also plan to see a film - Rajneeti tomorrow. Hope it lives up to the reviews I have read about the film.

The bright spot of this holiday though was Suryanksh's first day to school and the rains. He has started going to the Bombay Scottish School (Junior KG). Have been picking him up everyday from school. The other bright spot was of course the onset of the rains. It has been cloudy for most parts of the last couple of days and it has been raining heavily sporadically. The sights and sounds of Mumbai are completely different when it rains.

So, the only evidence of my hibernation are the afternoon naps that I took on a couple of days. However, inspite of all this activity, there is a sense of restlessness in me. It always happens when I am on a long leave. It is like I am being deprived of my daily dosage of some strong addiction. I suspect, that addiction is of work.

Yes, am sick of browsing the mails on the Blackberry and am itching to come back to work.

Take care.

Day 170 - Bengaluru Beckons

2010-06-18T14:12:00.000-07:00

This past week was spent preparing for the Bengaluru visit and then travelling to the city of gardens. The purpose of the visit to Bengaluru was to attend a cousin's (Shivakumar) wedding.

It was great fun because we went as a group to Bengaluru after assembling in Mumbai as the base. My parents, brother and sister-in-law arrived just before we departed to Bengaluru on Saturday. We were also joined by other cousins and their families. The flight from Mumbai to Bengaluru was pretty much uneventful, except for the pranks of both my little ones at the airport. When we arrived in Bengaluru, the weather was heavenly. It was cool and pleasant unlike Mumbai's humidity. It was also raining sporadically. The drive to the city from the airport was full of greenery. Incidentally, I met Adwait at the Bengaluru airport and he looked fresh and sporty. Looks like he is enjoying his time at JPMC.

Now, Bengaluru is a city where I have spent close to 2 years of my life. It is also special, as Priya doesn't forget to remind me, because we started our married life in this city. Hence, there are a lot of memories attached to the city. The fact, however, is that , this city has undergone a massive change in the six years since we left Bengaluru for Chennai. Some of the roads and places are completely unrecognisable.

All the infrastructure projects have been completed. Grade separators are functional at Dairy Circle, Silk Board and Jayadeva Hospital! These were just starting to be built when I last saw these places. Malls have sprung up everywhere. New residential complexes which did not exist before have suddenly surfaced. Bengaluru, being a city of bungalows, looks strange with these new age skyscrapers.

I also like the city because of its meticulous cleanliness. Generally, I have found the southern cities to be more cleaner compared to the north. It would, of course, be a joke to even compare Mumbai with Bengaluru or Chennai on this aspect. The other thing that I liked about Bengaluru, and which is completely absent in Mumbai, is the attention to details in the construction of roadways. You see sign-boards at each junction / traffic signal, clearly telling you the directions to various places. The roads, dividers, etc. are properly painted / adorned with reflective material. You see attention to detail everywhere.

On the flip side, like in all other cities in India, the traffic has exploded. The number of private cars on the roads must have increased 5 folds in the last 6 years! And given Bengaluru's narrow roads, this causes endless traffic jams. Again, not as bad as Mumbai, but still a lot worse than it was 6 years ago. The other pathetic aspect of the city, and for that matter any other city in the south, is the complete absence of a service culture. You go to any shop, restaurant, hotels, cinema halls, etc. etc. and the people there will treat you like dirt and as if they are doing you a favour by allowing you to be there. Drives me nuts all the time, as I myself work in the service industry and expect better standards.

The trip, otherwise, was very enjoyable. I met up with some relatives after a long time, and some for the first time! By the time we started for Mumbai on the Wednesday, rains had hit Mumbai too. Various rumours about air traffic being diverted from Mumbai due to bad weather were floating around. However, we landed in Mumbai with only a 30 minute delay to normal weather.

I am at home for one more week and thus, look forward to the rains in Mumbai.

Take care.

Day 161 - My Experiment With Dieting

2010-06-09T11:54:00.000-07:00

Did you know there is a cookie diet? Well, I did not, till about five minutes ago when I was researching about diets and dieting plans for this post.

The reason I am writing about diets this week, is that, I was on one such diet for the past few days. The diet plan, however, was a disaster. I can, however, very conviniently place the blame for the disaster on the wrong timing of the diet!

Over the past few months my better half has been obsessed about her weight (like most women are, across the globe). This reached to a point where she actually started gymming and swimming quite regularly. Anyone who knows Priya would be quite surprised that the lady actually took the pain of working out. However, as we all know, work-outs is not an instant formula for weight reduction. According to me, my wife's weight has not changed much over the last couple of years. She is not over-weight at all. She just thinks she is over-weight. If you ask me, she is just perfect.

After a couple of weeks the situation became a bit desparate when Priya realised that she wasn't getting much traction with weight reduction inspite of the work-outs. Then she turned her attention towards diet plans. After much deliberation, it was decided that she would like to do the GM diet. Of course, I had to give her company, as doing a diet alone would be quite painful.

So, off we were on our first diet experiment! The GM diet, or the vegetarian version of it:

Rule: Day 1 : Only fruits to be consumed, except bananas.

Result: Success

Rule: Day 2: A boiled potato in the morning. Only vegetables for the rest of the day.

Result: Bad timing. This is where we hit the first obstacle. Everything was as planned till evening. However, this was our wedding anniversary! How can we celebrate such an occasion eating raw vegetables? So I lured Priya into a pizza outlet. I ended up having a pizza. Priya still had only salads and did not succumb to the temptations of an 8 incher. She was really serious about this!

Rule: Day 3: A mixture of fruits and vegetables. No bananas. No potatoes.

Result: Inspite of the disaster the previous evening Priya decided that I should continue to give her company. Everything was fine till evening. In the evening, another disaster. Being a Saturday, we embarked on a shopping trip to a well known mall. There, the golden arches beckoned. This time even my better half could not resist the temptation!

Rule: Day 4: Only bananas and milk today.

Result: Inspite of the double disaster, my wife wanted to push on with the diet plan and marched me off early in the morning to buy a huge load of bananas and milk. We lasted on bananas and milk till afternoon. After that all hell broke loose.

End of the diet plan. And my first experiment with diets. All due to bad timing.

Not to worry, though. Priya has pledged that this needs to be redone. This time, based on the learnings from the first attempt, the seven days of the diet plan will be planned in such a way that there are no important occasions during that period! See, it is all about timing.

Wish Priya (us) luck the next time around. Take care.