Hartal

Like anyone who has visited India after few years (3.5 in my case) I can rave about the progress India has made in the past several years. I can write pages about all the changes that have happened since I last visited. I can pour my heart out about the cell-phone-explosion, broadband-explosion (my village has broadband...yay!) and all the several thousand buildings that are being constructed all over the city. But...what is on my mind is Hartal.

We kept our trip here a secret until we showed up at home so it was a total surprise to everyone. I did tell my cousin so that he could arrange for a cab. Just as we landed in Cochin, the dude sitting next to me goes "There is a hartal today. You know right?" Hmm..No, I do not. "Oh ya, there is a hartal so try and get home by 6am", he goes on. What the heck...

So after baggage claim and customs we walk out and I am looking for a cab driver holding a placard with my name. Unable to find anyone I start walking around and find my cousin. After the initial greetings he delivers the same hartal news and says we are stranded in Cochin until 6pm. I suppose my surprise entry at home had to wait for another 12 hours.

This blog is really not about my visit...

Hartal in my opinion is a crime. It is a crime against humanity. Human beings are not meant to sit and vegetate. The reason our race rules this earth is because they get "shit done"! We can thank Mahatma Gandhi for inspiring us to go on Bandh/hartal/hunger strikes for everything that we are unhappy about. And since the precedence has been set we now shamelessly flaunt it. Gandhi's approach was a failed stratergy. India became free but it left us weak. We were told to pray, stay hungry and tolerate violence and that is exactly what we did. A nation of 350 million were made to believe that the British left because of our hartals. Now a nation of over billion believes that...our freedom fighters were willing to do anything for their country and that is exactly what they did. They were asked to tolerate violence and they did that. They were asked to stay hungry and they did that. Our leaders then and now are too weak to face any issues head on. We should have kicked the british out instead of walking with them until the doorstep and sending them off with parting gifts. It wasn't meant to be a farewell...it was supposed to be a retreat for them. Today our leaders follow the same stratergy. Whether it is terrorism from across the border or dispute regarding state borders we go on hartals and hunger strikes...

India's progress is in spite of our leaders and their ways and it makes me wonder...how much more a billion people could have done if we had aggressively kicked the British out and not included hartals in our domestic agenda. A lot more...a lot more.

Kerala qualifies for a special mention here. Hartal here is a way of life. People are so used to it now that they know exactly what to do and which is to accept it...accept it gladly and vegetate all day. Rediff.com states Kerala lost Rs.2000 crores due to over 100 hartals in 2009. Ironically, the high court banned bandhs and it was upheld by the Supreme Court. Nothing changed for Kerala...well, not entirely anyway. Now bandhs are called Hartal and they have the exact effect. Kerala with all its natural beauty, 100% literacy and resources has nothing much to show progress wise. All credit go to the leaders here and of course to the people of Kerala. Leaders are nothing if there are not followers. Keralites have come to be the biggest enablers for hartals. It is sad...just sad.

We have serious issues in Kerala and India. Hartals are not our answer. A nation of billion people cannot sit idle. We are not "fighting" the british anymore. Staying home in protest only hurts our pockets. Wake up India...wake up! Don't enable our leaders...make them for once...lead!

Jai Hind!

Foosball

In an office, whether you work hard or hardly work, you definitely play hard. Folks find different ways to do that. Smoking, coffee breaks, browsing, water-cooler-gossiping or even office romance are some commonly used ways to "play" hard. Mine for the past few years has been Foosball.

Whoever invented Foosball has to be a genius. For that matter all sports inventors have to be geniuses. Except for maybe Curling...but that's just me.

Coming back to playing hard and Foosball for the past few years it has been my outlet. My stress reliever at work and I truly enjoyed it. I do alright and have definitely improved since I started playing but I have hit what you would call a plateau. I play with the same set of folks and do not try to do anything different so that is somewhat expected. And I do not have any aspirations to jump into amateur Foosball championships. Although that does seem like a good thing to pursue during my mid-life crisis when I do decide to grow up.

However, sometimes life throws at you challenges that will just leave you exhausted. In the past few weeks that came in the form of a construction job in the office. We received an email saying the workers have to work on the roof so need access through the glass doors. That meant the Foosball table had to be moved but the email specifically mentioned that it will be merely moved and will suffer no outage in playing time. That allayed any fears us Foosball enthusiasts had.

It started with the table being dirty from tar and dust. We could clean that off and that we did. We continued our game that day and no harm was done. Next day things got worse. We came to kick off our usual game and boom, all the Foosball balls were gone! Who would do such a thing? Such a sick joke right? We managed to find couple of old balls. They were dented and slowed down the game but what are you going to do? We didn't want to risk the balls again so decided to take them back to our desks. As soon as we got back to our desks we ordered new tornado Foosball balls.

You would think that things got better from here right? No, I only wish. We come in the next day and find that the Foosball table is really dirty and it took few minutes to clean it off. We complained and the most enthusiastic one among us went and complained to the office manager. Next day, our new Foosball balls arrive and we walk into the lunch room to kick off a game with them. How exciting!!! Oh no! We find the table wrapped in a big plastic sheet. And a notice that says do not use until Nov 25. That means no Foosball until after Thanksgiving. What the...As we contemplate removing the plastic sheet our office manager comes by and says no, can't do that. "Read the notice", she says. "You guys complained about the table so now don't complain when we are trying to protect it". Argh!!! Completely bummed out, we walk back to our desks...

And there it sits...wrapped in a cold plastic sheet...unable to live its life...unable to fulfill its destiny...crying out to us...

We shall soon be reunited...soon. 9 days and counting! Games begin Nov 30.

The evil named McDonald's

Some might think my title is rather harsh but it is what it is...

I had 6 minutes to catch my train. And I had to get something to eat before getting on the 1 hr 10 min train (the non-express ones suck!). As I move across the food court I see 2 options - Corner Bakery and McDonald's. Now corner bakery will take forever to give your order and I really don't have that sort of time. So I turn to McDonald's. I haven't been there in such a long time except for maybe Coffee. I look for healthier options on the menu and find grilled chicken sandwich. I walk up to the counter and the sleepy looking person at the counter is somewhat disappointed I picked her counter over others. Well, I am sorry. I picked the one closest. So anyway, I go on and order this "1 grilled chicken sandwich with no mayo or cheese, side salad and bottled water". Sorry, we are out of bottled water, she says. Fine, I will take a diet sprite. It cost me $8.03 which is high for McDonald's but I was more worried about my train. After 30 seconds I get a giant cup of Coke. Well, I wanted diet Sprite. Sorry, but Coke is the only diet product we have, says sleepy clerk. Geez, this had to happen when I have no time. Soon they give me my order and I realize I have 2.5 mins for my train and I better run. Once on the train, I open my lunch and this is what I found -
* 1 Crispy chicken sandwich with Mayo (and a lot of it).
* A huge order of fries. It was huge.
* side salad which looked like crap.
* well, the giant diet Coke was already a mess up.
That is when I realized that not only did they give me a crispy chicken sandwich instead of the grilled one, but they "super-sized" me! And I didn't even want fries.

McDonald's thrives on people making wrong decisions about their diet. They want people to keep eating those 1/4 pounder burgers and mega huge fries. That is why they work so hard to lobby for everything that will make it cheaper and cheaper. And they control the food industry so much that they dictate how food is supposed to be grown in the united states. Watch Food Inc.

I have also heard a ex-high level executive of McDonald's say that they set up their stores such that you only see healthy options outside. You do not see the giant burgers and fries until you are in. And they have found that people have trouble exercising restraint once they see all that on the menu.

Just submitted a complaint on their website. I am not expecting to hear anything from them but I had to vent. Well, some of the venting is on this blog. I would have usually tried to introduce some humor but this was way too frustrating for that.

And I fell sick a day later - I wouldn't blame it on McDonald's just yet...

Subtle

I love movies. And I have a pretty darn good memory of the movies I have watched. I wish I had that memory with other things – would have helped me as a student. But I think the memory is because of the interest. Few scenes from a movie stay in my mind for….uhh…ever I think. Over the years I realized that those scenes are my favorite scenes because of their subtlety in telling that piece of the story. And the reason I probably like them is because I feel I am some movie critic for having noticed that subtlety. Hey, we all need something to boost our mojo right? This is one of mine…

So here are my top 3. It should also be of no surprise that they are from my favorite movies. Again, these are subtleties in my opinion and I am no movie critic.

Godfather II – Fredo betrayed Michael. Michael found out, confronted Fredo and said he is out of the family. He doesn’t want to see him anymore and he can visit his mother when Michael is out of the house. He walks out of the room and once he is out he tells Al that nothing should happen to Fredo while his mother is alive. Forward few scenes from here...their mother died and it is her _wake_. Fredo and Michael see each other and they hug. Michael gives this tight big hug and with this really intense face glances at Al. Enough said. Wow! I still get Goosebumps when I watch that scene. Subtlety here is the tight hug saying how hard it is for him to order his brother’s hit. And the glance at Al with the intense look tells all that Al needs to know. Depending on how you look at it, it could be a cold order or a very emotional one but Al gets the order with no ambiguity. With just a glance…wow!!!


Gladiator – Maximus pictures himself walking through his fields. He opens his eyes, picks up some dirt, rubs it between his hands and smells it. He gets up and as he turns notices a bird sitting on this thin branch. There is dew on the branch and the bird is shown in the backdrop of just mist. Maximus smiles for a second. He turns, the smile vanishes and he has this really intense war face. He turns and walks away as couple of soldiers rides their horses and the battle-worn place is shown. Subtle! Maximus is picturing his house and sees this bird. The smile shows the other side of this warrior. Shows what he is fighting for. Changes immediately to show his men he means business. That he is the general!


Nayagan – Velu Naickar is mad. He is really mad at this new DSP who has arrested his dearest friend Selva. Filled with rage he goes to the house of this SP. Knocks on the door and almost pushes the maid to go bring the DSP. As the maid goes in he walks around the room looking at the pictures. He notices his daughter in the pictures just as she calls out asking who it is. He is shocked. Not much dialogue here at all. Few moments into this a kid calls out for his mother from inside. His daughter says she will be right there. Naickar is overcome by emotion here. No dialogue again. He looks for something he can give his grandson. He finds no money in his pocket and is ready to remove his ring when the daughter says no. Says she doesn’t want him in her life...There is subtlety in the way the powerful underworld Don is completely helpless in front his daughter but at the same time exercising restraint is not using his power and just walking out of her life. WOW! What a great scene! Manirathnam is a genius…even if this is based on Godfather, the movie has enough originality in it!

PD

Few years ago I was invited to a 1 yr old kid’s b’day party. On a side note, now I get invited on account of my daughter. Ha! I hadn’t wised-up back then so showed up on time for a desi party. Yup. I was at least an hour earlier than everybody. The hosts were scrambling to get everything set up and since I was the dumb moron who showed up “early”, I had to help them carry the chairs to the basement. Anywayz…an hour or so went by and guests finally started arriving. Since I had been there for a while I almost started feeling like I am the host. As I snap out of that I get introduced to a bunch of folks whose name registered in my head as a dictated grocery list from my wife does. It was going to be an evening full of pronouns, I figured.

We stand around while we are served 7 up or fanta or whatever else that was there. Appetizers were also ready so guests reluctantly line up after much persuasion by the host. But you can tell that all they are thinking about are the appetizers. We grab some appetizers and go back to our huddle position with nothing to talk about. One guy mentions something about weather but that topic shows promise like that of a snowflake in the Arizona desert. Apart from being a boring topic couple of them mangled the words climate and weather so it was rather confusing to everyone after the first couple sentences. The huddle is now getting rather uncomfortable and I personally cannot wait to get the hell out of there. I am unable to take it anymore and bring up the topic of cricket in a rather dumb way. “Hey are you guys following the India-Aus series?” Most of them didn’t care for my question and the couple who did said they don’t follow cricket anymore because the Indian team is a “waste” and their importance is “too much”. And that they should bring “youngsters” to the team. At this point, the last muscle in my body has resigned from the party. Now what? It is getting way too awkward now with plenty of silence in between some kid coming up to his/her dad and the dad saying “No, xyz, No. Go to mummy”. It was almost invariably the same answer irrespective of what the kid’s request was.

Like a ray of light in a cold deserted cave (never been in a cold deserted cave to know this but sounds cool doesn’t it?), guy brings up a topic which lights up everyone’s face in that huddle. All he said was this, “did you guys check the September bulletin?” It was like everybody got a booster shot like the Universal Soldier gets. Back then I didn’t know what the September bulletin was and its significance. Of course I could not ask them to I pretended to be excited as well. They started talking about it and I realize that it was Green Card. Ah ha!! The group that I am talking about loves this topic! After much chatter about the irregularities in the system and how some friend’s friend’s friend got his GC in 6 months, they move on to much personalized conversation. It looked like each person is rated by their PD (priority date) and the amount of reports he has from forums. The guy who had eaten most crap out of the forums was the loudest one. So I am rather quiet in this conversation because for one I didn’t apply for GC then and two I had not read a single forum on GC then. The loudest guy turns to me and goes “So what’s your priority date ahh?” Almost shamefully I go “I haven’t applied yet”. If you could see those faces as I spoke those words you would think I committed a cardinal sin and have no moksha for eternity. I give some explanation about why but they have already written me off. In a few minutes I excused myself from the huddle and tried to find my wife…

The next couple hours went by with cake-cutting, buffer dinner and games-for-kids. As they start playing the games, we excuse ourselves under the pretense of a visiting friend at home and take off. What an evening! If only I had a priority date I would have been included in the cool conversations that followed...To PD, the foundation for desi american dreams!

A Dream named "$175000/yr and Rs.5000/day"

This might very well turn into a rather personal blog. I do not know yet. I might find myself riding my emotions as I go on with this or I might exercise some self-restrain both to preserve some thoughts deep within me and to save the couple of people who read this blog from spectacular boredom.

I am on the 7:17am train and my hurried walk from home to the train station was completely unnecessary as the train was 5 minutes late. As I sit on the train my mind jumps to an image I have from the past. It is more of a memory than an image. I am riding the train with my dad en route to the holy Sabarimala. We are accompanied by my father’s friend whose two sons are in the USA. Both computer engineers I recall. My dad is in conversation with his friend and I am mostly tuned out of the rather boring conversation. My dad’s friend probably realizes that I am bored and in the attempt to throw a bone my way looks and me and goes “So Rohit, what are you going to do in the future?” I wasn’t too good at impromptu questions with people I don’t know. I still am not. I look at my dad and see that he is anxious to know as well. Without further thought I say I want to be either a doctor or an engineer. He is thrilled and my dad is proud. “Very Good”, he says in a typical oldies style. “My two sons are computer engineers in the US and they are doing very well”. Oh wow, must be nice, I thought to myself. He turns to my dad and says his son makes $175,000 a year and asked his mom to spend Rs.5000 each day. No, I am not kidding!! Anyway, I get the usual follow-up with regards to marks, rank, entrance and whatnot where I notice that my responses aren’t exactly getting the ceremonious “Very Good” from before. Anyway, the trip went by and I came back home. I still had this number in my head, $175,000! I found the rupees equivalent and converted it to Rs. I should state that this was the very first time I converted something from $ to Rupees and got a glimpse of the “American Dream”. Incredible! I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Someone can actually make so much money?? I was sold. I was fully sold on the path I was going to take for the next several years.

Wow…I actually spend maybe 15 seconds on this memory in my head but it took me few minutes to write it down and that is a pretty decent size paragraph. Hmm.

I do not think my dad’s friend and his son’s lofty salary made me pick the career that I did. But here I am. Taking the 7:17am train and riding to work. My salary is not $175000. I have not asked my mom to spend Rs.5000 a day. I wonder how she would react to it. Knowing my mom she will ask me to save it for my future. Was this the future I had pictured in my mind when I proudly claimed that I want to be a doctor or an engineer? My career objectives were clearly set by my material pipe dream? Do I regret the career I picked? No, not really. Am I good at what I do? Well, I think I do alright. I wonder how I would have been in another career. Is it too late to pursue something else? Probably, considering that I do not what the “other” career is and besides I am not the adventurous type anyway. I wonder how I would have been if I had stayed back in India and pursued a career there. Certainly sounds promising when I think about it now but at that time every inch of my body wanted to be here and do exactly what I am doing today. In a way, I am living my dream. Was it my dream? Was it even a dream? I do not know anymore. I have thought of only two line of work in my entire life – the military and this. Military wasn’t very well received by the family and I suppose my passion for that wasn’t strong enough to oppose them and still go for it.

The recession had made me question what I am doing in the US anyway. I am thinking it is because that lofty salary American Dream started fading away. The thought of moving back to India is a topic for another day…

Why am I having these thoughts on the train today? I have some theories –
* I did not bring the next DVD of Sopranos so I have nothing to do on the train besides blog mindlessly.
* I am going through a middle age crisis. Shewwwt! I am not even middle-aged yet!!
* As a kid, a teenager, this is probably as far as I dreamed about. I am likely at a point in my life where I am going “Now what?” Maybe I was too immature when I made career choices and dreamed of my future life. I should have shooting for the stars?

In an attempt to sound intelligent I am going to go with the 3rd theory. Am I still chasing that $175000 (figuratively speaking)? I hear MBA from a top business school is my way out or way up rather. I don’t even know if I will find what I want with that MBA. Which makes me wonder if I even know what I want? I am 31 years old and still can’t see it clearly? Should I still resort to the popular belief and pursue something? Or is it just me being lazy?

Well, obviously I have more questions than answers. But that is how life is supposed to be…Or is it?

No more American Express!

I have never trusted credit cards or for that matter banks in general. All they care is their bottom-line! They try to sneak in fees whenever possible and then mail updated terms and conditions with plenty of fine print. Anyway...now that I have cleared the air out there and established my complete bias, let me proceed with rest of my rant.

Couple months back I purchased 2 airline tickets to Atlantic City using my American Express credit card. What I didn't realize was that American Express auto-included travel insurance for $37 per ticket. I only find that when I look at my statement. This was a week or so before my trip so I called customer service and simply ask that they refund my money because I do not require travel insurance, which I am sure has fine print as well. Insurance, the greatest scam run on mankind rant for a later time. So...they claim it cannot be fully refunded. Apparently they can return $7 per ticket. Like any other hapless customer I ask that I speak with the supervisor. That person gives me the same story but no real explanation. Just "I am sorry Sir but we cannot fully refund it". It made no sense to me. I never select travel insurance but got charged. AND I haven't traveled yet so I haven't really used that stupid thing anyway. So why would I pay for it? The supervisor says I had signed up for this. Well, that's ridiculous!! I am told I can dispute the charge so fine...I will dispute the charge, I said. By this time I already hate american express and anything they stand for. So I cancel my card. Heck ya! I cancel that slimy-ass sleazeball credit card and shred it.

The story doesn't end here though. I had ask that they send me proof of me signing up for this "service". I get a mail couple weeks later saying I had signed up over the phone so there is no proof that can be presented. The dispute has been settled and I owe them the money. I called but that call went nowhere now that I am not even a customer. I posted on forums, filed a case on BBB, filed complaints on multiple consumer but nothing...absolutely nothing!

My misery doesn't end here...while I am battling this charge again, those crooks charge me a $19 late fee. WTF! Now I have to call again and dispute that crap. Ugh! And if I just refuse to pay it will show up on credit history and hurt me! Where are consumer rights here?

Whatever the outcome of this is...I will never, never ever carry an american express card. They belong in the right place...garbage. And in the right form...shredded.

Ridiculous F'n job posting!!!

This is a real email that someone got! What I found ridiculous was the mention about marital status. What does that have to do with anything? Denmark or the company or this dude in need of single people for social reasons? Loser! I have seen some lame emails but this one goes all the way to the top.

Dear XXXXX,

We are looking XXXXX Consultant for a 6-12 months contract in Denmark.

If your are interested, please send us your update CV, your
availability, your rate and your 3 last references.

You must have a minimum 5 years experience and a valid passport for
working visa. We are looking for people with single marital status.

Please, reply as soon as possible as we have to make a good quotation
for our customer for next week.

Thanks

Kind regards

XXX XXXXX

Managing Director

My Quest

My wife and I are sitting on the floor in our family room with our backs against the couch and my 1 yr old daughter is playing in the general area. She stops by the coffee table and is intrigued by the photo envelopes on them. They are right in the middle of the table so she is unable to reach them. She retries from different supposed-vantage points but is unable to secure the envelopes. It must be of great interest to her because after trying for couple minutes, she turns around, looks at both of us, and after confirming she has our attention starts crying (and I commonly refer to as the fake crying distinctly marked by no tears). My wife and I have been trying to not give her something as soon as she starts crying to avoid her going into the habit of crying for anything she wants. Yes, we are novice parents trying out different theories. She probably does this for about a minute and then turns around and walks away. I turn to wife and check if there is anything in the envelope and if it OK for my daughter to have. Yes, she says. As I proceed to pick up one of the envelopes, my wife confidently claims that it is of no importance to my daughter anymore. No, she will still appreciate that I gave it to her so I pick it up and leave it close enough for her to pick it up. By now, her attention is fully on something else and doesn’t even notice the envelope. So OK my wife was right, again! After a few minutes, my daughter is walking around the area and there…she notices the envelopes and in what looked like pure impulse picks up and starts playing with it.

This event as much common and typical as it was, somehow registered in my mind. I couldn't shelve it anywhere and I found it bouncing around my head for a while. And I kept thinking why, why am I remembering this? What is its significance? What is my conscience telling my brain? It wasn’t until this morning that I had an epiphany sorts and this is my theory.

I over analyze things. I use a lot of “but” in my thoughts and while I feel I am generally a positive thinker, I question the good-to-be-true of many things and get impatient and frustrated about not-so-good of many things. I recently mentioned to my wife that I feel like I am in a box. I feel every forward motion I make or happens to me only gets me to another “side” of the box. Here is how a simple thought I have would be like.

Hmm…I like what I do but…it is not secure. I am healthy…but I am balding. My commute is not too bad…but it is not too flexible with the train. I have a decent car…but it is not a hybrid high end SUV. I love Chicago…but the winter is freaking long. But…but…but…I am trying to think of stuff without using “but” and I am realizing that it is not easy.

I have something to learn from my 1 yr old here. That photo envelope was probably really important for her at that moment. But she moved on and found something else she liked. She continued on her quest after that and found the envelope. She recognized it instantly and did exactly what she wanted to do earlier except it was within her reach now.

I am oversimplifying things here but I think underneath everything the principle is the same. It is how we reach for something, are unable to reach it and instead of moving on try to go back to the same thing over and over again without ever seeing the possibilities outside of it. Now, you should try few times, many times like how my 1 yr old tried to reach the envelope from many points of the table. What is crucial is the ability to go beyond the frustration and look for more opportunities. I do not have that ability. Not right now anyway. But maybe it is time I work on it. Until then, I am going to be in a box. I will find success and I do but I will only find myself in a bigger box then. A box layered with “but”…

Is it because I am not content? Is it because I am greedy? Is it because I am ambitious? I don’t know. I will continue through life and my experiences will take me some place. And in that pursuit or when I finally get there I should be able answer those questions. It is my quest…and yes, I will find my photo envelope.

Lunch Special

My fists are clutched. My steps are well-paced. My opening and only line is well-rehearsed. I am ready. I know what I should do. I know what I should say. I know what I want...Here we go..now...do it! Go!

"Hi. General Tsao's chicken. Lunch Special. To Go. Uhhh. Please?"

Yes, I am at our "friendly" neighborhood Chinese take-out place Eat and Drink. So eat and drink (from hereon will be referred to as EnD) is the mom and pop of all mom and pop joints! Food is great. Well, I think so. Service is quick. Close to work. Reasonably priced - $6.50 for lunch special which includes entree, fried rice and egg-roll or crab rangoon. However, there is a catch...You have to know what you want before you step in front of the counter. Much like the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld except that is total fiction from a comedy sitcom and this is for real.

so EnD is strictly take out. There are couple of tables but I think they are for people who messed up at the counter and have to wait for a "probation" period before retrying. EnD is about the size of two(maybe three)toll booths (no, I am not kidding!) and located in the corner of a parking lot. If not for the neon signs outside, it could very well be mistaken to be the parking lot "office".

Anyway, going back to ordering protocol at the counter.
1. Before you do anything near the counter, decide what you want. Be as specific as you can. If you can stick to a number on the menu, even better!
2. Ea---aaa--se in front of the counter. Maintain eye contact. Clear your voice. You got one shot at this!
3. In a clear voice, place your order, mouthing words specific to your order. I have nailed mine to this "Hi. General Tsao's chicken. Lunch Special. To Go. Uhhh. Please?" You might want to rehearse yours.
4. Await confirmation but do not expect verbal confirmation. It could be a nod or even a wave. In my experience, it is the relay of the order in high-pitch voice in Chinese to the "Chef" standing 2 feet away from the counter, but don't count on that.
5. On "confirming" step away from the counter. Do not linger!
6. Don't get distracted. Keep your eyes and ears open. You are close to the finish. You can do it!
7. As soon as you hear your order "announced" from the counter, it is time to pick up the food. Do not hesitate. Do not flinch. Do not get carried away. Again, ea--aaa--se your way in front of the counter. Have your cash ready (can't use card if under $10 - no exceptions) and, this is real important, if you want crab rangoon instead of egg-roll, be sure to mention at this time, again in a clear voice. Egg-roll is default selection and trust me, they do not like to change once it is in the bag.
8. Pick up your order and ease out of the counter. Pick up fork, spoon, napkins, soy sauce, duck sauce from the table opposite the counter. Do not ask for it at the counter while picking up food!
9. Step outside the door. Take a deep breath. I usually eat my crab rangoon at this point to help overcome the stress I had just been through. If you need a full meal to overcome yours I am sure that is acceptable.

It is interesting how so many restaurants invest so much on decor, hospitality, servicing, liquor license, piano and what not but still go out of business. But this little shack does just one thing well and stays in business (and doing well I believe). Good for them the one thing they do well is make good food.

If you are ever in Chicago west loop, you should check it out. You will enjoy it...as long as you remember the protocol.

Ineligible Bachelors?

"Ineligible Bachelors: Indian Men Living in U.S. Strike Out
Brides and Parents Back Home Get Picky as Economy Makes America Look Risky"
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123896998996190775.html


It made front page of The Wall Street Journal yesterday. Interesting...WSJ is done with AIG bonuses, bank bailout, G20 and could only turn to the singleness of Indian men apparently prolonged due to a weak economy. Few lines from this articles stick out...

Rahul Tamrakar, 32, a full-time consultant for International Business Machines Corp. in Chicago, has been looking for a bride back home in India. But he says prospective in-laws were worried that "consultant" was a euphemism for "unemployed." One parent asked to see his tax returns. He refused, and the talks fell through. Now, "I'm trying to meet up [with] girls who are in the U.S. already," he says.

The parent asking for the tax returns is what we could call a Ninja move! If your prospective in-law asks for your tax returns it is a sign. A sign that you should run as far as you can from that dude. If you end up being his son-in-law he is going to only stop at demanding that you direct deposit your paycheck to a common account and pick up "allowance" from him. Having said that, when my 1 yr old is ready to get married I will find a way to run a full credit report on the guy! You bet!

Ms. Seth says that if she were to move to the U.S. or to another developed country, she might not get a job quickly and would have to be dependent on her husband for a while. While she's open to the idea of giving up her independence, she worries that given the state of the U.S. economy, a groom based in America might not be earning enough to support her. For instance, Ms. Seth says she likes nice clothes and would like to have a flat-screen TV. "Is he really prepared to provide the kind of lifestyle that I have right now?" She expects a husband to earn more than she does.

Okie dokie...what is it really? Make enough to support her or provide the kind of lifestyle "I have right now"? Ms.Seth broke it down for us. Kohl's clearance sale of "Made in Bangladesh" nice clothes and Visio flat screen TV, refurbished. I mean if you are shallow at least hit real high. Nice clothes and flat screen? Please!

Mr. Dave of Klassic Match charges a minimum fee of $100, versus $50 for candidates living in India. He charges more for specific requirements. For instance, he says some overseas Indians want a bride who is smart, fluent in English, and "simultaneously, docile in the house." He says such women are now harder to find, so he bumps up his fees for some searches.

Simultaneously, docile in the house? Is this guy really married? What is this? The Stepford wives finder?

Oh well...

I am so thankful for having met my wife when I was a not particularly motivated college student...I could only improve from that point. Or so she felt.

To the tigers and tigresses out there in the jungle looking for each other - there is more to it than tax returns, nice clothes and flat screen TVs but ya, that is a good start. :)

Ka-chow!

Growing up, my idol was Superman. He was the ultimate Hero according to me! How couldn’t he be? He can fly, x-ray vision, laser from his eye, unimaginable strength, stop bullets and missiles…I mean he is flawless.

I notice that kids nowadays follow different kind of heroes. Spider-man, batman and superman are still pretty popular but there is a whole set of heroes that are just like regular people. To name a few, Lightning McQueen, Diego from Go Diego Go, Dora the explorer, Kung Fu Panda…

I am going to focus on Lightning McQueen here. Well, he is the one I know most about but above all reasons I am truly amazed how these two little kids I know, adore McQueen! The first time I watched the movie Cars, I fell asleep on the couch and instead of blaming my habit of falling asleep on the couch, I blamed it on the movie and critiqued it as a boring movie by Pixar. My wife fell asleep as well so I was pretty darn sure that it was because the movie was boring.

Couple years or so later, I come in close contact with McQueen and it has made me come to the conclusion that it was my habit of falling asleep on the couch and not the movie Cars. Ok, before I am critiqued as crazy let me elaborate. Two boys, a 3ish yr old and a 1.5ish yr old gave me an entirely different perspective about McQueen and his friends. To them he is the true hero. And I keep thinking how a talking car could take such a prime spot on a kid’s mind? A place I thought was for superman! Now…the entertainment world, media world and every kid’s shoes and clothes factory in china has ensured McQueen’s popularity. However, I give credit to the kids of this generation to pick a regular dude who was an arrogant jerk but realized what he was and “fixed” his attitude. By doing so, McQueen has gone on to replace the much sort after place in a kid’s heart and mind. Kids probably relate to him more than they do with superman.

So McQueen thought he was unbeatable; nothing would ever happen to him. In fact he doesn’t even “wear” headlights. He says race cars don’t need headlights because the tracks are always lit. Much like how a lot of people felt prior to the financial meltdown! :) McQueen didn’t believe in team work. He felt he was so good and didn’t need anybody. If my memory serves right, McQueen fired 3 crew chiefs. However, all that changes when he is stuck in this supposedly godforsaken town radiator springs! Without going into too much details, McQueen comes out a changed person, uh, car from this experience.

The final race is really cool! The creators of the movie get so much done in that race. McQueen realizes how beatable he is. He realizes that he does need a team. Guido’s fastest pit stop is one of my favorite scenes in the movie. McQueen realizes it is not always about winning the race. !!!SPOILER ALERT!!! By pushing Mr. The King across the line McQueen drove the point to the kids that you can be a winner without finishing first. We live in a competitive and cynical world. We doubt our own abilities everyday. We doubt others abilities even more. As a kid, I could never imagine superman coming third in a race. Impossible! But the two boys I know and all the McQueen fans out there love McQueen and relate to him because he is just like every body else. He wants to win, needs help to win and sometimes feels good about something in spite of not winning.

I encourage anyone who hasn’t watched the movie to rent it tonight and watch it. And in some cases I might be able arrange a viewing of cars with one of biggest McQueen fans.

With that said…I am going to leave you with some quotes from the movie.

“Well, you know, race cars don't need headlights, because the track is always lit.”

“Ah. This grumpy old race car I know once told me something: it's just an empty cup.”

“Float like a Cadillac, sting like a Beemer.” I am going to give McQueen a pass for "re-wording" Ali’s line!

“Luigi follow only the Ferraris.”

Once upon a time...

I always start a story for my 1yr old daughter this way “Once upon a time, in a kingdom far far away, there lived a little angel. Little angel had many many friends but her best friend was,...drumroll... Daddy!” And after a lot of twists and turns and drama, I would end it this way “…and they were so happy that little angel is there for them and they lived happily ever after. The End” I take great pride in my story telling abilities but they are purely based on my daughter’s reaction and take no account of the immense ridiculing by my wife.

So I am going to put my story telling ability to test here…but it is not a children story and it is PG 13…there are no angels or fairies or witches in this story…so here it goes.

Once upon a time, in a city far far away (at least from here it is), there lived a teenager. The teenager had many many friends (ok, not so many) but his best friend was…Well, that is not important. Moving on… Ok, I am sensing I am not doing so well…yet. Just wait, it gets better. And besides I am unable to give the hand gestures and funny voice that I use with my daughter.

Every day the boy and his friends would walk on the streets of this city and be very curiously amazed and get a serious rush of their-teenage-hormones looking at the not so subtle “A” rated posters on the wall. They would wonder how one could get into one of these movie theaters. There were always rumors and hear-says about what was in these movies but they had never seen it themselves so had no idea if they were just rumors or had any truth to it.

They were 16 yrs old now. The boy and his friends decided they were old enough to make their own decisions and the decision they made was to check out one of these movies. It required a lot of courage, considerable planning and had to be done with total secrecy. If a word of this plan gets out, everything will be in jeopardy. You are talking about getting the punishment without even doing the crime. You would be forever seen as an A-movie-goer without having ever been to one. How terrible! So they came up with the plan. Firstly, they needed an alibi for the 3 hours because the movie theater had to be as far away as possible from anything that was even remotely related to anything to home. That ruled out most of the theaters in this city. Secondly, decide on the movie and timings. Now this wasn’t hard because once you ruled out most of the theaters, the choices were pretty slim. Finally, they needed a clear entry and exit strategy to and from the movie hall.

The movie they picked was Lady Terminator – Amazon link.
You can click; it is clean. The boy and his friends picked it because of the tremendous potential the poster displayed. They decided on the date and an entry-exit strategy which was pretty simple. Enter after movie has started; use the darkness and sneak into an open seat; exit out before the end of the movie; darkness used then as well. Also had a brilliant back up plan in case of being caught during this well planned entry and reentry – was in the neighborhood to buy books and was offered tickets by a friend who mysteriously vanished right then. One of the friends backs out. No, he said. I will not be part of this. I will suppress my curiosity and not be tempted by these sinful posters. So be it.

That left the boy and his friend…Two brave boys, into the darkness, to come out enlightened.

The day arrived. The boys make their way to the movie theater. Shut off the bike couple blocks before and push it through the complex. Park at a very discreet corner and even try to cover the plates with branches of a nearby tree. Yes, they had thought it all out. It was perfect! Now the boys were nervous but they couldn’t display it to anybody else. The ticket counter clerk wouldn’t sell tickets, they thought, if he sensed they were underage. The boys nervously walk in total confidence and demand two tickets. Done. Now that they were in possession of the tickets, they have to “hang out” somewhere and wait for the right time to make an entry into the dark movie hall. Tick tick tick…tock tock tock…Done.

They make entry into the dark movie theater. It is loud. Lot of gunfire and explosions. It is a good sign, they thought to themselves. The adrenaline rush from being secretive and from being on the verge of uncovering a teenage boy’s greatest mystery! Wow! They are unable to secure two adjacent seats except for the ones without a back rest. Hmm, they nodded and didn’t look any further. It must have been few minutes into the movie but their curiosity has only increased. There is still lot of gunfire and explosions. It might not be a good sign after all, they thought to themselves this time. Time passes…10 minutes…15…20….still nothing but a lot of shooting. Their curiosity is overtaken by nervousness, guilt, shame and fear! They are both thinking to themselves that this was a bad idea. They both wished they were some place else then. It must be 30 minutes into the movie when they both decided it was best to leave. Since they weren’t paying any attention to the story (if there was one), and it was just mindless gunfire, they had no idea when the movie would really end so it was safer to take off now.

The movie theater is still dark…still gunfire and explosions…pretty much the way they found it when they came in. The exit is also uneventful, as is rest of this whole plan. They make their way to the bike and the plates are still hidden by the tree branches. Identity is still concealed. Brilliant!

The boys were so relieved they got out of the theater without being caught. As they ride blocks and blocks away from the theater, they shed away all their nervousness, shame, guilt and shame. Their curiosity remains and it might appear to others that the plan was a disaster but they executed it perfectly. For they knew, that their plan was perfect and it was only the movie that slightly messed it up…

The boys are all grown up now but they haven’t forgotten about that afternoon. The plan. The theater. Lady Terminator. They are very happy they showed courage and executed an almost perfect plan. And they live happily ever after!

The end…

Stop counting....start living!

I will start this off by saying this can be a bit controversial but it is what it is…no offense to anybody.

When did we stop eating and start counting? Except for some references in science books, I never knew anything about counting calories in our food. And I didn’t know until 2001 or so.

When I started my masters at Utah, almost every night, my roommates and I would treat ourselves to strawberry milkshake. Very easy to make and this was how we did it. Vitamin D milk, big bucket of ice cream ($4), strawberry syrup, blender, big glass! I remember somebody stopping by, someone who had been in this country for few months more and had been institutionalized (borrowing one from Shawshank Redemption) with the calorie-counting mantra! He looks at it and goes “You guys have this every night?” We proudly declare, “heh, pretty much. Why you want some?” He takes a step back “what me? This is like a million calories?” Hmm…Million calories? (Our still-in-metric-system-brains going 10 lakhs…10 lakhs…6 zeroes…). He explains the label on the ice cream bucket, milk can and strawberry syrup. Wow! When you put it that way, it felt like I was chugging artery cloggers and had a death wish. And so it began…

Now I pick up a label and that’s what I am looking. I am not a calorie counter per se but that’s what I am looking. Why god, why? How is it possible that I didn’t do that for over 20 years and was just fine? But then, I used to eat at home and you always eat right at home or you are made to eat right. A good balanced diet…I suppose.

Weight loss is a multi-billion industry and the focus around calorie counting is huge. You switch on TV and you will be flooded with several weight loss commercials. Weight watchers, jenny craig, NutriSystem…Maybe it is the buzz this has created that has caused us to just count our way in pursuit of a healthy life.

I am against calorie counting. Hmm…let me put it this way. I will not go eat a big mac, milkshake and finish it off with a snickers bar. I am not stupid or irresponsible. But I will not bury all my taste buds and eat Kashi fiber cereal or Special K (and join the special K challenge) because honey bunches with almonds has like 200 calories more. The alternative I propose is exercise and being responsible (as mentioned above). I will not count calories in a 32 ounce steak. I will not flinch, I will not back out, I will not resist when I see that meat. I will go at it and I will give my taste buds a reason to exist. I am not at my ideal weight…yet. But I will proudly declare that I have lost 30 lbs not by counting calories. And I will thank my work out schedule for the perfect EKG graph last week...ending self-flattery!

We work hard for this life. And we deserve to live a LOT. Someone recently wrote this to me “We become numb to our daily routine and often forget what we need to feed our spirit.” How very well put. What is your need? One of my needs is to eat good food and not count calories , not worry about every grain or rice I swallow, not fret over every bite of chicken wings, not feel guilty over every scoop of ice cream…I will satisfy that need. I will run a mile to burn that scoop but I will satisfy that need.

So go have that donut you have been craving for. Go have that brownie you so wanted to eat. Go eat that sundae you have been dreaming about all month. Go feed those taste buds of yours. Go feed your spirit…but then go hit the gym or walk a mile or run a mile or walk to work or bike to work or take the stairs....

To a healthy life…and a healthy mind.

Noise

Ever been in a meeting and wondered why you are there and what the heck you are doing there? Do you feel compelled to say something? Do you feel compelled to keep your mouth shut because you are afraid you will just be uhmmm…, Noise? Talk shows and cable news is just a lot of noise.

Yes, Noise.

Dr.Phil was on AC 360 the other day. I watch AC 360 podcast. It is not great but it is the only video podcast I can get of something I don’t hate. He is better than Lou Dobbs, Larry King, Wolf Blitzer…So anyway, Dr.Phil is on AC360 and Anderson Cooper has already mentioned it couple times that later in the show Dr.Phil is going to give some tips on how we can _thrive_ in this economy. Teeee Teeee Teee…My antennas go up…After few news briefs they break to commercial (which I don’t have to watch on podcast) and just before breaking again says Dr.Phil will share some ideas on how to thrive in this troubling economy. Oh come on, man! Come on!

I should have known better. Dr.Phil comes on air…says troubling economy is an opportunity for us to focus on other things. Like spending time with family, getting to know each other better and focusing on things outside the financial trouble. Ah, is it so? Says the dude making millions of dollars selling BS on television? I do not mean to disrespect any psychiatric treatment here but how is that not common knowledge and why do I need TV to tell me that? People are hurting here man. Walking out of homes because they can’t pay mortgages, pulling kids out of colleges, stopping medication. Focus on aspects outside financial trouble? Yes, we will, jerkwad! Next time, do this on your own show or write a book or something. “..ways to thrive in this troubling economy....” Ha! Pure noise, my friend, pure noise!

Gloria Borger; senior political commentator or whatever at CNN. IMO, she is senior paraphraser at CNN. I used to watch a lot of CNN during the presidential election period (yes, I suck!) and they had a typical format. Wolf Blitzer or AC or whoever would host a few commentators/analysts and ask them some questions. Those guys will spin the wheel and after watching few news cycles (literally) you will feel like a hamster running in the CNN wheels. Anyway…so say Ed Rollins (another commentator) makes a comment like “Barack Obama is up against a formidable force a.k.a the GOP. He has to be tough and plough his way through it to show the American people his true leadership.” Now that itself is such a load of horse shit but Wolf Blitzer would look at Ms.Borger and go “Gloria?” And she will respond to it with something like this “Obama’s leadership is under test here. The GOP is testing it and they are tough and he has to be tougher. Once he gets out there he is facing the American people and they need to see him as true leader”. Ok now, that sounds good on TV but really is there anything new and valuable added here? Nope. Simply, Noise!

Meet the Press. Not the same anymore. I used to be a huge fan of this show. Used to watch it on TV until they had the podcast out and used to eagerly download it for my Monday AM ride! It was the first talk show I started watching and was a huge fan of Tim Russert. The show is definitely not the same without him. The new guy David Gregory has his own style and it is probably not fair to compare him Russert. But as a viewer, the reasons that brought me back to that show every week are simply not there anymore. Russert was objective and persistent but never really boxed anybody in with his questions. He would tie in many different pieces into his questions and provided a great look into the most pressing issues. I liked the part where he would ask someone “Will you run for President in xxxx?” and keep repeating till they answer. Everyone says No and when they come back after deciding to run he would play the tape from before. It wasn’t “gotcha” at all and was really fun because each of them had a reason as to why they wouldn’t run and how it has changed now for the “greater good”. The show was unique and very classy. It was a fun show and 45 mins or so would just fly by. Gregory is more robotic and scripted I think. Maybe he needs couple years or so to step into this role. I hope so. Until then, that show is just noise. But I am willing to give it a shot so still download and “skim” through it on Mondays.

Except for the AC360 podcast I don’t watch any cable news anymore. I would like to watch Jon Stewart on comedy central but don’t really have the time to watch it on TV (nor do I have cable) and it is not free on podcast. I listen to all the NPR shows on podcast though and I like them. “Wait, wait don’t tell me”, “This American Life”, “Fresh Air”, “Talk of the nation”…All good. Also, listen to 60 minutes podcast, “Real Time with Bill Maher” – all free podcasts on iTunes. My reading has taken a hit due to my podcast listening on the train though. Maybe I should have couple days allocated for reading and not, uhmmm, noise? It is a thought.

Dhak dhak!

I am at my doctor's office and thinking...EKG? What does it stand for? I have heard ECG and that means echo cardiogram. Or maybe the nurse actually said ECG and I heard it as EKG. Would I sound stupid asking what is EKG? Sure I would. Maybe she will ask me to get my IQ checked before the EKG, whatever that is. Why do I need an EKG? What is an EKG anyway?

Wait wait wait...I cannot start here. Going back few weeks.

It is a typical late evening. My daughter is sleeping, my wife is packing my lunch for the next day and inspecting the dish washer that I loaded before switching it on and as for myself, I have moved from a sit upright position to a very reclined position on the couch and from a laser-focused-attention watching Frasier to a semi-slumber state. :) And I had had couple of drinks earlier that evening when my friend stopped by so Mr.Frasier and his friends had no chance against my dozing eyelids. For the record, the "couple drinks earlier" is not part of the "typical" evening.

I am 10 mins or so into my "nap" when the baby monitor placed right next to me relays a mild noise from my daughter. It must be nap or whatever dream I was having but that mild noise felt like a speeding train in my head. I jump out of the couch and take off running up the stairs towards her crib. I reach her crib and find that she just shifted her position and sleeping just fine. At that point, I realize that my heart is pounding. I mean real fast. Boom Boom Boom Boom! So I wanted to lie down a bit and I did. My wife had just witnessed me jump out of the couch and run upstairs like a crazy maniac. Not that it is unusual to see something like this from me, she comes and checks up on me. Seeing me lying in the bed she is like oh no, what happened? I am fine, just wanted to lie down a bit. What? Why? What happened? Take it easy! I am just fine. Oh no, should we go to a doctor? Should I call someone? No, I am fine.

I will fast forward a bit from this point...to the actual doctor's appointment day.

I am five minutes late. The nurse checks me into the consulting room and asks what is wrong. I tell her the story and she goes uh hmm. Have you had such episodes before? Episode? It is not an episode. I ran up the stairs like a crazy maniac and had a sudden rush! No, I did not have any episodes. Good! OK, BP is great, pulse is great, temperature is perfect. Doctor will be here in just a few minutes. Tick tock tick tock. Knock knock. It is the nurse again. Ugh! "The doctor wants to take an EKG. I will be back in couple minutes and explain everything but can you please take your clothes off waist up". Oh boy. Door close.

Knock knock! The nurse walks in, looks at me and goes "I am sorry but we have to shave your chest for better reading". What? Why? Hell no! What is the Eee-K-Geee anyway? So she explained what EKG is and it sounded reasonable why they wanted me to do it. And yes, it is same as ECG! Yes, I knew it!

The little razor comes out and she makes these little patches for the "Stickers" to go. I am probably going to look like Steve Carrell from 40 yr old virgin. The stickers get glued to my skin and some clips get hooked to the stickers. "Try to relax, maybe even a nap, it will help us get a steady reading". Oh yea? Sure. Why not? In the past 10 minutes, I had a complete monologue about EKG, questioned my own IQ level, had to take off my clothes waist up, got patches made on my chest, stickers glued to them and now have wires attached to them. Sure. I can relax. So anyway, the test goes on and it 2-3 minutes it is all done and I can get up, put my clothes back on and wait for the doctor. Nice!

Knock knock! Hey hey hey..how are you buddy?, says the doc. I am good I guess. Given the circumstances. So your heart looks great. BP is perfect and you look fine. So tell me, what happened?. OK, I tell him what happened...the story (I better not catch you yawning Doc!). So the doctor is making notes on his pad. I have no idea what notes he can make from my story. "Two drinks" "ran upstairs like maniac" "wife freaked out"...So few breathing-in breathing-out. Heart sounds great! You are just fine! Yay! "I would tell your wife it is just an adrenaline rush and nothing to worry about. You are fine. Keep working out and doing the things you do. If you have any more such episodes call me and we will run some more tests" No, really, it is not an episode and more tests? Make patches on my chest again? Why not do them while the patches are still uh..available? Alright, thanks doc.

So I tell my wife what the doc said and she seems satisfied. How about the patches? She looks at them and says "hey, like 40 yr old virgin". Yup! That's right.

The end...

As all drug commercials end their "story", so will I. Racing heart beat is no laughing matter and should not to be used by amateur bloggers for the amusement of blogosphere users. Failure to show up at a doc appointment made by your wife may result in loss of meals, sleeping space, any mental peace and in some extreme cases result in change of marital status. Healthy diet and regularly exercising is always important. Live healthy, stay healthy! :)

So All May Eat

I saw this on the NBC nightly news. Pretty remarkable what this couple is doing!
http://www.soallmayeat.org/

And this is what they have to say...
"SAME Cafe is unique in the lack of a set menu as well as set prices. Daily selections are made using fresh, organic ingredients, and funded by the donations of patrons. Instead of a cash register, a donation box is available for one to pay what they felt their meal was worth, or to leave a little more and help out someone less fortunate. If a diner does not have sufficient money to leave, they are encouraged to exchange an hour of service. Our philosophy is that everyone, regardless of economic status, deserves the chance to eat healthy food while being treated with dignity."

Now that's making a difference...

Achan

I will never forget the moment I hugged my dad for the last time. We all remember instances but this is different. I remember the exact feeling I had at that moment and the exact emotion I had and the exact words I told him. I have since replayed it in my head so many times that it is more than just a memory. It was in Chennai airport and I was going to board a flight to LA in couple hours or so. I was a little overcome by emotion when I hugged my dad and I remember telling him that it is odd. It is odd that I am finding it very hard to say bye to him when I was ok telling my mom I will see her in couple years. You see, I felt I was my mom’s favorite and my sister is my dad’s favorite. So it was odd that I felt very sad saying goodbye to my dad and was just fine with my mom. Of course I shrugged off that in few minutes and went on…

I never realized how close I was to my dad until I moved out of home to college. Growing up, we had our differences of course. I was a kid and he was an adult.

Of the many memories I have here are few early ones…

I was in 3^rd grade when my dad got promoted to…Actually I do not know. I remember him as a sales manager at that time so maybe that is what he got promoted to. He called my mom at home to deliver the news and it was during summer vacation and we (my sister and I) were home. I didn’t really know a lot about promotions but definitely knew it was a very good thing. My mom was overjoyed. To celebrate the occasion I felt I had to present him with something. So I took an old greeting card and carved out some flowers out of it, stuck it to another old greeting card and wrote some really random stuff. With flowers and some more flowers around it. I wish I had saved it because I would get a huge laugh out of seeing it now. Oddly, I remember making the gift and what it looked like but don’t remember how he reacted when I presented it to him. But we went out for dinner to celebrate. Four of us (dad, mom, sister and me) rode on our Bajaj scooter to Blue Diamond. That was the fanciest restaurant I had been to until then and I had a great time.

Every Friday (for the longest time) my dad would take me and my sister to this restaurant (Akmas) for biriyani. It wasn’t a fancy restaurant by any means but the biriyani was great. My sister and I would each get a plate of chicken biriyani and loved it! My dad wouldn’t get anything and just sit there while we finish eating. We never used to “to-go” either. Even mom never came along. It was just us. I don’t remember any conversations we had during those dinners but I vaguely remember him sitting there and watching as we sat and enjoyed the biriyani. He would always ask if it was good and we would nod with our mouth full. In fact, he would ask few times if the biriyani is good. I am not sure why my dad and mom never ate the biriyani along with us. Maybe it wasn’t “budgeted” for 4 people. I do not know but that is probably a good guess. I have never been to that place since then. I do not even know if it exists. Maybe I will check it out next time I visit Chennai. It was in Poonamallee high road, enroute to Aminjikarrai!

My dad worked for Binny Ltd (textile company) and it had a “company club” next to their office. The company club was pretty much deserted except for the “bar man” who ran the bar where I have rarely seen anyone. This was the scene in Chennai (in the 80s). So on second Saturdays we (my sister and I) would accompany my dad to the office and he would drop us off at the company club which was fully equipped with a billiards table, ping pong table, a library (really small room) and a bar. We had unlimited access to the library (phew), ping pong and “cold drinks”, potato chips and peanuts at the bar. I would usually drink a “cold drink” every hour. My dad would get off work at 1ish on Saturdays, sign the bar bill and we would go home. I would have tales of cold drinks and potato chips to tell for the next couple days. My tongue being orange from all the “gold spot” I drank all morning.

World Cup Soccer 1994. Finals. Brazil vs Italy. The match starts very early. 2am? 3am? Don’t remember. So I ask my dad to wake me up when he wakes up for the match. He says yes. But he wakes me up and I sense something wrong. It is almost the end of second half. I am furious. And I go on and on about how he messed it up for me. How I wanted to watch it. He said he is sorry but I kept going and finally he says something to the effect of this “now take it easy. Don’t keep talking till you cross a line. I am your dad and you are my son. Now sit and watch rest of the match. It’s going to overtime”. J Sir, yes Sir! No goals at end of regulation. Nothing at end of overtime. Penalty shoot out! Brazil scores 3 out of 5 and Italy is 2 out 4. Roberto Baggio walks up to take the final kick. Oh boy, the nerves! Boom! Baggio hits the ball over the post. Oh miss! Brazil are world champions! My dad was a fan of Baggio and he liked the brazilian team as well. But mostly he liked soccer. I have watched several complete matches; ones even more interesting but the one I remember most – 1994 finals, the one that I almost missed!

Robin hood, prince of thieves. Starring Kevin Kostner, releases in 1991. Big hit in India! All my friends have watched it and given rave reviews. The movie moves from Devi Paradise theater (the English movie theater) to Grand (almost like second release). I keep telling my dad how badly I wanted to watch this movie. Sure, we will go, he said. And the day didn’t come. So final day of the movie in grand theater. This is it. Last day the movie will run in a Chennai theater ever! Last show. 10pm. My dad says, alright, Paralets go. So we go get the scooter, my dad tries to kick it to start but nope. After few attempts, he gives up and I have given up my hopes of watching Robin Hood. But my dad has this idea. How about your cycle? Wow, really? Doubles on the cycle? Sure, why not. So we grab my cycle and I sit in the back and he pedals about 3-4 miles to the theater. We get there just in time for the movie. And the ride back past midnight. I have watched that movie few times since then. It is corny, cheezy with some parts totally ridiculous but I still get a kick out of watching it.

When Doordarshan 2 started airing programs, they were hip and just the idea of having another channel to tune to was amazing! There was this program superhit muqabla which was basically a countdown of top hindi songs. I was a huge fan. J So this was back when we were living in annanagar west in an apartment right next to my aunt’s apartment. My aunt still lives there btw so I have since visited this place several times. I was in high school and should be, like my dad said, walking, talking, sleeping about studies and only thinking about the board exams. J Hardly. So this one night the power goes off an hour before the show and it is almost show time but no sign of power. Strangely, my aunt’s place had power (on a different “phase”) but no TV. Bummer. My dad and my mom aren't home so without heeding to any warnings from my sister, I carry the TV to my aunt’s place to watch the show. Ah, how nice! Too bad my dad didn’t see it that way. He is just mighty pissed when he gets back and finds me go through all this trouble to watch the stupid show. In his opinion, if only I would take the same commitment towards my books, I would be so much better. But the books don’t have “pehla nasha” playing! So as a punishment, he decided to block re-entry of the TV to our house. Meaning, the TV would stay at my aunt’s place and I would not get to watch it. Not sure how long that was the case but I would say couple months or so. My grandma would go to my aunt’s place to watch TV and even tried convincing to my dad but not a chance. I always laugh thinking about that incident now. What I did for superhit muqabla and DD2!

It is 8 years today since he passed away and I miss him in so many different ways. I wish he had visited me here; driven my first car; visited my work place; played with my daughter; stayed at our home; gone out to dinner for my promotion; visited New York; discussed the Obama election with me…yes, my list is long. That list will sit there…and grow as I go on with my life and find a million things I would want to share with him.

Tendlya!

Last week was what I would call perfect! It was my daughter's first b'day and we had some friends over at our place for a party. It was great to have everyone over and we had a ball!

And...4 of my friends from school days (elementary to high school) were here as well with couple more from college. Wow! I don't think we could have planned a better reunion - it was mostly unplanned. Couple of them made last minute plans to come and another one happens to be in Chicago for work now.

So Saturday night after the party crowd was all gone and the guys went to the basement for some pool, foosball, drinks and yes, Cricket! India vs NZ ODI. India wins the toss and elects to bat. As we sit down with our drinks, shooting the breeze, Tendulkar and Yuvraj display one of the most scintillating batting I have seen in a while (mostly because I haven't watched a lot of cricket lately - mostly following commentary online..sigh sigh).

As the game progressed, Tendulkar gets better and better(u bet) and one of my friends says "dude, this is too perfect. We couldn't ask for anything better." I agreed. It was like going back in memory lane. See, we grew up watching and idolizing the cricket God Tendulkar. (There was a time, I would turn off the TV as soon as Tendulkar gets out. Well, probably the right thing to do considering there was a time when he was the sole contributor to the team.) So to sit there with my buddies from school and watch him at his best was yes, PERFECT!

On a side note, there were several changes; a few being, legal drinking age, receding hairline, "beer belly" and a bunch of kids walking/running/crawling all around!

To Tendulkar! Thanks for making a great reunion, truly remarkable!

Common cause

During a recent after-few-drinks discussion, I was once again involved in a rather passionate debate related to being Indian.

I would say the general theme of the debate was that Indians do not have a common cause to rally around. How the many states where people are “fighting” for their autonomy have nothing in common to be called one country, India.

I was and am strongly against this idea and I feel compelled to blog about it even after spending my well-earned-whisky-buzz arguing.

Do we need a common cause? Don’t we have many common causes? Isn’t being Indian our “common cause”? Don’t we all cherish our democracy? Don’t we all enjoy the freedom and the right to vote? Don’t we all take great pride in our country’s achievements? Don’t we feel enraged and frustrated when our government fails to act against terrorists? Don’t we feel the pain and suffering of our countrymen suffering due to terrorism, natural disasters, poverty, crime and exploitation? Don’t we celebrate our cricket team beating Pakistan in the T20 finals? Don’t we relish the many different flavors our cuisine offers?

We do. We do. We do….you get the point.

Another line of argument I heard was if one was given the option of being an American citizen rather than an Indian citizen, they would pick the former. Yes, I agree that would most likely be the case. But aren’t we confusing opportunity with patriotism? I think we are. I have put few naturalized citizens to this test by asking a simple question “If India and the united states went to war, who side are you on?” Answer that question for yourself and that should help you separate opportunity from patriotism. It is a pretty extreme question but it makes the point.

Oh here is another argument. States like Assam, Arunachal are forgotten by central government and everybody else so why would they stay in India? Fair argument but when has central government done anything for anybody? India’s recent growth has been in spite of the government (like a friend of mine puts it very well). People who chose to tie their hands to the chairs and wait for central government to untie them are still sitting there or woke up too late. Kerala, my home state, rich in natural resources, intellectuals, education, 100% literacy, water, natural beauty, shipping ports, spices has fallen behind Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh because labor unions, communism and protectionism pulled back every time progress was made. I remember my dad telling me how Kerala could have been the “textile capital” of south India or all of India if they had welcomed textile factories instead of protesting at its gates. Else, what is the explanation for Kerala with vast green fertile lands with plentiful rivers, backwaters, lakes, sea and 100% literacy be taken over by Coimbatore and Tiripur in Tamil Nadu?

There I go…digressing again. So closing note to stop my rambling.
We are Indians and love India. Got a more sincere common cause? Jai Hind!

Wake the F up, will ya?

http://www.rediff.com/news/2009/feb/17mumterror-dawood-gang-to-double-up-for-lashkar.htm

Didn't this already happen? Dawood has partnered with Terrorists since early 90s and there is substantial proof for that...I hope this is rediff reporting a stale news and not IB reporting a stale piece of intelligence...