i'm sure all of you, like i, have had this experience in school. we normally would have to be dragged/threatened/thrashed out of bed, but on the day we are going out on a school picnic we are out of our beds in a flash at some unearthly hour; even if we managed to sleep only a couple of hours earlier!
in fact most of the time, if you've noticed, when we want to wake up for something really important or for something really exciting or something we are looking forward to, we manage to wake up just before the alarm goes off. and this is in stark contrast to the umpteen number of times when we sleep through the blaring which has managed to wake up the rest of the household and some neighbors too!
all of us have experienced this fascinating body clock within us at some point of time or the other. its only recently when i started travelling abroad that i realised that our bodies don't strictly follow the time according to the watches on our wrist but has its own internal clock which is ticking away (like a time bomb?). earlier, i could never appreciate 'jet lag' which is just our body clock trying to sync itself with the watch on your wrist.
i recently learnt that there is a technical term for this internal body clock - circadian rhythm.
this only further reinforces the ancient vedantic pronouncement that time exists only in the mind; and the true measure of time is the gap between thoughts. swami chinmayananda used to say that time can be measured only after the 'second' thought and that is possibly why time is measured in seconds and not in 'firsts'!
(click here for an interesting perspective of time from a vedic standpoint - http://www.templenet.com/beliefs/concept_of_time.htm)
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
celebrations away from home
festivals are celebrated and rituals are followed with a lot more vigour by people when they are away from their homes/ land.
i noticed this first on campus when the entire student community in the hostel used to celebrate festivals like diwali and holi with a lot more enthusiasm and vigour than they normally would back home.
i recently read an article in the times of india about the onam celebrations in mumbai. the article had various malayalees reminiscing about how they celebrated onam in their villages back in kerala. these fond memories now inspire the malayalees all over the world (except, maybe in kerala itself) to relive the rituals and traditions of this festival.i would daresay that you could enjoy a more traditional onam celebration and meal in mumbai or dubai than in thiruvananthapuram itself!
i would assume this is the case with most other communities too.
i am sure all of us have our quota of cousins, relatives and friends in the us/ london/ australia, etc. who strive to keep their culture alive by attending bharatnatyam, carnatic music, kathak, tabla classes with a lot more vigour than they would if they were in their own home-land. i have noticed that this group also is very particular about performing various traditional rituals including pujas, punyajanam, festivals, etc. which they would not be following if they were back home.
i believe this zeal is born more from the need for the comfort from the sense of identity that they can hold on to than from the concern to keep their 'culture' alive.
and i think this is more true for the first-generation expatriate who has had some prior experience and exposure to some of these traditions before they departed to foreign shores.
distance not only seems to make the heart grow fonder, but also more zealous about our roots!
i noticed this first on campus when the entire student community in the hostel used to celebrate festivals like diwali and holi with a lot more enthusiasm and vigour than they normally would back home.
i recently read an article in the times of india about the onam celebrations in mumbai. the article had various malayalees reminiscing about how they celebrated onam in their villages back in kerala. these fond memories now inspire the malayalees all over the world (except, maybe in kerala itself) to relive the rituals and traditions of this festival.i would daresay that you could enjoy a more traditional onam celebration and meal in mumbai or dubai than in thiruvananthapuram itself!
i would assume this is the case with most other communities too.
i am sure all of us have our quota of cousins, relatives and friends in the us/ london/ australia, etc. who strive to keep their culture alive by attending bharatnatyam, carnatic music, kathak, tabla classes with a lot more vigour than they would if they were in their own home-land. i have noticed that this group also is very particular about performing various traditional rituals including pujas, punyajanam, festivals, etc. which they would not be following if they were back home.
i believe this zeal is born more from the need for the comfort from the sense of identity that they can hold on to than from the concern to keep their 'culture' alive.
and i think this is more true for the first-generation expatriate who has had some prior experience and exposure to some of these traditions before they departed to foreign shores.
distance not only seems to make the heart grow fonder, but also more zealous about our roots!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
losing and finding things!
i am sure this doesn't happen with any one of you, at least not in such a chronic fashion.
i just can't seem to find things when i need them. and this problem seems to run in the family. this includes my wife and the kids. no, i don't mean i can't find them. they too seem to be afflicted with this strange ailment. my wife and i are still not decided which side of the family this problem seems to have originated from!
we lose things on a daily basis. to the extent that i am convinced that there is a group of people in our neighborhood (hopefully women) who seem to be interested in filching my underwear! apart from my towels, pens, papers, cds, etc. (i have many single socks - either the left or the right one!)
i have this knack of losing things i was carrying a minute ago. try beat that!
and then occasionally i get worked up enough to organise things better so that i can trace things better. this usually means that our bedroom looks like a typhoon hit it. and then things are very well-organised for a few days. but that still doesn't help. i still can't find my stuff because i don't seem to remember the logic behind the organisation. so then i decided to try keep things in safe places. i gave that up when i realised that the places i kept things away were so safe i couldn't remember where they were.
and now my kids seem to be carrying on this great family tradition and doing a damn good job of it. my daughter hides her brother's things (and sometimes our stuff too) just to bug him and then promptly forgets where she hid them! and she's cool as cucumber while we are going round the bend and turning the house upside-down trying to guess where she would have hidden the specific object we desperately need at that moment.
but we do find many of the things we lose. we found our car registration papers recently. just as soon as we had organised the duplicates!!!
i just can't seem to find things when i need them. and this problem seems to run in the family. this includes my wife and the kids. no, i don't mean i can't find them. they too seem to be afflicted with this strange ailment. my wife and i are still not decided which side of the family this problem seems to have originated from!
we lose things on a daily basis. to the extent that i am convinced that there is a group of people in our neighborhood (hopefully women) who seem to be interested in filching my underwear! apart from my towels, pens, papers, cds, etc. (i have many single socks - either the left or the right one!)
i have this knack of losing things i was carrying a minute ago. try beat that!
and then occasionally i get worked up enough to organise things better so that i can trace things better. this usually means that our bedroom looks like a typhoon hit it. and then things are very well-organised for a few days. but that still doesn't help. i still can't find my stuff because i don't seem to remember the logic behind the organisation. so then i decided to try keep things in safe places. i gave that up when i realised that the places i kept things away were so safe i couldn't remember where they were.
and now my kids seem to be carrying on this great family tradition and doing a damn good job of it. my daughter hides her brother's things (and sometimes our stuff too) just to bug him and then promptly forgets where she hid them! and she's cool as cucumber while we are going round the bend and turning the house upside-down trying to guess where she would have hidden the specific object we desperately need at that moment.
but we do find many of the things we lose. we found our car registration papers recently. just as soon as we had organised the duplicates!!!
Thursday, August 30, 2007
the 'second' solution
this post is about the eternal debate that married people have about the pros and cons of having (or not having) a second kid. which basically means that you are forewarned not to attempt reading this during meal-times and definitely not if you are a queasy types when it comes to descriptions of bodily excretions of children!
let me share my personal experience. i remember when we had prasann, we never had any idea about a second kid. for us having prasann was a great fulfilment in itself. and we were both, as most single kid parents of the 21st century are wont to, kept on our toes trying to be ideal parents to our only child.
this meant a lot visits to the paediatrician, discussing diets, planning quality inputs, worrying about social interaction, the best play schools, et al. apart from his regular paediatrician visits, we used to regularly call a very senior paediatrician, dr. madhuriben sheth, (who is also a very dear family friend).
in fact whenever prasann was under the weather or passed stools which were not of the regular color or consistency we would promptly call madhuriben and ask her for her advise. most of the time her advise would mean just relaxing and waiting until the suspected affliction passed. and without fail she would also tell us that the solution to all the problems was to have a second child.
in fact we had thought that when we had a kid we would have effectively got rid of friends/family/acquaintance/strangers enquiring when we were planning a 'family'! we found out that having a child did not stop people asking us if and when we were planning an addition to the family!
eventually, we did have our second child - sunanda. and we realised soon enough, how true and sage madhuriben's advise was. and when we looked around we saw the stark difference between single-kid parents and the others with more than one kid. here's my laundry-list of the differences i could see (i'm sure you would agree/disagree depending on which side of the fence you are on) :
1. parents of multiple-kids seem to be more 'cool' about their kids.
2. they seem to be far more accepting of their kids' achievements or lack of them.
3. they seem to be far less aggressive about their kids vis-a-vis other parents, teachers, grand-parents, etc.
4. they seem to be of the view that the kids would largely take care of themselves and do not need to be guided and managed all the time.
5. they manage their careers/ hobbies/ other activities with far less guilt about leaving their kids at day-care centres or creches.
6. and they finally realise that their love for the kids doesn't get divided by the number of kids they have; instead it multiplies adequately to ensure that each kid feels loved and secure.
i do realise that this does seem to be a very biased view presented here. but this is how i honestly feel and what i have actually experienced. (and we haven't called madhuriben for a very long time!)
but i would love to hear views from the 'other' side too!
let me share my personal experience. i remember when we had prasann, we never had any idea about a second kid. for us having prasann was a great fulfilment in itself. and we were both, as most single kid parents of the 21st century are wont to, kept on our toes trying to be ideal parents to our only child.
this meant a lot visits to the paediatrician, discussing diets, planning quality inputs, worrying about social interaction, the best play schools, et al. apart from his regular paediatrician visits, we used to regularly call a very senior paediatrician, dr. madhuriben sheth, (who is also a very dear family friend).
in fact whenever prasann was under the weather or passed stools which were not of the regular color or consistency we would promptly call madhuriben and ask her for her advise. most of the time her advise would mean just relaxing and waiting until the suspected affliction passed. and without fail she would also tell us that the solution to all the problems was to have a second child.
in fact we had thought that when we had a kid we would have effectively got rid of friends/family/acquaintance/strangers enquiring when we were planning a 'family'! we found out that having a child did not stop people asking us if and when we were planning an addition to the family!
eventually, we did have our second child - sunanda. and we realised soon enough, how true and sage madhuriben's advise was. and when we looked around we saw the stark difference between single-kid parents and the others with more than one kid. here's my laundry-list of the differences i could see (i'm sure you would agree/disagree depending on which side of the fence you are on) :
1. parents of multiple-kids seem to be more 'cool' about their kids.
2. they seem to be far more accepting of their kids' achievements or lack of them.
3. they seem to be far less aggressive about their kids vis-a-vis other parents, teachers, grand-parents, etc.
4. they seem to be of the view that the kids would largely take care of themselves and do not need to be guided and managed all the time.
5. they manage their careers/ hobbies/ other activities with far less guilt about leaving their kids at day-care centres or creches.
6. and they finally realise that their love for the kids doesn't get divided by the number of kids they have; instead it multiplies adequately to ensure that each kid feels loved and secure.
i do realise that this does seem to be a very biased view presented here. but this is how i honestly feel and what i have actually experienced. (and we haven't called madhuriben for a very long time!)
but i would love to hear views from the 'other' side too!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
photos don't lie!
we went on a weekend getaway trip to kashid on 18th & 19th aug. we were 5 families from golden square (click on the link to see the location on google maps) and we drove down in 3 cars. i.e. 10 adults and 9 kids.
all of us, as you can imagine, had a very good time. the kids largely took care of themselves. and all the adults, when they were not eating copious amounts of delicious food or lazing around as an obvious after-effect, got into the pool with the kids or played various games including cards, taboo, pictionary, etc.
you can catch the pics at the following link (some of the pics are scenic) - http://picasaweb.google.com/ckguruprasad/TripToKashid
all of us, as you can imagine, had a very good time. the kids largely took care of themselves. and all the adults, when they were not eating copious amounts of delicious food or lazing around as an obvious after-effect, got into the pool with the kids or played various games including cards, taboo, pictionary, etc.
you can catch the pics at the following link (some of the pics are scenic) - http://picasaweb.google.com/ckguruprasad/TripToKashid
(photos courtesy : murli nambiar)
but that's not the point of this posting. i am sure most of you would not be interested in poring through these pics. to be honest, i wouldn't if i were you!
have you noticed how we are eager to browse through an album or to look at photographs only if one of the following conditions are true?
1. there is our photograph(s) in that collection
2. there is a photograph(s) of our immediate family or people we love
3. there are photographs of people we know or are fond of
4. the photographs are of some well-known personality or have been clicked by a well-known personality
5. we have heard that the photographs are interesting/beautiful/artistic/whatever
(and our interest dramatically reduces in this order of listing!)
our interest in the photographs reflects our love for the subject in the photographs! and we are most interested in our own photographs/reflections; because we love ourselves the most!
like i said, photos don't lie!
Monday, August 20, 2007
i used to be a rolling stone!
no i don't mean i was part of the band... nor do i mean i was a fan. (i discovered the rolling stones only late in college.) as for the actual meaning of the phrase, well that came even later. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/rolling%20stone)
when i was carefree, footloose, reckless and single, but not necessarily happier than i am today, i realised that i was a perfect specimen for the term 'a rolling stone'. and i took some kind of pride about this 'state of being'.
i could drift in and out and away from relationships with ease, i never got too close to people, i didn't need friends, but i could make new friends at every new place we moved to, etc.
and then i got married! and soon kids followed.
to say that life changed drastically would be an understatement :-)
i can unabashedly say today that i have never felt as attached to anybody in my whole life as i feel to my kids! you would assume that i should have felt tied down or claustrophobic or like having my wings clipped. on the contrary! i have never felt as complete, as free and as content in my life before.
i say to all of you people out there who are on the fence about marriage or about having kids after marriage - take a deep breath and jump aboard. you will never regret it!
some might say that you will not have any time to realise the blunder since you will be so busy running errands, making up more than making out, changing nappies, reading bed-time stories and all that.
but once you are in it you realise that these are all pegs which are driving you deeper into solid ground and at the same time, helping you soar into the sky, freer than the king of the eagles!
thank god for children! and thank god for the mothers who beget the children who in turn make you a truly complete man!
when i was carefree, footloose, reckless and single, but not necessarily happier than i am today, i realised that i was a perfect specimen for the term 'a rolling stone'. and i took some kind of pride about this 'state of being'.
i could drift in and out and away from relationships with ease, i never got too close to people, i didn't need friends, but i could make new friends at every new place we moved to, etc.
and then i got married! and soon kids followed.
to say that life changed drastically would be an understatement :-)
i can unabashedly say today that i have never felt as attached to anybody in my whole life as i feel to my kids! you would assume that i should have felt tied down or claustrophobic or like having my wings clipped. on the contrary! i have never felt as complete, as free and as content in my life before.
i say to all of you people out there who are on the fence about marriage or about having kids after marriage - take a deep breath and jump aboard. you will never regret it!
some might say that you will not have any time to realise the blunder since you will be so busy running errands, making up more than making out, changing nappies, reading bed-time stories and all that.
but once you are in it you realise that these are all pegs which are driving you deeper into solid ground and at the same time, helping you soar into the sky, freer than the king of the eagles!
thank god for children! and thank god for the mothers who beget the children who in turn make you a truly complete man!
Thursday, August 16, 2007
chak de, india
just saw the movie 'chak de, india' (www.chakdeindia.org) over the weekend with the kids and some friends.
its a well-made movie. i predict it will do well and will be declared a 'hit'. which is amazing considering that, apart from srk (shahrukh khan - www.shahrukh.com) there is not a single known face, no songs or dances, no death-defying stunts, no fights with dastardly villains, etc. what makes it special is that the film presents the reality about our attitude towards sports, the bias towards cricket, our regional biases, etc.
its a movie with shades of 'lagaan' and has some good moments. its a good mix of patriotism, the victory of david over goliath, woman power, team-spirit, us vs them and all that!
at the end of the movie my son promptly declared that we should buy him a hockey stick! i think the movie will definitely help the cause of hockey in the country, at least for some more time.
all in all a good 'paisa vasool' film! highly recommended.
its a well-made movie. i predict it will do well and will be declared a 'hit'. which is amazing considering that, apart from srk (shahrukh khan - www.shahrukh.com) there is not a single known face, no songs or dances, no death-defying stunts, no fights with dastardly villains, etc. what makes it special is that the film presents the reality about our attitude towards sports, the bias towards cricket, our regional biases, etc.
its a movie with shades of 'lagaan' and has some good moments. its a good mix of patriotism, the victory of david over goliath, woman power, team-spirit, us vs them and all that!
at the end of the movie my son promptly declared that we should buy him a hockey stick! i think the movie will definitely help the cause of hockey in the country, at least for some more time.
all in all a good 'paisa vasool' film! highly recommended.
Monday, August 13, 2007
the power of 'cheee'
a lot has been said and written about how we use language, especially the written word, in a very limited fashion to express ourselves and our ideas. very often we find ourselves in situations where we are struggling to find the right word to aptly express what we are trying to say! and its during such 'frozen' moments that we fall back on some of our favourite words.
some of these words are unmentionable and unreproducible here in this blog since i believe this blog has a 'family' readership. but you will agree that these 'filler words' (you might even call them 'killer words') have an almost magical quality of morphing themselves into a myriad set of meanings; usually way beyond what the original utterer of the word ever intended for it.
lets take the very indian expression 'chee' which roughly translates into 'how disgusting!'. but this same word if pronounced as 'cheee' also translates into 'go on! i don't believe you/he/she/it/someone can be so disgusting!'.
here's a short list of the various possible connotations of the same 'sound expulsion' :
1. 'che' when said in a short irritated fashion expresses just that - extreme irritation.
2. 'chi' when expressed with a lot of sideways-head-shaking would typically denote self-loathing for having missed that god-given opportunity of making an easy buck or something along those lines.
3. 'shee' said with a lot of fluttering of the eyes would basically mean the universal statement 'i like it but i am obviously not going to let you know that, am i'?
4. 'chi chi chi' muttered multiple times under your breath with a lot of vigorous head-shaking would clearly mean you have just done something very sacrilegious.
5. 'oh shee' is what kids say when they want to be polite and not utter unmentionable words within earshot of the elders.
6. an exaggerated 'cheee' with a lot of eyebrow raising and nose-wrinkling might just be a group of friends just harmlessly pulling someone's leg in the group.
7. and then there are some who would not deign to utter such crude sounds but would rather utter a polished 'sheesh' making you wonder how they happened to be born on the wrong side of the english channel (and i don't mean the bbc here).
i could go on and on... but i think you get the general idea (and i don't want you going 'sheesh' over me!).
the problem with such words and expressions is that over time they become convenient crutches to lean on to when we don't get the right word in our daily conversations. and then over time we slowly start losing the agility of speech and start uttering a language which sounds vaguely like english but is wide off the mark!
do you know any other similar expressions that we use often? (but please remember this is a 'family' viewing/reading blog!) :-)
some of these words are unmentionable and unreproducible here in this blog since i believe this blog has a 'family' readership. but you will agree that these 'filler words' (you might even call them 'killer words') have an almost magical quality of morphing themselves into a myriad set of meanings; usually way beyond what the original utterer of the word ever intended for it.
lets take the very indian expression 'chee' which roughly translates into 'how disgusting!'. but this same word if pronounced as 'cheee' also translates into 'go on! i don't believe you/he/she/it/someone can be so disgusting!'.
here's a short list of the various possible connotations of the same 'sound expulsion' :
1. 'che' when said in a short irritated fashion expresses just that - extreme irritation.
2. 'chi' when expressed with a lot of sideways-head-shaking would typically denote self-loathing for having missed that god-given opportunity of making an easy buck or something along those lines.
3. 'shee' said with a lot of fluttering of the eyes would basically mean the universal statement 'i like it but i am obviously not going to let you know that, am i'?
4. 'chi chi chi' muttered multiple times under your breath with a lot of vigorous head-shaking would clearly mean you have just done something very sacrilegious.
5. 'oh shee' is what kids say when they want to be polite and not utter unmentionable words within earshot of the elders.
6. an exaggerated 'cheee' with a lot of eyebrow raising and nose-wrinkling might just be a group of friends just harmlessly pulling someone's leg in the group.
7. and then there are some who would not deign to utter such crude sounds but would rather utter a polished 'sheesh' making you wonder how they happened to be born on the wrong side of the english channel (and i don't mean the bbc here).
i could go on and on... but i think you get the general idea (and i don't want you going 'sheesh' over me!).
the problem with such words and expressions is that over time they become convenient crutches to lean on to when we don't get the right word in our daily conversations. and then over time we slowly start losing the agility of speech and start uttering a language which sounds vaguely like english but is wide off the mark!
do you know any other similar expressions that we use often? (but please remember this is a 'family' viewing/reading blog!) :-)
Monday, July 09, 2007
a question of answers
i realised there were a few unanswered questions in some of my earlier postings. in this posting i try to answer them to the best of my ability!
in the posting about 'the ultimate why' i had posed a few questions - what is the ultimate answer for all our whys? is there one single answer that answers all our whys?
ok, here's my take on this.
i believe that all our 'whys' lead to one final answer.
why do we do everything that we do?
we do everything that we do because we want to be happy, to achieve fulfilment and to feel complete.
even if we believe we are doing some actions like charity or some sacrifice for somebody else's benefit, if we look within ourselves closely enough, we have to admit that we are doing it because we derive some sense of fulfilment or satisfaction in these actions.
in this posting i wanted to present the case of my kids as evidence of reincarnation. but i think the idea didn't come through clearly.the point i was trying to make was that 2 kids in the same family can be so different. now, the only logical reason to explain this huge difference is the personality package that they seem to have 'inherited' or brought along with them.
some of you might argue and say that the differences can be explained as genetic. but then my counter would be - what defined their unique genetic structure which in turn defined their unique personalities with its specific traits? are these traits truly 'carried forward' from some previous life or are these only just some accidental combinations of certain proteins in their dna strands?
i don't know about you, but i can't accept the theory that i am what i am because of some random 'accident'!
what do you think?
in the posting about 'the ultimate why' i had posed a few questions - what is the ultimate answer for all our whys? is there one single answer that answers all our whys?
ok, here's my take on this.
i believe that all our 'whys' lead to one final answer.
why do we do everything that we do?
we do everything that we do because we want to be happy, to achieve fulfilment and to feel complete.
even if we believe we are doing some actions like charity or some sacrifice for somebody else's benefit, if we look within ourselves closely enough, we have to admit that we are doing it because we derive some sense of fulfilment or satisfaction in these actions.
in fact, i would go to the extent of saying that there is not a single activity, word or thought that we undertake other than for fulfilling our own desires and for our own happiness.
do you agree?
-------------------------------------------------
and i was also told that there was a missing link in my posting about the 'evidence of reincarnation'.in this posting i wanted to present the case of my kids as evidence of reincarnation. but i think the idea didn't come through clearly.the point i was trying to make was that 2 kids in the same family can be so different. now, the only logical reason to explain this huge difference is the personality package that they seem to have 'inherited' or brought along with them.
some of you might argue and say that the differences can be explained as genetic. but then my counter would be - what defined their unique genetic structure which in turn defined their unique personalities with its specific traits? are these traits truly 'carried forward' from some previous life or are these only just some accidental combinations of certain proteins in their dna strands?
i don't know about you, but i can't accept the theory that i am what i am because of some random 'accident'!
what do you think?
-----------------------------------------------
Saturday, June 23, 2007
evidence of reincarnation
here's the ultimate evidence to prove the theory of reincarnation beyond any doubt - my own kids!
my son, prasann, is going to turn 7 in october. after my daughter, sunanda, who completed 3 in may, was born, we suddenly realised how much of an angel our son is :-)
(click one of the following links to see their pic - http://picasaweb.google.com/ckguruprasad/TripToMahabaleshwar/photo#5063979959940848338
http://picasaweb.google.com/ckguruprasad/Picsmar2006/photo#5008812688469998018)
prasann and sunanda are as similar as chalk and cheese.
1. prasann might protest vehemently, but will not do anything that he is not supposed to unless he has got permission from his mother. (he knows who's the boss at home!)
but sunanda will stare her mother in the eye and continue to do what she pleases.
2. prasann is not a very social person. he would rather sit and watch a movie, or play a computer game, or go through some car magazines than go out and play with the other kids.
sunanda prefers to stay out or go to her friend's house than come home on her way back from her 'day care centre'.
3. prasann can't stand the sight of fruits. he just about manages to eat some mangoes (the alphonso variety). he eats without a fuss but is quite choosy about his food and rarely experiments.
sunanda likes fruits and is quite game to try out some new variety of fruit even if it doesn't look very appealing. she would take a bite of whatever it is that we are eating, diplomatically say it is good, and then politely decline another serving.
4. prasann is currently into his 'cars' phase. this was preceded by planes, trains, auto-rickshaws, and cooking utensils.
sunanda never went through any of these phases. she prefers books, puzzles, animals.
5. prasann is deeply influenced by religious practices and he instinctively prostrates to swamis & brahmacharis (monks).
sunanda does not quite the like the idea of doing this at all, nor does she feel any pressure to ape her brother.
6. and the clinching evidence is displayed in full glory at the dining table. after prasann finishes his meal, which usually ends with a generous serving of curd-rice (here's the recipe - http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/3925/recipe_rice_15.html), you would not be blamed if you assumed that a mini-typhoon hit his plate which also smacked his face while retreating! the effects can be seen over a significant radius beyond his plate.
and sunanda, the way she expertly handles the cutlery, can be easily mistaken for someone the 'brits' left behind when they departed indian shores. she is neat, meticulous and a dainty eater.
all of us have our own views about reincarnation. but most parents with more than one child will agree that our children make us pause and wonder about this theory, if convince us about it!
my son, prasann, is going to turn 7 in october. after my daughter, sunanda, who completed 3 in may, was born, we suddenly realised how much of an angel our son is :-)
(click one of the following links to see their pic - http://picasaweb.google.com/ckguruprasad/TripToMahabaleshwar/photo#5063979959940848338
http://picasaweb.google.com/ckguruprasad/Picsmar2006/photo#5008812688469998018)
prasann and sunanda are as similar as chalk and cheese.
1. prasann might protest vehemently, but will not do anything that he is not supposed to unless he has got permission from his mother. (he knows who's the boss at home!)
but sunanda will stare her mother in the eye and continue to do what she pleases.
2. prasann is not a very social person. he would rather sit and watch a movie, or play a computer game, or go through some car magazines than go out and play with the other kids.
sunanda prefers to stay out or go to her friend's house than come home on her way back from her 'day care centre'.
3. prasann can't stand the sight of fruits. he just about manages to eat some mangoes (the alphonso variety). he eats without a fuss but is quite choosy about his food and rarely experiments.
sunanda likes fruits and is quite game to try out some new variety of fruit even if it doesn't look very appealing. she would take a bite of whatever it is that we are eating, diplomatically say it is good, and then politely decline another serving.
4. prasann is currently into his 'cars' phase. this was preceded by planes, trains, auto-rickshaws, and cooking utensils.
sunanda never went through any of these phases. she prefers books, puzzles, animals.
5. prasann is deeply influenced by religious practices and he instinctively prostrates to swamis & brahmacharis (monks).
sunanda does not quite the like the idea of doing this at all, nor does she feel any pressure to ape her brother.
6. and the clinching evidence is displayed in full glory at the dining table. after prasann finishes his meal, which usually ends with a generous serving of curd-rice (here's the recipe - http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/3925/recipe_rice_15.html), you would not be blamed if you assumed that a mini-typhoon hit his plate which also smacked his face while retreating! the effects can be seen over a significant radius beyond his plate.
and sunanda, the way she expertly handles the cutlery, can be easily mistaken for someone the 'brits' left behind when they departed indian shores. she is neat, meticulous and a dainty eater.
all of us have our own views about reincarnation. but most parents with more than one child will agree that our children make us pause and wonder about this theory, if convince us about it!
Monday, June 04, 2007
reality shows you will soon see!
this posting was inspired by two things.
first, i read this article about some british tv company (i thought this was one of those examples of brit humor) doing a reality show where they would get someone with a disfigured face and then get some corrective & plastic surgery done to reconstruct the face. and all this would be on prime time!
and second, within the next day or two, i read an article by anil thakraney who writes in mumbai mirror. (this is the second time i am referring to the mirror in my blog! tells you a lot about the junk i read! :-) ) here he mentioned that we would see weirder reality shows in the near future.
i made a list of shows that would be thrust upon us. and each would have their own following of enthusiasts!
1. a full season of the next big celebrity wedding. right from the courting to the engagement and the run-up to the d-day including the shopping and all that. and not to forget the pre-nuptials!
2. a 24-episode version of how your wet garbage gets converted to manure. and this would be telecast to coincide with your dinner time. bon appetit!
3. a 3-5 year show with a daily one-hour episode on the progress of the mumbai metro phase I. for the first few months the camera would just follow the file as it moves through the various ministries at mantralaya. (a competing channel could cover the progress of the worli-bandra sea-link construction.)
4. a year with the indian cricket team! the camera would follow the cricket team as they go through the motions of training, playing (on field and off), etc. each month one player would be the 'chosen one'. this would be a daily episode for an hour each day. i am sure there would be more action seen on this show than in the matches played by these players!
5. and then there would be live feeds from 2 cameras from the compartments of our mumbai local trains. one would be in the ladies compartment while the other would be in the gents compartment. obviously the ad tariff would be higher on those days when the transmission is from the ladies compartment. this would be one of the most popular reality shows with transmissions to many tv stations around the world!
on this show you would see action, drama, suspense, tragedy, romance, thrills, etc. which would beat any of the mainstream potboilers hollow.
6. and of course, sooner or later, we will have a show just like 'the truman show' where someone is filmed right from their birth and would live life without realising that he (or she) is on tv 24X7!
do you agree that it wouldn't be the least bit surprising if these kind of shows get announced sooner than later?
do you have any wackier suggestions you want to list here? who knows, some of the readers here might actually end up using your idea and make a show... or maybe star in one! ;-)
first, i read this article about some british tv company (i thought this was one of those examples of brit humor) doing a reality show where they would get someone with a disfigured face and then get some corrective & plastic surgery done to reconstruct the face. and all this would be on prime time!
and second, within the next day or two, i read an article by anil thakraney who writes in mumbai mirror. (this is the second time i am referring to the mirror in my blog! tells you a lot about the junk i read! :-) ) here he mentioned that we would see weirder reality shows in the near future.
i made a list of shows that would be thrust upon us. and each would have their own following of enthusiasts!
1. a full season of the next big celebrity wedding. right from the courting to the engagement and the run-up to the d-day including the shopping and all that. and not to forget the pre-nuptials!
2. a 24-episode version of how your wet garbage gets converted to manure. and this would be telecast to coincide with your dinner time. bon appetit!
3. a 3-5 year show with a daily one-hour episode on the progress of the mumbai metro phase I. for the first few months the camera would just follow the file as it moves through the various ministries at mantralaya. (a competing channel could cover the progress of the worli-bandra sea-link construction.)
4. a year with the indian cricket team! the camera would follow the cricket team as they go through the motions of training, playing (on field and off), etc. each month one player would be the 'chosen one'. this would be a daily episode for an hour each day. i am sure there would be more action seen on this show than in the matches played by these players!
5. and then there would be live feeds from 2 cameras from the compartments of our mumbai local trains. one would be in the ladies compartment while the other would be in the gents compartment. obviously the ad tariff would be higher on those days when the transmission is from the ladies compartment. this would be one of the most popular reality shows with transmissions to many tv stations around the world!
on this show you would see action, drama, suspense, tragedy, romance, thrills, etc. which would beat any of the mainstream potboilers hollow.
6. and of course, sooner or later, we will have a show just like 'the truman show' where someone is filmed right from their birth and would live life without realising that he (or she) is on tv 24X7!
do you agree that it wouldn't be the least bit surprising if these kind of shows get announced sooner than later?
do you have any wackier suggestions you want to list here? who knows, some of the readers here might actually end up using your idea and make a show... or maybe star in one! ;-)
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
the ultimate 'why?'
here's a mind exercise.
let's ask ourselves the question 'why?' for anything that we do... and when i say anything i mean anything.
why do i go to work?
why am i saving money?
why do i study/ go to college?
why do i aspire for greater things?
why do i listen to music/read books/cook?
... and so on and so forth....
and let us ask the same question to every response we come up with. where do you think this would lead us to?
would you arrive at some ultimate answer? what would be your ultimate answer? do you think each one of us would have a unique answer? or would we all have the same final answer?
watch this space for the answer :-)
(send in your responses and then lets see what we get.)
let's ask ourselves the question 'why?' for anything that we do... and when i say anything i mean anything.
why do i go to work?
why am i saving money?
why do i study/ go to college?
why do i aspire for greater things?
why do i listen to music/read books/cook?
... and so on and so forth....
and let us ask the same question to every response we come up with. where do you think this would lead us to?
would you arrive at some ultimate answer? what would be your ultimate answer? do you think each one of us would have a unique answer? or would we all have the same final answer?
watch this space for the answer :-)
(send in your responses and then lets see what we get.)
Sunday, May 27, 2007
schools - the great levelers
we mumbaikars woke up one morning to see the front page of the mumbai mirror screaming "Pissed off dad buys school for his kids" (you can read the full article here - http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.aspx?page=article§id=15&contentid=200705250227128596aece596)
now, the mumbai mirror is not the kind of fare you would like to start your day with. but a headline like this demanded attention. especially for most people who are trying to get their young kids admitted in decent educational institutions.
most mumbaikars will agree that in mumbai it is easier to get invited to abhishek and aishwarya's wedding (http://www.rediff.com/movies/ashabhiwed.html) than to get your child admitted into a school of your choice! and for most people, no matter how important the whole world thinks you are, the entire admission process is a very humbling experience.
you learn early on in the process that you have to be ingratiatingly polite and smile at everyone in the school right from the 'chowkidar' (guard) at the gate to the all-important admissions coordinator who decides whether your admission form makes it to the short short-list or to the huge pile of rejects. that's assuming you have managed to get the admission form in the first place!
and if you are one among the majority with a reject letter in your hand (that's assuming the school has deigned to send you one) you dare not ask for reasons. you might believe that your child is god's gift to humanity but the school reserves the right to 'pooh pooh' your belief. in fact in most schools you would not even be able to get an audience with anybody in the school who matters. and even if you manage to meet someone, you can expect the person to feel mighty offended that you choose to question their evaluation process.
in fact the ego-crushing experience that the parents go through at most 'sought after' schools is so common that if any of the schools deviate from this attitude you begin to wonder if there is something wrong with the school.
after going through such an experience the reaction of people tends to differ widely -
1. some decide to buy the schools just to 'show them' and get back!
2. some are so relieved when they get the admission that they just want to forget the whole experience and move on in life. (some even undertake pilgrimages to the religious sites that they had promised to visit if they get the coveted admissions.)
3. some sagely analyse the situation to be a 'demand supply mismatch' problem and that this is something that one has to go through.
4. and then there are those few who truly believe that, in the long run, it doesn't really matter which school your child goes to.
and this is so very true. if we look at ourselves and people around us we see that most people shine brilliantly in life, irrespective of how good or bad their schools were. we personally know of so many great achievers who are from vernacular schools or municipal schools where we would never even think of admitting our children into. (i'd like to mention here that i am not, even for a moment, suggesting that it is not important to plan your child's education!)
i think it finally boils down to our own false notions, confusions and insecurities that reflect in the way we tackle this activity. we create these situations for ourselves by firmly believing that our children will get the best education only if they get admitted into a specific school. but education is not only about the 'pedigree' of the institution. there are so many other aspects that go into making for complete education.
do you agree?
"Don't just invest 'on' the child, also invest 'in' the child!" - Sw. Chinmayananda.
now, the mumbai mirror is not the kind of fare you would like to start your day with. but a headline like this demanded attention. especially for most people who are trying to get their young kids admitted in decent educational institutions.
most mumbaikars will agree that in mumbai it is easier to get invited to abhishek and aishwarya's wedding (http://www.rediff.com/movies/ashabhiwed.html) than to get your child admitted into a school of your choice! and for most people, no matter how important the whole world thinks you are, the entire admission process is a very humbling experience.
you learn early on in the process that you have to be ingratiatingly polite and smile at everyone in the school right from the 'chowkidar' (guard) at the gate to the all-important admissions coordinator who decides whether your admission form makes it to the short short-list or to the huge pile of rejects. that's assuming you have managed to get the admission form in the first place!
and if you are one among the majority with a reject letter in your hand (that's assuming the school has deigned to send you one) you dare not ask for reasons. you might believe that your child is god's gift to humanity but the school reserves the right to 'pooh pooh' your belief. in fact in most schools you would not even be able to get an audience with anybody in the school who matters. and even if you manage to meet someone, you can expect the person to feel mighty offended that you choose to question their evaluation process.
in fact the ego-crushing experience that the parents go through at most 'sought after' schools is so common that if any of the schools deviate from this attitude you begin to wonder if there is something wrong with the school.
after going through such an experience the reaction of people tends to differ widely -
1. some decide to buy the schools just to 'show them' and get back!
2. some are so relieved when they get the admission that they just want to forget the whole experience and move on in life. (some even undertake pilgrimages to the religious sites that they had promised to visit if they get the coveted admissions.)
3. some sagely analyse the situation to be a 'demand supply mismatch' problem and that this is something that one has to go through.
4. and then there are those few who truly believe that, in the long run, it doesn't really matter which school your child goes to.
and this is so very true. if we look at ourselves and people around us we see that most people shine brilliantly in life, irrespective of how good or bad their schools were. we personally know of so many great achievers who are from vernacular schools or municipal schools where we would never even think of admitting our children into. (i'd like to mention here that i am not, even for a moment, suggesting that it is not important to plan your child's education!)
i think it finally boils down to our own false notions, confusions and insecurities that reflect in the way we tackle this activity. we create these situations for ourselves by firmly believing that our children will get the best education only if they get admitted into a specific school. but education is not only about the 'pedigree' of the institution. there are so many other aspects that go into making for complete education.
do you agree?
"Don't just invest 'on' the child, also invest 'in' the child!" - Sw. Chinmayananda.
Friday, May 11, 2007
mom, i want to be a hair-dresser!
imagine if you were an indian kid from a middle-class family and had said something like this to your parents in the 70s or the 80s. they would have hit the roof and promptly got you checked by a doctor.
the only career options that were considered 'respectable' were engineering, medicine, software/ hardware (recent entrants into the list), law, civil services, bureaucracy/ government jobs, architecture, etc.
but in the last decade there's been a sea change in the jobs market and new job seekers have hundreds of options to choose from. many of these options would have been considered bizarre or looked down upon in the past.
so now when i look around me i suddenly find so many career options which suddenly seem to be not just acceptable, but also desirable by most of the youngsters today.
here's a list of some such jobs that i could come up with :
1. rj (radio jockey)/ vj (video jockey)/ dj (disc jockey) - some of these people are celebrities in their own right
2. physical instructor - this species has suddenly become a rare commodity and a status symbol for any celebrity worth his/her salt!
3. dietician - i could never decide what would cost more - the fees quoted by these dieticians or the esoteric foods they recommend.
4. hair dresser - is it the hair dresser who starts a new fashion trend (after a few accidents and experiments) or is he/she following the trend?
5. fashion designer - their clothes are like abstract art. each creation is apparently trying to communicate something but it sounds like all greek and latin to my ears!
6. yoga instructor - the new-age instructors don't teach good old yoga, its 'power yoga' or 'pranic yoga' or 'swaroopa yoga', etc.
7. vaastu/ feng shui consultant - unlike god who opens a window when he shuts a door, this consultant will close a door (no matter which direction the door in your house faces) and ask you to open another one elsewhere!
8. masseur - the star of this tribe is most definitely on the ascendant. you suddenly have spas, therapy centres, wellness clinics and other variants springing up in almost every street corner.
9. animator - all those hours spent in doodling in school or vandalising the desks with your creative outpourings while waiting for lectures to end are suddenly being highly valued!
10. accent/ voice trainer - earlier you would have been considered 'stuck up' if you spoke with an accent; now it could land you a well paying job!
11. event manager - in school you organised a picnic, in college you planned the annual social, and now at work you are organising everything from award ceremonies to office parties or product launches.
12. dance instructor - who would have ever imagined that you could make a successful career teaching people the salsa and the samba?
13. speciality chef - the food they cook never seems to affect their weight; and some of them get paid a lot more than you and i
14. online game master - they get paid for playing online games on the job!
but i think moms will take some more time before their eyes become moist and they jump up with joy when they hear you announce 'mom! i finally know what i want to be, a hair-dresser!'
i am sure there are more esoteric options i have not listed here. you know any you would like to share?
the only career options that were considered 'respectable' were engineering, medicine, software/ hardware (recent entrants into the list), law, civil services, bureaucracy/ government jobs, architecture, etc.
but in the last decade there's been a sea change in the jobs market and new job seekers have hundreds of options to choose from. many of these options would have been considered bizarre or looked down upon in the past.
so now when i look around me i suddenly find so many career options which suddenly seem to be not just acceptable, but also desirable by most of the youngsters today.
here's a list of some such jobs that i could come up with :
1. rj (radio jockey)/ vj (video jockey)/ dj (disc jockey) - some of these people are celebrities in their own right
2. physical instructor - this species has suddenly become a rare commodity and a status symbol for any celebrity worth his/her salt!
3. dietician - i could never decide what would cost more - the fees quoted by these dieticians or the esoteric foods they recommend.
4. hair dresser - is it the hair dresser who starts a new fashion trend (after a few accidents and experiments) or is he/she following the trend?
5. fashion designer - their clothes are like abstract art. each creation is apparently trying to communicate something but it sounds like all greek and latin to my ears!
6. yoga instructor - the new-age instructors don't teach good old yoga, its 'power yoga' or 'pranic yoga' or 'swaroopa yoga', etc.
7. vaastu/ feng shui consultant - unlike god who opens a window when he shuts a door, this consultant will close a door (no matter which direction the door in your house faces) and ask you to open another one elsewhere!
8. masseur - the star of this tribe is most definitely on the ascendant. you suddenly have spas, therapy centres, wellness clinics and other variants springing up in almost every street corner.
9. animator - all those hours spent in doodling in school or vandalising the desks with your creative outpourings while waiting for lectures to end are suddenly being highly valued!
10. accent/ voice trainer - earlier you would have been considered 'stuck up' if you spoke with an accent; now it could land you a well paying job!
11. event manager - in school you organised a picnic, in college you planned the annual social, and now at work you are organising everything from award ceremonies to office parties or product launches.
12. dance instructor - who would have ever imagined that you could make a successful career teaching people the salsa and the samba?
13. speciality chef - the food they cook never seems to affect their weight; and some of them get paid a lot more than you and i
14. online game master - they get paid for playing online games on the job!
but i think moms will take some more time before their eyes become moist and they jump up with joy when they hear you announce 'mom! i finally know what i want to be, a hair-dresser!'
i am sure there are more esoteric options i have not listed here. you know any you would like to share?
Thursday, May 10, 2007
cooling our collective heels!
i was away with family on vacation for about 10 days. we covered wyanad, coorg and hassan. we had 2 other friends (with their families) with us on this trip. (for a photo album click here http://picasaweb.google.com/ckguruprasad/TripToWyanadCoorgHassan)
here are a few thoughts/ tips/ ideas i wanted to share with you.
1. when you are planning a vacation with kids, its a good idea to team up with friends who also have kids in the same age-group. makes for a much better quality time and far less trauma than if you were to do it yourself.
2. coorg is a beautiful place with largely virgin, unspoiled landscapes. there aren't too many resorts or hotels unlike in most other 'tourist destinations'. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodagu)
we opted for a 'home stay' with a wonderful couple - geoffery and kalpana muthanna. (http://www.indianbeat.net/index.php?option=content&pcontent=1&task=view&id=62&Itemid=113)
this meant we lived in their beautiful, spacious house in the midst of a 40 acre coffee estate adjacent to the cauvery river. we could go bathing/ swimming in the river. we did not choose the option of 'mahseer angling' or 'rafting'. we were introduced to many plants and trees including the sandalwood, rose wood, coffee, pepper, vanilla, the fiery 'gandhari' chillies, and so many more!
we also went to the 'dubare elephant reserve' which is a training camp for elephants run by the forest department. here you can bathe the elephants, watch them being fed and also go on an elephant ride.
the 'tala kaveri' or the birth place of the kaveri river was being renovated. this is a very important pilgrimage destination for the local coorgis and even tamilians. (http://images.narian.org.uk/image78.html)
3. our next destination was hassan in karnataka. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassan,_India)
the chenna keshava temple in belur (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennakesava_Temple) is a 'must visit' place. the temple is an architectural marvel and the sculptures adorning the temple are exquisite.
4. on our way back to bangalore on our last leg we stopped to visit the gomateshwara bahubali statue atop the vidhyanagari hill at shravanabelagola. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shravanabelagola)
we had to climb more than 600 steps cut into the stone hill to reach the temple at the top. standing at the foot of the 58 feet tall statue is a humbling experience.
all in all, a wonderful time!
and now, back to the grind and the grime of mumbai :-)
here are a few thoughts/ tips/ ideas i wanted to share with you.
1. when you are planning a vacation with kids, its a good idea to team up with friends who also have kids in the same age-group. makes for a much better quality time and far less trauma than if you were to do it yourself.
2. coorg is a beautiful place with largely virgin, unspoiled landscapes. there aren't too many resorts or hotels unlike in most other 'tourist destinations'. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodagu)
we opted for a 'home stay' with a wonderful couple - geoffery and kalpana muthanna. (http://www.indianbeat.net/index.php?option=content&pcontent=1&task=view&id=62&Itemid=113)
this meant we lived in their beautiful, spacious house in the midst of a 40 acre coffee estate adjacent to the cauvery river. we could go bathing/ swimming in the river. we did not choose the option of 'mahseer angling' or 'rafting'. we were introduced to many plants and trees including the sandalwood, rose wood, coffee, pepper, vanilla, the fiery 'gandhari' chillies, and so many more!
we also went to the 'dubare elephant reserve' which is a training camp for elephants run by the forest department. here you can bathe the elephants, watch them being fed and also go on an elephant ride.
the 'tala kaveri' or the birth place of the kaveri river was being renovated. this is a very important pilgrimage destination for the local coorgis and even tamilians. (http://images.narian.org.uk/image78.html)
3. our next destination was hassan in karnataka. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassan,_India)
the chenna keshava temple in belur (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennakesava_Temple) is a 'must visit' place. the temple is an architectural marvel and the sculptures adorning the temple are exquisite.
4. on our way back to bangalore on our last leg we stopped to visit the gomateshwara bahubali statue atop the vidhyanagari hill at shravanabelagola. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shravanabelagola)
we had to climb more than 600 steps cut into the stone hill to reach the temple at the top. standing at the foot of the 58 feet tall statue is a humbling experience.
all in all, a wonderful time!
and now, back to the grind and the grime of mumbai :-)
Saturday, April 21, 2007
bundle of thoughts!
what if you were told you were nothing but a bundle of thoughts?
and thoughts are nothing more than just energy in a modified form. all the food we eat transforms into energy (and also blood and bone and tissue, of course). so food is the source of our thoughts.
and why then are our thoughts so different from the thoughts of all the others we know? we'll discuss this in another posting some other day.
now, coming back to our discussion about us being thoughts.
now let's follow this chain of thought :-)
everything i know about myself is nothing but a vast reservoir of thoughts. every idea, notion, belief and bias i entertain is nothing but a thought stored away in that massive memory bank of ours. in fact, that's it. our sense of identity is nothing but a cumulative effect of all our past memories that we access in a very complex way at every waking moment.
imagine you woke up one day and lost all your memory, just like they show in the movies. you would have no clue of who you were, who your family/friends/relatives were, what job you did, what likes/dislikes you had, your hobbies, your favorite movie/book/song .... nothing.
and suddenly you realise that everything you are, everything you believe yourself to be, every characteristic, every habit, every aspect of your ego is nothing but thoughts in your memory bank.
you, the person you believe you are, are nothing but a bundle of thoughts!
think about it! and i'd like to hear your thoughts in this regard.
and thoughts are nothing more than just energy in a modified form. all the food we eat transforms into energy (and also blood and bone and tissue, of course). so food is the source of our thoughts.
and why then are our thoughts so different from the thoughts of all the others we know? we'll discuss this in another posting some other day.
now, coming back to our discussion about us being thoughts.
now let's follow this chain of thought :-)
everything i know about myself is nothing but a vast reservoir of thoughts. every idea, notion, belief and bias i entertain is nothing but a thought stored away in that massive memory bank of ours. in fact, that's it. our sense of identity is nothing but a cumulative effect of all our past memories that we access in a very complex way at every waking moment.
imagine you woke up one day and lost all your memory, just like they show in the movies. you would have no clue of who you were, who your family/friends/relatives were, what job you did, what likes/dislikes you had, your hobbies, your favorite movie/book/song .... nothing.
and suddenly you realise that everything you are, everything you believe yourself to be, every characteristic, every habit, every aspect of your ego is nothing but thoughts in your memory bank.
you, the person you believe you are, are nothing but a bundle of thoughts!
think about it! and i'd like to hear your thoughts in this regard.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
single in mumbai
i wish i was a single woman in mumbai.
no, i am not going through a mid-life crisis. nor am i suddenly wondering which side i should be on!
i am just plain envious!
i believe this is the best time to be :
1. a lady (the men don't have half as many advantages)
2. in her mid-20s to mid-30s (not more not less)
3. single (that's the entire point; singledom = freedom)
4. working (you have enough spending power to last you through the first 15-20 days of the month)
5. living alone (please refer notes of point 3)
6. in mumbai (no other city gives her half as much freedom; maybe bangalore comes a close second)
if you are someone who satisfies all the above criteria, then the world is at your feet.
- you have at least half a dozen eligible men (it could even include some married men) wooing you
- you get invited to most of the happening parties and events in town
- you don't need to spend a penny (read rupee) at these dos
- you can stay out as late as you like, you can choose to stay over at a friend's (and nobody is likely to ask you which 'friend' it was)
- you don't have parents/elders/relatives asking you to behave/ get married/ dress decently/ etc.
- you can live at the cutting edge of fashion without having to worry about 'what will people say?' (so people stare; let them!)
- you don't have to attend family functions unless the food is worth the effort (you can always say you had a late day at office)
- you can have parties at your pad, again without worrying about hiding the empty bottles and 'airing' the room (the neighbours hardly know of your existence)
- you can eat out if you feel too lazy to cook
i am sure the list can get longer and have many more interesting entries. you have something to add?
no, i am not going through a mid-life crisis. nor am i suddenly wondering which side i should be on!
i am just plain envious!
i believe this is the best time to be :
1. a lady (the men don't have half as many advantages)
2. in her mid-20s to mid-30s (not more not less)
3. single (that's the entire point; singledom = freedom)
4. working (you have enough spending power to last you through the first 15-20 days of the month)
5. living alone (please refer notes of point 3)
6. in mumbai (no other city gives her half as much freedom; maybe bangalore comes a close second)
if you are someone who satisfies all the above criteria, then the world is at your feet.
- you have at least half a dozen eligible men (it could even include some married men) wooing you
- you get invited to most of the happening parties and events in town
- you don't need to spend a penny (read rupee) at these dos
- you can stay out as late as you like, you can choose to stay over at a friend's (and nobody is likely to ask you which 'friend' it was)
- you don't have parents/elders/relatives asking you to behave/ get married/ dress decently/ etc.
- you can live at the cutting edge of fashion without having to worry about 'what will people say?' (so people stare; let them!)
- you don't have to attend family functions unless the food is worth the effort (you can always say you had a late day at office)
- you can have parties at your pad, again without worrying about hiding the empty bottles and 'airing' the room (the neighbours hardly know of your existence)
- you can eat out if you feel too lazy to cook
i am sure the list can get longer and have many more interesting entries. you have something to add?
Friday, March 16, 2007
an action-packed, adventurous life!
my wife blames me of corrupting her after marriage!
she claims that she was a far more organised person who planned well in advance and never waited until the last moment to start working on things. i think she's lead a very colorless, uneventful life until she got married to me :-)
what she means is that she (which includes her family) would usually land up at the train/ bus terminal or airport at least an hour before the actual departure time. and then they would wait patiently until the train/bus/aircraft rolled into the terminal and then they would have enough time to settle down in their allotted seats and make some polite conversation with the co-passengers.
my life has been far more action-packed than that. i've lost count of the number of trains, buses and flights that i've missed. i've boarded the wrong train more than once.
its not been so bad after marriage (i guess its my wife's influence!) but we've still had our fair share of near-misses. there was a time when we wanted to return to chennai from tirupati and we literally jumped on to a moving train. (i decided to buy the tickets just as we saw the train moving into the station.)
and then there was the near-miss when another family and we were trying to get to delhi after attending vivek's wedding in lucknow! (read vivek's blog at http://dil-vil.blogspot.com/) we abandoned the taxi in the middle of a traffic jam and moved our luggage onto a cycle-rickshaw (click here to know what a cycle rickshaw looks like http://www.traveladventures.org/continents/asia/images/chandnichowk07.jpg). the ladies and kids managed to walk to the station much faster while my friend and i were battling through the crowds outside lucknow station and managing to dump all our luggage into the train just as it started leaving the station!
but the closest miss was during my recent trip to dubai. my flight was at 5.40 am from mumbai and i decided to reach the airport the previous night itself so that i could catch some sleep at the airport itself instead of having to wake up at an unearthly hour at home! i reached the check-in counter just at it opened at about 2 am only to be told that my passport was not valid. that's when i realised that i was carrying my old cancelled passport.
my wife started frantically searching through all the usual places at home with no luck. i decided to get back home and called up a colleague and anita (our finance & admin head and one of the most resourceful people i've ever come across). they both rushed to office, woke up the security and managed to find my new passport in my office drawer. i promptly left home once again and reached the airport at the same time as my office colleagues.
and i managed to get to dubai on the flight i was supposed to be on!
now imagine if i were as well organised as my wife, i would have missed out on all such adventures! (she must be shaking her head in exasperation while reading this :-) )
i am sure i am not the lone adventurer. some of you must have more interesting stories to share! i'd love to hear them!
she claims that she was a far more organised person who planned well in advance and never waited until the last moment to start working on things. i think she's lead a very colorless, uneventful life until she got married to me :-)
what she means is that she (which includes her family) would usually land up at the train/ bus terminal or airport at least an hour before the actual departure time. and then they would wait patiently until the train/bus/aircraft rolled into the terminal and then they would have enough time to settle down in their allotted seats and make some polite conversation with the co-passengers.
my life has been far more action-packed than that. i've lost count of the number of trains, buses and flights that i've missed. i've boarded the wrong train more than once.
its not been so bad after marriage (i guess its my wife's influence!) but we've still had our fair share of near-misses. there was a time when we wanted to return to chennai from tirupati and we literally jumped on to a moving train. (i decided to buy the tickets just as we saw the train moving into the station.)
and then there was the near-miss when another family and we were trying to get to delhi after attending vivek's wedding in lucknow! (read vivek's blog at http://dil-vil.blogspot.com/) we abandoned the taxi in the middle of a traffic jam and moved our luggage onto a cycle-rickshaw (click here to know what a cycle rickshaw looks like http://www.traveladventures.org/continents/asia/images/chandnichowk07.jpg). the ladies and kids managed to walk to the station much faster while my friend and i were battling through the crowds outside lucknow station and managing to dump all our luggage into the train just as it started leaving the station!
but the closest miss was during my recent trip to dubai. my flight was at 5.40 am from mumbai and i decided to reach the airport the previous night itself so that i could catch some sleep at the airport itself instead of having to wake up at an unearthly hour at home! i reached the check-in counter just at it opened at about 2 am only to be told that my passport was not valid. that's when i realised that i was carrying my old cancelled passport.
my wife started frantically searching through all the usual places at home with no luck. i decided to get back home and called up a colleague and anita (our finance & admin head and one of the most resourceful people i've ever come across). they both rushed to office, woke up the security and managed to find my new passport in my office drawer. i promptly left home once again and reached the airport at the same time as my office colleagues.
and i managed to get to dubai on the flight i was supposed to be on!
now imagine if i were as well organised as my wife, i would have missed out on all such adventures! (she must be shaking her head in exasperation while reading this :-) )
i am sure i am not the lone adventurer. some of you must have more interesting stories to share! i'd love to hear them!
irony in our modern world
i've been in dubai all this week for some client meetings.
and i'm carrying back some volvic flavored water for the kids. i have not seen this kind of flavored drinking water back home. and this is what i find ironical. i am carrying back water from dubai (which is in the middle of a desert) to india!
i have been travelling from dubai to abu dhabi by road almost every day. it is amazing to see the extent of construction going on in dubai. the largest number of cranes in the world are apparently deployed in dubai right now.
what also strikes you is the amount of greenery and flowers in full bloom all along the well planned and immaculately managed roads. there is also hectic construction activity going on for a metro rail in dubai. the project was given the go-ahead in may 2005 and is expected to be completed in 55 months (http://vgn.dm.gov.ae/DMEGOV/dm-metro-news01). and by the looks of it it should be completed within that time.
dubai is a melting pot of many cultures. the largest groups of people you see are indians, pakistanis, filipinos, chinese, egyptians, lebanese, moroccons, russians and many europeans and americans too. at a superficial level there seems to be no discrimination against any specific community here. but most of the indians i spoke to do feel a sense of insecurity about their jobs, the rising prices, etc. (rentals have escalated by more than 100% within the last 2-3 years).
but for me dubai lacks a soul. there is a lot of glitz and glamor, but it all seems very fragile. i guess the fact that most of the funds pouring into the ecconomy here is from the underworld and from people who are avoiding taxes in their respecti8ve countries only adds to this sense of dicomfort that i feel. i prefer visiting other asian countries, but give me 'aamchi mumbai' (our mumbai) and 'mera bharat' (my india) anyday :-)
and i'm carrying back some volvic flavored water for the kids. i have not seen this kind of flavored drinking water back home. and this is what i find ironical. i am carrying back water from dubai (which is in the middle of a desert) to india!
i have been travelling from dubai to abu dhabi by road almost every day. it is amazing to see the extent of construction going on in dubai. the largest number of cranes in the world are apparently deployed in dubai right now.
what also strikes you is the amount of greenery and flowers in full bloom all along the well planned and immaculately managed roads. there is also hectic construction activity going on for a metro rail in dubai. the project was given the go-ahead in may 2005 and is expected to be completed in 55 months (http://vgn.dm.gov.ae/DMEGOV/dm-metro-news01). and by the looks of it it should be completed within that time.
dubai is a melting pot of many cultures. the largest groups of people you see are indians, pakistanis, filipinos, chinese, egyptians, lebanese, moroccons, russians and many europeans and americans too. at a superficial level there seems to be no discrimination against any specific community here. but most of the indians i spoke to do feel a sense of insecurity about their jobs, the rising prices, etc. (rentals have escalated by more than 100% within the last 2-3 years).
but for me dubai lacks a soul. there is a lot of glitz and glamor, but it all seems very fragile. i guess the fact that most of the funds pouring into the ecconomy here is from the underworld and from people who are avoiding taxes in their respecti8ve countries only adds to this sense of dicomfort that i feel. i prefer visiting other asian countries, but give me 'aamchi mumbai' (our mumbai) and 'mera bharat' (my india) anyday :-)
Friday, March 09, 2007
it happens only in india!
there are some of these quirky, bizarre and completely inexplicable things that you will come across in urban/metro india that would take you by complete surprise! i believe these are the reasons that make living in india one filled with surprises every day, sometimes unpleasant but mostly pleasant.
1. this is a road sign i noticed while i was at nehru place in new delhi. i crossed this sign and then it struck me. i retraced my path and couldn't believe my eyes. i took this pic on my mobile phone and kept it for posterity. i mean, where else in the world will you find a road sign that says 'no pachyderms!'
2. and then there was this bank i was visiting down south. during a break in the meeting i decided to visit the comfort/wash room. i noticed there were the usual two doors, one which said 'Ladies' with the tell-tale drawing of a shapely figure denoting the dairer sex, and the other which said 'Gents'. what got my attention was the third door marked 'Officers'! when i mentioned this to one of the bank employees later he shared an internal joke where most of them assumed that this door was used by the 'third sex' :-)
3. and i'm sure most of you have seen some of these sign-boards in some of the restaurants, especially in the irani restaurants.
- No combing
- No outside food
- No hand-washing in plates
- No special tea
- Milk not for sale
p.s. i will add some more entries into this posting. i would like you to share similar anecdotes which i could include.
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