yak yak...

Exercise while on a holiday

2011-10-16T08:59:00.001+05:30

I'm just back from a half an hour workout. I ran 4 km, did a few stretches and some push ups. I'm all sweaty and kicked to take on the day. What makes this seemingly routine workout session worthy of a blog? Well, it is the fact that I've been doing all this in Mangalore, where I've come for a niece's wedding. I got off the morning bus in Managalore and reached my uncle's house. We had a good three hours to kill before we left for the wedding. I felt like en-cashing on Mangalore's sultry weather and set out on a jog. The run was splendid. Here's a list of reasons as to why exercising while on a holiday is a great idea:

You'll have enough idle time on your hands. Make use of it.
You'll tend to eat heavy food and sit around doing nothing. Burn calories through exercise so, that your body is ready to take all the heavy food.
Running is a great way to experience the local weather. Each city you visit tends to be different. Some are dry, some are sultry, some are cold. Running is a wonderful to soak up those climates. Each weather type tends to have a different impact on the body. If its sultry you loose water like mad. If its cold, your breathing becomes heavy due to all the work in warming up the body. Experience this sort of acclimatization experiment. It's a great feeling

More to come...got to leave now...have a wedding to attend....cheers!

Of grannies and their fussing...

2010-09-27T13:36:00.002+05:30

The world would be much bereft of love without all the fussing that grannies shower on their grandchildren.

Image source: http://www.janierezner.com/background.html

When dad drove the car over a vegetable vendor's foot!

2010-09-13T18:42:00.008+05:30

My dad and mom leave for work together every morning in the family car. Dad drives; he first drops mom off at her college and then proceeds to the Law School. My dad has never been a particularly good driver. He learnt driving quite late, in his thirties, and like most people who learn driving late in their lives, he is pretty uptight at the wheel. On this particular day, dad was navigating his way through the twists and turns on the usual route. While making a tight left into a narrow gulley, the car went over something and there was a sharp yelp. Dad stopped and looked around to see a vegetable vendor with a pushcart clutching his foot and howling in pain. Both dad and mom got out of the vehicle and stared incredulously at the poor man who was hopping on one foot and making quite a racket. Soon, a local ruffian entered the scene and started making an unsolicited representation on behalf of the limping cart pusher. Dad and the ruffian got into a verbal duel. As charges and counter-charges began to flow, mom, the vegetable vendor and pedestrians on the street, became unwitting onlookers. And then! All of us sudden, the push cart that had been standing neglected all alone by itself, sprung to life and started rolling down the street as if on its own volition. The vegetable vendor who had been hopping, limping, and sobbing till then, suddenly forgot all his misery and started running after the cart as if for dear life. It was like a Charlie Chaplin movie being played out in real life. My dad, being the astute lawyer that he is, immediately pointed to the fact that the vendor's foot seemed absolutely fine in action. Amidst all the confusion, mom yanked at dad's arm, hurled him into the car, jumped into the driver's seat, hit the gas pedal and scooted from the scene while everyone else was still trying to figure out what was happening!

Later that evening, all of us had a hearty laugh. Dad still claims that the guy's leg was absolutely fine, else how could he chase after the cart. Mom has declard dad's driving as unsafe and put severe curbs on his freedom of speech while at the wheel. I, on my part, mutter a couple of silent prayers everytime I wave them off at the gate, one for the poor car that bears the brunt of dad's driving, and one for the poor pedestrians who don't know what's coming their way.

Cheers.

Regrets

2010-08-19T11:21:00.001+05:30

How do some people claim they don't have regrets? I don't see how even the most cheerful people can live through life without regrets. I guess, when a person says he doesn't have regrets, he really means that he hasn't succumbed to his regrets. He has regrets, but he has accepted them and moved on. Regrets, if let loose to grow, can become all devouring black holes. They suck every sliver of hope and happiness left in you, leaving you despondent and restless. It is a strange state of restlessness, bordering on depression. It doesn't let you focus on things that are positive and can break this cycle of negativity, instead it prods you to continue down the path of self-destruction, leaving you worse than where you had begun. It's a vicious cycle at it's vicious best.

Projections

2010-08-07T22:58:00.002+05:30

I often wonder about how all of us tend to project an image. It is a little like role play. We choose to behave differently with different people. For instance, if I run into a pesky neighbour I'd like to avoid, I act all busy and try to ignore him. On the other hand, if I run into a senior colleague I'd like to please, I'm all graces and charms. Then, who is the real me? Am I a haughty snob or a fawning sycophant. I say, I'm both. In fact I'm more. I can be a loyal friend, a generous host, a mean competitor, a swindling fraudster, a caring son, a spoilt brat and every other hue and shade there is out there. These are just different faces/aspects of the real me. I firmly believe that all human beings are basically the same. We share a common pool of emotions and responses. Some are more adept at controlling them, while some are not. But, then these exist in one and all.

Hence, my theory goes as follows. Don't be hasty in labelling people as good, bad, haughty, selfish, etc. If your first impression leave a bad taste, give the relationship some more time and see if subsequent interactions change your opinion. If you keep running into the bad side of a person, try to analyze and figure out how to net him on the good side. A person that you want to influence might project a mean and harsh exterior, but rest assured he has a caring and reasonable facade as well. You'll have to be smart enought to figure out how to tap that positive emotion in him. As always, the ball is in your court, it's upto you to put in the legwork and play it to your advantage.

Lessons from the Universe

2010-07-07T16:19:00.012+05:30

Have you ever wondered about life in the context of the larger universe? I sometimes do. On a clear night, while watching the stars, I cannot help thinking about my place on earth and then earth's place in the solar system, and then how the solar system is a speck in the MW galaxy, and then how our galaxy is a sliver in the universe filled with dark matter that is expanding around a core, and then....I stop, I can't visualize any more. Is the universe held in a container? What lies outside the container? Is there a physical explanation at all?

Else is it all fake - is life a mathematical model of probabilities, or is it a figment of someone's imagination? Like "Sophie's World" - am I just part of somebody else's dream? Else am I character in a script controlled by a playwright? Am I living an imaginary life in a virtual world with illusions of choice? Else, does the traditional religious view where there is heaven above, hell below and earth in between hold? How does one explain chance/probability/luck?

And then I ask the fundamental question - what is the point of thinking about all this? Does it change anything? Does it dilute my daily struggles in any way? Does any of this fall under my sphere of control? If not, then why bother about this at all? Then it strikes me. Probably the whole point of this is to teach the "Lesson of the Universe". We exist in a multi-leveled universe. There are different spheres of existence. Your circle of influence extends to your universe. Shut up, accept it and live in it. Period.

When you are cast into the sea, staying afloat in the water is tough enough. While you are at it, you may choose to enjoy the swim or wail in despair as you sink. The most pointless thing would be to ponder about the red bulb on the Eiffel Tower, or the validity of the Big Bang Theory.

Douglas Adams', "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" has a wonderful segment where two white mice run an algorithm on a super-computer that cranks up a zillion calculations through a million years to come up with the answer for the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. At the scheduled moment, amidst great fanfare and media coverage, the supercomputer's screen flickers and the answer pops up - "42" - that is the meaning of life. Two digits forming one numeral, what you make of it is up to you. It beautifully captures the absurdity of this quest for a higher meaning - scientific, spiritual or otherwise. What is the point of thinking about after life, before life, life in between, etc. when you have no control over them. What is the point of mulling about things you don't know about, when you have enough on your plate screaming for attention.

Live in the moment - seize the day - that's the "Lesson of the Universe" - joi de vivre - cheers!*

DISCLAIMER: The author doesn't subscribe to anything mentioned in this column. He remains to be as lonely, forlorn, and miserable as ever.

"Eli thinda kathe" - "Story of the mouse"

2010-05-28T19:09:00.014+05:30

Besides being a very distinguished Kannada scholar, my maternal grandfather was a great raconteur. Some of his talents have rubbed off on my mother and every once in a while she comes up with an inspired re-telling of grandpa's stories. Sample this -

"Eli thinda kathe" - "Story of the mouse".

When my grandad was a school kid, he had a lesson titled, "Story of the mouse", in his Kannada text book. It was a difficult lesson, and so he never liked it. To avoid studying this lesson, he tore it out of his text book and simply pretended that the lesson did not exist. Right through the academic year, he lived with this make believe notion that the lesson had disappeared from the syllabus. For all purposes, practical and otherwise, "Eli thinda kathe" ceased to exist.

Sadly for grandpa, when the the final exam came, it had many questions from this lesson. Not surprisingly, he didn't do to well. In life too, we tend to do this quite often. We ignore things that we don't like and pretend that they don't exist, in a hope that they would simply go away. Doesn't work. As my Ajja would say - "eli thinda kathe hange" - "like the Story of the mouse" :)

"Open" An Autobiography - Andre Agassi

2010-04-16T08:41:00.003+05:30

My favority quote from Andre Agassi's autobiography, "Open", reads as follows:

"Our best intentions are often thwarted by external forces - forces that we ourselves set in motion long ago. Decisions, especially bad ones, create their own kind of momentum, and momentum can be a bitch to stop, as every athelete knows. Even when we vow to change, even when we sorrow and atone for our mistakes, the momentum of our past keeps carrying us down the wrong road. Momentum rules the world. Momentum says: Hold on, not so fast, I'm still running things here. As a friend likes to say, quoting an old Greek poem: The minds of the everlasting gods are not changed suddenly." Chap 21, Pg 253

When I mentioned to a friend from work that I really liked Andre's new autobiography, he dismissed the thought with a smirk saying that all autobiographies tend to be self-aggrandizing by nature, more so ones by sports stars, since they have fragile egos that feel neglected after retirement. Then it struck me that Andre's autobiography is exactly the opposite. He flays himself black and blue. It is like a public atonement of some kind. He lays bare some very dark secrets. It is precisely this kind of honesty, that makes the book such a great read.

For once, you get a glimpse of the price that sports stars pay for achieving great success. The book has it all - the story of a childhood fractured by an obsessive father, rebellious teenage years, the heady shift to the pro circuit, a broken psyche that couldn't hold itself together at the top level, the frustration at being an underachiever, and then the magical turn around, where at the age of 28, Agassi rewrote his script and became the only male tennis player to ever win a Career Golden Slam (all Open titles - US, Australian, French, Wimbelond - and the Olympic Gold).

The book also talks about Agassi's infamous flirtations with women, drugs, booze and junk food. The revelation about drugs caused a media furore when the book was released with many past and current tennis players condemning it, some even asked for Agassi to be punished.

A fascinating insight that emerges as one reads the book is the fact that being contrarian is a deep rooted trait in Agassi. It manifests itself in all aspects of his life - right from his game to his personality, his fashion, his book, everything. As a player, his game was built on baseline slugging, this during an age when serve and volley was considered pristine. His body was not built for tennis, he had a weak back and an average build. Right through his career he had to slog really hard to maintain pro-level fitness. His mind was probably his biggest weakness. He always doubted his abilities. He never had family stability to draw upon during moments of doubt. His obsession with his hair-piece is an extreme example of the kind of insecurity that Agassi lived through. He actually lost his first French Open final because he was worried that his hair-piece would fall off!

His dichotomous nature again comes through, when he claims that he's hated tennis all his life. This is a line that he keeps repeating umpteen number of times throughout the book. He tries hard to convince everyone he meets about his hate for the game. He makes it sound like he's a tennis player because he doesn't know any other trade. No one can quite get what he's saying, neither could I.

Another favorite quote to end the proceedings. This is about his encounter with Leander Paes, when the two played each other in the semis of the 96 Atlanta Olympics. Before Leander's fans get offended - wait a second and think about it, coming from a baseline slugger like Agassi - this quote isn't that inappropriate.

"In the semis I meet Leander Paes from India. He's a flying, jumping bean, a bundle of hyperkinetic energy, with the Tour's quickest hands. Still, he's never learned to hit a tennis ball. He hits off-speed , hacks, chips, lobs - he's the Brad of Bombay.
Then behind all his junk, he flies to the net and covers it so well that it all seems to work. After an hour, you feel as if he hasn't hit one ball cleanly - and yet he's beating you soundly. Because I'm prepared, I stay patient, stay calm, and beat Paes 7-6 , 6-3 ."

Notings from C K Prahalad's "Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid"

2009-10-24T00:35:00.017+05:30

I was deeply sceptical about the buzz this book generated when it was first released in 2005. The scepticism kept me away from it for all these years. I felt that preaching to corporations to look at the bottom of the pyramid(BOP) as a viable market and linking this povery allevation was too far fetched and moralistic. I believed then, and still believe now, that if there is a market, corporations will reach it without you having to tell them. If corporations stay away from certain markets, then it is because they are not equipped to serve them profitably - the issues might range from distribution, to flexibility, trust, product fitment, etc.

However, recently I glanced at this book in the library and it struck me that I had never read it. Reading it from the library meant that I'd have saved myself a solid Rs. 500 by borrowing it instead of buying it. The offer was too good to refuse, and so, I borrowed it. I've been reading from it in small doses, and I must say, I was wrong about the book. It does hold very interesting insights about the BOP market. I still find the bits where the author sermonizes about poverty allevation a little hard to digest. But the sections where he lists down the characteristics of BOP markets and lays a framework for approaching them, are extremely interesting and insightful. As I read the book, I shall keep making notes in this blog entry. Here goes the first one...

1. Do the poor have enough money to spend? CK Prahlad makes an interesting observation about how the general public and marketers get put off by the filth and squalor that surround the urban poor in slums. The dirty surroundings lead us to believe that the poor don't have the capacity to pay, and even if they do have some money, they would rather spend it on improving the condition of their sanitation and immediate living quarters rather than splurging on consumers goods and durables. This is a wrong assumption. Prahlad proves this by citing the example of the Dharavi slum dwellers. Dharavi has no sewage system or running water, and yet Prahlad's study shows that it has 90% TV penetration. This is no exaggeration. On a recent visit to Mumbai, I remember how I was dumbstruck at the sight of DTH antennas sticking out off hutments lining the Western-Express Highway. This effectively disbunks the theory that slum dwellers have no purchasing power and are hence not a viable market. But if they do have money, why don't they spend on improving the condition of their immediate living quarters? As Prahlad says, they choose not do so because they don't have proper title for the land they stay on. Hence, they prefer to spend on movable property like TVs and mobile phones that can move with them, in the event that they have to vacate quarters. If marketers wake up to the fact that there is such a large BOP population that buys their products, they would perhaps be in a better position to tailor their offerings to increase uptake from this segment.

Prahlad also offers an interesting insight about the poverty penalty that slum dwellers have to pay. On average every item that they spend on comes at a higher cost. Slum dwellers pay a 200-300% rate of interest when the borrow money from money lenders. Likewise, all other utilities come at a higher tax imposed by the informal market eco-system that has sprung up in the absence of regular market players. If a financial services company where to figure out a way to serve this market and charge an interest rate of 25% (nearly twice the normal lending rate) they would run a profitable venture that is beneficial to both the lender and the borrower.

Of course, servicing this market is not easy. The biggest challenge is adapting to the cashflow limitations of buyers in this segment. Though this is a major hurdle, it is not intractable. As cited in the book, several companies have managed to work around the problem. In India, over the last few years, NBFCs have started venturing into this market with small customized loans.

Elsewhere in the book, Prahlad says that companies should actively start engaging with these markets and try to incorporate them into their existing business expansion plans. I defer on this view. More on this later...Cheers.

My Rotator Cuff Injury

2009-10-16T23:25:00.001+05:30

The latest injury I've picked up is a torn rotator cuff. It happened a month back. While I was rushing up the stairs in Mumbai, where I had travelled for work, I tripped and fell forward and landed heavily on my outstretched shoulders - as if I were doing a push up on the stairs. My left shoulder let out a popping sound, and I knew I was in trouble. The pain wasn't delibitating, so, I ignored it for two days (in hindsight RICE - Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation - would've helped in those two days immediately after the injury). The day after I landed in Bangalore, I visited my orthapaedic doctor and he diagnosed the problem as a rotator cuff injury.

The rotator cuff is a group of four tendons and muscles that surround the shoulder joint. They connect the bone of the upper arm with the shoulder blade and the collar bone. It is a complicated joint that supports the whole range of motions of the shoulder joint. When a tendon gets damaged here, mobility of the shoulder gets severely affected. There is a throbbing pain that is difficult to locate. It typically originates at the shoulder joint and runs down the outer part of the upper arm. Lifting your arm above the head becomes extremely painful.

Since this area is very cartilaginous, there is limited blood supply to the joint. Hence, an injury to this region takes a long time to heal. From the literature I've read, I believe it takes two months on average for a mild rotator cuff injury to fully heal. My doctor advised me to rest my arm, stop doing exercises of the upper body and give the affected area an oil massage everyday. The oil massage is to generate heat near the joint and improve blood circulation to the area. I neglected the oil massage during the first few weeks, because I didn't know the significance of it. But after figuring out the blood circulation theory, I've been religiously massaging my shoulder and there's been a marked improvement ever since. Many people who've been through such injuries don't know of this theory about blood circulation and tend to give cock and bull stories about why shoulder injuries take so long to heal. After hearing a whole bunch of such stories with exasperation, I did my research and found a seemingly plausible explanation that I thought I'd share with the rest of you out there.

A shoulder injury is extremely frustrating because it severly impedes your fitness and sports routine. I've stopped gymming and playing cricket and tennis for a month now. By the looks of it, it would take another month before a full recovery. Sigh.....if only I'd walked my way up those stairs in Mumbai.

ps: There is loads of online literature on the subject. The following link is a good place to start http://orthopedics.about.com/od/rotatorcuff/tp/rotatorcuff.htm .

"Hanumanji ka meeta"

2009-10-10T22:24:00.001+05:30

Many years ago, while we were in Nigeria, I am told we had a family friend called Mishraji. He was a portly man in his fifties, had greying hair and was well-liked for being a generous host. Mishraji's wife, a great friend of my mother's, was a demure lady and couldn't hear or speak due to congenital deafness. My parents met the Mishras at the weekly bhajans where the South Asian community in the neighbourhood would gather. At the bhajans, Mishraji was legendary for his persistance while singing. People would squirm in their seats while he would stretch the last bhajan to the limits of sonic endurance with his booming voice.

Mishraji loved inviting people over to his house and my parents used to be regulars on the guest list. During every visit, Mishraji would offer homemade sweets as prasad - "Hanumanji ka meetha". On the rare occassion, when sweets weren't ready, he would call out to his wife - "Hanumanji ka meeta nahi banaya kya?" and after a short while, freshly prepared sweets would emerge from the kitchen in honour of the monkey god.

It has been over 20 years since we left Nigeria, but still every once in a while, when my mother prepares a sweet dish, she arrives at the dining table with a flourish and announces, "Hanumanji ka meeta" and we all break out into a hearty laugh. Mishraji's message endures. He liked his sweets and he liked his god. It was only fitting to combine the two and chant - "Hanumanji ka meeta" - in celebration of life and its gracious provider.

The Secret Society of Secretive People

2009-10-08T11:35:00.000+05:30

As the name suggests, 'The Secret Society of Secretive People' (TSSOSP) is a secret organization of secretive peole. It is so secretive, that few secretive people know that it exists. The few who know, don't know where it is, because that's a secret. The fewer who know where it is, do not know how to apply, because well, that too is a secret. So, one wonders, why have such a secretive oraganization at all? Well, those who are secretive would tell you, that's a secret.

Movie Review: Public Enemies - an interesting watch

2009-08-15T12:59:00.001+05:30

Now, 'Public Enemies' is not the sort of movie everyone would enjoy. It is an experimental movie - at least I've not seen this docu-drama style of movie making being attempted at this scale - and as with all experiments, you need a little patience and an open mind to appreciate the freshness that it brings to the movie watching experience.

The movie was shot with a high definition hand camera and this technique gives the whole movie a touch of understated realism. It gives the viewer the feeling as if he/she were participating or observing the events in real life. I distinctly remember the scene wherein Dillinger is arrested and brought to the Lake County jail in Indiana. A hastily arranged press conference is shown. As you watch people hustling in and out of the frame, you feel as if it were an amateur video shot at home - this is not to suggest that camera work is shoddy, instead, the skillfully handled handycam jerks serve to enhance the realism of the scene.

With such camera technique, the director is forced to dispose off with familiar cinematic crutches like background music and over the top acting, because they'd appear very tacky. Hence, silence is used as a tool to enhance the dramatic effect of many scenes. In fact, this movie must rank as one of the quitest movies I've seen. There is a sense of peaceful silence pervading most scenes, there are no unnecessary noises made by the cast or the crew. Background music is used sparingly and is usually heard as a tool for scene tranisitions.

With such a bare canvas, the actors' performances come under intense scrutiny. Bad actors are thoroughly exposed. The only way to retain the audience's interest is by breathing life into the movie's characters. Johnny Depp is outstanding as John Dillinger. He makes the role his own. He puts up a thoroughly convincing act as the bitter and ambitious Dillinger who is out to conquer the world, knowingly mindless of the consequences. The camera puts intense pressure on Johnny Depp; in many frames, the entire drama rests on Johnny Depp's expressions and he carries them off with aplomb. Kudos to the performer. On the same note, the French actress, Marion Cotillard has put in a brilliant performance as Dillinger's girlfriend, Billie Frechette. The other star of the movie, Christian Bale, puts in an effecient performance as Agent Purvis of the FBI.

Many people in the theater, who watched the movie with me, were restless and visibly bored. If you sit back with your pop corn and expect to be entertained over the din of your phone and text messaging, the movie won't work. You will have to do some prep before hand by reading about Dillinger to appreciate the context of the movie and then keep your mind and ears open during the show to figure out what the characters are saying. There are many superb lines throughout the movie, sample this -

Dillinger to Billie: "I like baseball, movies, good clothes, fast cars, whiskey, and you... what else you need to know? "

John 'Red' Hamilton: "We don't work with people we don't know. And you don't work when your desperate. Walter Dietrich. Remember that?
John Dillinger: Walter forgot. When your desperate, that's when you got no choice.

All in all, a nice movie. Wouldn't mind catching it on TV or DVD another time. Cheers.

Find below some cool Dillinger videos I found on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz0jtGGO7VE

Comings and goings

2009-05-22T14:13:00.000+05:30

“It’s a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same, even smells the same. You realize what’s changed, is you.”

- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Paramount Pictures, 2008

As I'm on the verge of packing and moving for the third time in as many years, this quote sums up the feeling...

Lunch Break! As a kid and a grown-up

2009-04-17T08:58:00.001+05:30

At work the other day, as I was munching on my home packed lunch, my mind wandered back to my schooldays when lunch break used to be so much fun. In fact lunch break used to be the highlight of the entire day at school. If I remember right, we had a 45 minute lunch break and boy, we packed in so much in those 45 minutes. Those 45 minutes where when reputations were built and destroyed on the football field, adventures where had while sneaking out of the school premises, friendships and rivalries were cemented through fist fights and brawls, petty monetary exchanges of all sorts were transacted - man, those were heady times!

In comparison, my lunch breaks today are so boring. I either quickly wolf down my lunch and rush back to work, or lounge around with colleagues and wallow in the latest office politics. Being in school was fun...sigh...

My near perfect 27th birthday...

2009-03-22T22:07:00.000+05:30

I turned 27 today and had a really nice day throughout. I don't quite remember how I celebrated my previous birthday, but this one was a blast and so, I thought it was worth writing about.

For starters my birthday this year was on a Sunday. Now, how can anybody go wrong with a birthday on Sunday!

The day had an ominous start with me managing to pull myself out of bed at 6.15 am (this ain't easy, I swear) for my horse riding class. The riding session went off reasonably well. I did a few rounds of trotting in the training area all by myself. After class, I fed my horse carrots and then stopped by the berry tree to pick a handful for mom. So far so good.

On the way back, I stopped over at my favourite South Bangalore eatery - "Halli Thindi"- and wolfed down a dosa with coffee and packed idlis for home. Once I got home, my cousin called to wish me and suggested we have a get together in the afternoon. I took the cue and asked a few others to join in and voila, everyone agreed! So at noon, a loud, spirited gang assembled at home for a grand pot luck lunch. Lunch was followed by an extended ragging session, where everyone pulled everyone else's leg till we couldn't laugh any more. Then we cousins, played our mandatory round of cricket in the front yard. That was followed by an extended "chai" session that dragged on and on, till no one had anything left to chat about.

Finally, when the cousins packed off late in the evening, I got a chance to open my orkut page and gmail to read the birthday messages and boy, was I thrilled! Every year, I look forward to this. Reading messages from friends accumulated through the years is an exhilarating feeling. Jogging your memory back to the days when those friendships were cultivated is a pleasant experience. I had messages from my high school gang, graduate school buddies, friends from my first job, classmates at the MBA school, colleagues from work. I replied to each one of them with a broad smile that refuses to go off, even as I type this entry many hours later.

Later at night, at the dinner table, dad narrated a funny anecdote related to my birth (there are loads of them, I created quite a stir before arriving). I believe, what happened was that when I was born, my relatives sent a telegram to dad, who was in Nigeria then. Dad's colleague, Mr. Khan, received the telegram and passed on the news to Mr. Sethi. Mr. Sethi mixed up the sexes and broke the news to dad that he had become father of a baby girl! Everyone in office congregated and congratulated my father on having a girl. Plentiful anecdotal evidence was quoted to suggest how having a demure charming baby girl is so much better than having a rowdy troublesome baby boy. Dad soaked in all the compliments and well-meaning parenting wisdom with gratitude. It was only a couple of days later that he came to know that he had had a boy and not a girl. When the news spread in office, a second round of congratulatory celebrations broke out and the same colleagues came and twisted their stories around to prove how a baby boy might be a nuisance, but is so much more fun to have than a baby girl!

As the day drew to a close, there were more calls, SMSes, emails and orkut scraps than I could handle. It's been a nice day :)

Delhi-6 - Watch it!

2009-03-15T21:32:00.001+05:30

I watched Delhi-6 yesterday and liked it very much. It is a nicely made intelligent film with lots of thought provoking content. The movie’s story is set in the Old Delhi area near Chandini Chowk, which carries the pin code 110006 and is hence called Delhi-6. It provides an enticing glimpse into the joys and tensions of living in the Old Delhi neighborhood that is home to middleclass Muslim and Hindu families, who have lived there for generations. The locality is like a microcosm of India, a proud place that chooses to overlook the shortcomings of the present by living in the grandeur of the past. This leaves it with a stagnated moral core that threatens to disintegrate under the slightest hint of strain. The director explores this theme throughout the film without getting preachy.
The movie’s high point is its highly competent ensemble cast lead by veterans like Om Puri, Rishi Kapoor and Waheeda Rahman. The younger lot including Abhishek Bacchan, Sonam Kapoor, Pawan Malhotra and Atul Kulkarni do a very decent job indeed. For me, the biggest draw was the film’s music by Rahman. I went to the theater to specifically see the song “Masakkali” rendered on the big screen. The maestro has belted out yet another outstanding track that elevates the movie to a different level altogether. The best thing about his music is that it has an organic link with the setting of the story. Delhi 6’s sound has an underlying edgy current reflecting the changing aspirations of the people of an old neighborhood. “Genda Phool” is the best example where Rahman conjures an old-world sound reminiscent of the 60’s and then garnishes it with a dose of electronic sound that provides a youthful tempo for young Roshan and his old granny to groove on. Another treat to watch out for is the interesting use of the 'Ram Leela' stage performance to carry the narrative forward. If nothing else, it is a chance to see a damn neat Ram Leela production on the big screen!
Now coming to the specifics of the story, the movie begins with Roshan agreeing to take his grand mom back to India where she yearns to spend her last few living years. When the grandmother and grandson duo land in Delhi, the first scenes that great them are that of news channels flashing the story about a “Monkey-Man” who has terrorized the residents of Old Delhi. Roshan goes through the typical bewilderment that foreigners go through when they are introduced to the sights and sounds of a teeming Indian metropolis. One can’t help smiling when the bemused Roshan stares with disbelief when he’s woken up by the snort of tangawala’s horse as he sits at the window of a swanky car. At first, our protagonist is overwhelmed by the overflowing warmth that the Old Delhi neighborhood doles out to make him feel at home. As the film progresses, he starts spotting the quirks and fissures that the social fabric carries. This is where the filmmaker’s eye for detail is praiseworthy. He spins R K Narayan type character sketches like that of feuding brothers living in the same house with a mud wall partition; the Mohammedan jalebiwala who is an ardent devotee of Hanuman; the mean moneylender Lalaji with the young bride he bought for Rs. 25,000; the slimy local photographer who owes everybody money and finally elopes with the Lala’s wife. These and the many more vignettes that are brought to life during the first half, make for a sumptuous a la carte that keeps you happily engaged till the serious bit unfolds in the second half.
In the second half the politics of communalizations comes takes centerstage when the “Monkey-Man” menace takes a nasty turn and a local god man suggests that the “Monkey-Man” must be a Muslim, since attacks always happen in Hindu areas. The local Hindu party’s politician seizes the opportunity and promises to teach the Muslim community a lesson. All hell breaks loose and the cloak of bonhomie that enveloped the neighbourhood tears apart bringing to the fore the deep-rooted distrust between the Hindu and Muslim communities. Friendly neighbors turn to deadly foes overnight as trishuls and sickles are brandished in the air. How Roshan tries to defuse the situation forms the climax that pans out nicely, tying together all the loose ends.

The lone weak link of the movie is the purported romance between Roshan and Sonam Kapoor’s character, Bittu. Bittu’s characterization as the quintessential middle class girl trying to break free from her preordained future as a subservient wife to a groom chosen by her parents by participating in the “Indian Idol” contest is spot on. But, what fails to fly is the sudden love that Roshan and Bittu feel for each other towards the end of the movie. However, to me, this is a minor flaw that one can live with. Obviously, the director and scriptwriter must’ve been too preoccupied with the larger theme of the story and missed out fleshing this part in greater detail. Given the impact they’ve made with the rest of the film, I'm fine with letting this slip pass. All in all, as one critic said, this movie is a good follow up to Rang De Basanti. Rakesh Omprakash Mehra has made another movie that I wouldn’t mind seeing a couple of times. Cheers.

Subtext: It is quite strange. Two groups of friends that I spoke to after watching Delhi-6, absolutely hated the movie. There seems to be a pattern to this. This group of friends also disliked another favourite of mine, 'Jane Tu Ya Jane Na', but loved 'Ghajini', which I didn't quite like. It appears that there is a section of movie goers that likes linear story telling of the kind that happens in movies like Ghajini where there is a clearly dilineated hero and villian and everyone in between. There are no shades of grey, just pure black and white. You don't have to spend too much time pondering about subtexts, the story is plain and clear, just sit back and enjoy the scenery. The other type of movie goer likes non-linear narratives that meander around collecting small subplots to tie them together in a larger framework that unravels as you sit back and view the movie in its entirety. These are the sort of movies that keep popping insights in your head days, weeks and months after you've watched them. The sort that I like writing about.

Horsing around...

2009-01-22T21:16:00.000+05:30

22-Jan-2008: I've gotten a bit loony. I've joined horse riding classes....totally insane....I seem to have taken Randy Pausch's message about fulfilling childhood dreams a wee bit too seriously...

1-Feb-2008: Though, I'd signed up for these classes 2-3 weeks ago, I finally mustered the will and courage to go for my first lesson today. 'Will' - because these classes happen early in the morning, at 6 am to be precise; 'courage' - not because I'm afraid of horses, but because attending horse riding classes sounds a bit too loony for my liking.

The first lesson went off very well. At the end of my 45 mins with the 10 foot tall, once majestic, steed - "Hercules", I had learnt how to mount and dismount with confidence and had developed a liking for the whole horse riding business. It seems to have been a good decision to sign-up after all!

Two other blokes who'd signed up through BMC, turned up for their first class today. The instructor - the able and friendly - "Ms. Pushpa", made a mention about we 3 beginners forming a group and going on a safari to Nandi Hills after 10 classes. Though it sounded very interesting, I chose to reserve the topic for discussion during the next class.

Pushpa introduced me to this middle-aged man who was half way through the course and had taken 6 lessons so far. I was pretty impressed to see him riding in a mild gallop all by himself! Gives me a lot to look forward to.

For a city-bred person like me, who has not handled animals before, the act of riding and controlling a horse poses a mindset challenge. The very idea of being in such close proximity to a living being that is larger and stronger than you is a bit unsettling. And then, the "animal rights" issue plays at the back of your mind; you keep thinking - am I hurting the horse by pulling on the reins that are attached to the bit biting into it's mouth? Why is the horse plodding around so uninspiredly? Is it bored?

As I was being taken on a walk around the grounds, I began pondering on the etymological contribution of terms used in horse-riding like "bridle", "saddle", "stirrup", etc. I bet, some linguist somewhere, must've already written a book on the immense contribution of horse-riding to the English language! Cheers.

3, 4-Feb-2008: At the end of the third session, the last thing on my mind is the pleasantries of the English language. My backside hurts, my inner thigh hurts, a lot of known and unknown muscles all along my legs and lower back sting. Riding is no easy business, trust me on that.

Whenever you learn a new sport/activity/technique you run into a stonewall which seems impenetrable. You are flummoxed and frustrated because no matter what you do, nothing seems to help. I've stepped into this frustrating zone of horse riding. I am trying to master this technique called posting the trot.

When the horse is on a trot (a bit faster than a walk, but slower than a run or a gallop), it's back movement generates a vigorous and hurtful bounce on the saddle. To counter this, the rider has to cultivate a rising and sitting routine that is in synch with the horse's rythm. Boy, is it painful. You have to raise yourself by pressing your toe-area into the stirrup. Plus, you have to stand straight to avoid damage to your and the horse's spine. While doing all this your legs an shoulders have to be super relaxed, else the horse will go stiff. And whilst you are experimenting with all this, your backside gets smashed against the firm saddle, with every bounce that the horse makes. Riding, aint easy my friend, trust me.

7, 8-Feb-2008: I took a two day break after the last two classes. The break helped to relax my stiff back and heal all the aches and niggles I had picked up. I did a fair bit of reading on the internet about the basics of horse riding. There are lots of forums and websites that discuss the sport in great detail. Some of the tips I picked up from the web were gems, for example:
1.While posting the trot, don't start the standing-up-sitting-down routing straight away. Sit through the first few steps and begin posting when you get thrown up by the impact of the horse's trot.
2. Once you've started posting, stand quickly and sit slowly. Time your post in such a way that you use the horse's impact to propel your rise.
3. It helps to keep a count of "one-two" and rise and fall appropriately.

I tried these during my fourth and fifth classes yesterday and today. These tips work. They make it easier to pick the horse's rythm. As a consequence, the damage to my backside and spine were lesser this time. I have a slightly stiff back, but it's much better than the last time.

I've slowly started enjoying the sport. There are lot of intricacies and nuances that are involved that makes it interesting. Plus, as you get more comfortable with riding, you start connecting with the horse. You learn to pick and appreciate its eccentrities. For instance, today's horse, Suryamukhi, was very responsive to my cues. It picked my rythm and slowed down its trot to match my pace. Usually, other horses on the lunging line listen only to the trainer, they tend to follow their own rythm and don't respond to the rider.

Another nice thing about the horse riding experience is the fact that it is an avenue to meet interesting people. Invariably, horse riders are folks with a zest for life, the type that do their own thing....intéressant...

March 15, 2009: Nine horse riding classes later, my back still hurts ;), but I'm enjoying the class more than ever before. I'm now confident of handling a horse on my own. I've mastered the technique for posting the trot and have no back trouble when I do that. The reason for my latest back ache is my incorrect seating position while I tried sitting the canter for the first time yesterday. The canter is a gait that's faster than the trot but slower than a gallop. The canter is a three step gait, where the horse's hooves make contact with the ground in three sets and the speed of the horse is in the range of 15-20 km/hr. I made the error of sitting at the rear of the saddle and trying to hold on to dear life as 'Rohit' my obdurate horse cantered at will. I suspect the saddle position itself was a bit faulty, because I kept falling forward during the trot itself. Anyways, after the ride as I chatted up with Salim, he said that during the cantrer one should sit at the center of the saddle, so that you are on the middle portion of the horse's back and not the rear end, this way you'll be able to slide on the saddle with forward and backward pelvice moments as the horse canters. I'll have to try that during the next class. In the same manner that my entire back had gone sore when I trotted for the first time, I'm in pretty serious discomfort after cantering for the first time, I'm sure things would be fine after a few more classes :)

Running with cars - Small victories

2008-12-09T14:48:00.001+05:30

Today morning, as I was driving to office, a small kid, around 5-7 years old, turned around as I was approaching and then sped off as fast his little legs could go. We raced alongside each other for a minute and then I overtook him. When I looked into the rear view mirror, I saw his trembling tiny frame bent over, hands on knees, gasping for breath. He had a smile on his face, it was lit up like a 100w bulb. He was happy that he had given it his all and held off a mighty car for a meter.

I was happy to oblige.

Engaging duels, small victories, the spice of life...

Jihadi Terror Strikes - Handle them holistically, they are more than just a security problem

2008-11-29T20:43:00.000+05:30

I reiterate my stand that Jihadi terror strikes are more than a security issue. The challenge of policing our country of a billion and making it terror-proof will take forever. A more effective way of tackling terror is to deal with the root of the problem - fanatical, religious indoctrination. Now, that we have a new breed of Hindu terrorists, the case for enlisting the services of religious leaders for active reverse indoctrination is stronger than ever. The PM's address to the nation should have been followed by addresses from top religious leaders from all major faiths - Muslim, Hindu and Christian - emphatically condemning the dastardly acts and disowning perpetrators of terror from all sects and faiths, and humanity itself.

The Mumbai Terrorist Attack - spineless response from the Central Govt.

2008-11-29T20:15:00.000+05:30

The Indian government's response to the situation so far has been shameful. It reinforces the charge that we are a "soft state". Anything less than joint operations to flush out terrorists from PoK would be an insult to the martyrs who laid down their lives during the anti-terrorist operation. From the signs so far, Manmohan Singh and his cabinet, seem to be heading down the usual path of wishy-washy diplomatic posturing. The US had the courage and conviction to go to war against two countries in response to 9/11. We might not be a super-power like the US, but the world's sympathy is with us today, and no one would fault us for carrying operations to flush out terrorists in areas adjoining the Indo-Pak border. I hope the government re-instates some self-respect and faith in to a wounded and humiliated nation by launching strikes into PoK to eliminate terrorists. At this moment, though many chose to denounce the act as arrogant, I cannot but help admiring the guts and conviction that George Bush Jr. showed while making the much quoted - "You are with or against us" - remark. It's time our leaders showed some pride and announced that we are done with talks and summits. Let's hear the world's third largest army rumble...

Life, its twists and turns

2008-11-25T21:12:00.000+05:30

Here's something I wrote a year ago....

I am 25 years old and like many other people of my age, I’m struggling to emerge from a quarter-life crisis. This crisis that I refer to has been precipitated by the multitude of decisions that have been thrust upon me at this juncture. Which job to take? What to do with my money? Should I stay with my parents or move out? When to get married? Whom to get married to? Should I marry at all?

Why do so many people of my age group end up like this? A large portion of those 25 years of mine was spent in schooling, yet I feel illiterate in the face of life’s challenges. I realize that the only things that my academic career has produced are two degree- certificates that can fetch me a job and little else.

Career-wise, I’m at a crucial juncture. It’s no longer like under-grad where I was looking at my job with a one-to-two year time frame; as a stopgap before signing up for a Masters. Now, I’ve completed my second degree and have to focus on building career skills, and this takes time, four to five years at the least. I’ll have to choose wisely. If things go right, it can be a rewarding life-changing experience. If things go wrong, it will lead to a lot of angst and pain. But how do I make this choice? How do I choose one career option over the other? Don’t chase money; chase the right job you might say? But which is the right one for me? How do I know?

In my personal-life things are'nt as grave. The only niggling worry is that I’ve built a cocoon around myself that I’m very comfortable with. I like the selfish and carefree life that I lead within it and shudder at the thought of letting someone in. More so, someone I don’t know well enough. Things haven’t spun out of control yet, but when the day comes when I’ll have to make a decision to let someone in, I’m not sure I’ll have the right answers.

Why do I find myself groping in the dark in this quarter-life crisis? Does the fault lie in my bringing up or my formal education? I guess it’s neither. I suppose this is what they call growing up. There’s only so much you can learn from a book, eventually, you’ll have to start listening to your heart, start trusting your gut. Some do it early, some do it late. Some do it with good consequences, some aren’t as lucky. Nevertheless, the day of reckoning shall come, when I'll have to stop kidding myself and look within to ask questions and seek answers. I think, the quarter life crisis is an indication that that day is around the corner.

My nicknames

2008-11-02T19:55:00.001+05:30

I have had quite a few nicknames so far. At school I was always "AJ", which are my initials and stand for Alangar Jayagovind. That was understandable, because I was the third Karthik in the attendance register and hence, the letters "AJ" not only symbolized my parentage but were also my identifiers. Through college and my first job, the same moniker held me in good stead. When I went back to college for a second time, as expected, I found that there was another Karthik in the class and so, the necessity for a nickname cropped up again. Having grown tired of my childhood nickname, I chose a new sobriquet - "YAK". This is an acronym whose original antecedents are a bit hazy. I don't quite remember if I heard it for the first time from a colleague or read it on a blog. But either way it suited me fine in the given situation and so, during the introduction session on the freshers ragging night, I stepped up to the stage, right after my namesake had finished, and announced to the world that for the sake of differentiation I would henceforth respond to the acronym YAK, which stood for "Yet Another Karthik".

YAK was a roaring success as a nickname. To this day people from my MBA days know me as YAK and I bet many don't know why; I'm sure quite a few even don't know what my actual name is! Once I started working after my second degree, I chose to call myself Karthik Jayagovind. This was partly to establish my sense of lineage and partly in gratitude and respect to my father who, as always, stood by me and helped me through a very trying phase before I settled down in my current job.

This whole business of nicknames had faded into obscurity until recently, when a spirited colleague left a whole bunch of us gaping when he introduced me to a seminar audience with gusto as, "the ever-dependable Mr. Karthik Jayagovind, whom we also call KJo!". It's been many months since then, but my work-mates still double up with laughter everytime that incident is recalled. Well, after my official rechristening, there was a heated debate on what KJo stood for. My cubicle mate Mr. Mangalore insisted that it stood for Karan Johar, but thankfully the colleague who started it all clarified over a round of drinks that KJo came from FloJo who was a runner of repute from the United States until she was charged with doping offences - and so, there ended that debate.

As I sat to write another entry in this blog, I noticed the title "YAK YAK" and felt that I owed you folks an explanation and that's why the sermon on nicknames. Before I finish, try taking a guess about the antecedents of my latest nickname at work - "Yayagovind!" This one cropped up after my good friend's Dutch boss chose to read aloud, rather shout aloud my email id that goes karthik.jayagovind* for the entire office floor to hear. I'm sure he would laugh it off and nod ja, ja....Prost!

*The Dutch pronounce ja as ya

Simon and Garfunkel, I am a Rock

2008-10-26T16:33:00.000+05:30

Heard a pretty queer Simon and Garfunkel song, "I am a Rock". Have a listen yourself http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7D5-WjC2M8&feature=related . The tune plays out like a cheerful Christmas carol but the lyrics are sad and brooding, they talk of jilted love. The lyrics go..

I am a Rock
A winters day
In a deep and dark december;
I am alone,
Gazing from my window to the streets below
On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

I've built walls,
A fortress deep and mighty,
That none may penetrate.
I have no need of friendship;
friendship causes pain.
Its laughter and its loving I disdain.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

Dont talk of love,
But Ive heard the words before;
Its sleeping in my memory.
I wont disturb the slumber of feelings that have died.
If I never loved I never would have cried.
I am a rock,
I am an island.
I have my books
And my poetry to protect me;
I am shielded in my armor,
Hiding in my room, safe within my womb.
I touch no one and no one touches me.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

And a rock feels no pain;
And an island never cries.

This is a band that I love for their consistency of sound. You know that you'll hear the strums of an acoustic guitar and clear lyrics when you play a Simon and Garfunkel song. Nice.

Catcher in the Rye

2008-10-20T13:51:00.000+05:30

Catcher in the Rye, is just the sort of book one should not read while going through a depression. Well I did just that during the last weekend and as expected, it left me more depressed than when I had begun. But then like its protagonist Holden Caulfield, I sort of started enjoying my depression. It's fun to view events through a pessimistic lens, coz then its tough to get dissappointed. If things go bad you say, "hey, I told you." If they go really, really bad you say, "hey, I told you twice over." You've got it all covered if you are a pessimist!

Well, the book was fun. The thing about good movies and books is that you start empathizing with their protagonists. A friend of mine (Rahul Mulukutla to be specific) pointed it out to me the first time. He asked me to notice how people behaved in the loo during the interval of a blockbuster movie. I observed and he was true. If it was a Spiderman or an action-hero movie, you'd have the menfolk behaving all macho and chivalrous through their mannerisms and speech. If it were a cop or a spy movie with the CIA-FBI type characters then you'd have folks acting all fidgety and secretive. If it were a James Bond movie, no questions asked - everyone goes all smooth and stylish as hell.

Now, coming back to my point about the book. Since the book is so well written (it's a classic for God's sake) I was compelled to identify with the character of the protagonist, Holden Claufield. In fact, it is not difficult to identify with him, he's your archetypical confused adolescent loser. He represents a phase everyone goes through while growing up. It's hard for the loser in you not to empathize with Holden. That probably explains the universal popularity of this book. If all those block buster positive-thinking-self-leadership books are one side of the coin, this is the other side. The loser in you is as ubiquitous as the gung-ho chest-thumping wannabe winner and this book for a change, presents the perspective of the loser. It is tough not to get drawn to it.

Hmm....such scrawling does throw out interesting insights. I guess I now have a slighlty better understanding of why kids of my brother's age are so cynical and irritable. He is better now, but a year back when he was 16-17 years old, boy, our man was a keg of dynamite with a short fuse. I guess that is the age when you are at the peak of the Holden syndrome. It's when you start developing a strong sense of your own world-view and everything and everyone that doesn't subscribe to your outlook gets classified as the enemy. The loud and violent types air their opinions openly, whilst the silent and brooding types tend to be more creative and self-destructive in venting their frustrations.

I guess I'll stop here...will complete this blog some other time...cheers!

Why do we remember the mistakes we've committed?

2008-10-10T14:16:00.000+05:30

I just finished reading Chetan Bhagat's "The 3 mistakes of my life". It got me wondering as to why we remember the mistakes we've commited in life in such vivid detail? At least for me, they form the core of my stand-out life-defining memories. I don't remember anything else from my life in as much detail as the mistakes I've committed. I have happy memories too, but they have to be dug out of the closet, they need dusting before their colors shine. Is this the way it is for others as well? Please do write in with your thoughts.

Movies - the novellas of our times..

2008-09-28T23:35:00.001+05:30

I truly feel that movies have replaced novels in our times. Many movies, go beyond being lame entertainment. They cast the same spells of intrigue and involvement that books entrap you in. Often, they provide startling insights that can light up your day. As examples, I'd like to quote two movies that made an impression on me in recent times.

1. Kungfu Panda - This is a light, funny movie about how a hopeless, hapless, overweight Panda gets a chance to follow his dreams and becomes a Kungfu master. It has layers of satire built into the script to keep the adult audience happy. But what clinched the deal for me was the beautiful message at the end. It's been two months since I watched the movie, but the message still rings lound and clear in my head. Towards the end of the movie, after overcoming many trials and tribulations, Mr. Panda gets to read the Dragon Scroll which contains the secret to limitless power and Kungfu glory. When he unscrolls the parchment paper, he stares in disbelief, the page is absolutely clean, there is nothing written in it. Neither he, nor his master can make head or tail of this. How can the Dragon Scroll be empty? Where is the secret to limitless power? How can one become the best fighter without divine instructions?

In the mean time, the Panda's nemesis, the evil Kungfu Tiger lays seige on the city and people start fleeing in panic. Devoid of the divine secret, the Panda feels there is simply no way he can defeat the Tiger and so, puzzled and disappointed, he returns to his father's noodle shop. Resigned to the fact that he's going to make noodles all his life, the Panda asks his father about the family heirloom, the secret of the secret recipe in his dad's famous "Special Secret Noodle Soup." His dad smiles and says, the secret ingredient in the soup is well...."nothing". He explains, "it is ordinary noodle soup, it's just that I put a special effort to make it good and then call it the Special Secret Noodle Soup with the secret ingredient". Kungfu Panda's eyes light up, his dad's secret ingredient had just decoded the message of the Dragon Scroll! The secret to becoming the best fighter was "nothing". There was no shortcut, there was no magic code, the only way to become the best was to believe that you are the best and put in the extra effort. Needless to say, equipped with this divine knowledge, Kungfu Panda kicks the butt of the Evil Tiger and becomes the hero that he always dreamt of becoming. Cheers! What an entertaining way to dish out a simple yet deep thought.

2. Goodwill Hunting: This movie is about coming to terms with your complexes, your realities, dealing with your shortcomings and facing your fears. However, the part that left a deep impression on me was the one where the movie ponders on what is truly important in life. What should one prioritize over the other - professional achievement or personal happiness? The math prof. in one sequence derides the psychologist Robin Williams for being a loser because he didn't achieve as much professional success as he promised during his early years. Robin Williams's character, Sean Maguire, was supposedly brighter than the math prof's during their MIT student days, but later Sean chose a life of quiet teaching and hospital work. He loved his wife and was content in his small world and didn't chase after professional glory, unlike our math prof. who was a Field's Medal winner - the Nobel Prize's equivalent, for mathematicians. In that scene Sean flares up and says, that his life was not a waste. He did not consider himself to be a loser. On the contrary, he felt he had done quite well for himself. He had found a wife whom he loved dearly, he practised his profession with dignity and he shared his knowledge with his students and gained immense satisfaction out of it. He points out that he never sought to win any Medals or honours. He chose his path to happiness and was content with his life. Our Field Medalist math prof. is at a loss for words, now looking back at his own life, he realizes that he's become a ruin living in the reflected glory of the Fields Medal. He has nothing else to lean on - no family, no friends, just a pompous reputation and a bloated ego. I kind of loved this idea about figuring out what is truly important in life...it helps you to define your anchoring points and remain grounded...

Terror Attacks, why are they viewed only as a security problem?

2008-09-21T23:25:00.000+05:30

Every time there is a terror attack one is attuned to hearing the same set of concerns around security, policing, intelligence agencies and the Home Ministry's inaction. Even during the recent blasts the proposals that came forth from the two major political parties were related to security - while the Congress talked of setting up a central inter-governmental Anti-Terrorist Cell, the BJP called for a strong Anti-Terrorist Law like the POTA. Now, why don't we take a more holistic view of the problem? Ignoring the socio-religious angle of Jihadi terrorism and treating it as a mere security problem makes the issue intractable because honestly, how do you effectively police a country of a billion people? Is it practically plausible? How can you prevent a person from dropping a bag full of bombs into a dustbin in a crowded place like Gaffaar market? I get the feeling that involving the Islamic community in seeking a solution to the terrorism problem will yield faster results. Merely beefing up security agencies and improving policing will take you only so far, engaging with the Muslim community will strike the problem at its roots and weaken the terrorists' support system. Every time a Jihadi attack against innocents happens, we should have Maulana's and Maulvi's coming on TV and condemning these acts in harshest terms. Islam is one religion that yields its influence beyond the realms of spirituality and rituals, it actually permeates and dictates the social and political behavior of its followers (the conservative kind). When terrorists claim legitimacy for their acts by pointing to religion, why don't we have religious leaders coming forward and denouncing these claims? This way at least the average Muslim on the streets would get a clear message about where to place his sympathies. The other day, when there was a shootout in Delhi's Jammia Islamia area, the locals came out and protested against police harrassment. The average Mulsim doesn't know whose side he is on? In such times of insecurity the community tends to get closer and rally around its symbols of identity, namely the mosque and the Maulvi. Now if the Maulvi is able to replace this feeling of victimization and hatred with that of nationhood and cooperation, it would be a huge help towards eliminating the scourge of Jihadi terrorism.

You know, how different people respond differently to the same thing...

2008-09-07T09:12:00.001+05:30

This is something that many people, including me, fail to notice. What you feel is deep within you. You are so encompassed in it that you believe that everyone else must be intepreting the experience in the same way. Our responses to movies are an example...my mom gets deeply emotionally engaged with whatever she's watching, I wear a critic's cap and analyze technique, dad enjoys melodrama.....if we are so different in responding to movies, one can only imagine how diverse our reactions would be to people and situations....this insight can change the way you perceive other people....the way you code and decode their actions and words...

Work junkie scrawl...

2008-09-05T20:02:00.000+05:30

I've been working insane hours coz I've nothing else to do....sort of a work junkie...am struggling to get my bearings right...nothing grips me passionately enough (apart from work) to dedicate myself fully to....I'm that sort of a person, not too good at multi-tasking, do the few things I do with all seriousness and blah....so am wary to make a commitment to a cause/activity/itty-bitty hobby, lest I don't feel strongly enough for it (it's happened before, and it wasn't good...it doesn't feel great to slog ur butt off for smtg jus coz u've made a commitment and can't escape)...lol...commitment phobia strikes again....am losing the plot a bit....got to cling on to something soon...

Rock On...go watch it!

2008-08-31T22:29:00.000+05:30

Rock On is definitely worth a watch. The message of the film is about following your dreams (just the sort of stuff I like writing about, plead guilty as charged). It traces the life of a promising college band that breaks up just before it hits the big league and then reunites many years later for one final jig.

Like all Farhan Akthar movies, this one too is executed flawlessly. Good production values, well etched characters, inspired casting, tight story telling, and top that all with a subject that everyone who’s ever been in college can connect with, what more do you need! A special note on the casting, every band member fits the bill very well. Agreed, it’s a bit difficult imagining Farhan and gang looking like college kids, but still they enact their parts remarkably well. Purab is my favourite as Killer Drama, the mad drummer. Farhan fits in effortlessly as the obnoxiously driven and gifted Aditya Shroff, the lead vocalist of the band. Luke Kenny as Rob, the likeable and trusty keyboard player, is a treat. Arjun Rampal as the lead guitarist looks too grown up in the college scenes, plus his acting is a bit stiff and wooden as always. But he more than redeems himself in the movie's final act, a 20 min stage performance by the now reunited and matured band members where our man with his towering frame, flowing mane, handlebar moustache and eternal cool transforms into a lead guitarist straight out of the rock n roll bands of the 70s - it's as if he was born to play the role.

The revelation of the movie is one Mr. Farhan Akthar. The guy directs, produces and now acts and sings as well…man….he defines coolness. Besides all that he’s got one of the leanest, meanest frames in Bollywood. This guy is unbelievable. The rest of the cast act just as well and deserve applause for their performances.

Finally, what makes Rock On tick is its music. Shankar Mahadevan and Co. have done a superb job of composing a rock track tailored to Farhan’s vocal range. With Farhan singing, the concert scenes become so much more believable. Music is the central vehicle of the movie and it does its job well. My favorite song of the pack is Sinbad the Sailor. The lyrics go….

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=W9GSwW90OjM&watch_response

If all the convincing was not enough…one final reason to watch the movie…haven’t you ever slipped into day dreams about being a rock star? of crooning with the guitar in front of a frenzied crowd, waving and cheering for you?.…here’s a chance to do so for a full two and half hours in a wide screen theater with music blaring from dolby speakers….mass delirium rocks!

Murugan Idly, Vayu Vajra, Trip to Chennai...

2008-08-25T19:40:00.001+05:30

I’m back from a pretty hectic week of work in Chennai. In spite of my killing schedule, the stay in Chennai was stress free because I stayed over at my uncle’s place – they are an affectionate bunch – it was like staying at your granny’s with people fussing all over you. Nice fun. Got a chance to spend lots of time with my cousin’s family who are visiting from the US. Exchanged notes with my bro-in-law, taught my six year old niece how to make paper boats, monkeyed around with her adorable two year old sister.

Had breakfast at Chennai’s famous “Murugan Idly” today morning. We bundled ourselves in uncle’s car and drove quite a distance to sample Chennai’s best idlys. It was fun. All of us chattering away to glory, cracking pjs, poking fun at cousin sis’s driving. Ideal lazy Saturday morning. Murugan Idly was a riot. We had loads of idlys with dollops of sambar and varities of chutneys. Murugan Idly lives up to its billing as a special place. It is non-fussy, efficient and reasonably priced. They have a limited spread of staple south Indian food that is dished out hot and fresh. The two delectable scoops of sweet pongal were my high points followed by the ever-dependable crunchy vadas. All this topped up with a dose of filter coffee....heavenly.

I’m back in Bangalore now. Am sampling BMTC’s Vayu Vajra Volvo bus service. As I type, sitting in the front seat, it’s been quite a pleasant experience so far. The AC works, the luggage racks are convenient, the staff is courteous and the DTH public radio service is entertaining. There are 5 passengers on the bus. Each of us paid Rs. 150 each for the ticket. I wonder whether the bus service can run profitably on revenue of Rs. 750 per trip.

I met up with another cousin in Chennai. He works for CTS. We were catching up after quite a long time, over a year. We met in a mall, after work, on Friday evening. We talked about a lot of things – work, friends, careers and last of all, the impending bride-hunting-marriage labyrinth that we’ll have to deal with sooner or later. He asked me if I had a girlfriend and I responded with my favorite borrowed line – “Agar uthna talent hotha, tho hum kahi hothe” ;)

Cheers. Time to get off my bus. It’s been an hour’s ride. Good fun. At Rs. 150 it’s totally worth it, I recommend it.

The Batman movie...

2008-08-10T21:31:00.000+05:30

You know what! I really liked the new Batman movie, I truly did. I liked it so much that I actually hunted down the first part, "Batman Begins", and watched it over the weekend. There are interesting ethical questions that are raised repeatedly in both movies - "do criminals deserve sympathy?", "why doesn't Batman pull the trigger on deranged felons?", "are compassion and regard for the justice system his biggest weaknesses, as Ducat repeatedly says in the first film?". I honestly feel that in the second movie, Batman takes this compassion and regard for justice thingy too far. Why the heck didn't he knock off the Joker the first time itself? Does it make sense to put this raving lunatic in jail and then see him escape and blow up half of Gotham city with a smile? Even in the end, he leaves the Joker alive for the police to arrest him, leaving scope for a lot of mayhem and another Joker movie, minus the immensely talented Heath Ledger.

Anyways, except for this moral moot point, I had no other grouse with the film. Brilliantly composed and acted. The ending was pure delight - Batman fleeing into the wilderness with the title flashing for the first time, heralding the presence of the tortured and disturbed, yet noble and brave - "dark knight".

What is the difference between IIT-IIM graduates and the rest?

2008-07-12T08:20:00.000+05:30

This must rank amongst the top 10 water-cooler conversations in offices around the country. I have my own theory about what sets apart an IIT-IIM graduate (or for that matter a person from any reputed institute) from the rest.

Popular belief: Managers say that they observe a noticable difference in the performance of IIT-IIMers when compared to others. They say that these folks tend to be more organized and structured in their approach to work.

Response: Given the widespread prevalance of this theory, one has to grudgingly admit that there is indeed a noticable difference in the performance of this brat pack, especially when work has to be done under pressure. If one were to admit that these guys are really more focussed and organized, what is it that ordains them with these gifts? Are they born that way? Are they truly smarter than the rest of us? Not quite so, my interactions with loads of IIT-IIMers have shown that most of these guys are not born geniuses (discount the few exceptions). It is the grind of the IIT-IIM system that makes them super efficient survivors who thrive under pressure. IITs, IIMs, etc. breed a highly competitive atmosphere within. When the exams and assignments pile up, every strata of collegiate existance, be it the top rankers, the averagers or the bottom of the class, get embroiled in a battle for survival. The sheer number of project submissions, tests and exams provide innumerable chances for students to practice and perfect their survival skills to the hilt. Handling stress, time management, prioritizing work to meet deadlines, these skills become second nature by the time you pass the course. You might question what makes exams in these institutes any different from those in other places, well the answer is that these institutes take their exams really, really seriously because in the face of infrastructural constraints and lack of teaching staff their very survival depends on building a high performance culture in their students through artificially hyped exams. This is the only way to maintain their reputation amidst plunging standards.

So, that's my submission of the day, IIT-IIMers are no smarter than ordinary mortals. What makes them tick at the work place is their ability to stretch when the situation demands it. So, the next time you encounter a haughty IIT-IIM colleague at work, don't despair, he's no genetic freak programmed for ineluctable success. His secret recipe is most likely to be pure and simple hard work, you put in your quota of the same and you should be able to give him a run for the money when it matters. Amen.

IT in middle class neighbhourhoods in Bangalore

2008-05-13T21:20:00.000+05:30

After a 3 year stay away from Bangalore, first for an MBA and then work, I returned to the city I call home a few months back. The transformation in my middle class neighbourhood was quite striking. There were signs of prosperity everywhere, many houses had been redone and there were more cars parked in every street, all this thanks to the resident acronym that defines Bangalore - "IT". Every family seemed to have been touched by the IT sweep. All my childhood friends had become software engineers in different companies. Those few who chose not to become engineers were still a part of the IT troupe as lawyers, marketers, accountants and HR personnel. Now, even my next door aunty knew how to tell the difference between an Infosys, TCS, Oracle and IBM.

Daily interactions in the neighbourhood threw interesting gems about the prevalent mindset about IT. One elderly uncle asked me, "So, you are in this company, you must be travelling quite frequently to the US." I made a feeble attempt to educate him about IT consumption in India and mumbled about my frequent travels within the country, the uncle was not impressed. A schoolmate of mine asked me, "So, what is your job profile?", for once I thought I'd got a discerning listener and rattled out my JD around sales and presales. The friend gave me a dissapointed look and said, "But you were pretty good at studies in school, why did you take up sales?". Later I learned that in Bangalore, sales is associated with either door-to-door selling or call-centers. No wonder, my schoolmate scowled that way.

Things are not this way in Mumbai and Delhi. You get to meet a lot of young people who are pursuing degrees in pure sciences and liberal arts. People there seek a larger pool of career options beyond engineering and medicine. There are many who want to be lawyers, bureaucrats, journalists and admen. I find Bangalore suffocating in this respect. Very often I come across friends who've been sucked into the engineering-IT rigmarole and are gasping to come out. Yesterday I met one such. He'd been through the IT coding phase for 4-5 years. Last year he compeleted a correspondence diploma course from an IIM and switched to market research. He sounded relieved. I met another extreme example of this phenomenon last weekend. Here was a guy who did his civil engineering and then worked for an IT firm for a couple of months and then quit on the verge of breakdown. He joined a sports portal as a content editor and is now at least happy with his job, but is trying to move because the pay is extremely low. Without a relavant educational background he is finding it tough to break into the big league in media. He's languishing in an itsy-bitsy firm that's squeezing him dry for a pittance. He's now thinking of doing an MBA from a tier-3 B-school, in a hope that it will give him the legitimate pedigree that he's looking for. Sigh...what a mess.

Today, fortunately, as a fall out of India's economic growth there are a whole lot of viable professions that have opened up beyond engineering and medicine. CROs and pharma need biologists and their tribe. Law firms, LPOs, IT companies need lawyers. Media has an unsatiable thirst for journalists and language graduates. Everybody needs salesmen and marketers of every conceivable background. I hope things change as we go forward and kids are encouraged to take up what their comfortable with and not simply what is in vogue. My brother is studying to be a lawyer, I wish I had done so.

Willful Suspension of Disbelief! - the secret to enjoying movies or for that matter anything at all

2008-05-13T16:31:00.000+05:30

Willful Suspension of Disbelief is such a useful concept. This is how wiki defines it,

"Suspension of disbelief is an aesthetic theory intended to characterize people's relationships to art. It was coined by the poet and aesthetic philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1817. It refers to the willingness of a person to accept as true the premises of a work of fiction, even if they are fantastic or impossible. It also refers to the willingness of the audience to overlook the limitations of a medium, so that these do not interfere with the acceptance of those premises. According to the theory, suspension of disbelief is a quid pro quo: the audience tacitly agrees to provisionally suspend their judgment in exchange for the promise of entertainment."

Now as far as movies go, the second part of the last sentence is the key - "in exchange for the promise of entertainment". I am willing to suspend disbelief to any extent required provided the movie maker promises to entertain. Many Bollywood movies fail on this count. On the other hand with a little help from the movie maker and a teaspoon of disbelief, a mundane movie can be elevated to the level of a thorough entertainer. Jhoom barabar Jhoom falls in to this category, I simply loved the movie. Watching Lara Dutta gyrate on the big screen in a fanciful setting was well worth the ticket money. The true essence of disbelief comes in to play while watching animation movies. "Ratatouille" is a case in point. It is my all time favorite. The director makes good on his part by dishing out entertainment garnered with a heart warming message, on your part, if you were to slide back in your seat and choose to overlook the minor impracticalities of a rat becoming a chef, you'll be treated to an inspiring fable of Paulo Coelho proportions. The same holds true in the case of Ashutosh Gowatrikar's "Jhodaa Akbar"....was Akbar tall or short, was Jhodaa his wife or daughter-in-law, who cares. As the lights dim, stretch your feet and let the Mughal era unfold. Smiles as the narrative dwells on the practical difficulties of a Hindu-Muslim marriage even in those days. Cheer when Azeem-0-Shah-Shehanshah plays out like the Olympic opening ceremony, make your side of the disbelief pact and the movie director will deliver on the rest.

Now, this technique works well with other aspects of life too. Try it out the next time you sit in an autorikshaw in Chennai and you don't know Tamil. Try it when you have to eat at a roadside dhaba in alarmingly unhygienic conditions. Try it when you are sitting next to a pesky relative, who loves to deliver long-winding lectures....application of this concept will turn such routine episodes in to thoroughly entertaining experiences. Try it and tell me if willful suspension of disbelief works for you..

Disillusionment and growing up..

2008-05-13T16:30:00.000+05:30

You know, when you are a kid, say a five year old, you begin to think that you are all powerful within your realm of activity. You start fancying that you are a super-hero from a cartoon show or a cowboy from a western or like in my case, a mythological Indian prince from Doordarshan or Amar Chitra Katha. In your imaginary world, while jumping on the bed, tumbling on the sofa, fighting treacherous villains who exist only in your head, you are all powerful, anything is possible and then...you grow up. You start playing with kids of your age. You have your first brushes with organized competitive sport like cricket and football. You begin to realize that there are others who better than you, that older boys seem to be stronger, but then your spirit is still not fully broken. The imaginary world refuses to let go. You still believe that you are as good as Sachin Tendulkar, it's just that today was not your day, luck wasn't on your side, the day when you shall play that match winning innings is just around the corner. You keep chasing that dream all the way through middle school and the early years of high school and then.....you grow up. By now, you probably have been rejected from every school team sports selection after making it past the first round, the realization that you are no good at sport slowly begins to sink in, but you keep trying. At the same time, suddenly, studies seem to be a big thing, not that they were not earlier (Indian middle-class kids have no escape), but now they seem to be really, really serious. Tutions, board exams, world-cup-cricket matches on TV, the odd crush - life passes through in a blur. Your board results come, you join a college, you don't have a clue about what's happening around you, yet you fall in line and follow and life continues to pass on like a blur. Your new super heroes are entrepreneurial geniuses like Bill Gates, rock-stars like Metallica, English premiership footballers, movie actors, nobel laureautes and all other icons of pop culture prevalent at your time. You try to emulate them in your mind till you well....grow up. You get a job, or sign up for higher studies and then get a job, all in all once you start working your reference points change once again. Now your super stars start becoming more real. After the initial months you realize that reaching CEO will take some time, the only option now is to put your head down and work (those who don't realize this soon enough, go through a lot of emotional anguish before they settle down to the worker ant mode). And so here I am, trying to come to terms with my limitations and ordinariness (now don't worry, I'm not heading for the window ledge to jump off, instead I'm writing this blog), trying to redefine my super heroes and idols, down-sizing them - should I aim to be like my boss, a country GM, nah, I should aim higher, try to become his boss, a regional GM and then....I grow up and get real...sigh...I'm only a consultant and even becoming a senior consultant is years away...reality sucks.

I should probably switch jobs and start writing tear-jerkers for Ekta Kapoor.

Parkour - Remember the Akshay Kumar Thums Up ad?

2008-05-04T22:47:00.001+05:30

Parkour is a physical discipline that evolved in France in the 1980s. It started out with a bunch of city kids trying innovative ways to hop, skip and jump across obstacles that come in the way while moving around the city. The guiding principle is to figure out the most effecient way to get from point A to point B by employing well - hop, skips and jumps. Have a look for yourself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHyoKC3C0bg
Looks pretty similar to what I went through the last time I had to cross Bannerghatta Road :)

IPL vs ICL

2008-04-20T20:38:00.000+05:30

You know what? ICL was better. It at least served as a platform for many local lads to step up to the limelight. The young Indian team in the ICL outplayed every other fancied team in the fray and won the cup. Players like Stuart Binny and Ambatti Rayudu emerged from obscurity. On this front at least, ICL did good on its so called intention to promote the interests of the game. On the other hand, IPL has been very disappointing in terms of promoting local talent. The IPL teams are packed with international cricketers, the ones you've got tired of seeing throughout the year. You get to see over-worked war horses dragging their feet on dusty, crumbling pitches with no sense of purpose or direction. You feel a sense of pity when you the likes of Bret Lee running in to get hit out of the park in an itsy-bitsy encounter.....if ever there was something called over-exposure killing the golden goose, this is it.

Life..

2008-03-31T11:10:00.000+05:30

Another death in the family. A young boy of 18 years. My first cousin’s son. The family had gone to a resort for a holiday after his second PU exams got over. While swimming he cramped up and drowned. There were no lifeguards to help him. It took a while for a motley crew of waiters and visitors to pull him out of the water. They couldn’t save him. A tragedy beyond description.

Incidents like these make you realize the triviality of life. If you are destined to go, you go. It maybe now, it could be tomorrow, it might be a week later. All other worries and foibles seem so trivial. I often worry about work, pressures at office, my yearning to live abroad, all these seem so small.

Live your life happily. Be nice to your loved ones. Be happy. Smile. Living every day like it were your last day might be a tall order, but certainly don’t live like you had forever. You never know…

Cricket, sport, spirit

2008-03-11T15:03:00.000+05:30

One solid learning for me from India's famous win against Australia was that,
" in sport, and likewise in life, attitude and spirit matter more than ability and reputation."

A motely-bunch of 20-25 year olds....pulled the rug from beneath the feet of the vaulted world champions.....the only thing that folks like Praveen Kumar had going for them was the comfort of anonimity and arrogance of youth...dropping the highly reputed Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly, not only reduced the average age of the team but also increased its fearlessness quotient.....Dhoni's blokes had nothing to lose and it showed in the way they played on the field..

It is interesting to note that Dhoni's team seems to mimic the way Dhoni plays his cricket. Dhoni is not supremely talented in terms of wicket-keeping and batting. He is at best, effecient at both, but not magical. What makes him tick is his street-smartness, grit and no-frills approach to the game. His team is similar. Barring the gifted Ishant Sharma and the masterful Sachin, all its stars including Rohit Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Robin Uthappa and Praveen Kumar are effecient cricketers, but by no means prodigies.

In the same manner, don't you know people with average abilities who make it big in life. I for one am a firm believer that the general populace is blessed with the same talent and intelligence, there might be exceptions here and there, but overall it's an even playing field. The ones who eventually succeed, seem to be the ones with that extra grit, determination and conquering spirit.

Marriage views – the regional divide

2008-01-16T12:35:00.001+05:30

It is interesting to note how the views of North Indian and South Indian men (the young and eligible kind) differ on marriage. Their views appear to be a reflection of their approach to life. Young North Indian men have a more natural approach to marriage. They tend to see it as a part of life’s progression, an event that has to pass, something that shouldn’t be worried too much about - the sooner dealt with the better. Their take is that when there are more important things like career that need one’s attention going forward, you don’t want to saddle the most productive years of your life with the distraction of searching for a bride. To lend credence to this theory, a friend from UP pointed out that several successful businessmen like the Ambanis got married quite early in life and were subsequently able to draw on this familial stability to build their business empires.

In contrast, South Indian men seem to fret a lot over the issue of marriage. They approach family and career in the reverse order of their North Indian coutnerparts. They prefer to pursue professional and financial stability before venturing into marriage. It is a mindset that flows naturally from their approach to life. Right from childhood, a South Indian middle class child’s life revolves around academic achievement. It is drilled into one’s head that academic success always gets top priority; everything else can wait. In bargain while the South Indian male builds enviable career skills, his life skills remain under-developed (the vice versa is true for the average North Indian male – while his English may be weak, his worldly instincts are razor sharp). For a Madrasi, selecting which IIT to apply to is easier than choosing whom to get married to and hence, this is a decision that is avoided till it becomes ineluctable.

As a 25-year-old quintessential South Indian male, I’m facing these very challenges in my life. Whenever my mother talks to me about marriage proposals over the phone, I escape by citing that I need more time to build professional and financial stability before taking on adventures on the personal front. When I discuss this with my Haryanvi friends they are bemused – “financial stability?”- they ask – “that comes through marriage!”….ahem…now, that’s a different discussion, ain’t it? ;)

ps: Many of you might disagree with my generalization in terms of North and South Indians. I admit that such classification might be too simplistic. Nevertheless, this topic amuses me to no end...and I thought you folks deserve to have a good laugh on the same... :D

Why is a beamer called a beamer?

2008-01-14T17:40:00.000+05:30

When I was bowling at the nets last Saturday, one of my attempted express deliveries slipped out of the palm and hit the upper "beam" that forms the frame from which the nets are hung. We all gave each other the all-knowing look and nodded - now we knew why a "beamer" is called a "beamer"...

Combating Cynisicm

2008-01-14T17:20:00.000+05:30

I am becoming more and more cynical by the day. I'm worried. I'm worried because cynicism is like a self-fulfilling doomsday prophecy. It feeds on itself till it has devoured every sliver of hope that resides in you. It is a dark brooding feeling that sheds a pall of gloom on everything that is bright. It gnaws on you till you feel comfortable in its cold embrace. You begin to detest the sunlight. The lonely recesses of the soul become your refuge.

I have been through this once too often, and I don't want to tread here again. But circumstances are such...

Every time I've been through this darkness, it's been a steep ride to the bottom before a single stroke of light changed everything. I'm waiting for that glimmer to save me.

Purpose and publish..

2007-12-14T16:36:00.000+05:30

Why can't one's purpose in life be, simply, to be happy...
Why does one have to forcefully write papers and publish them in journals and attend conferences and do all the associated b.s. that follows...
Why can't one simply be happy....enjoy the small pleasures in life and leave it at that..
If I genuinely have something to say, I'll write.....I don't want to publish for the sake of it..

My rules for a relaxed vacation!

2007-11-16T12:08:00.000+05:30

Lol! I remember my family vacations with trepidation. These used to be elaborately planned pilgrimage tours that spanned over a week or so and covered an entire geography or state in the subcontinent. The whole bunch of aunties, uncles, cousins and other assorted relatives would cram into a Swaraj Mazda or a Ford Traveller mini-van and scourge the countryside for temples and shrines to visit. When we hit the road, the Gods had no place to run and no place to hide.

We kids used to suffer the most. We were trapped amongst a bunch of edgy adults, who ran the vacation on a military regime. We were forced to wake up at some ungodly hour, get ready and hit the road. Finish so many temples in so much time. Uh, uh...you can't keep staring at that stone wall for so long, how do you expect to cover the rest on the same day. During the day everyone would get so tense and harried that what should have been an idyllic vacation often turned out to be a melodramatic, high-tension episode of "Who dares wins".

Looking back at those days, they were not as bad as I make them sound. But, the point I'm trying to drive home is that vacations ought to be easy paced and stress free. For me at least vacations are meant to rejuvinate the body and soul. Nerve-wracking family soap operas do not fit the bill.

Ahem...if you are still with me...after all that hamming, I'll finally get to the point. I've been travelling a fair bit off late. I've been on one vacation beyond Indian shores, the rest have been short trips to holiday destinations within the country. Through my travels, I've developed a few rules to ensure that my vacation remains a pleasurable one:

1. The objective is to relax. So, relax.
Corollary 1: The objective is not to cover maximum destinations in minimum time. It is not a history exam, where the more you write, the more you score. Instead, begin by taking it for granted that you won't be able cover all the spots in the tourist location. That'll help you to decided which places are must-see and which places are to be reserved for spare time, if any. When faced with the dilemma of visiting another place versus heading back to the hotel, take a step back and ask yourself whether it is going to stress you out. If the answer is yes, then head back to the hotel for a relaxed hot meal and a comfortable bed.....there is no end to stone relics and broken bridges...in most cases, a relaxed hot meal is a wiser decision than seeing the extra neighbourhood ruin.
Corollary 2: Don't keep a packed and punishing schedule. Instead leave a lot of buffer time for a relaxed drink or a snack. Avoid waking up and sleeping at unearthly hours. But then don't get too slothful, you don't want sleep away your vacation, you could've done that at home. Keep a reasonable schedule and try to stick by it.

2. Do your research before heading out for the place. Read up on the internet, buy travel books, speak to people who have visited the place. These inputs will ensure that you don't have nasty surprises in store when you reach the location. Also, a lot of time and effort can be saved if you know how to go about things in advance.

3. While travelling in a group, try to accomodate the group's interests, but if it gets too stiffling, break out in a smaller group and do your own thing. As a group leader or member, you should not see this as an act of treachery. There are some things that are fun when done together, but close proximity can take its toll over a period of time. Tensions and poliitics of democracy can cause unnecessary unpleasantness. Having breakfast together, splitting into smaller teams and then catching up in the night for a drink sounds like a good programme when you are in a large group.

4. Eat and drink regularly. While you are on the road you don't know when you'll get your next good meal, so, eat well. Nibble on something everytime you get a chance to, however don't stuff yourself to the extent of feeling heavy and sluggish.

5. Pack light. Carry the essentials - a complete toilet kit, a few extra pairs of undergarments. Be wary of carrying too many clothes. If you do fall short of clothes, you can always pick-up a t-shirt at a local store, it'll serve as a good memento later.

6. Carry loads of cash. Carry at least twice the amount budgeted. Carry a debit card and a credit card, because there is nothing more frustrating than being forced to cut corners while you are on a vacation. Be ready to spend a little extra for a little extra comfort. Take a cab or an auto instead of sanding in line for a bus. You are here on a break, remember. Try to avoid the struggle as much as possible.

7. Don't compromise on the hotel. Get a good place to sleep, even if it costs a little extra. A bad night will put to ruin all the fun you had during the day.

8. Carry a good book. But not more than one. I often get tempted to stuff my bag with all the books that are pending to be read and it turns out to be a big mistake everytime.

9. Be friendly with the locals. Some are out to cheat you. Some are genuinely nice. Learn to judge the good from the bad. Be wary of fraudsters. Be prepared to be charged slightly more than the locals, it is their show. Tip your cab driver generously, it's usually worth it.

I'll stop here...this has got too lengthy and preachy...

Sweet potato!

2007-11-16T11:34:00.000+05:30

I sampled the sweet potato chaat served by the street vendor at HUDA market, the other day. Quite splendid I must say. I've always had a weakness for boiled sweet potato, but the way this chaat was presented raised my approval ratings for this humble tuber to near fanaticism. Try this recipe at home.....boiled sweet potato choped into large cubes + chaat masala + squirted liberally with fresh lemon juice + garnished with slices of star fruit (Averrhoa carambola, more commonly referred to as Karambola Apple, Chinese Gooseberry)

Jammu Notings

2007-10-06T15:33:00.000+05:30

Date: Mid July, 2007

North Indian weddings are full of fun and frolic.

Aditya's family is very warm, especially his brother Atul, his sister Manisha and his cousin Sachin. His friend Amit is a fine chap.
Jammu is a quaint city. It has small gulleys with shops loaded with dry fruits, clothes, woollens and cricket bats. Thinks work at a languorous pace.
Jammu has a lot of temples. The legacy of the Hindu kings - Hari Singh, Charan Singh, etc...is present all over. Though Jammu is the summer capital of J&K, it hardly feels like a capital city. Instead, today it survives as the stop-over junction for pilgrims headed to Vaishno Devi and Amarnath.
I understand why Aditya wanted to leave Jammu. It is a small temple town with petty trade. Not the place for one with Aditya's talents and ambition. It is like Vitla or Mangalore.
Nice place for shopping, it's cheaper than the metros. Apples cost Rs. 25 a kg!!
Lots of greenery like in Bangalore.
Shop keepers ae not nice, you feel they are out to cheat you. Mean petty traders.
Women are very beautiful. Sharp features and fair complexions. Demure and conservatively dressed. They are nice to look at.
Sigh... Jammu is a city under siege. Every vantage point is occupied by a gun-totting army jawan. Every street corner has an army SUV with the trademark green camouflage. The army presence intrudes into daily life. They are there everywhere.

The Bourne Utlimatum - whoa!

2007-10-02T13:04:00.000+05:30

what a movie!!!!
12/10 ..... stunning ensemble of art, narration, action-sequences....and the pace of the movie....mind-blowing...this is what action stories are meant to be...this is one 3 DVD set i'm buying as soon as it hits the shelves..

Manorama - six feet under!....hmm..ho....so, so..

2007-09-24T23:34:00.000+05:30

Now, don't get me wrong. MSFU is a good movie. It has good production values, a taut story line, good performances - all in all, a well made film. I would give it 9/10 on any scale of movie-making. But, after enduring all those twists and turns for two hours in the dark hall, you walk out feeling....hmm....ho....so, so...

I felt really let down by the ending. Such a dark and macabre film deserved a more shocking ending, not the benign and preachy "sabka katega" ending that it has. The moralising about how the smaller fish sometimes escapes because it's small enough, or the bigger fish gets gobbled up by an even bigger fish, didn't go down well with me. A nice end would've been the bad guy getting away with everything and our man the novelist-detective leaving the city in disgust, or, the novelist guy decides its time to buy land and co-opts with the baddy. Worst case, if you had to show the baddy being punished, then our detective friend should've used his novelist dimaak to come up with a hideous counter plan to entrap maharajah saab and bury him in the rubble of his misdeeds.

Watch Johnny Gaddar to get a drift of what I'm saying. In the end, the scheming protagonist meets his end, but, it is done in style. There's no preachy sermon about good versus evil. Instead, our alec smart gets out smarted one last time...

My recommendation: Both movies are a good watch....ideal weekend DVD flicks...will keep you hooked....welcome to nouveau noir bollywood style..

The importance of "doing" - Gandhi vs. Tolstoy

2007-09-11T10:10:00.000+05:30

I visited the Gandhi memorial in the Birla House, a few weeks back. The garden outside the memorial is lined with photographs with captions that narrate Gandhiji's life's story. Walking through the exhibit was a moving experience, the nuggets from Gandhiji's life touched me deeply.

One such nugget recalls Gandhiji's interaction with the famed Russian philosopher and writer, Leo Tolstoy. Tolstoy's work, "The Kingdom of God is Within You", in which he advocates his views about non-violent resistance, left a lasting impression on young Gandhi's mind when he read it during his barrister days in South Africa. The ideas espoused in the book became Gandhiji's core guiding principles in the days to come. Gandhiji regarded Tolstoy to be his friend, guide and philosopher and wrote to him several times seeking advice and approval.

Tolstoy and Gandhiji offer an interesting study in contrast in terms of how they practised their life's beliefs. Tolstoy was a man who restricted his ideas to the realms of thought. This bred within him a deep sense of frustration and dejection at the general state of affairs in the world. He was pained to see his people suffer at the hands of the Tsar when there were so many better alternatives that he had preached in his books. This dejection led him to a deep state of depression from which he could never recover. His health deteriorated rapidly and he lost the will to survive. He writes about these things in his letters to Gandhi. In these letters, he also expresses his appreciation for Gandhiji's actions. He talks about the joy that he felt when he saw someone actually practise what he preached in his books. This leads us to the point that I want to make about Gandhiji's life.

Ghandiji was a "doer". He actually practised what he read in Tolstoy's works. He was a person who lived in the realm of action, not just thought. This is what made him such a great man. The principles of non-violence and passive resistance had been preached for ages, but for someone to actually practise them in the way that he did, took a lot of guts and courage. In fact, this is what helped a sensitive soul like Gandhiji keep his sanity intact as opposed to Tolstoy, who disintegrated beneath the burden of his conscience.

This story, shook me up like no other. In a simple way it explains the power of "doing". It explains why Gandhiji commands the respect that he has. It explains why the world celebrates Gandhiji the way it does. Due to over-exposure to Gandhi, we Indians tend to forget the reason for his greatness. Modern day spindoctors often tend to nitpick on the man's human failings in a bid to malign his memory and serve their personal agendas. Gandhiji was a "doer", if for nothing else, at least respect him for that.

Epilogue: A wonderful nugget from the Birla House exhibit.
Gandhiji never felt constrained by imprisonment. In fact he looked forward to it as a welcome vacation break from his hectic lifestyle. The walls of the prison actually sheltered him from the outside world and gave him time to read, write, pray and do things that he didn't find time for otherwise. Menial labour did not deter him, in fact he voluntarily enrolled for scavanging duty. I suspect that he actually looked forward to an imprisonment break once in every few years!
Learning: Relish every situation in life. There is something to learn from every experience.

Delhi!

2007-08-11T18:33:00.000+05:30

“God willing we shall see the metro on Saturday”, exclaimed Kamal Sekhon.

Sekhon is one helluva character…..Punjab da puttar, he’s the most jovial bloke I’ve ever met in my life. His dad is an army colonel serving in Pune. Sekhon had the option of joining the NDA but he chose to do the engineering-work-MBA jig instead and today he is my partner in crime while palming off expensive software to gullible enterprise customers.

Tired with our daily routine in Gurgaon, we hatched a plan to explore new territories and beyond….we dared to seek the alluring and magnificient Delhi!!

The Delhi metro miracle!!

Sekhon’s cool-retro-classic-macho Enfield Bullet transported us from Gurgaon to Dwaraka (15 km) in under 30 mins. Dwaraka is the closest metro station to Gurgaon. If the spacious parking lot beside the metro station was a pleasant surprise, what we saw inside the station blew our mind. The Delhi metro is truly world-class. I’ve travelled by the tube all over Europe and I must say the Delhi metro is right up there with the best in terms of efficiency, cleanliness and safety. Trains run every five minutes and GPS systems that track train movement announce train arrivals on giant LCD boards on the platform. The metro experience makes one feel proud, but it also makes one wonder what kept the metro so long? Why didn’t the town planners of the 70s include metros in their blueprints?

Long-time Delhi resident friends of mine say that the Delhi metro has altered Delhi for the better. It has removed loads of traffic of the roads. Wherever the Delhi metro passed, land was acquired to make the roads wider and more beautiful. The average Delhiite swears by the metro and so do I.

Connaught Place

Our first haunt of the day was Connaught Place. We hoped off at the metro at the Rajiv Chowk station. "CP", as Connaught Place is commonly referred to, is bang in the center of Delhi and houses a sprawling up-market shopping district. CP is made up of three concentric roads that are lined with old-fashioned white-washed buildings, that give the area a European feel. Housed within these quaint buildings are flashy modern shops, filled with the latest designer brands. The charming mix of old architecture and new shops, makes CP an ideal destination for relaxed holiday shopping. In any case, it is a welcome break from the garish malls of Gurgaon.

We hit CP at noon and we were hungry. While sauntering aimlessly along the promenade in the inner-most circle, Khon spotted a kulcha-channa man on the pavement. Khon had vowed to introduce me to Delhi cuisine, and pavement ka kulcha, he said, was a good place to start. And so we stood beneath the Anti-Malaria Operations wing of the Delhi Muncipal Corporataion and munched delicious kulcha-channa off the pavement! Delhi's baked kulcha deserves a whole blog for itself. Amazing stuff - tasty, light and filling, don't miss it if you are in these parts of the country.

Beer Hunt

After the kulcha, Khon and me were thirsty. Hot sultry afternoon, spicy meal, parched throats, the best possible remedy is fermented ambrosia that goes by the name - cold beer! But, the cheap skates that we are, we decided to skip the pubs in the locality and instead buy ourselves beer cans at the ubiquitous "Theka" aka liquor shops that you would find everywhere in the NCR region.

Like determined boy scouts on a trail, we scurried along every nook and conner of CP in search for the promised "Theka". And just as awe were getting tired of the hunt, Sekhon gave a yelp! To my bewilderment he stood transfixed in front of a crockery and cutlery store! Now what on earth did Khon spot in the crockery store!

"I want to buy a wallet from here", announced Sekhon. I stared at the shop in disbelief, crockery store and leather wallet didn't sound right...But then as I followed Sekhon into the store, I couldn't help smiling. Here was a store that was different from everything else in CP. It was not a new flashy designer store like the rest. Instead, it was an old ramshackle place run by an old ramshackle shopkeeper housing a curious mix of antiquated items of all kinds. It was a survivor from a bygone era and Sekhon wanted to buy his wallet from this very shop!

While buying the wallet from the old shopkeeper, Sekhon knew he was stepping into connoisseur zone. Khon put his best manners and best language skills on display. He spoke chaste Hindi and threw in a few Urdu phrases for effect. Instead of haggling over price, he admired the features and the fine craftsmanship that went
into the wallet. He inquired about its lineage and was satisfied when he heard that it came straight from Agra - the land of the Taj! After all that, there was no scope for negotiating, Khon compensated the shopkeeper generously and took possession of his fine wallet.

After that small distraction of the wallet purchase, we refocused our energies on the quest for the liquor shop. After circumambulating the three circles three more times we finally discovered a line of liquor shops embedded deep in the second circle of the CP maze. However, beer wasn't going to come easy. Now we had a fresh problem on hand. None of these guys sold cans! They were all wholesalers who doled out crates of beer; a request for two cans brought us scorn and a frown and the occasional gali, which Khon returned with glee.

But then, there was light at the end of the tunnel, the last shop didn't have cans but agreed to sell us a bottle. Aah....redemption at last. Khon bought the bottle and the two of us sipped some chilled Bauer by the road-side while admiring the latest Sx4 car on display at the Maruti show room across the road. Thoroughly refreshed, we were now ready to conquer Delhi.

Palika Bazaar

One of the sections of CP, houses Palika Bazaar, a favourite haunt for those looking for pirated CDs, cheap computer accessories and electronic knick knacks. Every city has one of these shady areas, Bangalore has its SP Road and Mumbai its Lamington road. For gaming enthusiasts, movie addicts and gizmo freaks, this is the place to be. I recently picked up an 8 GB Transcend thumb drive from Palika Bazaar for a thousand ruppes....pretty cool, huh?

After the alcoholic refreshments Sekhon and me sauntered into Palika Bazaar. There we bumped into Vaishnav, a colleague at work and my roomie at home. He's another character. He's getting married this November, and ever since his wedding date has been fixed he's been on a ladki gumane ki spree. Not surprisingly, he was in Palika Bazaar helping a female friend with her weekend shopping!

Sarvana Bhavan - yoohoo!
Now, fellow South Indians would understand my excitement. For a southie foodie stranded in Delhi, Sarvana Bhavan is the equivalent of El Dorado. The exertions of the afternoon had left us famished and both of us agreed to raid the legendary Sarvana Bhavan. Finding Sarvana Bhavan was not half as difficult as procuring beer. A few questions for directions led us to the revered spot. Savor the sight.

Well, we glided into the restaurant like awestruck teenagers. We plonked ourselves into a cozy corner on the mezzanine floor and started drooling at the culinary sights in the vicinity. While chatting up with the floor manager we learnt that he had started his career as superstar Rajnikanth's cook! We were in esteemed company!

The evening-tiffin-combo on the menu card sounded perfect and we ordered. It's one helluva of a preparation, it has a miniature masala dosa, kutti idlis, accompanied by scoops of khara bath and kesari bath, served with generous doses of chutney and sambhar...wow....the best of south indian cooking in a plate!!...have a look..

We washed down the combo with classic filter coffee and couldn't help sporting a goofy grin of supreme satisfaction on a job well done :)

Having seen the best of New Delhi, next on the agenda was Old Delhi. Lal Quila beckoned!

Shahjahanabad - home of the Mughals

to be continued..

"Black".....Pearl Jam

2007-08-08T14:46:00.000+05:30

My fav. piece of lyrics...."Black"....by Pearl Jam

Sheets of empty canvas, untouched sheets of clay
Were laid spread out before me as her body once did.
All five horizons revolved around her soul
As the earth to the sun
Now the air I tasted and breathed has taken a turn

Ooh, and all I taught her was everything
Ooh, I know she gave me all that she wore
And now my bitter hands chafe beneath the clouds
Of what was everything.
Oh, the pictures have all been washed in black, tattooed everything...

I take a walk outside
I'm surrounded by some kids at play
I can feel their laughter, so why do I sear?
Oh, and twisted thoughts that spin round my head
I'm spinning, oh, I'm spinning
How quick the sun can drop away

And now my bitter hands cradle broken glass
Of what was everything?
All the pictures have all been washed in black, tattooed everything...

All the love gone bad turned my world to black
Tattooed all I see, all that I am, all I'll be... yeah...
Uh huh... uh huh... ooh...

I know someday you'll have a beautiful life,
I know you'll be a sun in somebody else's sky, but why
Why, why can't it be, why can't it be mine

Thanks SS for introducing me to this song..

The truth about hard work...

2007-08-07T16:41:00.000+05:30

Reproduced below is an excerpt from a Will Smith interview in the March 2007 issue of Reader's Digest.

Reader's Digest: So getting to where you are is all about running hard?
Will Smith: Most people you are going to be in competition with are not gonna give 100 percent. If you catch a bad day, you are going to run up against someboy willing to do 87 percent. You're still going to win............................When I say I am going to run five kilometers, I run eight. With that mentality, it is actually difficult to lose.

RD: You work harder than the next guy?
Smith: I consider myself to be basically average talent, right? What I have that other people do not have is a sick, obsessive, raw animal drive.

RD: Do you get tired of pushing?
Smith: Not yet. There is no pain worse than not achieving a dream when it is your fault. If God did not want you to have it, that is one thing. But if you do not get what you desire because you are lazy, there is no pain worse than that.

Reader's Digest, March 2007

I can strongly relate to the highlighted portion in the excerpt. In my case trying harder is not about showing-off or currying favors, it is my only hope for survival in the face of more talented competition.

Triple Whammy! Two fights and a movie!

2007-08-05T17:09:00.000+05:30

The other Friday, I wrapped up my work, cleaned my desk and sat and pondered as to what to do. I asked around if any of my colleagues had plans that could accommodate a lone ranger at the last minute. Not surprisingly, everyone was busy taking their girlfriends out for dinner, watching movies with college friends, so on and so forth. I decided to watch a movie, coz that’s one activity that I don’t mind doing alone. I usually soak myself totally in the movie, and so, lesser the distraction the better. I looked up the movie listings and realized that there was “Harry Potter and Order of the Phoenix” running this week! That’s a movie I had to watch!

I landed up at the PVR multiplex in Sahara Mall at 6.20 pm for the 6.30 show. Just as I was slipping into a reverie about sitting in the hall and watching the teen wizard prodigy kicking some voodoo butt, the ticket counter guy woke me up with a rude jolt –

“Sir, your bag is not allowed inside the theater.”

“Ok fine, I’ll drop it at your security counter.”

“Sorry sir, that won’t be possible, we don’t have a baggage counter.”

“Whoa!” “What do you mean I can’t take my bag inside and you don’t have a baggage counter, what on earth am I supposed to do with my bag?”

“Sorry sir, there’s nothing I can do, yaada, yaada, yaada”

I lost my mind at the absurdity of the situation and yelled at the counter guy to get his manager along. The manager came and repeated what his ward had just said. I yelled some more about the silliness of the rule – they are located in a bloody shopping mall for Christ’s sake! People carry bags in malls, where are they supposed to leave their bags if you don’t provide for storage? Totally miffed, I asked to be referred to someone who could do something about the situation. I had quit work early today to catch a movie, there was no way I was letting a silly rule to come in the way. All I got in return for all the ranting was a feedback form! I was miffed that I missed the movie, but at the same time I was happy that I had yelled at the manager and everyone else in sight, I had atleast fought back, it made me happy.

Mulling on what to do next, I sauntered upto the next mall a 100 meters away. It too had a PVR, my eyes lit up! With the glee of a lion that had tasted blood, I strode upto the ticket counter and started my routine all over again, knowing fully well that the baggage issue would crop up. And when the issue came up, boy, was I ready! I started my yelling sequence all over again, the lines were well rehearsed by now, they flowed out with stinging venom, creating quite a stir and drawing the manager our of his lair to engage in damage control. This time though, the manager was a pleasant Sikh, who seemed to be the people-friendly type. The type that knew all about customer relationship managament, the type that knew that going out of the way to help a customer is a sure-fire way to create customer lock-in that will exist for a long, long time. Most importantly, the type that knew that every customer who walks into the theater counts, because a theater is after all built to serve the single small customer who walks in, they don’t have an enterprise sales channel, every small end-consumer is as relevant to the business as the next one.

The Sikh gentleman explained the rules to me but said that he’ll make an exception this time and let me store the bag in the employees’ storeroom. I joyfully accepted the kind gesture and grabbed the ticket. Whew! I finally was watching Harry Potter. The Sikh guy had just saved my weekend from becoming moody and depressing.

After all that had happened, the movie could not be disappointing. I enjoyed it to the hilt, the movie had very little sentimental balderdash, it was an action-packed fast paced one and half hour delectable treat for Potter fans. The Dumbledore and Voldermot duel at the end was my favourite moment. The grand battle between the masters was so vivid - Voldermot spinning a vortex of shattered glass, only to be countered by Dumbledore’s water cyclone! The day’s struggles were truly well rewarded.

I smugly congratulated myself on the triple whammy - two good fights and a mind-blowing movie, what more can one ask for on a Friday evening! :)

Lessons from Life

2007-05-04T08:57:00.000+05:30

In the last couple of months, I've had more lows than highs and that has prompted this piece of writing....

It is obvious that Life deals out different cards to different people at different stages of their lives.
I got a bad draw this time and in hindsight, the last time too.
I had my share of good draws in the past, I didn't exactly excel, but I didn't fritter them away either. Hopefully, they would count some day.
When you get a bad set of cards, Life is a tough master to have.
He makes you kneel and rub your nose to the ground.
And then he places his foot on your head and crushes your face and disfigures you.
When you finally rise from this torment you are ugly and humiliated, your beliefs are shattered, your pride is lost and YOU ARE ONE WITH THE REST.
That's what Life sets out to teach you. You are not f*****g special. You are f*****g one with the rest.
It seems that all you can do is accept things as they are and walk in the crowd, walk faster hoping that you would be in the right place to receive a good draw of cards the next time around.

Amen.

Apocalypto - brilliant stuff!

2007-03-24T18:10:00.000+05:30

Apocalypto is the kind of movie you want to watch when it is your birthday and you are feeling low. It is the kind of movie that captures your senses and transports you to a different age, a different era. If movies were ever a means of escape from the drudgery of daily existence, then this is it.

When I stepped into the movie hall the other day, I did so with trepidation; with a wariness caused by a "300" hangover. That movie was such a big let down. After months of anticipation one doesn't go to the theater to realize that all the best parts of the movie ended in the trailer itself. The movie though graphically brilliant, failed to touch its viewers. True to its word, it was an authentic adaptation of a comic book - something to be watched over the weekend and disposed till the next issue comes along. My take is that the script was too processed. Come on, it's an adaptation of a comic book that was based on a work derived from legend! The director took his adaptation to comic book funda too seriously and ended up missing the wood for the trees (sic).

On the other hand, Apocalypto is sheer art. Art of the guttural, brutal and unapologetic kind. The movie is a multi-layered master piece that excels in every aspect of movie making. At one level it is a typical underdog story of the struggle of a free willed Mayan to survive against the odds, at the grander level it is an epic tale that depicts the decay of a 1000 year old civilization. It narrates the universal themes of hubris, exploitation and corruption that have weakened the soul of every great society that man kind has built, right from the Mayans, to the Aryans, the Romans and as some would say, the modern day Americans.

Artistically the movie is top notch. The vivid colors, Mayan art, the pyramids, the recreation of the Mayan lifestyle are all stunning. Like in his previous movie, Passion of the Christ, here too Mel Gibson's treatment of the subject is gritty and brutal. There's no room for candy floss and the story is told in your face in an unapologetic manner. For those who can stomach such gore, the blatant violence of the narrative adds to the believability of the story and its setting.

The whole idea of making the movie in Spanish and using sub titles works brilliantly. The dialogue is obviously customized to suit this style of movie making, but nevertheless, it works well, adding a touch of extra authenticity to the proceedings. In conclusion, what really makes the movie special is its message. Weeks, months and years after you've watched this movie, its message will keep returning to you whenever you bear witness to societies involved in self-destruction.

Quotes from the movie

"A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within." - W. Durant

"I am Jaguaur Paw, I am a hunter. I hunt this forest. I hunted this forest with my father and he did so with his father. My son and his sons, shall hunt here after I am gone. I am Jaguar Paw and I know no fear."

Don Reloaded

2007-02-16T23:48:00.000+05:30

[This write up too was written a long time ago, when Don had just hit the theaters.]

I watched Don today afternoon and I must say I’m totally blown. I can’t figure out why the movie got such bad reviews in the popular press. I guess the pre-release hype blinded our holier-than-though movie reviewers from appreciating Farhan Akhtar’s Don for what it is.

The thing with “remakes” is that when made by skillful directors like Farhan they take a life of their own, beyond the original. While watching these movies, the question shouldn’t be, “How does this compare with the original?”, instead it should be, “Given today’s time and period, with a contemporary star cast and state of the art technology, how would have Chandra Barot made Don, if he were given another chance?” Once you grasp this basic idea, things fall into place and you are able to see the movie for what it is and appreciate the director for what he is trying to convey. Chandra Barot in one of his many interviews after the release of the new Don, said that when he set out to make the original Don, the intention was to make a style statement that would redefine "cool" for his era. Farhan set out to do exactly the same when he made his Don. And in this respect I feel he has succeeded. The new "Don" is by far the slickest film that Bollywood has made in a long, long time. It is our version of the Matrix. In this context, perhaps “remake” is not the right word, the movie should’ve been called Farhan’s “adaptation” of “Chandra Barot’s Don”, that would have had all the snotty reviewers singing paeans of the movie – as they did for Vishal Bharadwaj’s “Omkara” (a very fine movie)- his adaptation of Othello.

Another common thread that ran through all those scathing reviews last week was that classics such as “Don” should not be remade. Even attempting such a atrocity is shameful and upstarts such as Farhan should be condemned to Dante’s Inferno for such a travesty. I find this argument totally absurd. It is criticism for the sake of it. The least that such critics should do is acknowledge that in spite of all their alleged failings, new remakes at least serve the purpose of turning the spotlight back on old classics lost in the obscurity of cold storage. For instance, Farhan's venture gave the long forgotten single hit wonder, Chandra Bharot, a second lease of fleeting fame. J P Dutta's Umrao Jan, a disastrous remake, resulted in record sales of DVDs of the old Umrao Jan!

All in all, remakes are experiments that are worth the effort. If they click, voila, we have a great new movie, else at least we have the old classic to fall back upon, this time in new enhanced DVD format!

Critics beware, "Don ke dushman ki sabse bada galti yeh hai ki woh Don ka dushman hai!"

Casino Royale, The Business of Art

2007-02-16T23:26:00.000+05:30

[This was a piece I wrote a few months ago, when the latest Bond flick had just hit the screens.]

Well, the consummate businessmen that they are, Warner Bros have pulled it off once again. They’ve made yet another commercially viable James Bond flick by reading the pulse of the market and dressing up Bond in the manner that sells to this grim post 9/11 movie watching generation that seeks the same themes of trauma and soberness that has engulfed international media ever since the incident. The point of this write up is to scoff at the self-righteous Sunday newspaper movie critics whose favorite pass time is to champion the cause of neo-realist, serious, grim, artsy, small budget cinema and lambaste big movie houses for churning unaesthetic obscenely expensive movies that kill the spirit of cinema and blah! The bottom line is that like in any industry, commerce drives movie making too. If there is money to be made by making so-called puritan movies, Warner Bros and Co. will make those movies and laugh their way to the bank. Aesthetics, movie making craft, sensibility and all the associated b.s. that movie critics used throw in your face is not pristine anymore, if plain vanilla is the flavor of the month, so be it; Rich Daddy is going to serve you all the aestheticism you want and rake in the moolah too. Purity of art is a myth; anybody can be co-opted for the right price.

Epilogue: It is no wonder that Martin Scorsese’s recently released, “The Departed”, has proven to be a big hit at the box office. Incidentally, Martin Scorsese belongs to the breed of film makers whose work has always pleased the critics but never fired at the box office. For once, Scorsese has got his timing right, “The Departed”, is his largest commercial success till date.

Socialism and Democracy at the Crossroads in Venzeula

2007-01-31T15:19:00.000+05:30

Socialism: (Noun) An economic system based on state ownership of capital and industry

Democracy: (Noun) The political orientation of those who favour government by the people or by their elected representatives

Socialism and democracy don't make good bedfellows. While in theory there appears to be no inconsistency between the two, after all both are meant to protect interests of the masses, on closer observation one would notice that both are simply incompatible due to their fundamentally different prerequisites and operating styles.

Socialism, especially the Simon Bolivar kind that is in vogue in Venezeula, Cuba and Bolivia, demands quick State reforms for the betterment of the masses. To achieve this end, nationalization of large industries, redistribution of land, waving of loans, restructuring of local administrative bodies, and State sponsored universal health care and education are the primary ingredients of the bolivarian cure. These changes are not easy and need swift government action keeping in mind the best interests of the people, and here is where the inconsistencies with democracy begin.

As Lincoln put it, "Democracy is a government of the people, by the people and for the people". But then the question arises, “Who are these people?” Are they truly the poor marginalized class that forms the majority populace? Most often, they are not. Invariably the political class in question is an elite entity by itself – a concoction of wealth, power and caprice. Hence, the very composition of the political rulers ensures that democratic governments in developing nations fail the first test of socialism, which is to carry the best interests of the masses while making and implementing policy decisions.

The second and more serious failing of democracy is built in its roots itself – ineluctable delay in securing the majority vote. Since democracy serves as a framework within which diverse fragments of the society bring forth their voices, the legislative process invariably degenerates into ceaseless debates, arguments and politicking that impede speedy decision making. Hence, the slow pace of democracy frustrates idealistic and dynamic leaders who envisage revolutionary changes within short time frames. In such circumstances, it is no surprise that many aggressive leaders like Castro and Chavez in their haste to establish idealistic socialist states often transgress democratic principles and tread down the path of totalitarianism. A recent article in "The Hindu" (p18, Jan 31, 2007) about the Venezualan parliament passing a bill to grant President Chavez special powers to rule by decree is a disturbing illustration of the same.

In Chavez's case there is no doubting the fact that most of his reforms so far have been socially productive and have provided succor to the masses of Venezuela. But what is worrying is his seeming hurry to go down the totalitarian path. His demands such as the one to alter the Constitution to let him seek re-election for infinite terms are worrisome. The fact that he nonchalantly operates a dummy parliament which is bereft of opposition members, because they boycotted the previous elections lends serious credibility to his detractors who call him a “dictator”.

The real question to be asked here is whether the price of diluting democracy is worth the benefits reaped through extreme socialism. History is strewn with innumerable examples that demonstrate how the initial fruits of socialism often turn sour when its leaders transmute from being benign trustees of democracy to power hungry despots who would go to any lengths to extend their regimes. Stalin, Gadaffi, Castro and good old Saddam Hussain are but a few famous occupants of this pantheon of shame. After all it is not for nothing that the old adage, “Total power corrupts totally”, has survived till this day.

It is in this context that I hope and pray that Mr. Chavez doesn’t head down the totalitarian dictatorship route and lead his country to distress. So far, he has been a great leader of his people; however, he is a leader in a hurry and at this juncture it would be interesting to see if he can reconcile his socialist ideology with the principles of democracy. My bet is that he won’t be able to. I hope I am wrong.

"The Kite Runner", Khaled Hosseini

2007-01-27T21:54:00.000+05:30

The blurb on the cover says it all, "All the great themes of literature and of life are the fabric of this extraordinary novel: love, honor, guilt, fear, redemption."

That's what the book is about really - human relationships, their frailties and their redemption. It is a very touching father and son story that leaves an impression for a long time. For the more discerning reader, however, the book holds more than a mere emotional saga - it also tells the story of modern day Afghanistan - a land ripped apart by civil war.

The story begins in Kabul, the vibrant hometown of twelve year old Amir Jan, and Hassan Ali, his unflinching loyal friend and servant. As our shy and romantic protagonist, Amir, clambers through a bittersweet childhood, his life is gradually torn apart by conflicts from both within and without. Days before his thirteenth birthday, Amir's inner peace is disturbed forever when he betrays his friend Hassan. Soon later, his external peace too is shattered when the Russian invasion forces the father and son to flee from Afghanistan to Pakistan. Overnight, the war reduces them from rich aristocratic Afghans leading a comfortable life to scampering refugees with nothing to live for but their pride. Amir and his dad eventually migrate to America and start a new life as struggling immigrants on the periphery of subsistence.

The second half of the book traces Amir's arduous trek back to normalcy and respectability in his new homeland. Much later in life, a sequence of events forces Amir to return to Afghanistan in a quest for redemption for his past sins. What follows is a haunting description of how extreme fundamentalism, apathy and a senseless war have reduced a once proud and flourishing nation into a heap of rubble. It's not just the land that is broken, but also its people. They've lost their pride and with it their hope.

The entire narrative provides glimpses of the physical, emotional and psychological traumas of being a refugee. It also seeks to sensitize the world to the harsh ground realities of Afghanistan. As the author says in one of the passages, the war has made Massar-e-sharief, Kabul and Bamiyan household names across the world, yet no one really knows anything about these places and its people beyond the images beamed on TV. "The Kite Runner" breathes life into these cities and its people. It narrates the tale of how war has maimed these once bustling centers of culture and life, and converted them into graveyards filled with deprivation, death and hopelessness.

Note on the Author: Khaled Hosseini is a pracitising doctor in the US. His family left Afghanistan in 1976, just before the outbreak of the civil war. Khaled was 11 years old then. Though the novel derives strongly from his experiences, it is not strictly autobiographical. For more on the author you may refer to the following link, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khaled_Hosseini.