I am 'IT'!

Well, Venkitu sir has tagged me and I am 'IT' now!

Total books I own:
Around 250 back home in India. At present, around 40 in the US. Would like to transport my library here sometime.

Last book(s) I bought:

* The History of Civilization - Parts VIII and IX (Will and Ariel Durrant).

This epic series spans 10 volumes and covers the development of civilizations from pre-historic times to the present times. One of the most amazing historical accounts I've come across!

* A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking

Simply a masterpiece!

* Ponniyin Selvan

Requires no review! :)

Last book I read:

Regency Buck - Georgette Heyer

Light reading. Victorian era romantic comedy.

Last Book I was Gifted:
1000 Places to see before you die

Book that made 0 sense to me:
Satanic Verses - Salman Rushdie

It is no exaggeration to say that in 23 years of my life, this is one book out of which I understood zilch. Nothing against the author. It is just dumb 'ol me!


Books that mean a lot to me:

Ponniyin Selvan (Kalki), The Road Less Traveled (Scott M. Peck), Katradhum Petradhum (Sujatha), Theivathin Kural (Compilation of Paramacharya's talks), Lessons of Life (Ariel and Will Durrant), Calvin and Hobbes (Comics by Bill Watterson), The Color Purple (Alice Walker), The Kitchen God's Wife (Amy Tan), Freedom at Midnight (Larry Collins and Dominique LaPierre)

Now, it is my turn to tag!

I tag:

Kamal
Ammani
Prabhu
Arun
Sujan

All those tagged, you've got to compile a similar list and keep the tag going around..:)

Miscellania..

Memorial Day Weekend

A weekend to remember. Met J and R after a period of 2 years. Drove to Dayton, picked J up and went to Edwardsville, Illinois to see R. Ate at an Indian restaurant (Punjabi cuisine) in Dayton. Food was thoroughly awesome! To someone who hates Tandoor these days, the food was a suprise to the palate. Drove all night (J did most of the driving) and arrived at 4.30 AM. We had a comedy of sorts trying to find R's house. We were in the vicinity and the roads didn't have any names. We vainly searched for a road named "Center Grove" which proved elusive. Finally, after two people sent us in the wrong direction we managed to find that road. After some confusions about a church (there were two of them), a basketball playground (which was totally invisible to us), a stop sign (stop signs are ubiquitous), R finally managed to get us home.

Trip highlights included visits to the St.Louis Arch, St.Louis Galleria, Priyaa South Indian Restaurant and J Lo's "Monster-in-law". But the evening walk along the Mississippi with two old friends chatting away (J was exasperated because I rarely stopped talking for a few minutes..:)) was my favorite! It was like fitting right into an old hat or an old shoe...:)

All in all, a memorable weekend.

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The hot Summer days leave me craving something cool during afternoons. Not being a big fan of soft drinks, I have taken to yogurts for solace. I've been trying new flavors this week. Yoplait's 'White chocolate with raspberry' and 'Chocolate with cherry' are really good. Of course, 'Orange Creme' always will be my fave. Breyer's Fruit Bottom yogurts are cool. It surprised me the first time when I suddenly scooped up some fruit along with yogurt. Yummy!

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Songs on my lips today:

1. "Ennai enna Seithai"

Movie: Ivan
Singer: Sudha Raghunathan
Raga: Simhendra Madhyamam

2. "I love you.." and "For all those times.."

Singer: Celine Dion
Album: These are good times

3. "Omkara nadhanu"

Movie: Sankarabharanam

*****************************************************
I was listening to the starting beats of "Ennai Thalaatta Varuvaala.." from "Kaadhalukku Mariyaadhai". I was expecting Hariharan's voice to break out mellifluously when suddenly I heard Gangai Amaran! Didn't know that a version sung by G.A. existed. Anyway, I didn't like it much. Can imagine Vijai with Hariharan's voice but a big no-no to G.A!

The next song that played was "Vinodhamanavale". We always used this term to describe weirdos and here it was as a song! There's a line that goes "Tholaipesi seithai"?!!!
Making a phone?! I guess "phone seithai"="tholaipesi seithai" but the translation is ridiculous!

That's all, Folks! :)

Cinderella Man!

Who doesn't love a fairy-tale? Almost everyone does (at least, girls do. Prince Charming and the Happily Ever After are more appealing to us, I guess..:)). And who doesn't love underdogs? And throw into this mix two terrific actors, a superb cameraman, a talented director, a story of heroism and love and you have a hit!

My roomie and I happened to watch this movie yesterday evening. I became so ga-ga over it, I just had to blog about it.

The highlights of the movie (I loved these):

* The exchanges between Russell Crowe and Paul Giamatti (his manager). Giamatti is thoroughly convincing and impressive.

* Killer camera. The fight scenes, I think, have been shot with multiple hand held cameras. Every blow delivered feels like it is delivered on one's face. I found myself flinching reflexively during the boxing scenes.

* Russell Crowe. This is another of Crowe's best performances. Looking more chiseled and gaunt than previous movies, he slides into the part of the gentle giant, James J. Braddock. I still can't get over the dignified yet emotion-filled dialogue delivery when he goes begging and says,
"My kids have been farmed out and I've no electricity at home. I'd be grateful if you could help me out now."

* The champion Max Baer. Whoever the actor is, he sure has done a terrific job. At one point, I just wanted to punch his face! Now, that's acting!

* Braddock's cutie pie daughter, Rosy! The kid is just too adorable.

All in all, a must-see, feel-good flick. I think people always fall in love with characters like James J. Braddock: strong yet kind; down on hard times yet dignified and honest; thoughtful, helpful and loving. Finally, modest and unassuming despite fame and success. Watch out, guys, this is the Prince Charming that women fall for...:)

Read The New York Times review here.

Variations of Disconnect - The Philosopher Speaks

I am doing a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle of the interior of the Church of Notre Dame. I am almost through with just the roof to be finished.

Life's a jigsaw too. All the different people and events are the different pieces.

The other day, I was looking for one piece that would fit in with one of the pillars just beside the pews. I was searching for a piece with a particular pattern that was present in the pillars.

The people we know and events past are the completed parts of the puzzle. We always look to solve new problems by precedents and pattern matching. If a new person walks into our life, we always compare him/her with our existing group of friends and wonder if he/she is of the same "type" and will "fit" in...

It was driving me crazy that none of the pieces I could find would fit in! I went to other parts of the puzzle but kept returning to this one piece.

We keep searching for the one friend who will always be in sync with us, our thoughts, our activities....

After a couple of days, I was just contemplating my puzzle over coffee and fiddling around with pieces randomly fitting them in different places. And voila! A piece magically fit into the pillar that I was struggling to complete!

Someone, once in a while, stops by and without any provocation or reason, brightens our life at just the right time: an acquaintance you thought you were not close to, a mentor, an advisor, a neighbour, a friend... I would like to call it serendipity...a random kind act of the universe!

The funny thing is that I had come across this piece when I was looking for the piece but ignored it because I thought it didn't fit into the pattern.

I wonder how many opportunities/interesting people I ended up missing because of this weird quality by which we always look for extensions of existing (sometimes stale, unhealthy!) patterns in each and every new experience/person.

It fit beautifully into the puzzle and I wondered how I could've been so blind! One particular pattern was so strongly embedded in my mind that I ignored what was, even if a bit different, staring me in the face!

Yet, if I just alter my vantage point a wee bit and look at people/events with a fresh outlook, I will see that they fit into the jigsaw of our life in a beautiful way in ways I didn't even expect and complete my life perfectly!

I know it seems like too much to draw generalizations about life from a jigsaw but then this is the Philosopher from my Senate who is shouting at the top of his voice compelling me to hear him...:)

Here are pics of what my jigsaw looks like now. Isn't it pretty? :)



And here's what the finished version should look like:

Variations of Disconnect- The Senate

The Senate is at full strength on some days. A timid voice raises a topic
tentatively. A strident, booming voice drowns it out mid-sentence with an
irrelevant observation. A scornful voice dripping with sarcasm interjects a
comment and quells any further discussion on that topic. A harmonious, soothing tone sprays a cool jet of water onto heated emotions. And on and on it goes...Yes, my mind sometimes feels like a Senate with a number of voices and tones voicing different opinions, sometimes relevant; sometimes totally off-topic and irrelevant but interesting nonetheless. I can't discern physical forms for the owners of these voices. All I can identify them is by their tone and style of talk. At times discordant, at times soothing, there is always a constant buzz of conversation in all our minds. Perhaps we don't notice it all the time but when you consciously still your awareness, you realize the omnipresent low-pitched hum. Many times, I have noticed that these observations are variations of disconnect from the task that my conscious(?!) mind is working on. I decided to write about these random, nonsensical observations that pop up in my head.

I was talking to someone I totally respect and like. X said,
"....As an aside,I felt that Y is REALLY good at what he does. But coming
back to the matter at hand,..." and so went the conversation. All day long, I could sense something in the back of my mind, nagging me but my mind was way too busy and I couldn't place my finger on it. Hours later,in the calmness of the evening, I
heard that same timid but persistent voice point out to me that all day long, I'd been thinking that someday, sometime, at least once, I want to be the person on the other end when X says "Good Job!" :)

The Fate of India's National Animal

India Today has a report on "The Missing Tigers" of India's wildlife sanctuaries. Illegal Poaching has depleted Sariska (200 Km off Delhi), India's premier tiger reserve, of its most famous denizen. The tigers have been hunted down (of course, with the help of the local Forestry department and associated government officials. It would be naive to expect otherwise!) for their skins and there are almost no tigers in this reserve now.
There is something nauseating and gruesome about the cold-blooded killing a magnificent beast for the aesthetic value of its skin. The poachers set an iron and steel trap. The tiger unfortunate enough to get caught in it suffers for hours in agony. Then the poacher comes and shoots the tiger through its heart, spills its guts, scrapes the flesh off its skin and bones and takes home his prize. What was once a living, breathing animal is now worth Rs. 8.6 lakhs....

Reminded of Kannadasan's lyrics,

"Paayum puliyin kodumaiyai iraivan paarvaiyil Vaithane..
Indha paazhum manithan kodumaiyai idhaya porvaiyil maraithane.."

Intimations of Immortality

Whenever I am frazzled, bored, stressed or in need of plain inspiration, I turn to the Romantics ( Wordsworth, Shelley, Keats, Byron et al). In their words and verses, I derive a deep comfort. Although separated by centuries, those poems reverberate through the corridors of time and strike a chord with me each and every time I read them...

I am re-reading
Lines Written a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey by William Wordsworth for the millionth time.

There are some lines that are always more attractive and memorable than others in any work of literature. But I am unable to single out such parts in this poem because I love the whole too much! A feeling of unparalleled tranquility and peace is what these verses bequeath to me time and again.

To some, poems are a schoolgirl's chore: to be memorized by rote before exams and reproduced on the exam paper for paltry marks. To me, they've been more than that. In moments of despair, in moments of loneliness, in moments seeking wisdom, in moments of joy, in moments of sheer appreciation, I hear the words whispering across centuries to posterity and I see intimations of immortality....

Gaps-1

A warm hearth. Cozy Comforts. Caring friends. Loving parents. Mirthful entertainment. Known settings. Familiar faces. Well-worn laugh lines. Predictable events. Recognizable patterns. A charmed life. Flash of white lightning. A dark knight on a stormy horizon. Fascinating. Mysterious. A novelty. Temptation of the unknown. A world of choices.

Desire is born.

Life's Little Pleasures

This weekend, I set out to do exactly what I wanted to which is: DO NOTHING. There is a strange pleasure in being totally lazy for an entire day. At the end of the day, you feel bored and want to get into things again. There's no better way than that to start a week! Well, for me, doing nothing translates into random reading online and on paper.

This weekend has just been a jumble of miscellania that pleases me.I enjoy my morning coffee with Hindu's Sunday Magazine. V.Gangadhar's "Slice of Life" was one of my absolute favourites. I don't think he writes these days or perhaps it is not there online. The Hindu used to publish a monthly magazine called Folio before. A collection of essays on a particular theme, I have spent many interesting hours reading them.

One of my friends had forwarded me a really interesting article on blogging. I was random browsing the net and chanced across the writer's blog. Another find is Kiruba. Another enjoyable journo blog from Chennai: Ramya Kannan.

PB suggested reading "Katradhum Petradhum" by Sujatha in the current issue of Ananda Vikatan. Thoroughly enjoyed it!

And I have a pile of comics: Tintin, Asterix and Obelix, Calvin and Hobbes that I hoarded from the library this week! Amusing as it may sound, yes, I am crazy about comics. They provide a different kind of relaxation, a flight of fancy into a world of comical possibilities.

So, on a lazy, sunny, glorious Sunday morning, I am getting ready to dig into "Tintin and the Cigars of the Pharaoh" and later "Hero's Walk" by Anita Rau Badami. Life is beautiful...:)

The Art of Creation

The foamy surf laps gently on the shores of Mahabalipuram. I visited there when I was a little girl just as so many tourists visit there. The rock sculptures were beautiful and expressive but that was all they were to me. Beautiful sculptures cut in rock by the sea side. Till I read Sivagamiyin Sabatham by Kalki. A story of romance, art, valor all woven together like strands in a beautiful cloth, it captured my imagination like few other things have. In that immortal classic, Sivagami is a dancer non pareil and Narasimha, the heir to a powerful throne. Narasimha Pallava invades Vathapi, capital of the Chalukyas, and razes it to the ground primarily for the sake of love for Sivagami and her unequalled prowess in dance. I thought it pretty silly at that time. I’ve changed my mind since then about love and art.

Art seems to have a mysterious, irrational and irresistible sway over people. The striking chords of a song, an energetic dance executed gracefully, a life-like painting all have a way of arresting one’s attention and transforming moods like nothing else can.

5000 BC. Cave men returning from a day of perils and sheer terror draw stick figures on the walls of a cave depicting the day’s events. Time passes by. The rudiments of an agrarian, river-based civilization begin to appear. The ancients slave under the hot sun and fight nature’s vagaries in the sheer will to survive. Yet, they find the time to paint pots with bright colors depicting scenes from daily life and expressing their feelings. Time continues its unrelenting march. And today, we find an explosion of art forms, a variety of ways to express our innermost thoughts and feelings.

It is not very remarkable that today, we devote more time to music, art or literature. We have the leisure, the assurance of a long life and the technology to aid us. But in the Darwinian struggle for existence, what relevance did painting a pot or carving stones have to daily survival? Of what use was decorating cave walls with bright colors when your very life is in question everyday? Yet humans have from time unknown devoted time to such things. Perhaps the human eye innately craves symmetry, balance and aesthetic sense? I don’t know.

I happened to watch Chandramukhi on Saturday. In the movie, there’s a painting of Chandramukhi. I am no art connoisseur or judge of great art, but that painting attracted me irresistibly. There was a glow to the face, a grace to the mudra struck, a speaking quality to the eyes that imprinted itself on my mind. As I write this post, I can still see the painting in my mind’s eye. That day, I found myself wishing that I had learnt to dance!

The foamy surf laps gently on the shores of Mahabalipuram. I visited them again on a moonlit night after a gap of many years and this time, I had a strange appreciation for the Pallava’s art and Sivagami’s dance. I do not know if Sivagami’s father was indeed a sculptor or if he modeled those incomparable statuettes on his daughter or if Narasimha Pallava did indeed love Sivagami or even if Sivagami was real or not. But I do know this: that night as I roamed around the beach amongst the rock-cut sculptures, I felt that they were talking to me, telling me stories of the days when Narasimha Pallava enjoyed Sivagami’s timeless dance; of their creators; of romances and tragedies; of mortal desires and immortal creations. How many people who go there know of the history that lies behind them?
I am still mesmerized when I think of that day. The Pallavas are long gone and so is their kingdom but art lives on.

“Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away. “

I think I understand why Narasimha Pallava reduced Vathapi to cinders.

Laughter

Of late, I have this uncomfortable feeling that I haven't laughed in quite a while. By laughing, I don't mean the stingy smile that is forced to one's lips when demanded by social etiquette or the quiet chuckle one has when listening to a fond friend recounting youthful misdemeanours or the subdued laughter when amongst people you don't know that well and are afraid of seeming too forward. I mean the kind of racuous, rib-tickling, stomach-cramp-causing, hearty laughter that bubbles up from the wells of one's soul and clears the mind of all heaviness!

Having stomach cramps from laughing is one of my most desired sensations these days. Seems to me like I used to laugh a lot before. I used to be looked at with dread by the pranksters in my class because off I'd go gurgling and bubbling with laughter at the slightest sign of mischief. And tears used to well up in my eyes from the sheer physical effort. There are people for every occassion but the ones that can pep me up in a moment and turn what promises to be a bleary, gray day into a shining, bright one are those that can make me smile and laugh. Raghavan is one such person amongst my close friends. His carefree, witty and sharp comments always used to bring a twinkle in my eyes and a smile on my face! Of course there are others and some might not be too happy with me thursting a comedian's role on them...So I won't mention their names here (People concerned, I hope you know!):) :)

I miss those days. Hope I hear or see something soon enough to burst into carefree laughter soon enough!

A Swing Down Memory Lane...

Movies are a walk down memory lane for me these days. As conversation turns to a movie, I remember the time when I watched it, the people I watched it with, feelings associated with it,the fun we had after it. So many friendships and associations were formed at movies during undergrad years; So many funny and outrageous incidents that in retrospect, none of us would ever dare do again or can even imagine that we did during those years; Memories of the cheerful camaraderie that existed between us all come back to me as I listen to the strains of some song or scraps of a dialogue. I guess I watched countless movies during undergrad years with my friends but some are always more memorable than others:

Alaipayuthe-

First Year of college. We were all newbies and stressed out with Model exams. Semester exams were just a week away. It was a hot May afternoon and the unforgiving South Indian sun was scorching the dry lands of Trichy. S suggested that we go for a movie bunking class that afternoon. I was rather loathe to watch a movie with two newcomers and that too the second show on the first day. But I was dragged against my wishes and soon we were a gang of some 15 guys and girls. We went to the theatre and there was this huge mad rush of people waiting for tickets. I gave up and told everyone that we all better head home. S was more resourceful. She managed to get us tickets (Don't ask me how because that is another big story!) and we got in. And man what a movie it turned out to be! V and D were talking nonsense during the climax and when Maddy was crying over Shalini in the hospital bed, these two started giggling about something else..The entire theatre roared in disapproval of their giggling during the serious scene and what a roar it was...:)
By the time we left the theatre, our heads were replete with movie dialogues and scenes. For the next 3 or 4 months, it was all "ava enna parthu sirichittaaa....." and "un logic sagikkalai" in the corridors...:) That was the first time that our friends, as a gang, watched the movie and it was unforgettable.

Minnale-
Another Saturday afternoon. We were heading home when some friends invited us for this movie. I got very enthusiastic and we went to the theatre. But then, after having built up too many expectations, some of the guys came back and told us, girls, that the environment was not exactly conducive to girls inside the theatre and asked us to go home. We said we'd all go home and watch it together later. V and other guys refused because they wanted to see it on the first day itself. Can't remember when I was more angry. Got into an argument with V and the poor guy got an earful from me...:)As an apology, he gave me a treat at Banana Leaf later. I was so angry that I swore I'd never watch this movie and I didn't till a couple of months ago...:)

Deena-

Movie was okay. Some 5 or 6 of us watched it together. But the songs became a hit. K sang "Sollaamal Thottu Sellum Thendral.." at our college day function. One of the other performers didn't turn up and we had a mini-crisis on our hands. We had to somehow fill some 5 minutes without losing the audience. B went on stage and started an impromptu talk to engage the audience. Suddenly he called out my name and told the crowd that we were going to sing "Nee Illai endral" from Deena. I panicked and B was sweating but we managed to sing the song without missing a beat ( I still can't help but wonder how the hell we managed without lyrics, without practice, without any kind of co-ordination..!)and it was an instant hit! (Of course, we got a LOT of help from the crowd..they roared in response to a line in the second stanza of the song and we couldn't help but relax after that..!).

Invisible Man-

Super movie. Romba nenappoda ponen. Ulla poi ukkandha, title pops up on the screen with DTS sound effect: "Maaya Manithan". It was such a shocker that if someone had seen our faces at that moment, it would've been ridiculous. And the dialogues were so out of place and contrived that I got stomach cramps from laughing! You'd think I had learnt my lesson, but unfortunately not; after that, it was "Alaikadal Arakkan" (Godzilla Vs..something).

Run-
Again first day first show. Got dragged out of bed by R and S and I was made to sit in front of the theatre at 8.30 AM! But some others were late and I had to wait outside the theatre with tickets after the movie had started. The "Vaada Machaan.." song had started off and everyone was dancing in the aisles. To top it all, S and I were the only girls in the entire theatre and we had seats in the front of the theatre. The standing ovation we got for 5 minutes as S and I walked to our seats is still etched in memory today...:)

Dhool-

Watched it pretty late. The movie was enjoyable but there was no pep in the audience as the college crowd had long finished watching the movie. So it was just middle aged people in the theatre when we saw it. The audience was quiet till Paravai Muniamma started "Madurai Veeran dhaane..." and to our surprise, the audience burst into enthusiastic applause and dance! Didn't realize that the song carried such an earthiness to it till that moment!

Samy-

Again an unforgettable experience. I am a thayirsaadham and maavadu fan and that used to be my staple lunch on hot summer days. After that movie, I was the butt of jokes for the next 2 to 3 months (In the movie, Trisha romances Vikram over a box full of thayirsaadham and maavadu).

Kaaka Kaaka-

The movie was one of the best I've watched. The ending was heart wrenching for us all because Surya loses the love of his life. But just as Anbuchelvan's love life came to a gut wrenching halt, so did our college life. Yup, it was the last movie I watched with all my friends before I came to the US. After the movie, I still remember, we all walked back silently to our vehicles and without a word went home. I guess the movie made us think of loss and pain in a way we hadn't expected.

Since this is turning out to be a really long post, I am going to stop here. There are more movies and more incidents than I can fit in one post....:)

Senthamizh Nadennum...

I was driving back home for lunch this afternoon. It is a glorious day here at Lexington with azure blue skies and trees and flowers in full bloom! Anyways, I was listening to Maharajapuram Santhanam's rendition of "Senthamizh Nadennum.." in Mohana Kalyani. The hot, sunny weather reminding me of days spent in Srirangam coupled with Bharathiyar's timeless words, the mellifluous raaga and Maharajapuram's voice transported me to another world for some five minutes! When I got out of the car, I had an indescribable tranquil feeling. I was moved enough to devote one post to it..:)

The Blues Are Upon Me...

And I can't seem to get out of it..!

The gift of peace...

I had a Distributed Computing course in my final year. Unfortunately, I had an extremely boring teacher. He was a nice man, of course but just that he rambled on with his sentences so much that I lost track of the beginning of the sentence by the time he was done with it (Kind of like the way you may feel about this last sentence..). Many used to listen to him because he used to get all upset and start lecturing about life which was even worse than him lecturing about Distributed Computing. Anyways, I never did listen to him. As punishment (that too in the final year!), he sent me to the last bench aka "Maaplai bench" (I don't know what his logic was. Perhaps he thought I'd be so ashamed of sitting in the "maaplai bench"?! I sure wasn't because I had a lot more fun there). Which was just fine and dandy with me because it was more conducive to sleeping. He stopped short of sending me out of the class because I think he knew I would gladly trade the canteen for one of his afternoon classes.

Anyways, the point of writing this is that this guy really got me started on something. I had a book called Mental Fitness. In that, there was a chapter on making things interesting. So when I was bored, I used to put myself in his shoes and look at the class. It woke me up and man, was it interesting!! I tried looking at the class through the eyes of a person who didn't know the language, the eyes of a 4-year old etc...and it was very good mental exercise!!

I guess when you put yourself in another person's shoes, it is REALLY hard to get mad at that person or judge them or be obnoxious. Sometimes it annoys me that people judge so quickly without ever thinking that perhaps the person in front of them is more complex than can be fathomed in a short span of time. A silly joke, a small mistake and wham! There goes your reputation forever. And the worst thing about some is that they can remember such stuff forever.

For good or for worse, I can't hold grudges against anyone for more than 24 hours! I just tend to forgive and forget. And I can't remember all the silly things that people do because I guess I do them too. And finally, it is impossible for me to be angry with anyone for a long time because I put myself in their shoes and it feels like what they did was right at that point of time. There evaporates my irritation. Sometimes, I wish I could just hold it right there just to teach the other person a lesson. But maybe it is just a god-given gift that I don't carry all this unwanted baggage in life's journey. When I go to bed at night, I have the gift of peace and dreamless slumber.

Writing a Tamil Blog

Since a lot of people have been asking me about writing in Tamil, I thought I'd post a blog on it. I got this inspiration from another blog, http://laadlabakdas.blogspot.com.
Here's what you do:
1. Download the e-Kalappai editor. It is free and if you google, you will hit it quite easily.
2. Once you have it running, you can use notepad to type in Tamil. Just type the English sounds for the Tamil word and voila!
3. e-Kalappai uses a Tamil font called TSC. In order for the blog to be readable in browsers without having the special font installed, the TSC font has to be converted into Unicode. Here's the link for that: http://www.suratha.com/reader.htm
Just paste your tamil blog into the top text box. Choose the font you used (TSC, in this case) and you get your Unicode version in the textbox below.
4. Now, just paste your blog into blogger and you're done!

Hope all this makes sense. Makkale, hoping to see a lot more Tamil blogs. Enjoy!

Caffeine Shocks

Whoever thought that Daylight Savings Time is good must rethink. I, for one, am not a fan of this thing. I've been real sleepy the past week. So I go to get my customary caffeine every morning. I go and do the regular stuff to make coffee and carry my life-giving brew back in a styrofoam cup. Then the moment the cup touches my lips, I get electrocuted! Yup, for some reason, the styrofoam cup discharges (painfully) through my teeth and I feel like someone just rattled all my teeth. I thought it was a one-time thing but it is happening almost daily these days. So now I look at the cup with respect. Whether caffeine revs up my system or not, this cup is substituting pretty well...

(idhukku oru blog-a nu ninaikkiravanga, styrofoam cup-lerndhu shock vaangi paarunga; adhuvum aasaiya coffee kudikkalaam nu ninaikkum podhu, shock vaangi paarunga; apram apdi solla mateenga...:))

Submental mutterings

Muttering 1: It is hard to make a decision knowing all facets of a problem. The more you know, the more you are aware of the consequences and decision making becomes painful; especially more so, when those around don't see it on the same level. Knowledge is said to aid decisions. But I think that whatever decision one takes with full cognizance of the situation always involves painful sacrifices (either short-term or long-term). Whoever said "Ignorance is bliss" was a genius.

Muttering 2: Blogger performance on Firefox is pathetic or maybe I should phrase it the other way around.

Muttering 3: Invariably, why does the driver in front of me on the road have to perform automotive acrobatics intended to make my heart stop (and spill my early morning coffee all over my clothes)????

Other mutterings on their way..I better get to work now..

Change...

A lot of my friends are moving on to a new phase in their lives. Some are getting married, some are moving to new places, some are starting a new job; the common thing that faces all of them is change.

Everytime I encountered something new, I used to panic: new people, new places, new customs and norms; the very high learning curve in all areas; the feeling of being the "outsider" in a land of natives. I never got any mollycoddling. If a school bully harassed me at a new place, I used to run to my dad crying. He used to say that I should take care of it myself. Not much comfort when you are totally scared and want someone to take care of you badly ( I used to wish I had an elder brother)!! Of course, now all that seems ridiculous and trivial. But back then, it was of paramount importance. In retrospect, I think my dad's approach was the best.

I remember the number of times when I had to learn stuff the hard way just because I was new to a place. It hurt; it was painful and not at all welcome. But it taught me to adapt and to learn. It taught me that no matter how difficult a situation is at first, it gets better as time goes on. There's no place on this earth that you can hate forever and nor are there people whom you can despise always.

Change is scary. But I've found that it is the tool that forces us to confront new things and master them. Without change, we are doomed to be static beings. Changes and problems call forth our wisdom and courage. Pain is the precursor to progress.

I am not that wise or old enough to give out suggestions. But, those out there fearing where life will lead them in the near future, you can discover new lands only if you lose sight of the shore. All the Best.

"The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
But stood out in the open rain
And always got its share and rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing...
Good timber does not grow with ease,
The stronger wind, the stronger trees."
-DOUGLAS MALLOCH

I think...

"Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty."- Mother Teresa.

I think we become less embarassed as we get older. If we live long enough, I suppose we'll all become "soranai ketta janmams". Stuff that used to embarass me when I was younger fails to do so now.
Anyways, there were lllooooots times in my life when all I wanted to do was bury my head in the sand and wish that I'd just vanish off the face of the earth! One thing I really vividly remember was an incident in high school. I had just started Grade 11 in Vancouver. I was kind of like a "thiruvizhala tholanja ponnu" (kid lost in a fair). A guy called Dennis and I used to have a lot of classes together. He used to guide me through a lot of stuff and put up with me a lot(You wouldn't believe that I didn't even know how to get to classes right because they had a complicated block system..)!
One day, after class, he came upto me and asked me if I'd like to go to dinner with him that night. I was so ignorant of such things at that time and the uppermost thing in my mind at that point was that I never get veggie food if I go out in Canada. I casually replied: "Sorry Dennis, I eat only vegetarian food." He had a puzzled look on his face and said that it was okay with him. The fool that I was, I still didn't get his meaning and I was like, "you might want to eat meat but I don't". He simply looked confounded and told me that I could give him an answer tomorrow.
When i was going home that day, I confided in my friend M. I told her casually that I told Dennis I didn't eat non-vegetarian food. She was shell shocked and started rolling on the ground with laughter, "You idiot, he is asking you out on a date and here you go talking something else!! I can only picture the look on his face." Well, I was so embarassed about my gaffe that I wanted to just vanish off the face of the earth that night! I thought I'd just burn with embarassment if I even saw Dennis the next day and was picturing what a laugh he must be having with his friends about my stupidity! And I was even more petrified because he was a good friend of mine and I thought he'd not even talk to me after this.
Well, the next day, he came to my locker at lunch with a big grin on his face. He asked me if I was ready to get some vegetarian food. I said no anyways but we remained good friends till I left high school.
Then, I thought I'd never live it down.Looking back, I think it was really funny and pretty interesting. Of course, I had many more such gaffes but more on that later...

Yesterday night, K was talking about his friends network. He said that almost every other person his friends know happens to be his classmate/friend/acquaintance either through school or college. How lucky! I've never been in one school for more than 4 years. I've been in and out of all sorts of places-cities/towns/mofussils.Sometimes places challenge you to change your perspective. The one thing I always used to hate about moving was that I had to adjust and make friends all over again. The change (at that time) was painful but in retrospect, very interesting and rewarding. I've had all sorts of experiences and got to meet different people,places and cultures.
I guess the downside is that I can't talk about friends' friends and school alumni like Kay does. I always used to feel envious when two totally unrelated people started talking casually and suddenly they'd say, "hey, unakku avanai theriyuma? namma senior.."..I think that's a great feeling.
There are lots of people who envy me and say they'd rather have spent their childhood traveling than be in one place. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side.

Get "Hitch"ed!

My friend and I went to see "Hitch" yesterday. Guess it was a way of celebrating Women's Day. Really enjoyed the movie. Will Smith plays the "Date Doctor" who knows all about women. Helps guys who are otherwise shy get their dream girls. Eva Mendes is Sarah Melas, a gossip columnist. The movie sort of reminded me of "How to lose a guy in 10 days". Eva Mendes didn't look all that hot but Will Smith positively lights up the screen with his presence.
The dialogues were awesome. Some dialogues that made me sit up, giggle and take notice:
"Don't ever lie, steal or cheat; but if you must, lie in the arms of your beloved; if you must steal, steal your lover's heart; if you must cheat, cheat death;"

"Without guile or a game, there is no woman. To win a woman, you have to have a game, a plan;"

"Women always think they know all they want to know in the first kiss;"

There were a lot of other good ones that I forgot. But anyway, you can get "Hitch"ed to the movie for a good 2 hours and not know time passing by. But does this happen in real life? Would be cool if it did but I think not....

Why are men uncomfortable with powerful women??! I've seen this syndrome from middle school till now. For some reason, men tend to view women who are smart, independent and quite willing to take a few knocks as haughty, proud and shrewish. In fact, these sort of comments in college corridors used to drive me mad. Another thing I found was that if a girl doesn't cry in response to some problem, then she is considered a shrew. And somehow, men derive satisfaction and are willing to help the same girl when she breaks down under stress. It is as if men prefer women to be vulnerable, helpless and dependent! Hillary Clinton was viewed as a bitch till she accepted and played the role of a victim of Bill's philandering. And she won a seat to the senate just on that score! Ditto with Martha Stewart. Somehow, going to jail has softened her bitchy image and made her more palatable.
And another thing I find often is that men find disorganized, scatterbrained (at least a bit) and tantrum-throwing girls much more attractive than a very cool, organized and independent girl. If a girl intones in a overly honey sweet voice over the phone that she can't drive her car to the supermarket because she is such a horrible driver and she can't get her shopping done without him, a guy will drop every important thing he has to do and rush over to her help. But if the same girl tells him in a cool voice that she is going to shop at the supermarket, she could pick him up and would appreciate some help, the guy is probably going to refuse.
Beat that!

Krishnavatara

Someone asked me which book deeply influenced me. My first brush with books was way back when I was in the fourth grade. I came across my dad's classic edition of Bulfinch's Greek Mythology. I was thoroughly fascinated with stories of vengeful gods, goddesses, romantic trysts, heroic deeds. In Purasawalkam, Chennai, there was a lending library called Kumaran's. I remember reading a LOT of comics from there (Mickey Mouse, Amar Chitra Katha, Tintin, Archie etc..) Then I chanced upon Mario Puzo's Sicilian. Not that I understood anything from it when I was some 9 years old but nonetheless I plodded on for some pages before I threw it away in disgust! Then came a period of Enid Blytons. I really enjoyed the Secret Seven stories. After that, it was Agatha Christie for a while (and still is , in some respects). Of course, later I branched on to other books.
But if there was one book that really fired up my imagination and encouraged my reading, I should say it is K.M. Munshi's Krishnavatara. I chanced upon it over a summer vacation. I started reading with not much idea. Till then, Lord Krishna was a distant, awe-inspiring god prone to take revenge if I didn't say my daily prayers dutifully (and not eat my vegetables properly!). I guess this book changed my entire perspective about Krishna and his life. Written in simple style, lucid even to a child of 9 years old, it beautifully brings forth the god-like yet human existence of Krishna, his childish exploits, his growth into manhood, loves of his life and his struggle to always uphold Dharma at the cost of many things in his life. The vivid imagery and simple style caused my imagination to fire up and I could image the scenes before my eyes in great detail. I guess I could say I truly fell in love with the characters in the book, especially Krishna. From a distant God, he became a warm friend with his usual share of problems, dilemmas, troubles and happiness.
It is easy to capture the imagination of an adult because by then we have greater powers of analysis, understanding and taste. It is much difficult to hold the attention of young minds, much less inspire them to read more! Hats off to K.M. Munshi-ji for an awesome treat!

There are seven volumes in the book: The Magic Flute, The Book of Krishna, The Five Brothers, The Book of Bhima, The Book of Satyabhama, The Book of Yudhistra, The Book of Vyasa, the Master. They should all be truly part of a child's bookshelf.

Deja Vu

Have you ever had this feeling that you've lived this exact same moment before sometime??! I was talking with my friend today. He was telling me something that had happened today. At one point, I felt as though I knew the exact thing he was going to tell me. And he did!! It was a weird, disorienting feeling. Funny thing is, in The Matrix, a deja vu means that something is not quite right in the system...
Anyway, other funny thing is that V finally started a blog. Funny because not too long ago, he was the first in reviling me for writing a blog. V, if I remember right, you said it was a "vetti" person's work? So, do I take it you are totally vetti now?

When haircuts occupy primetime....

Day before yesterday, LA Times ran a frontpage article about the plight of barbers in Iraq. They are getting killed by the droves by the insurgents because they don't want people to shave their beards or cut their hair. What those insurgents hope to achieve through killing poor barbers is more than I can imagine. I don't see how long it is going to take people to take a scissor and chop off their own hair! Anyways, I didn't start out to blog about this...
Regardless of how ridiculous it seems now, I believe there's a reason why shaving was prohibited. Sardars in India don't cut their hair or shave their beards. Sardars are a martial clan. Shaving causes a weakening of the nerve cells and contributes to a drain of energy. So to prevent even a miniscule drain of strength, Sardars were prohibited from shaving or cutting their hair. I suppose the same logic could be applied to the Arab nations where Islam was born. The territory is hostile, harsh and unforgiving. And wars among the nomadic clans there, I suppose, must have been quite frequent. Maybe, that's why the men folk were asked not to shave???!! Over the years, I guess the original reason was obscured and it became a matter of faith to follow the injunctions.
I don't know. But whatever be the reason, I don't think it is strong enough to warrant killing of another human being.

Digital Fortress

I finished reading Digital Fortress over the weekend. I think perhaps that Dan Brown should be read just once. All his books start out the same: with a gory murder. Then follows a 24-hour marathon of mystery, assassins, powerful enemies, a cross-country dash that's almost always in Europe and finally the uncovering of an insider. With The da Vinci Code, the story was quite believable and the plot interesting. With Angels and Demons, the plot seemed a bit contrived. Digital Fortress didn't appeal to me that much. Deception Point was the worst amongst all, I think. Anyways, I am through with the Dan Brown series.
Planning on reading Anna Karenina and War and Peace sometime soon.
Other than that, life's been too busy to experiment with anything new. My car hunting woes seem to be finally over. Hopefully, I am going to have sometime to myself in the coming week...

Re-search...

I wonder why they call finding new things as research. I was sitting in a tele-conference today at work and there was this lady who pronounced this word rather emphatically (reee-search as opposed to ri-search). If we are only re-searching, then why do we apply that term to discovering new things? I read in "The Road Less Traveled" (Scott Peck) that all knowledge in this universe is latent within us, submerged in our subconscious. And when we learn something new, our conscious mind is re-discovering what our unconscious already knows. Perhaps, that's why they call it re-search as in searching for something that we already know but don't realize..

The magical dance of the pixels

I work with computers all the time. I am supposed to love, revere and praise the computer and its myriad uses sky high. I do that to a certain extent. But sometimes, the observer in me steps outside myself and tries to take an objective view of what everyone does. And I find that we sit in front of a machine all day and live, communicate and work to create a virtual web of illusion. We create software and see the result on our screens. We laugh, applaud and take pride in what we have done. What is it, after all? Just a web woven by the magical dance of millions of pixels. Take away the electrical power cord and there goes your creation right in front of your eyes! Of course, it can reappear again on some other machine or whatever. But still the fact remains that it is just an ephemeral creation, nothing solid or concrete. And what annoys me is that we get so carried away by the technology that we neglect our voiceboxes as the primary means of communication with our fellow human beings. We ping them on instant messenger, e-mail them incessantly, page them.....man, what a sorry way to live!
I love my work. But I just think that techies should step away from their work sometimes and see it for what it is and not get thoroughly carried away by it! "The future lies in technology..." is the corniest phrase of all time. The future is always in the hands of the kind of people who write that technology and always will be.

All Great Ideas...

I get all these ideas for interesting things to blog about when I am busy doing something else. That too, I get all these brainwaves when I absolutely have a lot of work in my office. Then, in the evening when am really free, I can't think of anything off the top of my head. I finally got some of the pictures I took in India onto this blog...
Anyways, I mean no offense but just a whimsical observation: why do fat men tend to be over garrulous and boring? It is a mega-bore to listen to them wax eloquent on the most trivial things you happen to mention. For some reason, even the most humorous things you happen to say become points of deep introspection and advice. I don't know whether their general nature seems to be a consequence of their weight or perhaps vice versa.

Pictures...

Malaikottai

Thiruvanaikkaval Gopuram

Thiruvanaikka Theppakulam

Across the Cauvery...

Fascinated...

I went to get my new employee ID tag today. I was given a thingamajiggy to wear the ID around my neck. It has this breakable plastic connector on the cord. If someone is hellbent on strangling me with my ID cord, then this plastic connector will break and prevent me from choking. It also has this comfortable neck rest so the cord doesn't cut into the skin at the back of the neck. I was totally fascinated by the thought someone had put into designing this neck cord! Just goes to show how much innovation is possible even in the simplest of things if only we put our minds to it.....

Bad Times of India

Mumbai's primary news supplier is Times of India. The Hindu, believe it or not, doesn't have a publishing office in Mumbai. The paper is delivered only in the afternoon. For those who've grown up reading The Hindu, waking up to the Times of India is not a pleasant experience. The paper is almost tabloid-like in its choice of headlines and format. I don't know how you all like your news but I prefer to read my news item at one go. I hate being directed to P8 or P3 for the rest of the piece. It gives me the feeling of a mega-serial. Even NY Times and Washington Post employ this format but at least the quality of their news excuses the format. But given that TOI features Parveen Babi's death and the controversy surrounding her legacy as the headlines, I don't exactly feel like forgiving the paper. Yesterday, the headline was whether Liz Hurley's trousers had a tear on the seam or not. And they had this big photograph of Hurley in her trousers splashed all over the page. I mean, is this what I am supposed to wake up to???? And today, I read a great ode to the Nightie and how it represents the liberated Indian woman (??!!!??). The author had explored why the nightie has become popular, why women wear it to the marketplace, the reasons for its popularity, the peculiar comfort of its design and how it fits the female form.....I really wonder why this piece has to feature in the main sheafs of the paper and I am even more amazed that a writer has the capacity to wax eloquent on a nightie!

Bhuleshwar Market and Phanaswadi Mandir

We were trying to get to Kalbadevi Road but since Mumbai is a maze of one-ways and strange by-lanes, my driver had to take a circuitous route through a very crowded, crooked and narrow street. I had accidentally discovered Bhuleshwar Market. It is like our very own Ranganathan Street, Chennai. Imitation jewelry items, accessories, bindis are piled high on the platforms and shops. Went chudda-hunting at all the glittering, inviting stores. Mumbai Kangan has the best varieties in bangles and bindis. I forget all the other stores I browsed. The saree varieties are quite beautiful out here-typical North Indian fare with lots of chemki and embroidery works. Georgette seems to be the material of the fashion season. Bright colors- yellow, fluorescent green, magenta, aqua blue- are in and the sober colors (brown, gray, beige...) are out. Bold and striking seems to be the fashion trend.
My poor father got carted all over the place and most of the times, he was sitting outside some shop I had entered into. He must've been wondering how he got talked into this. I enjoyed the crowds and the festive atmosphere of the place. I rather enjoy shopping in such areas than prim, proper fashion houses.
Anyways, after three hours of shopping, we decided to go to the nearby Phanaswadi Mandir of Lord Venkateswara. It is quite a pretty temple amidst a bustling marketplace. Then came back home after a good 4 hours of outing. Thus ends another day in Mumbai.

Fashion Street

Fashion street in Mumbai has the hottest deals in clothes anywhere in the city. T-shirts, kurtis, tops, you name it and they've got it. And the maal is quite pretty and nice too. Only thing is that we have to be bargain masters. If they quote a price, we have to start bargaining from 1/3 of the quoted price. I bought a jeans top that was initially quoted as Rs.450 but was given away finally at Rs.100...Anyways, it was quite an instructive affair for me because frankly, I suck at bargaining. I am learning now.

Malaikottai (The Rockfort)

The gates of Mainguard gate are closed for renovation. Chennai silks has opened a branch just opposite Mainguard gate. Two brightly lit, artificial coconut trees advertise the new store. Browsed around their collections. The churidhar and short tops collection is ordinary. Nothing tempted me to undo my purse strings. Other than the novelty of escalators for Trichy residents, it is going to be yet another store. In view of competition, Sarada Stores in Chinna Kadai veethi has expanded his shop to nearly the entire block before malaivasal. The front of the store has undergone a huge makeover intended to convey size as well as splendor. But everything else remains the same.

Had good darshan of Manickavinayagar. Renovation work is going on around the sannidhi. Vinayagar Agaval which was inscribed on the walls around the sanctum sanctorum have now disappeared and given way to marbled walls. New sculptures and paintings adorn the walls above. I preferred the old, authentic temple. Went upto Thayumanavar Sannidhi. As usual, the climb had me huffing and puffing. The temple is as serene and inviting as it has always been. Then visited Uchi Pillaiyar. The view of Trichy atop the Malaikottai is worth having. Looking across the Kaveri, one can see the Srirangam temple tower. The white eastern tower can also be seen. Tiruvanaikkoil is also visible. To the east, one can see the paddy fields near Ariyamangalam. Chathiram bus stand bustles as usual.

Took some pictures with the temple elephant: a playful, young animal. Roamed around Chinnai kadai veethi and Theradi veethi. The unique flavour of Malaivasal mixed in with the smell of jasmine flowers, santhanam, javvadhu, camphor and agarbatthis still lingers in my nostrils. So long till my next visit!

Meendum Srirangam

Srirangam has not changed much in these past 1.5 years. The roads have become more pothole ridden thanks to the development of underwater drainage schemes. The ride from Srirangam station to home was like a ride on a maattu vandi (bullock cart). Apparently, the copious rain of the past year also contributed to road woes. The crowds have increased considerably. I was told that even Srirangam temple regulars couldn't go to the temple on Vaikunda Ekadasi because of unprecedented crowds! The temple is as it has always been. New paintings depicting the history of the Sriranga Vimanam have been added near the Garudazhwar Sannidhi. And a new Devasthanam stall has sprung up selling calendars and books about the temple. Other than that, even the bhattars in the sannidhis have not changed. As usual, I got very good sevai (helps to know all the bhattars around the temple. A simple "Enna maama, sowkiyama irukkela? Ungalai parka dhaan US-lerndhu vandhen..." will do wonders!)
Visited Nachimuthu Stores near the southern entrance and a couple of other well known faces. A new Vasan Medicals store has opened in Subha Complex in Srirangam. This will alleviate the pain of going to Malaivasal for rare medicines, especially for the plentiful octogenerians in Srirangam.
Thirumanjana Kaveri has water flowing plentifully. Usually, this is a small stream with a trickle of water. In my four years there, I've never seen this much water flowing through the stream. Lends a greenish cover to the surroundings. Looks really pretty.
The familiar flower vendor near Mangamma Nagar remembered me and offered me 2 mozhams of jaathi poo at a discounted price for me (Rs. 6 for 2 mozhams. Apparently, it is Rs. 10 otherwise). She even remembered my favorite flower. It was quite gratifying and satisfying to be remembered affectionately by these simple people.
It was just a whirlwind trip around Srirangam in the brief 2 days I had there. In a world of change, it was reassuring to see that my old town had not really changed much. Tenuous though it may be, it gave me a sense of security and belonging.
Watch out for pictures of Trichy in forthcoming posts. More on Trichy coming up....

Journey to the heart of Tamilnadu

Flying is an impersonal business. Only meteorologists or a few other experts can fathom the skies and its myriad hues. For me, it is just flying through miles and miles of unchanging blue/white space without any kind of feeling of familiarity or attachment. My time in India is short and many friends and relatives advised me to make my trip to Trichy/Chennai via air. Somehow, the idea did not gel with me. The pulse of a country can be felt only by travel via land with its smells, tastes, sights. And a country like India literally attacks all the five senses with its multiple offerings.
Anyways, to make a long story short, I took the 1.5 day journey via Dadar express from Mumbai to Chennai and from then onto Trichy by Rockfort Express. And I truly enjoyed my ride. I passed through many types/kinds of cities, landscapes. It is quite strange but nothing struck a chord with me till I neared TN borders. I enjoyed all the passing landscapes but they were just that: a passing and objective enjoyment of the different hues of my country. After crossing Renigunta, I began to feel that I am home at last. The billboard advertisements rang familiar. The noises, songs from temples and even the smell of the land seemed quite familiar and enjoyable. Gopal Palpodi still rules the roost as far as wall ads go. And the familiar Mariamma songs in the month of Margazhi rang loud and clear from most temples.
The other curious thing I found this time around is that the multitude of marathadi Pillaiyars increases by leaps and bounds once we reach TN! Andhra and Karnataka didn't seem to have that many roadside temples.
Finally, I boarded Rockfort Express from Chennai Egmore. A contented feeling came over me that I had arrived at last. Kollidam had some water this time around (finally, at least to justify its name!). The familiar Southern Tower of the Srirangam temple rose high from amongst coconut trees as the train rumbled across the Kollidam.
Srirangam had just partially awoken to the call of dawn as yet another day began its relentless rhythm.
More on Srirangam experiences in my next post...

Tsunami Trivia

Tragedy apart, the Tsunami has triggered some rather funny and interesting conversations in these parts. Overheard in the general compartment of Vaigai Express: A not so well educated village woman was holding court to her fellow travelers about the reason for the Tsunami. The entire group, composed mostly of village women, was listening in rapt attention chin in their hands. Some things are best heard in the native language:
Tsunami vandhadhukku karanam intha Chargu Pushu-dhaan (read George Bush). Avanukku Tamizh naattoda sezhippum valamum kandu porukkala...Namma amma nalla aatchi panraanga illai..enga naama romba nalla vandhura poromo nnu avanukku ore vayiru erichal..adhanala, avan kadal-la poi gundu vechittaan..adhu dhaan nammala vandhu thaakkiduchu..avan naasama poga!

Yet another theory, this one coming from an educated office going middle aged man:
Jayendrar arrest panninaaanga illai..adhaan kadal pongiruchi.....siva poojai ninnu pona sarva naasam dhaan aagum..adhaan rudra thaandavam aadittan avan.

Whoever said that life is most enjoyed only in the upper class carriages??!! The most interesting people and conversations are in the general compartment!

Flight to India

It is amazing what kind of royal treatment you get in Business class. It is as if you are in a whole new world. I got upgraded to Business class because my flight was canceled. I got to board first. Immediately, you get a nice fortifying drink. They serve meals waiting hand and foot on you. And the seats are the best! Man, I got the best sleep of my life in a flight. Anyways, that made up for the horrendous wait I had to endure in Cincinnati and NY.
Calvin and Hobbes collection gave me company in Cinci and NY airports. At NY, we boarded the flight on time. But then, the flight was grounded for 1.5 hours because of some suspicious baggage on board with no corresponding passengers..that was probably the most boring wait of my life.
Finally took off for Frankfurt. We had to reboard the flight at Frankfurt. But the stupid lady at NY had given me a boarding pass till Frankfurt only. The person at the gate was trying to tell me that I couldn't board the flight to Mumbai because of that!! After much arguing with the thick German accent, I managed to convince the person that I had indeed purchased a ticket to Mumbai...Anyways, finally after a lengthy flight, landed in Mumbai. Picked up my baggage (which took forever) and cleared customs...
Home at last!
Some funny incidents on my next post...

Snowed in in Lexington

Lexington is an isle of safety amidst this severe winter storm raging all around us. Cincinnati up north is snowed in under 2 feet of snow. Louisville is also under snow. All interstates between Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky are closed or almost closed. And two of my friends who came to visit me from Chicago are stuck here (poor souls!)...One of them has a flight to catch on Christmas Day (which I hope he makes). One other thing worth mentioning: Greyhound customer service sucks. I have had a couple of adventures the past two days which I will blog about when I am in the mood for it...Right now,I am signing off...Ciao!

Finals crunch

Well, it is that time of the year again. Finals on Wednesday and Thursday. And I have been on a marathon study of some 4 hours (quite a record by my standards) and I thought I'd take a break and do something else for a change....
Have a long to-do list for this week and next before going to India. Promising to be a very, very hectic schedule for a couple of weeks! But first order of business: finish off finals.

Land of the Cauvery

When I first set foot in Trichy some 5 years back, it was the #1 hated spot on my list. If someone told me then that after spending 4 years there, I'd be blogging about Trichy one day, I would have laughed in their face. But I guess the place grew on me and I actually began to love Srirangam with all its quirks, incoveniences and eccentricities!
Way back in December 1999, we had a good monsoon . Till then, in the 3 months or so that I had been there, I used to travel daily between Srirangam to my college. Everyday, I used to cross the dried up, desert-like horizon of sand that was the Cauvery and I used to wonder what inspired so many people to write verses on the so-called beauty of Cauvery. But after the monsoon, after a week of holidays, I ventured out of Srirangam in the good old TST (Trichy Srirangam Transports) bus. The roads were awfully water logged and I was wondering how in the world I was going to manage to come back home in the evening without becoming a muddy mess. When we crossed the Cauvery bridge, I truly held my breath. The water level was almost near the top of the bridge and the river was truly in spate with the swirling waters dashing against the embankments on either side. The coconut trees on either side of the river were lush green. And the big banyan trees were bent over the river with their branches caught up in the spate. It was truly one of the most amazing sights I had ever seen in my life and I realized then why Ponni was the touted possession of the erstwhile Chola kingdom. A couple of days later, I had to travel towards Ariyamangalam to meet a friend. And the lush green paddy fields after the rain and the cool green orchards enchanted me.
After my first year exams were over, one of my good friends suggested that we both start reading Ponniyin Selvan over the holidays. Back then, I was an ignoramus and I thought Ponni was some girl and the novel was about her son/lover or something. I wasn't too keen but because of a lack of things to do, I started reading it. And the masterpiece by Kalki had me at the first page. The Cauvery, of course, is the lifeline running through the novel. I guess it inspired me to learn more about the history and culture underlying the region and I was much the better for it. Anyways, I went on to read all of Kalki's historic novels.
The thing is that at the end of four years, which I thought would be the most hateful, I ended up being very much attached to Srirangam, the temple, its culture, its distinct flavour. When I had to say goodbye to Srirangam when I was leaving for the US, my heart was truly heavy. When the Rockfort Express crossed the Cauvery and headed out, I saw the temple tower soaring majestically from amongst coconut groves and I had a strange feeling of loss.
I have been in many cities and towns in my life. I am used to moving around and adapting to places. But this was the first place that inspired in me such deep sadness upon leaving. It might not be the hippest town (sometimes, it is dead boring!) and not perhaps the trendiest, but the land between the Cauvery and Kollidam certainly holds a special place in my heart.

Seinfeld Quips

"Our body is high maintenance. There's a lot of shaving, grooming, washing and feeding. Really, if our body were a car, you wouldn't buy it because it is too much maintenance!"

"Men's magazines don't contain a lot of advice because men think I know what I am doing.....just show me somebody naked."

Jerry Seinfeld

Manmathan

By the way, watched Manmathan on Sunday against all the better counsel of my brain (I had an unfinished project due Monday). Okay sort of a movie. Hats off to Simbu for a stunning performance. I am not a Simbu fan (in fact, I was virulently against him) but he made me sit up and take notice. But as far the movie went, it is desperately lacking logic. Because of one woman's adultery, a character becomes upset and murders her?! And because of his brother's heartbreak, the hero turns a "cleanser of all adulterous women"?
I am not a female lib person or a chauvinist or anything remotely close to it but why is it that female adultery is somehow more heinous than male adultery????????!!!??? I've never seen a movie where a female character turns to murder because the guy in her life cheated on her.
Anyways, I guess it is stupid to anyway look for logic in Tamil movies. And this movie is compared to Sigappu Rojakkal and Manmatha Leelaigal. I think those movies had far better cause/effect logic than this one. But oh well, it was an okay way to spend time...

Gone in 45 mins

I have an Algorithms class from 3.30 to 4.45 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays. To be frank, I rarely ever focus fully in this class. I am always in a half-dazed state. Not that I feel sleepy in class or anything. It is just that I cannot bring myself to listen to the lecture. The rambling style of the prof doesn't help matters much. But anyways, the one thing I learnt from this course: I know my attention span precisely to a minute. And it is exactly 45 minutes. Yup, everyday as I sit through this class, I will glance at my watch exactly at 4.15 PM for the first time. After that, it is 10 minute increments of glancing. The initial 45 minutes, I at least try to listen with half an ear. After that, it is all downhill.
Anyways, I just wonder how it is that people sit for hours together listening to lectures or even watch movies. The other day, my friend told me he watched 4 movies back to back. These days, I can't sit through a single tamil movie in one sitting. I start fidgeting after an hour or so. Maybe this is just a reflection on the sad state of movies or MAYBE I am getting old!!

Sound of a ticking clock

I have this little red mechanical clock, you know, the ones that operate on battery. I was using it until some 6 months back. Through the night, I would keep focusing on the interminable tick, tick, tick of the damn clock and I couldn't sleep. In the mornings, when I became half-conscious, the tick, tick would creep into my brain and I couldn't go back to sleep. So finally, I put the clock out of use and in storage. Well, this evening when I got home, a sudden surge of conscience made me think I should put my resources to good use. I rifled through my drawers and decided I would use the clock albeit at a safe distance from my bed. So I plomped it on a chest of drawers safely away from my bed and went to take a nap. Whaddaya know.....the ticking still irritates me..I lay in the bed tossing and turning for an hour focusing on the clock instead of sleeping and when I actually got out of bed, I had a horrible headache.
Well, now I am stuck with a bad headache and a horrendous loathing for the little red clock.

You know you are a Desi when....

I came across this article. Found it funny. Check it out and Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
http://www.blogthings.com/Indian.html

Which Planet are you from?

You Are From the Moon

You can vibe with the steady rhythms of the Moon. You're in touch with your emotions and intuition. You possess a great, unmatched imagination - and an infinite memory. Ultra-sensitive, you feel at home anywhere (or with anyone). A total healer, you light the way in the dark for many.

What Planet Are You From?

The Mess in Kanchi

I had decided not to blog about this issue because it is a highly sensitive one. I changed my mind. A friend forwarded me this link about the Shankaracharya titled "The Real Shankaracharya":
http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/nov/22guest.htm

I was a great follower of the Paramacharya, Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi. I have read his collected talks "Theivathin Kural" and many of his ideas have moulded my thoughts and perspectives in many ways. I confess that I am not that great an admirer of the present Acharya but nonetheless revere him as one who's above the average populace. It came as a rude shock to suddenly read on rediff that he had been imprisoned on a murder charge.

Of course, immediately, the press went to town on how he is a power wielding, goonda in ascetic robes. Somehow, I find it very difficult to believe that a man who has been performing Chandramouleeswara Pooja for the past 50 years or so is capable of committing murder or even masterminding it. Regardless of the fact that he is active in politics, he is still an ascetic, has been under the guidance of the Paramacharya and has the exclusive right to perform pooja to Kanchi Kamakshi in the garbhagriha. Would such a person even contemplate a heinous sin such as this?! I can't imagine that.

What is more irritating is the "holier-than-thou" attitude of politicians. Karunanidhi who now tarnishes the Acharya freely is a scoundrel himself. And Jayalalitha is no better anyway. These are all people with so many criminal cases pending against them and they are in no position to accuse the Acharya of anything.

Do I belive the Acharya is guilty? Frankly, I don't know. I hope it is not true. If he has indeed committed such a crime, then I think the spiritual punishment for doing Pooja with such impure thoughts would be more severe than any that mortal law can impose on him. If he is not, then I hope that all these years of purity and tapas will bring him through this test of fire stronger and untarnished. But there is no denying the fact that the Hindu community is indeed deeply hurt by the arrest of a religious figure of the Shankaracharya's stature.

The more things change...

Everyone says mankind has "evolved". We have grown progressive since the middle ages, apparently. We have invented new things and shrunk the world to a global village. Sure, we know a lot of things now. We know that we have come from monkeys; that we are just a speck in the dust swirl that is the universe; that each of us is just a fleeting moment in our beloved Earth's history. But despite all this, Nature still holds the upper hand. The impulses that drove men and women 2000 years back still drive us. Men went to war out of greed for land, women, wealth. We still do. Iraq is a case in point. Long back, they had all those crusades in defense of religion. We still have our jihadists, Protestants Vs. Catholics in Ireland, Hindus Vs. Muslims in India, Conservative Christians Vs. Liberals in the USA. Even today, people wage war in the name of God, be it on the stump or on the battleground. People murdered for wealth back then; that remains the primary cause even now. During those wars back then, they murdered and slaughtered POWs. Geneva conventions notwithstanding, that's what is happening now too.
And if they burnt witches back then, now we have gays.
The only thing I find different is that, these days we do everything with a James Bond-like sophistication. I guess in those days if you wanted to kill someone, it would be a very messy affair with a lot of splattering of blood. These days it can be done with a grease-like polish. Same goes for almost everything else.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. All progress is an illusion.

The Procrastrinator Cometh!

Well, I don't know when I became such a HUGE procrastrinator. I have a 571 project, a term paper, a term project and a programming assignment looming ahead in the coming two weeks and here I am, cool as a cucumber whiling away time watching TV, doing all sorts of things that could take a backseat. I have promised myself that I'd make some headway today with my CS 571 project. The task is just made harder by the fact that C on Linux throws up some weird Bus errors and Segmentation faults for no reason. Vijai suggested I blog about this topic but I wasn't really keen at that time. Now after spending 3 hours trying to debug I-know-not-what, I am ready to rant about it.....aaargh!
When was the last time a programming project drove me nuts to such an extent???!!!! I think it must've been way back in my second year, perhaps. If only gcc would give me some kind of decipherable errors, I would be happier. And I am NOT happy with procedural programming. I prefer the OO model.
Anyways, I think I will be a way more happier kid when I am done with all these deadlines. Oh and I just realized that I made a major mistake at work today. I had to upload some files to the webserver and I overwrote some recent ones with old ones. And my boss is just sending me mail after mail about some flash quiz that is not working on the site. I didn't even code that quiz and heaven help me if I have to read that code and find out what's wrong with it. I suppose all this means that I would have to go to work at 8 AM in the morning (sigh). Happy me!
The only consolation: tomorrow's payday!!

If this were hell...

Maybe this world is another planet's hell.
Aldous Huxley (1894 - 1963)

I found this funny. Just imagine if this were indeed another planet's hell....what sort of punishments would the powers-that-be devise for the people sent here?!!? Here's some I came up with:
1. Watch endless Tamil mega-serials.
2. Condemned to call 1.800 numbers and keep listening to machines for hours. You know, the ones that keep on going "Press 1 if you want blah..Press 2 if you want blah..Press 9 if you want blah..". Hell, all I want is to talk to a person which you will never get to and worst of all, the machines will never get tired of talking to you! Can't think of a better punishment.
3. Listen to George Bush's talks. (By the way, I can't imagine why he looked like he was about to deliver an obituary when he appointed Condi Rice to Secy. Of State. I quite honestly thought that that grave air was quite out of place. Dubya, after nearly 6 debates, you still haven't learnt what expression to use when!)
4. Browse the net without pop-up blockers.
5. Be an MP in the Indian Parliament when they start throwing slippers, bottles or have shout-matches.
6. Read Salman Rushie's Satanic Verses (most likely, the average joe would become nuts trying to figure out what this guy's trying to say)
7. Travel on Mumbai's electric trains in peak hours.
8. Have a friendly neighborhood dog that just won't stop barking/howling through the night.
9. Try to get a license from an RTO office without a bribe.
10. Eat American food.
11. Try to explain to a confused kid behind the desk at a fast-food store what "Vegetarian" means. When you get done, he/she goes , "Umm..so, if you don't want anything in there, like what do you want???"

That's for now..feel free to add to it.

Diwali Mela!

I suprise myself sometimes. I just finished cooking about the best dinner I have ever made in my life and I didn't even set about it seriously!!! I was just doing it in the most offhand and casual manner!
The menu this evening:
Coconut Payasam
Okra curry- south Indian style
Garlic Rasam
Fried papads.

I offered whatever I had cooked to God and after naivethiyam, when I tasted the coconut payasam, I almost swooned with delight!! I tasted like heaven. And the garlic rasam has left its aroma on all my jackets, gloves et al that I had left lying around the house. Oh, and I had fried papads for the first time in the US. All in all, a delicious Diwali mela. Too bad it became too late to invite anyone over.!

The Sacred Ash

I am reading Freedom at Midnight by Dominique LaPierre and Larry Collins. There are often references in the book to crazy customs in "God-obsessed" India like smearing ash. Frankly, it sort of annoys me to the point that I feel compelled to write about it! The wearing of the "Vibhuti" or sacred Ash has deep philosophical meaning in Hinduism:

When any object is consumed by fire, it becomes charred. If that black residue is burnt again, it becomes white ash. White ash continues to remain white even when burnt again. This shows that white is the ultimate and black is proximate to it. Science tells us that diamond and coal are basically one. White and black are not colours. The primary colours get separated from the objects to which they are attached when subjected to the test of fire and ultimately white. Similarly, in the mental and spiritual place, the Ultimate Reality is Siva, who is white and proximate to Him is Parvati, who is dark. When we test everything in the fire of Jnana, or true knowledge, the residue is Siva. Ash in the material plane corresponds to Siva in the spiritual plane. We smear our bodies with the sacred ash to remind ourselves of Siva and the fact that the ultimate goal of life is Siva.

Hinduism is perhaps as complicated to fathom in a single glance as the land that nourishes it. It is sad that the populace of Hindus themselves are vastly unaware of the reasons behind their customs. If the Hindu population itself is ignorant, is it any wonder that the world chooses to ridicule their ideas??

Interesting Perspective

Those of you that can read Tamil, please visit the following link:
http://www.kamakoti.org/tamil/68guru.htm
You might probably need Tamil font downloadable from the site or perhaps not. I cannot remember. But it is certainly worth a look....

Thiruvedagam

Only two things have left me totally awestruck. The first one was some 10 years ago. My father was posted in Madurai in Southern Tamilnadu, once erstwhile and rich capital of the ancient Pandya kingdom. We set out on an evening journey to a temple nearby which my father was really curious to visit. I was not very happy with the idea because I was missing 'Pepsi Ungal Choice' on Sun TV that evening. So I was kind of dragged kicking and crying to this temple and naturally, wasn't really favourably disposed.
We left the city lights of Madurai for the rural countryside. Halfway through our journey, power went off and the road on which we were traveling was pitch dark. To add to it, as we neared Thiruvedagam, we slipped off onto a mud road and it was one bumpy ride! Finally, the driver stopped in the midst of a jungle, or so it seemed to me. I got out the car and couldn't see a damn thing to save myself and was kind of looking to the heavens for help, when I saw the silhouette of a soaring gopuram or temple tower right in front of me. It was the night of a full-moon and the twilight sky was sparkling with a few stars and it was the first time I was totally impressed. The temple tower was as ancient as anything and the sculptures were as life-like as anything I had seen in my life. We went into the temple. It was bereft of electricity and the only guiding light was a single light from the garbhagriha of the Shiva sannidhi.
We explored the temple in the light of lamps and moonlight. The soaring monolithic columns, immense prakarams, life-like sculptures and the astonishing beauty of the deities left an indelible mark on me. I read up on the sthalapuranam of the temple after we returned and it is one of the places of historic importance which steered the course of the Pandya kingdom.
The sad thing is that the temple had no electricity or even oil to burn lamps in the sanctum sanctorums of the deities because of lack of money. How poor can a temple be that it doesn't have oil for the lamps? There are scores of temples in southern Tamilnadu suffering from lack of attention and funds. These architectural marvels largely remain unknown to the world at large, hidden away in the remote villages of Tamilnadu.
Whenever I get misled by the propaganda that India is a god-forsaken land of teeming, miserable millions languishing in filth, heat and dirt looking toward the west for redemption, I remember these masterpieces of an era of splendor, wealth and culture unsurpassed.

Purple: The Color Royale

Why is purple symbolic of royalty?
Find out at:
http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0410/feature2/index.html
Cheers!

Boredom

There is only one constant thing. Everyone, everywhere is bored. It goes to prove that boredom is not a function of time, place or position but of the mind. My friends in India are bored despite the fact that they are all working full-time and are in over their heads with lotsa work. I am bored sitting here in the US and doing my MS. So it doesn't come as a relief to me to know that I will be bored even if I start working.
Now, there are these few gifted jeevans who are not bored. I told my roomie that I was tremendously bored. She told me that it was boring to get bored daily!! I scratched my head and thought about that....Perhaps one day I will get bored of boredom.
And another thing is that everyone, everywhere is lonely. All of a sudden, when you get out of college, somehow this menace creeps in. Everyone is complaining that they don't have a friend they can talk to daily and share things. Reason: everyone's busy. I was of the opinion that this malaise affects only those in the US. But in India, it is the same deal.
So finally my gyaan for the day: Better stop blogging about nothing and get back to reading RFC 1771 about BGP...(sigh)....

False God Syndrome

Apparently, all or a majority of us suffer from False God Syndrome. Apparently, we think everyone else is having a free ride while we are the only ones having all kinds of problems in life. This is supposed to cause all kinds of stress related problems. I confess I've been in this boat many times..well now, I have a name for it (as if it is any consolation!).

Favourite Things...

1. Lazing on the bed after the alarm has gone off...
2. Love it when pets cuddle up with me....
3. Smell of wet sand....
4. Colors black and royal blue.....
5. Aloo Mutter and Kashmiri Naan (Always my favorite!)
6. Quake III (with cheats on!) and NFS II (God Mode....racing on the Country Woods Track with El Nino!! Beat my bro everytime we ever raced that track!!)
7. Adrenalin rush of success....
8. Laughing till tears flood my eyes...
9. Action movies....
10. Actors Madhavan (who else??!) and Surya......
11. Sourav Ganguly, Shoaib Akhtar, Steve Waugh......
12. Tamil gaana songs....
13. Traveling on Electric trains in Chennai....
14. The countryside in the Madurai-Theni area....
15. Temples of Tamilnadu....
16. Well sung songs.....

I think that's already toooooooooooooo many...the list could go on....

Casa Fiesta

Had Mexican food at Casa Fiesta- Cheese Enchiladas and Rice. Actually, the rice tasted like our own Indian Tomato rice. Watching Kyun! Ho Gaya Na....absolutely no chemistry between Vivek and Ash. And Aishwarya doesn't suit the role....she is not naturally bubblicious. And wah re wah, Ash's style of handshaking ka to kuch jawab hi nahin, yaar! It is like this: you just extend your arm straight out toward the person's face. It is as if the face is going to handshake..or maybe, I should say faceshake...whatever. I am spouting a lot of nonsense....

Vengaya Sambar and Samosas!

I have invited a friend over for dinner tonight. I started cooking rather gingerly. Recently, I seem to have acquired this habit of putting too much salt in everything. I add only a pinch but somehow that pinch becomes too much! I made rasam the other day and when I tasted it, it was like I had made it out of sea water!!! Anyways, to make a long story short, I was very careful with my salt today and the result is pretty good...
Oh and I tried Vazhaikkai curry today for the first time in my life and it has turned out very well.

Here's the menu today:
Entree: Samosas (courtesy, my roomie)
Vazhaikkai Curry
Rice
Onion Sambar
Garlic rasam

So, how has my Sunday gone? As usual, doing nothing...just slept and slept and cooked and now eating and then sleeping......

Sick of the "War" on terror

The one thing that has always unsettled me is that people tend to think too much in simplistic terms. Good Vs. Evil. Black Vs. White. America Vs. Bad Guys. This also goes to the Sept 11 attacks. When journalists and Americans talk of how 9/11 "fundamentally changed the world", it sometimes palls on you. It is this fundamental idea that somehow the happenings in America are going to "change the world" and so we should "crusade" to protect the world that is nauseating to many around the globe. It is not as though terrorism was born after 9/11. Terrorism has tormented millions before 9/11, continues now and will continue to do so in the future. Millions lose their lives to explosives and misguided ideologies everyday. Lives, infrastructure, dreams, hopes are shattered by terrorists. In India, we have terrorist attacks everyday in Kashmir. The 1993 blasts in Mumbai, Parliament attack in 2002, the Swaminarayan Temple affair in Gujarat, LTTE attacks in TN, recently the attacks near the Taj hotel in Mumbai........ the list is long and weary. So many Indians lost their lives. But then, we are supposed to respond in a "mature" fashion. Even when there is a blatant attack like Kargil, we are supposed to practice "restraint" and "caution" and act "wisely". Oh no, India can't attack anyone like the mighty US can at will. I mention the case of India because I am Indian. I am sure every other country has the same problems.
The point I am trying to make is that 9/11 did not herald the birth of terrorism. It merely struck home forcefully. So people should stop acting like it is a fundamental world-changing event. America is a nation well-protected by its natural boundaries. It has fought all wars abroad, none at home. And politicians grew complacent in that fact and pursued policies they knew wouldn't have any physical, literal impact back home. Well, 9/11 just proved that wrong. The message it sent was: You think you are invincible at home? Well, no more. When journalists say that the effect of 9/11 was more psychological than anything else, it is so true. Well, immediately America had to be seen as taking action and now we are in the middle of a big mess in Iraq and Afghanistan and none the safer for it. The "caution", "restraint" and the "maturity"...where did they all go when home is attacked and the blood that is shed is one's own??!!!
9/11 was bad. 3500 innocent lives were lost which is really upsetting. But it is not such a life-altering event for others around the globe who are used to such devastating losses. So Bush and others should stop pretending they can't understand why there is anger against Bush the world over. Terrorism is real, yes. You got to know of it only now.
As for myself, I am sick of hearing about this topic. It is like nothing else is more important. As Ian Malcolm put it so aptly in Jurassic Park, "Life will find a way".

Honor among Vending Machines

We have this finicky vending machine in the basement of our office building. Somedays, it won't give you anything for your money and somedays it will give you two for the price of one. A couple of weeks back, it held back a Lays potato chips packet I wanted. I tried banging, wriggling my hands through and a lot of things but it refused to spew it out. Well today, I went downstairs and I found a woman doing acrobatics to reach through and grab her Cheetos packet. I think the vending machine is not a morning person. Anyways, I tried to help the woman and put in 40 cents to get gum and push the Cheetos along the way out. Guess what happened? The Cheetos packet didn't budge but the cranky vending machine gave me two gum packs! I guess it was compensating me for my loss of a couple of weeks back. There's honor even among vending machines.....hmph.

Compelling Quote

I was browsing through MIT's vast free Virtual Access resources when I came across Bartleby's Online Books page. I found this quote staring at me in the face on the home page and found it just too apt and too compelling on the eve of the final Presidental debate:

Wherever the standard of freedom and independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will her [America’s] heart, her benedictions and her prayers be. But she goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy.
John Quincy Adams

By the way, grad students, do check out MIT's Virtual Courseware. They have all the courses, lecture notes, reading lists, assignments and projects for the courses they offer. Really neat.

The Winds of Change

I feel I have changed a lot over the past year or two. There was a time when I was really sensitive and used to agonize over a lot of things: comments, little mistakes, stupid little happenings. But these days, it doesn't bother me so much. I have just learnt to take it in my stride and move on. Of course, I am sensitive even now at times. Undeserved rudeness and harsh words from some can still put me off but I guess I just look past them easily. Another common cliche I've heard often but never understood: "shifting sands of life". I never truly fathomed the meaning of this until recently. Way back during my 9th grade, I was part of this great group of friends- 5 in all. Amongst them, I was very close to a couple of girls and I thought I could never be as close with any of the others. That was true then. Now, after 10 years, one of them rang me up. She is in the US on deputation with a company. We were chatting away forever! And we found ourselves sharing a lot of personal things, laughs, sorrows, upsets. And she is one of the people I thought I couldn't be really close to. We were heady competitors in the academic arena back in school, fighting over ranks and prizes and quizzes and we had a lot of disagreements. Somehow, all that seems rather insignificant and funny in retrospect. We've planned to meet up soon. As to the other girls, I am not in touch with them.
I guess it is true that there are no permanent enemies or friends in life. People change. Relations change. And if we have the gift of a bad memory (as I do), life's an all-you-can-eat buffet.
There's one thing I've learnt and that is to never reject a hand of friendship. Sometimes, we tend to live on memories and feel comfortable with our established set of friends and turn away new relations. There's nothing more regrettable in life because you never know when you will be an "outsider" searching for a friendly word, a friendly smile or just a caring "how do you do?" from somebody.

Lunch at Frankfort

I had to go to Frankfort for a meeting last Tuesday. For those not in the know, Frankfort is the capital of Kentucky. As almost all US state capitals go, it is just a small town. It was a lovely day and the scenic beauty was truly breathtaking. The area where I went is the old Frankfort area which is truly village like in its style of buildings and environs. I felt as though I were in some European countryside village. In such an atmosphere, one tends to forget that I am in the US of A! Had lunch at the Kentucky Coffeetree House. This again was an old-style cafe. The inside of the cafe was styled as a library-like used book store. There were plumpy sofas and spare tables for those who preferred that style and the tables were interspersed between the aisles of used books. And we were served in a straw basket. I had butter scones, Three bean salad and a coffee called Autumn Breeze (most appropriate for the season!). I had never tasted scones in my life before except reading about them as being part of an English tea. I had cinnamon scones with butter and boy, were they a delight!!! And I found some real classics in the store like Virgil's Aeneid and Homer's Odyssey and many, many more......Of course, the idyll has to end somewhere. So I had to get back to the Univ and classes and assignments and deadlines and blah, blah, blah.....

Bad day!

It is one of those days. Nothing goes right. I search frantically for everything from my wallet to clothes this morning. I forgot where I put some important papers. My boss e-mails me about some stuff I should get done by the end of the week and my supervisor tells me I might not be able to work tomorrow. And I have an assignment that is getting on my nerves. And to cap it all off, the Campus network has blocked my IP because I have a virus on my computer. So I can't access the net from home! And there's a strong possibility that I might have to move from my present apartment at the end of this year which is just one more headache out of many.

Kool Kerry Vs. Grumpy George

Well, the library is hell bent on charging me a fine for a book I didn't lose. The funny thing is that I was told that I had to pay a $65 fine as cost for the book + $20 as overdue fines. I asked that if the book is lost, then where does this issue of overdues come in?? And I am being told that there will also be costs to cover the "overhead" involved in searching for my book within library premises and paying the search party!! I thought that is what the salary that the University was paying the library people was for! Anyways, so I am incurring a cost for a book on philosophy that I didn't read at all and didn't lose (the fact being that I returned it promptly because it bored the jeepers out of me).
Bush seemed certain in the debate yesterday. Russell wrote, "The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts." Whether he is a fool or a fanatic or both, I leave you to decide. Kerry was cool whilst Bush was ruffled. All in all, a good 90 mins worth of entertainment. And somehow Kerry seemed to understand that no matter how strong you are, you cannot go it alone. Strength does not guarantee success. Perhaps Bush has to take lessons from corporate America about teamwork (I do think Bush went to Harvard business school?? Didn't they teach him about teamwork?). And Kerry seemed more patient and willing to wait and make long term changes in the world order than Bush who just wants to shuffle the power balance anywhere and everywhere whenever he feels like it.
Being directly involved in a war definitely changes life perceptions. Kerry has it. I can relate to it in a much smaller scale from my own experiences(of course, I haven't been in any life threatening war or situation though sometimes it seemed that way to me when I was in high school and the High School Italian mafia threatened to trip me in the hallway!!!).
Meanwhile, while I am sitting here blogging, I have a lot of unfinished things on my agenda like laundry, homework, papers.....