2008 = 365 + 1

I sat down to write about the year that is about to end; 2008 as it happened to me and many. The year brought lot of ups and tremendous number of downs. But its no fun writing about what has happened to me or to the country or to the world. Everyone will write about economy, Obama, terror attacks and many more facts of 2008. 

So let me try and put it in a different way.   2008 was a leap year and that means one extra day, 24 extra hours, 1440 extra minutes, 86,400 extra seconds or 86,400,000 extra milliseconds. Why am I counting to milliseconds? …that millisecond mattered to Usain Bolt or Michael Phillips who made history at the Beijing Olympics. That millisecond also mattered to the fortunate passenger at the CST station who just missed the bullet and also to the unfortunate passenger who wasn’t that lucky on 26th November.    

As I think about the year gone by, I can’t resist thinking about that extra day. What day would you choose out of the 366 days that did matter the most to you; in a good way or bad? For everyone, there could be that one day of this year that changed something dramatically in their life. It could be the best thing that ever happened to you or could be the worst nightmare that came true on that day. You will either hate it forever or cherish it forever. All in all, you will never forget that one extra day.   

Million dollar question!! Or should I call a billion dollar (bailout question) is that if not for the extra day, could we have avoided the economic crisis? Who knows? For now, I will welcome 2009 with open arms and clear mind… 

Happy New Year to all!!! 

A Million Dollar Movie ... Slumdog Millionaire

Bottom Line is that this movie is brilliant. Ok, I said it. Now let me elaborate. But I would want to ensure that I won’t give away the movie as I sincerely want the readers to watch it.   

I was wrong when I thought that a love story cannot be attractive and appealing to me. Slumdog Millionaire did just that. A story that is close to an Arabian Nights tale with current affairs, brutal reality and pictures so real that you can feel the movie. Many thanks to Danny Boyle and his wonderful crew for this wonderful treat on the Christmas Eve..   

There are several reasons why I liked the movie. Let me begin with the most obvious one. The movie takes place in Mumbai.. Aaamchi Mumbai!! The movie is shot in the extreme interiors of the city; by the big sewage pipes, slums, dhobi ghaat, filthy toilets, brothels, call centers, chowpati and last but not least by the C.S.T. railway station. However, there is not a single frame when I was ashamed at what I was seeing. The beautiful work of the cameraman and the smooth direction blends each shot perfectly to the need of the story.    

The story is about a boy from slums in Mumbai who is on the Hot seat of “Who wants to become a Millionaire?” and is close to victory. Everyone is surprised at the knowledge of this uneducated chai wala to an extent that the cops interrogate him. The interrogation takes us through his life story. The story of his life reveals the secrets of the notorious city and also exposes how his practical experiences helped him answer the questions for the “Millionaire” show.    

The movie touches topics that corrode the city to failure and also those that lift the city to success; from the lust of brothel to the love of bollywood, from the dirty gangster network that grows like a weed to communal riots that rottens the society, from the bone chilling reality of the child torture to thriving call centers. The movie throws at us the horrific facts of the dark side of the city and at the same time presents with the tickling humor of love for Bollywood. And all this has the central them of love.

The movie has 3 lead characters that meet at 3 different phases of life; childhood, teenage and adulthood. The brilliance of the author and director ensures that the story grips the audience and makes each character more truthful to the storyline. Excellent and perfect star cast makes the movie very solid. It seems that most actors were tailor made for the roles that they played. No overacting, no frivolous melodrama and certainly no over analysis of any topic however serious the topic might be. The story flows smoothly and works itself to the climax that has the flavor of anticipation. The audience will get involved in the movie and with the characters.   

However, I must warn that few shots are graphic and troubling. “Slumdog Millionaire” is an offbeat movie but by no means can it be called a documentary or an art movie. It is as filmy as it should be; keeping in mind that the audience is international. I applaud the writer, director, cast and others linked to the book and the movie. I can predict this movie to go all the way to the Oscar nominations and give other nominees a fight for their money.   

I am glad that I watched this movie. It is an English movie but I will categorize this more as a Hinglish movie or even as a Hindi movie directed by a Hollywood director. A.R. Rahman is as good as always and even the Hollywood director couldn't resist putting some catchy background scores.   

Please note: Don’t leave the theater until after the credits at the end of the movie. That’s when earth meets the sky and Hollywood meets Bollywood.   

A Tooth Story

I finally managed to enter the dental clinic. Years and years of dental phobia had to be put aside as my tooth was killing me. Normally, I would rather accompany the Death than face a Dentist. The anxiety and fear of sitting in the Dental chair should be worse than sitting on the Electric chair. On an electric chair, I know the outcome.

On Thursday, I managed to visit the dental clinic. No surprises here. I had nurtured a bad tooth for a long time. Tooth number 19 (I had no clue that teeth had numbers) was long gone and it meant that the ultimate procedure of “Root Canal” had to be performed.

“A root canal is a treatment used to repair and save a tooth that is badly decayed or becomes infected. During a root canal procedure, the nerve and pulp are removed and the inside of the tooth is cleaned and sealed. Without treatment, the tissue surrounding the tooth will become infected and abscesses may form.”

– WebMD

My appointment was for Friday at 9 a.m. Against all odds, I managed to get up early that morning, take a shower, pray to the Almighty, dress up and walk out. The weather was as haunting as it could be; foggy with visibility less than 10 feet, low light and sweet silence. I couldn’t get scarier. It was a perfect setting to where I was heading. I was the first appointment of the morning. I sat in the waiting area looking through the misty glass at the parking lot where I could barely manage to see my car. The light from cars on the street dispersed in the fog and I could see the faint yellow candle like flicker each time a car passed by. The eerie silence in the clinic was broken by the radio that played Christmas carols in a low volume. This all made my heart pound harder and faster and I literally jumped off my sit when the attendant called my name.

The assistant calmed me and explained the procedure that I was to undergo today. All I could hear was words like drill, fill, remove, cavity, etc. I am much more scared of these words than words like taxes, interest, bankruptcy, recession, depression. Anyways, after I was scared to death, she placed a happy gas mask on my face. I think this is necessary to get the patient out of the trauma. I guess the gas worked as I was feeling slight numbness and was almost knocked out.

For the next 2 hours, the doctor and the assistant were boring hole in my teeth, digging up stuff, hammering, chiseling and polishing up things in my mouth. I have done most of this on an cast iron block in my smithy classroom during my engineering days. I had no clue all this can be performed on a tooth as well. If you are wondering about me, I was under anesthesia and had least/ no pain at all. The doctor asked questions and I was left speechless as I couldn’t speak even with my mouth open. I was in my own happy land as the artists were working on my tooth. Finally, the doctor was satisfied with the procedure and I was get go. Of course, I had to come back in less than a month for the crown.

I couldn’t feel anything on the left side of my mouth and I knew I was speaking like Marlon Brando from the movie “Godfather”. I had no control over that side as I rinsed my mouth and washed my face. I took my belongings and walked out of the clinic after 3 hours of a surgery. My mouth was still numb and was slightly high as a result of the happy gas.   For the last 2 days, I am having soft food and liquids as a precautionary measure. Nothing is hurting but I can feel something different in my mouth. The dentist did a great job as I have no pain. With the happy gas, anesthesia and pain killers, I shouldn’t complain. It should be a lot better than old times.

It makes me wonder whether I have overcome the fear of dentists. I don’t know. My next appointment is on Jan 6th and till then I will have time to think.

Passion Play

20,000 people at the Chidambaram Stadium and millions of viewers all across the globe erupted as the little master paddle swept the ball to score the winning runs of the 1st test against England.     

We saw another brilliant knock from Sachin Tendulkar. He is the 35 year old veteran of the game who has dominated the batting arena for over a decade and has held almost all batting world records. With 41 test centuries, 42 One Day centuries and close to 30,000 runs in International Cricket, Sachin has achieved what most can only dream about. The tally of his records and achievements can overwhelm anyone but the little master himself. For most he is the God of modern day cricket.

Sachin still remains a child and avid lover of the game of cricket. He is still the exuberant, enthusiastic kid that we saw 18 years back. The celebration today after the victory talks about the passion that is filled in this 35 year old. Punching his fist in the air, Sachin couldn’t and wouldn’t resist his emotions that have burst out every time the team has won. The excitement on his face after he became the 2nd youngest Test Century scorer in 1990 against England was the same as that we saw today.

Although 18 years have past, the delightfulness and the love for the game has never subsided in the Little Master. For a long time, he has held the beacon of competitiveness, teamwork and modesty. For years, he has made millions forget about their worries and has made thousands join him to celebrate Indian victory. Dileep Premachandran writes beautifully about the role that Tendulkar has played in the hearts of millions.

“Those that aren't Indian struggle to fathom exactly what Tendulkar means to so many millions, and it's doubtful whether even those that live here really comprehend just how much a part of the national consciousness he has become. He is such a unifying force, a personality capable of stirring the emotions in every nook and corner of a vast land.” 

Today’s victory is something special and what I would call “perfect timing”. As the nation attempts to rise after the inhuman carnage in Mumbai, the Mumbai lad himself rose to the occasion and brought back smile on our faces. 

He is no celebrity!!!

Ajmal Kasab is the lone surviving terrorist captured from the Mumbai attacks. He is responsible for deaths of 170 innocent people and numerous injured. He is responsible for several families that have lost their bread earner and loved ones. These acts of terrorism were in no means anything that any sane human would ever do. Ajmal Kasab is a terrorist and terrorists have no race, religion, family; they are no humans.

In the last few weeks, I have read a lot of media coverage on the attacks and heard several analysts talk about it. Knowing the basic identity of the terrorist is enough for the people of India and the world. We know their name, we know where they come from and we know why they came. I think that is enough to know about the terrorist. I feel the frustration when media provides frivolous information about Ajmal Kasab. For e.g. 

- Kasab wants to eat meat everyday and wants to watch movies of Amitabh Bachchan 

- Kasab asked his mother for blessings as he embraked for Jehad

Why should the people care about his likes and dislikes? Kasab is no celebrity and we do not want to get up, close and personal with the terrorist.   There were 170 people killed in the carnage; 3 top police officials, military and NSG jawaans that lost their life fighting for the country. I haven’t heard the media talk about the likes and dislikes of anyone of these warriors. What does Mr. Karkare like? Who was Mr. Unnikrishnan inspired by? 

If the media wants topics, then write columns about the soldiers that fight on the borders while we sleep in peace. We would like to hear their voices. I request the media not to try and make a human out of a terrorist. 

Memories

My friend called me last night from Mumbai. He was walking from the airport to his house and I could hear the busy traffic. The traffic was so busy that I could barely hear him. The traffic sound was like melody to my ears as it put me in trance and took me down my memory lanes to Mumbai; the cars honking, hawkers calling you, people speaking loud and various other constructions and road side chaos that is a routine in Mumbai. I miss all that.   

My friend talked about the play ground where we spend most of our childhood. He had just passed it as we were speaking. I could hear the excitement in his voice as he was narrating the surrounding. He was talking about kids rolling the cricket pitch, richshaw wallas dodging the puddles and people checking their watches as they rush to work. A scene that is very regular for any Mumbaite. He talked to me and I could visualize it sitting half way around the world.

I felt like Dhritarashtra as my friend became Sanjay to me. I was thoroughly enjoying every word he was saying.

Will Wall Street Journal become Hollywood Street Journal?

Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times have filed for bankruptcy. The bad market is not leaving the newspaper industry as well. In the midst, Wall Street Journal is now trying to compete with the market of New York Times.

Wall Street Journal or WSJ as it is commonly known has been the guiding star of Business news for millions around the world. So is the most well known newspaper of the business is about to change its image? As it turns towards NY Times, are we going to see a different feel of the newspaper?  I fear that the WSJ might lose its grip on the financial and business reader while trying to deliver to the standards of its competitor.

We have already seen color pictures on front page of WSJ as against its traditional look.  However, am I going to see a Jessica Simpson picture or a Super Bowl review on the front page of WSJ? I hope not.

GPS for Life!!

We all want a GPS for life; a device that will guide us through the thick and thins. We need a device that will recalculate the route and get us back on track whenever we take the wrong turn.

We desire for something that will take us to the destination. I think that such a GPS is inbuilt within each individual. It’s the voice in your head. However, that GPS needs to be brought back from the hands of our evil Gremlin (Richard Carson talks beautifully about this narrator in your head that needs to be tamed in his book “Taming Your Gremlin”). The voice within is the true path to success and the most advanced GPS that we will ever know. It’s the God to all of us. Spend time finding yourself and that will help attain Nirvana. The lyrics of a marathi song are apt to describe the same.

“Shodhishi manava raooli mandiri” (man strives to find God in temples)

“naandto dev ha aapulya antari” (God lives within us)

and the last 2 lines correctly call out the unknown path that we all travel through when we can avoid the road to perdition by peeping within. 

“Shodh re divyata aapulya jeevani” (find enlightenment within your life) 

“aandhala khel ha khelshi kuthvari” (to what effect play this blind game)

Journey "through" the center of the country

You may find the picture beautiful. It is a good composition with blue sky on top (signifying freedom) and man made road at the bottom (signifying journey). The dry grass and scrubs adding color to the journey towards freedom. The only problem is the slight glimpse of an interstate board that spoils the beauty of the picture. However, that board is supposed to the “Main Subject” of the picture. This is Sheetal’s “Attempt” to capture the board with her camera. 

You can see the board on the right hand side (blown up for clarity).  If you closely observe, you can see the west coast of the country on the board as well.  Apparently, that board shows the map of the country and mentions that we are at the center of the country. Sheetal in her excitement went a little off-center in capturing the center.   

In Rohit’s terminology, Sheetal is completely “Naapaas” (Fail) in her attempt. I agree… she truly showed “Gaarib” (Poor) skills over here. We went to the center and we came back and all I got was this lousy picture.

To add to the misery, Sheetal provided incorrect information. Now, nobody knows what this board was all about. Anyways, the talent still exists and will exist until proved otherwise.

I am leaving on a jet plane.. Don’t know where I will land again? :)

My flight was rerouted to another place about couple of hours away from my final destination. I hoped that they would put us back on the flight and take us to our planned destination. However, soon I discovered that the airline changed the route and took the flight to a third destination. Now, I was strangled at an airport that was smaller than the parking lot of YMCA. There was no way that I was reaching the final destination until I made a move. And so I did. I contacted the rental car office to know that they were out of cars. Hmm… let me think. I was stuck in the oddest place and had no where to go.    

Luckily, some gentleman just returned a vehicle and I got the weird looking orange color vehicle that had no cruise control or arm rest. I love to drive but now my feet hurt as the accelerator was oddly positioned, my arm hurt as there was no arm rest, my head hurt as I had not eaten anything since morning and my tooth hurt because.. well, I have a toothache for a week now. I reached my final destination after 12 long hours in air and on land driving over water.    

Altogether, I have managed to be in 4 different states and 6 different cities in the last 7 days (excluding home town and home state). So next time I get on an aircraft (which is tomorrow), I will keep an open mind and will be ready to step anywhere… even where no man has gone before.

A ray of hope...

The nation mourns as the city limbs back to life.

The night glows in the flicker of thousands of candles. People meet at Taj Hotel exactly a week after the carnage and inhuman slaughter of freedom in Mumbai; A vigil is observed at the Gateway of India. The vigil includes people from Bhopal who have visited Mumbai with feelings similar to that Mumbaikars and rest of India have today. It is a national tragedy. Today, December 3rd also marks the 24th anniversary of the Bhopal gas tragedy. It’s a shame that the stance of the government hasn’t changed a bit after 24 years of multiple instances when innocent lives have been lost. 

Today nobody is talking about being North Indian from Bhopal or South Indian from Chennai. For once, we feel Indian, breathe Indian. I wish that we all feel the same not only in the time of terror but also in the time of peace. Is this the beginning of a new India?

What are the odds?

Rohit riddles us as we drive back from Oklahoma City to Tulsa. With bullets in 2 consecutive slots of a pistol, will I roll the slots or take a shot after clicking an empty slot? It’s a game of probability and question is “What are the odds?”

Our topic today is not about the brain teaser; it is about the odds during my trip.

I drive with Sumeet from Dallas, Texas to Bixby, Oklahoma to meet Rohit, Sheetal and little Ruhi. We have rented a Toyota Prius and I am still surprised that we got the efficient hybrid car. The flat terrain of Texas (puts me to sleep) and further more the silent roads of Oklahoma (haunt me) is not the most exciting drives I have made in the country. Sumeet shuffles through the gizmos of the hybrid vehicle as I try to focus on the road. The topic of discussion is without any surprise the recent terror attacks in Mumbai that were still in progress. The series of what are the odds start exactly from here.

I just made a trip to India to visit my family. During my trip, I had a chance to show my friend from USA around the city. No surprise that I took her to the Gateway of India, showed her the Taj and walked on the streets of Marine drive as I talked to her about the Indian culture and other historical significance of various places. I would have laughed off if someone would have told me that in just over a month, someone would spread terror in the city. A terrorist would be shot dead at same spot where I was standing a month back. What are the odds? I told my friend about the wonderful Taj as I wondered the significance of the century old hotel that stood tall and proud. Only now, that I know the real importance of the Taj.

Reel forward to my visit to Oklahoma. Here I am sitting with my childhood friends (all from Mumbai) talking, watching and hoping for the terror to stop. We become food junkies whenever we meet and I don’t feel even a bit guilty as we dig through couple of cheesecakes, 3 trays of biryani, mouth watering poha and more (thanx to Sheetal).

To give Sheetal a break from the kitchen, we stop by the Red Robbins on the Black Friday. The traffic of Bixby on the Black Friday would make a person from DC laugh to death. I think midnight traffic over the weekend at DC can beat hands down the black Friday noon traffic at Bixby. Anyways, we get the corner booth at the RR with a TV set playing CNN. What are the odds? Four people from the same city, same school sitting at a restaurant half way around the world in a tiny town watching CNN that is broadcasting the news of terror of a city that we four are born and brought up. We were the only one from India in that restaurant and I wonder if the other tables were wondering the same thing as I was (except for the fact that they wont know what part of sub continent we are from).

The very next day we drive to Oklahoma City and stop by the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial. We read about the terrorism spread in 1995 when the Oklahoma building was blasted by terrorists. And here we were walking down the memorial thinking about a similar incidence that was currently taking place in our homeland. Terrorist act doesn’t differentiate person, religion, nationality.

We decide to have lunch at the restaurant called “Bourbon Street Cafe`”. Apparently, I will be at the real Bourbon Street at New Orleans in couple of days. What are the odds? Maybe it was a dry run of the experience that I would have in few days. Lesson learnt from the dry run is that I shouldn’t order what Sumeet ordered. His order was sweeter than the dessert we ate.

The last coincidence occurred that night as we were playing Taboo. Rohit had to just say 2 words “Player” and “Bricktown” for me to guess the right answer. We had visited the Mickey Mantle Stadium that afternoon at Oklahoma City.

This trip was a much needed break and it is always like being back home when we meet. The comfort that you have with childhood friends is beyond my understanding. I had met Ruhi once before and this time she could walk and talk. It was fun playing with her as she called out for me and Sumeet early in the morning. She was as comfortable with us as her parents were. I spent some time with my 2 year old nephew during my trip to India, played with Ruhi and am planning to meet the newest member of our group, Neel. That innocent age when voilence, terrorism, and worldly worries are aliens and unknown. I watched Ruhi play with us and I wished we all were kids again and played carefree.

“Yeh daulat bhi lelo, yeh shohorat bhi lelo, Bhale chinalo mujhse meri Javaani; Magar mujhko lautado bachpan ka saawan; woh kaagaz ki kashti, woh barish ka paani” Gist: I do not want wealth, fame or even my youth; Give me back my childhood and all the fun I had as a child. 

But, what are the odds?

WTF

The entire nation and the world watches the turn of events in Mumbai. Hotels burning, people taken hostage and open firing spoils the spirit of the city that breaths freedom or atleast claims that it does. I love the city and hate anything that ruins its balance. The city dreads from terrorism, internal communal differences and even the weather. The most it should dread is the date 26th. August 26th saw the bloody blasts in the local trains, July 26th saw the wet cloud burst that strangled the city to a stand still and yesterday, November 26th saw the worst ever fear of the city; terrorist opening fire freely at the most congested railway station and more.

I am very emotional about the city. And I do not want to write about the events as most of the news channels and bloggers might have covered them in details.

The last I heard, there were 125 calamities and several hundreds injured. We lost the best of police officials and several innocent lives were taken. We might have the entire police force engaged in the action along with army and several specialized/ trained personnel at the scenes. People are scared to go out and now they don’t trust even the best of the public places. A blast in the midst of a busy street is one thing and a blast in several well known hotels is another thing. It really makes me wonder about the security.

Talking about the security, here are few points that I fail to understand.

1. Who is responsible for the multiple failures of the borders (land and sea)? The blasts of 1993 were carried by explosives arriving at Shreevardhan (few hundred km from Mumbai) and yesterday, the terrorists had the nerve to land the explosives in the heart of the city. Is it that simple? Why are we pretending about the high security at the airport when the biggest channel of influx for terrorism is from the sea? Whom are we trying to fool? Answers…

2. The infrastructure doesn’t help us a bit. The city is the financial capital of the country. Oops!!! One of the most developing countries in the world. We boast about the great financial stability and the capital flow. Who protects it? A slap on the wrist of this city can mean billions of dollars. The stock exchange and most offices were closed today and that means money. The terrorists will target this city and several other metro cities because they want to make a statement. Who stops that? People who should stop that are fighting over language and regional issues. A bullet doesn’t see either; it will kill you, me and everyone who stands in its way. Grow up…

3. The biggest factor of all this is politics. Politics is sewage and most politicians are roaches who will not stop at anything; ironically, even radioactivity will not kill both. Stop publicizing about the parties and stand once for the real purpose that all are appointed for. I hate corruption but I would expect them to have their act straight after hogging money like a P.I.G. (Politicians in India are Greedy.) Take today for example. Why should the party leader and PM of the country travel to Mumbai when we know that security is busy fighting terrorism? What help are they to the issue at hand? They will involve cops and security for their own protection as they give hollow promises to the affected. The people of this city are educated and are not going to fall for this trap and show. My advice would be to hand each one of these politicians a gun and ask them to help fight the terrorist. “Roaches!! If you cannot help, then don’t add to the problem. Please come to the city after everything is clear or fight yourself.” I admire the top ATS official and several others who died fighting.

4. Does the government have the spine to take action? How many attacks and how many deaths are going to make the government take action? Actually, I don’t expect anything from them. Any other country would have revolted and pulled the terrorism from its roots if terrorists would have attacked their Parliament. But Indian politics will go in the route that is beyond my understanding. Attack on Parliament is a slap in the face of any country and we still believe in giving the other cheek for another slap. Gandhigiri will not help you here. Terrorists and parties will claim responsibility and everyone know the root region from where it all begins. Action speaks louder than words; However, the government is turning a blind eye, deaf ear to all this and more.

5. What do the cops have? How can 303 rifle stand against AK-47 or better? Rifles are also carried by few. The rest carry sticks. Will the people feel secured? Sticks and rifles might be fine for local gundas but for the organized criminals and terrorists who deal with much sophisticated weapons we have no answer. No wonder we lose our best during combats. My heart goes out to these braves who are killed relentlessly due to insufficient preparation and politics. What is the big achievement of sending a shuttle to the moon when security of the country is still in danger? There is nothing that shines about India Shining. It is India Burning and not India Shining.

The attacks we saw today are something we haven’t seen before. Internationals are held hostage and the attacks were targeted towards the rich and upper class. If that helps politicians to take action, then so be it. Mumbai and several other metros, hundreds of towns, thousands of villages and millions of Indians are watching every action. The act is live and everything is black and white. We are seeing what cops are doing, army is doing, media is doing and even what politicians are doing. Rahul Bose rightly said on CNN IBN about the city. People of the city are angry and they need action (something beyond answers).

How long will the people hold their emotions and anger? Do we want to see something like movie “Wednesday”? Will the common man rise? Or will the common man only hope for the best, watch the television, discuss among friends, curse the government and eventually forget until it happens again?

Time will decide. Till then, the only expression I have is, “WTF!!”

Good Morning Richmond!!

Ever wonder what each day brings to you; the purpose of waking up in the morning. The familiar buzz of the alarm clock wakes you up precisely the time when you want to sleep more. It’s the mechanical device that has taken over the morning cock-a-doodle-doo. Humans are not the only ones feeling the brunt of layoffs.

Its bright outside as the day light time is adjusted. The bed is warm and cozy while I dread getting out. Nothing around me has moved over the night. The books lie beside my pillow, the cell phone blinks red with few new messages, the pair of jeans lean on the chair while the guitar is still resting on the corner of the bed. I check the clock again to confirm the time. It is 7:35 a.m. and time for me to push myself out of the bed.

I get the most innovative ideas in the toilet. It’s a place where you are cut off from the world. With closed eyes and clear mind, my thoughts travel from one part of the world to the other corners of the galaxy; the topics range from clothes for work to eradicating world hunger. The hot shower wakes me from my thought process and brings me back to today. Yes, today is an important meeting at work and I need to prepare for it.

It is 8:05 a.m. and I still have few more minutes before heading out. I dress myself; most of the times the clothes are not those that I had decided in the toilet. But, who cares? A frantic search for the other pair of the socks ends up messing the closet. I can hear cars outside as my neighbors leave their home. And here I stand with 1 sock in my hand still not feeling my best and ready to welcome couple of hours of sleep. With no choice, I pack my laptop bag, pick up the cell phone and rush downstairs. The pair of socks is now stuffed in my pant pocket. I always wonder about my sequence of operation wearing shoes. It has been the same steps for the last 15+ years; right foot sock, left foot sock, left foot shoe and then finally right foot shoe. I think every person has the similar sequence in wearing shoe, dressing up and even wiping the body after taking shower. It is routine.

Wallet, watch and keys are the final pick ups before heading out. A cool breeze hits me as I open the door. It is sunny and crisp. I look at my car that has been standing out all night and is now bathe in morning dew. Couple of starts and the engine is roaring. It is very cold inside the car and I cannot hold on to the steering wheel. With numb fingers I change the gear and swirl my car around the cul-de-sac.

My next stop is Starbucks. Grande coffee is what I need as a replacement for the couple of extra hours of sleep. The dose of caffeine shoots up to my brain, flows through my blood vessels and screams “Wake Up!!! Harish”. It’s a jump start to a new day.

I feel all this every single morning and I thank it every single day. I get out of my bed, rush out of my house and walk out of the shop with the cup of coffee as I wish, “Good Morning Richmond!!”

Lunch Meetings

Food is one of the basic needs for survival and an animal instinct is to hunt for it. Mankind is no different. We easily get attracted to food and anything that entices you towards it.

My company is pretty proficient at work-life balance. People enjoy their work (or so they portray) but are very possessive about their lunch time. That is the hour of the day when my colleagues want to relax, forget about work and have a good time. Most people don’t want to sit in their cubes and stare at their computer during this time. Meanwhile, someone somewhere in the company is conspiring to steal that hour of personal time from his fellow workers. He wants to set up a meeting during the lunch time.

A response for such meetings is pretty lame unless the meeting provides free lunch. I have seen it work almost every time. Meetings with lunch provided are far more effective than brown bag lunch meetings. It’s a recipe that will never go wrong and get the right audience to attend the meeting. People WILL flock in for your meetings. They will be fine huddling into a small room and working the way the organizer wants them to. People get hypnotized and drop their weapons.

The organizer knows the skill to capture the attention of his request. He reads, understands, analyze his audience to understand their likes and dislikes. The meeting organizers have gone that extra mile to catch the pulse or stomach need of the attendees. They will provide the best food from the most popular restaurants. This ensures that conflicts do not reduce the attendance. By any means, he wants the invitees to get attracted towards his meeting. People will enter the dungeon (small meeting room) and ignore the warning signal in their head that is crying loudly “A FREE LUNCH IS ONLY FOUND IN MOUSETRAPS.” Alas, they will enter and they will find themselves caught while nibbling through the fresh sandwich or delicious pizza.

But what can you say? It is mans’ nature to follow his instincts and I am no different. I sign off as I see a tail wagging from my rear and my teeth protruding. Its time I turn into a mouse as I go for my lunch meeting.

So long!!

I feel LEFT out!!

I am left handed. And so are about 15% of people in the world. Its good to be different than the mass. However, being different comes at a cost.

It all began when I couldn’t even speak properly. My mom tells me stories about my grandmom who wanted to force me to become right handed. Eating with your left hand was just not acceptable for my aaji (Grandmom in Marathi). Actually, I can eat comfortably with either hands (I can eat with my legs if required… its all about food!!!). But that’s not what I want to talk about. Actually, I want to talk about the things that are so biased in this right hand dominated world. There are several instances that I can talk where being left handed was not only painful but also dangerous.

Teachers did not explicitly teach me writing. It is tough being left handed as most letters are being written differently. The letters are biased to right handed people; most if not all letters are more convenient for them than for me. I never understand why most letters face to their right and not left e.g. “b,c,e,f,h,k,p,r,s,t,u”. The ones that can be called left facing are “a,d,g,j,q,z”. My grip is funny (say a lot of people) and I attribute it to the way my writing style is developed. I tilt the paper in North East direction so that my wrist doesn’t hurt. I and all left handed people complain about the direction of script. As a left handed person, I always covered the words that I just wrote as my hand moved from left side of the line to right. I couldn’t see what I had written and sometimes saw that my sentence is either tilted up and down. The severity of the problem increased as I moved to higher grade and had to use an ink pen. Now my hands were smeared in ink and my paper was all blue. If seeing what you have written was tough, then ensuring that you don’t smug the writing was tougher. It took a great deal of practice for me to get used to it.

Chairs with desk on right hand always puzzled me. During my Engg. Days, I had a hard time finding a left handed seat. Most of the times, I had to join 2 right handed chairs and use the desk of the left chair for writing. Another problem during graduate days was the drafter used for Engg. Drawing. The drafters are made for right handed person. A lot of times, I hid the scale while drafting. This consumed a hell lot of time.

I can go on with my school day experiences and trouble due to being a left handed person. The experiences were miserable. However, there were times when I felt that it was dangerous being left handed. For example, the hack saw always hurt and sometimes didn’t cut the way it was supposed to. Similarly, any scissors were a pain in my hand. The ram or milling machine was a nightmare. The holding table was on the right hand. Hence, I had to work through to ensure that the wood was cut in a straight line while making sure that my left hand doesn’t get caught in the blade.

I never found left handed hockey sticks. It was a challenge teaching myself working with a right handed stick. Similarly, I bat right handed in cricket. I cannot arm wrestle since either me or the other person is not able to use the stronger arm. But I have no complains as I was never good at it.

As I mentioned earlier, my grandmom wanted me to eat with my right hand. I can do a good job eating by my right hand. However, it’s a challenge for me to use spoon or fork with my right hand. Hence, whenever I go to a restaurant I have to ensure that I sit leftmost at the table. My guitar had to be restrung for me. I know that we get left handed guitars. However, the easiest and quickest was always right handed. Any pen or pencil will have writing that will be upright if you hold it in your right hand while upside down if you hold it in your left hand. Similarly, a lot of mugs will have picture which you can see only if you hold in your right hand. We talk about ergonomics of a system but have failed in several e.g. most camcorders need to be held in your right hand only, most cameras have click buttons on the right hand side. Simlarly, blackberries have wheel on their right side. This restricts it usage with right hand only. The weirdest is the wrist watch. Almost all watches have screws on the right side. Wearing watch on your left hand is trouble for us as it gets caught if we are writing. Meanwhile, if we wear it on our right hand, then we cannot use the adjusting screw without removing the watch from our hand (try it yourself). We even call it ‘right hand’ or ‘correct hand’ while the other hand is called ‘left hand’ or ‘remaining hand’.

So all I have left to say to all the right people is that “Lefties have Rights too!!!”

Priorities messed up!!

Kudos to the new Nano by Tata; the Janta car worth only 1 Lakh rupees. Isn't this the dream of every Indian?

With the price of 1 lakh, I will not be surprised to see almost every family driving one on the road. Wait, does it have to be one per family? I mean with the price so low, I can imagine 1 car per earning person or even students whose parents can afford an extra car for their kid. So what is the problem? I thought about this and took no time to understand the evil of this car. To begin with, let me take an average housing apartment building in Mumbai. With about 20 families with an average of 3 people per family, I can see atleast 30-40 Nanos in the parking lot. Mummy and Daddy need 1 each for their daily commute and little Bunty or Nikki needs one for his/ her college. Throw away the bikes as they are risky and here comes the new Nano. This is just an example of the future. Are we ready for this?

The last time I visited Mumbai, I was scared to even walk on the road. The traffic, pollution should be worse than second hand smoking. With exponential increase in the number of cars on the road, it is evident that the Government needs to think about the infrastructure. As one of my friends says, we don’t wipe our ass before we shit. So why are we getting affordable cars on the road before improving the infrastructure. This is not only the story of Mumbai but also of every big city in the country.

We always debate in the US about arm and arm rules. The premise that we usually discuss is of controlling the access to arms to control he crime rate. Similarly, to control the traffic chaos on the streets in India, we need to control the access to affordable vehicles. At least until we have good roads and better traffic rules!!

Chris Rock (a stand up comedian and actor) has correctly said that to reduce the crime, we need to either stop selling guns or hike the prices of the bullets. Thus, every person shooting stray bullets will think twice before firing those expensive bullets. I think the Government of India has got that right. The hike in petrol price should curb the people from buying the inexpensive car. Think about it!!!

I can imagine a person going to the bank for loan. This loan is not for his car, but for the petrol required for the car. The Banks can come up with a new offer:

“Buy a Gas loan of 2 Lakh and get a Nano Car FREE!!!!”

With the car price of 1 Lakh Rupees and gas price of 50 Rs per litre, I can see people paying more on the gas than the car price in less than 1 year.

Finally, I would like the people to think about the consequences of the new wave of cheap cars. Here are few.

- The number of cars on the street increasing atleast 2X times
- Increase in Pollution, traffic and accidents
- Increased consumption of gas will result in higher gas prices
- Finally, we are setting ourselves up for a high inflation bubble