Us....

Here’s to our new life
You raised a toast
...Of the deep red Pinotage

The clank of glasses
It sounded different
From our previous times

May be the wine, may be us
Or the clinking of two souls
Brimming with hopes
Life does feel different, I ponder

[image courtesy: http://www.fotobank.ru/img/SF14-1859.jpg?size=l]

Change

Depressed
Losing sanity
Blurring vision
Fading horizons
Crushing monotony

Caged
Hands and legs tethered
Left to choke
For breath
For life
For space

Sucked out
Of energy
Of ingenuity
Of life

Need
Brevity
Peace
Death

Picture courtesy: http://anne.teachesme.com/

I’m moving on…!

Of late I am debating on cutting down on the newspaper expense. No, recession hasn’t cut into my household budget. Well, not yet at least. Simply that the amount of newspapers and business magazines that are available online at no price whatsoever is prompting me to take the decision. Everything from the ultra conservative and hushed-up Hindu to the glad-rag Times of India is available online. All it needs is just a click and a few moments of browsing to get hooked to the mind-boggling amount of online content. Even better, most of the newspapers have the e-edition of their daily editions online the same day. And you also get the e-editions of some magazines online. All for free.

Significant international business magazines including wall street journal, economist, businessweek, forbes and fortune are online with a treasure trove of their business analysis and latest in the business. What’s more, some of these websites have their content custom-made for the Indian region, which means you get to read the perspectives of famous market analysts and gurus on Indian market.

That apart, the prominent business dailies of India, economic times, businessline and mint are open for free-viewing. Financial times has a dedicated Asia Pacific page with news and analysis on markets. All these are excluding the countless websites owned by the television channels in India, prominent of them being NDTV and CNN-IBN. And the websites of news agencies namely PTI and Reuters.

How can the newspapers afford to put up almost all their content online for free viewing even when the online advertisement revenue is measly in these testing times of recession? I guess the Indian newspapers are banking on the plain fact that not many people in India have access to the internet. That makes sense.

So there it goes. I am going to splurge and make the most out of the free online newspapers much to the chagrin of our corner-street shop newspaper wallah. And you can’t find me dead, my head buried in a newspaper, literally!

I appreciate....

After a little gyaan from a senior colleague whose trite but meaningful ‘appreciate and be thankful for what you got rather than whining for what you don’t’ advice, I decided to really appreciate what I got. As clichéd as it might sound, the feeling is capable of generating some good vibes, I found out.

So I decided to jot down a little of list of things that I immediately need to appreciate:

• My very existence and the plain fact that I’m physically able and mentally sane (!)
• My sarcasm…!
• My very few but abundantly loving friends
• Mom’s dosas - It amazes me how she batters up using different flours in varying consistencies for dosas ranging from crisp to soft ones
• The Internet for having made the world accessible at the expense of a few keyboard taps
• Free online music and movies
• The internet radio that I discovered recently that is super cool and plays all the latest tracks
• Of course my job

PS: But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t just appreciate the Chennai weather. It remains just as oppressive!

Go Goa!

Lush countryside, dustless road drives, coconut palm trees that sway their head suggestively in the breeze, sinful sea food and lovely sun kissed beaches. In more ways, Goa can easily be mistaken for its striking similarity with god’s own country – Kerala. Only that there are relatively lesser number of firangs who whizz or strut around, as the case may be, basking in the sunshine in bare minimum clothes either lying in the beach or riding in the countryside on their rented bikes.

Goa’s beaches are inviting. Seductive, in fact, with their calm emerald blue water with relatively less tide bordered with coconut palm trees, super silky sand and above all clean. While few of North Goa beaches are frequented by local and foreign tourists alike, most of them are devoid any tourist attention, well almost. These beaches are unhindered paradises for swimming although tourists trickle in negligible numbers every now and then. That’s probably the advantage of visiting Goa during the initial times of the tourist season, relatively less crowd. Talking of which, the best time to visit Goa is from November to March.

Old Goa’s quaint churches have an unmistakable charm and the old houses, built in European style architecture, are a treat to the eyes.

Staying in Panjim is a good idea if you are planning to do a trip to the North Goa beaches, but if you want to visit the famous ones like Palolem in the South, you have to camp at Madgaon. In North, while Sinquerim, Baga and Anjuna are haven for foreign tourists who soak up some sun blissfully, Vagator beach is relatively crowd free.

Renting a bike is the best available option for getting around. Goa’s roads are equipped with road signs that are tourist friendly and it’s convenient to reach the beaches even without a map. In few places, like Anjuna, where there are both rocky and sandy beaches guidance from the local nimbu-pani seller comes handy for directions. The flea market in Anjuna that boasts of cheap clothes, junk jewellery and wooden knick-knacks is a haunt for white tourists but of less use for Indians. The shopkeepers don’t pay attention if you are an Indian and, in all probabilities, ask for an exorbitant price even for a silly silver ring.

Apart from the beaches, the lip-smacking Goan cuisine is a must try when in Goa – especially the Fish and Chicken Vindaloos. There are countless restaurants and beach shacks that serve fresh sea-food. There are also a few very good restaurants that serve fusion-cuisine, like the Goan-Portugese food. The availability of plenty of booze could be tempting, and there is the strong local delight Feni – brewed from cashew fruit.

There’s a weekly train from Chennai to Vasco and back which is on time, most of the times. It snakes through the picturesque Konkan stretch and is peppered with tunnels and the Doodh Saagar waterfalls. The journey takes a whole 24 hours, so if you are travelling on a stringent budget and have no time constraints the train helps save a lot of money. Goa’s only airport that sports a rather rundown look is located in Dabolim.

2008 - Was it the year or was it just me?

While the entire world plunged into recession and sported a gloomy look, I seemed to have had an okay year - taking two vacations in a year, trying out as many restaurants in the city as I can and hitchhiking on a relationship.

The eventful year had…..

1. A trip to Nepal – The tiny Himalayan country was lovely and I AM going back.

Eating out:

a) Bella Ciao – True to its word. Authentic Italian food.
b) Casapicola – Nothing but their Fish.
c) Don Pepe on ECR – Mexican? Excuse me!
d) Eden – Tiny menu but never boring.
e) Galloping Gooseberries – Only for their juiciest mushroom dumplings.
f) Cedars – Gooey affair, order carefully.
g) Osteria @ Deccan Plaza – Good Italian food with a hole in your pocket.
h) Cornucopia – Little on the plate, lots on the bill. The food fine nevertheless.

2. Shantaram, a gripping tale of a convict in the run. The only book that held my attention after The God of Small Things, long after it was finished.

3. Ridley, the Red Eared Slider in my life.

4. A job change that seemed almost imminent and faded into oblivion.

5. A trip to Goa – One can never get enough of this beach state, I guess.

6. Some good movies, thanks to bit torrent and mininova.

7. A wedding engagement in the family.

8. My first trek. Although that would fall in 2009, plans were made in 2008.

On Walking the red carpet....!

It's 4.32 and my eyelids are closing on me... I am back from the premiere of Vaaranam Aayiram only an hour back... first ever premiere in my life... Surya looks rather short than I thought he would be, Sameera had a cute smile and a weird hairdo, and the plump looking Divya is rather puny... well din't they say looks could deceive?

About the movie,it's quite long and since Gautham did not seem to have any intention of entertaining his fans, the movie remains that - a little drag and a little ordinary. Well, may be i come from the school of thought that cinemas have to be larger than life, but isnt that the case usually?

For a review of the movie, head here!

Five simple steps to know it is inflation:

Now that the hullabaloo surrounding the skyrocketing sensex is over, it’s time to focus on the inflation that is scaling new heights. And it’s quite easy to figure how it affects the life of a common man unlike in the case of sensex. All you have to do is just look around and yeah I did look around and found these:

1. When I decided to go on diet and switched to Parathas, little did I know that the Parathas would go on one too. Thanks to the inflation and soaring prices, the thick and delectable Parathas served at the office canteen thinned down and could easily be seen through if you lifted it up a little bit. So there goes sign number one, the prices won’t always go up but the quantities go down – an interesting balancing equation of sorts.

2. The thinning down formula applies not only to Parathas and Chappathis but for other inedible stuff too. For instance, the newspapers that used to be quite a handful for toilet reading suddenly became awfully slim without prior notice. It’s hard not to feel strange when you finish reading the papers before your nature’s call is over.

3. Now the toilet tissues would hardly get replaced and the liquid soap dispenser almost never gets refilled (at work). If that’s not enough, the TV sets in the canteen would disappear mysteriously, evidently in an attempt at cutting down the expenses for cable subscription.

4. Oh yeah, did you hear the railway announcement that they are going to add a middle berth to the two side-berths in regular and AC sleeper bogies. They actually did it and it makes you feel like you are a consignment of chicken if you are trapped in that seat unluckily.

5. And when the airfares fly through the roof, please also be ready to bear the brunt of infrastructure maintenance costs as the Airports across the nation are planning to levy service charges for passengers.

Start from home!

The other day I had to go to Chennai central station to see off one of my close relatives who was visiting us for a couple of days. The idea of visiting railway stations do not particularly enthuse me. For who would willingly want to subject themselves to the madding crowd, putrid smell of urine and the not-so-clean environment that prevail in the rail stations. Not that the government is turning a blind eye to the sanitation and hygiene issues, I think the issue of cleanliness and keeping our surroundings clean and orderly lies in the individuals’ hands.

Coming back to my story, our family wished the relative a safe and comfortable journey (which we did not anyway think was possible with the amount of luggage he chose to carry with him) and exchanged parting pleasantries. In the inevitable list of the parting ceremony was sipping coffee. Sipped we did and once the paper cups were empty, my parents were ready to throw them underneath the train. Were they unmindful of the fact that the train does move out of the station and the track will be littered after that? It can’t be!
It turned out that my mom considered tossing trash into the designated trash cans a noble act. I snatched the paper cups from her and tried to explain the whole thing.

It took me by surprise when she commented my act with ‘are you trying to be a Gandhi?’

Well, everything starts from home. I wondered whether there is any point in spending millions trying to educate and change people’s approach towards things. Afterall, old habits die hard!

Limited Edition!

Ever wondered what manufacturers do when experiments on ‘what could have turned out to be a coolest flavor’ prove to be a damp squib? Simple, they launch a limited edition of that particular product. Who knows? Just in case if the so-called consumers liked it, the product could even become a full-fledged one.

I figured this only recently.

Well, who wouldn’t want to have a taste of Lychee in their mouth every morning they wake up and night before hitting the hay? I did, atleast. Tempted by the idea, without wasting much time I picked the limited edition of ‘Close up – Lychee flavor’ while shopping recently for toiletries.

Bought I did and tried it the same night – only to realize that they didn’t mean the taste would be of a fresh tasting Lychee’s. I tried hard to recollect if atleast one of the fresh Lychee’s I had in the recent past tasted anything remotely or grossly displeasing like this. I fail.

I hate to think, and worse, feel the taste of a foul fruit twice every day in my mouth. To make things worse, I can’t help but repent on blowing money for a tube of toothpaste and end up not using it. I guess I’ll blame myself for the decision until the tube is squeezed to completion.

May be you would want to think twice before buy anything similar, for instance a ‘wood apple flavored toothpaste’ or a ‘paneer flavored face pack’, and of course anything that is limited edition.

And the things that I’ve learnt………….

Yet another year has just passed by and while looking back I don’t have a sense of accomplishment. If surviving the year doesn’t count as one. For that matter, I don’t feel a sense of disappointment either.

Can’t use phrases like ‘what a year it’s been’ because this year has just been yet another one. Have had people dissecting my abdomen in the name of appendicitis, changed jobs after taking up in less than a year, and resisted parents’ pressure for the inevitable – wedding, that is… and yeah if obtaining a driver’s license at the age of 30 count as an accomplishment, I’ve done something.

On the funnier side – if this isn’t funny enough yet – have visited the gym once dropping out the very next day. Still can’t figure why most people drop out soon after joining the gym. Well yes, doesn’t that top the list of my 2008’s resolutions – rejoining the gym that is? Now that brings up another revelation. I’ve learnt to laugh at myself, now that’s something.

Now for the resolution part:

a) Curb laziness – I realized that I hate last minute bill payments and the consequences associated with it.
b) Get a shape – Will I resist my laziness and stick on to a gym routine?
c) Drive – Something that I’ve not attempted in my entire life.
d) Learn a Language – French / Spanish / German? I’m contemplating…
e) Blog – Sticking to a stricter blogging routine…

And yes, before I forget, Happy New Year 2008!

The Jingalalaa life....

Finally and finally, contemplating on the good and bad effects of it, I bought TATA Sky that promises of DVD quality picture and CD quality sound… yes, the sound and picture are really crisp for someone who was ‘santusht with blurred and grainy images’ earlier. I was earlier in despair since there was so less to watch on TV and now there is real confusion as to what to watch. It does feel good to be spoilt with choices at times.

Holy Worker

I’m not an atheist nor do I hate idol worship. This could amount to blasphemy, however, I’m never inclined to join my hands in reverence for idols that are seen every nook and corner. I could be termed as an arrogant person, but as if to support my claim of questioning any idol’s sanctity, I witnessed something that made me contemplate.

Recently, I happened to visit a training institute since my company decided to conduct an inevitable training program over a weekend. In the reception area of the organization stood a giant Ganesha statue made out of black stone that was of six feet. It was evident from the surroundings that Ganesha is being taken care of everyday.

Not long before I finished this thought appeared a priest with his son – who was a frisky little kid not more than 8 years old. Apparently, he had come to perform the daily pooja for the idol. Fair enough, I thought.

The priest flung his bag in one of the visitors’ chairs and ordered his son to be seated while he finished his task. He began his job by stripping the idol of its clothes meanwhile inquiring the receptionist of his paycheck for last month. The idol is devoid of any clothes now and he took to the task of cleaning it. Once done, he started rolling sandalwood paste into his palm to festoon Ganesha – all the while chattering with the watchman about the prevalent weather and ordering his mischievous son to be calm.

He had now reached the process of adorning the idol with the garland – this time teasing the old cleaning lady of her husband’s visit to see her at the workplace. “He can’t stay without seeing you for a single minute, can he,” he sarcastically asked. The old lady, in turn, replied with her side of the argument and this went on for a while until the idol is fully adorned with garlands and the sandalwood paste with vermilion is pasted on its forehead. He gave the idol a fleeting glance after all is done.

The idol is now ready for ‘Aarti’ and he started to chant the requisite mantras – interrupting in the midst to call out his son to bring the ‘karpooram’. He did not forget to tell us to join the process – while still muttering the mantra – of Aarti.

All the while, Ganesha was smiling at him peacefully.

After observing him performing his duties with perfunctory ease, I couldn’t stop but think that it’s just his job and he treats it as lackadaisically as anybody else treats his/hers.

I couldn’t bring myself to think that the Ganesha idol has now become holier than it was before.

A Wanderlust’s debut travelogue

If the deafening noise of the roaring waterfalls did nothing to scare me away from poking my body underneath the downpour, the fear of any rocks rolling flippantly down the falls did prove a matter of concern for me. But not for too long. I couldn’t help but get used to the (meaningless?) fear of getting squashed – if that happened – in no time and join the number of half-naked men who took a bath amidst loud screeches.

That almost sums up my entire funny little trip to Courtallam. Funny little trip as in ‘the trip only lasted for two nights’.

The lushly peaks that border the place, the dense tree-packed landscape, lovely vegetation planted countryside, and not to mention the chill air with no pollution in the slightest form – especially without the maddening dust that clouds the roads after each vehicle passes by – makes the place awfully beautiful. Being the off-season period, Courtallam is blissfully devoid of its usual jam-packed tourist crowd. The place in itself seems to be enjoying its own tranquility and exuding a sense of self-pleasure, only if you care to read the signs.

Waking to the chitter-chatter of strange and unfamiliar birds and the squeals of monkeys trying to pilfer food from the tourists make a pleasant wake up call. For once, I wished that I woke up there everyday.

A tiny piece of nature’s bounty, Courtallam has numerous waterfalls – small and big – in its territory. All it takes is just a day or two to be able to visit all the attractions. Season starts from mid-June to mid-August.

During this monsoon season, the entire region wears an almost deserted look. However, there isn’t any dearth of enthusiastic – and often noisy – visitors who take a dip in all the falls with profuse merriment. Options to stay are plenty, in nominal charges, especially during the off-peak season.

More info>>

The art of saying No

It wasn't until an absolute stranger banged a phone on me that I started to think that I should learn the art of saying 'No', a tough one for me so far. I have never practised saying no in my entire life, probably for the fear of offending/hurting people's sentiments when I am asked for a help or to run an errand for that matter.

Hey, I'm looking for a change of job. You think you can help? Hey I want to rent a house in your locality, Can you give me some leads? I'm looking for people for my company, let me know if you have any contacts. You think you can finish this task before the deadline?

These and many more such requests / questions invariably receive an 'of course I can' reply from me. I tend to forget the whole thing of promise right after. Or in some instances I genuinely try and fail to follow up that leads to zero results. Nothing sucks as bad as breaking a promise or doing absolutely nothing about to fulfill the same and the strangest thing is that I'm absolutely aware of that.

However, it dawned on me recently – thanks to the wisdom of a telemarketing female – that I should start saying no. I usually do not attend calls from unknown numbers for fear of wasting time mostly or just to avoid those annoying calls trying to sell a holiday package, credit card or a club membership. I had a girl calling me recently asking me to enroll in their club. In an attempt to avoid her, I told her I was busy and that she could call me back at a later time (I sure have missed my chance of saying No at this point). She dutifully called me 'at a later time' on the same day evening and started explaining the benefits I enjoy if I were to join the club.

After a while, when I couldn't stand it anymore I told her that I was not interested in any club memberships. She could've thanked me before ending the conversation. But, she rather preferred to question me as to why I did not tell her at the first place if it was not of any interest to me before banging the phone on me.

Fair enough! I wasn't angry or upset. It suddenly dawned on me that it was my fault. Had I told 'No' I would've saved some time for her and a little invisible embarrassment for me.

Sometimes strangers teach lesson too.

Only in India where……… Part I

Disclaimer: Ranting of a fellow Indian in a slight hope that things would be better after atleast a couple of generations. (Only people in touch with contemporary India’s occurrences can relate to this ranting)

1) A State Government can overlook the Supreme Court’s order proscribing a state-wide public strike and still cripple the entire functions of the state in the name of a hunger protest. In the same breadth, Politicians can challenge the orders of Supreme Court and go on record saying that this matter is not under any court’s jurisdiction.

2) Friends kill each other for reasons as silly as not getting the first bite of the snack when they are drunk. Kill as in beating and thrashing the victim – their friend, mind you – to death in the sidewalks.

3) Individuals accused of road rage that seized 7 innocent people off their lives are sentenced a mere 3 years in jail. Even worse, they are granted bail upon appeal to the Apex court pronouncing them free.

4) Companies perform a thorough background check before recruiting for the lowest of the lowest positions. On the contrary, no criminal records – however in severity they may be – will prevent individuals from entering into politics. Worse even, they are conveniently elected into power by the so-called innocent people and enjoy ranks of cabinet ministers and even chief ministers of state.

5) Sensex soars to unbelievable levels and share market presents a rosy picture of the economy. However, on the contrary, there are still suicides of famine struck farmers induced by hunger. May be this is what they call ironic.

Looong weekend!!!!!!!

It doesn’t quite happen always and when it happens brings with it the thrills and frills of travel. A long weekend, that is. Here comes one. Courtesy the national holiday on October 2, 2007 for Gandhi Jayanthi that falls on a Tuesday. However, Chennaites have another lucky day off from work on Monday the first of October. Reason? The government (or rather the ruling DMK party) wants the Sethu-Samudram project to be up and running and not put on hold.

Be that as it may, I can’t help but be amused on the prospect of a four-day weekend. Got no great plans yet it feels good to laze around at home watching the rains slapping the bedroom windowsill holding Mario Puzzo or Jaishree Mishra (her book Afterwards I meant to say) and reading them on and off. Personally, I love the rains and the chilled breeze it brings along with it. Not to say the leaves those wear a fresh look of having been washed recently.

Talking about rains, it rained hailstones in Chennai city yesterday. Call it a curse; I couldn’t witness it since my office was located way off the beaten path from the city. I don’t remember watching a hailstorm in like two decades. The one time I remember about them was when I was still in school and it rained hailstones on a holiday. I collected them in a tiny plastic see-through case without knowing that they have very less shelf life. They didn’t last long but the joy of collecting them lasted of course. The memories more so.

If there are no sudden travel plans cropping up, I’m planning to shut myself home and finish those books I laid my hands few weeks ago. Ofcourse, if there aren’t any distractions.

By the Way, Happy Long Weekend!!!

PS: Now that brings a thought in me. How about starting a new community on Orkut? ‘Long Weekend Lovers’? Sounds like an idea indeed.

Dummie’s guide to reading the signs – (not strictly restricted to signs as in ‘body language’)

Disclaimer: Most (yes, most) of the points mentioned here are the author’s own observations. None of the instances mentioned here are to be considered as diagnostic in nature.

1) If your call in the middle of the night to a friend is greeted with an unusual, long vowelled hey (like heeeeeeeey), know for god’s sake that he’s digging his nose into something else. Like in the middle of courting a cute face on chat or simply in bed trying to get some sleep. If you intend to continue your conversation, you will most certainly be encountered with disinterested monosyllabic answers (ranging from ‘ohhh’ to ‘mm’). You will even be bewildered when he loses the track completely and tries to make it up by posing stupid questions.

2) Girls can fake attention like no other. For instance, if your conversation is responded with way too many ‘nods’, be sure that it’s time to decide if you really want to continue that. Same way, if you can make out a fake smile you would save yourself from the embarrassment of feeling exhausted for no use whatsoever.

3) On a date, if your date displays no visible preference for any of the exotic delicacies mentioned in the menu - and simply says you order - it is more likely that he or she has absolutely no idea whatsoever about the cuisine. May be you will want to consult him/her the next time (if at all there was one).

4) If you are jobless for a couple of months and had no luck in a million job interviews and are in the brink of frustration, try and keep cool. This situation most certainly lands you up in a nice job in the end. Rather unexpectedly when you almost gave up all the hopes.

5) Ok, it could be the best seller that won the biggest prize for writing. But if you couldn’t cross more than 10 pages no matter how hard you tried, the book, most certainly, is just not your choice. Chances are more likely that the book will lurk around in your bookshelf without you even being bothered about the space it occupies – if not for any other reason.

6) Ok, you think you look handsome and are smitten with your looks. But, on a Friday, if your favorite T-shirt decides to play the traitor and could no longer camouflage your flourishing potbelly; it’s high time you decide whether start going to gym or send those t-shirts flying out of the window.

With that, I guess I’ve exhausted my imagination. Well, it’s time for me to read more signs.

P.S: Thanx for the fellow bloggers for inspiring me to think (if I can call this inspirational thinking)

Tsunami-fear-stuck Chennai

It happened three years ago – the day after Christmas – but the gruesome and nightmarish memories are still intact. So when the Indonesian government raised a Tsunami warning after a bad earthquake hit the country yesterday, it was indeed time to panic.

For Chennai was one of the badly hit regions during the previous attack. This time around though, thankfully the officials made arrangements to keep away people from the beaches and the crowded Marina wore a strangely deserted look last evening.

Well, getting washed away by monstrous waves is the last choice for anyone to die. Ironically so in the often water-starved and monsoon failing Chennai. Thankfully, Tsunami seemed to maintain a low profile this time around. Probably bored she is. Or is it the silence before the storm??!?

Am I selfish??!???!

It does happen quite often with me. Could be universal in today’s life on the fast lane. But I did not particularly like it happening with me. Or rather I do not like my attitude towards it. My fret has enough reason. Here is how.

Having fancied pasta for supper, I decided to visit the neighborhood shop for the purchase of ingredients. A crowd in the middle of the road attracted my attention on the way and soon enough I found out that a reckless four wheeler driver ran into a two-wheeler leaving the victim bleeding profusely. The injured man was in his middle age and was bleeding from his bruises in his forehead and face.

By now roadside hawkers and a few others gathered around the victim sprinkling water on his face, making him drink some and trying to keep him conscious. I could see he was only partly conscious. The focus was on the injured man and the four-wheeler driver put the situation to better use. He sped away with his vehicle.

Some hailed a rickshaw to move the man to a hospital. He was still bleeding and hadn’t regained his full consciousness.

All this while I could only manage to pose a dumb spectator. I simply thought there are other people to help him and he doesn’t need mine. But had a hard time contemplating whether or not I’m right.

However, in the end I did not feel guilty although my heart sank for the man. I proceeded thinking that I have my pasta to cook.

Am I selfish, irresponsible, and lack sympathy?