Ramble On ..

Nikon 35mm & 50mm af-s lenses

2011-06-18T21:14:00.000-07:00

Tokina 100mm 2.8 Micro

2011-05-16T10:23:00.000-07:00

Hoya 72mm Filter

2011-05-06T13:20:00.000-07:00

D3100 Kit

2011-04-18T11:12:00.001-07:00

Nikon D3100

2011-04-05T19:07:00.000-07:00

Ooops!!!

2009-09-14T11:50:00.000-07:00

This reporter has some sense of humor.

"After his arrest in Pakistan in 2006, Britain sought his extradition in the airliner bombing case. But he escaped when Pakistani police officers accompanying him back to prison from a court hearing in Karachi agreed to stop at a mosque so he could pray and — as the police told it — slipped out the back door."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/world/europe/15london.html

Hell hath no fury ..

2009-06-26T06:33:00.000-07:00

.. as a moviegoer scorned. Especially, one who opened up his wallet to dole out $30 for two IMAX tickets to the kind of rubbish (aka Transformers 3) that I wouldn't even bother seeing on DVD. James Berardinelli does a much better job rubbishing the movie the only way he can so I'll stick to my frustrations.

We booked the tickets in advance - so there was an air of inevitability about me as the date was approaching. I kept justifying to myself that Transformers 3 is the kind of movie that can only be so bad - especially given the first installment which I rather liked. Unfortunately, the first one was the exception to the rule that Michael Bay should stay away from movies.

Modern Indian History

2009-03-06T06:29:00.000-08:00

Ramachandra Guha's "India after Gandhi" about India's postwar history is absolutely fascinating. The man's writing style is thoroughly engaging and mostly devoid of bias. It's funny that I decided to pick up the book after reading a favorable review of the author's works on Cricket. A man as versatile as Guha deserved to be read - and my 800 page gamble has been vindicated.

It is an interesting complement to Tariq Ali's - "Duel" about Pakistan. While the former is a work of history (100 pages of references) and celebrates the exemplary leaders (Gandhi, Nehru, Patel) and officials (Menon, Munshi, Sen) who literally cobbled together India against all odds, the latter - a much shorter work spun from a wellspring of the author's experience with the Pakistani establishment - is equally engaging and offers a contrasting view of the endemic broken-record behavior of Pakistan's political and military leaders starting with Jinnah himself.

That most post-Independence generations of India like mine have a hard time reconciling with the fact that there was no "India" as we know it before Independence is a testament to the work of the founding fathers and more than anything else, the majority of the vastly illiterate and indigent populace who had the maturity to unite as a nation in spite of the multi-dimensional differences. Against all odds (and I only have an appreciation for it now), India came to be - it is something to be celebrated and must serve as a source of inspiration for every Indian.

Ratzinger under fire

2009-03-06T06:25:00.000-08:00

Ratzinger has come under Fisk-Fire this time around in one of his typically firebrand articles where no quarter is spared .. but there was still room for some humor.

"ex-Cardinal Ratzinger (anti-divorce, anti-gay and anti-aircraft, as I always remind myself)"

Read this for the anti-aircraft reference.

ha ha ha ..

2009-01-23T07:26:00.000-08:00

Point-and-Shoot Does Not Preclude Thinking

Butt Hole Road

"Mr. Bailey, who grew up on Tumbledown Dick Road in Oxfordshire, and Mr. Hurst got the idea for the books when they read about a couple who bought a house on Butt Hole Road, in South Yorkshire.

The name most likely has to do with the spot’s historic function as a source of water, a water butt being a container for collecting water. But it proved to be prohibitively hilarious.

“If they ordered a pizza, the pizza company wouldn’t deliver it, because they thought it was a made-up name,” Mr. Hurst said. “People would stand in front of the sign, pull down their trousers and take pictures of each other’s naked buttocks.”

The couple moved away."

The Alchemist

2009-01-12T16:08:00.000-08:00

"Maybe it's better to be like the Crystal Merchant: never go to Mecca, and just go thru life wanting to do so, .."

Seetaphal in Bogota?

2008-10-09T20:46:00.001-07:00

I had been pressuring my Colombian coworkers to make sure they arranged for my favorite fruit - Sapota or Chikkoo in India also known as Zapote in Colombia - by the time I got here. Unfortunately, Bogota doesn't quite have the tropical heat required for the fruit so it wasn't available when I did get here.

However, Bogota has MORE than it's share of amazing fruits that I've been devouring in the form of milk shakes. Of particular note is the Guanabana - the local name for Seetaphal. The creamy texture of this fruit lends itself to a milk shake. Another new fruit I encountered is called Copo Azul - an amazonian fruit that has a similarly creamy white pulp.

Without exceptions, EVERY meal I've had at Bogota has been a revelation. You won't believe the variety of vegetarian options you get in most restaurants here. They range from delicately spiced lentil soups to delicious crepes (Crepes and Waffles), pastas (Di Lucca) and get this - Sushi rolls. 'The Wok' had 6 vegetarian rolls that were absolutely mind-blowing. It says something when I haven't had to order a salad here so far.

Even well known fast food chains like 'Crepes and Waffles' have a great variety of cheap but unbelievably tasty vegetarian options. They had one crepe called the "The Gandhi" .. with curried tofu. I resisted my patriotic impulses and instead got the portobello/goat cheese/arugula crepe - I was blown away.

If you ever get to go down to Bogota - check out these restaurants. You won't be disappointed.

Colombian Coffee ..

2008-10-09T20:35:00.000-07:00

.. takes on a whole new meaning when you are IN Colombia. I'm by no means an ardent coffee lover - that would be someone like Manju. However, I do possess taste buds that are qualified enough to identify that the coffee at work really sucks and coffee that's not free is only marginally better. In 8 years in the US, I've barely spent $10 on caffeinated beverages.

So, when I was headed down to Colombia for a business trip, I was curious to test my Colombian co-workers assertions about the quality of Colombian coffee. After four days, I can honestly say that even the worst coffee I had here tastes better than the best coffee I had in the states. More often than not, I'm surprised by the flavor of the coffee - I always have it with milk.

Over the last few days I tasted gourmet coffee in restaurants with a reputation, from coffee machines at work and even the free breakfast lounge in the hotel I stay at. They have all been great. I'll be taking back some coffee. Not sure if I can replicate the magic back home.

Let's see ..

Mouthwatering Pictures

2008-09-12T22:43:00.001-07:00

I was scouring the web for some decent pictures of Andhra food (don't ask me why .. that's another story I hope to tell soon) and I finally stumbled across this one here. This (presumably a) lady seems to have an eye to match the amazing dishes she's making. Yumm!!!! I'm a fan.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/indianfood/

Truphone

2008-08-28T20:51:00.000-07:00

God, am I in love with my iphone or what?

So, here is the story. We (Aparna and I) own ONE laptop - a macbook which I bought her for business school. I use my office laptop (dell) for pretty much everything else. I was a big fan of Skype - my mom uses it to call me from India (still does) and I used it often to call Aparna from Chile while I was traveling. I also used it for work related calls in the US to save on my cell phone plan minutes. It kept costs down and was convenient.

Recently, the nut-jobs in the IT department at work forced me to uninstall Skype as it is a known security risk. A week after I did that, I realized today that I went 600 minutes over my regular plan minutes and was basically living off my rollover minutes - and I had VERY few left.

Then I start to dig on the web to see if there is any software that will let me make VoIP calls from my only other computing device - the iphone. I found just the right application - truphone. This brilliant piece of software allows me to make VoIP calls over the internet thus saving my minutes. I also realized that it will be even more useful when I travel abroad. I can make VoIP calls from my cell phone to america without paying those ridiculous overseas call tariffs.

The truphone app itself is *pretty* cool right from installation, activation to the actual usage. It ties in with the iphone contact info and lets you call from your regular contacts. The call clarity was great.

Now, if I had an iPhone 3G and AT&T 3G network *actually* worked, you needn't even be connected to a wi-fi hub. Make VoIP calls at truphone rates wherever you are - assuming you have good 3G coverage. For now, I'm pretty happy with what I can do with this.

Thank God I'm a tightwad

2008-08-26T19:46:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back, I was pretty close to upgrading my old 1st generation iPhone when I found out that one could make close to $300 bucks. Call it laziness and I somehow didn't act on it. I couldn't have been happier. Now, with the 2.0 software upgrade I'm able to get office email on my phone - which is great. In any case, I had always been pretty happy with the earthly speeds offered by the EDGE network.

Of late, I've been witness to a flurry of complaints with the 3G from friends who were among the very early adopters - from reception to performance and other bugs. I think it pays to NOT be a beta tester for anything - even if it is made by Apple. I bought the iPhone (or rather Aparna bought it for me) a good 3-4 months after it was released. I got it for $200 less than what it cost initially. I hardly ever had any issues.

I loved the iphone so much, I bought the macbook for Aparna now that she's back to school. It runs vista on bootcamp - vista actually runs pretty well on it.

So, in summary - the stingy gene in me does do me favors every now and then :-).

RAW and DxO - Before/After

2008-08-05T09:03:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if I did a lot better with DxO as compared to picasa for the edits below. At this point, I don't understand enough technically about RAW processors like DxO to foresee the changes to the original. Still, I think I wouldn't have been able to recover these images if I shot in jpeg mode. As Ken Rockwell pointed out, the downside to working on RAW images is you end up working on each photo for a while - you have to pore over each photo. On the other hand, you have more control on the final look.

Update: I think I'm starting to really like DxO. Hopefully, I won't shell out money to buy it - but boy I'm thrilled with this. I was able to lower the exposure on a specific PART of the image - as opposed to a global change. As you can see, I wanted to lower the high values on the boy's face but not affect the values on the girl's face. I also added some lens based sharpening to really crank up the highlights in the boys eyes.

Original:

Final:

Whooossshhhhh!!!!

2008-07-17T12:44:00.001-07:00

It had been a week since our move to Durham, NC. Aparna is starting her MBA at Duke this fall. I finally made good on my promise to take her on a beach vacation. The water was a little colder than I thought .. but boy did I have fun.

India Trip

2008-07-17T09:43:00.000-07:00

Need I say more? My motto was 'exercise to eat!'.

This was a typical after meal routine. I was hoping I would tire of it - but I couldn't get enough of tropical fruits.

That's aparna eying a juicy rosogolla from Kolkota.

blame it on sydney

2008-03-06T10:42:00.000-08:00

Sydney is to blame for Sydney - so says JRod.

"The test series was fine, then Sydney came along, Australia started claiming one hand one bouncers, Bucknor found out Roy was his long lost son, Anil Kumble lost his frame of reference, Bhaji and Roy danced orally and Ishant Sharma “accidentally” got his gloves confused."

The funniest cricket blog ever!!!

2008-03-06T09:57:00.000-08:00

Over the past few days, I've gotten addicted to cricket and I'm struggling thru the withdrawal symptoms now that the australian tour is over. While I was trying to fight off my hangover, I ran into this blog though and it is the funniest thing I've come across on the web.

The jokes are very cricket specific and very few are not obscene/objectionable or about cricket.

Here are some gems:

This guy is a big Dave Hussey fan. You should sign this petition to show your gratitude for this.

"Hussey has been humping at the selectors legs like a horny Labrador for years now."

About Gilly's neverending farewell tour.

about James Hopes:
"Its not Jimmy does, or Jimmy tries, its Jimmy Hopes, and as we all know they spring eternal."
"And yet you grace life with a fore head so low your eyebrows get nervous."

about sehwag:
"Virender Sehwag – bats like a dude who will fu©k anything. Doesn’t matter if he hits or misses, just likes to get laid a lot."

about mike hussey:
"is a robot sent from the future to destroy us."

about Kallis:
"has the rare ability to suck the fun out of cricket to such a degree, you wonder how hard it would be to use a sniper rifle."

about gillespie:
"The amount of effort that went into every ball, some times at delivery it looked like he was giving birth to twins."

about mark nicholas @ a CA presentation ceremony:
"Amazing that Mark Nicholas can still stand and talk, all the blood is rushing to his trousers at the moment."

about lisa sthalekar:
"Lisa Sthalekar got female player of the year award for the second year running. Heard her speak recently, she speaks very very well, much better than pretty much any male player. Also I feel she is rather attractive. Wonder if she is gay or taken."

about nathan bracken:
"He looks like the transvestite off Silence of the Lambs, and the deteriorating nature of his campness is the over-riding impression. Note how Harbidjan has never dared pat him on the botty."

about johnson:
"How Johnson keeps bowling the most overs in a day is amazing, he must have soft hands in the change room."

about the adelaide pitch:
"Mind you this is a extremely flat track, even flatter than Keira Knightely, more like that dude from hedwig and the angry inch."

I must be smokin' a pipe and dreamin'

2008-02-02T09:34:00.002-08:00

I love reading articles related to cricket on this site. Two of these are excellent - quite unlike any that I've read (and I do read a lot).

Nathan Bracken's article gives great insights into what goes on in the field from a bowler's POV.

This one about motivation is as applicable to life as it is to sport.

Let me tell you, if you want something but you don't know how to get there, it's not really a goal - it's a pipedream.

If achieving these things is so important to me, am I doing my work today with the necessary commitment, desire, discipline and enthusiasm of someone who is going to be successful in achieving these goals? Do I love what I do? Are my goals achievable and are they really important to me?

Sydney Morning Herald

2008-02-02T09:34:00.001-08:00

It snows in atlanta too ..

2008-01-24T20:40:00.000-08:00

Sin Lugar para los Debiles

2007-12-13T18:17:00.000-08:00

In a bold display of ruthless selfishness and independence, I left Aparna at home and went to see 'No Country for Old Men' last night. I am speechless. I don't have much to say. The movie is the best I've seen in 2007. Period. It climbs to the top of my favorite Coen Brother's movies.

Update: I read the book of the same title by McCarthy. The movie was a very faithful adaptation. Still, you do get a better insight into Chigurh. Like the movie says, he's a man of principles.

Sista saves my skin

2007-11-09T23:07:00.000-08:00

Having been at the receiving end of two surprise parties the last couple of years, I was under intense pressure to deliver something 'special' for my joru's budday. Had I failed, I would've been at the receiving end of some serious guilting attacks.

So, sista comes to the rescue. Manju ze cake chef made zis amazing cake - both in looks and taste - and overnighted it in time for mi lady's private little bash. It was brandy soaked layers of rich chocolate, pecans and some form of gluten(I think) - then it was rolled up, sliced and frozen for transport.

Though she found it sweet, Aparna was at a loss trying to understand why it had to be mailed from Denver. It could've been ordered locally right? Well .. she didn't know that that point .. so she positively started to become teary eyed when she came to know Manju actually made it. To rub it in, I also disclosed that Manju did a practice run before perfecting the recipe a day before she actually sent it.

All in all, M saved my day .. made Aparna's .. and we pigged out on what little was there of the cake.

A Mathematician plays the Stock Market

2007-10-28T17:54:00.000-07:00

Game 1: I'll give you $10,000 and toss a coin. Heads - you get nothing. Tails - you get $5000.

Game 2: I'll give you $20,000 and toss a coint. Heads - you lose $10000. Tails - you lose $5000.

Which one would you play? Game 1 or Game 2?

'The Goal' and growing up

2007-10-27T13:13:00.000-07:00

'The Goal' has been on my wishlist for quite some time. Being in the supply chain business, it was required reading for me but I came around to it quite late. Still, it was a fascinating read. There is nothing new that I can add to what has already been said in the foreword.

Mr. Goldratt teaches us interesting concepts about engineering and mathematics using a story about a plant manager working to save his plant and his marriage. Every problem is first identified, formulated and a solution seems to emerge all by itself. I was reminded of an old teacher of mine,

Q: 'How do you solve a question?'

A: 'You ask questions!'

My favorite lesson involved an analogy drawn between the fluctuating gaps between a line of hiking boy scouts and inventory levels in a manufacturing plant. The same chapter also contained a game involving a series of bowls and matchsticks being moved thru the bowls to simulate throughput using the throw of a die to model randomized events and demand.

It has sparked off a desire to revisit probability and statistics. I wasn't very good at combinatorics and that spilled into the above subjects - but these are the real tools of applied mathematics and every engineer (even a 'computer science and engineering' grad :-)) should be familiar with these concepts.

Not to mention, Supply Chain isn't quite so boring after all. I've been enamored for too long by the elegance and simplicity of problems involving elementary mathematics while preparing for JEE. It's about time I got out of the mold - about 10 years too late to be honest.

I feel like John Cusack's character in High Fidelity in many ways. In one of the pivotal scenes in the movie, when asked to list his top 5 dream jobs, he starts checking off each of them one-by-one for reasons like 'I can't be a reporter for rolling stones in 1970' and 'I can't be a producer for atlantic records in 1969'.

He was refusing to grow up. His 'dream' jobs were adoloscent fantasies and instead stoked a bitterness for his present life. He ultimately realizes that owning his music store is the closest he could get to having his dream job. Funny that I should come to a similar conclusion - after I got married. Any guesses who got me thinking?

Ultra-Marathon Man

2007-10-19T12:24:00.000-07:00

Dean Karnazes fascinated me from the get-go when I first read an article about him in the Times. His ability to run for days on end motivated me to take up running more seriously, in particular his description of the giddy joys of eating - imagine downing whole cheesecakes for dessert.

The book was a letdown. It says a lot that the best thing about it was that it was a quick read. He does a decent job of describing the weird kinds physical challanges and side effects during the races. The extreme elements in mountains, deserts, forests and the weather are humbling and serve to remind us of our place on earth.

That said, the book failed at mutliple levels. Pretty quickly into the book, the self-pomposity and efforts to counter-balance it with fake humility come to the fore. He did a poor job of articulating the mental underpinnings behind such physical feats. It was a always a very unsophisticated rehash of 'Your body runs the first 10 miles, the mind runs the next 10 and your heart has to take over for the remaining six point two.'

I'm glad I read it but I feel even better that I borrowed it from the local library.

XO - God Bless You!

2007-10-05T08:37:00.000-07:00

I heard about the 'One Laptop Per Child' project sometime back. Yesterday, I read David Pogues review of an XO prototype. David raved about the laptop - and rightly so.

I'm not much of a gadget geek. Yes, I do follow the occasional updates to Nikon SLRs (like it's recent full-frame offering) or the new iPhone which was very cool too. The XO is an altogether different matter. I can't believe the feature-set this tiny laptop offers. My personal favorites were:
1. mesh networking
2. security model
3. dust-proof and impact proof design

The simplicity of the system stands in sharp contrast with the bloated pieces of junk a.k.a PCs that we've come to rely on. I've gotten so tired of frequent windows crashes and slowdowns that i don't actually own my own PC now. I sent my two-year old dell 700m back home. I'm content using my work laptop and 90% of what I do is to browse anyway. I'm sometimes tempted to buy one of the new laptops but the thought of running Windows Vista makes me cringe. iMacs appear somewhat better at times but the cost is prohibitive and my technical ignorance of the platform stands against it.

Along the way comes this gem of a device. The ideas behind it are so fresh and innovative - it is hard to believe. Free of commercial constraints (like backwards compatibility), they had the luxury of choosing a security model without baggage. I'll root for this one and I hope larger business interests do not affect it's success. I'll seriously consider buying it (there is a buy one - donate one option for $400) if I see any scope of creative tinkering with it. Even if I don't buy one, I'll gladly pay $200 to donate it a needy child who will definitely benefit from it.

I haven't been as excited by the news of a new product in a very very long time. It gets even better because of the humanitarian underpinnings of the project.

Pleasantly surprised - great food

2007-09-22T22:38:00.001-07:00

Today Aparna and I ended up at the flying biscuit while scouring the streets for some light none-too-expensive food on our way back from Trader Joe's. The restaurant wasn't officially open yet. They were having a 'friends & family' night where the staff (service and kitchen) was to 'practice' their dishes on 'friends and family'. The food was free.

Our friendly waitress Carissa explained that they were not open to the public but still snuck us in as her friends for the night. We were quite taken by the warmth and also by the place. Given that it was practice night, they had a restricted menu and the only things on offer were dishes they were still perfecting.

The menu featured more than a few vegetarian options and if you ate eggs, you had an incredible array of choices before you. We tried the black-bean cakes with green salsa, hummus and sun-dried tomato wrap and a tofu-potato salad. All three were delicious - right out of the top drawer. The salad in particular was spicy (still can't believe it) and all the dishes didn't have any pretentions about them - fresh ingredients and no compromises when it came to taste and condiments (there was plenty of high quality sour cream and cheese).

We were delighted with our visit on all counts. We left a $20 tip since the food came at no cost. I've spent well over fifty bucks for food that didn't taste half as good. On the whole - a very highly recommended eat for vegetarians.

The bald man's chocolates

2007-09-20T22:51:00.000-07:00

Aparna called me a couple of days back from NY to announce that she was about to have dessert at a very special place in Manhattan. She wanted to know the name of one of my favorite desserts (if done right) - the Chocolate Souffle. I felt a shade of envy - but hey, those are the perks of travel. I've had my share. I had the best damn chocolate souffle at Amorio in Santiago. So, I didn't let it bother me too much.

Of course, today when Aparna announced that she had something for me - I was pretty sure what it was. She was surprised that I wasn't surprised that she got me something - but knowing her, she could not have gone to a specialty chocolate store without getting me something. Anwyays, she got me a set of assorted truffles that she picked for me.

Now, I'm not such a big truffle fan - as I feel my palate is much too numb to appreciate subtlety in texture and taste. I crave pure, smooth, dark chocolate paired with strong flavors like orange zest, spices and more recently cognac & whiskey - it tastes surprisingly good. The whiskey doesn't come on as strongly as the cognac (at least with the one I tasted) but complements the chocolate beautifully.

Anwyays, getting back to the truffles from Max Brenner's - I was to begin the most satisfying chocolate tasting experience so far in my life. The creations were truly exquisite and reposed faith in my tastebuds because I could close my eyes and taste all the subtle flavors. My favorites were lemon peel, dulce de leche & whiskey and hazelnut all with dark-chocolate. It was incredible. I was thrilled and hooked. Unless she goes back to that store, I'm ordering these killers online.

Vinayaka Chaturthi

2007-09-15T23:19:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Vinayaka Chaturthi this year - once again featuring Aparna's hand-crafted Vinayaka from atta flour and turmeric. We also used flowers from our own garden.

Studio Lighting 101

2007-07-16T21:32:00.000-07:00

I took this picture with a home made softbox. While the light seemed good enough for a doll, it didn't quite work out when I tried to photgraph Aparna.

This one had a 20''x20'' softbox with a 200 watt bulb to the viewer's right, reflector on the left and a background light. It was easy enough making the softbox using foam core but I'm not sure how to mount them and control the height and angle of incidence.

Here is a series of pictures showing the effect of adding the different lights one by one.

Why are you vegetarian?

2007-06-28T10:12:00.001-07:00

Recently, with all the hype surrounding vegetarianism and its variants, a vegetarian could be forgiven for believing that s/he belonged to a higher strata of compassionate and righteous human beings - feeling sorry for their meat-consuming brethren. Now that I've so cunningly confessed and in the same vein conveniently exonerated myself, allow me to inflict some personal history on you.

Notwithstanding generations of strict Brahminic (and hence vegetarian) influences, my Dad ate all kinds of meat during his heyday, including the unholiest of unholies - beef - while he traveled the west. Mom, though not quite as adventurous, wasn't averse to the consumption of meat. If memory serves me well, she might have even tasted pork. Quite understandably, there was no pressure on me to stick to a veggie-only diet. As a child, I tasted chicken and mutton on a couple of occasions - even relished them. However, Mom had no clue nor an inclination to cook meat at home - so our daily meals were always vegetarian.

Somewhere along the way, a desire to eat meat fell to the wayside - and weakened further by taunts from meat-eating friends. I got thru college, living away from home 'unscathed'. I didn't drink (I tried to .. a lot .. to no avail) or smoke (I'm asthmatic) or eat meat.

Due to the combination of a nitpicking palate and a genetic hand-me-down, I avoided the 'twin evils' of drinking and smoking. Add to that a self-cultivated disinclination to eat meat and I was carrying the fodder to feed a delusion of piousness. I was at the tipping point.

I promptly tipped over, when I arrived in the states in 2000. Though Eugene, OR was liberal enough to have more meat-free offerings than the average american town, my options were quite limited - but I slugged it out. I took to cold sandwiches and cous-cous salad and of course gallons of ice-cream that I consumed as dinner. I suppose it was around this time that I truly subscribed to the idea that I was standing on higher ground.

Somewhere down the line, I lost sight of a very important fact. As an Indian vegetarian, I was never ever denying myself the pleasures of eating the tastiest of foods. The sheer variety of home cooked food was staggering at the very least. Being vegetarian came very naturally to me. It wasn't about eating healthy and really not about being overly nice to animals. We ate good food at home - it just happened to be meat free.

There are people very close to me including Aparna who gave up meat for ethical reasons - and I greatly respect that stand. I was never into eating meat so there was nothing to give up. I'm still quite happy being a vegetarian and would love to have more options when I eat out. But ask me about why I'm a vegetarian and chances are you won't hear hogwash about ethics and humanity.

Update:
.: I thought I'd post Aparna's response to my rant in a an unabashed show of nepotism :.
I'm going back in memory lane here, but I distinctly remember that as children, we were all taught not to take what isn't ours. Why is taking a life any different then? Why is OK to kill an animal?

I used to not be a vegetarian. It was so easy. Or was it? My reasons were that I needed the nutrition, it was OK as long as it wasn't a mammal, etc. etc. I also thought of vegetarians being hypocritical when they wore leather, so I kept believing that there was nothing wrong. The reality though was that I didn't want to know the harsh reality behind how that food came to my table? It's not pleasant, it's not right, and I believe we have the power to do something about it. The very least we can do is not contribute to it.

It takes courage to stand by what you believe in. I believe all life forms deserve respect. I'm not a mission to change the world...just myself, for the better.

I read about the Canadian sealhunt the other day and was very disturbed. Sign the pledge below if you think it's worth saving a few lives...they're all equally valuable.

https://community.hsus.org/campaign/protectseals/

I guess it was my turn to ramble on..:)
-Aparna

Chocolicious

2007-06-14T21:16:00.000-07:00

I'm hitting paydirt more often in my search for better chocolate ice-creams. Since Haagen Dazs Mayan Chocolate and Amazon Valley Chocolate, I've hit upon Choctal. This brand specializes in Chocolate-only ice-creams. So far, I've tasted 'Pure Kalimantan' and 'Pure Costa Rican Chocolate'.

The description was enough .. "a cacao that makes dark, rich, pure chocolat" . It was as promised - a strong, uncompromisingly bitter, swiftly melting chocolate extravaganza. There was also talk lingering oak, vanilla or caramel - but my brutalized Indian palate craves pure chocolate and as long as that is the dominant flavor, I stand sated. You'll hear more about this brand. I'm very impressed.

It's picasaweb now ..

2007-06-06T01:25:00.000-07:00

I've moved to picasaweb for storing all my online pictures now. It serves my needs - and though it has limited space, it's able to display pictures at a decent resolution. I hated flickr and the limited sets option it had to offer. Let's see how this holds out. I'm hoping to hold out so I don't end up paying to host my pictures.

I made a trip to Tallulah Gorge last weekend along with Bharath, Sandhy and Arora. The sky was overcast, the pictures were terrific.

the Chocolate Revolution

2007-06-01T01:13:00.000-07:00

I'm a chocoholic - make that dark chocoholic. I like chocolates. Did I mention that I love Dark Chocolate? Get the picture?

Yes, I scour the candy sections for dark chocolate that I haven't tasted before. Usually, I to go to specialty stores (TJs, Whole Foods, Cost Plus have been serving me well) to satisfy my bottomless pit of a stomach. Of late, I've been noticing some dark chocolate versions of some mainstream (ugh! milk) chocolates.

Hershey's have been serving up some crappy low-end dark chocolate for a while now. However, they've recently come up with a higher priced and slightly better brand - Cacao Reserve. Some of these taste decent - worth a try. The most surprising entrant was a Dark Chocolate snickers bar. I'd say it's much better than the milk chocolate version - what did you expect?

The point is, everyone is slowly turning towards dark. I see a proliferation of articles touting the benefits of dark chocolate. I'm all for it. Hopefully, we'll be weaned off of the extremely sugary and awful tasting american mainstream candy into something more subtle and rich.

I will soon review a stash of chocolates I bought in Canada. I never saw these brands elsewhere and the flavors were exotic - Banana Ginger, Green Anise, Orange Peel, Fresh Ginger. I haven't tucked into them yet - I hope to savor each one like it's a bottle of fine wine. Not to mention - I paid premium price for each bar, close to 6 bucks a piece.

An active long weekend

2007-05-29T01:03:00.000-07:00

I just returned from a very hectic but thoroughly enjoyable long weekend in Colorado. I took a day off so I was able to spend close to 4 days in my favorite state. Aparna and I joined Mom, Dad, Manju and Pramod in a whirlwind tour of the state's National Parks.
Day 1: Garden of the Gods and Pike's Peak.
Day 2: Sand Dunes National Park.
Day 3: Mesa Verde
Day 4: I completed the Bolder Boulder 10k.

Though it was hectic, we had a great time. We ended up driving up to 2-3am daily because we underestimated driving in the mountains. I can't really complain about having to drive at 30miles per hour in places like Durango and Ouray. I don't know when I'll think I had enough time to take in everything. These trips feel so rushed. Maybe I can take a sabbatical and enjoy time in the mountains for a couple of months - then I'd be satisfied.

We also got Mom to hike up half the way in Sand Dunes national park. Dad was alway enthusiastic about hiking but getting Mom to try it was an accomplishment. Climbing in sand is no joke. We were close to wasted by the time we got up there.

Annadaata sukhibhava

2007-05-25T00:38:00.000-07:00

Loosely (and lousily) translated - that means "May the Lord bestow happiness upon the one putting food on the table".

So, I was at work the other day - keeping fairly busy - when I get this mail from Aparna.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Prasad, Aparna (US - Atlanta) [mailto:apXXXX@XXXXXX.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 12:57 PM
To: Sekhar Putcha
Subject: Lunch

Is ready in case you plan to come.
Menu: Grilled veggie pocks (Feta spread, sautéed veggies with fenugreek, olives, and dash of maple), comes with a side salad an scrambled eggs.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This was following by a phone call from her informing me that the pressure cooker just exploded while she was cooking. 'So, the whistle blow really loud? Were you scared?'. She confirmed - 'No, the cooker exploded like a bomb .. almost in my face. The Dal is all over the place'. In my defense for what is to follow, I was on a conference call already - so my mind was all geared up for the ensuing meeting .. in spanish!!!

So, I asked the wrong question. "what's the damage?". It should've been "Are you OK honey?". The reaction was along expected lines. I wrapped up the call - or waited till it wrapped itself up and then headed for home practicing vague excuses for thinking about the kitchen floor and ceiling and all the cleaning I had to do intead of worrying about her life. Mea culpa!!

After a little bit of groveling, she relented and the food was served! Yumm. I should seriously consider starting a vegetarian sandwich/wrap place. Aparna can get really creative with sandwiches.

Hopefully, she is reading this and I'll get more such meals.

Budday cupcake

2007-05-22T21:13:00.000-07:00

Aparna baked me a Chocolate Souffle tonight. This one is fresh in the oven for y'all.

I'm a wedding crasher

2007-05-10T00:21:00.000-07:00

So I was in Canada the past week seeking yet another visa for re-entering the United States. The only difference - this time my company footed the bill for the visa expenses :-).

I decided to go to Calgary as there were no appointments available in Toronto - hence no Niagara. Calgary is no slouch though. It's the gateway to the canadian rockies and I sneaked out on Saturday to explore some of it's treasures. A pity I couldn't spend more time here. Banff and Lake Louise were beautiful on a hot sunny day.

I was armed with a camera but with no human subjects to shoot - I really didn't want to be alarming locals by taking unsolicited pictures. However, I couldn't resist the temptation to click away to two wedding photo shoots I witnessed that day. One was at Lake Louise (below) and the other at Vermillion lakes (above) near Banff.

When the bride and groom were posing at Lake Louise, an old jolly couple passed by and warmly complemented them, "You look gorgeous!". The bridge gushed, "Thank You!!!" in an Oh so american (or canadian) way - the features drawing inward while craning the neck and cocking to one side - to which the old man quipped, ".. and so does the bride!". I thought the bridge was going to burst into tears. I could barely contain my laughter.

The other highlight was that a black bear crossed the road in front of me while I was driving. Made my day. I'd love to come back to Canadian rockies again sometime. Lake Louise was a disappointment particularly because it was all frozen - I felt gutted.

intrusive or un-intrusive

2007-05-06T22:25:00.000-07:00

Depth of Field - Three words. They have taken on a whole new meaning ever since I got the 50mm Nikkor lens on my budday. The ability to obscure everything but the subject was something I always wanted - and to be able to do that in low light has just made it that much more fun.

Now I can take very sharp pictures in low tungsten lighting - giving my subjects a nice warm cast. The best part though (for me atleast) is that the subjects never realize they are being photographed. No flash - no self-consciousness. Plus, I can take the pictures rapidly - because the camera doens't need to recharge (which it would if I were to use the flash). So, is it not intrusive in the sense that my subjects can go about their business (unless they hear to AF beep and/or the shutter release clack) OR is it intrusive because they never realize they were shot? Either way, I'm not stopping :-).

Here's one of those intrusive shots ..

Happy Birthday to me ..

2007-05-06T22:08:00.000-07:00

According to the Telugu/Hindu calendar I was born on Buddha purnima or Vaisakha purnima which falls on May 2 this year (according to the Hindu Calendar). Incidentally Buddha and Annamacharya were also born on this day. I still believe I will make *something* of myself - dream on!

Also, on the same day, my sister-in-law gave birth to her second - a beautiful hair baby boy. Obviously, she was thrilled that he was born on the same day I was. A very auspicious precedent - she seemed to suggest. Still, I couldn't help wonder why they both (Sekhar Sr.) sounded nervous when I pointed out (quite happily) that we technically shared our birthdays. Ever since my cute little niece broke my heart when she made clear her preference for Aparna's handbags and shoes to my skis, I've been pinning my hopes on the new arrival. Hopefully, I can have him on the slopes as soon as he can stand on his feet.

Oh, and I got a super gift this birthday from Aparna - a Nikkor 50mm 1.8D lens.

My best portrait shot to date ..

2007-05-05T00:20:00.000-07:00

TOOT TOOT TOOT !!!!! (<--- Blowing my Horn)

Thumbs down ..

2007-04-28T22:00:00.000-07:00

Been a bit busy lately but I did find time to gobble and "review" the other two offerings from Haagen Dazs Premium - continuing where I left off before. Both the remaining flavors Hawaiian Lehua Honey and Sweet Cream, toasted coconut and sesame brittle disappointed me in that order. The former fits in the 'too sweet' and 'un-imaginative' category. I think I can officially declare it as a rule that generally, ice-creams with sweet-cream in their description fall flat. They are just that - sweet and creamy - with no personality. The latter had it's moments, when you taste the coconut brittle - but I'd have preferred sesame chikki any day. Come to think of it, the nuvvunda (translates to Sesame-BrownSugar laddu) mom makes is way-way better.

Still, the effort to bring in something new is to be lauded. It gives me an excuse to hound the aisles whenever I hit the grocery store.

It gets better ..

2007-04-18T22:52:00.000-07:00

Today, I cleaned up a pint of Haagen Dazs Amazon Valley Chocolate ice-cream. I'm quite happy with this one too. I'd rate it as among the best chocolate ice creams I've tasted alongside Godiva's Chocolate Raspberry Truffle and HD's Mayan Chocolate. My parents and Aparna cringed because of the bitterness, but that only deepened my liking for this flavor. Dark Chocolate is the only way to enjoy the pleasures of cocoa.

Next up, Hawaiian Lehua Honey and Sweet Cream.

Salvation .. at last

2007-04-16T20:38:00.000-07:00

It happens week after week .. month after month .. year after year. Ice-cream - as a few of my friends discovered - is more than an addiction for me. So much so, every visit to the grocery store is a battle to try and stay away from picking up a pint of ice-cream. Yes, I come from the school of (1 serving = 1 pint), it used to be (1 serving = 1/2 gallon) but thankfully the latter passed.

Over the last couple of years, my only excuse for not buying ice-cream as frequently was that I'd tell myself that I'm not getting it if it isn't a new *exciting* flavor. That worked surprisingly well. Sure there are lots of new flavors but not one of them is exciting. They are just rehashes of cookie-caramel-butter-pecan-moosetrax-sweet cream crap. They taste awful to say the least. Ben&Jerry's is a case in point. I hate almost all of their flavors - in spite of their variety.

Haagen Daz mango is a staple. My biggest battles are usually to fight a sharply overpowering impulse to pick up Haagen Daz Mango, Mayan Chocolate, Rum 'n Raisin or Irish Cream (in that order). I perennially enjoy having them and they go fast. But the desire for something new always persisted.

Today, as I scoured the aisle with faint hope of finding something, I ran into Haagen Daz Reserve. I was thrilled to find some really interesting flavors. Can't wait to try them out. I'm already done with Pomegranate Chip and the verdict is a 'thumbs up'. It blends well with the dark chocolate chips. While the flavor is still a little too sour to go with a creamy texture, I won't get tired of this one very soon. Next stop, 'Amazon Valley Chocolate'.

Leni Riefenstahl

2007-03-26T05:49:00.000-07:00

Funny extract from an article in the the Times. When I was a kid (and even now), I always stared wide-eyed at images of endless lines of Hitler's forces and the aura around him. Leni was responsible for making 'Triumph of the Will'. She was considered one of the most talented film-makers but having sided with the Nazis, she could never shake off the tag of a sympathizer. Still, a fairly interesting life.

She made it as a star because she was good at climbing rocks. There was a whole genre of German movies about clambering around daringly at high altitude.

I'll second that ..

2007-03-22T06:11:00.000-07:00

A beautiful article on www.cricinfo.com echoing my views and articulating them far better.

As an Indian, I would like India to win the World Cup. But it might not be such a bad thing for cricket if they were to be knocked out in the first round. Cricket needs a reality check. It has an unhealthy, and unsustainable, business model that relies primarily on an increasingly delusional and one-dimensional fan-base. The bubble has to burst for a semblance of sanity to be restored. We must learn to once again enjoy cricket as a game.

Let them live ..

2007-03-20T21:10:00.000-07:00

Saturday the 17th of March 2007, was St. Patrick's day. Not that I cared much about St. Patrick's day. No .. I'm condemned to teetotaler-ism in spite of my frequent and mildly committed attempts to get some alcohol into my body.

On that day, India were soundly beaten by Bangladesh in the world cup prelims. I couldn't get my mind around it. I mean, this was only the second match that I saw live since arriving in the United States in 2000. The first was the 2003 Final. I regretted it .. as did many others and took a while to get over it. I was seriously depressed or I'd like to say as much.

Getting back to 17th March 2007, it also happened that unfancied Ireland upset Pakistan. Now, every Indian cricket fan would take solace from that fact. Pakistan was knocked out of the tournament. It was an unreal feeling. I tried to look at it as a positive .. as did many others I'm sure.

It all changed the next day. The Pak coach, Bob Woolmer died that day in his hotel. Diabetes .. stress .. drinking .. they said. My mind cried 'foul murder' but none of the newspapers substantiated that thought. It receded. I felt pity for the man and guilty for having enjoyed the misery of the arch rivals state of affairs.

Today, I read the following report and I felt sick in the gut. If he was really murdered, I can't forgive myself and I will most definitely find it *very* hard to enjoy watching a game of cricket ever again in my life.

Passions may run high, money may have been lost, egos may have been hurt but for God's sake, it's a game. It is only a game. A guy who devoted his life to TEACHING it (Gururdevo Bhava) did not deserve this fate. I pray for him and his family and that there was no foul play.

I write this with tears welling up in my eyes. I'm ashamed of the entire subcontinent and it's so called LOVE for the game. It's madness. We need another outlet for whatever it is that eats us. Spare the cricketers. What's eating me is my own part in this. I never tire of quips about my depression and disappointment whenever we lose. Why? What is the point? What did I ever gain when my team won?

I've had it! I'll be a sane follower of the game or better still, quit following it.

Pics of the new home

2007-03-11T22:04:00.000-07:00

Aparna and her Mom found my efforts at portrait photography a little too funny it appears!

Here are some pictures I've been taking over the last couple of weeks of the new place. I still haven't figured out how to take pictures of rooms with the lens I have. I would've loved to have an ultra-wide for the master bedroom. For now, this should do.

The front

Kitchen

The weekend weather was spectacular. Here's a shot of Aparna in the dying evening light. I love that tone.

The Prestige

2007-02-27T21:23:00.000-08:00

I saw the movie 'The Prestige' today. Excellent movie! It showed me why I was so much more satisfied watching this as compared to 'The Illusionist'.

But that is not the subject of this post. Today for the second time in my life, things jumped off of the screen into my reality. Let me explain. Back in 1999, when half my batch at the IIT hostel were intently watching a scene in 'The Mummy' that involved an earthquake, we actually felt tremors. I kid you not, there was a real earthquake - harmless, but real. It was the ultimate in movie experience - we lived it!

Most of you already know that 'The Prestige' is a movie about magicians. While I was watching the movie, I got a call from Aparna (who is traveling currently) and I spoke to her for a while. Just when I was hanging up, the ceiling fan in the living room of my new house started to turn. I could feel a chill going up my spine. As I kept looking, the light attached to the motor housing started to blink, fading on and off - like lazy disco lights.

If you are expecting an 'and-my-cousin-jumped-out-of-the-closet-with-the-fan's-remote-in-hand, I'm sorry. Truth is, I was freaking out - for good reason. I tried to remain calm and walked up to the switchboard with as much of a devil-may-care attitude that I could muster and switched it off. And that was that.

Freaky, eerie, spooky .. you name it, I felt it. As I sit typing this up in my bedroom, there is a part of me that is still freaked out. But hey, it's out on the net. Who reads this anyway? Who am I kidding?

Some pain is Mental .. Some physical .. but the one that is both is Dental

2007-02-20T06:43:00.000-08:00

That line is from an Ogden Nash poem that is probably the only poem that I ever appreciated in my life given my meagre poem-appreciation abilities. I even tried reading a book called "How to appreciate poetry" - needless to say, that didn't help much.

That apart, I had all four of my wisdom teeth pulled out yesterday. I was a bit nervous heading into the procedure. I've never had any reasonably big dental procedure performed on me till December 2006. I got a deep cleaning done to protect my teeth from possible root canals.

Back in my grandfather's dental clinic in Hyderabad, I remember a few patients tearing the airwaves in pain from something that was being done on them. I always thought injections in the mouth would be super painful.

I was wrong. The local anesthesia I was administered for both procedures was quite painless. It hurt a lot less than an injection to the arm, say. The numbing effect they produce is quite great too. All I felt was pressure as my teeth were being dug into by the dentist.

The extraction was simple for the top two teeth - my dentist pulled them out within a couple of seconds. The lower ones though were a different story. They had to be broken into segments and then extracted. It felt like my mouth was the site of some major construction work. The left one was particularly stubborn. I demanded additional local (anesthetic) because the felt something near my chin line. The damn tooth was growing that deep because of lack of space in my mouth. Well, eventually, a small part of the tooth (2mm in length - I was told) remained in my jaw. Right now a side of my face is swollen up but I'm hoping this will benefit me in the long run.

A word about my dentist. This guy looked like an offensive linesman. However, he was surprisingly sympathetic towards me and quite careful in making sure I wasn't experiencing any (major) discomfort.

I'm a home owner!!!!

2007-01-31T21:47:00.000-08:00

Folks, today I officially entered the hallowed halls of America's favorite pastime - Real Estate. Aparna and I closed on our first home, a 'small' 3 BR 2 BA detached single family home in a clustered subdivision - we bought into a small piece of America.

Since I learnt a great deal of technical jargon during and after the purchase, I'll throw some at you. I've still got a very long way to go.

1. Wrap-around front porch
2. Powder room.
3. Shingles facade
4. Jack n' Jill bathroom

My home allegedly has all of these.

Almost everything went smoothly from identifying the house till the closing. I bought the house from a co-worker going back to India shortly. Interestingly, the previous owner is also from Manhattan Associates.

The only glitch happened when I realized that I needed to make the down payment using a cashier's check instead of a personal check. Unfortunately, my funds were locked up securely in ING Direct which doesn't allow for even remotely speedy transfers. As luck would have it, a couple of friends at work generously pitched in at the last minute and offered cashier's checks from their own local accounts. They saved the day ultimately and I was able to close on time.

My mortgage company was Pentagon Federal Credit Union (www.penfed.org). Those of you going for a home loan should consider this lender. They offer very low closing fees because of the fact that they are a federal credit union. They are a bit sluggish though. If you are looking for a 2-week closing, they are not for you.

A jewel in the desert - Day 2

2006-10-01T16:53:00.000-07:00

Day 2 began with a tour of the Salt Lake with still blue waters reflecting the majestic Andes and white salt deposits all around. The water comes down when the snow melts from the Andes. But the relentless sun evaporates much of the water and crystalline salt deposits are formed after hundreds and thousands of years.

It's very easy to get lost in its splendor till you see a flock of pink flamingoes fishing for food and flying. These are elegant birds and I managed to take some neat shots with my zoom lens.

We later went on to the lagunas high up in the mountain at about 4500m. I forget the names but they are spectacular. I would probably treat these as the highlight of the trip. It takes a bit to adjust to the altitude here so one would be wise to preserve their energies for the treks around the lake. I became a bit breathless around here.

On the way back, we had lunch at the local native indian restaurant. This was the first time I tasted Quinoa - a plant that grows only in the mountains and is a very rich source of protein and fibre. I was to have the same thing for 20 times the cost in a whole foods store in Colorado.

A jewel in the desert - Day 1

2006-10-01T16:00:00.000-07:00

After a quick breakfast at the hotel, we took at cab to the bus station. There we found out that the first bus to leave for San Pedro left at 10:30am. At this stage I was ready to throw a fit. I am extremely greedy when it comes to utilizing my vacation time and we were just wasting time here.

We took a walk around to kill time. There was nothing much to do. Calama looks pretty run down and has a typical desert-town look. About the only interesting thing we say were a pack of 20-30 stray dogs that were going down the main artery of the town (where the bus station is located).

We reached San Pedro at around 1pm. The first thing that hits you on the ride is the stark landscape. This isn't a 'duney' desert. It's very dry, reddish and rocky. It isn't pretty like Rajasthan or Namibia. San Pedro itself is a little village. They don't get any littler than this - given my very limited village experience. The bus drops you on the 'outskirts' which is about 2 blocks from the main square. As soon as you get off the bus, horde of people offering accomodation will approach you. A lot of them are so-called 'hostels' where you share accomodation with other guests for something as low as $10 a night. Perfect if you are single - which I'm not! Hmph ..

We lugged our suitcases to the town center and tried to look for something more regular - you should ideally carry back packs. Chile is back-packing heaven - someday, we'll do that hopefully. We found a couple of very pricey hotels ($150 a night with a swimming pool and internet) but eventually were lucky enough to find this newly opened motel for about $40 a night. The units were quite charming and very neatly (but sparely) furnished. It even had a little backyard where we dried our clothes later in our stay.

I was able to get by with my very limited spanish but I couldn't have done much worse. The place is quite safe and the people very friendly - quite unlike Valparaiso. We had lunch at this little cafe called La Canela run by a young woman whose little kid brother (?) occasionally serves as the 'waiter' - it was a balancing act as he barely managed to hold our plates. I managed to convey that we were both vegetarians. She made us a deliciously simple meal starting with a salad and some kind of a vegetable lassagna and finished with a desert. It cost us $10 each.

The next step was to find ourself a tourist agencywho would take us on expeditions to nearby places. There are some obligatory things on a tourist's to-do list when in San Pedro de Atacama.

1. Valle de La Luna (Valley of the moon)
2. Lagunas (lakes in the Andes)
3. Termas (the hot springs)

We booked a package deal for the both of us at $120 to visit these three over the next three days. The guide wouldn't speak english but hey that would force us to learn a little more spanish wouldn't it ? Also, the english ones were pricier from what I heard. In addition, these guys were friendly and as we found out, they were quite helpful over the next couple of days.

Valle de la Luna was the least spectacular of the three destinations but was quite beautiful in its own right. The ride takes you into the desert and to points were you get a sweeping view of the valley. The trip ends with a view of the sun going down from one of those 'sunset points'. It's a short hike up to this point and climbing in sand isn't exactly that easy. My lack of exercise over the past few months was showing.

We ended the day dining at one of the most visually charming restaurants that we had ever come across anywhere. It was called Milagro and sits on Caracoles St. that houses 80% of the restaurants and businesses in San Pedro de Atacama. Everything is built out of mud and wood and this was no exception. The restaurant had a fireplace in the center opening out out into one of the clearest skies in the world (the Atacama is known for that) with candle lit tables all around + live music. It could not have been any more romantic and I was basking in Aparna's admiring looks. That was until food arrived - a real anti-climax.

A jewel in the desert - Day 0

2006-10-01T15:37:00.000-07:00

The delirium continues - of a different sort. I'm back from San Pedro de Atacama. Aparna flew out tonight back to Atlanta. I'll fly back this friday - now that the project is complete. It was a very smooth and uneventful GoLive. Enough about that ..

I probably won't be coming back to Chile again but I'm glad I was able to experience what this little jewel in the Atacama desert had to offer. The planning was quite bad (non-existent really) as you could make out from my previous post.

Day 0 - Wednesday:
The idea was to reach San Pedro Wednesday night in order to maximize our time there. However, it became obvious there was no public transport at our disposal around the time we were to reach Calama. I booked a hotel a mere half an hour before I left for the airport. I was praying it would be decent enough for a married guy.

We reached Calama at 10pm. It was cold and dry when we got out of the airport. We waited for a taxi and asked him to take us to hotel Olimpo. They charged about $50 a night but I have to admit we were nervous getting to the place. Calama appears a little old and run down and I couldn't help but have visions that the taxi driver will take us to a deserted corner and his croonies would rob us at knifepoint!

My fears were misplaced. The taxi driver was quite friendly and got us to the hotel which can be best described as 'adequate' in a very seedy looking surrounding. The furnishings were very average but functional. We took a quick shower and went to bed. The bus to San Pedro was to leave at 8am according to the lady at the front desk.

San Pedro de Atacama .. Here I come ..

2006-09-25T15:27:00.000-07:00

Finally, a week after my Valparaiso Fiasco I was able to sneak in some compensatory time off to take Aparna to San Pedo de Atacama . Because of the lack of planning, I was only able to get $400 tickets (each) to Calama on LAN. I wish I booked a day earlier. The tickets shot up by $100 (multiplied by 2) once the departure date was within 4 days of the booking date :(.

Can't wait to get on that flight this Wednesday. The idea is to fly out Wednesday night to Calama and catch a bus or taxi that night (I hope) to San Pedro de Atacama. The next three days will involve activities in and around San Pedro - none of which I have any details of as of now - and then return Sunday afternoon back to Santiago. Aparna flies out Sunday night back to Atlanta.

It's gonna be hectic and I better find some information about this place. I'm a little nervous considering the total lack of planning. I had planned much better when we went to Alaska this summer.

In the back of a Chilean Police Car

2006-09-23T14:59:00.000-07:00

So, after working my ass off for three weekends during the project GoLive, Aparna and I finally got a Sunday off. We decided to go to Valparaiso - Santiago's coastal twin situated about 50 miles away to the west. It was a pleasant ride in the fairly affordable and very comfortable Turbus buses. These buses depart from the central terminal and cost as little at $20 per person for a return ticket.

Getting out of Santiago city is a reward in itself because the landscape around it is all mountains and hillocks in whichever direction you head out. Importantly, the ever present smog that shackles your view all thru the year is absent when you get out. The buses have a little old fashioned feel about them because of the vendors showing up selling local hand-made candy and sweets. I bought one of them - a little to sugary for my taste but still quite nice.

After I paid of the ticket, I stuck my wallet in my back pocket, something that I do to avoid what was to soon follow. 5 minutes after I got off at the Valparaiso bus terminus - which is a little more chancy and perilious looking surroundings than what I had encountered in Chile so far - I realized my wallet was missing. A local tourist guide who was trying to buy our services offered to help us in finding the bus since it had left for the garage.

We did find the bus eventually but not the wallet. Aparna to this day believes that the helper/ticket-checker picked it up because of a very evasive look on his face. In any case, that brings us to the subject of the blog. We ended up talking to Chilean police who had stopped in their patrol car. We tried explaining to them what happened in our limited spanish.

Obviously, nothing got thru to them. They asked us to get in and then proceeded to drive us to the bus station. We eventually found an american girl who spoke spanish and she explained our situation. The cops talked to the bus driver and helper but really couldn't do much because of the lack of incriminating evidence - anyone getting off the bus after I did could've stolen the wallet.

So, very shaken, we decided to just tuck our tails in and return to Santiago. Luckily, the return tickets were in the camera bag and we barely had money to catch the subway back to the hotel. It was one negative blip in my mostly postive experiences in Chile.

I ended up losing about $80 and my corporate amex card because I usually maintain a separate wallet while travleing internationally - so the damage was minimal. Still, we regretted not being able to see a famously beautiful town.

It's GoLive time !!!

2006-09-12T15:20:00.000-07:00

After returning to Atlanta since my last post, the clients in Chile decided to postpone the project GoLive dates. So I am back in Chile after a month. I've not been able to give my new skis a test run yet. They are idling safely in my apartment back in Atlanta. The snow will be a little thin as compared to last time and I will definitely not have any time with the manic GoLive schedules.

Aparna joins me for almost three weeks this time as she is able to work remotely. Uncle D is quite kind to its employees. I'm hoping to take a 3-4 day vacation to either North or South Chile once the project is done. Given the current schedules I see her late every night. Not sure how long she can take it. I'd be pretty frustrated staying cooped up in the hotel all day in a country where you don't know the language. She hasn't cracked as yet .. tick tick tick ..

Delirium

2006-08-02T22:02:00.000-07:00

The hangover from the weekend lasted long ... Long enough for me to buy complete ski gear. Yes, I now have Skis, Boots, Poles in addition to my pants, gloves and goggles. The delirium is because I was in them just a few minutes back - in my hotel room, in my boxers and t-shirt.

I spotted this shop on Av. Las Condes on my way back from El Colorado this weekend. I dropped by the next day to take a look at their inventory. They seemed nice enough and the prices were really good. The store owner Hector offered me my choice of skis (w/ bindings), boots and poles for $400. That seemed like a nice bargain. Being suspicious by nature, I went to a couple more stores nearby and checked that these were very good prices indeed.

After talking to brother-in-law, fellow ski aficionado and colorado resident Pramod, who declared that $400 for Rossignol stuff is quite good, I decided that I'll buy 'em if they fit me. They did fit me well - though the skis were a few cm longer than what I'm used to. But they are beautiful - and I should grow into them steadily for the next 2-3 years.

For sure, the gear is probably from 2004 or earlier but it was unused and I liked the guys at the store. They spoke as much English as I did Spanish but we got along. Customers who spoke English acted as translators. One of them was a Doctor who was particularly helpful. Turns out he had been to India. One of the reasons I did buy from that shop was because of it's clientele.

On other fronts, I'll be back in Atlanta this Friday and will remain there for the next 5 weeks. Thinking of taking Spanish lessons. Any recommendations on what is the best way to do that (would help if it was affordable as well)?

Quotable Quotes

2006-07-30T07:13:00.000-07:00

Here's two observations I made yesterday.

"The worst thing about skiing is when you are not skiing."
If you went skiing, you know what I mean. You want to be on the slopes all the time in order to stay warm. When you are waiting in the lift lines, you are acutely aware of those unwieldy boots. When you are on the lift, the first couple of minutes feel good. You can use the rest. After that, your body starts to feel the cold, particularly when it is windy.

"Smog is beautiful too, as long as I'm above it."
Sometime back, I was complaining that the smog in Santiago really sucks. You can barely see the Andes because of the all haze. However, when you go up into the mountains, its a different story. The thick layer of smog reveals only the peaks of the hills and mountains and completely obscures the city from view. You feel like you are in this ethereal otherwordly tier right out of the LotR .

I have to admit, yesterday's sunset was among the most breathtaking I've ever seen. The smog, the snow and a not-so-intense bright orange sun peeking thru the clouds made it a one-of-a-kind view. It was a bit cruel that I did not have my camera because the distinct warm (yellow) cast from the sun made every feature of the snow worth a million dollars. Every face I saw was begging to be photographed. The glint in the eye, the hair lights, the speckles on the cheeks, stubble from an emerging evening shadow, the tiny shadow cast by a nose stud .. Oh, I can go on and on .. and I felt so frustrated. It was light worth dying for - and I did not have my camera with me.

I thought the visual feast ended with the sunset. I was wrong. The road back to the city is a winding one with a zillion u-turns. All the vehicles from the three ski resorts (valle, colorado and La Parva) go bumper to bumper at about 15 miles an hour for close to half an hour. While this is boring in itself (and inconvenient if you are trying to get some sleep), you get glimpses of the snaking road as it makes it way several hundred feet below you. All you see are a procession of bright headlights, red rear lights and the dimly lit snow from the multi-colored ambient light. It was quite spectacular. Again, I missed my camera very much.

It was poignantly ironic that I had contrasting days in terms of two things I'm very passionate about, skiiing and photography. It was a day to remember. I wish I had a picture to show for it .. but for now Ye, the reader shall suffer my words.

Theres Whores on the road

2006-07-30T06:16:00.000-07:00

I thought I heard Gonzalo wrong. "Really? Whores at 6:30pm at below freezing temperatures? They must be *very* motivated.". What came out was, "Did I just hear what I think you just said?". He repeated, slowing down, "There is a hOrse on the road". Right. In spanish, the O is always pronounced like the O in bOne. Hence, the confusion.

Gonzalo was my Chilean ski buddy yesterday - one of the most fulfilling days for me in terms of skiing. Since my last post, I did manage to get out of Santiago and each time, I went skiing. Twice to Valle Nevado and once to El Colorado. Both are nestled a few miles into the Andes and located just 30-40 km from the city proper.

I was destined to go yesterday. So I thought before I set out - and so I believe, now. I tweaked my back sleeping in a weird position flying into Santiago early in the week - and I still had some niggling soreness by the weekend. However, it snowed 3 feet midway into the week and the forecast for the weekend was sunny .. sunny .. sunny. I *had* to go. Come hell or highwater, I had to go - despite some strong protests from mi esposa.

So, I set out at 7:30am well in time to catch the early (not so early really, we leave at 6am in the States) buses leaving for Valle Nevado. While I was standing in line for the bus tickets, I realized I forgot my inhaler. I thought, "Maybe, this is a sign that I shouldn't go". Chileans smoke freely everywhere and skiing with a spasmed windpipe woudln't be all that fun. "No! God can't be this cruel". I took a taxi back to the hotel, picked up my inhaler and returned after 15 minutes. It was getting late, but hell, skiing a couple of hours less was a lot better than staying cooped up in the hotel.

I eventually took the bus to El Colorado as it was announced that there were delays going into Valle (short for V Nevado). The announcement was kindly translated for me by Senor. Gonzalo. We ended up sitting next to each other and we skied together as well.

We got on the slopes by about 12pm - very late by any standard. However, the powder was unbelievable. The snowfall the past week had turned the andean retreats into such beauties. We both skied non-stop till 5pm eating cereal bars for lunch while on the lift. My rhythm was improving with each run and I peaked somewhere around 3:30pm coming down without stopping at a fair speed with my torso facing downhill all the time. My back wasn't troubling me - adrenaline was masking any semblance of pain.

However, my total lack of exercise for the last 6 weeks was showing. I was tiring towards the end of the day. But my greed drove me on. I was already dreaming of coming back the next day (today) for another day on the slopes. On the last run, I lost control briefly and toppled over (not uncommon when you are pushing 30-40 m/h - happened earlier in the day) but this time it tweaked the problem spot with a precision strike. I literally limped back - if there is such a thing in skiing.

I wasn't complaining. I had a content smile on my way back - a face not contorted by pain from each turn as I made my way down the trail. I silently thanked the Lord. If it had to happen, it did so at the right time. It could've happened when I had bigger tumbles earlier in the day - and I would've been miserable sitting out the whole day because of pain. But it was a sign that read "Don't push it son. You had a great day today in spite of your back. Rest tomorrow."

Resting, I am. It's been my first day of rest in weeks - weekends in Atlanta are too hectic to call them weekends - and I'll gladly sit it out.

wasted weekend

2006-06-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

Before I wallow in self pity at a wasted opportunity, I thought I'd put up long due links to the honeymoon pictures. I've uploaded some of the Anchorage and Kinai Fjords pictures. I will hopefully get around to uploading the Denali pictures once I get back to Atlanta.

This weekend was mostly disappointing because I didn't get to do much on a scheduled working weekend that freed up at the last minute. I got some vital information way too late on Sunday to actually ski or go hiking. I ran into this (India) Indian looking (and sounding) guy who overheard me speaking English in the local bus. He told me that I was just an hour away from some great hiking at a place called Banos Morales. It is very close to the El Morado glacier and is known to afford stunning views of the Andes.

I won't let another free day slip by. My Chile trips are starting to edge the banal as I'm aching to get out of the city but keep hitting a some wall. However, I did manage to visit this charming little market (San Dominicos) right at the foothills of the snow-capped Andes in the Northwestern end of Santiago. The setting was just picture perfect - a menagerie of handicraft shops housed in little huts on an unpaved earthern strip carved by a little stream that added finishing touches for an idyllic setting.

I'm managing to learn more and more spanish but I've got a ways to go before I can keep one end of a conversation up. Nonetheless, I'm hopeful of doing so. Turns out the language is a little bit more predictable than English. For example, all vowels consistently have the same sound and are not liable to change from word to word - unlike in english.

Blah blah blah ..

Alaska 101

2006-06-06T19:09:00.000-07:00

Where do I begin?

I came to Alaska fully expecting to fall in love with the place, quite unlike my mindset when I first went to meet Aparna. Back then, I was quite annoyed with my precipitous fall for this girl with whom I was merely talking to on the phone. I went to St. Louis praying that I wouldn't fall in love with her. The rest is history, I married her less than three months after that - so that was that. It was only apt that I feel the same way about Alaska where I took Aparna for our honeymoon.

I booked our trip to Alaska much against Aparna's intended plan to while away time lazing on some sunny beach in the caribbean. I was able to guilt her into believing Alaska was going to be a much more enjoyable trip compared to the caribbean. "We can always go there and lay on our asses when we are fifty." I told her. Alaska wasn't exactly relaxing - atleast not in the elementary definition of the term. We went on four strenuous 3-4 hour hikes, tandem bicycling over many miles, day long boat rides in the cold wide ocean and bumpy bus rides thru some of the most pristine wildlife reserves I ever saw.

101?
Yes, that's because there is still so much more to do in Alaska. We came away fully satisified and hungry for more. Alaska is BIG and there are too many things you can do there. With our time and budget and a concerted effort from my side to not cramp too many things into our schedule, we passed 101 in flying colors.

Still, there is too much to fit into a single blog and my ass is being ground to death here in Chile. Thirteen hour work days after 10 hour flights kind of define 'a rude awakening' after a super vacation. Plus, I took about 1500 pictures that I need to whittle down to a maneagable number so help me Lord. I should have some more stuff written down and a few pictures ready in the next couple of weeks.

A little too modern to be interesting

2006-05-23T09:44:00.000-07:00

I write from Chile - a place that I've been longing to see ever since I heard that my company made a few forays into the Latin American market. A month back, an opportunity beckoned and I signed up for onsite travel to Santiago for the next three months.

The very concept of South America was exotic to start with. Add to the mix a country sandwiched between the Andes and the Pacific on a thin LONG slice of land; I couldn't wait to explore the place. I landed here May 17th on a chilly early winter morning. Yes, its winter here in the southern hemisphere.

After 5 days here in Santiago, I am a bit disappointed. To start off, winter isn't probably the best time of the year to see the place. It's overcast most of the time and visibility is a bit poor. I only managed to get a few glimpses of the Andes that are otherwiswe a constant towering fixture for most of the year.

Chile is a prosperous country - it is as expensive as any middle-tier US city. Santiago (where half the country lives) is fairly modern and .. uh .. boring. The city center is quite reflective of the population distribution of the country. Spread over a 100 square blocks, downtown is a nice area but the is eerily quiet and devoid of life on the weekend (both saturday and sunday). Save one Street (the Paseo Ahumada), it's dead. I'm convinced I need to get out of the city to get to know this place.

If nothing else, I hope to learn spanish by the time I am out of this project. Next to nobody speaks english and I get by using some basic noun forms and numerals - and acting dumb and american.

Yesterday, I happened to turn 28. I celebrated by going to a fine restaurant at the fine neighborhood where I live and cobbled together an order in words equally tattered. Me Vegetariano! Un Tortilla! Sin Carne! Sin Pollo! Sin Pescado! It actually worked and I had a pretty decent birthday dinner that I'll happily expense to the client. The downside was that I ate alone but it was fun anyways - Roasted Peaches to the Contreau. That was something I hadn't tried before.

I'm praying that my initial impression of this country changes.

This weekend, Aparna and I will be hitting Alaska for our honeymoon. I've been dying to go there for a long time and I didn't procrastinate when it came to buying the air tickets to Anchorage. What about planning? Well .. well .. that's a different story. I can't wait to get out there and use my new Nikon D50 on some moose and bear!

Partly Arranged, Mostly Love

2005-11-15T19:58:00.000-08:00

I've been putting this off long enough. I'll conveniently blame Aparna for that. Truth is I have little time to do much else. For what its worth, here's our story in pictures. I have too many of them.

Primary Target: Aparna
Occupation: Consultant
Location: St. Louis. Lives with her sisters family.
Confident, smart and ambitious. Least interested in getting married anytime soon. I had my work cut out for me.

Meet Shreya her impossibly troublesome and equally cute niece.
I had to get past Shreya first. I knew very early that if I scored with her, I could take out the principal target.

Evidently, I wasn't getting very far (in spite of my brave face).

Meet Sekhar, her brother-in-law.
We share our first names and also a love for carroms. I knew I had him in my kitty that night we played till 3am :-).

Was she warming up to me? I thought she was being polite. Couldn't mistake that smile to mean anything .. atleast not then.

Help from unexpected quarters
Anu, her sister, had a vested interest in seeing aparna getting married. Dealing with Shreya was enough. I was more than a willing bakra. But frankly, we do owe a lot to her.

The day I proposed
The Setting: Sunset at Creve Coeur park in St. Louis.
The Answer: Yes.
Hell, she had to melt. I was down on a knee for God's sake when I popped the question.

So Happy together
My much celebrated drive to St. Louis. You can see the dodge dakota in which I drove back to Atlanta.

Proud Parents?
Just Kidding. Thats Shreya. I think I just pushed my luck a little too far. I'm gonna get the long end of the stick for pulling this one ;-)

Together at Stone Mountain, Atlanta.

There you go folks! Not too many words I hope. The marriage is less than a month away. Those of you in Hyd/Bangalore or anywhere close, PLEASE PLEASE do come for the wedding. You can always drop me an email at dilwinATgmailDOTcom.

Unannounced visit - Part 2

2005-10-19T16:24:00.000-07:00

(Scroll down to read part 1 if you havn't read it already)

I lay there trying to call up my future brother-in-law so (incidentally also my namesake) he could let me in. After three calls spaced 15 minutes apart, he picked up. I duly apologized for disturbing him so early in the morning and swallowed hard as I asked if he could open the front door for me. For a couple of seconds, I heard nothing. He must've been thinking "it's too early for this guy to get drunk .. and even if he is, why is he trying to bug me? Can't he go bother Aparna?". Lucky for me, raising a newborn does prepare a man for crazy people like me. He chuckled warmly and came down to let me in. I picked up the bunch of flowers I purchased at a 24 hr grocery store a little while back and ran up the stairs praying that she was still asleep.

I opened the door gently to find her curled up and fast asleep, her silhouetted form lightly illuminated in the early morning blue light. I switched on the light at which I could feel her body recoil. She curled up further while managing to let out a muffled but supremely indignant 'why the hell did you switch on the damn light?'. It was directed at her sister - it had to be. I gently tugged at her sheet at which point, she had had it. She turned around .. facing me .. expecting to face her sister. In a matter of a couple of seconds, her expression changed from anger to fear to shock and eventually delight interspersed with a sharp breath and squeal. As she reached out to touch me to make sure it wasn't a dream, she said a few things that din't quite register but went something like "It's really you .. when? how? are you ok?". All this while, I had a ridiculous grin plastered across my tired face. I was satisified. It was worth the drive.

DRIVE:

Turned out later in the day that the dead deer I scrunched the previous night might have caused some damage. I heard some serious rattling noise when the engine was idling. Seasoned traveler that aparna is, she quickly called Enterprise's road side service and asked to switch with another car as the present one was giving us trouble. Guess what .. they din't have a car so I came back to Atlanta in a Dodge Dakota. It was the first time I drove a truck and it was quite an experience. It did consume a lot of gas though about which I dutifully cribbed while returning the vehicle and got a free day rental in compensation. This weekend couldn't have been any better.

An unannounced visit

2005-10-15T12:11:00.000-07:00

Atlanta to St. Louis

558 Miles. Approximately 9 hours by road.

I started around 7pm EST. It was a long drive. Coupled with 4 shots of caffeine and a deer carcass (I'll explain), my visual and aural senses were heightened pretty much thru the entire drive. I couldn't help noticing the beauty of the silhoutted treetops and mountains in the clear moonlit sky. When the music was not playing, even the road noise couldn't take anything away from the tranquility of the hills near Chattanooga. I'm sure they look beautiful during daytime, but there is something about the night. The stillness, peace and eerie effect of night all around you.

Tranquility and beauty apart, I couldn't help notice patches of caked blood at alarmingly frequent intervals on the road - DEER hit by vehicles. I gripped the steering harder, slowing down, determined not to collide with one should it appear. That fear more than made up for the wearing effects of caffeine that I consumed to keep me awake. Unfortunately, I did encounter one - a dead one. It showed up about 60 feet ahead of me as a pile on the road. At 75 miles/hr, there was little I could do. I eased my foot off the pedal, I felt the chassis complain loudly as I felt metal scrunch bone and flesh. I gripped the steering hard .. I swore quietly. I prayed that I'd have no trouble with the car. Luckily, it was a rental car - I wasn't too concerned. I drove on. Extra alert.

It's 4am CST in St. Louis. I type/write this as I sit in my car waiting outside my fiance's ( FIANCE??!!!??? ) sister's home in St. Louis. I'm afraid some cop patrolling the area will be very vary of a bloke with a laptop sitting outside a residential area at unearthly hours. I'm half expecting to get out of my car with my hands behind my head - a possible candidate for the show Cops or America's Funniest home Videos. At this stage I don't care. I'm just waiting for the clock to strike 6 so I don't totally piss people off in my attempts to surprise Aparna (Ah! a name).

In a short while (seems very long in the present situation), I'll be presenting Aparna yet another bunch of flowers. Only this time, she's blissfully sleeping unaware of the eager visitor outside her window. For all I know, she might just show a hint of surprise and warmly acknowledge my visit - completely dousing any hopes of a cinematic reaction. But know what? just imagining all her possible reactions made the journey a lot shorter than it actually was. There is something about the journey going in to meet a loved one. It's always exciting .. never boring .. the mind pregnant with exciting thoughts and anticipating the first encounter.

FIANCE??!!!??? (I swear I can hear a dozen acquaintances going - 'out with the story you sneaky bastard')

Yes. Aparna is the reason I havn't been rambling of late. We've been engaged and set to marry come this December. This is the fourth consecutive weekend that I'm managing to meet her (if I'm not arrested - in which case I'll still meet her. so no worries there). If you don't already know this, excuse thy friend. Watch this space for a detailed account of my Choti si Love Story. Wait a minute, since when did I start to think the few who actually read this blog read it in a chronological order?

My long weekend's a blast ..

2005-09-04T21:11:00.000-07:00

How can it be? Its not over yet for people who are actually having a good time. I'm under house arrest this weekend. I won the lucky draw this past week to be on pager duty for our wonderfully stable product. So far, I've been bothered very few times by less than irate customers. No really, the customers were quite cool about reporting their problems - and seem convinced I knew my mass from a blackhole. Either our product works very well or the warehouses are closed for the long weekend. I'd put my money on the former but hey, I could be wrong. That's it for my cribbing. I'll be put out of my misery tuesday.

Anyways, it's been a long time since I've posted and I attribute it entirely to my good old friend - inertia.

So, the wedding (my sister's, not mine) went very well. It was a short and sweet affair with about 200 guests on the actual day of the wedding. But God, I wish I got to see more of the wedding. If I ever help out in another wedding to the extent I did this time, I'll wear a mechanic's overalls. It's just not the time to wear your best outfits to show off. You got to run (for the coffee; from people who want coffee at 6am in the morning. Never underestimate the need for caffeine at 6 in the morning), you got to invite (folks .. for lunch/dinner/breakfast), you got to fight (with the wedding hall managers .. bastards won't give an inch), and did I mention running?

.. and did I mention Tirupati. Behold me at my devout best ..

back to bad food & good roads

2005-08-25T16:41:00.000-07:00

Got back last Sunday after a frenetic two weeks. The jetlag is slowly wearing off and I've mustered courage to actually put a few words up here. There's so much to write about .. the marriage, tirupati, family ..

For now ..

I'll miss:
mom & pop, home food, restaurant food, pani-puris, sweets, indian icecream, water cooler, cheap (and free) cab rides, breakfast, trains, stone temples, milkshakes, sports coverage, movie audiences, suit tailors, fabindia, indian gals, kurtas, shirts & trousers, shoes, haircuts, open windows, concrete walls

I won't miss:
the roads, traffic, unpunctual people, autos, slow internet, jewellery shopping, movie sound systems, the cars, mineral water, jeans, indian airports

sustain me oh lord .. cause I got so much to say.

week of get-togethers

2005-08-04T11:17:00.000-07:00

.. and I thought I couldn't possibly meet any more people in bangalore. I met so many old friends and made as many more new ones. Still, thanks to efforts from Kingsly and Arora, we put together some last minute reunions.

The first one at Casa Piccola featured St Pauls alumni - Anshul & wife, Parag, Kingsly, Avinash and yours truly. Kingsly took pains to make sure no one knew who else was coming. Now, normally that wouldn't be a problem. However, when people are meeting after almost 10 years, they can be forgiven for not recognizing their old pals. Parag took a while to get into his groove and provided most of the entertainment. Avinash, who actually grew a full foot after leaving high school heaved a sigh of relief after correctly recognizing the rest. Of course, none of this would have happened had it not been for King Lee.

The other one a few days later came about at Tandoor on MG Road with a good number of folks from the class of 2000, IIT-G. This place serves awesome food. I mean it's not every day that you shell out enough money to disburse your entire semester expenses (oh, those good old days) and still feel great about it. The evening provided pleasurable company in the form of Mr & Mrs. Meel, Mr and Mrs Item :-P, Arora, Clint, Giri, Sahu, Shariq, Vivek and Dhingra. After the party, I even got some good old bums. For once, there was an upside to clint's inertia. I remember being at the receiving end (and I'm sure Ghosh would more than anyone else) of some pretty formidable kicks from him. I guess Dhingra was the only guy who hasn't changed one bit. A special thanks must go to the missuses for having graced the occasion and sitting thru a lot of peurile IIT G talk that we just can't seem to get away from.

There was also a small party at Annachi's, a chettinad restaurant for the MA crowd. featuring Mustafa, Karan and Gangadhar. Boy, was the food hot. It was also delicious - particularly the Egg Appam, Dosa and Parupu Payasam.

Pictures --July

2005-07-22T03:01:00.000-07:00

Check out some of the latest pictures.

Visa Interview

2005-07-21T00:00:00.000-07:00

I had an interview in the American consulate yesterday for my H1-b status validation. After two hours of watching nervous hopefuls wanting to enter the land of the free, I got an approval for my petition after a minute of questioning. While my experience was quite pleasant, I'm afraid it wasn't so for many people. Some of the interviewers (interrogators??) were openly hostile from the word go. Of course there was the occasional whole-hearted smile and genuine warmth that you get to see routinely in most american establishments but the not-so-pleasant ones stuck out. Let me explain.

Giri thought that some of the questions asked were very funny. In a perverted sense (sort of like a scene from a coen brothers movie), they were but I couldn't really see the humor. This sounds evil (precisely!) but each time the interviewers had something harsh/rude to say, like ..

"Ma'am, you are not listening to me. Please don't waste my time."
"Do you understand English? You made your appointment in English din't you, even though you cannot speak the language?"
"Sir, I am going to have to reject your visa application."

.. I felt the speakers went louder than usual drawing everyone's attention to the spectacle that was unfolding. Really, I mean I could barely hear any positive verdicts but I could hear a lot of rejection 'pronouncements'. As it is, when you are seated for two hours with nothing else to do, you just sit and watch the show. There were a couple of performers (bad cops?) for the day who questioned petitioners so rapidly interrogation style (i've never witnessed this style of questioning off-screen), the poor creatures hardly had time to complete their answers - if they understood the question in the first place. I felt sorry for a lot of them.

To be honest, they grant visas to most of the applicants but I din't know why they had to draw attention to the rejected cases. If any of you can support this claim of mine, speak out. I'm curious.

AUTOcracy

2005-07-20T23:36:00.000-07:00

Nope .. that ain't remotely political. I have developed a perverse desire to become an auto-rickshaw driver in Madras for a day in my life after my visit to the city yesterday for a U.S. consulate appointment. They rule Madras - I kid you not. I've never seen a more brazen bunch when it comes to demanding outrageous fares - and more or less getting them. Naidu calls them bashas - an allusion to rajni's role as an autodriver in the movie by the same name. I witnessed the truth to his fond sobriquet.

I knew that I'd have a tough time negotiating fares since I don't speak Tamil. Turns out it doesn't really matter whether you know the language or not. They refuse to budge from their initial quote. I still wonder why they have meters mounted on their vehicles. Worse still, apparently all the meters are rigged. Be very wary of one who wants to go by the meter. You end up paying double the fare you might have negotiated (as my friend found out).

What beats me is how they continue to do this in a fairly civilized and well managed city. Maybe the auto-lobby in TN has as much clout as the Jewish lobby in Washington. I hope they are reined in soon. Madras doesn't deserve them. It appeared clean, well-maintained and less congested than both Hyd and definitely bangalore.

Thanks to my very early arrival at 5:30am, I got to spend an hour or so at the beautiful beach near Thiruvanmiyur where Akha lives. We walked for a mile on the beach passing people of all ages exercising and or running. It reminds me so much of Tatayya when I see old men dressed in white walking briskly. There was also this amazing 60+ (maybe 70+) old lady dressed in a simple cotton saree effortlessly holding yoga poses facing the sun.

Some people just carry their age so well. They don't need botox or facelifts or any of the countless gimics people resort to and pay for through their noses. Their skin may be wrinkled .. hair substantially gray .. bags forming under their eyes and yet, there is an undeniable radiance in their appearance. A purity and simplicity that screams elegance and of contentment in life. I wonder if I can ever put a finger on that elusive and invaluable something that people of two generations past seem to have.

Considering how good I am with words, its better to have a picture of what I had in mind while writing the previous para. Here is a picture of MS Subbulakshmi.

oops ..

2005-07-12T05:07:00.000-07:00

It's mom's birthday today, so "Happy Birthday Mom!!!" From me and all my friends who come by.
Except, I totally forgot about it today morning. Mom called me and asked "so howz everything?". "ma, I'm in the bath .. can I call you back later?". "you sure you arent' forgetting anything?". "Doh!!!". :-(

I forgot for the first time in I don't know how long. Felt shitty but hey, she's ma .. forgiveness begins there :).

"Wish you many many more happy returns of the day!!!"

Update:

This is the smiling marine giri mentions in his comment. I changed it to the current one yesterday.

This one's the original.

Still lovin' it

2005-07-11T22:56:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since my last post. This was partly because I was getting a bit lethargic and partly because blogspot's new photo upload feature wouldn't work properly. It seems to be working fine now.

My India trip has been going on great over the past couple of weeks. Still meeting up with friends/relatives, still gorging on great food (and telling folks back in the states about it - kya kare .. control nahi hota).

I've been wanting to write about my Sringeri trip for a while now. It was one of the more enjoyable trips I've made in recent times. I got to know my sister's in-laws-to-be better and also got to see some of the most beautiful tropical terrain during the drive. Not to mention the temple itself, the ambience and the asramam. I discovered the joy of walking barefoot on centuries old stone floors. The surface is naturally anti-skid and gently massages your feet as you walk. I'm not much of a devout Hindu but I couldn't deny the calm soothing effect of the vedic chants in and around the temple. And did I mention the food :) ? All these temples serve free food everyday to hundreds of devotees. Typically Kannada style cooking. I can't figure out how they manage to cook such delicious food on such a scale. If I ever cook for more than three people, my sense of proportion goes awry.

After Sringeri, on the way back to Bangalore, we stopped by the Balur and Halebidu temples. These are famous for their intricate and painstakingly detailed stone carvings. Apart from traditionally ornate sculptures of buxom beauties and Gods and Demons, I was blown away by the geometric precision of the pillars and other structures inside the temple. Sadly, preservation efforts undertaken by the government leave a lot to be desired. I couldn't help thinking how a similar structure would've been treated in the US. Like Eddie Izzard says in 'Dress to Kill' (which is btw, the funniest stand-up routine ever), "Massive restoration and preservation efforts were being undertaken for a building built *fifty years ago* in Florida."

Last week, I saw 'Sarkar' and 'War of the Worlds'. Both were OK, the latter more disappointing because I expected something more from Spielberg. In any case, it was quite an experience watching the movies in bangalore's multiplex. The sound was ridiculously loud. I had to block my ears many times. But there is one advantage though, you don't need to worry about cell-phones ringing.

Sarkar was more or less on expected lines. And a movie like this is always going to be compared to Godfather - and it's going to fall short. I don't think Varma can achieve the same effect he did in Siva. Now that was a cracker of a movie. He changed the landscape of telugu cinema (and unfortunately Nagarjuna's career .. for the better :-( ) with one shot - and gifted a whole generation of college students with the ultimate weapon, the cycle chain. Still Sarkar was a watchable movie and Abhishek B looks cool - though nowhere as commanding as his dad. And there was this absolutely gorgoeus dame who plays Amitabh's daughter-in-law. Heard she's called Rukhsar and she acted decent too. The other two female 'leads' were hopeless. If someone like RV picks such total duds, how can our industry ever find redemption?

profile pic

2005-07-06T03:19:00.000-07:00

The picture I had on my profile previously was the most polarizing one I've known in recent times. The feedback ranged from 'horrible!' to 'cool pic'. For the record, my mom thought it was horrible. Here's something more recent. What say you folks?

Home Sweet Home

2005-06-13T23:37:00.000-07:00

Check out pictures of the Upanayanam here.

I finally got to go home last Thursday. It was a heady feeling; not so much because of the pent-up emotions but because of a very bumpy flight courtesy Air Deccan. Air Deccan is India's first low-cost carrier and its pretty cool. They actually have a neat in-flight magazine that proudly talks about what they don't provide including (and not limited to) pretty lasses (I sure hope the stewardess do not read that) and food. Bangalore's thunder showers made the ascent a bit more bumpy than it should have been but as I was stiffening up in my seat, the stewardess was calmly serving the passengers. I concluded that this was normal and proceeded to relax.

As we approached Hyderabad, the view from the top revealed the chaotic splendour of Hyderabad's street lines and houses. The addition of numerous flyovers only made it more spectacular. As I came out of the arrivals lounge, my searching eyes first picked up dad's silver crop of hair. It felt very good to see him after such a long time. He didn't change much and in spite of mom's repeated complaints about his laziness, he seemed to be in fairly good shape. The drive back home felt very familiar. It was a road oft traveled - the only change being the density of traffic. However, I found Hyderabad's roads a lot better. I was sad to see some of the calmest, widest and regal roads in the area serving increasingly high volume traffic.

I was back in Hyderabad for my Upanayanam. For the uninitiated, Upanayanam (or Thread Ceremony) heralds a young brahmins entry into his lifelong duty to study the vedas and serve the Lord. It was a bit late as far as I was concerned but not too late. The activities began at 3am on Friday. It starts with the women-folk applying oil to the head and turmeric to the limbs. I felt like the female model in the vicco vajradanti ad that used to air more than a decade ago. My uncle helped me put on a silk dhoti and after securing the folds with a safety-pin, I was ready to start.

The ritual was quite elaborate and involved two changes of clothes. The most difficult part of the ritual was having to sit down cross-legged for long stretches spanning a total of 5.5 hours. I attempted to alleviate the pain by changing my posture several times. In retrospect, thanks to the video recording, it looked quite hilarious. I heard it's a lot longer during a wedding ceremony. God help me and my hamstrings.

Jokes apart, there was an inherent beauty in the arrangements and the chants. While I didn't understand most of what was said, the Brahmam garu (the master of ceremony) took time to explain the purpose and meaning of the whole ceremony.

Towards the end, I went around begging for rice and whatever else my relatives had to offer. In the old days, the brahmin would go around town begging for food as that signifies his entry into an austere life. Ironically, my beggings amounted to a total of Rs. 6000. Not a bad haul. Later that night, I just hung around with relatives recalling days past drowning myself in a solid dose of nostalgia. Can't get enough of that.

On saturday morning, I went running at the Kasu Brahmananda Reddy park. This is an increasingly popular park with lots of trails. Going by how it has shaped up so far, it holds a lot of promise. The longest trail in the park was 4 km loop that I ran thrice completing my longest run yet. It was something else running in the Hyderabad heat. Back in Atlanta, I was able to run 6 miles quite comfortably even in the noon heat. In hyd, the sun at 7:10am was enough to trouble me. I slowed down substantially towards the last 3 km and I could feel the physical drain. I enjoyed the challange and felt glad to complete the run.

The only downside to the run was the near absense of other runners. It felt weirdly satisfying to pass walkers twice or thrice during my run. I really did stick out from the rest of the people there because of my running gear. I anticipated some wise-cracks from the local chokras but none really came forth; atleast I din't hear them. In the company of friends I would've given me some serious taunting had I been there.

The favorable effects of jetlag

2005-06-08T03:30:00.000-07:00

I hope I'm not speaking too early but I could not resist. Three continuous days of solid sleep at night and non-drowsy afternoons were too much not to gush about. Restless nights, reluctant awakenings and drowsy post-lunch sessions have been dogging me for far too long.

Somehow, my body-clock seems to love IST. I've been going to bed at 11pm and getting up around 6:30am since Monday. I even exercised yesterday and went running today morning. I feel alert and fresh all day in the office. Gosh, I wonder what it is that I'm doing right. I'd love to replicate that back in Atlanta. One thing is I move about a lot during the day, meet friends and hang around differnt places during the night. I return to the guest house around 11pm, take a shower and immediately hit the bed. No TV, no internet. Maybe I should try that.

BTW, I retract some of the statements made in haste the first day around. I ran about 3 miles near the guest house on reasonably busy streets. I was hoping they wouldn't be as busy at 6:15 in the morning but in any case, the interior roads are OK. There aren't many vehicles going around on these roads, just a lot of people. Shyamoly, it might take you a bit longer to internalize the indian road scene but it looks very encouraging. I had a very good time today.

pix and music

2005-06-08T02:01:00.000-07:00

Check out some of the pictures I took in the last few days ..

Three excellent albums have attained 'great album' status on my list. 80% or more of the tracks on these albums are really good.

You Gotta Go There To Come Back - Stereophonics
The Bends - Radiohead
From a Basement on the Hill - Elliot Smith

Road Etiquette

2005-06-07T12:10:00.000-07:00

1) Honk if ..
a) .. you need to turn
b) .. you need to pass
c) .. you are pissed off
d) .. someone cuts in
e) .. you are bored
f) .. the silence bothers you

2) If honking doesn't seem to work with pedestrians (in the case of cows, follow b & c), nudge them (gently if you are in a benevolent mood) with different parts of your vehicle in the following order:
a) the rear-view mirrors: These are pliable on impact so they don't make much of a physical dent. You can always turn them back after your target is no longer obstructing you.
b) the handle: for the more soporific, moony and/or obstinate crowd. Be prepared to shift down and speed away before they have a chance to react.
c) the front wheel: same guidelines as c. The added bonus is you can cause some serious dirt damage to your targets pants.

note: For the record, I've seen a & b in action. I'm hoping to see c too.

3) If you need to cross the road
a) Always make sure the road is reasonably busy and there is no chance for vehicles to speed. It is riskier to cross an empty street with this technique.
b) Always look away from the vehicles approaching you. Never make eye contact with a motorist (or his middle finger .. unless you are in the mood for some good old wrangling) while doing this.
c) Walk confidently, slowly and continuously (or part 2 of previous section might kick in). Do not send out ambiguous signals by stuttering. The motorists usually stop.

note: derived from personal experience developed over several years in Hyderabad. I take no responsibility for non-standard behavior from motorists. They are law-breakers and need to be in jail.

arz hain ..

2005-06-07T10:22:00.000-07:00

The ride to work is enlivened by the local radio station broadcasts. There's a two minute funny sher that pops up every 3-4 hours. it's plain hilarious. I seek forgiveness from easily offendible shayri afficionados as I try to piece together what I heard in urdu.

arz hain ..
har kamyaab aadmi ki kamyaabi ke peeche ek aurat hain ..
har kamyaab aadmi ki kamyaabi ke peeche ek aurat hain ghalib ..

isliye kyonki aurten kamyaab aadmi ke heen peeche padte hain ..

wah wah wah wah ..

The on air commercials are quite funny too but there's no way I can convey that in writing. I'll keep an eye out for some that can.

6th June - Day 1 at MA India

2005-06-06T01:50:00.000-07:00

I woke up to a call from Mom at 7:15 in the morning. After a nice bread/omelette breakfast and freshly squeezed orange juice ( i must not get used to this), I headed out to the office in the company van. Being driven in the crawling bangalore traffic gave me a chance to observe people. It was an interesting experience - particularly because of my new found interest in photography. People were busy driving, napping, cursing, smoking, adjusting make-up, combing hair, what not. And I found the FM station here quite good. Some of the ads were plain hilarious. I was actually waiting for the on-air commercials instead of the songs. Even the RJ was pretty cool and relaxed. It had a very original feel to it.

Today also happens to be MA India's first day in the new office. Everyone is just about finding their feet and the higher-ups are quite busy. It took me a while to find a power adaptor for my laptop but I'm finally in business. It's like joining a new company again. I got to meet a few classmates and juniors from IIT who are over here. The office looks pretty good - a lot better than the american one.

And a runaway winner, the canteen food is fantastico. Just check out the lunch menu - on the house. Pudeena Pulao, Curd Rice, Sambar, Rasam, Aloo Curry, Fruit Salad, Veggie Salad, Buttermilk, Pongal, Avial and Roti. Unfortunately, there is no gym nearby but I had better find one soon or I'm gonna come back a tonne heavier. Ironically, my friends here said the food was so-so. They have got to come to Atlanta and learn to survive on the subways and quiznos.

Day 1 - Part 2

2005-06-05T11:49:00.000-07:00

After being served hot paranthas by mani - my ultra soft-spoken bengali housekeeper - I called up Clint who was to chauffer me for the rest of day. I woke him up at around 7:45 and he promised to get ready in a half-hour and start. He finally ended up arriving after 3 hours. During this time, I was getting terribly restless. I was in India after five years and I wasn't with friends or family. It felt strangely painful. Anyways, Clint arrived and I was pleasantly surprised to see that he hadn't put on any weight and in fact lost some.

We decided to go to MG Road to do some shopping and some other important stuff a new sim-card for my phone and exchanging dollars for rupees. Thus began my first pillion ride in 5 years. Clint did nothing to ease me into the experience as he started off in the opposite direction on a ridiculously busy one way street. Clint, a Yale educated IITian who worked at Oracle, Moutain View for 3 years had adapted fairly well back to Indian roads. I did have fun riding the two-wheeler though. And as many people would say, the pollution never really got to me as much. I could smell the smoke but it did not trigger any breathing difficulties as I would have expected. To me, the traffic is still the only thing that doesn't cease to shock me.

I was able to get my new cell phone set up. It cost me about 1200 Rs and I was ready to go. We got together with Shariq and Shakti for lunch. Shariq hasn't changed a bit - except that his beard got a bit more thicker - and he looked exactly like a hippie. He would have neatly blended with a group of tree huggers. The only diff being - you'd see a $600 piece of equipment pop into his hands when he answers calls to his cell. That looked cool.

Money was disappearing fast - whether I ate, drank, or anything else. I had never previously spent my own money in India. Back at IIT, any meal costing more than Rs30 was exorbitant. Here even really modest restaurants end up costing about 70Rs per head. Luckily, I was able to feel better converting the amount spent back to dollars. Much as I hated to do it, I ended up asking for bottled water wherever I went. I wanted to ease into this and so far I havn't had any tummy trouble. I hope it stays that way. There's too much good food to miss if I fall sick.

Finally, a word about the shopping malls. This place really rocks. The stuff we get back in the States really pales in comparison. There's tremendous variety and better quality available for a fraction of the dollar price we pay there. I really had to hold myself back from picking up bunch of t-shirts and jeans. For now, I just picked up on pair of Pepe jeans that Mom insisted I buy for wearing after the Upanayanam.

My jetlag did not affect me during the day at all. I was able to retire at around 11pm at night after dinner and meeting Mr and Mrs Chatterjee (Deba and wife). I can't seem to get enough of these first encounters with close friends after so many years. A big smile, a roar and a nice tight embrace.

Day 1 begins

2005-06-05T07:46:00.000-07:00

So, I get out at 6:15am in the morning hoping to find a PCO nearby so I could call Mom. As I ventured about 1/2 a mile in both directions, the thing that hit me first was a conscious effort on my part *not* to smile at other pedestrians. Then I saw something that I was hoping to see - I heard someone jogging slowly behind me. As he passed me by, a motorist approached from behind moving at about 15km/h and honked - I guess that's an 'on your left' biker equivalent in India. The motorist swerved right because the runner did not react in the few micro-seconds he had, the runner followed suit - also swerving to the right a second or so later - and the motorist came within millimeters of hitting the jogger. The funny thing was, the runner was blissfully unaware of what was ensuing behind - the motorist threw a wasted glare. I had stopped in my tracks watching in horror. All my hopes of running in the morning were shattered immediately. It's going to be a challange finding places to run while I'm here. Also since its raining my adidas runners are going to get royally screwed. I soon realized how unaccustomed I got to hearing honks. It was reasonably calm at around 7am on a sunday so the honks were spaced apart and not as continuous a feature as I soon found out later in the day. I would react each time someone honked. Anyways, I was happy that my hyderabadi road-crossing skills were still pretty good.

After Five Long Years

2005-06-05T04:43:00.000-07:00

I'm finally back in India - can't say *home* yet as I'll be going to Hyd only on the 9th - after five long years. I can't stop saying it .. after *five long years* - and I'm loving it. Every minute of it so far. The journey from start to finish couldn't have gone any smoother. No trouble at check-in in Atlanta, transit at Frankfurt or immigration/customs at Bangalore. I was carrying so many electronic items that I was positive I was going to have to put up a fight so I don't have to pay any duty. Surprisingly, the customs officers were pretty cool about the whole business. I landed at 12:30am in Bangalore and I guess they were as eager to call it quits as we
were to get out of the airport.

The bangalore airport in Thom Friedman's words was akin to a Greyhound station and some like in Portland quite comfortably look a *lot* classier. It was raining around the time I landed so the weather was a bit muggy but nothing I couldn't handle as yet. I had MA's driver waiting to pick me up at the airport and I was promptly dropped at the company guesthouse in Koramangala. At the guesthouse I had a small army of the maintenance staff ready to pick up my bags and show me my room. The room was a pretty good one with an a/c unit that was on UPS. Later that night, there was no power - the only reason I knew was because I just couldn't sleep .. i had enough of it on the flights - but the a/c was going strong.

I was pretty restless and I badly wanted to talk to friends in Bangalore but at 2am at night, I decided otherwise. I couldn't call mom because there was no PCO open at that time. Anyways, after going thru a 6th rerun of Radiohead's 'The Bends', I had enough - I was ready to get out and get some bangalore air.

the poisonous language of academia

2005-05-26T07:47:00.000-07:00

I read this article by Robert Fisk, a plain speaking jouralist who reports on events in the middle east. He talks about the ridiculous language used in most academic publications. I felt such a sense of relief knowing I wasn't alone in my disdain for supposedly scholarly writing. This style of writing while serving as a stellar sleeping aid most times also gave me several headaches - specially the kind that showed up in GRE verbal comprehension passages. Come to think of it, some of the NY Times movie reviews come very close.

On other fronts, today I took my first rock-climbing lesson along with Mukta. Learnt the basics of climbing and belaying. We both pretty much killed each other while belaying the other person :-) . Luckily, the whole setup is so safe, your mistakes don't really cost anything. I need a lot more strength in my fingers. It was a great experience on the whole. After my trip in India, I'll go do some outdoor climbing.

Saw 'Crash' the other day - fantastic movie. I'd rate it the best I've seen so far this summer along with Sin City. Kingdom of Heaven comes a close second. The screenplay was the clear highlight, weaving a tale so involving around so many characters. I absolutely loved the movie's in-your-face take on racism and the various funny, sad and uplifting elements. In particular, the monologue about car thieves, forensic investigation and discovery channel was hilarious.

27 now

2005-05-22T00:05:00.000-07:00

I just completed 27 years of my life today. hmm ... tick tick tick ... I have nothing interesting to say .. tick tick tick .. waiting for mom to finish her call with manju so that I can call and get wished a second time. birthdays last 36 hours in the US for me. Isn't that cool?

Went to Raj's anniversary party and I kid you not - every living being who came to know of my impending trip to India popped the question - 'getting hitched?'. of course I am! bharath offered to mail me some additional documentation that I'll need if I'm to bring my young new bride to the states. the future is clear my babies - I'll be back with a spanking new wife.

Actually, I want to take a sabbatical and go on a 6 month trek of the Himalayas.

OK .. I give up. I don't see this blog headed anywhere interesting.

tick .. tick .. tick

i'll be 28

music hotlist

2005-05-15T00:04:00.000-07:00

Street Spirit, Black Star - Radiohead
La Main La Dance La Main - Faudel
Mohammed, Bohemian like you - the Dandy Warhols
Adarghral, Walagh, Amegh Asinigh - Abdelli
Vibuthi - Ozric Tentacles
Extreme Ways - Moby

And there's nothing like running to ac/dc. This friday, I ran a couple of miles on the treadmill with a rapid turnover and kept my foot elevation really low. This doesn't look great at all - it seems more like a fast walk as opposed to a high knee running action that looks a lot more elegant. But remarkably, this technique almost nullified fatigue/pain in my shins. I'll see how my shins react to a four miler tomorrow. This will hopefully increase my leg/feet strength and adaptability which will eventually lead to a faster pace and longer mileage without any niggling injuries/pain.

Quarter Life Crisis

2005-05-12T13:42:00.000-07:00

First off .. I din't write it. A friend sent it to me a while back when I was 25 :-). It was written by Brenda Della Casa for Play magazine. I got this information from a comment left by the author's bot. Full credit to her.

They call it the "Quarter-life Crisis." It is when you
stop going along with the crowd and start realizing
that there are many things about yourself that you
didn't know and may not like. You start feeling
insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or
two, but then get scared because you barely know where
you are now.

You start realizing that people are selfish and that,
maybe, those friends that you thought you were so
close to aren't exactly the greatest people you have
ever met, and the people you have lost touch with are
some of the most important ones. What you don't
recognize is that they are realizing that too, and
aren't really cold, catty, mean or insincere, but that
they are as confused as you.

You look at your job... and it is not even close to
what you thought you would be doing, or maybe you are
looking for a job and realizing that you are going to
have to start at the bottom and that scares you.
Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what
others are doing and find yourself judging more than
usual because suddenly you realize that you have
certain boundaries in your life and are constantly
adding things to your list of what is acceptable and
what isn't. One minute, you are insecure and then the
next, secure. You laugh and cry with the greatest
force of your life. You feel alone and scared and
confused. Suddenly, change is the enemy and you try
and cling on to the past with dear life, but soon
realize that the past is drifting further and further
away, and there is nothing to do but stay where you
are or move forward.

You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you
loved could do such damage to you. Or you lie in bed
and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent enough
that you want to get to know better. Or maybe you love
someone but love someone else too and cannot figure
out why you're doing this because you know that you
aren't a bad person. One night stands and random hook ups
start to look cheap. Getting wasted and acting like an idiot
starts to look pathetic.

You go through the same emotions and questions over
and over, and talk with your friends about the same
topics because you cannot seem to make a decision. You
worry about loans, money, the future and making a life
for yourself... and while winning the race would be
great, right now you'd just like to be a contender!
What you may not realize is that everyone reading this
relates to it. We are in our best of times and our
worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure
this whole thing out.

music mania arabica

2005-05-09T22:27:00.000-07:00

I'm suffering from a bout of cannot-get-enough-of-middle-eastern-music since yesterday. It was one of those days when I wanted to badly badly listen to some high-energy music - the kind that will get you jumping ten feet high with each beat. My 60 gigs of music came up short as I went thru song after song remaining unsatisfied. It was then that I decided to listen to a freak download of 'Dhoom Machade' remix. THAT kicks ass - atleast the first couple of minutes. After that, I went on a rampage downloading music from Coolgoose and thus I rediscovered my love for arabic music - thru Faudel. One of his tracks, La Main Dans La Main is wildly infectuous. It kicks off with a weeping, imploring violin riff that gives in to a teasing banjo-like arpeggio that ultimately morphs into a fast-paced track featuring typically melodic vocals and irresistable ethnic arrangements. That led me to search feverishly for more such music. I eventually stumbled into Abdelli, an artist who blends arab-african music with other world influences. Two of his songs (Adarghral and Walagh) were exceptionally pure compositions featuring melting vocals, flute and guitar (or atleast what I think were flute and guitar). But frankly, it's riduculously time-consuming to search for new music. I couldn't believe the amount of crap I had to go thru to end up with these gems but I think it's worth it .. as I sit back with my headphones and enjoy the fruits of my labor.

All this frenzy for music east of the Atlantic began ever since I saw MF Husain's Meenaxi (kindly lent to me by Rupa). Meenaxi had some typically exhilerating tracks from Rehman like Chinnamma Chilakamma (yes, it's telugu and one of the reasons I took notice), Yeh Rishta, Rang Hain and Noor-un-ala-noor. That led me to listen to Swades - Yun hi chala, Saawarian, Yeh Tara. As I searched on coolgoose for Swades music, I ran into Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's Kinna Sona and eventually to Faudel. So, now that I've etched my journey east to west having listened to some truly remarkable music, I'll sign off praying that the God of Sleep will whisk me away for some much needed shuteye.

Fitter, Happier

2005-05-01T19:40:00.000-07:00

An apt title for this entry but you got to listen to the song with the same name by Radiohead. It's something else altogether.

Today, I road-tested my new Adidas runners that I got at Phidippides last week. It felt great to run after a six week layoff. Among my many obsessions, running is one and I had to stop dead in my trax after repeating pain on the outer side of my left knee (aka runners knee). After furiously pondering many possible causes, I stumbled upon the fact that I started developing the pain around the time I switched leg extensions with situps. After putting them back in my routine, my knee hasn't been misbehaving and today I was able to run 3 miles quite comfortably. Hopefully, I can keep running without much trouble. I'm really looking forward to running in India, specially near home. Banjara Hills had such great terrain, atleast it was so around the time I left.

I also came across a very interesting site on weight training the other day. I'm going to try a low volume routine for the next few weeks and see how that feels. This site is very clean in appearance, features no endorsements and comes across as quite honest and straightforward. When it contains stuff like Evidence suggests that less than 20 percent of men and very few women can develop large muscles even if they wanted to, regardless what program they follow you cannot but trust the author.

I attended a wine-tasting party this friday at Giri's. Because I my self confessed dislike for wine, Giri arranged a great selection of dark chocolates so I could do a paul giamatti on chocolate. On the whole I had a great time at the party and met up with some very fun people. Atlanta only seems to get more and more interesting with time.

the merits of dark chocolate

2005-04-20T19:30:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd write about a favorite pastime of mine - eating dark chocolate. It's a pastime because I tend to eat copious amounts over an extended period of time. I also eat ridiculous amounts of other things but I've come to know that dark chocolate is actually good for your heart. I don't feel all that bad about my indulgence now.

There are few things that excite me as much as the possibility of tasting - no pigging out on - a new intensely dark chocolate bar or truffle. The good thing about gourmet chocolate lust - especially dark chocolate - is that it is not available widely and it's good for the heart or so I'm (easily) led to believe. Trader Joe's is the best place on earth to taste a great variety of chocolates at very reasonably prices - especially if pigging out is your thing. Atlanta, luckily does not have a TJ's around so I manage to keep my consumption down to sane levels. The last time I chanced upon a TJ's in Boston, I grabbed 12 different bars; pledged to eat them over three months .. and managed to make them last a whole three days. Some day my teeth are going to rot and fall off but hopefully my heart will be running stronger than ever.

Here are some of my favorites:
Terra Nostra - Intense Dark
Green and Black - 70% Dark
Lindts - Intense Orange Dark
Starbucks Espresso Choc
TJ's French Truffles
Fran's Truffles and Bars (that Manju so kindly sent me from Seattle)
a couple of Puerto Rican and Venezuelan dark chocs available at TJs.

Some suck and others are too expensive. But give these a try - you won't go back to milk chocolate again. Oh, another great advantage - you'll never need to hide these things from your predatory friends. Most don't fancy them. Maybe some day, I'll start liking alcohol but I doubt it - I've been waiting and trying five years for that to happen.

Not another movie review

2005-04-17T22:30:00.000-07:00

I was hoping that I'd have something to write besides movie reviews. Apparently, I don't have the stomach to write about other happenings in my life. I'll start off with a review but I'm determined to talk about other things.

Saw telugu movie Anand for the second time today with the newlyweds, Bharath and Sandhya. I saw this movie a few months back with mom when she was in Atlanta. I quite liked the movie then and I liked it as much today. This time, I had more time to think about it. The USP of the movie is still the feel-good factor. For someone like me, living in the US for the last 5 years and still holding onto a picture of home as I knew it 10-15 years ago, it was gratifying to see that the director had it in him to depict the intrinsic but subtle beauty in daily routines. Many scenes were genuinely funny in a natural way much in the way Geetanjali was years ago. Mainly, I liked seeing a multi-dimensional and intelligent female character.

To be fair though, the movie has its flaws. The telugu was terrible all through. I really hope the director was facing serious casting constraints, otherwise it is inexcusable. It really could have done without that irritating kids. I think the movie would have been more logically coherent if it completely did away with the first and last 20 minutes. The story of the guy falling in love with a smart and independent girl and his efforts to get her would have made more sense. It appears that the director set out to do something original, then lost his way, found that path (the beaten path) a lot more interesting or motivating and eventually woke up towards the end to hastily tie up the loose end.

So much for the movie. Of late, as the date for my India trip nears, I'm more and more excited. Almost everyone who comes to know about it ask if I'll get hitched and/or if I've begun bride-hunting. I'm not going with any specific plan in mind, but the Lord knows I'm quite open to the idea of finding someone. After one failed relationship, I have come to enjoy bachelor life a lot in the last one year. But hey, I'm too much of a romantic to kid myself into thinking I'm not interested in finding the one. This trip will also give me an opportunity to reassess my priorities in life and the possibility of settling back home. I need to get involved in something creative and I hope to use this opportunity to gauge the possibilities for a promising future in India. I'll turn 27 next month and by Jove, I've been fooling around for too long. I've got to wake up and announce myself to the world.

I saw I Heart Huckabees the other day. It was a pretty confusing movie but it asked a good question - 'How am I not being myself?'. In my case, the line blurs between what I do and what I want to do before I set out to do it. I'm not sure if my true self is my inner voice aware of all my thoughts or the eventual manifestation that eveyone else sees and is ultimately the one I've chosen to project to the outside world. I've got to think more about this one. As of now, I'm afraid to even think about it. Maybe, it's because it will affirm the existence of a self that I don't want to accept. Either way, it's out there and needs to be accounted for.

Sin City

2005-04-09T23:27:00.000-07:00

I wasn't a heavy comic book reader as a kid but I read enough to appreciate the brilliance of Sin City. I just saw it a couple of hours back and it's still fresh in my mind. Agreed it was violent and explicit throughout but it couldn't have been otherwise. I thought the use of color was brilliant and the dialog dry and witty. I seem to have a great affinity for humor blended in with profoundly violent scenes and there are scores in this one - a lot seem like they could've been conceived by the Coen Brothers. Among the galaxy of characters, I thought Micky Rourke and Benicio Del Toro had the juiciest parts. Clive Owen continues to impress and it was just another day at the office for Bruce Willis; the girls were all gorgeous. Frankly though, most of the credit should go to Rodriguez. Though I din't read the comic books, I'm not sure how much more fun they could be compared to the screen version.

From the time I first saw Desperado - to date one of the ultimate expression of style (along with Kill Bill vol I&II) - Rodriguez has been one of my idols. He just went up a few notches with this one. If I ever make action movies, I'm going to be heavily influenced by Mr. Rodriguez.

the week that was ..

2005-04-06T21:53:00.000-07:00

The weekend was hectic. Spent time with bavagaru climbing and skiing in Denver. Colorado is addictive. The hike-climb near flat-iron trail was close to technical - a great rush of blood to the head. I was frankly lucky to end up in one piece. I'm going to take some rock-climbing classes soon. The skiing on Sunday was great too. It was a warm sunny day - 64F. I ended up skiing in my fleece vest - one layer of clothing and it was exhilarating.

My luck with movies is still going strong. Saw Spanglish and Closer in the last couple of days. Liked 'em both.

Do I know that person?

2005-04-01T15:46:00.000-08:00

"People who don't want to get dragged into some kind of work often develop a protective incompetence at it."
- Paul Graham

Broccoli

2005-04-01T07:55:00.000-08:00

This article from the NYTimes talked about including vegetables in our diet and the associated (in)convenience factor. Here's an extract containing a well-expressed plaudit for broccoli.

..
As a primary dividend, broccoli and cauliflower come compact and easy to rinse. They do not harbor sand or bugs. They do not bruise if you tear them wrong, and they do not demand careful drying. They have nice little cut-on-the-dotted-line contours.
..