Inconvenient Indian Truths!

A nation battling its image in the world -after a devastating attack in MUMBAI. Its not like India was never attacked before, but yeah, 24*7 television has changed the impact of an attack, far from the scene of the crime to the cosy bedroom of each and every Indian family, within and abroad. Though the situation was brought under control in less than 3 days, (appalling by any SWAT standards), the nation still has a feel for the "sitting ducks" that they are, in the eyes of these terrorists.

But if we start digging around these Indian ducks, one of which is typing this line - all one can see, without bias, is a well-segregated and differentiated sub-groups on the basis of state boundaries, languages, religion, caste and so on.. Segregation is infinity exponentiated. We hardly have a core concept of what "India" should mean to all of us, but we can easily recognise ourselves as a Tamil xxxx or a Bengali yyyy. This is where the fundamental terror link exists in our social framework. States which were drawn on linguistic lines have caused irrevocable damage to us, only ensuring that we are fighting over water and electricity and what not?!

Taking religion more seriously in our lives, tends to be the other prominent dividor. One needs no explanation to understand this perspective of Indians.

Given these "I can find 100 differences in you" attitude, it needed an event like the Mumbai Attack or a war or maybe, an alien attack - on extrapolation - which would have given purpose for unity, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh.

Politician bashing ensued and it held for very eventful television viewing, funny and satirical. The bare fact remains that each and every one of us isnt really much different from the politician we blame. Again not a no-brainer, but I will elaborate nevertheless!

How many of us maintain an orderly queue to get tickets at a railway counter or to order our favorite dish at the restaurant. How many of us try to drive in line with another vehicle in the many roads of the many cities we have? My personal belief is that "the culture of a city, a country can be understood by looking at the way the people drive on the road". One can get a sense of the law of the land, if it is of any significance, the patience quotient of the folks, the social adjustment factor and most importantly, the orderliness and cleanliness perspectives of the combined social setup.

While we are pathetic in most aspects, what shines out, is the emergence of grassroot corruption - paying the quick buck to the traffic constable - to escape official censure and processes. The reason for this - "who will go and waste time paying fine and appearing in the court?" So we take a more "practical" approach and avoid the legal system altogether. Policing and legal ways are essential not just to maintain an orderly society - but are essential to securing it as well. The system's corruption is such that, even a terrorist can bribe his way through the police, the army and even the legal system. If all of this fails, politicians with narrow goals, will support these groups, on some pretext or the other.

This is where we have been an incubator for not just terror, but for a kind of "illegal lifestyle". It was least suprising to know that all the 10 terrorists who attacked Mumbai had 400 dollars in change - why? - because thats the bribe one has to pay to the Coast Guard to sneak into India. One shouldnt blame them, we are all equally responsible for encouraging the kind of society where money can buy you anything, including legal shortcuts, citizenship and in such cases, entry to the country.

If there is no one to give, there will be never anyone to get.

If you and I, start following the law, and ensure that we do our bit to maintain its high ink standard, most of the other aspects will start re-organizing itself. Intelligence, blamed for its failure in the attack, doesnt only rely on phone calls and foot locker notes - it depends on the common man as well, from reporting on a new tenant to the nearest police station to ensuring that suspicious activities are reported instantly. Intelligence has to be as close to the battle ground as possible and cannot always be a matter of something orbiting the world, miles up.

At the time of retaliation, our leaders are still appealing to the world and to the galaxy, for support, for retribution. Nothing which comes from them, can give everlasting peace to India. The problem isnt entirely external. Its internal reasons need a much bigger and serious corrective action. Inconvenient truths. Inconvenient Indian truths.

The drive to Switzerland!

It was just another day, a month back, when we suddenly drew up a plan to go to Coorg. Coorg, for those who dont know, is named as the "SWITZERLAND OF INDIA". Much of my push on this plan was to enjoy driving my new car.. and test my newly pruned driving skills and my endurance for long drives.

The ground work done was quite minimal. A couple of glances as to which National Highways to take from Chennai and also which key cities would be enroute. We started in two cars, one - I drove and the other - my dad's - we had a driver take that one. Driving in the highway is one thing, two cars driving as a group is just yet another!

Learnt this extra-ordinary lesson on this trip. It was always going to be a long drive, and all family members had advised to take a backup driver as well, incase things went wrong! I was however, quite confident that I Could pull it off.

In all, the journey was supposed to take around 8 hours. This according to some bhp team (on their website) which I am sure now, didnt go by road from Chennai to Coorg!!! The roads were immaculate, one has to admit. Perfect for driving conditions and if the surroundings were kept clean, one could have been duped that they were in a western nation. Arcot, Vellore and many smaller cities followed. With each city, we were passing, the elevation was on the rise. Finally as we reached Krishnagiri and onwards, one could see straight roads sloped effectively to blend with the hills beside. It was 6:30 that we started in the morning and we reached Krishnagiri by around 11:00. The next challenge was hitting Hosur and ultimately the land of traffic nightmare - Bengaluru!!

Hosur has a decent road stretch and we had a good lunch in one of the many restaurants. Being the driver, I had to curtail my intake, to avoid becoming sleepy. And so I did!! (This is the part I hated the most in the entire trip!!)

Bengaluru and its experiences deserve a new paragraph. So here go. Hosur to Bangalore, on paper is around 40 kms and Bangalore to Mysore was stated to be another 2 hours drive. What lay in store for us beyond Hosur was a nightmare and that too in the middle of the day! The road to Bangalore seemed endless, what with the array of vehicles and the extraordinary flyover which was being constructed. One birdie on the internet mentioned about some route from Electronics City to the Mysore highway, without having to hit the City and its traffic. What that birdie missed out, as we later realised, was this route was only 80% complete and had a good chunk of it missing. So we had to go right through the middle of the city, Forum Mall and then onwards to LalBagh and finally the market. Needless to say to anyone who knows Bgl traffic challenges, this journey took nearly 2 hours. Finally we were pleased to hear that we were in "Mysore Road". Phew, we thought! 2 hours to Mysore and we could go to Coorg by evening!

The road to Mysore was not going to give us any leeway. It was again, a halfcooked, so called highway, most roads in Pondicherry, would beat the width it offered. Anyways, we drove and drove and drove.. finally we were on a highway and gave us some opportunity to hit decent speeds of 80. It was slowly getting to the evening phase, when most office goers decide, enough is enough, and go home to start logging again from there. Had a quick bite in one of the highway restaurants, and we asked him. how far do we have to go to get to Coorg? He said.. "get off before Mysore, you will have a road to the right and yeah you can take that all the way to Coorg". My next question - was the most important one - of the entire journey - "Are the roads ok till there? Is there any challenge in driving in the night?". - "Ohh Not at all", he promised - "the roads are good." Till date, I dont know why he didnt tell me the truth, maybe we didnt tip the waiters sufficiently?!!

The sun finally started to lower its guard and we were firmly committed to reaching Coorg by nite to stay in the accomodation I had booked the previous day. So no stopping elsewhere in between. Coorg it is, come evening, nite or midnite!! There were not adequate lights on the highway and it was dark now, around 7 PM, a Karnataka Tourism vehicle was honking hard at me in the front. I finally gave some way, once it was possible. The driver, dont know if he was a qualified driver, raced ahead and put a sudden break and did something which swerved the bus to hit my car on the right side panel, just behind the headlights. It was a cool "thud". SHOCK and AWE, (quoted from George W Bush) followed. It was the first accidental accident for my car. The damage wasnt much but tears of blood flowed to see the ghastly bump!

This was also not to deter us, in our quest to get to Coorg.

Soon, around 830 PM, we decided to break for dinner - we were in a town called Hunsur. From thereon, we were told, the roads would be steep as we were entering the mountains. Ignorance, coupled with lack of local conditions, ensured that we were climbing an unknown route, in the dark, with no idea of what lay ahead. A lot of twists and turns followed and somehow we mustered our guts and it seemed like we were getting somewhere. We were all so happy. Atlast, we had succeeeded. A polite enquiry confirmed that it was not Madikeri, but Suntikoppa. "Madikeri is another 30 kms from here". Next question obviously met with a sign of "sorry - you are in trouble" - "Is the road any good till there?"

The route from Suntikoppa to Madikeri is so extraordinarily damaged, that one should wish that one's enemy also shouldnt have to take this route by car! Oh Holy Road Engineers of South India! Wish I knew what raw materials you use to build this road. My Hyundai GetzPrime gruntled all the way, as we worked our way painstakingly, through the dark forests and the so-called "road". If our vehicles had broken down there or got punctured, if we had been robbed there, no one on planet Earth would have an inkling to know, leave alone help!!

Prayers to previously unknown Gods and Goddesses followed, and the signboards showing the remaining number of kilometres to Madikeri, were cheered like never before. Finally, around midnite, nearly 18 hours after we started from Chennai, we were in Madikeri. A couple of calls to the homestay lady ensured that we didnt roam around too much and found our way correctly to the residence.

Once inside, visibly tired - we were all in for a great treat. The cottage I had booked, was an old residence which has been converted into a homestay. It was a four bedroom home, complete with dining room and a kitchen. We were all thrilled to get into those cozy beds and all promised the homestay lady - "If we get up tomorrow morning, we will ask for morning coffee!!"

Ohh, we got at 7 sharp, with the sun slowly finding its way and the pleasant air of the hillstation, pulling us out of our beds!

What happened later and how the drive and the places were - I will cover in a subsequent article. Its tiring, even to remember a gruelling drive :)

Knot Knot Knot or NOT AT ALL?

Man and his journey from birth to death. In between both these "accidents", he has a bigger incident this time, in most cases, by choice. Its called "marriage". Why do humans get married? Hmm.. does their sixth sense have something to do with this?

Is marriage truly the distinct characteristic differentiating a human from an animal, for animals  or for that matter birds hardly marry. Never heard a bee get "4 flowers" as dowry!

What would happen if in today's world marriages are stopped altogether? 

Not in any particular ranking, except that these thoughts come to my mind as a sequence.

The two genders would have less complicated lives. More achievements will follow from an individual and grouping it together, from a society. More time to spend on one's nail trimming or one's crossword. 

Surely, the quality of "life" would be much higher, for there would be no restrictions or classifications or expectations to meet. One would get up in the morning and do what one thought of. Very stress free and independent!

The side-effects on the society as such would be much more damning!

Since there are negligible opportunities for arguments or differences, the average person would be healthier and would need lesser medicines. No need to worry about Blood Pressure after the age of 45. No expectations to meet on "i want a boy" or "i want a  daughter", which means slightly  declining population. If biologically, we can be programmed to reproduce only when we are married, then the previous statement will mean a huge decline worldwide.

The diaper industry will have only one standard size to sustain itself!!

No Marriages means there would be no divorces - the legal industry would have lesser cases to deal with. Buildings and apartments will be more of one bedroom suites and not the extravagant 3 or 4 bed as is today. This results in better buying capacity with additional luxury added in the deal. Surely one beds wont cost a fortune!

Sportsmen like cricketers will play for an extended period of time, for there will be no more cribbing about spending time with a "family" back home. These days girl friends obviously travel with them anyways! 

Cooks. house cleaners, drivers would be in high demand. And so would be the restaurants, for most men would prefer outdoor food. Cant always trouble our mothers and grand moms every day, can we?! Home catering with speciality dishes every day of the week could be the marketing mantra.

Average savings would be high, (if everyone knew what the word "savings" meant) and one could go on longer travels abroad and see more of the world. Liquidity wouldnt be an issue, as spending would be quite normal, be it on boy friends, girl friends or on one's interests. This paragraph obviously is self-contradictory and depends on individual's inner tubelight.

The Indian Film Industry would lose dearly, as most of their movie stories depend on how to get a guy and a gal to marry - with complications, with geometry involved (triangle story) - or how to swap people at the last minute in the marriage hall. "Friendship" will become the central theme of all movies, where heroes and heroines would start as buddies in the first reel and continue that way till the end. 

"Love" would still be around, but it will not necessarily need to culminate in anything. It will be an ongoing thing, without any boundaries. 

"Festivals" will not mean buying costly dresses or jewels! One-liners on TShirts would go like "My Friend wears anything cheap I buy". One could also just buy a photo of a 22 Carat necklace as a gift - like the many cards and ecards we send each other every festival. 

Dowry cases will be non-existant, unless you force one of your friends' father to buy a gold watch for new year! No more suicides in the name of "my parents are not agreeing to the marriage" - The cops would surely welcome this.

We think that humans enjoy the best quality of life amongst all living beings. That aint true simply because we havent heard the other side of the story. Animals dont have "love" as their core construct of life, they just move on where life takes them, hibernate here and there, identify new sources of food and shelter, take it day by day, session by session (as they say in test cricket commentary) and yeah, surely, I havent known of  any bird cry or any fish weep.

In short - Man works, animals work. Man marries, animals DONT.

Maybe, thats the secret of their happiness. 

Top Ten MumMums!

Disclaimer::

Coming close on the heels of my "unsucccesful GM Diet" stint is purely incidental and has no consequences therein to GM or to the word "Diet". All characters described in this write-up have been expressed in the way I saw them, do things. Any connection to any person, living or dead is true and is intended to be so.

My Top ten foodie moments:

10) On a recent visit to Singapore, I realised that finding a good Indian meal was a challenge. Luckily for me, the food god "Gobu" blessed Singapore with a few restaurants like Komala Vilas, Saravanna Bhavan. The moment you enter, after all the difficulties travelling via the trains/taxis.. there is exactly one or two moments of paradise. Something which is more than life saving and cant be explained!

9) Love for the parottas has always been etched in my memory since school days. Whenever a new restaurant comes to my locality, as sincere AUDITORS of food, I would team up with some of my buddies and we would be there, tasting it and making our assessments!! There is something called as "salna" - atleast thats how it is pronounced - man, this is the first cousin of history's elixir :)

8) The one rupee Samosa. At lunch, in my school days in the 80s, we used to get some samosas in the canteen. They were as distinct as two biological species would be. One was for 50p and was a small triangle. In fact, it used to be so accurate, you could use it for your geometry class. The other one was the bigger one and was twice the amount - priced at Re 1. (no taxes attached). Not just bigger, the freshness of the potato, the peas and the masala ingredients really made it something to fight for. If someone was to bet on what would be inside my lunch box, they can guess it 100% accurately all the time. It would be curd rice in the lower compartment and some pickle to go with it in the upper one. Add to the equation, the Re 1 Samosa and thats deadlier than any 5 star food :)

7) My sister, in her early days, setup a R&D division in the kitchen. The chief tools for research would be onion, tomato and chilli. God only knows, how many of their numbers she cooked off, in the name of "getting it rite". But every single day, she will make a slightly different but tasty dish and I - the official "tester" of the family - would be there to rate the food and also finish it at a quick rate, if good!! Her alu curry is one of the best, it had to be, for the many trial and tribulations the potato-ceae family had to go through, until she decided to stop. :)

6) Mom or super mom, was a great cook. The way she used to manage her office work, make breakfast and pack lunch - was of such great speed and precision, you could almost pass a 6 sigma certification. The precision of curd rice mixed with the right quality of milk and water and curd and how it all had to be properly mixed up, can only be explained when you have it for lunch at school. Luckily I had the chance to be there! Also of equal mention was her chappati - potato dish. A true memoire; I used to spend hours eating a few chappatis, enjoying every single bite!!

5) "Brinjal Sambar and Yam curry" at my grandpa's place was a common combination and quite deadly too. The sambar had the right amount of water added, the dhal proportions were on target and so would be the end result - the taste would hit you almost immediately, after you sip it. The Yam curry was made with some exquisite care and treatment. And it used to be so soft, you really didnt need any teeth for crushing it. Coming home from school for lunch, this combo would really be a great relish and something which comes to my memory years on.

4) After marriage, I learnt to admire a certain "fast cooking" style - needless to say, of my better half! The speed at which multiple dishes would be made and the taste and quality of it would really impress me a lot! This is not truly a moment, its a collection which is expanding even today. "Payasams" are her speciality and thats really when the heavens wish they were in earth.

3) Nair was a man of Biriyani. A malayalee by birth, his understanding of how the spices played with each other, what language they conversed in and the tone at which they would sing - was outstanding. He was the cook at my place for many years. Sporting a beedi during his off hours, he could be easily shrugged as yet another - but give him a kitchen and ask him to make biriyani - you might be tempted to build a "temple" for this man. Sundays used to be the day of Biriyani. He would start working at around 10 and by 12:30, irrespective of where you are in the home, you would have a stunning aroma chase you down. Thats the formal "silent" lunch bell - Nair has opened the cooker!!! The speciality would be the bread crust toppings which would be fried and added. The onion pacchadi helped one eat as much biriyani as one could! Years later, when I look back, the family lunch on Sundays would be a great occasion to enjoy a holiday and good food and share those simple moments of what really makes a true family - happiness!

2) At the age of 5, I used to go and pick up some tiffin from a nearby hotel - close to my grandpa's place in Pondicherry. "Konark Hotel" - that was the name then. One had to stand in the queue for sometime, get the attention of the waiter, pass on your wish list and wait for it all to be delivered. Once home, it was evenly distributed to everyone in the family and I always ended up relishing the one poori which I got. It was sufficient yet tasty to earn for another one! These incidents happened for many a time, during my single-digit age. No wonder, Poori Masala (numbers wary) is an essential tiffin item since then. 20 years on, I still cant erase the feeling of that one poori I got and the yearning for the second one.

1) Visiting Chennai, during my younger days, was a rare occasion. There was an event to it, all the time. Never really got too much time to spend there. One such occasion, I dont know what event it was, we were all sitting for lunch and my grandmother served us some sambar with appalam. In my home, appalam is a strict inclusion for all, and hence it used to be in a big container. The sambhar which I had that day, even today, after umpteen lunches at different places, different cities, I havent had anything even to come close to. The preparation was obviously a brahmin, palakkad type - what they call the "arracha" or in plain translation "ground" sambhar. Very few ppl on this planet know how to get this deadly mix right.

The freshness of the taste, the suttle balance between spice and salt, and the combination of good old appalam, make it a moment which I have frozen in my heart for ever!

(This occasion is also special because it remained a rarity and wasnt repeated. She eventually died when I was in college.)

Another Week in Utopia!!

If the world is a funny place, the stock market is where all the jokes are made!! This week - if a kid was taught alphabets, it would be like this:

A for American
B for Bailout
C for Credit (Crunch)
D for Depression
E for Emergency
F for Fannie Mae
H for Henry (Paulson)
...

The impact of the big American collapse was also felt in my study. I got to learn a lot about the sub-prime loans, how securitization processes worked and what kind of controls or the lack of it existed. This is really heavy duty stuff for the engineering (read IT) processors in my brain. ( I think I have it!!)

The scare reached some private banks in India too. Not sure how that would unfold in the months to come. Also in the limelight, in my country, the usual terror bombs, suspected terrorists arrested and communal violence. Sometimes I dont understand if they teach "National Integration" as a subject in schools anymore!

Cricket is again on the fore, thanks to the kangaroos who have come to the sub-continent to roost or roast (lets see what the series ends like). Its a relatively cooler period.. October - November.. but also to be noted that their famed squad is cut by more than 50%. Ageing bones or a lot of wrinkes are the typical characteristics of this team. Have to say, some of the younger players dont know clearly what their role is and how to go about it.

In the middle of a chaotic place called Chennai, neither do I. Have been putting on a lot of experience (read "weight") - its becoming difficult to recognize myself in the mirror at times. Blame it all on the lack of cricket or of any other sport like squash. If you are tied in to your laptop most of the hours in a day, where is the opportunity to play a game and slim down.

"GM Diet" suddenly became the mantra and I started it yesterday morning. The first day apparently has to do with fruits. For the swipe card in my mouth (my tongue) anything non-masala will not be permitted. It can come in any size shape or color, but the indian masala topping is essential, else it will be rejected. The programmed taste buds, instantly realised something was amiss and in entirety and umpteen escalations were needed to escort the fruits, safely inside. Day 1 was spent eating fruits (I dont quite like them even on a normal day when the moon rises in the morning) and somehow I heard myself say its all going to be great and fabulous, at the end of the dieting period!

I slept pretty early yesterday nite as I didnt quite have the energy to sustain. Woke up at mid night (5:30 AM) and wondered what to do! The whole family is sleeping and here I am.... fresh and most importantly "half dead"!! The idiot box came to my rescue. Soon the moon - I mean the sun - rose. Some horrible cooked vegetables entered my system. Again there was a distinct sense or lack of sense of energy in me for a second day. At nearly 50% battery, I couldnt really hold on too long. By 4 PM today, I called it quits. Went to Ratna Cafe and really ate like my usual self.

The funny thing in this whole episode was on day 1, when I was thinking of toasted bread, fresh from the toaster, right in front of my hands, some white butter to go with it - a slight touch of it spread unformingly - the time comes to bite it and when you do, the crust of the bread makes a very suttle pleasing sound. ( This kind of hallucination will indeed happen to anyone who suddenly realises that D is for Diet and not Dinner! ) Reminded me of the Disney cartoons when they would think of food and the mouth would be full of saliva waiting to work on the edible matter!!

With a profusely thankful tongue, I am slowly returning back to normalcy. Only two options remain to slim down now - Cricket "again" or Gym "For Once".
(Time to thank you for reading till here.)

This is all that has happened in the recent days in my Utopian world.
Until the next time, pls ensure that you respect your bread and butter, while you have it.
God knows, when YOUR turn to diet will come!

DemocraZy!!

Another August 15 comes. Yet another farcical opportunity for the Indian television channels to capitalize on movies and movie stars - the sole representatives of Indian Independence!!

In a divisive country like India, events like Republic day or Independence day are becoming more of a formality for the common man, extra workload for the policemen, yet another speech for the Prime Minister and yes yet another parade in Delhi and other capitals.

Tomorrow, it will be back to the burning issues of the country including the stalemate in J&K, the terrorist bombs which can go off anywhere, the quest for another medal in the Olympics and the never ending sound bites from the dumb politicians of India.

Events of the magnitude of 'Independence day' are being nullified with absolutely nothing being done during the regular days of the year. There is no point in celebrating such events if we cant learn to do the right things for the country, during the other 364 days, if our leaders cant learn to do things which are good for the people and if the people themselves dont learn to be less corrupt.

"Democracy" is what is known to the rest of the world, but in India, it is called DemocraZy. Stunned by all the incompetent leaders who only want to increase their bank balance, the nation is not very far off from totally resigning to its fate and people deciding to take law in their own hands. For an advanced society like India, DemocraZy is certainly not the right form of governance. Neither will we setup a platform for people to succeed nor will the ever increasing economic gap between 'the haves and the havenots' be diminished in any way. Villages will remain the same and leaders will innovate in incompetence, but excel in accumulating self-wealth.

Not sounding cynical in any way, this post is truly reflecting the truth of the nation's state. As the nation ages by another year, death bells in the form of a stupid legal system, incompetent police force and a corrupt leadership setup are only echoing louder in decibels. The day we stop doing the most obvious mistakes and draw a line to have a fresh start is the day we can truly mark as our Independence day. Till then, this is a mere waste of time.

Inky Pinky Ponky!

Phew!! What a so-called debate it was! Happy that it is over and happy that corruption has surfaced yet again in Parliament circles. Does anyone deny that Indian politics is beyond the reach of Gandhi's smiling rupee notes? Well - you need to consult a doctor for sure. Dont live in a mirage!!

Having followed the proceedings on this confidence motion and the frantic efforts taken to buy votes, one can clearly understand why the country aka India is in such a fantastic state of affairs. The people at the helm are so flexible when it comes to policies, that money factor is the real policy driving mantra. If this were the case, how would the common man benefit?

Firstly, I dont see how the two day proceedings can be termed as a debate. Most of the time, it was only one person speaking and there were either too many rebuttals that the session was adjourned or no one cared to respond back in a responsible manner. This was more of a waste of time. Most of India's politicians hardly know what is nuclear energy leave alone the need for it. In such a situation, people voting beyond party lines was only because of the sudden surge in their bank accounts or because of their perceived opportunism cometh the upcoming elections.

It resembled a desperate act in a reality show, with every parliamentarian aware of the 24/7 media following the debate. MPs who came out to take a break or to have some food, were hounded for some sound bites and they readily offered to speak whatever they wanted and "flash news" was the order of the day!!

The average intelligent indian - if ever did exist - will realise that no country has a clean democracy and hence one shouldnt expect too high standards from India's elite governing league as well. But then, is this how we are going to benchmark our MPs - who are supposed to represent individual constituencies of this country?! For example - how many of these MPs actually went to the constituency they represent and talked about this deal and reflected that in their vote? NONE.

Though the people of the country vote for politicians, it is the political party's dictum they have to adhere to. This is so ironic and leaves the people totally out of the loop on decisions which are going to impact them in every way! Ofcourse, I am not talking only about the nuclear deal, while placing this argument. Any decision which is to be taken by these MPs gets aligned on party lines, so what happens to the participation of people in the decision making process?

As long as channels like CNN-IBN are afraid to join hands with the people in highlighting corruption amongst the MPs and trying to pave the way for a cleaner society, the helpless lot of democracy - namely people - will only have to sit back and pray for their fate.

Private governance is much better than this public drama of 'Inky Pinky Ponky - I vote for a Nukey!' One thing that we have been assured of by this immoral display in the confidence motion, the country is not running because of these law makers. It is up and running despite them! So long as the wheels dont come off, no one wants to get out of the vehicle and check it upfront nor do they have a mechanism of doing it!!

I can safely tell myself, in my lifetime, I have also seen the day when politicians turned prostitutes! This unexpected day has also come and gone! You never know whats going to happen next. :((

The Birthday Wish!

'Mind the Gap'.
Three words familiar to anyone who has spent time in London. Words, in my current geographical location, have absolutely no meaning. Chennai is the epitome of 'Chaos theory' what with the vehicles on the road, each following their own rules. There is virtually no gap to mind or maybe the gap is so negligible that one just has to mind it else its an accident in the making!

Wimbledon to Velachery has been a transition marred by antonyms. Ofcourse the economic latitudes are different in both places and the 'quality' of life is where it all hits back, in effect.
Somehow, the switch has happened. Work parameters have changed, new team mates to work with, new things to learn and to top it all, new challenges.

Always believed that working in London was really tough, with the immediate deadlines and the delivery expectations - but having spent a quarter of an year in my role - lo behold, and there was the truth!!!

How my week starts and how it ends, can only be felt, if recorded live. In all this funfare, I have left behind a lot of things which I used to do regularly in London, one of them being blogging. The other being cricket. There is just about no time to think of those things in my current diary. All my appointments are full - if possible, should try for an exceptional approval with God to extend the duration of one day by atleast another 4 hours.

That way, 'yours sincerely' can deliver what one asketh for!

A few hi's and bye's to what used to be my normal friend circle - thats another area which is dying by the minute. Soon, it will be left to only reminiscing about the good old times and not much of sustaining it. How the world can change, how things can come to the opposite extreme, I really wonder. Surely knew that this day would come, but never did realise it would come soon and with what impact.

The sun is never the same I enjoyed while playing cricket. 'The British Summer' would never come again. On my trip to Scotland, some years ago, the guide remarked - 'In Scotland, one can see all four seasons in one day'.

To adapt it a bit - 'In Chennai, one can see summer all through the year'.

A quarter later, I can feel for all that I miss. One fact outclasses it all. Pondicherry, my birthplace, is just a couple of hours drive from here and with very similar climatic conditions. The Pilani connection brought with it, even tougher extremes. London probably was an exception in my Carbon footprint. Now that the correction has been implemented, its back to the basics, back to the future's past.

Having watched 'Dasavatharam' oflate, am mind-boggled with 10 roles, but needless to say, there are FOUR in mine. The office worker who has more to do in less time; the baby sitter who loves to take care of his daughter; the sportsman who has lost his cricketing lifestyle (but is still catching 'Chennai mosquitos' and keeping his fielding instincts intact) and the family man who is reviving his lost contact with relatives.

If role number FIVE will evolve, will become clearer soon. Hope the Script Writer is listening! On my birthday today, this truly is what I can best wish for!!!!!

Defining Infinity!

In south India, typically Jackie Chan movies were always enjoyed by one and all - for the gravity defying pace of action stunts and in recognition of the fact that Jackie himself used to do all these stunts. This being a welcome change from what the Indian heroes could muster!

Once the action sequences started, it was quite like every single second, something was happening - new, different and captivating!

These aspects can be very well related to one other movie which we are all acting in. The movie of our office life. A typically IT person's day starts off with a few pleasanteries, introduction shot of the hero/heroine getting ready to go to work...and then the first action scene is on the road - as they find their way through 'auto' goons and 'bus' rowdies and finally reach office as one unit.

Then comes the real twist in the story. Its always a new deadline, a new problem or simply put - good old goondas! Fighting your way through each and every such baddie does take a lot of toll on yourself, emotionally, physically and in some lateral ways - financially! Finally, round one is over and its lunch time - movie interval.

Just like we have in the test matches, the session after lunch is the longest of the day - and this is where we get emotional scenes. The constant routine takes its toll on the lead characters and how they come out of this, is very much the central plot. The manager typically plays the 'mogambo' role, always ensuring that work is delegated, be it - emails, phone calls or even through the 'dummy' team lead.

Finally, the sun heads west and the story draws to a logical conclusion. For some, it might mean their love has been fought and conquered, love for the job and the purse, ofcourse. For others, it might end with sacrificing their time for a lost cause, hefty bar bills and maybe some time off alone, on a philosophical touch. For the majority though, its just another role. Like Vijayakanth or Mithun. For the western world, this would be Madonna or Britney Spears. (What they do daily, be it silly songs or hyped controversies, its always the same everyday!)

Nothing different from yesterday, nor from tomorrow!

The madhouse called 'office' has just taken off through the roof, what with India being the hub of most services' projects from different continents and oceans. 'Services' in itself is a relative term and quite often doesnt have a quantifiable limit to it. In short, its always more than what you do; clients never know how to spell 'satisfaction' and the managers always know how to stretch 'targets'.

Some of my friends are battling it out every day like the war against the 'aliens', believing everyday would be their last 'independence day' fight. This blog is DEDICATED to all those sincere souls, to all those who work hard, sometimes go home and connect and work through the night, WITHOUT FOOD AT TIMES, WITHOUT REST MOSTLY!

Infinity has been defined in our office framework quite clearly. It is the unsatisfiable yet definitive quest for achieving 20/20 excellence, in the midst of short term 'ones and twos' and the final 5 overs 'boundaries'. When the personal memoirs of IT folks start to flow out, thats when the rest of the world will know what it is means as 'defining infinity'.

A Diamond to shine!

They say, every message, every thought, comes at the right point of time; certainly indeed to the right person. Its never a second late or early - at the same time, its not to your neighbour or to your relative.

Attempting to 'file life' into specific areas of reasoning or analytically adapting once's senses to interpret incidents around us is one 'divine' difficulty in this materialistic world of ours. Having got the time to do that, and to reach out to others to help with the decoding of the DNA of our life's chronology of incidents, there indeed seems to be some ultimate motive behind it all.

The drama we enact, has a racy screenplay, only that we know it only scene by scene. Aspirations on knowing how it will all end or how it could end is mostly beyond the powers of human comprehension. Or atleast thats where the limits of our 'conscious comprehension' end.

The journey of our souls - transmeating across different body forms - as explained in my earlier blog - 'Sarvam Anityam'; is indeed graded against certain levels of understanding or competence, forming the 'cut-off' point for moving to the next stage of enlightenment. All of us reading this blog, are in one such phase. Quite certain, most dont know or dont realise this, difference between 'knowing' and 'realising' detailing the fine line of 'reviving one's inner divinity'.

Its just like a switch in us, which lights our soul, making it look beyond the materialistic world and even beyond the reach of flesh and blood. That superior purpose is why we are all living for.
A millionaire never necessarily will influence the gradation of his life's value against that ultimate purpose of learning. Nor would a poor man have a quota towards the same.

Its all fair in life. To one and all.

Tough to defend in a scientific discussion, hard to prove in day light - there indeed exists a concept called 'reincarnation'. The closest we come to this, is in certain movies. But the reality is we are all acting in one such 'reincarnated' role, in one such mega movie; OURSELVES. For some, it may be just a few times, for others the time taken might be longer. But in all, we are all donning a new face, a new set of human relations, a new set of situations. The core US is still the same.

'Dasavatharam' or ten avatars (in translation) is probably the minimum number of reincarnations one soul has to undertake. For the journey to purfying it, isnt easy and takes time and effort, in the right direction and at the right time. We all have a diamond inside us. The same size, same shape. The effort into purifying our souls, manifests itself into 'shining one face of this diamond'. Thats simply why, one person is different from the other. The number of surfaces shining in one, will not be the same as the other. But in effect, we are all the same, when we reach the final act of 'complete purification'.

Aatman or the 'living soul' can become Paramatman or the 'ultimate soul'. Just a word needs to change here. Time taken would simply be a minimum of 'Dasavatharam'. Not only for Kamal Hassan, for the rest as well.

The power of ONE!

The Indian Premier League started off some weeks back with a lot of frenzy, hype and hips. What with the media grabbing every single four, six and slap as part of the mainstream national news, the cheer gals doing the rest. In the middle of all this ruckus, the core element was to compete on a cricketing field and compete well.

The teams which were created were fairly distinct in their composition, some banked on the icon players, some on youngsters, and most others on foreign players. Before it all began, Hyderabad was considered as probably the strongest team, Chennai coming a good second. Mumbai, Bangalore were so-so and Rajasthan was even considered an 'also-ran'. Delhi, Kolkata and Punjab where neither great nor hopeless.

All this on paper.

'Start the music' and then comes into fore the reality of the matter. From paper to execution, the kind of distinct progress and failures, which the different teams have made, is monumental. Hyderabad for one, lost lost and only lost all the time. The who's who batsmen of the world couldnt really upswing their fortunes. Swing they did, top edging the ball into the hands of fielders. Rajasthan on the other hand, had players who were hardly known even to their next street families. Unknown names, totally invisible hype, just one good leader and a few good soldiers around.

Thats probably all that it takes to win a match, a competition or a challenge. One leader and a few good men. At school, I had learnt about Dalton's law of partial pressure. It went something like this - "the total pressure exerted by a gaseous mixture is equal to the sum of the partial pressures of each individual component in a gas mixture". Scientifically proven, atleast thats what my science teacher made us believe!

Extrapolating Dalton's law to each and every IPL team, the total power exerted by a team should be equal to the sum of the strengths of the individual players, foreign or indian. Far from being the truth, its totally the contrary. Teams like Hyderabad have lost the plot, inspite of some extraordinary players, who can put pressure on most other international teams in the world, what with this only being an IPL tournament!

Rajasthan on the other hand is the elephant in hiding, coming out with twice the performance per person and doubling their success rate as many times. Blame it on Dalton for cheating millions of children and teachers at schools? - Not completely. What Dalton didnt compute is - not all gases can mix very well, at all times. Should we say its the same with humans as well. Team building cant just be added as sum of the individual performers - there is an invisible ether called leadership, thats the Fevicol which binds all of these potential humans and binds them almost inseparably.

In the coming days, there will be many more twists and turns in this tournament, but one should remember that winning and losing as a team doesnt happen by itself, be it on the cricket ground, in the corporate world, or amongst a band of fishermen weathering a storm in the Atlantic. Matters most as it should be, is the effective understanding of the purpose of channelising our efforts in one cohesive direction; to win a tournament, clinch a deal, or even gravely to save our own lives.

If we do that, we can disprove Dalton and his grandfather's law as well.

Only dont miss the enjoyment of the challenge as your boat plunges into the sea, but to arise with the next wave!

The power of ONE giving way to the wave of hope!

All in a room!

When ideas get ignited, there is enough room to light the universe.

When discussions get heated, there is enough force to burn the sea.

When personalities collide, there is enough impact to accelerate the burning.

Somewhere between the three lines above, in the many percentages there exist, we live our office lives, in the one constant place we are well acquainted with - the meeting room.

Window less, poorly A/C'ed, insufficiently chaired - some of the average constraints which go with it.

But in all, what matters is the people who get into the room mainly the status of their minds as they step in - open/partiallyclosed/completely locked and sealed - which sets the temperature of the room or be it the polarity of the chairs.

Easy to box it out in a closed quarter, one often is tempted to takeup the cause of the Martian and the issues of frozen water, issues that are only buried well inside otherwise. Is the Martian cause the true reflection of our internal thoughts, of our personality and its shortcomings? Or is it to be tabled under the systematic justification of being 'honest' and its superlative - being 'oneself'?

As much as this can be argued from dusk to dawn, the average participant doesnt really want to see ideas ignited beyond a spark, discussions heated above permissible fire safety standards or personalities to collide to the tune of gladiators. Paid we all are todo our role optimally well, but does that give any perks to us to buy a sword, dagger or knife?

'The room' knows well that everyone in it are entitled to their own opinion and their views. It also knows that every single point of view needs to be presented to help get the holistic picture, from even the acutest of photographic angles. Senses it, at the end of it all, that as much as it is used day in day out, it cant utter a word, maintain a decorum or manage a decision. Not in the morning, noon or pre-night!

The prayer it probably utters every day, at dawn -

May everyone who enters today, be a healthy participant..
Though atleast one might not always agree completely, let this not be anger's precedent..
If at the end of it, there is a timely decision, it shouldnt be over any incident..
Maintain there should, the purpose and the value of using me as your work's useful component!

The Brush of God!

This was a journey which I had done a zillion times, by bus, car and occasionally in my dreams. Except for the last mode, typically it takes around 2 and a half hours. The road to Chennai from the land of Pi has come miles and bounds from the days of the 80s. Undoubtedly, one of the best roads to be made along the Indian coast, the East Coast Road (ECR) brings with it fresh updates from the sea in the form of the ever flowing steady breeze, coupled with some distinct road making skills (probably done by an IT company) with very little defects and version upgrades.

This journey was nothing different at all. I took a very ordinary - deluxe bus - as they call it. The crowd in the bus ranged within the whos who in the social front. As I sat in the aisle seat, my favorite on any transport vehicle, 'sir sun' was getting ready to retire to sleep. He had a tough day, ensuring that all those who ventured out, young and old, underwent equal ratios of perspiration and pain. After all, thats part of his minimum requirement along the tropic of cancer!

Artistic as it should be, the sky presented a strange combination of colors. With no clouds between my eyes and the moon, a light blue color spread its wings uniformly followed below by a lightish grey shade. Below the gray shade was the lowermost band of the orangish or pinkish or light red - for lack of a better term - a 'color dish'. What was significant wasnt the colors in question, we have seen them from time immemorial - but the blending therein. One couldnt distinctly see where the blue ended and the grey began or where the grey ended and the color dish took off.

So suttle and so effective was this combination, and the breeze from my right was helping me enjoy the moment in a dazed manner. Really wish we knew what brush God used to help create distinct colors but with invisible but still effective boundaries. The time was well past 6 and the farmers had all left for their homes, distant as it were, from their fields near the road. The gentle sway of the coconut trees, in communion with the breeze from the sea, the sun smiling its way to sleep, the suttle color combinations and the fading light. And all this was so natural and non-intervened by the human. The only irritation here was the stupid movie which was playing in the bus, blaring its volume!! (I really wish I could sue the corporation on noise pollution aspects.)

As the sun set, darkness fell, the bus rolled on, trees came and went, the breeze dipped and blared - my mind was still stuck with one thought. I have come back to where I belong. Belong I always did, but never did I spend the time to be here, with an 'evolved' mindset. The approach earlier was to get the chance to move on to a distant land. Now it is time to settle back in my groove, in the only place in the galaxy I can truely call 'Home'.

And what better way to decorate it, but with the 'Brush of God'!

Bond to Billa!

The exertions of a 'well used to' lifestyle can be far-reaching when you step out of it. That was and is my feeling in the past few weeks. Having moved away from snowy London to the 'Land of the Hot Sun' - Chennai, the transformation is much bigger than what I had given it room for.

When you lose something, it doesnt just go away in a second, it slowly starts to fade away. Like the gentle water current carrying the lotus away, a metre an hour. Have got to a mode of 'forgetting' what happened in London - work/life and otherwise... memories come to me now and then.. but then they are on the decline.

A new city, new lifestyle, new role - thats called a 'package' of purpose. Much needs to be seen as to how I am going to come in terms with these alterations in my 'carbon foot print'. Atif Aslam has become my new soulmate singer. Having heard him first time with the 'Tere Bin' song, he has helped me go across different spheres of emotions - especially during this 'change over' phase. Enroute to office today - heard one of his songs on FM, and much has to be said about his influence on getting me to react and express my interflicting points of view in my own sphere of influence.

While this phase will go, for sure and I will get used to life in India, there are those faces and minds - with whom I have worked through issues - big and small - over the 1000 day era; faces with exceptional minds and even better comraderie. They will not be forgotten, not today, not ever. Honestly thats the edge of the sword piercing through me - as can be said - the edge is the one which makes the most impact. Life is always only as worth as the quality of the people with whom we spend it!!

My sun gods - though are in vicinity. Rahman and Rajni are all over the place - thanks to the power of the box called 'television' and its spouse - 'cable tv'. Not much unpacking has started as yet, and thats going to also take its toll - when artifacts of the previous 'era' are going to haunt their way through my memory cells, revitalising the moments which can be frozen for a lifetime.

'Bond to Billa' is the road taken - whether some U-turns are possible or it is strictly one-way, nobody is sure of it. Neither am I. (For the sake of the western audience - 'Billa' is the name of a RAJNI action movie; and Bond is ofcourse 007)

For now, the F-WORD is to 'Follow the flow'. Inspiringly enough, its not too rapid.

The botany of money.

Around half past seven, today evening, I am walking down the 'Green Mile'. The sincere rotating door lets me out of the office building, thinking that its just another day, another person. Well, my 'Dear Door', I can assure you its not.

12 hours earlier, I am sleeping not too well. Its probably the most significant day of my work in London. The last day. Reached office in the morning with a very different feeling inside me. The yellowish shade of the sun was quite the same as 'usual' - talking about which, the Northern line did get held up at more than one stop. 'Not too sure of how to approach this occasion' - my mind kept escalating to my heart. After all, I had to wait 3 years to get to this point. Made innumerable compromises interspersed with unimaginable regrets. Wasnt like I was moving a continent, I was moving it with my hands tied!

The day begins with the normal last day emails being flouted to my 'near and peer'. Much of my closer circle was acquainted with this news anyway. The 1000 day journey has helped me get closer to a lot of good souls, professionally and personally. This was the apt opportunity to remember them all and thank them for it. Lunch was special with one of my closest colleagues (also pronounced - 'friend').

Post lunch is pretty much when the amigos start sharing their adios in person. Met people whose retinas werent in my line of sight for over a year. Some of them atleast. Others spared a second to reminisce of the battles and wars fought together. Moments which when rewinded to, derive satisfaction of the highest order. Most challenges won, ofcourse. Others ended in a truce - due credit to the 'one enterprise' concept. This project is obviously one of the world's biggest and the stakeholders are the cream of the industry. Honestly, almost!

As the angle of the sunrays started tending to 30%, it was a fully operational routine of meeting up with my 'band of brothers' and a few ladies too. Seeing people take a moment for you; as a person, as a team mate, as a friend & speaking some wonderful words; my heart retorted back to my mind - 'thats genuine, the person's auricle confirms it'.

Started off on this road path, with nothing but a bag of dried leaves, leaves of experience. An open mind and a little understanding of photosynthesis, helped sprout and root many seeds of 'steady progress'. As the vines of challenges became stronger, strangling the trunk; out came a branch with each tighter grasp; aptly titled 'route to the fruit'. Such is botany, the funda of our work lives. (Not much is said of the caterpillars and insects which preyed, they come under Zoology!!)

Work-Life balance is often spoken about, not realising that work is a branch of life. Its the branch which bears the key fruits - rupee, dollar, pound - many distinct botanic species. The satanic part of it is where the work ends and a small part remains for 'family'. The part which helps nourish the trunk.

'Dear Door', which I passed through, for the last time today; had missed the biology classes, at the carpenters'. That explains why it didnt swing a bit slower for me, just this once, just this day.
That extra second, to relish and rejoice, the journey I have completed to the point of wishful 'no return'. Shouldnt we have some 'slow-motion' days, days when every second gets a bonus 'second', every word echoes a bit longer in your ears, every tear takes more time to reach the floor??!

Will surely miss my co-plants in this jungle. The jungle by the river. And that Ladies and gentlemen, is a "plant's memory". After all, this is the botany of money, we are talking about.

The botany of money.

Be the change!

A normal routine each day. Take the train from my home and go North and then, by the time you have got comfortable and are moving to the inner zone of your morning meditation (read 'snooze'); at Kennington, forced you indeed are to switch over to the platform beside and wait for the Charing Cross branch. (I always end up taking the Bank branch, call it co-incidence or conspiracy.)

It was one such un-impressive journeys, a few days back, and the train halted at Oval. In came a lady with a dog. She came in and was helped with the heavy dog by a co-passenger. Once she got in, the person sitting on the corner seat, gave her a place, the gentleman he proved to be. The lady made the huge black dog sit down near her feet. She made sure that the dog wasnt blocking the way or touching the by-sitter's legs.

By this time, the train had started moving and I was standing across this lady, standing near the pathway door, between the coaches. I was looking at her with quiet intent, not because she was beautiful, not because she had a good dog, but because she was smiling with what seemed 'inner happiness'. A pleasant smile, it was indeed. She seemed to know something which was different, something which was so reflective of pure satisfaction. Probably she was enjoying her train ride or she was going to meet someone important and was happy - I will never know. As I kept looking at her, she wasnt looking back at me. She simply couldnt. She was blind.

There are moments which freeze in your life, moments which you really dont understand much from, but still know 'just about enough' to realize its teaching you something significant. This was one of them.

In the land of America, Obama was having a tough time with the media on his pastor and his blunt comments, pro-racist and anti-american. And the noose was getting tighter by the day. News channels were scanning the pastor and his speeches 10 times per hour. It seemed like this was more important than anything else to the American news editor. Sitting on my sofa couch, I was following this story keenly and was disappointed Obama was getting the rough end of the stick. It obviously wasnt fair.

The tide turns. Obama marks the time and the hour to make his 'retaliatory' speech. Its aptly called the 'race and unity' speech. I had come back from work, that day, and was trying to scan how the speech went, and finally got a youtube link and was seeing him deliver it. Surely, it wasnt an ordinary speech - political or american. There was a much more significant and 'basic' message in the words he uttered. The chronology of events were all coined up in the best possible way, so were his body language and the way he orated, going about, from 200 years back to this day.

Aptly, this speech, is suggested, as being 'the speech of our generation'. It has evoked a response far too significant, and far too historical. Stunning was the reaction to see it live - I felt like he was just 'too good' to be a human. He truly had his MOMENT of RECKONING.

The two contrasting episodes, only made my brain cells work overtime. Here was one lady, who could have easily fallen into the vaccuum of the 'unseen' world but was living life as normal and still managing the 'most' pleasant of smiles one can ever see. Here was a man, who delivers a speech, which comes out not just addressing the current problem, he is faced with, but has all the right words and meanings to be placed in 'history's place of honour'.

Both of them are fighting their own challenges. As is typical with every human, we always think our problems are the worst. But the beauty of it all is that they dont think they will lose and they hence wont. They know they have to change the world, but to initiate that, they become the medium for change.

'Be the change' is their motto, inked in the unspoken smile here and emphasised by the uttered speech there. But its only all the same. When it comes to action, both have won their wars hands down. Both are equal heroes in my 'hall of fame'.

By their actions, both have changed their lives, their immediate environment and inspired many people in their generation like me. A simple step, taken in the right direction, never sounded light. Its always heavy and has helped guide others towards it too.

Start to End.

What begins with a sudden beat, ends in abrupt silence.

A fresh composition on this thought, hot off 'garageband'. The song is listed at:

http://www.icompositions.com/music/song.php?sid=83801

Listen with an eager ear - its got a deposit of composite mixtures and moods.

iComposed

Some of those who mean something to me, those who are in my inner circle, already know and have heard these before. But there are others, who mentioned I should include this in my blog as well. For them, please check out the below link:

http://www.icompositions.com/artists/avsatish

These are some of the compositions I had done some months back. The last one is atleast 4 months old. An apple a day keeps the doctor away - guess, it lets the musician get in. Thanks to my Macbook Pro for being patient enough with me as I went about creating these musical short stories. Some of them have only a title to go with it, one has a short story.

Ladies with umbrellas and gents with raincoats (typifies today's London weather) , I hereby present 'iComposed'.

FIVE FAVES

Five different pieces of creativity. Well, some more by mistake than intent. But thats how probably we all learn and evolve. Mistakes. The eternal part of everyone's lives. Its only a matter of time before we all make another one. Ever thought why we had to do something wrong and only then learn what the right way or the right thing was??!!!

Never mind, on a weekday evening, at home, my brain works at less than 30% of its total utilization. Cant always bring out words and thoughts in every blog. So for a change, this one is all about five favorite pictures. FIVE FAVES.

For the benefit of those who dont know the 'sequence' of events here, the above five artifacts were done by me and my family on one of our outings last month. One hour of intensive 'clay creativity'. The one on the top, was made by me and my daughter. The next two ones were made by Suja. The last two were made by 'Yours sincerely'. The earlier blog is this line of discussion is found here - http://thoughtsofthetrip.blogspot.com/2008/02/playing-god.html

The 'case of the vase' or the 'plot of the pot' has been deciphered hereby!!!

The Sabbath Hour!

Super Tuesday 2 came and went. In Australia, India went on to snub the 'cry babies' of their napkin award. History in the making certainly, but this tour was so acrimonious from the first day the Indians left for Australia - the victory is sweeter million times over. Ofcourse thats the Indian in me digging in!!

Harbhajan has become the kind of revolutionary player, and anything said or hurting him has transcended to every Indian as a personal insult. Strange as it sounds, I was not too happy to see the Australian fans booing him on the fence. But what matters is who has the final laugh. India has truly accorded this victory second only to the world cup win. The kangaroo has been reigned in and its the era of the Tiger. The Indian Tiger!! - ironically, the 'animal' species is supposedly on the decline in the subcontinent!

Across the Pacific, Obama lost Texas and Ohio, but still managed to maintain the delegate lead over Clinton. I guess in that sense, its a draw here. No concrete win to either little Dave or mighty Golly.

As I sat pondering over where my next blog was going to come from, I had to answer some queries which have come my way in the past few days. Some of the readers think that it takes me ages to write a blog. Well, to get the facts right, it takes 30-45 min to write one blog, complete with all editions - the small exclamation and the final fullstop. So please stop moaning that I have too much time at my disposal for getting this blog up and running.

The fact is that, every single one of us has enough time to do that ONE activity - outside work, outside family - which makes us feel satisfied when we hit the bed at nite. The one activity which keeps us going within ourselves ; doing justice to the 'hidden' talents, to the very basic meaning of 'genetic variation' that gives us our individuality - truly and simply!!

Call it a habit of doing crosswords on the way to work - trying to read some books day in day out - regularly watch that one tv serial, enjoining the emotions it brings out - dancing to good music - watering plants like there is a drought on earth - blogging your heart out - sports activities during the weekend - swimming a mile a day - the list is endless.

What translates into this habit of ours is an outcome of our 'reptilian' instincts. This activity will help us either feel confident about ourselves or help bring out the positives 'intellectual-wise', something which we need to keep the inner glow going. Close your eyes for a moment and you will immediately realise that UNIQUE activity - the gateway to our INNER HEAVEN.

Ok. We know what we need to do. Whats the conversion ratio like here? Pathetic and appalling. Why is it so? Quite easy to say this. Its become a hidden rule these days, that to spend time for oneself is not that encouraged as it could be. The average Indian woman, finds it difficult to take time every day, out of the busy schedule which engulfs her. Husband, children take her for a jolly ride and she gets on board due diligently. I would say, she is the one who needs a break most importantly, to help refresh herself a bit.

Men are not that far off. Maybe they are running behind completing tomorrow's task by today evening or they are planning of day after's meeting. Its always becomes thinking of 'whats next' that 'the present' becomes a pre-extension of 'the future'. Not that I blame them for it.

This is the nature of the game we call 'Life'. Onsite, on the third rock from the sun, its all about how the solar system operates. If only the earth was a bit slow in revolving around the sun, one day wouldnt exactly stop at 24 hours. That might just mean, that we probably get, say an hour, the SABBATH hour, to do the activity which will keep our internal engines running with a spirit of joy and satisfaction.

The SABBATH hour. To those who believe they can slow down 'mother earth' to get extra time, the editor recommends a good doctor in your locality. But for those who want to live within the constraints and yet find this hour, well, its all about your willingness to let go of something very low in the 'daily priority chart' - which can be done tomorrow.

No one will know that the task has been put on hold. No one neednt care either. Its your life and you know whats best for you. Married, single or mingling! The divine fact is that today will never come again. If you can do anything to keep yourself happy, the difference you will make around you will easily double or triple.

Whether you sign in to save the INDIAN 'TIGER' or not, first sign in to save 'yourself' and let your heart smile. A smile that has been rightfully earned. BY YOU AND YOU ONLY.

40 minutes.

Its David vs Goliath!

Tendulkar. An awesome innings - some slog shots - but in all - for the first time in recent years - he has scored a century in a final - and that too chasing - and that too in Australia - against Australia - and most importantly carried his bat throughout the innings.

The odds in the above sentence are much bigger when put together. It was an unbelievably clean innings, no chances provided through out. Cometh the time, indeed the contribution. Treating Johnson and Hogg like 'bowlers at the nets', surely takes a lot of 'attitude'; something which can be a double edged sword, given the occasion.

Australia is increasingly becoming a 'cry baby' team, citing every single frown and scratch as a reason for racist behaviour. They are not used to getting rapped on their hands and their mouths taped match after match. Thats what happened this series and suddenly they just dont know how to play cricket. Their standards have sunk to a new low this series. Much has to be said about how India has dealt with all the controversies sprouting almost every day like the 'morning newspaper'.

Tendulkar often behaves like the true ambassador of the game - the beamer from Lee hitting him on the shoulder, when he was on 98 - well, it had all the ingredients for the next controversy in Sydney - only that this was Sir Sachin. Such moments will stay in the 'Indian cricket memory bank' for years to come.

The elephant in the room, thats what he was called before the match, Tendulkar came up with a 'once in a lifetime' batting display. If India goes on to win on Super Tuesday 2, then it will really be the icing of the cake for Tendulkar. Will it be the youthful Indian team or the aging and experienced Australians who will win this series?! Only time will tell.

Meanwhile, in a distant part of the world and a different game, Super Tuesday 2, is bringing with it, an equally intense competition. The land is America and the game is the Democratic primary elections in Texas and Ohio, the hot spots. Obama has emerged as 'the clean candidate' with a lot of charisma and style. His delivery and composure sure take the breath out of the viewer. I am absolutely in awe about the body language Obama portrays with such effectiveness.

Clinton, I dont have anything against her, but she seems a touch 'artificial' and thats probably going to cost her the nomination. As it stands, I dont have the issues of 'healthcare' and 'national security' high up in my brain cells, so the only thing that appeals to me is the way they go about talking, rather than what. She considers herself as the 'rightful' nominee and treats Obama as if he were a novice compared to her 'experience'.

2 battles, both entirely different, but the underlying tussle is the same - its David vs Goliath. On one side is the the fresh perspectived, hungry to win, young challenger and on the other, the 'experienced' and 'aged' competitor, banking on 'previous glories, to see it through.

Two days from now, the world can be a totally different place... the sun wont rise in the west though, not just yet!

iPhone iThankU!

Every person has a melting point, where they overcome the sea of temptation and go for the splash. That was just my moment today. Should I, shouldnt I - was the big question in my mind.

iPhone caught my eye a year before, when I was thinking of buying an iPod. I told myself, I will wait and buy the iPhone, even if it takes time. Cometh the time, cometh the opportunity!

It came in the guise of one of my mates Bon Footweak (name changed) who incidentally didnt really like the iPhone he managed to smuggle from US. We met up in one of those dark alleys near the river, the ones your mom always warned you of. Showing off the new piece, the rugged and wide-eyed dark man shrugged with a hoarse voice - 'You wanna check this out. I like it, but you know, in my line of work, there's place for just one gun. This aint fitting in'.

After a lot of intro and externospection... I went for the fair price that he offered me. Surely this line is just to make him feel good about the sale ;). There it was, all mine. A couple of tricks were needed to get it working and I quickly realised that yours sincerely wasnt exactly 'Nimble fingered Dinkle'. Embarassment followed when Footweak showed me how to get the 'job' done. He was just too good at it. Hail the Wigan Cowboy!

Came home to realise that my MacBook Pro had already scented 'the second apple' in the home. With a grin, I broke the news of the arrival. MP wanted to see what it was all about. Surely one could sense the competitition in the room. 2 apples and poor human me! Soon, the introductions were made. MP didnt really seem happy to see most of the dashboard functionalities in 'iP'.

It struck me like 'a short circuit on fire' - machines are just like humans!!! Explaining my point of view for this expansion in my personal space, I promised them that I will bring out distinct roles and responsibilities so that both could know what were their new 'areas of influence'. A meeting is lined up early next month, once I got well acquainted with iPhone's capabilities.

What can only be my first and last Leap day in London comes tomorrow.. and I made the iLeap in eager anticipation of the moment. If I could keep this iPhone until the next leap day arrives, I would have done some iJustice to it.

My 'phone' is brilliant
My 'player' is pure
I saw a 'combo', of that I am sure
She smiled at me on the subway, she was with another man
But I won't lose no sleep on that, 'cause I have another plan..

U'r beautiful, U'r beautiful, U'r beautiful - its true...!!

I saw your face in a crowded 'webpage',
And I didn't know what to do,
'Cause I thought I'll never be with you.

Yes, she caught my eye
As I browsed on by
She could see from my face that I was, happy and high
And I don't think that I'll 'lose' her again
Should we share a moment, it wont be in vain..

U'r my iPhone, U'r my iPhone, U'r my iPhone - iThankU!!!

Take 2!

American Gangster

A movie of some intense scenes. Lots of words spoken and less number of bullets shot. Now thats a change for a start. A true story, it speaks of the mind of two distinct characters - assumingly a true story of the 1970s.

Denzel steals the scene with his new style of intense business sense. 'My Man' is a dialogue which will remain with the audience much after they have left the cinema hall. Very rare to see him in a negative role, he infuses that rare bit of insight into the mind of a 'driver' who rises to run the drug business in America.

Russell on the other hand, is that 'Kamalhassan' kind of cop, the man who lives and breathes honesty in his work while not being a good family man. Guess this was the time before AIDS came to the world. The scenes where he is asked if he reported the 1 million dollars he found during a raid - are really hilarious. The final scenes where he is seen negotiating with Denzel with style and precision dialogues, tops the act.

In all, a very engrossing movie with a lot of powerful scenes, not for the weak hearted. And yeah, it is deservedly a 'must watch'.

3:10 to Yuma

Another movie. Russell Crowe steals the show as the cool, arrogant WANTED cow-boy bandit. At first go, the movie was damn boring, so I switched it and was watching something else. But then, better sense prevailed later in the flight and I managed to watch a substantial part of the movie.

Lots of bullets, lots of style and some real heart stopping action. Thats how the summary should be. Honestly, since the flight landed before the movie got over, I havent seen the full movie. So the summary here, should also be equally incomplete.

The Last King of Scotland

Man, this is a movie which has a lot of 'brutal scenes in it'. I wouldnt recommend it to my wife. That much is sure. A lot of powerful acting by Whitaker. I remember seeing him in some smaller roles and this time he has iced the caked and eaten it too! A leader, of whom no one has an idea what he would do next. Some of his dialogues are not audibly clear. Thats probably the only post-production glitch.

Real drama unfolds between the dictator and the doctor. A lot of super scenes dot the movie from the start to the end including the assassination attempts and the final scene where the doctor escapes from Uganda. Watch the movie for Whitakar. He deserves the Oscar he received for this role.

Playing God!

Not a day goes by when we dont think/thank/curse or blame God. If anything by that description exists, is a totally different perspective. The fact is that we do include and embrace this concept as if it were an extension of our day-to-day life. Life, in its truest manifest is really a miracle, no one denies - but to 'offshore' its success to a '3rd Party' source called 'God' isnt 100% fair. It wasnt fair during the days of the Harappa culture, nor it is in our current 'nuclear' landscape.

Nothing of this thought was in my mind when we went out to have fun at the pottery class in Merton Abbey. The one hour journey it was, it revealed a lot more than just pots and pans. It all starts with a piece of 'clay' - something which we can easily ignore if found in a dirty road corner. How often have we seen this in odd places, never to even consider it worth thinking about!!!

When this totally irrelevant and insignificant thing was placed in the centre of a wheel - even then nothing major was different about it. Start the motor and then - lo' behold - you are creating 'something' out of 'perceived nothing'. The first few moments would be dealt in creating a solid base and then you go about expanding your dreams and thats creativity at its finesse.

Its only a matter of time when the right composition of 'water','clay' 'circular motion' and most importantly - 'your intent' helps create a totally valuable thing. Its as good as bringing something to life. Initiating life, is how I would term it. Once this blueprint is done, its time to take it off and then let it dry and settle. The shine would be applied over this piece in a matter of a few days. Thats when it takes one of its many positions in someone's world as 'my nanny's favorite tea set' or 'my doggy's food plate', as the case maybe. Thats light years from where it all started!

My wife created a very good bowl, but when she was trying to take it off the wheel, probably a minor dent was made to the outer surface. She was very specific about it as she knew it had happened. To me, it was invisible as the ether that surrounds us. I never saw it. To clarify, even if I did manage to see it, I wouldnt have thought of it from an 'imperfection' perspective.

'Zoom out a bit' and look at each human as starting off as that piece of clay. The right amount of 'ingredients' are put to create his core constituent - soul - and the next steps are to expand laterally into other spheres of 'individual personality'. No two humans are the same, neither are two bowls. All of us have some imperfections, caused intentionally or unintentionally. Sometimes these 'not good enough' qualities in us might not be looked at, in the same way, by others.

Irrespective of what we have in us as 'pre-paid', we can always 'top-up' our lives, by finding ourselves different situations, in which we best-apply the 'messages' of 'our mobile life' - making the experience worth it to others. Even the material world we live in, tells us this simple thing all the time. The Karmic life was always preaching this even before the wheel started spinning.

The wheel of God!

Every aspect of why we are, has a reason and cant be changed. But nothing of what we can be, has a cut-off limit. The eagle never touched the sky and never will! The waves never got tired of 'reaching out' to the shore. Simple things in nature reveal the power within. Understand this and move on to make your dream and all the while, reach out to as many people as possible and touch their lives for the better. In simpler words, start 'playing God'.

If you play it seriously enough, this is probably the one game which wont just end...not today...not tomorrow!!!

Win Win.

Waving a hand, beaming a smile, winking an eye.. body language is indeed a very natural extension of what we intend to mean and the tone of it. Being among the adult populace, this might not come out as brightly as a 100 watt lampie.

Throw in a child (preferably around 2 years old) and try talking to him/her and thats when it hits you like a live lightning strike coupled with 'power-ridden' magnetic waves. 'Yes' can be the heavy shaking of the head up and down four times in the blink of an eye. 'No' being the cousin of 'Yes' in the right left direction. 'Come here' can be the frantic waving of the hand as if there is no tomorrow, and 'sit down' will always end up with a thumping series of pats at mother earth, irrespective of which floor you live in.

'Rejection or fear' will echo in your ears like the never-ending reverberation in a hollow cave. It will take many a minute to subside down. 'Laughter' can thrill you like the pleasant sound of the wave hitting the beach, on a lonely quiet tropical island.

Thats pure communication. Something which one can relish as the essence of the true soul. Pure in what it means and effective in the way it is exercised. Babies are indeed the gateway to God.

Walking down the street, I was looking at a couple of youngsters, in their single-digit ages, running and dancing in joy. Their parents were around, which made them feel secure, but it was their natural expression of a 'hop' and a 'smile' which livened the faces of everyone who were watching them. As I was entering the workplace, the security guard caught my eye. He was visibly grinning looking at the small girls dance and walk. A moment of joy. However brief, such moments make a lifetime. Or atleast, they make part of a good movie.

We have all been children at some point and must have hopefully brought smiles to some people around us. If they have forgotten our mischiefs, that is! Its our turn to look at generation next and re-live those sublime acts of bliss. So next time you see a baby or a child, let your 'time-driven life' come to a halt - spend that extra second enjoying that positive smile and grin. Cant be nothing but win win!!

The Principal's principle.

Sitting in the many exams we wrote during an year in school, there was nothing new about this one. Except we wrote it outside the classrooms and in the corridor. The reason being simple. There was no power that day in school, because of the torrential rain. This is how the North East monsoon dictates its arrival in Pondicherry, the land of Pi.

I remember the school principal standing outside the school, dressed in a white flowing gown, holding a black umbrella, his face stern and eyes dead serious. He wanted to get the exam completed that day. Typically, my school, always has a history of defying all these natural or man-made interventions. Many a college bandhs or strikes as we also know them, didnt really have an impact on our schooling. It was all down to one person's conviction and thinking. If he said 'no' and he would do it many a time, everything around him supported him without a whinge or a frown.

He owned the world around him and there was nothing more fascinating for a student of age 13 than to see one man dictate all that he could within his powers and do it very well. He was a very young man, and could slap a student real hard. He was known to remember faces/names very well and it was always thought to avoid meeting him in any kind of 'grey' or 'dark grey' light.

The streets in Pondicherry tend to get swollen with water, but faster than the current of the water on the road, used to be the message of a school closed or open that day. Having to cycle nearly 5 miles, it wasnt very often that I got to school finding it closed. This wasnt exactly the time of the internet and broadband, nor was this the era of the mobile phone and sms. The black telephone with its cyclic rotars, to dial the numbers. Thats where this time belonged to. The new fancy rectangular phones were slowly appearing in some remote houses.

What stood out, in all that rain, in all that adversity for every student, deep in their heart, was the fear of not being the 'odd one out'. No one wanted to be seen as taking advantage of the 'drops from the sky', lest they have to take it up 1-on-1 with the principal, the very next day morning. So no rain, thunder or storm - and Pi land had its share of these fancy 70 kms/hour speed winds - came in the way of the 'road to school'. It, from the principal's point of view was always free and safe for every student to come, as was ideal.

The corridor was unusually cool winded, and the rain drops were occasionally landing on the guys sitting in the front of the three rows. But the spirit of the school was 'at par' with any exam. The students were laboriously writing sheets after sheets, especially for those 10 mark questions. I think this was a 'Science' exam.

The exam got over, like any other - but to be fair to this one, I can remember it many years later and still manage to live it today. A testimony to the power of determination. Not mine, but that of my school principal. The Principal's principle - thats what this is all about!.

The Sun Gods!!

AR Rahman is one of the most renowned musicians globally today. But when he started off, he was simply put appealingly 'new and refreshing'. That was when he started off with Roja and Thiruda Thiruda. The instant success of these two albums was so huge that the audience of all ages turned a head to 'who this new guy was'.

Till then, I distinctly remember, there used to be an informal sentiment that a movie with Ilayaraja as the music director was considered a good movie, and something worth watching. There have been innumerable instances when we used to go as a family and choose based on this kind of a factor.

Roja released in 1992 in Pondicherry in Raja theatre. It wasnt one of the theatres renowned for screening the big movies. I remember watching the posters every day, to and from school. I had to pass that way. The distinct photography was all too evident and I was desperately trying to find out who was the music director, as always.

That I didnt watch the movie, until after a few years - is a testimony to this fact. I was into songs, but not into Background scores. Thiruda Thiruda changed all that. I must have watched that movie like 100 times till date, just to enjoy the BGM. One of the times, me and Premjit, ran like desperate fans, to the ticket counter, once the gate was opened. Good moments those!

ARR is now a part of my life. A person who sits with me always, through every single emotion of mine. So much so, I like to play songs, when I study, when I work (not of late) and when I sleep. I heard much later, that one of my elder cousins, Jays, used to do it too. It runs in the family? Maybe..!!

The greatness about Rahman is that there will be so many music tracks, all interwined that it would be so difficult to recognise and relish all of them in one go. You had to hear it again and again. As schoolmates, we all used to meet up at one of our friends' place and hear the latest album, together. And there used to be that intellectual discussion about beats and pace, rhythm and melody. None of us were educated in music ofcourse. One of my buddies remarked - 'I hope he lives for a long time!!'

Often Rahman would hit it big with that one suttle flute or that timely tabla mix. For a person, who says, he composes music through meditation, I guess its possible for him to go into those minute details for each and every song/BGM.

I dont know if Rahman did the trick or it was just co-incidental. But there are theories that music can help our brain think better and for me, that was where Rahmanism fitted perfectly. Its like that ideal dose of energy and power, which one needs, every now and then. Whenever his influence was not that much around me, I havent done well, or atleast I havent done things decently well.

Ilayaraja wasnt really inspirational in any sense, without disrespect to his class. But Rahman has it all and still has it fresh and lively, even after 16 years or so. Jodha Akbar is the latest on the list of his musical albums, which leave you with a lot of impact and influence. As you can imagine, I am listening to it as I type this line. I wish the broadband was better today though!

The second 'R' I have always got inspired from is none other than Rajnikanth. Needless to say, I am just another Tamil guy, when it comes to idolising him. Its not because he has style or because he has that 'zing' thing about it. I guess Rajni in some ways, has played the 'optimist', 'how to succeed in life in 3 hours' card, very well. Its very difficult to explain to someone who hasn't undertaken this journey as a 'movie-goer', following his films with interest.

For most of the people, who havent, he is just the 'ideal' joker who can defy gravity and do stunts which include - stopping a comet from hitting the earth and so on. The irony is, most of these people, still like the unbelievable stunts of Matrix or Superman. But again, thats not why the masses like him. I guess its the persona of positivity. I remember once, my friend, telling me, he felt so super-charged, after watching 'Annamalai' - to go out and achieve something in life!!

That was the hidden mantra, behind the man and his rise to superdom.

Honestly, in a place like Tamil Nadu, there are not too many others, whom we could look forward to as 'role models'. Thats really the state of the state!!!! Cricket is the closest which comes as a place holder for heroes. Else its only movies and music, and thats where the limits lay.

Accepting this as a limit is one aspect, adapting to it and picking your models from them is another. I like, many of my friends, chose the latter.

Incidentally both of my heRRoes did win the NDTV Indian of the year. Its a sign that south India has moved on beyond 'Madras'. Also a sign, that they still inspire millions like me, in whatever little way possible.

'RA' in ancient Egyptian mythology stands for the sun god, the most important of all gods. In many ways, RA-hman and RA-jni are my sun gods.

Lucky me, I have two suns and both help brighten my day, everyday!!

The 'F' word

Another week goes by. Another weekend has arrived. It has brought the winds of change with it.

Its going to be a good, well-cherished 3 years in my present company in another couple of months. I have been all along in the same project, drilling my way through the scope of my project and my role(s). Having started off with nothing and landed up where I am today, I took some moments, in the recent weeks, to look back at some of the big highlights of this journey.

Its fair to say, that in this journey, I have also taken a jolly ride on my personal front. Shloka being the epitome of that. So put in a lot of goodies and some baddies and thats where I stand now. Its probably a checkpoint, better known as the 'Cross-road'. The interesting thing to note is: every result is possible at this point of time. Staying on, moving to a different role/location, moving on. And thats the order in which I am going to take it through the system.

Mixed thoughts are running in as to what I want from life. Is it the methodical running behind work 'Indian' mindset, putting family as an 'also ran'.... or is it time to set the record straight and learn to practice 'Work-Life Balance' all over again, on a clean slate, a new page??

Most Hindustani IT folks probably face this dilemma.. not sure why I shouldnt include other professions within the sub-continent. What is that ideal 'combination' which one wants in one's lifetime? Some of my friends said - success at work, some said - family, one even said - giving something back to the society.

What I want to know may not be that different from any of you tired souls, churning out your mechanical life in the different corners of the 'third rock from the sun'.

The chase for the dollar or the pound or the rupee - as maybe your currency of interest - has left us in a delusioned state of 'perceived satisfaction'. It truly doesnt exist and we only try to chase that elusive 'dew in the grass', only to find that it dries off before noon. Too much to achieve, too little time - actually we dont know the 'time' aspect - else our lives would be a lot more organised and planned. In the times of the Vedas, they didnt really run behind money. They only wanted to learn the 'truth', atleast the noble souls did that. Dont think we are that unnoble to be discounted here.

The next few weeks will probably emerge as a new chapter in my life as I go about analysing 'what i want'. Before I draw out the roadmap, there is one important thing I need to do - 'FOCUS'.

The 'F' word.

On what I have done so far..... On what I could have..... On what I should have.

Between these three variants, I am sure, lies the key to the future.

The Karnan checkmate!

A lot of times, we tend to identify who our friends are, by the way they interact with us. Friendship is literally the most common opportunity of a 'mind' to connect to another. That extra thought, that extra smile, that little help to show that he/she cares is all that makes friendship tick. Its not everyday that life goes through an up and down. People who tend to stick with you when they are up will not necessarily be the same crowd who will stick with you when the chips are down.

Now thats a fact and thats a fact underlined!

In today's fast paced world, expecting someone to help you, at times of need is a difficult proposition. Only the rarest of rare characters, out of the many lot, who would be with you in a moment of joy, will stand by you. There is this story of Karna - the mythological character in Mahabharat, who tends to express this point of view very well and till his death. Standing by Duryodhana through the thick times and thin, Karna epitomises the 'gratitude' and promise owed to one's friend. He is arguably a more powerful role model than the Pandavas, because his conviction and his character was tested more than them.

O' Maula Mere, where is my Karna. I only need one such person and I can overcome anything in this world, my heart felt through the last few days! Tough situations always tend to bring out the tougher person in me. And I am glad that this time, it also helped re-define my Karna'n sensex in the share market of 'friendship'. I am no Duryodhana, ofcourse! But I am sure, everyone of us would like to have that one person who will always be there for us when we need help.

Luckily in my case, most of the people whom I could turn to, were really true and helped me with a lot of advice and insight. All is not lost. All, except a few, whose locus has been plotted permanently outside my 'dosti' rekha....! How did I feel? Well, you know by instinct who is genuine and who isnt. I would really say, our heart felt feelings always need to be crosschecked with the 'mind' man inside us. Most often the latter would tell a few point blank truths.

Respect is certainly a 'two-way highway'. One must complete the circuit both ways within one's lifetime. 'Necessity' bound characters will always be around us, trying to exploit and use our resources for their needs. Identify such weeds and help save the farm from a poor harvest.

In this life of chess, everyone around us is either black or white. Identifying what colour they are will only become clear when its time to 'check'. Thats the moment of reckoning. Thats when you will feel yourself saying - "the Karnan checkmate!"

Rare words for a rare occasion.