My Space (Agree To Disagree)

Trying to blog again

2010-12-23T09:55:00.000-08:00

It is weird, but somehow I tend to get motivation to start blogging only at the end of the year. This is how the blog even started 3 years back.

This is yet another attempt to restart writing blog and try and be a bit more regular in the same. Specially, as these are happening times and if not now, then when would one write?

So here is to yet another attempt on writing blog. Thinking of writing a weekly blog now. All the best !!

The monk who sold his Ferrari - Some Gems

2010-01-12T06:38:00.000-08:00

Some absolutely stunningly soothing and healing commentary copied verbatim from the book

1. Everything happens for a reason. Every event has a purpose and every setback its lessons.
2. Failure, whether personal, professional or spiritual is essential to personal expansion. It brings inner growth and whole host of psychic rewards.
3. Never regret your past, rather embrace it as the teacher that it is.
4. Your mind is like a garden. If you nurture your mind like a fertile rich garden, it will blossom far beyond your expectations. But if you let weeds take root, lasting peace of mind and deep inner harmony will always elude you.
5. Though most people guard their gardens like soldiers, yet look at the toxic waste that most people put into the fertile garden of their minds;the worries and anxieties, the fretting about past, the brooding over the future and the self created fears that wreck havoc within your inner world.
6. Worry drains the mind of much of its power and sooner or later, it injures the soul.
7. To live life to the fullest, you must stand guard at the gate of your garden and let only the best information enter. You truly can not afford the luxury of a negative thought-not even one.
8. People think the same thoughts everyday, most of them negative. As a result, they have fallen into bad mental habits. Rather than focusing on all the good in their lives and thinking of ways to make things even better, they are captive of their pasts. Some of them worry abt failed relationships or financial problems. Others fret over their less than perfect childhoods. Still others brood over trifling matters including even how a store clerk might have treated them. As a result, they are blocking the enormous potential of their minds to work magic and deliver into their lives all that they want, emotionally, physically and yes even spiritually.

My favorites

9. No matter what happens to you in your life, you alone have the capacity to choose your response to it. When you form the habit of searching for the positive in every circumstance, your life will move into its highest dimensions. This is one of the greatest of all the natural laws.

10. Your outer world reflects the state of your inner world. By controlling the thoughts that you think and the way you respond to the events of your life, you begin to control your destiny.

2009 - A Decade review

2009-12-27T23:18:00.000-08:00

The end of 2009 as an year is special in the sense that it not only marks the end of the current year, but also marks the end of a decade. It is still being debated what this decade must be called (example 90's or 80's etc). Here is my review of the decade.

The decade began with a lot of talk about how the Y2K problem will impact the world at large. It was not so much a problem for India considering that there was not that much computerization as in the western world. But certainly India was part of the solution to the Y2k problem. India was just beginning to reap benefits of the liberalization which was initiated by the Narsimharao Govt in the 90's and the educated middle class youth was part of the solution for fixing the Y2K problem. Companies like Infosys, TCS, PCS and Wipro were the early birds in the sense of giving the software industry a boom in the coming years. A whole lot of Indian youth got a chance to travel to USA and other western countries and help solve the problem. This was the first rendezvous for the ordinary middle class Indian youth with the capitalist west. Indians did a great job and once the Y2K bug was resolved, these new software companies kept leveraging the English speaking Indian youth by going up the value chain of the computer and Internet revolution.

If India was at the helm of the positive Internet phenomenon, there was another phenomenon which was growing and prospering in the neighbourhood in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The 9/11 attacks on the USA brought the western world (led by USA) at cross roads with terrorist organizations(led by Osama bin Laden and infrastructure provided by Jehadis in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other parts of middle east). The attack on the nerve center of the America polarized the world as never before. Clash of civilization, as it was termed became part of the geo political jargon. This new jargon has dominated the world for the entire decade and does not show any sign of calming down.

India was also not isolated from this growing phenomenon. The attacks on the Indian parliament in 2001 and the attack on Akshar dham temple in Gujrat impacted Indians as never before. This was on the heels of the hijack of a Indian plane by Taliban and Pakistani Jehadis in late Dec 1999. All these events polarized the Indian society as never before. The result was a shameful display of Hindu backlash in western state of Gujrat. The Muslims were slaughtered and the social secular fabric of the state where Gandhi was born was torn for ever. This was not like any other Hindu Muslim riot. In view of the polarized atmosphere in the world at large, this gave more ammunition to the Jehadis to use the local wrong doings and resulted in a series of deadly bomb attacks through out India. All this was happening in India in conjunction with the rise of a India as a economic super power led by a well educated, English speaking young work force.

Throughout the middle years of the decade, western world continued at a bitter and deadly battle with the Muslim world. Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine and Pakistan continued to be a battlefield. This meant the American hegemony was crumbling and a new world order led by China and India became more prominent. As Fareed Zakaria wrote in his book "The Post American World", American power under George Bush continued to go down. The land of opportunity that America once was, mainly due to the freedom it gave to its citizens and visitors, continued to dwindle as American became more insular and less open as a society. The economic, moral and millatry power of USA continued to deteriorate as never before. All this culminated into the worst economic slowdown in the world after the great depression in early 40's. This gave further ammunition to the notion of a post american world and the rise of India and China as the economic super powers. Both these countries were relatively still growing when the rest of the world (led by America) continued to shrink.

All this paints a very grim picture of this decade. And grim it is for sure. But there is also a ray of hope as this decade ends. US is led today by Barack Obama who ran a inspirational campaign and defeated the republicans. The economic crisis is also showing signs of a retreat and hopefully the new year and the decade will be much better than the decade gone by.

Here is wishing that 2010 and the new decade will be a great decade for the world, which will be peaceful and prosperous for all. Hopefully the clash of civilizations will turn into a conversation among civilizations. Wishing best to all for the new decade !!.

Wake up Sid

2009-10-04T23:17:00.000-07:00

We watched Wake up Sid yesterday in one of the many swanky multiplexes in Indore. It was a good experience watching a movie again in India with close friends.

I found the movie to be a fascinating one with a simple but lovable story and gripping music. The direction was very nice and refreshing. The depiction of the characters was very real and full of the contradictions we see in our daily lives. The rich spoilt college kid is a character we have all come across in our lives. At the same time, the character of Konkana was very lively and something that any middle class Indian kid could relate to. Although in this case Konkana was from Kolkatta, but Bombay (to hell with Raj Thackrey) has fascinated every body including me. Konakana is full of dreams and has a lot of determination and conviction to make it come true. Since she has grown up in a middle class environment, she is aware of the ground level reality and is ready to adjust in life and not loose focus.

On the contrary, Ranvir's character also has a different kind of realism and is representative of a kind of "divide" that exists in urban India of "the haves" vs "the have nots". Life has been so comfortable for him (thanks to his father's flower shower business) that he is totally unaware about the hardships of life and everyday battles that the middle class has to go through. The director has been able to show the frustrations of Ranvir when he is out of his comfort zone and is forced to think about his "roti, kapda aur makaan". The "credit card culture" which we all are becoming a victim of is also highlighted in his character when he tries to use a credit card at a "paav bhaji stall".

The story reaches towards a tipping point for Ranvir when in a powerful scene Konkana makes him see the reality and prods him to take care of his life and to wake UP. In the meanwhile, Konkana who thinks of herself as mature and "not a kid" finds out in a rivetting scene that her boss thinks she too is a kid for liking old hindi music as opposed to the elite Jazz music. This and the insecurity towards Ranvir makes her feel vulnerable and she too needs a shoulder to cry on (which not surprisingly happens to be that of Ranvir !!)

In a true Bollywood style, the things take turn for the GOOD and Ranvir finds his passion for photography. The story then reaches its climax again in a true Bollywood style and they supposedly live happily ever after.

In short, we loved the movie and enjoyed it.

Back to India

2009-09-26T11:07:00.000-07:00

We are back to India after 2 years from a good US trip. Though, we intended to stay for a bit longer, but in view of the economic recession, we decided to move back and spend some time in India. One of the best experience in US was the chance to move around and see a lot of places in and around US. Some of the places we saw in US were Chicago, NY, Florida, San Jose and Hawaii.

In the past, I have not really been a keen traveller in India. It was only after coming to US that I wandered around in US and developed a hobby of traveling and seeing places. Having come back to India, it is a dream and also a very important aim of our life to see many places in India. Be it the "dil walon ki dilli", "himachal ke pahad aur wadiyan", andaman islands or the fabulous south India, we wish to see as much as we can.

US is an amazing country. What they have achieved in terms of infrastructure, civic awareness, freedom of speech, sense of humor and creating a land of opportunities is mind boggling. I had a great working experience as well in US and learnt a lot during my stay there. However, no country or society is perfect and US also has some serious issues at hand and I am sure they will work to solve them.

One of the best experience in US for both Divya and me was attending the Obama speech in Grant park in Chicago after his historic victory. I can never forget the entire election process and subsequently the privilege to listen to magical words of Obama.

I also intend to pursue my blog more seriously and may be even start a travelogue.

Lofty goals may be, but we really intend to travel in India. All the Best !!!!

PM in waiting?

2009-02-28T10:13:00.000-08:00

It is election time in India and the political scene is nicely setup now. Being an avid follower of politics in India and world at large, I thought it will be prudent to actually take sides in this election and decide which party and person is better to rule India at this time.

Although India is a parliamentary form of democracy as opposed to USA which is a presidential form of democracy, recently political parties have started the practice of announcing their chief ministerial or prime ministerial candidates. BJP specially has been doing this consistently in state and central elections.

So here is my opinion on some of the candidates that are in the fray.

1. L K Advani

He has been the strong man of BJP and for long the think tank of the BJP. The duo of Atal ji and Advani has shaped the BJP and Jan Sangh earlier and taken the party to this level. Although, I have had several ideological differences with the BJP as a party, but I feel, Advani is the best person to lead our contry. His ideas and ideals are very praiseworthy and he has shown tremendous amount of credibility and commitment to the national cause. He is a true democrat at heart and a man who has been in politics for more than 5 decades, and has been in opposition for most of his political career. This itself prooves that he is not in politics for power and truly believes in "nation first" approach in his politics. At the same time he has performed reasonably well when NDA was in power for 6 years. His performance as home minister and later as deputy PM was very good and he did a lot of things, which if given more time would have succeeded. No mention of Advani would be complete, unless one talks about his controversial speech about Jinnah in Pakistan. He was misunderstood by his own people, but ultimately was vindicated, when the party and the so called pariwar accepted him as the PM candidate. I have immense respect for him for not backing out and maintaining his views.

2. Manmohan Singn

Manmohan Singh is probably the first non-political PM of India. He first came into limelight for his role in the 90's when he opened the Indian economy under the mandate given to him by the then PM Narsimha Rao. What he did then was the best thing that has ever happened to India. The events then really showed the country and world how a crisis can be turned into an opportunity and ultimately a reward for generations to reap. When he was elected as the PM (after Sonia bowed out of the race), the idea was that he will handle the governance part and Sonia Gandhi will handle the political component of the Central Govt. As it turned out, it is not possible to separate out the two. As happened in the case of nuclear deal, the PM was the only person pushing for the deal. For that I give credit to him. However, this govt under him has like other Congress govts, not done enough to tackle terrorism. The way Mumbai attacks were handled, left many questions unanswered. The biggest problem I see in Manmohan Singh is communication with public at large. I have never seen him interact with the media and convey his thoughts clearly. In today's world of internet and over communication, how can Manmohan Singh get away with such abysmal level of comunication? I don't think, in the end it has helped his govt or his personal image. He seems to be a bureaucrat/academician trapped in the political ramblings and looks totally out of place and out of touch with ground reality. He probably is a VERY good minister for finance, but can not lead the country.

3. Narendra Modi

Narendra Modi, another political heavyweight from Gujrat BJP is known for his "moditva" which I like to call as "macho hiindutva". Although he has done a lot of development work for the state of Gujrat and has turned the state into a engine of nationa's economic development, but how can we overlook the immoral acts that were done under his govt in the post Godhra riots? Specially, as till today, he has not shown the kind of remorse as is expected for a Chief minister of a state where the minorities were badly crushed and killed in what was proclaimed to be an act of state sponsored terrorism? So till he comes out clean on Godhra and is willing to take all the stakeholders (minority or majority) together and provides demonstrable justice to the people who were directly impacted in the riots, he will always find it impossible to be able to gain support of the entire country. To be a PM, he needs to be acceptable by larger sections of the society. So Mr Modi, for this reason alone, I would not support your PM claim at this point of time.

4. Rahul Gandhi

Rahul Gnadhi has a tremendous advantage (unfairly) because he has a Gandhi surname to use and hence has a lot of political capital associated with him by default. However, I don't think, he is even close to being ready for being the PM of this country. There are a lot of tests yet for him and he needs to demonstrate his capability, maturity and even understanding of the problems being faced by the country and what his thoughts are on the same. So Mr Rahul Gandhi, its time to get hands dirty and learn the realpolitik and the reality of the Indian state.

5. Pranab Mukharjee

He is probably the dark horse to be the PM in my opinion. He is the man who I feel is the only politician in Congress who has a vision, grasp, breadth, understanding of issues faced by the country today nationally as well as internationally. Unlike Manmohan Singh, he is a real politician as well and has been the savior of this govt politically. He was the person who was talking to the left during the entire time and has known to have good contacts across the political spectrum of India. Even Advani recently hailed Pranab da and praised him for his role. Internationally, he is the most visible face of India today. He has talked straight and in stern fashion with Pakistan and tried to convey the anger, frustration and disappointment of 1 billion Indian people in his conversations with diplomats and world leaders. If Congress comes to power this time, I really feel, he should be made the PM instead of Mr Manmohan Singh.

Considering all the factors, I feel, the only person who is ready at this point to be the PM of this country are either Mr Advani or Mr Pranab Mukharjee. Of the two I would support Mr Advani more than Pranab da, simply because Mr Advani needs to be given a chance to complete the tasks that were incomplete in the Vajpayee govt.

I wish my best luck to Advani and wish he wins the Indian elections which should be announced any time now.

Response to Mumbai Attacks

2008-12-08T06:02:00.000-08:00

It has been close to a week now since we had the terror attacks in Mumbai. Now that the emotional rhetoric is settling down, we need to take steps to handle the internal angle and the external angle of the terror attacks. External angle is more difficult to handle as we still don't know what the exact reply to Pakistan should be. I think, war as an option should not be ruled out. Once the diplomacy efforts are done with, we should look into "hot pursuit" option. Though this is not going to be easy as what will we attack in Pakistan?

Besides, the war is not a comprehenive solution. The common example given in favor of war is to look at USA and Israel and the fact that since 9/11 there has not been any terrorism act against USA.
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But that is factually not correct. There might not have been a terrorist act in America, but they have been in war since 2001 in Iraq and Afghanistan. And close to 4000 soldiers have died. In a way, the common man in streets of American has not died, but the soldiers are getting killed all the time. So in a way inspite of the war, Americans are still getting killed by terrorists. Besides, just imagine the impact it has had on US economy. No wonder, people are fed up of this war. Also, American is way out of reach of the Jehadists. Its geographic outreach has helped America, otherwise in the last few years, they have made the world more dangerous and polarized and has had no effect whatsoever.

Similarly we don't want to be Israel as its not as if the israelis are never killed. They keep getting killed in the constant war like situation they are in.

I think, we need to do the following.things as a long term solution.

1. Strong Anti terror Laws - Have strong anti terror laws and speedy trials, so the terrorists like Masoon Azhar can be tried quickly and hanged to death.

2. Strengthen our internal security which is abysmal right now. We are so vulnerable and have so many porous boundaries that the terrorists keep infiltrating.

3. Conversation among Religions - Develop an atmosphere where the religions are talking to each other. Recently Advani ji did a very good thing when he talked to the Christians regarding the killings in Orissa. The same should happen with the Muslims. Important thing is who do we talk to in Muslims. Recently the "Dar-ul-uloom" has said couple of very good things and they even asked the Muslims to not slaughter cows on eid. I think, we need to promote more of the moderate Islam. India has long had a tradition of what is called as the "Sufi Islam" and we have all grown up listening to some very good sufi music. We need to promote them and make sure a strong muslim middle class is created.

4. Inclusive Growth - Today our society is polarized. We have a huge divide between the"haves" and "have nots". We need to have policies which are more inclusive in nature and have a far greater reach. The Muslims have for various reasons not been able to be part of the economic success. I think, we need to make sure that not only Muslims but many other classes are also part of the economic success. World over the economics is moving from blatant captialism to a more "humanised capitalism", where many more people are brought under the "haves".

5.Communal Harmony - Make sure incidents like Gujrat are not repeated. I like Modi and what he has done for the well being of his state, but unless he takes all religions with him, he will never be able to be a pan indian leader. Even if Gujrat happens, we should make sure speedy trials and quick and fair justice. This will reduce the chance of muslims becoming more millitant.

6. Delink terror with religion - Just as if some disgruntled hindus exploded few bombs, the entire hindu community does not become a terrorist, same logic should apply to Muslims. Politicians should learn a very strong lesson. Two days before Karkare was killed, a famous politician in Indore questioned Karkare. Only 2 days later when karkare was killed, the same gentle man had the audacity to go to Karkare's place and offer 1 Crore Rs to his family?? Does he think the people are IDIOTS? I am very happy that the slain family did not take a penny from such a politician. Bottomline is terrorism has no religion and neither are all terrorists muslim.

I feel, India is the only country which can showcase such a unique model where we have all religions living peacefully and helping each other in nation building. That is how the "Sanatan Dharma" has always been and that is only how the sanatan dharma will continue to be Sanatan dharma.

I speak this as a true, proud and practicing Hindu.

McCain Vs Obama - My thoughts

2008-11-03T18:44:00.000-08:00

This is the first US election which I am observing and follwing so closely. USA being the world's most powerful democracy, this election has world wide implications. The world today is extremely polarized on all issues that matter. Be it the globalization impact, be it the policy to tackle extremism, or closer home be it regional/national chauvinism.

In such a backdrop, this US elections is not a normal election. The stakes are extremely high and the choices are equally tough. There are a number of factors which are influencing this race

1. The Bush Factor - George W Bush is the most hated figure today in the world. This is after 9/11 when the entire nation was with him and also got him elected again to complete the job to catch OBL. Today there is a strong anti incumbancy factor against him in particular and republicans in general because of the way they have handled the war on terror and the Iraq fiasco. Obama has a great advantage in that regard and his campaign has made sure that they keep giving the message that McCain is going to be an extension of Bush-Cheny duo.

2. The Economy - If Bush was a catastrophy for McCain, the economic crisis came as a jolt from the blue to him. The subprime crisis which culminated into the broader economic breakdown, made sure that the anti incumbancy against Bush sore to unimaginable levels. Obama was able to attribute most of the economy blues to republicans. McCain's "maverick reaction" of stopping the campaign and going to Washington did not bore well with the common man as he ended up bailing out the very people who were responsible for the mess. Another negative factor which is working in Obama's favor.

3. The Palin Factor - McCain chose an almost unknown Sarah Palin as his running mate. In the beginning the charming Palin was able to attract a lot of republican mass. She came across as a conservative republican, which McCain was not. But as time went on, it turned out that she was not prepared to be the VP candidate, forget having the presidential mantle. Interview after interview proved that she did not have the knowledge that a good VP candidate must possess. And though Joe Biden also made a number of blunders, the media chose to focus on Palin and her inability to name a newspaper she read, or her linking of economic crisis to "its about job creation". Palin has proved to turn away the independant voters which in a tight race like this are the major attractions for both campaigns. The acerbic nature of her campaign only turned them away from republicans. Yet another negative factor working in Obama's favor.

4. The Iraq War - The war in Iraq might has been a utter disaster throughout. Although the surge helped now, but to go to war against Iraq was a disaster which majority of Americans have absolutely rejected. McCain, obliged by the republican ideology has supported the war in first place and still continues a coercive millatry based foreign policy instead of a "diplomacy based" foreign policy. This has made the world a dangerous place and a extremely polarized place to live in. Obama showed good judgement by opposing the Iraq war and the need to focus on eliminating the apparatus of terrorism in Afghanistan/Pakistan duo. Another factor in Obama's favor.

5. OBAMA Mania - Amid all the negativities, surrounded in the world in general and USA in particular, Obama gives a hope that is simply put audacious. The way he has managed his campaign over the course of almost 2 years is spectacular. He has been able to beat "The race factor" which is such a big issue for Americans. His message of change reflects the state of mind of people today. All through out the campaign he has been consistent in his message of change and has laid out a broad ideology of reaching out to others. His foreign policy approach is also based on using "diplomacy" as a cornerstone of his foriegn policy and not relying solely upon brute millatry force to achieve the strategic goals. He is willing to talk to states like Iran also, which is good because the neo con notion of "Either you are with us or against us" has not worked in last 8 years. In all his public appearances, he has appeared as a calm, cool, composed and presidential by all means. His oratary skills are great, but he has also done well to not shy away from tough questions like his allegiance to his radical pastor Right or his linkage to Bill Ayers etc.

This does not mean, all his ideas are correct or that he will not make mistakes. Considering the enormous challenges, he will most certainly make mistakes. But because of his thought process and ability to reach out to people, even if he makes mistakes, he will be able to accept the mistakes, get over them quickly and get the correct advice from the people around him.

My Prediction

Considering the opposition candidate and his ideology and based on Obama's campaign, his ideology and personal traits, I feel Obama will win by a comfortable majority (if not a land slide). I hope he is able to bring the change tha the talks about. I hope better sense prevails throughout the world and we become less polarized and develop the much required ability to "Agree to Disagree", for that trait alone will ensure better times to come for future generations.

Chicago Musings - India and the nuclear deal.

2008-07-06T21:40:00.000-07:00

As we speak, India is at a possible turning point in her history. We have to make a decision whether we do what is in our best interests or succumb to forces that want india to be in a state of self imposed poverty and lack of access to technology that will thrust us into a bright future for generations to come.

On one hand we have Left, which has a philosophy based on blind animosity towards the capitalistic US, is ready to give away the benefit that India can gain by signing a deal with USA. This kind of an ideology, which is not based on national interests is absolutely abhorable and should be discouraged.

BJP on the other hand is also not doing the right thing by not supporting the deal, which it had masterminded in the first place. The party with a difference is showing the kind of political myopia which is not expected of a nationalist party and is exactly the kind of polity which we as a nation must not support. BJP should take a cue from APJ Abdul Kalam and come out in support of the deal and nation's willingness to place itself on a path to success and greatness that India deserves and is capable of.

The only leader who stands tall amid all this is Dr Manmohan Singh. He has been consistent in his support to the deal and has been the force in making this deal a reality(as it seems). What is really commendable is the fact that he has done this single handedly, when his own party has had an inkling towards sticking to power and succumbing to the left. Congress did not have the courage to call left's bluff. And in doing so, it has made the PM look weak. It is only now when SP has no other option but to support Congress in view of its weakening base in UP, that Congress Party is backing the nuclear deal.

We the people of India deserve a lot more and better from our politicians and hope that some day the polity of our day will be driven by national interests and not clinging to power at any cost. The eternal optimist in me says Amen at the thought !!

!!!! Happy BirthDay Divya !!!!

2008-02-15T05:06:00.000-08:00

Dear Divya,

Wishing you a very happy birthday and a great year(s) ahead.

This is a very special birthday for her since not only is this the first birthday after marriage, she also completed 25. This is a very special birthday for me too, for obvious reasons.

Let me go back a bit in time to set this up nicely. I met Divya about 8 or 8.5 months back. In my search for my better half, i had met few girls, but somehow things never clicked (and now i know why). When mamma/baba told me about her, I was a bit indifferent to the whole thing to them(which was very typical of me then), but someohow felt, she might be the one. I went to Indore and she came with her parents and Chetan (her brother). After exchanging quick pleasentries, we decided to go out and chat a bit freely. So there we were, in the car going for a long ride.

In my typical fashion, I started talking about Indore and its weather to begin with(I always think, thats smart of me to strike a conversation :-)). And I could suddenly sense that she too had a passion for Indore. The conversation went on, and spanned across many topics like her office, my office, likes, dislikes, her idea about life, sports, hobbies, movies, music, dance(she was the one talking on dance and not me), relationships, friendship, family, values etc. And as we both were talking, our mind was analysing each others thoughts and mannerisms.

My first impression about her was she was a very down to earth person and got along very well with others. She did not seem to have any ego or air about her being.

My mind was reaching a conclusion slowly. We met once omre the next day and said YES. All the wait seemed to be paying rich dividends for me. Divya came into my life and we had a "Chat pat Byah". Everything happened very quickly. Within a month we were married on 11th of July 2007(A Monsoon Wedding as I like to call it). Miracles do happen and dreams do come true.

Everyone including me (more importantly!!) was very happy. As per my resolution, I was able to move on and start a new life with Divya. It was and is great to have her together. We gell with each other very well and are very happy (touch wood) ! Although, it has been just 7 months, it seems we know each other for a long time. i would give that entire credit to Divya since she gets along so very well with everyone in family and is such a fun person to be with. She is down to earth, friendly, humorous, lively, enthusiastic and most importantly knows how to take everyone together. These were precisely the things which I wanted in my life partner.

As time has gone by in last 7 months or so, my impression about her has not changed since the first impression I formed about her. She is great at socializing with people. The vibes that you get out of her are friendly and have a very soothing effect on your psyche. No wonder, she has a huge friends list. i have realised in last 7 months, how much her friends mean to her. As I have realised, her friends also value her immensly. Besides other things, she is a great singer and an even better dancer. She makes some amazing food (her cooking has improved tremendously since she came to US).

Well, to cut the long story short, it has been an immense pleasure to be with her. I am happy with life again and am looking forward to life ahead. I was very doubtful about arranged marriage and how it will turn out to be for me. I can say with full confidence that arranged marriages rock too !

That in short is my tribute to Divya on her first birthday after marriage.

I wish her all the very best for her life and for her career too. Hope she achieves "one to all" in life !

!! Congratulations once again my lady love !!

Amit

The year that was ... 2007

2007-12-31T17:03:00.000-08:00

Ok. Its that time of the year when you look back at the past year and look ahead at the new year as well. Time to reflect upon the happenings of the year going by and time to make resolutions for the new year (that in a separate blog tommorow).

To summarise last year, it was an awsome year, a year with lots of memories to cherish and lot of new experiences which have enriched my life tremendously. To begin with, I was in USA for first couple of months till mid feb. I have to say my US trip last year was an amazing experience. It gave me lot of time to introspect, look deep down within and make attempts to solve some long standing issues in life. More than anything, it gave me opportunity to have fresh perspectives and a chance to be more open to experiments and finally make some concrete decisions to change things. And I was able to do that and took some steps which would lead me into some decision !!

The biggest decision was to choose a life partner. I started my search with a lot of preconcieved notions. But as time went by I learnt to throw away those preconcieved notions and get real.

In July I finally found my life partner. All the wait seemed to be paying rich dividends for me. Divya came into my life and we had a "Chat pat Byah". Everything happened very quickly. Within a month we were married on 11th of July 2007. Miracles do happen and dreams do come true.

Everyone including me (more importantly!!) was very happy. As per my resolution, I was able to move on and start a new life with Divya. It was and is great to have her together. We gell with each other very well and are very happy (touch wood) ! Although, it has been just 5 months, it seems we know each other for a long time. i would give that entire credit to Divya since she gets along so very well with everyone in family and is such a fun person to be with. She is down to earth, friendly, humorous, lively, enthusiastic and most importantly knows how to take everyone together. These were precisely the things which I wanted in my life partner Though these are still early days(honeymoon period as the cynics call it), we both are sure that we will do well in difficult times too as "anti incumbancy" sets in.

I also got promoted this year at work and so the "feel good factor" continued in work as well. I am thankful to so many people in my team who helped me in getting the promotion.

More importantly, I felt good from within after a long long time and there is no better feeling than this. I learnt lessons from my past (there were plenty!) and I felt confident as I moved ahead in life.

I started blogging at the end of year 2006. As I moved into 2007, I wanted to write more and for that I needed to read more. And read I did ! I read an outstanding book called "Mrityunjay" by authot Shivaji Samant. This has to be the best book I have ever read in my life till now. And I already know the only book better than this would be "Yugandhar" by the same authot. I intend to read it in 2008. I read many other books like Call of honor, Everything happens for a reason, Inspite of Gods, and couple of other fiction novels.

Divya and I also attended two fantastic music concerts. We attended one in Pune by
sudesh Bhosale. The other one was in Dec 2007 in Chicago. We have followed Sa Re Ga Ma Pa show on Zee TV and it was an awsome experience to attend this show. We both loved it like nothing !

We are now in USA and trying to adjust in the windy city of Chicago. I am back to this place as I was here last winter as well.

All in all, this year has been great and it made me love and live life once again. 2007, the year that was will always remain in my memory for a long long time.

Wish you all a great 2008. Wish the best for everyone and hope all you want comes true !!

A-Z of Indianness (C,D this week)

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

Shashi Tharur is writing a column in TOI every sunday, where he describes Indianness. And as you would expect with India, Indianness has many contours and expressions which can be described on each alphabet.

I would try here to create my own list of Indianness. Shashi Tharur has reached B, so I am starting my series with C and D, so I am not copying what Mr Tharur has to say.

Here is what I think, describes India on C and D

1. Cricket : If there is one religion that binds India cutting across caste, creed, sex it has to be cricket. Almost entire India shares this passion of a game which is more of a British Legacy. India today is a powerhouse in terms of financing the game, and we as Indians, who are eternal optimists. Even after the recent debacle, entire nation is closely hoping for a miracle in Bangladesh

2. Computer : India has missed a lot of growth opportunities in the past. We missed the industrial revolution and hence lost a chance to be at par with its western world. But IT is one area, where we have not missed any opportunity and have taken it with both hands. Computer today has empowered common Indians and made them conquer the global IT industry.

3. Cell Phone : Post liberalization, if computer was one strong success factor for we the Indians, cell phone revolution was another feather in our cap. Today even a road side vendor, sabjee wala, doodh wala etc all own a mobile phone and are in touch with their loved ones. Cell phone today is also a very cheap way to do business and innovate. No wonder in the entire world, we have the cheapest service.

4. Caste : India as a society has always been caste ridden. This is not a recent phenomenon. Right from our vedas and upnishads, all talk about a highly castiest society and this has always led to a lot of conflicts. A state like UP, where caste is the only factor that works in elections. I wish, as we grow and evolve as a country, the effect of caste is reduced, and the polity of the country becomes more issue based, rather than based on "Mandal and Kamandal".

5. Congress : Congress is the oldest political party in India. During our independance, it became synonymous to the entire nation and its will to be free and attain "Swarajya". Its leaders came from all spheres of life and went on to dominate the entire freedom struggle and also ruled the post independance India. Though, there were a lot of other entities and leaders (non congress) who did so much for the country and its independance, one can never undermine the role of Congress in defining the nation as it is today. Obviously, the congress is also responsible for all the lacunas that we see in our polity and society.

6. Charkha : Charkha was that ultimate symbol of "Aam Aadmi" and his will to be self independant and free during our freedom struggle. Modern India might not still be using Charkha, but the whole ideology behind the "Charkha" is still very modern and contemporary in today's globalised world.

7. Cow : Cow has always been treated in India as a mother figure. It has always been reverred by the majority hindus. "Gaay" as a symbol has also been misused by some political parties to their own interests. Nonetheless, there are countless ocasions, where the cow is treated as very sacred and hence portrays a strong symbol of Indianness.

8. Democracy : Democracy is the ultimate success of modern and independant India. If there is one achievement for modern India that has unparallel instance in the entire world, it has to be the way in which India and Indians have chosen to be truly democratic. As the "Time" magzine pointed out this week, it is only in India where you can have a "Catholic Italian" woman be the lady in command of a country which has a "minority sikh" PM and a "Minority Muslim" President ruling the majority Hindu population without even an iota of trouble. Hats of to that ultimate symbol od modern India, Democracy !!

9. Diversity : India in its modern awtar and in its age old awtar of "Hindusthan" has been a land of diversity. The "Sanatan Hindu" dharma is the ultimate symbol of how it has literally amalgamated so many faiths. India as a country has always been plundered and invaded time and again by Turks, Mughals, Brits, Portugese etc. There have been offshoots of Hindu dharama like Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhism, but ultimately the Sanatan Hindu dharma has always accepted diversity and ultimately has been flexible enough to amalgamate all these religions in its own ideology. Thats our secret of diversity.

10. Doordarshan : DD as a medium has seen this country evolve and grow. Pre liberalization, it was the only source of entertainment for Indians. Havent we all liked the "chitrahaar" and the sunday evening movie for years, before we had the Zees and Sony's literally eating up DD? Who can forget serials like "Buniyaad", "Hum Log", "Yeh jo hai Zindagi" and the much hated "Krishi Darshan". All of that represented India and our Indianness !!

LAst but not the least, the festivals like Diwali bring all Indians joy and happiness. Another "D" that comes to mind is the famous "Dandi march" which Gandhiji undertook as the ultimate symbol of opposing the british hegemony and imperialism.

Lookout for the e's and f's in coming week.

Chote Sarkar Ki Shadi

2007-04-20T20:42:00.000-07:00

Chote Sarkar Ki Shadi

News channels in India which have mushroomed in last few years, were on
a rampage this week, covering "chote Sarkar ki shadi". The speculations were on for months and all channels were in top gear discussing different aspects of AbhiAish's weddings.

Starting from the much touted manglik status of Aish, Aish's changing partners based on their box office status, Abhishek's affairs with his co stars, Amitabh's objections ... the media had it all.

The 24*7 news channels, have to create news to sustain and survive. In that quest, AbhiAish's wedding provided them with a perfect setting, to thrive upon for weeks. What guests would make up the list of invitees, really became part of news rooms discussions !

All limits were crossed in last 2 days, as news channels made us witness India's first live wedding. This also gives chance to a lot of media savvy people to get 15 minute fame. Consider Jhanavi Kapoor for an example.

This is anything but journalism, but page 3 is here to stay and with the booming news channels, this will only go a step ahead....

Anyway, herez wishing the "Chote Sarkar" and world's most beautiful lady a happy and everlasting(!!!??)married life !!

2 years ....

2007-04-01T10:20:00.000-07:00

Its been 2 years today, since my life changed completely. There are few events/decisions in life which turn the life upside down. In my life, if there is one turning point in life as of now, it has to be this one.

2 years ago, this very day, I left my home, Indore, Impetus and many other things. Everything happens for a reason, and this did happen for a lot of reasons. It was such a difficult decision for me. Although I took that decision, it was really the situations that forced me out.

2 years later, lot has changed, and still lot is yet to change.

To say the least, it has been a struggle .. but a struggle worth every bit of it.

There are still a lot of things I need to do, lot of dreams to fulfill, a lot of aims to achieve and a lot many deadlines to meet. All the best !!

My travel Destinations

2007-03-25T01:32:00.000-07:00

I have not travelled in India much. But recently I have wanted to see a lot of places in India. I not only want to see the ususal tourist destinations, but also a lot of otherwise "non descript" locations. However, these places have a lot of significance in the history of contemparary India and have added to our rich culture and heritage.

Some of the places I want to see are

1. W Bengal - Somehow, I have always wanted to see W Bengal. This state is in India, but in many ways it is so different from other states. Communists have ruled this state easily for over 20 years. They have gone past all known reasons that political pundits give such as anti incumbancy, poor governance, lack of leadership, complacency etc. Inspite of being generally a poorly governed state, and an old, aging leadership, the communists have managed to stay put in this state. I really want to see the following places in W Bengal
1.1 Kolkatta
1.2 Sundar Bans
1.3 Jalpaiguri (Its such a strange sounding place, but somehow is a very active place)
1.4 NandiGram (has been in news recently for all the wrong reasons)

2. Konkan - Have heard so much of of the natural beauty of areas in and around konkan, that I really wish, I could take a journey on konkan railways soon and just zip through the entire area and take a lot of nice photographs.

3. Kashmir - This is the "heaven of India" which has been terribly struck by terrorism. But still, continues to hold imagination of almost all Indians. As Clinton called it, this place is the nuclear flashpoint of the world !!

4. Somnath temple & Dwarka in Gujrat - Somnath was attacked by the infamous Taimur Lung for more than 15 times. The place would have got some wealth that inspired this Turk to plunder it time ang again. Also another reason to visit this place is since L K Advani started his Rath Yatra from this very place. Certainly has got a lot of significance historically.

5. Andaman Nicobar Islands - Now this place is a terrific place to be in India. Again, historically this place has so much to speak for. The infamous "Kala Pani" is in this place as well. Certainly want to see the place which would have inspired so many of India's brightest and best to spend their entire life here opposing "Raj", so the coming generation could see a free India.

6. Sabarmati Ashram in Gujrat - This is heck of a place for sure. Perhaps the most important place in Indian history which has seen our "Father of nation" evolve all his ideologies to throw away Britishers from this land. Also want to see this place to see, why the land which spread ideas of non violence and freedom of religion has seen the worst ever riots and pogrom on Muslims by the majority hindus. How could things go horribly wrong in this state? Perhaps the people of that state need to visit Sabarmati ashram !!

Hopefully, I will be able to seem some of these places in next few years.....

An incredible love story - Vinit & Va

2007-02-02T19:30:00.000-08:00

Consider this for a fabulous love story.

A bright and smart Boy from Indore belonging to a typical middle class family. As any middle class family would aspire, they wanted him to be an engineer. He gives his engg. entrance exam twice, gets admission into Civil engg in a govt college in Raipur. Meanwhile, consider another girl who in her childhood was in remote Kenya, moves to Delhi due to some unfortunate family situation, and subsequently settles nicely in Delhi. Looks totally unrelated. Isnt it?

Well, as destiny would have it, life took a turn for the boy. His parents did not like the idea of sending their son to remote Raipur. So in a snap decision, they cancel his admission in Raipur and instead have him do his graduation and a course in computers in NIIT. Meanwhile, the girl completes her graduation in Delhi.

Once the boy completes his graduation, he takes a number of post graduation entrance exams, and gets admission into management. Somehow he feels, selling toothpastes and buble gums would never be his forte, so in another well thought decision, he decides not to continue his management degree. At about the same time, he gets admission into a reputed MCA course in Indore !! This is what he wanted and this is what his parents had wanted their son to be, when they got him into a NIIT course. Life was happy and fun ...

The girl and her family, in the meanwhile also aspired her to be in IT and she also gets admission in Indore in the same college !!

And there you go !!!! .. The love story begins, develops and blossoms into a wonderful relationship. Sounds like a perfect bollywood movie with all the masala and turns ... Isnt it?

Friends, the boy and the girl who are part of this riveting story are none other than my elder brother Vinit and my sister-in-law Amita, who I lovingly call as Va.

Theirs has been a fantastic love story. And nothing comes easy, and nothing came easy for them too, but it was their love and mutual respect for each other which saw them through all these testing times and as they stand today , they are celebrating their 9th marriage anniversary. Many many congratulations to them.

In these changing times, when relationships are a rocking boat, and the institution of marriage under serious threat, Vinit and Va come across as a perfect example of how to keep relationships simple and yet so fulfilling and satisfying. And add to that their successful careers and an extremly busy and hectic lifestyle. Having lived with them and observed them over the years, there is no doubt that they go through trials and tribulations on a regular basis, but everytime they come out of it as winners, and so does their relationship.

They fight and fight they HARD. They scream and scream they LOUD. They argue, and argue they STRONGLY. But at the end of the day, the WARMTH of their relationship, RESPECT towards each other and shear LOVE, PASSION and ADMIRATION they exhibit, outwits and outperforms every ROCK which tried to ROCK their boat.

They also are proud parents of two lovely children. Aishu the older one is a darling and is a complete daddy's girl. Manu, the younger one is an absolute delight to be with and is very close to Mommy. With two kids, Vinit & Va's life has got e1 more busy. But again, the way they manage everything in life is really comendable. They adjust their work timings such that the children have to spend minimum time in day care, and at the same time, both the children are involved in so many activities.

The point that I find really wonderful about all this is the quality time they spend with Aishu an dnow with Manu. I guess with kids, what also matters is the quality time and not just the quantity of time. However all this is much easier said than done, and done these people have !!!!

All in all, a really incredible love story in todays time.

Personally, I share a great chemistry with both of them. It is quite natural to expect that with my brother, but I share a fabulous rapport with Va too. She has been a very close friend of mine, whom I confide in almost everything. She has also been a great support and also a wonderful listener. For years, she has listened to all my crap, which I keep repeating :-) Not sure if she is patient with everybody, but somehow I have always found her very patient with me ... I see her also as a style icon. The best place to realise this is their house. Be it Gurgaon or in US, I have always found it very stylish and modern. Something that I always admired about her ...

About my brother, he is a true sagitarius. He is a cleanliness freak. In our bachpan, he was so very particular about how neatly the bed sheet would be put on his bed(a total contrast with me). He is a planner and has a vision about how he wants his life to be. I guess, thats why I call him a trend setter. It is his vision which lets him do things, which are not usual. And then his planning skills make him execute it (ofcourse with Va's full support/inputs/ideas). He believes in keeping life simple, and he actually tries to implement that. The way he gels with Aishu & Manu is mind boggling and just amazing. He has his own views and opinions and an ideology which he belives in strongly (We have had our differences on some of that though). But nothing succeeds like success, and I simply respect what he has achieved in life till now, and wish the best for him.

Here is wishing both of them again on their marriage anniversary. Also hoping to be able to achieve some of what they have achieved and the amount of happiness they have spread in our family with their relationship, which is the most important thing.

Being Ross and Rachael ...

2007-01-30T21:23:00.000-08:00

Ross and Rachael, the very lovable characters of the famous series "Friends". Always the ones who would mess things up for themselves. Too confused about their feelings towards each other. Although they loved each other, they would try and find different partners all the time. No wonder it never worked well ! Sounds like perfect drama. Made all the viewers sigh at their being.

Their character was so very well carved in the serial, and it was so much in contradiction with characters of Chandler and Monica. If one pair was very sure about being a perfect couple together, the other one was at the extreme end of "belief". One of the best things about this whole series was how these characters were portrayed. Of all these friends, if one pair was madly in love and completely confident of their being together, the other one was not at all sure, though still in love. And then the carefree characters of Joey and Phoeby. All these characters were deliberately made realistic enough, so that all the viewers could relate to some or other character ...

Finally, in the last episode, Ross and Rachael came together, as they shed all the confusions and accepted the true feelings. It was almost as melodramatic as any bollywood movie. And as happens in any bollywood movie, they had a perfect ending. But that was reel life ... Not sure if it works out the same in "real" life ....Does it?

PS : The reason I write this blog today is that I saw the last episode of Friends today for the first time ....

Happy Birthday Baba ...

2007-01-28T18:27:00.000-08:00

Today is baba's birthday. He has completed 59 illustrious years as he enters into his 60's today.

As I called baba in the morning today, I had so many feelings. And I felt very guilty as I wished him on his birthday. Sometimes, unknowingly, we take our parents for granted. Atleast I have done that a lot ...

Baba, Although just 1 blog is in no way sufficient to write down even 1 % of all that you and Mamma have done for your children, I still want to write about so many things which perhaps I will never ever be able to say to you (again because perhaps I have taken you for granted).

I can never forget the way you and Mamma have stood behind me firmly in last 5-6 years, especially when I have been extremly irresponsible and perhaps not to the best of my behavior. Your perseverance and the ability to be extremely flexible is something that I wish I could inherit from you. Baba, I can never forget how you and Mamma have shown me the path everytime I have erred (and erred I have so many times). There have been so many ocasions in last few years, when you have actually had to go through a lot of uncomfortable moments just because of me. And what you have done on each of those moments has always made me speechless. And inspite of all those awkward moments, that I made you go through, you have always been behind me like "The Wall" and showed me the correct path.

I don't have any words for the way you have adapted to different situations, just to make your children happy. Although every parent sacrifices for their children and adjusts happily, but I do not think, anybody would be able to do what you and Mamma have done for me and Vinit.

On a lighter note now, and there would be very few people of your age and generation who have adapted so well to the world of computers and internet :-) Everyday as I chat with you and Mamma, I see you using the "internet lingo". The words like "gr8", "u" and usage of smileys and emoticons in your sentences, only prooves how well you learnt and adjusted to the new order ... And this, when you have been a English Teacher all through your life ...

Another thing on a lighter note that I want to tell is how you have protected me and Mamma (not Vinit as he has always been the stronger one!!) from all the lizards and rats, which I am still terribly afraid of :-)

Baba, I wish you again on your birthday and wish you the best of health and happy and fun filled times. I also hope that I will be able to give you some happiness.

I have missed you, Mamma and our home a lot in last 3 years since I left my home. I want to be with you and Mamma soon and always want us to be together.

Baba, I am really proud of you and all that you have achieved as a teacher, father, son, guide, friend, philosopher, grand father, husband, father-in-law ....

Again wishing you on your birthday and With Best Regards,
Ammu.

Kabhi yun bhi to ho .....

2007-01-26T22:00:00.000-08:00

A wonderful gazal from Jagjit Singh. How is that one for a yearning ......

kabhii yuuN bhii to ho
dariyaa kaa saahil ho
puure chaaNd kii raat ho
aur tum aao

kabhii yuuN bhii to ho
pariyon kii mahafil ho
koii tumhaarii baat ho
aur tum aao

kabhii yuuN bhii to ho
ye narm mulaayam ThanDii havaayen
jab ghar se tumhaare guzaren
tumhaarii Khushbuu churaayen
mere ghar le aayen

kabhii yuuN bhii to ho
suunii har manzil ho
koii na mere saath ho
aur tum aao

kabhii yuuN bhii to ho
ye baadal aisaa TuuT ke barase
mere dil kii tarah milane ko
tumhaaraa dil bhii tarase
tum nikalo ghar se

kabhii yuuN bhii to ho
tanahaaii ho, dil ho
buuNden ho, barasaat ho
aur tum aao

kabhii yuuN bhii to ho

Importance of 26th Jan

2007-01-26T18:00:00.000-08:00

We celebrate 26th Jan every year. And I probably knew very little bit about the day apart from the fact that, on this day we became a republic and adopted the constituion.

Just thought will find out more about the importance of the day and constitution. Here are few points I found interesting about the day ...

1. India ie. Bharat is a Union of States. It is a Sovereign Socialist Democratic Republic with a parliamentary system of government. The Republic is governed in terms of the Constitution of India which was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26th November 1949 and came into force on 26th January 1950.

2. It was on this date in 1927 that the Indian National Congress, then fighting its non-violent war for freedom, voted for complete independence as against 'dominion status'. When members of the INC took the pledge to work towards a 'sovereign democratic republic' of India.

3. Borrowing from the Constitutions of other countries, for example, the parliamentary form of government from Britain, supremacy of judiciary from the United States, federal system with a strong centre from Canada, directive principles of state policy from Ireland, the idea of concurrent powers and co-operative federalism from Australia, the system of procedure established by law from Japan, the Indian Constitution is an amalgam of all these

4. The constitutional head of the Executive of the Union is the President. The council of the Parliament of the Union consists of the President and two Houses to be known as the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha). The Constitution provides that there shall be a Council of Ministers with a Prime Minister as its head to aid and advise the President, who shall exercise his functions in accordance to the advice. The real executive power is thus vested in the Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister as its head.

5. The Constitution distributes legislative powers between Parliament and State legislatures as per the lists of entries in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution. The residual powers vest in the Parliament. The centrally administered territories are called Union Territories.

Life and cricket ....

2007-01-23T21:25:00.000-08:00

Ball 1 - Bowler bowls down the leg side, and the batsmen flicks it for 4
Ball 2 - Bowler tries to compensate and balls a juicy half volley wide outside offstump and batsman caresses it through covers for a 4
Ball 3 - Bowler tries to cut down on length and ends up pitching it short, and the batsman just goes on backfoot and hits it outside the park
Ball 4 - Bowler tries to compensate again and tries to bowl a perfect yorker, but instead it is a full toss and the batsman just hits it out of the park again.
Ball 5 - Bowler is out of options and just wants to get away with the over quickly so he could go back to third man and think abt his strategy, but instead balls a noball and has to bowl it again.
Ball 6 - Bowler wants to avoid the no ball and so tries to cut his pace and speed, and the ball is a simple one for the batsmen .. and he again hits it outside the park

The bowler is having a terrible over. Isnt it? Life could exactly be like that on many ocasions. Whatever be your good intentions, you just cant get it right !!!

What do you do in such a case? Well, as all great bowlers will tell you, just wait for the over to be finished and wait on the boundary for the next over ......

What do the commentators do in such a case??? They will say, just keep it simple and try to bowl within the stumps, keep it nice and straight .... But does it ever work????? The answer is NO .....

Chicago Musings - Valuing human life !!

2007-01-20T15:35:00.000-08:00

I was thinking further as to why our heritage sites are as they are, and in the end I came to the conclusion that, why on earth would we value our heritage sites, when we do not value even human life.

Look at all the terrorist attacks that have happened in India and the humungous damage it has done to property and human life. But does it even matter to us once the media frenzy and attention on the attack fades? Life moves on and we remember about such things only when we have another terrorist attack. Media glorifies this as "Spirit of Mumbaikars"....

Situation in a place like Kashmir is even more horrible, where people keep dying of such attacks daily, and it doesn't even find a place in news paper columns or headlines of news channels.

Till we do not value human life, there is no way that we will ever value heritage sites .... Truly a sorry state of affairs ....

Soluiton is to sensitize people about such things so that we value lives of our fellow beings ....

Chicago Musings - Valuing heritage sites

2007-01-18T16:09:00.000-08:00

A B Vajpayee had made his writings famous by calling it musings, when he was in kerala.

I do not claim by any means, that the content of my writings are anyway even close to his. But I thought there is no harm in using that term. This is first of the series of my musisngs from Chicago.

I should admit that I haven't been a prolific traveller. But whatever little I travelled in India and outside of India, I feel sad for how we Indians treat our naitonal heritage. Take Maharashtra for example. Supposedly, this state has produced some of the finest of thinkers and philosophers and is also full of lot of famous and ancient temples and shrines which truly represent our "sanatan" hindu dharma.

People from all corners of India and perhaps outside of India come in tens of thousands to visit these holy places. But if we look at the way the administrators manage the whole civic aspect of these sites, the only emotion you have is "pity" and little bit of "disgust" at what we as a nation do with these sites.

In most places, there would not be adequate facilities for basic things like quality food, water, parking, restrooms etc. You would expect atleast such places to be clean and hygenic so you feel the peace which you are looking for and which is the first thing that brings you to such places. Instead, what we have is the exact opposite.

Contrast this with any historical place or religious place outside India (espcially in the west), and you find a complete contrast.

The basic reason in my opinion is two fold. The administrators lack transparency and accountability. In most of the big places, you find corruption and a lot of favoritism happening. No wonder, there is a strong political aspect to it as well. Recent happenings in the Shankaracharya maths and other famous temples speak of the magnitude of the problem.

But the problem is also with "We the people". We need to respect our own culture and take all possible measures to maintain the sanctity of the very place. We have a duty to keep those places cleaner and make the administrators accountable.

I hope in times to come and as we grow as a society, such things will become important issues for us and will perhaps even be part of election manifestos of political parties !!!

My best friend's wedding

2007-01-09T21:56:00.000-08:00

Prashant is getting married on 28th of January 2007. We have been best of friends for years now. We met for the first time in 7th class. Its been 17 years today since we are the best of friends. Thats a long long time I guess.

We were together in school, did engineering from the same college and joined the same company. He left Impetus in 2002. I can never forget countless ocasions when he would come over to my place and we would just stand outside our house and talk about absolutely nothing .... Sounds weired, but our friendship had reached a level, where we did not need to speak :-)

I am very happy that he is getting married this month. Bad part is I might not be able to attend the marriage as I am stuck in Chicago. Somehow I have a habit of missing marriages of people who matter. I even did not attend my brothers marriage, since I was writing an exam on the day as he got married !! Hopefully I get to attend my marriage (separate blog for that :-))

So here is wishing Prashant & Prachi the best of happy and fun filled times ahead .... Cant wait to see Prachi at Prashant's place :-)

Choice

2007-01-06T17:20:00.000-08:00

Life is not about chances you get, but its abt the choices you make.

Not all choices are easy to make. Or atleast they are not as easy to the person who has to make those choices. Others might have altogether a different viewpoint, but since you are "into" that situation, it becomes very difficult for you to decide.

Pareto's principal can be very well applied here. 80% of choices are very easy to make. Only the 20% choices are the ones which are most difficult to make and take 80% of your energy, at times draining you mentally and psycologically. These 20% choices have to be made at different stages of your life. As a child life is much easier, since your parents make a lot of choices for you. As you grow older, life gets interesting in terms of making choices.

Be it the right job or be it the right life partner, all these choices can be horribly tricky for many people. Jobs are still easy since you can make a mistake and easily correct it if you dont like it. With marriage, you do not have any such luxury. Marriages should be forever !!

Once you are married and have kids, your fairshare of the "20% of tough choices" continues. You need to make all the tough decisions for your children. Choice about their school (starting from the correct daycare!!), their studies, activities and what not.

Looks like a lot .. Isnt it? But then what would life be without having to make choices? Life would suck if we did not have to make any choices ...

I guess, having to make choices in life is like "A good problem to have" ...

I will ...

2007-01-06T08:40:00.000-08:00

1. Attend few music concerts this year
2. Get settled
3. start doing regular exercise
4. reinvent my book reading hobby
5. keep blogging ....
6. contribute something to the society
7. be happy
8. lead a guilt free, bias free life.
9. utilize my time well and travel more and explore things that I haven't till now.
10. keep reading points 1-9 above :-)

Indore - My hometown

2007-01-05T17:37:00.000-08:00

Indore, previously called as Indoor is one of the major cities of central India. Indore is my birth place. It has a very special place in my heart. Not only because it is the place where I grew , but there is something very unique about the place.

One of the common saying is "Once an indori, always an indori". That made me think, what is it about Indore that I like the most

1. Indori People - Indoris are very warm and social people. They will easily mix and will always communicate. They dont have any sort of air about themselves. They are primarily simple people, which have a strong bond with the Indian culture. But at the same time, they also have a modern outlook. That is why many products are launched from Indore, as you can get a very diverse audience to test your product. Radio Mirchi being a simple example of a very new phenomenon in Indian broadcasting.

2. Indori Food - If you like binging on food, you gotta be in Indore. Be it pohe-jalebi-kachori combination in the breakfast or Dal Bafle as the even heavier lunch, you have a number of options at your disposal. Pohe which is primarily a Maharashtrian dish introduced in Indore by the famous "Hotel Prashant" from Pune, Indoris really transformed Pohe into an extremly delicious food item. Although Pohe is a breakfast dish, I remember countless dinners where we would ask my mother to make Pohe ONLY. Just add a lot of Sev/mixture, Jeravan and couple of Nimbus to make for a fabulously delicious plate of pohe.

3. Indore is a perfect mix of traditionalism and modernism. As much as people enjoy the Holis and the Diwalis, they equally enjoy Valentines Day, Friendship Day and new year's eve. Indore today has more multiplexes than what Pune has ! If you have a group of Indoris talking about Indore, they are likely to talk about the following things
1. City Bus
2. Treasure Island
3. Crytal IT Park
4. Multiplexes
5. City roads which are improving ...

To cut the story short, I luv my Indore and I miss it dearly. I wish to do something for my town and the least I can do is to settle there and contribute. So although at this point I am not in Indore, my heart and soul is always in Indore. I have always been proud to be an Indori and without any doubt in my mind, I wish to settle in Indore. And settle I will !

My political compass

2007-01-02T18:28:00.000-08:00

The following link helps you find out which side of politics you lie.

http://politicalcompass.org/

I always thought, I was a centrist and without xtreme views on either side of the political/economic divide.

My score on the economic line was a 0 and on the social/religious divide, I got a -2.13. This means, I am more left of centre when it comes to social issues. I found this rating to be quite fair because, we generally have a very "cliched" view of what left and right represent. When it comes to economic policies, I have always been pro market. A market where there are multiple players with a regulator. Such an arrangement leads to the best results for the consumer. But then all organisations have a responsibility and they owe something to the society, and not just to the shareholders !!! Which is why I feel corporates in India should take up "affirmative action" seriously, so as to prevent the government from making laws on reservation.

On the religious front, although we should have a strong sense of nationhood, but being a secular nation, we should not color it with religious colors.

So ideally we need a political party which is right wing, when it comes to economic policies, but centrist when it comes to the religion !! Sadly in India, there is no party which fits my definition of a ideal party. Though NDA was close (except the Gujrat blot that is)

Everybody should try and determine their political compass since in a democracy it is the people who matter (only if they voted) ...

Lets Agree to disagree

2006-12-30T21:03:00.000-08:00

For a long time I have been toying with the idea of having a way to document/record my thoughts on different matters that have affected me. Because as a person, your thoughts change and evolve. As they say, the only constant in life is "Change" ...

And nothing could be more interesting than witnessing that change and the factors that led to the change. This blog would perhaps be my way to see how my thought process changes (if at all !!).

the reason to make it a blog was to expose some of my thoughts to the outside world and understand their reactions and their thoughts. Sometimes the thoughts could be very meaningful and I might want to agree with what others say .. but on other ocasions, I might JUST not agree with those, and so we rather "Agree to Disagree" :-)