Ragam, Taalam and Arsenal!

Couple of week's back, after a LONG time I had a chance to attend a kutcheri. As soon as I saw the promos on Instagram that Sanjay Subrahmanyan was going to sing, I decided that come hell or high water, I needed to attend. 

It was also a chance to overcome my FOMO of never having attended a traditional Madras Marghazi kutcheri. And so glad that I did. 

The program set out an interesting set of compositions. 

Keeping in with the theme of Valentine's Day, Sanjay very masterfully played on the words "Anbe... and Marupadiyum" during the song "Tiruvadi Saranam".

The concert program also mentioned 2 surprise songs - and it was worth the wait. I was swept off my feet by the song Ramasami Dootan Naanada - a composition by Arunachala Kavi. Then followed a beautiful rendition of Paayum Oli Nee Enakku - a composition by Subramanya Bharati.

Walking out happily, my only wish come May was Arsenal to win either the EPL or Champions League and Sanjay releases a special rendition of Theerada Vilayattu Pillai - cos that's what Arsenal has been to fans over the last few seasons - an endlessly mischievous kid! :-)

In a good cause, there is no failure - Isaac Asimov (via the voice of Richard Sayama Altman)

 The short story "In a good cause...." By Isaac Asimov is easily the best one of the complete stories so far that I've read.

It showcases how the end goals of the pacifist Altman align with that of the realistic, ready to serve and willing to fight Geoffrey (Jeff) Stock.

A lot of reviews that I found online speak about how the people of the United Worlds of the Galaxy realised that Altman's vision is the reality that they are living in; and in recognition of the imprisonment he's suffered they create a perfect statue.

However a deeper reading of the story shows how critical the character of Jeff is. He is militaristic, but is practical and understands human psychology much better than Richard. But he understands that with human nature as individualized as it is and with different nation states/human worlds being advanced in military technology, it needs a much nuanced approach than what the idealistic Richard has.

But the clincher as far as the persons character is concerned is the parting line he gives to Richard - " when the United Worlds is a reality and when generations of men and women look back to these days of war through their centuries of unbroken peace, they will have forgotten the purpose of my methods. To them they will represent war and death. Your (italics ) calls for union, your (italics) idealism, will be remembered forever"....."and when they build their statues, they will build none for me."

How many Geoffrey Stocks do we know? And in how many cases have we been one? Is it ever possible for history to be known completely? This is where a fresh look at history like what Manu Pillai does for instance has a key role. 

To produce such work and to keep track of and be interested by such work needs a lot of intellectual curiosity, and that is where a pragmatic approach to ideas like dissent, debate, disagreement is needed.

And for the personal self, developing the ruthless vision to see the end game like what Jeff demonstrates, along with the magnanimous acknowledgement and again - vision to step away from the limelight when it would have been so easy to celebrate the win - is a quality that I want to develop.

Muscle memory

My friend and my office operations manager recently asked me for help in writing out my organization's name in the Kannada script. I assumed it'd be a cakewalk; but when I started putting pen onto paper, my mind froze.

While I've been reading the odd Kannada book; reading whatever is written on buses, posters and hell even the occasional Government Order (GO) that some colleagues bring over for translation; when it actually came to writing my organization's name I struggled a lot, especially when it came to representing parts of words that are a combination of 2 or more letters.

Lack of practice, nothing else.

What happened next was something I can only credit my school teachers for. The years of dictation exercises, essays and exams ensured that my muscle memory just brushed aside the cobwebs in my mind. The words just appeared on paper and surprise, surprise they seemed correct.

I then discovered this transliteration tool http://kannada.changathi.com/ and verified that what I wrote was correct. Relief abounds :)

The rapid half life of the dream to live & work abroad

I'll be honest. Ever since I got married, the Mrs and I've always wanted to live and work abroad, for say 3-5 years before settling finally in India. And I applied like crazy to every damn opening that I found on LinkedIn, websites of companies/organizations that I dreamed of joining and seeking friends' help wherever possible.

Repeated failure and 2 near successful attempts later, nowadays I do not feel like making the attempt to apply. Tough visa regimes and possession of a skill-set that is not so easily transferred across borders are definitely a factor when I decide, but I feel there are the following points that sub-consciously play in my mind

1. Large number of important relationships - parents, friends, colleagues, relatives

2. Comfort in familiar settings

3. An improving lifestyle

4. Opportunity to directly contribute to the country's growth

Last but not the least - Seeing my little one bond so much with her grandparents; I just don't have the heart to take her 1000s of kilometers away to only meet her favourite people only once a year.

But, as the adage goes, if I'm contacted for a super stunning opportunity, I might consider it - why not? But have a 3 year return plan ready.

Volleyball, School and Sports

While returning home yesterday, I saw a HUGE poster for the Vajpayee Volleyball Cup - an inter-school district level tournament. My brother used to be part of his school team for this championship.

I somehow linked it to my era, when my batch mates used to go for a tournament (which I mistakenly thought was the Vajpayee Cup) and always used to run into a school called Gandhi School.

Gandhi school boys were massively built guys whose smashes would leave you reeling. In particular they had someone who could smash the ball almost perpendicularly; while the rest of us normal mortals could only smash it diagonally!

So, the story every year used to be this - we prepare well, go into the tournament with lot of confidence; but invariably run into these guys, put up a heroic fight and come back battered and bruised. The only parallel I can draw is to Arsenal in the Champions League. A good team which runs into Barcelona and Bayern Munich year after year and come back as heroic losers :-)

In the middle of all this reminiscing, a tinge of regret crept in. Why had I forsaken my budding tennis abilities for mere marks and in the quest to be popular? ( volleyball and cricket were the top sports at school then). What if I then had the guts that I have now - to do things I like and do it without caring for acknowledgement?

God, if I have to lead the same life again I promise I will work on my tennis right from school level!

south asian sojourns

For the first time EVER I am setting foot properly in another South Asian country. To add to it, I am staying in one for a few days.

Till now, the only claim to fame had been a furtive step across the border at Wagah unseen (hopefully) by the BSF and Pakistan rangers.

Flew into Maldives via Colombo - and it's been good so far. Pleasant weather, nice chilled out people. I even took an hour long walk around Male. I like the place.

I hadn't blogged in a long time. Thought I would record this event :-)

Sachin and the emotions

Let me be honest - I was not, am not and will not be a Sachin fan. Don't get me wrong - I respect the guy, and I admire him for the way he has handled enormous pressure while dudes like me blow off our top for every trivial stuff that happens in office; and for the squeaky clean image over a 24 year career.

There has been the odd "Maaki" (Australia 2008) or the "ball-tampering" (South Africa, 2008); but I will let those incidents pass - too many others have done far greater shit and walked away scot-free.

For me it is an honour that Sachin made his debut and batted last on my birthday (15th November 1989 and 2013). #ThankYouSachin for that :D

What is the best image of Sachin in my memory? I have 3

1. Operation Desert Storm

2. The stunning assault on the Aussies in the World Cup 1996. Nearly won us that match till he got stumped off a Mark Waugh wide

3. THAT innings in Chennai against Pakistan

Thanks for the memories Sachin :)

Rekindled Feelings for a One time love?

I recently met one of my MTech classmates who continues to work in the core-technical areas of the power system; i.e. design, simulations of power system devices. We got talking as friends do after a long time, and got down to discussing our respective lines of work. It was surprising how the adage - grass is greener on the other side holds true everywhere. My friend was of the opinion that commercial is the way to go whereas I told him that technical excellence is the harbinger of greatness.

The major point that got me thinking was when he said that Indian power systems still use Static VAR Compensators (SVCs) for reactive power compensation. What the hell has happened in the power sector in the last 7 years since I graduated? There was so much noise about the various devices like STATCOMs , DSTATCOMs, DVRs, SSSCs etc. revolutionizing the power sector. In fact research used to focus on churning out papers showing different simulations of these exotic devices.

Predictably stupid thoughts started to flow - was I ahead of time in 2006? (I was quickly brought to ground when another friend said that it was not about immediate utility application, but the race to patent an idea that drove such research) Why didn't the final set of unified simulations work? Why did I let folks push me around during the time when I was finding system modeling a little tough? Why did I allow all this to kill my interest in research?

These were some of the reasons for not joining a core-technical company.

But, as the proverb goes "Aadadella Olithe Aayithu" (everything happens for the good) - I discovered the field of management consulting in the power sector which has slowly but steadily led me onto energy policy. Herein is a world where I thought I would be a total misfit - but I've lasted for 7 years and going strong :-)

So much so, that I am contemplating taking up research in this area - is this an old flame fluttering her eyelashes at me? :)

A realization

Pustakastha tu ya Vidya
Parahasta Gatam Dhanam
Karyakaale Samutpanne
Na Saa Vidya Na tat Dhanam

Knowledge that exists in a book and money that is in another's hands
Is not knowledge nor money - cos when you need it its not there!

So true! Damn you Sanskrit Pundits for such foresight! :-(

Urbanization or reverse ruralization?

"The soul of India lives in its villages" goes a famous saying by Mahatma Gandhi. He was a champion of village development, and believed that India would progress only if its villages progressed. Nehru on the other hand was of the view that urbanization and rapid industrialization alone would carry the nation forward.
Innumerable debates rage about the benefits of either model. If one were to crudely generalize, politicians tend to prefer village areas, and the so called "air conditioned room arm chair specialists" prefer urbanization. There is even a book called "Triumph of the City" which champions urbanization. Before reading the book, I too loved and dreamed to the "suburbian" lifestyle. Big sprawling house with a drive down to a less congested city centre. This vision satisfied both my aesthetic and my environmentally conscious mind; but after reading the book I found that there was nothing environmentally friendly about the "suburbian" lifestyle. More on this book in another post.
One interesting trend that has emerged from the rapid construction boom in all cities is the extent to which the apartment complexes have spread to the far outskirts. Most of these areas used to fall outside the municipal limits of the "original" city. Once a upon a time you would have classified them as "rural" areas.
So, would you define the process as urbanization of the rural areas or a return to ruralization for the urban dweller? Keep in mind that we are just dealing with semantics here. True re-ruralization would actuslly mean one getting back to agriculture/animal husbandry etc and living like a true villager - a simple life without malls/24 hour electricity (wherever it exists) :-)

The vagaries of Meru Cabs - or radio cabs in general (in Mumbai ONLY)

When radio cabs (the likes of Meru, Mega, Easy) were launched a few years ago, it promised a brand new revolution - the revolution of clean taxis, courteous drivers who were on time where you wanted them to come, honest billing - in general a hassle free ride of course for a slightly greater charge.
These radio cabs were dreaded by the normal black and yellow taxis - there were stray incidents of violence and the like, proving the adage that if people are abusing you, you must be doing something good!
Then - the slide started. Was it the rising demand encouraged by efficient services not being met due to an old licensing procedure of the state? Was it the unionization of the driving pool? Was it the general hubris that sets in when the going is good?
It could be any of them - whats more puzzling is that I have heard cases of all the companies failing to pick up the customer after confirming a booking. It's as if all of them sat together and decided "OK, time to screw the customer!".

OR MORE SINISTER MOTIVES - The black and white cabbies have infiltrated the radio cab ranks and are deliberately under(non) - performing to bring them a bad name. Sounds good for a spy movie, but not for this blog :)

I absolutely have no issues if a cab company tells me when I call that they do not have cabs available. But what irks and angers me is when I am given the details of the driver only to find that he doesn't turn up; or if the company unilaterally cancels the request a little while before the alloted time!

The ultimate height (or nadir) in this case was a couple of weeks back when I had booked a cab to go somewhere. As usual, things were confirmed and we had planned our schedule accordingly. 15 minutes before pickup I start calling the driver and there was no response. I finally had to give up after 1/2 an hour and find alternate means of traveling. Luckily, this is Bombay and there was no problem finding an alternative!

Sometime in the afternoon the driver called me and said that he was extremely sorry, he had gone to sleep; please don't complain etc.

Sure dude, I won't complain, but reject the pick-up broadcast if you are really tired; atleast someone who could have come will certainly benefit.

But again, some things will never change!

Ekaro from Nigeria

To be honest, the journey to Lagos was always going to be undertaken with lots of trepidation. And why not, with news of violence, muggings and general lawlessness creating the right amount of fear. This was mixed with the usual excitement of seeing a new place and the tag of the first business trip outside India. Africa will thus hold a special place in my heart.

There was a really quick transit at Doha; but there was time to observe that many of the staff at Doha Airport were Mallus.

Doha to Lagos was a LONG flight (sorry US travelers, no comparison with you guys); and for the first time ever in my life I took breaks standing up, stretching etc in the flight. Watched Wolverine, Singham, a 2 hour highlights package of the 2011 cricket world cup and Ek Doctor Ki Maut. Man will do ANYTHING to kill time.

The landing in Lagos was a welcome relief and the interesting part was that somehow the strangeness of stepping out of the flight that I felt at Shanghai was not felt here. Maybe Africa is closer to India than China. Or was it because it was my second time?

My Arsenal connections (nothing much - I'm just a fan :) ) ensured an instant rapport with the gentleman who had come to pick us up.

We travelled along the longest bridge in Africa called the 3rd mainland Bridge which connects the Lagos mainland to Victoria Island. One can see the slow stirrings of development in Nigeria and this bridge is symbolic of it. However the massive slums that can be seen along its sides are indicative of the challenges facing Nigeria.

Its been 3 days here and this is what I have learnt -

1. Democracy is the best form of government. Even with all its imperfections, Nigeria will fulfil its potential. It may take it 15 years instead of 8; but its better to reach the finish line slowly with all your citizens rather than reach there quickly with only a handful.

2. Excellent English is spoken here;

3. The local language Yoruba is pretty cool to learn and I have started learning a few words

4. Traffic jams are everywhere :)

5. Formal attire is accorded so much importance that people dont think twice while wearing a suit in the hot sun

6. All houses are fenced/surrounded by high walls which goes to show that the fears of law-breaking are not
completely unfounded

7. Veggies will find it tough!

8. Inflation levels are super high here and petrol is cheaper than water :) {65 Nairas vs approx. 100 Nairas}

Some more time to spend here - hopefully will have much more to learn!

Shanghai Noon

I came across the character Chief Inspector Chen created by the author Qiu Xiaolong in either the Business Standard or the Times of India. (don't remember which one). The paper described the book as part of a latest trend gripping readers across the world; getitng to know the city through a detective novel and exploring the spots described later on.

I was a week away from my China trip; and then decided "Hey, this is so cool. I will read this book; memorize the names; explore the places and impress the localites".

I remember going to PVR Mulund (to watch either Transformers/KF Panda 2+X-Men) and hopped into the adjacent Crossword. As is my usual experience with Crossword, the book was listed in the database, but no copies were available. I dropped the idea of buying the book from a physical store, then and there like a hot potato and turned to the new darling - Flipkart!

Sure enough, I got the book delivered; admired the title, and thought - right, "Ni Hao Shanghai"! I even packed it on top of my travel bag!

I think you must have got the drift of the story now - I ended up enjoying so much in China that I hardly found time to read. All the books except The Enchantress of Florence came back unread :)

The irritating and time wasting Mumbai traffic then came to my rescue. Long, 2 hour (one way) bus journeys became the ideal setting for the slow, bureaucratic, deferential and nice detective story to unfold. If you are looking for a super mystery like Sherlock this is not your book.

Death of a Red Heroine realistically captures the difficulty of working within China's red-tape; the influence of politics even in the lives of meritorious candidates and the food eaten on the streets! It moves slowly, and somewhere in the middle of the book you know who the culprits are, but it still keeps you engrossed.

That's why I like this book.

Found an Answer to a prickly question

I just realised I have an example to quote when people say I am not aggressive or street-smart enough at office politics; don't blow my trumpet too much. Read this to know why.

Specially the following sentence should define the situation perfectly -

Amen! 

And we know you will show little sense of entitlement despite having scored close to 11,000 runs in the format. You won't moan in the press, there won't be any tantrums or disillusionment. Who knows two years down the line we might call you up for ODIs again? So keep hitting that gym, or whatever you do to stay in top condition.

In Xanadu - my travels to/in/from China

Day 0: 6th July 2011

A journey of a thousand miles does not begin with a single step. It begins with the desire and tonnes of summoned will power to get up from bed. That's made a little easier and necessary if you have stuff to do like - speak to the Mrs. who is at the end of the said thousand mile journey; store stuff in the fridge of a friend who is fanatical about leaving to office by 730 and lastly if you have to get out of your comfort zone and do a perfectly regular thing which you have demonized in your mind (not going to elaborate on this activity :-) }

All done and back home for packing which too got done in pretty good time with the Mrs. calling every half an hour to check on my progress and to remind me to be safe at Hong Kong. Managed to sneak in some bits of 'Prince of Persia - Sands of time'!

The cab arrived with the trend of exotically named Meru drivers continuing- this time it was Omprakash Ehobran. I had budgeted for massive traffic enroute and had hence started at 1830 hrs though my flight was at 0100 hrs the next day. All along the route there were calls made and received advising caution and wishing for a good time in china. Guess what happened next- absolutely zero traffic.

Reached chatrapathi Shivaji international airport at 1930 hrs and was a surprise check in guest at jet airways counter for flight 9W 76 to hong kong. The staff wondered whether they should check me in so early but they went ahead and asked me to take it slow from immigration onwards.

Immigration was smoother than I had expected but for the fact that the officer was wondering why I had got a new passport for an ECNR clearance- beats me dude ask your bureaucratic bosses.

Anyway all said and done, after roaming around the duty free area it was time to board. The economy class in international flights is actually very comfortable. Watched aakrosh and went to sleep.

Day 1: 7th July 2011

The landing in hong kong was amazing. The bend across the mountains, the harbor and marina, and the runway right next to the sea was a sight to behold.

I had plans to check out some of the transit tourist spots but by the time I oriented myself to hongkong airport's complexity and systems I decided to spend my time inside. It's a different experience all together I would say. At the end of an hour I actually understood that the systems were pretty simplistic actually and I wish Indian airports could adopt some of the measures here like simple but efficient security checks, free wi-fi that actually works etc.

One thing that struck me was the prevalence of teeny weeny shorts among girls. Exhibition of long toned legs seemed the norm! The eyes were feasted, and then the stomach started demanding its turn - searched for a vegetarian dish and had a spinach mushroom quinche.

It was soon time for departure from hong kong. The cacophony of the Chinese travelers in the airplane was unbelievable. The childlike pronunciation and the long winded sentences made the journey pretty interesting.

Landed at shanghai's hongqiao airport on dot and cleared immigration quite easily. After lot of signalling I managed to borrow a cell phone to call my wife and let her know I had landed. {note- please activate international roaming or buy a pre paid world sim. Don't delay it till the last minute.}

It so happened that the mrs was on her way and I had to wait for ten more minutes. Ten minutes turned to an hour as she had gone to the wrong terminal.

What a joy it was to see her after so Many days! At that moment I felt as light as a feather devoid of tensions and fear.

We took the metro to the shanghai science and technology museum stop. We then hired a taxi to go home. Amazed at the brand of vehicles used as taxis - mine was a volkswagen passat. Met nidhi and srija there. Had a nice warm bath and some homemade dal and off I went to sleep.

Day 2: July 8 2011

The dawn broke bright and sunny and at 0530 I was fooled into believing that it was 1030. Had a late breakfast, said tata to the wife at the gate and then came back to the world of Skype Gmail and the like spending A few hours in the process.

After a quick bath I set out to Carrefour nearby and after a few basic purchases and observing the creepy crawlies and chopping of pork, I set out my long city exploring walks that I had started in Mumbai. My primary observation is that this city has achieved a healthy balance between the pedestrian and the motorist. Wide tree lined pavements and well laid roads with excellent traffic lights made it delightful to walk even at 2 in the afternoon.

I came back home and made cabbage molagootal which proved to be a good hit among nidhi and srija. Also had a gala time with Akash and Ganesh who had come down. A good dinner later, followed by packing for the Beijing trip ended the day.

Day. 3: July 9th 2011

Happy Anniversary!! It's been one whole year and it's been just awesome. Savi has been a real blessing in my life. Thanks for her presence, God.

My anniversary gift was a bullet train ride { the new G series which travels at 300 km/h} and a tour of Beijing for three days.

Our train G102 to Beijing Nan { Beijing south} was at 0700 hrs. We left home at 0500 reaching shanghai science and technology museum metro station in time for the metro which would take us to hongqiao railway station.

Jagan, Savi’s colleague was along with us and the promise of a fun filled journey hung in the air! Jagan did not live upto his description at all. We had been told that he was a serious guy, but I’m glad he proved those statements wrong. This guy’s a must have for ANY journey.

The first sight of the inter-city railway station evoked oohs and aahs from us. Seriously, it was more awesome than ANY airport I had seen so far. Yes, hong kong included. We finally got on to the platform for our first glimpse of the hallowed G series. There was no limit to the photo and video sessions. Jagan had a petite Sony handicam which swung into action with future productions for lonely planet.

The train started sharp at 0700 hrs with the guarantee that at 1220 hrs we would be stepping out on the platform at Beijing south.

Once the initial excitement of viewing the train touching 300 km/h had worn off, people turned to mundane stuff like eating and sleeping. Yes, even a bullet train has it's limitations in keeping humans perpetually occupied. The human race is thus- easily bored, always wanting more and fickle towards new forms of entertainment.

Had a tough time explaining that we wanted water. Had to finally walk towards the pantry, point to a bottle of Evian mineral water and get it. For those interested, the Chinese word for water is 'shway'.

As promised, we were walking out on the platform at 1220 hrs. The hotel, "qiao yuan" was directly opposite the north exit of the station. After dumping our bags, we emerged in the "searing" (supposedly for some madrasis) heat to explore the forbidden city and tianenmen square.

Beijing is a pretty simple city to navigate given the hyper efficient metro network. And the tickets cost just 2 yuan. If you take a pass and load it with some cash, you can eternally roam around the subway network to your heart's content for just about 2 yuan.

So, then we took a metro on line 4 to xidan and then changed to line 1 which takes you straight to tianenmen square.

The whole afternoon was spent in a historical lesson taught to us by a digital tourist guide which automatically detects the location you are at in the forbidden city and gives you a short historical overview of the same. Another lesson for the India Tourism Board.

One very funny thing that happened to us was the multiple times we were asked to pose with Chinese families for photographs. I had read about this - the fact that Indians are considered a bit 'exotic' if I may use the term.

Tianenmen was an entirely different experience. The venue of the infamous 1989 protests so brutally suppressed by deng xiaoping - it now bears a festive atmosphere celebrating the 90th anniversary of the communist party. The atmosphere resembles the carnival that's seen at india gate! The square is surrounded by the peoples hall, chairman Mao's memorial and the national museum of china.

One interesting thing happened- while we were roaming around the square, we were approached by a pretty Chinese female who was curious to know where we were from and whether we would like to join her for tea. I had read somewhere on the net to avoid such invites and did so accordingly.

We then pushed our tired bodies to wongfujing a commercial centre of Beijing. Didn't find anything worthwhile or affordable in the high street shopping atmosphere of that place.

Day 4: July 10th 2011

Groan!!!!! Another early day, this time courtesy of the tour of the great wall of china and the summer palace. We were asked to get ready by 0700 hrs to be picked up by the tour operator.

We chose to have breakfast at the hotel's restaurant and instantly regretted the same. The only choice for veggies was pumpkin, dumplings, boiled vegetables and milk! Found out later in the evening that there was another restaurant which served western food.

One of the major questions is how does one verify whether the food is actually meat free or not. This is made tougher by the fact that a minuscule % of Chinese speak English. Just ask "mayo row?" which translates to "no meat?". If the reply is row then it's non veg. If the reply is mayo then it's vegetarian. The Chinese actually find the concept of veggies pretty strange. There were lots of smiles after we had placed the order.

Our vehicle driver came exactly at 7, picked us up and set out to pick up another tourist, an Australian who was a target of our back-biting. She earned this through her obnoxious attitude illustrated by gems like “there are so many people here”. Of course idiot, when you come to the most populous country in the world, people will be the main thing that you see. Wont waste much time on this irritant (except to highlight some highlights (sic)) ;).

We first set out to the summer palace, which as the name suggests was a retreat for the emperor in the summer. There are a few stories associated with this place all involving the “dragon lady”. The place by itself is sylvan and pleasant; there’s a big lake and lots of trees.

Following this we were taken to the ‘Torture Cell Number 1” of the day – the jade factory. This place showcases how jade ornaments and showpieces are made and the “tourists” are encouraged to buy a souvenir or two. Except that encouraged is too mild a term to be used. You need tremendous will power and an infinite capacity to say NO to escape from this place with your wallet weighing the same. Of course, its part of a business tactic of the tour operator and the jade factory operators. Take it in your stride and say NO loud and clear if you do not intend to buy any piece.

Lunch was served at a restaurant behind the jade showroom (cost covered under the tour package) and if you are a vegetarian all that you will get is rice, tofu, boiled vegetables and spring rolls.

With the formality of lunch completed, we headed towards the Badaling section of the great wall. The utility of the tour operator was felt only when we reached here. Without them it’s impossible to beat the crowd and navigate your way through he cable car ride and trek up the wall and get back.

The Great Wall itself is simply amazing. With the thrill of having seen a wonder of the world satisfied, we then started to look around. Wherever you see, the vast expanse of the great wall looms large upon you. It stretches far beyond the line of sight and its importance in an era when there were no radars/anti-aircraft guns etc cannot be underlined enough. A must see for everyone. Jagan shot some classic anniversary videos of us which we will treasure for life!

We were then ushered to torture chamber number 2 – a a pearl showroom with a similar experience like in the jade showroom. Again, tons of patience and an infinite ability to say NO is essential.

In the course of the day, the Aussie had provided some comic fun by praising Jagan’s t-shirt; which led us to link the two and crack innumerable jokes. Jagan being the sport that he is, took it in his stride and joined in the fun. Towards the end of the day, the Aussie started to lose her cool and the Beijing sun (a mere 33 degree Celsius) boiled her brains and made her utter lots of obscenities against our tour guide. Thumbs down lady, it’s difficult to see you adjust in a non-Caucasian nation.

While returning, we saw the Olympic stadiums and got into a discussion on family and the time that can be allocated to hobbies and “pasisons” – I strongly defended Arsenal while Jagan issued a challenge saying that a re-evaluation would have to be carried out in 5 years time.

After a brief rest at the hotel, we set out again to Wongfujing street – this time armed with information about the exact spots to visit. Its an amazing street with lots of trinkets and other decorative stuff to buy – but beware of a deviation – it leads straight to culinary hell: where all the creepy-crawlies are roasted in open air. The stench is nauseating!

We also managed to advance our bullet train tickets to a 1400 hrs train on Monday. The process is very simple – you just go to the counter and show the tickets and then indicate the time to which you would like to change. If seats are available, its as simple as a Copy Paste operation in MS Excel. No Cancellation+loss of money+changing charges etc.

Day 5: July 11th 2011

Yippeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!! Saw Pandas face to face for the first time. Beijing zoo is a sprawling area with a wide variety of animals on display. But our focus was squarely on Pandas and Pandas were the only animals we saw and exited.

Also managed to surrender jagan’s Beijing subway card.

Caught the 1400 hrs bullet and reached Shanghai Hongqiao at 1915 hrs. Was home by 2030! Neat!

Day 6: July 12th 2011

Jetlag and the Beijing trip exertions finally hit me! Slept like a log, watched movies and chatted.

Day 7: July 13th 2011

Bomb blasts in Mumbai! Really sad :-(. Why doesn’t India adopt a firm policy like the US and China? Have these countries witnessed even one such incident in the recent past?

Met Jagan in the evening and visited Starbucks for the first time. YAAAAYYYYYYY!!! Love the place and the coffee quality is also good, unlike SPR coffee which I presume is a Chinese imitation of starbucks.

Day 8: July 14th 2011

Went to Lujiazui to check on some bank related stuff. Saw the magnificent IFC towers, the pearl tower and got lost totally. Was a big big blow to my ego and was sulking the remainder of the day. Note to self: its OK to get lost, don’t make it a big issue.

Day 9: July 15th 2011

Went to Lujiazui again with Savi’s colleagues – Evergreen, kevin, Sky and Sky’s wife Vicky. Awesome guys! Learnt a lot about China and got an impression that Chinese have a laissez-faire attitude towards jobs. “if not this, another one” seems to be the motto unlike in India where we analyse and dissect the decision so much that we end up bursting our brains.

Day 10: July 16th 2011

Friends of Nidhi and Sreeja had come over – Pavithra, Ting Ting and Fiona. Had lunch, spent some time talking. Pavithra was glad to have found tamils in Savi and me and it was an Iyer bhashai session throughout.

Savi, Pavithra and me then went to French Concession a place which I had hyped up a lot based on what I had read. Turned out to be a boutique showroom paradise! Was a bit dejected.

Day 11: July 17th 2011

Achieved great heights! Literally. Went on top of the World Financial Tower observatory which is some 400 odd metres above sea level and had a wonderful view of Shanghai.

Went to Yuyuan garden and AP Plaza, shopped and got all the gifts that I wanted and returned home for packing. Said my goodbyes

Day 12: July 18th 2011

End of a wonderful vacation :-(

My takeaway’s from the trip:

1. A very friendly race of people. Very cute in their speech and mannerisms. Don’t know how the aggressor image has gained credence. Maybe that’s another side of their psyche – the Mr. Hyde!

2. China is a good place to visit - considering that at one point of time it was equivalent to India, the progress has been tremendous

3. India is light years behind China and serious effort is needed to even think of catchning up with them!

At what price, development?

I am in Bangalore for a couple of days and needless to say, I am happy, very happy. So too is the missus.

However, the trip was not without its shockers; and deeply saddening shockers -

1. The way the entire roads have been dug up for Namma Metro made me go absolutely crazy. The IISc and CNR Rao circle area look like a bombed out wasteland.

2. And this really sucked the life out of me. The well at home, which has always been a faitful and plentiful source of water has gone dry. Apparently it is the 5th or 6th well to go dry in R'nagar over the last few months; and everyone is unanimous in their verdict - the culprit is, you guessed right, the Namma Metro.

Apparently the slab setting/pile foundation work of the Metro has sucked so much water from the water-table, that never before seen water scarcity seems to have hit R'nagar! :-(

Do we need development of such nature? I am all for making commute of people easier; and at one point I have been a great fan of the Metro; but having had exposure to sectoral development and economics, I strongly feel that a massive fleet of AC buses will do much better than the Metro.

Less, ROW, less cost, and will replace lots of vehicles. Yes, it still remains to win over a lot of the big shots who are used to travelling in their own car(s); but that is far more easier than alleviating the pains of being displaced by the metro (ex: lots of old time shops on MKK road) or depleting water table!

Have a look at this slideshow to understand the economics of bus versus metro!

Unexpected Likes

Its strange when you still have an open mind to verify what pre-conceptions your mind had - just to see if the pre-conceptions were true in the first place. Best would be not to have pre-conceptions at all, right? :-)

Watched 'Band Bajaa Baaraat' and 'Yeh Saali Zindagi'. Was bowled over by the performances of Anushka and Ranveer in BBB. I was expecting it to be like any other Punjabi-Bollywood movie. It was different in a nice way.

Coming to YSZ, I entered the theatre expecting to be mesmerized and floored by Chitrangada Singh's performance; I certainly was, but by Irrfan Khan. The man's awesome!

Platinum Moment

There is this beautiful ad about Platinum Day of Love. Though its a promotional video for the platinum guild, it certainly manages to drive home the message that platinum is the most precious metal (used for jewellery).

One may say that the concept of alloting specific days for love/mom/dad/child is a meaningless exercise - I do agree; but at the same time one can't say when life will throw up that special moment when you chuck the rest of the world out of the window and only want your core set of people around you!

Such an incident happened on Jan 24th! :)

My platinum day, nay let me make it my first platinum day of love happened on that day. Wish many more come my way! :)

The Art and Science of Food Tasting

I face a very unique situation - I absolutely adore my wife and the meals that she cooks; but I am pretty much clueless when asked to point out flaws in them. Why, you may ask? I attribute it to only this - I stayed in hostels for 6 years of my study life. I've tasted food cooked by disinterested folks who were only interested in quantity rather than quality & taste. Therefore, my mentality has adapted itself to one fact - home food is priceless; and thou shalt not criticise it at any cost.

This said, I've noticed that the Mrs. has the innate ability to identify even subtle changes in sweet, salt and sour and whatever other taste exists on this planet earth. This, I must attribute to her having had home food throughout and the education that she has received from her mom.

All said and done, I believe that while my attitude might encourage the chef to innovate, it definitely does not have the means to provide proper feedback which is also essential for a chef's 'kitchen progression'.

I need to develop the taste and talent of a culinary connoisseur :-)

Advantage of being a Hindu

Today morning, like every day I prayed to God "Please let my day be good - help me work sincerely". On the way there was a small temple, seeing which I said "Please let the traffic not be as horrible as Monday when I spent 3.5 hours traveling one way"

As I continued to the bus stop I wondered, suppose everyone is restricted to ONE boon with EACH god, depending on your religion, who would gain the most?

Obviously Hindus. I'll pray for a good day to Ganesha, traffic clearance to say Shiva, something else to Krishna etc


Pretty trivial I know, but it helped occupy my thoughts till I reached the bus stop :-D