Minds At War

Road Trip - Day 12

2011-08-24T06:53:00.000+05:30

Out Road Trip draws to a close tomorrow. We decided to wind down a bit today. So it was a lazy morning for us as we got up late and then by the time we got out, it was 02:00 PM. We first went to an Indian Restaurant to have lunch, but unfortunately it was already closed for the noon break. So it was Mexican food today at "Chipotle".

After a heavy burrito bowl we headed off to the Presque Isle State Park which is an sandy peninsula that arches into the Lake Erie which stretches from Ohio to Canada. Its is supposed to be the smallest of the 5 great fresh water lakes in the USA. It is almost like a small ocean rather than a lake with waves and sandy beaches etc...

So we rented a motor boat and headed out from the lagoon to the bay and once we hit the main part of the lake it was fun. Never thought I would see waves in a lake, but did see that today. There were a few sail boats and ducks out there today.

So it was amusing to watch Arun K. display his psychopathic tendencies when he decided to traumatize the ducks on the lake by going after them with the boat. :-)

So we had some good time boating and we decided to return back to the pier and then got into our car and drove to one of the lake Erie beaches within the state park. It was almost like a regular beach on the ocean. After spending some time there, it was back to the Indian Restaurant for dinner and then back to the hotel.

Funny that Arun K. & I were the only Indians in that restaurant. It is very unusual even for the US.

Tomorrow we leave Erie and head for our homes, the last 500 odd miles. My vacation comes to an end and I'm waiting to see my family. We are done 2 days ahead of our schedule!!

"No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow. ~Lin Yutang"

Road Trip - Day 10 & 11

2011-08-23T09:21:00.002+05:30

Day 10:
Today was mostly driving from Fairmont to Chicago. We were planning to stay over at Arun K.'s cousin's home at Lake Bluff close to Chicago. Co-Incidentally his name's Arun too. So we were three Arun(s) around that day.
On the way we stopped at another Indian restaurant - India Garden. The food was great.

So 2 out of the 3 Indian restaurants that we visited all in fairly unknown cities and places in the USA turned out to be very good and so now I have come to infer that all the lousy Indian restaurants in the USA are concentrated in Wilmington - the place where I stay.

We reached Chicago close to 07:00 PM again driving more than 600 odd miles. Arun's cousin - Arun, his wife Divya and their little daughter (2 1/2 year old) Aditi were really sweet people. Aditi is a little bundle of energy and Divya had made a lot of sweets and muruku etc for Janmashtami. Honestly, that's when I even realized that it was Janmashtami. She is an awesome cook. Meeting Arun's cousin was interesting as they displayed a lot of common family traits that I have come to see in Arun over the years. I'll stop at that :-)

Day 11:
Woke up early, lazed around, had lunch and drove from Illinois to Lake Erie in PA. Drove close to another 600 miles today. Today we camp at Fairview in Pennsylvania close to Lake Erie. Hope to do some boating tomorrow.

Road Trip - Day 8 & 9

2011-08-21T10:52:00.004+05:30

Day 8:
Today was kind of an off day for us, if you discount the 250 odd miles we drove from Sheridan in Wyoming to another small town / city called Sturgis in South Dakota. Sturgis apparently is a biker's pilgrimage center with the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally being held in August every year.

Today I touched 110 MPH... Got Arun K. all excited, though he is more of a curves person (I'm talking about roads here). I prefer the freeways.

Day 9:
Day 9 started with us driving from Sturgis to the Black Hills region of South Dakota, particularly to Mt. Rushmore. But even before we reached there, we had lunch at an Indian Store / Restaurant somewhere in South Dakota. I still have to figure out if it was a store or a restaurant, cause the menu was pretty limited and so were the items on the shelf, but you can't be too picky about food when on a road trip.

At Mount Rushmore, it was wonderful to see the faces of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt & Lincoln carved out of the mountain cliffs. Initially they had planned to carve the figures up to the waist, but the project had to be stopped midway due to lack of funds. And I thought that happened only on IT Projects.

After some quick snaps and some souvenirs shopping, we were on our way to Chicago. We drove over 400 miles to Fairmont in Minnesota where we will camp for the night. As the day ends, 2 sign boards that I saw on the route stands out in my memory -
Sign Board 1 - "Watch Out For Low Flying Air-crafts"... Wow, that one, I have never seen before.
Sign Board 2 - "We do Cows here, catalog available"... That one I'm sure was an ad for a Vet Clinic.

Road Trip - Day 7

2011-08-19T23:12:00.020+05:30

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
~ Mark Twain

There are certain days that are worth remembering all your life and then there are days which leave you gasping. Today was one such day when the latter was true.

It started with me and Arun K. heading to the Yellowstone one more time. We checked out of our hotel and drove to see the rest of the park.
Topmost on our agenda was to see at least 1 hot spring. We were soon at the Midway geyser Basin which had a bunch of Hot Springs / Geysers. The Excelsior Geyser was worth exploring. It was great watching the hot water spring bubbling out of the ground. The water then empties into the various rivulets. Around the springs, not even a blade of grass grows, but a certain form of bacteria and algae thrive even in those extreme conditions. The various hues of the water is due to the sulphur and other contents.

From the hot springs we proceeded Southwards and halted at Luis Lake for a break. We sat by the lakeside for a while munching on some snacks. The weather by the lake was beautiful and the water was crystal clear. It was quite peaceful out there and soon we were on our way back and towards the east entrance and on our way out of the park.

I read somewhere that he eastern route is a very scenic route, but nothing had prepared me for the sight that I was about to witness. We ran into some female Elk on the road and then a few miles away we saw this huge bull Elk resting in the woods. In almost all species except probably in humans, the male of the species is the most attractive and the male Elk is no exception. This fella was magnificent and with his antlers etc, just sat there ignoring the human presence. Even though Elk are not carnivorous, there is something so powerful about this guy that makes you not want to get close.

We also stopped by the Yellowstone Lake and took in the beauty of the surroundings. It is phenomenal as to what exquisite sights nature can create with 3 colors - Blue, Green & Brown.
Then soon we exited out of Yellowstone a bit disappointed that we had not been able to see any grizzlies or wolves the famous hunters of the Yellowstone, but at the same time we were satisfied with the overall outcome.

As we continued with our journey out of the park towards South Dakota, the beauty of Yellowstone and Wyoming began to unfold. The daylight was fading and the night creeping in and the hues it created on the rocky mountain cliffs, the river flowing beside it, the pine trees, the lush meadows and the wild flowers growing beside the road all together created an enchanting and surreal atmosphere. And when you add to the fact that we were the only people on the road, it became an exclusive show from nature.

We then continued our drive through the beautiful Wyoming, the daylight had faded to just a dark blue hue in the sky and night had almost taken over. The mountains gave way to the plains and the landscape looked eerie and almost looked as if we were exploring a different planet sitting inside a spaceship.

As we drove we reached the city of Cody in Wyoming. This is a quaint old western town, with mock gunfights etc. Then I made the biggest blunder of the trip. Instead of staying over in Cody, I decided that we should drive for another hour and a half.

We hit the US-14 which took us through the Big Horn National Forest. 70 + miles on a pitch dark highway, driving through a mountainous forest, without a house, light or person in sight. We did not encounter even a single car till the last stretch of this highway. The only sign of life was when an occasional deer or rabbit would run across the road. On top of that there was no cell phone service too. :-)

Scary stuff maan! Just imagine if the car broke down due to some reason, we would have had to spend the night in a pitch black forest and help probably would come only in the morning.

Finally we came to the city of Sheridan closer to the South Dakota border where we will rest for the night, capping an eventful day.

Another quote to close...

"I remember a hundred lovely lakes, and recall the fragrant breath of pine and fir and cedar and poplar trees. The trail has strung upon it, as upon a thread of silk, opalescent dawns and saffron sunsets."
Hamlin Garland

Road Trip - Day 6

2011-08-18T12:13:00.002+05:30

What a day!!! Today was our first day at the Yellowstone National Park and it was every bit worth driving all the way from Wilmington.

Yellowstone is the first established National Park in the world and has 400 miles of territory and 96% of Yellowstone is in Wyoming.

Its is geologically and seismically one of the most active places on earth. It also has a super volcano inside it. This kind of geothermal activity gives rise to a number of geysers and hot-springs within the park. This activity also controls the weather in the region.

It has one of the largest Bison herds in the world.
In the 90s the wolves that had gone extinct in the region were reintroduced by importing a few wolves from Canada. The wolves thrived and now there are several wolf packs in the park. It also has Grizzly Bears, Elk & Deer.

All these were the reasons why this was in my list of top places to visit. History & geography were my favourite subjects in school and that's why Yellowstone interests me so much.

We entered the park and immediately went to the visitor center to get information on the park and there we were helped by a nice old lady who probably was over 70 but was absolutely thrilled to explain and help us plan our visit. She probably gets 100s of visitors like us everyday, but I guess she approaches them with the same gregariousness. Her eagerness and grace was unbelievable.

We then proceeded to the park and once inside, the park was spellbinding. The Bison Herds, the Hot Springs and the scenic beauty all kept us enthralled till the time we exited the park.

The hot-springs emanate a strong sulfurous odor when you are in the vicinity of one and it is indeed an amazing geological phenomenon. The algae growing near it and the bacteria thriving in those conditions are a evolutionary astonishment.

The numerous winding rivers and streams inside provide a rich source of trout and other fishes to the many avid anglers who throng the park.

One of the things that never ceases to amaze me is how USA has maintained its national parks. While it has ensured that the majority of it is still pristine, it has also ensured that the visitors comforts are taken care of. The roads, the rest areas, the camping sites, visitor centers and the staff including the park rangers; all exceptional. Hats Off to the establishment!

One of the things you can't miss are the visitors at Yellowstone. They are from all age groups, right from babies to 90 year old. You get people of all ethnicity, hue and color.

At the end of the day, I'm tired but the scenic beauty of Yellowstone Park still continues to flash in my memory and it will continue to have a hold on me for a while. The souvenirs that I picked up will keep these memories fresh for a long long time.

Road Trip - Day 5

2011-08-17T12:05:00.002+05:30

Someone once said - ''To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.''
Though I wasn't quite alone, but the sensation was quite true. We woke up in Fargo, North Dakota and every city looks different in the morning especially if you have arrived in the night. Fargo was no exception. I liked the city and would move there if I got the right opportunity.

Well we started from Fargo for Yellowstone in the morning and covered ‎750 miles in 10 hours at an average of 75 miles an hour which is 120 KMPH touching speeds of up to 85 MPH (136 KMPH) in most places. Had it not been for all that construction and the numerous 35 mph zones we would have made it faster.

Yellowstone looks promising from what we have seen so far. Tomorrow we will know for sure.

Road Trip - Day 4

2011-08-16T20:07:00.000+05:30

Today was a good day. A day of many experiences and sights.

The day started off from the town of Hibbing where we stopped at the Minnesota Discovery Center Briefly. There we got to see a F94C Starfire fighter that once belonged the Minnesota Air Guard. Also on display was a helicopter and a battle tank. It was pleasant to see that display in a city which many Americans may not even have heard of.

After getting some pics clicked we left for Voyageurs National Park.

Needless to say that the drive through the pristine forests was really beautiful. We stopped at the visitors center to obtain more information and was amazed to see the various stuffed animals on display, including a magnificent wolf. The Voyageurs national park is situated on the USA - Canada international border. There we went to the Kabetogama Lake and reserved ourselves a guided boat ride.

The boat ride was to start at 02:00 PM, so in the meanwhile we had the opportunity to grab some lunch at a very quaint but beautifully decorated restaurant with a native Indian touch called "Bait 'n Bite". The food was good and soon we were back at the small pier where we boarded a boat with mostly old people on board. The Park Rangers took us on a guided boat trip that lasted around 3 hours. This freshwater lake is huge and occupies 25000 acres and has over 100 islands within it. It is still not counted among the largest lakes in the USA. Really speaks volumes for the fresh water resources in the US.

We saw a few bald eagle nests and the bald eagles as well. It was amazing to see the size of these birds. We also saw some of the old logger cabins which have long since been abandoned. The coup de grace was an ice house built by the loggers in those days when the refrigerator was yet to be invented, to harvest ice from the river and store it for over 2 years..

After the boat ride it was time for us to leave for Montana - The Yellowstone National Park. We were planning to stay somewhere in between; in any decent town we find.
We drove through several 100 miles of forests and farmlands till we reached the city of Fargo in North Dakota. It is a decently sized and spacious city. Good wide roads and not much of traffic. We grabbed a bite to eat at an Indian Restaurant called "Passage to India"- our first Indian Meal in 4 days. The food was astonishingly good for a place like Fargo.

We camp at Fargo tonight and resume our journey to Montana tomorrow... Looking forward to that drive.

Road Trip - Day 3

2011-08-15T11:38:00.001+05:30

We had driven around 230 miles from Ohio into Indianapolis yesterday and got a good night's rest. Today we drove close to 800 miles and that was all we did.

At the start of the trip, I had planned it in a way that we would not touch any of the major cities. That plan was kind of dashed today, when in search of an Indian restaurant, we were unwittingly led by the GPS into downtown Chicago. We lost about an hour and a half out there and it sucked!! The roads across the USA are in a state of being repaired and thereby causing huge traffic blocks. But on the positive side I got a glimpse of the Sears Tower and the Chicago Stock Exchange. My tryst with Chicago is hopefully done!

The drive started in a rainy Indianapolis but the weather cleared as we headed Northwest and as we went further, it turned into beautiful and sunny August day. The windmills on the sprawling farms were a sight to behold. Those giant rotating blades were awesome!

Our lunch was at a small food court somewhere in Illinois. This food court is built on top of an Interstate Freeway and the dining chairs are arranged in such a way that you are actually overlooking the oncoming traffic. So it was amazing to see these huge trucks approach you and then pass under your seating area even as we were eating our lunch. Never seen anything like that.

Later during the day we drove through Illinois, Wisconsin and now in Minnesota. Wisconsin I must admit is the most beautiful state I have seen so far. The green carpeted farms that stretched for miles and miles with the granaries, barns and small homes amidst them is a sight that takes your breath away. The crop blowing in the wind, cows grazing on the idyllic hillsides and occasional horses... this is stuff that would inspire poets. Right now I'm still stunned by the beauty of the US Countryside.

Then we skirted by the Lake Superior and the city of Duluth on its banks. We are right now in a small town called Hibbing in Minnesota. We came into the town at 11:00 PM. It was a surreal experience, with the mist hanging about a meter off the ground and the town looked like a ghost town with no vehicles or people on the road and a few scattered houses and a couple of hotels here and there.. Spooky!! :-)
At places where the fog was thicker it was scary to see huge trucks suddenly appear out of the mist. Luckily it was not in too many places.

Road Trip - Day 2

2011-08-14T10:43:00.004+05:30

Day 2 started off a bit on the back foot with a few scratches to the car when someone backed into our car in the parking lot. But overall it has been good.

We had a brief stopover at Hocking Hills in Logan, Ohio. The ride was a curvy and up and down ride, almost like a roller-coaster. My friend Arun was executing all those curves at 60 miles an hour and it was tough not to be scared. But he was within the speed limit at all times. Wonder if they made a mistake in calibrating the speed limit on that road. But the drive through the farm lands was awesome.

We first went to the Cedar falls, but it was a bit of a disappointment though with not much water at the fall. But that did not dampen the spirits of the people who had turned up at the place.

The next stop was at the Logan Lake and it was beautiful as we expected it to be. But again disappointment came our way as all the boats were already rented.

At the lake I happened to see a lady who had apparently come there on her Harley sit and work away on her laptop placed on one of the benches adjoining the lake. I really envied her work-space. Really beats the pale grey cubicles at the office. Also saw some parents and grandparents fishing in the lake with their kids and grand-kids..

Arun & I sat on the banks for a while, took in the view and then drove another 200 miles to Indianapolis.

It was a smooth and uneventful drive. Saw a lot of bikers on the way and also had an experience of the mid-western US Storms when we drove through one. Heard that the storm made a stage at a rock concert collapse killing 4 people in Indiana.

Slowly we are easing into this road-trip and looking forward to our next destination - Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota. That should be an interesting place. But we have a long drive of 800 miles tomorrow to get there.

Road Trip - Day 1

2011-08-13T10:21:00.002+05:30

Started off 3 hours late, but completed the first leg of the journey. Just checked into a hotel after a nice drive of over 400 miles. We are in Ohio. Tomorrow we will visit the Hocking Hills.

My Little RiRi - Rian

2011-06-04T01:33:00.002+05:30

What happens when you wake up one morning a learn that you are going to be a father again?
One moment you feel overjoyed and on top of the world and then the next you are consumed by a volley of questions and concerns-
What is he / she gonna look like? Is everything okay? What doctor do I contact? How is it going to change our lives? How do we start preparing ourselves? etc etc..

Though everything was planned , it still kinda catches you unawares :-).

The next few weeks went in a blur with the doctor's visits and planning for the arrival of the baby. In June-July we found that our baby was a BOY and not the GIRL that we were expecting. Hmmm.. interesting. Maheena wanted a sister, but I'm sure she will be understanding enough to settle for a little brother instead.

It was of course fantastic to watch my little boy floating around in his little cocoon. And I and Arti had this disbelieving look on our face when the technician told us that it was a boy. We could not but help smile at the surprise that life had yet again thrown at us.

We prepared ourselves for this new addition to our family. Our colleagues & friends here at Wilmington threw a baby shower for Arti. It was a beautiful gesture. Later Arti's parents joined us @ Wilmington to help and support us.

On 22nd November 2010 at 07:00 AM Arti was wheeled into the surgical room at Christiana Care at Newark - Delaware. Her Gynaecologist - Jennifer Barlow operated upon her as part of a planned Cesarean.
07:37 AM - She took little Rian (RiRi) out. RiRi weighed 7 pounds & 9 Ounces and was a cute little baby with very well formed forearms and calf muscles. He also had a head full of hair :-)

But little RiRi got off to a bad start. The doctors could not get him to expel the fluid out of his lungs as he would not cry and the oxygen levels in his blood was rapidly deteriorating. The immediately supplemented him with an oxygen mask and rushed him to the neo natal care unit.
Arti was sedated and confused and asked me what was the problem and I lied to her saying that he had some minor breathing problems and that they had taken him to the neo natal care unit for observation.

Rian stabilized soon but the doctors continued to keep him in the Neo Natal Intensive Care Unit and under observation. Once they took arti back to the Periop, I went down to check on Rian and over the next few days made several trips down to the NICU. I fed RiRi for the first time from a bottle down in NICU. It broke my heart to see my new born lie in a tangle of tubes and wires.

They performed several tests on him before confirming that everything was normal and finally discharging him. Rian joined us as we went back from the hospital to our home.

Little RiRi is now 6 months old and already standing up by himself.

Poisonous Planet!

2011-06-03T08:25:00.000+05:30

Blogging after a very long time... Life has gotten even more busy after Rian has come into our lives :-)

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Ever wonder as to why the early civilizations used to try and live harmoniously with nature and why the modern civilization with all their vast knowledge has pushed this planet over the cliff!

Beats me!!!!!

We are bent upon destroying the very planet that we are living on and it is really not like we have another option.

The human population is estimated to touch 70 Billion soon and natural disasters are killing scores each year. A huge natural calamity has the potential to wipe out big numbers.

Apart from that we have been poisoning ourselves, the land and water with the use of Synthetic Fertilizers. Fertilizers find their way into the water table and also find their way into our bodies through the food and water. Over a period of time it seriously impacts the natural contents of the soil creating an imbalance and rendering the soil unproductive. This would mean using more and higher concentration of fertilizers and thereby taking it to viciously dangerous levels.

Exposure to fertilizers over a period of time is known to alter the immune and endocrine systems and also leads to major thyroid problems. It is also known to cause foetal abnormalities. Thyroid problems may lead to impaired brain development and neurological disorders. It is also known to cause learning disorders and impact our response to stimuli.

It is funny as to how every religion on earth promises a doomsday of some sort except probably the purest form of Hinduism which in fact was never a religion so much as an effective way to lead life in harmony with the nature and environment. But of course that way of life got polluted with Gods over a period of time.

It causes us great concern when we hear that there is going to be a cataclysm of events that will cause an end to the human race. These predictions are something that most human beings are loath to disbelieve in. But we do not mind sending our planet closer to and end on a daily basis by messing up our natural surroundings.

Be it usage of plastics or incessant dredging of the ocean floor for fishing or depleting the green cover by cutting down trees to create more farmlands or using high carbon fuels... We are killing our planet systematically and slowly each day, causing irreparable damage.

But what is the threshold where things turn for the worst suddenly and we see an accelerated deterioration.

Does anyone know?? No we don't.

Do we even know if we have crossed that threshold and that any day we may see a rapid deterioration? Again the answer is - we don't.

Till then let's hope that we are not killing the planet. We do not own it. It belongs to each and every species that live on this earth and it belongs a little to each generation in the future. Also by our actions we are ensuring that the planet will take even longer to recover or even that it will never recover from the damage that we are causing it.

Plain and simple - IF WE DESTROY THIS PLANET, IT IS NOT LIKE WE HAVE ANOTHER ONE TO GO TO :-)

Linguistic Chauvinism In India

2010-04-18T06:28:00.011+05:30

What makes us chauvinistic about our language? There are 23 officially recognized languages in India; each one of them believes that their language is better than the other and loose no opportunity to preach their superiority, yet abhor attempts at another language being showed down their throats.

The Bengalis are proud of their literary culture, the Tamilians about their language being one of the oldest known to mankind, the Hindi speaking speaking population believes that theirs is the national language of our country and that everyone in the country is required to learn it.

Each one is so fanatically inclined to their language that even in alien land like for example USA, they seek out their own kind and form groups among their own.

The funny part is that they may barely be able to tolerate the other person from their community but always perceive that any individual from their social group would be always better than one from another community.

When it comes to such behvioural anomalies, I'm glad that I'm able to exhibit more liberal and wider social preferences. For me language is just a means of communication and enjoying the literature associated with it. Otherwise even Cetaceans use sound to communicate and I'm pretty sure that they appeared on the planet even before humans did.

Now if you ask some of these people as to what are their contributions towards their languages apart from having learnt to read, write and speak the same, I'm sure 90% would have zilch to talk about. Ask them if they know who was the first person to have spoken their language or how it originated, most would not have a clue.

The vote for the most complicated language according to Wikipedia and other sources go to Japanese and another language from Amazon called Tuyuca.

The oldest known language is Sanskrit and the parts of the "Rigveda" are dated to 1500 BC. Sorry Tamils, but some of the Tamil words are derived from Sanskrit as is with other Indian Languages. So it goes for Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam etc etc...

Well the Bengalis may argue that Tagore is the only Indian to have won a Nobel Prize for Gitanjali - a collection of Bengali poems. But even he got noticed only when he translated his work into English else no one except the Bengalis would have known Tagore just like Subramanya Bharathi or Thiyagaraja are unknown entities to most of India.

So what are we so fanatical about? Well the most obvious answer lies in the definition of a Fanatic - A person who can't change his mind or change his subject. It's a mental disorder, something that most of us seem to be suffering from. Fanaticism ranges from religious fanaticism to ideological fanaticism to sport fanaticism.

As far as our country is concerned we suffer from a minor departure of an ethnic fanaticism called linguistic fanaticism. Wonder if it is in our genetic code??

Just as an FYI - Hitler suffered from Chronic Ethnic Fanaticism of a different kind.

It's a shame that we have created derogatory terms for every language in our country:

Malayalis - Mallus

Tamilians - Thambis

Telugus - Gultis

Gujratis - Gujjus

Maharashtrians - Ghatis

Hindi - Bhaiyyas

Sikhs - Sardars

Goans - maka pav

Bengalis - Bongs

Parsis - Bawa

and so on...

So Maybe why we do all this will always remain a mystery like why most Americans believe Government interference is always bad or that the Government is always spying on them; probably till we isolate the faulty gene in a lab. :-)

Changes In My World

2008-12-06T02:23:00.008+05:30

Its the start of Winter here in Wilmington, DE. My daughter is going to be three this month and my world is just beautiful. This year I have witnessed four changing seasons Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn (Fall) and now its winter again. And this place changes its look every season. I thought that Spring would be the most beautiful season, till I witnessed the fall colours. It has been amazing.

Mahi has just started toddler school 2 months back and she is enjoying it. It's been a joy for me to drive her to school each morning and watch her go about her activities in her class from the observation room. It's also a great feeling to watch the joy on her face when I go to pick her up and then listen to her talk about her day at school.

On the other side, I have my dad who is suffering from an enlargement of heart and has been battling for life all through the last two months. He has been in and out of the hospital a few times now and each time he has been very critical. It causes me immense anguish to see my dad suffer like this. He has suffered all his life and has fought like a champion and has been a real survivor and now he fights a battle which will see him...

In the USA the recession and bad times are at their peak and the economy is in tatters. The first black President of the United States has an All Star team that is trying to help revive the dying American Dream. Time has changed and the world is changing too. India & China seem to be less affected by all this at the moment. That again is a big change from the past.

Then came the terror attacks on Mumbai. My city has been the victim of several brutal attacks in the past, but used to be a pathetic in terms of attitude. The famous Mumbai resilience is nothing but indifference and hopelessness. The sheer need to go to work to earn their daily bread keeps this city going inspite of the fear lurking in everybody's mind. The fact is that we did not have a choice apart from getting on with our lives. But now we have been cornered and don't they say that a cornered cat can even kill. The new generation has refused to take it lying down and put on a massive display at the Gateway Of India.

The sheer frustration against the politicians may now ensure that the scum (95%) among the politicians may now be facing an end of their political careers. If the Congress or BJP has any sense they will appoint professionals and educated and qualified people to represent them in constituencies. But the fact is that in such case these people may overshadow the current leadership within the party, so in all likleyhood that scenario may never occur.

The winds of change are now getting stronger by the day and adversity often brings together people. The British rule united us, so did all the wars we have fought. This attack will help us unite once more in our goal to secure our future and country.

May the flame that has been ignited in our hearts continue to burn. Let it consume the current political leadership in our country.

Across The World And Laughing

2008-02-17T05:53:00.005+05:30

I'm at Wilmington, Delaware and enjoying some well deserved rest and time with family. Also able to spend some time reading. My two year old daughter keeps me busy and I try to entertain her and keep her occupied. These two years have been great for me and fatherhood has changed me.

I have also been spending time watching Cricket and enjoying it too. Watching India stand toe to toe with Australia on this tour and watching the Aussies complain was really fun. It made my day.
Watching the Aussies complain about too much Cricket and then shutting up when money was shoved into their faces (IPL) was looking at another face of India that I have always wanted to see. Its not arrogance but happiness to see our India in a new light, a face of India we never thought we would see.

India has been growing in all Spheres and this has been heartening to watch. My generation has been the bridge between the new India and the old. The generations to come will always be better than the ones that have already lived their lives. Thats pure evolution.

We have seen India emerge from the shadows of being a "Third World Country" to being an economic power and a country that provides Financial Aid to other developing nations. We lead these countries at the WTO and have been their voice. We are taking over the administration of almost all leading organizations of the world and are at the centre of new ideas.
We are also taking over bigger companies and firms across the world. In my sphere of work, we are already the best in the world and still a long way to go before we achieve our potential.

I also saw another face of India during the last few weeks- an ugly and repulsive one at that. A bunch of jerks with a moron as their leader out on the street trying to force people of a particular community to flee from Maharashtra.
I thought; here are a bunch of illiterates always there to remind us that there are still uncultured idiots among civilized people. A bunch of human genetic garbage trying to stop a river in spate by stretching their arms. India is slowly becoming cosmopolitan on the whole, not because we are trying to be one, but plainly due to progress & economics.

In the next 3-4 decades the language barrier shall fall to the rupee, education and better forms of transport as India will shrink and we shall truly be an Indian. Government Schools, Colleges and Offices where religion, caste and language often form the basis of admissions shall become redundant and private organizations shall rule the roost and meritocracy and capability will reign supreme.

Meanwhile let us pause and laugh at the monkeys out on the streets trying to stop time itself.

Its really funny. Maybe they do not know history. The greatest civilizations like Romans, Greeks, Egyptians, Incas etc were wiped out in time. What survived is the human spirit and new civilizations that were more liberal and flexible.
Time wiped out the dinosaurs, but Cockroaches survived. Someday someone shall find the bones of these idiots along with ours and form a wrong opinion about our generation. But then that is what history is all about.

Did they not try and ban Rushdie's "Satanic Verses", Shourie's "Worshipping False Gods", tear apart books that spoke about their own culture, ban movies and plays. But did it stop the world from reading these books or stop them from watching a particular movie??? Nope it never works that way does it?

So let us watch these jerks try to go about their monkey business and laugh at their pathetic lives that are just there to be used by some moron to fulfill his political ambition.

Our Trip To Hawaii - 25th Jan 2007

2007-01-29T11:32:00.001+05:30

Our Trip to Hawaii

25th January 2007 – Nikhil dropped us (Me, Mahi & Arti) to the Sky Harbor airport. We boarded a United Airways flight to San Francisco. It was a two hour flight and Mahi slept throughout the flight. Plane journeys are probably the most boring journeys and I really hate them. I enjoy train journeys as it brings you closer to the place you travel through during the journey.
After reaching San Francisco, we had a 2 hour gap in journey and then again a 5 hours and 30 minutes flight to Kona (Hawaii – Big Island). I tried to pass my time by watching the movie “The Queen” that was being shown during the flight.

By the time we landed in Kona - Hawaii, it was 09:30 PM local time. My first impression of Hawaii turned out to be great. As Arti was getting down from the plane, her shoe lace came untied and an airport service staff member who was standing below the ladder noticed the same. Seeing Mahi in Arti’s arms, she asked Arti if she needed help tying her lace and before Arti could say anything, the lady bent down and tied up Arti’s lace with a smile. The people seemed very friendly and wherever you went they greeted you with an “Aloha”!!

The airport was a very small one with no walls or anything around it and no security related crap that you have usually come to associate with any airport in the world, post 09/11.
Asha (Sis-In-Law) picked us up at the airport and we headed off to the Hilton Waikoloa Resort, which was going to be our venue of stay for the next 3 days.

It was a good 30 minutes drive to the hotel and we noticed that the big island was a desert and not a densely forested tropical place that we were expecting. Then Asha told us that on this small island you could find deserts, rain forests, beaches & snow capped mountains.
When we arrived at the hotel, we were awestruck at the splendor on display. From the reception to our room it was more than a mile long. The hotel was huge and had to be seen to be believed. You had two modes of transportation inside the hotel to take you from one place to the other. One was a TRAIN and the other a BOAT.

It has to be seen to be believed. There were two trains running on two tracks and a parallel waterway where boats would transport you to wherever you want. There are nine restaurants within this hotel and our room as the last stop.
The hotel was too good and the room was comfortable too. The room had an attached patio too and the hotel had lagoons and waterfalls within the hotel. Our room overlooked a well kept lawn and on the other side there was a pond with two or three waterfalls. There were huge fishes (a foot and a half) long and ducks etc within the big pond.

It was great to meet Asha after a long time and she was meeting Mahi after a long time. The last time she saw Mahi she was a few weeks old. Asha hasn’t changed much and is her usual busy self, talkative as usual.

The next day Asha was busy in her conference for which she had come and I and Arti took time off between my office calls to walk and look around the hotel.
The hotel was really huge and it would take you probably a whole day to just walk around and look at the different things. We went to the ocean front and spent some time looking at the clear turquoise blue waters.
We also spent some time looking at the kids frolicking in the lagoon and the swimming pools around the hotel.

We had lunch at a Chinese restaurant within the hotel and the food was ok. Tasty food is not something that you associate with the USA. Most items are bland here and the quantity that they serve in one plate is good enough to server a whole Indian family. “Khaana achcha nahi hota hai, par bohot saara hota hai”.

Then after some time of roaming around the hotel, we went back to our room as it was getting hot & humid. In the evening we went out to the water front again to catch the sunset and it was breathtaking to see the big ball of fire disappear into the water. There was a golf course on the water front and the view was absolutely stunning. We sat there for some time and enjoyed the beautiful evening, something that I have not done in years now. But I have made a resolution. From the next year I shall spent more time with my family and will take more vacations with them.

We went out of the hotel to a nearby mall for dinner and had a typical Hawaiian dinner, which again I did not enjoy, except the lemonade which tasted great after the hot day.
At the mall I saw a familiar face who was sitting on a wooden bench in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts and that person was also trying to recollect where he had seen me. Then his eyes lit up as I walked to him and introduced myself – “Arun from IDC Mumbai”. “Hi! Jeff, how do you do??”
It was Jeff Dube the Accenture Senior Executive on AMEX business side. He was surprised at running into me at Hawaii of all the places. He introduced me to his wife and kid and I did the same too. After talking to him for a few minutes, we parted ways.

The next day we left in the morning to visit a beach nearby and a rainforest – botanical garden.

The Hapuna state beach was a small one and a big disappointment. Its small even compared to Juhu beach, except for the crowd on the beach. There was a decent crowd of sunbathers on the beach.
We left the beach soon and proceeded towards the botanical garden / rain forest. The 2 hours drive was one of the best drives of my life. The whole highway-19 runs along the coastline and the ocean is visible almost during the entire drive.

After a two hour drive we reached the rainforest. It was complete with a waterfall and a small walk through the rain forest. This place looked almost a replica of Kerala.
It was very beautiful and Mahi thoroughly enjoyed the walk.
She was smiling throughout the walk and was happy to touch and feel the flowers and leaves. This was one of the rare outings that she has had since we went to Kerala & Tanjore. But then she was very small then.
On the way back we lost our way and drove around Kona for two hours more trying to find our way. By the time we reached our room, we were tired and ready to collapse.

The next day we got up early in the morning and had our breakfast where I had a small incident where there was a glass piece in the butter that the hotel had served and my tongue got scratched. The whole staff was at our table trying to apologize. They removed the entire set of contents from the buffet and re-filled each of the dishes. They asked me if I wished to file a complaint. I said I was fine and that the bleeding had now stopped. Luckily I did not swallow the glass piece and escaped with just a scratched tongue.
The hotel later sent a basket of fruits to my room to apologize for the incident.

After the breakfast sitting next to the pond filled with fishes and ducks, with two small man made waterfalls, we went to the lagoon for some swimming and snorkeling. I snorkeled for almost two hours, where I swam with a school of fishes and swam for almost five minutes holding on to the back of a huge turtle.

I saw a whole lot of colorful fishes out of which one came near me and took a good look at me before swimming away. I had the time of my life in the lagoon. I also got sunburn to show for the time spent floating on the water.

I took the tram / train back to the room and relaxed for a while before setting out in the evening for watching the sunset. There while watching the sunset from the golf course on the waterfront, I saw whales breaching the ocean surface in the distance. The spray from their breathing was clearly visible and it was exciting watching the huge mammals splashing about in the water. It was the most beautiful sunset ever. How I wish I could see those whales from up close!!

Late in the evening (today) we are leaving Hawaii for Phoenix again.

My Little Princess Maheena

2006-02-07T11:10:00.000+05:30

It was a beautiful April morning that me and my wife discovered that we were going to be parents soon. When the home pregnancy test kit showed positive, my eyes almost popped out and I did not know how to react. The thoughts running through my head were mixed feelings of elation and a certain anxiousness about how things would turn out to be.

Then there were those regular visits to the Gynaec's clinic. Dr. Padma was known to us since a long time. I would always squeeze into her small examination room, to have a look at the Screen on the Ultrasound Scanner. She would smile at my eagerness.

The first time I saw my baby, she was just a dot on the screen and then one day I saw her heart beat on the same screen. I felt a strange emotion fill me up and I knew that I had a special relationship with that little insect trying to fly on the black & white screen (my baby's heart fluttering).

Soon the days turned to weeks and weeks to months as time chugged on, and me and my wife witnessed the miracle of life unfold before our eyes. During the time, we read numerous books and articles to update ourselves about the progress that our baby was making. We could then start to feel the baby move; initially like a fluttering in her stomach, then as weeks passed, we could trace her small hands and feet as they moved across my wife's belly.

Then in the ninth month when we visited the Gynaec, she told us that the baby is now due anytime and looking at the expression on my face she burst out laughing. I was in total panic. The ground beneath my feet had been swept away.
There was so many things to be done and so less time and then the reality actually dawned on me that now I was responsible for another life. Not that I was not prepared, but it still took the wind out of me. A new life was going to be dependent upon me; emotionally, physically, financially and in every other aspect. I WAS GOING TO BE A FATHER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Me and wife decided that 13th December 2005 was going to be the date that we are going to have our baby. We got her admitted to the hospital on the 12th December 2005 and she was administered the hormones for inducing the labour. But even after 24 hours of induced labour, the dialation was not progressing beyond a point and then the nurses at the hospital asked for us to wait till the doctor came on her rounds, for understanding the further course of action.
Throughout the effort, my wife was really courageous and bore the pain cheerfully. She was very brave and I really admire her capacity to tolerate pain.

Soon enough the doctor came and told us that she would have to go in for a Cesarian "C- Section" in five minutes. My wife quickly took a shower and I grabbed the camera , loaded the film and refreshed the batteries, as we quietly went about preparing ourselves for that special moment in our lives. And soon I was standing beside the operation table, where my wife was being put through the preparatory steps for the cesarian.

Soon after that, the doctors were getting the baby out of a huge incision made on my wife's belly and then at 19:55 Indian Standard Time on 13th December 2005, my little princess Maheena was born.
The page to end one phase and to mark the beginning of the next phase of my life had been turned...

Today one and a half months later as I write this she is sleeping at home after her daily bath. She is a bundle of fun and a very sweet kid. I enjoy and look forward to going back home after work each day. As I hold her in my arms and as she reaches out to touch me and flashes a beautiful smile, all my concerns and fatigue from a hard day's work vanishes instantly.
When I look into her eyes and look at her innocent face, I know for sure....
"Life's is not gonna ever be the same again...". Suddenly it has become much more beautiful.

My Books & My World

2004-10-04T11:41:00.000+05:30

I don't remember when my addiction to books developed, but I guess it would have developed its roots during the Library Period back at my school (Our Lady Of Fatima High School) . We used to be provided one book to read in a week. And ofcourse that was too less to satisfy my hunger. I had to read atleast one everyday. I was definitely not brilliant in my academics, in fact I was sort of an average, but reading was defenitely a passion and my love for the English language was tremendous even in those days. I would finish that book in a matter of a couple of hours and then go for the books given to my friends, who did not like to read. Pretty soon, I would have finished all the good books distributed among my friends in my class.

Then during my junor college days, I would have a competition going on with my friends to the number of books we could read during our vaccations. The craze continued and soon, I read my first non-fiction book- Freedom At Midnight by Dominique La Pierre and Larry Collins. Needless to mention, I got hooked and I read that whole book in one sitting. I don't remember when I had lunch or dinner that day. All that happened somewhere during the different chapters of the book. After that book I almost left reading fiction except for an occassional John Grisham or Robin Cook.

My favourite books were ones related to History or Travel. I could drown myself and get transported to another world when I was reading the book and the book became my favourite companion in those days. Back then, I did not have the monetary resources to buy books. Now, when I have ample resources to buy these books, I have lost out on the time needed to read them. Oh ! what a predicament. The only time I find is when I indulge in my other passion - Travelling. But then as my financial position bettered over the years, travelling time became shorter as I changed my mode of transport from Railways to Airways.

This time when I went to Kerala, I had made up my mind to complete atleast two books, so my relatives complained that all they could see of me was the time when I came out of my room to grab some food or water or to stretch myself. For 10-15 days I stayed indoors reading books and then went out for small walks in the evening, through roads covered by a canopy of trees. Roads where the sunlight would not touch the ground even during the peak afternoon hours. All you could hear was the sound of crickets and chirping of birds. An occassional rabbit would go hopping past you, leaving you startled. Aah !! That was life at its best. It was then I realized that my life was so consumed by my work and my agressive approach towards my career, that I was actually feeling guilty about enjoying this solitude and bliss.

From the book lovers perspective, the city of Bombay would be very disappointing Is there a single book store on the lines of a Barnes & Nobles or a Powells. So I have to get the books that I have to read, on my visit to the USA or some other city. Nor do we get the good English Movies out here. As a world class city, we still have a very long way to go. Actually there're no world class cities in India and that's the plain truth.

2004-04-08T17:06:00.000+05:30

Date : 08th March 2004

I discover what is Blogging all about. I am introduced to it by my buddy Arun. We share the same name and a few interests and that's where the similarity ends and my admiration for him begins. I wish I could have the same brilliance as his, his passion towards travel and the will to make it happen and his unbounded passion to accquire knowledge.

I start my site here...