The sister recently created a hall of fame with respect to questions she dreads and gets totally irritated by. The last few days in the trip have been fantastic but have equally been irritating in terms of questions one has had to answer . Just to do something different lets start from the very end.
- Train journey from Bangalore to Coimbatore - Which berth is yours ?
Man next to me with an RAC ticket ( RAC stands for Reservation Against Cancellation) - Saar, which berth is yours . I point straight at both our berths (1 and 3) and say this is mine. He then proceeded to ask, so where are you working saar. I gave him a non-commital answer and just said Bangalore because I was in no mood to discuss with a total stranger the joys of living in Cambridge or discuss any further details regarding my life history especially when one is recovering from an illness.
- What's your salary abroad ?
Err.... it's decent enough to feed me and my family and to make trips as I choose to .
- Are you planning to come back ? If so , when ?
Err. The question can take many tones. Some old family friends will wonder and make declarations about your future and decisions neither you nor your wife have any clue about at that point of time. All you are interested in is the next meal, making sure you aren't sick and hoping that the jet lag would wear off. The best way of fobbing off such questions sometimes is to speak the truth and honestly say "Don't know" . Some day yes, not tomorrow is usually a good answer.
- Sir do you want a discount card ?
Err. no , not interested, thank you. Sir you'll get 1 point per 100 rupees and each point is worth 20 paise for you to claim. Thus the only way one can get any rewards out of customer loyalty is by buying for life at that store. Imagining the mark up is extraordinary.
Go back a few years, pesky little things used to call up and offer you discounts, personal loans and credit cards with cold calls. Never have I considered going further with any of these calls because it usually leaves me in an irritated state of mind.
Go further back to when one was studying.
What does your father do ? A follow up question was usually how much does he make ? The answer varied from he works in the CBI ( to a pesky traffic cop who was looking for a bribe for no fault of mine), to the truth and to a brusque none of your business. The follow up question was usually ignored.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Vacation vacation vacation.
Ah the vacation draws to a close. Everyone sighs - oh you've got 3 weeks off but it's amazing how the days and the hours fly. Some fun activities have included driving around in India by self with the family. The last post dealt with the joys involved in this activity. It wasn't great fun falling ill 5 days into the trip especially with a 20 hour train journey to be managed. The train journeys were fun, ofcourse one of the high points of the trip.
Oh, attending a wedding, meeting old friends and making new ones, singing ghazals and old Hindi songs in the evening in public causing jaws of members of the family to drop beyond measure , pleasantly surprising the wife with such an act of lunacy ! However members in the audience were too polite to point out the resemblance my singing would have had to a donkey braying .
A rest day later it was time to begin the remainder of the travelling down south to Coimbatore and Guruvayur where I saw one of the best sights there is to see at the Guruvayur temple. It was 9:15 p.m. and time for what they call the Srivali seva. Like most temples in India, there's a strict ban on photography inside the temples for fear of the art thieves and in addition the belief that there shouldn't be photos of idols stored elsewhere, however this was one time I really wished for my camera. All Indian temples have a sanctum sanctorum, in Guruvayur this sanctum sanctorum has space for 1000s of oil lamps on all 4 of its walls. Once the temple was to be closed for the night, the closing ceremony on certain days (either requested for/ paid for my devotees or on special occasions) all the lamps would be lit on all 4 walls. This means that once it's night you've got all walls lit up by small oil lamps which are in perfect symmetry and is one of the most amazing sights one can watch. This is then followed with a procession by 3 of the temple elephants all decked up in gold and with men alternately seated and standing atop the elephant and transitioning between these states without *any* support from the sides. These men were athletic, nimble and showed some of the finest traditions that exist still deep in the South of India. Sadly I couldn't find any photos to show the same for a reference.
After this it was time to move to the city with just 3 seasons, hot hotter and hottest . I'd say we are in the "hotter"season where it's usually tepid, miserable and usually a pain to stay. A day trip from Madras was to Kanchipuram and to the ancestral village which had to be visited for some personal reasons. One of the things I came across in these villages was the use of solar power to light street lamps in every nook and cranny. This by itself has reduced the dependence these villages have on electricity boards for electricity and providing the village with safe renewable energy. The village in question had a school that's now in the process of starting Classes 11 and 12, there is hope and there is education and there is a choice in such villages for growth.
In the last 19 days we've been to 8 places some of which have included day trip in sweltering 35 degrees C. The measure to which I've been spoilt now shows with the fact that if I am to survive in Chennai or Madras as it was known earlier , I need the AC on to bring down the temperature to a bearable 28 degrees C . But boy has this been worth it and have I needed the break ! Certain improvements are visible, the tendency to check email has dropped - I've checked email 5 times in 3 weeks which is a significant improvement compared to previous pyrrhic vacations.
And on that note - sigh, mutter, next Monday is just 4 days away and 2 plane journeys away :( ...
Oh, attending a wedding, meeting old friends and making new ones, singing ghazals and old Hindi songs in the evening in public causing jaws of members of the family to drop beyond measure , pleasantly surprising the wife with such an act of lunacy ! However members in the audience were too polite to point out the resemblance my singing would have had to a donkey braying .
A rest day later it was time to begin the remainder of the travelling down south to Coimbatore and Guruvayur where I saw one of the best sights there is to see at the Guruvayur temple. It was 9:15 p.m. and time for what they call the Srivali seva. Like most temples in India, there's a strict ban on photography inside the temples for fear of the art thieves and in addition the belief that there shouldn't be photos of idols stored elsewhere, however this was one time I really wished for my camera. All Indian temples have a sanctum sanctorum, in Guruvayur this sanctum sanctorum has space for 1000s of oil lamps on all 4 of its walls. Once the temple was to be closed for the night, the closing ceremony on certain days (either requested for/ paid for my devotees or on special occasions) all the lamps would be lit on all 4 walls. This means that once it's night you've got all walls lit up by small oil lamps which are in perfect symmetry and is one of the most amazing sights one can watch. This is then followed with a procession by 3 of the temple elephants all decked up in gold and with men alternately seated and standing atop the elephant and transitioning between these states without *any* support from the sides. These men were athletic, nimble and showed some of the finest traditions that exist still deep in the South of India. Sadly I couldn't find any photos to show the same for a reference.
After this it was time to move to the city with just 3 seasons, hot hotter and hottest . I'd say we are in the "hotter"season where it's usually tepid, miserable and usually a pain to stay. A day trip from Madras was to Kanchipuram and to the ancestral village which had to be visited for some personal reasons. One of the things I came across in these villages was the use of solar power to light street lamps in every nook and cranny. This by itself has reduced the dependence these villages have on electricity boards for electricity and providing the village with safe renewable energy. The village in question had a school that's now in the process of starting Classes 11 and 12, there is hope and there is education and there is a choice in such villages for growth.
In the last 19 days we've been to 8 places some of which have included day trip in sweltering 35 degrees C. The measure to which I've been spoilt now shows with the fact that if I am to survive in Chennai or Madras as it was known earlier , I need the AC on to bring down the temperature to a bearable 28 degrees C . But boy has this been worth it and have I needed the break ! Certain improvements are visible, the tendency to check email has dropped - I've checked email 5 times in 3 weeks which is a significant improvement compared to previous pyrrhic vacations.
And on that note - sigh, mutter, next Monday is just 4 days away and 2 plane journeys away :( ...
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Honk, mutter to neighbour, curse, shout
Politely ask others on the roads if their affairs are in order, ( the Tamil way of asking this is Enna Vootla sollitu vanthutiyaa ... ) and then decide that it's all not worth it .
If you are wondering why all these words are in the title of this blog post, it's not very hard to get to the bottom of why I'm doing this and my locus can very well be guessed. After all this the world is at peace again, the sun rises from the East again and there is a nice cool breeze blowing in the city of Pune in India.
Given that I've deliberately not started driving in the old blighty just to preserve these essential driving skills in India, where if you go into a roundabout, the first person in wins it's been fun. Driving around on the first day of the trip, there were still a few rules left in me . Anyone on a zebra crossing wins, I stop my car and let them pass . However the stares I received in return were as though I was a person from a different planet or a member of a species totally different than the one that inhabits the country we like to call India, Bharat, Hindustan, Jambudvipa ...
Driving down the expressway and then driving in heavy traffic in downtown during peak hours has a cathartic effect. You can put your window down, curse to your hearts content at idiots who decide to overtake you from the left and go to the right or cut right across your path from right to left. There is no place for gentleness, the odd driver of the scooter who decides to sit in the fast lane and plod along at 40kmph on a polite enquiry for overtaking asks you if you are flying a plane to go past him and you respond with either the finger or politely inform him of the risks of a gentle push that is enough to send him and his family flying under other forms of traffic which vary from smoke belching trucks to the odd auto-rickshaw.
If you are wondering why all these words are in the title of this blog post, it's not very hard to get to the bottom of why I'm doing this and my locus can very well be guessed. After all this the world is at peace again, the sun rises from the East again and there is a nice cool breeze blowing in the city of Pune in India.
Given that I've deliberately not started driving in the old blighty just to preserve these essential driving skills in India, where if you go into a roundabout, the first person in wins it's been fun. Driving around on the first day of the trip, there were still a few rules left in me . Anyone on a zebra crossing wins, I stop my car and let them pass . However the stares I received in return were as though I was a person from a different planet or a member of a species totally different than the one that inhabits the country we like to call India, Bharat, Hindustan, Jambudvipa ...
Driving down the expressway and then driving in heavy traffic in downtown during peak hours has a cathartic effect. You can put your window down, curse to your hearts content at idiots who decide to overtake you from the left and go to the right or cut right across your path from right to left. There is no place for gentleness, the odd driver of the scooter who decides to sit in the fast lane and plod along at 40kmph on a polite enquiry for overtaking asks you if you are flying a plane to go past him and you respond with either the finger or politely inform him of the risks of a gentle push that is enough to send him and his family flying under other forms of traffic which vary from smoke belching trucks to the odd auto-rickshaw.
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Playing cricket. ...
So, here we go after a long time - about time for a blog post and something regarding a passion for every Indian, cricket. Given that I'm due off on a trip soonish to the old homestead it's probably right to post this now.
Living in the driest part of the UK and having long days in the summer allows you the flexibility and freedom to play. Cricket here is played on a ground - (yes, yes I can hear folks saying where else would you play it ..) without 10 other matches happening simultanenously, on pitches and grounds that vary in large degrees with respect to their quality. Oh and yes, cricket here is played with 22 players wearing whites, a cricket ball ( not a tennis ball, cork ball or a rubber ball) though there are times when you start a game with just 8 players with 3 turning up later. There have been occasions when folks have arrived at the wrong ground because they misheard which team was playing at which ground ! Of-course the fickle English weather can play a devastating effect on the quality of the square not to mention the effect of rabbits and moles on the outfield (Ask my ankle!) There are some groundsmen who've maintained an absolutely high standard throughout this season (think Gonville and Caius) while others who've not bothered and instead have allowed enough grass on the pitch so that it looks more like a tennis court than a cricket pitch (Oh Jesus!) and further others who've just given up (some of the village squares that we played on).
Of-course 20-20 has had an effect, all weekday games are 20-20 while the weekend games can vary between 40 and 45 overs depending on which division of which league you are playing. The 20-20 games are played usually as 15 8 ball overs which makes overweight geezers like yours truly struggle to get past the popping crease after bowling the 4th ball in an over and then curse the innovators ! It is all very civilized - sledging is not something that you do normally nor condone, idle banter usually happens - most folks usually walk and the opposition usually congratulates the bats-person when they reach a major milestone. The best games are when you play an opposition that consists of team-mates from the mid-week games especially if it contains your mid-week captain in it! This is when the banter could reach some dizzy heights. The mid-week games are played at a very different pace to the weekend ones, the weekend ones demand tons of concentration and sustenance, there was one game we played where both the opposition and us scored less than 120 in 45 overs and the opposition won in the very last over, thus there ends up being a good tussle between bat and ball. Ah and that is a par score in 20 overs during the mid-week games.
However the significant achievement of the year for yours truly was hitting the winning runs in a match that meant we tied joint tops in the mid-week leagues. After years of growing horizontally it was interesting to be able to hit the winning runs in a game nearly 9 years since university !
Living in the driest part of the UK and having long days in the summer allows you the flexibility and freedom to play. Cricket here is played on a ground - (yes, yes I can hear folks saying where else would you play it ..) without 10 other matches happening simultanenously, on pitches and grounds that vary in large degrees with respect to their quality. Oh and yes, cricket here is played with 22 players wearing whites, a cricket ball ( not a tennis ball, cork ball or a rubber ball) though there are times when you start a game with just 8 players with 3 turning up later. There have been occasions when folks have arrived at the wrong ground because they misheard which team was playing at which ground ! Of-course the fickle English weather can play a devastating effect on the quality of the square not to mention the effect of rabbits and moles on the outfield (Ask my ankle!) There are some groundsmen who've maintained an absolutely high standard throughout this season (think Gonville and Caius) while others who've not bothered and instead have allowed enough grass on the pitch so that it looks more like a tennis court than a cricket pitch (Oh Jesus!) and further others who've just given up (some of the village squares that we played on).
Of-course 20-20 has had an effect, all weekday games are 20-20 while the weekend games can vary between 40 and 45 overs depending on which division of which league you are playing. The 20-20 games are played usually as 15 8 ball overs which makes overweight geezers like yours truly struggle to get past the popping crease after bowling the 4th ball in an over and then curse the innovators ! It is all very civilized - sledging is not something that you do normally nor condone, idle banter usually happens - most folks usually walk and the opposition usually congratulates the bats-person when they reach a major milestone. The best games are when you play an opposition that consists of team-mates from the mid-week games especially if it contains your mid-week captain in it! This is when the banter could reach some dizzy heights. The mid-week games are played at a very different pace to the weekend ones, the weekend ones demand tons of concentration and sustenance, there was one game we played where both the opposition and us scored less than 120 in 45 overs and the opposition won in the very last over, thus there ends up being a good tussle between bat and ball. Ah and that is a par score in 20 overs during the mid-week games.
However the significant achievement of the year for yours truly was hitting the winning runs in a match that meant we tied joint tops in the mid-week leagues. After years of growing horizontally it was interesting to be able to hit the winning runs in a game nearly 9 years since university !
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Freeview ... yahoo !
On a lazy Saturday morning, one woke up grumbling about toolchains and life in general and then came the thought about the IPL starting. Going through the normal routine about reading more about cricket than watching it thoughts slowly started filtering through the fog. A vague curse rose to the lips regarding planning regulations. Consoling one self about the new youtube channel on cricket and IPL, one went back to thinking and the the penny dropped. You see, this year the IPL would be available on terrestial television in the UK and as resignation turned towards expectation and increasing degrees of smugness, one tuned the t.v. to ITV4 to see Tendulkar walk out to bat. The reason for this gradual increase in smugness is that for 1 year one has felt like a prize goof everytime a good game of cricket has gone on in the world and the television has apparently mocked back at me.
Last year one wrestled up a 42 inch HD t.v. in a hurry hoping to get a particular brand of satellite television and get to watch all the sports in the world. The application for the satellite television had gone out before the television was procured and the engineer turned up 3 days later, took one look at the south wall and went on about planning regulations and having dishes poking out of walls. A red mist descended, though it has receded slowly over the year the feeling of being a prize goof hasn't gone away that quickly.
Gloating was never good for anyone but once in a while one can afford the luxury of saying .. Ha jolly ha !
Last year one wrestled up a 42 inch HD t.v. in a hurry hoping to get a particular brand of satellite television and get to watch all the sports in the world. The application for the satellite television had gone out before the television was procured and the engineer turned up 3 days later, took one look at the south wall and went on about planning regulations and having dishes poking out of walls. A red mist descended, though it has receded slowly over the year the feeling of being a prize goof hasn't gone away that quickly.
Gloating was never good for anyone but once in a while one can afford the luxury of saying .. Ha jolly ha !
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Yeah yeah I was there when Mr. Tendulkar hit 200
Yeah yeah, me my uncle , my mother and everyone else's chacha were there when Sir Tendlya, the boss of cricket scored a 200. We were all there when the following events also happened.
Agree you have done GREAT......
BUT BUT BUT BUT
P.S. It sounds as though cricinfo has ordered some Tendulkar servers ...
100 - Headingley 1990 England - Test drawn
114 - Perth - 1991 Australia - India lost.
155 - Chennai - 1998 Australia - India won.
136 - Chennai - 1999 Pakistan - India lost.
98 - Centurion - 2003 Pakistan - India won.
241 - Sydney - 2003 Australia - India won.
Last over - Calcutta - 1994 South Africa - India Won. (The Hero cup semi-final)
5-36 - Kochi - 1998 Australia - India won.
143 - Sharjah - 1998 Australia - India won.
117 - Sydney ? - 2008 Australia - India won. (Finals of the CB Series)
175 - Hyderabad - 2009 Australia - India lost.
163 - Chennai - 2008 - England - India won.
And like most Indians we cheered loud and clear. Reading about it on websites left one slightly disgruntled at planning regulations. The BCCI's speed at removing highlights videos from youtube for copyright claims left one wondering about efficiencies. Finally finding an opportunity to watch it now leaves one contented after a long week's work and getting the chance to visualize certain comments.
The beautiful flick of the wrists that got a boundary from outside off stump to the midwicket boundary. The non-chalant flick from outside off stump to the midwicket boundary to move from 162 to 168. The double to go past a certain Mr. Anwar who got 194 with a runner in Madras on a humid day in 1997.
But on this day - all ijj well, the cold disappears ever so slightly , the sun appears to stay out longer (only till 5:45 p.m.) - the best batsman in the world has 200 off 147 balls. However the wife, who's typically agnostic to cricket forwarded me an analysis possibly also seen by millions others.
Agree you have done GREAT......
BUT BUT BUT BUT
- 25 x 4s = 100
- 3 x 6s = 18
- It implies that you have scored 118 Runs in 28 Balls.
- And 12 x 2s = 24
- 58 x 1s = 58
- It means you have scored 200 Runs in only 98 balls
- Hence wasted 147-98 = 49 balls
- Considering only 1 run scored on each of these balls you could have earned
- 49 valuable RUNS **for the team*
And hence scored 250 and India 450 - Given this performance the manager has no choice but to award you an appraisal rating of someone who's only achieved expectations and not exceeded it !
If only we were so demanding of the road contractors after the monsoons in Pune...
It certainly does look like this man is on a mission - a mission to win the 2011 world cup. All ye cricket fans plan your vacations in advance, there is only one place to be in 2011.
P.S. It sounds as though cricinfo has ordered some Tendulkar servers ...
Monday, February 15, 2010
Serendipity
Sunday - Valentine's day - what does one do to earn brownie points ? The easiest thing to do was to take the fast train to London, cruise about the Temz and explore parts of London by foot with the wife. Rumours had reached our ears about the existence of an area in London called East Ham and the presence of Saravana Bhavan, Vasanta Bhavan in the general area. This was supposed to be where a Tamilian would find the worth of his salt in the existence of Tayir Saadham (a.k.a Curd Rice, with a seasoning of Curry Leaves, Mustard seeds, salt , green chillies ) ! and the presence of a large number of Cash and Carry stores. Entering one of the cash and carry stores for grocery shopping resulted in a substantial transformation of a swipe into weight for the hands !
Saravana Bhavan is one chain of hotels that prides itself on the taste of its' food being the same across *all* it's kitchens. It was time to verify if this was the case even with the East Ham branch and needless to say that after sampling the necessary items including a full South Indian meal (Full meals Saar!) , an Onion Uthappa , 2 Ghee Pongals the conclusion was reached in the affirmative even if the kitchens are the proverbial 7 seas apart ! There was a consideration to order a Bisibela Bhat or a Ghee Roast but then we've left this for the next time. Advice for others attempting this stunt - please go only after fasting for a day or two !
However as a part of this process, one was asked to sacrifice the Semiya Paayaasam ( a.k.a Kheer, a sweet made with milk and Vermicelli) and after due consideration (which was half a pico second) promptly refused ! Bad Move !
Still searching for the brownie points :(
Books list.
The BBC in a survey in 2003 said that folks only read 6 out of this list of 100 . I've read 36 - the wife's read 36. Is it just the amount of reading that has reduced. What will be the result 5 years hence when the ipad and the Bookstore are all pervasive ? The mind boggles.
P.S. The old adage goes on something about marriages being made in heaven and all that...
Sunday, February 14, 2010
An ode to the German Bakery.
Reading about the cowardly attack on the German Bakery today was quite a scary proposition. The German Bakery holds special value for a lot of folks - foreigners and locals alike. The lethargic ambience, the cup of tea and the wonderful pastries was one of the reasons for it to be a popular hang out joint in Koregaon Park. Having spent many a moon near that area and passing it on the way to work on a daily basis it was quite sad to note the blasts in the area. Immediate thoughts went to friends and family who would usually hang out in that area for a quiet meal or whatever. If one had remained in Pune, it wouldn't have been uncommon to have been having a meal at one of the many great restaurants on North Main Road or transit that road en-route to other restaurants. Saturday evening = Dinner around North Main Road, movie at Ad-Labs.
I hope folks injured by this blast recover quickly and may the souls of those who died rest in peace.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
3 idiots - All ijj well.
A bird told me that Cambridge was hosting the 3 idiots. It meant that we would wander over the few 100 meters to the theatre on a lazy Sunday afternoon. There was no room for us in the theatre. What ? A hindi movie and house full in Cambridge, you must be kidding right ?
It was time to put the record straight - resolutions were made - improving the compiler could wait for a day, dinner out , movie at 645 p.m., leave nothing to chance - book tickets online , buy dinner at the Friendly neighbourhood Subway and let's try and catch it. At the end of 3 hours All ijj well , nothing like a cannily crafted movie with enough subtleties to leave an audience tittering and holding their stomachs as though gongura (or the Faal for the more of my British readers) had gone through it ! Painful ecstacy !
There were some traditional jokes which were very well conveyed including a metaphor passing as a Sanskrit verse ! It was situational comedy at it's very best , a genre being perfected by Rajkumar Hirani - as the NDTV review says (read in hindsight) , this truly is Munna Bhai Part 3. Despite all the controversy about 3 idiots and 5 point someone, one must say that the genesis might come from the book , but the screenplay and plot in this is totally different from the book and probably is far better in its conceptualization. Also the true hero for me isn't Aamir Khan or Madhavan or Boman Irani but Sharman Joshi as Raju Rastogi. True there are exaggerations with inventions out of no-where but who says it's not possible.
If you haven't seen it already , go watch it - enjoy it and probably relive some of your college days - for anyone who's seen any form of hostel life this will ring some wonderful bells and remind you of times long past and incidents that will bring a smile to your face. Everyone will remember a Chatur Ramalingam , a Rancho of the class, a Raju Rastogi , initial ragging for the class and a Viru Sahastrabuddhe !
At the end of the day - All ijj well .......
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