Two rupees

What can you get for two rupees? A banana; a candy bar; a paracetamol; sometimes one drumstick and what else? Read on.

Yesterday I got into a BMTC bus and when the conductor approached, I gave him 10 Rs not knowing how much the ticket would cost. Those who have lived here can agree to this - one can never know how many different kinds of city buses we have here and cost of ticket . Anyway, the conductor gave me 6 rupees back and moved on. First, I was surprised because I had never seen bus fare being this low and more so because the bus looked one of the new kinds (where the tickets are higher for no particular reason than that they look new and colorfully painted) And second he forgot (it's called benefit of the doubt) to give me the ticket.

So, I waited for him to return and mentioned that he forgot to issue me the ticket. He looked at me with disdain(!) and asked me (again) where I wanted to go, to which I replied. Guess what he did next? He snatched the 6 rupees from my half-clenched fist, put that in his bag, thrust 4 rupees in my hand and before I could blink, thrust a 6 rupees ticket in my hand. Now everything became clear to me.

It was an offer. Or to be precise - a deal. Integrity and conscience for 2 rupees. That one is hard to resist, no?

Make green while the sun shines

When we moved in to our own house in Hosur early last year, I and my wife were very excited for many reasons. One of the reasons was to be able to have a garden. Well, why wouldn't you be, when you have more than 250 sq ft just for this. So much was the excitement that we somehow wanted to stuff in three coconut trees, a pomegranate tree, a gooseberry, a sita tree (sugar apple/custard apple) along with two hibiscus and other vegetable plants like tomato, ridge gourd, finger (okra) etc..

Soon we found ourselves working in our future garden. To begin with, we had to remove all the stones, that were laid in the garden each weighing over 50 kilograms. We soon found that what lay beneath the stones was just sand with lot of building debris like broken bricks, concrete blocks, stones etc. We wouldn't have proper fertile soil before digging out the top one foot. Even though this slowed down our progress, it didn't deter us from going to the nursery and buying plants and seeds that we thought could have in our garden. To boost the growth, we added organic fertilizer and also compost in some pockets.

By the time we got rid of the paved stones, enough space and made the soil ready, there came the rainy season. And along with it came a period of 4-6 months where our new garden won't get sun light. Sounds weird? Well, this garden is adjacent to our two storied house on the northern side. And this means, the sun will be behind the house (wrt to the garden) for a good portion of the year. We realized we had a serious problem on our hand.

What shall we do? Obviously, we can't move the garden or the house. And of course, not the Sun. We thought of trying plants which don't need much sunlight, like radish. But that didn't work either. Then I came up with a brilliant idea - to mount a big convex mirror that will reflect sun light on to our garden. Of course this will have rotate as the sun goes about his path. Unfortunately, like most (of my) brilliant ideas, many questions were raised and soon it was left as impractical. But I still get tempted to steal one of those mirrors they have in parking lots when I have an opportunity.

Now, we are in March and the Sun God has finally turned his one eye on us; Or on our garden, to be more precise. Nowadays, the sun is right above the head, which means we are direct sun light on a considerable portion of the garden. The roses and Hibiscus are blooming and few baby tomatoes are gleaming. The goose berry is racing ahead (vertically, I mean) and the coconut tree is not far behind. And guess what - we get few visitors too - butterflies!

And so, we will make some green while the sun shines on us.

News Mongers

And so, after more than 2 days, the Mumbai horror is over. Maharastra chief minister and almost all TV channels claimed the NSG's operation as a great success and all that bullshit. But let me ask you this - would you call it a success? I mean, didn't we lose nearly 200 lives, including 15 security forces just like that? Did we at any point think we won't be able to kill or capture those gunmen? Well, any man with a brain would have known that it was a matter of time and any man with a heart would have worried about losing lives to terrorists than anything else.

What really puts me off is the way the news channels behave - absolutely irresponsible. First of all, I felt they were utter nuisance to the security forces with their nagging questions. Or should I say like hungry monkeys in a banana plantation? How many more terrorists inside? Are you sure? How many more NSG commandos coming in? Sorry? 300 more? The commandos who finished the operation at Nariman house - are they going to Taj again? Really? Don't they need rest? Well, I guess, these men think they are as good as, if not better than, the people who were carrying out those dangerous operations. If they asked me, I would have said, why don't you just go inside and find out yourself.

Second, they helped the criminals by airing the whole operation. Insane, isn't it? All that the news channels want to make is money and name for their company. I used to think that these were responsible people who are here to serve their country and society. Well, you can hang me for making such a blunder. 

Just imagine this: In the final stages of the operation Black Thunder (wasn't that the name)  at Nariman house, one security person was trying to find if there were more gunmen from outside. I didn't quite understand what he was doing. He had a long pole with something attached at it's far end (perhaps a mirror) and placing at the window. And our smart reporter, as though had just won an Olympic medal, exclaimed, "These are live pictures coming to you, exclusively on our bloody channel. As you see, these men have to be extremely careful and ensure that no more gunmen are inside. These security men are experts and they use these stealth methods blah blah blah". Just imagine something like this, of course in a voice with an accent and not-so-good English. I only hope that I am not the first one to tell that bonehead that it wasn't a secret any more and that the whole world, including the terrorist network, knew that by then.

But let me tell you this. These people are really creative. How about their captions for instance? Mumbai on war or India's 9/11 or War over, for now. How about their tickers with the death toll and time since it started, just like a cricket update? How cool is that? How about their Breaking News? RDX found! No RDX found! RDX found! To these jokers, a rumour is as good as a news. I don't know if these blokes hold any special degree on journalism. But weren't they told that any responsible citizen, let alone a press person, must verify a news or rumour before spreading it? Such a shame, isn't it?

Oh, anyways, it will all be over in a day or two and the TV will get something else to chew about. And perhaps, we will forget soon too. These things have happened too many times to remember. And I am growing older as well. But what about those who suffered? Their lives have taken a severe  beating - just like that.

Finally...

... the decision has been made to ban smoking in all public places in India. Honestly, I am very very pleased with the decision. Sure, it is going to make the smokers' life difficult. But what matters is that those who have been passive smokers all along can breathe freely. I hope (in fact, I am pretty sure) that the smokers will find a way.

Now it will be interesting to see how well this is executed.

Olympics - Not for India

Yet another Olympics but the story is same as far as India is concerned. As in the past, few (read one or two) pleasant surprises, few positives here and there and loads of disappointment. While all Indians were hoping for a good performance through some miracle, most of us knew that the reality would be completely different. Yes, there were over a billion prayers. But you see, god only helps he who truly deserves; he who puts an earnest effort.

Don't get me wrong here. I didn't mean to offend any of the folks who represented us in the Olympics. When I said effort, it's not the men who represented us in the Olympics. I meant 'us'. The country as a whole. I know the players gave what they possibly could have. However they were simply not in the same plane as the others who took the glory.

A lot has already been discussed and one big reason you would hear often is that we do not get high-quality facilities or experienced trainers. I would say that over the years we have come out of that. Somebody who spoke for Doordarshan during the Olympics was very disappointed with an athlete who had been training in the US with an experienced trainer. His disappointment was understandable partly because the athlete wasn't even close to his personal best at the Olympics. The point is, things definitely have changed. All these people going to Olympics do have coaches, physical trainers etc. So, what is my rationale? What answers have I got? Well, actually I have a bunch of questions for you.

• How many of us have played some sports at a competitive level apart from Cricket?
• We all dream and hope that the country produce good athletes. We even wonder why we have not produced many world-class athletes. But how many of us want our kids to be one of them?
• How many of us went to a school where sports gets its due importance? Or how many of us have known or look for such schools for our children? How many schools don't have a proper playground these days?

So, have you figured out yet? Sports is only a theoretical form of entertainment for most of us. Be at any lunch with men and you will hear lot of English Premiere League or Formula One. And be prepared to hear hundreds of technical terms and advices for the players. However, it's anybody's guess whether they have played any of these at all. It doesn't cost much to sit in front of the television and learn the game. But to play? Remember the kid who got beaten or chided by his mom for coming home with bruises? After all we are the great Indians who never take the ugly-looking cheap plastic-cover off our mobile phones or the remote controls or the car seats. How can we possibly allow our kids to have a scar, for a silly game of football?

In the past few years, acaedmics (it's a different story that the 'study' offers no real value to the kids apart from money) has completely removed sports from our life. Well, what else can happen if the kids spend all their time with textbooks? Physical Training periods are given away to mathematics or physics or Chemistry. Holidays can be taken over by special classes. But to play? Don't even talk about it. Don't be surprised, it'll soon be a taboo.

Often we hear that we can't perform even though we have more than a billion people. But the truth is, only a very small portion get the exposure. And there is no guarantee that this bunch is the best or the most talented in the country. Result: They compete at a level that is much lower than what is possible; Lack of competition sets a very low standard.

This is worrying because it's a lot more than just an infrastructure thing. It's somehow gotten to our culture. It could be years for sports to become a part of our life, if at all it can happen. It might have been as easy to me to put it in a different way - like what India needs to do for a better Olympics show. However, I am not sure if there is 'the other end' of the tunnel. Pessimist me!

When East meets West

A perfect blend of East and West - Sounds familiar? If it does, then you are probably one among the millions of (probably desperate) Indian men; Men who are looking for their better-half (many would settle for a better-quarter) over internet.

For those ignorant souls out there, this is the phrase you would find in almost all girls' profiles on Indian matrimonial websites. If you come across this, then you are to understand that the girl is educated, working, has a western appearance (western outfit, short/straightened/colored hair etc) and yet bound by Indian culture. But this is about how much I can say about the culture or westernization aspect, for I wouldn't know where the line is, if at all there is one. This is something that has been conveniently used by all parents to lure men or grooms' parents. Forgive me for using such a word, but I am quite confident that this is the idea with which the advertisers post their story.

Oh, just hold it there. An example alighting from an auto-rickshaw and walking our way; At a distance in a pretty decent western attire - a formal trouser and a shirt. Well, wait a second. The shirt seems just about long enough to reach the belt. And worse, she seems to be so conscious about the waistline being thrown open as she moves. In the course of few seconds, she tries to pull her shirt and cover her waist quite a few times, albeit unsuccessfully. Hmm...I am sure she knows the shirt is too short. As we just watched, we know that as well. And why not, she knows that we got to know what she already knew. (I have always wanted to use such a sentence, you see) So, what on earth is she trying to do? While you are trying to figure out, I would like to share two points that come to my mind.

1. Obviously, the girl was not comfortable with the dress. The girls I know site the comfort factor as the reason for turning western. But where is the comfort if she has to correct her dress every other second or if she just cannot move about freely? Or is it same as the few strands of hair left loosely meant just to fall on the forehead? Whatever it is, I hope many folks will agree that it's an unnecessary distraction.

2. She is trying to prove to the world and perhaps to herself what this generation parents are trying imbibe in our girls - that she is A perfect blend of East and West.

The rules:
It's okay to wear sleeveless. But be careful not to raise your hand, for you represent the Indian culture.
Short shirts/tops are fine too. But never show your waistline even if the shirt is not long enough, for if you did you will bring shame upon your culture.

So, you get the idea now, don't you?

Who is an interesting person?

I know this can be relative. But I would like to hear from you people. If you didn't understand the question, then let me rephrase for you.

What, in your opinion, makes a person interesting? (Or)
What kind of person would you call interesting?

From what I have seen around, this "interestingness" (I own the copyright to this word) is somewhat associated to a person's idiosyncrasies. Or should I say those who choose to be different often are labeled as idiosyncratic.

Alright, alright! Having subdued my top part of the brain, here is what I come up with. Something that might make sense to you.

I would say a person is interesting when he or she has a wider range of interests that overlaps with you and pursues them.

Your thoughts please.

I leave the comments to you

An update

So, the much awaited news is here. I am getting married. Yes, you heard it right. I will be married on May 14th of this year. Humm, am I going to miss my bachelorhood? ;)

Courage

Came across this.
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear." — Ambrose Redmoon

Sign of greediness or contention?

I have been promoted at work. I have just been told that I am doing a good job. I have been given a considerable hike, just months after a hike that was even bigger than this one. And just like that, I have got two promotions and 5 hikes in the last 3 years.

Alright, that's for the news part. You want to know what my problem is? The problem is that I am not happy. Not that I am unhappy about this. Let me make it clear. I mean, my reaction to this promotion has been an indifferent one. It's been the same story on almost every previous occasions. Very strange, indeed. And this is compounded by the way those that are close to me reacted to this. True, there were few handshakes and lets-go-for-treat calls. But sparing one (or may be two) excited squeaks, the reaction amongst my close-ones has been conservative. Not surprising really, considering the fact that the one who has every reason to be excited about isn't.

My father worked for the Government in the era, where hikes were hard to come by and promotions asked a lot out of you, including years of toiling. However, there wasn't a single hike or promotion without a celebration with the family. The sweets tasted tastier than ever. The meagre extra money that was promised every month brought so much joy to the family; Had so much value in it. And they were better days to live in.

So, what's wrong with me or the world now?. (I am part of this world and I believe that this world has to be partially at blame too)
It's true that since the last promotion, there hasn't been significant improvement in me in terms of skills or knowledge. But it's also true that those who are already there, where I have just reached aren't any better than me. (And like always, there are exceptions) And so, technically, comparing myself with others, I deserve this promotion. But what really is a promotion? Isn't it a reward for your improvement? isn't a way of telling a person, "Well, we are impressed". How good is a promotion that is drawn against time on the 'X' axis?

So tell me, why am I not happy? Or should I rephrase the question - What makes me happy?

"I am not perfect. But I know what perfection is"

Behind one another

My fellow Indians continue to amuse me. By every small thing they do. By their never ending enthusiam to compete; to fight; To fight for their right. To fight for that 10C seat that has been reserved for them in the Chennai - Bangalore flight.

People were up and at the gate even before the gate was open for boarding. Some, as though all they needed was a spark to lead, joined the line. And before long, the line was menacingly long. Soon a sense of hurry spread amongst the remaining. Who wants to be left out, eh? In a jiffy, all that was left in seats was I with a few despirited folks. Talk about pressure and this is it. The longer the line, the pressure piles up.

Just seeing so many people before one makes them forget the fact that they actually can think; That they do not have to worry about their seat; That there are people to take care of their baggages.

Reason? Beats me. But I wonder if those privileged men were surprised to see me landing in Bangalore at the same time. Well, I agree this has given me a topic to write about. However, the sight of people in line makes me sick. I see them every day everywhere. From morning till I return back home. The mini line before boarding my daily cab to office, the line to buy lunch coupon, at the food counter, at the water pot. Geez, where do we get so many people from!

Here is an interesting and funny way to look at this. This is from a column that the great writer Late. R.K. Narayanan wrote.

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The future historian will in all probability say, 'There are ample signs that people everywhere stood behind one another for hours and hours and the file stretched away for miles. Why they did it we will never understand, particularly as there seemed to have been plenty of space all around where they could have spread out. They seemed to have learnt that style from ants. The one behind took exactly the same number of steps as the one ahead, and if he stopped the other stopped. Why they did it we can never understand as we have no means of judging the inner stresses of those times. All that we are able to gather is that if a man's longevity was twenty-seven years, he spent a total of twenty years standing in various queues, at bus-stands, railway stations, ration depots, cloth-shops, cinema houses and every kind of public place. Considering the time spent this way it is surprising how they managed to find the time to carry on their normal domestic or economic activities.'

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Personally CCed

I am a software engineer and like others I receive hundreds of e-mails a week. I know it's not difficult to understand how close these modern software professionals are with electronic mails. There are many kinds of e-mails that you see every day like spam, forwarded mails, please-forward-to-all-you-know mails, account statements, personal mail etc. However, today's focus will be on one kind that never failed to put me off. The one that makes a mockery of human-feelings. The mail that personally invites you to a wedding. The mail that, without fail, says 'treat this as my personal invitation'.

Are you seeing what I am about to talk about? Good. Well, I have been seeing these for the past several years and perhaps I should have been got used to it. But I have not. Instead it annoys me every time. In India, for most of the (unlucky) people, marriage is a once-in-lifetime occasion and traditionally the idea has been inviting everyone that the bride and groom's family know. In other words, the bigger the gatherings, more the blessings. And hence, it has been the pleasure of the bride/groom to invite people. Alas! These days, we have no time for such thoughts, let alone practicing it.

I am bewildered. What is it about sending an email to hundreds of contacts in your address book and put them all in CC or BCC list. There you go! Hundred invisible people invited in 5 minutes. Now the question is not how busy one is to personally meeting everyone and inviting. The real question is how much you want their presence. One can argue that he/she remembered you and that's why you are copied on that e-mail. But I don't buy that. I can counter that an e-mail wish or an online greeting card can definitely substitute my personal wishes. Can't it? Because, it is easier for me to do that than presenting myself at the wedding.

Having said that, one can argue that in the modern world, one gets so little time for oneself. Where is the time for all these touchy-feely things? Whatever little you have, you spare them for your family and beloved!

But this sums up the current situation. Time has changed. Traditions are being let go. But do you really think e-mails can go as far as human feelings and respect? If you are saying 'no', I see your point.

Note: CC - Carbon Copy, BCC - Blind Carbon Copy

Hongkong on a rainy day

A couple of photos from my HongKong trip. I have these on 360.yahoo.com as well. However, I am not satisfied as they shrunk the photos.

My tryst with dream

I am not a dreamer. No, I am not meaning that I do not have wishes that sound like dreams. I have plenty of them. I mean, I do not dream when I sleep. Sometimes when I am awfully sick, I get what one might call nightmares. Like someone abducts me, puts me in a small box with my hands and ankles tied. I am bathing in sweat inside the air-tight box and could barely emit any audible sound, let alone screaming for help.

I almost always had dreamy nights as a small boy. A couple of them, which repeatedly filled my nights. The first one offered me wings, which when flapped will make me airborne. Interestingly the wings needed some take-off run. I never figured why. But I never had time to think as someone was always behind my life. And the other dream always gave me money (only coins) whenever and wherever I dug the ground.

A lot has been said about dreams as to why they come and what they mean. In my opinion, dreams reflect one's state of mind when he/she is not sleeping. Or may the dreamer's recent thoughts. That's probably why I found only coins and not currency bills. A small boy needed only little money to buy things that he needed. Hence, coins would suffice. A newer version of that dream would definitely bring a blank cheque written on my name when I dug open the ground.

I am tempted to say that dreams one get might have something to do with how interesting a person is. This statement, unfortunately puts me in the most-boring category. I am afraid that all the years I spent at school studying science has probably taken away my imagination. I seek reason in everything that happen around me. Even in things as subtle and natural as why a girl is possessive. Well, when this happens, you know something is clearly wrong. In my case, I lost my imaginative sense. It must have been a smooth transition. Because I do not remember when this really happened or started to happen. In any case, my dreams as though to punish me for this gave up on me.

As I take time and give it a serious thought, things appear to be clearer. It's I, who deserted my dreams. It's I, who decided not to dream; who wanted to be a so-called rational man; who thought dreams are not for a man who has confidence in himself; who thought dreaming was child's act.

What happened today is pleasing. I dreamed. Yes, you heard me right. I dreamed for real (!) during my Sunday afternoon siesta. It's like being born once again.

The dream is about a special space ship that promises to take me from a foreign land to my country on a small boy's recommendation. I am offered a ventilated room in the layered space ship. They warn me about the danger of being tossed about in air; of being torn apart by the fiercesome air in and out through the openings. Nevertheless, I accept the offer and we take off. The vehicle was too fast, even for a dream. It was fast and period. In a jiffy, we land. During the flight, I had lost everything in the turbulence that took place in my cabin, except my clothes I had on me. I check my new sneakers. They are alright and I am happy they are. I ask about our whereabouts. "Hold your breath - we are in Africa.", comes the reply.

And that's where I woke up and the dream ended. I badly wanted this one to go on. But you know, you are only as lucky as the dreams want you to be. Things work in a different way here. You are nothing but a puppet here. You can't control things as you do in real life. That's dream for you.

Meanwhile, I am hoping that my second stint with dreams will continue. Hope - well that's all I can do and that's about how much control I have over them.

And you think I am rude?

A conversation between Jack Nicholson (plays the role of a famous writer) and a front desk girl in the movie 'As good as it gets'.

Girl: "How do you write women so well?"
Jack: "Well, I think of a man, then I take away reason and accountability"

Now, that will make any woman furious, won't it? ;)

Worth of General Knowledge

Are you good at General knowledge? You might be interested in knowing this!!!

While I was browsing, comes a popup with a question and says the winner could win an Apple iPod.

The question is :

Whose butt is this? (picture provided on the popup as well)
A. Shakira
B. Madonna
C. Jennifer Lopez

This is such a funny world.

A father's feelings

Whoever said men can't express their feelings? Here is a mail I have got from a friend of mine who has just become a father.

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I didn’t expect my daughter to change me as much as I have.

You get such a strong sense of responsibility. I mean even when holding her – you feel as if her life depends on you, so if I am holding her, I wont drink hot tea! There is no time left in the day. The 3 hour sleep cycles take their toll. We try to “over-feed” her at bed time so that maybe she can sleep for 4 hours and maybe it will be easier to get up, feed and calm her.

Its not going to make any sense to you right now but you probably will understand one day. I thought I knew, having seen my brother and few friends go thru the same, but I knew nothing. To give an example: I have seen kids sandwitched between their parents - probably to protet them from Wind and cold. I used to think it was stupid as the kid is anyway more heavily dressed than the parents, but I now think that is very logical and natural thing to do.

One day you will know.

She is back!

I today saw her setting a new world record for the longest voice message ever left. More than 3 minutes! Can anyone beat that?

And... she laughed a couple of times too! (please read the previous post to get the context)