What do I write about?

The last few days have been very run of the mill kind of days.  Basically, I have been busy with work.  I want to watch the T20 matches but the matches that start at 6:00pm have been usually quite boring ones with Ireland or Netherlands or Bangladesh or one of the minnows playing.  By 9:50pm, I am too tired to stay up till midnight to watch the second T20 match of the day.

Yesterday night, I did watch India stink up the joint against the West Indies.  Dwayne Bravo is in sublime form right now.  Though, I have to say that many Indian batsmen played terrible shots to get out.  Dhoni doesn’t seem himself with the bat and watching them struggle against the bowling of Kieron Pollard, Suleiman Benn etc was horrible to see.  Anyhow, we need to win the remaining matches against Egland and South Africa to have a chance to qualify.

We have been searching for a house to buy in Marathahalli, Brookefield and Whitefield areas.  We have finally liked one place and are thinking about booking this flat.  Buying a house in Bangalore is tough.  While people say that things are bad for real estate, it may be true for Tier II and III builders but not for Tier I builder.  They have reduced prices little bit but not nearly enough to make it super attractive or anything.  Anyhow, wish me luck with this purchase.

Some friends from work are coming over with their families for dinner tonight and watch the Super 8s.  My son will have some company as my friend has a 2 year old.    We will just order some pizzas and coke to wash it down with.  I know it is the unhealthiest food around but it is the most convenient when a larger group is meeting.

ANyhow, more after the party tonight….

Driving in Bangalore

I think there have been quite a few posts written on it but I seriously feel strongly about a need to drive some sense into the drivers.  Some things I would like to tell the drivers here:

1. Making a right turn does not mean you come into the right lane (blocking oncoming traffic) to make a turn
2. When it says “No Free Left turn”, it precisely means that.  When the light is red, you CANNOT make a left turn.  Please do not expect the guy in front of you to move if the light is red no matter how much you honk.
3. When there is a traffic jam, no amount of honking will get you out of it
4. Please be considerate to pedestrians and don’t stop you car 1 feet from the pedestrians feet, as if you are the king of the road
5. If you pass a car/truck/bus etc on the left, once in a while please expect to get hit as well
6. Just because the lane for oncoming traffic is empty does not mean you start driving in that lane
7. When making a right turn at light, there is only lane to turn right.  Don’t make 3 right turn lanes and block people who want to go straight

The above were just few of the issues on the road here.  The police are also mute spectators.  I understand regulating traffic amongst drivers who follow no driving sense is in itself a pain, but there needs to be more attention paid to it.

One idea I have been toying around is a way to reward traffic policeman for every violator they catch.  Here is one suggestion:

1. Have traffic police use blackberrys or write tickets on their pads
2. The driver has to go to the court to pay the fine and get a clearance certificate from the court with his sign on it (people hate courts so this will be a deterrent)
3. The traffic police gets 15% of the fine added to his monthly pay cheque
4. Regular traffic patrols to ensure traffic policemen/women are not taking bribes and not issuing tickets to the offenders

Yes, I understand there can be corruption here too.  However, I would say out of the total force of traffic police at least 50% don’t want to take bribes.  This initiative can help theis group of 50% policemen and can ensure that at least some semblance of sanity can rule on the Bangalore roads.

Similarly, I also know drivers who want to follow lane discipline but get frustrated in the unruly traffic and become part of the problem.  I have followed lane discipline, sat behind buses for a while, changed lanes with blinkers on etc.  Yes, people will say I am too americanised.  May be so, but if I want that roads become better and if I want to talk about it, I have to follow all the rules of the road first.

This is not a criticism of every single driver of Bangalore but to people who break rules precisely because they know they can get away with it.

What beautiful weather!!!

It has been blustry and damp since last night.  While coming back from work, we had rain all the way home on Airport Road.  At night, winds started howling and I love the sound of winds blowing through the small crevices in the closed windows.  The wind was and is cold even this morning.  My son finally ordered me to put some socks on for him, something he has not worn in close to 6 months.

My son had his second day in nursery at Vibgyor School in Marathahalli yesterday.  The school decided to split kids in his playschool class between 7 sections of nursery.  So, now all the friends of my son are split up.  He hated his 1st day of school.  However, for the second day, a friend of his from our apartment complex got admitted into his section.  I thought that would make a difference!  No way!!  Both were crying incessantly.  It was like triveni sangam of Ganga-Jamuna-Saraswati in full flow from the eyes of the two.  Luckily, an old teacher of DS saw him crying and took him to the class.  He came out smiling at the end of the hour which was a relief for me.  While I know that the initial days after a long vacation are tough for young kids, you still feel bad when they long for you, raise their arms towards you to pick them up, hold on to your legs all the while filling the eyes with liquid called tears.

I asked him what he did in the class and he told me that he asked Madam for a biscuit and got it.  At least he seems to be asking for things now instead of shying away.  A funny incident happened last night while I was telling him a story about Karodimal.  This is all I told him in Gujarati:

“There was a man named Karodimal.  He was a kanjoos (miser)”.

I then asked him ” Do you know what kanjoos is?”  He said “Yes, Kanjoos is Karodimal.”

I had a good laugh.  Thus ended last night.

T20 World Cup 2009 poll

India v/s USA

This is an old post that I had written on blogspot about 4 years back when I was in the US.  It is still applicable and I still feel the same way.

*********************

I have been meaning to write on this topic for a while. Ever since I arrived to USA for my undergraduate studies, I have heard arguments between Indians born in the US about what is bad about India and Indians living in India who find bad things, or things they can laugh about and point to say that people are the same everywhere.

Having been in the US and India almost an equal amount, my thinking is a bit different on this. I am more indian as far as thinking is concerned i.e. more social, less win at all costs etc. type of thinking. So, my thinking follows the perspective of those Indians living in India.

My brother(s) waste no time in telling me how this or that is not right in the USA. Admittedly, that is true. You can always find things that are not good in the US. However, one thing we Indians should keep in mind is that there are a lot of things in India we need to fix first. For example, when we are in India, we keep our house clean but when we are out, we throw garbage on the streets and anywhere we can find a place. However, the very same people, when they come to the US find a garbage bin to throw waste in. That could be partly due to the implementation of littering laws and partly because their immediate relatives in US ask them to follow the rules. This is just a small example.

My philosophy is that we should always keep our house clean first. Instead of finding things that are bad in other countries or something that can be laughed at, won’t change the reality back home in India. We are lucky to be blessed with awesome brains, hard work, best teachers, spirituality etc. However, our trying to become like the US, our thirst to become superpower, to ape the west etc. is taking away from all the unique talents we have in us as Indians. We have to remember that we can become just like the US, but still not be like them in that we don’t need to win at all costs, by sometimes pushing the weak ones aside, by resorting to wars abroad to stamp our authority. We can spread our knowledge (like we are doing now), spread our culture/religion (not convert anyone to it) etc. We have given a lot to this world and we are still giving the world in terms of technology, medicine etc. We should not be satisfied with just being like the west in terms of economy, but should rise much above that with our talent, which seems to be enormous and is strong in many fields.

We have given the world the number zero, scientists in many fields including medicine, engineering. Currently, our engineers are contributing heavily to many countries’ technology prowess. Our doctors are in demand, our teachers are in demand in many parts of the developed world. Instead of saying “Haha, see things like corruption that happen in India also happen in the US”, we should be first fixing corruption at home so that people could look up to us and rightfully follow our lead. What’s the point in being achieving something that others have already achieved? As a goal, it is okay, however it is better to rise above it.

Yes, I know part of the reason why Indians in India try to compare and laugh at americans and indian americans is because of certain indian americans’s shenanigans when they go to india. For example, gargling their mouths using bisleri water, complaining about pollution etc. True, it is not needed. However, it is also true that pollution exists in India. However, instead of saying that US is highest in pollution, let’s clear the pollution up in India first. Then you can stand up and be an example for them.

Let’s try to fix all our things first and with hard work, we can surpass everyone in this world as we have the deadly combination of brains, ability, hard work capability as well as the most important, our heritage and spiritual bacground. We have given the world Vivekananda, Yoganand, Patanjali, Raman and some of the best literature in form of Tagore. Why should we be satisfied with just be good as others? Let’s be the best we can be.

Zaica restaurant review

This is a review about the restaurant called Zaica on Brookefield Road which goes towards EPIP.  This is a place which is right above the Nilgiris grocery store.

The restaurant ambience is good.  You are greeted warmly by a lady upon your arrival.  The seating space is good and the place is clean.  When it is hot outside, please do not sit near the glass window.  For some reason, the circulation of A/C is horrible there.

I have only gone there only for lunch so, we had buffet.  The buffet is quite simple and doesn’t contain too many items.  They have couple of soups (veg and non-veg), 2 starters (each for veg and no-veg), some raita/salad. The starters are generally ok.  Their sweet corn soup was quite good (different soup everyday) and this is from a perdson who does not like corn at all.

For lunch, they had different varieties of paneer tikka (awadhi, achari, white etc) each occasion I went there plus another appetizer.  They have generally 2 entrees.  I have been there a few times and have like their mixed vegetable sabzi everytime.  They serve either naan or roti at your table.

For desserts they typically have jalebi, phirni, sometimes boondi ladoo (I loved them) etc.

Their lunch buffeet is Rs. 250 unless they have jacked up the prices. Overall I would recommend this restaurant to anyone.  It gets quite full on weekdays so, reserve a table in advance, if possible.

Their menu is limited but the taste is good so, people who don’t want to have too much variety to pick from, can go to this restaurant.

Rating: ****

Communalism and Equal Rights

I am not a politician or even a writer. However, I am concerned with what I am seeing in India. There are couple of aspects that really worry me about the country. One is when politicians try to brand themselves as secular/non-communal and others who subscribe to another ideological theory.

I have seen the Congress party claim that BJP is communal. Why? Because it has affiliations with RSS, who in turn has affiliations with VHP? However, if you look at the dictionary, ‘communalism’ is defined as follows:

Main Entry: com•mu•nal•ism
Pronunciation: -n&l-”i-z&m
Function: noun
1 : social organization on a communal basis
2 : loyalty to a sociopolitical grouping based on religious or ethnic affiliation
- com•mu•nal•ist /-n&l-ist/ noun or adjective

If you read the above dictionary meaning of communalism carefully, then Congress itself is guilty of being communal, as they so frequently like to label their opposition. Congress has been in power for greater part since India’s independence from the British Raj. Right from Shahbano case to appeasing the minorities to reservations, they have shown partiality to one religious entity or grouping. This is communal. Regardless of whether BJP or other opposition parties are communal, the fact remains that being communal seems to apply to all the political parties combined.

To get this, I want equal rights for all the citizens on India. I have good reasons for that. In the past 50+ years, we have provided minorities and majority religious groups alike with several provisions such as reservation of up to 30-60% in government and PSUs for minorities depending on where you work, and what state you work in. Similarly, majority Hindus are provided provisions for HUF for tax relief purposes. What has this got us? The net result has been that more and more groups, caste based communities etc. are vying for spots on the valuable backward class lists. You cannot tell me this can be considered a country moving in the right direction. In a minority religious Muslim community, a man can have up to 4 wives, can say talaq 3 times and divorce his wife without any government interference. Is this right? Why should Muslim Law Board decide the laws of marriage for Muslims? There should be same laws for all the citizens of the country.

I am not an anti-muslim but I also do not believe that this is the way to bring a community to mainstream and if the people do not want to come to mainstream then this is a huge government problem. I would like to make it clear that I do not believe in preventing anyone from practicing their religious beliefs however, I do believe in every community encouraging their members to diversify, learning science, mathematics, some INDIAN history etc. besides their own religious studies as well.

Students from minority communities could be encouraged by giving scholarships/low interest loans if they join college. If PSUs or Private sector companies hire employees of minority community, they could be given some tax benefit. This is one way to encourage minority community to enter the mainstream, to explore new opportunities and as a result be helpful in taking India forward to a better future.

I am dead set against minority commissions which damage their communities even more by keeping them from joining the mainstream with their policies. Bringing in equal rights will eliminate that aspect and possibly herald a new future for the minority and some of the less fortunate folks from SC/ST groups.

I want to see India grow and her talents not get wasted by useless divisions and wedges that our political parties (Esp. Congress) have created. Remember, I am being so severely harsh on Congress because they have ruled for majority of years in the post-Independence era. Look, giving 5% electricity to farmers, reservations in private sectors, and special rules for religious communities etc will not help this country move forward. For us to achieve this, equal rights or common civil code is an absolute must.

Power of Nature

Next few days I will publish my old posts from blogspot, where I used to maintain the blog in 2006.  Here is one of them.  This is close to my heart and I feel this still applies in 2009 and going forward.

***********************************************************************************

Power of Nature

It has been seen recently that nature’s fury has been striking at various places. Places like Gujarat (earthquake and recent floods), Mumbai (37 inches of rain in a day), Orissa (floods), Tsunami (South Asia), Famine (parts of Africa), floods in Czech republic, heat waves in various parts of the world and now the hurricane and destruction of New Orleans, Biloxi and parts of alabama in the USA.

I am not a scientist by any means and don’t wish to get into a scientific debate on what is causing this. However, one simple thing I learned long back is that when you hurt or mess with nature, it will strike back with all its fury and wrought destruction, no matter how powerful you think you are.

Due to human interference in nature – felling trees to build roads, clearing our forests to build complexes or some resorts, reclaiming land from ocean/sea, not to mention severe over-population in parts of the world, emitting chemicals, gases etc in the air. None of this can help nature.

During the tsunami, there was a place in Tamil Nadu, which was less affected than others by the tsunami. Why? Because it had natural protection from the series of coconut trees which lined the coast. If these trees had been cut for some awesome view or because it was a hindrance, this village would have suffered a disaster, like many others along the Tamil Nadu coast.

I have always believed that if you need to chop of trees for road build up or to bring up houses, double that amount should be sown nearby. This not only helps retain the eco-system of that area but also helps with the beauty, provides sucour to the plenty of birds and small insects who consider these trees home and makes the area look beautiful.

Another issue is of polluting the oceans, lakes, rivers etc with chemicals, food, plastic bags etc. Why can’t people realize that this is the same water which is going to be used by us for drinking and by the animals that need it? In India, we take a very casual attitude towards the whole situation. We instead try to blame the government or show our helplessness of the situation and say things like “Nothing is going to change” etc. Due to this, fishes and other animals that depend on the water in lakes and rivers suffer. Additionally, this causes the people who depend on them (e.g fishermen) to suffer even more.

People really need to look at their priorities as it pertains to the environment and nature. It has become a trigger happy world. We want certain foods all times of the year. We want crops to grow faster and bigger and hence, we modify the genes of the seeds. We want big buildings, wider roads, cars with bigger engines which can go fast, but don’t realize that we need to achieve all of these things by not disturbing the nature. Nature has a place in this universe and especially on this planet. We have to remember that we share space with nature and it is a very delicate balance. If, we as a people, disturb this balance, nature will react with all its might and we have seen that we are quite helpless in that scenario.

Another day from the home office

Well, my son still continues to suffer from fever.  Everytime he takes paracetamol (Crocin), the temperature comes down and then rises back again.  So, I am back working from home and trying to juggle him with my conference calls and emails   It is fun and I can kind of understand how much work it is to go to work, cook, clean and tend to a child.  I think I would be terrible if I had to do it full time so, full credit to my wife who does it quite seamlessly.

While at home, I get to watch all the kiddie show and current favourite of my son is “Chhota Bheem”.  It is quite clean and little educational, no where as educational as Dora though.  I enjoyed the Bheem show though and wouldn’t mind seeing it again.  We are again hooked to shows on National Geographic and Animal Planet.  It is so much nicer to learn about nature than to watch mindless soaps or slapstick comedy programs.

Thinking of Chhota Bheem and Dora, I am reminded about the monkey that is roaming around in our complex.  It is scary though, as he has peacefully gone into people’s flats (courtesy an open balcony) and into their kitchen and grabbed whatever food he wants (banana, water melon etc).  I have heard he has sat near the phone for close to 1/2 hour munching on the goodies he found in the house.  I have actually seen him playing with a dog whom the owner decided to leave outside in the balcony, while he went inside.  Interestingly, the dog never barked once.  May be, he is also surprised to see a monkey in the neighbourhood   Let’s see when he decides to leave us but, till then we make sure our balconies are closed since we want to take no chances with our toddler.

Day’s musings

I came home yesterday and found that my 3 year old son has fever, though he was in a pretty good spirits.  That is the thing with kids getting sick.  Parents feel more for the kid than the kid themselves.  They are generally in jovial mood unless the temperature goes beyond 100C or if they start feeling lethargic.

I finally got to have my favourite fruit- Black Jamuns.  Our driver saw them with some sabziwala so, he bought them for me.  I guess in Tamil it is called “Nagapalam”.  Interesting..I learn new things everyday.

Additionally, I had worked out early in the morning yesterday and then I worked out again in the afternoon.  Surprisingly, I still feel refreshed.  I did about 50-60 push-ups yesterday.  I don’t intend to do that many everyday, but I wanted to find out how far my body can go and looking at how I feel today, it seem I can probably do even more.   So, I guess it is all in the mind.

I have started doing meditation in the morning around 5:30am.  Although I am unable to go beyond 5 minutes, I feel it will come with time and concentration.   I still get thoughts flooding in while I concentrate on breathing and each thought takes me away from my concentration.  I just need to stick to it.  One thing I can say is that this routine of meditation and exercise keeps me quite fresh throughout the day.  I have also started to listen more to people.  I don’t break their conversation as often as I used to, and I believe working at the subconscious level helps break all these bad tendencies.