A couple of good ones.

Life of Pi - I am not sure what my thoughts are for the novel after reading it. Here is a story which is at once unbelievable but perhaps extraordinarily told. Actually I don't know if it was the fascinating account of the survival means adopted by Pi in the novel or just the desire to know the winner of the contest between a dreaded hunter, the tiger, and the most intelligent creation on earth, the man. I think its definitely worth one read.

The namesake - I had not read Jhumpa Lahiri before. Now I want to read her bad to figure out if she is consistent in delivering quality stuff. This novel is not about a dream man, doing dream things in a dream world. It's about a common man, as common as you and I are and the various phases of his life, as a student, his experience as a non resident Indian visitor, as a grown up and above all as a confused man trying to figure out life. There is nothing extraordinary about any of the characters and perhaps that's the extraordinary thing about this book.

Unseen, unknown territory.... unexplainable feelings

DEATH. What does it mean? Rather what does it feel like? Last February I was in Delhi where my father was undergoing his second heart operation. One evening I saw this cute little girl,One of the cutest faces I had ever seen, playing with my father, who was doing his post surgery recovery. Later my father told me that she has a hole in the heart which can not be corrected and all the doctors have given up. I do not know who to feel bad for more, the little angel or her parents, who knew their little angel has a very short time with them? Perhaps the worst kind of mental torture a parent can go through! A known terminal illness.

I do not know, why today I was reminded of that little girl. I do not know if she is still braving her illness or if she has succumbed. But hers is a face, I doubt I will ever forget. And I wish all the best to your parents and to you, where ever you are, LITTLE ANGEL.

Unseen divisions

India is an Union of states. Too many of them actually. Unity in diversity, as was/is taught to us in schools. But this has also created many divisions amongst us. So many languages, so many cultures (whats that?) and so many cuisines!!! As a result, at workplaces we often see statewise pools. Can we blame them? Not really. India does not have a national language. It has official langauges and they also vary from state to state. Does not one feel comfortable in speaking in one's mother tongue? Don't you and I feel comfortable at home? And that is precisely the problem. Because of such regional divide, unfortunately, biased decisions are made, whether personal or professional.

There is one more problem. You see, before India became an English colony sometime in 1800's or perhaps earlier, there was no such thing as India that we see today. The subcontinent was very much divided into many parts ruled by various dynasties. After independence though, many states were united into India. They were,mostly, actually annexed. The question now is, just who decides if a state should become a part of a country or it should continue remaining a state? The problem now is that many north eastern communities in India do not consider India as their homeland. They feel, India has economically drained them by using their natural resources and has given them back nothing. And that is perhaps true to a large extent too. Similarly there is a struggle in Kashmir at the same time. Tamilians,on the other hand, feel that the central government always tries to impose Hindi on them, while in Maharashtra the Shiv Sena does not welcome outsiders.

So the disturbing question is, was the making of India a wrong decision? Were we better off as independent states? I do not know the answer to this question and several others like this one. I am a proud Indian and like it the way it is with all its faults and shortcomings. But as an Indian I can not neglect this growing feeling of detachment as well of the fellow countrymen.

Boundaries that man makes, boundaries that man can not see.

North East West South, dont open your mouth.

Aishwarya Rai will be attending the Cannes film festival fourth time in a row.

That was in the headlines of one of the news channels. Geez. Can the news channels atleast get their priorities right? Yes I do not like Aishwarya Rai as an actress, and I think she is pretentious (Okay I can afford to be judgemental atleast this once, can't I?) who is trying very hard to break into Hollywood, but I would not mind it if it were in the news headlines of some entertainment program. There are far more important things to cover than this for news channels.

And talking about News channels, lets see which ones do I like?

NDTV ---- Right now the best in India, and can be compared to any news channel in the world. Only good one from India.

Headlines Today --- Decent one. Way to go.

CNN --- Highly biased.
BBC --- Just a bit better.
MSNBC --- Best of the lot (CNN, BBC, MSNBC)

India TV --- Pathetic. Sensationalist journalism.

Aaj Tak --- 3rd grade and I can't stand Prabhu Chawla doing a Tim Sebastian. He fails so miserably besides talking more than the guest. Highly capricious, in a wrong way.

ZEE TV -- Lets not talk about it.

What are your views? What do you think should be the essential ingredients of any newsfeature? Which programs do you like the most?

ELEVATED uneasiness.

I always feel uneasy in an elevator in the company of an unknown person, not persons. It's not that I am afraid or something, I just am uneasy. I do not stare at the person (Yeah right, try doing that and dial emergency after that.), I do not talk to myself, I do not tell myself "Don't worry he/she won't attack you". I just feel uneasy. And here I must admit, I am all the more uneasy if it's a girl in the elevator. All I do is either look down or keep looking at the elevator door, hoping the elevator moves faster. The worse thing is, the elevator in my office, its excruciatingly slow and the office is on the 5th floor (UK style. US Style it would be 6th). From the basement car parking? Make that 7th.

What are your thoughts? Do you feel comfortable in the company of a single stranger in an elevator? Do your thoughts remain pristine?

Are there any other things which make you uncomfortable? Do share your thoughts.

Amitabh Bachchan on Charlie Rose

Am trying to get my hands on either the transcript or the video of Amitabh Bachchan on Charlie Rose. He appeared on the show on the 19th April. Anyone?
me wonders just why do they have a video of it and not a CD?

Forensics and the art of detection.

One of the most abused word in common English, I think, is GREAT. People readily associate it with anything and everything. Take the case of novels or books. Today's writers and novelists churn out crap which eventually tops the bestselling list. The detective stories have now become so predictable that a simple story line with a clear open and shut case perhaps might look a highly accomplished work. The spy thrillers from Shidney Sheldon or the "Da Vinci code" by Dan Brown are at best, average reads. A few years back, I happened to lay my hands on a book by an ex-Mossad guy who quit the organization in disgust, at my Brother-in-Law's place. And this guy goes through how the operation is executed, what kind of planning goes into it, and how there is nothing called a "hunch" in times when the heat is on unlike the most detective or spy thrillers by Sheldon, Ludlum etc. Infact, Dan Brown for all his extensive research has shelved out a piece of crap. There are so many loopholes in the entire plot that it would make Sherlock Holmes chuckle. Coming on to Sherlock Holmes, well thats the GREAT one. Perhaps the ONLY great one. Edgar Allan Poe, Poirot (Christie) are a very distant second. Reading Holmes anytime does not cease to gorgonize me. Now that's detection as the piece of art. What we have now is forensics and a very ordinary chase with lots of acton thrown in. Detection has gone out of the window. And its a pity. It really is.

Do tell me what your favorite pieces of fiction are. Any genre.

Taste buds

I hunted for the recipe of Veg Au Gratin and am more confused than when I began. One of the problems with the continental, Chinese, Thai and Mexican cuisine, well my favorites, in Indian restaurants is that they are highly Indianized. Whatever that means ;). Ofcourse with Chinese cuisine that also means, an escape from the Chinese Restaurant Syndrome. But the problem is one never knows what is authentic! Go figure eh? So while I love living in India, different cuisines is what I miss the most. :(

Help, help, help anyone?

Mars attacks !

Till I can figure out how to upload a pic on my blog, check out this link.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050412.html

Isn't the similarity amazing?

Parental undertaking !!!!

I am struggling hard to attach pics to my blog and I am just not succeeding. Picasa/Hello both turned a naught. Wonder why?

Its the start of a lazy weekend. I love to sleep as much as I can. And now, at 11 a.m., my body refuses to lie down any more. Its a sunny day and I expect it to turn very hot by the afternoon. Should enter the pool, I think. But then I have a few things to take care of as well. Consternation is a way of life. Is it for everyone?

Celebrated my daughter's birthday yesterday and she is a darling. She will join her first summer camp on Monday. I hope she picks up the better things, the camp has to offer. She is only five and I must say, she is very well mannered and very intelligent. A typical father's bloviation, one would think and it could be. But, to me, it also is a fact that I am proud of. I hope I can be a good father. And I hope she can be a good human being. Being anything else is very easy.

Do share your thoughts on parenting with me.

Views from across the border.

I have always enjoyed interacting with the Pakistanis over the net. It has helped me remove many of the notions and stereotypes, I had as an Indian. Infact, I wonder how the Americans and the westerners live with their sophomoric ideas about the east. Do not get me wrong. I have many American friends, Europeans as well. And they are all wonderful people. But their views of the east are mainly driven by the news items and Hollywood movies which they see. News items, are well, factually wrong more often than not simply because the news reporters do not have the background information and requisite knowledge to make authentic documentaries or stories. And movies? Well they excel in caricaturing the east. Isnt it why, in US, its always, "world's most beautiful model", "world's most beautiful woman" and not "America's most beautiful model/woman" !!! But I have digressed from what I wanted to talk about. Here is the link to an article from a columnist from across the border. A nice piece.

http://www.dawn.com/weekly/mazdak/20050402.htm

A tribute (yeah yeah yeah) to indigent workplaces

Its the same story everywhere. Most talened guys feel suffocated at work place due to many reasons which are unfortunately not work related. And while I agree with this guy who has written this poem, (I do not know who (apparently someone from IBM), but if anyone can prove his / her ownership and wants me to remove it from my blog site, I would immediately do so.) I also think that mediocrity is a way of life. This is how it has always been and this is how it will always be.

The name is good, the brand is big
But the work I do is that of a pig
The work or the brand, what is my way?
I dont know if I should stay.

To work, they have set their own way
Nobody will care to hear what I say
My will be NULL, they wont change their way
I dont know if I should stay.

The project is in a critical stage
But to do good work, this is the age
This dilemma is killing me day by day
I dont know if I should stay.

The money is good ,the place is great
But the development is at a very small rate
Should I go for the work, or wait for pay
I dont know if I should stay.

The managers dont know what they talk
The team doesnt know where they walk
That's a bad situation, what say?
I dont know if I should stay.

I can go to any other place
But what if I get the same disgrace
I cant keep switching day by day
I dont know if I should stay.

The -ves are more, the +ves are less
Then why have this unnecessary mess
No more will I walk their way,
Its all done, I won't stay.

I hope you get a job of your liking, I really do. All the best friend.
What !!!! you wondering it takes one to know one? lol no... just empathy. I, BTW, love my job. I absolutely love it and so far all my colleagues have been wonderful and technically very good. Touchwood.

Pan and Helios

Must thank Pan and Helios for they must have read my blog and when I stepped out for lunch, it indeed was pleasant.

Could have wished a palace in Hawaii instead !!!!

Looks like this is my Dumb day.

Lovely weather and a mirage

Its 11 in the morning. And as I looked through my window it appeared to be a gorgeous morning with a beautiful weather outside. Just my kind of day, I thought. And in the summer of Hyderabad, its a rarity. But then again why not enjoy it while it lasts. So I stepped outside of my office to enjoy it and was welcomed by blazing sun wearing down my cologne and coating a layer of sweat over it instead. I hurried back in and wondered since when has Hyderabad become so unpredictable. Feeling bad I returned to my seat and as I looked through the window the gorgeous, Oh-such-a-lovely weather had returned. I cursed my luck and after a moment, my stupidity.

I should have realised the window had a sun control sheet over it. :)