Reflection of Perfection

Death Valley NP – Explore the Extreme.

2012-01-12T20:03:00.000-08:00

It is one of the hottest, lowest and driest places on earth. Death valley has a mesmerizing barren scenery that left me in awe of the desert. It is a serene beauty. Something that has stood the test of time. Unchanging and vast. You feel the force of the sun and hear the silence of the night. You can be alone, with only the wind for company. The myriad rocks colors and formations impress you by day and the countless stars dazzle you by night. Free from light pollution, clean dry air and the high elevations of the mountains makes it one of the best places to gaze at the night sky.

Most of the places to see in Death Valley are at their best at sunrise or sunset, when the gentle and low angle sun rays bring out the colors of the landscape.

Everyday we had a routine to leave campsite before dawn and patiently wait for the sunrise and then in the evening, patiently wait for the sunset. When was the last time you saw the sunrise and the sunset for four consecutive days? And no showers for four days. We lived it up, desert style.

A few pointers about a trip to Death Valley. Food and gas is expensive. So load up on both before you enter. Always carry extra water in the car. Most trailheads don't have water or restrooms. Do the needful at the campsites. The trails are not very well marked. It can be fun to explore your way around, but at the same time be annoying, when you can't find your way.
A four wheel drive, high clearance vehicle is needed to visit some of the places in Death Valley. Listed below is what can be reached with a sedan if you don't mind a mile or two on gravel roads.

Day 1:
Artists drive – Winding road through a rocky landscape. Good way to get up close to the rocky landscape.
Devil's Golf Course - Must see the ragged landscape resulting from erosion of salt flats.
Badwater (sunset) – The lowest point in North America. Brilliant white salt flats.
Camp at Furnace creek - Nice campground, and you get cellphone service here.

Day 2: Zabrinski point (sunrise) – A great place to see the glorious rocky landscape.
Dante's ridge hike – The length of hike depends on how far you wanna go. We hiked to Mt. Perry which is about 4 miles one way and were treated to stunning views of the valleys on either side of the ridge. Good place to escape the 'drive around' crowd.
Harmony Borax works – Visit only if you are in the area. Good for history buffs.
Golden Canyon (sunset) - Easy hike in a canyon lined by bright yellow sandstone walls. Don't forget to scramble up some of the many gullies along the sides.
Camp at Furnace creek.

Day 3: Devils Cornfield (sunrise) – A decent place to catch the sunrise, but shouldn't be top priority.
Rhyolite Ghost town – Definitely not worth the long drive. But gas is cheap at Beatty, a nearby town. So might be worth the drive just to fill up.
Scotty's castle – Fun place, great stories and a nice break from the barren desert landscape. Also, they have a working Pelton Turbine that's 80 years old!
Ubehebe crater (sunset) – Worth it if in the area. Fun to go down the crater walls, but a pain to come back up.
Camp at Stovepipe Wells – Decent campground, but not as nice as Furnace creek.

Day 4 – Mesquite Flat Dunes (sunrise) – Dunes are a must see. Best to catch them when sun is low in the sky to get the shadows. Morning also means footprint free sand patterns.
Mosaic Canyon – More rock colors and formations and a good place for rock scrambling.
Mesquite Flat Dunes (sunset) – Had to see the dunes from a different angle.
Camp at Wildrose campground – A high altitude desolate campground. Best place to enjoy the night sky. Minimal facilities, but has running water.

Day 5 – Charcoal Kilns – Interesting structures, but not much else
Wildrose peak hike – Did partly. Was fun to walk in a winter wonderland in Death Valley!

Thanksgiving Travelogue, Part 2 - What happens in Vegas, comes on my blog!

2011-12-11T08:13:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving in Vegas? Something a bunch of morons or an ultra cool band of merry men would do. Well none of us are married, that means we can’t be the latter which leaves us as the former.

This was supposed to be Santhosh’s bachelor’s party and the Bevel Devils (Nikhil, Nishant, Santhosh and me) took the party to Vegas. I was a little bummed as no one had thrown me a bachelor’s party before I graduated with a masters degree.

We made a list of things to do. Gambling and other sinful things were so passe. This had to be different. How about jogging on the strip, or reading in a cafe, or visiting museums, or sleeping at 10pm, or black friday shopping, or Occuppying Las Vegas? Nah, because everything that is passe or fake, is the in thing in Vegas.

Ok disclaimer, please read further only if you are in Vegas because what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, or maybe Google has saved this blog on a server in Vegas, then you are fine, go ahead read it. The one thing that literally hits you in Vegas are stripper calling cards. Four guys walking in Vegas attract stripper agents like moths to a flame. One even stopped us to explain how it was a family business for him as his father owns the business and his grandfather drives the limo. At least he stopped short and didn’t elaborate on how the strippers were related to him. No, we didn’t check out any girls, we only checked out of the hotel when we left.

We decided to go clubbing! Lots of weirdos around. I wished I had my earplugs to keep the noise out and an oxygen mask to protect my lungs from I-have-no-idea-what. At least it was quite dark inside, I had no idea what was going on around me. Ignorance was bliss. And then there was gambling. I made a few dollars and lost more than I made. I have no idea how slot machines work, and I think no one ever makes money from them. I also played roulette, where at least I knew what was going on. I don’t know why people spend so much money on that game in which the chances of losing are higher than winning in a very obvious sense. I lost my money and stopped playing. Someone suggested I needed to give it more time. I knew better, the more you play a game with a negative mathematical expectation, the higher the odds of ending in the red. Simple math. But then math and logic go out of the window in Vegas.

I liked the posh hotels along the strip. The Venetian took the cake. Canals and boulevards, complete with a fake blue sky, inside the hotel. Amazing! The Cirque Du Soleil was awesome. Some incredible acrobatics and sound and light effects. The stage was mechanical engineering masterpiece with respect to hydraulics and precision.

Vegas is checked off my list. I think I had the best possible group of friends to help me experience and navigate through the awesomeness and weirdness that is Vegas. Vegas is not my cup of tea or shot of tequila. I learned the grass is not greener on the other side (in Vegas it is fake anyways). Sometimes you have to go to the other side to make sure, which is what I did. I am happy with my boring life!

Thanksgiving Travelogue, Part 1 - To SoCal, by train!

2011-12-05T21:33:00.006-08:00

Two weeks back I took the train south to SoCal. I arrived at the station just half an hour before departure. Unlike at an airport, there were no TSA agents waiting to pounce on me and everyone at the station was in a relaxed mood. A perfect start to my trip. The train chugged around the bend and so began my first train journey in the US. I found my seat and kept my luggage there. This Amtrak train had sightseeing car, where I hung out for most of the time and a restaurant car, where I had my lunch. The train meandered through the farmlands of the central valley, along the sweeping curves in the Lucia mountains and along the coast where the setting sun over the Pacific was picture perfect. At some places, the train was barely a hundred feet from the ocean.

I sat in the sightseeing car and read the book “To Kill a Mockingbird”. A nice slow paced book for a slow paced journey. One of the many beautiful quotes in the book, “they're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions... but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.” The good thing about the train journey was that you could move around and talk to people. I chatted with a couple of fellow passengers who had some interesting stories. One of them had travelled by train in many other parts of the US too and felt the Pacific coastal route was the most scenic. The other had some fun stories and practical advice about bike touring!

The words from Dido’s song Life For Rent came to mind, “I've always thought that I would love to live by the sea, To travel the world alone and live more simply”. I remembered my train journeys in India. This journey was definitely more comfortable. But I missed sitting at the door with the wind in my face, where I could admire the scenery without having to squint through a hazy glass window. I missed being connected to the passing scenery through sound and smell in addition to the sights. It was tragic not to get a whiff of the ocean along with the sight of the setting sun.

I visited Santa Barbara where my old pal Neeraj hosted me. I had crappy weather most of the time I was there. I guess when you travel enough, the law of numbers eventually hands you a bad weather day, even in California!
But Neeraj was game to take me around to explore Santa Barbara - The American Riveira. A beautiful town with a Mediterranean feel. I then traveled to San Diego, where big guy Alekh put me up for a night. I remember lying alone on the beach at La Jolla, long after the sun had gone down, staring at the inky black sky dotted by twinkling stars, listening to the waves crash against the sandstone cliffs, taking in the crisp smell of the ocean. I was chilling. Everything was far far away.

I was an urban backpacker for a few days. I went the good old fashioned way with a guide book and compass for direction and some very kind strangers to help when I couldn’t figure things out. People are very helpful and chatty when you look like a backpacker I guess. The chat about life with a guy who smoked pot/weed (whatever) and ate nutella at 8am will always remain etched in my memory or at least in this blog.

I began to plan my next trip as the plane rose above the clouds on my fight back. Life is journey, what’s next? Spoiler alert, Las Vegas!

Bike Tour – Big Sur

2011-11-02T07:45:00.007-07:00

Last weekend I finally visited Big Sur, claimed to be one of the most beautiful places on earth, in the US or in California. At least it is one of the most beautiful places I have seen. Steep brown sandstone cliffs, rolling green meadows and the deep blue Pacific Ocean make for a sight to behold. I am glad I visited Big Sur on a bike as I got to soak in the stunning scenery and appreciate the wonders of nature in solitude at a calm serene pace of a bike. God must have been in a good mood when He created Big Sur.

We started on a crisp Fall morning heading south on Hwy 1 from Carmel Valley. The road winds up cliffs hugging the coastline, through redwood forests and along beaches. The soft rays of the morning sun gave a delightful touch to the gorgeous scenery. We went as far south as Lucia before we headed inland where the monstrous climb of Nacimento Road awaited us. 2800 feet over 7 miles, which is a 7.5% gradient. I huffed and puffed my way up. The wild flowers cheered me on. I was left breathless, both from exhaustion and from the view from above. I felt I was gonna die. But then I realized that I had to write this blog post. Finally after almost two hours I made it to the top. I was elated. I learned that you can go on long after you think you can’t go any further. Don’t stop, just keep moving, no matter how slowly.

I cruised down the other side through the Los Padres forests and grasslands. Finally after riding 80 miles I made it to the Military base at Mission San Antonio de Padua. I was beat but felt a sense of accomplishment. But at the same time, my ego took a hit when I saw that people three times my age looked fresh as daisies at the end of the day. The next time I don’t feel like exercising, I will remember this.

Day 2 took us through the some rolling hills and farmland of Monterey County. Everytime I started a climb, I wondered when things would go downhill, of course only literally not figuratively. We rode past vineyards in their bright green and hills in their golden brown. Some of the steep descents were exhilarating. I hit 45 mph on one of the straight steep downhill sections. At one point I had to take a ride in the backup van for 10 miles when my legs refused to listen to me. They grudgingly agreed to push on after some rest in the van. I got back on the bike and cruised back to Carmel Valley as I covered another 80 miles on day 2.

The trip was a smashing success. Thanks to Brian and ACTC for organizing the trip. The riders were a great bunch, the food was awesome, the stops well placed and the route well planned. And thanks to my tireless companion, my Novara Safari bike!

Bike touring – Backpacking on a bike

2011-09-12T18:52:00.004-07:00

Labor Day weekend marked my first bike tour. An amazing experience. Load your stuff on your bike and pedal away. The open road stretches in front you as you pass by farmland, forests, towns, sand dunes and the ocean. About 90 miles on the Pacific Coast Bike Route over two days in central coastal California .

We camped at a hiker/biker camp site in Monterey. I love those campsites because you get to meet people with amazing travel stories. There was this English guy who has travelled to 70 countries and takes only buses and trains. And there was a girl who biked 3 months in Mongolia before rounding it up with a trip from LA to SF.

Some of the basic gear needed includes a decent bike, panniers, tent, sleeping bag and tools. As a first timer I didnt have the best of gear. But you gotta make do with what you have. A good bike with a wide range of gears is essential to tackle the rolling hills along the route. A good set of panniers will keep your load stable on the bike. We didnt carry much food as we had our meals at restaurants and cafes along the way. The cool cloudy days made for a relaxing ride but were a downer for pictures. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride along the coast on sandy cliffs overlooking the blue ocean. The bike tour combined two of my favorite outdoor activities, biking and camping.

A biking trip is very different from a road trip in its sense of adventure. You travel much slower and thus get more intimate with the place. You connect to the place through the sights, sounds and smell. You can stop as and when you feel like it. And people are a lot more friendly and open to conversation when you are on a bike.

All in all, a fun trip. Thanks to Eric and Laura for making it happen. Looking forward to the next pedaling adventure.

Trip details.
Saturday: Bus from San Jose to Santa Cruz. Bike from Santa Cruz to Monterey.
Sunday: Bike to Carmel along the 17 mile drive and back.
Monday: Bus from Monterey to San Jose

Car free in Silicon Valley?

2011-07-14T14:56:00.008-07:00

I have lived in California without a car for about two months. Partly because I couldn't afford one right away and partly as an experiment. I wanted to experience life in the slow lane for a couple of months. I wanted to figure out if a car is a necessity or a luxury. I was sure that once I had a car, it would be really difficult to go back to not having one. And so I have a story to tell.

Biking is my main mode of transportation. Bike to work, for groceries, and to get around in general. Good weather and a decent bike with saddle bags helped the cause. But life in the bike lanes around Santa Clara isn't much fun. First of all, there aren't many bike lanes and connectivity is generally poor. Google maps shows a 24 step route for a 5 mile commute. Most of the times, bike lanes are basically wider parking lanes. You fervently hope that a door doesn't swing open as you speed past parked cars. There are a few bike lanes on expressways too. Definitely not for the fainthearted, including me. And then there is the issue of parking. You will have a million square feet of parking space in parking lots, but not a single bike rack to lock your bike to. And when they do have bike racks, they don't seem to know what to do with them. See the picture below. Its a pity that the bike infrastructure is abysmal in a place that is conducive to year round biking. But you have to make do with what you have got.

There is only so far you can go on a bike. And that depends on the time of the day, weather, fitness level, bike route connectivity etc. Besides biking there is the option of public transport. The Caltrain is useful, but only if your origin and destination is close to a station. I live pretty close to a Caltrain station, but alas, the destination often isn't. The good thing is that you can put your bike on the train to help you get around when you get off. The bus service is quite miserable. I can definitely get to a place much quicker on my bike than by bus. Take for instance my daily commute. I have to leave home at 7am to reach office at 8am if I take the bus. And I live only 4 miles from work, which is 20 minutes biking!

So biking is the main mode of transportation. Anything within 5 miles is fair game. Above that, it depends on the errand at hand. So no weekend getaways, meeting up with friends or exploring new places. I used the Zipcar a few times as they have a few stationed about a mile from where I live. But in the long run, with frequent use, the costs can add up quickly. My room mate lent his car to me a couple of times when he wasn't using it. I used car pooling the few times when I have gone hiking. I requested/begged people to drop stuff home when I bought things of craigslist. Some people are really nice!

I have finally caved in and decided to get a car. A car in the Silicon Valley is a necessity or a luxury, depending on the way you see it.

Hello California!

2011-06-15T20:43:00.007-07:00

California called. I came, I saw and I wrote down what California showed me.

The one thing that strikes you right way is the diversity of the people. Whites, Latinos, Indians, Chinese, Blacks, Arabs, etc. And so my exotic accent is not so exotic anymore. Having said that, I do stand out sometimes because everyone seems to be overdressed. I once went in gym clothes to a mall and I looked like a homeless guy. Swanky cars and flashy electronic gadgets are a norm. I definitely need to upgrade on both fronts. And everyone seems to be in hurry all the time. The people are not as friendly as in MN, but they don’t talk about the weather as much. Instead they talk about work and ‘networking’. I miss the weather talk in MN.

The area is too urban. I miss the parks, the lakes and the Mississippi in Minneapolis. But the trees here are cool. See the picture. Most homes have nice front yard gardens instead of the boring lawns. Maybe that’s because of the year round growing season. The farmers market is great. You are spoilt for choices by the staggering variety. After all, half of the nations fruits and vegetables is grown in CA.

The streets are bad for biking. I will talk about that in detail in my next post about not having a car in California. Streets don’t have numbers here and it can get very confusing without a GPS. But having street names is fun too. And some of the Spanish names remind me of Goa. And there are a countless suffixes for street names, viz. street, avenue, way, boulevard, court, circle, parkway etc. Public transit buses don’t give transfer tickets if you have to take a connecting bus. But the city train system is more extensive here. Oh and this is cool, when the walk sign comes on at some traffic lights, there is this weird chirping sound to remind you to cross the street.

I have heard this place is great for outdoors. I got my first taste of it through a strenuous but thoroughly worthwhile, 5 hour hike in the Pinnacles. Its good to see mountains around you and farmland cultivated with a whole bunch of things other than corn.

California is calling, where are you?

The Bad Ass Guys explore the Wild Wild West!

2011-06-01T08:37:00.012-07:00

A road trip is quintessentially American and I finally went on my first one last week with my buddies, Ben and Charlie. Minneapolis MN to Santa Clara CA. A total of 2527 miles through the farmland of MN, the corn fields, badlands and black hills of SD, the grasslands and Tetons of WY, the mountains and salt flats of UT, the hills and valleys of NV and the rolling hills of CA over 7 days.

We tried to take US and state highways and county roads when possible as it makes you feel closer to the places you travel through. You pass through small towns, farms and wilderness. Freeways are nice to whiz by at 80mph. But I believe you miss that something, that makes road trips special, in the process. We came across myriad scenery along the way – plains and mountains, farmland and ranches, grasslands, forests and deserts, small towns and big cities. And the weather gods not to be left behind, gave us rain, hail, thunderstorms, snow, wind and sun.

The long hours of driving can be a stretch sometime. That's when you have to resort to sad jokes, trash talk, flipping through radio stations, playing atlas games, munching on snacks, taking pictures and sleeping. I can't imagine how people traveled west for thousands of miles on foot and horse drawn carriages. Roadside America has a lot of weird things to offer. It is good to plan your stops at some local attraction rather than gas stations. Look up for fun stuff along your route on http://www.roadsideamerica.com/ That's how we came across the Corn Palace, Wall Drug, the Jackalope, etc. We camped three nights, lived at Ben's friends' place one night and at his cousin's place on another night and at a motel one night. (Note: Motel 6 is a good cheap option available all over the US)

The drive through south west MN and eastern SD didn't have anything special to offer. Then came the Badlands. The rugged landscape in various shades of brown was a stunning sight. The best badlands are at the eastern entrance of the park. The campsite can get rather windy. We had a howling night in a creaky little tent. Then came the Black Hills which has Mt. Rushmore and the cathedral spires. The drive along Needles Highway and Iron Mountain Road offer some spectacular views of awesome rock formations interspersed with glassy lakes. Last stop in SD was Wind Cave National Park. The rock and crystal designs were beautiful. The cave lighting is perfect, just enough to find your way around and see the rock formations but not too bright to rob the caves of their eerie ambiance.

Next up was WY. Thank God for cruise control in cars. Thunder Basin National Grassland is an endless expanse of nothingness. Thousands of square miles of grasslands, no towns, no trees,no people, nothing. You can actually see the curvature of the earth in the distance. A good time to listen to some country music and soak in the wild wild west. The Tetons were still a winter wonderland. I was disappointed with the cloudy snowy day as none of the Tetons could be seen clearly. Ben told me it is important to learn tolerance for adversity when in the outdoors. I realized you have to learn to put up with mother nature's fickleness if you wanna dance with her. The snow covered mountains still made up for a spectacular sight. The sense of grandeur as you stand before the mighty mountains leaves you awestruck. As we drove out of the mountains, WY had one last trick up its sleeve. One of the roads we were driving on turned to dirt after a while and we had to turn back. Make sure you read the map carefully before choosing your route.

The drive through Utah was delightful with the freeway winding between snow covered mountains. We visited the state capitol and the Mormon temple. The temple is quite impressive and is a must see. I also took dip in the Great Salt Lake. It was a little bit yucky, but I wanted to experience floating in its very salty waters. We then journeyed west through the salt flats into Nevada. NV was a major disappointment in the sense, I had expected to see a vast desert with endless sand dunes and a mirage or two. But it turned out to be a ragged grassland interspersed with mountains. We stopped at Carson City to see the capitol building and indulge is some gambling. I spent a buck at a slot machine and called it quits.

Finally after days of driving, we reached the promised land, California! It was love at first sight with Lake Tahoe. The sunset on the lake was gorgeous. We went on short hikes in the beautiful Emerald Bay area before it was time to head to the SF Bay Area where we were greeted with 10 lanes of traffic as we approached our destination. Welcome to Silicon Valley.

"Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans."

2011-04-21T06:46:00.004-07:00

Well said by John Lennon. This thought struck me when I read the following,
“First I was dying to finish my high school and start college; And then I was dying to finish college and start working; Then I was dying to marry and have children; And then I was dying for my children to grow old enough so I could go back to work. But then I was dying to retire. And now I am dying. And suddenly I realized I forgot to live.” and it continues, “To make money we lose our health and then to restore our health we lose money. We live as if we are never going to die and we die as if we never lived.”

How true. Life is a journey, not a destination. Enjoy the people you meet, the beautiful scenery, the funny billboards, the flat tires and mechanical breakdowns along the way of a journey. We all gave our goals, whatever they may be. But most of our goals will be achieved many years from now. In the meantime, don’t wear blinders (like the ones horses use) and race through life.

- Don’t wait till you suffer a heart attack or stroke. Get yourself in shape today. Your body is the best thing you will ever own.
- Make friends and have fun wherever you go. You don’t really need a lot of money to have a good time. Relationships are as important as your career.
- Volunteer or make a charitable donation. You don’t have to be 60 to do either.
- Find out about God. You will not be able to search for Him lying on your death bed.

Who knows you might never reach your destination and the journey is all you might have.

There is always something to do in Minneapolis.

2011-04-16T16:22:00.023-07:00

Only in the twin cities you have the ...

City Lakes – Bike around or canoe on them in the summer, walk or ski on them in the winter.

Grand Rounds Byway - 50 miles of trail that wind through golf courses, industrial districts, parks, lakes, forests, creeks, rivers, and down town Minneapolis.

Minnehaha falls – Frozen in the winter, full flow in spring, green in summer and a riot of colors in the fall.

Stone Arch bridge – Stroll on, hang out below or enjoy the quiet of the trails nearby.

Como Conservatory – Experience a tropical forest in a Minnesotan winter.

Fort Snelling State Park – A little bit of wilderness inside the city.

The Mississippi - Bike along the Mississippi from Fridley to St. Paul and view dramatic vistas from bluff tops and river flats.

Pedal Pub – Don't drink and drive, but drink and ride and make merry on the streets of Minneapolis.

NBA – Watch the Wolves taken to the cleaners only for $5 on Wednesday nights.

MLB – Catch the Twins hit em ouf of the park at the amazing Target Field in downtown.

Foshay Tower - Watch the sun go down on Minneapolis from the top of what was once the tallest building in the Midwest.

St. Paul Cathedral and Capitol – Tour the house of God and government in the capital city.

Summit Brewery - Get a quick lesson in beer brewing and sip free samples of Minnesota's most famous local beer.

Minneapolis Institute of Arts – Admire prehistoric, ancient, medieval and modern art under one roof for free.

Sculpture garden - Pose with one of Minneapolis' most famous landmarks, the Spoonbridge and the Cherry.

The Guthrie – Watch Shakespeare come to life and then hang out in the balcony overlooking the Mississippi.

Coffman Union – Catch a free movie on weekend nights.

Columbia Golf Course – Zoom down the icy slopes on your sled in the winter.

Winter Carnival – See the parades and gawk at the amazing ice sculptures. Minnesotan winters can be fun.

Renaissance Festival – Go back in time to see some neat costumes and hear some 'Ye olde English'.

State Fair – Eat deep fried …... . Fill the blank with anything.

I am sure there are many other adventures besides these, to be had in the Twin Cities. I will miss Minneapolis.

The job hunt saga

2011-04-09T11:14:00.006-07:00

There comes a time in every student’s life when he has to become a hunter even if he is vegetarian. I become a job hunter as I approached the end of my MS degree. As a hunter you can go after the prey or wait for it to come to you. The latter (campus placements) doesn’t really happen often in the US. The other option, go after jobs out there.

Everyone talks about how important networking is in the job hunt. I think I do quite well on Facebook with an average of five likes and two comments for every post. But alas, Facebook doesn’t give you a pay check unless of course you work for Facebook. There are many ways of networking. Ask all you friends and acquaintances if they know anyone working in your field. Talk to profs about their industry connections. Go to job fairs. Attend seminars, workshops, etc. I have shaken so many hands that I think my right wrist needs reconstructive surgery. And I have collected so many business cards that I think I can play poker with them.

As far as applying for jobs goes, a good error free resume is a must have. For interviews it is useful to have a FAQ sheet. Those standard questions like tell me about yourself, where do you see yourself five years from now etc. I had trouble thinking of answer for the weakness question? The only weakness I have is that I have no weaknesses. And don’t forget thank you notes after the interview.

Over the months I had many leads but nothing concrete. Maybe I needed some cement. I think the two main issues for me were visa sponsorship and security clearance. And the best things about job applications? The interviews! You get to boast about yourself (the selling yourself part) and someone is actually listening! And the on site interviews are cool for meeting some really wonderful people besides the all expenses paid aspect of them. As a grad student, spending nights in posh hotel suites is never an option.

But the wait can be long, the wait can be tedious, the wait can be frustrating. All you need is faith in God and yourself. Trust in God that He has a plan for you. Confidence in yourself that you are great and some company will discover your greatness. Pray, talk to your friends, write a diary, sing out aloud, play sport, anything that helps stay sane. And try to have fun as you wait. It is going to be alright.

So I retire from my job hunting career and settle into the retired life of working at an awesome company!

Pic courtesy: http://cascadeclimbers.com, http://www.rightattitudes.com

I will bike until hell freezes over

2011-02-16T15:37:00.009-08:00

Winter biking – why and how to keep those wheels turning when everything goes cold.

Minnesotan winters are typified by biting cold, howling wind and icy streets. Why and how does one bike in those conditions? I bike because it gives me at least a half hour in the outdoors everyday. It is great exercise. It is an adventure. It saves money. It gives flexibility with time and places you can go as compared to riding the bus. It helps me avoid those crowded buses, which by the way are prime spots for catching the flu. Sometimes it is an ego thing, the I-ride-my-bike-in-Minnesota-winters thing.

My favorite winter biking conditions are 30F temperatures with light snow and no wind. But you will probably get 2-3 days a year with such weather. This winter there were winds upto 30mph, temperatures of -20F and snow storms. So how to bike through the extreme weather conditions? Here we have a self proclaimed certified winter biker (me) to help you out.

Use an old mountain bike. Mountain bikes are more stable and have better traction that road bikes. I do not use studded winter tires because they are too expensive. I use the usual tires on lower than normal air pressure. I recommend an old bike because the sand and salt on the streets will wreck your bike unless you have the patience to clean it every night. Its also good to have lights because a fair bit of riding is done in the dark. Always check the weather before stepping out to decide on the layers you will need. Make sure to add a 10mph wind (your riding speed) to forecast conditions.

Before riding out, check the brakes to make sure the cables are not frozen stuck. Coming to winter riding itself, ice is the biggest threat. Ride in a low gear. Never use the front brake, especially when you suspect ice on the road. I don't have a front brake. Avoid braking at all on ice and keep the bike as straight as possible and stop peddling. Even if there is no ice, the snow can also be a little slippery. And that's the fun part. You can do all those skids shown on the videos. You can actually use controlled skids on turns because it is better to turn with a skid (where the rear wheel is steering) than bank sharply on the turn when you are moving fast. The aim is to always keep the front wheel straight, upright and rolling. Your rear wheel may slip and slide. It doesn't matter. If you are not confident of the skidding turn, skid before the turn on a straight stretch so that you are sufficiently slow before the turn. If you lose control, let go of the brakes and straighten the handle bars.

All in all, winter biking is an adventure. It is like dirt biking, with all the slush, slipping and sliding. Who says winters have to be boring? Gear up now and go make friends with the Minnesotan winter.

How to fake NRIness

2010-12-28T02:32:00.002-08:00

So I was on a flight to India last week. It would be my first time back home since I came to the US more than a year back. I knew, or at least I thought, that everyone was waiting expectantly for my return. I imagined the crowds, the paparazzi, the flashbulbs, the screaming. Ok I may have gone a little too far, even for my standards. Anyways, as the flight taxied off the runway at JFK, I began to think on how I must make an American impression on the people I would meet during my stay. So here are my 10 ways to fake NRIness. It is the #1 bestseller in Goa.

1. The fake accent. It is the most obvious one and I need not elaborate further. Let’s just say that some people start working on it the moment they land in the US. Unfortunately it wasn’t the case with me.

2. Yo clothes. Again, very common and obvious. I am sorry this is sounding like a Times of India article where they state the obvious. But I would like to emphasize that an ‘I Love NYC’ t-shirt is a must.

3. An Apple product. Make sure you have an I-Pod, Pad, Phone in your hands, ears, mouth, etc.

4. Use American vocabulary like trunk for boot, elevator for lift, gas for petrol etc.

5. Exclaim on a regular basis ‘Is this how they do it in India?’

6. Use sunscreen before going out, even at night.

7. Talk about how similar India is to what is shown in the movie ‘Slumdog Millionaire’.

8. Keep emphasizing on how hot it is and how you are suffering from jet lag, even after a month.

9. Once in a while, make the mistake of giving dollar bills while making payments.

10. Distances should be in miles, weight in pounds, and temperature in Fahrenheit.
It is okay if you use pounds for distances also. As long as you sound exotic it should be fine.

Good luck to my US returned readers and fans. All hail the fake NRIs.

Counting your countless blessings

2010-11-20T18:18:00.007-08:00

My life is great. I am so thankful for everything in my life. I have listed some things that most of us can relate to. I think if we make our own full list, it will never end as God blesses us everyday!

I thank God for the gift of faith. Without faith, my life would be empty.

I thank God for the free and safe country I live and have lived in. There are so many people who wake up in the morning unsure if they will be killed or end up in jail by evening.

I thank God for grad life. I know it is tough, but I think about how many people would give everything to be in my place? Many people work much harder than me for much lesser rewards.

I thank God for good parents. They love me dearly and despite their humble backgrounds gave and continue to give me everything they can.

I thank God for my brothers. They were, are, and will always be there for me.

I thank God for my friends. There are so many people who are alone in this world.

I thank God for great health and an able body. Isn’t it awesome feeling to run like the wind or to soak in a sunset?

I thank God for giving me food, clothing, and shelter. Think about the time when you missed lunch for some reason, or forgot your coat on a cold windy day, or if you had to sleep at a railway station.

I thank God for keeping me safe from natural disasters. Picture the earthquake in Haiti, the tsunami in Indonesia, the hurricane in New Orleans or the floods in Pakistan.

I thank God for the ample water around. Is there anything more necessary, fun and refreshing than water?

I am blessed and I thank God that I realize it.

Halloween - Eat, drink and be scary!

2010-11-08T05:01:00.006-08:00

“Halloween!” and what comes to mind? Costume parties. People dress up in weird tacky costumes and make lame jokes and comments about each others costumes for 5 minutes and then everyone hangs out/parties as usual. Ok, ok, I guess haven’t been here long enough to appreciate American culture and so I still feel the idea of dressing in costumes is almost, hmm, stupid. But then why bother? Just shut up, go with the flow and have fun!

So what did I dress as? Now, costumes are for people who don’t want to be themselves, either because they don’t like themselves or because they really want to be someone else. Now the narcissist that I am, I think I am the best specimen of the human race and so why would I wanna be anyone else? Hmm, but if I dressed as myself, I would be ‘not-dressed’ and so a party pooper in the eyes of the rest. Apparently even the best are not immune to peer pressure. Alright, lets get a costume. $50 for a use-and-dispose quality, made-in-china costume. The patriot in me reasoned, why should I boost the Chinese economy?

Cheap solutions? Dress as a vampire and act mean. Nah, I can’t be ‘mean’ because I am not your ‘average’ guy. I needed something personal, fun and creative. So for one of my friends’ party, I dressed as my friend himself and made some lame jokes which were well appreciated in my opinion. Great party by the way, Pranav and Amanda. Good food and booze, but there wasn’t enough eye candy. So I had to feast on halloween candy instead.

And for Reid and Hannah’s party, I dressed as a text book, in honor of the long conduction homework sessions, which while not resulting in an A grade, gave me a great bunch of friends. My pick up line, suggested by Charlie, was supposed to be, ‘did you know that the integral of ‘e’ raised to ‘x’ looks like sex?’ I think I can use such a line only in my dreams, but there too, girls end up giving me wrong phone numbers. I think I should be happy with Reynold’s numbers and Nusselt's numbers. Maybe I should get a pick-up truck to pick-up girls. Ok, I am digressing from the topic here.

Side note: Pumpkin carving is a Halloween tradition too. It is can be fun if you are good at carving. I am not. But then what am I good at? I will talk about that some other time.

So that’s Halloween for you, through my spectacles. If it doesn’t sound right or fun, I blame my spectacles.

Exploring the Heart of the Earth at Glacier National Park

2010-08-24T14:39:00.012-07:00

A long endless drive, through the flat plains of Western Minnesota, North Dakota and Eastern Montana, finally came to an end as the majestic Rocky Mountains came into view. We were greeted with bright sunshine and crisp mountain air. It was my first time in the mountains. I was excited. I was awed. There they stood in front of me lofty and imposing, timeless and serene.

This was a hiking and camping trip. So everyday we climbed some mountain or hiked some trail. A trail up a mountain can be inspiring, it can be daunting. I have a new found respect for mountaineers. You are at the base of a mountain and think to yourself, ‘well, this is a couple of miles, should be done in a jiffy’ and then two hours later your are still climbing. Your brow is soaked in sweat, your nose is bleeding due to the high altitude. Every sinew is stretched, every muscle is exerted. If hiking is not tiring enough, try backpacking when you have 40 pounds of gear weighing you down. Backpacking requires a badass attitude. And a body in great physical shape. Luckily I am blessed with both.

Nature is so beautiful. The sound of wind and water. The sound of silence. The sight of lofty mountains. The sight of tranquil blue lakes. The smell of wild flowers. This was nature’s own canvass. Painted to perfection. You had to catch your breath before it was taken away by the breath taking views or the thin high altitude air. To quote John Muir, “in every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.” I realized we are caretakers of a truly beautiful world. We can never own something so magnificent. It is our job to preserve it for posterity.

And then there is the ever cool camping experience. Sleeping in tents, cooking outdoors, campfire and s’mores. And on this camping trip I had no cell phone service or Internet access for a week! It was a get away in a true sense.

I thank God for giving me an opportunity to see some more of his amazing creation. Thanks also to the Center for Outdoor Adventure at UMN for organizing the trip and to all my friends on the trip for making this trip so much fun.

A brief description of our hikes.
Day 1: Garden Wall (4 miles). It was a warm-up hike, to get our feet going.
Day 2: Sunrift Gorge - Siyeh Pass - Siyeh Bend (10.3 miles). Elevation at start point - 4640 ft. Elevation at top - 8240 ft. Elevation at end point - 5840 ft.
Day 3: Grinell Glacier (11miles). Elevation at start and end point - 4860 ft. Elevation at top - 6560 ft.
The first 3 days were day hikes and we camped at Rising Sun campground.
Day 4: Packers Roost - Flat Top Mountain campsite (5.7 miles). This was with the 40 lb. of gear. We has an elevation gain of 2640 ft. over 3 miles.
Day 5: Flat Top Mountain campsite - Sue Lake - Flat Top Mountain campsite (13.9 miles). Maximum elevation 7600 ft.
Day6: Flat top Mountain campsite - Packers Roost (5.7 miles). This again was with all the gear.

Running a Marathon - Half the story

2010-07-07T20:15:00.006-07:00

I will tell only half the story of running a marathon because I will tell you the full story of running a half marathon. So hows one go about running a marathon? As Barney in HIMYM said, “Step one, you start running. There is no step two.” I think I need to elaborate a little more.

I registered for the race after I surprised myself with a rather comfortable 8 mile run with my friend Clare, who is training for a full marathon. A spur of the moment decision led me to register for the twin cities half marathon. Now I needed to set a finish time goal. I felt 2 hours was a challenging as well as a realistic goal. Also a time of 1:59 is so much better than 2:01. So the goal was set.

Next step, training. There is this cool website mapmyrun.com which allows you to map running routes and keep track of your training sessions. I didn’t have any fancy electronics to keep track of my running speed. I made note of various landmarks and their distances along the route. And I had a watch to check the time. I must confess I wasn’t very regular with my training sessions. Common, how many of us like to wake up at 6am to run for almost 2 hours and then have a long tiring graduate student day ahead? But when I ran my last training run I was fairly confident of achieving my 2hr finish time goal.

Finally it was race day. The Fourth of July. The race began at 6:30am. And within minutes it started to rain. Oh dear, I had not run in the rain before. I thought of the positives. It was cooler and the sun wasn’t out. There would be no need of a shower after the race. I wouldn’t have to stop to drink water. But there were some problems too. My clothes became heavy. My pants started slipping with the weight. My specs fogged up. I didn’t wanna bump into anyone and transfer my precious kinetic energy to them.

As the race wore on, I got used to the conditions. The field also thinned out. I upped my pace a little bit. I couldn’t run too fast as all the streets had speed limits. I puffed my chest when I passed another runner and looked the other way when I was passed. Anyone going slower than me was a moron and anyone going faster was a freak. I stuck to a pace of 8:47/mile for most part.

Finally the finish line was in sight. I was well within two hours. My training had borne fruit. I thought of how great an achievement it was for me and of all the food that awaited me beyond the finish line. And then after nearly two hours, I was done! I can’t imagine how people run a full marathon in about the same time. I don’t think I have the sauce in my ......., knees to do a full marathon.

Results:
Finish time: 1:53:50. (winning time 1:13:15)
Ave pace: 8:42/mile
Overall place: 494/2375 finishers

Licensed to vroom vroom in USA

2010-06-29T09:05:00.008-07:00

Step on the gas, floor the accelerator, put the pedal to the metal. I so wanted to zoom on the awesome American highways. I finally got going with the formalities of getting a DL over the summer. I think I am allowed to drive with my Indian DL but I wanted to be safe and get a DL here before driving around.

I used to drive in India. So this wasn’t a completely new experience. But there were a few novelties. First, they drive on the ‘wrong’ side of the road here. But then you also sit on the wrong side of the car. So that cancels out. Although once I made a mistake of turning onto the oncoming traffic side of the street. Then there is the automatic transmission issue. That transition went pretty smoothly. But I must say that a stick is way better than an automatic. Also I rarely clocked more than 40mph in India. So driving at 70mph on a crowded freeway was a slightly tense experience. On the bright side, I actually enjoyed driving here for the reason that the traffic flows very smoothly and there are no autos to induce chaos. Driving is not a stressful experience.

Coming to the Drivers License procedure, first you need to take a knowledge test. There is a manual online from where you can acquire the required knowledge before the test. Most of the questions are quite straight forward and shouldn't be much of problem as long as you have read the manual. I remember one question from my test. "At what rate on an average can the body safely metabolize alcohol?" I took a guess and went for the lowest option which was 1 drink/hr. It turned out to be the correct answer. Now I need to find out what does ‘1 drink’ mean.

Next is the road test. You can take an appointment (which means a wait time of about a month) or you can go to the test and hope to get a chance in case someone with an appointment doesn’t turn up. I chose the latter. A heads up here, go as early as possible (by 8am) and be in the first on the without appointments list. I was 16th and had to wait for about 4 hours for my turn. Also I have heard you must avoid Mondays and Fridays. Not quite sure why.

The driving test went smoothly. The officer was kinda gruff and didn't let me say anything extra. He asked me a series of questions about the controls in the car. I answered them confidently and then he said pass. I went ‘yoyoyo’ in my mind. I thought I was done. Then he said, ‘lets go for drive.’ Oh dear, that was the controls test I had passed. I put the car in drive and slowly pulled onto the street. He asked me to do a lot of lane changing and turnings at intersections. Then there was parallel parking (see picture), curb parking and reverse driveway parking. Then he told me to pull over to the side. Its was the moment of truth.

He launched into a barrage of critical comments. I didn’t park to close to the curb, I didn't look behind while starting to drive again from par, I didn't stop before the white line, I wasn't smooth. I began thinking of all the time I had wasted, and that I would have to come again and give it another shot. Damn it. And then he said ‘you have passed, enjoy driving and stay safe.’ Hugh?!! I was speechless. I was really happy. The big smile in my DL picture says it all. A piece of advice here, take the smallest car possible because the space for parallel parking and reverse driveway parking is fixed. So if you have a small car you have more space to maneuver.

Thanks Jonathan for the car and driving practice, Ben for the long driving sessions and Pranav for accompanying me to the test center.

Boundary Waters - Minnesota's finest outdoor gem.

2010-05-14T21:36:00.009-07:00

A couple of weeks back, I finally went canoeing in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Three glorious days of canoeing, portaging and camping. It was an absolutely chilled out weekend just before the end of the semester.

Canoeing was the essence of the trip. Sit in the canoe and paddle splash-splash-splash. It was very relaxing. The serene lake, the gentle lapping sound of water and the rhythmic paddling. The trees were just coming back to life after months of hibernation. The scenery was stunning. Places so beautiful are only seen on calendars and wallpapers. We saw a couple of otters and a few loons too. It was a paragon of wilderness. We didn’t see any other human during the time we were there. I especially enjoyed canoeing in the marshy narrow lakes. We got to see a few beaver homes too. I liked watching the vortex shedding from paddles and tried to paddle in the most efficient way by applying my susupect fluid mechanics knowledge. Mech E \m/

Portaging was kind of a pain. But it was much easier once I got the hang of it. I felt like Atlas with the weight of the world on my shoulders. I didn’t know I had such good upper body strength. I guess lifting those feather weight dumb bells helped after all. And then there was the wind which was against us for most part. Sometimes it got a little too strong. If you stopped paddling you were going backwards! We rode the waves. It was hard work. Paddle paddle paddle. Full steam ahead. My 0.1 horsepower paddling coupled with Jon’s 0.1 hp was just about enough I think to keep us going. I think my biceps grew by an inch in 3 days!

And the wind is even worse when it is from the side. So there was this one time when I was steering, my first time. It was quite calm when we set out. Then out of nowhere the wind picked up. Suddenly we were broadsided by white crested waves. We almost overturned. Water actually came inside the canoe. The wind and waves tossed us around like a paper boat. I had a hard time orienting the canoe in the direction of the waves. In the mean time we were blown off course towards the rocks. We just about managed to beach among rocks without damaging the canoe. After waiting a while we set out again in the lake with Jon steering us. Finally we managed to ride far out enough and cut back in towards our destination. What an adventure. I should have carried some of my Mech E text books for ballast.

And then there was the camping part. We camped on an island. Isn’t that the coolest thing ever? The whole process from setting up camp, cooking dinner, hanging our food above the ground, etc. was sweet. As far as camp talk goes, I must mention a good joke. It must be noted that there were four Mech Eng grad students in the group. “So if a girl asks you for your number, and you say Rho, V, L by Mu. And then she exclaims, are you Reynolds?! Then that girl is a keeper.”

We sat by the lake at dusk. It was kinda eerie to see the inky black water and the silhouettes of the trees against the dark sky. It was soothing to hear the gentle lapping of the water against the shore. We turned in for the night when it got too dark. I liked the idea of sleeping at sunset and waking at dawn. The sleeping bags were cozy. It was pitch dark and the only sound to be heard was the rain against the tent. Good night and sweet dreams.

The days dawned bright and clear. It was amazing to be awakened to the songs of birds and rustling of leaves, the sweet smell of the wet pine forest. It was heavenly. All in all an awesome trip. Aah I miss the Boundary waters. Hope I get to go back in the summer. The Boundary Waters certainly lived up to its reputation.

Earth Day - It's not only about Global Warming.

2010-04-23T09:29:00.001-07:00

April 22 was Earth day. The day when we, hopefully, took a moment to think about the Earth, how we are degrading it and what can we do to conserve it for the future generations. I hope this Earth Day we made a start in changing our habits, to become more eco friendly in our ways. Following are a few places I have observed where we can change easily for the good of the environment.

The basic mantra is Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and in that order. Not the other way round. Most people used paper or plastic freely, thinking it will be recycled. First of all not everything you think is recycled, is recycled. It might end up in a large dump yard somewhere. Just because you don't see the thrash around that doesn't mean its all good. And secondly, if it does get recycled, take it account the amount of energy and resources that go into recycling. Sometimes its more costly to recycle than to make a product from new materials. Recycling paper for instance is a water and chemical intensive industry.

So the best option is too reduce. Don't buy or use what you don't need. Its good for your pocket and the environment. Or maybe buy second hand if you find something of your liking and in good condition. The next option is reuse by all means. Plastic bags can be reused a few times, cloth bags a hundred times! Don't use disposable crockery and dishes. Just a little cleaning up after wont hurt anyone.

Say no to bottled water. Have a look at this video. I never understood the need for bottled water. Tap water is safe almost everywhere in the US and in most places in India. So don't forget to fill a bottle at home before you step out.

Avoid using hot water to wash dishes. Just because hot water is easily accessible doesn't mean you have to use it all the time. Make cold water your first choice. It does the job just fine. Same goes with washing your clothes. And avoid using the drier is possible.

Unplug your devices at night. I make sure I unplug my laptop and my cell phone charger every night. Vampire power is the most easily avoided waste of energy.

Bike or walk. Minneapolis is one of the most bike friendly cities in the US. Bike lanes all over and pleasant weather (don't say the winters are cold, I biked through the winter) make biking an attractive option. I biked around in Bangalore too. Give it a shot. You might actually like it.

Take the stairs. The most efficient elevator is the one not in use. Most of you are young and run for miles and burn tons of calories in the gym. Remember the gym is not the only place to burn calories.

Print on both sides of the paper and write on both sides as well. It will make your notes and assignments lighter, compact and eco-friendly.

Switch off the lights. Just because you use CFL lighting that doesn't mean you must keep them on all the time. Don't think that less waste is no waste. Increase the thermostat temperature setting in summer and decrease it in the winter. Your room need not be a sauna in winter and a freezer in summer.

Reduce non vegetarian food consumption. The connection between non vegetarian food and carbon emissions is still highly debated. But the pollution caused by animal farming is clear to see. Animal farming pollutes water and is highly water intensive. Nat Geo Magazine this month reported that it takes 1857 gallons of water to produce a pound of beef while it takes 31 gallons of water for a pound of potatoes. And most of this water comes by destroying the nearest river. And there is the use of fertilizers to grow crops to feed animals. Can farming get anymore inefficient? Salmon farming in Chile is destroying pristine coastlines. Just because you are dirtying your neighbors backyard that doesn't mean you must enjoy the bliss that comes from being ignorant. In that sense I am happy nature is speaking through global warming. Now the repercussions of destroying nature have come knocking at everyone's door.

If you haven't noticed, most of the above step don't take too much time and are not a major hassle. You just have to try to make it a habit. Don't forget, even if your are not the eco-conscious person, these practices save money! I am sure all of us are money conscious if not eco-conscious.

And this post was not about global warming. I know many people think global warming isn't for real. But global warming is not the only environmental disaster looming ahead. The electricity that so cleanly and quietly powers almost everything we use comes mostly by burning coal. The entire process of mining, transporting and burning coal is highly polluting. You should read about mountain top removal coal mining. Why should we allow such avoidable abuses to nature? Yeah, take a moment to think of the ways we are destroying the earth. Its time man shows that he is truly intelligent and mend his ways.

Picture credits
http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/thumb_274/1212070475h4ovql.jpg
http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/biking-500.jpg
http://thewiddershins.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/mtn.jpg

Road trip, Missions trip, Fun trip - New Orleans

2010-03-28T16:31:00.016-07:00

My first spring break! New Orleans was the lucky city to host me over for spring break. [:D] It was a long drive from Minneapolis. Long in distance and time. Obviously, as they are both related. We passed through many states viz Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi. I liked the part when we entered each new state. It gave a feeling of achievement. Yeah I know, I wasn't the first human to set foot there. [Because I was in a car silly!] But still, its good to say 'been there seen there' for those states.

And what about the time in between? Each state stretched for 3-4 hours. Well, the time was well spent by watching the sometimes stunning and other times drab scenery go by; talking and I thank the co passengers of the White Bolt for being such wonderful travel companions; gathering my few and far flung thoughts; flipping radio stations; eating, and some more eating; staring at people in cars passing by; counting sheep in my head; sleeping, trying to sleep and trying not to sleep. I hope you haven't gone to sleep by now. Twenty hours is a long time to be sitting in a car. At times I felt watching paint dry would have been more interesting. But most of the time it was fun. Thank you Jaime and Tony for the smooth and safe drive.

Our group from Newman Center went to New Orleans to help the organization Rebuilding Together in their efforts of helping New Orleans recover from the devastation caused by Katrina. The work included painting, putting insulation in the roof and caulking the windows. It was new experience for me. My paint stained, worn out work clothes will be my new chick magnet in Minneapolis. But this trip was more than an experience in hands on work.

We heard stories from many people. There was this 83 year old owner of the house we were working on. She was so energetic and cheerful despite her age, the 4.5 years wait for her house to be rebuilt and the recent death of her husband. She had this spark in her eyes and spring in her step that will always serve as an inspiration to me when I feel bogged down. Then there were the volunteers who told us about their experience and encouraged us to do the same. How could they help people they are not even remotely related to? As Jesus said, if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

A girl told us her story about being trapped in a house for days and the mayhem around her when she finally got out. Another guy told us about how he was trapped in his house as the waters rose. He had to stayed afloat for hours until he got washed ashore some place else. I had never seen a natural disaster struck zone before. Even after 4.5 yrs, the place is still scarred. I imagined the terrible scenes. I am thankful to God that I never had to experience a natural disaster. Sometimes we forget to be grateful to God for quotidian stuff like good weather!

I know the work we did was negligible as compared to what remains to be done. But it showed the people we cared. Every bit counts in the long rebuilding process. Besides, it may inspire some of us to join such volunteer groups after graduation from college. As for whether New Orleans must be rebuilt given that it is bound to be hit again as it is below sea level at most places, I don't know. If people wanna come back we must help them. And the city has a prominent place in history and culture of the Southerners especially the Afro-Americans..

New Orleans is a fun city. We lived in the French Quarter which is a tourist place. The one thing that caught my attention right away was the ubiquitous presence of alcohol. People walked the streets with booze in hand, there were pubs all over the place. The 'Hurricane' from Pat O'Brien's almost blew me off. The architecture of the houses reminded me of Goa. Music could be heard everywhere. This is the center for Jazz music. The air was filled with cheerful energy. Oh and there were palm trees. Long time no see, my dear palm trees. And the place is renowned for exotic cuisine. A must visit for the foodies.

Soon it was time to head North. It was a wonderful trip. A Spring break well spent. See y'all later!

Grad Comics.

2010-02-27T17:03:00.006-08:00

The new semester hasn't been easy as I have been quite busy and that has made me dizzy. Lame attempt at being poetic there. Now get ready for some lame attempts at being funny. Do you remember the Friends episode in which Chandler writes down his jokes? So I thought I might make note of some classics I have cracked in the past few days. [:D] means you are supposed to laugh, just like in sitcoms they have those laughter tracks to help you laugh at appropriate times.

“I have a long day ahead of me”. “Not possible, every day has 24 hours.” [:D]

“I cant understand the prof well.” “Sit at the back of the class so you will have more time to catch and understand what the prof says.” [:D]

“There is a meeting at 8:30, such an odd time!” “How is it odd? Both '8' and '30' are even numbers” [:D]

“The Panda is the least racist animal, its black, white and Asian.” “Is Michael Schumacher the most racist person?” [:D]

“I miss gals wearing sleeveless tshirts. When will the summer come?” “Yeah me too, I feel more comfortable with gals wearing sleeveless.” “Why?” “Then I am sure they don't have any tricks up their sleeve!” [:D]

“I went rock climbing yesterday.” “How was it?” “Didnt enjoy it as I am scared of heights.” “Hmm you will not get to far with career when you have to climb the corporate ladder.” [:D]

After a mock interview. Interviewer- “You think well on your feet.” Me thinking “Hows that possible? I was seated suring the interview. It was more like thinking on my butt!” [:D]

Hope you enjoyed the sad jokes. If not, read the post again!

Darwin's Leap of Faith - Busting the myth of evolution.

2010-02-12T20:04:00.011-08:00

We all know the theory of evolution. Most of us 'know' that we have descended from apes, who in turn descended from some other animal, …...., who descended from nothing in particular. I learned this 'fact' when I was 10 years old. It took me 10 more years to start questioning it. And boy, am I glad to have done that.

Evolution is a theory not a fact. He just conjured it up based some a few things he observed. But why did Darwin's theory of man evolving from apes become a fact? There is no proof at all for Darwin's fairytale. It hasn't been proved at any level. I will give only a few points here just to arouse your interest so that maybe if you really care about where you came from and where you are going, you can start digging further.

Lets begin with the failure of man's attempts in creating life. If the top scientists in the world with the best equipment at hand cannot produce the simplest form of life, how can we believe blind chance doing such an awesome job in creating all life forms? The smallest living cell has the complexity of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet airplane. The components of the smallest living cell have the obvious arrangement showing intelligent design, just as the Boeing 747 did not appear from random parts stacked near each other in a junk yard. The minimal cell contains more than 60,000 proteins of 100 different configurations.

Mechanical Engineering. The second law of thermodynamics proves that organization cannot flow from chaos. Complex live organisms cannot rearrange themselves into an organism of a higher form as claimed by evolutionists. This is scientifically backwards according to the second law of thermodynamics, which has never been proven wrong. The universe is slowing down to a lower state, not higher. The genes of plants, insects, animals and humans are continually becoming defective, not improving. Species are becoming extinct, not evolving. Order will always move naturally toward disorder or chaos, unless changed by an intelligent being. Sunlight by the way is a very diffuse form of energy and is incapable of reversing the disorder.

Chemistry. Proteins use only L form of amino acids. Chance lightening would form both L and D in equal amounts. Even a small amount of D form would produce proteins unsuitable for life. So there is no way that life could originate from the nutrient 'soup' that evolutionists claim life sprung from. Besides there is no evidence of this pre biotic soup in earth's oldest rocks.

Probability. Statisticians have calculated the probability of assembling amino acid building blocks into a functional protein as 1 in 4.9x10^191. And the simplest known self reproducing organism has 625 proteins. Can you imagine the amount of trust we have put in chance and time? There are only 10^18 seconds in 15 billion years. Just compare the two numbers.

Geology. We dont find any transitional forms in the fossils. Fossils have only fully developed extinct species. We have numerous fossils over all time periods, yet we don't see any transitional species. There are intermediate species between two species of the same level. These are lost cousins rather than ancestors. And all those fossils that were classified as the intermediate between apes and man have now been classified as either ape or man. The answer to this absence of transitional fossils, enter 'stepped evolution'. Stepped evolution theory states that evolution proceeded so fast over short time periods that there wasn't any chance for fossils to form from the transitional life forms. So what made evolution to speed up and slow down?

And since time is a major player in evolution, I must mention the fact that the age of the earth is also debated. All those radiometric dating methods are not fool proof. They are adjusted to suit evolution. To state it plainly, rocks are dated depending on the fossils found in them and fossils are dated depending on the rocks they were found in. Hurrah to circular reasoning!

Despite the overwhelming evidence against evolution, we all believe it without any question. Why? The main reason evolution is so widely accepted is because it takes away our accountability of our actions. We don't wanna know that God is watching over us and will judge us when the time comes. We want to be the masters of ourselves and sometimes others too. When we believe in evolution we are basically accountable to time and chance, both of which cant do anything besides maybe converting us to dogs if they get pissed off. But that will take a million years. So why bother?

Coming to the question most Christians ask, can we accept both theories (evolution and creation) and live happily? No! We cant please God and the devil. You cannot be here and there. Something cannot be both black and white. And grey is neither by the way. I feel our belief about our origin and our destiny is fundamental to our faith. How can you believe you will go to heaven after you die if you think you have come from apes? What amazes me is that a belief in evolution has created doubts in creation. Why isn't a belief in creation creating doubts about evolution?

To conclude, evolution is a new religion in which time and chance are gods. Evolutionists have incredible faith is the chance and faith that they are ready to disregard the Word of God and science. Its your decision, do you wanna be a (unwitting) follower of the religion of time and chance?

Credit: Darwin's leap of faith by John Ankerberg and John Weldon.

Picture: http://www.truthandscience.net/Creation-Hands.jpg

Added on Feb15: I got a lot of questions about references for this post. Those who are interested should read the book named as credit for this post. It had hundreds of references to the things they talk about. This book is basically a compilation of all scientific publications against evolution. Its concise and easy to understand. If you wanna delve into any field more deeply, check out the references for that section

Love this song. There is a God- Lee Ann Womack

First step towards Prof. Daniel

2010-01-22T16:51:00.004-08:00

The other day I went to my first class as a Teaching Assistant. I didn't have to take the lecture but had to discuss any doubts the students had. I went and sat in the front of the class. The prof. introduced us first. I liked the way I had to wave out to the class when the prof. introduced me. I had wondered how I was supposed to acknowledge the intro. Should it be a brief nod and a slight wave? or should I wave like Sonia Gandhi during election rallies. Well, I can't remember what I did. But no one laughed. So it was fine I guess.

After the prof finished his brief material for the hour, the TAs and the prof were open for discussion. The other two TA and the prof were getting all the attention. Yeah I was NBD (No Bhav Dude) here also. Now why would they avoid me? Do I look dumb? Or did they think that they wouldn't understand me? Or did I have body odor? I should have used Axe. Then all the ladies would be swarming around me. I tried to look disinterested by flipping through the text book. Finally someone came up to because the others were occupied. I was nervous. I hope I could answer his doubt. Luckily his doubt was really dumb or as the protocol goes, the doubt was 'simple'. No question is deemed dumb here.

Then some guy asked me a doubt from the homework. Now the homework was given the previous day and I didn't expect anyone to start the homework right away. So I myself hadn't gone through it. And considering that I did the corresponding course 4 years back and I have the retention of a large sized sieve, I was in a spot of bother. I had no idea how to solve the problem he was stuck with. Hmm, what to do? Okay, lets do what most profs normally do when they don't know the answer. Act knowledgeable if the student is confused or act as if you can't follow the student's doubt if the student appears confident. My case was the former. So I said it was a easy problem and that any hints I give might give the answer away. In the mean time I was racking my brains for the solution. I said a few more things like 'it's there in the text book', 'the prof covered it in class', 'you will get it if you apply yourself a bit'. Finally I figured out the solution and told him that he had tried enough and I would tell him the answer. And with a flourish I started scribbling the steps of the problem. He was happy to have got the answer. And I was happy to have managed to wriggle myself out of the sticky situation.

The rest of the discussion hour went smoothly as most students left soon. Good for them and me. Finally the hour ended. I hurried out. I swore to myself to be better prepared next time and cursed the undergrad Daniel for not studying properly. I was also thankful to my profs, no not for teaching me well, but for teaching me how to handle sticky situations. One up Prof. Daniel!

Picture courtesy:
http://www.ibsaf.org/ibsafworld/2008/march/JustJokin/teacher1.jpg
http://www.hello.cat/images/adults4.jpg

Living in a sports mad nation

2010-01-13T09:33:00.005-08:00

I am a sports fan. How much of a fan? Well I was disappointed but didn't mourn when John Terry missed the penalty in the Champions league finals. I was happy when India won the cricket world cup. But I didn't go around distributing sweets. So I am somewhere in the middle. But I think I am a misfit in this nation obsessed with sports. Well I may have got such an impression because my friends are mainly guys in their twenties. But then how do you explain a prof discussing football before a lecture or old ladies in the stands for an ice hockey match? So you get an idea of how big sport is here. But this post is not about the fan fanaticism which I am sure all of us Indians know quite well. This post is about the unending list of new sports I have tried or come across in the US.

Football
For the uninformed, this football is nothing like the football the world knows. In fact I don't know why it is called football in the first place. They hardly used their feet to kick that something they call 'ball'. How that weird shaped object is called ball is beyond me. This game is like a human bullfight. Shoving, pushing, running, bang! And he is flat on the floor. Then the referee makes some announcement. And the cycle continues. This goes on for 3 hours. I didn't like the sport one bit. Too much violence. And that dude who runs with the ball reminded me the autos in Bangalore weaving through the traffic hurling abuses at everyone.

Ice Hockey
More violence. The main aim of this sport seems to knock the opponents down and start bashing the opponents. Getting the puck in the goal is an unimportant part of the game. Players just zoom around on skates back and forth. And there is absolute chaos near the touchline as players keep going in and out. I don't think I will understand this game even if it is played at half speed. These Americans took a decent sport like field hockey and made it a bit violent to suit the violent tastes of the American public! But I must appreciate the amazing control they have over that tiny puck on a frictionless surface with those long sticks while zooming around on their skates.

Tennis
Say hello to the right handed Nadal. That's me you skeptics. I watched tennis on TV since I was of your age [:)]. Finally I got a chance to play! I took a course and vowed to beat Nadal when we are both 50. I didn't have to start from from scratch. That's because I already have bulging biceps like Nadal! I like tennis because its a safe sport unlike the above two American sports which require you to write your will before you step on the the playing field. I like the fact that the opponent is on the other side of the net and cannot do anything to me besides yelling like Serena Williams. I can't hit those booming Nadal forehands yet, but maybe that's because I don't wear tight pants like him. Anyways looking forward to the match with Nadal in 2037.

Some more to come in the next post viz Basketball, canoeing, rock climbing, ultimate frisbee etc..

Pic courtesy: http://digitalheadbutt.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/rafael-nadal.jpg

Book review – (Super+1)*Freakonomics – Exploring the power of incentives.

2010-01-06T20:59:00.004-08:00

Freakonomics and its sequel Superfreakonomics are the products of some out of the box thinking by a 'rogue' economist about seemingly mundane everyday life matters. It is about economics at work in everyday life. Its about economics stripped down of its complex theories, formulas and obscure language. Its about 'exploring the hidden side of everything', how every action has a hidden motive or incentive that drives it, how statistics can be use to quantify anything and everything. Its about stripping down a layer or two from the surface of modern life and seeing what is happening underneath.

One of the most intriguing idea discussed is about how legalization of abortion may have cause crime to drop in recent years. The author provides various statistics to disregard other possible causes like gun control, strong economy, better laws, etc. He feels that the potential criminals are knocked out before they are born as most unwanted babies are potential criminals. If true, its a perfect example of the law of unintended consequences. Its like the proverbial butterfly that flaps its wings on one continent and eventually cause a hurricane on another. I am firmly against abortion and feel that it must not be legalized even for a noble cause like crime reduction. Abortion is murder. Full stop.

Some interesting stuff for men and women looking for soul mates is discussed on pages 80-85. Supposedly men want to look taller and earn more while women wanna weigh less, look good and be blond. At least those are the conclusions drawn after analyzing profiles on dating websites. What men should do to get a date? Say they are looking for a long term relationship, earn a lot, be tall, and have a lot of hair on the head. Women can read the book to see what men want.

He also discusses the power of information, how the Ku Klux Klan was countered just by leaking their secrets, why schoolteachers may and do cheat, whether homes with guns or swimming pools are more dangerous for kids to play, does your name matter for your future, etc.

Superfreakonomics has some equally fascinating analysis of mundane matters. The book begins with some analysis about how the television supposedly changed the thinking of rural India. He also mentions some things about Indian men which might, let me say, make them feel inferior. And then he rants on with a lot of stuff about prostitutes which I think is included just as a marketing gimmick. Those who are not very comfortable with the topic can skip ahead to the next chapter as all the chapters are unrelated to each other. There are a few interesting things discussed like whether your birthday matters if you wanna become a sports star, why do less people die when doctors are on strike, how to live longer. He also discusses why terrorism is over hyped, like I had discussed in The bigger killers

I don't like the fact that he thinks man is basically selfish and works solely for his own benefit. But sadly his analysis of hard numbers corroborate his belief. The author also makes some weird arguments against global warming but he has clarified some of the finer points in his blog. But he mentions that meat based diets are the biggest contributors of green house gases. You can read my post SAY NO TO NON VEG FOODS

Some good quotes in the books
-Economics is about how people get what they want.
-Morality represents the way people would like the world to work, economic represents how it actually does work.
-Emotion is the enemy of rational argument.

On the whole the books are a good read. The books are fast and jump from one topic to another. The author has a good sense of humor which spices up tons of statistics he uses to illustrate or back his claims. Go explore the hidden side of everything and get freaked out.

Modern Art – Crap is the name of the game.

2010-01-02T13:51:00.008-08:00

Everyone talks about the modern world going to the dogs. Our culture, lifestyle, moral values, etc. but i didn't know that even our art was going to the dogs too. Sorry my canine friends, I am sure your art would be better than the human modern art.

I visited the Weisman Art Museum on the UMN-Twin Cities campus to check out some modern 'art'. I thought that I would come across as cultured and intellectual by visiting art museums. But I wasn't prepared for the rubbish that was in store for me. Utter crap is called art. The more vague and hideous a painting or sculpture is, the more it is revered. Anything simple is considered unintelligent. I felt the world has lost its aesthetic sense. Things that you might not even spare a passing glance at a garage sale is kept at the museum. Some paintings were so hideous that I may get nightmares tonight. On the other end of the scale, things might go into the thrash bin are hung as paintings. There is a 'dirty paper' which is hung up as a piece of art. Read the description in the adjoining picture. Then there was plain colored paper. And some pieces of paper which looked like scribbles of an elementary school kid. And some more paper with water color splashes on it which looked very similar to my rough paintings when I first used watercolors. Oh and for the piece de resistance, there was an exhibit that consisted of a plane steel rod keep diagonal to the corner of the room. In the description it said, the steel rod enhanced the feeling of space. There was so much stuff which really taxed your imagination. You had to think hard to find something worthwhile about the painting.

And the best part was the talk between the guide and other visitors. How such nonsense could conjure such ideas and interpretations is beyond me. These rich people have no other work but a ponder over useless stuff like what the artist was trying to portray, or what led him to paint that particular piece of crap. I bet the artist is laughing his ass off at such in depth analysis of something that was meant to be nonsense! Here are some of the phrases and sentences used by people to describe the paintings; “minimalist and conceptual”,”rejected convention and tradition”,”Individualism, uniqueness, and personal expression were prized.”,”Artists labored to bare their inner souls, and each necessarily forged a new and different visual vocabulary.”,”look closely for a deeper perspective of the openness of the era”,”broke free from the bonds of yore” I could stop myself from laughing. I unwittingly attended the best stand up comedy show.

There were some positives from the visit. It inspired this post. It made me treasure my $1 painting even more. It helped me pass a lazy winter afternoon for free. It gave me a back up profession. Yes an artist. A crap expert like me can definitely put crap on paper.

Oh Leonardo, O Michelangelo, where art thou?

picture credit: http://www.roslynoxley9.com.au/images/galleries/FRANK_SoreThroat_2007/020.jpg

Christmas time in the city.

2009-12-28T15:45:00.008-08:00

Season's greetings to the readers of my blog. I hope you had a holy and joyous Christmas. This was my first Christmas away from home. I missed my family and my village. But thanks to the Altmans who had me over for Christmas, I didn't really feel alone. I had a chance to celebrate Christmas the American way.

The preparations and fun start weeks before Christmas day. The church marks the four Sunday's before Christmas as Advent Sundays. Advent is time when we prepare ourselves spiritually for Christmas. I went to Ben's house on the Saturday preceding the third Sunday of Advent. They had the lighting of the candles on the Advent wreath followed by prayers and dinner.

Then there is the tradition of carol singing. I joined the Newman Center Young Adults group for a night of caroling. And what a contrast it was to carol singing in Goa. Here we went to people's home in cars rather than on foot as a group. People gave us cookies and other treats and even beer as compared to money back home. The homes were informed well in advance about our arrival in contrast to caroling in Goa where kids sing loudly in front of homes till someone shows up. But the spirit is the same, to spread the joy of Christmas. And I am sure our visit meant a lot to senior citizens living alone. One gentleman said he didn't feel it was Christmas until we came caroling to his house. For one 98 year old lady it was the 1st time someone had come to sing carols at her home. It refreshed memories for the old people. I love Christmas carols. All the carols that talk about snow and winter stuff make so much sense here! You should definitely listen to O' Come All Ye Faithful performed by Celtic Woman

I like the festive look that comes with Christmas. The homes, shops and streets are decorated and well lit. You hear Carols in shops and on radio stations. Stores are stacked with Christmas gifts and decorations. I think Christmas has become so commercialized, loud and bright that some people have forgotten that Christ was born in a quiet humble manger. So it was good to be out of the city for Christmas.

Soon it was Christmas eve. I was at Ben's house. We decorated the tree and put some lights. We had a delicious traditional Christmas eve dinner prepared by Ben's mom. The table was lit by the Christmas candle. And it was snowing outside. It was truly amazing! We went for a midnight service at a church in Chaska. We celebrated the birth of Jesus one more time. Joy to the world, the Lord has come!

Christmas day was spent at Mrs. Altman's parent's house. It was a traditional Christmas celebration with a family get together for lunch, opening of gifts and games. The wonderful day was capped by a wonderful movie, 'It's a Wonderful Life'. Its a classic movie and a must watch around Christmas time.

'Something about Christmas time, makes me wish it was Christmas everyday' goes the song by Bryan Adams. Looking forward to the next Christmas. 362 days to go...

Happy new year 2010!

The tale of two cities, the capital and the big apple

2009-12-06T12:33:00.011-08:00

After more than three months in the beautiful and quiet Minneapolis, it was time to visit arguably two of the most famous cities of the US, Washington DC and New York City. A couple of days in each city was more than enough to get a feel of life in the two cities. So here is the tale of two cities.

I arrived in Washington on a cold Thursday morning. I stepped out of the bus and was greeted by, well, no one. The streets were deserted and eerily quiet. For a moment, we thought there was a curfew for some reason. There was no one around to even ask where our hotel was located. We entered a subway station and the platforms were completely deserted. I guess this was Thanksgiving afternoon effect.

We visited the capitol, only to be told that it was closed. There were few other tourists there, mostly Indians who I guess,like us, don't celebrate Thanksgiving. We walked around the main streets. This was the Capital! Of the world literally! The Washington Monument and the War Memorials are quite spectacular at night. So is the Lincoln monument. I like Lincoln's style. Really overflows with attitude. I must emulate him. There are tons of museums around. We only visited the Air and Space Museum. It is a must visit for aero enthusiasts. You can also see the White house from a distance. It would have been great if Manmohan Singh at invited us for dinner. Not a mistake. He was there that night at Obama's Thanksgiving dinner. I didn't have the audacity of hope to get an invite from Obama.

The next day we visited the Capitol. We got a free guided tour of inside the building for free despite being non US citizens. Isn't that awesome? It was great to walk the corridors of power surrounded by walls richly decorated with carvings and frescoes. The opulence around was slightly overwhelming. It is a place steeped in history and abounding with legends and tales. We also spent sometime in Georgetown. Its a lovely part of town that still retains the Old European feel. Cobblestone sidewalks, small stone facade buildings and dining places serving cuisines of virtually every European country.

Next up was the Big Apple, NYC! I had seen NYC only on the small screen of my laptop. Two of my favorite sitcoms, Friends and HIMYM are set in NYC. Finally it was NYC in person! You can see the glitz and glamor all around. Brightly lit shops and buildings, limousines and overdressed people paint a glamorous picture. The sidewalks are filled with motley crowd of people from every corner of the world. And new york reminded me a lot of India. You have street food, road side vendors selling everything from 'Rolex watches' to books to gum, cycle rickshaws (yes, I swear!), insane cab drivers jumping lanes and honking away to glory. You can cross the streets anywhere anytime. You have street entertainers. And on one occasion, there was a band playing inside a store! And to top it all, people are generally rude. All this is a far cry from Minneapolis, where everyone is nice and everything is orderly.

So whats there in New york besides a Starbucks on every street? You have times square which is just an intersection of two streets surrounded by bright billboards and filled with loads of tourists taking pictures. Then there is the empire state building which was once the worlds tallest building. The view of the city from the top is worth the 1 hour wait and $20 fee. Then there is the iconic statue of liberty. It was the symbol of the free world for the politically and financially oppressed Europeans of the early 1900s. You should also visit the museum on the nearby Ellis island. About 40% of the American population trace their ancestors to Ellis island immigration office.

Any trip to NYC will not be complete without a bit of shopping. I had the chance to shop in the world's biggest store. It covers an entire block and is 8 stories high! You have a mind boggling number of options of any thing. And when you are in a store this big, it can be a nightmare. But then most of it is covered with stuff for the ladies. I don't know why they need so many clothes when they strive to wear little. Anyways every shopaholic should refrain from entering these stores with their credit/debit cards. I mean you don't let loose a drunkard in a wine cellar. Besides Macy's I also shopped at the Apple store. Yup, an Apple from the Big Apple. Okay I got the cheapest item available. And I guess I was the only guy who goes for black Friday shopping and buys the one thing in the entire store that doesn't have any discount!

So that was the Tale of two cities. It was a hectic vacation. I needed a few days in Minneapolis to rejuvenate me. Thank you Vaibhav for being the guide for the entire trip!

In pursuit of The Way, The Truth and The Life.

2009-11-12T13:08:00.006-08:00

It is a general perception among non-believers that religious people have 'loose screws' somewhere and are wasting their lives by leading boring lives. I beg to differ. The Catholic group at the University is an amazing fun filled group. I see the true joy in their lives. It is a joy which feeds on the eternal source, Jesus. I pursued material things to keep me happy. I went on trips, I hung out with friends, I wanted to be cool.[:D] But I knew something was missing. Not that these things are bad, but at the end of any event I would feel low and look forward to the next dose of entertainment to give me that high. I was restless. But now I am at peace. I am happy to have found true eternal happiness in God. I wanna learn more about God, how amazing He is, about the awesome things He has in store for those who love Him.

So what do I know about Him? God is love. Plain and simple. God loves us and we must love him. Through love we have a living relationship with God. Sadly, this relationship is broken by sin. But Jesus Christ has died for our sins and saved us. We have to believe in this, repent for our past sins and lead a new life with Christ at the center. All three are important. The first is about faith. We have to believe that Christ is our savior. He has bridged the chasm that separated God from humanity.

The second step is repentance. Repentance begins by acknowledgment of sins. We are human, we are weak, we are fallible. But we have to accept our mistakes and be sorry for our failures. We have to express our sincere regrets for our misdeeds and vow to do our best to lead better lives. We must ask God for forgiveness and he will definitely forgive us because we are his children. This sequence is beautifully pictured in the parable The Prodigal Son.

And the third part is leading the new life. We have to trust God with our lives and our future. God is our father. He loves us and wants us to live a full and happy life. He has good things in store for us. To quote from the scripture, Jesus says, (Matthew 7:11) "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" And when we believe in God, it’s not about us anymore. It’s about others. Greed for power and wealth, the root causes of the world’s miseries, will vanish.But leading a new life will be tough. We can’t fight temptations by ourselves. We need God’s grace and all we need to do to get it is to ask God. And we can be sure God will never test us beyond our limits. And when we are doing this because we love God, Christian life is no longer a set of rules and regulations. I am sure we are ready to do anything for the people we truly love. And that makes Christian life so easy!

I thank SPO, especially Jimmy for taking me to the Fan Into Flame retreat. The focus of the retreat was to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ and to fan into flame the embers of our faith. People think being religious is an inborn thing. It isn’t. We have to cultivate our relationship with God. He is knocking on the door and we need to open it. He extends his hand to us, we have to accept it.

I ask you then, what good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? (Mark 8:36) It is your life, what are you going to do it?

Ref: Fan into Flame Retreat booklet and the Bible!
Picture credits:
1)http://media.photobucket.com/image/god%20love/heavenboundiwillbe/GodIsLoveEverlasting.jpg
2)http://www.kaldu.org/MarBawaiWritings/The-Prodigal-Son-01.jpg
3)http://www.biblebigpicture.com/Image/Jesus%20Knock%20on%20Door.jpg

Some blah-blah and bling-bling about nothing in particular!

2009-11-02T19:21:00.012-08:00

A few stray thoughts about graduate life. So what is the aim of graduate life? One of my courses makes me feel quite useless. The more I sit in that class, the stronger the urge to jump of a bridge gets. The prof speaks in English, yet it sounds like Greek. Maybe that’s because he uses so many Greek alphabets in his material. The home works are burdensome. But they teach us to think individually as a group or collectively as individuals. Sometimes the solutions to problems are so mathematically involved that you forget what the question was in the first place. A math joke to lighten the mood. Did you know that 3 out of 4 Indians make up 75% of the Indian population?

Grad life teaches you time management. But I could have taken T.I.M.E. classes in India itself instead of coming so far. Grad life teaches you to appreciate the carefree undergrad life, when we had all the time in the world to do nothing. Now when we have one extra hour due to the daylight saving practice, all of us get excited. Grad life teaches you to go to places with free food. Free food implies monetary and time savings. I have also rediscovered the convenience of writing with a pencil. I can’t remember when was the last time I used pencils so extensively. I am so glad I rediscovered the pencil. Makes my assignments much neater.

Yet another stray thought about the importance of the Law of Diminishing Returns. It is best explained through a graph. It is clearly seen that you will get about 75-80% of the desired output within the first 50% of the total effort. And the remaining 20% of output is obtained from the remaining 50% of required effort. Clearly the second 50% is a waste. I have applied this rule to two things. First, to my homework assignments. Attempting and formulating the problem fetches you most of the points. While spending hours over complex algebra hardly gets you any additional points. So it’s best to stop when you feel you will get a certain minimum number of points. The same goes with fitness. I see people slogging it out in the gym for that perfect physique. I feel that 50% of the effort would be sufficient for a decent physique and you would be spared the mental and physical agony of the remaining 50%. Talking about the gym, my exercise sessions have been a serious blow to my ego, which by the way is as big as the entire outdoors! Girls run faster and longer than me! There was time when I used to look down at people less fit than me. How dramatically the tables turn! I don’t fare any better with strength training either. I am the only guy who goes anywhere close to the light weight dumbbells! I console myself thinking that others are fools to be working so hard on their physique when my level of fitness should be fine for all. Yeah I have that ‘I know best’ attitude!

What else have I been up to? Well, I experienced my first American holiday, Halloween. The pumpkin carving experience was cool. But the costume party was even better. But first, the costume shopping experience. When I went shopping, I was shocked by the prices and variety. I couldn’t understand how people could spend $100 and above for Halloween costumes. I tried to find the cheapest one and it took me 30min to find it in the enormous store. Thus, I saw all the other accessories and make up kits that go with the costumes. It was overwhelming. Coming to the party, it was a lot of fun. The assortment of characters in one room was a feast to the eyes. There were star wars’ characters, queens, Elvis, old ladies etc etc. The costumes, accessories and make up were complimented by some talented acting. It was an amazing experience.

Then there was the homecoming parade. Another American tradition I guess. Luckily I got to be part of it through CFACT. It is quite a feeling to wave to crowds lining the streets through the sun roof of a SUV. I felt like a celebrity. The whole thing was over within minutes. But I had had my 15 minutes of fame by then. Yay! Then there was Oktoberfest in the Mech Dept. Free beer and free food attracted many students and profs. The HOD was the center of attraction in his traditional German costume. It was time of merriment. We could talk to profs about stuff besides research. Talking about booze, I went for a religious meeting in a pub here. Not that Christianity encourages drinking, it is just that drinking is not considered bad as long as it is well within limits. Sadly many college students don’t know what the limits are.

And I have had my first haircut. A novel and expensive affair. Back home in India, my barber knew exactly what I wanted and I merely had to sit on the chair and he would get to work. Here the hairdresser first measured my hair length in inches at various places on my head and then asked me how much do I want to cut. I gave a vague answer like short at the sides and back and a little longer on the top. She didn’t seem satisfied and asked me again. I replied by telling her to do whatever she felt was best. Then she asked me something which I didn’t follow. I again told her to do what she felt was best. In the end I was quite happy with what ‘she thought was best’.

Congratulations if you managed to reach this far in reading my blah blah. You are now a certified fan of blah blah. I hope to come up with more blah blah in the near future. Till then its goodbye from my side.

Snow is falling, all around me!

2009-10-14T10:40:00.007-07:00

This past weekend I experienced my first snow fall. Yeah it’s early, even for the ice box state of the US. Most of the residents were annoyed because ‘bad weather’ had come so early this year. Well, I being a newbie here was overjoyed to see the white powdery stuff all around. This was the first time I had seen snow! It was amazing. This post is for all the readers who have never seen snow. I hope I can give a good description so can experience it vicariously.

First of all, it’s beautiful beyond words. Everything except for the streets is white. It is even better when the sun comes out. And since the leaves haven’t yet fallen off, a lot more snow collects on them which makes the scene prettier. The fall colors and snow make an awesome combination. The snow is like a fine powder that falls slowly through the air. You can dust it off yourself and I like to shake myself like a dog while doing so! :D It’s is soft and quiet. Calming and relaxing, unlike rain which can be noisy and forceful. Supposedly snow absorbs other sound too and makes for a more peaceful setting.

The snow is soft and falls slowly because the terminal velocity of snowflakes is low. But you can compress it in your hands to make snow balls and throw at each other. Or you could make a snowman or build a snow fort. The lazier people can make snow angels! Well I didn’t do much of the above things as the snow was a little slushy cause of the high temperatures of 1-2 degrees Celsius. I have a long to-do list for the winter. Besides the snowman, fort and angels, I wanna try my hand, or legs rather, at skiing, skating, snow shoeing, and broomball. My friends have promised to take me out to indulge in all the winter fun I want. I hope I can bear the brutal cold though, which brings me to the winter clothing.

I have purchased headgear, mufflers, scarves, a coat, woolen pullovers, gloves, woolen socks etc. Thank you Ben, for taking me winter shopping! It’s a bit of a pain to wear all these things before going outside. I guess I will get used to it. Growing up in Goa hasn’t really prepared me for this, but I know I am going to have a great time! I can’t wait for Christmas, to see a snowy Christmas, to see what we sing in carols and print on cards. I have to look up for Santa’s email id and ask him for a white Christmas!

The Superior Hike

2009-10-06T15:32:00.011-07:00

This has to be one of my best treks of all time. It was fun, it was beautiful and it was awesome! I was looking forward to the trip from weeks before. I must thank Pranav for telling me about the COA at UMN and its wonderful trips. The group was as diverse at it could get. We had Norwegians, Danes, an Austrian, a German, Indians, a Canadian and yes one American. We set off on a cold damp Saturday morning for a 3hr drive north to Duluth.

Duluth is a beautiful port town in north Minnesota. We had a stunning view of the harbour and Lake Superior as we drove in. We stopped for Lunch at Pizza Luce where Kim and Kristian tried to do the ‘humanely impossible’ thing of eating a 16 inch pizza each! We drove further north to Two Harbors for dinner and breakfast supplies. We then proceeded to our first hiking trail, Gooseberry Falls. Luckily the weather was holding well and we could trek comfortably. We were treated with amazing sights of streams and waterfalls and the fall colours in all their glory. The forest was bright despite the overcast conditions. This is my first experience with fall colors and so I was really excited. The trees, bushes and ferns were in varying shades of green, yellow, red and orange. It was a riot of colors. Thank God for digital cameras. I clicked tons of pictures. We walked along a stream most of the time. None of us wanted to get into the freezing water. So we hung around the edge and tried to skip stones along the water surface. I really enjoyed being in the wild on the grassy trail surrounded by colourful bushes and an assortment of trees. Minneapolis is green and clean, but all you see is well manicured lawns and gardens. It gets monotonous after a while. The air was clean and the forest was quiet. It was a truly relaxing experience.

We headed back when it began getting dark. We drove to Finland state forest campsite for the night. First we had to set up tents. The tents had been folded down to the size of small backpacks. I had no idea how to set up the tent. Luckily all the others in the group had a lot of camping experience and showed me how easy it was to set up a tent. The tents were really cool and I remembered scouts camp in school when we had those rickety unwieldy tents. And that was the only time I had stayed in a tent.

Next it was time for food! Dinner was a lovely time. The boisterous group had so much to talk. There was lot of talk about culture, as we were from so many different countries. That automatically led to bit of friendly country bashing. The large population of engineering students led to some tech talk which irked the rest of the crowd. The adventurous guys had some amazing camping and hiking stories to share. Non veg jokes spiced up the chatter. The food was great. I guess a hungry stomach and the camping atmosphere makes any food taste good. After a few burritos, it was cookies time! The cookies were not round in any sense and looked like scrambled eggs, but still had the amazing chocolate cookie taste! And then it was time for the piece de resistance. I’ll call it the automated popcorn. It was like a small covered plate which had to be heated over the stove. And the top keeps rising until you can hear the popcorn inside. Then it blows open and pop corn is ready! American stuff rocks!

We all headed to the boys tent for games. We played telephone Pictionary and it was hilarious! It was fun to see how the result ended so far from the start. I started with ‘I can’t read your poker face’ and got ‘the pope is praying over the grave’ in the end! It was time to turn in. We were advised not to have any cosmetics or eatables in the tent as it might attract bears. OMG! I slipped into my sleeping bag, my first time in a sleeping bag, and thought about how awesome it was to be sleeping somewhere in the wild under the sky, a few inches off the soggy ground and yet so warm and comfy, next to a gurgling stream which reminded me of Famous Five adventures.... ZZZZZZZ

Next morning after a long struggle, I finally got out of my warm sleeping bag. It was an effort to get cold water into the mouth to brush teeth. Breakfast consisted of hot chocolate and delicious pan cakes which I used to warm my hands and fill my tummy! It was time to pack up. And since COA follows ‘leave no trace’ rule, we cleared the campsite thoroughly. We didn’t even wash our dishes there. It’s great to know that campers try to preserve the place for others. I enjoyed the camp as we had the best of both worlds. We had our tent and sleeping bags and cooking out in the open experience on one hand. And we had our luggage in the van nearby on the other hand.

It was time for day 2 of hiking. We drove to Tettegouche state park. The weather was perfect for the outdoors. It was cold and bright.The trail was very comfortable and we were treated to sparkling waterfalls and colourful forests. We reached the rocky shores of Lake Superior after a while. It was beautiful beyond words. But that also marked the end of the hike. We walked back to the van. On the way back we spotted some deer in the forest.

It was time for the long drive back. We stopped at Two Harbors for a quick lunch. The drive was gorgeous. We had the sparkling Lake Superior on the left and colourful forests on the right. Miles and miles of unending beauty! How I wished the trip would never end. Soon we were back in Minneapolis. A wonderful trip had come to an end. I wanna thank all the group members for the making this trip so amazing. The COA volunteers, George (from Canada) and Annie (from USA) and the rest of the group which included Lars, Kristian, Kim,(all from Norway), Astrid, Julia,(both from Denmark), Maria (from Austria), Ecem (from Germany) and Smita (from India).

Check out so more pictures on facebook and orkut!

Grad ramblings

2009-09-23T20:08:00.007-07:00

Graduate life has started and time is scarce. So you see people asking for 48 hours in a day or 120 minutes in an hour! Ah the common mistake. I always believed in higher efficiency. Thus, I wish I could read two text books at the same time or write two assignments at the same time. I gotta ask Rajnikant about the latter! I guess I exaggerate when I say I am very busy. Else how would you explain me finding time to go rock climbing, or attend student group meetings, or go for tennis classes, or meet a published author (Adam Shepard) or play ultimate Frisbee or go jogging on the beautiful stone arch bridge or write blogs and the list goes on. So grad life hasn’t reached top gear yet. I am hoping it doesn’t anytime soon!

So what else has been happening? Oh, I met this guy at a student group CFACT meeting who was interested in Indian culture. On knowing I was from India he asked me if I would volunteer to teach him Hindi!! I puffed my chest and said why not!! I guess I was the best Hindi speaker in the radius of a few feet. Yeah there are Indians all over the place here. But then I am the only one who delivered the epic dialogue 'jai aur veeru bhag gaye, magar kaise?' So the man was in safe hands when it came to learning Hindi. So being Indian helped me make a new friend.

But being Indian has its downside too. I become really conscious of my accent while speaking to the foreigners. Oops sorry, I mean natives. I am so used to calling Americans foreigners! Coming to my accent, it really stands out. It’s like I over pronounce every word. I used to think that Raj's accent in Big Bang Theory was exaggerated. But now I see the reality. I guess I’ll get used to it as time passes. Not that I feel inferior in any sense. The only time I feel bested by someone is when I walk in front of a mirror! I have installed bullet proof glass mirrors in my apartment cause of my mirror cracking looks! \m/

Many people have asked me whether I felt a culture shock after coming to the US. I guess it wasn’t much because in the US we have only 110 volts as compared to 220 volts in India. An American coming to India will feel a bigger shock! Hilarious jokes aside, one thing that has really caught my eyes, or attention rather, is the low waist fashion here! Guys here have taken low waist to all new levels. Low waist pants would baffle even Newton with their gravity defying lowness. I really want to know how they keep their pants from falling!

Free food is big here in the US. Every event is advertised by free food or pizza. Student group meetings, prayer meetings, gen events and even academic events pull crowds through free food. For instance I have taken a seminar course for 1 credit in the nano science department for the sole reason of free food. They serve amazing cookies, cake and coffee before the seminar. It is eat and then go and relax in the comfy hall!

Anything that’s pissing me off here? Yeah the obscenely high cost of labour. The bike repair shop asked me $6 to install new brake pads! Thank you Rahul for installing them for free! A hair cut costs at least $20. And you can’t get second hand haircuts. So for the first time I see something positive in my hair loss. I guess once I start earning big time(wonder when!), I ‘ll ask himesh where he got his hair weaving done.

Thank you guys for showing 'Fultoo attitude' in reading this fully faltoo post. I wind up, thanking himesh in anticipation for his next block buster, char buster and mind buster movie Radio! One last thing, Radiation is my favourite course. Guess why??

This post is dedicated to Sivram (bloodrayne) who recently questioned my ability in generating crap posts like dis! :D

Picture credits
Awesome Himesh: http://www.indiahits.com/media/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/himesh_reshammiya_radio_rj.jpg

Hindi Pic: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_zlMnQS-6Xw0/SqTIgEcQwwI/AAAAAAAAAHI/ei60f4Q2VVc/s400/hindi-day-special.jpg

The day I saw the President!

2009-09-14T18:47:00.006-07:00

I saw Barrack Obama speak for the first time sometime in February 07, when he launched his presidential campaign at Springfield. I was captivated by his oratory skills and watched many of his subsequent speeches on TV or YouTube since then. His aura and energy is spell binding even while reading his book. Back in India, I had no realistic chance of ever seeing him live. Now that I am in the US, I thought maybe, just maybe, I might get lucky. Turned out that Minneapolis is one of the smaller cities in the US. And so I gave up hope of seeing him anytime soon. I guess I had forgotten the audacity of hope.

So the other day, a few weeks into my stay here, there was an article in the local newspaper about Obama’s visit to Minneapolis. I couldn’t believe it. Obama was coming to Minneapolis within a month of my arrival. What luck! I browsed the net for more info about the event. He was gonna talk about his planned healthcare reforms. The venue was just 2 miles from my home and entry was free. I wanted to be sure that non US citizens would be allowed. So I shot of a few emails and made a few calls and yippee, everyone was allowed on first come first serve basis.

The day arrived and my friend and I reached the venue just after 8am. We informed that there was line stretching about half a mile. This when the gates were due to open at 9:30am! We walked past groups of people playing cards, chatting and listening to music. Finally we reached the end of the line. My friend Pradeep went to grab a bite. I had no idea what exactly Obama was gonna talk about. So I asked a group near me. They seemed quite pro Obama and vehemently supported his ideas. The line began moving slowly. Despite the crowd, there was no pushing and shoving like in India. But on the down side, there weren’t any hawkers selling food or drink. Once in a while when someone did come, the cost was exorbitant. Luckily I was well prepared. I had had a huge breakfast and had brought a bottle of water with me.

Finally we reached the security check at about 10:00am. After an airport style security check, we were in. We joined a line for seats then. After another nervous wait we were finally seated! Now for the long wait for the arrival of the man himself. There was an energetic buzz in the stadium. Mexican waves and ‘Obama, yes we can’ chants went on from time to time. I got bored after a while. Again, I was prepared. I had carried a book with me. I peacefully read until they showed live footage of Obama arriving at the city airport. A loud cheer went up! It was the sign of things to come.

Finally the event started at 12:30pm. First the stage was graced by some other dignitaries and the anthem sung. Then it was time. ‘Ladies and gentle men, the president of the United States” came the announcement. Obama entered, literally running. A few handshakes and high fives with the people near the stage. He skipped up the stairs and was ready to speak. I liked the energy in his entry. The people cheered wildly. Check the video I uploaded. He first got the crowd going by talking about the football game at the university that evening and by calling the crowd ‘a lot more fun than the congress’. He then spoke about his main agenda, the healthcare reforms. He is an amazing orator. Even though I had little interest in or background knowledge about the issue, I was suddenly concerned about the American healthcare system and willed him on with his ideas. The crowd cheered wildly after almost every point he made.

The best statement was, I will paraphrase it, “I know many presidents in the past tried to reform the healthcare system, but I know I will be the last to try it because I am gonna be successful!” The speech lasted about half an hour and he ended it with a short anecdote of his election campaign. By the end of the speech everyone was ‘fired up’ and ‘ready to go’. The program ended and I headed out with the rest of the crowd, overjoyed to have heard a live speech from one of the greatest orators of our time!

So that’s one of my wishes granted, seeing Obama live! Now I have to see the Niagara, go to Vegas, ‘touch’ the statue of liberty, meet an astronaut, ... , ... , ... and oh yeah get a masters degree!

America - My days so far and a few more stray observations.

2009-09-11T19:11:00.008-07:00

And the days fly by. The honeymoon period of grad life is over and classes have begun. Luckily no assignments have been given. So I still have time to blog! First I will write about what I was up to in the past couple of weeks.

I moved into my apartment on September 1. It was unfurnished. So I scouted around for free furniture around the neighbourhood and cheap furniture at garage sales. Yeah, I actually picked up decent tables and chairs left behind by the original owners. I also got some great stuff for rock bottom prices at garage sales. Thus I managed to furnish my apartment without much expenditure. But then you can’t or won’t want to get things like food stuff, consumables, utensils, cosmetics etc. second handed. So we went on a mega shopping spree. We spent $132 at Cub foods for eatables, $312 and $115 at Target and Wal-Mart respectively for household items and $140 at the Indian food store. The above bills are shared between Rahul and me. Oh and one more thing, don’t try to convert it into Rupees but if you do want an estimate, then use $1=Rs12 as the conversion factor. I got that number from my general intuition and the PPP concept.

Then there were cooking classes through youtube. Rahul is a great cook and so there isn’t much need for him to learn recipes through youtube. Except when he wanted to know how to boil pasta. And we found an 8min video on that! You should definitely watch this video and see the amount of detail. I tried my hand at making sooji halwa from this video but it didn’t turn out quite well the first time. The second attempt was a success due to my modifications to the original recipe. Besides cooking I biked around the place a bit. I mainly biked along the River Mississippi and was treated to some stunning scenery.

I also attended a pre inauguration event at the new football stadium here. Not many people turned up as the match wasn’t played at the stadium but was screened live from New York. I went for it as all the tickets for the home games have been sold out and this would be my only chance to see the stadium. The initial enthu died out immediately as none of us followed the rules of the game. We cheered loudly whenever the American spectators got excited. I decided to try to get hold of tickets for college basketball games as that’s the only American sport I can follow. Oh and btw NBA tickets go for only $5 on some nights. I must definitely check that out!

We also went to lake cedar on a Sunday. Beautiful place. The walk through forested trails in a city was quite amazing. The lake is quite scenic and it has a small beach too! I, coming from Goa, didn’t think too highly of their beach. But the people there were making good use of it. Some were sunbathing, others splashing around in the water and some kids were making sand castles. I also visited the Mall of America, reportedly to be the biggest mall in the US. Lots of shops, restaurants and amusement rides.

Oh yeah, I started with my classes this week. My first class was a course in the Geology department. I sat on the 2nd bench and the 2nd last bench. So can you tell me how many benches were there in the class? :D The student behaviour was extremely causal by our standards. Guys were drinking coke or coffee during the class, some had caps on, some including me had come in shorts, one guy was sitting with his knees folded at his chin! And sometimes students just got up and walked out in the middle of the lecture! My other two classes went on similar lines. We had to hit the ground running as far as teaching was concerned. I already have reading to do. Thankfully no homework yet! So then, here’s to fun filled months of slogging ahead!! Cheers! :D

And to sum up, a few more stray observations of the Americans. Time is kept right down to a minute. Buses are supposed to arrive at times like 11:03 or 8:57. During our orientation, the profs were interrupted the minute they crossed their time limit. Coming late to appointments is considered to be an insult to the other party. Another point, buses and trucks have lady drivers here. Back in India, I thought Shaggy was adding spice to his ‘it wasn’t me’ video by having a lady drive a big truck. The buses here are quite disabled friendly. Passengers in wheelchairs are lifted into the bus through a mechanism and the wheelchairs are secured at designated spots in the bus. Pretty neat!

All in all I am having a good time so far. And the dream will continue....

America on a high

2009-09-07T16:05:00.003-07:00

Last night my roommate Rahul suddenly asked me if I would like to go to a pub. Well, I am not a big fan of pubs given the fact that I have gone to a pub only once in my 22 years of existence. Why not, I thought to myself. It would be a nice way to ‘drink’ in the American youth culture. Besides I could drown my graduate life sorrows in anticipation. Count me in, I declared enthusiastically.

The five of us met outside a pub called Burrito Loco in Dinkytown. I entered cautiously thinking what the norms and rates would be. After a quick look at our passports to verify our age, we were given a stamp of approval on our wrists! And we were in. I soaked in the atmosphere which was pleasantly smoke free. Lots of youngsters making their way around a noisy crowded space. There were some LCDs around. Some guys playing beer pong on a couple of tables. I found the idea of throwing a ball that has rolled all over the pub floor into a glass of beer quite disgusting. There was the counter at one end where everyone was waiting patiently in lines for their elixir of life. And last but not the least lots of hot gals around, unfortunately arm in arm with mean looking hefty guys. I decided to join the gym from the next day!

It was time for some drinks. And that involved standing in the long queue. I looked around and remembered how we had a peek at American college life through movies and sitcoms. It was almost the same except they wasn’t any PDA around and everyone seemed sober. Rahul got us the first round. We found a table and sipped in the brew. Akhil and I went to get the next round. We didn’t know which beer to order as Kingfisher and Fosters wasn’t on the list. I wanted Budweiser as I didn’t have an advisor. We asked some guys which one to order. They suggested Guinness. I had decided to pay for the round. But there was some offer where in if you call correctly in a coin toss, the drink was free. And unbelievably Akhil called correctly all four times! Yay, free drinks! Unfortunately luck turned around on its head for the next round and I ended up paying for all the four drinks!

We sat at our table sipping our drinks and munching on free popcorn. Yeah, we all like free stuff! Dry jokes are much funnier with drinks around and people laugh at anything. I can’t remember any besides when one guy said you suck and the reply was ‘U of M’ (That’s short for university of Minnesota) Ha ha ha! Then we had some serious discussions like who guided the first Phd student? As all PhD students are guided by a PhD guy. It was like what came first, egg or the kitchen? (not chicken, slip of the tongue due to the smooth beer) After a while we had had enough and decided to leave.

We met a small group of friendly Americans outside. And guess what, guys all over the world discuss the same stuff, gals, booze and adventure. It was time for goodbyes and we decided to call it a night. Cheers to AMERICA!

America!!!

2009-08-30T15:37:00.011-07:00

It’s been a week since I have come to this great country. For those who think that I have become patriotic to the US already, by ‘great’ I meant big! I thank God for giving me an opportunity to experience international education in true sense. Well for a week now I have seen a bit of Minneapolis and thus a bit of the US. So what were the first impressions?

I think the things that really catches your attention first up are the roads and the traffic. Especially for someone like me who has lived in Bangalore, the smooth orderly traffic is strange. I think they need autos here to induce some turbulence in this smooth flow. Another thing that took some getting used to, was the act of drivers stopping for pedestrians to cross the street (those that don’t have signals). Many a times I wait for the driver to cross and he/she waits for me. A pretty comical situation I must say. But on the flip side when you are in a hurry to cross a major street, you can’t just cross weaving between traffic. You have to wait for the green signal which can be annoying at times. Another thing that catches the eye is the number of cars, most of which are big. What a waste of fuel. You rarely see more than one person in the car. No wonder the US is so far ahead in carbon emissions. But then I guess driving must be a real pleasure here. The roads are smooth, broad and straight. The freeways are really free! It’s nice to watch cars, bikes and trucks zooming by.

Moving on, the residential areas are clean and green. The houses look pretty made of brick or wood. All houses and apartments have lawns (waste of water?) and trees in the front yards. There are sidewalks for pedestrians and joggers. The university is a combination of old and new buildings lay out over a large area. I heard the places looks really awesome in autumn when all the leaves turn yellow, red and brown. Looking forward to that! There is the Mississippi flowing through the campus, which reminded me of BPGC a bit.

I haven’t seen much of Minneapolis yet. The downtown is a neat place. Not too crowded. And one amazing thing is that most of the buildings are connected by covered walkways two floors above the streets. They are the lifelines for the Minnesotan winters. I also came across a beautiful wooded trail along the Mississippi, a stone throw away from downtown. It was incredible to find such a quite forested are so close to a city centre. I also visted a lake, Lake Calhoun. After seeing urban lakes like ulsoor it was a big surprise to see such a clean water body in a city

Coming to the people, they all appear and sound really friendly. I’ll take that at face value for the time being. It’s a pity I have a tough time following their language. Okay you might say I’ll get used to it. But I have to get used to tens of accents. Chinese, Korean, European, Hispanic, etc etc. It is truly a melting pot of cultures here. And thus, I, in a hurry to find fellow Indians, have mistaken Bangladeshis and Malaysians to be Indians. And it’s nice to compare cultures. For eg. An Indian’s doubt about buses, “can I stop a bus in between bus stops?” or a Chinese senior explaining his initial anxieties, “I was worried whatever I said in class or outside could have been held against me at a later date.” But one thing cuts across all cultures and that is the use of the ‘weather question’ to make small talk. Looks like even if people don’t share an iota of similarity, at least we share the same blue sky above us. So talking about the wet day or Minnesota winters is the best for making conversation.

Among other things jogging on the streets is a pleasurable experience. There are tons of super fit people jogging around. So you are not like a mad man running around. But besides these fit people there are so obese people too. I guess that can be attributed to all the cheese and mayonnaise that goes with all the ubiquitous deep fried foods. Shopping can be an overwhelming experience. The shops are huge. There are numerous brands for the same product. And there are countless different products. Walmart had guns being sold over the counter. There are stores dedicated to pet food. America is an epitome of consumerism.

Then there are other things like a 10 percent tip at restaurants. That’s steep ain’t it? Drinking water directly from the tap. OMG!! Google maps is amazing for travel directions. It even tells you the directions from your home to the bus stop and what time the bus will come. Everyone loves free stuff. Here people leave furniture and appliances on the pavement to pick up for free or sometimes for dirt cheap prices through garage sales.

Some typical American stuff. Dumb warnings like ‘do not iron clothes while wearing’ on an electric iron. All automated stuff like vending machines, machines for bus passes etc. Everything is inverted like driving on the right side, the right brake lever is the back brake, the fridge door handle is to the right etc. A little confusing I must say, specially the driving on the rights side now that I have bought a bike.

So there, my first impression of the Land of Opportunity. Stay tuned for first impressions of the education system. Gotta go and hunt for furniture now!

Here I am - this is me
There's nowhere else on earth I'd rather be
Here I am – at the U
The place where i'll make my dreams come true.

Daniel takes his first flight

2009-08-22T17:26:00.006-07:00

19th August, 1am. The hour had come. I was sitting near the departure gate admiring the 5-star ambience, a far cry from all the grimy and smelly railway stations I had been to so far. I wondered what was in store for me in the flight. I was all set even though I hadn’t used Set Wet.

The door was opened and I walked through the tunnel to the flight. This was the first time I stepped into a plane. It was awesome. Good air hostesses –check. I found my seat by the aisle and stowed my baggage. So who was the lucky person to get a seat next to mine? All of us dream of sitting next to a ‘hot chick’ on a flight. I waited with bated breath and began flipping through a magazine.

Then a girl’s voice, “Excuse me.” I look up, “yes..” “ That’s my seat.” Yay a blonde! My mind began the evaluation. Face 3/5, figure 3/5. Not bad for beginners luck. Now for the personality marks on 10. She seemed to be in a grumpy mood and was mumbling something and jabbing the buttons of the entertainment system. I waited. When to break the ice? She seemed cold like an Antarctic ice sheet. I waited a while. Then I tried to make some conversation. “Hi, I am Daniel and you are?” She mumbles something and continued jabbing buttons. Huh! I gave her 0/10 and also reduced her other scores! The grapes are sour.

I decided not to let that episode dampen my enthusiasm. I was flying for the first time and I was going to the US! I was so excited! Hell, I might have even danced in the aisle. But the pilot asked the passengers to fasten their seat belts. Loser! The dancing would have to wait. The engines revved up and the plane began taxiing down the run way. And take off. Mumbai and India were left far below. I thought of what an awesome machine an air plane was! Something so heavy and bulky took off and flew so smoothly. Mech rules and so does all engineering and technology.

Once the steep ascent was over I looked at the entertainment system in front of me. A screen, something like a stereo and two nobs. The passengers in front had switched on their screens and were watching movies. I also followed suit and found a set of head phones. But where do I plug them in? I looked around at the others but couldn’t figure out. I fervently hoped the female next to me would plug her headphones. But she just sat in her seat, muttering. Hmm, now even though a 10 feet concrete mental and communication wall existed between us, I didn’t want to appear dumb to her. So I decided to act intellectual and began reading a book. But I couldn’t concentrate. How could it be so difficult to find the head phones’ socket? Should I ask the air hostess discretely? Nah, leave it.

Then food was served. Ah, some diversion. Food was great. And it was cool to realise that I was having my dinner at an altitude of 36k feet. I had a little trouble with the cutlery and I yearned for a sleeper class railway compartment where anything would go. Here everything was so formal. I managed to get the food from the tray into mouth without any accident.

Time for a nap. I wanted to recline my seat. Oh dear, how do I do that? The only reclining seats I had used were those Volvo bus seats which had a lever at the side. Where was the damn lever? After fidgeting for a while I gave up. Maybe I could ask the air hostess discreetly. So I acted as if the seat was jammed and asked her to help me. She deftly pressed a button on the arm rest and it was done. How the hell I didn’t see that? And there I found the socket for the head phones too! Talk about killing two birds with one stone. Finally I was settled.

It was past 4 am and I wasn’t sleepy. Jet lag before flying itself? I guess it was all the adrenaline from the excitement. I checked the movies and decided to watch Ghajini. By the time Aamir finished off all the villains, my tummy was growling. What now? The plane was quiet and dark. Everyone was asleep. How do I call an air hostess? I walked up and down the aisle but couldn’t spot them. Suddenly someone switched on a yellow light and from nowhere an airhostess turned up. I rushed back to my seat and used the same light. When she arrived, I politely apologized for disturbing her and asked for some food. After a second dinner it was time to sleep.

It was good to wake up to the sweet voice and smiling face of a pretty lady (the air hostess and not the lousy dame next to me!). I should change my alarm tone to something similar! After breakfast it was time to land. Meanwhile ice queen next to me had melted a bit. We made some light conversation and then the bombshell. I had asked her the purpose of her visit. And she said she was visiting family in Baroda! An Indian putting on airs just because she had dyed her hair!

The PA announced that the Brussels airport had low visibility and had the flight would be diverted to the nearby Liege airport as the fuel was running out. The first hitch of my trip. I thought to myself if everything goes smoothly, that trip is not remembered. Little did I know what lay ahead for me. A rapid descent and my ears popped in celebration. The green Belgian countryside came into view. A slight jerk and the plane taxied to a halt. The pilot announced that we would have to wait on the tarmac till we got a green signal from Brussels. So I opened my book and wrote my blog! :D

The dream begins - with a slightly nightmarish start!

2009-08-20T09:51:00.008-07:00

'Welcome to JFK airport' announced the PA system. Yay!! I was elated not only because I had finally reached the US, but also because the long journey was nearing its end. I was right about the former (ob the PA wont say JFK if we were in Africa) but was quite wrong about the latter.

I disembarked and walked cheerfully along long corridors, up and down escalators and reached immigration. Whoa! What a long line! I was one of the many people wanting to live the dream. And there were people of all colours and language. I waited patiently. No wonder SRK was pissed. I guess he isnt used to waiting in India, where celebs are treated like demi gods. Finally about an hour later it was my turn. For some reason i was nervous. Maybe because the SRK episode and the Kambaqt Ishq scene played in my mind. I mumbled with my answers and fumbled with my papers. The officer was polite and tried to calm my nerves and waved me through quickly.

Next up, baggage claim. I located my well marked suitcases and looked around for a trolley. I had to shell out $5 for a trolley. Hmm a porter at the railways station wouldn't charge more than Rs 100! I passed through customs and wheeled my luggage to American Airlines and checked it in for my next flight. Now i had some free time. I called home and took some rest. I bought a bottle of water for $3! I guess i would have to stop thinking in rupees if i wanted to stay sane!

I had to walk a long way to the departure gate for my next flight. I had a thorough check, in which i even had to take of my shoes. Now things started to go wrong. When i reached the gate, i was told my flight was cancelled! Eh? what do i do now! They said they would book me on some other flight. But i would have to collect my luggage and go to some other terminal to catch the flight. It took me 5 minutes to understand these set of instructions cause of their stupid accent, my nervousness and my fatigue!

So i walked all the way back, for at least a mile. Collected my baggage and had to take a $5 trolley again. I suddenly remembered that i had an extra piece of bagge and wondered if my new flight (NWA) would honour Jet-AA offer. So will all my bags (5 in total) i went around searching for Jet Airways. No luck. AA personel had no idea. Hmm i guessed i would have to deal with it.

Next I had to figure out how to use an air train to get to
the next terminal. After lots of questions to random people i reached the designated terminal. I got a boarding pass issued and checked in my luggage. I had a two hour wait. I was feeling drowsy but did my best to fight it off as there was no one to wake me up! No alarm also! I decided to eat something. Ah, the familiar MacD sign. No veg stuff though. So i settled for a milk shake.

I walked to the departure gate (again a long distance and again the security check!) I was informed the flight was delayed due to bad weather. By now i was half a sleep while walking around! Finally 2 hours later I boarded the flight. By that time i was at JFK for around 9 hours. I fell asleep the moment i was seated and woke up only when i felt the familiar poping in my ears as the plane descended. Welcome to the twin cities of Minneapolis St. Paul. Ah finally. Alls well that ends well! Maybe if this was the end.

I went for baggae claim. And hey presto, fate had one last trick up its sleeve! My baggage wasnt there. Hmm by now it was like okay, what else? I filed for lost baggage and walked out of the airport. Well atleast one thing would go right. The volunteer was there to pick me up. Thanks Bharath Group and Vamshi for giving my trip a happy ending!

I went to sleep asap cause i had to begin the dream, literally! :D

You’re listening to RJ Danny!

2009-08-05T21:04:00.004-07:00

The other day, on a quiet afternoon, I was wondering how to pass time. I wasn’t feeling like reading, it was too hot to go out and too odd an hour to call anyone. Suddenly I remembered that I used to listen to the radio back in Bangalore and had totally lost that habit here in Goa. I plugged in my headphones and began searching for stations. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a good signal for any of the radio stations. Even though I hadn’t listened to radio for over two months, I felt I was missing something.

In Bangalore, I normally listened to the radio while cooking or while travelling by bus, neither of which I do in Goa. Radio Indigo was one of my favourite stations as it was fully in English. The RJs sounded sophisticated and cool! And the other station I used to listen to was Radio One. They played Hindi songs all day long. But the RJs spoke Kannada. But then their Kannada was more like English interspersed with the word ‘maadi’ at regular interval. Some of their RJs like Anjaan were cool, but this female called Pallavi was a pain in the neck! She used to talk endlessly in her high pitched voice.

There are various things that make up a radio show. Most of the time is taken up by songs. Then they have games which one way or the other revolved around asking some GK questions. And in this age of Google, I am not quite sure what the aim of this exercise is. Then there is the part wherein people ask for certain songs to be played. Now if you want to listen to some song why not play it yourself on your cell or PC? And when asked to ‘dedicate’ the song, people usually say ‘you’ as in to the RJ, and sometimes end up dedicating love songs to siblings and grandparents too!

Then there are commercials which sometimes can be quite creative as the whole idea has to be conveyed without visuals. My favourite ad was the tata indicom one which goes like one mother asks her son sound of dog, and he promptly replies bow wow, then cat and he says meow meow. Then she says mouse, and he replies click click. Then the narrator used to say something in Kannada which I guess meant that with tata indicom, all kids will be computer saavy. There were also some sad jokes which acted as fillers. My personal favourite was the one with Rajni Kanth travelling in a boat. Once Rajni Kanth was travelling in a boat and suddenly people noticed water was entering into the boat through a hole in the bottom. Everyone panicked and asked Rajni to do something. So Rajni made another hole in the bottom and wrote ‘in’ near the first hole and ‘out’ near the second one! Another type of filler consisted of various celebrities saying this is so and so and you are listening to radio so and so. Once they had Robin Uttappa say that. Who the hell recognises Robin Uttappa’s voice? Unless Himesh comes and says ooooooonn hoooozzoooor, it could be anyone from the street! And why should they tell me that I am listening to so and so radio station?

All said and done, the radio is a great tool to get the feel of the city. You get information on everything right from the weather to latest events, offers and even updates on traffic jams. So then, go ahead and tune in to your favourite radio station! This is RJ Danny signing off, catch me same place, same time, next week! Bbye..

Goa’s Enchanting Monsoons

2009-07-28T09:43:00.009-07:00

I love the monsoons. The landscape is marked by verdant hills, lush green fields and numerous streams. The air is fresh and everything is clean. I know the continuous showers dampen your spirits and keep you indoors for days on end. But if you enjoy playing in the water like children and don’t give a damn to getting wet, the rainy season can be fun. So I decided to explore Goa during this ‘off’ season.

Starting near to home, I went to the Rassaim waterfall following a few days of heavy rains. It involved a trek through some thick vegetation and wading through a fast flowing stream. There are two waterfalls in the vicinity. The first one is a small stream rushing down a steep rock face. The small pond at the foot of the falls feels like a cold water Jacuzzi. The adventurous few can try climbing halfway up the falls. One must exercise caution though, as the rocks can get slippery. The other larger waterfall is formed by stream plunging down about 40 feet. The pool here is larger and more suited for some light splashing around. You can also sit near the falls and enjoy the strong breeze due the waterfall. The thick forest around gives a sense of solitude. An amazing place to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Next I visited the hill at Paroda, Quepem. There is a road leading to the temple at the top of the hill. It was raining very heavily when we arrived. The hill is quite high and we could see the clouds below us. I felt like I was at a hill station. The view point offered a lovely view of the thick forest and green paddy fields below us. On clear weather days, one can see the Arabian Sea far off to the west. A good sunset point!

I also went on a north Goa trip with my friends. We visited the Arambol beach. The beach was deserted except for a few fishermen. We trekked to the top of the adjacent a hill and were treated to an amazing view of the coastline. As we made our way down the other side, we caught sight of the famous fresh water lake of Arambol. It is amazing to have a fresh water lake barely 200 meters from the sea. The lake is one place safe for bathing as there are no underwater currents there. We took a dip in the lake and checked out the stream that fed the lake. The waves slamming against the rocks painted an amazing picture as we walked back along the beach.

In the evening we visted Morjim beach. It was raining heavily. Still we decided to go out and enjoy! We tried hard to play football on the beach. But the strong winds kept blowing the ball of course. Soon the rain and wind subsided and we had great time playing beach football on a totally deserted beach. After a while we saw the rains coming, literally. It quite a sight to see the sheet of rain coming from the sea. We all ran back to our car, as we were not in the mood to get wet again.

The next day we visited Baga beach. Again we were greeted by rain and gale force winds. It was quite astounding and a little disturbing to see people bathing in the sea. I don’t understand how tourists find such a rough sea inviting. We walked around the beach for a while and decided to head off to Aguada fort. There were quite a few tourists here. After checking out the fort we headed to the cliff near the light house. Here the winds were so strong that we just could not face the seaward direction. The rain drops were moving in a horizontal direction. When the winds subsided we climbed down to the sea below. The rocks and the rough white sea against the back drop of a green hill makes up a lovely scenery. I had trekked from Aguada to Sinquerim beach along this hill a couple of years back. One of the best treks I have ever done.

This past Sunday I went to a couple of water falls in Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary. I would have never found these places if YHAI hadn’t organised the trip. The first waterfall was called Kuskem waterfall. It is some distance in the forest from the village. But the trek through thick vegetation was worth it. The waterfall is a treat to watch. The stream falls of vertically from a height of about 100 feet. You can stand right under the falls and have the water beating down you back like numerous hammers! Next we went to Bhamand Pudo. This one is right by the road. The water cascades down in two steps. The pool at the base is ideal for bathing. A cool place to hang out. I’ll give the coordinates of both the water falls. Thanks to Alroy for marking the spots with his Nokia N82. Kuskem coordinates: 15.0075N, 74.2071E. Bhaman Pudo: 15.0598N, 74.1594E

One should also check out the hill at mobor. You get a nice view of the River Sal and its plains. So there you are, there is more to Goa than the common notion of booze, beaches and babes. Hopefully I’ll be back soon to explore the rest of this paradise called Goa.

Kambaqt ishq – Kambaqht movie

2009-07-20T00:45:00.007-07:00

I know I had promised Himesh bhai that my blog would have only His movies’ reviews. But I have to make an exception for the masterpiece ‘Kambaqth Ishq’ maybe because the copyrighted himesh dialogue ‘back off’ was used in one scene. My friends and I decided, much against expert opinion, to watch this movie in the theatre. I was hoping that Akshay Kumar’s farting spree - which included farts like Welcome, Singh is King, Tashaan, and CCTC - would come to an end, whereas Kareena’s striping spree would continue.

The highest point was right before the movie started because everything went downhill from the beginning itself. To call the wedding party melee as donkey stuff would be an insult to donkeys. And when you thought things couldn’t get worse, there were jokes like an actor trying to make a joke of the words ‘suar’, sue and ‘suee’ (needle) sounding the same. Another joke was when Akshay shouts that he wants imported anaesthesia instead of local anaesthesia.

The movie hit new lows with each scene, and so did kareena’s neck line. The only thing going high was amrita’s hem line. In today’s materialistic films, it was ironical to see serious shortage of dress material. The film was trying really hard to make people laugh. One should watch the scene where Akshay is searched for drugs. Disgusting. I can’t imagine any right minded person enjoying such stuff. Kareena kept giving slutty looks throughout the movie. The songs fared no better. There was just noise. But then that helped them blend with the movie which also was noise.

The director seemed to have forgotten the old adage, once in a hole, stop digging! He tried desperately to spice up a weak script with words like bitch and bastard at regular intervals. The dry scenes were flooded with people in minimal clothing. Okay the blonds were usually attractive, but how can you keep staring for hours at a string of skimpily dressed babes on a big screen?

For those who like some story and logic, I am afraid they too will be disappointed. The story is the same old ‘guy gal hate each other and then fall in love’. Game set match to Cliché. The movie bordered on a porno flick in the sense the only aim of the movie was to show skin. To hell with a storyline. Logic too took a serious beating in some scenes, like when gangsters couldn’t catch kareena and amrita running away on foot. The locales of some scenes were great though. And I think that was the only high point of this tamasha.

About the guest stars. Stallone does well with his growling and dishum dishum. Denise was lukewarm, or maybe she was hot but kareena had stolen all the thunder and heat by then. The movie ends as expected with an ending that might have been happy or sad. I don’t know which because I didn’t find any story. I feel we should have been awarded a certificate of appreciation for our courage and determination to sit through 3rd degree torture on a Saturday night.

Are we also criminals?

2009-07-13T00:51:00.004-07:00

The other day I was pulled over at Panjim by a traffic cop for not wearing the seat belt. He asked for my license and enquired whether the car belonged to me. I replied affirmative. He told me that I had committed an offense by not wearing a seat belt. My mind started racing. What was the fine gonna be? Should I try to bribe him and get of lightly? Or should I pay the full amount? I decided to go with the flow. He didn’t seem to be interested in a bribe and proceeded to write a receipt. It turned out to be Rs 100.

I began thinking about my attitude to the whole incident. Would I have bribed him if it had meant a lesser fine? Bribing traffic cops is very common. But in doing so aren’t we cheating? Aren’t we stealing from our own country? The money given as bribe goes straight into the cop’s pocket. So in order to save some money we are ready to ignore our moral values. Now if you consider a rupee saved is a rupee earned, does bribing amount to stealing? Just because no one will catch us, we are ready to steal. So how are we different from thieves? And spare a thought for the honest officers who always issue receipts and the honest traffic rule violators who always pay the full fine. Both these honest parties are at a loss. Their crime? They are honest. Is this how we reward honesty?

I always felt thoughts are as important as deeds. In Christianity, having evil thoughts and intentions is also a sin. In short, most of the general public has the same mindset as a thief when it comes to bribing. Besides, there are other instances when we are ready to resort to unlawful behaviour when we are sure we will not be caught. I the feel, the only difference between us and criminals is that we lack the courage to do such things when there is a good chance of being caught and the result being public defamation and maybe even a jail sentence.

Another instance of bribery, albeit on a much smaller scale, commonly observed is in public buses. The conductor charges you less than the fare and doesn’t issue a ticket. Both you and the conductor are happy. It is a win-win deal. But doesn’t this amount to stealing from the corporation that runs the buses? And what about the honest conductors and commuters?

Take another example. Mob mentality. Violent protests are commonplace in our country. You see a huge mob going on a rampage destroying lives and property. Now the people of the mob draw courage from the fact that they are part of a huge group and the odds of being caught are negligible. So then we have normal people behaving like hooligans. Why? Just because they know they will not get caught. I know psychologists will have other reasons for mob mentality. But this is definitely one of the main reasons.

Then we have road rage. Incessant honking, rude facial expressions, obscene words and hand gestures are a common site on Indian roads. Why are people so rude on the road? Agreed driving is quite stressful. But you don’t see people abusing loudly when someone cuts the line at a post office or someone stamps your foot in the bus. Why? Again I feel it because of the ‘pay back’ factor. On the road there are no repercussion for bad behaviour. You just drive of, never to see the other party again. But at the post office or in the bus, you have to be in the vicinity of same people for at least a few minutes. So shame and guilt as a result of your abusive behaviour may force you to hold yourself back when offended.

Even brilliant minds are not free from this scourge. Take the ‘guest register’ at the I.I.Sc. mess. Here there is a system wherein non members can take meals at the mess by making entries in the guest register and paying the dues at the month’s end. It used to be a voluntary exercise until the authorities realised hardly anyone was making entries. How could mature and educated people think that they could save some money by cheating the mess contactor? And mind you I found the rates very reasonable for Bangalore. Again I feel it is the ‘I can get away with this misdeed’ factor.

So here we are then, lay ‘innocent’ people with a criminal mentality. We look down on the criminals who have been caught. But in reality, how different are we? It is just that we are lucky to be coward enough not to act on our evil thoughts. Jesus said, only a faultless person can cast a stone on a condemned sinner. It is time we clean up our thinking. Good words and deeds will automatically follow.

Train Journey – A colourful experience!

2009-07-06T09:15:00.009-07:00

Tooot! “Train number seven three zero nine has arrived on platform one.” comes the announcement and everyone rushes to board the train. A train journey is an intriguing experience. You come across all kinds of people as you journey to your destination. I have traveled many times on the Goa-Bangalore route and have had some interesting experiences.

I have generally traveled alone. My usual routine when I travel in trains is to put my luggage under the seat, plug in my earphones and begin reading a book or observing people around me. Then someone or the other in the compartment asks me whether I am traveling alone. I answer affirmative and I am requested to exchange seats with their friend who happens to be seating somewhere else. This goes on until I can’t be moved anymore. So finally I am settled. Now I see who my co passengers at my final resting place are.

Train passengers include the whole mix of young and old, men and women. The men usually are quiet and dwell in their own thoughts. Some of the more voluble ones will pass expert comments on all subjects ranging from politics to sports and maybe sometimes even on the masala used in the biryani. There are some who go to the top bunk and sleep all the time. And once there was this hep group of drunken men who made quite a racket all through the night. Loud music and dancing marked the beginning of their trip to Goa. I guess they were warming up to the place.

Then there are the ladies, whose tongues and lips never stop moving. You will hear discussions about everything under the sun. Sometimes it is a saahs bahu serial right in front of you. That’s when I turn up the volume of my earphones and bury my face deeper into the book. And all the gossip is carried out over a spread of chewda, chips, biscuits, bread etc etc. Ah, here is a tribe that certainly believes in ‘live to eat’ and talk.

And finally we have the kids who are usually whiny while traveling. These little pests can make your life miserable by playing with the switches or climbing all around or throwing stuff at you or generally just crying loudly. That’s when I go and sit by the door. Here you find the style gurus, adjusting their hair and clothes for hours in front of the mirror. I wonder who the hell they try to impress. When the train stops at a station, I check the passenger list for girls in the eligible age group traveling alone. I have never been that lucky so far except for Jab We Met. How to know if a girl is traveling alone? Check if her PNR matches any of the other occupants in the carriage.

Oh and we have visitors too. The ‘chai and caffee’ guys who come every 5 minutes and try to pass off mildly flavoured water as tea or coffee. The food vendors who sell some suspicious looking eatables. The Ticket collector who come in, looking important. This guy gets major bhav from people traveling on RAC or wait listed tickets. You should see how the ladies try to get his sympathy.

The one thing I truly detest about trains is the absence of dustbins and sewage tanks. The entire railway track is treated as a dumping ground for anything and everything. I hope the Railways would at least have one dustbin for every bogie. Another uncommon but disgusting custom is that of keeping footwear above the fans. Supposedly the footwear is safe up there. But what about the fact that the fan will circulate the stink from your shoes around the compartment?

All in all, a train journey is a wonderful experience. I especially enjoy the countryside, where you still see the rural way of life. I enjoy the pitch dark nights. I enjoy the clean unpolluted air in my face. I enjoy the rhythmic swaying of the train. I enjoy the toooot!

When the Maestro went for Visa

2009-07-01T23:45:00.006-07:00

I was feeling a little apprehensive as I boarded the bus to Chennai. I was going for my Visa Interview. The last formality before I depart in pursuit of the American Dream. Although everyone says it is a very easy and hassle free process, I was a little tensed as I had read about a third of the applicants get rejected for various reasons. A kannada movie was screened to keep the passengers entertained. Ah, I like the energy in these movies. They can really revive drooping spirits. I began to feel calm and positive. I began thinking of the most likely questions the Visa Officer would ask me. I thought about the reply to the question of why I would want to return to India. And the answer was in front of me. I love India and its movies. Maybe I could do a few PP dance steps to prove my point to the VO.

I reached Chennai. The city of my dreams. The land of Rajnikanth. As usual the auto drivers tried to fleece us. I guess it is in their genes to be so annoying. But the moment I told him that I was a big fan of Rajnikanth and would like to see his house, he became all friendly and cheerful. I noticed all men (and some women?) had nice thick moustaches walking around with confidence. And I had shaved mine so that I looked like my photo in the passport. I missed my moustache and the confidence it gave me. But I had other confidence boosters to help me with the Visa process.

We checked in a hotel very close to the consulate. Just a tip to the readers planning to go to Chennai for Visa. Please check all the hotels and lodges on Peters Road, not just the one the auto guy takes you to. Our hotel, the orchid inn, wasn’t very good and the receptionist behaved as though he owned the world. I switched on the TV and flipped through the channels. Every channel was Tamil, Telugu, or Kannada. What a city! No English or Hindi channels? Then the 31st channel changed everything. There was Shaktimaan fighting the bad guys with his awesome powers. I took it as a good omen. The first Hindi channel I came across in Chennai had Shaktiman. I also felt more confident about the interview. If Mukesh Khanna can wear tight clothes and fight the baddies, surely I could tackle a visa interview, with loose clothes! For the record the channel was Star Utsav at 6:30 on Sunday evening.

The next morning dawned bright and clear, hot and humid. Typical Chennai weather I guess. As I was walking to the consulate I kept thinking if I had done everything and taken all my documents needed for the visa interview. Oh no! I had forgotten to use deodorant. Oh crap, now I would ‘make sweat’ in front of the first American I would meet. I joined the long queue outside the consulate. There were people from all walks of life waiting to be permitted to live the American dream. I stood in the line thinking, not about what lay ahead of me inside the consulate, but how I was a sitting duck for terrorists wanting to attack the consulate. Any drive by shooting or grenade attack would have had me! Finally I reached inside. Safe! There was a security check, much more thorough than the ones we have at the malls and railway stations. I went to a document submission counter. The guy there was a pain. He kept asking me different documents and then by the time I had fished them out from my enormous file, he used to say he doesn’t need them. I guess he was checking how efficiently I had arranged my papers.

And then the climax, the interview. I was happy it was a lady as I could turn on the Charm de Daniel! Don’t know if that exists though.

Me: Good morning ma’am.
VO: Good morning. Documents and passport please.
[I handed them over and she began reading something on the computer. ]
VO: Is your father still in Kuwait? (On reading I was born in Kuwait I guess.)
Me: No ma’am he retired a few years back.
VO: Where are your brothers working?
Me: One is working ............ and the other is working ...........
VO: Could I see your GRE score card please?
[I handed it over. My GRE score sheet is in a bad condition.]
VO: Why is it in such a condition?
Me: (with a bright smile) It had got wet in the mail.
VO: How come?
Me: My score card had arrived during the rainy season when it rains heavily in Goa.
VO: Oh, you are fro Goa! Why did you come here then?
Me: I was in Bangalore for the past year and a half and the VFS site had mentioned that we have to choose the consulate depending on the last 6 months residency.
VO: OK Daniel, you are approved for the US visa
ME: Thank you ma’am!

So that was the end of the visa process. The whole thing lasted less than an hour, 30 min in the line outside, 2 min security check, 10 min document check, 5 min interview line, 3 min interview. I went out and hugged my mom. All the other parents there began asking me questions like reporters. I felt like a star. After taking a few quick questions we hailed a limousine, those yellow 3 wheelers, and went to our hotel room. I thank God for making the whole process so easy and tension free.

Questions are welcome in the comments section.

Full process in brief
1) Receive I-20 from university
2) Pay money at HDFC bank (Rs 7300/-)
3) Book visa date
4) Pay sevis fee ($ 200/-)
5) Fill all DS forms
6) Get financial documents ready
7) Visa interview

Chennai sight seeing

St George's Cathedral

Corporation building

Bangalore Traffic – A case study of Chaos!

2009-06-18T09:12:00.006-07:00

Beep beep. Trrrrr trrrrr. Screeech. #$*@$#*. All put together make the symphony that is the sound of Bangalore traffic. Riding on the streets of Bangalore on my bicycle or bike has been an intriguing experience. You never know what is going to happen next. Is that bus gonna stop in middle of the road? Is that auto gonna do a U-turn on a busy street? Is that dog or man gonna cross the road without warning? Or are you gonna get spit on by a passenger in the bus? Boy, don’t I sometimes wish I had not five, but ten senses to aid me getting to my destination unscathed.

The undoubted kings of the road are their majesty, the autos! Weaving through the traffic with the manoeuvrability of bees, these guys are intent on practicing Brownian motion. Some of them are so loud; you can’t even hear the gentle throbbing of your own engine or for that matter the much bigger bus in front of you. It is like they are telling you can run, you can hide, but you can’t escape my noise! I wonder if the autos had been more powerful. Imagine the havoc they could have caused. Many thanks to Bajaj for restricting the engine power of autos to just 7 bhp (yeah! I checked!). Or imagine if auto drivers were drunk. Would the autos be a more potent force for causing chaos? Or would the two negative effects cancel out? I hope this experiment is never ever tried out!

But hey auto drivers aren’t the only dudes who spice up Bangalore’s road life. Street rage sometimes leads to use of some really colourful language. Unnecessary honking even on empty roads, high beam headlights on brightly lit roads, etc. turn the streets of Bangalore into an unwanted disco. Then we have dudes who make use of every bhp of power their engine can churn out to reach 0-60 kmph in 5 seconds and then end up using the amazing braking capacity of their disc brakes to come to a grinding halt with 2 seconds at the next signal. It goes like vroooooom and then screeeeech!! This practice is a big waste of fuel. So it’s best to avoid high acceleration and excessive braking for the sake of the environment and your pocket.

Then we have the ‘bike crossing the road’ event. Now whenever a rider joins a main road from a side road on the opposing traffic side, he first goes some distance on the wrong side in the hope of crossing the road somewhere further. What’s the point? Anyways he has to stop and wait for an opening in the traffic flow. So do the nonsensical thing of going wrong side and then stopping? I guess there are some things in life internet can’t explain, for everything else there is Google. Oh and sometimes cars and buses also try this!

Another passing observation on roads that do not have dividers. Whenever for some reason there is no traffic coming from the opposite direction, all the motorists take the liberty of thinking it is a one way street. Now the traffic from the opposite direction may be blocked due to a railway crossing or a lorry taking reverse or something. So at the point of obstruction you see traffic piled up opposite each other on both sides of the road. And when the obstruction is cleared, all hell breaks loose! Smooth flow of traffic is obstructed by the over smart motorists trying to get back on the correct side.

Now for the real baddies of the road. Pedestrians. Their high manoeuvrability makes them very dangerous. Even more than autos. Throw in a cell phone and the pedestrian can give any motorist nightmares. They never use the footpath they are supposed to use. I guess everyone likes life in the fast lane. You encounter these devils more commonly whilst cycling as you use the extreme left of the road infested by these pests then. And the way they cross the road takes the cake. It is best illustrated by a figure. Now from the figure you can see, the shortest distance between two parallel lines, the road edges, is the path perpendicular to it (AB). So obviously the pedestrians, for the greater good of all road users, should cross roads along AB. But no! The shortest distance between two points (A and C) is not AB + BC, but AC of course! So the smart asses on foot cross the diagonal to it, jumping between cars, signalling motorists to slow down, and generally walking nonchalantly across the busiest roads leaving a trail of cursing motorists in their wake!

So that was an in depth analysis of Bangalore’s road users. The way to avoid this hell? Take the bus and have a good laugh at all the others down below you shaking their heads in despair and muttering under and over their breaths. Or learn to take it in your stride see the lighter side of how stupid and inconsiderate people can get.

Netravli Trip – Exploring the verdant Goan hinterland

2009-06-12T09:16:00.010-07:00

So then after exploring all the famous places in and around Bangalore, it was time to rediscover the unmatched beauty of Goa. First up was the Netravali wild life sanctuary. As usual I surfed the net for info but couldn’t find anything worthwhile. I sorely miss the loads of info about anything and everything in Bangalore on the internet. I couldn’t get anything useful from the special Goa edition of the Outlook Traveller either.

So we set out from Margao in the morning with some vague info on the route and with the hope that we would meet some friendly locals who would show us the way whenever we felt we were lost. On we went, gliding past green fields and rolling hills. The Goan countryside is really magical in the monsoons. We passed through the towns of Curchorem and Sanguem. We gave lift to a couple of guys and in return got directions to the destination. It was a win win situation to both parties. Finally after riding for 55km we reached Netravalli village. We had a quick snack and collected some supplies for the trek from a small bar, yeah a bar!. If you ever feel that you might be lost and have crossed the border of Goa, just look around. Every village and hamlet in Goa, no matter how remote, has a bar. And Netravali was no different.

We rode on for another 3 km till the road ends at a small hamlet. We asked some locals for directions. After walking through backyards and front yards of small houses, we got a little lost. We came back and found a local who agreed to show us the way till the start of the path. It was fun walking in the forest on a path criss-crossing the stream. After walking for a good half hour the path came to an end abruptly. Soon shoulders and spirits were dropping and there was no waterfall in sight. We decided to walk along the stream.

Then suddenly I saw a speck of white around the bend. Finally we had reached the waterfalls, Savari Falls. It looked quite stunning. Suddenly someone spotted a snake basking in the sun near the edge of the pool. Now this was a wild life sanctuary and the snake had as much right to the stream as any of us. Soon expert comments on snake behaviour were flowing. Whether it was poisonous? Would it enter the water when were bathing, did it have a mate somewhere around? It was decided that one of us keep watch on the snake while the rest of us splashed around the pool. Then we wanted to take some pictures on the rocks near the snake. The snake was in the same position since we first saw it. Was it hibernating? After close examination we saw that its skin was shrivelled and ants were feasting on its body. The snake was dead! To think of all the fear a dead snake managed to instil in us. It was time to head back the way we came.

We wanted to explore the other waterfall. But time was short and we didn’t want to get late to leave for Margao. We decided to visit the other major attraction in the area. The Bubble pond, where bubbles erupt to the surface whenever you clap. But when we were there, bubbles were coming continuously. It is quite a mysterious phenomenon. I had read that such a thing occurs due to release of methane during decay of organic matter at the bottom of the pond. I could not see any decaying matter in this case as the water was crystal clear. And Goa is not known for seismic activity to assume that the gas is coming from the earth’s interior. So, I wonder how those gas bubbles are formed at the bottom of the pond.

That brought an end to our Netravali trip. We reached back to Margao after a serene uninterrupted ride through some lovely rustic scenery. See you at the same place for my next Goan excursion!

Old Churches – The architectural marvels of Bangalore.

2009-05-30T20:57:00.010-07:00

Bangalore is home to a number of historic and extremely impressive cathedrals, basilicas, chapels and churches which are important architectural symbols and landmarks of the city. These churches belong to diverse Christian communities, such as the Roman Catholic Church, the ancient Syrian Church of Kerala and its reformed counterpart, the Mar Thoma Church, Protestants from the Church of South India (which includes Anglicans, Lutherans and other older denominations) and newer evangelical groups with links to the United States. I visited a few of the old churches around central Bangalore with my friend Jonathan. Thanks to my Sony Camera and Picassa for the lovely pictures. (Click on the pictures to view full sized images.)

1. All Saints Church, Brigade Road, Bangalore
The foundation stone for the structure was laid 27th November, 1869 and the church was consecrated 17th October, 1870.

2. East Parade Church, M G Road, Bangalore
This CSI church was completed in February 1886.

3. Hudson Memorial Church, Hudson Circle, Bangalore
Hudson Memorial Church was built in memory of Rev. Josiah Hudson. This stone building was built in 1904 in a mixture of Gothic and classic styles.

4. Infant Jesus Shrine, Viveknagar, Bangalore
Infant Jesus Church at Vivek Nagar is one of the biggest churches in Karnataka and a popular pilgrimage centre. The foundation was laid in April 1970 by Rev.Dr.Lourduswamy, the then Archbishop of Bangalore and the church was completed in the year 1979.

5. Sacred Heart Church, Ashok Nagar, Bangalore
This church built in 1867, is a rare combination of Gothic and French style of architecture consisting of solid granite rock-blocks, marble interiors, beautifully sculptured statutes and pillars decorated with Corinthian style carvings. The church features typical Roman style side altars, two parallel column towers and a mighty bell from Italy.

6. St Andrew's Church, Cubbon Road, Bangalore
St. Andrew's Kirk, is a Scottish church built in the 1860s and features a particularly grand pipe organ, together with detailed stained-glass windows depicting scenes from the bible.

7. St Francis Xavier Cathedral, St John Road, Bangalore
St. Francis Xavier's Cathedral was opened on 26th May 1932. The blue and while domes atop the stone towers really catch the eye.

8. St John’s Church, St John Road, Bangalore
This Anglican Church dating back to 1853 is a beautiful structure with a tall spire that can be seen from a distance.

9. St Joseph's Church, Mysore Road, Bangalore
This church was built in memory of Fr Briand in 1867 It is the only church in Bangalore with a crypt St. Joseph's Church.

10. St Luke's Church, K R Market, Bangalore
This church was built in 1830.

11. St Mark's Cathedral, M G Road, Bangalore
St. Mark's Cathedral dates back as far as 1808 and is known for its beautiful colonial facade, large dome, external bells, elaborate carvings, woodwork and monuments. It was originally built in 1808 and enlarged in 1901.

12. St Mary's Basilica, Shivajinagar, Bangalore
St. Mary's Basilica was originally built as a small chapel in 1818 and was transformed into the present grand Gothic-style church some 60 years later. The stately arches of the church are supported by stained glass windows and multiple columns built in a rich Corinthian style.

13. St Patrick's Church, Brigade Road, Bangalore
The second oldest Catholic Church (after St Mary's) is the 150-year-old St. Patrick's Church. The foundation was laid in July 1841 and the building was completed in 1844. It has a beautiful arched entrance flanked by twin columns. The interior of the church has twelve graceful pillars which symbolise the twelve apostles. The twin spires of the Church are a landmark in the city cantonment.

14. Trinity Church, M G Road, Bangalore
It is built in the English Renaissance style. The foundation stone was laid on February 16, 1848, and the church was opened to public on July 25, 1852.

Keywords: Key, hole.

2009-05-25T04:56:00.003-07:00

We have locks everywhere. We lock doors, gates, bikes and even our cell phone keypads. Besides hard work being the key to success, all other keys are small metal pieces with jagged edges. Now keys have an infuriating tendency of following Murphy’s Law and get lost at all the wrong times. Okay I know there is never a ‘right’ time for something to get lost, but I hope you are getting the point. My bicycle lock also needs a key to open it. I am actually thinking of installing a remote controlled central locking system for my bicycle. Wouldn’t that be cool? Anyways, I do not have a keychain for my bicycle key as key chains make an annoying rattling sound against the mud guard while in motion.

So there was this one time when I parked the bicycle on the footpath locked it and was about to put the key in pocket. Just then the key slipped from my fingers and, believe it or not, fell right into the drain through a small crack between two slabs. I shouted ‘Noooo’ as I agonisingly watched it fall in slow motion into the drain. I had to go home and get the spare and that involved walking for about 1km to borrow a bicycle and then cycling 3km one way to my home and back. Anyways all’s well that ends well and the incident was forgotten.

A couple of weeks later I went to a cyber cafe with my bicycle. I locked it and put the key in my pocket. After surfing I walked back to my bicycle but just couldn’t find the key. I checked my pocket thoroughly and realised that it had a small hole. Damn! The key must have slipped through it. I frantically traced my steps back to the booth I was sitting in but to no avail. Now I was in a fix as I didn’t even have a spare! There’s Murphy’s Law for you. It takes ages to lose the first key but just a few days to lose the spare key when you haven’t yet made a duplicate.

Hmm, what do I do now? I could go and fetch a mechanic and get him to remove the lock. But that would involve keeping my bicycle unattended and given that the key was certainly picked up by someone, that wasn’t a safe option. So I decided to wheel my cycle home by lifting the rear wheel. I realised that wasn’t a good option as it was quite difficult and my home was about a km away. I would also have to pass through the market place and my actions would certainly evoke some suspicion. Bicycles don’t even have RC books! How the hell am I supposed to prove my ownership if someone questioned me?? I decided not to risk it as I didn’t even know the local language in case I had to explain myself.

So I was back to square one. I decided to risk it and go to the mechanic. I began walking dejectedly with my hands in the pocket cursing fate and myself for not making another spare key and for not being careful about checking for holes in the pocket. Suddenly I felt the cloth lining through the hole in my pocket. The pocket was in between the outer fabric and the inner lining. So the key must still be inside. Not in the pocket but in the pants! I quickly bent down and felt all around the lower hem. And voila! There it was. I gave a cry of joy! People around me looked at me curiously. So I started walking slowly thinking how I could get the key from there. I bent down again and tried to force it back up. But I felt it wasn’t a pretty sight in public as I probably looked like I was scratching a bad itch. What if someone gave me Itch Guard?

After a little brainstorming I realised I had to go home and do the retrieval. I hurried back home, removed the key and rushed back to my bicycle, lest someone around there thought it had been abandoned and decided to take it. Luckily my bicycle was still there. I made sure there were no holes in the drain covers this time in case history repeated itself.

Key of the story, keys should be kept away from all holes except for keyholes!

The 50th

2009-05-20T20:39:00.003-07:00

And it’s a fifty! A fine effort by Danny in posting 50 articles on his blog! [:D] And it has come in precisely 365 days. Not exactly a break neck speed, but a steady rate of about 1 post a week! Okay enough of the stats. When I started by blog exactly a year ago, I didn’t expect to get this far. I took up blogging mainly because everyone else seemed to be present in the blogosphere. But the constant encouragement of my fans and followers has kept that flame of enthusiasm burning.

First of all I thank Google for hosting my blog and for making blogging so easy. I am not very good with this computer stuff, but Google has managed to make blogging a ‘left handed child’s play’. I also thank Facebook, Orkut and Gtalk for the free advertising space for my blog URL. Officially I have 15 fans. You can check their profiles under ‘faithful fans’. I am sure there are many more readers besides those elite 15. I thank each one of them for taking time out from their not so busy schedules to read my blog. I also have international readers as evident from the hits I get from around the world. Check the world map for details. Nations that haven’t yet read my blog are doomed as they don’t get the benefits from my enlightening thoughts meant for the betterment of mankind. I think the HRD ministry should make this blog a part of the school curriculum. [:D]

I do not blog for money as evident from the fact I have made just over $2 over the past year. I do not blog for fame as I am already quite famous! As I have said I blog for the betterment of mankind. Few of the readers ask questions and clarify their doubts through the comments section or through private chat. The rest follow my teachings without question. Understandable as Plato and Socrates were rarely questioned in their days. There are some people who feel my thoughts are pretty useless. All I can say is that many great thinkers and philosophers were ignored or condemned in their time. Anyways creative writing is supposedly good for your health! My writings cover a wide genre ranging from environment, travelogues, general and spiritual musings, etc. You can go to the section of your choice through the various labels.

So then folks happy reading! I hope to post some juicy articles during my stay in Goa and the USA. Its goodbye then, till the next milestone.

Breaking News: Danny the author of famous blog The Reflection of Perfection is meeting with his fans at Forum Mall on Sunday. Be there to grab some exclusive autographed reflection of perfection t-shirts.

And it is a six!

2009-05-14T21:47:00.003-07:00

And it is a six! Short ball put away over square leg! And everyone is on their feet cheering and clapping loudly. You might think this is a scene at a cricket stadium during an IPL match. Wrong. This is the scene in a hostel common room at IISc during an IPL match. I remembered the days when we watched cricket matches on the common room TV at BITS. It is always fun to watch cricket on TV with some enthusiastic fans.

The room is jam packed. The match is a nail biter. All eyes are on the screen from no matter where. Some guys even stand behind the TV and peep from the side. It’s much more fun when India is playing because all guys are supporting one team. So when you have an umpire’s decision that goes against India, the people start swearing and abusing the umpire even if he was correct. Everyone gets really pumped up. But there are some guys who act cool as though they don’t really care who wins. Then there are some like me, who cheer the other team just to irritate the diehard fans. And also your lone voice is heard when you cheer loudly when everyone else is quiet. It is a treat to see all the dirty looks by the diehard fans!

Then we have the commentators and anchors who are supposed to enhance the match viewing experience. The less said about the non cricketing commentators the better. They are there for the soap opera effect which attracts the economically active population of India. Yes, you guessed right, the ladies. Once that has been achieved, then its time to bombard the audience with unlimited number of ads. Actually the IPL has proved that all the BCCI and Set Max want is money. From the senseless cheer girls to the obscene number of advertisements that pop up all the time to having some jokers discussing the flaws in Sachin’s batting technique, everything is directed towards making the gentleman’s game into a money spinning carnival. Cricket is almost incidental.

Talking about commentators, it is really amusing to listen to some of their comments. For example when the ball takes the outside edge and goes for a boundary, the commentator says ‘he will take it’. How idiotic! Does he have a choice? Imagine the batsman going up the umpire and saying "Ump, I don't want that 4 as I did not play a proper shot and it flew off the edge, so deduct it from my and the team's total." Or when a run out occurs they say “ x team didn’t need a run out at this stage”. At what stage does a batting team ‘need’ a run out? Another stupid comment I hear often is ‘the ball is not coming on to the bat’. Now if the bowler bowls towards the bat, the ball will go on to the bat. If he swings or spins the ball away from the batsman, how will the ‘ball come on to the bat’? But our old hindi commentators on DD1 take the cake. They used to get excited and go ultrasonic whenever the ball crossed the 30 yard circle. Something like this. “Aur yeh agli gain, fultoss aur gumma dia mid wicket ke uppar (high pitch!), gain boundary ki taraf ja rahi hai, (by now he is ultrasonic! But then suddenly the pitch falls..) lakin fielder maujooth, ek hi run milega..” But all that said, the commentators do add another dimension to the viewing experience even if they use a lot of asinine clichés.

So then it is time to head to the nearest TV and cheer at the top of your voice for your team and the cheerleaders shaking their booty. Who said cricket is all about bat v/s ball?

Makalidurga by night.

2009-05-07T21:00:00.010-07:00

The night was dark and cold. We were speeding along the dark highway. Suddenly the bus left the road and took a detour along a bumpy mud road. The babble in the bus stopped and all of us grew silent. Where was the driver taking us? All we could see was a short length of the path ahead of us lit by the headlights of the bus. The bus slowly came to a halt in the middle of nowhere. It was pitch dark all around. It seemed like we were living a horror story. Our guides told us it was time to start the trek! Huh? Where?

We got off the bus and looked around nervously. It was past midnight. The calm of the night was broken by a train speeding by, just a few yards in front of us. And then it was dark and quiet again. We assigned numbers to ourselves so that we could check if any new members like bears or aliens might have joined the group during the trek. Neither did we want any unexpected layoffs from our group despite the recession. The guides cautioned us against getting too far ahead or lagging too far behind and told us to walk in a single file.

We could see the silhouette of a huge hill looming in front of us against the night sky. That monster was Makalidurga. One guide led the way and the other brought up the rear. I have no idea how the guides could keep on the path in the pitch darkness. We trudged along with our torches lighting our way forward. I thought this must be the way smugglers operate travelling on unmarked routes in the dark at night. But I guess we wouldn’t have made good smugglers cause of the constant chatter in the group. Our guide then told us to keep our voices low as loud sounds would disturb the wild animals in the area. Now we were already a sizeable group and didn’t want any uninvited company.

After a while our guide told us to stop and wait while he went ahead and checked the path. He came back saying we were on the wrong path. Oh dear! I hoped we were not lost so early in the trek and that we wouldn’t have to spend the whole night sitting uncomfortably on some rocks. He told us to wait while he scouted around for the right path. We waited and waited. After a few anxious minutes of shouting and calling out, he came back and said he had found the right path. We were back on track.

Slippery rocks and gravel, steep climbs, thorny bushes and creepers added spice to the adventure. Finally we decided to take some rest on a rocky clearance. We all lay on our backs exhausted. Spread out in front of us like black velvet with shiny diamonds was the night sky in all its glory. It was truly a breathtaking sight. You could see countless stars. A few lucky guys spotted shooting stars. I wonder when was the last time we took time to appreciate what a marvel God created in a night sky. After trekking a few more minutes we reached the summit. We settled on the grassy ground. Our guide started a small campfire to keep the cold and darkness away. We played dumb charades to while away the time left to dawn. Some of us tended to the fire. It was hard work feeding the fire continuously for hours! Luckily for the amateur lumberjacks, there was lot of dry shrub available around.

A few hours later the eastern sky began taking a slight bluish colour. Finally it was day break. We put out the fire and explored the area. It was an old fort. The plains far below looked quite scenic with the houses and trees looking like small toys. A train went by. By then the sun had appeared. We had a quick breakfast of parathas and bananas. It was time to trek down. The path was quite different by day, obviously now that we could see the path and the surroundings. We soaked in the scenic surroundings of rocks, grass and shrubs. The air was cool and damp. It was very relaxing. We reached the base and boarded the bus. It had taken us three hours to climb the hill and an hour to climb back down. All of us were tired but pleased with the awesome experience.

I thank Bangalore Mountaineering Club for giving us the contacts of the guides and transport service and all my fellow trekkers for making the trip so awesome!

The Application (‘Apping’) Saga – Why Did I Dare to Dream?

2009-04-27T20:01:00.006-07:00

Pichle do posts mein apne dekha...... Ab aage!

Some miscellaneous items. Some universities require a rank form from your college. So check out the whims and fancies of each university. Some ask for financial certification. To put it simply, the univ wants to know whether ‘baap ke pass paise hai ki nahi’ so that uncle sam will not have to support you during your stay there. Typically you need to show finances for the first year which includes tuition fees and living expenses. This amount varies from university to university. Usually California and north eastern universities are expensive whereas Texas ones are cheaper. So how to show so much money. If you have that much money, well and good. If not, you have an option of taking a bank statement from some wealthy relative and getting a affidavit from him stating that he will sponsor your education.

So now you are ready to send your packets to the universities. Make packets for each univ consisting of what is required. You could save some money if you send all universities packets together to someone in the US who can then send the individual packets to their destinations. Packets can be sent by courier or post. I sent it by speed post. Yeah for once a government agency can be trusted to deliver.

You will also have to fill the online application form. This also can be annoying as each university asks for different things. UMinn asked for some diversity essay in which I had to prove I am different from other students and not too different so as to be considered abnormal. Gatech had four questions instead of the SOP. So don’t expect to fill all the forms in one sitting. Keep tea and music for the breaks. Don’t forget to make a resume which strictly talks about your research experience and academics and a short mention of your extra curriculars. Gold medals in the 4th grade and participation in elocution competitions should not be included. Also report your GRE and TOEFL scores to universities besides the ones you had already reported to.

So that’s it. Its over from India. Now over to the USA. After submission you will just have to sit and wait. The waiting period can be tough specially when your friends get calls and you don’t. I attributed my lack of calls to being out of coverage area and thus decided to change my cell phone service provider. You can keep yourself busy by mailing profs from the universities. You may have to make a webpage for the profs reference. You basically tell the prof how you can be useful to him in his work and whether he can offer you some assistantship. Of course you have to be more subtle. I will never finish this article if I get into the details of the ‘mailing profs’ act. You can also check for scholarships for graduate studies. I trawled the net for days. The only ones I came across and applied to were the NSF and the JN Tata scholarships. I also came across an ‘Education Advising Center’ during this search. You can contact them at 080-41251922 for help with the applications.

And then the last part. The results! It can be over-the-moon joy or heart-breaking sorrow. I thank my parents and friends for helping me cope with this roller coaster period. For instance when Stanford gave me a reject, some of my friends cursed Stan instead of agreeing with the fact that I am not good enough for the university. Now that’s priceless support! Finally you will have to choose one offer in case you have got multiple admits. I decided to take UMinn based on many considerations. So next up is the Visa process. See you same place for the sequel of the American Dream

Roll credits!

The Application (‘Apping’) Saga – The Dream Turns Tedious

2009-04-21T22:11:00.005-07:00

Welcome back. Picking up from where we had left off, you will also have to decide whether you wish to pursue an MS or a PhD. That took a while as I was, and still am, not quite sure what I want to do in life. So I decided on pursuing an MS first up as that would give time to decide whether I am PhD material or not. Also I wasn’t quite sure of spending the next 5 years of my life in some place I have never seen and working under someone I have never spoken too. It sounded too daunting. Pursuing an MS would give me a feel of research in the US and help me decide my field of interest. Basically I felt I could make a more informed decision during the MS program. About leaving after your masters, in the case of an MS-PhD program. It is not ethical in the first place and secondly it is illegal in some cases. The university may not give your masters degree at all or may blacklist you from doing a PhD anywhere in the US.

Now for the stuff needed from your undergraduate institute. You will need sealed transcripts of your grades. That created some confusion for us, as the form had some weird questions. Problem was solved through emails and phone calls and two days of unwanted tension. The second thing needed will be reccos from your profs. Now that can be a pain in the wrong place. First you have to decide who will be your recommender. That decision is based on how well the prof knows you and what he will write about you. Rank of the prof is not as important as the former two points. How well he knows you, depends on the number of years he has known you, subjects taught and projects supervised. Fairly clear. Now the point is what he will write about you. That cannot be known as the correspondence between the prof and university is supposed to be confidential. You will have to trust him and hope of the best. You could do your part by not choosing your enemy as your recommender. But what if your favourite prof isn’t so kind and generous with praise for you in his letter?

(Click on picture to enlarge.)

Is there any way to read the profs mind? Yes! Well not exactly. There is a way to read what the prof will say about you. You ask him for paper reccos for some universities. Ask for one university which you will not apply to, along with the required ones. Open that extra one and see what he has written. If he hasn’t written anything good, you can ask him to shove it up where the sun doesn’t shine. But that is not morally correct. Both, taking the extra recco and the shoving part.

Anyways I didn’t do this. I took all my reccos online and hoped for the best. Another couple of points on the subject. Approach the profs well in advance and if possible take the reccos before the rush season of November December. Different universities take online reccos at different times. Meaning some universities accept reccos anytime after you have started your online form while some accept only after you have submitted your form. So adjust accordingly. Maybe it might be easier to take paper reccos and send them yourself although some univs like Gatech and UTA have no paper recco option.

Now for the mother of all apping ingredients. The SOP! Well this statement or essay is supposed to talk about your research experience, goals, reasons for choosing that university etc. There are tonnes of articles on this and you can check them out yourself. I’ll just mention that the essay should have a ‘flow’ in a certain direction. It shouldn’t be random like the path of an auto in Bangalore. Also refrain from repeating stuff from your resume. Instead of describing your project, talk about what it taught you or what skills you acquired through it and how it is related to the field you’re applying to. All your projects should somehow appear related to your field. For example tomatoes and blood are related by the fact that both are red. Now the connection has to be stronger than that. Anyways I hope you get the point. As far as possible, the SOP should be customized with respect to length and content for each university.

Sigh! When will I see the end of this tunnel?

To be continued..

The Application (‘Apping’) Saga – The Dream Begins.

2009-04-19T00:10:00.006-07:00

First of all, I thank God for all my results, the admits and the rejects. Without His help, nothing could have been achieved. I know He gave me the admits which are part of His plan for me. I also thank my parents for helping me, even when they had no idea what to do, for putting up with my temper and moods during those nerve wrecking days. I am also grateful to my brothers, friends, batchmates from BITS who are now my seniors, and the BITS2MSPHD forum for all the help and support right through the application process, which I am gonna describe in these series of posts.

Once you have decided that you wish to pursue MS/PhD in the US, go to the nearest book shop and purchase Barrons. For more info on GRE preps, please refer to my posts ‘My journey in getting 1560 in GRE!! :D‘ and ‘GRE=words+stupid words+crap+wtf+dumb formulae= madness!!!‘. According to me, it is best if you can answer the GRE and TOEFL by August of the preceding year if you are applying for the Fall semester of a given year. So try and book the exams in advance so you get the date, time and place of your choice. Booking is done online and you will need a credit card. Also decide on at least four universities you are sure to apply to, as you are allowed to report your scores to four univs on your GRE exam day. Don’t waste it as it costs $17 to report your score. I wasted one slot by listing UCB as one of the universities and ended up not applying to it.

A passing remark about TOEFL. It is a very easy test if you are reasonably fluent in English. But I got a pathetic centre, in the sense my exam was delayed by 4 hrs, the computer hung once, and then it took ages for each question to load. It spoilt my rhythm and by the end of it I was tired, hungry and frustrated. As a result I screwed my speaking part. It might be a good idea to take some biscuits or fruits along, just in case you end up with a similar predicament. Or maybe you could keep some pizza delivery numbers in your contacts. The centre was ‘Attest’ on Mission Rd, Bangalore. The second time round I took Christ College as the centre. Everything went smoothly, although I didn’t do very well in speaking again, as I was really nervous the second time. The decision to answer TOEFL again is in itself a long story and I will not go in to the specifics here.

As for short listing of universities, there is no hard and fast rule. I based my decision on rank, cost, chance of funding, research and profs in your field and opinions of experts, my project guide at I.I.Sc in my case. I also mailed many seniors at the univs to get info about the universities. Finally, I chose two dream univs, two mid level and two safe univs for my profile. It is really difficult to quantify your profile and the universities level of acceptance. There is no easy math that will tell where exactly you will get. Maybe you can go to a palmist or read your horoscope to help make decisions. It is really a mind numbing job. Of course you can apply to numerous univs to be safe. But each univ application cost $120 on an average. Anyways in my case Stanford and UIUC were my dream univs (both rejects), Gatech (admit) and Purdue (not known yet) were mid level univs and UT-Austin (Reject) and UMinn (Admit with aid) were my safe univs.

Now that you have decided your universities, start applying! First start applying to the ones that have ‘rolling admissions’. I am still not quite sure if such a thing exists. Basically rolling admissions is a concept in which applications are reviewed as soon as they are submitted and results are given soon after. So you have a higher chance of admission/funding if you apply early. In my list, UIUC, Purdue, Gatech and UTA had rolling admissions. I didn’t know Purdue had rolling admissions and ended up applying to it on the last day. Information about rolling or ‘stagnant’ admissions can be found on the university site if you read it thoroughly or ask some seniors. Now that the ball has been set rolling..

To be continued..

Tackling the E-Monster

2009-04-07T21:30:00.005-07:00

This is truly the ‘e-age’. Everyone talks about e-mail, e-ticketing, e-banking, e-books and even e-zone. But you don’t hear much about a term called e-waste. But this term may become the most talked about e-term if nothing is done to control this silent threat to the environment. E-waste comprises old electronic goods ranging from personal computers and peripherals like DVDs to various household appliances such as TV’s, refrigerators, cell phones, wires, batteries, and CFLs. Each of these products contains a plethora of substances and chemicals, many of which are toxic and likely to create serious problems to the environment and human health if not addressed appropriately. E-waste dangers stem from ingredients such as lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, copper, beryllium, barium, chromium, nickel, zinc, silver and gold.

Take for instance the dry-cell batteries so commonly used and disposed along with regular waste. Everyday thousands of batteries are disposed of in Bangalore itself. About 55% of these batteries include the zinc-carbon and zinc- chloride batteries which are known to contain heavy metals and mercury. Another 25% of batteries used are button cell batteries which again have mercury content. The relatively safe alkaline batteries which do not contain mercury currently make up just 10% of the market. It is the same with the widely promoted CFLs which contain mercury and should therefore be collected and recycled rather than be disposed along with regular household waste.

So how and where is this e-waste disposed?

Land filling of e-waste, one of the most widely used methods of disposal, is prone to hazards because of leachate which often contaminates ground water resources. Older landfill sites and uncontrolled dumps pose a much greater danger of releasing hazardous emissions. Mercury, Cadmium and Lead are among the most toxic leachates. Mercury, for example, will leach when certain electronic devices such as circuit breakers are destroyed. Lead has been found to leach from broken lead-containing glass, such as the cone glass of cathode ray tubes from TVs and monitors. When brominated flame retarded plastics or plastics containing cadmium are landfilled, both PBDE (Polybrominated diphenyl ethers) and cadmium may leach into soil and groundwater. In addition, landfills are also prone to uncontrolled fires which can release toxic fumes.

In India we also have scrap yards where the young, the old and everyone in between dismantle e-waste to extract small quantities of various metals. Laborers smash and unhinge devices, spraying toxic shrapnel all over the ground, where people with no shoes walk. Then workers employ a variety of methods to track down and remove the metals from objects like circuit boards, semiconductors and wires. The methods used for retrieval of valuable components are terribly harmful to the environment and human health. Mother boards are regularly burnt for retrieval of copper. Gold extraction is seen to take place is small rooms with no ventilation. Here chips from printed circuit boards containing tiny specs of gold are heated with nitric acid. The final retrieval uses cyanide - this cyanide is finally flushed into the open drain outside the unit. Inhaling or handling such substances and being in contact with them on a regular basis can damage the brain, nervous system, lungs, kidneys and the reproductive system.

Harmful effects of e-waste chemicals
• Arsenic may disrupt cell communication and interfere with the triggers that cause cells to grow, possibly contributing to cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes if someone is exposed in chronic, low doses.
• Cadmium affects your body's ability to metabolize calcium, leading to bone pain and severely weakened, fragile bones.
• Chromium can cause skin irritation and rashes and is potentially carcinogenic.
• Copper can irritate the throat and lungs and affect the liver, kidneys and other body systems.
• Lead poisoning can cause a whole slew of health problems including the impairment of cognitive and verbal activity. Eventually, lead exposure can cause paralysis, coma and death.
• Nickel is carcinogenic in large doses.

Scientific disposal of e-waste.

So what can we concerned (if you have become concerned by now!) citizens do, to avoid this mess our fancy gadgets create at the end of their life cycle? This is where an NGO called Saahas comes in. They have taken initiatives to reduce uncontrolled dumping of e-waste in Bangalore and in the long run hope to eliminate it all together.

Saahas has also setup nine public collection points for CDs, DVDs and batteries.
• Safina Plaza, Commercial Street
• Landmark store in Forum Mall, Koramangala
• G K Vale Photo at M G Road, Indiranagar and Jayanagar
• Fab Malls at Indiranagar and Bannerghatta Road
• Fitness One at Koramangala and Jayanagar

Saahas office address:
#431, 8th Cross, 1st Block, Jayanagar, Bangalore
Tel: 41689889, response AT saahas.org

To set up a collection bin in an apartment complex, an initial amount of Rs.3500 must be paid to Saahas, after that there are no other fees required ever for the timely collection or for any other promotional programme. After paying this amount, a bin is set up in the common area of the apartment complex (usually near the security room). Collection is done once in two months and Saahas collectors take it to their office.

At the Saahas office, the e-waste is further segregated into batteries, CDs and floppies. The lot is then sent to e-Parisara, which is an authorised company for recycling e-waste located in Dobaspet industrial area, in the outskirts of the city. Other bigger items can be handed over directly to the Saahas office for safe disposal.

Recycling e-waste helps recover important natural resources for reuse and decreases the need for surface mining. Recycling is a better, environmentally friendly solution to finding these metals in existing products, rather than digging up the earth and impacting nearby forestry. Also the insatiable demand for all kinds of metal has fuelled gruesome gang and tribal wars in many parts of Africa. The following is an excerpt from a New York Times article.

Columns of men, bent double under 110-pound sacks of tin ore, emerged from the colonel's mine shaft. It had been carved hundreds of feet into the mountain with Iron Age tools powered by human sweat, muscle and bone. Porters carry the ore nearly 30 miles on their backs, a two-day trek through a mud-slicked maze to the nearest road and a world hungry for the laptops and other electronics that tin helps create, each man a link in a long global chain.

The proceeds of mines like this one, along with the illegal tributes collected on roads and border crossings controlled by rebel groups, militias and government soldiers, help bankroll virtually every armed group in the region.

So here you are the facts are out in the open and the decision is yours to be taken. It is time the educated class of India takes steps towards eliminating this growing hazard which they themselves created in the first place. Now you know how to give your old beloved PC the farewell it deserves!

The best mode of transport in Bangalore.

2009-03-31T21:12:00.005-07:00

This past Saturday I decided to give up the luxury, if you can call it one, of using my bike to commute around Bangalore and instead rode my bicycle. I wondered if I could be up to the task of cycling about 20 km to airport road in the summer heat. Surprisingly, it turned out to be quite an enjoyable experience. I wasn’t too tired at the end of it and I covered the distance in good time. Less than an hour to be precise and that’s decent for travelling right through central Bangalore’s legendary traffic jams. On Sunday, I cycled from yesvantpur to koramangala in 45 min.

So what makes cycling so enjoyable? Well, for one you can weave through all the traffic that is stationary at the signals and come right in front. And then the moment you get an opportunity to cross, you can go. Even if the signal is red. I stress that you have to exercise utmost caution while doing this. Else you can wait for the pedestrian crossings slots. Also, you always have a free left even if the signal is red. Then there is the footpath in case you can’t weave through. You can go the wrong way on one-way streets instead of having to make cumbersome detours. Also, there is no need of searching for a break in the road divider to take a U-turn. Just hop over it with your bicycle.

The best part is when you bend all these traffic rules; you don’t have to bother about the cops. In fact you can smile at them! I felt like giving the cop at trinity circle a middle finger salute for the unreasonable fine incident. And then you have a chance to best the auto guys in squeezing in all the gaps. You also need not bother about finding a place for parking. Just find a decent place on the footpath and lock your bicycle. The whole city is your parking lot, except the parking lots themselves because your cycle might be thrown out to make place for a motor vehicle.

Besides, cycling is a really good exercise and is an environmentally and economically friendly mode of transport. But you do need to have some level of physical fitness for long distance commute. The climbs can be really tiring especially if your bicycle doesn’t have gears. You get some rest when you have to stop at a red light. So you really don’t mind a red signal as much as when you travel by car or bike. It might also help if you have good shock absorbers. Else you get rocked in the wrong places when the road or footpath is bumpy.

As I have mentioned earlier, your own safety should be your first priority. You have to assume you are invisible, in the sense no one will give you way or bother about your safety. Cyclists are the lowest in the hierarchy of road users. Even pedestrians don’t bother about your presence. They just cross in front of you and don’t move out of the way even if you ring the bell. Less said about other road users the better. No amount of trring trring will get their attention. Sometimes it’s not their fault because your feeble trring trrring is drowned out by the ear splitting tttrrrrr of an auto a mile away. Make sure you have proper reflectors on your bicycle and wear light coloured clothes in case of night cycling. Also be extra alert around buses and autos near bus stops. You never know when they’ll swerve or brake hard, leaving you to fend for yourself.

So there you are. Cycling as a mode of transport has so many advantages. You do your bit for the environment and that is much more than just switching off your light for one hour in a year! You can help decongest Bangalore’s roads. You save money. You will not need any more of those boring treadmill sessions to stay in shape. And above all it’s fun! So pick up a cycle, plug in those earphones and pedal away to glory! Tring Tring!

Added on April 16,2009.
In Paris they have a wonderful bicycle rental system. Check it here I hope Indian cities follow suit soon!

All nighter for poker

2009-03-25T02:15:00.004-07:00

I arrived at the den ‘namma mane’ at sharp 8pm last Saturday, just in time for the big night. I had practiced the poker face for hours by not laughing at my own jokes and by watching himesh in the ‘back of ruby’ part of aap ka suroor. It was time to play poker. I let it be known

its bye bye
to the good guy
coz once the cards are dealt
no feelings will be felt
and i'll kick u below ur belt!!

And so began my gambling career. I soon won my first round. Although the winnings were meagre, it was a start nevertheless. I noticed that the southern end of the table, or mat in this case, was the lucky side. But soon it changed. I guess according to the vastu of the den, the southern end luck was meant to burn out quickly. I wanted to change ends but the casino manager turned down the request citing security issues. I was losing quickly. I decided to drink water, changed my seating, and began picking my card with my left hand. Nothing worked. My incredible bad luck continued. There was this one instance when I felt like tearing my hair out. I had the best cards and I was on the verge of winning the round. It was time to reveal the four poison jokers. The first three didn’t kill me but the forth did! And I lost the round I had heavily bet on. It was like when you put a nice juicy rasgulla in your mouth and it is snatched away from you just when you are about to bite into it!

Soon I was in the red. I had to borrow from the rich. I continued losing. So I decided to call it quits. I watched from the side lines for a while. There some innovative rules being made for each round like lowest total value of cards, jokers, adding the alphabet value of the first letter of each card, and some even more complex stuff that can’t be described here. I couldn’t resist and decided to rejoin by taking some more loans. But my luck didn’t change in the second stint. I just lost more slowly as I played defensively. Some players even took their coins to the bathroom during their breaks lest someone stole them. I didn’t have such problems because I knew each of my few precious coins by name and would have easily detected their absence.

The hours flew by. The rich got richer and made little piles of their coins. While the poor became poorer and began to act sleepy and disinterested. Soon the rounds were being played at really low stakes mainly because the poor were mired in debt while the rich were wary of losing their hard earned coins towards the end of the session. The organisers tried to inject money in the system by having many jokers. But that tactic also failed. We decided we had had enough. So finally after a marathon 10 hr session, we finally called it quits at 6am.

Each player went to bed in different moods and probably had different dreams too! It had been a fun filled night. I realised gambling is truly addictive as can be seen from the fact that I did a night out (something very rare for me) for poker. It was also fun to see the way the winners, including me very rarely, grab the stakes of the round. Thus began my gambling career on a not so promising note. But I know I’ll get better with time. Las Vegas, get ready to welcome the soon to be poker master!

Epilogue: the next morning i woke up at 10 and heard a knock on the door. I opened the door to furious neighbours unloading their frustrations on me. It was good to know there were people more frustrated than me with the previous night's incidents, albeit for different reasons. Apparently our late night revelries had disturbed the neighbourhood. One guy, who didnt know proper hindi or english, started scolding me like by saying "monday to friday shanti, weekends tum log doing gulata!" Now i didnt know what exactly 'gulata' was. It sounded like galipata. I dont know the meaning of that either. So i just nodded seriously and suppressed a yawn. I then handed over the baton to abhijeet who managed to calm them down. And i went back to sleep.

The time when its proper to call someone a F*cker

2009-03-19T21:17:00.001-07:00

We all know that auto guys are the biggest pests of Bangalore roads. I didn’t know there was a group coming in a close second place. Manish and I were going from Ulsoor to Airport Road last Saturday night at about 10:30. The signal was green to take the left turn at trinity circle. As we past the signal a cop jumped in my way like a frog and frantically waved us down. I thought it was a general checking. I showed him my documents. He told me I had violated traffic rules. I was stunned. I was riding slowly with a helmet on. I wondered what rule I could have broken. He said I had jumped a signal. Now no amount of persuasion could change his mind. And there was no way he could have seen the signal from where he had been standing. How do you argue with this?

Next he could have said I wasn’t wearing a helmet because I had taken it off to talk to him. Thank God he didn’t do that. He said the fine was 400 bucks. We protested, argued and begged. He threatened me saying that he would confiscate my licence and produce me in court where without any hard evidence; it would be my word against his. I don’t know how they decide such cases. But luckily we managed to convince him that we had only 100 bucks on us. I thought it would be a bribe. But he gave a receipt! And in the end he said 'thank you brother!' I wonder what you can do in such situations. Except maybe give him a good dose of expletives in your mind.

The Return of an Alumnus (Part-2)

2009-03-16T20:55:00.006-07:00

Bachelor of Engineering. That was the honour bestowed on me by BITS. So how did I earn it? The general opinion of the public is that we bitsians probably slog hard all semester with very little time to take a break for relaxation and fun. But we all know it’s the other way round. We take short breaks from relaxation and fun just before exams for some quick preparations. Some guys don’t even do that. Anyways as I walked the hallowed corridors of the institute building, some fond memories of our classroom experiences came rushing back.

Every hour spent at a lecture was like cutting your life short by 60 minutes. The excruciating one hour was shortened by 10 minutes by the smart idea of coming late to class. I remember one prof, who had just joined, thought he could put an end to this ingenious idea by bolting the doors once the lecture had started. Little did he know that by the end of the week he would have to respect the old adage ‘beggars can’t be choosers’. He had to accept students arriving even 30min late so as to have a decent attendance level by the end of the class. Then there was this time in a mechanical CDC lecture when there were two profs and one student. Yeah it had to be the highest teacher-student ratio of all time. BITSians have always been smart. They know that in order to increase the teacher-student ratio, you have two options: increase the teachers or decrease the students. We unanimously chose the latter!

There were so many measures taken to lure students to class. Some were obvious like attendance marks, some dumb like not allowing students to go out of campus before 5pm, some useless like blocking internet access during class hours but keeping the LAN on. You can’t make a horse drink water if he is not thirsty! Sometimes the situation got so bad that the students didn’t even know who was taking his courses. This was exposed when once during a viva, the prof asked the student who was his instructor and he didn’t know! Then there was this course numerical analysis. I went to collect my T-2 recheck paper just before the compres from the instructor’s chamber. He checked my name in the list and showed me my attendance. It read PAPAAAAA.... He asked me what the problem was. I said to myself I miss my Papa!

And there were some memorable instances of the times when I did go to class. Like the time when we went to class thinking we would get our test papers. But when we walked in, we saw no papers with the prof and so promptly walked out! And when I got chucked out of a class for laughing or got lectured one-on-one in class and after class by a prof because I was messaging in class! I was so traumatised by the ‘lecturing’ episode that I stopped messaging for a whole month! [:D] There were some instances which were quite hilarious even though they happened in classes that I wasn’t present in. Like the time when a prof slipped and fell and instead of helping him, the students were laughing. And when the prof said ‘magic’ as he didn’t know what had happened when a screen saver came on.

The lectures really increased my patience and mental endurance. Although I didn’t master the art of sleeping with my eyes open, I still did and learnt many useful things like practicing meditation, trying my hand at drawing, messaging without looking, learning to say the alphabet in reverse and when I was bored of that, I tried saying numbers in reverse! The practical sessions will always be remembered for all the gossiping and dry joke sessions. And as a result sometimes we obtained results better than the theoretically predicted ones. Who said experimental results can never match the theoretical predictions?

Some profs knew their subject well but didn’t know how to express themselves. They should have used Airtel. There were others who knew nothing but had good oratory skills. They used every minute of the lecture to impart, I won’t say knowledge, but I‘ll say to impart stuff. They spoke so much about themselves and what they had done and what was wrong with us that we would have pasted his poster in our rooms and say to ourselves ‘I must be that guy when I grow up!’ And there were those who knew nothing and didn’t know how to talk also. Negative negative cancels out right? Not in this case though because every rule has an exception. This combo led to the 2 prof-1 student incident or the 5/500 attendance lecture. And finally there were the good profs. Those rare gems, for which you yearn for and because of whom you say to yourself, I wanna be a prof like him when I finish studies! And to get a feel of our profs Bushisms check the immortal quotes listed on Orkut.

All in all it was a wonderful time of my life. I thank all my friends for making my undergraduate years so awesome. I’ll forever cherish those fun filled days. So here I conclude this tribute to BPGC with a hope that my life ahead will be at least half as much fun as my BPGC days.

The Return of an Alumnus (Part-1)

2009-03-13T04:01:00.015-07:00

‘BITS 1-km ahead’. That’s what a signpost on NH-17B told me. I was going to campus again! Maybe the last time. I was excited. This was the place where I had spent the best days of my life. So many memories came rushing back. I signed in as a visitor. I miss those days when I proudly showed my id card at the gate. As I made my way slowly towards the insti building, I remembered all the good times I had with my friends.

I passed my hostel: the fantastic BH2. I recalled those unforgettable moments that made hostel life so awesome.
Playing football inside the hostel and breaking glass panes. Cricket matches that soon ended up in prolonged fights over trivial issues. The eternal pastime of playing carom at any time of the day. The innovative birthday celebrations that made you wish you were born on 29th Feb or better still, 30th Feb. Watching cricket matches in the common room that was so crowded that you had to stand on the window sill to get a glimpse of the TV. The singing and dancing sessions that we had in our rooms to relieve whatever stress we had. The perpetual water shortage that caused unexpected hardships, like the time when water got over before I had completed my bath and I had to run to the next bathroom in the middle of the night. The virtual abuse room of campus, DC, where everything would go – abusing others, starting rumours, making announcements, sharing all sorts of stuff, exchanging coupons and the like. The booze parties people had in the hostel. I had my 1st and last booze party on my last day in the hostel. But it ended in a fiasco as the three of us who were supposed to lose our campus-drinking virginity were joined by 7 other guys intending the same. And all of us ended up getting jus a sip each. All the memories made me hungry. So I decided to visit the mess

The mess was the place where the intellectuals met up to discuss current affairs like who was the best looking gal for the day. Unfortunately these discussions ended rather quickly as the severe shortage of gals threw up very few contenders. I wonder what it would be like to study in an institute where girls outnumber boys! Anyways the food in the mess was usually tasteless and it took a great deal of will power to finish your meals. When the will power was lacking, we ordered food from Preeti. It used to be a welcome break but the fact that we had to go the gate to collect our packets like refugees going to relief camps, made it an unattractive proposition.

As I walked to the audi, I remembered the times we strolled around the campus spending hours talking about every topic under the sun and at night, under the moon. The endless PJ sessions that left everyone with a headache in the stomach! I reached the audi. Aah, this was the place where many a battle was won and lost. I remember the zephyr days with all the slogans and placards, all the intensity and patriotism. The regular cultural programs when we booed shamelessly when in the audience and got booed embarrassingly when on the stage. The AH-2 group dance performance will always be right up there with the best moments of my life.
The place was better than Inox for watching movies because we could dance during songs, howl our lungs out at the saddest of jokes and attempt to make some wisecrack comments which no one wanted to hear. Suddenly I saw Rohan Karmali on stage. Hmm, who remembers that ultra cool and suave antakshri host? I’ll always remember the picnics we use to have to Sarvondem for that annual all goa antakshri competition.

Walking towards the SC, the basketball courts brought back memories of Nagraj’s tirades against every other player on the court! Boy he was a fellow who played friendly evening games with NBA intensity. At the SC, the stationery aunty was still there. Slow and stupid as ever. Some things are timeless. I felt like troubling her by asking for dozens of things and not buying them in the end or bargaining over a phone bill! And there was the 5 star Aatish cafe at the back where experiments were made to invent new dishes by means of mix and match. That is how Manish once got chicken in his veg curry! I am surprised not many people ended up in the nearby medical centre. Probably people were too scared to fall sick given the fact that the doctor there used to diagnose mild fever as typhoid and a running nose as lung infection!

I saw our chief warden as I was heading back. That brought so many memories of our trysts with the talented faculty of our campus. After all the main purpose of going to college is to study and attend classes.
But I’ll keep that for my next post. As I walked back to the car, I saw some children playing in the park where we used to relive our childhood days on the swings and slides. Now I hoped I could relive my college days. How I yearn for the days when I could see the sun set over the picturesque Zuari River. How I miss that carefree life, when you wake up in the morning and know there is nothing important to do, when you could decide to play carom instead of going to class. But then you have to move on. Everything has to be left behind, except some priceless memories.

The Coorg travelogue

2009-03-05T20:14:00.012-08:00

The trip started off on last Friday night. After days of preparations, we were finally on our way to Coorg – the Scotland of India! The small bus was filled with the cacophony of 17 BITSians celebrating with beer from yahoo and netapp parties! The driver screened the movie Khosla ka ghosla, but had to stop cause of repeated loose connection. Circuit branches should have applied their knowledge here. The ride was very bumpy and I could only manage some intermittent sleep. Then suddenly the bus just stopped. The driver wanted to catch some sleep, I guess. So we stepped out for breath of fresh air. And lo and behold, there was a stall selling idlis and tea at 3:30am.

We reached our first scheduled halt at kushalnagar at the break of dawn. First up was the elephant camp at Dubare. The place was quite beautiful with the morning mist still hanging in the air. We forded the river to see the elephant training grounds. Somehow the elephants didn’t appear very majestic. After trying to get some pictures with the big beasts, we headed off to kallooru peak for a trek. Our guide told us it would be a short 2km trek of beginner level difficulty. Little did we know that 2km would be the distance vertically and beginner level is a highly relative term. The trek was long and the climb, steep. The path was slippery with loose gravel and leaves. The thick undergrowth ripped our skin and clothes. The weather was warm and humid. But then as with all great climbs, the view got better and better. And finally after a lot of huffing and puffing we reached the peak! Unfortunately we didn’t have a flag to mark the occasion of the conquests of Coorg’s highest peak. At least we all thought it is the highest peak. After another photo session with many digital cameras and mobile phone cameras it was time to head back down. The climb down was obviously less tiring but more treacherous. We reached back to the bus tired, but content to have conquered the peak!

Nisargadam was the next stop for the tourists. It is some island in the Cauvery. The hanging bridge was quite cool. Then we went for some boating. But the boating area was so small that we ended up going round in circles for 10 minutes, much like those toy trains for kids. We explored the garden a little and came across a tree house. All the photographers in the group sensed a good opportunity for pictures. But the tree house was occupied by a couple. All of us inadvertently ended up staring at them impatiently, waiting for them to come down. That certainly helped matters because they hurriedly left the place after that. Nice use of the staring technique to drive someone out. Then there were some deer which everyone tried to feed. I don’t know how that can be entertaining! Maybe because they appear 'cute'! Last we went splashed around the river for a while before heading to the bus.

We arrived at Homestay in Madhikere where we were to put up for the night. The place was beautiful, perched high on a hill top. We waited patiently for the sun set but suddenly some clouds came in and spoilt the scene. Later, we went to the town for dinner and shopping. Things to buy include coffee, spices, honey and wine. The day was supposed to end with a camp fire. But we were too tired for that formality. So some us hit the sack while the rest grabbed some bottles. Everyone has his own way for relaxing.

The view from our dorm the following morning was heavenly. The hills appeared like dark islands in a sea of white morning mist. It was really beautiful. The mornings agenda was to visit talcauvery. After a quick breakfast we were on our way. Unfortunately, the ghat roads got to me. My ‘vomit free since 2003’ streak was broken. I guess I completed the previous night’s booze party with my mess! Talcauvery, the origin of river Cauvery, is situated atop a hill. There is built up temple pool which is the origin. The place wasn’t worth the 60km round journey on hilly roads. There is a viewpoint from which nothing great can be seen.

Our final stop was a Tibetan monastery. The architecture of the temples is quite exotic. You suddenly feel you are in Tibet or the north east. The temples are open to visitors even during their prayer times. It was weird to see people clicking pictures of monks deep in prayer. After going around the stalls that sold some overpriced stuff ranging from handicrafts to clothes to crockery, it was time to head back to Namma Bengaluru.

During the journey back, we played dumb charades to amuse ourselves. It was quite hilarious at times. Like when one guy had to act ‘Madagascar’, he thought the key syllable was ‘gas’ and acted it out in a way that I think is not appropriate to describe here. The word luck was conveyed by rhyming it with a certain four letter word. This was dumb charades at its peak of awesomeness! And when we asked for music, the driver played himesh songs. Finally we had found a fellow himesh fan. I was really enjoying the journey back. Then there was the one last twist in the tale.

Our bus broke down a couple of hours before Bangalore. So we decided to go the village for tea. We were probably the first tourists to visit ‘Billakere’ and thus got quite a lot of inquisitive looks from the villagers. We were back on our way after a while. Then the bus broke down again and the driver said that we would have to go to Bangalore by ourselves. So it was KSRTC to the rescue. It was quite a scene with 12 of us making a lot of noise at the back of a silent bus! We reached Mysore satellite bus stand after a while. Maybe they should name it chandrayan or something! [:D] From there it was in a pink shuttle bus to namma Majestic. It was midnight by then. We boarded the last bus to airport road. Suddenly someone started playing some music on his cellphone. And it was really loud. These Chinese mobiles are really, well, noisy. Then someone else decided to rival it with his own music at full volume and then a third guy. Luckily the conductor told them to lower the volumes. Then it was time for a BMTC special on the deserted city roads. He floored the gas pedal and kept it there. And within no time we were on airport road. All of us stumbled out of the bus. The trip ended as it had started with Golden Star smiling at us with a coke bottle in his hand from a hoarding on airport road.

On the whole this trip was good fun even though it was extremely hot and all the places lacking the green magic. I guess coorg is at its best soon after the monsoons. But then I will not be here around then. I thank my chief of staff Neeraj, for helping organise the trip and all the others for making it a success.

You can contact our guide Mr. Murari at 9840557671 for guided tours such as this one to various places in south india.