Thoughts

Taare Zameen Par

2007-12-30T08:48:00.000-08:00

Who needs drama? This was my reaction when my dear friends A and H suggested 'Taare Zameen Par' movie for a team outing on a Friday evening. Tearjerkers on a Friday evening - what has this world come to? Hmmm - Despite my dear friend V's tagging me to blog, I have been avoiding it and laziness is definitely not the cause. Shall we say reluctance? Whatever it is I hope I give sometime each month for blogging :) Well coming back to the Friday movie, I was devising all plans to give an excuse to avoid it and I am glad that my plans went futile.

As a young dad (Oh yeah! I have a 2 month old who is ‘igooing’ and ‘agahhing’ right now) I was told TZP is a movie must for the parents to watch. So off I went to see my first movie in Mayajaal. The movie is all about a boy Ishaan Awasthi, who knows not to write hat as h-a-t - he writes with an h inverted or the t is replaced with its mirror image! Alphabets - English or Hindi - are always Greek and Latin to him. They are all symbols, which just confuses him to an extent that he fails in his third grade. What's even more miserable is that his own dad does not understand his problem. If there are better words for uncaring - do tell me, for that is how his teachers are to him. With little solace from his big bro and his sweet mom, Ishaan passes his pitiful life that is filled with black and white - An irony as he uses bright colors to paint - painting beyond perfection considering his age. Infact the movie starts with his own paintings at the background as the titles are being displayed - the painting he has drawn in his bedroom wall.

Failing to attack the right problem, Ishaan’s dad puts him in a boarding school where he becomes more introverted. Progression is perhaps the last word this poor kid with dyslexia could ever be aware of - until he meets his Seraph who takes him from darkness and shows the ray of light - the light that makes his life colorful. Nikumbh the teacher for special children joins the boarding school as an art teacher and incorporates astute methods to teach Ishaan who inturn learns to write h, t and thus proper English thru painting, clay modeling, and big boards and develops his motor skills through computer games and building blocks. And in the grand art competition finale, his painting wins and is published as the cover page for that year's school magazine.

The whole movie is colorful as was aptly told by my friend S after coming out of the cine hall. If I were to list the top scenes in the movie (Oh we are approaching new year and the top n list fever has caught me too), I would say these: The differently abled children perform in the Tulips Day - the annual day for the school for special children where Nikumbh works and as soon as the show gets over, the children and their parents run and hug each other. The entire episode is a guaranteed tearjerker. The next scene would be - Ishaan is curious to know what his mentor has painted in the art competition. When he gets to know that it was his self-portrait that Nikumbh has painted (And mind you this has its potpourri of colors), his small eyes are filled with tears - and so is ours.

Well many thanks to my dear friend H who patiently translated the dialogues every now and then! And thanks to A and H who were the main reason to compel me to come to the movie. Needless to say the drive back in the 9pm office bus to home sweet home with M, A and J was equally fun filled!

With More Thoughts...

Maasil Veenayum…

2007-09-16T22:27:00.000-07:00

From my reluctance in learning my own mother tongue there was this transition to a person who started to love Tamil literature. Thanks to my 10th grade teacher who was infact the sole reason for me to love Tamil. Infact I dropped the idea of continuing to read Tamil in my 11th grade when I learnt my favorite teacher would not be handling it and ended up learning French! That was the time subjects were chosen out of sheer love and respect for the teachers.

There was this poem about Lord Shiva in Tamil prose and it is a general procedure that poems in the prose section need not be known by heart. Yet 'Maasil Veenayum' enticed me so much that I landed up telling that even today in front of the Lord. Its a small and sweet poem comparing Lord Shiva’s blessings with the best of few categories like the Veena amongst musical instruments, the gentle evening breeze and few others.

Coming on to the second poem of this blog, this one is very famous among Tamil movie goers as this was sung with the sweetest melody in one of Rajni's famous movie. 'Kuniththa Puruvamum' depicts the beauty of Lord Shiva and the fact being, a male poet talking about the Lord's beauty is unique of its kind and more unique is that the poet wants rebirth after rebirth just to enjoy the Lord's beauty.

There are thousands more to write about those poets and their works. It’s good to realize that I am aware of a few of them and enjoy reciting them!

With More Thoughts...

The Others

2007-09-11T01:10:00.000-07:00

For an early to bed early to raise person like me, the concept of watching movies late in the night, forgetting and beating sleep is something little short of achievement. Exaggerated though it may sound, giving up a sound sleep for the sake of watching a movie had never been my cup of tea. Nevertheless, the concept started in the US of A and it all began I think with the movie 'The Others' - a suspense thriller which describes the concept of others from such a different perspective that just makes you awe at it.

Well - The Others - So how many times in a day - hmmm - a day is probably way too altruistic - in a week let’s say - do we think about the others? There is no rating of individuals in this blog based on the number you come up with - Its just to make us wonder - Is our selfless quotient satisfactory to our own self?

Mrs and I think a lot about these and in fact have decided on giving it to the needy and the poor atleast on occasions like anniversaries, birthdays and functions. Very recently we had invited 2 poor boys for lunch who were staying in a Mutt and studying for lunch. Amma's lunch was as usual at her best and we were so happy to see the boys having a wonderful lunch.

Not a long time back, I had received this forward from a good friend of mine - AJ's forward this time had a story that touched my heart. Here is the concise version of it. A holy man wanted to know how Heaven and Hell looked like and God was more than happy to show him. The Lord first took him to Hell - It had a large round table, in the middle of which was a
large pot of stew, which smelled delicious. The people sitting around it were thin and sickly.

They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms & each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew & take a spoonful. But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. Now they went to Heaven and it was much similar to Hell - the table, the delicious food, people holding long handle spoons - longer than their arms - but they were all healthy and happy.

The Lord said - 'People at heaven have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.'

With More Thoughts...

Smart Ads

2007-08-09T13:11:00.001-07:00

How much can you attract a mass of people in a matter of just thirty seconds? Now is seconds ever counted as a time slot? Nevertheless, isn’t that the time they give for the ads? Well yes - thirty seconds is all that these guys need to capture our attention and then to fall in love and finally shell out dollars and cents to buy the product. Ads are becoming smarter and more enjoyable nowadays - Hmmm - there are those which you might have wished that you had never seen, but this blog is all about their opposites – the smart ads.

A man runs fast and his friends are somewhere behind and we know not from where they are yelling and they say 'Man he has not even got the card out of his pocket - he is not going to make it'. The guy who is running uses his card in the Chase ATM and gets some money and runs back and gets into the car where his other mates were booing at him - He just withdrew those money from the 'most efficient' chase ATM before the signal turned to green!

And here is this girl calling her mom from the City of Lights - er - rather the Sin City - Vegas and says 'Guess what mom - Me and Mark are in Vegas' and the mom says 'So you are not going to get married Jen?' and Jen replies something and her poor poor mom is not able to hear her - poor connection, you see and so she becomes hysterical and shouts 'Jennifer, don’t make the same mistake that I made!' - And here is her daughter saying that it’s just a fun trip - just that we all, including Jenni's mom never hears it - So if you want a reliable communication go for XYZ.

Well there is this Tahitian dream ad from Wells Fargo for smart savings and the list goes on. One of my aunt even went from Brand S to Brand A only because of its good advertising campaign. Yet another aspect of advertising that always attracted me was the advertising slogans - Philips - Lets make things better and better still is 'Gods own country' - Kerala. Now who could not be attracted?

With More Thoughts...

The Runaway Jury

2007-08-07T08:20:00.001-07:00

It has been a long time - a considerably long time since I had read a novel with such ardent interest. Way back in the time when I was a Sidney Sheldon fanatic, I had read novels without the need of food or sleep. Quite recently I came across such a novel - a novel that was a page turner. Though I did eat and sleep in between, the two evenings that I happened to read this novel was not marked with any other activities. It was the evenings when I was reading 'Runaway Jury' by the lawyer turned author John Grisham.

A couple of days before I started this novel, I was loitering in the Valley Fair Mall with the sheer intention of window shopping. As always, just like most window shopping turns out to be an actual shopping for me, this proved to be far from making an exception. I entered this lone book store in the mall for the first time and I was browsing thru the interesting section of old collections they had had. And then I saw it - And it just occurred that I hit the jackpot - a cart full of books and each book was valued for just a dollar.

Readers Digest comes up with a special edition that has a collection of condensed books that are considered to be the best novels. Although condensed, the book gave an impression that I did not miss a single plot. So there were 4 wonderful gems packed under one roof - with glossy cover, it even had a book mark attached with the cover that can be torn and used! How thoughtful! The first gem was The Runaway Jury.

The most heart warming part of this novel was the rational behind which a man and a woman (Easter and Marlee) decides to turn sides in a judgment and when explained by this woman, it just hits you back emotionally. It is a thriller no doubt from the beginning (which is something that I earned for ever since I nailed completing Sheldons works) but the root cause with which the thrill came attached with, made this novel a must read. Now with a author on board, I am all tied up to complete his works.

With More Thoughts...

The Boot Camp

2007-08-03T09:10:00.000-07:00

Vitamins, Anti Oxidants, Diet, Body Mass Index and Whey Proteins are no longer throttled to the vocabulary of medical students, doctors or dieticians - The time has come - The time when every Tom, Dick and Harry have started to know the importance and significance of these words in their life. The time when high calorie consumption have fallen into those verboten arenas and is looked up as sin. It’s the time when treadmills in combination with MP3 players have become one of the favorite electronic equipments and has been voted as Made for each other.

It has been almost a month now, since Sarah replaced Megan to take up the position of our new gym instructor. And from day one we knew the fun will continue and so it did - in the form of two different classes that I attend - one being the Core Strength Related Exercises and the other The Boot Camp. Both these classes have their uniqueness - one involves in strength, stretch, lesser cardio and more muscle toning, while the other involves hard core cardio and believe it or not, cardio had never been this much fun.
As I said, the Boot Camp deals with cardio and our instructor comes with a whole load of innovative ideas that keeps the heart pumping up! I have been in a class of four, six and even two and depending on the number of participants; our instructor on the fly comes up with the apt interesting segments - which is what makes Boot Camp special. The segment varies each week and since variety being the spice of life, these aberrations prove to be fun.

The relay is my most favorite segment, where say if there are four people - each person stands in the corner of the room. One person starts to sprint lengthwise, and as long as the person sprints, the other three do their activities - one might be skipping, one might be doing squats and one might be even jogging in the same place! Each one gets the chance to dash and by the time the cycle completes - you would be aching for some rest!

Such activity loaded team exercises are the best form of exercises. With comments passing by, the instructor boosting the spirits – there is nothing like a group exercise and you get to know a different group of people who have atleast one thing in common with us – Exercise and Fitness. Anyone would get bored to do a treadmill all alone day after day! With ‘Ice Ice Baby’ banging in the background, I am getting ready for my 3PM Boot Camp on Wednesdays.

With More Thoughts...

Dinner in Deutschland

2007-08-02T09:36:00.000-07:00

Dinner together is a concept that many families would love to incorporate in their home sweet home. It’s probably the time the family can sit and talk and enjoy their togetherness. For me it was not the dinner together - rather it was the breakfast together concept in the weekends. This trend continued after my marriage and there we were - mom, dad, Mrs. and self - enjoying the food and chatting.

The concept of having food together is something that I really love. It should obviously be implemented without switching on the idiot box for sure. Weeknights are never suitable for this dinner together concept. We all land up coming at different time and it’s so amazing even if two out of four people in a house have dinner together during the weekdays.

The dinner together concepts are being advertised in the televisions here at the US of A and dinner discussion ideas are being published in the website http://www.togetherfordinner.com/ - Communicating and spending time with the people we love is vital - I have known kids who tell their dads never speak with them as he is out working all the time. Despite the fact that the dads work for the welfare of the kids, it is also essential for him to spend time with the family - and dinner time and post dinner walk are those apt time for those lively conversations.

Very recently by friends Shruthi and Ram celebrated their paper anniversary and Karthik and I invited them for lunch - So for the first time during my stay as a 'Bachelor Again' in the US of A, we had guests for lunch and this lunch together was fun. We had spread all the dishes around us and we passed them from one end to another and ate to our stomach's satisfaction. If such a small get together could bring so much fun, then dinner with near and dear would definitely be heaven.

With More Thoughts...

Mail Etiquettes

2007-07-29T21:24:00.000-07:00

In the tech savvy world that we live, long forgotten and gone are those days when we wrote letters in those yellow or green post cards! Dear or Respected Sir/Madam and Yours Faithfully are buried deep down in the core of the earth. 'The postman always rings twice' - happens to be a film and probably happens only in the films. The garish red post box has become a piece of rarity.

But along with these are also gone those etiquettes of letter writing? Are there no prescripts for the electronic mails? Or should we ever care or follow one, if it existed in the first place? Well, let’s take an example. There was this lady who had some issue with her newly bought Digi Cam and had e-mailed her young cousin whose cognizance in the field of electronics is - shall we say the 'Any problem solver'? So this cousin of hers mailed back the reason for her issue as well as the solution ending his emails with HTH and then With Love.

Our lady with the issue who was no short than intelligent herself understood the underlying cause for her problem as well as the solution and fixed her Digi Cam - however she had that nagging abbreviation HTH lingering in her mind - so nagging that she mailed her cousin especially to know what is HTH! Well - Hope that Helps was not helpful after all for our lady! Current day conversations, chats and less formal emails have become more like short hand - making them more and more cryptic.

In all likelihood email etiquettes are needed only when the desired parties are so nit picky about it. The rest of the world can live with cousins and the lady with issues by communicating with HTH, BRB, B4 or NE1. And if you are not way too eager to live behind the bars, probably you should be the cyber law abiding email writer too!

I still remember some of the very last letters that I had written, when I was in college and email was not that popular. I had written to my first cousin who was in the US of A - I think about 3 to 4 full pages of the function of her parent’s 25th wedding anniversary which took place at Chennai. I had written her every single conversation that we had had that day - despite the fact that the news reached her by phone the same day, I took all the effort to put it in black and white and mailed her. Well it just made me a happy man. Etiquettes or not, writing long mails/emails have always been my cup of tea!

With More Thoughts...

E For Extreme

2007-07-28T22:27:00.000-07:00

Watching Animal Planet has become almost an established custom in the house at BentWood Apartment, just like my dinner at half past eight. Being a newbie to the animal planet, my roommate suggested few programs which I started to watch with him rather with some reluctance. Very soon reluctance transformed into predilection that was so strong that I happened to watch this program regularly - even when I was home alone!

The program that I watch is the one which is all about the extreme nature of animals - extreme animals are discussed in the top 10 countdown vogue. The top 10 noise makers, fashion disasters, transformers and a whole variety of topic makes this program a worthy past time! 'Extreme Animals' emphatically keeps us guessing the top spot animals and in the event of which we learn a lot about them.

The most recent episode aired was the top 10 transformers where animals that transform itself into various shapes and forms during their life cycle were discussed. As any young science student could tell the butterflies' presence in such a countdown (From eggs to caterpillars to pupas and finally the fly!), the top spot was a totally mind-blowing parasite which takes about 5 to 6 various forms from its birth to death! Now who could have ever known about that!

The most intriguing part of these programs is how did people ever come to learn about them in the first place? The 30 minutes is filled with innumerable information and makes you wonder in awe at the work of these researchers! Besides these researchers there are people who understand the animals themselves and thereby provide invaluable information – people like Steve Irwin – the crocodile man for example who was considered to be the walking epitome for empathizing animals, no wonder was loved by the whole world.

With More Thoughts...

Pasta It Is

2007-07-25T20:22:00.000-07:00

The currently rather ill famed Lindsey Lohan starred in this wonderful movie when she was young. The advertisement to this movie would have this line - 'What's better than one Lindsey Lohan? Two Lindsey Lohans!' - Well atleast in this movie's perspective it was damn true as the ebullient twins try to reunite their divorced parents by switching their places. So what's the movie 'Parent Trap' got to do with Pasta? 'Pasta It Is' - is my much loved line in this movie when Dennis Quaid utters to his wife when he meets her after a long time. What an introduction to Pasta!

I had always wanted to eat good pasta, however never had that chance - until recently. It was during our road trip to the City of Angels that I happened to devour this food item. We were in Marie Callenders’ and I was as usual frantically searching for a vegan food in the menu card that my waitress gave me. After pondering and deliberating for quite a long time (and with hunger in the corner it seemed eternity), I found that there was nothing in the menu card that I could order. So I decided to get the help of my waitress to choose the food for me and she was kind enough to suggest the vegetarian pasta! And I heard myself saying out loud - 'Pasta it is...'

Besides serving our tasty buds pasta makes an excellent choice for healthy food as it is grain based. The beauty of pasta is that it comes in a variety of shapes from the simple string shaped ones to the decorative fancy shapes like Farfalle and Rotelle. My love for pasta infact started after my acquaintance with the television personalities 'Giada De Laurentiis' and 'Marie' of Everybody Loves Raymond. Giada's Italian Cookery shows and Marie's most popular dish in the soap - Lasagna (pronouced - La-san-ya), paved way for my love affair with pasta!

So the vegetarian pasta that my waitress served en route to Los Angeles, was indeed delicious. With a wonderful spread of lightly sautéed broccoli, baby carrots, tomatoes, the entire main course was just yummy. For a bill just under $10 for each person, the lunch was well its worth and having had my pasta, needless to say I was in cloud nine!

With More Thoughts...

Oryctolagus cuniculus And The Like

2007-07-25T08:43:00.000-07:00

It looks like the hangover of Binomial Nomenclature still continues - No wonder the title of this blog is the biological name for a European Rabbit! Yes, yes, yes - this blog is all about our Animal Planet! Probably my wife would just love this blog, she being a fervent animal lover and supporter! Probably she is the apt candidate for taking up the role of the Head of SPCA!

Something out of normal happened at our office today. An aberration that I just loved. One of my friends had brought 2 leverets (well the young ones of rabbits are called so) - they were like 3 months old cuties. One was dark in color and the other a white one with streaks of brown! She had put them in a relatively big box in which these two guys were happily sitting. Rabbits are those gregarious mammals which are more active during dawn and dusk - Animal lovers would call it with one word - 'Crepuscular'.

My dear ex manager Jithesh forced me to part my baby carrot that I had got for lunch and well - definitely not with so much reluctance, I took it out and dropped it in the cardboard box. Much much to my happiness, the darker one started to gnaw it - Infact I thought it was hungry when I saw it gnawing the cardboard itself! So an act of philanthropy - er - directed to a rabbit though! It was quite an experience to touch them and to see them jumping in that little space. I had never been that close with a rabbit and it brought out the child (perhaps the animal lover?) in me.

So then while we were driving back home, we were having this discussion about pets and which pet would be easy to maintain, would live considerably longer and there were so many points that we went through. From fishes to dogs, parrots to love birds, there were a whole lot of options, but the thing is, one should really have the time and love to spare for these pets. In this hurried world that we live, its good to see some people who do care for animals. One of my friends mom used to say that more than two of her own daughters, she loved her dog and indeed the dog was treated royally in her house!

Well, its now supper time for me – Got to think about the menu!

With More Thoughts…

Pedaling to the Past

2007-07-24T10:02:00.000-07:00

Cycling - A fitness instructor would tell how good an aerobics and cardio exercise it is. A pre-teen or teenager would tell how fun it is to do this with friends. The romantic couple in a hill station would think of going a round in it. Most of those beach side residents (Oh! lucky them!) would do this every morning diligently. It is also something that a person forgets about and gets nostalgic some day and ends up writing in a blog! Huh! - Pity that I fell into this last category.

So how did this door to the past suddenly opened today? I was as usual sitting on the back seat of the Toyota Corolla that my friend was driving and in this signal near our office, I saw this guy riding this cycle of his - in the hot sun ofcourse (Oh man Salt Lake is hot - literally hot. But my friends at Nevada might just choke me up for saying Salt Lake is hot - You should visit Vegas this time of the year - you will hate it for all the heat that the Sun gives this place). Well hot or not, it was rather a sight to see how happily that guy was riding his bike! It’s not such a rare scene here - I see them everyday as a matter of fact, but as I said suddenly it opened this door to my past and there I saw myself riding my cycle too.

The first cycling lesson that I got was in Mumbai with the help of my uncle in his spacious Ghatkopar West Apartment - And then I became cycle insane. Commuting to school was by my BSA SLR and oh I so much loved it. Loved what? The cycle, the ride, the school - all of them! The return journey from school was even more fun as a group of us would ride our bikes together in the small Arcot road - thereby blocking the whole traffic on one side. Oh! Were we that rustic? You bet!

So I still do this stationary cycling some times in the gym - though it brings me no such excitement as the past. I was infact thinking as to why should I not buy a bicycle and go a couple of rounds in it when I get back in Chennai! Well crazy it may sound - but it’s actually something that would be good. Riding slowly in the night with the wife in the calm streets when the cool breezy air moves your hair away from your forehead! Well - so much imagination!

Here is a little tasty piece of information that I garnered from Google - A Danish study in 2000 concluded that cycling to work was linked to a 40% reduction in mortality rate; this included all causes of death, including road deaths! How good it is? Is cycling discussion ever complete without the mention of Tour De France and Lance Armstrong – the winner of the most prestigious cycling race for seven consecutive times and that he achieved this feat after being treated for testicular cancer? Well – now the discussion is complete!

With More Thoughts...

When Sex Is No Longer The Taboo Word

2007-07-22T19:04:00.000-07:00

Since when was sex discussed like any other normal topic and was not just a topic of discussion between the lovers or the spouses? Or when did sex become a topic to discuss not just as a matter of salacious interest but as part of life, combining with its associated health, progeny and necessity? Even to this date is sex talk, the topic friends reserve to discuss about their escapades, their imagination, their philandery and a plenty of other things? So when did sex talk jumped out of the verboten arena?

Atleast to me it was post my marriage or rather near my marriage time, this talk escaped from all its boundaries and became a topic of normal discussion. When I heard the discussions about other people talking about sexual health, the good frequency of sex a couple should have, the dos and don’ts during and after sex for hygiene, happiness and a wonderful feeling of intimacy, the family planning techniques - I felt this is a must to discuss topic and it is a critical topic to know atleast when you are ready for marriage. I agree teens today know a lot about sex and sexual health - however when it comes to the phase where you are lawfully eligible to have sex, it is with utmost dedication that you need to remember and follow those things that you know.

To my surprise the little gyan that I had indeed came to enlighten one of my friends a little. How much ever you know about it, there is this difference that you feel and that better perspective that you get when discussing a topic with a person who has had an experience in it. The urge to know about sex more clearly and to get an advice is probably the factor that made sex a topic to discuss without embarrassment. When the embarrassment is shredded out, taboo is no longer in vicinity.

Parents have started realizing that sex education is equally important as is the knowledge that their child should know about drugs, alcohol or smoking. Well atleast you got to talk if you want to avoid sexual abuse or teenage pregnancies or for that matter of fact to prevent STDs. Taboo or not they would educate a person the right and the wrong and the implications of doing the wrong. Well - Sex is no longer the taboo word...

With More Thoughts...

The Binomial Nomenclature

2007-07-22T18:26:00.000-07:00

Would it have been easier had we been a non - human being and been just an animal or a plant? One thing that might cause less worry if we were would have been the decision to name one's child! Well its not that complicated or anything like that - it is just that a whole lot people are to be satisfied with a name. Well er - Hmmm - probably satisfying people is complicated after all! After reconsidering and thinking more, complexity is rather an understatement. Well here is why it is.

There is this so called custom in some families where the grand kids name (atleast part of one of its name) has to be the name of the grand father / grand mother. In some families it has to be the traditional family name. It will be common for all the males of that family. And there are rules for the male child even when you name him and I don’t know if its fortunate or not, some of these rules are not so applicable for the female child - well a concept that may bring high blood pressure in feminists!

To add more to the naming options, there are Nameology, Numerology and so many ologies to tell you which letter should the name start with, how many charaters should the name contain, how many e’s and how many a’s. And then the combination of how the first and last name would look like is yet another matter to consider. Does the combination sound too weird or too good? Will my mom’s second cousin’s aunt who lives in Far East approve the name? Complexity – as I said is an understatement.

Ok - so what is in a name? It is something that belongs to me and I do not use it so often but every other person who knows me, uses it - eh! An irony - for something that I own, which neither I use it that often nor given a chance for me to choose. I wonder how many of us have had a discussion of why we were named like this and got the reason behind it! If I plan for a good name for my child (it better be good!) let me also put on my thinking caps as to why I decided to keep that name - After all my child should be happy with the name that I give him!

Well as a tail piece and now being the Harry Potter season, here is one info that might interest us. Before publishing the first Harry Potter series, the publishers requested Joanne Rowling to just use her initials rather than to reveal her first name - so that the target audience of young boys would not be hesitant to buy a book written by a female author! Well, so here we have J K Rowling - probably if you knew you could become a billionaire and your name played quite a role in it, there may be many of us who might reconsider a name change!

With More Thoughts...

An Affair To Remember

2007-07-20T13:51:00.000-07:00

Very recently I happened to read this article in internet - It was all about how expensive American weddings have become. It looks like the average American wedding costs upto a whooping 28,000 - yes all US Dollars! And its all for a 1 day event. Marriage has become a costly affair and wedding planners, I can see, are becoming richer and richer.

Not just they are costlier, they also tend to build a huge pressure for all organizers - financially, in planning and co-ordination and almost everything. I recently received a mail from an American friend of mine, who had been back from her 'vacation'. I presumed it was a vacation as I did not get back any replies from her for about a week and I asked her how her vacation was. She replied back stating that it was sort of a vacation and that she had been out visiting Vancouver for a family wedding. So it was not the type of 'vacation' to relax by any means! Very aptly said - marriages are no more a relaxing function.

I do agree that the grandeur, the number of events, the potpourri of dishes are all directly proportional to money. But does a marriage always have to be grand to be the best? And does marriages have to be the best in the first place? And what do people gain by having best marriages? Well - people differ and some would love to have such diamond and star studded marriage showing ostentatiously their money and power. They consider marriage an opportunity to show the success in their life. I think it just finally boils down to one purpose - 'Pretentious'.

Marriages are becoming equally unaffordable in India. An upper middle class marriage on a grand scale (thank goodness not an average scale!) costs about 22.5 K US dollars - Atleast few Indian marriages are 2 - 3 day events - but that's no excuse to spend 22.5 K! Well the reason again for all these grandeur remains the same - be it India or the US of A.

But there are few factors which I always consider, would make a marriage touching, lovable and more meaningful. In fact these factors give a feeling of fullness and satisfaction that a pricey marriage could not. Factors like contributions to the poor and needy on the day of the marriage. Be it dresses or food, they go to people who need it and you have the money spent in a philanthropic activity. An activity that would make your heart feel so light and peaceful. In fact the couple can personally visit the orphanage or the temple where free food/clothes can be distributed by the couple themselves.

Probably there are more to write about marriages - One more that I can think of now is 'Gifting In Marriages!' But I will save that for another blog...

With More Thoughts...

A Dream For Tahiti

2007-07-19T08:46:00.000-07:00

A young lady in the office - In her cubicle, starts to remove her shoes and pulls out the bottom most drawer of her cabinet. The draw is filled with beach sand and is strewed with pebbles and shells - the look and feel of the beach environment. She then places her legs inside this draw and closes and eyes and thinks - rather imagines that she is in Tahiti - the place she is yearning to go and the vacation for which she is saving every single penny!

Now there are so many instances when we imagine too - and quite often in the recent past I have been into tasty food imagination! Though I prefer having my side dishes as salads for their affluence in vitamins, I do imagine they are those rich creamy, butter clad side dishes! Well – what’s the harm in it? I get my healthy food and the taste of the rich side dishes - although said easily here in this blog, I do admit that someday I do yearn for those rich side dishes - just like the dream for Tahiti.

I am pretty confident that this lady, who saves all her money for her Tahitian trip, would be all the more excited and thrilled when her dream comes true. There is definitely an added excitement when you save for something and then spend it for that special something when you get to that financial comfort level. Probably you might loose all that thrill if you had had all the things that you yearn for comes to you with no effort! When you get to that point where you have achieved your goal - be it your trip to Tahiti - just because of all your hard work and judicious finance, there is this sense of pride that comes as a bonus along with the feeling with joy, wonder and excitement.

So where is this lady? The lady who dreamt of Tahiti and who imagined she was in Tahiti in her office cubicle with just a load of sand and sea shells? This happens to be an advertisement for Wells Fargo Bank - a pretty imaginative and interesting advertisement. Well, I think it is time for me to open some accounts in it - I too am dreaming of Tahiti... Someday Tahiti...

Well it would be too unfair to name a blog as Tahiti and not providing single information about it. Tahiti is the largest island of French Polynesia - Hmmm - if that's too much geography - probably this would help – It’s in the Pacific Ocean somewhere in between Australia and South America. Tahiti's major industry is Tourism and its one of the top places for vacations - be it honeymoon, a break from office work or a family affair!

With more thoughts...

Origami

2007-07-18T14:38:00.000-07:00

I was not sure when I became a fan of Origami. As such many of us would have had our share of origami - atleast by making paper boats and playing in the stagnated rain water! Oh yeah - we would create the smallest of all the boats and then the biggest giant boats would come - Wow - way back in past such small activities were enough to create joyous moments.

The adult mind of mine rather yearns to have new hobbies - hobbies that I could continue religiously. But atleast in the process of searching for new hobbies, I land up coming across a plethora of ideas and I do also learn a little about some of the interesting hobbies. Origami was one such favorite option of hobby for me. Though I do not try out a lot nor follow it sacredly, I took time to learn few origamies and tried a couple of papers objects that fascinated me.

Though the end product of the Tulip that I tried never matched the jpeg image in the walkthru online guide, I appreciated myself with a smug glow of self-congratulations! Well had I used the proper one side colored origami paper, my tulip would have looked even more beautiful. Not bad at all for a beginner. Now enough of self-appreciation and boasting. Here are some wonderful things that comes associated with the umbrella of Origami.

Storigami - This concept was my favorite. A storigami as the word tells you is you end making up an origami product by telling a story. Each fold of the origami is associated with a portion of the story. The sequence of folds involved now becomes part of the story, manking it easier to remember and a fun way to do. The storigami is born from our imagination - meaning, you can invent your own storigami to the origami that you prepare - making you remember the steps even if you are woken up in the middle of the night.

Just like many learning process - origami learning can also be divided into simple, inter and the advanced origamies depending upon the complexity of the folds involved. Well let me finish the blog with some historical updates - I had often thought Origami originated in Japan - much to my surprise it was originated in China and was carried over to Japan. The Chinese name was Zhe Zhi, however the Japanese name - Origami (Oru meaning fold and kami meaning paper in Japanese) became the famous catch phrase and here we are still using it - and there I was thinking the Japanese invented it! Well who ever found this - its a pretty interesting hobby to pursue!

With more thoughts...

The ESPY Awards

2007-07-17T11:56:00.000-07:00

It’s been quite some time I blogged and is it probably because I am running out of topic? Or is it sheer laziness to learn or find a topic itself? Whatever the case be, I found a topic worthy to blog. Most surprisingly this topic is regarding something that I never have interest. For people who know me well enough, they would have realized by this time that its going to be Sports!

And it so happened that on this late Sunday evening, when I was watching some 'had to see TV - else I have nothing to do' program! My roomie walked into the living room and he was browsing his favorite channels to see and suddenly this ESPY awards caught his eyes. ESPN - huh! that's one channel I never knew even existed - probably I would even call is YES-PEN instead of ESPN as 'Marie' would call in Everybody Loves Raymond.

ESPY awards is an award show that recognizes outstanding sports personalities - Best athlete, team, moment and so many other categories. Now I must tell you that - I am really a fan of watching award shows. So despite being an ESPN program, I sat straight, back all tall and lean. And I never thought I had watched an award show as good as this. There were 2 categories that touched my heart. One was the newly introduced award called Jimmy V award. Well this award went to a lady coach for her perseverance in sports - she was infact the person the whole team looked up as their role model. The reason - In her ongoing 65th year she had been identified for the 3rd time in her life for cancer and she fights the disease and makes the most of her life. Should I tell more for her perseverance?

Now if you asked who is this Jimmy V? He was yet another remarkable sports personality who died of cancer and founded the Jimmy V foundation for cancer research!

Now the other award was the Author Ashe award for 2 wonderful personalities who bring a change in people lives even today by teaching sports. Northern Ireland is a place notorious for the clashes between the Catholics and Protestants. Two men who were brought up in all this religious clashes found solace, safety and salvation in sports. They excelled every second they were playing - alas when they came out to the real world - they had to cope up with bloody wars. They both did not ask for much - they wanted their kith and kin to live in a world of peace - to walk in the road without the fear of being shot dead. This Catholic and Protestant did not engage themselves in such iniquitous activities - rather they came up with this brilliant idea of uniting fellow human beings disregard of their cast, creed, religion, color or race. And they chose sports as their medium of unification targeting the young generation hoping that playing together would also teach them to live together. Very aptly these 2 wonderful gentlemen were awarded the ESPY Author Ashe award.

So that was my tryst with ESPN channel and it proved to be an awesome evening indeed! From time to time I might even tune in YESPEN and see what’s interesting in it too!

With more thoughts...

The "Do It Yourself" Mantra

2007-05-05T21:02:00.000-07:00

When you do something on your own, what is the first feeling that comes to you? Satisfaction? Happiness? Victorious? Well many people may feel many ways if they have done something on their own. There is some other feeling that would definitely add on every time you do something on your own. You have done it all by yourself without depending on the others. It is the feeling of independence, the feeling of freedom that boosts your confidence that gets added up when you do your stuff all by yourself.

Many a times I find the people of US of A being fiercely independent. They tend to do each and everything on their own. I have never seen people doing these chores for themselves in my home country. I come from a land where folks are available to wash your clothes, clean your vessels, your home and baby sit and what not. I do admit that there are such people here at the US of A. But the Utahns that I have seen do a lot of chores on their own.

Lets start from the basics - House cleaning, washing, ironing, groceries, babysitting - all these basic "ings" are definitely taken care by the family. Then a step above some people does gardening, roof and chimney cleaning all by themselves. Now lets go a step ahead - There are people who have their own small farms that they plough and grow vegetables, fruits and graze their cows. They have their own ducks, pigs, cats, dogs, lamas and what on earth animals to take care of. All these plus work is managed independently by them.

One such do it yourself guy that I am well aware of is my DBA - Database Administrator - He is not only the database admin for all our projects, he is a family man with wife and kids. He has his farm and has many animals, he builds his fence, his dog house, he cleans his houses' chimneys and does what not. He is probably so very independent! This "Do it yourself Mantra" is yet another factor to love the US of A.

With more thoughts...

Basketball Diaries

2007-04-27T19:21:00.000-07:00

Now that I have 2 room-mates, I am getting used to the things that occur normally in their (er - well now it’s our) house. One such normal thing that happens is watching basketball in the television. Yes, I do admit it is very normal - but I have never watched a basketball sports program in the TV before. Nor have I been a part of or rather even heard discussions about basketball.

I have realized that basketball is something that my roomies include in their mundane activity. With the National BasketBall Championship games on air now, its basketball that is in air, water, earth, sky and fire. It is very amusing and entertaining to watch the frenzied face of my friend when he speaks about basketball. And when ever he does, the topic proved to be "Greeker" than Greek

Speaking with my roomies has given me the basic gyan about basketball - basic and ample enough to write the following trivia!
1. 2 teams each of 5 players participate in this game
2. It’s played for 48 minutes divided equally into 4 quarters.
Thanks to wikipedia the game was founded and coined by Dr. James Naismith, a Canadian. He had incorporated the rules for this game from a Canadian children's game called "Duck on a Rock".

Well as for me besides the recent knowledge of basketball, I must admit I had enjoyed the game when it came out blended with action and drama in the form a wonderful Hollywood movie "Glory Road" - a movie that I watched mid air on route to the US of A from India. Until I moved into my new home in the Orion Way, Glory Road was the only entry in the basketball diary that I had!

With more thoughts...

Beating Boredom

2007-04-08T13:33:00.000-07:00

Not many common men do spend their leisure time usefully. Not that I blame them, as it is human nature to relax, kill time and laze when you get yourself off from work or a busy schedule. However it so happens that during this time of relaxation, we do come face to face, probably sometimes with what is called as boredom. Something that every individual comes across in his life.

My trigger to write this Blog is when my I learnt that a friend couple of mine went to a movie theater to watch a Japanese movie with English sub titles (The couple knew not J in Japanese) and that too it being a black and white war movie. I was thinking that it was boredom that led these people to watch a movie on a sunny evening. (Evenings have started to become sunny and hot here in salt lake and me dad back home in Chennai states that Chennai is equally getting hotter. Man - global warming is one serious stuff which you can think/talk about - atleast when you feel bored!)

On the same evening I found another couple friend of mine wandering thru the shops in the big shopping mall and I also found that they had not purchase anything - not even something to eat and roam about. So was it boredom that brought them to visit that place for the n millionth time? My Dad wants to just go somewhere else rather than spending time in the same old house of his in Chennai. Again Boredom.

Now I never have answers to people's boredom. Elderly, the youth, married, bachelor - everyone alike nowadays get bored easily and find it difficult to pass time even in their leisure. I would rather suggest that they try to find some interesting hobbies and see which one garners their interest and start trying them out. It might even turn out to be something that you can tell out and boast!

Some worthy hobbies that I came across are - collections (movies to buttons to stamps), reading, writing, visiting places, painting, teaching, learning new languages, painting, decorating, cooking, potluck organizing, chit chatting with your loved ones - Let me see how many of these are going to help me.

With more thoughts…

30 Minute Meal

2007-03-27T15:55:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since I have blogged. Many things happened in this interim period to me. Oh! yes - I went to India, got married, came back to the same old Salt Lake City. Probably one of the many interests that my wife and I share is watching cookery shows in television. Be it vegetarian or non vegetarian, we watch both with a whole deal of interest. And this time we are all tuned up to watch Rachel Ray’s cookery show.

Rachel Ray participates in atleast 3 shows to my knowledge in Food Network including $40 a meal. But our favorite happens to be "Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals". The sheer concept of completing an entire meal in just 30 minutes makes this show unique and quite interesting. Can Rachel complete her menu in just 30 minutes? Will she run out of time? Will she? Can she? Well its not that nail biting, but it truly makes you watch your watch atleast a couple of times during this show.

The cool factor of this show is the one that my wife pointed out - which is more than apt - Rachel takes the required ingredients from her pantry/refrigerator etc and then she cuts the veggies/meat or whatever and she cleans the vegetable, puts the rubbish in the garbage - what I mean here is that she does everything from A to Zee and nothing is done prior to the show. This gives you the actual time for cooking any dish. What's the fun in saying that I can cook a meal in 30 minutes if you had already cut the vegetables, boiled some of them, cleaned them - come on...you just can't finish half your work and claim the time for the rest of the half. So that is the specialty of Rachel Ray's 30 minute meal which really is a 30 minute meal preparation program that is worth seeing.

Food Network is one channel that we check out regularly. Sometimes we see Emeril, sometimes we are glued watching Ina Garten's recipes. Well yes, we do also watch Sex and the City and Everybody Loves Raymond too, if you want to read a one liner in this section of blog that is not about food!

With more thoughts...

BLACK

2006-05-23T04:52:00.000-07:00

What comes to your mind when I whisper the title of this blog in your ears? An artist and a fashion designer might tell about the color black. An old man, whose hair is graying, might think about a dye; A teacher might think about the black board. An entomologist might think of the spider “Black widow”; A racist might think about a Negro; A common man might think of darkness, night or perhaps even fear. "Black", reminds me of something new - something that I did not mention in the list above.

To Michelle, black meant her graduation gown and hat. When she was a child, it meant frustration, irritation and perhaps even life to her. She was the most adamant, unruly daughter of a rich couple, who also happened to be blind and deaf. Sounds familiar? - Well you must be an admirer of Helen Keller. She was the first blind deaf woman to obtain graduation in the world. Perhaps the source of hope to many many people across the globe.

It was Michelle’s teacher who taught her light, optimism, hope and above all – Of life. Michelle calls him "Tee" - the first syllable of the word teacher. Michelle gradually learns to read and write and after many an attempt, obtains graduation. Like Helen, Michelle's first word to learn was water. Michelle's vacant eyes were shining with the discovery of learning something new - she was thrilled and excited by something that never happened to her - she started to gain knowledge.

On her graduation day, Michelle explains her dear friends of what BLACK meant to her. It meant her, her graduation gown and hat. It meant life, ambition and undeterred will power. It meant an infinite strength and a synonym for life. Rani Mukerjee and Big B portrayed themselves as the blind student and her teacher in a wonderful movie named BLACK. This movie is what comes to my mind whenever I hear the word BLACK after I watched it with my dear cousins at my aunt’s place.

If you look for optimism in the movies and tear jerking dramas - Black is a wonderful choice. With more thoughts…

An aggregate Of the Past

2006-04-15T09:24:00.000-07:00

So, how about giving a one word representation to a group of meaningful words as given in the title of this blog? Well, if you really are into one words and synonyms, I was referring to “History”. I was a little reluctant to keep the title as History, as I was not sure if that would entice even the bookworms. I was and still am a lover of History.

Thanks to my history teacher way back in my fourth grade, I just loved History. She made the class extremely interesting that you would expect that class eagerly. Now how many of you could say that? I was matter of fact lucky to get a person who taught history as if it were achievements of someone whom I knew well throughout my life.

Had it not been for History, we would be reinventing the wheel each day. Wouldn't we? We do need to know who gave us the comforts with which we are all living now. We need to know who ruled us, how people fought and how horrible were the aftermaths of such wars, so as to think twice before even dreaming of committing such horrid deeds.

So it was in this history class, our history teacher opened the doors to learn about some of my favorite personalities like Joan of Arc, Captain Roald Amundsen etcetera. In the years that went by, I learnt more about the rich history of South India and the wonderful kings who ruled it. Still further, I learnt some international history and I was intrigued by the happenings that lead to the world wars.

Some of my friends still consider history a boring subject and is fit to be studied if you want a good night's sleep! Perhaps they all did not start off with a wonderful teacher like the one I had! See, if it weren't for history I could not have made out this blog and you could not have read about a small aggregation of the Past!

With more thoughts...

Variety

2006-04-13T17:28:00.000-07:00

In anything and almost everything it is the nature of man to crave for variety. Variety is the spice of life and there is no fun without this mirch masala! Right from the common middle class man to the ultra rich business tycoon dreams, thinks and wishes for varieties.

Let’s start with my blog itself. Had it contained the writings about the same topic, I wonder if it would be more interesting that the variety I try to provide. Fashion is the epitome of variety. Perhaps it is the mother of all varieties. We expect variety in films, variety in food, variety in amusements, entertainments etc. Food - my favorite subject is so interesting and it proves to be even more exciting when there is a new variety demonstrated. I used to ask my mom to prepare something new and she would try to recollect any least recently prepared dish and try to make me happy!

Well, we do expect more from films – don’t we? Even if it is a normal love story, we want that to be told in a different manner - a new variety. Though unaffordable by many people, men crave for variety in cars, bikes and the like, while women look out for a variety in vogue, home furnishing and likewise.

Kids too look out for variety. From Cartoons to toys, from chocolates to games, kids today expect a lot! There is variety in cats food and dogs food as well! Using the word "variety" throughout this blog itself is kind of boring. It would be interesting and efficient, if we used synonyms for varieties like multifarious and potpourri!

So much for variety, but ofcourse a wise man once said, "Necessity is the mother of all inventions" (A beautiful adage) and variety is an absolute necessity.

With more thoughts...

The American Roadways

2006-04-08T19:45:00.000-07:00

If I were ever asked to give my "Top 10 that you like in the US of A", then, most definitely I will include the American Roadways in the top 3. “I like it”, is an understatement. "I admire it", is perhaps a better word. Whatever; the American Roadways are something that one should check it out! Transportation is a backbone for a country's economy. It is even its pride. There is always a healthy competition between communication and transportation - the net result; we get all that we want sooner and sooner!

Some of the best things about the American Roadways are the broad roads having a number of lanes, the traffic signs, the freeways and what not! There were so many "Roadway jargons" that I was not aware of, and I started to learn them and thereby got accustomed to them after coming to the US of A. My awe and wonder all increased when we went on a road trip from Salt Lake City to the Sin City - Las Vegas. About 650Km - rather a great deal of distance was covered comfortably in 5 hours. And my, my, the entire stretch of road was awesome.

Travel by roads is something that you will love it in the US of A, especially if you are neither the driver nor the navigator! There are specific rules for roadway construction and the rules for overlapping freeways are way too complex. That is perhaps the reason they are both confusing and frightening besides making you wonder, how on earth could they build something as planned as this one?

Being a very vast nation and the resources and manpower spread across it, the US is very well aware of the fact that connecting people is “the” most important thing. Both air and road transportation are so very advanced and long distances are common in both these modes. This is one area that I feel rather jealous about the US, as back home in India; the roadways are not as good as the US. Well, we are improving extremely fast and comparing with a giant is definitely a healthy way to grow and move forward. I hope to see equally good roads in my home country too – sooner though.

With more thoughts...

Reliving April

2006-04-06T20:53:00.000-07:00

It is April again - And its the beginning of spring in Salt Lake. And I am reliving those good old "Not a long saunter" blog days. If there is one season of the year, spring is definitely the best. And you can give innumerable reasons to support the above statement! The birth of spring has brought agility back to my cells, which were refusing to budge during snowy winter.

Well, I was delighted to see a very early blossomed tulip. A lovely rosy tulip with strands of white is out there deciding when to fully blossom. It is looking for an auspicious day, perhaps. Its just not the flowers: the leaves of many tress have sprouted and there is a tinge of green on them - Well these are the colorful signs of spring.

Its just not me who welcomes spring - the entire country of China welcomes it with grandeur. The spring festival is celebrated in China and is as important as Christmas in the West. There is the St Patrick’s Day, celebrated in Ireland, welcoming the spring season. Even though spring is not so well marked or felt in my home country India, it is those few days where the climate is good enough to roam around. For Chennai's hot tropical climate, winter is more or less a spring!

Counting my days to go back to my mother land, this April is a month of expectations. A month in which we have a major release at work. A month to do a loooot of shopping. A month to sit and countdown for the day to travel back. Well these are the non reliving parts of April, that has provided more enthusiasm to an already bright April!

With more thoughts...

To Sir, With Love

2006-04-02T17:52:00.000-07:00

After a long time, I happened to watch a movie which made me feel so glad that I had watched it. It was the same way I felt after watching “Erin Brockovich”. This time it was a movie from the UK and rather an old one. To Sir, With Love is definitely a movie worth watching. It is a heart warming drama that makes your heart filled with emotions.

It is the story of a young black man, who is an engineer, happens to join a school to teach, when he does not get a job in his stream of study. The school he joins is the school that is run for the kids who are not so privileged. They are kids who work in the evenings and come to school in the mornings despite many financial and personal problems. They definitely do not lead a life of luxury. In short, the school is run for such unattended kids, who are rough, indecent and unruly.

Sidney Poitier, the teacher, takes a new approach of giving and taking respect to these kids while teaching. He calls his male students by their surnames and the girls are addressed by "Miss". He gives them respect and self importance that are so very new to them. He talks to them about not geography or arts, but about real life. What is marriage? How should a man behave to gain respect? Who decides whom to give respect? His class is filled with questions and answers. Questions on how to lead a better life. And the answer brings in light to these kids.

Poitier also takes them to outings - museums etc, where the kids learn about art, history and also have their break from their routine life. He moves more personally with each student and wins their heart. During their last day in the school, the kids plan for a dance where Poitier and his favorite girl student have a fast dance and win an ovation. As an icing to the cake, one other girl student sings a song in praise of their "Sir". This song was a hit in those yester years and the lyrics are so powerful that you can make out from it, how wonderful a teacher was Sidney Poitier.

The Song:
The time has come for closing books and long last looks must end
And as I leave I know that I am leaving my best friend
A friend who taught me right from wrong and weak from strong
That's a lot to learn, but what can I give you in return?

If you wanted the moon
I would try to make a start
But I would rather you let me give my heart
`To Sir, With Love'

Well, I had such wonderful teachers too, who are indeed the ladders, making each of their students to climb up in life.

With more thoughts…

Home Beautiful Home!

2006-03-28T21:29:00.000-08:00

There are times when we tidy up our sweet little homes. Times when guest comes by or when friends drop in. Better still, when your in-laws come in! There are some of these times when you land up cleaning, when you have had enough of dirt lying down, or when you have become wise to realize that your search for the most needful item of the minute will turn out not to be a search if you have kept it orderly - a little more to add, shall I say spick-and-span?

Besides the benefit of living in a house that is pleasant in appearance, that is clean and tidy and above all orderly, a clean house is considered to be a beauty in its simplest form! Oh! You need not be a decorator, an artist or a fashion pundit to keep your home the most beautiful and appreciated one. You ought to be however, a person who loves to admire beauty.

Innate talents are not needed to decorate or beautify. I am no pro and I fall under the admirers’ category and I land up in keeping a house clean. Atleast the portion of my bedroom and my bath is definitely clean and I really boast about it! When it comes to your own house, your responsibility and the tendency to beautify it, comes naturally. I have seen folks keeping their rented houses worse than dungeons. Ughh…

Having been checked into a new home back in Chennai, my interest to choose space saving multi-purpose furniture, mild, simple, yet fabulous curtains and sheets, vases, showcase items have topped my google search. The hair salon in Salt Lake that I go monthly provides me the time to browse the Beautiful Home magazines, which are my source of international interior decorations.

If you happen to be an admirer with a strict budget, get on to the local shops and look out for unique designs or items that will attract your guests. Right from bonsai to table top Zen fountains, miniature and affordable decorative pieces are lying down everywhere. It is up to us to choose the best ones and embellish our sweet homes!

With more thoughts…

Shopping Spree

2006-03-26T18:56:00.000-08:00

It’s been more than a month and a half, since I have blogged. Its UAT time - ie. testing time here for our projects and I am way too busy to think about anything but issues! It's a lazy sunday evening and here I am watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, admiring Harry's courage, Hermoine's skills and Ron's altruistic nature. What a wonderful bunch of kids!

Well, we were not so lazy yesterday, as we did a non stop 5 hour shopping. It so happened that we went to this famous factory outlet store in Park City. Perhaps every Indian in Salt Lake goes to these outlets before their trip to India! Hmm, it has an array of shopping malls, from jewellery to watches, from clothes to cosmetics, from kitchen wares to what not.

Some of the shops that interested me and proved to be well within budget were the toy shop and the paper shop. The toy shop brought my age down atleast by 15 to 20 years and I got a car and a bike! It’s not for me to play, however for my showcase back home. So I went off in a shopping spree, trying to get many gifts and articles to decorate my home.

We had ceaser's salad for lunch and oh my! It left no space in my tummy after eating it. With more energy we shopped, shopped and shopped till we were tired. The drive back to Salt Lake from Park City is one of the picturesque drives, with mountains filled with snow, cute little house standing on those mountains and the roads that curve around them giving us all those delightful views.

So that was quite some initial level shopping done yesterday and it proved to be exciting and tiring!

With more thoughts…

Made in America?

2006-02-11T22:29:00.000-08:00

Very recently I had been to a place called as "Valley Fair Mall" situated very near my home in Salt Lake City. Probably for my friends back home, if I say Valley Fair is something like a very mini Spensers Plaza, they will come to know that it is a "Many shops Shop"! So it was here, I was doing a good deal of window shopping while my friends seriously emptied their wallets depriving it of a few dollars and cents.

Well, I happened to go to a popular fashion mall and was casually going thru some t-shirts. One of my friends pointed out a t-shirt and said "Hey this is Made in India!" and Lo and Behold, in this popular trendy outlet was a dress made from my mother land. Out of interest and curiosity I went and checked about thirty and odd shirts and found them to be made from a variety of countries across earth - China, Columbia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia and so on. Much to my surprise, none was from America!

I then entered a gift shop which had a motley of items displayed for sale. Over here again I noticed that there were things brought in from places and lands near and far alike. It was so heartening to see the articles made by people belonging to various countries under one roof - Globalization perhaps? Yes - that is it. There is always a craze for imported goods. Seeing them make us feel as if we have come closer to that place.

I came back home and sat on my couch with no potatoes, nevertheless switched on the television. There was this Spanish Channel, Italian cuisine, a Korean soap besides the films made in Australia, England and America! Yet another Globalization? Whatever you call it or where ever you make and label it, here I am sitting in one corner in Salt Lake City and enjoying this global togetherness!

With more thoughts...

Helen Keller

2006-02-11T15:43:00.000-08:00

As it has happened the previous times, the idea to write this blog came up accidentally, when I was googling about "Joan Of Arc". I was rather looking for some accomplishments in general, when the name Helen Keller popped up both out of google and out of my little brain at the same time!

It was my fourth grade where my English syllabus had a lesson about Helen Keller under the title "The story of My Life" - The autobiography by Helen Keller herself. The lesson starts with the plight and helplessness of a young girl who is blind and deaf in the late 19th century. Just like a savior angel, came Miss Anne Sullivan into Helen Keller’s life, a teacher who taught her the words of wisdom.

The very first word which Helen learned, understanding its meaning was the word “Water”. The way in which Miss Sullivan taught her blind and deaf student was extremely innovative. She opened a tap and placed Helen's hand under the water and in the other hand she wrote the word "water" with her fingers. Thrilled by this new method of teaching, Helen, who by this time was revealed the mystery of the language, showed eagerness and enthusiasm in learning. This made her feel better and she garnered skills strong enough to write her own biography.

Just imagine the period in which Helen lived - where technology was perhaps not even a bud (forget being a full bloom flower!), where a child who was differently-abled, (This is one of the very positive word in English language. You know what - we no longer use words like disabled!) became a role model.

Helens accolades were some of the most astounding ones - She became the first deaf blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. Helen was also awarded the "Presidential Medal Of Freedom", the nation's highest civilian award.

So if you are woebegone and so run-down - go, get yourself a copy of "The story of My Life" and you will find yourself brimming with optimism.

With more thoughts...

Everybody Loves Raymond

2006-02-03T19:24:00.000-08:00

Well, as I mentioned in one of my earlier blogs, soaps being my cuppa tea, the first and perhaps the most frequently watched soap in the US by me, is "Everybody Loves Raymond" - And I am no exception to it! With the base story line that is so very similar to our Indian family and comedy soaps, this daily serial brings in some nostalgia. It is somewhat similar to my most favorite serial back home in India - "Tu Tu Main Main" - the tug of war between the daughter in law and the mother in law. ELR is quite similar to it, only difference being the hero has a brother who provides us an equally fair amount of laughs.

ELR is ordinary comedy soap, and the key thing that would make a normal show, a lively and a hit show is based on the characters you choose to act - to a major extent. In ELR, the characters do not act - they rather live. This key difference is what makes this show a hearty family soap.

Penned around Raymond and Debra, the lead couple, the story is all about the differences they have and their love for each other and how they put up with Ray's parents who happens to live just across the street, nevertheless are always in Ray's home! With 3 kids, Debra has a tough time and tries her best to control her tempers when her sweet old mom in law (Marie) interferes!

Aired at 10:00pm every night, this show is comfortable for onsite bachelors to watch while having dinner! Either before the offshore call or after the offshore call, ELR comes as a welcome break! Well folks, it is time for ELR and I am off to fall in love with a program that makes me laugh heartily!

With more thoughts...

Hoogle Zoo

2006-02-02T22:28:00.000-08:00

When my dear friend Muthu suggested this option for a Sunday afternoon outing, I just ridiculed him by saying, "Who would go to a ZOOOOO???" Finally, as usual losing a majority, I decided to (rather reluctantly) visit the Animal Kingdom. I went out with my dear friends and found myself thoroughly enjoying the drive. It was fall in Salt Lake City and those colorful leaves were one of the most pleasant sights to the eyes.

We arrived at the entrance of the zoo and I found myself saying - "It was not bad after all". But it so happened that by the time I came out of the zoo, I was telling "My my, it was such a worthy spot to visit and enjoy an afternoon". So what made that boring option turn out to be an incredibly dulcet visit? It was the way the zoo itself was maintained and the close encounters with those fellow animals, (I was a bio student, and I consider Homo sapiens as part of the Animal Kingdom!) that changed my perception of zoos.
The rhinos feed so close, such that you almost touch their horns - except that there is a thick mirror that separates you from its horn! You can see the giraffe that comes close to you and eat, thereby giving you all the time in this world to admire its beauty at close encounters. A cabin filled with butterflies, some scenic wooden bridges over a stream, wilderness in fall all made the zoo a very admiring place.

Last, but certainly not the least, there was this toy train ride that shows the important spots of the zoo. It so happened that I was collecting various colored leaves and I was about to board the toy train. The train driver saw me holding the leaves and voluntarily got me a plastic cover to save my botanical masterpieces! His thoughtfulness and altruistic nature (come on - it was a help without even asking for - shouldn't I not use the word altruism?) made me feel so emotionally filled with happiness.

The wonderful way the animals were treated in the zoo, made me feel proud to belong to a race which tries to protect God's other creations. Hoogle zoo is one of the great places in SLC to spend a worthwhile afternoon.

With more thoughts…

Made for each Other...

2006-01-28T18:18:00.000-08:00

Oh! We know a lot of couples in this world who are so made for each other! I really am not going to talk about the perfect Mrs and Mr. However, I am going to talk about things that turns out to be Made for each Other.

Let’s start with something, or someone who is quite familiar. Sandra Bullock. Sandra the absolute star of the movie “Speed” proved her action skills in the other hit “Miss Congeniality”. So what is the "other” that will make Sandra and this "other", Made for each Other? (Gosh! how many "others" in a sentence!). Well it is that tomboyish character that I am referring to. Sandra perfectly blends into a wild and boisterous character and this combination becomes an instant hit. With Miss Congeniality 2 proving her tomboyish worthiness again, Sandra and her tomboyish characters are so made for each other and becomes an object of admiration and liveliness.

Is it just love that should make a great combination? Worst enemies can also be Made for each Other. Take for example Tom and Jerry (I used to have a Math prof who looked like Jerry mouse and we nicknamed him "Jerry"), one of the most famous enemies in the world. It is their animosity that had made them a classic example for Made for each Other

The cold morning hours and sleep! There is absolutely nothing compared to covering yourself with a heavy blanket during the cold morning hours and switching of the alarm clock and going back to sleep. My my, they are so made for each other!

A cup of hot chai and pakoras on a wintry evening; A novel and a packet of potato chips; A movie with a box of popcorn to munch and watch; Curd rice and pickle; Babies and innocence; kids and naughtiness; Man and Wife - All are Made for Each Other!

Autism

2006-01-28T10:06:00.000-08:00

It was not "The Godfather" that ranked first in my list of Mario Puzo's books. Rather it was "The Last Don" – A wonderful novel about the life and the heir of the great Don "Don Domenico Clericuzio". It was not the hero, "Pippi De Lena" that attracted me so much to that book. It was the character of "Athena Aquitane", the lead heroine that made this book so special.

As would any powerful woman character be, Athena was also equally brave, courageous and victorious. The only difference was that this special character had a very special child. A child who had a syndrome named "Autism". So what is autism? – An abnormal absorption with the self; marked by communication disorders and short attention span and inability to treat others as people. OK, in more layman terms – Autism is a psychiatric condition, where the affected people know nothing – Happiness, Pain, Sorrow, Recognition, I repeat - they know nothing. Perhaps the stereotypical view of autism is portrayed by Dustin Hoffman in the movie “Rainman”. If you had watched that movie you will know the vacuous nature of these individuals.

The web hosts a whole lot of information about autism – “http://www.autism-society.org“, is one of the links where you can learn about this syndrome and the support group for the same. I was under the naive impression that this syndrome is extremely uncommon, until I happened to read a local weekly in my home town Chennai. I am not sure if it was "Anandha Vikatan" or "Kumudham" (the 2 lead weekly magazines in my mother tongue “Tamil”) – there was an article about "Autism" and the support group for parents and children alike in Chennai! It was then I realized how not uncommon any syndrome could be and I was also mentioning to my folks about "Athena Aquitane". Perhaps the sheer and the unavoidable truth that broke my innocence, made "The Last Don" as one of the books I love.

Many people feel that fiction is just a waste of precious time. However I totally tend to disagree with that common mistake, as it has its share of advantages – Improving the language, giving ideas, knowledge about many areas that we could perhaps never come across. Spreading awareness with the knowledge gained from any book is noteworthy.

Subramanya Bharathi

2006-01-27T22:48:00.000-08:00

One of the greatest poet and reformist who played a crucial role in Indian independence and also in women's liberation was Subramanya Bharathi. Though his life was filled mostly with poverty and mockery, his poems are sung till this date by some of the most famous carnatic musicians, spread all around the world.

A multifarious personality - Bharathi was a teacher, journal editor, translator (as he knew about 6 to 7 languages fluently) besides being a reformist poet! So many avatars in such a short life span of 39 years! His work was classified based on various themes like Hymns, Nature, God, Lord Krishna, "Kuyil" songs and Women's liberation songs.

Some of his most famous works are "Kaakai Chiraginele Nandhalaala", "Manadhil Urudhi Vendum" and "Suttum Vizhi Chudar". Rich and overflowing in optimism, patriotism and positive thinking, his poems is tonic for the sore heart and soul.

One of the most farsighted songs from Bharathi was "Sindhu Nadhiyin..." - happens to be my favorite. It tells how united the people of India stand despite the diverse and rich culture, tradition and language. This song happened to be part of a Tamil film, in which the veteran actor of Tamil Cine Industry - Sivaji Ganesan, acted as Bharathi, depicting Bharathi's wishes in a manner that he himself would have adored. The song was an instant hit and was apt for the patriotic days like the Independence Day and the Republic Day of India.

Having talked this much about patriotism, I am posting this blog a day after the Republic Day of India - Jan 26th, with a bunch of love and affection for the country that had given me so much, the best being my parents!

Jai Hind...

Culinary Evolution

2006-01-27T08:09:00.000-08:00

One of my small wishes when I was a kid was to get into the kitchen and prepare a yummy dish. However my loving and most caring mom never allowed me to do an iota of work in her kitchen! Back home my mom, dad and I used to watch the cookery program by one of the most famous cook of Tamil Nadu - Mallika Badhrinath. This was probably the beginning of my cuisine knowledge gathering - in very small theoretical dosage!

To add water to the growing sprout inside me, that I named "Learn Cooking", came the cookery show by the celebrity Indian cook - Tarla Dalal. The downside was that the program was in Hindi and the brighter part was that it had the ingredients mentioned in English sub titles and I was smart enough to know how to prepare the recipe by the end of the program! Thanks to Tarla, I gained more theoretical knowledge in a specialization that needed only practical!

Well well well, it so happened that I had to come for my onsite assignment and have a kitchen all for me, myself and my own self! With the bare minimum recipes from my mom (As I never knew the basic day to day cooking!), I flied all the way to the US of A and started to cook. From the making of the daily needs like rice, rasam and a vegetable, my practical cooking was trying to survive. Then came my sweet old ex roomie Deepak, who was a master cook and taught me "All about practical cooking" and as the saying goes, practice made my cooking – well: more or less perfect!

Now that I have started to cook a variety of side dishes, main dishes, snacks and a couple of sweets and savories, I tend to try more varieties. With my new roomie Anshuman, the whole north indian cooking is what I am trying to master. That is it! My evolution of cooking - both in theory and practice, from the novice good old days of pure theory to the experienced chef. Last but not the least; I continue to watch some wonderful culinary programs here, in Salt Lake City. This blog would be incomplete if I do not mention my favorite programs - Barefoot Contessa with Ina, Jana's Italian cooking and Emeril's lively cooking had opened Italian, Mexican, American and other area specific cooking!

It is kitchen time buddies - I am off to soak Daal for my ducky Spinach Daal...

With more thoughts...

Winter in Salt Lake City

2006-01-25T22:50:00.000-08:00

What does the color "white" remind you of? Does that remind you of Peace? Or Purity? Or Pallidity? Perhaps, if you are in the north or the south poles you will be saying "Snow"! Yep! What is there in SLC for winter? You have that beautiful snow, possibly the most natural phenomenon that makes you shiver! I am not sure if Robert Frost was from the UK or the US, however I know that he was in a place similar to SLC when he "Stopped by the woods on a snowy evening"!

Hmmm - For people living in the tropical climate, snowfall may be something seen only in pictures or movies. It is truly an enticing natural phenomenon to watch and feel. That too when the snow-fall is very sporadic, occurring once in 2 weeks, it’s a welcome weather to watch and enjoy. This is how it is in SLC this 2006.

Snow on the other hand provides its own variety of entertainments. On a wonderful wintry morning in 2005, I happened to go to the mountains here in SLC where we happened to snow mobile. It is one of the adventure sports where you drive a vehicle in snow up in the hills. You reach a plain in the hills that is filled with snow, where you can have fun filled smashing races. By the way, I came third in that race that I happened to participate. For your information 3 people participated in that race! Nevertheless it is a wonderful sport for a day.

The next winter plan would be to go to a place called Snow Bird, where thru the cable cars, you can reach the hill tops and from there you can have a great snow white view of the places in and around you! This half day to 1 day trip can turn a lazy saturday or sunday to a memorable day. Ofcourse you then have skiing. What is winter without skiing? One of the greatest entertainments for sports lovers in winter is skiing. Though I have not the guts to go for an adventurous skiing, I have seen videos of my friend doing the same.

Last but definitely not the least - For the child artist/sculptor that lays hidden deep inside me, snow gives an opportunity to build my sweet snow man. My snow men are miniature ones and they have an attractive black eyes, nose and lips made out of black pepper! Sometimes, his shirt buttons are made of pepper too.

And you have all those wonderful indoor games like snow bowling, snookers and billiards and what not to wile away your precious weekends!

Its wintry winter this week, with the small pond in our office being completely frozen - well almost. Perhaps the best way to pass this evening would be with a hot cup of chai and spicy bhajjis. Thanks to my wonderful roommates - each one is a specialist in one of the above mentioned menu!

The aroma of tea and the bhajjis is overwhelming. I am off to grab my share...

With more thoughts...

Multilingual Entertainments

2006-01-22T13:46:00.000-08:00

The idea of writing this blog came to me when I was coming back from our favorite Indian restaurant named "India House" after a sumptuous dinner. My dear friend Muthu was playing this CD in his Toyota Corolla. It so happened that he had recorded songs from multiple languages. Not that we were polyglot: coming from a country that is very rich in culture and languages gives us an opportunity to listen to a potpourri of songs.

From being narrow minded in coming up with arguments about each persons' native language, perhaps we have come a very long way in enjoying the beauty of each language and the joy that each can provide us. It is like finding "goodness" in everything rather than trying to find the "faults".

Overlook point apartments – the place where I live currently, had provided me some of the best friends of my life. It is very interesting that each of them were from different states of India, where they speak different languages. My ex-roomie was from Karnataka and the friends in another apartment belonged to Goa, Andhra and Uttar Pradhesh. One of my roomie is from Orissa, whose best friend is from West Bengal. Ofcourse we then have the folks from Kerela! As you can see it gives me a prospect of hearing conversations in a plenty of languages besides watching movies in those languages too. (Thanks to the first rated translators or the English sub titles, a wide arena of movies can be looked forward to!)

United States is equally famous for the immigrants from various parts of the world, giving them the chance to know about European, Asian and African cultures. As I have mentioned in my previous blog, learning languages bring us closer to the natives. Even feelings can be more accurately expressed in native languages! Such is the power of languages.

Enjoying entertainment needs no language, that too when it comes to music. The idea of recording songs from multiple languages is such an innovative one that can satisfy and reach a wide range of people.

For parties and small events where you can expect such an assortment of folks, try to adapt ideas from an orbit of cultures. This would make it an instant success and you will have the warmth of satisfying men, women and children more personally!

With more thoughts…

Code to Zero

2006-01-21T16:07:00.000-08:00

Perhaps being an ex-book fanatic (now I hardly read novels!) the want of taking up a bulky book and drowning in it becomes ineluctable, sometimes. Thanks to some definite page turners, thriller seekers like me get a day off from sitting in front of the idiot box or planning about the project or worrying about timelines! A Suspense and thrill filled, fast paced book could simply not be put down, until you know who the bad guy (OK - sometimes bad gal) is!

Code to zero is infact a thriller where the bad guy is known from the very beginning. So how come it's a thriller? I can hear you screaming at the top of your voice. Hold on for a couple of more lines – It’s my sapless attempt to keep you filled with suspense. Despite the fact that the villain is known in the beginning, the novel happened to be an extremely fast moving and enticing one. Written by the acknowledged writer Ken Follet (Perhaps more famous for his "Key to Rebecca"), this novel is super logical and is full of a thought flow.

The plot is thus - A scientist is made to have amnesia and is left with a drunkard in a men's room far from his home. The way the scientist tries to know who he is and his approach to find who he is, is explained with a wonderful step by step procedure. It is this extreme lucidity with which the plot is written, that makes this novel to keep its readers on their toes. Besides the way the scientist finds his own self, he tries to put a full stop to one of the rocket explosions. All these and a little romance, in about 500 and odd pages.

Making people read your works and making them read your works again and again, is a challenging task. When you deliver such a wonderful book, the expectations for the next wonder goes sky rocketing. (Do we need more than the Harry Potter series as an example for this?). There are many such good books and equally many story writers, who happen to give the world a totally different way of enjoying and passing the time.

Its time to sleep here now - the natural and heavenly way of time pass!

With more thoughts...

Julia Roberts

2006-01-21T08:26:00.000-08:00

Action speaks louder than words. Hmmm - what to do? Though I write blogs, I know that actions are more powerful than words. (I really am satisfied with the saying "The pen is mightier than the sword" though!!!). Coming back to action, we all know that the major entertaining media that is part of our life is films. There is no industry like the film industry. It capitalizes on captivating men and women around the world by both its fantasy and reality dosages of quality cinema.

There are a great many men and women who have been and who are and who will be part of this mega entertaining media. Of those many people, few stands out and make their presence very strong. Of such people Julia Roberts is one person, who has always made me to awe in wonder. She may not be the most beautiful woman for many men, but she has such an energetic face that is so full of life (unlike some beauties who have eyes that never sparkle nor speak of life) and ebullience. An ebullience which would pass on to you when you see her in action!

What movies should I talk about here? As, there are many that I really love. Perhaps the Oscar winning Erin Brockovichis so very apt to being with? Or should I talk about her signature film which brought her to stardom - Pretty woman? Who can forget the brown dress with white dots or the red dress which she wears and goes to the opera? Or should I talk about her charming presence in MonaLisa Smile? Or about her fleet in Runaway Bride? I really cannot decide on this!

Let me try a poem for my favorite actress...Here we go!

I call her Julia
This lady from Georgia.
Oh! She is a "Pretty women"
Who has a "MonaLisa Smile"
She is indeed "America's Sweetheart"
And "Everyone says I love You" Julia!
Oh! Julia...

After all shouldn't a fan be doing atleast this?

With more thoughts...

Summer In Salt Lake City

2006-01-18T21:13:00.000-08:00

If you are so adamant in not extending your geography of the US, you did probably know only cities like Los Angeles, New York, Chicago or Washington. You would most likely not know (perhaps not bother to know) the existence of smaller metros like Salt Lake City! Being the capital city of the state of Utah, Salt Lake (and the entire state of Utah) is indeed rich in culture, events and entertainment.

If you think only metros like New York or Los Angeles can provide all the entertainment in the world, then plausibly you are mistaken. Here is the list of great entertainment places in and around Salt Lake City that is both affordable and adorable. It has every thing from mountain ranges to lakes to gardens.

One of the greatest places that always fascinated me in Salt Lake City is the Wasatch Mountains. The ride to the mountains in summer, spring or fall is bewitching. This mountain range has its share of greenery besides the numerous lakes it carries. Almost half the way in the top of the mountain, you have picnic spots that can be booked in advance. Utahans come with their family and spend the weekend there. Each picnic spot contains a place to put your tents, a place to cook and sit and have your food together. If you need a weekend to spend amidst nature and that too by not going very far and also enjoy the togetherness of your family, Wasatch is the place to check it out!

With the whole city in a valley, there is no inadequacy of mountains! Which means there is one more mountain adventure to plan for. Its Timpanogos Caves located in Mount Timpanogos. With a drive that is as usual captivating, you reach a place from where you start hiking up the hill. After a hike for about 45 minutes, you are given a guided tour inside those living caves. If you are looking for an adventurous, drill filled day, Timpanogos is the right choice.

If you like lakes, rivers and seas, Salt Lake City has its share of lakes too. Salt Lake and Bear Lake are 2 lakes in and around Salt Lake City, where boating and other water sports are popular and entertaining. To make a normal weekend interesting and to get some scratch of knowledge, you can visit the museum and the Hoogle zoo - 2 notable places in Salt Lake City.

Of course there is always the downtown with all its glitz and glamour, however mingling with Mother Nature and enjoying her beauty is incomparable!

Quite a 5 hr drive from Salt Lake, we have some of the wonderful places to visit - Yellow Stone national park that is famous for its natural geysers and the Bryce Canyons that is famous for the architectural feats of Mother Nature herself. If you plan to go to a place per month, the “summer fun planner” in Salt Lake is easy and exciting to execute!

What's there in winter in Salt Lake? - You gotta wait for a few more blogs...

Cartoon Cartoon

2006-01-14T19:39:00.000-08:00

If it were not for Walt Disney, kids today (and many adults too!) would have been deprived of a major arena of entertainment. Cartoon - The etymology of this word is from the French word "carton" and from the Italian word “cartone”. Be it a snippet in the corners of a daily newspaper or a graphical and engaging full fledged motion picture, cartoon comes in a variety of flavors - from political to mockery to mystery to fun.

There were times when my patience was tested by my young cousins who used to watch The Cartoon Network for the whole day long, preventing me from watching soap operas! (I know for many of them cartoon is a better alternative, however there were few soaps that I was mad about!). Nevertheless I still have my share of good time pass by sitting in front of the idiot box and watching my favorite cartoon programs.

When I extend cartoon to comics, I get an equally engaging domain of yet another time killer. From Archies to Tintins to Asterix, comics also have its share of assortment. I do not know about the others - for me, it all started with Mickey & Donald. The ever green Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy can still be seen in Disneyland, even when Disney is celebrating its 50th anniversary! Equally popular cartoons are Tom and Jerry, Scooby, Dennis the Menace, Casper, Richie Rich & the men (Bat/Super/Spider)! Many of these characters have their share of motion pictures, captivating the audience - young and old alike.

Here are some cartoon facts that I googled and got -

The earliest cartoon strip, named "The Yellow Kid," was shown in the New York Journal in 1896.

The longest running newspaper comic strip is "The Katzenjammer Kids," which was first published in 1897. It is still in publication.

The most filmed cartoon character - Zorro has been shown in 69 films. Created by Johnston McCully, he was the first comic strip character to be the subject shown in a major film, The Mark of Zorro (USA 1920).

With more thoughts...

MonaLisa Smile

2006-01-09T19:13:00.000-08:00

One of the costliest painting and perhaps the most famous painting in the world is "MonaLisa" at the Louvre Museum in Paris. Painted by Leonardo Da Vinci, this blog ain't going to talk about the painting or about the painter! There is something similar to this painting that I am going to talk about and it’s a movie which shares the paintings' name - MonaLisa Smile.

Set in middle of the 20th century, the story begins when an art teacher joins a very famous all-female Wellesly College. Julia Roberts learn that Wellesly is a college that boasts of "creating" the perfect wives for men! It aims at teaching the nuances of being a good housewife! In a place where people refuse to believe in individuality, Roberts asks her students to aim for stars. She asks her students to be more creative, to give more importance to their thoughts and lands up getting a name as a reformist in a conservative college.

With a beautiful cast involving Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhall & many ebullient young ladies, the film is a treat to both heart and soul.(should I mention eyes too???) There are so many poetic scenes in this film. One of my favorites being, when Julia asks her students to just admire an inspiring piece of art rather than writing an assignment about it or even considering it.

When I watch this highly optimistic film, one of the famous quotes that my college chum used to often utter comes to my mind. He used to say - "Always aim for the stars. Only then you will reach the tree top. If you aim for the tree top, you will grab the mud!" Roberts asks her students to do the same thing and wins the heart of her students and the institute. The maximum number of enrollments in Wellesley College was for Roberts course the very next year.

It was my dear friend Vidhya who mailed me once about this film. She was my onsite co-ordinator and she was telling me about this movie and she was all "oohs" and "aahs" for this film. I saw this film when I came for my onsite assignment and fell in love with it. Its a very positive, optimistic , heartwarming drama. You can watch this with you dear and near ones with a hot cup of chai and a plate filled with Pakoras...

Oxymoron!

2006-01-01T16:52:00.000-08:00

This is one of the words in English language that has always fascinated me. There is so much said about "Opposites attract each other" - Right from the physics Magnetism class where we were taught "Opposite poles attract each other" to "People tend to select their partners who are quite their opposite". Be it technical or psychological, we have come across such statements in our life. Literature is also a place where you find opposites being attracted each other. Atleast, they sometimes come close to each other. Well, if I tell the meaning of the word Oxymoron, this might throw more light!

An oxymoron consists of two words that seem to contradict each other, or actually do contradict each other.

Let’s start this oxymoron with a contradicting word pair! “Legal Murder”. Uggh! Murder by itself, as we all know is definitely not legal, however the above 2 words are valid enough sometimes. We all know many cases where murder is legal (Lets thank our film industry for this!)

OK. If you are not so convinced with the above example, let’s go for more convincing and pleasant ones! “Awfully Nice”. Don’t we use this? He was awfully nice to the kids. There are so many interesting oxymorons...Here are few of them for a few categories.

How can such a wonderful aspect of the English language be left aside by Hollywood? Hmmm. Can you guess a few oxymoronish Hollywood titles??? Here they are
True Lies
Eyes Wide Shut

Perhaps there are more to the short list above! If you are a compute geek, here are a few oxymorons for you
Text Image
Click the 'Start' button to Shut Down the computer.

There are very famous quotes from many celebrated people that are oxymoronic.
He has all of the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire. -- Winston Churchill
The scene is dull. Tell him to put more life into his dying. -- Samuel Goldwyn

Some ever time popular oxymorons:
Christ was born in year 4 B.C.
Change is the only Constant.

Before we end, here is the last and my favorite oxymoron. It’s the word "Oxymoron" itself. Yes, oxymoron itself is an oxymoron. Oxy means "sharp" or "wise". Moron (we use this more frequently!) means "fool" or "dull"!!!

With more thoughts...

Poetry

2006-01-01T14:30:00.000-08:00

Poetry writing is such a great talent. There are so much of great poems written by such great endowed poets and here I will be musing over 3 of my all time favorites

The first is perhaps the top in my list of most influential poems. It’s written by Alfred Lord Tennyson. And its "Home they brought her warrior dead". It’s a touching poem about a warrior who was dead in a war and they would have brought his body to his home. His young wife, who was overcome with so much sorrow, would refuse to move or even cry. All her friends and maidens worried that if she does not burst out, she will die. So they come out with plans to make her cry out and help her burst out emotionally. They start by praising her husband, his noble deeds, how true friend was he and so on and so forth. The wife refuses to move. Then a lady removes the face cloth from her dead husband's body, thinking that seeing her dead husband face, she may break down. Even then the wife's eyes ejected no water. It was then an old experienced nurse by the name Rose, takes her child and places her baby on her knees. Like summer tempest comes tears in her eyes and she cries, "Sweet my child I live for thee"...It is such a sorrowful poem which shows an admirable couple. A couple, who were deeply in love and who were living solely for each other. An experienced nurse who knew to read peoples’ heart. A fatherless baby. These characters are built so strong in a mere 16 line poem. This was in my fourth grade syllabus and was part of my recitation exams! The complete poem is over here - "http://quotations.about.com/cs/poemlyrics/a/HomeTheyBrought.htm"

It’s time for some nature admiration. Poets admire nature just like painters. It is perhaps their favorite subject! Now it’s time to talk about the world famous poem "The Daffodils", written by the nature poet "William Wordsworth". Wordsworth explains in this poem that he was wandering lonely when he saw a field of daffodils. The sight of these yellow colored flowers fills him with pleasure when he lies down in a vacant or pensive mood and thinks about these daffodils.
The lyrics are so rhythmic that you can sing a lively song out of this poem. Do check it out at "http://www.love-poems.me.uk/wordsworth_daffodils.htm"

The other poem that this blog is going to talk about is "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost. Perhaps you will know this poem when I tell its last 2 lines
"And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep. "
These were Jawaharlal Nehru's favorite lines. The poet was perhaps returning from some work back home and he stops by woods that were filled with snow. He stops his horse and starts admiring the woods. He then realizes he has chores to do and has miles to go before he reaches his destination.

There is so much in poetry and in the poet's thoughts. This is only a drop in the ocean of poetry.

Of M.S. Subbulakshmi and Sudha Raghunathan

2005-12-26T17:06:00.000-08:00

Well, if the names of the above two female personalities are unknown to you, then allow me to do the honors of enlightening you of whom they are. Who can imagine a world without music? Be it pop, rock, folk, classical, melody, rap or metal (I got a list as far as I know), if its going to give you all the peace and harmony it can, then undoubtedly, that's your choice of healing power. It is in a form of music that these 2 women provide immense satisfaction to the people around the world. Down south of India, a popular music form is "Carnatic" music, that is rich in tradition, culture, devotion and patriotism.

Very interesting facts about "Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Nee" & "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti" are available in the following link "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solfege"

Now that we know these 2 personalities are well renowned in the arena of Carnatic Music, a narration of experiencing the feelings when you hear their honeycombed voice is literally impossible. I suggest that experience to be felt by the individuals themselves.

M.S. Subbulakshmi is more popularly called as M.S and her immortal songs like "Kurai Onrum Illai", "Kaatrinile Varum Geetham" and "Bhaja Govindham" are world famous. Her "Vishnu Sahasranamam" and "Venkatesa Suprabhatam" are still the first song that many homes starts the day with. As for Sudha, her "Enna Thavam Seidhanai", "Valli Kanavan Perai" and "Thunbham Nergayil" are any music lovers "Must Have Collections".

Music, be it vocal or instrumental, is ocean deep and many gifted personalities who have taken a dip in it, share their gift and give the lesser gifted the joy of feeling it. Of many such personalities, I have dedicated this blog write up, to 2 of my favorites...

With more thoughts...

Pride & Prejudice

2005-12-26T17:05:00.000-08:00

It was the novel that happened to be part of our eighth grade syllabus. A captivating romantic drama, so filled with life and charm that it would become part of your "Many a time read". It’s not the thrilling page turners of Sidney Sheldon or Ken Follet, rather it is a page turner where in, in each page you would want the pride and prejudiced lovers to get engaged!

Elizabeth Bennet the heroine and Darcy the hero are definitely made for each other. Their love for each other is so powerful that you could feel that right from the beginning of the novel. Whose says only murders need a strong motive? This novel is filled with every motive for a couple to fall in love.

"You ought to have got this in your eleventh grade syllabus - You will enjoy this more, 3 years later" - This was what my English lecturer told us when she started off with the first chapter of this novel. Being a very obedient student ;) I preserved that novel and read that many a times before I stepped into my eleventh grade!

Eight grade or eleventh grade or college or work, a book filled with such realistic human emotions and study, would live forever with book lovers. It’s just not the love between the hero and heroine that fills this book. It shows an absolutely awesome relationship between the eldest 2 daughters in the Bennets’ family. It comes with the strong love of a father for his intelligent daughter, a mother’s worry about her daughters’ marriage, the responsibilities of an elder sister and a good share of friendship.

The way Darcy wins his pride and Elizabeth realizes that her pre justified notion of Darcy is everything but correct are so heart warming. There are now 2 films taken based upon this novel. One in 1940, starring Greer Garson and Laurence Oliver as the lead pair. The next make of the film was released in late 2005 starring Keira Knightly and Matthew MacFadyen. The earlier version had few variations from the novel, however the latest version stuck truly to every page.

Book or Film, the story of Jane Austen is undoubtedly a winner of hearts.

With more thoughts...

The Fabulous Las Vegas

2005-07-21T21:27:00.000-07:00

When the so called “Sin City” is just a 6 hour drive from your house, who would not contrive to go there to get their share of the sin for a long weekend? So off we went not by the 6 hour drive, but by the 50 minute flight journey. Must I repeat that I hated the take off and the landing? (Isn’t there a better non dizzying way for these 2 process?)
So at about 4 in the evening, Las Vegas time, we reached an absolutely hot Vegas – Yep the temperature was close to 110 F.

So there we were in an ordinary Travelodge hotel which was about a mile from the Las Vegas Boulevard (aka “The Strip”) and not knowing that such a long walk in the hot Nevadan sun would be very tiresome, we ventured to explore “What is there in the strip after all?” By the time we reached the Strip, we were so tired that the first place we went was the Fashion plaza and had a good cup of tasty ice cream. This refreshing piece of food gave us the energy needed for the long walk in the boulevard!

Small snippets about the Large Casinos –

So off we went to the first casino, “The Venetian” and enjoyed the artificial sky line that changed from dawn to dusk. We were lucky enough to spot a lovely newly wed couple in the Gondola Ride and hear the deep pitched Italian songs! What a feast to the eyes and ears after filling our stomach! The slot machines were not that interesting to me, however I tried my luck and lo and behold, I won $10 and I think I must have played for around $2. So with a net profit that the Venetian gave us, we moved on to the awesome “Ceasers’ Palace”, which had its moving and talking statues that looked almost real. The laser show just above these talking statues is worth watching.

We had a wonderful dinner of potato pancakes in the Cearsers Palace and we were served and attended to, very well by the waitress there! Its very difficult to see a waiter/waitress who really care for what we eat. Being a vegan, I was very picky and she helped me with so much of patience, that I felt I was at a place I knew very well! Well Well!! Then we went off to check out the penguins in “The Flamingoes” and the Volcano that was simulated in front of “The Mirage”. What a contrast – I am talking about the hot volcano and the cool penguins in the same road and that too in the casinos lying opposite to each other! Oh! That’s Vegas.

The most beautiful show, I would say is the “Fountains of the Bellagio” – My my, what a beauty it is to see those musical fountains and it becomes even more breathtaking when viewed from the top of the “Eiffel Tower” in the Paris casino. New York casinos roller coaster and the hair raising rides at the top of the 109th floor at the “Stratosphere” are meant for the dare devils. Have I left something for the jumping Jacks? Well yes, you have the ultimate bungy jumping too!

That’s enough of adventure sports. Lets move for my favorite - the kids zone(perhaps for adults too , I would say!) we have a circus show! And some eye catching Hawaiian dance in the Hawaiian Market place. The food at the nearby Tamba restaurant would bring disasters to the dieting damsels!

The lights, the shows, the casinos, the clubs, the people and the joy know no bounds in the fabulous city that never sleeps!

And here I really am back in my home sweet home at the Salt Lake City enjoying the home made food, watching my favorite shows in the television and writing down my thoughts! This is fabulous too!

With more thoughts…

Herzlich Willkommen!!!

2005-06-12T14:08:00.000-07:00

Ich lerne Deutsche!!! – Hold on! If this sounds as Greek and Latin to you, you are little away from the country that speaks Deutsche – In other words German! I just mentioned that I learn German!

Learning foreign languages have always been my vision! It opens an arena of the rich culture of the people who speak those languages. Coming from a country that is rich and diverse in culture, it is no surprise that I was interested in learning more about the cultures of other countries too. The European culture is one that always fascinated me. Right from Greek to Roman to the English to German and French, the culture is diverse and captivating.

Language makes us know more and feel closer to the culture of different people and countries. One of the inspirations to learn foreign languages was my aunt who happened to work for Mitsubishi (Perhaps Mitsubishi’s Lancer cars will throw light about the company!), who had some Japanese books in her shelf and the language and the script never failed to intrigue me. Nevertheless, I understood not a single character in that book! However though, it was a book filled with pictures and Japanese characters.

My uncle who has traveled to many European countries has been an inspiration to know about France, England and Germany. It is these interests that were sowed, made an attempt to choose French as my second language in Higher Secondary Education (Hmmm – Now I hardly remember any word there in French!). It was the lazy days post college final year days, awaiting my day to join the software company, I happened to see an advertisement for enrollment to Learn German in the Goethe Institute. This Institute is a world known organization for teaching and certifying German to people. The Goethe Institute in Chennai is called The Max Mueller Bhavan – honoring the German who was responsible for spreading Indian culture to the West, by translating Vedas and many of our consecrated texts!

The proximity (about ½ hr travel and 15 minutes walk in the not so hot July sun of Chennai!) was fine enough for me, that I enrolled along with my best friend to learn Deutsche. Learning German was such fun and the lecturers were the best I had ever come across. It was the type of teaching and learning that inspired me so much – There was so much of interaction between the 20 odd people in our class, the bunch being between 18 and 25.

There were so many songs, videos, small plays, dialogues, audio quizzes, crosswords, picture matching and what not that we came across as a tool to learn! It was learning with fun and there are so much that I still remember in Deutsche, even after 4 years of no Deutsche! I happened to attend the weekend classes and I would expect with child like eagerness who waits for chocos and toys, for the weekend classes to come. Such was the people who learned with me, such was the ambience, such was the lecturers who taught, such was the method of teaching – Also to mention the wonderful hot snacks that we had for breakfast on our Sunday mornings – The whole group would chit chat and there was a variety of people from different stages of lives. Few were working, few were still in college, some in their schools and few were waiting to join work – It was an enthusiastic mixture of people.

I was unable to continue the second level of German, however some day I really want to join and go up ahead in completing the 7 levels (It had 7 levels for completion then!).

As an appendix perhaps, here are some beautiful words/sentences from the language

Herzlich Willkommen – Hearty Welcome – This was how my teacher welcomed as we entered the class!

Guten Tag – Good Day!

Danke – Thanks!

Wie ghets – How do you do

And most importantly

Ich liebe dich! – I love you!!! – My my, what uproar it caused when my teacher wrote these words within a heart shape and translated it!!! – Those are ever green memories…

Auf Wiedersehen…(See you again!)

Greek Mythology

2005-06-12T13:51:00.000-07:00

Myth is generally termed as a traditional story accepted as History; It serves to explain the world view of a people. It so happens that we sometimes feel that why should few Myths not just be real and not reel. I still remember the day when a colleague friend of mine introduced me to such a Myth, which I really am sure that many would feel that it is real or would atleast wish them to be real! This myth was known world wide by the famous poet Iliad’s two most laudable works in literature – Homer and Odyssey. The “Godly” world of Greeks, the life, the death, the relations of mortals and immortals alike plays a crucial portion of the Greek Mythology.

It was a “thought munching” and “digesting” time, post an important conference call, that this friend of mine explained me about some of the key personalities of Greek Mythology. I was so fascinated that I browsed a lot about this subject and gained little knowledge by the end of that day itself. Some of the most intriguing characters in Greek Mythology are the God of Gods “Zeus”, his wife “Hera”, Zeus’ twin kids “Athena” and “Apollo”, Hercules the Hero, The Goddess of Love “Aphrodite”, and of course the very famous “Helen of Troy!”

The mythology is so powerful and an interesting read, that the tinsel world went ahead to make movies out of the myth, the latest being the hit movie Troy starring none other than the American heart throb “Brad Pitt”. The episode of “Helen of Tory” (Or shall we say “The Trojan War”?) is definitely the most interesting piece of Myth. There are of course funny moments in the Greek Mythology and one of the best happens when the Sun God Helios finds the secret relationship between the War God Ares and Love Goddess Aphrodite and summons everyone including Aphrodite’s poor husband “Hephaestus”, who comes to know of his wife’s paramour.

Lovers of literature will always honor exceptional works like Iliad and Odyssey. It is not needed to go to the depth of literature to relish the intricacies and beauty of any mythology. Hearing, discussing, reading small snippets, watching movies about such Mythologies itself grabs our interest and attention and we land up loving and adoring them. I am one such person who does not go into such great depths, however enjoy learning them in bits and pieces.

With more thoughts…

The Not So Long Saunter

2005-06-02T20:11:00.000-07:00

Every morning, rather most of the mornings, I happen to go to the Office by walk. It is definitely not a long walk, however long enough to satisfy my own self, as back home in my country I would never have walked this long. Of course to be honest, I feel very bored and lazy, when I realize that I need to walk early in the morning for twenty five grueling minutes. However, by the time I come out of the apartment, I generally feel “It is not bad after all Ram, you know you can make it”.

The last two thirds of the walk is the portion that anyone can enjoy, provided the person is a nature lover. I would not call it the most scenic place in the world, nor are there an assortment of greenery and flowers. However, the little change from the sheer buildings in the first part of the journey to a wide spread of greenery and the increase in the number of tress would make you feel better. Also a particular small portion where an awesome mixture of colorful tulips is a must see sight. You can never admire the beauty if you travel in a car. It is in such walks, that you get time to enjoy nature. You will have to leave alone all your issues and troubles and devout your sight and thoughts to Mother Nature.

I really am a great lover of flowers and those botanical beings which are of all sizes and colors never fail to attract me. It really does not matter if the flower has an associated fragrance! I know not the names of all the flowers that I see, but I know to smile back at them, when they bloom and lay in the ground waiting to be admired.

The sun comes out very fast in the June sky, here in Utah and nowadays it is hotter. However it is not too hot to relinquish your morning walk. It is no longer the season of tulips here, but it is of roses. You name a color and I will show you a rose flower in that color. Oh! Yes, such is the diversity of their colors. Many gardens have a potpourri of roses and most commonly they form a sort of a separation between houses!

Now it is not these wonderful natural beauties alone, that make your walk so amiable, but also the man made jog track. Most of the mornings I see few people walk or jog in this jog track that lies only a few feet away from the pavement. Sometimes you do see people who smile at you, some say their Good mornings and few others with a charming “How do you do? I am doin Good”, conversations. These are very small things, however it makes you feel so much better. A stranger wishing you a very good morning, asking how are you doing, the flowers smiling at you, so much of greenery and the wide range of trees, they do give you a peace of mind and they make your heart light.

If you happen to find a not so long trail to saunter and enjoy, do not fail to make it a habit to walk – and if you have your loved ones near by accompanying you for the walk, I would re quote an apple a day saying to “A walk a day keeps the doc away!”

With more thoughts…

Picture Perfect

2005-06-02T20:09:00.000-07:00

One of my room mates/friend has recently purchased a Handy Cam. It’s a Sony DVD writer Handy cam and this is the first time I have operated a Handy Cam in my life. This lifeless piece of electronic device that captures our life comes with us in almost all our outings. Atleast to begin with, when it arrived, we carried it to the nearby grocery shop and clicked a couple of snaps in front of it! We walked around our very own apartment and took 4 dozen snaps. And to top it all, we even took a cool snap of the blender that we just purchased. I really wonder if there is a person who takes snaps of their cars and here we are, two eager, ebullient adults, taking pictures of every small thing that might excite them.

It’s just not the snaps that I am going to write about. It’s also about the short video films that we took. My friend here took a very interesting video and the hero of that film was none other than me. The only difference being, I never knew he was talking a video. It was a short one, which captures my rule in the kitchen and that day I was making a side dish with cauliflowers. My ignorance about the fact that he was taking a video made this a very natural film that came out very well. It is these films that one would really love to save, cherish and feel happy about even after many years.

Capturing precious moments have always been an integral part of everybody’s life. And happiness knows no limits and bounds, when we share those moments with your near and dear ones.

My friend is calling me now, to capture few more elements that surround us. I am going off for taking every Picture Perfect.

Eating Outside India

2005-05-21T10:53:00.000-07:00

Has the word “Vegetarian” become so complex nowadays? Or has it been always like that? I don’t think any dictionary can give an exact meaning of the word vegetarian! To some people it is eating anything other than meat, eggs and milk. To few others it can include milk and for some the subset extends to egg products like ice creams, cookies and cakes. There are some elite groups, who dare to extend this list to fish varieties and claim themselves vegetarians. Whew! With so many different people claiming their own synonym for the sensitive word vegetarian, it’s not surprising that, it has evolved to become a complex word.

This writing is for the non meat eating, including fish and the non egg eating with the exception of ice cream and cakes, people. It is these people, irrespective of the synonym for the word vegetarian, suffer a lot, as the variety for them is shrunk, when they land up in a place where the synonym for vegetarian, includes the ultimate word MEAT itself!

So here I really am, in a land where vegetarians are very rare and you cannot find a hotel that is purely vegetarian (Not that I know of – as the hotels will run into bankruptcy, as the majority of the population is omnivorous.) I have frequented many a hotels here at Salt Lake City, the capital of Utah, both Indian and American types.

Let me begin with the first hotel that I visited and that too on the day I landed in SLC. It’s called the Olive Garden. Considered to be a little expensive by some of my American colleagues, (Yep – they call it very expensive and I know few Indians, who pay this Garden, a visit for their Saturday dinner – Now let’s not argue if us Indians are profligate.) has a variety of great food for Non Vegetarians. I had to choose (Oops there was only one vegetarian soup as far as I could remember) from one vegetarian soup and 2 vegetarian dishes. I was thinking, I had more choice back at home, where only one cooked for just 3 persons and the variety was definitely more than 3 on a Saturday. Should I say that, I missed my dear folks back home, during the first dinner that I had at SLC?

There are about 3 Indian restaurants which I have visited and they do have quite a variety for my palates. Indian restaurants here always have both the names and the menu pertained strictly to North India, despite the large percentage of Indian population being South Indians. All the more, a valid reason, why I long to eat south Indian recipes like Dosas and Idlies with Sambar or Vadas.

One of my colleague and his wife invited a selected lot (I would call the lucky lot) once for lunch and once for dinner (Of course both the lunch and the dinner were on different dates). The menu to my surprise included my favorite Dosas, with varieties of chutney and Bajjis. Those were happy hours!

Hmmm – I still miss the wonderful Idli sambar that my mom used to prepare. However strong I convince myself that the recipes that I cook, has come out well, I must admit that they are nowhere near the delicious food that my mom prepares for me. The secret behind that is that, she adds some more ingredients to the recipes that she prepares, like love, affection, blessings, goodwill and what not? It is these that make the food that she prepares very special and a taste that fails to accompany in every other food!

More Thoughts…

The Public Library

2005-05-21T10:11:00.000-07:00

It is now a habit for me, to visit the nearby public library in the small county of West Valley City, UT, which is reachable in 15 minutes by the speed at which I walk. (I walk at normal speed – Normal speed as per Indian standards). I did not expect much from a public library, nevertheless was eager to become a member. But the moment I learnt that they had a website, I thought they must be having something more. And yes, they had a LOT. The website itself was an ultimate network connecting the libraries in the neighboring counties. Right from placing a “hold” on a book which was in any of the county, to extending the features of the library for the blind, the library offers a variety of features.

When I went to the library, I was so impressed by the way the kids use it. The Library has a complete section for the kids, which include everything from audio CDs, DVDs, to toys. The interest with which the kids come here is itself a must see sight. Who said the Niagara is the most beautiful place in the world? Now, who is that saying, have you never once been to the Disney Land? It is to those people, I ask this question – Have you ever seen a toddler come and ask questions to a librarian and then search the books and read them? That is what you should call it as “cute”.

Most importantly, since it is a public library, access to all materials including DVDs are completely free. The membership is also free. The segregation for kids, young adults, adults with respect to the Fiction works are clearly made. Internet access is also free and every Saturday, when I pay my visit to the library, I can always see a buzz of activity, with toddlers, to young adults to senior citizens.

The library here, also conducts training classes like “How to use Internet”, “Using Word/Excel/PowerPoint” etcetera. There are many volunteers for the training classes as well as for the library maintenance. The ardor with which the librarians work and help the people should be mentioned, as you can see hospitality to eagerness to sincerity in their work.

I look forward for my Saturday, not just for the weekend life, but also for my visit to my dear library, in which I am a member and for which I have planned to do some volunteer work very soon.

More thoughts…

Travel

2005-05-20T21:10:00.000-07:00

It was my first trip in the airplane and I was pretty much excited and nervous about it. Excited, as it was my first trip to the airport itself. Nervous, as I was hallucinating about turbulence, air crash etcetera. My parents, two of my aunts, one of my uncles came with me for a heart warming send off.

A wonderful Singapore Airline aircraft was supposed to carry me till Los Angeles. It was a split journey, the first stop was at Singapore and the next was at Tokyo and the final one at LA. Way back in time, when I was young I used to make fun of one of my uncles when he used to talk about his itineraries to me. He used to travel a lot and his travel plans used to amuse me. I would tell him - "Hey! You know what? I have heard of people boarding from Mumbai and go to B'lore, via Pune or from Chennai to Delhi, via Nagpur. But you are the only guy who talks about Pacific routes, Atlantic routes, the ‘What other Ocean’ routes!". Well, here I was, telling every one of my family members about my Pacific route, when they asked me about the trip! So there was I, in the not so luxurious Economy class - well that is why it's E-Class, right? So economized that you can't push back your seats without hitting the guy (Ok - or the lady) sitting behind you. My my, those who travel a lot from B'lore to Chennai will know about the KPN travels and I will tell them and the rest, that the seats in KPN are more luxurious than the so called sophisticated, luxurious airplanes (Now who told me that E-Classes are luxurious? , Have I ever seen the First class in a flight?).

Well still more descrimination comes when first class passengers are the ones who boards the flight FIRST. Oh! is that why you call them "First" Class passengers? Besides all these cribbing, your travel will be pleasent, if you have a wonderful "Neighbor" - Its no longer Neighbour - I have shifted from Queens' English to American English. I had an amazing neighbor, whose name was Deva. He taught me everything, right from how do you call an airhostess to how to operate the remote control. It was definitely the best part of my journey from Chennai to LA.

My cousin had come to the LA airport to receive me and I bet I will be one in a million to have had a lunch in McDonalds outlet in LA Airport without buying anything from McD's. I had the delicious curd rice and onion sambar that my cousin had prepared! Apart from enjoying the beauty of Singapore Airport and the breath taking snow clad hills, when the flight descended in the cold capital of the state of Utah (For GK buffs - Salt Lake City is the capital of Utah), I really must mention the wonderful news that my ears heard. While descending the co-pilot made the following announcement: "Today is a very special day for Delta Airlines (These guys took me from LA to SLC), as today on board with us are a wonderful couple who celebrates their 50th Wedding Anniversary. There are 17 of their family members, who have joined us and we take this opportunity to wish the couple 50 more happy anniversaries". And us passengers wished the same too.

With more thoughts...