After reading some stimulating prose, I have this tremendous urge to write.
The other day I picked up "Unaccustomed Earth" by Jhumpa Lahiri. I picked this book along with three others and left it till the last. I am glad I did. The effect of this book has been such that for the life of me I cannot recall which the other three books I picked were....
I remember having arguments with this friend Geeth, about literature. To me, literature had to have substance: a story, a thread, a point. Geeth insisted on the other hand that substance notwithstanding, literature was dead without style. While I had no patience with anything which did not have twists and turns, he would be blissful after reading twenty-five pages about a sun-set, if written well.
I now sympathize.
Lahiri's writing does not have any twists and turns. When you get to the ending, you do not put down the story with a satisfied sigh of triumph as you see everything falling into place. Its not something which will keep you up at nights turning page after page. The magic of Lahiri lies in the way she feels the deepest emotions in a scene and puts them down in writing. This magic will make you come back and read the story again and again.
I have just finshed the second story in the collection. The first one was quite good but in the second one she, to my disappointment, went back to a semi-dramatic ending.
For good writing I now realize, one does not need to be a W. W. Jacobs or an O. Henry and conjure up an exciting ending.
Twenty-five pages on a sunset can also be beautiful.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Another riposte???
Delhi: 5 blasts. 21 killed. 13th September
Islamabad: 1 blast. 40 killed. 20th September.
Both in national capitals. One only a week after another.
Islamabad: 1 blast. 40 killed. 20th September.
Both in national capitals. One only a week after another.
Monday, September 15, 2008
More "Jiya Jale"
I am presently reading, "India's Unending Journey" by Mark Tully.
I have only done some fifty pages and I am enthralled.
Of late I have been trying, unsuccessfully, to change quite a few things by fighting them. I have been enamoured by the thought that given my "limitless reserves" I can beat down my opponents and have my way.
This book reminded me that the best way is to open your mind to differing views while staying true to your cause. The best way is to be humble, to accept the fact that other views might be as correct as your own. This is the way Hinduism teaches and I am after all a Hindu.
It also says (quite as an aside actually):
In his first sermon, Harry Williams describes two sorts of truth, an outer truth and an inner truth. The outer truth is all knowledge we acquire, our intellectual capital. The inner truth has a life of its own and can therefore sweep in upon us in ways we cannot control.
Take for instance something of superlative beauty - music, painting or what you will. We can indeed study and master its outside truth - how it is constructed- how it is related to what has gone before and so forth. But its reality eludes us altogether unless it penetrates us and evokes from us a response we cannot help giving.
This took me back to the experience I had a few days ago with "Jiya Jale".
I am still listening to that song while I type this.....
I have only done some fifty pages and I am enthralled.
Of late I have been trying, unsuccessfully, to change quite a few things by fighting them. I have been enamoured by the thought that given my "limitless reserves" I can beat down my opponents and have my way.
This book reminded me that the best way is to open your mind to differing views while staying true to your cause. The best way is to be humble, to accept the fact that other views might be as correct as your own. This is the way Hinduism teaches and I am after all a Hindu.
It also says (quite as an aside actually):
In his first sermon, Harry Williams describes two sorts of truth, an outer truth and an inner truth. The outer truth is all knowledge we acquire, our intellectual capital. The inner truth has a life of its own and can therefore sweep in upon us in ways we cannot control.
Take for instance something of superlative beauty - music, painting or what you will. We can indeed study and master its outside truth - how it is constructed- how it is related to what has gone before and so forth. But its reality eludes us altogether unless it penetrates us and evokes from us a response we cannot help giving.
This took me back to the experience I had a few days ago with "Jiya Jale".
I am still listening to that song while I type this.....
Friday, September 12, 2008
Epiphany
I normally listen to ACDC only. It rocks. It resonates with whatever primal instinct I have in me and energizes me. If I go to some other band for a bit, its only because I need a break to remind myself how crappy other bands can be.
So half an hour ago, I was listening as usual to ACDC. I had had a hard day at work and I was sleepy. I still had some important stuff to do on the net, so I turned my Itunes on the "Shuffle" mode so that I do not get distracted by Angus Young.
All of a sudden, Itunes decided to play "Jiya Jale".
It was a moment of pure joy. Lata Mangeshkar's magical voice enveloped my consciousness, A. R. Rahman's music metamorphosed into something tangible right in front of my eyes and the Mallu lyrics gave me goose bumps and shivers.
What was it? Was it just me tired and sleepy? Was it just the fact that its something I listened to in my school days but of late don't consider worthwhile but have never been able to completely disown and now its coming back to claim me? Or was it the fact that there is something timeless about Lata Mangeshkar's voice or A. R. Rahman's music that no logic can justify or deny?
Its been 45 minutes now since that moment and I am still listening to "Dil Se"
So half an hour ago, I was listening as usual to ACDC. I had had a hard day at work and I was sleepy. I still had some important stuff to do on the net, so I turned my Itunes on the "Shuffle" mode so that I do not get distracted by Angus Young.
All of a sudden, Itunes decided to play "Jiya Jale".
It was a moment of pure joy. Lata Mangeshkar's magical voice enveloped my consciousness, A. R. Rahman's music metamorphosed into something tangible right in front of my eyes and the Mallu lyrics gave me goose bumps and shivers.
What was it? Was it just me tired and sleepy? Was it just the fact that its something I listened to in my school days but of late don't consider worthwhile but have never been able to completely disown and now its coming back to claim me? Or was it the fact that there is something timeless about Lata Mangeshkar's voice or A. R. Rahman's music that no logic can justify or deny?
Its been 45 minutes now since that moment and I am still listening to "Dil Se"
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Rock on. Sad let down
After watching this movie yesterday night, I came back and checked up a few reviews on the web.Quite a few bloggers have reviews praising this movie as a signal achievement. There is a site called crazyengineers.com which has a forum thread on it. All the forum members have only this to say:
"Great/Awesome/Mind-blowing movie. Read my review here"
I am sure they have far more to say in their respective reviews but I really have'nt checked.
Now why am I adding my feeble voice to this chorus?
Because I beg to differ.
Frankly Mr. Akhtar. You are losing your touch. Dil Chahta Hai was an epic. One reviewer said, "Its not whether you have watched this movie or not (You have) but its more how many times you have watched it". I agree. Lakshya was a sensitive take on the growing up of an individual. Don was a sad let-down and only today I realized that you also had made this movie called "Honeymoon Travels". But we are talking about "Rock On"
The music is simply awesome. Its a given that for the Indian audience, something on the lines of hard-core rock music would not do. The compromise between saleability in the Bollywood context and loyalty to the rock-music genre is well done. There was something both for me (an ACDC fiend and a head-banging moron in Purple Haze) and my Dad who relaxes after a hard day's work to Classic Hindi film music. When the movie ended I was left wishing for a few more songs.
But on the other hand, I found the movie remarkably superficial.
Aditya (Farhan Akhtar) has everything in life I dreamed of while I burnt my midnight oil preparing for JEE. He has a cool job as an investment banker, a lavish apartment, a BMW, a beautiful wife, six-pack abs, and some history as the lead singer in a rock band. He also manages to have this angry/distant/reserved attitude in life which makes the society women swoon over their collective gins wondering what is behind the facade. Unfortunately behind the facade is nothing.
This is a guy who had a great band going. Then in one of the creative arguments that band-members have, he gets punched and walks out. While he does that, he also obligingly ditches a girl-friend (who all the while was only good for sundry kisses during breaks in rehersals anyway) and just vanishes.
Ok buddy.
One punch and you ditch your friends. You ditch your girl-friend after a hastily scribbled note. And thereafter you maintain this air of a man done grievous wrong for the next ten years.
Hello???
I would pick up the phone the next morning and try to set things right. Fine you had a problem with your lead guitarist but what of the other two in you band? What of the girl on your arm? Did you care for those three at all as people or were they only fillers to populate the scene?
After watching this scene, I wistfully recalled a similar scene in Dil Chahta Hai. It was great! Beautifully done! There was just the right amount of depth in its treatment. Sure every-time I watched that movie again, I fast-forwarded through that scene but without it your story does not stand!
There are some great scenes in the movie. Like the one in which Aditya's wife is cajoled into singing by his band-mates. When she protests that she only knows Hindi songs, everyone goes quiet in derision. Then Joe, KD and Rob come together and accompany her on their instruments while she sings in an uncertain voice. That was a great scene in which Sakshi is accepted in their clan even though she is very different.
But over all I found the movie a bit list-less. Frankly when the intermission was signalled, I was wondering if it was a mistake because so little had happened in the first half!
It is indeed refreshing to see Hindi movies moving away from the usual boy-meet-girl genre that had become the staple of Bollywood till a few years ago but otherwise this movie is not up to what I expect from Farhan Akhtar.
"Great/Awesome/Mind-blowing movie. Read my review here"
I am sure they have far more to say in their respective reviews but I really have'nt checked.
Now why am I adding my feeble voice to this chorus?
Because I beg to differ.
Frankly Mr. Akhtar. You are losing your touch. Dil Chahta Hai was an epic. One reviewer said, "Its not whether you have watched this movie or not (You have) but its more how many times you have watched it". I agree. Lakshya was a sensitive take on the growing up of an individual. Don was a sad let-down and only today I realized that you also had made this movie called "Honeymoon Travels". But we are talking about "Rock On"
The music is simply awesome. Its a given that for the Indian audience, something on the lines of hard-core rock music would not do. The compromise between saleability in the Bollywood context and loyalty to the rock-music genre is well done. There was something both for me (an ACDC fiend and a head-banging moron in Purple Haze) and my Dad who relaxes after a hard day's work to Classic Hindi film music. When the movie ended I was left wishing for a few more songs.
But on the other hand, I found the movie remarkably superficial.
Aditya (Farhan Akhtar) has everything in life I dreamed of while I burnt my midnight oil preparing for JEE. He has a cool job as an investment banker, a lavish apartment, a BMW, a beautiful wife, six-pack abs, and some history as the lead singer in a rock band. He also manages to have this angry/distant/reserved attitude in life which makes the society women swoon over their collective gins wondering what is behind the facade. Unfortunately behind the facade is nothing.
This is a guy who had a great band going. Then in one of the creative arguments that band-members have, he gets punched and walks out. While he does that, he also obligingly ditches a girl-friend (who all the while was only good for sundry kisses during breaks in rehersals anyway) and just vanishes.
Ok buddy.
One punch and you ditch your friends. You ditch your girl-friend after a hastily scribbled note. And thereafter you maintain this air of a man done grievous wrong for the next ten years.
Hello???
I would pick up the phone the next morning and try to set things right. Fine you had a problem with your lead guitarist but what of the other two in you band? What of the girl on your arm? Did you care for those three at all as people or were they only fillers to populate the scene?
After watching this scene, I wistfully recalled a similar scene in Dil Chahta Hai. It was great! Beautifully done! There was just the right amount of depth in its treatment. Sure every-time I watched that movie again, I fast-forwarded through that scene but without it your story does not stand!
There are some great scenes in the movie. Like the one in which Aditya's wife is cajoled into singing by his band-mates. When she protests that she only knows Hindi songs, everyone goes quiet in derision. Then Joe, KD and Rob come together and accompany her on their instruments while she sings in an uncertain voice. That was a great scene in which Sakshi is accepted in their clan even though she is very different.
But over all I found the movie a bit list-less. Frankly when the intermission was signalled, I was wondering if it was a mistake because so little had happened in the first half!
It is indeed refreshing to see Hindi movies moving away from the usual boy-meet-girl genre that had become the staple of Bollywood till a few years ago but otherwise this movie is not up to what I expect from Farhan Akhtar.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Are we too Democratic?
I read about the on-going trouble in Kashmir with dismay. Whatever is happening is unfair to the Hindus and if you do not stop bending over backwards to the Muslims, the Hurriyat starts saying that Kashmiris are Pakistanis.
That made me think:
How is it that China gulped down this entire country called Tibet and no-one's been able to do anything about it? How is it that we, a country of a billion people cannot keep a valley and four million people quiet?
One silly thing I see in this entire episode is the article 370. We Indians are not allowed to buy property in Kashmir while the Kashmiris can happily buy whatever they want all over India!
China faced with this problem would have given every Kashmiri they could find jobs in Bhagalpur, Thiruchirapalli and Banaskantha while they would have filled Kashmir with Hindus from the same aforesaid places. No one would then have been able to say that Kashmir is a predominantly Muslim region and should secede.
End of story.
Why don't we do just that?
Sure the Hurriyat and the Muslim separatists would cry but I am sure this huge country with infinite resources can take care a bunch of motley old men who just want to stay relevant.
Or can she?
That made me think:
How is it that China gulped down this entire country called Tibet and no-one's been able to do anything about it? How is it that we, a country of a billion people cannot keep a valley and four million people quiet?
One silly thing I see in this entire episode is the article 370. We Indians are not allowed to buy property in Kashmir while the Kashmiris can happily buy whatever they want all over India!
China faced with this problem would have given every Kashmiri they could find jobs in Bhagalpur, Thiruchirapalli and Banaskantha while they would have filled Kashmir with Hindus from the same aforesaid places. No one would then have been able to say that Kashmir is a predominantly Muslim region and should secede.
End of story.
Why don't we do just that?
Sure the Hurriyat and the Muslim separatists would cry but I am sure this huge country with infinite resources can take care a bunch of motley old men who just want to stay relevant.
Or can she?
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Block...
I cannot write. Much as I want to.
Its in the nature of things that when you write, you turn out a few bad pieces, a few mediocre ones and a few (only a very few) that make you smile at the end of it.
I remember the times when I would be walking down the streets and someone would say something funny that I'd overhear and there a chain of thought would start that will culminate in a poem or a passage or something.
Now either the people have stopped being funny, or I have stopped overhearing. I still walk the streets though.
Writing is a release. Sometimes when you get going, you feel this inner block slowly dissolving. You feel light-headed and cheerful. You take deeper breaths. A smile comes on your face. I am feeling that now.
I have always made it a point to atleast start with the intention of writing a tight little thing, retain my focus and not get lost in verbiage. And today here I am writing about a block....
What can you do?
When a block strikes you.
Do you rail? Do you squirm?
Or do you stop writing
And take up something new?
The moon still rises
The sky is still blue
Your friends still love you
Yet you sit every night
Aching to write something true
You don't want to be negative
You don't want to be crass
Have you started wondering
How your writing is read
That this has come to pass?
Writing is a pleasure
Reading is a gain
Oh God please don't deny me those
Because without them
Life's such a drain
Its in the nature of things that when you write, you turn out a few bad pieces, a few mediocre ones and a few (only a very few) that make you smile at the end of it.
I remember the times when I would be walking down the streets and someone would say something funny that I'd overhear and there a chain of thought would start that will culminate in a poem or a passage or something.
Now either the people have stopped being funny, or I have stopped overhearing. I still walk the streets though.
Writing is a release. Sometimes when you get going, you feel this inner block slowly dissolving. You feel light-headed and cheerful. You take deeper breaths. A smile comes on your face. I am feeling that now.
I have always made it a point to atleast start with the intention of writing a tight little thing, retain my focus and not get lost in verbiage. And today here I am writing about a block....
What can you do?
When a block strikes you.
Do you rail? Do you squirm?
Or do you stop writing
And take up something new?
The moon still rises
The sky is still blue
Your friends still love you
Yet you sit every night
Aching to write something true
You don't want to be negative
You don't want to be crass
Have you started wondering
How your writing is read
That this has come to pass?
Writing is a pleasure
Reading is a gain
Oh God please don't deny me those
Because without them
Life's such a drain
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
India and the world
I have been in Singapore over a year now. But all through this period I have always maintained this and I believe I always will: I miss Bangalore.
But I go too far ahead....
I arrived here one year ago and one of my first impressions of the place was not of the clean streets, well-laid out boulevards and the sparkling metro rail but of the people.
They never smile. They crib.
And they are rude as hell!
I met my colleagues and heard them griping over lunch everyday. I talked to my house-mate and had him crib to me every night. Even the friends I made here took on a negative hue in their conversations with me over time. And here I am griping away on my blog!!!!
Over this past year I have thought a lot about why Singaporeans are so negative in their outlook. I lived all my life in India and met so many positive people but here after one year in Singapore I believe has shown me more negativity than I have seen in my entire life.
If one dispassionately looks at it, people in Singapore have little to crib about. They all have decent education. They all have a place to call home (And I am not kidding here. There are no slums in Singapore, no one sleeps on the streets). Even the most destitute of Singaporeans have support enough to put two meals on the table everyday.
Compare that with what I saw in India. Creaking infrastructure. Rampant poverty. Major crime and a duplicitous political class. But why are Indian among the most optimistic people in the world? (Apparently some study established that. A similar study also established how vegetarians have higher colon cancer risk!)
I believe this has to do with how the two sets of people view the world.
Indian have seen tremendous growth of late. They feel that they are more in control of their lives. With the passing of years, the government has slowly but surely started to withdraw from the strangle hold it exercised in the Indian's daily life and my compatriots are seeing that their world is changing with more opportunities for them.
Out here in Singapore, there is no such growth. Salaries rise at 5% per annum (if you are good).
Jobs are drying up because on one is investing. But all these are cyclic factors.
I believe the overwhelming reason is the fact that the government touches the life of every Singaporean everyday in myriad ways. And it functions in a fashion which looks highly arbitrary.
This colleague of mine was complaining to me the other day about how the government has valued all the trees in Singapore at SG$ 1 Million each. "Based on what?", he shouted.
The taxi companies put a 30 cent surcharge on taxi fares due to rising oil prices. "Do the 30 cents go to the Taxi driver who is actually filling up the Diesel or to the Taxi companies?" asks my colleague. No one answers that. "Who owns the Taxi companies?", I ask. He shrugs and says, "The government owns everything".
Now I as a dispassionate observer find nothing wrong per-se in any of the above decisions the government took. But what queers the entire thing is that you hear only the government line on all these things and nothing else. There is no one to ask the questions my colleague raised and no one to answer them. This gives the facade of arbitrariness to the entire system.
This to my Indian sentiments is anathema. In India we are used to discussing and arguing at length about non-essentials. This fantastic Nuclear deal that Dr. Singh got for us has got stuck in one such quagmire to my immense despair. But all said and done, you can accuse the Indian state of being slow-moving, in-efficient, bureaucratic and corrupt. But you cannot accuse it of being arbitrary and dictatorial. I sometimes think that some dictatorial streak in the Indian state would be actually good for us all but it might just end up taking away from us Indians the feeling of empowerment we have.
Enough political science funda. Good night all.
Been off blogging for a while now. I hope to be back with renewed strength now!
But I go too far ahead....
I arrived here one year ago and one of my first impressions of the place was not of the clean streets, well-laid out boulevards and the sparkling metro rail but of the people.
They never smile. They crib.
And they are rude as hell!
I met my colleagues and heard them griping over lunch everyday. I talked to my house-mate and had him crib to me every night. Even the friends I made here took on a negative hue in their conversations with me over time. And here I am griping away on my blog!!!!
Over this past year I have thought a lot about why Singaporeans are so negative in their outlook. I lived all my life in India and met so many positive people but here after one year in Singapore I believe has shown me more negativity than I have seen in my entire life.
If one dispassionately looks at it, people in Singapore have little to crib about. They all have decent education. They all have a place to call home (And I am not kidding here. There are no slums in Singapore, no one sleeps on the streets). Even the most destitute of Singaporeans have support enough to put two meals on the table everyday.
Compare that with what I saw in India. Creaking infrastructure. Rampant poverty. Major crime and a duplicitous political class. But why are Indian among the most optimistic people in the world? (Apparently some study established that. A similar study also established how vegetarians have higher colon cancer risk!)
I believe this has to do with how the two sets of people view the world.
Indian have seen tremendous growth of late. They feel that they are more in control of their lives. With the passing of years, the government has slowly but surely started to withdraw from the strangle hold it exercised in the Indian's daily life and my compatriots are seeing that their world is changing with more opportunities for them.
Out here in Singapore, there is no such growth. Salaries rise at 5% per annum (if you are good).
Jobs are drying up because on one is investing. But all these are cyclic factors.
I believe the overwhelming reason is the fact that the government touches the life of every Singaporean everyday in myriad ways. And it functions in a fashion which looks highly arbitrary.
This colleague of mine was complaining to me the other day about how the government has valued all the trees in Singapore at SG$ 1 Million each. "Based on what?", he shouted.
The taxi companies put a 30 cent surcharge on taxi fares due to rising oil prices. "Do the 30 cents go to the Taxi driver who is actually filling up the Diesel or to the Taxi companies?" asks my colleague. No one answers that. "Who owns the Taxi companies?", I ask. He shrugs and says, "The government owns everything".
Now I as a dispassionate observer find nothing wrong per-se in any of the above decisions the government took. But what queers the entire thing is that you hear only the government line on all these things and nothing else. There is no one to ask the questions my colleague raised and no one to answer them. This gives the facade of arbitrariness to the entire system.
This to my Indian sentiments is anathema. In India we are used to discussing and arguing at length about non-essentials. This fantastic Nuclear deal that Dr. Singh got for us has got stuck in one such quagmire to my immense despair. But all said and done, you can accuse the Indian state of being slow-moving, in-efficient, bureaucratic and corrupt. But you cannot accuse it of being arbitrary and dictatorial. I sometimes think that some dictatorial streak in the Indian state would be actually good for us all but it might just end up taking away from us Indians the feeling of empowerment we have.
Enough political science funda. Good night all.
Been off blogging for a while now. I hope to be back with renewed strength now!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Events...
Sometimes life just turns topsy-turvy.
Over the past few weeks mine has. While I was looking very smugly at the future earlier with a certain idea as to how its going to shape up, I am looking at it with a sense of wonder as to how quickly things can change and how one should never plan too far ahead lest everything comes unstuck.
Updates:
1. Moved to a new apartment. With rents out here touching new heights, I have taken a shady place and made it live-able by making some investments
2. Moved to a new office, out of the dump we were in previously. Fantastic place.
3. Developed a new hobby of resuscitating very old computers and making them work-able again (I am talking of 486 -level machines with 4 (as in 1-2-3-4) MB of RAM.) Fun stuff
4. Made a few new friends
5. Almost lost a few old friends
6. In the process of taking up abstinence
7. Broke.... :)
8. Really pressed for time. None for blogging, books, cricket...even friends
Over the past few weeks mine has. While I was looking very smugly at the future earlier with a certain idea as to how its going to shape up, I am looking at it with a sense of wonder as to how quickly things can change and how one should never plan too far ahead lest everything comes unstuck.
Updates:
1. Moved to a new apartment. With rents out here touching new heights, I have taken a shady place and made it live-able by making some investments
2. Moved to a new office, out of the dump we were in previously. Fantastic place.
3. Developed a new hobby of resuscitating very old computers and making them work-able again (I am talking of 486 -level machines with 4 (as in 1-2-3-4) MB of RAM.) Fun stuff
4. Made a few new friends
5. Almost lost a few old friends
6. In the process of taking up abstinence
7. Broke.... :)
8. Really pressed for time. None for blogging, books, cricket...even friends
Monday, April 21, 2008
Tata Nano featured in IEEE Spectrum
Its here
Nice to see that finally people around the world are sitting up and taking notice of what Indian engineering talent can do. IEEE Spectrum is a magazine least likely to write junk and it was nice to see something familiar in it for a change.
If you notice carefully, on that page two different cars are featured. One is the Tata Nano and the other is a Jaguar. Both from the Tata stable.
Oh well. Jaguar has been an acquisition and not something to be so proud about but still...
(Psst Psst...I did not quite like the reasons why that Jaguar has been featured in that list. I do not want sundry slots opening in my car when I wave my hand...)
Nice to see that finally people around the world are sitting up and taking notice of what Indian engineering talent can do. IEEE Spectrum is a magazine least likely to write junk and it was nice to see something familiar in it for a change.
If you notice carefully, on that page two different cars are featured. One is the Tata Nano and the other is a Jaguar. Both from the Tata stable.
Oh well. Jaguar has been an acquisition and not something to be so proud about but still...
(Psst Psst...I did not quite like the reasons why that Jaguar has been featured in that list. I do not want sundry slots opening in my car when I wave my hand...)
Friday, April 11, 2008
One day in China....
I like blogging. I like putting down on this piece of "property" I have on the internet experiences, anecdotes and opinions. Its my way of communicating with the friends and well-wishers I have been fortunate to have across the globe without unnecessary hassle. Its nice to let them know of the newest scrape I have been in
A few events though do happen to me which are too painful to recall and sometimes I am tempted to bottle them up inside me. But they need to be told because I will be doing people a disservice if I don't warn them of what might be their experience as well.
Like what happened to me in China this week.
I was supposed to be in Shenzhen (China) this week. Shenzhen (if you have not heard of it) is a metropolis right across the lagoon from Hong Kong in Chinese sovereign territory. I was supposed to attend a business meeting there. The plans were made in a rush and I had to scramble to get air-tickets and hotel rooms. I had checked up on the Visa regulations and they appeared to be a breeze. Shenzhen is an SEZ. All Indians have to do is land up and queue up for a visa on arrival and they are given a single entry 5-day Shenzhen-only visa. No hassle. No questions asked.
Since I was flying in through Hong Kong, I checked up on its visa regulations as well and they were also a breeze. Just land up. Your passport is stamped a 14-day visa.
So my itinerary was going to be:
1. Land at HK
2. Clear HK immigration
3. Take a train to Lo Wu check-point on the border between HK and Shenzhen
4. Get a visa on arrival at Lo Wu
5. Clear Shenzhen immigration
6. Take a taxi to the hotel
7. Attend the meeting
8. Go back to HK after three days
9. Take the flight back to Singapore
Simple enough.
Or so I thought....
Getting into Hong Kong was simplicity itself. Landed up. Queued up for immigration. Got my passport stamped. Also got a smile and candies from the lady at the immigration plus detailed directions to Lo Wu.
I double-checked the directions to Lo Wu at a bus counter and the lady there was all-smiles and insisted on escorting me to the elevator and gave me detailed scribbled directions.
Got into the Bus to this train station. Got to the train station without incident. Caught the local train to Lo Wu and there I was.
No hassles in clearing the HK immigration. Walked over across no-man's land to China. Asked for directions to the visa issuing office. Filled the form (very simple...no photo necessary), got the cash ready and queued up.
When my turn came, I handed everything to the lady at the counter. The lady at the counter looks at my passport, says, "Indian Passport" and hands it to a policeman. The policeman comes out of the counter, bids me to follow him to complete certain procedures. I follow him out. We walk back to the no-man's land. He hands my passport to another officer who notes all the details down using a scanner and then hands it back to the first officer. The first officer now hands me my passport back, points towards Hong Kong and tells me, "That's the way to Hong Kong. Thank you very much. Go back!"
For five seconds I felt like a bomb had hit me. I was too stunned to react.
I collected my wits and asked him what the matter was. He repeated his stock phrase, "That's the way to Hong Kong. Thank you very much. Go back!". I asked him again. Then this guy pushed me to Hong Kong and said the same thing. I walked back towards HK, then decided to try again. I walked back towards Shenzhen and now this policeman caught hold of another of his colleagues, and they both summarily blocked me and prepared to man-handle me. No further words came from them.
Deciding that I could do nothing, I called up my Shenzhen colleagues and told them of the situation. Since I was still in no-man's land, both the guys kept watch over me and given any provocation would have literally kicked me out. I walked back to Hong Kong feeling like a complete waif.
I did not know where I was going to sleep at night. I had no plane tickets to get back and I was depending on my credit card to bail me out of any cash crunch. Plus I was spitting mad!
The Hong Kong authorities were not surprised to see me ejected out of China. They were pretty helpful and let me in. I called up my Boss and let him know of the situation. My colleagues in Shenzhen, Singapore and UK were very helpful in calming me down and helping me to figure out the situation. I caught the bus and train back to Hong Kong airport, took the first flight back to Singapore and was back in less than 24 hours of leaving Singapore.
It appears that China, angered by the anti-Tibetan protest in India had unilaterally decided to revoke visa on arrival to Indians. And while doing that, they very helpfully refused to tell anyone about it. Plus they brought into play their customary rudeness, high-handedness and arrogance.
In response to all this, India in a spirit of non-violence, world peace and brotherly love to their Chinese Communist brethren did precisely nothing. Actually, the government in West Bengal banned anti-China protests! But of course! They were acting on orders from Beijing...
Had they told me of the situation in Shenzhen I would have been angry but would have understood. They simply ejected me out like a ruffian.
And to add insult to injury, I called up the Indian Consulate in Hong Kong. There some guy picked up the phone, impatiently listened to my account for five seconds and shouted at me asking what I expected him to do. Then he politely banged the phone down without waiting for a response. That's ok. I never expected any help from Indians anyway. Had I spoken in Chinese he probably would have been more polite out of his brotherly love.
Guys, two lessons:
1. Never go to China
2. Never expect any help from your own government if you are in any trouble
When I got back to Singapore my conversation with the immigration official was like this:
O: Welcome back to Singapore Mr. Saurabh. Do you have anything to declare?
Me: Yes, don't go to China!
A few events though do happen to me which are too painful to recall and sometimes I am tempted to bottle them up inside me. But they need to be told because I will be doing people a disservice if I don't warn them of what might be their experience as well.
Like what happened to me in China this week.
I was supposed to be in Shenzhen (China) this week. Shenzhen (if you have not heard of it) is a metropolis right across the lagoon from Hong Kong in Chinese sovereign territory. I was supposed to attend a business meeting there. The plans were made in a rush and I had to scramble to get air-tickets and hotel rooms. I had checked up on the Visa regulations and they appeared to be a breeze. Shenzhen is an SEZ. All Indians have to do is land up and queue up for a visa on arrival and they are given a single entry 5-day Shenzhen-only visa. No hassle. No questions asked.
Since I was flying in through Hong Kong, I checked up on its visa regulations as well and they were also a breeze. Just land up. Your passport is stamped a 14-day visa.
So my itinerary was going to be:
1. Land at HK
2. Clear HK immigration
3. Take a train to Lo Wu check-point on the border between HK and Shenzhen
4. Get a visa on arrival at Lo Wu
5. Clear Shenzhen immigration
6. Take a taxi to the hotel
7. Attend the meeting
8. Go back to HK after three days
9. Take the flight back to Singapore
Simple enough.
Or so I thought....
Getting into Hong Kong was simplicity itself. Landed up. Queued up for immigration. Got my passport stamped. Also got a smile and candies from the lady at the immigration plus detailed directions to Lo Wu.
I double-checked the directions to Lo Wu at a bus counter and the lady there was all-smiles and insisted on escorting me to the elevator and gave me detailed scribbled directions.
Got into the Bus to this train station. Got to the train station without incident. Caught the local train to Lo Wu and there I was.
No hassles in clearing the HK immigration. Walked over across no-man's land to China. Asked for directions to the visa issuing office. Filled the form (very simple...no photo necessary), got the cash ready and queued up.
When my turn came, I handed everything to the lady at the counter. The lady at the counter looks at my passport, says, "Indian Passport" and hands it to a policeman. The policeman comes out of the counter, bids me to follow him to complete certain procedures. I follow him out. We walk back to the no-man's land. He hands my passport to another officer who notes all the details down using a scanner and then hands it back to the first officer. The first officer now hands me my passport back, points towards Hong Kong and tells me, "That's the way to Hong Kong. Thank you very much. Go back!"
For five seconds I felt like a bomb had hit me. I was too stunned to react.
I collected my wits and asked him what the matter was. He repeated his stock phrase, "That's the way to Hong Kong. Thank you very much. Go back!". I asked him again. Then this guy pushed me to Hong Kong and said the same thing. I walked back towards HK, then decided to try again. I walked back towards Shenzhen and now this policeman caught hold of another of his colleagues, and they both summarily blocked me and prepared to man-handle me. No further words came from them.
Deciding that I could do nothing, I called up my Shenzhen colleagues and told them of the situation. Since I was still in no-man's land, both the guys kept watch over me and given any provocation would have literally kicked me out. I walked back to Hong Kong feeling like a complete waif.
I did not know where I was going to sleep at night. I had no plane tickets to get back and I was depending on my credit card to bail me out of any cash crunch. Plus I was spitting mad!
The Hong Kong authorities were not surprised to see me ejected out of China. They were pretty helpful and let me in. I called up my Boss and let him know of the situation. My colleagues in Shenzhen, Singapore and UK were very helpful in calming me down and helping me to figure out the situation. I caught the bus and train back to Hong Kong airport, took the first flight back to Singapore and was back in less than 24 hours of leaving Singapore.
It appears that China, angered by the anti-Tibetan protest in India had unilaterally decided to revoke visa on arrival to Indians. And while doing that, they very helpfully refused to tell anyone about it. Plus they brought into play their customary rudeness, high-handedness and arrogance.
In response to all this, India in a spirit of non-violence, world peace and brotherly love to their Chinese Communist brethren did precisely nothing. Actually, the government in West Bengal banned anti-China protests! But of course! They were acting on orders from Beijing...
Had they told me of the situation in Shenzhen I would have been angry but would have understood. They simply ejected me out like a ruffian.
And to add insult to injury, I called up the Indian Consulate in Hong Kong. There some guy picked up the phone, impatiently listened to my account for five seconds and shouted at me asking what I expected him to do. Then he politely banged the phone down without waiting for a response. That's ok. I never expected any help from Indians anyway. Had I spoken in Chinese he probably would have been more polite out of his brotherly love.
Guys, two lessons:
1. Never go to China
2. Never expect any help from your own government if you are in any trouble
When I got back to Singapore my conversation with the immigration official was like this:
O: Welcome back to Singapore Mr. Saurabh. Do you have anything to declare?
Me: Yes, don't go to China!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
This evening in Singapore
This last weekend I had an appointment with one of my friends here in Singapore. It was early evening. Just the right time to land up in Brewerkz and get a pint going. So I was hurrying off from my apartment to the mrt station.
On the way to the station, there comes a long alley-way. I got in that and at the exact same time in the opposite direction, got in a gorgeous looking Indian girl.
Now there are lots of Indians here in Singapore but out of some freak of nature, very few look any good. Now I feel that Indian women are one of the most beautiful in the world and therefore that is quite a disappointment.
What was not a disappointment was this particular girl. Tall, dusky, well dressed, slim. Smashing combination.
Now I am 'seedha-saadha' guy. Here I am in this long alley way. Here is the girl in the long alley way coming from the opposite end. No one else in sight. She is beautiful. My spectacles are the right power. I proceeded to pay her a compliment by looking at her quite appreciatively.
We walk towards each other
I look at her
She looks back
Our eyes meet
I smile
She smiles
We come closer
Suddenly the penny drops and I realize that the particular jitter issue I had been seeing in the newest silicon could be due to missing de-cap! (Cannot get into too many specifics here)
My expression suddenly changes from a complacent welcoming smile to one of "Eureka!!!". The only thing I did not do was say out loud, "OHHHH!!!!"
Her expression suddenly changes from a modest 'come-hither' to one of shock. She took me for a freak, quickened her steps and started looking this way and that for possible help.
I forgot about Brewerkz, landed up at work and figured that I was right!
She went her way and probably breathed a sigh of relief once I was out her sight.
People at work were extremely delighted both by the theory and how it came about.
My boss very nicely offered to finance my trips to Little India. He figured staring at Indian women gives me million dollar ideas...
Oh well....this is probably the first time a chip has been debugged by looking at girls. I think I should do it more often....
On the way to the station, there comes a long alley-way. I got in that and at the exact same time in the opposite direction, got in a gorgeous looking Indian girl.
Now there are lots of Indians here in Singapore but out of some freak of nature, very few look any good. Now I feel that Indian women are one of the most beautiful in the world and therefore that is quite a disappointment.
What was not a disappointment was this particular girl. Tall, dusky, well dressed, slim. Smashing combination.
Now I am 'seedha-saadha' guy. Here I am in this long alley way. Here is the girl in the long alley way coming from the opposite end. No one else in sight. She is beautiful. My spectacles are the right power. I proceeded to pay her a compliment by looking at her quite appreciatively.
We walk towards each other
I look at her
She looks back
Our eyes meet
I smile
She smiles
We come closer
Suddenly the penny drops and I realize that the particular jitter issue I had been seeing in the newest silicon could be due to missing de-cap! (Cannot get into too many specifics here)
My expression suddenly changes from a complacent welcoming smile to one of "Eureka!!!". The only thing I did not do was say out loud, "OHHHH!!!!"
Her expression suddenly changes from a modest 'come-hither' to one of shock. She took me for a freak, quickened her steps and started looking this way and that for possible help.
I forgot about Brewerkz, landed up at work and figured that I was right!
She went her way and probably breathed a sigh of relief once I was out her sight.
People at work were extremely delighted both by the theory and how it came about.
My boss very nicely offered to finance my trips to Little India. He figured staring at Indian women gives me million dollar ideas...
Oh well....this is probably the first time a chip has been debugged by looking at girls. I think I should do it more often....
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Seven things no one wants to know...
I have been tagged by this crazy girl in Bangalore. (eee tag-phag ka howat hai bhaiyya???)
Anyway the deal is that I have to list down seven random (but sufficiently interesting) things about me. Here goes:
1. I am addicted to books. Cannot live without them. For other people home is where they hang their hats. For me home is where I keep my books.
2. I love reading about the Second World War. Most of it is boring but the Eastern Front has this insane attraction for me. I have read everything about it I could lay hands on, watched every movie I could find and I keep dreaming about visiting the places where all the carnage happened. Uncharitable souls have commented that I love reading about it because of the scenes of widespread cruelty to women and children that are manifest in accounts of that action. I thought about it and for a while I got pretty scared about that analysis. Then I realized that that could not be true because the battle I most love to read about is the Battle of Stalingrad. For all the cruelty, this action was fought by professional armies who to an extent respected the laws of war. I guess its the nihilism of the entire episode that attracts me. Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust. (More about that in another post I guess)
3. I take people for granted left right and centre. But on the other hand I value my relationships immensely. I would do absolutely anything for my close ones. That includes family as well as friends. People sometimes go out of their way to help me. It is a source of continual wonder to me and makes me very humble and proud to have such friends....
4. I love taking trips. I love slumming it out. The best trip to me would be to a jungle. To get to it I would hitch-hike rides. When I get there I would sleep under a tree. I hate big cities. I feel Man-kind would have been better off not coming down from the trees in the first place.
5. I listen to bands in relays. One month its ACDC and ACDC only. The next month it will be only Aerosmith. Now I am listening to the "Foo Fighters"
6. I am extremely casual about money. I cannot stand people for whom its the sole and ultimate aim. (Their approach to life is not wrong. Its just very different from mine). I hate questions about how much I earn. I don't ask them. I hate answering them.
7. While I was in Bangalore, one evening, I very seriously considered throwing it all away and joining a Buddhist Monastery in the Himalayas. I am not that crazy (or stressed out) now. But I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the Himalayas. I should. I am named after them.
I am not going to tag anyone in return but yes people in my blog-roll, go ahead and see if you can part with such random secrets. This is fun to do.
Anyway the deal is that I have to list down seven random (but sufficiently interesting) things about me. Here goes:
1. I am addicted to books. Cannot live without them. For other people home is where they hang their hats. For me home is where I keep my books.
2. I love reading about the Second World War. Most of it is boring but the Eastern Front has this insane attraction for me. I have read everything about it I could lay hands on, watched every movie I could find and I keep dreaming about visiting the places where all the carnage happened. Uncharitable souls have commented that I love reading about it because of the scenes of widespread cruelty to women and children that are manifest in accounts of that action. I thought about it and for a while I got pretty scared about that analysis. Then I realized that that could not be true because the battle I most love to read about is the Battle of Stalingrad. For all the cruelty, this action was fought by professional armies who to an extent respected the laws of war. I guess its the nihilism of the entire episode that attracts me. Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust. (More about that in another post I guess)
3. I take people for granted left right and centre. But on the other hand I value my relationships immensely. I would do absolutely anything for my close ones. That includes family as well as friends. People sometimes go out of their way to help me. It is a source of continual wonder to me and makes me very humble and proud to have such friends....
4. I love taking trips. I love slumming it out. The best trip to me would be to a jungle. To get to it I would hitch-hike rides. When I get there I would sleep under a tree. I hate big cities. I feel Man-kind would have been better off not coming down from the trees in the first place.
5. I listen to bands in relays. One month its ACDC and ACDC only. The next month it will be only Aerosmith. Now I am listening to the "Foo Fighters"
6. I am extremely casual about money. I cannot stand people for whom its the sole and ultimate aim. (Their approach to life is not wrong. Its just very different from mine). I hate questions about how much I earn. I don't ask them. I hate answering them.
7. While I was in Bangalore, one evening, I very seriously considered throwing it all away and joining a Buddhist Monastery in the Himalayas. I am not that crazy (or stressed out) now. But I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the Himalayas. I should. I am named after them.
I am not going to tag anyone in return but yes people in my blog-roll, go ahead and see if you can part with such random secrets. This is fun to do.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Reminiscing while down with 'flu
I have 'flu.
Again.
Anyway, while in bed, I recall the GLORIOUS week I spent in Malaysia with a few of my old and new buddies. We went all over the place. Johor, Kuala Lampur, Penang, Kuala Lampur again, Taiping, Penang again and then finally I made my weary way back to Singapore
all by myself while my ex-boss got on with work in Penang.
A few interesting things I did in Malaysia
1. I realized that "Kanan" in Malay actually means "right". Now finally I met some sensible people who know that I am ALWAYS right!
(This says that the toll booth is on the right)
2. I had a full body massage along with an Irishman. The lady who massaged me was this cute Chinese girl. Pretty, lithe, slim. I wondered what she will be able to do and told her patronizingly to give her best. When she got started, I was knocked out. She packed some punch!
3. We went to the Sepang racing circuit. Missed a training race by twenty minutes.
4. We slept in a hotel which looked out on the Penang bay. Beautiful view from the 32nd floor
5. I bought a soft-toy in a KL mall. Its a giraffe with a very amused, bemused and innocent face. It sits on my desk and reminds me of my expression while I debug circuits....
6. We sampled Malay food. What I get in Singapore is sawdust compared to that.
7. I took at walk in the dead of the night and went to look at the Petronas Towers. One picture is etched in my mind. The Petronas towers visible in the sky, hookers soliciting just below them.
8. Took endless walks in KL and Penang. KL is a mess. Noisy, busy, crowded. Penang is an oasis in comparison. Colonial buildings, quiet, cheap.
9 Drove endlessly all over the Malay Peninsula
10. Walked from Malaysia to Singapore. Malaysian check-point was neat and tidy. Singaporean check-point was a mess.
Now I need a tissue...
Again.
Anyway, while in bed, I recall the GLORIOUS week I spent in Malaysia with a few of my old and new buddies. We went all over the place. Johor, Kuala Lampur, Penang, Kuala Lampur again, Taiping, Penang again and then finally I made my weary way back to Singapore
all by myself while my ex-boss got on with work in Penang.
A few interesting things I did in Malaysia
1. I realized that "Kanan" in Malay actually means "right". Now finally I met some sensible people who know that I am ALWAYS right!
(This says that the toll booth is on the right)2. I had a full body massage along with an Irishman. The lady who massaged me was this cute Chinese girl. Pretty, lithe, slim. I wondered what she will be able to do and told her patronizingly to give her best. When she got started, I was knocked out. She packed some punch!
3. We went to the Sepang racing circuit. Missed a training race by twenty minutes.
4. We slept in a hotel which looked out on the Penang bay. Beautiful view from the 32nd floor
5. I bought a soft-toy in a KL mall. Its a giraffe with a very amused, bemused and innocent face. It sits on my desk and reminds me of my expression while I debug circuits....
6. We sampled Malay food. What I get in Singapore is sawdust compared to that.
7. I took at walk in the dead of the night and went to look at the Petronas Towers. One picture is etched in my mind. The Petronas towers visible in the sky, hookers soliciting just below them.
8. Took endless walks in KL and Penang. KL is a mess. Noisy, busy, crowded. Penang is an oasis in comparison. Colonial buildings, quiet, cheap.
9 Drove endlessly all over the Malay Peninsula
10. Walked from Malaysia to Singapore. Malaysian check-point was neat and tidy. Singaporean check-point was a mess.
Now I need a tissue...
Sunday, March 02, 2008
A few things...
This is regarding the post here
Viski says that hormones decide the mood.
I agree. I definitely feel great after listening to rock music... The music gets my adrenaline pumping.
After a hard day at work, I might come as tired and beaten up as what have you, but all I do is have my dinner, have a hot leisurely shower and then go for a walk. During the walk, I drown myself in the beats of ACDC or Rammstein or (these days) G'nR.
However low I might be feeling at the beginning, fifteen minutes of "rock-therapy" leaves me feeling energized again. I start feeling (again) that I am still young and there are still quite a few things I can do and the daily frustrations and difficulties run off my back "like Duck's water" (This is a quote from Biswas-Babu in "A Suitable Boy").
In the worst phases of my life, I have come to realize in hind-sight, that I felt so bad because I did not take time out for my daily 1 hour of therapy.
Its funny how you grow up and the music you listen to grows up with you.
I started off with Michael Jackson at school. I used to listen to "Smooth Criminal" when I was twelve (I never got the lyrics though....just followed the beats then).
Around 10th standard, I graduated to Bryan Adams.
In 11th and 12th I hardly listened to anything. I was to busy studying for JEE.
In college I got introduced to G'nR and Pink Floyd and other assorted rock bands by my crazy wing-mates. Whenever I listen to "Freebird" now I am always reminded of Tompha jamming on his guitar in the Netaji Auditorium. He was a very shy, taciturn and self-effacing guy but when he started playing his guitar, everyone stopped and listened.
In Bangalore I got introduced to "Purple Haze" (blessed blessed place!!!) and slowly the music I listened to became "harder". These days I listen to ACDC and Rammstein.
Someday I think I will finally start liking Megadeth at this rate.....
The other funny thing is how I came full circle in the understanding-lyrics department. I never understood a word of "Smooth Criminal" at school. After all these years now I don't understand a word in the lyrics of "Rammstein". Don't think I am going to bother about learning German for that.....
Vivek came over to Singapore today. He was passing by on his way to LA and had a few hour's lay-over. He gave me and Dubey a ping and we both trooped over to Changi to hug each other and laugh.
Here are the three of us (Me, Dubey and Vivek) sitting over Coffee in Terminal 3 of Changi.
I know I know.... I need a shave and a haircut and some sleep.....
It was nice to know that irrespective of time and distances, some friendships last. It was nice to laugh like a banshee for the first time in Singapore....
Finally, Viski says, "Digressing a bit, man is like a digital inverter, yes or no is what he knows. Where as a woman is like a carefully biased 10-stage rail-to-rail (you know the moods swings dontchya?) opamp. You know there is something wrong but can't figure out straight away which stage screwed up!"
Viski? In the interest of leading a simple uncomplicated life....are you suggesting we all turn gay????? ;)
Viski says that hormones decide the mood.
I agree. I definitely feel great after listening to rock music... The music gets my adrenaline pumping.
After a hard day at work, I might come as tired and beaten up as what have you, but all I do is have my dinner, have a hot leisurely shower and then go for a walk. During the walk, I drown myself in the beats of ACDC or Rammstein or (these days) G'nR.
However low I might be feeling at the beginning, fifteen minutes of "rock-therapy" leaves me feeling energized again. I start feeling (again) that I am still young and there are still quite a few things I can do and the daily frustrations and difficulties run off my back "like Duck's water" (This is a quote from Biswas-Babu in "A Suitable Boy").
In the worst phases of my life, I have come to realize in hind-sight, that I felt so bad because I did not take time out for my daily 1 hour of therapy.
Its funny how you grow up and the music you listen to grows up with you.
I started off with Michael Jackson at school. I used to listen to "Smooth Criminal" when I was twelve (I never got the lyrics though....just followed the beats then).
Around 10th standard, I graduated to Bryan Adams.
In 11th and 12th I hardly listened to anything. I was to busy studying for JEE.
In college I got introduced to G'nR and Pink Floyd and other assorted rock bands by my crazy wing-mates. Whenever I listen to "Freebird" now I am always reminded of Tompha jamming on his guitar in the Netaji Auditorium. He was a very shy, taciturn and self-effacing guy but when he started playing his guitar, everyone stopped and listened.
In Bangalore I got introduced to "Purple Haze" (blessed blessed place!!!) and slowly the music I listened to became "harder". These days I listen to ACDC and Rammstein.
Someday I think I will finally start liking Megadeth at this rate.....
The other funny thing is how I came full circle in the understanding-lyrics department. I never understood a word of "Smooth Criminal" at school. After all these years now I don't understand a word in the lyrics of "Rammstein". Don't think I am going to bother about learning German for that.....
****************
Vivek came over to Singapore today. He was passing by on his way to LA and had a few hour's lay-over. He gave me and Dubey a ping and we both trooped over to Changi to hug each other and laugh.
Here are the three of us (Me, Dubey and Vivek) sitting over Coffee in Terminal 3 of Changi.
I know I know.... I need a shave and a haircut and some sleep.....
It was nice to know that irrespective of time and distances, some friendships last. It was nice to laugh like a banshee for the first time in Singapore....
******************
Finally, Viski says, "Digressing a bit, man is like a digital inverter, yes or no is what he knows. Where as a woman is like a carefully biased 10-stage rail-to-rail (you know the moods swings dontchya?) opamp. You know there is something wrong but can't figure out straight away which stage screwed up!"
Viski? In the interest of leading a simple uncomplicated life....are you suggesting we all turn gay????? ;)
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Why has everyone stopped blogging?
In my blog-roll, only two people had new posts!
Come on guys!!!! I am sitting hunched up at work and am searching for things to make me smile!!
Come on guys!!!! I am sitting hunched up at work and am searching for things to make me smile!!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Mea Culpa
I have always prided myself on the "liberality" of my views.
I always felt that I was tolerant of other views and that feeling was coupled with an amount of condescension ("They don't know what they are talking about...they'll come round... they have'nt seen enough yet").
Today I realized that in certain aspects I set new records in being dogmatic. I fail to appreciate that the opposing opinion has merits as well and that the people I am arguing with (with an amount of asperity) are thinking individuals and need to be listened to as such....
What a pleasant surprise!!!!
I always felt that I was tolerant of other views and that feeling was coupled with an amount of condescension ("They don't know what they are talking about...they'll come round... they have'nt seen enough yet").
Today I realized that in certain aspects I set new records in being dogmatic. I fail to appreciate that the opposing opinion has merits as well and that the people I am arguing with (with an amount of asperity) are thinking individuals and need to be listened to as such....
What a pleasant surprise!!!!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
The new Bangalore Airport
I just read today that Bangalore's new airport (hardly Bangalore's though.... Its closer to AP really) would be doing trial runs before being thrown open to junta soon.
This gladdened my heart on a particularly frustrating day when nothing else was working. Two reasons:
1. Its close to my apartment and will raise its price (not that I am selling).
2. Bangalore is in a CRYING need of something that is not an aircraft testing facility with a few customs guys milling around.
The little reading I did about the airport gave me the impression that some amount of thought and planning has gone into this venture. The chaps running this show give an impression that they know what they are doing and are serious about doing it properly. And looks like they are succeeding.
These days its not uncommon to get scraps of news like this which makes you feel glad about being an Indian. But if you think this through a bit, you realize that the reason a few things seem to be working out in India is because the private sector is jumping in the fray. The government's only contribution has been in unlocking the door and then going away.
The entrepreneurs have only one agenda: to make money. They go about it in a planned, professional fashion. If the Bangalore airport opens one day later, the promoters stand to lose a few crores of rupees in revenue. If the facilities or the people running them are less than world class, the airport stands to lose out on a lot of traffic from airline stop-overs (One must remember that Jet Airways had to make Brussels its traffic hub simply because they could not find an airport in India which could handle the traffic they would generate).
On the other hand, consider if the government had run this show. No one would have cared if the project fell behind schedule. No one would have bothered if the toilets stink (they do in Delhi and Mumbai). It would not have mattered because the cash cycle (airport loses money - government pays - tax payers foot the bill) is far too long and convoluted for anyone to see the effect.
I feel that the most incompetent outfit in India is the Government of India. It does far too many things and mostly does it all badly. In most of the cases, throw in private fellows and they will make a paying and efficient proposition of it. There are of course a few places where you cannot get rid of the government. Take maintenance of public law and order for instance.
What the MNS got away with in Mumbai and Pune takes my breath away. If this thing goes on, fifty years down the line we will have another partition of the country.
Upholding the rule of law, maintaining public order, delivering justice and education should be a few of the places where the government ought to concentrate on being competent. Not in running airports, defence labs, railways and steel plants.
This gladdened my heart on a particularly frustrating day when nothing else was working. Two reasons:
1. Its close to my apartment and will raise its price (not that I am selling).
2. Bangalore is in a CRYING need of something that is not an aircraft testing facility with a few customs guys milling around.
The little reading I did about the airport gave me the impression that some amount of thought and planning has gone into this venture. The chaps running this show give an impression that they know what they are doing and are serious about doing it properly. And looks like they are succeeding.
These days its not uncommon to get scraps of news like this which makes you feel glad about being an Indian. But if you think this through a bit, you realize that the reason a few things seem to be working out in India is because the private sector is jumping in the fray. The government's only contribution has been in unlocking the door and then going away.
The entrepreneurs have only one agenda: to make money. They go about it in a planned, professional fashion. If the Bangalore airport opens one day later, the promoters stand to lose a few crores of rupees in revenue. If the facilities or the people running them are less than world class, the airport stands to lose out on a lot of traffic from airline stop-overs (One must remember that Jet Airways had to make Brussels its traffic hub simply because they could not find an airport in India which could handle the traffic they would generate).
On the other hand, consider if the government had run this show. No one would have cared if the project fell behind schedule. No one would have bothered if the toilets stink (they do in Delhi and Mumbai). It would not have mattered because the cash cycle (airport loses money - government pays - tax payers foot the bill) is far too long and convoluted for anyone to see the effect.
I feel that the most incompetent outfit in India is the Government of India. It does far too many things and mostly does it all badly. In most of the cases, throw in private fellows and they will make a paying and efficient proposition of it. There are of course a few places where you cannot get rid of the government. Take maintenance of public law and order for instance.
What the MNS got away with in Mumbai and Pune takes my breath away. If this thing goes on, fifty years down the line we will have another partition of the country.
Upholding the rule of law, maintaining public order, delivering justice and education should be a few of the places where the government ought to concentrate on being competent. Not in running airports, defence labs, railways and steel plants.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
On long books...
I am still reading "A Suitable Boy".
This is my third reading and the following passage struck me
"But I (too) hate long books: the better, the worse. If they are bad, they merely make me pant with the effort of holding them up for a few minutes. But if they are good, I turn into a social moron for days, refusing to go out of my room, scowling and growling at interruptions, ignoring weddings and funerals and making enemies out of friends. I still bear the scars of the Middlemarch"
And I still bear the scars of "A Suitable Boy". Once upon a time, there was this wedding of a dear friend. I just packed this book along (for lack of anything better to take along). The rest is history that is still recalled by the friend and his charming wife whenever they want to gripe against me.
I did not attend any of the ceremonies, did not ogle at the friend's "saalis", did not dance in the baraat and did not attend the pheras. I even requested food to be brought in my room.
This is my third reading and the following passage struck me
"But I (too) hate long books: the better, the worse. If they are bad, they merely make me pant with the effort of holding them up for a few minutes. But if they are good, I turn into a social moron for days, refusing to go out of my room, scowling and growling at interruptions, ignoring weddings and funerals and making enemies out of friends. I still bear the scars of the Middlemarch"
And I still bear the scars of "A Suitable Boy". Once upon a time, there was this wedding of a dear friend. I just packed this book along (for lack of anything better to take along). The rest is history that is still recalled by the friend and his charming wife whenever they want to gripe against me.
I did not attend any of the ceremonies, did not ogle at the friend's "saalis", did not dance in the baraat and did not attend the pheras. I even requested food to be brought in my room.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Serendipity
A few days ago I uncharacteristically bought this magazine called "Men's Health". Its glossy. It has pictures of nice looking ladies in it (not the smutty kinds mind you...). It has insightful articles about how to get the most out of one's daily bench-press routine. (Methinks, "What bench? How do you press it?"). It also has detailed pointers about what to gift your girl this Valentine's Day (I once e-ordered a bunch of red-roses to be delivered to my girl. Apart from commenting on the originality, my then-girlfriend also informed me that the roses made it to her in the early weeks of March. I am single now.).
Just when I was about to give up on this purchase as a Momentary Lapse of Reason, I chanced upon this article about singing. "Look and sound professional at your next karaoke night with your buddies and the girl you are trying to impress". I am not a singer. The last time I tried this undertaking, people were in splits. But once in college there was this competition, I picked up this song (Tum pukar lo...tumhara intezaar hai) and sang it in a baritone voice. I thought I did it very well but the judges gave me no points. I was pretty cut up. So cut up that I did not bother to inquire about this curious outcome. Realization dawned with this paragraph:
RANGE:
Daniel says that its even possible to improve a singer's range with the right technique. "If a singer simply sings in chest voice, he is quite limited in his singing range". In his work, Daniel often meets guys who assume they are bassists and baritones because they do not know how to access their upper range.
So that was the reason. The judge figured out that I was not a versatile singer because I very carefully stuck to my lower notes. He was right.
Moral of the story:
You never know where you are going to read something interesting next.
Next moral of the story:
READ glossy magazines (If you are mad enough to pick one). They have well-paid writers. Probably as well-paid as the photographers and the models. They are well-paid for a reason
Further:
I still cannot sing
Just when I was about to give up on this purchase as a Momentary Lapse of Reason, I chanced upon this article about singing. "Look and sound professional at your next karaoke night with your buddies and the girl you are trying to impress". I am not a singer. The last time I tried this undertaking, people were in splits. But once in college there was this competition, I picked up this song (Tum pukar lo...tumhara intezaar hai) and sang it in a baritone voice. I thought I did it very well but the judges gave me no points. I was pretty cut up. So cut up that I did not bother to inquire about this curious outcome. Realization dawned with this paragraph:
RANGE:
Daniel says that its even possible to improve a singer's range with the right technique. "If a singer simply sings in chest voice, he is quite limited in his singing range". In his work, Daniel often meets guys who assume they are bassists and baritones because they do not know how to access their upper range.
So that was the reason. The judge figured out that I was not a versatile singer because I very carefully stuck to my lower notes. He was right.
Moral of the story:
You never know where you are going to read something interesting next.
Next moral of the story:
READ glossy magazines (If you are mad enough to pick one). They have well-paid writers. Probably as well-paid as the photographers and the models. They are well-paid for a reason
Further:
I still cannot sing
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Finally!!!!
Boys love toys.
This particular boy's love for toys by Apple (as my long-suffering friends know) is particularly intense.
I had been lusting after an iPod for a long while but for various reasons I never came round to buying one. Well, finally I have one and its a beauty. What you see is my brand new iPod (and my left hand...). What you don't is the song its playing, "Rammstein: Eskimos and Egypt"
This funny thing happened today. I was sitting at this restaurant, drinking my Iced Lemon tea, reading my news-paper and generally minding my business. In the table in-front of me and facing me was this nice guy. He was enjoying his cup of tea very visibly and was going slow on sipping it. He was also generally minding his own business and there was this look of pleasure and calm limning his visage. Birds were singing and all was right with the world.
Suddenly in walks this GORGEOUS and AWESOME Indian woman. She had this iffy pink top on as well as this dark pair of jeans and pink slippers. No make-up, nothing. Beautiful eyes, beautiful hair, wonderful complexion. Simply a sight for sore eyes. I took one look at her....and then another one. That guy also practically ogled at her and forgot about his tea which he was enjoying so much.
This girl suddenly went and sat at the same table this guy was on. Diagonally opposite him with her back to me. Oh well....
I have always maintained that its fun to look at beautiful women. What's more fun is to look at the guys who are looking at the said beautiful women.
Now suddenly this guy who was enjoying his tea finds a beautiful woman on his table. His enjoyment evaporates. He gets shy, feels insecure about the blue bathroom slippers (tastefully decorated with a Mickey Mouse each) he is wearing and of the thinning hair on his pate. Equally suddenly, half of the world ceases to exist for him (or rather he does not want to acknowledge it). While earlier his vision included the entire 180 degrees in front of him, now suddenly he only does the 45 degrees in which that girl is not visible. Also he starts gulping down the tea he was enjoying so much.
That girl made no attempt at conversation. She just stared straight ahead. Apparently she was waiting for somebody and decided to use the available chair to her advantage.
Poor guy. I saw the difficulty he was in but I am not one to sympathize. I stared at him. He scowled at me. I grinned back in enjoyment. I also cracked a joke about this state of affairs with this buddy of mine in loud and clear Hindi.
He finished off his tea, put on his slippers and moved away. Both me and my buddy watched him go. If looks could kill, he would have murdered me....
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Blogging from work
This is the first time that I am blogging from work early in the morning. I am the only one here right now and it feels eerie.
Could not sleep last night. Got up at 4:00 AM and went out for a walk. Got some breakfast somewhere and came back to my desk to chat up junta all over the world at 5:30 AM....
Have you ever run into a blog of a person you don't know and have no connection with but still find interesting? These past weeks I have been reading the writings of this particular lady in Bangalore. She is one of the usual IT crowd. She hangs out at discos, has an active social life and colours her hair parrot green. Whenever she puts in one of her posts, people fall over themselves to comment (not me... I prefer to stay incognito). She is good-looking definitely, which is partly the reason why I keep coming back to her blog .... Her posts remind me of my days in Bangalore and are a pleasant read. The topics are the usual girl stuff - boyfriends, discos, dresses, hair colour and eve-teasing on the streets.
This morning when friends did not turn out to be very forth-coming in chat, I turned to editing this video we made this weekend. Nothing special. A few chaps making ABSOLUTE FOOLS of themselves to 'jhin-chak' Bollywood music. Yours truly included.
Don't hold your breath. Its not coming online anytime soon.
And yes... I am still reading "A Suitable Boy". Its long but quite quite nice. I refuse to talk about it further for the same reason "Deep Thought" gave the answer "Forty two" to the question of "The Meaning of Life, Universe and Everything" and refused to go any further. A book like this is just beyond me.
Now to work... Sigh!
Could not sleep last night. Got up at 4:00 AM and went out for a walk. Got some breakfast somewhere and came back to my desk to chat up junta all over the world at 5:30 AM....
Have you ever run into a blog of a person you don't know and have no connection with but still find interesting? These past weeks I have been reading the writings of this particular lady in Bangalore. She is one of the usual IT crowd. She hangs out at discos, has an active social life and colours her hair parrot green. Whenever she puts in one of her posts, people fall over themselves to comment (not me... I prefer to stay incognito). She is good-looking definitely, which is partly the reason why I keep coming back to her blog .... Her posts remind me of my days in Bangalore and are a pleasant read. The topics are the usual girl stuff - boyfriends, discos, dresses, hair colour and eve-teasing on the streets.
This morning when friends did not turn out to be very forth-coming in chat, I turned to editing this video we made this weekend. Nothing special. A few chaps making ABSOLUTE FOOLS of themselves to 'jhin-chak' Bollywood music. Yours truly included.
Don't hold your breath. Its not coming online anytime soon.
And yes... I am still reading "A Suitable Boy". Its long but quite quite nice. I refuse to talk about it further for the same reason "Deep Thought" gave the answer "Forty two" to the question of "The Meaning of Life, Universe and Everything" and refused to go any further. A book like this is just beyond me.
Now to work... Sigh!
Saturday, January 12, 2008
To all my buddies....
I have been very lucky in having more than my fair share of absolute wackos as friends. I met two of them in my recent trip to Bangalore and we together trekked up a mound of rock on the Karnataka and Kerala border (Proud inhabitants in that area call it the highest peak in that region... Well if you say so).
Coming back to Bangalore was a strange experience. All the girls on M.G. Road that I used to swoon over earlier now looked no elder than college kids. Purple Haze played one very limp song of ACDC at 10:48 pm while all this while I emptied beer tankards in anticipation of something loud and alive. The one friend who kept me smiling while everything went wrong in my life looked care-worn and sad (His wife was not well). And when couples started an impromptu dance on the floor of Pecos, me and Surya turned around and said, "Kids!!!"
But Bangalore still retains the freshness that I mentally associated with it in my six-month sentence in South-East Asia. India Coffee House still serves that great Tomato Omelette. The Hindu is still eminently readable. The book-shops are still full of books which go beyond the usual thrillers and sex-novelettes. You can still buy beer/vodka/whiskey at 3:00 am by knocking softly on a door off Airport Road. The auto drivers are still surly. And M.G. Road is still bursting with young people.
So what was wrong? Why did I feel slightly out of a city I (still) call my own (Yes.... Ahead of Delhi/Ghaziabad and definitely ahead of Singapore). Has the city changed? Or have I?
I have definitely changed. But I feel that the city has changed a lot more. Most of my friends are now out of there. The city does not make you her own. Its the people who give you a sense of belonging.
This is for all those buddies I found in Bangalore, who stayed with me in G-7 Richfields and basically made us a terror of that neighbourhood, who humoured me when I wanted to climb umpteen hills, who had me chasing phantom women and who let me cry on their shoulders when real ones ditched me.
Guys.... the city is not the same without you....
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Going Home...
Going home feels so much like a retreat to childhood. You can wake up late. You can get food brought to you and have your gripes patiently listened to by your long-suffering parents. Away from all the debugging, the stress and the petty back-stabbing and politicking outside.
You make solemn promises to yourself about meeting your friends but they all go right down the drain. You get up at 9:00 A.M, mooch around till 2:00 P.M., have brunch then and then go to sleep again. You wake up at 4:00 P.M., have tea with Mom, read something, chat with Mom and Dad (Get a dog Mum, come Dad cut down on your smoking atleast now!), have dinner at 10:00 pm, sit next to a fire in the verandah and then go to sleep again.
Life is tough!
Whenever I go home I stare at my book-case with all those classics lying in it. Then I pick up a thriller. I always promise myself that I will read the classics and the philosophy books "next time". The books I read at home are always these:
1. That Thriller
2. Collected Short Stories by Noel Coward
3. Gone with the Wind (The passages with Rhett Butler are really funny)
4. Dragon-Fire by Humphrey Hawksley (Only the passages in which India pummels Pakistan)
5. Another Thriller
Now that I have sufficiently shown off my intellectuality, here's wishing everyone who reads this a very happy and successful 2008. I would not wish you an eventful new year.... I have had a belly-full of them of late. I could do with a boring year for a change....
You make solemn promises to yourself about meeting your friends but they all go right down the drain. You get up at 9:00 A.M, mooch around till 2:00 P.M., have brunch then and then go to sleep again. You wake up at 4:00 P.M., have tea with Mom, read something, chat with Mom and Dad (Get a dog Mum, come Dad cut down on your smoking atleast now!), have dinner at 10:00 pm, sit next to a fire in the verandah and then go to sleep again.
Life is tough!
Whenever I go home I stare at my book-case with all those classics lying in it. Then I pick up a thriller. I always promise myself that I will read the classics and the philosophy books "next time". The books I read at home are always these:
1. That Thriller
2. Collected Short Stories by Noel Coward
3. Gone with the Wind (The passages with Rhett Butler are really funny)
4. Dragon-Fire by Humphrey Hawksley (Only the passages in which India pummels Pakistan)
5. Another Thriller
Now that I have sufficiently shown off my intellectuality, here's wishing everyone who reads this a very happy and successful 2008. I would not wish you an eventful new year.... I have had a belly-full of them of late. I could do with a boring year for a change....
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