Stunned And Amazed!!!

Table Mountain Cabin Trip– Sep 20 - 21

2007-09-30T18:55:00.001-07:00

Had been on a cabin trip weekend of Sep 20^th. The cabin was about 2 ½ hours drive from Seattle. What started out as a 10 person trip eventually came down to 4. You know how these things go. People dropping out at the last minute with some excuse or the other. I also tried my best to get out of it but with no luck. What was my excuse – well I had none – that was the problem. I have no complaints now. It was four guys in a cabin all by ourselves. Now don't jump ahead of yourselves and get the wrong idea.

Anyway, the cabin is East of Seattle and the weather was beautiful. Clear skies, sunny weather. This is supposed to be a good place for star gazing, astronomy and it really was. The night sky was just beautiful. We saw many stars which is rare for a place in Wa. We saw the constellation Leo. I think it is Leo – I am not sure. It is the one that looks like a Question Mark ? Most of our time at the cabin was just spent sitting around the fireplace and idle talk. We did spend some time trying to cut wood. Note the word "trying". We never were successful. Eventually we ended up just taking small pieces of wood and throwing it into the fire rather than try to cut the big ones. I cant imagine how people from old times spent most of their time cutting wood. I think we the new generation have had too much luxury of just sitting around in front of a computer to realize how it was in the stone age J . We also cooked – Sambar, curry and rice for dinner and this was fun. There was only a small 2 burner stove that didn't work that great and what takes usually an hour to cook at home took almost 3 – 4 hours. By the time we had dinner it was already 12 am.

The most painful part of any cabin trip is spending the night in the cold. Agreed , the burning fireplace will provide the warmth. The problem is it has to be burning all night long and sooner or later everyone is going to fall asleep and the cabin starts getting colder and colder. For us, the cabin organizer R didn't inform everyone to bring blankets assuming there would be some at the cabin but as luck would have it there were none. So couple of us (not me) ended up just spending the night without blankets. Infact, S became so cold that he was just standing near the fire rather than sleeping. We all blame R for this. Hopefully next time we will be prepared.

Overall it was fun!!!

India win T20 WC

2007-09-25T15:14:00.000-07:00

What a game! It was one of the best Final's I have seen in a while and India played brilliantly to clinch the First Twenty Twenty World Cup defeating Pakistan. So the record of not losing to Pak in any WC still holds.

Watched every ball of this match with nail biting excitement. India has this knack of putting themselves in difficult situations when it should have been an easy wrap up. During Pak batting the game was mostly in India's favor except for the last 20 balls when Bajji and Sreeshanth were hit for 5 sixes. When will India learn to bowl well in the last overs? But they held their nerve and pulled it off.

Hats off to Dhoni and the young Indian team!!! They really were winners!!!

New Template for a revived Blog!

2007-09-01T18:08:00.000-07:00

I decided I should try blogging again. As a first step I spent almost an hour trying to find a new template for my blog and what you see now is the end result.

Almost all templates have the links and info column on the right (as is the case with my new template). I personally prefer the left and spent some time searching for the lefty template but with no luck.

Girl or Boy?

2006-05-20T11:28:00.000-07:00

At Dinner yesterday a topic that came up was: If you had kids would you prefer it to be a girl or a boy. The ladies at the table immediately answered they would prefer a girl to a boy anyday! Why you ask them? It is more fun bringing up a girl and they stay with you for more longer!! But someone said parents have to be little more careful with girls than boys and fear more when the girl gets old and is away from you! True I say.

So what do you want- A girl or a boy?

I have to warn you though: Careful what you wish for - you might sometimes get exactly the opposite of what you want

Save the Earth!

2006-03-11T13:23:00.000-07:00

phew! it has been a while since i blogged. But what better way to start then to answer the long pending tag from RS and that too an interesting one in that. Save the Earth!

i am never a believer in this grandiose schemes that take us nowhere so i will keep my list simple (read : things we as normal human beings could do).

have you noticed. when we cook and eat @ home we eat to the last particle that is left on our plate. So why this indifference when eating elsewhere. is it ok to waste food when you have not invested the effort to make it. i tend to disagree. We talk about people dying of hunger and make donations but why not jus start at the very basic. Stop wasting food.

So how is your neighbour's friends friends friends next door neighbour doing. Who is he/she going out with. is it with your friends friends.... You get the picture. gossip ! gossip! i cant take it anymore! Let us all talk less about people and talk more about general topics. Think hard there are topics other than people left in this world! May be this is a way to stop all the jealousy and hatred we think of removing.

Get out of the tube and movie world! I know this would kind of weird coming from me but still!!! Start reading more folks! Enough of all this non-sense tv soap operas and sit coms and movies. i think if we read more it is more useful and also for our kids generation. if we ourselves are not changing how do we expect our future generations to?

And that is my $.03 for the future. Following Tag Rules, i tag my usual 3: Nitya, Damuk, RT

So how is the weather?

2005-12-22T22:10:00.000-07:00

I think this is one topic that comes up in every conversation. We just love to talk about it. We can never be happy about the weather but we like to talk about it. They have dedicated tv channels and radio stations just to tell people what the weather is going to be like.

So how is the weather in your place?. Hmm...let me take a guess: It is either too hot or too cold, too rainy or too humid. Or may be you are one of the few who live in expensive Cal and can say it is sunny and nice. But then you pay exhorbitant taxes and money to enjoy that weather. :-) So I think that is fair.

And as always the grass is greener on the other side. We think the person who is living on the other side of the planet has the best weather you could possibly imagine and you wish you were in that place rather than where you are stuck right now. I was in Arizona for a long time and it was really hot. I mean really really hot. Me and the people around me used to complain how hot it was and that the weather was real bad. Now I am no longer in a desert but in rainy Seattle. Now me and people around me complain how wet and rainy it is and wish it were a little hotter.

But, when it comes to defending your weather to friends and relatives who are in a different climatic zone we take on a different persona. We now love where we live and dont care how the weather is. I am sure just like me all of you have been asked by others: How is the weather? And, I am sure just like me all of you would have replied. "Not bad. It is rainy but then you get used to it after a while". I have hardly seen anyone say. "The weather here sucks. I hate it".

All I want to say is, I think all this blah - blah about the weather is just a moo point. We are just stuck with what we have and we are just going to keep talking about it just as we have for so many years.

S.E.V.E.N

2005-10-20T14:16:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer:Due to extreme pressure from the tagger, the humble taggee has replied to the tag. Incompleteness in the tag is entirely because of the tagger and the taggee takes no responsibility. I, however, will complete it soon.

Seven Things I would like to do: ( these are not necessarily the things I would like to do before I die but these are things that I would definitely like to do in the next few years)

1. Play the keyboard.
2. understand more about our culture/rituals - without just blindly doing it.
3. learn more slokas.
4. learn to identify carnatic raagas much better and learn more carnatic songs.
5. Visit Europe
6. Have a BITS gathering of all our close friends + family and have fun.
7. Celebrate Diwali in India with family.

Seven Things I can do:
1. cook
2. fold a saree ; - ) ( guys try this out and u will know.)
3. be patient
4. play decent sports
5. sing/dance ( for my own pleasure!)
6. Jet Ski

Seven Things I say the most:
1. machan
2. take care
3. hello
4. whatz up
5. junta/makkal
6. great!
7. dei/da

Seven Things I cant do:
1. Make a quick decision.
2. not go without having home cooked food for a long time ( I can settle with desi food! but please no chedi kodi ellai)
3. not be without having coffee in the morning.
4. Sky Dive
5. Be passionate about any sport except cricket
6. Not finish watching a movie however bad it is.

Seven Things that attract you to the opposite sex:
1. innocence.
2. good looks
3. dressing sense.
4. a good smile with a dimple ( Preiti Zinta!)

Seven celebrity crushes
1. ash
2. preiti zinta
3. sneha
4. simran

And for the sake of completeness let me tag
1. Damuk
2. RT
3. Nitya

Mental Block.

2005-10-17T17:54:00.000-07:00

Once again I want to blog but am confused what to blog about. Ok let me just recap weekend happenings...

Friday Night - Worst
Had a disastrous Friday night dinner at this worst Moroccan place. Only + points were waitresses and belly dance. We went at 8.30 pm and came back from dinner at 12.00 pm :-(

Saturday - A not so bad day
-Went to Twin Falls. This was good actually. Went on a small trek beside a river or water body followed by some hot Krispy Kreme doughnuts & Cafe Mocha for an evening snack .
-Ghajini: Much Hyped movie, worth $1 not $9. :-(. Oh god! Thinking of Nayantara in that X Machi song even now gives me the jitters...

Sunday - A good day to end the weekend.
-Atlast fixed my TV stand after several months.
-Had a good long lacha session at S's place.
- Played badminton.
-To end the day we had good dinner: Mor Kuzhambu, Vatha Kuzhambu, Spinach+Carrot Soup, chenna, aalo capsicum curry.

Just when the weekend seems to be starting it is Monday again. Che! Now back @ work :-(

Bliss of Carnatic

2005-10-02T17:09:00.000-07:00

Just went to a violin concert by L. Subramanyan yesterday. It was just superb. As my friend said "If the musician is playing the instrument with ease giving others the feeling that event they can do it that and it is child's play that means he is really talented and a maestro". I think L. Sub aptly fits into this category. He was using the violin as a toy and was more relaxed than any of us in the audience. The concert just made my day!

The satisfaction and peace I get by listening to carnatic music I can never get by listening to any other kind. It may be an acquired taste, may be, but I feel sad for the people who cant enjoy it. I am no maestro in this arena but I think I can feel the bliss one experiences when they sing or listen to the music.

Moving...

2005-08-29T19:36:00.000-07:00

I am sure most of the people in the US have moved apartments/homes at least once during their stay here. I am also sure that all of such people will agree that moving is painful. I recently moved across states. This has further strenghtened my belief that moving is indeed painful. Oh God! It has been few months since I moved and still I think I am moving or transitioning. I think by the time I feel at home in my new apartment it will be time to move out of this apartment.

Few things I realized in the moving process. I am sure you can relate to some or all of this.

You have so much crap at home that you dont know exists.
This is the time you decide you should read all those b'day cards, autograph books, look at your photo album and in this process waste very little of the precious time you have.
You realize that there is nothing like the comfort of home.
Address change is the worst after effect of moving. I am sure I have definitely forgot to update my address in atleast one place.
Then there is the added nuisance of setting up your home. The multiple visits to target, walmart, home depot to get the stuff for your new home. One visit to these stores will definitely not be enough because I am sure you would have forgot atleast one small significant item in your initial list of things to buy.

I cant imagine how people move across countries. At times, I just think if this decision to move had been such a great idea. So much chaos, so much dislocation, is it all worth it? I just hope it is!!!

I wont say I'm Back ...

2005-07-29T17:40:00.000-07:00

but I will try my best to blog every now and then.

It is sad that I am not getting as much time as before to blog but I am happy that I am more busy than before.

Also:
I know who dies!
I know who is the HBP!!
and I am waiting for Year 7!!!

If you cant understand any of the above then you are definitely missing something in life.

Book(ed)

2005-06-13T16:29:00.000-07:00

I just saw that R has tagged me. I was writing about books so I thought I might as well give it a shot. Also, doing so will stop me from getting repeated tag reminders ; -) . Before I start I should say that I am new to the world of books. So the current list is a result of less than a year's worth of reading.

Currently Reading:
Invisible Man - H. G. Wells

Currently Read ( over past 6 months)
I, Robot - Isaac Asimov
Velocity - Dean Koontz
Fountainhead - Ayn Rand
Mango Season - Amulya Maladi
Love Story - Erich Seagal
State of Fear - Michael Crichton
Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri
5 people you meet in heaven - Mitch Albom
Hour Game - David Baldacci
Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult
Harry Potter Series
and more...

Favorites
I am not listing any at this time because I am still in the freshman year and I am picking up books recommended by friends who are in Post Doc and know the good picks.

Currently Incomplete
( Ok this is my new addition. These are books that I started reading but stopped them in between for some reason or the other and have not picked up them since then)

God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy
Holy Cow - Dont remember author
Interpreter of Maladies - Jhumpha Lahiri
Restaurant at the End of the Universe - Douglas Adams

On my To Read List
Ramayana by Kamala Subramaniam
Robot Visions/Dreams - Isaac Asimov
Some book by Shobha Narayanan
Half Blood Prince - JKR

A.I through the eyes of IA.

2005-06-13T15:53:00.000-07:00

Just finished reading I, Robot by Isaac Asimov. Talk about a visionary and I would put Isaac Asimov on the top of the list. The book written in 1950 is truly a work of brilliance. I have read a few science fiction novels - Prey, Hitchhikers but they were different. They either tackled a relatively new upcoming field like Nano technology ( Prey) or wrote about totally ridiculous, unimaginable but hilarious stuff ( Hitchhiker) but this book is not anything like it. Written in an age where the word computer was may be not even coined Asimov talks about Robot machines that help humans and virtually run their lives. The story is set in the year 2060 a century after the book's publication and weaves a series of short stories around 3 simple laws - The 3 laws of Robotics.

AI may not take as big a leap as he talks about by 2060 but it is conceivable that what he talks about can be achieved in another century may be. The book has really captured my attention that I have decided to read all of Isaac Asimov's books or atleast the Robot series.

Are you a BOGUS?

2005-06-10T16:25:00.000-07:00

When we start blogging we do so because the idea has been put into your silly brain by one of your friends. So without understanding what you want to write or whether you want to write at all you start a blog. Your first blog is usually total nonsense. After a year if you go and read your first blog you will strangle yourself for having written such a piece of B.S. Such is the fate of the first blog.

Once your first blog has been posted you are gleaming with happiness that you have done something good in life. You are now thinking only in terms of blogs. Whatever you see, talk, hear, smell you want to blog and you do so too.

Now the next bug catches you "Blog Hopping". You are now interested not only in ur blog and ur friend's (one who inspired u to start) blog but are also interested about what others write. So starts the Blog Hopping mania. You spend days and nights reading other blogs , reading the comments. You realize that you are no genius and that there are millions of people like you.

This goes on for a month or two and then Boom!!! you enter into a depression phase!!! Y? Nobody is leaving comments on your blog. Or the number of comments you are getting is not worth mentioning compared to the number of comments other people get on their blogs. So you begin wondering "Am I writing good enuf?" "Should I blog?" "What is lacking?". You realize you want comments. You dont care about what your blog is about...you want comments ...not 1 or 2 but hundreds of them. This is when you realize what other bloggers r doing which you were not till now and decide to do the same. This is the phase when you decide that you should be blogging not for urself but for others and the second hander in you takes over. So you start imitating others who get lotsa comments. You write short stories, you write poems, you try to be romantic which you are not, you write stuff which you have never dreamt about. You take ideas from films, books, other blogs. You start writing what others want to hear. You take on a split personality. One for blogging and one for living. Soon you achieve what you have been dreaming! People are discussing your blog, adding links to your blog, leaving comments on your blog. You are the top pick for the week in someone else's blog. You have achieved it!!!

You my friend have now become a BOGUS ( BlOGger who is FamoUS)

Itz Friday!!!

2005-06-03T13:48:00.000-07:00

It is just amazing that the body knows that the weekend is approaching even before we realize it is Friday. After lunch, my mind is refusing to get back to work. It is slowly turning itself off and preparing itself to hibernate and rest for the next two days.

Since I have been blog hopping for sometime now, I thought I might as well write something. But then when I logged on to Blogger I realized I have nothing to write about. But I just started writing anyway with the hope that something interesting might come up. I always have this problem, when I want to blog I run out of ideas and when I have ideas then I dont have a computer next to me to blog it and by the time I am next to the computer the idea I had has become stale and not worth blogging.

I could talk about what I did this week but may be I should first write about what I did for the long weekend. Well, lets see here!!! Finished Fountainhead at last. It has been one of the best books I have read. Very powerful and strong and the character descriptions are one of the best. Saw Revenge of the Sith and learnt how Anakin become Darth Vader. Lotsa Lite Saber action. I should say that Yoda is one of my favorite characters in the Star Wars saga. He is cool. Saw 3 other movies: Hero, Sneakers and Black. Black was the best out of them and I liked it a lot. Sneakers was fun and worth watching. Hero was a total waste of my time. Then I spent some time trying to solve this jigsaw puzzle I bought long time back. This is my first and I should say I am getting the hang of it. I think that sums up about what I did.

Oh yeah, started reading God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. I picked up this book becoz they (other bloggers and reviewers) said that this was a good book but I should say it is awful. I have only read 50 pages and I have started to dislike the book already. The book is sad, it talks about divorces, deaths, failed marriages, ill treated children and wives. I dont see any approaching happiness in the near future. I am debating whether I should continue or abandon it.

Ok thatz it I guess. Now I am bored of even typing. So I will end here and wait patiently for the clock to strike 5 when I can leave.

PS: I am too bored and lazy to proof read this blog, so this blog may appear disconnected, drowsy and monotonous.

Customized License Plates

2005-06-01T15:29:00.000-07:00

Over the past week I have noticed license plates that were real cool and that caught my attention:

Plate 1: Y BY GAS
This was the license plate on a Toyota Prius

Plate 2: STL GR8
This was on an old volkswagon

Plate 3: FUNSIZE
This was the license plate for a small 2 door convertible.

I always liked the idea of a customized license plate but have never been able to come up with a good name. I want it to be Indianish and I like the idea that it is somewhat related to the car but this is not necessary. Of course, it should be cool and one of a kind. Any suggestions anyone?

India Trip: Shashtiabdapoorthi

2005-05-20T15:21:00.000-07:00

This post is a continuation of the series "India Trip". I have written this post over a period of several weeks so if there is any discontinuity in the flow of things or any change of style and language please bear with me.

Turning 60 is a social-religious event in India, especially in South India. When a man or woman turns 60 a sacred Vedic celebration called Shashtiabdapoorthi is performed - shashti meaning 60 years, abdam the year and poorthi signifying the completion of 60 years in a person’s lifetime. Rituals and mantras mark the event and a ‘remarriage’ of the couple is performed.

According to the Vedas, at 60 a man has reached the halfway mark of his actual span of life, which is 120 years. And according to Hindu numerology, six is not a favourable number and 60 is a point in life when the ruling planet of a person may have an adverse effect on his life. The person performs a religious shanti, mainly to invoke peace, ensure good health, and longevity. There is a similar ceremony, too, when a woman turns 60.

edited from: http://www.globaladjustments.com/nlfeb04.html#top

Veda Parayanam
At about 7.15 am on Monday morning the chief vadyar along with an assistant arrived to start the Veda Parayanam. The stage had already been set prior to his arrival. Two manai's (wooden seating) had already been laid - one for appa and one for amma. A nice kolam had been drawn in front of it. All the items from the list the vadyar had given a few days earlier had been bought and kept. All the money to be given during the ceremony had been sealed in envelopes and labelled for easy disposition.

The first thing he did was place bricks to create a platform for the avapasanakal. Then he created another platform with rice for keeping the kodam. He asked for a few more things and set it beside himself. Then he and his assistant started telling mantras with my dad repeating after him. In the process they placed a kodam on the rice platform and wrapped the kodam with vastram. Then it was time for filling the kodam with water. This ritual is to be done by two ladies and my mom and sis shared the responsibility. In the mean time, the other vadyars were arriving.

I have always heard that there is a particular significance to every act that is performed during any ritual. This time I wanted to find out a few of them. What I found I have tried to summarize under the title - Significance. Please excuse me if this interrupts the flow.

Significance: The kodam that is placed on the rice is like God Himself. The rice platform acts like a throne for him. The wrapping of the kodam with a vastram, thus, signifies the clothing of Him. The water that is held in the kodam is very holy for the same reason.

After all the vadyars, around 8 of them, had arrived the chief vadyar brought them together and divided the responsibility of the chanting of vedas between them. 2 people formed a group and they were to chant one portion of the vedas. As soon as the work was divided, each group occupied a particular part of the living room and started chanting. During the chanting my dad was also sitting on the manai and holding a darbai in his hand. One end of the darbai was in my dad's hand and the other was touching the kodam.

The house was filled with the melody of the vedas and I just cannot explain the bliss I felt at the sound of the beautiful hymns. I did not understand the meaning nor was it sung to a particular raga or tune but there was a particular melody in it that livened all my senses and I was feeling ecstatic.

Significance: The darbai held by my dad is touching the kodam. The idea here is that the power of the vedas which is being chanted is being transferred through this connection to the water in the kodam. As a result of this the water in the kodam is becoming very powerful and holy.

8 people were called upon to chant the vedas. There is also an order to this. It is not possible to randomly divide work. If I remember right, there is what are called Kandas or Chapters and each group is assigned a few Kandas. The last Kanda is recited together. It usually takes a few hours to recite one Kanda and since we had to finish the chanting in 1 day the division of labour is necessary. If a single person were to chant the veda all by himself Chapter after Chapter then it would take 2 - 3 days for reciting the entire Vedas. So the Vadyar count is based on how many days you want to have Veda Parayanam.

We placed some krambu and kalkund next to each group. The vadyar's used to chew on these to keep their mouth from becoming dry.

At around 11.00 am, the group stopped for lunch. After lunch, a small siesta and "Adigirar Kannan", they resumed chanting at around 1.00 pm. They were soon done with the chanting at around 2.30 pm. Now it was time to shower the holy water in the kodam on my parents. So, accordingly, the manai's were moved outside and my parents took their seats on it. Then my thatha's and the chief vadyar poured the water from the kodam onto my parents.

Significance: The water collected in the kodam has been now strengthened by the vedas and is even more holy, powerful and all healing. So by showering it onto my parents it is like transferring the power and strength to them. A little water is left behind for others too.

With this the morning session is over.

Shanthi Homam
The homam started at 6.00 pm. Once again the kodam was placed on the rice platform and clothed. Then water was poured into it. This time this was done by my aunt and patti. There were only 4- 5 vadyars this time and they began chanting mantras with my dad repeating after them or atleast trying to repeat after them.

This session has to be done before the main event, which was conducted the next day. It could have been done early the next day before the main event but that means starting as early as 5.30 - 6.00. So, for the sake of convenience it was done the previous evening.

Muhurtham 7.30 a.m - 9.00 a.m

Nalangu:At about 5.45 a.m my Aunt arrived at home to do Nalangu for my parents. She applied chandanam and kumkum paste on the legs and then kept oil on the head.

The Chief Vadyar arrived around 7.00 am to begin the morning festivities. This time the kodam from the previous nite was already in place and he soon started the homam along with his other assistants. This time there were about 6 of them. It was once again a wonderful sight to see all the vadyars neatly sitting around the homam and chanting their slokas in unison and pouring the ghee into the holy fire with their swahas.

After a while, it was time for showering the water in the kodam on my parents again. So, just like the previous evening, my parents sat on their manai's and my thatha's and the vadyar showered them with the water. Once this was over, my parents went on to change and my mom had to wear the nine yards saree that had been bought by her parents ie. my thatha and patti.

Once they returned, there was more homam and japam. Some of the events that followed were very similar to that conducted the previous day but there were a few other things that were new. What I have written below is the other new and interesting things that followed.

Kannadi la pakardhu: This is a ritual which is done to remove drishti. In this ritual, both appa and amma held a mirror, presented by the vadyar, together and saw themselves in it. Once done, the kannadi is offered to a Brahman.

Yennai la pakardhu: This is yet another ritual similar to kannadi la pakkardhu for removing drishti. In this, once again, my appa and amma saw themselves in a small vannai that had yennai in it. Here again, the yennai is offered to a Brahman.

Nava danyam: This, I think, is also for dhrishti. In this, each graham of navagraha is prayed upon and then a danyam or offering is done for each graham. Each graham has a respective color associated with it and also there are specifications as to what to offer each graham, like yellu, rice, etc etc. So before the onset of this ritual, the danyams, along with a small monetary token, are placed on the colored cloth representing each graham. Then prayers and slokas are chanted and then the cloth along with the danyam is offered to a Brahman.

Significance: When each of the items that I mentioned above are offered to a Brahman, it signifies that you are transferring the dhristi on to that Brahman. The Brahman then rids himself of this extra dhristi by doing puja, prayers etc. So, typically some of the vadyar's assistants who live by chanting vedas or doing pujas accept the offering. This is because, since they are in touch with God everday they can get rid of the dhristi faster. But, here again, there are certain grahams that most Brahmans will not accept. I dont remember exactly, but I think it is Shaneeshwara Bhagavan, whose danyam most Brahmans refuse to accept. This is because it has more Shakthi and so more dhrishti transfer. Also, in order to appease such grahams and make the acceptance by the Brahman more favorable, the monetary tokens placed on the danyam to such grahams is more.

Mangalya Dhanam: This is the main event of the day, where Appa tied the Managalyam to Amma. I was very excited and happy to see the marriage of my own parents. It was really a thrilling and amazing moment that I will never forget. As usual, the third knot was tied by the Nathanar.

Something I learned was that, Mangalya Dhanam is of little significance in the marriage ritual. Though it is believed that once Mangalya Dhanam is over, then the man and woman are husband wife, it is not really true. The tying of the Mangalyam is only a small step in pronouncing the man and woman husband wife. This is why, typically, when the Mangalya Dhanam is over, the vadyar's and others will ask the people wanting to congratulate the couple and get rid of their gifts to wait because the marriage is not over and the man and woman are not yet husband wife. Ideally, only after the holy 7 rounds around the fire, do the man and woman become husband and wife. Theoretically, you are not married until those steps around the fire. So, if you or any other person wants to oppose the marriage it can be done before these steps. You can walk away after Mangalya Dhanam because you are not yet technically married but you cannot walk away after circling the fire because by then you are Married.

What I said above, I think does not hold true for the Shastiabdapoorthi marriage because I dont recollect my parents circling the fire. Once the Mangalya Dhanam was over, there were a few more prayers offered and then everybody approached my parents to congratulate them.

All people younger to my parents took their blessings and my parents took the blessings of their elders. Then gifts were exchanged and soon people started walking to the dining area for lunch.

It was nearly noon by the time all the people had left and it was just a few close ones and we who were left. All of us were happy that things had gone well and the function had been nicely done.

India Trip: Busy First Week

2005-05-11T13:33:00.000-07:00

This is the second part in the series "India Trip".

"It is my Father's Shasthiabdapoorti ( Sixtieth B'day). We have organized a small function at home on April 18th and 19th. April 18th we are having Veda Parayanam ( chanting of vedas) in the morning followed by Udaga Shanthi in the evening. The main event is on April 19th and Muhurtham is between 7.30 a.m and 9.00 am. Please grace the occasion and bless the couple".

This is how me and my sis had to invite our family and friends to my Father's Sixtieth B'day function. I had to present akshathai (holy rice) to the men and invite them and my sis had to present kumkum to the women and invite them.

So me and my sis set out with akshathai and kumkum to invite our rels. We met all of them and after answering their questions, of "How is US?" "How is work?" "You have become thin...are you not eating ? " etc etc, we did the invitation part. It was funny or I should say awkward to formally invite some of our near and dear ones. Wont it be enough if we just said "Hi...you know whatz happening ...so be there!!". My parents didnt think so and so without complaining I obeyed.

*****

As in any other function we have to buy sarees and dhotis and other gifts for the close family and friends attending the function. Why do we have to do this? Because it has been done for centuries ; Because it is expected ; Because you are receiving so you better give too ; Well, actually, I really dont know.

So here we are at RASI, Nalli and other such stores shopping for sarees and dhotis. My mom has a count of how many sarees and dhotis she needs to buy. As usual buying the dhotis takes 10 minutes but for the sarees it takes 10 hours. Amma buys a few sarees at one store and then visits an other store to buy a few more. Apparently, she did not like the ones she saw in the previous shop. This keeps going for a while after which she says I am done. I heave a sigh of relief under the assumption that we are now going to go home. But I was mistaken.

"Ippo ithuku matching blouses vanganum da" says Amma.

"Oh no!!! "

And here we are once again going up and down shops trying to find matching blouses for the already bought sarees. I am happy to learn that some of the sarees already have attached blouses.

Very soon, after a few more hours, we are done and we head back home. I am exhausted and bored and as soon as I reach home I switch on the TV and start flipping throught the channels. But my mother shows no signs of fatigue!!! As soon as we walk in with our shopping bag of sarees and blouses and dhotis she walks into the kitchen to make some tea. Once tea time is over she heads back to the heap of shopping bags and starts looking at the sarees all over again, this time analyzing even more carefully her selection and occasionally complaining about some minute aspect which only women can understand. I just keep flipping through the channels with the occasional nods and "yeah". An hour later my mom is asleep next to the shopping bags.

That night me and my sis bagged and labelled the items based on to whom they were being given to. This is such that it is easier during the day of the function to identify each saree/dhoti wrt their prospective owners.

*****

It is Sunday and there is just a day left. The agenda for today is to move all the furniture from the living room into the garage, clean the house and then decorate it for the function tomorrow. At around 10.00 a.m V and D arrive to help us in moving and cleaning. I tell them what needs to be done and they work swiftly.

Later that evening we tie mava yelai (mango leaves) to the entrance of our home and decorate it with a nice rangoli. The house now looks ready for the 2 days of festivities. So are we.

Night is a Maya

2005-05-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

While in India I attended my friend's wedding. There was a Bhaarat or Mapillai Azhaipu in the evening and early the next day was the main function or Muhurtham.

When we reached the Kalyana Mandapam for the Bhaarat we saw how beautiful the Marriage hall looked with its gorgeous lights and beautiful decorations. The next day when we reached the same Mandapam for the Muhurtham we saw that the Marriage hall was missing something. It was like a part of its charm had been lost and it was just not signifying anything exciting. This was because the lights that adorned the building the previous evening were not glowing anymore. That is when someone said: "Night is a Maya!"

It is said that Night has a certain Maya or Magic to it. This Maya confuses or mesmerizes people in its charm and you lose track of reality. When the sun rises, the rays of the sun overpowers the Maya, kills the magic and lifts the people from their hypnotic state. That is why it is often said that when you are making major decisions do not make them at night. If you can wait, wait until daylight. The Maya that could have clouded your decision would have been lifted and you will be more clear about your decision. May be this is closely related to the saying "sleep over it".

Also, when you buy clothes especially sarees they ask you to check the saree in daylight for seeing the real color of the saree. This is also so true. Sometimes when you see a saree at night under the light it seems to be of a different color then when it is viewed in daylight in the sun.

May be Night has some Maya or Magic.

India Trip: Good to be Home

2005-05-06T16:16:00.000-07:00

There are so many things that I want to write about my trip to India that I realized that a single blog is not enough. So I have decided to write it as a series of blogs. What follows is the first part in the series.

I arrive in Chennai by Singapore Air on April 11th at around 10.30 p.m. Without much ado, I clear immigration and customs and walk out of Anna International Airport. I am immediately greeted by the Chennai humidity, the smell of Chennai, the sound of constant chatter, of colorful saris and salwars and by the eager eyes of so many parents, sisters, brothers, children, friends and others who are looking anxiously in the crowd of passengers that are exitting the airport to see if the person who is walking out is one of their own. The one whom they have been waiting for hours, months or may be years.

I start searching this crowd for three such pair of eyes - my mom's, dad's and sis'. I find them immediately to my right which is where I expected to find them because that is the closest one can stand to the exit. I also find my driver in, yet again, his usual spot waiting to snatch the luggage from my hands and load it into the car. I get into the car along with the others and I start home ready to begin my vacation.

The first thing that I notice as soon as we start driving back is the chaotic yet systematic traffic on the roads. This time I dont panic as much as I did last time when my driver is not driving in the center of the lane. I try not to focus my attention on the autos and PTC buses that are zipping past us about an inch away from our car and who at any time can turn left, right or halt without any warning.

We soon reach home and I am happy to step into my home. I remove my shoes knowing that I wont see them for another few weeks. I then wash my feet and go to the Puja Room to thank God for the safe flight and for everything else. After that we sit down to talk.

After an hour of talking, more of an interrogation than talking, about how my flight was, if I slept well on the flight, what have I been doing etc. etc. I open my suitcases, each weighing 32 kgs, to give them the presents I had bought for them. My sis is very happy with her new handbag and earrings and she has already walked into her dream world. She is scanning her mental repository of saris, churis and necklaces matching them with the new ear rings thinking about which would go with what and how many more new churis she has to buy to match the ear rings. My mom is happy with the perfume I got her and she starts analyzing the hand bag and earrings. My dad is content with the shirts I bought for him and he starts looking at the other gifts I had bought and starts asking me the usual questions about the gifts.

It is always hard to buy gifts for guys/men. I envy girls in this regard. They have so much variety to choose from and there are so many giftable items that can be given to them. But men! We are stuck with just pants that come in only 4 colors, shirts that have only 2 designs, razors, shave gel and thatz it. That is not fair.

Anyways, it is nearly 1.00 am now and we are all very tired and soon go to bed.

Next day morning I get up at 7.00 a.m. My sis has already left for work, my dad is out in the garden plucking flowers for offering to God and my mom has just started cooking. Guess whatz on the menu? Of course it is all my favorites. As soon as I walk into the kitchen she asks me why I am up so early and starts making coffee for me. She starts complaining that I have lost weight and attributes it to the fact that I am eating my own cooking inspite of me trying to explain to her that that is not the reason. She, of course, does not pay heed to my words and keeps talking. She tells me how she is going to make me put on weight and what she plans to cook for me today, tomorrow and for the whole 3 weeks that I am going to be here. My father soon arrives and we start talking about my work and the preparations that need to be done for the function next week.

I am Back

2005-05-05T17:19:00.000-07:00

After 3 weeks vacation to India I am back to work. The vacation was fun and has revived my dampened spirits. Spent good time with my family, ate good food, attended marriages, met friends, saw movies and relaxed.

I want to write more about my trip but I am still getting back to my daily routine and have not yet found my old blogging enthu. So I guess that will have to wait till later.

Singapore Changi Airport

2005-04-11T17:15:00.000-07:00

Yes! Thats right! This is from Singapore Airport. I am not a blogaholic but I have a lot of time to kill and there was free internet access so I thought why not.

So here I am waiting for my flight to Chennai in the airport. It has been my third time to touring this airport and things keep changing every time. It keeps getting bigger and bigger. This time there are a couple of more shops and restaurants.

I just finished my ritual of eating at Kaveri which is the Indian restaurant in the airport. During my very first time visit I was really really excited of eating south indian food after a long time but now that excitement has weared out. I do not feel the same enthu.

Last time I was here there were just a bunch of 4 - 5 terminals with free internet access but this time there is a whole internet hub with 10 - 15 terminals with web cam and mike. Dont see anyone using the cam and mkie though.

Ok what else....there is a small timer on the lower right hand corner of my screen which is telling me the amount of time I have left and it says 5.40. So I guess I have 5 more minutes to complete and publish this blog or else I will have to relogin and do it. I am not for that. The timer feels like I am giving the GRE.

I have managed to spend now 5 hours at the airport and have just 3 hours more before my flight. Will have to find something to do. I think it will mostly involve sleeping or reading "Restaurant at the End of the Universe".

Ok I got a warning that I have 3 minutes left. So Adios!. Looking forward to this trip to Chennai. More about the trip later.

Me, Myself and My Desktop

2005-04-04T13:17:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend my Sys Admin changed my machine. He gave me a 64 bit, dual 1.5 Ghz Opteron processor, 1 Gig RAM and the works. My new CPU is gargantuan and is almost double the size of my previous CPU. You could say that it is like a mini server. I also had Cent OS installed. For the ignorant masses Cent OS is basically a free version of the Linux Distribution.

But I was not happy when I logged in today morning. Why? Well, all my configurations and desktop settings were messed up. My preferred window manager (Enlightenment) was not installed. Some of my applications are not running and my Sys Admin is missing from action. That is when I realised how much I am accustomed to the settings on my desktop. How without my preferred settings I dont feel at home and feel as if some important part of me is missing. It is already mid afternoon and I am still trying to get things the way I like them to be. Hopefully by the end of the day I can get everything back to the way it was when I left on Friday.

Got Gulped!

2005-04-01T14:10:00.000-07:00

Yes! I was lucky enough to find a friend who happened to have a Google Gulp cap. This gave me the opportunity to get Gulped. I liked the Sero tonic Water and Glutamate Grape. But the other two were not to my liking. But I should say I am a little worried about the data that is being sent about me and my gulp usage to the GulpPlex.

After my drink I had such a thirst for knowledge that I googled to find out about the origin of April Fool's Day. This is what I found:

The most famous theory is the change in new year day from April 1 to January 1. According to this theory before the Gregorian calendar was adopted the French celebrated New Year's from March 25 - April 1st. However, when the new calendar was introduced the New Year changed to Jan 1. Many people in France and elsewhere did not accept this change or know about the change and still continued their week long celebration in March. As a result the other people made fun of them and it is said that this gave rise to Fool's Day.

There are other theories too about the origin of this day. To read more about the famous theory and also about the other theories click here.

In other news today:

Commentator: Phew!!! Atlast they have something that is useful and for which I have been waiting for all my life as a programmer.

Goohoo! : There is news that Google and Yahoo are forming a merger. Another proposed name is YaGoohoogle! ( try out the merged search from YaGoohoogle)

Apple: There has been a couple of interesting news from the Apple Guys.
1. They have introduced a new product iCopulate for file sharing between iPods
2. With their Tiger OS ready for release they have signed up Tiger Woods as their Brand Manager.
3. iTunes is going to use Windows Media.
4. iSocks for your iPods.

Malwarlaria: A new computer virus that affects humans has been found. It is scary!!!

Paris Hilton has been signed up to advertise for Linux. It seems her long sleek legs was an important factor in this decision.

Google Ride Finder: This is a real cool tool that uses google maps and helps to locate available taxis in a particular location.

Also Gmail is increasing its storage space to 2GB and also has introduced rich text formatting. I checked my space in Gmail and it is not yet 2GB though it is getting there. In the morning it was around 1499 MB, now it is around 1601 MB. Hopefully soon it will be 2GB.

Well, I think I am running out of energy to read and write about more news. It is time to go and get another Gulp! Adios Amigos!

Other Blogs: A First Impression

2005-03-31T21:44:00.000-07:00

I have been visiting a lot of blogs lately and I tell you there are a lot of blogs out there. You can find blogs on anything and I really mean it - anything. I found blogs devoted to Indian history, Sachin, and also a blog devoted to voicing opinions about the arrest of kanchi. Even companies have started blogs where employees can post a blog. I think that nowadays instead of creating an egroup people just create a group blog. Most of my visits have been to desi blogs. The few non desi ones I visited I did not pay much attention to it and some of them had offensive language which gave me even more reason to ignore them.

I just thought of posting my findings:

Most common blog space is blogspot.com. The next is blogdrive.com
The Coolest Add On I found till now is guest map from bravenet.com. This allows people visiting your blog to mark where they are viewing the page from.
The Next Best Add On is the clocks from clocklink.
The Most Common Add On are links to Other Blogs and Currently Reading links.
The Most number of Comments I found for a particular blog was around 75. That is just insane!!. May be you have seen more comments posted but to me that is ...wow!!!
Most common templates are the Minima series ( white,black, blue) followed by Harbor ( these are blogspot templates).
Most bloggers use the standard templates available. It is very rare that I have seen custom made templates.
The start dates of blogs date back to atleast a year before (around beginning of 2004). I, however, have not found anything started earlier than 2004.
Some bloggers sign off every blog using the same phrase or statement. I thought this was kind of cool.
Posting pictures is also very common. This is something I also wanted to do and may be will do it soon. Also, I saw one blog where every blog had a picture.
Something I found very interesting is that people become poets in blogs. I have noticed that if people have been writing for a while then they would have attempted to write atleast one poem.
Another interesting finding is the difference between guy blogs and girl blogs. From what I have seen so far the topics covered by the blogs maintained by guys ranges from as mundane as talking about every day stuff to talking about world events, discussing books, discussing history, friends etc. But peculiarly or may be obviously the topics covered by women usually pertains to sentiments, random thoughts and feelings or love.

How Talented Are We?

2005-03-28T11:17:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend I heard my friends tell me that they had no talent. I asked them why they felt that way. One of them said "I saw some of my other friends sing and play instruments and I cant do any of that". My other friend said "I was watching a stand up comedy by my friend and I dont have such kinda talent". I realized that I also do not possess any of the above characteristics.

So, are my friends not talented? Am I not talented? I pondered over this and concluded that this is not true. We all have our own set of talents. May be we are not widely acclaimed by others for the talents we possess but that does not mean we are not talented. According to me any skill is a talent:

Programming is a talent.
Managing a committee/group is a talent.
Writing a blog is a talent.
Even being a housewife is a talent.

There are so many talents out there, some noticeable some not, that we sometimes fail to see the talents we possess. Also, the home sapien is never satisfied. He always feels being inferior to his fellow beings. Eg: I cant play the piano and I feel I have no talent. Ask the pianist and he would say "I cant make people laugh and so I have no talent."

The grass on the other side always looks greener. We only look on the other side and fret over our lack of skills. We keep trying to reach the other side and when we do we are still unhappy because we realize that what we have achieved is only a drop in the ocean.

Some may argue that any of the above skills that I mentioned ( a programmer, manager, blogger, housewife etc) anybody could develop/possess. But that is true for any ability you pick. I cannot name one single talent that is possessed by one and only one individual, be it singing, dancing, painting or even being able to walk the moon.

I think all of us should try to look within overselves and understand the innate talents we possess. Does this mean that we just live with the talents we possess and not thrive to acquire new skills. No. I am not saying that but we should feel happy for the abilities we possess because I am sure they are unique in their own special way and somebody out there understands your potential.

To conclude:
Use what talent you possess - the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.
Henry Van Dyke

Lunch Talk

2005-03-25T13:24:00.000-07:00

I came up with several titles for this post:
"Technology: Before and After"
"The World we live in"
"The World we live in : Before and After"
"Generations: Previous and Next"
I was not convinced with any of them and was tired of thinking. So for lack of a better name I decided to name this post "Lunch Talk"

Over lunch the topic of how the world is changing came up and my colleague said that over the past 50 years there has been a tremendous change. There was the invention of radio, TV, music systems, cds, dvds, computers, internet, ipods and most of the luxury items that are common today.

Our previous generation like our dads and grand dads have lived through all this. When my grand father was young there were no radios ...so I ask myself what did he do? May be he just read and played all day. When my father was young ...there was no TV? So what did he do? My father says he used to listen to the radio. So when our next generation like our kids, grandkids reach our age they will ponder over the question: When my father was young there was no internet ...what did he do? I might say ... I watched TV and listened to the radio. It is amazing to see how things have changed in a small timespan.

My colleague says that currently we are seeing a new revolution of the information age. Computers and internet have become house old names. Everybody is now trying to improve the user experience. We are now more worried about:
1. how to make the coolest and best possible game that gives the user a real playing experience.
2. how to make gadgets as small as possible ( egs 1" laptops, nanotechnology products, MAC mini, iShuffle) . Geeks are saying "Small is Big" ... is it?
3. how to merge the media that is spread all over ( on ur laptop, iPod, CDs, cassettes etc) into one singe entity. Imagine your media centre is one stop shop for anything u wld need both online and off. And also that u cld take ur data with u or it just is available everywhere u go.
4. how to make the coolest robots that can act and be like humans.

I can keep going but I think you get the picture.

I agree with my colleague that all the ideas are not really far fetched and we have already seen some of these dreams realized. We have seen the iPod and Apple mania. iPods revolutionized the way people think of music. It is estimated that an average of 40 iPods are sold per minute (see link). We are seeing concepts like BitTorrent, Myth TV and Tivo taking control. Block buster, Net flix and other rental stores are fighting a losing battle. Evidence of this is the new schemes that BB comes up with every month to save their skin. Also, next generation tech products are trying to bring technology closer to the user. We already have palm pilots, music on phones, portable PSP etc. I am sure there is more on the assembly line. For eg: Next generation iPod products like vPod , wireless iPods, iPods in the car, iPhones etc. ( check above link).

So I ask myself will we move into a world of "Minority Report", or "I, Robot" where computers and technology are ubiquitous. What will it be like living in that world? Also, will we experience the same level of paradigm shift that our previous generations experienced? My colleague thinks we will see a similar or greater shift. I, however, beg to differ. I feel that though there will be a change it will not be as huge as the one our previous generation experienced. My reasoning is that our previous generation were in the phase of laying the foundation for a whole new world but our generation and the next is just building upon this foundation. I think the latter is far easier than the former. But I may be wrong; only time will tell. But I am definitely excited and looking forward to this new world.

Mahabharata: Fact or Fiction?

2005-03-24T11:46:00.000-07:00

I recently started reading Mahabharata by C. Rajagopalachari. In the first chapter the author says that Sage Vyasa decided to write this grand epic called the Mahabharata and so he went in search of someone who could pen his thoughts. For this task Sage Vyasa eventually found Lord Ganesh.

According to the author, Mahabharata was a story of fiction that was narrated by Sage Vyasa to Lord Ganesh. The purpose of the story was to spread the philosophy of dharma, karma and other good things a human should do and also show that evil deeds do not go unpunished.

I always had believed in a different version of this story. I am not able to recollect from where I heard this. May be this was one of the bedtime stories narrated to me when I was a child. But I thought Mahabharata was a real historical occurrence and Sage Vyasa was given the responsibility by Him to narrate this great heroic and historic epic so that the people of generations to come could know about it and also learn from it the various values of the human race. I thought Vyasa was given divine vision by Him after the war to see the epic through his own eyes and narrate it. ( or was that Valmeeki and Ramayana?)

I thought about it for a while as to what could be an ideal explaination. If Mahabharata was really fiction then was the Bhagavad Gita, told by Lord Krishna to Arjuna, actually a work by Vyasa and altered by future scholars and sages? I find that hard to believe. If the Bhagavad Gita recital was true then I am unable to think of Mahabharata as unreal.

This confusion led me to do some searching online and I found that indeed my dilemma has been discussed in various websites and that there is an ongoing debate as to whether Mahabharata is history or fiction. Check this link out if you are keen about some details.

Although I could not find any concrete evidence whether the whole epic was a myth or not, I did find a lot of convincing argument in favor of the latter. Based on what I have heard and read, I personally believe that it is not a myth but a reality. Whatever be the case, I think that both epics Ramayana and Mahabharata are a rich part of our history and teach us a lot of moral values.

The World Day Craze

2005-03-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

Today I read that it is World Water Day. What the hell is that!!! Is it a day to celebrate the fact that we still have water and so we drink lotsa water today? or is it a day to realize that there is not enuf water left on this planet and so we take a pledge not to have water today so that we can conserve it? What is this fascination for celebrating every day of the year as some day or the other.

World Water Day
World AIDS day
World Day of Peace
World Youth Day
Mother's day
Father's Day
Sister's Day
Brother's Day
My Day
Ur Day

Why do we need to assign one day of the year to each of these events and what do we do if we run out of days...there are only 365 remember!!!. Do we then just club two events on the same day...today is World Water Day and also World Fire Day!!! May be there is some reservation system that I dont know of. If there is I think I shld jump on the bandwagon for a spot in the limelight.

Btw...who gets to decides all this anyway. Thro Googling, I found that this day was decided to be celebrated as World Water Day by the UN. But what abt the other days...who decides them. Is it some random guy who just wakes up one day and decides "hmm...what am I in the mood for today...yes ... yes .... pancakes ... pancakes sound real good ... ok thatz it then ... from this year on ... today will be celebrated as World Pancake Day!!! "

If it is really to send a message to the people ( as in the case of Water, AIDS, Peace day) then how is one day going to be enough. Also seriously how many people do really know about this day other than the ones who are in a NGO or other community that are involved in this particular activity.

In the case of these other Father, Mother days etc, what are they for. Is it a day reserved for us to tell that beloved person we love them. What abt the other days : do we just take it easy and not care and then on just that one day say "I love U".

May be I am just overreacting. But I think what I want to say is that what might have started as a simple and novel thing to do has now escalated beyond proportions and has turned into nothing more than a commerical and advertising gimmick.

My New Found Passion

2005-03-20T19:50:00.000-07:00

Books!!! That is my new found passion. Yeah ! Yeah ! You heard it right. I did say books. B - O - O - K - S. I know some of you who do not yet know this new me are going : "You got to be kidding right!!!". Well , all I have to say is "Sorry friends , but it is true! :- ) ".

Of late I have become hooked on to books, novels, magazines and in general reading. I was not like this. I remember a time when I used to be nonchalant at the mention of books. At the same time I felt that I was missing out on something important. These guilt pangs used to be more when I was surrounded by people who were bookoholics and according to me had read every book on planet earth and I seemed like an alien in this group.

But now I think I am shedding some of this alienness and starting to feel the bliss that wraps a person when he is reading. I am not really sure how all this started but I think it had something to do with my long lasting desire to start a good habit (atleast according to me -- it is better than watching TV) coupled with the fact that I had nothing to do. I have no regrets. But it is a scary and a whole new world: "The world of Books". It is like a black hole from which there is a point of no return.

When I first went to a bookstore to pick up a book to read I was baffled at the sheer range of choices that I had and I was immediately confused as to where to begin. I realized, there are so many books, millions and millions of them, in all sizes and shapes and on virtually any topic you can think of and I have hardly read .00001 % of them. To make matters worse, by the time I am done with one book I find out that there are several new books on the same category that have come out. I immediately sensed that I have a serious back log and a lot of catching up to do. An uncanny feeling lurched deep within that I am trying to crawl out of this complex labyrinth ( of books ) that seems to grow exponentially with every step you take. After spending many days trying to figure out how to solve this puzzle, I have now made peace with myself that this is impossible. But atleast I am happy that I have become a part of this experience. As they say "It is better late than never".

A peek at "My Sister's Keeper" By Jodi Picoult

2005-03-18T10:07:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading the book "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult. I liked it and thought I will write about it. This is not so much of a review of the book as much as it is an expression of what I like/dislike about the book.

The book is about the ethical issues that involve stem cell research and portrays the experiences of a couple (Brian and Sara) who are fighting to keep their one daughter (Kate) alive by using the help of their other daughter (Anna), who was conceived for the very purpose of saving her sister. The characters try to resolve the issue of what should be given more importance: (as is mentioned in the novel) is it "The sanctity of life" or is it "The quality of life". In an attempt to answer this question, the author vividly portrays the turmoil that is going on in the minds of the characters of the novel as to what is the right thing to do.

Things I liked/disliked:

1. This is the first time I am reading a book where the chapters are organized based on the characters and is a first person narration of what he/she is thinking. May be this is an idea used before but this is my first encounter of it and I think it was really different and good. It really helped the author to shape the characters and give them their unique identity.

2. I liked the section of the book where Kate starts dating her fellow hospital mate and the interactions that follow thereafter. How both of them talk about their illness and death as if it is an everyday joke that they are used to. How the nurses and other technicians of the hospital organize a prom for all patients. I was amazed that these people seem to take things in stride and it brought to the forefront the fact that, no matter how sick you are, you want to enjoy life to the fullest.

3. Near the end of the novel, when it is D - day or Judgement day, every character gets up and sees that it is raining cats and dogs outside. They immediately think of the most memorable thing they can associate to the downpour. For example: Brian thinks: "It was raining when Anna was born", Sara thinks: "Rain is not such a good sign". It reminded me of the fact that all of us associate certain events with everyday happenings and that all of us think differently.

4. The ending. I did not really expect it and I was a bit agitated and heart broken. But after reading through the author's explaination for this and also pondering over it a bit I thought that the way the book ended was probably the best thing to do and I began to appreciate it.

The book made me think about the dilemma that the family faces and what I would have done in their shoes. It is a really hard question to address and I sincerely hope and wish that neither I nor anyone else is ever in such a situation.

Life is full of choices. Sometimes, as the author says in the book, "No matter what choice we make: We lose". But we do have to make these choices and hope that our decision is right and pray for the best. Life goes on no matter what and we should treasure the small pleasures we get every day and not worry about what we have lost but cherish what we have.

Cricket

2005-03-16T11:11:00.000-07:00

i am a typical desi guy...cricket is the only sport I care about. Though it is only one sport , it comes in various flavors. There is of course the international and ranji trophy cricket but i am not talking about that. I am talking about the cricket indians play for fun all around the world.

1. There is the cricket i now play in AZ every weekend...with a tennis ball and wooden plank for a stump (or wickets if u dont know what stumps mean).
2. There is also the QT cricket that I used to play in BITS.
3. There is cricket that is played on the indian roads incurring the wraths of people living nearby for the fear that we might shatter their windows with a six or a stupid throw.
4. There is cricket that u can see being played any time u walk onto Marina beach with so many different groups playing all at once that not only the spectators but also the people playing get confused as to who else is in their game.
5. Then there is underarms cricket. ( my favorite)

Then there is the different flavors of the rules...i assure you no two groups will have exactly the same rules.

1. only offside /leg side has runs.
2. no back runs
3. if it crosses that line over there then u can take only 1 run but if it crosses the other line way over there then u can run as many runs as u want... go figure!!!

I can just keep going but I think you get the hang of it. And it is even possible that during the course of a game the above rules cld be effective for a brief period of time. : ) ...aint that sthg huh!!!

The rules also keep changing on a need basis. If there are more people playing then more the rules try to conform with international standards ( becoz the thinking is more ppl we have the more we r now of international standard so more compliant we have to be of those standards).

Then there is the different kinds of cricket balls u can use...there is of course the real cricket ball but who can afford to get hurt by it or afford it...so we have to resort to other types. The most common types are tennis balls and rubber balls ( not common in US tho). But you guessed it right there are variations in this too. You could manufacture a taped tennis ball. Typically this is tape wrapped around a tennis ball.

Then how can I forget the umpires ( the most hated and scary job on the planet). Games are won and lost by umpires. Who is talking abt international umpires ...those guys have all sorts of help action replays, leg umpires, third umpires etc etc. I am as usual talking abt the umpires who "try" to officiate for the game we r playing. More often than not the umpire is someone from the batting side and there begins the trouble. "Ideally" this guy has to be neutral. Yeah right!!! I can be really neutral when I umpire and have to give a decision where is an element of doubt in favor of the fielding side!!! No way man!!! Itz cricket - you have to win!!!
Typically if u play for a couple of hours the two teams are bound to get into atleast one brawl becoz of an umpiring decision. Then the umpire is questioned abt how neutral he is blah blah blah and then the umpire is changed to a "more " neutral guy until the next debate.

Well...i got to finish now...i guess some of u r confused and others who already play cricket are going "yes u r right, i know what u mean!!"... but at the end of the day there is nthg like a game of cricket.

Those 4 years ...

2005-01-26T14:59:00.000-07:00

I was watching a video yesterday of OASIS 2004. Oasis is the annual cul fest in BITS , my undergrad college...seeing that made me nostalgic and remember all the great times I had in BITS. Those 4 wonderful years which I spent with my friends who were also like my family. Thinking that it has been almost 5 years since I left that enchanted place seems unbelievable. It seems just like yesterday when I was sipping a chai in Nagar or having a vada in IC. Those lengthy lacha/ lit sessions in the wing. The kadalai sessions in IPC/Cnot . The nite outs in D Lawns working for erecting this massive structure for OASIS which was to be torn down in a few weeks. Trying to stay awake to see all the APOGEE movies. Thos QT cricket matches. Those common room cricket matches bet Ind/ Pak that we used to watch. And how can i forget all those exams quizzes and tests for which I wished I had studied a little more. The long standing line in front of IPC that I used to wait in...to work on a project but mostly to send an email to someone on the other terminal . There are so many other thoughts that are rushing to my head at the very mention of those 4 magical letters B I T S. But my typing speed is not keeping up. Wish I could have made time stand still. Wish I could just for one day relive that experience again.

Ok!! Now What

2005-01-12T14:42:00.000-07:00

Ok!!! I have created a blog...what next!!!

For a while now I wanted to create a blog. Why I wanted to create one? Well...last month I read this article on the net as to how "blogs" was the most famous thing on the web in 2004 and how it has gained popularity etc etc. A week later Time magazine had an article about "blogs" and how these 3 lawyers in US , I think in '98 but I am not sure, created their first web log (blog) to discuss politics and before they knew it, lotsa people were participating in their discussion. All these news articles made me feel that probably I should also have a blog. Then after a few more days my friend from KY told me that she has a blog that she has been writing for a while now. Thatz when I realized I need a blog.

So you may wonder from the time of my realizing I need a blog to my creating one it has been nearly been a while. Well I can give you a bunch of reasons of that - vacation in KY, too much work in office ;-) ...but none of this really true..the bottom line is I am really lazy, especially when it comes to starting sthg afresh like creating ur login name, passwd, entering ur Full Name ( which is an ordeal on its own) , choosing some template u like and then writing about urself. You may have already understood my laziness when you found no info abt me in "My Profile"!!! . But heh!!! I atleast got over the first step of creating a blog. u and I both need to wait a little more until My Profile is complete. I guarantee at that time you will be

STUNNED AND AMAZED!!!