Am back!!!!!!!
After a long long time!!!

Life has changed a lot in the past few years. Lost the login details for this and just got it back..

I will now post something or the other soon!!!!!!!!!!!

I am in Jo'burg, South Africa these 3 weeks.
Today I was stuck up in the traffic while coming into the office, and I switched on the radio for the traffic details.

Then I heard this song, Mercy by Duffy.
I came over to the office, and had to search for the song.
The song is just brilliant, so refreshing and the video is amazing, she is very talented and so are the dancers. I hope she brings the younger masses to enjoy old soul and motown style music that will never disappear.

Duffy - Mercy Lyrics

Yeah, yeah, yeah

I love you
But I gotta stay true
My moral’s got me on my knees
I’m begging please
Stop playing games

I don’t know what this is
But you got me good
Just like you knew you would
I don’t know what you do
But you do it well
I’m under your spell

You got me begging you for mercy
Why won’t you release me
You got me begging you for mercy
Why won’t you release me
I said you better release me

Now you think that I
Will be some thing on the side
But you got to understand
That I need a man
Who can take my hand, yes I do

I don’t know what this is
But you got me good
Just like you knew you would
I don’t know what you do
But you do it well
I’m under your spell

You got me begging you for mercy
Why won’t you release me
You got me begging you for mercy
Why won’t you release me
I said you better release me

I’m begging you for mercy
Just why won’t you release me
I’m begging you for mercy
You got me begging
You got me begging
You got me begging

Mercy
Why won’t you release me
I’m begging you for mercy
Why wont you release me
You got me begging you for mercy
I’m begging you for mercy
I’m begging you for mercy
I’m begging you for mercy
I’m begging you for mercy
Why won’t you release me
Bring it on

Mercy
Begging you for mercy
You got me begging
Down on my knees
I said mercy
Begging you for mercy
You got me begging

Duffy - Mercy Song Info

Released February 25, 2008 (U.K.)
Recorded 2008
Genre Pop, Soul
Length 3:41
Label A&M Records

Background voice:
You make me think as I don’t care
Because you don't know what I got and
I wanna get more than I’m asking for
but I just don't want to waste my time
you think that I better let it go
just like there’s nothing in this world
I know that I gonna play this song
like I just don't know anything at all

And then I hear that, Mercy is a Howlin Wolf original tune called ‘Who’s Been Talking’, with new lyrics rambled over it. :(

Brilliant water-based eyeglasses for the masses: No optician required

British inventor Josh Silver, a former professor of physics at Oxford University, has come up with a game-changer of a product design with his water-lensed glasses.

Silver has devised a pair of glasses which rely on the principle that the fatter a lens the more powerful it becomes. Inside the device's tough plastic lenses are two clear circular sacs filled with fluid, each of which is connected to a small syringe attached to either arm of the spectacles.

The wearer adjusts a dial on the syringe to add or reduce amount of fluid in the membrane, thus changing the power of the lens. When the wearer is happy with the strength of each lens the membrane is sealed by twisting a small screw, and the syringes removed. The principle is so simple, the team has discovered, that with very little guidance people are perfectly capable of creating glasses to their own prescription.

You can mass-produce millions of these, rather than manufacturing myriad individual lenses each tuned to a user's specific vision deficiencies. And while the one-size-fits-all mentality may not fly in developed nations, Silver's goal is to help the hundreds of millions of people in developing countries who suffer from poor eyesight.

Silver calls his flash of insight a "tremendous glimpse of the obvious"--namely that opticians weren't necessary to provide glasses. This is a crucial factor in the developing world where trained specialists are desperately in demand: in Britain there is one optometrist for every 4,500 people, in sub-Saharan Africa the ratio is 1:1,000,000.

The implications of bringing glasses within the reach of poor communities are enormous, says the scientist. Literacy rates improve hugely, fishermen are able to mend their nets, women to weave clothing. During an early field trial, funded by the British government, in Ghana, Silver met a man called Henry Adjei-Mensah, whose sight had deteriorated with age, as all human sight does, and who had been forced to retire as a tailor because he could no longer see to thread the needle of his sewing machine. "So he retires. He was about 35. He could have worked for at least another 20 years. We put these specs on him, and he smiled, and threaded his needle, and sped up with this sewing machine. He can work now. He can see."

So far 30,000 of Silver's specs have been distributed, but more are on the way; his eventual target is 100 million pairs.

For more info: 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/dec/22/diy-adjustable-glasses-josh-silver 

Now here is a quote I like:

When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle.
Then I realised God doesn’t work that way, so I stole
one and prayed for forgiveness.

- Emo Philips

Courtesy:
http://www.banksy.co.uk/manifesto/

I have always said that I should have been born a few generations ago, either in Hyderabad or Lucknow, so that I could enjoy the decadence of life in those days. Be born in a Rich family, spend your life around the kothas of the day, keep drinking and keep enjoying life. :(

It is not that, I don't enjoy now, but I think I would have had a freer reign in enjoying life those days.

History tells us that Tehzeeb (culture) was taught to rich kids by sending them to the popular kothas.

Well....
Hyderabadi Mehman-nawazi (hospitality) is something I like and believe in. It is truly eastern, mid-eastern in soul and heart. And for this Mehman-nawazi, the food is at the core. Anyone who knows me can tell you that I am a food junkie. :)
Hyderabadi food has a rich variety to choose from and..here are some of them:

Hyderabadi Biryani has no parallels among the connoisseurs of biryani. Travelers have written that in the past a typical Hyderabadi feast would have no less than 26 different varieties of Biryani a dish which has the reputation of being an aphrodisiac. It is of course the most famous dish from Hyderabad. But history tells us that, the origins of Biryani are in left over Awadhi pullao. :)

There are many versions of how the Hyderabadi Biryani originated.
One says, the Nizam tasted common man's food and liked it so much that he called it Biryani and ordered the cooks to make it. But practically speaking, I would not imagine a Nizam ever eating common man's food.

Another version of it, which I believe is more true, is that Biryani has its roots in Awadhi pullao.
The cooks created a new dish by using left over pullao rice and meat, arranged it in layers and thus created Biryani. :)

The difference between biryani and pullao is that while pullao may be made by cooking the items together. Biryani, is used to denote a dish where the rice is cooked separately from the other ingredients.

Perhaps, equal to this rice dish, for Hyderabadis, is Haleem. The best and worst thing about Haleem is that it is largely available only in month of Ramadan. It is the best thing because people keep waiting for this month to savour this mouth-watering dish and it is the worst thing about Haleem as people who miss it in Ramzan may need to wait for a year.
A succulent dish of meat, wheat, ghee, cooked to a porridge-like consistency, its name Haleem literally means patience, because it takes long hours to prepare.
I can tell you all Hyderabadis irrespective of their faith, wait for Ramadan just to eat this.

Hyderabadi Mirch Ka Salan - Fried Peppers in a gravy sauce
Hyderabadi Bagare Baigan - Eggplant Curry
Dal Dhokli - Dumplings in Lentil Curry
Kalmi - Moong Bean (lentil) Patties
Do Pyaza - Hyderabadi Curry, with lots and lots of onions.
Double Ka Meetha - Bread Pudding
Kubani Ka Meetha - Apricots with Whipped Cream
This for me is the king of desserts. "Kubani Ka Meetha" eaten with icecream or custard.

Apart from all this, Hyderabad has a good number of Tea (Irani) Cafes and Bakeries. Because of these cafes in every nook and corner of Hyderabad, one can taste a variety of biscuits, cakes, pastries, puffs, rolls, and of course the Irani Samosas.
Snacks and Bakery items served in these Cafes are somewhat indigenous in nature. Here are a few of them for you to relish upon:

Osmania Biscuit - A typical biscuit named for the last Nizam. Served in all the cafes, bandis and tea stalls, ubiquitously.
Chand Biscuit - Another Hyderabadi biscuit. Apparently, it got the name becoasue of its shape resembling a crescent moon.
Fan Biscuit - A longish wafery biscuit.
Dilkhush - A sweet snack item which has lot of cream and other sweet stuff tucked in a bun.
Luqmi - A namkeen (salty) snack with just a little vegetable and spicy filling in a flat square patty.
Bun-Maska - Bun with butter and sugar on it.
Irani Samosas - Small crisp samosas with fired onions.

And...to top all of this is the Irani Chai.
It might have come to Hyderabad from Iran via the cafes in Bombay, but, now...it does belong to Hyderabad heart and soul.
And... the business in tea in Hyderabad. I am talking about a daily revenue of about 8-10 Crores and this in a city with an estimated population of around 8 million.
Each cup of Tea costs around 3-4 INR. Now do your own math! :)

Unique in the Irani Cafes of Hyderabad:
You go to a cafe, order tea and samosas or biscuits. The waiter brings you the tea and a plate full of samosas or biscuits. You eat as many samosas as you want and just get billed for what you have eaten.

And I say again... This is a big week in terms of scientific achievements.

Here is one more news item..

A self-powering cell phone that never needs to be charged because it converts sound waves produced by the user into the energy it needs to keep running

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/008200812031123.htm

In the meanwhile, let us hope that someone creates a cheaper way of Wastewater treatment and desalination plants. Look at this news. This talks about Middle East, but I personally believe it will be true for all over the world.

http://www.pump-zone.com/global-news/global-news/water-and-desalination-projects-in-middle-east-likely-to-attract-120-billion-in-investments-by-2020.html

But the bigger news this week is: 

A gadget which makes water out of thin air

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1088769/The-800-invention-makes-water-straight-air-help-millions.html

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/008200811241520.htm

Using the same technology as a de-humidifier, the Water Mill is able to create a supply of drinking water by capturing it from an unlimited source - the air.

The machine draws in moist air through a filter and over a cooling element which condenses it into water droplets. It can produce up to 12 litres a day.

The Water Mill will also generate more water when storms pass over, as the humidity in the air rises. In keeping with its ecodevelopment, the machine uses the same amount of electricity as three light bulbs.

Its maker, Canadian firm Element Four, estimates a litre of water will cost about 50c to produce.

This when it reaches the common people and becomes a bit cheaper, will be a huge boon for mankind.

This looks like a very big week for the world.

For people who missed these:

Here is an invention to generate Electricity from Ocean Currents:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/renewableenergy/3535012/Ocean-currents-can-power-the-world-say-scientists.html

http://www.examiner.com/x-243-Progressive-Politics-Examiner~y2008m11d30-wave-power

http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/01/rivers-looking-attractive-for-energy-again/?hp

 

And..a proposal for Offshore wind power

http://blogs.wsj.com/environmentalcapital/2008/12/01/a-shore-thing-why-offshore-wind-power-will-likely-struggle/

This certainly looks good.

Let us hope that the invention reaches the common mankind real fast.

This is the excellent team I have been working the past few months.

Jit-Jitendra is the guy in the front, in the pink shirt.

Moses is the guy in the Brown t-shirt, one of my Best friends. He is recovering from Nuemonia right now. The fool he is, he works too hard. I keep telling him and Justin, not to work so hard. 

Joe Ryburn, another great friend, is the guy behind Jit, in the green shirt. 

Couple of people not clear in this picture:

David Taylor, the traveller. Met him in Argentina, and he is one of the best people I have ever worked with. Another, work hard person. He is the guy in the right corner in the back in the blue shirt.

Marie MacDonald, the best lead anyone can ever work with. No competition there.

She is on David's left.

Next to Marie, with the white hair, tall guy is Naresh Gamanlal. One of the best people you will ever meet. Speaks (fluently) and writes 7 languages. 

Mumbai!! :)

What else do you expect in a country being led by Vote bank Politics.
No proper immigration policy, no checks on illegal migrants, corruption across all spectrum of the society starting from the lowest to the highest.

Terrorism is a fight for God and Country for some. And..what the jihadists are doing is waging a war on tyranny. So, from their point of view, yeah, innocents do die in war. Does it matter? No!!

Look at the people dead in Mumbai or for that matter anywhere in India. No one really cares about them. Neither the government, nor the public in general.

But the silver lining in this whole tragedy!!! No one negotiated with the terrorists. Just go in and Cleanup.

Would the government behave the same way if some VIPs or VIP family members were in there??

Lot has changed in this world, in the past few months!!!!

Change has won in the US, and now we have Obama in the White house.

He is assembling a really good team, if what I am seeing on the news is true.
He reminds me of one of the old US presidents. Not sure if it is FDR or Truman or Eisenhower. That president said, If I make my enemies my friends, I will not have any enemies left.

And, this is what Obama is doing. Hillary is in his team now. And..he has brought in Gates as his defense secretary.

But, you cannot take my view of a person to be the best. That is what I thought about George W Bush. I really thought he assembled a good team to start with. And.. look where we are now. Though I believe he did a couple of good things, the overall rating is bad.

:)

Mc Cain, I would have voted for him, if it was not for Sarah Palin, who says it is "God's Will". So my dear Sarah, it was "God's Will" that I don't vote for you!

My friend Jitendra has started writing his blog, and it is really good.
http://jitendragahlot.blogspot.com/

Now, he has inspired me to update this blog. And..now I will keep it up to date.

This is one of my favorite songs. I first heard it as a background song in the movie "The Deer Hunter" (which is also at the top of my fav. movies list).

Valli Frankie / Four Seasons - Can't Take My Eyes Off You

You're just too good to be true.
Can't take my eyes off you.
You'd be like heaven to touch.
I wanna hold you so much.
At long last love has arrived.
And I thank God I'm alive.
You're just too good to be true.
Can't take my eyes off you.

Pardon the way that I stare.
There's nothing else to compare.
The sight of you leaves me weak.
There are no words left to speak.
But if you feel like I feel.
Please let me know that it's real.
You're just too good to be true.
Can't take my eyes off you.

I love you baby, and if it's quite all right,
I need you baby to warm the lonely night.
I love you baby.
Trust in me when I say:
Oh pretty baby, don't bring me down, I pray.
Oh pretty baby, now that I found you. Stay.

And let me love you, baby. Let me love you ...

I love you baby, and if it's quite allright,
I need you baby to warm the lonely night.
I love you baby.
Trust in me when I say:
Oh pretty baby, don't bring me down, I pray.
Oh pretty baby, now that I found you. Stay.

Oh pretty baby. Trust in me when I say: Oh pretty baby ...

INA Veterans and Netaji

During my travels, I once met an old man, a Freedom Fighter and an INA Veteran.

He told me, he still dreamt of an India which is developed and where the elders of the society are respected. He didn’t want any undue favors, but wanted atleast some respect towards his age and his actions in his youth. He was disgusted by corruption all around him and he was always trying to take a stand against it. When I met him, he was yet to receive his pension for the past 7-8 yrs as he refused to pay bribes. There was no honest officer incharge of that office to help him out. And this old man was now making a living as a street vendor.

He is a Tamilian who joined the INA heeding the call of Rash Behari / Netaji and saw action in Burma mainly.

When they initially came back to India, the INA they were treated as heroes by the common populace. But this man I met, was hugely disgusted by the Congress leadership who in those days capitalized on the Red Fort Trail. It seems the Congress leadership collected donations from the public for the defense. These donations ran into millions of rupees in those days. The Congress leadership gained a lot of publicity from this whole action. But after the trial and soon after when India was given its freedom, none of these INA veterans were recognized as army veterans and for a very long time they were not even recognized as freedom fighters. These were the people who sacrificed the prime of their youth for the country, dreamt of a free India and of a glorious national future. They are heroes who should have been equally respected as other congress functionaries. But these veterans were humiliated and not even recognized as freedom fighters. Many had already sacrificed their all for their nation, but after 1947, were reduced to even more poverty and some of them died in hunger.

Just imagine, soldiers coming from traumatic battles and battlefields, already depressed by war, being subject to non recognition. They were dishonorably discharged from an army that refused to accept them even after Independence and no pension.

It was only in 1972, that the government found it fit to award a pension to the INA Veterans. I wonder why this discrimination happened at all. Why were these guys pushed to the gutters of society?

A lot many people claim that Netaji was alive and lived in India also for some time. If this was/is true, I lose my respect for him for he had forsaken the lives of those who believed in him. He would not be a true leader. Whatever be the compulsions of his isolated existence, if at all he was alive and did not lift a finger to help out the veterans, it was an extremely shameful act on his part.

Where The Mind is Without Fear

Rabindranath Tagore

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake

Varun.

He is one my first cousins and his Dad is/was very close to me when I was growing up. I met him after a long time. May not be correct. But I truly saw him for the first time only in this trip to India. He has that true carefree attitude of youth.

He is one cool dude. Atleast that is what I think. :)

How I long for those days, when I was the rebel. :) That age, when you beieve that everything will just fall in place if you make a go for it. You feel you are the king and the world is before you just waiting to be conquered. When you dream that making billions is just a matter of time. When you believe that you know what is right and what is wrong. When you believe that the world is in general Black and white with a few shades of grey, but you know how to conquer that grey shade.

Aahh!! What I would give, just to have those days back. When you are the idealistic person and not drawn back by practical daily compulsions of life.

caritra irukulalO irukkunna irusulu.

prajA taamasamlO paDi lEvalEni pAmarulu.

చరిత్ర ఇరుకులలో ఇరుక్కున్న ఇరుసులు.

ప్రజా తామసమ్లో పడి లేవలేని పామరులు.

This is something I read a long time back and just remember it. Don’t even remember who said it or in what context.

Literally, I think it translates to:

Spokes stuck in the cracks of history

Peasants who can’t stand up against the huge wave of humanity.

Today morning I woke up thinking about my school days and people I knew from school. Why? When coming back from India, the person sitting next to me was Anup Veer, a classmate from the 2^nd class to the 10^th. After 10^th I never met him, but heard about him a few times from other friends. And there he was suddenly in the airplane coming towards me asking me if I was Srikant. It was a good moment I suppose. When you meet someone after 16 years and start recollecting old memories and catching up on each others life. That was one reason the flight was not tiring. So Anup, has been in the back of my mind for the past few days and he was the catalyst for me to think about others I knew from school.

School days are supposed to be the best in one’s life. But is it true for everyone? If they were so great, and if everyone has so much fun then, I suppose each and every person has a huge cache of friends from those days. I think when most of us go to reunions; we go to gloat or feel remorseful about ourselves when compared to others or just to meet up old acquaintances from those days, or for what ever reasons. Very few times do we meet to go back to catch a very old friend and maintain contact with that person from that point on. Moreover, the caustic relationship we shared with people those days still resides in some corner of our memories and we still hesitate to frankly interact with those we meet in the reunions. As we grow older we grow more cynic and more …..

I personally feel that my school years were a really bad phase of my life. It was because of a combination of many things. No proper guidance was the main thing, I suppose. But overall, all I remember from school was that I was a failure in studies and did a lot of idiotic things and so on. I was a huge sympathizer of the left those days and was also politically very opinionated. But there was no proper guidance for my thoughts nor my actions. In school, all it resulted in was some warnings from the principal, or teachers. At home, my Dad who was a very strict disciplinarian those days (he still is in some ways), would just scold or worst case slap me once or twice. But no one knew what I was going through or (I am not sure) if they even understood the gravity of things.

I knew after my 10^th that I was not in the bottom percentile in studies when compared to my peers and was actually on the higher end. But, till my 10^th, my marks were real bad. Once I scored half a mark out of 100 in Physics. :) And in college Physics was one of my best subjects. I failed Telugu in my 9^th finals and later in college and afterwards, I was writing poetry, drama and songs in Telugu. So sad.

Ok, back to the first sentence and its correlation to school. There are people who just stick in some corner of your mind / memories. Just like in my essay “Vaise bhi itnaa gham .........” You do not know what they are doing, where they are now, and so on. But you still are a little bit curious. I was thinking about some of the people I knew in School and was wondering how life was treating them.

:)

Sri Krishna Jewellers: One of the older and more respected Jewellery shops in Hyderabad, based in Abids. Ofcourse, the shop next to theirs is Srikant Jewellers. :) Not my shop though!!! :(
This was the main shop for Hollywood footwear. People at one time used to swear by the variety and quality you could get here. Abids again.
Karachi bakery opposite the Mozamzahi Market

The clock tower in Mozamzahi Market.

Hyderabad's own Famous Ice Cream in Mozamzahi Market. Ask any true Hyderabadi, and they will swear by the yummy icecream you get here and at Shah ice cream a couple of shops down.

Nowadays, Rasranjani is popular. Supposedly we get only Vegetarian Ice Cream there. :)

The streets of Hyderabad on a Sunday. This is in Abids, where you can buy books at a huge discount. Lot of 2nd hand books and also new ones. If you are patient, you can own some rare ones. See those signs, any book for 10 or 20 bucks.
This is Abids GPO. You see Nehru stading there with the bird in his hand. Just in front of the bus. Ramakrishna Theatres are behind the GPO. Go left from here, you go to Koti, a sharp right takes you to Nampally Railway Station. I am not sure if we can go to Mozamzahi market from the right, as I believe it is a one way.
Abids Roads. Yeah they sell clothes also on the streets on sundays. I think they are either factory seconds or something. But you can get good branded clothes for under 100 Indian Bucks.
Books, Books, Books

Books, Books, Books. See those signs, any book 5 bucks.

Careers and growth!

Why does everyone want you to become a Manager or a C level person in an Organization? Is that the only path one can take in Life?

Every time someone asks me about my career I find myself defending the job I am doing. Indians and Chiefs are both required to get a job done. Some people remain foot soldiers, some become the Chiefs, some choose to be what they like to be. I believe that, a manager in general has way too many responsibilities and has way too many headaches. Being a regular foot soldier, (in my case specifically, a Contractor) does not make me lose out on the pay scale when compared to a Manager. It also affords me far fewer headaches than what a Manager faces, lesser responsibilities and more time to pursue what interests me more. :) Like right now, writing this….

Being in a routine job is tiresome. You always report to one person or more, stay in one town, and it slowly becomes a bore. Freelancing, on the other hand, makes you learn your subject, affords you to travel more easily, helps you escape office politics, and you are free to choose your own job. The day I start hating my client or my manager, I can just say good bye. The day I want a vacation, I can go for a vacation without thinking about the vacation time and all such things. The day I want to work more or less, I know I can do the work as needed and will be compensated as such.

So which is better? If you don’t mind the traveling, let’s free lance. :)

Barbers in India….Hajmaayee….

I have been going to this barber right from childhood. When we were children, me, my brother, and my dad, all of us used to go to this guy. He used to be only guy those days in this area I suppose. He was very popular with the adults those days. When I was a teenager, I changed loyalties and used to go to this guy nearer to our house. This was because, this new barber was nearer to our age and had all these filmi magazines lying around, and was ok with us smoking in the shop. :) This was our main reason. Filmi magazines and Smoking. Then I left for the US and then whenever I came back, still used to go back to this guy. Then for some reasons, just stopped going to this guy and went back to the original barber shop.

Now this barber from my childhood, he thinks, no, not thinks, he is convinced that we have to listen to him since he knows us from childhood. So he is the quintessential authoritative figure we keep encountering in India and all over the world. And now, his son is also a part of the business and does most of the work, with the old guy watching over him. He corrects and scolds the kid so much in front of the customers, I am now sort of afraid to go when both of them are in the shop, and the kid attending to me. I fear that, if the kid has a knife in his hand (which he does most of the time), at one idiotic moment of rage, he might just cut up the customer. And me, I love getting my shave done at a barbers’, and after the shave a light massage with the Navratna oil they all use. This is one of those things I really miss in the US. Getting a shave!! :)

And this ‘Original’ barber, the old guy, he feels he has a proprietary hold over (atleast) my hair and my beard. Today I went to get a haircut done. And the kid was attending me. I was like the first customer of the day. The dad comes in to the shop, as the kid was about to start on me. And he says, where did you get your last haircut? It is so bad. Don’t those idiots know how to properly do a haircut and so on. Come on!! What can I say? I just go to a barbers’ shop and ask for a haircut. Close my eyes and open them, and Lo and Behold it gets done. Yeah, most of them are fresh out of Barber school, but that’s the way most of the chain places are. If we are lucky, we get an experienced person, if not, a green horn, thinking if they have to use a scissors or a machine? Should they cut it a bit, a lot and so on and so forth. It did pain me getting a haircut in the beginning when I was new to US but now, I am just used to it. If it is done bad, will bear it for a few days till the hair grows back rather than argue with them.

Then the kid starts my haircut (finally!!), and after he is done a quarter, the ‘dad’ starts, this the way you do?? You are going too short? Early in the morning, still sleepy, I was really pissed. :( I was about to give him a piece of my mind, but he went off to get some tea and I was left in peace.

But still on the over all, I love going to a barber shop and getting a shave and a light massage.

Ranting about Hyderabad and kids who are not familiar with it, studies and careers!!

Yesterday, went out to buy some books in Abids. Shanti and Varun (my uncle’s kids) also accompanied me. After buying the books, I said let us go and have some ice cream. So I took them to Famous Ice cream in Mozamjahi Market and ordered Seetaphal ice cream. This is the season for Seetaphal (custard apple) and is one of my favorite fruits. That is one fruit I do not mind eating at any time. Unfortunately, I haven’t been here in the season to get to eat in the past 10 yrs or so. And Famous Ice cream is really famous and is one of Hyderabad’s landmarks for those who are familiar with it. The ice creams are hand made and you also get these seasonal fruit ice creams depending on the season. And I thought we were lucky to get Seetaphal ice cream. Santhi and Varun each took a bite and pushed away the ice cream. They did not like it. And they finally ate Butter scotch. Then from there, we went to do some more shopping and I proposed lunch. At Basheer Bagh, I told them, lets eat at this place “Oris”(I think that’s the name. Its new, but well recommended) and Varun said, no, lets go to Paradise. This was an extremely good turn. I thought they can appreciate at least some of Hyderabad delicacies. So, off we go to Paradise. We went into the AC section, and I ordered kababs and Biryani for me. And what did they order???? Butter Nan and Paneer Butter Masala. Absolute disgrace!!! There is no other easy word for it. Eating Nan and paneer at paradise. I really felt the founding fathers (ok, no founding fathers for Hyd, but atleast the people of history who have eaten at paradise before) turning in the graves.

This is so sad!! These kids were born and spent all their life around Hyderabad. Whatever be the reason, going to Paradise and eating Paneer!!! How can kids miss out on Hyderabad? Kids today, in general, do not know where Chor bazaar is, what is in Salarjung Museum, Where and what is laad bazaar, the story of Charminar, the food of Hyderabad. L So sad!! I tell them, this is Ramzan season, let us go to Madina and have Haleem and roti, and they stare at me. They do not know what is qubbani ka meetha, do not know what qubbani is, in the first place.

All they know is Hyderabad central, Prasad’s Imax, snow world. How can such a thing happen? Are the parents to blame here, for not teaching the kids about their history and the greatness of their city? Or is the school system? Or the Media?

History in general is such a neglected topic in life. Today I was telling Amrusha (one of my nieces) some stories from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata and in general history of AP. I was very glad that she was at least partly interested in those stories and asked some good questions. I never had anyone tell me any stories in my childhood. I had to read them up myself from the comics and up. Just for that reason, I always feel like I missed out on a lot when someone tells me their parents or grand parents tell them stories and so on. My parents were always behind us to study and study. I hated it so much. Why are parents in general so fixated on Math and Science? Why does everyone expect their offspring to become Engineers or Doctors? They are even ready to pay such huge fees for that. Don’t they realize that, those kids who do their Engineering and Medicine by spending so much, might actually harm the country and population more??

All these Engineers, coming out of college and they do not know even the basics of a circuit or basic conversions. It makes me so sad to see that our education system has become so skewed. God help people who go to those Doctors who have a degree but no brains. There is no awareness about other careers outside the Sciences. Why doesn’t the media create awareness about those other options available for people? Everyone wants to be a computer graduate. No one wants to invest time in research or history or even statistics for that matter.

India has already screwed up its population ratios and now it is screwing up the education system by giving college licenses to every one who applies. Norms are violated left and right. No one cares. And this is the worlds largest democracy with the most screwed up bureaucracy and even more idiotic law makers who come up with nonsensical laws. One thing they do not fail to come up with, are the salary hikes every year.

Oh my country! I weep for thou!!

Lousy politicians, lazy bureaucrats,

Greedy and corrupt,

They vie for ruining you the first.

Illiterate and an ignorant populace,

Who have a hazy idea about you and freedom,

Who do not care about you!

Oh my country!

Camouflaged by darkness,

Hunger, as bright as lightning

Ignorance, as loud as thunder.

Corruption seems like heavy rain,

And poverty is like deep floods!

Forget the past, leave today behind

Lets imagine a new future and a new beginning.

Lets look forward to that glorious future where

Its sunlight all around you and everyone is happy!!

:( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :(

OSAMA BIN LADEN DEAD

Just heard that he died. Not sure how true this is. But looks the world is finally seeing justice atleast in his death.

:)

May be the world will have a little more peace now.

I suppose the airports today are the new Railway Stations. I have been hearing about and even watched 2 or 3 movies showing the same concept, most notably The Terminal starring Tom Hanks. But, I never really believed in it.

Today I was traveling from Strasbourg to Hyderabad via Amsterdam. Amsterdam was like a regular international hub. All sorts of things in there. Got a Massage done for 30 euros. It was really great. The masseuse said it was Japanese acupressure or something like that. It was really wonderful and worthwhile. Mainly back, hands and neck. Then saw 5 Japanese guys’ playing cards. I went there and watched them. They were playing a variation of Uno I believe. Watched them for a few minutes and then went around the airport. All sort of characters in the airports. Lovers, families, friends, and so on, meeting again, leaving each other, traveling together … J

Hey! Btw, I really got screwed by the airline guys. It seems I am only allowed a baggage allowance of 20 kgs. And I had 28 kgs. They made me pay almost 400 euros for those 8 kgs, which were basically unwashed clothes. So sad. I wonder if I will get remimbursed for it. And, what do these idiots think that you can carry in a 20 kg limit? Especially on an International Flight. The governments and the big corporations of Europe are hell bent on screwing the common man here. It is so sad. Compared to the life in US, this is so expensive and bad. Life there is more luxurious and you spend your time better there.

Thankfully not one face I know on the Hyderabad flight. I thought one person looked like Kanthi but again it was not so. I wonder why I like being alone when I am traveling. I suppose even others feel that way. When others do it openly it seems snobbish, but everyone to his / her own. The flight was comparatively empty. As the flight was about to leave, the stewardess told us to sit at other places if we wanted. And, jump I did. Went to the first row for that extra leg space, but the only bad thing were the arm rests. They did not lift up. Still something was better than nothing.

Finally reached Hyderabad. It was sort of Anti Climatic. :( Not sure if that is the right word.

But everytime I came back home in the past, I always used to feel this thrill. Not sure what is happening this trip.

But life in a general way looks good. It was very good to see Rambo. Oh! How I missed him. He was not ready to let me go. I will post his picture later on.

Some Moral Dilemmas

The following is a list of some moral dilemmas, mostly adapted from Moral Reasoning, by Victor Grassian (Prentice Hall, 1981, 1992), with a couple additions. The question to consider with all of these is why they are dilemmas. Some, however, may not seem to be dilemmas at all.

1. The Overcrowded Lifeboat

   In 1842, a ship struck an iceberg and more than 30 survivors were crowded into a lifeboat intended to hold 7. As a storm threatened, it became obvious that the lifeboat would have to be lightened if anyone were to survive. The captain reasoned that the right thing to do in this situation was to force some individuals to go over the side and drown. Such an action, he reasoned, was not unjust to those thrown overboard, for they would have drowned anyway. If he did nothing, however, he would be responsible for the deaths of those whom he could have saved. Some people opposed the captain's decision. They claimed that if nothing were done and everyone died as a result, no one would be responsible for these deaths. On the other hand, if the captain attempted to save some, he could do so only by killing others and their deaths would be his responsibility; this would be worse than doing nothing and letting all die. The captain rejected this reasoning. Since the only possibility for rescue required great efforts of rowing, the captain decided that the weakest would have to be sacrificed. In this situation it would be absurd, he thought, to decide by drawing lots who should be thrown overboard. As it turned out, after days of hard rowing, the survivors were rescued and the captain was tried for his action. If you had been on the jury, how would you have decided?

2. A Father's Agonizing Choice

   You are an inmate in a concentration camp. A sadistic guard is about to hang your son who tried to escape and wants you to pull the chair from underneath him. He says that if you don't he will not only kill your son but some other innocent inmate as well. You don't have any doubt that he means what he says. What should you do?

3. Sophie's Choice, not in Grassian.

   In the novel Sophie's Choice, by William Styron (Vintage Books, 1976 -- the 1982 movie starred Meryl Streep & Kevin Kline), a Polish woman, Sophie Zawistowska, is arrested by the Nazis and sent to the Auschwitz death camp. On arrival, she is "honored" for not being a Jew by being allowed a choice: One of her children will be spared the gas chamber if she chooses which one. In an agony of indecision, as both children are being taken away, she suddenly does choose. They can take her daughter, who is younger and smaller. Sophie hopes that her older and stronger son will be better able to survive, but she loses track of him and never does learn of his fate. Did she do the right thing? Years later, haunted by the guilt of having chosen between her children, Sophie commits suicide. Should she have felt guilty?

4. The Fat Man and the Impending Doom, with parts cut out in the 2nd edition; they seem to have gotten removed to avoid unintentionally humorous overtones.

   A fat man leading a group of people out of a cave on a coast is stuck in the mouth of that cave. In a short time high tide will be upon them, and unless he is unstuck, they will all be drowned except the fat man, whose head is out of the cave. [But, fortunately, or unfortunately, someone has with him a stick of dynamite.] There seems no way to get the fat man loose without using [that] dynamite which will inevitably kill him; but if they do not use it everyone will drown. What should they do?

5. The Costly Underwater Tunnel, compare: 112 men were killed during the construction of Hoover Dam on the Nevada-Arizona border (the "official" number was 98, but others had died from causes more difficult to identify -- or easier to ignore -- like by carbon monoxide poisoning): The first was a surveyor, J.G. Tierney, who drowned on December 20, 1922, and the last was his son, Patrick Tierney, who drowned on December 20, 1935 -- 13 years to the day after his father.

   Railroad Safety
   year	billions of passenger miles	fatalities per billion passenger miles
   1890	11.8	24.2
   1900	16.0	15.5
   1910	32.3	10.0
   1920	47.4	4.8
   1930	26.9	2.3
   1939	22.7	1.8
   1943	87.9	3.2
   1950	31.8	0.6
   1970	10.8	0.07

   The working conditions in the summer down in the canyon involved temperatures hitting highs of 119^o, with lows of no less than 95^o (familiar numbers to those who have visited the cities of Needles, Blythe, or Yuma in the summer). In 1931, about the time that Hoover Dam, a federal project (with private contractors), was begun, the Empire State Building, a private project, was completed. Although the rule of thumb had been that one man would die for every story built in a skyscraper, which would have meant 120 dead for the Empire State Building, in fact only 5 men died in the whole project. By comparison, in the earlier (1908-1913) building of the Los Angeles Aqueduct by William Mulholland (d.1935), it was also the case that only 5 men died (though when Mulholland's St. Francis Dam, in Francisquito Canyon, collapsed in 1928, it killed over 500 people). The Golden Gate Bridge cost 14 lives (or 11 -- the rule of thumb there was one life for each $1,000,000 of the project, with the bridge costing $35,000.000). The Tunnel under the English Channel, built in the early 1990's, cost 11 lives. When the Gateway Arch in St. Louis was being planned, the prediction was that 15 workers would die, but none did. Similarly, though much earlier (1927-1941), no one died during the carving of Mt. Rushmore. Even with such progress over time, the John Hancock Building in Chicago (1970) cost 109 lives, or, indeed, about one per floor, as predicted for the Empire State Building. While it is usually ordinary workers who suffer in construction accidents, it isn't always, as was the case with the Brooklyn Bridge, whose designer, John Augustus Roebling, died in a ferry accident in 1869 while surveying the site. His son, Washington Roebling, suffered such a severe case of the bends, working in a pressurized caisson in 1872, that he supervised the rest of the construction crippled in bed, sending instructions through his wife, until the bridge was completed in 1883. Overall, 27 died on the Brooklyn Bridge, 3 from the bends. It was many years before it was known what to do about this condition. Workers were still suffering from the bends when the Holland Tunnel was built in the 1920's. The chief engineer of the tunnel, Clifford Milburn Holland, died suddenly in 1924, aged 41, of "exhaustion." The tunnel, opened in 1927, was then named after him. The first tunnel under the Hudson, for railroads, was begun in 1874; but construction was abandoned, restarted, and not completed until 1908. All such bridges and tunnels eliminate the need for ferry boats. Even in recent years, ferry sinkings and accidents are common, and they still result in the deaths of hundreds of people at a time.

   An underwater tunnel is being constructed despite an almost certain loss of several lives [actually, all but certain]. Presumably the expected loss is a calculated cost that society is prepared to pay for having the tunnel ["society" doesn't make any such calculation]. At a critical moment when a fitting must be lowered into place, a workman is trapped in a section of the partly laid tunnel. If it is lowered, it will surely crush the trapped workman to death. Yet, if it is not and a time consuming rescue of the workman is attempted, the tunnel will have to be abandoned and the whole project begun anew. Two workmen have already died in the project as a result of anticipated and unavoidable conditions in the building of the tunnel. What should be done? Was it a mistake to begin the tunnel in the first place? But don't we take such risks all the time?

6. Jean Valjean's Conscience, with some comments; see the 1998 movie, Les Miserables, with Liam Neeson, Uma Thurman, and Geoffrey Rush.

   In Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, the hero, Jean Valjean, is an ex-convict, living illegally under an assumed name and wanted for a robbery he committed many years ago. [Actually, no -- he is only wanted for breaking parole.] Although he will be returned to the galleys -- probably [in fact, actually] for life -- if he is caught, he is a good man who does not deserve to be punished. He has established himself in a town, becoming mayor and a public benefactor. One day, Jean learns that another man, a vagabond, has been arrested for a minor crime and identified as Jean Valjean. Jean is first tempted to remain quiet, reasoning to himself that since he had nothing to do with the false identification of this hapless vagabond, he has no obligation to save him. Perhaps this man's false identification, Jean reflects, is "an act of Providence meant to save me." Upon reflection, however, Jean judges such reasoning "monstrous and hypocritical." He now feels certain that it is his duty to reveal his identity, regardless of the disastrous personal consequences. His resolve is disturbed, however, as he reflects on the irreparable harm his return to the galleys will mean to so many people who depend upon him for their livelihood -- especially troubling in the case of a helpless woman and her small child to whom he feels a special obligation. He now reproaches himself for being too selfish, for thinking only of his own conscience and not of others. The right thing to do, he now claims to himself, is to remain quiet, to continue making money and using it to help others. The vagabond, he comforts himself, is not a worthy person, anyway. Still unconvinced and tormented by the need to decide, Jean goes to the trial and confesses. Did he do the right thing?

7. A Callous Passerby

   Roger Smith, a quite competent swimmer, is out for a leisurely stroll. During the course of his walk he passes by a deserted pier from which a teenage boy who apparently cannot swim has fallen into the water. The boy is screaming for help. Smith recognizes that there is absolutely no danger to himself if he jumps in to save the boy; he could easily succeed if he tried. Nevertheless, he chooses to ignore the boy's cries. The water is cold and he is afraid of catching a cold -- he doesn't want to get his good clothes wet either. "Why should I inconvenience myself for this kid," Smith says to himself, and passes on. Does Smith have a moral obligation to save the boy? If so, should he have a legal obligation ["Good Samaritan" laws] as well?

8. The Last Episode of Seinfeld, not in Grassian.

   The cast of Seinfeld, Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer, have a layover in a small New England town. They witness a robbery in broad daylight. The robber has his hand in his pocket, and the victim shouts that the man has a gun. As soon as the robber runs away, a policeman appears on the scene; but instead of pursuing the robber, he arrests Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer for having violated the new "Good Samaritan" law of the town. Since the four of them spent the time of the robbery making fun of the victim, who was fat, their role in the matter doesn't look good, and at their trial everyone who has ever felt wronged by them in the course of the television series testifies against them. They are convicted. Is this just? What were they supposed to do during the robbery? Should they have rushed the robber, just in case he didn't really have a gun?

9. A Poisonous Cup of Coffee, with Jane and Debbie added for the sake of gender equality.

   Tom[/Jane], hating his[/her] wife[/husband] and wanting her[/him] dead, puts poison in her[/his] coffee, thereby killing her[/him]. Joe[/Debbie] also hates his[/her] wife[/husband] and would like her[/him] dead. One day, Joe's[/Debbie's] wife[/husband] accidentally puts poison in her[/his] coffee, thinking it's cream. Joe[/Debbie] has the antidote, but he[/she] does not give it to her[/him]. Knowing that he[/she] is the only one who can save her[/him], he[/she] lets her[/him] die. Is Joe's[/Debbie's] failure to act as bad as Tom's[/Jane's] action?

10. The Torture of the Mad Bomber. cf. Clint Eastwood's movie, Dirty Harry. Now, however, after 9/11/01, we have the case of terrorist suspects who may know of planned operations that could cost the lives of thousands. The otherwise four-square civil libertarian and Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz has actually suggested legalized torture to deal with such people.

    A madman who has threatened to explode several bombs in crowded areas has been apprehended. Unfortunately, he has already planted the bombs and they are scheduled to go off in a short time. It is possible that hundreds of people may die. The authorities cannot make him divulge the location of the bombs by conventional methods. He refuses to say anything and requests a lawyer to protect his fifth amendment right against self-incrimination. In exasperation, some high level official suggests torture. This would be illegal, of course, but the official thinks that it is nevertheless the right thing to do in this desperate situation. Do you agree? If you do, would it also be morally justifiable to torture the mad bomber's innocent wife if that is the only way to make him talk? Why?

11. The Principle of Psychiatric Confidentiality, cf. the 1997 movie, Devil's Advocate, and the 1993 movie, The Firm, on confidentiality between lawyers and clients.

    You are a psychiatrist and your patient has just confided to you that he intends to kill a woman. You're inclined to dismiss the threat as idle, but you aren't sure. Should you report the threat to the police and the woman or should you remain silent as the principle of confidentiality between psychiatrist and patient demands? Should there be a law that compels you to report such threats?

12. The Partiality of Friendship

    Jim has the responsibility of filling a position in his firm. His friend Paul has applied and is qualified, but someone else seems even more qualified. Jim wants to give the job to Paul, but he feels guilty, believing that he ought to be impartial. That's the essence of morality, he initially tells himself. This belief is, however, rejected, as Jim resolves that friendship has a moral importance that permits, and perhaps even requires, partiality in some circumstances. So he gives the job to Paul. Was he right?

13. The Value of a Promise, Compare with the role of David Cash in the murder of Sherrice Iverson by Jeremy Strohmeyer.

    A friend confides to you that he has committed a particular crime and you promise never to tell. Discovering that an innocent person has been accused of the crime, you plead with your friend to give himself up. He refuses and reminds you of your promise. What should you do? In general, under what conditions should promises be broken?

14. The Perjured President, not in Grassian.

    A long time Governor of a Southern State is elected President of the United States on a platform that includes strong support for laws against sexual harassment. After he is in office, it comes out that he may have used State Troopers, on duty to protect him as Governor, to pick up women for him. One of the women named in the national press stories as having been brought to the Governor for sex felt defamed because she had actually rebuffed his crude advances, even though he had said that he knew her boss -- she was a State employee. She decides to clear her name by suing the now President for sexual harassment. The Supreme Court allows the suit to proceed against the sitting President. Because the sexual harassment laws have been recently expanded, with the President's agreement, to allow testimony about the history of sexual conduct of the accused harasser, the President is questioned under oath about rumors of an affair with a young White House intern. He strongly denies that any sexual relationship had ever taken place, and professes not to remember if he was even ever alone with the intern. Later, incontrovertible evidence is introduced -- the President's own semen on the intern's dress -- that establishes the existence of the rumored sexual relationship. The President then finally admits only to an ambiguous "improper relationship." So the question is: Is it hypocritical of the President and his supporters to continued to support the sexual harassment and perjury laws if they do not want him to be subject to the ordinary penalties for breaking them?

The above article can be read at http://www.friesian.com/valley/dilemmas.htm

Copyright (c) 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005,2006 Kelley L. Ross, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved

My favorite place in the world.

Each time I am there, my mind is at perfect peace. :)

Whoever took this wonderful photo, thank you!!

Vaise bhi itnaa gham .........

This is posted as a jpg file. Click on it and zoom to read more clearly. This is in Hindi.

రేపు నేను ఇన్డియా వెల్తున్నాను. మదిలో ఎన్నో ఆలోచనలు, ఎందుకో కొద్దిగా గాబరాగ వుంది. వచ్చే సంవత్సరం చేయవలసిన పనులన్నిటికీ ఈ ట్రిప్ లో పునాది వేయాలి.

ఈ ట్రిప్ లో ఎవరిసోసము ఏమీ తీసుకువెల్లట్లేదు. శనివారం అశోక్ కలుస్తాను అన్నడు. కశ్యప్ ఈ వీకెండ్ అత్తారింటికి వెల్తున్నాడు. సో వాడిని సొమవారం నాడే కలవడం కుదురుతున్ది. కల్యాణ్, బాబు తో కూర్చుని #Dying Traditional Art Forms# కోసం కావలసిన విషయాలు చర్చించి, పూర్వపు #governmental policies and benificieries# గురించి #Right to Information# కిందా సమాచారం సేకరించాలి.

Muppvarapu Murali Mohan


Everytime I think about Karna, one person who comes to my mind is Muppvarapu Murali Mohan.
He is a friend from my Inter days in Vijayawada. He is driven by the sense of morality derived from the life of Karna (as shown in DVS Karna). Murali is a huge fan of NTR (the original one), is committed to Kammas, and so on. A typical hard core Vijayawada resident.

I once had a fight going on with another of my classmates for some time. This slowly got escalated and was almost creating trouble at the highest levels known to us those days. At one such time, Murali intervened on my behalf a resoved a very big row. Afterwards, he told me, Even though the argument/fight started justly, at that moment of time, I was in the wrong. He still supported me because I was a friend and my cause did not matter.

That day has passed and so many after that. I think about it a lot of times. I have even faced situations where I was in Murali's position. But the question still remains, were Murali's actions justified? Is that the way we should be?

That is a huge question for me always hanging over me.

Even though I have tried to emulate the same path, it has created a lot of sleepless nights for me. I have never fully justified my actions myself.

BTW, Murali today I believe still thinks the same way. He is now a citizen of Australia and lives a sucessful life in Sydney with his family.

Karna....

Growning up Karna was an idol to me. He still is a great character and gets a lot of respect from me.
One view of Karna can be that he may be your self sacrificing kind of guy, who knows his limitations, but tries to achieve personal fame through his deeds and actions. He might be selfish in this aspect. His aim was for eternal fame. :) (Atleast that is what I think, my personal opinion)
He is simply a very interesting Psychological study.

Karna did not suffer much different than a lot of other people either in his time or later times. That is not an excuse provided by him either. People assume it to be his excuse. That is all.
Karna knows he is not on the side of Dharma but still elects to honor his friendship with Suyodhana rather than jump the ship when it was sinking. He is honored and respected because of his decision to continue with Duryodhana. He elects to be a normal human being by giving up a lot of his god given advantages.

You also see that his conduct on the battlefield is beyond reproach. The moment he becomes the commander, he follows the dharma correctly and does not continue war after sunset. If you point out Abhibanyu’s death, karna attacks him in the beginning and breaks his bow and then just watches the killing. You also need to understand that he was under the command of Drona and had to follow orders.

Do you think Karna does not know he would die in the battle? He knows that his last fight with Arjuna would be the most crucial moment in his life. And he knows that his perceptor has cursed him to lose all knowledge of weaponry at the most crucial moment in his life. Karna, assuming that he is a person of normal intelligence atleast, can equate both.

From Pradip Bhattacharya's work:

For Karna, the fact of his inferior birth is a poison eating into his soul and impelling him to acts of incredible prowess. He conquers single-handed for Duryodhana all the territories that the four Pandavas had won for Yud’s Rajasuya Yajna. Once he even worsted the mighty Jarasandha, who gifted him the town of Malini in appreciation. For the same reason he took the vow of never refusing a mendicant, and thereby knowingly deprived himself of his invulnerability and his benefactor Duryodhana of sure victory.
It is karna’s inflexible determination to stick to his word, whatever the consequences, which leads to doom. It is of him that Yudhishthira is the most apprehensive. Krishna sets much store by Karna, Knowing that if he stands aside Duryodhana would not dare go to war. On more than one occasion Krishna tries to persuade Karna to join the Pandavas.
Unfortunately, Vyasa does not tell us of the inner workings of Karna’s mind and heart.
Karna, is a man divided against himself, yet undoubtedly noble in his silence about his mother’s secret and wise in his judgement. For, he tells Krishna not to reveal the secret to Yudhishthira who will invariably offer the kingdom to him and he will inexorably hand it over to Duryodhana. All his tremendous power has throughout been put in the service of adharma because of his profound sense of a lacerated ego.
Here is a hero who knows, that he is on the side of wrong, but is a slave of his word and will not shift to support what he knows to be the right. His greatness as a man shines radiantly in the fact that while he knows that he is battling his blood brothers, and is promise-bound not to slay them, they are all eager to kill this charioteer’s son! His slicing off the skin-armour and flesh earrings is an external symbol of the inner splitting-in-two of his very psyche. One part of him knows that Duryodhana’s plans are evil. This part in Karna is all that is admirable in a human being.

My Favourite Poem:

Abu Ben Adam - James Henry Leigh Hunt

•Abu Ben Adam (may his tribe increase)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace
And saw, within the moonlight of his room
Making it rich, like a lily in bloom
An angel writing in a book of gold.
Exceeding peace had made Abu Ben Adam bold
And to the presence in his room he said
'What writest thou?'
The vision raised its head
And with a look of all sweet accord
Answered: 'The names of those who love the Lord
'And is mine one?' said Abu.
'Nay not so' Replied the Angel:
Abu spoke more low
But cheerily still and said 'I pray thee then
Write me as one that loves his fellow-men'
The angel wrote and vanished. The next night
It came again with awaking light
And showed the names of whom love of God had blessed.
And lo! Ben Adam's name led all the rest.

This was a poem I read in I think 5th class in the English Text book. And since then it has always lurked in the back of my mind somewhere. Some of my actions, not some a lot actually, may have violated the essence of this poem, but since college, and since I have started earning, I believe I have respected the values in life and beleive in this poem more and more

Finally, going to India this weekend for a week.
This new jobs allows me to work offsite for a week once every 4 weeks. I have opted to travel to India instead of going back to the US.

This is very exciting! Just wondering at what I should shop and for whom!!
Just remember the idiotic expense my first France to India trip was in '98! $5k and still noone was happy. The luggage restriction is idiotic. What will I carry in 20kgs??

But it is still exciting. I have become a member of this online networking site courtesy of Triparna and it has been very useful.

Learnt so much History and Mythology. And, met a lot of people online who are also into Rural Development and so on. My life seems to be so small and insignificant compared to others knowledge, experience and goals.

:) Well, lets see what happens. If everything goes according to plan, I will be doing volutary work atleast for a few months starting in 3 months. And jobs in Europe seem to be good. Maybe I can get jobs here and travel to India regularly.

Strasbourg, France:

I am now working in Strasbourg, France. Interesting work, staying in an Apart Hotel. Not bad actually. Can travel a lot and see Europe all over again. Have been checking out some Museums also.
Strasbourg is in the Alsace region and is right on the Rhine River and borders France. This place has been under French/Prussian domination during the course of its history. The oldest building here is from the 13^th century, and I suppose still functional. I am not sure about that but, there is an ice cream shop on the ground floor.

Musee Alsacien:

This is a museum of folk art and very small. It basically shows the Alsatian way of life with its regional traditions, designs, etc. The display included farming instruments, household and kitchen goods, costumes, furniture, paintings, wooden masks, and other mementoes belonging to different communities of Strasbourg.

This was located in 3 very old buildings which themselves are I suppose relics and worth a visit. The building is from the 14^th or 15^th century. I am not sure.

It is not a real big museum but more to attract the tourist population who visit Strasbourg. It was well laid out and logically takes the user around. Depicts Farm, household life, entertainment/hobbies, craft, industry and so on. One difficult thing in Strasbourg is the language. Not knowing French is a huge negative here and makes life very difficult.

Musee Archeologique:

This museum is actually in the basement of the Rohan palace and it was the most interesting for me. It actually depicts the course of Alsatian History from Prehistory to 800 AD. It is an archeological museum and depicts Sculptures of the Bronze and Iron Ages with their arms, jewelry, decorated pottery, religious sculptures, frescoes, objects of everyday life in medieval Alsace and collection of glass objects.

Musee Des Arts Decoratifs:

The museum is divided into two parts – one is representing the apartments of cardinal Rohan and the other offers a collection of decorative artifacts dating from 16th century. The apartments show the beautiful ceilings, tapestries, and other décor. Also some busts and huge paintings. Antique furnishings, (actually a huge collection), porcelain, ceramics and so on. There were also clocks from 14^th century onwards and mechanical toys of the early 20^th century.

Musee des Beaux-Arts:

This is also in the Palace Rohan and house a very good collection of European paintings from the Middle Ages to 1870. The periods it covers are: Primitive Italian and Flemish works, Renaissance and Manierism, Baroque, Realism and Classicism in the 17^th -19^th centuries.

I am not at all familiar with art, but some of the names I did recognize are Goya, Boticelli and Rapheal.

Palace Rohan was built between 1732 and '42 as a residence for the Prince Bishop and was auctioned as a National Property in 1791, it was used as a Town Hall during the Revolution. In 1805, it was refurbished and used as an imperial palace by Napoleon. It was again restored and now houses three museums in it. Musee Archeologique in the basement, Musee Des Arts Decoratifs-1^st floor and Musee des Beaux-Arts-2^nd floor.

I did like this museum and will go back there to speak with the Curator and ask him questions. I first need to come up with what I want to ask though!!

But it was a good tour.

Again a Long long time I know!
Need to become more organized in life.

Well I saw Rang De Basanti the day it was released. It was a good movie. The acting was good, the story was good, the songs were good, the presentation was good, so on and so forth.

The best thing though was that, this movie introduced me to Ram Prasad Bismil and his poetry. He was an Indian Freedom Fighter and the leader who planned the Kakori Rail Dacoity episode. His peotry is also a lamp lighted at the altar of the Motherland.

The picture on this blog is his poem "Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna".

Reading it was so wonderful. It rekindled in me the love for Urdu Poetry, sher / shayar, etc. I also finally completed my "Yadon bhi Aisi" by putting it into hindi fonts.

On the personal front, well, now I am working in St. Louis, MO.
Colleagues are ok, having some fun. And, Anil Yalamanchili is also here. Now, he and me share an apartment again. (Anil and me were room mates back in 1999 in Virginia when we were working at American Red Cross. That was where Teki and Karthi were also our room mates and that is where I initially met Anil Bagade.)

New Year was at San Diego, Sankranti was at Connecticut, Christmas (don't remember).

Well, Finally went into partnership with The Raya Brothers in Dallas. One good thing done in life.

Went to the casino's here around 4 times in the last 1 week. Lost big. :)

Lekin, as they say,

muddaii lakh buraa chaahe to kya hota hai,
vahi hota hai jo manzoor-e-khuda hota hai!!

muddaii = Anyone in general, a person.

Otherwise life is pretty routine. Nothing much going on.

What is it about Government Offices and lazy employees?

I have been to so many government offices in at least 4 countries and one thing common in all of them is laziness!

Is there any rule, which says, if you become a government employee, you have the right to become lazy and do whatever you want at work?

Today I was at a government office in Chicago on a small work. The actual time to complete the job, 5 minutes. The time I lost waiting for the job to get done, Priceless (3 Hrs). It was at such a snails pace, you can never imagine! One part gets done, talk with your colleague, go to the restroom, have a snack, attend you phone, then continue you work, and so on. It’s a robbery going on in all these government offices at the taxpayer’s expense. These labor rules should not protect the lazy people!

In contrast, I went to meet a few friends who work on an hourly basis in a factory, which makes credit cards. Owned by an Indian, employs I am told around 2000-3000 Indians who are fresh off the boat, working at minimum wages.

This guys forces the employees to take sick and vacation days, whenever there is no work. Forces the people to work 20 hrs a day when there is work. No regular timings. The timings are given the same day or the day before. SO, now the employees cannot even take on a second job, because of irregular timings and make like $400 buck overall for a whole F****** month! What is this?

Is this legal?????
Can you exploit your employees like that?
Is there any way out for these 3000 people? They should be allowed to have a better opportunity. This is not the way America should be run!!

Long time, I know.

Whats has been happening these past 2 months?

I was in California working on a small gig. It was a good trip. Enjoyed it a lot, but also am suffering for it.

Have a lot of friends there. So, had a lot of food. Though most of the time I was at Teki’s house, harassing them to feed me on and on. They must now be heaving a big sigh, now that I am gone. :)

Also, the Indian and Pakistani restaurants there are way too many. Tried out all the restaurants in the Bay Area. And the winner is Shaan Restaurant on Lawrence and Stevens Creek Blvd???

I did try out the other good ones like Kabab and Curry in San Jose , Pakhwan’s in Fremont, Shalimar in Fremont, and so on. But believe me the food at Shaan was the best.

Had some good fun there. Aquired some good songs from Pawel and yes! Thanx to Kanna Babu. That guy is a treasure trove for songs.

Finally met Madhukar after hearing about him for so many years. Good guy.

Went out to San Diego a couple of times, and yes, also went to Tijuana. That place is like heaven. So cheap and so good! You would not believe it, until you have seen it. I somehow feel closer to home when I am there.

Life has been pretty good lately.

Have been communicating via with a girl named in Hyderabad. Originally from Mumbai, but right now working in Hyderabad. You would not believe it, but she is so alike me. The first girl I have ever talked to, who watches moves of all kinds and languages, sucker for old songs (though she is a fan of Kishore da, rather than Rafi Saab), likes historical places, likes reading, talks good, and so on and so forth. Her profile does sound true, she seems to be awesome! Well one more good friend added to the list.


I talked to Pawel and asked for some suggestions about my course of action in life. :) Now he took me on one of his Berkley walks (which by the way is beautiful) and we had a good talk.
Then I heed his advice and lo and behold! Everything goes well!

Ok, back to California news.

Now I really am stupid. Bad planning and no structure.

I took Teki, Geeta and Abhi out on 3-4 trips.

Gilroy and Santa Cruz went well.

Drove them to San Fransisco downtown and crazy me, was not sure where I was going. Took them round and round, showing them nothing useful.

The next and more painful one was to Marin County.
To put it simply, Got lost in hell.
So sad. Poor Abhi was struggling so much, he vomited his food and we had to turn back without going to the light house (which was the original plan).

Geeta and Teki were most probably pissed off. But being good people, did not say a word.

Thanx to them had a lot of great food during my visit there.

I used to have a professor in college. He used to says "Orey, asalu jeevitamlo #enjoyment# anTe aemiTo telusaa? saayam sandhya vaela, krishnaa nadi teeraana, maaanchi #cigarette# veliginchi, #Krishna Sastry# PaaTalu vinatamu. ade raa #enjoyment# anTe!"
:) This picture is to honor him as I truly believe that what he said is 100% true. Will I ever have that freedom of thought and expression?? Can I enjoy life like that? I hope someday I can tell that I did enjoy life as it should have been. :)

WHAT IF................................

There was an article I read a few months back or a few years back in The Outlook or in The Week (Indian Magazines) and it was pretty engrossing by talking about some What If scenarios in the context of India. I saved this article and below are the topics covered. If anyone is interested, email me and I will send you the copy.

What If India Were Really To "Shine"?

What If Netaji Came Back?

What If Indira Gandhi Had Not Declared Emergency?

What If We Were Together?

What If India Hadn't Been Partitioned?

What If Patel Was PM?

What If Gandhi Had Lived On?

What If Godse's Bullets Had Missed Gandhi?

What If The South Had Seceded?

What If India Had Won The War Against China?

What If Shastri Hadn't Died Suddenly In Tashkent?

What If We Had Embraced America?

What If Ambedkar Had Converted Earlier?

What If We Had A Uniform Civil Code?

What If 'Hum Do, Hamare Do' Had Worked?

What If Reforms Had Taken Off Years Earlier?

What If There Was No Operation Bluestar?

What If Rajiv Hadn't Caved In To The Zealots?

What If Reservations Had Come To An End In ?

What If Indira was not the PM?

What If Sanjay Gandhi Had Survived The Air Crash?

What If Advani, Not Vajpayee, Had Been PM?

What If Medha Patkar Hadn't Gone To Narmada?

What If Pather Panchali Hadn't Been Made?

What If Lata Had A Rival?

What If Steve Jobs Had Stayed Back In Benares?

What If AB Wasn’t ‘Inspector Vijay’?

What If Sushmita Weren’t Ms Universe?

What If Salman Rushdie Had Continued To Be A Copywriter?

What If Indira Gandhi Had Not Sent Maneka Out?

What If Sachin Hadn’t Arrived?

What If Bal Thackeray Had Remained A Full-Time Cartoonist?

What If AR Rahman Hadn’t Done Bombay Dreams?

What If Yoga Hadn’t Taken Off?

What If The IT Revolution Hadn't Taken Place?

What If Amjad Khan Had Been Rejected For Gabbar's Role In Sholay?