Observations from eyes, ears and a heart

Bombay !

2012-02-02T19:24:00.004+05:30

Standing at a vantage point in life, when i am able to neatly bisect my years into almost equal halves, i find myself back to where phase-II of the journey began.

The 24th of October, 1995.

Just yesterday.

The Bhagalpur-Kurla Express logs in to Kurla station on the day of the last total solar eclipse of the (20th) century and deposits me into Bombay as part of the engineering course technical tour.

That is the time, starting with all that Bombay had to offer to a young student tourist, when a whole new world of places, of people, of experiences opened up.

More significantly, it opened up the mind.

Expanded the notions of possibility.

It was like the whiff of fresh air you experience when you watch this song from the (then) blockbuster Bollywood movie, shot at Kurla station, with a board christening it Vasco da Gama (Goa station).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbQ2F2Wosps

Which other place could have helped me embark on that journey better than Bombay.

Today, as i spend my first relaxed evening in Bombay after decades, i can't but help reflect on the years since that day my train came to Kurla.

The journey from then on has involved a host of people, places and experiences.

Has almost changed me almost completely as a person.

From a shy introvert. From a theoretical idealist. From being judgmental. From a finicky traveler. From being someone with fixated notions.

Seems like big stuff.

Yet, there was nothing exceptional which had happened in that October 1995 trip to Bombay. I went to the Gateway of India. Did a catamaran tour. Went to Taj Mahal Hotel and had the most expensive coffee of my life at Rs. 55. Went to the museum. To the boot house. Toured the aquarium. Juhu. Purchased my first (and last) Nike shoe for Rs 125 at Fashion street (its original, the shopkeeper had told me...i still have no reason to disbelieve). Extensively traveled on the bombay local trains. In doing all that, though, there was a never experienced feeling of being liberated. Of being free. Sans everything. Of having a certain sense of audaciousness. Which, probably, led me to dropping that game changing picture postcard* from a letter-box close to Flora Fountain.

From then on, action has been quite non stop: across countries, across hemi-speheres.

Today, after so many years, and on my nth visit to Bombay, watching all the buzz and energy of its inhabitants around me (despite the numerous challenges that dog them) , i once again get that compelling feeling of possibility. That anything can happen. That lots can be done. That the world continues to be a nice place, inhabited by nice people.

And there is once again an empty canvas in front of me.

I feel good.

Bas itna sa khwab hai.

2012-01-22T03:17:00.001+05:30

Jaadoo ji

2012-01-09T22:09:00.001+05:30

Sudoku with grand pa

2011-12-30T22:46:00.001+05:30

Gandhi ji and his 3 monkeys

2011-12-28T10:24:00.001+05:30

Moon at the crack of dawn, over bombay skies

2011-12-12T07:25:00.001+05:30

Is it jaadoo, is it Munu ?

2011-12-10T12:52:00.000+05:30

Jaadoo with Teddy

2011-12-06T22:27:00.001+05:30

Jaadoo at a telugu wedding, today !

2011-12-04T12:57:00.001+05:30

Jaadoo starts writing his first book. Bon voyage

2011-11-28T21:23:00.001+05:30

A different India

2011-11-22T00:54:00.002+05:30

I am at CP (Connaught Place) , almost the centre of the city.
The only difference from the obvious is that this is not Delhi. This is Aurangabad.
I believe that this is an India which i was an integral part of some years ago.
I had my paani puri and bhel, strolled around CP.
Remnants of a rather laidback life, as seen in the Hyderabad of a decade (s) ago, abound. A more worthwhile comparison would be with the Jamalpur of the 1990s, or the Asansol / Burdwan of the early 2000s.

Slowly, the clock begins to move on a fast forward. Someone says this is the fastest growing city in India. In a couple of hours, i am informed that this is the places cars like Audi, Skoda and Volkswagen are manufactured. Some more helpful folks inform me that Aurangabad was in the news some time ago for placing single largest order for Mercedes Benz cars in a single transaction in India — 150 Mercedes Benz cars worth INR 65 crore (USD 13 Million). Without a local Mercedes-Benz showroom and encountering indifferent Mercedes-Benz dealers in the nearest cities of Pune and Bombay, a group of successful citizens pooled their orders and negotiated a record agreement with the firm - directly.
Dinner is at a restaurant called 'Flame n Grill' in a mall called Prozone; a huge mall with the usual suspects.
My host informs me that there is nothing better than a betel leaf (Pan in India) to top up the food with. We drive over to the Tara Pan Centre, in a locality called OsmanPura. The shop specializes in Pans of different kinds, and evolved from a tyre puncture shop by the same name, Tara, in the early 1970s. The shop offers all varieties of Pans, starting from the Kohinoor Pan to the HOneymoon pan to other kinds of flavours like chocolate. Prices can vary too; from Rs 3000 (USD 60) per pan to Rs 10 (USD 0.2). The top two varieties, the Kohinoor and the Honeymoon, are believed to have aphrodasiac properties. The shop is an iconic landmark, to the extent that a local management college even has a case study on it. 'An overview of the management practices at Tara pan Center', by Wisdome institure of management studies, is the title of the case study. It is also available on the internet.

Bharat and India come to life. And in a manner that is Wow !
The tradition of the Pan. Bharat.
The commercialization of education in an MBA course. India.
India does a case study on Bharat.
I'm lovin it.
Viva, Aur-Rang-Abad (town with more colours) !

Friends. Jaadoo, Anish, Dhruv !

2011-11-19T21:09:00.001+05:30

A new saga of friendship begins ! Anish birthday, jaadoo's best friend

2011-11-19T19:50:00.000+05:30

Meeting jaadoo after two weeks !

2011-11-06T14:07:00.001+05:30

Senna

2011-10-31T03:41:00.004+05:30

Watched a movie on a flight after a long time last week. The cover of the movie guide enticed me into it. The movie was 'Senna', a documentary on the life of Aryton Senna, the Brazilian F-1 champion. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1424432/
When i lived in Brazil, i used to hear a lot of people say how they loved Senna. I could never really understand why, afterall he had been dead for almost 15 years then. Yes sure, Senna was a three time world champion, incredibly good looking, and Brazilian. Some people speculated about his being gay; most others said they cared two hoots about it; in short, Senna was worshiped, almost as God.
The movie gave a perspective , and also enhanced my understanding about the way he gave a lot of pride and joy to Brazilians. This was late 80s, early 90s. Almost everything that could be wrond with a country was wrong with Brazil. Commonly used words to describe the country were Unemployment, hyper inflation, rogue government and corruption.
And worse, they had not won the Football world cup for two decades.
Senna, through his heroics on the F-1 track, and through his proud display of partiotism, was just the hero that Brazil was looking for.

Even after being the world champion, Senna had not won the Brazilian Grand prix. The way he drove, despite a technical fault in his car, battling severe pain and cramps, through the sheer power of will, to win at Sao Paulo was one of the most emotional moments i have seen in any sport. Everyone at the track, from the supposed-to-be-neutral support staff to the team technicains, was hugging each other when Aryton crossed the finish line. It was more than a race. More than a Grand Prix. It was an event which reaffirmed Brazil's faith in itself. In its ability to overcome the limitations imposed upon itself by others.

Senna fought for the things he felt close to his heart. Very high on that list was the concern he had for the safety of F-1 drivers. The tension on his face, when he was about to start off on what turned out to be the last race of his life, almost reflected an inevitable, forebearing sense of destiny. Senna died in May 1994, and all of Brazil plunged into despair. The roads from Guarulhous International Airport were all choked with teary eyed, shell shocked Brazilians as his coffin was driven through. People cramped for any available space that would give them a last glimpse of the hero, who had provided them with joy and a sense of pride in being Brazilian.
Perhaps, it was the Senna effect which then inspired Brazil to win its first football world cup in 24 years a few months later. And perhaps it was also the Senna effect which brought together a disparate nation to start taking concrete steps to rebuild itself. To move away from being a country of the future that it was always destined to be to a country whose time had come.

Thank you Asif Kapadia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asif_Kapadia ) for bringing Senna's story alive

Pharmaceuticals and our weakness as a nation

2011-10-30T04:54:00.001+05:30

For the last few days, I have been in Frankfurt, Germany. This is where i write this from. I am here for work, to attend a pharmaceutical conference cum exhibition ( called CPhI ) which was on this week.

This week, the one which just went by, was also the week when two of the most important festivals in India, Diwali and Bhaiya Dooj, were on.

While most of India was in the festive mood, about 50 people from my company, and thousands of Indians from other, were slugging it out at Frankfurt Messe, dragging their laptop trolleys through the labyrinth of halls, trying to showcase how they were cheaper than the other Indian or Chinese, and how they never compromised on the quality of products.

Indians constitute a substantial % of people attending this fair. Indian companies have been at the forefront of efforts in increasing affordability and access to medicine. They have brought the cost of AIDS therapy through generic Anti Retero virals from USD 50 per patient per day to less than USD 1 per patient per day. The Indian generic industry is one of the most cost effective in the world.

Yet, the guys behind the most important fair in the industry decide that it is 26th of October 2011. So what if it is Diwali Day. So what if for 30% , or more of the participants, this is the most important festival in the year. The time when everyone wishes to be with their family.

And what of the Indian response.
Some minor rumblings. A few companies pull out. Organizers say nothing doing. Dates are dates- they are cast in stone. And what happens: most of the Indians turn up. Indian companies' stalls become bigger and better. And bolder.

That is where the boldness stops.

And our weakness as a nation comes to the fore. Unable to take a stand. Not decisive.
It begins with me.
For all my rhetoric in conversations with whosoever i met, for all my sentences here in this blog, i was amongst the thousands of Indians slogging it out.
On the day most important for my family and friends.

Because we are, generally speaking, spineless. We succumb. We are unable to stand up for ourselves. This would have never happened with people from another country. Let us say, for example, had this event been on Christmas day; how many people from Europe would have participated ?

The optimist in me says this is a sign of India's coming of age in the world economic order. Of not letting minor blips like a festival come in the way of growing business. Of improving partnerships with other companies. Of growing Indian exports.

I can't stay amused with that rationale, though.

And the sadness of missing out on Diwali and Bhaiya dooj lingers on.

Karwa chauth

2011-10-15T19:11:00.001+05:30

Hyderabad's multi cultural ethos on display, with burqua clad artists applying henna and giving the choice of Arabic and marwari designs

2011-10-14T21:24:00.001+05:30

early morning flight, sunrise view, time to update facebook status

2011-10-12T08:17:00.001+05:30

Mani and Vaibhav at Jaadoo's age

2011-10-02T17:51:00.001+05:30

Face off, dinosaurs of the past and aliens of the future : jaadoo's armies !

2011-10-02T11:47:00.000+05:30

Jaadoo da vinci's latest drawing canvas. His legs !

2011-09-24T23:12:00.000+05:30

Door art by jaadoo da Vinci

2011-09-18T14:27:00.001+05:30

Reaching for the sky !

2011-09-04T17:44:00.001+05:30

Teachers day by jaadoo

2011-09-04T13:39:00.000+05:30

A medley of greeting cards prepared by jaadoo for his teachers; present and
past.
Thank you, Madhavi ma'm, Maria ma'm, Kalyani ma'm, Ayesha ma'm, miraj ma'm,
asma ma'm, sahbia ma'm, anees ma'm, das sir.
You mean a lot.
Thank you, on india's teachers day, 5th September 2011

The spirit of hyderabad, and india. Jaadoo and his greeting card at school !

2011-08-30T22:27:00.001+05:30

Delta and the art of making airplanes faster than a bus (25th July 2011)

2011-08-15T04:56:00.007+05:30

25th July 2011
Today is the third time i travelled by Delta Airlines on the New York - Pittsburgh route.
The perennial optimist in me had thought that after the disasters of last two occasions, the law of averages would finally catch with the airline and prevent it from messing it up again.
Before i get on to today, let me narrate the experiences of the last couple of times-

Its a hot May day, and i have just landed in New York from the other side of the world. Rush from one terminal to another, to land up finally in Terminal 3, from where my flight is scheduled to depart at 16:30 hrs (4.30 PM). After being in a long queue to clear the security and other formalities, i am inside the terminal at 3.40; heaving a sigh of relief at having made it.

On time- Gate 23 announces the board, and i am there in a few minutes. I ask the lady at the boarding gate about my flight. We should be boarding in 20 minutes, she says.
All is good. I get an ice tea. Ordered through an i-pad, where the restaurant at Terminal 3 has i-pads installed on every seat, wherein you choose and order.
Ice tea consumed.
Soon, it is 4 Pm. Nothing happens.
Some other flight's departure is announced from Gate 23. It is to Boston.
Board changes departure of my flight now to 5.30.
The lady says boarding will not start at 5.
I stroll. Look around the place. People. This doesn't look like an airport. Is more like a bus stand. No chairs to sit. Chaotic announcements. The bazaar feel.
It is 5. No announcement.
It is 5.30. Nothing again.
5.40, board now shows departure time as 6.30. Boarding to be at 6.
It is 6.15, nothing happens. The airline announces the crew has arrived, boarding will commence in 5 minutes.
At 6.40, boarding starts.
Finally....
It is a small plane, i think a 54 seater. Passengers are all on board by 7.
Captain apologizes for the delay. Procedures efficiently done.
It seems we are now ready to pushback, when the captain announces there seems to be a problem with the Auxillary equipment, and in the 'interest of safety', we have to wait longer.
About 20 minutes later, he says we are done and should be on our way.
We push back, all heave a sigh of relief.

We join in the queue of about a dozen aircraft waiting to take off.
As we are slowly nudging our way forward in the queue, captain announces that he has received a weather update about storms in Pittsburgh and in the region. Saying this, he says we will have to return to the airport. We head back to airport. Same place. Gate 23. People manning the gate smile at us. As if to say, "idiots, back again".

As we trudge back into the terminal, i check the internet for other flights to Pittsburgh. It shows Jetblue. Flight departing in another 45 minutes from JFK.
I rush to the Delta guys and confront them. "Is the weather any different for the other airline"
The response stumps me, "Sir, we cannot comment on their standards of safety".
I don't have an answer to carry this argument further.

So what now, ask scores of passengers from our flight.

Delta says the next flight on which they can put us on to Pittsburgh will be 'day after tomorrow', as no more flights to Pittsburgh today, and 'tomorrow' all flights are full because of the upcoming long weekend.

There has to be a way out.

A group of Passengers, me included, raise our voices.

Had this been India,there might have been slogan shouting like 'Air India Hai Hai, Air India shame on you', what i had witnessed at Delhi's swanky T3 terminal a few months ago. when a group of harassed passengers, coming all the way from Toronto, had to wait 11 hours for their connecting flight in what was supposed to be a 90 minute wait connection.

But here, at JFK, i was also a little worried about protesting too much, lest my looks, which resemble, to quite an extent, people from a neighbouring country, land me in unrelated trouble.

However, i do make a polite suggestion- manage to send people to Pittsburgh, either by connecting through some other destination, or through some other mode of transport like rail or road.

Finally, it seems a solution is reached. Delta says we will get a bus to ferry the passengers to Pittsburgh. Eight hours would be the journey time, someone informs me.

Huff !
But we have a solution.

About 45 minutes later, no sign of the bus.

Then, almost an hour and half from then, we are told that the bus could not be arranged. So, instead, they have got a fleet of taxis, to move in a caravan to Pittsburgh.

It is about 1 in the night. The passengers fill up a fleet of taxis. I pity the drivers too. SOme of them appear to have been woken out of their sleep.

Each taxi has 4 or 5 passengers on it, depending on the type of vehicle.
A helpful co-passenger in the taxi i am in asks the driver to have a coffee before we start off.

We are on our way.
Finally.

When i speak to my wife on the way, she says, "oh- it might be a good way to see the american countryside".
"Babu, it is 1.30 in the night here, i inform her". But i admire her positive intentions.

The driver is a guy from Guyana, and his name is Ravi. No, he does not know any Hindi, but he is a great driver.

And Delta Airlines, manages to put me in Pittsburgh at quarter to 10 (AM), my course begins at 10.
Thereafter is the familiar hustle bustle last minute rush, but make it......at the stroke of the 10th hour.

Thank you, Delta.

----------------------------------

The next time is about a month later; this time again, i am booked on Delta Airlines from JFK New York to Pittsburgh.
I was conscious to book an earlier flight this time, lest a problem similar to last time occur, then there would still be some other options.

Similar story as last time, the starting script.
Scheduled time. No announcement. About half an hour later, a delay of an hour.
We board.

All seems set.

The captain comes on to the radio.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we seem to have a problem with the air conditioning equipment.
We have tried to fix it, but it seems we will be unable to fix it anytime soon.

So we have to de-plane and await further instructions.

We are back again, at JFK terminal.

In about an hour, an announcement says, we are readying an alternate aircraft.

Hope.

Finally, we board an alternate aircraft after another hour, spend about 45 minutes inching up the queue of planes awaiting take off, and this time, we actually take off.

And i make it to Pittsburgh in about 7 hours in all. A substantial improvement over the 16 it took last time.

--------------------------------

It is only fools who do not learn from the mistake. And to commit the same mistake over and over again, smacks of lunacy.

Surely, i do not fall in that category, I told myself.

So, after the experience of the last two times, i analysed.
I figured out that since the aircraft were small airplanes, and were also not operated by Delta, there was a problem. THe kind of problems are unlikely to happen in a long haul airplace.

So, i booked the only long haul airplane flight from New York to Pittsburgh. I checked the aircraft type of all available planes. And i found one which is a Boeing 757, book in it. I am happy.

Sure enough, i am at the departure terminal, and it says, 'ON TIME'.

Boarding is completed before time.

I pat myself on taking a good decision to book myself on a big aircraft. All seems set.

Pilot comes on radio, welcomes everyone.

Then, about a minute later, comes back on radio again.

'We have a problem with our landing gear', he announces.
And adds the ubiquitous "S" word- on account of safety, we would have to disembark all passengers.

We get back to boarding area.

I use the menu on the restaurant ipad again. This time a hot chocolate.

(How to do it: look here http://www.airlinetrends.com/2010/12/03/delta-jfk-food-gate-ipad/ )

A couple of hours later, we board again. The same airplane.

And we are off in a few minutes.

And as a bonus, this plane has a wi-fi enabled. With the internet service provider called gogoinflight wireless. A few screenshots from that can be found on www.gogoair.com

And this time, my total journey time has shrunk to 5 hours.

In effect, the summary of the last three trips has been-

Journey 1: time taken 16 hours
Journey 2: Time taken 7 hours
Journey 3: Time taken 5 hours

To put in perspective, a bus would take 8 hours, end to end. So on an average, i end up doing marginally better, not mega better than the 1 dollar i could have done on http://www.megabus.com/

Back to school

2011-07-21T07:11:00.004+05:30

"I know nothing except the fact of my own ignorance", goes the wise saying.

"He who says he knows everything knows nothing", goes another.

The right quotes to think about when you reenter an educational institution.

Eight years after i last went to one, here i am, at the Carnegie Mellon University , thanks to the Fulbright fellowship program.

Suddenly, life changes.

I am a student again !

Its an unusually liberating feeling, far removed from the grind of corporate life. The mindspace occupied by Sales, market share and contribution numbers begins to get slowly edged out by things that belong to another planet: Robots participating in the robots-only-film festival in New York, fuel cells the size of a human hair with the potential to replace batteries , technology that could help doctors use imaging techniques to monitor vaccines in cancer patients, the Nobel prize winning work of schizophernic alumnus John Nash on the game theory describing the now-called Nash equilibrium , tennis and squash games with energetic young students on campus, the tenets of Improv theater which mandate one to say "YES, and..." as the default response to any situation.....the list is actually much longer than that.

Added to it are lessons in the business of life, things that i had been taking for granted, or had just gone out of my life. Sample this- cutting vegetables, cooking basic foodstuff, washing (doing) the dishes, washing clothes , buying a detergent, ironing them by putting them under a mattress hoping an overnight tenure out there would straighten them up, travelling on a bus, riding a bicycle.

The best part is, as is usually always the case, about people. Meeting up with so many talented and dedicated individuals, who personify committment to a cause. The cause could range from research on percentage of CEOs who have been taller than 6 feet, the shine and polish on the forks and knives at the dining hall, the precision and diligence to make sure that every single paper in the portfolio is punched at the right place, the intensity of training that makes you want to try and be a Navy seal despite failures in previous attempts, the range just covers the works. It is the committment which i see in so many people around me, and a passion to be the best at whatever one does, that is both humbling and inspiring.

And when i think, such people are not just here on this campus. Not just here in the surroundings. Not just at the workplace. Not just in my circle of friends and aquintances. All we need to do is look, not just from the eyes, but also from the heart. Such individuals are everywhere. And everywhere, they make the world around them shine through their passion and committment.

And almost invariably, they do it with a smile ! Being around such people transmits positivity, transmits an unknown energy. And to expereince that, one need not be on one of the most high profile campus on the planet. One could just be anywhere.

TS Elliot resonates.

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time.

I smile.

And my first blog in months is on its way.

Scene from Cyberia

2011-05-14T14:39:00.001+05:30

Dinner

2011-05-02T22:29:00.001+05:30

Jaadoo with his front teeth gone

2011-04-25T00:27:00.000+05:30

Gearing up for test match cricket

2011-04-23T13:13:00.001+05:30

The man and biscuit

2011-03-03T21:33:00.001+05:30

An artists impression of the cricket world cup

2011-02-24T23:35:00.001+05:30

Artist jaadoo

Jaadoo and world cup art

2011-02-23T07:35:00.001+05:30

Jaadoo with hairband

2011-01-29T22:32:00.000+05:30

61 years of the indian republic

2011-01-26T22:47:00.001+05:30

The picture says it all

2011-01-22T16:42:00.000+05:30

Life comes calling, again

2011-01-22T11:24:00.001+05:30

Sairam santu

2011-01-14T17:16:00.000+05:30

Jaadoo art, an air India plane

2011-01-10T22:37:00.000+05:30

Kv baliganj

2010-11-07T07:59:00.000+05:30

Sunset

2010-10-02T17:35:00.000+05:30

Natural ear rings

2010-09-25T12:27:00.000+05:30

Handwriting lessons

2010-09-20T22:42:00.000+05:30

On the sea shore

2010-09-13T10:40:00.001+05:30

Everybody loves a dinosaur, even Ganesh ji

2010-09-11T20:42:00.000+05:30

One of the thousands of Ganesh ji s dotting the landscape of puri, just
about everywhere

Bridging the gap

2010-09-11T07:53:00.000+05:30

Signboards of India

2010-09-05T17:24:00.001+05:30

As direct a threat as it can get

Krishna returns

2010-09-02T10:45:00.000+05:30

Nandu, the latest kid in town, with jaadoo

2010-08-30T09:42:00.001+05:30

From darkness to light

2010-08-29T21:49:00.001+05:30

Rakhi

2010-08-24T12:55:00.001+05:30

Photo by deceit

2010-08-14T16:52:00.001+05:30

Learning to spell, jaadoo

2010-08-10T19:42:00.001+05:30

On the nature trail

2010-07-31T16:49:00.000+05:30

Can sports go beyond the scoreline ?

2010-07-10T14:56:00.002+05:30

Its a cliché that we are all used to;

But it is a cliché that is playing out in an inimitable fashion out here. Of sports bringing out something special in South Africa.I can recall very clearly two such games:The first, on the 10th of November 1991, at Eden Gardens in Calcutta, in a one day international cricket match, marking South Africa’s return to international cricket after decades of isolation on account of apartheid. I was one of the 95,000 people who filled in the stadium, waving flags of both India and South Africa, and carrying banners, all of which proclaimed the message of peace and friendship. A late recovery by the Indian middle order and nerves by South Africa saw India winning it narrowly by 3 wickets, but on that day, in that unprecedented context, the crowd was as much for the South Africans as it was for the Indians.The next, and more celebrated magical moment was when Nelson Mandela walked out in his Springboks t shirt in the Rugby world cup finals against New Zealand in 1995, and in that one gesture brought the country together in the spirit of reconciliation and forgiveness.
Move over to 2010.
The last two months, one month of the Cup, and the month preceding it, have seen an unprecedented change over South Africa. Many call it the next Mandela moment. Is it superficial ? Artificial ? Is the country just putting on a show ? How long can this last ?While some of these might be valid questions, for the moment, South Africa is living the buzz and excitement of having hosted the most intense and global sports event , and in great style. On my previous visits here, people were full of skepticism and doubt. The world cup was being seen as a drain on the expenses. The shoddy run up and delays in preparations were seen as the brewing of a national embarrassment on a global scale. Even in 2008, Brazil had boasted to FIFA that in case South Africa is not ready, Brazil could host the event at a few months notice. The run up to the event was dominated by dug up construction sites, slow paced infrastructure projects, infighting within the ANC, corruption in public office, spiraling crime, an AIDS epidemic almost out of control, an exodus of skilled workers. South Africa was tethering on the brink of becoming like the rest of Africa.
The fear of embarrassment, coupled with Serious introspection and concerted action on the world cup preparations led to these projects, slowly but surely, getting back on track. Brick by brick, tree by tree, kilometer by kilometer. And slowly, the unviable started slowly becoming less so. The unsure voices started finding greater self belief. Not that any of the problems vanished. But the intense and inspirational thought of demonstrating a sense of achievement and putting up a show the entire world was watching rallied the country around. The game which had hitherto been a game almost exclusively played by the blacks begum to see greater involvement by the whites. The sports loving nation where Rugby and Cricket competed for spots 1 and 2, suddenly saw the world's most popular game leapfrog into its collective imagination.Almost everyone in the country got involved. Volunteers, daily wagers, students, home makers, children, corporates - everybody started connecting with the event and finding a personal stake in the event. The stadia were readied. The roads got wider. The train line started functioning. The airports expanded. Just in time… South Africa was readyThe world was coming. And it came in full force on the 11th of June, when ‘The boys’, the Bafana Bafana, put up a spirited 1-1 draw against fancied Mexico. That really set up a wave of patriotism in one of the world’s most diverse country and created a buzz much stronger than what the vuvuzelas have been able to generate. South Africa became the latest convert to the world’s biggest religion. The Gods of Sao Paulo also became those of Soweto, those of Catalaonia also became those of Cape Town. People from all over the world were supposed to come in. Initially, the numbers were few. Then as positive words found their way around the world, the trickle turned to an avalanche. Today, everywhere in this country, you see brightly hoisted flags of the 32 nations participating in the cup, in full glory. From building exteriors to mall interiors, trains to buses, from pharmacies to restaurants, it seems these flags are everywhere. North Korean flags flutter with pride, adjacent to their southern neighbors. Even if a country has been eliminated long ago, several fans move about with loyal and fierce pride, sporting the jerseys. From the unfancied ones like Algeria, Slovakia and Japan, to the fancied losers like Brazil, England, Italy, France and Argentina, they are everywhere. Most prominent, and unsurprisingly too, are the South African and Ghana flags and supporters. It seems half of South Africa is wearing the Bafana Bafana T shirt. In this, the message going out to the world is clear. South Africa is not just the nasty , crime infested place that newspapers elsewhere make it out to be. It’s a competent, capable nation holding its own and surprising its worst detractors in one of the most defining events in its history. The country is talking of placing a serious bid for the 2020 Olympics based on this success. The same Brazil which two years ago had expressed readiness to host in case South Africa couldn’t, was exhorted by its President, Lula, to strive to match up to the lofty standards set by this South Africa world cup. All this is not to say that the problems have vanished. The ugly factionalism and corruption started rearing its head even in the last days of the world cup. An audit committee reprimanded several government departments for buying millions of dollars worth of match tickets. The South African airlines was pulled up on similar grounds, especially when it had been given a bailout just a few months ago. Threats of a xenophobic attack on foreigners filled up news as well. Locals resenting the high price of tickets making the world cup almost unreachable for them has been a recurring theme throughout the cup. The ex-police chief is sent to jail. The ex-President Mbeki is under fire once again for fiddling while South Africa burnt . The situation on the ground, with unglamorous stuff like unemployment, health care and AIDS, hasn’t changed much. Such issues will come out more in the open once the whistle is blown to crown a new world champion at Soccer City Johannesburg on the 11th of July and once the visitors leave. But nothing will take away from the fact that the country managed to put up a superlative show and demonstrate that they could get together for a cause, and do it in style. For these thirty days, South Africa has been at the centre of the world, and the buzz it has created will find resonance all over the world, long after the vuvuzelas have been silenced.

Bhari basta, haalat khasta, bachpan nahi o ena sasta. Signboard at a bhangra school in punjab

2010-06-22T17:34:00.001+05:30

Yesterday once more

2010-06-19T09:41:00.001+05:30

Mama and her little prince

2010-06-19T00:43:00.000+05:30

Driving the green revolution

2010-06-13T18:13:00.001+05:30

All support for brazil

2010-06-11T22:38:00.000+05:30

At work

2010-05-22T23:08:00.001+05:30

2010-05-22T13:41:00.000+05:30

That Twinkle in the eye

2010-05-20T13:19:00.000+05:30

Jaadoo preferences as on february 2010

2010-05-19T15:54:00.000+05:30

Verbatim

Mexico goes my daddy, there toy takng. Fav food lemon rice. Fav friend
santu fav place home fav person MY PAPA

Khaike Pan hyderabad wala

2010-05-07T23:36:00.001+05:30

Friends

2010-05-02T00:59:00.000+05:30

India sleeping

2010-03-17T04:48:00.001+05:30

In India, it might take some time for something to happen. Or to become a part of it all. But when it does, the tsunami of volumes is unstoppable.

In my three decades, it happened with the TV first. Then the mobile phone. Then, to an extent, the internet. And here, in the picture above, sure, unmistakable signs of this happening to aviation as well.

The picture above is from the departures area of Delhi Airport, this morning at 4.40 AM. Seats all across are occupied by people catching up on their sleep before they take the two hour flight to get to some other part of the country.

Sitting here, i have a large number of people around me. Young and old. Men, women and children. Some flaunting their riches. Some in rags. Some women in the Ghoonghat. Pradas and louis vuittons for handbags. Sacks and jholaas for the same. A mobile to everyone's ear. Godmen and Godly looking persons.

Breakfast options- FresCo and Baker's cafe. Costa coffee and KFC. Laddoo and alu-puri.

Dress- Bandini prints and Kanjeevarams.

Shop- Odyssey and Metro.

So many languages i hear. Telegu and Assamese. Portuguese and Punjabi.

I love the diversity, variety and colour my country offers. Be it at a bus stand or an airport. And i love it when i see the airports getting more egalitarian, tending to bus stands and raiwlay stations.

The mobile revolution has made Indian talk like never before. The now-on-now-off low cost airlines revolution is making a lot many more Indians go, by the aerial route. I think the volumes, the demand in all there. Indians as a people love to connect. The airlines need to get their act right. Play on the volumes.

And i would love that to happen- to see that little difference would exist between a Road transport corporation travel and air travel. Egalitarianism would have triumphed- but for sure, if the scene at Delhi ariport is any indication at the moment, it is on its way !

Learning to write

2010-02-28T10:06:00.001+05:30

A moment to live for, and die for

2010-02-24T10:25:00.002+05:30

Rock star gives his first public performance

----------------------------------------------

I must admit i was nervous ! Really so.

Wonder why, but it was palpable.

We were invited by Jaadoo's school for a public performance by all children of his class, meant for parents. The theme was transportation, and every child was supposed to speak on a certain mode of transport.

My nervousness stemmed from two things-

1) The poor guy, Jaadoo, is not at all comfortable in English, the lingua-franca at school

2) The children who had performed before him, gave very good performances, and i was worried that a poor performance by Jaadoo might be detrimental to his confidence. He could slip into a shell. Or begin to dislike school again.

I was really psyched when one child even made a power-point presentation. Here was a 4 -5 year old making a powerpoint presentation on the modes of transportation, and seemed quite at ease.

The minutes passed.

Jaadoo's turn came.

And this is what he dished out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ0Zkl4Vd7U

I never knew he could speak for about two minutes in a language which is alien to him at home, and which he surely, is not comfortable.

On the content, i look at him, and realise that somewhere midway, he just cut himself free of the script which had been dished out by his teacher, and came up with his own stuff.

Like, a car can go to India, USA and Mexico.

Or, if the driver does not wear a seat-belt, the police will catch him at the traffic signal.

My nervousness was replaced by surprise. Children have this way of coming up with the unexpected in which noone else can.

Probably, it is because they have a perspective which is so refreshingly innocent and different. That could perhaps explain why they are considered to be the representatives of God on earth.

1 2 3 4

2010-02-12T22:46:00.000+05:30

Mowgli again.

2010-01-31T13:00:00.000+05:30

Ravana comes calling to hyderabad

2010-01-23T22:25:00.001+05:30

First view divit view

2010-01-02T23:25:00.001+05:30

Familiar scene

2009-12-28T14:16:00.001+05:30

Ammji and jaadoo, at the breakfast table

Chef Sanjeev kapoor beware

2009-12-19T11:19:00.000+05:30

A 10 rupee note from those days.got it at a sweet shop in hyderabad. They don't make these anymore

2009-12-06T19:24:00.000+05:30

Animated conversations

2009-12-06T19:19:00.001+05:30

indian images

2009-12-06T18:46:00.001+05:30

Good morning hyderabad

2009-11-11T09:06:00.001+05:30

This came free, with todays morning newspaper.
101 percent guarantee to get benefits within 31 hours

Incredible India has space for everyone

Good morning hyderabad

2009-11-11T09:04:00.001+05:30

This came free, with todays morning newspaper.
101 percent guarantee to get benefits within 31 hours

Incredible India has space for everyone

Regards
Deepak

is it a train, is it a duck ?

2009-11-07T17:15:00.001+05:30

At eat street, hyderabad

Counting a la jaadoo

2009-11-07T15:47:00.001+05:30

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 21. 22. 26. 27. 28. 20-ten.

The man. Spider man

2009-11-04T21:48:00.001+05:30

Regards
Deepak

Mehr becoming a woman from a girl

2009-10-20T19:40:00.001+05:30

In a typical calcutta saree

At home, this guy

2009-10-02T13:39:00.001+05:30

Twenty going on 21

2009-09-11T09:10:00.001+05:30

Move over, sound of music as jaadoo completes his essay upto 20

'tis is all over Hyderabad; view from office

2009-09-10T13:32:00.001+05:30

This is the view from my office- here in Hyderabad, it is YSR all over......

in brazil, its hardly a dog's life

2009-09-10T00:31:00.001+05:30

Scene at Rio, Copacabana as a little doggy enjoys a shoulder view of the beach

Dogs are being increasingly considered a viable, less expensive, more managable alternative to children for many in Brazil: Sao Paulo has the world's largest pet population and an important segment of the economy which revolves around dogs and cats. From saloons to supermarkets and shoes to pyjaymas, its all there for our four legged friends

La petit provincial

2009-09-09T00:14:00.002+05:30

Papa. French textbook in school at Simla and Chandigarh. The story is called 'La petit provincial' (not sure of the spellings).

its a simple story- Child doesn't drink milk. child's mother gets her a cup, with a glassy reflector at the bottom of the cup. The incentive for the child is that she will get to see herself if she consumes the milk. Inspired, the child goes on and gulps milk down.

And now. Circa 2009. The circle of life. Times repeat. Just the actors change.
The cup is one with a small cow toy inside. Is from Switzerland- gifted by Claudia in 2001. At Chandigarh, Papa tells Jaadoo the same story. Modifies it by saying it is a cow inside. And voila ! Jaadoo takes a concrete step towards abandoning the feeding bottle for the cup. Long live Pedia Sure !
:-)

Seventeen years on....

2009-08-25T06:53:00.001+05:30

24-aug-2009, on board DXB to GRU
From an enclosed coupe, up in the sky
Its seventeen years to the day today, almost to this very hour, that a journey began. On platform No. 8, Howrah station, Rajdhani Express, 1630 hours IST. And yes, it has been an exciting ride. Like most other exciting rides, this has been full of thrils and spills, of joys and sorrows, of exuberance and despair. Also, like most other exciting rides, its been full of trains and planes, of catamarans and vans, of buses and boats, of bicycles and rickshaws, of walks and a lot of talk.
When i look at it all as a 40000 feet view, literally in this case, and of course, metaphorically, there is an overwhelming sense of feel-good, of positivism. Most importantly the realisation that i continue to be loved and cared for, and in whichever way it was, i have made a positive difference to lives that i have touched along on the way. Maybe a fleeting difference, but for that moment, fulfiling.
These 17 years have been half a lifetime and have seen several transitions:- from someone who lives with his parents to someone who lives as a parent- from someone blissfully ignorant of the world beyond home to someone who is almost always out of home- from someone who is unmarried- from someone who is not from a pedigree institution- from someone who is a student- from someone who has never been on a plane- from someone who thinks India is 'superior' to all other countries- from someone who is unsocial- from someone who is quiet, shy and reserved- from someone who plays good cricket and pitches it up straight- from someone who can pass a Class XII examination- from someone who can't travel alone, can't even cross the road on his own
several others, since that fateful day....
While with the transitions, there are a few things that have remained the same- the sheer fulfilement and purpose in being loved and enjoying the affection of so many. Cliched it sounds, but there's nothing bigger than being loved.
And since i have the advantage of a 40000 feet view, with nothing but the blue waters of the Atlantic down below and a view peppere with tiny clouds somewhere in between, is there anything i want today. No, no..let me rephrase it. What all do i want today....let me put down my wish list, in the order in which it comes to mind-
- to be with the ones i love and the ones who love me- to be a good father, a good son, a good spouse, a good friend, a good sibling- to be famous- to see myself on the TV and in the papers- to hear the applause- to wirte a book (if its a bestseller, the better ;-) )- to do some genuinely meaningful work that impacts the less privileged- to travel a lot more: Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, Antarctica, Everest base camp, Trans- siberian railway, Amazonia, and also see the Taj Mahal- to be into public life in India- to bat at the Eden gardens (if a few people can watch, the better. if i can hit a six, still better)- to be a student again, in the company of interesting and capable people- to bring together all my friends- from school, college, work, otherwise, on to a common platform and to have a mega get together (not on the net, though)- to ask meaningful questions and to enrich the debate on fundamental, existential questions
Hey, hello....stop stop.. dont repeat the camel and the Arab story...
-

Ronaldo is back, with corinthians

2009-08-23T20:55:00.001+05:30

Modern day ganesh ji

2009-08-22T23:35:00.000+05:30

With his laptop, Ganesh ji does an alt control del to All worries and evils

Ganesh ji on the road.

2009-08-22T21:57:00.001+05:30

Hyderabad. Amerpet. Eve of Ganesh chaturthi. Revealed just a portion of the
famous and lovable Indian God.

Is he also the cutest ? I think that is a very tough one, with my top two
being hanuman ji and Ganesh ji. Baby Krishna comes a creditable third. But
if I were to indeed take a call, Ganesh ji would get silver, the gold medal
going to the irrepressible hanuman !

Grand parents on a grand board. Little jaadoo learns to write

2009-08-22T15:00:00.001+05:30

School ad in Sunday newspaper

2009-08-09T11:43:00.001+05:30

And I am yet to find a school which says we want to make good human beings

There is another hardik in town

2009-08-09T11:17:00.001+05:30

There is a new hardik in town

2009-08-09T11:16:00.001+05:30

Comparing jaadoo and meher

2009-08-05T17:39:00.000+05:30