Past year dedications - a month too late

Posted by Jay-talking! |2 comments

My 2007 dedication list:

- To Yuvraj Singh who reinstilled the love of cricket in me...all in the space of 6 balls (Sachin still is a senti fave)
- To Rajinikanth for being the Indian equivalent of the Apple iphone - when a friend from the US bragged about the crowds outside stores to buy the newly launched iphone, I could brag back about the size of crowds outside Satyam Cinemas ...to catch 'Sivaji'!!!
- To Gurgaon and how misleading media hype and selective images of a few tall buildings can mislead you into thinking that this is the most happening city.. the most hi-tec town..the place to be.. and then the coolest thing about the place seems to be the names 'Sector 14, Sector 17 et al'
- To all my friends who keep insisting that Mumbai to Bangalore to Gurgaon is simply NOT DONE unless you are a software engineer ('Dude, get real..you are an Accountant', or so they say)
- To that benevolent Time Management lecturer who let me know that a single day comprises of 86,400 secs and that thought haunts me till date
- To all my Bangalore friends who gave me a very warm farewell (they turned up soon as they learnt I was footing the bill)
- To that Iyengar caterer back in Bangalore through whom I learnt all the delectable Kannada names for various vegetables ("avarakaalu gojju anyone?")
- To my distant cousin in Bangalore who taught me the many ways in which an electric cooker can be used (apart from cooking rice, that is....I have already used it for noodles, heating milk and even toasting bread)
- To all the music reality shows on television which I felt were regressive but turned out to be the best entertainment after a hard days work("Thank you, C for familiarizing me with the contestants names!!") (Come to think of it, maybe I am regressive!!)
- To Sagar Ratna & Naivedyam - who charge a bomb but are still the only authentic South Indian outlets in Gurgaon for "filter kaapi" in steel tumblers to boot!!
- To the Delhi chill that has me covering up myself in blankets twice over without the ceiling fan on and I dare not press the remote button coz its so chilly outside of the blankets
- To Apple - for that wonderful creation called the video ipod - it was so maddening at first not able to download / sync anything at all...but a few hours on the net changed......Life and entertainment
- To the Nokia cellphone and its incessant ringing - now u know what mothers of newborn babies go thru when the baby starts bawling
- To P for making the cut at last and making me proud and also for that sense of nostalgic deja vu
- To all the gorgeous Gurgaon / Delhi girls who make me feel I wish I was born up north
- To MKT Bhagavathar for absolute soul that too when I am thinking Metallica are the coolest
- To A for being such a dear friend
- To AK too...good riddance!!
- To E for being such a wonderful manager and I kept on wondering what drives an European to ride the dusty lanes of Peenya, Bangalore to earn his bread?
- To all my colleagues in different companies who have become such loyal friends though most of them have not remained loyal to the companies that gave birth to our friendship :-))
- To my company coz thats where I earn my bread..though it is frustrating and maddening at several times... Shakespearean stories happen everyday in every MNC across India
- To the absolute lack of time in modern Life (86400 aint enuf for a day..they need to slow down the earth's rotation...let me complete my tasks on time) ...or is it just ME?
- To the skyrocketing stock market since it causes me (and many others, I am sure) a lot of heartburn - again the same old 4 letter word - TIME
- To the internet for free movie downloads - I downloaded Blood Diamond, Kung Fu Hustle and MI III and synced it on my ipod all free - thinking - how cool is that?
- To D & G who still call me and wish me on my birthday though I left that org about ages back
- To Ma and Pa for being so patient and understanding though I am still single and crossed the age limit even given that I am Iyengar and "eligible"
- To "all those OMG moments which simply took my breath away but also instilled in me a deeper understanding of life and a realization that I am Man at last!!
- To all that security in feelings and life that comes with those OMG (Oh my God) moments
- To the aging of the mind as an irreversible process coz it never allows you to be the same person again..challenge is only to change for the better!!

In fact thats been the story of my life last year...actually..its been the same over several years now..but the Race is on and I am game!!

Two birds and a stone

Posted by Jay-talking! |0 comments

The Blueline buses are creating a huge menace in Delhi and have already claimed 103 lives so far. Thats still 3 more than the casualty list of our workplace after consuming the food served by our cafetaria.

I think this is a good opportunity to convert a problem into an advantage. I say, why not have the Blueline bus become the Samjhauta bus between India & Pakistan. That way, we have still achieved a diplomatic coup and still have our bus - ferrying Pakistanis though. Wot say?

Alvida

Posted by Jay-talking! |0 comments

My time is not my own. Nor is yours yours to belong.

Fact of Matter

Posted by Jay-talking! |1 comments

The past is a recycle bin whichever way you think of it. Whatever lessons we had to learn from the past, whatever experiences we had to go thru, its all in the present - in us - in our evolved beings. So junk the past. A positive everyday vision of the future is the biggest high one can get.

Confessions of a compulsive gizmo freak

Posted by Jay-talking! |0 comments

I have a confession to make. Always been fascinated by gadgets - especially those economically cheapers ones which still score high on technology. You will get a lot of those in Delhi - my home for the last 6 months. The fascination stems from the fact that these things are so "cheap" its almost like cocking a snook at the Apples and Sonys of the world - "Hey bozos, we do it too and do it cheaper!"

But anyway recently at Dubai, I felt the shopper's itch to buy something from "Duty Free". I was stuck between a Merlin 60 GB MP4 (which actually syncs with TV and records TV programs even as they play back + FM radio + does everything that an Apple Ipod does!!) & a 80 GB Apple Ipod. About an hour of deliberation and no small amount of hardsell from the sales guys (don't understand why since both were priced the same), Apple won me over. I had my reservations even as I got onto the flight and was practically ruing my decision the next morning. Things got worse when I was not able to transfer my CDs/DVDs onto my Ipod. The only thing that worked was the music. Movie downloads from Itunes cost about INR 240 which is still 10 times higher than a rental on a projector screen and way too high for a 3 inch screen. Then one fine evening, I decided to junk up the net for everything that I could find for converting video to Ipod. Hallelujah!! Here I am with my findings:
- Video CD to Ipod - "Check",
- DVD to Ipod - "Check",
- YouTube to Ipod - "Check" (I know I know...it allows you to download from YouTube and then convert),
- Google Video to Ipod - "Check",
cheap 7+1 Delhi Street DVDs to Ipod - "Check" !!!

Dude, that was way too cool. How funny it is when you are running up against a technological wall and then when the answers hit you the next day, you feel on freaking top of the world. Hey man, the Ipod is cool. It rulez!! I would recommend the Koyote Ipod Video Converter and the Videora Ipod Video Converter to all my Ipod junkie friends. Its freeware on the net.

Whenever I think of an alternate life and a different field of work, I go back in history (mine) to that one impressionable instant at 16 years of age where I decided to take up the study of commerce and economics over the lure of the more lucrative options and then go "Oh heck!!" Technology does it for me. Its an everyday challenge to solve this conundrum but hey, I am game.

Sunlight Copper Dreams

Posted by Jay-talking! |1 comments

Swift are the wings, flying so high...... ;

Swift are the feet, today they touch the sky!!Swift are our dreams, just so many moments flying by;

Swift is our Life, poof....and its time to die!!!

Adios Bangalore Hola New Delhi

Posted by Jay-talking! |2 comments

Well.well...well! Been meaning to post this for quite a while now!! Anyway just to rethread the whole scene, I left Bangalore in mid April and shifted to Gurgaon. Invited a few close friends for my farewell scene.

You can catch more snaps of that event on this link of flickr. Of course the most endearing and ubiquitous symbol of Gurgaon would be the cycle rickshaw. Unfortunately the snap of the cycle rickshaw cannot be uploaded. So I have to desist.

Learned that the car that I crave is on two months waiting and Hero Honda is still the old trustworthy pal who unfailingly accompanies me to office. Ciao for now!!

The writing on THE WALL

Posted by Jay-talking! |0 comments

Call 1 - "Hey, didja watch the match?""Yea.. S Africa are a great team!" Call 2 - "Hey, what about the match? How was it?" "Cool, man, Hayden is GOD!" There you have it. Every friend, acquaintance, colleague, passer-by that you want to chitchat cricket with seems to have forgotten India's exit from the World Cup. After all, why remember 2 sleepless nights when there are better things in life to rejoice about. Its almost a rerun of last week when India lost to Bangladesh. When I called up people the next day, they were all asleep. I could guess the agony and the frustration through the night they must have gone through before relaxing in deep slumber now. Somehow cricket brings out the worst face of people too. Just place the mild mannered doctor next door or probably the local milkman in front of a television set during a cricket match involving India and you might probably learn a thing or too in the choiciest vocabulary about bad language and the Indian cricket team. It definitely introduces a sense of unity in the watchers in terms of the emotions that they go through. The funny thing for me was the reaction of people after the Ind-B'desh match. Call 1 - "Hey g'morning, woken up at last!! How did u find the match?" "Great..it was pretty close!""Close? What r u tlking abt? Maan...B'desh won comfortably, right?" "Wot? B'desh? Ireland won against Pakistan!! Thats what I am interested in!!" Cool!! Nobody was interested in talking about India's loss. They had had it in one night. The Pakistan loss was a small consolation. Anyway, thats life!

Just imagine the frenzy that would have been created had Sachin Tendulkar scored the fastest century in the world cup against S Africa!! M Hayden goes about his job as a regular bloke. Now we know the issue. Its extremeties at play that has the Indian effort undone. Which also brings us to the biggest question of the decade.

Whatever has happened to Sachin Tendulkar?

The power to experience and believe

Posted by Jay-talking! |1 comments

Its been some time now since it happened. But the sense of nostalgic deja vu that I experienced at that moment has still not left me. Obviously she had struggled a lot to get there. Fighting a despairing loss of self confidence, tremendous family pressure to get married, loss of peer confidence, emotional depression... et al, in short - against all wretched odds. One week before the exams were due to begin, she called me to express her fear at losing out again. Mentioned her total lack of preparation and loss of initiative to get going in life. What was more painful than the admission was that this came from a headstrong girl believed to have a strong character - but then again that was before the rigmarole of the CA exams began. Worse was to follow - just on the penultimate day before the exams were to start - she called me again and broke down lamenting her fate. She did not want to visit the exam center. She was worried about the exams and the invariable depressing results that will follow.

Also I was the only one she could turn to. Obviously parents get tensed up and may not react the way you want them to. So in typical characteristic style, I told her not to lose heart and to consider each day as a new start to life and to begin each moment anew. Words were the only thing I had to offer..not even a crying shoulder, she being in Bombay & I in Bangalore. Anyway, the exams came and went and Priya was totally tightlipped about how she fared. The night before D day, I got a SMS giving her roll number. She wanted me to check her results out on the net. She was too tensed up to try it out herself. She of course had not told Amma & Appa about the results. The tension gripped me too. I was also involved in this. When I checked out the results not in the least expecting her to pass and thinking of the appropriate words to offer on how to cope with failure, reality hit me. Priya had become a CA! I called her up and after several frustrating rings, she took the call with a tense voice. 'What's it?' Hey Priya, have you heard the news?''No..what's it?' A deliberate pause from my side. The pressure on the other end was almost ethereal. 'Priya...brace yourself now...congrats first...you are a CA'. An incredulous 'What? Are you sure (started choking)'. 'Yeah..yeah..its all here in front of me ...unless you have changed your name for the exams (my lame attempt at humour to appear cool & unaffected)'. And then she broke down. I promised to call her later. After half an hour, she was still crying. After 2 hours, she had still not recovered. Funny thing is I kept on calling her knowing exactly what she would be going through. The emotions were so palpable. What does it feel like to know you have come through against the toughest odds? What does it feel like when all the demons in your life seem to vanish in one magic moment? How does it feel to know that you have recovered, restored, regained Life and the zest for it. In the evening, she was still dazed.."Unbelievable, J...I still cannot believe it". I kept on calling her out of my own selfish motive to partake of the ecstasy that had engulfed her. That was it. I was proud of my sister.

Now coming back to the nub, in continuing with the message of the earlier post, language again bows down against Life and its flow. Otherwise how could you justify a single word called 'Ecstasy' for such a range of emotions and expect schoolkids to understand it. Experience it. You will then believe!!

An unconditional apology!

Posted by Jay-talking! |2 comments

Sorry…really, Sorry!

Sometimes you find that no language has the words quite able to express one’s guilt or remorse in the same vein as the feelings in your heart. There are depths of emotion which we strive to communicate through the words of an undeveloped medium of communication. In that sense, the word “Sorry” probably stands for the greatest range of emotions that one can feel. One single word to stand for such a plane of feelings does not seem fair. But that’s how it stands.

Sometimes also, one also comes across situations when you feel the need to take a stand either for or against the self vis-à-vis a greater cause in which others’ feelings are immutably attached. In such a case, to take a decision either way seems very painful. Its catch 22! Simplistically, you can either subserve your own desires and make a heroic sacrifice or you can take a strong non-emotional stand on issues. I have found that there is only one way to approach such questions in Life. Think!! Think!! Think through it – logically, emotionally, of the people involved, of the lesser good, of the greater good and always believe that you have to take a proper stand – make the correct decision. On hindsight, I feel we cannot view any issue very simply and reduce it to a self interest v/s other interest tussle. You consider the time – present & the future, the possibilities – positive and negative, the repercussions – immediate and farreaching, the morals and ethics – have a strong dispassionate sense on this. Ultimately you have to take a decision. Say, to or not to cut off a potter’s infected arms so that he may live for a longer time – for his family, for an alternative profession, for varied desires and dreams – will always be a difficult choice.

But can one deny the guilt involved for the hurt a decision causes (irrespective of whether this decision has probably saved more hurt in future – irrespective of whether this decision is probably the least painful given the grand design of Nature – irrespective of whether this was the last opportunity to take that decision and could not have been postponed)? No. One cannot deny the guilt – because there were opportunities in the past to have taken a decision with less painful effects– because one could have handled things better – because one could have protected someone’s dignity and honour in a more proper way – because one should learn to be firm and clear at all times and all places in dealing with people, communicating with people, reaching out a message and not be iffy about things.

And that’s why for all the hurt, for all the embarrassment, for all the unintended pain, for every single moment that hope was held out, for every dream presented that turned out to be a mirage, for the regret of feeling the way one feels to have caused a hurtful decision, for all the other things felt guilty for and no apologies asked for, for the big, BIG mea culpa, and also for the wretched limited vocabulary of the English language because these 3 words do not seem to quite make the cut – I am sorry!!

Now eat this!!

Posted by Jay-talking! |1 comments

There is another take to the recent survey which concluded that talking on the cellphone when driving is as dangerous as being drunk and driving. Well…there are already a few believers who have concluded gleefully that driving when drunk is not so bad after all. After all, its as safe as talking on the cellphone when driving. Howzzat?

Superman...superman..whither art thou?

Posted by Jay-talking! |0 comments

There are comic book superheroes (1970-80), comic book superheroes (1980-90), comic book superheroes (1990-00)………… and then there’s Superman. What makes Superman appealing beyond the obvious fact of his special powers is that there is grandness and nobility in his adventures. Other superheroes like Spiderman have flawed human personas. Batman has his dark side. But you can always trust Superman to take the right decision – the noble decision – the self-effacing decision. This is what is very special about Superman. Many pundits have drawn an analogy to Jesus Christ. I agree. In fact, I have always compared him with Lord Ram. Somehow Superman loses his appeal when you grow older and one tends to get attracted to other superheroes. Superman will always appeal first to a kid because its only at a young age when you are fascinated by a superhero’s invulnerable personality. As you grow older, you tend to identify with more vulnerable heroes since you want them seen in an equal fight. With Superman, the fight will always be with unequals. He can practically carry off anything under the sun. Hence his appeal lies in his powers and his personality – not the stories around him.

I entered the movie hall not expecting to be entertained by “Superman Returns”. How can a Superman story entertain you? You will have to create an implausible story line or a really wacky villain to engage Superman in an interesting duel. But I came out feeling good about the movie. Superman rules!!!

The day I decided to settle down in Life

Posted by Jay-talking! |0 comments

It all began in Chennai. One sleepy morning awoken to the fragrance of incense sticks and the refrain of the Subrabhatam. I felt like an absolute zombie. If I was not a slob at that moment, the word never existed. I woke up to the lure of domesticity. Life changed. Memories of all those all-nighters in office shamed me. I thought it was so cool to feel above these pleasures of domestic life. “Not interested in marriage really!! Tell me something interesting.” Oh boy!! That morning I woke up, brushed my teeth (still do retain some good habits of childhood), walked down to the living room and switched on the TV as if on cue. To the disapproving eyes of my uncle and assortment of aunts. Who cares – methought. But then to get soaked in the pure innocence of an orthodox Iyengar morning – to see these aunts rush around the house with incence cones and sticks - chanting their prayers inwardly – towels neatly bunched up on freshly washed hair. Man, I was taken in. Bigtime!! Decided that this was probably the catch. I decided to get married – probably longed for the stability that I felt that day – probably felt settled in that fragrance of those incense cones. Floored!!

Pragmatism - need of hour

Posted by Jay-talking! |0 comments

Statesmanlike is an adjective seldom used nowadays. How I yearn for somebody with that tag. (Always wonder how it would have been if there were leaders like Gandhi & Nehru and how they would have dealt with current day problems – would they have had tall enough statures to take a pragmatic stand against populist opinion!). Its just all right to pander to popular sentimentalism by stepping down from offices of profit that can at best be described as figurehead positions. Its okay to appeal for economic liberalization when everybody has seen the benefits and when its known that taking a stand will not ruffle any feathers. But to go against the flow and stand for what is felt right. To stand against the tide and be your own man – to stand firm with resolve against the might of the rugpullers - to take a common sense position on reservation. Now that calls for real character and any politician who will be game to do this has my vote.

Congrats!!

Posted by Jay-talking! |0 comments

Congrats to Vinod on his wedding!! Just remarked to him casually - also since it was the said thing - that he looked a changed man. Imagine my surprise when he turns around and blushes. Omigosh – he is a changed man!!!

Congrats in order to Anoop too on his new offer – after being denied an increment just two days back– way to go, man!! That shows true character. A round of mails between myself (he enjoyed the privilege of having me as his boss) and Anoop just in order to place on record a few things that could not have been expressed in any forum – and there you have it – backroom punching!!

Mayday Mayday

Posted by Jay-talking! |0 comments

Turned away from office on Labour day since there might be some disturbance if we insist on working. And this from our security guys!!! Makes you kinda wonder sometimes. Hmmm….I myself feel like smashing some furniture. I have lugged my heavy laptop bag containing various assortments some 15 kms on my bike. But wait…a bigger storm is about to explode. Our not working means the month end consolidation cannot be run (don’t even begin to think of it…its safe to assume it as common accounting parlance). Our month end reporting will be delayed which means our Asia pole cannot submit its results in time. In continuation, US will not be able to consolidate its results. All this since we cannot submit our results on time. We – who contribute around 0.00047% of the total group revenues. Hell to pay!! You know what they say about Armageddon!!

Itsmylife 1

Posted by Jay-talking! |0 comments

Drat…double drat…this is the third time my cooker (ingeniously used for heating milk) has turned black on overheating. Such are the vagaries of living a bachelor’s life. The prospect of returning home after a friend’s wedding to scrub the hell out of the cooker is ……well, daunting, to say to the least!!!

Bangalore "Bang-galore"

Posted by Jay-talking! |0 comments

I know now what it feels like to be Indiana Jones in those Spielberg flicks. Anyone would feel that – i.e. just about anyone who has been through Hosur Road (or for that matter, anyplace else in Bangalore) during the morning peak rush. God save you if you have handed the steering wheels to somebody else. Even a slight smirk on the driver’s face haunts you with visions of that sadistic hangman in those old Ed Wood flicks. People driving their own cars look like actors out of a seedy sequel to “The Fast and the Furious” out to prove a point to the Devil. But c’mon guys, this is REAL LIFE!!! Just a wee bit short of 36500 days granted to all of us. Speed thrills but it kills too!!

The heroes of our times

Posted by Jay-talking! |0 comments

Life & cricket was so complicated before that particular name cropped up in all our lives – Sachin Tendulkar. A child prodigy at 15, everybody had heard of him and contributed their two bits on whether he should make it to the West Indies tour in 1989 not really caring how he would fare in future. Kapil Dev still ruled Indian cricket hearts and there was no place for anybody else. And then the Abdul Qadir over happened. Then the tour to New Zealand happened. England followed. By the time the Australia tour came up, the Mumbai tabloid ‘Mid day’ had already branded him ‘Ton’dulkar though India lost dismally and Merv Hughes became every Indian cricket lover’s bugbear (“too cocky, too flamboyant!”) But one truth was established by that time.

Superman was born!!

And from then on, it did not matter whether India won or not. Cricket became the ‘Sachin Tendulkar’ game (at least for me). Sachin Tendulkar came, saw and conquered. The promises of higher achievements made sure that there was always a heavy air of expectation whenever he walked onto the field donning his helmet and wielding a bat. Most times it was pulsating and what was magical was that one knew there were people in diverse parts of the country who fraternized in the same unifying emotion. It would be nigh impossible to imagine another mortal man who could do THAT to so many people at the same time and in the same way. He succeeded in single-handedly forcing so many people to hold their hearts when watching any match. Sachin Tendulkar did that & more with style, élan and a lot of dignity. I remember a test match in Mumbai against Australia. Sachin was not out overnight and when my cousin & I entered the stadium on the 4th day, there was only one player, one chant and only one mantra – Sachin. Even without actually talking to people, you could feel it in the very air of the stadium. The noise was deafening and even reticent people were willing to lose themselves and be part of the same infectious energy.

Harbinger of a billion hopes – he walked into the hearts of a billion Indians time and again with his exploits. Sachin had become so iconic that one tended to remember personal happenings in one’s life around Sachin Tendulkar moments. “When he hit Abdul Qadir for those 27 runs in one over, I was picnicking with friends in Alibag”. “My neighbour had that accident two days after the India Pakistan World Cup match where Sachin square cut Shoaib for a six…I think it was March 1, 2003.” Bingo!!

Maybe he does not fight 10 people at a time and win the heroine. Maybe he cannot mouth those Rajini dialogues. But just give him a bat and a helmet and have him walk out in a packed stadium and try denying the passion that he arouses in a billion hearts.

There are still some of us who wish that maybe if Indian cricket had not got its current match savers, we could still have had Sachin in his purest avatar – a mortal trying to snatch at glory, a neophyte warrior involved in a gladiatorial contest, a real life superhero making impossible targets seem real. We all have been part of this journey from prodigy to superstar to icon and these memories will always be part of Life so long as we live. Maybe he is not as exciting as earlier; maybe he is not dominating as earlier, maybe with age and injury he has lost a bit of his touch. But for all those sensational moments through his teens and twenties, for making an entire generation look beyond Bachchan, for making middleclass values look ultra-cool, Sachin Tendulkar – take a bow.

After all even superheroes are allowed to fail at times, even demigods are frail and all idols are mortal too…but Sachin Tendulkar? Naah…no way!

Borders are meant to be crossed

Posted by Jay-talking! |2 comments

Borders are meant to be crossed and so are Bradmans, Gavasakars & Tendulkars.

Brian Lara stands on his own when we want to talk of batting geniuses (and this coming from an unabashed Sachin Tendulkar fan).

There is something so very enigmatic about Brian Charles Lara. Defying hopes that he fail every time he went out to bat so that Tendulkar could overtake him soon. Defying wishes that people criticize him for his flashy batting..his unorthodox play. Defying statistics. Defying history (no mortal man has returned to regain the record of highest Test score). Defying Fate. And ultimately defying die-hard Sachin fans and succeeding in winning them over to his league of admirers. Time & again. One Man. Brian Lara. Batting superstar. Cricket God.

Leave aside the 148* (with the last man standing to win the match against Australia), forget the epic 375 against England, forget the 501* against Durham in a county match, forget the 400* (to regain his batting record), forget the 11187* (and still going strong....to become the greatest scorer in the history of the game), forget the second-fastest 100 in ODI history (though it came against Bangladesh), forget the other trivial records like 28 runs of the last over in a Test Match (!!), his onfield brawls with Glen McGrath & Allan Donald and then proceeding to take them to the cleaners for a brief time before getting out to the very same bowlers ("but mate, I already proved a point"). But just for the great character that it takes to win over grudging admirers from your arch rival's camp, Mr Brian Charles Lara, wish there were more like you!!