When I was a kid eating my ice cream in school on Independence day, I would wonder if August 15th meant anything to Britain at all. Did they think of it as a Black Day? Were they terribly unhappy to leave?

I also wondered why we weren't commemorating the days when India annexed the French and Portuguese colonies as well. That could have meant some more ice cream for us... maybe in a flavor that was not vanilla!

I would then start considering all the princely states in the subcontinent that were never annexed or conquered by European colonial powers. They were hundreds of them that quickly became integrated into India in a matter of days (or months or years) after Independence.

If we saw those annexations as historic victories, that could have meant hundreds of ice creams for me almost every day of the year! But what would they (or we) have celebrated? Happy Integration Day or Happy Annexation Day? Were they happy to be integrated or annexed? I thought it wouldn't have hurt to consider these very important questions while eating those ice creams.

There was also the formation of language states to consider. We got ice cream for AP formation day on November 1st. But, we didn't really celebrate the accession of hyderabad into the Indian union... which was such a big deal and very ice cream worthy!

I never really understood this importance of Independence day beyond the ice cream. The map was full of places negotiating their freedom or loyalty. Several states seemed not to want to really belong to the country and had their own independence movements . But the schools even in those states hoisted flags and celebrated freedom like everywhere else. So I suppose they chose to contemplate freedom and loyalty over ice cream just like me.

When I was in class 5, my granddad casually pointed to me that the India map in my social studies text book was wrong. It included disputed territories (like Aksai Chin, parts of Arunachal Pradesh), northern area of Kashmir that was controlled by Pakistan and so on. He wished there were boundaries of indian-claim and foreign-claim to teach us what was happening in our country. I agreed (more strongly that he would have liked!)

The next day, I went to school and wrote on the exam paper that "This map is wrong" and walked out of class! When my dad was summoned in school, he was shocked to see a zero on my answer sheet... my teacher looked wounded, and they just stood there staring at me with this aggravated expression that bordered between violent and not knowing what to do. My dad then mustered some words out of his mouth and requested the teacher to let me write the exam again... and she did...and i wrote it that very day... and excelled in it :)

From then on, all was good! I never understood what I did wrong and wouldn't dare ask my dad. So I resigned to the fact that Independence was more a state of mind or sometimes a state of denial (that there is no independence). But, why did I care? I shouldn't have mattered as long as I was getting my ice cream!

I still think it doesn't matter as long as I am getting my ice cream. Only, now when I am done eating (like right this very minute), I am amazed at the peaceful unity we managed in our country in spite of the odds :) I am thinking to myself... what a fascinating country we are...so flawed and yet so wonderfully perfect!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ... ?...


for?


come on...


There's only one right answer and it is not a rhyming word that means India or Independence...


I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! :)

(With Nainamma- Dad's mom and Ammamma - Mom's mom)

I just got back from spending several weeks in India with family. The only way to describe the last few weeks is to go the Victorian novel route -- which is to use a million analogies and adjectives to describe the collision of emotions I felt with every breath. Either that, or I spend the next several weeks *scratch that* days processing my experience before presenting it to the external world. There is a fear that the longer I wait the farther I will go from it.

How do I go back and freeze time? How can I move on?

Hyderabad, observe with me. (America, learn) :)

I counted 13 single (i.e. one in a pair) flip-flops on main roads all over the city over the last one week. Could they have just slipped off the feet of people sitting on scooters OR are slippers being flung at unsuspecting riders? If you have lost yours, or have had them flung at you, you are not alone! The Chappal Punch may be a bigger nuisance than we realize. :)


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Helvetica, which is one of the most popular fonts for commercial use all over the world hasn't yet taken over as the preferred typeface on lorries and autos :) I am happy to report that lorries and autos still have beautiful artwork painted on them in bright colors. I have been seeing the most exquisite paintings of mythical figures and auspicious symbols exemplifying several ideals and desires: spirituality, secularity, patriotism, good fortune... It is always amusing to see the permutation varieties of "Horn OK Please" painted in different typefaces. :) It's especially amusing that the phrase is still in use. The OK indicates On Kerosene and was used back in the day (around the 2nd World War) when lorries ran on kerosene, which is highly unstable. The traffic regulations don't require this warning to be attached, but it still continues to remain a cult tradition with lorry drivers. Some lorries even say "Horn Please, OK? Tata" :) There is also an Indian film called "Horn Ok Pleassss"

Why autorikshaws have "Please Sound Horn" or "Keep Safe Distance" is a mystery to me (unless we assume that they have a wicked sense of humor and want to tease us with the warning). They are the ones usually straining to squeeze between vehicles and hazardously sound their fancy tijuana-style horns to the rhythm of the music playing from their custom-mounted boom-boom stereos .

I remember my driver telling me many years ago that owners spend up to a lakh rupees per lorry getting just the bodywork done (autos spend between Rs. 5000-10,000). They take a lot of pride in the aesthetic of their conveyance, but beyond the aesthetic it is also a way to build their brand and look legit to patrons. For instance, the beautiful ornamental fittings above the lorries cab help owners hide excess goods from the traffic police. The sounding chains on the side dissuade small vehicles from driving recklessly.

It used to be that tongas and cycle rikshaws had the most beautiful flowers and birds (mostly lotuses, peacocks and tigers (or cows), which are our national flora and fauna) painted on them. They also had elegant floral or velvet hoods (if they could afford it). Some of them had these shiny pompoms hanging from both sides of the handle and ornate metallic baskets or plasticine cutouts jutting in the front. The seats had bright upholstery covers, the back rest had oil-painted portraits of film actors and actresses (sridevi), and the platform was either of a bright reflective metal kind or had rangoli painted on it. Some of them were made to look like Rathas or temple chariots. I don't see these rikshaws anymore (although DC and Manhattan are abundant in their contemporary equivalents with environmental messages pasted on them)! Here, both the cycle rikshaws and their pullers look quite haggard! I read some heartbreaking stories of their difficult lives over the last few days and it's hard to say what would make them happy - if rikshaws were banned altogether or promoted more widely. Whatever it is, I hope they at least make them safe and respectable! (Note to self: Watch Men of Burden: Pedaling Towards a Horizon)


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I find that each mode of transport is a harbinger of a different kind of message. For instance buses have become moving billboards with product ads, political posters and social messages. I am told they are highly effective and are being sought out more than ever, because they drive alongside their target audience and therefore leave a long-lasting impression. On the other hand, regular billboards catch your attention only fleetingly except at the traffic stops.
Unlike buses, autos are less propagandist and more reflective of the driver or owners' personalities. The loud music aside, their disco-style flamboyance is exhibited more inwardly (with their interiors and music).

You know how when you talk about one kind of street art, you feel the need to list out every other kind of art you see around you? (like graffiti, wall posters, billboards, retail store sign boards... also dressing up of cows, horses and camels) and then you become cognizant of your city's eye-appeal and creative use of space.... Advertisements are omnipresent! If there is a perceptible medium in view, such as a flyover, a building, a wall, a tree, a circle, a divider, a light pole, a vehicle... it becomes a canvas for some plug!


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There are plant thieves all around us. Everywhere I go, battle plans are being drawn on three broad fronts. There are the tropical summer fruits (mangoes, pomegranates, sapodillas (chikoos), jackfruits) growing on high and medium branches, vegetables growing closer to the ground, religious flowers blooming in abundance in every height, shape and form... the fear I think is also that their invasion is endangering home security. I have sat through some really hilarious conversations in at least three places where relatives were strategizing how to protect their vegetation from "hungry and religious" thieves. The good news is no one seems to be interested in wild flowers, ornamental plants, seedless vascular and nonvascular plants (that I like) and the gardens are full of them! Thieves aside, I am mostly thrilled to see beautiful gardens everywhere I go. Despite the growing jungle of buildings, I see spectacular gardens and patches, and even timberlands with tropical trees of irregular shapes that stand out beautifully amid the concrete.


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There are more bird species in Hyderabad than you can count. You only notice them when you are back on a visit after leaving the city for a few years (and have the "real" bird-flu) :) So the next time someone laments that they have all vanished wake them up at 5 in the morning and take them outside. Hyderabad is still a birds paradise with at least 20 species right in ones backyard, and hundreds in sanctuaries. There are many migratory birds traveling here all the way from eurasia every year. I have also been seeing a lot of bright-colored insects and vertebrates in the garden, especially when it rains.


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I am nurturing the tourist in me and reading up on hyderabad. I was excited to learn that the city (and the deccan plateau on the whole) is full of beautiful monolithic rocks that are among the oldest and hardest in the world. Many of them are over 2500 million years old. To put it in perspective, the himalayan mountains are 70 million years old. The city's grey and pink granite ridges are among the oldest in the world. There are trees over 500 years old (including a banyan tree in Pillalamarri near Mahbubnagar that is 700 years old). While I have spent my time both admiring and bemoaning our new and old manmade heritage (albeit ignorantly), I don't know why I never learnt about these natural wonders. I am also picking up a lot of other interesting facts and legends about the city and falling in love with it all over again. In the mean time, Hyderabad has also been keeping me entertained culturally. There's always something going on in the city - walks (like the ones organized by Greater Hyderabad Adventure Club), art exhibitions, music concerts, dance programs, plays.... There is so much variety to choose from and so little time to enjoy everything. (FYI: cluburb.com is a great place online to find events in Hyderabad)


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The cell phone music syndrome, where the caller is tormented with music, and the receiver hears a more conservative "ring ring" is shifting from bollywood and bhajans to Kabir and Tulsi Das' Dohe.

FYI from one brahmin to another: the gayatri mantram you still have as your ringtone is meant to be recited inwardly to Savitr (sun god: the impeller, rouser, vivifier) during sunrise and sunset by brahmin men only (especially that secret para you learnt during your upanayanam). Must you share your praise and appeal for wisdom and enlightenment so brazenly with us low-ranking women (also non-brahmin men) and have us commit the transgression of learning it?

Also shouldn't the "ring ring" be on the callers side and the mantram be on your side? or is the reasoning that Savitr might call you one day and listen to your appeal!


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I haven't still figured out if it is a good thing or a bad thing that there are 6 sales representatives to cater to one customer in retail stores! They all look bored, underworked and eager to help! But, perhaps, they are happy to be employed?


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In hyderabad (especially), the sine qua non is to popularize one "neutral" god or god man and celebrate him to the point of saturation. The last time I came, Shirdi Sai Baba was in vogue, this time it is Buddha. Don't get me wrong. I am not trivializing genuine devotion one feels towards spiritual powers. I am only harboring my reservation on the intention behind this craze. My suspicion is that there is some other unsavory explanation for why a sea of Buddhas has emerged everywhere all of a sudden. Could it be a sign of impudence? For instance, why was Buddha standing at the hotel entrance holding his crystal frock and flaunting it to welcome his guests? Isn't it as outrageous as drawing Mohammed? He is supposed to have renounced worldly desires in search of enlightenment!

I am alarmed at the celebration over Kasab's death sentence. It's the kind of perversion that I can't wrap my head around. Somehow the line between retribution and revenge has become nonexistent. How can one immoral act be the answer to another immoral act? How can two wrongs make a right?

How are we bringing balance of good over evil if we are proclaiming that a person should be hung to death? Where is our good that we take so much pride in when we make flippant statements like "Kasab should be stoned to death or chopped to pieces"?

Would the good in you personally do it? Would you hold the stone or a knife and do it yourself, or is murder a casual thought you entertain in your mind because it is done behind closed doors by someone else pretending to uphold justice?

I am upset beyond belief and objectivity. There is something to learn from Europe for abolishing capital punishment. Somehow they seem to have managed to cross over to the good side of humanity, while we are still stuck in this barbaric parallel world with no respect for life. Clearly ours is a lesser society! And it will remain so as long as we continue to do wrong under this cloak of upholding justice.

We'll only keep quoting Gandhi's teachings of nonviolence for effect and pretend to take pride in his ideals, when in fact we have little respect for them. His statements are all bogus words of idealism to us that have no real bearing in this rational world where violence is more realistic than peace.

So then, let's be honest and get rid of everything Gandhi said. Let us pick all his quotes on nonviolence and destroy them once and for all... here's a start! 

"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

"I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent."

“The most heinous and the most cruel crimes of which history has record have been committed under the cover of religion or equally noble motives”

"What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?"

"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of nonviolence to cover impotence."

"Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary."

“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”

“Nonviolence is a weapon of the strong”

"You must be the change you want to see in the world" 

(To the supporters of Kasab's death sentence: I hope you are not the change I want to see in this world!

Did you know that the Anagram for Relationships is "Phoniest Liars"? And we wonder why relationships are so troubling! :)

First a disclaimer: Seeing as most astute people in the world give relationship advice only if they can rake in profit (self-help books?), you will have to credit me for being less opportunistic! I am not trading my relationship-wisdom for your "rainy day" money! I am giving it away for free. Also, there's a chance you might think I am being very boastful, but don't judge me too badly for it. Afterall, boastfulness may be a disreputable virtue, but it is not the antithesis of truthfulness. So I request you to focus on the truthfulness of this post, while I focus on the boastfulness (and being disreputable!). :)

I was telling a friend that had I not been married to Tapi, I would have been disqualified from all matrimonial websites by the uncles and aunties of the world! (also, as someone rightly pointed out, even being married to Tapi disqualifies me from matrimonial websites). They would have written me off as a disaster and ostracized me for maligning their morally pure online space!

Every marriageable man and woman listed on these matrimonial sites are an epitome of beauty, comeliness and perfect-morality! They seem to have no flaws!

I on the other hand am short-ish, dark (in matrimonial terms: "not entirely white-ish and somewhat wheatish" complexioned) (!), chubby-ish, not much to look at, casteless (with no tradition of arranged marriages in three generations on both sides of my family... except rarely and that too disastrously...), in an unconventional line of work (also currently without job!), easily attracted to men (the more the merrier), need constant entertainment (whether with spouse or otherwise), borderline alcoholic (to brahmin standards), not religious (except second-handedly... erm.. i mean, i maintain some high-level curiosity), don't cook (note: i didn't say can't cook), prone to hiding my favorite food, love to hate family, don't (yet) care about having kids, and in the rare occasion that I do have some unquestionable values they are unconventional and one doesn't know what to make of them... I am opinionated, judgmental and argumentative.

But, somehow, seeing as I have been in a long term relationship for over 10 years with one very admirable man, I can take credit for excelling at this committment-thing like nobody's business! (TAKE THAT you judgmental uncles and aunties! Slap!) :) I can challenge most people that my marital life is more honest, peaceful and exciting than theirs! Tapi and I quite enjoy our questionable lives together (although his life is much less questionable than mine) and are madly in love with each other! I can't remember the last time we had a fight. I get jittery if I don't hear from him for two hours when he's at work. I rarely take a vacation without him, and when I do, I drive people nuts with my sulking and whining until we are back in our intertwined hug like Richandamy in Zits. My family thinks this obsession we have for each other is borderline unhealthy... and we might come to regret it one day, since we make no time for social life. But so far, so good! (Social life doesn't seem to miss us either!)

Here is what I think about most 'rocky' marriages (please forgive my generalizations. Today I am celebrating Blanket Statements Day.... which happens to coincide with Prabha is the Greatest and the Best Day)

I think it is very petty why most people get married or divorced! And this I think is true not just for arranged marriages. It maybe true for every kind of relationship that ends up in a marriage. When you get into a relationship it is because of a long laundry-list of qualities you like about a person, and when you get out of a relationship it is with a long laundry-list of complaints about the person... Finding a spouse seems to be no different from finding a roommate or buying a hair product! Then there are these "surprises about" and "disappointments with" each other that keep us amused or frazzled. Everyday is like an episode out of a soap opera. You feel like you have to have a say is what this other person IS... you comment on their values and choices as if you have earned your right to do so. (I so despise the nagging-variety couples... especially when they nag the hell out of each other in public and think it is funny, or acceptable! It is disrespectful beyond words... not just to each other, but to everyone they put it through)

I constantly keep hearing words like compatibility, adjustment, compromises, sacrifices, expectations and rights when people define marriages. In fact, these words seem more synonymous with marriages nowadays than they were a generation ago! (Am I wrong?) Is this all people think marriages are about? (Come to think of it, my single friends impart this wisdom about "adjustments" more than my married friends do!... ok... some of my newly married friends do as well...This I think is ironic. How can people (want to) get into a relationship feeling THIS pessimistic about it? If it makes them feel better, I'll say, I don't find happily married people using these words to describe their relationships! Also the "not-married-but-madly-in-love"-varieties can't be bothered about defining their relationships... which is lovely and refreshing to see! They look so smitten and adorable.)

In fact, getting married is not "life changing" at all... sorry to disappoint. It is really nothing! While change has been the constant in my life, change because of marriage remains an elusive concept! (Likewise, Tapi may be losing hair, but I have little to do with it! I can only take credit for his good looks.... they say when two people live together for a long time, they start resembling each other ... If you don't agree with me, wait till I lose hair!)

If physical attributes or a person's interests or character are the only things that attract us to them... then seeing as these are not permanent attributes, and that we could also be wrong in our judgment of them, it makes more sense to get into such a relationship in a non-commited way than in a committed way! If you suddenly find yourself less attracted to a person... isn't it more convenient to get out of that relationship without having to make rounds to the court than otherwise? There has to me more to a marriage than physical and intellectual attraction! There has to be that whatchamacallit that will never cease to exist! There has to be that whatchamacallit that continues to exist even after the novelty of the physical and intellectual attraction wears off. And that whatchamacallit can't be something you can define in words!

I am also quite certain that it is near impossible to adjust, compromise and cater to the expectations of a person in the long-term... At some point it is bound to boomerang and all hell will break loose.

Committed relationships are more about being and letting be. It is about two people ungrudgingly letting each other make selfish choices and taking pleasure in seeing them feel blissful and contended. It is the most deferential and considerate thing you can do for your loved ones (also applicable to other family members and friends!) :) I think it helps to focus less on what we like about our loved ones and more on that we love them!

Moreover, divorce is the worst thing that can happen to good people (when I say good people, I mean those who otherwise don't deserve to go through that kind of hurt)! It is disrespectful, condescending and speaks very little about your own morality! ... how can you marry someone and then not find anything nice about them to like, to the extent that you don't want to see them for the rest of your life! If divorce makes you happier, you have to question your motive for marrying this person in the first place. Like I said, this is more understandable in a non-commited relationship than in a committed relationship (I'll even say, the break up in a non-committed relationship is less disrespectful even)... And why must we like or not like people that badly, especially if we don't find them morally reprehensible?

I don't know if I have this relationship thing figured out. So this is just a thought that I am going to consider... and I am going to consider this for my other relationships as well. The world is so full of attractive people. I think we ought to work on creating meaningful, committed and non-committed ties of many different kinds with everyone... :) (Ok. Stalkers. Keep out!)

(By the way my blanket statements don't apply to unequal relationships dictated by chauvinism, or the kind of arranged marriages where two people are forced to come together whether they want to or not. In these, the rabbit warren is more convoluted and confusing. I won't know how to find my way from one burrow to another. I am safe for having not entered it!)

Final disclaimer: This post is full of generalizations. As I read it I can see some erroneous statements. But, in my defense, I also scattered disclaimers all through the post, and also couldn't have explained myself anymore, seeing as it is already so long!

Since ACs and I don't get along, Mom wanted a portable fan -- the standard oscillating pedestal kind with circular blades enclosed behind a steel grill. I can't bear the thought of that "homely" fan sitting in my living room. I can deal with a small, quiet, aesthetically pleasing tower fan maybe. -- like this one or this one. But, the monstrous, space-hogging ugliness she wants I just can't do!

To my utter delight, the tower fans have better reviews than the standard pedestal fans. They come with multiple speed settings, a remote control, dust/pollen filter, and an automatic shut-off feature. More than anything, they are lightweight, and less prominent!

Of course, I show this work of art to mom for approval and she views it with apprehension. What she wants is a fan that will blow air like a wind tunnel. She is used to having the ceiling fan on full blast even in winter, and is addicted to that breezy feeling with the air circulating all the time. For that purpose, the pedestal fan is a tested and proven contraption that has serviced mankind for generations! I call it the "thatha fan" (not that my granddad ever used it! It also occurs to me that our house never had one in all the years that I have lived there... but thatha fan it is)

Anyway, the phone conversation with mom was getting frustrating. For one thing, I wanted her to see beyond my predilection for aesthetic over comfort. I wanted her to acknowledge that the tower fan was more practical and sensible from every point of view. Just take the fact that we will use it for 10 days in a year when mom is here and won't know where to store it after she leaves. No matter what I said, and how I said it, she insisted that all I care about is the aesthetic! I lamented that reasoning with her was no different from reasoning with a blind man about color or a deaf man about sound! "I don't care about color or sound, give me breeze", she said!

Then, I wanted her to see that bigger is not always better and "small and sleek" does not mean "less powerful". I went on an analogy rampage: Gramophone vs. ipod, Air Cooler vs. Air Conditioner, Tube TV vs. Flatscreen, Grandfather clock vs. small digital clock... Much to my annoyance, my analogies had the opposite effect on her. Mom went off on a nostalgic excursion. I don't blame her. I could see myself buying into her nostalgia and craving the Gramophone, the Air Cooler, the Tube TV, and the Grandfather clock as well. :) But Screw nostalgia. I was not going to give in so easily!

Much to my disadvantage (and hers, I insist), Mom is stuck in her old world of tubelights and tape recorders and continues to adamantly disregard the awesomeness that is the 21st century... :)

So I finally screamed:

"Mom. Tower fan is all you are getting, period. It comes with three settings... Setting 1: Balmy October Night in Hyderabad; Setting 2: Blustery Evening in Besant Nagar Beach; Setting 3: Netherlands Wind Turbine. Setting 1: Underwear; Setting 2: Shorts; Setting 3. Sweatpants!"

"Fine. Wind Turbine Explosion in Sweatpants sounds good", she said.

Why do I feel like she won?

In the mean time, Tapi had a fun time representing our argument in paint!

It always started off as a scene reminiscent of the ones you see in hindi movies picturized with song and dance. There were a few excited young ones among us, holding water guns in one hand, and packets of color in the other. The dry colors were unobjectionable even when they came in the most unspeakable shades of green and black. But those suspicious looking small packets they brought that had shiny crystalline powder or gold-silver paste were insufferable. We squirted some colored water on each other and gently rubbed dry colors on our faces and clothes and made ourselves look as varicolored as possible! There were a few new ones in the group who were worried about dirtying their clothes too much or having their faces dominated with just one color. It always amused us how silly they were being. We knew they would grow out of it by the end of the day and laugh at themselves for being daft as well (either that, or it was the last time we were going to them!).  

Then the moms and dads brought in some more huge bags of color (the ones in our hands weren't going to cut it), turned the water pipes on, filled big drums with colored water, oiled the cars and scooters so that they wouldn't catch color, and set up the boom box and an assortment of fast music (mostly telugu and hindi street songs... and never songs related to holi). They blurted out some quick instructions like "wash yourselves well before entering the house", "don't walk barefoot on the roads"... You could tell they were not entirely committed to giving instructions, because it was a pointless exercise in futility. The one instruction that came with commitment was "DO NOT RESIST ANYONE" Some of us knew what that meant, some were about to find out. 

We played on and giggled and laughed and tried to pull a smart one on each other. This lasted the first one hour. 

Then the hoodlums (young adults) among the family and friends arrived like a pack of hungry wolves, ending all tranquility. Nothing can prepare you enough for being liquidated (literally). There was no running for cover or screaming for help. You were cornered on all sides and lifted like a bag of grain and flung in the air and into a tank full of frigid water. In you went and out you came to gasp for breath only to go back in again from the force of the second person being thrown into it. Then the third person was flung in, then the fourth, the fifth, the sixth... anyone who attempted to get out of the tank was pushed back in forcefully. Our heads bobbed up and down and up and down to the whim of the hands holding them. The few who escaped this treatment, were dragged by the leg, pulled up and smeared with a thick layer of the silver paste... their teeth were rubbed with dry red powder and their body attacked mercilessly with eggs! The air was filled with sinister laughter. 

I can't remember why I thought this was enjoyable. I suppose evil is only evil only when it comes from an unknown source like the bike rowdies. As soon as an innocuous balloon full of red water broke on one of us, the whole group ran towards the biker (now victim) and attacked him ferociously by giving him the most savage treatment of color you can imagine. Some bikers who managed to whiz past us after throwing water balloons got a loud cheer, mingled with swear words and glorious hoots! (Few bikers even threw glass bottles at people. These were the dangerous kind, we hoped wouldn't visit our streets. They rarely did). 

Some friends would stay indoors out of fear of all the aggression, only to have fifty people screaming in front of their houses. A few of them would climb over the walls and try to kick the doors open. Finally (and I never understood why), they succumbed to this threat, and became unwilling guinea pigs of a horror experiment.  

The violence usually came in cycles. As the hours went by it got less and less fierce. By now the uncles and aunties from neighboring houses arrived and brought a different kind of celebration with them. It was spirited in joyfulness of a more pleasurable kind. In a good year, the crowd added up to two hundred people (most years were good years... the bad years were when a majority of us had our final exams and were restricted to playing holi for a few hours with our immediate families at home. These were the terrible years. If you squirted more water from your gun than your mom thought acceptable, or rubbed too much color on a cousin's head, you had to listen to a long lecture on toxic chemicals and safety).  

There was a whole lot of music and dancing, and delicious food contaminated with color (despite all efforts)! Bhang flowed like a river and befuddled the minds of the young and old alike. Some people went ahead and threw the bhang in the water tank, which was by now entirely black and full of kids. 

After a few hours, when most of the neighbors dispersed, and the close family and friends remained, several other groups of friends and family who had celebrated elsewhere joined in. We drove to someone's farm house or someplace in the outskirts and spent the rest of evening and night there in wild celebration! This was my holi until six years ago! Now I think of it in past tense and wonder whether it was celebrated in India yesterday or today and if it was as dramatic as it had been before! (The answer is never yes)

HAPPY HOLI. (This year, I will spend mine learning the significance of holi... something that I never cared to learn before)

Lovely movie this My Name is Khan! Karan Johar took the filter out of his brain and made mixed vegetable kurma out of a million global calamities and served it alongside bheja fry (mine and few other minorities). Most people seem to have liked the full-on dishing out of anti-patrioterrorism rhetoric. I, for one, enjoyed it completely, but for reasons that would make Shiv Sena question my (dis)loyalty!

I have always maintained that verbal diarrhea is a result of repressing strong emotions for too long. What better example can I find to establish the validity of my claim than this epiglottis Khan film!

After years of bottling up his emotions about all that he had been reading in the op-ed pages of newspapers that his favorite juhu beach peanuts came wrapped in, Karan Johar could not restrain himself any longer and had to vomit out everything he felt about everything in one go.

There is a scene in the movie where Khan identifies all the animals in a crossword puzzle competition and wins his stepson a stuffed animal. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a metaphor for all the social issues the film touched upon that the audience needed to identify.

Moreover, it was a three-hour long exercise in suspending disbelief except for two occasions where he showed some restraint. One: Khan did not have the hurricane victims pump out flood water from their town by converting their bicycles into motors (perhaps because he already did something similar in Swades, and hey! Funny Hair Joel broke his bicycle after the accident!) and Two: Obama did not sing "Hum Honge Kaamyaab".

I was in tears as I did a mental rundown of when the stock market crashed in the US. Had it not been in the nonexistent timeline that the film was based in, Chacha "Khan" Chaudary, whose memory works faster than a computer would have solved a global economic crisis and restored normalcy to our dysfunctional markets as easily as Superman circled the globe and made time run backwards.

Is this what happens to opinionated filmmakers who restrict themselves to the romantic genre for too long and need an outlet to vent their political discontentment? What was the film propelled by and what propels Karan Johar! Seeing as the film celebrated a "direct symbolism" bonanza, should he have called it Montezuma's Revenge (a.k.a. Traveller's diarrhea) instead?

Sitting on a warm bed.

Sunlight pouring into the room.

A book in hand.

The sound of traffic.

The smell of jasmine

Mom’s long winding conversation on the phone.

Cousins floating in and out.

Laughter.

Unbearably loud TV.

Servant sweeping the floor.

A nanny for every kid. A driver for every adult. A helper for every task.

The smell of rain.

The taste of mangoes.

The sight of my grandmom. My missing granddad.

The company of my grandparents.

Their beautiful study. Lovely old books. Their old furniture.

The gardens where time stands still.

The arguments. The opinions. The pride. The criticism.

Politics. Money.

The gossip. The lack of silence.

Variety in Advertisements.

People selling things.

People staring...gawking... gazing.

Me Avoiding, ignoring.

Us Fighting, Bargaining...always Negotiating.

My brother on the guitar.

Dad on his cell phone.

Several pictures on the wall.

Newspapers and magazines all over the table.

Missing memorabilia, fading nostalgia.

The battle with the geaser.

The whirring of the fan.

The sight of a lizard next to the tube light. Roaches in the kitchen. My mom’s denial of their existence.

Cousins in palatial houses. Cousins in tiny flats. English speaking cousins. Artsy cousins. Intellectual cousins. Brainiac cousins. And the rest.

Idlis for breakfast. A jam session with food. Variety, spice of life.

Concerts. Music. Movies. Entertainment.

Art exhibitions.

Drinks. Chaos. Mayhem.

College kids. Fat bellied men. Beer.

Crowded pubs filled with smoke.

Being driven and then driving :))

Nature. Old trees. Cows. Dogs.

Buildings of every kind and size.

Zoos, Museums and other pretentious “avoidables” that I must not avoid!

Fashion. Bragging. Class. Mass.

Abundance of religion.

Shopping malls. Markets. Book Stores. Tiny Shops packed to the brim.

Weddings. Parties. Gatherings. Socializing.

Dad's constant traveling.

My touristy explorations and wistful pursuits.

Living it up. Fitting in. Getting out.

This is the India in my head. Is this the India of May 2010?

All I want is to take a relaxing vacation with my cousins! I want to see some places, eat some good food and luxuriate in uninterrupted comfort. In my mind I am picturing a lazy person's perfect, self-indulgent holiday experience! I have the time for it, the company, the wherewithal.. I am any country's textbook example of an ideal tourist... the kind they should care for.

The problem with being a lazy tourist however is that I am also not made for the paperwork I need to fill out to get to that lazy holiday! It is a very sadistic exercise full of irony. I am trying to fill out these "tourist" visa applications that require me to attach a million documents, many of which are letters from my bank and insurance companies indicating that I can financially support myself in these countries at all times. I am not averse to the idea of proving my financial worth, but the multitude ways in which I am to do that is off-putting and unsettling even. I feel defensive, like some fraudulent criminal trying to pass off as being law-abiding... when in fact I am sometimes more law-abiding than people find convenient!

Now I am waiting for one last letter from my insurance company and have had to postpone my visa appointment to a week before I leave. I am not sure if I will still receive my letter by then, or if it is enough time to get my visa. I am beginning to question if it is worth going through this trouble at all. Do I need a vacation that badly?

You must think I am making a mountain out of a molehill, but this visa application process has begun to raise a lot of questions in my mind about my self-worth... which is somehow tied to the fact that I am an Indian (living as an alien in another country!). I am angry with myself. I feel letdown and also like I let myself down.

Forewarning: This may not be history, but it is some story alright!

Blessed Enrichetta 
O pray, o pray to the lord
Mother Enrichetta
O pray, o pray to the lord
Lover of Nature, Lover of Creatures
Lover of God, Lover of All

That's the best my school could come up with to honor Mother Enrichetta Dominici who was proclaimed "Blessed" by Pope Paul VI, in acknowledgment of her heroic virtues. She extended the apostolic commitment of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Ann's to the farthest regions of the world (Hyderabad!) that were not enlightened by the preaching of the Gospel.  

I found a romanticized version of the early beginnings of the school in The Hindu, which begins with

In the balmy spring of March 1871, six sisters from St Ann's Convent, Turin, Italy came to India, precisely Secunderabad. The mission on hand was to teach orphans of the war accommodated here. Sister Enrichetta, the Superior General of the Sisters of St. Ann was elementary in sending the sisters from Italy when Bishop Barbero knocked at the convent one Friday requesting for help. Legend says it that the sisters thought him to be a burglar to be ringing the bell at that time of the day.

Orphans of which war? Why couldn't the bishop wait until daylight to enter the convent? And why would a burglar ring the bell before entering a convent! The lack of logical reasoning in this legend should have dissuaded my family from putting me in this school, but as fate would have it, I, like my aunts and uncles, cousins and many victim friends, endured the teachings of the legend makers.  

My aunt seems to be celebrated as popular alumni in all the articles, including the "balmy spring" one. I don't think she realizes her fame, or that she shares it with Astronaut Rakesh Sharma and wait..  Sonia Gandhi (!)
  
I have always wondered how the catholic missionaries set themselves up without incident in Nizam's dominions. I know now that it wasn't easy. There's an interesting article called the "Diocese of Hyderabad", which speaks of the spread of christianity across the country between the early 1500s and late 1800s. The Diocese of Hyderabad seems to be the only one that had no regularly appointed missions in three centuries, although missionaries visited the dominions from time to time for short periods. However, there were Portuguese and Armenian Catholics in Golconda and Hyderabad during the 1600s and  missionary activity of some sort throughout these four centuries. 

The 1800s was an exciting time. Hyderabad was under the The Vicar Apostolic of Madras and then Calcutta for sometime, until Bishop Carew built a beautiful cathedral and church in Bolarum, (there is a brilliant business lesson in this - "marking territory by erecting huge symbols of supremacy"). This led to the envitable ---- missionary activity picked up dramatically, and the mission of Hyderabad-Deccan was made the Vicarate Apostolic with Bishop Murphy as its first vicar. Ironically, the bishop had to  live in Chuderghant on the borders of the Nizam's dominion owing to the intolerance, not of the Nizam, but Sir Henry Pottinger.

Pottinger has his own interesting story. He came to India in the early 1800s to serve in the army and travelled extensively between Indus and Persia disguised as a Muslim merchant and studying local languages under the orders of Sir John Malcolm.  He eventually joined the British East India Company, fought the Marata war, and became resident Administrator at Sindh and eventually Hyderabad. (Much later, he was also the first Governor of Hong Kong) 

Despite all obstacles, the Bishop Murphy applied to the Foreign Mission Seminary at Milan for more missionaries, and Fathers Pozzi and Barero were sent to him. There were british regiments quartered near Secunderabad, and the catholic population of the place thus went up to 4000. Between 1857 and 1864 six other missionaries came from Milan, and the Christian communities began to increase. But in 1864, owing to failing health, Bishop Murphy was forced to leave India and stayed on in Tasmania until he died.

The vicariate was then entrusted to the Milan Seminary of Foreign Missions. Father Giovanni Domenico Barbero (the burglar in the St. Ann's legend)  became vicar Apostolic, and was consecrated Bishop of Doliche, at Rome, 3 April, 1870. He procured some Sisters of St. Anne from Turin, and in 1871 established them at Secunderabad where they opened an orphanage and a girls' school. There ends the story! 

Today, the intimidating school building, whose forbearing grey walls ran from one end of the long street to another, and went all along, and all around the other side of the main road, with no beginning or end, plan or direction, has been brought down and with little protest! It feels like the end of an era!

Despite all the folklore surrounding it, St. Ann's was a simple school with simple people. We couldn't possibly feel strongly enough about anything. Our aspirations are only for that which is realizable without much effort! (This is the sort of generalization that gets me in trouble! I can feel it coming.)

It has been an ambience of merriment and grief over the last few days. The merriment mostly has to do with the state of affairs at home. The grief has to do with the affairs of my home State.

AP is turning into a cesspit of anarchic madness and I am an unwilling audience to the wave of mass hysteria that has engulfed it. I say unwilling because I want to be in it. I want to experience the madness firsthand...and not the helpless madness of the common people, but the wild opportunistic excitement that the politicians are experiencing right now! This is the time to exploit the highly tragic death of a great leader. The battle over succession is making headway in a riveting and comically muddled manner. I can’t seem to work out if all the clowning around in the name of decision-making is our way of taking politics seriously. Perhaps it is…or perhaps it inadvertently takes us on the (right) path of decision-making “in spite of” all the clowning around. We are now where we “wait and watch” but we are not waiting passively of course! God knows what we are watching... which is why I want to be in it!

When you are just a spectator to the events unfolding around you, it is a bit like believing in God and destiny. You know that your State’s future and the development of events thereupon is beyond your control, even though you are contributing to it in some way. A force of agency that is invisible to you usually predetermines what ensues, but you feel the need to have a say in this process. You want to address whatever dictates this inevitable series of events, but you don’t even know if it is a person, thing or supernatural being. NT Rama Rao for instance never quite revealed who or what he was! He arrived on earth as a black and white messiah dressed in a costume of a divine being; and took flight in color wearing an oversized superhero outfit. Somehow throughout all this, while we were watching him dance stiffly but charmingly with a vulnerable damsel half his age, he founded a political party and shaped the character of the State like we had never imagined!

I have decided therefore that I am a political agnostic. I claim neither faith nor disbelief in politicians. It is impossible to know whether there is such a thing as a good, well-meaning politician. If there is such a politician, it is impossible to know if he has complete understanding of what might be good for us, for there is no single correct solution to any political situation. Your best bet then is to BE the politician with an agnostic belief in yourself!

So far this uncertainty has worked in my favor. When chaos calls, bedlam abounds and brings with it some good, some bad, some opulence and loads of penury. There is balance in the world, and it seems to be tilted in my favor. I am where I feel for my State but am safely removed from it, so nothing about it affects me adversely.

Even so, it is only when a great calamity occurs, or a leader passes away that you notice how “soundly” people who are far removed from it choose to express their shock or grief. There are ardent enthusiasts who see YSR as a tall leader, an uber secular man of ideas, who undertook unprecedented projects of rural restitution. Then there are those who don’t want t see beyond his corruption and exploitation of power for personal gain. Their tribute to him is filled with blasphemy.

But, the thing that bugs me most throughout all this is not people’s adverse criticism for the political scenario in AP but the cynicism for the future. All discussions on “what now” seem to be wrought with great bitterness for “what has been” and “what is” on a very shallow level. A few disparate statistics and facts are thrown here and there - all pulled out of context, distorted, misconstrued, simplified and then blown out of proportion! But there seems to be no discussion on "what must" happen! Somehow our intellect terminates right after we pan, pummel, roast and tear apart our government. Who is going to eat the shredded and barbecued feast?

We have already made it amply clear that our politics is murderous! It is rife with caste wars and ideological struggles. It is studded with benighted stars who may be unenlightened intellectually or morally! This has been the case since time immemorial, but we continue to be baffled by this and keep bringing these nutters to power. But so far a lot of good has come out of it, and that we must not deny.

But, YSR is neither an incompetent nutter nor an unenlightened intellectual. He was a tough man who knew what he was doing and so did we. His election campaign rested solely on the continuity of projects he had undertaken in his previous tenure. He had no free TV and laptop schemes. His portfolio has been relatively impressive. The triumph of Congress recently was mostly his triumph. The support for him was like nothing the nation had seen in over four decades. It speaks for our approval of his previous efforts and faith in his leadership – something the Grand alliance failed to secure. He fought against odds of anti-incumbency and an almost unified opposition. The naxal movement saw a peak and a trough during his tenure and has remained at the trough point for sometime now. That in itself is a huge achievement. 

I want therefore to be able to ignore the denigrating remarks about his corruption and understand what about him prompts the glowing tributes that we have been witnessing over the past few days. What did he get right about our needs and what do we think we need!

“Doom” which is the constantly agreed upon prediction of our States future, seems to be eluding us somehow! I want to understand how we have managed this.

For now, I am thoroughly perplexed at the lack of clear procedures to facilitate the succession process and yet everything seems to happen involuntarily in a frenzied hurry. There is all this talk on how parties will choose to harness the emotion turbulence caused by YSR’s death to their advantage in the short and long term. In the mean time, there is Rosaiah and Jagan Reddy representing conflicting paradoxes within the same party. The topic of current interest is what it takes to be a good politician!

Here, we speak of the ideology of legacy, which is being tested to its limit. Is it the legacy of the Congress, or of YSR, is it of stability or of change? Do we need an old wizened politician or a young dynamic one; and do Rosaiah and Jagan Reddy rightly represent these two types or will their common link of egocentricity and dishonesty supplant this delineation.

This whole thing has got me thinking not about what we want of our future. I can hardly get a grip on what it takes to run a State and here I am wondering what I would look at when choosing a political party or a leader to assume responsibility and lead us in the direction of progress. Maybe I ought to think beyond my own life which is so removed from the real affairs of the State. I am so blind to the real identify of my State because I am not seeking to discern its identity, but looking to identify with it somehow. I put myself in it, but I am not its real denizen. When I speak of it, I speak as if I am an outsider, analyzing the government's rights and wrongs on issues I know little about, feel little empathy for, because they don't directly affect me. I know that if it doesn't work in my favor, I can have out! What meaning then does my pride or pessimism have for my State? And if it has little meaning, maybe I should stick to just feeling pride? Perhaps that will bring me closer to home?

So the verdict is out! After the maelstrom of uninterrupted election activity in the country, and the media's foofaraw over all trifling matters, a decisive victory has come into view. All the protracted drama and chaos has led to a stolidly calm end! Only, we are exactly where we began... with the same government, but a realization that this is exactly what we've always wanted! :) So we've made a hoopla about this democratic exercise and have finally voted for continued stability!  

I am relieved! I almost didn't know what to make of this election juggernaut push taking shape everywhere! We got dealt some fanciful cards of celebrities and performers, and despite the bewildering rumpus that they were creating,  and the blistering war between the radical left and right, all of whom were pushing portentously for power with overwhelming force, we seem to have chosen prudently!

At the end of it all, this election turned out to be a surprisingly peaceful one! The people who made the least noise have emerged victorious, leaving the opponents quite dumbfounded. Clearly, no one anticipated this smooth walkover, not even the Congress!

So, it is now time to make whoopee and glorify the elected government! It won't be too long before we are contemptuous again. The media will start inveighing against every seemingly important and unimportant decision that will be made by the ruling party! I am curious to see how people react to the priority of this season being judicial reform! Something tells me this can only be beneficial, but the impact of it may be less visible and may therefore go uncredited.   

Our lagging economy will see some rough times in the next year or so, and with no investment in infrastructure, and no major economic reform, it won't be too long before the people begin to sound pessimistic. The discussions will tend towards the pointlessness of this democratic exercise and we will forget all the intense passion that we just felt over the last few months. 

I don't mean to sound defeatist at all. I swing from this way to that and change my opinion on politics every day depending on who I speak to, and how passionate or dispassionate they are about politics. Some days I am overawed by the order in chaos that is the norm in our politics, some days I am deeply humbled by the sheer complexity of this democratic process, with its hundreds of political parties that address a myriad of issues, many of which I am completely clueless about. On other days, I am utterly baffled by the absurdity of it all. We have a sense of humor about our politics on a level I cant quite fathom! How else does one explain the buffoonery that we witness everyday as our leaders threaten to upload nude pictures of their adversaries, pass vile remarks about certain social classes, show incessant affinity with miscreants! We are one comic race, acting out an eccentric play with several exciting, emotional, unexpected series of events. 

That being said, this seems like a very important exercise that we ought to engage in as often as possible! It has little to do with picking the right political party to lead us, for there is no telling what might come out of one party being in power over another. There is no such thing as making an informed decision, at least not for the majority of people, me included!   
 
Perhaps in democracy, one isn't really voting for a party, for issues, or for an ideology. We seem to be voting for the idea of democracy and freedom, of being a part of a frenzy, and acting together, mindfully or mindlessly, but passionately nevertheless. And it is apparent that one needs nothing more than this game of mindless mass action to keep up moving forward!
 
Today I am feeling a bit hopeful and sanguine, and it is because I am reading India After Gandhi, in which Guha speaks of the miraculous birth of India in a short span of two or three years. Around the time of our Independence, over five hundred countries, were merged together, to form what we now know as India. It is the kind of achievement on a level that I can't even begin to comprehend. I can imagine an India with several religious entities, several social castes and classes living together peacefully and clashing every now and then! But I can't imagine an India split into so many parts where each part is more different from the other than France is from Spain or Germany is from England, where most entities wanted to remain independent countries and not come under the common umbrella called India! If we could achieve that kind of unity, what are the issues in politics that we face today in comparison!

What is it about India that attracted so many different kinds of people and cultures! Why are we so welcoming! We should have a special day to celebrate Secularism, as we do Independence! Happy Secularism :-)

I don't wear pink, but, there is a very pretty red polka chaddi that I am willing to send to the pink chaddi campaign. Only, I suspect my chaddi is too busy celebrating her honeymoon this Valentines day to want to present herself as a gift! :D

But, I hope that my "verbal" gesture on this blog at least "Loosely" establishes me as a Pub-going, Forward Woman. Because that is more important to me than making Sri Rama Sene Comrades' day!

I don't understand how ALF thinks pink chaddis will cause anxiety or be received badly by our Sene people... if anything, Sri Rama Sene should be ecstatic. Then again, the ALF aren't being all that generous. They are certainly not sending Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women giftwrapped in pink chaddis! :D

Am I being politically incorrect or apolitically correct! :D

A quiz question (the answer is all over your gtalk and facebook): What is one-word to describe a Pub-going, Loose and Forward Woman? Bev D ..... Ha!

Ever since I came back to DC, I haven't been able to sleep beyond 2 in the night no matter when I go to sleep. While staying awake all night is not new to me, waking up so early once I have fallen a sleep has never happened before. It is not even like I am sleeping during the day, even though the antibiotics are making me drowsy.

Today, I am awake at 2 after a very disturbed sleep. I was dreaming of rocking ferries and tornadoes and feeling sea sick, wanting to throw up. I woke up feeling nauseous. It felt like I had slept for a very long time, but it turns out I was in bed for 3 hours. Aren't the antibiotics supposed to make me feel drowsy? I am feeling languid and washed out, but I can't seem to sleep.

It's been over two days since I ate anything and I am not hungry. But, on the whole I am feeling better.

In the last two days I have been advised to "give a few days before I blog about any event in my life, so that I am able to disqualify unimportant details from my post that might seem dramatic now, but trivial later" So I'll do just that!

In the mean time, here are some telugu and tamil proverbs that I thought were quite ambiguous and even funny.

"Count the bamboo bars in your host's house"

What could this possibly mean! It is a very mysterious trope. Bamboos are not expensive, so it can't be the metaphor for money. But, they break easily, which gives the guest a chance to escape in case he has been taken "host"age :)

"The shouting donkey came and disturbed the eating donkey"

The only way this makes sense if I am the former and Tapi is the latter. I see NO problem with it whatsoever, although Tapi might think otherwise.

"Yenki's marriage has resulted in Subbi's death"

Were they lovers? I have a feeling this is to imply that the former's happiness was at the expense of the latter's life. Still, what a strange way to put it.

"He shakes more and pees less"

Ok. This is about false pride or bragging without any real achievement. But, what a way to say it!

"Even when throwing in the river, measure what you have"

Now why would I want to do that, except to prevent pollution! If you ask me the proverb should say "Never throw anything into the river"

"Even waste should be measured and discarded"

Ok! This is the same as the one above. But, I am willing to discount the "original" meaning (whatever it is, I really can't wrap my head around it) and credit it as a brilliant idea for recycling :)

"How much rice do you have? I have enough beans"

This is a Malayalam proverb. But, given that there is no coconut involved, the former is clearly not inviting the latter for a cooking party!

Looks like we have something in common with Greeks beyond the Big Fat Wedding! We have our own version of Delphic proverbs. Perhaps they are meant to be deliberately obscure.

Even as the horror of the attacks in Mumbai is still unfolding, I am beginning to worry about what will happen in the days to come. Will this lead to a bigger unrest and greater destruction around the world, should we expect or even hope that anything will change for the better, will we have moved on and forgotten about the indiscriminate slaughter of hundreds of people, and would forgetting in fact be the most appropriate response to terrorism and a luxury we can hope for.

It may be too early to worry about this. But, I feel fear. I hope this is not a prelude to a war.

Terrorism in India since 2001

Who would have thought the Smart Fortwo and a cousin would share the same space in Wired Magazine...

In the "what's wired this month" section...

There's my dream car on No.8 that has finally made it to the US

8. Smart Fortwo

Though this king of microcars has been scooting around the EU practically since before it was the EU, the Fortwo is finally making its way stateside. It's about time! Americans like to save gas, too; now we don't have to shell out Prius bucks or duck into the gray market. The Smart's 36 mpg is worthy of a hybrid but will set you back far less (it starts at $11,590). Better late than never.

and there's the "rogue" sociologist cousin on no.9 with his book called "Gang Leader for a Day"

9. Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh

In this action-packed eye-opener about life in the projects, sociologist Venkatesh recounts the six-plus years he spent embedded with Chicago's Black Kings gang. The author, whose work was featured in Freakonomics, balances detailed accounts of drug dealers and drive-bys with insights about the symbiotic relationship between cocaine-slinging gang members and housing-project residents — and how they hustle to make a living.

Amazing isn't it?

It's Wired's way of honoring a fan! =)
Click here for the other wired things this month

Christmas is full of lies...about where we are and where we need to be.
I am in DC, New York and Boston now.
What am I running from? Nothing!
Where am I running to? Not telling!
Why am I running? Cos it's the only real break I get and I like doing things my way .. and somehow I feel terribly guilty about it.
Not to mention, I am the boy who cried wolf.
And if you catch me red-handed, I am not running from you. I am just running.
Where will I be? Aaah see? Christmas eve, Washington DC. Come and get me! hohoho

This Christmas, we got season 1 of Battlestar Galactica, Heroes and Danger Mouse.
There's a really good Aamir Khan movie playing in the theatre in Virginia... and I still need to watch Atonement. Lot of syllabus to cover.

This is a very fictional Christmas (my lies included).

We celebrated ours with an argument on whether toilets and bath tubs drain clockwise in the southern hemisphere because of the Coriolis effect. =)

Wikipedia:
A misconception in popular culture is that the Coriolis effect determines the direction in which bathtubs or toilets drain, such that water always drains in one direction in the Northern Hemisphere, and in the other direction in the Southern Hemisphere. This urban legend has been perpetuated by several television programs, including an episode of The Simpsons and one of The X-Files. In addition, several science broadcasts and publications (including at least one college-level physics textbook) have made this incorrect statement.

Many sources which incorrectly attribute draining direction to the Coriolis force also get the direction wrong, stating that water drains clockwise in the northern hemisphere. If the Coriolis force were a significant factor, drain vortices would spin counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere, but in reality the Coriolis effect is a few orders of magnitude smaller than various random influences on drain direction, such as the geometry of the container and the direction in which water was initially added to it. Most toilets flush in only one direction, because the toilet water flows into the bowl at an angle. If water shot into the basin from the opposite direction, the water would spin in the opposite direction.

When the water is being drawn towards the drain, the radius of its rotation around the drain decreases, so its rate of rotation increases from the low background level to a noticeable spin in order to conserve its angular momentum (the same effect as ice skaters bringing their arms in to cause them to spin faster). As shown by Ascher Shapiro in a 1961 educational video (Vorticity, Part 1), this effect can indeed reveal the influence of the Coriolis force on drain direction, but only under carefully controlled laboratory conditions. In a large, circular, symmetrical container (ideally over 1m in diameter and conical), still water (whose motion is so little that over the course of a day, displacements are small compared to the size of the container) escaping through a very small hole, will drain in a cyclonic fashion: counterclockwise in the Northern hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern hemisphere—the same direction as the Earth rotates with respect to the corresponding pole.

I won. =) (although my brother insisted that I didn't understand the coriolis effect and questioned the law.. bah! I only questioned if it holds in the toilet =) ) ... an hour into the argument, it turns out my brother knew he was wrong, but didn't want to admit it, and went on until I broke down because he thought I was stupid! ... and then he felt terrible and apologized. =D

It was 11:45, 15 minutes to new year and we made a ton of resolutions from brushing teeth twice a day to calling home once a week, cutting down on starbucks visits, speaking correct english using as little "you know"s, "whatever"s and "like"s as possible... but we said nothing about not arguing or arguing fair =)

“He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened.”

Lao Tzu (600 BC-531 BC)
Founder of Taoism

There are individuals in this world who are able to appear in two or more places at the same instance in time. Everywhere they appear, they interact with the surroundings, move around, talk to people, touch objects, experience sensations as naturally as we all do. They are not ghosts or spirits or apparitions. They are great monks who can bend time and space.
By the end of your life, you will have seen at least one such great monk, but beware of the evil Doppelgängers. They are harbingers of bad luck and impending destruction. They cast no shadows and have no reflection. When they appear, they make themselves known as advisors. Heed not the word of the Doppleganger! Be especially wary of the ones that look just like you.

And if you still should want to see yourself in a different form,

					over time
					as a different tribe
					inspiring thought
					as the other sex
					a primate
					or even just with a befuddled mind

When it comes to minced oaths, I think the world is in agreement. For our own sanity we have sanitized swear words. It's doggone instead of god damn, bleeding heck instead of bloody hell, for crying out loud instead of for christ sake. There's cussing by alphabetizing like effin and BSin, there's semi-filtered profanity like S**T or @$$; and some choice even for the vocabulary challenged like bleep and @#$& that leave a lot of room for interpretation!!! (or not)
But this softening of profanity, leading to more people cussin almost matter-of-factly and very acceptingly and thereby acceptably, has me wondering if I must take their effort in sounding softly-profane as a mark of respect for me or as an insult because they think they've fooled me into thinking their words are a special collection of benedictions for their chosen one!

But really, if we are dirty in our head but don't say it out loud, are we less dirty?

As I think about it, I have added frak to my vocabulary... is frak ok?

I have been coughing for over three weeks, taking Nyquil whenever it is bad. Yesterday was the day of reckoning. I felt dizzy from coughing, almost wanting to throw up. My head hurt so bad, it was almost disabling. I’ve been having these terrible headaches for over two months now. Although I have them everyday, on some days they are so wicked that they seem characteristic of the devil. On one such occasion almost a month ago, I was in the metro heading back home, when my head began to throb. I felt acute pain on the sides of my head and soon the room felt smaller and unusually hot, my heartrate went up, I began to sweat. I couldn’t stand the lights or the piercing noise of people conversing around me. I just had to get out. I rushed out of the train in the next stop and sat on a bench, called my husband and declared emergency. He reached after 40 minutes, by which time I began to feel better. The same throbbing pain came back two weeks ago. Each time, there’s also a stinging pain in my right ear. Nothing helps, Tylenol, Advil, Excedrin.
The cough, the headache and the ear pain had to be related. There is no way I am suffering form three different ailments at the same time.

There’s this website called familydoctor.org that I go to whenever my body does something it shouldn’t. This time it is the cough and the headaches.

So I went through their self-diagnosis table a couple of times, each time very unhappy with the diagnosis.

I started with the table for cough.

TRIAL 1:

1. Has your cough begun recently? No
2. Are you very short of breath, and are you coughing up pink, frothy mucus? No
3. Does your cough produce clear or pale yellow mucus? Yes

Diagnosis: You may have a viral illness such as a Cold and Flu. Get plenty of rest, and drink lots of fluids. Try over-the-counter medicines to treat your symptoms.

This is what I have been doing for the last three weeks. My cough is only getting worse. I concluded that maybe my answer to Question 3 was a No. After all, I am not feeling particularly phlegmy. So I tried again.

TRIAL 2:

3. Does your cough produce clear or pale yellow mucus? No
4. Does your cough produce yellow, tan or green mucus? No
5. Does the cough come with shortness of breath and wheezing? No
6. Do you have swelling in your legs and/or shortness of breath when you are active or after you have been lying down? No
7. Do you have heart problems? No
8. Have you recently started coughing up blood or bloody sputum? No
9. Did you inhale dust, particles or an object? No

Diagnosis: For more information, please talk to your doctor. If you think your problem is serious, call your doctor right away.

For some reason, I wasn’t satisfied with this diagnosis either. I wonder why the chart doesn’t ask me if I feel heavy in my chest, tingly in my throat, nauseated, feverish, have throbbing pain in both sides of my head and if l am sensitive to light and sound.

I try the diagnosis chart for headaches next.

TRIAL 1:

1. Do you have a fever, cold symptoms, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea? No
2. Do you have a severe headache, stiff neck and vomiting, and does normal light hurt your eyes? Yes

Diagnosis: You may have MENINGITIS, a serious infection of the fluid around your brain and spinal cord, or INTRACRANIAL HEMORRHAGE, bleeding inside the brain. See your doctor or go to the emergency room right away.

I don’t think I’m hemorrhaging. Maybe, I’m exaggerating my pain. Maybe pain is when you see the light of heaven from the sky calling you towards it. I try again, this time answering my last question with a No.


TRIAL 2:

2. Do you have a severe headache, stiff neck and vomiting, and does normal light hurt your eyes? No
3. Have you injured your head or been knocked out recently? No
4. Do you have numbness, tingling or weakness in the arms and legs? No
5. Do you have pressure around your eyes, or do you have yellowish-green nasal discharge with a sore throat and a fever? Yes

Diagnosis: You may have a SINUS INFECTION. Treat fever, headache and sore throat with over-the-counter medicines, such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen. An over-the-counter decongestant and saline nasal spray may help relieve other symptoms. See your doctor if the pain becomes severe or your fever persists.

Hmmm, well I am not phlemy but I have a cough. Everything else seems more or less consistent with my symptoms. But the over-the-counter medicines haven’t been helping. So I call for a doctors appointment, and continue to play with my trials.

TRIAL 3:

5. Do you have pressure around your eyes, or do you have yellowish-green nasal discharge with a sore throat and a fever? No
6. Do you have mild to moderate pain around your temples and does the pain occur during times of stress or after you have been sitting in one position for a long time? Yes

Diagnosis: You may have a TENSION HEADACHE. Use over-the-counter medicine, such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen, to relieve pain. Getting plenty of rest, taking a hot shower and applying ice packs to painful areas may also help.

I can’t be having tension headaches. I don’t have long stressful work hours, I am not sleep deprived, I am anything but unhappy with my life.

TRIAL 4:

6. Do you have mild to moderate pain around your temples and does the pain occur during times of stress or after you have been sitting in one position for a long time? No
7. Do you have intense, throbbing pain, often with nausea or vomiting, and is the pain sometimes preceded by seeing flashing lights or spots? YES

Diagnosis: You may suffer from MIGRAINE headaches. See your doctor. He or she can diagnose your problem and may prescribe prescription medicine for migraines. In the meantime, use over-the-counter medicine, such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen, to relieve pain. You can also rest in a dark room and apply ice packs and gentle pressure to painful areas.

I finally conclude that mine is either a sinus infection or a migrane, although I am not coughing green mucus consistent with a sinus infection and my symptoms also include cough, making it more than just a migrane.

So the doctor calls me over. I walk to the clinic, which is about three blocks away. Strangely the cold breeze outside has a soothing effect, and my pain almost instantly evaporates. I sit in the doctors office waiting to be called, coughing and repelling patients around me. I notice that they have all moved to the other side of the room. After almost an hour I am called in. My doctor is a messiah from heaven. I have never seen him use a stethoscope in my 5 years in DC. He looks at me and observes my cough, I tell him my headaches are quite severe and that my right ear is screaming for attention too. He tells me I have a sinus infection. Sends me back home with antibiotics. I feel so much better now. No headaches and the cough has almost disappeared. Of course, I had to read every article there was on the net about sinus infections and see what these antibiotics do, especially since they seem to be working wonders. Life is beautiful, the sky is clear and there is no light from heaven.

I paid 300 bucks for contact lenses and an eye exam. This is after my insurance paid 120 bucks, leaving me to pay the remainder. I don't understand why a regular eye exam and contact lenses should cost so much! It's not like I have x-ray vision now or that my lenses allow me to see in the infrared spectrum, in the dark and through walls. They just make me look like I don't need glasses.

After watching Michael Moore's Sicko about the "profitable" American health care industry and how insurance companies rig the system and deny coverage, I feel like the victim!

Mom, I know you are reading this. I really need you to buy me lenses in India and send it through someone once a year!

Fine! Make fun of me, but this one was hard to resist.

I found this really beautiful nude beige lipstick, named after Aishwarya Rai in the L'Oreal aisle at CVS. I hate to admit, but I stood there staring at her creamy luscious lips for quite some time wondering if I should keep my dignity and resist the urge to buy it or buy it and pretend like I care less whose picture's on the cover!

I don't mean to be snooty, but it's hard to buy a product named after a celebrity. I suppose wearing a lipstick named after her isn't half as bad as having her poster up on a wall, but it still took a lot of deliberation. I decided to make the bold move!

Seeing as my staring was getting embarrassing anyway, there was no keeping my dignity. I cooly picked one up and dropped it into my basket, trying very hard to hide it from Tapi. He usually cares less what I buy, so I was confident that I could play it cool and it would go unnoticed. Perhaps, my "playing it cool" didn't help! I did everything short of whistling and he got curious! Aishwarya Rai was right on top of the basket and soon he was holding her in his hand with that evil thousand watt smile. I'll censor the teasing bit here, but will have to say that some people can really make you want to cry yourself to sleep for the rest of your life. =)

In my defense, it is SO hard to find a good non-glossy, non-intense lipstick that goes with the indian skin tone. So when you find a good nude lipstick that's close to the natural lip color and with that little extra oomph to it, you get suckered into it, even if it has Rai's signature.

It's a limited edition and I really had to fight hard not to buy some more and horde them for later! No. I won't make the desperate move. Not yet!

When I was a kid, my dad would catch me in front of the mirror playing with my mom's makeup and say "enough of playing sridevi and scent bottle. go study"! There's still a big figurative dent in my head resulting from that statement. Really! Sridevi and Scent Bottle? What was he thinking? It was more like devil wears prada! =D

Of the Indians I have met in the US there are two groups:

• those who love being around other Indians, look to living in cities with large Indian communities and keep away from non-Indians as much as possible outside work

and

• those who don't want to have anything to do with Indians, or at least don't go about actively seeking them unless they are family or friends.

This is not a generalization of the entire Indian population in the US, just my observation of people I have met so far. But, whenever I meet an Indian, I automatically pigeonhole them into one of these two categories.

I don't think I have a bad opinion of either. Everyone comes to the US with a vision of what they want out of this country and that essentially dictates how they live their lives here.

I think I fit in the former category, except I seek to interact ONLY with the indians in the latter category and as a result have become ostracized from both and find solace in the company of other immigrants (not necessarily indian). =)

As always, this is just a start.

Appy:
For a long time, this was the “other” drink. I don’t think it had much of a fan following but we drank it once in a while, when we were in a mood for something like frooti but not quite. Is that the best way to put it?

Remember the rumor about Appy having pork in it? It is partly true. Most apple juice companies add some sort of animal-based enzyme to break down the apple’s cell wall and extract as much juice out of it as possible.

It does not say so in the ingredients list on the cover because the enzyme is broken down during the processing stage, and therefore does not have to be listed as an ingredient. But if you call the company and ask, they are usually required to tell you if they do or don’t. I haven’t asked, but some people obviously have. Try searching for “appy pork” on google.

The drink reminds me of summer and more specifically a picnic or a vacation with family.

Barcardi Rum:
Be, what you wanna be, taking things the way, they come,
Nothing is as nice as finding paradise and
Sippin' on Bacardi Rum.

I didn’t see myself ever having rum on the beach like those trendy bikini clad models in the ad, but it was such a fun song! It’s not the original obviously, but it represents Bacardi Rum to me. It’s also the first alcoholic drink I had in college. Does Channel [V] still have the Bacardi Blast show? It was that late night live entertainment show showcasing the hottest parties in town. It was fun watching random foreigners and very yuppy looking Indians swinging to some really groovy tunes.

Bajal
I used to drink this during my Summer and Christmas breaks every year in Manipal at a time when Coke and Pepsi were hard to get in smaller towns. It used to come in Cola, Orange and Lime flavors and was cheap enough that I was allowed to have one Bajal a day after I came back from the MIT swimming pool at 5 every evening.

Bisleri
The most popular bottled water brand in India, which became household name and synonymous with any spring or mineral bottled water in the country. At one point, it was an NRI-symbol, and the distinguishing factor between a resident and a foreign-returned indian, because they drank Bisleri even at home. Things have obviously changed now. When I visited India, I had no one walking behind me with a bisleri water bottle :-( To all Indians, it’s a must-buy when traveling by train. There’s always the obligatory discussion amongst passengers on how “even bisleri is not reliable” Still, we cling to it like our life depends on it.

Boost
Is NOT the secret of my energy. It may have been a healthier version of Bournvita, and may have even tasted the same, but that wasn’t enough to make me want to drink it. Brand loyalty came in the way. Boost is said to be the first HFD (whatever that means) to use celebrity endorsement to promote the energy benefit of malty drinks. Kapil Dev and Tendulkar on the screen saying "Boost is the secret of my energy... our energy" in my head is the grown up equivalent of "I'm a complan boy...and.. I'm a complan girl". I hear there are sweet shops in India selling Bosst barfis!

Bournvita
Yummy in powder form too! My brother was a Bournvita drinker and I alternated between cocoa and bournvita. I remember my grandmom making two glasses of bournvita every morning. She chilled one in the fridge for us to have in the evening and gave us the piping hot one in the morning. Those were good days. Sigh! They call it a chocolate drink, but it's more malty than chocolaty. I just learnt from wikipedia that Hritik Roshan attributed his superpowers to Bournvita in Koi Mil Gaya and it sequel Krish! I watched both films, but didn't know this until now. Intheresthing!

Brooke Bond Tea
Not my tea, but it’s THE tea brand in India. There’s Brooke Bond Taj Mahal with the famous tabla jugalbandhi ad in which Zakir Hussain plays the tabla with his dad and says “Wah! Taj, Wah!” in the end. Taj Mahal tea became synonymous with all tea bags in India. In fact, I don’t remember any other tea bag brand in the country. There’s Brooke Bond Red Label Tea for all the masala chai or adhrak tea drinkers and the 3 Roses tea, known for it’s perfect color, strength and aroma. Am I missing another one?

Bru Instant Coffee:
A strong instant coffee-chicory blend, perhaps closest to the authentic decoction coffee, but still not quite the same. I hear there is a Bru cappuccino endorsed by Karan Johar (!!!), which is supposed to be out of this world.

Cadbury Cocoa
Cocoa dissolved in a glass of hot or cold milk with two spoons of sugar, and some more cocoa powder sprinkled on top is the most heavenly drink in the whole wide universe. Even as I write this, I can feel the bitter power and the sweet hot chocolate milk in my mouth. Yum! There were other hot chocolate drinks in India, names of which I don’t remember that were quite good. Still this one was the best and had a more chocolaty taste to it.

Campa cola
I don’t remember what campacola used to taste like, but, had to mention it because it was the leading soft drink brand for a long time until Pepsi and Coke made it to the Indian market in the 90s.

Canada Dry
Not the regular club sodas or the ginger ales we see here. The one in India is quite lemony. Very much like the green bottle drinks. I don't remember if this too came in the same green bottle.

Citra
Super cooler! :) I totally forgot about this green bottled drink until Chris commented on this post and reminded me about it. It didn't have a personality of it's own, and was just the "other" green bottled drink, competing or should I say dwarfed by Sprint and later 7'up. Catchy ad jingle though! This was later replaced by Sprite, owned by the same guys. Sprite did quite well, at least almost as well as 7'up.

Complan
The complete planned food! Perhaps the most expensive milk drinks in India that came in every imaginable flavor possible. I remember eating it more than drinking it, especially the vanilla, chocolate and mango flavors. I remember my mom trying to synchronize my brother’s Farex flavor with my Complan flavor because both came in an abundance of varieties. I’m told Complan also came in Chicken, Vegetable, Oats and Beef flavors, but I don’t remember seeing them in the store.

Continental Coffee
Milder than the other instant coffees and also my favorite.

Double Seven
Don’t remember this drink at all. I’m guessing it was much before my lifetime, but definitely talked about a lot.

Dukes
All I know is that it is always mentioned together with double seven, when people get nostalgic about drinks from their past.

Frooti
The first Indian drink that I know of that came in those paper boxes. We were all so fascinated by it. It’s a sweeter, more diluted version of Maaza, and I never quite liked the taste, but loved the idea of drinking in those paper cans. At a time when the other sodas in glass bottles were not convenient to carry and weren’t even sold so that the bottles could be discarded after use, Frooti was the only thing people could buy to take to picnics or when traveling by trains. I have a lot of summer-time memories associated with frooti. Nothing specific, just that I drank a lot of it during summer.

Gold Spot
Gold spot the zing thing, gold spot!
The first orange sodas in the market. It apparently had a better following in smaller towns and rural areas than in big cities. Again, Im not a great fan of orange soda, although I used to drink it every once in a while. I hear collecting gold spot caps were quite a craze at one time and were traded for Jungle Book stickers. The gold spot adds too were quite funky and focused on the “latest craze” of the generation.

Horlicks
Didn’t like it, but believed that it was good for me when I was sick. I know I am not alone. No matter what milk energy drink people drink in their regular life, they (almost unwillingly) shift to horlicks for the few days that they are sick. And if that was their branding strategy, it worked very well. In fact, I hear Horlicks guaranteed a good nights sleep too, if drunk just before bedtime. Of course, that’s not to say that there aren’t people who drink it on a regular basis, and as the company claims even “eat it”. Best part about the drink? The small horlicks lumps in the milk that don’t dissolve fully. I hear they sell horlicks disks in some places, I wonder if they taste like threptin biscuits. :D Also (from Wikipedia), The word Horlicks is now a
substitute for "bollocks".

The term was used in July 2003 by British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw ("a complete Horlicks"[1]) to describe irregularities in the preparation and provenance of a dossier regarding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Kingfisher Beer
A monopoly in the Indian beer market for a long time until Budweiser and Carlsberg penetrated the market a few years go. It is still Asia’s most successful beer. I never had it while I was living in India, but now I do sometimes when I go to an Indian restaurant. Perhaps the only lager I can think of that gets me drunk quickly, but it is an uninteresting drink, malty with bitter hops and a very strong skunky smell. Come to think of it, it is the only Indian beer have had (not counting India Pale Ale, which is not Indian) , but I am always fascinated with Indian beer names, Kalyani Black Label, Soumitree, Haywards, Royal Challenge, Castle… all lagers.

Kissan Squash
Really like Kissan squash drinks. Especially the orange, lemon barley and lemon squash flavors. I am told the lemon barley squash drink is only for people with certain urinary problems. It still tasted good, bah!

Limca
Lime and Lemony Limca. Limca Limca!
Never liked the taste of limca. It has a very sharp, bitter aftertaste. As far as I am concerned it is the worst drink in the market, although I know a few loyal drinkers. I am told it's a huge hit with foreigners. May be because there is no limca equivalent in other countries. The closest that comes to it is Fresca, a better version if you ask me, sweeter and less fizzy. I read on Wikipedia that Limca has a slightly gingery taste to it, but I don’t remember it being gingery at all. But, despite the bad taste I sometimes drink Limca to assert loyalty to my country! :-) Limca also publishes the Limca Book of Records, which is the Guiness equivalent in India.

Lipton’s green label tea:
One of my favorite Indian Darjeeling teas that I grew up drinking. The long leaf blend is the finest I have seen in India and has a very distinct sweet aroma and a delicate taste that’s best relished with no milk or as little milk and sugar as possible. I know some people who have it with honey and lemon even, which is not too bad if you ask me.

Maaza
Taaza mango, maaza mango. Except fresh mango juice, this is the best mango drink I have had, hands down. Love it. Still buy it in the Indian store in the US.

Miranda
My mom’s favorite soda. Coicidentally, she calls my brothers house Miranda now because it is a combination of my brother and sister-in-laws names. Miranda took over gold spot’s popularity and was a sweeter and fizzier version. I didn't really care for the drink so much, except when I asn't in a mood for something as aerated as coke or 7'up even.

Mountain Dew
Do the Dew! Catering to young adventurous adults into extreme sports, this is the only drink I can think of that comes in a green bottle, but is not completely transparent. It's a semi-opaque cool green-yellow aerated lemon-lime drink. It comes in a ton of weird flavors in the US, and even have an online game on their website called Dewmocracy where poeple get to vote the next flavor of Mountain Dew, but in India there's just one Dew, their classic and their best.

Rasna
I love you Rasna! :-) The first thing that comes to mind is that very famous “Rasna hairstyle”, which became a huge craze thanks to that little cubby girl in the ad holding a glass of orange rasna. The drink was a little too sweet for my liking, but much to my annoyance, it was a favorite birthday parties for a long long time.

Soma juice
I remember a trip to Kakinada with my granddad in the car, when I slept on his lap all through the 6 hour journey, only getting up to have Soma Juice, whenever the car stopped for a break.

Sprint
I used to be fascinated by sprint’s green bottles. Always thought of it as a grown-ups drink, cos it was my dads favorite. So whenever I drank it, I felt grown up, like I was drinking something out of my league. Even as I think of it, I can feel that same emotion, that same sense of accomplishment that I felt back then while drinking a bottle of Sprint.

Sprite
It's not just the name that's similar, the taste, the look, the feel of it all is just like Sprint. The only things I can think of other than the cola drinks that are so similar are the eclair chocolates, one by cadbury and one by some random company.

7’up
Funny how all the green bottled drinks lined up under each other. Was it intentional? Nah! 7'up completely took over sprint's green-bottle monopoly with the help of a frizzy haired dude called Fido Dido. The Fido Dido stickers and wristbands became such a craze that we all obsessively collected those bottle caps and bartered some with friends to get our hands on them. Eventually, the spunky dude made it to lunch boxes and school bags, but luckily his hairstyle didn’t catch on.

Thums Up
Taste the thunder :-) My favorite cola drink, and very distinct from the other colas owing to the stronger, fizzier, and less sweet taste with a nutty flavor. Back in the days, when Coca Cola and Pepsi were still unheard of in India, the drink overshadowed a lot of it’s contemporaries like Campa cola, Double seven and Dukes. Interestingly, it was marketed as a manly drink, and was deliberately packaged in chafed up bottles. But THIS woman will drink it like nobodys business. :-) I almost certainly have a couple stocked in my fridge always. It’s best had with rum.

I googled "why indians stare" to see what the world has to say about our bad habit and read a lot of embarrassing complaints from Indians and the rest. Never mind that. In the process, I learnt about the performance of different countries and found some startling statistics about India. Startling is probably not the word, striking maybe.

I haven't included statistics of our economy, population, military capabilities and communications, because I thought the ones below represent our public spirit or should I say national conscience better!

Of the 195 countries in the world, India ranks

120 in press freedom (shocking, shocking!)

109 in the global peace index, meaning countries most at peace and driving for peace.

120 in the environmental performance index

2, 3, 7, 8, 18 in dangerously populated cities of the world

112 in the world's health system

115 in the human development index

9 for the likelihood of a terrorist attack

How did i come up with these you ask! well, i made 'em up! no. I didnt. Here's the link.

I don't know what to make of these numbers. They make us look terrible. Somehow, the low rank in press freedom is depressing me most!

“Mr. Aldous Huxley recounts his visit to the Taj at sunset. The choice of hour was at the advice of his guide, he said. He describes the building as “picturesque,” and apparently he considers it in a class with Sezincote or the pavilion at Brighton, the two famous examples of romantic, mock-Mughal architecture in England. When the sun was going down, he speaks of the silver of the river, the rich verdancy of the gardens, the evening sounds of birds and insects, the changing colors of the sky, and the presentiment of the planets Venus and mercury. He was impressed with everything he saw- with the exception of the building. “Nature” he says, “did its best,” but “the Taj was a disappointment”. __A Critique On The Taj Mahal by Clay Lancaster I can’t agree more.

So the Taj won(dered) again! Now what? Arguably, this is the most emotionally biased win by a bunch of supercilious fanatics, who are getting keyed up about a triumph that they did little to contribute towards. I don’t even think a lot of thought went into why Taj Mahal should be voted as a seventh wonder.
In the process, great monuments that represent ideals of greater importance are being overshadowed. Not to mention, Taj’s own scholastic assessment has been completely eclipsed.

Let’s talk about the positive attributes first:
• Taj won primarily because it represents love and passion.
• Not only this, it inspired a great deal of literature. Admirers attracted to the picturesque monument have showered it with praise in the form of poetry, fictional stories and even contributed to many myths surrounding it’s prominence. Likewise, artists criticizing the Taj seem to be overflowing with creativity as well.
• Architecturally, it is renowned for it’s aesthetic beauty. Rightly so!

Now the negatives:
• Irrespective of what it looked like in the 17th century, the white shimmering marble is now a dull yellow, badly maintained and completely lacks luster. The air is polluted, the water is smelly, the place is filthy. It’s all very chaotic.
• We’ve heard innumerable stories about the great craftsmen who constructed this monument of love. They were horrifically mutilated to satisfy the emperor’s fanciful wish that there is to be no other monument as elegant and bewitching as the Taj Mahal anywhere in the world. What a price to pay to gratify his ego and his love for one woman. Is that the ideal we voted for?
• In view of the fact that the aesthetically beautiful monuments that lost candidacy represent civilization, democracy, dignity, dialogue, intellect, mysticism, endurance, generosity, hope, imagination, our vote for Taj that represents passion-at-the-expense-of-many-great-lives is unfair, to say the least.
• Not to mention, this is a colossal waste of money spent on one man's muse. Even today, duplicating the Taj would be impracticable. All things considered, it is a hopeless price to pay for something whose value for the money spent is questionable.

So what is India proud about? And how does one compare several aesthetically diverse monuments, that represent an assortment of ideals, that were created under incommensurable circumstances, using varied technologies, over many periods of times? What was the criteria for selection?