Why do we pray to God?

Man has prayed to the power above us since time immemorial.None of us has seen God.Yet i have prayed...prayed everyday.I have often wondered about God but never doubted God's existence.I am not agnostic...certainly not.I believe there is a rhyme and reason to everything in this world.I guess that's what our myriad scriptures also say : there is an order a pattern to everything. How things happen daily,how our body works, how people talk, the rain, the sunshine, our busy lives, there is a set ordered pattern for everything.

There is even a reason behind our chaotic existence.Chaotic? Of course it is chaotic.Our lives are more mechanical than we can imagine and accept. Unwittingly, we have made ourselves like the
minute hands of the clock ticking away continuously.We are like puppets dancing away.How many of us have the time to stop and smell the roses?And yet there must be a reason behind our lives being so chaotic and mechanical.The fact that our chaotic , busy lives are small bits of an undisclosed broader picture cannot be overruled. I think it cannot be understood also.It is too complex to question the reason for our existence or to understand the broader picture.

But there are certain things that can be understood.....The fact that in spite of everything we still pray.We have progressed, are hard pressed for time, do not believe that God created us...but invariably we all do pray.I fail to buy it when someone says, he/she does not pray, does not feel the need to pray or does not believe in God to pray.That's hard to accept.One may never have believed in God or religion, never have been to a place of worship, but yet they must have prayed sometime in their lifetime.How? Because if one thinks more objectively, prayer is nothing but an appeal to the higher senses. Our notions of God and religion (most of them) are through man himself , but these higher senses are far more divine than we can probably know.These senses are within us and make us more human.One need not go to a church ,temple or mosque or any other place to pray.That may not be the only way to pray.When one pleads for mercy,for help, for justice ,he is praying.These higher senses, justice,mercy,compassion, understanding are too good to be human virtues.They are divinity manifested in all of us. I think god gave us that bit of himself to all of us when he sent us away.So when we pray to God, we just pray for the divinity to stay alive in all of us.

In other words we all pray to keep ourselves more human and less animal, even in our cluttered existence. We pray everyday for the human in us to rise above the animal. Some of us succeed and some do not. But consciously or unconsciously that is what we are doing when we pray. The broader picture remember? We have a penchant for complicating things but come to think of it things are quite simple and God is no complicated entity.He is right there and that's what some people have been trying to tell us all blokes since eternity ( all saints, gurus, messiahs everyone...)So for those of us who get cynical and say there is no humanity in this world...we are praying for it everyday...just that we don't realise it seems. So not everything lost for humanity , you see? not as yet.

Why are we rude?

Why are we rude? Yes...we are.And guess what we are also perceived to be rude.I have had american colleagues remarking that in India people walking on the streets do not acknowledge a friendly nod, or a smile.You smile at them they stare back as though you were invisible and they could see through you! Women especially are so much accustomed to road romeos who stare incessantly at them as though they were a specimen from outer space.

..."So you stare at them, smile...no response.If you are lucky you may not be mistaken to be a loafer and spared."

I heard this remark and did not know what to say. I mean what could i say? Why are people like that?

Come on this may not suffice to be called rudeness , but wait iam not done yet.

Retail has picked up pace in India.They are retail supermarkets in every corner of the country.Reliance fresh, Foodworld, Food Bazaar, More, Nilgiris etc etc etc...this list is expanding as i write. Good Service is also one of their several mottos.They recruit staff left and right. Of course they need staff don't they?If the person knows to read and write ..thats enough..( I seriously dont know what the selection criteria is ) The person learns on the job is evident from the fact that they never seem to know where which stuff is to be found, and also take up enormous amounts of time to bill the items.But then what about manners? Are they ever taught how to deal with customers?How to be polite?Most of them assume that their mere prescence is enough.They are not supposed to be of any help whatoever.

Queues? How can we forget that? People fall on you, step on your feet, swear at you ...all this just to save a few minutes. No one bothers to apologise. Waiting for your turn patiently is passe and jumping places and pushing your way through people is considered an achievement.

Customer service is abolutely non-existent .I have come across rude and curt replies from customer service executives.

Need one point out about "Road rash"? That people hardly follow traffic rules is well known, but what is really vexing is the lack of empathy people exhibit. Paedestrians are generally given a hard time and people swear incessantly to get their way.And when we are talking about rudeness , chivalry is best forgotten.It is a forgotten virtue. An extint virtue.

We teach our children alphabets, numbers, tell them stories, ensure they go to the best of schools and speak english better than our neighbour's child.But i wonder how many teach their children to be polite?Say "sorry" and "Thank You".Children are impressionable. In most cases they inculcate manners from their parents. A country that sees divinity in animals , mountains and rivers fails to respect and regard fellow human beings with grace. India is definitely a country of paradoxes.

Over here each and every person steps out of the house with the mindset that he is about to fight a battle. Everyone goes on a kill here and goes about thinking that every other person on the street is out to deprive him of something. Any advantage gained on another person is an achievement , a victory.So even if one has to compromise on politeness , they don't give any "damn" about it.

Music is divine...

The recent times have been bad for music lovers.One after the other,musical icons passed away.First Michael Jackson, then Carnatic doyenD.K.Pattammal and recently Gangubai Hangal.Each one of these talents and geniuses in their respective genres.And what distresses more is that they all were undoubtedly members of a dying tribe.Tribe? Geniuses? Sure! Prodigies in their life time? Sure! Famous ? Of course! But most importantly what strikes about musicians of their calibre is their passion when they perform.

No,not like the "out on your face" artificial display of passion, by a lot of today's "musicians", but a serene expression of bliss almost divine which makes us believe that these are indeed blessed souls.I have been held in raptures by the divine glow on Pandit Ravi shankar's face while playing the sitar,or the devotion evident on M.S.subbalakshmi's face when she sings a kriti. Seeing Lata mangeshkar perform in live concerts still gives me goose bumps.

Can we boast of any such musicians who could inspire such awe?Perhaps because, today music just serves as a ladder to fame and money and ceases to be a lifelong dedication , a love affair.This also explains the bliss of the faces of certain musicians when they perform.It is almost as if they had just that one moment to live.No wonder these musicians live on long after they are dead and gone.

Moneybags anyone????

RBI has decided to introduce 10 rupee coins soon. Industry has welcomed the decision saying that once this happens consumers will shell out 10 rupee coins without hesitation.( All in the mind....coins seem insignificant right?)
It happenened so when 5 rupee coins were introduced.People did not think twice before shelling out a extra five rupees for their purchases!

Smart thinking people I must say! But then what next?

Can we expect 20...50 ....100 rupee coins? Just imagine how it would be then? Paper money is just a modern invention.It took years for it to come to the form it has.Earlier ages ago, people were carrying metal money....gold coins, silver coins,broze coins...etc etc....I wonder will we soon be carrying moneybags?
Metal money to paper money...and now back to metal money.Interesting thought this is...

We may not be Mr.Bachchan ,but listen to us also...

We may not be Mr.Amitabh Bachchan, but we also need our civic woes to be listened to.It seems Mumbai's most famous resident wrote in his blog about the water clogging problem at his bungalow in Juhu and lo and behold, Mumbai municipal officials were at his doorstep explaining what went wrong and why the water clogging took place.

Municipal babu sahebs, we keep explaining to you guys what is wrong and you pretend to be deaf .Why so? Can we not have legitimate problems that deserve to be looked into?

There are residential localities with roads filled up with potholes, drains overflowing, not to mention that water clogging is a usual phenomenon in most of the areas in Bangalore whenever it rains heavily.Yet we common people are never blessed with a "darshan" by our municipal authorities in spite of our repeated entreaties. The day they react to our problems like they did to Big B's, our country will never be the same. Touch wood.

Books I hate to finish

This post has been on my "to post" list for a real long time. I thought of making a list of books i have never been able to finsh reading till date (I dont't think I have the courage to do it in future)
1)Untouchables by Mulk Raj Anand : I have made numerous attempts at reading this , but have failed.I think i might give it a try some time soon.
2)Dracula by Bram Stoker :This book was interesting and i stopped reading it when the story was in a interesting position.But thenI read a illustrated classics comic on Dracula( good one!) and also i have seen this in so many movies , I was not so much keen to go back to the book.
3)Persuasion by Jane Austen: Oh my god! What a book! I must have hardly read 2 chapters.
4) Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak: One more torture of a book.The movie though was good.I actually made one of my friends undergo the torture of reading this book. Just to hear her reaction ( He he he).soory Div if you are reading this !
5)Moneychangers by Arthur Hailey:I have read other books by Arthur Hailey but found this passable.
6)Sands of time by Sidney Sheldon: Perhaps the only Sidney sheldon book i picked up and could not finish reading.
7)The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald: Iam quite embarassed while i type this beacause this book is always placed among the literary classics of the 20th century.Well i know ....I started reading this book and left it in between.Some one please tell me what is remarkable about this book.I might then consider going back to it.

There are a lot more books i have bought , but never started reading them ...let alone finish it. But then i will do justice to them some day....some day i will find the time....really what a wretched life this is...

Cuckoo ...koo...koo

Of all the things I am really gratified about , one is that I get woken up inthe morning by a great " Good morning" song these days! A Cuckoo has taken a fancy to a tree opposite to my balcony window and makes it a point to perch itself on its branches every morning and croon "good morning" koo...koo...koo....

It is also quite diligent about it...always on time.Touch wood. Just when Bangalore is getting crowded and polluted by the day, trees are being cut left and right ( Cubbon park! ), I happen to have a cuckoo croon to me everyday! What next? Perhaps a few sparrows hopping around in my balcony? Now that is what I call wishful thinking!

Bill comes free!

By the way...an interesting message displayed at a coffee day counter :

Please ask for the bill. It comes free!!

Cool one right??

Watch these "eye-catching" advertisements...

Look how much the Zoozoos have become popular?...And are they not adorable?..Really kudos to vodafone for coming up with this brilliant advertising campaign...no stars, no frills,only these wonderfull characters and their cute ads.The way the idea is conveyed in the ads is also fantastic.Especially the one about sharing jokes, copy your contacts etc.Good ! advertising has come of age.But then there are some more "eye-catching" ads also.Some are really good and some....well...hmm..not really.The virgin mobile ads..."think hatke" ones...Hello what are they thinking?...Boyfriend flirting with girlfriend's mom..Man lying to wife/GF ?? that he's working while he is lounging with a bunch of girls..Sorry to say we dont find it humorous...maybe we are not able to "think hatke".The domex ad...the most disgusting ad i have seen...i mean we all know it is for cleaning the toilets.But why make it so explicit...??I mean the toilet and the stains...ugghhh...dont want to go into the details.What really disgusts me is that the ad always comes when iam plonked on the sofa eating something..perfect timing ..damn!
Most irritating Ad ever: the Tata Indicom ad with all the actors going Hello...hello...god!
The IPL ads (KKR,Rajastan Royals,Royal Challengers) were also interesting. But you know who takes the cherry on the cake?...Our political parties...Yup...The Jai ho!! and Jaya ho!! was super interesting to watch...Really funny the way these netas pull each other down. And how many times did i see : This programme has been sponsered by... blah blah blah and...Congress!! Wonderful use of the media guys! Netagiri has come of age too!

Recent trip to Wayanad...

We made a recent trip to Wayanad...an unspoilt (yes...still so) scenic paradise. Situated on the border of Kerala and Karnataka (border of bandipur actually) this was a ideal weekend retreat for all of us bored bangloreans. We left on a saturday morning and the route took us through the Bandipur wildlife reserve.I kept craning my neck outside the car window and luckily spotted some peacocks, spotted deer and also a wild elephant...(there were some claims of having spotted a bison...but it remains disputed as of now..).

We reached around evening and stayed in the forest guest house in the Muthanga Wildlife sanctuary.That was quite an experience. As we sat in the verandah, we saw spotted deer grazing on the field next to our compound, peacefully.Staying in the forst guest house was a unique experience.So was our early morning sojourn in the forest department jeep to spot more animals....this time we saw some more deer,wild fowl, monkeys and a reclusive sambhar deer!

Lovely images from the Muthanga Wildlife reserve:

Also went to the Edakkal caves and though the climb was tiring ...it was worth the effort...the cave paintings are indeed awe-inspiring and the view from the top is breath-taking...

We could not see pookut lake because of the time shortage but next time maybe we can!

There was also this waterfalls we went to see ( i don't remember).We had to trek a lot (poor tired souls) and at the end of it there was nothing but a trickle to water!

Finally we came back on sunday night and the trip though short will remain memorable...

Disappeared from blogosphere....and back!

Disappeared without any trace...what a shame...bloggers like me (phew!!!)...
A friend in fact asked me if i was resting in peace...(scroll below my last entry....Rest In peace R.I.P)......But nope iam back and hope to start posting....And for all those who reached out to enquire my mental well-being after reading the poem, plz rest assured Iam completely sane and undepressed as yet....

R.I.P (Rest In Peace)

Minutes pass away like years,
as I sit in this solitary retreat,
wiping away salty tears,
and so i have done for years.

I fight not despair,
I fight not fear,
I fight not failure,
I fight no one dear,
I fight my demons.

I fight those demons,
who appear to plague me,
every moment without solace,
they torment me,though i wish to make peace,
they pursue me and never seem to cease.

Demons of the past threaten my tomorrow,
with every step that I tread forward,
they pull me towards sorrow.
Past are bygones ,so I have heard,
not for these demons,maybe not until Iam dead.

I call out to these demons to devour me,
have their fill and set my soul free.
Let it feel light , let it feel infinite.
But these demons still dwell in me,
to liberate me, they will never agree.

So let me lead this life at their will,
let them drain me and have their fill.
Let every smile be a precursor to pain,
Let every victory be in vain,
May this poem be my Swan-song,
Yet I will live with this white hope,
that my inner demons will be finally put to rest,
Rest In Peace......

Kahaani Soap operas ki

Do you feel like detaching your brain from your head and feel "brainless"? Fret not then!
Tv soaps will help you !

For years now TV soap operas have done their bit in the emancipation of millions of womankind and also mankind (why leave them behind?) who needed that bit of thrill, fantasy, drama and glamour in their dull , boring drawing rooms.In came the soaps and there was perhaps nothing better.First it was the K - sagas started by Ektaa Kapoor. Her K - influenza of soaps churns out and hits the TV screens at regular intervals.Why blame Ektaa alone? What about the horde of Balaji telefilms inspired soaps on rival channels like Zee ,Sony ,Sahara etc etc.These k- soap cronies are no different.Its the same stale stuff dished out with new names.

There was a time when tv serials highlighted issues, told and depicted stories in a realistic manner.Then the budgets were small but originality and quality compensated for it.Today TV portrays a wide range of issues :ranging from the same old saas -bahu sagas....to the endless confrontations between the heroine with "sanskaar" (Indian values) taking on the devilish (ultra-modern ,un-sanskaari )vamp........to an "icchadhari nagin" seeking reveange..... to Re-incarnation a la "Om Shanti OM".And i thought icchadhari nagins , bhavishya- vanis and re-incarnations only happened in Chandrakantha! But who's complaining? All this stuff is greedily lapped up by millions of viewers.A new section of Pseudo celebrities have sprung up.Their claim to fame : mediocre acting skills in even more mediocre soaps or participation in some of the numerous reality shows on TV.

TV once held the torchlight to Bollywood when it came to quality entertainment.But now check the facts...Most of the TV soap plots are inspired from B-grade bollywood flicks.Not to mention the occassional film song that breaks out during the serial .

When satellite TV invaded our homes years ago, we took it as a boon as compared to old,boring Doordarshan.But old serials from DD like Malgudi days, Byomkesh Bakshi are still being watched ardently by people on the internet. Will there be any respite in the future? Hope so! So while Ektaa and her growing tribe make millions out of their soaps ...we in turn face the plight of engrossing ourselves into the "everyday problems"of imaginary khaandans ,bahus and betas on Indian TV! Whoever named TV as Idiot Box could not have been more correct.

The other side of the Jassi story.....

The ugly unattractive woman facing lot of hardships and discrimination at work has been the most loved theme worldwide. And this despite the fact that she is intelligent, amiable, smart and truly capable. Also many women identify themselves with the protagonist. Proof?....this is the underlying theme for many a successful soaps made world-wide. Jassi Jaisi koi Nahin is India's version of the story. I wonder what makes the theme so popular?

1) Yes, looks do matter. A good-looking person/child may be a lot more popular and confident compared to the not so good looking counterparts.

2) All these soaps had the ugly duckling transforming into a swan and winning the Handsome prince and giving it back to her detractors. Who wouldn't identify with this? The good underdog finally wins.

But all said and done i still wonder is it always a cakewalk for the prettier ones? Take the workplace for example. Are there no issues whatsoever. Think about it. A good-looking woman gets promoted and a few disgruntled jibe "Well she had to get it, didn't she? After all she has got the looks to kill!"
The fact that the woman worked for it and deserved it hardly counts.

In my college we were told by our male classmates that it was comparatively easier for pretty girls to get selected for jobs. They just had to smile throughout the interview. You call this a sick mentality? I would agree and also pity them. It is not that all men think this way. But some men and also some women do think on these lines. A well dressed fashionable woman is labelled a bimbo. She is in the company for obvious reasons. She lacks substance and capability. Forget about expecting hard work from these women. If by chance this woman is smart and assertive, then she is immediately labelled arrogant and demanding.

Luckily these mentalities are not common. But even then this disease in some people must be treated. How? Maybe by purging their minds and by setting aside the prejudices. Have a re-look and stop judging the book by its cover. Or rather don't judge a woman by her looks. So one can see that Ugly Betty /Jassi is just one side of the coin. There might be several untold or rather unseen sides to it. Women in general (ugly or pretty) still face some challenges be it in a workplace or society in general and will continue to do so until some ill-conceived perceptions regarding them change.

Eatouts in Malleswaram...

I spent the last 10 years of my life in Bangalore.Nine out of these ten years were spent in Malleswaram.For those of you not from Bangalore,Malleswaram is one of those places in Bangalore that still holds a lot of charm and warmth,something that is fast disappearing in Banagalore. Old mansions, colleges/ schools, temples in every nook and gully ,even in the most crowded market areas,beautiful temples with banyan tree and courtyards.Nothing of this has changed during the course of time.Hope it never does too.

But Malleswaram was also the hunting ground for two huge foodies me and my sister.Our slightly built frames disguise the amount of gluttony we both are capable of !Our favourite :"Chats". How i miss those days....those places....This blogpost is for those memories...may it serve as a guide for yet another foodie like me!Let me rave and rant about my favourites( not inthe order of favouritism though!)

The Hanuman stores bhel-puri. For us folks studying in MES...it was a treat...nothing great....not many things thrown into it, but the tamarind chutney had the right tanginess and the taste was always consistent, bhel was crisp ,with dhania thrown on the top.

There used to be a store called Annapurna just in front of the famous Veena stores on Margosa Rd.This guy used to make wonderful Samosas.The best i tasted anywhere in Banaglore.He started Chaats later on ,but nothing as good as the Samosas.Numerous evenings after college have i spent there with friends.A favourite destination for us students to treat each other.These days kids have more money which they flaunt in coffee days and pizza huts!

Who has'nt heard of Veena stores? The little joint serves fresh made steaming idlis, crisp golden vadas and other stuff .The chutney here is fabulous in taste with the right amount of pudina.The crowd thronging this store is never-ending .

I think dosas and i think of CTR facing the Malleswaram grounds.Golden crisp dosas just the way i like it.Also good are the Mangalore Bajjis, Maddur vadas and Rava idlis here.Janatha hotel in the busy 8th cross road is famous, but i always preffered CTR.

Phalamrutha in a narrow road joining 8th cross street came later on...and attracted lot of people..(its a busy street) ..hmm ..i never found anything special there but sure the masala puri reminds me of the one you get in mysore (may be a weaker twin in taste though!)..

There used to be a joint called Buttersponge we used to go to during our college days...This was the place i ate my first veg grilled sandwich...pastries were good too.

A popular hangout for us MES collegians was the "Eatout" on the 15 th cross road.There was a time when this guy used to dish out north-indian (Malai koftha was yum) ,south-indian ,chats everything under the same roof for very reasonable prices.Then one fine day the restaurant closed down...dont know why?

On the same road later came on, a chat shop called "Sairams" which soon started dishing out sandwiches,pizzas,juices,icecreams everything in a small garage converted shop...The crowds (mostly students) were huge and we used to go there pretty often because it was near to home and also the chats were always customised the way we wanted it.The guy never grudged if we asked more meetha(saunth) 'n' number of time :)

"Sai shakti" was yet another place we headed to on days when we wanted to eat something different,tasty yet homely and light on the stomach. Not to mention that it was light on the wallet also.The joint exclusively sold North-indian stuff.The curries are nothing to write about.Iam sure there will be many joints giviing out better tasting stuff but this place was very homely and light.They serve phulkas and chapatis and the curries were always less oily,no artificial coloring and fresh.The lassis ( peda lassi) were good too.

Adyar Anand bhavan was one more place haunted by us .Nothing special about the chats here but one of the very few places in bangalore serving us "Jhal muri" and having stayed in Kolkata i can vouch for the taste.A special mention would be for the kai -murukus and karela chips here.

I forget the name of the bakery at Malleswaram circle but it used to serve good grilled sandwiches, burgers and ice creams and soups for Rs 5.Probably inspired from a famous eatery at Jayanagar

Adigas has come up quite recently ( under a year) and in true darshini style serve good dosas and other good south-indian stuff.They keep adding new things to the menu : Pesarattu, Neer dosa etc...Whatever we ate here was good. Shanti sagar just a stone's throw away was nothing different to write about.

One more place that comes to my mind is the small Dharwad Store opposite to Asha's food camp at 10th cross...hmm...the chilli bajjis and bondas were awesome...A taste very different and fiery.It also has very different sweets (i fail to remember the names though).There was something called Bidar Paan i guess.And of course the Dharwad Peda.

Asha's food camp was a nice eatery, darshini style but with seating arrangement.The first floor housed the service restaurant with North-indian menu.Not bad.
Asha sweets was a favourite place to have a quick bite .Bengali sweets ( sandesh,rossogulla), paneer samosas,dhoklas,veg rolls, dahi vadas, gajjar halwa...Iam salivating already.

Kanti sweets at Malleswaram circle was the place for Parathas served with curds and aam ka achar...Also good were the chats and Paneer manchurian (yum).

A joint called Nandini sweets opened up just before i left and the guy was extra generous in offering free samples( not that iam complaining)...Hmm...I remember the golgappas, dahi chats and rasgulla chat( made famous by Gangotree chats) were very good.Hope the joint is still there when i go back...

New Mangalore stores served up churumuri Mangalore isstyle which was very yummy and comes close to the ones you get at Kadri park, Mangalore.As far as other Churumuri stores are considered they dish out something which seems like a cross between bhel and churumuri .so much for cosmo culture! The actual taste for churumuri can be tasted at Mysore.

It may seem blasphemous to many that i omit "Halli mane" but then sorry...kadubus there are good so is the ragi rotti ,but i have eaten at better places...so not much to mention here.

So much so...i know i sounded like a severely malnourished glutton ...but then iam not repenting coz its my blog and i have a right to rant and rave here as per my wish :-)...Only a fellow foodie can understand all this....

Snow snow everywhere..........

Snow is everywhere...a wonderful sight to behold...

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Taxi driver in Las Vegas

We hailed a taxi in Las vegas during our trip last month.The Taxi driver seemed to be a slightly built man with a soft voice.It took him some time to determine where he needed to take us to but finally he got it.

"I do know the place,but just wanna be sure so that i make no mistake" - he chuckled.
"Good" - we thought.

A short pause later, he asked us - "Where are u guys coming from?"

"Chicago" - we replied.

"oh ok, but ur from India?"--he asked.

"Yes" - we replied.

"Yeah i thought so..so this is your first time in Vegas?"

"Yeah thats right" - said we.

"Iam from outside too..Iam from Ethiopia..You have heard of it? - he asked.

"Yeah sure" - we replied.

Conversations with taxi drivers can be pretty amusing sometimes. I remember some of them. Like the taxi-driver who asked us what language we spoke at India.(He said it sounded good)Or perhaps the friendly Pakistani taxi driver whom we hailed in New york who sounded baffled when one of our friends told him that though he could speak hindi, he could not comprehend Urdu! Most of the taxi drivers we have taken in US are friendly and courteous ,but this man was very conversant.

"Well I have been in Us from the last 7 years" - he remarked.

Never the person to let go the chance of having a conversation no matter where, my husband butted in:"yes, we all come to US for the big bucks" - he laughed.

"Yeah" - the driver joined him."

"So you stay with your family?" - Hubby asked.
"No,Iam not married.My parents and siblings stay in my country. In our custom until you have discharged all your responsibilities (towards your family) you must not get married , you see." - he added.
Not to be outdone,my husband replied : "Yes, we have that too. In fact even after getting married we look after our parents and care for them."

"Thats' right, but after marriage it becomes kinda difficult, with wife, kids you know?" - he remarked.

"Yes,thats true" - we agreed.

"So you guys going to nearby places from here?Like grand canyon, Hoover dam eh?" --he enquired.

"No we are going to Los Angeles". -- we replied.

"Ah Los Angeles! Many of your folks stay there right? You guys are good in computers?"

"Is it?"-- We just smiled.

It surely is. LA or rather the Silicon valley has a rather significant Indian population working in the various Software companies some of them being multinational giants.A recent report even states that 30% of the companies there have been started by Indians.
"You people are very bright.It pays a lot does it? These computer jobs?"-- The driver asked next.
"Hmm ...pretty good"-- We replied.

Reportedly Indians comprise the richest ethnic group in US.

"Yeah..You guys (Indians) are a good lot, quiet, decent,educated "....He went on..

Indians are enjoying global presence like never before. Be it Politics,Business, software,law,medicine ,there are a lot of notable names today. Being the richest ethnic group in the US, we are also becoming more noticeable.and what does this mean? It means a great shift in the attitudes and perceptions about Indians and India. I remember one of the Tintin comics where Tintin comes to India and how is India depicted? It is full of jungles. There are elephants,tigers and sadhus. Not to forget the ubiquitous snake charmer! And how are the Indians shown?(rather the natives): brown- skinned,dressed up in a dhoti (loin-cloth.Certainly a reference to the Mahatma, nicknamed as the "Naked Fakir" by the English Press).

Novels, movies documentaries everything about India showed and depicted India the way the west better identified it : Snake-charmers, Elephants,Palaces, maharajas, sadhus sleeping on nails,kamasutra,slums,etc etc. Iam not blaming anyone though. But somehow these images were always associated with India. For an uninformed Westerner it perhaps continues to remain so.
Some sections of the Indian diaspora in US further help in cementing these ideas. Like this Indian colleague of mine ,born and brought up in US who went and told her American colleague how terrible it was for Indian women after marriage.They are forced to break off all ties with their parents after marriage! Imagine my shock when this American woman asked me if it was indeed the case in India. I mean, come on, gives us a break...what do these people think when they go around raking such stupid tales to people of different backgrounds?Aishwarya Rai in the Oprah Winfrey Show expressed surprise that people actually came up to her and asked her as to how she managed to speak English though being an Indian?

Perceptions are changing .India known as home to large slums,poor people, is also perceived as home to a large ,skilled,enterprising workforce.So be it.

"Your education system must be very good.In Ethiopia ,education not very good" --- he remarked.

Here inthe US it is always perceived that Indians are good in Science and Math.In many Indian families , children are always encouraged to concentrate more on these subjects as they provide more viable career options.Whatever the critics may say about schools in India, we must be doing good there.We still produce smart students with better analytical and problem solving skills.The engineers in silicon valley, other parts of the world in high ranking firms have been educated in India . An NRI mother was recently extolling the virtues of the American school her son went to. Needless to say she was still very concerned that her son knew as much maths and grammar as his counterpart in India and spared no efforts tutoring the child.Why?

"why don't you learn computers?" ---we asked the driver.

"I want to .I will some day" ---He replied wistfully.

Just one more encounter which reaffirmed the fact that India's face abroad is changing.No longer the land of the snake-charmer dressed in his loin-cloth, but Indians here are regarded intelligent, educated, smart. (At least most of them think so. Iam not bothered about the disgruntled racists).

And India--A country with a lot of promise. As for that nameless taxi driver( my inspiration for this post), i only hope he learns computers(as he says) and reads this post someday!

Hindi Poem - Kiski Lehren? (Whose are those waves?)

किसकी लहरें ?

भाव -विहीन यह सरस समँदर,
अपने ही धुन मे मग्न,

साँझ के ढलते दिनकर ने,
जैसे लगा दिया इसमे भयँकर अग्न II 1 II

क्या समय-चक्र से बंधा हुआ,

यह जलधर भी?

या फिर ठहरता है ये कभी,
किनारे पर छोडें हुए तिनको को,

समेटने के लिए,

या ये कहने के लिए कि :- विशाल समुद्र मैं,
छूता हूँ मैं नभ को भी II 2 II

क्या समाई बात ये उसके मन मे,

किसके लिए ये अपार जलराशि?

किसके लिए लहरों का आवागमन?

क्यों समय-चक्र से नियमित हैं इनका चलन?

क्यों हुआ है इनका जन्म? II 3II

क्या छुपी है उन असीम गहराईयों मे विलीन?

अंत है या निरंतर यह सागर कहीं,

क्या यह उठता ज्वार - भाटा,

है प्रकृति के उठते भावनाओं का सार,

या फिर है कृत्रिम और भाव - विहीन ,

यह जलधि अपार? II 4 II


सो मैं सोचती हूँ कि किसके धुन मे है यह मधमस्त ,
किसके आज्ञाओं से बंधा यह सक्त?
क्यों नही विद्रोह करती कभी इसकी नथ?
किसके लिए हैं ये लहरें व्यस्त?
किसके लिए हैं ये लहरें व्यस्त? II 5II

- दीप्ति श्रीनिवासन

Las Vegas Travelogue

Stratosphere

Back from a Las vegas - LA tour and here's the travelogue of all that I can remember:

Las vegas - the sin city rocks!This man - made marvel in the middle of a desert just proves the saying: "The shortest road to wealth lies in the contempt of wealth".You can see the glittering lights of the city and the imposing pyramid of Luxor casino with its vertical beam of light shooting out to the sky above even beforeyou get out of the plane.It was around 8:30 PM when we reached Las vegas on a Wednesday evening last week.We had a booking in Stratosphere one of the hotel/casinos on the Las vegas strip.Every casino in las vegas has something to boast of and the Stratosphere has the tallest observation tower in Las vegas to its credit.

After a one hour rest inthe hotel we dashed out exploring vegas.Our first stop was the near by circus - circus.As the name suggests the casino is themed after a circus carnival and looks likeone.The entrance is shaped like a tent and has people dressed up as clowns welcoming you.The casino floor is nothing unusual.The upper floor has lot of stalls as in fairs and carnivals where you can playgames and win prizes (mostly stuffed toys to attract the kids).We tried out games like aiming the pistol and throwing ball in the basket and won some stuffed toys as well!The casino also has a stage where circus acts are performed for free.We caught up some juggling acts being performed.
The next casino we went was the Sahara casino with an arabian theme to it complete with the sand coloured building and date trees in the entrace .The interiors were pretty good too with huge crystal chadelier,mirrored pillars and walls all like a arabian palace.
After this we headed back to our hotel room and ordered a late night pizza dinner and ate and slept.

Insanity(top)

The next day we started out exploring the Stratosphere.First we went to the much talked about Observation deck on the tower.At a height of about 2000 ft, it offers a panoramic view of vegas and the strip.After taking some snaps we headed for the thrill rides said to be the world's highest thrill rides.There are 3 of them :bigshot, Xscream and Insanity.We tried Insanity.Here people are made to swing tilted at a 70 deg angle from the top of the building.God! dont try it if you suffer from vertigo!We strolled across the mall shops on stratosphere and soon headed to the other casinos.We caught the shuttle that ferries tourists from one end of the strip to another.We were in the south end and decided to startexploring from the north end of the strip.

We started with Mandalay bay a posh casino with a oriental theme.This is a beautiful casino away from the crowds , complete with fountains waterfalls, pagodas and gardens to go with the theme.

The next casino we went to was the adjacent Luxor with an egyptian theme to it.For long the pyramid and the sphinx have been symbols of vegas.The Xenon light beam that is lit up in the night is so strong that it is claimed to be seen from space too.This casino is reported to have been constructed under the supervision of experts from Egypt.The interiors are very egyptian with trademark figurines, hieroglyphic motifs etc.Very good.It also boasts of a museum which is a exact replica of the famous Tutankhamen's tomb of Egypt.A must visit.

Located nearby is the Excalibur casino connected to the Luxor casino by a covered sidewalk.For your comfort there is a slider(like in airports) which you can step on and not bother to walk at all.Excalibur is designed like a medieval castle though from exterior it looks more like a kids castle.The interiors are done with faux stones and wood panelling with castle like balconies.Not to mention medieval style cafes and armoured knights in and around the place.

We next went to the New york casino connected via sidewalk to the Excalibur.This casino has all the famous attractions of New York : Statue of Liberty,Empire state,Manhattan building all scaled down versions.Also there is a huge roller-coaster in frontof the casino.Inside the interiors are styled to resemble a New tork street.All the well-known New York eateries have stalls here.But what was really funny were the little Liberty statues in Marilyn Monroe poses.Really funny!After going around for some time, we walked over the bridge connecting this casino to the MGM grand casino opposite to it.

MGM Grand is the biggest of all the casinos and is famous for the Lion Habitat where we saw Lions inside a Glass Enclosure.We could watch Lions walk above standing in the Glass tunnel inthe Habitat.This was the nearest i could get to a Lion and was very thrilling.Also interesting is the tropical jungle kind of environment they had set up inside.

Next we walked upto the newly done Planet hollywood Casino (earlier aladdin).It has very bright interiors and a Mall designed like a street.The roof is designed like a sky above.Not to mention a canal where artificial rain with thunder/lightening is seen inside the casino.So you can reach out your hand and touch this rain!

The Paris Casino was the next place where we went.This one had a huge baloon ( reminiscent of around the world in 80 days), a wonderful fountain, and of course the 2 Paris landmarks, the Eiffel tower and Arc De Triomphe.Inside was a surprise.The Casino inside was like a Paris street full of little shops, eateries, artificial trees, fountains etc and of course sky like roof.

We then headed for one of the oldest casinos on the strip , the fifty year old Flamingoes started by the Mafia gangster Bugsy Siegel.This casino boasts of flamingoes habitat and other rare species of birds.While we were there were some couples were getting married in the chapel in the park.

Next on the list was Caesar's palace styled like a roman villa.We thought of covering the interiors before it got dark so that we could see the flashing illumination across the strip.The moment you see the forum shops inside ,the only thing that strikes you is the grandeur.The scale is HUGE! Be it the wall art or the roman statues, its very grand.The forum shops have all the best known brands: Versace,Gucci,Estee Lauder,Tissot, Burberry , you name it and its there!The most striking was the Cleopatra boat in egyptian style named after Caesar's most famous queen.

By the time we came out the lights were there and we headed to the Bellagios.Termed as a Luxury resort for the rich and famous, Bellagios was an entirely different experience.It has a Botanical conservatory inside with beautiful gardens , fountains and an old- fashioned water wheel too.The apples you see in the photos are real and it seems they change the fruit stock with fresh ones daily!But the most amazing attraction were the musical fountains.More than 1000 fountains dance to music across a man made lake.They can go upto 40ft height.No words can describe the moment.It made our visit worthwhile.

After watching the fountain show we walked up to the Mirage casino.We did not go into the interiors, but waited outside to watch the artificial volcano eruption.The mountain is in a lake sorrounded by trees and gardens and every 20 min it erupts.We waited along with other onlookers and when it erupted it was a good sight to see.

Mirage and sirens show

The casino next in the line was Treasure Island with a Pirates theme.Inthe entrance were 2 big pirate ships.Again this casino houses the sirens show held on these ships full of music , dance, drama and gunfire.

They say all good things come last.Rightfully so as the last casino we went to was the Venetian palace.Styled after Venice , this casino was elegant from beginning to end.The Italian frescoes with gold liniing on the roof were breath-taking and so were the venice like canals with gondolas.The goldola men were professional opera singers so they sang while they took people for a ride on the gondolas.I was lucky for i was able to capture a gondola man singing my favourite song "Speak softly love" from the movie godfather when we came in.At 8:30 Pm in the night the interiors made us feel we were in broad daylight. The village square in the casino was also wonderful with eateries, gelato stalls and live orchestra making it a very happy atmosphere.A fitting finale for our vegas trip.

I can only say:Whether you gamble or not, a trip to Vegas is a must for everyone.

Explaining the Vedas scientifically...

I came across this interesting video recently.It seems pretty well made and researched.General outlook towards India has changed not only among the non- indians but also among Indians.The post- independence euphoria, gave rise to the optimism of the 60's, angst and disappointment of the 70's, political unrest of the 80's, followed by the current resurgence of India as a potential superpower which also revels in its glorious past and traditions.Lot of people even among the younger generation are far more closer to their roots than what people think and the circulation of such videos and interest shown towards them proves that.