Ethical cleansing

A colleague of mine narrated an incident that occurred to him recently. He takes a bus to the office everyday. That day he was seated & was reading a newspaper to kill time during his bus-ride. Just then someone prodded him. The fellow standing next to him urged him to lend his seat to a lady who too was standing nearby. A thorough gentleman, he immediately obliged. My friend was then pick-pocketed by the same guy :D

The Bangle Sellers

I've been trying to lay my hands on this poem for soooo long & am glad that I finally managed to find it! I first came across it in one of my English-texts in school & vaguely recalled it. I remembered that it was so full of such powerful metaphors & similes that even at that age it had hit me like a brick. I like it so much that I just can't help sharing...


The Bangle Sellers
- Sarojini Naidu

Bangle sellers are we who bear
Our shining loads to the temple fair...
Who will buy these delicate, bright
Rainbow-tinted circles of light?
Lustrous tokens of radiant lives,
For happy daughters and happy wives.

Some are meet for a maiden's wrist,
Silver and blue as the mountain mist,
Some are flushed like the buds that dream
On the tranquil brow of a woodland stream,
Some are aglow wth the bloom that cleaves
To the limpid glory of new born leaves

Some are like fields of sunlit corn,
Meet for a bride on her bridal morn,
Some, like the flame of her marriage fire,
Or, rich with the hue of her heart's desire,
Tinkling, luminous, tender, and clear,
Like her bridal laughter and bridal tear.

Some are purple and gold flecked grey
For she who has journeyed through life midway,
Whose hands have cherished, whose love has blest,
And cradled fair sons on her faithful breast,
And serves her household in fruitful pride,
And worships the gods at her husband's side.

To Kashid beach & Murud-Janjira fort

Revisited the Kashid beach and the Murud-Janjira fort, this time with my mother. It's a serene beach with white-sands in the North of Konkan. Reached there via Pen & Alibag after taking the Khopoli-bypass off the Pune-Mumbai Expressway. It took us roughly 3.5 hours from Aundh, Pune. One can also take the Panvel-exit instead at the end of the expressway. Or one may even skip the expressway & take a completely different route - the Tamhini Ghats (via Mangaon).
Being odd-days (Monday, Tuesday), there were just 10 people (including us) on the entire beach. That made it look all the more serene & enjoyable :-). Was put up at the Prakruti Resorts, a fantastic place by the beach. Also bumped into Sherrin Varghese of the 'Band of Boys' fame, who was there with his wife & kid.
The next day took a boat-ride to the fort. Though repetitive for me, mom enjoyed it thoroughly.
All n' all a very relaxed & an enjoyable trip :-)

Indian Parliament on terror...

It was quite a feeling to watch yesterday's Parliamentary debate/discussion regarding tackling terrorism in the wake of the recent terror-attacks at Taj/Trident/CST. After a very long time, I saw the politicians rise above petty party-boundaries. They spoke with maturity, honesty & genuine concern. The ruling government spoke with an apologetic tone and the opposition didn't take pot-shots at them. Nor did they pounce on opportunities to score brownie-points. It was the coming-of-age of an otherwise squabbling lot.

What was encouraging was that even the young-entrants to politics seemed very informed & concerned.

Tricking oneself...

Ever since I've realized that I'm getting lousier by the day when it comes to reaching office 'on time', I've made my wrist-watch run fast by 30 mins. It hasn't helped. Instead, now whenever I check time, I spend another second in subtracting 30 mins. from the displayed-time. So much for cheating oneself!

Bowled over by Arya...

Must admit that Arya Ambekar's rendition of the song "Chandane shimpit jaashi" on Nov. 23rd 2008's episode of 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa - Little champs' was absolutely extraordinary. I've been humming that song ever since!

Besides the composition & music what appealed to me the most were the lyrics -

"( chandane shimpit jaashi chalata tu chanchale
onjali udhalit moti hasari tara-fule ) - 2

vahati aakashganga ki katichi mekhala
tejpunjachi zhallalli taar padaraa gunfile
chandane shimpit jaashi chalata tu chanchale..."

I mean, what is it that inspires people to come up with words, word-arrangements & imaginations like these!! I believe that an artist knows when he has a tiger by it's tail, but this... this is way beyond... this is divine.

And for someone as little as a 14-year old Arya to pull off such a tricky song and with such finesse was absolutely unbelievable. Hat's off!

All songs in the audio-format are also downloadable from the Zee-Marathi website. The video can be found here.

On condition of anonymity...

On the occasion of MIP's hitting the lunar surface, TOI published a very informative article in their Saturday (15th Nov.) edition regarding the maneuver. Funnily, it had more information than intended :D

Where is winter?

Every morning as I wake up, I rush to my library to see how many bulbs have risen in my Galilean thermometer. And each time I'm disappointed to see just one - the magenta one (indicating 26 degree Celsius). When is winter really planning to barge in? Just the teasers in the form of morning-mist ain't enough! I remember last year all the bulbs in the thermometer had risen to the surface. So eager to see that pretty sight again...

Nov 27th 2008. 8:30 am - The 2nd bulb (orange one) rose to the surface right before my eyes!! It indicates a temperature close to 24 degree Celsius. Now this is wishful-thinking being answered instantaneously. It's like 'commanding' the spoon to bend & seeing it happen in a jiffy! Rare event :).

Just how much informality is 'OK' at workplace?

There are a few things one should seriously & consciously refine when one steps up from student life and joins a corporate environment... Few observations at my workplace have always caught my attention and sometimes made me shake my head in disgust...

1) Attire - Some employees are just so shabbily dressed. I mean they still operate in 'student-mode'... chappals & long untucked shirts are such a shabby combination! No-one's enforcing a dress-code here, but at least be presentable!

2) Language - Swear-words & slang are a definite turn-off ! Even-though it is over some friendly-banter in a conference room, avoid slang! And then they are such sissies on the football field!
Also please... Don't say "Good night, sleep tight" to a senior architect while wrapping up a conference-call !!

3) Freebies - Just because the company provides a free-stock of stationery or snacks in the pantry, it is just so juvenile to carry this stuff home for personal use. U are paid well. Go buy! Also don't come to office late-night with your spouse to make those free long-distance phone calls to your native!

4) Freedom & flexibility - These are the most abused concepts! Don't keep stirring into the coffee cup with a spoon and make that irritating clanking noise when in a conference call!! And don't get that apple that u eat half-way & then leave it for others to appreciate its color change from yellow to its darker shades and then to black all in the stretch of a single conf. call. Don't form a habit to always work at inhumanly hours. Working 11 pm to 5 am daily is gonna leave you nothing more than an individual contributor. U r always unavailable for architecture-discussions as u r sleeping when others need to discuss it !! Also all immediate info-requirements are discussed over mail waiting for u to wake up and read!

5) Personal/Domestic problems - Don't wash your dirty linen in public! Whatever happens at your home is personal. Don't discuss your spousal fights or your divorce-proceedings at office over lunch-tables! Are you seeking sympathy or are you providing entertainment here???

6) Personal calls - Try keeping your personal phone calls to a minimum when at office. Politely hang up! There are ppl. at my office I can't talk to for continuous 10 mins. due to constant phone calls they keep getting from all over the world! And such silly domestic issues are discussed during these unsolicited phone-calls with priority over important technical discussions!

7) Cubicle etiquette - Framed certificates u received in your 7th grade at some singing competition need not be displayed in your cubicle. Dolls, teddy-bears & hanging-monkeys are a definite No-No!!! Aren't you all grown up now?

In short, be clean, considerate, well-mannered & good-listeners at workplace. Is this too much of 'formality' to expect?

Saina...

It was indeed a fantastic evening, today :). Had been with friends to the Chhatrapati Shivaji sports complex at Hinjewadi to watch Saina Nehwal in the Finals of Women's World Junior Championship against Japanese rival, Shato Sayako...

Firstly the entire stadium is very well done. Was very impressed! And then, the match was a cracker... The moment Saina entered the court, the entire crowd was on its feet & there was cheer & cacophony all over. Every point scored saw the re-enactment of this cheer. What a fan following! And the way young Saina handles this kind of heightened expectations & pressure is really amazing. She was confident, focused & aggressive and a master at her craft... She won in 2 staight games (21-9, 21-18).

Golf...

It's for the first time I tried my hand at this sport. I visited the Golf-Course here in Pune with a friend... We went in for the "Drive-In", wherein there is no game to be played, per se... There are no holes to be covered nor any points to be scored.

We get to hit 50 balls on a vast open ground...
Aim is to hit aimlessly... Just to get it 'high & straight'.
And I'm ashamed to say that I could get only 5 out of 50 to go 'high & straight'. The rest were squandered hither-thither... Two complete misses were pretty embarrassing :D

But must say, it is fun & pretty addicting. Will re-visit for more... The chilled beer at the end of the session helped to nurse the bruised ego :D

Fall

Thesedays, every puff of breeze sweeps off a host of dried leaves from every tree that it blows through. Leaves that seem so eager to let go... To surf & to sail...

And it's not about this sight reminding you of mortality & humbling you... but just that it's so damn pretty! So soothing it is to sit back on cold violet-red evenings & watch the glistening leaves sail amidst sunrays & shadows that keep getting longer as the sun sets...

ET

They say that ET (Environment Technology) is gonna be the next big thing after IT. It will create a revolution in terms of more jobs, opportunities & most importantly a cleaner environment.

I remember a close friend (Rachit) once mentioning how it would be great if we could make money out of contributing to the betterment of the environment. That idea just stuck onto me then...

"Accountability (to the environment), whilst maintaining profitability" would be such a blessing... More than imposing laws, setting up NGO's to create awareness/cleanliness-drives amongst people, if we could come up with means in which people make monetary profits by contributing to a cleaner/healthier environment, we'd have people pouring over without any persuasion!

2nd & 5th rocks from the sun

Venus & Jupiter are at their brightest these-days. They are seen together & they almost rival each other for brilliance. 4 moons of Jupiter are clearly visible thru' my telescope. Sometimes 3, when one of them is behind Jupiter.Winters are the best time for star-gazing, I feel.

Countdown...

It's 5 a.m. & I'm up since an hour... Two major events I'm tracking today. One personal & the other of course, Chandrayaan's launch to the moon at 6:20 a.m.

From my balcony, I see the half-moon lit-up & shining in full-glory right next to the Orion, which as usual, is calm as a sage. It's raining in Shriharikota (the launch-site for Chandrayaan)... Mumbai saw ugly riots yesterday & there was a bomb-blast in Imphal. And yeah, we beat the Aussies in the test-match...

The moon will shower its soothing light over Mumbai too, but hardly anyone will appreciate it. They'll be too busy locked indoors or pelting stones at public buses, burning bikes, buses & cars or shouting slogans. No matter how right you may be, but nothing justifies vandalism & damage to life & public-property!

On one hand we are such sophisticated beings to take on challenging projects like moon-missions & on the other we are just so crude & barbaric!

...

7 a.m. - The launch at 6:20 a.m. was successful & with text-book precision. What in a way marred the glory of the launch was the cloud-cover... I mean no launch is complete unless u see the tail-lit rocket making that projectile turn & continuing as a dimly-lit spot as long as u can see it. This was abrupt. Within few seconds, the rocket disappeared amongst the clouds & then u have to look at the tracking graphs on the screen & clap hands... No deal! :(

Need I say more?

My stock portfolio as of today (With the portfolio-value figures on the left y-axis neatly deleted :))

The graph not just reflects the state of things for the week but it has been the same trend over several past weeks.

On breadth & depth...

I like it when words aren't squandered. One doesn't need too many words to express the deepest of thoughts & feelings. In fact, I believe that the strongest of feelings can't even be captured in words.

Like when Saint Tukaram wanted to express his deep desire to meet God or to experience His presence, he simply says -
"Jalaveen masoli
Taisa Tuka talmali"

(I writhe like a fish out of water)

It's for the same reason why I like the music of the movie "Chiti Chiti Bang Bang" so much...
Lyrics like -

He -
"My heart beats so unruly
Because I love you truly.
...
What do I do?
Are you feeling it too?"

She -
"Can't you see...
How I long to be free"

simply touch your heart & linger forever.

Duh! 150 words wasted to express something silly!

India rising...

'Chandrayaan' will be launched on Oct 22 2008. Truly, what a giant leap for India!

Winning & losing...

I simply can't stand those cliche's that people utter to console someone who's lost at some endeavor...
Things like "It's important to participate than to win" or "Winning & losing are 2 sides of the same coin. Move on" or "Don't cry...".
How do u expect wounds to heal without even allowing it's pain to sting?
But off late Pallavi Joshi (the anchor of 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa', a Marathi-song competition for kids) uttered a line that truly struck a chord. While consoling one of the participants who was being eliminated from the show, she asked him/her -
"Who lost the battle of Waterloo? - Napoleon. Who won? - No one remembers...". Cute! I'd say.

On the other hand, I also can't stand the numerous competitions (song, dance, laughter-challenges, reality-shows etc. etc.) for grown-ups.
If kids aren't involved, then often the participants can be categorized into 2 groups - The teenagers & those that behave like one.
Tears flow like breaths & immaturity seems to be the obligatory criteria for participation.

I truly agree with the director of the film 'Juno' who in his interview said that -
"It's the time when 16 year olds behave like grown-ups & grown-ups behave like 16 year olds"

Four-legged pal

Off late I've been having an overwhelming urge to get a dog. And especially a Labrador.
What fun it would be to be greeted by this tail-wagging pal everyday! And to go for walks with it on cold mornings & calm evenings...
Is this middle-age catching up? :)

Anyway, I have full opposition from my mom, but let's see... I will some day...

It's that time of the year again...

Every morning, thesedays, I wake up to find that the fields besides my Aundh home are enveloped in a white fluffy blanket of mist. Diwali's in the air & I can almost smell it.

Those same delicate white scented flowers are in full bloom again. They get spread like a carpet or a 'Rangoli' beneath those trees that bear it.

Winter's sending its messengers to inform that it is on the way. I greet these occasional chill breezes with glee & all the hospitality I have, lest their master may think that it is unwelcome.