India's HENRYies

No I am not talking about Henry Ford or Henry Kissinger or Henry David Thoreau for that matter. I read a very interesting article at the below source which referred to HENRY as "High Earner Not Rich Yet" and it made me wonder if the Indian middle class especially the ones reaping the benefits of IT boom is stuck in this particular category.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-18/the-problem-with-henry-may-derail-u-s-recovery.html

The Indian IT industry has contributed a great deal in increasing the disposable income in the hands of middle class Indians but in the process did it create a new middle class who probably do not realize it themselves. They are definitely high earners but yearning to be rich or in essence to be wealthy. Being wealthy is still an aspiration for most of working IT force. The growth in income has brought more material comforts. To detail an instance, while growing up as a kid, we lived in a middle class colony where in the entire colony of about 200-300 residents there was one Maruti 800 and whenever the car was in the street children used to gather around to get a glimpse of what's inside and run along until it has accelerated its way past the street. Those were the days when owning a scooter made for a comfortable existence. You were not dependent on the Lord Rickshawallah who was the master of his own existence and could care less about what you thought of him.

Things have changed today. Perhaps you would not find any such middle class colony without a dozen i10's or swifts ( May be there will still be a Maruti 800 somewhere in the colony). Cars are no longer a fancy but something that you expect to own over time. The independent rented houses have given way to apartments though not the skyscraper kind. But in all of this transformation what possessions would classify someone as a middle class has come to change.Today owning a car is something that would not classify you as rich. May be an independent house does make you upper middle class. The increase in Income only seems to have elevated the standards of middle class but has not been able to create the illusion of wealth. The struggle still remains the same. If it was about owning a scooter back then, its about owning a car now. If it was about meeting expenses back then, it is about meeting the auxillary expenses - paying for that year end recreational trip etc. But the sense of wealth has still eluded the middle class. But the hope still floats that the High Earners  would become rich one day and in that hope the middle class struggle continues as before....

LiveWire 2012

LiveWire is the cultural festival of Ascendas, the software park that I work at. Last friday, I had attended one of those evenings at the insistence of friends. Never really been a fan of live events - the loud blaring performances generally turn me off. This was a different experience. Something that I liked. May be it was the company of friends that made it more enjoyable. I had stayed back watching the solo singing and dancing competitions. The performances were really something beyond my expectations. The singers I realized were more of performers than singers. They focused not just on singing but also engaging the audience.

There were dances covering the entire gamut from Kathak, Bharatnayam to plain old Allu Arjun dances. Men and women were equally good and it felt like watching some reality show minus the drama. Perhaps that made it more fun.

What is it about Live Events that make them so exhilarating? Is it the crowds that surround you or your ability to lose yourself in the crowd and feel one with them? Or is it the believability of the performances happening live before your eyes that make it more exciting? I have listened to people vouch about Metallica shows, AR Rahman's performances and how they have thoroughly enjoyed them. While I was at college I had witnessed a live show by Lucky Ali. I really liked it but what made this more enjoyable was perhaps company of like minded friends. We appreciated a few performances, made fun of a few, laughed whole-heartedly and in-all had a fun filled friday evening. May be I should start seeing more live performances and see if it is something that I might learn to like.

Shanghai - Movie Review

There was a lot of hype surrounding "Kahani" - the Vidya Balan starrer as a thriller. I was a tad disappointed. The movie was a plain drama with an interesting twist in the end. To call it a thriller would be an overkill. But Shanghai delivers what you can expect out of a thriller perhaps not in a sixth sense way but definitely somewhere up above kahani. The setting for the plot is contemporary which you would be reading in everyday newspapers if you were in India. The struggle between the land seeking corporates and the native resident holding on to what is his. Be it Posco in Orissa, Tatas in West Bengal or any of the national infrastructure projects the process on securing land remains one of biggest challenges given the vote bank politics and rampant corruption.

In the case of shanghai, its about a seemingly progressive party trying to throw its weight between setting up of an International business park and a seemingly socialist leader fighting for the rights of the residents. The attempted murder of the socialist leader which leaves him on the death bed is where the real movie begins. It brings to light the different stakeholders and how they react to the situation. The loyal followers trying to secure justice, the investigative team whose verdict seems to be a foregone conclusion, the police trying to find someone to pin it on and the political parties doing everything to keep their heads high. The suspense lies in figuring out who's behind all of this.

The characters in the movie are realistic and flawed as you would expect them to be in real life. These are characters driven by basic human tendencies and emotions and people you could relate to in your everyday life as against the larger than life characters we're accustomed to watching in movies - The investigative officer brilliantly portrayed by Abhay Deol struggling between his own personal ambition and conscience; The loyal followers led by Kalki kochein trying to ensure justice is meted out and would stop at nothing; The small town pornographer/videographer Emraan Hashmi going through a transformation during the course of the movie to ensure that those who laid ways to his friends death meet their rightful end.

The movie also has other characters who have been given sufficient footage to ensure that the plot progresses smoothly be it the epitome of Indian administrative bureaucracy played by Farooq sheikh trying to close out the case with minimal damage, the actual assailants who tried to murder. It also brings to light the current state of coalition politics where each partnership is need based and you move on as soon as you find a much formidable partner.

The end in itself does not come as a total surprise but has enough surprise element to keep the audience interested. The other likable fact of the movie is that it leaves of lot of things unsaid and leaves it to common sense. The raw nature of the visuals and the loud celebrations are something that you can relate to in your everyday life. A special word on the performances - I think Abhay Deol steals the show with his understated performance playing the role of of a Tamil investigative officer. He portrays conflicting emotions naturally wishing it wasn't him who has to deal with these in fact hoping that postponing them would make them go away.  Emraan Hashmi plays a Rajput who comes over to the city running away from the troubles he has in his home town and trying to make ends meet. It is a role you would never expect Emraan to see in. Every time he flashes a smile you can see his stained teeth and laugh at his butler english. The movie is serious except for the light moments created by Emraan Hashmi but then you don't go to watch a political thriller expecting comedy. Do you?

Who are you?

"Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you" - from Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin 

Poppins...

Some have called it Vignettes. A few have referred to them as Nuggets. I took the liberty of calling them Poppins - An assorted collection of candy (from the Parle Brand). Life has short changed me on interesting happenings and creativity has left me for greener pastures. So with no great story at hand I decided put together a collection of few interesting nothings.

Cell Phone Spoofing


You might have heard of IP spoofing but what the heck is cell phone spoofing? Don't bother googling it. I am gonna tell an interesting story though. Few days back I received a call from an unknown number wanting to know who I was. I was surprised if this was some new form of cheating. Identifying himself as Harsha the guy told me that someone has apparently been calling a girl giving out his name from my number. Hard to follow Isn't it? I was surprised at first but decided to humor him and offered to call him back after checking my bill not that I had any intention to. Towards the end he warned that if this were to repeat he is going to lodge a police compliant. I said - " Sure.. Go ahead !!"

Either way a lot of things could have happened the girl communicated the number wrongly or perhaps didn't have a caller id on landline and the guy threw up a random number. But those looking to have fun at someone's expense you can try this out :)

The Namesake

I received an email from someone sharing my first and last names. The mail was blank but had listed the subject as resume. The only difference in the email id was that it missed a special character mine had. Either way I didn't know what to do and simply pushed it to trash. This reminded me of prank I played on someone long time back. Its not uncommon in the first few years of your job to forget locking your computer while going on a tea break. People wreak havoc on such open accounts. When I landed such an opportunity, I decided to make the most of it.

I drafted a mail to X from his own login:

"This is an email from X to X but not by X. Hope you get the message :) "

I enjoyed writing that mail drawing inspiration from a particularly spooky scene from the Lost Highway :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZowK0NAvig&feature=related

Stray Dogs


One of the disadvantages of returning late from office is that you have to face the wrath of the unpaid protectors of the cross roads. Yes I am talking about stray dogs of Hyderabad and in particular the overwhelming community that has made Kukatpally its permanent home. While the unforgiving bunch help to keep burglars away they don't seem to make a distinction between the residents and the unwanted guests. After three such chases, I have figured out a route where the probability of attack is least but if you ask me my learning from this experience - " Barking dogs seldom bite but staring dogs always chase". So the next time a dog fixates up on you for too long, its time to make a move and please make it fast.

The Avengers

Watching the Avengers might have been one of the better cinematic experiences for most people but sadly it wasn't for me. Not that I have anything negative to say about the movie. It was just that in trying to watch the movie on the first day I landed up in a pretty ordinary movie theater which was lets say a little low on volume. Initially I thought it was just a glitch but by the time I left the theater I was sure it was no glitch and vowed not to go back there. One of the best part of avengers is the smart wit on display. Be it the Iron man, Hulk or the particularly British accented Thor. But then when you miss out on the volume and whatever you can hear is drowned by catcalls to increase volume it cannot be a pleasant experience. The experience turned into one you would have while watching a " Super star's" movie where the audience shout more often than the hero speaks.

In Time...

This post is written on impulse as against as the usual planned ones that I do but given sufficient time to think I don't think I will be writing this. Not that it has something that would embarrass me but the triviality of the post would dawn upon me. Going through facebook, I just realized how many of my friends/acquaintances have evolved over time.

• Some have broadened their horizons, traveled across the world met people and have become global citizens
• Some are trying to solve life's toughest problems in the hope that we have a better future tomorrow
• Some have done a deep dive into their own worlds and have disappeared without a trace
• Some found happiness in the work they do while a few others found it outside
• Some still continue to be restless in their pursuits of the unknown while others are content with what they are doing
• Some found matrimonial bliss while some are still on the lookout for the right person
• Some retraced their steps back to college while others have gone onto conquer the corporate world
• Some took the road less traveled and have tried realizing their dreams by starting something on their own. A few have succeeded, a few still trying and the rest are back in the realm of day to day grind
• Some are still struggling to get a foothold and a few others still crave for days of yore
• Some have found hobbies serious enough to think about alternate careers or have started making their post retirement plans

As for me, a question posed by a friend after my 29th birthday did enlighten me about myself. I realized that I have been a survivor and have been a pretty decent one at that. I haven't had big dreams nor great passion that drives me. I am a bit of a lot of things but nothing in particular. But I did realize what I would want to do the rest of my life. I am in the "Pursuit of Happiness" and I hope to find it in every moment that I live.

The Road Less Traveled..

Driving home from the airport, Rahul was angry with himself for having given into his friend's emotional blackmail to attend his wedding. More so when the friend hadn't spoken to him in the last four years. But he always had difficultly saying "No". He made a mental note to himself that the first word I am going to teach my kid is "NO".

It was a long drive home with the airport about 40 kilometers from his residence. The road was empty with no signs of trafffic. People preferred the newly laid outer ring road but this was the shortest path to his house. In the distance he could see mirages of swirling water. It was incredibly hot for an April afternoon. He wondered how much worse was it going to be in May. His eyes suddenly rested on someone with a parked bike waving for a lift. Being a skeptic, Rahul didn't want to be the good samaritan who gets robbed in No Man's land. But for some strange reason he decided to stop and offer the person a lift. He stopped the car next to the person and drew down the windows. He was surprised to see that the person asking for a lift was a girl wearing a cap. It made him all the more suspicious but having stopped his car he had no choice but to let her in.

She profusely thanked him for it was not normal to offer a lift to stranger these days. Rahul would nod and say a few words but never paid any attention to what she was saying for he was lost in his own world imagining the worst possible things that could happen to him. He decided to play it cool and not show his emotions. The girl introduced herself as Meghana and that she worked as a HR professional in a consulting firm. He wasn't entirely convinced but kept his doubts to himself.

She explained to him how she had ended being on this road at this time of the day all alone on a bike. He would nod in silent agreement not that he cared about the story. Suddenly the girl put her hand into the purse she was carrying and drew something out. Rahul was scared for his life. Is she going to draw out a pistol? Am I going to be robbed point blank? But thankfully she just took her cellphone out. This relieved him greatly. May be it was not such a bad idea to help someone in trouble. They had just reached the outskirts of the city when she asked Rahul to stop the car for her home was close by. He could see some apartments in the distance.

Getting down from the car, she handed him her visiting card and invited him for a cup of coffee. Was she giving him her phone number ? He could read something beyond friendliness in her tone. He felt happy and proud at the same time that some girl other than his wife could be interested in him. All through his life he had  dreamed that he would fall in love and would have a great story to tell his kids but since that didn't happen he took the traditional route and let his parents find a bride for him. Otherwise he was pretty sure he would never have found the courage to ask a girl out.All these thoughts made him blush but he came back to reality and realized that this was an offer he would have to let go. He replied "Some other time.." and left the place lest he should be tempted to take up the offer.

He looked back one last time as she waved to him. Once he had moved out of sight, Meghna dialled a number and said - " He's clean". The woman on the other end replied "Thank you" and replaced the hand set. She picked up her mobile and dialed Rahul.....

Tale of a Paper Plane


It was a day of the week that Rohan wasn't reluctant to get out of bed. Unlike other days no one was after him to go to school. That was all the more reason he felt like getting up early and more over he could play cricket with his friends till 9 AM. Rohan's mom was also relaxed on sundays and gave him that extra bit of freedom to do things he liked and the way he liked them be it playing with friends, watching an evening movie or refusing to drink milk. He got away with almost everything. Perhaps being a working mom took its toll on her and she needed a break for herself.

This sunday was no different. After a decent knock of 14 runs which was just 2 runs short of his highest score he was pleased with his performance. He came back home, brushed his teeth and gobbled nine vadas - the same number as his age. He checked time. It was 9:45 AM - only 15 mins for the start of "Captain Vyom" on TV. Captain Vyom was a inter-galactic hero fighting crime across alien planets and enforcing justice. Rohan especially liked the Laser guns which sounded almost like the gun his uncle had gifted him for his last birthday. In excitement, he would start shooting alongside Vyom on TV.  They spared nothing that came in their way. But first things first. He rushed into the bathroom, took a bath for namesake and came out drenched in water and put on the TV. But sadly the TV didn't switch on. He looked around and realized that it was a power cut. He immediately ran to his dad to check when power would be restored. Sadly, there was some maintenance work in progress and power was off for the next two hours.

His sunday was being ruined by electricity. After running back and forth around the house, he decided to make the new paper plane that he learnt at school. This plane almost looked realistic and glided really smooth. The trick was in the tail. You had to get the length of the tail right for it to fly smoothly. After successfully making the plane and testing it to see if it was up to his expectations he headed out into the veranda to fly the plane. They stayed on the top floor of a 5 storey building. He was playing with the paper plane until a gentle breeze blew the plane just beyond the wall. He rushed to see where it had fallen. But then it had clung to the telephone wire coming out of the house. Too lazy to make another one, he decided to see if he can't reach the plane by stretching across the wall. The fact that this wall was 5 floors above the ground didn't make a difference to him. His finger tips were able to reach the plane but still it eluded him. He tried to bend over the wall a little and see if he can reach it. This time he could almost get two fingers to it but still couldn't grip it. All this while, his mom was cooking chicken in the kitchen and dad was busy glancing through the newspaper for the nth time

He grew confident about retrieving it back and stretched a little further down until more than half his body was on the other side of the wall. In a momentary shock he lost balance and slipped over the wall. All he could feel was the slight breeze blowing across and a sudden feeling of weightlessness. He realized in that second that he was falling through the air and was about the crash hard on the ground. His mind went blank for a moment.

He was about to shriek when he realized that the fall had been arrested by him crashing into his own bed. It took him a minute to realize what had happened. He had been dreaming all this while. It all looked so realistic to him. In fact he could still recollect the feeling of falling through air. He was drenched in sweat in his own bed. He slowly rubbed his eyes got up and felt happy that it was just a bad dream and still had his sunday to look forward to. He cheerfully got out of bed and started padding up for his cricket match.

A Rose..


Stranded at a traffic signal near Andheri, I checked my watch and the signal alternately. I was in a taxi on my way to the Andheri sports complex. Traffic is at its peak this time of the day. There seemed to be vehicles lined up for about twenty meters. I told myself if not this time, I will get my turn during the next signal. Traffic signals act as market place for quite a few hawkers in Mumbai. People sell all kinds of things at traffic signals ranging from dust clothes to idols of gods. It is also a good hunting ground for all the beggars in the city. A frustrated man is bound to throw a coin in your direction just to get rid of you rather than out of sympathy for your plight. And Yes the beggars know it too.

Peering through the glass was a kid carrying roses in his hand. He kept knocking on the window persistently until I drew the glasses down. He kept saying to me - " Gulab hai bhai..lelo... kisi ko bhi dedo bhai..Fresh maal hai.. ". I tried to shrug him off saying - " Nahi bahi..mujhe nahi lena"

He persisted - " Kam se kam Ek lelo bhai. Bus 2 rupaiyaa hai"

In exasperation, I blurted out - "Lelete..lekin Dene keliye koyi nahi hai"

For a second, the taxi driver looked back at me and a smile spread across his lips. The kid grinned sheepishly. We all smiled at each other and the kid left. He realized that this was a sale he was not going to make but didn't seem to mind it. It is not often that someone offers him such a convincing reason not to buy.

The Banker Chronicles


It was Monday morning. Steve sat on the bean bag with eyes closed. He was lost in his own thoughts. How did it all come to be this? Where did it all go wrong? Faced with one of the toughest decisions of his five year career, Steve couldn't see light at the end of the Tunnel. He felt a splitting headache. He was exhausted more than anything else. All he wanted to do was curl up in his bed and sleep. But sleep had eluded him for the past 48 hours. He struggled to keep his thoughts focused on how to wriggle his way out of the mess he found himself in.

Three Weeks Back...

He had just closed a tough deal worth USD 50 million which was going to earn handsome profits for the company in the next 3 years. Things had been pretty tough. He not only had to convince the client about the transaction structure but also work with the Bank's legal and compliance departments to get their sign-off on the deal. His manager had long given up hope. His peers joked about the mirage he was chasing . But steve wasn't one who would give up easily. He had convincingly demonstrated to the internal stakeholders how he was managing all the risks to the bank while at the same time keeping the client happy in spite of the delay. For a change, the client was patient - the last thing you could hope for in a Bank. Finally at the end of a month's efforts he was able to crack the deal.

A huge party followed the night money was disbursed to the client. They were pioneers in the country so far as this transaction was concerned. For a Bank which was a mid sized player, this was a huge achievement. Steve stayed on till about 2 PM with friends and left for home in a taxi.

He was up early the next morning and reached office by about 9 AM. While he walked towards his desk on the third floor of the building, he received congratulations from all around -some familiar faces and some not so familiar. This was not his first success at the Bank. Ever since he joined the firm he stood out for his ability to get things done. He also enjoyed good visibility at the top rungs of leadership. He opened his mail box and was happy to see an invitation from Rafael - Director of the Debt desk to meet him in his corner office for lunch. This was the meeting he had been waiting for. He had been expecting a promotion and felt that the director would convey the good news today. His heart was filled with joy as he entered the director's office for lunch.

He had met the director only a few times before during company parties. But steve felt this was the beginning of a new chapter in his career. He shook hands with the boss man and sat opposite to him on the table. Rafael was a man of few words but was well-known for his shrewd mind and business acumen. He was believed to be the driving engine of the bank's growth.

Rafael spoke first - "Steve, I am a man who shoots straight from the heart. We have been watching you for the past few years and you haven't disappointed us. In more ways than one you have always performed beyond our expectations.But there comes a time when we have to decide if an employee is ready for the next big step and I am not being metaphorical here.."

Steve's heart started beating faster. The director's calm voice seems to create a soothing feeling on his mind. At that moment, if he said he could be happier in life, he would probably be lying. Finally the end was in sight.

Rafael continued - " Now before we shoulder you with the big responsibility, we want you to handle one more important responsibility. The knack with which you were able to close the Bernstein transaction leaves me with no doubt that this should be a cake walk for you. Get in touch with Robert and be assured you are on your way to be a future leader of this bank"

Coming from someone like Rafael, this was a huge compliment. Steve knew that Rafael wouldn't hand him something if he did not believe in his capabilities. He immediately spoke to Robert and asked him to forward all emails pertaining to the transaction.

The first week was spent following up with different stakeholders trying to understand the transaction. All the while steve could almost feel an undercurrent from whoever he interacted with.  There was a sense of anxiety which people went great lengths not to show. Key people who had worked on this transaction had already moved onto different banks. Most of the knowledge he could gather was from different email dumps he received from Robert who himself did not know much about the transaction.

Two weeks into the Task...

Finding it difficult to make progress on the transaction, he got in touch with Arnold who was the VP who was instrumental in executing this transaction. Arnold had recently joined an investment bank in CBD (Central Business District). He was initially reluctant to meet but steve's powers of persuasion prevailed over him. They met in the chinese restaurant along the bay. When steve questioned him about the transaction, Arnold was mostly evasive in his replies. It seemed that he was not comfortable discussing anything related to the deal. But inadvertently, Arnold let out that the deal was mired in some legal tangle. This heightened steve's fears.

Steve went back and looked through all the documentation to see if the legal team had indeed approved of the transaction.His follow ups did not yield any positive new. Meanwhile he received a email from the internal audit team informing him that the central bank would like to audit the deal. Steve started putting the pieces together. One leg of the transaction which was a Letter of credit was funded by the client but never executed. The fee collected simply could not be traced. He did a quick check on similar transactions and all of them eerily followed the same pattern. The money was siphoned off. It was just not about the money. Any leak of this to the press and He could almost see the next day's headlines - "Bank dupes customer - Financial scandal of the decade". The regulator would immediately get into action and could lead to severe penalties or even cancelling of the Bank's licence.

The Final Nail in the Coffin..


Steve knew he had to act and act fast. He tried explaining things to his manager but he didn't seem to pay much attention. He was deliberately ignoring him. All his efforts to reach Rafael failed. He had gone on a vacation to Tahiti Islands and couldn't be reached for the next one month. He reached out to the company's Legal Head - Bob. Bob had been a bank's veteran. Aged closed to 55 he always joked about setting up a restaurant once he retired. But it was difficult to get an appointment from him. His previous interactions with Bob had helped him gain his trust. He rang Bob - " Bob there is a transaction that I need to urgently discuss with you and I need at least an hour..".

Bob was surprised. He wouldn't even grant the company's CEO an interview for one hour and this young kid was asking him for a hour. After a moment's pause he said - " Look kid..I would really like to help you but don't think i can meet you this week..". Steve knew he had to make an impact on Bob. He said - " Bob my only job for today is to talk to you. I want to discuss in particular about a transaction where some legal sign offs are missing!!"

There was silence at the other end. He knew he had made the right noise. Bob said - " 3 PM kid and you have half an hour". Steve met Bob at the appointed hour and took him through the transaction details. Bob listened patiently and finally said - " In sharing these details you have brought up a very serious issue but you also need to understand that there is a larger responsibility that you owe to the bank. You need to become a whistleblower.."

Ah.. how steve wished that Bob hadn't said that. He was hoping Bob would take the lead and ensure that everything was set right. But it wasn't to be. Being a whistle-blower was something that wasn't an easy thing to do in the world of finance. Word always leaked out on the employee who went against the system. The inquiry that follows is a long drawn process and usually the bank covers up its mistakes and victimizes the whistleblower. Only occasionally does the real culprit get punished. But for the whistleblower it was a slow death to his career.

Time to bite the bullet...


The conversation with Bob had shook him off completely. He decided to take the rest of the day off feigning illness. It was a friday and that offered him two days to make up his mind. Did he wish to be a hero and put his career on line? How he wished if he could turn it all back and wish he was never a part of this. His best instincts told him not to go ahead with this. He could always go on an unplanned vacation and come back after things were sorted out. But his morality didn't agree to that. He was caught between the rock and a hard place. For the next 48 hours, he kept thinking if there was a middle way where he need not be the martyr and yet save the bank.

Answers eluded him. Finally his conscience won over his ambition. He met Bob Monday morning and told him he was ready to do the right thing.

Epilogue:

Today marks Ten years to the incident.  Steve is 42 years old. He no longer works in finance. The long drawn inquiry did not punish the guilty but it took corrective measures to protect the bank's interests. Steve moved out of the bank in disgust but he had already been branded a traitor. Word spreads quickly in banking circles and he became notorious as a trouble maker. Finding it tough to find a footing in the banking industry, he slowly moved onto smaller jobs in other sectors.

Now he works as a Purchasing manager for a mid sized conglomerate. His career hadn't exactly rocketed as he had hoped for but his clear conscience ensures that he stays happy. In the end isn't that what really matters!!

Blood in the Time of Holi...


Today was just another day in my life. The fact that is was Holi hardly registered on my mind except when listening to music on TV. I had an early morning meeting at 8:30 AM and was as usual late in getting ready. It was 8:15 AM by the time I stepped out of bath. I quickly put on clothes, cursed myself for being so lazy, picked my keys and made a quick time check. It was already 8:20 AM. My daily commute to the office is 8 KM but given that it was early morning with nothing to slow me down I was confident of making office by 8:35 AM and earlier in case other residents of Hyderabad co-operate. I told myself that people wouldn't waiting those extra 5 minutes instead of wrapping the call early.

As I started my bike and headed towards office, there were no signs on the road that today was Holi. Hyderabad was becoming lazy like me and was losing zest for life. May be the city youth had better things to do. The fact that it was not a holiday for a lot of corporates might have subdued the effects of Holi.

Meanwhile, I had come about a km from home. The road was split by a divider. I was tailing a car few meters behind it and thinking of overtaking it. Something struck me.... on the other side of the road, I noticed a guy running towards the divider from the other half of the road being chased by his friends with color sprays. This wasn't an unusual scene except that he was running in a direct collision path with the car. I could almost sense an impending disaster. My heart skipped a beat. In the next sixty seconds, I saw the guy leap on to the divider while being chased by his friends with colors. He seemed totally oblivious to the fact that he was crossing the road. He was focused on avoiding his friends and nothing else seemed to matter. What happened next was inevitable.

The car driver honked with all earnestness to avoid what was about to happen. The guy leapt from the divider and was hit by the car. I don't remember if he was hit while in mid air or just as he set foot on the road. My mind totally went blank. I was hardly two meters behind the car. The car driver braked with all intent and the car came to a screeching halt. The next few seconds seemed like eternity to me. I slowed down my bike in fear of what lay ahead of me.

My first glimpse of the guy was something dripping down his hand as he lay down on the road. I stopped my bike to see if I could get down and help. His friends following him immediately reached out to him and were checking on him. For a moment there I thought I saw blood dripping from his hand..My mind started racing - where was the nearest hospital? Should I flag an auto? But slowly I was coming back to my senses. What I saw on his hand was not blood but a slight shade of pink. Thank God!! It was just a plain holi color.This relieved my greatly. I realized that my mind was playing tricks on me. By the time I reached him he sort of was able to sit on the road. People had started gathering around him. He was able to speak and was crying. His friends were chiding him that he should watch before crossing. May be he was one of those lucky guys to escape unhurt in a road accident but when the car hit him It seemed certain that this was a day he was going to remember for the rest of his life. The fact that the car driver was just ambling and not speeding might have saved the day.

Whatever happened I was thankful that nothing serious had happened to the only guy I saw celebrating holi...

Pan Singh Tomar (PST)


It is very difficult to create an interesting plot and keep the audience hooked without a central character assuming a larger than life image. Pan Singh Tomar goes about doing that and does it with such finesse that your mind never wavers to think wait - where was the all the heroic stuff?? In a long time I can say that I haven't watched a movie where the plot was central to the movie. Coming from movie goer who would stop watching the cricket once SRT gets out, it says a lot about the movie. It is a true biopic. Never was an effort made to project the central protagonist as a superhuman. Not when his superior officer does not allow him to go to war because he is a sportsperson - Not when he is mocked at for staying back while his friends go to war - Not when his cousin taunts him for being a coward running all his life - Not when he falls asleep while his gang members get slaughtered by the police . This I would say is what a normal man would do and not the Hindi film Hero.

It is a simple story of a well meaning man who has been wronged by the system and goes about seeking revenge after knocking on all the doors that he can think of. But the thing that separates this story from the rest is the way he goes about doing it. The movie does not try to justify the hero turning into the villain but narrates it beautifully enough so that the audience can empathise with his suffering.

More than the story, I should say it was Irfan Khan's acting abilities that brought PST to life. Never do you get a feeling that he is emoting - he just seemed so natural in the character. It is the earnestness of his expression when he says he wants to get into sports so that he can eat more food, you realize how good an actor Irfan Khan is. He is ably supported by the support cast who deliver a decent job be it his army superior or his coach. The director also wanted to highlight an underlying message which you realize only towards the end - the way we have treated out athletes : the apathy that has left many die penniless. But then again, if that was the message of the movie, it was alluded to only when PST echoes his sadness saying that people recognized him only for his acts as a bandit and chose to ignore all his efforts a national steeplechase champion.

If the story drags towards the end, it is because there is really no end to a story until the story dies on it own. This was the story of PST and it had to be shown until PST is no more. Perhaps the director could have ended the movie once he succeeds in his revenge. But if he wanted to get his mesage through at the end, it was imperative to show that the path PST had taken had death written all over it.The climax was a little disappointing when he tries to jump across a canal to run away from police but perhaps that is what people in real life do. When you can't fight, you take flight. All said and done PST was a total Paisa vasool!!

Sydney.. First Impressions


It has been sometime since I have been to Sydney - more than 2 months So it wouldn't be fair to call them first impressions but neverthless these are the impressions that have stayed with me for this long.

I am not what people would call an avid traveller but whenever an opportunity had presented itself I haven't exactly been shy. So this time it was some office work that took me to Sydney. It was a 40 day trip - just long enough to look around the city and not get bored.

The First Day


One thing that the world recognizes India is by its diversity, cultural and from an economic standpoint the population. Its not an easily ignored fact that more than 20% of the world's population lives in India - not by the world and not by Indians either. So irrespective of the place you are in, the time of the day you are never short of people around. You should be happy if its not crowded. Australia in contrast is huge land body with pockets of population thrown here and there. In fact if someone were to travel on foot from coast to coast chances are for a majority of your trip you will be talking to yourself.

Compared to other Australian cities, Sydney is much lively place with friendly people. My office located near Darling Harbor is more or less the heart of the city's Friday evenings. But I guess I can't say the same about suburbs. The first thing that struck while I was walking back to my uncle's place from the train station was how empty the roads were. If I were to walk that long a stretch without seeing any one people in India, I would think - Hey may be its a curfew in town or well the croatoan virus has turned the city zombie and the survivors have fled. But then again I guess that is how people like it there. Once you get home you stay indoors rather than loitering around on the roads. Nevertheless, this was something that took me sometime getting used to. One question that would always pop-up in my mind was if someone wanted to check directions whom would he ask but then i guess that is what we have GPS for. Surely I can't live in such silence and serenity. I am much better off in India.

The Asian Invasion


Before I traveled to Sydney I wasn't aware of the number of Asians there. In fact it was a big surprise for me.  Chinese, Japanese, Indians, South East Asians I mean its common sense that you find them there but the numbers were simply surprising. There simply seemed to be more Asians than Australians ( and I am not talking about aborigines here). Well China and India, people are your true contribution and your legacy for posterity.

The Sun and Vitamin D


All it takes is a peek from the sun for people to throng to beaches. I used to find it surprising when I would read about people craving for a sunny day. I mean in India you would rather wish that the sun would go hide behind the clouds. But then the weather has got to do a lot with it. The temperate climate is moderate in nature and the sun wasn't exactly out in the supposed summer I was staying there.

The Desi bonding and an undercurrent Identity Crisis


Staying at my uncle's house also allowed me explore the desi circle. One thing I find rather heartening is that people who probably wouldn't see eye to eye in India would end up being great friends there. That is probably because in foreign land there are no barriers of caste, culture, creed, social stature standing in way.

The mix of people i met with were either middle aged uncle aunties or the younger generation (mostly in teens). There was such a contrast in their approaches to life. During my brief encounters with the middle aged, I realized an yearning for a better India but I can't say they have started feeling like a true Australian. They are caught up in a no man's land. An Indian in Australia is not really concerned about what happens to Australia unlike in India where even in the tea stall guy has an opinion about what the PM should do with the year's budget. Everyone is busy in getting through the day and staying happy. I am be over simplifying it but then again its just an impression. There seemed to what looked like an undercurrent Identity Crisis. Human beings being social animals have always craved to be part of groups sometimes as big as a Nation. This identity based on commonality gives them a larger comfort.

The youngsters looked at a lot more ease with their Australian identity. There were no nagging doubts about their affinity. Perhaps, some of them might even support Australia in an India-Australia match. The desi bonding does exist but it does not preclude them from feeling Australian to put it succinctly.

My Japanese friends


Even though I was staying in Sydney I was working for a Japanese client. They say understanding local culture is quite important to be successful in a business geography. It could n't have been more true about the Japanese. Japanese are very respectful people who places a lot of emphasis on what they speak and how they conduct themselves. But their respect sometimes gets translated into the English words they choose while speaking which sometimes might sound funny to an outsider. Let me give some examples:


Japanese : Team members, Please summarize the achievement and share it to me before close of business today.
Me : Good Lord!! what am I supposed to do today that would be counted as an achievement???

What he really meant : Guys Please send me the status by EOD

Japanese: I will wait for all data and make a judgement tomorrow
Me : Oh My God!! is it going to be a Go/No Go call tomorrow? Will the project be scrapped

What he really meant : Guys once i get all information we will decide on the next steps!!

And the Japanese believe in a simple motto : "A Bug is a bug is a bug!!". Irrespective of impact and priorities all bugs are equally important and need to be addressed. I had such a tough time convincing them that we should do things on priority basis but at the end of the conversation while they agree to everything you say they simply reiterate : "A Bug is a bug is a bug!!" and needs to be fixed.

Fitness Enthusiasts


If you put aside the Ian Thorpe's of Australia, I was really surprised to see the number of people doing afternoon jogs or bike rides. I mean putting aside the fact that in India people might either get roasted or frozen depending on the place, it still speaks a lot about the Australians. They truly are "fitness freaks" and I mean it in a humbling respectful way.

They lay a great emphasis of staying fit. In fact one of my cousin's boss was travelling to NZ so that he could participate in the 60 KM run there. It might have sounded crazy in India but in Australia I would say "Atta Boy".

War Memorials


One thing Australians really take pride in their heroic efforts in war and people do really respect great sacrifices made by the Australian soldiers in WW-I and WW-II. The War memorial in Melbourne is truly a stunning museum with a lot of artifacts from the war. They sure know how to treasure memories and respect them. The trip of the memorial took me more than half a day and in fact if time had permitted I would have loved to spend the entire day. Aircrafts, tanks, guns, Submarines,warship models etc all in one place.

I could go on and write about the other places I have been to, the Lint Ice cream that I ate at only the world's second Lint outlet outside Switzerland, the Bridge that rotates to let ships go by, the trek to the Three Sisters, the beaches in Australia, The ferry rides, Torango zoo, The ANZAC bridge, The Opera House, The Road Trip to Melbourne, The Mint Factory, The Parliament House, The Fish Market, My tryst with Yamcha etc. But may be in a different post. This post has already crossed all limits of "reasonable length". So I am going to wrap it up now.

Rock Star

The movie I felt failed to capture the spirit that drives a rockstar. May be it had got to do with the expectations that you have about a sterotype rockstart..passionate, headbanging, coke snorting, suicidal drunkard. More than that I was disappointed with the unreasonableness of the plot - Why does he get thrown out of his house? Pathetic attempts at humor where he tries to act heart broken because good songs are born out of pain? Or simply his unwavering response to all situations that he finds himself in... Walk away with a serious expression on his face.. Is that his reaction to everyone and everything?? Why does the police beat him up time and again for no reason?

Among the new breed of bollywood actors Ranbir has been a little more versatile not only in the choice of his roles but his performances as well. But this was the first movie where I felt he did not do justice to his role. I felt that the director surely lacked the vision to carry on a rockstar movie. The movie started with a very good premise for a rockstar's life - " Meet me beyond the boundaries of what is right and wrong". He was supposed to carry that forward. Instead all we found was "Junglee javani" recurring again and again and again. It was fun the first time but the same theme repeatedly starts getting on your nerves. This rockstar's life seemed to be driven only by his emptiness and may be that is why the film seemed empty to me.

Putting aside the fact that it was a very lengthy movie for a movie with no plot/story, I was disappointed with the presentation as well. The non-linear movie narrative style could have worked for this movie if only people didn't get confused which timeframe is the scene based in. There seemed to be a present, a middle present, a past present and a past. I mean frankly it did not need so many back and forths.

The only saving grace for the movie seemed to be Rahman's music. But as with all his music, the first time is always a tad disappointing but overtime you learn to like it. The music grows on you. The movie is definitely not worth three hours of your life!!

The Long journey back home!!


They say "Home is where heart is". After a point in time, it is no longer at your parent's place. While you will always feel its home but you know in your heart that this feeling will pass and you will have to go back to your real home - the place where you live day in day out. You may not love it but you will always crave to be back to routine.

This time when I was travelling back to hyderabad from a short trip to Vijayawada, I had a booked an A/C sleeper at 11:30 PM in the hope of spending more time with my parents. Dad came to drop me off at the bus. The first look of the bus gave me jitters. When I had reserved an A/C sleeper, this was not what I had in mind. This was a refitted normal bus which had been converted into A/C. I had lost hope of making it early home and catching up on sleep but had no clue of what was in store.

The ride was bumpy to say the least. The A/C switched off after the first hour and not even a blower in the vicinity. Being tired I managed to fall asleep but not for long. I kept tossing in the bed wondering what was happening until I could see day light. Not bad I told myself. I was in rush for the loo and was hoping the bus would pull up at some point and slowly made my way to the driver's seat. The bus jerked a little and started making weird noises. The driver stopped momentarily and I dashed out into the green trees. I had come back relaxed only to realize that the problem was much bigger. The driver said that the fan belt was broken and he needs to get a mechanic to fix it. The signs were looking ominous. It was 7:15 in the morning.We were still 2 hrs away from Hyderabad and it usually took two more hours from the outskirts. I was beginning to get worried.

The cleaner informed us that we would be shifted to the bus from vizag. The driver set out in search of a mechanic. The clock kept ticking away. People started making frantic calls to the travel office to see if any alternate arrangement can be made. Kids and ladies were getting nervous. The more adventurous folks started taking hikes in lorries destined for Hyderabad. I knew there would come a day when I would have to travel by lorry but I was hoping today wasn't the day. Even getting into the lorry with the luggage seemed an ominous task. There were no signs of the driver. People started losing patience. It was 8 AM now and no signs of improvement.

I had made up my mind that if nothing happens in the next 15 minutes, I should get going if I had to have any hopes of making it office before lunch. Dropped a quick sms to my boss and checked with folks around as to where we were. People started talking and I got to know that we already had to stop for 2 hrs midnight because of a tyre change. I was informed by other knowledgeable passengers that we were 7-8 kms from a place called choutuppal. I didn't even know such a place existed. I got my luggage down told the cleaner not to look from me when the bus eventually got fixed. Most of my co-passenger were not so lucky to take such chances since they were travelling with kids.

I started flagging lorries to see if one of them would give me a lift till Hyderabad. After a few misses, one taxi guy stopped and asked me to get in. There was no discussion, I immediately got in with no second thoughts. I asked him where he was headed. He told me that he was going till Choutuappal and I could catch a shared auto from there. It was 8:15 AM in the morning. Not bad I told myself. Finally my travel woes seem to come to an end. But the journey was not over yet.

The driver told me that I was lucky enough that the bus stopped near a town and not near Hyderabad since it would have been next to impossible to find something. I wasn't sure what he meant but he sounded convincing. Finally he dropped in choutuppal, charged me 25 bucks for 5 kms but I was relieved that I could see people around. For a moment there I felt like I was in Hyderabad. I got into a shared auto and dropped in luggage behind the seat. The driver cramped the 9 seater with 14 members and started to move. I wasn't complaining, given the choice between a truck and the 9 seater, I told myself I was doing pretty good. It took me an hour to reach LB Nagar cross roads. I knew home was easily two hours away. I quickly checked into a city bus which took me further 1.5 hrs to reach ESI from where I hopped into another bus bound for KPHB. It was 11:30 AM by the time I set foot in my house.

It had taken me exactly 12 hrs to cover a distance, that in normal course would take not more than 6 to 6.5 hrs. But this was no normal day. The experience though not enjoyable was new for me. All in All, It was one long journey back Home - the kind I would hope not to repeat in the future. 

Signs of Ageing


The New Age Miracle ads would have you believe that dark spots, wrinkles etc are signs of ageing. But if you ask me, here are some real signs of ageing:

(1) You become a man of method rather than instinct. No longer are you a man who can follow his whims and yet not care about the outcome
(2) Discipline and timetable sort of become a way of your life. No longer can you allow yourself the luxury of random events. One slight disturbance can throw the whole day off.
(3) You need your 6 hours of sleep or end up being agitated all day long till you make up for the lost sleep,
(4) No longer do you have space for one more ice cream. You should be happy if you can eat one without worrying about the calories.
(5) Youngsters start telling you that by the time you completed your engineering they were still in school.
(6) TODO lists start becoming the order of the day. You can no longer leave office at will but have to submit yourself to the tenets of a good employee and fulfill your responsibilities even if it means being up at 12:30 in the night to attend some stupid conference calls.
(7) Everyday you enter the gym saying to yourself - "Why God Why? Do I really have to run on the treadmill?? Can't I just skip it this once??" . The next day is the same story.
(8) You are no longer sure whether your hair would turn grey first or you become bald first.
(9) You no longer have friends to hang out with.. Most of them are either married or are seeing someone.
(10) Watching late night movies is no longer an option since it will throw the entire next day schedule off.
(11) Your facebook friends hardly post any updates. Even whey they do its about an exotic location they toured this year for their honeymoon or yearly trips.
(12) Saturdays and Sundays are filled with boredom and you start inventing new hobbies to feel that you are not wasting away your life.
(13) Reading/Watching news is a must. Its on par with brushing your teeth.

All in all, if any of the above signs start manifesting then be assured that you no longer are a youngster :)

George Orwell Quotes

All Animals are Equal but some animals are more equal than others

-Animal Farm

It is not less bitter because it is perhaps one's own fault, to see onself drifting, rotting, in dishonour and horrible futility, and all the while knowing that somewhere within one there is the possiblity of a decent human being.

Oh Well, God save us from self-pity!!

-Burmese Days

Men....

Contrary to popular opinion, a man can shut out love if he so desires. However, to do so, he must free himself not only from the woman who has bewitched him but from the third person in the story : the ghost who has put tempation in his way.

-Snow by Orhan Pamuk

Love.... Must Read

Quoting Verbatim from Neil Gaiman..infact copying straight out of someone's blog :)

Have you even been in love? Horrible, isn’t it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens your heart and it means someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses. You build up this whole armor, for years, so nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life…

You give them a piece of you. They don’t ask for it. They do something dumb one day like kiss you, or smile at you, and then your life isn’t your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, so a simple phrase like “maybe we should just be friends” or “how very perceptive” turns into a glass splinter working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It’s a soul-hurt, a body-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. I hate love.

Why don't I blog?

I have wondered about this question for long. The first answer that comes to my mind is I am simply lazy. That's the easy part. The other part is I am a form guy not class (for the uninitiated - read those who never watched cricket in their life) form is temporary while class is permanent). So when I am in mood I am tempted to write infact write quite a bit but in off times I behave like a guy who has nothing to do with blogging. When i try to drill own, the deeper answer lies in the fact that i wait for earth shattering events (read something out of the ordinary) something eventful/meaningful/funny etc rather than the mundane events of my existence. I can't think of anything important happening in my life for the past 6 months. May be such events don't occur that frequently after all and i have to be content and relish the little nuances of life. Simple facts such finally i am going to reignite my old passion. Well before you are off to imagine something, i am talking about resuming my tennis lessons. This was one game I was passionate about learning so passionate that i remember playing five set matches from 11 pm to 2:30 am when i could barely keep the ball in the court (with an equally talented opponent :) ). Hopefully this would be a longer affair than just a fling.

Coming back to the more important issue, may be I should write something rather than waiting for something special to happen. In fact this arose from a conversation I had with an aquaintance who confided in me that she gets excited by even small things in life that at times it renders her speechless which reminded me of my own inability to feel excited in life. I realized that I am more of a stable/inert gas which would need a really high amount of energy to get its electrons excited. Is this really how life should be led? They say life is not measured by the moments that you live but by the moments that take your breath away. You might wait all your life but those moments could be few and far in between. So I say try to make every moment count!!

On a completely unrelated topic, I have been reading quite a few blogs of late. Not an ardent follower but a follower neverthless. In fact my current form in reading habits is quite good. I completed reading Oliver Twist a few weeks back. It has been one of those which has always intrigued me but haven't been able to lay my hands on it. I like Dickens writing. In fact his slow pace is pleasant and the length to which to goes to describe the era often makes me wonder if he lived in all those places to capture such details. He goes into great length to establish his characters. I have read that he creates some of his characters from real life acquaintances which makes me appreaciate the effort further because he has taken a real human being and fitted parts of it into figments of his imagination.

The next book was "The kite Runner". I have had this book for close to an year but never dared to open it. How can someone title a book "The Kite runner"? I had no clue what it meant. But the narrative was good. I would not say gripping but it was poignant enough to keep me binded. It was like an old movie where one hardship follows the other. But the Hero in the book is falliable, vulnerable and nothing hero like. You will be able to identify with his fears. For not everyone in life is meant to be a hero. I thought he could have ended the story at different points. In some ways the ending in a larger sense is predictable and cliched but the twist towards the end felt a little overboard. But I liked the phrase - "for you a thousand times over". The first time when he uses it does not have same kind of effect. But when you read it towards the end, it makes all the sense. The next in the list is the "Sea of Poppies":. It definitely looks from a different genre and hopefully will help me maintain my form.

I now look over my pillow and watch Benjanim Graham's "The Intelligent investor" which is sort of questioning me when will i have my due. In due course is all I can say.