Musings of a Mysorean

Senate approves 'strict' rules on hiring H-1B workers

2009-02-07T21:56:00.000-08:00

On Feb 6 2009 the US senate passed an amendment which intends to regulate the hiring of Non-Immigrant workers by companies which are receiving federal funding to stay out of water during these times of sparse liquidity, credit crunch and turbulent economy.

I intend to keep my views private, don't believe I am fully qualified to take an objective,educated and comprehensive view not being an economist or a politician or play some other significant role like that, what I do is pretty much inconsequential. I do admit I am one among the hundreds of thousands of recent 'foreign worker' entrants to the USA, who not surprisingly works in the IT sector in the banking industry.

I just reproduce links about articles and comments that I came across in about 90 minutes. Many of them are comment pages, but I have gone through each of them (some comment pages are not included to avoid redundancy, also didn't spend much time cleaning up, they are as is from my browsers history)

Read from bottom up.
http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/cpg/1022894666.html

http://blogs.ilw.com/gregsiskind/2009/02/why-we-need-the-h1b-program-now-more-than-ever.html

http://www.internetdefamationlawblog.com/

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13073993&postID=2981519846429064952

http://www.itgrunt.com/desiville%20death%20march.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOqOxYr4F18&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeW15XnUbpk&feature=channel_page

http://www.itgrunt.com/

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/feb/02/bailout-banks-tried-to-hire-foreign-workers/?feedback=1#comments

http://www.thesocialcontract.com/

http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/271288/outsourcing_firms_warn_h-1b_visa_cutbacks?pp=2&fp=39&fpid=26145

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/feb/02/bailout-banks-tried-to-hire-foreign-workers/

http://www.computerworld.com/comments/node/9127276?page=7

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-06-08-tech-cheating_x.htm

http://www.youtube.com/programmersguild

http://www.computerworld.com/comments/node/9127276?page=4

http://www.computerworld.com/comments/node/9127552?page=9

http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/

http://www.computerworld.com/comments/node/9127552?page=8

http://www.thesocialcontract.com/pdf/eighteen-one/tsc_18_1_nelson.pdf

http://www.computerworld.com/comments/node/9127552?page=7

http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind08/c3/tt03-29.htm

http://www.computerworld.com/comments/node/9127552?page=6

http://immigration-weaver.blogspot.com/2009/01/memo-to-lou-dobbs-fixing-immigration.html

http://www.computerworld.com/comments/node/9127552?page=5

http://www.computerworld.com/comments/node/9127552?page=4

http://www.computerworld.com/comments/node/9127276?page=2

http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/271288/outsourcing_firms_warn_h-1b_visa_cutbacks?fp=39&fpid=26145

http://blogs.ilw.com/gregsiskind/2009/02/04.html

http://blogs.ilw.com/gregsiskind/2009/02/04.ht

http://www.amazon.com/Outsourcing-America-Shipping-Overseas-About/dp/081440989X/computerworld-20

http://www.computerworld.com/comments/node/9127552

http://www.businessweek.com/blogs/money_politics/archives/2009/02/h-1b_visas_buy.html

http://www.fiercecio.com/story/nominee-commerce-secretary-supports-h-1b-visas/2009-02-04

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Services/Travel/Visa_Power/Economist_Bhagwati_against_restrictions_on_H1B_visa_holders/articleshow/4092111.cms

Read full in part and make your own opinion.

While I refrain from making public (not that many people read what I write here or elsewhere) my view, I can't but say its hard for me to visualize a wholly self-sustaining country with a contained economy.

Didn't civilization evolve from the need for produce, services and goods from other tribes/groups/geographical locations? Well ponder on...

Chandni Chowk to China Town

2009-01-17T20:37:00.000-08:00

I recently had the opportunity to watch a hindi movie called chandni chowk to Chinatown. Precisely on the 17th January 2009.
Further details about the movie can be found here http://www.cc2c-thefilm.com/ or at the Warner brothers website.

I can't recollect when was the last time I felt so angry/irritated/frustrated/disappointed about any movie.

This movie has been publicized very much in India and abroad. I am a subscriber to a local newspaper called Charlotte Observer. And even this paper carried reviews and photographs news clippings about the movies upcoming release etc.
Warner brothers has probably spent quite a lot of money in marketing and distributing the movie. Supposedly released in some 125+ theatres in the US, which makes it the biggest distribution for an Indian movie so far.
I have a friend who is a big fan of Akshay Kumar and because of that we (group of friends) end up watching almost all his movies.
And so it was we entered the AMC Concord hall to watch this movie. Not to mention that the hall was packed for an afternoon show and we had to take seats in the second row.
Two minutes into the movie, I was ready to walk out. Tremendous amount of interest has been generated about this movie in the US and it was not surprising to see some non-Indians in the audience. There were a few caucasians and oriental folks around. (Its another thing that the oriental looking folks can be from India as well).

I cringe at the thought of what image these folks would carry about the Indian movies, Indian people in general. The movie was utter crap and was an insult to the intelligence of any audience, forget about the gullible Indian moviegoer who is used to being doled out loads of senseless drama, sentiment and dance numbers.

I have no problems with movies which are made outright outlandish and unreal. But I do have a problem when a movie tries to be otherwise when its not. This movie was trying to be honest about the story and acting,screenplay etc and probably wanted people to walkout with belief in their minds.

There was absolutely no inkling of a bound story, supporting screenplay and credible acting. The stunts were touted to be the best, Ala 'Hollywood' style martial arts. Nothing could be far from the truth.

I would not have been so pissed if not for the marketing blitz making out this movie to be the face of Indian cinema.

On one side we have slumdog millionaire scooping up awards and people in US are evermore interested to take a sneak peek at Indian movies, even though slumdog can probably be decribed best as a British movie collaborated by a section of the Indian film industry.

Even though Ghajini was also a unmentionable movie, it was maybe just about passable for the average Indian entertainment seeker.

Chandni Chowk to China - I urge the people planning to watch it to spend that time on a better activity, the makers of the movie to take a reality check and warner brothers for promoting this movie on such a big scale to the US audience as a bollywood experience not to be missed, please hire some external consultants and reviewers.

For all the reviewers on the various websites and magazine who have given rave reviews, try to show atleast a small percentage of honesty in your work.

And yeah Deepika Padukone looked fabulous and I applaud Akshay Kumar on getting to know that he is the highest taxpayer among actors paying Rs. 19 crore at last known time.

My Total Net Worth

2008-12-18T08:40:00.000-08:00

As I login with shaking hands into my online banking application, I decide to look at my portfolio, a cool feature inside the webportal, that the bank “I assume is safe to keep what little money I have” offers.

Trepidation and relief go in a sequence on seeing this.

After almost 3.5 years of living the American dream, the ‘Owner’s pride and neighbors envy’, the jabs that friends take on you as the man earning in dollars, compared to lesser mortals in India et al (its another matter that their Indian salaries are handsome compared to my meager one there and what I earn at the job in US is puny when compared to what others earn in similar workplace).

There’s a beautiful green arrow showing upwards, unlike any other stock index you might see of late in the news papers.

What a f***ing joke. Well I hope Mr. Aravind Adiga does not mind me using this statement.

This is my life and I am loving it.

Violin Concert - Mysore Manjunath and Mysore Nagaraj - CMAC

2008-11-20T10:51:00.001-08:00

I got to know through a friend that Charlotte classical music association is hosting a violin concert by Mysore brothers (Manjunath and Nagaraj) on October 19^th 2008. I am writing this almost a month later.

CMAC website is: http://www.onlinecmac.com/ you can find more information there.

Details about the brothers are at http://www.violinindia.com/

I do enjoy all types of music, depending on what mood I am in. Although due to quick access its mostly hip hop and RnB nowadays. I was aware of the Mysore brothers in general being from the same city as well as a friend of mine Srinand was a student of theirs. I always used to get Srinand to play, whenever I got a chance. Now seeing his Gurus perform, so far away from Mysore, yet so close to where I live was an opportunity I didn’t want to miss. It was a Sunday afternoon. As expected not many of my friends who I move around with here showed much interest but they were willing to attend just for the sake of it.

It was a chilly autumn afternoon, the destination was Davidson about 14 miles north from where I live. I took the address and put it in my GPS and programmed to take the interior routes. Splendid drive it was, and after a long time, I was alone and in a detoxed mode. Davidson College by itself is very charming, old world like small town atmosphere. Although I did get confused where to park (it was easy don’t expect too much just park on the street where you see a spot), a few Saree, churidhar clad women helped in identifying the Sloan Music center, Tyler Tallman hall.

Hopped out went in, an oriental (technically, even I am Asian, so I don’t prefer to use the politically right term used often in the US) looking guy pointed me to the first floor hall. There were a few families, some kids, some ladies hovering around. Entry was $15, the lady at the booth gave me a leaflet and mentioned there was no ticket or seating, just pay and take any seat you like. Casual atmosphere.

Not knowing anyone there, and not feeling like striking up a conversation (even though some well meaning uncles tried), I went into the hall. I was the only one in the hall, what I didn’t know was that it was sound check time. The artists were on stage, I greeted them with a nod (later I felt why I could not have done it with a Namaste!), sat in a corner inconspicuously, well as much I thought. Considering the hall had some 100 seats and I was the only one occupying one.

Couple of guys who looked like student volunteers were setting up the microphones. I was amazed by small things I noticed about them. One they took off their shoes/sandals when climbing on to the stage and another they asked where the artists would be placing the Shruti box. I guess they have been attending some carnatic classical concerts of late.

There were about 50-60 people in attendance. It was an interesting mix. A few non-Indian origin folks, a few college students, lot of Indian origin families, their kids in various age groups.

After sound check and coffee break, the event took a proper start, the introduction of the artists could have been better. The announcer mixed up words and was not very eloquent. The artists didn’t mind, so how could I.

They started with a nice rendition in honor of lord ganapathi. Then followed with a lot of other compositions, most of which I don’t remember now, although I would have heard of them. They were excellent and anyone could make that out. Whether they knew or not the fine nuances of carnatic classical music. Srimushnam Raja Rao who was accompanying them on percussion, mridangam matched them very well.

There was couple of requests from the audience also, which they obliged. Also giving short commentary on the composition they performed. Surprisingly the closing announcement was very well done compared to the welcome.

That apart it was one of a kind of break, a truly relaxing almost meditative effect on me. That time I was going through a difficult patch and all kind of thoughts in my mind wrangling me often. For those 3 hours I did nothing but sat enjoying the music, not even a loo break. Well I will mention it anyway, middle of the first composition, when they were performing on the violin seamlessly and at various paces, I had some kind of floating/calming effect, like the times when you feel like you have to cry a little to feel light. I just did that, I had tears rolling down my cheeks, couple of times through that concert. I will never know if it was the inspiring/touching/scintillating music or my personal feelings. Well I don’t bother, but I felt good coming out of the concert.

The drive back was like a dessert after a nice dinner. Sunset, empty roads, cold air, my lovely car and all alone. What else could I ask for? And yeah I had 96.1 the local hip hop station turned up halfway on my Bose speaker system in the car. I just needed some hydraulic springs in the front wheels.

Parting

2008-09-16T13:15:00.001-07:00

I am parting with my motorcycle. My first possession after I started earning. Lot of sentiment (useless and illogical at times) attached to it. The separation process is going on. A friend is buying it, so I know it's going to goodhands, someone who will take good care of my bird. Bought in 2004 and used by me till mid 2005. Then onwards for the last 3 years with friends (except the two times I was on vacation in India). But still can't make out why I am so attached to it.

So far in my life if I can call something as investments, they are only vehicles, nothing else. ( A major setback to a young person at the beginning of a career as per economists). Vehicles are liabilities as everyone knows, but these are the only things I have.

An expensive motorcyle.
An decent midsize hatch back in India, officially mine but really my Dad's.
An expensive set of 4 wheels in the US.

Hormones are Bad

2008-09-16T13:03:00.001-07:00

Hormones (of any kind) are bad for life.

Recipe to Make Dosa (Rice Crepes) and Coconut Chutney

2008-08-14T08:37:00.000-07:00

Ingredients you need

1. Normal Rice (non Basmati preferably) - 4 cups (depending on the quantity you want, 1 cup can be approximately 75-100 grams)
2. Urad Dal (Split or whole ones, without chilka) - 1 cup. Basically Rice and Urad Dal have to be in 4:1 proportion
3. 1 teaspoon of Methi (fenugreek seeds), this gives the crispyness

Mode of preparation

1. Soak Rice and Urad dal along with fenugreek seeds for 5-6 hours atleast with plenty of water.
2. Grind the soked items very fine either in a wet grinder or in a Mixer/Blender. Add water appropriately while grinding. Dont make it too thin in viscosity.
*2a. Optional step, add half an onion while grinding, this makes the dosa to come out red and crispy and the flavour will be nice. Baking soda is also optional, you can add half a teaspoon to the batter.
3. Keep the prepared batter aside in a slightly warm and dry place overnight or for some 8-10 hours. Temperature should be little warm. The dough will rise due to fermentation so make sure the container is not full to the brim or it will spill over.
4. once step 3 is done you are ready to enjoy hot and cripsy dosas. Mix the batter well, add a little salt and if needed you can add water to get the correct pourable consistency, not too thin and not too thick.
5. Take a non stick tawa. Usually first dosa will not come out good, so dont lose patience. Keep the flame slightly over medium hot.
6. Once tawa is hot, pour the batter to the center using a round deep spoon, and spread it evenly making clockwise circular motion with the spoon. Then add a spoon of oil at the circumference and a bit inside where the layer is thin. Optionally you can cover it with a lid. (do not put oil first in a non stick thawa, do that only if it's a cast iron one)
7. Once the dosa is cooked and looks done, remove it from one end using a flat edged spoon slowly and turn it over on the other side for a very short time.
8. Remove and serve hot, with chutney or sambhar.

Coconut Chutney Recipe

1. Fresh scraped coconut 2 cups
2. Green chillies 4-5 as per taste
3. Salt to taste
4. A bit of tamarind, ginger optional.
5. Optional - Roast Split grams ( roasted chana without chilka ) 1 cup, Cilantro (Coriander Leaves) half a bunch.
6. Grind all above with little water
7. Optional step for seasoning. Take a spoonful of oil add a bit of mustard seeds, Hing (asafoetida), curry leaves, one red chilly. Let the mustard seeds splutter, then add curry leaves and our it on the chutney and mix it.
8. Chutney is ready to be served.

Recipe for Lemon Rice - Chithranna

2008-08-14T08:35:00.001-07:00

Ingredients you will need

1. Onion 1 medium size - chopped small

2. Green peas if available

3. Capsicum if available - chopped medium size chunk

4. Shredded Coconut

5. Oil, seasoning items, Hing, Curry leaves, Coriander leaves, Urad Dal, Chana Dal, Jeera, Mustard Seeds, Dry Red chillies/Dry stuffed chillies (1 or 2), salt, turmeric

6. 3-4 Lemons, juicy ones as per taste

7. Cooked Rice

8. Green Chillies - 5 or 6, slit and cut

Method of preparation

1. Cook rice separately ensuring it is not sticky and grains can separate. Add a spoon of oil when cooking it helps. You can use a pressure cooker. Set aside in an open container.

2. Heat little bit of oil, (2-3 Table spoon), add the seasoning ingredients, with lot of turmeric, when mustard seed pops add curry leaves.

3. Add onion, capsicum, green chilli and after 2 mins green peas. Saute it till onion is done.

4. Add shredded coconut and mix it in for one or 2 minutes only with heat on. Remove from heat quickly (coconut should not get cooked too much).

5. Rice should be still hot/warm. Mix the above masala into the rice, add salt. Squeeze the lemon juice, how much ever you like and mix it in the rice.

6. Top with coriander leaves and enjoy.

Five Years at my job

2008-08-13T09:04:00.001-07:00

I just completed five years working for Infosys. All the views below are solely mine, my company does not endorse it in anyway and I don't expect to. No slander is intended nor should be taken.

Five years, five very long years, five very short years. I have grown old, slightly bald and dumb. Enjoying a nocturnal lifestyle with my offshore team, don't get the wrong ideas :), Otherwise still the same.

~Vamshi
Loyal employee of the company, hardworking and passionate. Decent billing, cashew nuts for salary (I still support my friend Vikas's Ricebags instead of salary option, considering the commodities markets state), ignorable complainer. No action taker.

For those who don't know the Ricebag for salary option here it is.
1. Infosys has huge amount of lands in Development Centers
2. Has huge number of people working, including facilities
3. It has to protect itself from risk of economic downturns in client(s) countries
4. As alternative instead of growing a green lawn, grow crops like paddy. Water anyway is abundant, use the same one as for lawns.

5. Suspend Basket of Allowances and throw in 1 Bag of Rice for Band B, 2 bags of Rice for Band C, 3 bags for Band D and 4 bags for Band E and above. Lentils and oil will be rationed based on the seniority and maturity in the role along with stock options held in the company.

6. Throw in some cash crops and you have a winner.
It's a win win situation in the flat world.
P.S: I love my job, I love my company, I love my company's clients. And I do like my current lifestyle. If not for this job I would probably be a lecturer teaching basic electronics to undergraduate students in a two room engineering college near Yelawala in Mysore.

My version of - Who is the 'I' in NRI?

2008-08-13T08:09:00.001-07:00

I found this article in Rediff today, very interesting. I reproduce it (albeit without the authors written permission - all copyrights belong to the Author Girish Rishi, I acknowledge it).

Somehow I feel I can relate to it. The first time a similar thing happened to me was in Charlotte where I have been staying for the last three years or so. This stint I can call is my first real one at being away from home. Well I never had to go away till now.

I went to a somewhat newly opened India restuarant and while waiting for my food a middle aged person started a conversation. Looked like he had immigrated from India a long time ago. When he suddenly asked where am I from, the first answer I had was India, as I was uset to telling people/citizens here. That was awkward because I knew he knew I was from India.

Then I elaborated that I am from Mysore in India.

Second time this happened was when a bunch of us were on road trip through the beautiful blue ridge parkway. One of my favourite places is Mt.Mitchell. It's cold, a splendid view and usually not crowded, so I like it there. But on that day there were lot more people and they had closed down the observatory for renovation. So only the concession stand was open, it was very cold, so we were buying some coffees, hot apple cider etc. When I was paying the person at the counter asked, where we are from as part of casual conversation. Automatically, without any second thoughts I responded Charlotte. He gave a confused look and just said that's a nice place. Then when I was walking back, I realized why he looked confused.

I am a mongoloid, speak with an accent that is foreign, and I just said I was from a town integral with the history of that region. Although I have been there only for a few years now. Ancestrally I am supposedly from Tamilnadu and in my school records Tamil is the recorded mother toungue for me. My mother was born and brought up in Andhra Pradesh, and father in Karnataka. I have several relatives in all these three states. I converse in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, apart from Hindi and of course English which has become a primary langauge now for me. I call myself a Kannadiga.

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Who is the 'I' in NRI?

'Your correspondent is thus a Delhite, an English-speaker, half a Brahmin, half a Tamilian, a Hindu culturally, an atheist by choice, a Muslim by heritage. But the identity that threads these multiplicities together is at once the most powerful and most amorphous: she is an Indian': Pallavi Aiyar, Beijing correspondent for The Hindu and author of the recently released book on China, Smoke and Mirrors.

So where are you from?

A simple question, yet the answer is not as simple. Questions of identity, already an area of complexity for Indians, are getting more enigmatic. As international trade picks up, Indians are becoming increasingly agnostic towards national and continental boundaries. Immigration and Naturalisation Service data says the number of Indians entering the United States between 1981 and 1990 was more than in the first 80 years of the 20th century. We travel and live where economic interests take us. No other people, not even the Chinese today or the English of the 19th century, have experienced the geographical breadth and depth of mobility as Indians have over the last couple of decades.

Let's start with me. I was born of Maharashtrian parents who had moved to Uttar Pradesh from their family home in Madhya Pradesh . I speak Hindi and English and understand Marathi. I went to college in Bombay and then in the east coast of the United States. I have, at different times, made New England , California, New York, London and Washington DC my home, and I now live in the frigid cornfields of the mid-western prairies.

Take this acquaintance of mine. He is from Hosur, Tamil Nadu, and has lived in Japan and then the United Kingdom. No wonder his children, who grew up in all three places, have a difficult time answering where they are from.

For most of us, including perhaps you the reader of this column, the stone has rolled so much that it has gathered layers of dust cultural dust that, when viewed introspectively, provides a kaleidoscope at once spectacular and dizzying.

There is nothing stationary. The more you move and the longer you live away from your origins, the more you change and so does the place of your origin. At any given time, when you stop and look around, you realise it is like that carousel ride where you look forward to the spin but, unbeknownst to you, when you stop the surroundings have changed and the path homeward is elusive.

My realisation that I was really not from any place, but rather a modern day nomad, a gypsy of sorts, came about on the evening of August 28, 2002. That evening, I was on a BA flight from Moscow to London. Looking forward to the dulling sleep that comes as the plane ascends, I was awakened by an Englishman's midland accent. 'Where are you from?' he asked.

My answers ranged from Richmond-Upon-Thames to Ronkonkoma to Renukoot. The Englishman would have none of it. He said that I don't sound, look or dress as one from any one of those places. In response to his stubborn curiosity, I closed my eyes and play-acted asleep.

The Englishman's questioning started me off on a study of people's whereabouts. I looked at the Italians and the Irish. They came with no desire to go back. They wanted to be Americans. The Vietnamese and the Chinese left their homeland with a desire to get away, flee. Theirs was more of an egalitarian pull.

But, none of these cohorts seemed similar to mine. I started realising that the Indian immigrant experience has been extraordinary. Unlike the Irish or the Chinese, the Indians were not fleeing from famines or political tribulations. Theirs was a professional, an intellectual, pull.

They dreamt not of Queens or the alleys of San Francisco, but of a University campus, a career in a clinic or a place that would let their technical skills soar; they dreamt of a suburban home, a two-car garage and green meadows for their children to play in. Also, the Indians came to America to experience all things American, but seldom strove to actually become Americans.

Padma Rangaswamy's Namaste America provides a scholarly analysis of Indian immigrants in Chicago. The book quotes a young Indian, brought up in the United States but bound by inexplicable ties to her native India, struggling to understand who she is.

My dress is mostly American, my eating habits are mostly Indian. And I have become comfortable saying "I don't have an identity." It sometimes frustrates me when people tell me I have to have an identity. I don't know. Maybe we're in a limbo stage when we're not going to have one.

The struggle for identity is not specific to Indian immigrants. Ruth Hill Useem, a Michigan professor, came up with the term 'Third Culture Kids' for children of diplomats and expatriates who spent time away from home in a foreign culture. She started tracking a common pattern that existed amongst these kids.

Ann Baker Cottrell, a sociologist at San Diego State University, studied TCKs further. Her research shows that TCKs were on the whole more successful than their homegrown peers. They consistently had a higher degree of education and were often employed in the top ranks of their profession. (Barack Obama is a TCK.)

TCKs are more culturally aware, bilingual, and so it is said fiercely independent. There is a chameleon aspect to their personalities, and they adapt to different societies with ease. The TCK literature shows that you and I, our kids and others have much in common with Professor Useem's hypothesis.

Perhaps we should be calling ourselves Third Culture Indians. We belong somewhat to India and somewhat to the US and in that sense, exist in a third culture that juxtaposes the two. In my case and that of others who have moved across coasts and sometimes beyond, the complexity deepens. Over the course of time a blend starts to develop that leaves us in a class apart, albeit not in an elitist sense.

Labels for this blend have been created. Non-Resident Indian is one. I abhor that phrase for its minimalism. Indian-American is another. I find it escapist. Anytime I hear 'Indian-American', I murmur 'Mahishasura', the son of a king and a water buffalo in Hindu mythology. (I do not mean to suggest which one is which.)

So, where do we go from here? I do not know. The journey towards finding one's identity remains a largely personal one. Cognitive psychology defines identity as the capacity for self-reflection and awareness of self. Pallavi Aiyar, the correspondent for The Hindu, cites three religions and one caste strain in her DNA, two provincial locations and one language preference. She resides in China and once lived in London. But she puts all that away and calls herself an Indian.

I am not there yet. I still go and stand tall upon an atoll looking out, wondering if home is out towards the seas or right there in the lagoon. But the day does not seem far when after failed attempts to provide an identity to my internal mosaic, I will fall back on one of two options available to me. And I am beginning to sense which one it will end up being.

Girish Rishi, a Chicago-based writer, can be reached at girishrishi@hotmail.com

Cars I have driven

2008-07-24T13:29:00.001-07:00

Just came across an interesting thought. Was looking at some flashy cars on the road today. So thought I should list down all the cars I have driven (that I can remember) in India and US, two countries where I have lived. Obviously I have owned only a few of them and rest all are rental vehicles or friends vehicles or test driven for myself or friends for many of whom I have played the test driver and adviser role. Make model wherever known or guessed.

1. 1993 Maruti Suzuki Van
2. Hyundai Santro
3. Ambassador
4. Fiat - Premier Padmini
5. Mahindra Jeep
6. Maruti Gypsy
7. 2006 Hyundai Santro (Own this)
8. Tata Indica
9. Maruti Esteem
10. Maruti Suzuki Alto
11. 2004 Jaguar X type
12. 2005 Toyota Camry
13. 2005 Kia Spectra
14. 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt
15. 2005 Jaguar X Type
16. 1999 Nissan Altima (owned this)
17. 1998 Nissan Maxima
18. 1998 Toyota Camry
19. 2001 Mitsubishi Lancer
20. 1998 Honda Civic
21. 2006 Honda Civic
22. 2005 Dodge Caravan
23. 2005 Ford Taurus
24. 2003 Hyundai Sonata
25. 1998 Nissan Altima
26. 2000 Nissan Altima
27. 1997 Honda Accord
28. 2000. Honda Accord
29. Jeep Cherokee
30. Jeep Commander
31. 2007 Chevrolet Uplander
32. Acura TL
33. 2001 Audi A6
34. 2001 BMW 740
35. Buick Lucerne
36. 2006 Cadillac Escalade
37. Cadillac CTS
38. 2006 Chevrolet Malibu
39. 2005 Chevrolet Impala
40. Chevrolet Optra
41. Chevrolet HHR
42. Chrysler Pacifica
43. Chrysler PT Cruiser
44. Chrysler Town and Country
45. Dodge Durango
46. 2007 Dodge Charger
47. 2008 Dodge Avenger
48. 2007 Dodge Caliber
49. Dodge Intrepid
50. 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan
51. 2006 Ford Mustang
52. 2008 Hyundai Azera
53. 2005 Infinit G35 Coupe (this rocks)
54. 2001 Landrover Discover (yes, 13 MPG avg, thank goodness I did not buy this)
55. Mazda Protégé
56. Mercury Mountaineer
57. Mitsubishi Diamante
58. Mitsubishi Eclipse
59.2005 Nissan Maxima (Own this :) )
60. 2007 Nissan Altima
61. 2005 Nissan 350Z (one hell of a ride some day I will buy this)
62. Nissan Murano
63. 2006 Pontiac G6
64. 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix
65. 2005 Pontiac Grand Am
66. Saturn Aura
67. Saturn Vue
68. 1998 Toyota Corolla
69. Toyota Solara
70. 2000 Volkswagen New Beetle
71. 2002 Volkswagen Jetta
72. 2003 Volkswagen Passat
73. Volvo S40
74. 2007 Toyota Sienna

Surprisingly I have never driven a GMC! As far as I know. Although once In wanted an 8 seater suburban it was not available.

If only I could

2008-07-22T12:50:00.001-07:00

How I wish I could stop time. If only I could, I would.
Why do I have to worry about a future I have no clue about and does not hold much promise.
Why do I have to worry about a past that I can only reminisce and introspect and cannot change one bit of it.
And why do I have to worry about my present, when all I see is drudgery.
What is my escape, what is my nirvana. What happiness I have or had is miniscule.
Why not put a halt to all this. Will it be my Manna?

what I have been reading

2008-05-05T09:20:00.000-07:00

recently
1. Edward Luce, Inspite of the Gods the strange rise of modern india
2. Folktales from India - AK Ramanujan
3. Ramachandra Guha - India after Gandhi - History (incomplete)
4. T.S.Satyan - IN LOVE WITH LIFE—A JOURNEY THROUGH LIFE IN PHOTOGRAPHS
5. Shashi Tharoor - The Elephant, the Tiger, & the Cell Phone
6. Pavan Verma - Being Indian

yeah you get the idea - India focus...

This is what I cooked

2008-05-05T09:16:00.000-07:00

I cooked in a frenzy y'day and this was the list :)

1. Egg Tomato Onion fry
2. Chicken Pepper/chilli fry
3. Chicken Curry
4. Lamb Kheema with green Peas
5. Brinjal/Aloo/Mushroom with sesame Palya
6. Rasam
7. Majjige Huli with Cucumber
8. Salad
9. Rice
10. Sabudana/Sabbakki Uppitu

Took about 4 hours absolute preparation time.

Timepass

2007-11-01T11:06:00.000-07:00

Some activity at office, but nice...

"He had a meeting to attend at 9:00 and the clock said it was already 8:57. He was literally running make it to the meeting. And as he was about to take a turn round the next block, BANG!!! He collided with someone."
Now, plenty of questions must be hovering your mind -
1. Who is this "He" ?
2. What "meeting" he had to attend ?
3. Where was he "running" ?
4. "Whom" did he collided with ?
5. Most important - What "happened" after that ?

My creation below...

Damn it, Hajmola (yes that was the name his parents gave him, you see his Dad had a problem with digestion and hajmola was the remedy - his dad felt indebted to name his only son Hajmola) just managed to collect all the dropped papers and file. Fortunately the laptop was in his back pack and was saved, he never trusted the new age haygrass shock proof laptop technology that the Indian company Ashok Cleaveland had promoted. He just managed to lookup and catch a fleeting glimpse of the cause of this incident (obviously it was the other persons fault). Hajmola just could not believe it, the cumin, rock salt and black pepper everything that constitute hajmola sprang from inside to his mouth and although the thought of it might make you feel gross, it certainly was not so for Hajmola. He suddenly felt at peace, it was like floating on a cloud with the number 9 highlighted in Neon lights. Because the person who he had collided with (obviously it was now his fault) was none other than the one time Ms.World and now the blissfully wedded wife of Abhishek Bacchan. Age and make up could not take away the beauty from her. Before he could gather enough courage and mumble out an apology, she just smiled at him and walked off towards the Indian store nearby.
Hajmola could only think of - was it... was it... really the Mistress of Spices? The creation of Chitra Divakaruni Banerjee ? The seemingly innocuous but deeply emotional story that had made him stop eating ginger altogether? And was that the reason why he could feel the taste of so many spices. His reverie was interrupted by the blackberry in his belt holster vibrating and he looked at it, it was the call from the boss, probably checking on him for the meeting. He looked at the crackberry and then at the Indian store. He had a tough choice to make. He was not bold/enterprising enough like Amitabh Bacchan in Sholay to carry a 2 sided coin. But what the heck he just put together a new random number generator algorithm to decide. All he had to do now before he could make a decision...only one thing .. To get it tested successfully by QA.

Action Reaction

2007-10-09T09:15:00.001-07:00

I am anxious about the future, the consequences of my actions and the actions of other people, the impat I/they will have ....

What Will be your occupation?

2007-07-12T09:28:00.001-07:00

Just imagine that the IT boom did nothappen the way it did in India. Think what occupations we would have been pursuing then ?

Recent Reads

2006-12-13T08:27:00.000-08:00

Recent Reads include..

House of Blue Mangoes - David Davidar
Village bride of beverly Hills - Kavita Daswani
Tokyo Cancelled - Ranvir Dasgupta
Family Matters - Rohinton Mistry
The Inscrutable Americans - Anurag mathur

Namma Mysooru

2006-08-29T13:14:00.000-07:00

It's a boring day at office been exactly a month since I came back to Charlotte from Mysore and feeling slightly home sick, loads of work and upcoming weekend my only plans are work. So was doing some TP when a friend passed this to me. Very nice read, ( I want to but I won't say awesome, cos some will say americanism and banter me). The original author put it as a comment in http://walkamusing.blogspot.com/2006/06/kasturi-kannadada-nammooru.html

but the comment itself a master piece. The author's blog is http://vikasshankar.blogspot.com/

I reproduce the article below here

Mysore cannot be experienced in holidays or weekends. Like a creepergrowing and encircling the staff, you have to live, and grow with Mysore toexperience it. You have to be with the ajjis who have seen you from the time youwere soooo small, where the maid who works in your house is your family maid,your ajji had "recruited" her mother.When you go on an evening walk, and the poojari of the Ram mandir, stopsand chats with you, and moves on saying there is a pooja at 5 next morning,that's Mysore for you. When you walk a little ahead and the librarian says hehas the latest copy of "Kasturi" or "Mayura", that's Mysore for you. When themilkman sees you on a walk, and delivers an extra half litre without beingasked, that's Mysore for you.Mysore is when you board a bus at the bus-stand and conductor-uncle givesyou a ticket without asking. Mysore is when you collect little red 'gulganji'seeds on your way back home from KukkarahaLLi lake. Mysore is when you come by the Tippu express, and you find someone going in your direction to drop you off.Mysore is when elephants are marched in from the forests for Dussehra.Mysore is when you wait for your copy of "Star of Mysore". Mysore is when theEnglish movies are only at Rajkamal. Or Sterling. Mysore is when you look foryour KEB uncle to book tickets at Woodlands. Mysore is when there are studentbody elections in Sarada-Vilas. Mysore is the eternal SJCE-NIE feud. Mysore iswhen Jayciana is. Mysore is when you got your project report bound atVenkateshwara Binders in Saraswatipuram.Mysore is having grape juice at RTO circle. Mysore is buying vegetables atAgrahara. Mysore is buying plantain leaves in NanjumaLige, savoring the aroma ofthe agarbatti factory behind. Mysore is eating ice-creams at Penguin. Mysore iseating dosa at Mylari Hotel. Mysore is having biriyani early in the morning,near Philo's church. Mysore is drinking sugarcane juice near kukkarahaLLI lake.Mysore is munching corn-on-the-cob in the palace foreground.Mysore is when I grew up in Mysore. My Mysore.Mysore before GRS, before theunderbridge in front of Saraswatipuram Fire Brigade, before Infosys, beforeRing-Road. Those who grew up in that Mysore, will relate to me more than thosewho came to Mysore, for a three-month stint in Infy. Than those, who thinkMysore is a good place to invest. Than those, who think chilling out in Mysoreis just CCD or Pizza Corner. Oh, How they misunderstand my pretty home !!!

Car Service

2006-05-30T11:54:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here at Automark AAA, to get my car serviced. After working for long nights over the long weekend of memorial day(bad memories, personally?) and having about 45 mins of sleep yesterday night, I am just willing to jumpt into a bed and doze off. Was (almost) forced to leave for home at office, spent about 2 hrs there and started back. On the way back thought it's a good chance to get the car serviced, with no hassles of worrying about rise to office, back, pickup car etc. Stopped by at PEP boys first then decided to utilise my AAA membership and came to Automark

In US they dont have something called service familiar to us in India. Back home I take the car to the nighbourhood garage and say service listing the problems and the chap does it, saying this is gone, this is worn out needs replacing etc etc, you haggle for sometime get things done based on your feel and budget.

Here it's a so-n-so point inspection, oil service and free service inspection. You can specify problems, they will have a look and report problems ad give an estimate, based on what you want you can get it done. It does not come cheap. Although the inspection is only about $25, the rest all simple stuff will add up to atleast $100-$150.
There is something called warranty on service, probably fineprint will take care of any mishaps.
One fellow gave for oil change, they drained the oil forgot to put oil and gave the car back. He spent $2000 to get the car back in running condition. Fine print said owner should have informed within so and so hours within so and so mileage. Nothing he could do.

Hopefully they do a good job on mine. My brakes are squealing a bit, all I think it needs is a cleanup from dust accumulation, costs $40, alternative is some servcing which costs about $290. I said I pass.

Nice experience, everything is automated, you can't go over and stand next to the technician and bother with your questions, expert opinions, nothing. Zilch. Drive in drive out after paying.

India Festival in Charlotte

2006-05-01T11:29:00.000-07:00

On Apr29-30 India festival was organized in Charlotte by the India association. The publicity it received was good, but on a personal note I felt that the event could have been better organized.
I am no novice at organizing events so with some amount credibility I can say this. I know that a lot of people over there are working individuals like me and have contributed a lot of time to make it possible.
1. Reception Area: Needed some friendly faces with helpful nature and not just some grumpy old men with somewhat limited skills at conveying the themes of the exhibits and intent only on getting the entry fee and get you to move on. The guy practically threw the arm bands at us. If the same behaviour was shown to the people of non-indian origin, don't know what impression they would have got about Indian Hospitality.
The Entry exit has to be streamlined, there were too many milling crowds around that area.

2. Exhibits by themselves were an assortment of household stuff from long time residents I suppose and it showed. Why not source some of this from importers who may be willing to showcase their wares and make some quick business as well.

3. The shows: There was a long list of events and many performance by the same individuals/co-ordinators over 2 days. I felt that many events were not warranted for and they were all like 5 mins each which does not do justice to the true artists and allow a lot of mediocre entries. After all you are showing the talent of the people of a nation and it's not a school day.

4. Food Stalls: Awesome MESS In capital letters. Why is that we as individuals keep another country ( I speak for people like myself only and not citizens of USA) clean, observe all rules to fastidiousness. But put them in a group with some nice chatpati food, some music and good weather and you have trash thrown everywhere disposable cutlery everywhere...
The organizers should have had limited vendors with a range of dishes than 6 vendors serving the same dish. I don't even know what sanitation score the sugarcane juice vendor would have obtained if inspected by the dept. of health. I don't mind, I have eaten at worst places, but what about your typical average American who always walks around with a hand sanitizer?

5. Tourism could definitely have made an important section of the exhibit, I don't even remember seeing one!, the exhibit area needed some guided walkways so that people take the right sequence of exhibit sections instead of random hopping causing a chaos. There should have been a logical start and end.

The views here are all my own and I have no intention to hurt/demoralize the organizers efforts.

A what's a non hectic day called?

2006-03-31T09:19:00.001-08:00

Today I feel lost...
And the reason... No I am not home sick ...my girlfriend has not ditched me or whatever.

But today after aout 3-4 months of working on average 16 hrs a day I don't have anything to do, unless I go out and take on some one else's work, which I don't want to do and unlikely also.

This is freakingme out. No meetings, status updates, no offshore calls, no running scripts, no user queries none whatso ever, end of the month nothing on my plate, my bank account is showing healthy signs after a looong tim, because of tax refund. I am hopelessly lost...

I have become more of a workaholic (did I spell that right?) and less of an alcoholic ;-)

Why do I do this to myself?? I really don't know. To drown in work so that I don't have time to think, if at all I think then I worry and if I worry I don't feel good about what I am doing with my life. I don't know. Is it for kicks? I don't know.

What am I getting out of it, no physical activity for so long that when I played cricket last week my legs hurt very bad, went jogging couple of days next I was disgusted with myself,plan to continue some sort of physical activity to keep myself fit.
Do I get more pay? No. Do I get any other benefits/recognition from the company, not really my team knows about it, my managers over here and bangalore know about it. My managers at mysore who really make the decisions have an idea about it, but I still don't get anything neitehr a promotion which I feel I deserve nor a decent hike for my work.

Been reading Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, I will not term it great but it is a good read. Pretty old setting not everyone can relate to it. Times when India was still under so many restrictions in terms of economy. Sometimes the descriptions of people bored me. But it is an adventure. Well worth a read if you get hold of a copy.

Recent Reads

2006-02-23T22:27:00.000-08:00

From Jan onwards been reading some of Indian/Indian Origin Authors. Some of them are brilliant

Here's the List

Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard - Kiran Desai
Fasting and Feasting - Anita Desai
Transmission - Hari Kunzru
Great Indian Novel - Shashi Tharoor
The Riot - Shashi Tharoor
Mistress of Spices - Chitra Banerjee
Maximum City - Suketu Mehta

More details Later...

Libraries and Books

2005-12-21T09:29:00.000-08:00

Just finished Reading a novel by Chetan Bhagat, his first one called "Five Point Someone". Awesome write. Just could not leave it aside.
Started it on the flight from New Jersey to Charlotte trying to distract myself from the romantic (s)escapades of the couple sitting next to me and what do you read in the novel the post teen romance of a guy in engg college (IIT, let's give some credit) with a professor's(Head of the Dept, some guts!) daughter.

Amazing writing, clear lucid and fast paced with a convincing narration. You start identifying with the characters Hari, Ryan and Alok right from the first page(which starts off like Dil Chahta Hai, but don't know which came out first). More so coming from an engineering background(not IIT but none the less,I am better off this way).
days of ragging, hostel nights, boring classes, pranks, creative out of the world impractical ideas borne out of the belief that you are invincible. Wonderful. I am sure most of us would have gone through some of the same cycle described in the book. Now don't start asking me which ones, I will be in a spot. A definite read is my suggestion. Beg borrow or steal but do read it.

I was going through India Today's article on literature works by Indians either in the subcontinent or abroad. Since I had some free time being the christmas season, I did some research. Some of them I had read, some I had heard and some no clue at all.

I have always appreciated the fact I have had this reading habit right from childhood. Picked it from my mother. I still can't sleep no matter how tired I am till I grab few pages before shut-eye. We had school libraries having a pretty good collection considering that it was not a hotshot private school and also there was that Rotary Children's library(was borrowing books till I was 17, then chided myself that I am no longer a part of the children's group!) Still have my membership card somewhere buried in my room in Mysore.

Then there was the Government Central Library( bless whoever started the initiative,I would have been bored to death if not books from there). Not many states have such a library system in India but karnataka was one of them. The collection was not up to date, but still you could get a lot of good books there. Then the whole Activism started for local language. Don't mistake me, I love the local languages, speak 5 of them and I am for it but not at the cost of prohibiting other languages.

Now that I am in Charlotte and am a member of the local Charlotte & Mecklenburg county library, I sincerely appreciate the system over here. I have found more Indian Book titles here than any Indian library. Just waiting to consume one after the other. You get to borrow DVD's also.
Heck you even get Lagaan in the foreign language collection here.

If you can get books by Indian Authors here then why not in our central libraries?
Keep pondering as I am doing.

At Home in Charlotte

2005-06-17T21:42:00.000-07:00

Moved into my home at around 17:30 hrs(was that it, I was confused with all the time zones). Met Lalit, one of my flatmates, a senior project manager, I got to know after some time and Vijai whom I had seen a week earlier in B'lore as well as Sriram. They had moved into the house only the previous day and had some basic furniture setup.Some chairs, lamp fittings etc. Took a long and relaxing shower. Hot water at the twist of a knob. A big bath tub.
It was a 3 bedroom house some 1400 sqft in all and 2 bathrooms. The arrangements were Vijai and I had the master bedroom to share, while Lalit and Sriram had the 2 smaller rooms to themselves.
With some advise not to sleep till the right hour, I had something to eat and helped with some household work and then made some Rasam, which was liked by all. (From there on my culinary mastery started). The surprising thing was no one even bothered to open my bags or cases and I could have takn quite a lot of foodstuff like homemade spices and all my CD collection, which I didn't do thinking that ths might be a problem at immigration.
Set myself up for the nextday, first day at office. Slept around 11:30 pm and was up and ready by 8:30 am to catch the 8:40 bus. Met Pankaj again who wa staking the bus because of some problem with his car.

Spending the first greenback

2005-06-17T19:40:00.000-07:00

After the immigration I had about 2 hrs to kill before my flight to charlotte. Detroit was a big airport with an elevated transit system for getting to terminals. Went in that a couple of times.

By this time I wanted to call Pankaj, the one person I knew by name and with whom I had spoken to over phone and who was residing in Charlotte. That's excluding VIjai who had travelled a week back and remained inaccessible.

I had 2 $100 bills and no other cash in dollars. I bought one novel for some $8 and was worried if the lady at the counter might not be willing to break the $100 note and so bought one more novel.
Deep inside I was converting 2 novels $16 = Rs700 ;-)

Went around trying to see from where I can make a call, there were lot of phone kiosks, but needed quarters which I didn't have and also not sure how the call box worked.

Enquired and bought a $10 calling card after little bit difficulty in the self-operated kiosk. Called up home to infomr that I had reached safe and sound. Then spent the next 2 hours roaming here and there, sipping coffee from a big container which was quite normal here. The only three options of size were tall, large and grande.
Boarded the flight to Charlotte which was very small, first class and economy seperated by only a curtain. There was an Indian origin airhostess by the name of Subhadra, which made me a little nostalgic about India.

Landed in Charlotte at about 17:00 hrs, called up pankaj as Vijai was not accessible and took a taxi, a big one with address to Pankaj's house. All my luggage had reached with the same flight and no issues there, except that here in Charlotte I needed to pay for the cart and the system ate $3 before releasing a cart.

I had my first terrestrial look at USA. Big road, big car and greenery all reached Pankaj's house, ugging all my luggage to the 3rd floor, to be greeted by Pankaj's roommate Vivek watching Sholay. Took off my shoes and sat on the carpet and in the balcony soaking in the ethereal feeling of being so far away from home and in a strange country that I had only read about and seen in movies. The sun was still up even though it was about 18:30 hrs.

Balaji, a friend of Vijai's (that's what I had heard) cam over after Pankaj called him up to take me to Parkside apartments, where most of our Infosys people were living and even Vijai had rented one.

Went with Balaji in his Honda Civic car which felt fast and zippy considering his driving. Asked a lot of questions about the driving rules and conditions. Finally got down at the place where I would stay for the next few months and that would be my home.

Stepping into Uncle Sam Land

2005-06-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

The KLM flight from Amsterdam to Detroit was pretty good. The seating was better, had quite some leg space and a seat back entertainment system.

I was in seat#16 or so and a lady was next to me. A gentleman friend of hers wanted to swap places as he wanted to get to know her better (that's what he tolde me!), which I gladly did. Anything to help two souls in love...

Got a window seat as a result and had some nice views when the plane took off and when we were airborne above the clouds. Settled into sleep for sometime, watched a movie (don't remember the name but was pretty new) and in no time there was an announcement thata we were scheduled to land. A form called I 94 was thrust in my hands to enter. Took two of those just in case I messed something.

Then onwards my saga of nomenclature started in the US which will continue as months roll by...
My full name as in Passport and Visa is
First Name: Vamshi Pradyumna
Last Name : Vellore Srinivasan
and the form didn't have enough boxes to accomodate. The lady at the immigration counter asked me to put Pradyumna as P, I was concerned that it might affect my Social Security number name and I was put off saying nothing of that sort which later proved wrong and I was right.

Standing in queue of non-immigrants all possible documents clutched in my hand, I waited. There was one guy from India in front of me who didn't answer to the happiness of the official and was pulled into a adjacent room for interview as they called. At th next counter there was a group of people from the middle east who only spoke Arabic and they had to wait till an interpreter came.

The lady at the counter looked at my passport and asked what for I am coming and where I am going. I answered politely and eagerly to the point, she asked to see my petition and glanced through it and stamped my entry in the passport with validity till 2007 mid and wished me a pleasant journey to Charlotte, my final destination.

All of it took 4 minutes and I stepped into United States of America, land of opportunities, considered by many as the most powerful nation on earth, with lot of expectations, anxiety, curiosity, hope and doubt as to how I will manage in this country. So far from home away from family and friends for the first time. So far I had not even stayed away from home for more than a month.

Vamshi Pradyumna Vellore Srinivasan had entered USA...what happens next??

Getting International

2005-06-14T18:50:00.000-07:00

After couple of hours of wait at the Chattrapati Shivaji Airport in Bombay a.k.a Mumbai I was called in to board the flight. By this time I was pretty conversant of how the system worked, so just made sure that all my luggage was transferred and I checked in.

Flash back...

Lines of passengers waiting for the interterminal bus, some catching up with old friends and some making new.
I met one of my old college seniors who was on his way to Wisconsin. Strange eventhough we both worked in a small city like Mysore, I had not met him for some 8-9 months and here I see him in Mumbai Airport.

It was about 12 midnight and after checking in I was pretty hungry and so was Anil (Mysore Dc colleague who gave me company till Detroit). After making a phone call, we went to a food joint and being the ignoramus I am, I had thought the Rs500+ I had in my purse was sufficient as once I am out of Bombay, I won't need money in Rupees. How wrong I was.
The food was bloody expensive a bowl of rice cost some 200 bucks!!

I was feeling a little uncomfortable and thought I better take some cash from the ATM. But the security wallah stopped me and said since I had checked I can't go out of the terminal. I still owe Anil those 200 bucks and the pestering I gave him asking all sorts of questions about the flight and the immigration process after I land, since he had been to US before.

Soon I was sitting in my allocated seat in the aisle middle row. The aircraft coach class had 2 seater rows on left and right and 4 seater row in the middle. The stewardesses were all non Indians with just one Hindi speaking lady who helped those who were not conversant with English. There were lot of old people travelling to see their NRI Sons, daughters, Sons-in-law, daughters-in-law etc and I couls see the anxiety of making such a long journey and the anticipation of seeing their loved ones on their loved ones.
A kind of sour faced young lady sat next to me and after futilely trying to make conversation I switched on the onboard radio and pulled back my back rest only to be poked to raise it again by my back seat neighbour. The lady wanted to try on the radio set but was unable to and when I offered to hhelp how to connect it she simply said doesn't matter and slept off.

There were soe junk magazines about the carrier (KLM-Dutch in this case) and the standard flight kit of a plastic bag, emerency instruction etc. Only my seat didn't have it and I was feeling left out so I picked on the next one and after glancing through it, thought I was better off not to have it.
The seating was worse than the Domestic flight and probably a KSRTC Rajahamsa could beat it hands down.

The ony visual entertainment was a huge screen at the wall which showed the temperature, altitude, course, current time, journey time, miles traveeled and other stats.
Tried to catch up some sleep was partially successful and had to keep hearing a baby crying now and then, people waiting in queue waiting to use the rest room. About an hour before landing even I felt nature calling and waited patiently in line and entered the toilet.

Whoever founded the mile highclub must have been really flexible. Even the flush was a het spray..and the only thing I could recollect was Madhavan asking the stewardess for a mug in some Tamil movie ;-)

After watching the sun over the horizon for sometime we approached Amsterdam, from the top it looked vast and spread out. Large tracts of green land and Amsterdam itself didn't look too large a city. The weather looked cold, got off the aircraft and was immediately directed to our next flight as there was just an hours gap.

Freshened up a little bit. There were lot of people waiting at the lounge and very few places to sit. I could see people squatting and waiting for the call to board. There we met one Mr.Manjunath who gave his story how he was delayed and had to take a taxi to reach the international terminal from domestic and was robbed by 2 people in taxi of whatever cash in dollars he carried and was left with close to Rs3000 which they didn' want which left me wondering about the pull of the greenback dollar.

Earning My Wings

2005-06-14T10:29:00.000-07:00

And so I was all set to fly to the US of A, land of opportunities, to go where, many people even now would have given an arm or a leg.
I had never flown before in my life ven though reading thousands of books about planes and commercial airlines had made me knowledgeable, it was just that, academic knowledge. I had butterflies in my stomach before I was to board my Jet Airways flight from Bangalore to Bombay, from where eventually I would fly to Charlotte, North Carolina with stops at Amsterdam and Detroit and all this through KLM and Northwestern Airlines.

After a brief farewell to my sisters, mom and my little nephew dad and I left for Bangalore by an Ambassador taxi. I had 1 big case and 1 small as check in baggage and a backpack as carry on luggage. I had not slept for the past 3 days properly and the hustle bustle had tired me out. I was feeling sleepy and the prospect of boarding a plane all daunted me. With a little bit of confusion in putting in the luggage and getting boarding passes for all the flights spent some time with dad waiting at the lounge, then I asked him to get back to mysore in the same taxi.

And do here I was all alone in the airport(not a good one at that, Bangalore Airport was one of the worst that I have ever seen till now). Made a couple of phone calls and then I boarded the flight. One good thing was I met some known faces from our Mysore DC and one of them gave company till Detroit.

The airbus that I flew was pretty new and had comfortable seating. The stewardess passed on a wet, perfumed towel and I was watching others to see what to do it with that and finally wiped my face and returned it. I was observing the things people did, laptops everywhere, a scowl there and a smile here. Gossip about the indian cricket team was on at another seat. A stewardess job is one of the harrowing, keeping a smile always on, listening to bawling passengers...

The taxiing was boring, I wonder how the pilots make their way on the taxiing lanes, probably more difficult than charting a course when airbourne. The initial all engines on full power and when the rush you get when the aircraft is rolling for takeoff is awesome and then when the throttle is eased back with the nose up the plane takes too air, you feel a litlle bit of that G forces acting, amazing..
and so I was airborne..

Bangalore Episode

2005-06-13T16:46:00.000-07:00

With one stroke of a pen the man was sentenced...
As the saying goes with one email some 15 of us were asked to go to our bangalore development centre for a project. Not knowing for how long and what it is all about we went, many of the people from my team.
1 week, then 2 weeks then 3 months then 6 months, no in 2 months we will be shifting project to mysore was all discussed and nothing concrete came out.
Due to some stupid policied had to fight a lot for our stay and it was a pretty messy fight at that. We shifted to a beautiful semi furnished house (5 of us with me being the temp occupant as there were 'PLANS' for me).
Weeks went by with no proper work or idea as to what we are doing and I was pretty frustrated, after I was supposed to go to the US for that project (Again can you believ that, that made it 4 times in a row). I stuck up a world map on my desk marking all the places I was supposed to have gone.

Finally one fine day, PM comes and says there is a small requirement for some chota stuff, for which we feel you are over qualified and I almost said no. Better sense prevailed later for both of us and so I was supposed to fly on 11 Jun 2005.
After experiencing on many occasions I was willing to prepare only after I get a proper confirmation, which happened on thursday.
Now dad and mum had gone to attend a marriage, which I only had insisted they attend thinking this might be no-goer like many others in the past.

Finally on the day they had to take a taxi and move back to mysore to see me off. I spent a lot of time on getting to understand what the project was etc and also getting documents, forex etc ready, with little time to plan, friends helped a lot, both at office and home.
More about my flight in the next one...

Back to the Blog

2005-06-07T16:48:00.000-07:00

Thinking of starting again kind of feeling bored and also it is good for people to read. Meanwhile I wil be able to channel some of the boredom and stress through the blog. A big thunderstorm raged over here today, called Denise.

Training!

2005-01-20T06:52:00.000-08:00

Had a very boring day filled with all sort of technology and web related terms. I have heard of more technology terms in the past 12 hours than the past 2 months after sitting through one small J2EE session and one day full of .Net training.
Most of it understandably went over head although I could get the concepts right but lack of exposure showed and bored me.

Kick Start

2005-01-18T21:12:00.000-08:00

Just created my own Blog, late start as usual, never too fancy about these stuff. But ultimately boredom hits you and you want to get it off your chest and here I go!
Will ride into the horizon!!