Looking out from my college campus @ Stevens

Looking over the Hudson to see the NYC skyline after the evening class @ Stevens gives me the caffeine for the long drive home :)

Self Fulfilling Prophecies

Calling the Opposition in India as the “Opposition” is like a self fulfilling prophecy.   I think it leads them to do exactly that – show their opposition to anything and everything that the ruling party does and wait on the watch to pin any random event on the ruling party! I could not believe my eyes when I read in the Asian Age the day before yesterday that the “opposition” parties in India are calling on the Finance Minister to resign over the Sensex crash of the past week!!    I wonder why they did not call to make PC the Prime Minister when the Sensex was going all guns ?! hmm… I got it – that will not be considered “opposition” I guess !

 

If the idea of self fulfilling prophecies in indeed true, what we need is to instill the idea that the opposition parties are constructive and sensible, while the ruling party(ies) should be deemed to be progressive and rational.    Maybe, that will cause them to behave in a progressive manner rather than pushing the country back into the dark ages of “casteism”

Lowered Expectation = Less Chances Of Disappointment

After reading the reviews for the DaVinci Code, in which users gave it an average rating of C (on Yahoo Moview - Friday evening - out of 2000 reviews- now upto a B- from 16814 ratings) I was unsure of what to expect when went to see it last Saturday evening.  The reviews, both on radio and TV, over the last few days had somewhat dampened our enthusiasm as this was movie that V (my wife) and I had been had been tracking since Aug 2005.   Contrary to what most reviews listed, I found the movie interesting and reasonably well made considering the depth and details to which the book enters into.  We were not too thrilled at the subtle changes they made in the last quarter of the movie, but for the most part, the movie was faithful to the novel and is a genuine attempt to capture the best selling book into a 2.5 hour capsule for those who do not (or cannot) discern the simple pleasure of kicking back and reading a great work of fiction !
Beware though - if you have not read the book, it is going to be a challenge appreciating the movie - and that probably explains the lower ratings early on for the movie!  As the guys (and gals) who read the book start going to see how the movie turned out, the ratings will get back to what it deserve !

Hit the Ground Running

Achumama, at the grand old age of 82, becomes Kerala’s 20^th Chief Minister today.

 

But, of course, be it LDF or UDF, the infighting in the state politics NEVER stops!! 

 

The AKA – KK era provided mimics with constant material for the numerous “albums” like “De Maaveli Kombathu” ... and this new government promises to provide even more of the same entertainment !  With Pinarayi Vijayan wresting away the key home ministry position, the fireworks started even before the swearing in ceremony. 

 

Now this is what you call “Hit the ground running” - no wasting of taxpayers time (now, can’t say that about taxpayer’s money – can I ??)

Colors

Really prolific flowers, these pansies ! 
and virtually maintenance free

    

    

    

Colors of a Nation

 

It is amazing how much of the people of some countries identify themselves with its national colors!

 

I was recently in Brasil and it was very interesting to note that there were more “Brasilieroes” buying the Yellow and Green than tourists –

Of course, the Sao Paolo airport was full of yellow and green – anything you want from Bikinis to beach sandals were available in the Brazilian colors. A lot of that can of course, be attributed to the upcoming soccer tournament, but not all. I have been be Brasil a few times now and the airports are always yellow and green and I had always wondered about it … The same was true in the Buenos Aires airport – blue and white; and in Ireland – all shamrocks – all green.    Of course, the United States surpasses everybody when it comes to displaying the flag proudly. I think it is pretty hard to go any place in the US without seeing the flag. 

 

I cannot but wonder are we Indians are not attached to our flag? Even with the changed flag code, I do not see (well, I haven’t been to India in almost 2 years) us Indians putting on a bashful display of the tricolor. I wanted to buy a flag last time I was in India (a small one) and I got the really bad plastic ones (which to be frank, I was ashamed to buy due to the quality).   The cricket season, of course, brings out the INDIA caps and T-shirts, but is that tantamount to a proud display of the national colors?   When would I be able to buy a tri color cap or bag or shirt or jacket at the Mumbai airport?   When would we able to see all houses in the country have a flag on their porch or balcony??

 

 










 

EOS - End of Spring

A tulip lay martyred as summer marches on ...

An Evening at the Marine Drive Promenade

If there is a place in Mumbai that is a near perfect example of a social class equalizer, I think it is the Marine Drive walk or the Queen’s necklace (as our erstwhile rulers chose to call it).    A paradise for people watchers, this amazing stretch of the pedestrian walkway or promenade on the coastline is flanked by a perpetually busy eight lane highway on one side and the often impatient waves of the Arabian Sea on the other.     I had the opportunity to work a few days at the Air India building nearby a couple of years ago and I have been meaning to write this article since then.   As I arrived there in the early mornings, I could see people jogging in anything from an elaborate Nike track suits to a shorts and “banian” !! Now isn’t that amazing – it does not matter how much you earn or who you know at this location where the sea washes away your social strata !   As the morning wore on, the traffic on the highway increases exponentially and the promenade settles down to a lazy pace of activity – a few children throwing stones at the water or a couple walking on the beach.    It is as if the city sucks in all available energy and life into itself as people go about their daily rushed pace of life that are usually programmed down to the exact minute of the hour (5.08..8.17 – each person has a different magic number!)

The evenings on the walk are just amazing, especially during the “Butta” season.  I could never wait to get out of the office to spend an hour or so before taking a taxi to the VT station to get on the central line!  As the busy day wound itself down, an amazing evening awaited me on the promenade. The sights and sounds of the golden evening provided a much needed respite from the pressures of work.  Once again, the steady sea breeze washed away much more than the weariness of a hard day – it washed away all notions of social classes as the janitorial staff from the high rise building and the executives they served waited patiently for their “butta” to roast on the improvised barbeque apparatus (which is nothing but smoldering coal blocks in a rusted iron bowl). Elsewhere small groups of people start pooling around street vendors selling “chana jor” and Vadaa Paanv’s.   The fitness conscious joggers and evening walkers make their way precariously through the crowds of the “ekdum mast hai” taste conscious street food connoisseurs (which seem to be almost everybody!). 

As the sun finally makes its way to the horizon, the pace of activity on the promenade nears its peak. Couples scan the busy pavement for anything that would provide a modicum of solitude or privacy. As the water starts shimmering and the sun melts into the yonder horizon, a sense of awe prevails …

A few taxi drivers pull to the curb for an expresso shot of rejuvenation –

I hastily turn around to find a place to discard the newspaper plate that I had been enjoying my “chana jor”from and tell him “VT chalna hai”

He took one last look at the crimsoning sky and flipped the meter down with a big smile and nodded me in ..As he merged artfully into the endless stream of cars, I wound down the window and tried to take a few pictures more.

Tomorrow, I promised myself, I should spend a littlemore time here ...

But tomorrow will turn out to be yet another today 

 

Colors of Spring

Not one of Flora's brilliant race
A form more perfect can display;
Art could not feign more simple grace
Nor Nature take a line away.
                  -James Montgomery "On Planting a Tulip-root"

I never cease to be amazed by the grace that tulips have, whether standing alone, trying to hold its own in the wind or arranged neatly like soldiers on a parade ground, arranged by colors... I have always felt that they are the most photogenic of all flowers

Most people always associate tulips with Holland or The Netherlands, but did you know that these flowers were originally native to Persia (Iran) and Turkey and introduced to Western Europe only in the late 1500s? In fact, tulips are the national flowers of both Iran and Turkey !

I am in Florida today and have not seen many tulips around here, but New Jersey has tulips in various states of bloom all over -

Here are some pictures from our own small garden...