A theory or a theorem is a rule. It’s a sort of dictates that all actions under the relevant umbrella must follow the same set of behavioral definition. On the contrary when you become an exception you are said to be proving the rule. That’s because your occurrence is a minor aberration over the general rule.
Now it would not be perhaps incorrect to say that average as a concept is a fair indication mathematically of the type of occurrences. Average socially however connotes a different sort of meaning. It sort of means that you are not up to the mark and therein lies the confusion. Most promotions, incentives, recognitions, rewards in the world especially in the “mankind” scheme of things are not for the average kind. They are, rather, for the exceptions that are not part of the rule.
This means that we do not want to care about the averages and take them for granted but actually only deal with the higher level aberrations and keep rewarding them. So the averages finally take over the exceptions and we come to a situation where nothing seems to be satisfactory and everything reaches a level of mediocrity.
So logically the natural rule is therefore on the average rather mediocre. So my question is that why prove the rule since the latter is rather average and does nothing for your self esteem.
On the other hand, if you desire to increase the volume of say happiness all around you have to deal with the average. And society at large (the average) would not really lend a shoulder to support you. This is turn means that the average human being is actually against the average human being.
And that is so confusingly true.
P.S. Read this at your own risk. The average reader won’t!! or would? Which one is the exception?
Sphere: Related Content
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Kuwait Vs Dubai
Oil vs. NO Oil
Money vs. No Money
No Glitz vs. Glitz
Friendly Locals vs. Unfriendly Locals
More Educated vs. Less Educated
Bangladeshi Taxi Drivers vs. Pakistani Taxi Drivers
Fewer Restaurants vs. More Restaurants
Prohibition vs. Alcohol Availability
Less Criminals/Mafias vs. More Criminals/Underworld Dons
India Friendly vs. Pakistan Friendly
Fashionable Local Residents vs. Conservative Local Residents
More Traffic Accidents vs. Less Traffic accidents
Good winter vs. No winter
Pajero vs. Prado
Corolla Taxi vs. Camry Taxi
Take it easy vs. Efficient
Short Work Hours vs. Long Work Hours
Low Traffic Congestion vs. Traffic Jams
No Desert Safaris vs. Desert Safaris
No apparent prostitution vs. Open
No Night Clubs vs. Night Clubs
No Tourists vs. Tourists
Easy Life vs. Rushed
Dust Storms vs. Reasonable Dust Storms Sphere: Related Content
Money vs. No Money
No Glitz vs. Glitz
Friendly Locals vs. Unfriendly Locals
More Educated vs. Less Educated
Bangladeshi Taxi Drivers vs. Pakistani Taxi Drivers
Fewer Restaurants vs. More Restaurants
Prohibition vs. Alcohol Availability
Less Criminals/Mafias vs. More Criminals/Underworld Dons
India Friendly vs. Pakistan Friendly
Fashionable Local Residents vs. Conservative Local Residents
More Traffic Accidents vs. Less Traffic accidents
Good winter vs. No winter
Pajero vs. Prado
Corolla Taxi vs. Camry Taxi
Take it easy vs. Efficient
Short Work Hours vs. Long Work Hours
Low Traffic Congestion vs. Traffic Jams
No Desert Safaris vs. Desert Safaris
No apparent prostitution vs. Open
No Night Clubs vs. Night Clubs
No Tourists vs. Tourists
Easy Life vs. Rushed
Dust Storms vs. Reasonable Dust Storms Sphere: Related Content
Monday, September 27, 2010
The Unprincipled Me!!
In my first job with a corporate entity (a large IT company) I learnt how to sell their products and services. But that was only one part of the customer relationship process. The other part is coming to an agreement in terms of the commercial arrangements and that’s where I learnt about speed money or loyalty money. Speed Money is of course typically paid to grease the hands of lowly officials or peons to get your work done. Loyalty money is involved when your client would need to show special preference to your products and services.
I was specifically trained on these because a) one needed to identify the takers b) you needed to develop along term relationship and c) sometimes you are playing catch 22 in terms of the “taker’s” relationship with your competitor. Most Public sector companies that were my clients had the “loyalty money” concept as a given. In the pure Government departments it used to be a mixture of Speed and Loyalty money. This syndrome did not even spare the Defence(pure) and Defence allied departments and concerns.
Now this is like complaining about our clients but I am sure we were to blame too for the malaise .i.e. us and our competitors.
There were happenings inside the company too. Over invoicing, under production in the factory, empty product boxes addressed to customer names (who never placed orders in the first place) being carted out during sales target period ends, were all a matter of common accepted behavior rather than the exception.
Mind you, that these things were not restricted to my first establishment. I later was involved in Telecom and in Software too and they all did it and mind you still do.
So it is not about just Government and Public Sector being corrupt but the Private Sector is equally part of this hidden black system. In fact I would say that in terms of corruption the ways of the Private Sector is a bit more sophisticated and polished. That’s about it. They are equally corrupt. Now that does not mean 100% and I do not have the data to prove otherwise. But I know and you know too. In fact talking about Public vs Private one of the biggest Private sector establishments has one of the most corrupt Purchase Departments you could think of (no prizes for guessing). The money generated through Loyalty Money Process is used in reverse when you want work done from the Government or elsewhere. It’s a nice non-taxed black money generation system that helps run the hidden agenda and transactions.
These days the CWG is in the news and maybe other topics of corruption too. But please think twice even about the Press. In my telecom days I had to ensure that reporters come and write good things about us and the way to ensure that is Cash, Gifts and Spirits!! The PR firms I am sure do use a lot of creativity in whatever they do, but this is one other aspect that they have to learn and actively practice.
The first passport I made in Mumbai years back was without any documents, no address proof, etc. It was all about loyalty and speed money. The 50 bucks I paid to the Inspector when I crossed the red signal in Jaipur is the same thing.
It is obvious that I have been a contributor to the dark sin. Have you been? If the answer is no…I salute you…but heart to heart..between you and me..perhaps I will win the bet. Make me lose from now on!!! Sphere: Related Content
I was specifically trained on these because a) one needed to identify the takers b) you needed to develop along term relationship and c) sometimes you are playing catch 22 in terms of the “taker’s” relationship with your competitor. Most Public sector companies that were my clients had the “loyalty money” concept as a given. In the pure Government departments it used to be a mixture of Speed and Loyalty money. This syndrome did not even spare the Defence(pure) and Defence allied departments and concerns.
Now this is like complaining about our clients but I am sure we were to blame too for the malaise .i.e. us and our competitors.
There were happenings inside the company too. Over invoicing, under production in the factory, empty product boxes addressed to customer names (who never placed orders in the first place) being carted out during sales target period ends, were all a matter of common accepted behavior rather than the exception.
Mind you, that these things were not restricted to my first establishment. I later was involved in Telecom and in Software too and they all did it and mind you still do.
So it is not about just Government and Public Sector being corrupt but the Private Sector is equally part of this hidden black system. In fact I would say that in terms of corruption the ways of the Private Sector is a bit more sophisticated and polished. That’s about it. They are equally corrupt. Now that does not mean 100% and I do not have the data to prove otherwise. But I know and you know too. In fact talking about Public vs Private one of the biggest Private sector establishments has one of the most corrupt Purchase Departments you could think of (no prizes for guessing). The money generated through Loyalty Money Process is used in reverse when you want work done from the Government or elsewhere. It’s a nice non-taxed black money generation system that helps run the hidden agenda and transactions.
These days the CWG is in the news and maybe other topics of corruption too. But please think twice even about the Press. In my telecom days I had to ensure that reporters come and write good things about us and the way to ensure that is Cash, Gifts and Spirits!! The PR firms I am sure do use a lot of creativity in whatever they do, but this is one other aspect that they have to learn and actively practice.
The first passport I made in Mumbai years back was without any documents, no address proof, etc. It was all about loyalty and speed money. The 50 bucks I paid to the Inspector when I crossed the red signal in Jaipur is the same thing.
It is obvious that I have been a contributor to the dark sin. Have you been? If the answer is no…I salute you…but heart to heart..between you and me..perhaps I will win the bet. Make me lose from now on!!! Sphere: Related Content
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Letter post-Delhi Trip
The Eid holidays were a welcome break and since the family was already in Delhi it was a good opportunity to cross the seas. I landed in the new swanky Delhi aiprort( I hope they maintain it) and the ordeal of passport control was quick and fast. The conveyer belts reminded me of Brussels and were impressive. All this fine and then you come out and take a prepaid Radio Cab (they charge almost double since its prepaid - beyind logic though) and reach home safe and soun
The next few afternoons and evenings were full of Goat, Pig and Single Malt, the latter prohibited in Kuwait. I had to make up for the same and therefore that was the instruction to friends too.
The CWG coming up people were having mixed feelings. Given a chance most people would have liked to strangle Suresh Kalmadi while none had a kind word for the others. The sympathy wa sure for the sportsmen and given the intellect of Delhi nobody really appreciated both Mani Shankar Aiyar's jokes and the serious comments.
The press still behaves like pimps of sensational news and nothing else. Variety is the spice of life for sure but just like the public even the press suffers from short memory. In fact when did we last talk about Lalit Modi and IPL. Even Maoists are feeling the pinch. All eyes are now on Kashmir and a sham of solutions. I know all the "NO"s for that place. No autonomy, no giving in to anything, no nothing.
Delhi roads have become disasters. Unruly traffic, potholes, muck, et al.... the drawing room of India is throwing up. Terrible!!
I never liked Delhi. I hope I don't land up hating it. Sphere: Related Content
The next few afternoons and evenings were full of Goat, Pig and Single Malt, the latter prohibited in Kuwait. I had to make up for the same and therefore that was the instruction to friends too.
The CWG coming up people were having mixed feelings. Given a chance most people would have liked to strangle Suresh Kalmadi while none had a kind word for the others. The sympathy wa sure for the sportsmen and given the intellect of Delhi nobody really appreciated both Mani Shankar Aiyar's jokes and the serious comments.
The press still behaves like pimps of sensational news and nothing else. Variety is the spice of life for sure but just like the public even the press suffers from short memory. In fact when did we last talk about Lalit Modi and IPL. Even Maoists are feeling the pinch. All eyes are now on Kashmir and a sham of solutions. I know all the "NO"s for that place. No autonomy, no giving in to anything, no nothing.
Delhi roads have become disasters. Unruly traffic, potholes, muck, et al.... the drawing room of India is throwing up. Terrible!!
I never liked Delhi. I hope I don't land up hating it. Sphere: Related Content
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Fish with Bak Choy
A favourite fish dish that is a family favourite:
Ingredients :
500 gms of White Fish fillet(not thick) - (Pagnacius- Cread Dori, Sole, Hammour, Bhetki)
10 Bak Choy Leaves including a bit of the stem (PAK SOI)
20 Garlic Cloves
10-15 Green Chillies
Soy Sauce
1-2 Onions
1 Capsicum (Green Peppet)
3 tsp Garlic Paste
Oil
Salt
Process:
Wash the fish fillets and cut them into small pieces and put them in a marinade bowl. Apply the garlic paste on all the pieces. Then mix them with about 3 tablespoons of Garlic Paste. Cover the bowl and keep aside for 2-3 hours.
In the meantime you could do any other household chores or watch TV. To save time you could also decide to get involved in the arrangement for the finale.
Peel the Garlic Cloves and chop them or cut them into longitudinal pieces(I prefer the second one). Peel onions, cut them into cubes and then separate each piece. Cut capsicum into large pieces. Wash the Bak Choy and keep. If they are too big just cut them into two.
You are almost ready now for the final plunge, assuming that 2-3 hours have elapsed. Place a wok on the flame and pour some oil(about 3-4 tablsepoons should be good). Take cornflour on a plate. Pick up each piece of fish and put them onto plate of cornflour ensuring that both sides are covered white. Then put it in the pan. You might have to do this in two or three cycles depending upon the size of the pan. Once both sides of the fish pieces are crispy fried, transfer them to a plate.
You are done with the frying. Now I assume that your wok has still some oil left. You need about 2-3 tablespoons of oil and if that is still there in the wok you have saved yourself from pouring some more.
Heat the oil full flame and throw in the garlic. Stir till brown and then put in the chillies. The aroma emanating is part of the pleasures of cooking. Keep stirring and then put in the fried fish. Stir once andput in the bak choy leaves and the capsicum. Reduce the flame to medium. Stir for 30 seconds and pour about 3-4 tablespoons of soys aauce. At this point of time I pick up a p[ece of fish and garlic to taste for salt(Soy sauce is very salty). If required I would throw in some salt now. Continue to stir for about 2 minutes and you are done. Serve with steamed of fried rice.
The outcome is pure bliss!!! Let me if know if you enjoyed it. Sphere: Related Content
Ingredients :
500 gms of White Fish fillet(not thick) - (Pagnacius- Cread Dori, Sole, Hammour, Bhetki)
10 Bak Choy Leaves including a bit of the stem (PAK SOI)
20 Garlic Cloves
10-15 Green Chillies
Soy Sauce
1-2 Onions
1 Capsicum (Green Peppet)
3 tsp Garlic Paste
Oil
Salt
Process:
Wash the fish fillets and cut them into small pieces and put them in a marinade bowl. Apply the garlic paste on all the pieces. Then mix them with about 3 tablespoons of Garlic Paste. Cover the bowl and keep aside for 2-3 hours.
In the meantime you could do any other household chores or watch TV. To save time you could also decide to get involved in the arrangement for the finale.
Peel the Garlic Cloves and chop them or cut them into longitudinal pieces(I prefer the second one). Peel onions, cut them into cubes and then separate each piece. Cut capsicum into large pieces. Wash the Bak Choy and keep. If they are too big just cut them into two.
You are almost ready now for the final plunge, assuming that 2-3 hours have elapsed. Place a wok on the flame and pour some oil(about 3-4 tablsepoons should be good). Take cornflour on a plate. Pick up each piece of fish and put them onto plate of cornflour ensuring that both sides are covered white. Then put it in the pan. You might have to do this in two or three cycles depending upon the size of the pan. Once both sides of the fish pieces are crispy fried, transfer them to a plate.
You are done with the frying. Now I assume that your wok has still some oil left. You need about 2-3 tablespoons of oil and if that is still there in the wok you have saved yourself from pouring some more.
Heat the oil full flame and throw in the garlic. Stir till brown and then put in the chillies. The aroma emanating is part of the pleasures of cooking. Keep stirring and then put in the fried fish. Stir once andput in the bak choy leaves and the capsicum. Reduce the flame to medium. Stir for 30 seconds and pour about 3-4 tablespoons of soys aauce. At this point of time I pick up a p[ece of fish and garlic to taste for salt(Soy sauce is very salty). If required I would throw in some salt now. Continue to stir for about 2 minutes and you are done. Serve with steamed of fried rice.
The outcome is pure bliss!!! Let me if know if you enjoyed it. Sphere: Related Content
Lungi
This piece was posted by Shantanu Aditya in our Yahoo Group. The source unknown. Do read It. Before you do that some terms would need explanations:
Kerala: A coastal province in the Southern Part of Indis
Lungi: The lungi, also known as a sarong , is a garment worn around the waist in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar (formerly Burma), Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Horn of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula . It is particularly popular in regions where the heat and humidity create an unpleasant climate for trousers.
Mallu; Mallu is a person from Kerala, A person whose mother tongue is Malayalam.
Just as the national bird of Kerala is Mosquito, her national dress is 'Lungi'. Pronounced as 'Lu' as in loo and 'ngi ' as in 'mongey', a lungi can be identified by its floral or window-curtain pattern. 'Mundu' is the white variation of lungi and is worn on special occasions like hartal or bandh days, weddings and Onam.
Lungi is simple and 'down to earth' like the mallu wearing it. Lungi is the beginning and the end of evolution in its category. Wearing something on the top half of your body is optional when you are wearing a lungi. Lungi is a strategic dress. It's like a one-size-fits-all bottoms for Keralites.
The technique of wearing a lungi/mundu is passed on from generation to generation through word of mouth like the British Constitution. If you think it is an easy task wearing it, just try it once! It requires techniques like breath control and yoga that is a notch higher than sudarshan kriya of AOL. A lungi/mundu when perfectly worn won't come off even in a quake of 8 on the richter scale. A lungi is not attached to the waist using duct tape, staple, rope or velcro. It's a bit of mallu magic whose formula is a closely guarded secret like the Coca Cola chemicals.
A lungi can be worn 'Full Mast' or 'Half Mast' like a national flag. A 'Full Mast' lungi is when you are showing respect to an elderly or the dead. Wearing it at full mast has lots of disadvantages. A major disadvantage is when a dog runs after you. When you are wearing a lungi/mundu at full mast, the advantage is mainly for the female onlookers who are spared the ordeal of swooning at the sight of hairy legs.
Wearing a lungi 'Half Mast' is when you wear it exposing yourself like those C grade movie starlets. A mallu can play cricket, football or simbly run when the lungi is worn at half mast. A mallu can even climb a coconut tree wearing lungi in half mast. "It's not good manners, especially for ladies from decent families, to look up at a mallu climbing a coconut tree"- Confucius (or is it Abdul Kalam?)
Most mallus do the traditional dance kudiyattam. Kudi means drinking alcohol and yattam, spelled as aattam, means random movement of the male body. Note that 'y' is silent. When you are drinking, you drink, there is no 'y'. Any alcohol related "festival" can be enjoyed to the maximum when you are topless with lungi and a towel tied around the head. "Half mast lungi makes it easy to dance and shake legs" says Candelaria Amaranto, a Salsa teacher from Spain after watching 'kudiyaattam' .
The 'Lungi Wearing Mallu Union' [LUWMU, pronounced LOVE MU], an NGO which works towards the 'upliftment' of the lungi, strongly disapprove of the GenNext tendency of wearing Bermudas under the lungi. Bermudas under the lungi is a conspiracy by the CIA. It's a disgrace to see a person wearing burmuda with corporate logos under his lungi. What they don't know is how much these corporates are limiting their freedom of movement and ex-pression.
A mallu wears lungi round the year, all weather, all season. A mallu celebrates winter by wearing a colourful lungi with a floral pattern. Lungi provides good ventilation and brings down the heat between legs. A mallu is scared of global warming more than anyone else in the world.
A lungi/mundu can be worn any time of the day/night. It doubles as blanket at night. It also doubles up as a swing, swimwear, sleeping bag, parachute, facemask while entering/exiting toddy shops, shopping basket and water filter while fishing in ponds and rivers. It also has recreational uses like in 'Lungi/mundu pulling', a pastime in households having more than one male member. Lungi pulling competitions are held outside toddy shops all over Kerala during Onam and Vishu. When these lungis are decommissioned from service, they become table cloths.
Thus the humble lungi is a cradle to grave appendage Sphere: Related Content
Kerala: A coastal province in the Southern Part of Indis
Lungi: The lungi, also known as a sarong , is a garment worn around the waist in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar (formerly Burma), Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Horn of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula . It is particularly popular in regions where the heat and humidity create an unpleasant climate for trousers.
Mallu; Mallu is a person from Kerala, A person whose mother tongue is Malayalam.
Just as the national bird of Kerala is Mosquito, her national dress is 'Lungi'. Pronounced as 'Lu' as in loo and 'ngi ' as in 'mongey', a lungi can be identified by its floral or window-curtain pattern. 'Mundu' is the white variation of lungi and is worn on special occasions like hartal or bandh days, weddings and Onam.
Lungi is simple and 'down to earth' like the mallu wearing it. Lungi is the beginning and the end of evolution in its category. Wearing something on the top half of your body is optional when you are wearing a lungi. Lungi is a strategic dress. It's like a one-size-fits-all bottoms for Keralites.
The technique of wearing a lungi/mundu is passed on from generation to generation through word of mouth like the British Constitution. If you think it is an easy task wearing it, just try it once! It requires techniques like breath control and yoga that is a notch higher than sudarshan kriya of AOL. A lungi/mundu when perfectly worn won't come off even in a quake of 8 on the richter scale. A lungi is not attached to the waist using duct tape, staple, rope or velcro. It's a bit of mallu magic whose formula is a closely guarded secret like the Coca Cola chemicals.
A lungi can be worn 'Full Mast' or 'Half Mast' like a national flag. A 'Full Mast' lungi is when you are showing respect to an elderly or the dead. Wearing it at full mast has lots of disadvantages. A major disadvantage is when a dog runs after you. When you are wearing a lungi/mundu at full mast, the advantage is mainly for the female onlookers who are spared the ordeal of swooning at the sight of hairy legs.
Wearing a lungi 'Half Mast' is when you wear it exposing yourself like those C grade movie starlets. A mallu can play cricket, football or simbly run when the lungi is worn at half mast. A mallu can even climb a coconut tree wearing lungi in half mast. "It's not good manners, especially for ladies from decent families, to look up at a mallu climbing a coconut tree"- Confucius (or is it Abdul Kalam?)
Most mallus do the traditional dance kudiyattam. Kudi means drinking alcohol and yattam, spelled as aattam, means random movement of the male body. Note that 'y' is silent. When you are drinking, you drink, there is no 'y'. Any alcohol related "festival" can be enjoyed to the maximum when you are topless with lungi and a towel tied around the head. "Half mast lungi makes it easy to dance and shake legs" says Candelaria Amaranto, a Salsa teacher from Spain after watching 'kudiyaattam' .
The 'Lungi Wearing Mallu Union' [LUWMU, pronounced LOVE MU], an NGO which works towards the 'upliftment' of the lungi, strongly disapprove of the GenNext tendency of wearing Bermudas under the lungi. Bermudas under the lungi is a conspiracy by the CIA. It's a disgrace to see a person wearing burmuda with corporate logos under his lungi. What they don't know is how much these corporates are limiting their freedom of movement and ex-pression.
A mallu wears lungi round the year, all weather, all season. A mallu celebrates winter by wearing a colourful lungi with a floral pattern. Lungi provides good ventilation and brings down the heat between legs. A mallu is scared of global warming more than anyone else in the world.
A lungi/mundu can be worn any time of the day/night. It doubles as blanket at night. It also doubles up as a swing, swimwear, sleeping bag, parachute, facemask while entering/exiting toddy shops, shopping basket and water filter while fishing in ponds and rivers. It also has recreational uses like in 'Lungi/mundu pulling', a pastime in households having more than one male member. Lungi pulling competitions are held outside toddy shops all over Kerala during Onam and Vishu. When these lungis are decommissioned from service, they become table cloths.
Thus the humble lungi is a cradle to grave appendage Sphere: Related Content
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Yo Sushi - 360 Degree Mall, Kuwait
Inspite of warnings we had gone to try out the food and experience the novel concept of serving. But prior to that let me first explain the experience. You are seated in these uncomfortable chairs, typically four to a table and there is a conveyor belt beside that run beside all the tables. So only two of us actually have access to pick up food from the belt. The sushis and variation come in plates of different colours that are priced differently.
Fist problem was that you just cannot fathom the contents of the plate when they arrive near you and we always in a dilemma as to whether we should pick the particular serving or not. Secondly even if you pick up any serving, you have no control over when it would reappear(given that you liked it). There is this menu card that have all the possibilities that could appear you on your belt, but before you are able to match up, forget remembering, the belt and the plate has moved on beyond reach. It is absolutely frustrating. It is also stressful. We did not enjoy the dinner since our mind was full time busy on trying to figure out what's coming and what;s going.
It was also noticed that the plates that were coming had no variety, in the sense, the same items were coming again and again. New items as per the menu possibilities were not appearing on the belt and I remember specially requesting for some "on the belt' items.
As far as food quality is concerned, given that I have spent some time in Japan and Korea, it's a "FAIL". Yo Sushi is absolute waste of time and I would advise you that visit some other Jap joints in Kuwait. If you ignore, you might risk losing some friends or get a mouthful of choice words from your family!! Sphere: Related Content
Fist problem was that you just cannot fathom the contents of the plate when they arrive near you and we always in a dilemma as to whether we should pick the particular serving or not. Secondly even if you pick up any serving, you have no control over when it would reappear(given that you liked it). There is this menu card that have all the possibilities that could appear you on your belt, but before you are able to match up, forget remembering, the belt and the plate has moved on beyond reach. It is absolutely frustrating. It is also stressful. We did not enjoy the dinner since our mind was full time busy on trying to figure out what's coming and what;s going.
It was also noticed that the plates that were coming had no variety, in the sense, the same items were coming again and again. New items as per the menu possibilities were not appearing on the belt and I remember specially requesting for some "on the belt' items.
As far as food quality is concerned, given that I have spent some time in Japan and Korea, it's a "FAIL". Yo Sushi is absolute waste of time and I would advise you that visit some other Jap joints in Kuwait. If you ignore, you might risk losing some friends or get a mouthful of choice words from your family!! Sphere: Related Content
God's are Giving Up
Some random confused thoughts have been coming and as they come I am just recotding them. There is no logic or consistency in these and that's a forewarning for anybody who is willing to read this. You are safer if you don't.
I have this uncanny feeling that as a person I am utterly selfish. I am not talkng about material benefits or wants but rather about the more basic mental DNA. I always seem to search for happiness and I feel simce everything is life is an equation, if I am happy then somebody must have lost some happiness. We all know about the Win-Win concepts. I somehow feel that every outcome is a win or lose situation. In the jungle world we know that might is right, the natural chain of food are all part of a larger supply chain. Are'nt we as human beings also part of the same jungle.
Would you thibk that today;s business principles are based on selfish-ism? Competition more often than not is front faced rather than solid background detailing.
I tend to think that most business decisions are based on petty political considerations rather than since business understanding. The percentages speak for themselves. Most businesses fail, most projects over spend and are delivered late, most often than people bother about management process without thinking of an efficient delivery. Most often than not incompetent CEOs and stooges run businesses. Most often than not somebody is out there to con somebdoy else.
Have you ever been a genuine well wisher? Have you cared about people who suffer? Do we care? We don't, simply because there is no time for us. We are busy working for the faulty economic system (because we have to) to maintain our daily bread and the future bread. Under the pressures of economy, religion, society...I am lost. I am tired. I want to be happy and therefore I am selfish. Why should I care a damn!!
The ramblings can go on and on. But you would perhaps read this on your Personal Computer and in an air conditioned room on an bed and chuckling about the nonsensical words that I have put together, while as I speak a terrorist somewhere is planning to kill somebody else for salvation and somebody else perhaps is still lost in the floods. Too many things, Too many events. And I have this feeling that the Gods are giving up on us. Sphere: Related Content
I have this uncanny feeling that as a person I am utterly selfish. I am not talkng about material benefits or wants but rather about the more basic mental DNA. I always seem to search for happiness and I feel simce everything is life is an equation, if I am happy then somebody must have lost some happiness. We all know about the Win-Win concepts. I somehow feel that every outcome is a win or lose situation. In the jungle world we know that might is right, the natural chain of food are all part of a larger supply chain. Are'nt we as human beings also part of the same jungle.
Would you thibk that today;s business principles are based on selfish-ism? Competition more often than not is front faced rather than solid background detailing.
I tend to think that most business decisions are based on petty political considerations rather than since business understanding. The percentages speak for themselves. Most businesses fail, most projects over spend and are delivered late, most often than people bother about management process without thinking of an efficient delivery. Most often than not incompetent CEOs and stooges run businesses. Most often than not somebody is out there to con somebdoy else.
Have you ever been a genuine well wisher? Have you cared about people who suffer? Do we care? We don't, simply because there is no time for us. We are busy working for the faulty economic system (because we have to) to maintain our daily bread and the future bread. Under the pressures of economy, religion, society...I am lost. I am tired. I want to be happy and therefore I am selfish. Why should I care a damn!!
The ramblings can go on and on. But you would perhaps read this on your Personal Computer and in an air conditioned room on an bed and chuckling about the nonsensical words that I have put together, while as I speak a terrorist somewhere is planning to kill somebody else for salvation and somebody else perhaps is still lost in the floods. Too many things, Too many events. And I have this feeling that the Gods are giving up on us. Sphere: Related Content
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Whisky and Pork
Three weeks is quite inadequate for a relaxed holiday. And when you land up in the UK it sound even shorter and believe me it is. There are many things to do and this without having to go to London!!
The first day I landed up in Guildford was a day after my family had reached due to a cocktail of my own mistake and some office work. The evening o1f course was all about barbecued meat and pork was the primary red. The other combination was a Pimms Punch while in the following weeks I shifted to Lager and Single Malt.
Kuwait does not have these two - The Pork and The Alcohol. Therefore the idea was to ensure that our planned quota needed to be consumed and with a vengeance.
Gammon Steak, Cumbria Sausage, et all were all lapped up. The Supply Chain for spirits were unbroken.
ALl in all a meaty spirited holiday.
Dubai Sphere: Related Content
The first day I landed up in Guildford was a day after my family had reached due to a cocktail of my own mistake and some office work. The evening o1f course was all about barbecued meat and pork was the primary red. The other combination was a Pimms Punch while in the following weeks I shifted to Lager and Single Malt.
Kuwait does not have these two - The Pork and The Alcohol. Therefore the idea was to ensure that our planned quota needed to be consumed and with a vengeance.
Gammon Steak, Cumbria Sausage, et all were all lapped up. The Supply Chain for spirits were unbroken.
ALl in all a meaty spirited holiday.
Dubai Sphere: Related Content
Monday, June 14, 2010
Live a Life That Matters by M. Josephson - Courtesy - Mohor Sen
Ready or not,
someday it will all come to an end.
There will be no more sunrises,
no minutes, hours, or days.
All the things you collected,
whether treasured or forgotten,
will pass to someone else.
Your wealth,
fame and temporal power
will shrivel to irrelevance.
It will not matter what you owned
or what you were owed.
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations,
and jealousies will finally disappear.
So, too, your hopes, ambitions, plans,
and to-do lists will expire.
The wins and losses
that once seemd so important
will fade away.
It won't matter where you came from,
or on what side of the tracks you lived,
at the end.
It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant.
Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.
So what will matter?
How will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is not what you had bought,
but what you had built;
not what you had gotten,
but what you had given.
What will matter is not your success,
but your significance.
What will matter is not what you had learned,
but what you had taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity,
compassion,
courage or sacrifice that enriched,
empowered or encouraged others
to emulate your example.
What will matter is not your competence,
but your character.
What will matter is not how many people you knew,
but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone.
What will matter is not your memories,
but the memories that live in those who loved you.
What will matter is how long you will be remembered,
by whom,
and for what.
Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident,
nor is it a matter of circumstance.
Living a life that matters happens only by choice.
Choose to live a life that matters. Sphere: Related Content
someday it will all come to an end.
There will be no more sunrises,
no minutes, hours, or days.
All the things you collected,
whether treasured or forgotten,
will pass to someone else.
Your wealth,
fame and temporal power
will shrivel to irrelevance.
It will not matter what you owned
or what you were owed.
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations,
and jealousies will finally disappear.
So, too, your hopes, ambitions, plans,
and to-do lists will expire.
The wins and losses
that once seemd so important
will fade away.
It won't matter where you came from,
or on what side of the tracks you lived,
at the end.
It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant.
Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.
So what will matter?
How will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is not what you had bought,
but what you had built;
not what you had gotten,
but what you had given.
What will matter is not your success,
but your significance.
What will matter is not what you had learned,
but what you had taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity,
compassion,
courage or sacrifice that enriched,
empowered or encouraged others
to emulate your example.
What will matter is not your competence,
but your character.
What will matter is not how many people you knew,
but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone.
What will matter is not your memories,
but the memories that live in those who loved you.
What will matter is how long you will be remembered,
by whom,
and for what.
Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident,
nor is it a matter of circumstance.
Living a life that matters happens only by choice.
Choose to live a life that matters. Sphere: Related Content
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
India Going Forward!!
Kalyan(Disco)send this piece written by Sean Paul Kelley a travel writer I thought it does compel you to reflect. Though this talks just about problems, the solutions are for us to figure out. All yours.
If you are an Indian, or of Indian descent, I must preface this post with a clear warning: you are not going to like what I have to say. My criticisms may be very hard to stomach. But consider them as the hard words and loving advice of a good friend. Someone who’s being honest with you and wants nothing from you. These criticisms apply toall of India except Kerala and the places I didn’t visit, except that I have a feeling it applies to all of India, except as I mentioned before, Kerala. Lastly, before anyone accuses me of Western Cultural imperialism, let me say this: if this is what India and Indians want, then hey, who am I to tell them differently. Take what you like and leave the rest. In the end it doesn’t really matter, as I get the sense that Indians, at least many upper class Indians, don’t seem to care and the lower classes just don’t know any better, what with Indian culture being so intense and pervasive on the sub-continent. But here goes, nonetheless,
India is a mess. It’s that simple, but it’s also quite complicated. I’ll start with what I think are India’s four major problems–the four most preventing India from becoming a developing nation – and then move to some of the ancillary ones.
First, pollution. In my opinion the filth, squalor and all around pollution indicates a marked lack of respect for India by Indians. I don’t know how cultural the filth is, but it’s really beyond anything I have ever encountered. At times the smells, trash, refuse and excrement are like a garbage dump. Right next door to the Taj Mahal was a pile of trash that smelled so bad, was so foul as to almost ruin the entire Taj experience. Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai to a lesser degree were so very polluted as to make me physically ill Sinus infections, ear infection, bowels churning was an all too common experience in India. Dung, be it goat, cow or human fecal matter was common on the streets. In major tourist areas filth was everywhere, littering the sidewalks, the roadways, you name it. Toilets in the middle of the road, men urinating and defecating anywhere, in broad daylight. Whole villages are plastic bag wastelands. Roadsides are choked by it. Air quality that can hardly be called quality. Far too much coal and far to few unleaded vehicles on the road. The measure should be how dangerous the air is for one’s health, not how good it is. People casually throw trash in the streets, on the roads. The only two cities that could be considered sanitary in my journey were Trivandrum–the capital of Kerala–and Calicut. I don’t know why this is. But I can assure you that at some point this pollution will cut into India’s productivity, if it already hasn’t. The pollution will hobble India’s growth path, if that indeed is what the country wants. (Which I personally doubt, as India is far too conservative a country, in the small ‘c’ sense.)
The second issue, infrastructure, can be divided into four subcategories: roads, rails and ports and the electrical grid. The electrical grid is a joke. Load shedding is all too common, everywhere in India. Wide swaths of the country spend much of the day without the electricity they actually pay for. Without regular electricity, productivity, again, falls. The ports are a joke.
Antiquated, out of date, hardly even appropriate for the mechanized world of container ports, more in line with the days of longshoremen and the like. Roads are an equal disaster. I only saw one elevated highway that would be considered decent in Thailand, much less Western Europe or America. And I covered fully two thirds of the country during my visit. There are so few dual carriage way roads as to be laughable. There are no traffic laws to speak of, and if there
are, they are rarely obeyed, much less enforced. A drive that should take an hour takes three. A drive that should take three takes nine. The buses are at least thirty years old, if not older. Everyone in India, or who travels in India raves about the railway system. Rubbish. It’s awful. Now, when I was there in 2003 and then late 2004 it was decent. But in the last five years the traffic on the rails has grown so quickly that once again, it is threatening productivity.
Waiting in line just to ask a question now takes thirty minutes. Routes are routinely sold out three and four days in advance now, leaving travelers stranded with little option except to take the decrepit and dangerous buses. At least fifty million people use the trains a day in India. 50 million people! Not surprising that waitlists of 500 or more people are common now. The rails are affordable and comprehensive but they are overcrowded and what with budget airlines copping up in India like Sadhus in an ashram the middle and lowers classes are left to deal with the over utilized rails and quality suffers. No one seems to give a shit. Seriously, I just never have the impression that the Indian government really cares. Too interested in buying weapons from Russia, Israel and the US I guess.
The last major problem in India is an old problem and can be divided into two parts that’ve been two sides of the same coin since government was invented: bureaucracy and corruption. It take
triplicates to register into a hotel. To get a SIM card for one’s phone is like wading into a jungle of red-tape and photocopies one is not likely to emerge from in a good mood, much less satisfied with customer service. Getting train tickets is a terrible ordeal, first you have to find the train number, which takes 30 minutes, then you have to fill in the form, which is far from easy, then you have to wait in line to try and make a reservation, which takes 30 minutes at least and if you made a single mistake on the form back you go to the end of the queue, or what passes for a queue in India. The government is notoriously uninterested in the problems of the commoners, too busy fleecing the rich, or trying to get rich themselves in some way shape or form. Take the trash for example, civil rubbish collection authorities are too busy taking kickbacks from the wealthy to keep their areas clean that they don’t have the time, manpower, money or
interest in doing their job. Rural hospitals are perennially understaffed as doctors pocket the fees the government pays them, never show up at the rural hospitals and practice in the cities instead.
I could go on for quite some time about my perception of India and its problems, but in all seriousness, I don’t think anyone in India really cares. And that, to me, is the biggest problem. India is too conservative a society to want to change in any way. Mumbai, India’s financial capital is about as filthy, polluted and poor as the worst city imaginable in Vietnam, or Indonesia–and being more polluted than Medan, in Sumatra is no easy task. The biggest rats I have ever seen were in Medan!
One would expect a certain amount of, yes, I am going to use this word, backwardness, in a country that hasn’t produced so many Nobel Laureates, nuclear physicists, imminent economists and entrepreneurs. But India has all these things and what have they brought back to India with them? Nothing. The rich still have their servants, the lower castes are still there to do the dirty work and so the country remains in stasis. It’s a shame. Indians and India have many wonderful things to offer the world, but I’m far from sanguine that India will amount to much in my lifetime.
Now, have at it, call me a cultural imperialist, a spoiled child of the West and all that. But remember, I’ve been there. I’ve done it.. And I’ve seen 50 other countries on this planet and none, not even Ethiopia, have as long and gargantuan a laundry list of problems as India does. And the bottom line is, I don’t think India really cares. Too complacent and too conservative. Sphere: Related Content
If you are an Indian, or of Indian descent, I must preface this post with a clear warning: you are not going to like what I have to say. My criticisms may be very hard to stomach. But consider them as the hard words and loving advice of a good friend. Someone who’s being honest with you and wants nothing from you. These criticisms apply toall of India except Kerala and the places I didn’t visit, except that I have a feeling it applies to all of India, except as I mentioned before, Kerala. Lastly, before anyone accuses me of Western Cultural imperialism, let me say this: if this is what India and Indians want, then hey, who am I to tell them differently. Take what you like and leave the rest. In the end it doesn’t really matter, as I get the sense that Indians, at least many upper class Indians, don’t seem to care and the lower classes just don’t know any better, what with Indian culture being so intense and pervasive on the sub-continent. But here goes, nonetheless,
India is a mess. It’s that simple, but it’s also quite complicated. I’ll start with what I think are India’s four major problems–the four most preventing India from becoming a developing nation – and then move to some of the ancillary ones.
First, pollution. In my opinion the filth, squalor and all around pollution indicates a marked lack of respect for India by Indians. I don’t know how cultural the filth is, but it’s really beyond anything I have ever encountered. At times the smells, trash, refuse and excrement are like a garbage dump. Right next door to the Taj Mahal was a pile of trash that smelled so bad, was so foul as to almost ruin the entire Taj experience. Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai to a lesser degree were so very polluted as to make me physically ill Sinus infections, ear infection, bowels churning was an all too common experience in India. Dung, be it goat, cow or human fecal matter was common on the streets. In major tourist areas filth was everywhere, littering the sidewalks, the roadways, you name it. Toilets in the middle of the road, men urinating and defecating anywhere, in broad daylight. Whole villages are plastic bag wastelands. Roadsides are choked by it. Air quality that can hardly be called quality. Far too much coal and far to few unleaded vehicles on the road. The measure should be how dangerous the air is for one’s health, not how good it is. People casually throw trash in the streets, on the roads. The only two cities that could be considered sanitary in my journey were Trivandrum–the capital of Kerala–and Calicut. I don’t know why this is. But I can assure you that at some point this pollution will cut into India’s productivity, if it already hasn’t. The pollution will hobble India’s growth path, if that indeed is what the country wants. (Which I personally doubt, as India is far too conservative a country, in the small ‘c’ sense.)
The second issue, infrastructure, can be divided into four subcategories: roads, rails and ports and the electrical grid. The electrical grid is a joke. Load shedding is all too common, everywhere in India. Wide swaths of the country spend much of the day without the electricity they actually pay for. Without regular electricity, productivity, again, falls. The ports are a joke.
Antiquated, out of date, hardly even appropriate for the mechanized world of container ports, more in line with the days of longshoremen and the like. Roads are an equal disaster. I only saw one elevated highway that would be considered decent in Thailand, much less Western Europe or America. And I covered fully two thirds of the country during my visit. There are so few dual carriage way roads as to be laughable. There are no traffic laws to speak of, and if there
are, they are rarely obeyed, much less enforced. A drive that should take an hour takes three. A drive that should take three takes nine. The buses are at least thirty years old, if not older. Everyone in India, or who travels in India raves about the railway system. Rubbish. It’s awful. Now, when I was there in 2003 and then late 2004 it was decent. But in the last five years the traffic on the rails has grown so quickly that once again, it is threatening productivity.
Waiting in line just to ask a question now takes thirty minutes. Routes are routinely sold out three and four days in advance now, leaving travelers stranded with little option except to take the decrepit and dangerous buses. At least fifty million people use the trains a day in India. 50 million people! Not surprising that waitlists of 500 or more people are common now. The rails are affordable and comprehensive but they are overcrowded and what with budget airlines copping up in India like Sadhus in an ashram the middle and lowers classes are left to deal with the over utilized rails and quality suffers. No one seems to give a shit. Seriously, I just never have the impression that the Indian government really cares. Too interested in buying weapons from Russia, Israel and the US I guess.
The last major problem in India is an old problem and can be divided into two parts that’ve been two sides of the same coin since government was invented: bureaucracy and corruption. It take
triplicates to register into a hotel. To get a SIM card for one’s phone is like wading into a jungle of red-tape and photocopies one is not likely to emerge from in a good mood, much less satisfied with customer service. Getting train tickets is a terrible ordeal, first you have to find the train number, which takes 30 minutes, then you have to fill in the form, which is far from easy, then you have to wait in line to try and make a reservation, which takes 30 minutes at least and if you made a single mistake on the form back you go to the end of the queue, or what passes for a queue in India. The government is notoriously uninterested in the problems of the commoners, too busy fleecing the rich, or trying to get rich themselves in some way shape or form. Take the trash for example, civil rubbish collection authorities are too busy taking kickbacks from the wealthy to keep their areas clean that they don’t have the time, manpower, money or
interest in doing their job. Rural hospitals are perennially understaffed as doctors pocket the fees the government pays them, never show up at the rural hospitals and practice in the cities instead.
I could go on for quite some time about my perception of India and its problems, but in all seriousness, I don’t think anyone in India really cares. And that, to me, is the biggest problem. India is too conservative a society to want to change in any way. Mumbai, India’s financial capital is about as filthy, polluted and poor as the worst city imaginable in Vietnam, or Indonesia–and being more polluted than Medan, in Sumatra is no easy task. The biggest rats I have ever seen were in Medan!
One would expect a certain amount of, yes, I am going to use this word, backwardness, in a country that hasn’t produced so many Nobel Laureates, nuclear physicists, imminent economists and entrepreneurs. But India has all these things and what have they brought back to India with them? Nothing. The rich still have their servants, the lower castes are still there to do the dirty work and so the country remains in stasis. It’s a shame. Indians and India have many wonderful things to offer the world, but I’m far from sanguine that India will amount to much in my lifetime.
Now, have at it, call me a cultural imperialist, a spoiled child of the West and all that. But remember, I’ve been there. I’ve done it.. And I’ve seen 50 other countries on this planet and none, not even Ethiopia, have as long and gargantuan a laundry list of problems as India does. And the bottom line is, I don’t think India really cares. Too complacent and too conservative. Sphere: Related Content
Saturday, May 22, 2010
The Ostrich, the Dog and the Driver!!
The Times of India website was staring at me with the news of the Mangalore air crash when I switched on my PC today morning. Immediately, I went to the television and found the television channels showing the gory details, interspersed with the images of Babu(Clergy) and Neta(politician) footfalls and of course the mandatory analysis of what happened, could have happened. Finally there was the routine game of blaming something or the other.
A friend of mine from Connecticut has send a mail quoting a news item from New York times where some self styled Air Safety expert has blamed the the administrators and the politicians behind the fiasco. And another one has woken up and debated that this is nothing to do with them.
It is always perhaps easy to pass on the blame to anybody else, while we ourselves refuse to take ownership of anything we do wrong. This is in all walks of life, whether it’s in a family situation or in the work situation. The worst part is that we thrive on it. We are like dogs who bark inside his own territory and nothing outside can poke our intellect and ability to do something.
So any calamity occurs we will quickly sort of analyze it with some heavy dose of preconceived notions and peppered with some over or lack of knowledge and irresponsible mental attitude. Then we will pass the verdict. We are all judges sitting inside an environment of emotion clogged evidences and clueless warped idea of common sense.
This is the system we thrive in, do well(!!) or disappear into oblivion, etc. There are a few for sure who do maneuver themselves above and out of this screwed up environment and get some nirvana. Unfortunately theirs is a tribe so small that it does not matter.
So we live on, like ostriches waiting for the disasters to strike us in various ways. I am distressed. Inspite of the scientific, economic and management developments, somewhere we are falling back. We seem to have already stepped on the accelerator pedal of our vehicle that’s going to drive us into the Black Hole. Sphere: Related Content
A friend of mine from Connecticut has send a mail quoting a news item from New York times where some self styled Air Safety expert has blamed the the administrators and the politicians behind the fiasco. And another one has woken up and debated that this is nothing to do with them.
It is always perhaps easy to pass on the blame to anybody else, while we ourselves refuse to take ownership of anything we do wrong. This is in all walks of life, whether it’s in a family situation or in the work situation. The worst part is that we thrive on it. We are like dogs who bark inside his own territory and nothing outside can poke our intellect and ability to do something.
So any calamity occurs we will quickly sort of analyze it with some heavy dose of preconceived notions and peppered with some over or lack of knowledge and irresponsible mental attitude. Then we will pass the verdict. We are all judges sitting inside an environment of emotion clogged evidences and clueless warped idea of common sense.
This is the system we thrive in, do well(!!) or disappear into oblivion, etc. There are a few for sure who do maneuver themselves above and out of this screwed up environment and get some nirvana. Unfortunately theirs is a tribe so small that it does not matter.
So we live on, like ostriches waiting for the disasters to strike us in various ways. I am distressed. Inspite of the scientific, economic and management developments, somewhere we are falling back. We seem to have already stepped on the accelerator pedal of our vehicle that’s going to drive us into the Black Hole. Sphere: Related Content
Monday, May 17, 2010
The Weaver, the Princess and Goldman Sachs
A friend forwarded this story to me. I thought I should preserve this!!
Everyone knows that we Indians invented the zero. Without zero and the decimal number system, writing and calculating really large numbers would be very difficult.
This would be awful for people in the financial industry, whose work depends on having really big salaries. Fortunately Brahmagupta came to their rescue.
Another thing which is crucial to the financial services industry is the concept of being too big to fail, which has been put to good use by Citigroup, Bear Stearns, and Goldman Sachs over the past few years in sucking money from American taxpayers. This beautiful concept was also invented by an Indian - Vishnu Sharma, the author of the Panchatantra, in the story of the Weaver and the Chariot Maker.
The story of the weaver and chariot maker is one of the Panchatantra stories that usually doesn't make it to primary school textbooks or Amar Chitra Katha, mostly because it's full of sex, war, and moral hazard. Since you probably haven't read it, here's a quick summary.
A weaver sees a princess during a festival and falls in love with her. As a weaver, he has no chance of marrying her, so he sinks into depression. His friend, a chariot maker decides to help him out. He designs a flying chariot in the shape of Garuda, dresses the weaver up as Vishnu, and tells him to fly the chariot into the princess's room, tell her that he is Vishnu and wants to marry her Gandharva style. That is, the wedding is kept a secret from everyone except the princess and the faux-Vishnu. The princess agrees, and the weaver comes back every night to consummate the marriage.
Eventually, the maids notice that the princess is spending her days in total bliss, suspect that she's in love, and tell the King. The King asks her what's going on, and she tells him that she's married to Vishnu himself. The King is absolutely delighted, and decides that there's no point in paying tribute to the Chakravarti now that Vishnu himself is on the kingdom's side. The next night, he catches the weaver as he enters the princess's room and asks him to fight the Chakravarti' s army.
The weaver is horrified. Pretending to be Vishnu was fine when it allowed him to make sweet, sweet love to the princess, but taking on the role of Vishnu to face an imperial army single-handed is another thing altogether. On the other hand, if he confesses to the King that he is not actually Vishnu and has been boinking the princess under false pretences for the past month, he will have his head chopped off. So he decides to get on to the battlefield and do the best job he can, while the King is whipping up enthusiasm in the population by telling them that Vishnu himself is going to do all the fighting.
By this time, Garuda (the real one, not the mechanical one) has tipped off Vishnu about what's going on, and warned him that if the fake Vishnu doesn't win the battle, the people of the kingdom will lose all faith in him. Vishnu doesn't want to see this happen, so on the battlefield he enters the weaver's body and annihilates the Chakravarti' s army. The entire army. Every single soldier. After this, the weaver marries the princess, everyone goes on worshipping Vishnu, and the king becomes the new Chakravarti.
The moral is that you should conduct your affairs in such a way that if you fail, it will lead to someone or something even bigger or more powerful failing too. This lets you get away with anything. The weaver got away with having sex with the princess on false pretences (this is rape under Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code), pretending to be a god (awesomely enough, this too is a criminal offence under Section 508), and annihilating an entire army that was fighting a just war - after all, it was the king who broke the treaty (you could make a case for this being genocide under Article 2 of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide).
American banks and financial institutions were very good at absorbing this lesson, and leveraged themselves up to such an extent that if they failed they would take the global economy down with them. And just as the weaver lived happily ever after with the princess, banks have lived happily ever after with taxpayer-funded bailouts.
But no matter how hard American investment banks try, Indians still remain the masters of this art. If the whole truth surrounding Lalit Modi is revealed, big politicians might be trapped. Modi is, thus, likely to get away lightly -- as is A Raja, who might have given away spectrum at bargain basement rates, but whose sacking would lead to the government collapsing. All this goes to show that no matter what the anguished elderly gentlemen who write letters to the editor feel, Indians are still in touch with our ancient and glorious culture Sphere: Related Content
Everyone knows that we Indians invented the zero. Without zero and the decimal number system, writing and calculating really large numbers would be very difficult.
This would be awful for people in the financial industry, whose work depends on having really big salaries. Fortunately Brahmagupta came to their rescue.
Another thing which is crucial to the financial services industry is the concept of being too big to fail, which has been put to good use by Citigroup, Bear Stearns, and Goldman Sachs over the past few years in sucking money from American taxpayers. This beautiful concept was also invented by an Indian - Vishnu Sharma, the author of the Panchatantra, in the story of the Weaver and the Chariot Maker.
The story of the weaver and chariot maker is one of the Panchatantra stories that usually doesn't make it to primary school textbooks or Amar Chitra Katha, mostly because it's full of sex, war, and moral hazard. Since you probably haven't read it, here's a quick summary.
A weaver sees a princess during a festival and falls in love with her. As a weaver, he has no chance of marrying her, so he sinks into depression. His friend, a chariot maker decides to help him out. He designs a flying chariot in the shape of Garuda, dresses the weaver up as Vishnu, and tells him to fly the chariot into the princess's room, tell her that he is Vishnu and wants to marry her Gandharva style. That is, the wedding is kept a secret from everyone except the princess and the faux-Vishnu. The princess agrees, and the weaver comes back every night to consummate the marriage.
Eventually, the maids notice that the princess is spending her days in total bliss, suspect that she's in love, and tell the King. The King asks her what's going on, and she tells him that she's married to Vishnu himself. The King is absolutely delighted, and decides that there's no point in paying tribute to the Chakravarti now that Vishnu himself is on the kingdom's side. The next night, he catches the weaver as he enters the princess's room and asks him to fight the Chakravarti' s army.
The weaver is horrified. Pretending to be Vishnu was fine when it allowed him to make sweet, sweet love to the princess, but taking on the role of Vishnu to face an imperial army single-handed is another thing altogether. On the other hand, if he confesses to the King that he is not actually Vishnu and has been boinking the princess under false pretences for the past month, he will have his head chopped off. So he decides to get on to the battlefield and do the best job he can, while the King is whipping up enthusiasm in the population by telling them that Vishnu himself is going to do all the fighting.
By this time, Garuda (the real one, not the mechanical one) has tipped off Vishnu about what's going on, and warned him that if the fake Vishnu doesn't win the battle, the people of the kingdom will lose all faith in him. Vishnu doesn't want to see this happen, so on the battlefield he enters the weaver's body and annihilates the Chakravarti' s army. The entire army. Every single soldier. After this, the weaver marries the princess, everyone goes on worshipping Vishnu, and the king becomes the new Chakravarti.
The moral is that you should conduct your affairs in such a way that if you fail, it will lead to someone or something even bigger or more powerful failing too. This lets you get away with anything. The weaver got away with having sex with the princess on false pretences (this is rape under Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code), pretending to be a god (awesomely enough, this too is a criminal offence under Section 508), and annihilating an entire army that was fighting a just war - after all, it was the king who broke the treaty (you could make a case for this being genocide under Article 2 of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide).
American banks and financial institutions were very good at absorbing this lesson, and leveraged themselves up to such an extent that if they failed they would take the global economy down with them. And just as the weaver lived happily ever after with the princess, banks have lived happily ever after with taxpayer-funded bailouts.
But no matter how hard American investment banks try, Indians still remain the masters of this art. If the whole truth surrounding Lalit Modi is revealed, big politicians might be trapped. Modi is, thus, likely to get away lightly -- as is A Raja, who might have given away spectrum at bargain basement rates, but whose sacking would lead to the government collapsing. All this goes to show that no matter what the anguished elderly gentlemen who write letters to the editor feel, Indians are still in touch with our ancient and glorious culture Sphere: Related Content
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Negative News frrom back Home - from India
Some rather disconcerting events have occurred in the last fortnight back home in India. The Khap panchayats are still getting good amount or publicity and they seem to be enjoying the coverage. A khap is a village and a panchayat is a socio-political structure present in these villages which could even settle small time social disputes. The Khaps as a concept are prevalent in the state of Haryana(In Northern India0 and they have strict rules in terms of marriage and other social customs. Given that, the problem lies when they murder innocents in the name of Khap Law going against the Indian Constitution. In order to know more about the disgraceful Khaps you could refer to http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/khap-panchayat-in-india.html.
What was appalling was when Navin Jindal the famous “National Flag” MP supported these guys but later started giving varied clarifications in the media. An educated, young, modern Indian has let us down.
Then came another piece of worrisome news in the media. The Allahabad high court has held that a non-Muslim girl must convert to marry a Muslim. Isn’t it ridiculous in these modern age and times of so called civilized societies we have these judges dishing out such unfortunate judgments for the society to follow. This is against our constitution and I am sure there will be some reverse appeal against the judgment.
The third piece was when some Muslim Priest issued a fatwa saying that women cannot work. I fail to understand as to why the press had to give this fellow so much publicity.
All the same, it was a week where as an Indian I was not proud of my country and hope as the days pass, life would become better and not regressive. Sphere: Related Content
What was appalling was when Navin Jindal the famous “National Flag” MP supported these guys but later started giving varied clarifications in the media. An educated, young, modern Indian has let us down.
Then came another piece of worrisome news in the media. The Allahabad high court has held that a non-Muslim girl must convert to marry a Muslim. Isn’t it ridiculous in these modern age and times of so called civilized societies we have these judges dishing out such unfortunate judgments for the society to follow. This is against our constitution and I am sure there will be some reverse appeal against the judgment.
The third piece was when some Muslim Priest issued a fatwa saying that women cannot work. I fail to understand as to why the press had to give this fellow so much publicity.
All the same, it was a week where as an Indian I was not proud of my country and hope as the days pass, life would become better and not regressive. Sphere: Related Content
Sunday, May 9, 2010
The Quiet Monarchy
In most countries if you open the morning newspapers unless there is a major natural disaster or a major terrorist activity you would normally have at least one headline where the country’s head would have made some comment. The comment could be either about the economy or political situation or what-have-you. This is true for most countries and when I came to the gulf it was more so. In Dubai surely every day morning you would get to know what Sheikh Mo has said or done.
Here in Kuwait, strangely things are different. You hardly read about what the Emir has to say, The press has hardly anything to talk about them. In fact the press coverage of the monarchy is extremely limited. I am not sure whether this is by chance or by design. Not that it affects me but sometimes I do wonder if the local countrymen need direction from the leadership, who would they look up to? In India we of course could land up having enough debates about our Political Kings and that’s healthy. Here we don’t seem to talk about them at all. Neither do they!! Sphere: Related Content
Here in Kuwait, strangely things are different. You hardly read about what the Emir has to say, The press has hardly anything to talk about them. In fact the press coverage of the monarchy is extremely limited. I am not sure whether this is by chance or by design. Not that it affects me but sometimes I do wonder if the local countrymen need direction from the leadership, who would they look up to? In India we of course could land up having enough debates about our Political Kings and that’s healthy. Here we don’t seem to talk about them at all. Neither do they!! Sphere: Related Content
Friday, May 7, 2010
Mitsupishi Bajero
Accents and the way we speak is an evolutionary process. From childhood you hear sounds from your surroundings and your vocal chords and mouth organs act accordingly to produce similar sounds. Long back I had written about the T and D when I was in Korea.
(Ref: http://wordventure.blogspot.com/2006/03/t-or-d.html).
When I came to the Gulf I found similar issues with people who speak Arabic. For example all Ps would become Bs much like the Koreans. When I went to opt for a car, the leasing company gave me an option between the Toyota Brado and the Bajero. That’s purely because in Arabic there is no P alphabet. But why can’t we learn the new sound P. Is it biologically impossible? Perhaps - doctors could answer that!
I know we face the same problems when pronouncing Khan or any of the K sounds in Arabic. I am told that it is not a straight forward K sound. It’s from within, from the epiglottis I am told.
In Korea they had a problem with my name. Typically an average Korean cannot pronounce a R sound if its at the beginning of the word. They would produce a strange sound somewhere in between a L and a R. However this problem is absent if the R is in between a word. For example, Korea!!!
In India we have many issues in accents. The Bengalis typically use rounded vowels and since the logic is understood only by him, the others in India just cannot fathom and produce the correct Bengali pronunciation. In the South you have the budget word where D is pronounced and is not silent. Who knows why?
It’s a strange world!! Sphere: Related Content
(Ref: http://wordventure.blogspot.com/2006/03/t-or-d.html).
When I came to the Gulf I found similar issues with people who speak Arabic. For example all Ps would become Bs much like the Koreans. When I went to opt for a car, the leasing company gave me an option between the Toyota Brado and the Bajero. That’s purely because in Arabic there is no P alphabet. But why can’t we learn the new sound P. Is it biologically impossible? Perhaps - doctors could answer that!
I know we face the same problems when pronouncing Khan or any of the K sounds in Arabic. I am told that it is not a straight forward K sound. It’s from within, from the epiglottis I am told.
In Korea they had a problem with my name. Typically an average Korean cannot pronounce a R sound if its at the beginning of the word. They would produce a strange sound somewhere in between a L and a R. However this problem is absent if the R is in between a word. For example, Korea!!!
In India we have many issues in accents. The Bengalis typically use rounded vowels and since the logic is understood only by him, the others in India just cannot fathom and produce the correct Bengali pronunciation. In the South you have the budget word where D is pronounced and is not silent. Who knows why?
It’s a strange world!! Sphere: Related Content
Death and Propriety - Death Penalty for Kasav (26/11 Mumbai Terrorist)
Last week Kasav (26/11 Mumbai terrorist) was given the death penalty by a special Mumbai court. We perhaps, in fact did know the outcome and when the actual judgement came out it was just some sort of a validation of our thoughts.
Undoubtedly we hate him and we hate all the others too behind the crime. But given the nature of our species I am quite disgusted with us that we do not know how to respect and honour the judgement. I would have thought. Dancing in the streets, lighting fireworks was no way to celebrate the conclusion.
We should have rather held candle marches or prayers or somber functions that would honour the death of the innocent that would honour the trial and its judgement that would honour the families affected by the death of innocent civilians.
The judgement does not celebrate the death of Kasav. The judgement upholds our rights to justice and also sends a message to society. We should rather pay our homage once again to the men, women and children that we lost.
We keep losing propriety on issues at regular intervals and that’s sad. Sphere: Related Content
Undoubtedly we hate him and we hate all the others too behind the crime. But given the nature of our species I am quite disgusted with us that we do not know how to respect and honour the judgement. I would have thought. Dancing in the streets, lighting fireworks was no way to celebrate the conclusion.
We should have rather held candle marches or prayers or somber functions that would honour the death of the innocent that would honour the trial and its judgement that would honour the families affected by the death of innocent civilians.
The judgement does not celebrate the death of Kasav. The judgement upholds our rights to justice and also sends a message to society. We should rather pay our homage once again to the men, women and children that we lost.
We keep losing propriety on issues at regular intervals and that’s sad. Sphere: Related Content
Mughal Mahal - Fahaheel Branch, Kuwait - Indian Restaurant
An occasion to be celebrated is always an important event in our otherwise mundane life in Kuwait and therefore an opportunity like that where I could try out some Indian Food in a renowned restaurant of Kuwait was to be grabbed without a question.
Fahaheel is a place I had visited earlier when we had visited The Hilton for some Bank function. A rough idea was available but accessories like maps were always helpful and on request I did get them too. I also called up the restaurant and got detailed directions. So when Chaitali asked me regarding journey time estimates I was reasonably confident of our STD and ETA.
There are these highways and Ring Roads that criss cross Kuwait and divide the city into four
sided polygons. So you have parallel roads running north to south and east to west dissecting each other at planned intersections. From Jabriya I took the 40 Expressway and turned right at the 212 intersection and landed up straight at the Coastal Road. Another right turn, a bit of traffic jam and then I could see Centrepoint on my right. Mughal Mahal was situated just behind it. We were getting a bit late and Chaitali was already getting a bit tense. But then God willing, we just made it before the hosts and that was that.
The group was a motley crowd of 13-14 people and we were allocated the Divan-I-Khas the size of which an Emperor would blush at. It barely accommodated us and actually it turned out to be cozy little place for a close group function where decibel ranges could go up and not annoy the other guests in the restaurant.
Buffet was the decision, after the scouts inspected the spread and convinced us about it. The spread was indeed elaborate. The salad section had at least 12 verities catering to both Indian and Arabic tastes including hummus to Russian salads to typical Indian versions. There was a Lentil Soup and a Chicken Sweet Corn and I picked up the latter. I also picked up some dry items like the Fried Prawns, Fried Fish, The Iranian Mutton Kebab (basically kaftas or seekh kababs) and some Chicken Tikka. They were all good except I thought that the Tikkas were a bit dry and the Mutton Kebab should have been spiced up a bit. The fish and prawn were both excellent.
It was a buffet and therefore any number of visits to the food station would not raise eyebrows and therefore off I was for my second round. The Noodles were average but the both the chicken teriyaki and schechuan chicken were quite positive for the palate.
I switched over to the India selections next. We had ordered some Garlic Nan. The Dal (Thick Lentil preparation) was fantastic and the other items like Kofta (Gourd Balls in Curry), and Rogan Josh (A Kashmiri preparation with lamb) were good too.
The Dessert section had a number of items and I personally proffered the Baklava and the Khuya Barfi (Sweetmeat made from evaporated and solidified milk). The Gulab Jamun was average and so was the Ras Malai.
Over and all the food was good and if you ask me If I was willing to traverse the distance yet again the answer would be yes. It’s difficult to get good Indian food and I somehow liked the fare here even against their other branches in Kuwait. If you are thinking about Indian Food and then if the Mughal Mahal chain interests you, then a visit to the Fahaheel branch will surely sort of elevate your experience if not maintain it. Sphere: Related Content
Fahaheel is a place I had visited earlier when we had visited The Hilton for some Bank function. A rough idea was available but accessories like maps were always helpful and on request I did get them too. I also called up the restaurant and got detailed directions. So when Chaitali asked me regarding journey time estimates I was reasonably confident of our STD and ETA.
There are these highways and Ring Roads that criss cross Kuwait and divide the city into four
sided polygons. So you have parallel roads running north to south and east to west dissecting each other at planned intersections. From Jabriya I took the 40 Expressway and turned right at the 212 intersection and landed up straight at the Coastal Road. Another right turn, a bit of traffic jam and then I could see Centrepoint on my right. Mughal Mahal was situated just behind it. We were getting a bit late and Chaitali was already getting a bit tense. But then God willing, we just made it before the hosts and that was that.The group was a motley crowd of 13-14 people and we were allocated the Divan-I-Khas the size of which an Emperor would blush at. It barely accommodated us and actually it turned out to be cozy little place for a close group function where decibel ranges could go up and not annoy the other guests in the restaurant.
Buffet was the decision, after the scouts inspected the spread and convinced us about it. The spread was indeed elaborate. The salad section had at least 12 verities catering to both Indian and Arabic tastes including hummus to Russian salads to typical Indian versions. There was a Lentil Soup and a Chicken Sweet Corn and I picked up the latter. I also picked up some dry items like the Fried Prawns, Fried Fish, The Iranian Mutton Kebab (basically kaftas or seekh kababs) and some Chicken Tikka. They were all good except I thought that the Tikkas were a bit dry and the Mutton Kebab should have been spiced up a bit. The fish and prawn were both excellent.
It was a buffet and therefore any number of visits to the food station would not raise eyebrows and therefore off I was for my second round. The Noodles were average but the both the chicken teriyaki and schechuan chicken were quite positive for the palate.
I switched over to the India selections next. We had ordered some Garlic Nan. The Dal (Thick Lentil preparation) was fantastic and the other items like Kofta (Gourd Balls in Curry), and Rogan Josh (A Kashmiri preparation with lamb) were good too.
The Dessert section had a number of items and I personally proffered the Baklava and the Khuya Barfi (Sweetmeat made from evaporated and solidified milk). The Gulab Jamun was average and so was the Ras Malai.
Over and all the food was good and if you ask me If I was willing to traverse the distance yet again the answer would be yes. It’s difficult to get good Indian food and I somehow liked the fare here even against their other branches in Kuwait. If you are thinking about Indian Food and then if the Mughal Mahal chain interests you, then a visit to the Fahaheel branch will surely sort of elevate your experience if not maintain it. Sphere: Related Content
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Gypsy Passion –Kuwait Little Theatre (April 30th) – An afterword!!
Performing Arts interests us a lot, so when the Kuwait Little Theatre announced that there would be a program on Flamenco dancing by Ana Utero; I quickly booked a few tickets for the family. The synopsis in the website was quite self-explanatory in the sense that the evening would consist of Poetry, Music and Dance.
The theatre was a small affair with a motley crowd that largely knew one another making us sort of the odd men out. In time, the lights were dimmed and the guitars came alive. There were two guitars and a bongo for percussion. The lady came in and we did see some moves. There were 12-13 items on the show. The recitals of poetry were without passion and mediocre. The saving grace was the music because the subsequent dances failed to impress the crowd – what with the same moves et al.
To be honest, this was a bad investment of time against what I had thought it would be. The overall rating would be a 4 out of 10. I only hope that this performance was an exception.
For those of who are not inclined towards my thoughts and want to know more about Ana - the website is given below.
http://anaoterodance.blogspot.com/ Sphere: Related Content
The theatre was a small affair with a motley crowd that largely knew one another making us sort of the odd men out. In time, the lights were dimmed and the guitars came alive. There were two guitars and a bongo for percussion. The lady came in and we did see some moves. There were 12-13 items on the show. The recitals of poetry were without passion and mediocre. The saving grace was the music because the subsequent dances failed to impress the crowd – what with the same moves et al.To be honest, this was a bad investment of time against what I had thought it would be. The overall rating would be a 4 out of 10. I only hope that this performance was an exception.
For those of who are not inclined towards my thoughts and want to know more about Ana - the website is given below.
http://anaoterodance.blogspot.com/ Sphere: Related Content
Monday, April 26, 2010
Applebees, Gulf Road, Kuwait – Restaurant Review
In India I was used to Ruby’s Tuesday and I used to love that joint more than TGIF. But in Kuwait I was a trifle disappointed with them on some elementary matters and then Applebees came to our notice. I have visited them twice over and would go there for more. 
Both times I have been there it was during lunch and I think we enjoyed the fare. The location is quite nice beside Le Notre on Gulf Road near the Kuwait Towers. In fact from the restaurant you could see them and perhaps take a nice shot.Like most other restaurants we were greeted by a plethora of Filipino hostesses. We asked for a table with a view and thankfully got one. The table hostess was very polite though she as trained, rattled off the soup course which we were absolutely not interested in.
In our first visit we had take the TRIOs that was a mixture of burgers, pastas and steak. This time we ordered for the tortilla artichoke dip,
which was awesome. Each of us decided on our own courses viz Ribs and Steak, Mushroom Steak and Pastas. On the side we also had some Mozarella Sticks. A free dessert followed this, consisting of chocolate cake, hot sauce and vanilla ice cream.
The meals were excellent and we could not finish and ask them to pack up the remnants. If you haven’t yet made it to the Applebees, I suggest you should. But do select your item carefully! It should match with your mood.
which was awesome. Each of us decided on our own courses viz Ribs and Steak, Mushroom Steak and Pastas. On the side we also had some Mozarella Sticks. A free dessert followed this, consisting of chocolate cake, hot sauce and vanilla ice cream.The meals were excellent and we could not finish and ask them to pack up the remnants. If you haven’t yet made it to the Applebees, I suggest you should. But do select your item carefully! It should match with your mood.
Pressing Thoughts
Lalit Modi has been served an email notice of suspension. I am already seeing a calming down of the press unless there is some thing spicy again. For example, some revelation or scoop that some money from D Company perhaps was routed to the kitty through multiple SPVs in multiple countries would surely interest Arnab Goswami. Or Vikram of NDTV would quiz the same four or five guests on the requirement of cheerleaders for post game parties.
Given that, to me IPL 4 is just about starting in a new avatar. There is a new IPL Commisioner from Baroda whose prowess in administrating such games is relatively unknown. But this time we know that the gentleman will be a stooge in the hands of Shashank and Sharad and all the others. They wil all sit around the round table and devise newer ways on how to fool the public, the government and fill up their own coffers. New auctions, new sponsorships, new television rights…all big money tickets for making money on the sly by the dicey cohort.
So while IPL will continue the responsible press will forget to hound Mayavati for her criminal expenses. They have forgotten to talk about the how the Police forces were supposed to be terrorism ready. The press will forget that 3G telecom bids are another equally big scam and why not since they have already forgotten the cellular scams.
Unfortunately, one or two Jessica Lal sort of cases is not able to convince me that we have a very responsible press. The media is still running after glitz and instant popcorn. There is no long haul these days. Perhaps the times are of one-night stands where we are the clients and media is the other partner in crime or pleasure!! Sphere: Related Content
Given that, to me IPL 4 is just about starting in a new avatar. There is a new IPL Commisioner from Baroda whose prowess in administrating such games is relatively unknown. But this time we know that the gentleman will be a stooge in the hands of Shashank and Sharad and all the others. They wil all sit around the round table and devise newer ways on how to fool the public, the government and fill up their own coffers. New auctions, new sponsorships, new television rights…all big money tickets for making money on the sly by the dicey cohort.
So while IPL will continue the responsible press will forget to hound Mayavati for her criminal expenses. They have forgotten to talk about the how the Police forces were supposed to be terrorism ready. The press will forget that 3G telecom bids are another equally big scam and why not since they have already forgotten the cellular scams.
Unfortunately, one or two Jessica Lal sort of cases is not able to convince me that we have a very responsible press. The media is still running after glitz and instant popcorn. There is no long haul these days. Perhaps the times are of one-night stands where we are the clients and media is the other partner in crime or pleasure!! Sphere: Related Content
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Golden Chopsticks, Shaab, Kuwait - Restauranmt Review
Finding a Chinese Restaurant serving authentic food is always a challenge and then when we encountered Golden Chopsticks in Shaab, Kuwait; we were quite pleased with the results. The basic dishes are the best test for most restaurants and this one passed with high scores. The important point to note is that we have not had food in the restaurant since we have always ordered for Home Delivery. I assume that eating live at the restaurant would be a much better experience,
We ordered for some fried rice, crabs and a dry chicken fried dish. They were all excellent stuff. The next time onwards we repeated the fried rice and the chicken and also threw in some sweet and sour stuff. It was a repeat performance. They are jut good. Period.
Go and try them yourselves. If you haven’t as yet, what the hell are you waiting for?
The menu link:
http://www.kuwaitpaperdump.com/food-restaurants/golden-chopsticks-restaurant/ Sphere: Related Content
We ordered for some fried rice, crabs and a dry chicken fried dish. They were all excellent stuff. The next time onwards we repeated the fried rice and the chicken and also threw in some sweet and sour stuff. It was a repeat performance. They are jut good. Period.
Go and try them yourselves. If you haven’t as yet, what the hell are you waiting for?
The menu link:
http://www.kuwaitpaperdump.com/food-restaurants/golden-chopsticks-restaurant/ Sphere: Related Content
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Camel Meat
I have been trying to convince Chaitali that we should get some Camel Meat home to cook. The result so far has been negative but now that take is that I would have to ask some Kuwaiti colleagues for recipes. If they sonnd palatable the chances of a green signal are bright. In the mean time I though of researching the net and I chanced upon this one.
SERVES 100
Ingredients
1 whole camel, medium size
1 whole lamb, large size
20 whole chicken, medium size
60 eggs
12 kg rice
2 kg pine nuts
2 kg almonds
1 kg pistachio nut
110 gallons water
5 lbs black pepper
salt
Directions
1Skin, trim and clean camel (once you get over the hump), lamb and chicken.
2Boil until tender.
3Cook rice until fluffy.
4Fry nuts until brown and mix with rice.
5Hard boil eggs and peel.
6Stuff cooked chickens with hard boiled eggs and rice.
7Stuff the cooked lamb with stuffed chickens.
8Add more rice.
9Stuff the camel with the stuffed lamb and add rest of rice.
10Broil over large charcoal pit until brown.
11Spread any remaining rice on large tray and place camel on top of rice.
12Decorate with boiled eggs and nuts.
13Serves a friendly crowd of 80-100.
(http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Whole-Stuffed-Camel-67495)
Want to try this one? I am told that this one is not a joke!! Sphere: Related Content
SERVES 100
Ingredients
1 whole camel, medium size
1 whole lamb, large size
20 whole chicken, medium size
60 eggs
12 kg rice
2 kg pine nuts
2 kg almonds
1 kg pistachio nut
110 gallons water
5 lbs black pepper
salt
Directions
1Skin, trim and clean camel (once you get over the hump), lamb and chicken.
2Boil until tender.
3Cook rice until fluffy.
4Fry nuts until brown and mix with rice.
5Hard boil eggs and peel.
6Stuff cooked chickens with hard boiled eggs and rice.
7Stuff the cooked lamb with stuffed chickens.
8Add more rice.
9Stuff the camel with the stuffed lamb and add rest of rice.
10Broil over large charcoal pit until brown.
11Spread any remaining rice on large tray and place camel on top of rice.
12Decorate with boiled eggs and nuts.
13Serves a friendly crowd of 80-100.
(http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Whole-Stuffed-Camel-67495)
Want to try this one? I am told that this one is not a joke!! Sphere: Related Content
Monday, April 5, 2010
Tomato, Onions and Me
The other day Moushumi was narrating a story about a neighbor pestering her daily for providing some Bengali Dishes for her to sample. This process went on for a few days when finally one day the neighbor could not wait anymore. She insisted on Moushumi that whatever was cooked that day should be given to her. Moushumi therefore could not resist this request and gave her a Cumin flavoured Potato Cauliflower Bengali Contraption and also some Spinach Fry Bengali Style (The dish is made with garlic and is not crispy). Later in a conversation Moushumi enquired about the outcome and the neighbour said that both the dishes were fantastic. Before eating she had fried some tomato and onion and added some more condiments and made a gravy and mixed the same with what Moushumi had produced!!
North Indians have this genetic fetish about cooking almost everything with tomatoes and onions. For the uninitiated, Bengalis classify people in India into three categories. Bengalis, Non Bengalis and South Indians. I am a Bengali, while a person from the Southern Part of India is a South Indian and the balance are Non Bengalis. The Non Bengalis could be further classified into North Indians , Gujaratis, etc. Coming back to our main point of contention, the typical North Indian household cannot do without curries that are made of these two ingredients. Therefore even in restaurants serving North Indian Food they would prepare these cauldrons of gravy and keep for use against most of the orders.
I am not however saying that good dishes are not made of those two ingredients. They are for sure and there are famous ones too. But I am talking about the generalization!!
The other day I had been to Greenland Restaurant in Kuwait and we had ordered for Paneer Karahi, Navratan Korma and Dum Aloo. They all tasted the same!! The reason is simple. The chef there does not follow the actual authentic recipes and they dish out dishes that are sub standard with the same crazy with some very minor variation which is nothing to talk about or discern.
I have realized over time, at the cost of sounding a bit uppity, that most often than not myself and Chaitali are not able to tolerate mid or sub standard quality food. That’s one of the reasons perhaps we are so circumspect about trying out new Indian restauramts since most often then not they produce a lot of junk that all our friends are quite satisfied with!! Each to their own I guess, but that cannot make you run away from reality. Rip Offs after all rips you off!! Sphere: Related Content
North Indians have this genetic fetish about cooking almost everything with tomatoes and onions. For the uninitiated, Bengalis classify people in India into three categories. Bengalis, Non Bengalis and South Indians. I am a Bengali, while a person from the Southern Part of India is a South Indian and the balance are Non Bengalis. The Non Bengalis could be further classified into North Indians , Gujaratis, etc. Coming back to our main point of contention, the typical North Indian household cannot do without curries that are made of these two ingredients. Therefore even in restaurants serving North Indian Food they would prepare these cauldrons of gravy and keep for use against most of the orders.
I am not however saying that good dishes are not made of those two ingredients. They are for sure and there are famous ones too. But I am talking about the generalization!!
The other day I had been to Greenland Restaurant in Kuwait and we had ordered for Paneer Karahi, Navratan Korma and Dum Aloo. They all tasted the same!! The reason is simple. The chef there does not follow the actual authentic recipes and they dish out dishes that are sub standard with the same crazy with some very minor variation which is nothing to talk about or discern.
I have realized over time, at the cost of sounding a bit uppity, that most often than not myself and Chaitali are not able to tolerate mid or sub standard quality food. That’s one of the reasons perhaps we are so circumspect about trying out new Indian restauramts since most often then not they produce a lot of junk that all our friends are quite satisfied with!! Each to their own I guess, but that cannot make you run away from reality. Rip Offs after all rips you off!! Sphere: Related Content
Friday, April 2, 2010
Asha's, Kuwait - Restaurant Review
Asha Bhosle is one of the renowned playback singers of Bollywood India and has made a major mark in the industry and the minds of the people. She also happens to be the younger sister of Lata Mangeshkar. She is also well known for her controversial relationship with RD Burman, a music director of Bollywood pedigree. But what she is not perhaps well known for in India is about her interests in food. I came to know of this when I came to stay in Dubai and then in Kuwait. She has lent her name to the Food Industry and the results are the chain of restaurants known as ASHA’s. The restaurants typically have Asha’s personal photographs on the wall that are not properly lit. The furniture is Spartan with hues of dark red and orange.
In spite of some warnings from close friends, we decided to try our destiny on a Friday Evening in Kuwait. The menu was elaborate with some typical Indian entrees along with some signature Asha entrees ( her own creations). I was personally quite keen to try her specials rather than treading the oft beaten track. Chaitali was of course in two minds and we sort of hit a balance.
We walked in and were greeted by a host from the subcontinent only to be informed that our table hostess would be a Pilipino who I would assume would be well versed with Indian cuisine other than the clichéd comment on something being spicy or not spicy. It was also a case of true International integration.
The on the house fried South Indian fried appalams(a cousin of the Papad – a roasted lentil thin crust pancake) and some roasted conical papad were served along with some Mint Chutney, Marinated Mango pieces and some Indian pickles. That was good!!
The menu was elaborate with all the typical sections and after major deliberations, with Asha Bhosle’s old Hindi songs playing in the background; we finally arrived at our choice. They were as follows (Asha signature recipes in italics):
1. Safeedi Mutton Kebab
2. Ghar Ka Dal (Homemade Dal)
3. Mutton Vindaloo
4. Prawn Patti
5. Garlic Naan
6. Khurmi Naan
7. Kesar Biryani
The kebab was a flat piece of beaten mutton perhaps marinated with garlic and ginger and then grilled. This entry was passable. I could not figure out the specialty of the Ghar Ka Dal except for the conclusion that perhaps her house cooks the same Dal as we. The Mutton Vindaloo was definitely not from Goa and the Prawn Patti was a disaster. It is basically a Aloo Tiki filled with Prawns , coriander and mint. An aloo tiki is nothing but mashed potato, spiced up, made into flat spheres and shallow fried. That part was fine except that you had to search for the prawns inside.
The Naans were a shame and the Biryani was full of Kesar(Saffron). No, that was nothing positive about it. In fact, just before we ordered for the Biryani the hostess had asked an innocuous question about whether we wanted it to be spiced up. We had agreed and that was my mistake. Typically cooking Biryani takes considerable amount of time and any restaurant that would serve you the dish in about 30 minutes just cannot produce the same. If they are, it’s a big lie!! So the Kesar Biryani too did not pass. Boiled Mutton with fried rice, Saffron Colour and too much of Kewra water is definitely not Biryani!!
So there you go. It was a wasted evening and my suggestion to you is to stay off this place. An overpriced, unauthentic rip off. Sphere: Related Content
In spite of some warnings from close friends, we decided to try our destiny on a Friday Evening in Kuwait. The menu was elaborate with some typical Indian entrees along with some signature Asha entrees ( her own creations). I was personally quite keen to try her specials rather than treading the oft beaten track. Chaitali was of course in two minds and we sort of hit a balance.
We walked in and were greeted by a host from the subcontinent only to be informed that our table hostess would be a Pilipino who I would assume would be well versed with Indian cuisine other than the clichéd comment on something being spicy or not spicy. It was also a case of true International integration.
The on the house fried South Indian fried appalams(a cousin of the Papad – a roasted lentil thin crust pancake) and some roasted conical papad were served along with some Mint Chutney, Marinated Mango pieces and some Indian pickles. That was good!!
The menu was elaborate with all the typical sections and after major deliberations, with Asha Bhosle’s old Hindi songs playing in the background; we finally arrived at our choice. They were as follows (Asha signature recipes in italics):
1. Safeedi Mutton Kebab
2. Ghar Ka Dal (Homemade Dal)
3. Mutton Vindaloo
4. Prawn Patti
5. Garlic Naan
6. Khurmi Naan
7. Kesar Biryani
The kebab was a flat piece of beaten mutton perhaps marinated with garlic and ginger and then grilled. This entry was passable. I could not figure out the specialty of the Ghar Ka Dal except for the conclusion that perhaps her house cooks the same Dal as we. The Mutton Vindaloo was definitely not from Goa and the Prawn Patti was a disaster. It is basically a Aloo Tiki filled with Prawns , coriander and mint. An aloo tiki is nothing but mashed potato, spiced up, made into flat spheres and shallow fried. That part was fine except that you had to search for the prawns inside.
The Naans were a shame and the Biryani was full of Kesar(Saffron). No, that was nothing positive about it. In fact, just before we ordered for the Biryani the hostess had asked an innocuous question about whether we wanted it to be spiced up. We had agreed and that was my mistake. Typically cooking Biryani takes considerable amount of time and any restaurant that would serve you the dish in about 30 minutes just cannot produce the same. If they are, it’s a big lie!! So the Kesar Biryani too did not pass. Boiled Mutton with fried rice, Saffron Colour and too much of Kewra water is definitely not Biryani!!
So there you go. It was a wasted evening and my suggestion to you is to stay off this place. An overpriced, unauthentic rip off. Sphere: Related Content
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Maruti 800 - Going Going Gone
Since last few years we have been often hearing that Maruti Suzuki Ltd is going to Phase out the Maruti 800 from Indian Roads. Technical advancements, market demands and more factors than possibly understood by the general public would surely have compelled the Maruti Senior Team to decide as such. But then the inevitable has to happen and today morning I was a trifle sad when I saw the news item in Hindustan Times that today was the last day for ordering a Maruti 800 if one wanted. It will not be available for sale from tomorrow!!
Maruti 800 like many others was my first car. I rememember the car in its first avatar being launched in the late seventies. It was a triple jump event for the indian automobile indutsry and of course the common man. For years we had just seen the inefficient Fiats(Premier Padminis) and Ambassadors on the road and we had somehat given up.
Thanks to Sanjay Gandhi's inefficiency and unwarranted accidental death, his own pet car project got converted into the Suzuki collborration and Indians finallt got a taste of new technology. While the cars were being lapped up in other metros and cities, Kolkata was still taking time to get over from the Ambassador hangover!!
My first car was a Cream Brown 800 and I learnt my driving in it thanks to my neighbour Uncle Phil Kavrana in Pune. For people driving the older generation cars the feel itself was a relief on our hand and foot muscles. Of course there were prudes who would rather have the truck feel!!
I have a lot of lovely memories of long distance driving in my 800 from Pune to Nasik or Aurangabad and the sight seeing that we have done in the plains and mountains. I remember the accident we had with our car and a truck near Kufri. I remember taking Devika to the hospital when she had labour pains. I remember my first steep climb down from Panshet Dam and Chaitali's white face of fear.
I am a bit sad today. Sphere: Related Content
Maruti 800 like many others was my first car. I rememember the car in its first avatar being launched in the late seventies. It was a triple jump event for the indian automobile indutsry and of course the common man. For years we had just seen the inefficient Fiats(Premier Padminis) and Ambassadors on the road and we had somehat given up.
Thanks to Sanjay Gandhi's inefficiency and unwarranted accidental death, his own pet car project got converted into the Suzuki collborration and Indians finallt got a taste of new technology. While the cars were being lapped up in other metros and cities, Kolkata was still taking time to get over from the Ambassador hangover!!
My first car was a Cream Brown 800 and I learnt my driving in it thanks to my neighbour Uncle Phil Kavrana in Pune. For people driving the older generation cars the feel itself was a relief on our hand and foot muscles. Of course there were prudes who would rather have the truck feel!!
I have a lot of lovely memories of long distance driving in my 800 from Pune to Nasik or Aurangabad and the sight seeing that we have done in the plains and mountains. I remember the accident we had with our car and a truck near Kufri. I remember taking Devika to the hospital when she had labour pains. I remember my first steep climb down from Panshet Dam and Chaitali's white face of fear.
I am a bit sad today. Sphere: Related Content
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Is the business of selling bottled-water more about selling the bottle or the water?(Linked In)
Its about selling water in a suitable, usable portable container that happens to be a bottle. They are sold together as a product!!
The business is about making money by the entrepreneurs who saw that there would be a demand for drinking water of this kind and therefore producing them and reaching them out to the customer along with of course all other business activities that is related like brand building, cost improvements, etc,etc,etc. Sphere: Related Content
The business is about making money by the entrepreneurs who saw that there would be a demand for drinking water of this kind and therefore producing them and reaching them out to the customer along with of course all other business activities that is related like brand building, cost improvements, etc,etc,etc. Sphere: Related Content
Somebody asked in Linked In...regarding the difference between Peddling and Vending?
Inherently there is no difference. There is no debate that to peddle is to sell by moving around eg. a street hawker. Similarly vending also is selling and can be interchanged with peddling except that you would have vending machines but not really a peddling machine.
I guess as the language evolves the usage of words keep changing though the meanings could be same or similar. Typically a sales person would be happy if you say that he is selling rather than peddling. And of course a street drug(of the wrong kind) seller would rather be known to be as peddling drugs.
So the differentiation is in how you would want to use the words and not really their inherent meaning!! Sphere: Related Content
I guess as the language evolves the usage of words keep changing though the meanings could be same or similar. Typically a sales person would be happy if you say that he is selling rather than peddling. And of course a street drug(of the wrong kind) seller would rather be known to be as peddling drugs.
So the differentiation is in how you would want to use the words and not really their inherent meaning!! Sphere: Related Content
Monday, March 15, 2010
How to collaborate with SME and Corporates?
Yogesh M. A. (OOH Media Entrepreneur) asked this question:
I have seen SME and corporates both have their own potentials and entrepreneurs need to work with both of them and both cultures are different I would be very glad if you explain us about how to collaborate with this biggest marketplaces.
My answer :
A SME vs a Corporate typecasting would depend upon "your" own business strategy. So my SME could be your corporate!! That being the basis of my answer the rest is as follows:
There is no logical answer to this that could be termed as generic. I tend to think that every organisation big or small has their own culture, hierarchies, bureaucracies, process and procedures of their own. The idea is to understand that carefully before and while you collaborate.
We also need to understand the organisational dynamics in terms of HR structures vs actual on the ground functional structures. By differiantiating you respect the individual organisation and thats what will finally bear results. That does not mean similar strategies do not work with multiple organisations. It could, but I believe they are never exactly the same.
I would agree to disagree amicably that Corporates only look for fast results, or SME's look for customised solutions. It depends!! I will need to find that out!!! Sphere: Related Content
I have seen SME and corporates both have their own potentials and entrepreneurs need to work with both of them and both cultures are different I would be very glad if you explain us about how to collaborate with this biggest marketplaces.
My answer :
A SME vs a Corporate typecasting would depend upon "your" own business strategy. So my SME could be your corporate!! That being the basis of my answer the rest is as follows:
There is no logical answer to this that could be termed as generic. I tend to think that every organisation big or small has their own culture, hierarchies, bureaucracies, process and procedures of their own. The idea is to understand that carefully before and while you collaborate.
We also need to understand the organisational dynamics in terms of HR structures vs actual on the ground functional structures. By differiantiating you respect the individual organisation and thats what will finally bear results. That does not mean similar strategies do not work with multiple organisations. It could, but I believe they are never exactly the same.
I would agree to disagree amicably that Corporates only look for fast results, or SME's look for customised solutions. It depends!! I will need to find that out!!! Sphere: Related Content
Sunday, March 14, 2010
IPL 2010
IPL has started again. I have watched all the matches so far. KKR always will be a fav for obvious and unknown reasons. It's genetic perhaps - Bong connection.
Why do then need those semi clad cheerleaders is beyond me? I mean I have no objections to them, but they don't seem to fit in the scheme of things. Maybe they could have given a show in the beginning and the break and at the end!!
Every evening for a month now has been taken care of. The World T20 to follow and after that its the mother of all. FIFA WC 2010. This is a good YEAR!!!! Sphere: Related Content
Why do then need those semi clad cheerleaders is beyond me? I mean I have no objections to them, but they don't seem to fit in the scheme of things. Maybe they could have given a show in the beginning and the break and at the end!!
Every evening for a month now has been taken care of. The World T20 to follow and after that its the mother of all. FIFA WC 2010. This is a good YEAR!!!! Sphere: Related Content
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Kuwait Sea Front - A March 2010 afternoon!!
We have been planning to visit the sea front of Kuwait and finally we made it on a rather unjustified afternoon. It was sunny but not hot and the breeze was extremely pleasant and the prospect of having lunch at Mais Alghanim after the stroll made me compromise the family request!!
Some shots, not in chronlogiocal order.
Birds of a feather, flock (is 4 a flock?) together!!
Some other visitors for a midday picnic!!
Two siblings playing!!
And a tortoise in clay to welcome you!!
Some shots, not in chronlogiocal order.
Birds of a feather, flock (is 4 a flock?) together!!
Some other visitors for a midday picnic!!
Two siblings playing!!
We played holi the other day. Quite a contrast today!!
And a tortoise in clay to welcome you!!And all this near Noodle House on Gulf Road!!
Sphere: Related Content
Monday, January 18, 2010
Jyoti Basu Leaves Us
I have mixed feelings about all that he did. I grieve on his death but I am truly unsure of his wholistic gains as far as the state of West Bengal is concerned. He managed land reforms well but in the end did not see that growth occurs. I am willing to give in a bit that in his later years he surely realised his folly and if he was alive WB would again start shining. But he lost that opportunity. May his soul rest in peace!!
I wish his successors were as brave as him in terms of thoughts and actions. But that's not the case with the current leaders. I am scared of what will happen to Bengal with Trinamool gunning for power. God help us, please!!! Sphere: Related Content
I wish his successors were as brave as him in terms of thoughts and actions. But that's not the case with the current leaders. I am scared of what will happen to Bengal with Trinamool gunning for power. God help us, please!!! Sphere: Related Content
Caesar's Restaurant - Kuwait
This is the second visit to this joint. I have a simple review for this place:
NOT WORTH IT. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME!!! IT's A DISASTER!! Sphere: Related Content
NOT WORTH IT. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME!!! IT's A DISASTER!! Sphere: Related Content
Sunday, January 10, 2010
General Saturday Musings!!
Managing photographs is not easy and when you have a digital camera in hand the process of elimination I think is of prime importance. That's what I was doing yesterday trying to sort out them I am far from reaching the end.
The XL 84 meet is still hovering in the mind and I reckon thats a good thing to happen. I think next time we have to ensure that the guys who missed this time are available for sure the next time. Unless there is some emergency or some other critical issue, nothing should hold us back for that meet, wherever it may be.
In fact now that I attended the XL meet, I pity myself and not making for my School Silver Jubilee. So many memories and keeping them alive is perhaps one of the better ways of managing the current life. This is not really about clinging on to the past but its like being constantly aware of one's foundation and basking in its glory. As we grow older perhaps friends become fewer but after this meet I realised that if you want to nurture and maintain links, you can and you should. No excuses should be acceptable to your own conscience. Charity starts at home I guess!!
While Alumni can do a lot with donating money, I also think they could contribute on various events and occasions under the institute'e umbrella. In this meet from the institute's side there was only asking the alumni to donate money while, I thought that the participation process and where-with-all was entirely missing on those fronts.
The New Year in Kuwait was somber compared to other countries because atleast you do not encounter too many drunk drivers on the road. Of course prudes might say, that the local populace anyway drive like drunkards. After driving in the UAE I do feel so, and I think that the local authorities are not so efficient as the UAE in terms of adminstration of driving licenses and road rules!!
Kuwait does not have liquor, but I have been told that people have "barrels" of wine in their back homes. The dichotomy of so many life issues in this part of the world amazes me. Not that India is one big liberal country and we have enough of these concepts with us too. Like not eating Non-Veg at home while eating the same in friends homes and restaurants! Ridiculously opportunistic behaviour!!
I have taken up a house in a place called Jabriya where the houses are mostly 2-3 stories. This is unlike Salmiya where you would find mostly multistoried apartment buildings. I was staying in the latter earlier. Salmiya has a particular Block, No. 10 to be precise -- that is dominated by Indians of all types. I guess the clan feeling in a faraway land comes into play here other than of course the convenience of staying near a store that can serve you "curry leaves" at 11 in the night when you are in the need for it!!! We thought we could do with some advance planning and get those "curry leaves" if at all that is, and decided to take house anywhere. This may not have gone down well with some of our local acquantainces but then availability was also an issue. The new area is growing on us and actually we seem to be liking it and personally I can manage in not seeing a fellow Indian throughout the day. Lest you understand me wrong, what I mean is that I am open to any kind of neighbours!! Sphere: Related Content
The XL 84 meet is still hovering in the mind and I reckon thats a good thing to happen. I think next time we have to ensure that the guys who missed this time are available for sure the next time. Unless there is some emergency or some other critical issue, nothing should hold us back for that meet, wherever it may be.
In fact now that I attended the XL meet, I pity myself and not making for my School Silver Jubilee. So many memories and keeping them alive is perhaps one of the better ways of managing the current life. This is not really about clinging on to the past but its like being constantly aware of one's foundation and basking in its glory. As we grow older perhaps friends become fewer but after this meet I realised that if you want to nurture and maintain links, you can and you should. No excuses should be acceptable to your own conscience. Charity starts at home I guess!!
While Alumni can do a lot with donating money, I also think they could contribute on various events and occasions under the institute'e umbrella. In this meet from the institute's side there was only asking the alumni to donate money while, I thought that the participation process and where-with-all was entirely missing on those fronts.
The New Year in Kuwait was somber compared to other countries because atleast you do not encounter too many drunk drivers on the road. Of course prudes might say, that the local populace anyway drive like drunkards. After driving in the UAE I do feel so, and I think that the local authorities are not so efficient as the UAE in terms of adminstration of driving licenses and road rules!!
Kuwait does not have liquor, but I have been told that people have "barrels" of wine in their back homes. The dichotomy of so many life issues in this part of the world amazes me. Not that India is one big liberal country and we have enough of these concepts with us too. Like not eating Non-Veg at home while eating the same in friends homes and restaurants! Ridiculously opportunistic behaviour!!
I have taken up a house in a place called Jabriya where the houses are mostly 2-3 stories. This is unlike Salmiya where you would find mostly multistoried apartment buildings. I was staying in the latter earlier. Salmiya has a particular Block, No. 10 to be precise -- that is dominated by Indians of all types. I guess the clan feeling in a faraway land comes into play here other than of course the convenience of staying near a store that can serve you "curry leaves" at 11 in the night when you are in the need for it!!! We thought we could do with some advance planning and get those "curry leaves" if at all that is, and decided to take house anywhere. This may not have gone down well with some of our local acquantainces but then availability was also an issue. The new area is growing on us and actually we seem to be liking it and personally I can manage in not seeing a fellow Indian throughout the day. Lest you understand me wrong, what I mean is that I am open to any kind of neighbours!! Sphere: Related Content
Saturday, January 9, 2010
March to the Past - Jamshedpur After 25 years
Since I came back from Jamshedpur the last two weekends have been too busy trying to manage the tasks related to settling down in a new house – a positive change from the serviced apartment I was staying in earlier. Coupled with that the work at office and fixing my daughters school took a lot of time and energy – physical and mental.
Sphere: Related Content
Thankfully since the Kuwait Government decided that the 3rd of January(Sunday) would also be a holiday, the week of four days vanished and that made sure that the weekend arrived early. So on a cool Friday morning I have been going through all the mails of XL84 right from say about July and then the last two weeks!!
Since Rajan’s Birthday celebrations was a celebration I could not attend for obvious reasons of distance, the only way I could reflect on those two days were the photographs and the process of narrating the events to Tinni and Tisha!! I reckon that would be the situation for a lot of us.
I did not know that people would like my rather amateurish attempts of trying to capture fleeting moments of time and I thank you for your kind words. Senthil’s poetry and Muthu’s remark on my current job are points to ponder on. Disco and NS’s and Girish’s kind words will be a good strength.
I read Abbey’s words on New Year resolution and though I would not make one, I would definitely look at sharpening my skills in terms of capturing the rapture of moods and scenes!!More than New Year resolutions I feel like committing myself to some other important steps that I need to take. Like I should ensure that I send a message or two to our Group every week with the selfish interest that if all of us do perhaps we would knit ourselves better. Like if and when I visit any place take a bit of time and find out the mates living there and at least call if not meet. That we need to be in touch is a clichéd theoretical advice, but I know how being in touch has helped me in extremely difficult times!! Anto was the one to impress upon me that this visit is a must and my regards for him!! 
Twenty Five years is a long time and when I went back to Jamshedpur this time I did think about the loss of not building enough relationships with a lot of mates. The reunion humbled me a lot in terms of how people care and how I in my immaturity would have ignored those signals twenty five years ago!!
There are many occasions in life we would remember vividly and this meet was one of them for sure. I came back to Kuwait and the one thing that I have been preaching to colleagues and friends here is that they should make it a point to organize and attend and involve themselves in these lifetime situations!!
The first person I met at Howrah was Shantanu and the casual conversation during the journey made me forget the dirty surroundings of a Janashatabdi train. Prithvish my ex roomie was the second in the train. It turned out to be that Sanjoy and Ronald Sequiera was travelling in Ispat Express and the same was delayed due to overhead wire problem at Howrah. Tatanagar station was crowded and the station definitely had more crowds. We hired a Tata Sumo and while devouring the change in the city realized that the Circuit House area was pretty much the same except perhaps a traffic light or two.
The XLRI Gates had changed and when we entered the campus we could not locate a single soul. We straight went to the MDP Hostel and checked in. The first person we met was Jakes and when we exclaimed --- he was rather surprised that we recognized him with his gained girth (me too) and “no hair” head. The proceedings had already started in a building that was non-existent during our time. After a quick wash, reached the audi and found all those long lost familiar faces all hearing Shanks talk about the administrative part of our stay.
Ex Dean Jeetu Singh spoke a bit about XL and its future with bits and pieces of unstructured suggestions thrown in by the erstwhile alumni. I was itching to take shots and did manage many with my Nikon. It was also time for embracing, hugging and recognizing the new avatars that had gathered on this 21st day of December, 2009 from all over the world. Coming to think of it, I was rather proud of us that we had all made it and the driver was that pure itch to meet up with old friends!! Perhaps we met after twenty five years to put our seal to make these everlasting connections. Time will tell as always!!
A Cricket Match with the Juniors (2008-2010) was held at the new (??) playground. Rajan, NS, Murali and others showing their prowess amongst others it was an enjoyable and hilarious 
game!! While this was on, a few did manage an afternoon siesta and then the sun went down. A visit to Dadu’s Dhaba was a must but instead of Dadu I saw Uncles serving!! There was a perma stall serving Southern cuisine too. The atmosphere was however just like before and sitting on those benches were like reliving our earlier forgotten stints.
The evening was a bit more sombre with Father Mcgrath being felicitated by our batch. However the precursor to the event was a boring speech accompanied with an unprofessional 
powerpoint presentation by the present Director and we quickly tried to forget this bit. It was tremendous to see Father talking and chatting with his intact impeccable sense of humor. He made it a point to speak to everybody. The waves of energy that he manages to pass on to you is something you would feel, if only you get near him.
The night however belonged to all of us and Jakes. While the Junior Batch had put up this show of song routines, it was interspersed with Jakes prepared songs and speech routine that put fire on to everybody’s hearts. It was an evening to remember for years and went on for hours. It was something like we never wanted to end and if Jakes had doubled the menu that he
had served; we would have just gone on and on. We will have an encore and I hope somebody is already thinking of an encore.
The breakfast at Beldih club arranged by Vivek was out of the world. In spite of the late night we all did manage to land up there while some went for the morning golf too. We just wanted to soak in every event that was held and did not want to miss out on any.
The Institute had a memento shop selling all kinds of souvenirs. Both the days people managed to grab whatever they could lay their hands on. T Shirts, Wallets, Caps, Jackets and the works were all quickly lapped up by the hungry. Sizes were an issue where some of us perhaps preferred a XXXL but that was not to be. At the end of it the shopping gave us a sense of accomplishment!!
A few decided to go to Bishtupur for the milk shake and rolls routine while a few again went back for the siesta on the 2nd day afternoon. And a few of us just gathered in our old lawn and went on with our chatter. Anything that was happening we wanted to continue to be immersed in and at the same time we wanted to be part of the next one too. So the evening Tea at the Sarin’s on a floodlit roof was excellent. The Bengali Sandesh made of Date based jaggery and the Ginger Tea – all combined for a heady effect. The spirits were of course there in bounty but that was for the later functions!!.
I remember the words of wisdom dished out by some of us on life and work in general. But more than that I remember the feelings that one had for each other and how we came across from all parts of the world to be together. In fact, the juniors did comment that they had not seen such a cohesive and chilled out batch earlier. That says a lot. 
Came back home and read up Abhijit’s MBA Part I and managed to relive once again an unique part of my life. The next time I meet Abbey the character – I would perhaps ask --- Who was Ayesha?
And the last question is -- when are we meeting next? Will somebody start a countdown!!
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