Lakshadweep - An artist's palette

Never in my life, did I have a clue
that one island could be so blue
Turquoise, Teal, Aquamarine and Azure
tons of other names that I wasn't even sure

There was the sea, blue, so vast, so pristine,
corals were the ornaments for the island to preen
Like the mixing on an artists palette
Only he could have created this on a clean slate

Why go there?
We had taken a 5 day vacation to Lakshadweep and chose to stay in Agatti and Agatti alone. There are no restaurants, no famous resorts in this place. The island was 8 kms long, of which 1 km was dedicated to the airport. You cannot wear your shorts at will given that the people here are relatively conservative. Now that I have scared you enough, here is why you should be going there.


We had seen the cleanest of the water in the beaches of Lakshadweep. Shallow waters on the west end make for excellent swimming and snorkeling opportunities. This island has a sunset to die for. There is a private beach in the south end of the island which makes up for all the conservativeness out there. This is an ideal place if you enjoy sitting by the beach side, sipping coconut water, (yes, alcohol is banned) reading a book and just talk.

There isn't much to do here but laze
There isn't anyone to talk to but your girl
There isn't another sound but that of the waves
There isn't another sight but of the deep blues sea

The quiet of the day was such good change
that chirping of the coconut tree leaves
with the sound of waves in the background
was the Beethoven's tenth symphony in the making

The place
Welcome to Lakshadweep or Lakshwadeep as my girlfriend puts it. A set of tiny island dotted along the Western coast of India. The first site of this island is a thin 500m long airport strip at Agatti adorned by the navy blue ocean to the right and an Azure shallow lagoon, 50m to the left. An atypical tourist destination in the country that needs a permit for Indians and foreigners alike.

The place currently is facing a lot of flux owing to a flurry of permissions and lease expiration. Other islands like Bangaram have a few dysfunctional resorts which have been stopped mainly due to expiry of lease for a casino.

The people
With a 100% Muslim population, the people here are the friendliest lot you will encounter. Conservative in their outlook, they do not shy away for the usual photograph. The best part of Lakshadweep is however the quiet of the place and the nature at its best. There are none of those usual holiday resorts or restaurant in Agatti. There are some private resorts that are run by people on the island. Agatti and Kadmat are the main islands inhabited by people where the dressing and behavior are more conservative is nature.

Towards the evenings, the people of the island get together by the beach side and project videos ranging from sea life documentaries to the latest reality singing show. You will start seeing people migrate to the beach side by 5 in the evening and sitting there chatting along with their dear ones till night fall. Boys playing football on the beach side and girls swinging along the coconut trees on the coast is a common sight.

There is barely any food that is available outside your resort. So one cannot do much but stick to the patta gobi, fish, papad and dal provided by most of your resorts. The resort owners understand English well and hence should not be a huge issue for most. Having a knowledge of either Malayalam or Tamil would make your stay a smooth ride (Thanks to my girlfriend who could manage the talking despite here broken Tamil :P).


Activities
Lakshadweep is probably one of the best places to do water sports in India. It has been blessed with an array of colorful corals dotted all along the coast of Agatti and Bangaram islands. It was like watching discovery channel in slow motion.

Boat ride to Bangaram from Agatti - Rs. 4000
Boat trip from Agatti to Kalpitti (Adjoining island) with Snorkeling - Rs. 1200
Snorkeling around Agatti, Bangaram - Rs 300 per hour

Getting there and around
Home stay 1: 9447611160 - They charge around 3500-4000 Rs per day (per couple - Food included). This is one of the cheapest options on Agatti. They homestay is 3 minutes walk from the beach (Either side).

There are other options like Kasim's homestay and Abdul's Homestay along the beach (Charges around 8500 per night per room). The permit can be obtained from the resort with which you will be staying. Only BSNL and Airtel work here while there is not internet connection anywhere on the island.

Only Air India currently flies from Kochi to Agatti. There is also an option of taking a ship to Agatti which is scheduled 3 times a week. This is an overnight options with prices varying from Rs.500 to Rs.4000 depending on the ship and class.

Leh to Lakshadweep & New york to Kolkata

Another year flew by! Thanks to my job and the itch otherwise, I have traveled the world and more importantly, a good part of India.

Month of the marathon & marriages, January: I had started off 2012 on a great note by completing the Mumbai half marathon in January in 2:20! One lesser thing in the list of 52!
A Kolkata trip with Atul Bansal, Sudeep, Abhishek Sahoo, Ayush and Sarvesh to attend not one, not two but three weddings of Ribika Choudhary, Sumantro and Manish Pathak. Bengali weddings rock! Nostalgia with all the good bengali maach that I had.

Tajmahal trip, February: Visit to the Tajmahal, Agra with Richa Thakur. I can finally say that I have seen 3 world wonders.
Lonavala trip in February with Atul Bansal at the end of Pune stint.

US trip, March: My first international 10 day trip to New york, USA in March to meet Arthi Mittal and Shravan Muthe.
Weekend to Goa in March to celebrate Sagar Goel's bachelor party. Palolem rocks!

Sowji's marriage and Sinhagad fort trek, April: Lonavala drive and Sinhagad trek from Mumbai with Deepak Gopal in April. Sowji got married and a hectic last week of April it was!

May marked the beginning of what was to be a long East India association. Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal for the rest of the year to come. IIT KGP revisited.

Hyderabad trip with Sakshi, Manish and Rishabh in June. Farewell party for the baniya and immense fun. Arthi's 6 week India trip which included a Mumbai trip with Atul Bansal

Bidar trip, July: Bidar trip with Arthi, Manish, Rishabh and Sovit Jaiswal. Fun in Hyderabad with Meenakshi and Arthi. Kolkata weekend with Shalini Sasidharan - Dark knight rises and Arsalan biriyani


Leh, Ladakh trip, August: 10 day trip to Leh, Ladakh, Pangong Tso lake, Lamayuru (Along Kargil highway, NH-1), Kardungla with Vinay Vaswani, Abhishek Sahoo, Sudeep Mehrotra, Jan and Richa Thakur

Author in September: Published a book titled "From money to god" along with Subbu, Uday, Gogo, Pinky, Ayan and Sudeshna. What started as a set of leisurely discussion in the 6th term, came out as a 100 page coffee table book. Road trip to Goa with Vinay Vaswani followed by yet another trip to Goa the very next week in September first week. Yes, the place is infectious. This also completes my yearly quota of 3 trips to Goa :)

Leisure in October: 1 week of chilling out at home in Hyderabad without any agenda. Luxury.

Lakshadweep, December: A 10 day Christmas vacation that started in Coimbatore with the heavenly food of Haribhavanam followed by a week long stint in the blue waters of Lakshadweep. Scuba diving and Snorkeling with absolute beach lazing with Arthi Mittal. End with 1 day in Kochi

Wanderlust

"There's a race of men that don't fit in,
A race that can't stay still;
So they break the hearts of kith and kin,
And they roam the world at will.
They range the field and they rove the flood,
And they climb the mountain's crest;
Theirs is the curse of the gypsy blood,
And they don't know how to rest"
 
-Robert W. Service

Ladakh - The trek, the road trip and lake

The beautiful blue - Pangong Tso

Leh is probably one of those very few places which would be hot on the list of "must dos" of adventure enthusiasts, nature lovers, bikers, lazy bums and dopers alike. Mountaneous terrain, either river Indus or Zanskar alongside and deserted highways dotted with tiny hamlets is representative of Ladakh region outside Leh. We had flown down from Delhi and Leh and the magic of the place hit us even before we landed. Just as the clouds cleared, we could see the vast expanse of snow capped peaks and the valleys waiting there for us to embrace the beauty, Ladakh.

The acclamatization day was mostly spent loitering the streets of Leh (well technically, we were always in fort road), trying everything from Thukpa to momos to kehwa. A hike to the Leh palace which stands guard from the north end of the city gives you the perfect views of the whole valley. As the last rays of the sun set on the hills, you cant help feel a chill. The next day, we drove for ~6 hrs to get to the Pangong lake while covering the Thiksey monastery enroute. Serene waters ranged from turquoise blue to aquamarine while kissing teal intermittently. I have no clue what I just said. Lets just say that the waters were in shades of blue, and loads of them! Ladakh is just like what you see in post cards, picture perfect. We slept by the lake in the night trying to count stars in the partly clouded sky.

Young monk at Hemis Gompa

The Thiksey monastery

The next three days was the trek to Stok Kangri covering  close to 45 kms. We had stayed in a home stay in Rumbak and camped at the base camp at Mankarmo. Starting at 3500m above sea level, we trekked to around 3900m for about 4 hrs to reach Rumbak. The community farming practices and the home stay model epitomized peaceful coexistance in this village. We then hiked to 4900m to get to the Stok la pass and decended back to 4300m at the Mankarmo base camp. The final day was yet another strenuous climb to the advanced base of the Stok kangri peak where we reached 5200m. There were river crossings, deer sightings, hail storms and needless to mention.. paradise on earth!

A trip to Ladakh would never be complete without biking around. We dared the Khardungla pass (5600m) on a set of 2 pulsars and 2 activas. Even though we made it to the top eventually, no pictures can relate the story of how one of us had to push the activa for 3 kms uphill as it refused to get loaded anymore. The ride down was a race of gravity. For our final tryst with Ladakh, we hired a car and a bullet and drove down to Lamayuru on the Leh Kargil highway. This road was the scenic, barren ladakh I have always seen in pictures. 150km from Leh, this bike trip was just something that had to be done!

 

Enroute Khardungla

9 days of pure joy. No net or network (apart from the frantic jampots who managed to get signal even at the markarmo base). Prayer flags, lovely landscapes, colorful markets, apricots, Thukpa to momos, long and sumptious breakfasts, yaks, snow capped peaks were just the tip of the iceberg. In the end, we came out Leh'd!

That little devil

I introduce to you ladies and gentlemen,
my oldest friend, my partner in mischief
not a peaceful nights' sleep, since I was three years old,
thanks to my little sister, the devil

The games we invented;
adventures, we called some
while some were so much fun,
that we even forgot to give them names

Monopoly, we played all day long,
how I always had the reds cards and the blue hotels,
was always beyond her mental faculties
late night horror stories,ruled them all

Hard to forget were those bakery trips and panipuri outings
or those hardy boys and tinkle digests we exchanged
weird were the competitions that we had,
Banana eating beat them all

For 24 years have I toiled so hard,
what do I get in return?
tons of love, greeting cards,
loads of chocolates and a band with "Angry birds"

India at London, 2012

India's all time olympic medal tally

Since India made its debut in the Olympics in Paris in 1900 it has only ever won a total of 20 medals, nine of them gold of which 8 came from Hockey while Abhinav Bindra won our first gold in Beijing 2008. 2 of the medals in Athletics were actually to a British national in 1900. The age old debate has always been on how we barely manage to get one medal in a country with popluation more than 1.2 billion people. 

Blame it on our budgets or on our mindsets or both in this case. Any kid aiming to become an ace tennis player is frowned upon. A kid considering boxing is a maverick and someone who wants to make swimming as a profession is an outright outcast. We could argue that the tropical climate is a key reason why we dont get medals in Athletics. What climate do the Ugandans and the Kenyans live in? In 2008, China was the first in medals tally with 51 Golds followed by USA at 36 Golds. India was on rank 50 with 1 Gold medal. The Chinese got their first ever medal in Olympics in 1984. That year, their total tally was G:15, S:8, B:9 and were at rank 4 worldwide. This was their 2nd ever appearence. Despite various efforts to increase participation and victory in olympics in India, we have largely been unsuccessful. We need to invest more in sports infrastructure and supporting athletes and look beyond our sacrosanct sport - Cricket! I shall not delve into something that I dont have too much idea of. As an average Indian, I am agonized to see us get so few medals with so many people.

This year, I am rooting for the most medals for India as compared to previous years. I look forward to some of our athletes bringing back honors this time around.

1. The usual suspects: Abhinav Bindra, Susheel kumar and Vijendra Kumar (Collected a Gold in Asian Games in Guangzhou last year and a bronze in commonwealth, Delhi)
2. The resurgents:Saina Nehwal (Rank 5 worldwide, Quarter in Beijing 2008 and Gold in Indonesian open earlier this year beating the 3rd ranker)
3. The rookies: Gagan Narang (Silver in Asian games, 4 golds in commonwealth), Mary Kom (Currently tied at Rank 3 in lightweight category) Shiva Thapa (fly weight category) Deepika Kumari (Current Rank 1 in Women's individual recurve and Gold, common wealth 2010)

This is a only a list of some of them from an 81 member strong contingent. Hoping for a double digit tally!

Wonder years..

Remember that purchasing spree of school bags (wide ones weren't cool anymore), Bata shoes, cherry blossom polish, double deck lunch boxes and white uniform every summer? Yes school!

We boys were adorned in shorts (had to wait till class 7 to wear trousers), girls with their ponytails (I mean.. pony? tail?), armed with pencils and compass boxes (had to have a ruler, divider, protractor and a shiny white rubber .. yes.. that's what we called it). By then, our world had changed drastically from the innocent childhood of yesteryears. Priorities.. even more so.

Mom's food became boring and dad being at office was preferred. The neighbourhood kids with whom I played cricket every evening without finishing homework, school bus buddies with whom I shouted and shrieked loudly (confused it for singing for a while too), back bench buddies in school where I perfected the art of rocket making, a la October Sky style and teachers who always kicked me out or made me stand beside dustbins, mattered the most.

We finished lunch in the short break so that lunch break can be for football (with a cricket ball of course), ate Lays for their Tazos, bought Complan instead of Boost for the free tennis ball , loved the unhealthy roadside panipuri and other assorted junk, hated sitting next to girls, and collectively prayed to god every single day at the bus stop for a surprise school holiday! (no wonder some of us ended up being such staunch atheists)

We read Hardy boys, Tinkles and discussed how Yokozuna could easily beat Macho man in WWE (It was WWF until of course the wild ones took over). We were into competitive sport too, challenging each other at Contra, super tanks or a game of monopoly. Then came the glorious days. Summer holidays. Summer holidays meant 2 months back in our villages / towns, meant a long train journey, meant no homework and freedom from mom's shouting. The summers meant the heaven to us. The "fun folk" had to spend their time in the summer camps where they were taught creativity and god knows what jack shit.

Those were the days...

Price rise, salary hikes and haircuts

Years ago, back in my village, we used to get communal haircuts. By the time the barber got home, 6-7 kids lined up and waited for him to snap his scissors and every kid got his hair cut so short that the mothers could not hold them by their hair atleast for a week to come. At that time, he charged 10 rs for all of us put together. The service was standardised. One size fits all. Shorter the better. Cut all you can.Value for money and so on and so forth.

Turn the cycle 10 years forward and welcome to Hyderabad. Owing to advanced technologies and locational disposition, the service has now moved on from door to door to a shop floor model. We now went into shops where there were a row of 3-4 seats resembling chairs we see on the stage in marriages. The shop itself is lined with sleazy glam mags and bollywood newspapers for customer retention. Fortunately or unfortunately, the tools barely changed. The same metallic scissors and the comb. The price shot up to 15-20 rs a cut. The offerings however now had 2 options.. Short and medium!

Come 2012, the landscape just seemed to have altered leaps and bounds. I am now in Bombay. I by chance, or lets just say by force, had to enter into one of those "hair therapy lounges". A.C., Vogue, computer with internet for bored souls. I ended up paying 150 rs for a service that the guy was extremely reluctant to provide. Apparently getting the hair cut short isnt the in-thing anymore. He ploughed through my hair like he was trying to invest in paddy fields. The best part was that I got an appointment for an hour later as the place was full. But thank god some things dont change much. It is still the same scissors and the same comb to weave his magic! Wonder whats next?

The shadow in the dark

Sitting by the dim street light,
attention drawn and mind blank,
I dont hear the frog's croak or the clock's tick
I just sit here, ogling at the starry starry night

My thoughts wander to a place far far away
I feel a sting in my chest, a gushing pain,
yet I sit there staring at infinity,
like a nomad, who has just found his way

Soil, iron red and the sky, coal black
I wonder if thats what I really see.
I am the warrior, the solitary reaper,
the shadow in the dark

I wonder why we love to suffer,
fear of happiness is it?
or just an irreparable sense of inertia
as they say, "Ignorance is bliss" or whatever...

So.. How was New York City?

This was one of those trips that was never planned originally. I had gone to New york to visit my girlfriend who has been working there for a few months now. I was there for eight days and when I got back, there was one question that I faced inevitably from everyone. How was NYC?

Brooklyn Bridge

At the outset, New York did not surprise me. It was as they had showed in various movies like Little Manhattan and soaps like Friends, HIMYM. Central park was beautiful , Times Square was colorful, financial district was bustling and Manhattan skyline was as glorious as I had imagined it all. The streets, the avenues, the color coded metro rail system, the 5 boroughs, the orderly traffic were fairly easy even for a first timer to understand and work with.

But it did amaze me. I have always considered India to be the epitome of cultural diversity with 28 states, 7 UTs, 18 official languages many more art forms. New york, like most big cities, was a microcosm of the world. It was a melange of people from countries across the world, an eclectic medley of cultures. It was very well represented by all the popular immigrant nations of the world. Each had established their dominion. The Chinese had China town in South Manhattan, Italians ruled Little Italy just above the Chinese, Koreans took over the Koreatown in the 33rd street while the Brazilians loved their Little Brazil street on the 46th street. Indians on the other hand have spread their DNA all across New Jersey and particularly in Journal square. You will see the Asians selling Doner kebaps and pita-gyros, the Middle-eastern, Lebanese and Moroccans selling icecreams, the latinos selling NYC paintings and the Chinese selling everything else. Even to the above mentioned folks.

Cenral Park

New York City was a war scene every hour of the day and each day of the week. The water ways, the bus system, the metros and even the pedestrians moved with a synchronized perfection as directed an army general called Time. Time is their guiding force and their nemesis as well. People ran to save time, to fight time. Two minutes lost in catching the next metro was disappointing. Despite all this, the average New yorker spent atleast 15 minutes each day waiting for his turn to sip on the regular double shot expresso at one Starbucks or the other. Their life cannot start without one.

Manhattan skyline

Given the fast paced lifestyle, there is a galore of options available when it comes to food. I tried everything from the all-American burgers and fries to Mexican enchilladas and ribs to Italian pizzas to Chinese *&%^% (Can never remember those damn names).

NYC is beautiful, scandalous, ever growing, confusing and yet charming. Its a city that sets you free, hardens you and consumes you, before you know it. And this, is an Indian's take on the biggest city of the world.

I believe its time to run!

Welcome to the season of running
A season where each of us have juggled between work and work outs
A season where we have pushed our limits
A season where we have drawn inspiration from each other
A season where we decided that we'd run
for ourselves, for fitness or for a cause!

Its time to run!

I believe it starts one step at a time
and then I'd have no idea where my dreams will take me

I believe the world is my treadmill
I believe my biggest inspiration is the person infront of me

I believe in solitude and community
I believe no decision should be made while running uphill

I believe that when I think its over... I can always dig a little deeper
I believe in redefining my impossible

I believe in myself, and
I believe in the run
- Nike

In retrospect...!

An extremely cold start to the year with Lucknow winters and a trip to Gulmarg. Tons of CVs and more placements stuff.

Trip to Gulmarg & Srinagar: Mid January with Lambu and Baka

• Skiing tutorials, Ice cold walks at -17 degrees, Kashmiri Kehwa, bukhara, Dal lake boat house stay and insane security measures

Trip to Delhi to meet Bansal and got drunk at Connaught Square

Writing the book - Q&A: Most of January and February.. with Subbu, Uday, Pinky, Adak, Sudeshna, Gogo, Shady. Altruism, God, Hapiness and what not...
  
Trip to Tawang, Shillong and Guwahati: Early March with Sud, Gogo, Smriti, Shaggy and Soumen das

• Long drives, missed helicopters, Unexplored caves, forsaken hotel rooms, waterless falls of cherrapunjee, Monastries of Tawang and country borders

Cousin sister's marriage in Hyderabad:With Manish and Rahul. Flew from Kolkata and an action packed 3 day bonanza

Got Convocated in Lucknow

Road trip from Lucknow to Hyderabad through MP and Maharashtra: With Kalyan for 150 kms and the rest alone :P


Backpacking across Greece and Italy: with Rajat Ghate (Whatta trip!)

• Hiked across Santorini, Walked along Athens and drove to Meteora
• Snow peaks and Dolomites of Bolzano, Canals of Venice, Scarlet Ferrari at Modena, Art of Florence, drives of Tuscany, towers of Pisa, Cliffs of Cinque Terre, Roman auditoriums, Napolean Pizzas, Mountains of Vesuvius and the ruins of Pompei

Joined BCG !

Never ending parties at Hyderabad with Mittal, Mwa, Rishabh, Gunt, Sakshi and Nimi

Shifted base to Pune with Bansal

Goa trip with Vaswani

Trip to Chennai:

• Murugan Idly, Ente Keralam and the beach!

Trip to Pondicherry for a Weeklong stay by the sea:

• Long walks along the promenade, Light houses, French and Italian restaurants and ashrams

Trip to Malaysia (KL and Langkawi) with BCG folks for ROP. : Goswami, AJ, Aysh, pappa, GG, Divya, Surbhi, Pesho, Bhal, Mimani, Sardar and many more

• KL: Bunked training, KL tower, Pub hopping, Shopping arcades, Road side sushi, Westin, long lunches, and Short presentations
• Langkawi: Distant Resorts, Long drives, water sports, cycle races, all night beer fest, dead cheap liquour shopping, super exotic dinners, colorful snakes and new friends

Trip to Goa for Viva with BCG at Hyatt: with BCG Cohort of 2011

Manali trip for a week: with Lambu and Kandi

• Barren apple orchards, 100 Rs rooms, White water rafting, Village fairs, Beas kund trek, exhausted souls, 6 hour long board game sessions, Intoxication with Hookah, Sizzling food platters, Jenga, scrabble and Monopoly

Hyderabad trip to meet Yoda, Rad and Rishabh

3 day trip to Kakinada, my home town

Looking forward to the Goa trip for christmas and the new years at home :)

Bucket list

This was a list that I had compiled in 2007 after attending a session at Deloitte where we were told about a guy who had a list of 127 things to do in his list and ended up completing over a 100. I was inspired and this is what followed...This is more or less a static list. There are of course more additions and less deletions.

Do:

1. Fly a plane (learn)
2. Parasailing (Completed in Naukuchiyatal, Uttaranchal)
3. Bungee jumping
4. River rafting in India (Completed in Arunachal)
5. Make a Sky Dive
6. Do a deep sea dive for corals
7. Snorkeling for corals (Completed in Lakshadweep)
8. Complete a professional course in mountain climbing
9. Complete a professional course in Skiing from Gulmarg (2 days course done - Full pending)
10. Go Fishing (Done - Didnt enjoy it as much as I thought I would)
11. Collect currencies of 100 countries in the world (Done)
12. Watch an NBA game
13. Watch an F1 race - Live!
14. Train journeys: Trans-Siberian
15. Train journey: Jammu – Kanyakumari (No longer going to do that)
16. Train journey: Switzerland – Austria – Italy
17. Toy train – Ooty
18. Toy train - Darjeeling

See - Travel :

1. See the pyramids at Giza
2. Go to South America and see Machupichu
3. Great Wall of China
4. Go to the TajMahal 
5. Go on a world tour - Circle the world (Spend at least 4 months doing so)
6. Visit the Eiffel Tower
7. Go on a cruise to Antarctica
8. Go to Greenland to meet the Eskimos
9. Do a village tour in India, Motorcycle diaries style (Done 2 in the south)
10. Light house tour of India (See all the lighthouses)
11. Go to Newzealand for backpacking
12. Trek to the Himalayan base camp
13. Trek to Manasarovar lake and Kailash Parvat
14. Trek to the Annapurna base camp
15. Visit the hill stations of India (A few in Uttaranchal and Maharashtra remaining)
16. Bike trip to Leh and Ladakh
17. Camping for a week in Himachal / J&K / Uttaranchal
18. Experience the thrill rides of Vegas
19. Backpack across Italy
20. See the Northern lights from Norway (Aurora Borealis)
21. Go on a flight from Kathmandu to Paro – (8 of top 10 peaks in the world)

Write - Read - Learn:

1. Write a book
2. Write a second book on India (In progress)
3. Give a live magic show for 30 mins
4. Get proficient in English
5. Learn Spanish
6. Learn Tamil
7. Learn more about the Indian independence story (Books)
8. Read poems by Keats, Dickens and Shakespeare
9. Learn to play the Synthesizer
10. Learn to do professional photography (In progress)
11. Read 2000 books in life time (About 200 done)
12. Learn caricature (Started - Wont progress)
13. Research and learn of various ancient cultures such as Romans, Egyptians, Mayans and Greek

Eat - Work :

1. Eat all of "1000 things to eat before you die"
2. Try the Ribs from Texas, Chipotle in Mexico and Sushi from Japan
3. Work for yourself – Start the Oh fish and drive it successfully
4. Start an organization for the old aged
5. Support one kid
6. Pursue an MBA Degree
7. Play basketball at some professional level.

Random:

1. Experience Zero gravity
2. Run a half marathon (Completed in 2:20)
3. Do a stand-up comedy
4. Work a blue collar job
5. Study the butterflies
6. Get a dog
7. Play poker at a professional level
8. Start a shack at Goa and run it for 6 months

FDI in Retail

If I think of all the stake holders getting affected in this decision and take a call on how it is going to affect each one of them.. Here is how the picture looks to me.

1. Large Indian retail chains: These are the guys who will probably be most affected. They are the ones who might be forced to make their supply chains much more leaner and cost efficient. They are the ones who will take the biggest hit from this "competition"

2. Small retail shops: The small kirana shops, if you ask me are safe. The same furore was there when the Indian retail was opened to bigger, organised players with deep pockets. However, today everyone plays on their own strenghts and have evolved, adapted

3. Farmers, Suppliers: Better bargaining power, better market for their products and might as well get some guidance (A win win). I dont see the possibility of any exploitation from the "deep pockets"

4. Politicians: Congress - Good move (long pending); BJP - Have to take up a fight to oppose it (Thats what opposition is for - protest without judging the merits of the move)

5. Consumers: We actually are the ones who are most profited as Prof. DTR pointed out.  We will be spoilt for choice now. We will see many more companies competing to provide better service.

6. Macro Economy in general: Now from a marcro economic perspective, This will probably create jobs in sum total. True, there may be some firms that might go out of business. However, the overall economy will restructure itself and I believe that overall, many more jobs will be created.

Overall verdict: I dont see too many cons of this move. Time and again, we have studied that the main problem that India faced in the Nehruvian era was Competition, or lets say the lack of it.This will only enhance competition and hence result in better service overall .. hence..  A definte and emphatic Yes!

The love of my life...

Like the first drop of the summer rain
and the distant hoot of the chugging train,
A long forgotten song that you loved
and the flutter of every butterfly that moved

Like the dew drop struggling on a lotus leaf
The conversation with your friend sharing your grief
A cup of coffee from mom early in the morning,
or a lazy sunday spent sleeping, eating and doing nothing!

A phone call from your childhood friend
The endless conversations with your girlfriend
The presence of the one person to come back to at nights
despite the arguments and the silly little fights

The fun in getting lost in a new place
The joy of being the reason for the smile on someone's face
A long walk along the seaside in solitude
or guzzling on the pizzas, dosas or any other good food

The joy of receiving a hand written letter
A nightout with friends in playful banter
The quick sleep stolen after the alarm rings
are some of those that define... the love of my life!

A week in Manali

The room

The art of holidaying evolves for everyone over time. Earlier, holidays were more about activity, sightseeing and checking off everything there is to see in a place. Now it has evolved into something that values time, values each day, each hour and every activity done over the period of 1 week. 2 of my friends and me took a bus from Delhi to Manali. Reaching there Monday morning, we decided to chuck the prebooked hotel and took up a small cottage in the hills in Old Manali. At 100 Rs per day, this was one of the best cottages that I have ever stayed in. Overlooking the snow capped peaks and situated within an Apple orchard, this place was ideal for a lazy holiday.

Walk to the lake

The day we reached, we hired a car and went white water rafting in river Beas. The snow melted water was extremely cold. A 14km ride and 600 per head was worth the bone shattering swim. Later towards the evening, we visited the Dussera mela in Kulu which is held every year for 20 days. The next day was mostly about long walks, coffee shops and trek preparation.

The lake

Beas Kund lake is a popular trek that starts from Solang valley and is usually completed in 3 days. Situated at a height of 4471m, the trek to this glacial lake is a steep ~1000m climb in about 7-8 kms. Terrain is mostly through boulders, snow mounds and ridge crossings. Difficulty: Moderate. We decided to start from Dhundi and finish the trek in a day. We had taken about 6 hours to reach the lake and another 3 to return to the base. We actually had to take off our shoes and cross a river during the trek. The lake is surrounded on all 4 sides by snow capped peaks and is a delight to the eyes. Completing this trek in 9 hours gave us inexplicable satisfaction and incurable enervation. We had slept through most of the next day.

The next three days, we ended up holidaying in the most amazing way possible. There is a small cafe along the way to Manu temple called the Drifter's Inn. We had spent more than 5 hrs each day at this place playing every board game possible. Scrabble, Jenga and Monopoly were declared the winners. The cafe served some of the best continental food. Completed reading "A fine balance" by Rohinton Mistry and slept for more than 10 hours each day.

Focus on Jenga

Scrabble time!

Thats all about the week that was. A calm and peaceful Diwali it was!

"Set of guiding principles" or a "medium to control masses"?

Religion for me has always been a very controversial topic. Mostly because of the contrast observed in the intended purpose and the ground reality of what religion is today. Idealogically speaking, religion is supposed to be a set of guiding principles of how a  man should lead a just life. While the principles may be different, the underlying values are the same across Hinduism, Christianity or Islam. What religion started out to be was to teach a man to live life in such manner that he becomes one with nature. One set of rules for everyone to abide so that all can coexist peacefully.

What is pitiful though, is what religion has evolved into. Though my interpretation is largely pessimistic and not a generalisation in any manner, glimpses of what I will be speaking are still widely prevalant in todays world.

Religion for me is the sole source of communal problems in our country which the constitution defines as a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic. Although it is more to do with selfish individuals who have misused the concept for their own purposes including power, vote banks and many more. Religion is probably what led India to get separated from Pakistan. Religion is what killed a few thousands in Babri, a few more in Gujrat and many other instances that I can recall. There are political parties that exist where 50% of their manifestos are based on communal development. India has seen the emergence of caste system and untouchability over the last few centuries. So what fuelled these absurd rites? Caste system started off as a way of dividing the working population based on their profession. It is scary to think of what the same caste system has become today. Religion is often used as a tool by various religious leaders and thinkers to control the masses. The sins committed on the name of god are unpardonable. So how did religion evolve into what it is today? Why was there no control over what started out on a moral high ground. How did we let some people take it over and misuse it? I am not an atheist or a cynic for religion. I am just not happy about its misuse and its evolution into what it is today. I believe that the divinity is lost to some extent somewhere along the its road to where it stands today.

Looking at things differently, religion is essential in today's life. Practically speaking, it is the primary way in which the masses can be given a moral order which all can adhere to. Religion helps controlling chaos by defining a set of rules for behaviour and conduct. But most importantly, religion is the way of life for a lot of people. There are majority of people for whom religion is sacred and sacrosanct. It is the others who malign the concept, with whom my discontent lies.

Is there a solution to this? Can we maintain the sanctity of religion?

Disclaimer: I do not understand any other religion but Hinduism. Even in Hinduism, what I know is probably just the tip of the iceberg. My general discontent is for what I have observed personally and nothing more.

Serenity by the seaside

Solace by the sea

I have always criticized the sea side towns even though I was born in one of those. They are sultry. They stink often. The beaches have always been dirty. I have always had this uncomfortable feel, thanks to the sweat and dirt. Most people I have met from these seaside towns have always defended their place, and its charm, passionately and vehemently. I never understood why.

Today as I sit by the beach once again, I cant help but admire the sea, admire the waves hitting the rocks relentlessly. Last few days, I have spent a good amount of my time in Pondicherry in Tamilnadu. The weather as in most of the South, was hot, humid and sultry. I spent most of time walking along the coast, sipping coffee at the beach side cafes, watching families flock towards the evenings. There is a different way of life here, along the sea side. The quaint beaches complemented by the buzzing of the crowds brings the place alive each and every minute. The constant rumbling of the waves against the rocks, the perpetual sea breeze, vendors selling anything and everything from bhel to mirchi bajji to baloons are things you have to sit and admire.There are all kinds of people that gather here. Old men meeting up with their friends to have discussion of how the new government is going to change the state, couples sitting on the rocks and exchanging sweet nothings, college students expressing their joy at Rajnikanth's comeback or the aunties discussing the latest soap that started on Sun TV.

Minutes and hours pass away easily just by sitting at the edge of the rocks and staring at the waves and people around. The most fascinating experience has been my hunt for the new lighthouse which was unfortunately off limits for me. The small fishing villages dotted along the coast are a treat to watch.

Each of these and all of these is probably what brings character to these towns. A kind of identity that we will have to fall in love with. Something we probably wont understand untill we live it.

Thinkers, Doers and the "Others"

These broadly are the 3 kinds of men in the world out there today. The Thinkers, the doers and the "others". Way forward would not have been possible had it not been for the first two. Progress cannot happen unless the thinkers and the doers coexist and perform together. It is the third kind, the scavengers, who have lead second hand lives all along and squeezed every penny of the more resourceful ones.

While the thinkers provides a vision, a direction and a way forward, the doer implements and takes the idea / thought to a successful and meaningful completion. Mind you that these two sets are not exactly mutually exclusive. The most effective leaders have been those who have put their thoughts to action, those who have implemented their own strategies to success. Mahatma Gandhi, Adolf Hilter, Mahendra Singh Dhoni have become what they are only because they led from the front. They were able to convert their thoughts to actions.

So why exactly this abstract topic? This is an attempt to evoke thought in you. The world would be such a better place if everyone of us resolve into becoming one of these two instead of trying to pull down someone who actually is out there adding value, instead of criticizing someone who is trying to do something different. Are we making a difference? Are we doing some good to the world out there? Are we doing good to ourself?


Think!

A Tribute

Taken from the theme song of Friends

I'll be there for you
When the rain starts to pour
I'll be there for you
Like I've been there before
I'll be there for you
'Cuz you're there for me too...

You're still in bed at ten
And work began at eight
You've burned your breakfast
So far... things are goin' great

Your mother warned you there'd be days like these
Oh but she didn't tell you when the world has brought
You down to your knees that...

I'll be there for you
When the rain starts to pour
I'll be there for you
Like I've been there before
I'll be there for you
'Cuz you're there for me too...

No one could ever know me
No one could ever see me
Seems you're the only one who knows
What it's like to be me
Someone to face the day with
Make it through all the rest with
Someone I'll always laugh with
Even at my worst I'm best with you, yeah

:)