Apr/097
Voting at 40
Today, - 16 Apr 2009 - was a day of great significance to me personally. I voted for the very first time. Well the truth is I didn't have a Voter's ID card until a week ago. I must admit I was amongst those literate (even if not well read) Indians who never even bothered to get a Voters ID card made by in all these years. But I am not ashamed because it is not necessarily reflective of me but of an attitude ' the Chaltha Hai attitude ' that is so much a part of our Indian ness. But the fact that there are several other much more qualified people who shared (until now) that status with me does not lead me to derive any comfort out of it either.
Without a doubt what happened in Mumbai on the 26 Nov 2008 was a slap in the face of the largest democracy in the world and I think our ability or the disability to put a cap on the bloodbath that followed for the next few days surely lead us all to introspect and ask ourselves one common question ' "Do we have the right government and are they doing a good job?" With a change in people's mindsets and a growing urge to be more participative, especially after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, there could not have been a better time to give airtime to ads which stimulate the feeling that one should vote and create an awareness of each Indian's responsibility to carve out a better future for their children.
Never before has the Indian Media (Television, the Newspapers etc.) been urging the Indians to go to the Polls and make the much needed difference. In the past few months we have seen more advertisements to drive home the subtle yet important message of the responsibility that each citizen has to shape a better future for them and theirs. Companies like TATA with their "Jaago Re" and UTV with their "Ungli Utha Vote Kar" campaigns were aimed at motivating Indians to vote in the coming elections starting April 16.
Well for me personally, finding my voting centre was an exercise in itself. Having set off to the Polling centre -I had mistaken was mine- finding the right place was like going on a wild goose chase for nearly an hour and a half - from this street corner to the next and further on to the next turning just 500 meters away until I finally found the right person. He had the 47 page list of the voters in his "Illaka" area. God! I had to go through all of the 47 pages to find my name was the last one on the last page before I got a handwritten slip ' which I had to present at the polling centre along with my ID card to be permitted to vote. I cannot deny that whilst I was being made to run around from pillar to post this morning I nearly told myself "Enough of this nonsense … after all one vote won't make so much difference … why not just go home?"
But I realised that if I if had given up then, I could not possibly be more irresponsible. I am glad I pursued and persevered and finally got that line drawn on my left index finger. While I waited for my turn I realised how much had been achieved in our great country towards electronic vote counting and the machines that made the act so much simpler and less prone to violence, rigging et al. Its not that I didn't know about these gizmos but I guess its only when you stand in a queue with hundreds of others in one of the million voting centres in this huge country, the sheer complexity of counting nearly a billion votes hits you in the face. That's when those News articles of how India successfully used their Electronic Voting Machines in 2004 come back to you while at the point in time (and perhaps even now) the Technological leader and yet another large democracy ' the US ' struggled with accurate counting.
Its easy to stand at a distance an criticise. After today I guess I have earned the right to question those guys who often criticise and bad mouth our political set up and government infrastructure ' Have you done your bit?…. Have you voted?
As for me, I am considering taking to Politics some years from now. Do I hear any suggestions for a symbol for my party from my fellow Ilanders?
Mar/096
Is It Possible?
I have been wondering ever since the run up to the elections in the
Parts of the US like Florida which are predominantly Black dominated have of late been hit by too many typhoons, hurricanes, storms call it what you may (all thanks to Global warming) and the American government has not been seen to do much to elevate them from their misery. And then came the big recession ' the worst from the late 30s or so they say. Under those circumstances to have a white lady sitting pretty in the most powerful seat while the blacks would have had to endure not only the bloody storms but also loss of houses and jobs would surely have provoked mass scale violence and turmoil.
Is it possible that the democrats possibly told Hillary to back off and set this coloured man (as if white is not a colour) up to face the brunt and possibly even relate with the blacks better in times of a crisis to fend off any problems? Something tells me so and my reading this article written by a white American lady only reinforced my beliefs and doubts. The article touched upon the difficult task that lay ahead of Obama. It went on to end with this message "Obama may fail and fail he may only because he is human BUT when he does fail they would attribute it to the fact he is Black".
Then I have also wondered with the ongoing problem in
Is it possible that the newly converted citizens are all going to die or get blown to bits in
"Slumdog Millionaire" went on to win the Oscars. Did it really deserve an Oscar ? Why is it that movies such as these that portray
Is it possible that the Americans are hoodwinking us into believing that we did a fantastic job with just another film - when I know for a fact there have been better films produced in
In an unprecedented move, the Yankees have allowed us to buy the latest Boeing P8-I aircraft which are likely to be inducted into the US Navy as well. There have been more joint exercises with the Indian armed forces in the recent past than ever before. One thing is for certain… given the geopolitical scenario the world over and the economic growth we are all set for the Americans need us more now than ever before. The question is should we suck up to them and bend backwards to everything they say or can we stand up straight and show some spine and muscle? ……
Now is that possible?
Mar/095
Understanding women
Feb/091
Kirchoff Laws Revisited
To all those bright Electrical Engineers out there on the ILAND…here is an easy exercise…
But first a refresher ..just incase you are a bit RUSTY
Kirchoff’s Current Law (KCL):
At every node, the sum of all currents entering a node must equal zero.
Kirchoff’s Voltage Law (KVL):
The voltage law says that the sum of voltages around every closed loop in the circuit must equal zero.
Now use the laws above and analyse this mesh….(or do I say mess?)
Nov/086
My Visit to Rajasthan
'How about Rajasthan this year?' asked my wife a few months ago as we sat planning on the October Puja-break. Rajasthan surely sounded different from any of the holidays we had done where we would usually run home to our family. Rajasthan also posed different challenges ' accommodation, food, transport and of course finances but not withstanding I said Okay. We can do Jaipur and Jaisalmer I suggested as the planning started in earnest a few days from then.
Jaipur brought to my mind names of Hawa Mehal, Sheesh Mehal and a few other names from the school text books where as I was blank about Jaisalmer. Infact only when I looked it up on the map did I realize how close to the India ' Pak border we were going to go. The thought of staying out in the desert in a tent braving the harsh weather and going for a day long camel safari all seemed interesting enough. The Internet websites YouTube and Virtualtourist.com if any only gave us more details of what to expect while whetting out curiosity more with the bits and pieces that they didn't cover.
Through a friend of mine in the Army, I managed to get the assurance that things will be taken care of in Jaipur. I was assured of a place to stay, transport to take us around and all we needed to do was sightsee and shop.. Fortunately for us I managed to get the required reservations in 2nd / 3rd AC on the Rajadhanis and Shatabdhis ' another first for us ' and that was like half the worries over.
09 Oct 08 ' We were heading towards Delhi. As luck would have it the children found some friends of the same age group and for the forty two odd hours that we travelled the kids displayed no signs of any lazy bones in their body climbing and crawling and swinging from berth to berth. My younger son even composed a song during the journey 'Ooooonapamama anganganga 'Achan is a monkey on a tree'.. Ooooonapamama anganganga'..He is a baboon' and sang it loud only to be received by our co passengers with loud cheers and laughs.
After two days in the capital which the kids enjoyed going to the Malls, Teen Murthi Bhavan, Gurgaon and of course McDonalds (and McDonalds again and again), the early morning of the 13th found us chugging along to Jaipur in the Shatabdi. Having reached the army mess, we quickly had lunch and spent the rest of the day sightseeing. We managed to tuck in Hawa Mehal, Jantar Manthar, Jaipur Palace all in one afternoon. Though there was some restoration activity going on we managed to get to the top of Hawa Mehal only to be treated to a lovely view of the city and the forts that lay at a distance. Truly an architectural marvel ' the Hawa Mehal ' in the manner it manages to stay so cool inside even on a hot afternoon.
Mohammed Sayeed, our autorickshaw driver, with whom we had signed a whole day contract to take us around seemed to know the place well and if that was not enough he even took care of our belongings at each place as went sightseeing. Chokidhani is a place that came highly recommended by my friends and Mohammed Sayeed suggested we keep that for the evening. (Its open from about 1800 to midnight).
After a long day towards evening it seemed like we had enough energy still left in us to go spend another 2 to 3 hours at Chokkidaani. For my wife I guess it must be the New ring I bought her that kept her mind occupied from thinking how tired she really was and as for my children perhaps it was the thought of getting a chance to see Elephants and Camels at this 'place' we were going to.
Chokkidaani was definitely a place worth visitng. I realized that the minute we entered and amidst all the cultural things on display in various corners of the resort, it was amazing how my wife's nose picked up the smell of the Paani puri and Gol Guppas and made a bee line for the stall first. 7 minutes and 32 Paani Puri's later we decided to go in for the free dinner before looking around the place. The dinner was a sit down dinner and no sooner than we sat down I had a Pagadi (turban) on my head and I was being called the Sethji where as my wife was being referred to as Sethaniji. The food was based on an unlimited Thaali concept and the food was Vegetarion, traditional and mmmmmmmmmmm to say the least. Just as we thought we were so full and getting ready to get up did these guys come and serve us some Kichidi, Desi Ghee and powdered sugar. We thought we would burst at the seams if we had any more but at their insistence I tried one spoon of it and God ! it just melted away in my mouth. The rest of the evening was spent going around from stall to stall ' dances, puppetry, magic shows and even Mehendi on my wife's hand. It finally culminated in a Elephant ride.
The following day was spent going uphill towards the Amber Fort and once again my trusted friend and guide Mohammed Sayeed kept all the other touts and guides at bay. We had a chance to see the biggest cannon on wheels before returning to the city only to head to my favourite haunt ' Tanishq to buy my wife some traditional jewellery (More incentive to keep her tired legs going I suppose). By night we were all set to leave for Jaisalmer.
'The train usually runs late' the auto rickshaw driver had warned as we were finishing the second day of sightseeing at Jaipur. Mohammed Sayeed had become our trusted auto driver, guide and friend over the previous two days and had done his bit to showcase the best of Jaipur to us. By 2300 we had got ourselves dropped off at the railway station. Just as Mohammed had predicted the train that was scheduled to arrive at 2350 hrs pulled in one hour late by which time both kids were sleepy and tired and my wife looked drained out as well.
When I woke up the following morning it was nice and bright and the absence of vegetation was prominently noticeable. Jaisalmer was the closest I had travelled to the Indo'Pak border. A little later the train stopped at Pokhran station and it was only when I spotted a whole lot of Army Jawans detrain that I noticed the station's name. With little time to lose I got both my sons out of the train to click a photograph of theirs at this station famous for the Nuclear Blasts our nation conducted some years ago.
Finally by 1400 hrs that day the train slowly pulled into its last stop by which time my tour operator Oasis India Camps had already text messaged me the number of the Taxi that had been sent to pick us up. 45 kilometers later the air-conditioned-Indica taxi came to a halt outside the Camp. From the entrance one could see the 35 odd tents neatly pitched in nearly two acres of land. The cold bottle of Distilled water that we were given was truly a WELCOME drink in every sense of the word. We were shown to our tents and I was pleased that we got what we had been promised on the web site.
A camel-back ride into the sunset was the first thing on the agenda and the kids were excited about it. Having read up on several websites we had come prepared with face creams, cameras, boxer shorts and even a cushions each for all of us as many tourist had blogged about how painful a camel ride can get. The evening's camel ride found the kids screaming for their lives in total fear as the camels lifted themselves up on all fours. With me holding the younger one and with the passage of time the screaming slowly died down as we headed towards the nearest Sand dune. Each time the camel made its way up the slope of the dunes one could hear the reemergence of the screams and cries but only to last for a while.
The sunset was beautiful no doubt and while we were explored the dunes, we were treated to some haunting music from an Algoza. The kids (and wifey was no exception) had a rolling time on the dunes. In the evening we enjoyed the program watching the young ladies gyrate their hips to some Rajasthani music and taking an occasional swig of some fine Lagavulin from my hip flask.
The following day started early after stuffing ourselves with some scrambled eggs and Aloo sabji with Paratha. The kids looked forward to the long day on the camel back in the grueling heat. Actually none of us knew what to expect and that made it even more interesting. Both kids had opted to ride with one of the parents and the younger one stuck to me (as he normally does only when he is on unchartered territory). Sunblocks, caps, scarfs and lots of water bottles had been packed into our backpacks as we mounted the noisy beasts of burden at 0830 hrs. The walk on my camel (Rocket) to the nearest dune we had visited the previous evening was familiar turf but thereafter it was the Desert National Park territory. On the way as the sun got hotter with each passing minute we were lucky to see some bouncing deer, sheep and even a desert fox. Kids seemed to have grown a lot bolder overnight and our guide Mr Ali talked us through the entire way.
By 1100 we were at yet another big Sand dune that seemed untouched by tourists. We stopped there to let the camels rest a while. Kids just wanted to jump and roll in the sand but I forbid them. We walked some distance with the camels and on the way we saw several chameleons and smaller reptiles. I came across a good skull (with the horns intact) of a goat. I was so tempted to pick it up and take it home and my guide Mr Ali reminded me about what had happened with Salman Khan in the black buck case and so I dropped the idea.
With our lips parched and stomachs rumbling for lunch we could hardly wait for lunch to be brought on a camel cart to the designated place. The paraphernalia included tables, chairs, floor mat, a decanter for water to wash our hands, bottles of Mineral water and some really yummy food. A short rest later by 3.30 pm we were on our way back to the Sunset dune. By then the Sun was rather cruel and the breeze had died down. The guide let me have a go at controlling his camel too. Hard as I tried to break the camel into a run, the beast paid no heed and then no sooner than the guide made a clicky sound the camel would run. The day faded into the evening. I sat on the reclining chair outside my tent reflecting on the holiday and saying to myself 'I couldn't have thought of a better way to have welcomed in my 40th Birthday'.
Sep/085
Indian Space Walk
Back in school I was taught an Astronaut is one who goes to space. Years later I realized it was a specific name given to the Americans who don those fancy suits and venture out into space. Then as I grew older (and hopefully wiser) I learnt about Cosmonauts ' the Russian guys. Recently I came across yet another term Taikonauts for the Chinese guys who successfully completed their space walk and joined the elite league of extraordinary people ' and of extraordinary nations might I add.
With our own mission to the moon Chandrayaan - I slated to take off in the very near future that day can't be far when we send our own Bharatwasi's to space. Technically Rakesh Sharma was the first Indian to go into space ' but he is labeled a Cosmonaut because of the fact he went onboard the Salyut ' an
When we do send one of our compatriots into space, I wonder will we have a fancy name too to call them by or will we just tie ourselves in nauts ooops knots? May be we will end up calling them "Bharatnauts" and probably their space walk could be aptly called "Bharatnautyam"? 
Sep/080
Panchari Melam 2008
Hey Ilanders,
Last night we clebrated the annual Onam night - YES a late Onam celebration to ensure maximum participation. It began with a display of Pancharimelam - something I had never seen before. I was more than impressed with what I saw.
Unfortunately I was not carrying my camera then. I have however located a YouTube piece similar to what I saw and would like to share it with my fellow Ilanders. Hope you enjoy it. I think its simply superb to have to drum and all that and synchronise the steps as well.
Have fun.
RR
Sep/087
Does it matter baby if its Black or White?
Is it probably because there is no other choice of airlines in the Kochi-Goa sector or is it that I am really one of the Good Frequent Flyers that I found myself sitting in a Kingfisher ATR aircraft again? I really don’t know. However, when a hour long journey is stretched to a three and a half hour long air taxi service, one find himself with nothing to do very soon. The papers have been read twice over and the in-flight magazine has been flipped through too. That's when I find it a better past time to look at the Kingfisher gals onboard than to stare out into the empty blue sky.
Only this time I had a thought - perhaps a realization - that I never did in all these months. Why is it that all the Kingfisher airhostesses are the fair skinned variety? I am yet to see a dusky / brown skinned airhostess. If a WHITE woman was what was required, certainly Vijay could afford to have a few “Asli Goris” instead of the fairer Indians. “It must surely be a company policy” I thought but was there a tone of colour discrimination in there?
On deplaning at
To tell the truth there are some really dusky beauties I have come across in my life. I should know it because I come from that part of the country where people are traditionally darker (The Dravidians as the History books would describe my kind). I am brown myself and if I had any misconceptions about it, it was all cleared by what my son told me the other day as we sat watching Olympics on the TV waiting for Usain Bolt and others to line up for the 200 meter finals.
Having won the Gold in the mens 100 meter dash at the annual sports meet conducted by the apartment association where I live for the last two consecutive years, anything mentioned by me on the subject of running is taken as the last word by my sons. Knowing this only too well I took it upon myself to educate my 10-year-old just a little bit. As the camera focussed on each runner on the 200m line up I said “Look son most of the best runners in the world are black“. And just then the camera focussed on a fairer guy and my son said “Oh look there is a white man” and I corrected him “No he is not white he is just a fairer black” Ever heard of that term before - FAIRER BLACk 
And then there was Usain Bolt and few others and just before the gun was to go my son said something to me that left me speechless wondering how I should interpret it. He said “Acha, if you go for the Olympics….you too would win a medal !!“
Jul/0810
Bombs, Rumblings and Dinner time Ramblings
I have noticed that when my kids are around its more fun if I went into a LISTENING mode than a TALKING mode - especially when ones kids are aged 10 and 6. They have so much to say and so much to ask. Their curiosity knows no bounds and very often I find myself at my wits ends trying to answer them and put them at ease. I know its wrong but Kya Kare Kabhi Kabhi Yeh Dimaag Bhi na .
Any way most dinners are the only time when we get to sit as a family and manage some chat time to ourselves. The older one is just learning about plant reproduction and all that and we have thus far not heard of any questions on how human beings reproduce. Though there are a lot of books that suggests parents to come out with the correct explanation I personally don't think its going to be easy for me to explain to the little brats how they ever set foot on this planet. Then again when the time comes I may just lift a few lines off that TV show where I once saw a fireman explain the Dos and Don'ts to the son of the fire chief who was planning on his first date.
He says to him "Look its as simple as pie .when the male species and the female species get so happy" and just the the boy grins. So he slaps him on his face and continues "No not happy enough to grin .they produce this zygote which then evolves in nature's greatest miracle" and just then the boy goes "The
But just a few days back as I was putting a spoon full of food into my mouth my young one says "wow today we heard a sound of a fusion of a dog and a cow .." and I couldn't help myself saying "What the hell ?"
A few days back my father had to be rushed to the hospital to be operated upon for a twisted intesting. At his age (80) doctors had said the first 48 hours were very critical. Dinner topic that evening was kicked off with my wife explaining to my sons that their grandfather was seriously ill in the ICU and that things may take a turn for the worse. Almost immediately after he had heard everything his mother had to say my elder son asked me matter of factly "So Acha will your father die?" One question was followed by another on the same topic. Death was the TOPIC OF THE DAY for sure until their mother had to tell them not to sound so insensitive.
More recently numerous bombs were going BOOM BOOM in various parts of the country ' Banglore and now Ahmedabad too. Infact just today I had made my son read the newspaper about the toll in the recent Ahmedabad blast and it was so fresh in his memory 'which as it is, is so vivid with imagination.
Having gotten disgusted of her helpless state she stopped watching the TV warnings and we all sat down for yet another dinner session. My older one says "So acha we are safe right living in our flat? Because if a bomb were to explode we may escape unhurt right cos we are so high above?" and I told him on the contrary I felt it would have been safer on the lower levels considering the possibility of a building being razed by a huge explosion. Just then my wife butted in and said "If there is a explosion the luckiest thing to happen is for all four of us to go in one GO" to which my elder son said "No I am too young to die"
My wife was again trying to talk me out of the trip and I finally told her that if I had to go (up in a big blast) I would go. I also added that she should make sure I got driven to the crematorium in the Vehicle of my dreams 'that I had not had time to buy yet ' a Black Mercedes Benz. And to that she said "Log Kya kahenge .ki mein pagal hoon?"
Just then I notice the little guy beginning to weep and cling on to his mothers shoulders as if his life depended on it and I saw him whispering something. The next thing I knew my wife was laughing her heart out. Apparently the little guy had told her ."If Achan goes away and a bomb blasts he will escape and we will all die". Then I heard him say "Only Achan will live" sounding so disappointed at the thought of Achan cheating death.
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