Moving to a new place is often an emotional experience. There's sadness about who and what you're leaving behind. There's some apprehension as to how things will work out: will you be able to make good friends? What will your lifestyle be like? etc. And then, there's hope. Hope that you can do better this time with the clean slate you've been offered. Hope that you won't repeat your past mistakes (and not make whole new ones either!).
It was with the enthusiasm, brashness and optimism of youth that I went to the US and returned much mellowed, much more sober, much more a realist. This includes the time I moved to a single bedroom apartment there from the 3-bedroom I shared with many guys: I set up my new place so well you wouldn't believe it was I who did it. I put up photos and even art on the walls. I equipped my kitchen with everything from toaster, blender type stuff to chappathi-making equipment. I kept the place clean, tidy and orderly. I had cable tv and high speed internet. I had some decent furniture. I bought a car (a Honda Accord, at that!). I think overall I spent a small fortune, in terms of money, time and love. And then my health problems returned to plague me, and I suddenly had to leave, dropping everything, and I mean everything. I sold the car and gave away (or threw away) everything else. It was heartbreaking.
So you will understand when I tell you how apprehensive I am about moving this time. I have just joined a job in Bangalore, and am on the apartment hunt again. When I move in completely, what will happen? Will my life be as rich and enjoyable as it was at IITM? Or will it be "move in, move out" all over again, for whatever reason?
I take a deep breath. I plunge, and I hope. I pray. I dream. I dare.
Cheers,
Prashanth.
Friday, November 07, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Civilizations Varied, Wisdom Unbounded
That was the logo for the 1st World Mind Sports Games held at Beijing this month. We stayed at an apartment a kilometer away from the Bird's Nest. The accommodations arranged were awesome: we had a living room, equipped kitchen, even a washing machine. I was pleasantly surprised that the food arranged was excellent, after having heard so many warnings from people who had visited China earlier.
They know about the fork
My brother's work took him to Taiwan just a couple of weeks before I left for Beijing, and he was telling us that people ate everywhere with chopsticks. Not a spoon or fork to be found! Not even those plastic ones at corner stores! My Mom was so aghast that she packed a box of plastic spoons and forks for my trip. Needless to say, our buffets were of high quality in every sense of the word and the spoons went straight to the dust bin. My friend said it reminded him of the Seinfeld quip, "They know about the fork. But they prefer the chopsticks."
That's what I call a Bus
I was quite impressed by the infrastructure in Beijing. The roads were excellent, as were all forms of public transportation. It cost 1 RMB (about 7 rupees) for going to most places in the city, often longer than a 45 minute commute. A particularly long commute cost 1.5 RMB. The quality of the buses was very good, and they were as safe as in the US. I spied kids getting into the bus after school, and they would have their RFID bus passes inside their pencil boxes, so they simply tapped the pencil box to the reader when they got in.
Efficiency
I think German efficiency may become a phrase of the past. The Chinese are amazing at getting things done with minimum cost and maximum efficiency. Functionality without sacrificing quality seemed to be the norm everywhere. No frills except where they are expected. I could see it in the furniture. I could see it in their electronics. I could see it in their work ethic. I could see it in their culture.
You don't mess with the Chinese
Security guards were there everywhere I went. I often saw soldiers training, right in the middle of Beijing. Their TV channels showed their most recent military achievement, and displayed their military might and discipline. Every guard or policeman I saw looked well capable of defending himself. No flab on sight. Pot-bellied policeman is an oxymoron, not a norm in China. When I climbed the Great Wall, I found myself huffing and puffing at the steep junctures, but even old men and women walked past me with less effort.
Sightseeing
I enjoyed my taste of Chinese culture. The Summer Palace was really amazing. We hired a guide to show us around and explain stuff, and she entertained us with all the old myths and stories of the Chinese. Little things, like talking about the corridor of the four seasons where the ceiling and sides are covered with paintings, each painting depicting one story or a scene from a story in Chinese myth. There were in fact thousands of paintings, and history says the artist spent 15 years working on them tirelessly. Or the significance of there being 17 arches in the bridge (the royal boat passed through the central, biggest arch, which was deliberately made arch number 9 as it is an auspicious number for the chinese). The Great Wall was also awe-inspiring. A very pleasant place to spend a morning walking, except it was pretty crowded at the area we visited.
No bargain, no gain
I'm a notoriously bad bargainer in India. I was downright awful in China. Whenever I bought something, I would find out that someone else had bought the same thing for less than half the price I paid for it. It doesn't help that in China you start bargaining at 5% of the price they quote and end at about 10%. If you've studied auction theory, throw it out the window. It doesn't work in China.
Oh yes, we were there for Bridge
Almost forgot. How did the Bridge go? Well, we got our asses kicked. The European teams put us to shame. But it was a learning experience, and I know that the next time I play on the international arena I will do better. One can only hope I get another chance.
At the Great Wall. (From left: Vinoth, Myself, Guthi)
At the Summer Palace
At the Bridge Table. How serious I look!
They know about the fork
My brother's work took him to Taiwan just a couple of weeks before I left for Beijing, and he was telling us that people ate everywhere with chopsticks. Not a spoon or fork to be found! Not even those plastic ones at corner stores! My Mom was so aghast that she packed a box of plastic spoons and forks for my trip. Needless to say, our buffets were of high quality in every sense of the word and the spoons went straight to the dust bin. My friend said it reminded him of the Seinfeld quip, "They know about the fork. But they prefer the chopsticks."
That's what I call a Bus
I was quite impressed by the infrastructure in Beijing. The roads were excellent, as were all forms of public transportation. It cost 1 RMB (about 7 rupees) for going to most places in the city, often longer than a 45 minute commute. A particularly long commute cost 1.5 RMB. The quality of the buses was very good, and they were as safe as in the US. I spied kids getting into the bus after school, and they would have their RFID bus passes inside their pencil boxes, so they simply tapped the pencil box to the reader when they got in.
Efficiency
I think German efficiency may become a phrase of the past. The Chinese are amazing at getting things done with minimum cost and maximum efficiency. Functionality without sacrificing quality seemed to be the norm everywhere. No frills except where they are expected. I could see it in the furniture. I could see it in their electronics. I could see it in their work ethic. I could see it in their culture.
You don't mess with the Chinese
Security guards were there everywhere I went. I often saw soldiers training, right in the middle of Beijing. Their TV channels showed their most recent military achievement, and displayed their military might and discipline. Every guard or policeman I saw looked well capable of defending himself. No flab on sight. Pot-bellied policeman is an oxymoron, not a norm in China. When I climbed the Great Wall, I found myself huffing and puffing at the steep junctures, but even old men and women walked past me with less effort.
Sightseeing
I enjoyed my taste of Chinese culture. The Summer Palace was really amazing. We hired a guide to show us around and explain stuff, and she entertained us with all the old myths and stories of the Chinese. Little things, like talking about the corridor of the four seasons where the ceiling and sides are covered with paintings, each painting depicting one story or a scene from a story in Chinese myth. There were in fact thousands of paintings, and history says the artist spent 15 years working on them tirelessly. Or the significance of there being 17 arches in the bridge (the royal boat passed through the central, biggest arch, which was deliberately made arch number 9 as it is an auspicious number for the chinese). The Great Wall was also awe-inspiring. A very pleasant place to spend a morning walking, except it was pretty crowded at the area we visited.
No bargain, no gain
I'm a notoriously bad bargainer in India. I was downright awful in China. Whenever I bought something, I would find out that someone else had bought the same thing for less than half the price I paid for it. It doesn't help that in China you start bargaining at 5% of the price they quote and end at about 10%. If you've studied auction theory, throw it out the window. It doesn't work in China.
Oh yes, we were there for Bridge
Almost forgot. How did the Bridge go? Well, we got our asses kicked. The European teams put us to shame. But it was a learning experience, and I know that the next time I play on the international arena I will do better. One can only hope I get another chance.
At the Great Wall. (From left: Vinoth, Myself, Guthi)
At the Summer Palace
At the Bridge Table. How serious I look!Overall it was a really fun trip, and a nice change from Chennai. It definitely lifted my spirits, quality of our play notwithstanding!
Cheers,
Prashanth.
P.S. The logo is short for: "Civilizations have different origins; but Wisdom knows no boundaries."
Cheers,
Prashanth.
P.S. The logo is short for: "Civilizations have different origins; but Wisdom knows no boundaries."
Monday, September 29, 2008
It's time...
Yep, time for me to fly to Beijing. Already. And I didn't even get in one blog post in two months.
One of the reasons why there was no blog post is because nothing much is going on in life right now, nothing that makes me think. Other than bridge, that is; I've been bridge blogging regularly. It looks like life won't allow me to "turn the page" until I finish this tournament.
Been attending job interviews, a couple of cos look promising; I don't know whether I will end up in Bangalore or Chennai as of now. This job search is taking waaaaaay longer than I expected.
Wish me luck. For Beijing as well as the Job hunt. I will be back in India on the 19th.
Cheers
Prashanth.
One of the reasons why there was no blog post is because nothing much is going on in life right now, nothing that makes me think. Other than bridge, that is; I've been bridge blogging regularly. It looks like life won't allow me to "turn the page" until I finish this tournament.
Been attending job interviews, a couple of cos look promising; I don't know whether I will end up in Bangalore or Chennai as of now. This job search is taking waaaaaay longer than I expected.
Wish me luck. For Beijing as well as the Job hunt. I will be back in India on the 19th.
Cheers
Prashanth.
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Really? You weren't sarcastic?
I think I have been around the sarcastic types for too long.
I was talking to a friend about the Dashavataram movie, and I said I liked the ending (the movie dragged in the middle). The conversation was on SMS and she replied saying something like "Yeah, especially the Pearl Harbour part".
Now a little background for those who haven't seen the movie. The scene she mentioned was one where the Japanese guy is in a fist-fight with the ex-CIA mercenary. The CIA guy tries to sledge the Japanese guy by saying "Remember Hiroshima?" and the Japanese guy replies, "Remember Pearl Harbour?". A totally corny scene, I thought. I naturally concluded that she was being sarcastic. I replied saying, "Come on, the movie wasn't that bad" and she got totally confused. Apparently she actually meant that she liked the movie and the ending - including the Pearl Harbour reference.
Yet another incident: I was playing bridge and pulled off a tricky play after much thinking. My partner commented, "Why were you thinking so much? Should have been straightforward for someone at your level," and I told him to cut out the sarcasm. That's because it was a tough problem and it took me a lot of thought to get it right. But turns out he wasn't being sarcastic either, and he actually felt I was an advanced enough player that it should have been a breeze for me.
I've been around people making sarcastic comments for so long that I've started thinking everyone is like that. Have to remember what's normal in this world :)
You reading this, Sakshi?
Cheers,
Prashanth.
I was talking to a friend about the Dashavataram movie, and I said I liked the ending (the movie dragged in the middle). The conversation was on SMS and she replied saying something like "Yeah, especially the Pearl Harbour part".
Now a little background for those who haven't seen the movie. The scene she mentioned was one where the Japanese guy is in a fist-fight with the ex-CIA mercenary. The CIA guy tries to sledge the Japanese guy by saying "Remember Hiroshima?" and the Japanese guy replies, "Remember Pearl Harbour?". A totally corny scene, I thought. I naturally concluded that she was being sarcastic. I replied saying, "Come on, the movie wasn't that bad" and she got totally confused. Apparently she actually meant that she liked the movie and the ending - including the Pearl Harbour reference.
Yet another incident: I was playing bridge and pulled off a tricky play after much thinking. My partner commented, "Why were you thinking so much? Should have been straightforward for someone at your level," and I told him to cut out the sarcasm. That's because it was a tough problem and it took me a lot of thought to get it right. But turns out he wasn't being sarcastic either, and he actually felt I was an advanced enough player that it should have been a breeze for me.
I've been around people making sarcastic comments for so long that I've started thinking everyone is like that. Have to remember what's normal in this world :)
You reading this, Sakshi?
Cheers,
Prashanth.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Take a risk
At our weekly club bridge game last week, on one board, my partner was in a situation wherein there were two possible lines of play: a safe one and a slightly risky one; the risky one having the chance to gain one trick if right or lose one trick if wrong. From the play to the previous tricks, it was a good bet that the risky line would work; I knew it and he knew it, but he still chickened out at the last moment and took the safe line, ending up with an average score instead of a good score.
Funnily enough, I made the same type of mistake in an online game this week, this time there being even less chance of the so-called risky line failing.
What is it about risk that makes normally intelligent and bold people behave like nervous cowards? We all have a tendency to view choices as 50-50 propositions: safe or risky, and end up choosing the safe one most of the time. How many of us stop to think about the odds of the risky choice working out, and decide to take it if it had, say, a 75% or an 80% chance of working out?
This is what I like about bridge. It makes you think about the way you approach your own life.
You understand that life is less about making the brilliant moves and more about not making the stupid ones.
You understand that life isn't a mathematical computation. You have to take people into consideration, and a good psychologist will probably end up doing better than a good mathematician.
You understand that life is a partnership, and partnership is about trust. You can only get so far on your own; trusting your partner is vital to success.
You understand that talent is a good thing, but hard work is better.
You understand that to get ahead, you have to take calculated risks. Confidence is important. Without self-confidence, you won't back yourself to take even a slight risk, and if you don't take risks, you'll be stuck.
My self-confidence has taken a beating from recent events, and it is no wonder that I've suddenly changed from a fearless and headstrong individual into a play-it-safe kinda guy. It is good to have gotten rid of the reckless edge to my behaviour, but getting one's self-confidence back is a slow process.
All part of the learning process...
Cheers,
Prashanth.
Funnily enough, I made the same type of mistake in an online game this week, this time there being even less chance of the so-called risky line failing.
What is it about risk that makes normally intelligent and bold people behave like nervous cowards? We all have a tendency to view choices as 50-50 propositions: safe or risky, and end up choosing the safe one most of the time. How many of us stop to think about the odds of the risky choice working out, and decide to take it if it had, say, a 75% or an 80% chance of working out?
This is what I like about bridge. It makes you think about the way you approach your own life.
You understand that life is less about making the brilliant moves and more about not making the stupid ones.
You understand that life isn't a mathematical computation. You have to take people into consideration, and a good psychologist will probably end up doing better than a good mathematician.
You understand that life is a partnership, and partnership is about trust. You can only get so far on your own; trusting your partner is vital to success.
You understand that talent is a good thing, but hard work is better.
You understand that to get ahead, you have to take calculated risks. Confidence is important. Without self-confidence, you won't back yourself to take even a slight risk, and if you don't take risks, you'll be stuck.
My self-confidence has taken a beating from recent events, and it is no wonder that I've suddenly changed from a fearless and headstrong individual into a play-it-safe kinda guy. It is good to have gotten rid of the reckless edge to my behaviour, but getting one's self-confidence back is a slow process.
All part of the learning process...
Cheers,
Prashanth.
Monday, June 09, 2008
Your Favourite Traveling Companion
The trip to Goa was a lot of fun. I, Guthi, Ashok and Vinoth constituted the bridge team and we had to think of a team name. We considered "Chennai Super Jacks", but settled for "Chennai Knaves" (for the uninitiated, the Jack is also called the Knave in card games). Although we didn't do as well as we would have liked, Ashok and Vinoth in particular having some pretty forgettable sessions, our past performances pulled their weight and Guthi and I got selected for India's U-28 team to Beijing for the World Mind Games. Vinoth got into the U-26 team (think of it as an event for all the 'B' teams... but don't tell Vinoth I said that :P) and Ashok didn't make it. Six players were selected for each team, so India's junior bridge contingent alone is going to come up to twelve players.
In case that didn't sink in,
YOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
I'm going to be playing for our Nation at the biggest bridge tournament in the whole wide world!!!
Unlike the Bombay tournament in Jan when I was meeting most of the junior players for the first time, this time we were more familiar with each other, having also played with and against each other online a few times. So the conversations were more relaxed and informal, a lot of joking and leg-pulling and bridge talk. All in all it was good fun and I got to know the entire junior bridge circle in India. Because the tournament turn out was lower than what the organizers had hoped for (only about 23 people turned out but this time almost all of them were decent players, minimum), we had the final day off and the Bridge Federation of India was nice enough to rent a tourist van at their cost and we went sightseeing, a bunch of about 15 bridge geeks visiting Goa's beaches with conversations sounding for the most part like "... so I bid 6 spades and dummy turned up with king jack ten small of trumps and...". It rained a lot that day so it wasn't as fun as it could have been; it would start pouring hard just as we arrived at some really scenic beach and we would be stuck in the van. Still, it was a new experience for me, and a pleasant one.
Somethings, of course, don't change. When we went to Bombay, my team mates forgot to bring something or the other and I was the supplier, be it a pen or a laptop or a water bottle or shaving foam or shampoo. I would be the first to wake up and get ready, and occasionally had to goad a guy or two into getting ready on time for the game. My parents, of course, would never believe that I am the most responsible one of the bunch; my Mom always tells Guthi to remind me to take my tablets on time but never once did I actually need reminding. Anyway, things were no different this time. As soon as we entered the train I informed them that I'd brought breakfast and lunch packed for the journey, with my Mom's expertise ensuring that the food would keep till whatever time it was meant to be eaten (her expertise also ensuring the food was delicious, duh!). Accompanying the food was several water bottles, juices, chips and other munchies. When it turned out that two of them had come without having had dinner yet, I told them not to worry as there were a couple of extra food packets for just such a situation. Finally, after we reached the venue and slept and woke up, Guthi realized that he'd forgotten to bring his towel. When I said, "Don't worry, I brought an extra towel as well," he started laughing, "What didn't you bring!!".
The towel was a source of some more amusement as he didn't want to stuff in the dirty towel with the rest of his things in the backpack and instead put it in the very visible side pouch meant for water bottles. So you can imagine what he looked like, lugging a huge hiking-style backpack with the towel sticking out from one side and a water bottle on the other side. All he needed was a book saying "DONT PANIC" in large friendly letters and I'd be expecting him to thumb down passing UFOs.
Ready to blast the opposition? From Left: Rishabh, Vinoth, Myself, Anurag
Also snapped near the St. Francis Cathedral
Nice snap considering I shot it from inside a moving vehicle, on the way to Anjuna Beach
The teams:
U-28: Aniket, Sapan, Myself, Guthi, Sandip, Pravin. 7th man: Prasenjit.
U-26: Anurag, Ayan, Dashu, Rishabh, Vinoth, Karan.
Cheers,
Prashanth.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Locking wills with a one-year-old
My nephew is so cute, he's a regular heart-stealer. He's also a veritable ball of energy and can be quite a handful to manage.
Being still new to this uncle thing, my duties during my visit was limited to watching him for 15-30 minute patches at a time to give some respite to the people doing the real looking-after. And believe me, they needed that time to catch their breath as this little kid needs to be watched every second. I received lessons in parenting that I'd rather not have had till I'm, say, 28 years old, but hey, it was worth it.
I wonder if somebody has written a book titled "How to keep a baby amused" or something like that, because boy, I suck at it. I'm afraid my brain is too limited to think up funny noises/faces/games for a baby in sufficient variety. A typical event would be, I toss him a ball and he deftly tosses it back. Feeling hope that I might engage him for a few minutes with it, I toss it back but this time he comes to me and reaches out with the ball in his hand. But if I try to take it from him, he grips it tighter and grins. Then he jumps around a bit and throws the ball to various corners of the room and chases after it himself. Much more fun than playing with Uncle Prashanth. Hrumph.
I always wondered why parents are so stubborn. Well, now I know. See, taking care of a baby is all about out-stubborning him. Especially when it comes to eating or drinking. Oftentimes you'll have to spend half an hour just to get a few spoonfuls into his mouth. In some cases, though, no amount of stubbornness helps. If you hold the baby when he wants to be let down, he'll squirm and wriggle and twist and kick until you put him back on the floor. And babies are deceptively strong, you better watch where those little feet are kicking!!
I wonder how babies develop a sixth sense for going after the most expensive and breakable objects. I guess they're really good at reading our faces in reaction to stuff they do, and have a precise idea of what they oughtn't do, and then go ahead and do exactly that. When my nephew starts making his way toward me with that wide grin on his face and a mischievous glint in his eye, I know I have 5 seconds to figure out what he's after, and you can be sure it's not the comfort of my arms. The odds are he's after my glasses, or my cell phone, or the TV remote. In fact, if you give him a toy cell phone and a real cell phone, he'll easily choose the real one. Give him a cheaper model and a more expensive model and he'll definitely pick up (and drop :P) the costlier one.
It's nice, though, that I now feel comfortable around the baby, can carry him around, talk to him a bit, etc. as I'm notorious for being clueless around little kids. I still haven't got the hang of the tricks of the trade, though - for example, I spent three minutes unsuccessfully trying to wipe his nose. Then my s-i-l's brother came, pointed toward the ceiling and said "look at the fan!". The baby looked up, and displaying remarkable reaction time, he wiped the kids nose before he knew it. Darn it! Wish I'd thought of that!
As fun as it was, I'm happy enough to leave the parenting to the parents and get back to Chennai. Parenting is hard! Whew!
Cheers,
Prashanth.
Being still new to this uncle thing, my duties during my visit was limited to watching him for 15-30 minute patches at a time to give some respite to the people doing the real looking-after. And believe me, they needed that time to catch their breath as this little kid needs to be watched every second. I received lessons in parenting that I'd rather not have had till I'm, say, 28 years old, but hey, it was worth it.
I wonder if somebody has written a book titled "How to keep a baby amused" or something like that, because boy, I suck at it. I'm afraid my brain is too limited to think up funny noises/faces/games for a baby in sufficient variety. A typical event would be, I toss him a ball and he deftly tosses it back. Feeling hope that I might engage him for a few minutes with it, I toss it back but this time he comes to me and reaches out with the ball in his hand. But if I try to take it from him, he grips it tighter and grins. Then he jumps around a bit and throws the ball to various corners of the room and chases after it himself. Much more fun than playing with Uncle Prashanth. Hrumph.
I always wondered why parents are so stubborn. Well, now I know. See, taking care of a baby is all about out-stubborning him. Especially when it comes to eating or drinking. Oftentimes you'll have to spend half an hour just to get a few spoonfuls into his mouth. In some cases, though, no amount of stubbornness helps. If you hold the baby when he wants to be let down, he'll squirm and wriggle and twist and kick until you put him back on the floor. And babies are deceptively strong, you better watch where those little feet are kicking!!
I wonder how babies develop a sixth sense for going after the most expensive and breakable objects. I guess they're really good at reading our faces in reaction to stuff they do, and have a precise idea of what they oughtn't do, and then go ahead and do exactly that. When my nephew starts making his way toward me with that wide grin on his face and a mischievous glint in his eye, I know I have 5 seconds to figure out what he's after, and you can be sure it's not the comfort of my arms. The odds are he's after my glasses, or my cell phone, or the TV remote. In fact, if you give him a toy cell phone and a real cell phone, he'll easily choose the real one. Give him a cheaper model and a more expensive model and he'll definitely pick up (and drop :P) the costlier one.
It's nice, though, that I now feel comfortable around the baby, can carry him around, talk to him a bit, etc. as I'm notorious for being clueless around little kids. I still haven't got the hang of the tricks of the trade, though - for example, I spent three minutes unsuccessfully trying to wipe his nose. Then my s-i-l's brother came, pointed toward the ceiling and said "look at the fan!". The baby looked up, and displaying remarkable reaction time, he wiped the kids nose before he knew it. Darn it! Wish I'd thought of that!
As fun as it was, I'm happy enough to leave the parenting to the parents and get back to Chennai. Parenting is hard! Whew!
Cheers,
Prashanth.
Friday, May 02, 2008
Nice to see you again, doc
I mean "doc" in the sense of Doctor, not in the bugs buggy "What's up doc?" style...
So, seriously, have you ever said those words to your doctor? Would you ever?
Come on. However much you may like your doctor, however nice a guy he is, you wouldn't want to see him again. Not as a patient, at any rate. Bumping into him at a wedding or something like that would be alright.
I guess by now you would have figured out why I have been absent from this blog for couple of weeks. Anyway, it has become a ritual now, going to see my doctor, giving him a nice broad smile and telling him my current weight. Like updating him on a cricket score. Don't be surprised if the next time you ask me for the cricket score, I tell you my weight instead.
Regular blogging will commence shortly. And, it looks like regular life will also commence shortly. I expect to get a clean bill of health within a month, and then I can do the whole get-a-job-get-a-life-etc thing.
On other matters, our good friends Vc and Myths are getting married. I will be traveling all the way to bangalore and attending, but it is going to be extremely weird as I've never met either of them before, even though I know them quite well in the virtual world. Just think, I would not know nobody at the wedding except for these two, and I haven't actually met the two of them before, and they would be too busy to talk to me anyway. Jeez. Why am I going? What to do. I promised I would attend. For fraandship's sake.
Congrats, Vee and Myths. May you live happily ever after. Vee, don't worry about Myths' cooking, I will give you some of my Mom's cookbooks. Pssst Myths do the feminist thing, give Vee the books and tell him to start reading.
Cheerio
Prashanth.
So, seriously, have you ever said those words to your doctor? Would you ever?
Come on. However much you may like your doctor, however nice a guy he is, you wouldn't want to see him again. Not as a patient, at any rate. Bumping into him at a wedding or something like that would be alright.
I guess by now you would have figured out why I have been absent from this blog for couple of weeks. Anyway, it has become a ritual now, going to see my doctor, giving him a nice broad smile and telling him my current weight. Like updating him on a cricket score. Don't be surprised if the next time you ask me for the cricket score, I tell you my weight instead.
Regular blogging will commence shortly. And, it looks like regular life will also commence shortly. I expect to get a clean bill of health within a month, and then I can do the whole get-a-job-get-a-life-etc thing.
On other matters, our good friends Vc and Myths are getting married. I will be traveling all the way to bangalore and attending, but it is going to be extremely weird as I've never met either of them before, even though I know them quite well in the virtual world. Just think, I would not know nobody at the wedding except for these two, and I haven't actually met the two of them before, and they would be too busy to talk to me anyway. Jeez. Why am I going? What to do. I promised I would attend. For fraandship's sake.
Congrats, Vee and Myths. May you live happily ever after. Vee, don't worry about Myths' cooking, I will give you some of my Mom's cookbooks. Pssst Myths do the feminist thing, give Vee the books and tell him to start reading.
Cheerio
Prashanth.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
The Golden Temple at Sripuram
Lush gardens, fountains, sculptures, words-of-wisdom-signboards, nice lighting, and, of course, the stunning inner sanctum island of gold, shining bright from top to bottom.
Too bad we went there in the daytime, my Mom told me it was an amazing spectacle at night. In any case, a place worth visiting even if you are not religious. Chalk it up on your calendar if you are ever near Vellore.
Cheers
Prashanth.
Too bad we went there in the daytime, my Mom told me it was an amazing spectacle at night. In any case, a place worth visiting even if you are not religious. Chalk it up on your calendar if you are ever near Vellore.
Cheers
Prashanth.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Short Story: No Inconsistencies
I wrote one romantic short story earlier: Whisper on a Zephyr. This is my second attempt at this genre. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Spotting the gang drinking cocktails and laughing a little too loudly at some joke, I rushed to the bar to get a glass for myself and join them. It wouldn't do for me to be the only guy standing there without a glass in his hand, would it?
My boss was there. He's a really friendly guy at these social occasions, even if he can be quite a dinosaur at work.
"Hey Sid, meet your new co-worker. This is Ananya, you've already spoken with her on the phone right? We need the two of you to save us on the Warren project."
I shook hands with the woman whose voice I'd been hearing a little too often the past two days. It was a nice voice, mind you, but she was even more demanding when it came to work than I was. I liked her body language. She was relaxed and friendly without losing an inch of the confident air I'd come to recognize in her voice.
Her eyes twinkled with mischief when she pointed to her handbag.
"You know what I have in here?"
Sigh.
"The file. You want me to be well prepped for tomorrow's meeting. Even if the only people meeting are the two of us. Very altruistic of you!"
I was trying to be funny, not sarcastic. I hoped my smile indicated the former. She laughed, so I relaxed. I hate getting off on the wrong foot with co-workers.
Since she was laughing, I thought I'd push my luck.
"Your glass is almost empty. You should try this, it's really good. Here, try a sip."
She didn't hesitate. She took the glass and sipped.
I waited for the reaction. See, I'm a teetotaller. The glass contained water.
She said nothing. She folded her hands and rocked back on one leg and gave me a not-quite-serious angry schoolteacher look.
"Wait, wait..."
I took both the glasses off her hands to let her fold her hands more easily. I pretended to look over her critically and pronounced, "Better."
She laughed again and I beckoned her towards the bar.
"Let me order for you," I said and gave rapid instructions to the bartender. It included mint, lemon, vodka, ginger and a couple of other things. I prayed it tasted as good as it sounded because I certainly had no idea how it would taste. I was ordering based on third-hand knowledge.
"And let me, for you..."
I grabbed her hand as she started to call the bartender over and pulled it down.
"I don't drink alcohol." I pointed at the glass in my hand. "I have my water."
She raised an eyebrow. "And yet you ordered... ooookaaay lets try this."
And so she tried it. And smiled.
I heaved an internal sigh of relief as she pronounced it as tasting wonderful. Then her eyes narrowed on the person on stage.
"That's funny. I thought I saw her getting that award last year."
"Yeah, she wins it every year. She's one of our top employees. We call her Miss Felicity."
She looked puzzled. "Why, is she that good at spreading cheer?"
"Well, yes, she makes everyone in our department happy simply by virtue of being there and being good looking. But it's supposed to be a joke. She gets felicitated every year, you see. Inevitably."
Then I leaned over conspiratively.
"I heard she went through a break up recently, which means she's single and available."
I leaned back.
"I've got that from every single guy at work over the past week or two. Unbelievable."
"Well, considering how pretty she is, it's pretty believable I would say. Have you asked her out yet?"
I'm not easily surprised, but that one took me by surprise. Espying the mischievous look on her face again, I thought I'd surprise her back. With the truth.
"Nope. I'm quite a coward when it comes to asking women out. Tongue gets mysteriously tied up. Weird considering I have absolutely no difficulty talking in any other situation."
She laughed mellifluously again. "That I can believe. Especially since I am much the same myself."
"You get tongue-tied everytime you want to ask a woman out?"
She punched me on the shoulder. Ow. She's a strong one.
The speech finished and there was a big round of applause. Someone then raised a cheer for the company and there was an even bigger round of applause, including some whistling. Ananya once again surprised me by whistling with the others. She didn't strike me as the rowdy type. Guess I must be bringing out the best in her. Catching me glaring at her, she said "What?"
"Unfair. I can't whistle."
"Well, it's simple, really, you just..."
I held my hand up. "Please, I've had lessons from everyone on Earth possible. I just can't do it. I wasn't blessed with the ability."
I pointed. "See that guy over there? He's too nice to ever whistle at a girl, even too nice to whistle in applause like just now. And yet he's brilliant at whistling. What do you infer from that?"
"Nothing. You can't expect everything in life to be logical and consistent."
"Ah, but I hate inconsistencies. I've always believed that if you see something inconsistent, then you're missing a fact that resolves the inconsistency, and often you can deduce that missing fact directly."
"Okay Einstein, so what are we missing here?"
"He's a genius at music. He plays the flute, and he can whistle the most complicated flute tune."
"How can you hate inconsistencies when you're saying there is no such thing as an inconsistency?"
"Are you expecting an answer for that?"
"Nope. Totally rhetorical. I just need to have the last word, you see."
"I have that need too. Generally I do end up having the last word but I can see I'm going to have a hard time doing that while working with you."
She smiled and clinked our glasses together.
The room was getting really loud, so I suggested we walk to the balcony and get some fresh air. She agreed. We walked up to the door side by side, where she paused. I looked at her and asked, "What?"
"You're supposed to open the door for me."
"Oh, please. You can't have both equality of the sexes and chivalry at the same time. Pick one."
"How rude." She made a very loud and very fake sniff and opened the door. And pointedly held it open for me to walk through. I grinned. Touche. Point taken.
"But seriously, do you really expect men to open car doors and pay for your restaurant bills and etcetera etcetera?"
"No, but opening a door, or holding it open is common courtesy. You would do it for anyone."
"Come on. If I'd reached the door ahead of you, perhaps. But you were closer to the door than I was. Naturally I expect you to open the door."
She waved her hand. "Don't worry, I just did that to see how you'd react. We're going to be working together, I don't want you to agree with me on things just because I'm a woman. A lot of people do that and place blame on me later. I hate that. If they agree with me, no matter how half-heartedly, they should take the responsibility for that."
"So I pass?"
I'm beginning to love that smile of hers.
The evening wound down and we found ourselves at the door saying our goodbyes. "Here, let me help you with that," I said as I helped her put on her jacket. She pulled the file out of her handbag.
"Wait, let me check it once," she said and went to a table to flip through the file once. Then she handed it to me and we left.
I wondered how long it would take her to discover the note I'd left in her jacket pocket. Knowing how smart she was, not long. For, having already established that I'm not chivalrous, why did I help her on with the jacket when she didn't look like she needed any help? There are no inconsistencies, she'd said. Oh, she'll spot it, in less than a day I bet. The note said "Friday night?". That gave her three days. Enough of a buffer. At times like these, I really wished I knew how to whistle as I walked down the street.
I stopped in my tracks. That woman was way too systematic in her work to need to check anything in the file at the last minute. No inconsistencies?
I opened the file. A note slipped on top said, "Friday night is good."
Darn it. She had the last word again.
X-------X--------X
Spotting the gang drinking cocktails and laughing a little too loudly at some joke, I rushed to the bar to get a glass for myself and join them. It wouldn't do for me to be the only guy standing there without a glass in his hand, would it?
My boss was there. He's a really friendly guy at these social occasions, even if he can be quite a dinosaur at work.
"Hey Sid, meet your new co-worker. This is Ananya, you've already spoken with her on the phone right? We need the two of you to save us on the Warren project."
I shook hands with the woman whose voice I'd been hearing a little too often the past two days. It was a nice voice, mind you, but she was even more demanding when it came to work than I was. I liked her body language. She was relaxed and friendly without losing an inch of the confident air I'd come to recognize in her voice.
Her eyes twinkled with mischief when she pointed to her handbag.
"You know what I have in here?"
Sigh.
"The file. You want me to be well prepped for tomorrow's meeting. Even if the only people meeting are the two of us. Very altruistic of you!"
I was trying to be funny, not sarcastic. I hoped my smile indicated the former. She laughed, so I relaxed. I hate getting off on the wrong foot with co-workers.
Since she was laughing, I thought I'd push my luck.
"Your glass is almost empty. You should try this, it's really good. Here, try a sip."
She didn't hesitate. She took the glass and sipped.
I waited for the reaction. See, I'm a teetotaller. The glass contained water.
She said nothing. She folded her hands and rocked back on one leg and gave me a not-quite-serious angry schoolteacher look.
"Wait, wait..."
I took both the glasses off her hands to let her fold her hands more easily. I pretended to look over her critically and pronounced, "Better."
She laughed again and I beckoned her towards the bar.
"Let me order for you," I said and gave rapid instructions to the bartender. It included mint, lemon, vodka, ginger and a couple of other things. I prayed it tasted as good as it sounded because I certainly had no idea how it would taste. I was ordering based on third-hand knowledge.
"And let me, for you..."
I grabbed her hand as she started to call the bartender over and pulled it down.
"I don't drink alcohol." I pointed at the glass in my hand. "I have my water."
She raised an eyebrow. "And yet you ordered... ooookaaay lets try this."
And so she tried it. And smiled.
I heaved an internal sigh of relief as she pronounced it as tasting wonderful. Then her eyes narrowed on the person on stage.
"That's funny. I thought I saw her getting that award last year."
"Yeah, she wins it every year. She's one of our top employees. We call her Miss Felicity."
She looked puzzled. "Why, is she that good at spreading cheer?"
"Well, yes, she makes everyone in our department happy simply by virtue of being there and being good looking. But it's supposed to be a joke. She gets felicitated every year, you see. Inevitably."
Then I leaned over conspiratively.
"I heard she went through a break up recently, which means she's single and available."
I leaned back.
"I've got that from every single guy at work over the past week or two. Unbelievable."
"Well, considering how pretty she is, it's pretty believable I would say. Have you asked her out yet?"
I'm not easily surprised, but that one took me by surprise. Espying the mischievous look on her face again, I thought I'd surprise her back. With the truth.
"Nope. I'm quite a coward when it comes to asking women out. Tongue gets mysteriously tied up. Weird considering I have absolutely no difficulty talking in any other situation."
She laughed mellifluously again. "That I can believe. Especially since I am much the same myself."
"You get tongue-tied everytime you want to ask a woman out?"
She punched me on the shoulder. Ow. She's a strong one.
The speech finished and there was a big round of applause. Someone then raised a cheer for the company and there was an even bigger round of applause, including some whistling. Ananya once again surprised me by whistling with the others. She didn't strike me as the rowdy type. Guess I must be bringing out the best in her. Catching me glaring at her, she said "What?"
"Unfair. I can't whistle."
"Well, it's simple, really, you just..."
I held my hand up. "Please, I've had lessons from everyone on Earth possible. I just can't do it. I wasn't blessed with the ability."
I pointed. "See that guy over there? He's too nice to ever whistle at a girl, even too nice to whistle in applause like just now. And yet he's brilliant at whistling. What do you infer from that?"
"Nothing. You can't expect everything in life to be logical and consistent."
"Ah, but I hate inconsistencies. I've always believed that if you see something inconsistent, then you're missing a fact that resolves the inconsistency, and often you can deduce that missing fact directly."
"Okay Einstein, so what are we missing here?"
"He's a genius at music. He plays the flute, and he can whistle the most complicated flute tune."
"How can you hate inconsistencies when you're saying there is no such thing as an inconsistency?"
"Are you expecting an answer for that?"
"Nope. Totally rhetorical. I just need to have the last word, you see."
"I have that need too. Generally I do end up having the last word but I can see I'm going to have a hard time doing that while working with you."
She smiled and clinked our glasses together.
The room was getting really loud, so I suggested we walk to the balcony and get some fresh air. She agreed. We walked up to the door side by side, where she paused. I looked at her and asked, "What?"
"You're supposed to open the door for me."
"Oh, please. You can't have both equality of the sexes and chivalry at the same time. Pick one."
"How rude." She made a very loud and very fake sniff and opened the door. And pointedly held it open for me to walk through. I grinned. Touche. Point taken.
"But seriously, do you really expect men to open car doors and pay for your restaurant bills and etcetera etcetera?"
"No, but opening a door, or holding it open is common courtesy. You would do it for anyone."
"Come on. If I'd reached the door ahead of you, perhaps. But you were closer to the door than I was. Naturally I expect you to open the door."
She waved her hand. "Don't worry, I just did that to see how you'd react. We're going to be working together, I don't want you to agree with me on things just because I'm a woman. A lot of people do that and place blame on me later. I hate that. If they agree with me, no matter how half-heartedly, they should take the responsibility for that."
"So I pass?"
I'm beginning to love that smile of hers.
The evening wound down and we found ourselves at the door saying our goodbyes. "Here, let me help you with that," I said as I helped her put on her jacket. She pulled the file out of her handbag.
"Wait, let me check it once," she said and went to a table to flip through the file once. Then she handed it to me and we left.
I wondered how long it would take her to discover the note I'd left in her jacket pocket. Knowing how smart she was, not long. For, having already established that I'm not chivalrous, why did I help her on with the jacket when she didn't look like she needed any help? There are no inconsistencies, she'd said. Oh, she'll spot it, in less than a day I bet. The note said "Friday night?". That gave her three days. Enough of a buffer. At times like these, I really wished I knew how to whistle as I walked down the street.
I stopped in my tracks. That woman was way too systematic in her work to need to check anything in the file at the last minute. No inconsistencies?
I opened the file. A note slipped on top said, "Friday night is good."
Darn it. She had the last word again.
X-------X--------X
Mallika Badrinath's Website Launched
I assured my Dad that I have neither the interest nor the ability in creating a website, but he insisted that I do it anyway. So, well, a very simple website is now up: www.mallikahomeproducts.com
The site is still under construction, even functionality wise (forget about aesthetics), but at least it's up. I have some work to do this month, so I will try to improve the site next month.
Cheers,
Prashanth.
The site is still under construction, even functionality wise (forget about aesthetics), but at least it's up. I have some work to do this month, so I will try to improve the site next month.
Cheers,
Prashanth.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Speechless
My Grandmother startled me the other day with an announcement.
Grandma: I've found the perfect girl to be your wife. She's slim, fair and pretty, lives in Chennai, and her family has crores and crores of money.
Knowing my Grandmother, if the family is as rich as she claims, the meanings of the words "slim" "fair" and "pretty" are quite flexible. But I digress.
Me: Grandma! I told you already, I'm just 24 years old, I don't want to get married for another year, minimum!
Grandma: So marry her after a year.
Now, if my Grandmother gets fixated on a topic, the only way to shut her up is to let her talk and pretend to listen.
Me: (sigh) What does she do?
Grandma: She is studying B.Com.
Me: Oh, so she is finishing her studies only this May?
Grandma: Er... not quite.
Me: Grandma! How old is she?
Grandma: Seventeen.
Leaving me speechless and my Mom struggling to control her laughter.
Welcome to my life.
(This is apparently my 200th post. I feel old.)
Cheers
Prashanth.
Grandma: I've found the perfect girl to be your wife. She's slim, fair and pretty, lives in Chennai, and her family has crores and crores of money.
Knowing my Grandmother, if the family is as rich as she claims, the meanings of the words "slim" "fair" and "pretty" are quite flexible. But I digress.
Me: Grandma! I told you already, I'm just 24 years old, I don't want to get married for another year, minimum!
Grandma: So marry her after a year.
Now, if my Grandmother gets fixated on a topic, the only way to shut her up is to let her talk and pretend to listen.
Me: (sigh) What does she do?
Grandma: She is studying B.Com.
Me: Oh, so she is finishing her studies only this May?
Grandma: Er... not quite.
Me: Grandma! How old is she?
Grandma: Seventeen.
Leaving me speechless and my Mom struggling to control her laughter.
Welcome to my life.
(This is apparently my 200th post. I feel old.)
Cheers
Prashanth.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
42
(If you haven't read Douglas Adams, you may not understand this post)
Recently, my Dad shifted our cell phones to one of those "family" schemes with four lines. That is, we were all getting new phone numbers, and we could talk to each other on those lines for an unlimited amount of time. Great, nah? Now, even when I am not at home, my parents can call me at any time and talk to me for however long they want. Sigh.
So, my Dad told me what my Mom's new phone number would be, adding, "You can see, her number ends with 44..."
At this point I got a deep sense of foreboding.
"... mine is the same, except it ends with 43..."
And I knew what was coming next.
"...and yours is 42."
42. The answer to life, the universe and everything. This has got to be some kind of a sign, a message, from God. I wonder what the message is.
Probably, "SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE."
Cheers
Prashanth.
Recently, my Dad shifted our cell phones to one of those "family" schemes with four lines. That is, we were all getting new phone numbers, and we could talk to each other on those lines for an unlimited amount of time. Great, nah? Now, even when I am not at home, my parents can call me at any time and talk to me for however long they want. Sigh.
So, my Dad told me what my Mom's new phone number would be, adding, "You can see, her number ends with 44..."
At this point I got a deep sense of foreboding.
"... mine is the same, except it ends with 43..."
And I knew what was coming next.
"...and yours is 42."
42. The answer to life, the universe and everything. This has got to be some kind of a sign, a message, from God. I wonder what the message is.
Probably, "SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE."
Cheers
Prashanth.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
The Sweet and the Bitter
I just realized that I've lost some of my taste for sweets and I've come to like eating things like bittergourd (really! imagine!).
For some reason, that scares the hell out of me.
I guess I have a tendency to over-psycho-analyze. Sigh.
For some reason, that scares the hell out of me.
I guess I have a tendency to over-psycho-analyze. Sigh.
Saturday, March 01, 2008
An Inconvenient Truth
I've been meaning to watch the documentary for nearly a year now but I misplaced the DVD and then my health troubles made me forget all about it. But I found it today when cleaning my room and finally watched it, and it is brilliant, it is hard-hitting, and it is all truth. I was particularly pleased by the wonderful combination of science, data, common sense and sentiment he uses so as to touch every type of audience. Not for one minute did I find it boring, and Al Gore touched all the proper nerves.
The message of the documentary is crystal clear. The world is in denial about global warming, and if we don't do something soon, there won't be much of a world to save. I was particularly impressed by the way he countered the major arguments against taking drastic measures against global warming.
Myth. You have to choose between the economy and the environment.
Truth. How good was Hurricane Katrina for the economy?
Myth. Money spent in combating global warming would better serve us in things like fighting terrorism.
Truth. The World Trade Center Memorial site will be underwater in another 50-60 years or so due to rising ocean levels at the current rate of global warming.
Some quotable quotes:
"That is what is at stake. Our ability to live on planet earth. To have a future as a civilization."
"We have everything we need to solve the global warming problem, save, perhaps, the political will."
And a couple of screenshots:
(A graph of atmospheric CO2 levels alongside Temperature in Antarctica over the past 650,000 years. The way scientists built up this data is brilliant. They drilled into the snow and measured the dissolved concentrations of two different isotopes of oxygen. The atmospheric temperature could be calculated accurately from that ration. And, of course, they measured the dissolved CO2 concentration. Note the close correlation. Also note the current CO2 level and take a guess as to where the temperature curve is going to go.)
(A rough illustration of the major ocean current "loop" in the world. Gore gives a chilling example of how the last ice age was triggered by fresh water getting dumped into the North Atlantic, thus upsetting the salinity levels and consequently the global ocean current pattern. Demonstrates how delicate the global climate balance is.)
PLEASE DO WATCH THE DOCUMENTARY IF YOU CAN GET HOLD OF IT. I was greatly impressed by it, not that I need any more convincing regarding the gravity of the global warming situation.
Cheers,
Prashanth.
The message of the documentary is crystal clear. The world is in denial about global warming, and if we don't do something soon, there won't be much of a world to save. I was particularly impressed by the way he countered the major arguments against taking drastic measures against global warming.
Myth. You have to choose between the economy and the environment.
Truth. How good was Hurricane Katrina for the economy?
Myth. Money spent in combating global warming would better serve us in things like fighting terrorism.
Truth. The World Trade Center Memorial site will be underwater in another 50-60 years or so due to rising ocean levels at the current rate of global warming.
Some quotable quotes:
"That is what is at stake. Our ability to live on planet earth. To have a future as a civilization."
"We have everything we need to solve the global warming problem, save, perhaps, the political will."
And a couple of screenshots:
(A graph of atmospheric CO2 levels alongside Temperature in Antarctica over the past 650,000 years. The way scientists built up this data is brilliant. They drilled into the snow and measured the dissolved concentrations of two different isotopes of oxygen. The atmospheric temperature could be calculated accurately from that ration. And, of course, they measured the dissolved CO2 concentration. Note the close correlation. Also note the current CO2 level and take a guess as to where the temperature curve is going to go.)
(A rough illustration of the major ocean current "loop" in the world. Gore gives a chilling example of how the last ice age was triggered by fresh water getting dumped into the North Atlantic, thus upsetting the salinity levels and consequently the global ocean current pattern. Demonstrates how delicate the global climate balance is.)
PLEASE DO WATCH THE DOCUMENTARY IF YOU CAN GET HOLD OF IT. I was greatly impressed by it, not that I need any more convincing regarding the gravity of the global warming situation.
Cheers,
Prashanth.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
I've been tagged by Lady Galadriel. I read the sentence where she says she is tagging only two people and that I am one of them... but before I could feel flattered, she said thats only because all her other friends have already done the tag. Women!
1. Name Three Most Valuable Assets?
- Fearlessness, Quick learning, Frankness
2. If you have the chance, what would you probably say to your beloved one?
- Nothing. I would just hold her hand.
3. If you were to be stranded on a deserted island, who are the 3 blog buddies you would take with you?
- Vc: Never a dull moment when he's around!
Sakshi: Objectivity is such a rare thing.
Myths: Somebody has to look good on that island!!
4. Where is the place that you want to go the most?
- Tough call between Lothlorien and Elvandar (all the places in the real world are so boring!)
5. If you can have 1 dream to come true, what would it be?
- I want to play Bridge for India at the Bermuda Bowl someday (and play well of course!). That way I help promote bridge, help people by promoting bridge (which is an intellectual game), help our country make a global statement, and feel happy in the process!
6. Till now, what is the moment that you regret the most?
- The moment I decided I didn't want to go alone to the ice rink. I am used to roller blading alone, but something about the US made me feel immensely lonely heading out to the rink by myself. Too bad. I really enjoy ice skating.
7. What are you afraid to lose the most?
- My health. Having fallen seriously ill last year (and more than once at that), I know how it feels to be in pain, in bed, totally helpless to do all the things you wanted to do with your life.
8. What would you do if you found a briefcase full of money?
- Turn it in if I thought it stood a chance of being returned to its rightful owner. Else, donate it to an education charity.
9. If you meet someone that you love, would you confess to him/her?
- No.
10. List out 3 good points of the person who tagged you…
- Galadriel. Don't know her too well yet, but I like that she's sensitive, compassionate and honest.
11. What are the requirements that you wish from your other half?
- No major expectations. A good level of education, awareness and ability to express oneself are enough.
12. Which type of person do you hate the most?
- OHHH those irritating movie / small screen directors who can't tell the actors how to pretend to play the guitar / violin when any idiot can see that the music doesn't match what they are doing with the darned instrument. For heaven's sake, can you at least not play on the bass string when the music is clearly in the higher octave? Huh? Huh? (I've been watching too many telugu movies)
- Many things. To write a book. To bring free, quality education to the masses. To help my Dad realize his dream of making our brand a big success. To play bridge at the international level. Many, many things.
14. What is the thing that will make you think someone is a bad person?
- Lewd behavior from men, for sure. Such people give all men a bad name.
15. What is the one thing you would change about yourself?
- I wish I could pick myself up from the downs in life quickly. I have a tendency to get bogged down when the fates are not on my side.
16. Are you a shopaholic or no?
- Hell, no. I am seriously shopaphobic.
17. What is your stress buster?
- Bridge, always. Writing poetry, if I can get into the mood.
18. Do you think God actually exists?
- I can't commit to either side, mostly because I seriously think it doesn't matter. You're not going to plan any aspect of your life around whether God exists or not. I like going to temples even if I don't believe in God. I like to pray for others and myself even if I don't quite believe they will be answered. Belief in God, one way or the other, probably won't change my life one bit.
19. If you could change one thing about this world what would it be?
- Make good quality education at all levels accessible to the common man at little or no cost. It will heal the world.
20. If you can have either the ability to forgive all, or the gift of being forgiven by all, but not both, which would you choose?
- The former. I wish to feel accountable for my actions, and I want to be able to completely let go of some things about people I like or love that bother me. I'm getting there :). Slowly.
Rules: Remove 1 question from the tag and add your personal question. Make it a total of 20 questions, then tag people in your list, list them out at the end of this post. Notify them that he/she has been tagged.
In keeping with my blog tradition, I'm not tagging anyone. Cheers!
Prashanth.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Lucky numbers and Horrorscopes
Yesterday I overheard a rather strange conversation between my Mom and the cook. It went something like:
Mom: The registration number for the new car is a nine, I am so happy.
Cook: That's great! Nine is a wonderful number! I was lucky enough to get a bank account number that was a nine!
Now, I knew that the license plate for the new car read "7434" so I was wondering where the nine came from. And how a bank account number could be a single digit number for that matter. It took me a moment to figure out that they were talking numerology. Here's how it works:
7+4+3+4 = 18
1+8 = 9
Thus, our car is a "nine", which apparently is a good thing. Don't ask me why.
Most of time, my brother and I manage to steer clear of any conversations that have anything to do with such superstition. But my brother found himself outmaneuvered at the time of naming his son. Numerology applies to names as well... I wonder, do they count 'A' as '1' and 'Z' as '26' and add them up? Never mind. Essentially my brother was told to add an extra 'A' and an 'H' to his son's name. Fortunately, "Thaarak" is phonetically more or less correct so it won't look too ridiculous on his notebooks. That, of course, didn't prevent the rejoinder from my brother, "You didn't check the numerology when naming me or Prashanth, and see, we turned out alright!" Did I hear a "Not really" from my Dad under his breath? Must have imagined it ;)
The most important issue where such beliefs ought to to loggerheads of course is that of marriage. But most wisely, my brother and I know to keep our mouths shut on that. The word "Horoscope" normally makes you think of your daily zodiac horoscope, but for people of marriageable age it can only refer to what I've come to think of as the "Horrorscope", that one they match for the bride and the groom to check if they are "compatible". Never mind that I think it is ridiculous to believe that a guy with a particular "dosha" has very particular requirements of the bride's horrorscope else the girl's new mother-in-law will die (my cousin was unfortunate enough to have that dosha). And similar stuff. See, I have been assured that my horrorscope won't be pulled out for another year (due to astrological reasons) so why should I complain!
Cheers
Prashanth.
Mom: The registration number for the new car is a nine, I am so happy.
Cook: That's great! Nine is a wonderful number! I was lucky enough to get a bank account number that was a nine!
Now, I knew that the license plate for the new car read "7434" so I was wondering where the nine came from. And how a bank account number could be a single digit number for that matter. It took me a moment to figure out that they were talking numerology. Here's how it works:
7+4+3+4 = 18
1+8 = 9
Thus, our car is a "nine", which apparently is a good thing. Don't ask me why.
Most of time, my brother and I manage to steer clear of any conversations that have anything to do with such superstition. But my brother found himself outmaneuvered at the time of naming his son. Numerology applies to names as well... I wonder, do they count 'A' as '1' and 'Z' as '26' and add them up? Never mind. Essentially my brother was told to add an extra 'A' and an 'H' to his son's name. Fortunately, "Thaarak" is phonetically more or less correct so it won't look too ridiculous on his notebooks. That, of course, didn't prevent the rejoinder from my brother, "You didn't check the numerology when naming me or Prashanth, and see, we turned out alright!" Did I hear a "Not really" from my Dad under his breath? Must have imagined it ;)
The most important issue where such beliefs ought to to loggerheads of course is that of marriage. But most wisely, my brother and I know to keep our mouths shut on that. The word "Horoscope" normally makes you think of your daily zodiac horoscope, but for people of marriageable age it can only refer to what I've come to think of as the "Horrorscope", that one they match for the bride and the groom to check if they are "compatible". Never mind that I think it is ridiculous to believe that a guy with a particular "dosha" has very particular requirements of the bride's horrorscope else the girl's new mother-in-law will die (my cousin was unfortunate enough to have that dosha). And similar stuff. See, I have been assured that my horrorscope won't be pulled out for another year (due to astrological reasons) so why should I complain!
Cheers
Prashanth.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Of future neighbours
I'm told it started some months ago, when I was in the US. Workers swing sledgehammers, breaking down the house next door that's been there forever, the house into which I've hit the cricket ball a zillion times and got scolded for it, and had to negotiate the hay and the cows (don't ask me why they kept cows in their backyard) to find the ball. My parents had been living in months of dust and noise when I landed. After living in the relatively rustic and peaceful environs of a small university town, it was hard enough to not wince whenever someone nearby on the road honked the horn, or to avoid the feeling of disorientation with all the bright city lights.
So, I had to endure a few weeks of sledge-hammering in the daytime. This was followed by a particularly irritating phase when they used jackhammers, starting at dawn and going on virtually all day. It felt like somebody was inside our heads knocking holes in our skulls... then finally they relinquished. But oh no, we weren't getting off that easy. They needed to get some heavy trucks in to move all the rubble... and they were only allowed to do it at night. And after a few nights of THAT, they brought in the machinery to dig up the foundation.
If you walk into my house and find we are all tired, sleepy and irate, you know where to place the blame. The funny part about all this is that they are constructing luxury apartments, and a future tenant has already reserved one: Indra Nooyi, Pepsico India. Apparently she is shelling out cash to the tune of 6.5 crores. I know, this is all rumour, but it is fairly reliable. Anyway, it was my cousin who ended up having the last word: "I heard she has two daughters, and they are quite pretty... maybe I should start visiting you more often?"
Is he planning to hit the cricket ball though one of their bedroom windows? Naaaah. He's not that good a batsman :)
Cheers
Prashanth.
So, I had to endure a few weeks of sledge-hammering in the daytime. This was followed by a particularly irritating phase when they used jackhammers, starting at dawn and going on virtually all day. It felt like somebody was inside our heads knocking holes in our skulls... then finally they relinquished. But oh no, we weren't getting off that easy. They needed to get some heavy trucks in to move all the rubble... and they were only allowed to do it at night. And after a few nights of THAT, they brought in the machinery to dig up the foundation.
If you walk into my house and find we are all tired, sleepy and irate, you know where to place the blame. The funny part about all this is that they are constructing luxury apartments, and a future tenant has already reserved one: Indra Nooyi, Pepsico India. Apparently she is shelling out cash to the tune of 6.5 crores. I know, this is all rumour, but it is fairly reliable. Anyway, it was my cousin who ended up having the last word: "I heard she has two daughters, and they are quite pretty... maybe I should start visiting you more often?"
Is he planning to hit the cricket ball though one of their bedroom windows? Naaaah. He's not that good a batsman :)
Cheers
Prashanth.
Monday, January 28, 2008
It's all in the mind
I'm not an outdoors guy. I don't play a lot of sports; mostly its the indoors kind of games I enjoy. My experience in competitive sports is limited to indoor games at the school or college level. Thus, I was totally unprepared for the experiences of high-level sporting competition when I headed to Bombay for the Junior Open Bridge Nationals this week. I mean, although as spectators and fans of various sports like cricket and tennis, we are familiar with the adrenaline level associated with high stakes sports, it is a totally different matter to be a participant.
The tournament turnout was disappointingly low; there were only 36 players from around the country. What a pity it is, for a national bridge tournament normally attracts several hundred (perhaps even a thousand) players, but for a junior tournament the participation is pathetic. Have the youth of today no interest in intellectual games? Well, chess is popular in our country. So there is something else wrong. One day I will do my part to fix this.
The first two events of play, the individual event and the pairs event, turned into a joke when it was realized that only half the field were decent players and the rest were novices, especially a contingent of six 10-12 year old kids from Salem who performed quite well considering their age and experience but did not belong in a national level tournament. It is not fun playing with or against such amateurs, and the scores were all over the place, screwing up the results as well. We thanked God when those events got over and it was time to start the main head-to-head Team of Four event.
The number of 36 players came down to just seven teams of 4-6 members. Of these, it was clear to all that the level of the top three teams was way ahead of the rest. My team consisted of five of my good friends, current and past students of IIT Madras. We lost by small margins to the top two teams (lets call them Aniket's team and the West Bengal team) in the leagues, but thrashed all other teams comfortably to reach the super leagues.
At this point we faced a moment of self-doubt. Are these two teams really more skilled than us? We've worked so hard, and still we are not good enough? But it was just for a moment. With admirable spirit my team (yes, my team - I acted as and felt like a team captain) came back strongly to win all the matches in the super-leagues. Then we sealed it by soundly beating the West Bengal team in the semifinals. I learned something at that time. We beat that team by handsome margins twice not because we were much better than them, but because we put pressure on them. They were human, you see. Once we beat them in the super league with solid play and took the lead in the semis, they got desperate and tried all sorts of stunts to win, and only succeeded in digging their own graves. We beat them in the mind, not in the sense that bridge is an intellectual game, but in the sense that our victory was as much through psychology as it was through skill.
Then came the finals. I wish my partner Guthi and I had gone straight in after the lunch break, but we sat out and let the other two pairs play the first of the three sessions. By the rules we were not allowed to stay and watch, so we had to sit outside and bite our nails, and we gradually grew tensed. When we went in to the second session a few points behind, we made mistakes out of sheer nervousness and lack of concentration that turned our faces red at the stupidity of it. And then, tiredness from four consecutive days of play also took its toll, and there were further mistakes through "autopilot" play without thinking things through. We lost, but in spite of so many errors the margin was not very large. Truly, we had won over the other team in the mind, and lost in the finals too in the mind. Aniket's team well deserved to win, for they proved themselves to be more professional players than us.
There will be a selection process in the summer for the Indian Junior Bridge team to be sent to the World Mind Games at Shanghai late this year, and I sincerely hope they will select a couple of players at least from my team (including me of course :P). Our team: Prashanth, Guthi, Ashok, Prajwal, Gaurav, Angad. The winners: Aniket, Anurag, Ayan, Soumya, Pravin.
Cheers,
Prashanth.
P.S. The long break was because of ill health, mild depression, and later, preparation for the tourney. But now I am supercharged and happy and it is good to be back!
The tournament turnout was disappointingly low; there were only 36 players from around the country. What a pity it is, for a national bridge tournament normally attracts several hundred (perhaps even a thousand) players, but for a junior tournament the participation is pathetic. Have the youth of today no interest in intellectual games? Well, chess is popular in our country. So there is something else wrong. One day I will do my part to fix this.
The first two events of play, the individual event and the pairs event, turned into a joke when it was realized that only half the field were decent players and the rest were novices, especially a contingent of six 10-12 year old kids from Salem who performed quite well considering their age and experience but did not belong in a national level tournament. It is not fun playing with or against such amateurs, and the scores were all over the place, screwing up the results as well. We thanked God when those events got over and it was time to start the main head-to-head Team of Four event.
The number of 36 players came down to just seven teams of 4-6 members. Of these, it was clear to all that the level of the top three teams was way ahead of the rest. My team consisted of five of my good friends, current and past students of IIT Madras. We lost by small margins to the top two teams (lets call them Aniket's team and the West Bengal team) in the leagues, but thrashed all other teams comfortably to reach the super leagues.
At this point we faced a moment of self-doubt. Are these two teams really more skilled than us? We've worked so hard, and still we are not good enough? But it was just for a moment. With admirable spirit my team (yes, my team - I acted as and felt like a team captain) came back strongly to win all the matches in the super-leagues. Then we sealed it by soundly beating the West Bengal team in the semifinals. I learned something at that time. We beat that team by handsome margins twice not because we were much better than them, but because we put pressure on them. They were human, you see. Once we beat them in the super league with solid play and took the lead in the semis, they got desperate and tried all sorts of stunts to win, and only succeeded in digging their own graves. We beat them in the mind, not in the sense that bridge is an intellectual game, but in the sense that our victory was as much through psychology as it was through skill.
Then came the finals. I wish my partner Guthi and I had gone straight in after the lunch break, but we sat out and let the other two pairs play the first of the three sessions. By the rules we were not allowed to stay and watch, so we had to sit outside and bite our nails, and we gradually grew tensed. When we went in to the second session a few points behind, we made mistakes out of sheer nervousness and lack of concentration that turned our faces red at the stupidity of it. And then, tiredness from four consecutive days of play also took its toll, and there were further mistakes through "autopilot" play without thinking things through. We lost, but in spite of so many errors the margin was not very large. Truly, we had won over the other team in the mind, and lost in the finals too in the mind. Aniket's team well deserved to win, for they proved themselves to be more professional players than us.
There will be a selection process in the summer for the Indian Junior Bridge team to be sent to the World Mind Games at Shanghai late this year, and I sincerely hope they will select a couple of players at least from my team (including me of course :P). Our team: Prashanth, Guthi, Ashok, Prajwal, Gaurav, Angad. The winners: Aniket, Anurag, Ayan, Soumya, Pravin.
Cheers,
Prashanth.
P.S. The long break was because of ill health, mild depression, and later, preparation for the tourney. But now I am supercharged and happy and it is good to be back!
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