Kuch Kuch hota hai in Batam....

On our way back from a major shopping and walking spree (need a whole new blog entry to explain the walking) we took a cab back from the Batam Mega Mall to our hotel, about a 30 mins drive costing 1 Million Rupiah.

The taxi driver seemed friendly and started a conversation; both S and I were wary of the guy and were trying to keep the conversation minimal. But our cabby had other plans, he started making small talk and spoke about the economy, tourist places, religion etc.

He got only polite "hmms" and nods from us; after contemplating for 5 mins in silence he started singing Kuch kUch hota hai in his malay accent :) :)  he knew the entire song and sang it in perfect tune and tempo, though he had no clue what it meant. He asked us to translate the song for him and was highly amused at the lyrics that he had been singing for so long.

He wanted to  know if Sharuk' k'an and Kajol were Indians and also how much time would it take in a flight to reach bollywood.

While he was discussing his plans to come to Mumbai, we reached our hotel, just before alighting he told us his name was "Amar", and that his father had named him after a character in a hindi movie.

S and I were amazed and amused at the power that Bollywood has. It can transcend not just physical barriers but also lingual ones.

Bollywood rocks!!!

5K

This years Connexion meet was to kick off with a 5k run, needless to say, many of us (spouses) decided to go walking early mornings to get aquatinted with the track. The campus is so calm and peaceful at 6 in the morning that its nothing less than therapeutic. The nicely thought-out route took us through the canopy of trees in the staff quarters to the beautiful architectural buildings of the old campus. Many a times the chirping of birds was the only sound we could here. Our walks turned into a amateur bird watching sessions, with so many different types of birds there, it was truly a visionary as well as auditory delight. I guess the joy of running becomes many-fold in such an environment. The connexion event even before it started helped us “connect” with nature.

Ah to be 20 again!!!

Yesterday night was Dance night at RJM, performances by PGP/PGPX/Exchange students- basically everyone. By the time we reached the hall it was jam packed and bubbling with excitement. We got seats near the end of the audi just next to a group of very enthusiastic guys. Even before the performances began the hooting and cat calls began. The poor guy who was compeering the show really put on a brave face and did the job well. Once the acts began it felt like I was back in college, for a moment all adult thoughts took a back seat -the kaam waali bai, the vegetables to be bought, the press waale kapde, the deadline for current piece of work. All that was there was this moment that we (spouses) were enjoying -clapping and moving to the beats of the songs being performed- checking out the performers and the outfits and oh ya cheering or booing on top of our lungs. The PGP students seemed to be enjoying thoroughly too, there was the usual noisy bunch and then there were the love birds, sitting together arm on shoulder way. It was an “ossum” experience after a very long time indeed.

Faith in humanity – Restored!!!!

Day before yesterday on my to the gym I inadvertently lost my wallet, though I didn’t realize this at the time and went about my business as usual. Only when I started getting repeated calls from an unknown number asking for “adit bhai” first and later “aditi ben” did I realize what had happened. The person on the phone informed me that he had my wallet. He was kind enough to let me know where he was at the moment and that I could collect the wallet cards and cash (all of 75 bucks) intact from him. S and I reached the said location within 5 mins and called the number after parking. The man told us that he was right across the road at the pharmacy. This guy was tall, seemed to be in his late 30’s and by the uniform that he was wearing- a driver. After verifying that it was indeed my wallet he handed it to me. I was immensely grateful to this savior. He asked me to verify that all cards/cash/papers were intact. He even apologized for going through my wallet to look for identification. I was overwhelmed and words failed to express my gratitude. Furthermore when S offered him a reward, he politely declined saying that it was his duty and that he knew what a loss losing a wallet could be. I was happy to get my wallet back but disturbed as well. I kept thinking about the incident and kept wondering whether I had become a cynic as my first thoughts after realizing that I lost my wallet were that “I am never going to get it back”. I was also nonplussed by this strangers actions, he did not want any monetary reward either. Maybe my view of the world had been wrong all along; maybe the world is a good place after all. I felt like a fool for doubting humanity. The next day in the evening I got a call from my wallet savior guy (WSG), I took the call thinking he probably wanted to verify all was ok. WSG started telling me the story of how it wasn’t him who had actually found the wallet, it was some other person and how he had taken the wallet from the actual finder and had returned it and that it was actually the cards in the wallet that compelled him to return the wallet (well obviously there were only 75 rupees in cash), after about half an hour into this story, WSG said that the guy who had found the wallet wanted a reward for doing the right thing, WSG said he was being pressurized and wanted us to give him cash that could be handed over to the actual finder. S spoke to WSG and asked him for the actual finder’s name and number, which WSG didn’t have, we smelt a rat and when S asked him for further details he hung up. WSG hasn’t called since and I don’t think there was another guy. I don’t know what made WSG call the second day, don’t know who or what compelled him to cook up such a story when he had declined the reward the first day. The only thing that WSG’s phone on the second day did was to restore my faith in humanity. This is a dog-eat-dog world; everyone is out to see their own good. I slept better that night knowing the world is cynical the way it has always been.

Immortals of Meluha

Amish Tripathi takes the concept - what if Lord Shiva was not a God but a man like us who became a God - and develops it into one of the best Indian books to come out in a long time. This is the story of how a Tibetan tribal leader became the most revered, respected, feared, loved and admired legend and how Lord Shiva - Mahadev and destroyer of evil came into being. It deals beautifully with the myths surrounding the legend.

This book presents lord Shiva as a young tribal leader in Kailash Mansarovar, -a chilled out guy- whose favorite pastime is to smoke marijuana with his friend. The book follows his journey to a city called Meluha which is ruled by the descendants of Lord Ram.

The book presents a beautiful juxtaposition of the perceived good and evil; the “by the books” and “the free spirited”. The author does a remarkable job in narrating the story by treating the mythological characters with logic. For example the character Nandi is not actually a bull but a person from the bull caste.The story is fast paced and interesting. Amish manages to keep the reader completely engrossed. The best part of the book is that it makes almost all the God legends into possible human beings who achieved greatness and contributed so much to society that story tellers made them Gods.

'The Immortals of Meluha' explains how Lord Shiva got Nandi, a blue throat and the Trishul. I am eagerly waiting for Amish's next two books and his view on the rest. Keep an open mind and take Amish’s writing for face value.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP8Qzv2r3iI

Is it a matter of taste!!!???!!!!

I enjoy my share of the slap stick comedy and jhakaas action that is mainstream hindi cinema, but what is it this year I wonder, that the hindi movies are particularly crass and lack any sensibility whatsoever. I mean its just gone downhill from Housefull, Kites, Khatta-meetha to the recent much awaited Dabangg .
Dabangg is particualy bad, especially after Salman's last movie -Wanted- this new venture has no storyline, good actors wasted in nonsensical roles and an awful villian. The dialogues are so bad that I feel it takes a certain kind of talent to come up with such boorish language on screen. But what is most disturbing about this movie is that it appeals to a section of the educated audience. I cannot understand why people would spend hard earned money and precious time watching such trash, why would anyone for that matter applaud it. Well I guess in the end it comes down to a matter of taste or maybe it’s just Salman all the way.

Passage of Time

Didnt realise that its been 6 months in Ahmedabad -an interesting 6 months at that- seems like the time just flew by. I realised how much 6 months had accomplished when I met baby Krish today, he was the youngest one on campus when we had come in April. This little angel who would do little much but smile and sleep. I remember holding him for the first time. This little fellow has grown into this beautiful baby who smiles and loves to touch and feel things trying to get to know everything. Its like he is the best symbol of the passage of time here, a new life, a new being ready to learn and to explore.

Coffee with S

In Nov after S and I set a date for our wedding, the IIMA results came out, so we had about 5 months in which to get married wind-up our lives in blr and get ready for a whirlwind time at ahmd. I knew from the word go what I was getting into, I knew that he would be completely occupied with his studies, I knew I would be missing out on a lot of mushy stuff newly wed couples do. I was ok with all that or so I thought. We arrived in ahmd in April, 2 months into our marriage, after the initial settling-in the course started full swing, what followed were sleepless nights and numerous squabbles.S and I barely get to see each other, and rarely get to spend quality time together, us time has suddleny vanished. Recently, we discovered the joy of spending just a few moments together. The first cuppa coffee every morning, just the 2 of us,in the balcony of our MSH. The campus is so serene, so calming, the chirping of birds is the only noise that one can hear its the perfect start to the day.We have started re-connecting and finding peace in each other. The coffee together each day brings us closer as a couple. This ritual has become a part of our lives something which we will cherish forever.

I-Day @ IIM MSH Style :)

Shifting to Ahmedabad this year has been a back to school experience in more ways than one. Everyday I am reminded of the simple joys of simple life.All the years growing up Independence day was a day for parades/speeches/songs/flag hoisting, the works. Every year without fail my family would gather to watch the Lal Qila in all its glory, the Prime Minister addressing the nation, the parades and the floats, but in the past few years all this had changed. Life had suddenly become fast paced  and all of us self involved, I remember spending last years Independence day in office trying to finish an important piece - atleast seemed so at that time-of work. This year being at IIM on Independence day was a breath of fresh air. One of the spouses took the initiative to teach the youngsters and put up an awesome show. Many other folks also got involved so the entire MSH was abuzz with excitement on I-day. The toddlers put up an indpendence day theme fancy dress while the little older ones did a song and dance.Snacks and celebration of T-Nite success followed; on the whole the entire Independence day celebration "MSH style" was such a heart warming experience, that it felt like I'm living my childhood again :) :)

Who Cares?

New to Ahmedabad we decided to go sight seeing, and after a little research decided on Adalaj Vav (step well), 20kms from Ahmedabad. We did a little search on this Vav and came to know that it’s not just an architectural marvel but also has historical importance. It was interesting to know that these vav’s -which literally mean “well” in Gujrati- were built as retreats for travelers and date back to the 15th century. This particular vav though has an interesting story to tell. The Adalaj Vav was built by Rubda Devi in memory of her dead husband, as a ploy to abate Sultan Begara’s –her husband’s killer’s-marriage proposal. She was to marry him once the construction was completed; but she dragged the work for 20 long years and finally jumped from the balcony of the well meeting her watery death. Locals believe she sacrificed herself to save her honor and to appease the jal devi, who is believed to be responsible for the perpetual flow of water even today.

Very excited to see this intriguing place, we set out on a breezy Sunday afternoon.
Once there we marveled at the architecture, noted the missing canopy and the octagonal landing. We decided to go down to the well only to be shocked by its abysmal state.The temperature did get cooler as we went down but there was such a strong stench of human excrement that is was impossible to stay and see the well let alone marvel at the architecture.
It is in such a sorry state that it is impossible to appreciate the fine architecture or the legend behind it. When one visits the Vav the urge is to run away from it rather than to visit it more frequently. There was a delegation of foreign nationals on tour of Ahmedabad the same day we visited; needless to say they could not stand even 5 minutes in the Vav.

The question is who is responsible for such hara kiri? Is it just the government who is passive about national heritage and preserving such historic sights? Is it the miscreants from among us -The aam admi- who goes about defecating in public places? Or is it people like you and me who go visit such places take pretty pictures but do precious little to improve the situation?