Taare Zameen Par...

You could not have possibly expected anything less than TZP from Aamir Khan as his directorial debut...Kudos !

TZP has a realistic approach and is an eye opener for all those parents who want to fulfill their own unfulfilled dreams, ambitions & desires through their children. Its a must watch for those parents who want their kids to study in nothing less than IITs or IIMs...those parents who want their young ones to follow the footsteps of some godforsaken topper in their social circle...those parents who spend thousands of rupees to coach their little ones in all possible extra curricular activities which exist on the planet - be it swimming, painting, horse riding, cooking, lawn tennis, cricket ... those parents who conveniently fail to understand that their kids might have different interests ... those parents who shun away their wards confidence by comparing them to sons and daughters of friends, relatives or even their own siblings...those parents who want each of their kids to ace everything present in the universe...and finally those parents who in spite of realizing special needs of their kids shy away from the fact that their child is different from the rest !!

The movie beautifully highlights the stress and pressure which the young minds have been loaded with. It revolves around a dyslectic kid Ishaan Awasthi who lags behind in his class because the letters dance in front of his eyes, the numbers run away from him and the sports refuse to befriend him ! Assuming this to be his notoriousness, Ishaan's parents send him to a boarding school. God knows who gives such ideas to the parents of modern generation that a bunch of strangers can discipline their children better than his own family **sigh** Boarding schools are not a concept of today; they very much existed in the past. Boarding schools of ancient days were known as Gurukul's. But, there is a significant difference between the two. Parents sent their children to gurukuls and ashram's for their all round development, where as the modern day boarding schools are nothing but mere dumping grounds for rich parents who do not have time for their spoiled brats. Anyways, lets continue with Ishaan's story. This little boy already had less troubles in his life that his parents had to burden him emotionally by separating him from his family at a tender age of 8. He was called a trouble maker, duffer, retard, stupid, foolish and what not. And this little soul embraced all such awarded titles and many more with complete silence and grace. Had it not been for the art teacher (Aamir), Ishaan would have become yet another kid who had to be sent to a school for retarded children. Dyslectic kids are not retards, they are slow learners. Aamir introduces Ishaan to a whole new world of learning and discovers the talented painter and artist in him. Slowly and gradually Ishaan's lost confidence is revived and his academic graph starts rising.

Aamir's approach towards the movie is quite sensitive and the story is moving. I would credit him not only for his own performance but also the ability to make the little Ishaan perform at par. The movie raises an important issue about kids and their parents.The movie was sensitive enough to deliver the message, hope the parents are receptive enough to understand the same !

That's the Difference !

Working in an offshore team in Indian Industry gave me lot of exposure to interact with the clients in US. I had always heard of US work culture being different, but had never really understood the difference. I always wondered that what could be different - even they would have a cubicle to themselves, even they would sit with their teams and have discussions, arguments, even they would have jokes to share, team parties,even their reporting managers would stand on their heads to get the work done before some unrealistic deadline. But after spending few months here,I have got some idea of the difference in the culture - its the ATTITUDE !

First one which struck me was that there are no fixed cubicles for employees. This culture is prevalent mostly in the Consultancy firms. The Consultants who are traveling for 4 days a week to the client site don't necessarily need a reserved cubicle for themselves. On 5th day they can work remotely from home. Even if the employees are not traveling and decide to work in office, they have a hotel kinda check in system where they can reserve a cubicle on daily/weekly basis. This saves so much of work space which would otherwise lie unoccupied.

Second difference is regarding the interaction with colleagues at work place. In India, I had the liberty to visit any of my friend's cubicle without prior notice. I could stop by at their desk with a cup of coffee and have a nice chat about anything under the sun. Even amongst the team, there used to be lot of fooling around stuff. Playing pranks on juniors in the team, laughing loudly and discussing things like new restaurants, movies, what is going on in other projects used to be a everyday routine. On one hand it helped us to bond with each other where as, on the other hand, it kind of affected the productivity of the team adversely. The time which was spent in the non-work related things could have been put to use in a much more efficient manner thereby putting away the need to sit back long hours in office and burning mid night oil. Here, people work quite seriously from 9 to 5 and enjoy after office hours. People here have their ipods plugged in their ears and have their focus on work alone. They take a 1 hour break for lunch in between. Some desis like this kind of atmosphere where as some are uncomfortable with the silence around. A friend of mine finds it difficult to work in this kinda isolation and cannot concentrate for more than 2 hours.

Meetings here are not conducted for the heck of it. They are conducted after some deliberation with a strong Agenda. Some reference material or fliers are sent to the attendees prior to the meeting. The action items which I saw only in text in India are something which I saw being put to practice here. No one wastes time for documenting minutes of the meeting. The items discussed are written then and there in the wiki by the project manager or the convener of the meeting along with the action items. The tasks are assigned to the individuals on wiki, who then go and update the tasks after they are completed.

The reporting manager does not stand on your head to get the work done. He doesn't come to your workstation to peep into your system to know what you are doing. You are assigned work with a realistic deadline and are supposed to turn in your work by that deadline.

Everyone trusts each other. There is a strong sense of Integrity in everything people do. If you say, that you completed a task in 3 hours, people would buy that. They would never question that. Because they trust that you would report the actual time taken for completing that task.

People respect each other's job, however small it might be. I have seen the housekeeping or mail delivery folks being treated with so much of respect and courtesy.

There are so many things which I find different here that I can go on and on about them. But the most important thing which infact gave me the very idea of writing this comparative post was an incident at my work place (oncampus job). My manager got an additional responsibility in a research department.She was promoted in the management hierarchy. There was absolutely no compulsion on her part to have communicated this news to us(her current team). BUT, she convened a special meeting and informed us about it before we could learn it from an outside source and be surprised. The sheer transparency and trust which exists in the team is just awesome. I was extremely impressed with my manager's move. It might be a very small or routine thing for her, but for me who has seen how managers and PL's ***hide*** things which affect their own teams directly, it definitely means a lot. I would consider myself a little unfortunate to have come across seniors at my workplace in India who have not set very good leadership examples. May be they do not understand that taking ones' team into confidence is the key to team's success. It is quite important for team's morale. I have had this experience in India, where my PL's moving out of the current project was communicated to me by some one outside my project. Not that it matters in long run, but I did question the faith and respect I had for my PL then. But I decided to derive a positive learning outta this situation. I am preparing a list of Do's and Dont's for myself from these experiences. I would try and incorporate them in my work ethics when I assume the leadership roles.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a traditional North American holiday, where people thank for their possessions at the end of a harvest season. Every year, it is celebrated on 4th Thursday of November which makes it a 4 day long weekend break for everyone in schools, colleges and offices. I was fortunate to be a part of this American festival this year. The main attraction of this festival is the celebrations with thanksgiving dinner, where people invite family and friends and treat them with turkey, wine, cakes and all sorts of delicacies. I did not go to any such dinner, but my group of Indian friends got together to celebrate the occasion with some desi food and wine. Dinner was followed by some games with cards. I learned a new game called "Poker". Its addictive and quite interesting. By the time we realized that it was time to pack up, the clock had already struck 3 AM. It was pointless to sleep after that, because we had all decided to go out at 5 AM to throng upon the thanksgiving sales. So, while my friends caught up on a horror English movie, I surfed all the possible websites to check for the online deals. Soon it was 5 AM and we wrapped ourselves in 3 layers of clothing as a protection against the -5 degrees temperature.

People go crazy for the thanksgiving sales. They line up in front of the shops for buying electronic items from a night before. Our first stop was at Best Buy. There was a swarm of people in the store buying everything and anything. Some of the things were bought simply because they were cheap. They had no idea as to what use they would put that to. Other stores we visited were Staples, Target, Sears, Old Navy, Aeropostale etc etc. I bought most of my electronic stuff online - 2 Camera's Canon SD1000, a 4GB Sansa, a 2GB Sansa, two 2GB SD memory Cards. I got pretty good deals on all these items and so I was satisfied ! Overall, I would say, it was a unique and exciting experience !!

Craze of Hindi Movies in US

It was a little intimidating to find myself in a land where desi's want a mother like Jaya Bachhan, they adore a father like Amitabh, wives expect a doting Sharukh or Abhishek and Husband's crave for gorgeous Aishwarya's , Rani's and Kajol's.....More than surprised, I was taken aback by the way the NRI junta identifies itself with the silver screen entities. For them, these screen characters are real people.These Desi's plan to visit them during their next trip to India. I sometimes wonder that which part of India would they find Suraj Barjatiya's portrayal of a close knit family or Yash Chopra's elegant houses and exotic locales..

People squander $s to buy Indian DVDs or catch the first show of a newly released movie. Visiting lonely parents in the neighborhood takes a back seat when it comes to catching up the first day first show of a newly released movie in a theater which might require a 2 hour drive. On my recent trip to King of Prussia, I accompanied my cousins to watch the newly released movie - Om Shanti Om. I was bored to death ! Sharukh's charm could not cast any spell and as per my ratings it was a super duper flop !! But again, it was not a movie of my taste anyways, so opinions might differ. My cousin and his wife were in the awe of the so-called-spectacular movie.They were so excited and thrilled that after seeing a horrifying 3 hour drama, they had nothing but to rave about it for 2 hours on the journey back home. Within minutes the whole network of their Indian friends was informed about how amazing the movie was and why they should watch it asap. I had nothing to say but was passively watching the second drama which was going on in front of me...

We happened to meet their acquaintance at the same theater. Now these folks had been (un)fortunate enough to have seen another big release of the month - Sanwariya , just a day before. Instead of exchanging pleasantries at a public place like cinema hall they were busy flaunting about their experience with Sanwariya. This show off was enough to upset my cousin's wife who could not watch yet another dumb sob story before her acquaintances did.

I am slightly flabbergasted to see people competing against each other to watch Indian Flicks before anyone else can ! This competition gives them something to talk about within their social circle of friends and relatives. Failure to do be a part of this rat race is taken as a sabotage to their normal life. I felt that people here are so disconnected with each other that they need external crutches like hindi movies to converse with each other. The dire urge to remain connected to their Indian roots is the biggest conundrum of the Indian Diaspora.

When I see an Indian Grocery store !

Never in the remotest of my thoughts, I had ever imagined, that of all the things in the world, an Indian Grocery Store would be something I would crave for after coming to US. I get so damn excited with the very sight of an Indian Grocery store that I am short of words to describe the jubilation. Back in India, I used to laugh at my brother when he used to help my mausaji, carry the bags from a grocery store. I never paid attention to any of those monthly lists which my masi used to make. But now, whenever I have to make a list of my own to buy stuff from the indian store, I get quite thrilled and excited. The trip to these stores here, is an experience in itself. There is only one such store in Bloomington known as Olive Market. Here is a picture -

Though, it does not have everything under the sun, which used to be there in India, but it has sufficient things to keep us tied to our roots. It has a wide range of pickles - mango, chillies, carrots, mixed, cauliflower, ginger, garlic; pulses - moong, toor, beans, 3 types of chick peas(chana), ready to eat MTR packets, spices which I had never even seen or heard of in India; all types of rice; flours - makai, bajra, besan, maida, sooji; maggi, bournvita, dosas, idlis...and the list goes on. The only thing which I find missing in their shelves is - my favorite Parle G and Monaco biscuits. Trust me, these grocery stores have so much more than I could have ever imagined. The most famous brands here are Swad, Lijjat, MTR and Mothers Recepie.

On my trip to Philadelphia, due to the limited time I had at hand,my cousin gave me a choice between visiting an amusement park and an Indian Grocery Store. Any guesses for what my answer would have been? My brother would mock at me if he hears that I chose to visit a "Kirana store" over the amusement park. The so called Kirana Store here was as big as one floor of Big Bazaar at phoenix mills(mumbai). So there I was in a huge indian mall, again appalled with the things around. This was the known Subzi Mundi of Philly, I had been to -

Apart from the regular things which I already mentioned, it had lots more to offer. One complete section dedicated to the biscuits - you name them, they would have it. Parle G, Monaco, Krackjack, Marie, Tiger...I can go on with the endless list. Theplas, khakhra's, frozen kachori, samosa, pakodas, vada pavs, paranthas, dhoklas and a wide variety of indian sweets. You need atleast 2 hours to be able to go through the entire store once.

There are lot of Indian Stores in and around New Jersey because of the dominance of Indian population there. The famous chains include - Patel Brothers, Subzi Mandi, International Bazaar, Namaste Plaza,Spice Land etc. Most of these stores are owned by either gujjus or saradrji's. And let me tell you, they are not only up to date with latest inventories from India, but are also abreast with the latest technology. They have their own websites and supply chain system for taking online orders. "Awesome" is the only word which comes to my mind, when I think about this business. The way the entire supply chain system works - the importing , the distribution throughout the US, the marketing...these stores are following the walmart steps !

Discrimination still exists !

Ever since the primary school I have been learning that there does not exist any kind of discrimination in the democratic countries. The citizens treat each other equally without any biases of color, caste, creed or religion. As kids, we were taught to understand the concepts of equality and be tolerant of other humans. So far, I had seen only a few discrimnatory actions in India. But I was certain and hopeful that there would not be any such thing in US. I had heard about the dignity of labor and all the good things about respect and appreciation US citizens had for each other. But guess, I was in a utopian world of thoughts.

The other day I borrowed a dvd from the university library and saw the movie "Crash"; only to receive a shock. This was a movie about social and racial tensions which existed even today amongst the natives of the land(the so called whites) and the non-natives(the so called blacks). I had read and heard that there used to exist some problems between the two groups, but was surprised to realize that it was not a thing of the past. It was still prevalent. And I did not have to wait long enough to witness the same peronally. I was in NYC for an interview with E & Y.(P.S: I am yet to write a post on my experiences in NY). On my way from Times Square to LGA airport, I was standing in a line, waiting for a cab. The cab drivers in NYC are mostly indians or the non-whites. I noticed atleast 2 to 3 americans who blatantly refused to get into the cab which was manned by a black person. Some of them looked at the cab drivers with utter disgust. Some made faces and walked away muttering somethings to themselves. I was at complete loss of words. Simply failed to understand that the americans who are known for their politeness and gentleness towards all sorts of foreigners in the country, are so prejudiced against the non-whites. Whatever might be the reasons, but thats how it is ! All I can say is, it still exists !!

Excuse me ??

There are times when we make a fool of ourselves..and I have gotten into a habit of doing that quite often after coming here. The other day I was at CVS (its a pharmacy store here, and works out to be quite expensive for students). But thats the only reliable store for purchasing medicines & related items. So I was @ CVS to buy a dental cleaner which was available only with them. The only good thing about visiting the malls here is that you get to see so many different varieties of a single product. Be it staples like curd, milk, bread, eggs, the chocolates, the fancy cosmetics or for that matter even the medicines. You will find plethora of things to choose from. And all these things are displayed so beautifully that you can't just help but be tempted to try each one of the available things. Anyways, thats a different topic of consumerism in US, which i might touch upon at a later time. Coming back to my story, I was there to buy only the dental solution. But as I said, these stores are attractive and the next thing I found was that I was wandering in the store. I picked up a few things with an intention to buy, but looked at the price tags and kept them back on the shelf. I was looking like a total idiot and "ganwaar" who was just gaping and strolling aimlessly in awe of these new things. After 45 mins of futile walk in the store, I realized that it was an endless maneuver and I should go to the check out counter. Though I was standing in the line, my eyes still kept going back to the beautifully displayed items. In order to deviate my mind, I started observing people who were in the line, infront of me. There was an old lady who was concerned about the rising prices of medicines, another woman was busy talking on cell phone, there was a couple, discussing about some party and just before me was a middle aged woman waiting impatiently to get outta this line. I guess, I was the only one with way too much time at hand. Not only did I wander around for 45 mins without any reason, but also had enough time to notice people. So I was standing behind this middle aged lady, trying to understand that what was the hurry all about. Soon she was on the counter and I was staring at her, simply looking at her. Suddenly she turns back and said - "Excuse me? Do you mind not looking at the screen when I key in the pin of my ATM card." Oh boy !! I was stunned and shocked. I was completely unaware of the fact that she noticed my staring. I had no intentions to look into her mode of payment or atm pin..All I could say was - Oh, I am sorry and excused myself to about 3 arm lengths behind her in the line. Felt terribly bad because of her accusation, because I had no such intentions. Anyways, so I learnt yet another lesson about this foreign land..Gurl, learn to mind your business !

And so I ran...

The temperature today, was the lowest by far; with a max of 4 & min. of -3 degrees. Even two layers of sweaters, a muffler and gloves were of no good. Having spent majority of my life in Rajasthan, i had assumed that bearing the low temperatures would be no big deal. But I was wrong, so terribly wrong. Had it been just the cold weather, I would have tried to cope up ! But the winters here are accompanied by the even colder winds which are enough to run a chill through one's spine. No matter what fabric you wear, these winds penetrate right through the protective layers and lash you left and right.

With a heavy back pack on drooped shoulders, watery eyes and a red nose, I was walking from the bus stop to my office(on campus job). The place was completely deserted and I could not see a single soul within the range my vision permitted me to see. I was calmly walking until I got a 5 minute panic stroke. For no sensible reason, I wondered - what if it gets even more chillier in next few minutes and it starts to snow. And what if my feet refuse to move and I freeze here. What if my vocal cords betray me and I am unable to shout for help. What if the snow starts depositing over me, layer by layer - until I am buried. No one would even realize that I went missing. Who would inform my folks back home? Would they ever be able to see me again? Would I get a glimpse of them ever? What on earth did I think before coming here, why did I come here in the first place? Yearned to be back with family and folks...and within no time I realized that I was muttering something to myself; how I wish, I could remember even a part of what that something was. Anyhow, so during all this thinking and muttering and walking activity, I figured that my eyes were doing the job they were supposed to do. They were trying to spot a human figure in vicinity. Suddenly a chap and his lady friend passed by me.I noticed that they were in shorts, had no special coverings to protect themselves against the wonderful weather and they were jogging. Jogging..eh?oh common, at 3 degrees, who does that ??I do ! Yes. I started running too. With a bag on my back and all the sweaters, which made me heavier by a few more kgs, I started jogging. I said to myself, that this little jog will keep me warm for a while and will divert my mind from the dreadful thoughts of snow burial which were haunting me until a couple of mins back. And it worked. I was at work within 5 mins, and things were fine as they always had been. But weird stuff happens at times !

Changing Colors of the Fall...

Change is the only thing permanent in life ! This is the quote, that most of us must have read or heard at some point in our lives.But not everyone is observant enough to notice the everyday changes around them. I have been fortunate enough to belong to the category of the observant people. These days, I am busy noticing the changing colors of the Fall..the leaves on the trees are drying up and for the first time in all these years, I have realized that even decaying things can also be beautiful.This time of the season here is perfect for those who had gone crazy after seeing the scattered Maple Leaves all around the ground in Yash Raj Films

"Mohabbatein". Its the same scenic beauty around here, the only difference is that university students do not pick up and save these leaves in their books or write I Love You behind them to give to their beloveds'; instead they throw them away to clean off the garbage near their houses.

I had come to US in August(2007) when my university campus was lush green. I had seen the trees adorned with soft green leaves which exuded immense pride to be a part of the highest branch of that tree. Here is one of those beautiful trees, which I couldn't resist marveling at -

Three months passed pretty quickly here...but in this quick process, somewhere the leaves had started changing colors slowly. I saw a gamut of them - dark green, lighter shades of green, dark yellow, pale yellow, brown, red, purple and gray. Some of them were so spectacular that even the artists and painters would crave for these colors to be on their palette.

The sad part is that these beautiful and colorful leaves have started withering away. You can visualize disloyalty at its best ! The tree which provides protection to its leaves against strong winds by holding them close to its trunk, is now mercilessly being abandoned by the same leaves. The leaves are now swaying their way away from the same tree with the wind, only to discover that after a while, they are buried on the ground or are cramped in garbage bags. The hidden philosopher inside me shows up at such events automatically, without being called for. And then wonders and forces me to wonder as well, that aren't these changing forms of a tree - mere symbols of human life? Each one of us experience the same greenery in our youth, we come across the same color variations through changes in our relationships with family & friends,even we betray or are betrayed by our loved ones; either they leave us or we leave them and go away; we too get decayed as the leaves...**sigh** The only difference being that the leaves depart with a promise to be back again in Spring...

Tailor the Sailor !

"Love ke liye saala kuch bhi karega !" Yeah its a movie title, but can be easily adapted to all walks of life. My love for the dollar dreams exemplifies the true sense of the aforesaid line. The idea of falling in love with US of A was quite fantasizing, while I was still in India. I was consciously aware of how deep a hole this love interest of mine is gonna dig into my folks pockets, but I certainly miscalculated the magnitude of troublesome situations it had in store for me. Nevertheless, a commitment once made, has to be kept. And thats what I have been doing since last three months.

Sleeping at odd hours, waking up in the wee hours of the morning, cooking midnight dinner, doing laundry at 1:00 AM in the night and morning walks at 4:00 AM from college to home with temperature as low as 2 degrees are only few of the antics I have been upto in last few months, just to kindle my love for USA. October 29th, 2007 will be remembered as yet another day of my stay in US, when I did something so exceptional so as to make my mother proud of my creative, artistic and innovative capabilities. A city inspection in my apartment complex mandated that all the apartments should have their windows covered with blinds or curtains. The futile search for correct sized blinds, conducted by my roommates left us with no option but to hunt for curtains. Now, for those who have stayed in US or have spent a considerable time looking around for home apparels in the malls, would know that curtains are by no means an inexpensive possession. The price range might vary from as little as $30 to as humongous as few hundred dollars. As students, we usually operate on common minimum program, so spending even 30 bucks for satisfying some city inspectors tantrums is also a big deal for us.

Business school teaches us lots of fundas and expects that we make use of them in the real world whenever and where ever possible. One such rule taught to us was - "Leaders don't do different things, they do things differently". Fortunately, this funda struck both, my roommate and myself at the same time. So in the urge to do things differently in the real world, we decided to stitch the curtains outta a bedsheet and use it for our Hall. For the starters we decided to put up the whole bedsheet on the wooden plank surrounding our balcony window and tighten screws around it. So I quickly jumped on a chair with screwdrivers, nuts and bolts in my hands to display my carpentry skills. It was only after drilling a couple of holes in the wood, both my roomie and I realized that its not the smartest way to fulfill the need of curtains, because by doing so, we would permanently block our entrance door to the Balcony. So we decided to cut the bedsheet into two halves; run a string through the bedsheet in a desi style and then use it like curtains. The length of the curtains was sophisticatedly adjusted by using stapler and safety pins. The finishing of our innovation was so close to real curtains, that even a professional tailor might have suffered from an inferiority complex. I aint bragging, a picture speaks louder than words - you can view the masterpiece for yourself ! If some one wishes to dig deeper in the B School gyaan, he would marvel at the Cost-Benefit Curve which my roommate and I would someday come up with. For my mother these concepts would not hold any significance. All she would care about, is about my artistic contribution in the whole curtain making process. She would not only swell with pride, but would also be relieved to know that her only daughter, who never even bothered to have a glass of water herself, is now handling the household work so efficiently.

Although I would just say in a hushed up tone - " Nahi ma, U have no clue, ki yeh USA Love kya kya karvata hai !"

The joy of eating Parle G !

This might sound a little weird, but the satisfaction I experienced after eating Parle G in amreikaaa is unparalleled..I am so happy and satisfied after munching the whole pack of Parle G that my joy is beyond expression ! My roomie had been to NY and happened to visit the Indian store - Patel Brothers. She called me from NY to ask if I needed any Indian stuff. All I asked her to get for me were some Indian Biscuits if she could get any. And to my surprise she got me 6 packs of Parle G for a buck !!!! For past 3 months all I have got on the name of biscuits are firangi cookies filled with rich nuts and choco chips. I was terribly missing simpler things in life..and when I got hand on them, I was elated. Even after having a heavy dinner, I could not resist opening the pack of biscuits. Here is the picture -

Joy of simple things in life is sometimes difficult to put in words...

Yes, the car stops !

** Screeeeeeeech ** Honk** Abuse 1** Honk again ** Abuse 2** - are the unusual good morning and good evening salutations which mumbaites exchange with the rising and the settling sun everyday. Having endangered six most precious years of my life in a city like mumbai , I know how much courage it takes to step out of the house everyday and walk/drive on the roads. Every single soul wants to reach their destination with batting of an eyelid. The agility with which the cars, the bikes, the trucks, the cycles change the lanes would give a big time complex to the fastest reptile on the planet. I have not only witnessed, but have also been an active participant in violating the traffic rules in Mumbai. Not wearing the seat belt, rushing through the signal past 11PM, not waiting for the pedestrian's, bumper to bumper driving, impatient honking, changing lanes to get ahead in the traffic jam is something which every mumbaite identifies with. I too can !

Its been 3 months in the US of A..and there are certain things here, which are exceptionally brilliant. It would take years for India to compete on the same level. Amongst several things, what has impressed me the most here is the traffic sense and discipline of the junta on the roads. Honking is considered impolite. People honk only when you have violated some traffic rules. People who honk on the roads are considered to be unsophisticated drivers. Vehicles wait to give way to others on busy roads or blind turns. Pedestrian's command rights on the roads. There are push buttons on the poles by the road side, which allow them to indicate their intentions of crossing the road to the moving vehicles. Tell this to someone in Mumbai..and they will laugh it off. Push Buttons..eh? Even if you don't press these buttons and a distant driver sees you crossing the road, he will signal you to cross the road with a big broad smile. For some one like me who is used to growls and abuses, more than surprising, such acts of politeness are intimidating. Why would a car wait for you to cross the road safely? And on top of that they would smile and waive at you !! It took me a while, but now I have got used to this culture. Whenever the vehicle owner lets me cross the road, I waive back with a smile gesturing a Thank you ! It feels really good to receive an even bigger smile in reciprocation.
People are extra sweet here and at times it seems all fake and artificial. I am not doubtful of their genuineness, but i guess it would take me a while to get used to the yankee politeness.

New Lessons everyday !

Living alone and all by yourself teaches you much more than you can ever anticipate. I am not saying that you would learn rocket science theories...but those very little and small things which we tend to forget as we grow up.

I was in the IMU(Indiana Memorial Union) lounge yesterday. I was whiling away my time reading some stuff on my laptop for the entire day. Just then I saw a clutch pencil lying on the table near by. Some one must have left it there.And I smirked...thought to myself as to how careless can people be..leaving things like this..having no value for small things...I did not even realise that when I picked it up to revolve around my fingers. Before I knew, it was evening and I had already taken a nap sitting on the couch. A friend of mine called up inviting me to play Lawn tennis.I packed my bags to leave for the court. Before leaving I was extra cautious to look around. Did not want to leave any of my belongings there..While I was unplugging my laptop, I reminded myself to pick up the power chord. I don't know but there was something which gave me a feeling that I might loose the chord today. But I was a self proclaimed super genius..i cannot be careless..I left IMU with a sense of being responsible. Played at the tennis court, reached home, had my dinner and then opened my laptop. Nicely chatted with folks back home, saw a coupla videos on Youtube. At 12 in the night, when my battery signalled that it is going low, I searched for my charger. Ransacked my entire bag but could not find it. I was anxious and scared. I did not want to loose charger of my new laptop..and that too so soon.I started tracing back the events which had happened during the day. There was a possibility that I have left it at IMU, but could not be sure as I remembered reminding myself to pick it up before leaving. I searched for the help desk number of IMU. But at 12.30 in the night, i was highly doubtful that some one would answer my call. But, I was lucky enough because some dude did pick up my call. I explained him my concern, but even he was not sure about the missing charger. I sank in my chair, thinking of how expensive would a new charger be ! I decided that first thing I would do in the morning would be to go and check it myself at IMU. While I was planning all this for the next morning my hand went in the pocket of my jacket and I realised that I had the same clutch pencil in my pocket which I had seen at IMU. It was the same pencil at whose owner I had laughed at..damn, I muttered ! How could I have picked up some one elses' stuff. It was unintentional, but now it was in my hands.I could not have explained the same to the owner had he / she conjured infront of me at this very moment. I started thinking that my missing laptop charger is the result of me picking up some one elses stuff ! May be that person must have come back looking for the pencil, but would not have found it, coz i picked it up. I decided that not for my charger, but for dropping this pencil I would go back to IMU and keep it at the same place where I had seen it for the first time.

So I got up early morning and left for IMU at 9. I usually like walking and avoid taking the college bus.Today, I realised that I was walking with double the pace I normally walk with, wondering if I would get my charger back...Thinking all this, I finally reached IMU. Went traight upto the couch I was sitting y'day. I could not see my charger anywhere there. So I went to the front desk crew. God Bless those souls..they had kept my charger with the them..I was so relieved to have it back...

After spending some more time at IMU, I was about to leave for my work at the Library Kiosk. Just about when I was to leave, I put my hands in the pocket of my jacket and realised that I had the same pencil in my pocket, reminding me of its original location..I smiled, thanked the lifeless thing for teaching me something new and kept it back on the table I had found it a day before..

Smiling all the way, I headed towards the Library Kiosk for my on campus job at the cafeteria...

Comfortable Silence...

" SILENCE " One word which has different interpretations. In primary school, when I was asked to remain silent...with finger on mi lips..it seemed like a punishment.Damn..i was thrown out of the class if I did not remain so.. During High School days, i craved for silent surroundings so that i could study in peace. Aha..then came the unforgettable college days where I discovered 101 ways to interpret silence. If my closest friend was silent, it meant it is probably the most dangerous time to fool around, when my prof. went silent in response to a question it took me a fraction of second to infer that he does not know about the subject, when the entire class was silent - it meant that the attendance sheet is yet to be circulated in the class.

When I travelled in the local trains and buses in mumbai, i came across yet another kind of silence...perhaps the most comfortable one ! The silence between the commuters. No one bothered to speak to each other,no one really cared who you are or from where you come, it hardly mattered as to who was sitting besides you. You had space of your own even in a 2 by 2 seat where you were not answerable to the person who was sitting at a distance of not even 1/2 a cm. I guess, this is one of the metro cultures which I love the most. Had the same situation been in my home town - bikaner or jaipur, people on board would have become best pals with each other by now. I so remember when i was travelling from Bikaner to Mumbai in a train with my grandmother, she had almost managed to figure out a far off relationship with another family who happened to be in the same cabin as ours. The link was traced from chacha, kaka, mama, bhatija and all possible permutations and combinations of relations were applied to arrive at a conclusion that my co-passengers were related to us. ***Phew***

But what the heck, i love the soltitude in a crowded bus and the silence which exists !

Ab Kuch Kuch nahin hota !!

Year 1998, I still re-collect..I was preparing for 10th standard. The so called study leave period had been prolonged owing to the repeated postponing of my board exams. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai a.k.a KKHH was a much awaited relief during the longgg wait i had to endure ! It took me a coupla days to convince my folks that a 3 hour movie will not digress my mind from studies. I did everything and anything which my parents commanded so that I could watch KKHH...Saw it once in the theatre..was truly,deeply madly in love with the movie...saw it again...and went crazzzy after it...i adored everything abt the movie. Identified with Kajol, wanted to be like Rani and fantasized for some1 like Sharukh. I felt a sudden need to change the National Sport of India to Basket ball...prayed for a college like Xaviers and desparately wanted to attend a summer camp. "Love is Friendship" became the mantra of my life ! Flip side of the story being that thinking of Love at that age was outta question...and freinds..well I was in a all girls school till 10th Std. But kehne mein kya jaata hai... Anyways, so after my exams got over, I purchased the video cassette (VCDs were an alien thing for a small town kid then) and religiously saw this movie once or twice every week. When the count reached to 50, my bro asked - "U seem to have some problem understanding the story ??"

Flash forward - Year 2007, June..have nuthin better to do than to surf TV channels...u can't do anythin better when u r in a house arrest due to heavy rains..Sony set max is showing KKHH and i stop scanning channels further...decided to watch the movie and remember some good ol days. To my amusement, I could not connect with the movie at all..the story seem to be running without any logic, the situations so unreal and the dialogues so cliched. My critical brain which is usually dormant when watching Bollywood movies, came outta hibrenation and started analyzing 'a decade' old work of Karan Johar...

Cudn't gulp in following things --

1) Having seen colleges in mumbai, I can say that college life is no where close to as it has been presented in the movie. My college principal wud have to take a re-birth to find a prof as hot as Miss Briganza.

2) How(more importantly- Why) would an oxford student(Tina - Rani M.) leave her studies mid way and continue the remaining part of it in India? Guess u can have tht liberty if u r princi's daughter.

3) I am still trying to search for this Xavier's college in India, where there were no classes/assignments / lectures for students. All they had were proms, Goa trips, sports, flings, heartbreaks et al.

4) I am not sure if Rahul - Sharukh even completed his bachelors ! Even if he did, some1 please find a B.A / B.Com grad for me who gets a privelege to attend the International Trade Conference's. All in suit - boot...hw did he manage that job ?? Did I miss out the campus placements in the movie somewhere ?

5) Even before delivering the baby, Tina knew that there'll be so much complication in the delivery that she wud not survive. okk...may be i am unaware of the progress in medicine..lets assume that docs made her aware of her situation before hand. So when did she write those 8 letters to her daughter - during the delivery or while dying? And while dying how cud she speak for 30 mins at length ??

6) Tina wrote 8 letters (1 to be given on each bday)for her daughter so that the baby girl can know her mother better. OMG !!! I did not know that the new borns can read/write right from the very first bday.

7) For 8 long years , Kajol was undergiong a make over? Does it take that long to get outta a pair of jeans and drape a saree around !

8) As long as Anjali - kajol was a tomboy, Rahul cud jus see her as his best buddy. But the moment she transformed into a proper girl sorts..his feelings changed..and he cud see a potential gf / life partner in her ! Hw does appearance and looks matter as far as feelings such as LOVE / friendship/ affection are concerned ?

9) Why did Anjali wait for 8 years ? I c..till then Sallu bhai was wandering in Jodhpur jungles to hunt a chinkara..is it??

10) Summer camp- the funniest part. When no other kid can get their parents along...Rahul, Anjali nd Granny are the only exceptions who get to stay on the campus..and sing songs..and play charades..and get wet in the rains and have a romantic ballroom kinda dance.

11) Rahul takes absolutely no efforts to confess his love to Anjali. Even when he reaches at Anjali's wedding uninvited, he has no better thing to do than to play charades..to say those three words "I LOVE U". All he does there is watch Anjali shed tears and reciprocate with even bigger ones. He acts superdumb till the end. Thanks to Sallu, who told Anjali - maaf karo bhai,jaao uske paas !

Ohh...mannn...look at what have i done to a movie which i adored so much ! Does this happen to every1 who thinks he has matured in 10 yrs...may b m watching 2 much of sensible stuff these days that my childhood favorites seem extremely stupid to me nw...I guess I am ok...all i need is some break frm this over worked schedule of mine...so dat i can get back to watching another Karan Johar drama ;)

Last piece in the jigsaw puzzle fixed !!

University : Indiana University, Bloomington
School : Kelley School of Business
Program : MSIS
I-20 Amount - $ 35,815/yr ; No AID ; Course Duration : 18 months.


VISA APPOINTMENT : 14th June, 2007
VISA TIME SLOT : 8:30 AM
VISA STATUS : Approved ; No docs checked - Didn't even touch the folder.

P.S : For only VI, please scroll down directly and avoid the crap..others' who are a lil vella like me, read on !!

Changing weather in Mumbai gifted me with a terrible cold , cough, a running nose and a severe body ache, juss 2 days prior to my interview .. Wow..i thought to miself.Generally, I don't easily accept gifts, but had very little choice this time. Owing to this, I took extremely good care of myself in the last 2 days... I mean thats what i thought until I was declared as Paranoid by folks at my place. M still puzzled as to what exactly did they find unusual with me...I just demanded for bland boiled food without spices, asked for chappati if rice was cooked and if chapatti was served, I gently requested for khichdi, gargled every 1 hour with salted luke warm water so that I don't loose my voice on the day of the interview, did some ramdev baba yoga b/w every gargling nd steam sessions, used gestures instead of voice(was saving my voice for the D day) , asked my bro to attend to my calls(since I didn't wanna use even 1% of my vocal powers ...talking to credit card nd mobile company representatives)...i guess thats it...Dunno what made ppl at my place think that i have gone bonkers ! Anyways, I jussss ignored there remarks, thinking its a consequence of the generation gap !! one wud think, "Generation gap..?? " how? why? wht relevance here?? But dats the nly phrase my folks & I have mutually agreed to refer to any of the disagreements b/w us

Anways, I wanted to have a complete 6 hour sleep a night before d interview (had read somewhere on d forums..sleep well, so that u wud look fresh..blah blah..YES, i forgot to add in the above para..I religiously followed things which were written by ppl @ Edulix !! I realised it today morning,(abt mi dilegence with following edulix advise), when my brother asked me - "If you don't mind and if its written on ur forum somewhere, do u mind taking an umberella along?? Jus in case it rains !! I made a face and uttered Damn ! ). Anyways, so lets continue the story...so I went off to sleep at 11:00 PM last night. But before going off to sleep I again proved myself a **GENIUS**. I collected all the cell phones available in the house -- 2 from folks, 1 cusin's, 1 mine and nicely arranged them on a table near my bed. Ahh..forgot to add the alram clock. okk...so each of them were tuned to ring with a time gap of 10 mins, starting at 4:30 AM sharp.

First alarm...missed it somehow, opened my eyes gently at 4:45...calculated the time(11 PM to 4:45 AM)..still 15 mins to complete the essential 6 hours sleep(couldn't defy that...was written on forums yaar...so after turning sides in the bed with eyes closed for 15 mins, I got up at 5:00 AM sharp nly to find all d people in my house standing by my bedside ! Naaaaaaah...not to wish me gudluck...dats too early, juss to take back their mobiles and switch off the alarms so that they cud go back to sleep. Any sane person wud have peacefully got up at 6-6:30 for the 8:30 AM slot, but i ws being different since last 2 days...Gargled, got ready, visited the small temple in society , had a gud breakfast at 5:45 AM [have never seen this time of the day in consciousness...nd here
I was munching bread-butter nicely. Arey baba...had read y'day only that gurls were fainiting and all...so one shud eat properly before leaving...ab forum pe likha tha..so had to comply with the same

Wished Goodmorning officer to everyone at mi place(was checking if my vocal chords were still functioning) ; Left home by 6:00 AM, and reached consulate by 6:45 AM. My bro had insisted on leaving by 6:45 so that we wud be at the consulate arnd 7:30ish(as per a cautious student's standard) , BUT, where was i listening to any1 ? So..we reached early..My bro had expressions which some what looked similar to -- I knew it was pretty early...but had to save myself from bro's temper... " So what ??? " I declared !! Look at the brighter side of reaching early...I'll get to talk to the tea vendor or bisleri bottle seller or the newspaper wallah...They might juss give me some last min tips or some **critical info from inside the consulate** which might help me during the interview(they see the proceedings day in and day out ) ...Hearing this, bro went **BLANK**...removed ear plugs from his pocket and started listening to some god foresaken FM channel...It was a clear indication that he was in no mood to listen to any of my non-sensical talks and I had no option but to strike a conversation with the newspaper walla...so here i was, interviewing the poor chap at 7:15 AM in d morning...

Newspaper walla wud be referred henceforth as - NW.

[ME] : Bhaiyya, mera 8:30 ka time slot hai...
[NW] : {toh main kya karun??? types look} acha acha...abhi toh kafi time hai...aap bahut jaldi aa gaye...TOI / HT doon kya? Time pass ho jayegaa...
[ME] : {beta, apna business kar raha hai...mere saath smart ban raha hai...time pass...huh?? meri jaan nikal rahi hai...yeh time pass karne ki baat kar raha hai } Nahi bhaiyya, mein apne yaad kiya hue answers bhul jaaongi..
[NW] : {toh mera time kyun waste kar rahi hai types look...} Chinta mat karo madam, acha hi hoga...
[ME] : Hmm...acha kitna time lag jaata hai approx. ek student ko waapis bahar aane mein?
[NW] : {Mein kya sabki chokidaari karta hun kya?? } Subah Subah jaldi ho jaata hai...chinta mat karo{looks here and there...must be thinking..mera peecha kab chodoge...}
[ME] : ok ok...phir toh acha hai...lekin kissi kissi student ko toh bahut time bhi lagta hoga na...
[NW] : {Arey toh mein kya karoooon?? } Was really putting in efforts to think hard to say something that comforts me...

Bro comes to his rescue...bhaiyya ek TOI dena...takes it and gives me a stern look - which meant shut up..FINGER ON YOUR LIPS !! Damn..NW escapes...**sigh**

It was 7:30 AM and I was getting impatient with every passing minute..was watching the shuttle buses coming and going, parents wishing gud luck to their wards,7:45 queue was taken inside...I was helplessly waiting for mi turn...at last my line moved to the next footpath...Yeah, at mumbai consulate, u progress as per the timeslot to the next footpath..

At 8:00 AM i was flustered, sent my bro to the security guard to check if i was standing in the correct queue...Security Guard :"Haan, yeh hi line hai..wahan par hi khade raho." Another look from bro to me..and silence ! At sharp 8:15 we were taken in..

At the Entrance - Passport checked with Interview letter

Security check counter - Different queues for guys and gurls...Girls weren't asked to remove their watches/belts or any other metal jewellery type accessories...Where as guys were asked to remove anythin remotely associated with metal. One guy even had to remove a ring he had in his finger..and i giggled..wooden scale type tokens collected and was directed to the main Hall.

Main Hall - While i was still at the door, i closed my eyes for a min, recollected names of each and every GOD i knew...and entered. Opened my eyes....and DAMN !!!!!!!!! yeh kya hai...all these days, wen i was reading about the counters and telephone booths, I had visualised the consulate hall, if not huge, but at least as big as Ticket area at VT station(well spaced with high ceiling). And here I was in some seminar hall with a low ceiling..So after initial expectations were shattered, I moved in the line where I had to collect the green packet - The docs I submitted 5 days ago were placed in a green colored packet. Collected the packet and the PINK token slip. Then i moved on to counter no1 for finger scanning.

Counter no 1 - Saw an old Fat lady @ the counter. **I fainted** thinking she was the Scarf Lady..recovered the next moment when she greeted me with a smile and a warm gud morning. Convinced my self...Naah..she cannot be the one...shes sweet and also the scarf is missing. Slid the green packet inside, She read and said..another Indiana student..and i again fainted, as i feared if she had some biases against the univ..guess she read my expressions and smiled back..Then she took my pink token, tore one part of it, returned the remaining half to me..I took that and walked towards the seating area. Was more like a waiting room..lobby full with all sorts of people...found a place near the mike(again had read,on forum to sit near the mike where u can hear token nos. clearly). Now here I chose to sit in the front row, proved to be useful..will explain below - How ?

So again I had nothing to do but to wait..it was 9.00 AM and i was waiting for my no. to be called...suddenly i saw the token no. It read - 643...the damn numerologist in me also had to wake up now only...added up the digits...6+4+3 = 13 !!!!! Damn...m gone..m finished..y me ?? mere saath hi kyun hota hai...?? prayed once .. twice ... and then the optimist numerologist in me(which rarely shows up) told me...so what if its 13 ?? Now add up these 2 nos as well..1+3 = 4..FOUR is an even no. I consoled myself..Things wud be even with u..don worry...jus smile...smile as much as u can ! And the confident "me" was back...

The strategic location i chose to sit proved to be advantageous in 2 ways -

1) I cud see the almost all the counters(except for the ones hidden behind the column of the building) --

Counter No 4: I think all H1/B1/L1 Visa's were being issued here. As i cud c nly the Infy/TCS/Deloitte guys going there. Also they did not have bulky folders like students...hence the assumption..
Counter No 6: F1 counter. A thin american lady..very sweet..did not reject a single visa and hardly took 30-40 sec for one person...Every1 arnd hoped to get this counter...
Counter No 5 and 10: For families..i think..cud see many gujrati families going to these counters...
Counter No 8: Old Fat Bald American Guy...he did reject a F1 VISA infront of me...
:
:
:
Similarly there were some more counters...some had not opened until then..And I had my back towards some, hence cudnt see them...

I too was praying for counter no 6...Nos. were called, starting from the sequence 003, 020..etc...mine was 643..so i thought..if these ppl are gonna go sequentially, there is no way i am getting out of the consulate before midnight..(yeah..wen u r worked up, u tend to think everything absurd..)

Six - Seven nos were called together..mine was called at 9:28..
" ***, ***, ***, *** , 643, ... " Now here is where my location again proved to be advantageous...i was in the front row, and as soon as my no. was read, i joined the queue. I was 2nd,even when my no. was called at 5th position.(old selfish mentality u c - me first !!) Anyways...so counter 8 was where i had to go..Fat Bald uncle...heart started pounding...shittt !! thought "No 13" was having its effect...din get time 2 curse any1..else i wud've...coz the first person went in , and came out...

Now, I entered the Visa Booth, placed my folder on the shelf to my left..was tired carrying it...and then the EVENT began...{jiske liye upar ki sab story likhi hai }

ME [Smiling ear to ear] : Goodmorning officer !
{had read on the forum to address him/her as Officer and not sir/ma'am, they like tht..may be he did, coz he smiled back too}
VO : Goodmorning ma'am.
ME : Again a big broad smile...(dunno for what)
VO : Can I have your pink token please?
ME : Sure sir(slid across the window)
VO : So what type of course are you going for?
ME : Its a graduate level course sir.
VO : You mean Masters?
ME : Yes sir, Masters(with full accent..cursed myself for this the very next second, but still smiling..)
VO : It would be masters in which subject ?
ME : Management in Information System, sir.
VO : How many universities did you apply to?
ME : 11 sir, 10 - Admits, 1 - Reject.
VO : Thats good.
ME : Again smiling...
VO [Typing something on the computer] : Your Bachelor's was in?
ME : Computer Engineering sir.
VO : How did you fair there - Ist class/II class.
ME : Ist class throughout sir[smiling again...]
VO : Good, so who is paying for your education?
ME : My family.[My sponsors were - Parents and maternal Grandmother, hence I said family.]
VO : What do your parents do?[Again typing on the computer]
ME : Father is a doctor and is serving as Joint Director in Medical & Health Services, Govt. of Rajasthan and my mother is a professor in English Literature, serving as Head of the Department, in University of Bikaner, Rajasthan.
VO : That sounds good, your Visa has been approved.
ME : Thankyou so much sir, Have a nice day !
VO : Oh, u too !

Smiling all the way from the booth to the consulate EXIT, I came out, looking for a guy who was carrying a ladies purse and a huge bag...surprised?eh??Don't be...was searching for my younger bro...who else can i bully around with, to hold a ladies bag ?? That huge bag contained some unecessary xeroxes of the certificates which i had earned from Class 5th to Class 12th - another paranoic stunt of mine..
Was out by 9:32 AM..

Thereafter,went to siddhi vinayak temple, took bro for a lunch treat(he deserved it after displaying a brave act of patience with me), a few phone calls...shopped a few things and then back home..

Lessons learnt --


1) Do not panic and become hysterical(like me).
2) The VOs are not hooligans..they are there to grant u visa if u r a genuine student and have all d docs in place.
3) **Smile**.. that eases out tension from either end.
4) Take a seat in the sitting area, where nos are audible.
5) Do not pounce on the students who come out from the booth - does not give a very gud impression..VO keeps on looking at students outside. Even while standing out...Smile at him..I did !


Thats it from me guys..A big thanku to all the Edulixians..
Esp. Shadow, THE RAINMAKER, Kuchcha, Shopgirl, APPRENTICE who guided and helped me with Applications and the Visa process !!

I did not go to any CONseller for anything...Edulix simply rocks !

_________________
The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you !!