Temptations that should be curbed...

I was at the Newark Airport last evening, waiting for my flight to Washington DC. As I waited for my flight, I was reminded of my first day in United States of America. I was at the Dulles Airport on August 7th, 2007 when I had come across the real coke-drinkers, the french fries connoisseurs and the cheese burger lovers.

How difficult is it to watch out for what you put through your system ?

She is a Keeper...

I was in NY this weekend. I had been there to attend a job fair. Until 1 week back, I was the recruiter. In a week's time, I was the applicant. Suddenly the feeling of being on the other side of the fence crept in. But, this post is not about how I delivered my elevator pitch or how I sucked up to the recruiters. This is about something funny!

On Saturday evening, Deep, Govind and I boarded a PATH train from Newport station to 33rd street. We were meeting a few of our EY-Kelley buddies to celebrate Govind's birthday. As the threesome got busy chit chatting, an old lady entered our Bogie. She traversed the entire length of the compartment, twice, in a hope to find a place to sit. I watched her jostle her way through the insensitive and un-noticing eyes. She was on the far end of the compartment. I sat between Deep and Govind, moving my head in acknowledgment to their banter, with my eyes closely following her movement. In a few seconds, she was at a feet's distance from me.

Mrids - Ma'am, would you like to take my seat?

Old Lady - Well, I would love to. Thank you so much. God Bless you.

Mrids - Oh, don't worry about it. That's fine.

I got up and the old lady gladly sat between Deep and Govind. It took the 2 guys 2 minutes to realize that I was standing in front of them and not sitting between them. I laughed at their funny expression. So after a split second, both the gentlemen got up too, each offering me a place to sit. I smiled and took one of the seats besides the old lady. She whispered in my ears - "I think you put them to shame". I smiled and continued my conversation with the guys. Old lady got busy with her newspaper too.

After a few minutes, as the train halted at 14th street station, she panicked.

Old Lady - Are we in Jersey City again?

Mrids - Oh no ma'am. This train is New York bound. We are a couple of stops away from 33rd street station.

Old Lady - Thank goodness!

She got back to reading her newspaper and we got busy being nostalgic about our school lives (read cursing the busy-ness of our current life). In a few minutes when the train approached 33rd street station, I told the old lady that we were in NY.

Old Lady - Thank you. You are old school. I have not seen girls like you in a long time.

I smiled and stepped out. As Deep and Govind passed her, almost getting out of the compartment, she shouted from the far end...

Old Lady - Guys.....She is a Keeper!

Hearing that, both Govind and Deep almost tripped....They laughed uncontrollably...I wondered, what happened to them suddenly... 

Govind shouted back - It's too late Ma'am, she is already taken! But we will let her husband know...

All three of us laughed loudly as we walked out of the smelly station!

Simple things, Simple smiles

Mr. Mathur has recently shifted his career focus from IT to Consulting. He has started with KPMG, Pune. He shares his experiences with Mrs. Mathur everyday. He gets excited with things like being able to work on power point presentations and creating slides. Mrs. Mathur smiles and listens to his everyday banter with all the interest and enthusiasm that she can muster at 1 AM in the night after a long day at work! She understands that how liberating it might be for him to not look at the black and green screen for a change. There have been times when super excited Mr. Mathur has woken her up in the middle of the night to ask questions about editing graphs and fonts on a slide.

Now, Mrs. Mathur has been working with powerpoint presentations for a little over 3 years and her comfort with the application is to an extent that most of the times she is able to solve his midnight questions without even looking at her computer. Mr. Mathur is more than awed about these simple skills that he thinks his wife is blessed with. She smiles to herself and goes back to sleep.

Another birthday away from home...

Just when I think I would not have any more topics to rant about, things happen...

... and I write!

Another year, another birthday away from home is not a new experience for me. I write this literally sitting half way around the world thanking all those who wished me and all those who thought of wishing me. After all it is the "thought" that counts! 

Owing to the time-zone confusion (between India and US) that I have put my loved ones through, for the past 3 years, my birthdays have begun on August 8th and have continued until wee hours of August 11th. This year was no different. But this year, everyone (and "everyone" primarily includes my facebook friends) had predicted that my birthday would be somewhat different. Their prophecy stemmed from the fact that it was my first one after our wedding. Neither he nor I have had a chance to comprehend the difference yet, but I guess, if so many people thought that way, it was supposed to be different.

So Mrs. Mathur started her day on a casual note chit chatting her way to glory with friends and family members while she drove to work. Once at work, she was overwhelmed with the face book messages. One of the facebookers wrote something like -

FB friend - So what's the plan for the day Mrs Mathur?

Mrs. Mathur "wanted" to write - Duh, the only plan I see in front of my computer screen is  the MS Project plan that I am supposed to be working on. But instead of that, I am responding to the facebook wishes. And unless Mr. Mathur plans to fly down to spend the evening with me, there is possibly nothing else that could put a smile on my face. 

But instead she wrote - No special plans, at work today. Thanks for your wishes FB friend.

Just when Mrs. Mathur was getting ready to leave from work, thinking of the laundry that awaited her at home, and debating whether to eat Maggie or sandwich for dinner, two of her school friends (who are now EY colleagues too) stopped by her desk and insisted that she has dinner with them. She wanted to excuse herself, but one of the friends, who she has known for almost 10 years was very adamant. So Mrs. Mathur spent her evening having dinner with 2 of her school friends. It was good to catch up with them after a long time! As she called for the check, bang came the waiter with a plate of mango Kulfi and a candle on its side.

Mango Kulfi with the birthday candle - 1st bday cake

Mrs. Mathur looked at her friend with inquiring eyes - Ab yeh kya hai boss?

Jatz - I tried getting a cake, but could not find one. This restaurant serves only Mango Kulfi and Kheer for desserts. I thought that of the two options at hand, Kulfi would be better for you to cut with the plastic knife, unless of course you want to try your hand at cutting through a Kheer bowl?

Mrs. Mathur - This is so very sweet of you Jatz, but you really did not have to do this.

Jatz - So who did it for you? The fun piece is still to come...couldn't have ended the evening w/o embarrassing you! I know how much you detest the cake cutting...

With 10 waiters around our table, and 20 odd strangers staring at us from their tables, these friends of mine continued to sing the "Happy Birthday" anthem, until I stuffed the singing mouths with Kulfi. It was by far the most strangest (read unique) birthday cakes I have ever cut.

After thanking her friends for a lovely evening, Mrs. Mathur bade them good bye. As she drove back from Washington DC to Virginia, she secretly hoped that the highway somehow made its way to Pune. She pined for his company and did not want to go back to the empty house. She managed to drag herself from the parking garage to the apartment to find a notice hanging on the door that read -" Dear Resident, A package awaits you at the reception desk. Please collect it per your convenience"

Mrs Mathur ignored it, threw the piece of paper on the kitchen counter, dumped her laptop bag on the couch and reached out for a glass of water. As she switched between the TV channels, she started talking to herself - Who has left a package for me? No one could possibly have had the address to my new apartment. No one...yeah no one...I have not given the address to anyone....except...except Neha! 

She threw the TV remote somewhere between the couch and the Kitchen counter, grabbed her apartment keys and rushed to the reception desk. As she impatiently waited for the front desk guy to get her package from the mail room, she wondered - But I gave her the address like a few hours ago...barely 24 hours. There is no way Neha could have had anything shipped so quickly! Naah...no chance. It is possibly the Marriott guys who must have left me a welcome kit or something. I could have collected this tomorrow too. Darn! Why did I rush now?

Front Desk Guy got a small brown package and asked Mrs. Mathur to acknowledge the parcel's delivery by signing on some sheet. Mrs. Mathur, had gotten too busy scanning the parcel to see where it had come from. Unable to get any clues and to avoid any more stares from the front desk guy, she quickly signed the delivery papers for him and ran out. She could not wait until she got to the apartment. While still on her way to the apartment, she managed to open the box to find a card and a cake inside. It said - "Dear Mridvika Happy Birthday. Love - Maa, Neha and Saurabh."

Birthday Cake and Card from Neha - 2nd Bday Cake

Mrs. Mathur was pleasantly surprised and was now smiling ear to ear. A much needed smile to end the day and sleep at ease. So her birthday did not go by without cutting the real cake. Knowingly or Unknowingly Neha had saved an hour of her brother's morning time which otherwise was sure to go in pampering Mrs. Mathur's sullen mood. Mr. Mathur was spared of the effort because of his sisters gesture.

I will have fond memories of this one for years to come! It was indeed different....Thanks Jatz! Thanks Neha!

Kabhie Haan, Kabhie Naa....

We love to love them. But we love to hate them more. We can do without them. But we can’t do without them even more. They drive us up the wall. But they send lovely shivers down our spine. They make the walls seem like better companions. But they act as our walls against all the world’s troubles. Yes, we're talking about the male species, who we end up saying yes to when they fall on their knees and pop the question, making full use of the 'puppy-face' syndrome. That’s the man for you. So simple, and yet the biggest complication in every woman’s life. Every lady worth her salt, would, at least once in her life, has wished for a world without men. Though we adore men individually, we agree that as a group they're rather stupid. They are like the milk for our chocolate chip cookies (read, when they are sweet), at the same time, they are the ones who make us want to pull out our hair in frustration (for what other reason were hair-fall shampoo invented?)

So, now we're stuck with them, and have to adjust and sacrifice a lot of things that we never had to during our fun singlehood.

~When one is surer than the surest, and happier than happiest ~

[via Gunj's Blog]

Love this voice....

Humility at its best....

Saina Nehwal's father, Harvir Singh receiving award on her behalf at the NDTV Indian of the Year



The mere simplicity just touches me to the core...

Togetherness...

And in moments like these, I miss you...

And he grew up...

Growing up in a gal-less neighborhood had its advantages and its disadvantages. 

Until the age of 10, I was absolutely carefree because I did not have to deal with the petty bickers over doll houses, kitchen sets, pink dresses and pink nail paints, matching sandals and jewelery. Playing cricket, jumping walls, stealing lemons from the neighboring farms, setting the pets free on the road, hiding stray pups in the garage, bruising knees while playing games like 'satolia', 'zanjeer' and 'kushti' occupied most of my evenings after school. Sure, I went to an all-girls school, but that effort on my parents part did not succeed in making a fine lady out of me. I was a brash tom-boy in my colony who could not find a single girl to play with. Fortunately or unfortunately, everyone who moved in the government quarters near ours, had little boys in their family. All these little boys eventually ended up befriending my brother and by virtue of that, became my followers. I used to lead most of the operations (read mischief's) during those times. 

But as I progressed towards my teens, something changed. Something suddenly seemed different. I did not feel like whiling away my evenings blocking the drain pipes with pebbles. Ringing a neighbor's door bell and hiding on the terrace till sun went down did not interest me anymore. Having all these little boys around me all the time asking for the next prank was not challenging. Something was changing. I just had to decide if I was happy with that change or not. I wanted to dress up like other girls in my school did, I wanted to have matching shoes and jewelery like other girls wore, I wanted to murmur in hushed tones and then giggle like other girls did. But I did not find company to do so. I often asked my mum - 'Why did you not give me an older sister'. She used to laugh and tell me - 'God wants you to take care a little angel - your brother, hence you are entrusted with this responsibility'.

~Angel~ I used to exclaim! - yeah right...**smirk** my brother was a demon. He was no different than any other irritating younger sibling. He wanted to do everything I did. He wanted to go with me wherever I went. He wanted to know who I was talking to over the phone. He wanted to eat what I ate. He used to pull my hair. He used to scratch my face. He used to get into fist fights with me. He was a pain! After every fight with him, I complained of not having a sister. Years went by fighting with each other. Distances due to education and work put a stop to our fist fights at least. Since we were supposed to be growing up, we started handling our disagreements in a so called mature way - we resorted to discussions! We discussed things until we murdered the very reason because of which we started it in the first place. 

In last couple of years, ever since I have moved to the US, he has amazed me with the way he talks & handles things at home and work. He sometimes makes me wonder if he is the same irritating dumbo that I used to fight with. I have realized that he has matured with his age. But yesterday, he did something which made me wonder if he has outgrown me? He did something so touching that put me out of my wits...On his way back from work, he bought 2 packets of sweets to celebrate his sister's wedding announcement - one to distribute amongst his colleagues at office and one for masi and mausaji. I was touched. No matter how cheesy this may sound, but today, I can definitely and most confidently say, I will not hesitate in agreeing with my mom's description of him - Angel :P Rofl..

For me?? Really??

Has it ever happened to you, at some point in life, when quotes like these, seem to make so much sense....A lot more than they ever did? You start believing that they were intentionally designed to speak for how you felt...

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans...!"

"In chase for perfection, we often leave behind the imperfect appropriateness which is what life's all about."

"Every day we make choices, and every night we must sleep with the consequences of those choices."

"We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they're called memories. Some take us forward, they're called dreams."

"Pick battles large enough to matter and small enough to win"

Never say 'Never'...

I have lost the count of number of things I have said I would 'Never' do, and then have eventually ended up doing them.  Sometimes by 'choice' and sometimes by virtue of this thing called 'destiny'...

#1 - While in 12th standard, I was hoping to get into an engineering college in Rajasthan. My masi had asked me to consider the colleges in Mumbai. I had very brashly announced - "I would never study in Mumbai. I will loose focus in that city and will never be able to complete my engineering. That city is only about glitz and glamor."

In May 2005, I graduated as a Computer Engineer from Thadomal Shahani Engineering College (Mumbai).

#2 - When I was in engineering, my friends used to ask, what would I prefer - A love marriage or an arranged marriage? And my response to them was loud and clear - "I would never get into the complexities of a relationship. Relationships are synonymous to pain. I will never fall for anyone. Love is for idle minds. I will let my parents find someone for me."

In Nov 2006, I committed to spend the rest of my life with N.

#3 - When a distant relative asked me why did I not pursue masters soon after my engineering? I derided her suggestion by saying - "I would never leave my country and go abroad to either study or live. I love India and I will serve this country till I breathe my last."

On 7th August 2007, I was waiting at the Washington Dulles Airport for my connecting flight to Indianapolis.

#4 - After completing my masters from Bloomington, I moved to New York for work. A friend of mine tried to advise me about advantages of living in a small city. I jeered at him by saying - "As long as I am in US, I would never move out of NY. There is so much life in this city."

Since April 7th 2009, owing to my work, I have been living in an 'unheard-of' city in Virginia - Herndon.

#5 - Before leaving for India in September 2009, N asked me, what would 'we' do, if his MBA plans do not work out this year. Should we explore options to live in India for a foreseeable future? I quickly snapped at him - "Why do you have to be so pessimistic? A US university will never deny you an admit. We will never talk about going back to India, until we have traveled around the world and enjoyed first few years of our marriage."

March 2010, I am voluntarily exploring options to go back to India.

My name is Chhatrapati...and it is so, because I want to be a Mumbaikar

This is an article that was posted by Salma Mirza in her Facebook Notes...This is hilarious and I want to keep this one to laugh again -

My name is Chhatrapati Shivaji. My father's name is Chhatrapati Shivaji. All other names have long since been outlawed. I wake up everyday at 6:30 am CST (Chhatrapati Standard Time) to go to my school:Chhatrapati Shivaji Vidyalaya. It was a little confusing getting there at first,because all schools in the city have the same name.But once I got directions, it was fine. All I have to do is go down Chhatrapati Shivaji Road, make a left turn at Chhatrapati Shivaji Chowk, go straight till Chhatrapati Shivaji Marg, until I reach Chhatrapati Shivaji School. Once I got lost and found myself at Chhatrapati Shivaji Chowk instead of Chhatrapati Shivaji Road. Silly mistake, when I think about it.

My class teacher, Mr C. Shivaji, is a good teacher. Today he asked "Chhatrapati, can you answer that question?" The whole class stood up to answer. Yesterday our school, C. S. Vidyalaya, had a cricket match with our rival school, C. S. Vidyalaya. Of course, we don't know which school won.

But that's okay. This weekend, my family and I will go to the zoo, Chhatrapati Shivaji Pranibaugh, and see all the, um... plants. There used to be animals there, but they're all dead now. They say it was due to "negligence" because the keepers were all running for government, one of them for the office of Prime Chhatrapati.

We have two main telecommunication companies, CSNL and CSNL. One provides telephone services and the other provides broadband MultiNet access via the Chhatrapati Shivaji Satellite. Sometimes we don't know whether we're accessing a website or whether Chhatrapati Shivaji (our grandmother) is calling up. I'll go online later to see if I have any new e-mail at chhatrapati@chhatrapati.com

Foreigners are often confused which Paanch Sitaara Vishramgraha (5-ishtar hotel) to stay in, because they all have the same names. I think the Chhatrapati Shivaji Vishramgraha is pretty good, and one should stay there rather than the Chhatrapati Shivaji Vishramgraha or the Chhatrapati Shivaji Vishramgraha.

During the weekend, my family and I might go to the beach, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Samudrakinara, and after that we may go see a film. All foreign films are dubbed in Indian languages because, as we are taught in school:

(1) Nothing foreign is good, and
(2) All things foreign that are good have been stolen from us.

I go to sleep pretty early, after watching the popular TV show Kaun Banega Chhatrapati. Tomorrow will be another day... I think. Sometimes, in whispers, I hear stories told of a mythical age long ago, when places and things had different names. Stories of a time when each thing had it's own name, and of a concept called heterogeneity". It's a legend, only half-believed, of a time when places and things had a history, and the city an identity.

Date: 22 November, 450 AC (After Chhatrapati)
Place: Chhatrapati Shivaji Mahanagar (Formerly Mumbai) (Formerly Bombay)

Ads there and Ads here....

I often wonder why Indian ad makers have to make spoofs of the competing brands. For example, a Sprite commercial in India will never mention anything against a leading soft drink competitor (like Pepsi). But it's commercial will be such that it makes fun of what has been depicted in Pepsi's Ad.

Pepsi's commercial

Sprite's commercial

But in US, the ad makers don't seem to indulge in spoofing culture. Their 'wars' are quite direct...

The AT&T Commercial

Verizon's Commercial

Another AT&T Ad's

iPAD on facebook - iLaugh

• This is Apple's schtick:
  Step 1 - Introduce a product in an inferior form.
  Step 2 - All the Appleheads and Gadgetfreaks will buy it regardless of it's shortcomings, just because it's Apple.
  Step 3 - One year later, introduce the product again, but now in the form it should have always been in.Step 4 - Rational people now purchase your product for the first time, but all the Appleheads and Gadgetfreaks have now bought it twice.

• ........Thinks ipad will be a flop until apple hits a $300 price point and is able to run programs the way a normal computer does

•  iPet my iCat on its iBack and iThink iNeed to iBuy some iToilet iPaper but then iRoll on the iFloor laughing my iAss off. iROFL using iTunes ;)

From riding the rails to cruising the skies

I distinctly remember the train journey's from my childhood - the second class compartments, the suitcases, the chains and the locks, the coolies, the chai wallahas, the bhelpuri bhaiya, the smelly toilets, the TTs, the paper plates, the card games, the pooris, the pickles, the pakoras, the kulhar wali chai, fights over sleeping on the berths of choice, the layer of dust on faces early morning....the entire jingbang just flashed in front of my eyes for a few seconds as I waited for my flight at the Newark Liberty International Airport today. Such train expeditions were a part of my growing up....every summer my brother and I looked forward to these travels...

Why these random thoughts on an airport?

So as I waited at the airport today, I observed a woman. She was traveling with another lady (probably her friend - since they chattered all along). After hours of talking, she felt exhausted and took out a cereal bar (something similar to grainy, nutty - indian chikki) from her purse. She gobbled it all down her throat without even looking at her friend. And I thought, had she done this in India, this 'Miss woman' would have earned a title of miss rude and miss ill-mannered by now...Her behavior was the reason I was reminded of my train travels. There wasn't a single train ride when my brother and I did not make friends with a few other kids in our compartment. We played, we giggled, we fought, we cried and yet....we shared. One glance from our parents, and we knew that we were supposed to offer our favorite cream biscuits and Eclairs to the newly met friends on the train.

In India, goodies are offered to even the strangers traveling with you. And here, let alone the people traveling together, but even the family members do not offer their own food to others in the group. Surprises me...No infact scares me...Do I want to spend the rest of my life in a land unknown to me?

Think before you wish....

Few hours ago in Mumbai (India) -
26 degrees Celsius seemed to be torturous - I used wet wipes to clean my face every few minutes to see it turn black - Chilled Lime Juice was consumed every hour - I cribbed when N took me around in non-AC cabs - I wished the temperature went down a bit....

Few hours later in NewYork (USA) -
I was awarded for my cribbing: -6 degrees Celsius. Enjoy!

Mail-O-vation

I had ordered a laptop skin from SkinIt.com. As I was tracking my shipment, I noticed a new delivery method called UPS Mail Innovations. On further reading, I realized that it is not new, it has been in existence since 1997. Darn my ignorance!

Anyways, for those who think like me that only a "S" differentiates the two companies, here is some context -

UPS is a publicly-traded company that stands for United Parcel Service. USPS stands for the United States Postal Service and is a quasi-governmental agency. USPS is self-funded through the sale of postage stamps and delivery services. (Source)

So, the UPS Mail Innovation works as depicted below -

UPS Mail Innovations (UPS MI) has been a National Account of the United States Postal Service (USPS) business partner segment since 1997.  Through this work-share partnership, we provide global mail services.

The program works like this:
UPS MI picks up the mail, processes (sorts) and transports your mail to the USPS.

Then:
The USPS accepts your mail piece and makes the final delivery to your mailing address.

(Source)

Public Speaking - is it always by choice?

I have been a part of the Toastmasters Club both in India and in the US. Toastmasters is an international organization with a global presence. The clubs registered with Toastmasters International provide an avenue to people who either want to overcome their fear of public speaking or want to nurture their talent for public speaking. People take conscious efforts to become better public speakers. With both my fiance and brother as active members of Toastmasters (Mumbai), I have seen the efforts, the research, the practice, the dedication and the persistence that they have to put in, in order to pursue their passion for public speaking.

A random thought (the title of the post) crossed my mind after I read a column in Times of India about Dimple Yadav (Mulayam Singh Yadav's daughter-in-law) contesting by-elections from Firozabad, UP. The 32 year old shy 'bahu' got a ticket to the election solely because of her identity. The column also depicts a picture where she addresses her maiden rally of about a thousand people. And thus is born a public speaker, mind you, not by choice, but by virtue of her association to a political family.

• Does she like being a public speaker? - does she have a choice?
  
• Does she want to learn the nuances of becoming a better speaker - are you kidding me? 
• Does she write her own speeches - are you from Jupiter to be asking that question?
• Does she care about the voice modulation - only if that means a larger vote bank.

From Rabri Devi in Patna to Kanimozhi in Chennai, both of them started as not-wanting-to-be-public-speakers eventually ended up becoming one. Is it their ability to convince masses through their speeches that was instrumental in their wins in the elections? They claim so, but I wonder...

P.S: Btw, Dimples' interview in English was far more bearable than her speech in Hindi.

On another note, while she is pitted against Raj Babbar in the political battlefield, it is Sanjay Dutt versus Salman Khan from the Bollywood fraternity extending their support and exhibiting loyalties in these political rallies. (This can be another topic for a post)

Election Update - As I am about to publish this, she has already lost the election to Raj Babbar. Looks like, she needs to attend a Toastmasters session to become a better speaker..

New learnings each day

I just finished reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseni. I had read his Kite Runner a couple of years ago, but this one is a masterpiece. For a few days after I have finished reading a book, I still linger on with the plot,the story and the characters of the book. And so this time, I have been doing a post novel reading on Afghanistan. I started with wikipedia and was surprised to learn this -
 

The name Afghānistān, comes from the Sanskrit word Upaganasthan meaning 'land of the allied tribes'. It was a Hindu kingdom until the 11th century A.D. Source
 

So what I thought of as an islamic nation till now, has its roots in Hindu Civilization, Indus Valley to be precise. I sometimes cannot help but pity my limited general knowledge.