When I felt alive ...

When was the last time you felt alive? Alive as in you feel the fury of the nature on you; the moment which makes you believe in the perfect harmony of the universe. The last time that happened to me was when I visited Niagara falls. What a beauty it was. I was marvelled by the whole picturesque view, truly one of the wonders of nature. In Niagara falls, one of the main attractions is Maid of the Mist, which takes you much closer to the falls in a boat, That in itself is a surreal experience. At the point closest to the falls, three sides of you are surrounded by falls and you are blinded by Mist from the falls. There is nothing else in your mind but the admiration for the falls at that point of time.

But, one of the truly amazing experiences for me was 'Cave of the winds' in which you can climb up a stair of steps and get very closer to the falls. You feel the falls directly hitting you and mind you, the water hits you with such an amazing force that you can't be there directly under it for a long time. Yes, that was the moment I felt alive. I felt the force of nature at its fullest and realized how mortal we are. I was so mesmerized by the whole experience that I didn't want to go away from it. Each time the water hit me, I was getting connected to the universe more and understanding the value of my precious life. I was truly one of the best experiences of my life, an experience of a lifetime.


Pic Courtesy: Sujith Mahapatra

Now tell me, when was the last time you felt alive?

While I was on my bike ...

She looked closely at her new toy. There is no backing off now. She asked for it afterall. She mounted the bicycle very carefully. Her dad held the bicycle from backside and she slowly started pedalling the cycle. She swayed this side, that side, many a times, she felt that she is going to fall the next moment. She was really scared. But dad reassured her that he is not going to loosen his grip on the bicycle. She held on to it and slowly learnt to master the fine art of balancing on two wheels. The day she balanced a bicycle on her own, she was elated. Her joy knew no bounds. She cycled that day for a longtime.

My cycles changed many a times after that, but one thing that remained constant was my love for biking. I always felt an adrenaline rush whenever I mounted on a bicycle seat. While I used my feet on the pedal to race ahead, I loved the wind touching my face, tousling my hair and I always had a song on my lips. One of the simple pleasures of life.

In my bskul, I used a bicycle for two years. Me and my friends used to go for long drives on our cycles, we had cycle races, night cycling and even slow cycle races. I still remember the morning rush when it would be only be five minutes remaining for the lecture to start and we will rush from our mess towards the cycle stand. We pick up our cycles and zoom we go. Those are the times when I would have cycled at the maximum speed. We had to reach there at any cost before the lecturer closes the door. We used to park our bicycles in the parking area and rush to the lecture halls, at a speed that would have put any sprinter to shame.

When in NewYork, I was always fascinated by sheer amount of activities that goes in and around Central Park. One of the things I always wanted to do was to cycle in the Park and I managed to do that one fine Sunday. I had been putting it off for many weeks because of various reasons like wind speed too high, temperature too low, etc. And when I finally managed to do that, what an experience it was. You can rent bicycles right outside some of the park entrances. While in one of those shops, I noticed the large amount of merchandise associated with biking. There were cycling shots, helmets, goggles, gloves and what not.

We rent our bikes and started going around the park. There are designated paths for cycles and even traffic lights where you have to stop and allow the pedestrians to cross, all right inside the park. While going around the vast expanse of Central Park, there are several things that catch your eye. There will be musicians playing melodious music, people boating in the lake, kids/adults playing different games, baseball game being played in the central ground, lots of people walking around the park, street vendors and a large number of people on their bikes. That was my first experience of using a geared bike also. I had so much fun and I completed two full rounds around the Central Park. Quite strenuous and a very good workout session. I plan to go back for many more next time I am in NewYork.


Pic: My shoes and helmet in the grass in Central Park

Always fascinated with its charm, I think I always go back to being that little girl whenever I mount a bike. All my worries and stress vanish and I start playing hide and seek with wind. Moreover, its so eco-friendly. Three cheers to you bike, one of my first and most favourite toys. You will never cease to amaze with the charm you ooze out on me.

SO what is your favourite biking experience?

Trivia: Lance Armstrong's book 'Its not about the bike' is one of the most inspiring auto biographies I have ever read.

An ode to Maggi

Blog Marathon Post 15

She looked into the pan as her mamma crushed the maggi and put it into boiling water. Masala was added next and the mixture was stirred into perfection. She waited for that two minutes to get over, with her mouth watering over the thought of her tasty snack.

"Mummy bhokh lagi, bas do minute! School se aate dhoom machaate
Ek hi baat pe manaate, Maggi Maggi Maggi!" - A jingle that we all have grown up hearing.

Maggi had always been my favourite junk food. During my childhood days, it was eaten once in a while, as a snack or when I was hungry at the odd times. I have a story of messing up maggi when I tried to cook it for the very first time :) Can someone go mess up maggi too? Yes, I did :) I read the package instructions so thoroughly that I timed my maggi and it ended up uncooked. Mom had to cook it again to make it edible. :|

Some years later, Maggi became my staple food. I was doing my internship in Mumbai, and I used to eat Maggi everyday, read "everyday" for dinner. I tried to experiment with Maggi a lot those days. I tried adding different veggies, scrambled eggs, etc. to make more tasty/healthy :) I never got tired of it and it was always the safest option. You can't mess up Maggi really. Can you? Oh ok, everyone is allowed one mistake in life, right?

During my MBA days, I discovered a whole new facet of Maggi. The whole economy of my B school survived on Maggi. We had plain maggi, veg maggi, egg maggi, onion maggi, fried maggi, chesse maggi, tomato maggi and any other variety of maggi which you can think of. We had all the eateries in our campus competing with each other to provide as many varieties of maggi as possible. Had maggi not been discovered, I think many of our batch mates would have gone without food for days :) Fond memories of those days include going to have maggi in the nearby eatery as late as 3AM in the night(or morning, whatever you want to call it), skipping dinner all together so that we can have maggi late into the night and having maggi for lunch, dinner, midnight snack or whenever we feel like. I told you, the whole economy survived on maggi :)

After a long hiatus, I had maggi three months ago in US. It was late into the night; I was too tired to cook anything and hungry. I looked through the cupboards, and found a maggi packet up in the shelf. Viola, I cooked it in no time and my favourite 'junk' food was ready. While digging into it, I remembered my days in B school and internship days when I survived solely on Maggi. I was so happy that day, as a little child who found her lost toy back.

Maggi, no matter how many McDs/CCDs or Baristas come up, no matter how much McVeggie try his best to lure me, no matter how much more packaged/ready-to-eat foods market themselves, you will remain my favourite junk food. I promise, no one else will take your place. Three Cheers to You, may you continue spreading your charm in two minutes always :)

What is your favourite maggi story? C'mon, don't tell me you don't have a maggi story, everyone has one :D

I have sinned ...

Blog Marathon Post 9

I have sinned. The crime that I committed is not a petty one. It’s something that can lead to enough misunderstandings and wars :| It has the power to destroy, destruct and annihilate.

Grammar Nazis came looking for me and brought me before the jury. The jury consisted of Wren and Martin, Lynne Truss, my English teachers from school and The Queen (afterall, its her English). Yours truly stood before the jury, eyes downcast, and head heavy with shame; waiting for the verdict.

The jury started reading out the charges against me.

Charge No. 1: She has used lets instead of let’s on many occasions, be it while inviting people over or going out with friends.

Lynne Truss: “Hmm, interesting dewdrop, you think apostrophes can be used and omitted whenever you want? Haven’t I written one whole book on this?”

English Teacher from third standard peers through her dark rimmed glasses.

The Queen: “The kids of this age have no respect for the legacy that I have built over these years”

Charge No. 2: She has written innumerable mails ending with “Please revert back to me in case of any doubts”.

Dewdrop(in her mind): “I want to dig a hole and bury myself now”

Wren and Martin: “By reverting back, are you inferring that they should come back to you with double the force?”

English teacher from fifth standard faints :|

The Queen: “The kids of this age ... legacy ... no respect ... ”

Charge No.3: She has ‘given’ many exams instead of taking them.

Wren and Martin, Lynne Truss (with a disappointed look): “No comments”

English Teacher from fourth standard leaves the room.

Charge No.4: She has used ‘a few bucks’ in conversations way too many times

Dewdrop(thinking aloud): “Sorry Rupee or Rupiya”

Wren and Martin: “A slang, oh god, I better not comment on this”

Lynne Truss: “I don’t appreciate the use of slangs itself, forget about Indianising it”

The Queen: “Oh, the kids of this age ... blah blah ... legacy ... no respect”

Jury Verdict: Go back to your school grammar textbooks, learn from Wren and Martin’s grammar textbooks; Lynne Truss’s ‘Eats, Shoots and Leaves’ (which you have been putting off for so long now) and read, read and read more.

Dewdrop accepts the verdict wholeheartedly.

Sue conducted a Red Marker Blogathon in the month of June. I couldn’t participate in it because I just discovered her blog yesterday. However, I sat up and read all the posts related to the Red Marker Blogathon through the night. I learnt a lot, I laughed at some funny anecdotes, at the same time, I was ashamed to see some of mistakes I make in my daily English usage. I am far from reading or writing perfect English. But, I am making a conscious effort to improve myself. Whenever someone corrects something that I have written or told, I appreciate it.

We Indians are known for indianising the Queen’s English, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t write or speak language in a proper manner. I have listed below some of the common mistakes we make so that we all can learn from it.

- How many times have we used The Greengrocer’s Apostrophe at the wrong places? ‘I went to buy some book’s and I have many friend’s’, when the usage of apostrophe in these cases are totally uncalled for.

- I am tensed – Really? Past or Present, it remains tense: I am tense, I was tense.

- The difference between It’s/Its or you’re/your– Its is possessive form, It’s means It is or It has. You’re = You are, Your is again the possessive form. We are combining two words using the apostrophe ‘.

- You know, you are beside me now, but there can be someone besides you in my life :)

- The ubiquitous usage of ‘Anyways’ – How many more times does someone have to tell us that its ‘Anyway’, please omit the ‘s’.

- Usage of marriage instead of wedding – Believe me, no one other that the husband and wife can say how their marriage is, but you can very well ask your friend "How was Priya’s wedding?"

- Mixing up ‘can’ and ‘may’ – ‘can’ denotes the ability to do something and ‘may’ denotes permission. “You can enter the class, but you may not”, the teacher says

- We ‘lose’ the game and the ring becomes ’loose’, not the otherway round.

- You TELL someone something, but you SAY something to someone.

Beware, Grammar Nazis can come looking for you anytime. Let's start with simple rules like clicking that spell check/grammar check in MSWord or Outlook before sending out something; proof reading; or asking someone to proof read what we wrote. Lets respect the language and pave the way for better communication.

Do you have any pet peeves that you would like to share? Funny anecdotes related to the usage of a language? In the meantime, let me go and get my copy of 'Eats, shoots and Leaves'.

A broadway musical

Blog Marathon Post 7

I was first introduced to the world of broadway musicals two years back, when I visted NewYork. Before that, the only musicals which I was familiar with were some movies like 'My fair lady' and 'Casablanca'. I was thrilled and fascinated by the whole concept of the broadway musicals. The effort that goes into making a musical itself made it 'wow' factor for me. The actors, dancers, singers, chorus members, stage managers, musicians, directors, choreographers to stagehands, dressers, hairdressers, designers, box office personnel and ushers, work in unison to make the musical a success.

New York city's Broadway Theatre district is a popular tourist attraction. The Theatre district comprises of a lot of theatres hosting a variety of musical shows belonging to various genre like comedy, horror, romance, family, ectectera. Whenever I walk through the broadway street, I am fascinated by the huge billboards, bright lights and enormous theatres. Seeing a broadway musical was high on the things-to-do whenever I visited NewYork. First time, due to time constraints, I couldn't get tickets for any of the shows other than Legally Blonde. I had earlier described that experience here.

Next time I visited NewYork on work, I was adamant that I have to catch upon 'Phantom of the Opera'. I had heard so much about the show that not watching it was not an option this time around. After many weeks of procrastination, I ventured out one fine morning to the streets of NewYork, to experience the musical. The weather was perfect; the streets were swamped equally with NewYorkers and tourists. It was a Saturday and by the time we could reach the Majestic theatre, we were late for the afternoon show by five minutes. I didn't want to miss the show by even five minutes, hence we decided to spend the day in the city and watch the matinee show. We finalised on the Front Mezzanine tickets for the show. For the uninitiated, there are two types of tickets for a musical: Orchestra and Mezzanine. Orchestra tickets house the seats at the ground level and right in front of the stage and Mezzanine tickets house the seats at an elevated area. Yours truly had done some research earlier and had come to know that the Mezzanine seats give a better view of all the parts of the stage and the act. But this is purely a personal choice, I know many people who like Orchestra seats better.

The show began sharp at eight and I couldn't take my eyes off the stage even for a moment. Based on the French novel, Le Fantom de l'Opera, this musical is the longest running musical in broadway. The theatre in which the show is hosted truly lives upto its name, it is indeed 'Majestic'. With intricate work in its ceiling and walls and perfect lighting, the moment you walk into the theatre, you are captivated by the world of Phantom. Brilliant performances by all the actors, well co-ordinated orchestral music and enchanting sets makes the musical an out-of-the-world experience. The swiftness with which they change the sets and costumes, the technicalities that goes to bringing the light and sound effects together and the sheer brilliance of the whole act, mersmerises you for the whole two hours.

A special mention to music by Andrew Webber which captivates you and keeps you on your toes at the same time. 'Amgel of Music', 'Phantom of the opera', 'Music of the Night' are just some of the soundtracks which brings this whole musical to its glory. The actor who plays 'Phantom' gives such a commendable performance that you sympathise with him, feel his agony and desperation, all throughout the musical. Christine and Roal also play their part to perfection, complementing each other.

A must watch for anyone visiting NewYork, this show is by far the most visually appealing and enthralling experience of my life. I plan to go back for many more broadway musicals. Its a great experience.

Do you have any broadway experience which you would like to share? Or any show that you recommend?

Its Coffee Time !!!

Blog Marathon Post 6

Its drizzling outside; I can see the raindrops slowly hitting the window panes and flowing down. They form patterns on the pane, try to do a small dance before flowing in unison to the ground. Suddenly, I feel the urge to have a coffee. I am surprised at myself because I had left the habit of having coffee or tea for quite sometime. Nowadays the only time I drink I either coffee/tea is when I visit somebody's house and they offer me a cup of tea/coffee. I play with idea for sometime and the craving takes over me. I pick up a few notes and head over to the nearby barista. On reaching barista, I casually remark to the boy at the counter. "One Cafe Mocha, please. Take-away". Wasn't mocha always my favourite? In my coffee drinking days, I could count in my fingers the occassions when I had ordered something else. He nods, I pay him and he sets about making my coffee. With amazing dexterity, he juggles the cup, coffee bean powder, the bottle of chocolate sauce, the steamer and milk bottle and viola, the mocha is ready. I pick up the coffee and head back to my desk.



Back at my desk, the rich aroma of the coffee fills my nostrils, arousing my senses instantly. I take one sip and the rich nutty flavour fills my mouth, lifting my spirits. The caffeine has its own way of spelling a cast on our body with its magic. Holding the coffee cup, gazing into the rain outside, I wonder how my relationship with coffee have evolved over these years.

While I was staying with my parents, well after my bournvita-drinking ages, I used to have three cups of coffee daily. A black coffee early in the morning, one filter coffee with breakfast and another with snacks in the evening. Those times, my mom brewed the excellent filter coffee, added a drop of her love and the end product was amazing. back then, I was entirely a coffee person. I refused to drink tea and when I went visiting my relatives, my aunts had to prepare coffee especially for me. I never took tea from restaurants or friends' place or my own home. It was always coffee for me. I was in love with the beverage. It acted as a mood lifter, energy booster and a tasty beverage - a very faithful companion for all the times.

Once I moved out of my home, the luxury of someone brewing a cup of coffee was over. Inaccessibility to a well-equipped kitchen, prevented me from brewing a coffee for myself. So my coffee drinking pattern changed from regular coffees to once in a while coffee with friends. Still, CCD stayed the favourite hang out place with friends and hence coffee drinking was confined to weekends. This continued for the next two years when I was in Bangalore.

During my MBA days, our mess served regular tea and by that time I had gone from a tea-hater to I-am-ok-with-drinking-tea person. I used to take tea once in a while and my dear friend M was a huge tea-lover. Whenever I used to go out with her, we always drank tea. Coffee drinking was a rarity those days.

Once the MBA was over and I came to Hyderabad, I stopped drinking tea or coffee for purely health reasons. Tea or Coffee was limited to very very rare occassions like meeting up with a friend in a coffee shop or while visiting my parents back home. However, over these years, two things remained constant in my life: First, a black coffee, early morning from my mom is still one of the best things in my life. Second, 'Never ever in my life can I take coffee to stay awake for an exam. I can take coffee and stay awake and have fun, but for studying an exam, a coffee never helps' :|

As you can see, my relationship with coffee has evolved over a period of time. I went from an ardent coffee lover to occasional coffee drinker to a very rare coffee taker. Why am I reminded of all of these today? Because even today, when a rainy day comes, it becomes all cozy and I need someone of lift my spirits, I still go back to my age old friend. I still go back to your nuttiness, your flavour, your aroma and you my friend, never disappoints me. You do your duty perfectly, no matter how many years I have neglected you, no matter how disappointed you were when I chose other beverages over you. We may have many more rocky patches to tread on, but we will stick together for many more years to come.

Cheers to a cup of coffee :) So, what is your coffee drinking experience?

The weekend that was ...

fun filled with good sporting action and a boring movie !!!

Saturday evening was spent watching Germany-Argentina match in hard rock cafe with four football crazy, Argentinian fans. Me for once haven't watched a football match completely, but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of watching this match. The first half was thoroughly entertaining, the atmosphere inside HRC was electrifying with people supporting both the teams. The second half was entirely in germany's favor and the mood at our table had become quite sullen, by the last few minutes. Klose, Muller, Ozil, Podolski, Schweinsteiger and co. put up a good show, but how I wish Argentina had won. I had a hard time consoling some heart-broken Argentina/Messi/Maradona fans, the look on their faces was worth capturing, but I didn't dare to do it for entirely health reasons :)

Sunday evening, I watched 'I hate luv storys'. Karan Johar trying to make a spoof on his own love stories is commendable, but this movie, by far is the most ridiculous one from his kitty. Absolutely no story line, below par performances, no good songs even. I even felt that the editor forgot his/her scissors somewhere. And how I thought this one is going to be different :( The only saving grace was a few good jokes here and there, esp, 'Idhar Udhar ki batein, vagera, vagera' one. I can't give more than one star for this movie. Watch it at your own risk.

So how was your weekend?

Type 1 diabetics

Today while I was having lunch with my friends, we were joined by an American man, a very senior person in my client location. He is a very jovial person, health conscious, works out everyday and always have a smile on his face. We started talking and the topics ranged between his work-out schedule, lunch menu, the bike-trip that he has signed up for, his life in California, etcetcera. He told us about his wife and kid and mentioned that his son suffers from Juvenile diabetics - Type 1.

Type 1 diabetes, also called juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a disorder of the body's immune system. Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body's immune system attacks and destroys certain cells in the pancreas, an organ about the size of a hand that is located behind the lower part of the stomach. These cells -- called beta cells -- are contained, along with other types of cells, within small islands of endocrine cells called the pancreatic islets. Beta cells normally produce insulin, a hormone that helps the body move the glucose contained in food into cells throughout the body, which use it for energy. But when the beta cells are destroyed, no insulin can be produced, and the glucose stays in the blood instead, where it can cause serious damage to all the organ systems of the body.

He was telling us how his son's body have to connected to an "Insulin Pump" always and how they constantly have to monitor the insulin levels. His wife gets up every three hours in the night to check whether everything is fine. He was telling us how exhausting it is to prick your finger, test blood and then inject the required amount of insulin (I think this is the common way of treatment in India) everyday and how much easier it is to use an "Insulin Pump". With device, he can enter the amount of carbs he is taking for each meal into the device and it will give you the amount of Insulin to be injected. I googled for info on the device and was astonished to discover how expensive it is. But it was disheartening to know that he has to be attached to the device 24x7, 7 days a week, 365 days a year for the rest of his life.

The warning signs of type 1 diabetes include extreme thirst; frequent urination; drowsiness or lethargy; sugar in urine; sudden vision changes; increased appetite; sudden weight loss; fruity, sweet, or wine-like odor on breath; heavy, labored breathing; stupor; and unconsciousness.

Type 1 diabetes is generally diagnosed in children, teenagers, or young adults. Scientists do not yet know exactly what causes type 1 diabetes, but they believe that autoimmune, genetic, and environmental factors are involved.

He told us that his son was detected of diabetics when he was a few years old because of frequent urination and extreme thirst. Since Type 1 diabetics can occur to even babies as small as a few months, I wonder how difficult it will be to diagnose them cause parents may overlook those symptoms as natural processes of growing up and the child may not always be able to artculate what he/she is going through. Its quite scary.

I think awareness is the key. If your child or someone close to you is having any of the symptoms, please consult a doctor as soon as possible.

Here is to more medical inventions and more ways to eradicate pain from our lives. This post is dedicated to all medical practitioners across the globe.

Info Courtesy: Juvenile Diabetics Research Foundation International

Five people you will meet in your train journeys

Disclaimer: Characters mentioned in this post are purely imaginary. If you can identify with any of them, chances are high that we took a train together sometime to some common destination.

Train Journeys form an indispensable part of my life. They have always been my comfortable and favourite mode of transport. As a child, looking out of the window and watching those lush green fields passing by, was my favourite pass time during my train journeys. Cows grazing in the fields, children playing cricket, bridges over those beautiful rivers were some of the common sights during my journeys. There were a lot more of such beautiful sights on my way to my ancestral home. Periodic visits by chai-wallahs, pantry boys, magazine sellers used to pipe up my mood more.

Even now, with the cool breeze touching my face and tousling my hair, I can hear train singing a lullaby for me. Now most of my train journeys being overnight ones, i don't get to enjoy the sights anymore. But something that hasn't changed till now, is the different types of people I travel with. Let me try and broadly divide them into the some categories:

Loners: 'Live and let others live' types. The easiest of all types to put up with. They would either be listening to music or reading something or dreaming(???). Whatever they are doing, they won’t bother to interfere with what others are doing. They are content in their own world.

Mother India types: They have taken it upon themselves to take care of everybody. They will start off with questions like where u are going? what u are going to do there? where u are working? etc... They would normally be traveling with their sons or husbands or nephews. If they are traveling with their daughters or grand children, they chose to ignore u. Come on, how can they have time to spare for u when they are busy feeding their grand children, talking to them and putting them to sleep. The main advantage of travelling with them is the occasional food packets that they take out and insist that you eat atleast some of it. But I somehow like travelling with them. I feel a sense of security when a motherly figure is around.

Aunty Number One: Mostly in their middle ages, they love to extract each and every minute details of your personal life. Though they will start off with asking about your work and education, it won’t take much time for them to drift the focus to your family. They would be eager to know what your dad do for a living and where your home town is. During one of my journeys, I met this corpulent, nosey lady who started off a conversion with me, in a very friendly manner. She kept on extracting the minutest details from me, starting with the place i stay now to the nursery school I attended(!!). Considering the tangential direction in which the conversation was heading, I started smelling something really fishy. Disappointment was quite visible in her face, when I politely(Gosh, I extracted the last drop of patience in my body to sound so) told her that I don’t belong to the religion which she thought I would be a part of. She shifted gears and continued the conversation with increased vigour. Then, the conversation went something like this.

Auntiji: So do u know that girl named X, who stays there. (She infact gave me her full house address with her dad's name)

Me(thinking when will this conversation finally end): Ya, I know her, infact she studied with me in school(World is after all so small. The girl in picture happens to be one of my best friends from my school days).

Auntiji: U know what? One of my relatives told me about this girl, I wanted to see her for my son. (This was followed by a string of questions about how she looks, where is she now, etcetera)

Me(cursing myself for starting a conversation with her): Hmmm, yeah, she is good Aunty. (I didn’t want to explain the facts that she is seeing someone and she is not interested in marriage and stuff).

I finally managed to act as if i haven't slept for days and if i dont sleep now,i am drop dead. I withdrew to my upper berth with the auntiji wondering whether she should ask the girl sitting in front of her, about another girl whom another relative talked about for her another son :)

Next type of people is the most interesting...
I want friendship types: Travelling alone and mostly in their 20s or early 30s, these men believe that train journeys are the perfect place to make friendships. And me, a girl travelling alone beg to differ. Typically, I carry a book with me and attempt to read it, no matter how noisy the atmosphere is. Moreover, whenever anyone belonging to this group asks me a question, I tell all my details wrong, right from my name to the organisation i work for :). But, sometimes, you dig your own death trap. This happened when i was travelling one day, back to Bangalore, from my hometown. I was sitting in the side upper berth, reading a book. This guy was in the upper berth, perpendicular to mine, sitting on the edge. He tries to start up a conversation. For the sake of simplicity, lets call him Mr.X.

Mr.X: So are you working in Bangalore?

Me(starled by the fact that someone is actually interrupting me while i am reading): Hmmm... yeah.

Mr.X: Which company are u working for?

I mumble out the name of a famous multinational though i work for another company :)

Mr.X: Oh!! So which vertical u belong to?

Now I am really surprised. I have learnt about vertical, horizontal and diagonals in my mathematics classes, nowhere else. The organisation I work for, don't use this terminology either. So I gave him a look as if how come he knows about the organisational ladders existing in my company.

Mr.X: (As if to clear my confusion) By the way, I work for the same company.
This is followed by a grin that says “Don’t you know? We are long lost friends” :|

Now it was my time to be surprised. I didn’t know that one innocuous lie that I told would backfire at me with the same pace. A sheepish grin and a nod, that’s all I could manage before I turned my head back to my book. The guy was left wondering the entire journey how snobbish I am, not even bothering to answer a simple question. As if I care !!!

Papa, Mama is here to take care of you munnu types: Lets end this with the most difficult types to put up with. People traveling with babies. They carry with them feeding bottles, four course meals, innumerable dresses for their baby, small commode and what not. I really don’t know whether they are shifting their base to some other city or traveling in a train. Though many of you may disagree with me, I find them the most difficult ones to put up with. As it is you are crunched for space and you will have to move a thousand times over to make space for them. Not to mention the baby crying whole night, not allowing you a wink of sleep. I may sound presumptuous here, but hey, even I want to have a peaceful journey.

Whether its the sheer experiences it gives, the type of people you meet or the comfort, train journeys remain the most favourite means of transportation for me.

So whom did you meet in your recent train journey?

U.S. beckons

13 days, 7 flights, Delhi-London-Chicago-Omaha-NewYork-Washington-London-Mumbai, and experience of a lifetime.

I happened to be one of those lucky few who got the opportunity to be a part of the student exchange program between my B school and University of nebraska, Omaha, United states. Enduring a 28 hour flight from Delhi to Omaha in itself was a huge thing for me. But it was not as bad as i thought it would be. The hospitality of the organisers and students of University of Nebraska amazed to me to a large extent. There were eagerly waiting to receive us in the Omaha airport and take us to the hotel. Everything from accomodation to food to small things like 'no ice in water' were taken care of.

The highlight of the trip was attending the Annual ShareHolder's Meeting of Berkshire Hathway and meeting Warren Buffet. Spending one whole afternoon, amidst 30,000 shareholders of Berkshire Hathway from all over the world and listening to Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger(vice chairman:Berkshire Hathway) answering the questions shooted by investors with innate wit was a feast in itself. We also attended the workshop series organised by University of Nebraska, which included topics like
-Western Perspective on Indian Thought by Prof.Micheal marie Desmaris, author of Changing minds(A wonderful Canadian Lady, who knew about Indian Culture, Philosophy and sanskrit, more than us).
-Virtual Marketing by Jeremy vlcan who is the director of online marketing at Netshops Inc. an online retailer which
owns and operates over 200 online specialty stores
-Creating Wealth through long term investments by the president and vice-president of Mandarin Investment Counsel.

The trip also included company visits of Gallup Organisation, Mandarin Investment Counsel, infoUSA and Union Pacific. The way we were greeted in these organisations, how they took time to explain to us the working of their organisation and the eagerness they showed to interact with us is indeed commentable. While our days were packed with workshops, seminars and company visits, the evening were fun with cosmic bowling in Thunder Alley, picnic in the picturesque landscapes of Omaha where we even taught our American friends how to play cricket, visit to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, visit to malls and a baseball game(I simply loved it) between Omaha Royals and some other team within Nebraska(Omaha Royals lost though, after giving a tough fight to the other team.) The organiser couldn't arrange the win for us. :)

After 8 days in Omaha, the place which i felt foreign in the initial days started feeling home. We were going to miss the warm hearted people we met, who took extra effort to make us feel at home, who showed keen interest to know about India and the culture and some who knew much more about India than us. We were sure to miss the people we interacted with and all the fun and rich experiences that we had. The last dinner brought everyone who worked for the trip together, the organisers, students, teachers and all the non teaching staff of University of Nebraska. The students of University of Nebraska picked up titles for all of us, and i was titled 'Female Warren Buffet' :). Some other interesting titles were 'Cricket Pro', given to a friend of mine, who sacrificed his wicket for an American player, 'Best lugguage Handler', to a senior whose lugguage came late in another flight, 'Unlimited Free Minutes', to a friend who was always on phone, etcetcera.

After spending so many amazing days in that picturesque, calm and serene place, it was time to move to NewYork. NewYork is a city full of life. In stark contrast to Omaha, its a city so vibrant with lights, colours and action. We visited NASDAQ, saw the closing bell ceremony being televised(wherein a famous personality ring the closing bell, when the trade closes at 4P.M.). The Times Square, Manhattan, Top of the Rocks(for the entire view of NewYork), everything was equally fascinating. The best part was the Broadway Muscial show 'Legally Blonde' which we managed to catch up on the last day. Truly an amazing experience, considering the effort and time they would have put in to produce such an awesome musical. NewYork is a city i fell in love with at the first sight, be it for its vibrancy, or their excellent subway transport. :)

NewYork trip culminated with a lunch at Ajit Jain's residence. Ajit Jain currently heads several reinsurance business for Berkshire Hathaway and has been touted as a possible successor to Warren Buffett, an alumnus of our Institute. Visiting his residence and family, having lunch with him, hearing him talk about his plans for Berkshire Hathway was an enriching experience. We were amazed beyond words when his wife came and told him 'Warren is on the phone'. Its not everyday that one get to hear this in one's life. :) A sumptous mediterenean lunch by the river side in the backyard of his house and a book containing collected writings from Charlie Munger, personally autographed by him, was the gift from Ajit Jain to each and everyone of us. His wife made a perfect hostess greeting us individually and taking time out to talk to each one of us. A man of that stature accompanying u to the bus and wavying you goodbye felt so surreal. The humility and knowledge exhibited by him, made me realise that these are the two essential factors to suceed in life.

Like all the good things, even this trip had to come to an end. All throughout the trip, one question that was consistently asked to me by Indians and Non-Indians alike was given a chance would you like to work in India or Us and I always had the same answer, India. The reason being, I dont think there is any dearth of opportunities in India at the present moment, and I have my family and majority of friends here. And I must say, they all told me that if they would have asked the same question ten years back, the answer would have been exactly opposite and they would not have left India if they had the same opportunities ten years back. So I feel I am so lucky to be a part of India's unprecedented growth process.

Summer Internships beckons and I took a flight from NewYork and landed directly in Mumbai, the abode for the next 6 months, were i will be working with a reputed investment research firm. Traffic jams, pollution, rush in local trains and high cost of living, Mumbai is characteristed by all of these, and I am liking every bit of it. Afterall not everyone gets to be a part of India Inc. growth story !!!

A Unique Christmas Party

It was a Christmas Party with a difference. There were neither flamboyant dresses nor big Christmas cakes. Yet it turned out to be one of the best Christmas parties i have ever attended. It happened last Saturday. About 3000 children and senior citizens celebrated their Christmas in Mount Carmel College. What made this party so special was the fact that all these children were students of 40 different special schools(schools specialized in teaching deaf, dumb, blind or mentally challenged children) located in and out of Bangalore. The senior citizens were residents of Old Age Homes located at different parts of the Bangalore. And I got an opportunity to volunteer for the event.

All of this was made possible by Chrysallis. Chrysallis - a theatre of performing arts for the specially challenged forms a group of like-minded people who want to bring a difference to the life of a specially challenged child. It conducts a number of events throughout the year, the biggest one being their Christmas Party.

My day as a volunteer started at 5 A.M. The fact that I got up that early to be a part of the event was in itself an achievement for me(considering the weird hours i got to sleep and eventually get up these days). I reached Mount Carmel College at 7 o'clock in the morning. The tasks assigned to our group were decorating the venue and face painting. We started off with hanging crepe papers, cut in different sizes and shapes and blowing balloons. It was nice to be with a whole lot of energetic people running around getting things done. Everybody was busy putting together the snacks packets, making sure that the water bottles are in place, arranging chairs and carpets and taking care of every small thing so that children will be at ease.

The volunteers included students, researchers, software professionals, teachers, housewives and self-employed people. There were children who came with their parents and wanted to volunteer for the event. And there were people as old as 50 years. We were from different states and spoke different languages. Yet the combined goal of making that day a special one for thousands of children brought us together. It was a wonderful to see how a common goal can bring a wide variety of people from different layers of social strata to work together.

The stage was all set for children by 9 o'clock. They started coming to the venue in buses and vans. We were ready with our paints and brushes. Face painting was a unique way to bond with the children. We asked them whether they want us to paint them on their face or hand. Though a few of the children were reluctant at first, when they saw us painting their friends' face and hands, they were ready to try it out. While girls wanted a smiley or a Christmas tree or a flower on their face, a moustache or French beard were popular among the boys. More than getting their faces or hands painted, the feeling that someone is ready to hold my hand, touch my face, talk to me, smile at me and ask me what do i want, was making them happy. They smiled at me and called me 'akka' or 'aunty'. They insisted that i paint their both hands and faces, though due to time constraints we decided earlier that we will paint either one hand or one face. Most of the times, i succumbed to their demands and did whatever they insisted. After all, it was meant to be their day.

I could see the children enjoying the party to its maximum. They sang, danced, clapped, that too in a number of ways. One was sunflower clap, another one a rocket clap and so on. The event included a magic show by a renowned magician and ventriloquist. I was awed by seeing the performances made by the children. There was a bunch of deaf and dumb girls dancing to a pep Kannada number. I saw blind children singing melodiously and mentally retarded children performing a drama with a well written script. It made me wonder whether me as a 'so called normal human being' is utilizing my talents to a good extend or not. At times, these children can teach u a lesson or two. They taught me how to communicate even if u don't know the language of each other. They taught me how to be compassionate to others. They taught me how to live the life to its fullest with whatever u are blessed with.

It was indeed a day of learnings. That day i found a whole new world, entirely different from mine. A world without deadlines and cut throat competition. A world where living life to its fullest with whatever little u have, is the mantra. In fact, it was a day i lived to its fullest.