A Bright Idea

I have an Idea, for those close to me, i know you would be bored! Still...

A world very essential to my survival is the world of Television and this part of the world has an interview of every rich and famous or occasionally, rare poor and forgotten. During one such heart pour event (read scripted heart pour), i had an Eureka moment and i decided to interview myself! (Three close ups accompanied by the sound Dhang!) Before you label me a narcissist, let me explain my reason.

I often analyze people based on their interviews. Judging i would say, would follow occasionally but i believe its rare. I super analyze to an extent that i feel stupid. But after the taxing process of dissecting lives of people unknown of my existence i still give them benefit of doubt! By doing so i believe i am practising compassion and tolerance two virtues Dalai Lama and my father promote highly. I have learned something! Wait... you are labeling me a narcissist again! Don't! i am just a contradictory confused soul who wants to be good.

So i decided on walking the walk of those rich, famous, poor and forgotten and started working on to develop a questionnaire for myself. Let me tell you this was the toughest part! After few checkered pages,I quickly made a list of 'not on list questions' and that included almost all questions with monosyllabic answers. So that left me with the questions which questioned my beliefs, views and opinions.

These are very easy to answer if you are doing it in your head, as you can quickly shun or overlook the repercussions of statements. But when you write them down as answers which the whole world is to sit and read or watch with a cup of tea at leisure, in a secure environment surrounded by their loved ones who encourage them and promote every little thought and actions they have ever dreamed or dared, It is a different story. But then if you don't answer what you want to answer, you aren't strong enough in your views. And if you answer what you want to answer, the chance that you will rub people the wrong way is fifty percent! And that i believe by statistical theory but if i asked Woody Allen's character from Annie Hall he would deny the theory and convince us that the figure will be ninety five percent if not hundred. I love this man.

It was a tedious job, very nerve wracking. Of course it would be! Thinking bothers me! I mean rational thinking bothers me, You see it is an onerous exercise. It needs clarity and often creates curious inversion of perception! And this inversion can cause lots of strain for your future interviews.

No there is no conclusion to this exercise, in case you are waiting. It is just a rant! That means i am still on my over analyzing spree!

Photo Credit: http://www.lclark.edu/law/faculty/joseph_miller/website/

We love stereotypes!

Intel's new ad cracked me up real hard! The caption reads "Our rock stars aren't like your rock stars" and has an Indian guy (who reminds me of old Tamil comic actor, cannot recall his name) with thick moustache and very macho cum supposedly cool expressions :). The guy is named Ajay Bhatt, co-founder of USB, played by comedian Sunil Narkar. The ad is a nice approach to promote the makers of such huge tech businesses but on the other hand the representation definitely is based on the Indian stereotype that prevails in the US. No i am not too touchy about it, just got thinking about the whole business of stereotypes.

Who better than us to understand stereotyping. We are such a diverse and different country that it is difficult for us to live without it. Be it Gujaratis, Up-ietes, Tamilians, Bengalis, Biharis, Malyalies, Maharashtrians etc. We have the stereotypes and stuck up notions for every part of the country. Not just the states, dig in a little deep and the regions within the states too have stereotypes for each other.

We have perceptions of different states based upon what we read in media or the political wind that surrounds the state. I remember how i used to have a stuck up notion of Patna untill i actually visited that city. I also recall an incident where a colleague's mother from a state in south India would not allow his younger brother to study in a premier Engineering college in a particular northern state. And i am talking about the topnotch one here! Her fear was simple, there is too much goondagardi and my son might get killed. We all had a good laugh including my colleague, on her little innocent remark but she isn't the only one. There are many nonsensical stories that prevail about how in a particular state down south they beat you up for no good reasons if you utter a single word of Hindi. Of course I am not denying these allegations completely for any regions but the fact is there is definitely more to these states than sheer stereotypes.

I guess a little humour doesn't do any harm as long as the this whole business of stereotyping doesn't reflect in our basic perception of people. As a UP born, growing in Gujarat surrounded by mallu aunts and tamilian uncles and goan, punjabi, maharshtrian neighbours and working in Bangalore with the same heterogeneous bunch has taught me something of more profound importance. That beyond these little perceptions and fun emulations, the people who you will really gel with, connect with and count on, will be the ones with whom you share that grey matter up there. The rest could be just facade.

You may say 'Not Always' and Yes i agree completely but at times if you let go of that little obsessiveness of food and language you may find that despite having not one bone in common, the friendship that you may have could be more fulfilling than just the language that you share!

Too profound of a thought or just plain simple? you decide!

BTW Here is the ad that started it all ;).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-8GVi2Fdi4

And here is the real Ajay Bhatt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-MJvNLQCF4&feature=related

What day are you having?

Today is a lazy day. I am a little scattered and I guess i am going to be a little vague too. Not a good time for skilled tasks! Some days have such effect on us.

On days like these i let go and dream and listen to music of all possible genre. Hot n cold ,bawra mann, So what, Jane kya chahe man, free bird, dil hara re,here comes the sun, ba khuda! Joblessness allows me do so. These days are major routine killers, to say so i am not a very routine person anyway but whatever little.

Low biorhythms? God knows. It is a mystery i would want to solve, but alas!

Then there are some infamous bad days. They could be a sucker. They suck all your energy for no reason and your emotions will be running very high. All you want is to be alone. And after you are left alone you still wont find ease. That is why i call them sucker! No amount of maternal sympathy or consolation or pep talk works. The only thing that may work is a good night's sleep and hope that tomorrow is another day and it wont be like today!

On the contrary some days are extremely accommodating they let you finish your tasks outside the routines too. These are those super power days. Your creative juices will be at their best flow, you will be at your innovative best. You may be surprised how things find their own answers you have been searching for ages. A little reflection may end in insightful and philosophical discoveries about your being. Every thing will fit right. Spouses will be helpful, children may be less annoying, neighbours will be extra cordial, the bus would only come after you have reached the stop.

My dad says one should always make best use of such days and strive to continue it every day but of course the next day has its own planetary positions( or really?).

Whatever be the science behind it, it is how it is and hence i shall surrender and move ahead to another unpredicted day!

And while i go ill leave you with few lines of Beatles's Here comes the Sun...

Here comes the Sun,

Here comes the Sun,

And i say,

Its alright.

Little darling,

Its been long, cold, lonely winter,

Little darling,

It feels like years since it been here.

Here comes the Sun......

Little darling,
The smiles,returning to the faces,
Little darling,
It seems like years since its been here.

Here comes the Sun......

....(contd)

June the 5th

Come, fill the cup and in the fire of Spring
The winter garment of repentance fling:
The bird of time has but a little way
To fly -- and Lo! the Bird is on the wing!
--Omar Khayyam,The Rubaiyat

The bird of time has indeed flown, and yes it has been ages but the memory of every 5th of June is still crystal clear in my head! June 5th or Environment Day was one of the eagerly awaited days of our school summer breaks. We and loads of other kids of our building and around would be grateful to Raju uncle and Manju aunty for introducing us to this special day at Nehru foundation/CEE (Centre of Environment Education).

Every june 5th will start with a bunch of kids gathering outside our building gate and then we will proceed to CEE looking no less than a marching band, not coz of what we wore but the sheer amount of noise that accompanied us. And why wouldn't it be, we were a varied age group, maximum kids belonged to my youngest sis kitto's age and around, then a few kakoo's and as usual i was the eldest and usually only one of my age. It was implicit that my duty was to make sure every one was reaching safely to CEE which was walking distance from our house, but involved a major national highway to be crossed on foot, a scare to few parents. We had found a shortcut a small wood kind of place , which then used to be a open Shamshan Ghat and now looks like this fancy place but still is Shamshan Ghat.I am sure the kids never thought of it as my duty but i used to be very serious about getting them in one piece and invariably would be upset with one or two for not holding hands while crossing!

No one cared. What was to come was more exciting. Colorful clays, environment drawings,national geographic mini movie serieses, sessions on best out of waste, saving electricity,water and garbage management. The later became an independent entity and was a full time project for my twelfth standard summer vacations.

It was fun, we would hunt for schedules and will make sure we reach at concerned session rooms in time. Of course in between i would find loads of time to meet new people and invariably will have 4 to 5 new friends, yes i was pretty good at that back then.

One of my favourite activities was to paint T-shirts and watch any movies which had monkeys in it. I have a fascination for monkeys , i guess its hereditary, my mom loves them too (i know what you are thinking,but thats not what i mean). Creating environment related logos was another favorite pass time. I remember how one of the kids made same logo two years in the row. It was mandatory to have a picture and a caption. So mostly it will be a drop of water with different captions, Save water , save Life. Water is Life. Water is Precious PLEASE save it. Or a lighting symbol with Save Electricity, Switch it Off etc captions.Yes they were the same old words twisted around, but nothing could beat the passion that accompanied the task. There was a sense of importance and responsibility attached when we wrote such so called cliched lines. Putting those drawing up for viewing we felt very important, CEE had given us a platform to learn and share some thing which we would have taken lightly (even though my mom would take us to task for one unnecessary running fan), the charm of learning it our self ( so we thought) was special.

I am sure , i am not the only one who thinks that these small posters and little gyan instilled in our subconscious, the basics of respecting the nature and its resources. It is an entirely different story that the few days after June 5th were a little annoying for few friends and family, as we would sit counting the resources we wasted yesterday and how in few years people of Gujarat will die without water. Of course some were self made stories and people of Gujarat are very much alive and still the same like any where else, some saving, some wasting, some aware, some irresponsible.

Its been ages now since those summer june 5th outings and people around me will still tell you how the sound of running water in sink makes me uncomfortable. I cannot take it when men keep the tap running while shaving or matter of fact any one last to leave the room and not switching of the lights. It has become my habit and yes for which i have heard some vishesh tippanies too in school and offices, such as 'Perfectly entitled for position of peon' or 'switch watch-women' as one of my good friends joked!But to my rescue, for gods sake for the first time in my life i have tried to applied something i have learned! Help me here please!

And yes this time when i decide to visit home i will make sure to have a look at the beautiful campus of CEE, of course if the guard allows me in there!

Random Gyan & Recipes I

Anatomical Racism
Ever wondered why drinking for women(specially) was such a sin in Asian and South East Asian cultures. I guess our ancestors were wise.
Yes..Most Asian women's liver cannot break alcohol as well as their western counter parts. Its just how our liver is. The few reasons that doctors have come up with are, the western culture is used to fermenting liquids whereas the Asians are used to boiling (hence the tea habit). That has caused the liver not to get used to it. And conveniently this logic isn't applied to men. Whatever!

I have a question, is the old rule Practice makes us Perfect not applicable here!!

Food Traps

The catch of '90% Fat free'
1gm Fat= 9 cals
For food labeled 90% fat free. For 100gm, 10 gm comes from fat. that makes it 90 calories!
kill me!

Sugar not listed..Hurray!
Look again..if you see following sugars not gone.... :)
dextrose, poly dextrose, fruit juice concentrate, corn syrup, sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, fructose, galactose, lactose and turbinado.

Please don't ask how to remember it! i don't! And if you are thinking in lines of chemical structures you are a Nut Case (if not a chemist)!

For Arthritis
Try any or all of the following:
1. Ginger tea (1 tsp grated ginger) twice a day.
2. Turmeric at least 50 to 100 mg.
3. 100 gm meethi+ 50 gm Jeera + 5gm kali mirch roasted and ground, boil in a cup of milk and have once a day.

There are loads of others available on net...Homework!

Presto It's Pesto
I love this Italian recipe works wonders with pasta, breads, salads or as a dip!

15-20 fresh basil leaves
2 Tbs. Pine nuts (or walnuts, in some part of Italy they make it with walnut too)
2 Tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 1/2 tsp. salt (sea salt preferable)
1-2 garlic cloves
1 small piece of Parmesan cheese

Add all ingredients in grinder and grind to get a coarse consistency. For thinner sauce add more olive oil.Cook the sauce in microwave for 2-3 minutes (optional).

Just boil pasta and add pesto to it, no drama for sauce and you have a quick meal :).



Photo Credit: http://allrecipes.com/

I lol-ed yesterday

Sunday morning veggie shopping at Farmer's Market couldn't have been more amusing!
A man standing ahead in the grocery line was talking incessantly with the lady at the counter, after he left, an old gentleman reacted "what a blabberer". All was normal and well and wouldn't have made it to the blog if it wasn't for the young girl next in line! 'LOL' said the girl. And i actually lol- ed. The old man thought i was amused at his joke. But i couldn't believe that instead of laughing out loud (or a smile would have been enough) , the young girl chose to say 'lol'. I know its common now a days but i still couldn't help laughing!

Talk about Internet taking over the world...They say hullu is next evil plan to rule(destroy) the earth, the oldies worried how the chat room abbreviations will kill the language..i guess move over..we have another agenda ..they might just kill our expressions! Already while writing we don't have to worry of what our statement may be conveying coz an emoticon at the end will pretty much sum up how we feel, so in any case proper articulation isn't needed :). See!

I must say i have moved over a little of this entire mah thn wid kindda genration but i do understand their fascination to such vocabulary and usage. At different times and in different arenas we all have an urge to fit in and the young ones have it even more..i did too.. i am guilty. But the thought of our kids telling us 'lol' instead of giving us that laughter we may remember for ages, is scary!

The bright side though is if you ever have an urge to roll on floor you can just get away saying ROFL without being a spectacle to world!

TTFN!