Lost world...

It almost seems as if I have lost the world. I have to check the dates on the blog to see when the last time I thought of blogging for a positive experience was.

The fact: I have lost my phone.
Another fact: I am not the irresponsible kind but once a while my cell phone does find a way to get out of my reach.
Third fact: I have never ever lost my phone before this, which takes me to the ultimate fact: I am very depressed and miserable.

Now, down to the gory details, not that there are much to boast of. An innocent trip to the rest room in the midst of a hectic Monday noon. Not-so-innocent bystanders. I leave my phone there. Come back after half an hour to find nothing; I am sure it was gone in 6 seconds (if not fewer).

Aaargh, it’s a terrible feeling. I hate misplacing things. Lately, I have acquired the forever-victimized syndrome, and this incident brutally reinforces it. I mean what the *&^%, why me?

My dear phone, with all the numbers, pictures, wall papers must be by now a proud possession of some dumb a##h*&^.

Yeah yeah, I ought to be careful, why should I curse somebody else, my fault, I was not responsible enough and blah blah and blah. What the hell, is it a crime to expect basic honesty from people? Why should I always breathe with caution? Nobody or nothing is safe anywhere. Even in the expected security of an office, I should move around as if I am moving in enemy territory, keep all my belongings tied to myself with the paranoia that I don’t know what I’ll lose where.

I am damn pissed. When is judgment day; is there is any hope for retribution?

A vital chord...

A vital chord, once upon a time dearer than life itself,

That was strained yet hopeful,

Twang … it snapped as I watched aghast today

The reason so simple, recurrent, so obvious

The doer blissfully oblivious.

I don’t know if the two broken pieces

Will ever come together like they once did.

But even if the ends are tied

The knot shall ever remain.

And this day shall mark the end

Of an era well loved and lived

Well fought and defended

Ill fated and cursed.

Thus shall begin a new period of

Mutual exclusion and the search

For inner peace and self respect.

Far from the madding crowd (and any signs of civilization) - Siruseri

Yes, Siruseri - a place in the remote districts of Tamil Nadu, India and a few light years away from Chennai (that's around 40-45 kms) is my new work place. Our office recently moved to this to-be-swanky place to create it's largest IT technopark, which basically spells doom for city residents like me.
I don't care if the IT park is an architecture wonder in the making or has the famous Saravana Bhavan (a fantastic brand for yummy south indian delicacies - i love south indian food) or symbolizes the future of IT infrastructure in India and Asia - my personal problems are way too many for any of the listed reasons to compensate the inconvenience caused to many of us who travel to this place at all god forsaken hours.

Day 1 spelled the first letter of the word Disaster. Vish and I had perspired enough from 9:30 AM to 10 waiting for the company bus to arrive our stop at 9:45 (you see, we had dutifully found the routes, timings etc. but no preparation is enough to face life). Finally, when the familiar white and blue monster did show up at 10:15, the driver didn't let us in, saying in a very dismissive tone, "seat illa", tamil for "no seats". We saw another bus and decided to chase it...in true filmy ishtyle we rushed into an auto and asked the driver to follow the bus. After having chased the bus half way round the city and having caught up with it, we got the now-familiar response "seat illa". After this we went to another office to catch a shuttle at 12:30; beaten and half-dead we reached office at 2:30. The bumpiest, dustiest and the hottest ride of my life.

I must admit that even after all that we had gone thru, the sheer size of the facility amazed us; the cool and well designed interiors of the office were a delight but like I said the road to the goal did not seem worth it!

The subsequent days have been more organized with only initial settling down hiccups but the 3-4 hour travel every day, the running after buses, the tension of missing "the" bus even after standing for 30-45 minutes at a stop, the odd work hours to choose from (6:30-3:30, 2:30-10, 8-5, 11:30-8:30 and what not), the unavailability of PCs in a shift that suits you and the unavailability of buses in the time window that you have a PC make work life way too complicated.

As of now, I am in a project that provides me with the opportunity to do value-adding work, is professionally executed, has a fantastic client and an approachable management...all this does make me forget during the office hours the tryst to get to work and then get back home , but the holistic picture of life is left wanting for some more, a little here and a little there...and I hope for the best!

Ringing in the new

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow;
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.
Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.
Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.
Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife,
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweet manners, purer laws.
Ring out old shapes of foul disease;
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.
Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.

- Alfred Tennyson (1850)

Here comes the new year bringing with it the smug hope for change and end of all that is not wanted. And that is the best part of the ringing in the new and ringing in the old.

The new year’s eve was spent in the comfort of home with my family and therefore was less noisier than some of the previous ones. This has been a fantastic year personally and professionally. As I introspect on the year gone by, I am proud that I have worked well and partied hard. No regrets…not that I make major resolutions! I make plans as life happens so am unorganized and organized at the same time.

If I try to draw up a list of some things that I should do, it would read like this (not necessarily in any order of priority):

• Blog (more) often.
• Stay fit and slim, which includes diet control and regular exercise – No more last minute gyming after an all-year hogging spree.
• Grow my hair (a secret desire since childhood to have long flowing hair - never accomplished).
• Factor in more time for reading…a passion that has been ignored for some time now, mostly due to my laziness!
• Learn basic conversational Tamil.
• Keep in touch with friends regularly (a safe excuse to orkut and fb).
• Keep updating this list as and when required (So this takes care of all that I should do but can’t remember!).

Wishing a very happy new year to all :).

Spread the word around…Guess who’s back in town…

And that explains the brief hiatus on the blog.

I am back home, with my folks in Noida, after almost two years and it’s been simply wonderful. Nothing feels like home…having been away for such a long time, the whole experience of homecoming has been awesome. It’s so comfortable to slip back to the old days’ holiday lifestyle…lazy mornings, late baths, no cooking, mommy’s food, dad’s pampering, endless ringing of the phone, incessant chatting with relatives, neighbors and friends (the antiseptic life of U.S. of A where your neighbor is also a complete stranger was getting to me) and all the Indian delicacies, shopping, mall hopping (sorry, this is common to all geographies) and the continuous banter and fights at home with my darling bro.

The only difference this time is that my hubby is around…but I guess this fact hasn’t changed much. Vish has easily become a part of our small family except for the VIP status he enjoys when it comes to selecting the menu for the meals and small things here and there. My parents are still getting used to the fact that he is as normal a kid as their other two kids and can live without all the attention he gets ;).

In these two weeks, have caught up with relatives, friends, neighbors…there are so many changes but all superficial…nothing’s “really” changed. Thank god for that! My baby nieces now go to school, some college friends are beautiful (and am not sure if dutiful as well) wives, some school pals are proud mommies, the neighbor’s kids now have beards but they are the same people I have known for years. The distance of two years have not dented our relationships, we met like we have always met. Ditto for the cities…Noida, Delhi and Ghaziabad, where I have spent almost 25 years! There are more flyovers, metro connectivity has increased, lot of construction, infrastructure enhancements for the Asian Games due in 2010, bigger malls, better brands, increased auto fares but the spirit is the same…raring to go in the midst of the crowds and the dirt, in the midst of the peak hour traffic and the non-peak hour lull, and in the in the midst of the extremes of devastating poverty and disgusting opulence.
For good or for bad, I guess nothing “really” changes…

Am back in Chennai from the week starting 01/05 and it will take some effort to gear up for the work routine again but the party never ends…I just take a break!

A journey of a thousand miles (and more) must begin with packing the first suitcase :)

Considering the amount of packing and unpacking I have been doing since the last two years, I think I should get into the movers n packers business. I have heard there's a lot of money in there :).
I love visiting new places, distant wonders, far-off foreign lands but I HATE travelling, and thus here are chronicled the woes of my travel on one of the longest routes in the world - almost 24 hours: Chicago - Frankfurt - Mumbai - Chennai; Carrier: Air India. (All times given in CST for accurate calculations ;))

And though our travel starts only at 1655 hrs on Dec 13 at Chicago ORD, here's a must-read prologue:
The journey of 24 hours - 8574 miles begins at least one week before when packing is commenced with the first suitcase. Packing, weighing, unpacking, weighing, repacking, weighing! God, how much do clothes weigh? I cannot travel light. I don't have my husband's uncanny skill of throwing everything, consolidating the bare necessities and moving on. I am emotionally attached to most of my belongings - clothes, shoes, accessories, small presents, cards, photographs, favourite mugs and the list goes one....so isn't it inhuman to ask me to pack almost two years of our lives - memories, paraphernalia et al - into four measly suitcases of 23 kgs each and two inconspicuous handbags!
Without any other option, I set out on the herculean task of packing and trashing. My husband performed the last riots of a lot of my beloved possessions and after some sulking I too reconciled to the inevitable. Curse be on those that restrict luggage across cultures and countries - what a barrier!

The travelogue:
13 Dec
0900 hrs - Schaumburg, IL: Last minute packing, weighing, cleaning the house
1030 hrs - Denny's at Schaumburg, IL: A very hearty breakfast
1200 hrs - Schaumburg, IL: Anxious rest
1400 hrs - Schaumburg, IL: Last good byes to all
1500 hrs - Schaumburg, IL: Cab arrives (we had kept ice creams in the freezer to have at the end but that never happened thanks to all the heebie-jeebbies - somebody in the leasing office had a treat that day!)
1530 hrs - Schaumburg, IL:House keys handed over to the Leasing Office
1615 hrs - ORD Airport at Chicago, IL: Lined up at the Air India check in-counter (fingers crossed that the rude european officers on duty let pass the extra 2-3 kgs!)
1630 hrs - ORD Airport at Chicago, IL: All security check-in formalities completed and begins the long boring wait for the flight.
1800 hrs - ORD Airport at Chicago, IL: Boarding delayed by 30 minutes cause the baggage belt had broken! It has to be Air India...
1900 hrs - Seated in the flight - cramped economy seats - the only saving grace it's one of those Boeing 777's
2000 hrs - Somewhere on the east coast: hot bland indian vegetarian food

14 Dec
0000 hrs - Somewhere in Europe: Stiff neck (already!!!) but lots of choices for entertainment - classic movies to the more recent ones...music, TV shows...
0315 hrs - Frankfurt, Germany: Sleepy, groggy. Jolted back to my senses when I realized I had lost the transit pass somewhere. Had to some sweet and sad smiling to the German officers (one of them was amazingly good looking) and guess what the chauvinistic gentlemen bowed and smiled back and didn't create any trouble. Thank god for godly men!
0515 hrs - Back on the flight
0700 hrs - I forget what was served - lunch or breakfast, hot or cold - I don't know. I was sick with boredom and Vish did little to help matters. He just doesn't talk. How much can I keep on talking :(.
Till this time we had been dislocated from our seats atleast four times by the guy occupying the windows seat. I hate the aisle and middle seats precisely for this reason. How many times does the guy need to releive himself...good lord!
1130 hrs - Mumbai Airport: Under construction, hot, dirty, congested and stinking. Welcome to India!
1500 hrs - Mumbai Airport: 30 minutes after boarding time no announcement of the flight. Airport officials busy managing a group of Hajis en route to Bangalore from the Middle East.
1600 hrs - Finally we get to board the flight to Chennai...the last stretch!
1830 hrs - Arrive in Chennai (Local time: 6:30 AM - 15 Dec). We lose 12 hours...what the heck!

Epilogue
Both of us are still battling with the changed environment, the body is taking time to reset to the new time zone, the olfunctory organ is getting used to the smells, the ears are trying their best to tune to the increased noise levels but the heart instantly filled with joy and warmed up at the sight of home. Nothing in the world feels like being at home :)!

Les premières douches de neige

At the risk of being dismissed as a kid, I write here about my new found fascination with winters…cold, white, snowy winters.

I can relate totally to my three and a half year old nephew’s enthrallment at the sight of a truck, only in my case, it’s a snow truck!
It’s such a pleasure to wake up in the morning to the sounds of the snow truck backing up and beeping because that’s a signal that a beautiful sight of a pristine white blanket enveloping the streets, roofs, trees awaits you.

Though hailing from the northern part of India and having been born in Shimla (one of those places in India where it snows), I had not witnessed the glory of a snowfall till the last month. I have seen snow collected in glaciers in Kedarnath and Badrinath, and even California, but nothing like witnessing les premières douches de neige (the first snow showers).

An impossible romantic at heart, appreciating the beauty of nature, I must boast, comes naturally to me but there’s a whole fun angle to this snow thing you know. It takes you back to memories of fairy tale books that talked of cotton balls falling from heaven, of decorating bulletin boards in school with white cotton during December to celebrate Christmas, of the pictures of snowman and Santa with his reindeers on a sledge in the snow, of scenic bollywood songs (Yahooooo..from Kashmir ki Kali being my favorite) and quixotic Hollywood flicks (remember Serendipity?).

Ofcourse there are the practical problems that mundane everyday life imposes…frost bites, traffic jams, cleaning of the car and blah blah and more. But I am not complaining, it’s a delight to throw snowballs at Vish as he cleans the car everyday and complains, it’s absolutely thrilling to click pictures of the poor snow truck guy as he is groggy at work since like 4 in the morning, and finally it’s great fun to observe cars on the road and figure out from the condition of the car which guy has a covered parking! Maybe I have this impish streak in me which surfaces time and again…and maybe the season contributes to the craziness as well :)

Here are some pictures that stand testimony to all the joy and excitement that a white winter brings!