Part 1: Two flights, a road trip, time lapses and a purty woman milkin' her cow

Well, Day one was a day of firsts. First long trip this year. First time in Kolkata (even if it was only at the airport for an hour). First time on an Air India flight in aeons. First time in North East India. First time i've sung Karoke. First time i heard of the Naga Chili. First time i ever saw a time lapse being setup.

Most important and memorably, the first time i ever (in fact this is a first for everyone in the group) heard a song called "Purty woman milkin' her cow".

So we set off from Namma Bengaluru at the unholy time of 3:45 and one false start later (due to our standard procedure of re-checking on the iron box being left plugged in) we left by 4.15AM. Woke up a friend who lent us a camera but forgot to lend us the battery charger and got him to meet us at that crazy hour of the morning near Hebbal (We owe you lots for that one, Mug). Reached the airport on time. Got through check in and security without being asked to take our camera bags apart. Got through both legs (Bangalore-Kolkata and Kolkata-Dimapur) with no AI pilot strikes, congestion or other natural airport mishaps.

Roadside market...neatly stacked  

We reached Dimapur on time, and we were in esteemed company as we got to know later. The Nagaland CM was on board our flight (though at that time we presumed it was the governer). S&P met us in their Scorpio Getaway and Karachi biscuits within the vehicle. Given that i had demolished 80% of a one KG box of the same in exactly 7 days, i took it as a sign from above that it was perfectly okay to continue doing so...

So we drove (okay...S drove and i sat in the rear seat with P) to Kohima through winding roads. I learnt about Dimapur being the fashion capital of the north east, the concept of innerline permits, the natural tendency of the Nagas to be neat and organized as evidenced by the stacking of veggies and fruits in a chai-stop enroute and the Naga Chilli.Incidentally, the Naga Chilli is touted as the hottest chilli in the world on the Scofield scale. Wiki however claims that the record was surpassed in 2010, but that is a matter of contention.

Kohima village 

We were staying at a guesthouse in Chedema, and en route from Kohima "downtown" area, we stopped for a glimpse of Kohima village from a random vantage point. Not sure why it is a village when the place is ostensibly large and city-like. There were colorful houses nestled in the valley and we planned  (but never did execute the plan) to come back in better light for more pictures. We passed through curving roads and cutting through a BSF camp  to reach our guesthouse.

A couple of days later, we heard that the gate next door our guest house was a camp for the  National Socialist Council of Nagaland ( NSCN) which is an underground organization that runs a parallel government. The NSCN and its modus operandi dominated quite a few of our conversations during the trip.

The sun breaks out at dusk over Kohima

Settled down in our rooms and we went up to check out our terrace. S helped GW set up a time-lapse .. about which i knew next to nothing (except that this  Google advert was made using time-lapse ,  i asked dumb questions and settled down to watch the setup. Some pumpkin bajji and two cups of tea later, it was quite dark (at 4.30 PM - this is more to the east than Kolkata). So that was the end of our activities for the day...or so we thought!

After a simple and tasteful dinner, which challenged our chef who couldn't comprehend why and how someone could want to live without fish, meat or eggs, we were all set to retire for the night when the Karaoke set came out. Ended up scoring 100s on "Anne's song" and "Zombie", but we were stumped by a song that was called "Purty girl milkin' her cow" (we referred to it as purty woman for the rest of the trip)... And that ladies and gentlemen, was definitely the learning for the day!

Part 0: The storyline of a vacation

So I came back to Bangalore after seven days of travel, fun and photography. After landing in the airport at Dimapur, i paused and said to myself : Enjoy this moment, for all too soon you will be going back and struggling to remember what happened in the trip.

Somewhere in the middle of my vacation, i came up with random titles to capture the spirit of the each day that had gone by. And towards the end, i was telling myself that i needed to ensure that i put pen to paper (errr... in my case fingers to the keyboard) and get the words out so that i have some written documentation of what i captured during the trip...


And if this endeavor is successful, i will start doing these for all my trips, big or small. So that the next time someone recounts something that happened on "that trip two years ago", I will have a more intelligent answer than "Huh" or "did that happen?"

So here I am, sitting in my office, having (almost) caught up on seven days of emails. And i figured that now was as good a time as ever to start this series. So far, all i have is working titles for each subsequent post.

Day 1: Two flights, a road trip, time lapses and a purty woman milkin' her cow
Day 2: Spotted: A mallu actor at the hornbill festival a.k.a Hiawatha at the hornbill fest
Day 3: The case of the mistaken chief minister of Nagaland
Day 4: World class food at Numaligarh Dhaba
Day 5: Kids will be kids (no matter how much we wish otherwise) a.k.a. introduction to He-Man 9000
Day 6: Going around in circles looking for seven primates
Day 7: The one who snuck up from behind
Day 8: The 120 hour bandh that never was...

Of course the trip itself was awesome because of our hosts S&P (not the rating agency, though they definitely rate 5 stars!)

La La land...

Some fantasies which will mostly never see the light of day...

• Cruise the Greek islands...funny how a romantic fantasy has lasted years now...somehow dont see this ever happening in the intent of the fantasy, given recent interest in photography/ birds etc...
• Strawberries at wimbledon... but this doesnt seem very high on my priority list now a days!
• Adopt a child... The more i read about the adoption rules/ officious behaviour, the more i find it a good excuse not to follow up on this... Mixed feelings on this
• Get drunk... I used to think that i would get drunk with someone who i could trust to ensure i stayed safe and sound when i did get tipsy... Somehow, i never can go beyond that second drink... Maybe not the best fantasy to come true
• Learn Swimming and spanish... Either or both seem fantasies at this point. Chalk it to sheer laziness! 
• Get a full fledged makeover done.... Chalk this one to sheer cowardice
• Building the house of my dreams... i was reviewing my dream-house specifications the other day, and realized, i just dont care anymore:) Its off my priority list
• The elusive PhD... dont want to ever write this off, after seeing a 50+ year old guy in my office who went in for his doctorate
• Dance a waltz... but i cant quite picture myself dancing in public:D so this stays in the fantasy of the mind list...

But as i review the list above...i realized that i have gone after and lived some...

• Egypt ... finished!
• Scotland ... Finished, albeit i was opportunistic on this
• Bali... ditto
• Buying the car i always wanted...Check:)
• The KINDLE! check
• gold status on an airline loyalty program ...check 
• Drive in a foreign country ... UK - with no support:) then Malta... which seemed far easier after the UK nightmare

Some fantasies i hope to make come true in the recent future

• Drive in US of A. I think its about time i took the risk... worst case, wont do it again:)
• Disney Landdddddddddddd

And its official...

... I am a certified bonafide lazy bum...

What else can i be when i have done nothing but read random books and browsed even more random sites on a bright and sunny California afternoon? I finally dragged my self out of my erratic web-browsing to pen these words, simply because i was so disgusted with the way i whiled away my time.

Of course, i did do something worthy by getting myself committed to an evening out by booking a cab to go to a local mall...that way i have to leave the room!!! Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day, since i have tickets to go to Alcatraz.

I wonder if i would have done any better had i visited California five years ago. I cant but help contrasting my London visit where i was literally out on the roads visiting and gobbling up the sites... and all alone to boot. Not that i'm cribbing about lack of company, but i am not sure if it is the place or me who has contributed to the lazy-bum-ness!

Not driving in suburban USA is very different from not driving in the UK. I guess that is what causes the main difference. To be honest, i was up bright and early at 630AM, called a friend to fix the plans for the day who in turn promised to call back about a possible birding trip. Surprise, surprise, i never heard back. Was quite cheesed off, so decided to go out somewhere till i figured that Cupertino is the back of the beyonds in terms of public transportation : Actually, its no exaggeration to say that there IS no such thing as public transport here.

So after much soul (?) and google searching, i narrowed down to a couple of malls where i could while away some time, blow some money, buy some jigzaw puzzles and pickup dinner at subway. Let's hope the cabbie turns up and doesnt fleece me for a 4m ride (which they do tend to often esp. if they are Desi cabbies)

I wish i had followed my instincts and stayed over at SFO for the weekend. May have been easier to go around and see the sights.

Ah well...tomorrow is another day ... and the cabbie awaits for an exciting evening out shopping at walmart ;)

Its that time of the year (Again)

The end of a year, and the beginning of another

Is a point in time that is very reflective

Makes one wonder of things gone by

And how they could have been better

But forgetting that they could have been worse too

Its a time to recollect the things

You thought you 'd do, but never did

People you thought you'd meet, but never did

Fences you thought you'd mend, but never did

Hopes you thought would fruition, but never did

What about the other things that did happen

People you never thought you'd meet , but you did

New things achieved that was never on the cards

Bridges that were built that were never conceived

The new strength that you found when hopes were dashed

What's a year but 365 days completed, and more ahead

That's true of any day in the calendar

Still, in this day and age of fast paced action

Its as good a time as any to pause and reflect

On what has gone, and what is still to come...

Marriage myth: The goal of marriage is for both partners to get exactly what they want

The goal of marriage is for both partners to get exactly what they want

The notion that marriage is a way to achieve fulfillment is relatively new. For a long time, people married out of economic necessity and to have children. Now, many people think of it as a road to personal satisfaction.

Many complaints about marriage go something like this: "I am not happy with him anymore. I don't feel fulfilled." Such complaints are a result of overblown and misguided expectations.

You may see signs that this myth is interfering with a marriage. One is when a partner says, "If you loved me you would . . . (check the choice or choices that apply):

• Spend more time with my family

• Make love to me more often

• Take the vacation that I want

• Not criticize me so much

• Do more household chores

The message here is, "You don't love me unless you do exactly what I want."

There is also a flip side to this myth that shows up when one partner demands that the other accept his love on faith — even when his words and actions convey the opposite message.

If, for example, your spouse complains because you forgot her birthday, it's not enough to say, "Don't you know I love you?" There is no justification for expecting our partners to forgive our thoughtlessness by simply declaring our love. What that amounts to is just another way of manipulating the situation so you can have things exactly as you please.

All of us have a right to want our needs fulfilled, but it's important to be realistic. Even in the best of marriages, a spouse can provide just so much fulfillment. The rest may have to come from children, from work, from the pursuit of various interests, or from within.

Read more: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/deflating-six-common-marriage-myths.html#ixzz1SjcVwVb7

Read more: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/deflating-six-common-marriage-myths.html#ixzz1SjcJvEm9

Schizophrenia and technology

I've not blogged for almost 2 years now... and every once so often i remember that this blog exists-and urge myself to pen some stuff. But somewhere along the line, i never bothered to update the blog.

I've been thinking of this topic for a while now. And couldn't find a place to air my thoughts till i remembered that i have my own nook to write my own stuff... Of course, i also did put in a 1 liner update on facebook on the topic...

I was quite frustrated one day - dont remember with what, was it life in general, work related stuff, people at home or anything else. And i wanted to vent out my feelings in public - kinda gives the comfort that people are listening. And i thought to myself, why dont i create an alias facebook profile which doesn't have any of family, friends or colleagues in the network? That way i can rave and rant to my heart's content and get sympathy from strangers.

Suffice to say, i never did go ahead with that plan, but it got me thinking that if multiple personalities or schizophrenic behaviour was tough to trace a few years ago, it would be worse now. I could create profiles, login from home and be completely someone else online with my own fantasy life, and noone in my real life family would know about it. - Boggles the mind doesn't it?

Another thing that added on to my thoughts on this topic was the fact that i had started using a second Sim card as a alternate mobile number. And this was helpful when we were doing some house hunting. I would call from my regular number and get all details, and cross check them from my second number using an "alias" personality. If i was doing this, with full cognizance of the reasons and rationale, imagine the folks who have discovered the anonymity that a mobile phone has afforded them. Unlike fixed line connections, there is no address/ name lookup facility for mobile numbers. Unlike fixed line connections, i can easily acquire a number and discard it as my whims and fancy tale me.

I know several folks use alternate email IDs for chatting with strangers, for signing up on websites which may tend to spam your mailbox etc. But i never realized it was symptomatic of a larger problem, which now can only grow larger.

On the positive side, what is the harm if we do have an alternate "online" or "mobile" personality? It may relieve the stress of daily life and provide some fantasy in an otherwise boring life... as long as we don't confuse reality with fantasy

Lyrics i love, but dont quite get!!!

I was listening to some retro in the middle of (yet another) long traficcy drive home... stuck in the worst jam (Are there any other kind of jams) of the century, when i heard two of my fav. songs...
Given that they were old numbers id heard countless times, i realized that i hadnt paid much attention to the lyrics - at least for the first one. Which is quite poetic, and filled with, if i may say - hopeful despair!!! By U2, its a number called...i still haven't found what im looking for... The first two paras (Edited for repeats) are poetic... and read as below

I have climbed the highest mountains
I have run through the fields
Only to be with you
I have run I have crawled
I have scaled these city walls
Only to be with you
But I still haven't found
What I'm looking for

The next segment gets all holy or im yet to understand the non-religious allusions to lyrics like "kingdom come", "you carried the cross", "tongue of angels"

The other one
Simple song, or is it....speaks of being unfaithful despite being in love... Used to think it was a super duper romantic number till i paid close attention today...now its more - "You men" than romance:)
"Leaving on a jet plane"
The romance begins

All my bags are packed down, i'm ready to go,
i'm standing here outside your door
i hate to wake you up to say goodbye
But the dawn is breaking,it's early morn
The taxi's waiting, he's blow his horn
Ai'm so lonesome i could die

And the "oh you men" part... to be fair ,it can be directed as "oh you women" as well - Janis joplin did a cover of this anyways...so here goes
There's so many times i've let you down
so many times i've played around
but darling now they don't mean a thing
every place i go i think of you
every song i sing i sing for you
when i come backi'll wear your wedding ring...
Yeah right... But they still remain on my all time fav. list...

The bulls and bears!!!

After what seems to have been an allround depressing day, i decided that i might as well as do it all today. So i did the one thing ive been dreading for months now...

Opened up my trading account...

And discovered that there is always reason for a day to get worse. Quite a difference that...from my normal attitude that things can only get better, a.k.a. there are always five billion people give or take a few million who are worse off than you...

My portfolio results - 30% loss on my mutual fund holdings, 10% loss on equity.

Shocked. Coz i got into the market at 5000 levels of the sensex. And i sustained my profits after that through thick and thin.

But then, the optimist in me (Which surprises me by still being alive) tells me that i should relook and pick more of my stocks at current levels. After all, wasnt it phil fischer (or was it ben graham) who said that you cant time the market if you go for a value pick.

So let me do what i am best at doing...making the best of where i am... My stock picks were known for being spot on a few years ago. I shall revert to type and dig my nose into numbers and data again. After all, the markets down, what better time to enter!!!

Music that makes me want to smile, laugh and cry at the same time!!!

I watched ABBA the movie (a.k.a. Mamma Mia) recently. It revived a lot of memories in me, including some of my fav. lyrics which have made me break out into a smile, laugh outright or go all gooey-eyed. And as i watched the movie, i recalled pieces of the lyrics which do that to me...

• "Don't go wasting your emotion....Lay all your love on me"
• "It was like shooting a sitting duck
  A little small talk, a smile and baby I was stuck
  I still don't know what you've done with me
  A grown-up woman should never fall so easily"
• Chiquitita - the song which i can easily listen to five times in a row...
  "So the walls came tumbling down
  And your loves a blown out candle
  All is gone and it seems too hard to handle"
  "Chiquitita, you and I cry
  But the sun is still in the sky and shining above you
  Let me hear you sing once more like you did before
  Sing a new song, chiquitita"
• "Who found out that nothing can capture a heart
  Like a melody can?
  Well, whoever it was, Im a fan"
• "If you see the wonder of a fairy tale
  You can take the future even if you fail
  I believe in angels
  Something good in everything I see"

The class...

This is one bit of poetry which is a class apart...and ironically, i remembered this when i was mentally reviewing the story of "The Class" by Erich Segal...He uses this poem as a lead-in to Danni Rossi...

I thought the sparrow’s note from heaven,
Singing at dawn on the alder bough;
I brought him home, in his nest, at even;
He sings the song, but it cheers not now,
For I did not bring home the river and sky

- Emerson (From "Each and all")
http://www.bartleby.com/248/151.html

The other one that stays is

No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two,
Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,
Deferential, glad to be of use,
Politic, cautious, and meticulous,
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse

Que sera sera

When I grew up and fell in love
I asked my sweetheart
What lies ahead?
Will we have rainbows
Day after day?
Here's what my sweetheart said:

Que sera, sera.
Whatever will be, will be.
The future's not ours to see.
Que sera, sera.
What will be, will be.

Missing you

There are the oddest times i miss you... and today was one such day. I wonder how life would have panned out had you been around... Would i be where i am today? Would you look at me and be proud of who i had become, or would you have expected more? Would you have been that strong shoulder i miss, or would you have dominated my life so much that i could not move? Would you have loved the chattering i do, or would you have shut me up? Would i have disappointed you when i fell in love, or would you have loved the guy just because i did? Would i be a different person than who i am today? Would i be more "acceptable" rather than the rebel? Would mom not have lost as much weight? Would sis be so insistently independent?

The first time i heard this poem read out, i remembered you. And everytime i repeat some of these lines, you are the only person i think about.
================================
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.
================================
I wonder...
... I miss you
...I wish you were around

Some good quotes i found...

Albert Camus
"Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend."

"On certain mornings, as we turn a corner,
an exquisite dew falls on our heart
and then vanishes.
But the freshness lingers, and this, always,
is what the heart needs.
The earth must have risen in just such a light
the morning the world was born."

Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Laugh and the world laughs with you,
Weep, and you weep alone;
For this brave old earth must borrow its mirth,
But has trouble enough of its own.


So many Gods, so many creeds,
So many paths that wind and wind,
When just the art of being kind
Is all this sad world needs.

So you think you disappoint me???

I once wrote this word as a response to a comment i had received. Its probably appropriate that i publish it now

Does this sound like you disappoint me???

• I wake up to a face i can see for the rest of my life
• I get a call in the middle of the day just to say hi is how
• I catch myself practicing my "ennama varaya" stance in the middle of office near the coffee machine
• Four out of five times, i think "how did i get so damnnn lucky"...Once, i do think, "how did you get so lucky"...well, i am human right?
• There are times when you are fast asleep and im kicked just looking at you that way
• I am so glad that there is someone around with whom i dont have to defend my romance novel fetishes...
• Somedays, i dont wish to sleep because the day has been perfect
• I wake up thinking that im glad you stuck to me despite the cactus exterior that i showed you

If you still think you disappoint me, please do so all my life:)

Countdown

Metamorphosis...

Discovery of today

 

1. Biology. a profound change in form from one stage to the next in the life history of an organism, as from the caterpillar to the pupa and from the pupa to the adult butterfly.

 

2. a complete change of form, structure, or substance, as transformation by magic or witchcraft.

 

Im experiencing the change as per definition one, and have seen the change in someone as per definition two. I wonder if metamorphosis can be reversed...

A goldfish, water and a baby

What is common to goldfish in a bowl, flowing water and sleeping or playful infants? The first two are used in relaxation therapy. The third I think is more effective than the first two combined...

 

Why this sudden discovery? Well imagine a day which has upto now gone wrong in every possible way.And the evening ends in a nighmarish fashion. Now imagine that at the end of such a day you spend some time watching a baby sleep. Or better yet flail its arms around in a manner so unco-ordinated that it is captivating in its innocence.

 

You cam stare at the bluish grey eyes for hours together and mutter nonsense in any language as baby tries to test her jaws on your thumb. And what strikes at that moment is the thought that while you might have had a day that has posed grave questions to you about your future, it all pales in comparison to the fact that you are holding a scrap of the future in your hands

Meanderings of an idle mind

Being idle is a two-edged sword. It gives me time to think, and too much time to analyze. For example, today, between loads of work, i had moments of absolute idleness (self-imposed). And i ended up analyzing the various options i had post Friday the 18th of July, from a work perspective.
One option was landing a new client (looks highly improbable). Second was hoping someone would pass on leads (even more improbable). Third was a move to a new team whose work content would be substantially in line with my skills, but the move may not be politically correct. Fourth was the option of a new job. Fifth was the option of a break. Sixth was the option of sitting tight on my butt and enjoying the ride while it lasted.
I think six sounds good. I shall get my nose back to the grindstone

On random poetry which I don’t understand, but can author…

A poem I picked up today, but just cannot seem to understand reads…
“The thing we long for, that we are
For one transcendent moment,
Before the present poor and bare
Can make its sneering comment”
But it was in an anthology of poems, so someone understood something right? So here goes my two bits for deep, deep deep poetry (read: ramblings which have a meaning so deep, that neither the author, nor the reader gets the meaning)

“Hark now hear, the angels sing
The world is not prepared for spring
Let the incendiary moment pass
For there is a shortage of natural gas”

Or better still, sticking to Lowell’s style

“What we want, we really do not want
It’s a momentary aberration
Before we realize that
When we need, we don’t really need”

Wow. Wordsworth, Blake, here I come…