8:56PM, Bangalore



So, the annular eclipse that happened recently created hysteria in India. Funny, people have such strong yet archaic beliefs in this country. They'll get up really early and take a shower and have a bite to eat since you cannot do that during the eclipse. They also don't travel during the phenomenon so people either reach early or late for their appointments.

Best part - schools and even some offices give the day off to people to shield them from the eclipse! Children are encouraged to stay indoors and not venture outside. What kind of a day off is that?!

Scientists had to eat biscuits at a public gathering to dispel fears about consumption of food during the eclipse. I'd like to witness the next eclipse to see how much of an effect that had. I'm guessing not too much.

I know we have a great and very old culture but I wish we'd move forward from silly beliefs and embrace some common sense as well.

9:10AM, Bangalore

I was reading an article today about how two beat cops stopped and fined a techie for walking "late" at night (2:30AM). He was returning from a movie and had dropped of his friend to her house and was walking over to his. Am I to understand that we're not even allowed to be outside late at night? I can understand all the drunken-driving and large groups being rowdy bits but a guy peacefully walking by himself? What sort of risk did he pose?

Speaking of walking, I walked from my place to Knightsbridge and noticed a ton of garbage at the side of the road. Usually, I am cocooned in the ignorant safety of my car and I was walking on a sidewalk after a really long time. I, like most people in this country, was desensitized to all the garbage strewn all around but this walk was a real shocker. It wasn't just regular garbage either. There were heaping piles of medical garbage too - gauze, bandages, face-masks, syringes etc. Made me shudder. Also made me understand why people walk on the road instead of the sidewalks and why the expats keep talking about the amount of shit on the streets. They've not been here long enough I guess.

Reccomended listening - Walk by Pantera

3:00PM, Bangalore

It's been forever since I posted on my blog. It isn't because there has not been enough stuff happening in my life, rather I've been lazy about sharing.

A recap then:

1. My dear friend Erik V has left DWA to join Paprikaas as HoP. I wish him all the best. A lot of people were sad that he left but I see it as a good thing. Better to have him stay back in India with his wonderful family for another year than to have him return to Portland, Oregon like he wanted to. EV - We are yet to drink many a Blue together, sir.

2. Another dear friend and my mentor, Greg J, has left Bangalore and is returning to DWA, GLD. He will be sorely missed. A perfectionist and a metal-head - truly an awesome combination.

3. Yet another very dear friend, John F, has left India and is returning to PDI, SF. He was one of the first expats to arrive in Bangalore and was (and still is) a good friend who I will miss a lot.

4. I'm a bachelor for a few days while Uma visits her parents and beloved pooch Scamper. I had to do the dishes today as well as put out the clothes after washing. I haven't yet taken out the garbage and I'm beat. I dont know how she does it but I'm glad she does. I miss her.

6:02 PM, Bangalore

I am on holiday, which means that I get to stay at home all day by myself while my wife goes to work. With my parents being out of town, I have no one to spend time with but myself, which as you will see, is annoying.

Being alone led me to being pensive. A recent event (Read here: My experience with Royal Enfield) fueled my thoughts further and I've come to realize that the olden days were better. This new day and age, with life blitzing along at a thousand miles per hour, puts into perspective, how much better life used to be.

Take shopping for instance. In case you managed to read the article posted above, you will see that new-age retail has successfully replaced and at the same time destroyed the art of buying and selling. In years past, a shop-keeper welcomed you into his store and tried his best to ensure that you had a pleasant and happy shopping experience. A Bata dealer would try his hardest to dissuade you from visiting Lakhani. He would offer you tea or cool drinks. He would show you more footwear than you cared for. He would smile.

Today, you walk into a MEGA shopping mall, walk about aimlessly to the tune of weird music, a genre which can best be described as mall-music, pick up the items you need and go home. Is it functional? Yes. Is it fun? Certainly not.

The reason behind all this is simple. Earlier, a shop-keeper and his employees' wages depended on sales. Which meant that each customer was important to them. Now, a salesman could care two hoots about you, since he is assured his pay packet at the end of the month. With regard to incident with Royal Enfield, this is very true.

All is not lost though. The charm of shopping still lives on, albeit only in a few pockets on the country. Karol Bagh in New Delhi for instance, where I had the absolute pleasure of doing my wedding shopping (yes, I am a guy and I said that). We were welcomed to every store with open arms and smile. By the end of the day, we were tired but very very happy! I could have possibly purchased most of the same stuff in a mall, without having to go from store to store, in air-conditioned style. Would it have left me with wonderful memories though? I doubt it.

This trend has crept into other facets of life as well. The small things which used to bring so much pleasure have been replaced by efficient, practical and mind-numbingly boring things. Television, for instance. The old days, we used to wait for the "Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast" song from the film Mohra to show up on the telly on a weekly songs countdown program so that we could turn up the sound and dance along with Akshay Kumar and Raveena Tandon. Now, a new song comes along and you hear it so many times in a day that if the song is released in the morning, you hate it by evening. Will that song go on to become a classic? Never.

Communication has reached an offensive stage where you are reachable in seconds no matter where you go. I yearn for the days before the cell phone and email was invented, so I could use a rotary style phone to call people, after 11PM to save on STD charges and enjoy it, rather than be able to call them up at any given moment. Again, is it convenient? Yes. Fun? NO.

I am reminded of a line from the film The Shawshank Redemption, where a man released after 50 years in prison, upon laying eyes on the world outside says: "Seems to me the world went and got itself into one big hurry" or something like that and it rings so true.

I wish the world would slow down. I'm 26 and I have too many worries. I need to buy a house. Start a family. Move up in my job. Earn more so I can spend more time and money in a mall. The list goes on. I want it all to go away. I want my peace. I looked up at the sky today and it was a wonderful, deep shade of blue, a color I had never seen it be before. I want more time to experience these little beauties of the world.

I sometimes do wish I had been born in the different time. A time when people traveled far and slow. A time when we had time for ourselves and for others. A time long gone.


See, I told you it would be annoying.

11:44AM, Bangalore

Last night we had a small get-together to bid farewell to Erik Mattson, our guru and mentor for about four months at DWI. I'm truly sad to see him go. Erik is a wonderful person. a great resource and a brilliant writer.

We will all miss his great sense of humour.

I hope to see him again, in India or elsewhere, and also wish him the best of luck in his future endeavours.

Erik and Helen had us over for a great Thanksgiving day at their beautiful villa in Whitefield. It was a perfect day for a picnic, the sun was out, blue skies and a cool breeze! Almost the entire DWA family was there and it was to be a fun and eventful day!

Beer and cocktails flowed freely, there was amazing food and snacks, a variety of sports were being played by children of all ages, people were taking PK's new Bullet for test rides; all in all a great day! Things got really interesting when the caterer managed to spill some fuel and set Helen's drawing room on fire! Fortunately, I was at hand to turn saviour and rescued the home and the party! My extinguisher of choice - a 2L bottle of Sprite! No bakwaas!

The turkey dinner, catered by my favorite Bangalore restaurant, The Only Place on Museum Road, was delicious! It was the first time I had an authentic Thanksgiving turkey and I loved it!

Unfortunately, Uma could only join us at around 7PM after work, by which time most people were really tired from all the volleyball and were ready to head home.

I had a great day, thanks to the efforts put in by Helen and Erik, so a big Thank You! goes out to them! I'm really looking forward to other holiday celebrations in a similar fashion, especially Holi!

1:56PM, Bangalore

What a night! Not that my friends and I need much reason to have a party but two birthdays are more than enough reason to have an absolute bender! The venue was J's beautiful home and the guest list was a cultural mix of Americans, Frenchies and of course, Indians! Most of us were DWA employees with spouses. MP was brave enough to bring his 1 year old son. Start them off early is what I always say.

Soumi wanted a Black Bucket party. I was designated barkeep. A high level meeting was called and Soumi, J and I agreed that my version of Long Islands were in order for the night. Soumi promptly forgot to bring a bucket so the party quickly morphed to a steel jug do. Not one to back away from such trivial setbacks, I set upon creating my masterpiece. We had already sourced many bottles of white spirits - namely Smirnoff vodka, Blue Riband gin and Bacardi Blanca rum. Add to that some Sweet and Sour and Triple Sec as mixers and a splash of Coke and there it was.

Things started well. I'm not sure how well they ended. All I know is, everyone loved to hate me at the party. They swore it was a great cocktail, but the wise ones (who have, at some point in their lives, had too much drink and turned their intestines inside out in the loo) knew that the cocktail was potent. It reminded me of a cocktail I once had called an Arrowhead. A cute pink looking thing in a small martini glass. Thinking nothing of it I gulped two or three down and was out like the proverbial light. This Long Island reminded me of the Arrowhead in some ways.

As the party progressed people started dancing. That soon went away, and was replaced by what can best be described as a preparations for a tribal war. In the mini-garden out back, EV was trying to pick fights and wrestle with anyone who dared challenge him. That didn't last too long either when some of the guys decided to tag-team him. It wasn't pretty.

Pizzas were ordered for dinner while my cocktail and the beers continued to flow freely. The more people drank the more they continued their love-hate relationship with me. I'm not new to this feeling though. Last time I went drinking with Tim and Don, I managed to get happy hours extended at my local watering hole to 11PM. They thought I was their hero and Tiger flowed freely. Come monday, they both stand in front of my desk, with pure hatred in their bleary eyes. Both were fuming about how much they hated me and my awful friends who extend happy hours at my every whim. I think this hatred stems from the fact that I don't get hungover even after a night of madness and so don't end up having a morning-after breakfast consisting of Tylenols or Asprins.

Don went away to California but Tim stayed back and after his display last night, he obviously hasn't learnt from his past mistakes.

All in all a good night out. We got back home past two am and my poor wife had work the next day. I hope everyone enjoyed the party and my abomination. Thank yous are in order to Mira, Soumi, Uma and J for the arrangements. For those who found it difficult, remember to drink lots of water and keep nibbling while you drink.

I'm sure two days will be enough for people to recover. I'm looking forward to the next party. I've been planning a little something-something with Tequila too.