The Monsoon Kaleidoscope

30th day of May, the year 2011, I sip my hot tea in the pleasant early morning breeze, the only time of the day when you are not dying to get into an air-conditioned room, with the morning newspaper in my hand my attention is drawn to one of today's headlines "Much awaited southwest monsoon sets in over Kerala, 3 days before normal".

Ah! I smile to myself, finally the curtains falls on the terrible summer nights for this year and the nature brings to us an amazing kaleidoscope of sights around the country.

I have had the good fortune of having traveled the length and breadth of the country thanks to my father, a civil engineer & a bridge builder. When I was little, we used to live in this small village in Himachal, a few hours drive from the railway junction of Pathankot. He was building a bridge across a stream, so once he was done with his days’ work he would have to cross the stream on a Jeep to get home. If the monsoon rains were kind to him, he had to wait for only few hours for the water in the stream to recede, before he could think of setting on his journey home to his family through the treacherous terrain of hilly slush……..and we complain about the traffic snarls on a weekday at Hafeezpet , Lingampally and Kukatpally!!!!!

I have very fond memories of the monsoon in this little port town in Orissa called Paradip, where I have spent few of my carefree childhood days. I especially remember many of my trips to the sloping beaches. The combination of the looming dark monsoon clouds and the rough sea waves used to make the sea look majestic & terrifying at the same time.

My drive to school in Paradip during the monsoon was also quite memorable as well. The location of our school was quite exotic to be very frank. It was at the edge of the confluence of the river Mahanadi and the Bay of Bengal. Our daily trip to school involved a long drive on this metaled road running next to the sea. The only thing separating the sea from coming on to the road was these huge boulders rising upto a meter high. Due to the strong wind during the monsoon days, the rough sea waves would violently break into the boulders and spill over on to our car’s windshield.

As they say nature can tame nature. In its journey across the Indian subcontinent, the rain laden monsoon cloud generally submits itself to another amazing natural creation……..the Mighty Himalayas. The mighty heights of the Himalayan range on our northern precincts serves as a bouncing pad for the low lying monsoon clouds. I vividly remember the sights atop 13050 ft (3948 m) above sea level at a pass called the Rohtang Pass on one of my holidays in Himachal. Apart from being the passage way to the amazingly scenic Lahaul and Spiti valley, Rohtang Pass also serves as a point where you can witness the northern limits of the monsoon clouds. From here, if you look south you could find tropical vegetation, thanks to the monsoon rains and to the north you could see cold the deserts of Lahaul and Spiti. The rain bearing clouds cannot pass through any further and thus the drastic difference in the terrain.

In April 2006 I joined the Talwade office of Capgemini in Pune, erstwhile Kanbay. Anyone and everyone who have visited our Talwade office would agree to the fact it is located in no-man’s land and have brooded over its remoteness. It used to be at least 7-8 km away from any decent habitation, wonder if it is still the same. Looking out from the office windows, one could only see the barren hilly slopes of the Western Ghats. Once the monsoon hit us, I was really amazed as to how the barren slopes were completely transformed into Shangri-la. Picture perfect lush green & uninhabited slopes with no manmade structures blocking the view, one could have easily mistaken it for some place in the Alps.

Such transformations are not uncommon during the Monsoon, on the contrary its common place.  Last year with some friends of mine we made this trip to the Nagarjuna Sagar . Like any other day characteristic during the monsoons, it was an overcast, windy & drizzly day. We had ventured on the choppy ferry ride to the island museum. The view of the sea like Nagarjuna Sagar from the small island with its water imitating the colours of heavily overcast sky reminded me of Loch Ness in Scotland.

These are some of the places in India I have been fortunate enough to see being transformed with the Monsoon magic & hope to keep discovering many more. Hope you too will discover some this monsoon.

Enjoy the monsoons! 

Yellowstone Picture – Grizzly Bear Picture - National Geographic Photo of the Day

Yellowstone Picture – Grizzly Bear Picture - National Geographic Photo of the Day

A new begining.......

I have spent half of the night reshaping this blog of mine. I have just realized that most of my previous post have been mostly depressing. So I have decided to turn a new leaf.....just have to wait and see how this evolves !

A depressed Indian............

No ! I do not want to run away from it. I do NOT want to go, settle in a foriegn country and discuss about the sad state of affairs in India over a glass of Jack Daniels during a weekend party with all my Indian friends.

I live in Hyderabad, so called "Pearl City" ..........the Cyber City of India. But I am saddened every single day when I am driving back home from work. I have to cross through this stretch of road which, needless to say, is in a real battered state after the recent Monsoon showers (Funny.....Monsoon is one natural phenomenon taking place only in this subcontinent which brings joy - sorrow, relief-agony, happiness - pain all at the same time). Roughly a km in length takes me approximately 40-45 mins to cross every single day. Looking at the progress of the flyover being constructed over this very stretch of road which is more like a slow motion movie played over a span of few years, puts me into severe depression. Why should a flyover approx 1 km long flyover take more than 4 yrs to built ?

Here is some food for thought..........

Nagarjuna Dam (largest Masonary Dam in Asia) took 12 yrs (1955 - 1967)

Delhi Airport T3 took 3 yrs,

Empire State Building took 410 days to build between 1930 -1931.........just to name a few.

What does this say about the civic authorities or the state of affairs in India......??? Only that corruption and lack of any quality control is so rampant that it will eventually bring the entire country to a halt.

In my opinion everything is a state of mind.........a state of mind in which we as an individual, as a community , as a state and as a nation have become poisoned with corruption and malpractice. Its a reflection of the fact that the perpitrators can get away with anything in this country, setting an example for more to follow.

It increasingly worries me that in case of any conflict there wouldn't be any civic machinary (law, justice or medical) present in time to rescue me. However at the same time I rest in peace to know that I have figured out the right contacts to get me out of that sticky situation by-passing the very machinary that is put in place to protect me. I, as an educated person, use these tools as an extreme measure but unfortunately most Indians use this by-passing mechanism of "You know who I am??", "I know Mr. X........", "Tell me how much you want" as a normal answer to every situation.

Is this the view of developing India, ready to take the world? Well if that is so........I wonder if I am in a Dream....oops a Nightmare.

Mumbai Terrorist Attacks: An eye opener for India

The Mumbai terrorist attack has left me quite worried. Though this is the first time that elitist of this country has come face to face to the horrors of terror. But more than the scars of Mumbai attack, what gives me sleepless nights is the Indian system as a whole.

I find that the Political class of India are more scary than the terriorts. When you know your enemy you can device methods to face them effectively. Though our security systems has lapsed big time but these terrorist sought to violence to spread terror and hence can be labled
as known enemies.

But the true enemies of the this country are not these terrorists, but the politicians and the beaurocrates who are governing the nation. There is no point hurling accuses to the governing party, as no matter which party comes to power the situation would remain the same. No
matter whether the minister are from Congress or BJP they are just the same. Its just a matter of co-incidence that it happend in Congress party's rule.

Thanks to the Mumbai attacks security has been beefed up across the nation and across all major cities. Even in my office you can see the enhanced security measures in place. But having done all that do you think that our security forces (except the army and NSG) are equipped
well enough to handle an onslaught of the nature that took place in Mumbai? I guess not ! If a terrorist with the most advanced weaponary (as seen in mumbai) come hurling bullets at you, I am sure even police with their arms will be dwarfed to their might. So technically speaking
we, as citizens of this nation, are completely at the mercy of these terrorist. They can strike anytime and anywhere. Now thats really scary !

What would take to feel secure ????? The politicians of our nation are so shameless that they are on air giving lame excuses for what has happened. And they are also back to their mud-slinging habbits and fighting for power as can be seen happeing for the Maharastra CM post.

I think as a nation and as citizens we have gone too far with the "Chalta hai" attitude.

You break traffic rules......chalta hai,
You get hit by bomb attacks.......chalta hai,
Our politicians try to divide and rule .......chalta hai,

Governments will come and go, they will continue to take political milage against each other with every terrorist attack that take place on this soil. They will continue to enhance the ill-feelings between Hindus and Muslims in this nation. I cannot believe that any religion can ask its followers to be cold hearted and ruthless to an extent that you cease to be a human any more.

When would there be a real change?

A change where you see normal police men and women can afford a decent standard of living. Only then you will you find policemen and women not getting bribed for some extra petty cash. When would our police force , who are our first line of security, have the latest weaponary to take on these terrorist. I only find government & beaurocrats having the latest cell phone, planes, helicopter etc. They have people with latest weaponary to protect them, then why not us? Afterall it is tax payer's money, our money. Sad my money can only buy these useless politicians security and not me !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When actual steps are taken to erradicate poverty and illiteracy. An educated and employed individual would not be easily persuaded by the extremist groups that exist today.The government as a whole has not done anything in these lines, only incorporate it in their speeches
that are rendered to the poor citizens of the country during the election season. If all of our politicians had really acted on these issues decades earlier would we had to face such a situtation today.

A change wherein we do not take what anyone might hurl at us. Why do we need to pleed to Pakistan to hand over our convicts and also have to endure their double-standard remarks on our national television. When will India will get aggressive and give a clear message to the
international community that we as a nation cannot be taken for a ride and that not everything is ok here.

A change where our politician are there not for their personal gain or power but to help citizens to prosper in this country, our politicians start thinking of the nation rather than themselves.
Unless we change our political starta entirely there will be no change in the grass-root level, whereby there will be no change to the situation that we are currently in now.

Its sad, but I truly feel that we as citizens of this nation have become so extremely selfish. As long things do not hurt us, it ok. As long the victims of bomb blast are the individuals whose name you would hear only once in ur lifetime during the news telecast, its all ok.

These terrorist attacks has left us with so many disturbing facts about how India is not performing the way it should. Of late with the IT revolution, prosperity has reached homes where it was not was expected, which in turn has taken away our attention from the entire government mechanism which over time has completely rusted, failed and burned out.

Its time now for citizens of this country to come together to make the next change that is so desperately needed.

When would things really change, I wonder ????????????????

What is wrong with us Indians ?

Recently I heard on the news that somewhere in Bihar a train ran over a man who in a hurry jumped on to the tracks instead of using the over bridge to cross over to the next platform and eventually meeting his death. This incident caused a furor and the masses started stone pelting at the train driver. Such an incident can only occur in India where you break the rule and you penalize the authority for your breaking of the rule. What blatant indiscipline. Makes me really wonder why are we,Indians, like this.

Everyday when I ride to work, to the IT District of Hyderabad, I see such exhibition of disregard of the rules of the land that it really breaks my heart. Complete disregard to any kind of Civic sense. I really do not blame any of these auto rickshaw-wallas and taxi drivers as they are beyond my comments. I would really blame the whole system wherein a driving license can simply be purchased in an RTO. Unfortunately in India as long you can handle a vehicle (thought not neccessarily) you are fit to drive. Unlike most western countries, driving is taken as a serious business where it is a mix of your skill behind the wheels and your understanding of the traffic rules. However I am talking about all these 'so-called' IT professional, who at some point of their lives have surely travelled to the developed western countries and have appreciated their sense of civic responsibilities and talked about it back home. But once they are back home, like here on the streets of Hyderabad or any other city in this country exhibit blatant disregard to it. Well the dominant emotion most of them exhibit is that of 'I am the king of the roads', 'Nothing can happen to me'.......I wonder why???? Why is there a complete lack of civic sense that one can drive on their extreme left when they want to go their right, causing a complete chaos when they finally attempt to go the direction they initially intended to or have the most important discussion of their life on their mobiles when they are at one of the busiest junctions trying to go past on the signal turning green.................It completely beats me!!!

On my many visits abroad I had the good fortune (or bad fortune, I am not entirely sure but I am more inclined to call it my bad fortune for reasons mentioned further in this blog) to witness various actions performed by many Indians, some of them being my colleagues, that has made me think that there is something seriously wrong with us, Indians!!!! Let me narrate an incident that took place at the client site I was visiting. At the client office, like many offices in the western countries, there are free supplies of milk bottles, tea bags, coffee (both normal and decaf), and sugar in the pantry for the employees to treat themselves to tea or coffee at leisure or whenever they desire. Well further into my tenure I started to notice a strange phenomenon, wherein some of my Indian colleagues, on the pretext of working late, started to fill their bag packs (which was meant for the laptops) with these tea bags, sugar and milk bottles from the pantry once every member of the client office has left for the day. And, too many people's surprise, there was one person who did not even spare the tissues in the pantry as well as the toilets. It made me feel really bad. Why are we like this????? Well we are not exploited IT professional such that in these expensive countries we cannot afford to buy milk or tissues for our day to day living.

There is a major problem in our attitudes. We are always looking for a chance to cheat. I was making a booking for a day trip around Scotland. As my father was a senior citizen I made an attempt to avail the senior citizen concession. While I was making a booking online, I called up the tour operators to ask them what proof they required me to produce for the concession that I have availed. Very politely the lady at the other end of the phone told me ‘Oh! We do not require any proof for it, we have faith that you would not misuse it'. This was the major difference I found in India and other nations. People give you the freedom and the citizens are decent enough not to misuse it with exceptions for sure. Unlike India, if you give any kind of liberty you can rest assured that it would be misused, whether it is governmental liberties or liberties in a multinational corporation.

What would take for us Indian to change our attitudes? What would take for us to incorporate some discipline in our daily lives? I am sure if we made this small change within each and every one of us, most of our problems in this country will surely see rays of hope. Building swanky buildings, or making swanky airports or increasing the number of retail therapy options or increasing the GDP of the nation or the foreign currency reserves in our banks are not the only thing we need to call ourselves the leaders of the world in the 21^st century, we also have to change the way we conduct ourselves and also our attitudes in order to become the true leaders.

Rock On....You Rock !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It all started with my sister's email asking me to check out one of Farhan Akhtar's video on YouTube performing U2's song 'One'. The video came as a complete surprise as I never knew that Farhan Akhtar sings. I have to admit this is an amazingly talented guy. Having seen his video I was tempted to listen to the just released tracks of his forthcoming movie 'Rock On'. I never knew that I would be in for such a pleasant surprise. I was aware that Rock On's music has released and having followed Rediff.com's review about the album I really did not bother to give it a listen. I have to admit that it was the dumbest thing to do, I wonder why did I listen to rediff's review and not follow my instincts which indicates that it must be good. C'mon, anyone who has enjoyed Dil Chahta Hai and Lakshya immensely, I am a big admirer of Farhan. Anyways, I did finally give it a listen........

The few words that come to my mind after having listened to the soundtracks are........I LOVE IT!!!! I am a Classic Rock fan, for such a person I guess this soundtrack is a complete treat. One thing I can say for sure that it is very matured rock, hats off to Shankar-Eshaan-Loy. It also gives you a very fresh feel, fresh in the prespective of Bollywood. Finally i think that bollywood is coming of age. Thanks to Farhan, Shankar-Eshaan-Loy to name a few!!

Even though I simply loved all the tracks but I guess one song deserves a special mention. The song is 'Phir Dekhiye' by Caralisa Monteiro. I guess I can write a whole paragraph citing what are the things I loved about this track. Who is Caralisa Monteiro???? God, she has this amazingly sensuous voice. Bowled over by her voice and her singing I was tempted to do a Google on her. To my surprise I found that she has done playback for a good number of popular tracks, sad I only noticed her now. ‘Phir Dekhiye’ gives you a soothing listening experience, while I listened to it over n over again late in the night it reminded me of many old timers….Joan Baez and of the likes. Caralisa has definitely got a very matured voice and style of singing. Simply love this song and whoever attempts to listen to this album would love it.

I would refrain from giving a track by track review as I guess you would find it all over on the net. I would prefer that you rather would give it a listen. Anyone who likes Classic Rock would simply love this album.

This has definitely raised my expectation of the movie, cannot wait till the releases. I hope Farhan you prove to be as good an actor as you are a director and now a singer J !!