Taare Zameen Par

In short, the finest Hindi movie I have seen in a long time.Someone finally made a movie on a middle class kid's growing up years in India- the pressures,the ever increasing burden of unrealistic expectations demanded by parents,teachers,peers almost everyone around you.It's all the more ironic because in our country there are millions of children whose dreams get quashed everyday because of lack of resources and biting poverty while at the other end of the spectrum,the well off middle and upper classes of the society are just too busy pushing their children through the assembly line of 'educated' engineers,doctors and the like.In the process the child's inclination,natural talents are thrown out of the door and the children themselves herded towards a never ending rat race which lasts and consumes a life time.

To me this was the broader theme of the movie.The fact that young Ishaan was Dyslexic was just a means to make it easier for the wider audience to connect with the story. He could well have been a normal boy falling behind in academic life because of the rigors and constraints applied by an unforgiving system.Well, even "falling behind" can be relative because when you have the guy next door scoring 99%, expectations can take up new meanings.

Coming back to the movie, there were atleast two absolutely stand out sequences. The first one when Aamir visits Ishaan's parents to disclose the fact that Ishaan has dyslexia and he needs care and affection instead of being pushed and put down all the time, and the second one when Ishaan's father comes visiting at boarding school to tell Aamir that he indeed 'cares' for his son.
I wish I could reproduce the whole "Khayaal Karna" stanza here, its magnificently penned and delivered.Darsheel Safari as Ishaan is the soul of the movie and his performance towers above the rest.Incredible talent!

It could be argued-"What to do about it?"-isn't the system responsible for this mess and quite simply its beyond one to bend the system..isn't it? I would agree but only to an extent,sure you have to conform to the rules but at the same time you can do well not to create roadblocks for your child and push him or her more than is needed so that their childhood is not lost in the practically worthless myriad of "90%" and "A+" grades.Like countless others of my generation I have been there and seen it all.Dyslexia or not we have all been Ishaan at some point in our lives.That our education system is in dire needs of reform is stating the obvious,but before that can happen our thoughts need to reform. Being a Painter,writer,musician or chef is every bit as respectable as being a doctor or an engineer and certainly more satisfying and lasting if you have the talent for it.

Holiday Lights

Yesterday we decided to bite the holiday bullet and ventured into the Kenwood city mall,believed to be the poshest mall here in Cincinnati. Sure it was crowded but things were pretty well organized. The mall was beautifully decorated and there was the unmistakable festive spirit around. People were rushing to complete their holiday shopping and the stores had made sure that they had "discount" prices all over the place to push up the sales. The holiday shopping season in the US is a vital sign of the general health of the economy. The news isn't too good on that front as sales are down compared to last year and there are signs of a recession looming on the horizon.

I'm an electronics junkie and could spend hours looking at gadgets, however everything else is quite simply boring specially clothes,accessories and the works. Saw a big crowd at the Apple store-ipods,iphones,nanos still going strong despite the fact that Apple never ever slashes prices.It makes me wonder- why do people buy from a store, isn't it much cheaper to look for deals online and on amazon you don't have to pay sales tax(don't ask me, I have no clue how that works but its legal as of now). For example, I was looking at a Sony noise canceling headphone listed on Amazon for $135(no tax,free shipping). I checked out the same item at the Sony store and it was listed as $199.99 plus taxes. As John Matterse would say on his daily show- doesn't that stink!?

We wanted to have Nishkarsh's picture taken with Santa but there was a long queue and when we checked back His Excellency Santa Claus was on a break(:

Little Champs

Over the weekend I watched a lot of TV and changed a lot of diapers!. We had some rough weather with a snow storm heading our way. However the 4-6 inches forecast turned out to be nothing major with hardly 2 inches accumulation,a major portion of it being washed away with the rain that followed. However, the temps really plummeted and we were down to the teens.

I have been following Zee's Little Champs for a while now. Its an entertaining show with a group of very talented and musically inclined kids performing every week. The two judges on the show,Suresh Wadkar and Sonu Nigam are legends in their own right. Their feedback on the performances with due emphasis on technical details and a fair amount of encouragement is a treat to watch. Too often you hear judges on these types of programs only parroting sentences full of praise which literally mean nothing.

Here are my two cents on some of the kids I like:

Sagar : The cricket crazy Bombay lad may not be the best singer in the group but I feel he has much more potential than is evident in his performances. He seems to be a very lively young boy who gets a little overawed by the occasion. Happens to the best of us.He's been ousted from the competition once and is back as a wild card entry. However, it remains to be seen if he's able to hold on to his spot.

Sahil: The quiet, unassuming lad from Hissar,Haryana is immensely talented. However, his nerves got the better of him and he got eliminated from the show. To my immense delight, he was back as a wild card entry and gave two power packed performances earning kudos from the judges. I would be very disappointed if he doesn't cut it in the public voting which is literally a lottery.

Vasundhara: Perhaps the most consistent and tuneful singer on the show. This girl has got amazing variety and such a sweet voice. Definitely a front runner in the race so far.

Tanmay: My favorite on the show. The little boy from Lucknow is fun to watch. He's got a style and personality of his own. A very good singer and someone who doesnt have any sort of stage fear,this little boy is as innocent as they come. Another consistently good performer so far.

Rohan: The Sikh lad is an easy going,wonderfully talented singer who performs effortlessly without a care in the world. He's given some top notch performances so far.I quite like the boy.

Vaishali: This little girl is fun but talks too much!. Not quite consistent and on the verge of elimination.

There have been couple of instances where parents have objected to some of the decisions made by the judges. I think that's absurd for the judges are doing a very fine job and know a great deal about music than the average Joe in the audience. Also, by bickering these fellows are really setting a bad example for their kids. This is a competition and all judgments are biased to some extent. How hard it is to understand that? They almost make it seem that this show is the finality of their children's career. They cannot be more in the wrong. Agreed,its fabulous to win but then this is not the end of the world.Let the kids enjoy the competition and learn as much as they can from the two fabulous singers on the show.

The kids are far more sporting and care free than their parents and its their attitude which makes this show so watchable.

Dus Kahaniyan

Caught this movie the other day. I love short stories and this movie's plot promised to weave ten brisk,interesting tales together complete with new set of actors and directors for each.I had made up my mind even before watching this one that it was going to be pleasantly intriguing and gripping.

Well,I shouldn't have had my hopes so high as I was treated to a rude shock.The first couple of stories were so ordinary and soulless that it took me by surprise when they ended. I almost exclaimed every time - "What,that's it...that's supposed to be a whole story??". It continued over and over-old wine in a new bottle,absolutely mundane run of the mill stuff being paraded as something novel and innovative. The only saving grace was the "Rice Plate" largely due to the presence of perhaps the two best actors in India-Naseerudin Shah and Shabana Azmi.They transformed what was a pretty lame storyline to something captivating and lasting by virtue of their incredible acting prowess. Naseer doesnt even have more than a dialogue in the part but his presence is unmistakable. Shabana looked the traditional religion obsessed south Indian lady in a manner which made it appear she had been one most of her life.

This brings me back to the title "Dus Kahaniyan",seven of those were a complete waste of my time. The other two worth mentioning were the stories involving Amrita Singh and the first one. I forget their titles but they were relatively watchable than rest of the crap.

Person of Indian Origin!

I had to recently apply for a Person of Indian Origin (PIO) card for my son who was born here in the US. Filling up Government paperwork ranks below the most mundane items on my list like getting a haircut or shopping for clothes. However, because I had no intentions of procrastinating this item on my to-do list I started where I always do-Google!

Found out a ton of things about the PIO card program. Apparently the dual citizenship initiative of the Indian Govt went only so far. In the interim there are two schemes for people of Indian origin who want to enjoy a visa free entry to India- PIO and the OCI(Overseas citizen of India). In typical fashion where Govt procedures make everything more complicated,this too was headed in the same direction. Well, after a bit of more research discovered that the OCI program is NOT open to children whose parents have Indian citizenship. The OCI scheme grants more or less lifelong permanent residency in India. The PIO on the other hand is also similar except that you are still considered an NRI and have to register your presence with local authorities in case your stay extends beyond 6 months.Additionally it needs to be renewed every 15 years.

Since PIO was the only option, I went about following the specified procedure.In no time encountered the first red tape- "Fill form in duplicate". Agreed this was a minor hassle,the next one was "thumb impressions" for all minors who cannot sign.The Parents cannot sign for the minor child. This is absurd,when all paperwork is being done by the parent then why on earth he or she or both cant sign for the child applicant is beyond me.Worked around that by taking thumb impressions of our 1.5 month boy while he was asleep.Also,no mention whether right or left thumb is required or it doesn't matter which.

I normally fill all forms online and then just print and sign it. This way its much easier to type in the information legibly than putting someone else at the inhumane task of deciphering my sloppy handwriting. Alas, no such luck this time. The PIO application says at the top "date in format dd/mm/yy". My acrobat reader would pop a big red at that saying "incorrect date format". Moreover the font sizes seemed all screwed up. With a heavy heart, I took out my pen and hand filled the forms in the best writing I could muster. It was somewhat frustrating because the space provided for writing was just too measly at many places.

The red tape continued. The Indian consulate wouldn't accept payment in personal checks,only money orders or cashier's cheques. This meant a trip to the bank and extra $$ in money order fees- a definite hassle.Passport photos- another rip off. This time not by the consulate but by American businesses. A set of 2 pictures costs about $10 and no digital copy provided means you go back and pay every time you want more copies. Google to the rescue again-The folks at
www.epassportphoto.com have done a BIG service . Just take a shot using a digital camera at home,use their software to crop/size the picture and print in on your photo printer-neat!.Taking a picture of a 1.5 month old with eyes open and mouth closed can be a challenging task.Anyone who has gone though the exercise will concur.

Some inaccuracies I noted - The PIO card fee has apparently been increased recently to $185 for minors. This important fact is inconsistently reported. At some places it still says $155.The address on top of the form has a different zip than the one in the mailing address.Also discovered to my astonishment that back in 1999 when the PIO card scheme was launched the fee was $1000!!.However to be fair still far less than what the US Green Card entails.

The good thing- application by mail doesn't require you to send in the original Passport.Notarized copies suffice. This was definitely a positive. Another nice thing - the form is only 2 pages and instructions are quite clear.Now why doesn't the Govt stop this business of handing out PIO's and OCI's and pass that dual citizenship bill is hard to understand. With the bill being lost in the myriad dust of Indian political establishment,whether it will ever see the light of the day is anybody's guess and your's is as good as mine.

Back to School

Nope, I'm not writing about the "back to school" fever which hits the US every September. I was pleasantly surprised to see this write up on wikipedia

I do a lot of searches on wiki just for the heck of it so I eagerly lapped up this short article about my old school which has lately become quite famous due to MS Dhoni's rise in Indian cricket. Actually the school was always in news atleast locally for the steady stream of talented students it churned out every year who got thru to IIT's, AIMS and the likes.

I still remember the meeting with the then vice principal Mrs Thind- a strict, upright Punjabi lady. The occasion was my "interview" if I can call it that before joining the Nursery grade!. I was shown a rose and asked to name the flower,I declined to answer due to reasons I cant remember now and was promptly admitted to the school nevertheless. Those were the good old days for now I read that only those scoring 95% and above get entry to the science stream.The article also told me that the school now runs in two sessions morning and afternoon to accommodate the burgeoning student population.

Mr RE Singh used to be the Principal in my time. He was the butt of many jokes I don't seem to recall now. What I do recall is his highly agitated frame on the assembly platform when a loud cracker went off with an ear shattering bang right in the middle of the morning prayer session.
This auspicious incident would normally precede the Deepawali festival. The current school Principal Mr DR Singh used to be the Chemistry teacher. He was a pretty good teacher but had a particular quirk of gesticulating with his hands as he described a dumbbell shaped ionic bond
If I remember right,he had spent some years in South Africa on a teaching program and he would recount tales from that sometimes.

I was quite amused to see the name next to the Dean's column on the website. SN Thakur our dreaded Physics teacher-fondly known as TNT is now the Dean of the school. I think this position was abolished after a few years when I started school. He once told someone in our class to see him afterwards for extra coaching. This was a subtle recommendation to join his private tutoring class. It was rumored that those who didn't would suffer when he evaluated term papers. I seem to forget now if there was any truth to this.

As I read that article, a plethora of memories and visions from the past rolled up in front of my eyes. Funny how a couple of pictures of old school buildings can take one on an express trip down the memory lane.

It's a Boy!

I became a father recently and lots of people asked me this question-How does it feel? Well,there are some moments which words however grandiose cannot do justice to. The moment of a child's birth is one such seminal event. This miracle of nature has it all- exasperation,moments of impatience,fear and ultimately sublime bliss. 

We were witness to this moment of joy and wonder as our little boy announced his arrival into the outside world at 1344 hours,Oct 15th,2007 with an ear shattering cry as the doctor held him up for us to get a first glimpse. Baby Nishkarsh weighed in at 8 pounds and 5 oz and measured 21 inches. The doctor and nurses were fabulous and so was the entire delivery and post-partum system at the Bethesda North hospital in Cincinnati. All three of us were strapped on with security bands on our wrists which was connected to the hospital's communication network.This is done to trigger alarms if someone tries to smuggle the baby out. Not that it happens but its a pretty reassuring feature. The mother and the baby's wrist bands have a special software which plays a nice little soothing tone every time the baby is near the mom.

"Rooming-in" with the baby post delivery is encouraged as it allows the baby and the mother to initiate that first bond of love and care. The hospital provides free in room meals for the mom but dads are expected to buy their lunches and dinners from the cafeteria or from outside. Not that I was particularly enthused with the cafeteria which served on a military like schedule-Breakfasts at 8 AM,Lunch at 11 AM,supper at 6 PM. That type of eating timetable is a bit too much to ask of an IT guy used to crazy timings and bad food habits:-). The nearby Mc Donald came to the rescue!

The much maligned Healthcare companies in the US are federally mandated to provide 48 hours of post delivery care for the mother and the baby in case of a natural birth and 96 hours in case of birth by C section. Anything over and above this mandate requires a medical order by your caregiver. Fortunately for us everything went well and since it was an uncomplicated natural birth and the fact that both the mother and the baby were doing well,our release orders were provided to us within 48 hours of the birth. This could be the only time when you feel a slight tinge at leaving a hospital. I mean all is so gung-ho in there,you press a bell and the wonderful staff is at your beck and call and then they hand over your baby and you're in the cockpit...no more autopilot!

The amount of reading material you get stuffed with during the 40 weeks of pregnancy can be intimidating and then there is the wonderful internet. In my opinion all this helps since babies do not come with their operating manuals!.A trip to Baby'sRus is another watershed.Do these small adorable beings require so much gear? There are lots and lots of innovative stuff which are life savers for new parents but a lot of stuff is plain junk invented with a purely business mind. A wet wipe warmer?....wonder who uses that!

On to probably the biggest life saver- Disposable Diapers-Babies in the US consume on an average 5000+ dipaers a year!!. That's a staggering statistic. And of course they are NOT bio-degradable.What a mess!.Just like the oil companies the Diaper manufacturers like Pampers and Huggies and other brands must be sitting on a steady supply of gold.Did I mention the sci-fi looking Diaper disposable system like Diaper champ or Diaper genie. Toss the soiled diaper in and turn the handle and you're done. No odor, no mess...neat!

The first few days were kind of rough as we struggled to attend to needs of this little being who demands so much attention and care enough to keep you busy morning,day and night.It does get better as time passes and you get to understand what those baby cries mean. I think I can safely say Parenting is a journey- tough,occasionally frustrating,exhausting but just like other momentous journeys of life- rewarding,blissful and joyful in itself with no particular goal or destination. One keeps traveling and keeps learning. This quote about sums it up in my opinion-

"Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children, and no theories.  ~John Wilmot"

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Piano Themes

I am a big fan of great Piano themes specially the ones from some of my favorite movies. There's something magical about the Piano.A well trained pianist can work magic with the black and white keys. I know nothing about music other than the layman aesthetic appreciation for it. I have tried experimenting with listening to the great works of Western music-Bach,Beethoven,Mozart, Chopin.

I have not reached a position where I can identify the pieces but they leave me astounded nevertheless. Its fabled that Mozart composed the immortal "Twinkle,Twinkle little star" when he was 5. There is something absolutely captivating about western classical music specially the piano notes even if one is not refined enough to get into the technical stuff.

Some of the more famous Hollywood OST's played on the Piano have been nothing short of breathtaking. There is James Horner brilliant and moving score in Titanic. This is what Director James Cameron had to say about Horner's score:

"When James and I met to discuss "Titanic" for the first time almost two years ago, we both searched for words to express the depth of feeling we had for the subject and how we should go about scoring the film. I felt strongly that the score should be unconventional and not the classic period score with its sweeping orchestral stings. I wanted the film to transport the audience back in time and to make that moment in history not history but life... a moment spent with living people like you and me. The music had to have emotional power and a life energy that could move an audience now , in the closing years of our jaded and revved-up century, without sounding gimmicky or anachronistic."

"I was tremendously excited by that initial encounter and so we embarked on what proved to be, for both of us, the most grueling and demanding, yet ultimately the most rewarding, creative partnership of our careers. Early in '97, as filming ended, James invited me to his studio where he played some initial sketches and melodies on the piano. I will never forget the moment before James began to play... sitting there hoping and praying the themes would be good. And realizing minutes later that the themes were far beyond good. They were everything I had dreamed, perfectly capturing the aching, bittersweet heart of the film."

James Horner produced another very poignant and very touching score in the "Beautiful Mind".The background score totally enhances the emotive content of a story. There is nothing more captivating than a brilliant scene or a masterfully delivered narrative like Morgan Freeman's now immortal voice over in the Shawshank Redemption which comes alive miraculously when the background score specially the Piano notes float dream like, gradually building into a crescendo which culminates with a turning point in the story.

Browsing through youtube I discovered some very competent and sonorous Piano themes. These are some of my absolute favorites I can listen over and over without ever getting tired. I wish I could learn the Piano and can only dream I could play some of these magnificent pieces of art. Hats off to these immensely talented folks.

Beautiful Mind Theme

Another Rendition of the Beautiful Mind

The Titanic Theme

World Trade Center Theme

Pearl Harbor-Tennessee

Harry Potter Weekend

I would like to dedicate this weekend to Harry.On Saturday we ventured out to watch the new sequel to the Potter series-"The Order of Phoenix". I haven't thumbed through every one of the four Potter books so far. I have scrambled through some pages of the first volumes and the only one I have read through is the "Prisoner of Azkaban".

The narrative is delightful. It has that old world charm of an enticing story which makes you turn the pages as fast as you can. The imagination is rich,vivid and breathtaking. I must say JK Rowling has made reading in vogue again specially amongst the children.Coming back to the movie,we had the tickets to the IMAX/3D experience. I have watched a couple of those now with "Return of Superman" and "Spiderman 3" recently. The screen is gigantic and the sound system they employ is a bewildering 12000 watts surround. Of course the whole movie is not in 3D. As with the earlier ones I had watched,there are short action sequences within the movie which are in 3D. So when you see the blinking glasses sign at the bottom of the screen, you know its time to put on the fancy 3D glasses they hand out at the start of the show. Its fun for sure. You almost feel like a kid in a candy store waiting impatiently for the 3D sign to appear. The excitement of the children is infectious.Its amusing to see the little ones walk into the theater sporting big smiles and the 3D glasses on the whole time. The best part was when Harry's kissing scene came along. A kid in the row behind us quipped "Are'nt they gonna kiss in 3D?".His parents went "ssh....".

The movie was excellent. Even though I haven't read the book, I know the characters and the general storyline quite well.The end 20 minute fight sequence featuring Harry,Dumbledore and the dark lord was breathtaking in 3D IMAX. I almost felt like I was in the middle of it all with lightning and fire blazing. That scene itself was moneys worth. The story was so captivating that I felt it ended all too soon. Little did I realize how fast the 2 hours flew by.There was a mild hiccup before the show though. I had purchased our tickets through the online system where you get to choose the seat. Now when we walked into the theater, we found out that one of the seats we booked online didn't even exist physically. With the show being sold out I thought I was going to give the guest services a dressing down but the Manager ushered us into two great seats normally reserved for the Press. Since there were no print folks expected today,it was a neat way out of the mess. So much for online seat selection.

The other day I saw Larry King interview Daniel Radcliffe. Not even 18, the fella is already worth millions.You don't need that magic wand, do you Harry? Not to mention that JK Rowling is the first literary billionaire.There is frenzied excitement over the next Potter book coming out in a week's time with midnight launch parties planned in book stores across continents. When was the last time buying a book sounded so exciting?

So for ordinary muggles like me, what do I say? Perhaps "Expecto Patronum"....there you go.

July 4th

Its good to be in America on July 4th-you get a holiday!.Some years if you are lucky the holiday falls on a Friday or a Monday making it a long weekend which is a ready excuse for packing up and holidaying somewhere.Unfortunately that didn't happen this time around.The corporates no longer are generous enough to convert a mid week holiday into a long weekend. Those days are long gone.

A holiday in the middle of a work week can seem strange-more like a sudden stall in the monotony of work.The next day can be bitter sweet thinking about a break which went so fast that it didn't even register.Anyway, I believe in making the most of a paid day off.A recent study declared America to be a 'no-vacation-nation'. The Europeans lead in the holiday category.Since a day is just not enough time to drive anywhere far,we decided to spend the day in the city which turned out to be an eat out and a movie day.I realized that we had never tried out the Buffalo wild wings grill just across the street.The food was delicious specially the hot sauce was sensational.Its not always that spicy means 'spicy' around here. Most of the times it turns out pretty mild. So a thumbs up to the folks at Buffalo Wings.

The movie was "Live Free or Die Hard" another sequel to the Die Hard series with this one coming out after a dozen years or so.I booked us into the director's hall since there were no 3D/IMAX options.The Director's hall turned out to be a smaller theater with leather recliners,definitely much more comfortable than the normal fare. Just before the show started a plump old lady slipped and fell in the aisle just behind us. Miraculously she didn't break any bones.Thank goodness for that. The movie was entertaining- an action packed,typical Hollywood blockbuster.Bruce Willis comfortably over 50 now but still pretty nimble and having that deadpan humor that was the highlight of the movie. A typical conversation went like this:

Co-Star: They kidnapped your daughter,What you gonna do?
Bruce: I will kill all of them and get my daughter back.
Co-Star:That's you plan?Listen...we ought to have a plan B...
Bruce:Yeah...that's my plan...I'm gonna go there and kick their ass...

Gave the 4th of July fireworks in the local area a miss.Been to too many of those.No longer fun until you are out with a group and a picnic hamper.In fact there was a tornado warning in effect but luckily for the crowds the rain Gods relented just long enough for the fireworks to finish before the much needed rain drops crashed over the cityscape.

I mentally made a note to check out the history behind the 4th of July-wikipedia to the rescue!.

Are you from the past?

Couple of weeks back,one summery evening we were strolling around the pool area of our apartment complex. Its a cool little tucked away area with a nice adults and a kid's pool with an adjoining club/bar.There is a nice children's play area too with swings and slides.I was busy admiring the cute little duck family who were frolicking by the fountain in a nearby pond,when a kid probably around 6 or 7 asked what language we were conversing in-was it Chinese? he asked. Not sure if he would understand if I said Hindi, I told him it was Indian and so were we. He pondered over this for a while and then shot back-Are you from the past? I was amused,obviously he had understood "Indians" as in Red Indians and hence his bewildered question-were we actually the Red Indians from his history books.?I thought about Bill Cosby...he was right-Kids say the darnedest things.

Where's News?

What a week it was with the Paris Hilton saga plastered like confetti all over the American media.Its not for me to mention the sorry saga all over here,but it was downright apalling to see the numbing coverage.I am generally annoyed and somewhat mildly amused by the media circus back home in India.There used to be a time when I was growing up in the eighties and all we had was the drab and infinitely boring Doordarshan news.The only thing I looked forward to in those dreary news boadcasts was clippings of ongoing cricket matches.Other than that brief respite it was one long,'put-to-sleep' affair fittingly terminated by the last piece "Mausam ki jaankari".

Cut back to the present- an array of glitzy news channels-Zee News,NDTV,CNN-IBN....and many more that I can't keep up with. You have well dressed news readers/journalists...we seem to have come a long way from DD news days or have we? Most of the news content is shockingly bizarre.You got to watch Zee news,the coverage is so flimsy,the tone overly dramatic to the point of being classified as slapstick comedy.There is barely any debate/discussion which addresses the burning issues of the day.Movie stars and cricketers loom large.Agreed, we need to hear about them,how else do we justify their celebrity status but news coverage is a farce if I get to hear mostly overblown stories and 'sting' operations!.

Where is the informed,responsible,balanced and most importantly news coverage I can believe?We need something to the likes of CBS 60 minutes or Anderson Coopers 360 on CNN.
Oh yeah we do need more Rajdeep's,Prannoy Roy's,Vinod Dua's and a far less dose of the menu at a Bollywood party.For that please do have a 24/7 entertainment tonight and I confess I would like to catch up on it every now and then.But other than that,let me hear about what's on in the nation and rest of the planet.I believe that would be 'News'.

Crazy Cinci weather

Someone mentioned to me recently that if you do not like the weather in Cincinnati then just wait a few days.Well,that is how fast things change around here.We hit the beginning of March with clear sunny blue skies and spring in the air.Within a couple of weeks the temps soared and the biting cold winter seemed like a distant memory.It clocked in the late seventies and early eighties for couple of weeks making people switch to summer gear-shorts,shades...the parks were abuzz with activity in the evenings and the children and the adults gorged on ice creams.It was beautiful almost an early summer!.

And suddenly out of nowhere,this cold front hits.Within a space of a single day the temp dropped from the eighties to the thirties.There is a freeze warning in effect tonight!.Jeez!....that's some drop.It certainly made me forget the lovely summer and it was back to icy winds and heavy coats.What a difference a day can make in this place.

I guess with global warming playing havoc with weather patterns the world over this should not come as a surprise.Back home in Bangalore we are pretty much used to similar climate throughout the year.The summers there are beginning to become really hot though much less humid than many other parts of India.

I know its the Brits who are the ones so fussy about the weather but a drop from 82 to 23 in 24 hours sure made me write this blog!.Hope summer's back next week in Cincinnati.

Pursuit of Happyness....

I got a chance the other day to see this much acclaimed movie starring Will Smith and his little son.Based on the true story of Chris Gardener who went from being homeless,penniless struggling lower middle class individual to being a celebrated stock broker millionaire,this is an exceptional story of determination and courage against heartless odds.

You might ask,what's so special about this movie?After all,doesn't Hollywood keep churning out these 'feel good' movies by the dozen.Well...the pursuit of happyness is unique in the sense it expertly balances the fine line between poignancy and complete despair.Set in San Francisco of the early eighties,the movie is the life changing story of Chris Gardener who sells arcane bone density scanners for a living.He needs to sell at least two a month to keep paying his bills and feed his family but its been a while since he sold even one.

In the tragic turmoil to make the ends meet,Chris's wife leaves him and as matters just keep getting worse,by a quirk of fate he meets a stockbroker.Now Chris is good with numbers and people and uses his talent to get an internship at the prestigious De Witter stock brokerage firm. But the job doesn't pay for the duration of the internship.At the end of the six months,the firm selects one guy from the group of 20 for a permanent job. Chris stumbles through these six months going from home to hotel to a homeless shelter.But what keeps him going is his dream.As he says to his son "If you have a dream,you gotta protect it" and "if you want something then go get it, period".

Its the quintessential American Dream and Chris often poignantly wonders that when the men who wrote the declaration of independence put that line about 'pursuit of happiness' they only guarnteed the pursuit part of it not neccessarily the end.

Although,you know its all going to work out in the end,its the 'pursuit' that is fascinating.Chris overcomes staggering odds to make it to the top.In his journey to the top of the mountain,Chris shares his positive vision towards life with his son.Years ago,he had experienced growing up without a father.He had promised himself that when he had children they would know who their father was and he lives up to that promise in a fascinating way.

The pursuit of happyness is an immensely inspiring,rewarding movie which showers you with an insane positivity towards life and sure we all need a dose of that from time to time.Now if you are wondering why I've always spelled happyness with a 'y' then you need to watch this movie!.

Gone with the wind!

Yes,that's what happened to India's chances at the world cup.Before the two stinging defeats first at the hands of greenhorns Bangladesh and then old rival Sri Lanka,team India went to the world cup tipped as one of the favourites to win the big one.A batting order littered with 3 stars who have 10k+ runs in ODI's and many upcoming dashers and stroke players,it looked a formidable squad.However,all this was on paper and for all you know the game is not played on paper. In the real world there were several things wrong with the team-it had several aging stars well past their use by date,tired legs which made it a dull fielding unit.The modern game calls for lightning reflexes and an aggressive attitude. India lacked both.

So what went wrong?In hindsight this was a disaster waiting to happen.Too many stars specially not worth their salt anymore always spell trouble.It happened last year to Brazil at the soccer world cup.After the debacle there have been many articles in the media blaming the fans for creating unnecessary pressure on the team. There is a serious flaw in that line of thought.Cricket is at best a game and should be played like one.What is the pressure-just go out and compete-if you win great,if not then what the heck nobody died.Yes,the illiterate mobs in India burning effigies and pelting stones on players houses need to get this into their heads but that cant be the reason for loosing-not by a long shot.Also,if a player representing the country at the highest level cant handle the heat in the kitchen then he better butt out for someone who can.

The media which is the prime culprit here in building and then cashing on the hype is now busy doing what it does best-sensationalize!.Yes...blow this so out of proportion that it starts looking like a national calamity.Embarrassing yes but a national disaster specially for a developing country like India...hello!....its ridiculous.We lost because we were simply not good enough. The hopes and expectations of a billion people simply cannot rest on a game of cricket.

The other thing that media seems to be spinning is the corrupting influences of excess money and endorsements in the game. Since when did money become bad for a sport?The most competitive sports around the world-Soccer,Tennis,Golf,Boxing all are huge money spinners much larger than cricket.Do they not have champions or moments of sporting excellence?Sport needs to move with the times if it has to survive.Hence in my opinion,money should be a motivator not a hindrance in any sport.

The two people I feel bad for are Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar. Both have been outstanding performers for a very long time.Its sad to see Dravid being let down by his team.Sachin looks mentally tired.His problem is the failure to believe that he is not the dominating batsman that he used to be.He needs a break from the game for his own good.I think he should quit ODI's if he wants to play test cricket for a few more years.18 years is a very very long time to play at the highest level.Chappel's methods didn't work and he would get the pink slip.Fair enough,you don't get retained for failure.

Meanwhile life goes on...India will play cricket again and win if it deserves.

United states of cubicles

At least one guy- Scott Adams made a fortune out of pulling hilarious gags on life in cubicles.More people now work in cubicles than ever before.Cubicles can be self containing worlds-in more ways than one cubicles also reflect the personality of their owners.Many like to decorate their walls with pictures of friends and family,many hang up certificates announcing accomplishments and academic degrees. There are some items which are universal to all cubicles- a telephone,a computer,stationary,documents...the list is endless.

The longer you inhabit the workspace the more junk you tend to accumulate unless you are meticulously organized and swear by the 'clean desk policy'.I get emails from the Human resources group every now and then outlining how important it is for everyone to adhere to this policy.It says no 'confidential' document should be left out in the open,no passwords should be scribbled on loose pieces of paper and all this important stuff should be locked up.It's a blow to my ego to realize that none of the docs that are piled up next to my workstation are even worth a second look. They rather serve the purpose of conveying an impression that my time is precious and I'm such a workhorse.Of course the truth is far from it.

I have a daily rip off Dilbert desk calendar that I'm particularly fond off.I noticed the other day that I do not have a single book.It sure looks good to keep a few thick technical manuals on the shelves.Blame the Internet but everytime I want to look up something I rather use google.I also have a big coffee mug which helps me stay awake and actually get some work done during dreary afternoons.I also have post-its which I scribble into all the time.Post its must be the best things invented since sliced bread.

I also have a filing cabinet which is empty...OK I keep all my files on windows.I sit on a comfortable wheel footed chair which I can pace up and down in the little space to keep myself from dozing off.

Over the years,I have worked in many buildings,many different cubicles and all of them have a single shortcoming-they are designed so that you can work in them.Who wants to work in cubicles all their lives?....Inspite of all my rant,I do have a soft corner for life in cubicles....afterall you spend or are going to spend a big part of your life inhabiting them. They make you feel important and even a bit nostalgic when time comes to bid goodbye to one, pack all your stuff and move to another one. You tend to leave behind the successes,the failures the good times and the bad...a slice of your days gone by.

Isn't it almost weird that no matter in which part of the world you work,you always belong to the universal world of cubes.Let me end with a joke where a Brit quips that "we invented the Internet....America gave us the cubicle!".Well...rarely has "made for each other" seemed more appropriate.

Desi movie in the USA

Watching a bollywood movie in the states is a somewhat different experience.Being packed in a darkened theatre with your fellow countrymen can prove interesting enough.If you are in a small city or a non major hub(not the likes of NJ,Chicago or California) you need to buy your tickets from your local desi store.The price is a tad higher which is fine with me as many times its not easy to get these screenings done specially in small centers.Then you need to arrive early and queue up unless you want to get an imax experience sitting in the front rows.

While the queue gets longer,it also tends to bulge specially at the front and in the middle.Reason being that many of my educated fellow countrymen who are oblivious of the concept of waiting in a line are holding places for their friends,relatives,parents,kids..you name it.In my opinion the reason we stand in a line is because its first in and first out deal,you just cant hold places.People who come late should be at the back behind people who are rightfully in the front.Somehow,its never the case.

Anyway,you ignore this and enter the theatre,and are aghast to find that just as you are about to take your seat somebody motions that they have it blocked for someone who is coming later.During one of the movies I watched recently,the situation became so bad that the organisers had to literally reprimand people that they cannot reserve seats like this!.

Well, its not as bad as it appears.There are good things too...you get to meet friends,make new ones if you are so inclined during the movie break.It somehow makes you feel you are back home.

I enjoy going to hindi movies here in the states,its almost fun.Only if people could switch off their fancy cell phones and the popcorn and the soda were not priced like a gourmet meal,I would have taken off that 'almost'.

The inimitable Ipod

Electronic toys are unveiled with monotonous regularity in the first world so what's the big deal about Apple's Ipod.Well,the Ipod is no 'one night stand' gizmo.Here's a product which has the same kind of social and pop culture implications as the Sony walkman when it first came out.

Steve Jobs has a knack of doing things out of the ordinary and Apple as a company completely potrays his flamboyant personality and original philosophy when it comes to product development and brand creation.

Sony's founder Akio Morita on a visit to the US in the early eighties observed how attuned people were to music and they were seen carrying the big 'two in ones' with them outdoors so that their favourite music could accompany them. This observation sparked off an idea in Morito-Why not give the people a portable 'two in one' so that they could carry their music with them at all times.The idea of a headphone attachment was an inspired one serving the double purpose of enjoying personal music without disturbing your neighbour.That this idea would be a guaranteed hit seems now like a no brainer. However,executives and engineer's at Sony were pretty unenthusiastic about this idea which they thought seemed like some sci-fi product.Morita however was convinced and Sony went ahead and launched the world's first walkman.The rest as they say is history and the walkman in more ways than one can be called Sony's flagship product.

The Sony Walkman in a sense is the grand daddy of portable music and reamined in vogue till the world wide web and digital music hit the straps in the late nineties and in the new millenium.Researchers are always looking at broadening the horizon,how can they better a technology,how can they cross the realms of the last big idea.So when the MP3 technology became mainstream obviously the next question was what earth shattering ideas could be created with it.The Walkman and its later avatar the discman suffered from one perennial problem-you could carry only a certain amount of music with you,not to mention the drag of packing compact discs and then changing them when you wanted to listen to a different album.Enter the Mp3 players and suddenly the consumer had thousands of songs at their disposal.

The idea is fascinating almost surreal,I mean how better it can get.You have almost every kind of music available online and once you download it to your player,you can carry it anywhere.No messy,scratched discs..just pure unadulterated digital music!.

Apple was probably one of the early companies who bet big on this idea and as with their other products they lyrically blended the new technology with an innovative user interface.You can have the most cutting edge technology at your disposal but if the user interace sucks then you can bid goodbye to your product.

Apple's hardware engineering chief Jon Rubenstein assembled a team of engineers to design the Ipod, including Tony Fadell, Stan Ng and Jonathan Ive. They developed the product in less than a year and it was unveiled on 23rd Oct 2001. Jobs announced it as a Mac-compatible product with a 5 GB hard drive that put "1000 songs in your pocket." Uncharacteristically, Apple did not develop the iPod's software entirely in-house. Instead, Apple began with Portal Player's reference platform which was based on 2 ARM cores. The platform used rudimentary software running on a commercial microkernel embedded operating system. PortalPlayer had previously been working on an IBM-branded MP3 player with Bluetooth headphones. Apple contracted another company,PIXO to help design and implement the user interface, under the direct supervision of Steve Jobs.

The Ipod's distinctive feature is the innovative 'click wheel' technology that lets you browse through the songs in your library.The Ipods have come a long way from the first model that was launched in 2001. They have taken advantage of the ever growing 'more memory on a chip' technology to pack in more and more power. The fifth generation Ipods come in fabulous 30GB and 80GB memory options.That's thousands and thousands of songs and music at your finger tips.Just when you were wondering what more this brilliant device can do-The iPod can play MP3, AAC/M4A, Protected AAC, AIFF, WAV, Audible audiobook, and Apple Lossless audio file formats. The iPod photo introduced the ability to display JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, and PNG graphic file formats. The fifth generation iPod (which has a 320x240 pixel display) can also play MPEG-4 (H.264/MPEG-4 AVC), and QuickTime video formats, with restrictions on video dimensions, encoding techniques and data-rates.

I own a 30GB fifth generation Ipod and mainly use it for playing music.I rarely use the video and photo capabilities.They are good bonus features to have but kind of overkill for me.In the ever growing world of gadgets if there is one that stands out heads and shoulders above the rest it is the Ipod.