Anti-Reservation protests intensify

The anti-reservation protests by medical students, supported by various sections of the medical fraternity, has intensify with the All India Medical Association calling in a nation-wide stir to protest the Quota bill to be delivered to the Cabinet and the wrongful and lawless behaviour of the Delhi and Mumbai police, which have lathi charged peacefully protesting students. The lathi charges have been repeatedly shown live on various news channels and caused a lot of unrest in the educated classes.

Throughout the world in various key protests which have gained nation-wide momentum the student protesters have played a key and significant role in getting the masses involved. Be it the Tianneman Square protests in China or the Anti-War protests against the Vietnam War in the USA. student protesters have been at the forefront of it all. There is a similarity out here as well. We are seeing the masses rallying behind these students and demanding that there be a meaningful dialogue between the blood-sucking and vote-hungry septuagenarian Arjun Singh and the representatives of the student bodies.

With reservations for the OBC classes being proposed for nearly 50+ and more it seems that the Government of India is keen on getting India back to the stone ages. I totally agree with providing a level playing field for the underprivileged and deprives sections of Indian society by providing them with opportunities at the primary and secondary level of education and possibly at various government colleges and government jobs as well. At the same time I feel that the opportunities being given to these classes is being misused in many cases by people faking caste certificates and gaining entry into prestigious institutions on the basis caste rather than true merit. This is totally unacceptable. Like I pointed out in one of my previous postings I would totally support a low-interest or even a 0% interest loan for eduction of any such meritious students from these sections of our society but vanilla reservation without any regard for merit is totally uncalled for. We already have a 25%+ reservation system in many of the educational institutes and this is definitely sufficient. Moreover the government should be able to guarantee that this fake OBC/SC/ST certificate menace is put to an end.

Basic Investment Tip

Desi Fun(da) ... and more.

Investing is always a pain in the ass. But for the regular anand (desi version of regular joe) there is nothing better than a fixed deposit to save up all the hard earned rupees. While I was in state college I got into the habit of saving up and converting parts of my savings account into CD's ie Certificates of Deposit ie fixed deposits, which invariably have a decent rate of return. Thanks to Abby at PNC Bank who really helped me out with all this. They have this simple advice on how to maximize your returns in a FD scheme. Look at the
PNC Bank- Building a Ladder of Savings Certificates for their solid advice.

Backpacking through Kerala

Desi Fun(da) ...

I just got back from a 5 day backpacking trip through God's own country - Kerala with a couple of my friends. It was a wonderful trip with just nothing negative to say about the entire trip through the wonderful southwestern Indian state of Kerala.

Day1: Bus departs at 5.30
We packed off on an evening bus towards Kanyakumari with the intention of spending a few hours there and visiting the Vivekananda Rock to attain some self realisation and stuff. All packed and ready we boarded a regular KPN bus which suprisingly provided a larger legroom than Kingfisher airlines or any Volvo bus. We had our dinner at some place in TamilNadu which would be better left untold.

Day2: Plans change. On to Kovallam
A good sleep later we wake up to be told that the bus is running real late and instead of reaching Kanyakumari at 8am it would be there by 11-12noon. So we weigh the options and decide on skipping Kanyakumari in favor of having a day to spare to visit another location within Kerala. So we get down at Nagarcole and  get a connecting bus to Trivandrum. The bus reaches us to Trivandrum from where we move on to the East Fort bus stand to catch our bus to Kovallam beach. It is around 15kms from Trivandrum and the mini bus takes us 30mins to get there. As soon as we step out with out bags some locals rush to us to ask if we needed some rooms and heck we did. We followed them to the other side of the beach and after checking the alternatives decide on picking up a small cottage a straw throw away (yeah stone's throw is too cliche) from the beach. We tried to bargain but the guy wouldn't budge from Rs500/night and well that was a bargain in itself. The sun was blazing by now and the three of us drop down after a cold shower.

The first sight of the beach is just breathtaking. The ocean appears from within the dense coconut trees surrounding the beach and then the clear light greenish water with its striking white waves just hits your eyes with cold refreshment. The beach is well maintained and has a decent sprinkling of lifeguards to keep watch. The afternoon usually is the time for the foreigners to turn up for their suntan in the blistering heat:)

In a few minutes we get hungry and decide on checking out the hang outs along the beach front. After walking the stretch we decide on sitting down at a place called Beatles (well more so because of a hot blonde who was there and left as soon as I entered). The beer we ordered turned out to be just chilled perfection for use weary travellers and we were back to normalcy after a couple of gulps. Later we decided on just chilling on the beach played some football and hit the sack for a few hours again. We then decided on giving our hosts a try and checked out one dish on their dinner menu. This made us return out to Beatles were we stuffed ourselves with fish and some amazing lassi:)

While taking an early morning walk I reached the other side of the beach and saw the local fishermen pulling in a huge net caste out really far off from the beach. I ran back got my camera and woke the guys and came back for some pics. It seems that this is how they did the fishing and the catch used to be quite good and sufficient. However with the larger boats and fishing vessels coming in the catch by this traditional method has been deteriorating and there is not much that these poor fishermen can do to compete with the big pockets.

Day3: Let's get to the backwaters of Kumarkom
So at around 10 we packed up again and headed towards our next destination, the backwaters of Kerala. The much talked about and anticipated part of our trip was nearing. We went back to Trivandrum and headed towards the bus station. On the way we had our breakfast at this amazing architectural marvel of a place called the Indian Coffee House, right next to the bus stand. We decided on making the trip to Kollam and then Kottayam to try the government conducted backwater ride from Kollam to Allepey. We took the bus to Kollam but on reaching there were informed that the ride starts at 10.30 in the morning and takes nearly 8 hours to complete. The KSTDC guy there was informative enough to tell us that there was a train leaving for Kottayam in the next few minutes and we could catch the same instead of a tiring and longer bus ride. We made it in time and had a wonderful 4 hour train ride to Kottayam. We reached there at around 5 in the evening and enquired at Kumarkom from the local restaurant where we had our tea. He was also informative enough to dig up a number of his friend who rents out places in Kottayam. We spoke to him and he quoted Rs1000/night so we decided to take our chances by making the trip there. We reached Kumarkom by bus, a 45min ride, and there too were greeted by locals who were trying to scout out people wanting rooms for the night. We saw the KTDC rooms, Rs600/night, and those rented out by another local guy, Rs500/night.

At this time we got into a conversation with a local motorboat owner cum guide, Thambi, who took to us and at the end of a rather short conversation offered us his a room in his house for the evening and that too at no cost. We decided on Rs300/night but paid him Rs400 the next day. He also promised to make us the best fish we had ever tasted so on we went to the local fisher monger from whom we got 4 fresh fish of 3 varieties for just Rs110 and vegetables for avvial for Rs50. Off we went to his house.

A typical southern house covered in red tiles he offered us any room in the house that we wanted and ordered:) his wife to cook all that stuff for us. The four of us then had some freshly plucked mangoes and went off for a walk soon realising that we were entering one of the poshest resorts in Kumarkom ie Coconut Lagoon. Though we did not enter into their private premises we got a pretty good view of the area their room and cottages, massage and yoga areas, their compost and vermiculture cultivation tubs, their rainwater harvesting and waste recycling etc etc.

Then sitting in the dark surrounded by the backwaters and India's largest lake on one side and paddy fields on the other we enjoyed some fireworks in the distance and a tingling conversation with a local security guard. We returned an hour later to find a hot meal ready to be relished. The fish was simply superb especially the lake fish Polliere I think it is called. And the final part was the avvial which was even better. Now all we needed was a good bath and what better way to do that then take a dip in the backwaters itself. Thambi after being threatened by his father decided against letting us in but got us knee deep and poured buckets of water on us. What an amazing way to end the day.

Day4: The backwaters beckon
We were rearing to go and get into a traditional boat. So we had spoken to Thambi's friend and cohort and booked his row boat for the morning. He came in sharply at 8 while we were eating MrsThambi's delicious rice steam cakes. We said our goodbyes and got into the boat.

In the traditional black boat we too picked up the oars and started pitching in. We got into the bird sanctuary area and saw a few birds. I don't remember any one other than the snake bird and Siberian storks that were around and well of course I saw a real life kingfisher bird as well. We rowed around for the next two hours and the blistering heat was taking its toll. So we got out at the closest bund and walked to the bus stop and boarded the bus back to Kottayam. Now we were on our way to Munnar.

The bus ride to Munnar was really hectic. Getting one of the hardest seats amongst all the buses during the trip the behinds were cursing us. We finally made it to Munnar at around 9pm only to find that all the rooms in a 20kms radius were booked. So off we went to Adimali which was 30kms down (and where we wanted to get off in the first place). Anyways we got a room out there Rs400/night and dozed off after a light dinner of veg rice and curry.

Day5: Back to Munnar and taking the room with a million dollar view
We got up late and went off to the bus stand. Had some tea and got into the bus to Munnar. On the way up we saw this amazing hotel perched over the valley with a view to die for and kissing the constantly flowing mist all around. It seemed like it was fairyland.

Anyways we got there at around 12 and and then started room hunting. Again the local auto rickshaw guy helped by showing us some of the cheaper (within our budget) accommodation. But I guess we couldn't get the hotel we just saw out of our heads. So off we went to Copper Castle. The place was as good as it looked. A friendly manager even struck a good deal for us within the fixed price room Rs2970/night and we were finally satisfied.

We took the same rickshaw guy, Subramani, to show us the local spots. And just FYI do not order fish at a hill station:) Anyways it seems there are three different tours possible in Munaar, because of 3 different routes to that place. Since half of the day was done we picked the shortest one and got the cameras out. We made it to the picture point, echo point, a couple of dams, the Indo-Swiss project and stopped at all the scenic spots in between for pictures. We took 10 times the pics we did at the other two destinations we had been to. Munnar is essentially a tea growing location and you will see tons of tea plants all over the hills making it look like a green carpet with black lines.

Subramani left us at the market and luckily for him we paid him Rs600 instead of Rs500 that we had agreed on because of someone's ageing memory:) We then headed to the spice shops and picked up some fresh tea, spices and oils before calling it a day, sans dinner, and retreating to our shahi accommodation.

Day6: Leaving God's own country
We had planned an early start to the day but the weather turned out to keep us in bed a bit longer. After getting up at around 8 we went out to explore the nearby area. The mist had cleared off from in front of our hotel and the valley was visible in all its wonderful green glory. The view was awesome and camera went on clicking. The breakfast served by the hotel was fresh and healthy and kept us going for the rest of the day.

And of course while there I made sure I got an Ayurvedic full body massage. It was really good with a seasoned professional and traditional masseur who got the oils into all my pores and made sure that my body loosened up along the massage. An amazing experience and a must do. It took nearly 45 minutes and cost around Rs600 + a healthy tip. Thanks to Paul Martin at Copper Castle for that massage.

We checked out of the hotel at exactly 12noon ie the checkout time and then moved towards the bus stand. On learning that the next bus for Udmalpet was 2hrs away we decided to hunt for some toddy ie kalll (in malayalam). The local shop turned out to be closed so we headed to a nearby village Annachal which was around 15kms away. We reached there only to get some 4-5hr old toddy so we just stuck to a glass of it and moved back to the bus stand.

The trip to Udmalpet was wonderful. Barely any cars taking this route because the roads are narrow and well you are moving to TamilNadu. The best part is that the route takes you through the Chinnar Conservation Park (Kerala) followed by the Indira Gandhi National Park (TamilNadu). A good 4hr ride later we took a bus to Coimbatore from Udmalpet which took us 2hrs. Luckily we managed to get a regular KSRTC bus from Coimbatore to Bangalore which started at nearly 12midnight and reached Bangalore at 8.30am in the morning the next day.

I was back at work today and well its dull to be back here in the city. I enjoyed Kerala, the people, the places, the climate and the food. I was really disappointed because I did not get to see or meet any traditional Malayale girls who seem just so perfect:) Maybe they were informed of my whereabouts and planned their days accordingly:(

Suggestions to Travellers
+ Plan Well
+ Take 10 days and see the entire state if possible
+ Rent a car if possible
+ If travelling by state buses be ready to hear your behinds crying on some occasion
+ Travel lite
+ Have a ayurvedic massage
+ Visit the back waters
+ Talk in English when asking for directions
+ Eat the fish at the Beatles in Kovallam
+ Try some toddy

Suggestions to Kerala Government
+ Wake up
+ Get CNG/LNG buses to save God's own country
+ Start working on the roads connecting these amazing locations


All in All
We touched all bases in Kerala - the beach, the backwaters and a beautiful hill station, all in 5 days and we made it back here to Bangalore, all that in a measly budget of less than Rs5000 per person. There is nothing to complain about in Kerala. Kerala is full of different types of churches all over the place. Built lavishly and in great love towards Christ. The number of coconut trees out here are mind boggling and make a pretty picture any time of the year. Everything seems to in place. Picture perfect scenery, really great food, marvelous locales and exceptionally friendly people. God's own country is a title befitting not only the land but also the people of Kerala.







link to yahoo photos for the pics

Kingfisher going in for the kill

Desi Fun(da) ... and more.

As you all must know by now Kingfisher Airlines is my carrier of choice in the hot Indian aviation market. I love the fact that they have brand new aircraft, which gives me an added sense of safety, the fact that they have the IA engineering servicing these aircraft, who are the largest and best set of aircraft engineers around, and I love their service with a smile approach aswell.

From all the recent news we have been seeing/hearing it seems that Mr.Mallya is on a buying spree of Airbus aircraft for his airline. A320's, A319's and even A380's and now its heard he has gone for the A340-500 as well. I still wonder what the hell he is going to do with so many planes considering that he cannot fly overseas until around 2010, with the 5 year minimum prerequisite put in by government of India for a carrier to be eligible to fly abroad? But with the huge backlog of orders that Airbus has it will be able to deliver most of the long range aircraft only by around 2008-2010. Which is perfect timing for Mr.Mallya. He will be sitting pretty with his fleet as and when the government removes the stupid rule or when he qualifies for it in 2010, whichever comes first. By then the airline will have enough experience within the country and will be damn prepared to meet international standards which I have to say are not met by any Indian airline post the TATA-AI era. It will be great to wait and watch how things pan out in this region especially since the air is getting a crowded place to be right now in India.

Now all that needs to be seen is whether or not all these wonderful things about Kingfisher Airlines is actually raking in the moolah or not. We will be able to judge that once they become a listed company. Their IPO is scheduled to be out soon.

TCS my breath away

Well the behemoths have spoken. Infosys hit the 2billionUSD mark and then TCS came out with its results showing that it had just missed the 3billionUSD mark by a whisker (figures at $2.97B). Not to be left behind TCS went out and declared a 1:1 bonus for its investors and I hope that they have a wonderful dividend coming our way soon too. In the next day of trade the share price hit an all time high playing around the Rs.2050 mark during intraday trade. And of course there was the usual analysis and data hitting the news channels. CNBC went out of the way and had an exclusive interview with Feroze (Nadrivala not sure of the surname) the head of corporate affairs. A flamboyant speaker who was ready with all the figures and facts and a sound temperament to handle the dumb CNBC journos that he had to face that early in the morning.

All in all the season has been ripe in the IT sector for the Indian companies and all have seen a steady increase in the number of clients. And more lucrative high end deals being snatched by these companies shows that they are able to compete with the global giants along the lines of Accenture et al. With recruiting in these companies on the roll there is a shortage for talent in the high end services segments and they will continue to command a high premium for their services.

That said there seems to be a dearth for aeronautic professionals in the growing aviation industry in our country and everyone is scouting out for talent. You can guess their desperation when they say "Senior ..." and the requirement states that a year of experience is all that you need to qualify to apply:). Well let the good times roll.

Apologies if you found the title a way too cocky this time:) I liked it though.. hehe

Bangalore, Kannadigas and Riots

Last week Bangalore saw some of the worst cases of mob fury and public nuisance witnessed in the subcontinent. There were many aspects that surround that violence and these issues have been highlighted pretty well by the media. Just to give a headsup it started off by the death of a legendary actor in these parts of the woods Dr.Rajkumar. He was a legend in his own right and did a lot of good to forward the intentions of the local people aka the Kannadigas. He was seen as a leader amongst them and a very iconic figure to say the least. From what I have seen and heard of the person he was a pretty good guy, not politically motivated and totally non confrontationalist in his attitude right to his core. His passing away bought in a lot of people from all over the state who came peacefully to pay their respects. However this large stream of people was not expected by the local authorities and miscreants entered in torching some buses, causing a lot of damage to public and private property, putting a lot of loss on the local economy and eventually and probably the worst part being the indelible tarnish splashed on the image of Bangalore and our country.

Now all that said and done there seems to be something terribly wrong around here. Like the Sainiks in Maharashtra there are local groups who are of the opinion that outsiders aka non Kannadigas should "have" to learn the local tongue if they want to be out here. This opinion was voiced by a local, and supposedly, eminent journalist whose name I seem to forget***. His reasoning was that in France people can't do without learning French and in England people can't do without learning English. That is the word of the land is very important. I wish I was near him to smack him. Some of my counter arguments
- Essentially the analogy with France was totally uneducated. France is loosing out on investments that do not depend on the local economy due to their chauvinism. Bangalore on the other hand is based on outsourced work.
- The image of Kannadigas by us outsiders (I wish I was one even though I am not) is of the local thugs aka auto drivers taking advantage of everyone, followed by the land/home owners who charge a fortune to rent out their homes to outsiders etc. They don't paint a pretty picture of themselves so what would make anyone aspire to be like them. Noone want to be like you and therefore noone wants to take the trouble to learn your lingo either.
- Moreover the dufus made all his arguments in English on a English news channel. That shows the importance and need of English in a global economic scenario.
- And does he know that there are about a 1000+ yes one thousand plus official dialect prevalent within India today. If we need to bring reform within the country the only way is by having one common language for us all. And FOR HIS INFORMATION that language is the national language Hindi. Imagine a businessman going all through India and needing to learn the local language to fill in his paperwork. The masses will never realise the benefits of the booming economy with such an backward school of thought.

If I employed him I would fire this columnist.

***Such people by my lingo are termed as "educated illiterates". People who have formal education and possibly quite a lot of it but have not been able to utilise their minds, or whatever source of intellect they may have, to understand and put that education to some effective purpose. Will try to find his name but he is not worth mentioning in the positive.

Infosys at 25

Desi Fun(da) ... and more.

This week India's darling IT company turned a solid 25 years old. It is suprising to know that it has been nearly 25 years since Narayan Murthy and his cohorts dreamt up everything about software offshoring that is so commonly talked about all around the place. Well they did celebrate their birthday with a bang offering shareholders a 1:1 bonus and a Rs.30 dividend bonus/share to commemorate their 25 years. Pretty cool wish I had bought some of their shares on Thursday.

Well to party along the news channels went overboard on getting the Infosys board members on their talk shows and stuff. But CNBC went all the way by having multiple shows throughout the day specifically on Infosys. And the icing on the cake was an exclusive interview with the entire board of the company and then singularly with Narayan Murthy.

Among all the things that he spoke about he went out of his to repetitively state that Infosys has tried to be model citizens of the Indian corporate world. It has relied only on facts and figures and based its estimates on hard data and nothing more. Thereby following the dictum that when in doubt, disclose. He also stated that the focus of the company is its customers, followed by its employees and finally its shareholders. (Something very similar to the Tata ideology) And hey there is also some similarity with my thoughts. He clearly stated that the focus of any successful company should be "Underpromise and Overdeliver". (If you have read my previous post on suggestions for a startup you know I am not lying)

All in all it was a great interview and it was wonderful to see the picture of Mr. JRD Tata in the background while the interview with Mrs.Murthy was on. It seems the legacy of Mr. Tata lives on, in the daily work of people like Mr. and Mrs. Murthy. We need more of such people.

Our fascination with bandhs/strikes

Bandhs aka strikes seem to be the way of life out here in our great country. If someone from a union is fired there is band. If a minister dies or is put in jail there is bandh. If a political party is in the minority it seems duty bound to call a few bandhs during their tenure in opposition. If India loses a pesky cricket game there is a commotion. And now this nuisance about actors dying and bandhs. What is going on with us? Heck I think soon there will be bandhs when people fall sick.

It is good that we adore and respect people who we carve out to be idols for us in our lives. But what is the length to which our patronage to the same person goes. Are we not duty bound towards our nation and therein directly to our jobs to observe any such action of grief on our own time rather than have the phobia of being stoned by rowdy so-called fans of these same people and running away from our jobs?

If any of these people are worthy of being treated as stars/idols etc it is only because they performed their duty ie. did their jobs well throughout their lives without flinching or taking time off for free siestas. If people are truly fans of the same they should pay respect to the dead by going on with their jobs and hey if need be donating something to their local non-profit.

All that said there is much to be done if we want India to be a truly global place and labour reforms seems to be topmost on the agenda. Unionisation is killing the economic progress made by the country and getting a bad rep., especially for outsourcing derived business, throughout the world. Come on people we have nearly 20+ official state and central bank holidays combined. Then most organisations give a healthy addition of nearly 30 odd paid leaves. Do you think we are going to be able to compete in a flat world with this lethargic a workforce? I doubt it.

SC/ST/OBC Reservations in specialised courses

Desi Fun(da) ... and more.

It has been a raging debate during the past couple of weeks wherein the latest moron of a minister Arjun Singh has gone ahead to propose that the educations such as the IIT, IIM and IISc, to name a few, should have reservations for SC/ST/OBC candidates. While I truly understand the need for furthering the cause of underprivileged classes of society by due representation I am totally against minister toying with institutions of such a high stature just to further their political vote banks. It would be more appropriate to maintain the status quo on quotas per se. With the current system these classes are given due opportunity upto graduate degree levels and sometimes further in particular institutes. Now if they are truly capable and have made use of these resources they should be given able to get into these prestigious institutes by nature of merit rather than caste or otherwise. If the government truly wants to help them out here they should provide these students with something along the lines of interest free loans on education fees etc. This will truly help these students.

All that said and done we Indians have probably the best minds in the world to work around the system. Once these quotas are in place be assured that a parallel industry of sorts will rise up from the earth for fake OBC certificates etc, which are available even today. There is absolutely no way of checking the autheticity of these certificates and that itself should discredit the introduction of such a quota based system at these institutes.


I hope one day we can have our institutes proclaim on their prospectus' that they do not discriminate on bases of caste, color, religion etc as all American institutes do. Ironically all American institutes also go ahead and try to maintain black/white, men/women, local/alien ratios.

America's immigrants

The top new item for this week has been the news of the US senate getting into their huddle to decide on legislation relating to guest workers and a contentious issue of illegal immigration that is plaguing the United States, more so than any other country. The western coast is already considered Mexican heartland and many would be surprised to know that most of the bus terminals out there have announcement in Spanish and English to cater to the obvious clients.

Let me put in my 2 American cents on this issue (and yes they are my cents which I bought back from states). Firstly the issue of guest workers aka H1B workers or specialised workers etc. This is a major problem biting the Americans in the ass. Any immigrant knows that the white man aka people who call themselves native Americans are not to congenial with having immigrants flowing into the country. These Fresh Off Board (FOB's) are a pain for them. Taking over their white collar jobs and steadily moving up the ladder with hard work and the determination to carve out their share of the American pie. Now that said they are faced with the problem of a declining economy which without the presence of these skilled workers will keep declining and the blue chip companies will keep moving out of the US and finding better pastures in places such as India and China ie the places where the same workers originate from. An with ever increasing problems of American students not wanting to pursue higher education there basically is no option but to keep inviting this alien workforce to come and pick up the creamy jobs. Well tough luck here.

Secondly is the problem of illegal immigration. By the very definition of illegal one would imagine that this is a non-issue. But remember the previous line wherein I said that the number of native American student pursuing higher education doesn't seem all that high, according to studies done by the US government. Now that said these same students in schools and colleges combined with the kids of the very same illegal immigrants have been protesting about the rights of these illegal immigrants, I repeat illegal immigrants. Wow only in America. If they were protesting about the human rights of these people or the way that they are being shipped in by the big farmers to do their crappy below minimum-wage work they I would've understood. But what rights does an illegal alien have, or should have? This just proves that countries regardless of their economic stature have the same class of politicians who will do just about anything to get or increase their vote bank.

I remember reading that the number of African Americans in the US represented the largest section of people in America, and the number of Mexicans/Spanish in the country was soon catching up. I am pretty sure that already the Hispanics represent the largest society with the States over the African Americans and the white/native Americans. Well whatever be the case seems like the native Americans better learn to be good to all these alien workers. From what I see the low end jobs are being lapped up by the Hispanics who need a better life and the higher end jobs are being offered up to the Indians and Chinese. So what's left is yours unless you mess with your Indian or Chinese boss and get fired or try to act rude with your Hispanic junior and get sued for racist behaviour.

Wow.. only in America right.

India's Commonwealth games blitzkreig

Desi Fun(da) ... and more.

The Commonwealth games are on and India is currently placed 3rd on the third day of the games. Its really thrilling to see the flurry of medals that has come our way in shooting and weighlifting. Melbourne seemed to be the playground for many of our shooters picking up medals left and right. It is suprising how much change can be brought in through inspiration. I am sure that many of these shooters have followed the path of hard work and dedication like Mr. Rathore who picked up India's lone medal, a bronze, at the Olympics in 2004 at Athens.

Also encouraging to see the weighlifters continuining their domination here even after some shameful acts of performance enhancing drugs stung us at the olympics. Even the table tennis pros had a field day and picked up the gold yesterday. Totally awesome.

Even if the contingent doesn't pick up any other medal in the remaining days this is already a very big achievement for us. I hope that the sponsors start showing some interest in sports other than cricket. I am sure their investment will be a percentage point of their investment in cricket but the ROI will be many times over. After all it takes guts to promote a struggling athelete and even more guts to stand by a struggling sport.

Cheers to our Commonwealth contingent (minus the babus and paedophilic masseurs who have tagged along)

To her

With 13 long stem roses a note says
(leaf 1)
"Ever wonder how odd a sunflower would feel amidst these beautiful roses?

(leaf 2)
....exactly
how inept these roses feel being in front of true beauty like yourself"

.. from a spineless admirer.......

Back to Mangalore

Desi Fun(da) ... and more.

Well the previous weekend was super. I went back to Mangalore with my mom (came over from Mumbai). After my previous trip in September 2004 this is the first time I went back there. Shameful I agree.

I left from Bangalore at around 10 Friday night and reached Mangalore city by around 6 am. I didn't want to wake up my cousin with whom we had planned to stay so I chilled at the bus stop and had some hot tea. Then I went over to their house by 7.30 and had a good breakfast. Mom came over by around 4. Was good to see her especially since I didn't get a chance to meet her after her minor operation on the thumb. But yeah all was well. My cousin's kids Freya and Riya had gotten a bit more free-er with me since the morning and we were just playing and talking kid-talk all evening.

The next day ie Sunday we decided to start the flying visits again. Started off by leaving Mangalore by 2pm and then reached Udupi and met with Eric uncle and family. Then from there to my aunts house followed by another aunt and then finally reaching my godparent's house late in the evening. He as usual was happy to see us and all excited too. Its always good to meet him and this time was even better as he announced that his elder daughter may get married in dec/jan. Still remember his kids being so shy and small whenever they came over to our house. Just reminded me that I am getting old and well also reminded me of that someone, who's name must not be taken, and who doesn't even pass a smile my way by mistake. I dont have any guts in that department sorry.

Well we had a sumptuous meal followed by gossiping between the cousins (our parents) on all families and ended up getting to bed late at 1 am. Then the next day we visited the other cousins who stay in adjoining houses and made a beeline for kinnigoli. Again on the fast track we visited my cousin Tona and family and Uncle Pinto and even got a chance to drop by at Lawrence's house and garage. Was good to see him after a long long time. Ofcourse most importantly we met up with my uncle and his wife and my grandmother, who all of 97 is become frail now and her movements are restricted to one room. Thanks to uncle they are managing with her care. God bless her and god bless them. I don't know what else can I do.

We came back by afternoon and then later went on to see some nearby areas in the evening and met another uncle. Saw some wonderful locations in Mangalore and was really wanting to stay back. Well the wonderful Manglorean girls could easily add to the arrows in my already pierced heart but well thankfully I didn't get a chance to venture into that territory.

Only downside of the trip was that I did not get a chance to taste the toddy/sur this time round. Well waiting makes the heart grow fonder they say. This wait is killing me along with the other wait.

Thanks Lani and Fancy for another memorable stay at my favourite place in the whole world.