The Other Side

Ever since she arrived at the city, Smriti has been fascinated by its charm. It defines why the US of A is called the melting pot of the world. As she was standing at the cross-section of 42nd and 10th, she once again appreciated the diverseness the city has to offer. The collection of people white, black, Hispanic, middle eastern, Indians, Chinese wearing formal suits, trendy jeans, baggy pants, funky t-shirts, traditional thobes, colorful sarees, beret caps, English hats with their hair swinging low, trimmed, spiked, colored, spiraled, tucked … The walk sign went on. The small world stepped on to the street absorbing Smrity in its course. She blended in the crowd of New York.

Smriti hated walking with ipods. She considered it an awful way of cutting oneself off from the world. Only fools walk listening to ipods. They don’t know how much life they are missing all around them. She was despising the white leads that ran from the side pocket of a Chinese girl and culminated into two soft tiny earbuds, when she spotted Alec.
“Hello Smriti!” greeted Alec, his long sharp face beaming with a hearty smile.
“Hi. How are you doing?”
“O, I am great. Thanks. What’s up? Walking around alone on Friday night? Still no friends in New York! Are you staying alone?” Alec worked in the same office with Smriti. He knew a bit about her.
“Oh no! I can’t imagine living alone. It would be so boring. I live with another girl. But she had to leave for her friend’s wedding this morning. She had invited me too but I couldn’t get a leave.” Smriti made a sad face, pulling her cheeks down, curling her lips and the eyes subtly wet. Alec couldn’t hide a smile; however promptly wiped it off.
“It must be hard to be away from your family.”
“Sometimes it is. But not always, if you have friends. In Mumbai, it was so much fun. I was there before coming to New York, you know that, right?” Alec had no idea but he dared not interrupt Smriti, who didn’t wait for his response either. “We were eleven people in our group. We all used to go crazy every other day. You can’t imagine office colleagues being like that. Chitchats, leg-pulling, movies, eating out, hunting the malls, beaches, chaats, long drives …” Smriti’s voice drifted. Alec opened his mouth to say something. “You don’t know what a chaat is, do you?” Alec swallowed whatever was coming out. “Don’t worry, I will make it and invite you to my place someday.”
“I am sure,” Alec faltered, unsure what an unknown Indian dish would be like, “it will be very good.”
“You bet. I made it for Kumar’s birthday. Everyone liked it. It was yummy! Kumar was a really nice guy. We packed everyone else to go to the movies every Friday. I love watching the first day first shows. And did I tell you about our Goa trip?” Smiriti with her eyes round and glowing continued, “It was awesome! And guess what happened there. I told you about Rahul, that lethargic idiot; he never used to talk much. We were celebrating New Year’s Eve on a beach and I asked him to sing. You should have seen his reaction. That was his worst nightmare. But I was stubborn and so were some others. We pressed him, coaxed him, abused him. And finally he gave up. He sang. And …”, she slightly swayed her head from side to side, “what a voice he had! We had no idea. It was breathtaking. I will show you the pics from our Goa trip one day. Oh! Actually there is one on my desk in the office. The whole gang. When I get overloaded with the work, I look at it. The spirit inside helps me keep going.”
Smriti paused as she relished the spirit once more.
Alec grabbed the chance. He spoke his eyes squinted, “Aaaaa …. You know what! I actually have a friend waiting at home and I am supposed to get back with a pizza in five minutes”, he kept his lips slightly pulled in and pressed together as he finished.
“I am sorry. I kept you waiting too long.”
“No problem. Now I know where I have to go when I have to relax in the office; to imbibe the great Indian spirit”, Alec smiled as his voice switched to a melodramatic tone in the last part of the sentence. Smirity giggled. “Catch you later.”
“See you.”

Smirity was at the verge of the sidewalk when he heard Alec calling from behind, “Hey Smriti”. She turned. “We are driving to Rochester tomorrow morning. Would you like to join us?” Alec screamed.
“I would love to.” She shouted back. There was no second thinking, she always loved going out. Alec held out a thumbs-up and hurried towards the pizza place. Smriti waved and turned back to cross the street.

No sooner had she stepped on the road, when a chill ran down her spine. There was an SUV with its beam light on headed straight for her. She hadn’t noticed that the walk sign was off. Her senses went numb. The muscles refused to move. Everything seemed distant. What remained was all but a blurred vision like a painting obfuscated by an upturned glass of water. The isolation from the outside somehow triggered her inner core. Her first fleeting memory, the jealousy for her neighbour’s talking doll, the excitement of receiving her first prize on stage, the pride on her first composed poetry, the agony of her best friend’s death, the shock of her first period, the sensation of her first kiss, the confidence in joining the first job, the satisfaction of buying her parents first gifts, the thrill of leaving her country brushed past her. All her momentous feelings, treasured and loathed alike, came pouring down on her as if someone had opened an over-packed cupboard.

It took her a few seconds to realize that she was actually still alive. The car had screeched to a halt few inches from her. She was safe, although shaken. She stepped aside. Now she could see the driver, a middle-aged gentleman, gazing at her muttering under his breath. As Smirity mumbled a thank-you, she couldn’t miss the look on his face, a strange amalgamation of alarm, rage, disgust and relief. Deaths and near-deaths have peculiar effects on human beings.

Her initial plans were to go back home and cook. But it was too late and the recent encounter had left her is a disarray. She took the easy refuge of the glittering Macdonalds on 8th street. By the time she collected her order from the counter, she had already spotted the only Indian in the store. To fully recover from the shock, she needed to talk and the guy at the corner table looked like the perfect companion for a little chitchat.
“Excuse me! Can I sit here?” The guy seemed lost in his thoughts. “Excuse me!”
He looked up, inspected her for a moment, then appearing utterly confused in face of this unforeseen predicament of a girl wishing to talk to him, replied, “Ahhh … I am expecting someone.”
She didn’t really believe that. It was a bit embarrassing too. But now she had no choice. She apologized and took a table by the street from where she could observe the passersby. She wished she could see someone familiar! She hadn’t even taken her first bite when she watched the guy at the corner table pick up his bag and leave. So he wasn’t actually waiting for anyone. He just avoided her. That didn’t make her feel good. As she pecked at the burger, she tried to concentrate more on the trip tomorrow. This would be her first trip outside New York. Alec was a nice guy, and it got to be fun. That worked. Her mood improved. She could feel the excitement and the liveliness creeping back into herself.

The Solitary Dinner

“#1 please … no cheese and coke with no ice”. Sanjay now remembers the usual questions from the lady behind the counter. In fact he knows a lot more. He is accustomed to see this African American woman in her forties as he visits the Macdonald store at half past eleven at night every day. The store must have several other employees too but she is the only one at the counter during the hours Sanjay graces the store with his presence. After every customer, she would shout “Can I help next guest please?” in a very harsh tone which always makes him feel repulsive. As if to counter that, she always backs it up with a “Hi! How you doing?”, with a stretched ‘hiiiiiiii’, sporting an even more out-stretched smile on her face. Initially Sanjay had replied back, acknowledged her greetings and on several occasions thought that she actually recognized his face. Now he knows better. She does that to every customer. There is no special bond with a regular customer. She doesn’t even mind if you keep a straight face and go about business without any personal touch. To put it simply, she doesn’t care for Sanjay beyond the point he orders his regular #1. And he loves it that way.

It was a great respite when the company decided to move him to New York. Even though he lived alone in his tenth floor apartment in Bangalore, many of his college mates were in the city. They always had an excuse or the other to invite his attention. He could avert most of them with his often true and occasionally made up urgent assignments in the office. Eventually most of them stopped calling or contacting otherwise save for forwarding emails. Still a few persistent ones held on. New York saved him from them. Here nobody knows him. The liberty of anonymity is thrilling. Two guys live next door to him. Both are in their twenties. One has a shaved head, thick metal earrings and four rings on each hand, each ring engraved with a letter to make up the words ‘ZAAP’ on the left hand and ‘ZOOR’ on the right. The piercings through his eyebrows and the lower lip always give Sanjay a tingly feeling. Two huge dragon tattoos on both arms complements his sleeveless Harley-Davidson tee-shirts while an eagle medallion silver chain jingles around his neck. Sanjay is sure that the guy has guns, or knives at least, hidden somewhere in his heavy jeans and boots. The other guy is rather skinny and prefers an ordinary get-up. However, as if to make up for his otherwise highly ornamented friend’s shaved head, he did quite a bit of work with his hair style. He has a standard Mohican strip running down the middle of the scalp, the hairs converging into five separate specks pointing in five different directions. In addition, he has two supplementary narrow strips of hair running parallel on either side of the center one. Presumably, that wasn’t enough to match his friend’s charisma. So they were emblazoned with a motley collection of colors. It looks like papa rainbow is out taking a stroll with his baby rainbows.

So far, Sanjay has never exchanged a word with them. As he was moving in the first day, his neighbors eyed him once and immediately discarded the formally dressed, timid looking Indian as out of their league. Sanjay was relieved too. He would have hated a middle-aged Indian uncle walking to him with his mouth ajar enquiring about his whereabouts and the aunty asking, “beta, why don’t you have lunch with us today?” This was much better. On a few occasions he could not sleep due to the loud party music. But he can handle apathetic indifference better than unwelcome attention.

“#1, no cheese!” … Sanjay collected his order and walked straight to the table at the corner. He likes this particular table as he can sort of blend in with the store walls. In the office, he is really content in his separate cubicle. With his PC, the laptop, a comfortable revolving chair, a telephone, documents organized in folders and a dustbin, it is perfect for him. He has a calendar stuck on the wall with some important deadlines marked on it and another paper with a few necessary phone numbers like that of his immediate boss, the IT maintenance department, the pantry service, the internal mailing system and stuff like that. As he took his first bite off the burger after carefully spreading the fries on a napkin and squeezing out some ketchup on them, he wondered how people could keep functioning in a messy workplace. There isn’t a single male co-worker in his office, and here New York being no different from Bangalore, who he could bet would find a piece of document when needed. They would hunt through their pile of papers on the desk, fumble with their folders, haphazardly open and close the drawers, lift up their keyboards, look under the coffee cups and food packets from the past three days, eventually inside the dustbin, proclaiming without a cease that they had seen it but a few moments back before starting the whole cycle again, unless they remember that they have a soft copy and take a fresh print-out. The story with the more mysterious kind is different. Sanjay sighed. First of all, it is difficult to find a woman in her seat alone or find her at all, if she knows at least two other women on the floor. Secondly, if you do find her, it is a rare occasion that she is not on the phone. You have to endure the frustration as she would continue talking for another half an hour albeit with the courtesy to gesture an apology and signaling that she would be done in a minute, every five minutes. Once she is done, another round of verbal apology would follow with vocal and facial feats of acute emotions. Finally she would listen to you and if you are in the HR department, on most cases you would be, almost invariably she would direct you to someone else who would be the ‘right’ person to take care of your trouble. If it is another woman, expect similar treatment. Assuming that you have the ability to resist the compelling urge that is building up inside you to shout, to turn down a table, to punch someone hard, to pluck at your hair, to do something destructive in general, you might ultimately get to the right person. By the way, this right person might very well be the first lady you encountered because this i-am-not-the-right-person-to-do-your-job often goes in a cycle. Now that she is sure that she has to do the work, she would ask for a few details and would go about wandering in her computer screen figuring out what exactly to be done. In the meantime, you could concentrate on more interesting objects in the world, say for example, her friends, husband, kids or grandkids along with herself in a nice framed picture, the contents varying according to the age. The pets are also not very uncommon. You could comment on how beautiful, smart or cute someone looks, depending on as the case may be, faintly hoping that it might speed up whatever she is doing on her computer. Be careful though, the discussion might divert to when and where the picture was taken, how the person in the picture affects are life and accounts along similar lines unless you are cautious enough to pull it back in to the job at hand. Rather watch the twenty something birthday cards she received this year, her oversized or tiny little purse that goes with the color of her dress, the magazine peeping out from underneath or the uncapped nail-polish that she had reluctantly put away because of your interruption. If everything is sorted out that very day, consider it one of your luckiest. You should not forget to thank her for the enormous help lest you further mar the reputation of men as an ungrateful and callous breed.

Finished with the burger and killing the fries one at a time in an almost involuntary motion of his right hand, Sanjay drifted back to the last New Year party in his office. Parties always make him tensed. The prospect of socializing drives him nervous. He never knows what to say when he meets someone, known or unknown alike. As Sanjay remembered the girls in his office giggling and chatting in that party, he wondered how there can be so much to talk about when two persons see each other everyday and spend the better part of their day sitting almost next to each other. And then there were these resting breaks during the office. It is beyond his most deliberate comprehension why the girls are so keen to use the women’s room as their favourite meeting ground when there are obvious better choices around. Secrecy is something. But why bother! They will sooner or later spill the beans to their male counterparts. What’s the fun in the gossip if not enough people know it? Sanjay used to have his fair share too thanks to Dilip who shared his desk back in Bangalore. Whenever he started “Dude, have you heard …”, and he did start every other day, Sanjay knew a new story was coming his way. Who said gossiping was the domain for girls! They should be up for some serious competition.

“Excuse me! Can I sit here?” ….. “Excuse me!”

It is an Indian girl almost Sanjay’s age, wearing a jeans and a white shirt. She held the chair opposite to Sanjay’s in an angle and had almost landed her tray on the table. She has that cute warm appearance that doesn’t dazzle you but soothes your senses.

“Ahhh … I am expecting someone.”

“Oh! Sorry!” Half embarrassed, half surprised she made for a table next to the glass wall.

“How lame was that!” Sanjay mused dejected. He could have let her sit and talk for a few minutes, or could have left the entire table for her; he was going to leave anyway. All in the world, he had to say that he was expecting someone in a Macdonald store at midnight with a finished plate in front. Now that he will be leaving in a minute, what would she think about him! But then, who cares. What difference would it have made to talk to a girl for a few minutes? Sanjay shouldered his laptop, disposed of the leftovers and made his way to the front door carefully avoiding a look towards the girl. Tomorrow is Saturday, but he has got office.

Down the Memory Lane

As I was mugging up another boring string of characters for my electromagnetic course, I was observing the pattern in which I memorize. I don’t know how interesting I can make this post to you, but it was interesting to analyze myself. Well, I imbibe things much the similar way you download a high quality graphics picture from the net. Initially, I get a blurry image which then gradually, if at all, becomes sharp and distinct. I scan the subject several times and these are the steps I guess I follow.
Step 1 is generally very crucial for me. I cannot remember things unless I know where I am going. Even if I try, as I did for one of the ‘probable’ questions in the test, I feel so uneasy with the progress. I actually went back and figured out what exactly was being accomplished with whatever deduction I was supposed to memorize.

Step 1 ultimately eases step 2. Once I know where I want to end up, I can dispose of the unnecessary portions and concentrate on nothing but the gist. That might not be good if you are studying literature, but that definitely helps studying scientific derivations that involve mathematical expressions running for pages. Specially when the exam is the next morning :P

Step 3 and 4 go in a cycle. As the name suggests, this step can vary a lot from person to person. I find it easier to memorize a list if I note down points in a particular order. Sometimes it helps if some words or their abbreviations rhyme. I find it obviously easier to remember a mathematical deduction that flows logically from one step to the next. This stupid course however had ‘logical’ steps which declare that using the previous equations we can ‘easily’ see that the result follows. Since those were not very easy, I had to look for patterns that relate the initial and the final form. If patterns in step 4 are not apparent I might need to revise step 3.

The more efficient step 4 is the less important becomes step 5. However, step 5 is always there since I have to memorize at least small bits of information even if I have done a great job with step 4.

Example 1 – Q. What are common chemical hazards? (This is a question from a different test.)
Ans. Fire Hazards, Explosions Hazards from incompatible chemicals, Extremely Toxic Chemicals, Lachrymators (substances that irritate the eyes and produce tears), Vesicants (substances that can blister and burn body tissues by contact with the skin or inhalation), Carcinogens (substances that produce cancer)
Memorizing. Step 1 is obvious here. Step 2 would be to note the key words – fire, explosion, toxic, lachrymator (eye irritation), vesicant (burn body tissue), carcinogen (cancer). Step 3 I would note that there are 6 points and arrange them alphabetically Carcinogen, Explosion, Fire, Lachrymator (…), Toxic, Vesicant (…). However this order didn’t suit me much; plus the words ‘lachrymator’ and ‘vesicant’ were new to me. So I arranged them like this Fire, Explosion (Group 1, explosion follows lighting a fire), Toxic, Carcinogen, Eye irritation, Tissue burn (Group 2, toxicity is like a superset; causing cancer, eye irritation, tissue burns are like subsets albeit not exactly and the last three are in alphabetical order). Next is step 5.

Example 2 – I have to memorize the following equations –Note that equation (1) and (3) and similarly (2) and (4) are dual of each other i.e. I interchange ‘mu’ and ‘epsilon’ to get one from the other. It is easier to remember the even-numbered equations. Also in the whole system, there are actually two units. One is and the other is . The rest is a combination of these two. So instead of remembering the whole forms, I would rather remember the two units and how they are used to generate the rest.

Also if there is an equation which says A gives B. I would notice the differences (delta_AB) between the two and remember A and delta_AB and then derive B using the two. There can be a lot more examples. I would be happy to know if you do it in a similar fashion or what other methods you use to memorize. I have one more test to go in this semester. I could use some help.

Mind Freed

It is a bright summer day. The sun is blazing. It is hot, however thankfully not at all humid; a rare occurrence in this part of the globe, but still not something completely unforeseen. The boy is sitting under the huge tree, which by the way is the only object visible from there, other than the parched field all around it. There are still a few more months to go before the local farmers start tilling the land. The tree stands as a misfit to the whole scenario, like a protruding mole on an otherwise smooth skin. However, unlike being unwelcome as a mole, it is rather a bliss. It is the only refuge for a burnt soul in miles. Localites and strangers alike have availed this shelter since what seems like forever. Today, the boy sits quiet on an ancient root hair of the tree that has bulged out of the earth underneath, his eyes wandering on the vast emptiness in front. Nothing moves, save for the yellowish grass blades that flutter erratically in the wind. Suddenly a gust of air comes and lifts a bunch of dry leaves in a tiny whirlwind few inches above the ground; a minified exhibition of the power that the nature holds within. His mind goes free. The lack of motion, the sense of time standing still frees him from his thoughts. It seems like there is nothing to worry about. It is a moment that the world, with its mundane hassles, objectives and aspirations is completely forgotten.

The Subway Melody

This Sunday, I was returning from yet another pointless solitary stroll in downtown. I went down the subway on the Jackson Boulevard. It was stuffy inside and I decided to take my coat off. Along with the coat, out came my ipod earphones. That is when I felt the melody in the air. There was an old Hispanic lady sitting behind a pillar. She was of medium build, wearing a red sweater, a bunch of keys dangling from her neck like a locket. An instrument case was neatly kept on the side and a battery powered music box was filling music to the otherwise bland station. She was playing what might be an improvised version of a violin. And … she was marvelous. I mean she was MARVELOUS. I don’t know whether it was because of my mood at that moment or just because she was too good, I felt like I could listen to that forever…. However (sigh!) it actually lasted too short, I believe not more than ten minutes by the standard watch. The next train rumbled in shattering the music on its way. I dropped two dollars in her kitty. She looked at me and smiled. A smile of gratitude. Little does she know, her music is worth much more than a few bucks.

Weird Offness!

Well, I wasn't planning to make this post. Not after the puja and the excitement. But then, many posts are made on an impulse. It is one of them. My older blog ended in a similar note http://mumbaidays.blogspot.com/. It is the feeling of being off. It is odd. It is not like being sad or disheartened or worried or distressed. It is something I cannot describe in proper words. I am doing all regular stuff. I finished some pending work in the morning, got done with some puja stuff, had a very important meeting with my boss and our collaborator from a different university this afternoon. It all looks well; doesn't feel that way. I don't like anything I do and I can't do anything I like. To be more specific, I don't even know what I would like to do. 'I sometimes donot know what to do with myself'. Right now, I am grading a huge bundle of copies as a part of my TA assignment. It sucks. But somehow this boring repetitive job keeps my hapazard mind steady and it functions okay with ocassional breaks in youtube and blogger. Let me know if you have any suggestion to get rid of this. Be quick because I will be okay by tomorrow anyway. Somebody suggested that I am in love, which I assure you is a complete bullshit for the current situation! And don't suggest watching movies, right now no apetite for those.
This song is a good solace for me ...

http://www.esnips.com/doc/b0433ef9-85c2-44ff-874d-9b317e44b426/AkhilBandhu---Oi-Je-Aakasher-Gaay-Durer-Balaka

Oi je akasher gaai durer balaka bhese jaai
Ora basa bandhe na
Ora chanchal, ora uddam
Ora karo byathai kande na

The Y Factor

I have always complained to my mom that she worries too much for me. Even when I was going to Mumbai for my job, she cried so much in the station. I was 22. I remember the person next to me, asking if it was the first time I was going out without my parents. I sighed and added that I had been in boarding schools since I was nine. The laws of affection defy logic. I just named it the Y factor.

My mom’s ultimate defense for all arguments has always been the age difference; that I would realize her point once I turn her age. As obvious, that ends the discussion. Since I never catch up with her age and I don’t remember arguments we had 24 years back, I was never able to pursue a single argument to my favor. So to understand the Y factor, I am supposed to have my own kids, which still is a distant future; at least it seems so. However, in this case, I sort of have a pre-hint. And it’s about my kid brother. He is just two and a half years younger than I am. Not a huge difference. But still I think of him as a kid. I find it hard to believe that he can manage everything on his own. My brother, who used to sit in my class with me in kindergarten rather than his own, who couldn’t finish even a single pack of ‘frooti’, who always sticks to me in a gathering, who has to explain all the new toys and comics he has amassed while I was away from home, who plays with his large collection of discarded plastic items, paper boxes and railway tickets, who innocently asks to lower my shoulder so that he can blissfully fall asleep every time we travel together in a bus or a train or a cab; well, whatever his age is, I find it difficult to visualize how he is attending a meeting or giving a presentation or arguing his case with his boss. It might seem odd to you. But for me, it’s really amazing! Deep down something within me doesn't want to accept that my little brother has actually grown up.

My Encounters with Rainy Days

Time: Summer, 1987
Venue: Jhargram, Midnapore, West Bengal
Event: The raging storm. My dad didn’t return home from the office. He used to work 50km from where we lived and the storm had cut off road links. Powercut. We didn’t have a telephone. My little brother crying. Water streaming in under the doors and windows. I am putting a few rags in the gaps trying to stop the water.
Aftermath: Not much. All was well the next day. But I still remember that as my earliest encounter with a rainy day.

Time: June, 1990
Venue: Calcutta, Admission Test Hall of a school
Event: The last question asked to write a paragraph on ‘A Rainy Day’. I wrote just one sentence ‘I like rainy days’ :D
Aftermath: I had failed the exam.

Time: Summer, 1992
Venue: Purulia, West Bengal
Event: Our summer break was starting. My dad was taking me home. There was a heavy rain that day. We were afraid that the train which we were supposed to take might be cancelled. It might not seem to be a big deal now. But then, the prospect of not getting home in time was too overwhelming for a nine-year-old.
Aftermath: The train was not cancelled. It was late though. I could live with that. However, something terrible happened the same night. Two of our senior students along with one’s father drowned as their car ran into a river on a broken bridge.

Time: July, 1997
Venue: Calcutta, In front of Science City
Event: We (me, my younger brother and my mother) were waiting outside the Science City for a bus. Suddenly it started raining. It was literally a blinding rain. The buses were so crowded, we failed to get in. My mother was all tensed and crying, too scared to be there with her little children. We were not that little but then, moms are moms. She almost jumped in front of a car and asked for help. The person in the car was kind enough to give us a ride to our place on the EM bypass.
Aftermath: My mom had invited him to visit us later and had all plans to give him a royal treatment as a gratitude for the help. He never turned up. My mom still holds that help as a divine intervention.

Time: August, 2005
Venue: Mumbai
Event: As usual it was raining in Mumbai. We were 4 people getting back home from the office in an auto (the motorized 3-wheel vehicle). Over the journey, we had a vigorous discussion on how to enjoy the rain. We planned to relish the home-made pakoras sitting on the terrace, sipping on a hot cup of tea and watching the TV. As we were getting off at our destination, the driver mentioned that we were the lucky ones to enjoy a rainy day while he had to keep working. That led us burst into laughter. We mentioned to him that all our plans were just wishes. We were all new to Mumbai. We didn’t have a TV, no cooking arrangement; we didn’t even have beds to sleep on. We used to sleep on a cloth on the floor and wrapped ourselves up with another in case it got colder in the morning. The driver was embarrassed. I am not sure if he thought that he was the lucky one.
Aftermath: Nothing very remarkable about the incident but that day is one of the things very prominent in my memory.

Time: 25th July, 2005
Venue: Mumbai
Event: The infamous Mumbai rain. The office was called off early to let people get home. We ignored and left late. Stupid us! There was no transport on the road. Low areas were flooded. We waddled through the mess to get back home. There was a power cut and guess what could be worse! No water!!
Aftermath: The next few days were hell! The office was our best refuge. Details in http://mumbaidays.blogspot.com/2005/10/when-hell-broke-loose-mumbai-rain.html

Time: 8th September, 2008
Venue: Chicago
Event: The weather sucks though I am now used to it. Light drizzles continuing the whole of the day with occasional downpours. Somebody asked me to ‘enjoy the weather’. I thought it was sarcastic. Then added ‘with pakoras and chai’.
Aftermath: It made me miss the pakoras and chai and reminded me of the autoricksaw incident in Mumbai and then a lot of other events and eventually made me write this post.

New Semester : Old Whining

The title says it all. The new semester, the same monster, has appeared again. And like all others, I hate the school to start. Classes, assignments, exams – the same old story of a student life. Add the extra TA load, sprinkle some careless advisor, lousy research spice to that and you got the standard graduate student life. Summer was good and not just because of the weather. Well, that just reminds me that I had a lot of fun this summer; went to several places, visited old friends and made new ones. As a side effect … I am broke; I mean I am badly broke. The bank account balance has almost dropped to null. I pay this semester’s tuition differential and the process is complete. Oh! No! I forgot about the credit card balance.

The Tech Blog

As some of you might have noticed already, I created a new blog names 'Techie Titbits'. It is about technical titbits that I encounter over my journey through internet mostly and some others otherwise. It is not really about new breakthroughs or about never-seen-before information. It is several interesting and useful stuff put together.

Often these are issues that I had faced myself. I googled the problems, checked relevant forums or consulted offline resources to solve them. And then I thought, why not put them in one place so that others might be saved the pain of doing the same research. Also, I figured out that there were a few problems that I encountered more than one time. Specially related to coding. Say, how do you connect to a MySQL server using php? I once did some php coding and had figured it out. Recently, I was writing a new php code and I realized that my memory had failed me. So this blog is also like a archive for technical issues-solutions for me. Hope you enjoy it too.

Let me know if you have any suggestions. Anything related to the content, design or whatever. If you are having some technical issue recently, tell me about it too. I might help you solve it. Or if you already have the solution, I can post it here with due acknowledgment.

The Mammoth Caves

365 miles of underground caves! Well, that definitely qualifies as ‘mammoth’. Initially used as an adjective for this huge natural wonder in central Kentucky has now become the name for the same. It is a natural formation of sandstone and limestone cut through by the water flowing underground to the Green River. It has seven layers of caves created during different time periods. At some places, the dimensions are pretty big. You could build a large hall out of it. And at places, you can barely walk straight. The dimensions differ due to different duration and speed of water flow.

The caves were used by the Native Americans to collect gypsum, which is still abundant in the caves. Mummified Native American bodies were found in the caves. Though these mummies were not as elaborate as the Egyptian ones and the bodies were rather preserved by the caves’ natural conditions. The caves were a prime source for nitrates in the nineteenth and early twentieth century before it turned mostly into a tourist attraction later on. Stephen Bishop, an African-American slave and a guide to the caves during the 1840s and 1850s, is credited to have made extensive maps of the cave, and named many of the cave's features.

However, I must say that the caves are rather featureless. Unless you are an archeologist or some other professional of that sort, you won’t find too much difference in different sections of the caves. There is underground life in the caves such as eyeless fishes and spiders. But they are insignificant. You have to be really watchful to get your eyes on them. The only part of the caves which has any sort of formation is the frozen niagra. It has beautiful arrangements of stalactites.

As for the guided cave tours, consider your physical condition. They might be strenuous if you are not fit because they often involve long walks. However, if you are fit, take the 6 hour wild cave tour (where you are supposed to have real expedition experience) and the frozen niagra tour. There is no point taking all the tours because, as I said earlier, the caves are not very different from one point to the other.

The national park also has some beautiful trails through the forest on the surface. You can also do some kayaking on the river. The camping grounds are decent and pretty cheap ($20/person/night). There is also a Mammoth Hotel with accommodation available. This was my first camping experience. It was pretty good. A tent, a temporary bed, some food, a few friends, man-made restrooms in the vicinity - it all made a perfect camping prospect. Getting the fire on (I mean the real fire, the camp fire) was a different story. It took us quite some effort to get a good fire. Remember, putting up a fire is not easy. We had to try so hard with our gas lighters, kerosene, dry woods bought from the near-by store, magnesium flares and a coal starter from walmart, I wonder how the early humans ever managed it.

The Road to the Park

Gypsum on the walls


I told you - it's big

Frozen Niagra

Stalactite Formation

Fatman's Misery

A trail

The Green River

The Deer in the dark

Down the winding caves

The tent and the camper

Along the trail

Typical Cave Wall

The Guide with a lamp used by early explorers

The Wine Story

This is a short pictorial life-cycle of the grapes that finally make their way to our tastebuds via wine bottles.

The cradle – grape vines where they grow

Choice of the fittest – the grapes are hand picked for quality products (the man in the pic is the wine-maker)

Extorting the essence – the chosen grapes are crushed to relieve the juice within

Preparing for the preparation – the juice is kept at precise temperature for a precise duration before they are ready to be transferred to the barrels

Way to perfection – Most of their lifetime is spent in the barrels. They are kept there for years. The winemaker checks the quality from time to time till they are ready.

Expensive captives – Bottled wines. Beware of the cost.

The final frontier – Served to a rejoicing crowd

Santa Barbara - the small pretty town

The first day, we went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch. It took us around an hour for the meal. When we came out, to our utter surprise, the street outside, which happens to be the lifeline of the town, had been converted to a fruit market. That is Santa Barbara. A very relaxed town at the coast line of California. I have never been to such a small, beautiful and relaxed town as this one. The downtown has no building above two stories, rather too small for a person from Chicago. However it has a wide variety of restaurants and other stalls to keep you engaged. It has a lot of green. People can be seen loitering all around or just sitting on the benches. For a moment, I had to recheck if it was actually a weekday. Nobody showed any sign of a rush.

The co-existence of the hills and the ocean makes it a very scenic place. The pier offers a good view of the city. I went to the Goleta beach too which is closer to the university campus. However, the only disappointment was that the water wasn’t clean. I had to drop my plan of bathing in the sea. I had been to the university beach on the last day just before leaving. The water was clearer there but then I didn’t have the time to enjoy it. Our trip to the vineyard for the dinner on Thursday was a very noble experience. The hilly road by the side of the ocean and through the country side was awesome. We went through a Dutch town and farms of horses and ostriches to finally arrive at the winery. The dinner with fine wine and adequate supplements was perfect.

The University of Santa Barbara campus was very attractive too. The very well-defined campus is surrounded by the natural beauties all around. The campus itself is very green. The dearth of students in the summer made it all the more silent and serene. The over-all get-up of the campus, the trees, the abundance of bikes, entrance of the student halls, the buildings reminded me of the KGP campus. It was so unlike UIC.

The note will be incomplete without a mention of the airport. It is again so small. It is made out of a building which wasn’t meant to be an airport. These days I am so used to the big airports, I was actually confused there. It was easier to figure my way out in the LA airport then in Santa Barbara. And, the planes that flew between LA and SB, are pretty small. The American Eagle flights carry hardly forty people. It initially feels a bit uncomfortable travelling in these old style planes, but then the views from the top help you get rid of the worries and enjoy the journey.

Downtown

A view of the Goleta beach

New Day Dawns

The Vineyard

University Campus - silent and serene

The small plane

Belafonte - Paalkir Gaan

I was listening to the so-called ‘banana song’ of Harry Belafonte. It is an adapted version of the traditional Jamaican song sung by the night-shift dock workers who load bananas on ships. They sing it at dawn when their work is almost done and they are eager to go home. The song is well sung no doubt. However, the reason I make this post is different. That song reminded me of ‘paalkir gaan’; the slower ending part of it, where the palanquin bearers are exhausted at the end of the day. The ‘heiyan-hei-re-hei-aha’ from the Bengali song resonates with ‘daylight come and me wan' go home’ of the Day-O lyrics.

http://www.musicindiaonline.com///p/x/64brI7OHQt.As1NMvHdW/ (Link to the Bengali song)

Indiana Dunes

Good trips are always decided impromptu. Too much planning just leads to procrastination and never culminates. This was proved once again today as we had a very enjoyable trip to the Indian Dunes. Albeit a bit cold, it was a bright sunny day. Arnab and I were positive that we must go somewhere. 11am we started planning (that is when we woke up) and by 1 o’ clock four of us (including Bhujo and Swarnava) were off to Indiana. It was a drive of about an hour through I-90E/US-20. The place was amazing. Being just the beginning of the season, the crowd was thin. We had the beach to ourselves. It was refreshing to watch the waves break on the shore with the Chicago skyline evident on the horizon. The blend of colors of the water, the sky and the sand-dunes was fabulous. We braved the freezing water to take a quick bath. Though it lasted barely a few minutes as the skin was getting numb (the temperature was in forties), the fun was worth it. Besides, it was impossible to ignore the tempting waves. A walk down the 1.2 mile trail, climbing some sand dunes, cracking a lot of jokes (lame ones too), a fine 14’’ stuffed pizza in Michigan city and it was a perfect one-day-outing.

Proof that it was a perfect day for outing

Chicago skyline at the horizon

The trail through the green

The Blend of colors - the camera (or the owner) wasn't good enough to capture the real beauty though

The wooden trail through sand

We go off-route and up on a sand hill

The Nature again

Anti-Vibration Table

This was an exhibit at MRS Spring Meeting 2008 from Halcyonics. I was pretty impressed with their performance. Watch the video. Notice the coins standing on the shock-proof table.

San Francisco

The City and its entertainment

San Francisco was awesome. The city has a color of its own. The downtown area on the market street is like any other city but near the bay, it’s different. With its crooked roads, colorful piers and a wild combination of different people San Francisco is the perfect place for a short vacation. Fisherman’s Wharf is the place to be. Don’t forget pier 39. The Golden Gate Bridge was magnificent. The cruise ride under the bridge and around the Alcatraz was worth $22. You can take a ferry to the infamous prison from pier 33. But it takes a lot of time and make sure you book your tickets 3-4 days before your visit. There are several small entertainment places near the wharf. I visited the aquarium of the bay which required an additional $8 with the cruise ride in a combination package. It takes $15 for a separate visit. However, it wasn’t even worth $8. This place is not recommended unless you have small kids with you. There is a wax museum ($13) which is small and didn’t look interesting. Same with Ripley’s Believe it or Not museum ($15). I visited neither.

The Golden Gate Bridge

Alcatraz - the infamous prison

The City Skyline

Aquarium of the Bay

The Food

If you are a fan of seafood, you can try out a lot of things. Crabs are the specialty of the region. The Chinatown is typical. However, supposedly this is one of the oldest in the US. You can try the regular American-Chinese stuff there. There are two Indian restaurants New Delhi Restaurant and Punjab Kabab House right next to each other near the 5^th and Market crossing. Both were good. There is an Italian area too boasting Roman cuisine. Of course, you have the ubiquitous McDonalds and Subway.

Crabs - The Specialty

The Transportation

San Francisco probably has the widest range of transportation. BART is the long range railway service connecting several wide apart areas including the airport. MUNI is the local transport. It has the trains (which are like Kolkata trams), buses which run on electricity with electric poles sticking out on top and regular buses. There is also the heritage cable cars which are trams imported from Milan. Each ride costs $1.50 on regular MUNI transportation, $5 for cable cars. BART fares depend on distance. Daily, 3-day, 5-day, monthly passes are available and may be convenient and cheaper depending on how you plan to travel around the city.

A peek inside BART

Several Modes

John Denver

I am not much of a music enthusiast. I can’t really spot the difference in them, no idea about what is rock and what is pop, what’s country and what’s folk, forget further subtleties like punk rock and stuff. All I know about a song is how much I like the tune and how appealing is the lyrics. So that’s what I will talk about.

I listened to a few songs of John Denver and for the fast few days I couldn’t stop listening. Some of his songs are marvelous to say the least. The depiction of nature with his music and the deep voice is bound to captivate your senses. You can feel his songs. My personal favorites are – Annie’s song, Country Roads, I am leaving on a Jet Plane, Calypso and Sunshine on my shoulders. Of course, there are many more you might like. I am putting the youtube links for some of them. Some quick facts about John Denver –

Real Name: Henry John Deutschendorf II
From: Doug Mundy, Monroe, North Carolina, USA
Adopted Surname: 'Denver' after the capital of his favorite state, Colorado
Peak of Career: 70's with several hits and awards
Death: in a plane crash he was piloting (Denver's father, Lt. Col. Henry John Deutschendorf. Sr. held three world speed records in aviation.)

Before I end, I must mention Anjan Dutta, a Bengali singer of recent times. I have been listening to his songs since long and after listening to John Denver, I can clearly see the influence of the later on the former. Anjan’s ‘Sunshine’ and ‘Purono Guitar’ are obvious inspirations from ‘Sunshine on my shoulders’ and ‘this old guitar’ of Denver.

Enough of my bullshit; listen to the songs -

Annie's Song

Country Roads

I am leaving on a Jet Plane

Sunshine on my shoulders

Lunar Eclipse

On 21st Feb, 2008, the world witnessed the total lunar eclipsed which won't happen again before 2010. I had the chance to sneak a peek.

The Red Moon (it looks red because the moon is lit by the refracted light from earth's atmosphere which scatters the blue but lets the red through) courtesy NASA website

A slice of the moon through the branches of the tree on our porch

Stray Snaps

The chief advantage of having a digital camera is your liberty to keep clicking. I remember my dad thinking twice before he took a snap with his Yashica, which by the way is still there but rarely used. Firstly, there was a chance that he might run out of reel. Secondly, what if it wasn't that good a take! He had to make sure that everyone in the group had a fair share of the snaps and at the same time cover the main attractions of the place we were visiting. And no outside pics in the dark. Guess why! Because the flash was an independent entity, which needed to be fixed to the camera and required a plug point to charge it before each flash. Well, those days are gone with the digital version coming in. With a high-capacity memory card and good batteries, it's a breeze taking photos. Here are some samples of mindless clicking. These are the ones that I can post on the blog and still expect you to go through it. There was actually a lot of crap, discarded. But who cares! That's the fun of a digital camera.

Bees finding a safe place on the roof of Buland Darwaja (Fatehpur Sikri)

Read the last line (in Hindi) - It reads 'Even if the visitors park their vehicles outside the parking place, still they have to pay for it" ... what the hell!! (Agra)

The Squirrel in the Agra Fort living inside history (Agra)

At the entrance to the Taj (Agra)

At the Lotus Temple (Delhi)

Can you spot the sleeping man? (on our way to Akshardham Temple - Delhi)

The gas tank reads "Water of Iraq" (on our way to Humayun's tomb - Delhi)

Too many on the same rickshaw. It has 3 adults and 4 children. I missed a better angle. (Delhi)

Through the window of the Rajdhani Express (Somewhere in UP)