The Madness of the after-Thanksgiving sale..

Now, I admit. This is a big case of a pot calling the kettle black. In the past, I have been up and running at 5 am and earlier, to get in time to take advantage of the remarkable discounts offered on a handful of electronics at various stores, during that huge sale on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Yet, I have to say, for all the lunacy you can associate with my getting up at 5 am or so, to get to the mall, there are boat loads of people that take the cake when it comes that.

The story I heard at Best Buy during this years sale - "There was such a crowd, they had to give out tickets to ascertain that the FIRST hundred or so customers got to the items that they wanted". Can you imagine? Such a big crowd that they had to give out tickets. And here is the kicker...some of them camped outside the store from the previous night, sometimes for over 10 hours, surviving through temperatures in the high 30s.

And for what? This year for instance, it was to save $150 on a digital camera. Maybe its a worthwhile saving, but I cannot imagine for the love of god, that I would be able to do such a thing. But then hey, if I were to compare the way I act to the ways people act, I am sure I will be unable to comprehend most of the actions.

Ultimately though, what transpires is that the Friday after thanksgiving turns into possibly the biggest single day of shopping anywhere in the world. Finally though, the Americans have one real thing they are the World Champions at....spending boat-loads of money in one day.

As for me, this year, I did try to get to the Best Buy asap to get to the digital camera. But hey, I got there only at the more human time of 8 am, and I got my hands only on a Canon PowerShot S1 - IS and an EPSON Stylus CX4600 Printer/Scanner/Copier and made a small but significant dent in my savings. But hey, I was looking forward to buying something interesting and with a good optical zoom level. And I got it :)

'Tis the season for giving thanks...

So, what are you thankful for, in your life?

Me? I am thankful for everything that is going on in my life. Things are not exactly all hunky-dory, but hey, considering that it could be just as well be really worse than what it is. And thats what I am thankful for.

I am thankful for the fact that I am a living breathing thinking being, who has the ability to distinguish the right from the wrong, the dos from the donts.

I am thankful for the fact that I am able to make a living for myself, and at the same time set aside time to take care of mine.

I am thankful for the fact that God has given me the ability to appreciate the finer things in life - that glorious desert sunset, the rainbow in the skies on a rainy-sunny day, an elephant caring and doting on its calf, the misty dewy crispy winter mornings at home, the hot cup of south Indian filter coffee in the morning from the loving hands of mother, arguing and talking with father, wrestling with brother, playing tag-you're it with sister, listening to cute nothings from nieces, seeing the dog making a fool of itself fawning over a long-gone visitor....the list just goes on and on and on and on

Ultimately I am thankful that there is still good left in the world that is worth fighting for - whether that good is in family or country notwithstanding.

Happy Thanksgiving

How to defend your manhood? By creating a brawl is what...

So anyone who saw that brawl during the Detroit Pistons - Indiana Pacers game Friday night on national cable television, has an opinion one way or the other. Depending on whom your sympathies lie with, it was either a brawl that was incited by some really crappy fans who asked for it, or it was a case of an out-of-control superstar athlete, who stepped out of bounds of normalcy.

To recap, Ron Artest gets fouled hard by Ben Wallace sometime in the second half. Toward the end of the game, Artest returns the favor, but what happens? Ben Wallace's manhood has been challenged, and he shoves Artest in his face and tries to get in his face. At that time, admirably so, Artest goes back to the scorers table and lies down, only to get hit in his face by a beer cup. And then, to quote Tilly from 'Guess Who's coming to dinner', "All hell gone broke loose".

In a free-for-all brawl that ensued, involving Artest, Jermaine O'Neal, Stephen Jackson and couple others, engaged in a street-fight like fisticuff, that resulted in the game being called with just under a minute to go in the game.

What this reflects on, is the sorry state of the society today. A society where courtesy, politeness, and many other virtues that are supposed to be held in high esteem, are being kicked out the window. Instead of shaking off taunts and insults from fans, taking the issue into ones owns hand results in an ugly escalation, and that is exactly what happened on Friday. What a great example they set for the millions of impressionable kids that watch the game. A wonderful example indeed. Kids, if someone insults you or taunts you, do not take the high road and shake off the taunt or insult. Instead, go after the taunter, and validate the taunting, and get into a melee.

Ego, one-upmanship, holier than thou...don't know what in the name of hell is the reason, but one thing is for sure. If you are going to taunt someone, be prepared to defend yourself to the point of death. That Friday, it was in a basketball court. What do you know, the next time this happens, it might be in the middle of a swanky restaurant with knives and other cutlery around.
Nah, I am getting carried away by all this.

The thing here is that, these kind of incidents and events are not in the majority, rather they are few and thankfully far in between. But unfortunately, typical with the modern-day mass media, they get air-time belying their status. Anyway, it is still disturbing that the so-called professional athletes, who should know better, are the ones that end up setting the crappiest example.

Even more irritating is the attitude of the people governing these sports. NBA commish Stern issued lengthy suspensions, and then spouted his spiel about being concerned for the fans. Yeah right. Concern for the fans. With the straight face with which he said these lies, he is the perfect man to sell ice to the eskimos. If he were so concerned for fan safety and such, and for fans in general, maybe he and his band of greedy millionaire owners and players can start by reigning in the player salaries and arena/ticket prices. Maybe they can decide to reign in the cash cows that feed their pockets - beer sales. But no, they would not do that, and instead hope that such incidents do not repeat themselves.

Ultimately though, shame on the individuals involved in the entire ridiculous sequence. The athletes, the fans, all of them. May you realize the idiocy of your actions and learn your lesson.

Nanganallur, Chennai

I am a red-blooded Madrasi (Chennaiite, for the PC folks) - I was born in Hyderabad but my family moved down to Nanganallur when I was just 8 months old...and thats where I grew up. And unlike many of the younger generation, I grew up appreciating the benefits of an independent home. No messy community living for me...no flats, no apartments, no sir. Hey, how can I appreciate apartment-style living, when I grew up in a house, that was in the midst of lush green paddy fields, which provided so much open space.

When I was growing up, Nanganallur was that TamBram (Tamil Brahmin) suburb, and people who could afford to commute to the city, would move here for the fact that the local municipality had bothered tapping the waters of the River Palar, to provide drinking water supply. But what was left unsaid, was that it was then, the perfect suburb. Peace and quiet, away from the city, and literally an oasis of green - what with agricultural lands and coconut palms everywhere the eye can sweep. And oh, before I forget to tell ya, it is also a mini-Kancheepuram. A mini temple town. Famous for as long as I can remember for its Raja Rajeswari Temple and the Dakshina Mantralayam (Shri Raghavendra Mutt) and the Ardha Nareeshwara Temple, it provided peace and tranquility, relief away from the stresses of everyday life.

Anyways, the point of this post is that, this morning I received a message from my friend in Madras (Chennai). She had gone to visit the Shri Viswaroopa Adi Vyadihara Bhakta Anjaneya Temple, in Nanganallur. To the uninitiated, this is the big temple that has come up in Nanganallur in the past decade, and now ranks as possibly the most popular temple in the metropolitan Madras area. And it is also a prime example of commercialization that has hit Nanganallur quickly and in huge waves. People who would not have otherwise given one second of their thought to Nanganallur, now go about thinking..hey...lets go visit the Anjaneya temple there.

If you go visit Nanganallur now, it is almost unrecognizable as a town of peace and quiet. Heck even the Metropolitan Transport Corporation went ahead and established a bus stand for the town - something that the residents had been clamoring for, for over a decade and half. People are everywhere, it is crowded quite like Ranganathan Street in T.Nagar. And, the Alandur Municipality, with its weird decision making abilities, decided to re-route the Palar water supply to Tambaram, and left Nanganallur at the mercy of Chennai's famed Metrowater.

Development has not left Nanganallur as what it used to be..an oasis of peace. Instead, it is now just another overcrowded suburb of that great urban sprawl that Chennai has become.

I have seen the town grow in front of me. I have seen the rock being brought in to Nanganallur - that same rock which was later exquisitely carved into what is the current Bhakta Anjaneya. I have seen the unborn idol soaking up in the pit that was specially designed for the carving. I have been part of a time when it was served by just one measly bus service - the 18D. When the Pazhavanthangal suburban railway station was not even in existence. And boy, most all things that we wished for when we were the earlier residents of that town, are slowly coming to fruition. Proof that you gotta be careful of what you wish for, eh?

For all that it maybe, it is still one place that no one can change it - my hometown, the little village that became a town, while making a man out of me.

From Talakanancheri Village of the taluk of Meenambakkam to the current day avatar of Nanganallur...its been a long journey. Vive Nanganallur!

I am a grand-father, go figure!

I am happily single (so far), never married, don't have kids, and yet, I am a grand-father. Go Figure!

Technically speaking, I am a grand-father twice-removed, or some such nonsense. And here is how the great Indian family of mine that I am part of, bestowed upon me this honor.

My oldest cousin on my father's side has a daughter who is older than me. And this aforesaid daughter of my cousin, in effect my niece, is married and has her own daughter, my grand-niece. Net sum of such incongruity? I am a grand-father to my grand-niece and yet, I am younger than her mother :)

Even more unique? This is repeated in almost identical fashion on my mother's side.

As if I needed further evidence that I am old..

Swiss.....Cheese.....Holes

You walk to your local Subway restaurant....you pick out a foot-long veggie max on Honey Oat Bread, and you are asked...would you like some cheese on it? You say yes...Swiss please...and out comes sliced swiss cheese with the trademark holes....

So what do you think caused the holes? Did someone sit there and poke holes into the blocks of cheese prior to shipping? You wish! Well actually it turns out, someone did sit and poke holes in it..well, not exactly holes, but air bubbles which became the source of the holes in swiss cheese.

Yes, the very same bacteria that contribute to the fermentation of milk to cheese, are the culprits behind these holes. Turns out, three types of bacteria are added to the fermentation process. Lactic acid, an interim by-product of the fermentation process, is consumed by one of the bacteria - a certain Propionibacter Shermani, or P. Shermani for short (awfully close to P.Sherman of the P.Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way Sydney (Finding Nemo) fame aint it?). Result of the consumption of lactic acid? Carbon di-oxide, which gets trapped inside the fermenting milk and ends up as air bubbles that contribute to the holes.

To put it crudely, the eyes (as the Swiss call it) are a result of certain bacteria passing gas!

Bon apetit....

MSNBC - Stress? Work overload? Think India

MSNBC - Stress? Work overload? Think India

The Reality of Reality TV

I admit it. I am an avid television watcher. But, for whatever the reason, I have never caught onto the reality buzz. And boy, am I happy about it? You betcha I am.

Here is a critique of reality television that made for some worthwhile reading.

Almost to a show, these reality shows have only served to the whoring of people for money. But then, in America, its all about making money and living the good life. So I guess if it involves subjecting your family to tears, trepidation and disgust in front of a television audience, it obviously is worth it.

Now, I can recognize some good reality shows - CBS's Amazing Race actually makes for an interesting watch on Americans in different cultures, Extreme Makeover serves to give ideas to viewers about how to carry themselves off professionally, Extreme Makeover Home Edition gives the do-it-yourselfers invaluable tips on making a better home.

But everytime I see preview ads for stuff like "Wife Swap", "My Big Fat Obnixious Fiance", "Bachelor", "Bachelorette", "Who wants to marry a millionaire?" and similar (I would use crap, but it insults crap) things that TV execs pass onto the viewers as content, I have to reach for an airline style sickness bag to puke into.

Whats sickening is not so much that TV channels carry boat loads of these idiocy-driven programs, but that they are able to get the gullible public to watch these - does the viewing public get a high seeing the suffering and humiliation of another fellow human being?

Luckily for people like me, there is content-providing channels like Discovery Network Channels, Turner Classic Movies, PBS, etc to offset the trash thats too often on TV these days.

In the meanwhile, here is an S.O.S and an A.P.B detailing disappearence of television as we knew it. If you ever come across classic television with classic sitcoms like the Cosby Show and Simpsons and with no "puke-invoking" reality shows, please contact me.

India the Great?

So, I was called pessimistic, way too cynical. I am told that India is on path to greatness and prosperity, that India is taking baby steps toward maturity and the smarts that come with being a mature self-aware nation.

Objectively speaking, I would not be true to myself if I did not recognize the truth in these statements - I would be no better than one the umpteen India-bashing arm-chair experts who pass off as journalists in India. Heck, I would be one of them.

To quote Andy Dufresne from that classic endurance story The Shawshank Redemption, "Hope is a beautiful thing, maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies". So, inspite of all my cynicism, inspite of feeling like the apathy of people will never change, here is a toast to my country.

Afterall, who I am, what I am, and how I became what I am, were shaped in part by family and society and culture that is us. That culture of humility, of humanity, of civility, one of family and values (mind you, more depth and width than any such thing you can ever hope to find in America!), it is the cornerstone of a civilization more than 3000 years in the making.

A civilization and culture so deep and so vast, all it is going to take is for people all over the country to be proud of who they are, is to realize with their hearts and minds the cultural similarities, and recognize with their minds, the cultural diversities that make India a unique melting pot, a smorgasbord of cultures unlike the world has ever seen before. We already celebrate the unity in our diversity. Maybe we just need to celebrate it even more :)

As has been pointed out recently, progress is made in baby steps, and baby steps are painfully slow and painstaking. But none of our parents gave up on us when we were babies - they persevered with us, and kept us going. Similarly I think we only owe it to ourselves as a society and as a nation to be persistent and patient with this growing up.

The sheer fact that, whether by design or accident, we as a nation are making tangible progress (even if it mirrors the story of a frog trying to climb out of a well - three steps forward and two steps back) points to a culmination of total synergy somewhere. What else can explain the progress?

Recently I have been advising people on the need to develop cynicism. And I ended up being cynical about something that deserves better - my attitude toward the Indian nation. So, what exactly was I being cynical about? The peoples attitudes. And the answer? As was pointed out earlier yesterday (Nov 12) and something that I should have realized on my own - self-leadership.

And how does that start? One person at a time.

Like my father. He founded the local civic exnora and met with immense opposition to hire and pay for daily clean up and trash removal. But like a true leader, he persevered, and now apparently the moves are paying dividends.

Like Vidyakar of Udhavum Karangal. Who showed the way to render service to the society - one person at a time, by making meaningful lives out of destitute and abandoned/orphaned children.

Like Ramakrishnan and Sankara Raman of Amar Seva Sangam. Their refusal to let their disabilities defeat them. Their faith in themselves and in the inherent good of people has led to what is potentially the first disability access enabled village in India. And all this, while fighting to ensure that other people with disabilities could lead dignified independent lives to the best of their abilities.

Like that friendly next-door kannada-speaking neighbor who provided refuge to their friendly next-door tamil-speaking neighbor in Bangalore, at the height of riots against Tamils over the Kaveri water-sharing dispute. Proving yet again, that humanity's most humane face sometimes pops up under the most adverse of conditions.

We are a nation of extremes and diversities. We are a nation prone to swings in emotions - a la close friends duking it out over differences. We are also a nation that is highly capable and suave. But what we are, in addition, is also the greatest continuing experiment in society. If only, the people living in our country realize what they have at their hand, sooner rather than later.

But, I have seen the extreme nature of my thought, and instead of cynicism and despair, I should say, I have hope. Hope for our future. Hope for sense in people. Hope for maturity in thought. In the meanwhile, I am here, growing and developing, seeking ways to contribute toward what I expect out of India.

Vande Mataram

Addendum: Serious notes of thanks to my brother Shankar, Vish, Pradeep, Lisa, Aarthi, and my parents. All your points at various times during our discussions were invaluable, and helped me play devils advocate with myself, and realize the futility of my cynical attitude.

India - an accidental nation?

If you have recently been reading news coming out of India, it does paint a (somewhat unfair, ofcourse, given the culture of the main-stream English media's predisposition toward running India down at every opportunity) gloomy picture about the state of the Indian State.

All this has germinated this rather uncomfortable, yet undeniable thought in my mind - are we Indians even supposed to be together under this huge, sometimes unwieldy nation-state that we call India? Or is this just a marriage of convenience amongst the various peoples who are actually too busy and too haughty to try and come up with a common sense of identity?

I have this nagging doubt as to whether we Indians will ever be able to show a sense of pride and belonging to the country - will nationalism ever override the immense sense of regionalism and factionalism that is rampant in the country? Unfortunately the answer currently is a resounding no. And why do I feel so? Mostly a sense of apathy bordering on the ridiculous, an almost unnerving sense of not being perturbed any anything.

In short, I feel now that India is a nation put together by accident, that is bumbling and hurtling its way apparently no where, freewheeling from one disaster to another prosperity back to disaster. I usually do not like to be wrong, but in this case, I am just hoping, in fact praying from the bottom of my heart, for the love of God, that I am dead wrong in my assessment. Only time will tell....

Coca-Cola - Audio/Video Center - Coca-Cola Advertising

Coca-Cola - Audio/Video Center - Coca-Cola Advertising

Now, a collection of advertising related to Coca-Cola brands currently available on their website. My fave is Coca-Cola's I Wish an ad from the UK.