India @ 60

On the 60th anniversary of independent India, I pick up the important events that shaped the country over these last 60 years (in chronological order). Others are welcome to share their views and suggest changes to this list:

1. 1947 - Without doubt, the most important event was the independence from the British Raj, after nearly 150 years of colonial rule.
2. 1948 - The first war with Pakistan that followed soon after independence caused a simmering divide between the two countries that is yet to subside.
3. 1950 - Declaring itself a republic, formally breaking all the bonds with the monarch in London and adoption of a new Constitution in 1950.
4. 1955 - Decision to stay away from the US and Soviet blocs; and formation of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
5. 1962 - The war with China and dispute over Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
6. 1971 - Liberation of Bangladesh and victory over Pakistan.
7. Early 1970s - The emergence and rise of Amitabh Bacchan as the angry young man on screen.
8. 1975 - Imposition of Emergency by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Agreeably, one of the darkest hours of democracy which lasted for over 2 years.
9. 1983 - Winning the Cricket World Cup in a country devoid of real stars. The victory spawns a whole generation of sporting heros who endorse anything from cars to toothpastes to energy drinks.
10. 1983 - Operation Bluestar and the assassination of Indira Gandhi. Widespread anti-Sikh riots in Delhi, Punjab and other nearby states.
11. 1989 - Rise to prominence of the hindu nationalist party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the General Elections.
12. 1991 - An year of turmoil starts as the then Prime Minister V P Singh brings up the Mandal Commission recommendations, clearly targeting the oncoming parliamentary elections. Widespread protests break-out and schools and colleges are closed for an extended period in most parts of the country.
12. 1991 - Assassination of Prime Ministerial candidate, Rajiv Gandhi by LTTE terrorists.
13. 1991 - LPG (Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization) of economic reforms rolled out by the duo of Manmohan Singh, the then Finance Minister and Prime Minister Narasimha Rao to dole out the country from an impending economic crisis. Indian economy opens up to allow trans-national companies to setup and trade in India.
14. 1992 - Demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, which is soon followed by the serial bomb blasts in Mumbai. The country is torn apart by communal clashes and the ghastly scenes witnessed in 1983 anti-Sikh riots are revisited. Though everyone hoped this would be the last one, Godhra was to follow 10 years later.
15. 1998 - Nuclear tests in Pokhran, Rajasthan put India into the 'Nuclear Club'. Similar tests by Pakistan, and the spectre of a nuclear war between the two countries loomed large. These tests were immediately followed by economic and technological sanctions imposed by a slew of countries including US, UK , Canada, Australia and Japan, apart from a host of European nations.
16. 2000-01 - The Dotcom boom and bust, followed by a slowdown of the global economy. The temporary collapse of the American economy following the 9/11 attacks compounded the problem. Couple of years later, the Indian economy regained its shape, stronger and better than ever. IT and related services, added with manufacturing were the drivers of the new age economy. Agriculture, however, was getting neglected and farmer suicides was just one indicator.
17. 2005 - Right to Information (RTI) Act. Hailed as one of the most progressive laws ever made in the country, it is a powerful tool to combat the rampant corruption prevalent in public administration in the country.

Master of Science

After a long hiatus, I am back to the blogosphere. It was this day, that was holding me away. And the day finally arrived. Dressed in a white shirt and brown trousers, I left for the lab in the morning. As it approached 2 p.m., I was getting a little jittery. I reached the Conference room half an hour before to set the room up with refreshments and the computer. Ruchika accompanied me in setting up the projector. Very soon, Meera and Komudi arrived. A couple more walked in, before my advisor entered the room. Tension was palpable in the air. Noticing the presence of several people, he said, "We have quite an audience here", to which Kimberly remarked "I know, he's a popular man!".

The incoming stream of people ebbed, and I was ready to begin, except that there was no sight of Dr. Walter. My advisor wanted to start anyway, but Dr. Singh would not have that. In came Dr. Walter, and the room was closed. I was asked to give a brief bio and then start the presentation. The talk went for a little under half an hour, and then the audience was asked to leave. Now, it was just me and the committee. Questions started flowing, luckily one at a time. It went on till about 3 p.m., and then I was asked to step outside for a few minutes. I waited impatiently outside as the committee deliberated on my performance. Then the door opened, and out came my advisor. "All right Sir, you did it. Congratulations", and extended his hand for a firm shake. As I walked into the room, both Dr. Singh and Dr. Walter congratulated me as well, and wished me success in my new program. The thesis was approved with minor changes. Subject to my submission of thesis by August 15, I would be "taking the walk" (getting my degree) in the Summer Commencement on August 26.

Turmoil in the neighborhood

Pakistan is yet to recover from one of the worst political violence witnessed in the port town of Karachi. What started as an issue between President Pervez Musharraf and Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, has now assumed gigantic proportions and polarized the country into two. The city of Karachi has come to a stop, and the whole country is suffering from social and political unrest, which may soon start to have economic repercussions as well.

Things don't look rosy with the other neighbors as well. On the eastern front, Bangladesh is the scene of intense political activity..well..without a government. The two leading parties, Bangladesh Nationalist party and the Awami League have been questioning the fairness of the upcoming elections and pointing irregularities in the voters list. The country is currently under a state of emergency and headed by a caretaker government.

Down south, Sri Lanka is battling renewed attacks by LTTE, including air raids on the capital city of Colombo. The landlocked Nepal seems to be doing better, months after King Gyanendra was stripped of all royal powers and the state was proclaimed secular by the 7-party government.

It is rather surprising that the Indian government hasn't involved itself much into issues across the border. A stable neighborhood augurs well for the social and economic development of the entire South Asian region, and it is high time the SAARC countries realize that.

Fighting Corruption in India

I agree it's been a long while since I visited my own blog, leave alone post one entry. Well, the news for now is that AID Columbus is hosting public rights activist and 2006 Ramon Magsaysay Award Winner, Arvind Kejriwal on May 30, 2007. Arvind who heads the Delhi-based NGO, Parivartan has been the driving force behind the successful implementation of the Right to Information Act, an act which gives ordinary citizens the right to challenge the actions of government officials, on literally anything from passport applications to the quality of mortar used in road construction outside their homes.

AID Jeevansathi, Ravi Kuchimanchi has called the RTI Act, along with the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) as one of the most progressive laws to have been passed by the Indian Government ever. Arvind has been extensively touring the US to raise awareness among NRIs and Indian students about the power that this Act has given to the people. Some of the success stories can be found here.

Mammoth Caves, KY

A sudden trip to the Mammoth Caves in the neighboring state of Kentucky was planned for the Saturday. It was just the three of us - Harsha, Rajesh and myself. We searched for more company, but couldnt manage any during this part of the year, when everybody leaves Columbus like school kids out of classrooms as the bell is rung. We started at 10.15 am, a full 75 minutes behind the original schedule. The brief stopover at an exit near Cincinnati helped us recharge - the vehicle with fuel and ourselves with some coffee. From then on, it was a race against time. Our cave tour was to start at 2.15 pm CST. Even occasional bursts of 90 mph, which was well above the speed limit of 70 mph, didn't give us the confidence of making it in time.

However, with sustained driving above the legal speed limits, we made it just on time. We reached the Ticketing Office at exactly 2.15 pm and saw a bunch of people coming out of the office and boarding a bus. Without any thought, I rushed into the office, and requested for my tickets. The lady at the counter promptly replied "The bus has already left, Sir". I informed her that the bus is still waiting, and that I have talked to the tour guide, without having any idea as to what was transpiring between Rajesh and the guide. She requested my confirmation numbers and printed 3 tickets. I ran out and as we boarded the bus, a sense of relief ran through our hearts. Yes, we had made it!

Now some background information on the Mammoth Caves. It is the most extensive cave system in the world and includes nearly 367 miles of passageway. The caves are nearly 360 ft deep and in its initial days was advertised as a "bottomless pit". Many of the rocks are made of limestone sedimentation, and stalactite and stalagmite formations are clearly visible. Though the cave was discovered much earlier, it remained under private ownership for a long time till 1930s when it came under the National Park umbrage. It was officially dedicated on July1, 1941, and has remained open to public since then.

The Forest Ranger who was our guide for the tour was an old, but highly energetic man named Joe. He recounted several tales of history, and followed it with his own take-home messages. This was one of the first statements he made before we entered the tour - "Most people, when their head accidentally hits a rock, give it their name. Since we have little kids around, please be creative and think of better names". In short, avoid the F-word. Apparently, one of the entrances of this cave was the first Tuberculosis (TB) Sanatorium in the world, because it was the belief of doctors at that time that fresh water and air surrounding the caves was good for health. It was however, never proved right, as 30 of the around 120 patients died, while others did not show much signs of improvement.

I took a few pictures with my low-resolution mobile phone camera in the dark surroundings. Though the quality of pictures is not something I can be proud of, but I would post them here nevertheless (They should be up in a few days).

We came out of the caves dead hungry. We took the first exit on I-65 and our eyes rolled when we saw a Pizza Hut outlet. Though we had to wait for about 15 minutes, but it was worth the wait as we treated ourselves with Garlic Bread and a Pan Pizza that tasted heavenly. From then on, I drove on the Interstate for about 80 miles, till Rajesh took over just before we entered Columbus. I reached home at 12.30 am, and thought if the 11 hour drive was worth the 2 hrs of stay inside the caves. Thinking back, it probably was.

Finals week getting over; reach out for the Gator-ade

The first week of December is fever time in Columbus. Didn't you tell me that the entire Fall season was kind-of feverish with that silly game of football? Oh, yeah! but having spent the whole quarter watching and cheering for the Buckeyes, students realize at the end of the quarter that they haven't done anything worthwhile, and now it's too late to go back and read the first lecture when final exams are just around the corner. For many courses, the final exam is the make-or-break session - those 2 hours decide where you are going to end up in class.

That still doesn't take away the attention from football. The season-ending BCS rankings were released on Sunday evening. The Florida Gators have been picked as No. 2, ahead of Michigan, to play the top-ranked Buckeyes in the BCS Championship at Glendale, AZ on Jan. 8. Though people have been crying foul over the unfair system that left Michigan high and dry, we at Columbus are focussed over our next No. 2 ranking opponent this season. The Buckeyes have already faced 2 No. 2 teams this season - Texas early season and then Michigan in the season-finale. No other team in College football history has defeated 3 No. 2 teams in a season, and if we are able to dump the Gators, pretty much like we did with all other teams this season, that will surely establish the Buckeyes 2006 team as the greatest in college football history.

BCS...here we come! Meanwhile, I'll get my flu shot.

Comfort Zone

We always feel at-home and comfortable in a tiny sphere surrounding us, called the comfort zone. It could be as simple as your home and a set of friends surrounding you. But if you look at it objectively, at every point of our life, we try look for a "comfort zone" and try to settle in there - sitting in the same bench every class, taking the same way back home, and eating the same type of food at a particular restaurant

Given a chance, we'd like to do the same job, stay in the same city and meet with the same set of people. The more you stay in your comfort zone, the tougher it is to get out of that. And, it requires not only conviction in oneself, but a deep urge to do something different and radical that can make a person get out of that territory, that he now thinks as his own.

Look around yourself and see the boundaries of your comfort zone. Move around, think radically and see if you can get out of your comfort zones into uncharted territories. Believe me, you'll feel the difference not only in yourself, but also in things around you.

Note: This blog posting was inspired by a phone conversation with a friend.

It's not just about football, stupid

Almost every school in the US has a football team. It is immaterial whether they win or lose, they always face a full audience. When I first heard that the Horse Shoe hosts more than 100,000 spectators every game, I was surprised. But then this is Buckeye Nation, I was told. A place that knows only 2 colors - Scarlet and Gray, with everything else being so Michigan-like. Its no surprise that everyone in this nation cheers for their school team when it comes to competitive sports, more so when it is football.

So while watching the game, you are as likely to bump into a recent alum, as you are into an 70-year old lady who graduated with a degree from the campus more than 40 years ago. So it matters as to which school you graduated from - you get tagged for your entire life as a Buckeye, Spartan or a Wolverine.

Last Friday, our Dept celebrated the dedication ceremony of our new building, the Scott Lab. There was a small outdoor function, followed by a self guided tour into the labs and classrooms. Expected guests were likely to be alumni and donors. I volunteered to be in my teaching lab during this period, so that I could show the lab set-ups to these guests. I was really surprised to see a lot of people turn up for this program, many of them well past an age, the govt calls the retirement threshold. A lot of alumni walked into my Lab, curious to see how the labs have changed 20 or 30 odd years after they graduated. One notable instance was that of an old, well-built man who told me he graduated from this Dept more than 50 years ago. When I showed a sense of surprise and disbelief on my face, he quickly responded, "I know, you won't believe it". It left me thinking - What binds them to this institution, that they feel like coming back after 50 years to the very place they left, knowing well that time changes not only people, but their thinking and outlook as well

I have hardly seen this happen in India and very rarely heard anything like this. Though we pride ourselves as a nation built on 5000 years of culture and tradition, a bond of this kind with our educational institutions never seem be part of that great tradition. Does that reflect poorly on our ethos or simply speaks of the quality of institutions we have. A point everyone needs to ponder on.

Travelogue - Return trip

Chennai International Airport 0700 hrs IST

I am not sure if I will be able to compile the travelogue for the return journey as well, partly because its like going through the same set of things one more time, and more importantly, I am severely tired and totally out of shape after the 2-day function got over yesterday afternoon.

I am currenly at Chennai airport waiting area, having finished my security clearance, and baggage check. There was total chaos at the entry point, followed by another round at the baggage check-in area. There was no message board at the Gulf Air counter, and I had a hard time figuring this out. Some time later, a Gulf Air official apologized for the delay. I wanted to rip him apart immediately. I asked him if they couldnt put on a board indicating thier check in counter. He quickly ran away, and resurfaced with an excuse that the message board wasnt working. I then reprimanded him for not having any signboards or directions for the passengers to smoothly move from one spot to the next. Within 10 minutes the message boards at the Gulf Air counter were functioning, and the official promptly came upto me and informed the same. He then thanked me for the raising the issue and apologized again.

I then checked-in my baggage,and I was informed that the flight is getting delayed by an hour, and that light refreshments will be served after the security check-in. Check-in was smooth, and the baggages were well below the allowable limits. I was giving the boarding pass till Muscat and asked to collect further boarding passes at Muscat. During the immigration, the lady at the counter looked at the apssport for along time, and asked several questions about my location, occupation, etc in a suspicious tone. With security check over in no time, it was time to wait for the boarding. I, meanwhile, had a good sleep for close to an hour, and got up to stand in queue for the refreshments being served at a nearby counter. Immediately aftwerwards, the boarding started. By the time the plane started, it was full 2 hours late.

Seeb International Airport, Muscat, Oman 1230 hrs local time (1400 hrs IST)

With the schedule departure of my next flight to Bahrain being 1130 hrs, there was just more than an hour to get my boarding pass and check un the next flight. The counters serving the boarding passes were in complete mayhem. There was a huge crowd of people waiting to get their passes. Total chaos prevailed and passengers were getting restless. I stood in one of the lines and only later found out that the particular queue was serving a delayed flight to Jeddah, and there were 97 passengers stranded. (I got to know the exact number through an official who made an SOS call to a higher offical requesting for immediate help). I was getting anxious and restless at this moment, not knowing whether I would be able to catch my connecting flight in time A lady at another counter called for Bahrain passengers, and I moved into the line in front of her. Few moments later, she called "Madras-Bahrain", and I promptly raised my hand, and handed over my tickets. She searched around for sometime and found out already printed boarding passes for me. The departure time for the flight had been re-scheduled as 1200 hrs, half an hour behind schedule. I made my way through the departure gate and piced up a Mango Pulp drink and a chocolate cake piece to satisfy my hunger. After getting seated in the aircraft, there was no sign of the plane getting started for long. They were waiting for some missing passengers, and after a long time, decided to disembark their baggage and proceed with the journey. The plane started at 1330 hrs local time, 2 hrs behind the original schedule

Dubai International Airport Local time 1400 hrs (IST 1630 hrs)

The flight to Bahrain has a brief stopover at Dubai. The Muscat-Dubai flight was just under 45 minutes, so it was just take-off, refreshments and then landing. In no time, we reached Dubai. Passengers heading to Bahrain were asked to remain seated in the aircraft and not allowed to disembark. The crew then made several checks of the boarding pass and made repeated efforts to take a head count. in some time, we would be taking off to the next destination, Bahrain. Dubai-Bahrain journey is also a short one, close to 45 minutes. I need to find out if I would be getting a hotel accomodation at Bahrain.

Al-Muharraq, Kingdom of Bahrain Local Time 1630 hrs (IST 1900 hrs)

After the short flight journey from Dubai to Bahrain, I was provided with the transit visa and and a hotel voucher immediately upon arrival at the airport. I was driven to Hotel Windsor Palace along with 3 other transit pasengers. At the hotel, they kept our passports, and assured that they will be returned at the time of check-out. At the hotel, I took a sufficient nap, had my dinner and then watched the first quarter of OSU-Penn State Football game. I am back at the Airport now, waiting for my next flight to Frankfurt.

Frankfurt International Airport, Germany Local Time 0900 hrs (IST 1230 hrs)

I think the 2 hr syndrome isnt leaving me at all. My next flight to frankfurt also left approximately 100 minutes late. Dinner was served late night (thankfully!), and I had a good sleep. The seat next to me was vacant, and hence I had no company for this leg of the journey, except for the last few minutes. I was taking a short nap in the morning, when this girl jumped over me to sit in the vacant seat, since she had to cross-0ver two other people and a tray full of breakfast, and felt I was a much smaller obstacle to jump over. That was just about half an hour before the landing. She introduced herself as Victoria (though I am sure she must be using the k instead of c in her name), and was a Architecture student, studying in Germany (didnt get the name of the place, except for the lake that's close to their campus and borders Germany, Austria and Switzerland). She was returning from a trip to Phillipines, and was looking forward to going home before joining school.

I got down at the airport, and took the skyline to reach terminal C6 to catch my next flight to Dallas. I bought a bagel-like bun (with no hidden meat!) for 2 euros. the lady at the counter wasnt accepting dollars or credit cards. Luckily, I had just more than 2 euros from the currency I gained during my earlier stopover at frankfurt last month. I paid the cash and took a seat. Just found that the buckeyes trumped the Nittany Lions 28-6. The Buckeyes look like they are in serious form to avenge their last year losses. I am waiting for the flight to get into the US...


Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, TX Sept 24 Local time 1500 hrs CDT (IST Sept 25 0130 hrs)

A very interesting thing happened before I boarded the flight at Frankfurt. Just half an hour before the boarding time, I showed my boarding pass to the official at the American Airlines counter. The lady directed me to the first counter on the right to go through some security check. when I showed my boarding pass, the dude at the counter went crazy. he said "Sir, you are too late for this flight. You were supposed to report here one hour before boarding for international flights. We will put you in the next flight". For a moment, i thought this guy was playing with me. How can he deny me a seat when I already have a boarding pass. I said I have been waiting here near the gate for a long time, and that no one ever directed me to such a check. There should have been some announcement or message asking me do so. At this, the two ladies at the nearby counters nodded, showing agreement with my point of argument.

I was asked to show documents like I-20, letter of support, and asked questions whether the checked-in bags were mine, and if I was carrying any banned item like liquids or gels. Immediately after finishing this check, I ran to board the flight. Without doubt, I was one of the last few guys to get into the flight, and for the first time in this long journey, my flight started on time. Food again became a proble, when the air hostess informed me that no reservation has been made agianst my name. I was made to wait for a long time,after which she asked me if I ate cheese. Immediately, I was provided with a large bowl of greens, and a couple of hard breads with cheese and some grapes. There was lot of food, and it took me close to 45 minutes to finish my lunch, and all this while I was made to feel like one animal, munching on cut vegetables.

I felt relieved on landing at Dallas. Finally, I entered the US - a known territory. I had to go through the Immigration and customs, where luckily no questions were asked, and I managed to bring in loads of podis (masalas) and some murukku. I checked in my baggage one final time, and waited for my next flight. Meanwhile, I grabbed a cup of coffee from Starbucks and made a few phone calls.

Port Columbus International airport, OH Sept 24 2100 EDT (IST sept 25 0630 hrs)

Our flight reached the airport 20 minutes before time, and was made to wait at the taxi in order for a gate to clear. Meanwhile the Captain apologized for the wait and remarked "All this for reaching early!". Harsha and Vathsa came to the airport to pick me up, and within no time, I was home. Yipeee!

Update: Went to school the next day and met my advisor, Lab coord and signed my Appointment paper for this Quarter.

Ponytail's Dead!

In a shocking incident today, the Ponytail was cut off at a local salon here in Chennai. The immediate cause of its demise was not known, but reports suggest that there was internal pressure as well demand from outside to take it off. The Ponytail came into existense around the month of June 06 and had its own set of followers and worshippers, back in Columbus, OH. Its end came around 11 O'clock in the morning. The news of its demise has not gone well with its fans, and there have been condolence calls since morning. Reports indicate that the salon shop took less than a dollar to execute the operation. An investigation is underway in this regard.

Zed's dead, baby! All fans and well-wishers are requested to pour in their memories and condolences on this blog.
-News from Our Special Correspondent reporting from Chennai

500

Yesterday, I had the 500th visitor to my blog. From?...take a guess - it was China. Sitemeter was unable to confirm the exact location of the visitor, but I have his IP address. He didn't spend much time on my blog, so he must be one of those casual browsers, who do blog-hopping.
In case, you are The 500th Visitor, I would want to reward you (like those radio shows). Let me know :-)

Travelogue

This document has been edited several times over the last 2 days, and is now complete

The moment of reckoning is finally here. This is one day I have been waiting for - I head home today. Excited, yes! Apprehensive, yes!

Being a long journey with numerous stopovers, I am going to make it interesting by giving a detailed account of the journey through this blog. Keep checking back for updates.

Aug 24 0725 hrs EDT Columbus, OH: Komudi comes home to help me get to the airport. In spite of the morning traffic, Komudi's deft driving help me get to the Columbus airport in no time. I am in line for bagagge check at the American Airlines (AA) counter and it seems to take a long time. The lady at the counter is apparently unable to locate my flight on the last leg from Muscat - Chennai. After making numerous attempts to locate the flight, she decides to call it quits and calls up Gulf Air, their code share partner. A small change in the flight timing was the cause of the confusion.

I go through the security check immediately afterwards. A brown guy with long hair, carrying a backpack and heading somewhere towards the Middle East - all the ingredients ensure I was checked more rigorously than other passengers.

0830 hrs EDT: I reach gate 33A, from where my flight is scheuled to take off. I pick up the TIME Magazine from a gift shop. Hillary Clinton is on the cover - not an interesting cover story to read, but all the other magazines are just trash, so I dont have much to ponder on. I decide to enter the Starbucks Coffee outlet and pick up a latte'. It smells good and tastes awesome. Finally, I get to have a coffee in a American cafe' which tastes good to me. Finally! Port Columbus International Airport allows free wireless internet connection, and I decide to make the best use of it. I am hoping that I might find such easy internet access at other aiports as well. My next stopover is Dallas, TX.

Contd. from Dubya's ranch.....

1430 hrs EDT (Local time: 1330 hrs CDT) Dallas Fort-Worth (DFW), TX

The flight from Columbus left 15 minutes late. It was a small plane, probably a 50-seater, with single-seats on one side and double seats on the other side. I got one of the single seats. As the plane took off, I was totally emotionless, with no expression or thought. Soon, the plane was flying at an altitude of 37000 ft above sea level.The descent was not pleasant, as I started experiencing a buzz in my ears.

Dallas Airport is a lot bigger than the one at Columbus. There is a skyline connecting different terminals. I get down at the terminal B26 and I need to reach D30 to board my flight to Frankfurt. I am supposed to take the skyline, but I am on the phone, and I just keep walking till I reach the D terminal. Its a long walk, but I notice some restaurants and I stop by a Pizza outlet. 'Sorry, we are outta Veggie Pizza', is the lady's response. 'If you want no meat, you can have a Cheese Pizza'. And, then she gives me the $5.49 offer of Pizza, Salad and a drink. I accept it immediately and pick up my food and head to the D30 terminal. My flight is scheduled next after the one heading to Ontario, Canada. The wireless here is not free, as in Columbus. T-mobile offers wireless at $6.00 an hour. I am contemplating whether to take it or not. I decide not to, since it has been just 3 hrs since I left Columbus. So this part of the journey will go online at frankfurt, Germany

2000 hrs EDT (Local time: Unknown) Somewhere in the mid-Atlantic

It has been 6 hrs into the journey, and I am begining to get fatigued. The flight took off at 1500 hrs (local time) from Dallas, TX and I slept immediately as the plane touched the skies. I get up in time for the second round of beverages - a glass of orange juice, having missed the first round. Within an hour, lunch is being served. 'Sorry Sir, we dont have any vegetarian food. You should have placed a request beforehand' informed the middle-aged steward. Why do I feel someone told me this before (Vathsa??). salad is again my food, only this time it's the lunch. The steward is gracious enough to offer me another plate of salad, which I politely refuse - how long can I eat only ghas-phus (raw greens). There are some cookies and ranch, both made of egg. I refuse them as well. I watch some part of a movie which is about a set of girls practicing to be future gymnasts. Decent movie - though I cant identify the stars. I take a short nap, and get up to have round of coffee. There are a few radio channels, but I cant listen to them for a long time. So at the cost of faster battery consumption, I listen to music from my laptop. It might be some time before dinner is served, but it hardly makes a difference to me. I cannot take the salad one more time. The cookies I bought at CVS may come in handy. waiting to get down at Frankfurt to have some real good breakfast.

Aug 25 0230 hrs EDT (0830 hrs Local Time) Frankfurt, Germany

I catch another 2 hrs sleep before we reach frankfurt at 0730 hrs in the morning. Its a different culture here, I guess. Things are not that fast. Even though, Frankfurt is abig airport, there seems to be very little activity at the airport and the some of the shops are not yet open. I try to have some breakfast, but end up burning 9 dollars for a small cup of Espresso Coffee and a patty with hidden beaf (which I throw away after one small bite). I need to wait for another 3 hrs till I catch my next flight to Muscat, with a 2-hr stopover at Bahrain.

Aug 25 1230 hrs EDT (Local time: 1900) Al-Muharraq, Bahrain

Before leaving frankfurt, I was able to grab a rather-hard sandwich at a restaurnat inside the terminal. The tab: Euro 4.80, but at least it was filling. The last leg of the journey was not too tiring, though, by this time, the long travel is taking a toll on me. I found a good company in an Afghan lady who was heading to Kabul. She kept up an interesting conversation on Indian movies, Shahrukh Khan and the present situation in Afghanistan. The airhostess arranged for a vegetarian meal, and for the first time in close to 36 hrs, I had a proper meal with rice and bhindi (ladyfinger/okra)subji. I slept quite sufficiently and was woken up by the airhostess asking me to straighten my seat since we were about to land. I am right now in Al-Muharraq International Airport. The airport s full of Indians and it resembles any Indian airport with ppl moving in random directions and utter chaos at certain checkpoints. The check-in has started and I will update the blog at Muscat, Oman

Aug 25 1500 hrs EDT (Local time: 23.00 hrs) Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

I slept for an nhour in the 1-1/2 hr. flight from Al-Muharraq to Seeb International Airport, Muscat. In the process, I missed my beverages and food. After getting down at Muscat, there wasn't much time. I had to rush immediately to the next gate to catch my last flight of the day (or night?). My name was already being announced on the PA system, asking me to report to Gulf Air terminal immediately. There was just enough time for me to grab a Nescafe. The guy at the counter didnt accept any credit cards, but was Ok with any currency. He repeated: any currency. The tab: $1. The airport is a lot better than the one at Bahrain. There were even announcements made in Hindi.

Aug 25 2100 hrs EDT(Local time: 0630 IST)

Gulf Traveller, a budget airline of Gulf Air is my airline for the Muscat-Chennai trip. There are mostly Indians in this flight. Its a Boeing 767 flight, half-empty. As soon the flight takes off, I ask one of the air-hostesses if dinner was being served, as I was getting really hungry at this time. I was assured food and drinks will be served soon. 'Sir, do you want Chickan or Veggi-thaarian' asked the air-hostess in Thai/Indonesian accent. I grabbed my dinner and asked for a glass of juice. Dinner had rice, bhindi-subji and South Indian-styled Barota. A tamil movie, Thambi, was being screened on-flight. The movie was genuinely below-average, and I wonder how such movies get screened on international flights. We touched Chennai airport at 5.00 am and the Captain apologised for the delay of 15 minutes. Big deal!, at least I am home.

The immigiration process takes less than 10 minutes and I walk through easily to the baggage counter. My fears of delayed baggage were set to rest, when my baggage arrived in less than 10 minutes. I was out of the aiport soon, and saw my parents waiting anxiously for me. I was given a rousing welcome at home, but that was not the case with my pony-tail. My mom is pestering me to get that silly-thing off. The pony-tail is counting its last few days, while I try to veer-off jet lag during the day.

And thus, ends my travelogue....

Happy Birthday, India

On the occasion of the 60th Independence Day of India, I have composed this short poem, which goes by the title:

I call her mine

For centuries, she has been in existence
with a chequered history, equally intense
From across Kabul the Mughals rode in,
to grab the land, everyone wanted to win.

A few generations down, before they could smell
the Union Jack had it under their spell.
With no shirt on, walked a frail man
called the 'great soul, he walked on.

Looking for riches, people crossed the seas
Many got wealthy, some just peas
I may be one from the 'wannabe' tribe
But I still love the country I call mine

To read more on Indian history, click here

Definitions:-
Mughal: Persian word for Mongol. Invaders from Central Asia, who ruled Indian sub-continent for 250 years
Great Soul: Refers to 'Mahatma' Gandhi, The Father of the Nation and apostle of peace world over.

41 hours inside Wal-Mart

Came across an interesting article on this young college student spending 2 days of his Spring break in a Wal-Mart center. It's an old article, but still a good read.
Spring break in Wal-Mart

Wooster update

Thought I would give a small update on that Wooster Trip. Last week, we had again been to Wooster, this time to get the confirmation letter for Rajesh. He got the job as a Design Engineer at TekFor Industries. This weekend, he packed all his belongings and left Columbus.

I havent been doing anything great over the last few days. Research work has been slow, with my advisor's presence being on-and-off. I wont be blogging, till I get something interesting to write or something dramatic happens in my life. RIP.

Knocked down, but not yet

Rajesh graduated last month with an MS in Industrial Engineering, and has been on a job hunt since then. Last Tuesday, he had an on-site interview with TekFor, a small forging company based in the rural hamlet of Wooster, OH. Since we all room mates were pretty much jobless, we decided to hop on the road trip.

While Rajesh was being interviewed, we tried driving around the town (the term 'town' is an exaggeration here). We found Christmas Run park to be the ideal spot to spend our afternoon. After walking around the park a litle bit, we took some time out to take a few photographs. We also climbed a small trek with a stream of water running parallel to it.

We ended up home by 6 pm. With a day spent like this, I would have had no reason to complain. However, the memories of the entire day were wiped out in a moment when I got to know about the ghastly terror strikes in Mumbai's local trains. The magnitude of the attacks has been so severe and its impact so pronounced that the news report made it to the front page on The Columbus Dispatch, a popular newspaper in Central Ohio.

Its very easy to blame the government and the Police for the intelligence failure. While talking to some of my friends, they did echo such feelings. However, it needs to be remembered that even major European cities, like Madrid and London underwent such serial blasts in their public transport systems in the recent past. Sitting here, far away in the US, I cannot blame anyone, but only feel sad. The immediate restoration of Mumbai's lifeline was a fitting response to the bombers. I salute the spirit of this vibrant city! Finally, a few lines from Chumbawumba's Tubthumping lyrics for the bombers:

Don't cry for me
Next door neighbour

I get knocked down
But I get up again
You're never going to keep me down

Happy Birthday, America!

On the eve of the Independence Day, we went to the Red, White and Boom show in Downtown, Columbus - supposed to be biggest in the US. Seemed like Diwali 4 months early :-)

Trekking ho!

A tryst with nature is up on the cards during the weekend, when a group of researchers (I am the only exclusion in a group having 4 PhD students, with the possibility of the Poet-Scientist joining us) undertake a trek to the George Washington National Forest, located on the Virginia-West Virginia border, about 6 hrs. drive from here.

Keep checking back. I would post details on the trek and some photographs in a week.

Gone with the Spring

The Spring Quarter came to an end today. However, summer has already begun, with day temperatures breaching the 30 degrees Celcius mark. I remember having promised to put up some more Spring photographs in one of my posts long back. At that time, I had hoped that I would buy a new Digital camera. However, in view of the looming expenses and the fact that I am not funded for the Summer term, I decided to forgo the luxury of high-quality digital pics and instead offer you some low-resolution pictures taken from my mobile.

So here you go:


Standing at crossroads: Which way to go?



Renaissance Festival at the South Oval. Notice the clothes worn by people in the background - reminscent of the 1400s.



Dreese Labs at twilight



Bright colors welcome pedestrians before the Oval captures the mind



Home



Storm brewing up the sky - just before thundershowers shook the city a week back

West Campus

I never realised that the most beautiful part of the campus was the part I had hardly visited - West Campus. This happened quite a few weeks back - I was planning on attending a seminar organised by the Industrial Engineering Dept. on a bright and sunny Monday evening (4 p.m). I took the campus loop and got down at the west campus bus stop, but couldnt see any building nearby. I walked on what seemed like an empty and deserted street, only to see two buildings far away. Already late for the seminar by 10 minutes, I figured out that it could take me 15 more minutes to reach the nearest of the two buildings. Not engaging in that futile exercise of trying to reach the seminar venue, I chanced upon some of the most serene and picturesque spots on campus. The following photographs were taken on the same day, except for the last one, which was taken while we were having our usual cricket practice session.

The West Campus parking lot


The sun tearing through the clouds, enabling us to have an extended practice session.