Times Square

Yesterday , after a day long meeting at the Manhattan Head quarters, we headed to Times Square for dinner. This is one place in the world where you realize that some spectacles make life worth living. – the vision of the Taj Mahal in Agra is another such place.

Times square has a dream like quality. The flashing neon and plasma screens create a heightened visual experience that almost borders on an out-of-body feeling. You can almost sense the gaiety and joie de vivre in the air.

The Bubba Gump Shrimp Company was a favorite of my host and so we went there. The restaurant has an incredible view of the Times Square ( pictured above)and then , lo and behold, it started snowing! The flashing lights gave color to the slowly drifting flakes of snow. Later we walked in the rain and snow to Penn Station to take a train into New Jersey. I could see cars parked at train stations being covered up by snow- it was a surreal sight.

Today, at day break, I opened the blinds of the window at home to watch the scene. My car was under almost 5 inches of snow. So, scrapper in hand, I went to work and cleared the snow from the windscreen , rear glass and roof. It was not as diffuclt asI had imagined it would be. I ran the engine and heater for around 15 minutes and I was ready to go to work.

My office has a lovely view. See a picture above of what I saw at 9 am on December 17, 2008.

Attack on Mumbai

As is my everyday ritual during lunch time, I logged on to the Times Of India Web Portal to read the eNewsPaper of the Mumbai edition when I spotted the breaking news.

I got home early as the office closed for the Thanksgiving weekend at around 3:00 pm. Since then my home resembles a "Situation room"! The TV is tuned to BBC which provides a live link to a Indian TV channel- the subtitles are in Marathi! Three laptops are pulling live video feeds from different Indian News Channel. The phone is ringing all the time as friends call to share their anguish.

I was at the Maha Ganapathi temple in Flushing NY today morning where I joined in a prayer meeting. The Mayor of NY, Michael Bloomberg attended and camera crews from TV stations were interviewing members from the audience for their comments on the Mumbai situation. priests from the temple recited mantras for peace and well being of all.

One of the mantras :

Peace Invocation
Om taccham yoravrini mahe
ghatun yajnaya
ghatun yajnapataye
daivi svastirastu naha
svastir manushebhyaha
urdhvam jigatu bheshajam
sham no astu dvipade
sham chatushpade
Om shantih shantih shantihi
We worship and pray to the Supreme Lord for the welfare of all beings. May all miseries and shortcomings leave us forever so that we may always sing for the Lord during the holy fire ceremonies. May all medicinal herbs grow in potency so that all diseases may be cured. May the gods rain peace on us. May all the two-legged creatures be happy, and may all the four-legged creatures also be happy. May there be peace in the hearts of all beings in all realms.

I was touched by the simple ceremony and my thoughts and prayers went out to the unfortunate people who were suffering in my home city.

As always Mumbai gets to face up to a new form of terrorist action. We do not need the variety - our government's response for every and any type of repeat attack has been the same. The politicians will make their speeches, the Cops will blame it on "cross border"involvement, The PM will visit some victims in the hospitals, Rs.50,000 will be awarded to a family that has lost a loved one, the blood stains will be cleaned and the city will perforce limp back to normalcy while the media praises the citizens for their unity and bravery in the face of such an onslaught.

This time no one is amused. The Indian Government needs to learn how to protect its citizens. Nothing else matters! India cannot be a great country if its people's lives are in grave danger perpetually .

The Indian people are miserable, defenceless and hopeless.

Real Chance for Love

This is the title of a local TV program. And I chanced upon it during a surfing expedition with the TV remote..

I discovered that Real and Chance (R&C) are the names of two African - American brothers. They seem to be Rap Artists and sport a variety of headgears and chains round their neck. Real is stocky and mean looking. Chance has a lean look and reminds me a lot of my erstwhile driver Mahesh in Mumbai. Some 15 girls, of different shapes and sizes are vying for the attention of the two brothers. They dress sparingly and are seen smooching and cuddling them all the time. The girls are split between the two brothers and during each episode, the brothers are shown cavorting with the babes in bath-tubs or dining at swanky restaurants .and exchanging notes with each other on which one is hot and which one is not. The girls are shown at loggerheads with each other and freely exchange expletives. So their verbal interactions are censored with the usual beep-beep.

R&C are wealthy fellows and have a huge farm house- pigs, horses, donkeys, geese, et al. One episode was about how the brothers take the girls to the farm-house to test who among them has the capability to work and live in the farm. Some girls have to catch the swine and clean it. Others had to wash the horses and donkeys. Yet others were running after the geese and hens … And the brothers were watching from behind the barn door. At the end of each episode one girl is eliminated-the brothers give away chains to the ones selected. “Babe, come and get your chain!”

What a bedlam it would cause if they aired this on the Mumbai TV channels!

I have an original theory that the worst looking guys have all the talent and wealth and get the best looking girls …

Have a look: http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=fVpyUKdEMP8

A Day at the Soup Kitchen

On Friday, November 14, 2008, I joined my colleagues to work at the Morristown Soup Kitchen. This Kitchen is located on South Street in Morristown, adjacent to the Church of the Redeemer.

The Community Soup Kitchen is more than a place to eat for the poor and needy. An Outreach Center provides services such as a social worker’s services, Mental Health Professionals, Substance abuse counselor, nurse, job counselor and English as a Second Language (ESL) classes

Betty Caldwell who supervises the “operations” has everything under control. Gifted with a booming voice, she has a “commanding” presence. She know the guests, she knows where the milk is, she know where the Styrofoam cups are stocked. Our team helped make the salad, cut pastries, cook the pasta and lay the table in preparation for the “guests” who would arrive in the afternoon.. Soup was provided by Madison Hotel and we did a quick “milk run” to fetch it.

At around 12:00 noon the doors opened and the poor and the homeless “guests” walked in . Some were cheerful and had a friendly smile for us . Some of them seemed to have seen better days and carried themselves with quiet dignity, briefly raising their heads to wish or thank us for what we were doing.. Others walked with their head down, not meeting our gaze, as if embarrassed by their situation. I noticed a young girl wearing a jacket that would have fitted a small child. Later, I saw someone from the staff giving her a gently used coat.

Initially, it was upsetting to see so many poor and helpless people. Existential questions come to the mind: Why is there so much suffering in the world? Why do the Cosmic forces create pain and sorrow and hunger and also create other people who can support and care for the needy and the downtrodden?. There can be no easy answers to these questions. We can only do what is in our power to help alleviate human suffering in any which way we can. I felt privileged to able to do my bit that day at the Soup Kitchen.

Snowy afternoon and Robert Frost...

Today , nature is creating magic outside my window. It was dark and rainy at around 8:00 am and suddenly a white light engulfed the landscape as sleet and rain began to fall. And then, dramatically, the scene was transformed as I watched “the woods slowly fill up with snow”…a white Diwali after all!!
I cannot resist remembering my favorite Robert Frost poem:

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

Nostalgic for Diwali in Mumbai

The falling leaves make me nostalgic. I remember the Nat King Cole song “When autumn leaves start to fall” . And my mind dives deep into it’s archives of saved images and sounds and smells.

I woke up the other day remembering the hissing sound of the flame of a kerosene stove. Water for my bath is heating up and my dad is calling out to me to wake up – a National Echo radio is playing Meerabhai bhajans of Lata Mangeshkar- circa 1965. Its around 6;00 am.

Later I called dad in Mumbai to share with him this vignette that flashed in my mind. He goes of on a tangent to some other mundane subject…

Diwali is here. I send out greetings messages to everyone on my gmail contacts. We pick a box of kaju khatris from the local Desi store. We pray at the Balaji temple and the day is done.

Shri Ranganatha Temple-Pomona, NY

On Saturday, I was at the beautiful Shri Ranganatha Temple at Pomona. I have been planning to go there for over a months but something would come up and I could not go- that told me this is not a place that one goes on a whim. And so , as I stood in front of the Deity, Lord Ranganatha, reclining so majestically, I knew that this was a special place.

Some months ago, during a festival , the disciples spotted a Garuda, the Lord's "vahaana" circling the sky briefly and vanish. This is considered a miraculous occurrence.

A priest was kind enough to explain to us the importance of the temple and the concept of Vishishita Advaita propounded by Ramanuja Acharya. By some strange coincidence, the priest was finishing his one year term at the temple that afternoon and on his way back to India. He would return to the Venkateswara Temple in Dombivilli, near Mumbai.

If you would like to read about this temple click on this link:http://www.ranganatha.org/

Lessons of life- from a squirrel!

As I type this I hear a knocking sound at my window and, lo and behold , there is this beautiful squirrel standing up with it’s two front legs resting on the glass. He had a brief look at me and ran away. Talking of squirrels, last week , I was driving to a store with the significant half beside me when suddenly she says in Tamil, ” Turn back fellow !”. I looked at her incredulously and she says, “Not you, there was this squirrel coming our of the garden patch and had crawled up into the road ahead and as if he could hear me, turned back into the grass safely!”. Not all have a safe trip across the roads though. You find them plastered on the road – a squash of flesh and blood.

A couple of days ago, when driving to work on the highway- a six lane road with a center wall of around 3 feet height in the median, I noticed a squirrel dart across the road and climb up the center wall. I do not know if he made it across to the other side but it got me thinking. What was it on the other side that attracted him to take this huge risk? There were forests on either side and I’m sure his needs could be met on the side he was on before he embarked on the journey. Why do we take these risky ventures from the known to the unknown even if it means self-extinction?! Only He knows and I suppose He makes us do those things … In a way, I thought, this is my story too…

PS:A scientific answer to why they cross the roads can be found on this link:
http://www.hsus.org/wildlife/issues_facing_wildlife/wildlife_crossings_wild_animals_and_roads/road_runners_the_deadly_fall_ritual_of_animals_crossing_roads.html

Being an Indian

How does one encapsulate what it means to be an Indian in less than 30 seconds? This "Trueroots" advertisement which airs on the Indian TV channels here in NJ is so refreshing and heart warming... here is the youtube link:
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=a2lPniSsFxs
Enjoy!

Et Tu Capitalism?

The world is debating if it is appropriate to throw a financial life-belt to the beleaguered institutions that are drowning. In the final analysis, it is the government' s job to save the lives of drowning citizens first- be they rich or poor. There will be time later to find the culprits and pass a new SOX-2 legislation. But now, America needs to rescue itself. The economies of the world are also at grave risk.

Of God and Mosquitoes

A friend , who babysits for his granddaughter, a three year old, tells me this incident of last week. She asked if the stars in the sky were made by God. He confirmed her understanding. Did God also make everything else? Yes, he said. After pondering for a few moments, she asked, "Why did God make the mosquitoes?"

I told my friend that this is the sort of question we ask our Guru in India!

Food Bank

This was an eye-opener. The big malls end up with a lot of food stuff , toys, cosmetics, personal care stuff that are slightly shop soiled, primary /secondary packaging damages.. They send it to the Food bank for distribution to the poor and needy- free. NJ has a sizable number of these banks who collect them and forward them to outlets for the poor.

A week ago , I went along with my colleagues to do a day's work at the Food bank. We sorted out the huge quantities of supplies , put them in cartons and placed them on pallets . We should be able to start something like this in Mumbai...

Back breaking work but very satisfying.

Here is the link:http://www.njfoodbank.org/Programs/distribution.htm

Indian Chinese

I thought I had left the Cauliflower Manchurian and veg fried rice and the rest of the "Indian Chinese " food back in Mumbai. So , when the family wanted to revive their taste buds, we decided to check out the rumour that Edison, NJ was the place to go for anything Indian and so we headed to the Oak Tree road and had some Indian Chinese at the Ming. Good stuff , a tad pricey!

Daisaku Ikeda

The Times Of India "Speaking Tree" column of today mentions his name. He is a Buddhist philosopher and photographer with quite a few books to his credit. I discovered a web portal where you can find his beautiful thoughts...
http://www.ikedaquotes.org/index.html

Take a look.

When General George Washington passed by my home...

Years ago the General passed through the Pluckemin town in 1777, where I live. They say he rested with his army under a tree and they even have a stone commemorating that event

Legend has it that there used to be Inn and the owner would create a hole in the ground and the horse carriages would get stuck there- this was his creatve way of getting customers and he plucked 'em in from the streets-hence the name...

More Fun Things

The other day , Geeta and I were walking around the neighborhood- a very pretty place with lovely trees and flowering bushes and I noticed a strange black animal slowly crawling on the grass. It looked a bit like the Meerkat minus the long tail. It was black and large eyed and the size of small cat. So I stopped to stare. Geeta, who likes to keep a mile between her and any animal urged me to come on and I did so obediently. Later I learnt it was a skunk. The animal, if it takes a dislike to you, turns around , it’s butt facing you and squirts an awful juice at you that is supposed be such a stink that you can become a social outcast instantly! I was told that you need to take a bath in tomato ketchup to clean up and get the smell off your person!

There is a lot of wild deer and rabbits in the area. In India you would see a dead dog on the highways- here you see dead deer. There are road signs that indicate “Deer Crossing”- apparently the deer use the same route ! And I have seen deer grazing in specific locations of the town…

One of the fist things I did , on Geeta’s request, is to get a “Indian language TV channels” So we get Zee and Sony and a couple of others. One channel is dedicated to Murari Bapu! The Sony channel plays very old movies of the 70’s that would get a Hindi movie buff salivating! And , since we do not have much of a choice, I join Geeta to watch the stuff that passed for movies in those times. The recent one was an Amitabh movie. The cast included Sridevi, Vinod Mehra…Amitabh is , well, a Police Officer, who is being blackmailed by the villain , played by the famous Bengali actor ( the Villain in Amanush) whose name escapes me now ( can someone help me?***). Amitabh is running with the bad guys . The Police, Inspector Shafi Inamdar is on his tail. He reaches the crime scene always a little late- after the bad guys have scooted out. Shafi comes in to the crime scene , waving a baton menacingly with a serious look on his face, picks up the ash tray and the camera does a close up of the cigarette buts – cut to close up of Shafi chewing his lip. Now the Guarding of the Law knows which brand they smoked! When the crime rate ups the Police Commissioner gets involved. Cut to room with map of India and a Gandhi portrait on the wall- Iftekar in full regalia is seated at a table with a green top-looking a bit lost .. Later in the movie Amitabh surrenders , he has just mowed down some politicians with a submachine gun. and decides that it is time to turn himself in. Iftekar and Shafi are there to do the honors. Amitabh hands over the gun in the direction of Iftekar and iftekat turns to Shafi and commands him to take charge- Shafi accepts the gun while wrapping it with a large handkerchief to avoid adding his fingerprints to the gun! I was rolling on the carpet…

On my flight back to the US from Brussels in July . I was surfing the “Vintage Hindi hits” on the in-flight music system. RD has been a favorite composer but I have not been able to get an album of the “best“ of his songs so far. So Imagine my delight at seeing all my RD memorables listed!. My all time favorite : Ghar aaja ke ghir aye. . This is my most favorite Lata song ever. I die a little bit whenever I hear it- it is so wonderful!

It is from Chote Nawab – Pancham’s first movie. Lata does the introduction to the album and says that when she heard the first few lines of the song she knew RD had arrived and would go places. I listened to it repeatedly… The other songs are Chanda o chanda, Dil haye mera Dil, Yeh jo mohabbat hai, raina bheeti jaiye, Chingari koi Bhadke…I believe the album is titled Legends RD Burman. If you find it , rush it to me- please…

People readily hug each other when greeting. Geeta has been a regular “victim” . The neighbor does it, my realtor does it.. I have not been so lucky though

A friend and I were installing his new GPS which has Bluetooth capability and can sync with his cell phone. So when you are driving and a call comes in the cell phone diverts the call to the GPS and you can speak to the GPS. The GPS also refreshes itself with all the phone numbers on the cell phone. So, as I said, we were setting it up and my friend accidentally triggered a call from the GPS and we ended up dialing the 911 number. A clipped voice said” Police” and my friend said” Sorry sir, wrong number!” and hung up.

I went to the local laundry store- I decided that it was just too much to spend evenings pressing my clothes . I asked him the charges and he said “Dollar and 80 cents wash and press” . I regret fighting with the local Bhaiya in Mulund when he was charging me 1.25 rupees!!

I joined the local Library where you can draw books and VCDs/DVDS and CDs – the books are free and the CDS are a dollar each for rental- this is terrific. Periodically, the Library places some 50 books on a rack near the door and lets you take them home for free- no need to return them . I found a Audio book ( 4 cassettes)on sharks recently and came home with it…

We have “Lunch with the leadership “ program on site and I asked to lunch with the big Boss I was invited along with three others to Lunch at the cafeteria and was supplied a $8 coupon – lunch is not free here- So we sat down and introduced ourselves. One lady in the group had the name of Mercedes – a typical Mexican name- and the boss was checking if it was spelt exactly like that of the German automobile. She said she had a daughter and boss asked her “What is her name?” She said Anna- Boss was clearly disappointed and wanted to know why she was not named a “Cadillac”?! I had a tough time keeping myself from rolling on the aisles…

Fun things from Navi Jersey

Who would have thought that there is good “literary humor” associated with a simple burger- A “Burger King free coupon” led me to yonder store and I got myself a Burger , and a my son a “value meal”. In case you are wondering why Geeta is not on this list, you should know she is a strict vegetarian. So, I bring home this burgers and we sit down to eat. I notice that the burger wrap and the bag have interesting messages- here is a sample:” Have it your way!” One message praises you for your choice! Another says that you are welcome to mix Sprite and coke – juts have it your way. The dumpster in the store has a message that says “somehow get the trash inside..” Another: “Some fries are mavericks. Free spirits that slip over the cardboard wall and make straight for the bottom of the bag, where they can then plan the next move. We call them spud separatists bagglers, and they’re especially delicious. Maybe it’s because they’re a little out of bounds. Life can be like that.” And another: You have the right to dip these fries in ketchup or mustard or a vanilla shake if that turns you on. You have the right to stuff them in your sandwich or stack them like the boyhood home of Abraham Lincoln. You have the right to have these fries your way, even if it means eating them like a normal human being.


The India Independence day parade, at Manhattan last week, was actually a boring affair- the usual patriotic façade – people in Khadi and silly floats with Hindi film music blaring on the streets of Manhattan. The food stalls were surely the best attraction. They were giving away 30 minute India calling cards and we shamelessly presented ourselves more than a couple of times to get them! The family has been exercising their jaws ever since…

My eighty year old American neighbor and I got chatting and she was asking about what breads we eat in India- I went nostalgic and described in great details the wonderful taste and aroma of an Indian Naan. Later, in the afternoon, I heard the door bell ring and I noticed a carry bag hanging on the door knob- it was a packet of ready-to- eat Naan . She had vanished inside her home and did not even stop to receive a “thank you”.

My boss dropped in last week with her husband and son in tow and took us top an Indian restaurant for dinner. We had a rollicking time- some interesting conversations happened. They took a huge fascination for Geeta and, next day, my boss delivered two personalized cards for Geeta – from herself and her son- thanking Geeta for the hospitality…

Recently I was at a Nissan Showroom and walked up to a sales person and said, typical Indian style, “I’m looking for Nissan Cars”. He said: “ Nissan cars? You are certainly at the right place- in case you have not noticed, all these cars around you are all of Nissan!”
I recently heard the word “Cognitive Surplus” and got curious- here is the article link- When I hark back to my time in Mumbai- the movie fanatics and the Cricket mania and the Balaji Telefims “Saas Bahu” serials, the point about cognitive surplus hit home- so check out this link: http://www.herecomeseverybody.org/2008/04/looking-for-the-mouse.html

Another interesting piece of information I came across was the research done by the Max Planck Institute in Germany on “Free Will” – to those that are interested in the concepts of Free Will and Advaita – this is juicy stuff: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-560149/So-free-really-just-illusion.html