Surprise, of another kind..!!

That we all throw surprises is a given. Most likely, we try to make them pleasant if it is our kith and kin in question. Sometimes though, these "planned" surprises can land on you upside down, taking the form that you would least expect them to.

I was long contemplating a visit to the Lehigh Valley Zoo. After having talking through it with my friend for quite a while, we decided to step out to the zoo during the first weekend of March, when the weather conditions turned a tad fair. The weekend did come. And I looked up their website and got in a few tickets as well. We started the drive towards the zoo. 

The drive was an extremely amazing one. The whole valley was still snow capped and looked to be more of a skiing resort than like a place that could contain a zoo in it. My friend's kid was definitely going restless with the drive and he had a few reprimands from his mom and dad.

After we turned over into the venue through all the winding roads, we never anticipated that the surprise would be for us as opposed to being for the kid..! Yes, the zoo was closed for "snow removal" operations and they had put it up on their website (probably a tad later than when we would've got our tickets and started heading out..!)

Considering all the reprimanding that was on, it would definitely not be a wise thing to even let know a future Irwin in the making that the zoo was closed. Next game plan? Try to get to the Crayola experience at Easton. But thankfully, we didn't get into any surprises there, save the fact that it was in the heart of the Easton downtown area and parking was a tad of a hassle.

A screwed up appeal from a person who understood when screwing right matters..!!

"Oh no, its all screwed up!"

"Now, don't get it all screwed up, OK?"

I am never sure how many times I could've probably heard these kind of statements floating in the air.  With a long passage of time, guess the expletive context is, thankfully, almost non existent with these expressions and they have become age and gender neutral too.

Alright - getting around the head to touch my nose is something I pretty much do. So, let me stop it at that and come to the trigger of this whole write up at what would seem like an unearthly hour for a blog post. 

One of the pleasant and cherished things I have about the US is the "DIY" furniture. The cartoon strip of an IKEA job interview where someone is asked to "take their seat" and all they see is a host of components and tools lying on the floor to actually build one for themselves remains fresh on my mind, though not the source itself. Guess it was on one of those ever friendly groups like "Joke Zone", "Medical Humor" or "Wonderful Engineering" etc on our good old Facebook. 

So, what's the big deal of the "Do It Yourself" furniture? They have been around for quite a time now and is probably the most common place stuff? Yes, they are. The only part that I always get into difficulty is with this - though I love them a lot and keep getting a ton of them to embellish my living space as much as possible, I always manage to get things screwed up - and all the wrong way for the most part, with these "do it yourself" furniture..! 

Got a fine dining table set. Guess with all the efforts for about a few hours late in the night at 7 PM, I still landed up with a "floating" seat base for the chairs and a "floating" top for the table..! Yes, I am just plain unsure how to use the remaining screws and fix them up. And calling up the help desk to talk through to a machine for about half an hour before reaching some assistance is something I wouldn't want to do. How about the neatly laid out manuals? Don't they help? Yes they do, providing there is not much to be made out of using some commonsense as well...! And I wouldn't need to accentuate that commonsense is something uncommon. And I am uncommon ;)

Any ideas on how to fix these folks? I am thinking of hunting down a two ended suction cup from the nearest Home Depot / Lowes / whatever..! But I am still not sure if they work only between glass and metal or if they are good enough for a metal and wood combination as well.

Falling leaves, rising thoughts

Having grown up in the tropical regions of the world which has abundant sunshine throughout the year has always made me take the Sun and its benefits for granted. This was not until I reached the temperate climes of the United States - first time during the "summer" of 2008. And if you are wondering why the double quotes for summer, it is just because that is pretty much the kind of weather I have seen all around the year back in my home town in the Indian subcontinent.

The first season that endured after the "summer" was the most enchanting one and is probably the one time of the year I would look forward to if I were ever traveling to / staying in the temperate climes - yes, it would be the "fall". 

The first "introduction" that I have ever had to the fall was through a short story called "The Last Leaf".   That was school time. All I ever saw anywhere around in the otherwise hot town of Vellore, which even earned a sobriquet வெயிலூர் (veyyiloor) amongst the large populace (meaning, the town where the sun always keeps shining bright and the temperature keeps a steady 30s or 40s on the centigrade scale), were green bushes enjoying the photons or parched and dried grasses and palms which had given up on their fight with the Sun. This ensured that relating to this story very hard at that point in time. I mean, how or why would leaves start falling off from most of the trees (by the way, my knowledge in botany or geography was nothing to speak home about then!) ? Why is this lonely girl so deeply entrenched with the thought that the fall of the last leaf is also going to signal her demise? 

Well, these thoughts were running abound then in my mind. And it did keep running around in some corner of my mind even as late as 2008 - some solid 10 to 12 years since I had read that story for the first time. But experiencing the fall season changed all of that. I went to re-read the story one more time, the difference being, this time, I got some newer insights and truly appreciated the experience, the pain and the hope being depicted in it. 

Did the Green Days choose to sing that they should be woken up when September ends so that they can relish the beautiful fall? I wonder!! Alright - now, that was some incoherent rambling, I agree. So, what is the deal about the "rising thoughts" and "falling leaves" anyway? Here is what it is - as I look around the umpteen trees that are throwing up their cover and doing it so with a colourful glee, it looks to me as if they are the only ones who are ready to savour the flavours of the upcoming winter, when  every other fauna goes about trying to add more and more layers of additional protection to keep themselves warm. Is this a lesson in equanimity - to treat and enjoy the flavours of all seasons that is something of a larger message being passed by the flora to mankind? Ah, there goes another red one... falling near my window. Catch you folks later!

Visit to Dwarka - I

My mom was still in a state of disbelief when I informed her that I have made ALL arrangements for a trip to Dwarka for four days! And it was only as the journey unfolded that she came to know, that by 'ALL' arrangements, I had only meant the travel arrangements to and from Dwarka and noting else - more on that later.

This is was the itinerary i had to start with:

flight until Ahemedabad from Chennai on Saturday

Night bus from Ahemedabad to Dwarka on Saturday

Sunday and Monday - At Dwarka

Night bus from Dwarka to Ahemedabad on Monday

Monday flight back to Chennai

There were a lot of obvious gaps. To begin with, the flight was supposed to land on Ahemedabad at 6:30 PM. The night bus is supposed to be leaving at 10:30 PM. I didn't have any answers for what we might be doing at Ahemedabad for 4 hours! I mean, we cannot be having dinner for all of that time! I deeply trusted our notion of Indian Stretchable Time. But as Murphy would have it, the take off as well as the landing were SHARP..! I dodged my mom into spending some time around the airport and explaining how nice the new airport was and giving her comparisons of it with other airports I had visited. Post some time, which didn't cross even half an hour, she told she had enough of it and we should start heading out! Head out, yes! But where to? I mean, I didn't have any idea other than a name called Paavan Travels at Ellis Bridge Road Paldi from where we were supposed to board the bus! And that would be at 10:30 PM - still way way off..! I had no idea about the traffic or other situations in Ahemedabad to know how long it might take to reach there! But in all likelihood, it might not fill the entire time..! My mom is a bigger sportie than I. She suggested that we just get to that place and chart out remaining things later than roam around the airport and attract undue attention of the CISF security personnel..!

We head towards what we could see as a Gujarat tourism enquiry counter. There was only one person manning the counter. I pulled out my reservation slip for the bus and requested for directions. He was helpful enough and suggested I call up a chartered cab and provided me the number. The one thing that misfired was the information he gave regarding the rates for the cab. I called up the chartered cab only to find that it is MORE expensive than the prepaid cab at the airport terminal - running contrary to his claims of it being cheaper!

So, we moved towards the prepaid taxi counter. Had to part with Rs.350. The driver ushered us into his cab - a rather old but decent Indica. I don't recall how long he drove. I just intervened to ask about the name of the river whose bridge we were crossing and he responded 'Sabarmati Sir!'. As we closed into our destination, we realized 8 PM mark is still far off. I queried for some eateries around. The driver was kind enough and showed us the Paavan travels office and took us a little less than a half kilometer distance to stop by at a Gujarati restaurant. He left immediately without demanding or looking forward to any tips - rather strange! Talk of some conscious impression to leave behind with a tourist? I wonder!

Pakvan - that was the name of the restaurant. It had a small set of stairs in a circular fashion that led to its entrance. And we were welcomed by a bronze idol of Shri Ganesha. The restaurant in itself looked pretty simple and neat. There was just one board announcing the rate of the food - Rs.140 per head and nothing more! Seeing a restaurant with SO MUCH space and SO LITTLE people did raise some initial doubts on my mind, although I could see my mom already being guided to a seat by one of the cheerful waiters there. We did settle down at a convenient seat. And it is when the food got doled out that all of my doubts began to start melting away, much like how the Shrikhand served there melted in my mouth for the fifth time in a row, in less than a second of landing up on my plate..! Unlimited quantities of mouth watering  phulkas, pooris, dhoklas, samosas, aloo sabji, gobi sabji, dhal, rice, Shrikhand were being served..! The waiters were only too eager to cater to confirmed foodies like yours truly with a smile on their faces! The bill was also to be paid at the counter and there was a separate tip box too for dropping in your tips! And believe me, you wouldn't be able to ignore the tips portion and walk out, considering the kind of food and service that you get there! 

So,what do we do NEXT? It was just 8:30 PM and Paavan Travels was hardly a few minutes walk from there! My mom suggested that we just walk and wait at the office of Paavan travels. I agreed and we moved on. I handed the ticket slip to the person at the counter. He scribbled the bus number on the ticket and gave it back to me, his expression clearly suggesting we are way too early for the trip! We settled down at the narrow bench and it was still sweltering hot though sun had set an hour back. Yes, the sun was shining brightly as late as seven pm..!

The bus did arrive a little earlier than scheduled, though it landed up leaving later than the scheduled departure time. I have never traveled in a complete sleeper bus coach before. I assumed a Volvo A/C sleeper coach would automatically imply convenience. That was not to be! The coach had marked out spaces - what I would prefer to call 'sleeping boxes'. These were in no way meant for a six footer like me! My mom was thankfully, convenient though she said the aircon made it a very cold journey. Lesson learnt - added facilities don't imply an added convenience!! Anyway, the journey had begun. I had somehow managed to coil myself and slept through the whole night before waking up to seeing a few windmills on the coastal side at 7:00 am on Sunday.

The landing... And grounding..!!

As I made my way into the tambaram sanatorium railway station for purchasing a few tickets, I  realized I was in possession of a season ticket. I looked at the date on it. It read 12/07/2012 as the expiry date. Oh, who cares that they are to be interpreted differently in different parts of the world! Since I just returned after spending five months in the US, I almost got lost on the fact that it had to be interpreted as 12th July 2012 and not 7th December 2012. 

I pushed the ticket and requested for a renewal (to avoid the hassle of pulling out IDs again, of course!). The question from the counter was, "Renewal?? Post five months of time on a quarterly season ticket?" Talk of some grounding post landing..! Oh, but dates are meant for confusion, aren't they? ;) 

Married = Settled??

I had probably been wanting to write on this for quite some time. Especially when notions of women being more "tied-up" when it comes to affairs of matrimony as against men.!

"அடுத்த function உந்து தானே?"

"எப்போ கல்யாண சாப்பாடு போடறதா உத்தேசம்?"

"இப்போ பார்க்க ஆரம்பிச்சா ஒரு வருஷத்துக்குள்ள ஏதாச்சும் நடக்கும்"

"How are uncle and aunty letting you off the hook?"

"What exactly are your 'plans'?"

"So, what's 'new' in life?"

Oh my God... being out anywhere wasn't getting any easy. I would rather prefer excusing myself out of social functions and gatherings than keep answering every other soul whom I see with these staple set of questions. Looks like it would be nice to jump from being twenty five to being thirty five without crossing any intermediary time..! Where is my time machine, Mr.Potter??

According to my dad, talks about marriage have to be something that would create an atmosphere of happiness and shouldn't be ending up with acrimonious debates - nay, emails as it happened with my case. But that STILL doesn't seem to stop him give up his advice every now and then in some context or the other as to why marriage is supposed to be important..! Needless to add, my mom would consider me "settled" only if I am married. Meaningful and intellectually challenging work that I currently do (and thankfully in possession of it despite tough economic times) is not going to be of much consequence to anyone except myself I guess..!

I was just leaving for the USA and some of my junior colleagues (and a senior one who is already probably the age of my grandfather and still single!!) came over and offered generous doses of advice as to how I could probably try to get married in the USA if I don't like to do so in India!! As if that were not enough, some of them vowed not to receive me back unless I have a record of more than one active marriage from the USA..! Purely on a lighter note, with friends like them, do I even need enemies..!

So, at least in the Indian context (not sure if this pesky notion exists elsewhere too!), I keep wondering why is a "settled life" more often than not, equated with a "married life". I am sure they are both different and can be treated that way as well.

Oh oh... there I see some pickup truck parking in with a Harley Davidson on its load. Time to continue later. All rants and raves can wait their turn while I enjoy a glimpse of the motor cycle.!!

I, me, myself..!

Being born on 24th doesn't make for a good news.  If anything, I am sure my parents must have been dealing with their dwindling finances towards the end of the month. Being a breezy July, there would be no mercy until the 31st either. Whatever the case, I had to be in the world by then. I would like to think I was named 'Ravindran' only because it happened to be a 'Sun'day.

Nobody can recall the first few years in any great detail. All that I recall is - at the end of the fifth year, which was sometime around 1988 (Oh, did I give a clue to my age??!!) I was put up in a place along with 30 other people to spend the rest of my 11 years of time. Yes, it was at IDA SCUDDER School in Vellore, the only one at those times following the ICSE stream of affiliation in our small town. I would seriously thank my parents for that. Not sure I have too many memories that I cherish as closely as the time spent in my school.

Vacation time is slow time, if you are moving into your higher secondary. The Hindu came in handy to fill in my slot. Editorial analysis, leader page articles, letters to the editor - never mind I had to keep underlining and looking up the dictionary for every third sentence that was printed. But it was all worth the effort, when I saw some of my letters and articles getting published out there in the same columns I read through meticulously. 

Shifting into a completely government school from what was rather an elitist school earlier meant more challenges. Nevertheless, every moment at the government Muslim Higher Secondary school in Vellore was enjoyable for me. Tons of new experience. Loads of new friends, especially from a stratum that was not as privileged as what I was. The news reading practice that I pursued with other junior folks in the school remain fresh in my mind even to date.

I had always been an average scorer. That would mean any seats into medical colleges are going to be getting ruled out directly. My principle was always to enjoy the subjects as much as possible. Marks and grades have to necessarily be a by-product of enjoying the subject. Thankfully, I managed to enjoy my subjects to the extent that I could get decent grades on all of them. My parents had the wisdom to see through my principle and let me stick with it. Tamil and English languages continue to be my favourite to date.

Computer Science is something I have never learned formally in any classroom. It was just something waiting to happen to me at Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore. Voila..! I enjoyed my stint with computers pretty thoroughly - especially, the part around systems programming in UNIX and LINUX and look for an opportunity to write a script or two whenever one comes by!

The Traveling Salesman Problem is my favourite in Computer Science. No, not because I am into the core research - more because I face it every time. I love traveling "on-the-go" without much prior planning. So, its always heuristics..! I would pull up mental maps of places and trying to see the best route to take to somewhere (or more often, to nowhere!!)

Oh no!! All through, I never realized that I just completed an assignment for writing something about myself in roughly a page or so..!