R-Rated

Recently, someone really close to me had an awakening. Let's call him - Theego. We meet practically everyday (he has been with me the entire time) and most of the time, he is in complete control of his emotions. He thought (wrongly) for a long time that he is perfect and in good health - a little paunch is no shortcoming, or so he thought. So after having moved to India at the same time as me, he started to get pampered by his family. And the pounds (lbs) (or kgs) started piling up in all the wrong places. Let's call it, generically as - The Pit. Work from home certainly added to the woes but he was never one to admit. Soon, pants that were once comfortable to wear started becoming too tight for comfort. Shirts that had a nice feel to them, started bulging near the Pit. Alas, Life was no cake walk (Oh! Cake, yummy - see that's what I am talking about). At work, in spite of a very easy schedule, food was never far away. No matter how much Theego thought he was fine,...

So January blew past us and the blog was not updated. Quite unlike me, but there was nothing worthwhile to write about. No events captured my attention strong enough to warrant a post. A trip to Chennai happened last week for work and it was the longest day I have had for a while going for massive stretches of time without sleep or rest. The traffic certainly added to the woes as heavy construction for a Metro rail line clogs much of the available space in the city. It will be at least a couple of years until we see lesser congestion on the streets of my actual "motherland". Mumbai needs to ramp up its Metro construction to cover a wider audience. So far, it is only the privileged few of Mumbai's western suburbs and SoBo folks who, once the construction is actually over, will get to experience the "experience". A strange thing happened while I was in Chennai and it was all thanks for my name. You see, Rajesh Anantharaman definitely lights up some of the lo...

The Mayans were correct about one thing. That the world would end in 2012. It certainly did for India. We lost a 23-year old woman called "Nirbhaya" or "Damini" (depending on which media outlet you follow). She was no ordinary girl. She has, for all practical and necessary purposes, become "The Voice of India". No one in mainstream media or the general public knows her name, rightfully so. She was left to die after a horrific ordeal on Dec 16th, 2012 and unfortunately, the Braveheart, passed away this past Saturday, Dec 29th, 2012 after battling for her life in a Singapore (and Delhi) hospital. She was cremated in the wee hours of Sunday, December 30th, 2012. It's a sorry state of affairs in India. No woman is safe, still . Numerous reports of molestation, rapes and gang-rapes have been reported AFTER Nirbhaya/Damini's reported incident and struggle for life, and some have been from Delhi (again) and a case of molestation of a girl (possibly m...

Just recently, a certain Mr. Robert Vadra had proclaimed on Facebook that India is a Banana Republic . I am sure with the recent turn of events in Delhi, he didn't exactly have this in mind. And by this I mean the brutal, unthinkable gangrape of a 23 year old paramedical student in a moving bus by 6 "banana" wielding sickos. The woman's "crime" was to catch a bus after a late evening movie along with her male friend. The woman was gangraped, beaten brutally and the male was beaten up (with iron rods) for trying to help the woman and both of them were thrown out of the moving bus after the job was done. There is a sort of comical saying that goes by "All men think with their di*ks". So bloody apt for this episode and for countless others that do go documented (and several that don't) in the news but the rapists go scot-free. There is never any regard for human life. None. Who in their right mind rapes and then chucks the victim out of a mo...

Most of you know me as a sports buff and so I thought my next post should be about something that I dearly love (Yes, K is No. 1 but still....) So, is it Cricket? Cannot be. Too commercialized for my taste, too over-rated for my sensibilities, too few teams to really make it a contest/rivalry, too much T20 at all levels, too empty stadiums for Test Cricket - to name a few. So, is it Golf? Interest level peaked a couple of years back when I was watching the Master's and US Open Championships. Not much interest in the year round tournaments but the 4 Majors are really fun, especially on Sundays, no matter who is the hunt. Almost always produces a spectacle. So, is it Tennis? Love it to a degree. But beyond the four Grand Slams, there is not much in the tour for me. Rafa has the best muscles, Andy has the best serve, Novak has the best game (and there is no doubt about it) and Roger is well, Roger. Not much love for the women's game (sorry, it's not meant to be a sexist...

I had written a post this past Sunday regarding the death and funeral of You Know Who but I had to take it down hours after I had posted it as a mark of RESPECT *wink* to the departed soul. I still have that post in my draft and when the right time comes (if ever) that post will be up. Unfortunately, the arrest of 2 girls for stating the truth landed them in jail and showed true colors of a  mob , correction, political organization mourning the loss of their leader. Good for the girls, they are free on bail now albeit after being forced to apologize and their families being lighter by Rs 15000 or so each. Who pays for the repair of the clinic? Your guess is as good as mine. So moving on to better things. It's THANKSGIVING in the US and while my buddies enjoy the 4 day weekend extravaganza, there is a small matter of Splurging. That's right - Black Friday is sandwiched between Turkey Day and Football Saturday and Sunday. The day when America enjoys a kick to it's downtrod...

Dear Ex-employer, Just yesterday, I ended our 5.5+ year relationship. A relationship that started in the US and finished its course in India. And with that, I wanted to thank you for your collaboration and support. Here are some good things that happened during our time together.. Met and made some friends who have become so close that they are above "friends" now (you know who you are). Even though the first project separated K and I location-wise, the second one more than made up for it (longer project). The 2 big projects added up some terrific work experiences - challenging and interesting - at both projects and hopefully made a lasting impression at both customer locations (I know some of the client colleagues miss me & I miss working with them and their warmth and camaraderie were beautiful). You sent me back to the US after the first debacle into a role that was never done before by me but which now has become the basis for my current role, so Thank You...