R-Rated

My journey to India has completed just more than 3 months and now, unexpectedly, I find myself on a trip through Europe (of all the places). Thank you, Wipro. So as I prepared myself for this trip to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, a lot of my older memories from my first international flight are flashing right in front of me. Just a little over 7 years ago, precisely in the wee hours of August 8, 2002, I boarded a Lufthansa flight enroute to Chicago (and Cleveland) via Frankfurt. Brought back a lot of nostalgia from that night. While on that night, I kept thinking, is a Master’s degree really worth staying away from my parents; last night, I thought, wow, what an opportunity to make a name for myself. 7 years have passed since that maiden flight out of India and here I am all grown up and (nervously) ready to win some business for my company. Boarded from the Bengaluru International Airport and must say, it is an International Airport. By the time I got to my seat, my battery was dead and...

Wishing you and your family a very happy Diwali and a prosperous new year. Keep rocking!! Picture courtesy: http://www.indianswv.com/images/diwali.jpg

Posted on the back of a Tata Sumo in Bangalore: "Don't overtake me............I am Sunami". Just Brilliant.

Take a guess what it would be. No, just take a random guess. Fine. Barack Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize . Oh My God!! I almost fell down from my chair when I first read the headlines on TOI. I just couldn't believe my eyes. How could the Committee which decides these (prestigious) awards just handover the Peace Prize (of all the things) to the President of the US, whose country is involved in two bloody battles in Iraq and Afghanistan. One alarming note I read on the CNN website was that the nominations for these awards were were to have gone in on February 1, barely 10 days after Obama's inauguration ceremony on Jan 20th. That was enough to decide if Obama should get the coveted Peace Prize or not??. Apparently, the Committee comprises of quick decision makers. World over, the common topic of discussion is that the Nobel Prize has lost its credibility. Mahatma Gandhi, the ultimate symbol of peace, was not awarded one. That says it all. I wonder what would have happened had...

Last long weekend of the trifecta (Eid, Dusshera and Gandhi Jayanti) and it was quite a pleasant one. Headed off to Hogenakkal Falls on Saturday morning. With a comfortable drive of less than 4 hours from Bangalore, we reached there before noon, not before stopping for some hearty breakfast at A2B (Adyar Anand Bhavan). Every local was keen on advertising the falls to be as grand as the one in the US and Canada. What is it called? Oh yeah, Niagara Falls. Not quite the same but pretty neat. Water levels were great and the Coracle ride from the river banks to the falls was, well scary in the beginning to comfortable towards the end. The falls is 'supplied' by the Cauvery, which flows from Karnataka into Tamil Nadu and which has been the topic of many political rallies and controversies over the years, not to mention the 'home' of the sandalwood brigand, Veerappan. Took a bath in the river after ages and almost got sucked downstream because of the strong undercurrents. Not ...