Whom should I care?

I read this somewhere - "Don't let someone be your priority when you're just an option for that someone".

This affected me so much that I spent days pondering over it. But it was actually better than ruminating about people who don't spend any significant amount of time thinking about me. There've been so many sleepless nights wondering about some of my friends whom I consider close enough; about something that worries them, annoys them, exults them or whatever be it. But then I failed to realize for so long that I can only go half-way, and that I can't meet them unless they come half-way the other direction. I usually like to put friends into three buckets:
A. Friends who're really close and whose reaction to a random situation I'll be able to guess.
B. Friends who're not too close, nevertheless we like each other and our wavelengths match.
C. Friends who're just acquaintances and I'm usually not too bothered about what they do.

"A" are normally not a problem, "C" could be a problem, but I don't care. But those in the bucket "B" are people whom I like, for whom I care and about whom I'm bothered. The problem is those in my "B" might not be having me in their "B", I could be even in their "C" (whether I could be in their "A" is a difficult question to answer, it's totally subjective). I can knock at their doors and wait for sometime, but then, I should start walking back at some moment. As I walk, I can even turn back every now and then to look if the door's opening, but beyond that I have other things too, there are other people who're bothered about me and I need to respond to them. After some thought, I think I have classified friends into how I need:
1. Friends for whom I'm a priority.
2. Friends for whom I'm definitely an option, but not a priority.
3. Friends for whom I'm just an option or not even an option.

The A-B-C classification was based on what they're for me, but I guess I need to quickly learn about the 1-2-3 classification, which is based on what I'm for them. I think I know whom to place where, but I want to find out soon enough how exactly to befriend them, how much do I care for them, how much do I bother about them and how much do I actually think about them. I only hope that I don't misclassify people and that I don't lose some of them because of the misclassification.

I'm already starting to feel I've got a lot of time these days because I've almost stopped thinking about some of whom were a priority to me but for whom I was probably just an option. I can instead use this time to think about so many of those who don't have anyone to care about. I think I'm proceeding in the right direction, to what I should be doing when I'm 40, to what will give me the feeling of bliss, probably for which I came to exist in this world. I want to, as early as I can, stop doing things that I'll not be doing at 40 and start doing things that I desire to be doing at 40. What exactly is it? I'm still trying to find out.

Vegetarianism mystified

This is just a funny post, that blossomed through some lateral thinking. I have no intentions to hurt anyone. So, read it and forget it.

Search for "Fruits continue to live and respire after picked" in google, there are so many articles that say how fruits and vegetables continue to breathe long after they're picked. Besides uprooting and killing plants of potatoes, onions, carrots, beetroots, radishes, etc., vegetarians not only inflict pain on other plants by plucking their fruits and leaves, but also gain satisfaction from eating them live! At least non-vegetarians kill the animals before eating! If vegetarianism is about not killing, I'm not convinced that it does what it wants; if vegetarianism is about not inflicting pain, I'm still not convinced because plants do respond to stimuli; if vegetarianism is about not causing blood shed, well I remember reading about xylem and phloem in plants.

God has given us canine teeth (no herbivore has canine teeth) and the inability to digest cellulose (no carnivore has this ability). He also gave us the sixth sense I agree, but who knows, probably a lion has a seventh sense. Jainism mandates pure vegetarianism to an extent of avoiding anything that involves uprooting. But I'm not sure if Jains don't do woodwork for their fancy houses. Sikhs don't serve meat during religious occasions, but the rest of the time they do balle-balle. There're conflicting evidences for Buddha preaching vegetarianism, but then no Buddhist country follows vegetarianism. When it comes to Hinduism, there are evidences of the Veda allowing ritual sacrifices of animals though it opposes meat-eating because of the negative Karma that surrounds it (Disclaimer: I don't understand sanskrit, so I don't know what the Veda actually tells, I can only believe what I read and what I was taught). Interestingly, the concept of vegetarianism started and has been religiously preached only in India, I'm not sure if there is any other country that practices vegetarianism in religion.

Well, my intention is not to justify or unjustify anyone or anything, but then I'm slowly starting to believe that nothing is good and nothing is bad and that nothing is more important and nothing is less important. I don't think God created man presuming he should be the most sovereign race on earth, but then somewhere down the line, something has gone wrong. I was not born a billion years ago to understand all of this! I could be right or I could be wrong, but I'm not going to regret when I disprove myself later. I only know so much now, I can only do so much; when I know more, I'll do more. For now, let me continue to float in thin air.

Vaishnava Janato

Vaishnava Janato

I've heard this song multiple times but never knew the meaning, a wonderful Gujarati song. I found the transliteration in Wikipedia, thanks to Shubha for pointing it out. If only everyone does what is said in the song, what a wonderful place will this world be! Though the song mentions about Lord Rama, it has nothing to do with Him, you can as well substitute Him with any other God or with no one at all. [Well, the God here needs capitialization because the song refers to the God himself and so let's not bring in discussions of the previous post here :)]

1. vaishnav jan to tene kahiye, je peeD paraaee jaNe re
[He is the true Vaishnava who knows and feels another's woes as his own]
par dukkhe upkar kare toye, man abhiman na aaNe re
[Ever ready to serve others who are unhappy, he never lets vanity get to his head]

2. sakaL lok maan sahune vande, nindaa ne kare keni re
[Bowing to everyone humbly and criticising none]
vaach-kaacch-man nischaL raakhe, dhan-dhan janani teni re
[He keeps his speech, deeds and thoughts pure; blessed is the mother who begets such a one]

3. sam-drushti ne trishNaa tyaagi, parastree jene maat re
[He looks upon all with an equal eye. Having rid himself of lust, he treats and reveres every woman as his mother]
jihvaa thake, asatya na bole, par-dhan nava jhaale haath re
[His tongue would fail him if he attempted to utter an untruth. He does not covet another's wealth]

4. moh-maayaa vyaape nahin jene, draDh vairagya jena manmaa re
[The bonds of earthly attachment hold him not. His mind is deeply rooted in renunciation]
raam-naam shu taaLire laagi, sakaL teerath tena tanmaa re
[Every moment he is intent on reciting the name of the Lord Rama. All the holy places are ever present in his body]

5. vaNa lobhi ne kapat rahit chhe, kaam krodh nivaarya re
[He has conquered greed, deceit, passion (lust) and anger]
bhaNe Narsaiyyon teno darshan kartaun, kuL ekoter tarya re
[The sight of such a Vaishnava, says Narsinh, saves a family through seventy-one generations]

Does god believe in me?

The title is not a semantic typo, this post is not about whether or not you believe in god. Theists, don't get offended because I am not capitalizing our subject as "God"; this is not vandalism, I respect god as much as I respect anything else in this universe, because after all the universe is the god. You'll find your answer at the end. Atheists don't have to stop reading because I am not going to correlate god with gravity, saying whether you believe it or not, he exists. There's nothing in this post that hurts anyone, this is just an open-ended thought. But sometimes I think I've hurt people during discussions and arguments because I stand rigid at what my rational sense tells me, even if it were against me. So, if you think you might not like reading this, don't.

Newton wondered about falling apples, there could possibly be a few more people who had wondered too. Some of them could have even realized that there is some force that is operating between the apple and the earth, the others, may be didn't have that realization, nevertheless, most of those who had wondered should have understood that the reason why the apple fell down was because of the same reason why they fell down when they misstepped. Newton gave his realization a name and then tried to prove it mathematically, we all know that he was successful in doing that. Now all of us understand so much about gravity that there are even funny quotes that read "You can't blame gravity for falling in love" or "Gravity is a myth, the world sucks". There's nothing about believing in gravity or not believing in it, whatever you do, it exists. If you believe in it, you can save yourself from a few bruises when you walk down a slippery floor; if you want to protest against it, no one stops you, you can be the world's best pole vaulter.

Everything is equally important
Reading this blog can be less important to you and could be more important to someone else, or for that matter be it working or playing or sleeping or eating or making money or not making it or loving or not loving or whatever anyone does during any instant. We do something because we realize the importance of it or we don't realize the importance of something else. We can in fact be doing something even while we accept the importance of something else. For example, I am a software engineer and not a roadside cleaner, not because I don't realize the importance of cleaning, but because I know I don't have to do it and that there's someone else for it. Even if I know there's no one, I would probably not be doing it as my job because I'm not god; I'm not god to whom nothing is more important or nothing is less important, but then I know that I'm not doing any better job. There's something that resides in me and makes me the man I'm, which is so close to being something like a mini-god. Well, I'm not god, but I've god in me; if the universe is god, I'm a proud part of it. The god inside me makes me realize the importance of one thing while not of the other, but the sum of all such gods is a realization in which everything is equally important.

The chain reaction
I wrote this blog because there were hundred reasons that made me write it, and there are hundred more reasons why you're reading this blog too. I can feel the gentle evening's breeze walking over my window, the breeze exists because there was some variation in the air pressure somewhere, it's pleasant because of the time of the day, it feels good to stand by it because it's a beautiful season and that's because the northern hemisphere is just around the Spring Equinox. The chain reaction just goes on. Probably Osama is right now thinking about the next place to bomb, and he has a hundred reasons to do it. Whether he decides to bomb or not can even be related to where the earth is right now in its orbit. I can as well tell you a real fictitious information that just as he bombed New York on Sep 9 2001, Osama will bomb Washington on the American independence day of July 4 2010 because the Jupiter will be at some specific relative position to the earth or that the earth will be at some specific angle from mercury or both or whatever, it can get as mystic as possible. If I don't understand whatever I said, I'm ignorant. If you don't understand whatever you read, you could be ignorant too, or may be you're not because you know some other reason for what I just said. Well, I just wanted to say that I am doing something not because someone's controlling me, but because I chose to do it. There're a hundred reasons that I know of, that made me choose it and a thousand others that I don't know of.

My religion
Assume a world where everyone knows he's a god and everyone knows that everyone else is god too. Nothing is more important or nothing is less important to anyone. That doesn't mean everyone has to do everything. Anyone can choose to do anything, but then in that world, everyone knows that no one is better than anyone. There is nothing good or bad about anything. If the god inside me tells me to speak the truth I will. If the god inside Osama asks him to bomb, he will. But then probably he might not, if he realized that nothing is more important than the other. Lets extrapolate it to the whole of the universe - every human, every animal, every plant, every planet, every moon, every star, every galaxy, or in short every god understands the fact that every other thing is god too. In that universe, a lion killing a deer is not gory, a cannibal eating a human is not barbaric, a tsunami destructing a country is not cruel or the earth getting destroyed is not the end of life. If you think something is bad, that doesn't mean it actually is bad. In that world of gods, there can be only one thing that can happen - and that is good!

Who is god?
You probably ran for ten miles because you believed you can do it, you climbed the tallest peak in the world because you believed you can do it, you are thinking about what you're actually thinking right now because you are believing that you can think about it, now where is god when it's actually belief that is driving the universe, well that belief for you is the god. It could be something else for someone else or some completely different thing for something else that can't believe at all. But then whether you believe in god or not, god believes in you, that's why you exist. Whether you think about god or not, god thinks about you. And who's that god - that's you, that's me, that's everything else.

What does it take to be a god?
I'll probably stop doing anything that takes me away from what god believes in me. And what is that? I might probably not harm anyone if I know I'm doing harm, I might probably not say a lie when I think it's a lie, but does that mean I will not harm anyone or that I will not say a lie! That's not how the universe operates. I will probably not jump from the terrace; I know I will then be destroying god. May be I might not destroy the god in me, but I will surely lose the god in me. But then someone else could do this or I could be doing this to someone else. If I do only good, then I'm god, but I'm not god! Or may be I'm. Good to some god could be bad to some other god. But when I add them all up, ah, I can't do it, because I'm just part of god and I'm not the whole of god.

Does god believe in me?
Well, the reverse form of the question could be one of the most common questions other than "What's your name?". But then there's actually nothing about having to be believing in god. What I call as god could be energy to someone else, could be eternity to some other person, something else to one more person or probably nothing at all to many others. People, countries, continents, religions, philosophies, seasons, eras - could give different perceptions to different things, but the truth can neither be hidden nor be exposed, it just exists. And what is that truth? Well, I know what I should be doing and you know what you should be doing too. I've stopped searching for the God long time ago, because I know that I'm god and I know that you're god too. You and I don't need any capitalization; I believe in you, do you believe in me? I believe in god, the question is does god believe in me?

Quote of the day: The truth is more powerful than any weapon - Gandhi.
Video of the day: Love is God

Today's one of the happiest days in my life

News about Supreme Court judgement on reservations: I missed this, didnt follow the Indian news last week, got a little busy trying to do the material race activities at work. The Supreme Court has advised that reservations at top institutions should benefit only the econmically challenged people in the society, yippee! I really felt like jumping up and down in joy when I read this. Finally, there's something good happening in independent India even as the inflation is rising to 7.5%. There were a few points I liked in the article.

1. The Court has ruled that creamy layer will be excluded from the quota benefits.
2. The Court wants Government to review the 27 per cent quota after five years.
3. The court has said the concept of social equity must prevail over any concept of merit.
4. Reservations are for those dispriviledged for centuries in order to ensure they “come up”.
5. Caste, social and economic backwardness, all of them need to be considered. For example, if more than half of the caste is not graduate, it can be a criterion.
6. Until social inclusiveness is totally achieved, it's not time yet to talk about leaving people out.
7. Quotas were started by the royals – Maharajas of Kolhapur, Mysore, Travancore and Cochin – who did not even care for votes.

I am not sure how much the government is going to manipulate the judgement and how it is going to translate it to the benefit of itself, but at least this is a step towards an amazing India where I would like to spend the rest of my life - a place where poverty is just in the dictionary, where all of us realize everybody needs everybody else for own happiness, where men know only men can help men. Two years back I said "I agree that there could be nothing like if we are able to implement reservations based on economy, but in a country where we keep moving on a red signal and where there is unofficial movement of money even to perform normal duties in a goverment office, I will not be surprised if Ambani's son gets a seat through reservation citing penury." I am so happy that the first part of my sentence is probably going to come true, but I just hope that the second part does not.

Today's easily one of the happiest days in all my life.

What've I done to my country?

I am just storing through this blog a mail that I had sent to a few of my friends sometime back. When I come back and read this blog later, if there is nothing that is done to my conscience, then I've lost both my brain and my heart in the material race. If I feel guilty, then I had lost my brain but not my heart. But if I feel happy, then I didn't lose either of them, probably I had started serving the people.

Hey,

I'm slowly starting to lose my satisfaction at job. I no longer seem to be having the fiery passion for it. Not that the job is any bad or has it become redundant, it is as good as or better than it was ever. But I'm beginning to feel that I'm not doing anything good for the people. I've been experiencing this for the last couple of years, being in the US is only aggravating it, I feel living aloof from the masses and the villages and the poor people. I seem to be enjoying the world around me when so many people do not know how to live the next day. For the first time, I'm beginning to feel if I should've chosen medicine; I could have served the people, those who needed help. I was selfish when I chose to fly to Pilani after having got admitted at the Madras Medical College, I was bothered only about my life, my growth and my prosperity and failed to realize that all these are absolute rubbish when the majority of the world around is lacking every damn thing of it.

I am not sending this mail because you could send me some consoling words, but I'm just trying to find if doing it will make me come out of this because this has been more than just pestering me. Not that I'm not able to concentrate at my work, but I'm fearing if that would happen some day. I'm feeling like selling myself for nothing but money. I want to do something for my country, my land and my men. I know I can still do it, but I don't believe in part-time charity work or percentage donations. And I am starting to wonder if the world will fine tune me one day and make me do only that, if at all I do something. I don't know what I'm saying, but I'm just penning down my pains. Be it starting a school for children or installing computers and internet in the villages or starting a journal to help people get what they deserve or something else, I feel I'm not doing anything of those right now.

Let me see, may be I'll come back, do my MBA while sustaining to barely do some work, then I want to start something, some organization that people will know without doubt that it is for them and only for them. But most probably I'll not do any of those for the wicked self that I'm; I will end up growing myself and my family, and continue to cheat myself that my work is doing good for the betterment of mankind. But then, the day when I get this same feeling again later after all those years, I don't know what I would do.

Nats
Video of the day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul9Xvjt83eI

Learning is not compulsory, neither is survival

Some hackneyed quotes that I liked, these are not forwarded ones but those that I accumulated over time.

• The reasonable man adapts himself to the world, the unreasonable persists in trying to adapt the word to him, and all progress depends on the unreasonable man. (G. Bernard Shaw)
• The irony of life is that it is lived forward but understood backward. (Soren Kierkegaard)
• What I hear, I forget, what I see, I remember, what I do, I understand. (Confucius)
• Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune. (Roosevelt)
• The minute you settle for less than what you deserve, you get even less than you settled for. (M David)
• A pessimist complains about the direction of the wind, an optimist expects the direction to change, the leader adjusts the sails. (William Arthur Ward)
• Education’s purpose is not to fill, but to open an empty mind. (Malcolm Forbes)
• The only time success comes before work is in the dictionary. (Anonymous)
• There’s plenty of room at the top, for those who’re willing to spend the time and effort climbing. (Anonymous)
• The only thing I like about stones that come in my way is that once I pass across them, they automatically become my milestones. (Anonymous)
• The glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time you fall. (Chinese proverb)
• Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing, that we see too late the one that is open. (Alexander Graham Bell)
• I have not failed; I’ve just found ten thousand ways that won’t work. (Thomas Alva Edison)
• Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. (Albert Einstein)
• To err is human, but if the eraser wears out ahead of the pencil, you are overdoing it. (J. Jenkins)
• The reward for a thing well done is to have done it. (R.W. Emerson)
• God does not require us to win, He only requires us to try (Mother Teresa)
  
• Learning is not compulsory, neither is survival. (W. Edwards Deming)

There goes he again

Osama slams EU over Prophet cartoons: That's news about Osama Bin Laden's tape this time threatening the European Union against Prophet's misrepresentation. Though my first reaction was "Oh this guy doesn't want good in this world, why can't he let the people live in peace?", a few minutes of thought made me reconsider. Why did Osama come into the world at all. There are multiple reasons to it, but the most philosophical of all, but quite true, is people didn't follow the golden rule "When you're at the top, be aggresive, that will keep you at the top, but dont be arrogant". He's doing all this because the people at the top were arrogant. Of course Osama is now doing the same mistake too, may be someone else will retaliate Osama later.

Be it the country of US or the Australian cricket team or the newly rich IT crowd of Bangalore, I can say a dozen of other examples. I've noticed that whenever someone reaches the top, even if he were humble, people try to pull him down; if he were aggressive, people get together to device plans to bring him down; if he were arrogant, people try all possible means to push him to the abyss. If Osama is not humanistic, neither is the US and neither is India nor is Pakistan, Israel, Palestine, the list continues. Just that different sets of people weigh one over the other.

In my opinion, people should have good moral science classes in their childhood, I didn't find a lighter way to say what I wanted to; otherwise saving this world is going to become increasingly difficult. An easy example that suits the moment is cricket. If Indian cricket comes to the number one position, the same will happen to Indian cricket if the players are going to be arrogant; every country will then want to bring India down. I'm really not sure what Harbhajan Singh and Ishant Sharma are upto, playing in Australia. You can argue that this is what we need to do to a sledging Australian team. But that's just not the way how things work. You have no business to show the batsman the dressing room when he's walking out whatever he does to you, come on, this is nursery school stuff, we are all taught not to do that. How can you forget it twenty years later? Ishant Sharma should probably go back to his school and pass it again.

If Ilayaraja can create wonders in music, why hasn't he risen above South India? If Microsoft is such an endeared company at every household, why is the rest of the industry against it? If US is the economy driver for the whole globe, why do most countries hate the US? All of them are arrogant!

Man thinks he's part of the supreme race to have ever been created by God. God tries to prove him wrong at every moment, but he fails to understand it almost always. I think it'll all stop only when he destroys himself. If that should not happen, man has to do a little bit of self-examination and realize that nothing is more important than the other, everything needs everything else to live in harmony.

Om Shanthi (Let there be peace)!

My Intuitions and Introspections

This is not another complaint or a rant of another Indian on India. I respect my country and I am so much passionate about my people. This is purely my opinion on the differences between the Indians and the rest of the world that I see from whatever little experience and exposure I have been having in the US. There are so many things where the Indians take a comfortable edge over almost any other mass in the world. I have listed some of them below.
1. Doing a job to perfection
The reason why Indian service industry is so popular
2. Showing aggression when you succeed
The reason why the world fears when India succeeds
3. Feeling ashamed when you have to act on instructions
The reason why bosses don't want to order Indians
4. Mastering something and persisting after that
The reason why people are happy having Indians in their teams
5. Willing to collaborate to get a job done
The reason why many teams need one or two Indians within
6. Take full responsibility of something that people expect from you
The reason why people are willing to give jobs to Indians

But thinking it from the other angle, I see some subtle differences where our culture, our society, our education system and our rewarding system modulate and tune us so much that we lose our individuality in the process (Indian cricket fast bowlers for example). I just rephrased the bullets 1-6 above to give them a slightly different mood.

1. Indians: Do their assigned tasks so well.
Americans: Create work that can assign them tasks.
2. Indians: Sledge at the batsman walking out.
Australians: Sledge at the batsman walking in.
3. Indians: When you don't know to lead, you find it difficult to follow too.
Chinese: Everyone knows he has to follow if he can't lead.
4. Indians: When you get into your comfort zone at a task, you want to manage the team.
English: When you get into your comfort zone, switch to the next where you aren't comfortable.
5. Indians: You don't know something, ask around, take help and get it done.
Russians: You don't know something, look around, analyze, give your best, you'll find the solution.
6. Indians: When you can't meet the date, stretch, finish it and let know everyone you stretched.
French: When you're not on schedule, stretch, complete, but tell yourself this is not the way.

An American kid is taught to do everything on his own at school while an Indian kid is told that Parents, Teacher and God are always there watching you, guiding you and making you better. An Indian kid is made to believe that the best success is the one with minimum investment, an American kid is taught to believe that no success can reach you unless you respect the hardships that you have to put into for it. An Indian walks into a supermarket and asks the helpers around if he doesn't know where an article is, an American walks into a new store and asks for help only if he can't find the article. I am not saying that one is better or the other is worse, but these are just different ways to do the same thing. There is no question about the family values or the social fear that keeps a permanent check on Indians and about which India can definitely boast of, but this is not yet another "Vande Mataram" or "Jai Hind". These are just my "Intuitions and Introspections".

May be some of you might agree, many would disagree, but this is what I have been learning. I intend to change myself, I want to take the positives from both the worlds and be a better man going forward.

So, what is it on day 5?

I wanted to get rid of this habit of following cricket with more than just passion, but somehow I still haven't gotten rid of it completely. The recent test match series between Australia and India has enticed me too much that cricinfo is always an open window on my laptop. I just imagined what would be there on the Indian papers before the last day's play and here it is.

"We want to win it for Gilly" declared Clarke on a day when India did not demonstrate any trait to beat the world champions. "Australia have to bat last and nobody can say what's going to happen" averred Pathan who got his first and his hundredth test wicket in this very ground. In what appears to be vastly an uninteresting finish to the cricket lovers who were taken more than once during the test to a decade or two back with a couple of hundred runs scored and just a few wickets falling on a day, these statements from the campaigners Down Under are more of a rant than a declaration; you can as well wipe them off as a splash of water on glass.

Indians have manifested time and again that they cannot just stand the fifth day's wicket under pressure even as the Australians have taken every oppurtunity to slap it on the opposition when it comes to proving why they always are the number one. But then neither will the highly famed batsmen of the peninsular nation allow resoluteness to take over their class nor will a bowler like Kumble reel to any sublimation when challenged.

Whether it is going to be a Sehwag cracker with support from the special four in posting an unreachable target and then an outstanding display of accurate bowling that can give the guests a chance to level the series; or a defense breaking bowling and then a spectacular exhibition of power play from the hosts to give them more than a convincing series victory; or a complete batting collapse of the touring side with Dravid and Laxman humbly trying to save the game; or an unsporting declaration from Kumble batting almost till after tea against a team that knows the only way to win a test match is to attack; whatever it be, everyone's sure that there's going to be a lot of heat around the Adelaide Oval on the final day of the final test match in a series that has been flashing in the front pages for more than just cricketing reasons.

Have you ever been arrested before, sir?

A weekend trip to Lake Tahoe driving through the curvy mountain roads was a good break from the busy San Jose life. California and Nevada share the proud ownership of this lovely blue lake that looks majestic between the green mountains. With a maximum depth of 500 m, this boasts of being the eighth deepest lake in the world. It would have probably been even more awing if the hills around had a bit of snow, we were just a few weeks early.

The next weekend I came to Ottawa on a business trip. I know it was a little late but just wanted to try my luck with the fall colours. I took a car and drove down to Adirondack Park, New York State; there was a bit of snow, there was a bit of green and a bit of fall colours. The drive through acres and acres of protected forest was without doubt an unforgettable experience. But more than anything else, what remains in my memory was the question the US Border security asked me when I showed him my passport - "Have you ever been arrested before for any charge sir?". I know that question had a lot to do with my pigmentation. I wanted to just snatch my passport from his hand and come back to Ottawa but then didn't want to waste my two hour drive to the border. Then he made me wait inside, took my car key and searched through the car for a few minutes while I saw the other "white" cars pass by. He came back and said "You're all set, sir". I was not angry, for he was performing only his duty, but just hoped that some day the reverse happens.

More pictures are in my album.

Aathaa naan pass aayitaen

Onion fried in oil with garlic and ginger, a small piece of chilli, a quarter of a tomato, pulao masala, beans, carrot, green peas, a little bit of salt, one cup of rice, two cups of water - all was fine until I woke up to the fire alarm that went off when my kitchen got engulfed in smoke and my neighbours started banging at my door. Well, I wanted to type something like that, but then nothing of that sort happened because I just had a good dinner of the vegetable pulao that I made myself for the first time in my life.

Now then, what does the title mean? It's a famous dialogue in a tamil movie where the village-girl heroine comes running and says "Mom, I've passed (the exam)". So, I'm now all set for my one year stay at Northpark, San Jose - this 700 sq. ft. single bedroom apartment is just cool. Microwave, TV, Dishwasher, Fridge, Washer, Dryer, a balcony, and then a gym, a swimming pool, a jacuzzi, a nice park, a Pontiac car - I've started my fun here.

Some don't come to you even if you ask for, the converse?

If my zodiacal constellations portend that Cisco, as an employer and I, as an employee are going to be profited by me being located at 37.30° N 121.87° W rather than at 12.97° N 77.56° E, during the time the earth makes its revolution around the sun after I turn twenty five till I grow older by one more year, then I don't think I have any reason to refute the auguries that are betokened upon me. I'm not sure if I could've ever bungled it up any further, I too didn't understand when I read it. If you think you got it, you're a genius. Whoever you're, read ahead!

Why did I have to fly down to BITS after having got admitted to the Madras Medical college, why did I choose to join Tata Elxsi and got posted in Bangalore when I had some other offer elsewhere, how did I stumble into Cisco when I had almost decided I was going to Spain to work for Vitelcom, why did the product that I worked on for the last two years reach a stage where it had zero bugs and I was made jobless in my BU - though I know I had my own set of contributions to each of what had happened in my life ever since I started to understand the bigger meaning of life, sometimes I feel everything in the universe is just a puppet being operated by Someone Somewhere!

I always felt every single soul's being watched and what it gets might be based on complex calculations that the mortal human mind might not understand. Somehow, small incidents here and there, gathered stories from time to time keep bolstering up these realizations. I got my plot in Bangalore one year back, couldn't start my construction till now and doesn't look like I will be able to in the next one year either. Who's your friend, where do you live and with whom, who're all around you, what do you do, I thought it was the subject who decides all these, but then I am forced to believe that there's something else operating behind the scenes and making it appear as if the subject was responsible for what's been happening!

I guess I'm digressing too much from what I wanted to say, but then I have nothing more to say because I've already said what I had to say in the first few lines, all those that followed are just to make my rant look mystified and to give it a solemn appearance.

Dear friends, I will be joining the Vikings of San Jose, California for the next few quarters if things are going to proceed as expected. Now, this was a complete surprise to me as it is to you right now, because I didn't absolutely know an iota of what had been happening when I went home a few weeks back. When I came back, I saw a meeting scheduled with the HR manager and then I had to gather everything about what was in the pot; I never watched it, so looks like it has boiled! So, after the East coast, I guess it's now time for me to drive on the roads of the West coast.

Along the East Coast

April 14, Ratheesh and I were trying to stay awake at the Bangalore airport. And I did not realize it's going to be a lovely two months forward. The Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt, the Air Canada flight to Toronto and another twenty minute flight to Ottawa, we finally reached after a 24-hour journey. There was a lovely thirty minutes during the journey when we were flying above Iceland, we got to see frozen clouds; call it tiny creeks flowing over a snow mountain range, or a huge ice cream dessert, or just a pool of milk, it was amazing!

The first weekend was a walk in the Ottawa downtown, finally we were able to see people walking on the streets. We crossed the Ottawa river from Ontario to the adjoining province, Quebec where we had a glimpse of the Civilization museum, one memorable experience was the I-MAX movie. It was an amazing one hour to watch a movie on a gigantic concave screen, there is a portion of the screen straight above your head even if you are seated in the last row! The picture on the left is the Parliament hill clicked as we came back on the bridge.

The next weekend was a trip to Toronto and Niagara. We started on an early foggy Saturday morning in our Yaris. Our first stop was at the CN Tower, Toronto and we saw the world from its tallest building. We reached Niagara that evening, walked over the bridge to the US and then came back to Canada to watch Niagara by the night. Thankfully both Ratheesh and I had our US visas. The maid of the mist boat ride was closed because it was off-season. There had to be a signature snap, so I had to get it clicked.


Ratheesh had to leave the next Sunday, so we went for a quick trip to Montreal. Montreal was a full French city, there was no board that read in English. We could see the Montreal Olympic stadium, the biggest slanting structure in the world as we crossed the Montreal river to enter the island. But the best part of the city was the live ecological museum, it's called the Biodome. Believe me, it was a thorough feast to the eyes to watch a bunch of penguins stand, walk and swim, all in a row.


Ice hockey and Tulips are the passions of Ottawa. Being in Ottawa during the summer and to not watch the Tulip festival, nay! Ottawa's the Tulip Queen of North America, the festival has hundreds of varieties of tulips, mostly imported from Holland. The entire stretch of the road from Dow's lake to the Parliament hill had tulips all along. We had a great drive along the Rideau canal. Not often will you come to Ottawa and even so during summer, we were just lucky!


The next weekend I flew to Boston to the Cisco, Boxborough office. I did make a visit to the MIT and the Harvard Business School campuses. I didn't want to miss out on New York having come so close to the city. It wasn't a bad drive alone in the car, for it was the right season with green everywhere. I met Chendur who stays in New Jersey and we went for a night's walk in the Manhattan downtown. Times Square, Empire State Building, Wall Street, Statue of Liberty, finally I got to see them all. I agree, New York never sleeps!

I came back to Ottawa and then there was a trip to Vermont and New Hampshire. NH doesn't have a state tax, so you can see malls all over its border so that people from the neighbouring states can do some tax-free shopping. But Vermont was easily my best jaunt, miles and miles through the green mountains, crossing a number of rivers and lakes, all of them so scenic. How can I forget getting caught in the hailstorm on the highway! Somehow we managed to drive faster than the storm and reached Lebanon, NH for the night's stay.

The historical city of Quebec was the only place left in the vicinity. I managed to form a gang and we drove to Quebec the following week. Forts and war parks, citadels and museums, the Notre Dame basilica, the Montmorency falls are all still fresh in my memory. Whatever the British and the French have not left after their wars, they have managed to leave their colours behind; the Canadian flag has white and red stripes on it along with its maple leaf. We walked around the city to click the lit garrisons; I never knew night photography was this difficult.

It was a really amazing two months in Eastern Canada and the US driving a whopping 5000 km in the process. The funny part was that I crossed the US-Canada borders thrice during the two-month stay, the first time on foot across the Niagara, the second time by flight to Boston and the third time in my car to Vermont. The Thousand islands, Hershey's chocolate factory, the lobsters, the New York subway paths, the Manhattan ferry ride, the Boston duck tour, the late night hotel search in Quebec, watching deers in the backyard ... finally I started back!

Homecoming was such a lovely feeling, I was literally counting every hour back on the flight to Bangalore. For a few days after I returned I wondered if India could ever reach the Western standards - the roads, the people, their manners, the respect, the common sense, the first-you attitude; for a few days I was trying to use my indicators while trying to change lanes on the road, I was giving way to vehicles trying to enter the road, was making an attempt to yield to pedestrians, but I no longer care about all those because I've become an Indian again!

I've lost myself again in the alarmingly huge population and an even appalling corruption that exists right from the streets to the palaces. Sometimes, I go back to my album to relish the reminiscences, but at the end of it what remains in me will just be a sigh! Anyway, I am more than happy to stay near my parents, friends and well-wishers rather than trying to find a place for me in an alien land amidst a set of funny swayers. Let me hope that the Indian air becomes less polluted in the decades to come.

After a little bit of thought I feel that there are three highly inter-dependent factors in every place - the people, the money and the human character. These exist everywhere, just that different places have it in different proportions and that explains it all.

Devotional Rock

Hey, the melakartha raaga Hanumathodi with a distortion guitar and a banging percussion is a devotional rock, just listen to this.

Scale:
D# E F# G# A# B C# D#

Recorded: 12 October 2006, 4:00 a.m.

Adventure

I have given names to different tracks this time, the presence of the square block during a window means the existence of that track in that time slot. A track might actually be more than one instrument.

Recorded: 11 October 2006 4:30 a.m.

The Princess is Born

This composition is on Shankarabharanam, I am jamming with my guitar over a looped background, thanks to Fruity Loops.

The song is over the no sharp major scale.

Recorded: 10 Oct 2:30 a.m.

Folk

This composition is dedicated to the art of Indian folk dance and the folk artists. The song is on an Em, there's C# and D# too.

Scale:
E F# G A B C D E
E D# C# B A G F# E

Recorded: 30 Sep 5:30 p.m.

Western Carnatic

Have you learnt a western instrument and confused over the SaRiGa of the Carnatic, well I was too, but not anymore. The melakartha scales are constructed as: out of the twelve semitones of the octave S, R1, R2=G1, R3=G2, G3, M1, M2, P, D1, D2=N1, D3=N2, N3, a melakartha raaga must necessarily have S and P, one of the M's, two of the R's and G's, and two of the D's and N's. Also, R must necessarily precede G and D must precede N. This gives 2 × 6 × 6 = 72 melakartha raagas.

Thanks to Kumaran Santhanam for his wonderful effort in compiling the Indian ragas in the mekakarta scale at http://www.nerur.com/music/ragalist.php. I have plainly converted the SaRiGa into CDE of the Western, so here you go.

On C scale, the following would be the representation:
Western Note - Melakarta Note/s (Conventional Carnatic Note)
C - S (S)
C# - R1 (R1)
D - R2/G1 (R2)
D# - R3/G2 (G1)
E - G3 (G2)
F - M1 (M1)
F# - M2 (M2)
G - P (P)
G# - D1 (D1)
A - D2/N1 (D2)
A# - D3/N2 (N1)
B - N3 (N2)
C - S (S)

Sanskrit / Dravidian Language Transliteration Alphabet
---------------------------------------------------------------------
a A i I u U Ru RU
e E ai o O ow am :

k K g G n
ch Ch j J N
t T d D N
th Th dh Dh n
p ph b bh m

y r l v
sh Ch s H
ksh gny

L zh r' (additional Dravidian letters)

R , D
1 = shudhdha
2 = chathushruthi
3 = sathshruthi
M
1 = shudhdha
2 = prathi
G
1 = shudhdha
2 = sAdhAraNa
3 = anthara
N
1 = shudhdha
2 = kaishika
3 = kAkaLi

mElakartha rAgAs
-----------------------

shudhdha madhyamam

indhu chakrA
1 kanakAngi C C# D F G G# A C , C A G# G F D C# C
2 rathnAngi C C# D F G G# A# C , C A# G# G F D C# C
3 gAnamUrthi C C# D F G G# B C , C B G# G F D C# C
4 vanaspathi C C# D F G A A# C , C A# A G F D C# C
5 mAnavathi C C# D F G A B C , C B A G F D C# C
6 thAnarUpi C C# D F G A# B C , C B A# G F D C# C

nEthra chakrA
7 sEnAvathi C C# D# F G G# A C , C A G# G F D# C# C
8 HanumathOdi C C# D# F G G# A# C , C A# G# G F D# C# C
9 DhEnukA C C# D# F G G# B C , C B G# G F D# C# C
10 nAtakapriya C C# D# F G A A# C , C A# A G F D# C# C
11 kOkilapriya C C# D# F G A B C , C B A G F D# C# C
12 rUpavathi C C# D# F G A# B C , C B A# G F D# C# C

agni chakrA
13 gAyakapriya C C# E F G G# A C , C A G# G F E C# C
14 vakulAbharaNam C C# E F G G# A# C , C A# G# G F E C# C
15 mAyAmALavagowLA C C# E F G G# B C , C B G# G F E C# C
16 chakravAkam C C# E F G A A# C , C A# A G F E C# C
17 sUryakAntam C C# E F G A B C , C B A G F E C# C
18 HAtakAmbari C C# E F G A# B C , C B A# G F E C# C

vEda chakrA
19 JankAradhvani C D D# F G G# A C , C A G# G F D# D C
20 naTabhairavi C D D# F G G# A# C , C A# G# G F D# D C
21 kIravANi C D D# F G G# B C , C B G# G F D# D C
22 KaraHarapriya C D D# F G A A# C , C A# A G F D# D C
23 gowrimanOHari C D D# F G A B C , C B A G F D# D C
24 varuNapriya C D D# F G A# B C , C B A# G F D# D C

bANa chakrA
25 mAraranjani C D E F G G# A C , C A G# G F E D C
26 chArukeshi C D E F G G# A# C , C A# G# G F E D C
27 sarasAngi C D E F G G# B C , C B G# G F E D C
28 HarikAmbhOji C D E F G A A# C , C A# A G F E D C
29 DhIrashankarAbharaNam C D E F G A B C , C B A G F E D C
30 nAgAnandhini C D E F G A# B C , C B A# G F E D C

Ruthu chakrA
31 yAgapriya C D# E F G G# A C , C A G# G F E D# C
32 rAgavarDhani C D# E F G G# A# C , C A# G# G F E D# C
33 gAngeyabhushani C D# E F G G# B C , C B G# G F E D# C
34 vAgaDhIsvari C D# E F G A A# C , C A# A G F E D# C
35 shUlini C D# E F G A B C , C B A G F E D# C
36 chalanAta C D# E F G A# B C , C B A# G F E D# C

prathi madhyamam

rishi chakrA
37 sAlagam C C# D F# G G# A C , C A G# G F# D C# C
38 jalArnavam C C# D F# G G# A# C , C A# G# G F# D C# C
39 JAlavarALi C C# D F# G G# B C , C B G# G F# D C# C
40 navanItham C C# D F# G A A# C , C A# A G F# D C# C
41 pAvani C C# D F# G A B C , C B A G F# D C# C
42 raGupriya C C# D F# G A# B C , C B A# G F# D C# C

vasu chakrA
43 gavAmbodhi C C# D# F# G G# A C , C A G# G F# D# C# C
44 bhavapriya C C# D# F# G G# A# C , C A# G# G F# D# C# C
45 shubhapanthuvarALi C C# D# F# G G# B C , C B G# G F# D# C# C
46 shadhvidha mArgiNi C C# D# F# G A A# C , C A# A G F# D# C# C
47 suvarNAngi C C# D# F# G A B C , C B A G F# D# C# C
48 dhivyAmaNi C C# D# F# G A# B C , C B A# G F# D# C# C

brahma chakrA
49 dhavalAmbari C C# E F# G G# A C , C A G# G F# E C# C
50 nAmanArAyaNi C C# E F# G G# A# C , C A# G# G F# E C# C
51 kAmavardhini C C# E F# G G# B C , C B G# G F# E C# C
52 rAmapriya C C# E F# G A A# C , C A# A G F# E C# C
53 gamanashrama C C# E F# G A B C , C B A G F# E C# C
54 vishvAmbhari C C# E F# G A# B C , C B A# G F# E C# C

dhishi chakrA
55 shyAmaLAngi C D D# F# G G# A C , C A G# G F# D# D C
56 shanmuKapriya C D D# F# G G# A# C , C A# G# G F# D# D C
57 simHendra madhyamam C D D# F# G G# B C , C B G# G F# D# D C
58 HemAvathi C D D# F# G A A# C , C A# A G F# D# D C
59 DharmAvathi C D D# F# G A B C , C B A G F# D# D C
60 nIthimathi C D D# F# G A# B C , C B A# G F# D# D C

rudhra chakrA
61 kAnthAmaNi C D E F# G G# A C , C A G# G F# E D C
62 rishabhapriya C D E F# G G# A# C , C A# G# G F# E D C
63 lathAngi C D E F# G G# B C , C B G# G F# E D C
64 vAchaspathi C D E F# G A A# C , C A# A G F# E D C
65 mEchakalyANi C D E F# G A B C , C B A G F# E D C
66 chithrAmbari C D E F# G A# B C , C B A# G F# E D C

Adhithya chakrA
67 sucharithra C D# E F# G G# A C , C A G# G F# E D# C
68 jyothisvarUpiNi C D# E F# G G# A# C , C A# G# G F# E D# C
69 dhAtuvardhani C D# E F# G G# B C , C B G# G F# E D# C
70 nAsika bhUshaNi C D# E F# G A A# C , C A# A G F# E D# C
71 kosalam C D# E F# G A B C , C B A G F# E D# C
72 rasikapriya C D# E F# G A# B C , C B A# G F# E D# C

janya rAgAs
---------------
8 HanumathOdi
AHiri C C# C E F G G# A# C , C A# G# G F E C# C
asAvEri C C# F G G# C , C A# C G G# F G C# D# C# C
bhUpALam C C# D# G G# C , C G# G D# C# C
dhanyAsi C D# F G A# C , C A# G# G F D# C# C
punnAgavarALi A# C C# D# F G G# A# , A# G# G F D# C# C A#

10 nAtakapriya
sindhu bhairavi C D D# F D# G G# A# C , A# G# G F D# C# C A# C

13 gAyakapriya
kalagada C C# E G G# A C , C A G# G E C# C

14 vakulAbharaNam
vasanthabhairavi C C# E F G# A# C , C A# G# F G F E C# C

15 mAyAmALava gowLA
ardhradhesi C C# E F G G# C B C , C G# G F E C# C
bowLi C C# E G G# C ,C B G# G E C# C
gowLa C C# F G B C , C B G F C# E F C# C
gowLipanthu C C# F G B C , C B G# G FG# F E C# C
gowri C C# F G B C , C B G# G F E C# C
gujjari C C# E F G G# B C , C G# B G F E C# C
gumma kAmbhoji C C# E G G# B G# C , C B G# G F E C# C
gundhakriya C C# F G B C , C B G G# G F E C# C
jaganmOhini C E F G B C , C B G F E C# C
kannadaban'gALa C C# F E F G G# C , C G# G F E C# C
kRushNaveNi C C# E F G B C , C B G F E C# C
lalithA C C# E F A B C , C B A F E C# C
malaHari C C# F G G# C , C G# G F E C# C
mallikA vasantham C E F G B C , C B G# G F E C# C
mangaLakaishiki C F E F G F G# B C , C B G# G F E C# C
mEchabowLi C C# E G G# C , C G# G F E C# C
mEGaranjani C C# E F B C , C B F E C# C
nAdhanAmakriya C C# E F G G# B , B G# G F E C# C B
pAdi C C# F G B C , C B G G# G F C# C
pharaz C E F G G# B C , C B G# G F E C# C
pUrvi C C# E F G G# B G# C , C B G# G F G# F E C# C
rEvagupthi C C# E G G# C , C G# G E C# C
sAranganAtha C C# F G G# C , C B C G# G F E C# C
sAvEri C C# F G G# C , C B G# G F E C# C
sindhu rAmakriya C E F G G# B C , C B G G# G F E C
thakka (a) C C# C F E F G# B C , C B G F G F G C# E C
thakka (b) C E F G F G# B C , C B G# G F E C# C

16 chakravAkam
bindhumAlini C E C# E F G A# C , C A# C A G E C# C
kalAvathi C C# F G A C , C A G F E C C# C
malayamArutham C C# E G A A# C , C A# A G E C# C
valachi C E G A A# C , C A# A G E C
vegavAHini C C# E F G A A# A C , C A# A G F E C# C

17 sUryakAntam
bhairavam C C# E F G A B C , C A G F E C# C
sowrAshtram C C# E F G F A B C , C B A A# A G F E C# C
supradhIpam C C# F G A C , C B A G F E F C# C
vasanthA C F E F A B C , C B A F E C# C

19 JankAradhvani
pUrnalalitha C D# D F G C , C A G# G F D# D C

20 naTabhairavi
amrithavAHini C D F G G# A# C , C A# G# F D# D C
Anandhabhairavi C D# D D# F G A G A# C , C A# A G F D# D C
bhairavi C D D# F G A A# C , C A# G# G F D# D C
Gantha C D# D D# F G A G A# A A# C , C A# A G F D# D C
gopikavasantham C F G A# G# A# G# C , C A# G# G F D# C
HindhoLam C D# F G# A# C , C A# G# F D# C
jayanthashrI C D# F G# A# C , C A# G# F G F D# C
jingla C D D# F G G# A# G# G C , C A# G# G F D# D Cm
Anji C D D# F G A A# C , C A# G# G F D# D Cm
ArgaHindhoLam C D D# F G A A# C , C A# A F D# C
pUrNashajja C D D# F A# A# C , C A# G F D# D C
sAramathi C D D# F G G# A# C , C A# G# F D# C
sudhdha dhanyAsi C D# F G A# C , C A# G F D# C
sudhdha dhesi C D F G G# A# C , C A# G# G F D# D C

21 kIravANi
kiraNAvaLi C D D# F G G# B C , C G F D# D C
kalyANa vasantham C D# F G# B C , C B G# G F D# D C

22 KaraHarapriya
AbhEri C D# F G A# C , C A# A G F D# D C
abhOgi C D D# F A C , C A F D# D C
AndhOLika C D F G A# C , C A# A F D C
bAgEshrI C D# F A A# C , C A# A F G A D# F D C
brindhAvanasAran'ga C D F G B C , C A# G F D D# C
chiththaranjani C D D# F G A A# , A# A G F D# D C A#
dharbAru C D F G A A# C , D C A# C A G F D D# D# D C
dhEvAmRuthavarshiNi C D D# F A# A A# C , C A# A G F D# D C
dhEvakriya C D F G A# C , C A# A A# G F D# D C
dhEvamanOHari C D F G A A# C , C A# A A# G F D C
dhilipakam C D D# D F G A# A A# G A A# C , C A# A G F D# D C
HindhoLavasantha C D# F G A A# A C , C A# A G F A F D# C
HindhusthAni kApi C D F G B C , C A# A A# G F D# D C
HusEni C D D# F G A# A A# C , C A# G# G F D# D C
jayamanOHari C D D# F A C , C A# A F D# D C
jayanArAyaNi C D D# F G A C , C A# A G F D# D C
jayanthasEna C D# F G A C , C A# A G F G F D# C
kAnadA C D D# F D A# C , C A# G F D# F D C
kalAniDhi C D D# F C G F A A# , C A# A G F D# D C
kannadagowLa C D D# F G A# C , C A# A G F D# C
kApijingla C A# C D D# F , F D# D C A# A A# C
karnAtaka kApi C D D# F D G F G A A# C , C A# A G F D# F D C
mAlavashrI C D# F G A# A A# G A A# C , C A# A G F D# C
madhyamAvathi C D F G A# C , C A# G F D C
maNirangu C D F G A# C , C A# G F D# D C
manjari C D# D D# F G A# A A# C , C A# A G F D# D C
manOHari C D# D D# F G A C , C A G F D# D C
muKAri C D F G A# A C , C A# G# G F D# D C
nAdhachinthAmaNi * C D# F G A# A A# C , C A# A G F D# D D# C
nAdhatharan'gini C G F D D# D C , C G A# A G F D# D C
nAyaki C D F G A A# A G C , C A# A G F D D# D C
phalamanjari C D# F A C , C A# A G F D# F D C
panchama rAga C D A G A# C , C A# A G F D# D C
pUrnashadjam C D D# F A# C , C A# G F D# D C
pushpalathika C D D# F G A# C , C A# G F D# D C
rIthigowLa C D# D D# F A# A F A# A# C , C A# A F D# F G F D# D C
rudhrapriya C D D# F G A A# C , C A# G F D# D C
sAlakabhairavi C D F G A C , C A# A G F D# D C
saindhavi A# A A# C D D# F G A A# , A G F D# D C A# A A# C
sidhdhasEna C D# D D# F G A C , C A# A F G F D D# D C
shrIrAga C D F G A# C , C A# G A A# G F D D# D C
shrIranjani C D D# F A A# C , C A# A F D# D C
sudhdha bangALa C D F G A C , C A G F D D# D C
sudhdha dhanyAsi C D# F G A# C , C A# G F D# C
svarabhUshani C D# F G A A# C , C A# A G F D C

24 varuNapriya
vasantha varALi 1 C D F G A# B , B A# G D# D C B
vasantha varALi 2 C D F G A# B , B A# G M D R C
NvIravasantham C D# D F G C , C B A# G F D# D C

27 sarasAngi
kamalAmanOHari C E F G B C , C B G# G F E C
naLinakAnthi C E D F G B C , C B G F E D C

28 HarikAmbhOji
baHudhAri C E F G A A# C , C A# G F E C
balaHamsa C D F G A C , C A# A G F D F E C
ChAyAtharangiNi C D F E F G A# C , C A# A G F E D C
dhvijAvanthi C D F E F G A C , C A# A G F E D D# D C
HaridhAsapriya* C G F E F G A A# C , C A# A A# G F E D C
IshamanOHari C D E F G A A# C , C A# A G F D F E D C
janjUti C D E F G A A# , A# A G F E D C A# A G A C
jujAHuli C F E F G A A# C , C A# A G F E C
kAmbhOji C D E F G A C , C A# A G F E D C B G A C
kApinArAyaNi C D F G A A# C , C A# A G F E D C
kamAs C F E F G A A# C , C A# A G F E D C
karnAtaka bEHAg C D E F G A A# C , C A# A A# G A F E D E D
kedhAragowLa C D F G A# C , C A# A G F E D C
kOkilaDhvani C D E F A A# A C , C A# A A# G F E D C
kunthalavarALi C F G A A# A C , C A# A G F C
mAlavi C D E F G A# F A A# C , C A# A A# G F E F D C
mOHana C D E G A C , C A G E D C
nAgasvarAvaLi C E F G A C , C A G F E C
nArAyaNagowLa C D F G A# A A# C , C A# G F E D E D C
nArAyani C D F G A C , C A# A G F D C
nAtakuraNji C D E F A# A A# G A A# C , C A# A F E F G E D C
navarasa kalAnidhi * C D F G C A# C , C A G F E D C
navarasa kannada C E F G C , C A# A F E D C
prathApa varALi C D F G A G C , C A G F E D C
pravAlajothi C D F G A A# C , C A# A A# G F E E
rAgapanjaram C D F G A A# A C , C A# A F D C
ravichandhrika C D E F A A# A C , C A# A F E D C
sAma C D F G A C , C A G F E D C
saHAna C D E F G F A A# C , C A# C A A# A G F E F D E D C
sarasvathi manOHari C D E F A C , C A A# G F E D C
sindhu kannada C F E F D E F G A G C , C A# A G F E D C
sudhdha tharan'gini C D E F D F G A A# A C , C A# A G F E D C
supOshini C D C F G A# A C , C A A# G F D F C
surati C D F G A# C , C A# A G F E G F D C
svarAvaLi C F E F G A# A A# C , C A# G A F E D C
svaravEdhi* C F E F G A# A A# C , C A# A A# G F E
thilan'g C E F G B C , C A# G F E C
umAbharaNam C D E F G A A# C , C A# G F D E F D C
vINA vAdhini C D E G A# C , C A# G E D C
vivardhini C D F G C , C A# A G F E D C
yadhukulakAmbhOji C D F G A C , C A# A G F E D C

29 DhIrashankarAbharaNam
Arabhi C D F G A C , C B A G F E D C
atAna C D F G B C , C B A G F G E D C
ban'gALa C D E F G F D G C , C B G F D E D C
begada C E D E F G A A# A G C , C B A G F E D C
bEHAg C E F G B A B C , C B A G F E D C
bilaHari C D E G A C , C B A G F E D C
dhesAkshi C D E G A C , C B A G F E D C
dhEvagAndhAri C D F G A C , C B A G F E D C
garudaDhvani C D E F G A B C , C A G E D C
HamsaDhvani C D E G B C , C B G E D C
HindhusthAni bEHAg C E F G B A B C , C B A G F# E F E D C
janaranjani C D E F G A G B C , C A G F D C
kadhana kuthUHalam C D F A B E G C , C B A G F E D C
kannada C E F G F A B C , C A G F E F D B C
kEdhAram C F E F G B C , C B G F E D C
koiAHalam C G F E F G A B C , C B A G F E D C
kuranji C B C D E F G A , A G F E D C B C
kuthUHalam C D F B A G B C , C B A G F E D C
mAnd C E F G A C , C B A G F E D C
navaroj G A B C D E F G , F E D C B A G
nIlAmbari C D E F G A G B C , C B G F E D E C
pUrNachandhrika C D E F G A G C , C B G F D E F D C
sindhu mandhAri C D E F G A G C , C B A G E F A G F D C
sudhdha sAvEri C D F G A C , C A G F D C

34 vAgathIsvari
ChAyAnAta C D# E F G F G C , C A# A A# G F D# C
gAnavAridhi C F D# E F G A A# C , C A A# G F D# C

36 chalanAta
gambhiranAta C E F G B C , C B G F E C
nAta C D# E F G A# B C , C B G F D# C

39 JAlavarALi
JinAvaLi C D C# D F# G G# B G# C , C B G# G F# D C# C
varALi C D C# D F# G G# B C , C B G# G F# D C# C

40 navanItham
nabhOmaNi C C# D C# F# G C , C A# A G F# D C# C

41 pAvani
chandhrajyothi C C# D F# G A C , C A G F# D C# C
vijayashrI C D C# D F# G B C , C B G F# D C# C

46 shadhvidha mArgini
thivravAHini C C# D# F# G A A# C , C A# A G F# D# C# D# F# C# C

51 kAmavardhini
dhipaka C E F# G G# G C , C B G# B G F# E C# C
mandhAri C C# E F# G B C , C B G F# E C# C

52 rAmapriya
rAma manOHari C C# E F# G A A# A C , C A# A G F# E C# C

53 gamanashrama
gamakakriya C# E F# G A G C , C B A G F# E C# C
gamanakriya C C# F# G A B C , C B A G F# E F# C# C
HamsAnandhi C C# E F# A B C , C B A F# E C# C
mEchakAn'gi C C# E F# G A B C , C B G A G F# E C# C
pUrvikalyANi C C# E F# G A G C , C B A G F# E C# C

54 vishvAmbhari
vijayavasantha C F# G A# B C , C B G F# E C# C

56 shanmuKapriya
chinthAmaNi C D G F# G A A# C , C G G# G F# D# D C

57 simHendra madhyamam
sudhdha rAga C D D# F# G B C , C B G F# D# D C

58 HemAvathi
vijayanAgari C D D# F# G A C , C A G F# D# D C

59 DharmAvathi
madhuvanthi C D# F# G B C , C B A G F# D# D C
ranjani C D D# F# A C , C B A F# D# C D D# C

60 nIthimathi
amarasenapriya C D F# G B C , C B G F# D D# D C
HamsanAdham C D F# G B C , C B G F# D C
kaikavAsi C D D# F# G A# B C , C B G F# D# D C

61 kAnthAmaNi
shruthiranjani C D E F# G G# A , A G# G F# E C D C

62 rishabhapriya
gopriya C D E F# G# A# C , C A# G# F# E D C

64 vAchaspathi
bhUshavaLi C D E F# G A C , C A# A G F# E D C
sarasvathi C D F# G A C , C A# A G F# D C

65 mechakalyANi
HamirkalyANi C G F# G A B C , C B A G F# F E G F D C
mOHanakalyANi C D E G A C , C B A G F# E D C
sAranga C D E F# G A B C , C B A G F# D E F D C
yamunAkalyANi C D E G F# G A C , C A G F# G E D C

66 chithrAmbari
amRuthavarshiNi C E F# G B C , C B G F# E C

Fusion

For the third continuous day, a new composition, and this time I tried a fusion into this, I know the rerecording levels are completely out of order. I will try to improve it next time, but then I can't afford much of sound engineering with just a laptop and zero processing software.

This piece is pentatonic - A# D D# F A. I was myself surprised to see how just five notes can make a lovely song. I have floundered with the lead, but then I didn't have too much patience to practice it to perfection.

Recorded: Sep 29 2006, 1:30 a.m.

Autumn

Hey, so here goes my second recording, this piece is on a bluish F#m.

F# G A B C# D E F# (C also finds a place while descending)
Recorded: 27 Sep 2006 2:30 a.m.

Baptization

I've been thinking about this for a really long time. Usually when I just walk through in silence admiring nature, I feel a few tunes vibrating in my belly. Sometimes, I record them in my cell phone or might not even do that. Later I would not remember the tune and off it would get dampened in thin air. But I don't want to let this continue, so here it is, the first such tune that I am uploading to my blog. I got the tune, recorded it and thought over for some time, could not recollect hearing it anywhere else. So, I claim this one to be original and all my own. I cogitated long enough, didn't know how to name it, so am calling this Baptization!

This has only a lead playing and the rhythm in the Guitar backing, nothing else. This might not have the studio-quality, nevertheless, this is my first, so I love it. I want to flood this blog with many such pieces and have them as reminiscences, but I can't even assure myself if I would be able to do that. Please feel free to chip in your comments, that will help me a lot.

The song is on an ornamental Cm with C D D# F G A A# C.
Recorded: 25 Sep 2006 12:15 a.m.

Braffic

Bangalore, admired as the Garden City and heaved up as the Indian Silicon Valley by the outsiders, has a reason to bow down when it comes to the road infrastructure. But no one is to blame here because Bangalore was not built to hold these many people, nor the lakhs and lakhs of vehicles getting registered every month. Most of the roads are narrow or at least look narrow even during normal hours of traffic. This is not an attempt to blame the development authorities or the politicians; why are the roads narrow, why are those narrow roads bad, why are even those narrow roads missing in some of the most densely populated residential areas - all these are not I want to talk about here. I guess the solution to that lies on people starting to realize that the country is their home and we are not going to yap about any self-realization in this billet. One obvious panorama that strikes your mind as you travel through Bangalore roads is the despairing fashion the traffic signals operate.

I will just start with a few examples. The first one is the Koramangala Sony World junction. When the signal is green for vehicles moving in the directions shown by complete green lines, there is no green for the left moving vehicles shown in dashed green and there is no free left. The next one is the Airport Road Manipal Hospital junction. The signalling system here follows the traditional clockwise green. But you will immediately recognize by just standing there for a few minutes that there are only a very few vehicles trying to take a right to Manipal Hospital. So, the straight moving vehicles going towards Domlur have to wait for long, when the queue almost reaches the previous junction. The same case on the other way, the right-going traffic towards Jeevan Bhima Nagar is really meagre. After all, this is against the basic principles of any traffic solving algorithm that fifty percent of vehicles on a road go straight.

The next one, the Trinity junction on M G Road is a classic example of freedom being ripped off. The left-moving vehicles towards M G Road cannot move even when they see green because the straight-moving vehicles block them. (The opposite road taking to Ulsoor lake is now become a one-way). The fourth one on the Airport Road-Wind Tunnel Road junction is a slight goosy implementation. When green starts for straight-moving vehicles towards Marathahalli, it is still red for those trying to move right to Wind Tunnel Road. So, vehicles waiting behind the right-going traffic wanting to go straight keep honking without any use for the next sixty seconds. Instead of stop-allow for the right-going traffic, it should be an allow-stop approach.

You move five kilometres in the city, you will find ten signals and you will get stopped at all of them. There are a few pairs of signals which are only a few yards apart, even those, you end up seeing red when you reach both. This really infuriates you, the exasperation can even make you jump signals! I guess that's a basic criterion to be met with any automated traffic control, if not all (which is next to impossible), at least a few continuous green signals as you move straight should be synchronized. There are really a lot of pairs of signals where from one junction, you see a green on the other, but by the time you reach there, it's red and you need to switch off your engine for the next two minutes.

One-ways, fly-overs, no auto-rickshaws, no heavy-vehicles are definite solutions to traffic congestion, but there is something that we can do with existing linguistics, you just need to apply your mind on it and off you go! If the above said scenarios throughout Bangalore are solved, I reckon at least thirty percent of the traffic problems will be cleared. Our city is different, our people are different, our traffic pattern is different, then why do we have to use the all-old ecumenical ways of traditional traffic-signalling methods? Instead of the existing four-step signalling (give green for all directions on one road, move to the next in clockwise direction and complete the circle), why not make it twelve-way as depicted in the picture above (only the first six are shown), at least in those junctions where it makes relevance? Wherever possible, if we could also just 'curve' the roads leading to free-left, that would be a huge advantage, twenty five percent of the vehicles are expected to get cleared up this way.

I am no expert in traffic regulation, but these observations I make from my experience gained through working on Fuzzy Logic Solution to Traffic Control during my college days. From junctions where only three-directions of traffic are allowed at one time, this can transfer them to six at one time, just double the efficiency, you can save half of your travelling time! This is no new idea and the authorities should already be knowing about these flaws in the current model. The authorities can come up with a remodelling in the angles that we discussed and take it phase-wise through the roads of Bangalore, this will be both quicker and effective.