Travelogue

I had a flight to catch at 1am on 3rd of November and I was having "Pav Bhaji" for dinner that night. Then and then it strike me, the fact that many friends had warned me earlier: excitement factor goes down as your number of trips to India goes up. Pav Bhaji had been one of the big incentives for me in all of my earlier India trips but this time I was having it before catching the flight. I follow Indian politics and India stock market with much zeal. I read Indian newspapers on daily basis. I call my family more frequently as compared to my friends in India who are not staying with their folks. I have watched almost the same or more number of Indian movies as compared to my Indian resident friends. Apart from the geographical distance I couldn't say much about missing India, yes of course, I am fortunate enough to miss out the commute, water, electricity and pollution problems which I believe have been a big part of current India. I guess you cannot call yourself an Indian without going through all the hassles that every regular Indian goes.

Who am I, I am a New Yorker

Just happened to had a great blast last week. I spent about 6-7 days in New York: economic capital of the world. Ok, I was trying to make a big deal out of it, my apologies !!! So what did I see: Empire state building, Times square, Intrepid museum, cruise around statue of liberty, American museum of Natural history, Museum of Modern Arts, Central Park, Rockefeller Centre, St. Patrick's church, Ground Zero, Wall street, brooklyn bridge, Madison Square Garden and of course subways. I used to travel about 6-8 miles per day in Manhattan just to feel NY air.

Here are some of my interesting observations:

1) NY is a morning city. Most ppl work from 7am - 4pm. The peak hours in trains are from 6am-8am. I was really surprised by it.

2) If you are visiting as a tourist make sure you rise early and make to places before 4pm.

3) Travelling by subways is pretty cheap and you can travel any distance with the same fare.

4) The skyscrapers will blow your minds off. Every brand name that you have heard will have it s headquarters in NY (ok, I am jumping the line again)

5) Best part for me was 2-hr afternoon walk in Center Park.

One thing that I would like to suggest is visit as many places as you can, you will learn something and build memories from every place, Amen !!!!

India Trip

Well, where should I start? Reached India by flight, went home by van, took a ride on bike as a third seater and with the current electricity crisis in my home town, I could comfortably say that my trip was nothing short of 'Swades' film. But since EA is much strict than NASA (I guess, I cannot take 2-3mons of holidays) and absence of GF made me realise that 'genrating electricity' project would be a disaster.

Jokes apart, going back to your home after a long span of time is always a fulfilling experience. Its like coming back to your roots. I was lucky enough to meet most of my school friends, BE friends, attend my friends' wedding and get my H1 visa stamped. My religious trip and my novels collection were the other highlights.

Here are some of 'stuck-in-my-mind' observations:

1) First thing that strikes you is 5-hr power cut under the name of 'load shedding'. No comments..except that i avoided wearing any t-shirt at home at any cost, by that, I mean even in the presence of relatives who would come to see US return kid, who is supposed to be looking sophisticated and well-dressed.

2) Most of my friends are planning to move either in Mumbai district or move as far as possible from Mumbai (Pune, Blore etc). One can also sense responsibility on their faces: parents, home, money and ofcourse their life partner.

3) Many of them are fed up with company politics and their workstyle. But changing companies doesn't seem to be the best solution as all companies work in the similar fashion. Key seems to work in a MNC or a US based company.

4) Population seems like a problem which would not be solved during my lifetime. I am happy that people don't kill each other to get a window seat in local trains. Thanks to companies who have started bus services for their employees.

And above all, I feel due to the above-mentioned factors people lack passion. For they have to think about survival,which is a logical approach for any mumbaikar as he has to struggle a lot for basic necessities like electricity, water, home and commute. I am pretty sure very few might be appreciating their lives and happy to be alive. Very few would be dreaming about taking 2-week off and going to Agra for a Taj-Mahal visit. And whom should we blame for that !!!!

I must admit its easy to comment on these factors by sitting in bay area, but one must remember that we are not getting any younger !!!!