Guru De Fundae...

Mera Bharat Mahan!!!

2013-07-04T17:58:00.000+02:00

A picture speaks a thousand words. Here is an entertaining picture taken near the hydroelectric plant on a Parvati River-Himachal Pradesh-India. In the foreground you can spot a burning lighting shining in a broad day light (Noon time), clearly conflicting the nearby message "Save energy for the nation, Thank You!!" And deep in the background the Indian Signature "Mera Bharat Mahan!!!"

Mera Bharat Mahan!!!

PS.> Thanks to Subbu for lending the camera and more importantly sending the picture across just for a Friday-fun.

YHAI’s Himalayan Trekking Expedition SARPASS with Special Chabbis (SP-26)

2013-06-15T19:29:00.000+02:00

It was my first ever month in Belgium and serendipitously, it had snowed the whole night. As I was peeping out of the window, all I could witness was white carpet worn Leuven and an unstoppable snowfall adorning the morning. There was no time for coffee, after all, it was my first time watching, feeling, breathing the snow and I was very eager to taste it without any further delay. In an excited state, I marched around the white town on a long stroll. I was not the only one as there were many snow enthusiasts already shaping up the snow men, a few busy in snowball warfare and many letting shutterbugs do what they do the best…

After about lunch time, I reached IMEC and informed my colleague, Isabelle, sitting across the table, “You know what Isabelle, I saw the snow for the first time in my life.” Isabelle, as witty as ever, quipped, “You know what Guru, my baby is watching it for the first time too.” Isabelle’s had four months old baby then and needless to say I was/am only eighteen then and now…

View of Peak Parvati (6127m) from the base camp in Kasol-Himachal-India

Special Chabbis (SP-26)

I was recounting the incident as finally for the first time in my life, I was witnessing an Indian Himalayan snow clad peak Parvati (20096ft/6127m) sitting in the YHAI base camp in the Parvati valley, Kasol-Himanchal-India. Soon, we, the 42 participants composing the 26^th batch (SP-26) of the season 2013 baptized ourselves as Special Chabbis and were set to depart on delightful SARPASS Himalayan trekking expedition. Itinerary was to scale SARPASS (13800 ft/4200m) starting & ending in Kasol (6500 ft/2000m) in 7 days. Bus rides at the start and the end of the trek would consume about 1800ft/2500m and the intermediate base camps at many insightfully planned picturesque locations (Kasol-Galgi thatch-Khora thach-Zirmi-Tila Lotni-Biskeri thach-Bhandak thatch-Kasol) would provide much needed rest to the legs while rejuvenating the souls.

Picturesque Biskeri thach camp

Picturesque Bhandak thach camp

View from Bhandak thach camp: After all the hardwork of going up and coming down, we relaxed playing cricket at this Lords!!!

For an almost-all-affordable cost (3655 INR/65 USD) YHAI not only provides an excellent platform for interaction within the participants from disparate states, it does an outstanding job in planning and streamlining all the routes-stay-and-food for all the batches. In the remote part of north India, I was amazed to have mouthwatering soft and fluffy idlies for breakfast. Food at the higher camps was not only nutritious but was delicious as well. During the course of the hike, one has to live pretty much like an herbivorous mammal. Camping in the tents all throughout without baths (unless u bear guts to take cold water baths in near 0 degC) and using nature for daily rituals, one certainly has an abundance of mesmerizing views and unforgettable banters with co-hikers to keep going...

Walk on a misty morning...

Need to walk high, higher and higher...

Jai Maharashtra - Jai Hind!!! Not sure if this was the highest point in the hike. Nevertheless after all the climb a deserving laugh...

Better late than never, we walk on the snow...

SP-26 on a roll on the snow...

Time for a quick pose...

Ahh....I have my jacket here :-)

And, here it goes off...

One step at a time and all mountains are scalable...

One just can't stop clicking only one...

This pass was tricky. Soft ice and a lot of sliding opportunities...

Landscape you do not want to take your eyes off...

After sliding: an event (small sister of skii) I will always remember...

Young hearts from all over India join the hike and you meet lots of interesting characters around. In special chabbis (SP-26), we were led by a commendable Indian ex-International Hockey player in the 80s (when the Indian team must have been a lot better than it is now) Mr. Bhandari. Rizwan – an International Taekwondo player and Bronze medalist in Nepal World cup, PK from Indian air force along with a lot of adept shayars/singers from Lucknow lit up the campfires every evening. The common de-numerator across all the participants was the love for nature, endless enthusiasm for singing and preparedness to take the pain to achieve an optimal altitude gain. My to-do-travel-list (deserves another post on this) has grown at least a mile due to tips from all these well-traveled travel enthusiasts. Many of the items in the list fall from YHAI itself and time permitting; I am a hundred percent candidate on many more YHAI hikes year, after year, after years…

In fact, whenever I visit India, I would like YHAI hikes to be the re-union points where we all friends and co-hikers would keep on singing:

Yeh to bas angdai hein!

asli chadhai abhi aani hein!!!

Engligh Translation:

This is only a trailer (i.e. small hike)!

The movie (i.e. major hike) is yet to come!!!

Not Ganges, not Beas, still a roaring water flow!!!

Snakes in the form of flora; Never seen something like this before

Never found this earlier either :-)

For more photos please visit: https://plus.google.com/photos/110326084097379514065/albums/5889728420954931681

Dream Trip of Europe!!!

2013-05-06T17:57:00.001+02:00

My PhD is in Semiconductors and postdoc (without a tinge of hesitation) is in Traveling (specialization: EU zone and a few parts of India and Asia pacific). If you need further travel tips, do contact me...hahaha. I serve with a single fee: In front of a beautiful spot, you have to say "Guru! Guru!! Guru!!!" and I will have a sense of being around there and I will see the world through your eyes...

As a part of my travel consultancy, I was set out to plan a trip for Pranshant's friend, Waqqas. He was set out to travel the world in 6 months and the first thought talking to him was "Mera number kab aayega :-( :-( :-(". He had (if I remember correctly) about 45 days to travel within Europe. The start and end would have to be Switzerland and when I set out to plan a trip for him, the trip (unknowingly at that point in time) became my own dream trip...

The plan includes parts of the world that I have been, parts of the world that my friends have been (and they highly recommend) and a few appear in the list through travelogues (and postdoc grade research). The trip includes countries in the Schengen region only. Single google map was insufficient to provide all the directions and I had to resort to two, one covering the west and the other covering the east. First map shows a travel distance of 14600 km and the second pans about 6865 km only :-). As that would take some effort to walk or bike (even for the best of the best), I recommend a few flights (Ryanair must be traveling to most by default). Also, it would most likely take more than 45 days if you encompass all of them. I believe it has a nice mix of important/historical cities and an abundance of nature for nature lovers. Certainly, you are free to make your own choice to hip on and hip off...

Europe in the West - Plan A

Europe in the East - Plan B

In a nutshell, it covers the following places across 18 countries. You can skip some and choose some to your taste:

-- Geneva, Switzerland; -- Chamonix, France -- Grenoble, France

-- Nice, Cannes France, Monte Carlo (Recommend a Cruise to Barcelona)

-- Barcelona, Spain; -- Cordova, Spain; -- Malaga, Spain; -- Seville, Spain;

-- Lisbon, Portugal; -- Porto, Portugal

-- Madrid, Spain; -- San Sebastian, Spain;

-- Paris, France

-- Luxembourg, Luxembourg

-- Heidelberg, Germany

-- Leuven, Belgium (of course); -- Brugge, Belgium

-- Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Fly to Stockholm)

-- Stockholm, Sweden (Fly to Abisko); -- Abisko, Sweden (Fly to Bergen); -- Bergen, Norway; -- Stavanger, Norway; -- Oslo, Norway

-- Copenhaegen, Denmark (Ferry to Finland); -- Helsinki, Finland

-- Krakow, Poland; -- Berlin, Germany; -- Prague, Czech Republic;
-- Budapest, Hungary; -- Vienna, Austria; -- Salzburg, Austria

-- Munich, Germany; -- Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

-- Venezia, Italy; -- Pisa, Italy; -- Rome, Italy; -- Palermo, Italy;
-- Agrigento, Italy (Fly to Malta)

-- Malta Island, Mellieħa, Malta (Fly to Milan; Milan to Como)

-- Como, Italy

-- Interlaken, Switzerland; -- Zurich, Switzerland

Happy Travel...

Guru

Sydney & Melbourne - Australia Sight Seeing

2013-02-14T04:16:00.000+01:00

“Unless I have my Preity Zinta alongside me, I am not going to watch the Opera show”, I was confirmed in my mind as the scenes from Dil Chahata Hein (DCH) when Preity takes Amir for an Opera were flashing in front of my eyes and I was resisting the temptation from the Sydney Opera tour guide enticing the group to buy tickets for the Chinese Opera evening shows in the famous Sydney Opera House.

Once when I was shown the spectacular picture of the Lotus temple in Delhi-India and I had misrecognized it as the Sydney Opera House. To me, any structure with a white tiled quarter-spheroids stacked multiple times signified Sydney Opera House. It’s not then a surprise at all that the about 4 billion people in the world (i.e. 2 out of every 3 in the universe) do recognize the magnum opus Sydney Opera House in the frame and framing it from the Sydney harbor bridge during a quiet evening walk was one of the charming experiences…

Sydney Opera House in front of Sydney Harbor Bridge

Sydney Harbor Bridge

Sydney Harbor Bridge reflection in the Opera House glass

Equally splendid experience is to capture the glittering Sydney Harbor Bridge in the day and night times. It’s one of the popular places for nocturnal photography with a lot of flashes hitting the skyline. The area must be at its spectacular best during the new-year evening fireworks. However, on a normal day it’s good too…

Sydney Harbor Bridge - A night view

Sydney Opera House - a night view

Sydney skyline

A Museum or an art gallery in Sydney

The great thing about Australia is that the entire continent is not fragmented into fractions called nations. There are no fights/wars for the same resources, no political skirmishes, no man made border issues and seamless access to disparate cultures resulting in harmony*. With a total colonial stamp, the entire continent speaks a single language (a bit boring), eats the same food and drinks similar drinks. Taking a cue from Australia, it may not be a bad idea for other continents to reorganize themselves forming a Pangaea yet again. Well, just a passing thought... and a few more pictures:

Melbourne skyline - An angled view

Sporty Melbourne: Boating in Yarra River

Shrine of Remembrance - Melbourne

My first trip to the continent has focused only on the two cities (Sydney & Melbourne) and most the sports venues. With blessed nature all over the continent, the opportunities are aplenty. A few that readily come to the mind are:
n Great Ocean Road
n The Uluru (The famous red stone)
n Blue Mountains
n Entire west coast

And last but never the least...
n World wonder “The Great Barrier Reef”

Time for next trip…

______________________________________

^* I am not a geopolitical expert. However, the assumed hypothesis seems alright.

The SCG and the MCG

2013-02-07T15:30:00.004+01:00

“Where is Sydney Cricket Ground-SCG? How do I go to SGC?,” was my first question to the host in Sydney after the rudimentary check-in procedures. “Come here,” pointing me to come outside the door he was pointing his forefinger up and not so far. “Can you see those standing lights? Yeah? That’s SGC for you my friend.” Wow!!! I was gasping my breath; coincidently I had booked a place at an arm’s length from SCG, next to Cricketers’ Arm hotel. No wonder then that all the walls downstairs were filled with ex-Australian cricketers like the Waughs, the McGraths and not the mention the big Don Bradman. Now, it was my turn to point to my bag and saying, “Can you please hold on to it for a while as I just can’t stop my excitement even for a second. Here I go…”

Marathon Cricket Tournament @ SCG-Sydney

Innings break @ Australia-Srilanka T20 game @ MCG

MCG during the tour

As much as I have hated the smug invincible look on Ricky Ponting and his teammates’ face, I have been a salient admirer of the success the nation has achieved in sports arena. Be it an Olympic sport, be it Cricket – a game played by only handful of nations, Aussies have set new and newer standards for the world to chase all the time. Just can’t forget the days of getting up very early in the morning not only to catch the captivating cricket action along with an outstanding channel 9 commentary but an equal attraction was to get the glimpses of the lush green, nicely curetted outfields, seagulls dancing on the boundary lines. Those were just wonderful, wonderful memories and being in Australia I desperately wanted to have a first look at both the SCG and a must do THE MCG…

After a short brisk walk, I was at the SCG gates inquiring for the guided tours at the stadium. “We are afraid, Sir!!! We have guided tours every morning 10AM and tomorrow being an Australian day* – a national day, we have no tours for public,” a stern face at the counter poked. Even his Sir sounded stern. After traveling shores to see the venue, it was not a pleasing response. “Is there any way I can visit the grass at least once,” disappointment must have flashed on my face as if the sky has broken loose. With a broad smile the passer by tour guide quipped, “However, you have come in this august place at a very special occasion, Sir!!! Today, we have a “Marathon Cricket Tournament” scheduled and (not to mention) the entry is free and you will be able to witness a real cricket game @ the SGC.” “But…but, how about the dressing rooms and pavilion etc.,” ecstatic though, I still sounded a bit paranoid, “Do Not worry, Sir! You will be able to enter the dressing rooms, take pictures and above all, you would be amongst the very few- a very lucky few, who can claim to have a chilled beer at the Sydney members club.”

Bradman philosophy @ Home dressing room - SCG

"Mera Bharat Mahan" - @ Guest dressing room - SCG

Two maestros celebrating elders B'day @ MCG

A few moments later, I was clean bowled by a waitress holding Samosa trey and mango chutney at the members’ hall. Well, the next few hours, I was at my happiest best wandering on the fields of SCG. Capturing the pictures, I walked through the pavilion, the members club, the Bradman hall. Above all standing on the center turf, waving his willow to the midwicket dressing room followed by watching the skies as if gesturing his father with meditating eyes, I did simulate a Tendulkar scoring a couple hundred without playing an offside drive.

Simulation @ SCG turf

Finally, @ MCG press box after the game (tour)

Two days later was the date with awesome MCG and I also enjoyed a last ball finish T20 game between Australia and Srilanka. Was just an incredible experience too...

A Blind Man on a Hiking trail

2013-01-03T18:10:00.003+01:00

This encounter has certainly given me a lot of strength in the events of adversities, in events when I have hit my psychological nadir, and it has made me humble at the core in the events of joys and triumphs too. May be there is a bit of lesson for everybody in this story... May be each one of you would interprete this god like act differently...

Location: Anaga, Tenerife - Canary Islands, Spain.

A group of hikers were on their first small hike on a tiny mystical island. Temperatures were amicable in the mid twenties, ideal to miss the December cold in Belgium. The path way was steep, uneven and rocky but nothing dangerous - way too safe by any mountain standards. Yet, a few members in our group were shouting and screaming, stressing their vocal chords more than their leg muscles. Most of us busy breathing the scenic panoramic views from the heights, feeling nice breeze on the body, basking in the worthy gains for the all the enduring pains. As we were walking past the twists and the turns, the shouts and screams suddenly vanished as if the winding path would have carried a mercedez now. The sense of calm prevailed as all of us stood completely in silence, awestruck in a spellbound statue mode witnessing the miracle - god like act in front our own eyes. It made us forgot the existing breathtaking panoramic views, it made us forgot our senses for a while as all our eyes were pinned on single man - a fellow hiker scaling down the mountain in the opposite direction.

He could not watch any of us, could not witness any of the stunning panoramic views, could not sense any of the impending dangers paved in the path. Yet, he was there to feel it. He made all the effort to be there not to see it but to feel it. And, feeling the breeze, he must have experienced everything that none of us could have seen from any of our open eyes. Unfortunately, the nature has not been kind on him. Taking away 1 out of 5 senses does sound a lot cruel than one think. Fortunately though, the god equally must have gifted him with a lot more senses full of tenacity, courage and strength to overcome what he lacked. Not screaming, not shouting, resting his one hand on friends elbow and the other holding a traditional blind man's stick, he went passed us whistling nonchalantly as if the landscape was his lush green garden backdoor. Struck on one side on the wall, it took all of us a while to come back to senses and gauge the magnitude of the event. I personally was impressed by his courage, his courage to transcend the boundaries, his courage to excel beyond the ordinary, his sheer will to overcome the missing element - a deficiency, an adversity. For Hari, it was his trust on his friend that appealed the most. To me, the god like act was an exemplification demonstrating the power of an outstanding will, a proof of what Gandhi sentenced a long ago:

"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will" M. K. Gandhi

Subsequently, I explored the internet finding similar heroics - god like acts of blind men. They are in plenty. Here, just listing a few:

-- Bill Irvine used a guide dog to hike the Appalachian train in 1990s.

-- Don Planner - ex-army serviceman became the 1st blind man to climb Mont Blanc via the Gouter Route on 25th June 1996.

-- Erik Weihenmayer is the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, on May 25, 2001.

In fact, Erik Weihenmayer has successfully conquered the 7 summits challenge, reaching the summit of the highest peak in each and every continent. He is an author and a prolific speaker too. His videos on youtube are totally mesmerizing. I am sure you just can't stop with one:

My salute/respect to all these brave hearts...

Smokin' Sumatra!

2012-12-30T06:27:00.002+01:00

Patriotic Smokers

Most of the conversations in Sumatra followed a set pattern. With usual greetings accompanying a beaming smile, an eager looking Indonesian queries, "What's your name, Mr.?". Without waiting for an answer his hands move around his pockets and picking the most valued possession - a packet of Cigarettes. He offers, "Cigarette, Mr.?" Upon receiving a negative response, either his eyes bewilder with an excitement spotting an alien (and probably thinking),"How can a man be a man without smoking". Else, you gain a rarely respectable nod, "Wow!!! how the hell you resist such a divine pleasure." Most of the advertisement billboards on the roads also address tobacco lovers, either enticing the new pack or pleasing the veterans. Given this penetration of tobacco in an around, it is not surprising and indeed heart breaking and absolutely shocking to spot about 10 years old kids smoking their adolescence with every inhaled puff on a scenic beach or equally scenic lush green landscapes.

I could not stop but to rake the topic during the chat with Joe - a paragliding enthusiast, with whom I could strike long conversations on my way to Bukittingi from Padang. He offered a rather cynical argument,"Guru, one has to understand smoking in Indonesia is a mandatory national cause for every Indonesian man. This is how men demonstrate patriotism in Indonesia." I did not get his point immediately and naively asked,"Smoking demonstrating patriotism. How?" And the logic he presented can be extended to all the smokers and alcoholics the world over. He argued,"Cigarettes attract most tax and contribute the most to the national exchequer* and more the Indonesian men smoke, more they contribute to the national exchequer and towards the economic growth of the country." So to all the smokers in the world: Keep smoking your lungs out, keep contributing to the patriotic national cause but please, please do something to keep those adolescent kids out of the dirt. Any ideas? Meanwhile, a few screenshots...

Lush Green Sumatra Landscape

Canyon in Bukittingi-Indonesia

Islands close to Armanis beach - Padang-Indonesia

Paragliding: A classy adventure

Thanks for the surfing goof-up on the 2nd day morning, I had a chance to spend the entire day with the gliding enthusiasts in Indonesia. I have already been sold on being a gliding pilot after a single gliding session with Peter, thanks to Tomas and NBH. This one was the more adventurous of the two. In glider plane, you are inside a gliding plane feeling at home while in paragliding you are out in the open sitting on your harness. The take off and landing are very crucial and in between it looks like driving a car where the fuel (Thermal heat from the atmosphere) is not in your control making it more tricky. Nevertheless, with a proper precaution, it is certainly an enjoyable sport providing many more entertaining views. Waiting for my turn, I had an enjoyable time playing out with my lens taking a few gliding shots...

Joe- paragliding enthusiast; Unfortunately, his glider could not take off on the day

A long zoom shot - Paraglider enjoying his ride

Landing on the Armanis beach

I climbed the hill twice desperately waiting for my turn and the weather spoiled the party every time forcing me to live on one thing, Hope. Unfortunately, the nature was unkind yet again when I traveled to Bukittingi for climbing Mt. Merapi. The active mountain was erupting and it was forbidden to hike. But then, there is always next time, a new day and a new opportunity. Hope is a good thing, good things do not die!!!

Finally, Minangkabau architecture - a unique view in Smoking Sumatra!!!

Minangkabau architecture - the big house roof structure

___________________________

* For those interested in Economics of smoking: Although the detrimental effects of smoking are well-known, the world over it has never been banned by governments. For One, smoking does contribute a great deal to the exchequer and secondly, with larger life expectancy today, it saves governments a lot of investments in old age homes as most smokers get smoked out sooner than later.

"Holiday Credit" - a worthy experiment?

2012-12-18T10:55:00.004+01:00

Apparently, working in the month of December* (applies to all holiday seasons) generates mixed feelings. On a tragic note, there is always a feeling that holiday time is not optimally utilized. Being in nature (rather brainstorming in the nature) is always preferred than brainstorming on a desk, any disputes? On a better note though, with a very few in the office (read no bosses :p), the work environment is much more relaxed giving time for more coffees and more radical thoughts and laughter. And with no immediate pressure of deadlines a.k.a. sliding, one can work quite leisurely spend time exploring untouched long thought ideas...

In my Singapore experience, the pressure cooker corporate environment might actually turn worse (read hostile) for a few, specially on a Business (One u think money, you always think of money) front. There are a few souls who are not lucky enough to take holidays when they desperately desire. Now, for me, emancipation's top item in a corporate set-up is freedom to plan your holiday and in no circumstances it can be traded off for money. But then there are bills to pay and other societal pressures and hence the compromise. Worst still, there are few who have to soak their souls in the office even when they are on an official holiday. Totally appalling!!! Pity, huh!!! But then what is the solution, any way out?

Talking to colleagues Roshan and Merugu over coffee on a cloudy evening I believe, "Holiday Credit" - a credit on the lines of carbon credit that lead to Kyoto protocol could lead to an acceptable solution. Holidays have to be fairly monetized just like carbon credit monetizing carbon emissions. The set number of holidays provided by an employer can not have an equal weight and only a trade on them can lead to an optimal valuation. As an example, the vacation during the holiday season should obviously be valued much more than the vacation during the other times. And the demand and supply in the market should lead to an optimal value for holidays. This way, one can borrow/buy holidays finding a replacement for one's work and the seller (money making souls) can be adequately compensated for her sacrifice.

Most importantly, an avid traveler - yours truly, can plan loooong vacations (e.g. Antartica, Arctic, Himalaya and the endless list) in lull periods and compensate with spending time in the office during holiday season compensating for the colleagues if required. If there is any term called "team work", the Holiday credit would certainly fructify it. At least, it should be an experiment- worth a try. What do you say?

__________________________________________

* Recounting, this is only second December since 2006 that I am actually working...

Guru! Guru!! Guru!!!

2012-08-02T10:38:00.002+02:00

Well!!! I genuinely request every friend undertaking a traveling sojourn to chant/shout/scream "Guru! Guru!! Guru!!!" whenever they encounter an amazing traveling spot, a mesmerizing wonder or anything alike. I believe by doing so the world would conspire me to visit the spot sooner than later. Majority of the souls laugh, laugh out laud and (sadly) forget :-(

Recently though, I was pleasantly surprized by my colleague Romen when he brought me this video from his recent vacation to Tenerife - Canary Islands - Spain. I went ecstatic. Thanks a ton Romen!!!

Romen shouting "Guru! Guru!! Guru!!!"

In the background, El-Tiede (3717.91m; 12198 ft) the highest mountain I have ever been and in the foreground, Romen yelling "Guru! Guru!! Guru!!!" is the funniest thing I have recently seen...

Shala - The School(Part-I)

2012-07-20T13:04:00.002+02:00

"Sandhya is so lame, Savitha", Kavitha, "Sooo lame...She has only two games in her phone. Look at my two phones. So nice!!! I have sixteen games and eighteen movies. I have chammak challo, chikni chameli and on and on and on..." I was dumbstruck listening to the conversation of ~10 year old Indian school going kids in Singapore. Watching lunatically my new smart phone which I was totally proud of even with a single game installed brought me on the ground and for the first time in my life, I was struck with the effect of (so called) generation gap I had missed to recognize (or chose to ignore) so far. Since that day - rather everyday journey to the office has been an entertainment I dearly look up to. On the way to office, there are at least 3-4 schools and when I pan out, one class or the other is on the ground. At times with the coach on a basketball court or a football field and many times doing the rounds around the park. A few kids sprinting to the dash line, a larger group forming a parliament discussing most burning issues while a notorious few cleverly walking behind the girls...

Pritam Kabra (Left) - A Chartered Accountant (CA) by profession today and yours truly (Right) sitting of the same bench we shared during our 10th Standard - Class B. The room is on the first floor of the (then) S. V. Joshi's new building

The younger generation of the school demoing a science experiment - It's unbelievable we were so small once upon a...

Another bench pair Anil (Left): An accountant and most importantly the most outstanding student of the Class X and Subodh (Right): Entrepreneur and a budding politician

As I am witnessing their childhood, often I fall into nostalgia recounting my childhood and I remember the recent reunion day I dearly enjoyed during the Diamond Jubilee celebration of my school - S.V. Joshi High School. What a day it was!!! Catching up with old school mates was fun...indeed fun... undoubtedly one of the most enjoyable days to cherish. With the bellies out and chubby cheeks demonstrating the signature of well being and inactive life style, the banter mostly revolved around the current coordinates, evolved career paths, new opportunities and most importantly the fond school memories. As we were walking around the first building, one of my classmates remembered the thunderous strike by our class teacher Patil Sir. The entire class had gone into an uncharacteristic silence and the only thing she could not gather was the exact protagonist in the story and I had to oblige to narrate the incidence:

Well, it was a rainy day yet the gloom had not descended into the classroom and everybody was happily playing with the pencils and colors, drawing rather mimicking an attractive piece of nature scene Patil Sir (The Master) had just drawn on board. He certainly had one of the most magical hands and could create a different world on his own on the board with a handful of colors. The scene was colorful adorning the otherwise insipid black and white board. I always wondered how the math or science teachers that followed could mercilessly wash the entire scene, only to implant the worldly knowledge into our heads.

Anyways, once done with the master piece, The Master settled down with his job of collecting the annual fees from his pupils. The cumulative annual fees were to be 120 rupees (2 USD today) and it was the turn of yours truly to hand over the annual bills. A total of 120 rupees meant a set of two paper notes, one with 100 rupees and the other with a twenty rupees one. To my love towards miniature things, I had folded the 20 rupee note into 20 folds and probably 100 rupees one into that many. Honestly, I was more than happy with my invention. The notes not only took less space in my ever tiny pocket but also resulted in a 3D structure that significantly appealed me. Little did I know that I would one day become a microelectronics engineer playing with micro and nano-dimensional entities building 3D chips, saving crucial real estate and energy in state-of-the-art electronics. Looking back at a few folks, returning their monkey gestures, I nonchalantly handed over the annual sum to The Master and it happened... It happened in a flash...It happened before I could realize, before the class could realize...It happened when I was caught unaware, everyone was caught unaware. The right hand of the master thundered on the left cheek of the pupil, the head was dispatched for a free space travel, the throat started yielding intermittent quacks and in unison cheeks started rolling unstoppable warm tears...

The thunderous strike created a thunderous sound quelling all the whispers in the class and all started watching the drama unfolding on the front stage. "You Donkey, is this the way to treat money?", shouted The Master. "They are just the piece of paper, Sir, nothing more nothing less!!!", but The Mind could not speak as it was traveling the galaxies counting stars. "You monkey, this is what your parents have taught you so far?", screamed The Master again. "What's the role of teachers then?, Sir", again The Mind could bot speak as it was off the milky way counting close to infinity in a flash now. "You moron, get lost from my sight and remember if you treat money like this any more. Show it the respect it deserves and only then it will respect you", The Master, "Understand!!! The damn thing is not only hard earned but many hardly ever earn it..." Even off the galaxy, The Mind has not forgotten the message. Thank you Master!!!

The reunion day was also the day when the great achievers, the cum-laude's; the creme-de-la-creme of the school were applauded for their achievements, for some the life time achievements. And my mind started wondering again, yet again... More about that in Shala - The School (Part-II)...

Adriatic Croatia - My last PhD trip in Europe

2012-05-20T08:21:00.000+02:00

My last trip in Europe during PhD was to Croatia* - a beautiful holiday destination with lots of Sea and the Sun and to add to that more and more beautiful people all around. Where else can you expect the host to come to receive you at the bus terminal and you reach ho(s)tel in chauffeur driven car at 6AM in the morning. The lady of the house then greets you with a traditional welcome drink -- honey and vintage liquor (may be) half as strong as Becherovka burning your throat -- What a way to start a day!!!

Ferpect (There is nothing perfect in this world) for a last minute travelers like me, one of the curious practices in Croatia is that you do not really have to book ho(s)tels etc. in advance. For one, you will have a lot of residents looking for travelers to offer them beds/rooms. Renting places and tourism is their major source of revenue. If you are unlucky to find none, I was informed that you are free to just knock on any door in the neighborhood and request them if they have a place to stay. Worse come worst, the residents will guide you to another neighbor and most likely you will get a bed at least.

With more than thousand islands, Croatia is one of those beautiful marvels that it becomes too difficult to imagine that the country was at loggerheads with neighboring Bosnia just a two decades ago and the war stories on the dinner table leave you shock shelled.

For most prominent traveling destinations, there is a lot and lots to see. While The pearl of Adriatic -- Dubrovnik, described by G. B. Shaw as "Those who seek paradise on Earth should come to Dubrovnik and see Dubrovnik" should not be missed in any circumstances the tranquil park in Plitvice will certainly leave you far away from the mundane day to day routine that you will hate to come back. It's one of the decent places for adventurists too as there are quite a few water sports options to bask in. The passing beauty of the islands when you travel on roads close to Sea is simply mesmerizing and it would be a huge effort to give a break to your shutter. Here are a few shutter bugs...

Dubrovink - The pearl of Adriatic

Lokrum - An island close to Dubrovnik

Croatia - A country with more than thousand Islands

Pristine -- A natural cave in Lokrum

Plitvice Park water fall - small and sweet

_______________________________________________________

* By the way, Gary Kasparov travels to Croatia for vacation every summer. Not only he relaxes in the summer house with his entire family, he works on his Chess too. Being hugely optimistic, I was hopeful that an ounce of sand would be fly into my head to improve my Chess performance. Height of optimism :-)

Invitation to Guru's PhD Defense...

2011-11-09T18:31:00.003+01:00

Dear Friends,

After all the treks, travels and blogs in Leuven, it’s time for me to defend PhD. The details of the event are as follows:

PhD Title: Characterization and Modeling of Through Silicon Via (TSV) and its impact on 3D Circuits and Systems

Language: English

Date: 18^th Nov. 2011 (Friday)

Time: 10.30AM – 1PM

Venue: Thermotechnisch Instituut-

Kasteelpark Arenberg 41,

3001 Heverlee

Link To the map: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Thermotechnisch+Instituut-++Kasteelpark+Arenberg+41,++3001+Heverlee&hl=en&ll=50.861065,4.684929&spn=0.004815,0.009645&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=49.089956,79.013672&vpsrc=6&hq=Thermotechnisch+Instituut-+Kasteelpark+Arenberg+41,&hnear=Heverlee,+Flemish+Brabant,+Flemish+Region,+Belgium&t=m&z=17

Guru’s Contact No.: +32 16 288724 (Off.); +32 486 746 064 (GSM)

The defense will be followed by reception and for logistic reasons, it would greatly help if you let me know your attendance in advance.

Please feel free to forward it to all those who may be interested.

Look forward to see you all there…

Thanks and regards,

Guru

Lage Raho ANNA BHAI

2011-08-29T13:19:00.011+02:00

Recent success of Anna movement for Jan Lokpal bill to build zero corruption (a theoretical impossibility) India has been exemplary providing hope to the millions of us for the better future. In my opinion, the movement not only provided a nascent display of the maturity of Indian democratic system nurturing tons of non violent debates, it also demonstrated that coming together India (and more so an Indian) can make herself heard. Anna's fight for one and all, adherence and insistence of his demands and persistence to the cause not only galvanized the entire nation but produced hilarious literature to bring an epidemic laugh on everybody's face.

Here is an e-mail doing the rounds on the internet. A society that can laugh on itself will always improve and progress. All we have to cheer is "Lage Raho ANNA BHAI..."

Demographic Salary Estimation & Analysis: An Indian View

2011-05-18T20:52:00.015+02:00

The irony of passing out as a PhD is that you still have to look for a Job :-(

What are the existing options available? Which are the places to go? What would be my likely salary package? What's the merited savings potential? What will the work like? What will be the lifestyle? These are only a few perennial questions. Here is an effort analyzing salaries and work/life styles across demographics. Before you proceed with the analysis, beware of the disclaimers towards the end.

Obviously, your insights/critiques/suggestions are welcome as they will only throw more light enabling professionals to make an educated decision. So, all views are welcome...

Salary, Potential savings Estimation (Click to Enlarge):

Strengths and weaknesses across demographics(Click to Enlarge):

Disclaimers:
* Any resemblance of the presented data with the salary package of an individual (alive or dead) is purely coincidental...LOL
* These are not academic salaries but general salaries of a PhD fresher aspiring an industrial job.
* All figures are tentative. The idea is to have min, typ and max approximations providing (only and only) tentative estimation. No estimation should be treated as exact.
* The taxation and expense figures are approximate and to author's knowledge approximately valid in the demographic zone (data obtained by hearsay) and should not be treated as exact.
* Bonus and other fringe benefits are not considered in the analysis.
* Analysis is done as an Indian, by an Indian and for an Indian. Strongly based on the hypothesis that provided with infinite money (?) and a lovable job, he/she would prefer India as an option.
* Only four places (USA, Singapore, Mainland Europe and India) are considered for analysis. UK and other places are not considered as they provide very limited semiconductor opportunities.

Innovative Innocentive Challenge

2011-05-15T20:42:00.007+02:00

There are so many instances during our careers/jobs or in daily lives that we starve for a challenging assignment. The work at hand is not aptly cerebral (specially if it's writing PhD Thesis*) and that makes you look for distractions that would send your mind to horizons...

Innovative Innocentive is one such platform offering you plenty of open challenges and who knows you may grow to fame, make worthwhile contributions while bagging lucrative sum in the process. I was informed about it by one of its contest winners - Manish Pande and have been following it quite closely. While not all the problems fall in your area of expertize and hence are difficult to contribute to, the recent challenge The Economist-InnoCentive Human Potential Index Challenge has caught my attention:

The objective of this Challenge is for you to come up with your own metric or index that will capture an important element of society. The metric or index should be relevant to the conference’s main theme of enabling human potential; defined as: how successfully individuals, organizations, and societies are able to unleash intellectual energy and capitalize on it for social and economic progress. While you may not be able to start quantifying your metric or index yet, you should be able to reasonably explain where you would be able to locate the data that you need both now and in the future. You can assume that the creation of some reasonable data collection infrastructure would be possible, though that is beyond the scope of the Challenge. Even though a metric or index could be used to quantify local trends of human potential, it’s more interesting to the Economist to learn about metrics or indices that measure trends at least at the country or regional level, if not at the global level.
Deadline: June 20, 2011
Reward: $10,000

For one, I have recently been curious about economics/Finance as a Technology/micro finance etc. and secondly this is a problem where (in my opinion) everyone can always make a case for himself. What he/she believes as the best for his/her own life and how the world (Governments, Institutions etc.) should conspire to achieve what they believe as most important for their own betterment.

I am sure there would be plenty of mind shattering ideas and although with the uphill task of meeting the Thesis deadline, I hope to brainstorm and come up with one I think as most important for me. If you do...Do not let this opportunity go...Go for It...Good Luck!!!

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* Like it or not, it is one of those necessary evils, you have to accomplish as a PhD candidate and the reason why I would prefer an honorary PhD any day...LoL

Glimpses of Bombay

2011-02-17T13:33:00.012+01:00

A lot happens over Coffee and in Bombay a lot happens under the lights. Bombay - a city feeding thousands with a lively hood and millions with hope to make it Big, Bigger and Brighter. A vibrant place to say the least, has been viewed, portrayed and crafted by many many photographers, writers and artists with aplomb.

Here is me, capturing a few famous spots in my city with my viewfinder under the lights.

Mahim-Dadar region: Photo taken from Bandra Worli Sea link

The famous neck-less captured from Nariman point

Cuffe parade/Backbay region captured from Nariman point

The New Taj

The Victoria Terminus/Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus - Central Railway Train station

Bombay Muncipal corporation - A gathering place of rogues
deliberating how to loot to perfection :-)

The Gateway of India

26/11: A recount

2010-11-28T13:05:00.006+01:00

26/11/2010; Two years after the horrific 26/11; Bombay wore a subdued look. The roads were not as busy as usual, restaurants close to being empty and missing the usual buzz. This was not the evening in Colaba-Bombay we are all used to. Only a few ones were curiously ambling around and the epicenter of the horror-Taj was cordoned by Police personnel, arguably more in number than the in-house guests. The Indian youth reformists had an ongoing campaign going on next to the Regal cinema and before I could pen my thoughts, the entire length of the 5km paper ran out of space :-( Here are my unwritten (well actually half written) thoughts:

Every Scam creates a sham;
But who the hell gives a damn

Every politician wants his cake;
And Junta looks for a break

Years have gone, decades will go;
Denied justice will never make us grow

Of all the shortcomings if India needs to shine;
Standing up tall, all of us need to join

Resolutely breaking each and every barrier;
All we should build is a superpower

Thanks to Balu Katti, all five Kattis (well, Four Kattis and one Potdar) could pay our respects to the brave police officers and victims and their families. The renovated Taj dome was glittering, probably recounting the horrific event...

Rucha and Shaila Maushi lighting candles

Glittering Taj Dome

MPs Salary Hike - Govt Salaries - My take

2010-08-18T13:19:00.010+02:00

The adage goes, "If you throw peanuts, you only get monkeys" and no wonder then that the adage aptly applies to Indian Parliamentarians and can (more or less) be extended to the entire gamut of Indian Government employees. Government jobs (Teachers, Police, Judges and Bureaucrats etc.) including Parliamentarians are not seeking the same level of talent equipped to handle the job responsibilities to perfection. There have been exceptions but bluntly put the Government jobs in India today are means to get into a cozy permanent position without any accountability over lifetime. Add to that highly responsible jobs do generate nonparallel amount of extra income through corruption leading extravagent life styles, killing the social conscious attached to the job in the process. It's no surprise then that the most talented and highly self-conscious Indian youth is allergic to the Government Jobs and is looking for an alternative. Illustrious, lucrative and more meritocratic private sector careers then beacon leaving government jobs in hands of ill-equipped (I wish not to call mediocre) youth.

Members of Parliamentarians (MP) carry the most coveted and the most responsible position as policy/law makers in the Indian constitution and sadly many of our politicians are most ill-equipped and lackluster to justify their respective positions. Most of the younger generation - Supriya Sule, Sachin Pilot, Milind Deora, Naveen Jindal and even Rahul Gandhi - that come readily to my mind should ideally fill the chest of all Indians with pride but given their family legacy, Indian politics scene appears to be a family run business. Veterans are no different as they are known to sleep on their chairs and most of them neither demonstrate excellence nor deliver performance/governance. One wonders what our MPs would do if they would not have been MPs? Are they equipped to run alternative administration or policy making management jobs with aplomb? Will anybody else other than their parties hire them? Why then these soles are demanding salary hike? Are they really worthy of it? Alternatively put, Will the Indian state reap the benefits of the amount of money it would be shelling on its policy/law makers?

Answers to these questions are not that black and white as any Politics but I do understand one thing "If you throw peanuts, you only get monkeys" and according to that rule, as a policy maker I would vehemently support the Salary hike for MPs and other Government officials. I prefer to increase the salary package of all the government officials including MPs to their private industry counterparts. I would prefer to do it with a trade-off though. The extra perks - car cavalcade, house and other fringe benefits - should be slashed vehemently and brought under control. Their social status should stay similar to that of a private sector employee. All Government organizations should be run competitively vis-a-vis their private counterparts ensuring good and timely governance with robust processes in place. In the process, government officials should be applauded for their good work and given the stick whenever they err as is the rule in private Industry. The good and honest work should be recognized and promotions and higher responsibilities should be conferred sooner in order to eliminate the otherwise sluggish government careers. All these reforms should be aimed at alluring the promising youth to take up and thrive in the governmental careers, be it a school teacher, a policeman, a Judge, a bureaucrat or be it a MP.

Imagine if India develops a school system as good as Singapore where a school teacher is paid handsomely and can enjoy the social status of a doctor or a lawyer. The talented youth with passion for teaching would never hesitate to take up such a huge job nation building responsibility ensuring good quality education fostering vibrant younger minds. Imagine a Policeman who would never take a bribe to offer a license (will not give license only because he expects a bribe). A traffic policeman who would honestly charge you without taking a bribe and then you would never speed up, break the traffic signal and will obey all legal traffic rules leading to reduced accidents on roads. Non corrupt policemen carrying all their duties with pride without succumbing to pressure from the rich, powerful and influential. Imagine a Judge who would always deliver impartial judgment without being allured to corruption. Imagine every district collector treating his district as his own project -a baby and delivers with par excellence improving thousands of lives. And above all imagine a brigade of young politicians - the status men delivering governance par excellence enticing the youth to actively join politics, more as a reformist...

All these are certainly possible with the beaming economy providing unimaginable opportunities. The need of the hour is to seize these opportunities and what we need is a right person for the right job. That will happen only if we recognize and reward the talented and honest workforce to realize their their true potential so that they fulfill others' dreams. But, one thing is a certain If continue to throw peanuts, we will only get monkeys...

Tryst with Taekwondo

2010-08-10T21:20:00.015+02:00

"Hey dude! Can you be a little higher. You are right at my balls and trust me I dream to make a lot of kids", seven and a half feet Wim was paranoid to say the least, as I was alive and kicking during my first ever Taekwondo practice session. With no control over me -- my legs -- my body I was marshaling the art like a headless warrior and a while later it was my turn to yell "Hey Wim! Can you be a little lower or else I won't be able to see them." I was scared to death as Wim's forceful kick approached my face making me see the stars for the real. "What?" Wim did not understand. "I mean you are right in front of my eyes and if you make me blind how will I see your kids?", I responded and both of us gushed into laughter. "Ok! See, listen!...Take it easy, very easy and very very slowly" followed another piece of advice as we started practicing again.

It was my first ever session to learn Taekwondo -- the marshal art I chose to learn just because its name appear longest with the hope that once I learn it I will be strongest and mightiest. As I reached the hall for the first session of the semester expecting a lot of beginners I was surprized to find myself -- a solo tyro amongst an Uniformed group with a variety of colorful belts. Wondering if at all it was the session for beginners like me I inquired a Korean standing next to me. "Yeah! This is the Taekwondo practice session. You wanna fight with us?" beamed an enthusiastic Sam wavering his boxing fists to me. Looking at his black belt I started to take into account my fighting skills. As I started to list my accomplishments as a fighter, my illustrious resume flashed. All I have fought and tamed in my life are a large number of mosquitoes, flies, cockroaches and at times mice. Nevertheless, I used to dissect earthworms exploring its digestive, nervous and reproductive systems with aplomb during class XII biology labs. Cherry on the cake has been that I had also been a bemused spectator during a frog cutting session before I bid my adieu to the noblest disciplines called biology. So fighting with a black belt or for that matter anybody has always been out of question. "Are you crazy. This is my first ever time. I only wish if I can learn some tricks, get a bit fitter in a process and that's it. Fight and all. No way boss. I have never done it, may be this is not a place for me." , I was about to pack my bags thinking if at all I will reach home one piece if I stay over. "No, No. Do not worry. Just practice with us and you will be an awesome fighter. You can demonstrate to your friends and others the skills and they will be amazed. Who knows you may go to Bollywood as a fighter.", Sam was unstoppable. May be it was the lure of Bollywood that made me to stay and practice first session of Taekwondo.

After the warm-up session involving jogging and running, it was time to perform some stretching and kick practice, I was paired with another Korean girl - Ema. Somehow over the years I have always harbored an illusion that my body is not that unfit and certainly a lot more flexible than an average person, definitely worthy of surprising a bystander. But this girl was treating my stretching skills with contempt -- if not a disgrace. She looked at me the same way a F1 driver would tame a lame driver trying to pass a driving test and gestured to offer help as I was trying to stretch beyond my capacity. I only stopped because my pants would have teared off if I had gone an inch further. As I offered to aid her during her stretching she offered another disgraceful look. This was the look of a GM to an amateur chess player; of an expert to a novice as she stretched full 180 degrees to both left and right sides. My jaws were wide open spontaneously. She did not spare up and down stretches as well and she was equally good. It was as good as watching Nadia Comaneci's gymnastic performance. That too for free. To Say the least I was literally humbled. The kicking session saw another ordeal as many times I fall down thumping on my ass only trying to raise my kick -- high, high up to the sky. "Unless you are steady and in full control, never try to hit others", quipped the gymnast. I have also learnt, I remembered Rajkumer saying in his beaming voice: जिनके खुदके घर शीशे के हो वोह दूसरों पर पत्थर नाही फेका करते.

Whale spotting near Farallon Islands

2010-06-29T18:08:00.015+02:00

"Date: 4th Oct. 1997; Time: 12pm - Noon; Place: Farallon Islands near San Francisco; The same place where we are about to go today", Carol was as precise as a laser pointer recounting the incident, "I can narrate this incident to you time and again; even in my dreams" Carol - a marin ecologist in the crew added, "Oct. to Dec. every year is a typical time when the great whites (Sharks) populate the Farallon Islands in great numbers to lay eggs. The region is popular for the whales too and that particular day we were on our usual trip to spot these giants (Whales) and others in the Sea."

"There are a very few places in the world where you can spot the giants. Waters near New Zealand is one of the whale hubs and so is the Pacific near San Francisco. Rarely the giants have been spotted near Egypt too. But this sporadic incident that occurred on that specific day near Farallon Islands rekindles the curiosity of the wild life and its mysteries. We, the whale watching crowd witnessed an unexpected, once in a blue moon event on that specific day and it has etched in my memory forever." Carol continued," As we were trying to spot the giant in the waters, some of the members spotted an unusual activity in the waters. Usually we spot the whale through their characteristic resounding breathe and at times splashes. The splash of the giants in the waters on this occasions though was unusually vehement, hugely resounding and outlandishly scary raising suspicions." Carol was excited,"What the hake was happening? Was there a fight going on in the waters? We had no clue. Attack by one giant on the other? One big fish smothering the other big fish? One mammal trying to demolish the existence of the other? We simply had no clue and we hurriedly reported the incident to the nearby biologists. The team arrived and the underwater cameras testified that the great killer whale has recently had the great white shark for breakfast. In a fight that lasted for about 20 minutes, the killer whale could successfully muffle the great white to whet its appetite. Soon the cameras could also video graph the killer whale merrily swimming in the nearby waters triumphantly."

When the videos were shown to an expert biologist; she could readily identify the giant in no time and yelled,"I know her. I know her so well. She is the one who usually resides near the Monterey Bey. What was she doing near the Farallons?" The news flashed on CNN the same day raising a plethora of questions. Is it a normal event unknown to mankind or an extremely rare one? Was the attack meticulously planned or was it just a spontaneous decision taken by the giant? What will be its repercussions on the Sea life?

The event was studied further it came to become a knowledge that this extremely rare attack was indeed meticulously planned by the giant and the repercussions were so huge that for the next few years the great whites absconded from the Farallon Islands and chose to remain in their hub near Hawaii. How the communication between the great white community takes place still remains a mystery and probably these mysteries are the ones that make science so interesting, so much more fascinating...

Although our Whale spotting trip to Farallon Islands was not this eventful, it was certainly memorable and very much enjoyable. Just to be in the vicinity of the giants is an exhilarating experience in itself. I would certainly recommend this trip to one and all visiting the US west coast. The pictures might whet your appetite further...

Breathing Gray Whale

Huge - A Huge mammal

Whale preparing for a deep dive

Going deep In...

Job Satisfaction Survey :-)

2010-06-25T12:00:00.012+02:00

I really wonder what could be more (if I can really call?) stupid/illogical; mildly saying time consuming than Job Satisfaction Surveys. I also wonder "Who gains?" (a few HR firms?) or "Who looses?" in these time wastage games but then everything; good and not-so-good; have a purpose so the world is not going to change and there will be these surveys conducted every now and then. And then my (and many like me) expectations as an employee are also never going to change as well.

As an employee I (do and will) always desire*:
a) Salary of a CEO or equivalent;
b) Power of a president, prime minister or equivalent
c) Vacation/Travel time of a teacher or equivalent
d) Freedom of a freelance journalist/blogger or equivalent
+
f) Fame of a sports/movie star or equivalent
...
....
......

And as an employee I (am and will) always likely to get:
a) Salary of a teacher or equivalent
b) Power of a freelance Journalist/blogger --> You can write whatever but does anyone care? does it really impact?
c) Fame of an un-famed or de-famed politician --> Be unheard for most of the times. Worst still, become famous for all wrong reasons.
d) Freedom of of a CEO --> Freedom given with an unambiguous and non flexible goal to stretch the stock value to a new level all the time; not to forget the 24x7 commitment.

To me, as one of my colleagues had described JOB will always stand for "Just Obey Boss" with two universal set of rules:
Rule 1: Your boss is always right.
Rule 2: If your boss is wrong; refer to Rule 1.

The only emancipation from this vicious cycle obviously is one's own enterprise and time needs to be opportune for the same. Well, eagerly waiting for such time...

I quite very well know that I am airing the opinion just before getting into another Job Hunt :-)
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* There was a Joke floating around on Internet encapsulating what can be termed as The Best and Worst Life. It summed up the best life comes with
a) An American salary
b) European House
c) Chinese Food
and d) An Indian wife.

and the most avoidable combination is:
a) An Indian Salary
b) Chinese House
c) European Food
and d) An American wife

Aerial Photography...

2010-06-24T14:59:00.011+02:00

In Leuven-Belgium, you will encounter some guys who are crazy about "Aviation Photography". They travel all over the world to do nothing but the take closer and better pictures of airplanes, preferably fighter jets.

I love those pictures too and I also like "Aerial Photography", where you are in a cozy flight, sipping a glass of wine or munching on a mouth watering gourmet and let the shutter do the job. The sole necessary criterion for this kind of photography is the window seat and once you have it you have all the reasons to go berserk.

Here are some pictures from the recent Chicago - Brussels Journey, a journey that started with a marvelous dusk and ended up with an astounding dawn. Here are the glimpses...

Sunset Arial Photos

Dawn Arial Photos

Eco Terrorism in Valencia

2010-06-10T20:46:00.007+02:00

Having been to an impressive Jardin Del Turia, a day earlier I was even more impressed to hear this inspiring story during the Walking Tour Of Valencia (A must-do guided tour by Johny from Liverpool).

Valencia has been an inspiring town with ancient and sound irrigation system since 1000AD and encircling river Turia used to act as a river protecting Valencia against the enemies. But, during the recent past since nobody was scared about an enemy invasion, the establishment in Valencia decided to turn around the riverbed to benefit the irrigation to the other parts of Spain and intended to build a huge motor way at the site of river bed. But, the residents of Valencia were against the motorway as they wanted to turn the riverbed into garden or anything equivalent leading to the development of a lot of clashes between the establishment and the residents.

Not paying heed to the residents, the establishment decided to move ahead with the plan and started the construction of the motorway. Bewildered residents were appalled but did not know how to protest against the establishment for a while. The momentum soon gathered pace and the residents used Eco Terrorism (may be a term coined by Johny) as a tool to stage their demands. What residents did was truly inspiring. They started coming to the river bed site in large numbers and kept on planting trees. The establishment resisted vehemently by uprooting the trees for a long while but the residents did not give up. Voluntarily they used to arrive at the site, sometimes during the wee hours during the night to plant trees and vanish. Residents were simply irresistible and soon the establishment was led to no option but to give up.

Today, the establishment not only proudly maintains the garden but also has extended it for the amusement of residents and tourists alike. The garden boasts a lot of football courts, athletic stadium, jogging tracks along with botanical garden on one end and an all time great City of Arts and Science on the other. Certainly all these are must visit places in Valencia...

_________________________________________________

'll upload photos later; upon reaching Leuven.

The New Love...

2010-06-10T19:32:00.006+02:00

I remember these moments quite vividly. Two years earlier, in 2008, she arrived from the shores across Atlantic and I was ecstatic to explore the world through her eyes. I was juvenile to the foray, a complete novice and she provided an enigmatic company to all the places I visited. I distinctively remember my first journey to Heidelberg, Rudhesheim and Frankfurt along the Rhine river and inspired since then I carried her all over Europe. Watching the world through her eyes, carefully holding her every now and then was an experience in itself and buoy! she provided some of the most astonishing views of all the most precious landscapes.

During the trip to the Canary Islands last Christmas though, the relationship accidentally turned around. Busy hunting the hearts along the serene beaches, I probably could not handle her with care for a moment and the fall inside the car resulted into misalignment that is far from being aligned till today. Somethings are too delicate and too difficult to repair; or rather better left un-repaired. I believe to have tried all I could and have been a zilch lucky so far...

Needless to say, some relationships die mysterious deaths and one has to move on and I am obeying just that rule as I am set out to explore California through My New Love, Tamron 18-250mm. The itinerary is tentatively set (Nappa Valley or a bike tour to Muirwoods, Whale watching cruise, Alcatraz tour along with Sanfrancisco) for the next 3 and a half days. She could be here any moment and I am eagerly waiting for her arrival in the Holiday Inn, SanFrancisco lobby. Let the new journey begin...

Polar Light Dream!!!

2010-03-09T15:53:00.002+01:00

The stage is set and the players are ready. The day we all have been waiting for has arrived and today we embark our Scandinavian adventure dreaming to catch the glimpses of mystique Aurora Borealis. The plan is to visit Kiruna and Abisko is Sweden and we have an enviable itinerary to be accomplished:

0. Sledgedog
1. Mobile Snow Scooter
2. Cross country ski
3. Reindeer ride
4. Ice Hotel
5. Hike in the snow
6. Iglu Stay (if possible and is not possible for a PhD student :p)
7. Ice fishing (if possible)
8. (and last but never the least) Aurora Borealis

The first seven could be planned yet the trip objective of the trip can only be accomplished if and only if we catch the glimpses of mystique aurora. Message from across the border and my next door neighbor is that as a traveler everything one wishes comes true and as a true nomad I am willing to wish anything and everything (Health, Love, wealth and time to enjoy them and whatever else you long for) for you. All I wish that you all pray for all of us who will fight tooth nail against extreme weather conditions, burning the midnight oil looking for Aurora, Aurora and Aurora...