Obuls Daddy Blog

Whitney Houston - Iii... willll...alwayss...lovvve...yoouuu...

2012-02-18T10:59:00.000-08:00

Watching Whitney Houston's funeral, and sad to see her go! When I first came to America, she was at the peak of her career. Though not familiar or interested in western music, the "niraval" or modulation in her "I will always love you" rendering immediately caught my attention, wanting to know who this singer was. That kind of pull happens with only great musicians, and Whitney Houston was truly one of them.

I also noticed the controversy behind honoring her by flying the flag half-mast, due to her addiction with drugs. Just to provide a perspective, great musicians with the greatest possible honors in India have also had issues with things like alcohol, pre-marital sex etc, which are taboo in the Indian cultural setting, but quietly ignored. I think that is the right thing to do, though not perfect.

Between jobs or Beyond jobs?

2011-07-01T11:57:00.000-07:00

Today I am between jobs. I know for sure because I accepted another offer and will be joining them next week. When people say they are between jobs, my crazy brain wants to ask "How would you know you are *between* jobs unless you have found one?" However, my mouth has been smarter to shut up, and help me stay polite! Especially, it would be rude in this tough economy. Once, I met an ex-GM from my company at a restaurant. Hoping to strike a career opportunity, I asked him where he was these days. His answer, "I am between jobs". Again, my crazy brain goes, "Maybe. You are actually *beyond* jobs", since I know he made a killing from his previous gig, and drives a porsche! Fortunately, again, my mouth was smarter to keep shut, so I didn't say anything career limiting! My apologies, if you are between or beyond jobs reading this - nothing personal!

East St John St - why double "street" in the name?

2011-06-01T22:34:00.000-07:00

I found this street name in San Jose, California very strange... "East St John St"... I can understand "East John Street", but why would they call it "East Street John Street"? Turns out, the right way to read it - "East Saint John Street"... The first St goes with "St John", and there is east and west for St John Street!

Finding life in outer space

2011-04-18T22:12:00.000-07:00

I was listening to the radio, and this astronomist was explaining how NASA's space probes are trying to find water in Mars, which is the essential for life to exist. By finding water, she explained we can then hope to find life in Mars. These guys are wasting time and money. They should try and find oil in Mars - then, I guarantee they will find life (and drilling machines) in Mars!

Book Review - The Ancestor's Tale

2011-04-16T20:44:00.000-07:00

The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins: This book is a classic on biological evolution from a biologist professor famous among those who don't care about religion, and infamously known to those who do. Since it is reviewed extensively on the web, there is little I can add, so I will keep it short just to entice more readers. The book is about how we all came from, and traces our origins as a pilgrimage to the past, all the way to life's origin on earth - all the way to algae or amoeba, and all the way to when continents were together. Since it is based on the author's almost entire research career, it is filled with scientific discoveries, words of wisdom and convincing arguments. I learned that Australopithecus (our ancestor that gave rise to all the Homos... Homo-erectus, Homo-sapiens etc) had nothing to do with Australia, but Australo just means south, and implied an origin in South Africa. Likewise, erectus means standing up straight, and nothing to do with an erection! Somehow, a scientist chose to call this branch of Apes as Homo, borrowing from Homo-therm (meaning same temperature, implying warm blooded animals). I have read somewhere sapiens means wise, so we humans are supposed to be wiser than other species, though it may not show in many cases! Great to read, and must read!

Taxing Time

2011-04-16T00:24:00.000-07:00

Just finished doing taxes and wanted to take a break. So, I pick up this book called "The Ancestor's Tale", and it gives me a boat load on Taxonomy! It's true you can't escape death and taxes...:)

Book Review - Our Cosmic Origins

2011-04-06T21:58:00.000-07:00

Our Cosmic Origins by Armand Delsemme: I had been wondering if there was a book that tied together all the scientific discoveries related to the origin of our universe and human evolution. This book does exactly that, and I am very happy to have read it. Written by a very distinguished professor, it starts from the big bang, how our galaxy formed, what conditions are necessary for life and how life came about on earth, how dinosaurs came and went, and how plants, animals and human beings came into existence, and how the how we are evolving with the recent population explosion. That is billions of years worth of scientific history! It is easy to read, meant to reach common people, though there is a pinch of academic style from the professor. The best part I liked was the professor's advice to teach values to children at the young age (2-5 years), which is what he believes will help human evolution the right way. I completely agree.

National Museum in Delhi

2010-12-22T11:29:00.000-08:00

I visited the National Museum in Delhi last week. Once I made my way past the scaffolding put up for construction without any sense for safety, and learned to ignore the din from the hundreds of school students, it was a couple of hours well spent. A few exhibits to mention below:

-Indus valley civilization: There were quite a few related to Indus valley civilization dated 2500 BCE or so. They were more advanced than I thought, and surprised things hadn't changed for so long! Kitchen knives, pots in different shapes and decorations, similar to what I have seen in homes when I was young. Beaded jewelry that may pass fashionable even today. Even a buried woman skeleton from Indus valley!

-Several transparancies on Language Evolution. For example, how a symbol for Ka morphed from early civilizations or found in tamil caves into different scripts of today (devanagari, tamil, telugu, even tibetan, burmese).

-Armory over the years, including bows & arrows, swords, spears, armors (including for elephants!), shields.

-Plenty of statues, idols, stupas, paintings. Many are familiar from temple and monument visits, history texts etc. The idols are from various ages, but many paintings are relatively newer from 17th century onward (not from Indus valley!). There are also more paintings in the nearby National Gallery of Modern Art, again mostly covering just last 300 years.

Also, stopped by the cafeteria and gave up looking at the menu price!

Where the mind is without fear - In the context of India today

2010-12-08T02:09:00.000-08:00

If Rabindranath Tagore was alive today, I think he would have written his poem as below! My little imagination based on India today!

Where the mind is without fear of blasts, kidnapping, rape or murder
Where the head doesn't refuse to think
Where knowledge is not sold for money
Where the world has not been broken up
Into fragments by WikiLeaks, regional parties, splittists or Maoists
Where words come out not just to discuss divorce and depth of scams
Where tireless striving is not a stretch, let alone striving for perfection
Where the clear stream of traffic has even a remote chance of finding its way
through the deadly city roads and dead signals
Where the mind is not led backward by anybody
Into ever narrowing thought and morals
Into at least that level of freedom, let my country awake

Condom Conundrum

2010-11-28T03:51:00.000-08:00

There was news that the Pope has approved use of condoms in exceptional cases. I guess that means, if push comes to shove, it is OK to use! But then, every case here is an exception, since it's all about push coming to shove...:)

Book Review - We Are Like That Only

2010-11-27T10:50:00.000-08:00

We are Like that Only by Rama Bijapurkar: This book is a winning guide to India's consumer market. It brings out the peculiarities in the Indian market with examples, quantitative data, segment analysis and from the author's own experience from Mckinsey and other. It was interesting to read about how "bride viewing" is now being video taped by marriage brokers, how Kellogg cereal should have been marketed as a afternoon snack instead of breakfast, and how India always seems half full and half empty! It also projects views like there are 3 Nigerias within India, while everyone talks about the one silicon valley in Bangalore! Folks in B-school who have studied case studies in Japan or China would be aware of the pains and pitfalls mentioned in dealing with a newly emerging country like India, but I felt the consumer data and segmentation of Indian market was something new, and can be useful to product companies. There were also comments relating to Indian history and epics such as Ram abandoning his wife and asking her to prove chastity, Krishna as a manipulating cowboy, which I think is unwarranted and shows the book in poor light. There is an interesting table showing a mapping from Indian to western values, showing things like Patriarchy vs. Egalitarian or Individualism - sometimes, I feel these are comparing outcomes as a result of transition rather than intrinsically present behaviors that can be called "Indian". I could finish reading rather quickly, which I think is because I didn't find anything jaw-dropping.

Book Review - The World Is Flat

2010-11-27T10:21:00.001-08:00

The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman: This is a popular best seller that comprehensively discusses globalization, how it affects different countries, companies and people, and what they can do about it. Friedman brings great perspectives from decades of journalist experience having visited the different countries, interviewed leaders worldwide on this topic and plenty of useful insights. The beginning itself catches attention comparing his expedition to Bangalore (India) with Columbus' expedition to look for India, and how he discovered the world was flat, while Columbus discovered the world was indeed round! Then he discusses the various factors like browsers, open source software, Google search that made the world flat by making it easier to share information and collaborate easily across the world. Having established the world is now flat, he provides insights on why Americans should be concerned, and what they can do about it. We may not agree with all his views and solutions proposed, but that shouldn't stop the reader from appreciating the insights gleaned from direct experience. It was interesting to note his new definition for Untouchables, how 11/9 (Berlin wall) was constructive and 9/11 (WTC) was destructive with respect to a flat world, how Dell PC has components coming from different parts of the world. To put it flat, it was well worth the several days it took to finish the 450 pages.

LDL formula

2010-11-15T03:09:00.000-08:00

I found something surprising after breaking my head over a blood test result. It seems labs don't always measure and report LDL numbers. They sometimes use a formula to compute LDL!!

If TC is Total Cholesterol and Tri is the triglyceride measurement, TC = LDL + HDL + VLDL and, as an approximation VLDL = Tri/5. That means, LDL = TC - HDL - Tri/5.
E.g., if TC is 230, HDL is 36 and Tri is 190, the LDL = 230 -36 -190/5 = 156.

Apparently, this is a close approximation in most cases where Tri is less than 400 mg/DL. In some cases, real LDL measurement could be lower. Also, higher LDL could just mean the fluffy LDL particles became larger, and not necessarily more LDL particles. Check out this link for more details - scroll down a bit to see this LDL formula stuff.

I wish labs disclose that they took a short cut to save money rather than let folks figure out or freak out! But my doctor said I need to reduce cholesterol anyways, so all this research didn't matter in the end!

Gayatri Mantra - Mindboggling interpretation!

2010-11-15T03:03:00.000-08:00

I recently read an article recently from a reputed Guru who said something like -"Gayatri mantra has maximum effect if it is chanted in the mornings". It turns out, there are many such Gayatri (or sing-able) mantras in the Vedas dedicated to different deities, and the one popularly referred to here is towards Savitr (Sunrise or the sun light at dawn). The meaning of the hymn is essentially "...We meditate on that which gave us this morning light, may that illuminate our intellect..."

So, its like saying Good Morning has maximum effect if it is said in the morning! It's amazing how Gurus can attract crowds with such simple interpretations!

Book Review - A Better India A Better World

2010-10-24T06:22:00.001-07:00

A Better India A Better World - N. R. Narayana Murthy: This is a collection of lectures or speeches from the founder and former CEO of Infosys, given at university convocations, leadership seminars, or published in business magazines. It is interesting to learn Infosys' early challenges to even import a computer or make a week long foreign trips, when licensing and stifling for-ex and import customs control were in place, as well as how the founders formulated the vision to be the most respected software services company. The book cites the typical challenges in India - corruption, poverty, over-population, inordinate delays, inefficiencies, lack of political leadership, good education, intellectual honesty, responsibility, accountability and so on. The solutions proposed are a bit more insightful than in "Imagining India", written by his fellow Infosys founder Mr. Nandan Nilekani, but again lacks the punch as to why they would lead to a better India. For example, it suggests creating a judiciary with a jury system, and use eminent citizens to head corruption courts - but it is not clear why this would this work when intellectual dishonesty prevails, and when private individuals are also corrupt? He himself admits private scandals such as Harshad Mehta's stock scam and cricket match fixing scams were bigger than public corruption! He'd like English and more Religion taught in schools - it is possible to appreciate his views, since he claims being articulate in English is important, and teaching religion inculcates values and appreciation for other beliefs. However, one may argue it can cause more drop-outs since much of the population can't even read/write in their own language and may quickly give up on English, and it is not necessary to teach religion to inculcate values - fact is many schools are already religion based (Christian missions, Hindu, Sikh or Muslim trusts), and indulge in a boat load of religious indoctrination starting with prayers, so the country might be better off not teaching more religion! The book quotes from so many leaders such as Gandhi, Churchill, Kennedy, Greenspan, Aristotle, Mark Twain, Samuel Johnson, Bernard Shaw, C. K. Prahlad, Einstein and others, as well as many Sanskrit hymns - of course, it is useful for speeches, but it also makes it seem one can easily fill a book with others' quotes! Also, some of them repeat since they were reused in different speeches. Criticism aside, it was interesting to read about his request for 240 page passport, since Indian IT professionals travel so much and require visas, seminars for 25 years in Bangalore for a power plant that still hasn't happened, and the leadership of JRD Tata who paid attention to detail by even inspecting plane toilets. The book also talks about Compassionate Capitalism, Travails of Philanthrophy and Entrepreneurship and has some good advise and insights on these topics. Overall, good as a library pick, but not sure if the collection of lectures warrants a 500 rupee price tag!

Book Review - The First 90 Days

2010-10-21T02:12:00.000-07:00

The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels - Michael Watkins: An easy to read and recommended book with good suggestions for someone taking on a new manager or leadership role. Clearly, the first few days count to establish credibility, authority and the book suggests how to take stock of the situation (turnaround, vs. realignment vs. sustaining etc), how success in prior job may not imply same thing will work in the new role, how to chart out a strategy by negotiating with new boss, setting expectations, building a team, handling politics, past peers etc. Handy as a checklist if there is a job change situation

Palimony vs Alimony - Indian court definitions

2010-10-10T12:18:00.000-07:00

India's supreme court was deliberating on the possibility of awarding some type of alimony for live-in relationships, citing palimony in California as example. I was a bit surprised, since California did not recognize common law marriage, so awarding any form of alimony for such live-in relationships would recognize them as marriage and would be contradictory. Turns out, palimony in California is not based on rights as a married couple - the claiming spouse must prove some other underlying implied contract, written or oral, that forms the basis of the getting some compensation. I was wondering how the Indian courts would apply this logic in the Indian context.

Finally, the Indian court ruled no palimony unless a few things are satisfied such as live-in relationships for significant period and they conduct themselves as husband and wife to society. Just weekend stays, one-night stands, only for sex relationships don't qualify. Bottom line, they have mixed up marital rights with live-in relationships if the husband-wife thing can be shown. No time line is specified, so even a six month live-in with some basis of husband-wife (maybe they lied so to rent a place!) could end up in a life-long alimony (or palimony) award!

Nobody wants to look at other California guidelines on alimony that makes it crisp, predictable and fair - like, roughly 40% of income awarded to non-earning spouse. regardless of gender, for roughly half the time the marriage. For whatever reasons, Indian regulators love fuzzy logic!

Book Review - Imagining India

2010-10-07T10:38:00.000-07:00

Imagining India by Nandan Nilekani: This book is a little over 500 pages, written by Infosys co-founder and former CEO. My six year olds were asking me how long I could read so many pages, and how long I'd take to finish - turned out it only took me a couple of days to finish cover to cover! That was because, much of the book was history of India, more of visualizing the past as opposed to imagining the future. Roughly 75% of the book presents policies, politics, population and problems from Nehru's time - corruption, inefficiency, bureaucracy, caste, religious and regional politics - stuff that people have experienced first hand, or have read in other books, so it was easy to breeze through. A few insights were useful, but most seemed shallow. The author says India's demography is young and Infosys average age is 27 years old - but I am not sure we can connect the two. In fact, I have seen Infosys job advertisements clearly asking for Date of Birth along with resume, so it may just be due to plain age discrimination! Another place the book echoes the conventional notions that caste purity and pollution as silly and child marriages as evil - definitely true in today's context, but mention of why they came about would help set right context why we can imagine doing without it (like, fear of disease, control of natural resources for caste discrimination, low average life expectancy (35 years in 1947) forcing early marriages). The remaining 25% talks about the need to change many things - primary and higher education, health care, social security etc. I felt legal reforms, basic ethics, habits, traffic sense were left out. Some solutions are presented from experts, experiments and experiences in India and abroad, like how Information Technology (IT) will increase transparency, reduce corruption, why US type social security won't work, as well as his pet idea of Universal ID for every Indian. However, I felt it lacked the punch that an economist or politician from years of experience would have delivered!

Ayodhya Verdict - Ask What Wins instead of Who Wins!

2010-10-01T07:22:00.000-07:00

Few things I learned, found surprising and intriguing about the Ayodhya verdict.

Ayodhya means "No war" or "Unconquerable"! Neither seems to apply with the legal battle over 60 years old, and the political and religious war started since the 1500s. In those times, it was symbolic for Muslim invaders like Babar to assert political power by replacing a prominent religious structure or renaming cities - Istanbul is an example for both.
First, the judges decided the title was not clear based on facts, hence it became a partition decision. Otherwise, the homes you and I own could also end up in dispute with some idols installed overnight! Then, the judges started applying a mix of facts and faith to provide a judgment that they felt could work for everyone.
Ram Lalla (Baby) as an infant deity had legal rights and won 1/3rd of it's birth place! A friend or guardian of the deity will act on its behalf! Apparently, this has precedence in Indian courts with several temple deities involved in legal disputes. This is similar to a company as entity, with the board or management acting on its behalf.
Justice Khan wrote in his judgment that Ram epitomized tyag (sacrifice). In fact, Ram gave up entire Ayodhya, including the birth place, the palace, the throne and the people, and left to the forests for 12 long years in order to fulfill his father's promise. If the promise was life-long, he would have accepted that and given up Ayodhya life-long as well. However, his followers after several thousand years don't even want to give up a 60x40 feet piece of land in Ayodhya!
Nirmohi Akhara won 1/3rd of land. Nirmohi means non-passionate or detached materially from earthly pleasures, and Akhara is an order of saints called sadhus. A non-passionate order of saints have passionately fought for this piece of earth for over a century (they first filed a suit in 1885) - that kind of detachment is mind boggling!
Justice Sharma gave a dissenting verdict totally favoring Hindus, but it was based on carefully studying Muslim law! He reasoned it can't have the character of a mosque, since the Quran doesn't allow building over other religious structures, and it doesn't have minarets typical of other mosques. The judge has an impeccable 40 year service record, title expert, and is a reclusive bachelor - makes it difficult for critics to find fault!
The judges agreed there was a temple, and the mosque was built over it, based on archeologist findings. But, Justice Khan wrote that there was no demolition, just built on temple ruins! The belief that Ram was born exactly in that site or spot came about only in the 1800s. It was called Masjid-i-Janmasthan (Mosque in Birthplace) back then, so the faith or belief seems several centuries old.
A grand temple is not possible in 60x40 site or even in 2.7 acres, though Hindu groups project that as the big idea! The Meenakshi temple in Madurai, or Akshardham in Delhi are more than 10 acres!

All the legal, political and religious opinions notwithstanding, the best solution that would make economic or business sense for both communities is building a Ram temple! It will maximize the religious tourist potential, just as Amarnath, Haridwar or Tirupathi, pull hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. Surprisingly, Andhra is #1 state in domestic tourism partly due to Tirupathi temple - not even Kerala, Goa or Himachal!). In Kashmir, it is said a Muslim actually discovered the Amarnath Ice-Siva-Linga around 1850, and until recently, the cave temple management board included Muslims! A lot of muslims provide services along the yatra (trek), that even separatist groups agreed to leave it alone! Like Haridwar, Ayodhya is listed as one of the seven holiest Hindu cities in ancient texts, and the Muslim population in and around the city with clear title or just residency will benefit from increased tourism. A mosque is unlikely to pull such crowds - in fact, there are very few Muslims and few other mosques in Ayodhya itself, but quite a few Muslims reside 7kms away in Faizabad. So, I think a Ram temple would be a win-win for both communities!

The real losers are Atheists, Rationalists or Evolutionists or such types, as they'll have to do more to influence and pull people out of beliefs and faith. It's a double whammy if both temple and mosque are built! For them the winning solution is like in Istanbul - where the religious structure was converted to a museum, with any worship banned! I think the judges sensed that wasn't quite possible in the Indian secular context!

Stephen Hawking's new book - Grand Design

2010-09-13T01:26:00.000-07:00

Haven't read it yet - some tidbits from the web on Stephen Hawking's latest - "Grand Design".

He tells CNN that Theology is unnecessary (news)!
On God, Science and Origin of Universe in WSJ (Link)

Coming to India - Part III - Arrival and Settling

2010-09-01T10:56:00.000-07:00

We reached Delhi early February, in nice winter weather, and with plenty of luggage. The relocation plan was to stay at a hotel for a month, look for school and rental, get to know the city and settle down with the help of a relocation specialist. It turned out a rediscovery of India after nearly 20 long years!

Intercontinental Hotel: This is a good hotel in many ways, but I am not able to justify 5-star status or the room rent. The staff is very polite, the food is great and it has an excellent gym. The rooms are good, but my first disappointment was there were no rooms with double beds (except for two twin size beds) - that seems to be the case with most India hotels. I couldn't believe the receptionist was expecting the four of us to sleep in one king size bed! We paid for an extra bed for the 3-4 weeks we stayed. The elevators were too slow, or in perpetual repair, and worked in seemingly strange logic. They had good Wi-Fi, but would allow only one laptop at a time! The worst of all was they allowed a smoker in non-smoking room, and the entire aisle was filled with smoke. When I complained to the hotel this was unacceptable, especially when staying with small children for several days, they first responded "What to do sir - the customer is not listening". I blasted the manager asking him to fumigate and charge his client. In the end, they gave me a suite in another floor without additional charge! Finally, the security at the hotel and adjoining building is a joke - they'd pat down men, but no body checks for women and children, or check one pouch of the laptop bag and not others. Overall, the hotel offered a first glimpse of the mixed bag of good and bad!

Cabs: The relocation was supposed to include a car rental for a month to help us get around, but it turned out every time I needed, I had to make an online booking, which would mostly be too late - they need at least half a day notice. The easy way was to hire yellow taxis at the hotel, which were decent for local rides. Private cabs are good, except that some drivers are just unsafe, and have a propensity for their favorite loud music that we may not like! Looking at the traffic and chaos, I chose to live close to work, so we won't need to buy a car and hire a driver (no way I'll drive, and school bus served children).

School: There are many popular good schools in Delhi. However, school admission is probably most nightmarish experience for any parent, due to the excess demand. Most of the schools will not even let you inside the gate, don't have documented procedures or someone who will reasonably explain - which really makes you wonder how it can be a good school. Yet, parents manage to find out, and file applications on time. Our relocation specialist had success in getting information from only a couple of them with the "international" tag, which is different from "global" or "world" schools, though none of the terms have any standard definition. Schools in Noida, however, are a bit far out and expensive - hence demand is relatively lower - so they are happy to talk to parents and have the time to explain. We had a good experience with Lotus Valley International school in Noida had a fairly straightforward process. Within a couple of hours, they completed the evaluation and interview with the principal and accepted our kids for admission. We were also successful at a couple others in Delhi, but one was too expensive (like embassy schools), and the other was much cheaper, but they ticked off our kids with a 4-hour entrance exam!

One principal lectured us on the virtues of Indian education system, and how they emphasize (hand) writing skills early on, citing that even adults in America don't have a good hand writing. What she did not know, however, was that the teachers in my kids' class were stunned watching them read an entire book aloud on their own - none of the other kids could do it, as there is no emphasis on reading, story-telling sessions like in American schools! Further, our kids whine that the teacher always want them to write something, doesn't allow them to play outside (games sessions are used to teach some stretching exercises), and a boat load of things related to hygiene, manners and so on - all of which they learned and loved in American schools. The good stuff, however, is that they have picked up Hindi language, reading and writing words and will possibly learn to speak Hindi down the line. Another friend of mine in Bangalore had warned me few years back that regardless of new concepts in Indian schools, it is still spoon feeding and about academics!

Rental: The real-estate market in India is large, but ad-hoc and undeveloped and operates with a premise of distrust. The brokers or real estate agents are dreaded or despised, and landlords try to shortchange or avoid them as much as possible. Our relocation specialist showed us a good bit of properties with her broker partners, but it was so difficult to converge on anything. Either it was too large for us (they think ex-pats will always want big homes over 2000 sq.ft), too far with nightmarish commute, too expensive (even $2000+ rents), weird floor plans or unacceptable lease terms. We were advised by another colleague who had been through similar experience to check out another real-estate agent. It turned out, we found a rental to our liking within a day with this new agent! The trouble is finding these good agents that landlords exclusively work with, without an orderly market.

Once we found the rental, we moved in quickly and bid goodbye to the hotel. Though the food was good and 5-star service, we were getting tired, and my kids got sick a couple of times which warranted home cooking. The fact they got sick forced us to find pediatricians and medical shops - a referral from a colleague quickly helped us find a good doctor and hospital, that were good. In general, medical services are good in India, except that procedures may not be as well defined, capacity, quality and liability could be an issue for complex situations. We also rented furniture on a monthly basis (referred by our broker), as our household goods was still going to take a month and a half. We could rent almost anything - sofa, bed, TV, refrigerator, washer, cooking gas etc, and the quality, rent, delivery and pickup process was very reasonable.

Bank: My company deposits salary only with specific banks with which I must open an account. It looked seemingly easy to open an account, when someone sent me an email with the application form and instructions. When filling out, I figured it was asking for information that isn't needed for business purpose. This was surprising, since I expected the multi-national would have brought in privacy concepts from abroad. A friend of mine told me the way it works - "You can fight it based on principle, or comply in order to get the work done". I filled it out with half a dozen signatures, and then had to ping them a few days to pick it up - I couldn't go to the downstairs branch to get it done! The pick-up guy found some signature mismatch, and advised me to sign one more time beside the mismatch to fix it! He also asked for a copy of the back of my employee-id as well, which didn't have any useful information, and asked me to sign that copy. After a couple of weeks, they opened the account, but sent me a letter stating an ID copy such as tax-id, passport or driver license was missing. I told them I already included them with the application, and they came back saying the missing document was employee-id! So much for the front and back copy and signatures! Some wise guy had decided internally that is not required to open an account and took it out, but their central office figured it was necessary for salary account. I made them search for it in vain and ended up giving another copy!

In the meanwhile, the company sent me a draft (cashier's check) the first month pay, since I couldn't open the account by then. The bank wouldn't deposit it for several days! When I called, they explained there was a name mismatch - it did not have my middle name! They cited RBI regulations, which is a generic excuse for all the illogical things that banks do. It is true that RBI has strict guidelines, but I am perplexed how the bank could accept the check once I gave another copy of my id with the full name - that still doesn't establish the two names are the same person! The branch also offered experience with clerks who process more than one customer at a time (forget queues), are easily distracted and I am still learning the different ways to shake my head (almost lost my first job in US shaking my head the "wrong" way!).

I thought it was only Citibank, but my colleague said he had similar experience with ICICI bank as well. The bank manager sat down with him, offered coffee and all that, but in the end lost his passport copy that required him to re-do and revisit the bank. Though they talk politely, the red-tape and illogical service is only a shade better than the government run banks. Critical thinking is low due to lack or training and exposure, and they come up with rules to protect their ignorance.

Phone/Internet/Cable: We called up Airtel, and the phone and DSL connection was installed the next day. The installer did a pretty good job, though I'd have liked his company to provide him proper shoes (he had to walk on roof top and walls to fix outside wiring) and better tools. I don't speak Hindi well, and that was disappointing the guys and me - luckily my wife speaks well, which was the saving grace at home. The modem engineer also did a good job, except that I couldn't access my work site or Citibank website from home! I had to teach him different settings so all website will work safely, but I think I'd have been toast if I was not tech-savvy! They tried installing IPTV, but the set-top would not output HDMI and my TV wouldn't accept PAL format (only NTSC) - they just took it back, instead of suggesting a way to fix! The local cable company had a similar box, but found me a PAL to HDMI converter. We got our iPhones unlocked (found a good place in Chennai for this) and could use with local SIM cards from Airtel or other.

Cooking Gas: Since there are power cuts, the preferred mode of cooking is using gas cylinders/stoves. They told us they'll mail us a card to our address in about 20 days that we need to bring back to them as proof of address. We waited, but what they didn't tell us is that during March, it takes 30 days for them as they get busy with tax stuff. It cost us an extra trip to inquire what was going on, but worked out soon after.

Customs Clearance: The movers had a local agent company (Writer Corp) that was tracking our goods with the shipping and customs. They periodically notified us of status, and finally gave us an appointment for customs clearance - almost 4 months after it was packed backed in US! It was a fairly straightforward process at the customs depot, with just a couple of hours waiting time. They checked if the goods had any alcohol or some controlled items, and I had to fill out forms for key items of value (such as TV, fridge etc). They made an entry in my passport and gave back. The next day, the movers delivered the goods at my home and installed them. I had to provide them with even basic tools like hammer, screw driver, stool, extension cord, and re-assembly instructions - otherwise they'd just slam things together the way their carpenter deems fit! Despite the long wait for 4 months, the movers part was by far the smoothest experience and professionally done.

Groceries, Water & Misc: My wife gets groceries and drinking water delivered at the door, though the store springs a surprise occasionally that there is no one to deliver - in those times, she feels having control and driving to Safeway herself was better! One fine day, water supply was cut-off thanks to some caste dispute upstream (one of the castes control the dam that supplies Delhi!). We have to be prepared for such surprises, but largely it works out. Our kids enjoy the local parks, but badly miss the parks and library in US. The parks have swings and slides, but not safe, undeveloped play grounds, and mixed crowd of school-going kids and untaught parents/kids. Shopping areas where you can get everything cheaper exists, but parking woes, sidewalks obstructed in some way that forces you to walk on the road, which again is unmarked for any meaningful pedestrian crossing, or even vehicle traffic, making it a frustrating experience. Mall stores are a saving grace, and we have used them to buy groceries all the way to air conditioners (Delhi is very hot, then very humid and we couldn't do without AC). Luckily, we only have occasional power-cuts - some places around Delhi have 15-hour power cuts in 45C summer! Delhi and surrounding area has high population and a lot of them are very poor. Most are honest and eke out a frugal living, but a small portion of them take up to crime - leading to kidnapping, extortion, murder for gain and rape type of serious crimes. Safety and security is a concern in any city, and more so in Delhi.

All this got us "settled", but you can see it is a mixed bag. In my opinion, it is worth it only if you have a significant reason to go through it - else, don't rock the boat! It is part of the country's growing pains and being in the middle of transition is painful. It is possible to create a system that works for you, and many people from abroad live here, but requires having the right mindset and expectations.

Coming to India - Part I & Part II

Coming to India - Part II - Preparing for departure

2010-09-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

Preparing for relocation in the US was involved, but fairly straightforward to plan and execute. The main things were the following: Household goods, Home sale/rent, Car sale, notifying school, utilities and other places.

Household goods: We started selling on Craigslist some of the household items like patio furniture, yard swing set, strollers, baby beds, futon, cabinets etc, things that we felt wouldn't be needed in an apartment setting in India. However, a relocation specialist advised us to keep many items for shipping saying we won't get such good models in India. He said it is better to wait until movers make an assessment. So we kept many items such as sofa set, Ikea beds, dining table, TV, washer/dryer, refrigerator. I also bought 220V to 110V voltage converters/stabilizers for these based on his advice to get good quality ones from the US (1000W for fridge $150, 500W for TV $100 - both with stabilizers, and couple of 500W/300W converters $40-50 each). The assessment was however at a high level, to determine that I need a 20-feet container to fit everything, and that shipping by air will be way too expensive than by sea. I think the company paid about $6000 for the container and shipping door-to-door. Since the movers didn't make recommendations on specific items (unless they were hazardous, liquids, food, or not allowed), everything went into the 20-feet container. Ideally, I would have liked to dispose a lot of junk. The movers took 2 days to pack and load everything, and noted all the package contents and condition. It is necessary to pay reasonable attention to the condition of the items, since we will need that to claim any damages up arrival.

Also, it is necessary to ensure items like jewelry, important documents like passport, certificates, credit cards, photos, sentimental items don't end up in the container! It will take 4 months to arrive, and if you need them in between or it gets lost or damaged, you are toast!

They arrived in good shape, though it took 4 months (3 months on the ship to Mumbai, and another 3 weeks to get on the train to Delhi and a week for customs clearance/delivery).

Looking back, I think it is better to sell Ikea furniture, and as many older appliances as possible. Better to bring only if they were relatively new and/or expensive, that selling won't make sense. Here's why:

The movers have a hard time reassembling, and don't guarantee Ikea - they told us just a day before packing, so I didn't have time to sell them! We got lucky they could reassemble, with my guidance, my toolkit and with only few screws missing!
Toasters are over 1000W output, and cannot be used with voltage converters - we donated them.
Our 42" plasma TV works fine, but required a PAL to NTSC/HDMI video converter ($200) and 110v to 220v voltage converter/stabilizer ($100 for a good 500W type). The alternative is to settle for a lower model LCD available in India - it may not be a bad choice, since brands like Sony, Samsung, Panasonic are available in India as well.
The DVD player is specific to regions, so not all DVDs play. It is possible to reset the code settings by calling a local engineer that knows such things, but still a tricky thing as our own DVDs may stop playing!
Though packed well, there is a risk that some internal damage happens and it doesn't work. This actually happened to our Whirpool Washer and Dryer - some seal broke inside during the move across the seas, and motor oil leaked causing a overheat burning smell. The Whirlpool service center was quick to send a technician who identified the issue and suggested we replace the motor and gear box for $250. However, since it was an imported model, he couldn't guarantee it will work after repairs. We just bought a new one that cost around $400 - though the local model is front loading, not heavy duty capacity like the one we had. It serves our needs though. We had to give away the dryer for $15 scrap value.
One of the voltage converters was dead on arrival, and I can't go back to US to return it to the store! Luckily, it is not the expensive one I bought for the TV and fridge.
Mover insurance pays only if there is external damage - not for internal damage. For this reason, they refused my claims on washer/dryer. The risk of these things not working doesn't seem worth it.

Home Sale/Rent: We tried to sell our home hoping to leverage on the little upside in the housing market, and use the closing cost benefit from the company relocation package. I spent some money on staging and it showed very nicely. The offers were good, but not compelling enough to sell, due to the depressed valuations (blame the foreclosures), and we ended up renting it out. Renting was relatively easier. For now, it turns out we are actually happy it is renting, as the math works out and allows us to come back in future.

Car Sale: I had to time this for final week, but luckily I had a decent offer close to the blue book value. I closed the loan since it was a small amount, and the pink slip (title) was in the mail - takes up to 3 weeks. That wasn't a good idea, since it gets a little tricky to do the DMV paperwork without title. If the loan is active, the bank will take care of a few things. If you have a title at hand, it is easy - just fill the buyer/seller entries and mail the relevant portions. But, I had to go to DMV for this, they suggested filling out a transfer and duplicate title. A couple of days before departure the actual title arrived by mail and made it much easier. I rented a car for a few days that final week.

Air Tickets: This was fairly straightforward as well. I used Expedia and found a good deal. It is important to get the travel documents in order, such as passport, OCI/PIO or visa related. This may also be a good time to book tickets such that you break the journey and take a few days vacation enroute.

Next... the long story of arrival and settling in India

Coming to India - Part I & Part III

Coming to India - Part I - Reasons for moving

2010-09-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

It has been more than 6 months since we relocated to India from the US. Now that we are a bit settled, I thought I'd share some of the experience. There are 3 parts of this mega blog, since it is too long for one post.

Why we chose to move back to India?
There wasn't any compelling reason to rock the boat, though we could attribute the following reasons that influenced our decision to move.

Parents/In-laws getting older, with moderate health risk, staying alone etc. They could no longer travel to the US nor permanently settle down in the US due to other obligations. The extended family support exists, but it was not fair to take their time and energy for several years. Senior homes are only now becoming an acceptable norm, and not so yet in our family.
Kids were just 5-year old and we felt they can quickly adapt now than later, to learn a new language, culture and bond with the extended family of cousins, uncles/aunts and others.
Personally, it was an opportunity for potentially exciting change, possibility to break from mortgage and health insurance that take over our lives in US. After more than 15 years, it was getting monotonous at work, and my wife could use maid help with household chores, stop driving, find baby-sitters among relatives, and we felt a better work-life balance may be possible. As well, there was a feeling of being able to contribute to our country of origin.

Contrary to popular belief or reasons typically given by others who have returned, we did not feel compelled to return to bring up our girl children in the traditional Indian culture, nor felt school education in India is better since it is focused on academics, nor that we did not fit well with the American culture. We think, and many are now realizing, that India is undergoing a cultural transition with the economic growth, and the new found freedom and change is leaving the young and old confused at this stage - part of growing pains. We were happy with the local schools and our kids performance was very fulfilling. We were not very excited to adopt the spoon feeding and book worm academic approach typical in Indian schools, however "international" they project themselves to be. As well, we felt our mindset fit very well with the American culture, and we have had a lot of friends across ethnic groups in our neighborhood and beyond.

I jumped on an opportunity that came by within the company to relocate to New Delhi, India. It would have been ideal if the position was in my hometown Chennai, but Delhi seemed a good compromise being only 3 hours away by air.

Next... Preparing for departure and settling in Delhi.

Coming to India - Part II & part III

About my daddy Dr. K. V. Swamy

2010-08-03T04:22:00.000-07:00

My dad, Dr. K. V. Swamy passed away on July 19, 2010. He was 80 years old, and lived a fulfilled life leaving behind even great grandchildren. I felt like sharing a brief history of his life and some memoirs.

He was born in 1929, at a village called Thyagarajapuram, located in Thanjavur district in the state of Tamil Nadu in South India. His ancestors lived in that area adjoining the Cauvery river for many generations, though at some point in history one of them must have migrated from North India, since he belonged to the Vadamal Iyer (translates to North Aryan) community. He was the 7th child, and all his prior siblings had died due to some reason such as disease, accident or other. He also lost his father when he was about 8 years old, and his mother brought him up with stretched finances. This experience taught him the value of money, that in later life made him prudent managing his finances and quiet philanthropic pursuits.

He went to school in nearby towns that required miles of walk and train commute, and passed SSLC (Xth grade). He was mentored by his maternal uncle Dr. V. R. Murthy, a pioneer of homoeopathy in South India, who had started the Indian Institute for Homoeopathy and BAHOLA (BArat HOmoeo LAboratories). He joined his uncle's institute as an assistant in the early 1950s, and through hard work, sincerity and perseverence, rose quickly to a leadership position managing several aspects of his uncle's business.

After a decade, he moved on to venture on his own in 1962 and started the Madras Homoeo Pharmacy and clinic in T-Nagar area in Chennai (Madras). He also wrote an examination and registered as a medical practitioner with the Andhra board of Homoeopathic Council. His initial patrons were the street vendors in the area, who would forgo treatment for even basic illness like fever or cough, since they couldn't afford even cough drops or fever pills. They had heard homoeopathic medicines were cheaper, and would give it a chance. He would sometimes give the medicines for free, which was the only source of his revenue, as he never charged a consulting fee. Word spread, and the middle class communities in the area became his patrons. Later, the rich and famous from India and abroad also became his patrons, resulting in around 100 patients a day, and long waits for appointments, even over a week. Even when demand picked up, he maintained the same revenue model of charging only for the medicines. He was popular not only because of his skills, but also because he was jovial, multi-lingual and approachable to his patients.

When he visited the USA, he learned a lot about computers, printers, Internet, and even enrolled in an adult education class in his late sixties! He was a regular shopper at Fry's and stores like OfficeMax during his visits to buy a range of electronic and office supplies. He setup a system back home, and used it actively to keep in touch with patients over email, and print office documents. In this sense, he was even a good engineer! Even on his last day, couple of hours before his death, he sent some emails to his friends - they were shocked to see a follow-up email from the family announcing his demise.

He had traveled India widely in his younger days, and the US in later years. He liked the discipline, clean and systematic life in America. Other than the typical first sight and experience of freeways, signals and sidewalks, code enforcement, parks and libraries, he found a few things jaw dropping. Once, he found that the auto insurance paid for rental car after an accident, while my car was being repaired. Further, the repair shop picked up the rental tab, when it was taking longer than a week. Finally, when the car was repaired like new, he was stunned by the workmanship and service. He had only difficult experiences with Indian insurance companies and cheating auto repair shops, so he was very pleased to see things could indeed work so well. He was also impressed with the relatively easy return policies and customer friendliness at the stores. Once, he forgot to take $10 change from the cashier at Target, and realized only when he got home. We called the store and explained, and they refunded him later that evening, probably trusting his age and looks.

As he got older, he cut down his work hours, but still managed to spend a few hours at the clinic. He also contributed to development of homoeopathy by leading activities in the Tamil Nadu Homoeopathic Council, and mentoring new homoeopathic doctors in opening their own clinics. He had completed 48 years of service at his clinic until his last day. on July 19, 2010. He leaves behind a large family that includes his wife, four sons and a daughter, nine grandchildren and two great grand children. As a husband and father, he was proud that he had done his duty to provide a comfortable life for family and settle his children in good lives. We are proud too, that he lived an accomplished life in many ways!

Life can begin after 60 - Article in The Hindu

2010-08-03T04:10:00.000-07:00

Read this article in The Hindu newspaper. It talks nicely about different types of ages, and tips on how to live positively after 60 years of age. A must read for those close to being a senior citizen, and the rest of us can keep the advice in mind when the time comes!