Gifts Received –
Mindwandering – in progress
Highly Sensitive Person – in progress

Borrowed From Library –
The Forever War (Reread)
completed – The Main In The High Castle – Phillip K Dick
Abandoned – Grit – Angela Duckworth
Don’t remember if read Earlier – Eyes Of The Void – Adrian Tchaikovsky
Completed – Lords Of Uncreation – Adrian Tchaikovsky
Abandoned – Hillbilly Highway – Max Fraser
Abandoned, Previously Read – Dune Messiah – Frank Herbert
Don’t remember if read – Infinite Stars – Bryan Thomas Schmidt

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I asked for suggestions on twitter, linkedin and here are the books i was recommended.

It’s a long list, and hopefully a worthy one

• Management: High Output Management, Mythical Man Month
• Psychology: Influence (Robert Cialdini), Thinking Fast and Slow (Dan Kahneman)
• Money: Freakonomics, Lying for Money
• Dystopian: Animal Farm (Orwell), Brave New World (this one is a classic but I found it ok)
• Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
• Siddhartha (Herman Hesse)
• Fantasy: The Bartimaeous Trilogy (Johnathan Stroud – I love these books because of the narration style)
• Flowers for Algernon (1959) – an absolutely readable classic.
• Raag Darbaari (1968) – Srilal Shukla
• On Photography (1973) – Susan Sontag
• Yuganta (1967) – Irawati Karve
• Anything by Saadat Hasan Manto
• old travelogues by Dervla Murphy and Eric Newby
• brave new world
• silent spring
• Sophie’s World
• The Catcher in the Rye
• Jed Mckenna�s theory of everything
• Anna Kareninna – Le�n Tolstoi
• Stephan Wolf- Hermann Hesse
• Cien a�os de soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude)- Gabriel Garc�a M�rquez
• The Gene for Bio
• Carlo Rovelli for Physics
• Das Kapital� Karl Marx
• Wealth of Nations�Adam Smith
• A brief history of time� Hawking
• Uses of literacy� Hoggart
• Origin of species � Darwin
• Orientalism�Said
• The republic� Plato
• War and peace� Tolstoy
• Swami and his friends
• Siddhartha, Herman Hesse
• Zen mind beginners mind, Shunryu Suzuki
• The second sex, Simone de Beauvoir
• Bhagvad Gita
• Thirukurral by Thiruvalluvar
• Yuganta (1967) – Irawati Karve
• Mahaswetha devi’s After Kurukshetra
• Valmik’s women (based on Ramayana women)
• Aranyak by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay

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It is not hard to not have Bhutan on your mind. A nation which is not often in the news, Bhutan is often an enigma to most world travelers. In a world where everyone is trying their best to get attention, this tiny nation and its people swims against the current. A nation of incredible natural beauty and some of the friendliest people, it flies under the radar of tourists, and prefers to keep it that way.

My connection with Bhutan is nearly 12 years old. I had two classmates from Bhutan, Karma – a quiet thoughtful guy and Dawa – a bubbly outgoing girl, in my undergrad college at NIT, Jaipur. Karma and I were good friends, and having heard so much about Bhutan from him, I had always wanted to go there some day. With a lean work period coming up, I decided to finally fulfil my long time dream in early February and booked flight tickets to Bagdogra. With a lean work period coming up, I decided to finally fulfil my long time dream in early February and booked flight tickets to Bagdogra.

Why not fly into Bhutan, one might ask. It is indeed an excellent idea to fly in – I am told the view while landing at Paro airport (the nearest airport from Thimphu, the capital city) are incredible. Moreover, the land route from Bagdogra to Thimphu does not make for an easy journey. You travel 3 hours in a train to Hasimara, then by road to Jaigaon, cross over the international border to Phuentsholing and then travel on an arduous 7 hour, motion sickness inducing road journey to Thimphu. However, I had booked my tickets just two week ahead, which meant flights were really expensive, and Druk Air (the national carrier and the only one flying into Bhutan) flights into Paro were completely booked. Add my preference to backpack and travel cheap, and you get the complete picture. Thankfully, my friend and travel partner, Amin, enjoys a bit of roughing it out himself and took it all in good spirit.

Unlike in many countries, being an Indian citizen is of distinct advantage in Bhutan. The permits are easy to secure and you can manage traveling on a budget, unlike tourists from other countries. Bhutan is virtually off the table for backpackers because of the cost involved – tourists have to mandatorily book a package and spend more than $250 per day in order to secure a visa. It is, in fact one of the most expensive tourist destinations in the world.

Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, is nestled in a valley at the height of about 9000ft. The first two things I noticed about the city was how clean and orderly it was. Granted that my first impression was of the main street – Norzin Lam, but this impression was strengthened over the next few days as we walked around town. The city is a haven for pedestrians, most offices are situated on the main street and paved sidewalks line all streets. We did not take any taxis during our stay in Thimphu and made good use of this excellent opportunity for free exercise. You can also rent bicycles to go around too; the charges however are pretty steep. There are plenty of SUVs on the roads and a few motorcycles too, with the riders wrapped in multiple layers to protect against the cold. Another interesting thing we noticed was the abundance of people wearing their traditional dress – men in Gho and women in Kira. The reason for this being that their traditional dress is also the official formal dress and mandatory to wear at government offices and Dzongs (administrative center and monastery). I thought it was a pretty neat idea to preserve their culture.

Our first destination was to one of the most recognized places of Bhutan online – the Taktsang monastery in Paro, a town about 60km from Thimphu. The monastery, built on the wall of a cliff at a height of 900m above the valley appears to defy gravity.

Our hike up started quite late, it was already afternoon when we reached the base of the mountain – the consequence of not hiring an exclusive taxi for ourselves and relying on shared taxis. That said, we were quite excited and did not really worry when the driver warned us of possibility of not getting any rides back in the evening. Now, climbing is hard but climbing at these higher altitudes is even harder. We took plenty of breaks as we lumbered up and tried to get inspired by the few older tourists who were climbing down the mountain already. At one point, just before the final climb, my knees literally shook when I suddenly came upon the edge of the mountain. The impressive Taktsang Monastery is right in front of you on the opposite mountain, after a straight drop of a few hundred meters. Thankfully though, the steps at this point are built well and even have a railing to hold on to. The sound of the small waterfall here was soothing after the long hike up. As I entered the monastery after depositing all my belongings (including phones and cameras), a cop there volunteered to show me around and explained a little about the Monastery. It is said to date back to the 14th century and has been rebuilt a couple of times after being burned down. The monastery is also known as Tiger’s nest, a name it earned from the legend that Guru Rinpoche flew here from Tibet on the back of a flying tigress. One can even see the cave where he is supposed to have meditated for years after his arrival here. As we climbed down the mountain, I pondered on how religion has inspired some people to build beautiful structures and at the same time given reason to some others for destroying the same. I had to save my ponderings for a later day, as we had to get back to Thimphu and there was no sign of transport we could hire from the base of the mountain. The Guru Rinpoche must have been looking out for us that day though, we secured a ride to Paro soon after we started walking towards the town. On the ride back to Thimphu, the excellent roads sparked an insane thought – how about running a marathon here? That did not last for too long thankfully as I got motion sick soon after and retired to bed as soon as I got back to the hotel.

The next day, we headed to the eastern regions with our first stop at Punakha. We did not have a fixed plan, but I wanted to meet Karma in Wangduephodrang, a town with a massive hydroelectric plant further east of Punakha. We also wanted to visit Phobjikha where the endangered Black Necked Cranes migrate to Bhutan during winter. Another day, another taxi – this time the driver was taking his young bride to his hometown. But as soon as we left Thimphu behind, we had an incident. The driver forgot to stop at the police checkpoint and get our permits stamped and was fined heavily for this. The next couple of hours in the car were hair raising as our driver unleashed his fury with some dangerous driving. This was possibly the only instance where I encountered rude behavior during the one week we were in Bhutan. Leaving our angry not-so-young driver behind, we arrived at Punakha Dzong. We were disappointed to find that there were no hotels for us stay over, but how long can you stay down when you are in front of a beautiful, imposing structure at the confluence of two rivers? We walked inside the Dzong for some time and luckily were also witness to an afternoon prayer ritual. After a refreshing drink of cold, sparkling Himalayan water from the river, we decided to walk the few kms to Khuruthang, where we could decide on our next move. I borrowed a restaurant employee’s phone and called Karma, only to learn that he was not in Wangdue yet and was held up in another town on urgent family business. We then decided to head back to Thimphu and with a plan to meet Karma some other time.

After two slightly tiring day trips, we decided to take it easy and relax a bit. However, I could not pass up the chance of a hike, even though the weather had suddenly turned cloudy and cold. Located about 7km from the city center on a hill, Buddha point with its huge bronze Buddha watching over the city affords you excellent views of the city. As we walked past the memorial Chorten, built by the third king, His Majesty Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, and Druk school, with its immaculate football ground, my biggest concern was if it would start raining. It was Amin’s determination that kept us going through the light drizzle we encountered a couple of times on the way. A little note here, the tourist season in Bhutan begins in March because the Buddha Point weather is absolutely gorgeous, but February is not too bad if you are ok with slightly colder temperatures. And you get off-season discounts too! We spent a few hours enjoying the breathtaking views of the town surrounded by cloud covered mountains before heading back to town. Thimphu has many more options on offer for tourists. For the culturally inclined, a visit to the textile and folk heritage museum or the national museum may be of interest. There are many monasteries in the vicinity, one of the big ones right in front of the royal palace. A couple of them are outside the city and may be great choice for a day hike.

The main street or Norzin Lam has many cheap Ema Datschi hotels and restaurants. Indian food is easy to find too, almost every restaurant serves Puri Sabji for breakfast and Dal, Rice and meat for lunch and dinner. We were not satisfied with just Indian food though and tried Bhutanese dishes at a few restaurants. My personal favorite was Ema Datschi, a simple dish made of only chillies and cheese. I admit that as a person with low tolerance to spicy food, I was a little worried before I took the first bite but the dish somehow just comes together and works really well. It goes great with Rotis and you can choose variations of the dish with meat or mushrooms in it. I also tried Chilly Pork, another Bhutanese special which a kind chef made less spicy for us. I tried another dish of Pork cooked with Sorghum leaves, but couldn’t really appreciate the taste. There are some really good cafes too on this street – we went to Ambient and The Cafe, both close to the clock tower plaza. Did I mention that our Indian SIM cards do not work in Bhutan, and for a few days it was blissfully peaceful to be off the grid? These cafes lured us back with their free wi-fi and exposed how weak our willpower was. That said, they had amazing food and drinks at very reasonable prices.

Our last day in Thimphu was spent at the Weekend Market, which is open only through Friday through Sunday. A large section of the market is devoted to clothes, which I suppose locals utilize and the rest of it is lined up with stalls selling handicrafts and souvenirs. Most of these articles, such as Nemas, Conchs, wall hangings of the Buddha and dragons are also used in religious ceremonies. I tried my hand at some photographic experiments with Amin’s point and shoot camera, some of the results of which, I’m glad to report, turned out pretty well. There were many exquisite articles embedded with local Turquoise stone on sale, which unfortunately were out of my meagre budget but not outside the range of the camera. Important tip – do make sure to carry enough cash when you go, as credit card machines are not very common.

As I boarded the bus back to Phuentsholing, I realized that this had been my most relaxing vacation ever and I was actually eager to get back to regular work – a perfect vacation!

More pictures at https://picasaweb.google.com/112682915348377267695/Bhutan02

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Think about this for a minute.

Now watch this video.

Feeling a little less important in the big scheme of things?

There is no easy way to understand how small we really are. If there was, we would probably go mad, as anyone who has read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy would appreciate. Of particular interest in the book is a torture machine called the Total Perspective Vortex (TPV)� which does exactly that. As this Wiki explains,

The prospective victim of the TPV is placed within a small chamber wherein is displayed a�model of the entire universe – together with a microscopic dot bearing the legend “you are here”. The sense of perspective thereby conveyed destroys the victim’s mind; it was stated that the TPV is the only known means of crushing a man’s soul.

Most of us however, are like Zaphod Beeblebrox when he was in the computer-generated universe created by Zarniwoop for Zaphod’s protection. Because the universe was created for him, when Zaphod is put into the TPV, it tells him that he is the most important person in the universe!

And there lies the funny bit – we all are the most important people in our own universes, but not in the real universe. It is important for us to realize both of these perspectives – I believe that every individual should recognize our importance in our own life, but be cognizant of the fact that we play a very small part in this big universe. Lack of the former will make us insecure, while the lack of the latter will make us a megalomaniac.

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I believe that borders are petty, silly and to be done away with. I dream of a world without borders and I also understand that it will take many decades, maybe centuries for it to become possible. The idea of a continent full of countries who have fought wars for centuries coming together as one, was the best thing about EU. If traditional foes with centuries old rivalry could work together, maybe one day everyone in the world can too. That was the hope that EU fostered.

I read somewhere that there are only two angles that matter in storytelling – fear and hope. Unfortunately, fear seems to win over hope more often.

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You don’t have to do everything, but if you say you will do something, then you have to do it.

From Kumar, the first senior manager I worked with at Infy. This was in the context of taking our project to CMM Level 5 rating. We were a small team working for Paramount Pictures and the management wanted to processes in place when we started getting more people. We were all unhappy that we would have to spend time on non-work now and I had asked Kumar why do things which don’t add value to a client.

No matter what context, I have tried to stick to keeping my word. This was further reinforced by my experience with the partner I had at my first startup – his word meant nothing, he would lie even to his grandmother! I was repulsed by this and have always been ever since. Now I listen to everyone, hear what they say and wait for their actions to judge them.

Ghaas kaatne wala bano, par accha ghaas kaatne wala bano. – from the movie Lakshya

(Become a garderner if you want, but become a good one)

This is one is self explanatory.

If you don’t find a group which is doing what you want to, then you start it yourself.

Don’t remember the context, but this was from my friend Gapp, who himself has a propensity of starting stuff.

Most people are in a particular kind of waiting place (Dr. Seuss – The places you go). Waiting for someone to take a lead, to start something, to put themselves on the line – I refuse to wait. If I want something in this world and it does not exist, I try to create it. Thank you Gapp.

Gandhiji’s story

This one is a story – I am very positive that it was a story from Gandhiji’s life and I read it in my school textbook but I just have not been able to find it online and my memory is terrible. If you know the correct story, please share a link. Here’s the story as I remember it –

So Gandhiji is sailing by ship to somewhere and is constantly being abused by a racist co-passenger. He even goes to the length of actually writing the choicest abuses in a letter and hands it over to Gandhiji. Gandhiji glances through the contents of the letter, removes the pin binding the pages, keeps it and hands the pages back to the abuser. He thanks his dumbstruck abuser and tells that he kept the only useful thing out of the whole thing.

No matter who you meet, however vile they may seem; whatever bad experience you may have, there always is something good to pick out of it. I hope I will always have the strength to look for the good in people and experiences and only keep them with me.

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Ask yourself this, and you will know, what matters the most – to you.

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I was wondering when someone would nominate me for the Booklist challenge – and someone did.

But being the startupper that I am – I could not resist starting a challenge of my own. So here it is – the mother of all list challenges!

#uselesstriviachallenge

Here is a list of 5 completely useless trivia that nobody cares about (probably). I have painstakingly collected this trivia over the years and filled my brain with it, and now it finally has an outlet. Why am I doing this?

For world peace of course!

Here’s my #uselesstrivia list –

1. The dot over the letter ‘i’ is called a tittle.
2. The word “samba” means “to rub navels together.”
3. Women have been found to blink more often than men.
4. The lint that collects in the bottom of your pockets has a name � gnurr.
5. One quarter of the bones in your body are in your feet.

Please continue this challenge by tagging your friends who care the least about this trivia. In the true spirit of the challenge, please only list that trivia which you already knew (or google the hell out of it, seriously – who cares anyway? You see, I already cheated – I googled too).

On to you now!

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