A slice of life, a spectrum of emotions

It has been a full week(nah make it a month). Work, housework, paperwork- all that and a lot more. And its brought about a myriad emotions- from anger to frustration to overwhelming pride to pure joy to ecstasy. A good friend recently created a line that sums it all- its now a quote, officially.

"Life is chugging along, through many a bumpy road to make sure we don't fall asleep at the wheel."

PRISM

P is for Proscrastination. Never a good trait.

My PC is currently very sick. Some months of accumulated neglect has rendered it decapacitated. But of course, this is a good time for the external backup hard disk to fail as well. I've been holed in my basement running all kinds of scans and software installs all weekend to resuscitate the ailing PC. The backup disk- I will get to it in my time. It needs a good dressing down. Thanks to Hurricane Kyle, my PC is getting all the attention its been craving for in a long time.

R is Rightfully his.

Appa lost his precious cell phone, AGAIN! No thats not the big news. See, he has this affection for his cell phone that cant be explained in a few words in a blog post. It needs an essay thats worth getting published in the Guardian- cos thats the kind of pride he has for his cell phone. He has used every feature in the said device. He puts Seren and I to shame with our ignorance of the gadgets we own. No one, yes, NO ONE has the right to say ANYTHING about his precious little gadget.

This treasure got lost a few months ago, while he was on his morning exercise break. He had left it in his usual corner of the National College grounds where he has usurped sole user rights. And probably some school kid picked it up. Nonetheless after much angst from Appa's side, the school called and returned the phone to its rightful owner. The relief on Appa's face was priceless.

Apparently last week, it happened again. And this time the chances of getting it back seem rather remote. Cos it was a clear case of pickpocketing in nammoora BTS bus. Ya, ever heard of a pickpocketer returning a cell phone? I havent.

Anyhow, moving along, Seren got him a brand new cell phone this weekend. SIM card has been obtained, his old number transferred over and Amma tells me he plans on getting himself a cell phone case(the ones you can hang around your neck), tucking it inside his banian and making sure it has a tight lid. Well he's using some kind of such a contraption. Cos I called him twice and he didnt answer his phone. Considering he is out of town, I assumed it was out of range. But no, he called Amma right back and asked her to tell me to call him back- apparently it was too late by the time he pulled the phone out of said case- you can imagine how safely its been secreted!

I is for Instant gratification

It being a lazy Sunday morning and thanks to Hurricane Kyle- its been a wet, depressing weekend, I had called home. Amma tells me its Daughter's day and wishes me a very happy one. Now Google doesnt tell me anything of that, but who's to care? If a mom claims its daughter's day today, it is. Period.

So all you moms of daughters out there, go wish your girls a happy one.

S is for Surreality in everyday life.

Remember I'd written about life coming full circle here? Well now its turning into spiral of surreal joys and happiness cos I just heard that one of those two mentioned in the post got engaged recently. And to a girl from our class, thanks to the reunion efforts and rounding up all of us, long-lost schoolmates. This is the kind of stuff you read about in books, see in movies and dont even give it a second thought. But movies and books are made from real life, no doubt. The very same experiences that each one of us goes through at some point in our lives or the other. And thats what miracles are about. Those spontaneous acts of God that are inexplicable and unexpected. I wish them much joy and hope that we could all be there for this special moment in their lives, connected by memories from that time in our lives when our minds were pristine pure and days were uncomplicated.

M is for Making my day.

Cross Roads

Must be fall already
There's a nip in the air
A wish for some ginger tea
A craving for a tinge of spice

Must be fall already
And then life is like a journey
You watch out
See the leaves change?

Life is a like a journey
The track switches
A right here, a west there
Never halting, not of one place

You will always be one
A weathered, weary traveler
No destination belongs to you
You belong nowhere

You will always be one
We've halted at a mile marker today
Tomorrow we start on a new track
Courses might change
The journey itself is a perennial

Must be fall already

An evening in London

Did anyone watch Sonu Nigam's concert in London- 'An evening in London-Rafi resurrected'? The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) was spectacular. The Rafi songs that Sonu sang were melodious and were great picks. I loved the orchestra accompaniment for 'Tum jo mil gaye ho' which Sonu announced was his personal favorite. 'Dil ke jharoke mein tujhko bithakar", 'Kya hua tera vaada', 'Chahe koi mujhe junglee kahe', 'Suhaani raat dhal chuki', 'Kaun hai jo sapnon mein aaya'...and so many many many more.

I happened to chance upon it on Sony, on Sunday evening. And God, what a treat! What a soothing, fitting end to a weekend!

The other Boleyn girl

by Philippa Gregory

Phew! What a huge book(600+ pages)!

That said, I'd read 'The six wives of Henry VIII' by Alison Weir a long time ago. This book solely dwells on the time period in which Henry VIII broke away from the Church of England in order to be able to divorce Catherine of Aragon and marry Ann Boleyn. But its really about Mary Boleyn, Ann's younger sister who was in the Queen's entourage. She was the first pick to tempt Henry to have heirs, given that she was already married kinda put the spanner in the works for the Boleyn family in their path to fame and fortune. Ann Boleyn is a simpleton- not one to adapt well to her family's genetic trait of plotting and planning. Mary seems to have been an unsuccessful pawn, after which her bolder, aggressive sister Ann seems to have made progress, succeeding to become Queen. The entire process for Henry to be able to successfully get his marriage to Catherine annulled and be able to take another Queen was long drawn and laborious. Mary seems to have retired to a life of anonymity after Ann was beheaded along with her brother, George. End of story. The schemings, the machinations, the trickery, the treachery- yup the works that goes behind the scenes of any court.

Yup, kinda a long drawn affair, literally speaking. I'm not sure just this section of historical fiction warranted 600 pages of literature. At most points, I was close to egging the author to just move one and be done with it already! After all, who wants keep hearing about Henry's promiscuous ways and harem gossip in every 2 pages, incessantly?

This is the first book of Philippa Gregory that I read. I dont find her language distinctive and/or captivating. At best, it barely holds your interest and intrigue. Would I read more of her works? Hm perhaps I would if I didnt find anything else to read....which certainly seems to be the state of affairs right about now.

Chaat, movie and everything in between

Another weekend has come and gone. As we move closer and closer to the end of summer, I feel this urge to hang on to it more tightly, to fit in a lot more things to do, to be outdoors, to walk longer...cos these warm days will soon be gone.

* Watched 'Rock On'. If its one thing Farhan Akhtar excels at, it is superior dialogues coupled with contemporary storylines. As like Dil Chahta Hai, the characters in this movie are modern, contemporary, young and hep. FA can act reasonably well. This story, as have most reviews mentioned, has shades of DCH in it. If you're in your 20s or 30s, you will definitely relate to the emotions and sentiments. And thats probably why this movie is such a hit. Apart from of course, girls raving over FA's looks(I choose to not dwell on it, good looks are relative and debatable). It doesnt have to be about being in a rock band when you're in college, it could be any group activity that you have participated in while growing up- such interactions, such misunderstandings, such relationship angst is bound to happen. Friends part, a group breaks up- a band gets disbanded. You move on, grow up, life's focus changes, responsibilities grow. Before long, you realize there's a void in your life, that can only be filled by those very people...the ones you grew up with, the ones that were your co-passengers along a very important journey in a slice of life. Some get the opportunity to reunite and relive those memories, some part forever learning to live the lives they have made for themselves, while dipping into the vast reserve of memories for some sepia toned preserves of growing-up.

Watch Rock On, for a feel good trip into the land of nostalgia, if nothing else. I wont call it the greatest movie of the year, I wont say its out-of-the-world awesome, I wont say its the greatest of the greatest... all I'd say is watch it for some interesting characterizations, the start contrast of personalities and the depcitions which are real and mostly relatable.

* Had a chaat party this weekend. The menu included pani puri, sev puri, masala puri(a Bangalore speciality), bhel puri, pav bhaaji, mango lassi, rasmalai and curd rice for those finicky southie types. Pics, you ask? Well it went by so fast that the thought didnt even occur to me till after the fact. Take my word, it was good. Finger licking good! Just the type of spread Rads would've loved- I mentioned bhel and rasmalai right? Errrr...of course I did invite her. But she(not surprisingly) was oober booked. And then ended up copping out and eating dibba roti, she claims!

* Tried and tested Google chrome. Did you see the webcomic for Chrome? Hm, its got some memory issues that need to be taken care, its not fully there yet- me thinks. The one good thing I did notice was it fully blocked all of rediff's popups very effectively, without needing an external pop-up blocker that even Mozilla seems to need to overcome rediff's annoying pop-ups.

* I finished reading 'The other Boleyn girl' by Philippa Gregory. That's what my next post is gonna be about.

* Yesterday(Sept 15th) I hear is now officially called 'Black Monday'. World markets plunged, real estate market here in the US has been on a decline, food shortage crisis happened earlier this year, commodity prices have skyrocketed, gas prices neednt be mentioned- so whats that word that defines any period of time in world financial markets where there's sustained high rates of unemployment, interest rates, inflation and other such declines?

On a wednesday night

Week days for the next few weeks are long and laborious. After a quick fix for dinner last night, I sat down to get my daily dose of Jon Stewart and the Colbert report. That done, my mind was yet to unwind from the day's hectic pace. It started reeling a long list of could-do's- 'you could be sending out the meeting minutes', 'you could be preparing for your presentation for Friday', 'you could be sending meeting invites for tomorrow'..so on and so forth. Relentless, never-ending, constant.

And then I involuntarily started playing 'A Wednesday'. It was around 10pm on a Wednesday night. Accompanied by a guilt laden delicious creme brulee for a late evening dessert fix, I started to watch. It was midnight when I was done. September 11th 2008 said my desk calendar on my night stand.

As the earth moved from a Wednesday night to the 7th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, I had just watched a brilliantly crafted movie with stalwarts like Anupam Kher and Naseeruddin Shah. The cast was minimal, but delightfully entertaining. The story was fast paced, never a dull moment but nonetheless subtly gripping. I dont wish to divulge much of the storyline(nope, I didnt want post a flyer of the movie either), go watch it and enjoy the 2 hours of captive enthralment that is such a rarity from Bollywood these days. Oh, the lack of any romantic angles, song and dance will never even be noticed, leave alone being missed. There's small and cute bursts of tongue-in-cheek humor, irony and impactful, unadulterated entertainment are like an extra special dose of spice from the pepper mill over a special exotic pasta dish(leave it to me to find a food mention in the middle of a movie review). Now if you belong to that special category called cynics that gaped in disbelief at the oober-exalting ending of 'Chak De India', if you went 'Ya right, India winning the World Cup', then sure- you'd gape in disbelief at the plausibility of such a story. But feel-good movies do just that, no? They make you go all warm and fuzzy, reinstate your faith in humanity and the infinite goodness that exists all around. Its a good feeling to go to bed with at the stroke of midnight on the 7th anniversary of 9/11- we need more such warm fuzzies, no doubt!

Outsourced 4- The Beneficiary

You know what they say 'All good things come in small packages'? Well, in my own experience I have come to believe in an addendum to this adage- 'And small packages can pack quite a punch'- I tell ya! So, dear little Seren was asked to write a post in lieu of the outsourced series- in fact she was the first person to be (errr) requested. How long ago? Well lets just say a long long time ago. And then she delivered her masterpiece come Monday morning US time. And then she comes online every 2 hours since then asking when I would be posting. Now with all these facts, tell me dear readers- should I not drag this for at least another week(at least!)?

Oh well, I'm told blood is thicker than water and what-not, so I decided to cave in and do the needful. After all, who wants an enraged 'small package' of dynamite going off on you?

So here goes- 'The beneficiary' penned by Serendipity as part of the outsourced series, a burst of brilliance penned NOT by the usual jaded mint.

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“Amma … I’m leaving for work, come and shut the door”

“Mini , has Adi left too?”

“ I’ve no clue Amma , just check if his laptop is still in the room”

“Really now, what kind of generation are we living in, in our times we used to know our husbands by the beat of his heart”

“Right.Bye Amma”

“Coffee?” pinged a message from Surya. It was 11 already? God , and she had’nt even started on that document .. when was the team meeting due …oh right , Friday.

Mini started walking towards the lounge to find Surya leaning against the bay window, their regular coffee hang-out.

“Whats up, Sue??”

“Nothing much, the usual, met another matrimony guy ..”

Mini smiled. “This must be the better of the phases?”

“Mini , he’s this numerology freak and he thinks I must change my name to Suryaa Kumari , like the name isn’t bad enough already!”

“Maybe that's one of quirks .. what does ..”

“We should so go shopping today , Mini!! There’s a cottage industry fair at M.G.Road!!”

“ No Sue .. it might rain and my mother-in-law might get really worried ..”

“Oh come on Mini , I’ll drop you home!”

“…”

“AT your door-step?? And do pranams to your mother in law so she doesn't think I’m a muscle oozing yellow tee shirt wearing moustache endowed man??”

Mini dimpled.

“Can anyone really say no to you when you’re in one of these moods?”

“Yeh kitna bhaiyya?” That was Sue picking a horrendous looking yellow and pink “Ikat” duppatta.

“Sorry , memsaab no for sale hum pack up kar rahein hain”

“What!? What kind of salesman are you??”

“Woh humne socha train 9 bhaje ko tha , ab patha chala 6 bhaje ko hai madam …miss ho gaya tho bahut gadbad hojayega”

It was already 5 and the poor man was frantically stuffing all his wares into gunny bags and looking hassled.

“Come on Sue , lets help him..”

Mini and Sue bundled the rest of the clothes into sacks while the salesman went in search of an auto.

“You know what ,Minzie , we could steal a dozen of these Ikats and he would never know!”

“Which is why God sent him back with an auto.. quick bundle them all in with him”

“Bahut thank you very much madam , aap ka patha dedo , hum call karega , agli baar sale hua tho..”

“I just have my visiting card .. yeh rak lo..” said Mini with a smile.

“Happy Journey!”

“I’m too famished now Minzie , lets just head home ?”

“ Yes , please.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“Mini...” called out Amma as she came out into the garden with two steaming cups of coffee. The afternoon sun trickled down the branches of the mango tree making little patterns on the book that Mini was reading.

It was coming. She felt it .. Now…?

“How’s work going on , Mini ?”

“Its ok Amma, a little stressful”.

This said, would definitely clinch it.

“Its time you and Adi settled down and had children”

“Yes, Amma”

Did that sound too mechanical?

She added with a smile

“Soon you will be playing with your grandchild on this very swing!”

“When did Adi say he would be back from his tour? In 3 weeks? Seems by far the shortest tour he has been on…Mini?? Oh well.. go on with your reading , I’m going inside”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
February 3rd , 12:00 AM

Her cell phone started blinking silently.

Mini covered her hand over the mouthpiece while grinning into it.

“Sue!”

“Happy Birthday , Minz .. Have a fantastic year ahead!”

“Sue , you could have told me this on a less absurd hour? Thanks so much for the wishes…”

The third of February. A day whose mention always had a ring to it. Her birthday.

She reached office early. On birthdays and wedding anniversaries Amma strictly forbade her from coming into the kitchen.

“Mini madam, aap ke liye parcel hai”

Who could it possibly be she wondered idly as she signed the counterfoil.Could it be …?

It was a brown paper parcel which read “Yamini Rao” in hindi.She opened it to find a beautiful hand woven ikat scarf in shades of red and orange. Atop it, was a letter.

It read “ Is saal ke pehle batch ka pehla piece.Us din ke liye shukhriya”.It signed off “Barabankiwaala”

It was going to be a happy birthday after all.

Outsourced 3- Happiness is a universal tango

Third in the outsourced series comes from Rads, another one of them victims who I've been pestering for a few weeks now. She tried to get me to set deadlines, I coaxed and cajoled- she wheezed and whined and limped and ...well pretty much tried every excuse known to exist before coming up with this masterpiece, thanks to a video I received as a forward and that became my gtalk status for some days- spreading happiness and cheer, just as it was meant to be.(Sheesh, that was one loooooooooong sentence, being that Teacher's day was just around the corner, I can imagine Amma peering at this with disdain!)

So here I present "Happiness is a universal tango" by Rads as part of the outsourced series, a burst of brilliance penned not by the usual jaded mint.

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Most of us sail and drown through life’s waves and the surprise unexpected whirlpools, with a focused and determinedly magnified look at what’s on the plate. It is at times like these that a knock comes along and sometimes goes unheard. An opportunity one may even say that has slipped through the maze we weave ourselves into.

Of late I’ve been enmeshed in such quagmires, and life has been a bit off. So when I clicked on the link Altoid had on her gchat status, it was a pleasant surprise. Please see the video below of Matt Harding as he ‘dances’ his way through 42 countries. It’s about 4 minutes, but, well worth your time.



Wasn’t that lovely? Did you smile? I did.
In fact after awhile I was chuckling at the consistency at which Matt stuck to his dancing style no matter his environment. Then I turned it on again. This time I watched the folks who danced with them. While some moved specifically based on their culture, most adhered to a sort of similar juggling, dancing, jiving, moving their limbs in a similar pattern as her, stomping their feet and pumping their arms. Most importantly, did you notice their faces? How their mouths opened in various degrees, the teeth, the crinkled smiling eyes, and the laughter lines around them? The complete gay abandon that all children exhibited? The goofy adults?

Did you also happen to notice the aura the groups radiated? The golden sheath around them, the vibes they transmitted through the digital space and into yourself, warming you from within? As the English would say “Warmed the cockles of my heart, it did.”
Matt and the others who contributed to the video say, dancing is a form of happiness. There is an Indian Hopi saying“To watch us dance is to hear our hearts speak.”, a line that resonates the mantra of my life. Perhaps, something that you may relate to as you watch the people in the video. The background song – Praan – in Bengali sets the stage for thoughts that surge in that direction. One cannot compete with Tagore’s words and the ideals that he conveys, but only enhance it in such a way that it reaches a wider audience.

The English poem – Stream of Life - goes thus

The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day
runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures.
It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth
in numberless blades of grass
and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers.
It is the same life that is rocked in the ocean-cradle of birth
and of death, in ebb and in flow.
I feel my limbs are made glorious by the touch of this world of life.
And my pride is from the life-throb of ages dancing in my blood this moment.

Dancing to me is synonymous to breathing. Dance is not necessarily a practiced routine of precise movements of hands, legs and eyes. It is an attitude. How you dance your way through life is your choice, but dancing through it could only bring back the happiness that one surely deserves, a reprieve even. You may dance with your eyes, your words, your feet, your voice, your song, your music, anything really, but dance, you must.

As William James, who is believe is a fine psychologist apart from being a medical doctor and philosopher (isn’t it interesting that there are more scientific men who shift laterally and become philosophers?) says “Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing”. Now, surely no one needs convincing that laughter is good for us. Similarly, getting off that chair, moving any part of your body to a music that only you can hear, now, that’s a piece of heaven. Your very own personal piece of a wonderful place called heaven. Imagine that?!

If its meant to be

Foreword : This post is about 2 instances that occurred recently where I found myself marveling at the small wonders that happen around us on a daily basis and how easily they can be overlooked as being insignificant. Even as you read these, the thought might cross your mind as to if I was being a sentimental fool, making a mountain out of a molehill- yes, its certainly possible. What makes a big difference is how you perceive everything that happens around you. Read the epilogue if you so wish.

Episode 1 :
It was a warm and sunny day in Chicago. An outdoorsy day, a lazy Friday before a long weekend. We'd been on the cruise and then it was time for a ride up the Sears tower. My backpack was wearing on me-packed with my camera, charger and the paraphernalia that goes along with an SLR. Somewhere tucked in the backpack was my cell phone. I only used it to check time. I wasn't expecting any phone calls nor planning to make any. We casually strolled over to Sears Tower and stood in the line for tickets. It was a busy, packed day at the ticket booth- obviously a lot of visitors wanted to get up for a view of the windy city before it got chilly. After buying tickets, we moved to another line for the elevator. And then we made it to the 90th floor in under a minute. Whooooooooosh and a pop later we were there.

The view from the dome of Sears tower is spell binding. In every direction- there's miles of industrial development, high-rises, the lakes and a sprawling city. I walked around for a bit and pulled my cell phone out to realize that signal strength was dead. 'I am truly unreachable right now' I thought to myself as I tucked the phone into the side pocket of my shorts. My feet ached, my arms were all but ready to drop off. I decided to sit down, stretch my legs and lean against the wall. Phew! Such a relief. The eye still could feast on the wonderful views without having to tax the limbs.

In a while, my friend's husband walked up and goaded me to get up. I huffed and puffed and got up for another walk around the dome. A photo session happened in one corner of the dome and a few mins later we were ready to head back down. As we stood in the line for the elevator, I felt my pocket was empty and within no time I realized I had lost my cell phone.

While I urged the rest to go on, my friend and I stepped out into the landing and emptied the contents of my backpack. It yielded no cell phone. And as I mentally traced my whereabouts, I remembered distinctly that I had observed I had no cell phone reception up in the deck. So it was definitely misplaced sometime while I was in there. Good, I thought to myself. My friend tried calling the phone, which obviously went to the voicemail given there was no signal. I went back to the place I sat down at and looked around. No luck. I walked around the dome a few times looking to see if I had dropped it anywhere. No luck, again.

A sinking feeling came over me. I had just recently in April dunked my cell phone into the toilet(NOT intentional, mind you) and even though I am not a stickler for fancy iphones like some people (wink wink ;) I don't like the clunky ones that are a dime a dozen but look like a fossil. I had had to sign up a two year contract in order to get a major mail-in rebate on a new phone. Just the thought of the hassle of having to go through it all again was enough to motivate me to walk over to the gift shop adjacent to the tower where I had been seated and ask the lady at the counter if any one had returned a cell phone. "No, ma'am" she said politely and sympathetically. I went around the dome for the 3rd time checking and re-checking. I came back to the store and asked her where people usually gave in lost items. "You might want to check with security down stairs" she replied. I made up my mind to go down and report a lost cell phone and give them my friend's contact details. For one last time, my friend and I went around for a final look. No luck.

As we came to the elevator and stood in line, we saw the lady at the store rush over with another store clerk. The new lady asked "Are you the one looking for a lost phone?". "YES!" I screamed. I walked over with her to the store and she pulled out a cell phone from the desk and said "Is this yours?". I flip open the lid to check if the photo of my friend's baby was there. And it was. I clasped the lady's hand in abject gratitude.

And I couldn't help but wonder, what if there had been even a minute's delay? What if I had not gone around for one last check, instead just had gone down? What a difference a few split seconds can make....

Episode 2:
I am always paranoid about the cap for my camera lens. For all the technological advances that happen in the camera world, I still feel the best feature could be that of making a cord attaching the camera to the lens cap. That way, the chances of misplacing the lid is minimized.

So to justify this paranoia of mine, there are always instances where I panic over a misplaced lens cap. Take Saturday for example. I had to cover an event for my friend's father who was participating in a book review. I chose the corner seat of the last row so I had unbridled access to the aisle. I walked over to the dais a few times taking pictures at strategic moments. Once his talk was over, I walked over to the row where all of us were sitting and continued to listen. A few mins later I realized I did not have the lens cap with me. Ugh, I thought to myself. The program was scheduled to go on for another hour and I didn't want to upset everyone going around in search of the lens cap. But it was beginning to bother me and I wouldn't rest until I found it. I decided to go back to the last row to check. I excused myself and walked over to find the empty seat and no lens cap. As I sat down in the seat trying to plan my next course of action, a man walked over from behind, as he stopped next to me, he put his hand inside his shirt pocket and pulled out the lens cap- "I believe these are yours?" he whispered. "Yes, yes and yes" I managed to squeal back in a whisper. I grabbed his hand and thanked him profusely. Again, I come back to what I said earlier- a few seconds of delay and I probably wouldn't have been able to retrieve the lost item.

Epilogue:
Albert Einstein said "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."

I choose to believe in the latter. There are so many miracles that occur as part of the life force around us, that occur inspite of us and NOT because of us. There is always an inexplicably wondrous experience that we fail to stop and marvel at- just because we are so full of ourselves, our wishes and desires and wants. Everywhere around me I was able to sense the warmth, the unifying divinity and grace that comes about in spite of the diversity that exists - be it among the people, places or nature.

'If it's got your name written all over it, just be patient. If it's meant for you, it will come.'

Amen!

Finding roots in a far-away land

Sigh. I have so much to tell from my long weekend and the road trip across the MidWest. And the sooner I put it down in writing, the sooner I will be able to shed the load because its definitely overwhelming in every sense of the term.

Route : Northern VA- Columbus OH- Chicago, IL- Pittsburgh PA- Northern VA

Headnote 1 : This is the first time I got such a wonderful peek into the MidWest. It is beautiful, it is scenic and the people are warm, welcoming and so down-to-earth.
Headnote 2 : I usually try not to be vernacular-specific in my posts so that everyone can understand and appreciate. So fair warning, there is a lot of Kannada-related mentions in this post- they're unavoidable and very much warranted, given the nature of the sentiments. Also fair warning- this is a loooooong post so put your feet up, pull out some popcorn and enjoy the ride.

On that note, lets go.

This was a last minute decision, to go on this trip. As always, those are the best kind. Taking an additional day off, we set off first to Columbus.

Columbus, OH :
A delightful pit-stop at a friend's place where conversations were warm and welcoming, company was entertaining and evening walks were a welcome change of scenery. A brisk walk in a new community is always enjoyable- new sights, new sounds, new smells and ever-pleasing.

One thing I did note though-this particular neighborhood didnt have fences between homes. As I walked, in one house a mastiff came running out from the yard onto the sidewalk menacingly. I let out a scream that could've brought the entire neighborhood out to enquire what was wrong. There was probably an electric fence or something(how should I know?) because it stopped right at the invisible demarc and barked some more. Alright, thus scared, I continued along with the walk.

Next stop

Chicago, IL :











The first day of our stay in Chicago was spent going around this enchanting Mid-West city. There is always an air of something interesting happening, and an interesting sight for eye candy out here. We went on the architectural riverboat cruise and took a ride up Sears Tower. Then we roamed around the city, soaking in the brilliant blue sky and the warm sunny weather that had been bestowed upon us. As I sat on a bench at Navy Pier, it was calming to watch the sails pass by, the little lighthouse over the horizon, the calm azure water with its sparkles..there was serenity right there.










The next few days were spent at the World Kannada Conference. Its an event that brings Kannadigas all over the US together over the Labor Day weekend every 2 years. This year it was at Chicago. Its one of those events where one gets to hear Kannada spoken everywhere around, almost like being back home. Dignitaries from the literary, film and political worlds all converge to mingle, to entertain, to be entertained, to muse, to dress and to impress. There are fashion shows, Kannada Idols to be chosen, Youth Forum, Women's forum, literary sessions, Meravanige(which is the Kannada term for procession where very district of Karnataka is showcased by all the kannada sanghas of North America)...the list is endless. Its one big festival where bisibelebath, kharabath, vangibath, mysore pak and mosranna flows limitlessly, run-ins with celebrities are oh-so-casual and one dresses up in one's finest, twice a day.

Our saga of run-ins began the previous evening, where on our cruise, we ran into none other than Yedi(short for B S Yediyurappa, Karnataka's CM :P). After a short guftagoo with him, for the next 2 days we had wonderful run-ins with C.Ashwath, Vatal Nagraj, Ramesh Arvind, Jayamala, Upendra and Mukyamantri Chandru. I found Upendra exceedingly down-to-earth, warm and approachable. He has an air of humility and honesty that is hard to miss.

The literary sessions consisted of a Q&A session with S L Byrappa, talks by Chandrashekar Kambar and Gurulinga Kapse, book/cd releases, book reviews and other such thought-provoking discussions. What a great congregation of brilliant minds! I was almost ashamed that I was so out of touch with Kannada literature.

Guru Kiran night was grand, as always, featuring singer Nandita, Ramesh Arvind and a host of others. That went on well past midnight of Saturday. The Meravanige on Saturday morning was wonderfully executed. There was a long chain of Kannada Sanghas of the US where each group had a display of the essence of Karnataka- whether it was Kodagunaadu, or North Kanara or even showcasing our tribal dance forms.

There were bursts of some wonderful humour with Haasya Loka with humorists such as Prof Krishne Gowda. Stomach achingly funny!

Yuva Raaga had a entertaining music show of talents of the youth here in the US who have an amazing appreciation for Kannada. Sunday's most fitting end to the entire event was "Kannadave Sathya" by C. Ashwath and his team. The show began with Aswath asking the entire audience gathered in the main hall of the Convention Center(which was packed to capacity) to stand up for his opening song, which was the state anthem of Karnataka, penned by Kuvempu- 'Jaya bharata jananiya tanujaate'. This was moving and touching and it warranted singing along. The evening continued on with gems by the legend such as 'Elladaru iru, entaadaru iru, endendu nee kannadavagiru' and 'Raayaru bandaru maavana manege' and 'Kodagana koli nungitta tangi' and so many many more.

At the end of 3 nights, I was overwhelmed with being back in touch with Kannadatva. For 3 days I was entertained by stalwarts of whom I have read so much about and seen on TV, that which would have taken me months to get the same kind of exposure back home. As I left the venue on Sunday night, my heart was filled with gratitude, my mind was filled with enough cud to chew on for the next few months, my parched throat was quenched with all the love and oneness that came along with being amongst like-minded people and thus I was satiated. SO totally worth it. I am on a high right now as I write this out.

It was a long drive back home in every sense of the word. I found the countryside around the MidWest entirely charming strewn with luscious corn fields, red barns and open spaces. I present some of the scenery that kept me entertained all through the drives.










We stopped for a couple of hours, since it was on the way, at..

Pittsburgh, PA :

A quick dekho at Tirupathi Thimmappa, a quick stop for tamarind/curd rice topped with boondi at the temple cafeteria and we set off...for a another stint of driving for the last lap, homeward bound.

It is said 'home is where the heart is' and what that means is not your physical dhak-dhak beating heart. Its your soul and my soul right now is telling me 'Kannadave satya, kannadave nitya'. Yes, undoubtedly. That will always be home.

Footnote : My next post will definitely have to be about two small miracles that I was a subject to while I was at the windy city. Stand by for details...