Europe Trip Photos

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Olympics - Celebration time, but also retrospect...

India never had it so good @ the Olympics - 3 medals at the Beijing Olympics is like, wow.. herez the list of India's moments at the Olympics:

• Indian Hockey team: Gold medal from 1928 olypics to 1956 olympics - GOSH!!
• Norman Pitchard: First asian to win a medal at the olympics, the only indian to win 2 medals in a single olympiad - 2 silvers in 200 m & 200 m hurdles!
• Khashaba Daadasaheb Jadha: Bronze in bantomweight freestyle wrestling in 1952
• Leander Paes: Bronze in mens singles in 1996
• Karnam Malleswari: Bronze in womens 69 Kg weightlifting in 2000
• Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore: Silver in mens double trap event in shooting in 2004

Surely, it's a time to celebrate - we've never won so many medals at a Olympics - But at the same time, its time to ask the question: Given our population, why do we win so few medals, fewer medals than some non-descript nations in the world?? A few thoughts:

• Poor Sports Infrastructure/Sports Management/Political System/No sponsorship blah blah.. we've read about it so many times.. I'm not going to elaborate here
• It's difficult to have sports as an profession in India, because you make money only if you are amongst the very top - otherwise, you don't make any money (with the exception of cricket, which has a lot of sponsorship backing). People prefer to play safe & concentrate on academics - which guarantees monetary benefits. Also, it's a 'prestige issue' in the society - A sportsman is not perceived to 'do well in life'
• Our race does not score high on physical constitution. We dont have the strength (unlike the whites), we dont have stamina (unlike the blacks) we dont have agility(unlike the chinks/orientals). We do better in mental sports (like chess) or team sports which are less demanding physically (like cricket)

The best things in world come for free

When was the last time you:

• Walked on grass early in the morning without slippers?
• Took a stroll along the beach, with the waters washing your feet?
• Took a early morning walk in a garden?
• Swam in a Sea/Ocean/River?
• Took bath in a waterfall?
• Went trekking in a hill station/forest?
• Had tea/pakoda at a road-side dhabha on a rainy day?
• Saw Sunrise/Sunset on a beach/good viewpoint?
• Went on a long ride/drive listening to some great music on a pleasant day?
• Heard the chirping of birds on an early morning garden walk?
• Got wet (intentionally!) in the rain?
• Ate at a local kaiyendi bhavan?

The points mentioned above are some of the things that give me a high, am sure some of them will apply to you too. No wonder, it's said that 'The best things in world come for free'.

On one side, we're going to the most expensive restaurants, the best multiplexes, the best malls in pursuit of happiness, but missing out on some of the free things that Mother Nature has gifted us. Not for one moment am I suggesting that we should throw away the luxuries of a good city life (They're really good!), but we should also experience what is naturally free - which would in all probability, give a bigger high than your latest visit to the new mall.

There are other joys of simple living as well - Travelling by bus/train (Rider: if it's not too crowded!) in Chennai for example. Not only do you save money, but you also keep yourself fit by walking up to the bus-stand/train station, you get to see/hear people of various strata in the society, keeps you grounded.. Similarly, I feel nice when I get to eat good road-side food.. The thing is, I used to experience a lot of these things when I was a kid, but graudally insulated myself from such activities under the excuse of more luxury/convenience and so on. It's amazing how we completely ignore joys of living a simple life, as we pursue more luxurious exploits in the search for happiness.

Perfect Weather

Everybody has their own definition of the 'Perfect-Weather-Day'. Mine is 'Cloudy with a gentle breeze'. Citing such an opportunistic day on 2nd Aug, I went to Thiruvanmiyur beach - it's an heavenly feeling to walk by the waters while listening to some good music. Another nirvana moment is to ride on the bike on such days, without a helmet & with earphones. The cool breeze brushing by my face, I went on a long ride, exploring new routes. I found a new entrance to IIT Madras campus, by the Taramani Bus stand. I was reminded of my old Vana Vani days when a little KV school girl asked for a lift to the school from the entrance (Lazy me was no exception to this act!).

To say that IIT Chennai campus is an superb place will be an understatement. It is amazing to see so much flora & fauna in the scenic campus. The banyan tree hangovers on the winding roads will forever be etched in my memory. I loafed around the campus for quite a while - I had the opportunity to see a deer jumping, a hug pig crossing the road (or was it a wild boar?!). Check out this beautiful deer posing for me! Usually deers do not allow humans to come near them, but this guy seemed to love being photographed!

Kuselan disappoints ..

Saw Kuselan on it's first day of release ... It's been a long time since I saw a movie on the first-day, it was almost part of my weekly schedule when I was in Pune ... I'm not a big Rajni fan, but I'm fascinated by the mass hysteria surrounding him .. I love watching Rajni movies within the first few days, as just being in the theatre is an experience in itself (Had none of it at Mayajaal though)..

Kuselan is not a bad movie - I'd say it's average - which is unacceptable by Rajni's standards. Here's my reasoning:
1) The movie dragged in parts, was slow with average screenplay (even though the story is good)
2) There were too many excruciatingly over-sentimental scenes
3) Comedy was very average, animation horrible
4) No attention to detail - Meena always wore lipstick & striking sarees for a barbers wife who doesn't have money to buy a chair! In another scene, when Rajni meets some Japanese, they greet each other by saying, "Sayanora" - which means 'Goodbye' in Japanese!

This movie will not fare anywhere close to 'Sivaji' or 'Chandramukhi', it will just do above average - which is a major disappointment for a Thalaivar movie. Most surprisingly, movie tickets are easily available (Major reason: only 50% tickets are reserved by the Rajni Fan Clubs), there is less hype around this movie - because Rajni appears in fewer scenes, there is no action, there is no villain, there is no Rajni style/punch dialogues and so on. Surely, Rajni needs to stop doing his favourite roles (Remember Baba?!) and continue doing his fan's favourite roles!

I am very sure I will not watch this movie for the second time - Sincerely contemplating watching Kung Fu Panda for the third time though!

Chennai Autorickshaws

Sample taken from newspaper ‘Adyar Talk’, 26 July – 1 Aug, 2008 by K Balakumar:

‘Our grouse was that the auto’s don’t have any lane-discipline and generally move about as if they were powered by engines working on the Brownian theory of random movement, which should state that the speed of any auto is determined by the fate of the person that it runs into. But suddenly we have to grapple with share-autos that doubtless work on the Brownian theory of EVEN MORE random movement, which exactly is no theory but just a random happening beyond the continuum of physics and traffic laws.’

If you have a conversation with a person visiting Chennai for the first time, there is very little chance you would NOT hear complaints about our ‘Baashas’. Chancing upon the fact that the visitors would not know tamil, they would charge even more. They are also notorious for never using the ‘meter’ (Which is good many times – otherwise, he would take you on a Chennai yatra irrespective of your destination!), abusing you, being very arrogant, refusing to go to your destination, driving very rash, rowdyism etc.

There are some standard guidelines for handing Chennai auto walas – Know the distance of the destination so that you can bargain, do not ‘sound’ like an out stationer, never go by the meter, always bargain with him (Walking away usually works), never get into the autorickshaw until the price is settled, never ask fellow-auto drivers - they almost always back their colleagues. In fact, Chennai would probably be the only place where the difference between auto rickshaw & call-taxi fares is negligible!

Thinking about it, I’ve always wondered – Why is it so bad in Chennai? In Delhi, everybody plies by the meter, and none of them are tampered. They agree to go even to nearby locations. They run on CNG, and are very reasonable. It’s even better in other cities like Mumbai / Bangalore / Pune / Ahmedabad /Bhubaneshwar, where the meter rate is fixed & the driver would even return change of 1 Rupee!

To go from my house to Tidel Park, which is around 1.5 Km, no auto rickshaw would come for anything less than Rs. 30 – amazing. Now what exactly gives the auto rickshaws such clout? The Chennai Public transport is pretty good – the bus/train/MRTS network in Chennai does a pretty nice job. But because it is convenient, these guys get their (more than good) share of business. But why are they so arrogant? It’s because they have a lot of clout. How come they wield so much clout? That’s because most of them are owned by politicians/police/RTO personnel. So irrespective of which government rules, irrespective of how much people crib, nothing much is expected to happen here. I am not too sure given this environment, how enforcement of price lists, ensuring non-tampering of meters etc. can be done… any ideas?!

Striking things about USA for Indians like me...

• Transportation - Bikes are more expensive than cars; Insurance is also much more expensive as it is more risky; It is usually owned by people who have the 'rich' love of riding bikes.. compare it to our 'Pulsar' & 'Splendour' owners! Travelling by train is more expensive than driving cars! California consumes more fuel than entire India! Americans usually drive in Big Cars - their love for SUVs is well known. 'Carpooling' - sharing of cars is given incentives by the Government, like separate lanes where cars move super fast. Lane driving is followed strictly in US, otherwise you could be given a ticket by the un-bribable policemen! However, if you have a legitimate case, you -can- contest these tickets at the court. Honking in US is considered to be rude! If you cannot drive a car/dot have a driving license, you are immobile because public transportation is way too expensive. Usually every family member will have his/her own car. Some cities like New York, are however, well connected by public transport
• Income Tax - There exist different taxes for different states - Some states have zero income tax!! Imagine if we had some state like that in India, how populous that would become!
• Medicine/Medical service is so expensive, one cannot survive without Medical insurance - Doctor as a profession is awesome! Even lawyers are highly paid in US
• Infastructure is so awesome in US, even in small 'rural' areas - Roads/Signals/Water/Electricity/Bridges/Lighting etc. - everything is available in plenty
• Labour is very expensive in US - Haircuts cost no less than 10-15$!! This explains the rationale behind self-service Petrol pumps, automated Car washes - This is exactly opposite of India, where labour is SO cheap! Tipping etiquettes: You better give decent tips - not less than 10% - otherwise you would be scorned at! It is not demeaning to work as a waiter/other 'low-end' jobs, they are respected equally. It is impossible to repair a radio in US, easier/cheaper to replace it!
• Entertainment Parks / Tourism are SO awesome, why don't we have such parks in India? I have always wondered why we do not have world-class entertainment, especially for we indians, who seem to love entertainment. It is also such a naturally gifted country -such beautiful beaches/trees/rivers/flora & fauna .. the list is endless
• Respect for Humanity - Irrespective of your status/race/colour, you would be treated with equal respect (most of the time). Americans are very pleasant minded people, they would smilingly greet you when you pass by. Strictly no pushing/shoving in queues! However, the family value system is extremely bad, children manage by themselves after school & move out of their house after school. Indians win by a big margin here!!
• Everything operational is opposite to India - Switches have to be pushed down to OFF, pushed up to ON, lane dicipline is opposite is exactly opposite to India - This is because they are against the British system, which we are used to.
• In US, one can use mobile phones while driving in a car, and can also use mobile phones inside flights as soon as it lands!
• Definition of Vegetarians is very different there - It's very difficult for an Indian vegetarian there.. Americans also eat very fatty/junk food - Burgers/Pizzas with loads of cheese. They also eat helluva lot. Maybe thats why they are natuarally much bigger than us. They love cloas - A 'small' size cola in US = A 'double large' size cola in India
• Americans love weekends & believe in enjoying life to the fullest - they go in huge caravans/huge SUVs during weekends. They also love outdoor sports. They also spend their weekends watching basketball/baseball. The entire country is glued to the TV during the 'Big Bowl'
• Shopping in America is an awesome experience, the size of some stores & variety available is unbelievable. Some of the sales like Thanksgiving/Christmas sales are eye-dropping. Online shopping / shopping research really helps in getting a good deal.
• Americans are intensely proud of their country. You can see it everywhere you go. I think we should be more proud of our country than what we seem to be.
• Work Culture - Many Americans leave on Friday afternoons, to prepare for the weekend partying! They rarely/never work over time, and definitely no working on weekends!! Americans have holidays for strange occasions - like Mothers Day, Fathers day and so on. Indian companies - Please learn from them!
• People do not like to be asked too many personal questions, everybody needs their personal space. If you get too personal, it is considered rude ! they would get offended and ask you to back off!
• In education, Public schools are more expensive than Private schools. Quality of education is very high, but very expensive. Landing an Financial aid is difficult, students do all kinds of odd jobs to meet their expenses
• Telecom - They have very strange plans - like free weekend talk plans, usually there are charges for incoming calls! You do get fancy handsets for cheap prices, but plans are expensive! Telecom charges are approx 10 times that of India - where it is cheapest in the world!
• Any defective products which are sold are unconditionally accepted back & replacements given without any smirks at US stores, no questions asked!
• Love is the defacto method for marriage, there is no concept of arranged marriage. If you dont find a partner yourself, you are deemed as a loser!
• Education is not given the highest prority like in India, children are free to do whatever they want. It is usual for children to start earning for their higher studies after school, as usually they take care of themselves after school (Imagine that happening in India!!)
• People in jail do social service like road laying, cleaning etc.
• All necessary information you would want is available on the internet - Especially information related to navigation is awesome - You would get accurate information on distance between 2 places, best way to get there etc.
• Public Libraries in US are amazing, they have an unbelievable collection
• Americans are very good at selling & marketing - Indians can learn a lot from them there
• Newspapers are very thick - They contain SO much of information!
• Government has quite a few incentives for people below the poverty line. It would be difficult for India to have such a policy, given its population
• People are allowed to touch & feel animals at the zoos, animals are treated with a lot of respect there
• There are no street dogs/cats that you will find on th streets. Similarly, there woould not be any mosquitoes (Wonder howcome?!) However, amazing dogs/cats can be seen as pets. Doggie-bags for usually used at Restaurant for taking left overs for their pets
• Dishwashers are very popular in US, wonder why they are not so popular in India!
• People do not cook food often there, they cook only a few times a week & store & heat them before eating. They are too busy with work/other activities, they do not spend as much time as us in the kitchen