The Mondy Party

The UN

Good intentions. Good People.

But everybody here is an expert …so imagine what happens

Everybody is a who's who in their country or at least those from the developing countries are…so imagine what happens

And they all need to agree ...Phew...now imagine what happens

Most people here are very very committed and hard working and yet once in a while you meet somebody who seems to be in semi retirement… a nice cushy job in Geneva before going back to a wretched tropical heat

The intern group

Tons of interns…50 odd at the ILO, 200 at the WHO and an average of 10 each at the remaining 50 odd organizations both UN and NGOs. Imagine the number?
So they party…everyday… there is something organized by somebody somewhere…and Geneva is small and public transportation is good…so u meet everybody everywhere...
Normally I attend a few…over here and over there…and then go watch football
Now I am on the Intern Board…I have responsibilities...and ...so life will change …

My apartment
It’s located near the lake (an Englishman I met sarcastically said everything in Geneva is 'near the lake')…its small…but its livable and I share it (the apt.) with an Australian from Duke who is quite cool...
my grocery shopping trips have not been that exciting (as all is in French or German or Italian). I normally don’t know what I am buying…sugar becomes salt…and salt becomes sugar...but salted tea and sugary curry teach you their own lessons :).... (Ok its not that bad)

Holidaying?
I can’t cross the border, France is 20 minutes away in theory- an embassy, a visa and some racism away in reality...hopefully I will have the time and patience do try and get one...
But I do intend to got to Zermatt (http://www.matterhornhostel.com/) next weekend…since its in Switzerland I guess it should not be a problem

And the Swiss have funny laws. I could go on for hours but I’ll let you sample one … in some apartments its illegal to flush your toilet after 10 pm …think am kidding read this (http://www.davidmcquillen.com/apartment.html)

Football

"Salvation"

Weather

"Glorious"

If you have spare leave, spare money…make an effort come to Geneva now…you can stay with me…unless you plan to come with chacha bhateeja, bunty, babli…then we do need to find you a hotel room….

I was asked to open a bank account. So I went down the 11 floors, 1 by stairs (don’t ask me why they don’t have a lift which goes right up to 11) and took the express lift down. The UBS people gave me an account in less than 5 minutes. It was only while walking back to my office (yes I have a nice big office and I will take pains to describe it later) that I realized that I had a Swiss bank account. The epitome of the old Hindi movie bad rich guy! Now all I need to do is ask in a Ajit accent ‘Raabert Swiss bank account main kitne paisa hai…

The ILO building is not imposing. It is not beautiful. It is definitely not the Taj Mahal. In fact whoever designed it did so keeping in mind two things
a) Everybody has an ego
b) And though this is the ILO (labour), everybody here after all is management
Now imagine a big large jumbo with two aisles and seats not only on the two sides but also the middle. So think of the aisles as corridors and the seats towards the windows as rooms - sorry lots and lots of rooms (about 70-80 of them). What about the middle – think of steel grey cabinets, tonnes of them with a couple of photocopiers and printers thrown in to break the drab scenery. Now imagine this for 11 floors – grey outside and green inside.

A clear clarification must be made however – most people I have met and interacted with here are
a) Bright
b) Committed and
c) Hardworking
I also think that’s what is important. Period.

Switzerland is expensive. I remember how when I first came to the States I was comparing stuff to India and cribbing about prices. A small combo meal at McDonalds here costs 11 francs (compared to $5 in the US) which is really double that in College Park. One understands better the concept of relative poverty only when it hits you smack in the middle of the face.

Et maintenant je dois attendre le ` carte de legalization '- un permis suisse de travail et de séjour. seulement alors je tiens une chance d'obtenir un visa pour aller Nice ou Vienne ou Munchen…
(And now I must wait for the ‘carte de legalization’ – a Swiss work and residence permit. Only then do I stand a chance of getting a visa to go Nice or Vienna or Munich)

The Swiss have made it easy. The immigration officer took 5 seconds per passenger. Didn't matter which country you came from. Tourist or Work? Where will you stay?
Stamp Stamp, next...
(Very very professional)

The taxi drive took a little longer to the Residence Universitaire Internationale on Rue Rothschild, no roundabout way, clean cab, excellent driver......and took 30 swiss francs.
(Very very professional)

At the Residence, the reception was empty. The Cafe was not, asked for a coffee, she said something in French, i pointed to the machine and the cups, finally remembered Amelie (the movie) and said cafe and promptly ' ah cafe' then ' fiefsdamd francs'.
I have to learn French I thought while she wrote the numbers on a piece of paper.

Suddenly some one came upto me and said that since yesterday was a holiday, the reception would open for only two hours today. Then she went back to her coffee and paper. It didn't make sense. But then at first she said it in French and then in English, so maybe i got it wrong. The reception opened for exactly two hours as promised between 10 and 12...and it was the same lady. You can guess what she did after 12...
(Very very professional eh!)

But that is Geneva, they also have a one hour time in the middle of the today for lunch. As an Indian and now having spent some time in the US, work, being open, making money seems so the natural pasttime...now I understand why Europe is Europe...

My room - is small has a bed with linen and a writing table and two chairs. 2 lamps no room light, i share a bathroom and baby kitchen with my apartment mate. Heating coils no gas flame, tiny hotel bar fridge, hand shower but on the whole clean and tidy. (Pictures will be up later)
It also meant I wanted to get out and see the place.

Its in the Center of town opposite the UNHCR building with streets that have lovely cafes all around, and people sitting drinking wine or cafe in the afternoon sun. I first got myself a phone, then scouted for an internet cafe. Bought a phone card and then spent some time figuring out the instructions in French, (that seems to be the case for everything, and when they have alternate languages available they are German and Italian and sometimes a fourth one Romanche - even the Chinese are getting better at English and flooding their markets too).

Lunch at Burger King for 11 francs. Food is not cheap here and I promptly decided to buy groceries and try and minimize outdoor eating..

And I need a Schenzen, and I need a permit and i need good internet access. Internet withdrawal can be as bad as anyother addictive substance...

Football: What was and what will be...

Summary from England
Chelsea won the league
Liverpool won the FA cup
Arsenal reached a Champions League Final
Man United oh i forgot they too won something its called a Carling Cup
:)

what i didn't like
Real did not win anything (again!)
Barcelona won everyhting (i hate that even more..and i love Ronaldinho, Messi but hate their newly developed we are the ebst arrogance..)
Inter did not win anything (yup when was the last time)
Roma did not win anyhting (do you really think there will be another time)

I am happy that
Juventus might be demoted to Serie B - those cheating lying b.........s deserve that
That Chelsea have Ballack and will buy one more top class striker and defender both of whom we need badly...
That the EPL will be better fought and no not because i think Man United will compete but because so will Liverpool
That Barcelona can only go down now, as others play catch up
That i can't find a single good match ticket for the world cup for under 300$

I am surprised that
Man United are going to get rid of Nistelroy...funny..give him to us at Chelsea or even Liverpool, please keep him in the EPL, he makes things exciting, is darned good and at 10M is a bargain...
Man United are actually planning to build thier team around a Non UK (Point 1), non white (Point 2) midfielder...hmmm
Didier Drogba actually thinks he will get a better deal at another club and as much as he has impressed in the latter part of the season he is not a Shevchenko...
That the stupid England coach picked Theo Walcott and not the highest (English) scorer in the EPL for the World Cup (Bent) and yes they did pick an English coach to take over afterwards. the funny part is nobody knows what Walcott can do, cause nobody has seen him play ...and Arsene Wenger said it will be a good experience for Walcott and they will find out that he is quite good. And then he promptly added that Walcott is unlike to even go to France for the Champions league..hmmm, he must be pretty good

4 Players that you must watch at the world cup:
- Carlos Tevez (Argentina and Corinthians, He made some of the Brazilian defenders look like juveniles, he is pretty good and in Argentina he will have a damn good midfield)
- Riquelme (Argentina and Villareal, he is brilliant and though Ronaldinho and Barca have hogged the limelight, in Argentina he will have a world class team)
- Fernando Torres (Spain and Atletico Madrid, brilliant guy and at Atletico he gets no support, he is their captain and they beat Barca both times, in fact they have beaten Barca on 5 out of 6 occasions lately, Torres scoring 7 goals, he is good, fast, and with Xabi, Fabregas and Reyes behind him, really would depend on how far Spain can go)
- Dao Prso (Croatia and Rangers, unknown to most, have seen him play for Rangers and heard about his Croatia exploits, he is fast, strong like Vieri in his heyday, but how far will Croatia get?)
(This is beyond of course Ronaldinho, Cole, and all the other stars...these guys are a joy to watch..have fun)

What i dream about
is an Argentina-Brazil final in the world cup. Losing semifinalists - England and Holland (as always)

What I think will happen
Brazil-Italy final
Losing semi finalists - Germany or Argentina and one surprise team

Have fun watching the world cup, read the Guardian for updates (write dirty emails about columnist Kevin McCarra to the editor), read my blog, email me..and celebrate for
the summer...

There has been too much criticism from too many on Chelsea
And now the fans respond.
http://www.chelseablog.com/2006/05/04/those-magnificent-men-in-the-chelsea-machine/
and http://www.chelseablog.com/2006/05/03/beauty-and-the-beasts/
And heck I agree with quite a bit of it.

I wrote to Nick and Steven today (http://www.worldsoccerweekly.com/). They run a podcast which is also a show on Sirius.
About this hypocrisy
Including on the Bayern Munich chap's comments
He wants a 'salary cap'
And he wants the G14 special winners to be treated exclusively.

Meanwhile except for Chelsea and maybe Liverpool the rest of my teams have finished again with nothing to show
Inter and Roma in Italy lose again
Real and Espanyol lose again
Lets see whether Liverpool can beat an inspired West Ham side

More on this later..

Did you know that a lot of Van Morrison's songs were about God.
It changes context, it makes you wonder...
A lot of Folk is derived from Religion, but I always thought differently about " Warm Love" and "Full force gale" or even "Here comes the night"

Its funny the places artists get their inspiration from - all kinds of things, and very rarely would you expect it to be a straight out 'God' thing.

I knew Cohen was inspired spent 5 years in a Buddhist monastery, but then he was a poet first and singer then...

Music and magic together...

I read this right now

http://greenchannel.blogspot.com/2006/03/feeling-tendulkar.html

And I feel the same. Cricket to me has always been Tendulkar.
Period.

He's not playing the one day matches against England now and I will not take interest.
Thats the way it is.

Its a reflection of my boyhood - idol worship - hero worship
Call it what you like.

To see him torch bowlers in the most humbling manner ever and retain his sanity
To see perfection and modesty together
When you don't see it around you

We know, there are a but a few more years, but we must cherish them
We must allow the master to become what he must become
That legend.....called Tendulkar

This post was really funny...its not really a quatrain, but who cares, you can see the orignal on this link
http://tripathi.blogspot.com/

You''ll get mixed feelings from this and here goes


"When I was born nearly thirty years ago, my mother was troubled by the unique date of my entrance into this world. To assuage her worst fears, she took me to see a Shahman in a village near the present day border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Please note that I said "Shahman" and not Shaman. The man was Indian and his last name was Shah. Cast out by his own family, he had taken refuge in this remote bush. The local tribe appreciated his visions, whereas the Jains considered him a pariah. However, this was mostly due to the fact that he only liked to eat potatoes and other roots, a practice which is generally frowned upon in Jainism. The Shahman asked my mother to lay me naked on a banana leaf in the middle of his abode. She did as instructed. He then sprinkled some liquid on me (my mom to this day suspects that it was the urine of a mountain gorilla) and began to chant while spinning in a circle like a...Jain Sufi. At the end of his chant he scribbled down the following prophesy and then quickly ushered my mom out of his village, instructing her to "be gone from this place forever":When the new world turns red with zeal,When the fanatics turn away from the pastries of the north,There shall rise the lone white one,From out of the dark forest.Your beta will then be forced to chooseBetween madness and wisdom,Between good and evil.I know. It's pretty chilling. I have kept a copy of this prophesy in my wallet all of these many years. Sometimes, while eating lunch or sitting alone in the park, I will try again to decipher it. I've kept on trying, never knowing for sure if there is any truth to this or if it was all mumbo-jumbo. I've usually attacked it like one of Nostradamus' quatrains (even though there are seven lines instead of four).This past weekend however...something happened. I got out of the shower and as usual looked to see if there were any wrinkles on my thirty-year-old face. Thankfully there were none. That shit is tight, yo. Then my eyes glided down. There, in the middle of my chest, was a single, solitary white...hair.I immediately fell to my knees as everything became clear to me in a single instant. The time of the prophesy was at hand:
When the new world turns red with zealDon't you see? In the last U.S. presidential election the religious right-wing caused the electoral map in America (a.k.a. the new world) to bleed red, "with zeal" one might say.
When the fanatics turn away from the pastries of the northSurely those of you reading my blog are clever enough to decipher this one?? The "fanatics" must refer to radical Muslims throughout the world who are boycotting the "pastries of the north." Danishes.There in the mirror, just beneath my horrified visage, was the lone white one rising out of the dark forest. My single white chest hair was the one that the Shahman had foreseen. So it was written, so it has come to pass.From my knees I proceeded to lay down on my bathroom floor, in a fetal position, for nearly half an hour. In these next few weeks I will be forced to choose. Which direction will my life take, now that I am old..."

From Ongole Diary in March 2004...verbatim...

“Somebody said ‘India is a big country!’ So What?”
(Prof AP Arora, MDI, after the first ever Marketing Project presentations by pg01)

Ongole exists. I swear.
142 kms from Vijaywada as the headquarter of Andhra Pradesh’s Prakasam district.

But let me begin proper.

To most North, East or West Indians anything south of Goa has always been Amma’s Madras. So this has been a tremendous journey of discovery; for I have chanced upon the ancient and extremely idyllic civilisations of Podili, Cumbum and Kanigiri among the erstwhile ruins of the Vijaynagar Empire. These are world famous discoveries for the World (according to the new definitions of George W Bush of what comprises the world). I have therefore have had the privilege to explore this land following in the fortunes of the vastly adventurous explorer of yore ‘anand babloo mohan murthy’ (my colleague, compatriot, and 'in arm fmcg salesman') who has spent many a wild night in this country promising stronger teeth for a healthier lifestyle last summer.

Ongole’s fame to the World Hall of popular anecdotes rests on its cows. Its bovine animals have been successfully imported as some of the strongest and best breeding stock in the world. And if you don’t believe me or are interested in getting in the cattle business check out http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/cattle/ongole/

But first I have to confess I have been impressed by ‘infrastructure’. Generally we Indians do not understand the meaning of this word till we have made a trip abroad. But Andhra Pradesh and I mean non-Metro non-B class town is developed (by Indian standards of course). Public transportation is efficient, buses (over 50%) are deluxe and roads are a joy. Power cuts happen in villages but for about 2 hours a day (Delhi!!!). Re 1 local phones are in plenty across all villages and connectivity is a buzzword. Water is still a problem more because of the lack of rivers and underwater resources than initiative but government machinery is efficient and the ‘e’ seva kendras are an excellent example.

Food. Well they have two concepts
a) Tiffin
b) Full Meals (pronounced mills)
Ideally (I think) you are supposed to have tiffin first, then a ‘mills’ then tiffin and then ‘mills’ again. The Full Meal is a four-course meal with first a helping of rice and vegetables (bitter gourd and beetroot being the popular ones) with one yellow dal. (I promise you, you will not get another type here). This is followed by more rice and sambar and rasam. This is followed by Rice and curd and then a sweet. But you can as for chicken at many places and you will get awesome stuff. Every village has its own delicacy but for simplicity and language reasons I generally order ‘Chicken N&$#HF&@#lg’ Almost every time this dish is excellent.

Telegu cinema well I rather not comment on its direction (though I think with rural audiences it would be anybody’s guess) but about its people yes. This has got to be the most film crazy state around. Small villages have half a dozen halls (AP has the maximum number in the country) and the fastest selling fmcg item has got to be the Re 1 posters of Chiranjeevi. On a recent bus journey (APSRTC express) a movie was begun at 7 am. It woke, shook and surprised me and the macho hero looked very much like M Manoj having a bad day at the office.

And to add to my woes I reached a village where most elders seemed to be smitten with what was translated to me as poppy (but seemed something else). I had a very interesting conversation
Me – what is everybody smoking
Elderly villager on a cot – “kaomah djls;;l ;sjdhsl”
Me – English/Hindi
Elderly Villager – ‘nnnn mmmm bbbb’
Me – what is everybody smoking, smoking, smoking
Elderly villager – ‘jsjsj smoking’ then turning to a small boy ‘ jkdhd jjdkd fjfjjf’
The boy then led me to another man
I was feeling relieved that I had finally been understood
Me – Namaste
Man – My name babu, am village schoolmaster, this boy tells me that ‘the elder told him that you were a mad north Indian who kept saying smoking smoking’

Well India is a big country no!
So what?

(Khalid thanks again, AA sorry bugger back in Ongole again, Dinu please dont drin and sell, Vijit alright chelsea are a little behind but we still beat Manu!, Subhayu/biyani will be in vjy first week for whole week, and for the rest 'Happy Pongal')

Ides January 2004.

I came across some really good posts by Sidin on his blog. To be very honest, reminds me of my sales stints and my writing in Ongole, and i might just post that too and you can make your own comparisons..

anyway the link is here http://sidin.blogspot.com/2006/03/gasket-and-hole-in-ground-part-2.html

Some of it was really funny. I particularly like the start

• Aurangabad, incidentally, is known as “The Optic Fiber Capital of India”. However when we asked one of the locals why it was so i.e. “Aurangabad ko ‘The Optic Fiber Capital of India’ kyon bolti hain?” he told us, in a somewhat complicated marathi accent, that the omelette walah did not come till 6 am. We nodded and left.

The dietary habits of the region are well articulated by this passage

• Apparently the staple diet of the locals in central Maharashtra is alu bondas and various bhajiyas. And they serve this from dawn to dusk. Now I do not mean to not appreciate this diet, I am sure there are traditional reasons why this diet is preferred, but to the outsider it was a little hard to digest. Every stopover we were served nothing but tea and deep fried vegetables. It was so bad we could have easily played that schooltime game with the locals:
  What’s for breakfast?
  Bonda Bhajiya
  Whats for lunch?
  Bonda Bhajiya
  Whats for dinner?
  Bonda Bhajiya
  What is your name?
  Bonda Bhajiya
  Ha! Got you!

I won't go overboard, just click on the link and read it.

Saigon Saigon thats where we thought we were headed. When you haven't eaten for hours, walked around a mall, smelt the coffee and every single spice from a hundred places...its difficult not to be hungry. Did we get there? Oh no we didn't... we got defeated in the battle of the walk. Well i called them up and asked for directions. It was a comedy of errors and it went something like this..

"Are you at the mall?"
Yes said I
"What are you looking at?"
Macy's said I
"Can you see Nordstrom?"
Yes said I
"Well you need to take a left and walk for 5 minutes"

So we did that...and called him again
this time he said we need to go straight from Nordstrom and walk for five minutes
So we did that
The next time we called he told us to ask someone at Nordstrom..and we waited for five minutes...noone passed us by
40 minutes and a complete tour of Pentagon city later we are at the mall;back to square one
eating at California Pizza Kitchen
Why go halfway across the world when you can eat a pizza...

Somehow having grown up in the mountains there was never a desire to holiday in them. There were so many other things to see. But now they seem a lifetime away..so far away. Yesterday went to an interesting place called Harper's Ferry (www.nps.gov/hafe/home.htm )

Three states (Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia) come to meet at the point where the Potomac and the Shenandoah meet in the blud ridge mountains in West Virginia (sounds like country roads right!). Unfortunately the mighty rivers were reduced to a trickle, not much rain these days.. just hurricanes.

The other funny thing is how a country with barely any history preserves every little bit of it. Its a national park- this place had some battles fought over it in the civil war. Back home we would have to declare the whole damn country a national park.

So they have these tablet like boards erected all over the town preserving history. It was funny how small inconsequential things were documented. American meticulousness at its best. And yet it was soothing. College Park is no Harper's Ferry, and the fresh air was worth it. They say its beautiful in the autumn when the leaves fall, hell standing on the hilltop looking down with a wind in the face it just didn't matter..

And yup i promise the photos will be up soon...as soon as i can figure out all things digital :)

Its been a few months since I started this and have managed only ten posts.

I have spent a lot of time reading other blogs, getting 'ideas' of what not to do. But then i thought why not open this blog to a few more people, that way..there may be life. So I hope you guys join because now i am determined to be regular, enterprising and ensure that there is life...

So welcome Hari, Akarsh, Sorbo and Pant...

As a fan of Calvin and Hobbes, here are some of my favourites:

1. Weekends don't count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless

2. I'm learning real skills that I can apply throughout the rest of my life ... Procrastinating and rationalizing.

3. Calvin : You can't just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.
Hobbes : What mood is that?
Calvin : Last-minute panic.

4. "I'm a simple man, Hobbes."
"You?? Yesterday you wanted a nuclear powered car that could turn into a jet with laser-guided heat-seeking missiles!"
"I'm a simple man with complex tastes."

5. "I'm not going to so my maths homework. Look at these unsolved problems. Here's a number in mortal combat with another. One of them is going to get subtracted. But why? What will be left of him? If I answered these, it would kill the suspense. It would resolve the conflict and turn intriguing possibilities into boring old facts."
"I never really thought about the literary possibilities of maths."
"I prefer to savour the mystery."

6. Dear Santa. Why is your operation located at the North Pole? I'm guessing cheap elf labour, lower environmental standards, and tax breaks. Is this really the example you want to set for us impressionable kids? ...My plan is to put him on the defensive before he considers how good I've been.

7. "MOM, CAN I SET FIRE TO MY BED MATTRESS?"
"No, Calvin."
"CAN I RIDE MY TRICYCLE ON THE ROOF?"
"No, Calvin."
"Then can I have a cookie?"
"No, Calvin."
"She's on to me."

8. "What state do you live in?"
"Denial."
(Miss Wormwood & Calvin)

9. "Since September it's just gotten colder and colder. There's less daylight now, I've noticed too. This can only mean one thing - the sun is going out. In a few more months the Earth will be a dark and lifeless ball of ice. Dad says the sun isnt going out. He says its colder because the earth's orbit is taking us farther from the sun. He says winter will be here soon.
Isn't it sad how some people's grip on their lives is so precarious that they'll embrace any preposterous delusion rather than face an occasional bleak truth?" (- Calvin, about to become aware of the concept of winter...)

10. So basically, this maverick is urging everyone to express his individuality through conformity in brand-name selection.

11. So the secret to good self-esteem is to lower your expectations to the point where they're already met?

12. "Do you like being a girl?"
"Its gotta be better than the alternative."
"Whats it like? Is it like being a bug?"
"Like a WHAT?"
"I imagine bugs and girls have a dim perception that nature played a crual trick on them, but they lack the intelligence to really comprehend the magnitude of it."

Laura bush, Pirates of the Caribbean, Gangsters, Ali G, Zorro, Blonde, Tennis Players...thats what i saw at Halloween. Policy people who have run out of ideas, as long as its their dressing up ideas that lack imagination and not their future ideas to create change, we are ok.
(Thats not taking anything away, from my complete laziness to even bother to find a costume,and if in the future it were to mean not bothering to find that policy prescription - i may be the bigger sinner...)

Undergrads so drunk they vandalised five cars
Insurance companies so clever that they have extremely high dedcutibles to that they barely need to pay
Lawmakers so stringent that they have absolutely zero percent alcohol limit for driving
And the middle aged lady who spent a night at the station because se had some alcohol (due to a medication was found later)
...i could go on

but then thats not the spirirt of Halloween..and tomorrow the littel kids will come say twinkle treat, ask for candy...

oh yes those days of no responsibility...

will they ever come back?

Halloween...my very first halloween party...

Old masters students dressed in silly costumes, we will see later tonight...and they will drink..so actually it will be 'old drunk masters students dressed in silly costumes'

we will see

ever type failure in google search and press the let me get lucky button - you will be surprsied what you will find

This country's politics is wicked, well sometimes and funny mostly...so are the jokes on both the lefties and the Bush brigade, here is one...

The Bush Stamp

The Postal Service created a stamp with a picture of President Bush. The stamp was not sticking to envelopes. This enraged the President, who demanded a full investigation.

After a month of testing, a special Presidential commission presented the following findings:

1) The stamp is in perfect order.

2) There is nothing wrong with the applied adhesive.

3) People are spitting on the wrong side

In passing..saw a blog..its friday..and was thinking too of friday
what would friday be like
......sips of a golden sun tumbling away in behind the mumbai necklace
......a little park bench in delhi's siri fort on a cool october evening
...... or maybe a crisp kanchenjunga view, from the balcony of Milman Hall, St Paul's Darjeeling
......or the rolling bicycle rides in Rungli in the Namring valley

But not today it is not - its the view from my room - a rainy adelphi road...somewhere on a new continent but lost in time

ok the winter is coming up here, you can feel the cold...but wait first the autumn, havent seen an autumn in a long time, only in the good ol'd days of SPS, Darjeeling, thats when we saw the leaves fall last, north india didn't give you the opprotunity.
surprisingly was thinking of ongole, 2 winters ago, a 25 degree winter (celcius) and people in sweaters looking at the mad north indian (me) in shorts on new year's eve.

the cattle town...you know i could have been the ranger...
instead i only sold oil.

and yes i miss the chai not my snobbish darjeeling special (which i still love and have access to here, enough in stock) but the roadside guy's one and yup had the opportunity to have that at quite a few places all the way from jind to cumbum...sipping away my then wretchedness

the other thought which hit me today was the mandevian hullabulloo. It was not a guava orchard though as some has us to believe but more like a two year 'strategy bazaar', we sold ourselves silly allright, right from ajit da's accent (he was one of the better prof's around, and i can never forget the way he picked up the phone and called up his friend the CEO at Reckitt, and say thank you murthy..) to the full bloodied zeros on Sahai's quiz.

may god bless their souls..all the way long to the No. 1 ranking.

If you had bought $1000 worth of Nortel stock one year ago, it would now be worth $49.

If you had bought $1000 worth of Budweiser (the beer, not the stock) one year ago, drank all the beer, and traded in the cans at a redemption center for the nickel deposit, you would have $107.

Given the current conditions of the economy, my advice is to drink heavily and recycle.

The Economic Times is read by people who run the country

The Hindu is read by people who think they run the country

The Telegraph is read by people who think they should run the country and who are very good at crosswords

The Times of India is read by people who think they ought to run the country but don't really understand The Hindu. They do, however, like their statistics shown in pie charts with colour photos.

The Statesman is read by people whose parents used to run the country and they did a very poor job of it, thank you very much.

The Hindustan Times is read by people who aren't too sure who's running the country, and don't really care as long as they can get a free ride going anywhere

The Indian Express is read by people who don't care who's running the country, as long as they do something scandalous, preferably for a secret camera

The Asian Age is read by people who aren't sure what they mean by a country or that anyone is running it, but whoever it is, they oppose all that they stand for. There are occasional exceptions if the leaders are statesmanlike, imaginary pragmatists who also happen to be 'real Indians' as long as they promote some kind of freedom

The Pioneer is read by people trapped in a line at the railway station