i have a little buddy in the neighborhood. all of 15 months old, he drops by chez moi every so often to hang out with the family.
about a month ago, he spotted the moon while playing ball in the garden. he stood besotted by it for a while and then slowly, with great concentration and awe, repeated after my mom -- 'mmmmmoooooooonnnnn'.
a couple of days ago, he was in our living room when the tv was switched on. he turned to my parents and said -- 'booooooomb'.
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
it's been that kind of a day
you know, the kind where you look in your cupboard for a receipt and find a stack of old photographs? that kind of a day.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
a sense of entitlement
economic crisis happens => companies lose money => people lose jobs
that's just how things work. what baffles me is how the indian news media has been crying foul over job cuts, framing every instance of corporate cost-cutting as the sacrifice of poor employees by rich corporate honchos. what do these so called reporters understand about the financial position of these companies? what do they understand about cost structures, bankruptcy risks or long-term strategies governing management decisions? without any fact-based analysis, the media has been rather quick to convict managements of greed & incompetence.
case in point, the indian airline industry. kingfisher & jet airways have been losing tens of crores of rupees every day. in order to stem the bleeding, both have resorted to cost cutting measures. jet laid off several hundred employees while kingfisher announced pay cuts for its senior pilots. jet had to quickly retract its decision after its fired employees took to the streets & sought help from hoodlums like raj thackeray. and now kingfisher is facing flak for cutting pilot salaries. there was a guy on barkha dutt's show, screaming hoarse that vijay mallya should curb his extravagant lifestyle before punishing his poor pilots who have each spent 15 lakh rupees on their training programs. several questions for that genius and other people of such persuasion:
- did mallya coerce these pilots to spend all that money in training & to join his company?
- did mallya provide lifetime guarantees for all jobs & salaries at kingfisher?
- what exactly are mallya & goyal supposed to do with all the redundant workforce? take empty flights for sorties in the sky for the amusement of said geniuses?
- maybe mallya has a lot of personal wealth. why stop at paying people's salaries out of his own pocket? maybe he should make out his will to all kingfisher employees.
truth is, we're all on our own out there. we invest in our training & education because we expect a reasonable lifetime ROI out of it. but like all investments, this too comes with risks associated. it's no different from investing in the stock market. if a broker loses money on a kingfisher stock, does he ask mallya to pay for his losses? the broker invested in the stock knowing fully well that there's risk associated with his investment. he was prompted by his own greed for high returns. the pilots who joined kingfisher bet their training money on a booming airline industry. unfortunately, the industry slumped and it'll take longer for them to recover their investment. it's not like the airline industry is dead, it'll probably recover in due course & provide many more jobs & attractive salaries. but if the media & politicians insist on irrational employment practices, they'll simply end up breaking the industry's back.
that's just how things work. what baffles me is how the indian news media has been crying foul over job cuts, framing every instance of corporate cost-cutting as the sacrifice of poor employees by rich corporate honchos. what do these so called reporters understand about the financial position of these companies? what do they understand about cost structures, bankruptcy risks or long-term strategies governing management decisions? without any fact-based analysis, the media has been rather quick to convict managements of greed & incompetence.
case in point, the indian airline industry. kingfisher & jet airways have been losing tens of crores of rupees every day. in order to stem the bleeding, both have resorted to cost cutting measures. jet laid off several hundred employees while kingfisher announced pay cuts for its senior pilots. jet had to quickly retract its decision after its fired employees took to the streets & sought help from hoodlums like raj thackeray. and now kingfisher is facing flak for cutting pilot salaries. there was a guy on barkha dutt's show, screaming hoarse that vijay mallya should curb his extravagant lifestyle before punishing his poor pilots who have each spent 15 lakh rupees on their training programs. several questions for that genius and other people of such persuasion:
- did mallya coerce these pilots to spend all that money in training & to join his company?
- did mallya provide lifetime guarantees for all jobs & salaries at kingfisher?
- what exactly are mallya & goyal supposed to do with all the redundant workforce? take empty flights for sorties in the sky for the amusement of said geniuses?
- maybe mallya has a lot of personal wealth. why stop at paying people's salaries out of his own pocket? maybe he should make out his will to all kingfisher employees.
truth is, we're all on our own out there. we invest in our training & education because we expect a reasonable lifetime ROI out of it. but like all investments, this too comes with risks associated. it's no different from investing in the stock market. if a broker loses money on a kingfisher stock, does he ask mallya to pay for his losses? the broker invested in the stock knowing fully well that there's risk associated with his investment. he was prompted by his own greed for high returns. the pilots who joined kingfisher bet their training money on a booming airline industry. unfortunately, the industry slumped and it'll take longer for them to recover their investment. it's not like the airline industry is dead, it'll probably recover in due course & provide many more jobs & attractive salaries. but if the media & politicians insist on irrational employment practices, they'll simply end up breaking the industry's back.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
tagged out of inertia
poked, commented & phoned out of it by the vyas. so here goes.
my oldest memory: watching a movie out of a tiny square window, projector whirring in the background. kulfi & popcorn during the break & rabbit spotting on the way back home.
10 years ago: i bought my first computer.
my first thought this morning: what a strange dream that was. what was it?
you built a time capsule today what would it contain: a bar of chocolate, a bottle (um, make that a case) of the finest wine (can u imagine what a treasure that would be!), chai & coffee, seeds (of everything), candles, matches, a macbook with a wi-fi card and a ping pong ball.
this year: gives me a sense of deja vu.
14 years from now: stocks might be up.
my oldest memory: watching a movie out of a tiny square window, projector whirring in the background. kulfi & popcorn during the break & rabbit spotting on the way back home.
10 years ago: i bought my first computer.
my first thought this morning: what a strange dream that was. what was it?
you built a time capsule today what would it contain: a bar of chocolate, a bottle (um, make that a case) of the finest wine (can u imagine what a treasure that would be!), chai & coffee, seeds (of everything), candles, matches, a macbook with a wi-fi card and a ping pong ball.
this year: gives me a sense of deja vu.
14 years from now: stocks might be up.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Saturday, August 16, 2008
august 15
heard this song from karma on the indian radio station...
amazing how it manages to pierce through the cynicism after all these years.
happy independence day!
amazing how it manages to pierce through the cynicism after all these years.
happy independence day!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
blur
about a week ago, i realized that i wasn't seeing distant things too clearly. a tiny voice in my head said, "well, so much for lasik.". another rather loud and excited voice drowned out the first with, "woohoo! i can wear real glasses again!". so the blur didn't bother me one bit. and then, something incredible happened.
i decided to work from home this afternoon. but first, i decided to make me some chai. you know how these things go. once the chai was made, of course, i had to step out and get some fresh air. as i stood in the balcony, sipping chai and just letting the mind wander, i looked at the slightly blurry buildings in the distance. for some reason, i widened my eyes. the buildings came into focus. and then blurred again. so i tried doing the eyes wide open thing again. back in focus. back out of focus. after a while, they stayed focused. and then it hit me. my poor eyes could very well see things in the distance but were simply not used to doing so.
what an awful lifestyle we have fashioned. noses buried in laptops, eyes never looking more than 10 feet away. closeted. cubicled. all the time.
i decided to work from home this afternoon. but first, i decided to make me some chai. you know how these things go. once the chai was made, of course, i had to step out and get some fresh air. as i stood in the balcony, sipping chai and just letting the mind wander, i looked at the slightly blurry buildings in the distance. for some reason, i widened my eyes. the buildings came into focus. and then blurred again. so i tried doing the eyes wide open thing again. back in focus. back out of focus. after a while, they stayed focused. and then it hit me. my poor eyes could very well see things in the distance but were simply not used to doing so.
what an awful lifestyle we have fashioned. noses buried in laptops, eyes never looking more than 10 feet away. closeted. cubicled. all the time.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
of nightmares and peas and an ill tempered sunday morning
so a nightmare woke me up at 2 in the morning. fine, it was that and jetlag. yes yes, i must be the only person on the planet suffering from 2-week long jetlags and suchlike. but let's stay focussed.
the nightmare. basically, it was about reliance running the world. need i say more? i promptly woke up, rebooted and went back to sleep.
now here's the kicker. the nightmare came back. first thing after i woke up. that too, through the mater. i will suspend you no further.
ma: thanks to reliance...
me: WHAT!
ma: i said, thanks to reliance, you're going to get peas for breakfast! in this season!
me: I HATE RELIANCE. and besides, i don't like to eat unseasonal foods. i will not touch those peas.
ma: why do you dislike reliance so much?
noise about last night's IPL match changed the subject.
me: i hope we get an SRK vs. PZ final. oh wait, but i like dhoni. fine, let's have a ganguly vs. dhoni final.
ma: what about sachin? you don't want sachin in the final?!
me: I DON'T WANT that reliance anywhere close to winning. i want sachin to play brilliantly but mumbai to lose quite miserably.
and then i heard some sniffling on TV. it was dravid, of course.
me: bah, i can't stand dravid.
ma: what's wrong with you? what did he do now?
me: well, i just don't like him. he's such a bore. and besides, he declared when sachin was batting at 194*.
and then the newspaper landed and i promptly engrossed myself in news of cannes and kareena kapoor. breakfast was served. and i ate the peas. with quite unwarranted relish, to be perfectly honest.
the nightmare. basically, it was about reliance running the world. need i say more? i promptly woke up, rebooted and went back to sleep.
now here's the kicker. the nightmare came back. first thing after i woke up. that too, through the mater. i will suspend you no further.
ma: thanks to reliance...
me: WHAT!
ma: i said, thanks to reliance, you're going to get peas for breakfast! in this season!
me: I HATE RELIANCE. and besides, i don't like to eat unseasonal foods. i will not touch those peas.
ma: why do you dislike reliance so much?
noise about last night's IPL match changed the subject.
me: i hope we get an SRK vs. PZ final. oh wait, but i like dhoni. fine, let's have a ganguly vs. dhoni final.
ma: what about sachin? you don't want sachin in the final?!
me: I DON'T WANT that reliance anywhere close to winning. i want sachin to play brilliantly but mumbai to lose quite miserably.
and then i heard some sniffling on TV. it was dravid, of course.
me: bah, i can't stand dravid.
ma: what's wrong with you? what did he do now?
me: well, i just don't like him. he's such a bore. and besides, he declared when sachin was batting at 194*.
and then the newspaper landed and i promptly engrossed myself in news of cannes and kareena kapoor. breakfast was served. and i ate the peas. with quite unwarranted relish, to be perfectly honest.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
screaming over rooftops
has got to be the best way to trade soundwaves. just had a totally fun, totally public catch-up session with the neighbours. traded everything from breakfast invitations to updates on current tan levels & flirtatious grandkid.
screw cell phones, i say! henceforth, i shall drive up (erm, bike up?) to the closest rooftop to holler at ya.
screw cell phones, i say! henceforth, i shall drive up (erm, bike up?) to the closest rooftop to holler at ya.
Friday, May 02, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
earth day
it's funny. the west is trying to go back to growing vegetables in backyards while we're merrily replacing our vegetable stalls & bandis with shiny supermarket chains.
the NYT had some interesting thoughts on why we might bother doing something about climate change.
the NYT had some interesting thoughts on why we might bother doing something about climate change.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
sunday funday
it's pretty cruel what they did to sunday. it used to be the star of the week. i mean, wednesday had chitrahaar, thursday had chitralahari & saturday had spiderman. but sunday, it was in a league of its own. star trek, ek do teen char, assorted cartoons & fairy tales, famous five, ramayan/mahabharat, news for the hearing impaired, a regional film AND an evening hindi film -- all crammed into every special sunday. not to mention blondie, hocus focus and all that good stuff in the deccan chronicle.
and look what happened to poor sunday now. friday has become the new shah rukh khan. and saturday has become aamir. even thursday outshines sunday these days. but since everything is so consistent on this blog, thursday must also have a movie star analogy. i'll call it akshay kumar. poor sunday's fallen like rajesh khanna. sadly, it has no bachchan-style chance of revival. no KBC or anything to its rescue. (um, KBC only airs weekdays. symptom, symptom.)
anyways, the point of this uncharacteristically long post is that i feel very strongly about the plight of sunday. i've been thinking about this for a while and have come to the conclusion that there is only ONE way to save sunday. and that is to eliminate monday. yes yes, it is a bit extreme, but it must be done. monday has turned into mogambo and it's up to us to to take it down.
save sunday. save the world. who's with me?
and look what happened to poor sunday now. friday has become the new shah rukh khan. and saturday has become aamir. even thursday outshines sunday these days. but since everything is so consistent on this blog, thursday must also have a movie star analogy. i'll call it akshay kumar. poor sunday's fallen like rajesh khanna. sadly, it has no bachchan-style chance of revival. no KBC or anything to its rescue. (um, KBC only airs weekdays. symptom, symptom.)
anyways, the point of this uncharacteristically long post is that i feel very strongly about the plight of sunday. i've been thinking about this for a while and have come to the conclusion that there is only ONE way to save sunday. and that is to eliminate monday. yes yes, it is a bit extreme, but it must be done. monday has turned into mogambo and it's up to us to to take it down.
save sunday. save the world. who's with me?
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Saturday, February 09, 2008
tagged
by the vyas. and challenged *not* to whine about work or gloat about africa. bah, total dimaag kharab, i tell u. but heck, it's saturday and mohd. rafi has put me in a good mood. so here we go!
"post 5 links to 5 of your previously written posts. the posts have to relate to the 5 key words given (family, friend, yourself, your love, anything you like). tag 5 other friends to do this meme. try to tag at least 2 new acquaintances (if not, your current blog buddies will do) so that you get to know them each a little bit better."
family: heh. here's one with sheetu.
friends: this one stars a vyas, a car and a cop. fun fun. has to be my longest, most enthusiastic post yet!
myself: my life in a nutshell.
my love: aw, it's complicated. can't make up my mind between this and that.
anything i like: one of my favorites.
"post 5 links to 5 of your previously written posts. the posts have to relate to the 5 key words given (family, friend, yourself, your love, anything you like). tag 5 other friends to do this meme. try to tag at least 2 new acquaintances (if not, your current blog buddies will do) so that you get to know them each a little bit better."
family: heh. here's one with sheetu.
friends: this one stars a vyas, a car and a cop. fun fun. has to be my longest, most enthusiastic post yet!
myself: my life in a nutshell.
my love: aw, it's complicated. can't make up my mind between this and that.
anything i like: one of my favorites.
Friday, February 08, 2008
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
heh
this one popped up on my gmail window:
"a high-brow is someone who looks at a sausage and thinks of picasso"
and for some reason, it's giving me the giggles.
"a high-brow is someone who looks at a sausage and thinks of picasso"
and for some reason, it's giving me the giggles.
Monday, January 28, 2008
ever feel like
you've been there before?
feel that pulse quicken
and hold your breath, wondering
what you'll see
if you turned that corner
again?
feel that pulse quicken
and hold your breath, wondering
what you'll see
if you turned that corner
again?
Friday, January 04, 2008
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
besotted
i've been up since 2:30am. jetlagged as usual. i called my parents. made some chai. fooled around on facebook. contemplated 2007. planned the great escape of 2008. twiddled my thumbs. tossed moments from last week around in my head. and tossed some more. there's one stand out. far and away, the best. you know love at first sight, right? like that.
i thought it would be one of those palaces. it isn't quite. it strikes you differently. it's not far at all from the bustle of charminar. but it seems far far away. aloof. beautiful. in its own world. not cold. just dreamy. my jaw dropped when i first caught sight of it. and i couldn't take my eyes off it. or my mind, as it turns out. falaknuma, it's called. reaching for the sky. mirror to the heavens. or like my walkie talkie urdu dictionary says, quite simply, divine. vicar-ul-umra took nine years to build it. and almost went bankrupt for it. it's that kind of a palace.
i thought it would be one of those palaces. it isn't quite. it strikes you differently. it's not far at all from the bustle of charminar. but it seems far far away. aloof. beautiful. in its own world. not cold. just dreamy. my jaw dropped when i first caught sight of it. and i couldn't take my eyes off it. or my mind, as it turns out. falaknuma, it's called. reaching for the sky. mirror to the heavens. or like my walkie talkie urdu dictionary says, quite simply, divine. vicar-ul-umra took nine years to build it. and almost went bankrupt for it. it's that kind of a palace.
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