The Last Day of the Year

There are three hours left before this year ends in my time zone. It's been an interesting year for me - I think I grew a lot this year - even more so than in other years. I think I matured, so to speak.

Did anything profound and uplifting happen? Well, it did, but not suddenly. I was lolling along, trying to meet deadlines in a year of falling advance tax collections, reading about the saddening state of the economy when transfer orders were announced and I was sent back near my home station. All in all, quite bright and cheery.

I managed to go to Rishikesh and go white water rafting on the Ganga, spent a couple of nights on the beaches of the Ganga - all very awesome experiences. I went trekking in Chakrata - a place which is infinitely beautiful. I floated a wish on the Ganga at Haridwar and listened to the evening aarti - which is also very beautiful.

I got to see one of the remaining tigers on the face of the Earth at Ranthambore and did all this and the above with friends and loved ones. I went and visiting my parents in the Caribbean and my sister in the US, saw New York City and fell in love with it and with art all over again. So much so that I've made some resolutions that I plan to keep appointments with next year.

I've carried out assignments which I thought were impossible and I've made intuitive leaps which turned out to be accurate. I think professionally as well, it has been a good year!

So how did I spend the last day of the year? I spent part of it with one of my oldest friends who was here in Delhi meeting family. And ofcourse, I'm spending it with family as we speak. Though we're all curled up in our respective beds sheltering ourselves from the Delhi winter in our cool apartment (constructed more to withstand the sweltering heat), I know that at New Year's we'll all huddle together and give eachother a quick hug before we settle back down again!!

Good times! I think NO ONE was in the mood for going out this year.

And right now I've just finished getting off the phone with a friend and we're planning on the treks we'll be going on in the Himalayas this year. All very good times ahead!!

Momos and McLeodganj

When I was working in NCAER I took a trip to McLeodganj with a few friends of mine. We went on the birthday weekend of the Dalai Lama which falls on 6 July. I think the year we went it was 2003. I remember that the weather was beautiful and so was the ride up to Dharamshala and further up to McLeodganj.

Dharamshala is located in the Kangra valley in Himachal Pradesh, and is divided into two parts - Upper and Lower Dharamshala. Lower Dharamshala is the bustling busy township complete with your post office and local bus station. Upper Dharamshala has the more touristy areas like McLeodganj. Dharamshala is also the capital of Kangra district.

We went by one of those tourist buses where you pay Rs 500 and with an overnight journey, you'll wake up in McLeodganj. It's amazing just how many foreigners took the bus up - a sign of just how popular McLeodganj is with foreign tourists. We spent a long time at the Tibetan colony outside Delhi before we were on our way.

McLeodganj, like all hill stations, has only one main street and everything revolves around this street. All the shops hug the pathway and so do the motels that dot the landscape. We had a early shower before we hit the streets to see what McLeodganj had to offer.

One of our friends had a classmate in McLeodganj who was Tibetan - and he showed us McLeodganj. We saw the parallel government that the Tibetans have set up in exile, the refugee centre where refugees gather for food and aid, the school set up for Tibetans further up in McLeodganj and a documentary on the Tibetan spirtual movement. He was very insightful and extremely interesting.

Tibetan culture is extremely different from what one normally encounters. Tibetans are by nature, peace loving and don't lay much importance on material possessions. I loved their prayer flags that they hang across - almost every hillside has a few.

On the Dalai Lama's birthday, the Dalai Lama stays inside and spends time with his family. All other Tibetans however celebrate his birthday with festivities which include dances in colourful costumes, singing, dancing and playing music. It's a very interesting experience and no one minds that non-Tibetans have crowded all over to watch.

The momos in McLeodganj were excellent - and so was the Thupka (a soup with loadsa noodles in it - yummy!!!). We went on long walks and explored the town.

Early one morning I set off for Kangra to see the Kangra fort, which had been built by the Sikhs but later on improved under the Great Mughals. Earthquakes have weakened the fort and a lot of structures have been destroyed, but the fort remains an interesting place to visit. Further, the valley it overlooks is awesome. It is a desolate place though and swarming with monkeys - so do carry a big stick to beat the monkeys away!!

I liked Himachal Pradesh. I've always found the people very friendly and helpful, and even public transport there is very easy to use. It's a state that I would later visit three years later for my annual trek - but that's another story.

Origins

Did you know how the term "cafe mocha" originated?

Well, neither did I. (I figure you didn't know either).

When I started this blog I added a National Geographic gadget - which gives me a picture a day. I like photographs - I myself am a keen photographer/sketch artist/painter. I think that a picture can really tell a story.

Anyhow - coming back to mocha - there was a picture today which showed a fisherman on the beach in Mocha, Yemen. And it got me thinking - could this be the same mocha?

So I did a google and guess what? Mocha is a port city located on the Red Sea in Yemen. In the old days it was a major trading centre and was the origin of the mocha variety of arabica bean - which is the bean with a chocolatey taste.

Interesting oui? That's why you read my blog!! Anyhow - the next time you drink a cafe mocha at Cafe Coffee Day or Barista - think about Yemen and the Red Sea and just how far that coffee bean has come!!

There's something very interesting when one goes back to the roots of things. One of my batchmates is an avid fan of the History Channel and National Geographic. He was telling me about how many many many years ago there was actually only one man and one woman - and we all actually originated from them. Over time people migrated to different climatic conditions and then colour came into being.

I can't imagine how long this was, but I would think it would be good reading. If anyone knows about any book that discusses this, I would be glad to read it!!

The power of a message and a smile

I subscribe to a daily quote off the Internet. There are many websites that give this free service, and I like to start my day with an inspirational quote.

Now I'm not a psychologist - more of an economist... but the power of a few succinct words can really change your mood. I guess it's a way of boosting one's spirits as well.

Stress busters come in all sorts of shapes and sizes though. Whether it be the few words that lift your day, or cuter ones, like little kids.

Spending some time with a little kid will put your whole life in perspective again. I often used to play with my downstairs' neighbours kids - they were so cute and adorable - in small doses ofcourse and when they weren't crying and needed a change. Then they'd be dumped back on their parents. But kids are really cute - the way they fight for their little toys, the way they hit the wall when they accidentally bump into it, the way they cry when they don't get their way. For little kids, the worst thing would be not getting to watch their cartoons, or fighting over a pencil at school.

This weekend I spent some time with my batchmate's family and their adorable little baby boy. He is so cute - He calls me Massi and has the cutest little lisp for everything he says. Massi becomes Mathii. He refers to himself as "Baby" and loves to play cricket. He's very brave as well - doesn't cry at all if he falls. And if he does fall, he just hits the ground as hard as he can and is up and running again. He wakes up smiling and sleeps smiling. All in all a very happy little baby.

You just feel like smiling when he smiles at you. He's just adorable that way.

Living History

What is it about mummies that mystify us?

I’ve always wanted to go to Egypt and see the Pyramids. It is one of my life long dreams. That and seeing the Great Rift Valley – is what I plan to do in North Africa.

But coming back to mummies – there is something about them that captures our imagination – more so than anything else. I remember playing Tomb Raider when I was in University (Yes, I and my brother who is 7 years younger than me are BIG fans of Lara Croft – We’ve even seen a documentary on her on BBC). Many sequences in the game are based in Egypt and the clues and puzzles all centre around some macabre crypt.

Recently at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, I saw the Temple of Dendur – a Nubian temple built by the Roman governor Petronius in 1st century BC. This temple had been transported to the US after the construction of the Aswan dam in Egypt to prevent its destruction. It is an awesome structure and inarguably one of the best exhibits in the world. I spent around half an hour there in the Dendur Exhibit. The Met also has one of the largest collection of items from Egyptology.

In contrast though, the India section at the museum is less populated and most of the items there you can find anywhere in India. I thought a lot about why this is and have come to the following conclusion. While a lot has changed from the past in India, a lot has not changed. Sure, we don’t have Harappan seals anymore and Asoka’s rock edicts no longer are read – but we have a lot of living history. Our Gods and Goddesses have remained unchanged for centuries. The same mother goddess who was there in the Harappan civilization still exists today – in a varied form. We have been under Muslim rule for over 800 years but Hindu identity remained intact. Islamic art and architecture flourished with infusions from the Indian subcontinent – and we see this today alive in our monuments like the Taj Mahal, the city of Fateh pur Sikri and many more. The vast city of Delhi once had seven cities… and they all still exist. The Jama Masjid is the largest mosque in India and is still in use. The city of Tughlaqabad still has a large population living in the common area. (Tip though: Do watch out for the monkeys though if you’re planning to visit Ghiassudin Tughlaq’s tomb.)

Coming back to the issue of Pyramids – new pharaonic tombs are still being discovered in Egypt. Two were discovered recently in the area of Saqqara which is south of the capital, Cairo. Saqqara is a necropolis – a royal cemetery, and till recently archaeologists had thought that nothing more could possibly be found there. But they were proved wrong.

Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra lent a certain aura to the Egyptian civilization. Movies are still being made on what lies beyond the sands of the Sahara. In The Bucket List – which had a list of all the things you should do before you kick the bucket, seeing the Pyramids ranked on the “To Do” list, along with a visit to The Taj Mahal. Climbing Mount Everest was another one, as was driving a F-1 race car (what an awesome thing to do) and a visit to Italy (always recommended – it is a beautiful country and so are its neighbors Spain and France).

Now not everyone can be an archaeologist or an anthropologist – but one can spread the message of the beauty that surrounds us. Some organizations are doing this in India – like INTACH. Some organizations even take you on walks around the city. When I was in college, my society, Dhyana, organized a tour of the seven cities of Delhi and we would spend our weekends going around the city with a well informed individual who knew about the place. They were very interesting times. My sister, who was in school, once accompanied me to the Tuglaqabad fort (loadsa monkeys). We were told about the fort’s defensive structures, the layers and their significance and even visited deep wells around the exterior.

An experienced historian, even an amateur one, can ignite your imagination by introducing you to the possibilities that the space around you provides. They can help you picture Metcalf sitting sipping tea near the Qutub Minar, or Emperor Humayun climbing the steps towards his library in an opium-dazed state.

History can still come alive, even if it’s not living history.

Too many books to read, such little time

I often marvel at how I can pick up two to three books simultaneously and start reading them. I love fiction. So I start a novel. But I'll always be reading some non-fiction as well. Forget the compulsory newspaper and magazine. It'll be some new non-fiction novel about economics that I just pick up and start to read.

Granta magazine is one that I've just started to read. I picked up an old copy in New York but I thought that the issue they were covering was interesting. It was on how America sees the world. Not on how the world sees America - they covered that post 9/11. But on how America, that megalithic empire, views the rest of us.

I think that our viewpoint of America was covered best in the introduction. A quote from Graham Greene sums it up well, when talking about Pyle, the supposedly benevolent American in The Quiet American - "I never knew a man who had better motives for all the trouble he caused." Sums up the American Foreign policy to a T don't you think?

I've also decided to start another Dan Brown type novel - called The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury. What is the secret of the Templars is what prompted me to buy this book at the Delhi Book Fair - which I just happened to stumble upon on one of my sojourns to Delhi. The Knights of the Templar were a military order of the Roman Catholic church and existed more than 700 years ago. They were originally formed to fight in the Holy Crusades and to protect Christians during the Holy War. Interestingly, they were supposed to protect the Holy Grail as well.

Books transfer you to another time and place. Whether it be Thomas Friedman's analysis of globalization or Milan Kundera's listlessness... books always give you something to think about.

I have one more Kathy Reichs to finish. Bones to Ashes promises to be quite a good read. I do love a good mystery.

As time goes by

Think about how your priorities change as time goes by. When I was a kid, all that mattered was playing Barbie with my little sister and constructing the doll house (which was made out of a cardboard box with floors put up sealed with cellotape). My brother would occassionally come by and be the tornado - literally ploughing through the house and upsetting his elder sisters. Nothing would give him more pleasure.

Now we've all grown up. And what are the things that concern us?

Do I have a good healthcare package? Do I get enough leave? Do I have enough money for my loan installments?

Not that worry is the only thing attached with adulthood. I often say that adults are children who pay taxes (under duress). We have a great time as well. We go off on holidays, trek, we are up and away whenever we want to have dinner out, we can buy chocolate whenever we want, we can watch whatever we want.

Ofcourse all this is subject to your purse strings. Now my job don't pay me that well. But I have the most awesome leave scenario. Not that I can take all the leave I want, but if I do all my work on time and keep my nose clean, I will be able to enjoy what I like doing best - read, travel and trek.

Thankfully at least in India, these things don't require too much money. I do like going out to eat occassionally, but after a while you do crave for ghar ka khana.

Plus, things have changed so much since a decade back. I think I thought it was best reflected in a movie I saw called The Pink Panther movie when Steve Martin is asked if he gets bored living alone; Steve Martin's reply was "Not since the Internet" (in a French accent ofcourse).

The world has become flat - or hot, flat and crowded as Friedman would say. Communications are now so damn simple that it's difficult to explain to your 80 year old grandfather how you can speak to your sister whose in the United States for free through google talk for over an hour and how you can hear her just by looking at the laptop. Even I can't explain it. But technology is phenomenal.

I'm sure someone somewhere has composed a song "As time goes by". I hope I get to hear it. :) But one thing my Mom keeps telling me - you never really grow up. You're still the same kid at heart.

Twilight (2008)

I haven't read the Stephanie Meyer book. So I cannot comment on how and why the story came about as it did, but I can give a review of the film I saw.

I didn't know anything about the cult following that Meyer had until I went to the US and it was through Youtube that I first saw the trailers for the upcoming movie. After a few googles, I found out that this is part of a larger series involving the two main characters, Bella and Edward.

Using the term "star crossed lovers" would be cliched I think, but true. Bella moves into a new school in a new town, which is cold and wet mostly all year round. Her Dad, the local sheriff, isn't used to having his little girl around, but manages quite well being the hands off but sometimes overprotective Dad.

It's funny when Edward and Bella first meet, because Edward seriously looks like he's sick whenever he's with her. No "love at first sight" music around. He does take it upon himself to take care of her - which borders on creepy if you really think too deeply about it.

My advice would be though - to not think too deeply and just take the film as it comes. It's cute how Edward looks out for her. How he keeps an eye on her (yes, even when she's sleeping - giving new creepiness to the song - "I'll be watching you"). She is totally and completely besotted by him.

Oh yes, and did I mention that he's a vampire?

So how does a human girl fall in love with a vampire? Well, if the vampire looks like Edward does, it would be pretty darn easy I would imagine. He's absolutely cute. Not dishy, but totally cute. And even though his overprotectiveness borders on some sort of stalker-like personna, you do like the fact that he's just looking out for his favourite gal.

Some of the dialogues in this film are ghastly, and some of the scenes will make you chuckle out loud -- but on the whole it is a good movie to watch.

As with all movies based on books though, I would imagine that the book is better!

Complexities of life

We human beings are very complex creatures. Firstly, no two human beings are alike - and this is proven by the fact that no one has the same finger print. In a sense, those whirls on our fingers and thumbs characterise our individuality. It's refreshing to know that we are unique and have our own identity.

At the same time though, we tend to converge on the basis of creations. The creation of religion identifies us to a faith and a practice of its following. The creation of state identifies to a country and an identity. Are we Indian, South African, Trinidadian, Mexican? This exemplifies us and separates us. Sometimes the distinctions are more pronounced when we add the "not". We are "not" Indian, we are British. We are "not" Indian, we are American.

Within countries, there are divisions - which state do you belong to? where did you grow up? which class are you from?

It's a way of defining us. But is this what defines a person?

Does your job define you? Or where you live? Or what kind of car you drive? Or which kind of mobile phone you have?

You may have the traveller's heart - like I do. Then you'll love to go anywhere and everywhere. Whether it be the trip to Rishikesh to go white water rafting, or just a trip to your grandma to enjoy her cooking. As long as it's a change. A change from the routine.

But I often wonder about the larger questions. I find that a lot of people don't think about the "why" anymore or "what". What can I do about the state of the country? Why should that person be allowed to get away with murder? When it's an interesting thing that we humans have been endowed with so much. Ben Okri once put it very well - He said "The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering."

We are very very deep. Maybe there's a reason we were created this way. We remember dates, we remember our history. We try and learn from it. We try and help out others in need. We celebrate and mourn. We ponder and wonder.

We think.

We are.

A Madhubani painting

There are many different forms of folk art in India depending on where you come from. Rajasthan has the hand puppets, Chattisgarh has bastar sculpture and jewelry, Gujarat has bandini - I could go on. Each state has its own language, its own dialects, its own paintings, clothing .... there is just so much - and we haven't even reached music!!

Madhubani is a form of painting that originates in the Madhubani district of Bihar. It is a form of painting done on the walls of newly married couples to ward off evil spirits and give blessings. Often Gods and Goddesses are also depicted in these paintings.

I myself have drawn three Madhubanis - all drawn when I was in 11th grade, struggling with physics and chemistry. (I hated both these subjects - but I loved mathematics!) One of the madhubanis I drew depicted a woman warding off the evil eye - in traditional Madhubani style of course; the other one was depicting the Tree of Life - as per my interpretation.

Madhubanis are extremely complex in that while being two dimensional, they incorporate a lot of aspects that one sees in modern art. The concept of line and colour depicting as simply as possible the figure is very prominent in these paintings. The idea of dualism also comes across very strongly, particularly in portraits of Krishna-Radha. Each figure in Madhubani art is enclosed by a border to separate it from their surroundings. It's like the painting is saying - you are after all, alone in this world.

The third Madhubani and the one I'm going to discuss today is the one I drew as my family portrait. It's also very unique, in that I drew my family in order of birth and then had all of them standing sideways - as is the case in Madhubani paintings. But I made one exception, which till this date was unintentional. I had my mom looking at the larger audience - something which you don't usually see in Madhubanis with group figures. The reason I did this was I had drawn it as a present for my mother, so I decided to show her as the central figure. Later on a child psychologist looked at this and took out all sorts of wierd meanings for the painting I drew (really, sometimes I think that psychologists overthink too much).

Us kids I showed as fighting - as was usual, with my sister mediating between my brother and me. Later on however, in fact, just a couple of years later, both my little bro and sis would begin their combined pranks on their elder sister and have a great time at my expense. This was because of two reasons. One, I was a bossy elder sister (as is my right). Two, they both outgrew me and began to tower over me. Hence this physical strength multiplied by two gave them the resolve to take revenge for years of inflicted bossiness. This they took out in various forms. One of their favourites was to grab me from both sides and dangle me till I was done screaming. Another time they hoisted me up an apricot tree to pick apricots and then abandoned me when it was time to leave. My mother finally spotted me from the kitchen and then demanded they bring me down.

All good times though. I don't think you enjoy yourself as much as you do when you're kids.

Eat Pray Love

My Mom just started reading this book called "Eat Pray Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. I finished it earlier this year. It had been recommended to me by my sister - and it is a must read book for all women. Sorry, but I don't think that guys will relate to it too much.

So Elizabeth Gilbert is going through a personal crisis. She's just had a messy divorce (her husband hates her) and she's had a messy divorce settlement (finances are at an all time low). She has a great offer though - she being a travel writer gets an offer to write a book on her experiences in three countries - Italy (Eat), Pray (India) and Love (Bali, Indonesia).

Italy... yups, you would definitely want to eat a lot there! But maybe your appetite will get curtailed because you'd want to stay in shape just to be able to flirt a little with the cute Italian guys - at least that's what I think. Did I mention that Italian guys are really cute? Cuz they totally are. And Elizabeth Gilbert notices this as well, as she takes up Italian classes with a cute Italian guy who in turn is trying to learn English. You'll zip through the Italy section and come to the following conclusions like I did. Firstly, this job of Gilbert's - being a travel writer, definitely ranks high on the list of good jobs! Secondly, I obviously did not spend as much time as I should have in Italy cuz I don't know any Italian! Another must do on my list of must dos.

The India section is deep. Like, very deep. You'll read a lot of philosophy, though condensed enough for a paper back novel. Elizabeth appears to calm down in this section and reflect back on her life. I remember I read this section while on a trip to Ranthambore National Park in the cold winter month of February. Definitely a good read. We used to sit around the fire in the evenings drinking tea (yes, tea - what else would one drink when it is cold?) and chat. One of my friends and I took this trip together. We had a great time!

Bali is ofcourse, beautiful. You almost feel like you're wobbling along on your cycle through the chaos going to visit the local medicine man. I liked the whole book and was sad when it came to an end. One interesting thing about Bali is that it is almost totally Hindu in population, unlike the Muslim dominated Indonesia of which it is a part of. They follow Balinese Hinduism - and even have their own Om sign. It's very interesting. Bali is a place I haven't been to yet, and I would think would be much easier to access. So hopefully I should go there sometime in the near future!! Europe will have to wait for me in the time being!

At the end of Gilbert's book, you feel all the good things you should feel. Optimism, happiness, gratitude for being alive.... It's a very feel good book. I guess that's why Oprah (from what my Mom has told me) keeps bringing Gilbert on her show. Eat Pray Love is being converted into a film as well. I don't know how they'll convert the thoughts that Elizabeth pens down onto the screen - maybe voice overs will be used. But I sure do know that it'll be a good film to watch!

Though the book is invariably always better than the film.

Ofcourse, in this one, there'll be the cute Italian guys to watch out for!

Road Rage

But not the kind you would think.

I live in Gurgaon - arguably a nice, up and coming part of India. We have the most amazing skyline at night - that can rival any modern city of the world.

That skyline is marred during the day though. And that's because of the AWFUL road conditions that persist despite countless newspaper articles, magazine articles, civil society protests, politician's lamentations and even news reports.

There are potholes everywhere!! The only road that isn't affected, is the stretch of NH-8 for which commuters have to pay Rs 17 whenever they use it. The rest of Gurgaon is in shambles.

So what is the problem? Does it take rocket science to fix up the roads? Or to even build good roads? Surely our monsoons cannot be so toxic that the road literally melts every time it rains? Why are there so many bad patches? Why is it that my city continuously looks like it has just emerged from a dust storm?

And my question is - what is the solution?

I'll tell you what I've heard. I've heard that private developers pay for the development of the infrastructure maintained by the State. I've heard that a lot of people in Gurgaon do pay their taxes (including me - and I am in charge of administering this as well, so I take this seriously). I've heard that EVERYONE will benefit from having good roads, apart from a few vested interests who profit from the continuous rebuilding of them.

Surely we are a strong and competent enough state that we can prosecute at least some of these non-performers. Don't roads also have a lifespan of some sort?

I don't know. But I do know that the bad driving that I see around me, the careless pedestrians who cross the road without looking, the underaged kids whose parents have deemed fit to have behind the wheel - all this does not speak well for a country that is trying to move up the Human Development Index. We need better enforcement of laws and we need better monitoring of money spent by the state.

Sigh! As you can probably tell, I spent the better part of today driving around Gurgaon. I was so fed up that I even forgot that Om Book Store was having a sale and that I wanted to buy "White Tiger" - our second booker prize winner. That will be my purchase for January 2008 (having bought a Hurakami for December 2009).

Does one lose weight driving in bad road conditions? I certainly hope so!!

Can you buy happiness?

Ever heard of a phenomenon called "Retail therapy"? It's often thrown around because it supposes that shopping makes people happier. A lot of my friends have told me that this is true. In fact, sometimes even I think that just by buying something, my mood lifts.

It's odd though, if you think about it. You spend at least eight hours a day working, five days a week (if you're lucky like me!). At the end of the month, you have a pay cheque that forces you to become an adult and take care of all your bills. If you're lucky, you'll manage to stash away a little amount towards that dream holiday and vacation.

In my first posting, I was all alone. No family and all friends were only available on the phone. My biggest expenditure (even before my electricity bill) was my entertainment expenditure, which consisted of my lone internet connection and trusty mobile phone. My connection with these items gave new meaning to the term 'till death do us part'.

I came up with a plan while on my first posting. And it was this.

If you spend so much time working, shouldn't you spend a few hours on yourself? So I decided that the day I get my pay cheque, I would withdraw exactly Rs 1000 (not a big amount) and spend it on myself. (Now if you're thinking I don't donate to charity - please don't think that, because I do!!). But apart from my deduction u/s 80G of the Income Tax Act, I decided that Rs 1000 should be spent on myself every month.

Now note the words "spent on myself". In other words - go out and pamper yourself!! You're only young, single and rich (well, comparatively rich cuz they don't pay me so much!!) once!! This is before the hubby comes along, and the kids, and the car and house payments, and the medical problems... I could go on and on and on....

So what did I do? Well, being a girl I ofcourse I need my beauty doses once in a while - ofcourse - a necessary expenditure. Nothing makes a girl feel more pampered than a face pack. But apart from that, being the bibliophile that I am, I decided that I would buy one book a month. Any book that interests me, and a book that I would spend at least an hour reading.

So even though it took me six months to locate the bookshop, once I did, I was on a roll. I bought quite a few books in my two year posting there: Some included Buddha or Bust by Perry Garfinkle; The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova... and I read many many books: The Everest Hotel, The Gathering (not that great a read), Enduring Love - to name a few.

So did buying the books make me feel better? Or was it the fact that the books I bought and read made me further love my hobby and that in turn made me happier? Or was it the fact that it was my own hard earned money that I was spending that made me feel good?

Maybe it was a combination of all three. Whatever be the case, in my case at least, retail therapy definitely helps!!

But so does... a hot chocolate fudge sundae from Nirulas...
... Mississippi Mud Pie from the Big Chill
and ofcourse ... the good Hollywood/Bollywood movie!!

A myriad of colour

If you picture the Mediterranean Sea all blue and azure, drifting towards a sandy beach which borders one of the most colourful cities in the world, you're probably in Barcelona.

I had the chance to see Barcelona again in 2002. I had been there when I'd been 4 years old, a little brat who spoke fluent Spanish and used to call her parents by their first names because she didn't know any better (funny what kids pick up isn't it)?

Thinking back on my time in Barcelona, I remember a lot of things - the bus journey from Paris to Barcelona... the long walk up the steps to the Museum... the heat... but my most memorable memories I'm recounting below.

The first memory I have is of this awesome structure called The Sagrada Familia. You cannot miss these tall tower like structures looming in the skyline. However, they're not your New York skyscrapers. They're crude almost conical hollow structures pointing towards the sky. From a distance you won't be able to guess what it was built for -- but amazingly enough, this monumental unfinished structure is supposed to be a church!! Antonio Gaudi was the architect of this church, and his unique vision is the chief reason why it stays in your mind. You can climb through each of the towers and get fantastic views of Barcelona.

The second is the architecture of Antonio Gaudi. Apart from the church that I mention above ofcourse. His architecture is unlike anything I've ever seen. It's sort of like a candy house - at least that's what I think little kids must think when they see it. His imaginative use of colour and shape really leave you mesmerised. And that's one of the chief reasons why I always associate Barcelona with colour.... and the reason why I think colour is infused into everything in this city.

The third memory I have is of this status of Christopher Columbus, that points to the sea. It's not particularly tall, but we stumbled across it as we were walking in the city, which by the way is the best way to see Barcelona. From what I remember, it was set up to commemorate Christopher Columbus's discovery of the New World in 1492. He entered Barcelona in 1493 with news of the discovery... which was to change the shape of geopolitics in years to come.

I bought my sister a pair of lovely laquer earnings from La Ramblas and enjoyed the sights and sounds of Barcelona. For those of you who're probably thinking where in the recent past you may have heard of Barcelona, well, it was the site of the 1992 summer Olympic Games. Barcelona is also the capital of the region Catalonia (doesn't the word Catalonia just sound lovely?). Catalonia is a region in Spain that is markedly different from the rest of Spain. As it borders the Mediterranean Sea, it has a long history of traders and seafarers, which has exposed it to different cultures and backgrounds which the region has absorbed. Hence you get this myriad of colours and textures -- which is a delight to the senses.

Now I didn't know this, but Salvador Dali, one of my favourite painters and the founder of the art movement surrealism, was born in Catalonia in a place called Figueres. From what I saw of Catalonia, living there will certainly inspire many artists.

Pandora's Jar

Pandora is a Greek woman created by a decree of God Zeus. He was angry because a chap named Prometheus stole the secret of fire. So he had Pandora created, as a punishment for Earth. Zeus gave her a jar (not a box as is commonly said) in which he kept all the evil and bad of the world.

Pandora was told not to open the jar and see its contents. But Pandora did. She apparently released all the contents - except hope. Later on however, hope was also released.

So let's ponder over this for a few minutes. Pandora's jar had all the evils in it - but why would hope be an evil?

Hope is the belief that there will be a positive outcome to a certain string of events. I've always associated it with the cloud that has the silver lining, the expectation of good and happiness.

So why did the Greeks consider it to be a dangerous emotion?

One has to look at hope in two ways. One way is that hope forms a way of combatting the day to day evils of the world. It allows you to have faith in the soul of mankind and deal with difficult situations hoping that tomorrow will be a brighter day.

But false hope can lead to disappointment, despair, frustration and agony. I think that this is why the Greeks thought it was an evil. Nietzsche apparently agreed and has gone on record to state that it was some sort of sadistic plot of Zeus to keep man constantly in turmoil by giving him hope. Nietzsche said "Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torments of man.".

So what do I think? Well, I don't think that hope should be confused with positive thinking. But I do think that hope is important. Allan K Chalmer's once said "The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for." I think it depends a lot on the person as well, like most things. If you're pessimist, you'll view hope as a sad reflection of what cannot possibly be accomplished. If you're an optimist, you see hope as a way of achieving the impossible. Elizabeth Gilbert (author of that excellent novel - Eat Pray Love) said "To sit patiently with a yearning that has not yet been fulfilled, and to trust that, that fulfillment will come, is quite possibly one of the most powerful 'magic skills' that human beings are capable of. It has been noted by almost every ancient wisdom tradition."

Everyone has their 15 minutes of fame. Every dog has its day. All good things will happen. You just have to work hard and wait. So what if Pandora opened her jar! As the Brahmakumaris would say, to change the world you have to change your thinking.

Sherlock Holmes and the Big Bang

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes, the moody opium consuming scientific detective who along with Dr Watson, could solve any crime in England with his uncanny eye for detail. He used "deductive reasoning" to come to the most plausible solution.

I didn't know this, but Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wasn't English - he was Scottish. His character Sherlock Holmes was English though. He started publishing his stories in 1887 and most were based in London.

Of all the stories, I think the ones I remember best were "The Hound of the Baskervilles" and "The Sign of Four". I don't know why these stuck, but they did. As a kid I read all of the stories and novels written which featured Holmes. Like I've said before, I love mysteries.

What is it about moody, anti-social beings that attracts us? Is it because they're anti-social and prefer not to be in normal company that we seek them out and befriend them? That we like to read about them and watch them on television? Take for example Sheldon in The Big Bang Theory. Now this series hasn't come to India yet, but I got a chance to watch the series on television in Trinidad. It is HILARIOUS! Sheldon plays this crazy, brilliant, loony, eccentric physicist who has the funniest interpretations of day to day events and believes himself to be rational while at the same time, being totally irrational!

His skits on the show made me lol - laugh out loud. And I don't do that usually. It's only a good P G Woodehouse that has made me laugh hysterically till now. (For those who have not read P G Woodehouse - I recommend it - especially the Jeeves and Wooster series!!)

My point in the end being - we all like what is different. So stop trying to conform!!

The Elephant Vanishes in Bhutan

There is an awful phenomenon associated with travel between time zones. And it's called jet lag. No matter how hard you try, your sleep pattern just cannot regulate. I've just come back from the US and its impossible to stop waking up in the middle of the night. Like right now.

So here I am, trying to zonk back off to sleep but being unable to, listening to the wierdo nearby who is playing some sad loser video game which involves some form of gun machinery, as evidenced from the shots being fired incessantly throughout the game.

Egad. So let me share some thoughts with you. Yesterday I went for a book sale (I know I love book sales. Good thing I have my own salary!!) and I bought a travel book and a book called "The Elephant vanishes" by Murakami.

Haruki Murakami is a Japanese author who is known for a style of writing which can only be best described as "surreal" (like the Dali paintings). I've only read one of his novels so far, called Kafka on the Shore. It's about a young boy who goes off on a mission to find himself, or to lose himself. One of the dominant themes in the novel was that of coping with being alone and that of solitude. I still remember that the boy runs away and seeks refuge in a small town's library - and I don't think you can get any more reclusive than by being in a library. It's one of the only places where you can be surrounded by people but as a rule, cannot talk. That's in contrast to being in a public place, being surrounded by people, but still not talking since you don't know anyone around you. Perhaps that's what the author is also trying to highlight, among other things. We are after all, alone in this world.

My travel book was an aspiration book. What is an aspiration book you're asking? Well, an aspiration book is like a pair of aspiration pants. You buy it because one day you want to fit into it. So my book on Bhutan is a book I hope I will one day use when I go to Bhutan and the North East. I have my batchmates there so I hope to visit them and then travel to Thimpu.

My grandparents and Mom have been to Thimpu and they say it is simply beautiful. Lush, green and unspoilt by man, the policies of the tiny nation have kept it isolated and its people content. It's one of the only countries in the world to have a "Happiness Index". Last I read, they had banned cable television, and getting entry to the country is an arduous process.

Wouldn't trekking through Bhutan and North East India be awesome?

Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs and what has come along

I came across this book by accident. I am a fan of collecting and reading books and this one, along with Devil Bones, was the only one I didn't have. I came across it in Nashville almost by accident, with my sis pulling out the book and handing it over to me. Sometimes I think it's good that I always rave about my most recent interest, till another one comes along.

It's set in Israel, a place I haven't been to ... but have always wanted to go. Tel Aviv, Jericho, The Wailing Wall... they all seem so interesting. Cross Bones is set in Israel and centers around a skeleton named Max from a place called Masada. There is a bit of fact interlaced in the text in that there were actual skeletons found here in the early 1960s, many of which were not identified, though it was confirmed that they dated from around the period when Jesus Christ was crucified/or a little later. I came across the term BCE - before the common era, in this book. Now the main premise of part of the mystery is that there are some bones which could have belonged to Jesus Christ himself, but which have been hidden so as not to upset the dominant faith systems in place.

An interesting allusion made in this book is to the Da Vinci Code. I figured that it was humourous considering how many people around the world have read this book!!

Sorry, returning to my story, Reichs talks of faith in this book as well. Though not in detail and it almost seems like a capsule course in faith. In a para she says "Of the three great religions woven through the history of Palestine, all rely more on divine mystery and spiritual belief than on science and reason to establish their legitimacy. Historic facts have been given differing spins to make them mesh with favoured orthodoxy. Inconsistent facts are denied."

"The Torah, the Bible, the Koran. Each offers a recipe for spiritual contentment, for hope, for love, and for constrolling basic human passions, and each claims to have gotten the recipe straight from God, but via a different messenger. They're all just trying to provide a formula for orderly, spiritual living, but somehow the message gets twisted, like cells in a body turning cancerous. Self-appointed spokesmen declare the boundaries of correct faith, outsiders are labelled heretics, and the faithful are called upon to attack them. I don't think it was meant to be that way."

Like I said, capsule course. Belief is belief. It would be interesting to read Naipaul's Beyond Belief - his insight into the Islamic world.

That's just a thought though.

I have one more Kathy Reichs left, and I shall be done except for Devil Bones!! But now to discuss my next interest that I've developed, and that's reading works by Thomas Friedman.

Now if you think that I'm this crazy person who likes reading murder mysteries and the latest exploits of a forensic anthropologist, I would just like to say that I've always liked mystery - hence the title of my blog. But I love economics as well and I like reading books about current affairs. To me, everything links up to economics. Sometimes even in the fiction I'm reading, I'll be thinking about the economic angles.... Reading history for the civil services was interesting for me because I used to make the interlinkages.

I've started reading The Lexus and the Olive Tree, and it is well written and engaging. He has a very sound grasp of issues, though I can't imagine how a foreign correspondent can cover the WHOLE WORLD - it's such a big place!! But I do agree with him in that it sounds like it could be a contender for the best job in the world. Ofcourse Friedman thinks it is the best job in the world, but sometimes I feel I have that position... :) Sometimes I don't though :(.

So, he makes a number of observations and gives loadsa antedotes from his travels. Like the story about Japan and oranges. $22 for 4 oranges I think it was!! That's over Rs 1000!! You could feed a family in that amount in India!! Highway robbery!! Sometimes when I look at price differentials around the world I am amazed!!

So I'm reading a chapter a day, like I always do of the books I'm reading. I've noticed that it's a good way to finish a book and at the same time, feel personal gratification that you did something useful during the day. All goals should be quantified and this is one example. Instead of having a goal of - I will read everyday, say, I will read a chapter of my book everyday, or I shall read the Newspaper everyday from 8:00 to 10:00.

It really helps. So if anyone has a list - do sit and make it implementable. And I shall write more on Friedman when I finish the book!!

Port of Spain

I realise I'm going in a haphazard manner, but really I'm just writing whatever comes into my head. Recently I've just returned from a long vacation in Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago. It's a beautiful little city located on the edge of Trinidad, overlooking the Gulf of Paria.

Now when you think of the Carribbean, you imagine a laid back setting, with palms dotting the beach and lots of singing and dancing. Well, Trinidad and Tobago is a lot like this, with liming (translated into lounging) being prominent in the nightlife and weekends.

There is a very famous Carnival held before Ash Wednesday in the season of Lent. I didn't have the opportunity of witnessing the Carnival, but I got a chance to meet Brian Mac Farlane, who is an artist who represents social and cultural issues of the past and present through his band in the Carnival. It was lovely to meet him and to see his thought process and creations.

There is a very dominant Indian population on the islands, which comprises of descendants of indentured labour who went to Trinidad four generations ago. They have remained true to their heritage, eating and celebrating festivals which we celebrate in India. They have a number of temples on the island, and I got the opportunity to visit some as well and interact with the Indian community.

Some have seen India now, some haven't. Ofcourse a lot has changed since Independence and since 1991, when we liberalised our economy. Some however, have not seen the changes and don't know how far we have progressed. Though a lot of work remains to be done, I know that a lot of good people are at work and India is developing, slowly but steadily.

One thing that struck me was when a family said that they had not met their daughter for the past four years and how they only met her for a week when she had come to visit. I think that technology has made a difference, and such long interludes between meeting become shorter because of the Internet, email and telephone.

What comprises a culture? What comprises a heritage? Language is one of them. Trinidad is one of those places where Hindi has completely disappeared. People listen to it, but don't understand it. And a lot of people I met sensed that they should know it. Now I'm not saying that my Hindi is perfect, but I do know the language. It was interesting to see how a whole people can forget their language and not propogate it further to future generations. What links the next generation to their past then? There has been a revival of the Hindi language now, with more people interested in learning the language.

Walking....through a financial crisis

Yups, am back in Gurgaon and it is winter again ... or something approaching winter. It gets very cold in India - but these days its still hovering around 20 degrees. So pretty nice weather.
I opened my first paper today in India after 2 1/2 months (this is ofcourse not counting the online journals). There was a good article on tackling corruption and another one on the poor state of education in India today. A very good article was by a UN operative who talked about how the effects of the global crisis should not erode the progress made by development in South Asia and South East Asia. She had some pretty interesting statistics to share.

Going one by one, the first article dealt with corruption. Dec 9 being anti-corruption day, the article talked about how everything had been identified - the roots and causes of corruptions along with the modus. However, not enough was being done to counter it. I agree with this, but I also think that political will to tackle corruption will be weak in the present state. It is only when a suitable mechanism is put in place and good incentives given to career officers can corruption be dealt with effectively.

IITs, IIMs and IISc - but apart from these very few have emerged as quality institutions in India. The reasons range from poor funding for institutions to poorly paid teachers which then translates to poor institutions. The solutions.... need a lot of consideration. Buying a degree has become easy and unfortunately this aspect has not received much of its due.

Regarding the effect of the financial crisis, there has been a fall all around the board. Economic growth in Asia is expected to slow down to 6.1% from last year's 7%. Japan and Singapore are in recession. Equity markets have fallen by 35% in India and in China it fell by 21%. Excessive currency fluctuation has seen the value of the Indian rupee fall 13%.

The author, Noeleen Heyzer talked about how the 1997 crisis had taught countries to hedge their risks by the setting up of institutions such as the Asian Bond Fund, through which the central banks of countries have set aside some reserves in a pool to invest in bonds of Asian governments. The ASEAN+3's Chiang Mai initiative is a network of bilateral swap agreements which provides forex reserves support thorugh a system of bilateral currency swaps.

Despite these in place, more needs to be done to shelter ourselves from the current economic crisis being faced by Europe and the US. I'll be reading and writing more on what I think are possible solutions, but first one really needs to understand how this whole mess occurred in the first place. That is taking some time.

Now for my next topic - and that of walking. It is important to walk at least 45 minutes a day and I encourage everyone to go for that walk. I read a very good quote one day which said that the 45 mins you don't exercise will end up being the 45 mins you spend waiting outside the doctor's office. In economics, we say that everything has an opportunity cost. Well, not exercising will cost you bad health. It's as simple as that. So do take out those 45 mins and go for a walk!!

The Big Big Apple

New York City....
It's one of the nicest cities in the world me thinks... I'm describing my second visit here...

Chicago in New York
I managed to catch a broadway musical - Chicago. It was definitely good and highly recommended. Long though. One interesting thing about New York are the number of tourists that dominate - they're almost at every street corner!!

Sky scrapers
I even like the fact that tall buildings dominate the landscape here and that you almost always have to keep your head in the sky as you pass them to get a look at them!!

Big Apple
New York is called the Big Apple because it has five boroughs - just like one of the best apples in the United States that is shaped into five parts.

Times Square
Oh God, NEVER go there in the month of December - it is crazy the number of tourists that are there. But worse than the tourists is the weather. It was 23F today!! And that really means something!!

The Strand
A nice bookshop - with literally almost all the books under the sun (English ofcourse) and one of the nicest arts sections I've ever come across. You really have to control yourself!!

Museum of Natural History
The T-Rex Exhibit is AWESOME!! So is the Space exhibit. Do see it - don't miss any opportunity!!

Central Park
What can I say? No visit is complete without it. And at Christmas, Columbus Plaza has these little shops set up which are quite quaint.

Soho Road, Noho Road and Greenwich Village along with Chinatown
All four deserve a separate blog I think - after a bit of research. Since right now I'm at Radisson Hotel at Lexington Avenue (I know - it is an awesome location!!) I don't want to write too much, but all I can say is that I had a great time even though I was here only for two nights!!

An Asokan Rock Edict and some Deodars

Chakrata is a place in Uttaranchal. It is a military base, so not too many people go there and I believe for non-Indian nationals you need special permission.

It overlooks some spectacular mountainside of the Dehradun valley. There were loadsa trees around when we went in the month of March - like Deodar and timber. The snow was still melting so in a lot of the pictures we were wading through at least 4 inches of snow. And with normal sneakers on, that is not an easy experience.

The scenes from Chakrata are beautiful. We trekked up to a place called Deoban - forest of the Gods. There were four of us, and we'd pre-booked the forest guest house at Chakrata. Though very basic accomodation, it did have a very cosy atmosphere and had a quaint colonial air. After trekking ofcourse, any and all forms of food taste good.

A small gurudwara is there in Chakrata as you walk around. We went and did darshan there and attended the evening gurbani. Little shops dot the path as you walk around - a typical little hill station in that way. We didn't do much shopping as I recall.

On the way to Chakrata we stopped by a town called Kalsi. Kalsi is known for its Asokan rock edict that enunciates some of Asoka's key doctrines. It's been nicely maintained by the ASI and is quite interesting to see. For me it brought to life some of the dreary history I'd gone through while studying for the Civil Services.

Deoban was beautiful. It was a plain hilltop with breezy meadows. The flowers hadn't started to bloom yet, but walking around and just breathing in the pure air was wonderful. Our guide and us sat and shared an improvised picnic... and we all managed to catch a quick snooze before we headed back down again.

The whole trip was impromptu. My sister called me up saying that the accomodation had been booked, and asked if I could join. I called up my boss and requested a day's leave, booked my ticket to Dehradun online and then called up one of my friends to ask if she could join us. We all met up in Dehradun and took a car up.

It's these kinds of trips that make life a little bit more challenging. :) I know that one of the key reasons we could do this because all four of us are still young and unmarried, but I would like to think that later on when this status does change, (though I believe that we will always be forever young), we can still do things like this!!

Trip to France and Alsace Lorraine

When I was in England in 2002 I was fortunate enough to be part of the European Parliament Sandwell Youth Council Delegation that visited Strasbourg, France. Not too many people know that apart from the European Parliament headquarters in Brussels, there is another headquarter in Strasbourg, France. We visited the HQ in the month of October.

The trip was lovely. I remember that I finished reading Bonjour Tristess on this trip. We stayed in a number of different locations and visited many different places. One area we got to explore was the Alsace-Lorraine region of France, which borders Germany. Students of history will remember that it was this region that was in dispute during the deliberations for the Treaty of Versailles after the Germans were defeated in WWI. Strasburg is the capital of the Alsace-Lorraine region.

Le Struthof; Konsentrationslager Natzweiler; Natzweiler-Struthof

The only concentration camp in France is located in Vosges Mountains in Alsace. It's known by the above names depending on which language you're looking at it. We visited it as part of the trip and it sent shivers down my spine. I still remember when we entered the bunker where they talked about how the SS scientists used to experiment with some of the prisoners. Very very disturbing.

Alsace's patron saint: Sainte-Odile

She had a tumultuous history, a lot of which was not explained to us but the site of her convent atop a hill is a beautiful and peaceful site. I was lucky enough to visit it!!

EU Headquarters, Strasburg

The building was beautiful, and we got to sit in on a session of the EU Parliament. We also got to listen to a speech by Neena Gill, who was the West Midland's representative in the European Parliament. She was quite impressive.

Paris

Last but not least, ofcourse we spent a day in Paris. Paris is arguably one of the most beautiful cities in the world and later on I would have a chance to explore it in greater detail. But for the time being, I got to see the city.. I also got to enjoy the ferry ride between Calais and Dover - a sight that everyone should see at least once because it is beautiful!!

One thing I regret was not finishing my copy of The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. Imagine - I still haven't finished it!! On my wish list are books by Victor Hugo - Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, books by Simone de Beauvoir (The Second Sex), Emile Zola, Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary... and many more.

One of my favourite books till date remains "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexander Dumas. Movies later have really changed the ending of the book though. However, anyone who wants to understand the key human emotion of REVENGE, should read this book.

Floating around in Nashville, TN

I'd heard Nashville through its reference as the capital of country music in the United States. It's mostly through television I think. We had to learn all the state capitals when I was in fourth grade so I learnt that Nashville was the capital of Tennessee.

It is my first visit here to Nashville. It is impressive in that it is a city that has been constructed on hilly terrain, but well planned. I visited the Country Music Hall of Fame and got to see Dolly Parton, Elvis, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams and Jr, Kitty Wells and a whole lot more. I even heard Kitty Wells "It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels."

Did you know that even a song writer gets money every time a song is played on the air? In an interview I saw with Dolly Parton at the Hall of Fame, she was asked which song of hers she liked best that had been covered by another artist. Her answer was Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You." Now I also loved that song when it came out, but since it was such a hit it made Dolly Parton a gazillionaire because it was played so many times and she'd written the lyrics. Awesome right? This seems like another viable career option.

After that we went to the Tennessee State Museum. The exhibits had been nicely displayed and we even saw a mummy!! Though it wasn't in its casket so I ended up feeling like I was in a Kathy Reichs novel... I saw a documentary on slavery and the antebellum period (pre civil war period) was well covered. Even the display of patchwork quilts was lovely. I think it'll be a nice place to bring a school group. But if they were anything like me when I was a school kid, they will not appreciate it.

We ate lunch at Panera and headed off for a movie called "Australia". Let me tell you on thing, Hugh Jackman deserves his no. 1 sexiest man victory from People Magazine. He is very very very dishy. I must say, extremely gorgeous!! I loved the movie and Nicole Kidman is superb. Baz Luhrmann is at his best. My sister wasn't in favour initially of seeing it, but after the movie she also agreed that it was brilliant. The whole plot weaves together very well and there is a moment in the film (well, moments depending on what kind of viewer you are) where you want to reach out and do the saving!!

Afterwards I had dinner at a nice Indian restaurant called "Woodlands Indian Cuisine." That's where I overate!

A couple of days back I got to see Vanderbilt University campus. It is a National Arboretum and has the most beautiful trees which have reddish/golden leaves this time of year. Looking around was a pleasure and the campus is dotted with old buildings constructed in the 19th century that lend a very old-age southern charm to the whole campus. Inside ofcourse, its the modern hum dum of laptops, pondering and chatty grads and undergrads. The library is well stocked and I finished Kathy Reich's "Break No Bones" there. Gritty, and it reminded me of that gory incident that took place in India a while back with that monster and the kidney scam.

We had dinner at a club house with the most delicious food and nicest conversation.

I must say, these past few days have been memorable!! :)

Cross stitching

THE VILLAGE

Finished in Trinidad and Tobago

I've been a fan of cross stitching since I was in school. I used to sit over my 10th grade history books memorising countless details while finishing the humungous cross stitch that I'd recently bought.

It's good to keep yourself busy while you're doing tedious tasks. And there are many advantages of cross stitching. You can sit with your cross stitch while watching television and while listening to music.

I didn't know this until I started doing a bit of research on the web, but cross stitching also helps you relieve stress. It keeps your mind occupied and focused.

While holidaying in Trinidad I managed to complete a long outstanding cross stitch of my sis's - I've taken a picture of it and put it to the side. It took a very very very long time to complete - the first stitch was put in 1996 and the last, in 2008.

The result though is very very pretty. It's approximately 3 feet by 2 feet and depicts a scene from a village. And it is no exaggeration for me to say this, but it was very very very intricate. I'm not saying that it takes a rocket scientist to finish a cross stitch, but it does take a lot of work.

I'm ready for my paintings now!! :)

Mumbai attack on Wednesday 26th November

We all watched in horror on television as the news started to unfold. Somehow some terrorists had managed to get into Mumbai heavily armed and had started to indiscriminately shoot any and all civilians they could see. They were specifically targetting Americans and Britons, but killed any and all Indians they could see.
How could such a thing happen? Who were these mad men and what was their agenda? Why had they targetted Mumbai? Why had they targetted India? Even after the situation has been brought under control, these questions still remain.
I feel horror and sadness that such an event could occur. Somehow I felt that we had things under control, that our borders were protected and that the domestic terrorism that we were facing was being tackled with effectively.
It doesn't help knowing that what I had thought wasn't true.
What has become of the world? Why is it that with more education and more interconnectedness, a set of people can arise who just want to commit cold blooded murder? What sort of religion condones such behaviour? Shouldn't people be more aware of their fellow human beings?
I don't know. I can't be angry - because if I am, that won't improve the situation. It also won't make the security enforcement agencies any more competent or effective. I still can't believe such a thing could have gone undetected. They had grenades!!
Should we start combined praying? How can we convince these lunatics that killing people isn't the solution? When they don't value their own lives, they obviously won't value others. That's the problem with suicide bombers.

Books I'm reading and have read

Well I've completed yet another Kathy Reichs -- Monday Mourning. Apart from this I finished Grave Secrets and Bare Bones bringing the total count to 7. I am on my 8th Kathy Reichs novel.

I've realised that the secret sometimes to good reading doesn't just lie in the reader - the author's style matters to a great extent. Sometimes Rushdie e.g. is just so amazing in his prose that you take an hour to finish a chapter, to incorporate all the wit that he infuses into his text. Amitav Ghosh is also like that. And so is Pico Iyer, whose book, Abandon, remains my most favourite romance novel of all time. I seriously recommend this book to anyone and everyone. The book is almost like falling in love.... I read it when I was in training in Mussoorie, next to the heater, curled up in my blanket... trying to save myself from the biting cold... I could not put this book down.

Monday Mourning was in keeping with my morbid theme of death and crime investigation, which is reflected in my favourite television shows - CSI, Criminal Minds... There's just something about a good mystery that I love. I used to be a great fan of Law and Order as well. It's a good thing my line of work involves investigation!

So Temperance Brennan stumbles upon the modus operandi of the killer and unravels the mystery of the bones found in the basement of the pizza parlour. Not for the faint hearted I might add. Her love interest, Detective Ryan, gets more serious... all in all a good beach read. I finished it in a little over three hours.

Fatal Voyage

I've recently set about reading a new author called Kathy Reichs. I've finished the following books by her:
Deja Dead
Death Du Jour
Deadly Decisions
Fatal Voyage

She's a forensic anthropologist and she's awesome. Apart from solving intricately difficult crimes, she's independent and free thinking.
I read Fatal Voyage when I was in Tobago. Yes, it may seem a bit wierd that I'm reading a book which is based on a plane crash while on vacation to a holiday resort, but c'est moi! I have always loved a good mystery.
What is it about mysteries though that intrigue us? Obviously the fact that we're always curious about the unknown - but so much is unknown. They say ignorance is bliss, but then, aren't we always checking up on facts and trying to figure out what choices are better or worse? Doesn't that make it like a mystery we're trying to solve?
One mystery I can't figure out is why people don't read more. I'm not being facetious but it's true. There is so much out there people!! And one great thing is that you can read about practically everything, it's now become at the touch of a button, there are bookstores that cater to all pockets.......... :) So let's read up more on the mysteries of the world!!

My trip to Tobago and reasons for starting a blog

Tobago is a beautiful island located next to Trinidad in the Caribbean Sea. I got to spent 4 days there as part of my trip here to Trinidad and I must say, it was refreshingly beautiful.
If you go to Tobago, you must must must see the waterfall at Argyle Falls Estate. Teeming with wildlife and birds, it's a sight not to miss. We had the most lovely tour operator - Elidah, who showed us the way there.
Tobago depends largely on its tourism to rake in the revenue. The staff of the resort I stayed at were quite courteous and charming - Coco Reef in case anyone is planning a trip was where I stayed. I missed the wedding that was to take place on Saturday there because I had to catch the ferry back to Port of Spain.
We had a bit of an adventure coming back on the ferry. After having to evacuate the ferry twice, I was just glad that they got news of the possible bomb scare before we had set sail. They thoroughly checked the boat though, and since I'm writing this piece, it is evident that I'm in one piece.
I've always wanted to start a blog and I have something like this going on in my facebook account with the notes. Usually I always put up a note on something I've done and what I want to do. I love reading, watching films, meeting up with friends, discussing ideas, drawing and painting. So I thought, since I'm in the lovely island atmosphere before I have to get back to reality and my pay cheque, I'd start a blog on my many adventures that I set out on. I'm 29 by the way and plan to cover a whole lot more before I'm 30!!