Travel

A day for getting lost

A day for finding your way

A day for enjoying the sights

A day for absorbing the culture

A day for photographs

A day for 'new' silence

A day for getting back

A week's experience, one day at a time

ISPIM - Innovation Symposium

OK. I've finally managed to resurface into Blogosphere. Do you see me now? I've not been hiding but I've been running hither and thither. Whoever said "You can run but you cannot hide" had a brilliant brain. (Give me a teeny weeny opportunity to make an out of the context statement and be sure I'll grab it with both my hands! ;-])

Righto! I am sure you're waiting for the real story now. I was off to torture people at the Innovation Symposium conducted by ISPIM in collaboration with the Singapore Management University. I presented an idea that has been brewing in my mind for more than a year now. The idea revolves around establishing random connections between the employees of an organization to promote innovation. At a minimum level, I believe the implementation of the idea is likely to usher in a sense of belonging in the employee and help her understand how the organization works...by understanding the various parts of the organization and then connecting the dots to make out what the big picture looks like. When I conceived the idea, I was hardly familiar with Twitter. In retrospect, I believe that this idea will find a new form if implemented on a tool like Twitter.

While at the symposium, I came across three key ideas that I found to be fascinating!

- Phantom Innovation - It was a study by two people from Sweden on inventions that solved a problem/challenge not originally meant to be solved by that particular invention. In other words, innovations that found accidental use in other unrelated areas. Not surprisingly, this paper won an award.
- Bionics - This one isn't really new. Product development inspired by nature! The imitation/emulation of nature's ideas. A car that looks like a Box Fish, a structure that resembles a spider's web and so forth. I have been fascinated by Biomimicry ever since I first read about it a few years back. In fact, I've been looking to buy the book by Janine Benyus but it doesn't seem to be available anywhere in Bangalore! :-(
- Blue Ocean Strategy - I got to go through a workshop that provided us with practical tools to enable people to use the concepts of Blue Ocean Strategy for innovation.

And then there were other familiar and yet exciting tidbits like studies to establish a link between KM and Innovation. I was thrilled to find that a lot of Innovation professionals were gravitating towards studies on collaboration and collective thinking. There was, as expected, a lot of talk about communities and wikis in the context of innovation.

One another interesting aspect of the conference was a very large representation from the Nordic countries like Finland, Spain, Netherlands, Austria...the countries that stand tall in the worldwide Innovation Index! Overall, it was the first ever time I got to see such a diverse set of Europeans all in one place!

Also, even though I tried very hard not to go on adding to my collection of unread books, I simply couldn't control the urge to pick up a book during the trip - Uncommon Wisdom by Fritjof Capra. Eager to read it. Will probably replace another book in my "Next 3 books to read" list.

Paradox Exercise

As I watched a small girl get on to a Travellator and walk against the direction in which it was moving, I suddenly jumped to thinking about Treadmills and then....immediately realized that Treadmills must have definitely been a result of paradox thinking! :). Get the floor to move....

PS: The small girl enjoyed some exercise and finally turned around and walked in the same direction as the Travellator. Funny...eh? You walk with the Travellator to not exercise yourself....and you walk against it to get some exercise! ;)

The Sunrise and other stories...

A week that could be aptly called "fighting for fitness"...! :(
Things are slipping (ouch, that touched a raw nerve...oh....that makes it two puns in all. Twisted ankles, you see) back to normalcy. As I attempt to get myself back in working condition on multiple counts, I must say I got to see an amazing sunrise this morning. Beautiful grey and orange sky touching a quiet and sparkling sea (probably a KM away though- got to clarify that KM is kilo meter and not the KM KM, given my association with the other KM. Confusing....) Wait, I am in Chennai. Bangalore hasn't decided to meet the sea face-face without telling you. :) The sun rose in all its glory....fiery orange ball between some tall trees....in about 3-4 minutes and a few crows - far enough for me to see just their shapes - flew past it. Cool. How lovely it would be if I could wake up to such a sunrise everyday!

During the break...

While in my home-town last week, I also visited one of my favouritest temples - the abode of one of the cutest Gods, Lord Ganesha/Pillayaar/Vinayakar :) – Pillayaarpatti. If you’re in India and fond of Lord Ganesha, this is one temple you ought to see. The idol is believed to have been discovered as a natural formation in a cave.

And…this time around, I spotted a lot of wonderful birds in my village but could not do justice to their beauty on my camera. But some attempts are here for you to admire -each word links to a different photograph (it’s okay to settle for mediocrity at times) or curse (I would prefer you don’t though; there’s always a learning curve). OK. Whatever.

Do identify the birds if you can; I love watching birds but still haven’t learnt to recognize most of them :- The argument that I’ve been going with - What’s in a name?? or What’s in a type? Nothing much, if what one wants to do is simply be delighted by nature’s wonderful creations. Or so I thought….till one of my friends pointed out (on seeing the photos I’d clicked) to me that what I thought was a Woodpecker is actually an Oriole and the latter type of birds travel from Europe to Sri Lanka and India is just a stop over thingy for them. So, imagine my delight when I realized that I’d actually captured such a transitory bird on camera….a fleeting moment literally! Multifold. Knowledge changes not just plain perspectives…but feelings as well. :D

Here's one of the snaps that I think has come out quite well....

I am back!

I am back! :)

My trip was not perhaps an efficient one in terms of reading (number of books/articles I ended up reading), but it was an 'effective' one in terms of introspection, ideas, bird-watching and popularity amongst all the kids in the extended family. :D.

Will be posting something on KM, uploading some nice photographs etc as soon as I sort of settle down.... :)

B-R-I-D-G-E

If destiny has taken you places, which bridge do you think is the most awesome of all?

PS: I am gathering information on bridges as I personally am fascinated by them....especially those that look unconventional....some of them are truly man-made marvels I think...

T-H-R-O-W ing, a Fit? Throwing a fit?

Sometimes, life throws such seemingly menacing situations that seem like it will be the end of the world before they occur (something i am not ready for...it just can't happen to me...) and then like 'even this will pass'....or 'what else could I have done anyway...it doesn't matter'...or 'it did not kill me...i got through it....i made it' once it occurs..

Amusing....amazing....interesting....and what not! I recently went through one such situation....I had to throw away a lot of stuff that I thought I would never ever throw away...for even a million dollars...but I had to....thanks to the new airline baggage rules... :@...and thanks to some very 'friendly' and 'understanding' airline staff (ouch!...it is too hard to digest) from one of the airlines that is considered to be the best in some parts of the world (Middle east and Western region)! Boy, I simply closed my eyes and threw stuff like I'd been wanting to dispose them for ages while in reality it was anything but that. After the terrible experience, I happened to come across a newspaper cartoon quite coincidentally....it shows a guy with so many bags that he has to literally make use of his teeth to show his ticket and the caption reads 'Before 9/11' and then the second box shows the same guy without anything on and using just the ticket to 'clothe' himself.....if you know what I mean....! Boy, the situation couldn't be expressed better now I guess...and this is no joke.

At the risk of sounding highly philosophical, if you ever encounter a situation wherein you have to discard many a KG at the Airport and are either not prepared for it or just partially prepared for it....one way to look at it is as a spiritual experience. What will you throw? What is the criteria? How much did you pay for it? How much do you love it? What will you lose if you throw it? God! How many important questions to answer and how less a time to answer it in. A few minutes of hectic throwing and spiritual cleansing if you like....I'll probably come back and write more about this. But all I can say now is that life is just amazing at times....it loves to give you a surprise and see how you react to it....and however much you believe that you are not equipped for it, life also actually gives you the wherewithal for handling the situation. Believe in yourself!

Alone and Away from Home

Staying away from home ...in a foreign land...and with new people can be an unsettling experience. I am beginning to experience more of life....it's challenges, it's ironies, it's lessons, it's laughs, it's excitement et al.

Some moments:

Much to my amazement, an old lady (native of this country) offers to help me carry some grocery bags after watching me struggle with 4 bags. :D

I begin to eat stuff that I wouldn't have ever liked to eat back home. I not only eat it but eat it twice a day. :P

I learn to forgive and sacrifice and walk on with the people that are around me.

I learn more about people and their ways. How they change, how they adapt, how they behave....

I learn to appreciate small ideas that add up to make life convenient. The free flow cap on the salt bottle. The water tap that does not have to be turned but only pushed with the cup. The chair handle that has deep fingerprints to keep one's hands on. The use and throw wooden stick stirrers. The thread-pull light switches. The water-filter in buses. The tables in trains. etc etc. More as I discover them....

Bridging the Gap...Opening the Golden Gate

Amazing structure! Breathtaking!

Villa-ge Experience

Whew. Finally. It wasn’t exactly like a writer’s block. But if my life depended on whether I’d call it some kind of block or not, I’d perhaps call it a worker’s block. Also, come to think of it, introspection tells me that the delay had more to do with the fact that this time around I’ve some cool photographs to go with the post and I subconsciously felt the pressure of having to match the pictures which are as we all know worth a 1000 words and for responding to the ‘pressure’ I needed more time than I could make till date. I myself have been looking forward to this post a lot as a lot went into the trip and more came out. Okay. I wouldn’t want to end up talking more about the making of the post than the post per se. So, let’s ‘Roger Out’.
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The post is about: My trip to the village. The second this year. (First Trip)
The purpose of the trip was: To read, relax and chill out.
The experience/results: It paid off. It was a cool reading trip with the added bonus of some good bird-watching. And I certainly chilled out and forgot about everything else, well almost… :-)

The books I took along with me – Learning to Fly, The Art of Innovation, Blink, Seven Habits, The Effective Executive, Nothing by Chance, C&H (Baby Sitter Stories). When I reached home, I immediately arranged all the books on the reading table and rummaged around the drawers to see what was there and discovered a book on Gandhi’s Teachings and Philosophies by C.Rajaji (Another reward that my mom got for her performance in school). I promptly added that to my pile of books and started off my reading sojourn. From then on it was a continuous marathon till I finished 3 books – Learning to Fly, The Art of Innovation and Blink. The first book is by ex-BP employees on BP’s KM initiatives. Extremely practical book. If it were related to the world of food and eating, I’d say it is a ready-to-eat food served on a plat(t)e(r) in a fast-food restaurant. Practitioners would be thrilled. The Art of Innovation made for some fun-reading. I enjoyed it immensely as the style is pretty informal and I love the subject of innovation. This one too is a practical experience. And finally, Blink – this one was easy to read but I found myself asking too many questions and more disturbingly not finding what one could call concrete answers. It made good food for thought but I still have a lot of unfinished thoughts and questions on the concepts that this book dwells upon. (I’ll probably be putting up the gist of all these books – seen from my perspective – on this blog down the line). I also visited 3 beautiful local temples in the evenings (before taking a one-day break at the ‘end’ of 3 books). The evening walks to the local temples were all a very pleasant experience. Apart from the scenic beauty that was presented to me, it gave my neck and eyes a well-deserved break in the evenings. After 3 books, I took a whole day’s break and went to a very famous temple in a neighbouring village. That too was a cool experience as we went by the village bus, cruising through small villages and stopping to pick up many villagers on the way. The hustle-bustle in a village somehow has a softer feel and genuineness and an authenticity that you can’t see in cities don’t you think? After the one-day break, I came back and finished the book on Gandhi’s Teachings and Philosophies and then started Seven Habits (Stephen Covey). But just when I was beginning to rejoice that I’d have finished 5 books before leaving for Bangalore, I sprained my back as well as caught a cold and couldn’t read anymore of the last book. :-(. I was able to continue with the book only after returning to Bangalore. And about the 3 other books that I lugged along with me - I could not touch them and wasn’t surprised about that either. I knew I was carrying more books than I would be able to read.

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Okay, here are some excerpts from other experiences I had – the birds I saw, the people I met….

On the very first day, I saw two wonderful and unique looking birds on my way into the village. The ‘darshan’ lasted only a few seconds but I’ve sort of captured them in my mental camera. Both these birds were sitting on stones that were part of the barbed-wire fences around cultivated land touching the road. I was in the bus but alert and was appropriately rewarded with these unexpected sneak previews to what was to be a lengthy affair of more bird-watching that lasted the whole holiday. I don’t know what birds they were but here’s a brief description. If my descriptions are good enough for you to recognize them, please throw some light and let me know what birds you think they could be…

1. Black head and body, yellow neck, white belly – small-medium in size
2. Grayish body and green belly – medium in size

Continuing on the topic of birds, through the holiday, I got to see a lot of birds and these undoubtedly gave me a lot of inspiration and breaks from continuous reading – Pattering Parrots, Many Mynas, Eager Eagles, Elusive Egrets, Dancing Doves, Diving Ducks, Tiny Tantalizing birds that I named Tweety (was it a Minivet?), another type of bird that I suspect may have been a Swallow/Shrike/Bush Cat (established bird-watchers, please forgive me for taking the liberty of guessing without the backing of sound knowledge/experience) in the same order of probability.

3. Description of ‘Tweety’ - tiny, longish tail – brownish yellow sides, white belly and dark ash-gray-colored body – very pretty and extremely fast and difficult to spot because of the size and speed. Chirping style – shrill, short and continuous ‘beep’ sounds. I was lucky enough to catch sight of these birds many a time as there was a teak-wood tree with a lot of flowers in the neighbouring compound which not only seemed to attract these birds but also an army of butterflies through the day. All I had to do was to go up to the terrace and fix my gaze on the teak-wood tree to see these birds. But it was a difficult exercise for the eyes to spot them. And any efforts to see them at close quarters turned out to be a failure as they flew away the second they sensed me. (I saw only 2 of these birds every time and I suspect that it was the same pair that I got to see every time)

4. Description of what I think could be a Swallow/Shrike/Bush Cat - medium sized, large belly, light brown and yellow coloured body. Beautiful chirping sound that I can’t possibly explain in words. These were the first birds I saw after I settled down for my reading and the introduction to these birds was so dramatic that it could beat the opening scene in a movie based on birds. I sat down on the steps leading to the verandah at the back of the house and began reading when I suddenly heard a series of beautiful chirping sounds and looked up to find 4 of these birds lined up on the tall compound. And what followed was almost mesmerizing. They all hopped sideways in quick succession and turned 90 degrees to their right (showing their sides to me) after every 3-4 hops while chirping along. They did this till the length of the compound till they reached the end of the compound and then flew away into the garden next door. It was such a perfect dance that I almost stopped breathing so I’d not frighten them away :). But as it turned out I was not destined to see another such performance again and was left yearning for it for the rest of the holiday. My guess is that these birds visit the house regularly and did so this time around only to realize that some humans had intruded into their privacy and decided not to come again till it was vacated. :( Sigh. But I managed to catch sight of these early birds coming in for their worms almost every day as they came for their food to the deserted garden next door. The photographs I know are pathetic. The birds are available in the photograph if you care to spot them. But I needed a camera with a zoom-in facility to catch them next door. Maybe next time around, I will take along a digicam and be able to catch them bang on.

As for the other birds, they weren’t so very elusive…except the Egrets to a certain extent. I saw plenty of parrots in the small Murugan temple near my house where they seemed to live. Mynas were all over the place. So were the Doves and Eagles. I got to see most of these birds whenever I trudged up to the terrace in the evenings. It was only on the third day of my holiday that as I looked skyward, I thought I saw some birds that looked different and extremely beautiful in flight. They were flying in groups of 3 or more – in a V formation. They were white in colour but had visible but narrow patches of brown at the origin of their wings as seen from below. The novice that I am, it took me a few minutes to realize that they were Egrets. The experience was enchanting. They look beautiful. On one particular day, later, I actually spotted them just a few feet above me on the terrace and enjoyed the close-up immensely. Unfortunately, I did not have immediate access to my camera to capture the scene and do think that I may have not been able to capture it even if I had had one in my hands, due to the quickness of the moment.
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Okay. Let me move on to other topics. Here’s a teaser. In my village, one common business that people are into is that of rice-flour grinding. For the uninitiated, rice-flour is the staple food in south India and is ground into a semi-liquid paste used to cook Rice (Idly) Cakes and Dosas which are had for breakfast and dinner. What do you think could be the reason why this is a popular business? Initially I was wondering why it was given that the situation in the village is not akin to the city where people do not have the time to grind rice-flour into a paste. So, if it’s not the time factor which is the constraint, what is it that promotes this business? I found out what it was from my mom. Would you like to take a guess? Actually, the explanation is very very simple. I’ll come back tomorrow/day after and put up the reason(s).

Update - Here’s why this is a popular business: A grinder costs ‘only’ Rs.3000/- but for a villager, that is expensive. She is too poor to own a grinder and instead finds it cheaper to buy rice-flour paste for as little as Rs.10/- and this is enough to feed 4 people for a day. Also, on the occasion of festivals and functions, the outsourcing of the grinding of rice-flour is essential as the deals are in large quantities.
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Nagu, the amazing workaholic, was back to help mom with her household chores. I’ve already said a lot about her but there were more incidents that reiterated her philosophies and approach toward life that I want to mention here. When my mom gave her a few containers that were stylish and told her to store her things in the containers, she simply looked at them and said “I don’t want these. I don’t need them”. When my mom asked her one more time to take it, she said “One should not be greedy. I don’t need this”. Little did she realize that she had astounded an onlooker. When my mom later pressed a bag and Diwali Sarree into her hands, she took them and smiled her way out to the road. It was later that we heard from one of our neighbours that when the latter had stopped her after seeing a broad smile on her face, Nagu had grinned and showed her the bag and Sarree and when the neighbour told her that they were nice, she asked her if she wanted the bag! She was apparently very happy about the gifts but was ready to give away the bag when someone told her it was nice! She would keep only the Sarree because it was essential. Or maybe she would have given that away as well if some one had specifically asked her for it. This natural workaholic who has only 2 light meals a day is worth more than a biography.
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The next story that I want to share is inspiring as well. The director in me wants to give it a title just to make it a little dramatic. I shall call it ‘The Making of the Murukkus’ (Murukkus are a deep-fried south Indian delicacy made out of rice flour, urad daal flour and other ingredients): Amrutha Akka as she is popularly known in the village is no mean businesswoman. She apparently makes anywhere between RS.500 to Rs.1000 a day by making ‘Murukkus’ and a few other popular delicacies. She is perhaps 65+ years old and has a pet cat called Meena (whom she calls Meeni). She employs fewer than 10 women to make the Murukkus and other eatables and a few youngsters for odd jobs. She runs the business herself (CEO, CFO et al) and has unfortunately/fortunately no heirs. (I say fortunately because heirs may end up splitting businesses these days) Her home (a glorified hut) is almost covered completely with sacks of raw material – her inventory – and cooked eatables – the products – and a TV. She has some free space which she uses to place 2 chairs for her customers and to quickly and efficiently pack the orders (that range from 1 to 1000s) with the help of one of her ‘employees’. Local village kids run in and ask for one or two of the chosen delicacy while families coming in from the cities into the village for weddings/festivals order 1000s. She insists on advance orders and delivers on time. The quality has been good mostly but there have been some orders that were not up to the mark, which she promptly denies. She poses for me with her cat, Meena. Also shown is the place where the Murukkus are made. Hers is a clear success story. She does not market/advertise and sales are completely through word-of-mouth channels. I think there’s a lot that idle/unemployed and pessimistic youth and people in general have to learn from her.
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If you thought I was done, let me tell you that, in my perception, the most amazing part of the trip is yet to come. I think it is the most amazing part as it is almost unbelievable. It was what happened at the virtual end of the trip. At the end of the journey back to Bangalore! The climax, so to say! I came into my home in Bangalore and went into the washroom and turned on the tap and bent down to wash my face when I heard a series of continuous beep sounds and almost froze. It sounded like ‘Tweety’. I lifted my head and looked out of the window at the Mango tree outside as if expecting the tree to bring up the next moment quickly and unfreeze me…and nature did not fail me. A tiny bird that seemed to be a distant cousin of the bird that I was so tantalized by in my village flew down from somewhere and alighted on the branch of the mango tree that was in direct view of the window. The bird stayed on the branch for 4 seconds while chirping continuously before flying away. I was stunned beyond action or words. It was as if nature wanted to please me and specifically make me aware that birds that are very similar to the bird that I so admired in the village live in the city as well and visit my own garden in particular. The experience was Alchemistic in nature – one goes looking for something in a far-off place only to finally realize that what one wants was available right there in one’s regular habitat. But of course, it is the trip to that far-off land that adds to the experience and learning and brings about the awareness of what one wants. But let me tell you that I stood rooted and frozen to the spot for quite some time after the bird gave me a dekho. I don’t know if you believe this episode, but believe me; I myself was not able to believe it and seriously considered it be a hallucination of sorts in the beginning. Since then, I couldn’t lay my eyes on the bird till yesterday (thank God for Sundays)– I heard the bird chirp and went out quietly and stealthily and spent quite some time crouched below the mango tree to watch this perky little bird play around on the leafy branches. I will probably set up a camp under the mango tree every week and watch this guy go about his life in an animated manner…. Life is dramatic indeed. Tweet tweet!
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The trip to my village...

The post on the trip to my village is still in the making! :-
Till then, I thought I'd at least put up what I think is a cool photograph of one of the temples in my village. I'll bless you in advance because I know you'd want to fall at the feet of the person who clicked the snap...It was good old me who was behind the camera.... :)

The trip to my Village!

The trip that changed a few things for me: (philosophy)

I was off to my home town for a function last week. I wasn't exactly looking forward to it before I left, for I wanted to finish off a few things in office; did not want to break my routine and lastly, I did not really think I would have an exciting time in my village. But things turned out to be so different. Life does treat us to pleasant surprises. The pleasant surprises that I encountered were to do with nostalgia and learning.

I reached my village (Ponnamaravathy) at around 7 AM in the morning and was chased by a dog on my way home to start with. (What is it about me? Is it my face? :)) I wonder what he was doing running around at 7 AM instead of claiming his 40 winks. Went home to some of my near and dear relatives. Met two amazing people. One - my mom's cousin that I know very well and the second - a person I met for the first time – a construction worker who was helping us with the household chores during the function. They taught me a lot. Not in the lecturing sense but with their deeds and character. ‘Hear’ this out. You’ll be amazed.

The first person – my mom’s cousin - VM – is probably in her late 30s or maybe early 40s. VM is perhaps one of the most beautiful ladies in my extended family. She was married to her cousin (dad’s sister’s son) at a young age even though she would have had a very promising career had she studied further and gone on to work. He was a handsome doctor. They made such a pretty pair and were the talk of the town. Life does come up with the most unexpected of things; doesn’t it? True to its reputation, the googly that life threw into this particular situation was like this - It was only after the marriage that the bride and bride’s family realized that the doctor was a drug-addict. To say that he made life extremely difficult for VM would be an understatement. Anyways, he would disappear for years together and then make a sudden reappearance to her utter bewilderment and confusion. To add to the intensity of the situation, VM is the only child to her parents and was born after a lot of prayers and a number of years. She doesn’t have any children as well. So, she’s a loner with her old parents. VM’s parents did a lot to get their daughter’s hubby out of his habits and the word goes that they’d succeeded as well. But the current situation is that he’s been missing for 6 years now. We don’t even know if he is ……. But VM continues to live with the belief that he is alive and might chose to return someday. But I am giving you this story only because it will help you understand what I am coming to. The heartiest of laughs in the whole crowd of people that was there in the function was VM’s. :-) Not only the heartiest, but also the most frequent. One of my aunts has a brilliant sense of humor and VM and I were laughing our intestines out on every joke that she cracked. But I couldn’t beat VM’s laugh! The rest of the folks who probably crib their heads off even if they don’t get to see their daily TV serial could only muster a smile at times. Oh, the irony! Does this tell you what joy is? It told me. To my mind, the happiest person is one who can laugh her heart out. - Definitely not the one with all the so-called pleasures and luxuries of life but the inability to laugh/smile and admire nature. And guess what? VM goes to meditation classes. But her laugh has been there ever since I remember, as a school going kid, long before she went to meditation classes. Suffering does make a person better. Better in terms of character and better in terms of helping her/him understand the value of life and enjoy it.

Talking about meditation, there was this man sitting behind me in the bus I took from my village to Trichy on my way back. And what he was telling his friend was interesting. Shows you what’s happening to people in the villages as well. He was telling his friend that he was an extremely shy character and ever since he started attending meditation classes, he has become a frank person with very little inhibitions! He has started speaking his mind. That was interesting. I have reasons to believe that he is probably a teacher at the village school.

Before I go back to talk about this second amazing person that I met, let me recount two other things that captured my heart. The bus I took went through many tiny villages on its way to Trichy. On two occasions during the trip, my eyes encountered amazing visual treats. One was that of a lush green field above which there was a flock of pure white birds (geese?) flying home in a beautiful formation. This was when the day was bright. Another was when it got darker post 6 PM. A flock of dark coloured birds flying across a dark field and tall coconut trees against an orange and grey sky! How I wish I had captured these on camera!!

The second person that I want to talk about is unbelievable. She is a construction worker and goes by the name Nagu. Probably in her early 30s. Single. No known relatives. I have no idea about her childhood days. I have no idea if she lived with her parents or was all alone. Within a few minutes after I reached my home town, I noticed my mom and my aunt speak to her in a very kind and loving manner. It was clear to me that there was something about her that my folks liked. I did not have to wait for long. I heard her story from both my mom as well as my aunt before the end of the day. Nagu is an extremely quiet person. She is slightly hard of hearing. She rarely talks unless she wants more clarifications on the task that she has been assigned. She does anything that is asked of her any number of times without even reacting to it with the slightest of irritation which is most of us are wont to do. She works tirelessly. She would even wake up at 2 AM if she were asked to help out without so much as a murmur. She eats very little and just twice a day and doesn’t ask for anything in particular. She desires almost nothing including money. She works but doesn’t ask for the money. If she is given money, she takes it. Else, she just continues to work as if she was born to do nothing but work. She would very quietly go and sit near my aunt’s feet when she did not have anything to do. There’s a lot more to this lady but I just could not find that out since my trip was a short one. I know only what I observed and what was told by my folks. What an amazing lady! What a peaceful life! I hope to meet her again. Hey, and read this stuff that I got in my Thought for the Day mail a couple of days ago – how very closely related to this lady’s character this bit of philosophy is!

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A Thought for the Day From Sri Eknath Easwaran
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February 11

To be a Sufi is to cease from taking trouble; and there is no greater trouble for thee than thine own self, for when thou art occupied with thyself, thou remainest away from God. - Abu Sa'id


Do you want to be free? Most of us are held hostage in life by our likes and dislikes. We are bound hand and foot by countless little preferences in food, clothing, decor, entertainment -- the list goes on and on.

For example, the person with rigid tastes in food is likely to have rigid tastes elsewhere as well. He will probably enjoy only one kind of music, she will appreciate only one style of art, and when it comes to people, he has very definite allergies. In any case, he is conditioned to be happy only so long as he gets everything the way he likes it. Otherwise -- which may be ninety-nine percent of the time -- he is unhappy over something.

The way we respond to small matters reflects the way we will respond to the larger matters of life. So, if we can begin to release ourselves from our little likes and dislikes, we will find that we are gaining the capacity to weather emotional storms. Then we can try to face whatever comes calmly

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OK, a little more about my beautiful village before I wind up. I went down memory lane and it all felt so very nostalgic. I visited the good old house where my grandparents lived (they don’t make them like that anymore. Yes, I clicked a few snaps of the house), went to some of the temples that we (grandparents, aunts, cousins) used to frequent when I was a kid – what a feeling that was! As kids, my cousins and I used to wait for the yummy prasadam (Food made in the temple and served to God before being distributed to the local devotees) to arrive home from the main village temple – Puliyodharai (Tamarind Rice) and Sakkara Saadham (Jaggery Rice). I saw those two lotus-filled ponds in the centre of the village. The one with a temple in the backdrop is a marvel. Also visited the small Ganesha temple right in front of the pond. The old tamarind tree next to the temple. The small and quiet Murugan temple with a flock of screeching parrots on its trees very near my house. The village bus stand had undergone a complete transformation since I last saw it 6 years ago. The Big Ben like clock though is still there. There are more shops, more vehicles, more houses, and more pukka roads…

One another thing that caught my eye was a mobile operator’s transmission/reception tower right next to my grandparents’ good old house. As I stood poised to click a snap of the narrow pathway to my grandparents’ house from the road, a thin dog came and stood in front of me and let his tongue out as if to tell me that he couldn’t understand what in the world I was doing standing there on that hot day and anyways, whatever it was, I could think about it only after giving him some water. Life is beautiful. My village lures me. It teases me into abandoning the city. It is interesting how one begins to relish and value things more when they can’t be taken for granted.
When did you last go to your village?

My A&N Trip - The Whole Story - Dec 15 - 21 ('Twas Before the Tsunami)

Every time I set out on a tour, I watch the world with a renewed sense of wonder. Especially mother nature. It’s amazing what just a good number of trees and a huge reservoir of water can present to the eye. An overwhelming sense of being a part of something that enthralls even as it makes one feel like a non-entity in comparison. It was a long-awaited tour. A tour for which many a ‘battle’ had to be waged. A dream come true. A trip to the magical A&N islands.

I shall not recollect the events in chronological order. For it not only strains my weak memory but also makes the whole thing a tad boring. Random recollection is what I shall resort to. That is what gives me the thrills. A recollection arising out of impressions and connections. Imagine having a whole sea to yourself! Imagine having a conversation with the sea all by yourself! Lucky me. I don’t have to imagine.  For I had the opportunity. (Do you see green?) Let me tell you what happened. It was the Baludera beach. It was nearing 3.30 PM when we reached the Baludera beach at Baratang after having seen the mud-volcano. There was a vast stretch of land with narrow strips of water finding its way through here and there in front of the beach. There were 2 native ladies fishing in a narrow stretch of water and there was a very nice-looking wooden-logs bridge leading to the beach. We took the bridge and went up close to the beach. I then collected my book (PLUM – Summer Moonshine), camera and CD player and went over to where the water had made up its mind to come till. On the way, the ornithologist in me cocked an eyebrow on seeing a flock of small and cute birds in search of food a little distance away from the shore; in another narrow strip of water. I ran up bag and everything only to see the birds fly away.  . When will I learn to be a professional bird-watcher and not scare away birds? I ventured back to where I’d decided to deposit myself till I’d be allowed to. Sat down on the sand, plugged into the music, opened the book and (actually) stared into the sea. There was a group of trees to my right and to the left the sea seemed to have no end. There were a few people having a swim and splashing around in the water. Not a typical crowded beach you might see in a city, mind you. It was around 4.15 when I realized (to my joy) that most of the people had walked back to the bridge and a nearby shelter. I was almost left alone with the sea. In a few minutes, even the couple of people who were still there, left. I was alone with the sea. What a feeling that was! Absolutely no noise except the soft clap of the waves. (this sea unlike many others that I’ve seen seemed to be extremely modest and quiet). I was listening to some of Illayaraja’s old (70s) songs and felt like there could have never been a better experience than what I was going through. The waves on close observation I felt were certainly dancing to the music. I wanted the moment to last forever. I did not want to move from the spot. I wanted to turn into stone at that very spot. But it was not to be. I was almost rudely awakened from the dreamy moment by my folks calling out to me that it was time to go. It was 5 PM. And it gets dark by 5 in Andaman. I wouldn’t find my way back to the car if it got dark, I was told. I had to leave. Did I hear the sea say something as I was on my way back? While this was an occasion when I had a long chat with the sea all by myself, there was another contradictory occasion when I met the sea in a different disguise at a different place for just a few fleeting moments.

This time the sea had a simply cool look. It was awe-inspiring. It was breath-taking. I was mesmerized and dumb-struck when I laid my eyes on the beach just behind the Dolphin Resort at Havelock Island. It was an occasion when words don’t suffice to express one’s feelings. What was so special and different here? It was just the colour. And the water-based flora. But it made all the difference to me. The sea was green in colour. A bright yet light green. And there were a couple of trees that had grown in the water just a few meters away from the shore. There were also some barren branches jutting out here and there. What a view that was! The problem here was that we were given only 10 minutes to get back to our car. Because, we still had to visit another beach and return to the ship that was to leave Havelock for Port Blair. What a pity. But the scene continues to remain in my mind’s eye. Needless to say, I clicked away to glory on the camera and the photographs that have come out are there to remind me of the view. But the photographs are only a weak reminder of the real scene that touched most of my senses. Let me rewind a little to go back to the experience I had on the ship journey from Port Blair to Havelock. It was a cool experience. It came at the right time. Just when I was beginning to think that it was a waste for me to have lugged along my books with me on the trip. Whenever would I get the time to read books? Well, this was it. 4 hours on the ship – M.V Ramanujam – and nothing else much to do. I paced the decks on the ship for the first few minutes and then settled down on the metal stairs leading from the upper deck to the lower with a cup of coffee (bought at the ship’s cafeteria) with my book. I read my book for about 2 hours with breaks in between. The breaks were utilized to stare at the sea of water all around me and a little bit of ship-exploring. Nice experience altogether. The other beach that we went to in Havelock was the Radhanagar beach. It was, we were told, the most popular beaches of all. The water was, I later learned, turquoise blue in colour. But personally, I did not see anything extraordinary in the colour of the water here. It was extremely crowded unlike all the other beaches we had visited through the trip and maybe that was what made it less fascinating for me. I love solitude. Or maybe I hate crowds. ;) Anyways, I ventured into the water here and got myself a lot wetter than at any other beach. After which, we only had time to have a very quick lunch at a place called Dreamland Restaurant. The food was pathetic and I just had the Dal and the Rice and left the rest of the food untouched. On the way back to the ship, we saw a lot of ducks quaking and waddling around. They were so cute. I wanted to get off and play with them, but then, the ship wouldn’t wait for us. The ride down to the harbor from the beach was something I enjoyed. The greenery, the birds and the quietness of the roads reminded me of the English countryside that Enid Blyton describes in some of her books. It would have been a great experience to walk on those roads rather than whiz past them in a car.

What do I talk about next? Let me go through the rest of the Baratang experience. Rewind. The trip from Port Blair to Baratang, BTW, was the high drama part of the whole trip. This calls for some talk about history and culture. Andamans has its share of tribal population. There are supposed to be 6-7 different tribes that inhabit certain parts of the island. Their population though has apparently dwindled over the last 7-8 decades. These tribals still lead an unbelievably laid-back and ancient life. Some of them are hostile while some others have just got convinced that we aren’t dangerous or have learned to ignore us (we - people who pass through their territory). So, where were we? Yes, the trip from Port Blair to Baratang involved passing through a dense forest inhabited by a tribals called the Jarawas. These weren’t said to be very hostile but the Andaman government still took the necessary precautions, had a set of rules – the Dos and Don’ts, that is. At the beginning of the forest the rule was that we were to wait for a particular number of cars to come together. Then, the fleet of cars were escorted into the forest by policemen occupying places in the car/van that went in first and the one that went in last. Obviously, they were armed. The van that went in first sported a red flag while the last one in had a green flag. There were 12 cars I guess and we were probably 8th in the line. We were instructed not to honk, not to scream, not to call out to the tribals (were we to come across them), not to offer them any food/clothes etc, not to open the windows etc. I did gulp a little before we began the trip into the forest, not knowing what was in store. What if the tribals were looking out for some bespectacled human to sacrifice at the altar of their God?  what if they’d just invented a new poisoned arrow that they wanted to beta test?  I was reminded of the Phantom, and Tintin comics and felt a tingling sensation in my spine. Hey, but I exaggerate…slightly. ;). We went into the dense forest and kept our eyes and ears wide open for tribals. We’d covered almost the entire distance when we heard noises. There were 4-5 kids from the tribal community standing by the side of the road and screaming. One of the kids had a stick and a clot tied to it with which he hit all the cars passing by. We saw two adults (women) as well. Both of them were wearing dresses made out of leaves, twigs and some kind of beads. That was all there was about the tribals as far as our trip was concerned. (we did not sight them on our way back to Port Blair the next day). Now, we’d left Port Blair at around 6 AM and once we reached the end of the forest, it was around 9.30 AM and time for breakfast. There was a small motel near the sea backwaters that we were facing and we had a few minutes to go for crossing the sea backwaters by boat to the other side – Baratang. The motel was as dirty as you could imagine. But people (all the 12 vans/cars that crossed the forest together) didn’t seem to care. Everyone expect me had breakfast there. I made do with a packet of groundnuts and chips. The boat that transported us across the sea backwaters was a strong and sturdy one that actually carried the cars; 4 at a time. We got out of the car and stood by the side of the boat and reached the other side (Baratang) in about 10 minutes. It was a cool ride as the water was covered with Mangroves on either side. We landed at Baratang and realized that it was a small village with just a handful of houses and shops. We were to stay in a hotel for the rest of the day and only return the next morning. So, we walked up to the hotel which was just 2 minutes away from the place where we got off. Two rooms had already been booked by the tour operators that were handling the tour for us. We were to stay in a deluxe room. You’d be amused to see what the ‘deluxe’ room was like though!  The room next to ours was a ‘super deluxe’ room and the difference was in the flooring. Oh God! I had a nice laugh seeing the rooms and thinking of how they were referred to. Anyways, after relaxing for about 30 minutes, we left to see the caves that were famous for Stalactites and Stalagmites. This was almost an hour’s ride from the place we were staying into the sea backwaters. We went by a small boat that was ‘navigated’ by 2 young men. When we’d been in the boat for about half an hour, we saw one of the men get a bucket and collect water that had got into the boat through cracks and pour it out!!!!!!!!!  we were traveling in a boat with holes - that let water in!  I don’t know how to swim but this was somehow very amusing and hilarious. I looked around at my folks and, not surprisingly, saw some bewildered expressions! ;). Anyways, the most exciting part of this journey was when we reached the mouth of the caves. The water was completely covered with mangroves and there was a small and narrow path that had been made out to reach the land that had the caves. It was so exciting to get in between the mangroves and navigate the twists and turns. Once we got to the land, we had to walk up for about 10 minutes to see the caves and the stalactites and stalagmites. It was just cool. Some of the stalactites and stalagmites were white and glowing, some brown with age and some still dripping wet.

Later that night, in Baratang, we ventured out for a walk just before dinner, encountered some local people chasing a centipede, went to a small Ganesha temple atop a hill, and asked a small motel chef to make Dosas for us for dinner!  (That was a favour because only Rotis sell there and Dosas aren’t made at all)

The next day morning, the trip back through the forest and out of Baratang went off without any tribal encounters. Once we reached the end of the forest toward Port Blair, we had breakfast in a roadside hut-hotel! after breakfast, we were just wandering around waiting for the driver of the car, when I spotted a really cute bird to my utter joy!  It was a bird with feathers of 3 colours. Blue, Orange and Black. I ran up to the car, got my camera and crept up to the small water tank where the bird was perched with hope in my heart and a grin on my face. I caught him on the camera twice and crossed my fingers and hoped the photographs would come out well. you ought to see the snaps. Err….they’ve come out well, but you’d have to be a keen observer to spot the bird in the photograph. (I couldn’t have gone very close to the birdie as he would have certainly flown away; remember those birds in Baludera)

Rewind to day one. We went to a beach called Corbyn’s cove. It was absolutely deserted except for some tired and hungry street or shall I say, beach dogs. The beach was great. The shores were lined with coconut trees and there were a couple of steps leading to the water. Hard to describe with my limited vocabulary. Thanks to all those trees, it was a nice and shady beach. The dogs came looking for food and refused to budge. Gave the dogs some jellies but they smelt the jellies gave me a ‘are you crazy?’ look and refrained from eating them. Even before reaching Corbyn’s cove, we stopped on the way at a temple overlooking the sea. The view was superb as there were small rocks in the water that the water was crashing against. There were some cows and a calf which had deposited themselves beside the sea on the road. All of them were lazily chewing cud. My dad’s colleague’s wife and I went and patted the calf and then came off as he threatened to return the favour.

The other place we went to (in the evening on day 2) was Chidiya Thapu. Now, here is the context - we did not know that we were at Chidiya Thapu! All the driver had mumbled was that this was another picnic spot. This place was quite different. A spot at the southernmost tip of Port Blair, it had still and just knee-deep water for more than probably half-a-kilometer into the water. We picked up a lot of shells here and waded into the water and stood staring at the water, the sky and the trees beyond. After gaping at nature for sometime, we decided to go back to the car only to find that the driver had disappeared. It was around 4.30 PM. That was when a truckloads of tourists turned up. We were wondering where our driver had disappeared to, for almost 20 minutes. He finally turned up after a while and then we left. Just outside the tourist area, there were a few shacks where Bajjis and tea was being sold. We drank tea and dug into some tasty Bajjis. It was a little after 5 PM and people were watching the sunset. I did not get out of the car though and managed to see the sun through the window from across the road. Well, guess what, the next day, we got to hear from people at our local guest house that the place we were taken to on the previous day was Chidiya Thapu and it was most famous for birds chirping around and the sunset! I was almost seething with anger. We did not know, else we would have, of course, endeavored to step into the nearby forest to spot birds and would have waited long enough to see the sunset from the ‘beach’ and left after 5 PM. The driver had disappeared even without telling us what this place was all about! I was pretty upset for a long time after that and will never probably forget to feel bad about this. Some things as I’ve mentioned elsewhere too are just not meant to be.

Another wonderful and small island that we went to was Ross island. It is very close to Port Blair. We went by the regular jetty. Stepping into Ross island, we discovered that it was a very small island where the Indian Navy had a base. It was once the Britishers’ base too. Most of the buildings built by Britishers there were all destroyed and razed to the ground, apparently during a Japanese attack. There was one spot on the island where the sea waves were hitting a broken wall quite wildly! We then walked up a steep road to also see the somewhat attractive remains of a church. After that, was a cool flight of open-air stairs that led to a lovely beach below in the rear of the island. There were plenty of coconut trees and tender coconuts that had fallen off. In the same jetty that we went by was a big gang of people from Rajasthan. They seemed to be having a whale of a time at the island (And why not? What a refreshing change for those folks from a hot and dry desert!). They also went on a coconut-breaking spree and went on guzzling down coconuts! I was surprised that they seemed to be enjoying the coconuts more than the sea. (But then, neither do they have access to tender coconuts in Rajasthan). We came back to the Jetty-boarding area through a graveyard (created during the Britishers’ time) and saw some deers! We had 30 more minutes to go for boarding the jetty back to Port Blair and spent time just sitting and lazing around and playing with one brave deer that came looking or rather demanding for food. After we left the place (and the place became deserted) and just began to make our way back to Port Blair on the jetty, we saw a peacock making its way through to the place where all of us had been sitting, apparently hunting for food!

The last island that I have to talk about is North Bay. It was about 45 minutes away by jetty from Port Blair. We went up there already aware that it was a place meant for snorkeling and had no other attractions. The jetty was stopped a little away from the shore. Once we got off the jetty, we were taken in batches to the shore by a smaller boat. I had to wait for about half-an-hour before it was my turn to go snorkeling. I had a little bit of a problem wearing or rather learning to breathe through the tube that was to provide the path for oxygen into my lungs. Also, I had to remove my glasses to wear the water goggles and started wondering if I’d be able to see anything at all. Anyways, I managed to get used to it and went snorkeling though only for a few minutes. As I was just beginning to enjoy experiencing the underwater world – the corals and the fishes – the guide guided us back to the shore.  It was a great and thrilling experience. I felt like I’d hit the corals with my feet but, of course, the goggles were what made it seem like the corals were very close to the surface of the water. After snorkeling, we just sat down and relaxed till it was time to head back to town.

I have only written about my experiences with water. Let me quickly run through the rest of the places that we went to. It is not fair to sideline them altogether - water does seem to be so charming and make land and its attractions seem less appealing. We went to a science museum that was amazing. But I did not have the time to go through every counter there. There was one section called Fun Science that was simply cool! It would undoubtedly be a great place for school students to learn and understand Physics. I swear. In another sea-life museum that we went to, I saw a board that attempted to explain the basics of sea life and read something that amused me  . The board trying to explain the concept of the underwater food-chain read ‘the greatest of activities under the sea is eating’. 

Another great place we went to was Mount Harriet. This was on our way to Port Blair from Bratang. Mount Harriet is the highest peak (or is it the second highest?) in Andamans and needless to say, the view was breath-taking. We could see the sea, some beaches, lighthouses and a few small islands. In Mount Harriet, we also came across some cute, cuddly and friendly cats! 

The two other places we visited were the Gandhi Park and the Marine Park. Gandhi’s statue in the former was very artistic and inspiring! In the latter, there was a nice statue of Subhas Chandra Bose. This park was facing the sea and had a nice little wall along the sea where one could seat oneself and watch the water. I stole a few moments here and listened to some instrumental music. I still remember the lovely sea breeze and the music that I was treated to.



Kaala Paani. How can I forget the cellular jail??? Would I be forgiven or for that matter would I forgive myself if I did not mention this? On day one, we saw the sound and light show at the Cellular Jail. It was a recorded show as narrated by Naseeruddin Shah. The programme was conducted using sophisticated audio equipment and moving lights. It was in the open air and slightly cold. . Before the programme began, we were seated and had to wait for a few minutes during which I had a great time. It was wonderful. It was around 7 PM and not knowing what to do, I just looked up at the sky and almost gasped for the sky was beautiful with a multitude of twinkling stars! As everyone was waiting for the show to start, it was very quiet and I enjoyed those moments immensely. We couldn’t look up the cells in the jail, on the same day and went back to see them only on the 4th day of our vacation. The cells were as one would expect any jail to be like. We also saw the eerie gallows. What was great were the various galleries. One of the best things that I liked and felt nostalgic about was the Aug 15th, 1947 paper – the statesman. There were advertisements by the Tata Industries, Bajaj, Hindustan Motors, and a few other companies whose names I am not able to recall. There was an advertisement for nail polish and an advertisement for shaving cream. The advertisement for the latter was something to the effect that one should look smart to be able to do good business!  (Big deal; now its about wooing the girls)

Finally, coming to the last few reminiscences of the trip, the guest house that we stayed in was a very quiet and secluded spot. We stayed in the first floor of a building atop a hill and the view was quiet nice though the sea wasn’t to be seen from there. The view presented many small houses, a small and peaceful-looking temple and huge groups of arecanut trees. It was, overall, a serene place. We did not really get to spend a lot of time in the guest house except on 2 days when we returned early from our local trips. On the day that we left for Bangalore, I went up to the temple and said a quick prayer.

The car driver who took us around claimed to be a Tamilian whose ancestors had settled down in Andaman. He said his name was Subramanian but he was known as Chotu. The name Chotu is explained by the fact that the Andaman people spoke Hindi even though the population was very cosmopolitan comprising Bengalis, Tamils, Malayalis etc. Finally, we had access to some good meals at the restaurant called Annapurna. 3 Lunches and 1 dinner was had at Annapurna, 3 Dinners at the guest house and on the remaining occasions, we had to make do with food available in roadside shacks and motels.

BTW, I think I’ve said it all, omitting no significant detail whatsoever. Just hope you aren’t saying that somebody should have stopped me. Well…anyways, the trip will remain etched in my memory for years to come. For both the good and the bad reasons. I am just hoping that I don’t continue to feel repelled and imagine a tsunami coming when I see beaches, for ever, after having loved and admired them so much.

My A&N Trip - Post #2

My escapades in A&N - 15th Dec to 21st Dec (I'll be putting up a link to this post later)

PS: At the time of writing this, it is disheartening for me to mar this otherwise joyful recollection by also mentioning that we at home have just been watching the horrifying news of the earthquake in Indonesia and the subsequent tsunami waves across coastal areas in India including the A&N islands, on TV. Seen in this light, my narration might almost seem in bad taste. The irony is that I admired the sea and was fascinated by it so much just a few days ago only to now see it undergo a scary transformation into some thing that has swallowed so many lives. So unexpected. So devastating. It cuts the heart like a knife, to see the video footage and thousands of people being washed away. Can’t help thinking of what might have happened if we had gone a little later than when we did or extended our stay or for that matter, if the tsunami/earthquake had struck earlier! Why did this have to happen? Why were so many innocent lives claimed by the otherwise charming sea? I just can’t go on….please pardon me for the timing of this post. Or, on second thoughts, I will not put up this post for some time to come. Sometimes, reality sucks. I wrote most of this – let’s say 60% of it – before the tsunami struck terror in the hearts of so many thousands of lives. I went through an unexplainable experience finishing the rest of my experiences in the trip as every word seemed to have another meaning. I just couldn’t utter words like serene, and joy, for example. Even for the reader, these words would sound almost sadistic. Whatever positive the feelings I went through during the trip, the change of circumstances has made them seem sadistic…I hope I'll feel better enough to put up the link to my original escapades in A&N...

The A&N Trip

I've been working on my Blog post about the A&N trip that we went to between the 15th and 21st of December. The idea was to omit no detail whatsoever and give the reader a blow-by-blow (ouch, that sounds bad given the current context) account. On Sunday, I was half-way through my long story when I heard the TV channels screaming about the tsunami. It was such a shocking news that I, not surprisingly, did not feel like going back to my narration. I was filling it in with so much of joy till that moment and suddenly found myself at a loss for words. I discontinued writing but have just some more to go. But frankly, I don't feel like putting up the post right now, even if I am done with it. It might seem to be in bad taste to recollect the fun that we had. Ironically, I admired the sea so much when I was there. I've started my narration describing the view that the sea treats one to. And now, all I that comes to me is its fury and wrath! Ouch. What a drastic change in the scenario. What a twist of fate. What a terrible thing this is.....!

Back to Blogging

Back from a short break (or on second thoughts - long break, as we rarely have 5 continuous days off). It was one of the most unplanned and unexpectedly hectic breaks ever, I guess. I did not know what I'd be doing till I did what I did...oops. Okay. Despite the weather and the bad health, we decided to venture into the hills. All because I wanted to not let the holidays slip by. It's one thing to enjoy the holidays you get and another to steal it from office. The second might sound very tempting and satisfying, but the work that awaits one when one takes such a holiday can be enormous as the rest of the office is at work.

Anyways, we went off to Thekkady and Munnar for nothing more than 2 days. Thekkady and Munnar undoubtedly deserve a minimum of 5 times the time that I got to spend there. But things don't happen the way you want them to. The trip to Thekkady went off without any major incidents except some of the amazing views that I had at the window. As the bus whizzed past Bangalore and into Hosur, I saw some awesome Diwali fireworks through the (surprisingly) clean glass window. It was almost like I was being welcomed into Tamil Nadu with the works. 4 AM and we were nearing the guest house where we were to camp. The bus left us looking into an unnervingly silent and pitch-black road. Luckily for us, the night-watchman was awake and alert and guided us to the guest-house. We slept for a while and were up by 7 AM to drive to Thekkady. (The breakfast was quite heavy at my Dad's friend's place; Idly, Dosa, Sambaar, Chutney, Milk Sweets, Vada and Coffee. Though I appreciated their hospitality, I began to wonder why they even imagined we could eat so much! :) )

We were in Thekkady by 11.15 AM. And it started drizzling a little. While I ran around trying to drink the nature in, I kept hoping that it wouldn't rain heavily. Dad bought the boating tickets for 2 PM and we went off to have a not-so-interesting lunch in what seemed to be but was obviously not a good hotel. Anyways, that didn't seem to matter so much. After the quick lunch, we drove back to the central tourist spot and lined up for the boat ride. The boat ride summed up Thekkady. It was a phenomenal ride! I simply loved the view....sailing on crystal clear water, with forests all around, deers grazing in some spots, huge and bare but cut tree trunks jutting out of the water, birds settling down cosily in the nests that they had made for themselves on the tree trunks, cool breeze caressing the face and comfortably chill weather! It was a nice long ride that lasted about a hour and a half. The only disappointment was the scarcity of animal-friends. We managed to catch 2 huge elephants almost at the end of the ride and another lone and sober baby elephant just a few minutes before landing. (Thank God for at least those). The ride was like a dream. A treat of magnificent proportions for nature-lovers. I recommend it strongly. I would have loved to try out the guided tour to see the birdies had I had the time...!

I'll stop here and come back when I have more time to explain the rest of the trip...including the one to the paradise called Munnar.. :)

The Sydney Experience - Part II

For those of you who still aren't bored with all this talk, let me continue from where I left earlier....

Read Part I

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So, hmmm, yes, I learned about the differences between Indian cities and Sydney. The next day was a day that left me gasping for breath and pining for rest. The legs felt like they were being pulled by iron ropes.The day started pretty early and the folks at my friend's home were fortunately relaxed and not hurrying away to office because it was a Sunday. My friend - Blessy - became my guide and made me first take a walk in her neighbourhood. It was amazing. I put my camera to work right away. Click. Click. The roads, a few lovely houses including my friend's, the lake, and traces of a new bridge over the lake...

Off we went to the railway station from there. The automatic ticketing system was an interesting thing to study. Blessy did something special in the railway station. She decided to show me 2 trains, one an old one and another the most modern. The old one was called Tingara...or was it Tongara? oops....call it T----ara. Something unexpected happened. While she was showing me an old train that was parked, the train's driver saw us snooping around and came up to us and invited us into the engine-room! We clicked a few snaps and saw the train move and got off at the next station. We then went straight to the you know where place in Sydney - the Harbour Bridge & the Opera House junction - The Circular Quay! It was awesome. I loved the bridge more than the opera house, to be frank. The water was lovely. Then we went off to the botanical garden, spent a few hurried minutes and left for the next spot. The next spot was the underwater world. That was a cool experience. Then it was the skytrain ride and something to eat. We went and got some vegetarian burgers at Hungry Jacks. BTW, I survived the trip because of the Indian food that I got at Blessy's place! Not because I would never try Australian food, but because I was a vegetarian and there was nothing other than fruits and veg. burgers to satisfy my hunger out there! Okay, so....we then went to a shopping complex - Woolworths - and I was amused to see the variety of fruits and vegetables lined up! It was then a walk around the city (some of the roads - Pitts Street, Brad Street, et al). It was evening and I was for one dead tired. We decided to call it a day after a ferry ride to the beach on the other side of Circular Quay. It was getting dark and the last ferry back was at 7.30 PM. When we landed on the other side it was almost 7 PM. And well, the ferry ride was simply great. I loved the view both the bridge and the opera house from the other side! :) But when we landed I was too tired to be ready to walk down to the beach and be back in 30 minutes to catch the last ferry back to town. :( So we settled for a coffee at one of those famous coffee shops there (i forget the name). and went back on the next ferry. From there it was back home by train. That was the gist of my first day at Sydney! :)

The second day was hectic and not really worth a story. My whole body was aching and I needed to rest badly. So, I was off to the hotel. My friend dropped me at the hotel and was off to her office. I had to anyways prepare for the presentation on Tuesday. I managed to walk up to Circular Quay once again from the hotel and spent a few minutes admiring the bridge and the opera house...and the still water between the two marvels.

The next two days were all about the conference. And well, I did have a diffculty in understanding the accent. So, maybe I did not pick up as much 'knowledge' as I could have...

The conference was frankly not as exciting as the city (maybe because I was tired, new to the culture, new to the city, and new to the accent) but I got the feeling that I was at last seeing the world and getting exposed to different cultures. Some of the folks at the conference were extremely friendly... :) .... I made my share of friends from other parts of Australia, Singapore, HK, and Britian. The dinner at the end of day one of the conference was cool...having been a part of the discussion board on KM in Asia earlier in the day, it was easy for me to build a rapport with some of the others in the audience. BTW, for those of you who know Sydney, the venue of the conference was the Taronga Zoo. So, I got to see a few Kangaroos, an Emu, and a few Kaolas during the lunch break! :) Coming back to the dinner experience, I got to sit next to none else but one of the founding fathers of KM - Karl Erik Sveiby - and he had a word of advice for me. "You ought to know politics to promote KM!" was what it was. On the other side was a KM expert from UK - Neil - and he too had a few tips for me!

The view from the dinner balcony was breath-taking! The bridge and the opera house shone in the darkness and the water was glistening. The distance from the other shore was just right for some one to be overawed by the view. It was getting beyond 8.30 PM and I was trying to figure out how I would get to the hotel, when destiny introduced me to a lady in the conference that was from the same hotel! She was more than willing to accompany me on my way back...in fact, she was the one who escorted me (no, I wasn't drunk... :)) because I knew the place as much as I did the moon. ;)

My presentation was comin' up the next day and I had to prepare for it at least a little before hitting the bed. I did prepare but not to my complete satisfaction. The next day, the presentation was happening in 2 rooms simultaneously and I had to decide which one I would be attending at the beginning of each slot. So, I went up and down between the 2 venues till it was my chance to talk. The presentation went off pretty well and I managed to throw in a bit of humour here and there. There were 3 Ks associated with my presentation and I decided to ask the audience to guess what they were and one man got it right - Bingo - Knowledge (as in KM), Kangaroos and Kaolas! ;)

After the presentation, it was a little disappointing to leave the place because I had had a good time talking to such friendly people from across the world. There was this particular friend, Kersti, who made me feel at home by talking to me and making me laugh with her sense of humour. There was this other polite lady from HK, Patrick from Singapore, Stuart from Sydney, and many more other folks that I enjoyed talking to...

It was still bright when we all left the conference venue and took a ferry back to Circular Quay. I drank the view in and never blinked my eyes knowing that I might never get to see the place again in my life. Kersti was with me on the ferry and continued to make me laugh while chattering away. We got off, bid goodbye to each other and I also shook hands with some of the other friends who had come along on the ferry. I stood a while near the opera house, called Blessy from there and told her that I would await her in the hotel. I walked up to the hotel and brought a few gifts for my friend and a few others on the way. Blessy arrived at the hotel around 7 PM, helped me pack and both of us left for her place by taxi. I then had a sumptuous dinner at Blessy's place and chatted with her a while and went off to sleep knowing that the next day would see me step out of Sydney. The next day was another routine day for Blessy and her family. Blessy accompanied me on my train ride to the Airport and bid goodbye from inside the train (she continued to travel to her office). I pushed the trolley of luggage into the airport and went up and got my tickets and looked around the airport to spend the rest of time I had till the flight. And then, I was off to Singapore...And well, the Singapore Story deserves another Blog..not this one! :D

The Sydney Experience - Part I

It's been 3 months since I traveled to Sydney and nowhere have I captured my thoughts and feelings about the trip! Better late than never! It was a once-in-a-life-time experience. And I am glad I learned a few things too. But, boy, was it tiring! Just 4 days including the journey. The story of how I got to go there is worth it too!

It was another day at work, or so I thought. Among the many mails that had found their way to my inbox, was one from my boss. It was about a conference called KM Challenge 2004 at Sydney, Australia. My boss wanted to know if any one could meet the challenge of writing a paper on KM and make it there. He added that he saw it as a good opportunity to build the company's brand and esp. its KM programme. I read it and thought to myself that it would be lovely if I could make it. Anyways, writing was my passion, I'd already written and presented a paper before and it wouldn't be difficult to write another given that KM is another passion of mine. But there was a catch - there were just 15 more days to go for the deadline. Never mind, I told myself, there was nothing to lose. I could try my best and the rest would be left to Good old God. :) I decided that I would rack my brains and do my best and would neither be disappointed if it were to not be selected for presntation, nor be thrilled if it were to be. That was the attitude I went with. After all, writing and KM were my passions and I would enjoy the experience of writing on KM irrespective of the results...

The mail had come to me in the middle of the week and I used the remaining few days of the week to simply think of what I would write on. I'd decided the topic by Friday. It would be Collaboration and the creation and exchange of knowledge as associated with it. Come Saturday, I would start writing the paper at home. Saturday indeed came after Friday (very funny!) and I found myself very excited and ready for the task. Sunday evening found me ready with the draft, many headings yet to be filled in, many points and ideas yet to be elaborated. But I had a plan now. The next week was filled with discoveries of what I knew and what I did not know I knew and what I did not realise I did not know....whew! There were a few AHA moments too. Those were amazing! I loved those moments when I thought I had something! Those ideas became my pets and would surely be highlighted and spoken about at length in my paper. But here comes the best! My best AHA moment came when I hit upon the core of my paper - the central theme and what I thought was my best discovery/idea for the paper. The credit for this idea goes entirely to a book that I had read earlier - that was what had clearly inspired me and helped me discover the idea. It was a book called The Paradox Process written by Derm Barrett. Boy, do I thank my stars for leading me to that book! The book will always occupy a special place in my heart. The book was all about paradoxes and it got me interested no end. Reading the book not only left me with an enchanting experience but also got me looking for paradoxes in everything that I saw. So, that was how I came to discover a paradox associated with Collaboration. This was to be the theme of the Collaboration Model that I'd proposed in my paper. Now, I know you'll kill me or curiosity will kill you if I don't mention the paradox that I discovered about collaboration. It was the fact that Collaboration can lead to two 'opposing' things - Innovation and Reuse. (Innovation is looking at things from a completely fresh perspective while Reuse is about using something that has already been used and proven to save time, money, effort etc). So, I finished my paper a little at a time in the next 10 days and sent it across to the conference coordinators. I then let the whole thing rest including my expectations. Honestly, I couldn't even be sure that I would get to go to the conference if my paper were selected. Because my company would have to be ready to sponsor the trip and stay, which I wasn't sure of. Days passed by and I almost forgot the fact that I'd submitted a paper. I then heard from the conference coordinators who wanted me to add some case studies to the paper while being non-commital about whether it was selected or not. I added the case studies, revised the whole paper and sent it again. After another week or so, it came. The paper had been selected but I wasn't very sure if it could be presented to the audience or just published in the proceedings. I did not give up my attitude. I would let God decide whether it should happen or not. Maybe I should add the bit about the fact that it was my dream to write and present least one paper on KM in an international conference. Anyways...

I waited again and well, God had decided! I was asked to pack my bags. Next, it was time for me to wait for the company to decide whether they were in a position to sponsor my trip and stay while the conference coordinators were sponsoring the registration fees. The wait was worth the time in gold. It was approved and I got down to booking the tickets and getting ready for the trip! That's in fact another story altogether. It was a tough test - a test of my patience and resilience. This was the time when my company had initiated a conference of its own. The task was a mammoth one given the size of the company and the expected participation. And guess who was leading the task force? Yours Truly. It was a test that would put a good juggler to shame! Mails were pouring in, the various competitive events that we had launched were 'coming (getting) back' to (at) me. I was left with no time to take a leisurely sip of water. I found that I had no time to prepare for my conference - the KM Challenge conference - I had enough to do handling the company conference activities. I had to yet prepare the presentation (PPT version of my paper), I hadn't rehearsed, I hadn't thought about other things like my luggage, things to buy and what not. And well, let me throw in the fact that this would be my very first international journey! Boy, there were quite a few things I did not know...! (Blllththt)

Even while I struggled with the situation, time passed and I managed to prepare for my trip while juggling the company conference activities amidst a few tight situations, and arguments from people who did not seem to understand.

Let me now come to my actual trip - is it only now that I am getting to talk about the actual trip? oops...this blog is getting to be a really long one :(. The trip was cool. The journey from Bangalore to Singapore was a short one with a good dinner. The view was amazing. When I landed in Singapore, it was 4 AM. I just couldn't help calling my cousin in Singapore once I landed there. It made me feel much better after having set foot on foreign soil (carpet actually :)). The Changi airport, needless to say, was awesome. I was tired and sleepy, but I managed to see a bit of the airport, have coffee and check my mails. It was time for the Australian leg of the journey and I reached the gates where I would have to take my flight to Sydney....(Ummm....oops...I need to rewind a bit here... ;-).... When I knew for sure that I would be going to Sydney, I wasn't unduly worried about going to a foreign country for the first time and that was only because I had a friend there! Look how God takes care of us! This friend of mine was with me in my previous organization and is known to be a very friendly and helpful person. So, I'd called her, sent her mails and told her that she was in for a shock and that I would be nagging her for a few days. She had graciously accepted to put up with me for the inital 2 days of my stay at Sydney...and how she would repent that :) ). Well, okay...I was here ready to take my next flight to Sydney. It was a breeze and the 7.5 hour journey from Singapore went off without any major incidents as such. It was a little disapponting that I did not get a Window seat and couldn't enjoy the view thru' the journey. But I had to anyways prepare for my presentation and I did that. And...Ahemm...I managed to watch 'The School of Rock' on the way - 1.5 hrs gone there.

When I reached Sydney, my friend was dutifully there to greet me and take me to her home. On the way , she and her brother took me to the Harbour Bridge and Opera House spot and what I saw was breath-taking. It was a dream come true. It was nearly 10 PM, there were very few people, the water was sparkling under the lights, the bridge was smiling down at me, the opera house was sitting there watching people and showing off....wowee. Cool! I had had a taste of the best of Sydney within an hour after setting foot on the Sydney Soil. Jet Lag? What's that? But well, I did not have the question for long. Things changed the minute I left the spot and moved toward home. :) I reached home, had a light dinner and then slept like (a log) I hadn't for 10 days. Now, I knew what Jet Lag was...

The next day was an eye-opener of sorts. I got to know the way Sydney lived, worked and enjoyed life. I got to know the difference between Indian cities and Australian cities. Thanks to my friend....

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Hey, I am back to this draft after a gap of 10 days...If you still want to read the rest of it, I'll have to come back for the second part. Let me at least publish this one for now! :)

READ PART II