Terrorism
Whats the aim? People die, but of course they cannot kill all the people they hate. They want attention. But among all bunch of groups claiming responsibilities who gets the ownership. I guess nobody knows by doing what can we get rid of this problem. The reasons are may be known but the problem is too big right now to even think of solving it.
Day after the jaipur blasts, I reached office unaware of anything. I was puzzled by a mail from my friend just asking if everything ok back home. It was good that another close friend mailed me who knew that all was ok. It didn't even cross my mind that a bomb blast or even some other natural calamity can happen there. It has been such a peaceful city for sometime now. I saw the images after and recognised the places. It hits you hard. Images more than all the words. So far I always thought its really bad for the people who suffer. Only this time I knew how it really felt. I was there just two weeks back riding the same roads. I did my shopping around that area. My cousin takes the same roads everyday for work.
Jaipur is one of the biggest tourist destinations in India. Its a fast growing city in the region. Its a metropolitan now. But to me terrorism never made any sense anyway. It may help them to get attention but now people are too used to it. Strictly talking the markets went up the day after london blasts. Jaipur blasts, people barely heard about. It has stopped registering. Thats the world we live in.
How I lost 10 Kgs !?!?
This is a declaration(i did it!), a wonderment(does the word exist!) and record of what I did about those 10kgs. Long time since I did something entirely for personal reasons. It was always professional for sometime now. :)
Though not many people notice. My mom as usual says that you look thinner. But that she used to say even when I moved from low 70s to 80s to nervous 90s. I always had a resolution that I will never be in the 90s. The first day I netted 90.4 on the machine, I got psyched out enough to do something about it.
I don't exactly remember when I started but jogging around the imperial palace here last summer was the start. Its a good 4.8km of track around the palace surrounded by a moat, lined with trees. I sometimes used to do two rounds. I even tried three once and thats when I screwed my knee. My dinner those days were one or two bowls of daal and a couple of oranges/apples. And those were busy days at office. I used to come back from office at 9ish and go for the jog come back 10ish and putting together a full dinner was anyway a big hassle. Also lunch at office is usually very early. And once I followed the routine for a few days it was surprisingly easy to go without the dinner. I did push in an evening coffee/snack those days. Weekend binging with friends was always there. So in a way I was not starving myself. Diet wise it was as easy at it gets.
Winter and my screwed knee meant the jogging stopped. But I started squash on the weekends. It was two days of squash+gym but more often squash+swimming. In those days I was sort of stuck midway in these 10Kgs. And I don't recall how I broke through that but pretty soon I was approaching it. These days squash has also stopped and have finally started using office's in house gym. I never liked working out at a gym. Its indoors and its lonely :). But it does feel good after a long day at office to do that. Also I found out a nice public swimming pool near my house. Will go there more often. My swimming still sucks. Its embarrassing to splash water all over the place while people around me pretend to be fishes.
After the recent trip back to India I have eaten my way back into a couple of these 10kgs but now I know what to do. It did take close to 12 months but will be easy to maintain. This timespan included trips back home, my parents visiting me for a month, meaning I was back on heavy dinner schedule for a month in between etc. But I am surprised by the ease of it. I was just a little conscious about it, regular workouts in whatever way was convenient at that time and avoided overeating all the time. It feels good !!
Hello everyone.
More than a year of Blankness here. Tokyo is an amazing place, keeps you busy. OK, not that I was busy but somehow didn't feel like writing. First one feels so out of place here. Everything is different. Then you adjust, and then you like it. May be soon I will love it like all other expats living here. It surely spoils you for life.
Its a totally different developed world experience. It sure is expensive but more than worth it. People are so polite that they wont stop bowing. And guess what, the elder of the two will have the right to bow last so that he be considered more polite. The people will not help someone when needed so that one does not have to accept the fact that one needs help in the first place. I don't ask people for directions to places. As chances are they wont know it and will be so embarrassed that you regret even asking. Spring is here, the best weather of the year long good weather. All one needs is good company here and then ..Heaven :).
Who he is
I say there are 4 kind of people.
1) Who do not know anything and do not even know that he do not know.
2) Who do not know anything and knows that he do not know.
3) Who knows a lot and also do not know a lot.
4) Who knows so much that he do not know what it is to not know.
And the deadliest combo is the category 1) who thinks he knows a lot. And its a pain and i would say impossible to make them understand that. :(
Labels: Musings
Holidays on moongfali, gajak and test matches.
The perfect combination!!. I was watching the 3rd test at home and the setting was perfect to relax. It started at 2pm which was good for a late riser and went on till 9 in the night. So I just sat back munched moongfalis(roasted peanuts) and the Gajak and let holidays sweep over. It was too good to last. India lost pathetically and now I am back to slogging. But by winning the first test they at least won something on this tour.
I used to take the Rajasthan roadways bus to Jaipur from Delhi which ran every 10 minutes or so. This was very convenient(except the bidi smoking all around). Also north India is really cold now so I took the deluxe bus at least blocks out the cold. But there is a new nuisance in this also. The really busy mobile businessmen/professionals. They take these buses to make a day trip from Jaipur to Delhi. And man they try to do all their business on cell phones in the bus only. And they are generally loud speakers, understandable as one need to be passionate to run businesses. My luck was such that on three seats surrounding me there were people putting the bus journey to good use. One was definitely a hotshot CA in some hot shot firm. He was talking of PGs and PDCs from directors of companies whose net worth was in excess of 90million. Now working in India he should either be talking in lakhs or crores but whatever. He kept switching between millions and lakhs so I am not sure. Now my guess is PG is personal guarantee from a director for a new loan or something and PDC god knows what. India does follow some rules.
Another was loading and unloading "gaadis"(trucks). And I am sure none were following the schedule, all were stuck at some check naka or the other. He was loosing some real moolah. The pandu hawaldars on the nakas were the beneficiaries of this.
The last was our marketing manager from "AdyyDas"(Adidas). Some sucker in Calcutta was complaining about jackets sent by him to be loosing colors. Adidas supplies such junk I didn’t knew. Our marketing guru was saying that I am calling from adyydas and will resolve this within the hour. And I was thinking - how? by sitting in the bus !!! was going to ask "apne MBA kahan se kiya hai bhaisab."
I didn’t even notice the 5 hours it took to reach Jaipur in such interesting conversations. But I have decided to buy a handheld-cell jammer too. I am sure I can find one in this gadget friendly city of Tokyo. Will be good for these people, will help them to relax for a while. I also noticed one thing it’s an honour to look like a workaholic in India. Man he is something ... he is always on the phone, his boss can't do without him. The CA was saying to his friend that I work on weekends too. Now is that good or too good !!
All dead ?...not yet
All the blogs I read freequently are dead. I know all have busy professional lives or are preparing towards that end. Just as I read somewhere when someone asks an MBA hows life buddy ?. Pat comes the reply - life ...after MBA ?? are you kidding me. I would agree with that but guess there is no one to be blamed. I like the work but it is a bit too much. One of my freind puts it in a different way. He says you atleast have the weekend to look forward to. Cant disagree with that too. Weekends feels like heaven but usually they are very short and disappear in restocking the house and preparation of the next week. I am still wearing those torn shoes which I forgot to replace last weekend. I am still juggling those 3-4 remaining ironed shirts through the week.
On tuesday it felt like thursdays and on thursday I have to pour out all this to last the friday and then it is the much awaited weekend. Yippe!...uh .. oh...No have to get through the friday first.
BTW there was this first hindi movie Jaaneman released in "a" theatre in Japan but was so far out of here that gave it a miss. I hope somebody watched it so that there will be more later.
My own !!
The city of jaipur from the days of abandoned matches due to bad pitches has grown up to be a day and night ODI cricket matches. Not one, two but what 3 matches(i think). Even an India match. The political clout of Jaipur has shown up. Anyway, great that it is becoming a happening place. All the more reason for me to get back to my city!!. I did not know that i will miss it so much against the other places i have spent time in. Bangalore with its ultra modern laid back style and the fast paced Mumbai. Jaipur has that feel of home man.
One realise the importance of ones own things when one does not have even a single one of them. Nor the freinds neither the family, nor a city one can call his own. When with freinds one does not miss the belongingness of the family and of course at home you take it for granted. I realised all this when I am away from all of them far away. Too late. I have sort of learnt to live for the next high of meeting old freinds or the next going back home date. Work has its high and i am here for that but ahhhhhh !! these dont even match the highs of alcohol :P.
