Ride Parallel to the Bay of Bengal

The best time to visit Tamil Nadu is now. Winter time. Especially those with dry skin can spend their expenses on moisturisers on a simple trip of three days to Chennai-Mahabalipuram-Puducherry. There will be not many hitches, at least I did not experience any when I went for the trip with my friends. The only criterion is that one should be patient, energetic and cool. A budget tour with lots of fun is surely possible.

Day 1: Chennai
One thing, don't ask about accommodation in Chennai. I do not know. I have got a friend there so accommodation problem never occurred to me. Okay, starting the day at around 8 AM, there are more than enough places to see in Chennai for one day. We went to the Mylapore tank and the 17th century temple adjacent to it. This Shiva temple was built long ago but was demolished by the Portugese 500 years ago. It is as old as Ptolemy times and finds mention in the great Greek's scriptures for his world map, probably. We then went to the Egmore museum and went back in time with all the excavated sculptures of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist gods and goddesses from different periods in and around Andhra Pradesh-Karnataka-Tamil Nadu. The tour of the entire museum comprising of these stone and bronze sculptures, coins, stamps and the biology section (some stuffed animals!) will not allow you to walk away from the museum so easily.
We had lunch from a nearby restaurant and went to the Marina beach.  Yes, we went at about four in the evening and it was not hot. San Thome Church was next. It is one of the three Basilicas to be built on the tomb of an apostle (is what is written there). His relics are here, apparently. A stone sculpture of the gilder he used to move a tree is here in the museum attached to the church.
We had enough for the day though there was a lot of time left.

The beautiful Marina beach..don't worry about the persons in the photo

Day 2: Pondicherry
Early in the morning (that's 10 for me). From the Koyembedu mossufil bus stand in Chennai, there are quite a lot of buses to Pondicherry and the travel time is about four hours. The ride is quite on the ECR route which runs parallel to the beach and over the many lagoons formed into the mainland. In Pondicherry, importantly, don't be bothered by the heat, if any, have lunch in Pondicherry and go to the "White town". With some persuasion, if you are young men, and with many assurances, accommodation at the Aurobindo Ashram guest house can be obtained. The lady there was a very nice person. We did not let you down momma!!

The "Life of Pi" bridge in Pondicherry

The beach road is exquisite. A fifteen minute trip to and in the Aurobindo Ashram was what we managed before we spent the whole evening roaming on the streets in the French section of Pondicherry. Well, I do not know if I might go to Mumbai, forget France. So we saw Paris in Pondicherry. We could have rented cycles to see more of the place but missed the timings. Beware!

Day 3: Mahabalipuram

The "Old" Mahabalipuram temple

Mahabalipuram is an old sea port for the Pallavas and Cholas. It enroute Chennai-Pondicherry. So while returning to Chennai, we stopped by for sometime. Seriously, half a day is not at all enough to see this place as is a paragraph not enough to describe it. I heard that one more town was excavated nearby after the 2004 Tsunami. We did not get the chance to visit that place. Forget that place, we did not completely see the town of Mahabalipuram. Even though I visited it earlier, I felt it new. Great job by the Archealogical Survey of India in protecting the UNESCO Heritage sites really well, especially with the strong currents and salty winds threatening the remaining structures which did not sink into the sea.
Also, it was here that I had banana bajji after one and a half year of wait!

Mahabalipuram relics, maintained well..Now!

The three days went on coolly and hastle-free. A week trip in and around Chennai in the Kancheepuram district might be ideal to properly see everything there. The public transport is quite good.

Authentically Ethnic!

"Tell me, is there any restaurant in Hyderabad which serves authentic Hyderabadi vegetarian food!" I dropped my spoon. Hyderabad and vegetarian? That too authentic. I looked at the zeera rice I was eating and wondered if it was even authentic to India. I couldn't care less. I just like it and I am eating it.

Then followed the comments. "This guy says he likes Hyderabad and doesn't know any local food." Does there need to be some authentic food item to the place to love it.

For instance, do I, being from Guntur, need to be proud of the red chilli or cotton or tobacco production there? True. According to the area and the availability of resources, there are certain things unique to that place. There might be places where there is nothing unique to it. That makes the place no less special. I love Hyderabad because of the cultural mixture of the city. Nowhere in the country, I can tell you that you find such a diverse mix of people. Maybe the reason is the deccan area. It is neither North India nor exactly the south of India. Naturally, one can find a find a mixture of all Indians in Hyderabad like nowhere else.

The double ka meetha..originally from Hyderabad :P

Hyderabad cuisine has a lot to offer and I never really bothered to know if it was unique to the city. Appam originated in Kerala. Pesarattu originated in Andhra Pradesh. I will sit in Hyderabad and eat both. And does it matter that puli-hora originated in Andhra Pradesh as puli derived from pulupu meaning sour and hora derived from origam meaning rice and is now hijacked by other states into saying its their creation? It is still the same recipe and I enjoy it if it is made tasty. I regularly go to a cafe in Lingampally in Hyderabad with my friends and enjoy the Irani-chai with biscuit osmania there. I never even cared to wonder why Irani-chai is "authentic" to Hyderabad. In fact, if I ever live somewhere outside Hyderabad, I would love it if someone sells irani-chai there. I like the item and don't link the food item to a particular place. In fact, when I was in Bengaluru and Thiruvananthapuram, I struggled to find food I really liked. This authentic food - business is just a marketing strategy followed by the restaurants to increase their sales. I won't fall for it.  

Irani chai with osmania biscuit

Dating back to the independence time, we divided ourselves based on religion. After attaining freedom, going back in time, as old as from 1953, we have been further dividing ourselves into smaller states. If in the beginning it was linguistic differences, it later turned into tribal clashes, terrain based, infrastructure and development, real estate and mainly political needs. Do we still need further bias based on food? I don't think so.

FootNote: This doesn't stop me or anyone in general from searching for Vada pav in Pune, Bhel Puri in Mumbai, Dhokla in Gujarat, Puchka in Kolkata or the famous Dum Biriyani in Hyderabad.

Let the Sportive Spirit be High!!

Another tragedy hit the sporting community. It is indeed very sad and painful that a young cricketer has lost his life for the love of the game, during the game. Most shocking for the bowler because of this unfortunate event. Philip Hughes has been a very promising cricketer. The injury is a complicated one and I hope, like Farhan Akthar who tweeted the same, for mental peace of Sean Abbott who bowled the bouncer which proved to be deadly for Phil, the Australian south-paw. The video is extremely disturbing and it is in one sense nice to know that medical attention was provided immediately to him.

This is a blow to humanity. Sports have kept many countries in a friendly rivalry, have in most cases avoided wars, though sometimes they did start wars. But sports is a main tool to being friendly. That is the use of sports. Sports should never be considered a religion because they are better than religions. If religion defies science, sports in every sense follow science. As a student of physics, I am pretty awed by the physics of sports, be it cricket, football or FormulaOne. I am a Rafael Nadal fan. His play is what makes me friends with hundreds others in the world who are his fans. Makes me discuss and debate with thousands others who are Roger Federer's fans. But the common thing we have is, we love tennis, we love sports. This spirit should remain in our hearts. In our blood.

For the love of cricket!

Last year, a cricketer died. This year another. More so in F1. Jules Bianchi is still in a critical condition after his accident in Japan in early October. Such unfortunate incidents should only bring us closer to sports, and to each other than to keep us away from playing. Yes, the question about safety occurs. Why do we play with a hard cricket ball? Why do we not have a regulation on the speed of the car while racing. etc.. But no, it is not about playing cricket in a space suit. People have to be careful, yes. There should be protection. Maximum possible protection. But all these should not scare us from playing. Here, the stress is on playing. Terrible incidents happen, but we must find out ways to come out of them and keep on playing.

Outside my window in my hostel is a Eucalyptus tree which was felled to construct a bund. The tree fell in an inclination on to a rock and it was left there itself. The leaves, due to lack of nutrients and water dried up and became yellow and then brown. All this time, I have been observing the tree. I thought that is it, land of Ayurveda lost a wonderful medicinal tree. But then, a new plant started growing beside the felled one. Dying ones fade away and new ones spring. But then, two months later, I was shocked in a nice way, to see tiny green leaves on the tree. I thought they belonged to some other tree. They did not. They belonged to the same Eucalyptus which was felled. It took its time, waited patiently, dug its roots deep into the ground again and pulled water and nutrition. Yes, this is a true story.

Felled...but not fallen!!

Hughes might die and Raman Lamba might perish, Ayrton Senna might die and Jules Bianchi might be still unconscious! Micheal Schumacher might have forgotten who Schumi is!! But we must remember. They all loved the game, lived the game and still living in the form of the "sportive SPIRIT"
Let the sportive spirit live long and high, just like the Eucalyptus!! 

Meanwhile in F1

A lot in the week. If it was about Rohit Sharma and his brilliant double double ton in the country, about chess and Viswananthan Anand in the continent or the ATP tour finals in the world. It has been a busy and wonderful week for sports fans world wide. Apart from these, a very interesting season of formula one is also one. Right from beginning it has been close. Unlike the last few years where there has been not so much close racing, it is very neck to neck this year. And that too from team mates.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have never been a friendly pair for Mercedes team. Hamilton has already won a world championship but is junior to Rosberg at Mercedes. Naturally there is a rivalry instead of friendship and I have never seen them complimenting each other. All this reminds me of Alan Prost and Ayrton Senna at McLaren. Well, there is something with McLaren. Hamilton has won the world championship in 2008 at McLaren. But he came second in 2007.

                  



The last race is round the corner. At Abu Dhabi. Every body is busy preparing for it very seriously. For some time now, the F1 rules have allowed double points for the point winning ten positions. Nico Rosberg, who is 17 points behind Hamilton should win the grand prix and hope Hamilton comes third lest he feel worse for losing by just three points. But it happens. Last year even Sebastian Vettel have won closely. But of all, what surprises me the most is Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso performances. I guess, they are not given proper cars with the new rules. I can only hope Ferrari gets better soon by the next year and win the championship!

And by the way, Alonso should finish atleast two places ahead of Vettel to beat him in position atleast!! 

A Kiss of Love!!..??

In the southern most state of a country belonging to the Northern hemisphere, India, the most multi-ethnic country on the Earth, where people are punished for lighting candles on the festival of lights, a couple was beaten up for hugging and kissing in a public dhabha which led to protests against 'moral policing,' very prominent in India. While standing up against beating people, this public kissing reminds me of a telugu movie, Ye Maaya Chesave in which the hero and heroine are separated for a brief period and again meet, not in India but in New York. A dialogue the hero says then is, "This is not India, we can kiss in public." A movie naturally reflects the society and its behaviour. Are we really ready to all of a sudden accept people coming out and kissing?

Agreed, the country should be socialised. How to talk, laugh, teach, dispose waste, welcome guests. This is our culture. Whilst I am happy many people now accept this, there are some people who turned violent. We are part of the most tolerant and flexible religion, not a muscle flexing religion. We say Athidhi Devo Bhava but how well are we welcoming guests in our country and giving them nice hospitality? We also say Matru Devo Bhava, Pitru Devo Bhava and Acharya Devo Bhava thus equating parents and teachers to being the supreme. How much are we respecting them? The greatness of India and its culture can be told in terms of its accommodating capabilities. Many western ideas have been incorporated into Indian thinking. Best example, the adoption of English Calender and days into Hindu Calender. In that case we should seriously have a discussion about how to socialise the nation in accordance with the international situation. One should not walk on Indian roads with folded hands and bent head whereas in, say, Germany with hands over a girl's shoulder. Being a Roman in Rome is fine but in what sense should also be thought of.
How right is it to use the public toilets, throw waste in waste bins and buy ticket for using public transport in the United States but do exactly the opposite in India!!?? H.E.Dr.Abdul Kalam requested every Indian exactly the same.

An Urgent need for socialising the country!!

That apart, maybe, as we socialise ourselves, in due course of time, probably, kissing in public might not be considered an offense. But it is now. I don't think breaking rules and defying law comes under socialisation. According to the present society and its thinking, kissing in public is still not digested and people are uncomfortable with such incidents. In the presence of kissers, others might feel really uncomfortable, irrespective of age. And then there are children. Whatever we do, we talk about future generation! Be it pollution, resource management or scientific discoveries. Children should be free to talk, play, laugh and most importantly, be curious. What answer can a parent give to HEM curious children when asked about obscene scenes. There are definitely certain things every age group should not and does not want to watch. Why else is there a censor board in the country? We, the young people are okay with anything. However, just as the violent moral policing groups cannot impose their 'no-kiss in public idea', we cannot impose our 'kiss in public' idea! Is anyone really bothered what young couples are doing in parks in the evenings? In fact there is a section in every 'public' park where the moral police can find enough people to fight a battle. There are certain areas where public display is uncomfortable to others. Not me, who is okay with it, not someone who is not, let the country decide if it is ready and is fine with such actions. Let there be a proper definition for freedom in public. This only comes with socialisation.

I was shocked to know that the protesters were detained, not for kissing but for not taking permission. The High Court of Kerala apparently said it does not mind kissing in public when the law says otherwise. In western countries, kissing in public may not be an offense, but they have their own ways of curbing such activities. In fact, there are kissing protests in countries like Chile and Canada for things like fee hike. That we in India used kissing protest, though illegal and aggressive, against moral policing is a step towards freedom. When the Prime Minister himself is taking excerpts from Hollywood movies for his speeches, there is nothing wrong in asking for freedom to express love. I do not say that those who feel this is right should mobilise people, win seats in the legislature and change laws. No! Just because one is in a position of power cannot make his ideology a law. Let the society think, discuss and debate as to what is culture, what is the limit of love expression in public, etc.. till then, don't kiss protest in public without permission.

A protest against G20 and G8 summit

I am still wondering as to who is responsible, the media? the protesters? or the society for successfully shifting focus from discussing about Moral Policing to discussion about whether kissing in public is right or wrong?!!?
And by the way, my friend says this is how an 80-year old thinks but not a 20-year old. For you my friend, the following
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2181789/Why-20-year-olds-failing-grow-up.html
20-year old or 120-year old, one must think rationally and logically!!

Inheriting India

"The heir has arrived!!" A popular dialogue in Indian movies. Or probably I should say it is a popular dialogue in our country itself. Right from the dynastic times in our country! So we are used to not dream big and leave it to the children of great people to continue the good work in the respective fields. If Dhirubhai Ambani built an empire out of scratch, his two sons chopped it into pieces and distributed it between themselves. Now, two more 'heirs' have arrived. But to my knowledge, none of the 'heirs' have proved to be any good. Can the children of celebrities set examples like their parents did??

It is natural for living things to inherit traits from parents. But for us, we also inherit riches if we are rich and poverty if we are poor. We are used to dynastic practices in politics, business, sports and cinema, the four famous pillars of the country. Ramachandra Guha says, in the case of Jawaharlal Nehru, the sins of the daughter, grandsons, granddaughter-in law and great grandson have retrospectively visited on him. Being the first prime minister of India, it definitely took a lot of effort from Nehru, with the help of his team to integrate the country and bring it into a constructive mode. But the moment he gave in to his daughter's wish and dissolved a democratically elected government in the country, the screen for dynastic politics lifted. The dynasty is still there and has just been weakened. Nothing else. In such an inheritance infected country, I am not sure how long a non married chai wala can survive at the top post. Of course I cannot imagine what would have happened to the country if the Shehzada is crowned the king!

How many success stories, inspiring ones come out of Indian entrepreneurs? I can only recall 'Infosys' Narayanamurthy. Forget the Tatas. They are a different story altogether. Be it Azim Premji or the Ambanis, though they are very good and highly successful, can some one wanting to become a business tycoon really get motivated by them? In the United States every entrepreneur has #Hem own story, inspirational ones. Micheal Dell's is my favourite. How many love Abhishek Bacchan as much as Amitabh Bacchan? The 'angry young man' from Allahabad has such a great journey to glory much like Shahrukh Khan. But do the kapoors or chopras have any such odysseys?? If Kareena is not a kapoor, probably she would still be trying to get a chance to be in the dancers group in the background. It is also natural that in a house of musicians, dancers or sculptors, the off springs generally grow up to be good in those fields. But this is not at all like the cinema. You have to prove yourself. No second chances. Sunil Gavaskar can only lobby to get his son a place in the National team. It is up to Rohan Gavaskar to play and impress the selectors and audience which he could not.

Why is it becoming difficult for children of celebrities to think of doing something different from what their famous parent did? It is not difficult to chose a field. There are hundreds of opportunities. Superstar Rajnikanths daughters chose their own different jobs, occasionally coming into cinema field but Kamal Hasan's daughter chose cinema. She might be good but she got established as a 'Hasan' else probably she would be singing maybe. I will abstain myself from talking about Telugu film industry which is infested by this stupid inheritance. It is so appalling to see a father acting opposite the same heroine his son acted with earlier! Are the celebrity children unable to see any other profession in this world of opportunities??

There is one more very serious problem in this inheritance way of the famous people. If India is to be among the top countries in the world, it is high time we think about creating entrepreneurs, politicians, singers, actors, sports persons...not giving birth to them!! Government reforms will be helpful. More than that a change in general mind set will be most welcome. One should be brave to be adventurous and explore various opportunities in life. If Sachin Tendulkar's son becomes a cricketer, a cigarette manufacturer, who is a big fan of Sachin also might feel that, if his favourite cricketer's son grows up to be a cricketer, then his son also, like him should enter the cigarette business! How right is that? Everyone should have hem own success story. This should be the trend now especially with the Prime Minister claiming himself to be a poor tea seller in his childhood and climbing the political ladder by hard work. Fair Enough!!

Come, Make in a CLEAN India

In the last few months, the broom(jhadu) has gained more popularity in our country sweeping away many other instruments which are technologically more advanced than it is. Probably after jhadu is going to be the next 'broom' in advancement from the 'Nimbus 2000' and the 'Firebolt.' From political parties to private companies, everyone is attracted to the jhadu. So much that people are fighting in associating themselves with this magical broom.

JHADU 2014

Like any other of his famous speeches, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a beautiful speech before launching the much acclaimed project, Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan. It is nice to see the leader going out of his way to initiate such a nice campaign. It is also very clever of him to nominate an argumentative opponent, a famous sportsperson nominated to the Rajya sabha by the opposition and a film star addressing social issues for some time now to take initiative in the Swachh Bharat mission. Narendra Modi has captured the hearts of those 'thinkers' mostly the middle class through this 'dream project.' Of course, this project has had been the dream project of many leaders but nothing much has changed until now. It is not because earlier leaders could not mesmerise people like Modi. They could. It is that people just remained mesmerised. Did nothing more!!

From 'Mahatma' Gandhi cleaning toilets to Narendra Modi cleaning roads, we have praised the leaders wh ocame forward with such actions and raised them to new heights. But do we get the message? If the leader is emphasising on a clean surrounding, that does not mean he will come and clean our surroundings. If Narendra Modi keeps the Prime Minister office clean, we should keep our classrooms/workplaces clean. Everyone of us should be involved. With a charismatic leader like Modi giving a message about cleanliness, every body in the country has taken to the streets shouldering a broom. Assuming this is not entirely for clicking pictures, one question arises, is this what is cleanliness about?

The PM wants to shift the idea of using the broom for caste discrimination to cleanliness drive. How long will we still associate cleaners with low caste (I don't understand low and high here!!) or vice versa? How long will we confine ourselves to only applauding someone who takes initiative and not ourselves do the good work? When there are people finding reasons to criticise the leader how much ever good his initiative might be; When there are people who buy coconut water and throw the empty coconut shell on the road and drive away; When there are people who so involuntarily drop off chocolate wrappers as soon as they open it; When there are people who instead of in a corner of their plate, throw food waste on the table, making a heap of chewed vegetables and chicken bones thus successfully making it impossible for others to sit in the same place; When most importantly there are NO ONE questioning any of these irritating attitudes, how can one attain Swachh Bharat?

It takes more than a broom to attain a clean India. More than a vacuum cleaner. With technology, it is very easy to identify, segregate, clear and recycle waste. Energy can be harnessed from garbage too, now. There is no dearth of young people with innovative ideas, ready to work on waste management. Jobs can be created. Meghnad Desai feels that beggars can be involved in clean India campaign thus helping the country in two ways. So, the municipality will soon oust the railways in terms of number of employees. As the common Indian throws garbage where ever he wishes, the government sends an army to clean up after this. Guinness book of records will write India as the largest producer of waste yet the cleanest!! But is this what we want? No. We want less waste production than just cleaning the garbage.

Prevention is better than cure. Instead of killing the tenth grade students with coaching for entrance exams, a lot of emphasis should be on cleanliness, reducing waste production, maximising the use of renewable energy sources at the same time minimising the use of natural resources. It is not at all wrong to include in the curriculum simple things like the importance of switching off lights and fans when not in use. Even this can be a job generating opportunity.
Unemployed youth can be trained to educate people about cleanliness, use of toilets, ill effects of littering, open defecation and urination and most importantly the bad effects of over population. More health related jobs can be created too. There is a huge opportunity for private partnership too. Guess this is the emerging sector in the Indian market.

A clean environment will give confidence and security for interested people to invest in the country. I sincerely hope this is the motive behind "Swach Bharat Abhiyan" We shall all go along with those sincere leaders who wanted a clean India.