Matched

One more off the bucket list! Finally, I watched a match live in the stadium! Just one word – wow!! I went to the RCB v/s Pune IPL match on May 7th along with my friends. It’s been chaos right from the word go. One of our friends wasn’t sure whether she could make it or not. So we were going back and forth between the May 7th and May 14th matches. Once we had booked the A stand tickets for the one on May 7th, the ticket prices dropped. Just for 600 bucks more we could have got a D corporate seat. Dilemma again. Finally, we decided to go with what we have. By the way we also had an extra ticket which was sold off by my friend at the last minute. With policemen all around it must have been quite thrilling to have got rid of it I guess :P

The D-day arrived and we were all seated. We took pictures and showed off the free stuff we had got on the way :P We were very close to the camera too woohooo! There was a sober looking Punjabi uncle next to us. We were eagerly waiting for the match to begin. Just then the camera man turned and I waved to him. I did not expect him to react. I was taken by surprise when he turned the camera to us. And out of nowhere Punjabi uncle starts dancing, tummy and all :D We couldn’t stop laughing! The day looked promising. No sight of rain too. I was pumped up for the match.

As we were waiting for the game to start, someone tapped us from behind. What? Your seats? No way! We had double checked. The guy next to us says “This is F. G is the next row”. If I felt any disappointment then, it was nothing compared to what was coming next. We had booked four tickets in a shot. Imagine how unlucky we were to have got two seats each on either side of the entrance to our box. After failed attempts to convince the people next to us to switch seats, we split up. But our troubles were far from over. We were on the last seats on the bottom most row of the A stand. This meant having our view blocked by people entering and exiting the box. To add to our woes, vendors carrying all types of eatables kept walking in front of us. I have never fought off my desire for junk food as much as I did that day.

The match started and I could feel the energy in the packed stadium. The MC kept the crowd entertained. It was awe-inspiring to see thousands of people follow the instructions of a formless voice. The voice said left and the crowd waved the flags left. The voice said right and a sea of red went right. If you ever want to teach your kids the power of unity, take them to a match or concert :D As the match progressed, we got used to people walking in front of us all the time. The crowd went ballistic as Virat Kohli fielded close to the stands. I wonder how it feels when thousands of people shout out your name :) A lot of pressure for sure. Kohli was playing for RCB and Dhoni for Pune. Both crowd favorites. The sportsmanship of the Bangaloreans showed when they cheered equally hard for Dhoni too. Fours and sixes went off to the shouts of “R..C..B.. R..C..B..”. Annnnddddd RCB wonnnn!!! It was an exciting match with twists and turns. But I would rather leave cricket commentary to Harsha Bhogle :P

Irrespective of the seating problems (did I mention my seat was broken?), I am glad I went to the match. The excitement, enthusiasm and vibe is something that must be experienced. To be in synergy with so many people at once is amazing! No wonder prayer is considered so powerful. And with that, I have crossed one more item on my list. Looking forward to the rest :)

Waltz at Ritz

I went to meet a colleague at the Ritz-Carlton today. It's such a beautiful property! The interiors are grand and tastefully done. I found the staff extremely polite. The person I went to see is not only a colleague but a very good friend. He received me very well when I went to his place in Raleigh. I was looking forward to see him again. Hours went by talking about everything and nothing. Of course, we were helped by the sprawling breakfast spread available to us ;) both continental and Indian. There were different types of cereals, breads, pancakes, eggs. And dishes from all over India such as parathas, poha, kesaribath, idli vada, dosa, dhokla, sundal. So many choices for the drinks too - juice, beverage, lassi. All of them served to perfection. I have been to a lot of 5-star hotels. And the amount of food they put up never ceases to amaze me. Although, I get overwhelmed when I am presented with a lot of choices, I quite like a fancy feast once in a while :)

Book Review: The Joy Luck Club - Amy Tan

This book has been on my reading list for quite some time. It was published in 1986 (got into my list only in 2014 :P) and has spent 40 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. I picked it up because the plot revolved around the mother-daughter bond. Human relationships, especially family ties, are so sensitive and delicate. There is a lot to be learnt from each one of them. The more you learn, the more you give and soon you realize the more you will receive too. As such, I find it very hard to critique this book. It is like a bedtime story told to you by your grandmother. Magical and engrossing. Parts of it true and parts of it made up. It speaks of good and evil, boons and curses, happiness and hardship. Although the rational mind questions, the heart knows that there are fine pearls of wisdom woven into the yarns of these tales.

The story opens into an oriental setting. Four Chinese families are united in America by a game of Mahjong. They call themselves The Joy Luck Club (JLC). JLC was started as a means to be happy even in the face of adversity. “To despair was to wish back for something already lost. Or to prolong what was already unbearable”. The four families form the four players of the game, each of them with a story of its own. The mothers who are forced to move away from their roots and find identity in a new country. The daughters who are struggling to be accepted in the very country they were born. JLC unites these families which are otherwise divided on their own. After all, birds of a feather flock together. Each character has a story to share, unique in its own way.

The highlights of the book are the mothers who are emotionally strong and practical. They have a tendency to stand straight in the eye of storm. And once it’s over, they brush away the dust and move on. However, their no-nonsense nature often makes them blind to the plight of their daughters. One can feel the helplessness of the mothers and the anguish of the daughters as they fail to communicate. The broken English is a delight and many a times lightens the situation.

But the story is a bit difficult to follow if you are not familiar with Chinese names. I kept getting confused about which story belonged to whom. The characters are not well distinguished and there are no marked features which makes it all the more difficult to remember. I wish the author had elaborated more on how the events of the past in the lives of the mother shaped them and influenced the lives of their children. On a similar note, the role of JLC is not at all justified. I wish there was more bonding between the families. Instead all you see is jealousy and a need to show one up on each other. The only glimpse of true friendship is when the members of the club pool in to fulfil their dying friend’s wish.

As a reader, I expect closure to all plots in the book, however trivial they are. I did not like the way the author chose to focus on the main character towards the end. We were introduced to four families. Wouldn’t we want to know what happened to the other three? Did they resolve their issues and overcome their situations? Did they succumb to their insecurities and lose hope? Unfortunately, these questions will remain answered forever (unless someone chooses to write a sequel). Apart from this, the book is a lovely journey of the need for the daughters to blend in with the modern society and the want of the mothers to hold on their heritage.

Pretty Ballerina

My new routine has worked well to give me some time for my crafting too. I made this very sweet looking ballerina doll today. I am absolutely over joyed! :)

This is the first time I am making such a big doll. It's about 7.5 inches long. I took the pattern from here. I did not craft continuously. It must have taken me about 5 hours or so to complete it. I did run into some issues. Stuffing the hands and legs were particularly difficult. I was using a knitting needle kind of thing to push the stuffing and accidentally cut open some stitches!! :D I forgot to stitch the neck inside the head :P Yesss! If you turn the doll around, the neck is visible. That is why you don't get to touch it :D My hot glue gun was also acting up. But I am happy that I completed the doll. My stitches are more uniform. The eyes are stitched better. To top it off, I added some embellishments too. How cool is that! Very happy with the end result :)

Book Review: Scion of Ikshvaku - Amish Tripathi

I haven’t read any of Amish Tripathi’s books so far. I picked up this book because of the popularity of his previous Shiva trilogy. Scion of Ikshvaku (SOI) is the first in the Ramachandra series. The story of Ramayana is well known and so it is refreshing to see the author’s attempt to retell a classic in a realistic way. The generation today is inquisitive and does not accept anything without logical reasoning. Imagining the Ramayana as a true story minus the fantasy is challenging. But if it is possible to justify Ram as a common man who rose above the ordinary and became a shining example of virtues, I believe it will convince every one of us that we are capable of being so much more.

There are quite a few places of creative genius in this book. Ram and Sita are the protagonists and they are given their due. The usually demure Sita is transformed into an independent woman with liberal thinking. Ram’s picture of an ideal life partner to be the one who completes him and gains his respect is the true definition of a soul mate. The subtle romance between Ram and Sita is delightful. The supporting characters such as Lakshman, Manthara, Kumbhakarna, Vishwamitra have also been described well. They are presented with motives and defining natures and temperaments. Especially Lakshman who is given a total makeover. His conversation with Urmila when he leaves for vanvas is the most touching scene in the entire book. The camaraderie between the brothers is enjoyable. Characters with animalistic traits such as Hanuman, Jatayu are turned into X-men. Not really, but I liked the explanation :) The guiding principles which is the whole purpose of the Ramayana are at times explained really well such as the birth based v/s karma based caste system and the masculine and feminine ways of life. 

Having said all that, it is rather unfortunate that the flaws in the book heavily over weigh the positives. The most glaring mistake is the author’s choice of words. I don’t mind simple language. But the use of words like police, wow, and operation theatre in an ancient context is jarring. Often, a sub plot is taken up half-heartedly and ended abruptly. Case in point Bharat’s affair with the forest chief’s daughter. Details like what made Sumitra pair her sons with the other two kids, who invited Ravan to Sita’s swayamvar are glossed over. The ending seems to be rushed. Fourteen years is too long to be written off in few pages. Also, I would have liked to hear more about Ravan as a person. Since this book is about Ram, I understand there is not much scope to elaborate on Ravan. However, it would have been a bonus.

There have been several interpretations of the Ramayana and I haven’t read any of them :) My point is that each version may be different in accordance with the author’s perception. However, there is a limit to the creative liberty a writer can take. Claiming Shukracharya to be from Egypt is a bit far-fetched. Also, I have never heard of Manthara’s daughter in any version of the epic. I actually looked it up on the net and found no mention of it. The gang rape of Manthara’s daughter Roshni (another example of a name which is misplaced in time) is entirely based on the nirbhaya incident. It seems unnecessary. If the intention was to provide Manthara a motive to hate Ram, it could have been done differently. This is not a retelling of an epic with an attempt to understand what might have actually happened sans the fantasy. This is the author’s fantasy of an epic which I think should be mentioned at least somewhere in the book’s intro or appendix. Any person who hasn’t heard of the Ramayana before might end up with a disconcerted understanding of a great tale. I do not mean to rip apart SOI. I am just disappointed that the author could not do complete justice to a concept with so much potential. While there may be several flaws in the book, it will certainly tingle the curious minds of today’s youth and nudge them to look up our great epics, thereby reviving our culture.

Lazy proofing the day

It's the week of Holi and Good Friday. Both emphasize on letting go of the evil and giving birth to goodness in us. There is a lot of motivation in this world only if we choose to see it. With this in mind, I have decided to make my life better by organizing myself (how else!!). Yes, I know I don't need a reason to get into my cleanliness-freak mode :P But the satisfaction of seeing a clean house with all things in their proper places is sooooo good! :D

It's a long weekend with Easter round the corner. Usually, I am so beat down by the office commute that I tend to wake up late on holidays. I then go to gym around 10 AM which means, half the day is gone by the time I return. I spend the other half moping around. I read this very nice article here on how to lazy proof your day. It mentions five easy tricks to get the better of laziness.

1. Make your bed
2. Prepare a to-do list
3. Do the most challenging task first
4. Add a good deed
5. Dress up, show up!

So I kicked off my day at 6:30 AM. Made my bed, changed and hit the gym. By 8:30 AM, I was back home having breakfast. After a quick shower, I sorted laundry and folded the clean clothes. Relaxed for some time by chatting with friends. The newspapers in our house are such a mess thanks to my dad :) Mom and I straightened all the papers and kept it aside ready to be sold off. And it's not even 12 yet!! I am very happy that I was able to give time for myself and my family - no guilt. This will stop me from cribbing if guests drop by later :P

Doing odd chores around the house is so gratifying :) Hope to keep up this simple routine and build on that inner peace!

Pride and Prejudice

I was in Mangalore over the weekend for a pooja. The ladies of the house got together in the kitchen to cook food. Since we had to prepare food for a lot of people, few servant ladies also joined us. I asked my mom what should I do. One of the servant ladies was cutting raw jack-fruit. Raw jack-fruit curry is a Mangalore delicacy. Chopping the jack-fruit is a tough task which needs strength and skill. This particular lady sneered and asked me to cut the jack-fruit. I smiled and said that if I had the expertise to cut the jack-fruit then I would be a master chef by now. I then took up chopping carrots and potatoes.

I think that lady was irked that I acknowledged my shortcoming and moved on. She started saying "It's alright if you don't know much of cooking. You just have to plunge into it. My daughter was studying in the seventh standard when I discontinued her studies and put her into cooking. She did not know a thing. But I did not relent and now she easily cooks for 8-10 people." The lady clearly thought cooking for 10 people was far more important than basic education. Although I wanted to tell her otherwise, I did not want to hurt her. I just nodded and smiled. My silence boosted her confidence and she went on "These city bred kids don't know anything. They work in offices all day long and enjoy its comforts. They don't know how hard life is. If they are left in the village even for a day, they will run for their life."

This I couldn't take. I had had enough. I replied "Cooking is not such a difficult thing. My sister learnt cooking in 2 months and now she hosts a party with 3 course meals for 12-15 people at her place all by herself. Can your daughter learn engineering in 2 months? You have to cook food and your job is done. Where as we have customers across the world and have to take calls even after work hours. You only have to care about the amount of salt and chilli in your dish. We have to work in the office and take care of the household chores as well. I don't think you get to deal with so much stress." This shut her up.

Honestly, I did not want to flare up at her like that. I understand that she has always been in an environment where life skills have proven to be more useful than education. However, that doesn't mean that she can belittle someone else. Few years back, things were tough for villagers who moved into the city. They were mocked and ridiculed. These days the city folks are more than welcoming. It is natural for people to take time to get used to new surroundings be it a villager in a city or the other way. Nobody is born with super skills, it all depends on how well a person adapts himself. Hope to see a day when people are recognized by their nature and talent rather than be subject to prejudices.