Jimmy...

Pets, especially dogs, provide unconditional and unrestricted love which a lot of us don’t acknowledge or somehow take for granted. They are special to those who love them and we miss them when they are no longer with us. We grieve for them, just as we grieve for our near and loved ones.

I was browsing through my laptop when I came across Jimmy’s snap. Jimmy was gifted to us by a family friend in Bhutan, on Betty’s first birthday. I still remember the first day… he was lying on the couch and had tears in his eyes. Betty and I concluded “Wo apne mummy ko miss kar raha hoga… isliye ro raha hai” We were sitting at the other end of the couch watching him in grief. I wanted to hug n caress him and tell him that… he is now a full-fledged family member – our playmate and faithful companion, but we had strict instructions from mummy… “abhi paas mat jaana, nahi to wo kaat lega and tumko fir stomach mei 32 injections lagenge”

When he was young, he'd run around the house in circles and hide behind our couch. The day he got too big to successfully perform this antic, he got stuck back there.

We shifted from Bhutan and took him along with us to Kerala. We thought he would not be able to survive the hot and humid climatic of our town as compared to the chilled climate in Bhutan. But he survived… he lived for 18Years.

Jimmy died of old age. When Pappa called me to inform about his death… I was inhibited in real grief. Even today when I think of him, sadness overpowers me. A lot of people are ridiculed by family and friends in general, for crying on such matters.

Today if someone asks me to get a pet for myself, I would say… “NO!!!” I don’t want a pet because they DIE before you do!!! It's understandable to be reluctant to expose yourself to death but, at the same time, we become immeasurably more human every time our pets die.

It's the fear of loosing my pet that overrides my wish to have one in the first place. Jimmy's death made me wrestle with the belief structure that we have on death. When grieving an animal or human… we question our beliefs, that why does one have to die? And we may find our belief, that death is inevitable, becoming stronger and stronger. But pets are never afraid of death … they show us that the end of life can be faced without fear. They teach us to accept death as an opening to love and compassion and to embrace death without apprehensions. Maybe because they don't know that it's death, the end of life. It's easier to say here that ignorance is Bliss.

It doesn't however discount the fact that we bring in humor, absurdity and life into our lives by bringing in pets!

Conscious... Brand Conscious...

I went out with mummy to a famous mall in Dubai. Guys and Girls in their early teens were roaming around the big stores and showrooms. Levis jeans, Tissot watch, Plush Revlon lip-glow, Channel fashion accessories & toiletries, Reebok shoes and a sliding Nokia mobile… it's a bit too much for just a stroll. I said - "Mummy, that’s the trend… if you don’t have it… u are not happening!!!"

On my way back I was thinking about my school days. We at school were quite away from all this… preferring locally stitched shirt and pant, adorning the feet with a pair of Bata. I still recall that conversation that Pappa had with the tailor… “Size thoda bada rakhna” so that I could wear the dress for another 2 plus years… Shoes were stitched; re-stitched and re-soled until and unless there was no option other than buying a new pair. Girls used to wear salwar-kurta or skirt. Famous brand names in fabric which I can recall were Raymonds, Vimal, Mayur…

Sweaters had their own story… hand-woven by mummy over a platter of home made namkeens with chai and biscuits… clinging knit-sticks while basking in the sun with other aunties… telling ten times to each other that the oon she is using for the sweater, is of woolmark and not cashmere (have I spelled it right? Lolz…) The monkey caps, hand gloves and mufflers came from re-aligned oon of old sweaters; with all possible tired reckless color combinations, just to make it complete from all leftovers… stored in a cardboard Raymonds oon box… Today, I can’t see anyone wearing a hand-knit sweater. Whose got the time to knit and what will my friends say if I wear that shoddy looking dress? Debenhams, Levis, Park Avenue… that’s the order of the day and is solely worn for attention. Maybe, the brands I wear reflect, how hot my pockets are!!!

Cosmetics and Personal Care products too have a strong and successful branding sector. I remember those bath soaps, facial creams, powders, hair oil products which were extensively advertised in the weekly magazines like Sarita, Vanita, Grah-shobha etc… The only change I see today is the hybridization of local products with international and highly expensive brands. You can see sales girls standing at the kiosks in big malls handing sprayed strips of perfume of your choice to attract you with the last try!!!

Electronics have a different story… a lot of things have been invented which we literally only dreamt of. A Crown or Texla TV was enough, but now we do not talk anything less than Sony, Samsung or Hitachi… Not to forget the mobiles marketing, exploiting the brandishing behavior of the human cult to the max.

Why do we prefer brands? What is the psyche behind this? Is it to stick to better performing products which are long lasting and provide better after-sales service or just for status symbol; image building and show-off?

LovEvolution

Something big is happening. You must be feeling it… I definitely am feeling it… perhaps with anticipation and also a little bit of anxiety. Now you may ask… “Okay, what is it?” My answer would be “I believe that we are in the midst of an evolutionary shift so big that we have difficulty in imagining it… one so dramatic that it is birthing us and Earth into a higher dimension”

When I think of this shift; I imagine a caterpillar who is unaware he is about to become a monarch butterfly. I see female Monarchs (God) laying us as eggs on the underside of milkweed leaves (Earth). When we hatched as larvae earthlings, we fed on plant leaves (life) and now we are mature caterpillars. At some point; we get a signal that tells us that change is coming.

The caterpillar stops what it has been doing and attaches itself upside down on a branch to spin a pupa or chrysalis that will contain it while it changes into a butterfly.

Inside this chrysalis, the substance of caterpillar dissolves into a kind of primordial soup and the coding in its DNA changes it into a whole new being.

This chrysalis becomes increasingly transparent during metamorphosis. Then it cracks open and the butterfly emerges. As its wings slowly dry out, it discovers it is no longer confined to crawling. It has wings to lift it into the sky to fly free to live in a whole new reality. Friends, this is what I believe is about to happen to you and me all of humanity.

I’ve been thinking about this shift for quite a while now and here is what I see. I see a lot of people who are receiving internal signals saying this metamorphosis is already happening. Our inability to see the big picture has trapped us in limiting beliefs that have become a box that operates like a Matrix. Many are becoming aware that we really do live in a matrix and are looking for the keys and codes needed to break free of limiting beliefs about who we are. While many people are seeking truth, they also are withdrawing themselves from chaos, turmoil and the mundane. They’ve stopped reading the newspaper and watching TV and are spending more time meditating, reading inspirational materials, being in nature and seeking out others who feel this shift happening.

The next step is the one that seems most frightening: surrendering to the urge to turn upside down and begin spinning our chrysalis. Like the caterpillar, we are faced with loosing our identity and dissolving into a primordial soup. This brings up our fear of death… not only of our ego, but our physical body and even our soul. No wonder we are feeling a little anxious. Can we trust that we will emerge out of this soup as a Monarch butterfly? When I went looking for information to answer these questions, what I discovered is how much prophetic information there is predicting the shift and how much scientific information indicating that it is happening. I also found abundant and amazing evidence indicating that our evolution was designed and is driven by a loving intelligence that causes the world around us to unfold in predictable cycles of time.

I refer to this process as LovEvolution… which is based on the principle that unconditional love is a subtle or invisible energy that connects the world of spirit and the world of matter. We believe that it is love that weaves together our heart-felt desires and dreams with the basic elements of the universe so that they manifest in our lives. When a biological structure becomes so filled with love that it can no longer contain the energy, it divides and creates more cells to hold this love.

Aaj raat ko aap kya bana rahi ho?

If someone asked me to name that one thing which makes me an immature kid and not a grownup man… what is it? A jubilant me watching my favorite Argentinean football team on a rampage, holding back my urine for hours in the traffic jam waiting to reach home and rush to the bathroom or prospect of me replacing my Department Head... All are valid choices, but I am going with my mom's home cooked food... Finally mummy is here and no more baahar ka khaana… Yipeee…

If I look back into my daily routine… Early morning I used to slap together two slices of bread with some store bought mayonnaise and jam for breakfast or an apple with strawberry milk… then eating half cooked chapattis neatly surrounded with different vegetables in tiny bowls for lunch and consuming anything from chocolate-bar to daal chawal for dinner.

But now… Baiju Samuel; simply has to open his eyes in the morning and even before the haze has been cleared from the mind, the essence of home brewed coffee invades his nostrils. And when he goes to bed at night he has to loosen his pyjama's naada to accommodate a stomach that is fultu full… After decades of pampering me with various types of dishes varying from idlie to appam… from maggi to baingan-ka-bharta… from palak paneer to sambar… mummy is back and this time to pamper the grown up… thanks a lot Mummy :)

Everyone will agree that Mom's home cooked food; rather ones own Mom's food is the best. Just because my mom is a super cook, doesn't mean that everyone's mom automatically joins the league… but consideration for someone else's Mom's home cooked food is extremely useful when we are staying alone… thousands of kilometers away from home...

As a kid I was a fussy eater. You could say that I would consume food only when it is prepared the way I like it and that too when I am in the mood. For instance; I was never a fan of those healthy vegetables… so my mother made sure I had only the vegetables I liked. Pappa, like most Indian fathers; believed there were only a few vegetables fit for a young boy and those were… Bhindi and Karela… because if you eat them… you will be good in mathematics; which meant that you will study Engineering from a reputed college and then get into a Master's program from any international university, and finally land a job with one of the most prestigious scientific institutions in the world. In other words… Bhindi and Karela are ticket to NASA. Potato… on the other hand would only give you gas...

Mummy had packed my favorite aaloo ki sabji and parathas for lunch. I am over with today's lunch and was eager to know about the dinner. I called up mummy and even without admiring about the lunch I asked… "Aaj raat ko aap kya bana rahi ho?"

Dhobi ka kutta... Na ghar ka; na ghaat ka

It was never easy growing up as a South Indian child in North India. I still remember my growing up days in Indore. Initially my own school mates used to stare at me and ask... "Kahan se aaye ho tum?" The more sophisticated ones would ask "New Admission?" People living around us would stare at me and my little sister and say "Madrasi hain..." I was so eager to educate them that Madras is 24+ hours journey from my native place. But where exactly is my native place? Is it Madras or Trivandrum or Pandalam or Indore or Dubai or Bhutan; where my father and mother had spent a number of years...

My so-called south Indian looks give the first impression that I am from the mallu-land, but then supremely pronounced abuses in Hindi may confuse anyone that I am a bhaiya from UP or MP. The use of slang Hindi words may suggest that I'm from amchi mumbai; but the seemingly mallu influence in my english and my love for mota rice and sambar push me towards travancore.

I have moved to Dubai and even now people ask me the same question, and quite frankly I'm sick of answering it... I realize that the easiest way is to stick to one answer... "I am from Indore" I even feel like throwing a counter question back at them... "How do you define a native place?" Is it the city where either of my parents were born or is it the city where either of them grew up or is it where either of them had spent most time prior to getting married or is it a step higher and has something to do with where my grand parents were from or where they spent most of their lives? Is it where I was born or where I went to school or to college? I have a diff answer for each of the questions... but all this has helped me become multilingual and adapt to different cultures easily...

I was having lunch with one of my friends when she asked me... "Tu kahan settle hoga?" Wasn't I supposed to be at home; back in my home-land? I felt like I was caught in no man's land. In retrospect, a popular Hindi phrase immediately comes to my mind. "Dhobi ka kutta... Na ghar ka; na ghaat ka"

Why do women try to be equivalent to men?

Let me state right at the start of this blog that I am not a male chauvinist. On the contrary, I’ve been dominated by strong women all my life. I'm a man, so please bear with me as I write as a man. The views on this blog are not my personal views; but are forced by thoughts of what men believe… but who am I kidding ;) So I ask his question with all humbleness and sincerity… Why do women try to be equal to men?

The rise of female clan in the society has been a good thing overall, but there has been a negative impact as well. We are now a broken society… driven by career and money. The family unity thing is something from the past now. While women have been busy obtaining half of all the stuff that used to be for men, no-one has been looking after the female role. Why is the modern woman so recklessly ready to give up the courtesies that have been due to her for ages? Personally; I' m an admirer of the modern age changes… but women are not men; they are not physically and physiologically the same. I say that the whole problem regarding the equality should not be even taken into account, as the roles have been already decided by nature itself!!!

Women stamp their feet and claim that men oppress them and hold things back, where as in reality… our society was shaped over generations of natural order. Women are now trying to slant the deck against this order, to apply some illogical rules that are purely in their favor. It used to be about recognition for the role of women in the society, but it’s been twisted into some “man hating monster” by the feminists. I know its illogical to even mention them, coz such feminist women are stupid , since they 're not sure themselves about what they want or whom they are trying to stand equal with... the basic flaw of this perception is that they perceive and judge the circumstances according to the laws that are followed by the same men, and they follow those laws to tilt the social system into a male dominated one...

Each and Every human being... man or woman; was created for the same purpose... to fuse body and soul in order to make themselves and their world a better place. Spread Love and positive energy in the Universe. Men are physically stronger. They are more aggressive... In contrast, a woman usually embodies the ideal of inner dignity. All men and women must be themselves. We have been given unique abilities with which to pursue our goals, and that our primary responsibility is to take full advantage of those abilities. The machinery of society is held together by nuts (women) and bolts (men). They are both entirely different, but the same in purpose. They are meant to be joined to build larger machinery. Neither one has any purpose without the other. That’s why...Women are nuts; they feel they're getting screwed...
Men are bolts; they require a lot of torque...

Khul Jaa Sim Sim

I was out of the office already and was on my way to Al Ain for a client meeting. Most of my day is spent within reach of internet, but when I'm on the move I use my HTC handset for checking my emails. I prefer to receive the headers of my emails so that I download anything that looks interesting and if important… reply back. Although I generally wait until I'm back at my desk. So during a typical day… my hand set does so much more than just making and receiving calls… not to mention the SMS which I use the whole time to keep in touch with my family and friends.

That day too I logged into the mNet and opened my email page, typed my User Name and started to recall my password. I was not sure about the password as I usually swipe my finger on the laptop rather than typing the password (another indication of me being Aalsi). "Invalid User Name or Password" written in red colors appeared on my mobile screen. "Kya password tha yaar!!!" I tried to recall my password. I tried again… but the same message appeared. I couldn't play around, trying different passwords as it could lock my account. I was pissed off…

I have a total of 20+ passwords and User Id's at work and another 20+ passwords of my personal mails n other web portals... 7 or 8 PIN numbers. HUSH!!! I decided to make a note of the passwords in a diary but misplaced the diary within 7 days.

Today, we need passwords everywhere and for everything. Whether it is the bank account or the e-mail or the net surfing… you can't reach the first base without this essential key. How can the new age banks expect me to remember the 10+digit account number when the length surpasses the amount of money I have in the account!!! Trying to remember a password along with the account number is like... I don't know… I just hate it… Writing down the PIN for the ATM is a breach of security and trying to remember them is impossible. Internet banking... you are supposed to remember your password for the account. Not only that; they expect me to change the password... OFTEN. I have already run out of ideas about passwords. So many times I have had to re-register myself in various websites just because I forgot the password and couldn't recall the helpful reminder question, either. I have five bank accounts and for every account I have to remember at the least following information:
Bank Account Number
Customer ID
ATM Number
ATM PIN
Credit Card Number / PIN (Master Card)
Credit Card Number / PIN (Visa)
Internet Banking PIN
Telephone Banking PIN

Eeeeeeeeee…

Then there are umpteen telephone number that need to be remembered and each year the number of digits keep growing as more and more people opt to get connected. At one time, a decent five-digit number belonged to the telephones but now there are 7-8 digits.

Of course, the story doesn't end here. One is expected to remember the passport number, Visa Number, Staff Number, Insurance number, the driving license number, the PAN number etc…

Hey how can I miss the Floor Number, Flat Number… I have been confused a lot of times whenever the delivery boy has called to ask my Flat Number. Moreover I have to remember the flat and floor numbers of my friends too! I call them every time I stand below their building.

I am thinking of going into the business of providing ideas about password just like people are making 'moolah' by writing books on baby names.

I think this password stuff all began when the chaalis chor of "Ali baba aur challis chor" used a 'password' to open the door to the cave. 'Khul Jaa Sim Sim'… I can bet it was the first password ever used.

Most of My Mornings...

The wakeup alarm rings at 6am. With closed eyes I reach out my hands to find my HTC. "Maakda... its 6o'clock again!!! I won't shave today so that I get another 10 minutes to sleep..." I put alarm on snooze pull the blanket and snuggle comfortably. After 10 minutes, the alarm sounds again. Why the hell does time fly so fast in the mornings? With closed eyes my hands reach out again to silence the alarm, hoping to hit the snooze button. Continue sleeping...

I subconsciously felt that… "This time 10 minutes kuch jyaada ho gaya." I somehow managed to open one eye to look at the wall clock. "Hey Bhwagwaan!!! It's already 6.30am. I must have pressed the wrong button AGAIN. But you know what, since I'm already late, I might as well lay down a bit more." After about 5 minutes, I open my eyes to look at the clock. After another 10 minutes… I open my eyes again to look at the wall clock. "Why not sleep for another 5 minutes, since so much time has already passed?" I open my eyes and see it’s only a minute to 7.00 now. I sit down with blanket around my shoulders. "OK! OK! 7.05 Already. Must go and shower.” I leisurely did my bathroom rituals, when I got out I saw, 20 more minutes have passed!!! Officially my office starts at 8.00 a.m. "Never mind... A little delay doesn't matter much. I'll make up for it. " I choose the clothes to wear. Iron them quickly if necessary. Dress up, put some CK – IN2U. Rush to pack my laptop, fill in some water in my recycled water bottle, check to see whether I need to throw trash today. "Nope! No trash today. " Pick up yesterdays samosa’s from fridge, mobile phone, close the window, switch off AC, take wallet, Access Card and laptop bag, wear shoes and go out at 7.35. ( I always tell myself that it's better to be late , since there will be no office traffic.) Go down the stairs and start my car. . reach office by 8.30. (Actually I reach my office area earlier than that, but finding a place to park takes some time.)
During peak hours, it takes longer to reach office. I know coz I've tried. But still, that isn't a good excuse. I definitely can't be the employee of the month. Before anyone goes tsk! tsk! tsk! It really is a task getting up every morning. High time for me to find a new job and try something new. Something that'll get me excited to go to work like I used to, a long time ago.

And before you start pulling out the hair from your nostrils, assuming that you have already pulled out all the hair from your head, tata bye bye… ;)