TGIS!

.. That was not a typo.. I meant 'Thank God, Its Sunday' and this is precisely what I felt as this weekend ended.

I don't think many people will be able to understand what bothers me, because these things probably bother me alone! Crazy me.. Poor me.. Anyways, this is how my weekend went..

Friday evening.. Its 7.. I reach home.. Our house is the 'get-together' place.. So, roomies and friends are all there.. We chat.. Its 8.. We think of dinner.. "Shall we go out?" Some say Yes, some say No.. Nobody listens.. We chat again.. Its 9. Okay, we'll have dinner at home. But no rice.. Sad! We chat.. Its 9:30.. The shop closes at 10. Emergency!! Two people rush to buy rice.. Its 10.. We start cooking.. Its 11.. We eat. Okay, now we'll play cards. Sorry, I am an early to bed.. early to rise person. But I feel that I shouldn't act like a spoilsport at least on weekends and I agree to join.. Its 12.. Its 1.. We continue to play.. Its 2.. Its 3.. We sleep..

Saturday morning, 7 am.. I wake up.. Curse myself and try to sleep again. Twist and turn and think and somehow manage to be in bed till 9. Phew.. Not bad..

I get up. There are people sleeping all over the place! Shh.. I should not wake them up.. So I do everything very quietly.. Its 10.. I have tea.. Its 11.. I have bread&jam.. No, can't cook anything else. I'll end up making a lot of noise. Its 12.. I am getting bored to death! Its 1.. Oh, somebody has woken up. Relief!! And then one by one.. one by one.. We chat.. Its 2.. We chat.. Its 3.. They decide to make upma. Its 4.. We have upma.. This is breakfast for them.. Lunch for me.. but actually, the time for tea?? Err.. I am lost.. Guess that's an unnecessary worry..

The kitchen is strewn with soiled dishes.. The house is like a dorm with people still sleeping.. There are duvets(a soft quilt which is used as a thick blanket) everywhere.. on the floor.. sofa.. beds.. You can never be sure if a person is sleeping beneath that.. Its 6.. Somebody says, "Lets go for a movie!" Somebody suggests the movie.. "Transformers!!" Brilliant idea.. Okay we have shows at 7:30 pm, 8:30 pm, 9:30 pm, 10:30 pm. Decided! The 7:30 show.. Lets cook dinner first. Chicken!! Mmm...Wow! We chat.. Its 7:00.. We move to the kitchen.. One cuts, another re-cuts. "Hey, we cannot make it to the 7:30 show.. We'll go at 8:30." No issues.. One small kitchen. Many many cooks.. One making chicken.. One making rasam.. Its 8:30.. One making bhaingan bhartha.. One making raitha.. Its 9:00.. One making rice.. Its 9:30.. We have dinner.. It was yummyy.. Its 10:00.. We run.. Pant! Pant! Gasp! Gasp! But surprise!!! We reach in time for the 10:30 show!!

Reach back home at 1:30. We start playing cards.. The saga continues..

At the end of Sunday.. I feel sick beacuse I know I have not had proper food at proper time.. I feel sleep deprived.. I feel guiddy when I see the kitchen and the house.. I feel extremely guilty for having spent my time most uselessly.. But then I give a long sigh and say, TGIS! Atleast I can spend the whole week getting the house back into shape.. sleeping well, getting fresh and be prepared for the next weekend..

A part of history..

The place: British Telecom Office, Adastral Park, Martlesham Heath, Ipswich, UK
Okay, a brief description about Adastral Park. It is the BT campus extending over 110 acres in Martlesham Heath.

Time: 1:00 pm. We were having lunch with the usual share of gossip and masti.

Topic of discussion: Bombscare in Martlesham!

K: Arey yahaan ke log bhi na! Ek pipe ko dekh ke ghabraa gaye!
A: Haan bhey.. Do ghante road block kiyan in logon ne..
Me: But you can't blame them! There are lots of bombs around these days. They are only being careful..
K: Koi aisi waisi bomb nahin.. World War II ka bomb samjha in logon ne..
S: Nothing surprising in that.. This area was once very much involved in World War II
A: Yes, thats right. Our campus was once an airbase.. Haven't you seen the photos in our food-court?
Me: Oh, really? Thats interesting..

I then get back to my desk and do some googling.. And am pretty much impressed with what I find!

Initially, an experimental airfield was opened in Martlesham Heath. After the end of World War I it was renamed as the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) of the Royal Air Force.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, the A&AEE was removed to another site owing to the proximity of Martlesham Heath to the East Coast and its vulnerability to enemy attack. The airfield then took on a new role as a base for fighter squadrons defending Britain!!

At the end of hostilities, there was no longer a role for Martlesham Heath as an operational RAF airfield and no prospect of the A&AEE returning, but the site was again used for a number of experiments with planes and armaments. However, its use declined in the 1950s, and the airfield was closed in the early 1960s.

In 1968, the Post Office purchased part of the airfield and surrounding farmland and announced that they would be relocating their Research Department to Martlesham Heath. Then the separation of British Telecom from the Post Office and the privatisation of British Telcommunications plc happened. In the 1980s, the facility was renamed as BT Labs and was subsequently developed into a high tech business park called Adastral Park in the 1990s.

Courtesy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martlesham_Heath

Quite a happening place, this was!! Let me see what I can dig out from here before I come back!

See the world upside down!

I have always had this BIG appetite for adventure rides..

Years ago, when small exhibitions were put up in our town, I used to crave to be there for mainly two things.. The 'Giant Wheel' and the 'Chilly Bajji's'. (But the bajji's after the ride, please. Hee Hee.. )
I loved the feeling of getting to the top and then coming down in a Zzzing.. Ooooh.. How I screamed out in excitement! Those days are gone.. Now its the days of amusement parks.. I love the Veega Land of Cochin and even more, the Wonderla of Bangalore. Luckily, I got to go to The Pleasure Beach in Blackpool this Saturday. What more do I say? Yeah, I saw my world upside down and it was extremely exciting to see it that way!

I'll put up the videos of two of the many exciting rides that I loved..

Infusion


Bling


Howzzat?? Tempting, is it not?

I wait..

One day, I find a thousand reasons to smile..

Oh, the lovely blue of the sky,
The birds never sang sweeter, oh my!
The greenest grass strewn with the whitest blooms
Is this the world I always see in my dreams?

The wind is blowing my hair on my face
A stranger passes by, giving a pleasant gaze
The whole world looks happy today..
I begin to hum in joy, what a lovely day!

The next day, everything looks wrong..

The clouds are dark, with no hint of silver
It pours down heavily.. I start to shiver
No birds, no songs, not even a butterfly!
Just a scary cat giving a gloomy cry..

The wind looks fierce, it knocked my hat
Tears rolled out.. Got lost in the rain
Not a soul around, to lend me a smile..
I cry out loud, how I hate this world!

But I know, tomorrow is not going to be the same
And then I wait for another lovely day..

Gmail hobbling?

Ofcourse, I am a big fan of gmail. But since few weeks, it is giving me a biiggg headache.

Of late, I have been trying to keep all my personal mails flowing in-out via gmail only. But that has become such a herculian task that I keep thinking of switching to other email programs. I try to login and have to stare at the 'Loading' indication for ages. I then click on a mail and by the time it opens up I would have lost all my enthu to read it.

No, I don't use a slow connection and I have also seen that this is not happening to me alone. So what is happening? Is there something I can do to make things better?

Truth behind the Taj?

People have been talking a lot about the Taj these days. But this is nothing about the New Seven Wonders of the World.

I just happened to get a forward which says that TajMahal was an ancient Siva temple which was built even before the times of Shah Jahan. I thought it was one of those usual hoax mails. But out of curiosity, I did a little bit of googling and I felt that its a serious discussion which is still going on. Some data that were stated was interesting..

* How Taj Mahal was derived from 'Tejo Mahalaya'(Shiva's Palace)

* The writings of some visitors from Europe which indicates that Taj Mahal was there even before the time it was supposed to be built.

* The use of captured temples and mansions as a burial place for dead courtiers and royalty was a common practice among Muslim rulers


I don't know how to validate this information. But yes, I am extremely curious to know the truth. I wish I could open one of those 'supposedly' sealed rooms of the Taj Mahal, and have a peep inside. But curiosity killed the cat, did it not?



Courtesy: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A5220

Miles apart?

One of my teammate is leaving back to India today. He is a very young guy who is married and has a kid. A month after his baby was born, he had to leave for the UK. Another month later, his wife had to leave for the US. Their daughter was growing up in India. Almost a year after that, the father in him went crazy and decided to go back. Maybe the mother is flying back too. I wish them joyous moments of togetherness..

This is a very ordinary story these days, with the husband and wife living in different countries for long periods of time. There are those who have to undergo this because they don't have a choice. But its mostly those, who make a choice and decide to go, to make their future better. No, that is not wrong. I may do the same thing. Money is such a big necessity that you sacrifice many things for it. And a year of separation may not look like a big deal when you know that you can buy a house and live more happily after that.

But still it does not look right too.. What we lose is our 'time' together. And we may not be able to get it back another day with dollars or pounds. Today is what we have, tomorrow is never in our hands.. I pray that we never have to make such a choice.

I am sure all of you know this..

What is the difference between the United Kingdom, Great Britain, and England?

But the fact is that I did not!
Yes, I am quite ignorant when it comes to general knowledge, I agree.

After coming here, I heard people using all these three names and I decided to find out the difference. When I searched and found this I am sure that many people are using it the wrong way, too. This is what I found.

The United Kingdom is a country that consists of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In fact, the official name of the country is "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland."
Great Britain is the name of the island northwest of France and east of Ireland that consists of three somewhat autonomous regions: England, Wales and Scotland.
Therefore, England is part of Great Britain, which is part of the United Kingdom. The U.K. includes England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are not countries but the United Kingdom is. The remaining portion of the island of Ireland (that which is not the U.K.'s Northern Ireland) is an independent country called the Republic of Ireland (Eire).

Courtesy: http://www.about.com/

This is what I have waited for!

Greater Hyd to be a 'fine' city10 Jul 2007, 0325 hrs IST,TNN

HYDERABAD: Greater Hyderabad will turn out to be a 'fine' city soon. From August 1 the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) will impose a penalty of Rs 50 on those who litter roads and nalas.

The corporation has been imposing a fine on people for urinating in public places since Feb. 2007 and also for dumping bulk garbage by hotels and function halls in September 2006.

"From August 1 a fine would be imposed for littering, as people are throwing garbage on the roads instead of bins. This not only spoils our efforts to keep the city clean but also adds to the spread of diseases," GHMC additional commissioner (health and sanitation) R Rammohan Rao told 'TOI' on Monday.

The GHMC will also impose a fine on residents and shop owners who throw garbage into open nalas. "Door to door garbage collection scheme was introduced in 2005 to many colony associations, yet people throw garbage into the open nalas, resulting in blockage of drains," Rao said.

I have been yearning for something like this to happen and I am sure that a clean-India is not far away..

Why blame the politicians?

..when life itself is reduced to a game of politics.

Today, I had to hear more than my usual share of the politics-stories.

Right in the morning, my roomie told me sad stories about the politics in our house( I am sometimes oblivious to my surroundings) and in their team..

At work, my colleague told me about politics between our company and a vendor because of which they were not fixing issues for us.

And then the usual share of it from everywhere else..

Hmmm.. What do I say? Its nasty..
But its true that, where there are people, there is politics..
You may not always be able to keep yourself out of it, but the least you can do is forget it!

As John Kenneth Galbraith put it, Nothing is so admirable in politics as a short memory.

Learning on the way..

Recently, I realised(rather, someone made me realise) that 'travelling' is the 'best way to learning'. I am the kind of person who gets into a train or bus and starts snoring the next minute. Missing my destination, getting down two stops away and travelling back is also a very ordinary experience for me. :)

This Friday, things were different. The train in which I had to travel was so crowded that I couldn't find a seat. Finally I settled down on the floor in a place which was actually meant for wheelchair. So, till that space was not claimed by a wheelchair, I was safe. This arrangement was so uncomfortable that as hard as I tried, I couldn't sleep. And of course, I had no access to a window. To add to my woe, I neither had a book to read nor did my walkman phone have enough charge in it to let me listen to some music. So, there I was, left with the only option of looking at the people around for the 150 minutes journey ahead of me.

Interestingly, that place turned out to be the most happening place in the train. Right before me was the exit and also the loo. So anybody in that coach who wanted to get out or relieve themselves had to pass by me. Every minute I had a new face before me, a new person to explore.
Being a Friday evening, it was all the more amusing. I found many groggy men and women unsteadily finding their way to the loo. They bounced into each other every now and then. I could imagine them sitting at their seats, emptying one beer can after another. I observed everything, how they dressed, what all they ate, how they talked over phone, what kind of books they read.. I also realised that people from different countries were not necessarily very different. As I got down the train that day, I didn't mind having a back-ache. I felt enriched rather than weary..

I felt happy. I swore that I would not sleep in another journey.. I would keep my eyes open, my mind open.. As somebody said, a hopeful heart and an open mind are the best travelling companions.

My eyes well up..

.. with tears of joy. A moment to rejoice.
It marks the victory of love, sacrifice, tolerance, endurance and what not! Hats off to my friends who stood the unbelievable tests of time and who had their wedding bells ringing today. Anything hard-earned will be precious and I am sure they'll value their relationship throughout their life.
I am sad that I couldn't be there to witness that. But from the depths of my heart, I wish them all the happiness in the world!

My experiments with cooking

I remember with surprise that once upon a time, I hated cooking. I was in my high school then. Those days, relatives coming to visit us would ask my mom, "So, doesn't Anila help you in the kitchen?" My mom tried her best to hide my disinterest. She gave replies like.. "Actually, she knows a lot. But does not get time. She has lots to study, you see.." I then rushed to the scene with the truth and proclaimed proudly, "No, I don't know to cook one single thing!" I had innumerable fights with my mother over this. I thought it was unfair to want me to do all that. I believed that I was going to be rich and I would keep a cook. Even otherwise, I could eat from a restaurant. But not this!

But I guess some things can be learnt only the hard way. During my final year of engineering, I encountered a situation when mom was not at home for sometime and I had to cook for dad. Let me add that my dad is the worst critic a novice cook can ever have. Those days were hell for me. I used to get nightmares about how the dosa would come out bad the next day, of how Dad would get up from the table and walkaway.. I used to sit and cry thinking about all the chores for the day. Slowly I realised that cooking was not as difficult as I imagined it to be.. and I didn't dislike it anymore.

Then I started working and stayed in Bangalore with my friends. It was then that I became a confident cook. We even packed our lunch to office. But I never tried out anything new, I made everything the traditional way. I always tried to cook like my mom.. called her up many times to ask recipes. Tried to do everything in detail.. the frying, the grinding, without using shortcuts of any kind. After almost two years like that, I realised that sometimes, I was giving tips to my mom!

Now comes the latest phase.. I reach the UK. I venture confidently into the kitchen and find that I don't have a mixer to my service. Doomed! That has robbed me of 75% of the recipes I know. Meekly, I tell my roomies, "I don't know much if I don't have coconut and a mixer." They hardly paid any attention. "Are yaar, kuch bhi chalegaa.. Taste zaroori nahin hai.. Sirf survive karna hai yahaan." Okay! I definitely can do that much. Thats when I start with my experiments with cooking. I decided that I'll not make the same vegetable, the same way more than once. I'll do something different every time.. atleast a small change. That has given me a new zeal to cook.

Watch out for the results of my experiments with cooking!

The Inevitable

Somehow, we tend to believe that all bad things happen to others.. accidents, illnesses, deaths. But suddenly, it strikes very close to you and you realise that the victim was just someone like you. You realise that you are as close to death as anyone else. You realise that the journey from life to death can happen with the blink of an eye. You realise that you are a fool to plan for tomorrow without living today. You realise that you have been worrying too much about trifles in life. You decide to live better.

My colleague passed away in accident yesterday. Yes, it takes some shocks like this to understand the value of life. To understand that its a blessing in itself to be living.. to have your loved ones living..

Death is certain.. But, still we shudder at its thought. We try to avoid speaking of it, for fear of inviting it. Death is scary. That's because death is still a mystery, and anything mysterious is scary. Lets hope that death is not the end of life. Lets hope that its the beginning of a better one and let this help us in accepting the inevitable.

Weekend in an Island!

Had a beautiful weekend this time instead of the usual, lazy, frustrating ones. Yeah, after a lot of planning, we went to the Isle of Wight!

The Isle of Wight is an island, off the southern English coast. Its known both for its natural beauty and a rich history it boasts of. We didn't see much of the history part, but yes, I can vouch for the breathtaking beauty of the place.

One place we visited was the Alum Bay. It is at the westernmost point of the island. The bay is noted for its multi-coloured sand cliffs. It also gives a view of the Needles. Needles is actually five isolated sharp angular rock formations, jutting out of the water at the end of the cliff.
When we got there, the weather was not that great. But still we decided to take a chairlift down to the beach below.. Oh my, it was a wonderful ride! The trees below us, the blue sea before us, the multicolored cliff to our side, the wind blowing on our faces.. Yes, we felt on top of heaven! As we were walking dreamily on the pebbly shore, the God of weather decided to show some mercy on us. And lo, the clouds moved apart and it revealed the beautiful Needles!!! My friend managed to capture a glimpse of it!



Then we took an open bus Needles tour.. It was not less than a roller coaster ride!
Well, it was an extremely adventurous ride with wind blowing our caps off, we trying to catch them, meanwhile struggling to balance ourselves on the bus. We also had to defend ourselves from the tree tops that were ready to give us a whack or two anytime! It was real fun and the beauty around was a feast to the eyes.

Another place we visited was the Shanklin Chine. A chine, I understand, is a steep-sided river valley where the river flows through coastal cliffs to the sea. Formation of this chine has taken place over thousands of years and hence has a variety of rare plants, woodland and an enchanting waterfall. It was a pleasant walk in the midst of all the greenery and finally with an exit to the beach. A glimpse of the Chine..



All in all, it was a lovely weekend..