Being an Indian

I am a very proud Indian and that also makes me assume huge responsibility in explaining to my German colleagues on what it feels to be an Indian.

Not only that, i think this also gives me huge responsibility in doing the right things so as to avoid any stereotypes being added on to an "Indian"

I really enjoy these cross cultural abuses on my system at times - how much was i surprised the first time i learnt that there can be totally different opinions on issues like marriage, divorce, career etc..

And what is unasumingly natural is for taboos in your culture to be a perfectly accepted reality in another. Let me give an example - it is an absolute NO to display affection in public in India. And i was talking to my good German friend and he found this as unacceptable - " How can i not display my affection i have for my partner when i am overwhelmed by it? And why should it be this way? After all everyone has these feelings towards their loved ones, isnt it - then why this veil?"

This is only the tip of the iceberg - there are lot more conflicts in interest like these..

There is only one way to look at this - and this is the right way..Depending on where you are respect the local culture if not follow it!!

Sportsmen Vs Sportsmen-wannabe!!

Last sunday we had the Times of India Bangalore marathon - infact the very second that the city has seen. And we ( Mani, Karthee, Shakil and I) were pretty glad that we were around to participate in it. But then this time we were courageous enough to choose the half marathon which is a pretty 21kms of running and i think we had a thing or two to prove ourselves.

I must accept i felt like a sportsman and really wanted to feel what he would go through. Easier part was that i was not running to win and yes why that became easy is because i said to myself that i could not get enough practice and so stopping in between was just about fine. I just wanted to test my endurance, just wanted to keep my mind focussed and do the 21 kms running, walking or crawling.

Initially it felt good as there were so many of these nice smiling warm folks running along. After sometime all that drained and people like me were left with imaginary bouts of extreme exhaustion. Well but then i was here to play the sportsman and i am determined enough to take it through till the end. I ran along pretty nice till half that distance and man i felt like the strongest. Few more steps and there i was limping as my right knee hurt like mad. Any amount ot mental steroid did not help me. I could not imagine what it would be like to be a sportsperson feeling helpless of a dangerous career wrecking injury. All those images went before my eyes - of Lance Armstrong, Michael Vaughan, Marat Safin and so many more who live their sport and find themselves waiting by the sides still convincing themselves to make a come back !!

Well i must admit i am just a sportsman-wannabe with no match for a true sportsman. Hats off sporties!! /p>

Three days of solitude!!!

Almost everythings been good in the past few days. Took 9 days off, travelled a bit, attended a marriage with lotsa happy souls around and spent days at home eating extremely delicious food. But then there has been some vacuum created by the fact that my apetite for everyday internet was not satisfied when my computer decided to take a few days off!!
I am so used to sitting before computer surfing the net everyday, (having done that everyday for seven years) that i missed it immensely. Even though you have enough books to read and enough people to meet missing my daily dose of the net is a pain. Like they say the best way to torture a software engineer is to deny him a few hours of mailing everyday ;-) Works with me :))

What does it take to be a Buddha?

Off late there has been a big question looming over my mind - what does it take to be a Buddha?
what does it feel like to be enlightened? How can i reach a state where i neither look down nor look up at people or situations? I need to be that mirror and just reflect the conditions. Feel that eternal peace and make people around me feel serene. Above all lose this penchant for the material and treat them as they are deserved to be treated. Path to it can be explained but then to exerience them would be another thing....but then i hope someday i walk that path...feel that peace - Good luck to me!!

Traffic blues

Recently i had been to Chennai and had good 3 days with my friends. We went around most parts of Chennai and i was quite impressed with the amount of changes that has happened in the city. There are seperate bus stands for private and government buses now - and that too very neat ones (minus the very recent litter that people beyond reform make happen ;) ) .There are lot more flyovers and even though there is a huge traffic, it is always moving.
Compare this to our city - Bangalore. The growth has taken everybody by surprise. People are forced to live in cluttered houses for huge prices. Even though we have realised that phenomenal growth for this city is inevitable we would rather tolerate and learn to live it than raise our voice against it. Infact i have started liking the challenge of wading your way through this chaos. Well.. Well.. Well... the truth is that atleast currently i am also one among the millions whos waiting for others to clear up the mess... ;)

whats in a name?

How often have you reflected upon this instrument of identity? Have you ever felt a sense of detachment to your name? Isnt it rewarding to hear somebody pronounce your name as you would like it to be.. do you bellieve thats the sweetest sound on earth? Leave alone how one feels listening to their name...what goes through your mind as soon as you hear a particular name?

Human mind runs through a number of questions as soon as it hears a name. what is the nationality of this person, is this a man or a woman, what is the meaning of this name etc etc. These are questions that i constantly ask myself whenever i am encoutered with a new name. I feel surprised when i find people live with a name without understanding what it means. "Whats in a name?" is what you get to hear from such people. Is this a sign of lesser self-worth? Is this a sign of worldly detachment? Do they feel that they just have to bear this name plate for a mere 65 years of average life time?

There is another twist to the thought, to what extent does your name reflect the context you belong to? Being in India, i find that every name signifies religion that the person belongs to. The surname clearly categorises you. I will not be expecting this in a western environment. I would sometimes wonder what really motivates a name in the other cultures!! Does it reflect the emotion of the parent when the progeny is in their hands? Is it from the lineage they belong to?
I will continue to question my understanding on names.. but be assured it will appear in this forum!!