Secret of my willpower!

This post is dedicated to the person who has been the cheerleader to me... Thanks dear for sending me this.... It is the best motivation letter I have ever got... As soon as I read this, I was all pepped up. It was more like listening to "Hum Honge Kaamiyaab..."
Dear readers, here the motivational letter for you....

All the best to your efforts. Times come when good people are questioned and doubted of their abilities. What differentiates the best with the good is the grit. Reminds me of a song, 'Jeena kya jeevan se haar ke...jeena kya jeevan se haar ke'! Go baby, show the world! You have got your life at stake, show them your best! You have got nothing more to do in this life...this is your only aim now...this is why you will live for some time...you wont rest until you have proven yourself; and only to yourself. You wont find salvation in succumbing to the pressure. You will fight until there is any steam left in you. You will return home only after giving your best shot. You will sleep in the night guilt-free of having given your best shot. You will win yourself in winning the world. I know of only one Arathi in you and it is the one that will take you further up the road, to your destiny. You dont have to rule the world. The world will bow to you itself. Mark my words!

Whether the world will bow to me or not... I bow to you and thank you for sending me this.

Importance of Vacuum in Life

I am travelling by train back to Hyderabad. The ambience is very dull and boring. I am not talking about the vacuum of someone in life or not even about missing someone. Could you just wait for couple of moments (or rather sentences) before you come to any conclusions. I am not talking of missing someone in my life or about knowing the importance of a person in his/her absence.


After having so many chegodis and samosas and chips (all oily stuff), I feel so thirsty. Yet no amount of water seems to quench the parched throat. How about a glass of buttermilk! The very thought of it makes me feel wanting it all the more! Just in time a vendor passes by our compartment. But before I can call out for him, he goes away, out of ear-shot. And I am left wondering how to call him. How about "Hey Bhaiyya!"? But there are lot more Bhaiyyas around and it is not so specific to him. "Hey Buttermilk!" sounds so weird... It is not the buttermilk carrying the Bhaiyya; it is the other way round! Ha ha ha...


While I am contemplating on how to call him, he turns around, and heads back towards us. I am overjoyed and immediately catch his eye by waving my hand... And then I wish he would not assume I am saying "Bye!" or gesturing him to go away... Ha ha ha

Needless to say, I buy a packet of buttermilk and am given a free straw in return. I pul at the edge of the packet to tear a hole and put the straw into the hole. And start sucking at the straw. And all that goes into my mouth is air! Gusts of air but no buttermilk to quench my thirst! Just imagine my plight!

I dont have to rack my brains for long to find out why I cannot get any liquid through the straw. You see... my basic foundations of science are really good! It is vacuum that enables us to suck stuff against gravity. In our case, we suck and create vacuum in the straw and then the buttermilk gushes up to fill in that vacuum... Now what stops me from creating the vacuum in the straw?

A tiny hole somewhere in the straw is stopping the whole packet of buttermilk to get in from the bottom... How to stop it? Oh no! I dont need any cello-tape or glue to cover the tiny hole. Instead do you know what I do? I snap the straw into two pieces and use the bit of straw without the hole to drink the buttermilk... Nice na?

I know all this may be a very stupid thing to write about. But I am just too excited to realize that I really put my theoritical science knowledge to use! :-)

Food

I never was interested in food. Eating has always been just another task for me. When someone asks me: “Which is your favorite dish?” I never ever really know what it can be. But there are times when I really feel like having samosa chat at the bandi opposite S10, pani-puri near the police officer’s mess in masab tank and the sweet chutney along with samosa in agra sweets, the Indian spice pizza at Universal Bakes…. Oh my! My mouth has already started to water. You may ask, do I miss all these dishes now that I am in the US. No way! I am not a food buff.

Yet there is something that has changed a little here. I have started testing with new varieties of food. I am amazed at the choice of vegetarian items that is available here. Ever since this travel plan was scheduled for the first time, I have been brain-washed, that there is hardly anything to eat for vegetarians and that, vegetarians will have a tough time here. It’s not true at all!

Thanks to Vikranth, I get to different restaurants and taste different kinds of food. The first new dish that I tasted here was a Mexican preparation called Tamale. Almost at once, I became a fan of the dish.

I was working in the Libertyville plant. Vikranth came into the CAVE, where we work. He placed something rolled in a yellowed corn husk on my desk. He gave me a fork and knife and also some pepper. “Try this! You will like it,” he said.

I eyed at it as though it were an object in the museum. I pulled behind the cornhusk and a delicious aroma spread around me. It looked like rava upma. When a cut a piece, I could see that it was stuffed with something that resembled paneer. I put a morsel of it in my mouth and it was too tasty. The plate was empty in no time.

“What is this called?” I asked Vikranth.
“It’s called Tamale, a Mexican preparation.”

Mexican is closest to Indian food. Many people may disagree with me and say that Thai food is closest. I am looking at it from the spices point of view. Mexican food uses turmeric and other spices that make the food spicier.

We went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch a couple of times. I can’t remember its name, though I can say that it looks like a shed from outside. But it is always crowded with people. The food is yummy and at the same time the price is very reasonable.

As soon as we are seated at the table, we are offered corn chips and tomato gravy. We can have how much ever we want. It’s all on the house.

I have observed that in most of the hotels, the water is always served with ice. And people drink even water using straws. In fact Vikranth had to literally push the straw towards me, when I lifted the glass to drink water without the straw. He saves my grace at such occasions, when I don’t know how to eat or drink. Everything is so different out here.

The staple food in a Mexican meal is Tortilla. In our Indian language, we can call them corn rotis. Every dish has these tortillas. Burritos are like paneer wraps that we get in Hyderabad. A bean burrito will have beans curry with cheese and sour cream and tomatoes wrapped up in a corn roti. A taco will have roti and other curries, cheese and sour cream on top of it. We need to roll it and eat!

And in vegetarian, we get beans only, and of course tomato. They probably use only these two vegetables.

A quesadilla looks like our dil-khush but it’s not sweet. I had a cheese quesadilla. It was very very delicious.

We even tried a cool drink there. It’s called Horshata. It is made of rice. It looks and tastes like Rooh-Afza.

Oh my! I have written so much about Mexican food, I should have named this post as Mexican food! I have lot more to write about food. Rest in next!

Flurries

Last Friday night was a special night for me. I had the first glimpse of light snow – what they call here as flurries. When we finished our shopping and came out of the mall, it was raining outside. Everyone rushed into the car. After I locked myself up under the seat belt, I looked outside. It was not that heavy a rain, yet there were lots of thumping onto the roof of the car. That was when Vikranth pointed out, “These are called flurries.”

I observed the windscreen. I could see rain falling onto the glass, yet the drops would not drip down. The wiper had to literally wipe it off the glass. I realized they were not drops of water. They were more like granules of ice. They looked more like a bird’s dropping on the windscreen and wiper having to clean it. Sorry for the pathetic comparison. But that was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw the first blob of flurry. I don’t know what they are called. As we say drops of rain, could we call them blobs of flurry? Or will flurries of snow be appropriate? I am not sure.

So finally I got to watch the snow! I am so happy.

Today, I was drawing back the curtains when I noticed some white feather like particles floating in the air. Oh my God! That was snow. I was so fascinated that I shut down all the lights in my room and pressed my nose against the windowpane to observe the white thermocol ball like things flying outside my window. I was disheartened for a minute, when I thought they might be some insects moving around. But no! It was snow. A very light one may be, because I could not see any white thing covering the lawn or the pathway outside.

I don’t think I would have given anything in the world in exchange for that moment. I was behaving like a child. I was so excited. I was on cloud nine. After all, it’s not that bad to be in Chicago in November!

Early Life in Chicago!

With all your best wishes with me, I reached Chicago safely. The flight started an hour late and so the connecting flight was also late.

All in all my first flight journey was a pleasant experience. I enjoyed watching the lights below during the night flight journey and then during the my second flight journey, I loved watching the fluffy clouds. It was so exciting to watch the rivers and terrain from above. What I enjoyed the most was the scene outside when the flight was landing. It was awesome! :)

I took a taxi and reached hotel room by 3:00PM. I observed that there were not many buildings on my way to the hotel from airport. As I was alone, I concentrated more on the signboards and the driver's conversation on his mobile, rather than on the scenery. When he dropped me at the hotel, I sighed in relief and gave him a huge tip! :)

Sreeram took me out on the very next day. We went to Lake Michegan and then to Downtown. I got on top of a 97 storey building and had a great view on Chicago. I even walked on the Millenium Avenue, where all the branded shops are present. May be we both were not feeling that comfortable in each other's presence. There were long silences in the conversations. Though we were trying to please each other and make the other feel at ease, there was still a kind of distance between us.

The whole I first week, I had my lunches and dinners with Sreeram, Vikranth and DK. I got to meet Vikranth's wife Sapna and her little daughter, Samika. They all take care of me like a family member. I feel so lucky and special!

It's all a new and strange kind of an experience here in Chicago.

First with the driving; the steering wheel is at the right... So many times, I have opened the driver's side of the door and then realized that I have to sit on the other side. I hope I am making sense. Anyway you got to read all my nonsense, because it's been ages since I have written to you.

My hotel room is very nice, with all the amenities. Imagine, I even have an iron box and hair dryer!

When the hotel management took so much care to provide all the necessities, they forgot on the basics. I have the entire kitchenware in the room, but there is no peeler. How am i supposed to cook and eat vegetables like beetroot? Strange... Last week, it took me almost an hour to peel the beetroot with knife and then cut it...

I was told that the weather is too cold in Chicago. The day I reached here, I was sweating from head to toe... Now that was not because I was nervous, it was because the weather was hot and sultry! It's becoming chiller day by day and I pray everyday that it should not rain. I forgot my umbrella in Hyd.

When I travelled, I paintstaking prepared the list of items to be carried. I managed to bring everything, except for a water bottle. So sad! You may ask: Why so sad? I will tell you. It's sad because the ppl here use a water fountain to drink water. And it took me almost 3 days to understand how it works. And during that time, I had to wait till I went back to my room, to drink a glass of water. I bought a bottle of coke for 1.75 dollars... that's close to Rs. 80, just to get it to office.

During the weekend when I had to wash my clothes, I realized one thing. How do I wash it with my hands? There's no bucket or anything. I went to the laundry and put most of my clothes in that vending washing machine. Still I had some more which I dint want to put in the machine. I dint want to give it to the hotel laundry either. So, how did I wash them? No, I dint fill the bath tub with water and wash... ha ha ha.... My wash basin in the bathroom has a stopper. I put the stopper and fill the basin with water (Mind you, the basin was really really clean.) Then, I put some washing powder into it and soak my clothes inside the wash basin. Funny no? Then somehow, I wash them and rinsed them inside the wash basin itself. And for drying them, I put them into the dryer downstairs. It charges me 1.5 dollars. The clothes that come out are wram and dry. But every positive point will be associated with side-effects. the side-effects here: wrinkles! every part of the garment had a wrinkle... Even the polyster and chiffon duppattas had wrinkles... Oh my God! My entire Sunday went away in ironing the clothes.

I went for a long walk in the afternoon last weekend. The place where I stay is called Buffalo Grove. It's in the suburbs of Chicago. The trees were in varieties of colours. They were shredding away their leaves. The sun and wind were playing with the trees. There was so much breeze. I felt very very happy. I observed the different kind of trees and flowers. I also noticed that there was nobody walking on the road. May be that's not the American way of enjoyment!
Thanks to Vikranth, I commute to office easily. He picks me and drops me up everyday. Must be a pain for him; yet he does it methodically with a cheerful face.

I am still getting used to the environment in office. There's not much work, except forwarding the mails from offshore to client and from client to offshore. I sometimes feel I am working in postal department. And sometimes I feel I am more like a telephone operator. ha ha ha. Let's see how things change in course of time.

Cockroach that brought me closer to God!

I enter the bathroom carrying a cauldron full of boiling water in my hands. I pour the steaming water into two buckets and open the tap. Cold water pours into the bucket while I cautiously dip my hand in the bucket to check the water temperature. The water is too hot!

I undress and sit on the short stool placed next to the buckets. I put the small cup of shampoo next to me on the bathroom floor. Oops! I forget to close the tap and the water has become lukewarm! But that’s fine. The weather is not that chill today.

I wet my hair and start applying the shampoo to my scalp. While the lather spreads to my hair, I notice a little black crawling creature near the drain hole.

Oh my God! It’s a cockroach!

I am initially too shocked to react. When I regain my senses, I try scaring away the cockroach by pouring hot water on it. That only makes it wriggle a little and then it changes its direction from right to left. What do I do? Obviously, I can’t rush out of the bathroom with lather on my hair and with water dripping from my body. And that too with me dressed like a newborn baby!

The shampoo starts to get into my eyes and I shut them at once. Shutting my eyes, calmed my senses too and starting humming a song that my aunt taught me when I was in school. It’s a song on Lord Shiva which has a line saying: “If we want to chant Shiva’s name all of sudden, it will never come in your mouth. Hence, start chanting his name from now itself, so that when your end is near, you can easily remember HIM.”

I was surprised at the number of songs that I could recollect from my childhood days. The songs that my grandmother taught me, when I must have been hardly 5 years old, are still clearly etched in my memory. I enjoy singing each one of them. The song that describes the features of Little Krishna and another one that talks of all the pranks he played on the Gopikas and my favorite being the one in which Little Krishna tells his mother, Yashoda, that all what the Gopikas are telling is baseless and that they are all lying…

I even chant Hanuman Chalisa while massaging my scalp with the shampoo and rinsing it off. Even the famous Bhaja Govindam does not escape my notice. I get mesmerized in the world of philosophy when I listen to the verse that says:
“Maa kuru dhanajanayouvanagarvam
Harati nimeshaatkaalah sarwam
Maayaamayamidamakhilam hithwa
Brahmapadam twam pravisha viditwa”

It means:
The pleasures and riches of worldly life are deceptive appearances. Understanding that they are all but a passing-show, be detached and dispassionate, cultivate renunciation and seek Brahman.

I wash away the last traces of shampoo from my hair, while singing, “Oh Paalan Haare Nirgun Aur Nyaare…” from the movie “Lagaan”. I was one of my thatha’s favorite melodies. And then slowly I get back to singing filmy songs with those jataks and mataks.

I don’t even realize when the cockroach disappeared back into the drain hole. But finally when I am rubbing myself dry, I realize one thing. If it had not been for the cockroach, I would have never thought of God at all! The little fear in me on the sight of the cockroach made me chant hymns and slokams.

And it also made me realize that there is hardly anything in our hands. Whatever will happen, will happen! Of course we have to put in our efforts but there is someone up above us watching and making us do things.

Thank you Mr. Cockroach for making me sing those songs and taking me back to my childhood days!

Why do they never seem to understand?

Why doesn't any guy want to get married?
Pat comes the reply. "I am not ready to take any responsibility" or "Why should I lose my freedom, yaar?" or "It's too early for me to get married."

Whenever the girl-friend tries to broach the subject of marriage, the guy either gets irritated or gives a deaf ear to it. Why?

Girl: "My parents are looking out for matches for me..."
Boy: "Hmm..."
Girl: "Shall I talk with them about you?"
Boy: "Well... I am not sure dear! Shall I tell you something?"
Girl: "What?"
Boy: "I have always felt that I am not the right guy for you."
Girl: "So?"
Boy: "There are much better guys in the world, sweetie."
That simply means go find another groom for yourself. Well, the guy knows deep in his heart that nothing like that will happen. His girlfriend will definitely wait for him. So, he has nothing to lose. But how about the girl? She will have to bear the pressure of her parents from one side and handle her relatives who try to bring new matches for her everyday and endure those people who keep asking why she is not married yet.

Girl: "It's been five years since we've been seeing each other."
Boy: "Oh yes, honey! Never realized that the time could fly this fast!"
Girl: "I think it's time we get married."
Boy: "But don't you think it's too early for me to get married. I am just 24."
Girl: "So, am I... And for a girl, 24 is high-time that she gets married!"
Boy: "Can't you wait for me?"
Girl: "Atleast let's get engaged."
Boy: "So, you don't trust me?"
How is the girl supposed to answer that question? First of all, the society does not spare a moment to harass her with questions about her marital status, as though that is the most important thing in the world; and to make the matters worse, there is no support from the guy also. If the girl did not trust him, then she will never allow him to come any closer. The fact that she has been going steady with him for five years, implies that she completely trusts him. But can he not reciprocate her trust by getting married to her or atleast getting engaged to her?

Girl: "Darling, will you marry me?"
Boy: "Er... er... your question kind-of shocked the hell out of me?"
Girl: "What's there in it to get shocked?"
Boy: "Well, that was a very unexpected question dear..."
Girl: "You have not answered me yet."
Boy: "To be frank, I have never wanted to get into any kind of relationships."
Oh! So he was not interested in any relationships, but he did not mind getting closer and make her a little more than a close friend. What happened to his so-called principle of not getting into relationships, when he took her out for a date? And what did he not think about his principle when they continued to see each other continuously for two full years?

I say: "To hell with such guys!"

Best book I ever read!

Recently I read "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" by Mitch Albom. Opened the first page and could not put the book even for a minute. It is neither a mystery nor an adventure. Yet, it holds our attention till the end.

It is the story of an old person who dies while trying to save a little girl at an amusement park. The story is about the five people he meets in heaven, after his death. These are the five persons who were responsible for the turning points in his life....

Simplicity is the word to describe this book.
My sister, who does not read anything but adventures and mysteries, finished this book in a single go, in 5 hours. :-)