I'm losing my insanity. It is deserting me. It will be gone soon.
A compilation of my day to day events and experiences. My observational reports as the world passes by me. "I am part of all that I have met"
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Friday, September 05, 2014
Packin n Movin
Since Mom left from my house I have been scavenging for my meals. I cooked only handful of times. In next few days I'm packing and moving
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I moved and packed and my whole place is in a state of disarray. Half the stuff still in boxes. So I am living out of box these days. It is a 5 bedroom house with. Bet feature is a huge balcony. So big that two queen mattress can go in there. But rest of the house was not built with much thought. That apart it is a huge upgrade for me in terms of roommates. I live with 4 awesome gentlemen now. All of them PhD-ing with me at school. All engineers. All of them from same undergrad school I went. Most of us from even lived in the same hostel/dorm. High IQ house ;). I know. But quite homogenous mix. I would have loved to mix with more heterogeneous people but for now I have 4 cool housemates. Together we are five guys.
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I moved and packed and my whole place is in a state of disarray. Half the stuff still in boxes. So I am living out of box these days. It is a 5 bedroom house with. Bet feature is a huge balcony. So big that two queen mattress can go in there. But rest of the house was not built with much thought. That apart it is a huge upgrade for me in terms of roommates. I live with 4 awesome gentlemen now. All of them PhD-ing with me at school. All engineers. All of them from same undergrad school I went. Most of us from even lived in the same hostel/dorm. High IQ house ;). I know. But quite homogenous mix. I would have loved to mix with more heterogeneous people but for now I have 4 cool housemates. Together we are five guys.
Monday, August 25, 2014
Mom's travel experience in US
Preface: My Mom is guest author on my blog for this post. She recently paid me a visit in US for about a month. This is in Hindi but I will soon be writing an English translation. She writes some serious Hindi, doesn't she!
बस लोगो से सुनती थी किताबों, पत्रिकाओं व टीवी के माध्यम से वहाँ के दृश्य व संस्कृतियों को देख कर मन में बस आश्चर्य चकित व अतिश्योक्ति का अनुभव होता था। जब भारत के एयरपोर्ट पर मेरी बेटियां व अंकित मुझे पहुचने आए और मैं उन्हें छोड़ कर अंदर जाने लगी मैं बड़ी ही भाव विह्वल हो कर उन्हें प्यार से देखते हुए अंदर आई। अब मेरे साथ दीप्ति थी। वह अच्छी लड़की है उसने बराबर मेरा ख्याल रखा। पहली बार जब मैं भारत के एयरपोर्ट के अंदर आई तो देखती ही रह गए। सब कुछ इंटरनेशनल लुक का था। पर भाषा हिंदी थी। बड़ा ही सुखद लगा। अब थोड़ी प्रतीक्षा के बाद हम अबु धाबी के लिए फ्लाइट में गए। थोड़ी हिचक थी पर फ्लाइट में अच्छा लगा। तीन घंटे में हम अबु धाबी पहुंच गए। कुछ पता न था कहा जाना है। एक गाडी से हम गंतव्य तक पहुंचे। वहां पर्याप्त हिंदी सुनने व बोलने का मौका मिला। वहां के लोग अच्छे व हेल्पिंग थे। दूसरी फ्लाइट पकड़ने तक हमने अपनी नींद पूरी की। कोई डर व भय न था। सुबह एक व्यक्ति ने जगाया। उसने मुझे व्हीलचेयर पर बैठा कर चेक-इन करा कर एतिहाद फ्लाइट के गेट तक पहुचाया। गॉड ब्लेस्स हिम। एतिहाद बड़ी फ्लाइट थी। ऐसा लगा अब बेटे के पास जा रही हूँ। और वह अवश्य बेसबरी से मम्मी का इंतज़ार करता होगा। यात्रा के दौरान रह रह कर सौरभ की याद आती रही। सोच रही थी मन में वह ऐसी यात्रा कर के आता जाता है। फ्लाइट में मेरी विंडो सीट थी। कभी बाहर का बादलों के झुण्ड व क्षितिज का आनंद लेती तो कभी स्क्रीन पर फ्लाइट पाथ का दृश्य देखती। थोड़ी देर तक आँखें बंद करती फिर देखती की फ्लाइट कहा तक आई। यह एक खेल जैसा लग रहा था मुझे। फ्लाइट अटलांटिक ओसियन पार कर के टोरंटो के ऊपर होते हुए जा रही थी। फिर न्यू यॉर्क, और फिर एक लेक पार करके, फिर एक लेक पार कर के फिर शिकागो।
फ्लाइट लैंड करते समय शिकागो का दृश्य बड़ा ही मनमोहक था। बहुत बड़ा था शिकागो का एयरपोर्ट। अगली फ्लाइट मिनियापोलिस की थी। हम उसकी प्रतीक्षा में चार घंटे वहीँ बैठे रहे और विभिन्न तरह के लोगों और उनकी समताओं व विषमताओं से भरी संस्कृतियों का अवलोकन करते रहे। आखिर वह घडी आ गई जब spirit फ्लाइट आ गई। हम लोग उसमे बैठे। एक घंटे में मिनियापोलिस आ गया। इस शहर का दृश्य भी अति सुन्दर था। हम अपना बैगेज ले कर सौरभ की प्रतीक्षा करने लगे। इस दौरान एक अजीब से टीस मन में हो रही थी, जैसे लगा मानो मैं बिल्कुल अकेली अनजान कहा आ गई। कुछ खोया सा लगा। मन नहीं लग रहा था। एक साथ दो फीलिंग्स आ रही थी। जैसे कुछ छूट गया है अंतर मन का। और शरीर यहाँ धकेल दिया गया हो। सौरभ के पापा के साथ ना रहने से ऐसा लग रहा था। उनके बिना बड़ी उदासीनता थी। मन दुखी, बस आँखें सब कुछ देख रही थीं। थोड़ी देर बाद सौरभ आ गया। पीछे से आकर मुझे पकड़ा। मन प्रफुल्लित हो गया। मानो कुछ छोड़ कर फिर कुछ पा गई। अपनी दुनिया मिली।
अब मैं सौरभ के साथ उसके घर आ गई। आने पर उसके कुछ friends मुझसे मिले। उस समय मुझे अच्छा लगा। उसके बाद कई दिनों में बीच बीच में कुछ अमेरिकन और इंडियन friends मिले। मैंने उन्हें डिनर भी बनाया। बच्चों के आने से मुझे बड़ी ख़ुशी मिलती थी। सौरभ ने मेरे स्वास्थ्य व भावना का पूरा ख्याल रखा। वह मुझे स्वास्थ्य-प्रद चीज़े ही खाने को कहता है, और समय समय पर मेरी तबियत की जानकारी रखता है।
सभी बच्चे बहुत नेक व समझदार है। सभी में प्रतिभाएं है। जो सम्मान मुझे अमेरिकन व इंडियन बच्चों ने दिया उसके लिए मैं हृदय से आभारी हूँ। जितना हो सका उतना सौरभ व उसके दोस्तों ने मिलकर मुझे मिनेसोटा व मिनियापोलिस के दृश्य व दार्शनिक स्थल दिखाए ।
धीरे धीरे कब वापस जाने का समय पास आ गया पता ही न चला। अमेरिका का यह स्टेट देख कर मैं यदा कदा आश्चर्य चकित हो जाती। यहाँ की प्राकृतिक छटा व सौंदर्य अद्भुत है। यहाँ के लोग अत्यंत स्मार्ट व फुर्तीले हैं। हर व्यक्ति बिजी व अपने हेल्थ के प्रति सजग है। खाने पिने व रहन-सहन का अपना अलग ढंग है। यह सब रियलिटी से जुड़ा लगता है। यहाँ स्वतंत्रता में संतुलन है। लड़की-लड़के का भेद-भाव नहीं है। वर्गानुगत भेद-भाव भी नहीं है। state को ही देख कर अनुमान लगाना कठिन नहीं है कि अमेरिका प्राकृतिक, टेक्नोलॉजी, टैलेंट्स, का धनी देश है। साफ़-सुथरा प्रदुषण-रहित वातावरण है। ट्रैफिक रूल्स का अक्षरश: पालन होता है। बिजली पानी की किल्लत नहीं है। एसी, कूलर, गीजर व रूम-हीटर्स जुटाने का बोझ नहीं है। ईर्ष्या होती है यह सब देखकर अपना देश ऐसा क्यों नहीं है। सब कुछ दूसरे का और आंतरिक स्वतंत्रता का आभाव सा लगता है।
माना की यहाँ की भौगोलिक स्तिथि व पर्यावरण उत्तम है। परन्तु अपना देश भावनात्मकता का धनी है। समाज शब्द की व्यापक व सच्ची सार्थकता स्वदेश में है। अपने उत्सव, अपने त्यौहार,अपनी आध्यात्मिकता, धन्य है। अपना स्वतंत्रता दिवस हृदय को रोमांचित करता है। धन्य है गीता का कर्म ज्ञान व अपना राष्ट्रीय गान। कोई मनुष्य किसी भी विकसित से विकसित देश में क्यों न पहुंच जाए स्वदेश की छोटी से छोटी यादें हृदय में समाई रहती हैं। भावनात्मक ख़ुशी व संतुष्टि स्वदेश ही प्रदान करता है।
जय हिन्द। जय भारत।
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So here is my loose translation of the text. It ma not carry the exact feelings because of my vocabulary (or its lack) but I think it has the central idea:
I only used to hear it from people, read it in magazines and see on TV about the scene and cultures there. They instilled in my mind wonder and superfluity there. When my daughters and Ankit came to airport in India to drop me and I was entering airport I kept looking at them with affectionately all the while. Now Dipti was with me.
She is a nice girl. She took care of me throughout the journey. When I entered the airport in India for the first time I kept staring at everything. Everything had international look. But the language was Hindi. It felt very pleasant. Now, after a short wait we boarded on flight for Abu Dhabi. I felt little hesitant but it felt nice in the flight. In three hours we reached Abu Dhabi. We did not know where to go after here. We arrived at the destination terminal in a bus. We got chance to hear and speak enough Hindi here. People there were nice and helping. We got some sleep before catching the next flight. There was no fear of any kind. In the morning we were awakened by a someone. He took me to the check-in counter and then to the flight gate in a wheelchair. God bless him. Etihad was a huge flight. It felt that now I am going to see my son. And definitely he must be waiting eagerly for Mom. I kept missing Saurabh during the flight. I was imagining that every time he travels it should be a flight like this. I had a window seat in the flight. Every now and then I would enjoy looking at the sea of clouds and the horizon outside. Next moment I would follow the flight path on the screen. Then I would close my eyes and take a small nap. All this was like a little game. Out flight crossed Atlantic ocean and flew above Toronto. Then came New York, and then a lake, and another lake and then finally Chicago!
The view of Chicago was beautiful as the flight was landing. It was huge airport. Next we were to fly to Minneapolis. We sat there waiting for 4 hours for the flight at the airport full of motley of people and observed the similarities and differences. Finally the moment came when our flight came. We boarded the flight. In one hour we were in Minneapolis. This city was also very beautiful. We collected our baggage and waited outside for Saurabh. At this time there was a strange unknown feeling. It felt like I am alone and lost in a nowhere place. It felt like something was lost. I could not put my mind at ease. Mixed feelings of losing something and getting something were running through the head. Like I lost something from inside. As if the soul is left behind and body has been pushed here. Saurabh's dad's presence was missing. There was mood of melancholy without him. Eyes were live, looking at everything but everything inside was sad. In the meanwhile Saurabh was here. He hugged me from back. I was delighted to see him. I found my world again.
Now I came to Saurabh's place with him. Few of his friends came to meet me. I was happy to see them. In the next few days several of his American Indian friends met me. I also cooked them dinner. I was always glad when the children came to the house. Saurabh took care of my emotions and health. He only let me healthy food and inquired about my health from time to time.
All the children were very nice and intelligent. They were all talented. I'm grateful for the respect I received from them. Saurabh and his friends showed me around in Minneapolis and Minnesota as much as they could.
Sooner than I could realized it was time to go back. I was amazed after seeing this state of America. The natural beauty and scenery here is wonderful. People here are smart and active. Everyone is busy and aware towards one's health. They have there own unique food and lifestyle. It all seems connected to reality. There is a balance in freedom. There is no gender discrimination. No class discrimination. Judging by this state of America it is not difficult to guess that U.S. is a nation rich in nature, technology and talents. Clean and pollution free environment everywhere. Traffic rules are followed verbatim. There is no dearth of electricity and water. There is no burden of getting AC,cooler, water-heaters, room-heaters, etc. I get bit jealous on seeing all this. Why can't our country be like this! Still everything seems foreign and absence of internal freedom.
Agreed that the environment and the material position and environment are best but our home country is rich in spirituality. In India true and inclusive meaning of society is realized. Thanks to our festivals, our spirituality. our independence day romanticises the heart. Thanks to 'karma gyan' of Bhagwat geeta. Thanks to our national anthem. It doesn't matter if one is in most forward and developed countries one always carries eve the smallest memories in ones heart. Only our home country can provide emotional happiness and satisfaction.
Hail India. Hail India.
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बस लोगो से सुनती थी किताबों, पत्रिकाओं व टीवी के माध्यम से वहाँ के दृश्य व संस्कृतियों को देख कर मन में बस आश्चर्य चकित व अतिश्योक्ति का अनुभव होता था। जब भारत के एयरपोर्ट पर मेरी बेटियां व अंकित मुझे पहुचने आए और मैं उन्हें छोड़ कर अंदर जाने लगी मैं बड़ी ही भाव विह्वल हो कर उन्हें प्यार से देखते हुए अंदर आई। अब मेरे साथ दीप्ति थी। वह अच्छी लड़की है उसने बराबर मेरा ख्याल रखा। पहली बार जब मैं भारत के एयरपोर्ट के अंदर आई तो देखती ही रह गए। सब कुछ इंटरनेशनल लुक का था। पर भाषा हिंदी थी। बड़ा ही सुखद लगा। अब थोड़ी प्रतीक्षा के बाद हम अबु धाबी के लिए फ्लाइट में गए। थोड़ी हिचक थी पर फ्लाइट में अच्छा लगा। तीन घंटे में हम अबु धाबी पहुंच गए। कुछ पता न था कहा जाना है। एक गाडी से हम गंतव्य तक पहुंचे। वहां पर्याप्त हिंदी सुनने व बोलने का मौका मिला। वहां के लोग अच्छे व हेल्पिंग थे। दूसरी फ्लाइट पकड़ने तक हमने अपनी नींद पूरी की। कोई डर व भय न था। सुबह एक व्यक्ति ने जगाया। उसने मुझे व्हीलचेयर पर बैठा कर चेक-इन करा कर एतिहाद फ्लाइट के गेट तक पहुचाया। गॉड ब्लेस्स हिम। एतिहाद बड़ी फ्लाइट थी। ऐसा लगा अब बेटे के पास जा रही हूँ। और वह अवश्य बेसबरी से मम्मी का इंतज़ार करता होगा। यात्रा के दौरान रह रह कर सौरभ की याद आती रही। सोच रही थी मन में वह ऐसी यात्रा कर के आता जाता है। फ्लाइट में मेरी विंडो सीट थी। कभी बाहर का बादलों के झुण्ड व क्षितिज का आनंद लेती तो कभी स्क्रीन पर फ्लाइट पाथ का दृश्य देखती। थोड़ी देर तक आँखें बंद करती फिर देखती की फ्लाइट कहा तक आई। यह एक खेल जैसा लग रहा था मुझे। फ्लाइट अटलांटिक ओसियन पार कर के टोरंटो के ऊपर होते हुए जा रही थी। फिर न्यू यॉर्क, और फिर एक लेक पार करके, फिर एक लेक पार कर के फिर शिकागो।
फ्लाइट लैंड करते समय शिकागो का दृश्य बड़ा ही मनमोहक था। बहुत बड़ा था शिकागो का एयरपोर्ट। अगली फ्लाइट मिनियापोलिस की थी। हम उसकी प्रतीक्षा में चार घंटे वहीँ बैठे रहे और विभिन्न तरह के लोगों और उनकी समताओं व विषमताओं से भरी संस्कृतियों का अवलोकन करते रहे। आखिर वह घडी आ गई जब spirit फ्लाइट आ गई। हम लोग उसमे बैठे। एक घंटे में मिनियापोलिस आ गया। इस शहर का दृश्य भी अति सुन्दर था। हम अपना बैगेज ले कर सौरभ की प्रतीक्षा करने लगे। इस दौरान एक अजीब से टीस मन में हो रही थी, जैसे लगा मानो मैं बिल्कुल अकेली अनजान कहा आ गई। कुछ खोया सा लगा। मन नहीं लग रहा था। एक साथ दो फीलिंग्स आ रही थी। जैसे कुछ छूट गया है अंतर मन का। और शरीर यहाँ धकेल दिया गया हो। सौरभ के पापा के साथ ना रहने से ऐसा लग रहा था। उनके बिना बड़ी उदासीनता थी। मन दुखी, बस आँखें सब कुछ देख रही थीं। थोड़ी देर बाद सौरभ आ गया। पीछे से आकर मुझे पकड़ा। मन प्रफुल्लित हो गया। मानो कुछ छोड़ कर फिर कुछ पा गई। अपनी दुनिया मिली।
अब मैं सौरभ के साथ उसके घर आ गई। आने पर उसके कुछ friends मुझसे मिले। उस समय मुझे अच्छा लगा। उसके बाद कई दिनों में बीच बीच में कुछ अमेरिकन और इंडियन friends मिले। मैंने उन्हें डिनर भी बनाया। बच्चों के आने से मुझे बड़ी ख़ुशी मिलती थी। सौरभ ने मेरे स्वास्थ्य व भावना का पूरा ख्याल रखा। वह मुझे स्वास्थ्य-प्रद चीज़े ही खाने को कहता है, और समय समय पर मेरी तबियत की जानकारी रखता है।
सभी बच्चे बहुत नेक व समझदार है। सभी में प्रतिभाएं है। जो सम्मान मुझे अमेरिकन व इंडियन बच्चों ने दिया उसके लिए मैं हृदय से आभारी हूँ। जितना हो सका उतना सौरभ व उसके दोस्तों ने मिलकर मुझे मिनेसोटा व मिनियापोलिस के दृश्य व दार्शनिक स्थल दिखाए ।
धीरे धीरे कब वापस जाने का समय पास आ गया पता ही न चला। अमेरिका का यह स्टेट देख कर मैं यदा कदा आश्चर्य चकित हो जाती। यहाँ की प्राकृतिक छटा व सौंदर्य अद्भुत है। यहाँ के लोग अत्यंत स्मार्ट व फुर्तीले हैं। हर व्यक्ति बिजी व अपने हेल्थ के प्रति सजग है। खाने पिने व रहन-सहन का अपना अलग ढंग है। यह सब रियलिटी से जुड़ा लगता है। यहाँ स्वतंत्रता में संतुलन है। लड़की-लड़के का भेद-भाव नहीं है। वर्गानुगत भेद-भाव भी नहीं है। state को ही देख कर अनुमान लगाना कठिन नहीं है कि अमेरिका प्राकृतिक, टेक्नोलॉजी, टैलेंट्स, का धनी देश है। साफ़-सुथरा प्रदुषण-रहित वातावरण है। ट्रैफिक रूल्स का अक्षरश: पालन होता है। बिजली पानी की किल्लत नहीं है। एसी, कूलर, गीजर व रूम-हीटर्स जुटाने का बोझ नहीं है। ईर्ष्या होती है यह सब देखकर अपना देश ऐसा क्यों नहीं है। सब कुछ दूसरे का और आंतरिक स्वतंत्रता का आभाव सा लगता है।
माना की यहाँ की भौगोलिक स्तिथि व पर्यावरण उत्तम है। परन्तु अपना देश भावनात्मकता का धनी है। समाज शब्द की व्यापक व सच्ची सार्थकता स्वदेश में है। अपने उत्सव, अपने त्यौहार,अपनी आध्यात्मिकता, धन्य है। अपना स्वतंत्रता दिवस हृदय को रोमांचित करता है। धन्य है गीता का कर्म ज्ञान व अपना राष्ट्रीय गान। कोई मनुष्य किसी भी विकसित से विकसित देश में क्यों न पहुंच जाए स्वदेश की छोटी से छोटी यादें हृदय में समाई रहती हैं। भावनात्मक ख़ुशी व संतुष्टि स्वदेश ही प्रदान करता है।
जय हिन्द। जय भारत।
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So here is my loose translation of the text. It ma not carry the exact feelings because of my vocabulary (or its lack) but I think it has the central idea:
I only used to hear it from people, read it in magazines and see on TV about the scene and cultures there. They instilled in my mind wonder and superfluity there. When my daughters and Ankit came to airport in India to drop me and I was entering airport I kept looking at them with affectionately all the while. Now Dipti was with me.
She is a nice girl. She took care of me throughout the journey. When I entered the airport in India for the first time I kept staring at everything. Everything had international look. But the language was Hindi. It felt very pleasant. Now, after a short wait we boarded on flight for Abu Dhabi. I felt little hesitant but it felt nice in the flight. In three hours we reached Abu Dhabi. We did not know where to go after here. We arrived at the destination terminal in a bus. We got chance to hear and speak enough Hindi here. People there were nice and helping. We got some sleep before catching the next flight. There was no fear of any kind. In the morning we were awakened by a someone. He took me to the check-in counter and then to the flight gate in a wheelchair. God bless him. Etihad was a huge flight. It felt that now I am going to see my son. And definitely he must be waiting eagerly for Mom. I kept missing Saurabh during the flight. I was imagining that every time he travels it should be a flight like this. I had a window seat in the flight. Every now and then I would enjoy looking at the sea of clouds and the horizon outside. Next moment I would follow the flight path on the screen. Then I would close my eyes and take a small nap. All this was like a little game. Out flight crossed Atlantic ocean and flew above Toronto. Then came New York, and then a lake, and another lake and then finally Chicago!
The view of Chicago was beautiful as the flight was landing. It was huge airport. Next we were to fly to Minneapolis. We sat there waiting for 4 hours for the flight at the airport full of motley of people and observed the similarities and differences. Finally the moment came when our flight came. We boarded the flight. In one hour we were in Minneapolis. This city was also very beautiful. We collected our baggage and waited outside for Saurabh. At this time there was a strange unknown feeling. It felt like I am alone and lost in a nowhere place. It felt like something was lost. I could not put my mind at ease. Mixed feelings of losing something and getting something were running through the head. Like I lost something from inside. As if the soul is left behind and body has been pushed here. Saurabh's dad's presence was missing. There was mood of melancholy without him. Eyes were live, looking at everything but everything inside was sad. In the meanwhile Saurabh was here. He hugged me from back. I was delighted to see him. I found my world again.
Now I came to Saurabh's place with him. Few of his friends came to meet me. I was happy to see them. In the next few days several of his American Indian friends met me. I also cooked them dinner. I was always glad when the children came to the house. Saurabh took care of my emotions and health. He only let me healthy food and inquired about my health from time to time.
All the children were very nice and intelligent. They were all talented. I'm grateful for the respect I received from them. Saurabh and his friends showed me around in Minneapolis and Minnesota as much as they could.
Sooner than I could realized it was time to go back. I was amazed after seeing this state of America. The natural beauty and scenery here is wonderful. People here are smart and active. Everyone is busy and aware towards one's health. They have there own unique food and lifestyle. It all seems connected to reality. There is a balance in freedom. There is no gender discrimination. No class discrimination. Judging by this state of America it is not difficult to guess that U.S. is a nation rich in nature, technology and talents. Clean and pollution free environment everywhere. Traffic rules are followed verbatim. There is no dearth of electricity and water. There is no burden of getting AC,cooler, water-heaters, room-heaters, etc. I get bit jealous on seeing all this. Why can't our country be like this! Still everything seems foreign and absence of internal freedom.
Agreed that the environment and the material position and environment are best but our home country is rich in spirituality. In India true and inclusive meaning of society is realized. Thanks to our festivals, our spirituality. our independence day romanticises the heart. Thanks to 'karma gyan' of Bhagwat geeta. Thanks to our national anthem. It doesn't matter if one is in most forward and developed countries one always carries eve the smallest memories in ones heart. Only our home country can provide emotional happiness and satisfaction.
Hail India. Hail India.
Sunday, August 24, 2014
What I learned from Couchsurfing
What I learned about people (and human behavior in general) from Couchsurfing. To give you a background Couchsurfing.org is a social website where you also actually go out and meet people outside of internet. Don't confuse it with dating apps and websites. It is nowhere near those.
People everywhere in the world are essentially the same. All of us don't do different things, we do things differently. There are all types of people in every culture. Good and bad. Social construction and stereotyping at best is awfully inaccurate and meaningless.
People can do a lot for you for free when paid in appreciation. We all love being accepted and appreciated. Why else do you think you keep checking back facebook to see how many more 'likes' that new post of yours got in another 2 minutes. There are ton of people everywhere in the world ready to host strangers without monetary compensation. Or help them in general without asking anything in return. I am one of them.
If you are traveling a little bit of appreciation of local culture goes a long way. If you even show that you are trying to learn the local language the natives will love it. I was buying groceries in a store in Krakow. It was a random odd weekday morning and cashier was just starting her boring day. When leaving instead of thank you I said "dziękuję". And the the way her face lit up, the flash of instant joy I cannot describe it. Another time at security check in Vienna I wished Guten Morgen to the security guy and got through line quickly. He started talking to me in German and I had to confess that I was faking it. At least I knew I faked it good :D
I was trying to find entrance to railway station to take night train from Prague to Krakow and I asked for directions to it from someone on street. This guy happened to be latin American by birth and I said muchas gracias in return. This made him turn back, He walked with me not only to the railway station but to my platform and to the train and to my seat on the train!
All of us want love, acceptance and positive reinforcements. We go great lengths for these three things. My travels and 'couchsurfing' have only reaffirmed the aforementioned. All of us know this but we just don't consciously realize it.
People everywhere in the world are essentially the same. All of us don't do different things, we do things differently. There are all types of people in every culture. Good and bad. Social construction and stereotyping at best is awfully inaccurate and meaningless.
People can do a lot for you for free when paid in appreciation. We all love being accepted and appreciated. Why else do you think you keep checking back facebook to see how many more 'likes' that new post of yours got in another 2 minutes. There are ton of people everywhere in the world ready to host strangers without monetary compensation. Or help them in general without asking anything in return. I am one of them.
If you are traveling a little bit of appreciation of local culture goes a long way. If you even show that you are trying to learn the local language the natives will love it. I was buying groceries in a store in Krakow. It was a random odd weekday morning and cashier was just starting her boring day. When leaving instead of thank you I said "dziękuję". And the the way her face lit up, the flash of instant joy I cannot describe it. Another time at security check in Vienna I wished Guten Morgen to the security guy and got through line quickly. He started talking to me in German and I had to confess that I was faking it. At least I knew I faked it good :D
I was trying to find entrance to railway station to take night train from Prague to Krakow and I asked for directions to it from someone on street. This guy happened to be latin American by birth and I said muchas gracias in return. This made him turn back, He walked with me not only to the railway station but to my platform and to the train and to my seat on the train!
All of us want love, acceptance and positive reinforcements. We go great lengths for these three things. My travels and 'couchsurfing' have only reaffirmed the aforementioned. All of us know this but we just don't consciously realize it.
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Sunday, August 03, 2014
I am very lucky
Me, a friend and Mom have been hanging out a few times lately here. My friend said today "You are very lucky". I know what that means and I totally realize it all the time. I have experience of only one Mom but I still stand by my claim that my Mom is the best! She loves all my friends and they love her. I have also got "Let us exchange Moms".
She is smart and funny. Recently she learned how to upload photos on facebook and flooded it with local pictures :) Which also includes my pictures. :(
She learned youtubing and enjoying it.
She is smart and funny. Recently she learned how to upload photos on facebook and flooded it with local pictures :) Which also includes my pictures. :(
She learned youtubing and enjoying it.
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Mom is here
Mom is here and I might be traveling around a bit to show her around. It is going to be good good time. My Mom is cool she mixes up very easily with the younger lot of friends. I bet you will like her if you met her. And sometimes says really funny things. Like once she asked if I speak Hindi or English when I speak to American friends :)
Time to have some awesome mom-made home food in America! It is her first time abroad and I hope she likes it here.
Time to have some awesome mom-made home food in America! It is her first time abroad and I hope she likes it here.
Tuesday, July 08, 2014
Alota traveling
I have been doing a lot of traveling lately. A lot of things crazier than what I would normally do. I did solo backpacking traveling with strangers in three different countries for 8 days. All three countries had different non-English native languages. Crashing at strangers' places.
Last weekend I was in Rocky mountains in Colorado climbing two peaks at 14000+ feet. It was exhausting as hell but I scaled the mountains. It was good feeling of achievement. My point is the more you travel the more you want more. I've been loving every bit of it. Some would say it is First world activities. But I feel traveling makes me free. I love the feeling of going somewhere with minimal belongings. I feel unbound, unattached. To a place. To things. And to people to some extent. I am practicing minimalism and endurance-ism when traveling.
When you've got nothing you've got nothing to lose.
Last weekend I was in Rocky mountains in Colorado climbing two peaks at 14000+ feet. It was exhausting as hell but I scaled the mountains. It was good feeling of achievement. My point is the more you travel the more you want more. I've been loving every bit of it. Some would say it is First world activities. But I feel traveling makes me free. I love the feeling of going somewhere with minimal belongings. I feel unbound, unattached. To a place. To things. And to people to some extent. I am practicing minimalism and endurance-ism when traveling.
When you've got nothing you've got nothing to lose.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Back to school
Getting married in India is a stressful affair. My sisters wedding concluded recently. I played the host to 400 odd people and I was totally drained out arranging everything. Finally it is over. Nothing less than a feat. Good to get done!
I am back in Minneapolis and back to school. Slowly picking up on work. It is no summer in summer here compared to what was in India.
For some reason I feel more lethargic than I was feeling when I left. I wear out running only 2 miles, more mentally than physically. I think Im not doing much at work too. I also don't feel like going out much. Is this a hangover of the holiday time spent back home?
I am back in Minneapolis and back to school. Slowly picking up on work. It is no summer in summer here compared to what was in India.
For some reason I feel more lethargic than I was feeling when I left. I wear out running only 2 miles, more mentally than physically. I think Im not doing much at work too. I also don't feel like going out much. Is this a hangover of the holiday time spent back home?
Monday, June 23, 2014
Eurotrip
I met several interesting people throughout the last eight days. A Romanian born college dropout running stock trading firm, small town Austrian dude living and working in Vienna, French-American couple expat in Czech, Polish lady born in communist era small town Poland and living in Krakow, two college kids passionate about studying physical therapy and self-proclaimed yoga-freak.
All this travelling only re-affirmed my belief that people everywhere in the world are same. All of us need love, acceptance and appreciation. And secondly that Polish women are among the most beautiful lot.I was really haphazard in my planning and it only added more adventure to the trip. I had to run and dash to get to travel Vienna-to-Prague. Half of the journey done in a shabby car
Austria
is a place which I think did not had much remnants of the forgotten
war. Partly because most of it was destroyed in the war. I’m not sure of
this but this is my guess. Even though in East Europe this part is
quite well developed. There are a lot of other industries than the
tourism. It was a busier town much like Delhi but with less people.
Unlike US and like many European cities the public transport is
excellent. But it doesn’t come really cheap in Vienna. I paid 2.10 euro
for a single surface tram ride. The ticket cannot be used even if you
get down the next station. Most of the Vienna’s population lives in box
flats. I spotted very few houses with frontyard and backyard.
My
host in Austria was a Mathematician working in IT field. He was in his
own words pure authentic Austrian awesomeness. :) We exchange Indian and
Austrian cuisines. I cooked mushroom masala and was served käsespätzle. It was one of the best pasta dish I had had!Prague was even wonderful. I had a really comfy couch and blanket and I slept well two nights at my hosts. They were a couple and a kitty.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
The Auschwiz
I remember the winter when I watched the six part documentary titled “The Holocaust”. To tell you the truth I never watched all six. After fifth one I felt sick, depressed, suicidal. I couldn’t take more of it. Previous week I was there – The Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II Birkinau. Among these two grounds there died more than one million fine young men, women and children. During the whole visit there were two places where which can give you shudders. First one was a room in Auschwitz I where the hairs of actual victims are kept.
Before I go to the second one here are some facts. Most of Auschwitz was destroyed towards the end of war when Germans were retreating and Red Army was chasing them. In spite of this some parts remain in original and some of it is reconstructed to look like as it were. The hairs of female victims were stored in a room to be sold to German fabric industry at half price for recycling purposes.
Second place was the incinerator in the Auschwitz I which was mostly in its original form. The room looked similar to a bakery I saw once. It was the place where people were rounded up for the ‘shower’. Of course there was no shower, there was cyclone B gas, and there was fire. For once I wanted it believe it was all fabricated. I wanted someone to tell me that the whole thing was a bad bad joke someone was trying to pull on me and nothing of this happened. The entrance gate built by Germans read in German “Work makes you free” which was obviously a pretty bad joke.
It is quite hard to believe that there was a society which allowed this to happen. Like love, hate is also a very strong feeling. It can make people do devilish things.
Auschwitz II Birkenau, built later in the war, was a much bigger ground where Jews from all over the Europe were brought. Originally there were barracks for Polish army in these grounds. Each barrack, built for about 70 horses, was later used to house about 300-400 people in them. In these grounds everything that was in Auschwitz one was at a bigger scale. There were 4 gas chambers. Because of the large amount of population sanitation became a problem and threatened safety of Nazi officers staying there. There were several sterilization facilities built here.
I thought I would write much more about it. I remember most of it. I can create a virtual tour of Auschwitz but I think I better not. I don’t want to write about it and I believe you don’t want to read about it.
May be I will write about jolly days of my ‘holidays’. My flight is about to land in India and I am going to see family after a long long time.
Before I go to the second one here are some facts. Most of Auschwitz was destroyed towards the end of war when Germans were retreating and Red Army was chasing them. In spite of this some parts remain in original and some of it is reconstructed to look like as it were. The hairs of female victims were stored in a room to be sold to German fabric industry at half price for recycling purposes.
Second place was the incinerator in the Auschwitz I which was mostly in its original form. The room looked similar to a bakery I saw once. It was the place where people were rounded up for the ‘shower’. Of course there was no shower, there was cyclone B gas, and there was fire. For once I wanted it believe it was all fabricated. I wanted someone to tell me that the whole thing was a bad bad joke someone was trying to pull on me and nothing of this happened. The entrance gate built by Germans read in German “Work makes you free” which was obviously a pretty bad joke.
It is quite hard to believe that there was a society which allowed this to happen. Like love, hate is also a very strong feeling. It can make people do devilish things.
Auschwitz II Birkenau, built later in the war, was a much bigger ground where Jews from all over the Europe were brought. Originally there were barracks for Polish army in these grounds. Each barrack, built for about 70 horses, was later used to house about 300-400 people in them. In these grounds everything that was in Auschwitz one was at a bigger scale. There were 4 gas chambers. Because of the large amount of population sanitation became a problem and threatened safety of Nazi officers staying there. There were several sterilization facilities built here.
I thought I would write much more about it. I remember most of it. I can create a virtual tour of Auschwitz but I think I better not. I don’t want to write about it and I believe you don’t want to read about it.
May be I will write about jolly days of my ‘holidays’. My flight is about to land in India and I am going to see family after a long long time.
Sunday, June 08, 2014
Homeward bound
My nice little Euro trip comes to an end today. I'm in Vienna right now waiting fir my flight to India where I belong. Fir days in Poland and I know more about the place than ever. And so much in love with this country. It ended with me watching short Polish animation movies. And hanging out over beer and soc bananavoa with two sweet little polka with big hearts.
I had gracious hosts in all 4 cities and three countries I travelled. I loved them all. I will write about all of them soon when I'm at ease at home. For now it's bon voyage! I'll see mommy soon!
I had gracious hosts in all 4 cities and three countries I travelled. I loved them all. I will write about all of them soon when I'm at ease at home. For now it's bon voyage! I'll see mommy soon!
Saturday, June 07, 2014
Poland
One week in Europe about to end. Right now I am in a not so known Polish town of Katowice. It is a town sprawling with college kids and two of them are hosting me. This is my fourth day in Poland and I am feeling really Polish by now :)
Earlier in Krakow I was at a CS party and I could make believe that I know Polish to many people. Just by using some common phrases. I was eating Polish food most of the time. I really like the Pirogis and Naleshniki. I was traveling in local transport like locals all the time. I even tried Polish drink called Orzechowka with a Polka in Krakow.
I really love Poland by now. Staying with Polish hosts only helped. It is like India in some aspects. Some of the photos look much like India. Other thing that I love about Poland, Europe in general, is the trains. They have good train network. They are cheap for domestic transport and they go everywhere. It coated me only 6 PLN ($2) from Oswiecim to Katowice. Funny thing is you can buy ticket only on board train. It took me a while to figure it out. I know more about Poland now than before. I want to come back here if I can. May be live here for a while.
I have so much to write before I forget about it.
Earlier in Krakow I was at a CS party and I could make believe that I know Polish to many people. Just by using some common phrases. I was eating Polish food most of the time. I really like the Pirogis and Naleshniki. I was traveling in local transport like locals all the time. I even tried Polish drink called Orzechowka with a Polka in Krakow.
I really love Poland by now. Staying with Polish hosts only helped. It is like India in some aspects. Some of the photos look much like India. Other thing that I love about Poland, Europe in general, is the trains. They have good train network. They are cheap for domestic transport and they go everywhere. It coated me only 6 PLN ($2) from Oswiecim to Katowice. Funny thing is you can buy ticket only on board train. It took me a while to figure it out. I know more about Poland now than before. I want to come back here if I can. May be live here for a while.
I have so much to write before I forget about it.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
In the benefit of hindsight I can say I was so stupid. Well, you can say that anyway. But right now I am talking about going out running and doing speedwork yesterday. I pulled hamstring in left leg. Thankfully it is not too bad but there is this residual annoying kinda pain which stays. Icing on the cake - I leave tomorrow for 3.5 weeks break. Not a nicely timed injury :|
In the next 10 days I will be in 3 different continents; at least 5 different countries; and 9 different cities. I see my folks in Allahabad at my last stop! Life's Good!
In the next 10 days I will be in 3 different continents; at least 5 different countries; and 9 different cities. I see my folks in Allahabad at my last stop! Life's Good!
Monday, May 26, 2014
Travelling solo
This is my last week in Minneapolis before I take my break. If I remember correctly last time I took more than extended weekend break was 1.5 years ago. So this was much needed. I will be gone for about 3 weeks. Of my three weeks break I will hover in East Europe for about 1 week. In India for 2 weeks. My sister is getting married next month!!!
I will be travelling by myself for most part of the time in Europe. They all seem to be very interesting people. I have travelled alone before but not for this long time. And not in foreign lands where I haven't lived or known anyone. All three countries I'm visiting have different languages, culture and currency. . I think it will be exciting. They have trains everywhere in Europe. That adds to it. I will be staying with Couchsurfing hosts in all places. They all seem to be interesting people. As they say, you have friends everywhere., you just haven't met them yet!
But I must say I will miss Minneapolis somewhat. Because it is summer and summer is the best time to be in Minneapolis! One of the best places to be in summer! But I am not complaining. I will be in Austria, Czech Republic and Poland. Yes Poland. I wanted to go there since a long time. In fact the main reason for stopping in Europe was to go to Oswiecim, which is Polish name for the town in occupied Germany where Germans decimated millions. More familiar name is Auschwitz. I am going to visit the Auschwitz memorial. That is the main attraction of my stop. When I tell this to people they find it a bit weird. But I guess all of us weird in some sense in our own way and our own place. It is a place which marks nadir in collective human behaviour. A shame that this took place and was done by a leader of mass following. It wasn't war it was genocide. It was an important event in history.
I am somewhat obsessed with WW2 history and want to see trails of war history in East Europe. Also for some unknown reason I like the two countries. Poland and Vietnam. Both of them one thing in common. They were hotbed of two wars and destruction at the behest of foreign invaders (if I may use this word). I wanted to see the Poland and Auschwitz. I'm spending half my time in Poland. When I first told a European friend of mine his first reaction was: Poland? No one goes there! :) I don't blame him. He might be true. But I am no one and I'm going there.
I am learning some Polish for fun. Apparently it is a hard language to pronounce. For english speakers they pronunce much different from what they write. Oswiecim is Aaush-wien-shim. Zywiec is Zuwietch. and some more crazy ones. It seems a week is not enough to see all I want to see. I may have to come back to Poland. And East Europe in general. There is lot of history and culture to be discovered. And Europe in more general. And world in more general.
I will write whenever I have time in between.
I will be travelling by myself for most part of the time in Europe. They all seem to be very interesting people. I have travelled alone before but not for this long time. And not in foreign lands where I haven't lived or known anyone. All three countries I'm visiting have different languages, culture and currency. . I think it will be exciting. They have trains everywhere in Europe. That adds to it. I will be staying with Couchsurfing hosts in all places. They all seem to be interesting people. As they say, you have friends everywhere., you just haven't met them yet!
But I must say I will miss Minneapolis somewhat. Because it is summer and summer is the best time to be in Minneapolis! One of the best places to be in summer! But I am not complaining. I will be in Austria, Czech Republic and Poland. Yes Poland. I wanted to go there since a long time. In fact the main reason for stopping in Europe was to go to Oswiecim, which is Polish name for the town in occupied Germany where Germans decimated millions. More familiar name is Auschwitz. I am going to visit the Auschwitz memorial. That is the main attraction of my stop. When I tell this to people they find it a bit weird. But I guess all of us weird in some sense in our own way and our own place. It is a place which marks nadir in collective human behaviour. A shame that this took place and was done by a leader of mass following. It wasn't war it was genocide. It was an important event in history.
I am somewhat obsessed with WW2 history and want to see trails of war history in East Europe. Also for some unknown reason I like the two countries. Poland and Vietnam. Both of them one thing in common. They were hotbed of two wars and destruction at the behest of foreign invaders (if I may use this word). I wanted to see the Poland and Auschwitz. I'm spending half my time in Poland. When I first told a European friend of mine his first reaction was: Poland? No one goes there! :) I don't blame him. He might be true. But I am no one and I'm going there.
I am learning some Polish for fun. Apparently it is a hard language to pronounce. For english speakers they pronunce much different from what they write. Oswiecim is Aaush-wien-shim. Zywiec is Zuwietch. and some more crazy ones. It seems a week is not enough to see all I want to see. I may have to come back to Poland. And East Europe in general. There is lot of history and culture to be discovered. And Europe in more general. And world in more general.
I will write whenever I have time in between.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Ghazal
I like urdu poetry. They become your friend at times and support your existence.
मैं अकेला ही चला था जानिब-ए- मंजिल मगर
लोग साथ आते गए और कारवां बनता गया |
(I set off alone towards the destination but,
People joined by and by and lo! a soon it was a caravan!)
I am either moving too fast or too slow. My caravan is not catching up.
मैं अकेला ही चला था जानिब-ए- मंजिल मगर
लोग साथ आते गए और कारवां बनता गया |
(I set off alone towards the destination but,
People joined by and by and lo! a soon it was a caravan!)
I am either moving too fast or too slow. My caravan is not catching up.
Monday, April 28, 2014
Happiness
Sometime I am saboteur of my own happiness. Whenever I have got something to be happy about I feel like I have something to lose. It is a mixed feeling. I am happy to be happy, just like everyone everywhere is. But I don't like that feeling of having something to lose. So I become tiny bit anxious when I have that. Well, I guess I am not alone. Quote:
"Niki Lauda: Happiness is the enemy. It weakens you. Puts doubts in your mind. Suddenly you have something to lose."
"Niki's wife: When you call happiness an enemy then it's too late. Then you've already lost."
Here is a youtube grab from the movie.
It has been raining Monsoon in Minneapolis since past few days! And rest of this week is going to be the same. I've already got two set of wet cloths. I love to watch the rain. Makes me feel nostalgic. Lovely weather (barring the fact biking becomes difficult.) Come June I will see the Monsoons in the Gangatic plains. :)
"Niki Lauda: Happiness is the enemy. It weakens you. Puts doubts in your mind. Suddenly you have something to lose."
"Niki's wife: When you call happiness an enemy then it's too late. Then you've already lost."
Here is a youtube grab from the movie.
It has been raining Monsoon in Minneapolis since past few days! And rest of this week is going to be the same. I've already got two set of wet cloths. I love to watch the rain. Makes me feel nostalgic. Lovely weather (barring the fact biking becomes difficult.) Come June I will see the Monsoons in the Gangatic plains. :)
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Holi
So we had yet another Holi in Minneapolis. Thanks to the three friends who played hosts (although I invited one guest of my own too). They've been doing this since last three years. It has grown into tradition of some sort now. I like that!
We had to wait more than a month from actual Holi date in want of good weather. TBN - It was 12 C outside on a Saturday but good enough for Minnesotans to call it summer time :) And I was thrown in the river in this temperature; all wet chest down. Kinda caught cold but got well quickly.
It was crazy crazy weekend. Here's a memoir of Holi 2014.
We had to wait more than a month from actual Holi date in want of good weather. TBN - It was 12 C outside on a Saturday but good enough for Minnesotans to call it summer time :) And I was thrown in the river in this temperature; all wet chest down. Kinda caught cold but got well quickly.
It was crazy crazy weekend. Here's a memoir of Holi 2014.
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