Reminiscing

Every once in a while you come across an article in the media that hits home. I found such an article in a magazine called Transition, I had never heard of before.

The author, Kai Friese, speaks about his fascination with The Phantom comics, available in India.

 

……And a comic book was a Phantom.

Of course we hoarded, borrowed, or rented Superman, Batman, even Aquaman, when we could. But the Phantom was a more dependable hero, always there when you needed one—and cheap, at one and a half rupees. There were none of the cruel advertisements for unobtainable goods—Schwinn Bikes and Hostess Twinkies, Incredible Sea Monkeys and Amazing Inflatable Raquel Welch Dolls. The Phantom had matte covers and reassuringly crappy production values. He was a castaway on our side of the pond, a Third World kind of guy…….

 

It hit home, not for the penmanship, which was excellent, but mostly for the nostalgic visuals it threw up.

The rest of the article is here.

loving your job

"The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug."

-Chris Hedges, from the opening quote in “The Hurt Locker”

 

I was watching “The Hurt Locker” the other day. One of the things that struck me was the honest attempt at giving credit to the efforts of the soldiers fighting the war. While there will be the eternal question about whether the War on Terror was justified, both in terms of the intention as well as the methods, the truth remains, that barring a few bad eggs, the personnel involved are doing their job the best they can.

But moreover, there was a different point that struck me, something that the film was reaffirming all along.

The point is that when you come to the realization that you’re damn good at the job you do, when you know that you’re the expert, then your work is no longer a chore. Its a work of art, a masterpiece you end up filling with every masterful stroke and shade that you possibly can. Eventually for those who love their work, the work is a lethally addictive drug.

An amateur attempt at a haiku

I have been a little intrigued lately by haikus. So like a good experimenter, I experimented with one. Here goes:

Friends of long

meet at tables forlorn

and expect ill

This was written in a boring business meeting.

What matters now

Seth Godin has always been one of my gurus. Be it his ideas about being “remarkable” to being the lynchpin and doing “work that matters”, he’s been one of the guys who leads without assuming leadership.

As we turn into the new year, Seth has got some of the modern world’s greatest management gurus and thinkers to put together ideas on how you, me and everyone can “do work that matters”. The result of this effort is “What Matters Now”, a free ebook which , according to Seth:

“Here are more than seventy big thinkers, each sharing an idea for you to think about as we head into the new year. From bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert to brilliant tech thinker Kevin Kelly, from publisher Tim O’Reilly to radio host Dave Ramsey, there are some important people riffing about important ideas here. The ebook includes Tom Peters, Jackie Huba and Jason Fried, along with Gina Trapani, Bill Taylor and Alan Webber.”

The ebook is here, for those who want to make a change this new year!! Happy New Year, people!!!

And thank you, Seth!!!

Real Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day just went by, November 26th to be precise. While most of us in India are not exactly trackers of this calendar event in the US, its a good time to start thinking about it.

Historically, Thanksgiving is a harvest festival where it is a time to give thanks to God for the harvest and express gratitude to others for our many blessings. While predominantly a religious festival, it is today a very secular holiday.

We in India don’t miss it because given the unique diversity of religion and culture that this country is, we have our own harvest festivals….. multiples of them!!! Pongal, Baisakhi, Onam, Sankranthi, Bihu and for me as a Mangalorean from Konkan, Noven. Each with its elaborate set of rituals, traditions and oh so yummy FOOD!!!!

But my main point is not the cultural diversity of India but rather the entire ethos that surrounds Thanksgiving. About why we need a specific day to give thanks. Everyday is a time to give thanks, thanks for everything and everyone that helps us grow in some way…..

Thank you for being you, for reading this and letting me be a better me

Getaway to Elephanta…..

I still don’t believe it. Thirty one years in Mumbai and I never went there. And it was not much anyway, took me all of 12 hours for the entire experience. But I had to get away from the humdrum of daily life….. and across the sea is where I went!!

Now, for Mumbaikars, Elephanta may be a lame destination for a getaway. Most of us have gone there as kids…. Well, I’ve not!!! So I do my little schoolboy curiosity and set out, by road, rail and sea!!!

The end of my rail journey brought me to Victoria Terminus Station, a heritage treasure in its own right. Search on google and you’d find a thousand pics of the grand building. But that morning, as I was testing out the zoom on my camera, two main details caught my eye:

This is the pinnacle figure on one of the side buildings. Its a classic example of Indo Saracenic architecture, complete with gothic gargoyles and lionheads.

Below is the masthead, the uppermost figurine adorning the very top of the structure. This is from the side of the building, as against most pics that show it from the front. Holding a torch for light [which nowadays also catches lightning in the famous Bombay monsoons], and a wheel to signify progress, the lady stood watch and still stands watch over South Mumbai.

(Note to myself: Never ever ever turn on automatic date stamping on the pictures. NEVER.)

 
Given my hurry to get to the Gateway of India, I walked the distance. It was quite an experience walking through an empty dockyard section of Mumbai, which is normally packed with people on a weekday. Having just finished reading “Shantaram”, the curiosity to notice the little nuances of the surroundings, cats outside the Mint, the tight security of the Harbour, the gleaming brassware of the dockyard gates, all of which only the mind’s eye captures and manmade eyes are forbidden to….

About 10 minutes of brisk walking brought me to undoubtedly the most famous of Bombay’s landmarks, the Gateway of India. The grandeur of the structure is enough to overwhelm the most stoic of travellers. Its supposed to be an ornamental gate, a gate raised to welcome a monarch. And while there may be a thousand buildings around it today that dwarf it in physical size, the Gateway towers above them with the sheer force of royal attitude.

 Bombay was a collection of islands and Elephanta was one of the smaller outer lying islands. So to get to an island of the island, I embarked on the best part of the journey….. the sea route!!!

While the sea journey itself made unassuming sailors of us all, the ferry ride was what I was looking forward to. Somehow I’ve always found the call of the sea extremely inviting. So you can count on me to take the helm of the boat, but it had to be Mohammed to do the Leonardo DiCaprio part. He manages the ferry and makes 8 trips daily, to and fro. Not exactly my type of sea-faring life, but its a living…….

And finally, LAND AHOY!!!!!!!!!!

For my first impression of the island, its huge!! Huge and green!!! I landed there in the fag end of summer, but I can only imagine how it would look in the monsoons The place has a wharf where launch boats such as mine keep docking and undocking all the day long. The first boat touches there at 9:45 am and the last boat leaves there at 5:30 pm. If you miss that one, you’re pretty much stranded there overnight!!!

I have never figured out grown adults fascination for little trains. Be it the small park trains in Borivili National Park, Mumbai or Cubbon Park, Bangalore or the quaint mountain trains of Nilgiris or Darjeeling, every adult wants a ride. No wonder that the small train that starts off at the wharf and takes you about a kilometer inland to the start of the steps to go up to the caves has so many takers. Moreover its a free ride and who doesn’t like those

The caves are situated a little higher up the hill from the shore. So rock cut steps existed to take people from the shore edge to the top of the hill. Given the fact that the caves are a Unesco protected heritage site, proper stone and mortar steps have been built.

The steady stream of tourists has also spawned a small market economy around the caves. So walking up the stairs, which is a rather steep climb, is also an experience. The main attraction here are little arts and crafts, small jewellery made out of beads and Lapis Lazuli [or so they claimed], wood carvings, paintings are fun to look at. And also it helps to break the climb, providing enough distraction to take a break. I tried the straight nonstop climb up, so take my advice when I tell you to take a break.  

The Gharapuri caves [renamed Elephanta by the Portuguese] were originally a sort of hostel accommodation for wandering Jain and Buddhist monks to take their rest during travels. As the surrounding area began to get wealthy, these functional cave dwellings became significant centers along trade routes. As Buddhism declined, the local Shaivites [Shiva devotees] took up the maintenance and enhancement of the complex. As a result, the Gharapuri caves are a harmonious combination of Buddhist austerity and Hindu art celebrations.

The enormity of the complex is evident in its vast layout. There are 6 cave structures in all, the largest being Cave complex no. 1. Cave complex 1 is actually a temple hall complex, housing a huge shivling inside an ornate sanctum sanctorium as well as the famous Trimurti. More about that later.

The adjoining photograph is the courtyard outside the temple hall, which is to the right. As can be seen, the courtyard is huge and it has got this large circular podium in the center. I could just imagine monks and novices sitting around in this courtyard, with the main speaker delivering his discourse from this center podium. Its a overwhelming experience overlooking this courtyard, a tribute to the strong heritage of educational development that this country has. And today we go out for higher education….. Ironic, isn’t it??
 
The austerity of the Bhuddhist influence is evident in the residential chambers in another cave complex. Neatly cut in stone, the interior of these chambers is bare and unfurnished, with only the floor being smoothed out. The walls and ceiling are raw, unfinished rock faces. Considering most of the time was spent in prayer, meditation and sleep, interior decoration was not exactly a concern.

However, presentability of the quarters, however humble, was of importance as is evidenced in the simple but neatly cut doorways of the quarters. In India, the maxim “Athithi devo bhava” [The guest is the manifestation of God] takes new meaning when such detail is seen in this transit home complex of the ages.

But the ancients did know their architecture, for standing right there between the two doors, in that corner, the view was breathtaking.

Take away the people, the railings and the solar light poles and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. If you were to wake up to that scenario, early in the morning, amidst the chirping of birds and the assault of the cool breeze, you’d be at peace with yourself and the world!!!

Talk about a room with a view!!! I happened to see these places at noon, so essentially in the middle of summer, the sun is blazing at a hellish 34 degrees celsius outside.

What was surprising is that inside these stone rooms, the temperature is a cool 23 degrees celsius. [And I checked it with a pocket thermometer]. Now isn’t that the exact temperature that most of us set our Air Conditioners to??

To top that, if you touch the rough rock walls, they’re cold!! Not cool, COLD!!! And despite the fact that the room has only one entrance opening and no windows, the wind makes a natural circulation into the room. They might have been ancient stonecutters under the supervision of an architect, but these folks sure knew their architecture. And how?? You’ve got to see it to believe.

And that’s the shelf. Unbreakable, water proof, sturdy… Absolutely guaranteed for 20 centuries or your money back!!

Cleverly L-shaped to provide for a mechanism to store valuables in the back. I’m sure the monks of old kept their books and manuscripts at home. And I could not help thinking about my bookshelf at home which already has started to buckle under the weight of my books!!

I sure could use one of these.

And finally this is what it was all about. The Trimurti Sadashiva. The largest relief carving in the entire complex. Just like the Gateway of India is the symbol of Bombay, the Trimurti is the symbol that identifies the Elephanta caves.

The most important sculpture in the complex is carved in relief at the end of the N-S axis. The image is around four times my height, and I’m a modest 5 ft 9. The relief represents the Panchamukha Shiva [Five headed Shiva]. Three faces are visible and the fourth face is assumed to be behind. The fifth face is supposed to be an ethereal face and is envisioned in the mind of the sculptor, hence never depicted.

The right half-face shows him as a young person with sensuous lips, embodying life and its vitality. In his hand he holds something that resembles a rose bud — again with the promise of life and creativity. It is this face that is closest to that of Brahma, the creator or Uma or Vamadeva, the feminine side of Shiva. This is Shiva the Creator.

The left half-face face on the side is that of a young man. It is moustached, and displays anger. This is Shiva as the Aghora Bhairava [The angry Shiva], as the one whose anger can engulf the entire world in flames leaving only ashes behind. This is Shiva, the Destroyer.

The central face is calm and meditative, as the preserver of the universe, Vishnu. This is Shiva as the yogi — Yogeshwar — in deep meditation praying for the ‘preservation’ of humanity.

Now I know this is not a front facing shot of the relief, but this is my view of the sculpture. The fact that it dwarfs you with its sheer size and the calm on the face of the diety, is enough to overwhelm you. 

Add to that the fact that I had a rather lousy camera that gave up on me during the low light conditions and the numerous clowns who wanted to hold hands with their spouses and hogged up the space to get clicked in front of this magnificence!!!

I sat there on that island for a long time, contemplating the past of this place and how it would have felt to be part of that ethos. How it would have felt to sleep in those cool caves at night. How it would have felt to discuss with the elder monks and gurus. How it would have felt to walk amidst the serene embrace of nature and gaze upon the calm fury of the sea!!!

It was a rejuvenating experience, for me as my curiosity about the Elephanta Caves was finally ebbed…. for me to understand the importance of being in harmony with nature, for me to realise that austerity is not a sacrifice, but a possible channel towards self realization and for me to realize that to celebrate the Divine, all it takes is one’s skill and abilities and then one can make even plain rock can sing in celebration, just like those humble stonecutters whose celebration we gaze upon today, after all these centuries, with wonder and awe.

Mobile blogging

This is the test blog post that I’m making from my phone. Aaah the joys of a qwerty keyboard.

Matt

I’m not sure if you have seen this before, but when one guy decides to let go of his inhibitions, his limiting beliefs and decides to do things the way he wants to, you just might get a world wide phenomenon!!!!!

Introducing Matt and his Dance of Gratitude…

According to his website, Where the hell is Matt??, Matt is a 32 year old guy from Connecticut who in February of 2003, quit his job in Brisbane, Australia and used the money he’d saved to wander around Asia until it ran out.

A few months into his trip, a travel buddy gave Matt an idea. They were standing around taking pictures in Hanoi, and his friend said “Hey, why don’t you stand over there and do that dance. I’ll record it.” He was referring to a particular dance Matt does. It’s actually the only dance Matt does. He does it badly. Anyway, this turned out to be a very good idea.

Reminds me of the Royal Ballet School audition scene where Billy decides to just believe in himself and let go!!!!!!

Just a reminder that when you forget the world is watching and critiquing, you just might enjoy the dance!!!!!!

Old Country Tunes

Someone handed me an album titled Country’s Greatest Hits by Various Artists. Its kinda an anthology of the greatest hits, from waaaaay back.

Now I’m not exactly a country fan, at least I wasn’t till this came along. I guess Urmi started it with her die hard fanaticism for Bob Dylan…. but this album did it. Lots of good old feel-good tunes.

My favorite one is Country Boy by Little Jimmy Dickens. Check out the lyrics:

Now, I’m just a simple guy
But there’s one thing sure as shootin’
I hate those folks that think that they’re
So doggone high fa lutin
I’d be the same in Hollywood
Or right in my own kitchen
I believe in fussin’ when you’re mad
And scratchin’ when you’re itchin’.

Touche!!!!!!

Matrimonial Dating Disaster

All right. Before you start to wonder about whether I am going to rant about divorces or separations and marital problems, no I’m not. At least not now, as I’m not exactly an “experienced authority” on that subject.

This particular post would not really have been written, if it did not mystify me so much. I’m still so confused about it all, I had to get it out…..

It all begins with this profile I put up on a matrimonial site. Yeah yeah, I did it!! Sooner or later, you have to get all the doting “concerned” aunts and the emotionally blackmailing parents off your back!! Its rather amusing the fact that the moment you start to approach a particular age, suddenly everyone wants to start giving you advice about marriage!! [Generally, everyone wants to give advice, but that's another matter altogether!!]. But then let me also state that I put up the profile not for the fun of it, but rather seriously. Those who have found and read my profile will see the sincerity and effort in it. Yes I am looking for a soulmate…… not that I’m not happy being single, but just that I’d like to share my life with someone special now….. so that’s that!! Enough with the mushy talk already!!

Well so this profile has started to get viewed by many eligible spinsters and I have met a few of them, some of whom are now my very good friends. So when I received this message from a rather attractive girl, I was not really surprised:

“Hey there, I liked your profile a lot and I’d love to get to know you better!! You can contact me on.. etc. etc.”

Fairly standard reply, warranted a fairly standard answer. I gave her my contacts and introduced myself. A couple of messages follow, mostly dealing with “when is a good time to call” and “who’s gonna call first”.

So, as chivalry demands it [yeah, I'm rather old school!!], I call!! General pleasantries follow, with standard questions about family, education, work etc. etc. I get compliments about a great profile and how she felt connected to me after reading it!! [What women have about ESP based communication I can never understand. Its always connections, vibes, positive energy and all that!!]

Now here’s where it gets funny. When I get home and check my life online, I have an invite from this lady on Orkut!! Now this is a first!! Either this lady is really a social animal or a nice friendly person. Even I’d think twice before adding a person I’ve never met….. and this is a girl, for heaven’s sake!!!! So I leave her a scrap, about she trying to stalk me and all!! Yeah, my corny sense of humour there!! That very evening, we’re talking on the telephone…. for an hour!! Now this is happening almost everyday!!! I don’t know about you, but with that much interaction with a person in such little time, I start to warm towards them!! I like friendly people!!!

Cut to a week later, we finally decide to meet. Needless to say, we’re rather pally at this stage, or so I gather!! And I’m finally sitting across a table from this lady. The conversation goes on, back and forth on rather general things. Something that is rather noticeable is the frequent periods of silence, as if we’ve spoken all we had to say. And to think this is the same lady I had hour-long conversations on the telephone!! It was indeed quickly evident that this was going nowhere, despite our desperate attempts to salvage the date!! Talk about a total “rain on my parade” scenario!!!

Well to top it all, she takes my business card. I mean, unless you’re dating a fellow professional in the same field, do you ask for a business card on a date, a “looking for marriage” one at that??? And rather conveniently, she’s not carrying hers. Well, it was a first for me!!

Well, that was ok. We did not gel and though we had a good time offline, we weren’t exactly comfortable with each other. Nervousness, maybe but I’ve never been at a loss for words before!! So this was seriously mismatched!! End of disastrous date!!

Now here’s the really messed up part!!

Years of social etiquette practice has taught me to always follow up with a thank you note, whether it is a meeting, an interview, a party or an appointment. So why should a date be any different?? I write her a rather humorous note thanking her for the date and that I liked her and we need some time to think about it….. With my extremely chivalrous upbringing [Thanks Mom ], Its tough to be blunt and undiplomatic with a woman!!

Two days later I get a response. As expected, its a “regret to inform you that we don’t match” letter. The standard philosophical musings follow with “Marriage is a commitment for life” and “we’re very different from each other”. I was just about to say “Phew, thank heaven” when this line follows:

“I would prefer not to have any further communication!!”

OK now I’m confused!!! The fact that we have had hour-long conversations and have laughed a lot definitely pointed out to the fact that though we may not exactly be spouse material, but we can definitely be friends!!! And Orkut and all the other things!!! Suddenly the “connection” just went dead!!

Now the really creepy part!!

I log into Orkut to find that this lady is no longer in my friends list. Not only that, I can’t find her on the site!! This would happen if someone has deleted her profile or has put you on their “ignore” list!!! So either I’m in a re-run of the X-Files or this lady is downright paranoid!!

BOY, WHAT AN EXPERIENCE!!!!

At first, I doubted whether there was something wrong I did!! But there was nothing that I’d done that could warrant treating me like a serial killer!! I admit I’m eccentric at times, but this was weird!! Downright weird!!

My point of confusion is just how can a person who has been talking to me with so much comfort, just switch off like that?? And that too with the paranoia of Mel Gibson’s character in Conspiracy Theory!! She really did not seem that mannerless, but then these are strange times we live in. I guess it takes all types to make the world go round!!!

PS: I’m wondering whether she’s changed all the telephones of her house, considering that she called me from every one of them!!