Addicted to Life

New York , New York

2011-05-19T15:34:00.000-07:00

As I emerged out from Lincoln tunnel , with bags packed and leaving a bundle of memories behind , what was I thinking ! I was enchanted to see the sun setting behind the skyline , the picture-perfect frame that I loved and carried in my heart for last two years . Bare , yet beautiful ! And I started pondering about what it was that I loved about this crowded-bright alleys and dungeon like apartments . Nothing other than the energy , the feeling that you are in the center of the world , important-all-of-a-sudden , eating late brunches at posh eateries , drinking bountiful quantities of wine and whisky at the east village bars , strolling down the literary walk of centrak park and gaping at all the well dressed people who seem to have emerged from a hollywood movie . And everything !

Before I vacated the city , I made a final trip to Brooklyn bridge , my all time favourite spot there . I could watch the twinkling lights of the city as the 4 train buzzed next to me .Not just the lights but love , food , music , wine , strippers , shopping , jogging all seemed to be mingle equally well here . And I have always cherished the anonymity that the bustling city provides . The sweet guilty feeling that creeps into your mind when you know that you are no longer being monitored . All of a sudden I was free , I could wake up on a Saturday morning and go all around . I could pick up a copy of AM New york at the station and start making plans for a weekend that never arrived . And after repeating that for weeks , resign politely to the game of Angry Birds .

When I look back , I do realize , that over last two years, I became a fan of Apple , I started monitoring news from all over the world , started loving all pages of New York times as a morning ritual , started liking the American breakfast , started loving retro music in rustic pubs and the cheap plays for which my company gave free passes . I learnt that life was meant to be lived , and lived to the moment . I realized that friends come and go and then they come again . I started following the tennis open which came to Flushing Meadows every year . I stopped at random train stations listening to music played out by strangers , thinking twice and thrice before giving them a dollar . And adding to the personal side , I got married and soon I am becoming a dad .

Will I crave for the retro chicken tikka masala sandwiches which I used to devour every other day Will I wish to hop on to the H&M next door to bloomberg office ? Will I want to see the night fade and lights go off in the city from my balcony ? Will I miss the familiar sight of 6 train emerging from the tunnel ? Will I miss the laugh that resonates our floor when the manager in the next row shouts " Its time to prove .. lets go ahead " ..But for sure I will laugh when some one asks me where do I see myself after five years though ;-)
Cheers ,
New Yorker

Life along the number 6 line

2010-12-03T12:52:00.000-08:00

I dont know if it would be too early to write on this , but what the heck , I will . I moved recently to an apartment by the no: 6 line ( for non-newyorkers , this is the subway local line that runs all the way through Lexington Ave ) . So my office and apartment are now connected by the 6 train and I am totally in love with the 18 minute commute time . Along with this , came some surprise discoveries . The Srilankan restaurant , one of my favourites in the city also lies along the 6 train line , not to mention Crumbs by the Grand Central . The H&M store from where I buy most of my apparels is also on this line . Also the last station for this train on Manhattan side is Brooklyn Bridge , one of my favourite spots here . And yesterday , I went a few blocks ahead to find out some spots to hang out and ended up spotting a huge grocery store and wine shops( again by the 6 line ) which made me do some serious cooking at night. To make this train more popular , the book and the subsequent movies ( Taking of Pelham 123 ) is all about hijacking the 6 train that left Pelham Bay .. And the amazing truth about this train is that I get to watch a slice of newyork , I mean people from all walks , races , colours in my daily commute . Now when I look for something in the city , the first spot check that I do is ..... to see if it lies along the 6 line ;-) .

I believe a few months down the lane , I would have a lot more to add to the list

An Unusual Sunday Morning

2010-11-23T12:28:00.000-08:00

The day started off abruptly , waking up at 4.20 and trying to rush out at 4.40 am still shrugging out the hangover from my system . Had to reach JFK to drop her and in the morning I realize that there is a schedule change for E train .. Hell screw it , will catch something else . Once we got out from the apartment , realized that the big suitcase's handles were broken and that I had to lean all the way to lug it along . Ok , accepted that and moved ahead to reach the station on time . When we reached , realized that we missed the train and had to wait a long time , screw the weekend schedules ! Now next challenge was to catch a cab from WTC to the airport and reach there on time . Once I had dropped Maya , I could still feel the sleepiness in my eyes . So got a coffee and was rethinking about the idea of doing the 4 mile run in Central Park ... But thought that I would push on .

Some background : I love running and I love Central Park , so couldn't resist the combination . I had signed up for this race a month back and had been training for this .

Once I reached the race site , I could feel the excitement in the air .. I was 4 mins late and people were still rushing in to join the crowd . I didn't waste much time to change into running gear and dashed to the starting point . Then I realized one thing , man its freaking cold .. But reassured thinking that my blood would get warmer in the next few minutes . And then I started off with a girl who was also a bit late.

And then things started getting better .

After 0.5 miles , I was feeling warmer and started waving at the volunteers .

After 1 mile , I realized I have covered it in 10 mins and paused to tie my shoe laces . I also started noticing so many people running around , bikers shouting and waving at us and then I decided that from now onwards I am gonna smile and run !

After 2 miles , it just got better and I was feeling good . Now I started enjoying the views , the trees and the lake on the way . Ah , and in between mind started wandering here and there .

Didn't realize that I had reached 3 miles , and on the way I went past 100th st , close to my future home . Now people were cheering all the way yelling 'the last mile..go further' . I thought I would give my best run for the last mile .. Finished that stretch in 6 minutes ( that is still my best ).. Grabbed a banana , an apple and a bagel from the finish line .

While I was recovering from the fatigue , I decided to walk the entire length of the park back to catch the train . Before boarding the train , I just felt glad and proud that I was able to do this .. The day was long for me . The uneasiness of waking up early on a Sunday morning just after 3 hours of sleep( heavy ) , the round trip to airport from jersey( long ! ) , but the elation that you get when you realize that you are a part of the 5000 other odd newyorkers who are out there beating all odds ..PRICELESS !

PS : This race was sponsored by Newyork Road Runners and was done for a fundraising for people suffering from AIDS . The website is https://www.glwd.org/race/

Dream of Californication

2008-08-29T12:32:00.006-07:00

Pack your stuff, get the sunglasses, apply the sunscreen lotion and get the beachwear…. Coz you are at California, the golden state. The very first thing that I noticed, when I landed at SanFrancisco Airport was this tagline of the car rentals ‘ You did not come to California to sit inside your room ‘.. Well, that sounds like something interesting, right? And it all started from there, the rock and roll roller coaster ride. This is the place that gives you the opportunity to do lots of outdoor activities, and I am getting indulged in all those. There were some ups and downs, but yeah, what’s life without these?Now I have my next 3 goals .. get my body in shape , build a personal website and get a brand new camera.

Sail on over the rough waves

2008-08-29T11:58:00.005-07:00

Long and winding the path may be,
Indeed rewarding the view will be...
Give that thrust for the final flow
Gotta endure the rain, to see the rainbow

Harold and Kumar go to office

2008-07-25T10:12:00.006-07:00

Sounds like the latest Hollywood blockbuster ? Well yes , it is .. and this post is all about the Indian guy KK ( me , the Kumar ) and his flat mate Mike ( Harold ) . After making my first internship switch from SAP to Qualcomm , I checked into the new apartment given by Qualcomm , with all the enthusiasm in the world , humming a new tune and surprise ... I got a guy from Hong Kong as my roomie . Its always fun to have some one from a different country , but I never thought that it would be so much fun altogether. Day1 @ office , we were the last ones to check in there and when we reached the desk , HR girl , yes that cute one , smiled and said " You two remind me of that movie , the Harold and Kumar " and well , it all started from there . The name became a bit famous among our batch-mates . We were also excited about this ;-)
I have made my roomie listen to Hindi Songs , taste the Indian 'curry ' and now he has started craving for more .. dil maange more .. And I put on a smile when ' Dum Maro Dum ' flows out of his mobile when a call comes.Because of him , I have slowed down a bit , when I am talking ..but he says he has now got used to the Indian English . And he taught me Turkish Checkers ( a board game ) and some American History and culture . If you happen to visit our place , you may also notice that the wireless router is 'Harold and Kumar ' ;-)
San Diego had a lot of things to offer . Sun , Sand , Surf , Sea World and whole lots of out door activities . I did surfing for the first time in my life . Went for kayak in the bay , visited Sea World and Zoo , and whole lots of pristine beaches . I am extending my 3 month tenure here .. till December 2008 . Lets see how it goes.

Transit loungers

2008-04-28T21:47:00.006-07:00

The term 'transit loungers' (borrowed from Pico Iyer) refers to the class of people who are entangled between multicultural identities .(My roomies refer to a friend of us as "Cultural Shock " hehe ). Iyer suggested this to denote the set of people who end up spending a lot of time catching international flights , waiting at the transit lounges . They don't have any affinity towards any particular nationality , but feel quite comfortable eating Pizzas and burgers ( or even trying out Chinese dishes with chopsticks ), listening to Bryan Adams , watching Hollywood movies and thinking of English as an international passport. Well , I still believe that I don't belong to one of them.But what made me think about this is the recent conversation that I had with my cousin who is in Indian Airforce .I was talking to him after a long while and he asked a simple question "Are you still a desi ? Or have you embraced the new culture ? ". I replied assertively saying that I am , and will always be a Mallu (hehe , the identity which I love to cherish ).
But afterwards this made me think a bit deep . " Do I have any right to be one ? ".....Like any pravasi Malayalee ( the denizens of Kerala ), I too wear the traditional dress on Onam and Vishu , and still vehemently talk , rather argue about CPI (M) , Malayalam lyrics and the desi mindset and all that . But that doesn't entitle me to be a proper Desi or Mallu .
Dreams and ambitions took me a long way out of the place where I was born and now I think the attachment for my hometown is only because my parents are still there . For me , home is where my mom is .. well thats true . Once when I was in Bangalore , she was hospitalized in Cochin and I rushed to the hospital and stayed with her there for the entire 3 days when she was there . Not because my house was quite far from the hospital , but I felt that is where my home is !!! So if at all my parents come down to this alien country to stay with me , will I lose the touch with God's Own country ? Something that experience should tell me .
My friends over here have now developed this habit of listening to Malayalam poetry online .Thanks to www.nishaunni.com and Vishnu , who introduced us to this website . When I listen to the lyrics of Vyloppilli and Vayalar , I feel that I have lost a lot of things when I embraced Information Technology . Well , technology has its benefits . It has taken us close to the long lost lyrics through these poems now .While I was in Kerala , I never used to listen fully to these lines , but now they sound far far better . May be I am not a transit lounger yet .... I am still at the domestic lounge :-)
PS : The cousin who talked to me , Manoj chettan , is heading to Kashmir now , his next posting . He told me that 'Dahl Lake' would be awesome . He told me that his posting is 11,000 feet above the sea level , and mountains look wonderful from there. He told me that life could be really adventurous there . He told me not to be a transit lounger and come back ....

Coconut Oil and Rock Music

2008-03-31T00:00:00.003-07:00

You must be wondering , whether I am out of my senses . What a weird combination .. hehe but I am trying out that . Two things that caught my attention these days . I am quite comfortable listening to 'System of a Down ' with dosas dipped in coconut oil chutney . And I successfully made my non Mallu friend try some coconut oil . Don't know , the life of every sane Mallu ( insane as well ) is linked with Coconut Oil , CPI ( M ) and Fish ..I am adding rock music to that :-)

Adding new melodies

2008-03-30T18:17:00.006-07:00

It has been a while since I blogged , not because my life was not eventful , but it was so eventful that I couldn't devote time to compose one .. :-) . Well as the title says , adding new melodies , I added quite some new aspects to my life . A new country ,new roles and a whole new set of friends and new activities to keep me engaged . I couldn't have asked for more . I never thought that I would land up in the so called 'land of opportunities', which was one big surprise , and I was not even sure whether I was dreaming or not when I was pushing the trolley through Dulles International Airport .If it was a dream , then I didn't want to wake up then .
VT threw in a couple of surprises , with my roomies and friends .Got some nice people to hang out with . Started doing all those things which I wanted to do ( don't mistake me here ) . Started living on nights and weekends ( just like the Sprint talk plan nights and weekends ).Now VT has got into my system . Yeah , lets rock , Hokies.Can't think of leaving this place , even though I know that day is not far.And I started visiting new places , Niagara falls to start with ; An awesome place which I had only seen on postcards , then to Florida , to Miami , NYC , DC .
The most amazing part was the New year trip . DC -> NJ ->NYC->Connecticut and back . Spent the new year at Times Square . Well , that was a trip where in me and my roomie did all sorts of things ; we roamed around , got up late , got lost in the subways , missed the bus , got into another one , missed our luggage , went to restaurants which didn't accept our cards , rented a car and got caught by the cops . What a nice end to a trip !!!
This semester had a new set of surprises for me , with me putting on the role of an instructor . Well , do I have to mention that studies have taken a backseat ? Well , now I am in the mad race to get an internship . Lets see what life brings to me ; may be some more melodies .

Driving our way to freedom

2007-04-01T21:54:00.001-07:00

“Is it a star, or a mobile tower? “, asked my friend.
“No, dude, it happens to be a plane flying at a low altitude, it might be about to land “this comment was from a more sober one.
Anyway, I was enjoying the scintillating conversation as we all were some 40 kms out of Bangalore, in the outskirts, Mysore road to be precisely. At 11 pm at night, we three were relaxing by the side of the road, with chilled beer cans luring us .The journey plans were made instantaneous, as a friend of mine had bought her first Maruti (she refers to herself as ‘the proud owner of Maruti’) and we three had hit the road, which was calm and serene at the early hours of nightfall to be disturbed only by the sounds of long distance buses rushing past us. We had neither found our Dhaba, which was one of the aims; we hadn’t completed a long journey either, which was another aim; but I was definitely happy being in the company of my close friends and out of the bustling city roads and in perfect communion with wilderness.

Hutch still had range .We made calls to the rest of our so called gang, in conference mode, thanks to this innovation which helped us to share our world with other friends in different cities simultaneously. It seems they were also able to reciprocate our ecstasy, like minds :-) .Once that was also over, we started musing over Indian youth and aspirations. I am under the impression that we are indeed a lucky generation, may be we might have sacrificed some of our dreams by chasing the IT bandwagon, (we are far from the ideal society proposed by Socrates, where every one would be doing that job in which they are the best at), but were indeed having a lifestyle comparable with the youth of the world, I mean developed nations in particular. People may scorn us for hopping around with jobs , accusing us to be too irresponsible , basking in the glory of what we have done till now .But I would put it in another way , we might be opportunistic , but we are double ambitious as well ,more than that of midnights children. They had to struggle a lot to set up their life, but we have done it relatively easy.

We are miles ahead of our parents, who would never have dared to think about purchasing a dig cam and paying it out through EMIs .They might never have dreamt of heading to holiday destinations on weekends, they were the happy Indian middle class who enjoyed the Dooradarshan sops and an occasional visit to a movie theater once in three months. The roar of a bus drifted us back from the world of our thoughts. An overcrowded bus, with people even on the top carrying baskets and big bundles. Hey, I thought we were still close to Bangalore, the Silicon Valley of Asia. Right 40 kms out of the city, we were more exposed to the stark reality, which is definitely not in sync with the luxuries of the city. This made me think of one aspect, ours is a lucky generation... But what percentage of the youth is enjoying it? There are more people outside this circle, the less fortunate ones. With these disparities building up, it would be a mistake to jump into any conclusions or generalizations, but one fact I was sure of … still miles to go in this regard.

PS:
And if you want to know what happened to the journey afterwards, well here it goes. We found the dhaba, the food was not as good as we had expected, still we drove in and filled our stomachs as hunger dominated our taste buds. We hit a hump on the road, which made the dynamo pulley of our car go berserk and at midnight 1.30 pm we were calling up the 24 X 7 Maruti servicing centre and by the time we hit our beds , it was 4 am :-)

chasinglife