Thanksgiving!

I hope every one had a good thanksgiving weekend, I was in colorado at a resort called wolf creek, It was awesome, they had 4 feet of snow and the riding was great for november. I also feasted on the best thanksgiving dinner ever at a restaurant over there. You have to give it to the country folks .. they know how to make their meat taste right. Its dec already, time it sure is flying and i cant wait to get back home and tie the knot.
Everyone asks me weather i am nervous, surprisingly i am not, i am very happy to go home to my wedding. I think everything happens for the right reasons and we have to cherish all the moments in our little lives and make the most of them.

I have had good fortune with movies of late ..
saw garden state and napolean dynamite and both are highly recommended.
even if you dont see the movie the garden state soundtrack is a must buy ..i havent been touched so deeply by any other soundtrack since "oh brother where art thou".

Yeah theres snow in the mountains already!!

So this weekend i have to go to a thread ceremony ( a ritual done by the brahmin cast among hindus to symbolize their superiority over the rest) of my american born confused CUZ, frankly i dont understand why indian parents still want to subject their beliefs on the poor little confused generation. Maybe i will write about that some other time, dont want to be cynical all the time lest vivin knock on me door and bash me up.

The great thing about going to orange county from zee desert is that its been raining cats and dogs over there and that means the snow is piling up at big bear. Its been over a decade the mountain's opened up for some riding the slopes in october. I cant wait to get some early season action !! .

South Indian Wedding ( aka the dog collar days)

It may come as no surprise to many that i am writing a blog on the rituals that are going to be bestowed upon me in the near future. I think the south Indian wedding is the most glaring example of subjugation of women in the hindu society that has its roots spread vastly into our culture even in the present day. That being said lets make it clear on the onset that this is my interpretation of the facts and i am NOT a female rights activist ;)

THE EVENING PREVIOUS TO THE MARRIAGE DAY

USHERING-IN OF THE BRIDEGROOM

On the evening prior to the wedding day, the bridegroom is to be brought in a procession from a temple in a flower decorated car. He is escorted by the bride’s parents, and welcome at the marriage mandap, which is the bride’s abode. Nadaswaram band leads the way along the streets, the flower decorated car jam-packed with children.
This is a social function, called JANA VASAM in South India and BARAAT in North India.
Through such a parade, public approval is sought of the groom, chosen by the family.

After reaching the marriage hall, there is a formal ceremony of betrothal.

Shows the glorification of the male and all the hullabaloo associated with putting him on a pedastal with no sign of the female in the procession .. she most likely is being brainwashed by the women lore on how to be an obedient wife in a secluded room during this party time.

ON THE WEDDING DAY

GANAPATI PUJA

As in an inauguration of any function so also in a marriage – Ganapati, the God of Initiation is invoked, to keep away all impediments.

Have no comments on this

NANDI DEVATA PUJA

There are several presiding deities – the Nandi Devatas. To propitiate them, a leaf-laden branch of the pipal tree is installed, and an ablution with milk is performed by five Sumangalis (housewife, with husband living). This puja is followed by a presentation of a dhothi, and a saree to the marrying couple.

Not much to say here

NAVAGRAHA PUJA’
This is performed to propitiate the nine astral planets that rule over man’s destiny.

Note: making sure that the an obedient wife doest change the astral value of his destiny

VRATHAM

The marriage ceremonies begin with the Vratham performed separately by the bride and the groom. For the bride, it means the tying of the KAPPU – the holy thread on her wrist which is meant to ward off all evil spirits. It symbolises a kind of the protective armour for the bride. For the groom, the various Gods – Indra, Soma, Chandra, Agni. From there on, the groom prepares himself for a new chapter in his life as a householder or Grihasta. The days of his bachelorhood or brahmacharya are now over and the acceptance of this is all what the Vratham is about.

So basically saying that marriage is a life changing experience for a man but for a woman its no big deal and so that she doesnt feel left out a protective armour is tied to her wrist.

KASI YATRA

This a very important part of the ceremony. Immediately after his student-life, the young bachelor has two alternatives before him – Married life ( Grihasta ) or asceticism ( Sanyas ). Being by nature escapist, he prefers the ascetic life to the tribulations of married life. He therefore ‘makes his way’ to kasi (VARANASI), complete with slippers, umbrella, bamboo fan etc. On his way, the bride’s father intervenes and advises him of the superiority of married life to ascetic life. He also promises to give him his daughter as companion to face the challenge of life. The umbrella is to remain with groom, to remind him in the future, of this advice.the real tradition.

So here we see the deal being cut by two men. One promising the other that dude i have been thru this and its no big deal and to make ur life easier i will give u my very own daughter so u have nothing to worry about !!

VAAKU NICHAYA MUHOORTHAM

At the marriage hall, the bride’s father and the bridegroom’s father facing each other, solemnise the final betrothal ceremony, the vedic priest chanting the relevant hymns-in which the names of the bride, the bridegroom, as well as the names of their three generations of ancestors, are cited in presence of friends, relatives, and invitees.
The manthras say : "O God Varuna, Be she harmless to my brothers and sisters! Oh Brihaspathi! May she no evil to her husband! O Lord Indra! Bless her to be a good guardian of her children! O Surya! Bless her with all wealths! "

In other words if not for this ceremony the bride to be will be a bitch in every sense of this mordern day word. In case u did not notice its a an ordeal involving the two fathers.

EXCHANGE OF GARLANDS.

The bride and the groom are lifted to the shoulders of their respective uncles; and in that position the two garland each other thrice for a complete union. A garland worn by a person, should not be used by another, ordain our shastras. Here the exchange of garlands symbolises their unification – as one soul in two bodies. It is inward acceptance by each of the very fragrance of the other.

This one i admit is definately romantic and i buy the uncles lifting the two part as well .. hey we all need to have some fun sometime.

OONCHAL-SWING, RIDE AND SINGING OF LAALI

Then, the marrying couple is seated on a swing ( OONCHAL); they rock forth and back, as the ladies around sing – LAALI, songs to praise to the couple. The chains of the swing signify the eternal Karmic link with Almighty above; the to-and-fro motion represent the undulating sea-waves of life; yet, in mind and body they shall move in harmony unperturbed, steady and stable.

The romance continues ..

PAALIKAI -SEEDS SOWING
This is fertility rite. Paalikais are earthen pots prepared a day earlier – pots spread at the base with hariali grass and Bael leaves (Vilvam); nine kinds of pre-soaked cereals are ceremonially sown in these pots by Sumangalis. After the marriage, the sprouted seedlings are released in a river or pool. This ritual invokes the blessings of the eight-direction-quartered guardian angles, for a healthy life and progeny to the couple.

No wonder our genepool is fertile .. well a billion is proof of that

VARA PUJA

The feet of the bridegroom is washed in milk, and wiped off with silk.
Water, and lighted lamps are circulated around the swing in order to guard the couple against demons and ghosts.
Coloured globules of cooked rice are waved in circular motion, and thrown away – to propitiate the evil spirits.

Wonder why noone ever touches the brides feet ?

KANYA DHAANAM
The bride is made to sit on her father’s lap and is given away as gift by him, to the bridegroom.
On the girl’s head, a ring made with Kusa, the sacred grass called DARBHA, is placed, and over it, is placed a yoke; the Gold Mangal Sutra ( or THAALI ) is placed right on the aperture of the yoke, and water is poured through the aperture. The Mantras chanted at this time, say: "Let this gold multiply your wealth! Let this water purify your married life, and may your prosperity increase. Offer yourself to your husband! "
The bride then is given an auspicious ablution, and an exclusive new KOORAI Saree is draped around her – this is done by the sister of the bridegroom.
To bride in her new saree, a belt made of reed-grass is tied around the waist. The manthras chant: "She standeth here, pure before the holy fire, as one blessed with boons of a good mind, a healthy body, life-long companionship of her husband ( Sumangali Bhagyam ) and children with long life. She standeth as one who is avowed to stand by her husband virtuously. Be she tied with this red-grass rope, to the sacrament of marriage! "
Thanks giving vedic hymns follow to the celestial caretakers of her childhood: the Deities of SOMA, GANDHARVA and AGNI.

Having attained nobility, the girl is now free to be given over to the care of the human – her man. The Vedic concepts underlying this ritual is figuratively this: that in her infant stage, SOMA had given her coolness of the moon, and strength; in the next stage, GANDHARVA had given her bodily beauty; and lastly AGNI gave her passions.
The father of the bride, while offering his daughter chants: "I offer ye my daughter, a maiden virtuous, good-natured, very wise, decked with ornaments to the best of my ability-; that she shall guard the Dharma, Wealth, and Love! "

This is the most intersting time, firstly note the symbollism in the bride being a "gift". So she is a object that will bring pleasure to the person given to.. in this case the groom, and then the justification by her father that according to his knowledge she is being presented in the purest form.

THE BRIDEGROOM’S ASSURANCE

Thus offering her daughter, her father gets a word of assurance three times that the bridegroom shall remain for ever her companion in joy and sorrow – in this life, and after death too!

I think after that kind of pampering any man would be willing to oblige ;)

KANKANA DHARANAM

The bride ties a string fastened to a piece of turmeric, around the wrist of the bridegroom – to bind themselves by a religious vow. It is only after tying the Kankanam that the bridegroom gets the right to touch the bride. A little later, the bridegroom ties a Kankanam on the bride’s wrist.

MAANGALYA DHARANAM

Next, timed to exact auspicious hour, is the tying of the Mangala Sutra ( Thaali ). The bride seated over a sheaf of grain-laden hay, looking eastward, and the bridegroom facing westward, ties the gold Mangala Sutra around the neck of the bride. As he does so, the Nadaswaram drums are beaten loud and fast, so as to muffle any inauspicious sounds at the critical hour. This is called Getti Melam; as it sounds, the Sumangali ladies sing "GOURI KALYANAME, VAIBHOGAMAY! " Three knots are tied – the first one by the bridegroom, the other two knots by his sister to make the bride a parts of the boy’s family. The Vedic hymn recited by the bridegroom when he ties the knot, is: " Praying the Almighty that I be blessed with a long life, I tie this knot around your neck, oh soubhaygavati, may providence bestow on you a fulfilling life of a ‘Sumangalis’ for a hundred years to come! "
PAANI GRAHANAM This means "holding hands". The groom holds the hand of the bride. The Manthras say: The Devas have offered you to me in order that I may live the life of a householder ( GRIHASTA ); we shall not part from each other even after we grow old! "
SAPTHA PADHI Holding the bride’s hand, the bridegroom walks seven steps with her. This is the most important part of the marriage ceremony, and only when they walk seven steps together ( i.e. perform SAPTHA PADHI ) is the marriage complete legally. The belief is that when one walks 7 steps with another, one becomes the another’s friend. The manthras recited then, mean: "Ye who have walked seven steps with me, become my companion, where by I acquire your friendship. We shall remain together inseparable. Let us make a vow together; we shall share love, share the same food, and share the strength, the same tastes. We shall be of one mind, we shall observe the vow together. I shall be the SAMA, you the RIG: I shall be the Upper World, you the earth; I shall be the SUKHILAM, you the HOLDER – together we shall live, beget children, and other riches, come thou, O sweet-worded girl! "

Even in the midst of saying "I Do" the male dominance over the female is subtly evident (upper world - earth etc.) in the hyms chanted. No wonder hindu women are so sensitive to any kind of touch before marriage ;)

PRADHAANA HOMAM
A crucial part of the wedding is the homage paid by the couple to AGNI, the fire- God. They circle around the fire, and feed it with ghee, and twigs of nine types of trees, as sacrificial fuel. The fumes that arise, are supposed to possess medicinal, curative and cleansing effects on the bodies of the couple. AGNI, the mightiest power in the cosmos, the sacred purifier, the all-round benefactor, is deemed as a witness to the marriage (AGNI SAAKSHI )

Interesting...

TREADING ON THE GRINDSTONE

Holding the bride’s left foot toe, the bridegroom helps her tread on a grindstone kept on the right side of the fire. The Manthras says: "Mount up this stone. Let thy mind be roc-firm, unperturbed, by the trials and tribulations of life! "SHOWING HER THE "ARUNDHATI " STARNext he shows her the Star ARUNDHATI ( of the SAPTHA RISHI Constellation ), as also DHRUVA the polestar. Arundhati, the wife of VASISHTA Mahrishi, is exemplified as an ideal wife, the embodiment of chastity. DHRUVA is the one who attained immortality through single-minded devotion and perseverance – virtues to be emulated through out married life.

So basically be like someone who has never cheated on her husband no matter how hard the times have been .. but what about the dude .. is he free to roam around the country side ;)

LAAJA HOMAM
This shall comprise the bride’s own offering to the sacrificial fire. As she is forbidden to do it herself, her brother helps her. He gives her a handful of parched rice grains which she hands to bridegroom who on her behalf, feeds it into the fire. Through this food offering, the bride seeks a long life for her husband, and propagation of the family. Participation of the bride’s family members indicates the continuance of links between the two families, even after marriage. The couple circle around the fire, three times, and the feeding of the fire with parched rice, is repeated thrice.SHOWERING OF ‘AKSHADAI’Akshadai, i.e. rice-grains coated with turmeric and saffron, are showered on the couple, by elders and invitees – as benediction.


The Husband - worshipping has begun ...

GRIHA PRAVESAM
Taking with her, fire from the Laaja Homam, the bride takes leave of her home, and enters the new home of her in-laws. The vedic hymns now sound likes the mother’s words of advice to her daughter: "Be the queen of your husband’s home. May your husband glorify your virtues; conduct yourself in such a way that you win your mother-in-law’s love, and be in the good books of your sister’s-in-law."

Basically do what u are told !!

NALUNGU

The evening of the marriage day is the time to relax and play. The newly wed wife calls her husband for play, inviting him through a song. Much to the merriment of one and all gathered, there follows list of playful items: the bride anointing the groom’s feet with colour paste ; fanning him, showing him a mirror; breaking papads over each other’s head; wrenching the betel pack from each other’s hand; rolling the coconut from one to another as in ball-play; and so on. During these items, the ladies sing songs poking fun at the bride, groom and the in-laws.
These events brings out many qualities of the bride and the groom – sporting spirit, kindness, strength, co-operative nature etc.

Yeah we do need to have some fun after a strenous day !

THE NIGHT TIME HOMAMS
THE JAYAATHI HOMAM – is performed to propitiate the Gandharvas and deities.
PRAVESA HOMAM – is done to solemnise the bride’s entry in to the husband’s home. The sacrificial fire is brought along by the bride.
SESHA HOMAM – is Fire oblation with the residual ghee, a little of which is sprinkled on the bride’s head four times.

Not much to say here

THAAMBOOLA CHARVANAM & BALA DHAANAM

The girl’s brother gives the ceremonial first betel to the couple to chew. Certain other gifts are made to bless the couple with children and long life.MANGALA ARATHIA solution of lime and turmeric powder, and in colour, is prepared on a plate, and circled around, and thrown away to ward off evil eye. This is done a number of times during the entire wedding ceremony, and at the end.

I think this is stretching the ritual game a bit too far here ... its like lord of the rings ending .. when u thought it had ended it was actually just the beginning ;)

SHANTI MUHOORTHAM

The consummation of the marriage at night – the nuptials!

Phew Finally .... Thats what i am talking about !!

ITS not so bad at all

Well i guess my prev post was rather a spur of the moment meltdown ...
i was watching the good the bad and the ugly .. and was so much into it ... i guess somethings never change .. u will always love classics .. and not to mention good food .. :)

anyways there is this sequence of dialogues i think have the biggest impact in the movie ..

well for those who dont remember .. eastwood(the good) and wallach(the ugly) are pretty much like a husband and wife in the movie ... i will leave u to fit whos who .. wallach the gibber mouth and eastwood the reticent one .. and somewhere midway wallach sends some goons thru the front door of eastwoods room and while he is busy taking them out wallach slides in thru the window.. making the first big dialogue .. " well my friend .. In this world there are two kinds of people ones who come thru the door and the others who come thru the window "

then at the very end after eastwoods taken care of "the bad" and wallach has no bullets in his gun .. he hands wallach the shovel ( the gold is buried in a grave) and says these golden words ...

"well my friend in this world there are two kinds of people .. ones with loaded guns and the others who dig"

i dont think i will ever forget that ..

times they are a changing ...

I remeber clearly, 7 yrs ago, while i was struggling to be a graduate student in the US, life was so much different than it is now .. i had never thought during the good old days, that i would stop watching Basketball, not adore Friends on TV, not chat for hrs with friends on yahoo,not talk to my folks every weekend using AT&T international calling plan and not be happy that the the burnt out daal and half cooked rice taste better than pepperoni pizza .

but i guess time takes it toll .. dint even realize that how much thing have changed.. reminscent of the pace we live in .. i dont think we are ever going to produce philosophers in this era, seriously is there anyone who can just afford to sit around and think .... anymore? .... anyone?

was listening to vintage tool .. couldnt resist

Forty six and 2

My shadow's
Shedding skin

andI've been picking

Scabs again.

I'm downDigging through

My old muscles

Looking for a clue.
I've been crawling on my belly

Clearing out what could've been.

I've been wallowing in my own

confusedAnd insecure delusions

For a piece to cross me over

Or a word to guide me in.

I wanna feel the changes coming down.

I wanna know what I've been hiding in
My shadow.

Change is coming through my shadow.

My shadow's

shedding skin

I've been picking

My scabs again.
I've been crawling on my belly

Clearing out what could've been.

I've been wallowing in my own

chaoticAnd insecure delusions.
I wanna feel the change consume me,

Feel the outside turning in.

I wanna feel the metamorphosis

andCleansing I've endured within
My shadowChange is coming.

Now is my time.

Listen to my muscle memory.

Contemplate what I've been clinging to.

Forty-six and two ahead of me.

Recent Bickerings

Her : god in my version is like .....
being a human we have some weak points n some thing s that we dont have under our hold so its like the moral support i get from the whatever i call god

ME: so basically u have created an entity for calling in times of need

Her: in more practical way i get peace i feel relaxed when i meditate r go to a temple
Her : it is some thing i can always get anywhere

ME: basically its ur way of easing ur pain

Her: its some thing i dont have to buy r i dont have to pretend and its always there
Her: for me
Her: i believe that there is power other wise i wouldnt feel it that way
Her: yes i even get rid of the pain

ME: the premise of that ideology is that u consider yourself to be "weak" and therefore are comforted that ur weakness will be adverted by divine intervention thereby making u feel assured and relaxed

Her: may be
Her: i dont deny

ME: as long as it works
ME: for you u have nothing to worry

Her: do u think every person is strong in all circumstances

ME: not at all

Her: so each one is weak in some r the other way at some point in life

ME: i feel assured by making progress towards adverting my weakness whether i do it or not .. i.e. the eventuality of it is not of much concern for me
ME: only those who are worried about the eventuality of their misgivings seek assurance elsewhere

Her : really
Her: i donno

ME: yeah ask yourself .. say u have an exam .. and you pray to god that u pass it right

Her: i never do that

ME: now passing is the eventuality

Her: u know what i pray

ME: no not you literally
ME: i am just giving u an example

Her: i just think that i have do it the way i can as much as I can

ME: so as i was saying passing here is the eventuality of the hurdle created by the exam

Her: with my own efforts
Her: i c
Her: ok
Her: i got u

ME: and praying is the act of feeling assured that the divine intervention will be there to cross the hurdle of the exam and helpu attain the eventuality of passing it

WHY are we still THERE ?

It's time to reevaluate our involvement.
Every day there are news reports about more deaths.
Almost every night on TV are photos of death and destruction. Why are we still there?
We occupied this land, which we had to take by force,but it causes us nothing but trouble. Why are we still there?
Their government is polarized, and there is noexperienced political leadership. Why are we still there?
Many of the people are uncivilized and don't speakEnglish. Why are we still there?
There are more than 1,000 religious sects and almost as many languages and dialects, many of which we don't understand. Why arewe still there?
We can't even secure the borders. Why are we still there?
They are billions of dollars in debt and it will cost billions more to rebuild, which we can't afford. Why are we still there?
It is becoming clearer and clearer every passing day.



We must abandon California!!

canada II

well i remembered that there was a funny incident at the border i forgot to share .. edo esp will love to hear this.
so i was coming back by grey hound and was at the us canada border in windsor .. everyone in the bus finsihed our customs except for one indian family of four who were going on vacation with 8 suitcases and 4 hand bags .. now can u believe that .. they were taking their entire ration with them. so well they were delaying us by quite a bit.
so one indian man got impatient ..

the man : driver do u know how long it will take
driver : i have no clue they have a lot of bags to clear.
man: but it has taken more than a hr .. do we have to all weight
driver : it only takes one man ..
man : (in hindi) achha ek hi aadmi baaki hai jaldi hojayega ( there is only one man left so the bus will leave soon)

at this point i wanted to go and ask him why does he even bother ? but i shut my gob and thought about how i could make it to the airport by 3.45 since it was already 3.30.
i just got down talked to the customs official and took my belongings to catch a cab from the border to the airport.

i couldnt help wondering if the indian dude happened to pick up a fight with the driver on him saying there was only one man left but it was actually a family of four :)

Hiatus briefings II

My sincere apologies for being dormant ..
I have been just so damn busy with my craziness .. but no excuses ..
so after a crazy india trip i had lost touch with golf and had to sharpen my skills so was busy prparing for last weeks tournament in detroit .. which i unfortunately lost and metro won ..
and to make it up i decided to go to canada and smoke up .. the laws there have become extremly liberal now .. u have cafes where u can bring ur own weed and smoke ,, u can carry upto an ounce and not get busted as well. so i smoked up differnt strains .. white rhino, black widow and our very own ak 47.
i liked white widow the best ..
hmm canada .. what can i say its pretty much the same like US but has a lot more british names and style of architecture ..
it has little nuances similar to what samuel L jackson describes europe in pulp fiction.
well the indo chinese restaurant has all the regular dishes but they have a dish called tippanyaki not heard of in the US and like wise the greeks have soulvaki .. but the similarities outrun the nuances by far.
the sweetest time was at midnight in niagara city all stoned watching the cresent falls pour its humongous weight down and slowly going calm into lake eerie which was reflecting the starrs and the half moon with splendor.

Hiatus briefings !!

after my crazy Trip to the canyon .. i was hoping to relax some bit .. but that was not to be .. was summoned to india by the folks who have hitched me to another extremely crazy earthling. i pity the world and all the sanity that seems to still prevail.

phx - la(grabbed me cuz vinay) - bangkok ( pattaya) - mumbai (juhu,versova, amore, hash) - hyd(biryani, some more biryani, ram gopal varma's Factory, gans mamas wedding, moi Hitchofying) - vizag(araku, beaach, waltair, gongura, wild chicken) - la(pati, drop me cuz) - phx

MADness

backpacking the northrim and back in two days ..

super madNESS

backpacaking the northrim and back in two days going staight to vegas and partying non stop till 7.00 in the a.m

Observation of the day

there is not much difference between a duck egg and a hen egg. except that it is one and half times larger.

Vital signs

after today i have come to believe that u can pick up some real vital signs on a day to day basis. signs that can significantly contribute towards ur lifestyle depending on how u react to them. most people have a precautionary approach that can sometimes blind their rationality. i have been trying of late to fight hard and strengthen myself in trying to react rationally to the signs. i am therefore going to call the police and report that my car stereo has been stolen even though it is a minor thing and does not really require a report to be lodged.

Conversations in a subway

man: so wahts ur story
woman: how does it matter
man: we are moving in space at the same rate
woman: i am still breathing
man: part of it is what i breath out
woman: we are already connected then
man: that doesnt mean we say good bye does it?
woman: depends on the where u get off
man: what if i never get of and so did u
woman: the world doesnt work that way
man: how does it work then?
woman: u get in and get off all the time and then u do some and then dont see ya i have to get off now :)

ENGLISH GAANA(song) OF THE DAY


take my riches away, take away even my fame
if u must take away , then take away my youth
but give me back my memories, memories of my childhood
that dirty boat of paper , sailing the rainfilled drain


the hoods most popular destination
where the grandma sat telling her stories
of lands and places, of saints and angels
their deeds of glory, their acts of wisom
even if u wanted u will never forget
those night time stories that heard for ever


gettin out of your house into the blazing sun
trying to catch those colorful butterflies
fighting and quarreling with the kids in the park
getting hurt to rest some and gettin hurt again
those scars on ur body that u can still see


makin sand castles out in the desert
and taking pleasure to destroy the others
going into dreams that have no meaning
a life with no boundaries , with no worry for tomorrow
oh what a beatiful way that was to live


take my riches away, take away even my fame
if u must take away , then take away my youth
but give me back my memories, memories of my childhood
that dirty boat of paper , sailing the rainfilled drain

ENGLISH SHAYARI OF THE DAY

SHAYARI ---> what the hell is this ..
u could say it is a poem .. but not quite .. maybe mirza can tell what the diff is

these are the people who loved you ...
these are the ones who put u on pedastal ..
where have they gone now ...
oh where have they gone now ?

these are the fools who reprimanded you
these are the fools who bent ur back
where have they gone now .....
oh where have they gone now?

sunday crazy sunday

so after a overwhelming friday which involved a blazing round of golf in the desert, and a pityful saturday which involved trying to find roomates for the pad i was wondering on sunday morning as to what was in store for me .. and i was still in my blues and my roomie knocks and drags me to go to vegas .. so we drive reach there in the evening ,, gamble .. (effective loss 1 $) am proud of meself .. see cheap ass free shows .. eat the world famous surf buffet and its four a.m on monday and we say to hell with sleep lets drive back .. i dont think i have gone without sleep for 28 hrs straight ever before in my life.

The singhSons

hilarious

ominous signs

Usually i am not superstitious ,, but somethings can have an impact on me .. it has to be really powerful though ..
for eg. yesterday was one of those days .. has it ever happened to anyone while driving to say ur work or whereever every light that can possibly turn red has turned red and u had to stop at every intersection ..
i was like will the madness stop ... and lo it didnt .. i went to the grocery store took a deep breath and then it happened again on the way back ..
that was when i said .. ok something has changed somewhere and someone is sending me an ominous sign .. so what do i do .. i decide to stay in the quiet confines of me home for the rest of the day and let the bizzare patters fly away. looks like i just needed to take a break and chill at home .. the lights seem to have been behaving much better today :)

Religious connotations

So i went to church with my roomie this past sunday, ah just for curiosity i have never been to one in the US.
Acoording to my roomie there are a lot of differences between the churches here and me not much aware and all was surprised when he said his was the cool kinda church where the service happens at a fast pace with a more upbeat and lively enviroment.

up until that point i was like all churches were the same sing praise to the lord i mean how can one think there would be variations to that now ?
so it was easter sunday and there was a lot of rejoicing the pastor came up with a really forceful and evangelical speech about the resurrection and the retribution and what it all holds for all the christians. according to him the resurrection was a sign of hope, a hope that all ur sins will be forgiven if u embrace jesus christ.
what i did like about christianity is its really a very simple ideology, u embrace christ and u have nothing to worry. it is for those who are weak and there are a lot of weak people in the world probably around 90%, so therefore amounts to why it became so popular.
it is for those who are looking for hope, for those who have lost all their will to battle their odds and have come to the crossroads, or that is the message the pastor conveyed. which i thought, the rational atheist that i am, to be a really a weak evangelical premise. if i were the pastor my speech on easter sunday would be no matter what u do to a good man( jesus christ ) he would live forever because he was a good soul. but hey that is not going to bring u more followers so i guess the pastor had to send out a message of deliverance for the weak.

anyways funny thing was that i noticed how all men of sanctity, whether pastorrs, priests, sadhus, imams when they address their followers attack the three basic thoughts

where we come from
whats our purpose
where will we go

and the way they go about justifying these thoughts may be different ... some more complicated and some really simple , some catering to people of all will, some catering more to the weak, point is the common ground that lies among the men of god is really distinct. execpetion would be really buddhist ideology .. where they dont worry about one and three but only two. thereby making me say again if i ever prescribed a religion it would be buddhism.

questions one and three according to me are what makes a few men manipulate billions ... because the blind world loves to follow those who say they have an answer to one and three.

any ways that was toomuch of serriousness in one post .. but hey i thought i hadnt written anything serious in a while so the onus is on u to bear with me :)

Whooo hooo the comments are back on the page ... say it all Peeps!!

Choices

Sometimes u come to a point when decisions are hard to make and u have to bite the bullet and move on ..
today was one such day ...
riverdance or basketball

riverdance : broadway show , involves my roomate some of his lady friends, bunch of dancers providing you a visual delight

basketball: desi style, bunch of hyd homies scrmbling with the ball, making tons of noise and not much scoring ..

basketball wins considering the drama that happens u could see it as a blue collar version of any broadway show :)

Generational Artifacts:
every nation has a cultural revolution period.. the US for eg it was the 60's so u see a starrk difference in the people born after the 60's and the people born prior to that.
The people born in the 60's have what i call generational artifacts. These artifacts in most cases appear to be physiological and behavioral. The seem to be undecided on lot of things for no fault of their own. They could very easily become ur friend or your enemy and u would always wonder why. what i am trying to say they display a lot of uncertainity.

so natuarlly i was heading towards india and i think that period is the mid 70's to the mid 80's. i pity the poor souls .. but hey if one thing that can bring them solace is that a recent survey indicated most of the billionaires in the US at present were born in the 60's

Lesson for the day

" Do NOT use a nailcutter to cut ur nostril hair !"

How To make "Quick" Money Par II (by popular demand)

Since everyone cannot be MR. Gibson and pull of a cross fight in celluloid i decided to come up with ideas for the folklore.
Trying any of this is at your own risk and parental discretion may or may not be needed depending on ur moral jurisprudence.

Slog ur butt to get a PhD degree.
Mke ur dissertation commercially lucrative.
Convince the Venture capitalists that u are thier saviour.
Get a shit load of money funded into your rollabula of an idea.
Hire a bunch of geeks to do the dirty work
Dont wait long sell your company to a bigger Fish ( trust me there will be many willinng to swallow u)
Retire ur ass into the Alps.

dont get me wrong this is the quickest way this age and in this game

POWDER Boarding

Well it doesnt happen that often in AZ when u get 18 inches of snow in three days and they say that its going to be bright and sunny after the storm.
So naturally i was at the mountains in the middle of the week boarding 3 feet of fresh powder for the first time ever in my life.
I was all beat up in 5 runs down the slope .. Powder boarding is no joke, IT wears u down and wears u down quick. The worst thing is u cannot stop on ur way down, or if u ever did then it would be a very long stop for you, and the 3 feet of snow u would have sunk under.

How to make quick money - part I

get bunch of good looking italians, make them speak an unspoken tongue, find some ruins, get some rags, get all the above together and hand them the last 12 hrs of christ verbatim.

strange but possible

If i did move back to india like i always wanted to .. i could easily represent my country in the winter olympics as the lone snowboarder from the nation of a billion hardworking peoples.

All our lives revolve around doing things that take us far far away from the truths we are afraid to face

Conspiracy theory No. 1

This will bea easier for my Indian homies to understand ....
but in short there is a very famous temple in south india in the city of tirupati thats built on a hill and u have to climb a whole bunch of steep steps to reach it.
SO i propose that this was built by a bunch of hiking enthusiasts to get more people to become healthy, fit and increase their cardio rate.
Well the thought never stuck to me untill i was doing a similar steep hike in Az, of course theres no temple on the top of this one, but anyways the thought struck me on my way up as this reminded me of the temple climb back in the home land, and i began to wonder why would anyone build it all the way on top ?
But of course if the hikers who wanted the lazy people of that time to move thier buts had just built a steep trail and asked the folks to hike up in the morning and u will be rewarded with a helathy life no one would have budged. so they had but no option to build a temple of significant importance so that the junta around them would develop a better cardiovascular rate

The crazy random Mr. Hat

Usually i dont tell stories that revolve around my real life but this one needed to be told so here you go

In the Land of the 50 states lives a random cranky persona , for simplicity we will name him Mr. Hat

go go: Ihave had it with Mr. Hat

Me: patience yaar, shit happens all the time

go go: No baap this time it takes the cake ... very rarely do i reach my threshold and i think the record has been broken today

Me: Darn

2 days later

go go: This keeps getting worse baap.. dont know what to do

Me: If u piss too hard on a solid wall the piss is bound to rebound to ur pants

go go: Shit thats it .. !

College of Education SouthAfrican Female Graduate Student : How has culture influenced ur life ?

Moi: Culture today is a retreat zone, much like the movies, its really not mainstream in the orld we live in. We live in a world where we would have to do what it takes to keep our heads over water. we may have some choices in front but for the most part they are not culturally connected.

Her: How do u mean ?

Me: Well if would only eat rice and beans according to your culture u couldnt survive in hells kitchen leave alone madagascar. Or if your culture told u to touch ur elders feet as a sign of respect u would see a shotgun hole in ur brains trying to do that in redneck texas.

Her: You are ridiculously crazy

Me: yeah probably but at least i have the balls to ask you out unlike my culturally bound tight lipped counterparts

Desert Madness

WED : 10.00 PM - picked up gogo, went to mediterranean hookah bar smoked mint, ate gyros

THU : 1.00 AM - Picked up momo went to 24 hr mexican joint, ate fish tacos
8.00 AM - got ready ate crazy home made breakfast, went to ken mcDonald and played a round of golf
7.00 PM - got ready and went to a bar called the Library, played black jack with the jack daniel hoochies banrupted them, gogo at one point had
3000 in fake money, got mega memorablia from them, gogo and momo got wasted as usual.
11.00 PM - Went to dos gringos trailer park and ate macho burrito plates.
FRI : 8.00 AM - Got ready and played half a round of golf at rio salado waited for momo to get done with his businessm meeting.
12.00 PM - Ate philly chicken Pitas Picked momo and headed off to the mountains
7.00 PM - reached show low Motel 6 it was freezing and as usual two short gujju bhais welcomed us in.
9.00 PM - went to hon dah american indian casino and had an encounter with Tex TorTice aka "the cracker" ( convicted for murder and sentenced
to prison for 24 yrs out on parole for last 3, has 59 grand kids from 15 children from 4 wives, we are officially his buddies now :))
11.00 PM - ate kick ass chinese food, met a waitress who had just returned from bodh gaya and varanasi .. whoa
SAT : 6.00 AM - Went to white mountain and snowboarded our asses away. i was hitting speeds of 40 to 60 miles an hr.
9.00 PM - Dropped gogo at the airport
next morning - dropped momo at the airport .. PHEW

man to God : i am not my self of late
God Himself: but of course you are not
man to God: i am not sure whats bothering me
God: Of course you know, u are not sure whether u are in love or u are just plain lonely.
man: how can one be ever sure ?
God: of course u can never be , why do u think i have never had a constant companion !!

Lost In translation

When two people are scared , not horror scared, but in general just scared, all they need to do is give each other a real tight hug cuz love will show them the way.

Black JACk

I finally slept well, infact slept like a baby, i had forgotten how this felt for a long time. the silent new apartment within a no noise neighborhood has done it to me.

Made me conclude that u have to live life as if you were playing black jack at a casino.
The winning rule goes like this : " play at a table till it makes you money the moment u see ur earnings slip away rise immediately and find another table"

For most part people never understand this simple rule and hope to salvage their losses by sticking to thier bases.

I now believe life should be played similary. The world today doesnt have much scope for hope or second chances, u have to be rationally steadfast, sometimes bite the bullet and instantly move on.

I am feeling lonelier than god today

Sauerkraut mania

I hope zee germans dont kill me for my verbatim, byt nevertheless i am taking a fancy for sauerkraut these days, i eat it almost with anything, fries+ S, cheesBurger + S, yogurt + S,
pickled Rice + S ..
then i went up to look why this urge and whats it really made up off ..

From the HEalth Magazine "Sauerkraut, made by fermenting cabbage, is an excellent natural tonic for the digestive organs. It can easily be made at home and is a delicious and healthy accompaniment to meals."

so there it goes i guess i have been craving for some digestive enzymes now that BEER is outta my life.

I am in love with Marion Cotillard

family numerology

grandfather (PAK) born in family of four children as the third child; he was the only male
grandmother (KS) born in family of 11 children as the fourth child

father (PKA) born in family of four children as the third child; he was the only male
mother ( LS) born in family of 11 as the fourth child

Me born in family of 2 as the first child; i am the only male
what does that equate my wife to be ??

surely the influences of marijuana can be profound

there comes a time in every mans life when he looks at the woman he is with and wonders how lucky he really is
the problem is it comes only once in his life time
-anonymous

Random conversations

Me: Lets go some place far far away dude .. away from this madness

Him: Yeah all i want to do is sell coconuts in bahamas

Me: and I would give nice hot massages to fine women out there

Him: Yeah Yeah

Me: We will call ourselves CrimeMasters Inc

Him: Or lazy Masters yo yo !!

Hiatus Briefings

So i was gone for the cristmas and new yrs break to the east coast and .. whoa what a trip it was couldnt believe the 14 days went flying by.
Phoenix ->New york city-> jersey -> albany-> vermont ->albany->jersey->new Haven-> New york city-> jersey-> Washington D.c-> new york City -> Phoenix Phew

One thing though i will never move to the East coast .. its all fun and all but its not for me .. cant live there .. its too much of a hassle .. i guess the west has pampered me too much

Telephonic Connection

I always wondered that if you didaled a number ever so often at some point it will get stuck in ur head and u will never forget it for the rest of ur life ..

Now is the time to test a few nos i havent dialed in Years

Goti : 823502
adarsh : 7634059
chittu: 7611433

i guess i have run out of my frequent dialer freinds .. remember these were the days when u had no mobile phones and digital diaries :)