State of confusion

Many say the divide has narrowed with regard to gender in India, at least some so believe when we talk about metros. I certainly am not sure if that is the case, in case of metros even. Here are some things which I could think of without pausing for over a few seconds between these thoughts.

• Do we have parents ever saying that boys should not return to the house late? But I am sure that even under safe surroundings, unless with parents or family, girls are never unquestioned regarding a long night out partying!


• Any choice which a girl has to make is always with associated pressures, which the boys are not faced with. You need to go far from home to work, in most cases, if not parents, someone is sure to bring up the question, " Why don't you look for a job here ? " I do not understand, why is it such a big relief to have the girls all rooted to where the parents are!


• Another aspect which I have recently seen is that, when a guy comes along and says, I am keen on marrying so and so girl, and I would like you to meet her, there is some resistance, some please note! Once the guy says that I think this is what I want to do, there is nothing more said. On the contrary a girl walks up and says that please meet this guy, I would like to marry him, there is a long list of facts and insights the girl is given about the problems, difficulties and possible outcomes all pre-decided by parents and relatives! If none of this is seen to deter her from her path, then you have the full throttle emotional blackmail route!

That is a lot of fairness at home, forgetting the world in general for a second! Well you can certainly wish to counter that girls are at least allowed to leave the house ( 1st case), to work at all ( 2nd case) and to speak of a choice in marriage ( 3rd case). I guess, here I was necessarily speaking of a metro and with some openness of thought.I think many parents are stuck in a warp zone, with mixed thoughts and reasons( which necessarily need not make sense)!

I am not sure if that is anyone's fault either. Its just a state of Confusion!

The Kite Runner

Recently I read the ‘Kite Runner’. I had planned on reading it so long back, when it had caused the rave in the literary circles and when I had read so many awe struck reviews in its favour, but that never did happen and now, finally almost a year late I finally got down to reading it, and I must admit that one of the books after a very long time which has made me finish the book in the least number of sittings.

The story and the characters somehow do that to you I believe when you are reading a fiction. Some books have it in them, and all due respect to the author alone. The last book of the same character which I read was ‘Untouchables’ by Mulk Raj Anand. The depth of the characters and their thoughts seem to always keep them on your mind, till the stories completely unveils before you, and that is what seemingly pulls you back to the pages of the book, to know what beholds for them.

Another aspect which I realized as I was reading this book was how I did know Taliban but not the fact that Russians attacked Afghanistan which along with the US support for Russia resulted in the rise of the Taliban. How can you blame a country’s men in coming up to save their country when many just fled their country with whatever that could fit into a sack! Then, what led them to their present ways of terror and hatred such that in a few years time, the natives who stayed on in Afghanistan and who looked upon the Taliban as a saviour now looked upon them as equals to the Russians a few years back.The various instances sited where so many try to leave the country only to be fooled by their own country men just for the few dollars to feed the hungry mouths at home. Who do you blame? Cheats or fathers?

Something similar to what you see in Untouchable where those fathers, mothers, brothers, wives are also in such a situation where their voice is not heard and rather there they are not even allowed to voice! A country at war looks savage and looks uncivilized, in fact looks like those times when we were also not where we are now. We move back in time with each step we take closer to war, as I truly doubt whether we will ever be able to prosper with war on our doorstep. War will only deter the growth and slow the process, but everything will eventually happen if not today, the day after!

Review of kiterunner:

Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner is the story of Amir and Hassan and the unique relationship they share. Initially it is a deep friendship born out of being fed by the same mother as babies and eventually turns into brotherhood.The book is a beautiful and poignant story set in the Afghanistan of fifty years ago, starting from before the Russians invaded Afghanistan up to modern day Afghanistan.

Amir and Hassan's story is reminiscent of ancient mythological stories of everlasting friendship. But one day of cowardice on Amir's part changes his life and one sin leads to another and then another.It is easy to relate with Amir in some sense, when he tries to push away the bad memories by retreating within him and evading all painful reminders. On the one side is his conscience and on the other is his longing for his father’s attention and affections. Amir is all that his father does not want in a son, while Hassan is everything he wants in his son. When Amir and his father escape to America the father-son equations seem to change for the better. America, always playing the symbol of freedom and optimism, heralding the triumph of immigrants of struggling against hardships, in so many books by Asian authors, seems to bury the old woundsbelow the surface for Amir. Until one phone call brings back the memories, the feelings of remorse but also the hope to make amends.

Hosseini writes beautifully, bringing a character to the stark Afghan countryside and its culture. He portrays Amir’s characters and deepest fears candidly, so that even though you know Amir is doing wrong, you cannot help but empathize with him at times. A father’s agony over burdens he carries in his heart, Amir’s conscience that drives him to insomnia, Hassan’s innocence and willingness to forgive – everything is written about with insight and empathy.

When I began the book, a friend told me I would cry when I finished it. A page turner that it was, I kept hoping Amir would achieve retribution. So did I cry in the end? I’m not telling. I will just say that I’d recommend this book to anyone for a touching and enjoyable read and to appreciate the coming of age of Asian writing.

My kinda town...

I love Visakhapatnam (Vizag... as the pet name goes :-)) and its old city charm. There are so many different things about Vizag that I love, little things that only someone who's lived there would know....

I love the mornings in Vizag. The cold nip in the air, the feeling that a new day is starting and anything is possible.

Mornings in my university campus, where the air is so clear that you can hear the kids in the campus servant quarters preparing for school.

GITAM campus Vinayaka temple

The pujari clipping flowers off the campus garden for the Vinayaka temple at the campus entrance, the aayamma meticulously drawing out the rangoli...

I love the greenery in Vizag. I love driving or walking in tree lined avenues.

Aerial view of the city greenery

The road that goes through the Andhra University campus with red stone buildings lined with trees, or even some parts in the heart of the city, like Siripuram or Station Road.

I love it that I've seen it's transformation from a sleepy town to a new haven for IT companies rushing forward to grab a bite in the city’s real estate (that too in just a span of 2 years!!!), simultaneously a source of pride and consternation! From a place that used to come to a standstill every time a probable cyclone or high tide in the sea was announced, to a city that never stops moving come rain or storm. I love it that it has become a hallmark of progress and better things to come.

HSBC

Satyam Development Center

Victory at Sea is a memorial for the Indian victory over Pakistan in the 1971 War. You cannot miss this memorial on the beach road.

I love it that Vizag has so many naval establishments. Gives a dignity and sense of discipline to the place.

I love the way the city has been planned.

The way you would see the sweepers sweeping the roads at midnight when the town is sleeping, so that the morning joggers wake up to a spotlessly clean beach road.

I love the Vizag weather. Even the annoying times when it's too cold in the mornings and too hot and humid in the afternoons. Even when one part of the city is pouring cats and dogs and the other part of the city is completely dry.

City view from kailasagiri hilltop

I love the local malls that have come up in Vizag. And I like old eateries like the Punjabi Dhaba near the Gurudwara and Jia’s Ice creams, Fillers (yummmm…) and the pav bhaji wala near the beach road Kali temple.

I love the old buildings that you stumble upon near the Collector’s office. Most of these buildings are gone, or are being pulled down. But you could still find a remarkable old house sandwiched between an ultra modern shiny glass door office and a cyber cafe.

I can still picture the historical statues lined along the beach road.....

.....the Submarine museum

.....the Ramakrishna Mattha

.....the Buddha Statue

.....the Sampat Vinayaka temple

.....Simhachalam temple

.....Kailasagiri hilltop

.....the Bheemili (Bheemunipatnam) beach

.....the picturesque Araku valley

.....the serene beach view.









I like the way the old and the new co-exist. The cotton-sari-mallepuvvu-in-her-hair aunty, with the tight-jeans-streaked-hair daughter.


I like the polite Vizag people. When a Vizag person is rude, he really takes the cake. But there are still a lot of awfully sweet people around. Take our very own hostel cleaning lady who always gives her best smile and goes "Enti amma? Tiffin ayyinda?". The rare honest auto driver; the friendly bus conductor who makes the bus wait when you wave from the far end of the other side of the road, and no one seems to mind.


Most of all, I love the fact that I can be myself in Vizag. I like it that there is no need to prove myself there. There isn't the rush or the competition... or at least, it can be ignored :)

Two years of my stay in Vizag showed me all that I had missed in Delhi. I liked Delhi too... Now I am in Bangalore, the IT capital of India. I love Bangalore too... but well... these cities are different from Vizag...What’s different one might wonder... I would say “There is no innocence left in these places”.

Convo @ GIIB

It was supposed to be a bright sunny day when we would all gather in the breathtakingly beautiful GITAM Campus and get our certificates from the Man Who Made GITAM ;-)

Instead, it turned out to be a damp affair, with the rain gods deciding to weep with joy to mark the passing of the 10th batch ;-) And weep they did! With bucket loads of water on the jealously guarded lawns and the sun deciding to take the weekend off, we were left with no option but to be prepared for all eventualities.


After all, as managers armored with knowledge of International Business, we needed a risk-mitigation strategy and an impact analysis matrix so as to ensure that our project would not throw any unforeseen issues that would affect quality output and give less than optimal results to all stakeholders involved. (Yay! I can finally spout management jargon!!!)

With a lot of parents and loved ones coming over and the usual oohs and aahs on how beautiful our campus was, how it seemed more of a resort than a b-school campus, it was quite some fun!














Anyways, after reaching the Mother Teresa Auditorium (Dent Audi: short form for dental college auditorium, as we fondly call it), we were given our gowns and for the umpteenth time, the PCP preached to us about how to stand, how to pledge, how to walk, how to bow and even how to smile for the cameras!!!

Finally, we were made to stand in a queue and escorted inside. The first row had sofas, which were occupied by faculty, invited guests and also the parents. The awardees were seated just behind them, along with almost our entire batch of students (still made to sit roll number wise!!!). The juniors and television crew were seated in the rear.


The convocation was simply superb. Right from the decorations to the dignitaries on the dais was awe-inspiring.


GIIB conferred the fellowship on Mr. P. Sridhar, an IIT alumnus, and a renowned entrepreneur in the presence of the President.


With the rain Gods playing hide and seek, we donned our gowns, accepted the precious certificates, smiled and posed for the shutterbugs.


I loved the limelight, loved every bit of the cheer and applause that went up when I received the certificate.


And so… that’s how I graduated… went from my bachelor’s to master’s degree… this is one moment I’ll not forget in a hurry!