Viking Diaries #3 - Working Title.

Well, almost a month over according to the blog timeline. In reality, well over one. Hooray!

Firstly, wishing everyone a Happy Environment Day! Though I’m sure it did not affect any of our lifestyles one bit, its good to see that atleast some people remember that it exists. And now its beyond a point where people keep shouting “Save the Environment”, and tis high time it came from within. Very much so because, well all my posts have to contain a cliché, so here goes this one, you can only take a horse to the pond, not make it drink the water. So here’s hoping we all do our bit to save the environment!

Europe in general seems very proactive on that front. Littering is a strict no-no, and more so, there are dustbins every 100m, literally. And the maintenance is first class as well! Apart from that, all events, concerts, festivals etc. need to get a green signal, literally so, as in a certification that it’s environment friendly from a bunch of people, so that on paper atleast is very impressive. Add to that all shops putting bags at a price. As you bill, you have to BUY your carry bags. Paper ones and plastic ones. I can proudly say that I’ve stuck to paper ones so far, irrespective of how very little load they support in comparison to plastic bags, very much unlike some friends of mine. My bit. Yay!
Other thing noteworthy is the public transport system. Astonishing. Easily, the best in the world. Mainly because it is so very user friendly, noob friendly, and yet reaches every part of the city. So very easy to understand, and I reiterate, you just can’t get lost. And the modes are metro, commuter trains, buses, boats and trams. Yet simple as A-B-C. Well, almost. And a simple mantra, if lost, reach the city central. Bingo! Just as a comparison, lets see, Stockholm vs Munich vs ..well Tokyo?

Here goes Munich,

 Followed by Tokyo

And finally Stockholm.

Note - All are from the official sites. No photoshoping. Well, who in the right mind would even think of PS-ing stuff like this?!

On a personal front, it is a bit of a damper. The place I stay in is like 10 km from the college. So that includes three modes of transport = 50-60 mins to get there. Including a bus, commuter train and metro. Interesting at first, decreasing interest post the first few times.

That apart, this ain’t the ideal time to come, and yet is. Well Stockholm is a place full of hypocrisy. Its ideal because of the weather. Again I talk about beauty, sorry for being a bore, but yeah! And more so because the winters are horrible and lifeless, so it makes it all the more sweeter in the summer.

As the temperatures rise, so do the hemlines.

Not so ideal because students are busy initially, and then not so. May is the month of exams, projects and assignments. As soon as that’s done, off they head home, or on a loooong vacation, all over Europe. And as for July, its like these people just catapult themselves to some other part of the world, literally. And all the potential energy is stored up through the torrid winters, btw. So that’s a slight bummer.

More in the next post. There is a lot to write about this place, except that I think it will get boring and over informative in one post. Some sort of data management? Till next post, Hej da!

P.S. The backdrop is from atop one of the buildings. Fate I guess, but even this falls into the “best” rainbow category!

Viking Diaries #2 - Of Street Parties, beans and pulses..

Ok the previous post sounded all rosy and ideal. Wrong. The law of averages makes sure it is. Never is. I mean, its just the light we see it in, or the mood we are in. And not that my mood right now is very different now compared to previously, but just that it’s a different take on this still wonderful city.

For starters, its the most diverse cities I’ve known or seen. Its so very multicultural, that from what I’ve seen, there’s no clear majority. And one major thing is the tolerance to each of these cultures. This part of it is very heartening, and something I’d love to see all over the globe.

On  a personal front, there’s a small little mix in my hostel itself. 6 Chinese(duh!), 5 Indians, two Iranians, a Russian, a Mexican and an Israeli guy. That’s 16 people, and 6 different backgrounds. And we Indians will just increase that count! And even when you’re traveling, observing the passers-by in itself a tour of its own. Diversity is clearly the mantra here. Apart from that, there was Quarnevalen at KTH, which was basically a rally through the streets of Stockholm on a lazy Saturday, just as a fun expo.

Anything on wheels, modified with a pinch of humour, sauteed in creativity and simmering with enthusiasm. That basically Quarnevalen for you. Preparations are on for a couple of months, and at the end is a promise of a crazy party. And the week leading to it, a beer tent is set up with local Swedish bands, as a motivation for the people, and to attract crowds. All for fun! I’m beginning to like the Swedish idea of fun! It was wonderful on the whole, often reaching out to the funny bone. Some  snaps from the event –

 EthanolBus - an ecofriendly option - basically its a cycle, and all guys on the vehicle are "driven" by Ethanol!

 This one can't pass

 Super Mario. A new take!

Taking a dig at the iPhone

Followed by this was a street party – Mosquito – with a rag and flag theme. Images again, speak for themselves. This was high energy, high enthu stuff. Brilliant again. This guy was the leader of the party, and in simple terms, its jumping around with a piece of cloth grooving to some nice music.

Mosquito Street party - Stockholm's Rag and Flag Day

Being a vegetarian is like the stupidest thing to do in Sweden. One of the locals told me about how she saw a carrot for the first time at the age of 15. Yeah! And the options at restaurants and eateries outside are so minimal that  it makes a chaat shop menu look elaborate! Examples, McDonalds, the only thing I can choose is fries. I’m not kidding. Fries, and coke/icecream. Done. Burger King goes one better. Nothing edible. SO yeah, its basically a tough life on the sustenance front. This spells one thing – cook your own food. Now that runs two risks – a lotta hard work, and more, the risk of eating food cooked by you. Well I’m no pro, and it isn’t the best to start the experiment here. After twenty years, in a place where people haven’t heard of beans and pulses. Add to that packing your lunch daily, because surprisingly, there is no proper canteen/food court of sorts on campus that you can rely on. (The profs here bring their own lunch. Its that bad.) That just makes it worse for me. But all the same, a wonderful experience. Cooking is slowly becoming simpler and more mechanical. Still, a pain right down there.

Again I’m telling you this, but this city is so beautiful in the summer. Even if I pass by the same place everyday, each day I feel like clicking a pic or two. Somehow the water all over the city adds to the beauty. Or maybe it’s the humdrum of the concrete jungles of Bangalore or  the boring layout of Surathkal that’s made my point of view this way. Still, beauty lies in the eyes of the behold. Or beerholder for that matter. Sorry. Ripped off joke.

Post is getting long again. Hope you had a good time reading, though this is a very personal opinion, might differ for sure, and written at one go. I shall update soon, on more interesting topics. Till then, adios!

Viking Diaries #1 : Bieber there, Done that

I landed up in Stockholm right after my 2^nd year endsems, a horrendous week of exams, ending with an Machine Drawing anticlimax. But glad to run away from all that torture, here I was! Unknown land, not a single familiar face, clutching two heavy bags at the Arlanda Airport. The land of the Vikings. Sverige. 

It was thankfully all smooth in the airport. Come out of it, and a breeze hit me so hard, that I actually dropped one of the strolleys. I froze. Both in awe and cold. In front of me, World Trade Center, a majestic building, and in sight was road traffic as well behaved as I’ve ever seen. I actually stood there for a couple of minutes, regardless of the cold.

From here on, it was a quest on my own, or so I thought to myself. Little did I know how damn helpful these Swedes were. It was a wonderful start in itself, at the accommodation center at KTH, my to-be university. It barely took 20 seconds to track my file, hand over keys, and a couple of words of advice. Wow. Here I was, already feeling at home!

My prof did guide me around a bit, helping me to learn the intricate, yet simple public transport system. They have buses, trains, commuter trains, metro, trams and boats. Complex as it sounds, its simpler than a BMTC network! 

My first week was spent in getting to know the suburb I was living in. The hostel, the shops nearby, etc. It was all as quiet as anything ever. Ok one thing, there might be a lot of “firsts” or “as anything seen before”, forgive me for the clichés, but trust me its all true. Even now I can clearly hear myself type out every word loud and clear, and I hadn’t heard my first human voice till I went looking. Whatta change!

Move over, week 1. Settling into the university, again for some reason it felt good. Much better than back home. Maybe its all the hype around Europe, or plainly my feel-good factor about it all, but every step seemed better. The university looked stunning, and the labs better. Settling into the rigor of university did take some while, especially the part where I’d to pack lunch!

 
My first weekend, I went to the old part of Stockholm city, Gamla Stan. Finally, a place where I felt the desi buildings had come out trumps. I mean, this was the most exquisite part of Stockholm architecture it seems. Bah. We’ve better to offer back home! Still, not taking anything away from it, it was a wonderful street of buildings, lined with souvenir shops (which openly rip tourists off), I’ve seen only a third of this old part of the city. Still more surprises to come.
That evening, at the end of the Gamla Stan street, I can swear it'll happen nowhere else. Ok save Canada, or some dirty part of the US. Here were 50 odd thirteen year olds, at the heart of the world’s finest cities, staging a rally. In support of Justin Bieber. KMN. I took videos, pics, because I realized this was a phenomenon. BIEBER COME TO SWEDEN. JUSTIN WE LOVE YOU. Ok let the pics talk now.

It felt really funny. If you had two bullets with Osama, Saddam and Justin, who’d you shoot? Justin. Twice. These were the kind of jokes earlier, and here I was. WOW. Life has funny things to offer.

Other pics from Gamla Stan, and the shops. The backdrop of this blog right now is at one of these shops.

 I shall wrap up now. It’s the beginning of this journey, and a lot more to come. I shall update, for sure, as often as possible. Thanks for reading!

The World Cup of Joy

Its been a long time since I posted. Terribly sorry. Would’ve sinned for longer if not for this powerful force, this earth-shattering, TV-burning mother of all cricketing events, which forced me out of deep slumber.

The World Cup 2011 started off with a lot of promise, and a lot of speculation – hanging in the balance was the future of One Day Internationals, which was literally falling into a deep slumber when the T20 format whooshed along in a race for survival.  This was India’s moment of reckoning – for once they were considered genuine contenders for cricket’s biggest prize. Added pressure? We have Captain Cool. Honestly I’m nowhere near his biggest fan – mainly due to his lucky escapes and demolition of RCB.

Concerned ICC voices put up a façade saying All Is Well, and it makes a lot of sense to include minnows. Hypocrisy crept in, a few days into the tournament the next edition was cut short to 10 teams from the present 14.

India’s start was nothing short of spectacular, with Viru almost living upto his promise of batting 50 overs. Detractors began to wonder if this monster had been domesticated? Had it started thinking differently? Negative. As the tournament progressed, Viru was back to his own self. Much to the respite of some, leaving others fuming. Through this period – there were two distinct groups of people – the purists and the pretenders – the former sticking to Bharat Mata no matter what happened – and the latter hesitantly supporting the team – just waiting for one slip up to brandish their swords. Very intriguing to watch – personally I was more of a purist – except when it comes to Captain Cool. For some reason, I just hated him. India was really mature through the group stages – nothing too brash or headline grabbing. Except for the loss against South Africa – which did bring those doubts back – is THIS team on its way to the trophy?

This was a period when the pretenders could clearly be differentiated from the purists – the staunch devotees stuck to their Gods, while the unsure ones still did look at other faiths. None of these were to be found – three-consecutive-time-world-cup-champions Australia, definitely dented by their greats hanging up their boots, were made to look like mortal, on a stage which was theirs for more than a decade – a stage which they made the rules. Dismantled everyone in their path.

Enter Semis – a dream billing – one worth 10 times every penny spent. Another India Pakistan WC game – and cruelly not to be Shoaib’s goodbye game. He was dropped for a rookie who went on to pick a fiver – which still let India put up a good total. The pretenders were still unsure – yet they let out half-hearted cheers for every wicket in the Pakistan innings – where they finally succumbed to very test match like attitude – they ran out of steam, and balls. India marched, or scraped – depending on how you see it – into the finals.

“Bees Saal Baad” came in 2003. Gave some hope. The bubble was cruelly burst. 8 years on, in another final. Co Hosts clashing in a battle for one day supremacy. The games itself were such high voltage – heavyweights from all spheres descended upon this spectacle – sports, business, Bollywood, politics. This time it was a much better looking outfit – with inputs from adventurer Mike Horn, mental condition coach Paddy Upton, 6 of India’s 2003 WC final team, and the Chanakya of Indian Cricket – Guru Gary. Gary Potter. Call him what you want, but at the end of 8 hours of slow over rate cricket – “Captain Cool” lofted one of Sri Lanka’s eyebrow raising selection – Kulasekara for a humungous six – hell broke loose before the ball landed in the crowd. This was a fine moment – insane energy – stunned audience – stunned skipper – relieved coach –exultant audience. It was a potboiler of emotions – the cricket was forgotten – this win was one with more value outside the sporting world than in it.

Impact was immense - it brought probably the World’s best batsman to tears – so was the Surd and Singh. Tears of Joy flowed through – this was the cup of joy, and it had come home.This Cup united people all over the nation – it thrashed all barriers – it was a moment for the nation to rejoice. Every Indian was brought to tears – such was the magnitude of achievement – such was how the Cup unites. The nation celebrated and it was one crazy night – I personally did not know how to react – it took some time for this fact to sink in – WORLD CHAMPIONS – WORLD NO. 1 in Test and ODIs. India – the new Australia!

On a personal note, the last two games were screened at our Silver Jubilee Auditorium – a 1500 odd seater.  Drums, Vuvuzelas, whistles, chants, face paintings – this atmosphere made it much much better. This was probably what made emotions rise and fall – faster than a stock market – a thousand plus Indian fans cheering for every single, every chance of a wicket, every other thing which would’ve gone unnoticed at home or while streaming on the laptop. Words failed to describe the winning moments – I was left speechless – for the first time sport has affected me to this extent. Magical it was listening to present and future heroes – future demi gods – describe their emotions and efforts at the end of the win. This was definitely Dada’s Cup as it was MSD’s or Sachin’s. We shouldn’t forget the base set up by him in early 2000s, when the team was in the doldrums. And irony it was that Dada was in the commentary box at this historic time. Icing would’ve been for him to conduct the presentation. Yet again, one can’t ask for everything.

Purists had attained salvation, while the pretenders finally found a staunch reason to show their loyalty – a reason to jump onto the bandwagon in happy times. Still, this was not the time for discrimination – all were embraced alike.

The 2^nd of April, 2011 forever will be among my finest memories – it was beyond any description, yet the scenes shall remain etched forever. This was a defining moment in my many many years of Indian cricket fandom – all these years’ wait for consistency, class and Cup – finally bore fruit – and I only hope it gets better – I really don’t mind MSD that much now as long as he has the Midas touch.

Defining Moments - Still a Kid - Sachin Tendulkar dedicates the Cup to one of India's heroes
And yeah, the World Cup pic.

 Do put down your comments/feelings about this momentous Cup!

Tragedy Post Disaster?

It is the world's worst industrial catastrophe, with more than 15000 deaths, and an appalling figure of 500,000 suffering due to exposure to MIC. Generations of people have been affected. Handicapped for life. It’s a process still going on, with no visible ending in the near future. All due to outrageously in-your-face human negligence and a shockingly irresponsible mass murderer, in the form of chairman Warren Anderson. It can be partly contributed to under-development and illiteracy in this regard, but a lot of things could've been avoided. Tons of lives could've been saved if the safety regulations were in place. Investigations are still on, but to no avail. Greenpeace is confident that Anderson knew about 30 safety hazards in the unit, which were not fixed in the Bhopal plant, but were patched up in the US plant, which led to the disaster. Sabotage, anyone?

Recently, the 25th anniversary occurred, providing a voice to those affected again, a loudspeaker to shout it out. It pained to actually realize the impact of this "accident", and was nowhere close to a rosy picture. It was barbaric, and definitely shook even the strongest of hearts. Thousands of people, of all ages, disabled and blemished for life. And the suffering continues.

More recently, the Bhopal Gas tragedy verdict was out. It was like adding insult to injury. Flinging insult after insult. Rubbing salt into raw wounds. Only 8 people convicted, and the punishment, makes one think it was a joke. Two years of imprisonment and $2000 fine. Wow! I mean, that's peanuts even for a guy who's attempted murder. And we are looking murder of over 15000 Indians, and attempted murder of over many a lakh. Talk about injustice! And Anderson not even among those convicted. Now its definitely a joke, and the government doesn’t seem to sense the humour. Anderson still heartlessly living the life of a sinner, and was supposedly helped by Indian officials to flee the country. This just is outrageous. Makes my heart cringe and at the same time burn with anger.

In the other half of this earth, the recent oil spill due to a undersea pipeline of BP explosion made headlines, for almost a month. The affected ones? Marine life in and around the oil spill, and a few thousands of people in and around the Gulf of Mexico. US President Barack Obama might have let a few of us down in what he achieved after promising the moon, but my opinion of his shot up like no other after what he achieved. He looked into the matter, followed it up brilliantly, and brought some respite. Well lots of it. Atleast monetarily. BP has vowed to pay up. Twenty Billion US dollars. That's right. All for dying dolphins! OK am not scaling down the oil spill, but in similar view, the victims of the oil spill have hit a jackpot. And victims of the Gas Tragedy? Still waiting compensation and relief. Time periods may have been a couple of decades apart, but that is no reason to give outrageous decisions and blaming the constitution for lack of a provision in case of natural disasters!

 The memorial at Bhopal aptly sums it up

 

Talk about contrasting judicial systems. We still have a long way to go! And I'm surprised no one else in India has done anything noteworthy. Its time we raised a voice, and do something to bring some form of justice to all those affected. Its time, well past it actually, that these victims and their families got justice.

Once Upon a time..Part Two

Continuing Bombay tales, another aspect is the cleanliness and pollution. Every time I step in, its the same, open drains, awaiting whose fall no one knows. I mean, the ones near my house have been open, with "Under construction" written for the past 4-5 years!! And the atmosphere! Well fact is that breathing the air in Mumbai for just one day is equivalent to smoking 2.5 packs of cigarettes. Well in that case, all of us are big fat chimneys!.Even the once visibly lovely beaches have been turned into godowns of grime and filth. Blessed are we at NITK to have our private beach, which seems spotlessly clean compared to Bombay's beaches!

Advertisements have eaten into every free square inch possible, and all boards according to some government rule (which came in after a protest by you-ob-know-whom!)  have to have the name written in Marathi/Hindi, which at times makes it an entry for the Sunday Times "Signs of the times"!! Tonnes of them. Which isn't a treat to the eye exactly. But it is fun deciphering the English words written in Hindi.

 

A shop with A to Z..in Hindi - notice the top part - in Hindi!!

Another thing is the witty comments all over the city. Some of them, enumerated here

• At one of the bus stop shelters, a plain green board saying  - "What will Bollywood heroes and heroines run around in the future?", and below that, "Plant more trees. An initiative by Leela Group"
• IndiGo Air has decked a lot of their buses, BEST(Bombay Electric Supply and Transport) with ads overflowing with puns – "Fly the BEST bus, Airbus A320" and lots more. 
• On the airplane, stewardesses as usual kept wishing each passenger on their way out – "Thank you for flying with Air India". I couldn't hold it – just burst out laughing, when a passenger (guy) in front of me actually told the stewardess "Thank you ma'am for flying with Air India".
  
  

I also happened to see the Shiv Sena National headquarters. Just a small building, but the potential storm it can brew up in no time. Big things come in small packages. The guy who said it wasn’t wrong.

 

And it was a rather silent ending, save a quick trip to Fashion Street (with no problems in reaching there, unlike our NITK junta!) , The majestic Taj, Gateway of India, Siddhivinayak  and a few other iconic locations. Otherwise, the weather prevented any other activities, as the sun was laughing in glee, sadistically. Its cruel weather. Really c-r-u-e-l.

And special mention to Ayush Nanda here. While I was in Bombay, got to know that he'd cracked the CLAT. A national rank of 46. Massacre. Congrats man. NLSIU is waiting!

And thus ended my trip to Mumbai. The reclaimed piece of land is today India's economic capital and is growing at an exponential speed. Some decentralization is needed. One can't keep stuffing a plastic bag beyond a limit. A pressure reliever is required. And that too soon.

The Pencil Parable

The pencil parable is something which I found very interesting to read, and more so, very inspiring and apt. In five simple steps, it breaks down life, well explains a lot of things!

Its basically five which I can say to a pencil, and the same five things apply to us as well. Here it goes!

 

First,
You will be able to do many great things,but only if you allow yourself to be held in someone's hand, give them your access.

Second,
You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time.Its just to ensure you become a better pencil.

Third,
You always have the opportunity and ability to correct your mistakes

Fourth,
The most important part of you is what's inside. Preserve it well.

Fifth,
No matter what the condition, you must continue to write. You must always leave a clear, legible imprint no matter what the situation

Well, thanks for reading, and if you found it interesting, or not, just write in a couple of lines..Thanks!

Once Upon a time..Part One

Well recently I had been to Mumbai..Bombay..for about 10 days. One, at this part of the year, it was quite foolish, maybe I was about a week early, or the monsoons were a week late, because the weather that said hello, wasn’t very pleasant. The hello was rather sadistic, complete with an evil, perilous smile. I had flown Air India both ways, which seemed quite foolish given the recent trend of events! But yes, with a couple of mute prayers myself, and literal, loud prayers of a couple of Tam co-passengers, all was well. Save a minor wobble on landing at Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport. (Yes, Air India can mess it up. Anytime. Anywhere.) 

 

 @the Gateway of India 

 

The sight that greeted me, right outside the domestic airport, spoke a thousand words. I'm not too sure if its like that everyday, but here it is-behind me, a posh GVK managed state of the art airport, to my right a horde of 100+ taxis, of black and blue (a.k.a. "Cool Cabs") behind which were 200 or more autos. But even before you could get past this part, rather think of reaching this part, a minimum of 10 drivers mill around you.  

"Kahaan jaana hai?? Bhaiyya.. Kahaan jaana hai??"  

Fending them off, a big task in itself, oh by the way, I forgot my left side. The defining side. There were a row of colourful hawkers, couple of travel agent shops, an open drain, and a Dabbawallah walking past, managing an amazing balancing act, and clusters of people hustling and bustling. It sort of captured Bombay, at a glance.

                

(The crowd..the double decker)

The drive home was equally "scenic", and The essence of this marvelous city, which never ceases to amaze me. About how life goes by, unaffected by an environment so unique to this city. The characteristic elements that can be identified with this city are innumerable. The moment one of these terms come up, Mumbai it is! Be it the local train system, the Dabbawallahs, the perennial crowd, BEST buses, double-deckers that too, the beaches, the Gateway, The Taj Hotel, BSE, Bollywood, the Shiv Sena, temples and tonnes more, clearly define this wondrous city. And to top it all, half the land is reclaimed from the sea.  

I shall continue my actual travails of wonder-city in the next post. Keep reading! And commenting?...!

Universal Rewinders

Emotions in general are very, very powerful, and can definitely control anyone, no matter how strong they may be, emotionally. Memories, in particular, are a way of holding onto things you are, things you love, things you never want to lose. It's like a diary we carry around with us, with each of its pages filled with a myriad of emotions and experiences.


Tiny little things that they may be, and immeasurable as well, memories see no bar, no factor, and are definitely a part of each one of our lives. These fragments floating in our head have so much power – can make us happy reminiscing a previous incident; make us thoughtful in retrospect of random actions and so on. Basically, memories are every man's private literature. Literature full of life, full of lessons, full of emotions. At times, it even fuels us, fuels that last mile, that last hurdle which we refuse to cover.

But its always surprising as to how much memories are built around things that were unnoticed at that time! Memories feed imagination, like a minute detail observed in passing, an image, action, or anything of that sort, seen or experienced before, where we instantly rewind to that period, creating a vivid image of it and this in itself is an incredible experience. Something as simple as a smell, though momentary, can conjure up and entire period in our childhood. Memories are wonderful. Memories are to be cherished, and at times, would definitely love to experience those times again. Basically, rewinding life.

On a lighter note, I saw this board somewhere near college – though I wish it could do what it claims it can! But yes, laugh out loud, :D .