Time to turn back and descend the stair

Last day of the year, last night actually and I'm here, tired but happy, in my jammies. No major plans to ring in the new year, no major parties and no annoying confetti that gets stuck in your hair. I spent the whole day today at Universal Orlando theme park and had a sooper fun day. I'm tired as hell because I spent the whole day walking around the massive park, especially the Harry Potter theme park - doing the rides and waiting in abominably long queues. I have to say, as a maniacal Potter fan, the Harry Potter Theme Park at Orlando is awesome! They replicated Hogwarts, Hogsmead and Diagon Alley. We, my friend, her mother and I,went around drinking butter beer and eating sweets from, Honeydukes, the sweet shop. My favorite "ride" of the park was the "Forbidden Journey" ride, which took us through the Hogwarts castle, and finally culminated in a roller coaster ride to simulate what flying on a broom felt like. Seriously awesome! So thats why we are too tired to go out and preferred to chill at home instead.

Instead of reviewing the year that has gone by, I've instead decided to revisit some memorable events - good and bad in 2010

I really enjoyed the Improv class I took in Jan. This came right after a brooding winter break and it managed to draw me out emotionally. It was so much fun and lighthearted. Also, it gave me the opportunity to let my hair down and just live in the moment. My improv team put up a show at the end of the class and I couldn't believe that was me, being silly and not being too conscious about it. Good Fun!

I traveled quite a bit this year, and although I didn't write about it extensively, my favourite trip this year was to Belgium and Netherlands with my best friend since school, Amrita. We had a rocking girls trip to Amsterdam but my favourite memory of the trip was us going clubbing on my last day and getting mad drunk. I still remember us being in that cab, at 4 am, on the way to her apartment, and Amrita went "You need to blog more. Promise me!" I told her I loved her and promptly passed out. Everytime I hit "Publish" on my blogposts now, I see her, in my minds eye, nodding her head in approval. Love you babe!

I also went home to India in May primarily because it was my Dad's 60th birthday and we planned to throw him a surprise party. I was really excited about going back because I imagined the reception I would get. Mom would smother me with embarrassing affection I thought and might possibly cry at the airport itself. When I did arrive, at 2 am in the night, to my unpleasant surprise, NO ONE came to receive me. They had forgotten!! I called them, from a pay phone at the airport and they woke up and went "Oh!" I waited after that for an hour, during which time, the airport security guard, took pity on me and commented that studying in the US didn't necessarily warrant for special treatment (!!!!) I was upset, primarily because, my brother, when he came home from Australia, always got the full blown airport reception.I felt cheated! Anyway, after that my parents spent the remaining four weeks being extra nice to me to make up for not being at the Airport. Dad also gave me access to his fully stocked bar, so basically, things brightened up considerably :)

I was in Delaware for the summer for my internship. This needed me to drive from Durham to Delaware in June. I had NEVER driven before coming to the US so I found the thought of driving 400 miles absolutely daunting. I remember starting out at 8 am in sheer nervousness and then gradually settling into the ride. At lunch, I dropped in to a MacDonald's outlet for the first time ever in the US and found that I couldn't decipher the menu. Give me my McAloo Tikki anyday, I said, quietly to myself. After lunch, I drove for 3 hours straight and reached Delaware.This was a huge milestone for me because I felt like I achieved something. It felt like I had broken the shackles and become really independent. All my life I had either been driven around or relied on public transport. Driving such a long distance, made me feel strong and confident. Yay!

As I blogged before, my birthday came during Finals week and so I had two finals on my birthday. Inspite of that people turned up for my birthday soiree, which really meant a lot to me. But the gesture that did it was, Fida, the proprietress, of Saladelia, giving me a Tiramisu Cake for my birthday. She said that she knew how it felt to spend a birthday without your family (say awwww). The kindness of strangers continues to astound me and reminds me that a little kindness goes a long way.

In Year 2 of school, I consciously decided to cook more. I not only baked more but also got into the habit of cooking Indian food more. My biggest culinary feat was cooking for dinner party of 6 in December. I couldn't believe how grown up I'd become! and I couldn't believe people were eating my food and saying it was delicious. I was relieved to know that the cooking gene that runs in my family had not by passed me. I agree that I might have drwan the shorter straw in this area because my Mom, Dad and brother are brilliant cooks but I'm not so bad myself.

2010 was certainly eventful. It felt like I took two steps forward and one back. It was a roller coaster of a year. Here's hoping that the next year will be a much happier and joyous one for you and me.

Happy New Year!

There's no sunshine when its gone

Let me be absolutely honest and say that when it comes to cricket, I'm not the most ardent Indian cricket fan one could hope to find. I don't remember memorable match plays, I don't obsess over our victories or losses, hell I'm not even up to speed with the composition of the Indian team sometimes. But, whatever, my level of affiliation, Cricket has always been a part of my life - it was for the past 26 years atleast - through its ubiquitous presence on TVs, Newspapers and Dinner table discussions.

It was hard to be oblivious to it because I had an older brother who was absolutely obsessed with it. So obsessed that I think he secretly harboured notions of being a cricketer one day. Well, not so secret because my brother actually played cricket inside the house and how he managed not to break anything, or send the food tray flying, still makes me wonder. Given this, I had no choice but to give in and let our TV be dominated by Cricket. And gradually, I found myself actually watching Cricket -out of my own volition.

My first memory of cricket, or rather my favourite first memory of cricket was the 1992 World cup in Australia & New Zealand. The cricket stadiums were picturesque and breadthtaking, while the cricket threw up some outlandish surprises -like New Zealand topping the league.I still remember my father's wonder in NZ looking invincible. "They have more sheep" he said. South Africa, coming back into the international arena looked like the only formidable opposition to NZ and there were loud murmurs of our own boy wonder -Sachin Tendulkar. He was a phenomenon no more, but the anointed son who would save Indian Cricket. Anybody who could stand up to Merv Hughes and his ilk was surely, that? When I look back, I think the 1992 world cup was instrumental in burgeoning my love for cricket. It showed me the power of the under dog (insert Pak reference here), the perils of being cocky (Australia as always), the vagaries of chance (Duckworth -Lewis system) and the heartbreak of defeat (South Africa's loss in the Semis). I think that world cup reeled me into the world of Cricket for good.

I sort of consider myself lucky that I saw India's ascendancy in cricket while I was growing up and that I got to see Sachin Tendulkar's career. On hindsight, they both are highly co-related methinks. For me atleast, the glory years of Indian cricket were from 1996 - 2005. Well, 2005 was the year I graduated college and the last year I followed cricket doggedly. I remember the 1996 world cup hosted my India vividly. Expectations were higher than the 1992 world cup and after we defeated Pakistan in Bangalore, thanks to Venkatesh Prasad's epic dimissal of Aamir Sohail, all of us were sure that we were going to clinch it. In school (my conservative methodist all girls school), they even started broadcasting the cricket commentary over the intercom!! such was the mania. Sadly, we lost, uncomprehendingly, to Sri Lanka, the eventual winners. That for me was the beginning of Indian Cricket's See-Saw era. The team would give us giddying wins and immediately, with the next match infact, plunge us into despair with soul shattering losses. The words "inconsistent" and "lack of killer instinct" got bandied about regularly.

My favourite cricket memory is undoubtedly the 1999 world cup and the India Vs Sri Lanka match. That day is etched in my memory because two new gems, Dravid and Ganguly, schooled Sri Lanka and my board exam results were also announced on the same day. I couldn't veer myself away from the TV to even see how I did in what I thought were my seminal exams. I actually asked a friend to see my results at school. She didn't get back to me and so I had to, ask the brother to drive me to school. He cursed me and the school board for taking him away from that brilliant match play. He didn't forgive me even when he became the brother of the school topper. He still cursed me. That day was a great day.

As an Indian cricket fan, you got used to the dizzying heights and the abysmal lows. You became a tempered soul that never rejoiced too much, like when they won the Natwest Trophy against England. You knew that it wouldn't be long before they lost to lowly Bangladesh. You became one who could meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same.This also became your philosophical point of view. It did become mine. I never got too excited by my own personal successes and not too disappointed by my failures. When the team lost several series in succession, you learned to have faith and believe and were rewarded with an outstanding series win. The Indian team showed you that to have a heart was also a great thing. I can remember so many innings were there was a lone Indian batsman who showed heart and stood up to wild inswinging bowling while his team collapsed around him. Being an Indian cricket fan taught you valuable life lessons. It taught you the value of patience, of lessons in failure, of not being swayed by success, of celebrating little things like glorious stroke play and not being focused on the result itself.

I can't remember when exactly, but gradually Indian cricket started weaning itself away from Sachin Tendulkar and the Fab Four. I remember feeling a twinge of sadness when India started winning matches without a significant contribution from Sachin. The infusion of the younger brigade made the Indian team a lot more resilient and hardy. Cricket also became incredibly commercialized. The tours became numerous and the formats became confusing. That monstrosity called T20 made its presence and for me it became cricket overdose.Thats when I exited out of viewing cricket but not following it.

Inexplicably, my favourite format is the Test format of cricket. I love test matches more than anything and I find it annoying when people ask me how a game could last for 5 days. Test match for me is the epitome of cricket and incorporates strategy, patience and sublime technique. Its the unhurried version. A version where you'll see the purest of pure cover drives, one that might come 2 hours into an innings but will be totally worth the wait. I mentally ready my Decembers to be inundated with Test cricket. I always look forward to test cricket in Australia as the year end treat. Nothing compares to watching a test match played on lush green outfields, in brilliant sunny weather and with raucous fans with the most outrageous banners/signs. An overseas Indian test match victory for me is more memorable than ODI victories because a test match match victory is hard earned, more laboured and less subject to vagaries of chance.

I will never forget our Test match victory against Australia in Perth. in PERTH. I remember jumping in glee when we won because we had done it. Broken our overseas jinx and achieved a win at Perth, the bounciest mofo of a pitch. I remember how commentators analyzed and dissected the victory, I read reams written about the victory, saw TV debates on whether that was the greatest Cricket team India had ever produced and I remember my brother's excited voice. The rest of the tour was bloody brilliant too. We won the ODI series and defeated Australia in Australia.

Being in the US, I miss cricket. I miss not finding it on my TV as I channel surf, I miss post-match analysis and even, dare I say it, the excited-flawed commentary of Charu Sharma. I hate reading live match plays on websites and imagining what the shot might have been. Most of all I miss watching it with my family. How I'd pace like a restless animal when a match got tense, while my brother and Dad watched with searing concentration. My mother, an ardent fan too, would talk annoyingly and give her take on what the team should do next. The three of us, my brother, Dad and I, would catch each other's eye and have the same thought -If they made Mom the coach of the Indian cricket, that would indeed be the day.

After India's spectacular win in Durban yesterday, missing these Cricket moments makes me realize that not being able to watch cricket is a form of home sickness too. Sad that.

Dispatches from Cairo

I know this post on my Egypt trip comes a bit late, but I always feel like its necessary to summarize a trip - revel in the good memories, go EGAD!! at the unpleasant ones and make general tourist mental notes.

Tourist mental notes are observations that are priceless, that stick with you long after the trip is over - sort of like a sweet aftertaste. So here goes my list of notes. Also, I've put down my list favourite things to do in Egypt at the bottom.

1. First impression of Cairo happens when you are about to land - The whole city looks like its being excavated from the sand. It looks ancient and reverent. Actually the ancientness of the land permeates through whole of Egypt and it feels special to see sights that are older than time itself.

2. Egypt is a well oiled tourist machinery.The moment you land, chances are you'll find yourself in the warm embrace of your tourist guide who'll not only pick you up from the airport but will also chaperon you around all the sites.Yes, they will even accompany you to the sound and light show, because for some reason, they think you are not capable of comprehending a sound and light show without their "insights."

Well you may think that you could do without a guided tour, but sorry, you'll go crying back to a tourist agency because the entire tourist machinery is so strong that it is quite difficult to get around without one.

3. Egyptians love football. You will see it and hear it everywhere and whenever Football is on, the former is way more important than you, the tourist. So if your tour guide disappears to see a match. Suck it!

4. Seeing Cairo brought me flashbacks of the "English Patient." Both, the book and the movie. When we visited the museum of antiquities, with its giant marble staircases, I could imagine the place being the capital of excitement thanks to all the excavations. Yeah those archaeologists really dug Egypt. (pun intended)

5. That ancient Egyptians obsessed over their afterlife clearly can be gleaned after your visit to the Great pyramids. Surely, anybody who spends 20 years to plan life after death, deserves to be called obsessive. We also learned that ancient Egyptians packed their tombs with gold, clothes and furniture. Yes, furniture!!

6. Egyptians love Indians. Atleast, they say they do or it might be a tactic to get your money by making you feel you're special because you're Indian. When they see you, their Pavlovian response is "Amitabh Bachan." I. Have. No. Idea. Why. Everywhere we went, when traders/cab drivers/policemen saw us, they said "Amitabh Bachan." I dunno what that dude did, but he has mesmerized them Egyptians and they actually do get mad when you tell them that Amitabh Bachan is Old. like really Old. and is peddling AAA batteries on TV.

7. They may love Indians but they love bargaining even more. and boy are they stellar at that or what. I thought I was the master bargainer, but Egyptian traders made me work so hard for every item, that at the end I would have given anything to not bargain. So here's how the S.O.P went:

First they'll quote you an outrageous price - this is primarily to see what your counter offer is. Then you haggle. Then they'll halt the proceedings by offering you tea. Then they ask you questions on awkward topics like dating scene in India and premarital sex while you're drinking tea. You choke on the aforementioned tea and nearly die. You contemplate that a 30 Egyptian pound scarf is not worth dying over and so you halt proceedings, tell the trader that you agree to his price and walk out. with a scalded tongue. and ego. and scarf.

8. NO scarf is worth dying over. One should never have an ego about things when one is bargaining. Helps you walk away easily. Biggest lesson learned.

9. Don't take a Negotiations class in B-school. Bargaining in a souk will teach you that

10. Egyptians hate miserly tippers. Everybody here expects a tip for something or the other. The bulk of my expense was spent in tips. So I pulled the student card and explained why I'm a miserly tipper. So now they hate students more than miserly tippers.

11. My favourite memory is hearing the call to prayers. Its a sound so reverent, that it makes you pause and reflect.

12. Egypt has so many sites and so much history but one gets the feeling that there is not much pride in that history. Most Egyptians view the Pharoanic sites as a part of their pagan history and have sadly distanced themselves from it, given that it goes against Islamic tenets.

13. My other favourite memory was cruising down the Nile, docking at villages, visiting magnificent, ancient ruins and getting a history lesson. As a history buff, there is no bigger treat than Egypt.

14. I still can't fathom how erudite and knowledgeable ancient Egyptians were to build the things that they did and to leave the legacy that they did. Makes you realise that the human race is capable of great things if it puts its mind to it.

15. The single biggest reason I love travel is the insight it provides into people's lives. By eating the food they eat, learning about the lives they lead, their pet peeves and must do's, you get an exquisite peek into a life that you may never lead, but one that sure looks like a lot of fun.

My Favourite Things to do in Egypt:

1. Climbing inside the great pyramid of Giza.

2. Seeing the Christian quarter of old Cairo. Cairo infact has numerous ancient churches and it was quite revealing to see both Islam and Christianity co-exist in Egypt.

3. Seeing the original copy of "The Psalms" at the Coptic museum. This was a seminal moment for me as the book of psalms is my favourite biblical text.

4. Drinking Mint Tea and eating Kusheri, a yummy rice dish at the 14th Century Khan-El-Khalili Souk Market.

5. Visiting the Aswan High dam in Aswan. The dam is a construction marvel.

6. Visiting the Philae temple behind the Aswan dam. The Temple was carefully restored, piece by piece, on an island, after the original site was submerged due to the building of the dam.

7. Cruising down the Nile and stopping at small villages to visit ancient ruins. My favourite site has to be the magnificent EDFU temple. My jaws dropped when I first saw the 140 mts high entrance.

8. The valley of the Kings in Luxor and the magnificent paintings inside the tombs, including king Tutan Khamen.

9. Exploring the huge site of the Karnak temple at Luxor. It was the most important temple in ancient times and is a must visit for everybody.

10. Bargaining in Egyptian souks - taking in the myriad colours and scents

raison d'etre

So today, while I was in a frozen yogurt shop in Orlando called "Delish Frogen Yozurt," slurrping at my red velvet yogurt, I heard the most mellifluous voice one could hope to hear. I was surprised and could almost not believe that it was Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, singing Ave Maria, on the radio. I don't know if I should be sad or thrilled that "Ave Maria" has been relegated to that genre called "Christmas Music."

Ave Maria is special to me. Very very special. Ave Maria was the reason I fell in love with Opera. I first heard Andre Bocelli's version of Ave Maria on his album "The Sacred Arias." This album was a birthday gift from my once-best-friend-forever on my 17th birthday. It was a tape. I vividly remember calling it a night on my birthday, tucking myself in with my Walkman. Ave Maria was the first track on this tape and the moment I heard it, I think I experienced divinity. It made my soul soar and made me cry. It made me want to be a better human being. I had honestly felt nothing like it before. Thats why it is so special to me and thats why hearing it in a yogurt shop made me wee bit sad. But then again, if somebody else, heard it on the radio and felt what I did, it was probably a good thing.

Listening to it again, this time in the voice of Dame Kiri, took me back to that time in my life where I discovered so much music. I discovered Opera, Western Classical and Classic Rock when I was around 16-17. Every new genre was a revelation. A celebration of how much life had to offer. I miss that sorely these days. I miss being driven by intellectual curiosity actually. I miss reading voraciously and learning about the world. And all because I have commercial and not intellectual pursuits. sigh.

I was one of the very few people who absolutely loved school. I loved learning, giving exams and then moving into a higher class to learn some more. I thrived in that environment and was quite sad when it all ended when I completed engineering. What I liked most that I could clearly see an evolution in my intellect from one class to the next. Once I started working, it became harder to gauge if I grew as a human being. True, I gained valuable experience, but I could not clearly determine if I had become smarter or more worldly. Thats why I clung on to my reading habit. I viewed it as the only thing that would save my intellect from being stunted. I honestly believe that the more you know, the more you learn, the more empathetic you become. The more humane you become. That is kind of a big deal no?

I know I'm meandering a bit but listening to a beautiful opera piece, a piece I first heard as a seventeen year old, made me realize that I've not experienced the joy of discovering something seminal in a long time. I miss reading books that changed my world view, or music that stopped me in my tracks. I hate that those moments are fewer and far between.

Yeah, being a grown up sucks!

Proximity

I feel like I'm blind-folded,

groping in the dark,

searching for you and

that you're right in front of me

teasing.

Breathe and make yourself known.