A taste of hollywood

You have not experienced Los Angeles until you have had a taste of Hollywood.  We had our first taste of it over the last couple of weeks for the first time after our return to LA.

First, was a performance of Iris produced by Cirque Du Soleil at the absolutely awesome Kodak theater in Hollywood.  The company spent $40,000,000 just to redo the stage for this performance.  The show had the usual combination of amazing visuals, great characters and music created by 100 orchestral musicians.  It was a breath-taking show produced in true Hollywood style.  It was nice to be back in Hollywood and the kids got a real kick out of seeing the stars of their favorite celebrities.  The Mann Chinese is as magnificent as ever.

A few days later, we went to see Steven Spielberg's first animated movie - The Adventures of Tintin.  The motion capture animation in 3D was totally realistic and the characters really come alive.  This was quite a treat for Mona and me who grew up reading Tintin comics but Aanish and Ayaana loved it too.

A living tree comes home this holiday

Mona and Ayaana working on the tree

It's December and the holiday season is upon us.  This is our favorite time of the year and it is great to be back home in Los Angeles this year for the holidays.  It is a perfect time for meeting friends and family, entertaining and be entertained.  The house looks festive as all the holiday decorations come out.  Ayaana has her holiday scene setup on top of her piano and gift stockings are hanging on a mantle.

Some months ago (while we were still in Bangalore), I read about this company, The Living Christmas,  that provides live christmas trees.  I tracked them down and turns out that they are local.  So we decided to get a live tree this year.  The tree comes home in a pot with it's roots intact.  At the end of the season, the tree is picked up and replanted instead of drying up and going waste.  If we choose to, we can adopt the tree and we would get the same tree each year.  I thought it was a brilliant concept.

Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays of the year and we are happy and thankful to be back home to celebrate it with family.  Mona and I have enjoyed putting out a spread for this holiday and this year it was no different.  In fact it was bigger and better than before. 

We had nearly forty people (families are big where we come from!) over for a traditional Thanksgiving feast.  The menu was massive and included the usual special sides such as mashed potatoes (cooked in butter milk this year), chipotle sweet potato casserole (a new twist on a traditional dish), the green bean bake (Mona's specialty that is always a hit), cranberry sauce (a must-have at the table but nobody really likes it) and a green salad with an Asian flavor (Seema's culinary contribution to the dinner).  The centerpiece of course was the 18-pound turkey - dry brined for 3 days and cooked with a mixture of herb butter and cayenne pepper!  Mona made her classic stuffing to go with turkey.  And then there was the gravy to accompany the turkey and of course a generous serving of a variety of bread rolls.  Dinner also included ham (a traditional American favorite), Armenian chicken (from our favorite take-out - Zankou) and Tamales.  Yes, it is an American holiday but these dishes are essential to reflect our multi-cultural identity!  No Thanksgiving is complete without a pumpkin pie and we had three (enough to feed eighty, I think) along with ice cream.

It was lots of work before and after the party but all of it was well worth it.  Ayaana was a huge help and served as the sous chef for Mona and me.  We even put the reluctant Aanish to work (taking out trash and other stuff requiring manual labor).  

The party was a hit and will go down as another one to remember and hopefully beat next year.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Occupy Los Angeles

No, no, the title here does not refer to our return to LA.  I am talking about the very interesting Occupy Wall Street movement that is going on at the moment all over the United States.  It is a movement that started in mid-September in New York and has rapidly spread all across the country.  These protests are against high unemployment and corporate greed especially within the financial sector.  The movement has no leader and has not outlined a specific agenda as yet but it is continuing to grow as we speak.  Neither bad weather or strict law enforcement has slowed the spread.

Last week, I experienced the spread of this movement to Los Angeles.  A group of Occupy protesters gathered outside the Bank of America building in downtown Los Angeles (just a couple of blocks from my office).  Morning traffic was completely disrupted as the group marched through downtown.  

Occupy Wall Street highlights the frustrations that Americans are feeling in the aftermath of the biggest financial crisis that the country has faced since the Great Depression.  Joblessness is still hovering around 10% and there is no sign of a strong recovery.  Corporations meanwhile are continuing to post profits and the administration has not prosecuted any Wall Street executives as a result of the financial meltdown.  All of this reminds me of the Anna Hazare movement that we experienced in India just a few months ago.

Migration blues

It's been a crazy couple of months!  I thought that the move to Los Angeles would be a fairly simple and easy one.  Coming back to the house after nearly five years involved a lot of work and change.  First, there were a series of repairs (leaking faucets, broken blinds, car repairs etc.) that had to be undertaken.  Second, there was a lot of stuff in the house that had become old and had to be discarded (old couches, cookware, appliances).  Third, we had to make room for our stuff that was being shipped back from India (weeks of reorganizing closets, emptying boxes, discarding more stuff).  Fourth, a lot of technology had to be retired and replaced (imagine a desktop with no wireless access or a fax machine!).  And finally, there was the massive clean-up required to get the house back in shape.

It was a lot of back breaking work - moving heavy furniture, lifting boxes, driving large loads of recycling material to the recycling center etc. etc.  It was also a lot of administrative work getting the utilities back on, starting services such as water, cable, internet etc.  In the midst of all of this, Aanish moved to his dorm and started college, Ayaana started a new school and a host of activities and I started my new job at Impremedia.

But at the end of all of this, it feels that all the effort was well worth it and more.  The house looks beautiful.  Our new routines have been established.  We have reconnected with friends and family.  It is great to be back home.

I was planning to wrap up this blog after we moved here since our Bangalore journey has ended.  But moving back here has been interesting and full of experiences that might be worth writing about.  So I decided to continue writing for a bit longer (until the reverse culture-shock wears off).  I have also enabled access to this blog via mobile for those of you are not tethered to a desktop or laptop but can't get enough of my jottings.  Also decided to rename it (since we are no longer in Bangalore) and give it a newer look.

So stay tuned!

The countdown begins ...

It is my last day in our apartment in Bangalore. The place is completely empty, with the exception of two chairs, a table, a phone and a mattress. My bags are almost packed up.

This has been an incredible journey and one that we will never forget for the rest of our lives. I had the opportunity to live the dream - of coming back to India, starting and building a company and catching up with all things Indian. Mona created a vital role for herself in the Bangalore society and in her own inimitable style made an impact to many lives through her charity work. Aanish and Ayaana had a memorable experience at Indus International School which helped them grow in more ways than they realize today. Hopefully I have also regained some portion of my Indian-ness that I may have lost during my 20 years in America.

It was wonderful to be closer to family during these few years. We had a blast traveling to interesting destinations in this part of the world. The food here has been just amazing. And the conveniences (car wash in the building, laundry service at your door etc.) really help in making life much simpler out here.

Most important of all, the people here are one of a kind. Open, warm and welcoming. Always helpful. Kind. We have met and connected with many wonderful people here and will really miss them when we are back.

Obviously, this is not a goodbye to India as we will be back many times in the future. I will continue posting for some time on our experiences in re-settling back in the US. So stay tuned!

End of the journey

Nearly five years after I landed in Bangalore (October 2006), we are packing up and getting ready to move back to Los Angeles. Our exciting journey in India is coming to an end. We plan to be back in the US by the end of this month. And as most things happen in India, this one also just happened, without a lot of notice and planning. In fact, our move became a reality for me last week when I returned from work and walked into the apartment to see most of our stuff packed up in nice big brown boxes. Five years of our life in India = approximately 70 boxes and packages!

We have mixed feelings about the move. We are excited at the next chapter in our lives and are looking forward to moving back into our home and reconnecting with friends and family. We are sad to leave India (the second time in our lives for Mona and I). We were closer to our immediate family. We made new friends. We loved traveling and rediscovering India. The food was absolutely magnificent. Bangalore has become home over the past few years. We will sorely miss all of this.

But one thing is for sure. This will be a memorable time of our lives and we will always remember this time with great fondness. And hopefully we have made many strong connections that will remain in place for years to come.

Highway signs in Ladakh.

The Border Roads Organization (Indian army) has the responsibility for building and repairing roads and bridges in the Ladakh region. Somebody out there has a real sense of humor. This is evident on the road signs scattered across these perilous and difficult to drive on mountain roads. We started noticing these signs after a couple of days and started compiling a list. Here it is for your reading entertainment:

- Be gentle on my curves
- I am curvaceous but go slow
- Feel my curves slowly
- I love you dear but not so fast
- Better mister late than late mister
- You are not being chased by anyone
- This is a highway, not a runway
- Driving risky after whisky
- Safety on the road means safe tea at home
- Drinking and driving makes a lethal cocktail
- Drive like hell and you will soon be there
- All will wait, better too be late
- Don't mix driving with alcohol
- Speed thrills but kills
- If you are married then divorce speed
- Life is short, don't make it shorter
- Have another day by being safe today

Reading these signs got our creative juices going. So during one of our long drives (returning from Pang Gong lake), we started making up our own road signs to augment the above list.

- Speed up and you'll be in time for your own funeral
- If you can read this sign and translate it in mandarin using google translate, then your driving speed is just fine
- Slow down; where you are going will still be there when you get there
- CRASH! Boom! Crunch!! Sounds you will make if you don't slow down
- Slow down - this is not the highway to hell
- Keep driving fast and I guess we won't see you again
- Where there's a will, there's a reckless driver
- Congrats! You are now qualified to fly a broom
- Road of the brave leads to the grave
- Faster than a speeding bullet? Leave that to superman
- Your undertaker called. Drive faster.
- Calm down … nobody likes an early comer
- Leave the racing to the pros
- Stupid People Ending Everyone's Days (SPEED)
- There's a reason the monk sold his Ferrari
- Drive too fast and this will be the last thing you will see
- Life's not a rehearsal - so no do overs
- Speed is better as a drug
- Enjoying the curves? Take your time
- If we were meant to go this fast, we would have been given wings
- To prevent unwanted accidents .. use protection
- Enjoy Leh … it's ok to be late
- If you overtake, then death will take over
- There is no need for speed in real life

There were a few more but unfortunately they were unsuitable for publication.

Hamlets & Lakes tour to Ladakh

We just returned from a memorable trip to Ladakh and what an experience it was!

Getting to the capital Leh was a bit challenging. Our flight from Delhi to Leh left Delhi at 5am and we landed in Delhi around 11pm. So we had to spend the night at the Delhi airport catching a few winks in the waiting area. i expected all of us to be completely exhausted during our flight in to Leh. But within 15-20 minutes into the flight, we found ourselves flying over gorgeous ice-capped mountain ranges that provided a glimpse of what we would experience over the next nine days.

Leh is situated at an altitude of over 10,000 feet and you feel it from the time you step out of the airport. The thin and dry air can lead to severe altitude sickness and we had to take steps to acclimatize ourselves. These included drinking lots of water and eating well during our entire visit and minimizing sleep during the first full day. All of us did fairly well and barring a few headaches we got adjusted to the altitude by the second day.

The landscape of the Ladakh region is magical and you feel that you have been transported to a different world. You are surrounded by gigantic mountain ranges with mostly brown sandy and rocky mountains with occasional patches of greens and lined with the taller snow covered mountain peaks. The mighty Indus river cuts through the mountain ranges and is usually within sight as you travel through the region. Deep patches of green within the valley create an extraordinary contrast in the landscape. The sky was a clear blue during the week of our visit.

During our trip we visited several Buddhist monasteries including Hemis, Thiksey, Diskit, Alchi and Lamayuru. Most of these are over a thousand years old and each one of them is unique. Our favorite was Alchi - one of the oldest monasteries and the only one that is built on flat ground. Another highlight was a visit to the world's highest lake, Pangong - a magnificent salt water lake that spans India and China.


A trip to Ladakh is not complete without the appropriate dose of adventure and we had our share. We bicycled down 14 kms from a point close to Khardung La (claimed to be the world's highest motorable pass). We did white water rafting on the mighty Zanskar river. We trekked through the 12,000 ft high pass called Prinkti La. Another highlight was a ride on double humped Bactrian camels on sand dunes in the beautiful Nubra valley.

Here's another one off the '100 things to do before you die' list!

Walking down memory lane

We were in Hyderabad last week for a couple of days. For those of you who don't know, I was born and grew up in Hyderabad. I lived there till I was 21 and before I moved to the US. As always, I get the "coming home" feeling when I arrive in this city. It was even more special this time because my brother, Nawaz, and his family were also in town on vacation from Saudi Arabia. On Sunday, we had a family reunion when my sister, Masarrat, and her family joined us at my parents' house.

Another highlight of this trip was a visit to Mir Alam Mandi - the oldest vegetable market in Hyderabad and located in the old city. My grandmother used to live here and I spent a lot of my childhood here. We went there to visit a couple of relatives and it was quite nostalgic. My grandmother's house is still there. The place looks the same. The streets were a bit cleaner than I remember (but then maybe it was because it was a Sunday and the market had not opened yet!). But I have to say that there is no feeling like some old memories coming rushing back.

Food is usually another important part of any visit and this one was no exception. I had my fill of all my local favorites (Nihari, Biryani etc.).

Unaccompanied Minor

Ayaana traveled last week from Bangalore to Los Angeles. This is the first time that she has traveled alone and needless to say, Mona and I were in a state of heightened anxiety for weeks. British Airways has a special escort service for unaccompanied minors and we signed up for that. So we knew that she was going to be taken care of throughout the journey. But we were still having nightmarish visions about lost passports, missed flights etc.

I went to the airport to drop her off on her day of departure. Check-in was smooth. A BA agent was assigned to escort her through immigrations and security all the way to the plane. Her flight was scheduled to depart at 6:30am and I was scheduled to travel to Chennai on a 7:00am flight. I was promptly chided by the BA agent for scheduling my flight so close to the departure time of Ayaana's flight. As per the rules, the person coming to drop a minor off MUST be available in the airport until her flight takes off. I begged the agent to call me as soon as Ayaana has boarded the plane.

I started to worry as 6:15am rolled by and there was no call. By 6:30am my flight had started boarding. I was in the coach headed to my plane - no call. I could see the British Airways flight moving on the runway - no call! Did Ayaana make it on the plane? My heart is pounding and I am on the phone with Mona every few minutes in case they called her. I was in my seat in the plane when the call finally came. Ayaana's plane had taken off and she was fine. What a relief!

After another 26 hours of high anxiety, she called from Los Angeles - safe and sound. Phew! Can't wait to go through this cycle again when she returns in July.

A travel companion named Murphy

I am almost at the tail end at my 2-week trip to the UK and US and have had pretty good luck with most of my travel until yesterday. It was Murphy's Day as far as travel was concerned. We had a meeting in New York on June 9th and had to leave for Boston in the afternoon. Our flight to Boston was booked out of Newark (Mistake #1). Our flight was scheduled to depart at 4:50pm. We were done with our meeting by 2pm and decided to grab a bite to eat before heading out to the airport (Mistake #2).

We had a heck of a time trying to get a cab. It seemed like all available cabs in New York city had disappeared at that time. Those that we did manage to stop were not interested in going to the Newark airport (which is why this was Mistake #1). We walked around for 45 minutes searching for a cab and finally picked one up at Penn Station (Mistake #3 - should have taken a train to Boston!).

The cab ride was painful because by now rush traffic had started and we were stuck getting through the Lincoln Tunnel. We finally made it to the airport by 4:20pm. We might have arrived half an hour earlier if it wasn't for Mistake #2. Our scheduled flight had not departed yet but we did not think that we could make it (Mistake #4). We got ourselves booked on a later flight scheduled to depart at 6pm. We thought we could still make it to Boston at a decent hour and treat ourselves to a seafood dinner. But Murphy was hard at work. The 6pm flight was delayed and delayed again and delayed yet again to 10:30pm. The 4:50pm flight meanwhile took off at 7pm (remember Mistake #4?).

Our delayed flight did not take off until midnight. Needless to say, there was no seafood dinner that night. Murphy triumphed yet again!

Home sweet home!

I am back in Los Angeles and it sure feels good to be home. It's been a while since I have been away. The warm sense of familiarity and comfort descended on me as soon as I stepped off the plane at LAX. The feeling of belonging and ownership that comes out of spending twenty years in a place is indescribable. As I drove home in a taxi on the 110 freeway, I reconnected with the city. Passing by Staples Center, Convention Center, Dodger Stadium fired up the "I've been there and experienced that" neurons in my brain.

I always look forward to the first sight of our home as the car drives up on Esmeralda Drive and this time was no different. It takes me about 10-15 minutes to walk around the house, step onto the deck, peek into the garage before I am fully reconnected with the place. Old habits resurface and I quickly slip into my old routine!

Home sweet home! Oh - what a feeling!

Page 4!

Page 3 is typically the page that features A-list celebrities and high society movers and shakers. The women in my life did not quite make it to page 3 but nevertheless achieved celebrity status last week when they made it to page 4 of the Times of India weekend supplement.

Ayaana was performing again in the annual musical performance of the William Joseph Music Academy. This year, media was present and a Times of India photographer took a picture of Mona and Ayaana. None of us expected it to make it to the paper and did not even bother to check it next day. But soon friends who saw the picture in the paper started calling in.

I had an additional copy delivered to the office, flipped through it and there they were!

The king is back!

No, Elvis was not spotted in Bangalore. I am talking about the return of the mango season in India. Mango is commonly referred to as the king of fruits in India. It is a seasonal fruit and makes it appearance in early May. The season will probably last for about 3 months. We had the first mangoes of the season this week and .. yes, it is confirmed. The mango is undoubtedly the king of fruits!

We generally consume our mango in two different ways - you eat it and you can make a thick juice (ras) out it. To eat it, you slice it into pieces around the hard core. Then you suck the soft pulp directly off the skin. Die hard enthusiasts will even suck the pulp of the hard core. If you are having it in the liquid form, it is best had with hot, fried pooris or special thin rotis.

It is a not-to-be-missed experience!

The eagles are ready to fly

The students at Indus International School in Bangalore are referred to as eagles because when eagles fly high when the skies get cloudy. Yesterday was graduation day at Indus for the 12th graders and a new batch of eagles are now ready to fly. The school believes in leadership, whole development and being prepared to adapt to new situations quickly. This was illustrated yesterday when rains came down in Bangalore yesterday and put a damper on Indus's plan to hold the graduation ceremony in the open air amphitheater. But the school administration reacted quickly and the program was moved to the indoor sports complex and started only 15 minutes late.

The CEO spoke about embracing failures and learning from them quickly. The principal encouraged the students to become lifelong learners. The chief guest urged them to consider teaching as a profession and the IB coordinator reminded them to respect teachers and parents.

As each student was awarded the graduation certificate, their profile flashed on a large screen. It was amazing to see young and confident teenagers ready to rush out into the world and explore the vast array of opportunities ahead of them. These 50 or so students are setting out to be journalists, designers, oceanographers, entrepreneurs, engineers, doctors and lawyers. By next year, this group will be spread out all over the world - China, Singapore, Dubai, Australia, United States, United Kingdom, Korea and India.

Needless to say, it was a proud evening for Mona and I to see Aanish in his green cap and gown receive his graduation certificate and an award for excelling in Economics. We are getting ready to see our young eagle leave his nest and fly out into the world to define his own destiny.

India wins World Cup 2011!!!

28 years is a long time to wait! Last time India took the world cup home was when Kapil Dev's devils beat West Indies in 1983. Yesterday was a return to cricketing glory for Team India as MS Dhoni's Dashers beat a strong Sri Lanka team in the exciting final match of the tournament in Mumbai.

The entire country had been in the grip of cricket fever for the last several weeks as 14 countries battled it out for the cup in a tournament hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangla Desh. India met Pakistan in a thrilling semi-final a few days ago and won the match to move into the finals.

The excitement around the World Cup is virtually impossible to describe. You have to live it and experience it. It is amazing to see an entire country and Indians around the world (over 1.2 billion as per the 2011 census!) get behind a single team. The mood was electric all over the country yesterday. For both the semi-final and final matches, the home owner association in our building had setup a large screen in the outdoor amphitheater. A live stadium environment was recreated and the residents responded with complete enthusiasm. We had over 100 people show up for the match with Indian flags, whistles, signs etc. to create a stadium atmosphere.

As Dhoni hit the final match winning sixer, the skies erupted with fireworks and the parties kicked off on the streets. What an amazing tournament it has been.

Congratulations, Team India!

Digital De-tox

We just came back from a short 3-day vacation at Kodaikanal - a beautiful hill station in Tamil Nadu. Had a great time doing absolutely nothing for 3 days. I was determined to take a complete break and managed to pull it off. I did not carry my laptop and switched on my Blackberry just to set the wake-up alarm! The kids could not manage a complete withdrawal from their digital toys but lost their music and games within a day when their iTouch devices ran out of power. True detoxification from the digital world!

We were staying with Marsha - Mona's childhood friend who teaches at the international school in Kodi. So we were practically living on the beautiful campus. The only intellect-challenging activity we did during the 3 days was to address a group of high school students at the school who wanted to learn about the university education system in the US. Rest of the time we spent strolling through the charming town, taking a boat ride in the lake and hiking a small but beautiful Coakers Walk.

We also had a couple of brief encounters with wildlife. Returning from Coakers Walk, we were chased by a couple of cows who appeared to be seriously interested in the roasted corn that I was eating. A neighbor's dog tried to steal Mona's sandal which I valiantly rescued! Ayaana was attacked by a bee and I jumped to her rescue.

So I guess I can categorize this one under the nature adventure tour - right below the Tanzania safari that we did last year.

Angry Birds!!!

No, I am not talking about the best selling, highly addictive game about birds, pigs and slingshots. Rather I am talking about the nasty pigeons in our building that insist on resting, roosting and romancing on the windows and balconies of our apartment. These guys have become a real nuisance over the past few months. Mona and I tried multiple ways to get these pigeons to stay away from our apartment without much success.

We tried covering the windows with newspapers and plastic bags. We hung old mops over the balcony thinking that these might scare the persistent pigeons. I even installed a mask on the balcony - sort of a scarecrow! But guess what - the pigeons found the head to be a convenient place to hang out.

After a few frustrating weeks of battling with these birds - Mona came up with a brilliant idea of covering the open windows with a mesh. We managed to install one today and SUCCESS! Just goes to prove - where there's a will, there's a way!

And as far as the actual game is concerned - yes, we are all addicted to it.

Moving closer to the cup

India played Ireland yesterday in the 2011 world cup tournament at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore. Mona and I were guests of our friends Ritu and Alok (Managing Director, ESPN Sports) at the ESPN box and got an opportunity to see a live cricket match ... after nearly three decades! And it was worth every minute.

The atmosphere in and around the stadium was electric. Street vendors selling Indian flags, t-shirts, posters etc. added to the festive look and feel of the event. You could get an Indian flag painted on your face as you stood in line to get into the stadium. But despite thousands of fans arriving to watch the game, everything was well organized.

It was a treat to watch cricket legend, Sachin Tendulkar, on the field. The match itself was a lot of fun. When India bowled Ireland all out for 207, it appeared that this would not be much of a contest. But after the quick and steady loss of a few Indian wickets, the teams looked evenly matched for a while. There were no explosive batting performances but Yusuf Pathan provided some entertainment towards the end with a few big hits.

The crowd was awesome! And you quickly realize why all the teams love to play in India. Their enthusiasm is infectious and they will not hesitate to cheer the visiting team and boo the home team if required. Great music and a huge hosted dinner spread made the evening a memorable one.

India won and moves to the top of the table!